#separate fic

"Come on, buddy. Cheer up!" Jordan frowns, turning round to see you reluctantly dragging her feet up the driveway of the home she once shared with her ex-girlfriend and you, "I thought you'd be excited to come home and be able to see mummy finally?"

You stand there with your arms crossed and scowl plastered on your face, "No! I don't wan' to go in there!" You tell her, stubbornly.

You might only be 3-years-old, but you know what you want and this is something you definitely didn't want to do.

"Why not?" Jordans' confused with your blunt answer, considering the fact that while you were away with her, it was the complete opposite.

You had spent the week on holiday in Greece with Jordan and her best friend Katie, you had such a good time and you didn't want to go back home to Leah, because then it meant that you wouldn't see Jordan for a while again.

Sure it's only a weekend but in your 3-year-old mind, that's still a long time to wait.

You wish that they could both be together with you all of the time.

"Cos' I don' wanna, mama!" You state, like that explains it all.

Your stubbornness is something neither Leah or Jordan quite know where you got it from, but it's a trait that they've both learnt to pick their battles wisely.

"Okay," Jordan exhales a sigh and crouches down to your level, "But I think that mummy might be upset about that, won't she? I bet she's excited to see you as well!"

You know that Jordan's right, but you still didn't want to go back to Leah's, even if your favourite person is there.

"I don' care, mama!" Your little voice shouted aloud while you stomped your foot in protest.

"Hey, hey, come on," Jordans' voice is gentle but there's still a sense of firmness there, "There's no need to shout about this, is there?" She questions.

You huff and continue to stomp your little feet in defiance, "I don' want to go in there, mama! I don' wanna!" You exclaim, stubbornly.

The women knows this another argument with you that won't end well if she's not careful, "Okay, alright... Can you tell mama the reason that you don't want too?" She wonders, trying to get to the bottom of your reason.

"Cos' when I go in there then that means you leave, and I don' want you to go!" You explain, the reason in your hand is perfectly acceptable.

"You've been with me all week though, buddy. It's mummy's turn to spend time with you now though, isn't it?" Jordan still continues to be gentle and coax you closer to the front door, where Leah's know seen you both and is probably rushing towards the door right now.

Shaking your head, you continue to be stubborn about the decision, "Don' want that though. I wan' go back with you and see Blu!" You tell her, like it's simple as that.

You miss the simpler times, when you had both Leah and Jordan together.

You can't remember a lot because sure you was only little when they broke up, but you still wish your 2 favourite people were always together.

Jordan gives you a sympathetic smile, "Buddy, I know you want to do that but it's your mummy's time now with you. I'll see you again at the weekend, won't I?" She asks.

"Don' want to wait until then!" You huff and stomp your feet again in protest.

"I'm sorry, buddy." Jordan exhales a sigh, knowing there's not much that she can do it based on the custody arrangement that herself and Leah had come with to split equal time with you, "Next weekend, I promise. Okay? We'll go to the aquarium or something as well!" She promises you.

You didn't have much time to protest before the door swung open to reveal Leah on the other side with a beaming smile on her face when she see's you.

"There's my girl!" Leahs' crouching down to your level and holding her arms out, waiting for you to run into them like usual.

Only this time, you didn't.

"No!" You exclaim in protest before moving to hide behind Jordans' legs, "No, wan' you. No!" Clinging to Jordan, your reluctant to move to go anywhere near Leah.

"Oh," Leah's smile turns into a confused frown, looking at Jordan for some sort of explanation because this is completely out of character for you to act like this when your usually her mini me and will follow her around everywhere.

Now you didn't want anything to do with her.

Jordan sends Leah an apologetic smile before she turns round and crouches to your height, "Buddy, I know it's hard but it's mummy's time now, remember?" She tries to explain to you, sensing that this broke Leah's heart to see you reject her in the way that you did.

"But mama, I'll miss you too much!" Your little voice admits, peeking your head out from behind Jordans' leg as your bottom lip wobbles when you see Leah.

The realisation hits Leah suddenly when she can finally understand what's going on with you and your reluctance to cling onto Jordan instead, "Jord, why don't you come in for a bit so you can spend some time with her before you have to go?" She offers her ex girlfriend.

Jordan peers up to look at Leah from where's crouching down on the floor and nods in agreement, the two of them having a silent conversation with one another before she turns back to face you, "That sounds like a good idea, doesn't it, buddy? Why don't we go inside all together?" She suggests, still trying to coax you into the house.

"O... Okay," Hesitant to move from behind Jordan too much, you slowly take hold of her hand as all 3 of you walk back inside the spacious house.

Leah's apprehensive about your newfound clinginess for the other women but tries to not let it bother her as she shuts the front door behind the three of you, "So, how was the flight?" She wonders, trying to keep the conversation polite between herself and her ex for your sake.

"Good, yeah. Buddy slept most of it," Jordan replies, ruffling your hair as she walks through into the living room, "How was Nashville?" She wonders.

Leah snorts slightly and shakes her head, "Chaotic to say the least, but it was a memorable trip with monkey," She smiles faintly as she stands in the doorway of the living room, "Do you want a drink or anything?" She offers.

"Oh I can imagine. Sure, I'll take a glass of water please," Jordan agrees, taking a seat  on the sofa and you don't hesitate to drop yourself into her lap and nuzzle yourself as close to her as possible, "Do you want a drink, buddy?" She wonders.

"No," You say in disagreement, keeping yourself virtually attached to Jordan.

Leah smiles faintly and nods, trying to not let it get to her too much as she maneuvers into the kitchen to make said drinks, making a sippy cup of juice up for you because it was important for you to drink even if you disagreed about it, before she returns to the living room and handing the drink over to Jordan and placing your sippy cup on the coffee table.

"Hey, Buddy! Look what we got for you," Leah tries to get your attention away from Jordan as she moves to reach for the plastic carrier bag on the other end of the sofa, "I brought you a new Lego set when we was in Nashville, Monkey picked it out for you. Do you want to check it out?" She wonders, gesturing to the item in her hands.

You peer your head up from Jordans' shoulder and inspect it carefully, after hearing that your favourite person other than Leah and Jordan had a hand in picking it.

You love Monkey, she's like an older sister to you.

Even if she's 19-years-old, she still acts like a big kid.

"Wow, that's cool, isn't it, buddy?" Jordan exclaims, trying to encourage you to play with it.

"No," You murmur quietly, shaking your head and moving back to rest it on Jordan's shoulder.

"How about we all try and build it together?" Leah suggests, trying to coax you out of the clinginess slowly and what's better to do than Lego.

It's one of your favourite things to play with.

The next would be play-dough, but Leah's not too much a fan of that.

"That sounds like a good idea, doesn't it?" Jordan agrees with her ex-girlfriend, hopeful that you would agree to do it.

You think about it for a few seconds, "Okay, but I wan' both mama and mummy to do it with me!" You declare, being the opinionated and bossy 3-year-old that you are.

Leah's smile brightens as she nods, "We'll all do it together, buddy."

“Alright, alright, got it,” Monkey grins, holding her hands up in surrender, “No castle, we’ll build a tower… Although technically, they’re sort of the same thing,” 

“No!” You exclaim in protest, no doubt alerting Leah from where she is in the kitchen to the commotion in the living room.

“Now the blue one– Not that one!” You continue to demand, doing your best to perfect the glare while resting your hands on your hips sassily.

Leah will be proud of you for that.

“Right, okay, that one,” Monkey murmurs, rolling her eyes at your newfound bossiness, “Geesh, when did you get so demanding, huh?” She attempts to joke.

“That blue one, Monkey!” You repeat loudly.

“Are you two playing nicely in here?” Leah teases, entering the living room after hearing the commotion between the two of you and watches in amusement as your stubbornness comes out in full swing.

You truly are her mini me.

“Mummy! Monkey’s building the tower wrong!” You snitch on your favourite person straight away as your bottom lip wobbles, “Tell her off, Mummy!” You demand.

“Wha? I didn’t do anything!” Monkey defends herself, “I simply just suggested the idea that we could build a castle instead, which would be so much cooler!”

“Nuh uh!” You state in protest.

“Yuh huh!” Monkey argues back.

“Nuh uh!” You repeat, louder and going for the ulterior motive of getting what you want, standing in front of Leah and lifting her arms up for her to pick you up, “Mummy, Monkey’s being mean to me!”

“No I am not!” Monkey shouts in protest, flailing her arms in the air, “Le, your daughters’ the one being bossy!”

Leah can’t help but laugh slightly and shake her head, “Okay, okay, that’s enough,” She breaks up the squabble between you both as she lifts you up into her arms, “If you two can’t play nicely together then I think it’s time we put it away, hm?”

“That’s not fair,” Monkey is the first to protest the idea, slumping her shoulders from where she sat on the floor, “I’m just sayin’ towers are boring and castles are more adventurous!”

“Put it away, Monkey,” Leah tells her with a pointed look, “And then afterwards, I need your help to lay the table,” She adds.

“Why? I wasn’t even that mean!” Monkey exclaims in disagreement.

“I’m not asking for that reason,” The blonde tells your favourite person, “Dinner will be ready soon, so just come and do it please,”

“Not like I have a choice in the matter,” The girl murmurs before she huffs and begrudgingly puts the lego away like she’s been told to do.

“Come on Buddy,” Leah encourages, her voice gentle but still trying to remain firm with you, “You need to eat your dinner,”

“Nuh uh,” You protest against the idea, providing another battle for the blonde to deal with much to her detest, “Don’ wanna!” You add, crossing your arms stubbornly.

Sitting at the dinner table, you find yourself being unusually fussy about your food, but that’s just because now you are starting to miss Jordan again.

You wish that she is here as well with you, not at her home instead.

Leah furrows her eyebrows, “Why not?”

You exhale a loud sigh in response, “Ou’ don’ understand!” You state, pouting at the plate in front of you.

“What don’t I understand?” Leah’s certainly frazzled by your unusual fussiness during dinner, “You need to eat your vegetables to grow up big and strong, remember?” She continues to try and encourage you to eat them.

“No, I don’ like them!” You insist, moving to push the plate away from you, “No hungry!” You add, dramatically.

Monkey snorts across the table from you, “Well this is new,” She remarks, amused with your current antics, “Can you really blame her for not wanting to eat vegetables? They’re gross,” She asks.

“Really? You’re not helping here!” Leah gives her a look across the table before continuing to try and encourage you to eat your dinner in front of you, “Come on sweetheart, I need you to try and eat a little bit or you’ll be hungry later on, won’t you?”

“No!” You shout in further protest.

“Hey, no, we don’t shout at Mummy like that, little miss,” Leah scolds you for your outburst, “Can you tell Mummy why you don’t want to eat the rest of your dinner?”

“Don’ wanna eat it and 'ou not listen to me, Mummy!” You cry out, wanting nothing more than to abandon the rest of your dinner in front of you, “It yucky!” You add, scrunching your face up at the sight of them.

“Damn, you are being stubborn tonight,” Monkey murmurs in a low voice as she catches the pointed look Leah gives her again, “Alright, got it. I’ll shut up… But you know, your eating habits are just as bad sometimes. You’ve only got yourself to blame there,” She tells Leah.

“Monkey!” Leah warns, her voice sharp.

“Come on, I’m only messing here,” Monkey states, holding her hands up in mock surrender as she has an idea, “Hey, Buddy! How about you eat the yucky vegetables and then we can have chocolate cake for pudding. Sounds good?” She bargains with you.

Your eyes light up at the thought of cake, “Yeah!”

With the thought of cake in your head, you begin to start picking at the vegetables on your plate as you know you will soon be rewarded with cake afterwards.

“Unbelievable,” Leah clicks her tongue in disagreement.

“See? Works like a charm! Be happy that she's eating now,” Monkey smugly looks at Leah proud of herself, “But uh, do we have any chocolate cake? Cos’ I promised it to her now and I can’t break a promise!”

Unfortunately for Leah, this is only the first of many battles that she will have with you tonight.

Sure enough with a bit of encouragement, you slowly came out of your shell enough to move to sit in Leah's lap and get in all of the cuddles that you had missed throughout the last week.

Until you hear the front door open, and you knew who it is straight away.

"Ello'? I'm home!" You hear your favourite person shout aloud and your quick to jump up from Leah's lap and race towards the front door, "Where's my favourite little buddy?" She asks.

"Here I am!" You all but launch yourself into the arms of the older girl.

"There you are!" Monkey exclaims, squeezing you gently as she spins you around in her arms, "I've missed you loads!"

"I've missed you too!" You can't help but giggle as your lowered back onto the floor, "Look! We're doin' Lego!" You pull her in the direction of the lego blocks scattered on the floor where you had left Leah and Jordan in favor of Monkey.

"Aw, wow! So you like the lego set, huh?" Monkey grins as she slumps down on the floor and your quick enough to drop down into her lap, the two older women completely forgotten about now that your favourite person is here.

"She's been waiting for you to come back," Leah states, smiling at the pair of you together.

Monkey gasps dramatically before she beams a wide smile, "You have? Well I'm here. Where've you been?" She asks, tickling you under your ribs.

"I went on holiday with my mama, silly!" You exclaim, bursting into a fit of giggles right there, "Where you been?" You wonder, curiously.

You know Leah and Monkey went somewhere, but you can't exactly remember where.

Or if you were told, you didn't really listen much to it.

"Oooh right, of course you did!" Monkey facepalms herself and you can't help but laugh again, you sometimes think your favourite person is the funniest person in the world, "I went to Nashville and I was in my cowgirl era. I even had a lad try hit on me and I told him to kiss my--"

"Monkey!" Leah exclaims, cutting the girl off, "She's 3, she doesn't need to hear that!" She scolds her, which you find it even funnier.

Monkeys' always known to get herself into trouble, sometimes you're corrupted and like to join in with her as well.

It's even more fun when Kyra comes to visit as well.

The three of you have so much fun!

You find it funny sometimes when you watch Leah and Kim tearing their hair out with your favourite person.

"I wasn't even gonna say anything," Monkey holds her hands up in self surrender, smirking at Leah.

You look at Leah to see her giving Monkey one of her usual stern facial expressions. You see it happen a lot, but never usually directed towards you at least.

It's always Monkey.

"And just like that we're forgotten about," Jordan jokes, seeing you happy enough again with being in the company of monkey, "I should probably go." She suggests to Leah, knowing it's the easier option that wouldn't lead to tears.

Leah hums in agreement as she watches you and Monkey together, "That's probably a good idea," She replies before she turns to look at you, "Mamas' gonna go home now, Buddy. Shall we go and say bye?" She questions.

You nod and scramble up from the older girls lap to throw yourself directly at Jordan's legs, "Bye, Mama! 'Ove you!" You exclaim.

"I love you too, my little Buddy," Jordan crouches down and plants a gentle kiss on the top of your forehead, "Be good for your mummy, okay? No getting led astray either." She tells you, glancing in the direction of your favourite person.

"Accusations. False accusations!" Monkey screeches loudly and dramatic, which of course makes Leah roll her eyes in response, "I don't know what yer' even talkin' about there!" She insists, shrugging her shoulders.

"You and I both know what I mean," Jordan remarks, chuckling at the older girl as she ruffles her hair, having the height advantage being stood up while Monkey is still sat down.

"Pft," Monkey scoffs and stands up off the floor, "I'm still an inch taller than you!" She insists, smirking at Jordan.

Leah shakes her head at the antics of your favourite person, "That's enough, Monkey!" She states, firmly before the older girl can continue to wind up Jordan any more, "Stop being a menace, go and do something productive!" She tells her.

Monkey pouts and slumps her shoulders, "I'm bored though and I can't talk to Kyra because she's asleep still!"

"Kyra!" You squeal at the mention of the Aussie girls' name, "I wan' talk to Kyra!" You insist.

Leah gives Monkey a pointed look, "See? Look what you've done now," She pinches the bridge of her nose.

"Oops," Monkey gives the blonde a guilty facial expression.

"I wan' speak to Kyra!" You insist once again.

Shaking her head, Leah turns to look at you, "Buddy, you'll see Kyra when she comes back home, but you can't talk to her because it'll be night time for us when she's awake." She explains.

"I wan' speak to Kyra," You whine, not entirely understanding the whole aspect of time zone differences.

"Ooo, Buddy! I know who we can talk too!" Monkey perks up with the idea as she grins at you, "How about we go and talk to Lessi instead?" She suggests, hoping that you'll agree to that.

"Lessi!" You cheer excitedly, forgetting about the Aussie women for now.

"Yeah, Lessi!" Monkey repeats before she sweeps you up into her arms, "You wanna go fly around the house?" She wonders, knowing exactly what you like and don't like.

"Yeah! Yeah! Fly!" You squeal in delight, squealing even more as Monkey balances her hand under your tummy and you're in the air within seconds.

"All aboard Russo airlines," Monkey jokes, making fun of the blonde for her celebration, "Neeeeeawww!" She makes the noise of a plane, running through the house with you in her arms.

"Don't drop her, Monkey!" Leah and Jordan both shout in sync, almost both of them having heart attacks seeing it happen.

"Sounds like you got your hands full there," Jordan remarks, shaking her head.

Leah chuckles slightly in response, "I'm not sure who's more of a handful at times," She replies.

"Definitely Monkey," The older women out of the two replies, grinning at her ex-girlfriend, "Right, I'll be goin' then. Her teddies in the front pocket of her backpack if she wants it."

"Thanks," Leah nods in agreement, "I'm sure she hasn't asked for it yet when she loves that thing." She adds.

That thing that Leah was referring to was Mr. Bear, a stuffed brown bear that was gifted to you from your great-grandma and ever since you got him, you carried him everywhere with you, even going as far as almost dropping him out of the window one time and Jordan had to stop the car and jump out to retrieve him to save any of the tears.

"Yeah, me neither," Jordan agrees with her ex, "And her blanket, if she needs it is--"

"Jord, don't worry. I've got it, Leah interjects, chuckling slightly at her ex girlfriend, "She's my daughter too, remember? I can figure these things out."

"Yeah, of course, sorry force of habit," The older women out of the two gives her ex a sheepish smile and nods, while shoving her hands in her pockets, "Ehm, I'll be here on Friday at 2 to collect her for the weekend then." She tells her.

"I'll see you then," Leah nods curtly, opening the front door to let Jordan out, "Safe drive back."

Jordan smiles slightly at Leah, "Yep, thanks. See you on Friday." With that, she waves at her ex girlfriend before she departs down the driveway and climbs back into her car for the long drive back home.

“Nuh uh!” You continue to wriggle around in her arms and whine, “No bath!”

“You don’t want a bath? Since when?” Monkey mocks her shock, looking up from whatever is occupying her on her phone, “Splish splash, Buddy’s taking a bath!” She sings the usual tune she does when it’s your bath time.

You're usually more inclined to bounce along to the playful tune.

“No!” You shout in protest, not giving up to try and break free from Leah’s arms, “Put me down, Mummy! Down! Down, now!”

Much to your own disappointment, Leah is less reluctant to do that as she knows your tendencies to run off sometimes when you are in this sort of mood.

It’s rare it happens, though. 

You're usually described by all of your family as a little angel.

“Someones’ grumpy tonight,” Monkey remarks, scrunching her face up at your current meltdown, “Good luck dealing with that, Le!” She jokes.

“Monkey,” Leah gave the girl a pointed look, “Go and do something somewhere else!”

Monkey faux’s a gasp and clutches her hand over her heart, “What? I am doing something!” She insists, “Minding me business on Instagram. By the way, check your comments later, there’s some crackers there,” She snickers.

“One problem at a time, just deal with one problem at a time,” Leah mutters the words to herself, trying to remain patient while dealing with you thrashing around in her arms in the way that you are and the older girl being her usual self, “Buddy, hey, what’s all the fuss about huh? You love bath time normally!”

“No!” You whine stubbornly, trying to flail your arms around and escape, “No bath! Don’ want a bath!”

Leah is certainly frazzled by your newfound hate for the bath tonight in comparison to usual, “Look, all of your toys are here in the bath waiting for you to play with them!” The blonde encourages, placing you down in the bathroom and making quick work to get undressed and into the bath before the tantrum continues, “And there’s bubbles as well, see? How about we get some of your bath crayons out?” She offers.

“No!” You shout loudly while stomping your foot, “I don’ want a bath!” You repeat.

Why doesn’t she seem to be getting it that you don’t want to take a bath?

You're making it very clear your disinterest for one.

“Okay,” Leah crouches down to your height, “Can you tell Mummy why you don’t want to have a bath tonight?” She asks, patiently.

“Nuh uh!” You shake your head, stubbornly.

The blonde can’t help but smile in amusement, “Is that your favourite word today, huh?” She jokes, trying to tickle you under your arms and get you a laugh out of you.

“NO!” You scream and attempt to wriggle away from you, “Don’ like baths anymore!” You add.

“Oh we certainly are a grumpy little miss tonight aren’t we?” Leah says, trying to stay calm as she places you into the bath, “We’ll make this a quick bath and then I think it’s bedtime for you,”

Straight away you start to splash the water aggressively and try to find a way to climb out of the water, “Out water, I don’ like it! Out!” You wail, the tears streaming down your face to show how visibly upset and tired you are.

“I know you’re tired, I know,” Leah is nothing but sympathetic as she makes quick work of the task in hand, “It’s been a long day of travelling with Mama today, hasn’t it?”

You hear the mention of Jordan and it makes you miss her even more than you already do, “I want Mama! I don’ want you!” With that, you continue to flail your arms around in the water and splash her in protest, “Go ‘way, Mummy. Me don’ like ‘ou anymore!”

“You don’t? Well you know Mummy’s feelings get hurt when you say things like that, little miss,” Leah heart clenches at the words directed towards her, “How about once you’ve had a bath and gotten into your jammies that we give Mama a call, hm?”

“Mama! I wan’ speak to Mama!” You start to perk up at the mention of Jordan, reducing the level of splashing around in the water to allow Leah to quickly finish giving you a bath.

“Yeah, we’ll call Mama to speak to her when you’re in bed,” Leah promises you softly, “Let’s just quickly finish this bath first, okay? No more splashing Mummy though please or we’re both going to get drenched, aren’t we?” She adds in a playful tone.

“Okay,” You agree as you start to splash around in the water and play with your toys in the bath.

Leah sighs with relief as your tantrum starts to subside, though she still moves quickly to make sure you’re washed and rinsed off before there's a chance for another one, “What was all the fuss about earlier, eh?” She asks gently, using a cup to pour water over your hair.

Much to her relief, you scrunch your face up but don’t protest about this.

“Boo!” Monkey shouts as she pokes her head around the bathroom door with a mischievous grin, “Buddy! Shall we watch Cars after this?” She asks without even thinking, trying to cheer you up with the mention of your current favourite film.

“Monkey, no,” Leah chides the girl and shakes her head.

“Yeah, Cars! I wan’ watch Cars!” You shout in excitement, you are of course happy enough to watch Cars with Monkey given the chance.

“Seriously Monkey? Why’d you have to go and say that?” Leah looks unimpressed at her before she turns back to you, “No Cars, little miss.”

“I wan’ watch Cars with Monkey!” You whine in protest.

“Not tonight, Buddy,” Leah shakes her head in disagreement, “You’re having a bath and then going to bed. We’re gonna phone Mama as well, remember?” She adds, trying to keep her voice excited at the prospect of talking to Jordan.

“Come on Le, you can see how upset she is,” Monkey gestures to the fact that you're still pouting about not being able to watch the movie, “Just let her watch it!”

“Monkey,” The blonde gives Monkey a warning look.

The girl rolls her eyes and holds her hands up in surrender, “I’m just trying to help, geesh. You can’t deprive her from watching Cars though, you know that’s like a criminal offence!”

“You know what would be really helpful right now?” Leah retorts.

“Uh, let me guess… Shutting up?” Monkey wonders, sarcastically.

“Bingo, look at that, you’re learning!” Leah points her index finger in the direction of the younger girl before turning to look at you, “Right then, little miss. Let’s get you out of this bath before you turn into a prune!” She jokes with you.