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Alette's POV

"And they lived happily ever after," Mama said, closing the colourful book in front of us.

"The end," she smiled at me softly, pecking my forehead as I lay on my bed, all tucked in. My Papa sat on the floor beside my bed, his arms on my bed, as he rested his head on top of his hands.

"That was such a nice story Mama," I told her, letting out a tired sigh of contentment.

"It was quite adorable, you're right my little Faye," Mama replied, stroking my hair.

Papa kissed my cheek and smiled affectionately at me.

There was a serene silence in the room, as all of us enjoyed the peace that the night had brought us.

"Do you think I'll ever have my own fairy-tale?"

Mama and Papa looked at each other, smiles on their faces, and love in their eyes. Papa grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips, giving it a soft kiss. Then he placed their intertwined hands between them, right on top of the blanket that covered me. Even at my young age, I knew how fond they were of each other. It showed in the way they loved each other, loved me, loved the world.

"Well why wouldn't you? We write our own fairy tales after all."

My Papa's words were the last thing I heard, before drifting off to sleep.

That night, I dreamt of my fairy-tale.

Could real life ever be as good as the dreams you conjure up?

At this moment in time, my answer was a resounding yes.

The moment our lips touched, I felt as though I was flying. The most exhilarating feeling coursed through my body, and I melted into his touch.

This man exuded power and strength, but as he held me softly in his arms, he felt nothing but like a dream

I grabbed fistfuls of his shirt, and his hand moved to the back of my head, holding me into place. His other hand gripped my hip, soft as ever, but still holding me in place.

He kissed me, and I kissed him back with the same vigour.

Only when we both had used up all the air that we had, we both pulled back at the same time. We stared at each other, my lips swollen, his mouth slightly agape, our eyes wide.

My first kiss.

A moment of quiet passed, as we caught our breaths.

"A-Alette...you're unreal," his swallowed thickly; his voice was a breathless caress on my ears. He sounded truly astonished; the surprise in voice was evident. Like he couldn't believe what had just happened.

I was on the same page, my heart thumping hard, and a cacophony of butterflies in my stomach.

I stared up at him, still not having recovered from the kiss.

"Was that oka-..." he swallowed again, a concerned look overtaking his features, "You're fine?"

I realized I still hadn't said anything, so I opened my mouth to speak, but the only coherent thought that my brain could come up with was:

"Wow."

I felt my cheeks get hotter, and I cleared my throat.

"U-um t-that was," I looked down, "Wow..." I trailed off. My brain could not, for the life of me, come up with anything better than that.

He tilted my head up by putting two fingers under my chin.

There was a smile on his face, and it made my breath fly away all over again.

He pecked my forehead, "You're good, yes?" he asked, still holding my face up.

I nodded, my cheeks still pink, I bit my reddened lips, "A-and y-you're fine too?"

He smirked, his grey eyes shining.

"Never been better."

This man was going to make me implode.

I didn't have a chance to linger on his words too much because the doorbell rang. We both snapped out of it, and he put his hands on my waist, lifting me off the counter. He placed me on the floor, and brushed some hair out of my face.

We held hands as we walked to the door, and he unlocked it. I stood slightly behind him, covered by his huge frame, still holding his hand behind his back.

The door opened to reveal, Oscar, Selina and Rowan. Oscar held a baby carrier in his hand, and they all smiled.

"Hi you two!" Selina exclaimed, and I stepped out from behind Reece. I waved shyly, and Rowan wasted no time in running inside, and jumping at me. I grabbed him in my arms, and hugged him, letting out a small 'oof' in pain when he made contact.

"Careful kid," Aresius grunted from beside me, looking worried at how much force he was using. I smiled reassuringly at Reece, to let him know I was okay.

"I missed you Faye," Rowan pouted once he stopped hugging me, "I wanted to play. Mommy told me you were sick, are you okay now? "

He grabbed my hand, and I smiled down at him, "I missed you too, I'm feeling better! We can play today Row Boat," I said, making him giggle at the nickname.

I turned my head towards Oscar and Selina, "Congratulations on the baby," I said shyly.

"Thank you Faye!" Selina said sweetly.

"Thanks Faye, we're so glad you're feeling better," Oscar said kindly.

Noticing we are all still standing at the door, I moved back slight, making Reece step back with me, "Come in!" I told them. Then, as if just now realizing that this was Reece's house, I looked up him, my eyes slightly panicked. His face was impassive, but his eyes were lighter as they looked at me.

He cleared his throat, dragging his eyes away from mine, and he nodded at the two of them.

Everyone walked inside, and chatted while taking off their shoes. Mainly Oscar talking to Aresius, who just grunted back, and Rowan rambled to me about everything that had happened to him recently.

I kept trying to take a peak at baby Lucia, but I couldn't see her because the shade of the seat was pulled down.

A small sulk made its way onto my face as we walked into the living room, for not being able to see the baby.

Aresius grabbed my hand and pulled me back as they all sat down. I looked up at him in question.

"What's wrong? Are you in pain? I'll make them leave," he moved forward towards them and I grabbed his arm.

"No silly, I'm fine," I giggled, "I just wanted to see the baby."

He exhaled, his shoulders looking less tense, and he nodded once. We both walked into the living room, hand in hand.

I didn't miss the way Selina looked happily at our joined hands, and Oscar smirked at Aresius who just...glared at him?

I hope he wasn't upset at something.

I gave his hand a little squeeze and he looked down at me, the glare on his face had disappeared.

Yay.

We sat down on the sofa across from them, Rowan wasting no time in squeezing himself between Reece and I. He hooked his little arms with mine, and spoke about how much he loved the presents I had gotten him. I chatted with Oscar and Selina, when a small baby gurgle interrupted us. I stifled a squeal, and looked at the baby carrier with excited eyes.

"That's my baby sister," Rowan said proudly, and then he paused, thinking, "She's cute but her diapers are stinky!"

I giggled at Rowan, squishing his cheeks, as Selina took the little baby out of her carrier.

"Do you want to hold Luci, Faye?" Oscar said, catching onto my excitement.

I nodded vehemently, and Oscar grabbed the bundle of blankets from Selina, and brought her over to me. Rowan spotted Grasso and bounded out of the living room, no longer interested in us, and wanting to bug the cat.

Grasso ran for his life.

The moment Rowan left his spot from beside me, Reece inched closer, closing the gap between us.

I felt my body get hotter at our proximity, but was quickly distracted by Oscar holding the baby out to me.

Did I mention I loved babies?

I slowly put her in my arms, supporting her head. She was absolutely precious, and wrapped in the softest light green blanket.

"Look Reecie, we're matching," I whispered softly, looking at him. There was an intense look in his eyes as he stared at Lucia and I, and I saw him swallow.

I turned my attention back onto the baby, who was slowly blinking open her eyes. She had rosy, chubby cheeks, and a pout on her lips. She had a light smattering of hair on her head; it was a light golden colour. Her eyes opened to reveal the same green eyes as her brother.

"She's precious," I whispered at Selina and Oscar, making sure not to speak too loudly. They smiled, thanking me; they sat, cozied up together, watching the baby and me.

"Hi baby Lucia," I cooed at her, my voice still low, as I used my index finger to stroke her cheek softly.

I looked up at Reece, beaming, "Do you want to hold her?" I asked him, not wanting to let go of her, but noticing that he hadn't stopped staring at us.

Maybe he did want to hold her?

He shook his head quickly.

Oh.

I grabbed his index finger in mine, and brought it to her hand that she had taken out of the blanket.

Slowly, making sure he wasn't too opposed to it, I let his finger rest on her hand. She then unwound her tightly clenched fist, and his finger fell onto her palm. She quickly wound her fist around his hand again, and I smiled.

That is the cutest thing ever.

"Well this is an improvement," laughed Oscar, and I looked at him, tilting my head in question.

"Adler didn't even touch Rowan until he was like 7 months old. And he held him for the first time when he turned one," Oscar explained, and Selina chuckled.

I looked at him, smiling softly, as he stared down at Lucia, his lips parted slightly. She let out a little whine, moving around, and his eyes darted to me, looking alarmed.

"She's okay," I told him, reassuringly, and he looked back down to her, albeit more cautiously now.

Rowan finally walked back into the room, pausing when he saw me holding the baby. I smiled invitingly at him, and he walked over slowly.

"I think it's time for me to sit in your lap now Faye," he said, in a 'duh' tone.

I tried holding my giggle back, and Selina moved forwards to take Lucia away from me, also hiding a smile.

I felt Aresius tense slightly beside me, as he watched Rowan carefully. Rowan climbed onto my lap, and I leaned back, hitting the back of the sofa. I ruffled his hair, and he squirmed around slightly.

"Gentle, Rowan," Aresius muttered, darkly.

Rowan looked at me with big eyes, scared that he had hurt me, and I smiled at him, "You're okay Row Boat, don't listen to this grump," I made a funny face at him and he giggled.

"Row, do you want to give Alette what you brought for her?" Selina reminded him. His eyes enlarged comically, and he bounded off my lap.

He shyly brought me a little sheet of paper; handing the paper to me, he mumbled, "I made this for you."

The paper had a drawing of three stick figures, and big cat. I almost laughed at how big the cat was compared to the people in the picture. On top of each person, he had written their names, in very choppy writing: 'Row,' 'Fay,' and 'Uncle.' On top of the cat, which I presumed to be Grasso, he had simply written 'Cat.' He had drawn a big sun, and some flowers as well. The page was covered in truck stickers and pink glitter.

It was the most adorable thing I had ever seen.

"Did you make this Row?" I asked him softly, smiling.

"Mhm," he nodded proudly.

"This is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen! You're such a little artist," I cooed at him.

He grinned, abashed at my compliments, and jumped back into my lap to explain everything he had drawn. I listened intently, and saw Oscar stand up out of the corner of my eye.

"We should head to your office, I have some things to discuss with you," he said gravely, then muttered, "Let's leave before you fight my son."

Aresius got up, looking at me, and I smiled at him quickly, letting him know I was okay.

The two walked away, and Rowan jumped off my lap, running after Grasso, who had just come out of hiding.

"How are you feeling Faye," Selina asked gently, rocking Lucia in her arms.

I hesitated, "I-I'm okay. I've g-gotten better b-but its still...hard."

She nodded solemnly, "I can't even imagine. If you ever need a friend, let me know okay? We can talk, we can hangout, whatever you want." She smiled brightly at me, and I slowly smiled back.

We made some small talk, mainly talking about the baby; Selina said I could come and hang out with the baby and Rowan whenever I wanted to. Rowan came in and out of the room when he got bored playing with Grasso, and about an hour later, Oscar and Ares came back into the room.

"We should get going now, Lucia and Rowan both need to go down for a nap, and I'm sure mama is exhausted as well," Oscar said, giving Selina a quick kiss.

Selina agreed, and they packed up, making their way out the front door. Selina gave me her number and told me to text her or call her whenever I wanted to hangout, or even just talk. She promised me she would send me pictures of the baby and Rowan too.

Excited about that!

They said their goodbyes, and Reece shut the door behind them as they left, leaving the two of us alone. That thought made my nerves come back full force.

Did we really just kiss a little while ago?

Like really really?

Like Aresius, kissed me?

I started off into the distance, lost in my thoughts, till he cleared his throat, "Alette?"

"Hm?" I directed my attention towards him, my cheeks tinged pink.

"Good?" he asked, scanning my face once again.

I nodded quickly, "That was so fun, thank you for inviting them o-o-ver," I yawned as I finished my sentence.

He immediately straightened up, looking more alert, "Lunch, then you need to get some rest. I shouldn't have let you use so much energy, you're going to b-"

He looked as though he was talking to himself by the end of his statement, so I grabbed his arm, effectively cutting him off. I brought his fingers up to my lips, having the strangest urge to kiss them. So I did.

"I'm okay," I told him softly. Reassuringly.

I hated to see him so worried. Especially over me.

He nodded once, cupping my face and kissing the top of my head, just barely brushing it. I pouted when he pulled back and walked into the kitchen.

I wanted more.

My face red at my own thoughts, I patted my cheeks, breathing deeply. I scurried into the kitchen after him, where he stood in front of the fridge.

When he heard me come in, he turned around, "Sit," he said, "Please," he added quickly, rushing the word out.

I giggled and sat on the chair, as he put the strawberries in front of me.

"Eat, I'm making you lunch."

I just nodded, not being able to think coherently anymore because the strawberries reminded me of what had happened the last time I was eating them.

Why could I not get it out of my head?

Why did I want to do it again?

Would it be bad if I asked him?

Yeah duh, he would think you're weird.

I nibbled on the berries, lost in thought, until he finally placed a bowl of noodle soup, and some bread in front of me.

"Thank you," I mumbled, giving him a shy smile. He made a move to get away, but grabbed his hand, and he automatically stopped, dropping down into the seat beside me.

As I was about to reach for my spoon, he beat me to it, and filled up a spoonful of the warm broth, blowing on it lightly. I turned red as he brought it up to my lips; I opened my mouth and ate the spoonful. He fed me until I couldn't eat any more, and I saw a glint of satisfaction as I held my filled stomach.

He placed the dishes in the sink, handed me my second pill, and I washed it down with a glass of water, cringing as I did so.

Placing the glass in the sink, he turned towards me, "May I?" he asked, and I assumed he was talking about picking me up so I shyly nodded at him. With evident delight on his face, he picked me up, and my legs wrapped around his waist. I blushed at our position, feeling more fatigued after the meal.

I laid my head on his shoulder as he walked to the living room. He set me down on the large sofa, and I looked up at him.

"You can sleep upstairs on the bed but..." he exhaled, looking uncomfortable, "My office is down here, and I'm going to be working so I would prefer it if you were..."

I grabbed his hand, understanding what he meant.

Because I felt the same.

I wanted to be as close to him as I could.

"I want to be here," I told him, my voice unwavering.

He relaxed, and nodded, the tiniest hint of a smile on lips.

He laid me down, moved the pillows aside, and put a blanket over me.

"Rest now, angel."

His deep voice sent a shiver up my spine, but as he turned away, I grabbed his arm again. He turned back around, alarmed, "What's wrong? Are you hurt? Did I do so-"

I sat up, onto my knees on the sofa, and without thinking about anything else, I pulled him closer to me.

His face was inches away from mine, when I finally realized what I was doing, but he put his large, rough hand on the small of my back, not letting me move away.

"Kiss me, baby," he said gruffly.

And so I did.

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