I kept my arm wrapped around Hero's, smiling up at him as we walked through the yard together.

"I figure you had different plans for your birthday," he softly said, looking down at me.

I shook my head. "No."

He abruptly stopped, leaning his head back. He rubbed his eyes with his free hand, clearing his throat.

"Hey, you made it further today than yesterday," I said, "without a break."

"Everything is making me winded," he muttered, bending down. I let go of his arm and watched as he braced his hands on his legs, looking over at me.

"I guess I'd been running on pure adrenaline for a while, huh?" He chuckled, but I could hear the defeat in his voice.

Hero, who once could run miles at a time without even needing to take a breath, was struggling to walk outside.

"Well, you're getting better," I softly said, watching as he stood back upright.

"Hey, look," he said, "Daisy brought you something."

I looked towards the trees and saw Daisy running towards us, making me giggle and squat down. "Hi, sweetie."

Hero smiled the most genuine smile I'd seen him smile in a long time. I sat down on the grass and giggled, looking up at him.

"Did you do this?" I asked, pulling the small gift box off of her collar.

"Yes," he said, "keeping her still enough to put Velcro on her collar and stick that box on was like an Olympic sport."

He sat next to me, bracing his forearms on his knees. "I mean, I obviously couldn't do it, so Dad did. But it was my idea."

I smiled over at him. "Can I open it?"

He nodded, resting his chin on his arms. I opened the box, my lips parting at the beautiful necklace in the box.

"Oh, my goodness," I softly said, "it's so beautiful. Where did you find this?"

He looked up at the sky, squinting as he smiled. "It's a secret."

"Do I even want to know how much of your allowance you saved up to get this?"

"It really wasn't a lot," he chuckled, "I promise."

I looked over at him, smiling. "Thank you so much, Hero."

He nodded, making me gently wrap my arms around his fragile body. He softly rubbed my back, resting the side of his face against my forehead.

"I love it," I said, pulling away from him.

"Want me to put it on you?" He asked.

"Would you?" I asked.

He carefully pushed himself up out of his seated position, kneeling behind me. He clasped the necklace and I smiled down at it, squinting over at him as he sat back down.

"Thank you."

He nodded. "So, what did you want to do today?"

I shrugged, looking over at him. "Is there anything you'll eat from anywhere?"

I mentally forehead-smacked myself, letting out a loud sigh. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't-"

"Don't plan your birthday dinner around me. What do you want?"

I looked over at him. "You to be happy."

"I am happy," he muttered, looking towards the trees.

"Hey," I said, having an idea, "what about that really good Italian place in the city?"

He smiled over at me, nodding. "Yeah. If that's what you want, that sounds good."

"They have those really good breadsticks that you like," I said, "we should go there."

He nodded. "Like I said, if that's what you want."

"Yeah, it is."

We sat in a comfortable silence until another idea popped into my mind, making me angle myself towards him.

"How's it been going with your therapist?"

His eyes met mine. "Fran, it's your birthday. Please stop making it about me."

"I was just curious as to how therapy is going."

"It's going good," he said, "I'm having to make a lot of changes, but it's apparently going to be worth it."

"Do you get to, like, go see the therapist?"

"Yeah, next week."

I nodded, smiling. "Well, that's great."

He pulled me into him for a hug and a quick kiss to my forehead. "Come on. Let's go inside. You've got more gifts waiting."

~*~

"Hey, be careful," I said, "don't catch your f-"

"Fuck," Eros muttered, stepping away from the table after doing exactly as I'd told him not to do.

"Finger," I deadpanned, watching as he frantically shook his hand and sucked in a breath.

"Ah, shit," he said, blowing out a breath, "that hurts like a bitch."

"Pretty boy's not cut out for some good ol' manual labor?"

"Very funny," he said, narrowing his eyes slightly.

I chuckled, shaking my head.

I'd watched Eros grow up, so we didn't have one of those awkward, tension filled boyfriend-of-my-daughter relationships. I'd always considered him one of my own.

"Hey, we haven't really gotten to, you know," I said, placing my hammer down on the table, "talk since you and Jo.."

"Right," he said, chewing on his lip.

"Where the hell did that come from?" I asked, gripping my hips as I looked over at him.

His eyes met mine, his jaw taut. "Well, I've loved her since I could."

"So it was a slow burn type thing."

He cracked a smile. "Sure, if that's what you want to call it."

"Well, you better love her," I said, "and you better love her right."

"I'm trying," he said.

I knew exactly what he was thinking- Josephine was not an easy woman to put up with.

"When Alexis was Jo's age, good heavens," I said, "she was so fiery, had really no filter, a lot like Jo."

Eros's eyes went wide as he nodded. "Yeah, she's had her moments where she's, you know, been difficult."

"Yeah, I know," I said, nodding.

"But I don't know," he said, "I'd rather put up with all of those moments rather than start over with someone new."

I looked over at him, slowly nodding.

"Is that how you feel?" He asked.

"Yes," I said, without hesitation.

"I can't wait until Jo and I have known each other for as long as you and Miss Lex have."

I smiled, remembering just how head over heels I'd been for Alexis when I was Eros's age. No, I wasn't as good at expressing it as he seemed to be, but God knew I felt just the same.

"I really love her," he said.

I turned on my saw, nodding as I slipped my safety glasses on. "Come help me."

He nodded and jogged over to me, holding the other side of the wood steady as I chopped the excess off.

"Have you ever used one of these?" I asked.

He shook his head, rubbing the back of his neck. "I-I really only work on cars."

"Come here," I said, "you do this piece. I swear it's so fun."

He smiled, sliding his safety glasses down on his face. I held the other end steady and watched as he sliced the excess off of his piece, nodding.

"A natural," I said, "except with a hammer. You obviously can't do shit with a hammer without busting your finger to hell and back."

"Yeah, that shit's still tingling," he chuckled, making me laugh.

He looked at me, his laughter dying down.

"I really love her."

"I heard you the first time, son."

"I mean it," he said, "I'm gonna marry her one day."

I clenched my jaw, my eyes locked on his.

"Th-that is if I have your blessing, of course," he stumbled out.

I held out my hand, nodding.

He smiled, firmly grabbing my hand to shake it.

"Emphasis on the one day, though," I said, "yeah, you guys are waiting until you're at least twenty-two."

"You think we can make it through college?" He asked, looking up at me as he grabbed the wood from the ground.

I had a flashback of how everything fell apart for Alexis and I in college, but I wouldn't dare ruin his hope.

"I think you can," I said, "yeah, as long as you trust each other. Stay truthful."

He nodded.

"Where are you planning on?" I asked.

"Hell, I don't know," he said, "my ball record's looking pretty good, so I'm hoping somewhere will notice me during summer camps and stuff."

"I'm sure they will," I said, nodding.

He smiled up at me, and in that instant, I saw a little six year old Eros. The one that barely had any teeth when I met him, the one that had been obsessed with a soccer ball since he could've been.

"You've grown up, kid," I said, nodding as I gripped my hips, "wow."

He nodded, standing upright. "Days drag, but years fly. That's what Mom says."

We stood in silence for a few more seconds before he smiled, patting my shoulder. "Come on, let's get to building this cabin."

I smiled, nodding. "Let's do it."

~*~

"Hey."

Brian turned around, his eyebrows knitted together. He threw his towel over his shoulder, a surprised look replacing the once confused one.

"H-hey," he greeted, "happy birthday."

"Thank you," I said, smiling.

I stepped inside the garage, looking all around as I folded my arms over my chest. "It's cold in here."

"Chicago nights."

I smiled and bit down on my lip, admiring his outfit. The mechanic tee with his name tag, a black tank top beneath, dirty jeans, and boots.

"I-I've never seen you-"

"Yeah," he muttered, "yeah, it's a dirty job."

"I like the outfit," I said, "I-I grew up on the Fast and Furious franchise. Kinda feels like home."

He chuckled, nodding.

"How's your birthday been?" He asked, and I could've felt the genuineness from a mile away.

"It was good," I said, "I just got done eating, so."

"Nice," he said, nodding with a warm smile.

"That's a beautiful car," I blurted, nodding towards the car he'd obviously been under.

"Isn't it?" He asked, grabbing the towel from his shoulder, "I've gotta be extra careful with it. Old rich guy, notices literally everything. And he promised a huge tip."

I smiled. I hadn't really realized just how attractive it was for a guy, my age, to make his own money and not rely on his parents for it.

"How'd you get here?" He asked, his eyebrows knitted together with a smile on his face.

"Uh, Josie drove me," I said, "we all went to dinner together, so, yeah. She offered."

He nodded. "Well, that was nice of her."

"Yeah," I softly said.

"You look beautiful," he said.

"Thank you," I said, "the dress, it's a little out of my comfort zone. I don't really know what to do with my legs and stuff."

He laughed, wiping off his hands with his towel.

"I, um," he began, rubbing the back of his neck, "okay, I promise I'm not weird."

I lifted an eyebrow, cracking a small smile. "Whatever you say."

He smiled and held out his hand, making me grab it. He led me to a door and let go of my hand, opening the door for me.

I stepped inside, laughing. "Is this your office?"

"Ha," he said, "yeah, I wish. Over here."

He walked in front of me, grabbing a box from the ground. He held it out to me, shrugging. "It's not much. I'm sorry. I know you're used to extravagant gifts-"

I ripped open the box, my eyebrows softening up at the contents inside.

"I-I went on my lunch break today," he said, "to the store down the road. I just wanted to grab you some things to bring to school on Monday."

"Brian," I softly said, tilting my head over, "this is really sweet."

I pulled out a teddy bear, laughing as I held it up to my face. He smiled and nodded towards the box, walking over to me. "And there's just stuff scattered."

I laughed and bit down on my lip as I dug through the array of candy and miscellaneous small things, looking up at him. "Thank you."

"Like I said, it's not much at all," he said, laughing, "but, you know."

I placed the box on the ground and wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him into me for a hug. "Thank you, Brian. You didn't have to."

He wrapped his arms around me, resting his chin in my neck. I pulled away from him and our eyes met, and it felt as if the entire world stood still for a split second.

"Kiss me," I said, looking up at him.

He looked down at me, placing his hand on my arm as he leaned in to kiss me. I almost panicked, because I was Fran- I had, really, no clue what I was doing.

But when his lips touched mine, it was like our bodies molded together perfectly. Like I didn't need to know what I was doing, because he obviously knew what he was doing.

He pulled away from me after a blissful few seconds, smiling as he tucked a chunk of hair behind my ear.

"I totally kissed you before the first date. I'm usually very against that."

I giggled, resting my head against his chest. "You totally did."

"So I owe you a date," he said, "to make up for that."

I looked up at him, smiling. "You totally do."

~*~

😳

❤️

❤️