"You guys didn't have to drive me to the airport," I said, grunting as I pulled my heavy duffel bag out of the back of Fred's truck.

"It's like I'm sending my son away. Of course we had to drive you."

I smiled over at Fred, looking at Henry and Josie. "I'm gonna miss you guys."

"We're gonna miss you, too," Josie sweetly said, a sad smile on her face.

"Hey, just think about it, kid," I said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, "I'll be back in no time."

"You say that every time," she said, looking up at me, "and we don't see you for a year."

I rubbed her arm, looking over at Lex. She smiled a soft smile and nodded towards the airport. "Let's get you inside. Fred, why did we choose Chicago over a tropical destination?"

"I wonder every day," Fred said, "come on, champ."

The five of us walked inside the airport, and I felt this feeling of emptiness.

I was, generally, a lonely guy. I didn't really spend time with family, I didn't even go out and live the crazy life everyone assumed I lived. My life consisted of work and going back to my apartment to sleep.

It felt nice — coming home to a family every day. Spending time with people I loved.

I cleared my throat, stopping in my tracks. "Not that she even wanted to hear it from me, but I didn't get to say goodbye to Cecilia. Or Lily."

Josie looked up at me, biting down on her lip.

"Tell them I said bye, okay?" I said, nodding.

Henry nodded, patting my back. "Yeah, man."

"And I promise you guys," I said, toggling my gaze between the twins, "I'm not gonna be gone for another year. Swear."

"Pinkie," Josie said, holding out her hand.

I smiled and hooked my pinkie around hers, pulling her into me for a hug. "Stop growing up."

"You first," she said.

I pulled away from her and wrapped an arm around Henry's shoulders, patting his back. "You be good, okay? Keep on keeping Hero in line. Make sure he cuts down on the broken bones this year."

Henry smiled. "Got it, boss."

I wrapped my arms around Lex's neck, rubbing her back. "Take it easy on Fred, okay?"

She nodded, gently rubbing my shoulders. "We'll miss you and your chaos."

I smiled, walking over to Fred. "Love you, man. Thank you for the place to stay."

"Anytime," he said, "you're welcome back whenever. Show up at the door at two A.M., if you want."

"Don't tempt him," Lex said, shooting me a smile as I pulled away from Fred.

"Milo!"

I turned around when I heard my name being called, searching around for a familiar face, but not seeing anyone.

"I'm sure someone's looking for some other Milo," I chuckled out, earning a smile from Josie.

"No," she said, shaking her head, "she's looking for you."

I knitted my eyebrows together and turned back around, seeing Cecilia running through the crowd of people.

"How'd I know you'd do something like this?" Henry asked.

"Twintuition," Josie confidently answered, a proud smile on her face.

Cecilia stopped in front of me, blowing a strand of hair away from her face. "Hey."

She breathlessly rested her hands on her hips, looking up at me.

"Hi," I said, smiling down at her.

She knitted her eyebrows together, shaking her head. "You just keep disappointing me, Mi."

I bit down on my lip, shaking my head. "I-I don't know-"

"You thought you were going to get to leave without saying goodbye?" She asked.

"I didn't think you were interested in hearing a goodbye from me," I said, shaking my head.

She eliminated the space between us, looking up at me. "I was."

She pressed her lips against mine, pulling me close. I dropped my duffel bag, resting a hand on her back as I moved my lips against hers.

She pulled away from me, looking up at me. "Maybe you shouldn't leave."

"I'll quit my job right now-"

She laughed, her eyes sparkling as she looked up at me.

"I-I know Fred and Jo could use me here," I said, "swear to God, Cecilia. Don't be fucking with me."

She grabbed my hands, looking down at them. "I'm not."

~*~

"Got it?" Dad cautiously asked, grunting as he grabbed the heavier of the two boxes that were left.

"Mm hmm," I said, but honestly, I was struggling. Fran, time to go work on your upper body strength.

"Here, let me get that, baby," Brian said, running outside.

I giggled and looked up at him. "Was it that obvious I was struggling?"

He smiled down at me. "Looked like you had it to me."

We walked inside his uncle's house, and my smile slowly faded. I was glad Brian was somewhere he felt safe, but sad it wasn't still with us.

"Alright, my boy's all moved in," his uncle said, gripping Brian's shoulders as he chuckled.

Brian smiled, placing the last box on the table. "Yep."

Dad rested his hands on his hips, looking around the house. It was cute — small, a little messy, but what could you really expect from a man that lived on his own?

"So, you, uh, you and Brian work together?" Dad asked, and I could tell he was sizing his uncle up. Dad had formed a protectiveness over Brian.

"We used to, yes sir," his uncle said, "I work at a different garage now. A little bigger."

Dad nodded. "Brian's talented. Fixed my car right up for me when I needed it."

"Yeah, my boy's got mechanic written all over him. Following in his uncle's footsteps."

Brian clenched his jaw and forced a smile, looking over at him.

"Brian's also skilled in other things," Dad said, nodding, "he's smart. Got a big future ahead of him."

"Yeah, if you believe in wasting your money on college, and shit," his uncle said, making me bite down on my bottom lip. I knew that would rub Dad the wrong way.

Brian grabbed one of the boxes, shooting his uncle a warning glare before walking away. "Well, I do believe in college."

"And I support that, my man."

The three of us stood in a rather awkward silence until his uncle piped up, throwing his arms around Dad. "Thanks so much for keeping him safe. My sister, man, she fell from the wrong branch of the tree. I guess."

Dad looked down at him, a confused look on his face. "U-uh, yeah. You're welcome. He's always welcome in our home."

"Oh, God, are you not a hugger?" He asked, "shit, I'm sorry. See, I'm a big hugger, and I sometimes forget to ask people if they are, too. My bad."

Dad let out a breath, nodding. "You're, uh, totally fine."

"And you," his uncle said, smiling over at me, "you're a keeper. If Brian even thinks about letting you go-"

"Which I will not," Brian said, gripping his hips as he walked back into the living room.

"I will personally knock some sense into him."

Dad's eyes were saying everything his mouth wasn't right now — I could see the if you lay a hand on him, I'll kill you myself look from a mile away.

"Thank you guys so much for helping me get my stuff," Brian said, wrapping an arm around Dad's shoulders.

"Of course, son," he said, patting his back.

I smiled up at Brian and wrapped my arms around his neck, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "I love you."

"I love you," he said, smiling down at me.

"Alright," Dad said, "Brian, call if you need anything. You know you're always welcome."

"Yes, sir," he said, shooting me a wink before Dad and I walked out.

I let out a sigh, uncomfortably getting in Dad's truck.

"What's wrong?" Dad asked, looking over at me.

"I don't want him anywhere but with us," I said.

"Stage five clinger, huh?"

"Stage five worried about my boyfriend and the family he comes from," I said, looking out my window.

"I know," Dad said, "I mean, the uncle seems much better off than the mom. From what I've heard."

"For sure," I said, nodding, "I'm sure he's a great guy. I just feel better when Brian's close, you know?"

"Young love'll do it to you."

"Did you want Mom around all the time when you guys started dating?"

"Well, Mom and I were older when we met," he said, "but yes. We were together all the time if possible."

"What was Mom like when you met her?"

He smiled a warm smile over at me. "She was just like you."

"Yeah?" I asked, smiling a big smile.

"Yep," he said, nodding, "she looked just like you, talked just like you, was caring just like you. Every time I look at you, I see her."

"And every time you look at Hero, you see yourself," I said, looking over at him.

He nodded. "For better or for worse."

I smiled. "You're a good man, Dad. I don't know why you act like Hero being like you is such a terrible thing."

He shrugged, shaking his head. "It's stuff you don't understand."

"I hate when you say that," I said, leaning my head back against the headrest as I looked over at him.

"It's stuff you absolutely have the potential to understand," he said, nodding, "but you can't, because I won't speak on it."

I sighed, nodding. "Okay."

He smiled over at me. "What do you think everyone will want to eat? I know your mom's tired of cooking."

"I know what I would like to eat, and that's Hibachi."

"Mm," he said, nodding, "takeout from Red Box?"

"You know me so well," I said, smiling over at him.

~*~

"Can you, like, have an ounce of patience?"

"Not something you say to a pregnant woman," Amelia deadpanned, looking over at me.

I chuckled, my eyes meeting hers. "I promise, we're, like, two seconds away."

I searched around for an empty parking space in the middle of downtown Chicago — also known as the most difficult mission known to man.

"Ha," I said, swerving into the nearest spot that someone had coincidentally just pulled out of.

"Your parking technique is always so concerning," Amelia said, looking over at me.

I winked at her and opened my door, rushing around to her side. I opened her door and held out my hand, helping her out of my car. I reached in the backseat and grabbed our bag, shooting her a smile.

"You ready?"

"I'm really not sure, Hero," she said, and I could hear the concern in her voice.

I grabbed her hand and led her to the yoga studio that I'd luckily scored a parking spot only a few feet from, and opened the door.

"Surprise," I said, "one of those birthing class things."

She looked over at me, lifting an eyebrow. "A birthing class?"

"Well, you know, those things that pregnant women go to," I said, nodding, "to help prepare for the baby, and shit."

She cracked a smile, and I could see genuineness behind that smile.

I could tell she wanted to say something, but instead, she laughed and shook her head. "I, um, okay. Let's do it."

I smiled, grabbing her hand as I led her into the space filled with only a few women and their husbands thus far.

I searched for the instructor, shooting her a smile when I saw her. "Hi, can we just park it anywhere?"

"Sure," the instructor said, "I'm Marge, by the way. I'll be your instructor."

"Awesome," I said, "I'm Hero, and this is Amelia."

Amelia smiled, laying out our yoga mats next to one of the couples, who seemed to know exactly what they were doing.

"Are we okay here?" Amelia softly asked, looking down at the couple.

The wife looked up at her, lifting an eyebrow. "Sure."

Amelia and I both sat down, making me grin and cross my legs. "I'm excited."

She laughed, her eyes meeting mine.

"How old are you guys?"

I looked over at the pair, my eyes landing on the wife. "Oh, we're seventeen."

Her eyes went round. "Wow. Seventeen? Geez, a kid's a huge responsibility no matter the age. But for sure at seventeen."

"I'm sure they've got it all figured out," the husband kindly said, "we weren't much older, you know."

"Still," she said, "I wish someone would've told me."

Amelia let out a sigh, her eyes meeting mine as she bit down on her lip. "Everyone does that."

"Well," I said, scooting towards her, "like he said. We've got it figured out. For the time being, of course."

I shot her a wink and she tilted her head over. "Do you think we're making a mistake?"

"What?" I asked.

"Keeping the baby," she said, shaking her head, "I mean, everyone is trying to scare us at this point. What if they're all right, Hero?"

I sighed and scooted closer to her, my eyes staring deep into hers. "Amelia, everyone's going to have something to say about what we're doing. There's no such thing as pleasing everyone or doing the right thing for everyone."

She shook her head, biting down on her lip. "I just don't want to make the wrong decision."

I grabbed both of her hands, looking down at them. "We've got this, Amelia. I promise."

Her eyes met mine and I pressed a chaste kiss to the back of one of her hands. "Best co-parents around?"

She nodded, smiling a soft smile. "F-for sure. Best co-parents around."

I matched her smile, wriggling my eyebrows. "Let's learn how to manage this baby."

"Let's do it."

~*~

"So what happened?" I asked, laughing as I dipped a strawberry in my chocolate and looked up at Brian.

He grunted and sat down on the floor, wiping off his hands. "Uncle J threw me a welcoming party."

I smiled. "You should've stayed."

"Fran, if you saw the people he invited over, you would have been very supportive of me leaving."

I propped myself up on my elbows, looking over at him. "Be honest, is Uncle J's place actually a decent environment for you?"

He avoided eye contact for a second, but then shot me a glance. "I-it's fine. It's good enough, and it's really my last resort."

"Brian, you can stay here," I said, shaking my head.

"No, Fran," he said, shaking his head, "I can't."

"Why not?"

"We've been over this," he said, "and I don't feel like having that conversation again, frankly."

I let out a sigh, looking away from him. "Okay."

"I love it here, but it's just not right. Not when you're my girlfriend."

"Brian, nothing changed," I said, looking back over at him.

"It did for me," he said, nodding.

"What does that mean?"

"Being around you all the time," he said, "I loved it, but it got difficult. At the end of the day, I'm still a teenage boy. And you're still a teenage girl. That I'm attracted to."

"That's why you left?" I asked, knitting my eyebrows together.

"That's not the only reason-"

"Brian, if that is the reason you left-"

"You didn't let me finish, Francesca," he said, looking over at me.

I hadn't heard Brian be firm many times in the span of time that we'd known each other, but it was kind of welcomed.

"That wasn't the only reason," he said, "it just doesn't feel right to me. Having everything handed to me. In my eyes, I'm grown. I don't need to have everything handed to me. And that's what it felt like here."

"Brian, it's normal for seventeen year old kids to have rent covered by a guardian," I deadpanned.

"Normal to you. Normal is subjective."

I looked over at him, sighing.

"You grew up in bubble wrap, Fran. And I'm glad you did. I'm glad that's hopefully going to be the case for Charlie and Thomas. But what's normal to you is not normal to me."

"Okay, you made your point," I said, "you're not coming back."

He looked over at me. "I'm not gone, Fran."

"Yes, you are," I said, "I don't get to walk out to the pool house and see you anytime I want anymore. That's gone to me."

"Well, I'm here right now," he softly said, "is that good enough for you?"

I looked over at him, eliminating the space between us. I wrapped my arms around his neck, sighing into my skin.

He wrapped his arms around me and pressed a soft kiss to my neck, making goosebumps rise. I pulled away from him, my eyes meeting his before I pressed my lips against his.

Something about this kiss was far more needy than any other kids we'd ever shared, and the Fran that existed before Brian Baker would've freaked out and pulled away as soon as possible.

I wasn't that Fran anymore, though.

I gripped his face, climbing into his lap. I moved my lips against his, trailing my hands down his muscular arms.

"Fran," he whispered against my lips, his hands resting on my hips.

"I-is this okay?" I asked, pulling away from him.

He nodded, gently biting down on his lip. "Y-yeah. Yeah, it's okay for me. Are you good?"

I nodded, biting down on my lip. I stood up from the floor and held my hand out to him, helping him stand. I led him to my bed, sitting down on the edge as I looked up at him.

"Fran," he said, looking down at me.

"We don't have to," I softly said, "I just thought I was ready to at least try."

He nodded, fingering the material of my sweater. "Yeah."

"Do you want to?" I asked, looking up at him.

He nodded, his eyes meeting mine as I stood up.

I bit down on my lip and pulled my sweater over my head, revealing my less-than-impressive plain white t-shirt bra. You really should've thought that through.

He didn't seem to mind though, as his eyes darted down to my chest immediately. I smiled a soft smile, wrapping my arms around his neck. "Hi."

"H-hi," he said, smiling as he finally looked back into my eyes.

I pressed my lips against his, and felt his hands resting on the waistband of my leggings. I pulled away from him and he quickly pulled his hands away, shaking his head.

"W-was that too much?"

"No," I said, shaking my head, "no, not at all."

He slowly knelt down and pulled my leggings down, revealing my underwear that were much cuter than my bra. I stepped out of my leggings and looked down at him, watching his hands softly trail up my legs.

He stood upright and rested his hand on my hip, his eyes locked on mine. I wrapped my arms around his neck and he boosted me up into his arms, making me giggle and rest my face in his neck.

He placed me in my spot in my bed, smiling down at me as he hovered above me. "Hey."

"Hey," I said.

I didn't feel nervous — it felt so right with Brian that I didn't even have the opportunity to feel nervous.

"I'm going to, uh, take my clothes off," he said, nodding.

"Yeah," I said, "let me help you."

I pulled his shirt over his head, throwing it beside my bed. I didn't even bother with his belt, considering I probably would have screwed it up somehow.

He sat upright and unbuckled his belt, pulling it out of the belt loops and throwing it next to the bed with his shirt. I unbuttoned his jeans and smiled up at him, giggling as he discarded them as well.

"I'll bet you don't have a condom," he said.

"Um, yeah, you're right," I said, "but I know where to find them."