Playing with fire.

Now's your chance.

Ruby had been more than a little hesitant about coming here. She hadn't told anyone where she was going, Caleb had left early to get some flying in with Archer before his owl retired for the night and Ezekiel had left for a very early shift at the Ministry. It had meant that the only person in her way, who could potentially ask questions and get suspicious was Hazel. Ruby had been quick to tell her that she was only going out for a walk with the twins, she was tired of being so cooped up with them and she wanted some fresh air. It wasn't a complete lie, but it wasn't the complete truth either but her best friend didn't need to know that.

When the twins had arrived, Ruby had never felt happier, but that happiness was tinged with some sadness, an almost bittersweet feeling. She'd had Hazel and Caleb there during the birth and she'd even had Ezekiel up until the time came to push, but the one person that should be there with her, hadn't and that had upset her. It had been a constant battle for her, for the past six days to come up with a decision, but she eventually had decided that even though her ex-husband had told her point blank that he wanted nothing to do with his daughters. She knew people said a lot of things in anger and Walker was no different. Their divorce had been messy, a lot of arguments, wild accusations and insults. But neither had been completely innocent in their side, they both had lacked communication and has Ruby had now learnt, communication was key. She had asked Zeke to owl Walker when she's gone into labour and then when the twins had been born, it had been a vain attempt at trying to convince her to be with them, but he'd not responded and that had hurt Ruby and infuriated her loved ones. The witch was stubborn though and she wasn't going to go down without a fight.

She wasn't sure how Walker would react to her arrival at his workplace, but the way Ruby looked at it; if they met in public it would minimise trouble and arguments. As the redhead walked down the street towards the building, smiling and cooing over her daughters. Iris was sound asleep with her thumb in her mouth but Violet was alert as always and staring up at Ruby with wide-eyed wonder. She wondered if Walker would notice that they had his eyes, she hoped that he would. The hair was hard to miss, it was a perfect mix of theirs, admittedly it was only a few curly strands of auburn hair, but you could still see it clearly enough. Ruby reached into the stroller and ran her knuckle down Violet's cheek tenderly as she backed into the door leading into the youth club and pulled the stroller inside.

The shop area seemed quiet and a sense of dread and nervousness washed over her. What if Walker wasn't here and she'd made this journey for nothing? Maybe she hadn't thought this through, but Ruby had also wanted an excuse to get out of the house with the girls. Admittedly the twins didn't seem to care that they were out in public, but the cool breeze had been welcome on her skin. Ruby walked up to the counter of the shop area and asked about Walker where she was pointed to one of the side rooms. With a small smile and a polite thank you, Ruby pushed the stroller over to where she was directed and glanced through the window. Walker was stood with his back to her and she began to worry her lip. Ruby wasn't sure how long she stood there until she pulled open the door and pushed the stroller in. The witch took a long breath and cleared her throat as the door swung shut behind her. "Hey Walker, are you busy?" Ruby asked softly.

@walker   -  669  -  Outfit

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOXOGRPHY 2.0

playing with fire
_{will we get burner}

There were a million things that Walker wished that he done different in hs life, in the last few months, but there was nothing that he could do to change that now and he was trying to accept that. he was trying to accept that his own faults, his own problems were the root of it all and the thing that caused ever single problem that he had. He was learning a lot more about himself thanks to his father and thanks to the life that he was leading, and to Dani Doctor Kopitar-Higgs. The issues that he had weren’t going to be changed so easily, they weren’t going to go away, they weren’t going to change over night and he had to be strong and handle himself, but it wasn’t that simple. It wasn’t so easy any more. He had ruined it all, and though there were things that he wished that he could take back, he knew that there was no going back.

He was a father, Ruby was now his ex-wife and everything was so wrong. His instinct was to find someone to bury his sorrows in, but it wasn’t doing him any good. He wasn’t going anywhere, he wasn’t going to get anywhere because he didn’t want them. It was a hard place to be in, because he was acknowledging his anger issues, he was acknowledging his problems and finding ways to work on them, but he still couldn’t get over the thing that pissed him off the most. Himself. He was an idiot, he was true and honest idiot and there was nothing that would change it. He couldn’t do what he wanted to, he couldn’t say what he wanted to, and his bruised hands from the punching bags, from the wall, from his trainers face showed that he was truly punishing himself.

Walker had a few weeks still until the pre-season and he still had a lot that he needed to do, a lot that he needed to discuss with Keegan, a lot of mechanics that he needed to figure out, but he was determined to do this. He went through the list of students that he would have for the day and went through the list, making the marks for things that he wanted to work on with them and put the list away. He had a while before his next class so he was hoping to maybe get something to eat, or take a nap or something. He had not been sleeping well since everything had happened. Ever since he had done what he had done.

He slammed the filing cabinet drawer shut as he tried to push it out of his mind. Thinking about it wouldn’t change anything, nothing would change it and felt the tears sting his eyes again as the shame replaced the anger. How could he have been so stupid? He hadn’t even been able to get his head out of his own ass to go see her, to see the babies when they were born. He knew there would be arguments when he did and he was tired of fighting. He didn’t want to argue anymore. She deserved to be happy and all he ever seemed to do was hurt her. How could Walker bring himself to be around those babies when he was only going to do the same thing? Merlin, he needed a drink. Or a nap, or a potion to fix him. or a time turner to go back and change all of this.

He put his hands on the wall and sighed as he felt a tear fall. Gods, damn it. I’m sorry, Ruby. He stood up and was wiping at his face when he heard her voice behind him and turned to look at her, and his chest squeezed, reminding him of what he had lost. He deserved this, he deserved this pain, after all he was the reason they were in this mess to begin with. He ran a hand into his hair before looking to the stroller, before giving her a small smile. ”No, actually. I was about to take a break.” He moved to help get the stroller in the room then shut the door easily behind her.

So many things were going through him in that moment. He wanted to hug her, he wanted to hold her close, to tell her that he was sorry, beg forgiveness; but he did none of those things. Instead he looked into the stroller at his two infant daughters and grinned at them before reaching in to run a finger along the cheek of the one that was sleeping. He stood after a moment before clearing his throat and sat on the edge of his desk. ”What’s up?” he asked, unsure of what to say, or do, but he kept his voice friendly and did his best to keep it together.

Fucking idiot, look at what you lost.

tag: @ruby // words: 827// OUTFIT

template by eliza @ TB THQ

Playing with fire,


try not to get burned.

Ruby was supposed to be smart, she was a Ravenclaw after all but she was also reckless sometimes or arguably stupid. She could be called anything but smart if anyone found out what she was doing today but Ruby knew it was smart. Their divorce may have been messy and they may still argue every time they saw each other but both Ruby and Walker had to face the facts. They’d made two lives together, brought them into this world, she was a mother and he was a father. Ruby had always had a somewhat close relationship with Hasimu, much closer than Zeke did (that wasn’t to say the two male figures in her life weren’t close because they had been) but Ruby had always been a daddy’s girl. His little Princess, the apple of his eye and when he’d been murdered in cold blood that had hit her hard. She’d missed out on so much with him and there was so much he’d never see her do, Hasimu would never walk her down the aisle, or hold his granddaughters. He’d never see her grow up or chase boys away from her. She’d lost all of that in one heartless attack. If she’d had a son before Ezekiel she would have given them her father’s name but as it turned out, Zeke got there first and when he’d told her Lorcan’s full name, she’d burst into tears. She had been worried that Ezekiel would avoid giving his child any information on their grandparents but how wrong she’d been, their father’s name was going to be in Lorcan’s name for the rest of his life and that meant the siblings could always tell all three of the children stories about grandma and granddad Fehu. Sure, Ruby wasn’t particularly close with her mum. The relationship with her mum had deteriorated over time, and she hated to admit it, but it was beyond repair when her mum had also been murdered; of course, she’d been heartbroken, devastated even. But the death of Tia hadn’t hit her quite as hard as her father’s death and that was why she was so desperate for Walker to be in the twin's life, she didn’t have enough time with her dad and she didn’t want it for her daughters.

And then there was Iris, her daughter’s namesake. Losing her sister had been the worst thing in Ruby’s life, she’d always had such an incredible bond with her sister. People saw her with Ezekiel and commented on how close they were, but their closeness was nothing compared to the closeness of Iris and Ruby. The sisters lived for each other, Ruby was always there cheering Iris on or helping her out in all her creative adventures, the murder of her sister at the hands of Phineas Virell was a memory that still haunted her to this day. Ruby still woke up from nightmares, crying out her little sister’s name and then there was always that cruel moment where she was reminded that Iris was never going to respond to her call. Not that Iris anyway. When she’d found out she was pregnant, Ruby had told Walker outright that if they had a daughter she would be called Iris and her ex had agreed, in the short time they’d been together, he’d witnessed a few of Ruby’s night terrors frequently, he’d seen her cry over her sister, he’d even walked in on her looking at old pictures. Luckily for her, he’d agreed, he understood what it meant to Ruby to have a daughter named after her sister and that was something she would forever be grateful for.

Ruby didn’t want to upset herself right now though, she had to enter seeing Walker with a clear mind; it was going to go one of two ways. He was going to be furious with her, tell her to leave and once again reiterate he wanted nothing to do with her or his twins. Or, he could see them and fall in love with them the minute his gaze fell on them, just like she had. Hearing the slamming of fists on metal and the echo from the punch made Ruby flinched and she remained quiet, she didn’t want to spook him or anger him more. That was why she waited until he’d dropped his hands to bring the silence. She bit her lip when he turned to face her and the redhead furrowed her brow when she saw he’d been crying and all anger and fear she felt had melted away. He was punishing himself, of course, he was. That was such a Walker thing to do, and she didn’t want to feel vain, but she had a feeling that it was her fault he was punishing himself but she was here and so were their daughters. Maybe it would be a small step towards him to stop being so angry with himself. People said Ruby was too forgiving and she was, but Walker had just as much right to know their daughters as anyone did, sure Caleb was in their life. He’d been there when they were born and he helped her with them so far, but it was slightly different and she felt Caleb knew that of course, blood didn’t define a relationship with a child or relative, actions did and Caleb was acting like a dad to them in a way, but they weren’t biologically his and no matter how unsure she was, or how much people opposed it. Walker was their biological father and she wasn’t going to neglect him of the chance.

Ruby hesitantly reached up and ran her thumb along Walker’s cheek when he’d helped her with the stroller and flicked the tear away. Following his gaze to the stroller, her heart swelled and she smiled tenderly at her daughters."That’s Iris." She said softly when he stroked the infant's cheek. When he asked her what was up, she shook her head and reached into the stroller, picking up Violet and cradling her in her arms, "There now sweetie, are you wondering who this man is?" She crooned to her daughter as Violet stared at Walker through heavily lidded eyes, she was falling asleep. Finally, but at the most inopportune time, their adventure today must have been too exciting for her. "That’s your daddy." She continued softly, in the same tender croon before she glanced up at Walker through her lashes. "I wanted to give you another chance to see them and be in their life." She said to Walker, her tone surprisingly gentle.

@walker   -  1,097  -  Outfit

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOXOGRPHY 2.0

playing with fire
_{will we get burned?}

When he was younger, before his brother had come along life had been pretty great. Of course, even after Adrian had come along he had been rather spoiled and allowed to do what he wanted to do. Maybe that was a large part of the problem that he had, the deeper seeded issue that when he got old enough his father took the attention that Walker would have been getting and gave it to the younger boy. He had never been neglected persay. His sister had been treated like a queen and Walker and Adrian had been spoiled, but there was something that never quite sat right with Walker. His father changed his mind about Walker being his heir and had started grooming Adrian before Walker had even gotten into Hogwarts. Of course, he was a diplomat, not a bloody king, so he didn’t understand what the man was going on about all the time but maybe that was why the change had come.

he had never been given devoted undivided attention, most of the time they even called him AP instead of his real name, a joke about the story of his birth, and something that always bothered him. It was like he was a placeholder for someone they wished that he was, and nothing was enough. He never let them see it and instead had devoted the first four years of his time at Hogwarts to proving to them that he was worthy of their love and affection, but still, Sophie was better. Still his little sister had that edge that he didn’t. So he had stopped caring. He had stopped trying to be anything that who he was.

He started dating and never really looked back after that first heartbreak. He shut himself down and stopped letting himself feel anything when it came to girls and boys. That was, until Ruby at least. He had fallen for her, and just like the first time his fear and his anger came in a ruined it all. His life could be so much worse, and somehow so much better if he had learned to talk to people about the problems that he had, about what was bothering him, and it was one of the main things that he was working on with Dani. He was learning how to deal with confrontation, rather than walking away from it. it wasn’t easy and it sometimes made him madder than it should, but he was putting in the effort to fix it?

Why? Because of the witch in front of him, and that perfect little baby that she was holding in her arms, and the perfect sister that laid in the stroller. They deserved a better father, and she a better man; but Merlin and Morgana did he wish that it could be him still. He wished he could go back in time and take it back, that he could change the things that happen, that he could beg her to come home. It wouldn’t work though, it wouldn’t bring them any more peace than being apart had thus far. He loved her and he had ruined things, so Walker was going to have to learn to live with the consequences of his actions, even if it felt like it was going to kill him, by doing so.

She picked up a baby and his heart started hippounding when she said that it was Iris. The one they had named after her little sister that had died, which meant the one he had touched, the sleeping one was Violet. he remembered holding his little brother, and he remembered how to do it, so he reached a hand and placed it under his sleepy daughter, before kissing the head of his wife. No, no. His Ex-wife and gently took the baby from her, bouncing softly to hopefully keep her from crying.

”Well, hello the beautiful.” He said in English before repeating it in French and German, like his parents had always done with him. He felt his chin begin to shake as the tears started to form and he sniffed softly. They had his mother’s nose, and that perfect auburn hair that was so reflective of their mothers. ”Daddy’s sorry that he’s such an arse…” he said as he bounced her softly and stood from the desk shifting from one foot from the other. ”I promise that I’m going to do better though, if Mummy is going to let me try, that is.”

He lifted his watery eyes to hers and felt the dam break and looked away as he started sniffing again and used his free hand to wipe away some of the tears that were falling of their own volition. He didn't know what to say to her, or how to even say it. What do you say to someone when you hurt them like he had hurt her? He kicked his lips and then looked down at the baby girl in his arms. ”I'm sorry that I wasn't there, but I have no intention of missing anything else.”

He would be there for every step, for every ballet recital, music recital, father daughter dance, and train to or.from Hogwarts. He didn't want to miss anything, and he refused to be his father.

tag: @ruby // words: 882 // OUTFIT

template by eliza @ TB THQ

Playing with fire,


the flame is flickering.

Ruby had always had that maternal streak, ever since she was young and her parents had brought up Iris. She still remembered fondly how tiny she’d been wrapped up in her pale pink blanket with that teeny little hat. She’d been the most incredible thing that Ruby had ever seen and from that moment she’d helped her parents out as much as she could. Most kids would have complained about the constant screaming but not Ruby, she’d often be the first one to check on her if she was upstairs and she’d stay beside her sister until her parents reached her. After that, when Iris had been two and had a ‘big girl bed’ every morning the toddler would crawl into bed and snuggle up to Ruby until about nine in the morning. She’d continued doing that up until she’d be killed. Except from when she was about four, they’d just lie in bed side by side talking about all sorts of weird and wonderful things. Ruby missed those moments dearly, especially on days when she was feeling particularly upset but she tried not to dwell, she kept forcing herself to smile and act like everything was okay. She had a new chance though, double the chance.

The twins were only eight days old and Ruby had definitely forgotten what sleep was, as soon as one would wake up and she went through the routine of feeding, burping, cleaning and then finally getting them back to sleep, the other one was starting to whine and it was a never-ending cycle. It was hard and Ruby was exhausted but she was enjoying every moment she could. Caleb helped out, so did Ezekiel and Hazel but the witch needed to learn to do it alone. She couldn’t rely on her friends and family for help handling both her daughter’s, sure she and Caleb had discussed their feelings, but she still didn’t want him to do much. He wasn’t their parent, sure he was their godfather but all the godparents should do were spoil their godchild with gifts and affection.

Ruby knew that her brother hated that Walker often lashed out in anger at her, but as she constantly reminded him, all couples shouted and argued; he’d never lay a hand on her in a violent way and so it could have been much worse. Of course, the words cut deep but she tried to hide how much Walker’s remarks hurt her, she had given everything to their relationship and their marriage and then some but it hadn’t been good enough, he’d wanted her all to himself and whilst in some ways it could be argued as flattering, Ruby wasn’t someone who could be controlled, she wasn’t going to stop talking to her ex just because she was married. They were good friends. Admittedly, she had a feeling that Caleb probably would give her the silent treatment if he found out that she’d been to see Walker today, but it came back to the fact she wasn’t to be controlled, it was her decision and in the interest of her two daughters that she at least gave their father a chance. She didn’t want to be one of those mums. Not ever.

The redhead closed her eyes and smiled at the kiss Walker placed on her forehead, it was innocent but she got the message through that action loud and clear, he was proud of her. He was happy to see the girls, he was thankful to see the girls. Ruby took a few small steps closer to Walker, she was still holding Iris close to her but she awkwardly managed to reach over and run her knuckle of Violet’s soft skin. "Everyone deserves a second chance." Ruby said softly, "I knew that if it was still just me and I was pregnant you’d probably continue to be goddamn stubborn, but I don’t want the girls to miss out on knowing you and I don’t want you to miss out on knowing them." Ruby replied, glancing up at him and smiling tenderly as she reached over to him and used her thumb to wipe the tears away. "Then prove it," Ruby said softly, she was a strong believer of actions spoke louder than words, it was all well and good him saying sorry but she wanted him to show that he meant it, to make an effort with his daughters. Of course, she wasn’t just going to drop them on him. It would take time and they’d probably have to spend time together, but she was willing to do that if it meant the girls could have him in their life.

"Why don’t we go for lunch? You said you’re about to go for a break and I’ve not eaten." She suggested, laying Iris in the stroller and fastening her in before glancing at Walker and Violet and stepping back so he could put his daughter by her sister.

@daddy - 8 2 6 - Outfit

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOXOGRPHY 2.0

playing with fire
_{will we get burned}

There were things that he wanted to go back and change, words that he could never take back, things that he had done and said that would forever haunt the woman that had been his wife, and him. He had been a bad husband and he told himself that as he had thrown her out. He would be a terrible father, too much like his own so he had felt no guilt at all, but that changed when he saw the beautiful girls that his wife, no his ex-wife, brought with her to see him. He was a horrible person, even when he tried to think that he wasn't and he wanted to fix that. He didn't want to be like his father, he wanted to be a man that his kids could be proud of, that his wife could love and not hate him for being himself. He wanted to be able to look at himself in the mirror and know that he had done everything that he could to prove to himself, to his wife, to his children, that he was a good man.

Nothing could change the past, nothing could change the people that they were, or that they were going to become, nothing could change who he had been when he had tossed her out on her ear. He was trying to change, trying to grow, and even if she never forgave him for what he had done she was standing there, in front of him, for the kids. For Iris, for Violet and gods that meant something, right? It meant that she loved him. It meant that she was there for him, on some level at least. This was her choice and… that meant a lot. He looked back to the sleeping daughter in his arms and smiled softly at her, rubbing his finger along her small cheek still. She was so small, so perfect, so untainted by the pain that he had put their mother through. He could only imagine what she had gone through when she had had them, and guilt rushed through them. He should have been there, he should have been there holding her hand and telling her that he loved her and that she was beautiful and amazing. He lifted his eyes to those beautiful blue ones as she spoke.

His heart thudded in his chest as he looked at Ruby and she spoke. She wanted him to know the girls, she wanted him to have a chance here, and he could have kissed her at that moment but he stopped himself, instead choosing to give her a small smile and nodding. Even though the kids were still in what he called ‘the potato’ phase they were some of the most beautiful that he had ever seen in his life, and he had seen a lot of babies. ” I don’t want to miss anything in their lives. I want to be there for everything, Ruby. Not because I deserve it, but because they do because you do. Besides, I have to teach them Quidditch, they have a legacy to live up to now.” He chuckled softly, deflecting the awkwardness he was feeling with her so close, knowing that he could not touch her, could not kiss her.

” Sure, there’s a nice little cafe not that far from here that I like to go to. Great chips. “ He put Violet in the stroller beside her sister and reached out to stroke Iris’ cheek before standing and putting a hand on Ruby’s back in the same familiar action that he used to. Stepping to get his beanie and his coat he smiled at her and opened the door so she could push the stroller out of the office.

tag: @ruby // words: 629 // OUTFIT

template by eliza @ TB THQ

[googlefont="Satisfy"][googlefont="Open Sans"]

Playing with fire,

we're going to get burned.

From the moment Ruby had found out she was pregnant, her world no longer revolved around herself and what she wanted, but what she needed and wanted for her twins. Some of her decisions weren’t easy though and they hurt even though she knew they were needed. This decision that she was making right now was perhaps one of the hardest she’d made in a while but she hadn’t too. Walker’s issues were with her, their daughters were innocent in all of this; on top of that, the pair had created them and brought them into this world. They hadn’t asked for it, they hadn’t asked for anything and both Ruby and Walker had to take responsibility for that.

Things between them may never be fixed, Ruby wasn’t expecting it to happen. Hoped and wanted, yes, but Walker had made it very clear about what he thought about her and her friendships. The lack of trust was there and even if Ruby wanted to be able to be in his arms again, she wasn’t going to spend her entire life walking on eggshells around him. She didn’t need to prove anything to him. The redhead had been nothing but loyal to her husband. She knew where the issue lay though, Caleb had never been… subtle about how he felt towards Ruby and she wouldn’t deny that the duo did have a long and complicated history and she had loved him; but when it came to her husband? Her heart had belonged to him and only him and Ruby had made that very clear to Caleb yet somehow it hadn’t been enough for Walker and his insecurities had been their downfall. Admittedly, maybe Ruby shouldn’t have been so at ease around her friend; she knew that she wasn’t perfect or innocent in their divorce but she was trying not to dwell and instead, trying to keep moving forward. One foot forward at a time.

“You deserve as much of a chance as anyone. More even.” Ruby said softly, taking a few small steps closer to him and closing the gap between them, resting her hand on his arm and smiling tenderly. “I don’t deserve anything Walker, but our girls do. They’re innocent in all of this. I want and need you with me there for everything. Their first smile, giggle, steps. They’re your daughters as well as mine and it’s right, they do deserve to have us both in their life.” She paused a little and bit her lip, “I know that we may never be how we used to be, but I want to work on everything we can. I want our girls to have a somewhat normal life, not one where every time they see us together we’re at each other's throats.” She continued, tucking her hair behind her ear. “And I know that’s what you want too.” Ruby let out a laugh at Walker’s next words about teaching the twins to fly, “Of course you do. We can’t have a professional Quidditch player in the family who also teaches young children and not have you teaching ours.” She continued, shooting him a grin and trying her best to ignore the knots that were starting in her stomach.

“Chips sound amazing.” Ruby smiled coyly before squaring her shoulders and tensing slightly at the feel of Walker’s hand on her back, the familiarity of it frightened her but it also felt nice, she felt safe and comfortable and after a few moments she relaxed and began to push the stroller towards the door, smiling up at Walker when he opened the door for her, “Thanks, so where is this place?” She asked, tilting her head.

OUTFIT // 615 // @walker

Becoming a father was not something that he ever expected to do, really. He hadn't even thought about ever getting married. That would require a commitment that he was never sure that he wanted to give anyone his heart like that. He was a selfish bastard at the worst and nothing really prepared him for the way that he fell for Ruby. She was more than he could have hoped for when it came to someone who loved him, but he had mucked it all up now, and there was no taking that back. Walker knew that she would likely never forgive him for the things that he had said and done and he would have to learn to live with that. He would have to live with knowing that the one person in the world that loved him for who he was, would never love him back again. He wasn't sure that he was okay with that.

He had left his guard down when it came to Ruby and seeing the way that she had been with Caleb had cut him to the quick. Caleb loved her and he knew it. He knew that the other man wanted his wife and that he wanted to get between them. At first he had tried to make nice, had invited the man over for dinner and tried to be his friend, but in the end, nothing was going to be good enough when he tried to ask for forgiveness. Nothing would make him feel better about the whole thing, but he would start here. With loving his kids and if Ruby ever let him back into her heart then he would take it. No matter how small.

He wanted to kiss her and hold her close and beg her to love him again, but he knew that would do no good. He had to work on himself and even Dani had admitted to that, but he was trying and would keep trying until he succeeded in getting better. He had to be a better man. For himself, and for everyone else. He had to get his act together and prove to the whole world, not just this woman, that he deserved a chance to make this right. Ruby's words soothed him a little and eased his heart a little. He had to remind himself that this was not the end of everything. That things were not always going to be so hard, and he just had to take them one day at a time. Life would get easier that way.

"I don't deserve your kindness Ruby, but thank you. " he said finally, a small smile on his face as he took in her words and felt some of the weight on his shoulders lifting. He had a chance to prove that he wanted this, that he wanted to be in their lives. "I want them to be able to feel loved, and that they aren't alone in the world. I don't want them to ever feel like I did with my Da." When she grinned at him, he echoed back with one of his own and winked at her before laughing softly.

"It's about a five-minute walk away. Or would you prefer to drive?" He could take their seats out of the stroller and put them in the back of the car easy enough, but it had been a while since they had been in a space that small together for that long.

words: 585