#One and One make Two-Two And One Make Three|Luka-Maria-Beth

[brooklynislandgirl]

“She were plannin’ i’. Oi’ were just doin’ ta adultin’ bits.” What Da means to say is…HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BETH!

~*~

There was a gorgeous breakfast in bed, which makes her smile though she’s forced to laugh to herself because...that’s slick. Getting up before the little girl does so she doesn’t see him coming out of Beth’s room. They’re getting better at this, but it’s harder to do at his place. She’s never had croissant French toast and it’s absolutely delicious as are the oranges and the fresh-squeezed juice. Coffee is lifeblood of the gods. “Mahalo, Minao. Dis is beautiful, an’ is tasty.” She offers Maria a bit of the toast and then they do orange-slice grins at Luka, whose fingers get batted away by his women. And while she would much rather lounge in bed for most of the day, catching up on peace and quiet and all the sleep she’s been lacking the rest of the time, Maria’s excitement and Luka’s bemusement don’t make that a possibility. Something she’s learning about having a child.  The thought strikes her after she’s kicked them both out so she can get dressed, and for a moment, it sticks in her throat. No one really knows that they aren’t just close friends, not their work partners, not their family, not even Maria. No one knows that they are dating, that they’ve started sleeping together, not...a lot of things, but every day that passes, the more she grows possessive and protective of the two O’Rians in the other room. She makes it as far as the living room when she sees the balloons, and then the cake ~she really does love raspberries, and the matching flavoured cake-pops. Maria is more excited about the extensive coloured pencils than anything else and it’s while she’s drawing with the little girl that Luka slips the necklace around her neck, and it slides down into her shirt to rest against her heart. She smiles. They end up with a sketch of the three of them, suitable for framing, because they don’t have pictures. They never do.

The day is quiet, perfect. A walk along the Battery, a lunch a local cafe while Maria plays in the children’s water spouts with the other kids. It’s just...nice. Maybe a little too much, all things considered, and it makes Beth wonder for the thousandth time what will happen when this is over, because it can’t last. By the time they get home, Beth is planning what to order for dinner, and maybe stealing a slice of cake before it arrives when she’s told that’s going to have to wait. That they need to take a nap ~Maria does, anyway~ because there’s one last gift.

She were plannin’ i’. Oi’ were just doin’ ta adultin’ bits. What Da means to say is…HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BETH!

Turns out that the last surprise is a drive in movie. That somehow a pick-up was borrowed and the back kitted out with the biggest air mattress, pillows and blankets, a picnic basket and everything else needed for the perfect movie at the Skyline. Which Beth knows for a fact they have subtitles for the hearing impaired. And just when she doesn’t think she can be any more overwhelmed with joy and love and gratitude, they tell her what they’re seeing.

...Jaws.

[whosxafraid]

Meme: OTP Parents Status: Open to past, current and plotted rom!ships only URL: @brooklynislandgirl​

who’s the one to wake up the kids:

That purely depends on the day.  Too often though it’s Luka just coming in from an extra shift. Rousing the little girl and calling her out of bed, while he grabs a fresh cup of coffee from the maker that Beth--saint that she is--set the timer on. Three cups later and he’s stumbling through helping to get her shoes on and her down the stairs. Hiding the exhaustion as he walks Maria to school, the walk back perhaps not quite so brisk. On the days he can’t be super dad Beth steps in the gap. Where mornings are a little less rushed because Beth is better at time management.

who makes the breakfast:

That depends on where the little girl is at breakfast. If she’s at home, its cereal and milk more often than not because da just doesn’t have the energy to cook and do dishes. When staying with her uncles, most of the time its Uncle Anrai’s very famous chocolate flat cakes and Uncle Doyle’s spicy potatoes. But perhaps her favorite is when she’s staying with Beth. Because Beth has a contact in the pastry world and that means donuts and pasties on the mornings they’ve time to stop by the café.

who’s the one to cry for everything:

Neither. Luka nor Beth are a crier and neither is Maria. No is no and while she might clam up and shut down--she’s never thrown a tantrum for something materialistic. 

who’s the more discipline parent and who’s the more lenient one:

Luka hands down is the stricter of the two. More likely to correct Maria over small things and ground her over larger ones. Beth on the other hand while hardly spineless when it comes to the little girl, is far more lenient. And may let certain things slide that Luka would not.

who helps with the science fair:

Beth. She is the one that went to school to be a doctor after all. She’s got the brains and the know how. And Luka while not stupid doesn’t discourage Beth from proverbially taking over the Science Fair project. Mostly because he knows Maria will have far better chances of passing with flying colors with Beth’s help than his own.

who does baby talk:

Neither. Beth came into Maria’s life far too late for it to even be a factor and Luka  was given explicit instructions even before Maria was born not to baby talk her. Was told that it was impede her intellectual growth and so he did not do it, and never did.

who wakes up for midnight feedings:

Maria is far too old now for such a thing to be a requirement, however there are nights that the little girl suffers from night terrors. PTSD triggered nightmares. And when Luka is home he takes the lead on comforting her. But when he is not, Beth steps up to the proverbial plate. Helping Maria anyway she can because that is what you do when someone you care about has been irreversibly traumatized. 

who’s the one who always worries:

Luka. Luka worries about Maria every second of every day. Even when he’s not thinking about her specifically he’s worrying. His actions led to his wife’s death and almost Maria’s. Everything he does now he does with Maria in mind. Putting himself second, often third or fourth in some cases. Maria comes first and with that comes the constant concern for her well being. Even when there’s no real cause too worry, he worries.

Beth on the other hand has a far more healthy dose of concern. She worries for Maria’s wellbeing, for Maria as a child that’s been through something she never should have had too, for Maria as a person--but not at such an extreme measure. T

who picks up the kids early from school for some fun:

Beth. Beth is definitely the more ‘fun’ of the two. She’s far more likely to surprise Maria with random half school days. Taking her for ice cream or that trip to the aquarium she’s been promising they’d go on. And sometimes just window shopping. Having a girls afternoon doing things that just isn’t quite the same were Luka to take her.

who’s the competitive parent:

I don’t know what this means. Sorry for the lack of response.

who kisses the ouches:

Both. Ouches don’t have a schedule. THey just happen. But when they happen whichever is closest and able provides all the support needed. Sometimes both do. Because that’s what a team is. You take care of each other and work together for mutually beneficial outcomes.

who’s the sucker for the puppy eyes:

Neither really. Both are usually quite immune to Maria’s ‘puppy eyes’. Luka out of exposure and Beth because she knows how to use her own wilds enough to know when wilds are being used on her. Occasionally though the ‘look’ does get the little girl what she wants. Enough that she continues to use it whenever she really really REALLY wants something.

who makes the “dad jokes”:

The rare times they are made, it is Luka making them. Though they are very rare and far in between. 

who embarrassed their kid for fun:

Luka nor Beth purposefully embarrass Maria though it still happens now and again.

who’s the over protective one:

Luka though Beth is a very close second. Luka has managed to keep his daughter a secret from all of his co-workers. Even his partner. The only one that knows Maria is his Captain. He does not want a repeat and trusts his colleagues only as far as he could lift each one and throw them. But that’s what happens when your wife gets murdered on account of someone in your old job being a snitch. Beth is a close second because while it was utterly unplanned for her to discover Luka’s best kept secret...she has kept said secret. Because she understand the logic behind it, and why it is so very important to Luka.

who’s the “take a sweater!” parent:

Both. Though Beth is more inclined to verbally remind verses simply handing the little girl said sweater with the ‘if you want to exit the door put on your sweater’ expression in toe.

[whosxafraid]

{cop} Tossing an object at a wall repeatedly.

Meme: Non-Verbal Venting StartersStatus: Closed

One. Two.Three.

One. Two. Three.

One. Two. Three.

He’s not even sure when he started the droning rotation of tossing the-never-meant-to-be-manhandled-like-this stress ball from floor to wall and back again but he’s been here...ten hours now. And per the clock that’s pushing eleven. Luc said his nurse buddy would put a rush on it. And there’s a part of Luka that cringes thinking about how long things not on rush took to complete.

He sighs.

One. Two. Three.

He should have seen it.

One. Two. Three.

He should have handled it differently.

One. Two. Three.

But when shit happens...it all goes by in five second bursts. You react and scramble. And one way or another he’d ended up on the floor of that squat house. Rolling around in god himself only knew what. And the next thing he knows? He’s coming up with a needle in his shoulder. House cuffing the asshole, only to freak out the next second because...

        Eeeee Hala! Homes, hold sti---

          “Dunna touch i’ ye shoi’te...! Call o��bus...”

One. Two. Three.

Now here he sits...eleven hours later. Not knowing if there’s something in him already fucking him over. Already going to alter his life inexplicably. Alter Maria’s. Possibly make her suffer the loss of yet another parent. The ball picks up speed. Striking the floor and then wall and back again harder than before.

One. Two. Three.

He should have called Beth to pick Maria up from school but...Anrai’s phone number had come up first. He knows he needs to text her. Tell her what’s up. Hopefully Toussaint hasn’t spilled it yet but knowing Luc....

One. Two. Three.

One. Two. Three.

One. Two. Three.

            Lua?

The ball stops dead in his hand. Green shut away from the world, the slow come and go of his tongue over his lips. Speak of the devil and...there’s a sigh. The ball changing from returning projectile to being futzed with between his fingers. A breath’s length more before he’s looking up at her. A small twitching smile. His voice much smaller than himself because he knows. He knows he’s been caught and now he’s got to deal with the fallout.

          “Hey, lass.”