#across the lasagna-verse lol

[goblin-a-gogo]

yeah…. I got nothin’.

[bumblepony]

ficlet challenge!! maybe another post-apocalyptic double date hangout (lol) sometime after this first meeting, or whatever else these gifs inspire for you!! :)

This prompt was from @becomethesun and it got away from me. Originally I had a different idea for this story, and then Ellie bounced in and was like no way are you doing this without me, so here you go.. Story under the cut and cross-posted in AO3.

This story is based in my Growing Up With My Two Dads universe where Bill and Frank raise Ellie after Anna comes to their compound to give birth instead of the farmhouse.

Second Verse Same As The First

"I don't know why it is I always have to be the one making them food." Bill grouses as he flips the steak with a little more force when necessary.

"Well if you don't want to cook for them we could always let them in the kitchen so they can cook the meal. Tess says that she used to make a mean lasagna." Frank comments cheekily as he tosses the salad in their homemade strawberry vinaigrette.

"Fuck no. No one else cooks in my kitchen."

"Well then, love, there's your answer. Now, why don't you stop complaining and look at the positives." Frank reaches into the fridge and pulls out the butter Bill is going to need for the potatoes.

"And those are?" Bill says, pulling the streak off the pan and placing it on the cutting board so it can rest. He creates a little tent out of tin foil and rests it over the top.

"Well it's been forever since we had an adult conversation with someone who was not each other and Ellie could really use the chance to talk to other people, I swear she is going to go stir crazy if she has to spend another day with just you and me," Frank says leaning in to place a soft kiss onto Bill's neck. Bill tilts his head, signaling to Frank that he would like another kiss so with a smirk Frank leans down and places a more prolonged kiss and a little nip right where Bill's shoulder meets his neck and is rewarded when Bill lets out a little gasp.

Frank watches as Bill's skin pebbles with goosebumps and runs a finger delicately from Bill's shoulder, up his neck, and then to his chin. With gentle pressure, he turns Bill's face and places a searing kiss on his lips. He pulls away and is excited to see that he still has the ability to leave Bill breathless.

"Now if you're a good boy and on your best behavior for Tess and Joel maybe tomorrow night I'll show you the new outfit I found at the post office last week," Frank says trailing his thumb across Bill's bottom lip. Bill's cheeks flush and his shoulders come up to his ears as he takes a shuddering breath.

"Well then, I think I can look past having to cook for them but they better stay out of my kitchen," Bill grumbles but his eyes follow Frank as he moves to take the fresh peas out of the rinsing bowl.

"Of course Bill, dear. Now, why don't you finish up those potatoes while I go see how Ellie is doing outside? She has been far too quiet during all this." Frank leaves the room with just a little more sway to his hips than is necessary and can't help feeling a thrill when he sees Bill sneak a peek out of the corner of his eye while he is mixing the potatoes. A little grunt is the only response Bill gives that says he heard what Frank says but with Bill, that's all Frank needs.

—

"Ellie honey, are you going to come down, Tess and Joel just got here and they have a surprise for you," Frank calls up to Ellie where she is perched in her tree house. A little head with two messy braids hanging to the side peeks out of the little window of the house.

"A surprise for me?" Ellie crows and she's suddenly climbing out of the window and dangling her feet to reach the branch below it. "What is it?" Gripping the branch with her legs she hangs upside down her face just in level with Frank's now.

"Well if I told you, then it wouldn't be a surprise now, would it? Come on down, spider monkey your papa almost has dinner ready." Frank tries not to have a heart attack when Ellie twists herself back up and then scrambles down the rest of the way using the limbs of the tree instead of the perfectly safe ladder that Bill and Joel built for her.

"Then what are we still doing here." She yells as she is off like a shot to the front of the house where she knows Joel and Tess must be. Frank sighs and follows after her at a more reasonable pass. Ellie just turned nine and seems to have unlimited energy, which just means Frank feels every day of his sixty-one years on this planet whenever he tries to keep up with her. He tries not to think of his advancing age in relation to Ellie as much as possible, but the fear is still there in the background whenever he thinks about her getting older and them possibly not being there for her. In these moments, he’s happy he decided to break Bill’s rules and reach out to the nice women on the radio.

He comes around the corner of the house, and he sees Ellie just finishing an exuberant hug with Tess. She then turns to Joel, and he gives her a fist bump, exploding it at the end, which always manages to make her giggle. “Hey, kiddo, how you been treatin’ your old men?” Joel asks as he ruffles her hair. She bats his hand away and starts to bounce on her feet,

“You know, keeping them on their toes.” She says impatiently before blurting out, “So Dad says you have a surprise for me?”

Frank tsks and corrects, “Ellie Anna Nicholas-Murray, where are your manners? You, papa, and I raised you better.” Ellie looks down at her shoes and scuffs them on the ground, her hands coming together in front of her in embarrassment. Joel and Tess share a little smile between them when Frank gives them a look like ‘kids, right.’

“I’m sorry,” She mumbles, and Tess seems to take pity on her when she steps forward and pulls her into her side gently.

“It’s okay, kid, I know you’re excited. But your dad is right. Let Joel and I get settled, then we’ll show you.” 

Ellie nods, and the little party makes their way into the house. As they round the corner into the front room, Ellie gasps, seeing the guitar leaning against the piano bench with a big blue bow tied to it. She looks up at Tess and Joel, her eyes large. “Is that for me?”

“Yeah, kid, that’s for you,” Joel says, his smile large and genuine. “I can start to teach ya the basics today after dinner if you like, and whenever Tess and I visit, I’ll teach you some more.”

Ellie looks at him like he hung the moon and is suddenly hurdling into his chest at top speed. Joel makes a huffing noise when she makes contact and is knocked back a step, but he manages to stay upright and gets his arms up so he can wrap her in a proper hug. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Ellie mumbles into his chest, and Joel laughs.

“Don’t thank me; thank Tess, she’s the one who did all the wheeling and dealing to get that there guitar,” Joel says.

Ellie darts out of Joel’s arms as quickly as she dove into them and then throws herself into Tess’s. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.” She repeats. 

Tess smiles and places a soft kiss on the top of her head. “You’re welcome, bug. I hope you like it.”

“Like it, I fucking love it,” Ellie responds and bounds forward to take the guitar in her hands.

“Ellie language,” Bill says, coming out of the kitchen and wiping his hands on a dish towel. “Dinner is ready, Ellie you can play with that later. Go wash your hands, then meet me in the kitchen so you can help me plate.”

“Awwww. But I want to play it now.” She wines. Bill gives her a look and she relents reluctantly, puffing her breath out before she places the guitar gently back where it was. “Fine, whatever.” she slouches her shoulders and drags her feet petulant as she walks to the downstairs bathroom. When they all hear the door click, all the adults in the room share a look, and Frank says, “Kids.”

—

Dinner goes fine, and now Bill, Frank, and Tess sit out on the porch drinking glasses of wine as Joel sits with Ellie alittle ways away on a bench in the neighboring lawn. He patiently holds her fingers over the appropriate strings as he helps her learn the cords he’s trying to show her first lesson.

“This was really nice of you,” Bill says out of nowhere, and both Frank and Tess turn to him in surprise. “What? It is okay, I know how hard it must have been for you two to have found something like this for her. Is there anything we can give you in return?” Bill asks, swirling the wine in his glass before taking a sip.

Tess smiles and turns back to watch Joel and Ellie. Joel looks up for a second and their eyes lock, and Frank can see something pass between them, something soft, something fragile. It’s gone almost as quickly as it was there, and Joel goes back to help Ellie with her fingers, his rumbling voice soft as he adjusts her grip. “No need, Bill, this is enough.” She says, gesturing to the view.

Bill gunts and the three adults on the porch sip their wine and listen to the carefree sound of Ellie’s laughter on the summer breeze.