#rrl02r8

[simgrump]

❦ Szalinski Household, Day Fifty-One ❦

tw drugs

After school, Dax did his usual thing. His time being grounded was up and he was allowed to go hang out with his friends again, so long as he let his Mom know where he was at all times. She didn’t need to know the details of what they were doing and he wasn’t exactly specific about where he was, just that he was with Jesus and Lester. 

Today, he found Jesus in a state. His friend had started in on the Bubbles ahead of him and seemed to be having a bad trip of it, sitting there with his head held in his hands. “You okay, dude?” Dax asked, coming to stand behind him and putting a hand on Jesus’s shoulders, leaning down to try and see his face.

“I’m in over my head,” Jesus complained. “Don wants me to sell way more than I’m able to.” 

“You’re selling for him now?” Dax asked, shocked that his friend would get so far into this whole with with Don Lothario. 

“It’s the only way he’d still sell to me,” Jesus told him. 

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❦ Zest Household, Day Fifty-Six ❦

“So? What are you thinking?” Felix asked as the two of them sat on their porch that night. Charlie had been unusually quiet and lost in his thoughts since the phone call and at the question, he turned to look at his husband. 

“I’m thinking I don’t see a world where I don’t walk in there and fall in love with that kid immediately,” Charlie told him. 

Felix snorted in amusement. “Well, let’s keep an open mind. It may not work out the way we think.” 

“Felix,” Charlie started, giving him a stern look. “In what world would we look at a kid and say, no not good enough?” 

“Point taken,” Felix smirked. “Let’s just...let’s not get our hopes up. It’s all of our choices, right? So the kid may not like us or want it to happen and then we’ll have to have a real discussion and...” he trailed off, shrugging. “Shit, I’m getting my hopes up.” 

Charlie laughed, sitting back in his chair to look at the sliver moon over their neighborhood. “I am too.” 

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❦ Zest Household, Day Fifty-Six ❦

Charlie couldn’t wait for Felix to be finished in the bath. He knocked on the door and then came in, garnering a raised brow from his husband who didn’t bother to hide himself, but played with the bubbles as he looked at Charlie curiously. “You need the bathroom that bad?” he asked playfully. 

“That was the agency,” Charlie said, phone in his hand still as he pointed at it. “We’re scheduled for a meet and greet.” 

“Really?” Felix asked, sitting up with his eyes wide with anticipation. 

“Really.” 

“Oh my god, it’s happening,” Felix said and Charlie laughed, unsurprised that his husband had basically the same thought he had. Meet and greet their ass, they were going to love whatever kid the agency thought to bring to them. 

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❦ Zest Household, Day Fifty-Five ❦

Beautiful. It was the only way Charlie could describe the Sylvan Glade that Felix had found. Absolutely beautiful with it’s pink sunset and misty mountains in the distance. He couldn’t believe a place like this existed just a small hike away from the home they’d just purchased together. 

“Come on,” Felix pulled at Charlie’s hand, tugging him down onto the grass as they laid there to cloud gaze. The smell of lilacs and daisies filled their nostrils as they laid there in the open circle, looking up at the clouds and for a moment, neither of them said a thing. Content with just each other’s company in this beautiful spot they’d found. 

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❦ Zest Household, Day Fifty-One ❦

“I tried,” Felix said and Charlie gave a laugh, looking at the monstrosity of a cake that Felix had baked him. It looked like he’d tried, the definition of try. But succeed? At least it was a cake. 

Charlie leaned in, giving a chuckle and kissed Felix on the cheek. “Thanks, babe,” he said. 

“It’s not every day you have a birthday, you know,” Felix told him, turning around and wrapping his arms around Charlie’s waist, pulling him close. Charlie went willingly, wrapping his own arms around Felix’s shoulders. “You’re gonna be an old man now, like me,” Felix laughed. 

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❦ Szalinski Household, Day Fifty-Six ❦

tw drugs

“Can I ask you something?” Dax asked when they were done working out. He’d worked up a good sweat, and so had Charlie. He’d enjoyed his time at the gym with his uncle and it had loosened him up a little bit to want to talk to him about this whole Bubbles thing. 

“Sure,” Charlie coaxed. 

Dax bit his tongue for a moment, thinking about how to ask it, before he just went for it. “Have you ever tried Bubbles? Or...anything like it?” 

Lifting a brow in inquiry, Charlie shook his head. “Nah,” he said lightly. “I mean, there was that whole stint with vampirism...” Yeah, Dax had heard about that. “And jail...” He’d heard about that too. “But drugs weren’t ever really my thing. I like being in control of my head, you know?” He paused, looking at Dax. “What about you?” 

“Oh, uh, no,” Dax lied and he hated it the moment it was out of his mouth. His parents were one thing. His Uncle Charlie? Lying to him? That was a whole other feeling he hadn’t been prepared for. “It was offered to me, I just...I wondered if you ever had that experience.” 

“Well good thing you said no,” Charlie said, the look of pride on his face unwarranted. “That stuff can really mess with you before you know it.” 

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❦ Szalinski Household, Day Fifty-Four ❦

Nathaniel whined when Parker played with her dolls. On one hand, she thought she was getting too old for playing with dolls, but on the other she liked playing with her brother and her sister. Except today, Nathaniel wasn’t sharing well and threw a small tantrum while she played. 

“It’s okay, Nathaniel,” Parker told him, turning around to look at her brother, who looked angrily at the doll in her hand and wouldn’t make eye contact. She held the doll out to him but he gave a yell and hit it out of her hand. “Mom says don’t hit,” Parker reminded him calmly. Her Mom had given her instructions on how to deal with Nathaniel when he got like this and while she was downstairs making dinner, Parker was in charge right now. She could handle this and play with her brother, even if he was acting out. 

“Here, come down here,” Parker patted the ground next to her and Nathaniel sniffled slightly before he slipped off the stool and sat down where she’d motioned. “Here,” she said, holding the doll back out to him. “We can play together.” She lit up happily when Nathaniel took the doll finally and started playing with it in the dollhouse. Parker smiled, proud of herself for working through his tantrum. 

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❦ Szalinski Household, Day Fifty-Three ❦

tw drugs

Dax chose to walk his friend home, just to be safe. He knew he was going to get in trouble when he went home, no matter if he texted his parents or not. If he could just explain to them it was to make sure Jesus was okay, they’d probably understand. But the piece of it he couldn’t tell them was because Jesus had a bad trip. They’d never let him out of the house again if they knew that bit of the story. 

It felt bad, keeping things from them. But they wouldn’t understand. Not this. Or maybe it was that they would and they’d try to get him help. He didn’t want it. Didn’t need it. He was using Bubbles, yes, but he was safe about it. Not like Jesus. And if he was going to start selling Bubbles to kids at his school... His parents could never find that part out. He’d be more than grounded for life, they might agree to send him to juvie or something. 

All these thoughts spiraled through his head as he made his way home, looking at the stars and the moon and wishing he just knew the right way to handle this all. He knew what his parents would say, to stop using Bubbles. To not sell. But he was already in too deep. There was no backing out of it now. Sad thing was, he didn’t think he wanted to, either. 

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❦ Szalinski Household, Day Fifty-One ❦

“Thanks, Parker, for helping your sister deal with all of this,” Allan told his oldest daughter after the two girls had helped clean up the kitchen. Maggie went upstairs to go play while Eris took Nathaniel to get ready for bed. Parker stayed downstairs to hang out with her father and looked over at him with a proud smile on her face. 

“I don’t think she understands that he’s not sick,” Parker told him. “He’s just...different.”

Allan nodded his head. “That’s very insightful of you,” he told her, leaning back on the couch and watching her thoughtfully. “We’re all going to need to learn a little bit more about what we’re dealing with here. But we can keep you informed, maybe even bring you along to some of the doctor appointments if you want?” 

“I’d like that,” Parker smiled. 

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❦ Szalinski Household, Day Fifty ❦

With Parker storming off to find their Mom and complain, Dax felt the growing itch to disappear from the world and not be found again. He’d started high school just recently, but he already knew he hated it. Hated school, hated the people in it, would much rather hang out with his friends in the 313s and do whatever he wanted than try and sit through another class that he didn’t care about. 

After school, he was going to hang out with his friends, like he always did, and that was the only thing that kept him from just giving up entirely. That and the fact that Maggie was still sitting there, shoveling eggs into her mouth like she didn’t care they weren’t as good as their Dad’s. 

“If you hate the eggs, you don’t have to eat them,” Dax offered, his tone a little mellower with Maggie than it had been with Parker. 

Maggie grinned, egg on her face as she shook her head. “I like them!” she told him and Dax snorted in amusement. At least one of his sisters appreciated him around here. 

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❦ Zest Household, Day Fifty-Six ❦

In the evening a few weeks later, Charlie got a call from the adoption agency. They had found a possible match for a child for them and wanted to set up a date to do a meet and greet. Charlie was ecstatic and couldn’t wait to tell Felix. He thanked the adoption agency and hung up the phone with them, standing in the living room for a moment. 

He didn’t want to get his hopes up. It was just a meet and greet and that didn’t mean that this was it. It could go horribly. They could decide this wasn’t the kid they were looking for. But Charlie knew himself. He knew that he was going to show up to that meet and greet and immediately fall in love with that kid, no matter who they were. 

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❦ Zest Household, Day Fifty-Six ❦

“So, I’m sure Dax has told you that Felix and I are planning on adopting,” Charlie told Eris as they went over to his sister’s house for dinner that night. Eris bit her lips, keeping herself from interrupting her little brother and Charlie took a deep breath. “Well, the adoption agency requires us to have a sponsor. Basically someone who will vouch for our characters and that we’ll be good parents. And I was wondering...-” 

“Yes.” 

Charlie snorted. “You’re not even gonna let me finish asking?” 

“Oh, sorry. Ask away,” Eris grinned cheekily. 

“Will you be our sponsor?” 

“Yes,” Eris said, her face beaming with happiness as she reached out and pulled Charlie in for a hug. “A million times yes. I’m so happy for you two. I’ll say whatever you need me to say to that agency.” 

Charlie gave a laugh. “Well hopefully the truth will be good enough, but thank you.” 

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❦ Zest Household, Day Fifty-Five ❦

Felix spent a lot of time exploring their neighborhood, making sure it was good for kids to go and play in. Along with a community garden, he also found a hiking path through a vast redwood tree that lead to a beautiful sanctuary that held only one building and nothing else but nature. It was whimsical and beautiful and Felix couldn’t wait to share it with Charlie. 

“Come on,” He said, tugging at Charlie’s hand as he lead him towards the hiking pathway. “You’ll love this.” 

“I don’t know,” Charlie played, but he couldn’t fool Felix. They both knew his love of hiking and nature and all things outdoors. He’d loved it in Mt. Komorebi, he’d loved it when they went on their work retreat, he’d love this too, Felix was sure. 

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❦ Zest Household, Day Fifty-Three ❦

After his jog, Charlie found a new fishing spot to try and catch something for dinner. It was his last chance, because they were going home tomorrow night. He spent a good few hours at the fishing spot, trying to catch anything and it was a good way to clear his head, to let himself be alone with his thoughts. But it was not a good place for Charlie to catch fish, he came up empty handed once again. 

Smirking at the waters and the fish he could literally see swimming around his hook and bait, Charlie knew he’d been bested by them. Looks like they were going to have to make dinner out of something else tonight. He smiled, put away his bait and tackle and stood on the lake’s edge for a moment. He pictured his Mom and Dad coming on a trip like this and wondered if they had the same thoughts and fears and hopes that he had at this age. He missed them severely and said a little prayer out over the water that they were at peace and reunited with each other in the afterlife. 

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❦ Zest Household, Day Fifty-Two ❦

Without a fish to be caught in the river out back, it was boxed brownies for dinner. Charlie set about making the brownies with the small supply of groceries that were waiting for them in the fridge. Felix looked like he was ready to go straight to bed, but he stayed up to wait for sweet chocolately goodness. 

Only the brownies didn’t turn out the way they looked on the box. In fact, Charlie swore that they turned out worse than anything he’d ever tried to cook before and he had no clue why. How does one mess up boxed brownies? He held them out for Felix to see, who took one look and raised a brow at him. “They look...edible...” Felix said. 

“Shut up.” 

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❦ Zest Household, Day Fifty-Two ❦

Of all the things to forget, or for the ranger to not offer them, bug spray was high on that list. Charlie could kick himself for not thinking of it and he partially blamed Felix’s company for not including it on the checklist they’d given him of stuff to bring with them. 

Charlie hadn’t caught a thing out back in the river, but he did get good at going to war with the mosquitoes that constantly swarmed him. He had a few bites to show for it, but he thought he’d killed his fair share of the little villains that surely eventually they would learn not to mess with him. By the time Felix came home from his retreat, Charlie was ready to tap out against the mosquitoes, glad to see Felix coming up the drive with bug spray in his hand, like he’d figured out the same thing during his work retreat. “Oh thank god,” he mumbled to his husband. 

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