Girls' Night In
Summary: Bex and Andi prepare to spend their first night in their new home
"You what?!" Celia roared. Ham reached out a hand and placed it onto her shoulder as she started to rise up out of her chair. She glanced over at him with anger before lowering herself back down. Her jaw clenched as she looked across the table to the other end. "This is just another one of her impulsive ideas."
"No, it's not," Bex insisted. "I said this was going to be temporary." She then rolled her eyes. "You always find a way to remind me."
"Ever since you got here, you said you were ready to turn your life around." Ham got up from his seat and walked over to the other end of the table and wrapped her in a hug. Bex smiled before resting her head on her father's shoulder. "I'm proud of you, honey."
"Thanks, dad," Bex said. She glanced at her mother before turning away. "At least someone is," she muttered.
Celia cleared her throat before reaching up and rubbing the back of her neck. She sighed. "It's not that I'm not…happy for you," she said, "but…do you have to take Andi?" At the mention of her name, Andi looked up from her seat at the table. The entire time she was sitting silently, staring at her hands.
"I'm making a home for her," Bex insisted. "I'm trying to support her. That's my job. I'm her mother."
"For the past three weeks," Celia pointed out.
"CeCe," Andi started. She stopped upon Celia holding up a hand.
"I've been her mother for thirteen years."
"…So have I," Bex said firmly. She paused, swallowing around the lump that was rising in her throat. "I just never got a chance." Bex pulled out the chair next to her daughter before grabbing a hold of Andi's hand. She squeezed them tight, before offering up a smile.
"Andi, you do have a choice," she pointed out. "You don't have to come stay with me. But, it'd be pretty great if you did."
"It'd be different," Andi admitted, "but we have a lot to catch up on."
"Oh, Andi," Celia cried. Bex let go of Andi's hands and placed them into her lap. Ham rubbed Bex's shoulder, offering up silent comfort. "…There are boxes in the garage." Celia stiffly got up from her seat and stormed out of the room.
"I'll go help your mother," Ham informed them. He ruffled Andi's hair as he walked by, following his wife toward the garage.
"It'll be great," Bex said after a moment of silence. Andi turned towards her and half smiled. "Everything will be fine. You'll see."
"Mom and Dad just left," Bex announced as she tossed a box into the living room. She closed the door behind her, making sure to lock it. She clapped her hands together before glancing around the room. "I guess…we start unpacking. But, from what I learned on my travels, we need to make the bed first." She frowned when she didn't get a response.
Bex took a few steps into the living room, taking a quick glance, before moving back to the kitchen. "Andi?" she asked. She then heard movement coming from behind the closed bathroom door. Bex tiptoed over, holding her breath, straining to hear through the silence.
"Hey, Andi," Bex called out. She knocked twice on the door. "What's wrong? Are you sick?" she asked. Once again, she didn't get a response. Bex leaned forward and placed her ear against the door. She jumped back as it swung open.
"Nothing." Andi shook her head as she walked past Bex and into the kitchen. She stopped by the refrigerator, scrutinizing the orange color. "I think we should decorate this. The orange is too…orange."
"No, don't do that." Bex placed her hands on Andi's shoulders, turning her around so they were face to face. "Don't say that it is nothing. It's obviously something."
"All I ever do is make you fight."
Bex laughed through her nose. "Mom and I always fight." She shrugged. "This is nothing different."
"Yes, it is!" Andi insisted. "It's about me." She bit her bottom lip, shifting her gaze to the floor. "It's as if you both are competing to be my mom."
Bex placed a finger underneath Andi's chin, forcing her gaze up. She smiled, moving her hand to run her knuckles across Andi' "We're not competing. At least I'm not. We just both want to be a part of your life." She then rolled her eyes. "Mom never really liked change." Bex straightened up and walked over to one of the boxes marked bedding. Pulling a set of keys out of her pocket and cut through the tape and began to pull pillows out of the box, dropping them to the floor.
Andi walked over to the box and helped Bex remove the numerous items. When she found BaBa, her stuffed owl, she gave him a huge hug before setting him onto the kitchen table next to a coffee maker. "…You did throw a huge bomb on her thirteen years ago."
"Hey, you were that bomb," Bex said. "And speaking of huge." She tossed a pillow at the back of Andi's head. She burst into loud laughter as Andi recoiled, dropping to the floor. Andi couldn't help but join in the laughter as she got to her feet.
"Yeah, I could say the same thing," Andi said, picking up the pillow from the floor. "But about something else." With that. She gripped the pillow with two hands, and swung hard, landing a firm blow on Bex's rear end, who was bending over the cardboard box, trying to reach a pillow at the very bottom.
Bex gasped as she emerged from the box. She glanced at Andi, raising an eyebrow, before half-smiling. "You're going to pay for that." Before Andi could take a step, Bex pulled her close and enveloped her in a tight embrace, pinning Andi's arms at her sides. Bex then began to dig her fingers into Andi's ribs.
"Okay, I'm sorry," Andi laughed. Bex wrapped her arms around Andi's waist and held her close, smiling at the sound of her daughter's laughter. She buried her face into Andi's hair, breathing in her scent before dropping a kiss to the side of her head.
"It's going to be hard, but I promise I'll be a good mom to you," Bex whispered. Andi wriggled around until she pulled her arms out of Bex's embrace. She then placed her hands on top of Bex's, relaxing into her hold. "I have thirteen years to make up for."
"You're here now." Andi shrugged. She turned around in Bex's arms, peering up at her. Bex ruffled Andi's hair, before pulling her into another hug.
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