Someone asked for more chapters. Here's one. No more left. I think. REVIEW PLEASE! I own nothing. Enjoy!
"Gibbs," Remi said setting his bags next to mine, "How are you?"
"Glad I have coffee," I said holding up my cup, "You?"
Remi opened his mouth to say something but closed his mouth a second later and motioned to our right. Turning around I saw his wife, Kat, dancing crazily in the middle of the airport. To her right Jasper and Zero were pretending they were sword fighting.
"This is why you don't wake them up before six," Remi said sighing, "They're worse then two year olds."
"That they are," I said nodding, "I don't understand their outfits."
Kat was wearing an outfit similar to the one I had seen before, but Jasper and Zero's were weird. Though I was figuring out that their outfits usually were very weird to me.
Jasper was wearing simple black pants and shirt was white accents here and there. Around his neck was a black choker and he had a dark blue glove on one hand while there were rings on his other. Then cow ears perched on top his head.
Zero had on a black skirt and blue long sleeved school uniform shirt, pale yellow socks and multi-colored boots. His nails were painted blue and he had rings on his fingers as well. Then bunny ears on top of his head.
"Fruits Basket," Remi said shrugging, "Manga, anime thing that Jasper and Zero love. It's something they share. If ones dressed up the other dresses as the person they believe belongs with that person."
"And Zero's dressed up like a girl?" I asked feeling confused.
"No, he's dressed like Momiji. Momiji is a boy. It's hard to understand if you haven't read them or had your child talk about them for hours on end."
Nodding my head I watched as Jasper faked getting hit in the heart and fell dramatically into Zero. The two of them ended up laying on the ground laughing happily until Jasper placed his lips on Zero's.
Jasper started to move like he was going to stand up only to have Zero wrap him arms around his back and keep him still. A second later Jasper was laughing and nodding his head.
I watched as Jasper got up and kneeled next to Zero. A happy smile filled Zero's lips as he moved so Jasper could carry him on his back. At the end of the day they were a really cute couple.
"Are we ready to go?" Jasper said walking up to us.
"Our flight doesn't leave for another hour," I said calmly.
"You know what that means?"
"What?"
"Shopping!"
Jasper took off running causing Zero to hold on tighter while laughing happily. Remi looked between Kat and I before following at a calmer pace. Honestly, I liked Remi, but I wasn't sure about Kat.
"She's a lot to take I, isn't she?" Remi said calmly, "You'd never believe that when Jasper is around people inside of that wall I told you about he's exactly the same. They say it's an artist thing."
"It is," Kat said skipping up to us, "Something you don't understand."
"I never try to understand your mind, my love. I fear of what you might do if you ever find out. That and I respect you too much. You, on the other hand, Gibbs, I look into your mind all the time."
Remi was looking into my mind? No, there was no such thing as what Remi was claiming. He was very good at freaking people out with his 'gift' though. Too bad I would never believe him.
"Papa Remi," Zero said running up to us, "You said you'd teach me."
In Zero's hands was a deck of Tarot cards. He looked happy about what he had found, but still a little wariness in his eyes. He wanted to do this, but he wasn't sure what Remi was going to say.
"Does this deck call to you?" Remi asked calmly.
"It does," Zero said nodding quickly, "It was hidden in the back of the store in a discount bin at the very bottom. I just couldn't stop digging until I found it."
"Good. Let's find a place to sit and I'll show you some things with my deck. But keep in mind this is not a game. You must always use respect when you use this deck. Understood?"
"Yes, Papa Remi. I understand. I won't use them without you or Jasper with me."
"Let's find a quiet place. We'll met you at the gates later."
Zero waved as Remi and him left Kat, Zero, and I standing there. Jasper had a weird look in his eyes as he watched them leave. I couldn't figure out why that look was there though.
"It's okay, Sweetheart," Kat said rubbing Jasper arm, "Zero won't do anything dangerous. Now, how about we go get some food in our stomachs?"
Nodding our heads we went to grab some food, but mostly to kill some time. By the time we were sitting by the gate with our food I let my mind start to wonder about what the trip was going to be like.
I was going on a trip to see a house that my son and his boyfriend were going to be living in if they got into the college they wanted. Was this something that I would have done with Kelly?
"Gibbs," Jasper said sitting on the floor in front of me, "I don't know you."
"No, you don't," I said in agreement.
"Well, I have to get to know you."
"Why?"
"I have some plans."
"Plans?"
"I want to marry Zero one day. Maybe when we're in our twenties or something, but I do want to marry him. And family means everything to your son and you're his family. Figured since we have nothing to do we should get to know each other."
Hearing Jasper's confession I saw just how much he loved my son. Most people weren't thinking about things like this yet, but it was like he had a whole future planned out for them. I respected that.
"What do you want to know?" I asked calmly.
"You," Jasper said with a shrug.
With a sigh I started to tell Jasper random things that everyone knew about me. My hobbies, wood work, where I was from, a bit about my Dad, but I wasn't sure if I could bring myself to mention Shannon and Kelly.
"I know," Jasper said softly, "About them. Zero was telling me about them a while ago. He was sad that he never got to met them and that you never talk about them so he can't get to know them through you. He wants to know about them, Gibbs. He wants to feel like you're a family, but you keep holding back. It's breaking his heart. Okay, so he never actually said that and I'm not as good as my Dad, but I do know some things. You need to talk to him about them."
A silence seemed to blanket us after Jasper's confession. Was I protecting their memory so much that I ended up hurting my son in the process? Jasper was right. I did need to talk to him.
Hearing our plane number being called over the P.A. I looked around for Zero and Remi, but didn't see them anywhere. Why were they running so late? They hadn't gone that far from us.
As we got in line to board the plane I continued to look around until I saw Remi and Zero ride in on one of the car things. Zero smiled happily, said his thank you, and rushed over to Jasper.
"Hello, my little bunny," Jasper said laughing, "What's got you so excited?"
"You know how I am after I learn something new," Zero said with a grin, "Jasper, it's amazing."
"I know. I still remember when Dad started to teach me. And I know you're a quick study, Z, but please, go slow with this. It is dangerous to mess with these things if you're not careful."
"Jazz, I promise to you I won't do this without you or Papa Remi with me. I know how scary this can get. I'll be careful."
Jasper nodded his head slightly before kissing Zero gently. I could see the worry in his eyes when he looked at my son. I might not believe in it myself, but they did and that was all that mattered.
As we got in the plane I made sure that Zero was sitting between Jasper and I while Remi and Kat were in front of us. Once the plane was up in the air I looked over at my son and sighed.
"You okay, Gibbs?" Zero said cocking his head to the side.
"Yeah," I said calmly, "Just remembering the first time we, Shannon, Kelly, and I, traveled. It wasn't by plane, but train. Kelly was four at the time and we were going to see her grandparents. Kelly ran up and down the aisles singing. Almost got us kicked off too."
"That sounds fun."
Looking into Zero's eyes I saw a few tears having gathered in them. He gave me a smile before letting out a yawn. Instantly Jasper moved around so Zero could use him like a pillow.
"Sleep, my bunny," Jasper said kissing his forehead, "We'll be in New Orleans before you know it."
A soft content smile came to Zero's lips as his eyes slipped shut. Jasper smiled back before resting his head on Zero's and closing his eyes as well. Soon both of them were sleeping.
"They'll be engaged by the end of the trip," Remi said calmly, "And no, it's not Jasper that asks."
Feeling a shock run through me I looked over at my son. Zero was going to ask Jasper to marry him. They were so young though, not even in their twenties yet. Had he even thought this through?
It was true that you could see how much they were in love, but marriage? They were just too young for that. Hell, most times I thought under 30 was too young to get married.
The plane ride was quiet for the rest of flight, but my mind was running in circles. My son was going to ask his boyfriend to marry him and Zero was going to say yes. That I knew without Remi having to tell me.
By the time the plane landed my head was pounding angrily. I had to get a grip of myself though before I snapped at someone. For some reason I knew that snapping at them would not end well for anyone.
"Breathe, Gibbs," Remi said helping me get our bags while everyone else got a cab, "Them getting engaged isn't the end of the world."
"They're too young," I said through gritted teeth.
"If you and Shannon had been dating since you were thirteen would you do what Zero is doing?"
Remi walked away without me answering, probably because he knew the answer. I would have asked her without a second thought. Somehow that only made me feel a little better.
We climbed in two different cabs and drove towards the house. It didn't take all that long for us to get there, but Zero leaning out the window pointing at different things while telling us random history about New Orleans.
"I knew you've always wanted to come to New Orleans," Jasper said laughing, "But this is getting a little crazy, Sweetheart."
"Shh," Zero said rolling his eyes.
By the time we got to the house Zero was bouncing excitedly. When we got into the house Zero grabbed Jasper's hand and started running around. He really wanted to visit New Orleans.
"Nice place," I said looking around.
"Thank you," Kat said grinning, "It's mine in my family for generations. It will be good for someone to live here once more. The garden was being neglected since our move. So, you'd approve of Zero moving in here with Jasper for school?"
Sighing I looked around once more. I had barely known my son for a few months and now we were looking at places for him to live when he left. All of this was just moving too fast.
"Gibbs," Zero said running in and wrapping his arms around my waist, "Oh it's perfect. I can't wait to move in. I can move in, right?"
Looking into Zero's eyes I saw the excitement of a child, but I knew that he wasn't. He was growing up and soon he was going to be engaged. I couldn't hold onto him for much longer.
"As long as it's okay with Jasper's parents," I said softly.
"Thank you, Daddy," Zero said hugging me tighter, "Thank you so much!"
A smile came to my lips when I realized that Zero had called me 'Daddy'. That was the first time he even acknowledged that I was his father. I couldn't help but feel happy about that.
"You're welcome, son," I said kissing his forehead.
"Then I guess you guys are moving in," Remi said smiling.
Zero let out a soft scream and started jumping up and down. Soon Jasper was jumping up and down wit him until both of them fell to the floor laughing. Maybe they were young, but they were meant for each other.
"We should get married," Zero said randomly.
"Whenever you want to," Jasper said smiling.
"After graduation then. That should give us enough time to plan."
"Works for me. There's one thing I need to know though."
"What?"
"Should I call your Dad Papa Jett or Papa Jethro?"