First off, Happy Thanksgiving to all those who celebrate!
Ok, this was another hard one. But hopefully I've figured it out. I'm sorry I haven't posted in a long while. This one had me really stuck. Then BOOM. Not only does one idea hit me, but two. I may end up posting both, I'll see. But in the meantime this is the one my best friend decided would be best. No matter how difficult it is, I am determined to see this story through to the end, so PLEASE do not give up on me!
He Will Choose His Friends Over You
"Fiyero!" she cried, rubbing the back of her head gingerly and whirling around to glare at him. As soon as she turned around, she saw his head whip back behind the couch, and heard the giggling of her husband and two of their children, much to her chagrin.
This must be at least the third time this week. The three troublemakers were hiding behind the sofa, the loveseat, the desk- anything that they could fit behind- and shooting her with their Nerf guns. How on earth did Fiyero convince her that Nerf guns were acceptable toys for their eight year old and their six year old? Silly Elphaba, her brain chided her, Don't you remember? You said no, he said "Maybe this will change your mind," and before long, he could have had you saying yes to anything, with the way you trembled and moaned beneath him... She rolled her eyes in true Elphaba fashion, cursing the control he had over her when- Ahem- the kids weren't around. At least their youngest was still too small to join the gang conspiring against her.
"I swear, Fiyero, if you shoot me with that damn thing one more time-"
"Mommy said a bad word!" she heard Aloura cry from behind the couch.
"Yea, Fae, watch your language. There are children in the house," Fiyero taunted her.
"Children that YOU, my dear husband, have turned against me," she snorted.
"All's fair in love and war," he replied curtly, still hiding behind the couch. "Aloura, how do you think we should punish mommy for using a bad word?"
There was silence for a few moments, as Elphaba, bemused rather than angry, awaited her sentencing. "GET HER!" Aloura cried, and all at once, Fiyero, Aloura, and her younger sister Azriel popped up from behind the couch, and opened fire.
"Two can play at that game!" Elphaba retorted, and with a flick of her hand, she casually conjured a force field that returned their fire back at them.
"Eek!" the two little girls screamed, ducking back behind the couch. "Cease fire!" Aloura cried, clearly the ringleader of the trio.
Suddenly, Elphaba heard a resounding wail from upstairs. "See?" she asked Fiyero, frustrated with her husband. "Now all this commotion has woken Kallian! I JUST got him to sleep!" With that, she stalked up the stairs to address the cries of their two year old son.
"Girls, Daddy has to go help mommy with your brother. Play amongst yourselves for a while," Fiyero told them. After a moment he added, "And try not to break anything, that will only make mommy more upset." The girls nodded in agreement, and Aloura scurried away from her sister ad behind another piece of furniture, crying, "You'll never catch me!" as Fiyero followed his wife up the stairs.
When he got to the doorway of the nursery, he saw his wife already had Kallian in her arms, and was trying to rock him back to sleep. "Shhh, my sweet boy," she cooed, trying to calm the little boy in her arms, to no avail. He had lungs like his father.
"Mind if I try?" Fiyero interrupted, at which she turned and glared at him.
"This is your fault, after all," she told him, handing their toddler to him.
"My fault?" he questioned lightly. "The girls were involved too!"
"Because someone suggested that it would be fun to attack mommy with Nerf guns," she hissed, seething.
"It's fun having little people that will do whatever I say," he commented, poking his tongue out at her as he rocked his son.
"Those little people are our children, Fiyero, and you should not be turning them against me, especially not at this age."
"Come on Fae, it's just some innocent fun. You know what they say, you can't try to keep a man away from his friends. He'll rebel."
"Sometimes, you can't be their friend, Fiyero. You have to be their father. And that means being an adult."
"You weren't questioning my adulthood in the bedroom last night," he retorted.
"In front of our son is NOT the place for a comment like that!" she hissed.
"He's already asleep Fae, see?" he said, and true, the boy was silent. He gently placed the boy back into his crib and tucked him in. He walked over to his wife, and wrapped his arms around her waist. "You're not really mad at me about the guns, or waking Kal, or the comment. What's really going on?" he prompted her gently.
She wrapped her arms around his neck, rested her head on his chest and sighed. "I hate to say this, but I think these hormones are getting to me," she said weakly, referring to the hormones that had begun to control her since they found out she was once again expecting. "I'm jealous of all the time you're spending with the kids, and not with me."
"To be fair, Fae," he told her softly, "You've been on bed rest for the last month. Someone had to entertain them, or they'd simply run amok."
"I know. I guess... I guess I just miss having some time to ourselves. Having a moment where there wasn't a little one racing about our feet, in need of immediate attention. I miss having the time we had before the kids were born. Sometimes, I'm jealous that I no longer have you all to myself, especially after how long we were apart..."
"Shhhh," he calmed her, hugging her to him. "We'll plan a date night. We'll leave the kids with my mom for a night, or a weekend, and have some alone time. Just us. How does that sound?"
"You don't think Kal is too young to leave alone overnight?" she asked, worried about leaving her baby with his parents.
"If my mom could handle me- and believe me I was a handful as a child- then I think she candle handle Kal and the girls for a few nights. Besides, I want us to do this before the new baby arrives. I think we need it, and you won't be able to part with the baby once she's born."
"True," Elphaba conceded, placing a hand on her five-months-along belly. Fiyero gently placed his hand on top of hers.
"I love you," he told her.
"I love you too, Yero my hero," she responded, kissing him gently.
Together, hand in hand, they leisurely went back downstairs to assess the damage their daughters had caused in their absence.
I'm incredibly unsure about this one. I sorta like it, but it felt so weird to write. I don't know. I hope you liked it. Let me know what you thought. Review please! I need it on this one!
