Merri and Chris try to have a date night once a week, ever since the kids were born. They go to dinner or a movie or walk through the Quarter.
One date night as they're cuddled together on a bench waiting for the valet to bring around Chris' truck, Merri is scrolling through Instagram.
(The account was made when Gus first asked for her own. Merri and Chris share it and the fact that there are two owners is readily apparent from one glance at the posts. A beautifully shot image of the Quarter on Mardi Gras is immediately followed by a shot of Chris and Brody cheesing with Big Al between them.)
"Oh," she grins, "Gus posted a photo."
"Lemme see," Chris angles his neck so he can rest his chin on Merri's shoulder. He presses a kiss to the side of her neck before saying, "It better not be a picture with that Williams boy."
Merri rolls her eyes at her overprotective husband, "His name is Deacon and he's our neighbor, LaSalle."
"Still," Chris grumbles, his breath warm on her skin, "I don't like him."
Merri rolls her eyes. The puppy love between their daughter and Deacon Williams could very much turn into something more, but Chris is hoping that with Gus going away to Alabama next year and Deacon heading to Florida, the distance will keep them apart.
(Merri's not quite banking on that. She's seen the looks Gus shoots at Deacon and the way Deacon lights up when Gus enters a room. It would be just like their daughter to be one of the small percentage of high school sweethearts that actually make it for the long haul.)
"Moving on," Merri says, angling the phone screen so he can see it.
His son and daughter are looking back at him from the screen. King's got his mouth open in the background, probably telling some story or another. Loretta and Patton and Sebastian and Sonja and her husband are laughing and Gus and Brody and Danny and CJ and Sonja's son are all smack in the middle of everything, bowls of gumbo in front of everyone. There's a pile of French bread in the middle of the table and a giant pitcher of what Merri and Chris know to be sweet tea resting in front of Sebastian's place setting. It looks warm and nice and comfortable.
It looks like family.
The caption reads "#blessed".
(Their daughter is a walking, talking Southern cliché. Much to Merri's dismay.)
A/N: It's short, but I've been at a block for about two weeks now, so I'm finally glad I could get *something* written! And the fact that it's ready to be posted on what's sure to be a Percy heavy night makes me happy! I've got a few more things in the works, but I'd always love to hear your ideas for more chapters and other oneshots and the like :)
