"Sweetie, you need to promise me something, okay?" Mini crouched down to get face to face with her daughter. Her daughter with the bright red hair and the shining eyes that refused to focus on anything and the toothy grin. "You're meeting your dad today, and can you promise to be on your best behaviour?"
Mini had realised that getting engaged to Alo wasn't as simple as putting a ring on her finger. She'd realised this on the plane journey home, holding hands with her fiancé. In the few days that they'd spent in Australia, she'd packed up the rest of her belongings, cancelled her flat contract and quit her job officially (rather than just taking extended leave). The ring on her finger made her smile every time it reflected the light, and then she would laugh when she remembered how Alo had been a complete idiot when it came to actually making it official.
So she'd pushed aside any worries she had, keeping herself busy and keeping Alo busy in the process. But now they were going to their home, where Alo would have to deal with being a father to a child he had never officially met, only having seen glimpses of her when he was going from one place to another. "You don't have to have us both move in, you know." She'd blurted out, before assessing herself and shaking her head. "I mean, I know it's a big thing to get a toddler and a soon-to-be wife-"
"Oh, it's soon-to-be, is it? Are you that desperate to marry me, Minerva?" He'd smirked at her, leaning in for a kiss. But she refused to allow herself to get distracted, no matter how talented those lips were.
"I'm just saying that we can take it a little slower... You can officially meet Gracie and spend some time with her and then we'll see what she thinks of you. Because she's my priority and... well, maybe taking it slow is the best plan." As decisive as she may be, all willingness to argue was thrown out the window when Alo began to trace patterns on her palm. How could it be that he had this much of an effect on her, even now?
"Gracie is going to love me, I know it. And I really don't think taking it slow is an option..." And then those lips were on hers again and Mini felt her brain growing fuzzy.
"Farmboy..." she groaned, hating him for teasing her like this when she was on a plane with no hope of climbing onto his lap and letting him have his way with her, and especially when she was trying to do the grown up thing and be responsible. In the end, though, she gave up and let him tease her. And when they landed, she did some teasing of her own, getting him all riled up in the taxi before making them go their separate ways. She needed to spend some quality time with her daughter.
So it had been a few days since she'd seen him, a few days since she walked in to her living room and saw her mum and stepdad, held up her left hand and given them the big news, unsure whether they would react with joy or disappointment, happiness or sadness. But, by the shrieks they let out and the way she was crushed into a hug... it was the former. They were ecstatic for her.
And she'd wanted to see Alo, she'd wanted to wake up next to him, she'd wanted to bring him to consciousness with her lips on his, she'd wanted to fall asleep with him by her side, having spent the day with him... but there had been other things to sort out. Family things and whatnot.
"Okay." Her baby girl gurgled, and Mini had laughed. She'd been speaking for months now and yet the sound of her voice filled her with such joy. This was her baby. Hers and Alo's. It was then that she heard the doorbell go, and Mini picked up her daughter, grabbed her bag, and headed down the stairs, flinging open the door and laughing again as she saw the expression on her fiancé's face.
"I, er... I wasn't sure what to bring, so..." He motioned to the bunch of flowers in his hands, violets for Mini (they had been her favourite ever since the original Grace) and a sunflower for his daughter.
"Gracie, do you know who this is?" Eyes wide, the ginger stared at Alo, a small smile forming on her face at his hair. "This is your dad!" And that was all it took for Gracie to grin and hold out her arms, wanting to be held by this new person rather than her boring old mum.
...
"We have some big news..." Mini and Alo and Gracie wandered in to where all their friends were gathered. Everyone was either going back to uni or back to their lives in a few days and it was important that this came out now. But before the news broke, Mini smiled as she noticed that Frankie and Nick were curled up around each other. While she'd been at the hospital, making sure her dad was okay, Nick had been confessing his love for her - his real, not brought about from jealousy, love. And Frankie had realised that she was in a safe enough head space to be with someone again. She noticed that Rich was smiling at her, a genuine smile rather than the tense upturn of lips that she was usually greeted by - she guessed that he'd finally realised how much she loved Alo and how she never wanted to fuck him around again. She noticed how Alex was there with Liv, even though Alex had never been really part of the group (though, she'd stopped being part of the group years ago), and how it didn't bother her that Liv hadn't spent all her time pining over their lost friendship.
For once, everyone seemed to have worked out where they were supposed to be and who they were meant to be with.
Her daughter's fidgeting brought Mini back to present day and she blinked, snapping out of her trance and delivering the news with a grin. "We're getting married!"
There was a moment of silence, everyone looking from Mini's grinning face to Alo's happy one and back again. And then uproar, where everybody jumped up and the whole group hugged, every single one of them yelling over each other to try and demand the whole story.
...
"You're going to go to sleep now, aren't you?" Alo smiled at his daughter, her eyes half shut and a sleepy smile on her face. They'd been living together for a month now, and tonight was the first time that he'd put her to sleep by himself, Mini having had her first day at work (on some set with a few models and a bucket load of makeup). And Gracie hadn't made it easy for him, claiming that she was given chocolate before every bed time and Mummy always did this and that and various other ridiculous demands. But finally, she was dozing off.
And unbeknown to Alo, Mini had just walked in and was currently watching the exchange from the hallway. "I just want you to know that I love you. A lot." He kissed his daughter's forehead, and Mini thought her heart would explode. This is what she'd always been worried about when it came to this baby... probably the main reason that she kept away for so long. Her dad had never loved her. He'd wanted to, and he'd even tried to over the past few years... but he never could. You can't force love if it's not there in the first place. And it had torn her up inside to imagine him being forced to spend time with a kid that was 50% his but that he felt nothing but mild affection for. And she loved Alo (though back then she would never admit it to anyone, much less herself), and she would never, ever put him through that. It would have broken her. But here he was, loving this child that he'd only known for a month, loving her even though she'd lied to him, and still managing to love himself for creating something so perfect.
So although she didn't want to ruin the moment, she walked in and hugged him from behind. "I don't love your mum though, she's too irritating."
"Shut up, Farmboy." She laughed, leaning up and brushing her lips against his neck. "I was just going to get us a nightcap. I figure we should find a way to celebrate my first, successful day at work?" Her tone of voice made it impossible to not understand what she was implying, and Alo smirked, turning around and capturing her lips with his, and gently pushing her back towards the door. The things he wanted to do to her were definitely not appropriate around a toddler. Especially not their toddler.
...
A/N: It's been a while, dear readers. I wasn't even planning on updating, but I'm trying to keep myself really busy in 2013 and therefore... this is continuing, even though skins is over. Keep reading and even if you don't review, I love you as much as I love Malo.