A/N: By now you'll probably guess where this is going. But, it's still going to be a journey. If that's okay with everyone?
Chapter Ten: Butterflies & New Beginnings
Micah was in the garage punching the life out of the punching bag that Beca had gotten him when he first started therapy to let out his anger. The boy was thinking about what Cody had said to him the night before.
"It started when I was 13," he said. "I was in a foster home that my older foster brother was gay. He would bring his boyfriend over sometimes and I would just look in awe with how they looked so comfortable together. I had to be subtle about it because I didn't want him to beat the shit out of me. I didn't think about it until three years later when I was emancipated. I developed feelings for this guy. And from there, I realized that it wasn't just him, it was a lot of other guys too. So I put this pieces together."
Right hook. Left hook. Double punch.
It was the rhythm that Micah fell into before Beca came out into the garage and asked, "Everything okay?" He didn't answer. He kept punching. Beca then grabbed his shoulder, "Micah." She said firmly. Making him stop punching and turn around, his eyes were stormy, it actually scared Beca, so she asked again. "Talk to Mama, what's wrong?"
"I miss Sarah, senior year is already getting to me a week before it even starts, and I have feelings for Cody." He got out all at once.
"Okay, okay," Beca said. "Breathe," she added. "In through your nose. Out through your mouth. You're going to go into a panic attack if you're not careful." Micah did what his mama asked him to do. "Let's take it one step at a time. You miss Sarah," she said.
"Yeah." He said. "I know that's not what you want to hear."
Beca shook her head, "This isn't about me right now." She said. "You miss Sarah, I can't do anything about that, sorry kiddo." He took another deep breath, "Senior year is already stressing you out?"
"I've picked my individual project, Cody and I have picked our partner project, it's just my group can't agree on anything." He pulled his phone out of his pocket and showed his mama the group text.
"Holy hell," Beca muttered reading through them. "Does Mom need to give you a backrub?" He nodded slightly rubbing his own neck.
"Come on." Beca said. "Let's finish this conversation inside."
Beca wrapped an arm around him and led him inside up to the master bedroom where Chloe was folding clothes.
"Hey bubba," Chloe said. "You okay?"
"He could use a Mom backrub," Beca said knowing he was going into a panic attack.
Chloe saw him in the midst of a panic attack too, "Lay on the bed bubba, let me take care of you." The redhead said.
He laid face first onto the bed and Chloe started rubbing his back, "So you miss Sarah, your senior group project is shitty, and you have feelings for Cody." Beca said trying to fill her wife in with her son's help, "Anything I missed?"
"No ma'am." He mumbled into Chloe's pillow.
"It's okay to miss Sarah," Chloe said rubbing a knot in his shoulder. "We don't not love you for that."
"You hate her," he mumbled trying to relax as his mother's hands started rubbing knots out of her shoulders.
"We didn't hate her," Beca said. "We just weren't fans of her."
"What Mama said, bub." Chloe said. "Has your group agreed on a project yet?"
"No," he said. "It's driving me insane."
"Have you actually participated in that conversation?" Beca asked. "I didn't see you in that group message."
"I don't want to add fuel to the fire." He said before saying, "Oww."
"There's a huge knot there, bub." Chloe said.
"I know, but holy hell!" He said.
"Relax," Chloe said softly as she continued rubbing. "And you need to participate in that group conversation, you could get marked down for not participating."
"Fine," he grumbled.
"And Cody?" Beca said letting him take control of this conversation.
He sat up, something he never does when Chloe's rubbing his back, and he hunched over a little rubbing his hand over his face.
"I have these feelings for him that I've never had for another guy before and I'm scared." He said.
"What are you scared of?" Chloe asked wrapping an arm around him.
"That he doesn't feel the same way about me. That what I'm feeling isn't real." He answered.
"We can tell what you're feeling is real bub," Chloe said kissing his forehead. "And I'm sure if he went out his way last night to come and give you his gift instead of waiting until tomorrow, he feels the same way."
"Were you scared at first?" Micah asked Beca. He knew Chloe wasn't. They had talked about it briefly in the past.
"Yeah," Beca answered. "But, only because I didn't have what you do have." He gave his mama a confused look, "Supportive parents."
He nodded, "I really like him Moms," he said.
Chloe kissed his head, "So invite him over tonight." She said. "We won't interrogate him. But, with Bailee here and Aunt Emily and Aunt Bree. It would be nice to know the Cody Adams outside of school."
"Okay," Micah said.
"Now lay back down and let me finish your backrub," Chloe playfully demanded.
As he laid back down, Chloe winked at her wife, in a way to say, everything's going to be okay.
"Saying goodbye sucks," Bailee said to Micah as they walked up to the cemetery to bury their shared mother.
"Yeah it does," Micah said and then he turned to his moms and said, "Wait another 50 years before doing this to me, okay?"
Beca squeezed his shoulder and said, "Whatever you want bubba."
Bailee was fidgeting in her uniform and Chloe saw it, she said, "Bailee? You okay?"
"Fine ma'am." She said. "This is just the second time we've had to do this in our lifetimes. Let alone a 12 year period."
Chloe let go of Beca's hand and caught up to wrap an arm around the Army lieutenant, "This must be hard then." Chloe said.
"It is," she said. "Like Micah said, don't do this to him for another 50 years."
"We have no plans to," Chloe said looking over at her son who was messing with his tie.
Later that day, after they had gotten home, Micah snuck up to his room to have a minute alone. Bailee stood in the backyard trying to figure out what had happened that morning. Taylor and Dani were sitting in the kitchen talking about something. Leaving Beca and Chloe to sit alone in the car. They had started out talking, but the Chloe had grabbed her by the collar and kissed her.
So they started making out in the car like teenagers, Chloe pulled away and whispered, "I love you."
"I love you too, beautiful." Beca whispered back. Her phone in the cupholder than vibrated alerting her that somebody was at the gate. When she looked over her shoulder to see Cody's beat up Toyota truck, she let him in and then got out of the car. Chloe followed her wife out.
The boy parked his truck and got out greeting the couple, "Mrs. and Mrs. Mitchell-Beale," he said. "It's nice to see you."
"You can call us by our names," Chloe said. "Just on campus do you have to call me that."
"Yes ma'am." He said.
"Micah is inside." Beca said. "Come in."
"How's he doing?" Cody asked. "He seemed distant in our text conversations."
"He's okay." Chloe said. "He had a rough morning, but I know he'd love to see you."
When the three got into the house, Beca called out, "Bubba!"
"Yeah?" Was heard from the second floor.
"Cody's here," Beca called back.
Thump.
That's what was heard upstairs. Beca and Chloe tried to hide their laughs when Dani and Taylor walked into the room, "Hey Cody," Dani said giving the boy a hug.
"Hi munchkin." He said. "Hi Future Dr. Taylor Junk!"
"Hey Code." Taylor said as Bailee walked in.
"You must be Lieutenant Forrester," Cody said to the younger woman.
"I am, you can call me Bailee though," the woman said, "Cody, yes?"
He nodded as a dysfunctional Micah came tumbling down the stairs. "You okay bubba?" Taylor asked as he stumbled into the entryway.
"Yeah, yeah. Fine." Micah said looking at his sister and then to Cody, "Hey."
Cody chuckled, "Hi." He said softly.
Micah was shaking subtly, "Th-thanks for coming." He said. He looked back at his moms who were both mouthing, 'breathe.' "We-we have lunch in the kitchen, are you hungry?"
Cody smiled, "When am I not hungry?" He asked.
Micah chuckled softly, "I feel that," he said leading his friend and family into the kitchen.
By the middle of lunch, Aubrey, Emily, and Parker had joined them. Aubrey was sitting between Bailee and Dani and noticed the little food Dani had on her plate. Quietly, the lawyer whispered into the girl's ear, without getting anybody else's attention, saying, "You should be eating more than that monkey."
"I'm not that hungry," she mumbled back.
"Monkey," Aubrey said wrapping her arm around the girl.
Dani quietly excuses herself from the table for a moment, she was about to go into a panic attack. Both Beca and Chloe looked to Aubrey who then excused herself to go talk to the girl more privately.
Aubrey found her on the front porch with her knee tucked under her chin and when the lawyer got up to the girl, she sat next to her, and pulled the somewhat distraught girl in her arms.
When the girl finally calmed down, Chloe had come looking for them to see if they were okay, "Everything okay?" The redhead asked.
It didn't go unnoticed to the music teacher or the lawyer that the teenager girl more into Aubrey and buried her face into the blonde's chest when she heard Chloe's voice.
Chloe forced a smile, still hurt that her daughter was pushing her away, Aubrey noticed this and answered, "Yeah," her voice soft. "We'll be back in a minute." Aubrey's face said, "I'll talk with her." Chloe nodded and went back to the backyard patio, "You wanna tell Aunt Bree, what the hell that was?"
"It's nothing." Dani muttered.
"It's not nothing and you know it." Aubrey said.
Dani sat up and took a deep breath and asked a question that Aubrey wasn't expecting, "Does she still love me?"
"Wh-what?" Was all Aubrey could get out.
"Does she still love me?" Dani asked again looking at her godmother over her shoulder.
"She's your mom." Aubrey said. "There's no way she couldn't love you."
"Biologically, she's my aunt." The teenager fought back.
Aubrey sat forward and rubbed her face, "Even if your mama was married to your Uncle David and your mom was just your aunt, that wouldn't change her love for you." Dani looked at the porch ground in front of her, "Y'know, I remember the night that your moms found out that they were having another girl." Dani's head snapped to her godmother. "I remember sitting on the balcony of the apartment they and Taylor were in, your mama and Taylor had gone to bed, and I remember her fear that you would feel like this." Dani averted eye contact and rolled her lips back, "I remember her almost in tears asking me what would happen if you would ever feel like this, ever feel like she wasn't your mom or wouldn't see how much she loved you like she gave birth to you. And you wanna know what I said?" Dani's watery eyes met her godmother's equally watery eyes, "I said that you would be crazy if you didn't see the love that your mom had for you." Aubrey grabbed the girl's face and whispered, "She loves you."
"Then why did she act so distant before, during, and after the trial?" Dani asked.
Aubrey caressed Dani's cheekbones remembering a lot of conversations with emotional, angry Chloe since finding out what had happened to Dani. She didn't think she would act distant to the girl, she knew it wasn't on purpose, but it was still enough for the girl to question the redhead's love for her.
"You know how your mama shows how mad she is?" Aubrey asked. "How she'll do anything for her family?" Dani nodded. "Your mom doesn't show her anger very easily. It's why people are scared of her when she does get mad. She's been hiding it because she wants to be strong for you. Because nobody should have to go through what you went through."
"So she didn't stop loving me?" Dani asked.
"She could never stop." Aubrey said kissing the girl's forehead.
Bailee was in the kitchen later on that afternoon eating whatever was on the counter and refilling her water glass. Emily had come in to do the same and saw the timid Army lieutenant and decided to strike up a conversation.
"Hey," Emily said.
"Hi, Emily, right?" Bailee asked to clarify.
"Yeah," Emily said with a smile. "You having an okay time, despite the circumstances?"
"Yeah," the younger woman said. "I'm really glad that my brother has found home. He looks really relaxed as a Mitchell-Beale."
Emily looked through the window where the boy was sitting next to Cody and they were talking about something, "When was the last time you talked to him in person before this?"
"Right before we got separated." Bailee said. "We were at South Los Angeles together for a year together, but I couldn't find the courage to go and talk to him. So I watched him in his senior year from a distance. Went to all his football and baseball games. Watched him preform on the drumline when he did. I graduated early, so I didn't have to torture myself for too long."
"Why didn't you ever talk to him?" Emily asked.
"I felt like I abandoned him," she said.
"Oh," Emily said.
"Yeah," she said. "But, he has something I never got to have. A family."
Emily looked at the girl and said, "You know this is your family too."
Bailee chuckled, "Oh, okay!" She said.
"It's true." Emily said.
"This isn't even close to my family." Bailee said. "What? They bravely adopt my sacred, stubborn brother, and all of a sudden they're my family?"
"Do you know what family is?" Emily asked with a little confidence in her voice. The silence told Emily that the girl was still hurt from the lack of adoption. "I'll take that as a no." The Army lieutenant made eye contact with the music producer, "Family isn't about blood or a piece of paper making you theirs. It's about those people who will accept your faults and still love you unconditionally. It's about those people who will wrap you in their arms and say, 'I know you. You aren't perfect and that's okay because we're not perfect either. We can be imperfect together.' It's about those people who every holiday you come home to." Emily swallowed and wrapped the girl in a hug before saying, "When they adopted your brother, in a way they adopted you too. Beca and Chloe Mitchell-Beale want you to be another daughter to them. Legally, you'll always be a Forrester, but in the hearts of every Mitchell-Beale, to me and Parker, to Aubrey, and all of the aca-family to the side, you'll be family."
They stood their for a moment as Bailee relaxed in Emily's arms for a few moments before ruining the moment saying, "You mean there's more of you in this aca-family?"
Emily smiled, she knew the girl got the point, and would fit into the family just well by ruining perfectly good moments with humor.
"Mommy?" Dani said softly later that afternoon when she found Chloe alone on the back porch swing.
"Hi angel." Chloe said. "Do you want to sit?" Dani nodded and Chloe made room for her. Dani created distance between them and Chloe tried to not look hurt by the gesture.
They sat in silence for a few moments before Dani asked the question that Micah essentially asked Beca two months before, "Do you still love me?"
Chloe who had been looking out at Taylor, Micah, Parker, and Cody playing volleyball in the pool, snapped her head to her youngest, "Of course I do." She said. "Why - why would you think I didn't?"
"You've been distant ever since I told you about what happened." Dani said.
"I've been giving you space," she said. "That's what you wanted right?"
"Mama hasn't been giving me space," the teenager said.
"Yeah, your mama doesn't have much self-control when it comes to you kids or me." Chloe said knowing full well that she was the cause of that. "Can - can I hold you?" Dani nodded as Chloe wrapped her in her strong arms and kissed the top of her head, "I love you so much, angel. I'm so sorry that you thought otherwise."
For the first time in about a month, Dani buried herself into Chloe's chest, and said, "I'm sorry for hurting you."
"It's fine angel," Chloe said. "I'm just glad to have you back in my arms."
Micah and Cody were sitting with their feet in the pool and finally the blonde boy looked at Micah and asked, "Did I do something wrong?"
Micah's head snapped from the water to Cody's bright blue eyes and said, "What? No, of course not."
"Then why have you been acting weird around me today?" Cody asked.
Micah took a deep breath, "Because I have feelings for you that I've only ever had for a girl." He said. "And I'm just confused."
Cody smiled a small smile and said, "I have feelings for you too."
"Yeah?" Micah said.
Cody nodded, "And I'm more than willing to take whatever we want this to be slow, at your pace." He said. "I know you won't have a problem with your family." He added looking over Micah's shoulder at how Chloe was curled into Beca with Dani sprawled out across both of their laps, the teenager's head in Chloe's lap with the music teacher playing with her hair and with the music producer's free hand massaging the girl's calves, and how Taylor was curled into Parker while Bailee was sitting between Emily and Aubrey finding her own place in this ever growing family. "But, I know being out at school will be hard, believe me, I know." Cody took Micah's hand into his own and said, "So, like I said, we'll take it at your pace. We'll figure us out before we shout it from the rooftops, so to speak."
Micah smiled enjoying the feeling of the other boy's hand in his own, "Thank you for being so understanding," Micah said gazing into the boy's eyes.
"It's not easy being so open and honest about how you feel about these things," he said. "The least I could do is be so understanding."
"So, does that mean you'll be my boyfriend, even though we're figuring things out?" Micah asked.
Cody nodded, "If anything happens during this year as project partners, we have to agree to still be civil, until we graduate."
"I don't normally hold things against people," Micah said. "So I think we'll be good."
"So, what are you doing tomorrow?" Cody asked.
"I have to take Bailee back to the airport and then we're having a going away/engagement party for Taylor and Parker." Micah said. "I should have time between that since I take Bailee in the morning and the party is in the evening."
"Well, would you like to go on a date with me?" Cody asked. "My treat."
"Sure," Micah said. "I can pick you up from your apartment after I drop Bailee off. Then I'm being told to invite you to the party tomorrow."
"I like the sound of that." Cody said. "And why?"
"I told my moms that I have feelings for you." He said. "And they want you to hang around, if that's okay."
"Of course it is." Cody said.
"I want to figure us out some before we tell them though," Micah said. "If that makes sense."
Cody nodded, "It does." He said.
"You be safe, okay?" Micah said outside the security check point.
"I will," she said hugging him. "And you tell Cody how you feel, yeah?"
Micah smiled knowing he already has, "Yes, ma'am."
"I love you bear." She said.
"I love you too, bee." He said. "Go or you'll miss your flight."
Bailee pulled back and said, "Tell the family that I love them."
Micah smiled and inwardly made a note to thank Emily that night and said, "Of course."
Micah stood and watched his sister go through security and stood there until he couldn't see her anymore before heading back down to his car.
"You're leaving me," Beca all, but called out right before the party started.
Taylor's eyes went wide, she never put the pieces together, and forgetting how emotional her mama could get. Chloe, seeing this, came up behind her wife, and hugged her placing her chin on the music producer's shoulder.
"They all have to grow up some time baby," Chloe said softly.
Parker came in and asked, "Why is Aunt Beca crying?"
"You're leaving me too," she called out to Parker.
"Oh no," the boy said, "I already am getting this from my mom." He started stiffly shaking his head, "Not you too."
"You know how your Aunt Beca gets," Chloe said. "Give her this. Both of you."
"We'll be fine," Taylor said. "We'll both be on the other side of Aunt Stacie."
"That doesn't make me feel better honey." Beca said to her daughter. "Aunt Stacie isn't me."
"What's going on in here?" Micah asked coming into the room with Cody.
"Mama's getting emotional again," Dani said from her spot at the kitchen table.
"Mama," Micah said, "I know this is a preview for what I'm going to get next year, but really?"
While the two boys agreed to not tell the family about their relationship until the figured things out, the family noticed how close the two boys were standing.
"I just miss them already, okay?" Beca said.
"They aren't leaving for another two days," Benji said coming into the kitchen with the burgers. "How are you and I the only sane parents?" He asked Chloe.
"I guess so," Chloe said. "Nothing against my baby girl, but I think I'll be more emotional next year when this one graduates," she added gesturing to Micah.
"Oh god, please no." Micah said with wide eyes.
Beca chuckled, "You're definitely Mommy's boy." The music producer said as Micah opened a can of Dr. Pepper taking a sip.
"I like Mommy's boys," Cody said only for him to hear making him spit out some of the soda and choke a little.
"You alright dude?" Parker asked with her arm around Taylor as the boy started to breathe normally again.
"Yeah, yeah." He said glaring at his boyfriend for making him do that. Cody smiled like nothing happened. "Can we get this party started yet?"
The doorbell rang right after that, "Yes!" Beca said.
Taylor was cuddled into Parker later that night, after four hours of hanging with their friends, she was watching Micah teach Cody how to balance on a skateboard.
"Do you think they know how the other one feels yet?" Taylor asked.
"Probably," Parker said. "Micah is less awkward around Cody now. I'm sure they are just trying to figure things out without the pressure of everyone knowing."
"Like we did?" Taylor asked knowing that they didn't tell people until six months into the relationship.
"Yeah, but we did that because we were like cousins and we didn't know how our moms would react." Parker reminded her.
"True." Taylor said. "I really love you Park."
"I love you too Tay." He kissed her forehead.
"Can't believe that we're headed to the East Coast," she said.
"Me either." Parker said. "We'll see each other on weekends, right?"
"Yeah, you know Aunt Stacie will make that happen." She said.
"Yeah," he said. "We'll make it through."
"That we will." Taylor said looking up at him and kissing him softly.
Micah walked Cody out to his truck later that night, "I had a good time today," Cody said.
"Me too," Micah agreed with a small smile. "Let me know that you got home safely?"
"I'll call as soon as I get home," Cody said.
They stared in each other's eyes for a moment before they both leaned in to give each other a small kiss goodnight.
Micah pulled away smiling as did Cody. "I don't wanna ruin the moment, but that was my first kiss." Micah said.
"Yeah?" Cody asked pretty honored. Micah nodded as Cody kissed him one more time causing butterflies to erupt in his stomach.
"Yeah," Micah said.
Cody smiled and winked at him, "See you tomorrow at senior orientation." He said before getting in his truck and driving down the long driveway to the gate. Micah smiled like an idiot never wanting to leave that spot.
End of the chapter a/n: The Micah-Cody relationship thing will be an ongoing journey.
This chapter seems really rough to me, so I hope you like it.
Also, I've gotten a couple of follows on tumblr, cool! And somebody asked what the OC main characters looked like in my head when I am writing them, so if you're curious to that or wanna talk about the story, head over there! determined-or-somethingwith the tumblr stuff attached.
Alright, cool! See you around!