A/N: The epigraph is Christina Aguilera's Bound to You, from Burlesque's soundtrack (I don't know if she really wrote this song, but I'm too lazy to care)

xx

21. Bored

"Do I risk it all? Come this far just to fall?"

Christina Aguilera

He knew she wasn't okay. It was obviously by the way they were having pizza almost every day for dinner, by how she was easily getting annoyed by things, how nothing was good enough. He knew it, because they were fighting over silly things, like wet towels and dishes. Because she snapped "don't fucking touch me" every time he tried to calm her down with a hug. Because not even Grace was out of her range.

But one day, at the supermarket, things got hairy. They were in the checkout line when Grace asked to eat a piece of cake and Alo allowed.

"Don't give her more sugar." Mini snapped, taking the cake from his hands.

"Why not?"

"She already is electric, she already run around the house like crazy, we don't need to maximize it."

They stared each other and Alo took the cake from her hands too.

"Fuck it."

She took it back and he recovered it again, quickly opening it up and giving it to Grace.

"Fucking twat."

"What?"

"You're a fucking twat." She said slowly.

"Oh, right. Because I don't want our daughter to have a strictly neurotic diet, that's why I'm twat."

"She doesn't have to have a strictly neurotic diet, Alo, she just doesn't need to eat so much sugar."

"What sugar she ate today? She had milk and apple for breakfast, her morning snack was crackers! Stop pushing your skinny bullshit on her!"

"It's not bullshit! And she's healthy!"

"So she can have some cake, for fucks sake."

The look on Mini's eyes was like she could burn him. She was so pissed. They stayed in silence for a few minutes.

"My 'neurotic bullshit' is what keeps her healthy. If it was for you, she'd eat every single crap at that farm and it'd be okay."

"Don't start."

"Oh, don't start? If it annoys you so much, why you bothered to even ask me to merry you."

"Mini. Don't fucking start, it has nothing to do…"

"It has everything to do with everything, Aloysius! What you call bullshit is what made you go all 'Oh, Mini is so beautiful' and it's what makes our baby beautiful too. If I had twenty more pounds I doubt…"

"That's when you're wrong, Minerva, are you listening to yourself? It's all bollocks. If you had twenty more pounds I wouldn't fucking care, as long as you still were you. I didn't fell in love with the way you look and you know that. I thought you were over that stuff, but it seems worse than ever the last few weeks. I mean, you never storm about a cake or dishes, we had a deal! I've been trying to fucking help you and understand, but you're driving me mad."

Mini frowned and looked ahead, avoiding his gaze. He hadn't finished.

"And you're wrong about Grace too. This is not what makes her beautiful, everything about her makes her beautiful. She doesn't need to be skinny, she's only two! Seriously, Mini, what is wrong with you?"

"I'M BORED! I'M FUCKING BORED ALL THE TIME!" she shouted. "I'm tired of being home; I'm not a motherfucking housewife, Alo! I'm never gonna be! I am not the type of woman that stays at home waiting for her husband with dinner ready! I can't stand it anymore."

"I'm not forcing you, you know that! But you have to talk to me. I can't read minds! Everything always goes down when you stop talking to me." Mini looked down, still avoiding him. "Stop bitching and talk to me."

"Dad, I want more." Grace interrupted and they both shouted, without even looking at her.

"No!"

"But…"

"I said no, Grace." Alo said firmly, looking at her. She pouted, her eyes getting bigger. "Do not… no. Grace. Don't." she stopped halfway to burst into tears, but she kept looking at him with those puppy eyes. "No is no."

"I'll wait in the car." Mini said and Alo looked ahead. Now he was pissed. "Give me the keys." He breathed slowly. "Give me the fucking keys now."

He handed her the keys.

"Are you taking her with you?" he asked to her back, and she answered with a simple:

"No."

It made him roll his eyes.

"Dad? Now I can have more cake?" Grace asked when Mini was far enough.

"No, Gracey! You just ate one. Later, okay?"

"I'll remember that."

"I know."

Alo looked to his left and a guy in his forties was looking at him and smiling; he tried to smile back.

"Such a hurricane, your woman, huh?" the guy said and now Alo's smile was legit.

"That's true. They both are."

He looked at Grace again and she was hanging on the shopping cart, trying to catch something. He pocked her knee and she sat straight again, smiling widely.

"You're your mother's daughter."