Chapter 5

"Good morning…"

"Morning" Blaze quietly nods back at Axel as she reaches the bottom of the stairs dressed and ready for work with her gym bag prepped. As she passes the living room, she can hear the 7am kids TV breakfast show on, with Leon lying down fast asleep on the couch under the blanket.

The smell of pancakes triggers her senses as soon as Blaze edges closer to the kitchen.

"I'm making breakfast, you got some time right? Before you have to head to rehearsals?" Axel asks as he places a mug of tea down on the counter in front of her.

"Sure…thanks" she replies feeling surprised with his positive mood as she takes a seat on a stool by the breakfast bar. The look on Blaze's face today is different however, where she appears to be tired with a tint of red around her eyes.

"You've been crying haven't you?" He asks, gently touching her cheek.

"No, I haven't" Blaze defensively answers, turning her head away.

"I know you. And I wanna apologize for being a jerk. You were right about everything and I should have listened to you earlier. Leon slept on the couch with me last night. We had that discussion and you know what? It was the best thing! He seems so much happier now".

"I'm usually right…" Blaze replies, reminding him of that same conversation.

"Don't you have to get ready for work?" She asks.

"No, I'm taking today off. It's about time I spend a whole day with him. You should join us if you can…"

"I gotta be at the studio in an hour. I have 3 classes to teach plus I gotta finish two choreographies. I'm just so exhausted! I guess Leon is taking the day off school then?"

"Yeah, if that's ok with you?"

"Definitely! I think you two should spend more father son time together and he'l love that! I'm proud of you for having that talk with him, Axel'' she smiles.

"Thank you" he smiles back. "He's not the only one I wanna spend more time with," he says before leaning forward to kiss her. "I know I haven't said it, but I really do want us to get married properly. I've even called Max, he's arriving tonight. I need some advice in planning this…."

"What? Wait? You're planning a wedding for us?" Blaze grins in disbelief.

"Yeah! Do you trust me to get it right?"

"No….?" she giggles.

"Well then we can start planning stuff together when you get home, there's gonna be a surprise waiting for you when you come back" he smiles.

"Okay… hmmm I'm curious now!" Her face lights up, appearing much happier than earlier.

"I hate arguing with you baby"

"Me too," she says as the two of them wrap their arms around each other tightly, feeling the warmth of each other's bodies when they hug.

"I missed this," she whispers.

"Me too".

"Mom! Dad! Charlie needs to go outside to pee!" Leon runs in, interrupting the moment.

"I'll let him out," Blaze smiles, noticing chocolate stained around the boy's mouth and over his pyjamas.

"Have you been stealing those cookies again?" She asks, folding her arms.

He stares up at her, giving her an innocent nod. "Dad had more than me though…"

She can't help but chuckle, "well next time save me some too, ok?"

"What do you want on your pancakes then kid?"

"Nutella!" Leon's eyes light up with joy.

"I'm guessing your mom will want the same also…"

Just as Blaze returns to the kitchen, she reaches for the packet of oatmeal and milk.

"Baby, that's very sweet of you but I'm having pancakes with you two" Axel says.

"Oh, no this is for me!" Blaze smiles.

"But you can't stand oatmeal! You joke that it's like my prison food breakfast". His comment makes Leon laugh.

"Don't you want pancakes mom? These are your favourite."

"No thanks, I'm good. I had some of the eggs yesterday and it played on my stomach. Sorry, I should have thrown them away…"

"It's ok." Axel replies as he checks the date on the packaging. "These are good until Sunday! Maybe it was something else you ate?"

"Maybe…" She answers, quickly finishing what's left in her bowl. "Charlie and I will see you two later" she kisses them both on the cheek goodbye before rushing out of the house.

"So did you enjoy London zoo then?"

Leon happily nods with his mouth full of food as he finishes the rest of his sandwich.

"What time is Uncle Max arriving?"

"Around 5. We can catch the subway from here to the airport but first I need you to help me with something, it's really important."

The two of them spend the remainder of the afternoon at the arcades together before visiting one of West London's jewelry stores.

"Why are we here?" Leon queries.

"Because I saw something online at this store that I wanna check out."

"Hi there, can I help you?" One of the shop floor assistants greets them with a friendly smile.

"Yes please, I'm looking for these" Axel replies, displaying an item on the store's web

site.

"Oh, that range is one of a kind. Follow me please" she says as she leads them to a separate room at the back of the store.

"Wait here a moment please Sir, cute kid by the way!" She remarks, smiling at Leon.

Less than a minute later she is back with a squared black box along with her assistant.

"Would you like a tea, a coffee or orange juice?"

"I'm good thanks, Leon, do you want a drink?" Axel asks.

"Please could I have a juice" he shyly says whilst Axel carefully opens the box.

"As you can see, they're both 18 carot white gold and although the man's band is thicker with a rim along the edges, and the ladie's ring contains three diamonds, when you connect the two of them together they form a heart. We can also do the engraving here in the store for you free of charge".

"I like it, a lot!" He smiles.

"What are those?" Leon asks.

"They're wedding rings, for me and your mom…. I'll give you our sizes and I'll take them" he nods back at the assistant.

"Great! They'll be ready in one hour for you to collect".

After a trip to the cake shop and some chocolate brownies together, the two of them return back to the jewelry store.

"I'm entrusting you kid with my own birthday cake. Please don't drop the box"

"I won't, I promise!"

Once they're both inside the store, the same lady from earlier brings out the rings, this time with the engravings on the inside.

"What is that symbol inside them?"

"It means infinity, like forever. Can you see our names inside each other's rings?"

"Yeah! That's nice, I think mom will really like it!"

"I think so too," he smiles.

The subway journey to Heathrow airport from there is a lot quieter than earlier with Leon now tired from spending the whole day out.

"We can get a cab home after we meet Max and I'll order us some food. Your mom should be back home around 7:30".

"Are you gonna show her the rings?" Leon excitedly asks.

"Yeah, but don't say anything! And don't go stealing any of this chocolate cake here, my birthday isn't until tomorrow ok?"

"You don't have to worry, I've had enough sweet food for the day".

"That's a first!" Axel laughs.

The two of them patiently and excitedly wait at the airport arrivals for Max to appear. To their surprise however, two other familiar faces emerge first.

"Adam?! Estel?! What the hell are you two doing here?!" Axel shouts out, pleasantly surprised. The two of them force a warm smile when they see Leon running forward to greet them.

"We needed a vacation! And we wanted to see you!" Adam laughs.

"That's amazing!" Axel grins.

"This is the coolest!" Leon happily says as he hugs them.

"Big guy is on the way out, his suitcase had to come off the plane last!" Estel remarks.

"Just his luck!" Adam laughs.

"Uncle Max!" Leon excitedly runs forward to hug the wrestler.

"My God kid, you've grown taller! In no time, you'll catch up with me" he winks.

"Hey man" Axel is next to greet him. "So was this a last minute decision for you two then?"

"Something like that…" Estel replies.

"We need to talk. But not right now" Adam pulls him to one side, glancing over towards Leon who is walking next to Max a couple of metres front of them.

"Have you been to London before? I can show you around!" The boy asks.

"Actually, I've been here many times and it's a beautiful city," Estel answers.

"Me too! I usually stop over when I visit my parents in Italy. It's only two hours from here by plane".

"I've been here once before. So do you like your new home then?" Adam asks.

"Yeah! It's nice! But I miss Wood Oak City and I miss you guys" Leon replies, slightly frowning.

"We've missed you too. Next time I'll bring Cherry with us! She'd love to see you but she has school".

"How bad is it?" Axel quietly asks Adam who is walking next to him.

"I'll explain later. Now is not the time or place" he sighs.

"Are we in any danger remaining here?" He probes.

"Not exactly. But there's something you need to know. We've tracked down the agent who was after Leon."

"Good. I can't promise I won't burn him alive" Axel says with determination in his voice.

"Dad?! Can I show Uncle Max your birthday cake please?!" Leon interrupts, giggling back at them.

"Sure! Just don't drop it!" He forces a smile back before the group get into a 6 seater cab together.

"Take out is on the way" Axel glances at his phone app as the group sit around the living room with the heating on.

"Where's Blaze then?" Estel queries.

"She should have been back from work by now, she's probably…."

Just as he finishes his sentence, the keys to the front door jingle.

Axel then gets up to meet her at the front door.

"Sorry I'm late! I picked up some shopping for tomorrow" Blaze opens the door, greeting him with a kiss as Charlie bolts forward barking down the hall and running towards the living room.

"How was your day beautiful?"

"Ahhh, it was ok. I did my best, but it wasn't my best if you know what I mean" she exhales, placing her arms around his neck whilst he pulls her towards him with his arms around her waist.

"How many suitcases did Max bring with him?" Blaze laughs, noticing the row of luggage behind Axel.

"You'd better come inside…. Wait, did you buy me a birthday cake?" He asks, glancing down at one of the bags containing a white cake box.

"Yeah, but you weren't supposed to see it yet!"

"I got you a surprise" he smiles, still facing her with their arms tightly around each other.

"But it's your birthday tomorrow, not mine…..but I could give you your first surprise later on if you like?" She grins.

"And what's that then?"

"You'll have to wait until bedtime I'm afraid…." she hands over to him a small victoria secret bag.

"I hope this ain't for me to wear!" He jokes.

"Red is more my colour…" she winks.

"Damn! That's hot" he says as he looks inside the bag. "Guess I've been promoted from the couch, right babe?" He smirks as she leaves him standing in the hallway.

"Adam?! Estel?! Oh my God, I thought it was just Max coming to see us! It's so good to see the three of you!" Blaze excitedly shouts as soon as she enters the living room, jumping forward to hug them.

"Good to see you too" Adam forces a smile.

"What's wrong? Is Cherry Ok?" Blaze asks, feeling concerned.

"Yeah, Cherry is good! She has school so we couldn't bring her with us."

"I'm glad you and Estel are also here. We've missed you a lot! Plus it's Axel's birthday tomorrow. It's perfect timing!"

The rest of the evening runs smoothly as the group enjoy their takeout and catch up after a year.

"So, what do you think? Hopefully while you three are here, you can help us set a date!" Axel asks whilst the others admire the wedding bands he bought earlier.

"They're so beautiful, thank you baby" Blaze smiles, giving him a brief kiss on the lips.

"I'll be back in a second, just gotta call Cherry to let her know that we've safely arrived" Adam says to them, awkwardly making his way outside the room into the hallway.

"Hey Blaze? Did you say the bathroom was that way?" Estel queries.

"Yeah, second door on the right once you get up the stairs!"

A minute later Estel and Adam meet one another upstairs.

"How the hell are we supposed to tell them? The three of them look so happy right now!"

"I know!" Adam huffs, feeling major guilt.

"What did you tell Axel at the airport?"

"Just the fact that we've tracked the agent down…maybe we should wait until tomorrow or after his birthday before we say anything. What do you think?"

"I think you're right. We're here for four days, we have time to break the news to him later on when it's right".

Adam nods, placing his hand over his chin. "I just don't know how I'm gonna tell him! I know Axel's gonna lose it!" He says with caution.