A/N: I'm on a roll lately, so here's another update for you guys. Enjoy.
Leon tapped on the bathroom door, peeking inside. Vince looked up at him from his seat on the edge of the bathtub, towel around his waist. His arm was red and splotchy, already starting to bruise in places, but his expression told nothing of his pain. His face was a blank, almost emotionless mask.
He stared at Leon, almost through him. "Well now she knows.."
Leon shouldered the door open, Aurora still cradled in his arms, sleeping soundly. Vince seemed to come alive at the sight of his daughter, his good hand reaching out to touch her.
"I'm taking her home with me tonight, V." Leon told him, rushing to explain, "I think you and Tala have a lot to talk about and you can't do it if you've got the little one to worry about."
Vince's eyes were riveted to the sleeping infant, much like they always were. He truly adored his little girl.
"She's disgusted, Le." He looked at him, eyes watery. "I can't lose her over this."
Leon's hand was constantly moving, his fingers drumming lightly against Aurora's back. "You have to tell her everything, Vince. Everything." He kissed Aurora's head, avoiding eye contact with his big brother. He waited for Vince to digest what he'd just said for a moment, then looked pointedly at Rory. "Say goodnight, V."
Vince stood up, rubbing his palms on his towel covered thighs. His right arm was moving a lot slower than it had been as of late, like it was aching. Regardless, he reached out and with Leon's assistance, took Aurora in his arms, her lily white skin stark against his tanned chest.
Her eyes cracked open slightly, bright blue orbs staring almost blindly up at her father. She fussed slightly, then, hearing Vince's hushed murmurs, she settled and nuzzled into his skin.
Leon smiled, watching the scene. He almost felt like he was intruding on a private moment. The reverent way Vince held her, the way he would touch her little head and smooth her fine hair carefully showing just how much he loved her.
He looked up to Leon, eyes wide and afraid. "You'll take good care of her?"
He nodded. "Of course I will, you know I will." He watched as Vince kissed her, whispering to her. He held his hands out. "Come on, V. You have to give her to me if I'm going to take her home with me."
Vince looked down at the baby in his arms. "She's never been away from us for the night."
"Vincent, you're not getting out of this."
He nodded slowly, handing her over. He winced when Leon knocked his forearm taking Aurora off him.
Leon glared at the damaged limb. "You get short stuff to check that out for you."
"I will." Vince stroked Aurora's hand with his thumb and first two fingers, tearing up when her tiny fingers tightened around his. "Take her before I decide not to let you."
Starting out of the bathroom, Leon looked back at Vince, sitting on the side of the tub again. "You get yourself sorted out, alright?"
Vince nodded, shoulders slumped. "Goodnight, Le."
Letty hid just outside the kitchen, hugging herself to keep warm. She had been fine all curled up in bed with Leon until he had gotten up to Aurora. She peered around the door into the brightly lit room and smiled at the sight she was greeted with.
Leon must have brought Aurora's bouncer into the kitchen and had placed her in it on the table while he prepared her bottle. He moved around the room chatting to the grumpy infant, a slight bounce in his step as he walked from the table to the microwave.
" – and then the police arrived. So there was daddy hanging half out the side window, bare assed, that means naked, for everyone to see, and your uncle Jesse was inside on the floor laughing. He had called the police you see," he tested the milk on his arm, wincing, then put it on the table beside the bouncer to cool, "-and he told them that someone was trying to break into the house."
Letty grinned. She remembered the day he was talking about. Jesse had somehow convinced Vince to go outside, snatched the towel he was wearing off him and locked all the doors and windows bar one. Vince had been stuck outside, trying to keep himself covered from the teenaged neighbours for almost an hour before the police turned up and caught him hanging out the window, ass in the air. She watched Leon pick up the bottle a little while later, test it again then put it back on the table.
"You hungry, princess?" he stood, easing her out of the bouncer and into a position he deemed comfortable for her, "Here we go."
She watched secretly from the shadows as he fed her, pacing slowly back and forth. When Aurora was first born he had begged her for a baby of their own. Begged her. After a week or so of her flat out refusing, he had stopped asking as much, instead just asking randomly every once in a while. Well, not exactly asking, he would drop subtle hints.
Letty could envision their children easily. Their father's strong profile with jewel green eyes, her skin tone maybe and tall. Tall like Leon. She knew there was a chance for them to have blue eyes like Aurora, being genetic and all, but she much preferred her imaginary babies with green eyes. Having children with Leon she could imagine. But the fear was still there. The fear that he would get her pregnant and leave her alone to raise the baby or babies on her own. Or worse… Stick around but go sniffing around elsewhere while she was pregnant.
She knew it was an irrational fear, Leon being nothing like Dom, but it still lingered over her head like a dark cloud.
In the kitchen, she saw Leon put the now empty bottle down in the sink and lift Aurora up to burp her, still maintaining a constant stream of chatter.
"One day princess, one day… You're going to have a cousin to play with. Might not be this year, or next year, or even in five years, but one day I'll talk your Aunt Teesha into having a baby with me. She's going to make beautiful babies, Rory, I swear." He smiled proudly when she burped almost delicately, then placed her back in her bouncer. He sat back at the table, wide awake now, and took her little hands in his. Her mouth opened in a wide yawn, her feet kicking in the air. The smile he gave her was almost blinding, one that was usually reserved for Letty and Letty alone.
Letty bit her lip, waiting to see if he would say anything else.
"She's scared you know, your Aunt Teesha. She hasn't said so, but I know she is." His thumbs smoothed over the arches of her tiny feet, tickling her. "I think she thinks I'm going to chuck a Dom on her," he kissed one foot, then the other, "- but I'm not. I love her too much to do something as low as that."
Outside, Letty felt tears come to her eyes at his blasé tone. He was so matter of fact about his feelings that it humbled her sometimes.
Leon started to talk again.
"I remember when I first saw her, Rory. I was seventeen," he pointed toward the large paved patio out the side, "-and I was out there. She came over with Dom, the guy who's too tall for his hair, and I thought 'what is she doing with that pig?', but I didn't say anything. You know why? Because she looked happy."
There was a quiet gurgle from Rory, almost like she was replying, and Leon went on. "I know! See, that's what I thought! But she wasn't really happy. Dom, or he with man boobs as I like to call him, he treated her bad. He would talk down to her Rory. Can you imagine that? Someone talking badly to someone so special?"
Letty bit her fist to stop the sob from coming out, her chest hurting from holding back her tears. He's had feelings for me for seven years? I know he said it was a long time, but seven years? She knew, absolutely knew that he would never say any of this to her face, being so guarded and all, but she was glad she was hearing it.
"Alright, alright I get the point. I'm boring you to sleep."
Letty's eyes widened and she quickly stood up, running back upstairs as quietly and quickly as she could so he didn't catch her eavesdropping. She jumped into bed and threw the blankets back over her, calming herself. Luckily, she was breathing normally before the kitchen light even flipped off, the house falling into darkness. Letty rolled toward the door, watching Leon as he crept back into the bedroom, Aurora in arms. He paused, unable to see her eyes as open in the dark and proceeded to gently lower his niece into the foldout crib in the corner that Tala had sent over with him. He stood watching her for a few minutes, bathed in moonlight from the open window then turned back to the bed, crawling up toward the pillows. Letty's eyes automatically fell shut. She was unable to stop a small smile from forming when he tucked himself back beneath the blankets and against her, his hands finding their way down the back of her panties to cup her ass. She brought her leg up and over his hip, bonelessly allowing him to pull her as close as humanly possible.
"What's it going to take to make you see?" he whispered to her, fully believing she was sleeping. "Please don't go back to Dom if he shows up… Please."
Thinking it best not to respond, Letty snuggled into his warmth, hooking her leg down and around the back of his thigh. Leon relaxed against her almost immediately and soon after dropped off to sleep, his head tucked into the curve of her neck.
Sleep didn't come so easily for Letty that night.
Letty scrunched her hair with the towel, drying it off as she made her way downstairs the next morning. Leon was already up and thoroughly enthralled in the cartoons, bouncing Aurora on his knee absently. Every movement he made with her was instinct, from the way he was bouncing her to the way his large hands supported her neck and spread out over her belly to hold her upright. He looked ruffled, like he always did when he woke up, but this morning it was different. He was slightly more alert, less sluggish than he usually was while watching his cartoons before going to work.
"What are you doing up? Didn't you call in for a sick day?" Letty asked, bending to kiss him good morning. She moaned at the rich chocolate taste his mouth held, hesitant to draw away from him. His tongue flicked over her lip one last time and he drew back, smiling up at her.
"Had to be up for Rory."
Letty nodded, sitting beside him on the couch. "Baby, about last night.." she stole Aurora away from him, quietly cooing to her niece. "You didn't exactly tell me why we're being graced with the presence of royalty."
He sat back, running his fingers through his lengthening hair. "Do you remember how I told you that dad was abusive to V?"
She nodded, watching Aurora snuggle against the swell of her breast. Her little hand pushed against her slightly, then flattened out and rested there beside her cheek.
"Yeah, you said something about it." She sneered slightly. From what she remembered of Vince and Leon's father she didn't like him. He was mean, overly cruel to Vince and downright creepy. He always gave her that look that made her want to scrub herself until she was raw. His eyes made her feel dirty.
"Well he did a whole lot more than just smack him around, Let."
Letty looked at Leon, shocked. "You don't mean.." she was dreading it, Leon's nod. When it came she stared at him, stunned. "Oh my god.." her voice shook and she felt her throat thicken. "Is he alright?"
"I think he was dealing until dad showed up at the apartment." Leon touched Aurora's head. "He was holding Rory when V got in last night from work."
"Oh fuck no," she looked down at the baby, "He didn't-"
Leon shook his head. "No, no, nothing like that. He and Vince got into it, banged each other up pretty good. I think Vince has hurt his arm again, but he was a wreck. I thought they needed some alone time so I bought her home." He looked at his lap. "You.. You don't mind, do you?"
Letty wordlessly got up and put Aurora into the crib, now downstairs, and turned back to Leon, her hands in her pockets.
"About the baby, Leon.."
He looked up at her. "I know you're not fond of them, Let, but they-"
She rolled her eyes, pressing her palm over his mouth. Her other hand took him by the wrist and dragged him into the kitchen. She waited until she was sure he wouldn't speak, then removed her hand.
Reaching into her pocket, she dug out a blister pack of tiny little pills. She held them up to his face so he could see exactly what they were, her birth control, then lifted the lid on the garbage and tossed them in.
"I want a baby."