Chapter 27
Playdate
"TAI!" Alex jumped on me.
"Shh, you can't yell here." I said, picking him up and adjusted him.
"What are you going to do?" Owen asked.
"I dunno, it's pretty cold at the beach right now-" I thought.
"Like at Grandpa's?" Alex asked.
"Yeah, but we'll save that for when it's warmer. You don't want to eat ice cream and walk around Seaside while it's cold." I said, thinking.
"But we had ice cream on Thanksgiving." He said.
"That was inside. I dunno. We could go to the zoo or OMSI, that's a science museum… What you wanna do, Xander?" I asked.
He furrowed his eyebrows. "Cuddles."
"You didn't come all the way out here for cuddles, did you?" I asked.
He nuzzled me.
"Let him have cuddle time." Adri gave me a peck on the cheek then Alex on the head. "Then maybe he'll wanna do something."
"Hello, Adriana." Owen smiled.
"Hey, Mr. B- Dad." She still wasn't used to calling Owen or Puck Dad.
"Where're you going?" I asked.
"Gotta pick up more art stuff." She said.
"See you later?" I smiled.
"Like I'd miss spending time with our favorite little man. Be good for Tai, won't you?" She asked.
"Hug." He reached out.
"Are you gonna be good and listen to Tai?" She said firmly.
"Yes, hug." He grabbed at her.
"You're lucky you're so cute." She took him and they hugged.
"Mine." He dragged me over with magic.
"Ours." Owen hugged us.
We let go of each other and Adri left. Owen reminded Alex that he'd be back around six. We hugged him goodbye and I closed the door. I told Alex not to touch anything or snoop on my computer before I laid down on the couch and held him, gently rubbing his back. He played with my hair and settled down. Our breathing was slow and steady.
I woke up to the sounds of a narrator talking about plants. "You're up." Adri told me.
"Where's Alex?" I asked.
"In the kitchen. I got him a snack. He's been waiting for you to wake up." She said.
"Gimme 5 minutes." I left to go the bathroom.
I washed my hands and looked in the mirror. I walked out and Alex stopped eating and looked at me. I sat down next to him.
"How long were you unsupervised?" I asked.
"15 minutes." He told me.
"You were good for Adri, weren't you?" I asked.
"Yeah." He said.
"He was watching TV when I came in." Adri said.
Alex smiled like an angel.
"Finish your snack. Then go watch TV." I got up and followed my girlfriend to my workroom. I had converted a thin potion, maybe a half a hair's width, of the room's walls, ceiling, and floor into iron by fucking with the atoms inside it. It wasn't perfect, but no Fae could use their magic to spy easily on us in here or in my room. "Yeah?"
"Alex isn't a normal kid, is he? He was watching that science documentary." She asked.
"He's a quarter Fae. Puck's been training him since he was born. They mature faster than humans." I told her.
"When I came in and saw you were asleep, I tried to wake you, but he wouldn't let me. Said you needed more rest than you were getting." She frowned.
"Adri, you know how focused I get when working." I told her. "We're connected by magic."
"He was deadly serious about it. 'Let her rest, Adri. She's not sleeping enough. Please take care of my sister better.'" She shuddered.
"… The clan told me that there's two sides to him. The scary smart prince and the little six year old who wants cuddles. That's just how he is. Just like how I age slower than you." I smiled bitterly.
"Talia." She said.
I opened the door. "Hey, sorry about that. You wanna do anything now?"
"Um." He thought. "Chess."
"We don't know how to play." I said.
"I can teach you!" He smiled.
"Your dad tried to teach me, but he stopped because I wasn't right for it." I really hated how this family loved chess.
"He didn't teach you good enough." Alex summoned a chess set.
"Alex, it's not going to be any fun. I just don't click with chess, ok?" I tried.
"Please…" He sat in front of the white pieces.
Adri made me sit in front of the board. "Fine…"
He spent the next hour reminding me what the pieces were, how they moved and common mistakes newbies made. He was nicer about than David and cracked jokes, making it more fun than per-Gathering Owen's attempts until Owen knocked on the door.
"Lesson time's over, Xander. You gotta go home now." I got up and opened the door.
"But I'm not done yet!" He cried out.
"Hey, Dad." I said.
"Did he behave?" He asked.
"Yeah, we mostly stayed here. He was giving me a tutorial about chess." I let him. "I'm just indulging him. You know I'm no good." I told him.
"Come see how Talia did." Alex called.
Owen glanced at the board. Alex was going to win, but I had taken a few of his pawns and a rook. I did terribly and I knew it. He sat down and they restarted the game. Dad won.
"That's not fair. You're better than me." I said.
"It was a mistake to give into your pouting. I should have pushed you to actually try." He shook Alex's hand and stood up.
"She said Daddy tried to teach her." Alex said.
"We both tried." Owen said.
"You guys gotta get home. And the next time you come over, we'll do something outside." I told him.
"Ok." Alex hugged me. "I love you."
"I love you too, little guy." I kissed his head.
"I'll see you later, little trickster." Owen kissed my cheek.
"Bye, Dad." I hugged him too.
They left and we had dinner. Puck came back after Alex's lesson. He taught me then he got out the chess set Alex left.
"No." I frowned.
"Oh, yes, Tai. We're doing this." He put the pieces on the board.
"Should've took him out." I muttered.
"Too late." He said. "I'm teaching you strategy."
"I'm not sure this is what he meant." I sat down.
"I'm just doing what I was told." His eyes glimmered.
I smiled.
