Chapter 14

Lunch with my future parents

Talia's POV

Dad drove us to a corner store and we went in. I think David thought Owen was going to kidnap me and was trying to keep an eye on him. Oh, he was not doing great. He could have whisked me away while you were blinking. Keep your eyes open, David.

Owen looked at me and I stopped blinking us out of his sight. Now, I remembered why Owen was Owen. He looked over the combs and chose one for me. We passed by the candy aisle and I chose something I knew wouldn't be gone in the future. Owen let me keep it. He paid for my things and we went to the car. He tore the tag off the comb and started using it on me.

"Ow!" I said as he caught a nasty tangle.

"I'm sorry, Sweetheart. I'll be careful." Puck's magic untangled the bad ones, but he left the small ones for the comb. He smoothed my hair down and then it became slower.

"Owen, are you… playing with her hair?" Fox asked, reaching out.

We held our breath, but Owen didn't knock flat on her ass.

"Wow, it's so soft! Like silk or something." She marveled.

"I'll take your word for it." David quipped.

"Dad-" I said.

"Owen." He corrected.

"Can we go eat now?" I asked.

"Of course, Sweetie." He almost pressed his lips to the top of my head.

David and Fox were trying to keep it together. They probably never saw Owen like this before. We got in the car and he took us to a Chinese restaurant. It had pandas on the walls. We ordered and then we got little bowls of soup.

"So, Talia, what were you doing at your grandfather's?" David asked.

"Um," I set my spoon down. "We were on vacation, but my, uh, parents died in a freak accident."

"That's terrible." Fox frowned.

"Yeah, I don't really remember what happened." I frowned.

"So, Talia, where did you go to school?" Fox asked.

"I was homeschooled." I told her.

The adults quieted.

Owen frowned at me when I drank from the soup bowl. There wasn't enough left to bother with the spoon. The waitress took our dishes away. Then the food came and they decided to let me eat. I ate and then Owen paid for my food and put in the carton while I broke the cookie open. David had to pay for his and Fox's meal.

We went back to the car and then we went to the police station. Owen told David and Fox to meet back at the car in 30 minutes because it was hot. We went started walking and then Owen spoke.

"Talia, I found you near my work and then you are going to tell the police what you told Mr. Renard. Ok?" He said.

"Ok." I nodded.

The precinct was bustling with activity. Owen talked to the lady at the front desk. She led us to someone else and then we were sitting at a desk. The metal plate said M. Chavez. The calendar said June 1989.

"What can I help you with?" She asked.

"We need an out of state address. Bar Harbor, Maine. Talia, do you remember your grandfather's name?" Owen looked at me.

"Petros Xanatos." I answered and he furrowed his eyebrows a tiny bit.

"Alright. Give me a few minutes and I'll have it." She got up and left.

"Why isn't she using Goo- the internet?" I sloppily rephrased the question.

He looked at me.

"Never mind." I said, looking away. Fuck, when was the internet invented?

"What exactly is the internet?" Owen watched me.

"I, um, I must have read it in a sci-fi novel." Oh, God… "It, uh, it's like network of information shared with a bunch of computers…"

"How many computers?" He asked.

"7 billion…" I muttered.

He raised his eyebrow. "And you could find out your grandfather's address with it?"

"Yeah." I fucked up.

The lady came back. "Follow me."

We followed her to the captain's office. The captain was a man with almost gray hair. Something about him reminded me of Elisa. No, wait, there's pictures of Elisa and her siblings. So, is this her-

"I just had a very interesting conversation with the Bar Harbor police captain, Talia. Apparently, you went missing 8 years ago." Elisa's dad told me.

"I didn't run away!" I protested.

"It's alright, Talia. We just need to know what happened." He said calmly.

"Um, I was waiting for Grandpa to come home and then I got sleepy. BUT the last thing I saw was a blurry orange shape." I told him.

"That's all you remember?" Mr. Maza asked.

"Yeah…" I said.

"Then what?" Ms. Chavez asked.

"Da- Owen woke me up." I said.

They looked at Owen and then me. They seemed more confused now.

"I look like her father, but I'm too young to be her father. I'm 27. If what you're saying is true, then she should be about 25." Owen looked at me. I nodded.

"So young…" Mr. Maza trailed off. "The captain left a message on your grandfather's phone. We should hear back from him before too long."

"He gets home at 6." I said.

Owen stood up and we looked at him. He held the detective's and chief's gaze. Puck's magic hypnotized them. Then he made me invisible and I followed Owen back to the car. He took Fox back to their work then David back to his apartment. Then Owen drove to another building. We rode the elevator up and he unlocked the door to his apartment. I walked in and turned visible when the door clicked shut.

There wasn't any furniture at all. The fridge was barely stocked. It was too clean. Owen's scent was sparse and nearly indictable. Puck's however…

"You're not 25, are you, Talia?" Owen asked.

"No." I said.

"Was the rest of it true?" He pressed.

"Enough of it." I answered.

"You know who I truly am, don't you?" He finally asked.

"Yes." I said.

He stared at me for a moment then scooped me up. He kissed my cheek. "Mine. You are mine."

"Daddy…" I whined as he covered me in kisses.

"I have been patience long enough." He nuzzled me.

I waited until he got all his cuddles out. Which was not easy. Puck made a couch and Owen set me on it before sitting down himself. Owen turned into Puck.

Puck snapped his fingers and I felt my mind getting fuzzy.

"What did I do…?" I asked before my eyes shut.

Talia's POV End

Puck's POV

"What did I do…?" Talia looked at me with betrayed eyes.

I felt a slight knot in my throat, but I untangled it as I de-aged her. Owen was barking up a storm about how I hurt his baby. Just the scent of her drove him into a cooing cuddle bug. Like come on man, you're making me look bad. I know this is your second encounter with a Halfling, but sweet Jesus…

"She still smells like you…" I frowned as I held a 5 year old Talia. Ok, maybe she did have a bit of him in her, but that's still not an excuse for becoming a lovesick fool.

She stirred and rubbed her eyes. "Daddy?"

"That's right, Talia. I'm your daddy." I smiled.

She hugged me. "I love you."

I petted her hair.

"Are you going to be a coward? If you won't say it, I will." Owen hissed.

"I love you too, kiddo." I kissed the top of her head.

I had felt her hair through Owen, but that didn't do it justice. It was softer than soft. It was something absolutely Fae. Before I knew what was happening, her scent overwhelmed me and I almost lost it. I reigned myself in enough not to become an idiot, but a few more kisses to her forehead and cheek slipped out. She giggled happily.

What the hell was that? I tentatively sniffed the air around her. Was her magic making pheromones based on what she felt or wanted? I petted her hair again. That, that was where it came from. Owen must have been huffing the stuff since he opened the door to his office. Is that why Owen punched Xanatos? Was she scared of him?

"Daddy?" Talia asked.

"You need a bath." I picked her up.

"No bath!" She whined and her scent changed to one of reluctant and I felt it grow stronger as I didn't do what she wanted. I think her powers were stronger because she was younger. I was suddenly glad that Owen had encountered the older Talia.

"You're stinky. You need a bath." I told her.

"Nooo!" She stubbornly continued.

"You can play some duckies and bubbles. It'll be fun." I smiled.

Talia frowned deeply; it was cute, as I got the water ready. She behaved as I put her in the warm water and got her hair wet. She played with the rubber duck and had the nerve to splash me and put a bunch of bubbles on my cheek. She was aiming for my nose, but I was quicker. I dried her off afterward and put her in some "jammies" so I could wash her clothes. They weren't as bad as say a jogger going laps around the park, but might as well go all the way.

"You hungry, Sweetie?" I took her leftovers out of the fridge.

"Hamburger." She told me.

"Don't you want your noodles?" I asked.

"Nu huh." She shook her head.

I huffed, smiling. So finicky, so Fae-like. "Stay right there and I'll be back."

She was trying to get out of the chair I put her on when I got back with her Happy Meal. We ate our dinners; the older Talia seemed upset that I didn't have enough food in the fridge, and I let her watch TV until she started yawning. If Owen were out, he'd surely start yawning too.

"Come, little one. It's bedtime." I picked her up.

"It's magic time." She protested.

"Magic time?" I repeated.

She nodded.

"What do you do during magic time?" I asked.

"New magic." She explained.

"Show me what you know already." I put her down.

She showed me and it was all beginner stuff. Well, what I call beginner stuff. I thought.

"Let's grant some wishes tonight." I smiled.

"Ok." She yawned.

"We'll stay in the city, ok? Then you can go sleep." I said.

"I'm not sleepy." She insisted.

I just smiled.

I flew her around a few blocks and taught her how to grant wishes the trickster way. Someone wants a pony? Give 'em a toy pony. Want more money? Make 'em a few cents richer. My favorite part of the night was when she misheard immortality as morality. Probably gave that sucker the shock of his life. She was started to make me sleepy so it was time to put the kiddo to bed.

I took her back to Owen's apartment and placed her on the couch before putting her to sleep and turning her into her 17 year old self again. I brushed her hair and gave her a little kiss before Owen started whining and I let him out. He kissed her forehead and played with her hair, adjusting the stuffed fox's ears when he noticed they were crooked. I just had to give it to her. I placed her clothes on the coffee table with a backpack for her jammies and toys.

When Owen woke up the next morning, we felt as though something was missing, but I had no idea what. When did Owen get Chinese food? Why did I decide to furnish his apartment? Oh well, it's better this way. We have something to sit on now.

Owen ate the leftover noodles reluctantly like they weren't ours. For reason, the only comparison that fit was that we were taking candy from a baby. It felt wrong. Puck is many things, but being an asshole to children isn't one. The feeling came back as he stepped in his office. Like someone important to us had passed through recently and we missed them. Xanatos asked if Talia got home and Owen raised his eyebrow. He took it as an answer when it truly wasn't.

Puck's POV End