Hey guys, I'm back with a new chapter, hope everyone's week is treating them well! This fic's certainly coming into its own, so I'm just going to get into it with the early apology if it comes off as a little short, but in all fairness Slice of Life type of things just aren't my strongest suit where genre are concerned, that would be adventure.
On that note, let's get this started, shall we?
Days turned into about a few weeks since the dreaded shopping and road-rage incident. It took those weeks for Linda and Tulio to be able to look their son in face properly without turning bright red in the face and stammering over their words. Fernando didn't understand it one bit, but figured it was just one of those adult things he wouldn't understand until he was older, so he kept his opinions and questions to himself.
He tried to ask the birds about it, but a good majority of them, Jewel, Raphael, Nico and Pedro included, had no clue what he was talking about, while the few that used to be pets, like Blu and Nigel, got really horrified and embarrassed and told him to ask his parents about it. Something he was not too keen on doing for a while.
Things got back to normal though, thankfully, things took a much better turn for the better one particular day, depending on how you looked at it. Fernando was going to look at it for the better.
It started as a genuinely good, bit of a lazy day. One of those rare days both Linda and Tulio were off work, it was a bit cloudy and Fernando didn't want to risk getting caught in the rain if a drizzle did start, so he was playing Candy Crush on his phone at the table as Tulio, once again, had his nose in a random trivia-type book, a glance at the cover revealed it to be about geography, when Linda came in, carrying a package.
"Hey, mom and dad sent us something from Minnesota," Linda said with a smile as she set the package down on the table between the Brazilian natives. "Really?" Fernando asked excitedly as he set his phone down, "What did grandma and grandpa send us?"
"Hmm, let's see," Linda replied removing the letter that was taped to the package and read it aloud, "'Dear Linda, your father and I miss you greatly, but we've never seen you so happy since you married Tulio and adopted Fernando, even if you are across the sea. To show how much we love and support you and your new family, we've seen you a gift, hope you enjoy it, lots of love, Mom.'" Linda set the letter down and opened the package to find Minnesota Vikings jerseys, each having a different quarter back's name and number on them.
"Viking jerseys!" Linda grinned happily as she picked one up, "This one's yours Tulio and this one's yours Fernando." She handed the two their jerseys before pulling hers out and quickly tried it on.
"This was so thoughtful of your parents," Tulio said with a smile as he tried on his own, "We need to return the gesture." But Fernando made no move to try on his new jersey, in fact, he was just looking at it with a small frown.
"What's wrong honey?" Linda asked instantly concerned upon noticing Fernando's frown, "Its not the wrong size, is it?"
"Huh?" Fernando snapped out of his thoughts and his mind caught up with what she said, "Oh, no, no its not that, its..." He trailed off, clearly thinking of what to say.
"Its..." Tulio tried to prompt, "What, son?"
"Well..." Fernando cringed looking very frightened and hesitant, "I'm just...not all that much...of a Vikings' fan..." He cringed further, as if expecting an loud outburst or a physical lash and deep down it tore at both Tulio and Linda's hearts.
"Is that all?" Linda said with a big sigh of relief, much to Fernando's surprise, "Honey, that's fine!"
Fernando looked like he couldn't believe his own ears, "R-Really?"
"Really," Tulio assured also looking rather relieved, "Kiddo, were you really afraid that, what? We were going to send you back if you didn't like the same sports team as us?" Fernando gave a timid, a bit embarrassed nod, "Never, not in a million years would something as trivial as that make us give you up, do you understand?" Fernando gave another small nod, not as timid as before with a small smile to match, but it was better than nothing.
Once again, Tulio was cursing the man that had the gall to call himself Fernando's grandfather. If the man ever got out of jail, and that was very big and very nonexistent if, one should hope he had half a brain to stay as far as the other side of the world away from Fernando, else it just might be Tulio who gets put back in prison, and he wouldn't regret it either.
A thought broke through the darker ones that made Tulio break out of his trance-like state and his face became curious as he asked, "Then what team do you like?" Linda also made a curious face, clearly wanting to know as well.
"Well..." Fernando said again hesitant, thought not in the same way he was before, "You promise you won't get upset?"
"I promise," Both parents replied instantly, holding up a hand as if swearing an oath, which made all three chuckle. "I'm a fan of the Carolina Panthers," Fernando finally admitted. "That's great hon-" Linda began but paused as his words registered in her head, and she did a double take of shock, "Say what now?"
Tulio was understandably a lot calmer compared to wife, "Why the Panthers of all teams?"
"I just think they're really good," Fernando said in his own defense as his mom looked close to hyperventilating and pulling at her own hair from shock, "Especially Newton." Linda took a moment to snap out of it.
"Look honey, I don't know any other way to put it, but," Linda said honestly, "The panthers suck, like, so bad its not even funny-kinda suck."
"I'm afraid I'm going to have to agree with your mom this time kiddo," Tulio agreed, "They really do suck badly."
"What? I can't believe you two, the Panthers don't suck!" Fernando said defensively. "Ugh...yeah, they kinda do," Tulio replied.
"Well, at least they went to fifty Super Bowels," Fernando retorted with a little pout. "Only to lose to Devour," Tulio reminded him.
"That game was so rege," Fernando said. "Oh please, that game was nowhere near rege," Linda huffed. "Yes there was rege," Fernando countered, "Who would come undefeated and lose the big game?"
"Carolina, apparently," Tulio remarked. "Fernando, how many of those Super Bowels did the Panthers actually win?" Linda asked and Fernando didn't say a word, making her smirk, "Yeah, that's what I thought, at least my team actually won one."
"Okay, okay, I get it, you guys are right," Fernando said in defeat, grabbing his jersey and heading to his room, "I'll wear the jersey, but only because it was a present from grandma and grandpa." With that said, he disappeared from sight as his parents went downstairs to clean up the store.
"I can't believe my son's a Panthers' fan!" Linda said mostly to herself as she took the books Tulio handed her and put them in the proper places. "Look on the bright side Linda," Tulio said optimistically, earning him a dry look from his wife. "What bright side?" She asked him. "At least he's on our side," Tulio pointed out and Linda hummed in agreement unable to deny his point.
At that moment, the doorbell rang, making the two share a confused glance as it was well past closing time. Shrugging they went to the door to find a delivery man with a package and when they opened the door, he asked, "Does a Fernando Monterio live here?"
"Um, yes," Linda asked guard raised instinctively. "Sign here, please," The man said holding out a clipboard with an attached pen, which Tulio took and wrote his signature on the appropriate space, before switching it with the package, "Have a nice night."
Out of polite courtesy, they both replied instantly, "Same to you." Before closing the door.
"What did Fernando order?" Tulio asked skeptically as he looked the package over for any clues to what might be inside. "Only one way to find out," Linda replied taking the package from him and bringing upstairs to the kitchen, Tulio right behind her as she added, "I just hope its not what I think it is." She opened it up, hoping to find some fancy new electronic or comic series Fernando couldn't get through the store or something like that.
Unfortunately, a Carolina Panthers' jersey with Newton's name and number stared up at her from in the book instead. Tulio looked at Linda nervously as her right eye started twitching.
Up in his room, Fernando was trying to admire how he looked in his Vikings jersey when Linda suddenly shouted in a very upset tone, "FERNANDO MONTERIO!"
Fernando saw the delivery man leaving through his window and put two and two together and paled in horror, "Uh-oh..."
And I'm ending it there because like I stated before, Slice of Life genres just aren't my strong suit and I can't think of anything to stretch the plot any further. Let me know what you guys think and try to keep any complaints PG is my only request.
Oh, before I forget, a really quick review reply:
To monsterjamvadim: I just want clear up that last chapter I only added the 'C' word, purely because I thought it would be funny, everyone's got a different sense of humor, I mean, I can't write a mature scene to save my life without blushing like the Virgin Mary at a modern club and a few of my other stories actually are rated mature. Besides, I often add this sort of thing for the sake of realism if nothing else.
Anyways, hope to hear from you guys, see you in the next chapter!