Reviews :
Jay Sketchin : You're absolutely right! He is a fantastic flyer, and an even better runner, due to his incredible hearing; gained from Lickity, no doubt, but super-honed due to his blindness. I'll leave spoilers out, due to his voice box, but he definitely gets on just fine :)
Snake557 : Oh, many thanks. I have a bad habit of editing only once and then uploading LOL.
CHICKENM4N : Poor beeby doggo. He'll be alright!
Burgie : Too true! The whole lot certainly does love on all the new babies, no matter what~
Song Listened To :
Last Day by Shallou
*Chapter 19*
With a gentle zip of Tessa's and Royal's coding, they both were welcomed into Tessa's and Zed's foyer. A long, arching corridor, properly lit with sky lights, gorgeously glinted shadows of nearby jungle canopies desperately trying to avoid the snow, Royal always felt a peace about the King and Queen's tower. In a slow saunter, alongside Tessa's bare footsteps, the both silently eased down the corridor and hooked an eventual left, which lead to the single, massive swooping kitchen, living and dining room, equally soaked in evening sunshine. Royal perked his ears in a dollop of excitement the second he saw Berri's adorable little figure. She had recently learned how to crawl, and was now in the process of learning how to pull herself up to a stand.
"Berri babe," Royal's deep, excited voice bellowed into the room, and although a small baby would typically be startled by said massive beast that sauntered into the room, Berri beamed the widest, gummiest smile and held her little arms and hands up. Alongside a loud, excited scream of glee, she kept her arms up, as if to silently ask Royal to have him pick her up. Royal easily pressed into Tessa's and Zed's home, he approached Berri, who was in close perimeters to Zed, whom of which kept his tight, fatherly watch over Berri, though in the motion of a gentle scoop, Royal picked Berri up with his large chameleon paw and nuzzled his large bat snout into her tiny face, as tenderly as he could, "Little blue berry standing and doing things on your own, independent little sugar princess, you."
"She'll be off to Academy in no time," Tessa assured with a small laugh, to which Zed bugged his eyes in terror and shook his head.
"Too soon, too soon," Zed choked in a rise of nervous, teasing agitation.
"Huh, babe? Getcha an edumacation, thinger," Royal staggered as he flattened his ears and softened his demeanor for her, though she loudly wailed in entire glee and pressed her cute little wrecking hands to the broad of Royal's snout, he hovered Berri over his head and gladly allowed her to wail in his face, one of pure joy, "Make all the boy's jaws drop with that gorgeous, blue hair of yours."
"Iii do not want to think about this," Zed staggered as he slumped hard to the kitchen island, he pushed his face into his palms and teasingly groaned in impending dread, though Tessa blurt a laugh and watched Zed agonize over the thought of his baby girl pairing off with someone, "Maybe she'll hate everyone there and... I don't know..."
"Not find love? Not find a future King for Sugar Rush? C'mon, dude," Tessa huffed a laugh, though Zed largely gestured his hands.
"Ace is supposed to be the next King of Sugar Rush," Zed rushed in whole agitation as Royal and Tessa finally came about the kitchen island, though Tessa shook her head in gentle understanding.
"You and I both know that Ace and Libby respectfully don't want the crown... Similar to Oliver and Emery's respectful plight," Tessa gave Zed an apologetic smile, though she happily watched Royal and Berri have an adorable bonding moment, "I guess it's up to Berri... Whatever man she finds will eventually have Sugar Rush's crown."
"Doesn't that kind of fly in Turbo's face?" Royal loudly wondered, though Berri barked a huge belly laugh as Royal exaggerated his facial expression and went cross-eyed, "Turbotastic!"
"Wait, why?" Zed pressed in tender confusion, Royal softened his teasing side and gave Zed a warm smile.
"I don't know, I thought Turbo always was fighting for Sugar Rush's crown," Royal shrugged, "Poor dude runs the entire lot of Orion City and doesn't get a glimmering hope of the crown."
"I mean... He's Sugar Rush's Knight," Tessa shrugged, she gave Zed a small smile in a rise of girly, lilting curiosity, "He hasn't expressed wanting more."
"Poor guy just wants to be alone and make his own racing bike," Zed mumbled, though he raised his eyebrows in now exhausted remembrance and shook his head, "Which reminds me... I need to duplicate my parts for the poor guy, he's been waiting for days."
"I can see it now... King Turbo, Queen Berri, of sweet, sweet Sugar Rush in Litwak's Arcade," Royal stated dramatically as he expanded his wing and pretended to look off, he huffed another laugh as Berri continued to just wail with laughter. Royal wrinkled his nose and softly nuzzled his snout into Berri's giggling face, once more, "Okay, I know I'm funny looking, but c'mon!"
"Turbo and Berri?" Zed blurt with a hard chuckle, "Yeah, good luck with that. Poor guy isn't around enough, anyhow."
"I think it'd be cute, he's a good dude," Tessa quipped in nonchalant tenderness and a small shrug, she furrowed her eyebrows at the weird thought and shook her head, as if to rid herself of the strange pair, though she heaved a sigh and segued into just what she cued Royal's attention for, "There's... Something important I need to share with you, Royal."
"Is everything alright?" Royal blurt a small chuckle at his and Berri's shenanigans, though he eased everything once he finally cradled her close to his warm, scaly chest, safely tucked in his large chameleon paw.
"Yes, everything is fine, we... Just have a few things to, I guess... Warn you about," Tessa started in as tender of a tone as she could possibly muster, though Royal sagged a little and peered to Tessa in a sweep of oncoming dread.
"Did Boss do something while I was gone?" Royal immediately snipped in a heightened show of frustration, though Tessa nearly recoiled at the proverbial whiplash and largely shook her head.
"No, no, it has nothing to do with Boss," Tessa pressed in rising sorrow, she shook her head and now nervously began to pick at her fingers, "It's, uh... It's about Chester."
"... What's wrong?" Royal suddenly blurt in a huge show of now prominent despair, he shook his head and furrowed his brow as he staggered on in a now trembling tone of terror, "Did... B-Balba didn't miscode or anything, did she?"
"No, no... Chester is alive, he's doing okay," Tessa rushed to assure, though she shook her head and grit her teeth in a nervous way, "I... I was looking over all of the babies coding today and... It was revealed that Chester's voice box, alongside his vision, are refusing to load."
"... H-He won't be able to see or talk?" Royal wondered in continued terror.
"I can potentially reverse these things, but... I can't do it quick enough, before he's born," Tessa stated sorrowfully, though she began to feel her heart sink once big tears began to gather in Royal's gorgeous, golden eyes, "We'll have to wait until after he's fully grown to begin to toy with his coding... Cause while he's growing, it'll be impossible to keep up with the new data his coding will garner, as he gets bigger and bigger."
Royal shook his head in defeat and looked off. He sagged his shoulders and felt slapped with sorrow, and although he deflated, he kept little Berri securely tucked to his chest. He urgently brought his attention back to Tessa and tried his hardest not to be verbally overcome by outward tears.
"H-He's okay otherwise, though, right?" Royal's voice broke in lilting sorrow, though with such, Tessa felt her eyes begin to gather with tears, as well; she urgently nodded, hoping to bring Royal some positive news.
"He's perfectly healthy, otherwise," Tessa cleared her throat and tried to stay composed, Zed came alongside her and figured he should probably take the reins.
"We're thinking, that due to the sheer amount of different breeds Chester will be, his coding is having a hard time loading everything from each breed he is," Zed shrugged and gave Royal an apologetic look of tenderness, "He will still lead a wonderful life, and he will still be able to do mostly everything that everyone else can... Considering who his grandmother is, his hearing will likely override the need for eyesight, anyways."
"I-It can eventually be reversed, right?" Royal now outwardly allowed tears to fall down his scaly cheeks, to which Tessa gently pushed out of Zed's vicinity and rushed to comfort Royal in this difficult time.
"It can be," Tessa assured as she closed the gap between her and Royal. She lovingly gave him a hug about his broad neck, he sat hunched on his hind quarters and held Tessa with one arm, and continued to cradle Berri with the other, "We can certainly reverse his blindness... However, giving him a brand new voice might be a little difficult."
"How come?" Royal wondered sadly, as Tessa pulled away, she stayed close to Royal for comfort.
"Well... Even though he's born as his own individual, he will still be born without proper speech or a voice box," Tessa tenderly explained.
"No howling, no noises, NOTHING?" Royal refused to believe it, though Tessa shrugged and looked down.
"Maybe growling and grunting at the very least... Or purring?" Tessa frowned and shook her head, "We'd... We'd have to find him a voice box, from someone else, that we can use. One that's not already being used."
"Certainly... We can conjure up something, eventually?" Royal begged, and although Tessa and Zed were entirely uncertain, they bobbed nods of affirmation and hoped that this would at least get Royal through the night.
"I'm positive we can think of something," Tessa assured, her nose began to clog from the onset of tears, "Just... Wanted to keep you informed. He'll still be incredible, as is... Life will just look a little different."
"I-I... I'm devastated I won't be able to hear his first words, or anything," Royal's voice wavered once more, he desperately peered to Tessa and shook his head.
"You will, Roy, we'll... We'll make sure of it," Tessa pleaded with a nod of assurance, and although she was entirely unsure how to even hold up a promise like this, she knew it was her duty to eventually follow through, "It'll... It'll just be once he's fully grown, and it'll be a mature male voice."
"Weird," Royal finally blurt a small laugh, which encouraged Zed and Tessa to softly smile as well, though Royal shook his head and sighed a nasally sigh, "It's better than nothing... He'll be unique, but I wouldn't want anything more than him just by my side. I can't wait."
"It'll be interesting to hear his eventual first words," Zed smiled with a great deal of understanding, "I know it won't be exactly like how you envisioned, but... Rest assured, the silence and blindness won't be forever."
"It'll certainly feel like it," Royal frowned as he peered down to cute little Berri in his massive paw, whom of which was beginning to doze off, "I... I really have no idea how I'm going to break this to Balba."
"We can come with, if you'd like?" Tessa pressed in a tender show of curiosity, she was thrilled that Royal finally nodded after a moment of pondering.
"That'd be best," Royal concluded.
A few days had passed, Sugar Rush's unforgiving winter only just barely began to show the promise of an impending Spring. After a long, game day full of racing, the palace crew winded down after a large dinner and quietly began to retreat to their own respective wings and towers of the palace grounds. Although the majority of everyone had already gone off to sleep, Ace quietly kept to himself in the palace's main, sprawling kitchen. Silent with only the hum of the three futuristic refrigerators and freezers, amidst the kitchen's glorious, pearly counter tops and appliances, the only other sound present was Ace's gentle breathing. Amidst furrowed eyebrows, Ace diligently scanned through Balba's and Chester's coding via his own holographic, digital pad. Glorious tiers of lykata and dragon coding swirled together to form Chester's rapidly growing coding, and although Ace was doing well at navigating it all, he grew more and more stumped.
The main kitchen lights were off, only the gentle glow of the dim counter lights, underneath the white, pearly, towering kitchen cabinets gave the cold kitchen a warm glow. Ace knew he was better off doing his work in a place that wasn't his and Libby's own comfortable home, due to the potential of getting too comfortable and falling asleep on his work. Just as he figured he should probably wrap up his now futile prodding, he felt his ears prickle to the sound of the palace's main teleportation hub, a room just down a small corridor from the kitchen, and before he could take a guess as to who it could be, he furrowed his eyebrows in whole confusion at the sound of his baby sister's loud cries; she sounded as if she was in a lot of pain. Ace raised his eyebrows in a roll of terror, tore his gaze behind him, to the gape of the corridor, and before he could stand and see what was wrong, his mother and father quickly eased into the kitchen with Zed tightly holding Berri upright and to his chest.
"What's going on?" Ace rushed in a rising bout of continued terror, though with the way Tessa shook her head, looked up in an exhausted eye roll and gestured her hands in annoyance, Ace felt relief hit his golden honeycombs.
"Berri has a really terrible diaper rash," Zed mumbled, though Ace largely furrowed his eyebrows, amidst a grin of entire glee and took note that Zed's hair, although in the same style that he usually had it, was jet black; his Zane persona.
"Wait, can't we just reverse it through her coding?" Ace shook his head, as if to wonder why his parents, the very King and Queen of Sugar Rush's code, hadn't thought of that.
"I think mom keeps it in one of these cabinets," Tessa mumbled to Zed as she rushed into the kitchen and began to open and close nearly each and every single sleek, high cabinet, in search for what, Ace didn't know; Berri continued to wail in whole entire dismay.
"I know, baby, I know," Zed cooed sorrowfully as he rubbed Berri's back tenderly, he shook his head and softly eyed Ace, to revisit his tender inquiry, "I mean, we technically could, but... It's better if her body can learn to fight off these things on it's own. We did this with you, as well."
"If you constantly have the code room coddling you, for illness or blemishes your body can fight off on it's own, then your immune system won't be strong enough to endure Arcade life outside the safety of your home game," Tessa tenderly explained; she pulled a small vile out of one of the cabinets and wiggled it about, for Ace to see, "Your grandma Vanellope made this awesome diaper rash serum that I forgot to take with me to the tower, like an idiot... Remind me to share it with you when the twins are born."
"It's fine, we have it now," Zed grunted with a small chuckle, he hurried to swipe Rancis's hoodie, in which he had forgotten and left on the other swooping end of the kitchen island. Zed gently laid said soft orange hoodie on the cold counter tops and tenderly laid Berri on it, so she was cushioned. Berri nearly screamed and wailed in entire frustration, though Ace eagerly assessed his mother and father, he was floored at just how calm they were remaining, even in the face of Berri's ballistic screaming. Zed's gentle, fatherly voice glossed over Berri's tiny figure with a sense of honey-sweet protection, "Shh-shh, Berri-bear, it's okayyy."
"I guess that's a good point," Ace considered his mother's words, though he cocked an eyebrow and tried not to immediately notice something; Tessa was draped in Zed's large shirt, hair a mess. Zed was shirtless and wore a pair of black sweats that looked as if he rushed to put them on. Ace side-eyed his parents, who easily honed their entire attention to their newborn. Ace knew he likely should stuff his prodding questions for after Berri was done screaming, though he felt a wide smile easily burst forth as he tried to nonchalantly continue on, "So, you guys did this with me, growing up?"
"Oh, yeah," Tessa nodded and finally brought her attention to her first born as Zed's quick, precise hands unbuttoned the bottoms of Berri's onesie, undid her clean diaper and began to gently spread the serum onto her angry red rash. Tessa rubbed her forehead and long blinked, as if she was trying to collect herself and bounce back; from what, Ace was certain he could take a wild guess, "I mean, anything dire and we made sure to utilize the code room. Anything your body could've handled, though, we let play out."
"It's going to seem counter productive, but trust us," Zed bobbed a nod as Berri's screams now turned into gentle whines of needy sorrow, "You'll be grateful in the long run. Cause now, you can go to and from any game in this Arcade and handle any environment or foreign ailment tossed your way."
"Good to know," Ace bobbed a nod, though Tessa heaved a small chuckle and peered to her first born, as if she was maybe mildly embarrassed and didn't expect anyone to be in the kitchen, right now.
"So, how are you," Tessa stated in a teasing show of forced nonchalance; Zed and Ace shared a small laugh, to which Ace cocked an eyebrow and knew now he could deploy all of his teasing inquiries directly to his father.
"Uh, I'm doing great," Ace blurt a laugh as Zed finally cleaned Berri up and brought her whimpering figure back to his chest, in an upright position; she buried her face into Zed's bare shoulder and continued to whimper in adorable neediness, "You two uh... Get interrupted role-playing, or something?"
Tessa huffed a small giggle, tucked the back of her larger hand to her mouth, looked off and bashfully eyed Zed, who sport his very sleek persona; black hair that was lightly ruffled. Zed sagged his shoulders and narrowed his eyes to Tessa in a rising show of embarrassed cheek. He shook his head and shrugged his muscular, masculine bare shoulders.
"Y'know, not even an 'oh, change your hair to blue before we go to the main part of the castle where ANYONE could see us'?" Zed directed to Tessa, to teasingly insinuate that this was her fault.
"Yeah, dropped the ball, there," Tessa admitted with an extremely shy giggle as she sagged her larger hands to the island, looked down to her feet and raised her eyebrows in girly, embarrassed delight.
"What is it with the black hair, then? I don't understand that," Ace rushed with a hard laugh as Zed smiled and looked off, his black hair glistened a little, from the warm cabinet lights.
"During the whole 'Radex' fiasco, Zed constantly operated under a different persona, so no one would know he was Zed," Tessa rushed to explain as she shook her head, and although they looked as if they were disheveled and potentially excited to get back to their love nest, so to continue with their shenanigans, they were almost relieved to break away and enjoyed slowing down a little, even though it was entirely Berri's fault, "I actually met your father when he was strictly disguised as Zane."
"You looked like this, though?" Ace inquired with a wide smile, though Zed shrugged and looked off.
"Zane was a lot more gangly," Tessa loudly blurt a laugh, to which Zed finally beamed a bashful smile and glanced into her eyes, "You had a cool loft at the edge of Swillah village, right at Dead Zed's entrance. You surfed, you taught me to dance... We even had our first kiss under your disguise."
"Whoa, I didn't realize it was something that ran that deep," Ace softened his teasing notions and now knew not to take this little desire of theirs lightly, "I thought it was just something different and fun."
"Ho, no. I knew Zed as Zane for about a month, or two, before he... VERY warily, revealed to me that he was Zed," Tessa rushed, to which Zed shrugged and shook his head.
"Everyone hated me, I enjoyed being liked whilst I was Zane, I got caught up in it," Zed complained playfully, he gave Tessa a loving smile and shook his head, "I'm just glad Tessa took the news like a champ."
"So, now you're reliving the good 'ol days," Ace crossed his arms, sat up a little straighter and eyed his parents with great cheek, though Zed gave Ace a coy look of understanding.
"Son, I'm going to say this to you, man to man. Take a mental note of this," Zed grumbled, and although Tessa was present, he continued on and gave Ace a knowing, stern look of bashful, dominant cheek, "The second your children are asleep, and you have even a little bit of energy, bow to Libby's requests."
"So, this was mom's idea?" Ace began to loudly laugh, Tessa joined him in further embarrassment and covered her face.
"So I like a good throw back, SUE ME," Tessa blurt; all three beings were in stitches.
"I guess that's reassuring," Ace sighed as he looked down to the hologram he was previously prodding at, "I was worried that having babies would mean romance would sort of slip to the back burner."
"I mean... It does, sometimes," Zed shrugged, him and Tessa both peered into each other's eyes with gentle inquiry, "But, it takes two to keep it all alive, no matter what. It's easier once there isn't a crying baby in the room over, but... You do what you can. Clearly."
"Here, I'm going to go back home and put Berri back down," Tessa stated quietly, she could tell that Zed and Ace weren't quite finished talking, and due to Zed's 'man to man' comment, she wondered if Zed could potentially instill some wisdom into Ace's forever uncertain demeanor, man to man, like they maybe subconsciously wanted.
"You sure?" Zed worried gently, he began to ever so softly transition Berri over to her mother; Ace eyed his mother and father, their wedding rings prominently glistened with the glint of said comforting cabinet lights.
"Yeah, hopefully she'll be asleep by the time you get back," Tessa assured hopefully with a nod as she began to softly peel from both boys, she smiled back at Ace with a show of undying love, to her first born, "Love you, bud, see you tomorrow."
"Love you, mom, g'night," Ace tenderly volleyed as she finally vanished, though he huffed a gentle sigh and gave his father a cheeky smile, "Honeymoon phase never died, then?"
"I sometimes think about that," Zed crossed his arms over his muscular, broad chest. He heaved a satisfied sigh and gave Ace a look of gentle humility, "I don't think your mother and I ever left the honeymoon phase. Even back when we were just dating... I, too, was worried that having you would sort of halt production, in the romance department, but... It just keeps barreling forward. Not that I'm complaining."
"Seems like you have this marriage and babies thing all figured out," Ace huffed a compliment, though he peered down to the holographic display in a gentle slump of inner dismay, towards himself, something Zed tenderly cued to.
"... I wouldn't say I'm an expert, son," Zed breathed a small chuckle and furrowed his brow, he was well aware his first born was a brooding, quiet and tender-hearted individual, though he was also well aware that Ace responded exceptionally well to Zed's prominent, fatherly care, "You nervous about what yours and Libby's relationship will look like after the twins arrive?"
"I guess... Not so much in terms of romance or anything, but... I'm glad I had those few days with Berri, alone with Libby, cause I was able to see just how she operates as a mother," Ace pressed, though Zed shook his head in tender confusion.
"I think she does wonderfully, are you worried?" Zed wondered, though Ace huffed a small chuckle and shook his head, as if to berate himself.
"She's just... So carefree, she treats these twins as if they're going to go on grand adventures and... We're going to do ALL these exciting things RIGHT when they're born, like go to EZ Living and Dead Zed," Ace rushed to carry on, though Zed furrowed his eyebrows in further confusion and allowed Ace to get it all out, "I mean, dad... Anytime she took Berri out of your's and mom's tower, I about had a panic attack."
"Well, why? They're children, not glass bubbles," Zed choked a small laugh and began to wonder if this predicament was now caused due to Ace's extreme caution.
"She's talking about taking the twins, right after they're born, to Dead Zed," Ace explained, the look of worry in his eye made it clear he had been struggling with this for awhile, "I feel bad trying to put my foot down and say a big 'hell no', but... She wants to do it for the reasons of Teltokuan tradition. Each Teltokuan baby gets a proper Teltokuan tattoo mark on the bottom of their heel to represent their roots."
"Well, I don't see why that's a huge deal... Mom and I will go with, and I'll code them to Dead Zed immediately," Zed shrugged, and although Ace looked as if he was comforted by Zed's notions, the look of worry still hung in his eyes.
"I express concern and disagree with a lot that she suggests," Ace worried, he gently shut the holographic display, of Chester's coding, and shrugged, "I-I... I worry that I'm not good father material, or... Husband material."
Zed smiled and gently lofted Ace a look of entire longing. How wholly false Ace's words were had Zed nearly beaming with just how adorable Ace's continued innocent mind ticked. Zed heaved a hard sigh through his nose and looked down to the palace kitchen's glossy island's counter top, and although both men were silent for a minute, Zed collected Ace's words and put together a puzzle-picture in his mind, something that he could show Ace and have his fragile heart fully understand.
"Ace, your solution to a simple diaper rash was to fix it in the code room," Zed blurt a small chuckle, to which Ace now sank into himself and began to understand that he maybe wasn't as centered as he thought, "We have the luxury of reversing ailments and treating little things with the code room, but... It's definitely sheltered you, growing up. You need to allow your children, as well as Libby, a little breathing room. Libby didn't really grow up with the luxury of a code room, so all of her ideas and reactions to life, and what that should look like for your children, are absolutely normal."
Ace raised his eyebrows in plucked surprise and was somehow relieved this problem lied with him, and not Libby. He understood it was easier for him to come out of his shell, as opposed to stifling his beautiful, Teltokuan princess, the passionate firework she was. Ace sighed through his nose and looked down to his large hands, though his ears pricked as Zed gently began to round the island and join Ace. He put his fatherly hand atop Ace's shoulder and squeezed in a draw of love and understanding.
"You're going to make a fantastic dad," Zed assured, he teasingly jostled Ace a little and cocked an eyebrow, "I should know. I raised you. Diaper rashes and all."
"You didn't fix those in the code room, when I was little?" Ace wondered, once again; Zed snorted a laugh and gently shook his head.
"It didn't even cross our minds," Zed laughed a little louder, Ace sagged his shoulders and began to feel a little better, "You have to take risks, you have to trust your mate... You can't shelter your children from every single little thing. You want them to grow up strong-willed and ready to face the real world, sans code room."
"I guess, looking back, you didn't really spoil me much with the code room," Ace shook his head and allowed his tired gaze to look off, "I don't know why I just... The second she told me she was pregnant, I just..."
"You'd jump in front of a moving train for your children, outside of your own game, no questions asked. You'd take a bullet for them, you immediately understand that you'd do absolutely anything to protect them from harm, right?" Zed pressed, Ace bobbed a nod and now peered his nervous gaze up into his father's sweet, dominant blue eyes, "I'm in that same boat, as you... And now I have my own kryptonite, cause I already felt this feeling with you, but now that I have a baby girl... Man, it's like... I'm in huge trouble."
"I'm glad we both can now at least confide in each other, when it comes to THAT," Ace blurt a chuckle as his heart surged with the idea of his precious baby girl, Mara, who was well on her way to being here shortly.
"I'm always here for you," Zed gently jostled Ace's shoulder, "Allow Libby a little free rein. These are her children, as well, and her customs are extremely important to her. It may make you a little uncomfortable, but you have a whole team behind you who is willing to make these experiences easier to endure."
"Thanks, dad," Ace bobbed a nod and heaved a gentle sigh of relief, though he felt his heart race the second Zed narrowed his fatherly gaze in a side-eye of impending inquiry.
"... You mentioned something about not being husband material," Zed gently prod, hoping Ace would finish the sentiment, and much to Zed's delight, Ace sighed and looked off with a bashful grin.
"Y'caught that," Ace mumbled, to which Zed jostled his shoulder, once more. Ace blurt a gentle laugh and gave his dad his honest, sweet hazel eyes, "I'm going to ask Libby to marry me shortly after the twins are born."
"Your mother is going to do a backflip, with this news," Zed erupted with a small laugh as he now lovingly brought his arm about Ace's shoulder and tugged him into a small hug, to which Ace gladly reciprocated, "Great news all around... You just let me know if you need any help getting a ring, or anything, okay?"
"Thanks, dad," Ace sighed with a smile of gentle relief, though as Zed softly began to step away, he pointed in Ace's direction and gave him a knowing look.
"We can talk more about how you think you're not husband material, and how wrong you are about that notion, another time," Zed teased, Ace turned to face his dad, on the bar stool he sat on, and gave Zed a look of knowing cheek. Zed pointed back to Ace and dorkily sauntered off in the direction Tessa had left in, "But for now, Zane's got a hot date with the Queen of Sugar Rush."
"Wow, how did he manage that?" Ace loudly teased, Zed very largely shrugged his arms up in the air and shook his head as he continued to disappear down the bend of the corridor.
"I ask myself that question every single day!" Zed concluded with a boyish laugh as he vanished, once and for all.
