Reviews :

BanannaSammich : Not the image I wanted nor the image I was going for / sorry you feel that way.

chuckiboo : Thank you so much! Yeah Gunner's not the most compliant person about the whole ordeal, but it'll be an interesting set of scenes for sure :)


Song Listened To :

Luma Pools by Gareth Coker


*Chapter 213*

Through a thick, steady inhale, a refresh of soothing coding, Theo blinked open his emerald eyes in tenderness and sleepily furrowed his eyebrows in the confusion of having another being right next to him. In the jolt and freeze of hot confusion, Theo held his breath and peered his tight eye contact to Tatum's sleepy figure, though the second he had stirred, she followed suit. Dressed in a lazy red t-shirt and underwear, Tatum firmly rubbed her eyes, grimaced in sleepiness and squinted her eyes open in curious finding. The second her's and Theo's eyes cutely met in a draw of silent, glancing sleepiness, she beamed a closed-mouth little smile and sagged deeper into Theo's warm presence. Being shirtless, he was a furnace of snuggly heat that Tatum willingly burrowed into, and with such cute burrowing, Theo firmly wrangled his arms about Tatum's little shoulders and tugged her into his body. As their legs intertwined and they lay cuddled on their sides, Theo closed his eyes in snoozing delight and buried his face into the top of Tatum's messy, faded pink bed head.

"Morning," Theo's crackly, deep voice grunted, Tatum did everything she could to worm her arms about Theo's upper chest, she squished her nose into the broad and front of Theo's thicker neck and mumbled him the same, cute response. Theo inhaled a deep, easy breath and felt his coding softly kiss the undersides of his skin in renewed awakening, as if he had been reset a thousand times, reborn into brand new coding of his own. He sleepily peeked his eyes open, peered across his lovely, sunny bedroom and took note of the little grey kettle Turbo had left behind, the night prior. It was empty, something Theo's whole body silently thanked him for. Theo smiled and lulled his sleepy eyes closed, once more, the sag into his and Tatum's never-ending cuddling was the only thing he wanted to partake in, right now, "User, I feel like a million bucks, right now."

"That tea really helped, huh," Tatum's voice urged above a croak of a whisper, and although the two remained snuggled, she eventually stirred so to half-sit up, prop her head in support, using her elbow, and kindly hovered over Theo, a little. He eased her a lovestruck little smile of sleepy delight as his emerald eyes tightly peered up to her. She lovingly began to carefully tidy the muted, darker green hair on his scalp, shorter hairs that eventually turned into a chaotic sprout of thick goodness atop his head. She heaved a soft sigh, down to him, and gave him an equally as sleepy, dewy, lovey smile in return, "Remind me to thank Turbo."

"Me too. I already thanked him, but, I feel as though I'll be thanking him for the rest of my life," Theo's deep voice stated a bit clearer as the two properly began to become more alert, he rested his larger wrecking hand on Tatum's side and slowly began to rub up and down her bare skin, underneath her shirt. She continued on with the tender pickings of his lovely hair, her eyes peered down to him in continued, lovestruck delight as he cutely continued on, "I told Turbo, last night, that I'd be willing to meet up with him before today's wrecking fest, just to, I don't know... Prep him?"

"That's nice of you, surely Berri will want to help out," Tatum prod with a nod, to which Theo joined in on her motions.

"You... Were still planning on joining us, today, right? I-I mean, you can't wreck, but..." Theo bashfully began to trek down a path they had only briefly sauntered down, though retreated due to touchy, shy feelings; Tatum inhaled a shaky, readied breath and allowed her small hand to cup the side of Theo's cheek.

"I may eventually," Tatum stated in cute bravery as they both crowned red, sleepy faces. Tatum blurt a soft giggle and shrugged a little, "I'd like to hang out and watch the fun. Surely I won't be the only one on the sidelines?"

"No, no, you won't. My mother doesn't typically enjoy joining in, at least for the whole time," Theo mumbled, he cocked an eyebrow and curiously peered up to Tatum in stirring nervousness for another round of shivering questions, "Y-You... You're still down to meet them, today, before we head out, right?"

"Yeah, before hand would probably be best, huh," Tatum agreed with a nod, though she equally looked nervous. She lulled her eyes closed and braved a shy grin as she rubbed her eye, "I have to be honest with you, though... Gunner never brought me home to meet his parents, so, I really have no clue what to do, in this situation. I'm a little nervous."

"I've never brought a girl home, so we're sort of in the same boat," Theo groaned, he continued to slowly and lovingly rub up and down Tatum's side. He sighed and smiled into Tatum's eyes, albeit nervously, "My mom and dad are cool, I'm positive they'll like you. Probably best to have you meet them before my whole entire lineage and the roots of my powers are then thrown in your face, all day long."

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Tatum huffed a hard giggle and looked off in soft contemplation, "You think, like... Since Turbo and maybe Berri are already going to be meeting up with us first, you think it'd make the situation a little less tense in they joined us to go meet up with your parents?"

"I can see Turbo and Berri being a nice buffer for that," Theo bobbed a nod and shrugged, "Sugar Rush's future King and Queen... Berri's relatives, being my mom and dad, and me, obviously. That would take some pressure off, but... I don't want that to take away from my mom and dad really getting to know you."

"How about, then... Turbo and Berri join up with us shortly after. What-say we get to your mom and dad's house first, and they tag along maybe fifteen minutes after," Tatum instructed curiously with a shrug, to which Theo bobbed a nod with an encouraging smile; it quickly sagged once he realized one important detail he was leaving out.

"... Y'know, this all would be a GREAT plan if I maybe told my mom and dad what was going on," Theo muttered nervously as he cautiously brought himself to a sit. With a hard groan, he reached for his phone and nervously eyed Tatum as she also sat up and gave Theo a wide grin of incredulous disbelief, "I-I know, I know I'm the worst, I forgot to even tell them about meeting you."

"They have no clue I exist, do they," Tatum blurt a hard giggle and rubbed the back of her head.

"Oh, no, they know OF you, uncle Zed keeps everyone informed on just who resides on the lot," Theo bobbed a nod and gave her a sneaky smile, "You were my celebrity crush, even in my months of adolescence. Trust me, I didn't shut up about it."

"Damn, so they like... KNOW me, through you," Tatum blurt a nervous giggle and grinned in rising wariness, "I-Is this going to be awkward?"

"I mean, for me, a little... My mom and dad are chill, though, so it'll be fine," Theo mumbled, though as he tabbed through his phone he bit his lip in contemplation, "I... I was just going to text my dad, but I think I may just call him."

"Ooh, ohh, put him on speaker, I won't say anything, I promise," Tatum hissed in excited delight as she scoot closer to Theo; he grinned nervously and eyed her as she equally peered up to him in pure sweetness, "What! I want to hear what he has to say about this surprise. You've never brought a girl home, I think it'd be fun to hear his reaction."

"He's probably going to act like it's all nothing and nonchalant, but I assure you, the second he hangs up, him and my mom are probably going to let off fireworks," Theo muttered in hot, smiling irritation as his stunning, emerald eyes scanned his huge bay windows, as if to inquire to Tatum to be on the lookout for said fireworks.

"C'mon, it'll be great, call him," Tatum cutely encouraged as she hugged Theo's larger arm, and although he hesitantly tabbed to his father's messages and contact information, he hovered over the call button and bravely peered to Tatum in hot, nervous, anticipatory stalling. Tatum blurt a hard giggle and jostled his arm, "Gooo, Theo, go. I'm sure he's going to be thrilled, I wanna hear."

"Okay, here'goes," Theo mumbled cutely, he confidently pressed the call button, put it on speaker and held his phone out so to make conversing easier, and so Tatum could properly hear; it rang about two or three times before Oliver finally answered, Theo could swear his heart was in his throat.

"Hey, dude," Oliver's deep voice chimed in great warmth, though he grunted as if to insinuate he was potentially at the tail end of doing some heavy lifting, "I swear to User if you chicken out of today, I'll personally come over to that tower and wreck it down."

"Dad, I'm not chickening out," Theo blurt a cute laugh, he crowned one of the widest smiles Tatum had ever seen, and with such a sweet show of familial camaraderie, both men fell into irresistible laughter, a chain of love Tatum's curious little soul so eagerly sagged into, craved, even; she bit her lip and so eagerly assessed the adorable, unfolding situation right in front of her eyes.

"Alright, we got two hours before we gotta be at the castle's main pad," Oliver's fatherly instruction was apparent, though he cutely mumbled something incoherent to Emery as her sweet, indecipherable words could be heard potentially asking Oliver who he was on the phone with. Oliver cleared his throat and returned to the call, "Your mother thinks you're chickening out, too."

"... I'm NOT chickening out, what the heck!" Theo stabbed with a hard laugh, Oliver and Emery could be heard laughing on the other end. Theo grinned and rubbed his eye in continued sleepiness, "If I was chickening out, I'd have left Sugar Rush early this morning and just allowed myself to go missing for the day. I wouldn't be calling you, either. I don't chicken out of wrecking, c'mon, now."

"We're just teasing, son, what's going on?" Oliver stated through the trails of his cute chuckling, though it was here did Theo inhale a shaky breath and now not know just what to say. Theo staggered on a few 'ums' and 'uhs' before Oliver's deeper voice pressed him a bit of a more collected, fatherly inquiry, "Son, what'samatter."

"No, nothing's wrong, I-I just... I-I have something to tell you," Theo chimed in an uplift of soft, apprehensive positivity, something he was thrilled at least eased his father's becoming-anxious aura.

"I'm all ears," Oliver stated with great warmth, great depth.

"There's... Someone I want you and mom to meet, this morning," Theo concluded, his voice trembled, though he was successful in displaying a very proud show of rooted confidence; Oliver was silent on the other end of the phone, and as Tatum and Theo slowly stole glances to one another, Oliver finally could be heard easing a small, understanding chuckle through his nose in the form of a sweet, relieved sigh.

"... What's her name?" Oliver cheekily wondered, to which Theo grinned and ruffled his hair.

"Uh, you're... Not going to believe me," Theo blurt a soft laugh, his hands began to shake, to which Tatum grinned and cutely rubbed his upper arm, "You, uh... You know how Berri took Sama in a few weeks ago? Her real name is Tatum."

"... You're shitting me," Oliver huffed above an elated whisper, to which Theo blurt a cute laugh, Tatum grinned and covered her mouth to stifle any laughter that could come out.

"Dad, please act normal, I... I really like her," Theo complained, he smiled to Tatum's sweet eyes, they were all grins.

"Alright, alright, I'll do my best. So you really like her, huh?" Oliver nosily prod, his deep voice was brought upon a dainty form of cute questioning from Emery, words that couldn't be understood due to her being too far away from the speaker of Oliver's phone, "How much liking are we talking? You bringing over a friend, you bringing over a crush? You just want us to meet your hugest celebrity crush and-"

"She's my girlfriend," Theo confidently stated, though he scrunched his eyes shut tight, grimaced and awaited his father's response, to which he huffed a cute sigh of conclusion, Oliver's grin could practically be heard.

"Congratulations, son. Bring her over, we'd love to meet her," Oliver encouraged gently, "I assume she wants to come to the event, today?"

"Yeah, she's coming with," Theo stated in calm bravery, he inhaled a shaky breath and carried on, "I... Would've brought her sooner, but I-I... I just asked her out last night, so..."

"Damn, okay, poor thing is probably a deer in headlights with everything coming at her, all at once," Oliver grunted with a chuckle, "Alright, well your mother and I are just finished organizing the upstairs. Your old room has properly become your mother's greenhouse."

"Dad, it was mom's greenhouse even before I moved out, let's make sure that's clear," Theo grunted teasingly, to which Oliver blurt a hard laugh; Emery could be heard loudly questioning both boys, still incoherently.

"Come on over, you two had breakfast yet?" Oliver wondered through a choke of a laugh, from the sound of his quiet chuckling and grunting, he was avoiding playful swats from Emery.

"Not yet, but I promised Turbo that I'd sort of... Amp him up for today, before we go," Theo rushed to get out, he rubbed the back of his head and sighed a little, "I'm sure Berri will join, is it okay if they come over, as well?"

"Yeah, not gunna say no to family," Oliver encouraged happily, "C'mon. The pad's open, let yourselves in."

"Thanks, dad," Theo concluded in great warmth, and as they said their temporary goodbyes and ended their call, Theo set his phone down and curiously peered to Tatum with his alluring, lovely green eyes.

"... Your parents are such a delight," Tatum swooned with a wide, relieved smile.

"They're alright," Theo muttered with a knowing smile, understanding all too well that he was greatly spoiled with wonderful, supportive parents; although nervous to embark on this brand new scenario in which neither him or Tatum had ever been in, he felt confidence rush him, the promise of a good day, to be had, awaited the two in certainty.