~Runereader of the Nightwings~
Ivybreeze is really hard to write in their normal cat forms because of the difference in clans and Breezepelt's hostility to practically everything XD I love Ivory here too! She's really awesome! :D I really gotta write more Ivybreeze huh? XD
~Ivystorm~
Yay! 160 chapters!
If you're sleepy then sleep! XD
Noooo! You must ship Cinderblaze! It's beautiful! XD Eh I don't really care if you don't, do each their own! Xd And Boring Office Work is Your Favorite world? Have you gotten to the Flashes vs the Dark Blades world yet? :P
You all give me so many mixed messages on when you want chapters out XD This chapter is longer than the latest ones, being 12k words I believe Xd
And today is a crappy day in my opinion XD
9 Years old - Ninja Warrior
Stepping through the threshold of his strangely quiet house, Clint deposited his keys in the small box at the entrance and took off his shoes. Not bothering to loosen or take off his tie yet nor shed his jacket."Where is he?" he then asked Leah quietly as she approached from the dining room doing homework with Jay. He spoke in a low tone and look worriedly at his wife.
Leah looked upset herself, her amber eyes gleaming a low fire while Clint looked like he wanted to march over to Leon's school and fire his teacher and snap at all the kids' parents. "He's upstairs, hasn't come down from his room since he, Holly, and Cynthia got back from school."
Clint nodded and straightened his shoulders, once he talked to Leon he was going to murder that stupid principal. Honestly, suspending a nine-year-old for punching one of the boys mocking his choice of what he wanted to do when he grew up? Leon was only defending himself, there was no reason for the principal to suspend his son for a week just for that. Especially now that it would show up on his transcripts for years to come.
"Clint," Leah's hand caught his before he got more than a few steps, her amber eyes, eys that matched her son's, had shifted to glowing with concern. "Be gentle with him, he's already upset with himself for it, he doesn't need a lecture."
Clint blinked then smiled gently at her, the smile turning rather cheeky and just a tad lopsided. "Lecture? What lecture?" He then leaned forward, kissing her cheek and gently releasing her grip of his hand, "I'm going to make sure that dream of his happens." He started jogging up the stairs, loosening the tie around his neck as he went, "he's gotta start now if he really wants to be a Ninja Warrior. That and lots of supervised training."
After making his way up the stairs and past Holly's room which was empty, Clint stopped at the door decorated with radioactive signs, painted on caution tape, and a warning that a nuke had gone off behind his door. The door itself was a group task between Holly and Cynthia for Leon for christmas, and Leon had loved it and used it since. Not to mention that at the time, Clint had had no idea that the temperamental girl of Sarah's was as good of an artist as she turned out to be behind that violently temperamental mask of hers.
Gently pushing the door open enough that he could see into the room, Clint took in the room's occupants, three nine-year-olds, two girls and one boy were all sitting with their backs to him in the middle of the messy room.
Holly was sitting on one side of Leon, examining her brother's hand, while Cynthia sat on the other side, her usually irritated and grumpy blue eyes round and soft with concern for her friend.
"Does that hurt?" Holly's voice was quiet, shaking even. As if worried Leon would get angry at her, or simmering with anger at the situation in front of them.
"No," Leon replied, his response dull and lackluster. "I'm fine Holly, Cindy's the one injured."
Clint's eyes narrowed at the words, one of them were injured? How did Cynthia get injured in the first place?
Cynthia flinched away from Holly as she leaned over her brother to what looked liked, touch her face. "Ow! Holy hell Holly! Take it easy will you? It's called a black eye for a reason!"
"Language Cynthia," Holly chided, using her friend's full name in emphasis and because she could finally pronounce the whole thing properly. "And it's not a black eye, you just have a bruise beneath your eye."
"Oh so the fact that it was swollen shut earlier doesn't make it count as a black eye?" Cynthia's voice was wapish, furious even. "Damnit stop touching me! Good grief," She twisted so Clint could see her sideways profile and scooted away from Holly. Pushing back against her hand to keep her from touching her face again, "my face hurts enough without you touching it."
"Holly stop touching her injury," Clint stepped in as he saw his daughter opened her mouth to reply, "and Cynthia, first mind your language please, and did you tell your parents you were here?"
Both girls looked up and over at him, making Clint's gut tighten with worry at the purple and blue developing bruise beneath Cynthia's left eye and set of scratch marks beneath it.
Cynthia blinked at him for the first part of his sentence then narrowed her eyes, "Lila's here," she said, mentioning the manager that seemed to follow her around everywhere. "I don't need to tell them, Lila does for me."
"Alright," Clint agreed, taking note to look for Lila around the house when he was done with what he needed to do here. He headed over to the three kids and kneeled down beside Cynthia, taking the child's face in his hands and gently turning her head from side to side, checking for other injuries.
Cynthia said nothing, sitting silently still and letting the man check her injuries without touching them.
"How did you get these?" He asked her, noticing how the bruise was shaped like a small fist.
"Got in a fight," Cynthia mumbled and squirmed, making him release her while her blue eyes turned guilty.
"Why?" Clint was surprised, Cynthia often wrestled with his two boys, wrestling with Leon and rough housing without restraint with the bigger boy and holding her own. However, while she was temperamental and had a vicious temper she was learning to control, she never got in fights at school as far as he knew.
Cynthia didn't respond, fidgeting slightly and glancing at Holly and Leon, her cheeks and ears painting themselves a soft pink.
Clint furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and looked over at the other two, "why did Cynthia get in a fight?"
Holly said nothing, looking away from her adopted father with what looked like guilt.
While after a moment Leon's head swung toward his adopted father, "for me." He looked his father in the eye, amber eyes tired and miserable. "Holly didn't want me to be alone while I'm suspended and Cynthia was angry at the kids who were mocking me."
Clint looked over at Cynthia, surprise etched in his features. "So you fought them?"
Cynthia uneasily scratched her uninjured cheek and looked away from him, her blush deepening. "I don't like it when people push Leo around. He didn't do anything wrong... I… I like his dream."
Clint exhaled a long breath in the form of a light chuckle and gently ruffled the girl's hair, feeling a fatherly love well up in his chest for his kids' close friend. "Now I don't encourage fighting," he spoke in an even tone, "but just this once I'll say good job Cynthia, and thank you for defending Leon."
Cynthia's head jerked up and she stared at him, her jaw falling slightly open. "You're not mad at me?"
"Normally I would be," Clint reasoned, "but Leon needed the help and you gave it to him, nothing wrong with that." He smiled at her and Holly, who looked as surprised as Cynthia. "Now I need to talk to Leon, why don't you two run downstairs so Leah can help with that bruise and those scratches?"
Recognizing the dismissal Holly nodded and stood up, grasping her friend by the hand. Where she then headed toward the entrance of the room, Cynthia repeatedly glancing back at Leon, worry on her freckled features.
Adorable, Clint smiled at the amount of concern Cynthia showed for his oldest son before he shifted from kneeling to be sitting cross legged beside him.
Once the girls left Leon's shoulders slumped and when Clint offered his arms, the nine-year-old boy scrambled into his adopted father's lap and let his hug him.
"Hows my little man doing?" Clint quietly asked his son, looking at what he could see of his face not hidden by his shirt.
No response.
"Answer me Leon."
Bam, instantly Leon's shoulders started shaking and the young child burst into tears.
"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry dad! I didn't mean to get in a fight and I didn't know I could get suspended for it!" Leon bawled, grabbing his father's shirt with both hands and crying. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!"
"Leon, I could never be mad at you for something like that, you were protecting yourself, and I know that."
"But I got suspended!"
"It's a for a stupid reason that nobody's going to care about later," Clint reassured and gently stroked his blonde hair. His heart wrenching at the pain his son was in.
"But I want to be a Ninja Warrior!" Leon insisted into his shirt after a few moments of hiccuping as his crying softened, "I want to be one dad! I want to do it so bad!"
"Then I'll help you and we'll make it happen, even if you end up changing your mind later," Clint told his sniffling son and ruffled his hair, "you can do it Leon."
Leon looked up at him, his eyes round and wide, matching how he had looked as a little child, amber eyes innocently glowing with joy, hope, and innocence. A look Clint was seeing less and less of as he got older. "Really?"
"Really, even if we need to install a set up in the yard," Clint smiled and ruffled his messy hair one more time. "You can be whatever you want to be Leon, you just have to work hard and believe you can."
12 years old - Denser Than a Brick and Also Very, Very, Dead
"Daaad!"
Clint blinked and promptly yelped like a girl as his son pretty much tackled him with the incredible amount of force provided in the preteen's body. "What? Leon you're supposed to be upstairs with Cynthia and your siblings."
"Dad hide me!" Leon babbled, and his mother only watched in amusement as Leon scrambled off of his adopted father and hid partway behind him.
"Hide you? No Leon," Clint stood up, leaving the blonde in plain sight. "Whatever you did to anger the others you deserve whatever punishment they choose to give you." He sat down next to Leah as she shuffled over, giving her husband some space while her oldest son whined and pleaded with him.
"But please!" Leon whined and pushed closer to his mother, wedging himself slightly between her and the back of the couch. "I don't wanna die!"
"They're not going to kill you," Clint rolled his eyes and pulled Leah on his lap to avoid her taking sympathy on their son and hiding him like he was asking. "I'm sure whatever you did can be blown over."
"No, dad seriously! You don't understand!" Leon babbled, left to fend for himself against whoever he had angered. "I made her cry!"
Clint tensed and narrowed his eyes, speaking slowly. "Who? Your sister?" If Leon had managed to make Holly cry then he was going to ground him till he was sixteen. Holly had the emotional control of titanium, which meant that Leon stepped over a line that shouldn't be crossed.
"What? No! It's impossible to make her cry!" Leon huffed and Clint instantly knew who his immature son had made cry.
"Your grounded," Clint said blandly and returned his attention to the movie he and Leah had been watching before Leon had interrupted.
Leah giggled in amusement while Leon gawked and floundered, finding no support in his father.
"But… But… she's going to kill me dad!" Leon wailed and practically melted on the couch, "I'm too young to die!"
"Yes, yes she is," Clint told him without moving his eyes from the tv. "You made a YouTuber cry Leon, a YouTuber who's attached to your sister at the hip and has the biggest crush on you I've ever seen, cry."
"Has the biggest what on me?" Leon asked, temporarily forgetting that Cynthia was going to storm down the stairs and murder him as his facal expression went blank with confusion.
"Nothing Leon," Clint rolled his eyes, his oldest son really was denser than a brick wall. "Just know that as your father I'm embarrassed and ashamed of you at the current moment."
"What? Why?!"
"LEON! GET BACK HERE!"
Looks like Cynthia finally noticed his absence.
16 years old - Dating
Watching his son on the training course in the massive backyard he had upgraded a few months ago was something else, Clint reflected as he watched his sixteen-year-old son move across the Camel Back obstacle. The muscles in his upper body straining as he moved, hand by hand through swinging motions, forcing himself to keep both hands at the same position on each bar. Leon had stuck to his dream of being a Ninja Warrior and he was proud of him. Leon worked hard every day to keep his skills sharp and to get better and better on those he struggled with.
"Beautiful…"
Clint couldn't help the smile that spread over his face at the breathless whisper that came from the girl sitting on his back porch, a sketchbook lying open on her lap. Being careful not to break her concentration, Clint sat down beside her on the stairs. Leaning his arms on his knees and looking at the girl he had known as long as his adopted children. And he had watched her grow up and change every year for the past ten years.
She wasn't temperamental anymore, instead firmly spoken but mindful of others. Her sensitivity toward others had begun to over power her temper over the years as well, lessening the fights she got to be non existent. He had seen the foul mouthed bundle of boundless energy grow up into the gentle hearted teenager sitting beside him. Her eyes fixed on his oldest son with an expression of awe and like her vision was occupied by the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.
Clint had always known he would see Cynthia everyday likely until his pair of twins moved out, with her being Holly's best friend. However, he had also seen the chemistry between her and Leon change and strengthen, slowly change from being close friends to standing on the brink of something more. He knew of Cynthia's feelings, it didn't take more than someone with a half brain and a brain that wasn't his son's to see the affection and what looked like developing love in her blue eyes. Leon may not see it, but Clint sure did. In the way she spoke to his son, sneaked in ways to touch him, and dropped everything to help him when he needed it despite her career as an aspiring Youtuber.
Clint's eyes strayed from studying the silent YouTuber to her sketchbook, looking down at the pencil drawn drawing she was finishing before Leon came out to train and practice. Where a smile then tugged at Clint's lips.
The drawing was of his son as he pulled himself up and out of the hot spring he and the rest of their group has visited last week, a perfect example of Cynthia's photographic memory. Clint's son was smiling lopsidedly at Cynthia, water clinging to his face and bare chest while his blonde hair was a complete mess. Underneath the drawing with beside her scrawled signature were the words, "hot springs - Leon," with a few small doodling hearts beside the name.
Clint chuckled lightly under his breath, looking between his son and Cynthia with a slightly amused expression. Now if only Leon would grow out of that immature phase of his and recognize both hers and his own feelings. He could tell Leon liked her more than a friend as well, having seen his son look confused but having no complaints when Cynthia snuggled next to him during one of the group's weekly movie nights at their house, and even caught that smile he often gave her and nobody else.
"He's pretty good huh?" Clint finally spoke, startling Cynthia enough that she jumped, squealed, and brought her sketchbook close to her chest. "Leon I mean," he clarified at the owlish expression from the teenage girl. "He's worked really hard to reach where he is now."
Cynthia's ears and cheeks instantly flushed pink at being caught staring at Leon, particularly his father catching her staring. "W-what? Oh, yeah," she agreed with a smile and her eyes lit up as they strayed toward Leon once more. "He's worked really hard to reach where he is now, preparing for when he qualifies in a few years for the real stuff and everything."
"You've worked hard too," Clint pointed out to her with a fatherly smile, "not everyone can be a YouTuber at your age and be as successful as you are."
Cynthia offered a semi bashful smile of her own. "Thanks," she tucked a lock of her longer bangs behind her ear, acting unusually quiet today.
"What's wrong?" Clint asked curiously, noticing how quiet she was when usually she'd be up with Holly working on homework or having Leon teach her how to do some of the obstacles. Cynthia being quiet and not teasing somebody was a rare and usually bad occurrence.
"Huh? Nothing," Cynthia offered sheepishly as she turned her body to be partially facing him, "it's just…" She glanced over at Leon and back at Clint. Her cheeks turning a soft pink. "There's a dance on Friday and usually Leon just goes with Fin, Ivory, and Hazel, but…" Her blush deepened and Clint chuckled.
"You want him to ask you right?" He asked with a soft smile and lightly patted her on the shoulder. "Don't worry Cynthia, your patience won't go to waste, my son's just very, very dense."
Cynthia smiled sadly at him, "I know, I've known that for a long time." Her blue eyes strayed toward the boy of her affections, "but I don't mind," her expression softened even further, "it's part of who he is."
Clint smiled and gently side hugged the teenager before pressing a kiss to the top of her head, "just wait a little longer Cynthia, he'll come around soon."
"Hey dad, you needed me?"
Clint took off his half-moon shaped glasses and put down the wooden carving of a microphone that would function as a pen holder. All before looking up at the son that had trotted down the basement stairs. "Yep, sit down son"
Leon finished trotting down the stairs and plopped down in the chair in front of his adopted father's desk. "What's this about?" He asked, confusion and a distant lost in thought look in his eyes.
Clint reorganized his carving tools and responded with a fatherly smile. "I want you to tell me about Cynthia."
Leon blinked and he narrowed his eyes suspiciously, "why? She's here all the time."
Clint gave a hum and a shrug, "I want to know what you think of her, is that a problem?
At Leon's look of confusion Clint further explained. "She's your best friend right? Well tell me about her son." He picked up his carving once more, "I'm your father, I won't judge you for your opinions."
Leon hesitated, looking warily at his father for a moment before he cleared his throat and dad as his father asked. "Where do I start?" He asked with an awkward chuckle, "I mean I've known her forever. Mom even says I've known her since before I could talk." He took a moment to think, mulling over his words and how he viewed Cynthia in the first place.
"Cynthia is… complicated," Leon eventually decided on, picking his words rather carefully. "She's got the temper of a dragon behind that YouTuber personality of hers. Only gets upset at me really, although I deserve it most of the time," he admitted sheepishly, slowly beginning to relax as he talked. "I mean I do tease and or goad her into snapping at me, but she's kinda cute when she's pissed off at me." He scratched his cheek in a sheepish manner, "her eyes practically glow and she stands at her full height as if trying to be taller than me. In particular though, she always swears at me," he looked at his father, "is it weird to find someone's kinda cute?"
Clint didn't say anything, not wanting to break Leon's train of thought but feeling the corners of his lips pulling up into a slight smile. It was so obvious to him, so obvious that his son had major feelings for the girl he was talking about, and he couldn't wait till Leon could see it himself.
Leon gave a light chuckle, amber eyes spacing out a little. "Cause she's adorable when she's mumbling various swear words under her breath or calling me a pain in the butt but with the correct word. Although I think I like her better when she's smiling. Sometimes I tease her for needing braces when we were little, but I really really like how she smiles. Her eyes crinkle up at the corners or close and did you know Cynthia has dimples? I mean she's got freckles everyday, making her even cuter, but when she smiles at you it's like…" he paused, looking for the word. "It's like magic," he breathed, "her smile puts a spell on you; I always feel better when she smiles at me no matter what. I could lose a basketball game or fall down the stairs at school and be happy as long as Cynthia's there smiling or giggling at me. Although…" His face adopted a sheepish expression and his ears turned red. "With all the teasing she does, more than half the time she's smirking with one eyebrow higher than the other. I like that one too, just like her smile, but every time she smirks at me I feel my heart pounding like it does when I'm training and I can't look away."
Clint's smile widened, he had seen that smirk before. It was Cynthia's 'I'm the teasing queen and have no shame' smirk. The smirk was always present every time she successfully teased anyone, but he had no doubt that Cynthia knew her smirking affected Leon. Especially when every time they were playfully one-upping each other it would always end with a comment from Cynthia that made his brother go 'get burned Leon' and the very smirk Leon was talking about on Cynthia's face.
"Then I feel all funny and have to walk away from her," Leon huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. Not noticing his father's smile. "I know she runs multiple YouTube channels and has a professional studio doing everything but recording for her, but no matter how innocent and kid friendly she appears there, I know that's not actually how her mind works. She's incredible being able to filter her entire personality to be kid friendly and not slip up, but StarClan above, whatever goes on in her mind I bet is not all kid friendly." He then chuckled again, "I mean Cynthia's always the first one to pick up on the inappropriate jokes Brendan makes and is clever enough herself to make more than a few of her own on a daily basis. I wouldn't call her perverted though because she's not, she just…" he paused for a second, "doesn't really have any shame."
That was new, Clint didn't know about that part of the girl's personality, but the longer he thought about the more it made sense. Cynthia was very mentally mature for her age in the sense that her mind worked more like an adult than a teenager's, so the fact that the girl didn't have a problem with crude humor wasn't all that surprising.
"I mean Cynthia has an utter blast at Jay and Mike's reactions when we were all playing truth or dare last week," Leon said, his ears glowing bright red as he spoke, amusement in his voice as he talked about the girl constantly on his mind. "Isa asked her who she had a crush on and instead of removing a sock or something when she refused to answer, she discarded her t-shirt."
Clint almost choked. From laughter or shock he didn't know.
"I mean she was wearing a tank-top beneath it like she always does, but Jay all but bit his tongue to keep from snapping at her while poor Mike almost passed out."
Clint lightly bit his tongue to keep from laughing. Oh yeah, behind all of Cynthia's constant kindness and concern lived a mischievously devious human being that loved to tease the living daylights out of everyone she knew.
"She's really pretty…" Leon breathed, his voice taking on an extremely rare dreamy tone. His mind taking a stray turn toward something the previous topic reminded him of."Gorgeous really… "
"Really?" Now this intrigued Clint, his denser than a brick son thought Cynthia was pretty? He wasn't surprised, seeing that most people's feelings started at mere attraction, but still. "In what way?"
Leon didn't really break out of his headspace, but he did respond to Clint. "Oh yeah, easily the prettiest at school despite what Isa says. In that way? Well… both Cynthia and Isa are pretty girls, or at least that's what Brendan says, but Cynthia's better that Isa because she's real. Cynthia's beauty comes from her as a person, and her appearance reflects the spirit that lives there. Cynthia's eyes change between shades of blue to reflect her mood. Glittering like the afternoon sky when she's happy, appearing as cold and untouchable as sapphires when she's coldly angry, or glistening with this strange shade that's darker than the sky but lighter than sapphire when I catch her looking at me in class. There's always something in her eyes, and that's why I feel disturbed when she works herself too hard and is sleep deprived. When she's sleep deprived her eyes don't change, they don't reflect what she's feeling, rather it's hidden in the confusing creature that I don't understand that's her mind." Leon's voice was brimming with emotion, obviously concerned and displaying the strength of his feelings in his words.
"Cynthia's decently fit too so she can keep up with me for a little while on the course in the backyard or play a game of tag with me in the rain," Leon continued, changing topics slightly. "But she has really long legs, I mean she can out run me despite my high stamina. Plus when she's walking with me I don't have to adjust my strides so she doesn't fall behind, her legs are long enough to keep up with me without trying, even with my strides being just a little longer than hers. Watching her run at the track meets or around the school is breathtaking… She belongs out there on the track almost as though she's part of the wind, swift and untouchable." Leon shook his head lightly as if to clear it a little, "anyway, back on topic. Cynthia's slim, light enough for me to carry her around on my shoulders if I want to, but!" He emphasized the words, amber eyes glowing defiantly. "Contrary to what Brendan says she is curved! Cynthia has plenty of curves, there just aren't a whole lot of them that you can visibly see! Like how her spine curves when she's performing stretches for track, or the way her collarbones curve above the neckline of her shirt!" Leon ranted, obviously having a lot of pent up emotions at the particular topic at hand. "Cynthia may be slim, but you better believe that there's no way in hell that she's curveless outside of her chest and hips!"
His eyes were glowing with rage, making Clint wonder who had said that about the YouTuber in front of Leon. "Hers are just more selective than other girls' and there's nothing wrong with it! It just means that she's even more unique and beautiful!" He actually got up, pacing in a tight circle, amber eyes still gleaming like hot coals. "Those rumors piss me off because she's more beautiful than any of those gossiping girls or asses that call themselves the basketball team! Especially when they're talking about my girl and me and the rest of our group have seen those hidden curves!" Leon breathed in a sharp inhale of air and kept talking, Clints eyes now focused intently on his son.
Did he notice that he said 'his girl?' He called Cynthia his, Clint reflected with a smile, so on some level he knows how Cynthia feels too.
"At the hot springs it was me, Cynthia, Bree, Jay, Holly, and Finli right?" Leon said and didn't wait for an answer. "Well I took a detour to the souvenirs place to get something for mom, and when I got back everyone was already changed and in the hot springs except Cynthia. She was sitting beside the hot spring with her feet in the water, waiting for me. Cynthia's always awkward about wearing a swimsuit, saying that she didn't want any pictures on the internet with her popularity, but you know what? She was finally wearing one and I got to see." Leon made eye contact with his father and jabbed himself in the chest with a thumb, "Cynthia let me see her in a swimsuit."
Clint understood the emphasis on that particular fact. Cynthia always without fail wore shorts and a tank top whenever she went with them to a water park or pool. Using the same reasoning Leon had explained and awkwardly chuckling about how she didn't look good in them anyway. So the fact that she did wear one at the hot springs, something he hadn't known about, and trusted her friends to keep it a secret and to not take pictures while she was wearing one was special.
"And dad?" Leon said, looking at his father again, eyes showing exactly how true and sincere his next words were. "She's more beautiful than an angel."
Clint nodded, remaining silent and listening to his son, his heart melting at the strength of his son's feelings.
"She had her hair pulled back with this white flower clip so the ends only reached the base of her head," Leon blew through Cynthia's choice of swimming suit, "and wore a white and blue two piece that was pretty cool and whatever. But the important part is that it couldn't have fit her both literally and metaphorically any better." Leon explained, a soft adoration filling his eyes. "And all those hidden curves that you just can't see with her normal clothing choices were visible to me and everyone else. The curves of her neck, shoulders, chest, back, waist, hips, legs, everything. She was so beautiful there, even more than usual, and she trusted me enough to let me of all people see them."
Clint couldn't help the fatherly smile on his face, seeing and hearing his son describe a girl in a respectful way, describing her as a person, a beautiful one at that, and not as an object or something with a checklist.
"But when I went back to school after spending those two days with all of my friends and witnessing that guess what happened?" Leon continued, his eyes adopting an angry flame again. "The basketball team were still rating girls and gave Cynthia a low rating because she's not curved enough," he spat bitterly, "I wanted to beat the hell out of them for it, because," he hit the table, causing everything to rattle and Clint jumped a little, surprised at Leon's actions. "Cynthia doesn't deserve comments like that," Leon lashed out, eyes glowing with fury. "She works so hard and people only nitpick on the things about her that aren't even true! Cynthia's beautiful dad, and I hate how sometimes other people don't see it or hate her for it because it's not fair to her! But you know what?"
By the look in Leon's eyes Clint knew what he was about to say was where he needed to step in and push him a little in the right direction. "No, what?"
"I decided that it doesn't matter!" Leon told his father firmly, "so what if people don't see how beautiful she is? Because I do. I know exactly how beautiful Cynthia is," he hit the table again, this time much lighter, before leaning one it with both arms. "So everyone else can screw off because she's mine."
After Leon's firm proclamation there was silence. Leon breathing a few harsh breaths from his long rant, and Clint letting him catch his breath. All before plopping back down in his chair, Leon's eyes softening back to normal.
"Yours how?" Clint gently prodded his son once he had calmed down, fixing his sharp blue eyes on him. "How's Cynthia yours Leon?"
Leon instantly tensed up, realizing he hadn't meant to say anything like that. "She's not," he spoke slowly, "Cynthia's single and free to do what she wants."
"Really?" Clint leaned back in his chair, making sure he wasn't coming off as threatening. "Seems like you have a problem with that."
"I don't," Leon's voice was rather unsure, shaking a little in indecision.
Clint hummed in response and let Leon mull it over for a moment before he picked up his carving tools, looking at Leon over the tops of his glasses as he did so. "I never said anything about Cynthia being single, Leon."
Leon tensed a little, confused, "S-So? I was just pointing out a fact."
"That's true," Clint conceded."it is just a fact, but," he looked properly at Leon. "It's a fact only someone interested in said someone would be consciously aware of."
"W-what?" Leon gawked at his father, "what do you mean?"
"Leon, do you ever think about let's say Bree, being single?" Clint said, leaning back in his chair some more and lifting his carving to his eyes. Expertly chiseling away at the soft wood.
Leon blinked confused, "no, but how's connected with this?"
"What about Ivory?"
"Heck no, she'd kill me if she found out I was thinking about that."
"But you do for Cynthia," Clint said, his eyes still on the carving in his hands. Although he could still see most of his son's face. "Isn't that a little weird?"
"I guess?" Leon shrugged, "but isn't it normal to think that way in regard to someone?"
" Not for friends Leon." Clint replied easily, " that's only normal for someone who's interested in pursuing the person in a romantic way. Like a relationship kind of way."
Clint didn't have to see Leon's face to feel the shock and dismay coming from the blonde.
"WHAT?!"
The shout was enough to figure it out just by that. In fact Clint could bet that Leon's sister Holly, who had been helping leah with dinner, knew just by the shout too.
"What? Don't believe me?" Clint put the carving down, giving his dense son his full attention. "What's something you've wondered it would be like to do with Cynthia that you haven't done before?"
Leon's face instantly dyed itself a bright red and he avoided his father's eyes. "N-Nothing."
"Leon…" Clint drew out his son's name, "there's no shame in telling your father."
Leon shifted awkwardly in his chair and spoke in a tone too low for Clint to hear properly.
"Speak up Leon, I'm becoming an old fart these days," Clint drawled half sarcastically, drawing a little laugh from his son.
Leon then cleared his throat and spoke properly. "I guess I've wondered what it would be like… to uh," he cleared his throat again, cheeks and ears still bright red. "To uh, hug her?"
Clint rolled his eyes, "Cynthia hugs you all the time Leon, she's a very touchy feely person regarding her friends and fans."
Leon blushed further, "not just hug, I mean…" he visibly drew up his courage despite his embarrassment. "I meant to hold her, you know, like hug her from the front but closer and for longer than the split second hug she gives me on a daily basis?"
If only you would notice how red Cynthia's ears get when she's hugging you, Clint lightly chuckled to himself.
"What's so funny?" Leon asked with a scowl, obviously uncomfortable.
"Nothing Leon," Clint said with a wry smile, "it's just something I thought of. Anyway, so there's one thing, ever wondered anything else? Like I don't know, kissing her or something?"
To Clint's surprise Leon's blush darkened visibly. "What?"
"N-Nothing," Leon awkwardly coughed into his hand. "Nothing."
Feeling suspicious, Clint narrowed his eyes at his son, succeeding in making him more uncomfortable. "Leon… have you kissed her at some point?"
Leon's blush darkened but he shook his head. "Nope… never kissed her."
"Leon," Clint said in a deadpanned tone, "you are a worse liar than some of the criminals I interrogate right now."
Leon felt like he was going to die from the heat on his face and cheeks. "Okay fine, so I've kissed her before."
"When?" Clint asked, suspicion still lining his tone. "When did you kiss her?"
"At the truth or dare game," Leon blushed further and spoke awkwardly, now aware that his father would see through any of his lies.
"What kind of dare?" Clint asked, feeling a little bewildered. His son had kissed a girl and still couldn't tell that he had feelings for the same girl? Nor that she had intense feelings for him either?
Leon shifted awkwardly in his seat and stayed silent.
"Leon…"
"Okay okay!" Leon gave in, "it was supposed to be that stupid seven minutes in heaven game!" Seeing the shock on his father's face Leon hastened to continue, "Cynthia kissed me at first when we were pushed into the closet but only for like ten seconds before I gave her a gentle push because I couldn't breath. She then retreated to the other side of the closet."
Clint winced and instantly felt bad for Cynthia. The whole experience he was listening to was completely crazy. However, he couldn't help but feel for the girl when she had probably been at least a little excited at the opportunity to kiss Leon without having to work around his denseness.
"I think Cynthia could tell I was uncomfortable so we conversed for a bit before she told she was tired and wanted to rest where we then just sat there together quietly in the dark. Up till the last moment when Cynthia came back over and ruffled my hair and shirt to make them believe that we had been kissing the entire time." Leon mumbled awkwardly, "s-so yeah, I've kissed her before, and I admit… it was pretty nice, even if I didn't kiss her back…" he admitted sheepishly.
"Well do you want to kiss her again?" Clint asked tentatively, phrasing things carefully and in a way to help Leon understand. Afterall, if he just flat out said to Leon that Leon had feelings for Cynthia wouldn't understand it if that kiss was anything to go by.
Leon's face turned brighter red, "um… what am I supposed to say?"
Clint rolled his eyes, "the question's simple Leon. Do you want to kiss Cynthia again yes or no?"
Leon looked sheepish and awkward as he responded, "Yes?"
Clints eyes twinkled, "friends don't kiss Leon nor do they usually want to kiss their friends."
Leon blinked once, twice, and three times before the words sunk in. His eyes then widened to the size of golf balls and his jaw hung open before he opened and closed his mouth a few times and spoke. "StarClan… I have feelings for my sister's best friend…"
Clint grinned at his son and stood up, walking over to the stunned teen and giving him a hearty slap on the back. "Now you get it!" He couldn't help but laugh and tuck his glasses into his shirt pocket, "you want to be more than friends with her Leon, and there's nothing wrong with that."
"What about Holly?" Leon panicked and reeled, staring up at his father, "she's going to kill me!"
"Are you kidding?" Clint laughed, relieved at finally having gotten through to his dense son. "Holly's been shipping you together in a relationship since you guys were pre-teens."
Leon brightened, then a look of horror spread over his face. "Wait, what if Cynthia doesn't feel the same way?!" He buried his head into his hands, resting his elbows on the table. "I'm going to die!"
Clint rolled his eyes at his son's dramatics as Leon complained and told his father how he was going to die of sadness and as a hermit crab. He then lightly smacked his son upside the head, "Leon!"
"What?!" Leon huffed and glared at his father, "Let me complain in peace!" He huffed angrily, "I like a girl and she's not at all interested!"
"Really now?" Clint rolled his eyes, "who hugs you everyday and has a sketchbook with you being the subjects of the drawings drawn in an affectionate way?" He stated blandly with a deadpan expression, "or drops everything to instantly come help you if you need it?"
Leon narrowed his eyes, "she's a kind person and she's an artist! She has hundreds of sketchbooks!"
Clint rolled his eyes again, crossing his arms over his chest, "then how about how she literally snuggles up to you on movie nights and ends up always asleep across your lap when she's crashed from the lack of caffeine in her system at night?"
"W-what?"
"Or sneaks in chances to tug you along by the wrist and sometimes holds you hand for crying out loud?" Clint pointed out, "good grief Leon, this girl has had the biggest crush on you for the past four years!" He pointed at his son, his finger inches from Leon's nose, "that poor girl has put up with your sorry dense ass for four years waiting patiently for you to figure out your own feelings for her! And don't you dare say that's not true, because Leon, I watch her just as much as I watch you, and you better believe that I see the borderline love in her eyes as she watches you and studies you from where she's always next to Holly!"
Clint felt fired up, he was getting this through his son's head even if he had to bash into him. He had watched Cynthia for years watching her wait and sometimes cry because she couldn't shake off her feelings for him and she felt miserable. "I've seen her curled up in a ball on the couch with Holly trying to comfort her as she breaks down and cries because after years, multiple years she can't shake off the feelings she has for you and it hurts her! That girl sits there on the porch when your training, her eyes tracking your every movement with an expression that practically screams, 'I love you!' She kisses you on the cheek or the corner of the mouth every night when she's here because she doesn't let herself have any more than that!"
Leon's amber eyes had returned to normal size, but glistened slightly with tears at the blunt words of his father. It was hard to hear that Cynthia suffered for years waiting for him to figure it all out. "I… I'm sorry…"
Clint quickly deflated, stepping closer to his son and resting a supportive hand on his shoulder. "I'm telling you this because Leon," his voice was now calm and supportive, "you now know that while you may not completely love her in a romantic way just yet, you have feelings for her. And now matter what mistake you make Cynthia's not going to just break up with you and find another guy." He looked earnestly at his son, both hands on his shoulders. "Cynthia loves you. She's waited years to be able to try a relationship with you beyond friendship, and now like always, the ball is in your court. Now then Leon," he looked at him, eyes piercing but supportive, "what are you going to do about it?"
Clint watched as a resolve grew in his son's eyes, making them glint with resolution. Just by that Clint knew what he was going to say, and now finally, he could call his oldest son a real man. He clapped his son on the shoulder, "now you're a man, Leon." He then released his son and stepped away, crossing his arms over his chest with pride in his eyes for his son. "Now you go up there and tell her how you feel. Holly probably called her over just in case."
Leon grinned and shot to his feet before sprinting up the stairs, "Cynthia!"
Nothing in the world can make me miss this! Clint followed close on his heels, a smile spreading across his sharp features.
Once Clint exited the staircase at the top he saw Leon there, standing about an inch apart from Cynthia, who was bracing herself back against the dining table.
"L-Leon?" Cynthia spoke his name, her face bright red at the space between her and Leon. "D-Do you need something?" Her voice was shaking and she stumbled over her words, blue eyes wide but frequently glancing down at Leon's lips, her own parted for her uneven breaths. Clint could read her unusually unguarded expression, which to him showed her conflicted intentions between slipping out of his grip and kissing him. slipping out of his grip side seemed to be winning, but her expression pretty much said, 'if you're this close you better as all hell kiss me.'
"Yes," Leon grinned at her and Cynthia's face and ears went even more red, her blue eyes flickering unintentionally down to his lips again before looking to one side. Looking toward her best friend with a shaky plead to get her out of there before she did something stupid.
"W-What is it?" Cynthia still stumbled over her words, and reluctantly turned her eyes back to Leon when Holly shook her head and her manager just looked amused.
"Truth or dare?" Leon asked cryptically, moving his head a little closer to hers, enough that their noses brushed and Cynthia instinctively tilted her head slightly to one side and lifted her chin.
Clint stood beside Leah, chuckling at the situation and Cynthia's reaction. The poor girl looked like she was going to die waiting for Leon to kiss her or move away from her. That or melt into the floor to escape the situation as a whole.
"Dare…" Cynthia mumbled, and Clint saw her lean her back against the table to release her arms, wanting a kiss from Leon so badly that she was just moving without thinking now.
"Pick the first one first," Leon grinned and Clint saw Cynthia lightly stomp her left foot in irritation. His son was actually teasing her at a time like this.
"Fine, truth," Cynthia snapped irritably, blue eyes flashing with anger and familiar look of hurt and longing that practically lived in her eyes.
Leon shifted his head closer and Clint saw Cynthia's fingers actually twitch from where her hands to hovering near Leon's waist. Fighting herself and growing increasingly angry and upset. However, Leon said nothing, just goading her into kissing him.
"Okay I'm done playing this stupid game," Cynthia snapped after patiently waiting for him but stubbornly not moving away. "Tell me what the hell you want you ass! Stop… teasing me…" she snapped, her voice weakening toward the end as Leon moved even closer by a fraction. Barely half an inch away from kissing her. Cynthia actually gave a pathetic whimper at the end of her sentence, her fingers brushing over the fabric of his shirt.
"Leon stop teasing her," Holly huffed from where she was with Lila. "She's already redder than a rose-"
"You want to kiss me right now," Leon ignored Holly, his voice and proximity making Cynthia respond without thinking.
"Yes…" Cynthia breathed, and Clint could barely hear her from where he was standing. "But I'm trying not to…" The girl actually moved to stand on her toes and kiss him herself, but stopped, not wanting to give away her feelings. Even though she pretty much already did.
"Stop trying not to," Leon responded softly, gently enfolding his arms around her waist and Clint smiled gently. "You don't have to hold back any more-"
Leon barely got the sentence out before Cynthia firmly sealed their lips together by gripping his shirt tightly in both hands, pulling down on the fabric as she stood up on her toes. When Leon actually responded to her sudden kiss Cynthia practically melted on the spot. Her grip going completely slack while her expression turned love dizzy and off the charts giddy.
However, Clint noticed something nobody else did and quickly moved, hastening to fetch Leah's prize vase of flowers off the table.
Before half a second later there was a screech of the table moving and a following crash as Cynthia fell backward without the table's support and straight to the ground.
"Cynthia!" Leon yelped as he got pulled down to, his arms around her waist. All he got in return was a dazed giggle before chaos erupted.
The chaos was caused by Cynthia grabbing onto the tablet cloth, thereby sending all the dishes to the floor and shattered into tiny pieces. Along with the other end of the table cloth ending up on top of Cynthia and Leon's sprawled forms.
Once everything settled down and the spectators had reopened their eyes after the crashing, were the messy and ceramic shard ridden dining room revealed along with the table cloth covered teenagers on the floor.
Cynthia was sprawled on her back, Leon kneeling between her spread eagled form with his face buried into the upper chest and neck area of her loose hoodie. Cynthia was simply looking up at the ceiling, visibly dazed. From the kiss or the crash nobody really knew which.
Leon on the other hand groaned and managed to pull his arms out from under Cynthia's body to sit back on his heels and rub his forehead. "Remind me to never kiss you leaning against anything mobile," he muttered half seriously.
Cynthia propped herself up on one arm and laughed, her laughter carefree and above all, happy. "I'll replace it all," she giggled and scooted back till she could completely sit up. Leaning toward Leon with her hands on the floor and tilting her head in just the right angle to steal a kiss from him. Obviously giddy and beyond happy right now.
"You better," Leah teased lightly and Lila nodded pointedly at Leah before pointing at herself, saying that she'd take care of it.
Cynthia made a complaining when Leon pulled back from her kiss a moment later, blue eyes at half mast, extremely relaxed.
"We'll deal with it later," Leon brushed it off and grinned at Cynthia, "I think I owe you an actual seven minutes in heaven dare, so that's your dare."
Cynthia's eyes opened completely and she stared at him, "w-what? But I hid it so well!" She complained and Leon laughed.
"You really did, I didn't even know you meant to kiss me because you actually wanted to till my dad suggested the idea." Leon then grinned at her, "but who cares now? Come on," he stood up and pulled her to her feet before looking at his sister and pointing at her. "Time it," he grinned and Holly rolled her eyes but pulled out her phone anyway.
Clint on the other hand chuckled but his eyes showed his concern. He would have to keep an eye on these two from now one. There was no way he was going to let them make a mistake when he had something to say about it.
19 ½ years old
"Did I just hear you say that Cynthia's pregnant Holly?" Clint felt shell-shocked. This was not what he wanted to hear passing by his daughter on the phone before one of the last planning meetings for Leon and Cynthia's wedding next week. "What the hell were they thinking?!"
Holly blinked owlishly at her father before ending the call and shoving her phone into her purse. "I don't know dad, but yelling like that when I'm on the phone with Cynthia's manager and Cynthia's nearby is only going to make Cynthia avoid the house more and find more reasons to skip the last few wedding planning meetings and maybe even just elope with Leon."
Clint narrowed his eyes, "Is that why she hasn't been here for the past month? And they better not, your brother knows that I will hunt him down and then strangle him for getting Cynthia knocked up."
"Calm down dad, they both made the decision, since it does take two people to make a baby. Along with that, hasn't anyone told you yet?"
Clint narrowed his eyes at her, "no, this is the first time I've heard of it."
Holly blew a breath out through her nose, "alright, since you now know, I might as well give you the details since they're actually coming to this meeting." She took off her glasses and cleaned them with the hem of her shirt. "Cynthia's about twenty weeks along, so almost five-months. If you don't scare her off with your yelling and glares, yes exactly like what you're doing right now," Holly rolled her eyes at her father's overprotective personality, "she may let you feel the baby. Their baby is really active and seems to have the half backward sleeping tendencies of its mother."
Clint blinked then looked amused, the over protectiveness draining from his body at the idea of being able to feel his first grandchild kicking. "So the baby keeps them up at night? Even Leon?"
Holly looked amused and shook her head, "actually it's just Leon. Who's apparently taken to sleeping on the couch or in a different room to avoid having Cynthia snuggled against his back where the baby kicks at him during the night. Cynthia's such a deep sleeper that she sleeps through all of it, so she's not cranky at all in the morning."
Clint snorted, "I bet that irritates Cynthia, she's always been a touchy feely kind of person."
Holly nodded, an amused smile on her face as she put her glasses back on. "Yeah, to the point where Leon's stuck before dealing with Cynthia on their bed or having her come downstairs and snuggle with him on the couch, cranky and moody from her hormones and Leon's avoiding of her at night."
Clint sighed, "ah, the mood swings. Yeah, that's something I don't miss about Braxton's pregnancy. How's Leon doing with them?"
Holly laughed, "well seeing how they haven't killed each other yet and how Leon seems fine on the days where Cynthia isn't really hyper, I assume it's okay? Mainly if Cynthia's upset she'll call me and I get to sit through an hour of my best friend in tears while in the background Leon's trying to comfort her and she's swearing at him up and down the alphabet."
Clint chuckled, blue eyes twinkling lightly, "she never really grew up out of her habit of bad language did she?"
Holly shook her head, "no, although apparently she swears the most at Leon, particularly when he's kept her up all night and so she's cranky and sleep deprived."
Clint's eyes widened, "he doesn't do that now does he?"
"As far as I know yes," Holly smiled at her brother's expense, "but these days it's backward. So Leon complains about the baby keeping him awake, and when Cynthia's hyper and in the mood, her too."
Clint affectionately rolled his eyes at his son's expense before his arms crossed over his chest and he frowned. Visibly regaining his earlier over protective attitude with a thick frown, he berated his daughter in an irritated tone. "Still, I'm going to kill your brother. I did not spend two years keeping an eye on them and drilling the right way to treat a woman into your brother's head for this to happen.
Holly adjusted her glasses, green eyes going serious and as calm as usual. Although, as she spoke a soft twinkle of amusement appeared in her eyes. "Of course," she agreed, "I don't blame you."
The look on Cynthia's face when she arrived at the house almost broke Clint's heart. He didn't mean to come off as threatening or anything to her, he had just wanted his son to be aware of the impending conversation. However, it unintentionally backfired and made his heart squeeze. The rather stiff stance and crossed arms he was sporting toward his son was apparently enough to frighten Cynthia if the growing tear ridden glitter in her almond shaped blue eyes were anything to go by. Along with how she was hunching her shoulders, avoiding looking at anyone, and quietly trailing after her oblivious fiance, letting him guide her by the hand.
"Loosen up," a hand rested against Clint's back and he heard his wife's voice in his ear, "you're scaring her Clint."
Cynthia's tear-ridden blue eyes flickered anxiously toward him for a moment and Clint saw the fear strengthen in her body language and her grip on Leon's hand tighten.
"Leon's ignoring me," Clint grumbled in response, trying to put aside his guilt at Cynthia's obvious discomfort being in her future-in-laws' house, "and he's in trouble Leah."
"I know," Leah spoke softly from beside him, "but you're going to make Cynthia cry Clint-"
"Cynthia?" Leon had stopped walking toward everyone else and had turned toward his fiance who probably had an excruciatingly tight grip on his hand. "Jeez, you'll strangle a tiger… with that grip… why're you crying?"
"-never mind," Leah sighed and looked at her husband in disapointment as Cynthia anxiously tugged on Leon's arm, avoiding his and everyone else's eyes.
Most of which were getting closer to her, worried about the clear tear tracks on her face and tears in her eyes.
"Clint, I know you're annoyed that this happened, more so that Leon let it happen, but you shouldn't make it worse for either of them," she chatsized him in her usual gentle tone. "Cynthia's terrified of you disowning her and even the baby because she and Leon aren't married just yet." Her normally soft brown eyes glinted fiercely protective of her son's choice of partner, "now you go over there and apologize to her before she and Leon leave and your son gets angry because you made Cynthia cry."
Clint felt the knife he had put into his own heart at Cynthia's tears and fear at being in the same house as him, twist and get shoved in deeper when he heard Cynthia speak quietly.
"Leon?" Cynthia's voice shook and trembled, scared. "Can we go home?"
"Why're you crying first?" Leon asked, amber eyes visibly worried and protective over her and the baby. "Who scared you?"
Cynthia said nothing, instead moving closer to Leon and hugging him, pressing her face into his shirt before repeating her earlier question but phrasing it differently. "I want to go home…"
Leon sighed but returned Cynthia's embrace, gently rubbing her back before responding. A rather disappointed look in his eyes. "Yeah, yeah we can go Cia if it'll make you feel better." Obviously the social blonde had been looking forward to being able to joke around with the other guys and talk to his siblings and family. However he also didn't want to upset or frustrate Cynthia when she was usually so sick and tired, so the loyal blonde chose the choice that would make his fiance feel better.
"This had gone on long enough," Clint sighed softly and approached his son and future-daughter-in-law, putting in a major effort to not appear irritated and or disapproving. If he didn't take care of this now he didn't think he'd be able to ever look Cynthia in the eye again nor his own wife really. Plus… seeing the teasing YouTuber act so miserable was breaking his heart.
"Sorry Holly," Leon was saying when Clint approached, guiding Cynthia toward the door while shrugging on his jacket. "Looks like we're leaving early," he gave his sister an awkward smile, "can't have a crying bride right?"
Holly looked about as miserable as Clint felt, her green eyes focused on her brother and her best friend, looking like she had obviously wanted to talk to them for a bit today and catch up with her friend. "Yeah, we can't have that." She gently touched Cynthia's shoulder, who was rubbing at her eyes, trying to make the tears stop along with the hiccups that were beginning to emerge from the YouTuber's throat. "Take it easy Cindy," she spoke in a quiet and gentle voice, "I'll come by tomorrow and say hi okay?"
Cynthia nodded, but didn't say anything, only giving a sharp sniffle, blue eyes still swimming with tears.
Clint gently caught the YouTuber around the shoulders, guiding her away from his son and daughter. "Come 'ere for a sec Cynthia," he gently pressed a reassurring and fatherly kiss to the crying woman's temple as he steered them away. "I'm borrowing your bride Leon," he casually told his son as he led Cynthia away from everyone else in the dining room and toward the back of the living room. "She'll be back in a minute, go mingle or something."
"What? Wait, what're you doing with her?" Leon moved to follow his father, obvious concern in his voice for Cynthia who was trembling a little in Clint's hold. "Cynthia's obviously uncomfortable!"
Clint heard his wife's voice respond even as he and Cynthia moved out of earshot. "Leon? It's okay, trust me."
Clint carefully steered Cynthia toward one of the armchairs in the living room and didn't speak till they were next to it and he gently released her shoulders, "go ahead and sit down Cynthia. "how's your back?" He asked, pulling over the nearby piano bench where Cynthia used to come over and play for them, before sitting down on it. "I remember how bad Braxton's mother complained about how the baby's weight made her back ache," he explained at Cynthia's wary and rather nervous and frightened look. "But seriously, go ahead and sit down Cynthia, I promise I'm not going to bite you." He gave her a teasing grin, "I'm not a vampire or anything."
Clint was relieved to see a very, very tiny smile quirk at Cynthia's lips for half a second, and that after a moment she carefully sat down in the arm chair. Making a small noise in relief at the lessening of the pressure and pain in her back and likely her feet too. Her head rested back against the cushions for a moment, blue eyes mostly closed with the glittering tear tracks on her face as the only remaining evidence of her tears.
"See?" Clint smiled gently at her, "I don't bite now do I?" At Cynthia's silence but opening her eyes to look silently at him he continued. His face adopting a slight disapointed but amused expression as he spoke. "Cynthia… did you really think I'd disown you and the baby just because my son's a pain in the ass and has the self-restraint of a pitt-bull?"
Cynthia gave a little smile at the mental image of her fiance as a blonde tail wagging pitt-bull, and spoke in a thick and shaking voice. Obviously still scared. "No… but it's my fault too," she pointed out quietly, playing with the zipper on the bottom of her windbreaker. The loose fitting jacket was obviously retailored and re-designed to flatter her body in a way that would help hide her growing baby belly, working as a shield against the media about her unbon child. "It's not like I didn't consent to it myself."
Clint shrugged, "while that is true, you're also not my dense son," he smiled at her, "plus isn't it fun to put the blame on him sometimes?" At Cynthia's odd look he gave a chuckle, "honestly Cynthia you have enough to deal with seeing how you're the one carrying the baby and will give birth to it."
"Her," Cynthia quietly corrected and Clint looked startled, making her swallow before repeating what she said. "The baby I mean," she explained quietly, "the baby's a girl. I didn't… want to wait to find out the gender."
Clint smiled gently, "Cynthia, do you realize one of the reasons why this little girl is so important to me?"
Cynthia shook her head and Clint smiled, blue eyes twinkling in a grandfatherly way. "You and Leon's first born daughter is also my first and currently only, grand-child. Born to my son in everything but blood, and my daughter-in-law who I've known since before she was in elementary school."
A look of understanding was donning on Cynthia's face as Clint spoke, the earlier fear in her eyes and body language replaced by relief and a growing smile.
"Why on earth would I disown you and your baby girl when both of you mean just as much to me as Leon and his two siblings do?" Clint confirmed Cynthia's growing understanding, "you're part of that family Cynthia, and I would never, ever abandon my family."
The watery smile and laugh Cynthia gave Clint filled his heart and soul with happiness. Happiness born of knowing that the girl knew he would always love her as a father and that he would love her childen as much as he loved her and his own kids.
Yes, Clint was going to berate the hell out of his son for this happening in the first place. However, when he did he now knew Cynthia was only going to giggle with Clint's wife and watch her fiance flounder under his father's berating instead of being scared or nervous how it was going to all work out.
Lixa - Birth
Waiting for news of the baby and Cynthia's health was nerve-wracking for everyone, but Clint felt more nervous than he had at his other son Braxton's birth. Namely because it was the seventeen-hour mark now and there hadn't been any news other than Leah's earlier worries about a breach birth (basically means the baby's born cross legged or sideways, really painful and can be dangerous). Clint hadn't been asked to go into the room so he had stayed outside in a vistor's chair with the various extended family that came and went. He had seen Cynthia before hand, having been the one to drive her there while Leon had to take an emergency leave from a ninja warrior competition, and the young woman had been in a lot of pain, the distance between contractions unreliable and constantly changing.
Leaning his head against the wall behind him Clint shut his eyes, trusting his wife and son to make sure everyone would be okay. Jay and Leah were there, Leah acting as the lead doctor while Jay was just there on standby, being Leah's understudy and intern at the hospital. Leon was obviously there, and Clint was sure that Cynthia had used the entire alphabet at least once swearing at him over the past seventeen-hours. The surprise though was that Bree of all people was there too. The seventeen-year-old certified genius had explained in the beginning of the whole process that she had completed a degree course in child delivery and development in six months to help them all out. Bringing her degree count up to two associates degrees at seventeen and stunning everyone but Jay into shock. Holly was beside him, carefully choosing to make sure that she wouldn't get in the way or be squeamish while also supporting her worried father and going in and out occasionally.
Seventeen-hours… good grief, that's twice as long as Fila's, Clint mumbled to himself and rubbed at his eyes, I've sat here for all seventeen of those hours and there's been nothing, not any kind of useful news-
The slamming open of a door broke Clint from his thoughts and he sat up straight at the person that left the room. Practically shaking with nerves and excitement.
Leon's blond hair was sticking up everywhere due to his nervous habit of running his hands through his hair, his face was a few shades too pale and he looked exhausted, but his eyes glowed. Glowed with an emotion Clint knew well. Fatherly pride was written all over the ninja warrior's face. "Everyone's okay," he told them, his voice practically humming with excitement, "they've just been doing some tests and stuff to make sure everyone's okay before I could tell you all and everything-"
"Leon," Clint cut him off, "how's Cynthia and the baby?"
A proud smile spread over his features and Leon lifted his chin slightly before responding, "Cynthia's healthy but tired and her voice is hoarse from swearing at me so much-"
Everyone in the area chuckled a little at how Cynthia it was to mostly lose her voice from swearing at Leon at a screaming volume when in a situation like this.
"-and Lixa Lilian Crawford is seven-pounds four ounces with blonde hair and Leah says she'll have green eyes like Holly." Leon finished and Clint couldn't help but smile.
The two weeks it took for Cynthia to relinquish her protectiveness over her newborn daughter was well worth it in Clint's opinion when he finally got to see Lixa.
"She's really quiet for a newborn," Leah hummed in an approving manner from where she was sitting in a rocking chair with the newborn snuggled in her arms dozing. "Leon wouldn't stop crying unless he was eating," she said and looked up at the sleepy new father who offered his mother a cheeky grin and glanced over toward the bathroom.
"Quit worrying Leon," Clint rolled his eyes at his son and carefully perched his thin frame on the arm rest of the rocking chair, turning his gaze to the sleeping baby in Leah's arms. "Cynthia's probably enjoying the opportunity to take her time and not have to be up on her feet watching your daughter all the time."
Leon harumphed at his father and crossed his arms over his chest, "I watch her, I'm not a useless lump of a human being you know."
"Quit being a drama king," Leah gently chastized her son, "Leon, Cynthia needs a break every once in a while. You can't feed Lixa, only Cynthia or formula can, and Cynthia's paranoid about your daughter's health, you know that."
Leon deflated with a sigh, "I know I know, Lixa's a momma's girl as we found out and doesn't leave Cynthia alone."
Clint lifted his gaze from his new granddaughter to narrow his eyes at his son, scrutinizing him. "You're jealous," he stated simply and Leon gawked in a bewhildered fashion and leah giggled.
"Jealous? Lixa's my daughter!" Leon defended himself, "how can I be jealous?"
"All of Cynthia's time is being taken up juggling Lixa and managing her studio," Clint explained logically and then gave his son a cheeky smirk, "so you're jealous that she's giving the baby more attention than you, son."
Leon narrowed his eyes in an annoyed fashion. "I am not," he huffed, "Cynthia spends time with me when Lixa's sleeping."
"But I bet she's always so tired that she ends up falling asleep huh?" Clint hummed, watching his son's ears turn red and how he was glaring at him now.
"Shut up."
"Shut up who?" Cynthia had returned to the room. "Did I hear what I think I heard?" The blue eyed woman was much perkier than earlier before Leah and Clint had gotten there and she had crashed for two hours then spent an hour in the shower just because she could.
"If you mean how Leon's jealous you don't spend enough time with him, then yes," Clint chuckled at his daughter-in-law. "You look much better, not a mindless zombie anymore."
Cynthia rolled her eyes at Clint's words, "well for the past few days I've been a single parent while Leon was in Vyliea for a competition, so excuse the zombieness from earlier."
"Plus you can't drink as much caffeine as you usually do," Leah pointed out with a laugh.
Cynthia affectionately poked her tongue out at Leah, "I have the constant caffeine headache to remind me thank you very much," she responded before going over to her husband and perching sideways in his lap. "Stop being jealous over a baby," Cynthia told Leon and added a tease of her own, "I'd say act your age but secretly you really are just a big baby aren't Leo?"
Whatever Leon had indignantly intended to say was cut off by Cynthia turning her body slightly and giving him a dramatically big, firm kiss on the lips.
Making Leah giggle some more and Clint to roll his eyes with amusement.
Cynthia pulled back and gave her husband a simple peck on the lips before she then stood up and wandered over to Leah. "Gimme," she playfully teased her mother-in-law who easily gave in and gave Cynthia Lixa before standing up so they could switch spots. Which Cynthia did gratefully, gently cooing at her now half asleep and groggy newborn daughter.
Clint watched them for a moment, a gentle grandfatherly smile written on his face before Leon asked a question.
"Hey dad?"
"Yeah Leon?" Clint replied, looking down at the baby snuggled against Cynthia's chest. Lixa having one arm flung out so her tiny hand rested near Cynthia's collarbone while her sleepy green eyes blinked up at her mother.
"Do you ever wish that my siblings and I were actually yours?"
The question made Cynthia stop rocking the chair, Leah breathe in a rather sharp breath, and leon fix his intent eyes on his father.
Who simply looked up from his granddaughter and shook his head. "I've wondered about that before too, wondering how it would've been like if I had raised you all from babies just like Lixa is now, but no Leon. I've never needed to ask myself that question, because I may not biologically be your father, but you, Jay, and Holly are very much my children inside and out."
Leon's relieved smile made every little mistake Clint had made as a father worth it.
This is the conclusion of Clint and Leon's Father-Son Relationship short-story. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, I eagerly await hearing your opinions in the reviews!
Until next time
~ Tigercry