Disclaimer: I own nothing except my imagination.
A/N: So I decided to do a three part one shot for the next three chapters even if it's a collection of moments between Brettonio. This one includes the kids so I hope you guys like it.
Sylvie was in the kitchen getting dinner ready when the from door opened and closed. "I'm in here babe." She called out, figuring it was Antonio coming back home from work.
"It's me Sylvie." Eva poked her head in the kitchen before walking in.
"Oh, sorry Eva. How was your day?"
"Was ok I guess." She sat at the table and watched Sylvie's back as she cooked. "What are we eating for dinner?" She stood and went to join Sylvie in the kitchen, leaning her back against the counter.
"Nothing special, just your dad's pasta sauce." She smiled at the teenager. "This came in the mail for you." She pointed towards the stack of letters at the far end of the counter.
"Any college letters?" She bounced towards the mail. "I still haven't gotten any news."
"I just picked it up, sorry sweetie." Eva was frantically going through the envelops when she saw two with the Northwester and Brown headers on the top left.
"Oh my God, they're in." She was jumping up and down with excitement. "Do you think I got in?"
"There's only one way to find out."
"What's all the commotion?" Antonio and Diego walked into the apartment.
"Eva got some mail." She smiled as Antonio came to her side and kissed her.
"Oh really? Which one?" He questioned, not having seen the envelopes.
"Both." She was all smiles." Well I haven't opened them yet." She was suddenly nervous.
"What are you waiting for Eva, open them." Diego pressed her, wanting to know if his big sister had gotten in or not. Both Antonio and Sylvie looked at each other with a knowing look. Generally, if the envelope was thin it meant bad news but a big one usually meant an acceptance package and in the case of both schools, they were big ones.
Eva took a very deep breath and started rising open the first one. "Dear Miss Dawson, CONGRATULATIONS! We are pleased to inform you that you've been accepted into Northwestern University." She was practically screaming she couldn't contain her joy at the news in the first envelop she opened.
"Oh my God, that's amazing Eva." Sylvie was overjoyed for Antonio's daughter.
"Come on, don't let us hanging, open the other one." Antonio grinned, extreme pride coming off of him in waves.
Eva held the Brown University envelop between very shaky fingers. "Go on Eva." Diego gave her elbow a shove.
"I'm too nervous to open it."
"Hey." Antonio pulled himself away from Sylvie's embrace and put his hands on Eva's shoulder. "You've got this Eva." He took her cheeks in his hands and pressed a kiss to her forehead before he looked into her eyes and made her breathe with him. "Come on." She gave him a smile and tore into it.
"CONGRATULATIONS!" She started to read but then stopped. "OH MY GOD! I got into BOTH."
"Thats's amazing Eva." Both Antonio and Diego wrapped her in a family hug and Sylvie watched on lovingly as she witnessed this huge milestone with them.
"I say that is cause for celebration." Sylvie announced over the family celebration. "How about ice cream and brownies?" The three Dawson's looked at her with a smile.
"I think it's a great idea." Antonio pulled away from his kids. "I'll go get some."
"It's good, I got this." She kissed him. "Why don't you get the rest of dinner ready and I'll be right back." She kissed him again. She didn't want to disrupt this great moment of the three together.
Eva watched as Sylvie put her coat on and made sure she heard the door open and close before turning to her dad. "What are you doing dad?" She hissed.
"Finishing dinner." He looked at her funny.
"When are you going to make the move and ask her." Diego added.
"Ask her what?" He looked between the two ofhis children.
"You're so think." Eva groaned.
"What are you guys talking about?" He ignored Eva's snark comment.
"When are you going to realize that you guys are great together?" She asked him, trying to make him say what both she and Diego wanted to hear.
"I already know that Eva."
"I swear Eva, he's clueless." Diego rolled his eyes.
"Alright you two, that's enough. Can you please tell me what you guys are talking about that I seem to be so clueless about?"
"When are you going to man up and ask her to marry you dad?" Diego said throwing his arms in the air. Antonio blinked a few times before looking at each of his kids, sudden realization in his mind.
"We've never talked about it. I'm not even sure we're there yet."
"You're too blind to see it dad." Eva said. "You guys are totally there yet. You don't see what we see."
"And what do you see?"
"You should see the way she looks at you when you're not paying attention. The way she is with us even though we're not blood."
"Sylvie's just that kind of girl." He tried to object.
"She's not just that kind of girl dad." Diego interjected. "She could just let you deal with everything but she does so much more."
"She even gave me some advice about schools when I was so confused about it all." Eva added. "She loves us as if we were her own, you can't let her go dad."
"Make sure you don't let get away anymore." They were interrupted by the front door opening and closing.
"I'm back." She walked in as Antonio gave his kids a knowing look. She had witnessed it but didn't let it show as she put the ice cream in the freezer. "If you want us to eat, you might want to put the pasta in the water babe." She laughed softly, Antonio getting out of his thoughts.
"Sorry, we were sidetracked by Eva's good news." He lied easily as he put the pasta in the boiling water.
"How about the three of you set the table and wash your hands and I'll take care of the rest.
"Come on kids, you guys take care of the table. I'll help you with the rest." He kissed her cheek, the clogs in his brain turning in overtime.
The kids watched as their dad interracted with his girlfriend and they gave each other a knowing look, hoping he would take their advice and ask her. They wanted him to be happy and they never saw him as happy ever since their mother had left him. They both loved Sylvie too and wanted them to be a family.
"Dinner is served." Antonio said out loud as both he and Sylvie set everything on the table. She poured them some wine and the kids grabbed their own drinks before Sylvie raised her glass.
"So here is to you Eva." Sylvie smiled at Eva. "Your hard work has paid off and even though you have a big decision to make now, your father and I couldn't be more proud of you." Antonio squeezed Sylvie's leg under the table and gave his daughter a huge grin.
"To a bright future." Eva had watery eyes as she looked at her dad.
"To a bright future." Everyone cheered and everyone started eating. They talked some more about school as Eva tried to start thinkning which of the two universities she prefered before they moved onto Diego and his grades, the next few years crucial for him as well.
Eva stood to help empty the table but Sylvie placed a hand on her arm to stop her. "We're celebrating your success so you and your brother can sit back down, I got this." She smiled at them. Antonio watched as Sylvie started picking the plates off the table when he exchanged a quick look with the kids, the two of them raising from their chair and heading for their room.
"Let me help you." He took a plate from her hands as she picked it.
"Antonio, it's fine. You should spend some times with Eva and Diego, I got this.
"No way, I'm not letting you do that alone."
"Fine." She giggled and let him help her. Her hands were in soapy water when he wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed a kiss to her neck.
"You're amazing, you know that?"
"I'm not all that." She insisted, her hands scrubbing the pan gently in circles.
"You don't give yourself enough credit babe." He whispered in her ear. "The way you are with my kids, I couldn't ask for more."
"You are an amazing dad and your kids are great so it's easy."
"You're a natural, thank you for being that for them, for me."
"I love you Antonio Dawson and I wouldn't want it any other way." They kissed as the kids were peaking and taking pictures with their phone from around the corner.
"I think it worked." The Dawson siblings fist bumped and returned to Diego's room to wait for their dad and Sylvie to call them back for desert.
"If you stop distracting me long enough, I might be able to finish these and get desert ready." She ran a soapy hand against his cheek with a laugh.
"Fine, I'll help with the drying." He reluctantly pulled away from her so they could finish the dishes. It took them only a few minutes and Sylvie started working on making deserts. She heated the brownies just enough to make them warmer and she added a spoon of whip cream and a scoop of ice cream for each and finishing it off with colourful sprinkles. "You bought Eva's favourite." He said with a smile on his face, his body leaning against the counter.
"Well this celebration is for her." She leaned down and kissed him. Antonio watched his girl as she prepared some food with his kids favourites and he kept thinking about what the kids had said while she was gone, finally coming to the same conclusion as they had. They called them back and eva was smiling like a kid as Sylvie placed the plate in front of her. "Now for some celebratory desert." She winked at Eva as they all sat down to eat.
"Thanks a lot Sylvie, this is really cool." She dug into the soft brownie. They ate in animated conversation into the evening, everyone's routine on break for a rare night. Antonio was counting his blessings tonight and with his fingers linked with Sylvie's, he knew he was making the right decision to ask her to marry him. Now he only needed the perfect ring and proposal to make this even more perfect.
A/N: Ok I was stuck for the longest time with the writing of this chapter but I finally made it. I hope you guys liked it and please take a few seconds to leave a review behind, I always love to hear your thoughts. - Sarra