Disclaimer: While i own my original characters used in this chapter, Sarah J Maas still owns all of the amazingness that the Court of Thorns and Roses series is.

A.N. Hey so sorry it took me a couple more days to get this up. Anywhozle, please enjoy this chapter as I have no idea when I'll post again. Next week is finals for me, and then after that I go to my job (A.K.A. Living in the woods for six weeks). I might be able to post once or twice at best. But it's at least going to be sporadic.

Nitty-Gritty

He's angry pacing. He's stopped ranting and is now just pacing. Stomping more like. He's parading through the three main rooms of our apartment, and I suddenly feel very bad for the downstairs neighbors. I know their ceiling must be shaking, if not their walls as well.

The kids went into hiding roughly half an hour ago. Maybe five minutes after Rhys remembered who was coming for dinner. Park has locked himself in the bedroom the twins share and has decided that he needs to practice his cello at a forte forte tonight. The neighbors that share his wall must hate us. And since he has monopulated their bedroom, Mercer locked herself in the bathroom that all the kids use. I don't know what she's doing in there, but I know that she took her stereo with her. And she's using it to blast that new alternative metal, hard rock stuff that she loves, Rhys likes, I tolerate, and Park and Vik despise. I'm pretty sure that if any of our neighbors didn't hate us before, they definitely do now.

Rhys says something that I can't hear. He then turns and looks at me expectantly, having temporarily ceased pacing. I shrug my shoulders and lift my hands in surrender. Plastering a look on my face that says, "I have no idea what you just said, or what you want me to do". He lets out a loud groan before marching over and banging on the bathroom door.

"What?" Mercer yells over the music. Her voice has an angry lilt to it.

"Turn it down Merc." Rhys yells to be heard over all the noise.

"No can-do Padre. If it's any lower I'll be able to hear Park's stupid cello." She yells "stupid cello" even louder than the rest of her statement. Instantaneously the cello stops in its song.

That's when Park decides his voice needs to join the others in yelling. "It's an instrument stupid. It has no down function!"

Rhys runs a hand over his face. "Can't you just play at a menso piano?"

A scoff comes from Park. "Sure dad. Because I just can't wait to hear round two of you berating our life choices." The stereo clicks off then.

Rhys takes his hand and runs it through his hair. "I was only talking about your sisters' choice in men."

A scoff from the bathroom then. But the voice that spoke was distinctly Park. "But eventually you'll run out of ammo for the TA dude, and start in on Mercer's girlfriend." Mercer gasps.

"You jackass."

"What girlfriend?" Rhys says, all his direction now directed at the bathroom.

"The one that you would totally not care about if only Park told you about his sexuality." The cello starts again at that and moments after, the stereo gets turned on again.

Something strange happens to my husband at that. His shoulders drop, and all the anger and frustration at life and our children just leave him. He turns to me and I just give him a smile. Honestly, I don't care who our kids end up marrying. All that matters to me is that they are happy and healthy and that whoever they chose to be with romantically treats them well. I know that the concept of the kids being gay is hard for Rhys to wrap his head around, but I never thought that the kids wouldn't feel comfortable telling us things. I would like to know why Park didn't tell us, tell me.

Somewhere behind me I hear Rhys regain his confidence. He begins to bang on the twins' door. "Park stop that. Let's talk." His words hold kindness, but his tone holds hostility. I don't blame Park for keeping the door closed. I just never thought he would close the door to me.

That's when it really hits home. My son didn't want to tell me something. He didn't feel like he could tell me. I don't even make it a chair, I just lower myself on to the floor. As I sit there I look over to our dining table. I set it for six, and I ordered Chinese food in abundance.

My daughter's coming home from college today. And she's bringing a boy home, the boy she's been with for almost a year now. They met shortly after she started going to school, but they didn't date until after she was done taking the class that he was TAing for. She told me that. She told me that as she was walking out of the room from her final he went running after her, and caught her right outside the door. She told me that he demanded to have her number and promised to take her out to a nice restaurant. She told me he fulfilled that promise. She told me that this is the best relationship she's ever been in and that she thinks she's going to marry him. My nineteen-year-old is talking about marriage. I know that's how old I was when I married Rhys, but still. It's a little unnerving when it's your child. Especially your firstborn.

Suddenly the front door opens. I burst to my feet as fast as I possibly can. I'm half expecting it to be a burglar. But then my eyes meet purple ones and all my stress and worry melts away. It's just my little girl. My little girl making a pained face as she walks into our apartment, but my little girl nonetheless.

I scan her and see that she's put a little effort into the outfit today. She's got on a dress that goes down to her knees, a jean jacket, and little heeled booties. She's got kind of a 50's vibe going on. I like it. That's when I notice that she's got a plastic bag of Chinese food in each hand. As she walks into the apartment she doesn't stop. She just puts the bags on the table, walks over, and wraps her arms around my waist. I slide my arms over her shoulders and bury my face in her neck. She has to speak at a normal volume directly in my ear so I can hear her.

"Are they just being fourteen? Or is something else going on?" I don't say anything, just burrow my face further into her. That's when Rhys decides to start threatening Park.

"Parker Lucas Illyria, I swear to god if you don't open this door in ten seconds I'm going to break it down." Park doesn't say anything, he just keeps playing at that terribly high noise level.

Vik gives me a final pat and lets me go. She sneaks over to the bathroom door and knocks on it. A very Vik like, gentle knock. She is so much like Elain, in her gentle nature, and soft voice. Mercer is much more like me. As is made evident once again by the hostile snap of "What?" that comes out of the room.

"It's Vik sweets. I just wanna talk." Shockingly the music gets turned off and the door opens. Mercer doesn't come out, but Vik goes inside. I stand astounded.

"I mean it Parker you open this door right now." I can see Rhys' back at the end of the hallway from my position, but I can't see his face. That's when he starts counting down. I close my eyes and put my hands over my face. This is a great first impression to make on the man my daughter wants to marry.

I feel a hand on my elbow and open my eyes. Deep pools of brown look back at me. I lower my hands and find myself greeted by an easy smile.

"I've met Park, and was probably a fourteen-year-old boy much more recently than your husband. Do you mind if I talk to him?"

I just stare at this man. This beautiful man who not only loves my daughter enough to brave her family, but wants to help in defusing the bomb that is my son. Somewhere in the back of my mind I register that he is looking for me to answer him. I just very slowly nod. His smile widens.

"Could you get your husband to back off for me? I don't want to step on his toes." I nod again. I slowly walk over to Rhys. It feels as if I'm in a trance. As if this isn't happening as if nothing is real. Once I reach Rhys I lightly touch his arm. He stops counting and turns as if to yell at me. There must be some kind of expression on my face, because once again all the anger leaves him. Worry fills his eyes as he looks at me and pulls me to him.

"The boy is going to try and talk him down." I say, barely above a whisper. I don't know if he actually hears me, but he nods and pulls me towards our room. I'm still in a dream when he pulls me into our room, the cello music finally stops, and the twins' door closes. Rhys doesn't stop pulling me until we're standing in our bathroom.

"Fey. Fey, what's wrong?"

I can't say the words, but somehow, I manage to get them out. "You're Tamlin." I know that the words will hurt, but I need them to stick. I need for this to not happen anymore. He doesn't react for a minute, and worry that he didn't hear what I said floods me. I don't think I have the capacity to repeat those two little words.

But then something happens to him. Pain flashes across his face, but then anger. Anger at me, anger at my words. All I do is stare him dead in the eye. That seems to finally snap him out of it. Apology floods his features. Remorse, pain, shame, I can see it all in his eyes, the set of his jaw, the tenseness of his forehead. All of it is laid out for me. Like the word of his emotions is flashing at me on a big neon sign.

"I-I didn't mean to-" I cut him off.

"I know love, I know. Just please stop yelling at the kids. Okay?" He nods. "Let's go have as nice a family dinner as possible and meet this young man that Vik is in love with."

He nods. We slowly exit our room and enter the hallway. To my surprise the doors to the twin's room is wide open. As I look further down I can see the bathroom door is also ajar. I walk closer to the dinner table and am greeted by the sight of both my fourteen-year-olds sitting in the white chairs, my oldest opening boxes and putting them on the table with utensils, and a very tall man pouring glasses of soda. I walk over and stand adjacent to both the table and the kitchen. When Vik sees me, she smiles.

"Hi mama. We're just finishing up getting dinner going. You and dad can go ahead and sit." She gestures. I nod and sit down next to Park. Rhys walks over and sits down across from me, and next to Vik. Leaving the last two chairs open and next to each other. I look at Vik and see that her eyes are red. Guilt instantly fills me, but when she catches my eye, she smiles. That's when the other two sit down.

I look over to Rhys, only to find him trying to size up the younger man. I cough to get Vik's attention. When she looks at me I gesture to her father with a not-so-subtle shake of my head. She nods, looks to Rhys, and grins at him.

"So, dad, this is Daichi."

A.N. So thanks for reading, R & R like normal. Just a quick thanks to all those who sent me names. I've used some of them, so you might end up seeing your suggestion at some point. I would love to credit you with the name, but due to duplicates that feels like an unattainable goal.