A/N: To all the Etta/Simon shippers out there xD

SIMON

Peter did not like Simon Foster.

Well, that was not entirely true. He actually really liked the guy, up until very recently.

It would have been hard for him not to like him, when Simon had literally thrown himself into the Amber to take his place. That fact alone had been enough for Peter to love the man, long before they went back to free him; by then, Etta had told him so many anecdotes about how he'd been watching out for her all these years that all Peter had wanted to do was shake his hand and thank him wholeheartedly. On top of that, he had soon come to realize that Simon simply was a very likeable guy, smart and funny, efficient and resourceful. Basically, he fitted perfectly in their freshly -and dysfunctional- reunited team.

He had liked Simon very much, until it came to his attention that the other man had apparently done much more than just watch out for his daughter, these past few years.

It became suddenly evident to him that day when he looked up from the row of weapons he had been working on and noticed just how close Etta and Simon were standing, farther away in the room, discussing their upcoming operation over a mess of papers. There barely was an inch separating their bodies, and Peter did not miss the way Simon's hand regularly wandered off the table to distractedly go around his daughter's waist, brushing her hip, or the back of her 'pants'. Not to mention the way they spoke to each other, their faces so close they were breathing the same damn air, and then there was that small, cheeky smile on Etta's lips every time he spoke something almost directly into her ear.

Just like that, Peter didn't like Simon anymore.

Instead of making a scene, he sought out his wife. He did not do it because he knew she would be the voice of reason, but because he was so offended by what he had just witnessed that he was convinced the mother of his child would be just as upset.

"And you're only realizing it now?" is what Olivia said instead when he shared his concerns with her. "I picked up on that vibe six hours after I was out of the Amber."

This was definitely not the support he had been looking for.

"You cannot possibly be okay with this," he almost grunted. "You should have seen him, he was looking at her like he was ready to just-" He couldn't bring himself to finish that thought, suddenly feeling all kind of nauseated.

Olivia gave him a look. "Oh c'mon. She's not a toddler anymore, she's twenty-four. Are you honestly telling me you thought she never had se-"

"Do not say these words," he stopped her abruptly. "We are not talking about our daughter doing grownup things. I thought we'd made that clear when you were pregnant and we agreed no man would ever touch her."

Unsurprisingly, Peter had really been the only one who'd insisted on that.

Olivia, who actually had been smirking a little up until now -something he hadn't seen in a very, very long time, was losing her smile already. Soon, she was back to being tense, her face pale and grave; the reason behind her sudden change of demeanor became clear when she said: "Well, most of the things we'd planned out for her when I was pregnant didn't exactly turn out like we'd hoped they would."

She had a point. A monumental one, at that.

All of a sudden, Peter felt like an idiot, ranting about this with Olivia, when their relationship was still so unsteady. And there he was, reminding them both yet again of everything that had been lost.

As they stood there, the silence heavy with lingering regrets, some of what he was feeling must have shown on his face, because Olivia's posture eventually relaxed a bit, as did her eyes.

And when she spoke, her voice was quiet and soft: "We were gone for twenty years, Peter. Simon has been part of her life longer than the two of us combined. I know I can't ask you not to act like an overprotective father, but don't give her grief about this. She is an adult, and she will keep on doing whatever she wants, even if you don't approve of it."

He actually found himself smiling faintly and quite fondly upon hearing these words. "Sounds like someone I know."

Almost miraculously, Olivia started smiling again as well, and the gentle look in her eyes instantly made him feel better than he had in a long while. "Well, we did make her together," she said affectionately.

And then she had to add:

"Just think about how stubborn Etta's and Simon's kids are gonna be, though."

Good feeling's gone.

(Being a nanny has led me to watch Finding Nemo way too many times)