The next morning, Happy was leading the Sons to his house. Since he slept at the clubhouse, the boys were riding with him to his house and they said they'd help him unpack the truck with his and Talia's stuff. He didn't find Jax until about an hour ago, but he was introduced to the Club's new Prospect last night. The guy's name was Marshall Acre, but the boys called him Mars and there were all kinds of alien jokes thrown at the younger man. He looked to be in his mid-to-late 20s with waves of brown hair that stopped just above his shoulders, amber eyes, California-tanned skin and some stubble. The kid didn't give Happy any bad vibes at all, but he had a feeling that the little shit knew how to get into trouble if need be; it had to be one of the reasons the Sons kept him around. According to Bobby, the Prospect used to be a groupie that bounced all around the States with this band or another since he was 15, then the Sons got their hands on him.
When they got to Happy's place, they saw Juice's motorcycle parked in front and the truck was in front of it. Everyone dismounted and Happy opened the back of the truck to reveal the furniture and boxes inside. Some of the boys took their kuttes and shirts off and sat them inside the truck while the others got started taking the boxes out of the truck to put on the lawn.
"You gonna help?" Chibs questioned Bobby upon seeing the chubby man spectating while the rest of them were working.
"I am helping. I'm supervising and supporting." He countered before gently patting Tig on the back to get the dark-haired man to stand up straight, then pointed to his knees. "Lift with your knees, sweetheart. It's much better for your back."
Happy laughed when he passed the pair on the way to the house, unlocking the front door. He found Juice and Talia asleep on the couch on top of one another and one of them put a pillow over Juice's crotch to keep things innocent. Happy gently shook Talia's shoulder to rouse her and she smiled when she saw him.
"This is exactly what it looks like."
"Why didn't you pull the bed out?" He asked.
"Juice had Blue Dream, 'nuff said." She told him as she got off the couch and rubbed her eyes. Juice didn't seem to be disturbed in the slightest because he was still snoozing. "Dad, I think you need to take a look at the fridge."
"It's makin' noise?"
"No, it's really hot and I think there are four generations of crawlers in there."
"I'll check it out in a minute." He told her before he went back outside to help the Sons.
"Wake up and smell the hash, Juicy Fruit." Talia almost sang as she waved the open bag of Blue Dream under Juice's nose, effectively waking him up. He stretched and gave her a big smile before taking the bag, likely about to roll one up.
Talia stayed inside for a quick wake and bake session with Juice, then she went to the fridge to get something. Then, they ventured outside where all the Sons were unloading their truck and boxes in various places were scattered all over the lawn.
"Shirtless and tattooed men on my front lawn, nice." She chimed as she made her way to the truck as Chibs was coming towards the house with their box labled 'Kitchen stuff'. "Damn, sexy. Can I come play with you later?" She purred to Chibs and the Scotsman almost tripped.
"Hey Dad, look at this." She caught Happy's attention and he gave his box to Mars to give her his attention. She put her hand out and Happy almost flinched at the gigantic roach sitting in her palm. "This is a goddamn New York City roach and it must've been living in that rank-ass fridge. He and his great-great-great-great grandkids were surviving off the 13th-century eggs desiccating in there."
Without a care in the world, Talia clapped her hands together and smushed the bug, wiping her hands off on her jeans. Mars was watching her and his jaw was slack. "Dude, you are hardcore."
"Thanks for noticing." She smiled at him before focusing on Happy. "I refuse to have any of my stuff put into that house before we buy some bug bombs and suffocate each and every one of those little bastards."
"We already started bringing shit in. We'll just take the fridge out and get another one."
"Dad, where's my Box of Life?" She asked. "It's not in there with the bugs, is it?"
"Natalia-" He tried, knowing she usually piped up when he used her full name.
"Dad, I am freaking out!" She snapped. "The universe is cosmically unbalanced! I can't find my center! The threads of my life are unraveling as we speak!"
"Your goddamn box isn't in the house yet. It's out here or still on the truck." Happy diffused and Talia sprinted over to the first box she saw, almost making it tip over as she dived into it.
"What's wrong with Lil' Killa?" Tig asked.
"She's about to have a mental breakdown."
"Nobody move!" Talia declared when she couldn't find what she was looking for in any of the boxes on the lawn. "Everyone, stay where you are! Don't touch another box or there will be emasculation!"
"She's serious." He warned as he lit a cigarette, going to sit on the steps with the rest of the boys.
"Yo, Hap!" Jax called from the truck. "What's with all the chick clothes in here?"
Jax emerged from the darkness of the truck, shirtless and sweaty like everyone else, with a small box tucked under his arm. From his spot, Happy could see the box had 'Caution' and 'Fragile' written in red marker all over it, so that had to be the box Talia was losing her mind over. He didn't see Jax at all last night and he doubted anyone told the blond about his daughter this morning.
Taking a look around the yard, Happy saw Talia's legs sticking out of a tall box as she rummaged through it and he whistled. Her head popped up and he nodded to the truck. She rushed over and Happy sat down on the steps, prompting Tig and Clay to do the same. Chibs came over to lean on the house with Juice and Mars was holding a box a few inches away, but he was watching Jax and Talia meet with the rest of the men. Happy just met the new Prospect that replaced Juice and Jax picked this kid out a few months ago, but he had yet to be properly introduced to Talia.
Even with the distance between them, all the Sons saw the enticed way Jax looked at Talia when she got close enough and Happy knew that she was about to leave an everlasting impression on the Prince of Charming. Jax flashed Talia a smile and hopped off the truck with her cherished box of paraphernalia still under his arm. If Happy's memory was correct, there were a few irreplaceable pictures of her mother, autographed guitar picks, a signed pair of drumsticks and the original lyrics to Dumb- handwritten by Kurt Cobain himself- inside her Box of Life. He wasn't sure when she made the thing, but it's been around for a while now and she made such an effort to keep it safe, so he knew it meant so much to her.
The Sons couldn't hear what they were saying, but Jax must've introduced himself because he held his free hand out and Talia shook it. He talked her up for a second and he didn't glance over to the house with a surprised look, so they still haven't established that she was Happy's kid. She must've noticed the box in his hand because Happy saw her hands ball into fists at her sides and she snatched the box away from him. Then, Jax fell off the truck to the ground holding his crotch while Talia was stomping off, but she stopped to look back at him suffering on the ground.
"Oh, stop whining! You should be thankful I didn't rip it off, you moldy asshole!"
"I think she likes Jax." Clay commented and the guys laughed.
Happy was expecting Talia to have a crush on Jax and that would lead to all kinds of shit he didn't want her getting into with him, but he was glad to see that the Prince's charm didn't work on her. After that introduction, it was clear that she didn't have any interest in him. Actually, she only seemed to be intrigued by Chibs because of his brogue and from what he saw earlier, she and Juice were quickly becoming friends. That was good enough for him, perfect really.
He knew his lifestyle rubbed off on Talia and he noticed that she was becoming antisocial like he was, only having contact with a select few people. For Happy, those people were the Club, his Mom and Aunt. For Talia, the list was shorter because she didn't have any siblings or family other than Happy, so she initially limited herself to social contact with him. When she started school, her teachers were calling Happy to inform him of how distant Talia was, how she didn't want to play or talk with her classmates, but preferred to watch them instead, he started urging her to make friends. As the years went by, he noticed her coming home with stories of what she did with her peers and she never called them her friends, but Happy knew she was doing her best at socializing. She told him that having a large social circle and keeping up with it was an exhausting thought and she didn't like having to keep track of so many people.
"Jax, get your punk ass up and stop acting like a bitch!" Tig taunted, eliciting another round of laughs from the men.
Talia was taking baby steps as she thoroughly inspected the items in her box and she was slowly coming towards the house. She stopped again when she was in front of Marshall, who was watching her. She replaced the lid on the box and looked at him. She smiled and went to show Juice her autographed possessions. Happy still had his eyes on the Prospect and watched as the younger man's eyes dreamily followed Talia over to Juice. The guys were getting back to helping them move in, Bobby going over to help Jax reclaim his manhood.
Before Happy could even stand up, Tig smacked Mars on the back of the head, glaring down at him afterward. "Give me a reason to make you swallow bleach, Mars."
The Prospect mumbled an apology and went back to moving the boxes inside. Tig watched him until he went inside the house, then he looked at Juice and Talia climbing in the truck.
...
"Jax, Tig, Chibs, I need a minute." Clay called from the doors of the Chapel as the Sons pilled in the bar. The four of them sat down and Clay was slightly swiveling back and forth in his seat as he thought for a moment. "Happy and Talia, how we feel about that?"
Tig smirked. "There's no way in hell he's never tapped that."
"I partially second that." Chibs said. "What about that rape story? Think he just made that up for shits and giggles? That's sick, even for Hap."
"What rape story?" Jax asked, clueless.
"Happy was sent on a job and killed a dozen dope-makers, found Talia in the basement." Clay answered. "He took her home, patched her up and they've been together since."
"Maybe that happened for real." Tig surmised. "That'd be more of a reason to keep her around and away from anyone else. You know how he is with women."
"We're all on the same page then." Clay said, refocsing on what he wanted to talk about. "You all know how much Happy means to the Sons and more importantly, how much he means to this charter. Nothing's ever gotten in the way of him fulfilling his duty as a Son, but the girl, as nice as she is, might be a problem."
"What'd you wanna do about it?" Chibs asked.
"Well, Jax has already been doing his part. Need some space put between them. Jax, you keep doing what you're doing until she caves."
"And if she doesn't?" Jax questioned.
Clay motioned to Tig. "Then, you step in."
"You really think she's gonna reject me for him? Seriously?" Jax scoffed with a smile.
"I've seen the things this guy can do, Jax. Remember, with age comes experience."
"I could teach you a few things, kid." Tig added with a dark grin.
"When I wanna know who to go to for some premium dead pussy, I'll call you. We can double-date." Jax winked at the dark-haired man.
"Chibs, I know how you feel about young tail and nobody knows exactly how old Talia is, so I'm cutting you some slack for the sake of your morals." Clay said to the Scotsman, giving him a pass on this assignment. "She likes you though. I've seen how she stares at you when you talk."
"All the ladies love a man with an accent. I'm naturally charmin'." Chibs smiled before asking, "Why didn't ya' call Juice in here? He's had the lass wrapped 'round his finger since they met. And Hap hasn't done anything to him either, left her with him at bar when they came."
"If Juice can get her, good for him. I've got faith in the kid, but I need experience too. Can't afford to have this fucked up. If Happy decides he doesn't like how close Juice is getting to Talia and has a 'talk' with him, everything comes out. You three, especially Tig, won't crack under his pressure."
With nods of affirmation from the men, Clay dismissed the meeting and everyone stood to leave the Chapel.