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Post by Shea on Jul 5, 2014 0:16:10 GMT
Azaizel had met a lot of women. He'd slept with a lot of women. Some even succubi, whose magic made you think they were goddesses walking amoungst you. But he still hadn't met one that made his heart race and stomach flutter like she did. She was gorgeous and she made his heart ache to not be able to give her a hug and a kiss hello.
"Everyone should like blueberries," Azaizel smiled, stepping inside when she allowed him to. "Jalah has been growing some, and they were finally ready to be picked the other day. I have to warn you, though: I haven't made a pie in years. I'm not sure how good it will be, but at the very least it's not poisonous."
Xen was sitting at the table, eating his breakfast in a way that looked more dutiful than anything, and he had to stifle a laugh. "Heeey, big guy. How are you this morning?" he grinned. He forgot himself for a moment, and went over to his son, setting the pie on the table before kneeling on the ground next to his chair.
He took the little, beat up toy car out of his pocket and held it out to Xen. "I took good care of it for you," he said. He'd tightened the loose wheels on it, and shined it up. He would have redone the paint, too, but he didn't have the time or supplies.
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Post by Lizzie on Jul 5, 2014 2:37:56 GMT
Xen Seemed a little sad at first to have to give up the necklace he'd held dear, but his dad had kept his promise...so now it was his turn to keep his. He pulled the necklas from around his neck, a piece of bacon slowly being pulled into his mouth. Roxy almos thad to laugh at his inability to chose either eating or being social with his father. When he had finished off the bit of bacon, he held it up to the larger man and took his car back.
"Thank you, daddy." He smiled, putting his car down to wrap his arms around azaizel's neck. Roxy knew it was his way of getting used to these things but she also knew that Xen had to have bonded with Azaizel on more than just the normal level of a son learning his father.
Things were going to be...interesting. She was happy, though. Happy to see him happy, she supposed.
"Here you go, eat up before it gets too cold, alright? I know it's probably not as good as you and your sisters can make but I've learned a few things having to feed myself and a son."roxy chuckled, placing a plate full of french toast topped wiht blueberry syrup, eggs, bacon and sausage. All nearly overflowing. She wasn't a walthy woman, and she could shop smart. She'd done exactly that after leaving the bar yesterday.
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Post by Shea on Jul 5, 2014 3:00:23 GMT
Azaizel smiled, and his mouth watered at the sight of all the food. "You are a goddess," he told her before he could stop himself. He ruffled Xen's hair, and was about to sit down and shovel all that delicious food into his face when he paused and looked down at his son.
"Hey..." he said, fingering the necklace in his hand. He held it up. "What do you say about keeping this for me, huh? I want you to have it, Xen."
It was right, giving it to his son. A token of... something. To show he was going to be there. That he loved him. Something. But Azaizel wanted him to have it. "When you get scared, just remember this, okay?" He tapped the wolf charm. "Because you're strong, Xen. And you can do anything you want to."
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Post by Lizzie on Jul 5, 2014 14:36:37 GMT
Roxy chuckled a little at his words. "Hardly a goddess, wolfboy. But I hope you like it." She fixed her own plat, almost wanting to laugh at how meager it looked compared to that of her son's and his father. It was going to be interesting being human when around the two of them. It almost made her feel out of place...almost. But, sometimes, when she looked at Xen she could see a litle of herself, she could see it in his eyes. Sure, the three of them had bright amber eyes so it was hard to say which parent he got it from but she liked to believe it was her.
She reached over and pet his hair fondly and he smiled at her, a bright happy smile. It warmed her heart to see that and know how much her little boy loved her. For so long, and even now, he was the only man she needed in her life. Chuckling at how she had distracted him momentarily from his daddy she pointed at Azaizel and started to eat, slowly.
Xen's bright eyes turned back to his father, reaching a little hand out to grip the necklace. He liked that his father took him seriously. He liked that he didn't talk to him like he was a baby. He respected him...and he trusted him. It made the small boy happy, and made him respect Azaizel even more. "Strong?" he asked, holding the necklace close to him, as if the closer he held it the more true the other wolf's words would be. "Like you, daddy?" He asked, the more he was around him, the more he wanted to be like the wolf that was his father.
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Post by Shea on Jul 8, 2014 6:29:37 GMT
Azaizel smiled, watching Roxy and their son interact. The love in both of their eyes... it made his eyes start to mist, and he blinked quickly to clear them. He loved them both so much, and seeing how they loved each other... it was perfect, and he was hit with such a longing. He wanted to be a part of that. He wanted them to be a family.
When Xen turned back to him, he smiled gently at him. "Yes, Xen. So very strong, and smart. You already are," he told him, reaching up to tossle his soft hair. "And I'm going to show you how to... unlock that, okay? But right now, let's eat, and then we'll go play, alright? Does that sound like fun?"
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Post by Lizzie on Jul 8, 2014 16:49:56 GMT
One of his amber eyes closed as his dad's large hand ruffled his curls. His words excited him though. He didn't quite understand them but what he did know, was that his father wanted to do things with him. His father mentioned playing. He hoped his mom would play, too. Daddy would definitely like her smile and laugh when they played. Even if he didn't understand a lot in his little mind, he understood the desire to keep his family together, to have his mom and dad want to keep each other as close as they kept him...but, from how they both acted, he somehow though he had a lot of work.
Xen bit off the tip of a piece of sausage, looking between the two adults, his mother smiling her polite smile and not meeting his father's gaze much at all, and the way his father would watch her a little longer than he needed to before going back to eating. Reaching for his cup of grape juice, Xen almost missed his mother's look as soon as she thought Azaizel wasn't looking.
Roxy looked away before she was caught staring, reminiscing to herself, and went back to picking at her pancakes. "Do you mind if we stay the night? I know it's sudden and I don't know if you have room...but I figured it would be better than trying to cut it short...."
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Post by Shea on Jul 8, 2014 17:43:40 GMT
He was a little surprised by her words, and he looked a her with confusion writ across his face. It didn't seem like her, to ask if they could stay the night. Even before, when he thought there might be something more between them than lust, she'd never asked. She'd just come home with him and then leave when they woke up some nights.
But it made his heart race a little more quickly. He didn't want to presume anything, but if she was comfortable enough to ask... "Of course," he smiled at her. "The house is huge. Even with Nissa, Jalah, Sam, and myself, there's still three empty bedrooms."
He used to live on his own, in a shitty one-room apartment he didn't really bother to take care of. He and his sisters had gone off on their own after the rest of their family had... gone. But Jalah had brought them back together, back to their childhood home. It still felt empty, sometimes. But other the years it had stopped feeling haunted and more... watched. Like their lost parents, brothers and sisters were keeping an eye over them.
It had become home again. And he knew Xen, and even Roxy, would love it there.
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Post by Lizzie on Jul 8, 2014 18:01:50 GMT
She had been wary of asking. Roxy didn't want Azaizel to presume anything. This was for Xen and that was it. The two of them could be friends and parents for their son but that was all it could be. Or that's what she kept repeating in her head. She didn't want a relationship, she'd botched almost every one she'd had, which wasn't many, mind you. She'd even broken Azaizel's heart and he was probably the best man she'd ever been 'involved' with.
But, Roxy did want to keep them together and comfortable for Xen's sake. She adored him, her sweet little boy, and she didn't want to ruin his chance at having a healthy family like she'd lacked as a child. Smiling over the rim of her orange juice, she felt relief wash over her. "Okay. I just don't want to have to bring Xen home late. It might be good for him to spend a little more time out there, get to know everyone..."
Chuckling a little awkwardly, she brushed dark strands away from her face. "Plus, I haven't been a night without him since he was born...I'd be hard for me to sleep after all this time."
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Post by Shea on Jul 8, 2014 18:41:59 GMT
Azaizel smiled, now picking more at his food than actually eating it. "I think being out there would do you both some good. It's quiet, away from the city. The flowers are blooming and so are the fruit trees. The river and lake has gone up a little bit with all of the rain, but the water is clear and full of fish. It's... nice, out there. Hard to believe, with how much humans have industrialized this area."
He wished like hell he'd had a chance to tell her how he'd felt. She'd probably known, but... maybe hearing it, she would have stayed. Would have let him love her, and would have been able to love Xen from his first breath. Would have been a family.
But sitting there right now, even with the hope that sometimes tried to bloom in his chest... he had a feeling he'd missed his chance. That having that wasn't ever going to happen, now.
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Post by Lizzie on Jul 8, 2014 19:41:48 GMT
She watched him pick at his food, worrying that it wasn't any good. Xen was devouring his food...but her son hadn't eaten many other people's cooking since he was born so maybe he was just used to it... Roxy tried not to let it bother her too much, after all, he would say something, wouldn't he? actually, no, he was too nice for that.
"Hmm. I'm sure it would be better than here. The roof leaks when it rains, car alarms go off at all hours and make sleep hard. It was awful when Xen was a baby. Sometimes I fell asleep holding him." she brushed a hand over Xen's hair after he set his fork down. "You done, baby?" She asked, taking her son's plate and moving to the sink in the small kitchen. "You wouldn't believe how many times I jerked awake at night because I fell asleep holding him and ended up waking him up...."
washing the plate out and the pan she didn't turn back to look at Azaizel. She didn't want to seem like she was a bad mother or doing a terrible job of raising their son... "I've been trying to save since I got the shop to get a nice house for us. Somewhere Xen could actually play, own a pet or something. The park is a bad place to have him play and obviously we don't have a backyard here..."
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Post by Shea on Jul 9, 2014 0:59:17 GMT
Azaizel nodded, even though she wasn't looking. He knew how tough things were. If it wasn't for the fact that Wolves were long-lived, and his parents had saved and invested so much in their younger days, there was no way he and his sisters would be able to keep their family home.
"It's hard, out there. It'll be good for both of you out at the den." He finished his food, and walked the empty plate over to the kitchen. He set it down in the sink, giving her a smile as he traded his dirty plate for the wet, clean one. "No car alarms, no bad people. Lots of space." He took the cloth hanging by the sink and dried the plate off. "Yeah. It'll do you both good."
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Post by Lizzie on Jul 9, 2014 2:20:11 GMT
She smiled at him, feeling a wave of...god she didn't even know what that feeling was. It was good, scary...but nice. It faded, however, as a realization came to him. His sisters....She'd never met them before in the times they fooled around, not wanting something that might come off as too serious. Hell, the last thing she wanted in those days was a family member to be like "Why do you still mess around with that girl, she's just using you." Or something because they didn't understand the nature of their relationship...or they push for something more to be between them.
Now...now she really had no choice BUT to meet the family. They were her son's family. "Your sisters are going to hate me." She gave a sad sigh, washign the plate before handing it off to Azaizel, then turning to grip the counter. "I got pregnant, ran off and I'm just now letting you meet your son...They're going to think I'm a total bitch I bet." She said
"Momma!" Xen called, pointing a little finger at her for saying a bad word. She had to chuckle.
"sorry baby, I won't use the bad words anymore." Even if she chuckled, giving her child a sad little smile, her fingers gripped the counter til her knuckles turned white. She'd never much been for one to care what people thought...but these were people she had to be involved with until her son was an adult and even longer.
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Post by Shea on Jul 9, 2014 15:35:39 GMT
Before Azaizel could think about it too much and stop himself, he placed a hand over the one Roxy gripped the counter with, gently moving it away and uncurling her fingers. If she'd been a Wolf, that counter would be dented all to hell right then. He had to smile a little. "No, they don't. And they won't."
He let her hand go, much as he wanted to kiss over her knuckles and use it to pull her close. What he'd done could be explained away as just not wanting her to hurt herself, but more was a boundary he wasn't allowed to cross. "To be honest, they've wanted to meet you for a while, even before you took off. But... it wasn't their place. It wasn't what we were." He shrugged, looking over to Xen, a smile coming onto his face.
"I told them about our son. They threatened to castrate me if they didn't get to meet him, and finally meet you." He looked back to her. "They understand your decisions, and so do I. It's your life, Rox, and your choices. None of us are going to hold that against you."
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Post by Lizzie on Jul 9, 2014 16:35:53 GMT
His gesture was kind and she almost thanked him, hoping Xen hadn't noticed how she gripped at it and hoped even more he couldn't understand his mother's fears. She tried to pretend like she was fearless, independent, and strong. Sure, she was all of those things to some degree, but to others she was just as vulnerable and afraid as the next woman. Especially where her son was concerned.
"Thank you, Azaizel." She smiled over at him, taking her hand back and brushing over her top and high waisted capris. She didn't say for what, but she hoped he knew what it meant to her to not be judge for her decisions. To not be hated for them either. She had loved and cared for her son with her whole heart, even if he'd been without a father for the last two years
Taking a deep breath, Roxy moved away from the counter to clear the rest of the table off. "Looks like they'll get to meet us sooner rather than later. I'm sure Xen will love them, though. He'll at least love it out there for sure."
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Post by Shea on Jul 9, 2014 17:37:15 GMT
Azaizel leaned against the sink, taking the last of the dishes from Roxy when she returned with them. "I've got it. Go pack a bag for you and Xen, okay? And make sure to grab something to swim in, because I know my sisters are going to drag us to the lake," he laughed.
Looking to Xen, he asked, "How about that, bud? Do you wanna go swimming??"
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