Not Waiting

[Lovely]

November 12, 2008
4:30 p.m.
Veinna Estate - Richie & Fauve's Room

Richie's arm curled gently around her as they snuggled away some of the afternoon. He still wondered how tight was too tight to hold and whether it was tight enough. She belonged right where she was but she seemed to still need convincing. He smiled warmly, about to say or ask something that made his eyes shine and smile just as warmly. He thought it might take a miracle to say what he was about to and realized that miracles came in unexpected packages and three of them burst into the room together, grinning ear to ear, launching and landing on the end of the bed at their feet. Arms folded in synchronized guilt-trip-delivering glare, the kids belted out their demand in rehearsed unison, looking pointedly at their father. "Dad... we gotta talk."

Cass didn't miss a beat, giving him the batty-lashed and toothy grin to add, "We want a little brother!"

Drake seemed satisfied that their scene was played out with adequate flair. He nodded and looked from Fauve to Richie and back, then a slight blush ran over his cheeks. They'd interrupted, but he tried to ignore the precarious bed sheet coverage.

Fauve was enjoying the quiet time, the closeness without words when she could shut her eyes, without too much worry of the others in the house and feel Richie curled warmly with her. Her eyes shot open and she stiffened as someone burst into the room, for an instant her thoughts went to Marcus but she saw it was only Richie's children. The guilt trip was wasted on her and had no effect what so ever, she folded her arms but that was to hide the marks where her spikes had come out in defense and retracted when she realized there was no threat. Fauve shifted to her back and to sit up more as she waited for Richie to respond to their request, they had yet to tell his children that she was expecting. "I'm a proficient fighting machine. I don't do little brothers." She shrugged, feeling the need to say something, anything and not knowing what to say.

Richie was shocked out of saying what he'd started and jawed at air a moment before tossing the three a 'you're grounded when I can talk' glare in return. The grimace faded as he turned back to Fauve's comment. "I... um.. well, I would hope not. I don't want you to do any of my little brothers," he said, trying to tease though she might not find that funny. The kids however... He tried to cover six ears and three mouths with only two hands so he could whisper, "I want you to do me instead." He flipped a quick grin.

He seemed to be talking about something completely different that what she'd intended to imply and Fauve gazed at Richie for a long moment. Finally her eyebrow arched up as if to ask him just what he meant by what he'd said or perhaps challenge his interpretation.

He shrugged, shifting his hands to a different pair of ears. "Well?" He might as well ask it himself and save the embarrassment of Ty beating him to it. The smile curled back in place where the shock had chipped away a little.

"Well.. what?" She asked, her eyes narrowing at him as he put her on the spot and did so in front of his kids, though he did attempt to cover their ears. She'd already 'done' him if he meant what she thought he did.

He nodded, trying not to say so. He was about to laugh at this point. What was he doing?! "Well.. would you?"

So maybe he did mean it like that. "Do you?" She asked in a small shocked whisper that he was actually going on about this in front of his kids. She glanced at the three of them and how he tried to cover their ears, reaching to help cover ears he couldn't get to and giving him a look. "I really don't think we should talk about this right now."

[Lovely]

Her hand helped and he clunked Ty and Drake's heads together gently so their other ear was blocked. He glanced downward, just the barest hint of a hint that maybe that secret wasn't going to stay one forever. "I think we need to..."

Drake looked up at him, his cheek squished. "Dad... we can read lips. You guys are soooo in deep. We can just go and let you talk."

"Besides, I can still hear you.. just fine." Tyler finally piped up, the first he'd spoken, though he'd sat their with a goofy grin on his face the whole time.

"Shouldn't we talk about this... privately?" Fauve asked, feeling the need for the kids to be elsewhere while she and Richie discussed anything so personal.

Richie agreed, then counted.. only two of three had put in their two cents. He turned a pointed finger at Cass. "Not a word out of you, young lady."

"But Dad... I'm fourteen. C'mon," she laughed, a roll of her eyes like he thought she didn't know what they were talking about.

"Hey. What did I just say? Go on. You and your brothers... out...," he said, turning his finger to flick against her nose before trying to shoo them off the bed.

"We can just listen at the door." Tyler was still smiling as he rolled off the bed and whispered to his siblings as he grabbed their hands and walked toward the door.

"If you listen at the door I will...." She glared at Ty, not knowing him well enough to be able to think of an adequate threat that wasn't bodily harm.

Drake yanked his hand out from Ty's giving him a glare and wiping it off before suddenly sparking a huge idea. "Dude! I can write suuuuch the cool script from this. Oooo! And the song! Can I write a song about you two?"

"Duckie... shut up and come on," Cass giggled, grabbing his arm to pull him out of the room.

"But..." Ty protested and then realized she hadn't really finished her threat, his grin grew wider as he reached to touch Drake again, just to annoy him. "Hey can I sing the song about them?"

Fauve growled a little, a heavy sigh rolling out as she pointed to the door and barked quietly. "Out..NOW!"

"Out!" Richie's hand waved with more emphasis as the kids let themselves out.

"Hey!" Fauve turned to look at Richie as he shooed the kids at the same time she did.

"What?" He barked, almost laughing as he turned, trying to ignore them and pay attention to her. He still had something to ask her.

There was something about him that made it very hard not to smile when she looked at him, the light in his eyes perhaps. She felt her mouth twitched and turned her head to try to hide the smile.

He chuckled a little, trying to peek around her shoulder as she hid from him. "What? C'mon.."

[Lovely]

"What if we half listen at the door?" Tyler poked his head poked back in, if it was possible, he appeared to be smiling even wider!

"Tyler Veinna! You're sooo grounded, buster," he turned and groussed, being kept again from asking her his question. He tossed a small pillow toward the door.

"Ty... listen to your father or I'm telling..." She paused to try to recall the name of the boy's girlfriend. ".. Emily your name is really Tybald." She threatened with the worst name she could come up with on a spur of the moment.

Richie's eyebrow raised. That was goooood. He'd have to remember that one. He folded his own arms this time, giving her the nod while he stared at his son, trying to come up with the next level of brutal punishment. "I'd listen to her... she'd do it, too."

His eyes went wide, in shock as they ganged up on him though he wasn't truly offended. "You...wouldn't.. okay, you would...FINE!" Tyler spun, slamming the door gently as he stepped back into the hallway.

Richie relaxed the arm fold and his head fell back with a thud against the headboard, followed by an exasperated sigh. He half-chuckled. "Sooo... where were we?"

"I was.. on my way out I think.." She half chuckled, slipping out of the bed and motioning toward the door as if to say after that, she was running away to go into hiding. She was mainly teasing, though with the way her mood had been after the incident with Marcus, it wasn't entirely amusing.

Where was she going? He slipped off his side, grabbing his robe to throw on, quickly shoving his hand into the pocket before she turned around. "Um... I uh... don't you think you ... you know.. you might want to change a little..?"

She was completely naked, but pretended that couldn't be what he was talking about. "Why you don't like me just the way I am?" She said with a hint of amused sarcasm in her voice, half turning to glance over her shoulder at him.

He nodded, frowned a bit as he scratched the back of his neck nervously and turned the warmth back up in his grin. "Well... yeah. Mostly."

"Mostly?" Her eyebrow arched up again and she looked surprised despite the warmth in his smile. What part of her didn't he like? Was it something in her personality or physically? She was standing in front of him without a stitch on and he said mostly!

He came up and turned her to the mirror, standing beside her. "Yeah... you've got this... I don't know how to describe... you see it? It's right there."

She looked in the mirror and then to the side to him. "I don't see anything?"

[Lovely]

He'd been fiddling at his pocket nearly imperceptibly. "Huh... maybe the light's not hitting it right... try this," he said leaning to adjust the small accent lamp. His hand was on her shoulder and if she looked up, she'd see the sparkle off the ring as he leaned back. "There.. how's that?"

She stared in the mirror, seeing the box and the sparkle as the light caught the ring. She was silent for a long moment, the tell tale sign being her breathing becoming slightly more rapid. She didn't move and at her sides, her hands trembled. "Richie?" She whispered softly.

He pulled the box away to slide the ring from it in one hand while the other took her to sit on his knee as he knelt down. "Come on down here. I may go a whole lot lower if you say no... and if you decide to, just give me your best right hook and make sure you knock me out so I don't hear you... but...," he clasped her hand in his and teased her finger with the sparkling band. "Would you do me, Richard Severino Ehno Fedele Veinna....," he smiled and paused. ".. the honor of being my wife?"

She swallowed and licked her lips, looking at the floor, the ring, his face and back around again as she took deep breaths. "I hate you.." She whispered as her eyes brimmed with tears. "You did this just so I would have an involuntary emotional response.." She sniffed and her hand clasped around his and she turned her face to catch his lips with hers, the tears slipping down her cheeks. She pulled back from the tender kiss and brushed her fingers over his cheek. "You tell anyone I cried and the whole thing is off."

"You tell anyone I told you my full name...," he smiled, teasing back as he kissed her for a lingering moment. "You think they heard?"

She nodded as the door opened and the three 'little spies' fell into the doorway. "No.. I don't think they heard a thing." She burried her face to his shoulder and kissed his neck lightly.

"Does this mean she's staying??" Tyler grinned, very happy at the thought. As he untangled from the pile of his brother and sister.

"Yup.. but you're out... pack your bags kids.. you're orphans now... see ya... bubye."

"Yeah right dad.... You wouldn't last a week without us... You'd make her mad and she'd flatten you.. at least we offer distractions!"

"For about ten seconds... c'mon guys. Family moment... get it over with.. then it's downstairs to help chef with the dinner and dishes."

[Lovely]

5:45 p.m.

They knew what they thought they heard but they couldn't say so, yet, or Richie would know they listened the whole time! Ok they did listen and soon as they heard her answer, they zipped out of sight to their rooms to get ready for the family dinner. The time spent getting ready was charged with new excitement, Tyler still clinging to Drake in a hug, feigning a tear or two about always crying at weddings. Drake tried one more time to wrestle loose so he could get his jacket on. "Hey man! I know we're twins and I'm as happy as you, but get off. I just had this thing cleaned," he snarked, sticking out his tongue and trying to keep his dinner jacket unrumpled.

Tyler was always giddy, he had more energy than most but he also lived off sugar so it made sense that he was hyper. He was excited at what was overheard at their father's door but in his usual manner he'd all but forgotten it by the time they got to their room. He'd moved on to his next amusement which was his brother at the moment, he grinned and wrapped his arms around him in a bear hug. "I'm so happy!" He exclaimed and laughed as Drake tried to wrestle himself free, and made his remarks about them being twins. "Yeah Siamese twins!" He started poking his arms into Drake's sleeves and making them 'one'.

"Damnit... hey! Cut it ou-....," he said, slapping and ducking and trying to keep his jacket neat and his shirt untorn. They were both skinny rails, but two sets of them just didn't fit in the clothes. He hissed out a few choice curses dad would ground him over and sighed. They were good and stuck now. "Tyler!!"

"Yes?" He batted his eyelashes acting innocent and as if he had no idea what Drake was cursing over or what he could want. It was just too funny.

"Fine!" Drake couldn't move far like this. He licked his brother's nose. "You're backwards, anyway," he said, trying to shake Ty loose.

Tyler really started laughing now, Drake was so adorable when he was flustered. "So.. what else is new?"

"And you're standing on my foot," he grumped, wiggling again and finally getting one arm free enough to help get the other loose.

"Ha!" He leaned to chew on his brother's shoulder, making gnawing noises as he did, wondering just how worked up he could get Drake.

"Ow, hey!! Mom!!!" He was laughing and about to start wrestling back hard. Drake peeled out from the gnashing teeth without a real mark to worry about but he put on the pout like he was mortally wounded.

"Mom? Who you calling mom?" He snarked playfully, wiggling a little within the shared shirt.

"You! You mutha...," he broke off with the cursing again, hoping dad didn't hear him. Ty's wiggling helped him pull the other way. Ha! He got one arm free and started on the other.

He wrapped his arms around Drake's waist and lifted him up. "That's it.. I'm tossing you in the pool." He threatened playfully with a bright smile.

[Lovely]

No sooner had he freed the other arm when he was grasped by the waist and his feet left the floor a little. Drake swam in the air do to get his balance. "Whoa. You don't want to do that. You remember what happened the last time?"

"What happened last... oh right, you peed in it? It turned all green." He pondered and then replied.

Drake rolled his eyes and tried to peel loose again. "Um.. noooo! Remember? We kinda accidentally sorta flooded Uncle Scotty's room... on the -second floor-!?"

"Ohhh yeah.." He recalled the incident with a fond smile. "Wait, what do you mean we? I'm not the one with the freaky water powers."

"Yeah, not my fault you pushed me in and it was all splash then shet... fwooooooosh... like a farking geyser, man. It was cool, but... um... yeah," he said as he remembered it, the water going straight up and across the deck into Scotty's window when Drake was startled. "And dude... you're still on my foot."

He shuffled his feet, still grinning like a loon and thinking back about how cool it was before Uncle Scott's face got all red. "Ain't my fault you have big ass feet."

Richie poked his head in the room. "Boys? You about ready to go?" He didn't even bat an eye at their wrestling and disappeared. The door opened again a moment later. "Left hand on green," he suggested, referring to the old Twister game. "And you've got ten minutes." He left the door open this time.

"What? Hey.. Where are we going?"

Richie called back over his shoulder from down the hallway. "You'll see! And get off your brother's foot!"

He seemed to miss the part about getting off Drake's foot and stayed where he was, but he pondered over their mysterious destination. "I don't want to go anywhere stupid!" He yelled in return.

Drake tried to duck the yelling that was in his face. "Yeah, well I don't want go anywhere WITH Stupid!" He slipped free, leaving Ty with the shirt and pushing him off his foot.

"You're such a tool." Tyler laughed as he stumbled backward, he hadn't meant to yell in Drake's face. He was tangled in the shirt now and his brother was free.

"You're such an idiot," he poked back, slipping the clean shirt off the hanger that he should have gone for to begin with.

Cass skated in on sock feet, stumbling in the door she almost missed and laughing, "You'll never guess where we're going!"

[Lovely]

"Where?" Tyler spuns and nearly fell over, he ran toward Cass to scoop her up. "..and how do you know?"

She giggled and leapt up around Tyler's shoulders. "I heard them," she gloated. "They're not waiting. They're doing it tonight!"

"It? Can you be just a bit more vague?" Drake chuckled.

"What? And who.. and where.. and what again?"

"Dad, silly. She said 'yes'!" She reminded them.

"I knooooow. We were there," Drake poked at her now, fiddling with a tie. The way she was giggling made him wonder if dad wasn't talking about dinner but being ready for something else. "Oh! You m-... tonight?! Like now?"

"Uh huhn!!" Cass nodded with giddy giggles, jumping down from Ty's arms.

"Yeah we covered that part." Tyler rolled his eyes and let Cass down - well she pretty much jumped but whatever. "Sooo, Dad's going to let us watch? Kinky.." He teased, wiggling his eyebrows before diving for the closet to find a shirt.

Drake dove after him, punching at his arm. "Fu-... farking moron. The -wedding-.. helloooo." He had to watch his mouth at the dinner table as it was - a wedding was going to be worse.

"Dude.. you just wanted an excuse to hit me.. I knew that!" He just didn't know how Cass knew what was going on before they did, since the three of them had left together. He grabbed Drake in a headlock, being rowdy and playful and wondering what to wear since he didn't know where they were going and he knew point blank Fauve didn't own a single dress. She was probably dressed in jeans.

Drake laughed and started tickling him. "Yeah? Like I need an excuse. Please. Payback's a b*tch, man."

"You're so abusive.." He sniffled dramatically and let out a deep sigh as if he were so picked on and pathetic.

Richie passed by again, knotting a tie this time. "Five minutes... and Drake, don't tickle your brother. If he throws up in the car again, you're on KP duty for a month, bud."

Cass jumped up and dove at dad to help him with the tie. "Can't we just leave them here?"

He mouthed laughter and pointed at his brother as he was scolded but in the next instant was pouting cause the incident mentioned was when he was a kid and had eaten something that didn't sit right anyway. With a sigh he turned back to find a decent shirt, talking over his shoulder. "So dad.. you nervous? Need any advice about the big night?"

Richie thought a moment longer about that than he should have. He was nervous, but too happy to care. "Advice? From you? Hmm... okay, so tell me big guy? What do you suggest I do with her when I get her home?" He folded his arms, trying not to smile at Tyler's offer.

"Hmmm... well if you want to be more romantic.. I suggest a nice bubble bath for two.. make sure you don't fill it too high.. waves and you'll have water all over the floor.... wash her hair for her.. Em.. girls love that."

"Like you'd know...Emily? She ain't like that and you know it"

"Emily loves it when I wash her hair!" Folds his arms. "Just cause that's all she lets me do is not the point.. you and Fauve.. will be married.. you can do all the things that I dream about doing with Em."