When Sarah first suggested they went out for a date on Valentine’s day, Natalia could have sworn that she had laughed. Her husband, as far as she knew, had never been a fan of dates and things of such. Sometimes, Phoenix would do things to please her, ‘to make her happy’, like he had put it, when he mentioned the wedding. It wasn’t that she did not appreciate his efforts, but Natalia didn’t feel the need to put him through certain things and occasions that he did not feel comfortable with, just to have her way. Even though sometimes, she wished that her way was the only way. Nevertheless, the brunette thought about what Sarah had said when she mentioned the date. ‘You two deserve some time to yourselves. After everything, this could be good for you.” And while she was right, Nat didn’t want Phoenix to feel forced to do it. Which it was why, it took her a good half hour at work to think about what she would say and how she would say it, when she went back home and suggested the date.
She waited until the children had been fed, bathed and were asleep in their beds, to pull Phee into their bedroom and discuss the possibility of going out on a date the following evening. Maybe if they went on the day before Valentine’s Day, the bars and restaurants wouldn’t be too crowded and they would be able to enjoy their evening without any problems, especially when Phoenix had never been too comfortable in crowds and such. Not that Natalia enjoyed those, but between the two of them, she managed to handle crowds better.
“We should do something fun like, roleplaying.” The brunette laughed softly, resting her head against her husband’s chest, the sound of his heartbeat calming her down after such a stressful work at Lupin Enterprises. Nat was enjoying working there. People were friendlier, they didn’t seem to be talking to her just because she was friends with the boss’ child, or was the boss’ goddaughter. In fact, although some had thought it odd that someone that had worked for the Koning Industries was now working for their biggest competition, but that was the way things happened in the business world. She knew that because she had worked for a big corporation before, and these people worked for one now. They knew how things were. But anyway, the sound Phoenix made, almost like a laughter, brought her back to the present. Resting her arms on his chest, the brunette laid her chin on top of her hands, in order to look up at him, finding his blue eyes when Phee glanced towards her. “Come on. It’ll be fun. Sarah offered to stay with the kids, but if you could ask Elena or someone else of your trust to come here and help her out, it would be best. I can set us up… like a blind date!”
She was getting excited about it, she could feel it, and didn’t want her excitement to look like she was forcing Phoenix onto this. She just figured they could have some fun. “I’ll take some clothes to work and change there. I’ll make some calls, put a reservation under my name and voilà. We should do this. Pretend we’re meeting for the first time and have our actual first date. What do you think?”
Phoenix wasn't yet in the habit of being a father. Today, he had spent the day alone with his two children. Ryan had insisted on playing the same board game six times and after the fourth, Phoenix considered setting fire to the board game. In fact, he took into under careful consideration before he realized it simply wouldn't be worth it. Ophelia cried a lot and he figured it was because Natalia wasn't around, whereas the baby was used to her mother's constant company. By the time he made lunch for Ryan and fed Ophelia again, he felt the exhaustion begin to set in. He wasn't certain if he had simply gotten old or if this was nothing compared to the SEALs, but he would've preferred the latter than be a stay at home parent. It wasn't until he sat down with a sleepy Ophelia in his arm as Ryan ate lunch and told him about how he absolutely, positively saw a three eyed monster with green skin outside that he remembered why he liked his new role as a father so much.
"Roo, when's your birthday?" Phoenix was sure he knew, but he wanted to see if the little boy knew his own birthday or not. When he responded with March 1st, Phoenix nodded. He still wasn't sure if they were doing anything for it, but he figured that if he reminded Natalia, she might want to consider a party for him. He hadn't celebrated his own birthday in quite some time. The last time had been when he turned eighteen and went out with friends, if he recalled correctly. He hadn't made a big deal of it afterwards and if he could help it, would even pretend that it hadn't even occurred. He simply mentally recorded his new age and then didn't think much more about it. It was easier than a full-on celebration.
The rest of the day was extremely exhausting but he had been able to bathe Ryan and Ophelia before Natalia had gotten home which was stellar, since he never did that correctly. There was a way to bathe the tiny baby that Phoenix was too lazy for, so he simply sat in the bath tub, cleaned himself, and her at the same time. She usually slept through it for the most part and he was able to lean back so the water never went above her shoulders. Still, he knew that Natalia wouldn't like how he did it so he tried to keep 'bath time' as quick as possible. Dinner had been eaten separately, the kids wanting to eat earlier and then he saved the rest for when Nat had arrived for her. He put them to bed soon after, then sat down on the couch. He likely would've dozed off if his wife hadn't curled up on top of him.
"Roleplaying?" Phoenix questioned. He couldn't imagine either of them dressing up to pretend to be knights and royalty, so he decided to ask. That and he was simply too tired to want to do such a thing. "Don't people usually go on blind dates to get married and have kids? It's like we're mocking single people who are devastated that they haven't yet found their soulmates." Not that he actually cared, but he did find it just a tiny bit amusing. She looked so excited that even though he didn't want to do it, he forced a small smile. "Yeah, babe. We can go out if you want. I guess I'm just glad I'm being set up with you and not with someone else." He saw this going in no way positive and would likely crash-and-burn but he decided against informing his wife. "Yeah. Just don't forget to tell me where we're going. The last thing we need is me at one place and you're at another. Imagine that, your blind-date-husband standing you up." That was actually hilarious in his mind but he forced his laughter to remain trapped in his throat. "I'll ask Elena to help Sarah."
"Yeah, kind of need them in a place like this where people like him flock to." She looked the man up and down, her eyes returning to the child in his arms, then back to the blond. "You trying to get a head start on getting her into hunting?" Carmen questioned with a short laugh. "
"They should really have some muscle around here. Selling guns can get messy really quickly." At least, he imagined that it would be. Especially in a city such as this where people were rather desensitized to all of what occurred, to a point that murder was more routine than a balanced breakfast was. A glance down at his daughter and then back at the brunette, he chuckled. "No. Yeah, this looks like bad parenting but I swear I'm just multi-tasking." Phoenix told the stranger. "Wife's going back to work, told her I'd pick her up a few things for when she's out late by herself." He explained, despite it being unnecessary.
"You can and you must think I’m incredible.” Natalia said with a certain amount of humor in her voice. Despite Phoenix’s undying mania of undermining himself, she didn’t feel like lecturing him. Not when she would probably sound like a broken record, when he was merely playing around, trying to add that well-known humor to their conversation. “But why can’t I think that you’re incredible, too? Because I do. So, no matter what you say, I win.” The brunette smiled, before quickly adding. “Because I said I won.” Letting out a light chuckle, Natalia poked the tip of his nose, before he went on and on about bright hairs and dark hairs, which caused her to cross her arms, simply waiting for him to be done in order for her to continue speaking. All was sugar and spice and everything nice until he mentioned Alice and tried telling her to ‘chill’. No, she wouldn’t ‘chill’, because that was not like her to do so. Especially when facing the woman who had sent in the order to kill Marshall. Sometimes, Natalia even wondered if, one day she would be able to forgive and forget, but until then, she would continue casually and mostly aggressively ignoring Alice. She still raised her chin, giving him that ‘excuse me?’ kind of look and waited for an explanation, that didn’t take long to be given to her. I was talking to someone and I think I can get out. Well, at least he was sharing some good news. It was easy to see that she was feeling relieved, mostly because, if they were going to keep their children away from anything criminal, then it would be the best if Phoenix detached himself from any criminal activity that he might or might not be doing, even if that was just being a bodyguard. “That’s good to know.” Nat granted with a nod, dropping her arms down to her sides and letting out a small sigh. “That’s very good to know.” With her arms safely wrapped around his waist, Natalia allowed herself to close her eyes for a moment, breathing a lot easier now that he had told her about finding a way to get out, plus, the news of her new job and the amount of money in their account. Alright, not that she was feeling any calmer due to that money’s presence, in fact, she was still trying to wrap her head around it when he spoke again, talking about distance. “I have only been trying to give you some space. I don’t want to be the clingy wife and all.” With a shrug, Natalia looked back up at him and offered him a smile. “But good, please don’t. At least you know I’ll always pull you back to myself. As for the wedding, I think we can wait. Until she’s old enough to at least hold her crying for a little bit longer. Either way, I’m completely fine with not having a wedding anymore. It seems to me that you are the one who wants it, though. It’s okay if you do, I won’t judge you.” Nat teased.
"I'll do what I want." Phoenix stated triumphantly, despite not actually winning anything in the argument. "No, but I really didn't mean it in a nasty way. I just don't see the point in loving you and not expressing it every once in awhile. You're free to have your own opinions, too. Even if they're wrong. You can still have them." Which was sort of the truth, sometimes it just slipped out. "I know you always win. Because you're smarter." A smirk appeared on his lips as he waited for her reaction to him comparing her to himself yet again. This time, he had done it on purpose simply to bother her further. Once she made the face she made when he was talking too much and she had stopped following what he was saying, he quieted down. "I need to figure out what I'm going to do here alone. Sarah has to go back to work soon and I don't even know what Kira does. Does she do anything?" Parties, he supposed, if that were to count for anything. "Do you have a set schedule of when you have to go into the office? I still have appointments I have to go to. Or, don't have to go to." He was hopeful with his last statement. Since he went to therapy with Natalia in an effort to force himself to actually go, she actually had a say in that. The only way he was able to effectively open up and drag himself to the appointments was to request that Natalia attend with him. It was easier to speak to the near stranger that was his doctor, but his wife was also able to learn more about him in the process of that. Phoenix was well-aware that with his mental disorder, he needed to be on a healthy regiment of therapy, physical therapy, and medication to balance himself out with other things in-between such as working out and eating a balanced diet. Still, it all seemed too routine and in a sense, too boring for him. "Yeah, but I know that you're clingy. No offense." Phoenix added in the last sentence quickly. "But, you are. And I married you despite that. I don't mind it that much. I got used to you clinging to me in your sleep and always having your hands all over me. You talk to me about everything. When you become the opposite, I just figure you're upset. But, if you aren't upset, there's nothing I can do to fix it so it's just confusing." Talking about his feelings was still irritating, but not as much as it had been in the beginning of their relationship. When the discussion was on a deeper level, sometimes he felt the exhaustion that came with it. "Yeah, maybe when she can hold her own head up." Phoenix agreed. "You're ridiculous. Are you still hormonal? First you want a wedding, now you don't care. I don't care if we have a wedding. I just wanted you to be happy. I love you but you are so difficult sometimes." He teased.
She returned the boy’s greeting with a warm smile. “I thought you didn’t have a child yet, unless you adopted too? Or had one already I never knew about?” Elsa remarked though it came out more as a question than a statement. “I’ve been well, thanks. Went hiking a couple weeks ago actually which was fun. How about yourself? Busy, I presume?” Being a father certainly sounded like it’d make a person busy anyway.
"Adopted. He was a friend of mine's kid." Phoenix explained. He didn't really want to go too far into it, but didn't mind telling at least a small bit of what had happened. Sometimes he forgot that Kathryn was deceased. "Hiking. I wouldn't have thought you'd be into that sort of thing. Pretty busy. We're trying to figure out a good balance, my wife and I. How were your holidays?"
Elena was on her way to Phee’s house. Ever since the shooting, she realized that she hadn’t gone there to check on her little niece and on Ryan of course. Not to mention, to tease Phoenix and enjoy Nat’s company, too. She just had been spending far too much time cooped up in Adam’s place and now, she just wanted to breathe. So, Phee’s house it was. The brunette laughed softly when the toddler bumped into her legs. She would have picked him up if she could, but the bullethole on her torso told her not to. “Hi there! How is it going down there, Ryan?” She then turned to her friend. “Look what the mighty tides have brought. How is it going, my mighty giant? Missed me?”
No wonder Ryan ran so fast when he saw the woman. He liked to joke that Natalia might've slowly become one of his favorite people in the city, but Elena was evidently close at second. He smiled as he walked over, almost hugging her when he realized his daughter was in his good arm. Ryan held onto Elena's side which caused his smile to remain as he watched. "Hey you." Phoenix returned her greeting. "Just because you're short doesn't make me a giant." He then added in. "I can't miss someone who doesn't go away." Which would've sounded rude if it hadn't been Elena he was talking to. Of course he missed her, but he couldn't just outright say that. "Wanna say hi to Ophelia?"
Isabelle shrugged, looking down at her hands. Truth be told, she had never given that much thought about how she had started as a hacker until now. No one had really shown much interest in finding out about how it had happened, so she didn’t give much importance to the fact. A light frown appeared on her forehead as she thought of that, taking her time to answer, before she finally did. “My dad was some sort of inventor. Back in the day…” Isabelle watched Ryan for a moment, before she caught Phoenix’s gaze again. She didn’t look sad or upset or anything. She was just… distant. Trying to find it within herself, the reason why she had started hacking into things. “I’ve never had that much of a family, to be honest with you. I mean, sure, I love my dad. But that’s because he’s my father. I feel some sort of obligation when it comes to him, but truth is, I got into coding, so that him and I would have something—anything in common. First, I hacked into the neighbors computers. Then I started hacking into other things. When you’re starting this, there are people you meet… because you start making fake IDs, fake passports to people. You know, all things illegal. Some taught me things, others laughed. But most of all, I’m a criminal because of my dad.” Her face was expressionless, but it softened, allowing a smile to appear when he mentioned Snowden. “To be honest, I’m not dumb like him. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying it’s okay to spy on other countries, but if you’re working for the NSA, don’t walk around advertising that you’re spying on people because that will get you into a lot more of trouble than simply quitting your job. He did it for several years and only now thought it wasn’t right? He wanted his fifteen minutes under the spotlight. Any righteous person would have said no from the start.” It was then, that Ryan approached her and handed her the little drawing that he had made, which prompted her to sit him on her lap, after they had hugged, shifting her attention back to Phoenix. “I don’t think her working is going to put some distance between the two of you. I mean, sure it feels nice to have the person you love around, but you two also need to have your individualities. Besides, there’s a lot you can do to shorten the distance while she’s at work. You can text, ask how her day was, send her little snapchats. I mean, sure, it’s not the same as hanging out, but it’s also not that bad.” Isabelle offered him a small, yet comforting smile. “Distance doesn’t exist only in the literal sense of the word. You can make your world smaller… as romantic as that sounds.”
"So, your dad knows then? Nice of you to try to do that for him." Phoenix couldn't remember if she'd mentioned him before. He didn't say much when she spoke about having little to no family, he'd spent most of his life feeling that way. Rather than continue to feel sorry, he found a family and so far, had been able to keep them close. He could only hope people such as her would do the same if they wanted their own. "Sounds crazy. But, I guess it's not that unlikely in this place. Never did I think I'd be approached by random women who'd tell me that they knew I was a sniper in the SEALs and they knew all about my missions. They'd actually repeat stuff back to me, it was like living inside of a flashback. How vivid their details were, I was always in awe. Felt like they had served right along with me with how much they knew. This city's insane." The more Phoenix thought about it, the more he realized that it was highly unlike himself to act this way. Then again, as he continued to ponder on the notion that he himself was acting rather clingy, he realized that he'd never been in love before and to have someone that loved him back strongly, it was difficult to distance himself. It was also selfish, another feeling he wouldn't usually give into. Still, he had meant it when he told Natalia he'd prefer that she work somewhere that would help her fulfill her career path 'dream' so to speak rather than be around more to work at a place that was mundane and she was simply too qualified for. "Yeah, I guess." Phoenix only said in reply. He wished he could explain further but he was still ruling out other possibilities. So far, he'd realized he wasn't jealous nor was he feeling inadequate, which he supposed meant that his feelings were simply that he was worried about why he and Nat hadn't spoken a lot lately. Nothing too peculiar on his end. "I get what you're saying and while some of it make sense, some of it I can just tell you aren't married. You pick up on things when you've known someone the way you do when you're married. We live together, I've accidentally learned her habits and I know when something's off." He explained. "Marriage isn't as boring as I was prepared for it to be. Do you want that? To get married and have kids?"
"It really doesn’t." Adam wasn’t exactly sure what had his brother smirking but, either way, he didn’t like it. It felt odd, to say the least, and made him slightly uncomfortable even if mildly amused. Still, he sat stiffly with the newborn in hands, watching Phoenix deal with the toddler and wondering how it came so easily to the man. He was fairly certain that he wouldn’t even know the first thing about taking care of a kid and he would end up bribing the boy into doing things with candy bars. "The ones who die are never the ones who deserve it." His voice was somber, distant even, finding a certain memory fogging his mind. With a deep breath, the younger man simply shook the thought away, focusing on the boy, finding it weird how he went from crying helplessly to minding his own business, lost in his own world with the toys around him. Kids. Adam’s attention was brought back to the man sitting across from him, frowning with confusion before he shrugged and continued. “Well, that’s good to here. I really don’t want to have to go through the whole process of finding another worthy candidate.” Which meant, running it by the board and knowing that, at the end of the day, they’d have the last say in it instead of him. Adam got on his feet when the baby started crying then, glaring at his brother. As if it was that easy, talk to a baby, rock her. “I wouldn’t know! I never played with dolls.” Regardless, he started rocking the baby softly, shifting his feet from side to side, careful not to step on the other little one. At first, the baby’s cries only increased but Adam pressed her closer to his chest and eventually, she started to calm down. Panic was truly registering on his eyes, widened as he really didn’t know what to do and annoyed that his brother simply sat there, telling him stuff instead of reaching out for his own kid. “Who are you, the baby whisperer now?”
"I know that." Phoenix stated with a morbid certainty that he hadn't meant to. If this were a film and not his life, there would have been a dream-like flashback to when he first joined the military along with a narration of how he had anticipated death when he was selected for his team. Fast-forward to his trip back home, it was fascinating to think that they could fix someone who had been in an explosion on a mission that was so remote that it had taken awhile for anyone to find him yet a hospital was only a mile and a half away from where Kathryn lay in her own blood from a bullet wound. Interesting to him, horrifying to others. "She'd never listen to me if I told her that I didn't like the idea anyhow." Phoenix stated though it didn't really fit into the conversation. It was mostly a thought spoken out loud by accident. "If you think I'm stubborn, wait till you spend more time with her." While it was true that he absolutely loved his wife with every fiber of his being, she was very difficult. Very headstrong. "Could've fooled me." Phoenix shot back with a half shrug. He handed Ryan his juice when he asked for it. Similarly to how Natalia hadn't budged when he fell into a panic over holding Ophelia, Phoenix barely even considered moving towards his brother. "No, I spend almost all of my time with them. I've learned what she needs, what Ryan needs. She likes attention, she doesn't like to be held in one spot awkwardly. I was going to tell you but I figured she could do that herself. Which she did."
Topic: As a very small child, Phoenix was brought to Russia to meet one of his cousins who had been born. Along the way, he played with his older cousins.
Mentions: Annabeth Morozov, Elsa Morozov, Emmeline Lupin, Adam Lupin.
"Aw," he heard Sarah speak as she held a picture closer to his line of vision. Ophelia in his arms, he peered at the picture but didn't understand what the big deal was. "Who is that girl? You two look like you could've been brother and sister." He leaned closer and tried to figure out the answer to her question but was quick to give up as Ophelia made a noise that sounded like the position was uncomfortable for her. He whispered an apology as he sat back against the couch and adjusted her against his chest. "You were so young, I wonder if she's a relative or a neighbor that you used to play with." She placed the photograph inside of the page she had been working on in a photo album. The much older blonde had a lot of photographs, though none were in chronological order from when he was a tiny child to the present. It seemed to bother her, which was why there were currently photo albums stacked all over the room in piles that she deemed done, most done, or still empty. Phoenix didn't know why she had so many pictures.
"I have no other family than what I have now." Phoenix claimed stubbornly. "I don't have any idea who she is."
The flight had been much too long for the little boy. Despite having slept for the last portion, the blond still awoke cranky and upset. He hadn't understood why his mother felt the need to bring him along to a family event where he knew no one. He had asked her to bring Adam instead, but she simply stated that he was too young to be flying on airplanes and that if she were to go alone, she would be too scared. Which was, apparently, where Phoenix had come in. It was a lie that she told him, but he believed it nonetheless and quieted down soon after she spoke. Moscow was nothing like Regium. The little boy cowered sleepily by his mother's side as she held onto his hand. He gathered his bag when she handed it off to him and she took the rest. "Stay by my side, Phoenix." The little boy heard his mother call to him. "Please don't wander off, we have to find your uncle. Do you remember your aunt and uncle, sweetheart?"
He didn't. Phoenix frowned as he scanned the few people who awaited their family members to gather them and bring them home. Unable to read the signs, he stared at the people who exchanged words in a language that didn't make sense to him. Frightened, he rushed towards his mother who had long since found her family. He struggled to hold onto his bag as he ran, accidentally dropping it which caused him to turn and quickly try to pick up his things. A hand appeared in front of him, attached to a girl that reminded him of his mother and the pictures she had from when she was a little girl. She had handed him back one of the shirts that had fallen out due to his failure to zipper up his bag as his mother had told him to repeatedly for most of his life when he had to hold onto a suitcase or backpack of any sort. "I --- thank you." Phoenix remembered his manners and watched as she smiled at him, but hadn't spoke. He knew no Russian so he was unable to ask if she knew English, but smiled back all the same.
The ride from the airport to the hospital was even more tiring than he felt the airplane ride had been. Sat next to the girl who still hadn't spoke to him but glanced to him from time to time, Phoenix wanted to ask her questions but fell into an awkward state as he tried to figure out who could translate for them. The thought left him early. "Mom, when will we go back home?" Phoenix inquired as they parked in an odd place but he assumed it was the hospital his mother had told him about prior to getting inside of the vehicle with the people that he was sure he had never met before in his life. Yet, they all kind of looked like him. He found it bizarre but was too busy thinking about how he left all of his toys with his younger brother to ask more questions.
"We'll go back home in a few days." His mother responded with a small smile. "Your cousin's holding the door for you, get out on her side, sweetheart." Phoenix obediently did as his mother told him to do. He slid out of his seat and then closed the door behind him, thanking his apparent cousin who didn't say anything in return. "Mom, how do you say thank you in Russian? I don't think she knows what I'm saying."
A tall man with bright blue eyes that reminded him a little of his own replied instead of his mother. "You say, спасибо." He then repeated it slower so that Phoenix could repeat it and after a few tries, he got it. He then turned to the little girl that was walking alongside him and had already heard his broken Russian attempts. Now realizing that, he poked her in the arm.
"Cпасибо." Phoenix told her. She had looked over at him when he jabbed her in the arm with his finger and said something else in Russian, but he hadn't been able to understand her.
"Вы странно." The little girl quirked a brow at him, but smiled afterwards at his confusion at her words. His mother didn't reply, which made him realize that she was in the same boat that he was in. The extremely tall man with greying hair scolded his daughter in a manner that made Phoenix jump. Maybe it was the loud Russian spoken that had frightened him.
A little more Russian was exchanged between the tall man and the little girl, neither of which Phoenix knew the names of. He glanced from one to the other as they all walked collectively as a group. "There's a little place for the children to be while we visit my wife," he explained in an accent that was so thick that Phoenix barely understood what he had said. "I can send them there, yes?" When Emmeline agreed, the man captured the little girl's attention and spoke to her first. "Вы знаете, куда идти. Возьмите Феникс и остаться там."
"Phoenix, Elsa will take you somewhere to play, okay? Be nice to your cousin." Emmeline spoke to him. It sounded like a warning, but he figured that he was usually nice enough. The little girl took his hand and pulled him gently into another direction in order to lead him to wherever it was that this mysterious playroom would be.
Carmen was in a large store at the back looking at the hunting rifles, but was distracted by the idiotic young man swinging one around thinking he was being supposedly “badass” as he was telling his friend excitedly. The store employee couldn’t do much from behind the counter beyond demanding the moron to stop. Catching the barrel of the gun with her hand just as it was about to hit her, Carmen turned around and let out short laugh. “Try that again and I’ll break your hand.” When she noticed someone else watching she scoffed at them. “What, are you with this idiot?”
'Don't take Ophelia everywhere you go, she's too young to be out so often' had been the warning that Phoenix should've heeded when his stepmother had told him that unused piece of advice. This situation made him realize that. "Nope." He realized then that he did look like an idiot with a small baby in his arm in a hunting store, but it was the best place to buy things like knives and pepper spray, both of which he had to buy if he was going to train those he had promised to. "Good catch, though. Fast reflexes." He remarked.
Elsa had just parted ways from seeing her sister and was about to round a corner when someone bumped into her leg. Looking down she saw a little boy and smiled at him, asking if he was okay, glancing to Phoenix when she heard his voice. “Hey,” she greeted him. “It’s alright, I should’ve been paying more attention.”
"Yeah, wow, Elsa." Phoenix smiled at her. "Say hi to Elsa, you know her." Phoenix pointed over at the blonde woman which made the tiny toddler wave at her, mutter a greeting, and then stand a little closer to Phoenix in order not to lose him as people walked by. "How've you been?" He asked, not necessarily in a rush.
Rosalie looked down at the little boy that’d run into her then up at Phoenix then back to the boy. “Is he yours?” She questioned with a knowing smile despite not actually knowing for sure. “You could put him on one of those child leashes.”
Phoenix smiled once he looked the woman over and realized that she was Rosalie, someone he knew. "Yeah, he's mine." It still felt a little odd to tell people that Ryan was his son, but he figured he'd get over it in time. "I forgot tell you about that, didn't I? That I'd adopted him around the same time Ophelia was born. She misses you, by the way." He smirked as he teased her. "Is that what you'd do, get a leash?"
"Wipe that smirk off your face. It does not suit you." Adam didn’t know exactly what had sprung it, wether it was the mention of his girlfriend or the images of him actually changing a dirty diaper, either of which he wasn’t comfortable with. He knew better than to not take his brother’s words seriously, however, and looked at his niece praying for the baby not to decided to poop at the moment because he wasn’t really eager to put just how much Phoenix had meant his words. "And what about that one you have there?" Adam tilted his chin towards Ryan. He didn’t really know the kid’s mother. He wondered what kind of people his family was, what kind of life he would’ve led in comparison to his new reality. "Well, I’ll try and make up some good things about you during the interview. I’m sure it’ll go through anyways. I just can’t believe why you have to pay for it. You’re paying for a person. A person is not merchandise." He then shut up, frowning somewhat confused as tho where his random rant came from. "I need people I can trust, is all. She has the experience and I think she can do the job. Just so you know, the former CEO left because Stephen Koning made her an offer. I’m just saying so if you ever find out, you don’t think I offered Natalia the job because of it. And, Phoenix, L.E. has nothing to do with the Soldats. I know you don’t think I’m too smart but I’m not that stupid as to risk it over some organization." Ophelia started getting fuzzy and Adam had no idea wha to do as he readjusted himself on the couch. "What’s wrong? Phoenix?" He asked his brother those his eyes widened as he looked at the baby in his arms, not really knowing what to do to prevent the newborn from starting to cry.
"It suits me just fine." Phoenix claimed. Ryan hopped off his lap, his juice box still in his hand and the straw still in his mouth as he ran away. Phoenix leaned to look over near the hallway and listen in case the little boy caused a chaos of some sort. "I've never met his dad. No one has." Phoenix told him in hopes that the statement alone would clarify how Phoenix had ended up with his friend's child rather than anyone else. "His mom was a friend of mine, more Nat's, though. She was like Nat. Motherly, intelligent, down-to-earth sort of vibe; she was easy to talk to and I don't know, just a good person. She didn't deserve the fate she ended up with. There are a lot of other people that deserved the way she died. Not Kathryn." Phoenix hadn't said her name in so long that he dwelled on that for a little while before he heard the sound of Ryan's footsteps as he rushed back into the room and almost fell in the process. "Ryan, if you're going to run, don't do it with the straw in your mouth." He warned the little boy who handed Phoenix the juice box before he sat on the floor with some toys he had gathered. "Thanks but I told them my life history, they know that we're what they call, estranged." It had been odd telling someone the truth. "You're smart." He replied but gave no explanation, simply moved on. "No. I get it. She deserves to be given chances because of her skills, that's why I asked her if she knew why you gave her the position. Again, you still both have my full support." Eventually, the small child handed a toy to each of the men and attempted to give one to Ophelia but she started to cry, which caused Ryan to stare at her instead. "She's bored, you can't just hold her and be stiff. Talk to her a little bit, rock her. Interact with her. She's a person not a doll. She might be a baby but she still has feelings."
"I could get into a lot of trouble for doing most of the things that I do. If anything happens to me, all I have to do is press a button either on my computer or phone and everything, absolutely everything will be deleted." She had been at it for years… Looking after herself came easier than most people gave her credit for. This wasn’t her first rodeo, not that Phoenix needed to know that, because saying it out loud would make her look smug, but she knew how to do things. She knew how to take care of herself and the people she cared about. "You don’t need to worry about it. If anything, you can say you you thought it was a bank error or something. They wouldn’t find the source of the deposit and they wouldn’t link you to me. You’ll be fine, Phee. All of you. As for prison… I can totally sweet talk my way into working for the NSA, you know? They do hire hackers for some terrible jobs, and no one pulls these stunts because they’re not confident that they’re good enough. I’m not confident, I am good enough, so I won’t be in jail for too long." Isabelle joked, offered him another smile, before looking over at Ryan, who was asking about the magic. It was interesting, she reckoned… to see the world through the eyes of a little kid. "Is that for me or do you want me to color it with you?" She decided to ask, after watching Ryan hand Phoenix the paper, then take it from him, color some more, and then hand it to Isabelle. After taking a good look at it and noticing it was pretty much all colored, she smiled at Ryan and thanked him. "Yeah, no… No stripper career for you, sir. The neighbors see enough nakedness already, the underworld of Regium doesn’t have to. I’m going to hug you right now, okay? Okay." After announcing it, she wrapped her arms around Phoenix’s torso, hugging him tightly. "You’re my friend. I count my friends on the fingers of one hand. The money thing was nothing, okay? I love you." Isabelle pressed a kiss on his cheek and pulled away, glancing at the baby monitor, then at Ryan, opening her arms to the little boy, after he had thanked her for her magic. "I’ll only accept it if you give me a hug, too." She stepped down from her stool and waited for the little boy to do the same, before she hugged him and kissed his cheek, too, carrying him with an amused chuckle. "You wanted to talk about that Natalia thing. I’m willing to listen if you feel like it." She told Phoenix, still holding onto Ryan.
"How do you get into something like this?" Never in his life did he wake up and think 'Wow, you know what would be fun? Hacking into bank accounts.' Which only made this whole situation seem that more odd to him. He supposed that that was his own fault, to be so closed-minded at times but it came with his upbringing in how traditional his father had been. Military styled childhood meant that he didn't have things such as criminal activity on his mind. Quite amusing, he thought, since he did eventually find himself in just that. "I think I'd be okay in prison but I don't know if Nat would do well with two kids and her career, so I have to be careful that's all." Not that he necessarily wanted to go in prison but he could likely hold his own, or so he thought. Plus, he thought, he'd have to join a gang which would greatly conflict with his current affiliations. "Yeah, but then you'd end up like that guy on the run. Who had to move to another country or whatever he did." He should watch more of the news, Phoenix realized. "He does that sometimes." Phoenix added in when she seemed confused over the drawing. "He prefers to give pictures that he's colored to people he doesn't know. Like a memento or something. We have too many." They'd begun that stereotypical thing that families did where they put his drawings on the refrigerator in pride, but he took them down when he wanted to replace them with new ones. If they were too high up, he asked one of the adults to do it for him. "I'd be a great stripper." Phoenix joked, hoping that Ryan didn't repeat that to anyone. He needed to learn to watch himself. "Wha -- oh." Phoenix froze for a second but eventually wrapped his good arm around her, leaning a little awkwardly to kiss the top of her head. Before he even realized what he said, he responded with a, "I love you, too," and then thought the rest of what she said over. Ryan was much quicker to hug Isabelle, which made him realize he would have to be warmer towards people to keep Ryan from finding affection weird the way Phoenix did. "Ah, Nat. Yeah." He thought it over. "We're just busy, I think. She's supposed to start working for Adam and I work, plus I agreed to take less hours so I could basically be a stay at home dad. A career's really important to her." He explained. "We were a lot closer before, that's all."
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