“I ever tell ya how much I love you?” He laughs, knowing that /of course/ Rowan had already gotten him some. It may seem ridiculous, having to take such measures to keep their daughter from spying the candy — But Andy is the first admit their oldest is difficult to say no to, even now when the guilt of having missed the first few years of her life is no longer at the forefront of his mind. There’s no denying he had a hand in giving her a bit of complex – His return home was a transition, and stepping into proper parenthood (instead of just being on the other side of a pane of glass) was met with an immediate inability to say the word no when it came to Maddie. That, and the fact that she’s inherited her mother’s dramatics, it’s a lethal combo when she’s upset.
“I’unno if I could sit through somethin’ like that,” His nose wrinkles at the mention of his brother’s love life, starting to wonder if the man really is cursed. This certainly isn’t the first time that a woman’s shown up to a club members doorstep with a child, but Andy hoped his brother wouldn’t end up in that situation. Or at least, he had hoped. Now that Leighton was around, it was becoming pretty clear that she was clearly with the better parent – And that she fit right in with the rest of the Thane kids. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him that excited ‘bout sharin’.” Andy laughs at the mention of their son, though he’s happy to see him come out of his shell. He knows exactly where Benny inherited his shyness. It’s hard not to have a smile on his face when he sees Benny holding his new cousin’s hand while he shows her all his toys, or Iris and Maddie gushing over what outfits to put her in. “M’happy to have the kid around, but, ya know – It’s hard not to worry.” After all of the hoops they had to jump through to foster and then adopt the twins, Andy knows just how important it is to have the legality of it all squared away. “We sure this girl ain’t comin’ back? Just ‘takin’ a break’ or some shit?” He asks as he begins to lay pumpkin seeds out on the tray. Andy places them one by one, always claiming there’s a ‘method’ to it all, though if you asked him to explain – It’s mostly just his preference. And that he’s convinced himself they’ll cook better if the seeds aren’t touching.
Rowan’s laughter pulls a grin from him, though his eyes move to the baby monitor just as hers do. As much as he’s enjoying them catching up, he’s not interested in having to sooth a crying baby, or convince Maddie or Benny that they’re not missing out on anything. Once it’s clear the kids are fine, he lets out the breathe he’d been holding in – A small laugh of his own passing his lips as his wife speaks. “I’ll be sure to keep that in mind,” he winks, another quiet chuckle following his words. “Cindy can get fucked.” He adds dramatically, feigning faux seriousness purely just to up the ante. A brow arches at the nickname for him, though he can’t deny he finds it pretty cute. “Betty Crocker Husband, huh? That’s a new one.” He notes, his ‘kiss the cook’ apron only further proofing Rowan’s point.
As soon as the topic shifts to her parents though, his smile falls, eyes lifting from placing the seeds on the tray to give her a skeptical look. At one point in his life, he tried to mend his relationship with the Fishers – Now, anything have to do with Addison and Henry made him squint. And as much as he wants to shoot down the idea immediately, purely out of spite to her parents, Andy’s brow arches and his interested piqued. “That might be a good idea.” He notes with a shrug at first, knowing he doesn’t have to explain his hesitance to Rowan. Andy has no interest in denying his kids a relationship with their grandparents, especially when they’ve shown time and time again just how much they love all four kids – Even if he himself is still met with glares and snide comments. He knows they’d be happy to have their grandkids over for the night, and Andy wouldn’t mind getting the night off for his birthday. Pausing his ministrations, he moves to stand between Rowan’s legs. “Can’t say I’d mind havin’ you all to myself for a night,” He speaks quieter than needs be, his hands moving up and down her thighs. “If you think it’s a good idea… M’open to it. As long as we’re the ones takin’ up trick or treatin’. Addison can pry that from my cold dead fuckin’ hands.” There’s no heat behind the threat even though he manages a serious tone, another quiet laugh following as he leans in to kiss Rowan.
Jeremiah’s love life has always been interesting to Rowan, if not just for the entertainment that it brought along with it. Obviously she had wanted him to find someone to settle down with once he made it clear that was something that he wanted, but it would be a lie to say that she hadn’t found it at least a little bit entertaining to have a front row seat to the shittiest season of The Bachelor. “I think I should get to pick the contestants on his season,” she continues on as if this is something actually happening. “I’ve got way better taste than he does.” Or at least she likes to think she does — and considering she’s been in a happy marriage for nearly half of her life, she’d say her taste is pretty good. Or maybe she had just lucked out and managed to find one of the few genuinely decent men in Olympus. Rowan doesn’t exactly have a lot to compare it to, all things considered, but she has enough single friends she has seen go through the song and dance of finding love to know that the dating pool in town doesn’t leave much to be desired.
“It’s nice, right?” Benny and Leighton had spent the majority of the night attached at the hip and Rowan has a feeling it’ll be that way for the next few years at least, if not longer. “Is it weird I’m kinda gonna miss him bein’ up my ass all the time?” She’s joking, of course — or at least for the most part. Obviously Rowan is thrilled for Benny to have a cousin his age now to spend time with and have fun at family functions but it would be a lie to say that her heart didn’t melt at how enthralled her oldest son is with her, often following her from room to room at family dinners and insisting on sitting in her lap. Her expression changes a little when Andy talks about being worried, sighing quietly. “Jer said she signed all her parental rights away. Between that and the fact that he’s her biological father, I dunno if she’d have a leg to stand on even if she did decide to come back.” Rowan’s brows furrow, knowing that Andy is thinking about how difficult their own situation had been. Obviously Jer isn’t in for a walk in the park with social services, but the situations are like comparing apples to oranges. “S’fucked up though, right, to do that at all?” Her frown deepens even more, gaze flickering over to the baby monitor momentarily and her chest tightens at even the thought of being separated from her children and she can’t imagine anyone actually having the nerve to try and come back from abandoning their child in the first place.
She doesn’t miss the way Andy tenses when they talk about her parents, the laughter from making fun of her coworkers and Jeremiah’s supposed curse having died down. She can’t exactly blame him. The relationship they have with her parents is strained on even their best days and more often downright turbulent. Her mother has made it clear that she has no interest in actually getting to know Andy or finding any peace with him, often ending in a fit between Rowan and her mother about how unfair it is. Still, she doesn’t want to keep her children from knowing their grandmother — especially with how fragile Rhea is right now — so Rowan tries to be the bigger person. But if Andy wanted to put his foot down and put a stop to it after everything, she wouldn’t blame him and would side with him. “I don’t even know if she’ll be able to handle all four of them. They’ve never kept the twins over night before, for all we know she’ll be callin’ us two hours in and beggin’ us to come get them.” But they both know that isn’t likely. Addison would rather die before taking that kind of blow to her pride. Rowan shifts on the counter, letting Andy stand between her thighs. Her hands move instinctively to rest on his forearms, thumb sweeping against the tattoos there. “I think it’ll be okay. We can take ‘em trick or treating, get ‘em all hopped up on sugar and drop them at their place.” She laughs into the kiss, leaning up to meet Andy part way. “You wanna stay in for your birthday or go out?” Ideally, she would love to throw him a big party on the Saturday but considering how fragile his sobriety is right now, she doesn’t see that as the best idea. “You get to call the shots on this one.”
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