This Time Is Different
Pairing: Austin Butler x wife!reader
Summary: Priscilla had told Lisa Marie about the similarities between their own life and that of Austin and Y/n’s. She never thought that she would see it for herself.
Warnings: Talk of pregnancy, talk of death/loss of a parent (in a gentle way, nothing graphic)
A/N: This can be read as a part two of “All Over Again”, but can also stand alone! I would say this one is definitely less angsty, but that’s just how it came out. Hope you guys like it :)
If you would like to be added to any of my tag lists (I’ve got a general tag list, along with specific ones for each fandom I’ve written for thus far), plz leave me a comment or ask and let me know which one!
Masterlist
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Lisa Marie Presley had met Austin Butler hundreds of times by now, several of them being on her own accord. Once the excuse of promoting the movie about her father fell through, due to time passing as it always did, she couldn’t bear for him to disappear from her life entirely. He’d become too close to let go.
And yet, no matter how many times she met him, Lisa always had to prepare herself a little. The memory of her father was strong and forever in her mind, and to see someone who walked like him, talked like him, looked like him…it was something she knew for certain would never become normal.
She’d met his girlfriend - oops, wife now - too, once or twice. Y/n’s presence seemed to have the same effect on Priscilla as Austin did on Lisa.
“If you ever wanted to see for yourself what your father and I were like in our prime,” her mother told her once, before their very first meeting. “That’s it.”
Lisa didn’t want to see. She’d lived it, after all. That was enough for her. But Y/n was a nice girl, and she made Austin happy. That’s all that mattered to the woman. Sure, her mother was right, similarities were there deep down if you looked for them. But in the beginning, she honestly couldn’t see whatever it was that took Priscilla’s breath away.
It wasn’t until years later that she experienced the phenomenon for herself.
It was a week before Christmas, a sacred time for every Presley, and both Lisa and her mother wanted to host a dinner at Graceland. For family and friends alike, they wished for their home to be as full and lively as it used to be all those years ago. How it was meant to be.
How they knew Elvis would have wanted it.
And of course, Austin and Y/n were invited. After everything he’d done for their family with Baz’s movie, and everything they’d done for him in return, they were practically family by now. Still, Lisa had to take a moment for herself to prepare. Just a moment, only a breath. That’s all she needed.
When the door rang, Lisa ran to answer it, and couldn’t help but smile at the sight.
“Oh, come in, come in!” she welcomed both Austin and Y/n, immediately pulling the former into her arms with a sigh of relief. “It’s been too long.”
Austin melted into her grasp, a look of both shock and excitement on his face. He once told Y/n (in confidence, of course) that he was always waiting for the day where his relationship with the Presleys would dwindle. Gradually, but inevitable. She told him he’d be waiting for eternity.
From over Austin’s shoulder, Lisa caught Y/n’s eye, and energy sparked within her again.
“You too, give me a hug!”
Laughs echoed throughout the doorway as Austin was pushed aside, replaced by his own wife. Truth be told, he was happy to see it. It warmed his heart that the people who loved him loved her too.
Y/n’s voice was as sweet as ever, but muffled by Lisa’s shoulder. “Thank you so much for having us. I know I say it every time, but this house is just gorgeous.”
“You’re welcome over anytime, honey. I hope you guys are hungry,” she gave Y/n one last good squeeze, before stepping back to smile at them both. “Dinner was just about to start.”
Austin helped Y/n shrug off her jacket. “We’re not late, are we?”
“No, not at all. Please, come sit down, everyone will be so excited to see you both.”
And they were. The entire night went by peacefully. They ate, told stories, and made up for the lost time which life had forced upon them. Sure, there were melancholy moments, but it was difficult to feel anything but joyful in that house. Lisa could feel her father with them all, reveling in their happiness.
“I’d like to make a toast,” Priscilla stood towards the end of their meal, clinking her glass to grab everyone’s attention. All of the parents in the room scrambled to quiet their rambunctious children. “To everybody here. You’ve all been with us through thick and thin, and I can honestly say none of this would’ve been possible without you.”
Her eyes glossed over, but not with tears. Priscilla’s face was perfectly content.
“To see this house full again, busy and loud with the people we love…it means the world to me. And I know it would mean the world to everyone who isn’t here with us right now. So,” her glass rose towards the ceiling as she motioned for others to do the same. “To us, and to them.”
Everyone followed, repeating her words and humming in agreement. From a few seats over, Y/n caught Lisa’s eye.
“Y/n,” she chastised, a teasing grin on her face. “You can’t make a toast with water, hun. Somebody get this girl some champagne.”
“Oh no, water is alright for me! I’m the driver tonight,” Y/n let out half a laugh.
“A small glass won’t hurt!”
Y/n shot Austin a worried glance, who shrugged with his own crooked grin. Now the whole table had quieted to watch the interaction, which just made everything more uncomfortable.
“Um,” Y/n struggled for a moment and giggled to herself. From beside her, Austin threw his arm over her shoulders in support. “It would, actually, because…I’m…well, we’re…expecting!”
There was silence for only a moment, and in that moment, Lisa watched Y/n’s whole body tense in anticipation. She couldn’t fathom why. Following quickly afterwards was an explosion of congratulations. And nobody was louder with their excitement than Priscilla.
“Oh my goodness!” she was out of her seat in an instant, running towards the now blushing couple. Y/n stood to properly welcome her onslaught of hugs and kisses. “That’s the best news I’ve ever heard, oh my goodness! I can’t believe it, you must be so excited!”
Lisa Marie stood too, walking over to give Austin a kiss on the cheek, which he happily accepted. “Congratulations, sweetheart.”
“Thank you,” his smile told her everything she needed to know. He was completely and utterly over the moon.
Next to them, Priscilla still had Y/n firmly locked in her arms.
“Okay, mom,” Lisa took pity on the girl. “You’re suffocating her.”
Priscilla laughed and let go, smoothing out both their clothes and running a hand over Y/n’s hair with motherly affection. “Sorry, dear, I’m just so happy for you!”
After the initial congratulations, conversation around the table settled again, allowing Austin and Y/n to have a more private moment with the Presley women.
“We haven’t told anyone yet, so you guys are actually the first,” Y/n explained, a breathless smile still on her face.
“Oh no, I didn’t mean to put you on the spot like that.”
“Not at all! I think it’s about time we start telling people, don’t you,” she looked up at her husband, whose eyes seemed only for her.
Austin simply pressed a kiss to her head. “Whenever you’re ready, baby, I am too.”
They’d always been a sweet couple, but everything about today made a little more sense now. Why he couldn’t seem to keep his hands off her, why her face glowed with happiness even in the most mundane of moments. They were standing on the precipice of a new future. One of their own creation, one born of the love between them. One that would last for generations after they were gone.
And it was then, for the first time, that Lisa Marie understood what her mother saw in Y/n.
Because Austin and Y/n were young, in love, and completely unprepared. They practically had the world at their feet with no idea what to do with it. And in nine months, everything they knew would eternally be turned upside down. The only thing that made it worth it, in their eyes, was the idea of doing it all together.
It’d been a long time since Lisa saw that. She was young, then, with naive eyes and childish ideals. But her parents loved each other; that much she knew, even at the end of it. So maybe her existence was an accident, but it was one born of affection nonetheless. At least, that’s what she always told herself when the past came back to bother her again.
Seeing people with her father’s eyes and mother’s smile looking happy and relaxed and not at all worried about their present, but rather the new addition yet to come, was refreshing. Or maybe it was thrilling to see something she hadn’t been there to see before? Or, rather, completely and utterly terrifying?
“You guys are going to be great parents,” Lisa said to them both, though the words fell from her lips on their own accord. A numb feeling of shock had settled itself into her bones. “I just know it.”
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After that, Lisa distanced herself for her own wellbeing. And theirs. She didn’t want her conflicted feelings of the past to dampen their excited ones for the future.
But honestly, that was easier said than done. Because no matter how much she wished to stay away, when her phone lit up with Austin’s name on the screen, she couldn’t help but answer.
“Hello?” she pressed the phone to her ear. “Austin?”
“Hey, Lisa, long time no talk.”
She laughed as if that wasn’t at all on purpose. “I know! How have you been, sweetheart?”
“I, uh,” Austin stumbled on the line for a moment. “I hate to do this, but I was actually calling to ask for your help.”
Immediately, Lisa regretted staying away in the first place. “Of course, what is it? Is everything alright?”
“Yes! I didn’t mean to worry you or anything, it’s just…well, it’s Y/n.”
“Oh?”
Even over the phone, Lisa could hear the worry in his voice. “She hasn’t been feeling well lately. Sickness, migraines, body aches. Some days, moving from the bed to the couch is the most she can handle. I keep saying we should go see the doctor, but she’s adamant that it’s all normal pregnancy stuff, and I just…well, I don’t know, I feel helpless.”
“Oh, Austin…” her heart dropped from her chest.
“And I’d love to bother my mom with this stuff,” Austin’s words rushed from his lips. “But she isn’t here anymore, and you were the first person I could think of who knows what it’s like to be in Y/n’s position. I’m really sorry if this all comes at a bad time.”
“No, I’m so happy you called! I always want you to reach out if you need any help, Austin, I’ve told you that already,” she lightly scolded him for ever second guessing himself.
“I know, it’s just-”
“Honey, do you want my advice or not?”
Lisa heard his deep breath of relief, a tell-tale sign of defeat, echo over the receiver. “Yes please.”
“Well, first things first, how is she eating?”
“Half the time, her cravings drive her wild. The other half, she can’t keep anything down.”
“That could be contributing to the migraines. When I was pregnant with the twins, they kept my stomach in knots constantly, but I never found any relief with my headaches on an empty stomach. Always try to get her to eat something if you can, even if it’s something small.”
“Okay,” Austin’s voice was so studious, Lisa wouldn’t have been shocked if he was taking notes.
“Also, do you have a pool?”
“Yes?”
“Then use it. She may fight you at first, but once she feels the weight off her back and hips, you may have a hard time getting her out of it.”
At that, he actually laughed, which Lisa considered a success. Two birds, one stone. “Alright then.”
“But most of all, Aus, just relax. Y/n may be stubborn, but she’s not reckless. If it reaches the point where doctors are needed, she’ll know, and she’ll tell you. All you have to do is be there for her.”
“Always,” he answered immediately, and a smile split Lisa’s face.
“Then you have nothing to worry about.”
They talked for a long time after that. About life, about parenting. About navigating this world that Austin knew nothing about. And when they finally hung up, Lisa hoped he felt satisfied with her answers.
Because she was only left with more questions.
Had her parents been this afraid before she was born? Did her father ever have questions with no mother to go to for answers? Had her mother been sick, but pretended not to be for the sake of her husband?
It was a different time then. Elvis was a different man. Priscilla was a different woman. But sometimes, when looking at Austin and Y/n, that was a little more difficult to remember.
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“Y/d/n, sweetie, stay away from the pool!”
“But Daddyyyyy!”
“Just until we’re done eating, hun, and then Daddy will come swim with you.”
Their toddler was a mirror image of Austin, much to Y/n’s annoyance. And it was clear to just about everyone, Lisa included, that she completely worshiped the ground he walked on. Again, to Y/n’s slight annoyance.
But god, were they happy together. Throughout all the hard moments, the sleep deprivation, the frustration, they still couldn’t help but enjoy the little love they’d made. The stress beforehand was nothing but a distant memory now. Austin couldn’t fathom not having these two girls in his life.
They were his life.
And he wanted nothing more than to share his life with the people he loved. So the Butler’s decided to invite some people, the Presley’s included, to their house for a summertime pool party. It was no Graceland, that’s for sure, but nobody really cared as long as they were together.
Admittedly, Lisa took it as another excuse to observe. And maybe reminisce.
“She really does march to the beat of her own drum,” Y/n laughed at her daughter, who had since directed her attention from the pool to a patch of flowers in the grass. Completely oblivious to the rest of the children, who’d abandoned their sandwiches to play a rough and dirty game of football.
“She gets that from you,” Austin piped up.
Even Priscilla couldn’t pretend to agree with him. “Oh, suuuure, Austin…”
“Y/d/n, what did we just say?” Y/n called again.
The blonde, little pig-tailed girl was back near the pool again, gazing hopefully at the water a bit too close to the edge for her parents' liking. Her head spun around at the sound of her own name, and the most manipulative pout known to man fell on her face as she stepped back. Immediately, a laugh bubbled from deep within Austin’s chest.
Y/n glared at him, half joking and half deadly serious. “This is why she never listens, you know. ‘Cuz she knows that Dad will always get her out of trouble.”
“Can you blame me? Look at that face!”
“Yeah, well, I’d prefer if that face remained above water, thank you very much.”
“Mhm,” he relented, leaning in to give her a quick peck on the lips. “I know.”
“Keep an eye on her, please, while I run to the bathroom?”
Austin nodded as she stood, watching her leave with a small twinkle in his eye. He noticed Lisa, too, looking on in amusement.
“She thinks I make her the bad cop,” he explained. “While I play good cop.”
Priscilla snorted. “Sounds like someone I used to know.”
“Don’t go there,” Lisa laughed, though it was all good heartened in nature. She turned her attention back to Austin. “Every kid needs a fun parent.”
“Who says Y/n doesn’t want to be the fun parent every once in a while? But she can’t if Austin isn’t more strict,” Priscilla argued back.
“Well maybe he’s doing the best he can, he’s been under a lot of stress lately…”
“Y/D/N!”
Austin’s voice boomed throughout the whole backyard, effectively freezing everyone in their tracks. They all fell silent, careful, in case they were the one to upset him so grievously. All eyes quickly fell to his daughter, who had just barely caught her balance after once again leaning over the edge of the pool. Her face, pale as if she’d just seen a ghost, snapped to her father in shock.
In less than five strides, Austin had his daughter in his arms, shaking her with both anger and worry.
“How many times do I have to tell you to not stand by the edge of the pool?” his voice wavered slightly, his tone full of frustration. “Do you see why now? You could have fallen in and gotten hurt! I don’t want to see you running around there without your mother or I ever again, do you understand me?”
Before anyone could help de-escalate the situation, tears were already forming in his daughter’s eyes as she nodded feverishly. Her lip, trembling in a way that told Austin a meltdown was sure to come. He sighed and gently pulled her head to lay on his shoulder, his hands rubbing up and down her back in a soothing pattern, of which she immediately accepted.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Daddy didn’t mean to yell, I just want to keep you safe…”
Within seconds, Lisa watched as all the tension eased from Y/d/n’s body. Even with tears in her eyes, tears which her father had inadvertently caused, she still found utter solace in his arms.
The older woman knew what that felt like.
She knew what it was to be loved by someone like that. To have a father who had the whole world begging for his attention, and to feel honored when he only ever wanted to give it to you. The realization nearly knocked the breath from her lungs, and a very recognizable feeling invaded her senses. Suddenly, and not for the first time, she longed to feel her dad’s arms around her.
Lisa noticed her mother’s stare, though she refused to meet it. They both knew what she was thinking.
“Do you remember when-”
“Yes.”
Priscilla laughed before she could stop herself, and Lisa cracked a smile of her own. “I’ll never forget the face you made when your father yelled at you that day,” her voice was quiet enough to not catch Austin’s attention. “It’s like you couldn’t possibly fathom why he’d done it. Pure shock!”
Lisa looked her mother in the eye’s, then, but only to defend herself. “Of course I was shocked! He never yelled at me about anything before then!”
“I’m aware,” Priscilla gave her a knowing look.
Perhaps it’s because Lisa knew what it was like to be a mother now. Maybe, despite her childlike admiration for her father that would never waiver with time, she could see her mother’s point of view. Whatever it was, one thing was for certain: Lisa had been too hard on her mom in those years. “He wasn’t very hands on, was he?” she admitted, though no true resentment could be found in either woman.
Priscilla nodded, looked over at Austin, down at her lap, then back to her daughter again. “He loved you,” was all the answer she needed to give.
And so the two Presley women watched the couple across the yard with gentle eyes. Watched as Y/n ran out, running her hands down Y/d/n’s back while she asked Austin about what happened. Watched as the man took both girls in his arms, holding them close and savoring the gift he’d been given. Watched as he pressed a kiss to his wife’s cheek, promising to take their daughter inside and explain why he’d yelled in such a way.
They watched because they knew where this road could lead if the Butler family made the same choices the Presley’s did. And they watched because they knew, deep down, that they wouldn’t.
“I see it now,” Lisa told her mother after a moment of silence, quickly before Y/n returned.
Priscilla didn’t need her to elaborate. “It’s uncanny at times, isn’t it?”
Uncanny. Uncomfortable. Unfathomable. Lisa wasn’t sure how to describe it.
“And yet, they’re so different.”
“For the better, I think,” Priscilla agreed.
For the better, because their child would never have to grow up without her father by her side. Because this time, love would be what kept them together, not what pushed them apart. Popularity would not make them all feel so alone, as long as they had each other.
If nothing else, Lisa would make sure of it.
