"Okay, I really need to get this done! You two can entertain yourselves for the rest of tonight?" Carrie asks. She knows they'll be fine without her but everyone's also been vying for her attention a lot more lately with how busy she's been.
She's not used to people wanting to actually be with her. Just… around her. And now she's not living alone either and that comes with a whole bunch of other things to get used to. But this record is so close to being done and it needs to be perfect. This is her. The debut of her whole self. And it's a lot.
"Carrie, we survived for literal years without you. I think we'll be okay for one night," Julie responds, matter of fact. If anyone was going to understand, it would be her. She's not been keen on the idea of "settling down" which is why she bounces between here and Luke's and Ray's.
It's been interesting to navigate all of the different needs of everyone as they come together in new ways. But they're sorting it out.
"Yeah, but now we don't have to survive without her," Flynn tells Julie. Carrie resists the urge to just settle in and watch the two of them: best friends who each bring out a different side of Carrie. Two sides of a coin that Carrie almost missed out on having in her life at all, let alone in this way.
Carrie suppresses the smile that's threatening to expose her innermost thoughts. Never in a million years did she think that this is the life she'd lead: two incredible girlfriends, a beautiful niece who is her whole world, who she shares with Luke Patterson, a man she can't believe she's developed an actual friendship with. Who she also shares a partner with.
Sometimes it doesn't even feel real, going from Carrie Wilson, the popstar constantly bouncing from one arm to the next, never alone but always lonely, to this: a perfect, messy, little life. Still never alone but seldom lonely.
"Okay but I'm due some Flynn time! It's been forever."
"Apparently having lives that don't solely revolve around each other will do that to a friendship," Flynn sighs. Carrie knows that they're adjusting to all this change too. It was really just the two of them for so long.
"Bonus points for multiple partners," Carrie chimes in. It is a lot to balance. "But can you two leave me? Please! I can't focus with you here."
"I have been told I'm an excellent distraction," Flynn says with a smirk. They toy at their collar suggestively. Carrie rolls her eyes. They can't ever learn what an effect just existing nearby has on her.
Julie shoves at Flynn. "Okay but I don't need to see that. Let's go! Neither of us wants to face the wrath of Nikki Shaw."
"Carrie Wilson: Rockstar. Who'd have seen it coming?" Flynn teases.
"Not me!" Julie grins. It's not like they didn't dream about exactly this when they were kids. But then the Dirty Candi of it all happened and then the… Well, everything else.
Carrie can't help the laugh that escapes her throat. "If you two don't get out of here, I'm shoving you out!"
Flynn smirks. "I'd like to see you try."
"Flynn," Julie warns. "Let's go."
And there it is. The way that they perfectly balance each other. Julie knows more of what Carrie's going through and where Carrie's limits are. She keeps Flynn in check. Flynn pushes Julie and Carrie past their comfort zones. It's nearly perfect.
This time Carrie lets the soft smile take over her face.
Julie directs her a knowing look. "You'll have the whole apartment to yourself tonight. Do what you need to do. Love you!" She turns to leave, shoving at Flynn as she moves.
"Wait!" Carrie calls after them. She puckers her lips at them when they face her.
Flynn and Julie let out twin chuckles and each come to give her a kiss goodbye. She waves them off. "Now get out of here!"
"Love you too!" she calls out just as they close the door.
She lets out a slow breath and lets the lightness in her chest spread throughout her body. It's time to show the world what they've been missing.
Is a special gift for @narcissusbrokenmirror - hope you like it!
It'll get posted to ao3 sometime after I wake up :D
Bobby’s been running behind all day. Almost entirely of his own doing, of course: he’d stayed in bed longer than he should have, let himself get lost in nothing instead of getting ready, forgot to eat until it was almost too late. And it’s not even early. There’s no reason he couldn’t have been ready to be somewhere for 10am. Other than the way his brain just won’t LET him get things done.
He shakes his head to clear his mind, not letting himself fall down the self-hate rabbithole. He’s learning to not beat himself up about this kind of thing any more but, well, old habits die hard.
Bobby looks up at the house shrouded by more greenery than Bobby’s ever seen on a residential lot before. He doesn’t even want to think about how much time, energy, and money it takes to maintain this yard. So he doesn’t. Or tries not to, anyway.
He double checks the address and makes his way up the walk. He rings the doorbell and waits. When there’s no answer, he knocks a few times. He backs down the walk when he’s met with nothing and triple checks the address. He confirms that he is indeed in the right place and looks around, trying to find signs of life or clues to where everyone could be.
Bobby notices a sidewalk that crosses the front of the house and makes his way down it, peering around the side of the house as he reaches the corner. He can hear voices coming from the backyard and decides to brave the rest of the journey.
He attempts a futile knock on the gate, knowing that nobody will hear it anyway, before pushing it open. He lets out a sigh of relief when he notices people he recognizes.
Luke immediately catches sight of him. “Bobby!” he exclaims, running up to him and wrapping an arm around his shoulders. “Glad you could make it. Bex will be so happy to see you!”
Bobby huffs out a light laugh, “Thanks.” He holds out the gift that he’d had tucked under his arm. “Where do you want me to put this?”
“Oh, I’ll take it. Let’s introduce you to everyone!”
Bobby hands Luke the gift as he agrees to the offer. He trails behind Luke as they make their way around the yard to meet Bex’s… family, he guesses. Who knew that one child could have so many adults who wanted to show up for her? He smiles in amusement to himself as he notices a distinct lack of other children in attendance.
“So you’re Bex’s… babysitter?” one of the older men asks when Luke introduces them.
“Yes, sir.”
“Huh. How does a man your age wind up babysitting toddlers?”
Bobby gapes at him. It’s not like it’s a question he hasn’t faced before. Or asked himself, quite frankly. But it’s not often that people are so up front about it.
The more he sees about the inner workings of Bex’s family, the more confused he winds up about his answers to the question. How did he, a man in his early 30s, wind up babysitting Bex, a toddler with more than enough grown ups around to ensure she never gets a moment alone for the rest of her life? Granted, a LOT has happened in the last several months. Very, very quickly, even. But Bobby’s still not entirely sure how HE got here.
“Could ask how a man your age winds up at a toddler he’s not related to’s third birthday party, no?” a familiar feminine voice says from behind Bobby.
Bobby turns to greet Carrie with a smile. “Hey, Care.”
“Hey, loser. Don’t mind Caleb. He’s just…” she narrows her eyes at Caleb, “like that.”
Bobby looks back at Caleb who’s mid-eye roll.
“I’m here for the same reason the rest of us are. She asked,” Caleb rebuts.
“Yeah, lucky us,” Carrie mutters under her breath. She turns her attention back to Bobby, “Did you and Luke finish the rounds?”
Bobby looks around the backyard, noticing that Luke had disappeared at some point, and confirms that he had met everybody new. Most of whom were Julie’s family.
Carrie grabs him by the elbow and steers him toward the refreshment table.
“Luke should have at least gotten you a drink before subjecting you to the chaos,” she says as she shoves a plastic cup full of punch into his hand.
Bobby lets out a light chuckle. “It wasn’t that bad. Everyone seems nice and it’s only like four new people. They can’t be any worse than what I’m used to.”
Just as he’s about to take a sip, he’s shoved backward by tiny arms wrapping around his legs.
Bobby steadies himself and his drink, being careful not to spill it on Bex’s head. He looks down with a smile. “Hey Bex!” he greets, stopping himself from ruffling her hair when he notices that she’s sporting neat pigtails. He can’t help but wonder how many people it took to actually get her hair done. He laughs lightly to himself as he imagines a few possible scenarios.
Bobby crouches down to meet Bex properly. “Happy birthday, kiddo! You having lots of fun?”
Bex nods vigorously. In typical Bex fashion, she starts to rattle off all the things she’d been doing before he got there. Far too quickly for Bobby to follow.
When she finishes, she stares at him expectantly.
Bobby laughs. “Why don’t you just show me?” he offers.
She reaches up for his free hand and pulls him away from Carrie.
Bobby holds his cup up to Carrie in apology. She waves him off with a fond smile of her own.
Bex leads Bobby around the backyard, showing him all her favourite things (and people). He waves and nods in acknowledgement to everyone Bex (re)introduces him to. He can’t help but laugh every time she pulls him away before he can get more than two words out in any given conversation she butts them into.
Bex eventually bores of Bobby and is successfully lured away by games and treats and family. Specifically by Carlos deciding that he wanted to experiment with what kinds of things he could convince Bex to do. Bribery with candy included.
Bobby shakes his head in amusement as he watches them walk away. He looks around the backyard again, taking in the mishmash of ongoing conversations. He notices that every single adult somehow manages to keep half an eye on Bex at all times. It’s not something he sees often from families of his other babysitting clients, not that he gets to see them engage with their kids directly very often.
He tops up his cup of punch and climbs the handful of stairs to the porch. He leans over the railing as he takes in the chaos. While he has no issue being a part of the action when he’s wanted, he does still have a general preference for watching from the sidelines. Bex and Carlos are taking turns chasing each other around the yard, occasionally tagging in someone new who plays for a round or two before resuming whatever they’d been engaged in before.
The creak of the porch stairs redirects his attention. He turns to see Alex climbing up the steps, wiping at his eyes. As observant as Bobby is, he’d somehow manage to miss whatever it was that had loosened Alex’s emotions.
“Oh, shit. I didn’t think anyone would be up here,” Alex says when he notices Bobby, a slight wobble in his voice.
“It’s okay, man. There’s room for two,” Bobby moves over to sell the point. “Y’alright?”
Alex sniffs before directing a grateful look Bobby’s way. He settles in against the porch railing in the open space beside Bobby. “‘S just a lot, you know?”
Bobby coughs out a dry laugh, “Which part?”
Alex turns to look at Bobby, brows furrowed. “All of it.”
They both redirect their attention to the party below them.
“Wanna talk about it?”
“Not really.”
“Okay. Well, if you change your mind…”
“I won’t. But thanks.”
Bobby hums in acknowledgement but doesn’t say anything further. While he doesn’t get it, he gets it. It’s weird coming from a life like his and seeing kids be loved so deeply. It’s beautiful but hurts in a way that he can’t quite put words to. He can only imagine how much more complicated those feelings are as a parent.
They stand together in silence for several long minutes. Bobby takes a sip of his punch. “This is how it should be, you know?” he finally says, breaking their not-quite-but-almost-comfortable silence.
“What d’you mean?”
“This,” Bobby repeats, gesturing out at the backyard. “A group of adults showing up for their kid. Loving their kid.”
Alex nods slowly. “Yeah. We try.”
Bobby huffs out another light laugh. “I’m not just talking about you, you know. Look at all these people who love Bex. It’s incredible. You built the most beautiful family. Every kid deserves this.”
“Yeah,” Alex agrees softly, “they really do.”
They fall into another comfortable, contemplative silence.
This time, Alex breaks it. “Do you want your own one day?”
“Kid? God no. I’d only fuck them up. I love kids, obviously. But the best part of what I do is that I get to give them back. And any trauma I cause is probably pretty easily fixable, on the grand scale of things.”
Alex coughs out a dry laugh. “Yeah. That’s fair. Reggie had that fear for a long time. But I know some people never really get over it.”
Both of their gazes track over the backyard, landing on Luke who has Bex perched on his shoulders. She’s pulling on his hair and ears to steer him around. Alex and Bobby share a chuckle at their antics.
“No, I guess not,” Bobby agrees with a fond smile. “I’d guess it’s probably pretty common for people who come from fucked up families. They either want to save anyone else from experiencing what they did. Or they overcorrect hard in the other direction and want to do it all different. Prove it’s possible.”
Alex hums thoughtfully. “Yeah, maybe,” he agrees before letting a grin take over his face. “That’s a lot of words for a Bobby,” Alex teases.
“Yeah. Just been thinking.”
“Careful. I’ve heard that kind of thing’s contagious. And can hurt.”
Bobby lets out a dry laugh.
“I think that might be one of the hardest parts about parenting?” Alex says after a moment. “Imagining what could have been different. Questioning why things weren’t. For us, I mean.”
Bobby hums in acknowledgement, encouraging Alex to continue.
“I don’t know. I mean, I know we’re gonna fuck up. We have fucked up. But it’s not that hard to just… love your kid?”
“So then you keep asking why you weren’t deserving of that love?”
“Exactly. Shit hurts.”
“Do you and the guys talk about it often?”
Alex shakes his head. “No, not really. I mean, we don’t really need to. We all get it. We’ve been all each other’s had for pretty much our entire lives.”
“And now look at you. Giving Bex everything you never got and then some.”
Alex laughs bitterly. “Who knew there were families overflowing with so much love that they’d so readily adopt 4 wayward rockstar slash artist adults and their toddler.”
“The Molinas seem as great as you’ve all been saying.”
“And more,” Alex sighs. “We’re so lucky to have them. But it also shows how… I guess, unfair it all is? We should have had more. Bex should have had more. Like, yeah, gratitude for what we have, blah blah blah, but that doesn’t change what could have been, you know?”
Bobby offers Alex a wry smile, “I think Reggie or Julie would call that grief or something.”
Alex laughs. “Yeah, probably.”
“Well, they don’t deserve you.”
“That’s what Willie and Reggie try to remind me of. ‘If they can’t love all of you, they don’t deserve access to any of you,’” Alex says, mocking their voices. “And they don’t deserve the joy that is Bex either. And she deserves better than them.”
“Exactly. Enter the Molinas.”
“Enter the Molinas,” Alex firmly agrees, “The family none of us could have ever dreamed of.”
Bobby lets out a self-deprecating laugh, “Can you imagine what it would have been like being raised by someone like Ray? An adult who cares about where you are. What you’re doing. How you are? More than just some trophy to show off? Or inconvenience to hide away…”
“Loves and encourages you in your full self.”
“What would Luke even write about without shitty parents?”
Alex laughs. “Would we even have the band? This family? I guess that’s a silver lining or some shit.”
“Or some shit,” Bobby agrees with a grin.
“It’s cake time!” Reggie yells from the kitchen, just inside the porch doors. He must have snuck past them at some point. Bobby and Alex exchange a fond smile.
“Time to give this kid and her… everyone even more of a sugar rush,” Alex says through a grin.
Bobby offers Alex his fist and Alex immediately knocks their knuckles together. “Right behind ya,” Bobby agrees as he follows Alex into the house.
"My sister got married and I got to be a flower girl!" Angela, the loudest and most bossy kid in their whole entire class, declares. She's hanging off of the playground equipment: one arm wrapped around a post, both feet planted on the platform, the rest of her leaning out over the gravel. Bex doesn't like her very much.
Though Bex doesn't really like any of the kids in her class that much, just Riley.
That's probably because Riley kind of forced herself into friendship with Bex. Even when Bex would walk away or ignore Riley to read at recess, Riley didn't give up.
She'd sit quietly while Bex read which turned into Bex telling Riley all about her newest story or the cool bugs that she'd found which turned into bug hunting together which turned into… well, apparently they were friends now. Bex doesn't mind. She doesn't think she really needs friends but it's nice having one. Especially when she has to deal with Angela.
"I wanna be a flower girl!" Kaitlyn shouts. She's the girl who's always trying so hard to have Angela notice her. Bex rolls her eyes and goes back to what she'd been doing: inspecting the beetle that she'd come across while balancing carefully around the curbs of the playground.
"Well then we'd need to have two people who love each other get married."
"Bex and I love each other!" Riley says, loudly, to no one in particular.
Bex pulls on her sleeve and shushes her.
Unfortunately it's too late.
"Two girls can't get married!" Angela declares, just as loudly and drawing far too many of their classmates' attention. "You need to marry a boy!"
Bex looks up at Riley, hoping that her best friend will leave Angela alone and let them get back to being invisible. Instead, she's got her hands on her hips and is staring Angela down. "Then I'll be a boy."
Bex looks between Riley and Angela, the latter seems to have been shocked into silence. Bex finally speaks up, "And who says two girls can't get married?"
"Yeah!" Riley agrees readily. "Gran says that marriage is for people who love each other. And I love Bex so we can get married."
Angela looks around the playground for back up but everyone, even Kaitlyn, is silent. She huffs out a breath. "Fine. You can get married."
Bex isn't really sure if she even wants to get married. Her dads aren't married. None of her aunties or uncles are married. They all love each other fine.
Well, there's her Uncle Stevie, but she's not entirely sure if he counts.
It honestly all just seems like an awful lot of fuss for something like love. She likes just spending time with Riley just fine. But this is clearly important to Riley and if it can make Angela be quiet for five minutes, then maybe it's worth it.
"And Kaitlyn can be our flower girl," Bex says. That was the reason for all of this, after all.
Kaitlyn cheers and runs off. Probably to find some flowers.
While she's gone, Angela sets everyone up where she wants them. Anybody willing became the guests, divided between Bex's side and Riley's side (most wound up on Riley's and Angela very quickly evened them out instead).
Just as Kaitlyn returns, fist full of dandelions and a couple other blooms she was able to swipe from the school gardens, their teacher calls them back in.
Angela lets out a dramatic groan. And then another one. "We need rings!" she cries.
"We can make some in art," Kaitlyn suggests as they walk toward the school and get lined up.
"I can make some in art," Angela says. She takes the place at the front of the line even though she's not today's line leader.
Bex and Riley share a look and roll their eyes. Bex is grateful that Riley decides not to fight Angela on it. Bex doesn't understand all this fuss either. Her grown ups all seem to wear all sorts of jewelry but none of it seems like it's from this lovey stuff? Maybe she'll have to ask. She's never really thought too much about it before.
Art class, reading time, and lunch pass quickly and they're all back out on the playground. Angela wastes no time getting everyone set back up. There's a bunch of walking and standing and sitting and then suddently Bex and Riley are facing each other, holding each other's hands. Angela has them repeat a bunch of things after her and then…
"Now you have to kiss!"
Bex screws up her face. "Like on the lips? Isn't that just for grown ups?"
Riley nods vigorously but doesn't let go of Bex's hands. "Yeah, kissing on the lips is for grown ups!"
"But you have to kiss! That's part of the whole thing," Angela cries. "You may now kiss the bride! It's part of every wedding!"
Bex rolls her eyes. "You haven't been to every wedding, Angela."
Angela crosses her arms over her chest. "How many weddings have you been to?"
"None," Bex responds, a bit more sheepishly than she'd like to feel.
"And you?" Angela asks Riley.
Riley shrugs. Her parents got married when she was a baby but they're not really around any more and she doesn't remember it.
"Well, I say every wedding needs a kiss."
They're saved by the teacher calling them back in from recess. Angela huffs out a harsh breath. "You guys ruin everything." She storms off toward the school.
"You don't have to kiss me," Bex whispers to Riley.
"Or…" Riley leans over and pecks Bex once on the cheek. "I can do that! There, now we're married!"
Bex laughs as she rubs at her cheek. "Now we're married. Thanks, wife!"
Riley's face screws up in disgust. "Nope. Don't like that."
"Thanks not-wife!" Bex tries again.
Riley laughs and takes off, hand still wrapped around Bex's. "Let's go!"
Bex laughs too as she's pulled behind Riley. They try to suppress their giggling as they get lined up.
If this is what marriage is, Bex supposes she could get used to it. If it's Riley.
on ao3. chapters and one-shots posted in chronological order below the cut.
Summary: Julie never found her way back to music, instead seeking a career in psychology that led her toward research in grief and loss and now a new job as a professor in a college.
Sunset Curve managed to find moderate success as a band and Luke is also contracted as a songwriter at their label.
They’re currently on a short hiatus while they adjust to life with a new family member and Reggie is taking the opportunity to take some classes in person with the slower pace and more stable lifestyle.
Their lives begin to intersect in curious ways.
Primary Relationships: Willie/Alex/Reggie, Luke & Willie & Alex & Reggie, Julie & Flynn, Flynn/Carrie, Julie/Carrie, Julie/Luke, Ray/Caleb, Bex & Everyone
