This is a fanfic for a trade with my mutual: @the-thalibelia
Plot: Richie shows Paul analog horror and Paul’s confused & paranoid to why his nephew is showing him this
Authors Note: I'm so sorry this took so long! Thank you so much for being patient with me, I hope you like it!
“...So what did you want to show me again?” Paul asked, as Richie typed on his laptop.
“You’ll see!” His nephew answered, that reply only made Paul feel uneasy. He knew Richie was interested in some pretty strange stuff, so he was worried about what he was about to show him. “Alright here it is!”
“What am I looking at?” Paul asked, trying to make sense of what was on Richie's screen.
“It’s called analog horror, it’s really cool. I’ve been watching them all week!” he explained, as Paul looked at the thumbnails of the videos, the eerie and unsettling imagery of the characters made his skin crawl. As Richie scrolled through various videos all looking equally horrifying to Paul, until finally settling on one that seemed to be about animatronics. About a half an hour later as the final video ended, Richie turned off the computer and faced his uncle.
"So what did you think?" he asked, closing the laptop. Paul didn't answer, and just stared into the distance, as if he were in a trance-like state. Processing everything he just saw,
"That...That was certainly something…" Paul finally spoke
“Huh...I didn’t think you’d like it!” Richie spoke, oblivious to Paul’s discomfort.
Later that night after Richie went home, Paul couldn’t help but feel paranoid. Seeing the characters from those videos in the corner of his eye, as he laid in bed trying to sleep unable to get those images out of his head.
“You're being ridiculous Paul!” He thought to himself, “it’s just some dumb internet horror video….why did Richie have to show me that?!” He mumbled, resting his head against his pillow trying to get his mind off the videos.
Dance All Your Worries Away (A Trade Fic for @finnlovesmangos)
“Ugh… finally. Everything is back in order.” The Mayor groans out as she slumps back in her chair while gently massaging her temple. After yet another disaster of a villain takedown by the idiotic Dog Man, the Mayor was forced to clean up the mess herself.
She knew what was coming the second she saw the breaking news broadcast. And she knew that it would be up to her to clean up the mess once again; something that really grinds her gears. How can that stupid dog get away with making such messes without having to clean them up? It just doesn’t make any sense.
‘Whatever. Everything is finally back to the way it’s supposed to be.’ The Mayor thinks to herself as she finishes massaging her temples. ‘And hopefully it will stay that way.’ Suddenly, a gentle knock raps against the heavy wooden door, causing the woman to look up. “Who is it?”
“It’s me, Ms. Mayor. I have some paperwork for you to look at tomorrow.” A voice calls out from the other side of the door. A voice that made the Mayor smile a bit.
“Come in, Charlotte.” The Mayor responds in a soft tone, though the roughness persists. With that, the door swings open, and a woman enters the room. In her arms is a large stack of papers, which she perfectly balances as she walks into the room and hip bumps the door closed. And the Mayor couldn’t help but look at her with love and admiration.
Charlotte. Her secretary and girlfriend. And man, is Charlotte the most perfect being the Mayor has ever seen. Beautiful, strong, organized, and just so, so perfect. There are very few people in this world that the Mayor sees as perfect, and Charlotte is the most perfect of them all.
“How is getting everything cleaned up from Dog Man’s… interesting takedown?” Charlotte asks with an annoyed eye-roll. How she hated how much work that dumb mutt put on the Mayor. It’s just not fair.
“Everything is finally back to normal. And this time I’ll make sure it stays that way.” The Mayor responds with a grimace on her face, though the twinkle of love never leaves her eyes. Her love for Charlotte burns way brighter than her hatred for Dog Man.
“Well, thank God for that! I was worried I was going to have to drag you out of here kicking and screaming. You know I would,” Charlotte laughs out in a bright, chipper tone.
“Not this time, love.” There’s a small beat of silence. A comfortable silence that simmers the Mayor’s mood a little. But Charlotte takes this opportunity to saunter over to her girlfriend, standing behind her and tenderly draping her arms over the Mayor’s shoulders.
How can such a simple gesture make someone melt so easily?
“Listen, this has been really stressful for both of us. And it’s not fair to have it hang over our heads.” Charlotte starts with a soft hum of thought. “So, why don’t we get out of here and blow off some steam? We can go to that disco club you’ve been eyeing and just… let it all go.” She finishes with a soft, lingering kiss on the Mayor’s cheek.
And honestly… the idea sounded absolutely perfect to her. She’d do anything at this point if it meant getting out of this stuffy office and forgetting about Dog Man’s existence. Plus, the Mayor has been meaning to take Charlotte to this particular disco club, so why not take the opportunity that’s right in front of her? With a smirk on her face, she glances up at her girlfriend before declaring three small but powerful words:
“Let’s do it."
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“Do you think this outfit is too glittery? It’s too glittery, isn’t it?” Charlotte asks with a groan, dusting off and adjusting her shirt and pants as she walks beside the Mayor down the cluttered street of Ohkay City. The moon, a full moon shines brightly in the night sky as the stars twinkle about. Around the couple, the city is aglow with colorful lights from the building and alive with the excited buzz of citizens having a nice night out.
Something that Charlotte and the Mayor can’t wait to experience themselves.
“No, my love. It’s perfect. Just like you are.” The Mayor responds, taking the time to admire her girlfriend’s outfit. A light blue halter top with a folded collar, greyish blue pants, and dark blue heels, all covered in a fine sliver glitter that make the outfit, and Charlotte, sparkle just like the stars.
She truly looks like a perfect angel.
“Thank you, darling.” Charlotte responds with a soft blush. “You look perfect as well.” And that she did; with her haltered white and forest green jumpsuit with green and white diamonds, matching forest green headband, and olive green heels. How could anyone think she isn't the most stunning and perfect woman of all?
They soon make it to Velvet and Vice, a swanky but elegant little venue just outside the heart of Ohkay City. It wasn't the most popular place in the city, but it certainly caught the Mayor’s attention when she was making campaign rounds earlier in the month. That's when she knew she had to check the place out with Charlotte.
As the couple enters the venue, they're immediately roped in by the immersing environment and energy that hit them full force. It was like being in the 80s all over again! A fact that only made the two women excited for the night they're about to share together. And right on cue, a funky disco beat flows through the place like a siren's call.
“Come on! Let's get down with our bad selves!” Charlotte cheers out as she takes the Mayor to the dance floor. And the Mayor can't help but chuckle at her girlfriend’s excitement. It's so cute and admirable. Once Charlotte finds the perfect spot on the dance floor, she immediately starts dancing to the beat, feeling the music course through her veins.
And the Mayor follows suit, dancing alongside her girlfriend and letting herself get lost in the bliss of the moment. Nothing matters right now except for spending time with her perfect Charlotte and forgetting all her troubles. Something that's easy to accomplish when you have an amazing girlfriend like Charlotte.
As the music continues to play on, the couple keeps dancing, both of them doing their own moves before sometimes coming together to dance in rhythmic harmony. It’s glorious, and the whole world melts away into nothingness from the sweet, blinding bliss. But soon enough, the upbeat disco music ends and switches to something slow and soft.
Something that pleases the Mayor and Charlotte greatly.
With a small smirk, the Mayor holds out her hand to Charlotte, who gently takes it with a smirk of her own. And they begin dancing with each other. It starts out innocently enough, almost as if they’re ballroom dancing. But as they fully relax and the world disappears around them, the couple smoothly transitions into more intimate dancing.
With smooth, calculated action, the Mayor runs her hands down to Charlotte’s hips, gripping them with firm tenderness. Something that made the woman giggle with delight as her arms delicately drape over her girlfriend’s shoulders. Slowly, the Mayor pulls Charlotte in so their bodies were flushed together.
A spur that makes the moment so, so much sweeter.
“Better be careful now. I might suspect ulterior motives from you, darling.” Charlotte asks teasingly, her smirk still spread across her face. “Unless this was your plan all along.”
“What if it was, my love? What if it was my plan to get you here just so I could hold you in my arms like this?” The Mayor playfully retorts, holding her girlfriend tighter. They pause, looking into each other’s eyes before Charlotte grinds her hips against the Mayor’s and leans in to whisper:
“I’d say take me, baby.” Something that makes the Mayor’s smirk widen. With that, they go back to dancing, this time allowing their bodies to interact with each other in whatever way they see fit. Charlotte continues grinding her hips against her girlfriend’s while the Mayor’s lips plant themselves all over her perfect angel’s neck, and both of their hands explore the contours of their respective partner’s body.
They didn’t stop their dirty talk either, whispering sweet and sultry words into each other’s ears.
“You feel so good against me, love.” The Mayor states between neck kisses. “And your outfit is driving me absolutely crazy.”
“So is yours. Oh, I love the way you kiss me.” Charlotte responds as she leans her head back. She wants to experience the full bliss she can receive from her girlfriend. Something that the Mayor immediately catches onto and takes swift action to indulge Charlotte.
All the while, the couple’s hands never stop their exploration, sometimes grabbing hold and squeezing sweet spots that they knew would get a reaction out of the other. It was exactly what the couple have been craving all week and by the end of the song, they’re nothing but buzzing balls aglow with pure, loving bliss and passion tangled up in each other’s arms.
And for them, that’s all they could ever ask for.
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“Tonight was perfect, my love. Thank you for convincing me to get out of the office. I really needed it.” The Mayor says sweetly, looking over at Charlotte as they walk down the now barren streets of Ohkay City. The night had come to an end, and it was time for them to get some well-deserved rest.
Rest that hopefully isn’t interrupted by another one of Dog Man’s ridiculously stupid antics.
“Of course, my darling. You know I’d do anything to make you happy. You deserve it.” Charlotte responds while giving chaste kisses to her girlfriend’s face. “Maybe next time we go out, it won’t be to escape our stresses but to just enjoy each other’s company.” The Mayor couldn’t help but smile at the sentiment.
“Oh, my love. I already enjoy your presence. Dog Man and his idiotic schemes may make my life a living hell, but if it means that I get to have you by my side for the rest of my life, then I’ll gladly roll with all the punches.” Charlotte freezes at this, her face flushing in a soft pink hue as she looks into the Mayor’s eyes.
“Y-you mean that?”
“Yes, Charlotte. I mean every word I’ve ever said to you. You’re the most important person in this entire world, and as long as we have each other, we can get through anything. We are perfect, and we are perfect for one another. Remember that always.” The Mayor responds as she kisses the back of Charlotte’s hand. It all makes the woman’s face flush harder. How did she get so lucky in this department of her life?
But they say not to look a gift horse in the mouth, so Charlotte won’t do so.
“Besides,” The Mayor continues with a smirk. “Who else would grind up on me like that in a crowd of people?”
“DARLING!” Charlotte squeals, lightly hitting her girlfriend’s arm before looking away. To an outsider, she would look embarrassed, but up close, she’s clearly trying not to laugh. “You’re the worst, you know that?” She asks while looking back at the Mayor.
“The best at being the worst. That’s why we work so well together, my love.” The sweet words rein Charlotte in, who shakes her head before gesturing forward.
“Come on, let’s get home and rest. We have work tomorrow.” The woman says with a deep breath. “Another day to make this city absolutely perfect.” With that, the couple continues their walk home, a soft night breeze blowing through. A perfectly calm breeze that brings this tranquil sense of love and bliss.
The most glorious night out ended with nothing but pure perfection. Now who could ever ask for more?
This was written as part of a trade with @ladysouthpaw1213. She made this lovely little moodboard for Elizabeth and in exchange requested a fic featuring her OC, Teresa, and David painting together. It's a little overdue because of some life stuff that got in the way, so apologies about the wait, but I hope you like it! Turned into an accidental Mother's Day gift. Anyway, enjoy!
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David was bored, which Teresa knew was never a good thing.
Spring brought with it nothing but mud from the melting snow and ice, and as March turned to April the rain did nothing to help matters, which meant a lot of everyone’s time was being spent indoors.
Unfortunately, David wasn’t well adjusted to spending time indoors nor was his level of energy suited to it, which meant several weeks of Teresa and Alex being driven up the wall by him. Constant running through the house, climbing on the furniture, playing very loudly with his toys and not having any interest in quiet indoor activities. Alex did his best to mitigate this by manhandling the boy in various ways, mainly carrying him around, upside down over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
That only worked when Alex was home, though, and today he wasn’t. He had to head out for something or other and he had already headed out by the time Teresa was awoken by David clambering up onto the bed.
Fortunately for her, though, there was a break in the poor weather.
So as soon as David had eaten his breakfast and the second he complained about boredom and wanting to go outside she was already wrestling him into some outside clothes and grabbing his shoes. She ended up packing a tote bag full of supplies and activities for good measure, dead set on doing something to entertain herself as much as David while they were out. She left him by the front door to try and get his own shoes on, and after a lot of difficulty and his shoes ending up on the wrong feet they were finally, for the first time in weeks, out of the house.
It was still chilly. Enough to warrant a sweater on Teresa’s end and a light jacket for David. But it was warm enough to be out and about and that was all that really mattered.
The sun was out, dappling the grass and the paths pressed into the dirt by years of walking the same line. Birds chittered, eagles scanned the pond and fields for a meal, deer and squirrels bolted through the woods as soon as they heard them coming. David’s non-stop chatter ensured that every animal within at least a five mile radius knew exactly where they were and had ample warning to scatter and stay away.
Teresa let David lead the way, mostly walking aimlessly forward. He hurried ahead to pick up rocks and whatever else he could find. “Don’t run too far,” she warned him.
David stopped, picking up a rock before he chucked it down the path. Probably just to see how far he could throw it. It hit the dirt not far ahead with a dull, heavy thump. He dropped his arms to his side and let out an overly dramatic huff, clearly disappointed by the range it traveled, and he kicked it as soon as he closed the very short distance between him and it. “Where’re we going anyway?”
“Wherever you want to go,” Teresa told him, adjusting her bag. It was starting to dig into her shoulder a bit, but she much preferred stopping whenever David got tired. It gave him the chance to wear himself out, and burn off all the energy he’d built up over the winter.
David stopped his elaborate, swaying goose-step to turn and give her a look. “Anywhere I want to?”
“Anywhere,” she confirmed, gesturing forward. “Lead the way.”
That was too much freedom to give a five-year-old. His eyes lit up. “Okay, race you!”
“I don’t even know where we’re racing to!” Teresa called after him in protest, but he had already broken into a run and taken off down the trail ahead of them. She dropped her arm to her side in defeat, letting out a huff. She was not about to chase him down. Besides, she figured he wouldn’t get very far and he wasn’t exactly an Olympic runner. She’d catch up eventually, once he was out of breath and tired and chose to flop down in the grass like he was dying. She kept up a brisk walk behind him, biding her time.
Eventually, he veered off to the side, into the grass and down towards the creek that ran parallel to this patch of woods and Teresa followed him, catching up just as he did exactly as she predicted. He was panting and out of breath as he said, “I won.”
“You’re too fast for me,” she said, stepping over him. “I never stood a chance.”
“You didn’t even try,” David said, sitting up.
“I tried my best!” Teresa argued. She wasn’t trying to sell it that much, though. It was pretty hard to argue with kids, anyway. She would know. “What does it matter to you? You still won.”
“It’s not as fun if you just let me win,” he complained, hopping to his feet.
Teresa ignored him. “Is this a good spot, or do you want to keep walking?”
“I wanna play in the creek,” he said by way of an answer.
So it was a good spot, then. No more walking. Even if she wasn’t exactly keen on the idea of him getting covered in mud after spending so much time indoors, waiting for the ground to dry an acceptable amount. But she was keen on keeping him entertained. “All right, well, be careful, then,” she said, glancing down the mild slope towards the water. “Try not to get too messy.”
While David raced off, probably not even listening to half of what she said with how much tunnel vision he had once he made up his mind to do something, Teresa found a dry spot with a good vantage of the creek, so she could keep an eye on him and enjoy the scenery. The grass was still cool and the dirt was soft, barely damp after a reprieve from the snow. There were still spots around trees and other bits of shade that had a few inches of thin snow still lingering as the temperatures started to warm, but green sprigs of grass and the more stubborn and hearty wildflowers were poking through in spite of the snow’s best attempts to hang on to winter. Still, things were mostly settling in to spring by now.
Teresa sat down on a rock that jutted out of the slope, half covered in dirt. She used it as a makeshift chair, setting her bag down beside her and digging through it for some brushes and paints. She didn’t have a lot of time to paint these days, not between work and David and everything else going on. She didn’t get out of the house much anymore, either. Not with Alaskan winters being what they were. A chance like this was rare, and she was planning to take full advantage of it. Sure, it wasn’t an elaborate set-up, but she wasn’t about to haul an easel all the way into the woods when she had enough to carry as it was.
At least there wasn’t a lack of good scenery to paint.
She picked a spot downstream as her reference, strategically angled so that she could keep an eye on David while she painted. Two birds, one stone and all that. He busied himself with stacking rocks and trying to catch minnows, though what he was doing either for was beyond Teresa’s knowing and she was sure that asking him would only get her a vague, one-word answer that made sense to him and only him. So, she tried to focus on her own project instead. Trees, the grass, the rocks in and along the edges of the creek. She wanted to work quickly with the time she had, but the finer details were for later on in the process, not here. If she could just get the skeleton of it done she could buy herself more time later.
She’d just finished the sketch and was pulling out her brushes when she heard David walk up from the creek, grabbing her arm to peer at the canvas. “What’re you drawing?”
“The creek,” Teresa replied, straightening back up with the brushes and her paint palette in hand. She pointed upstream. “Up that way. I’m gonna paint it.”
“Can I paint too?” David asked her, eyes lit up, lightly shaking her arm. “Please?”
“You can if you stop shaking my arm,” she said lightly, glancing back at him. She was smiling, though, not really all that bothered by it. But it did make it a little hard to focus and he needed to learn manners.
David immediately let go. “Sorry.”
Teresa rewarded him with a smaller canvas and a few brushes for him to make do with.
“Thank you!” David chirped, already staring intently at the canvas as he flopped onto the ground beside her. He dropped the brushes as he did, having to gather them back up again.
Although she got her palette out and picked out the tiny tubes of paint she traveled with, she ended up more focused on what he was doing than her own work. That happened a lot. Being the middle child in a big family gave her firsthand knowledge of just how fast kids grew up, and she felt like if she was going to blink then it would be over; he’d be twice as tall and off to college or wherever he wanted to go, leaving her wondering where the hell all the time went and why she didn’t make the most of it. So, she enjoyed moments like this, where he could do his own thing or try to mimic her or Alex and figure things out. Right now, she was pretty sure he was emulating whatever she did when she was painting. Hunched over, serious, a focused look on his face while he brainstormed.
Without a word, paying her no mind anymore, he reached for her bag. His arms strained a bit for it, and he clearly didn’t want to get up, so Teresa nudged it towards him with her foot. He reached in and dug around until he found the spare pencil, only to go back to staring at the canvas before he took a good look at his surroundings. Clearly he needed some time to think, so she went back to hers. She decided to add one last minute detail to her sketch, glancing David’s way every so often to make sure he hadn’t started chewing on his pencil. Eventually, though, he’d started staring at her.
“What’re you looking at?” Teresa asked him, bewildered. She was still dividing her time between looking at him and eyeballing her own work.
“Nothing,” David said, but he tucked the canvas closer to him and scooted around a bit, shielding his work from view and angling himself towards her mostly. When he finally got to drawing he pulled his knees up towards his chest, propping the canvas against his legs and curling in on himself.
Clearly it was top secret work. Teresa could probably guess she was his subject, but since he didn’t want her to know that so she pretended not to.
She got to painting, and eventually so did he. They shared the colors on opposite ends of the palette tray, with David taking great care not to mess up her side of the paints. He was a good kid. Smart, considerate, apparently equal parts aspiring artist and outdoorsman…they’d done something right with him, that was for sure. Eventually she got far enough into the zone during her painting that time went by without her realizing and it was past noon when she finally took a break to check her wristwatch. Her back hurt from leaning over so long.
In that time she’d nearly finished her painting, minus a few finer, minute details. It was the creek, painted in various shades of brown, green, blue, and gold among other colors she’d mixed herself. But she’d added David picking up his rocks by the shore, done only from memory, and it didn’t look half bad. She’d be proud of it for a lot longer than most of her work, if only because David was a part of it. Paintings she’d done of him in the past were always her favorite, the same went for the precious few paintings of Alex she’d managed to get done over the years. Both of them were always impressed by her work, even if the latter was a little sheepish about being one of her subjects-slash-models. He wasn’t unwilling, just a bit awkward. David, however, didn’t always seem to understand the gesture even if he did seem fascinated by it.
Right now, though, he was still focused on his own masterpiece. He looked about done, though, cocking his head to one side like he wasn’t sure about the end result.
“Well…are you about ready to get home?” Teresa asked him, setting her own painting off to the side to let it dry some while she gathered up most of her brushes. David didn’t answer right away. “It’s past lunchtime. You’re probably hungry. And you need a nap.”
At that, David finally reacted. He fell onto his back and let out a dramatic sigh, arms flopped out. “I don’t want a nap, I want to stay out here.”
“You can nap out here if you want, I’m sure some bear is hungry,” she said lightly, taking a look around. Obviously that wasn’t actually an option, but sometimes she had to rib him a little.
“Bears don’t eat people,” he argued.
“If they’re hungry they might. You’d probably eat them if you were starving,” she said.
“No, I wouldn’t,” he insisted, sticking to his guns on this. He would argue about this, but he’d be asleep as soon as he ate if not before then, so she wasn’t worried about it. “And my picture’s not done yet. The paint’s not dry.”
“Okay, we’ll just sit here until it’s dry, then,” Teresa said. “It doesn’t have to be right this minute.” That seemed to be what he wanted to hear. He sat up almost immediately. She tried to get a look at the other side of his canvas. “What’d you paint, anyway?”
David suddenly got very shy, shrugging and lowering his head like he was a turtle trying to disappear into its shell. “It doesn’t look how I wanted it to. It’s not as good as yours.”
“C’mon, I love seeing the things you draw,” she said, crouching down beside him.
He hesitated for a few seconds more before he finally turned the canvas around, sheepishly looking away as he held it out for her. It was about as crude as you’d expect: stick figures, shapes in place of actual form, bright colors and too much paint applied to the canvas, colors weirdly blended and muddied from his lack of skill when applying the aforementioned colors. She could tell from the posture of the stick figure, the makeup, hair, and the square in its hands that this was yet another painting of her to go up on the wall beside his crayon drawings and finger-paint projects. It wouldn’t be in any art museums, but to Teresa it was a masterpiece.
“Oh, look at that!” Teresa said with a gasp, carefully taking it from him so she didn’t get any of the damp paint on her hands. “It’s perfect. I love it.”
“Really?” David perked up again, any shyness from before starting to fade fast.
“Of course ‘really,’ I’m not gonna lie to you,” she said with a snort. She surveyed the canvas again: unpracticed strokes, blobs of color that were probably meant to be flowers, the lines of green meant to be grass. “All the little colors and details…I’ve never looked better.” She handed it back to him. “I can’t wait to show your dad.”
Although it wasn’t as bad as before, she could see his ears go red. “Think he’ll like it?”
Teresa got to her feet, hauling him up and balancing him on her hip as she did, and he kept his canvas off to the side. Man, he was already getting to big to pick up. She didn’t mind, though. She’d carry him as much as she could until he outgrew it completely. “I’m sure he will,” she said, but added, “He better, at least.”
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The rest of their day continued as usual: she walked him home, he talked the whole way, and she cleaned the paint and dirt off his hands, face, and feet before she got him something to eat. Somehow he negotiated himself out of his nap, but he ended up falling asleep for a power-nap anyway. When he woke up it was right back outside. By the end of the day they both were worn out and collapsed on the couch, their paintings from earlier that morning set aside and long forgotten about.
Alex had been out for a while, and as much as David had wanted to stay up until he got home he nodded off on the couch as soon as Teresa started reading something to him to pass the time. She’d scooped him up and taken him upstairs to bed, ready to turn in herself when she finally heard the truck pull in outside. David was, thankfully, still out like a light. She tucked his blankets around him one last time to make sure he was snug on her way out, and she tried to pull the door shut with as little creaking as possible. That mission was mostly successful.
By the time Teresa headed back downstairs, Alex was already locking the front door behind him. “You’re late getting home,” she said through a yawn. “What on earth were you doing?”
“Good evening to you, too,” he said, lighthearted and through a breathy laugh. He matched the volume of his voice with hers as he headed for the kitchen. “David already asleep?”
“You just missed him,” she confirmed, following him. “He had a very long day today.”
“Sorry I was gone so long. I could’ve helped wrangle him some,” he said, putting away some of the canned goods and bread he’d apparently bought. “I kept remembering more things to add to the list. Wanted to make sure we’d be set for a while in case the weather took a turn for the worst again.”
Teresa hummed in acknowledgment, feeling herself nodding off a bit before she’d even sat down at the table. “Ah, it’s no big deal,” she said. “We found some stuff to do. Went for a walk, did some painting.”
“Yeah, how’d that go?” Alex asked.
“We’ve got another masterpiece to hang up,” she cheerfully announced, grabbing the canvas from where she’d set it on the table. He paused what he was doing to check it out, and she showed off the painting with as much pride as David probably would have done once she’d talked him up to it. “I dunno about you, but I think we’ve got a future artist on our hands.”
“Well, he’s learned from the best,” he said, crossing the kitchen to get a good look at it once he was done with what he’d been doing. He gave a nod of approval. “Not bad. I think he’s getting better.”
“I think so, too,” she said, looking it over again. Her own painting was completely forgotten. “At this rate I’m gonna run out of space on the wall.”
“We’ll figure it out somehow,” he reassured her, leaning down to give her a kiss on her forehead. He waited for her to set the painting down before he took her hand in his and pulled her to her feet. “Now c’mon. You look like you need some sleep.”
She didn’t argue with him.
The rest of the night was quiet, save for the point in which David did a poor job sneaking into bed, complaining of a bad dream. Teresa didn’t argue with him. He curled up between her and Alex, and she pulled the blankets over the three of them. It was a hard earned rest, but she wouldn’t trade their often very loud and busy days for anything else in the world.
