Disclaimer: not mine, borrowed & nurtured. A/N: Third drabble includes a night of firsts...set after the s3 finale. R&R x
Sylvie fingered the chart on Antonio’s fridge, reading the names of their Chicago family rostered on to babysit Voight’s grandson, Daniel, who’d lost his father in the most brutal of murders some weeks ago.
Erin Lindsey wrote the roster and had emptied a bottle of whiskey when Jay heard her endless sobs, asking for God’s forgiveness. He guessed Voight had dealt with Justin’s murderer, judging by his girlfriend’s expression when she stumbled into his arms.
Who could blame him?
Justin, at his wife’s request, was taken off life support – it would be, as Dr Charles explained to them at the hospital, ‘the best thing’ after the bullet destroyed any chance of rehabilitation.
Voight went underground; a shadow of his former self, and without Justin or Hank to support her, Olive struggled to raise her son on a Walmart salary. Erin’s idea was to give her time to get back on her feet, and hope Voight returned someday.
Sylvie tapped the date with her fingernail – Tuesday, December 3rd.
She finished baby-proofing the apartment for Daniel’s arrival while helping Diego and Eva with their homework and made coq au vin, and apple crumble, missing Antonio when they sat down to dinner.
She listened to the teenagers bicker over the best villain in Gotham, and challenged Diego to a Wii Tennis match after they’d washed and dried the dishes.
She gave Eva advice on dating, mentally reminding herself to talk with Antonio about it, and listened when Eva read their horoscopes from Cosmopolitan magazine.
When Diego complained about the dripping tap in the kitchen, she decided to act.
“That’s enough from you,” she frowned at the tap.
-:-
Antonio said ‘they were in two different places’: a relationship between them would never work, but he did think ‘she was great’.
His lame excuse hurt, and Gabriela snorted into her beer when Sylvie retold the incident at Molly’s.
‘Despite what he said, I know my brother, he’s head over heels for you. Trust me.’
Sylvie wasn’t about to let her relationship with Antonio slip away, it was too important to her.
Gabi gave her a lift to Molly’s, in a borrowed black dress she promised would get his attention – she only had one request, that Sylvie didn’t give up on her brother.
“Hey,” Sylvie swooped beside Antonio, hunched over his beer.
“Hey, listen…” he wiped the froth from his mouth with the back of his sleeve.
Sylvie smiled wryly.
“I already listened, now I get to talk,” she said.
“I’ve had my heart stomped on too, and I don’t have any kids but I’m pretty good with them, and my job beats me down on a regular basis, but like you I love it,” she screwed up her nose, “and I lied about liking microwave pizza, nobody likes microwave pizza…” she sighed.
Antonio nodded, a grin unravelling on his lips.
Sylvie licked her rouge coloured lips, letting her next words roll off her tongue.
“Now with that out of the way, do you want to ask me out, or should I ask you?” she said.
Antonio chewed the inside of his lip, taking in her seductive smile, and the strands of hair complimenting her face, in a way he’d never noticed before.
“Can I buy you a drink?” he asked, relieved when she beamed, and curled her hair behind her ear.
“Yes, you may,” she said.
Antonio caught Hermann’s eye, and ordered two beers.
-:-
Sylvie opened the cupboard beneath the sink and stared at the pipes without any idea where to start and 12 hours before Antonio’s case was expected to close.
She had seen Gabriela do this a million times…
A clanging noise interrupted Diego and Eva’s gaming experience and the siblings lowered their controllers. Diego saw Sylvie’s head obscured by pipes.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Eva said, offering no explanation to her brother.
Sylvie put down her spanner.
“I’m trying to fix this stupid tap,” she explained. “I don’t suppose you know how to replace the washer?” she asked.
Eva shook her head and put the kettle on.
Sylvie continued, “I should have called Gabi to help but I didn’t want to interrupt her date night….”
Diego searched his phone for instructions on YouTube.
“Step 1 says, turn off the water?” he suggested, indicating to the sink.
Sylvie found a little tap at the back of the cupboard.
“Step 2, remove the locking screw?”
“The screw is stuck tight,” she frowned, showing Diego.
His eyebrows furrowed until he had a turn, and moved on to Step 3.
“Step 3, remove the tap and bonnet,” he said.
Sylvie had fun unwinding this section, and left the pieces on the sink.
“Step 4, remove the spindle, and take off the old washer, installing the new one.”
“I’m lost,” Sylvie said to Diego. “I don’t even know what part is the washer?”
Diego took over, whilst Sylvie dusted off her hands and joined Eva for a hot chocolate.
“I didn’t expect to even get this far,” she said, fixing her hair.
Diego sorted through a faded ice-cream box and held up the new washers.
“Dad bought them months ago, before he ran the Intelligence unit…” his voice faded.
Eva kept her retorts to herself, adding a handful of marshmallows.
“Well, it’ll be one less thing your father needs to worry about,” she reassured him.
Diego kept a running commentary when he assembled the washer, and pieced the tap together.
“Come and drink your hot chocolate,” Sylvie said when it looked like he’d finished. “Thank you, that tap has been doing my head in all week,” she said, steering him to his chair.
They spent the next two hours playing the rest of Mario Kart, while Eva and Sylvie crashed and burned, and Diego’s rode circles around their characters, gloating.
The siblings went to bed on their own accord, Eva reading Wuthering Heights, and Diego, Batman, before Sylvie turned out the lights.
1AM; her phone buzzed and she woke from her stupor, moving the Home Improvement magazines from her chest.
It was Antonio.
Be home in fifteen, miss you x
Even on text, he was a sweetheart, she smiled.
Sylvie glanced at the apartment, doing a quick run around to tidy up before Antonio got home.
She picked up her cold hot chocolate and went to re-boil the kettle, intending to make a new batch.
The keys in the lock startled her, but she relaxed when Antonio swaggered inside in one piece.
“Hi babe,” he dropped his duffel on the floor and noticed the empty mugs on the coffee table.
“I could do with one of those,” he said, crossing the room to kiss her forehead.
Sylvie closed her eyes, breathing in his cologne, which she had missed all day.
“Here,” she said, passing him her drink.
He took a sip, and spat his mouthful back into the mug.
“It’s cold,” he noted, wiping his mouth on his sleeve with a disturbed expression.
Amused, Sylvie patted his shoulder.
“It is, I’m making myself another, would you like one?” she said. “The kids are asleep,” she entered the kitchen and remembered the roster, and everything she needed to discuss with him.
“Yes please,” Antonio took off his jacket, folding it and left it on the back of the nearest chair.
“How was your day?”
Antonio followed her to the kitchen, leaning against the door.
Sylvie dropped marshmallows into the mugs, with the chocolate sachets, then poured over the boiling water.
“We’ve arrested four, holding them ‘til morning. One resisted arrest, and my ribs paid the price.”
Antonio rested his chin against Sylvie’s shoulder, hugging her from behind, and kissed her cheek.
“You should take it easy then,” she teased.
Antonio chewed the inside of his cheek and grinned.
“I plan to,” he kissed her, savouring the imprint of chocolate residing on her lips.
Sylvie snaked her arm around his neck and leaned into him, returning the kiss.
“It’s December 3rd tomorrow...” she pulled back, stirring in the chocolate.
Antonio’s hands remained on her waist.
“Gabi said Jay and Erin will drop Daniel off at 9am. Eva’s cooking to celebrate; Diego helped me fix the kitchen tap; and Gabi bought us a change table off Ebay, which we’ll have to disinfect but apart from that, I think we’re ready for this, are you?”
Sylvie turned to face Antonio.
“In case it’s not obvious, twelve hours is a long time, and I missed you,” she mumbled.
Antonio took her head into his hands, reassuring her.
“In case it’s not obvious, it means the world that you’ve been here for us these past few weeks. I love you, and I am excited to start this new adventure with you,” he said.
Sylvie smiled, holding his lapels, and kissed him gently.
“Good answer,” she whispered, noting the dark rings beneath his eyes.
“There’s leftover Coq au Vin if you want it,” she offered.
Antonio nodded, and Sylvie lifted off the alfoil, zapping the bowl in the microwave.
“We could take Daniel to the boxing ring, Gabriela and I used to love it there as kids.”
Sylvie nodded, taking the hot chocolates to the table, and sat down beside him.
“I need a glass of water,” Antonio left his chair.
He turned on the tap but nothing happened.
Confused, he poked below the sink and then got sprayed with water.
Sylvie snorted into her hot chocolate.
“ARGH!”
Sylvie’s infectious laugh woke up Diego and Eva, who caught each other’s eyes and smirked into their pillows.
-:-
“I’m going to kill Diego,” Antonio grumbled.
He pushed his dripping fringe out of his face, and shook water from his arms.
Sylvie stifled a laugh, and shook her head.
“No, you’re not, he’s your son, and he’s a genius,” she said.
Antonio squeezed water from his sopping shirt and Sylvie wiped him down with a tea-towel.
“I’m soaked,” he complained, lifting his shirt from his chest.
Sylvie wasn’t complaining, in fact, she liked it better this way.
Wet Antonio was her aesthetic.
He threw his shirt into the sink, and frowned.
“And here I was thinking the night couldn’t get any worse,” he muttered.
Sylvie bit her lip, taking in his muscular chest, and knowing his kids were only a floor away, with their door ajar so she could still hear them breathing.
“Let me fix that,” she grabbed his dog-tag and planted a kiss on his surprised lips.
He hesitated, and she gave him a look, determined to reassure him, it was okay.
His hands found the ends of her shirt, and she gripped his face, tasting the water against his skin.
Her hair tickled her bare shoulders, and heat and passion flowed through her veins, spurring her to take charge of the situation.
She grinned when she loosened his belt, a devilish mischief in her eyes.
“You sure?” he murmured, as they stumbled against the bench.
Sylvie appreciated the way his hands cupped her face, and she felt entirely safe in his arms.
“Yes,” she smiled.
-:-
Sylvie woke at 7am, cuddled up to Antonio, with most of the blankets on her side. She chose to ignore the fact that Diego and Eva may have been scarred for life, and that she was an awful person, until she heard them giggling in the hallway and turned her flushed face into Antonio’s armpit.
She had slept rather well considering, and judging by Antonio’s snores, so had he.
A sharp pain, fuelled by anxiety hit her stomach when she realized Daniel would be arriving in two hours. She considered taking the first shower, but Antonio’s arm made the most comfortable pillow ever. Gabi was going to lose her shit.
Sylvie beamed at the thought.
Saving herself the humiliation of dashing to the bathroom with all her wobbly bits, Sylvie tried taking a sheet with her, but it proved more difficult than it looked in movies.
With her lingerie scattered out of arms’ length and Antonio dead to the world, she rethought the dash – then noticed Antonio’s t-shirts in his wardrobe.
She wriggled free, but as soon as her toes touched the icy floorboards, she squeaked.
“There’s a bathrobe in my wardrobe,” he offered, still with his eyes closed.
Sylvie rested her chin in her palm, of course!
He turned to her.
“Last night was,” he raised his fist, waiting for her to comply.
She rolled her eyes, but raised her fist anyhow and tapped it against Antonio’s.
“Explosive,” he blew up his fist, with dramatic sound effects and a dorky grin as if he were fifteen.
Sylvie sighed.
“I’ll be sure not to mention that part to Gabi,” she said, as Antonio chuckled.
-:-
Sylvie was in the shower washing her hair when the doorbell rang.
“What up?”
It was family, she guessed, but it couldn’t be Daniel already, could it?
“Where’s Sylvie?” Erin walked inside, greeting Eva and Diego.
“Shower,” Antonio said. “Hey little guy, she’s dying to see you,” he said.
Sylvie washed the shampoo from her hair, eavesdropping, then turned off the water.
There was a pause, and Erin’s voice in the hall.
“You didn’t….?” she let her sentence fade.
Sylvie’s stomach lurched in nervousness.
“We didn’t think you’d be here until 9?” he changed the subject.
She brushed her towel down her legs and pulled on her underwear, knowing there was little she could hide from Erin, but her excitement to see Daniel, prevailed over what Erin and Jay would think.
Eva and Diego were packing their lunch for school when Sylvie entered the kitchen, greeting Erin and Jay with a kiss, and taking her tea from Antonio’s hand. Daniel reached out to her from Erin’s arms, and she smiled, feeling her maternal instincts skyrocket. Having kids one day had always been at the back of her mind, especially since reuniting a baby with her father several months ago.
She just wanted to help, and so she had asked Chief Boden for some time off.
“Jay woke him up when he sneezed,” Erin said, punching her fiancé in the arm. “He’s had a bottle, and all his stuff is in this bag, but you’ll be fine. He’s got his dummy in the side pocket, and a toy here, and he loves cuddles, and cars, just like his dad,” Erin bit her lip, tears welled up in her eyes.
Jay put an arm around her.
“So, thanks, Burgess and Atwater will be here to pick him up on Thursday, any questions ring Olive, or us,” Jay looked at Sylvie. “You’re more than equipped, and try not to sneeze,” he grinned.
Sylvie smiled into Daniel’s inquisitive eyes, and kissed his fist around her finger.
“We’re going to have the best time,” she sang, dancing around the kitchen with Daniel on her hip.
Antonio chewed the inside of his cheek, and looked at Sylvie over the rim of his tea cup, while Erin and Jay, both smirked, knowing Antonio was smitten.
A/N: 2547 words. HELP ME THIS SHIP HAS TAKEN OVER MY LIFE, YET I HAVE NO REGRETS & of course there’s a 4th drabble, for more domestic!af moments, and possible smut, because I can’t wait for 5x06/7/8 – I NEED IT NOW! #VerucaSalt
What other Brettonio fanfiction writers or stories would you recommend?
I’m really new to writing for this fandom, so any of mine haha but also ILoveSteroline has posted a good one too, you can find it in the Brettonio tag, and anything by wisteriadaisies/hipstertrashcentral. Also I think there’s one of two on FF.net but I haven’t read them as of yet, but I hope someday I will x
Can you tell us if we're gonna hear "I love you"-ish quotes from Steroline in 7x01? Actually I know you can't say that, but if you just give a hint, I'm fine. :)
Are you Ross levels of fine? Hahahaha
(Obviously I can’t say either way). But I think we always expect at least one swoon worthy thing to come out of Stefan’s mouth in any given episode, right?
Please tell us if we'll see any Snowbarry scene in 2x01 of The Flash. And how about Patty Spivot? What you think about the character? We're gonna like her?
They do have scenes together. Patty does not appear in the premiere.
