#rhyver

[rhys-cassidy]

@etherealxdisposition

[lost-in-ivory]

You took my soul and wiped it clean.

All I Want, Kodaline

@rhys-cassidy

[jetfuel-cantmeltsteelbeams]

Disney World Vacation

With a long breath, Rue finally collapsed on the bench. Unscrewing the lid of his water bottle, his eyes never strayed from his family only a few feet in front of him. The boys were playing in a splash zone, squealing as Talyn pushed Evryn into a jet of water that caught the boy by surprise. Nicolette was running after Rhyver, who seemed transfixed by everything that was moving around him. His run away only got a few steps away from the splash zone before his sister picked him up and carefully carried him back to his brothers.

He focused on the girl, noting the way her thin lips had turned up just slightly at the edges to form a slight smile as she watched her brothers play. Everything about Nicolette was tight and flexed, ready to grab the boys and run at a second’s notice. She’d been that way for the last eight months, ever since she’d come to live with them.

Finally, Caydin walked into view, his arms full of sweet ice cream he’d bought from the vendor. Getting on his knees, he let the children pick which ones they wanted and carefully helped them unwrap the packaging before letting them go buck wild again. Basically naked down to the diaper, the boys ran screaming into the soft jets of water while Nicolette gathered the trash and went to throw it away. She carried her own strawberry popsicle in one hand, eating it slowly.

In his pack pocket, Rue’s phone went off. Careful not to acknowledge the warning glance he got from Caydin, the silverette opened his texts to read a message from Jace.

Going on Space Mountain for the seventh time. Let me know when the Missus gives your balls back.

Rue was just about to close the message without responding when a photo came through. It was one of his soldiers standing in line for Space Mountain, with screens of stars behind them. Jace had his stupid ‘I’m way too excited’ face on with eyebrows that were practically lost to his hairline, standing right behind a very disgruntled looking Dav Iyra. Her white-blonde hair had been half tied up in a braid, with the rest hanging loose around her shoulders. Blue eyes were looking up at the camera with a definite lack of interest, and by the look of Jace’s hand on the princess’s arm Rue could tell she wasn’t posing for a polaroid.

Closing the screen before his husband could see the predicament his sister was in, Rue scooted over to make room for the blond on his bench. His arm went around Caydin in reflex- they’d been together so long, it just felt natural.

“Did you have to bring the entire army on our family vacation?” Caydin asked with an amused grin. He knew the answer even without Rue giving it- there was no way the angel was willing to bring his family anywhere these days without at least two battalions worth of soldiers coming along for the ride.

Plus, it was a nice reward for his generals and their families. They’d been at war for so long, it was a nice reprieve.

With a playful grin, Rue buried his face in Caydin’s neck to kiss the junction of his shoulder. “Did you have to make us get out of bed this morning? I was having fun… ”

[jetfuel-cantmeltsteelbeams]

“Daddy look, Daddy look!”

With a soft smile, Rue pulled the flannel overshirt a little tighter and got down on his knees to the kitchen floor. His blue jeans fit a little tighter now; it’d been a while since he’d worn anything other than the angel uniform. There was a considerable amount of stubble on his cheeks, but when he spent the weekends with his family he made it a priority to just be himself.

His grey eyes met the face of his son, excitedly patting the biggest pumpkin Rhyver and Caydin could find on the little pumpkin patch across town while Rue had been working. Now, they all sat on a tarp his husband had laid out so they could carve it.

Caydin had already been sitting with his legs tucked under him, close enough to Rhyver that he could reach out and grab him. The toddler was in his blond father’s lap as Rue took the hunting knife out of the back pocket of his worn jeans.

“Ready?” He asked the two. It wasn’t much by number, but his entire heart rested right beside him nodding in anticipation. With a goofy smile, Rue stabbed the pumpkin right beside the stump.

Rhyver let out a horrified gasp. “Daddy hurt- Daddy hurt!”

Rue’s head shook as he laughed. “No, Daddy’s not hurt-”

“Pun-kin hurt, pun-kin hurt!”

At that, every single tooth was showing as Rue shared a look with Caydin. “Pumpkin’s not hurt either.”

As Rue set to cutting a circle around the root, he revelled in the moment. It was times like these, gathered together and starting their own family traditions that Rue loved the most about his life. It sounded corny, but he was already looking forward to Christmas- watching his son open his own gifts made his chest heavy.

Finally, once the top of the pumpkin could be pulled off and the innards exposed, Rue sat back. Grabbing a bowl from the counter, he set it beside the orange vegetable and leaned with his arms holding him up. “Go ape,” he told his son.

And Rhyver did. Screaming with excitement, the blackette jumped from Caydin’s lap to stand beside the pumpkin- it was almost as tall as he was! As the boy reached in with both hands, pulling orange guts and seeds out to empty into the bowl, Rue slid closer to Caydin.

With one tug, the blond was between both Rue’s raised knees so they could watch their son go hard in the paint. “Twenty bucks says he falls in,” the silverette whispered with a horrible giggle.

“Forty.” Caydin replied in an even softer tone. They both laughed, their bodies dancing together in the sound of it. Somewhere in the middle of the moment, Rue tucked his hand under Caydin’s chin and lifted it, turning so he could cover the angel’s mouth with his own.

“I love you,” he breathed between them. “I love you both so fucking muc-”

“Daddy! Daddy look!” Both Caydin and Rue turned their attention back to their boy, who now wore tendrils of orange goo on top of his tuffs of black hair. It oozed down the sides, slopping onto his nose. Rhyver just smiled at both of them, a childish giggle creeping out. “I a monster! RAWR!!”

Rue grabbed Caydin’s shoulders tight, then ducked behind them. “Don’t let it get me!” he yelled. It worked- Rhyver dived for the blond, getting orange pumpkin guts all over the both of them.

The silverette let out a booming laugh, grabbing his son into a tight hug with Caydin between them. “I love my monster! I love him! RAWR!” He yelled in a deep, monstrous voice.