Butterfly

chapter eleven

anton

Once we were sure Aponi had fallen asleep for good, Zeus and I took showers in separate bathrooms and got dressed and ready for the day. My first mission was to find Nikolas and then I wasn't sure what the rest of the day entailed.

Walking out of the bathroom, I brushed my damp hair out of my eyes with my used towel. I spotted Zeus in the kitchen with Nikolas, blowing raspberries on his stomach with Nik giggling and squirming. I leaned against the wall watching my best friend and my son with a smile on my face, happiness swelling in my heart. I hope that one day there will be two more little ones running around. Another child of mine with Aponi and another child of Zeus and Aponi, that is if they even want more kids. It wouldn't be a deal breaker, but it would be really disappointing if they didn't want more kids.

I didn't hear Zeus calling for me until he waved his hand in front of my face and made Nik's leg kick me in the face, " What are you thinking so hard about?"

I sigh, dreading this conversation, "Kids. You, me, Aponi, our future."

He chuckles, "Well, I would love to have a few other kids running around. I want a big family, and they don't all have to be kids, you know? We could have a few dogs, cats, you name it. As soon as Aponi is sure that a future with us is what she wants, I'm building a big house about a mile from here for us. She loves cottage style so I figured I could base it off of that, with a few modern touches. That's if she wants us, though, which she may not. I don't-"

I cut his rambling off with a hit to the back of his head, "Don't talk like that. Our family will be beautiful. The house will be beautiful, and she will choose us. I can see it."

"I would choose you boys a thousand times over, my choice would always be you three." We turn our heads to see our woman leaning against the doorway with her arms crossed over her chest. "You three are my boys. We haven't known each other very long but I feel happy with you guys. I'm happy here, I feel whole here. I feel like I made a family here. I have roots here, with you three, my brother, and your club. I wouldn't trade any of you over anything in the universe."

We stand there for a moment absorbing her words. She walks towards us and gently kisses both of us before stealing Nikolas and dancing through the room with him. He giggles and grabs onto her hair before resting his head on her shoulder and dozing off into a deep sleep.

Everything was silent before Zeus spoke, "How much did you hear earlier?"

She smiles widely, "You're building me a house?" Zeus' breath hitches and he starts to stammer before she interrupts, "I would love that and of course I want to have kids."

I grab her hips and kiss her softly with Nikolas snoring loudly between us. The snoring stops and when I pull back I nearly piss my pants in laughter—Nikolas is glaring up at me with his tiny arms wrapped around her neck. Aponi and Zeus both join in on the laughter and before long we were sitting at the kitchen table with cups of coffee and plates of bacon, eggs, and biscuits around us. Zeus cooked for us while Aponi and I cleaned up around the large apartment. Nikolas had fallen back asleep after being fed and was happily gurgling every 10 or so minutes.

Aponi was staring at the table with glazed over eyes, absentmindedly running her finger over the edge of her cup. Zeus gently grabs her hand and pulls her out of her mind. "Do you want to talk about what's got you so wrapped up in there?"

She sighs, "I just miss my team," she whispers. Her hands start to shake and her eyes start to wet with tears. "I couldn't save them and Nikhailov is still out there. I couldn't even stop him. I was in the SEALs, but I couldn't stop one fucking guy. How pathetic is that?" she chokes out before letting a few tears out.

Zeus grabs her out of her seat and shushes her. "Hey, hey. Stop that. You fought for your life and you made it out alive. That in itself is an amazing feat. You are here today, with us, because you are the strongest and most badass person I have ever met. You are perfect in every single way and. . . I love you," he coos before kissing her temple and tucking her face into his neck.

I slowly walk over to her other side and take her legs and pull them into my lap. "We love you, darling. You're ours and we protect what's ours. You made it out alive and made it here, to us. If that wasn't a blessing from whatever deity is out there, then I don't know what is."

She sniffles before rubbing the back of her eyes, "I love you guys, so much. I just want you to be safe if he comes. I can't lose either of you, or Nikolas, because this psycho is infatuated with me. I won't let any of you put yourselves in danger for me. I will keep you safe, I promise you that."

I rub her feet, sighing, knowing that I wasn't going to win this argument. Even though I loved her, my son was always going to be first, and she knew that. "We believe you, sweetheart."

Her eyes were drooping closed again, and before she finally let herself slip into unconsciousness, she whispered, "Whatever it takes."

this was a really short chapter, and for that I apologize. I recently started another job, which means I'm working two jobs with school and my extracurriculars. I'm trying to update and make the story as good as I can, but this is not my top priority. 

Thank you for reading this story, I appreciate all of you so much. Make sure to vote and/or comment. Thank you so much for the love, it makes me so happy.

Love you all,

Em