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Fifty

April, 2000

"Okay," I sighed in relief as I made my way into Marshall's ensuite bathroom, laying eyes on him  roughly bobbing his toothbrush up and down in his mouth. "He's down finally." He responded with a string of what sounded like gibberish, thanks to his full mouth that I obviously was never going to be able to understand. "What?" I asked with my eyebrows drawn into a frown, simultaneously pulling my hair back before securing it with a hair tie. 

He quickly spit the excess foam into the sink before leaning down and running the faucet over his mouth. "Why'd he have so much energy today?" 

My eyes grew wide as if I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "'Cause all you do is load him up with candy and soda!" 

Marshall laughed. "I can't help it! Him, Hai, and Lanes just give me this look and I'm putty in their fuckin' hands." 

I laughed with him as I pulled out my dental floss, tightly wrapping it around both of my pointer fingers. "Oh I know, I've seen it." I said playfully. "But they deserve to be spoiled." 

He smiled gently as I watched him move towards me in the mirror, wrapping his arms around my waist without any hesitation as he planted his chin on my shoulder. "And so do you." As he left a soft kiss against my cheek, I felt my skin beneath his lips start to heat up, forcing me to return his smile. "Can I ask you somethin' actually?" He brought his curious eyes towards mine via the reflection.

"What?" I asked casually, before beginning to thread the thin piece of string through my canines. 

"Well, two things actually." He released my waist and immediately turned to hoist himself up on the counter. I could sense as his voice became slightly more serious that this wasn't about to just be a casual conversation as I had first expected it to be. Taking the dental floss away from my teeth, I angled my body ever so slightly so I could look him directly in the eyes. As he stared at me for a few moments, I could tell he was nervous. His skin was flush, and he immediately started to pick at the jagged skin of his thumb. 

"What's wrong?" My tone turned empathetic as I gently placed a comforting hand on his thigh. 

"How... How would you feel about movin' in with me?" He paused momentarily and I was confused as to why he was so nervous to ask me that? Sure it's a big step and we've only been back together for a month, but that's not something I would ever have expected him to feel weird about asking me? "And me maybe adoptin' Isaiah?" 

My eyes returned to their widened state. "What? Marshall, no. That's too much. Why would you- He already has a dad!" I spoke quickly as I felt myself start to get flustered. 

"But not really, Ti! Devon ain't even asked to see Isaiah once since you've been home. And you've been home for a fuckin' year."  

"No I know, but I- Marshall, he's not your baby." 

"I know he's not my baby, but I want him to be. I love him the same way I love Hai or Lainey, and Lainey ain't even mine either." 

"No, Marshall I know that you love him but what if something happens with us? What if we break up again? You shouldn't have to be responsible for a kid that's not yours." 

"Nah but I wanna be responsible for him, Ti. Even if god forbid we do break up again, he deserves to have a dad who loves him and takes care of him, the same way you do as his mom."