A Man For All Seasons (Queen or Freddie Mercury Fanfic)

30. Baby Steps

Julia

Mom put her hand on my shoulder. "Stop."

"But leaving them just means more work for tomorrow," I protested languidly, "when I'm already here, and dressed for the occasion-"

"No, Goose. Take off those gloves, step away from the sink, and go get comfortable."

"Do I have to?"

"Yes. You have to. We can attend to the dishes in the morning- or better yet, I'll have your brother do them when he and Shelley arrive."

I rolled my eyes. "No, you won't."

"No, I won't," she conceded with a laugh. "Still, just give it a rest for tonight. There will be plenty of cooking and cleaning to do tomorrow, if you or Scott or anyone wants to help then, that's wonderful, and I'll take it. But right now, relax, would you please? For me?"

A bit begrudgingly, then, I pulled my hands out of the suds. Several times already my mother had dragged me away from various incomplete bits of housekeeping I found myself instinctively gravitating towards. She and Dad were trying their hardest to make me take it easy, although it had sadly been many years since I could do that in the presence of my parents; over two hours and a meal had elapsed since Danny and I reached their house- a charming neoclassical from the 1920s complete with tall, white pillars, which they had bought and renovated not long after I flew the familial coop - and I still had my shoes on.

Of course, right now I had even more reason to be on pins and needles. I kept drifting toward the window, watching for headlights winding up the driveway, and kept one eye on my phone in case an SOS should come blaring through. Thus far, all was peaceful. Whether that meant safety, or simply that this was the calm before yet another storm, would remain to be seen.

When my mother and I entered the living room, both our mouths split into Aren't-they-precious smiles. Dad was stretched out on the sofa, dozing peacefully, while Danny lay fast asleep on the rug beside Cleo, my parents' border collie. Both fellows had placed their glasses on the coffee table, so that their profiles were left vulnerable to our affectionate gazes.

"He's such a cutie," Mom cooed softly as she bent over my son. "I wish his hair were a little shorter though, it would be easier to see his face."

I shrugged. "He doesn't like his ears very much, that's one reason he keeps it a little floppy."

"But his ears are fine."

"That's what I tell him, but it doesn't mean much coming from Mom. Honestly, considering how self-conscious he is about them, I don't even know how he would be if he'd ended up with the teeth."

She looked up at me. "Teeth?"

"Y-yes, as in, my teeth," I fibbed hastily. "He may have my bad eyesight, but he was spared my pre-braces spit gap."

"Oh, please," she groaned.

"It's true! Danny's very lucky in many ways- and that's one of them." Whew.

At the sound of his name, Danny stirred. "...Wha- whassappening?"

"Hey, sleepyhead," my mother said. "Why don't you go to bed if you're that tired?"

He sat up, frowning as he rubbed his eyes. "Mm... I'm not that tired..."

"That's as may be, it's well past your bedtime," I pointed at the wall clock. "I think we both ought to go to bed, actually; it's been a very long day or two, or three or four or five."

Groggily, then, Danny stood up and stretched. Cleo followed suit, her long black brush of a tail sweeping back and forth when he reached down and scratched her underneath the collar.