Family Stories - the Sequel

chapter 29

still Friday, 23rd September

Owen: 58; Amelia: 52; Luca: 23; Leo: 16; Lily: 16

Ryan: 27; Katie: 26; Riley: 10; Ian&Connor: 8

Liam: 24; Robin: 24; Victoria: 6; Audrey Blake: 4; Madelyn: 9 months

Finn: 24; Dennis: 24; Mason-Anthony: 2

Ruby: 24; Ethan: 25

Mira: 20; Harriet: 21; Eva-Maeve: 3

---

"Hi, I'm home.", Ruby announced to her boyfriend as she took off her jacket and shoes. She wasn't sure if Ethan was still awake, although he usually waited for her to come home. "Oh, hey.", she beamed at him once he walked out of the kitchen to greet her.

"Hi, Honey.", the blonde smiled and pecked her lips. "How was your evening?", he asked, interested in the tea she was always ready to spill after seeing her siblings without anyone else there.

"Good.", his girlfriend shared. "Why do your lips taste so sweet? Like sugar?", she wondered after kissing him again, so he decided to guide her towards the kitchen, where he was making cupcakes.

"I was baking.", Ethan said and chuckled when he watched the brunette's eyes light up at the sight of the cupcakes before she went ahead and grabbed one. He sometimes baked because he wasn't so bad at it, but it wasn't quite his hobby.

"What's the occasion?", Ruby mumbled, chewing on a big bite she had taken out of the candy. "Your babies really like those cupcakes.", she let him know, making him laugh now. "You also look so happy right now, what is happening?", she giggled.

"There doesn't always have to be an occasion for me to bake something for us.", her boyfriend pointed out and smirked. "But this time, there truly is one.", he said and suddenly found himself growing nervous, which didn't go unnoticed by his counterpart.

"Hey, what is it?", the singer wondered softly and immediately put down what was left of the cupcake to waddle over to Ethan. "You were so excited a minute ago but now you seem afraid.", she observed.

"Not afraid, just a little...nervous.", the twenty-five-year-old explained. "Okay, here it goes.", he started and tilted his head a little as he grasped his girlfriend's hands. "I want to ask you a super important question next week at our baby party. But I am going to be okay either way. Still, I didn't want to put you on the spot and pressure you into anything by asking the question in front of about eighty people we love, so I figured I would just talk to you about it beforehand and take away some of the magic in order to do this right. After all, I want you to be happy. So, if I were to ask you to marry me next week, what would you say?"

"I would say that I love you more than anything and that I wanna be your wife. Especially after what you just did. You are the most generous and considerate person I know and the father of my children, so it's definitely going to be a yes.", Ruby beamed at her boyfriend and gave him a passionate kiss. "You did not take away some of the magic by telling me today, you made it much more magical, because you just showed me that I am more important to you than some fancy proposal in front of everyone."

"I can't wait to marry you.", the manager grinned. "I would never want to hurt you in any way. Communication is what got us through all those years we have experienced together, and I don't want to stop with it just for some surprise effect next week. We are a team, and even though I am the one who is going to ask the question, this should be a mutual decision.", he pointed out. "Now grab another cupcake if you want and tell me about your evening while we're getting ready for bed."

---

Owen: 58; Amelia: 52; Luca: 23; Leo: 16; Lily: 16

Mira: 20

---

"Hi. Was she good?", Mira asked her parents once the four siblings came home. Ryan had driven them since their house was on the same street. She glanced at her younger siblings, who immediately went separate ways. "Lily is still mad at Leo."

"She was. An angel as always.", her father replied and smiled. "Good night, Miri. Luca, I'll help you get ready for bed. Mom is going to take care of those two.", he decided, splitting the work between himself and his wife.

"Thanks, Dad.", his son said and rolled himself into the bathroom. "You know, we all were a handful during puberty, but your youngest ones take the cake.", he complained, making Owen chuckle.

"You weren't. You were fine during puberty.", the redhead shared, leaving out the part where the twenty-three-year-old kept lashing out because of his current situation, which was valid though. "Good night, Honey.", he told the boy after pushing him into his room and helping him into bed. He handed Luca his laptop, so he could either watch something or play a game. "Is there room for one more?", Owen questioned when he joined the others in the bedroom, surprised to see both, Leo and Lily, there.

"Depends, are you gonna lecture me and tell me that you told me so about Paul?", his daughter asked. Although he badly wanted to, the trauma surgeon knew better, and if he was honest, he just wanted his child to feel better.

"No, I am just going to drink hot chocolate with you guys, which I have to make anyway, and then I might cuddle with you.", the redhead answered softly, noticing his wife's smirk. "Is that okay?"

"Yes, Dad.", Leo decided and made some space for him to occupy once he was back with the treats. He had apologized to his sister, and she had accepted before she had asked him to watch something with her and her mother, which Amelia was very happy about.

Sometimes, she was scared of giving not enough attention to both her youngest boys since they were mostly unobtrusive while their sister was part of a disaster almost every single day. On the other hand, Luca wasn't just unobtrusive, but he was also continuously shutting her out.

"I will say one thing though.", Owen announced when he came back holding a tray with four mugs, after bringing a fifth one next door to Luca. All three pairs of eyes were on him. "You deserve the world and Paul wasn't the world.", he told his daughter, who offered him a small thankful smile.

"You're a dork.", Amelia informed her husband and let him kiss her. "I love you.", she beamed once all of them had gotten comfortable together with the dogs. The redhead wrapped his arm around her, holding his daughter with his other one. Leo was snuggling with his mother.

"I love you too.", the trauma surgeon said and was then hit with a pillow since their children didn't want to hear that anymore. Their parents were way too openly in love for their liking, and it was embarrassing.