Conversion Academy Trilogy Prompts

Prompt #12

                Prompt: Basically someone on Tumblr asked me if Beckett ever gets married and then there was a prompt request based off my answer that he has a wife and kids and an asshole cat in the future, so here you go!

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                Piano music drifted around the room, aided by a little voice singing along. Beckett Townsend knew this song by heart, and he could've played it with his eyes closed.

                But he didn't want to play it with his eyes closed.

                He wanted to see every moment of this.

                So he watched his daughter pull her shoulders back as she sang higher notes. He watched his oldest son's fingers dance across the piano keys. He watched his youngest son study the way they played the song.

                And when the music died down and his daughter's voice cut off, he slowly pulled his fingers away from the keyboard. His youngest son clapped, his body resting in Beckett's lap.

                "Dad, I want to try tomorrow," he said, looking up.

                Beckett picked his son's hands up and laid his fingers over the keys. "I'll help you, Owen."

                His oldest son hit a few notes. "I'll help too! Dad wrote this song for us to play together!"

                "I did, Austin," Beckett agreed. He gestured his daughter over and hugged her to his side. "That was beautiful, Dani."

                Her face lit up. "Really? I want to try out for a chorus solo."

                "You'll get it for sure." Beckett kissed her head.

                "Dad, do we have study tonight?" Austin asked with a frown.

                Beckett shook his head. "Not tonight. You guys all studied really hard for your exams the past few weeks. I think it's time for a break."

                All three kids looked relieved, which made Beckett feel good. He'd been trying to raise his kids to be successful, but not at the cost of their mental health. His parents taught him the hard way that kids needed breaks or they'd snap.

                "Can we have another yo-yo contest?" Owen asked eagerly. "I think I got that trick down this time."

                "Last time you tried one of your tricks, you bruised Uncle Killian's arm," Dani said.

                "Well I can't get better if I don't practice," Owen argued. "Besides, Uncle Kaz said it was fine."

                "No yo-yo contests!" Beckett's wife called from the other room. "I still haven't figured out which one of you broke my vase last time."

                "Don't tell her," Austin whispered.

                Beckett ruffled Austin's hair. "Your secrets safe with me as long as you don't tell mom I was the one who ate her slice of cake the other night."

                "What do you mean? I saw the cat eat it," Austin said, eyes wide and innocent.

                "That's my boy." Beckett stood up, lifting Owen with him. "Time for you three to go up and start getting ready for bed. Go take turns showering. Once you're in your pajamas, we can put on a movie before bed. Deal?"

                "Deal!" the three said and hurried out of the room.

                Beckett's wife entered. "Thank you for not allowing yo-yo contests this time."

                Beckett kissed her. "I'm saving your vases, Amber."

                "Not my cake, though." She impatiently shooed their cat off the piano. "I swear he just appears to be a little asshole. I still think we should 'accidentally' let him out one of these days."

                "You can explain to the kids where their beloved asshole cat went," Beckett said, hurriedly reaching out to catch a picture the cat swatted off the coffee table. "Fucking cat. I hate this thing. Go open the front door and tell the kids we'll get a new cat."

                Beckett winced as the cat launched forward, digging his claws into Beckett's arm and clinging to him. Beckett glared and roughly shook the cat off.

                "We should've named him Claws instead of Nip," Beckett grumbled.

                "You could've let the kids go with their choices of Fluffy, Catman, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Cat," Amber said, nudging the cat away with her foot. "I'm going to go change into more comfortable clothes for our movie night. Try not to kill the cat while the kids are home."

                She left the room and Beckett sat down at the piano bench. Nip jumped onto the piano, stretching and climbing into Beckett's lap.

                "God, you're the worst cat. I should've named you George Constance because you're such an asshole," Beckett said, but he pet the cat behind his ears, Nip purring in content.

                Beckett continued to pet the cat, letting Nip curl up in his lap and occasionally bite at his hands. Nip had earned his name after much heated debate between their kids, ended when the kitten kept nipping at them each time they got too close to him.

                It was about a half hour before his kids hurried into the room in their pajamas. Beckett heard their footsteps before they entered, so he tossed the cat to the floor. He had an image to keep, and he refused to let anyone know that he sometimes got along with the little asshole.

                "Movie time!" Dani said, running in and grabbing his hand. "Come on, dad! Mom is making popcorn!"

                "We picked a movie!" Owen said, grabbing Beckett's other hand.

                "We got the blankets ready on the couch!" Austin said, shoving at Beckett's back.

                Beckett couldn't help but laugh. The kids all gave annoyed protests as Nip made his rounds and bit at their ankles before racing out of the room before they could pull on his tail.

                Beckett let himself be led out to his living room, where his wife was waiting with a giant bowl of popcorn. He sat next to her and the kids settled themselves with their parents, pulling blankets over each other and shifting around until everyone was curled up together comfortably. No one even tried to kill Nip when he jumped up and laid along the back of the couch behind them.

                As the movie started up, Beckett smiled at his family. He'd been so angry for so long, but he'd finally found something that always made him happy. He wouldn't give up his wife, his kids, or his asshole cat for anything.