Rosa Nera: Saving Grace (BWWM) | ✓

Future.

"The past is always tense, the future perfect."
~Zadie Smith

Shawn laughed as his son stumbled around, calling out the Italian words, "Il campione di papà."

Which meant 'Dad's champion', it was a phrase Shawn had been calling his little boy from birth.

Sure he didn't say the words quite right, he wasn't even two yet.

"Ehi ragazzo, stai per cadere. Torna qui." Shawn spoke Italian to his children, mainly because he wanted them to be fluent in it like he was.

'Hey boy, you're going to fall. Come back here.' Shawn's little boy turned to him, smiling a toothy smile.

"Papà!" Shawn's daughter cheered, running from the bottom of the stairs all the way to him.

He was seated on the floor with his son staggering and falling over in front of him, the both of them just having some father and son time.

"Principessa." Shawn opened his arms for her to run into, but his eyes stayed on the woman behind her.

"Ace." He smiled up at his wife, Grace Stryker.

"Morning Shawn." Grace pecked his lips and sat beside him, watching their children play.

Sure Shawn was adamant that he didn't want children, but the mosquito beside him had given him two.

He had married her in the first month of the year, getting their first child nine months later.

Kiara was the oldest of his two children, born on the tenth of October.

She was four months away from turning four, and absolutely beautiful.

Black curly hair, warm beige skin and beautiful chestnut brown eyes.

She's a year and eleven months older than her little brother, who was no different from her, same hair, same skin tone and same colour eyes.

His boy was three months away from turning two, he couldn't quite walk but he said a few words here and there.

They named him after Shawn's dear best friend, Kevin.

Everyone adored the name, Kristen, Armon and especially Tiffany.

Tiff and Ken got married a few years before Shawn and Grace got married.

Ken was twenty one years of age when he got married to Tiff who's a whole year older.

They had one kid, a boy named Julian.

He has green eyes and black her, a real seven year old heart breaker.

Ken's father lived a leisurely life in prison, for five years before being released for good behaviour.

Riley still took over the family Yakuza, because Yoshida decided to leave back to Japan to lead the main Yakuza back there.

He hadn't been present for his son's wedding, or his grandson's birth.

Ken didn't really mind, his mother was there for it all and that was enough.

Ryan surprisingly got married to Kimberly. What was surprising about it was that he had broken things off between them back in college, saying they weren't meant for each other.

Kristen and Armon had also found themselves beautiful women to love, becoming husbands and fathers too.

They were all reaching their early thirties, but they still couldn't believe that they were in the future they had- for so long- dreamt about.