HOPELESS ROMANTIC ━ Pedro Pascal

30 - real life

chapter thirty
meet the neeson's

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November 14, 2018
Liam Neeson's house, New York
6:00pm

Emma arrived at her very own birthday get together earlier than expected, which was an achievement considering the snow that covered the ground outside. She was expecting just to have a small dinner with family, a couple of friends, and of course Pedro. She happily walked into her dad's house with Sully right next to her, blissfully unaware of what was going on in the next room. She only took one step into the living room when she caught her brother's arguing over how wonky a 'happy birthday' banner was on the wall. The brothers soon noticed her and dropped the banner to welcome her back home.

It was a pleasant surprise for Emma for the small dinner to be turned into more of a party, and a surprise she of course began to enjoy the moment people started to arrive.

There were only a small number of people invited by Emma's father, and they were the people he knew she would want to celebrate with the most. Robert Downey Jr and his wife Susan were one of the first to arrive, with Rami and Lucy not far behind them. And it may be weird to others to have your ex boyfriend and his girlfriend at your birthday party, but for Emma it wasn't that anymore. It was a close friend and his girlfriend.

Almost everyone had arrived by the stroke of 6, but there was still one very important person to come.

Emma sat on the stairs near the front door, her phone on her lap and a glass of almost full diet coke on the step next to her. Pedro had texted her not too long ago that he was almost at the house, which prompted Emma to sit as close to the door as she could so she was the first person to greet him. Not only had she not seen him for months and was almost dying to hold him and make him laugh, she also didn't want just anybody greeting him at the door when he hadn't met anyone before. And of course she didn't want either of her brothers being the first person he met.

As she scrolled through the different selfies Pedro had sent her during his time filming in London, her knee was shaking like she was outside in the winter weather of New York. She was nervous. A boyfriend meeting his girlfriend's parents was always a nerve-wracking experience for all involved. And from past experiences, Emma knew her father was a nice man who welcomed whoever she introduced to him as her partner with open arms. But when it came to Pedro, it felt different to the other times.

10 months of dating was a lot later in the relationship to when others had been introduced, with their relationship a lot more developed and just 2 months away from the big one year. Emma couldn't find a reason why her dad wouldn't like Pedro, but there was still that voice in the back of her head that fed into her fears and anxiety's.

She loved her dad more than anything, and would kill anyone that tried to go for him. He gave her everything she wanted and more and supported her in everything, including when she came out. He was her hero, and his opinion mattered more than anyone else's and effected her decisions more than she wish to admit. She knew that if he had a bad feeling about Pedro, or just simply didn't like him, it would be for a reason. But god damn she hoped with every part of her that it was going to be the opposite and that she didn't have to question the relationship with a guy she loved so very much.

A knock then came at the front door, making Emma jump up and put her phone in her back jean pocket.

"I've got it!" She shouted through the house, hoping it stopped anyone else from coming to get the door themselves. After a deep breath in and then out, Emma opened the door.

She beamed when she saw the face of the man she had been waiting for all night. He had a nice shirt shirt underneath the coat he wore, and his hair was a little scruffy. But she liked it when it was scruffy. Pedro wasn't able to get a word out because Emma almost immediately wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply.

Pedro was pleasantly surprised by the action, and wrapped his arms around her body to hold her closer, as he began to smile through the kisses. It had been too long and he have very much missed the feeling of holding her in his arms.

"As much as I would love to continue this..." Pedro spoke against her lips. "I'm pretty sure my nuts are starting to freeze."

Emma had to laugh. "Shit, sorry. My bad. Come in." Emma took his gloved hand and lead him into the house, shutting the front door behind them. "And make sure to take your shoes off." She said as he did just that as well as taking his gloves off. "Good man."

"I'm sorry I'm a little late." Pedro spoke to her quietly as he knew her family were in the house somewhere. "There was this one line that just wasn't sounding right. You know how rerecording lines is."

"Yeah, I know. Don't you worry though, you've not missed anything."

"Yes, I have. I missed you. A lot."

Emma smiled and blushed at his words. "I've missed you too. I'm glad you could make it."

"Me too. I'd be a bad boyfriend if I missed my girlfriend's birthday." He said before the two then brought each other into a loving embrace that they knew would be their last for a while.

"So..." Emma parted from Pedro and helped him to take his coat off. "How are you feeling?" She asked before she put his coat on a nearby hanger that held other people's coats.

"Little tired but that's probably cause I haven't eaten much today. Entirely my own fault but I guess it will be rectified very soon."

"I kinda meant about meeting my dad."

"Oh. Um, yeah. Little nervous, not gonna lie. But he's your dad so he can't be too scary. Right?"

"Exactly. Just be yourself and he'll like you for sure."

"You think?"

"I know." She reassured before leaning up to kiss his lips gently. "You ready to do this?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm ready." He replied. She smiled and held her hand out towards him. He didn't hesitate to intertwine his fingers with hers before placing a kiss on the top of her head. "I love you." He whispered to her.

"I love you too." She whispered back before she grabbed her drink from the stairs and lead Pedro towards the kitchen where her dad and brothers were waiting.

Little did Emma know that Pedro had found out about a part yesterday that would change his life forever. A part that he wanted to tell her about so badly the moment he got the call. But he wanted to surprise her even more.

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