Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy (JoeMazzello!JohnDeacon fanfic)

one hundred and six

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another Fight House where today in the Deacon household, we have Arthur, firstborn, verses Michael, who's basically the middle child."

Today, John was on daddy duty while Roxanne had gone shopping with Alice and Becca and while he was busy in the kitchen, the boys are wreaking havoc in the living room.

"So far, Arthur has been undefeated in his quest for victory but could today be the day that Mickey changes that?"

"I told you not to call me that," the youngest of the three growls.

Theo ignores him, "Alright, are you two ready? Okay, in three, two, one-"

Before he can say go, Arthur pounces on his brother, knocking him to the floor with a thud.

Though Michael is a few years younger, what he lacks in size, he makes up for in raw ferocity and it's not long before Arthur is yelling at him not to bite.

Theo eagerly referees, kicking anyone who dares to roll close enough all while speaking into the wooden spoon he's clutching, acting as a microphone.

"I've never seen such dirty fighting!" he says excitedly as Robert toddles into the room, "Tell me young man, who is your money on?"

The little boy grabs hold of his microphone and tries to put in his mouth, drooling all down Theo's hand in the process.

"Right," he pulls it away, wiping the drool on Arthur's shirt when the pair roll towards them once more, "Thank you for that, Robert. Why, could it be? Yes! Arthur Deacon is down and Michael, he looks to be - he's climbing up onto the couch! He's going to do the Deacon Dive! He's going to use Arthur's own move against him!"

Michael, though he's panting heavily, throws his arms up in the air once he's stood on the piece of furniture while letting out a cry that's fit for any battlefield. He grins down at his brother and prepares to leap - to finally clinch the victory that he's been chasing for so long...

The three of them look at the doorway when they hear someone clearing their throat, freezing when it's their mother that's there, standing with her arms crossed and a raised eyebrow.

"Hiya mum!" Theo chirps, hastily trying to kick the picture they knocked the table out of sight.

"Whatcha doin' boys?"

"Playin'," they shrug innocently.

"Is that so?" she asks, lifting Robert onto her hip, "Where's your dad?"

"Kitchen," Arthur points from where he's still on the floor.

"Is he making dinner?"

"He's fixing the microwave."

Roxanne sighs, "Again?"

She doesn't wait for their reply, putting Robert back down on the floor so he can go back to playing.

John is indeed in the kitchen, sat on the floor with Isla and the pair are surrounded by parts of the dismantled microwave.

They don't even look up when she carefully steps her way over everything, leaning against the counter when she's reached the safety of the other side.

"I can feel you staring at me," he finally says, still not looking up from his task.

"John," she frowns, "I think it's gubbed, don't you?"

"No, no," he shakes his head, "I can fix it. Can't I, Isla? Because..."

"Daddy can fix anything!" she finishes matter-of-factly.

"That's right," John says proudly, tapping her gently on the nose, "Mummy just doubts my capability."

"Now that is not true," Roxanne scoffs, "Daddy can fix anything but," she presses kisses to both of their cheeks, "He's been trying to fix this for three days and still, nothing's happening."

"Rude."

||-||

"Are you sure you be alright?" Rebecca tears her eyes away from the kids that were running around the Deacon's back garden, "With the seven of them I mean?"

She and Roger had plans with her mum tonight and of course, John and Roxanne had offered to look after Ellie and Heather, their second child.

"Becca, we'll be fine," Roxy assures her, "Besides, we're gonna need the practice."

Roger, who had been watching the kids, pins his eyes on her, "What the hell does that mean? Are you pregnant?"

His cousin snickers, "No, I just love watching your face when you think I am."

"You're a fucking bitch."

"Roger," she scolds with a smile, "Not in front of the children, please!"

"Roger," Rebecca shakes her head, "Thank you for doing this you guys. And on such short notice as well."

"Rebecca," John murmurs, "Really, it's fine. Besides, we probably won't even notice them, they'll blend right in. Might even forget to return them."

Roxanne nods in agreement and Roger takes Rebecca's hand.

"We better get going love if we're gonna make that train."

Seeing that they're parents are leaving, Ellie and Heather run over to say goodbye.
Once the Taylor parents are gone, the kids resume their playing and Roxanne looks down when four year old Heather tugs on the bottom of her skirt.

"Is Amos back, Aunt Roxy?"

Arthur, who's just happened to be running by, skids to a halt, "Hev, Amos isn't coming back. I told you, he's dead."

"Arthur!" John scolds while Heather's brow furrows adorably.

"What? He is!"

"Yes but you don't need to be so blunt about it, mate. She's only four."

The oldest shrugs and goes back to chasing Ellie and Roxy can't help but let shake her head.

Amos had indeed gone to kitty heaven. Roxanne had found him on the driveway one morning and it looked as if he'd maybe been hit by a car. Nothing could have been done to help him and so at the vet, they'd made the decision to put him to sleep.

Arthur and Theo were the only ones who really understood what she and John were saying when they told them that Amos wouldn't be returning home.

Like the other youngsters, Heather still has that magical thinking that he's just at the vet, that he'll be home in a couple of days and so it doesn't really effect her.

Roxanne let's her down and she immediately runs down towards the end of the garden, where she'd seen Isla run off to and Roxanne looks at John.

"He gets that from you."

"What?"

"The bluntness."

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i know that this story doesn't really have Freddie and Brian in it right now but i just wanted to put a lot of family stuff in because our boy Deaky is a family man and loves being at home with them