the half of it

chapter twenty-one

"hi babe" owens voice whispered in graysons ear as he curled around him, spooning him tightly with his long curls tickling his chin.

"do you want to get out of bed today?" owen asked gently, his hand caressing what was left of graysons left arm.

"no" grayson whispered, his voice raspy from crying as he stayed pressed against owen.

"okay, that's fine" owen kissed graysons cheek before getting out of his bed, graysons blue sheets soft against his chin.

"i'm going to make breakfast, i'll be right back" owen kissed the top of graysons head and stood up, closing the door behind him.

grayson stared at the wall and felt the tears roll down his cheeks, the guilt was crushing him. he felt guilty for pulling owen into this mess, that he couldn't be there for him.

owen came back into the room humming a showtune, holding two granola bars and dressed in only his grey plaid boxers.

"hey babe" owen kissed graysons cheek and crawled back into bed, wrapping his arm around grayson and flipping him around from facing the wall to facing him.

"granola bar?" owen smiled, opening the wrapper and passing it to grayson.

owen laughed and swung grayson into his lap, grayson let out a laugh and wrapped his arm around owens neck.

"there he is" owen smiled and took a bite of graysons granola bar and grayson rolled over to sit beside owen.

"okay now practice call of duty with me cause alec is kicking my ass" owen stood up and started setting up graysons tv, hooking up the x-box and tossing two controllers on the bed.

grayson laughed as owen jumped back on the bed, causing the duvet to fly upwards and the pillows to bounce.

"get comfy cause we are going to be here until i win bitch" owen pulled grayson into his side playfully as he turned around the tv and fired up the game.

"wow you really are ass" grayson teased as owen died once again, throwing his head back with a sigh.

"no seriously, i'm beating you with one hand" grayson laughed and turned owens cheek, both of them smiling widely.

"you can't just let me win once?" owen whined and dodged graysons kiss, rolling on top of him and the rolling again so he was on the bottom.

"not until you deserve it" grayson teased back as owen leaned in and kissed grayson, pulling away while laughing.

"you're breath stinks" owen tased him in the side, causing grayson to shout and roll over.

"nope, you're not getting away" owen hugged grayson with both arms and pulled him up so they could sit up. owen kissed the top of his head and threw graysons arm over his shoulder.

owen let grayson down on the counter, laughing and chatting as grayson brushed his teeth. grayson stayed slightly unsteady, leaning against the wall carefully.

"Guess what I'm doing right now..." owen asked and giggled, scrolling on his phone while looking at grayson with a flirty look in his eyes.

"what are you doing right now?" Grayson flirted back, rinsing his toothbrush off while making eye contact with owen.

"I'm looking at our merged calendars!" Owen laughed and kissed grayson, running his fingers through his messed hair before kissing him on the neck.

"And what's on the schedule for today?" Grayson asked as owen kissed him on the neck, laughing as owen teased him with the phone.

"Alice is coming over with Izzy at.... 3" owen smiled and lifted grayson back up, pretending to dance as they went across the room.

"What time is it?" Grayson asked as he rolled over, shoving a pillow beneath his chest as owen cuddled closer.

"Two, want to make lunch?" Owen asked with a pouty lip, walking his fingers up graysons chest.

"Okay okay, just cause I love you so much" grayson rolled over owen, letting owen help him into his chair.

"Ramen or turkey sandwiches?" Owen asked as grayson got two cups out of the cupboard, taking sprite out of the fridge and pouring it out.

"Up to you" grayson teased owen and rolled off to the side as owen opened the fridge.

"Turkey?" Owen asked as he dug through the fridge drawer, passing grayson deli meat which he put on his lap and rolled over to the counter.

The doorbell rang at exactly two, owen opened it and greeted alice quietly so he wouldn't wake her sleeping baby.

"Hey guys!" alice whispered with excitement as she slipped off her shoes and walked to grayson, hugging him from behind.

"Are you Izzy?" Grayson asked the baby in a sing-song voice, teasing the baby by tickling her cheek gently.

"Want to hold her?" Alice asked as owen came over as well and stared with a smile at the sleeping baby.

"Come on, trust me she won't bite" alice smiled as owen pulled a chair over for alice, sitting down next to her as the baby giggled and slowly woke up.

"I don't want to drop her" grayson protested nervously, owen laughed as the baby drooled.

"I'll be right here, don't worry gray" alice grabbed graysons arm and positioned the baby so graysons hand was underneath her bottom and her head bustled in his inside elbow.

The baby gurgled and smiled up at grayson, her eyes were an exact replica of Alice's and her little smile was the same as her mother's.

"she liiikes you" alice laughed, her hand still out just in case grayson faltered.

"well I like her, don't I - yes you're so cute" grayson said to the baby, his high pitched voice was about normal pitch but much higher than normal.

Owen ran his hand over the baby's head, playing with her thin blonde hair. His hand was the size of the baby's entire head, his black nails a strong contrast to her pink outfit.

Izzy giggled and then stopped, her face concentrated a second before she turned into grayson and threw up right on him.