All Ours // [Embryze]

[Baby Wessex d9b [earthling]]

a note from the desk of

Mace Emberstatt

of District Ten

when you never thought that it could ever get this tough,
that's when you feel my kind of love

Mace had never given much thought to the sort of parent he wanted to be. Kieran had been a surprise - a delightful one, but one that gave him no time to consider father types before he became one. And then he was so distant, literally miles apart from Ara and their child, that it didn't matter if he wanted to be an Involved Parent or a Helicopter Parent. He couldn't be, simple as that.

Then they'd taken in Juliet and Mason, making a father three times over without a single thought given to the age old should I consider having a kid? Now he had a whole family, and he was desperate to more. He still didn't have the right words, hadn't found the right way to ask Julian. So he hinted and took on as much responsibility as he could. He played with Mason and Juliet, he changed diapers and fed them sneaking a little for himself, and comforted them when nightmares roused them at three in the morning. But he couldn't do it all alone.

In Two, it seemed harder somehow. Julian was frequently sought out for this promotion or that photoshoot. And the gym called ever more loudly. So when Julian was around, Mace made every effort to make things go smoothly. He had gotten both Juliet and Mason through their midday naps successfully and now they gathered on the playroom floor. Juliet had picked out a series of stuffed animals, and then pointed to his watch. "She needs a crown," she said, shaking the teddy bear.

"Let's make it out of tissue paper," Mace suggested as the door opened. He looked up to Julian, his husband, with a quick grin just as Juliet wrapped her toddler hand around the wristwatch. He'd become abnormally attached to it, after Pashmina had given it to him over the most recent holidays. Juliet's hand was mostly clean, but she was strong and dexterous, already working the clasp. Mace twisted his wrist, trying to gently free his wrist from her grasp. "That's Papa's. We can make you a crown that's all yours. Okay?"

[pthalorarity]

Through each regret and each goodbye
was a mistake too great to hide

Julian shook the fresh snow out of his hair as he crossed the threshold in Victors Village. Despite having grown up with the harsh winters of his home District, he had grown spoiled with the warmer climates of Ten. Perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad if he dressed warmer, but he hardly felt like putting on layers upon layers after a good workout and a hot shower. He hadn’t bothered to dry his hair and the water that remained in his golden locks had quickly frozen.

The heat from his shower finally wore off as he climbed the steps to his front porch and a shiver ran down his spine. He ran up that last few and burst through the door into the thick warmth of the Embryze home. He let out a deep breath and closed the door behind him, noting that perhaps next time gym shorts would not be the ideal bottoms for his walk home.

It wasn’t hard to feel warm again as he caught Mace’s grin and the look of adoration in his eyes as Juliet clung to him. Julian sighed and let the tension relax from his muscles. He shuffled out of his hoodie and hung it from the coat rack before joining his family.

“So we are making a crown are we?” Julian said after planting a kiss on his husband’s cheek and his quiet son’s forehead. He then scooped up his daughter and spun while tickling her tummy. “But crowns are earned not given, dear Juliet…” She squealed with laughter in his arms. He placed her down as gently as Julian Bryze ever did anything, and whispered in her ear. A sly grin appeared on her face, mirroring the one that so often crossed her fathers.

“Get him!” Julian beckoned, and in a bobble of little blonde ringlets, Juliet leaped toward Mace with laughter. She attached herself to his leg tightly.

[Baby Wessex d9b [earthling]]

a note from the desk of

Mace Emberstatt

of District Ten

when you never thought that it could ever get this tough,
that's when you feel my kind of love

Julian's nose is damn near frostbitten but his kiss his warm and that's all that matters. As soon as Julian lifts Juliet, Mace ducks to check on Mason, who has made a little blanket fort for himself across the couch and chairs. He lies on his stomach inside, sorting and stacking his blocks, arranging them in orders that Mace cannot fathom. He's still looking at his son - his stringy, sickly son - when Julian reminds them all that crowns must be earned.

He shivers, despite the roaring fire and the company. It starts at the base of his spine and extends to the tips of his fingers. Just one violent shiver. And then he puts the ice floes behind him and turns to look at his whispering husband and daughter.

"Tag teaming!" Mace bellows, all booming voice and fake surprise. He holds himself steady as Juliet leaps at him, wrapping herself around his leg. "I've been captured!" He swoons to the floor, careful to avoid Mason's tent, but unable to avoid all the scattered toys. A train props up his lower back. He winces, shifts, using an elbow to leverage his weight. As soon as he catches his daughter's eye, the wince is gone, replaced with a solemn smile. "Do I have to bargain for my release?"

[pthalorarity]

Through each regret and each goodbye
was a mistake too great to hide

“Yes!” Juliet cried in delight, as she held tight. “Gi' me a crown!” Now that she had her daddy on the ground, she leapt from his leg and onto his stomach in her efforts to pin him down.

Julian couldn’t help be smile and think, That’s my girl. She was most certainly of the Bryze bloodline. He brushed a hand gently through quiet Mason’s hair as he joined his family on the floor. “Oh Juliet, a Bryze never gives in that easily,” he said as he crawled behind Mace and playfully wrapped his arms around his husband’s broad chest. “Now that he’s not going anywhere, we can have whatever we want!”

Juliet laughed and smiled mischievously as she reached once more for Mace’s watch.

“No, ma’am! Except for that,” Julian released Mace and bent down over Juliet, tickling her sides as he fended her off from her desired prize.

“But why?” she cried through fits of giggles.

“Because I said so, and what I say goes,” Julian stood on his knees, folding his arms proudly. That is, until Juliet tackled him with a big fat “No!” and he toppled over with a clatter into the children’s toys.