Sometimes, life wants us to do something different than planned - Tidus [xxx](AU)

The sun was beginning to show its first bright rays through the sheer curtain. In the summer months, the sun would greet them way earlier than what would be considered acceptable for any nocturnal being. Cassandra, however, enjoyed the sun’s presence; the specs of dust that could be seen in the air when the light danced off them made it all seem like a fairytale. It had not been a quiet night, however. Phoenix had been waking up both Salem and Calsifer with almost military precision once every hour; making Calsifer letting out displeased growls and making Salem cry until Cassandra had gotten up to calm the toddler. Phoenix, however, would have calmed herself once Cassandra had tugged in the youngest of the siblings, only to wake up an hour later and repeat. Now that the sun was up, so was the kids. It didn’t take many minutes for Phoenix - the six-year old girl with long soft curls and big green eyes - to have gotten her brothers and escorted them to the master bedroom, where Cassandra and her husband through six years was starting to wake up ever so slightly.

Calsifer - the eldest of the litter - just jumped on the bed and curl up near Bienvido’s feet, since the werewolf radiated such a pleasant heat. Phoenix then helped her younger brother - Salem - up in the bed as well, making Salem land straight on his mother’s stomach. Cassandra smiled slightly as the boy crawled up to her face, whispering that it was the morning and that uncle Tidus was coming over soon. Phoenix, however, joined them in the bed, only to make her way over to her father and sneak beneath his duvet to cuddle with him. Cassandra smiled gently at her son, with his black hair and golden-hazel eyes, as she planted a kiss on his forehead. ‘’Uncle Tidus isn’t even awake yet,’’ she then said in a soft voice. ‘’Good morning, my little pup,’’ she then whispered at Salem’s cheek, as the boy placed his hands on his mother’s face. Calsifer was already snoring once more, and Phoenix seemed to have settled in with her father; allowing Cassandra to focus on the youngest child. ‘’Why do you think uncle Tidus is on his way?’’ she then asked in a low whisper, as if they shared a secret. ‘’Because it’s my birthday, and he always comes for breakfast on birthdays!’’ the toddler said, with as much assurance in his voice that the witch chuckled warmly at him. ‘’That’s true, little one. Should we get up and go set the table together, birthday boy?’’ she asked, making the toddler look at her with huge eyes. Then, without answering, he almost flew out of the bed, pulling his mother along.

Cassandra - who rarely slept in more than a t-shirt - pulled on her beige silk robe and followed the little toddler out in the hallway. It had been a tradition since Phoenix’s first birthday that the family had been gathered for brunch. They did celebrate all three kids’ birthdays separately, although they didn’t know the birthday of Calsifer to be exact. That was the reason for them to celebrating the eldest son’s birthday during Samhain - the day of the year where the spirits could join the living for a night - allowing Cassandra to see her son in what would have been his human form. However, this day was reserved for the youngest son; Salem. Although he was only four years old, he was bright as a star. He climbed onto his stool so that he could reach the kitchen counter, where Cassandra began placing the stuff that needed to be placed on the dining table. The toddler started setting the table in his own style, mixing and matching plates, cups and silverware like he wanted. It was his birthday after all.

Cassandra, that had been a wife and a mother for six years, had gotten used to this routine. She didn’t mind it one bit, although she missed her job with The Patrons. Now, she was a stay-at-home mother, wife and witch. It was a bit… Tedious, but she would never admit that to anyone. Salem began singing something reminiscing a song Cassandra had been singing while she had been pregnant with him, making her smile slightly, as she heard how Phoenix spoke to her father in the bedroom. What they spoke about, she had no idea about. Where Phoenix looked like her mother in looks, she was more like her father in behavior. Salem, on the other hand, looked like his father and acted like his mother. There was no doubt; Salem was more witch than werewolf. Cassandra could feel the magic radiating from the boy every time he entered the room; making her love the little rascal even more. Suddenly, a plate shattered at the wooden floor, as Salem ran to the kitchen-door with a loud squeal; ‘’Uncle Tidus!’’, making Cassandra roll her eyes for a moment as she chuckled and began cleaning up the shattered plate.

Påklædning + udseende

This was a bad idea. Such a bad idea!
Who on earth did he think he was? They had been together for so many years and had children together! He couldn’t tell her… he couldn’t tell her the truth. It wouldn’t be fair. Not to Tivo and not to Cassandra. His heart was beating as he went to their house. Their perfect little southern house, with the perfect garden and perfect gate. They were just… perfect. He loved it and hated it at same time. He loved their kids. So much! They were angels! Tiny angels whom he loved to make troubles with.
Why did he had to be so complicated!? Why did he have to feel anything!? What the fuck was wrong with him!?
As the six years had passed, not much changing was visible on Tidus. He was immortal and had probably stopped growing around his early twenties.
With a beating heart, he knocked on the perfect door, with a giant gift under his arm. Here he walked in and was met by none other than one of the angels.
“Salem!” he said loudly and sat down in squat. With only one arm free, he swung it around the youn toddler and lifted him up. “Congrats you little devil sporn!” He kissed he Toddlers forehead and danced a bit around with him. “And how old are you gonna be today?”
Still with Salem in his arms, he walked over to the sofa table and placed the gift. Afterwards he put Saleem down and walked over to Cass.
“Morning sunshine,” he said teasingly and kissed her cheek.
Fuck… even this simple little move made his heart flutter.
Fuck… he was a mess!
Here he started to help with the shattered plates. “I guess Salem got a bit surprised again huh?”

The little toddler squealed with excitement as he greeted the demon. As soon as he was up on his arm, he stretched his neck to receive the kiss on his forehead. "I turn four years old!" the little boy proudly showed by holding up five fingers. The little boy looked at the present with awe, as it as usual never disappointed in size. As Tidus had placed the present by the couch, together with the rest of the gifts, Salem eagerly scurried off to got tell his siblings of the huge gift; leaving the two grown-ups alone.
The witch smiled gently at Tidus as he kissed her cheek. In the moment his lips touched her skin, she repaid the kiss on his cheek as well. "good morning handsome," she said with the same teasing tone as him. She continued to pick up the shattered plate, chuckling slightly as Tidus guessed the situation. "you know how he gets with you around," she said with a teasing manner. Salem loved that demon just as much as Cass did.
"you're here early? You usually doesn't join us before Salem is ready for breakfast. Is everything okay?" she asked, slightly concerned that their had been problems with the mafia during the night.
The plate was once more gathered, in pieces, in her palms before she looked shortly at the demon in front of her. He hadn't changed one bit since she first met him. Her, on the other hand, she had changed. Besides the scars from the assaults she had suffered during Jaspers reign, she had gotten stretch marks from carrying two children - both trybrids between witch, draconian and werewolf. They grew faster than human babies, making it easier to gain marks. Other than that, she looked like when she had returned from Bali so many years ago. She moved to the sink with the shattered plate and dumped it in there. Then, she brushed off her hands before putting the buns she had prepared the night before in the oven and turned it on. In the bedroom, the children could be heard snickering at each other and Bienvido making noises - sounding like a dangerous animal that tried to attack the kids in a playful game.
Cassandra turned towards the demon once more. "how's everything going?" she then asked with a gentle and warm smile as she with a flick of the wrist made the kettle on the stove fill with water and starting to boil ever so slightly.

When the toddler told Tidus his age, the blonde demon made a gasp and opened his eyes wide.
“That many already?! There won’t be long before you´re a teenager!” he said in a teasing tone.
As the toddler disappeared to run into his siblings and father, Tidus couldn’t help but smile and again feel that familiar pain in his stomach again. He sighed and continued to help Cassandra. “yeah yeah! Everything is perfect… I was awake anyway.” He putted some of the shards in the sink. “I know… I´m starting to surprise myself too by being awake this early.”
The mafia stood strong still. They were almost out of the drug business. Instead they helped other people and did the dirty jobs no one wanted to do or perhaps couldn’t do. A bit more like in godfather.
He leaned himself up against the kitchen counter. His eyes laid on the beauty in front of him. It had started around 3 years ago. They had been fooling around like they always did. His heart had started to beat like crazy every time she came near him. In the beginning, he ignored it and pretended it wasn’t there. He had told himself that he was just lonely. It wasn’t love in that kind of manner.
3 years after he still felt that beating heart every time, she was near.
He was officially screwed.
Her question about how everything was going, made him freeze in his body for a second, before he took a deep breath and smiled his well knowing big smile. The smell of the almost new freshly baked buns spread through the house. “Things are going like they always do… they uhm… I´m not doing much… you know me!”
He had never been a man of few words. What the fuck was wrong with him!? When he looked in the mirror he could no longer recognize himself.
“What about you?”

Normally, Cassandra would brush off the demon’s weird behavior as him being uneasy when it came to family-interactions. However, he had done this for the past seven years - ever since they had discovered that Cassandra had been pregnant with Phoenix. It all seemed rather odd, considering that the demon had a strong heart when it came to sleep. Even on the kids’ birthdays, he would arrive around noon - not dawn. As the kettle started screaming from the steam coming from the boiling water, she grabbed it - no regards for the boiling hot kettle itself, as the heat didn’t affect her - and poured it over some fresh herbs she had gathered the day before from the herb-garden. ‘’Sweetheart,’’ she said, before she looked back at the blue-eyed demon she had known for almost a decade by this point. ‘’You know that you need your sleep. You can take a nap on the couch if you want? Breakfast isn’t served for another half-hour or so,’’ she said with a gentle smile.

Then, she noticed how he froze as she asked how everything was going. Was that now off-limit? Then, he presented that smile she had seen a thousand times - it just seemed forced. Something was definitely wrong. She placed the kettle back on the stove - not taking her eyes of Tidus - before she moved closer to him with her head slightly tilted. ‘’Tidus, what’s going on?’’ she asked in a rather low voice, as she was not sure if whatever had been going on was something either Bienvido or the kids should hear. She was standing less that a couple of feet from him, looking at him with a concerned expression, when Phoenix came running with her long bouncy curls and large green eyes. ‘’Moooooooooooom!’’ she wailed, as a piece of her night-gown had been torn. With tears in the little girls’ eyes, Cassandra reached down and picked her op on her arm. ‘’Did you play with your brother again?’’ Cassandra asked with a soft voice, making the girl nod. ‘’Okay. How about you go get dressed? I’ll mend your nighties for tonight,’’ Cassandra promised, making the girl sniffle and nod, until she noticed Tidus right in front of her. Then, she breathed in deeply before saying with the most big-girl voice she could, that she didn’t need her mother’s help. Then, she jumped down from Cassandra’s arm, only to scurry into her room to get dressed.

She looked back at Tidus, still non-verbally demanding that the demon explained what was wrong, but then she got distracted once more, as a timer rang; announcing that the buns were done. She moved to the oven, where she turned it off and opened the oven-door. Then, she pulled out the baking-tray with massive golden buns. She had done the same at least ten times during the past couple of years; baked buns and made massive amounts of toppings for them. it was easier than baking cakes or stuff like that. She then turned to Tidus once more, ready to ask him once more, only to be interrupted by their other child once more; Salem. ‘’Can I open my presents now!?’’ the little boy asked, looking with big eyes at his mother. ‘’No, Salem. You need to wait for dad and Phoenix,’’ Cassandra said, making the boy stomp loudly. ‘’Salem, that is no way of behaving,’’ she said, looking sternly at the boy, making him tear up. ‘’Nope, it doesn’t work that way.’’ She then said, as the toddler grabbed her on the leg, demanding non-verbally to be taken up on the arm. ‘’Bienvido, would you - please - help your son get dressed?’’ Cassandra asked loudly; slightly tired since the night had not been without its interruptions.

Tidus shook his head to question about the nap. He tried to ignore the fact how the word sweetheart made him feel. Did he have to tell her? Couldn’t he stay hidden for the rest of his life? There was no reason to tell her about it. It would ruin their friendship, their family bond and it would without a doubt ruin his friendship with Tivo. His heart ached to the thought of not having them in his life.
All these thoughts ate him up. Enough to he didn’t even notice that Cass was constantly trying to find out what was eating him. Only when the little angel, Phoenix, came wailing in the kitchen. Her dressed ruined. It made Tidus chuckle lowly. His blue eyes searched immediately for the coffee. He needed to drown himself in it.
When he got eye contact with Phoenix, he smiled wide at her and nodded when she said proudly that she didn’t need mommy’s help.
“That´s my strong girl!” he said proudly after her.
He knew Phoenix always wanted to big and strong in front of him. It was cute as fuck.
Just as Cass was about to drop the bomb again, she got interrupted by Salem, there so eagerly wanted to open his present. The way he now desperately clanged to his mother’s leg made Tidus laugh lowly. He tried not to laugh out loud. It would only encourage them, had both Tivo and Cass told him.
And when you talked about the sun, out of the room, came none other than the werewolf. He was dressed in his night clothes, a lose pair of night pants and white tank top. When he saw what his son was doing, he sighed and squatted down to lift the little devil up.
“Come here Salem,” he said with a warm voice. “Let´s get you dressed, then you can open one of my presents… what do you say?” He winked at both Cass and Tidus before disappearing back into Salem´s room.
Tidus chuckled again and started to make some coffee. “Things are going smoothly huh Cass?” He asked and looked at her with a wide smile.

It had always been chaos in the house - ever since Phoenix had been born. First, Calsifer didn’t like to share the attention; then it was Phoenix’ turn to be a big-sister, which made her go through the same tantrum as her older brother. When Salem had been born, Phoenix had used any excuse to cause trouble; more often than not including Calsifer. It didn’t take long for the werewolf to emerge and take care of their son - to Cassandra’s great relief. Now, she could focus on getting the table set and the food served. Oh, and the question of what the heck was wrong with Tidus needed to be explored as well.

As soon as they were alone, she looked directly at Tidus, as he was preparing the coffee - thankfully! She needed her fix. She placed the freshly baked buns in a basket and placed it on the table, before she picked up the cups for the coffee, tea and hot cocoa and placed them on the table as well. Then, she joined Tidus once more, in his coffee-making. ‘’Would you please tell me what’s wrong?’’ she asked, her voice low, as she wasn’t sure if the others needed to hear it. ‘’It can’t be worse than when you severed a man in half with one of your portals,’’ she said with a teasing tone in her voice. She wasn’t sure, however. Usually, the demon shared his thoughts easily. Why was he holding back?

She placed a hand on his shoulder, softly. Somehow, it seemed like he needed more than a tiny push to answer her questions this time. She squeezed his shoulder slightly, making sure that he had noticed that she was there with him. She needed to get dressed herself, instead of running around in nothing but a silk robe and panties. She smiled softly at him. ‘’Please… If something is wrong, please tell me,’’ she said. When had he the last time acted like this? He had changed some time ago now, making her think that he had changed when Salem began to talk. She wasn’t sure why.

Nothing could get pass Cass. Tidus weren’t sure if she was that good in reading people or if he was just a bad liar. Or… bad a hiding what he was feeling. Sometimes. Or never. He was a mess.
They were alone. Witch made his heart act like a lovestruck teenager. He sighed and help her set the table.
“Nothing is wrong Cass,” he said lighthearted and placed the new made coffee next to the cocoa. He loved Cass for trying. He loved her for everything she did basically.
As she mentioned the time with him cutting a person in half, he looked back at her with a raised brow and sighed. “That was a long time ago… and no no… Like I said. It is nothing!”
Her soft smile made his heart shutter. Why was this so fucking difficult?! He never thought he would fall in love with Cass! Not because she wasn’t wonderful, great, funny, life changing and… etc.! But mostly because she was gay. So how did this even make sense.
“I´m just a bit stressed these days!” he said with a wide and convincing smile. “The patrons and everything… you know… nothing special there!”
“Are you stressed over that? Try have 3 children and then talk abut being stressed!” It suddenly sounded beside them.
There Tivo stood with a cheeky little smile and a Salem in his arms. He placed his son back on the ground. “What´s going on? Is something the matter?”
Tidus shook his head and sighed. “No you guys! Nothing is the matter, I´m fine… I swear!”

Although she had known the demon for a decade or so, she still had a hard time deciphering him from time to time. As the demon tried to make it seem like nothing was the matter, she decided to leave the matter alone for the time being. She would confront him after Salem had gotten his gifts and had said his thanks. She had been told a couple of times that their way of celebrating birthdays was rather odd. As Cassandra never had celebrated one of her own, she didn’t know how to do so for the children. Gifts seemed to be the most consistent element in celebrations of the sort, so she had agreed to the kids getting presents. She even gave her husband one on both their wedding anniversary and on his birthday. Herself, however, she didn’t celebrate. It had been a topic of discussion many times, how she had chosen to not celebrate her birth. Instead, once a year, she went back to either Edinburgh or Dublin for a week, alone. Why? She faced her past, while she got a chance to reflect on how much she had grown as a person since she left. Once, she had visited her grandmother, Morrigan Dumor, only to see what family the children had from her side. They had none, as the Dumor-line didn’t want anything to do Cassandra, and certainly not her werewolf-husband or trybrid-children. This year, she would return to Bali, just to remember how horrible that year had been to her and Tidus.

As Tidus helped her with setting the table, he started to make excuses. Stressed? Since when had that man ever been stressed? Of course, she didn’t get a chance to actually answer him, before her husband joined the conversation with a remark that she found ill-fitted. ‘’Excuse me, Mr. I-slept-all-night-while-my-wife-had-to-comfort-my-crying-devil-sporn!’’ she said, as she turned to face him; a crooked smile on her lips. ‘’If you are stressed now, just you wait ‘till Phoenix decides to go out with boys!’’ she warned him before she moved over to Bienvido as he placed their son back on the ground. She kissed the werewolf gently on the cheek before she turned to their youngest child. ‘’Salem, sweetheart, would you show uncle Tidus where you want him to sit?’’ she asked the boy, before she looked at Bienvido. ‘’I am going to get dressed. I’ll be back in five - please make sure that the kids are seated when I returned,’’ she said; knowing that it could be a challenge, since neither Calsifer nor Salem wanted to stay still for very long.
Cassandra disappeared into the bedroom, where she gathered her long hair in a braid down her right shoulder. Then, she picked out a sweater-dress in a subtle mauve color. She shortly looked in the mirror - barely even noticing the cursive lettering across her collarbone. Right up until the wedding, she had covered the mark with some sports-tape, but she didn’t bother to anymore. What it said had no importance to her. She sighed, as she noticed the scars from the assault. She had gotten used to them, for the most part, but sometimes she felt like they burned underneath her skin; itching to be torn right open again. She smiled the best she could, as she pulled the sweater-dress on - but she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong with Tidus that morning. Suddenly, she heard the cry of Phoenix yelling for her mother, which made her sigh, shake her head and leave the bedroom. With a soft and gentle voice, she asked the girl what was the matter, only to see that the girl had trouble fixing her hair. A brush was stuck in her beautiful curls; making a mess. Cassandra squatted down to the height of her daughter, and with a gentle smile she held up her hand. With a flick of her wrist, the brush had disappeared from the girl’s hair. ‘’Now, how do you want your hair?’’ Cassandra asked, making the girl point at her mother’s braid. ‘’Like that!’’ the little girl exclaimed, making Cassandra chuckle. ‘’Alrighty then!’’ Cassandra agreed, before braiding the girl’s hair to match her mother’s.

Phoenix joined the rest of the group at the dinning-table, with Cassandra following behind her. Of course, the little girl jumped on the chair next to uncle Tidus, forcing Tidus to sit with Salem on one side and Phoenix on the other. Calsifer never joined them for meals, but instead slept by the fireplace. He didn’t eat human-food anyways. Salem tugged on Tidus’ shirt, pointing at one of the buns, while making some weird noise - probably to signal that he wanted one. Cassandra sighed at her son, looking at Bienvido with a please-correct-your-offspring-look. She then poured herself a cup of coffee; ready to zone out for a moment.

Tidus have never seen anyone look at a woman, like Tivo looked at Cassandra. It was clear how much he loved her. It was shinning out of those emerald green eyes. Their love was so tender. It made Tidus smile as he looked at them. His feelings were the strangest things. He loved Cassandra in a new way, but he didn’t feel the jealousy cook in his stomach when he looked at them. Instead, he felt happy and relieved that they had found each other.
Tivo gasped over Cassandras words. “No boy will ever be good enough for my baby girl!” He said it in a teasing manner. But Tidus knew he meant it. When Phoenix got older, she would probably have some troubles in having daddy-dear accepting her boyfriends.
As Cassandra walked away, Tidus and Tivo started to seat the children. They could only get Salem seated. Phoenix had troubles with her hair and therefor ran into her mother. Luckily for Tivo and Tidus. None of them had ideas how to style hair. At least not women hair.
When Tidus sat down, he inhaled deeply and fluffed Salem’s hair.
“what about you Tidus?” Tivo asked as he leaned back in the chair. “Found that special one yet? Not that any man will be good enough for you either!”
Tidus laughed and shook his head. His laughter was a bit nervous. Which he could thank his ridiculous feelings for. “Oh yeah? No one is good enough?”
Tivo took a sip of his coffee and shook his head. “Nope. Not my best man.”
They shared a laughter as Cassandra walked in. Beautiful as always. They were now all seated at the table.
When Salem craved a bun, Tidus took one for him, but not before he pretended it was alive and tried to get away from Salem.
“Don´t eat me… I´m an innocent bun!” He wailed in a funny voice.
Thanks to Tidus, Tivo didn´t correct his offspring. Instead he laughed and kissed the cheek of Cassandra.
Tidus then gave the bun for Salem and cut it in half for him. Afterwards he asked if Phoenix wanted any help.
“Tidus hasn´t found a man in his life yet,” Tivo chuckled to Cassandra. “All them blind dates I threw him on and none of them stayed.”
Tidus rolled his eyes and continued to help both Salem and Phoenix. “Please do not throw me on another blind date!”
This made Tivo laugh loudly.

It was not a surprise that the two men had their own little party as she joined them once more. ‘’Salem, could you please ask for the things you want, instead of making those noises?’’ she asked in a voice that showed that she mustered the utmost patience. Quite calmly, she picked out a bun herself and cut it in half, before handing it to Bienvido, as they had done hundreds of times by this point. Then, she did the same for Tidus, without even asking. Salem had his own little party with Tidus playing with his food. Cassandra decided that it wasn’t worth her patience trying to parent neither Tidus nor Salem on the matter. Phoenix leaned up against Tidus, all quiet as usual. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to talk to the demon - but she was quite the shy girl when it came to taking decisions. Cassandra placed a bun on her daughter’s plate, expecting the girl to do as she pleased with it. On that point, she was like her mother; she didn’t bother to put anything on the bun before she took a bite.

The conversation had turned to Tidus and his blind dates, making Cassandra smile a crooked smile at the demon. ‘’Well, dear, have you considered that uncle Tidus might already have someone in his life that he just doesn’t want you to know about yet? You know we both have a tendency to scare them away,’’ she said, before she took a sip of her coffee. In some way, she felt sorry for the demon. She wanted him to be happy so bad that it ached in her from time to time.

‘’Oh,’’ she said, before she turned to look at her husband. ‘’I am counting on you to babysit tonight.’’ She said, with a smile so sweet it could bring on a toothache. ‘’I am taking uncle Tidus out for some grown-up time,’’ she then said, before she looked at Tidus with the same sweet smile. ‘’I think it has been long enough since you and I had some time alone,’’ she said, before she took another sip of her coffee. ‘’I want to come!’’ Salem said, eagerly. This made Cassandra look at her son with a confused expression. ‘’Salem, grown-up time means that you have to be a grown-up to be there,’’ she said. The boy now hammered his tiny fist at the table. ‘’But I AM a grown-up! I am four years old!’’ he said, slightly vexed with his mother. ‘’Salem!’’ Cassandra said, stern in her tone. ‘’When I tell you no, it isn’t going to change just because you want it to,’’ she said. This made the toddler look at his father. ‘’Can I please come with Uncle Tidus?’’ he asked, so sweet and gentle that it felt far too familiar. That little devil sporn had learned from his mother! Cassandra remained silent, waiting for her husband to either anger the toddler with a refusal, or frustrate his wife by allowing the toddler to join them.

The Phoenix looked up at her mother with her green eyes and asked in the most polite way possible if she could have some tea. Cassandra chuckled slightly. ‘’Of course, sweetie,’’ Cassandra replied before pouring her some tea. This made the toddler wail up about how Phoenix always got her way. ‘’One quiet morning… That’s all I ask for!’’ Cassandra sighed with a chuckle in her voice, revealing that she was far too used to handling a screaming toddler at this point.

Neither Tidus or Tivo had seen it coming, when Cassandra suddenly said that Tivo had to babysit, because she and Tidus needed a drink. Tivo looked a bit puzzled, before he heard why Cassandra wanted this. It made him smile and nod at her. He understood what friendship they had. Plus, he could never say no to her when she talked so sweetly. He leaned for a kiss.
“Of course, I will watch our devil offspring’s,” he said teasingly.
Tidus on the other hand, sat there, frozen in his seat and looked from Cass to Tivo. Although he calmed down when he saw Cassandras smile. They could need some drinks. And they haven’t had time for themselves lately. But could he handle alcohol and his feelings when she was near?
Sure, he could!
“That sounds nice, let´s do that!” he said confidently and smiled a wide and warm smile at her.
When Salem yelled up, Tidus once again did his best not to laugh. He was a little troublemaker and it was hard not to chuckle at his outburst. Especially when the 4-year-old was sure he was a grown up.
Tivo shook his head as he looked as his son. He smiled a sweet smile at him. “No, my boy. You´re gonna stay home with me and your siblings… we can stay up a bit your bedtime and watch any movie you want?”
If he was lucky, his son would accept this offer and let Cass and Tidus have their evening alone.
Tidus couldn’t help but chuckle when Salem wailed that Phoenix always got what she wanted. He placed his hand on Salems head. He stroked it carefully.
“There there Salem, I´m sure if you asked for tea and not to join us for a night stroll, you could get it too,” he said with a warm and teasing voice.
He started to eat one of the buns and putted sugar and milk in his coffee. “You could never get a quiet in your life my dear Cassandra.” A teasing little mumble as he looked over at Cass.
Here he looked down at Salem. “Sooo what do you think is in your present?”

As her husband agreed to look after the children for the evening, she smiled at him. Then, he leaned in for a kiss, which she gladly gave. With a gentle kiss on the lips, she heard how Phoenix giggled and Salem made vomiting-noises. Very gender-specific reactions, but she didn’t mind that one bit. In all ways, the children had chosen to follow their born gender - either knowingly or not. As Phoenix cared a lot for her appearance, behavior and attitude, her brother seemed to love the dirt, fights and trouble he could surround himself with. However, it seemed to always be Phoenix that led the troops when the three children were up to no good. ‘’Devil offspring? Is that from your side or mine?’’ she asked teasingly before she looked at Tidus. She had noticed him freezing up slightly, but she decided to leave the question unsaid until they would be able to talk without nosy children listening in.

As Bienvido told their son no, the little toddler looked in disbelief at the parents. Did they just deny him something!? On his birthday!? Then, he felt how his uncle stroked him on his head before saying something about his sister. Salem turned away from the demon in defiance and crossed his arms. ‘’Of course, the mutt always gets what she wants!’’ he said loudly, making his sister growl lowly at him. Since Salem had not showed any signs of being a werewolf, he had turned to use the term ‘mutt’ whenever he was upset. This made Cassandra get up from her chair and walked over to the toddler and squat down, so they were at the same height. She took his hands in hers, although he struggled to get free. She looked straight into his eyes, while hers changed to their golden hue. ‘’Salem Titus del Toro, don’t talk about your sister that way. That is unacceptable. Apologize to Phoenix, or you will not get any present until I return tonight,’’ she warned the child, making him stiffen up. The toddler then nodded as he looked straight into his mother’s eyes. Then, she released his hands, only to the toddler to turn around and look at his sister. ‘’I am sorry… You’re not a mutt.’’ He said, before he turned to his mother once more. She kissed him gentle on the forehead before she nodded. ‘’Now, go get your presents. I am sure that uncle Tidus brought a big one!’’ she said, making the toddler jump down from the chair and almost tap-dance as he couldn’t contain his excitement. ‘’he did! He did! I saw it when he came!’’ the boy squealed before he ran to the small pile of gifts that was sitting by the couch.

Cassandra looked at her husband for a moment, slightly exhausted. She hated to scold her children - it always had seemed to cruel. It had taken her years to do it with Phoenix, although she had turned out fine. Most of the time, at the least. She kissed Bienvido on his hair as she moved past him and sat down once more, only to see the toddler drag the present from Tidus with him over to the table. ‘’It’s huge!’’ Phoenix said, rather envious, although she had received a present of roughly the same size for her birthday earlier that year. The toddler sat down on the floor and started ripping the wrapping-paper as Cassandra poured herself and her husband yet another cup of coffee.

It was soothing and funny to see how much of a mother Cassandra had become. Especially since there had been the drama of her not wanting them. But that had only been in fear of the past becoming the future. Tidus and Tivo smiled shortly as Cass was lecturing her son. He should not call his sister a mutt. Tivo could only agree to this! Was there something a werewolf shouldn’t be called, then it was mutt!
Salem quickly understood the situation and apologized. They were raised good. Tidus admitted that. He smiled over the situation and shook his head. Here he drank some of his coffee.
When it was time for Salem to open his present, the young demon smiled widely and made sure to keep his eyes at Salem. He wanted to see his reaction.
Phoenix´s little outburst, made Tidus chuckle and pat her on the head. “You´re present has the same size my dear Phoeny.”
He leaned in and waited for the young Salem to come with a squeal. Underneath all the wrapping paper, would be none other than the newest racing car. A little toy car he could control with a remove.
Tivo got a big smile on his face. “Ohhh! It´s that race car Salem!” He looked at excitement down at his son. Here he looked at Tidus. “You remembered how much he talked about it huuuuh?”
Tidus laughed and leaned back in his chair. “Of course! I bought it as soon he talked about it for a third time!”

Cassandra didn’t mind her children being spoiled by their uncle. It was most likely the biggest presents they would get, besides the deposit into their savings account from their great-grandmother. Although Cassandra’s grandmother cared not for the children, nor Cassandra, she did fulfill the agreement her late husband had signed to take care of Arumia’s children and grandchildren. Once a year, the children’s great-grandmother would send them a card - not signed - wishing them a happy birthday, and a bank note stating that roughly 100.000£ had been deposited to the birthday-child’s savings account. Cassandra of course gave the children their cards, but the bank notes were kept in a folder in the office and the information regarding their accounts was something only Cassandra, her husband and Tidus had access to.

The toddler squealed in pure excitement as he opened the present and saw the race car he had spotted - and begged for - for almost three months. He jumped up and scurried over to his uncle and climbed on top of his lap. “Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!” He cheered, while his sister looked at her mother with a something bleak expression. “Mommy? When are we going hunting again?” She asked. Although it was Bienvido who was the werewolf and obviously the hunter of the family, their daughter had taken in rather sternly that her mother should be the one teaching her to manage hunting. “Tomorrow, Phoenix. I promise.” She said, with a crooked smile. Cassandra enjoyed hunting just as much as her daughter, although the prey had turned from humans to rabbits.

Salem looked at his father with big eyes. “Can I play with it now?!” He asked, eagerly. Cassandra got up from her seat to go find some batteries, so that the toddler could play with his present. Phoenix sat still and orderly as she finished her bun.

//little shirt - written from the tablet :p

Salem´s reaction to the toy made Tidus smile widely. He quickly hugged the excited boy back, before he gone again, like a stroke of a lightning. It excited Tidus to see the boy so happy. It always made the blonde smile brightly himself.
When he heard Phoenix said something about hunting, he looked over at Cass and tilted his head. It was rather cute that it was Cassandra, who taught the little werewolf how to hunt.
Tivo smiled as he looked at his son´s eager face. He was about to answer, when Cass suddenly placed some batteries on the table, answering for him. Here Tivo blow a kiss to his wife, before showing the batteries to his son. “Of course you can!” Here the werewolf stood up and sat down on the floor. He helped his son placing the batteries in the toy.
Tidus on the other hand, looked at Phoenix and asked her a bit about school, and what she liked to do for fun. After the little conversation, he got up and stretched himself, before helping taking of the table. He went over next to Cass. “How come the drinks? Need to get drunk that badly?” There was a loving teasing in his voice.

From the outside, this was the perfect family. Everyone smiling, having a good time with each other over breakfast. However, it had been a tough time getting to this point. Cassandra had suffered from depression during her pregnancies, and even though she loved her husband and children so dearly, she had needed a change of scenery for a while now. That was why she had been tired for a while, sleeping abruptly and had little to no patience with her kids. She was turning into a bad mother, she feared.

As the toddler got to play with his toy - completely neglecting his other presents - Phoenix went to her room to brood. She did not like to talk about school, since she had begged her parents to be homeschooled, which made it even harder for Cassandra to actually partake in the Patrons. As Cassandra started to clean up after breakfast, Tidus decided to go help. With a crooked smile she looked at him as he asked if she needed to get drunk that bad. She chuckled. ‘’I just need to feel something else for a change.’’ She answered, knowing that it might sound harsh. ‘’Besides, drinking is the only thing Bienvido can’t deny me from time to time, so it’s easier to get him to watch the kids that way,’’ she admitted, winking at the demon as she placed the dishes in the sink. Although they lived in the 21st century, she did not own a dishwasher. Why should she, when she used magic to help her with most of the chores anyway?

Tidus knew that Cass didn’t mean it that harsh. She just needed something else. Something else than the perfect picture life. A life someone longed for. But also, a life that someone would need an escape from. He smiled carefully and looked over at his shoulders. The vision of Tivo playing with his son was cookie cuter made. It was like taken out from a movie. But… Tidus loved to see how happy the werewolf was. He finally got the family he always wanted. The family he had lost was back in his heart.
With a beating heart himself, Tidus sighed and looked at Cassandra. He wished… he wished so much that his feelings would just go away. They had to… didn’t they? In the beginning he had loved Levi, with all his heart and it took some time for them to disappear, but they did… so… it should be the same Case with Cass right?
If he had been alone, he would have slammed his head down on the table of frustration. Feelings. Why did he even have them!?

When the evening slowly came closer, it was time for Cass and Tidus to go. Tivo had prepared an evening with his children. Candy and movies. He sat in the couch while Cassandra got ready and next to him, sat Tidus with a Calsifer on his shoulder. He pat the dragon and smiled warmly as he looked at the screen. Phoenix was inside the room with Cassandra, helping her getting ready.

As the evening approached, it seemed like Bienvido taking care of the children had been a good choice. Candy and movies, just as she knew all of the children loved it.
While Salem was playing with his gifts - most of them toys anyways - Phoenix had pleaded with her mother to help her getting ready for her evening out with their uncle. With her long brown hair pulled up in an almost royal hairdo, Cassandra did her makeup while her daughter rummaged the closet for a fitting dress. Of course, the girl chose the dress her mother usually only wore for very special occasions - but who was Cassandra to tell her daughter no when she wanted her mother to look beautiful. The makeup, though soft and natural, enhanced all her gorgeous features; from her freckles to her deep brown eyes. As she had gotten herself into the dress, she looked in the mirror for a moment, whole Phoenix picked out a fitting pair of shoes for her mother to wear as well. The girl had an amazing sense of style.
All of a sudden, Phoenix squealed with delight as she pulled out a dress that had been stored in the back of the closet. ‘’Mommy, isn’t this your wedding dress!?’’ the girl asked with sincere delight in her voice. Cassandra chuckled lighthearted as she nodded. ‘’It is, Phoenix. Maybe it’ll be yours one day,’’ she said with a gentle smile, letting the girl act like she passed out on the bed from pure bliss. ‘’Could it!? Really!?’’ she asked, making Cassandra smile gently. ‘’It could. But that means that you need to find the man of your dreams,’’ she said, looking at Phoenix. ‘’Like you did with dad?’’ the girl asked as she placed herself in a sitting position, ready for a story. ‘’Oh, sweetheart… When I first met your father, there was no chance for us to be anything but friends!’’ Cassandra chuckled as she picked out a pair of diamond-earrings to match the details of the dress; black as night. ‘’Why!?’’ Phoenix asked, almost terrified, although she knew the ending of the story. ‘’Because your father was seeing someone else, and so was I. It took years of us being friends before we even dared to admit having feelings for one another,’’ she said with a gentle smile. Phoenix sighed. ‘’So, it wasn’t love at first sight?’’ she asked, slightly disappointed. Here, Cassandra sat down beside her daughter with a little secretive glimmer in her eye. ‘’I know the feeling of love at first sight. That’s why I am going out with your uncle Tidus tonight,’’ Cassandra said, winking to her daughter, making Phoenix look confused at her mother. ‘’You love uncle Tidus!?’’ she asked, dreading the answer it seemed. ‘’Of course I do! Don’t you? He is my best friend, after all. If you don’t love your friends, they are not worthy of your friendship,’’ she said in a motherly tone, before she got up from the bed. ‘’Now, should it be the black shoes or the nude ones?!’’ asked Cassandra, making Phoenix jump from the bed to grab the black shoes to give to her mother.

As they had finished getting ready for the evening, Phoenix joined her brothers in the living room. Cassandra walked to her husband, showing off the gorgeous dress their daughter had picked for her. ‘’So… Can I get a kiss before Tidus gets the honor of having me as hit date for the night?’’ she asked, winking at her husband with a crooked smile.

//Le dress <3

Both Tidus and Tivo´s jaw dropped as Cassandra stepped out. Her legs showing in a perfect sleaze and the dress hugging her curves. Quickly Tidus remembered that he wasn’t supposed to look at her like that. He looked away for a second and hummed down in his hand.
Tivo was the one who got up from the couch. The green eyes clearly admiring his gorgeous wife in front of him.
“Wow… I´m the luckiest man on earth!” he said and whistled. He Then pulled her into a kiss and put his arms around her waist.
Tidus got up from the couch and then coughed. He laughed afterwards and looked at his friends with a raised eyebrow. “You sure are, but for now, I´m gonna steal her away.”
This made Tivo chuckle and kiss his wife a last time. “You guys have fun!” He then looked over at Tidus, giving him the ´You better keep an eye on her´ finger.
Tidus lifted his hand up and chuckled. He then started to walk to the door, putting on his jacket and waited for Cass to follow.

When they came to the city, he looked at her with a smirk and tilted his head. “wanna go to a gay bar?” his tone clearly teasing. He had never been to one. He had no idea why. Especially since he went to the city quite often.

For a brief moment in time, she thought she had seen Tidus look at her differently. She shook the thought before she saw her husband get up from the couch and whistle at her, after he had exclaimed how he was the luckiest man on the earth. She rolled her eyes at him with a crooked smile; knowing that he wasn’t the only one to think so throughout the time she had lived. She got pulled into a kiss where she gently placed her hand on his chest to make sure he didn’t get any ideas. She was reserved for Tidus for the night.
The cough didn’t surprise her. She would have found it unpleasant if her friends smooched right in front of her too. Therefore, she looked at the demon and winked, before Tidus got to say his dramatic line. The farewell-kiss from her husband made her smile gently against his lips before she pulled out of his grasp with a crooked smile and a teasing glimmer in her eyes.

They left the house with no clear intention on where to go. Should they go to a pub, a gay bar, a disco? Honestly, she simply wanted a drink and a good time with her best friend for once. ‘’A gay bar?’’ she repeated, rather confused. Of course, she had noticed the tease in his voice, but she was never really sure of if he meant his teasing or not. ‘’Let’s do that! Then I can look at you hook up and feel momentarily sorry for myself that I don’t have that luxury anymore!’’ she said, linking her arm in his as they walked. Cassandra wasn’t a short woman to begin with, as she was around the 1,70 meters tall. When she wore her heels, it was almost 1,80 instead; making her almost as tall as her blonde friend.

It didn’t take long for them to locate a gay bar. As soon as they had entered, Cassandra had spotted a booth they could sit in. ‘’Come on, handsome!’’ she said, gently pulling him with her as she guided him to the booth. The music was rather loud and the other guests at the bar seemed to be rather drunk and fired up already. She noticed how she could spot familiar faces around the place, wondering how many of her friends that was gay when push came to shove. ‘’What do you want to drink?!’’ she asked him, rather loudly, as she tried to talker over the music that sounded loudly throughout the bar. In one corner, a couple of guys had decided to strip off all their clothes, except their thongs. They weren’t exactly Chip’n’Dales, so the view could be considered rather… Unpleasant. Dads, in their late 50’s, mostly. She dropped down in her seat, waiting for the blonde demon to take his place opposite of her.

He had been joking with the gay bar. But, curious and light-hearted as Cass was, she took the invite and dragged him to one of these bars. Inside the lights were dimmed, music loud and people’s laughter filled it all with joy. He smiled by the sight and followed Cass to the booth.
“No no, no hook ups, you and I are out for a drink… so no hook ups,” he said as it was an unwritten law. He leaned his head a bit down to her. The music could make even a vampire death. “I could drink a whiskey, how about you gorgeous?” Just like her, he talked loudly over the music.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the stripping men. He turned his head and looked, just to hold in a chuckle and then look back at Cass. “I would give anything for a confidence like that.” Even though, she probably knew what he was talking about, he nodded towards the dancing fathers, in only what seemed to be a thong.
He sat next to her and inhaled. Everything was as it used to be. He just needed to hold his liquor. The thought of being alone with Cass, with a head in a daze of alcohol and a heart filled with feeling, made him bite his lower lip nervously. He couldn’t do this. If he did… he would ruin their friendship. She would separate herself from him.
The drinks arrived and pushed him out of his thoughts. With a smile plastered on his face, he lifted his glass and made a cheer to Cassandra. “this is well deserved and missed. Just you and me, alcohol and a lot of bad decisions.”

It was easy to see that they had known each other for years; they almost moved in sync as they entered the bar. His statement about to friends being out for drinks - no hook-ups - made her laugh. ‘’Aw, damn it! And here I thought I had a shot at finally hooking up with you!’’ she said; of course, joking. As Tidus had asked her what she wanted to drink, she agreed to the same as him; simply because it was the easiest. The fact that he called her gorgeous seemed not out of the ordinary; she was used to compliments from her friend.
As he stated that he wished for the same confidence as the stripping men, she chuckled softly at him. ‘’Oh dear, please tell me that you won’t be getting a dad-bod!’’ she exclaimed, referring to the body of a man with a beer-belly and body-hair all the wrong places. Then, he sat down next to her, making her lean slightly up against him. She noticed his nervous lip-biting, and gently gave his thigh a squeeze. Why was he being nervous? He had been jumpy all day - was something wrong? Their drinks arrived, and Tidus made a cheer while Cassandra straightened herself enough to be sitting upright again instead of leaning against him. ‘’You, me and bad decisions,’’ she agreed, winking at him before she took a sip of her drink, rather calmly. She placed the glass in front of her on the table, before she looked at him once more. ‘’Now… Will you please tell me what’s going on?’’ she asked, both serious and kind at the same time. She looked at him with her warm amber-eyes, waiting for the demon to either lie once more to her; making her slightly vexed with him, or for him to finally tell the truth about why he was acting strange.

She didn’t know about his feelings. She didn’t know. So how on earth did she hit bullseye when she teased about them hooking up!? He shrugged it off and focused on the bar scene instead.
He should have known that she immediately would ask about his weird behavior. He often wished that he was better at hiding if something was wrong. In the end, he had ended up accepting that he wasn’t a good liar… which could have its perks.
To avoid the subject just a bit, he decided to answer the comment about the dad-bod. “I often consider it… I mean… come on! It would nice to just lay lose and relax… not thinking about working out all the time.”
He knew he couldn’t drag this out for long. Sooner or later she would scull at him, for not telling her what was on his mind. The little squeeze on his thigh made his heart race faster.
“Well… I promise, after a few more drinks, I will tell you actually what is wrong!”
That was his ending result. Telling her after some drinks. How could he promise something like that!? “Until then, you better be dancing on the table soon, miss Cassandra!”

After a few drinks of whiskey… okay… after a whole lot of whiskey, Tidus had now hid rock bottom and could no longer find heads or tails in his surroundings. The time had come for him to confess.
He looked into Cassandras eyes, before looking down again. His hand was around another glass of whiskey.
“I love you Cassandra,” he mumbled. He took the courage and looked into her eyes. “I love you so god damn much.”

Cassandra wasn't really sure why he avoided the subject. What could be done that would be so horrible that he didn't even want to tell her while somewhat sober? As they had joked about the dad bid, she chuckled at him before she took another sip of her drink. "you'll be dancing on tables with me then!" she joked, knowing that none of them would actually dance on the tables, since they had grown up just a bit.

As she had finished yet another drink - her sixth or seventh - she was back to leaning slightly against him. Or, until he looked her in the eyes, at least. As he seemed to hesitate once more, smiled comfortably at him. Nothing could be so terrible that he couldn't tell her. As he finally spike, he told her something they had declared non-verbally for years. Of course, he loved her, she loved him as well. "I love you too," she said, looking at him with a gentle smile.
"is that why you have been acting weird?" she asked, furrowing her brows. "wait... Like, you love me, love?" she then asked, feeling like an idiot for asking such a silly thing.