Holding Hands Won't Be Enough

It was like a traditional family get together where everyone segregates into groups; the women sat around a table with their coffees chatting, the men were gathered around a screen watching footage from the night before, and the kids - or in this instance the actual children, Oscar, Ava, Scarlett and London; and the faux-children Glomb, Dico and Shitbird.

Milly was talking furniture with April and Missy when Ape's eyes were drawn to the entrance door Milly had her back to, she gave a small wave and went back to listening to Missy. Milly turned to see Jonna and Ville enter, but decided to take no notice, she didn't want any unwanted awkward looks or exchanges, she just wanted to enjoy her morning, and she was until Oscar's excitable voice yelling, "Daddy!", ricocheted through the venue causing everyone to stop and look. She squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her jaw, her hand instinctively covering her eyes.

"Fuck." she hissed. She took a deep breath and turned around with a prepared forced smile - her eyes caught Bam's as she looked up; she could have kicked him for the amused smirk he had plastered across his face. She watched as Oscar hurtled towards Ville at lightening speed, Ville scooping him up and admiring him with every ounce of his attention - leaving Jonna standing stagnant and useless at his side.

"Little monster!" Ville giggled, tickling Oscar's chest with his long fingers. "Did you eat a lot of sugar for breakfast?" he asked quizically. He shook his head adamantly and laughed.

"We've been waiting for you as-" Bam started, before correcting himself in front of all the children, "friend." he smiled smugly. "Let's all go sit the hell down. Phil and Jess have got this, so if y'all are poisoned, for once I had nothing to do with it."

Ville tried to make it not entirely obvious that he purposely sat diagonal from Milly and Oscar, encouraging Jonna to sit on the side of him where she wouldn't see him looking across her to them. The only person who noticed was Bam, but only because he was looking for it being the only person that knew about his and Milly's 'goings on' the previous night. April being April she engaged in conversation with Jonna to be polite, including Kelly in the conversation also so it wasn't too much of a calculated one-on-one conversation. Bam noticed this too.. It was breakfast politics at it's finest.

Ville still couldn't help but smile watching Oscar interact with his mother, he'd never seen anything like it but he wouldn't have expected anything less from her. She didn't baby him, or talk to him like most mothers would speak to their 3 year old; she conversed with him, asked him questions, challenged him.. The way he interacted with adults was outstanding, he was concise and polite, he was funny… His heart swelled almost to bursting point when Oscar looked dead into his eyes, grinned cheekily then turned his full attention to speak Finnish quietly to Milly - not that Ville could hear him for he covered his mouth and whispered, but she responded in Finnish, just loud enough for Ville to hear.

"I think Daddy and you look like twins too my little darling." her eyes moved from Oscar's to Ville's. She smiled coyly, knowing in that instant that he would have heard her. "But it's rude to stare." she added, flicking her attention back to her little one.

"But I want to." he replied confused as to why he couldn't stare at his own father. Ville widened his eyes scarily causing Oscar to cackle, catching Jonna's attention, who immediately pulled Ville into her conversation with April and Kelly. Oscar continued to laugh at Milly widening her eyes in the same fashion Ville had, which caused Ville to turn to look at them and chuckle also. Jonna's knee jerk reaction was to clear her throat, catching everyone's off-hand attention for a brief moment.

"Shh, shh.." Milly smiled, pressing her finger to Oscar's lips, "I bet Bam and I can eat more of our pancake than you can before Phil counts to five." she challenged loudly, turning to her friend she knew couldn't turn down a bet.

"You're going down baby face, I'm the king of pancake eating." Bam boasted jovially at Oscar.

"No, I am!" he retorted, pointing to his wide open mouth.

"Uh uh, everyone knows girls can eat waaay more pancakes than boys can." she jested, cocking her brow.

"Thems be fighting' words girl." Bam snarled at her.

"As soon as I start counting. Ready?" they all nodded, poised above their plates, "One," Phil laughed, speaking slowly, "Two.."

Oscar was, of course, no match for Bam who was indeed his father's son. Milly retired from competitive pancake eating after just one hearty mouthful, ending with a proud full-mouthed wink to her son. This game carried on until Oscar, London, Bam and Jess' faces were covered in syrup and London had began to grumble and fidget with stomach ache pains. It had brought much amusement to the otherwise awkward table, and even Jonna was caught laughing by Milly at one point, not that it was acknowledged by either one of them. Everyone had now dissipated and Milly, Missy and April were left to clear the table.

"Oh hun, take this out to the dumpster would you? I must've asked Bam a thousand times." Ape sighed, holding a garbage bag up off the floor.

"Of course." she gladly took the trash bag and made her way to the back exit, "Caught you." she said quietly, having found Ville in the back alley enjoying a moment alone with his thoughts. He turned and smiled bashfully, glad it was her, but also awkwardly, embarrassed that he had come this morning with Jonna. "I'm sorry about Oscar screaming out when you came in." she winced, "Decorum when he's excited isn't a skill he's wrapped his little head around yet."

"Don't you dare be sorry." he said solemnly, before sucking lightly on his bottom lip, "If it had been in any other, less watched situation, I would have cried. I still might actually." he chuckled lightly, rubbing his mouth and furrowing his brow. "I've never been so in awe of anything, as I am of him Milly. He's perfect."

"Oh.. you catch him when he's overtired and tell me that." she sighed, placing the trash bag into the dumpster, "Just like you in that scenario. A little fucking arsehole." Ville laughed out loud before looking at Milly longingly as they stood six feet apart.

"Don't look at me like that." she pleaded.

"I can't help it."

"Please try?"

"It's too hard."

"For your foetus' sake?"

"That wasn't an issue last night when you told me y-" she cut him off.

"I was selfish."

"You were beautiful."

"And you were - you are - engaged. You're expecting a baby.." she frowned.

"You love me." he stated simply, shaking his head. "Anything else pales in comparison to that."

"I'm going back to L.A. tomorrow morning."

"Why?"

"To work. Somebody has to be charged to have me play with paint and fabric all day."

"When will I see Oscar?"

"Whenever Jonna allows it." she remarked, immediately hating herself, she stepped closer to him and reached down to his hand, holding it with hers, "I won't ever stop you from seeing him." she said seriously, "Ever." They looked into each others green eyes, both silent, knowing that there were a million things to say and no easy way to say one of them, instead opting to let this moment, and similarly, all the moments they had shared on the East Coast speak for themselves.