Work Text:
"Jo-shu-a." "No, no, no! Da-ddy." Smiling at the scene in the living room Laura gripped the bags she had brought and went over to Jenna in the kitchen. Joshs mother had vowed to help with the preperation for Ellanas birthday, as Kelly was ill and couldn't come. Plus, somehow, with the very unique friendship her son and Tyler still held after all those years, she sometimes felt like Ella was a littlebit her grandchild too, a thought that made her utterly happy as she had accepted that she wouldn't get ones from her oldest son. "Hey Jen!" she greeted the blonde, giving her a quick hug and surveying the work she had already done. "Are they still at it?" Rolling her eyes Jenna took one of the bags out of the older womans arms and started to umpack it. "Since days. It was quiet funny first, but it starts to get on my nerves. I think Ella makes fun of them with not saying it." "Well, at least the three of them are occupied so we can work in peace." Giving her a smile Jenna handed her a plate. "Right? I'm so thankfull you do this Laura, I got no idea how to organise this on my own! Tyler went a little crazy and invited over 70 guests. A lot of his musician friends with their kids are coming. Could you make a cheese plate?" Grabbing the plate Laura put it down on a free counter and went to the fridge, searching through it while she listened to the noises Jenna made behind her. There was something she had wanted to tell the blonde for long now, but never had found the courage to do so.
As strange as it was, this domestic moment seemed to be the right. Hearing her son and his best friend discuss wildly about what Ellas first word should be in the livingroom and the little one squeeking excited on it she slowly started to collect the items she needed and tried to sound incidental when she started: "Joshua is so happy that you let him be around her so much, you got no idea, Jenna." "I'm gratefull that he is too! Ella adores him and it's way easier for me and Ty to get alonetime then for other couples. He's part of the family. You all are." the younger simply stated, switching between various bowls filled with food. Taking her heart in her hands Laura closed the fridge and turned then, taking a step foreward and touching the blondes arm so she looked at her. "You're an angel Jenna. And I mean that. You never held any bad feelings against my son, you included him into your marriage and life as a friend right away, and all that despite of knowing how serverly in love he was with your man at that time. It takes a great soul to accept that, Jenna. And an even greater one to lay your childs life so much in his hands. I can't even express how thankfull I am. When Tyler met you I thought Joshua was going to break, but you always gave him something to hold on up to the point where he learned to shift his love elsewhere."
Looking to the ground Jenna tried to hold back the tears that formed in her eyes. The older woman hit a point she had not thought anone else then the three of them had been aware of, well, there had been assumptions a lot, but they all had hidden the truth under layers and layers of trust in each other. Still, it had been a hard time, on all three of them. Jenna vividly remembered the day Josh broke, when he showed up in their house drunk a few days after their wedding, when he declared that he loved Tyler and would dissapear out of their lives, as there was no hope that they could go on as friends. She remembered the fight, the mean words that flew between them, Tylers schock about how his friend could have lied to him for so long, Joshs bent up years of rejection and hurted feelings. She also remembered the moment she had stepped in, grabbed her husbands face, kissed him, then turned, pressed a kiss to his best friends temple as well. "I love you, the both of you, in different ways, but I do. And it is my dearest wish that you work this out, whatever it will mean to the three of us." she had said. Jenna remembered when she took her suitcase, the one she had packed for honeymoon. She remembered when she drove to the airport alone, took the flight, ready to spent the time on her own.
Tyler had never told her what happened after she left, and she had never asked, it didn't matter, all that mattered was that he came after her two days later, found her on the beach, pressed her to his heart and metaphorically never let her go again. They had evolved from there on, they all had learned to live with each other. And when Josh had told them blushing about the nice boy he had met at a concert, the three of them had known that they had started to heal. All this memorys in her head and soul Jenna raised her eyes to her best friends mother's. "God knew why he brought us together, Laura. I'm convinced Joshua is my families guardening angel. And I thank you for bringing his beautiful soul into this world."
Not noticing the deeply emotional moment in the kitchen, where the two woman hugged thightly, Tyler and Josh sat crosslegged on the floor of the living room, Ella sitting before them, waving her arms and pedalling her legs in excitment on the funny argument in front of her. "No, babe, listen, it goes like this: JO-S..." "Oh give me a break man! There's no way she says your name before mine, it's linguistical impossible!" "That's just your jeallousy talking! Like back in the old days, Mr. + I'm the lead singer +!" "Excuse me, I''m her freaking father!" "Genetics are overrated!" "She already said Da!" "She said O too." "I'm not..."
"JODDY!" Ella squueaked loud and clear, visibly amazed by her own ability to find words and giggling so much that she nearly fell to the side. Both men stopped in the middle of their motion, slowly turned their heads to her and starrred at her with their mouths hanging open. Josh was the first to regain his composure again. Slowly shifting towards her a bit he smiled at her, taking one of her little hands into his. "Ella, babe, sweetie...repeat that..." Grinning at him proudly she pushed out "Joddy!" before she giggled again and tried to grab her fathers hand with her free one. Tyler immediatly reached out and let her wrap her fingers around his, tears already running down his face. Reaching out Josh pulled him close quietly, leaning his head against his best friend, sharing that moment of pride with him while Ella repeated their nickname over and over. Some wounds did heal by time. Some just evolved into something more beautiful.