Work Text:
He didn’t even know what time it was when he finally heard the front door open and close in the distance while her footsteps echoed through the foyer; after a few minutes of silence, Astrid called out to Ray and he guided her to his office with her voice as he responded.
Astrid walked in, a soft smile on her face while her hair was up in a tight bun as she looked over at her husband who had a shoe box on his desk while glancing at pictures. The box looked familiar to Astrid as she slowly approached Ray who stared at the picture with a strange look in his eyes—she rested a hand on his shoulder and looked at the picture, finally realizing why the box looked so familiar.
The picture glistened with bright colors of Astrid who could have been no older than 16 at the time, wearing a bright pink ensemble as she posed with friends.
“Where did you find these?” Astrid asked with a chuckle.
Ray shook his head “I didn’t, your son did…” he muttered before putting it back in the box.
Astrid let her smile rise as she looked in the box, so many pictures and mementos of her youth—an old scrunchie, several polaroid pictures of her through high school, a half a pack of cigarettes, and old concert ticket stubs. She had forgotten all about it as she grabbed the box and sat on the couch to look everything over.
Ray watched as she went through the box, her smile fading as she looked over every item and even brushed a tear away from her face as she read through an old note she and a friend passed in class. It all seemed so far from who and where she was now.
“My love,” Ray whispered, moving to sit next to her.
Astrid shook her head “It’s alright, Ray…” she said, brushing away another tear “I just…” she thought of what to say, they never talked about their pasts very much.
“I didn’t like who I was then,” Astrid told him “I had all the friends, the make-up, the clothes…all the after school clubs. But none of it mattered. I felt…out of place, like I didn’t belong. But then again, what teenager does?” she forced a chuckle as Ray stroked her hair.
Astrid cleared her throat “Even looking back, I was so unhappy. I wanted to get out of Texas so bad when I graduated…but I couldn’t afford it, couldn’t get into a college out of state. I was stuck. And then mom got sick.” she fell into a whisper as she remembered it all.
Ray played with her hair, watching her take out her Senior Portrait picture—he couldn’t understand how she looked so different and yet looked exactly the same now as she did then.
“My mom dying was the best thing that ever happened to me, and that breaks my heart…” she said, beginning to choke up “Because I loved my mom, and I miss her so much.” she said as a stream of tears fell from her eyes.
Ray held her close, soothing her as he stroked her arm while she brushed away the tears “I didn’t learn shit in college, other than I didn’t want to be where I was. Leaving was all I ever wanted it to be—and being with you, and having Enniss have been a dream.” she told him.
“I know, Star.” Ray muttered to her “If it makes you feel any better, I used to be shoved into lockers when I was in school.” he said.
Astrid chuckled to herself “I doubt that very seriously,” she said.
Ray shook his head “I am very serious. I was not the hot piece of ass you know today back in my younger years,” he told her as she looked up at him, “…I was bullied a lot. Got my ass handed to me a lot. No friends. Just me and my books, and my OCD. I was miserable.” he told her.
Astrid smiled at him and stroked his cheek “So…we’re just two misfits who found each other?”
He nodded “Abso-fucking-lutely.” he told her “I honestly relish in the fact that I found someone who was as alone as me, no family…and then, we made our own family. And I want us to love Enniss in the ways that our families didn’t. I don’t want him to ever feel alone!”
“Raymond, I promise—that we will be the most loving, caring, and extremely embarrassing parents ever. When Enniss is in his puberty throughs, and high school…it’ll be great! We’ll make sure that even when he tries to pull away from us, we’ll still be there for him.” Astrid told him.
Ray frowned slightly “I don’t want him to pull away from us. My Little Bun.” he said.
Astrid smiled “We still have a long way to go before that happens…I just want him out of diapers at the moment.” she assured him before leaning up to kiss him.
Ray kissed her back, holding her tight against his chest while enjoying the moment.
“So, tell me more about you getting stuffed into lockers, cause you’re so tall, so how were they even able to get you in there?” Astrid inquired.
Ray smirked “I was rather lanky, no meat on my bones—so they could just grab me and stuff me in.” he told her.
“Like how you stuff me?” she asked coyly.
“Oh, you little…” he trailed off before kissing her again “I’ll stuff you right now.”
Astrid let a small smile out “Enniss is asleep?”
Ray nodded.
“Then stuff me on your desk Mr. Smith…” Astrid said, pulling away from his chest.
Ray blushed “Astrid—Jesus Fucking Christ!” he said before laughing, grabbing Astrid’s wrist to help himself get up from the couch before pushing his wife onto the desk.