Work Text:
“Are we really having a fight about this?”
“I guess we are.”
“And are we in a pillow fort?”
“Yes, but-”
“Then I hate to break it to you, boss, but this is a pillow fight.”
She could tell he was trying to diffuse the situation with a joke, and while she resented it, it was a classic Lasso move, so she wasn’t exactly surprised.
“Out of curiosity, do girls actually have as many pillow fights in real life as they do in movies? I’ve always wondered.”
“Ted, don’t change the subject.”
“Because I have to tell you, I keep suggesting that with the team and I am getting absolutely nowhere.”
“Yeah, I can’t imagine Jamie letting anyone hit him with a pi- that is so not the point, Ted.”
“Worth a shot.”
She looked up at him and saw an exhausted smile, like he’s too tired to hold on to the bright and shiny demeanor he always sports. It always warmed her heart to see that soft smile, knowing she was one of the very fortunate few he felt comfortable being that vulnerable with.
“We have to take it down eventually.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“It’s been two weeks since Henry went back to Texas. You know it’s time.”
“It feels like two minutes.”
“Time doesn’t exactly fly when you miss your kid.”
He was silent for a moment and then made a hmm sound, his response in the rare cases when he runs out of words. She put her hand on his, not sure what she can say to make this better.
“He’s gotten so tall, you know? I feel like next time I see him he’ll be taller than me.”
“Isn’t Michelle sending him over for Christmas break?”
“That feels like ages away. What if he outgrows pillow forts by then?”
“You’ll find something else he does like.”
“What if he outgrows me?”
She pulled him into a hug.
“Hey, he is not going to outgrow you, that is ridiculous. He loves you, you know that.”
“He’s gonna be a teenager in no time!”
“In six years, not six months.”
“Yeah, but it’s there!”
“You’re quoting When Harry Met Sally, does that mean you’re feeling better?”
It’s her favourite feeling in the world, when he’s so close she can physically feel the weight lifting off his shoulders, his smile growing a little wider. She squeezed him closer for a second, then let go.
“It’s just hard being this far away from him. Modern technology is a miracle, so I forget sometimes, and then he comes to visit and it’s like my heart suddenly remembers everything I miss, and I miss so much. I miss him so much.”
“Do you want to call him?”
“Nah, he’s at school, getting all smart and stuff. I’ll call him tomorrow.”
“Then how about we take this thing down and have a movie night? When Harry Met Sally? Double feature?”
“Okay, but just like Meg Ryan’s bookstore in You’ve Got Mail, this place is not going down without a fight.”
He jumped up quickly and picked up a big cushion, one of the walls of the pillow fort, which basically made the whole thing fall apart. He didn’t focus on that, just held his fight stance and bounced in place like a boxer until she got up and joined him. For a second she thought, God, how easy it is to love him. And then he smacked her with the pillow, and she rolled her eyes, and it was all a small price to pay to make him forget his pain for a little while longer.