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“Mickey.”
It’s been ten minutes into the fifteen minute drive and Reuben finds he can’t actually stand his WSO’s tense silence – Fanboy had spent those last twenty minutes biting into the beds of his fingernails in a way that made him look like a little rat more than ever.
“Sweetheart.” He sighs, defeated, one hand coming off of the steering wheel to pry that hand from the other man’s mouth. “You’re making me nervous and what for?”
Mickey looks almost like a deer caught in headlights as he accepts having his hand pried away, a slight pout forming before putting that hand through off-regulation and now growing curls. Still short but it was just their leave time effect.
“What if she doesn’t remember me? What if… what if she hates me?” Mickey whines almost too quietly in their all-too-silent car. It was usually’s Fanboy’s duty to “shoot in the sick tunes' “ according to himself but apparently the man had been so nervous he hadn’t even bothered to do so.
It’s a good thing Reuben is a fighter jet pilot because any less of a man would’ve probably swerved off of the road with the barked out laugh at his companion’s expressed worries. Shit. He shouldn’t have laughed by the way Mickey glares back in half offense and half desperation.
“BEN IT’S NOT FUNNY!!!”
He has to run a hand under his eyes to hold back the laughter.
“...I’m sorry, Mickey, baby, it is… it
is
a little funny!” Fanboy lets out a strangled noise between a sigh and a moan, head banging softly against the closed window. “Come on man, do you even hear yourself?”
“She’s eight, Ben! It’s been like… two years! That’s a long time for a kid! It’s literally one fourth of her whole life!”
Because of course, only Mickey Garcia would be stressing over something like that, psyching himself out to the point of practically chewing his fingertips off and then dramatically moaning against the window. Reuben would like to blame the latino blood but it was probably just the everything about him. And he loved it so much it made his chest ache with gentle warmth.
“Mickey, she sees you on facetime at least once a month and I say that to the least , she asks about you all the time, come on baby…”
“She does not see me that often, I know, I count it, last time we even saw each other was three months ago and I was right out the door and again! It’s been like two years since we even saw and spoke to each other properly! What if SHE HATES ME REUBEN!!!”
Okay so maybe Mickey was being a little too dramatic but the exasperation and tension in his voice was real, the way his Chicago accent derailing into his mother’s Mexican lilt – so like any good pilot to his wizzo, Ben puts one hand away from the wheel and holds it out for the other man to hold.
“Okay, breathe, you’re literally psyching yourself out right now.”
Mickey’s hand, much smaller but also much warmer, slots perfectly into his and despite their oddly funny car scene that unfolded, it always made Reuben’s heart skip a short beat whenever they held hands like that. God. He was a forty year old man, way too old for a crush.
And yet, there he was.
“...sorry.” Payback rubs his thumb over the curve of Fanboy’s hand gently and firmly, putting some pressure into their hold to ground the man.
“Listen.” Eyes on the road and all, at least it was a calm day. “Ceci loves you, Lucy loves you, all of them love you so much and you’re not even blood family, they still think you’re family. Just ‘cause you guys haven’t seen each other in years doesn’t mean much, okay? She hasn’t seen me either and I’m her dad.”
There’s a pregnant pause and he can tell Mickey is trying to at least gather himself enough before nodding.
“...it’s just different, isn’t it? You guys facetime every week, text and all and I’m just… like… her weird uncle that shows up every once in a while and she’s just a kid but they’re important to me, they’re a huge part of you so of course I love them too…”
He trails off and Payback is glad for a moment because the ease with which Mickey would say those things always knocked him flat. So off-handed like it was all a given. Like saying those things didn’t just steal the breath from him. He squeezes Mickey’s hand just a little tighter and feels his own hand being softly squeezed back.
“It’s gonna go great, okay? Ceci moved here to be near us not just near me and Lucy is an eight year old deaf little girl who doesn’t really got any friends here yet so she’s gonna be counting on you too, alright?”
He can’t pry his eyes from the road but feel Fanboy’s gaze shift to him and meets those dark almond eyes for a second, smiling gently back.
“Yeah, okay.”
The last couple minutes of their drive go in silence but at least, Reuben concedes, he’s managed to make his friend stop mauling his own fingers. That should count for some type of success, right? Right.
By the time they pull into the house’s driveway, most of the tension had been relieved.
That is until Reuben’s ex-wife, one of his closest friends and the mother of his child is walking right up to the passenger’s door and opening it to drag Mickey out before the WSO has a chance in hell to do anything, bringing him into a bone-crushing hug.
Cecelia was a woman to whom time was kind, as the years went by she only looked more beautiful. Or at least that’s what he always thought, reverently as possible. She’s been his high school sweetheart, first love and best friend for the longest time. Still was, in a way. And it was the clicking of her heels that always announced her presence first - followed by the woman herself, always wearing that trademark strong red lipstick in a shade that matched her brown skin and the wavy black hair always pulled back and tied into a braid.
He
did
consider himself fortunate for maintaining their great relationship through the years, despite the divorce or maybe because of it, really – but sometimes he wondered if Cecelia didn’t like Mickey more than she liked him. He couldn’t blame anyone who did, honestly.
(Not that he was offended either, he’d seen them just four months ago so it was only fair. And it brought a gentle, warm feeling to his chest watching
all
of his family get along.)
“Hiiiii Ceci…” Fanboy is mumbling, half laughing against the woman’s shoulder as they hugged firmly planted on the driveway. Payback shakes his head, chuckling and turning around to kneel on the floor, arms opening and letting his kid run right into his arms.
The collision of his daughter’s small body against his is one feeling he’ll never get sick of. In fact, if she doesn’t do that until the day he can’t stand up anymore, Reuben just might die of heartache. He can hear Cecelia’s low chuckling from the other side.
“Hello Michael, are you done avoiding us now?”
“Oh please don’t call me that, only my mom calls me that…”
“Well, mocoso, I wouldn’t have to if you wouldn’t be so difficult to pin down.”
Reuben chuckles before sitting up with his little girl still held tightly against his chest. Her body was so small against his and yet she’d grown up tremendously the past years he still wasn’t used to it. Maybe it was the distance but now living nearby, with the stability of being assigned to North Island, they’d grown used to each other again. Or so he hoped.
“Hey Peanut, how are–”
“Ben, wait.” Ceci’s voice rushes from the other side and she shows up, dragging Mickey by the arm and then letting him go. “She’s not using the hearing aids, not really adjusted to it yet–”
Oh. So that was the reason why his daughter had her face hidden against his shoulder. He nods back at her mother and holds the girl tightly, arm under her legs, hoisting them both up.
“No problem, yeah?”
It seems they will faster than he thinks because the next thing that happens is Mickey stalking forward and gently tapping Lucy’s shoulder, standing there a little awkwardly in his ‘Hard Rock Cafe - Naboo’ hoodie and waiting for the girl to look back. Another few seconds go by before she peels her sweet face from Reuben’s shoulder to side eye Mickey.
[
Missed. Me?
] Fanboy signs in painstakingly slow ASL but the second he does, the smile that brings to Lucy’s face isn’t one he’ll ever forget.
But it does make both Payback and Ceci stare a little in confusion for a few shocked moments.
“...Mickey, when did you learn that?” Reuben can’t help asking in surprised awe, still holding his daughter but her attention is entirely on the other man.
“Oh,” He hesitates, rubbing the back of his neck a bit bashfully. “Uhhh… when you told me what’d happened and all, kinda picked up some online classes? I’m still not very good at it but it should be enough.”
He pauses, flashing Lucy a grin so bright and sweet that it feels like an arrow right through Reuben’s heart.
[ Show him your shirt, Lucky. ] Ceci signs to her daughter and Payback hadn’t taken notice either – but as she shifts in his arms, he can see it clearly. The BB-8 t-shirt with stylized writing ‘They see me rollin, they hatin’. Which, of course, elicits a wonderfully delighted laugh from Mickey.
[ Mine is cooler. ] Mickey signs back, pointing at his hoodie with a prideful smirk and Lucy sticks her tongue out at him before tapping Reuben’s arm and squirming down into the ground. He watches his eight-year old, very shy and sweet daughter, with her space buns of curly hair and sweet smile reach for his WSO’s hand and tug for him to follow.
Mickey stares over at him and Cecilia with a winning smile before taking Lucy’s hand to allow himself and be guided inside the house, giving them a thumbs up over his head.
Guess he had a WSO for piloting and for life, too.