Casual Sabotage

49 - We stay family

10 years later

Amy – 16 years old
Johnny – 10 years old
Ian – 42 years old
Mickey – 44 years old

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was the morning of Amy's 16th birthday.
Mickey was making pancakes downstairs, Ian came down to the kitchen with Johnny.
"Johnny, I said, put on a sweater, it's cold outside."
"No, it's not so cold, it's already spring!"
"Oh yeah, when you get a cold, I won't be the one to make soup and tea for you."
"I know, papa will.", Johnny ran over to Mickey and broke off a piece of a pancake Mickey had already finished.

"Hey, wait until your sister comes down. And put on the sweater your dad put out for you, you're gonna freeze to death."
"No, I won't."
"How about, you're walking to school today then? I don't have to give you a ride."

Johnny growled at him, crossed his arms in front of his chest and went upstairs to get his sweater. Ian sighed and walked over to his husband, he stole a pancake and smirked at Mickey before eating it.

"They're for your daughter", Mickey scolded.
"She'll survive it."
Mickey rolled his eyes, then he dug in the pocket of his jacket and got the ring box with Mandy's ring out, he opened it and looked at the ring thoughtfully.

They had decided together to give the ring to Amy on her birthday. It was a big deal to Mickey, Ian knew this, so he didn't want to say anything against it.

"I also think it's time to tell her about Mandy.", Mickey said.
They had talked about this as well, but Ian was against it.
"What's the use, honestly? Why should we tell her about her? It wouldn't change anything."
"Better we tell her than her finding out on her own. What if anyone else tells her and then she's mad at us and won't talk to us anymore? Then she runs away from home, falls in love with a homeless guy and sells herself into prostitution – she's only 16 years old."

Ian frowned, "You're watching too much TV."
"Probably. Still. It's important that she knows about Mandy. She's part of her family."
"As her aunt. Not as her mother."
"Of course not as her mother. We stay her parents, but she should know about where she comes from."
Ian sighed, "I don't know... when I was told that my dad is just my uncle and my uncle is my dad, I didn't feel exactly great."
"But you said yourself, that was because all your other siblings were your dad's kids and you were afraid to not belong there anymore. Shouldn't be the case here."

Ian nodded while biting his lip, "You really think it's a good idea?"
"Yes. Better she hears it from us than from anyone else. She's getting older... she's sixteen, she has that stupid boyfriend, she's not the little pirate princess anymore... what if she completely turns away from us?"

Ian smiled and put his arm around him, "She's just going through puberty. Compared to our relationships with our fathers at that age, we're like super close with her."
"She's sixteen, it all could change. I don't want to give her reason to push us away. So, we have to be honest with her."
"You act like the whole world is ending and everything's changing because she turns sixteen", Ian chuckled.

Mickey looked him dead in the eye, "When you were sixteen you were banging the 50-year-old father of your sister's boyfriend. And an aggressive, dirty, good-for-nothing thug at the same time."
"Whom I got married to."
"Exactly, you're mental. So, can we tell her?"
Ian sighed, "Okay, maybe she deserves the truth and all that crap. I go check if Pirate Princess got out of her bed yet."

Ian kissed his forehead and went upstairs.
Amy just came out of her room on the way to the bathroom.

"Hey, birthday girl", Ian grinned and hugged her, "Happy Birthday."
"Thanks, dad."
"Listen, Ames, be nice to your papa today, okay?"
"Why?"
"You know, he's having a hard time with you growing up and all that stuff."
"You mean like when he held my boyfriend at gunpoint?"
Ian failed to suppress a smile, "If he gets a bit sentimental and embarrassing just... cut him some slack, will you?"