Little Things {Gumlee}

Chapter 9

Art by me

Lennon's doctors had been correct when they told him he had less than a year of life left. 10 months to be exact. The cancer had hit him hard and fast, and his choice to not follow through with treatment didn't help his situation. With every passing week, his condition seemed to worsen, meaning the two family members had to work fast. Training, planning, and trying not to tear each other's heads off while doing so. Barnaby was constantly on edge, stressed about managing his time everyday. It didn't seem like he was able to relax for very long, only when he was sleeping or spending time with his two favorite people, but even then he still seemed somewhat distracted.

A lot has happened in the past almost year, lots of growth and changes for everyone in the house. Barnaby had turned 18 on the 14th of February, to which Marshall made fun of him for being born on such a romantic holiday, and for also being an Aquarius. He decided to go out with a bang for his last birthday as a free teen, with a huge house party featuring a popular music artist, lots of booze, and lots of drugs. Lucky for him, Marshall wasn't able to witness him use his drug of choice with his friends because was too busy smoking, drinking, and making out with strangers to notice. Although he was jealous, he couldn't be mad. Poor guy hadn't gotten laid since Valerie was born. And sadly he hadn't admitted his true sexuality yet so Barnaby couldn't help him out. Although, there were a few close calls. Each time he thought that maybe Marshall was finally coming to his senses and realizing his roommate was fully prepared to show him a new world. But alas.

In March, they all celebrated Valerie's first birthday, another big party with a surplus of colorful decorations and plenty of toys that she didn't need, but deserved. She was walking now, which was very exciting for the two boys, but also troubling since she could reach higher and get into more things. Her eyes had reached their final shade of emerald green, which complimented her olive skin and black hair beautifully. Her personality was starting to come through more and more each day as well. She was funny, liked to play pranks, and loved to eat, scarfing down her meals just like her father. She was growing up into a perfect little girl, and the two were in love with her and her spirit.

April was when Marshall's birthday was, and since it was around spring break for Barnaby and Fionna, the group went on a small trip to Malibu. To his surprise, Barnaby discovered that Marshall was a fantastic surfer. Valerie looked adorable in her little frilly bathing suits, but her father looked absolutely nutworthy when he was in his wetsuit. He could still picture him jogging back from the water, surf board in hand, spandex suit accentuating every muscle and curve on his body, and his black hair dripping onto his sun kissed face. It was like a scene from Baywatch. Ugh, what a sight.

The rest of Barnaby's time was spend at the office. There was a lot to learn at his new place of employment, and the sudden realization that he would soon be in charge of all of these people freaked the teen out. Not only the people in the office building, but people across seas, people in the factories, and even the consumers. All of these people and more would be affected by his actions. He would have help of course, but the pressure to preform well was still nerve wracking.

When he wasn't at the office, he was either at the funeral home with Lennon trying to plan out his end of life "celebration", or he was studying for his advanced college courses. Even though this was his first year, he already had enough credits to be a junior after taking so many courses in high school. They were honors upper division classes, and finding the time to do school work was challenging. And even when he did find time, he found it challenging maintaining his focus.

It was moments like these he was actually sort of thankful for his drug of choice, he found it easier to get things done. At this point he didn't even do it for pleasure. He just needed it to function normally. He thought about stopping, because he knew he if he kept going it would only get worse. But every time he set a "get clean date" he always ended up pushing it back further and further, making up excuses to keep using. He would stop one day, just not now.