The Sweetest Save

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To Esteri, this was a nightmare. Not only was there a deadly virus wreaking havoc on the world and sickening hundreds of thousands of people, but she was trapped in her house with her guardians. That is any kid's absolute worst nightmare.

Once, she was on her bed, trying to do her schoolwork online, when she was rudely interrupted by her father opening the door.

"Esteri! Alexej and I were going to—" Tuure began loudly, startling Esteri so badly that she nearly dropped her computer.

"Dad! Don't you know how to knock?" Esteri groaned.

"I just want to say this one thing—" he started up again, and Esteri rolled her eyes and sighed in an annoyed way. "Esteri, Alexej and I were going to play Monopoly, and we were wondering if you wanted to join us."

Since the coronavirus situation had officially been declared a pandemic a week ago, Esteri's father and his boyfriend wanted her to do everything with them now that they were all stuck in the house together. They did not seem to understand that Esteri was a typical preteen. All she wanted during the pandemic was to stay in her room, reading or sleeping.

"Fine," Esteri groaned. She hoped that if she joined the game, Tuure and Alexej would leave her alone for the rest of the night.

Obviously, this did not happen. Immediately after winning the game, Tuure begged Esteri to watch an animated movie with him and Alexej. Since Tuure had missed out on raising Esteri for a large portion of her childhood, he felt like they had some catching up to do with cartoon movies. He apparently didn't understand that Esteri would soon be thirteen and was no longer interested in such childish things.

After she refused the movie, Alexej pestered her for another ten minutes about whether or not she wanted him and Tuure to start cooking homemade meals for her.

"Sure," Esteri snapped. She didn't say all the insults that she wanted to say, but the anger in her voice was still obvious.

"Esteri, watch your tone," Tuure scolded lightly from his position on the couch.

"Sorry," she grunted out an apology before running up to her room.

Every day seemed to be a repetition of this sequence. Now that the hockey season was indefinitely postponed and gyms were closed, Tuure and Alexej were in the house all the time. Esteri had no classes and all of her assignments were online, so she was stuck in the house with them.

She was in that situation again where she disliked seeing Alexej anywhere near her father. Now that there was nothing else to do, the relationship was even more visible to her.

For example, she wanted to ask her father what was for dinner one day, and when she climbed the stairs, she heard talking from her father's bedroom. When she peeked in, she saw that her father and Alexej were cuddling in the bed together and watching a movie. Alexej had his head on Tuure's chest and was looking up at the younger man adoringly. Tuure, meanwhile, was stroking Alexej's hair and smiling.

Alexej was nice, but Esteri had lived her entire life having just one parent. She wasn't sure if she was ready or willing to have two. After all, it was a major adjustment.

Alexej, ever observant, noticed a few weeks into the pandemic that Esteri was making an effort to distance herself from him. Concerned, he went to ask her what was wrong one day.

"I don't know," she snorted. Her thirteenth birthday had been a few days before, so she gave a typical teenager response. "I just...I guess it's tough seeing my father be in love with somebody who isn't my mother. I like you, but sometimes it feels weird to see my dad dating someone."

Alexej sat down on her bed, leaving some distance in between him and his boyfriend's daughter. "I understand it can be tough. My uncle Dominik got divorced from his wife back in 2012, and my cousins have to deal with him dating other women now. They're adults, but it upsets them just as much as it upsets you."

"So you sort of get what I'm feeling," Esteri guessed.

"I can try to understand it because people in my family went through it, but I have never gone through it myself," Alexej explained. "My parents are still married, so I've never had to deal with a 'new' parent. I can't understand the emotions that you are experiencing, no matter how hard I try. However, I will say this: I love you and your father a lot, and I want to make your lives as good as I can. I want to make you both happy, even though we are currently living in a pandemic. Your feelings about me are valid, and I accept them."

Esteri appreciated the fact that he saw her points as valid. "Thank you, Alexej."

"We can spend some one-on-one time together and do some family activities, too," Alexej suggested. "Now that we're all stuck inside our homes, we have a lot of free time to do fun things together. We should plan a little activity night!"

Alexej was so truly excited about this. Some adults were not as enthusiastic about having children and spending time with them, but Alexej was a natural at it. Perhaps, Esteri thought, he was always meant to be her stepfather.

One day, Alexej had to go buy food for himself, Tuure, and Esteri. Tuure decided to surprise his boyfriend when he got home by making him a relaxing bubble bath with relaxing music and candles.

"He needs to de-stress," Tuure explained to his daughter when she found him pouring the bubble bath mixture into the giant bathtub in the master bedroom. "We all do during this pandemic, honestly. I can make you a bubble bath when I'm done with this one!"

"It's alright, Dad," Esteri insisted. "This is a gift for Alexej. In fact, I can help you prepare it if you want!"

"Sure!" Tuure's eyes brightened at the sudden display of kindness from his daughter. "Do you mind getting a glass of wine for Alexej and I? Also, please bring up some plates, the fancy chocolate, and the boxes of fruit in the fridge. I want to make a little gift for him."

"Yes, of course," Esteri agreed. She raced downstairs and prepared everything that her father had asked her to prepare. After a couple trips up and down the stairs, everything was in the bathroom.

Alexej got home moments after Tuure and Esteri were finished upstairs. Esteri led a confused Alexej into the bathroom, where the thirty-four-year-old discovered the bath, the food, the music, and Tuure.

"Wow, what is this?" Alexej looked at everything and then at Tuure. "You did all of this just for me?"

"You have seemed tired and stressed recently, and I thought this would help," Tuure pointed at his daughter. "Esteri helped set it up."

Alexej looked at the girl with genuine gratitude. "Thank you, Esteri. You are very kind."

"It was my pleasure," Esteri confessed truthfully. "Now I will let you two have your privacy."

Esteri exited the bathroom. Once she was gone, Tuure locked the door. He then stripped and climbed into the tub, and Alexej followed suit.

"My daughter is starting to bond with you more," Tuure told Alexej.

"I agree," Alexej said. "She didn't seem to like me at first, but she now accepts me as an unofficial stepfather."

"And someday..." Tuure pulled Alexej close to him and kissed him. "Someday I plan to make you her official stepfather."