He Who Controls the Flame (001 fanfic)

Epilogue

I was practically bouncing in my seat, watching the houses in their pastel colors, faded from years of salt spray and rain blur past us.

"You look like you're about to pee yourself," Seven said from the back seat, popping his head between Peter and I.

I rolled my eyes, pushing back his head with my hand.

"I'm sorry my joy is such a bother for you, I'll try to reign it in," I said, glaring at him.

"Thank you. You do know I have a sensitivity for joy," he said, nodding solemnly.

"Do you really?" Elena asked, looking over at him from her car seat. She was getting too big for her old one, I was going to need to get her a new one soon. Maybe I could get out easy this year and that could be her birthday present.

God, seven years old, I could hardly believe it. I couldn't wait for Elena to keep telling Seven that they were both seven. I was almost as excited for that as I was for where we were about to go now.

Peter, as if sensing my thoughts, wove his fingers through mine, resting our hands on the console between us.

"Look at you," I said, leaning my head against the headrest, looking over at him, "just got your license and already driving with one hand."

"What can I say?" Peter mused, turning with one expert hand. "I had a good teacher." God, watching him drive was orgasmic. Really. I could watch it for hours. And I had, teaching him how to maneuver a vehicle in parking lots, then neighborhoods, and eventually on real roads. It took him about a day to get the hang of it, but soon he was better at it than I was. Much more cautious, actually stopped for pedestrians, an all-around golden boy.

"Are we close?" I asked. His hand let go of mine and slid down to my legs. His fingers wrapped around my knee, stopping it from bouncing around.

"Relax, love," he said, shooting me an amused smile. "We're about five minutes."

"Ugh, I don't know if I can wait that long."

"You sound like your daughter."

In response, I heard a grunt behind us. "I can't wait any longer!" Elena moaned. I laughed and so did Peter, reaching backwards to grab his daughter's foot. She let out a squeal, trying to evade his hand.

"Seven?" he asked.

"Yes, Peter?"

"Please tickle my daughter, I can't do it one handed."

"On it." Seven reached over and Elena's giggles filled the car. I smiled at the two of them, barking out a laugh when Elena kicked Seven squarely in the jaw. He fake cried and Elena beamed at him, proud of her work.

I reached back to give her a high five and Seven glared at me. "Whose side are you on?" he asked.

I shrugged. "Blood's thicker than water."

He looked at Elena, shaking his head solemnly. "It's always the ones you least expect."

The car suddenly stopped and I jerked back around to see that we were in a small parking lot. There was some kind of gift shop to the side of us, with a window full of stuffed sea creatures and pool floaties, and right in front of our car was a wooden staircase that disappeared under sand the higher it got. I could almost hear the ocean just beyond those steps.

Peter glanced over at me. "Ready?"

I let out a laugh, a stupid grin on my lips. "I've been ready for twenty-five years."

"Oh my God, you're halfway to fifty," Seven said from the backseat, where he was unbuckling Elena. "You're ancient now."

I scowled and threw my empty Mcdonalds cup at his head. "Quiet. Your birthday's just around the corner."