Through A Different Lens {Marina/Maya & Carina}

Hood Of His Corduroy (Chapter 10)

It started with one giggle, then another, then another...then another. Maya could feel her biceps begging her to stop, but she couldn't.

Carina had taken it upon herself to sit Finn on Maya's back during her evening workout, she kept him in her hands, but placed the majority of his weight upon the top of her back. Precisely when Maya was doing pushups in the living room. Whenever she would finish one rep, Finn would break out into a fit of giggles, which melted both Carina and Maya's hearts.

Carina meanwhile did not complain. Seeing Maya's biceps flex at each drop was a guilty pleasure of hers, and she would be lying if she said she hadn't placed Finn on her back on purpose.

"Okay, Carina, you need to take him" Maya spoke, feeling as her arms began to stutter from the ridiculous amount of reps she had just done.

"I don't know, I quite like the view" Carina spoke, a smirk on her face.

"Carina!" Maya exclaimed. Carina was just left to chuckle, alongside Finn who was still in fits. The second Finn had left her back, Maya dropped to the floor, stomach first and cheek against the cold wooden floor.

Her breath jealousy still stable and her arms appealingly still flexed, Maya rolled over on her back, meeting with Carina's pleased face. "You think you're funny"

"Hilarious" Carina corrected, a smile on her face as she rested Finn on her knee, bouncing him up and down to keep the smile on his face "And I think Finn can agree" She added, watching Maya lean up on her elbows and shine a sarcastic smirk.

"Oh really? Are you two ganging up on me now, is that what this is"

"Uh oh, I think she caught onto us Finn" She whispered, loud enough for both Maya and Finn to hear, but just enough to give off the effect that she was pretending to hide something.

Maya shook her head away from the soft wholesome moment that had just occurred amongst the three. It was unusual. Seeing such a blossoming smile on both Carina's and Finn's faces. Although it had become a frequent occurrence for her, she could never not smile at the warmth that their little bubble gave her.

She still refused to see this as her little family, see herself as more than just a carer for Finn. Yes, she contributes to parent situations for Finn, but it was just hard for her to say it aloud. Say that she was Finn's parent or guardian. And it was the same for Carina. It was hard to picture Carina in such a parental status, even though she was excelling at anything she had to do for Finn's care, his love, it was still hard to vocalise the words.

Maya felt as though if she kept this blockade in her head, refusing to speak it aloud, that she could contain her worries, contain the fears that her father portrayed on her. Carina saying that she was nothing like her father, was a major step for Maya. Seeing that someone didn't see her as this person with bad influences and a controlling mindset, that would soon break the moment a child's cry erupted, it was structuring.

That trust and awareness that Carina had for her, gave her structure, it gave her the strength for herself to see that she was capable for this, and even though it was an internal battle with herself, she knew deep down that no matter what was to happen, she had fallen into a rhythm with Finn. And Maya liked rhythms.

"Is he coming at the same time?" Carina asked, raising Finn slighting, just enough to press a kiss to his cheek. His face scrunched up before shining in a gummy smile, his two incisors slowly peeking out of his gums. Maya had mixed feelings about his teeth starting to come in, for one, Finn liked to chew on anything, if not everything, and now that his teeth were beginning to portray, she was scared that it wasn't just going to be a light shoulder chomp.