doppelgänger --> there's never just one {sequel}

dani & andy

Before Dani closed Ethan's door behind her, she watched him as he walked around the bed to get to the other side, and after he looked up and met eyes with her, she asked him, "Can I do your eyebrows?"

He made a face, cocking he head to the side dreadfully. "Dani....."

"Well, not like, do them, but just..... clean them up a little. Your hair's so dark and there's this one hair that's bothering me," she clarified as she moved towards him and placed her finger right below said hair and tapped lightly with the pad of her first finger, pointing.

He grimaced, seemingly still a little hesitant.

"Fine."

"Really?" she asked him excitedly.

"Yeah. But only under one condition — after this," he established, pulling her down on the mattress by her waist.

She landed right next to him, and he rolled her over on her side to face him. He gazed right into her eyes, watching them until she made eye contact with him, and even then, his gaze remained steady. She smiled a little, brushing her fingertips across his cheek and traced his jaw until her fingers reached his neck. She gave him a pretty smile.

He laid his hand on the side of her stomach, laughing a little, then looked back at her. "I can't believe we're going to have a baby in a couple months. This is crazy. Like, I've thought of it happening before, but now, it's like, actually reality." He flopped over on his back, looking up at the ceiling. "And, I never thought of it in my mind as happening at this time in our lives." He turned his head her way, his eyebrows furrowed. "But it's not like it matters or anything. Like, I don't care that it's now," he assured her. "I'm happy, of course. I wouldn't go back on or change a thing." Ethan looked back up at the ceiling. "I can't wait, Dani," he told her, beaming.

Damn, she was lucky.

His face was radiant.

And Dani beamed right back. She couldn't help herself. She also felt like crying, too, at the same time. She felt so happy. He made her so happy.

"Oh my gosh, Ethan..... me neither," she told him as she used the side of her thumb to wipe a tear away from under her eye. She sniffed, and before she knew it, she was already choked up.

Also before she knew it, Ethan noticed and his head snapped up in response. He sat up and scooted over to her, a concerned look on his face as he placed a hand on her thigh and used the other to push her hair back. She just laughed softly, using the back of her hand and then the inside of her wrist to wipe away more of the tears streaming down her cheeks, Ethan sweeping across her other cheek with his thumb in a windshield wiper sort of motion. He watched Dani, his expression full of confusion.

"Ethan," she said, still smiling wide as she ran a hand through his hair. "I'm happy. These are tears of happiness. I promise."

He smiled, letting out a breath of relief and raking his hand through his waves. Then he wrapped his hand around the back of her neck and pulled her towards him, and kissed her.

*

Andy stood at Ethan's door in hesitation, deciding whether or not he should proceed. Then, after a couple of attempts, he went ahead and knocked, his knuckles actually hitting the surface of the door that time.

He leaned forward, raising his eyebrows and waiting for a response. "Can I come in now?"

He waited a second, and grabbed the handle, the rings on his fingers making a sharp ting noise on the also-metal knob. He gritted his teeth, and proceeded to open the door slowly.

Andy took a glance in the room, and once he realized it was safe for him to enter, he quickly swung the door open in one swift move, and and his upper body jerked back awkwardly, opening his mouth like he was about to announce his presence, but he didn't say anything but "Uh, hey."

He inhaled to say something else while he thought of what else to actually say, but Dani responded with a "Hi!" before he could say anything else, lucky for him, anyway.

Andy observed the way Ethan's arm was around Dani, and she looked over her shoulder at Andy because her body was facing Ethan, and Ethan's body was the one facing him, on the other side of the bed, behind Dani.

They're on the bed, with the door closed, we'll it was, and they didn't answer me the first or second time even though I didn't wait very long, wait, I did, and — oh wait..... Dani's pregnant, right. There's no point of keeping watch over them anymore; they've already done that shit anyways," Andy thought to himself. He almost sighed or groaned (or a combination of the both) out loud, but with all his will he kept it in.

Though he did let out a little bit of a sigh-thing as he began talking, but Andy didn't really count that one, in his mind, because it was less breath and more of his voice than anything. There was too much soul and sound in it to be a sigh. "So, uh..... what are you guys up to?"

Dani looked like she was trying to hold back a laugh, he noticed, and the tips of Andy's ears reddened some. He pointed at her, his other hand on his hip. "Hey, I saw that," he declared.

"Saw what?"

"Look, I'm sorry that I'm awkward and embarrassing like every dad, okay?" he apologized, though the more she smiled, the more he did too as he spoke, and then the more Ethan's smile grew as well. Now Andy struggled to hold back his own laugh, "But..... you know, I've kind of really never done this before."

Dani laughed along with him as she opened her mouth wide in disbelief. "Dad! Did you forget that Dennis is older, which means you have 'done this' before?!" 

"Yeah, well..... yeah, I know! You're right." He smiled, shaking his head. "Alright, anyway," he started, placing his hand on the doorknob, "I'll just be leaving now. Leaving you two alone. Bye," he told them, pulling the door closed, at first so there was still a gap between it and the frame, peeking his head through before he actually pulled the door all the way shut.

Andy stood there outside the room for a moment still, thinking.

His baby was having a baby. It had already happened before, twice, with Dennis, so why he hadn't let this sink in quite yet, he wasn't sure. Maybe because it wasn't Dennis.

Either way, it was shocking every time.

He began to wonder yet again how much his own choices had to do with it.

But he couldn't do this to himself again, otherwise he would rip himself apart by doing so. It had already happened before, and not only with this particular subject. And it wasn't at all like he was unhappy now with his decisions or would go back on some of the choices he'd made, like having his kids in the first place. He just.....

Thought a lot sometimes. Thought a lot about his choices, and so many other things.

He let his hand slowly slip off of the door handle, his arm hanging loosely down by his side.

What would it have been like now if he made different choices back then?