We'll Get There {AntiAverage} (ABANDONED)

12: C B

1199 words

Dealing with Greyson's sugar-highs had never been pleasant, but for some reason it was especially bad tonight. The kid had run about six laps around the couch, and was currently attempting to climb the ridiculously oversized cat tower in the corner (because even Marvin's pet was extra).

I quickly sprang from the couch to grab him, which made Anti flinch, and in turn me feel like a terrible human. I didn't have time to apologize, though, because I was having to physically pry Greyson from the tower. I couldn't keep a straight face as the kid giggled- dammit, he had a really contagious laugh!

Trey had his phone out in an attempt to document the chaos, and even he was poorly stifling a smile.

"Do you... do you need help there?", Marvin chuckled, poking his head around the wall at the top of the stairs.

Most everyone had gone back to their rooms to do their own thing in the last few hours, save for Jackie, who was 'on duty' again. Jack had a date with Evelien, and only after some teasing had he left.

"Nah bro, I've got this-", I paused to avoid a flailing limb, finally managing to separate my child from the furniture, "-under complete control." Marvin nodded his head, clearly unconvinced, and made his way downstairs. He snapped his fingers, and red sparks shot in the air a few feet above his head. This caught Grey's attention, and soon he escaped my hold to skid to a halt in front of the magician.

"How did you do that!", what was worded as a question really wasn't much of one at all, and Grey looked at Marvin with awe in his eyes.

"I told you, I'm magic.", Marvin grinned, materializing his mask out of thin air with a fancy hand flourish. He didn't have on his uniform, rather a pair of deep purple silk pajamas, but the way he moved was still enchanting.

"My mom says magic isn't real.", Greyson sounded suddenly skeptical, as though everything that had just happened was suddenly fake.

Marvin paused for a moment, mask half on, with narrowed eyes, before responding, "Your mom's wrong about a lot of things."

I struggled to keep from laughing at the comment, and both the magician and I received dirty looks from Trey, who had luckily stopped recording.

Grey, however, shrugged the comment off, either unable to sense the destain in it or not caring. I stepped behind my youngest, setting a hand on his shoulder, "If your Uncle does some of his tricks, will you get ready for bed after?"

He debating this for a moment, a moment during which Marvin raised an eyebrow at me. I returned a pleading look.

"Deal.", Grey nodded, looking up at me. I retracted my hand from his shoulder and extended a my little finger.

"Pinkie promise?", I asked, my eyebrows comically raised.

Grey offered his own finger, and snaked it around mine. We moved our hands like it was a handshake, and I ruffled his hair, "Attaboy."

"Alright then, looks like my fate's been sealed.", Marvin chuckled good-naturedly, and sat himself on the back of the couch, making Trey move his head. For a second I thought it would tip over, but then I remembered who I was talking about. The magician had more grace than the rest of the house combined.

I half expected Marvin to start singing Friends on the Other Side from Princess and the Frog, but instead, he put a hand close to Grey's ear. "No quarter, huh?", Marvin asked, looking genuinely stumped. Another thing to be noted was his impeccable acting skills. He put a hand on Grey's head and very gently shook it, holding an open palm near the same ear.

To Greyson's, and even Trey's, amazement, a quarter rolled onto his hand. Marvin smiled as though satisfied with himself, then threw the coin into the air, where it disappeared in a cloud of silver smoke.

"Okay, that's kind of cool.", Trey tilted his head to the side as he examined the spot the quarter had disappeared in.

"I'm glad you think so.", Marvin gave a nod of appreciation. Trey narrowed his eyes suspiciously, and reached into the breast pocket of his shirt. He pulled the quarter out, and chuckled, seeming impressed.

"Can I have it?", Grey asked his brother, wide eyes focused on the coin.

"Sure. Uh- if that's okay with Marvin?", Trey glanced at the magician with a questioning gaze.

Marvin nodded, "Yeah, go ahead. There's nothing special about it."

So Trey reached over the back of the couch, careful not to knock his uncle over, and handed the change to his brother.

"Okay, little dude. You've got a promise to keep.", I said, leaning against the couch. Surprisingly, Greyson didn't argue, and walked around the furniture to rifle through his bag.

I signed thank you to Marvin, and he shook his head dismissively, as though to say, 'It was nothing.'

Grey returned with his toothbrush and a few flossers, both contained in a plastic bag. "Use the upstairs bathroom, we've got a bigger sink in there.", I instructed, motioning towards the stairs. He nodded, before bolting to said floor. I swear, he just ran everywhere he could could.

"You wanna go ahead and go up there with him?", I asked Trey, expecting the answer to be no. The teen was known to have midnight snacks. But to my surprise, after a moment of contemplation, he shrugged and agreed. He half-rolled off of the couch and landed on his knees by his bag, where he unzipped a pocket. He retrieved a ziplock bag packed identically to Greyson's, and got to his feet to follow his brother.

Once he was up the stairs, I sighed, resting my elbows on the couch as Marvin threw himself off. "That wasn't so hard. You ready to head to bed soon?", I directed the last question at Anti.

He shrugged, a sign I had learned to take as a yes, and Marvin chuckled.

"You guys really are starting to sound like husbands.", he said, turning towards the stairs. "I'll be in my room if you need me."

The comment admittedly made my face heat up, but I shook it off.

As we both walked up the stairs, though, I started to think about it more. So maybe Anti and I had kind of had a thing, that neither of us brought up or acted on, before he went missing. Okay, maybe we almost kissed once- but we didn't actually do anything, and we never brought it up again.

There had been jokes after the first time we both slept in my bed, which was almost a constant thing now because it made him feel more comfortable. And, yeah, I had to admit, it would've been strange how close he stayed to me throughout the day if a stranger were to observe us. But it didn't really matter, because that wasn't what anyone in the house needed to be focusing on at the moment.

Still, I couldn't help but notice Anti's vice-grip on my wrist when he tripped on the stairs.