-Herc POV-

"I'm coming with you."

"Herc-"

"No, Laff. There's no way you're going alone."

"Herc-"

"We haven't had our honeymoon yet anyways. Just the two of us, it'll be fun!"

"Herc-"

"I'll take care of you, it'll be okay. I'll stay with you and keep you safe this time. You can go. But I'm coming with."

"Well, Herc, now that you're done can I finish? I was planning on taking you anyways."

"Oh."

I sigh as my husband squeezes me tighter, kissing me before finishing his phone conversation. The vet is giving us a weird look as she holds the ferret in a towel. I pull away from Laff and go to grab Flip. The damn thing tries to bite me, nothing new there.

Laff hangs up, and I grab his hand. I gently throw the squirming animal in the carrier with Tony and walk out the door.

"You hungry?"

"Kinda."

Lafayette goes to sit in the passenger seat as I fiddle with the keys. I climb in the car, heading to find some food.

"When are we leaving?"

"Friday."

"They sure don't give you a lot of time."

I pull into a KFC. If I'm leaving soon, I'm having some classic American cuisine. My husband gives me a look, and I shrug. I don't care how terrible it tastes, compared to his cooking anyways, I want chicken nuggets.

He looks disdainfully at the bucket I place between us before grabbing a drumstick. We have a little car picnic in the parking lot. Romantic.

The ferrets noses poke through the cage, causing us to laugh.

"What're we gonna do with Flip while we're gone? She's preggo and needs to be taken care of."

"We'll have to see if someone can look after them."

"Eliza's allergic to everything. Jefferson's funhouse seems dangerous. The Washington's are at the cabin, so that leaves..." We both groan. 

"John and Alex."

"Alex will do research and take precautions. John... has good intentions."

I suppose that's what has to happen then. The two of them better not screw this up, sometimes Flip seems to be the only thing holding Laff together. He seems so fragile. I'm afraid touching him the wrong way might break him again. 

Flip chews on his husbands ear. Ferrets don't have that issue. They're just harbingers of chaos who are loved by all.

I look nervously around the room. 

A group of giggling ladies sit behind the counter as John goes to pay. Him and Eliza got us into this mess. The least they can do is pay for us to have our hair ripped out.

The guys look nervously at each other, unsure of what to expect. I'm pretty sure Laff is the only one of us that's waxed before, and he doesn't actually have to do this.

It could be worse though, we could be waiting to snip off all of Laff's hair.

The poor guy looked terrified when John came up with the our side of the bet. He's been through so much already, the last thing he needed was to lose the afro he's maintained since childhood. Something he's prided himself on for years would be gone in an instant.

Eliza and Peggy pick up Alex from behind, plopping him in a chair. He just rolls his eyes as cameras are pulled out. A woman pours some crap on Alex's leg, spreading it and letting it sit.

"Ready?"

He shakes his head no, and she rips it off anyways. He flinches, but other than that keeps a neutral expression. He gets through the rest of his turn without a noise. This might not be so bad after all.

I volunteer to go next, I'm not freaking myself out because Thomas screams like a baby. The warm liquid is dealt with, and I feel it harden on my calf. 

"Ready?"

"Does it matter?"

I jump as she yanks off the wax, tearing out my leg hair.

"Brahhhhh." I'm not sure what that noise was, but it seems fitting for the situation. My husband offers his free hand, continuing to videotape this, and I accept. 

It takes many more strips to finish the job. I don't know why people do this voluntarily. My legs are still tingling as I stand over with Alex, who is rubbing his calf and examining his legs. 

Thomas is subjected to this punishment next and, as I figured, he cries while James hugs him. Lafayette snickers to himself, which seems to piss off James.

"If you're so tough why don't you do it?"

"M'kay."

My husband sits down and talks to the person. He fakes a yawn as he stares down Thomas and James. Jefferson seems almost impressed as Lafayette continues to converse with the lady. James just looks at his shoes until he's done.

My phone pings as I receive a text from Peggy, a video of everyone who has gone so far. I download them for later.

"Al, Laff and I are leaving in a few days. Would you and John mind looking after things?"

He nods at me, and I breathe a sigh of relief. Between the two of them, everything will be okay.

"We'll let you know when we get more information, I'm not sure when the babies are coming."

"Babies?"

"Oh yeah, Flip is pregnant. We'll be gone for at least a few weeks, Laff has no idea what his job is going to be. Just water the plants and take care of the animals. It shouldn't be hard to figure out." I stop as he looks at me with a slightly confused expression. 

"And I swear Alex, if anything you do hurts Flip, you're next. My husband doesn't need his ferret dying on him."

He gives me a much less enthusiastic nod than before as he jots things down in his notepad.

All I can make out is Pregnant ferret, No kill or we die.

I'm glad he understands.

We drop the keys and animals at John's. The flight leaves in just over two hours, and I have to remove my husband from the doorway as he bombards Alex with schedules and pamphlets.

The ride there is silent, as is our entire airport experience. We're waiting to be called to the gate, and I smile as Laff wraps an arm around my shoulder. His father sits across from our seats. We all happen to be leaving on the same day, and Laff wanted to book the same flight.

The two of them start chatting as I sit there. Mr. Fayette has been really supportive of our marriage. George has been too, and I can tell Laff was happy to have approval from both of his dads.

It's so weird to think of them as my fathers and mother in law. Not in a bad way, just... different. Martha and George have been there for me as long as I can remember, so it's not a huge difference there. 

But now that I'm married to Laff I can officially say I have a family again.

Someday I'm going to do what the Washington's did. My husband has always wanted kids, and I have too. I'm just worried they won't like me. Lafayette has always been the cool one. He's going to be a great dad, he's such a nice person. He cares about others more than anyone else I know.

The father and son get up, and I'm jostled from my thought bubble. We gather our stuff as we are signalled to board. I'm pulled to the plane by my husband as I resume my daydreaming. 

Once we get back home, the first thing I'm asking is if Laff is ready. He was on our wedding night, hell he was five years ago, but I want to make sure this is what he wants. Now that we're married, I'm up for adoption. 

We're going to have such a happy family.

-Laff POV-

We stand outside the restaurant, and I note the tiny pride flags on display in they window. The pan flag crisscrossing the gay rainbow. It's a small effort, but it makes me smile.

"C'mon babe, this place has the best pastry in all of Europe."

I drag him into the bakery, breathing in the smell of fresh bread. My father waves from behind the counter, which I jump over to join him. Hercules just watches until he is motioned over, taking the door to this side.

Where's the fun in that?

I wipe off the counter top that I just stepped on before dragging my husband to the back room. I ignore the electric mixers and grab a glass bowl. I hand Hercules an egg to crack, showing him how to separate the yolk with the shell. My hands guide his as I wrap my arms around him from behind. 

My father takes a photo from the corner. I suppose that's where I get it from.

We continue to cook our way through the recipe, and I monitor my husband carefully. It's not that I don't trust him. I'm just worried he'll screw something up and we'll disappoint my father.

I finally have a chance to become his son again, to get to know him. I'm not wasting this opportunity.

We used to be close, but after I moved to America we drifted apart. Calls became more spread out. I moved in with George and I adjusted, I always have. I'm going to move past anything I can, not let it affect me. I've done it before. 

Herc has seemed distant today, and I'm worried. But I can fix it. If I can learn English in a year, I can have a physical  relationship with my husband.

I'm not losing anymore time with the people I love because I'm upset over something that can't be changed. 

Hercules give me a tired smile as we head into the hotel room. 

Flour is spread across his forehead, and I open up the pastry box as we sit on the bed. I pull out a croissant, placing a piece in my mouth.

"We're doing a shoot tomorrow. Will you come with?"

He nods at me as he stuffs a macaron in his mouth. The entire thing. I nibble at the edge of the one I pick up, making direct eye contact.

"Babe, we need to talk."

I shift around nervously. He looks upset about something. What did I do to upset him?

"We need to figure out what this relationship is going to be. What we're comfortable with, what we want together."

This is it, I'm not pushing myself enough. I ignore the pit in my stomach and tackle him, sitting on his chest. I press my lips to his before he can continue. I love this man and need to show it. If this is the relationship he needs, I'll ignore my issues and provide it. 

My fingers run across his chest. He melts into me, and I push against him with my hips. I'm lying down on him now, my arms around his butt. I flinch slightly as his hands make there way under my shirt.

He pushes me off of him, holding me an arms length away.

"You don't want this, do you?"

"I do Herc. I want you. Only you."

"But not like this. You aren't ready for this. And that's okay."

"I'll do better. I'll do whatever you want. Please stay with me."

I grab onto his arm, and he pulls me back to him.

"Laff, I'm never going to leave you. What I want is for you to take care of yourself."

"But isn't this relationship what you've always wanted?"

"Not unless you want it as well."

I sniffle as his body curls around me, his head resting on my shoulder. I tighten my grip around his arm, smiling softly as he tips my chin to face him.

"I wasn't talking about this sort of thing anyways. I wanted to know if you were still up for kids."

"Yes! If you are, that is." I add the last part quickly.

"I've thought about it. And I want to offer apart of our home to a child that needs it."

This is amazing. I rotate myself to hug my husband. He knows how much it is my dream to have a full family, tiny children running around the house. He pulls me against his chest as I hold onto him. 

"Once we finish in France, we can look around back in America. Don't need to move some poor kid across the world."

I'm not paying attention to a word he's saying.

I'm going to be a dad.  With Hercules as my husband.

It's kind of short. Sorry.

Wattpad has potentially fixed itself. 

Have a great day!