Thanks for your patience is waiting for this chapter. I hope you'll find it was worth the wait....
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Ben/Daddy
(May, 19 months since Daddy and Kitten started dating, seven months since the engagement)
I moved slowly down the walkway of Terminal 1 at Pearson International when someone jostled me running, I assume, to catch another flight, probably at the other end of the terminal. They were in such a hurry they didn't even turn around to apologize, which is practically unheard of in Canada.
I sighed, cursed quietly, and reminded myself just how much I hated Terminal 1, Pearson, and Toronto in that order. Then again, everyone hated Pearson. It was practically part of the Oath of Citizenship; Bear true allegiance to the Queen, observe the laws of Canada and hate Pearson International.
I was tired and cranky. I'd taken the redeye from Vancouver to Toronto, hoping I might get some sleep, but that hadn't happened. The seats were cramped, my leg ached, and there was the usual confluence of annoying passengers who worked to make sure that didn't happen.
Then there was the trip itself. I was still processing that. I would probably be processing that for most of the rest of my life. At this point, all I wanted was to get the UP Express to Union Station and a taxi to Meg's condo. From there I would pass out for several hours.
But once I gathered my suitcase and left the security area, I got my first surprise of the day. Meg was standing by a post with a smile on her face. The second slammed into me a second before I registered she was in motion.
My Kitten.
She knew she shouldn't run and slam into me like this. My knee was ok, but I still lacked 100% stability, and I needed the cane. She always felt terrible later but claimed she just couldn't help herself when we spent any significant time apart. I knew I was in a bad mood when I had a momentary thought of snarling at her for being so careless. Fortunately, I managed to quash it quickly. Instead, I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her on top of her head.
"What are you two doing here?" I asked as I managed to untangle Kitten from me slightly and walk towards Meg. "I thought you were both supposed to be at work?"
"I finished a night shoot a few hours ago, and they don't need me back on set until 7 pm. So I was going to come out to surprise you. Meg asked if she could tag along," Kitten said. She wore some well-loved jeans and a hoodie that was at least two sizes too big for her so she looked even smaller than usual. She also looked tired from being up all night.
I glanced at Meg. She shrugged.
"What are they going to do, Ben? Fire me?" she said.
Two weeks ago, just before I went to Vancouver to deal with mom and dad, Meg's law firm passed her over to be made a partner. It wasn't the first time it had happened, and she was seriously considering the next steps. Among those steps included burning the entire building to the ground. She was standing here at the airport and not in prison which meant she hadn't moved to the next stage of her plan.
"We know you need some friendly faces. Please don't be grumpy at us," Kitten said.
Like that was going to happen with those huge green eyes staring up at me. Kitten knew I couldn't stay mad when she used them on me. We began walking towards the train that would take us back to Toronto.
"Your inability to stay mad at her for more than two seconds is hilarious, by the way," Meg said. She was bantering to distract me from the trip, but I let her get away with it.
"You can't stay mad with me either," Kit said. "At least I'm fucking him. You have no excuse."
That managed to get a snort out of me and a sigh out of Meg.
"So glad to see the roommate situation is going well," I said.
"Oh yeah, this was one of my more clever ideas," Meg replied. Kitten licked out her tongue. It was foolish, silly behaviour, and it was honestly the first time I'd felt remotely human in a couple of weeks.
When we finally got on the train, Kitten promptly cuddled into me, rested her head on my shoulder and passed out. I was tempted to lean against the window and do the same but decided I'd stayed awake this long. When I passed out, it was going to be in a bed.
"How's she been the last couple of weeks?" I asked Meg. Kitten and I chatted every night via Zoom and texted on and off throughout the day, but she was always upbeat. I'm betting she was hiding things from me so I wouldn't worry.
"She missed you a massive amount. I mean, I know the two of you are crazy, nauseatingly in love, but watching how much she missed you and how pissed off she was that she couldn't go to Vancouver to be with you, well...." she said.
"You wanted to strangle her?" I said, mostly joking.
"Just a little bit," she said, smiling.
One of the great reliefs in my life was that after their initial horrific meeting, the two of them had become solid friends. Enough that when Kitten got a work term on a tv show filming in Toronto, Meg immediately offered up her condo as a place to stay. I was worried, but so far it was working out.
"Seriously, are the two of you getting along? I haven't been around, and she's starting her first real professional job. You've got all this shit going on at work...."
Meg nodded and I realized just how tired she looked. It's a weird thing when you've been friends with someone for a long time; you never really notice that they're getting older. Of course, she was, but Meg always took such good care of herself. She joked because she had to look good for work, but I knew she always took pride in her appearance.
But for the first time, I was shocked to realize Meg looked like a woman pushing towards 50. She'd stopped religiously dying her hair earlier the year, letting herself go fashionably grey but keeping it short. However, this morning it was covered by a Raptors cap. She was wearing an old The Pursuit of Happiness t-shirt that she only wore when she was feeling down, her leather jacket, jeans, and a pair of Vans.
"Kit's been great. I know we give each other shit, but she's been fantastic to have around the last couple of weeks, even if we only see each other briefly because of work. I realize just how lonely I was," she said.
"There are options to fix that," I said. If I hadn't been so tired, I might have just let Meg's comment slide. I figured I was going to get a snotty comment. Beth and I both told her that she needed more of a life, and she would not take it well.
Surprisingly, this time she just nodded.
"I'm considering all options at this time," she said.
Well, that was news at least. I would talk to her about one later, as she wasn't in the mood to elaborate right now. She also didn't ask about the trip, which was good. I'd give them both the debrief once I got some rest.
We staggered into Meg's condo about 45 minutes after leaving the airport, with a barely awake and cranky little girl. She was still not used to working nights, long hours, and the demands of working on a TV set. We both got a quick shower, and to emphasize how tired we were, we didn't even fool around. Afterwards, we went back to her room and quickly passed out.