Epilogue #2
"I needed you, too," he whispers against my lips, and I can't help but let out a long, satisfied sigh.
I don't get to stay too long — soon I'm back over, helping Zachary fold his batter, gently, under, over, turn the bowl, don't knock the air out of it, and he's concentrating so hard that his tongue's poking out the corner of his mouth like a kid doing long division.
But then Marcus is back, wedging himself in on the other side of Zachary, inch by inch, until he's standing right next to me.
"My turn!" he declares.
"You don't need a turn, you've been fine all night," I say with a laugh.
"I've been fine because I'm talented. That doesn't mean I don't also deserve attention." He dips his finger into Zachary's too thin batter and makes a face. Behind him, Zachary makes an offended noise and flicks a small handful of flour at the back of Marcus's head.
That's the moment it all collapses like a soufflé.
Marcus retaliates with a handful of flour at Zachary's chest; Zachary dodges, pulling me with him, but not far enough — it catches me square in the face.
Within seconds the kitchen descends into full gastronomical warfare: flour, mashed banana, and a cup of sugar all airborne at once.
I'm laughing too hard to defend myself, taking cover behind Rhys while Marcus hurls a banana that catches Zachary between the arsecheeks, and Zachary turns the sink spout on him in retaliation.
Rhys, through it all, calmly works on his own loaf, and it's not until I catch him mid-motion — tipping an extra spoon of salt into Marcus's abandoned bowl while nobody's looking — that I understand he engineered the entire distraction on purpose.
"Rhys."
"Yes, my angel," he says, putting down the salted spoon and returning to his own loaf.
"He's going to crack the shits when he tastes that."
"I have no idea what you're referring to." He doesn't even glance up. "I told you no one was going to eat his banana bread."
I laugh and grab a spoonful of the frosting he's already working on and fling it at him.
He simply opens his mouth and catches it, then grabs me around the waist and pulls me in against him, kissing me and gently letting the frosting melt into my mouth, his lips warm against me, the frosting silken and sweet on my tongue.
Then he whispers, "I made extra, so I can lick it off your sweet cunt when we're done."
Damn.
Once the other two are done working off their excess energy, I help them tidy up before they each make an un-sabotaged loaf. Rhys insists he didn't do anything to Zachary's, that Zachary was ruining it all on his own.
Marcus's loaf goes in lopsided and overfilled but comes out still tasting divine.
Zachary's, against all possible odds and with an alarming amount of hands-on assistance, actually looks like banana bread, and he's so genuinely proud of it that he catches my hand as I walk back and forth collecting dirty dishes, making me stop and to admire it, thumb brushing my knuckles a beat longer than the moment needs.
Rhys's is... Rhys's. Perfect in every way. It takes two minutes for the other two to attack it with their forks.
"Oh — before I forget." Marcus says it too casually, sliding another tray into the oven. "Contractor's coming Thursday. About the new level."
I go still. "The what?"
Zachary shoots him a look sharp enough to cut glass. "We were going to tell her properly. With, I don't know, a reveal."
"It slipped out." Marcus doesn't look remotely sorry.
"Oh well, too late now. We're building up," Rhys says, resigned now that the surprise is half-blown anyway. "Extra level. It'll be your area. A bedroom and work area, and a proper balcony."
"Really?" I say, not wanting them to hear the excitement in my voice at the thought of having my own area in the house.
I've been taking turns sharing their rooms now that Leon's reclaimed his.
And as much as I love sleeping with them, I like the idea of having a space that's mine.
I'd floated the idea of getting my own place.
But my eardrums are still recovering from how loudly they'd reacted to that.
"Figured you should have somewhere of your own in this house too," Marcus says, "not including the little reading alcove we're building you in the garden, like your dad made for you."
I don't trust myself to say anything back to that, so I don't try. I just pull them in one by one, whispering how much they mean to me.
And I mean it. I might not have promised myself to just one of them, but somehow, all three of them own all of me.
They're mine, and I'm forever theirs.
Chatbox: Housemaaaaaates 2.0
Marcus:
So I have some news
Alexia:
Uh-oh.
Marcus:
Nothing to worry about, babygirl. It's a good thing.
[image attached]
Leon:
WTF. Why is that rat all stretched out? Is something wrong with your camera?
Marcus:
She's a ferret, douchebutt. And her name is Cannoli.
Zachary:
Rhys, I told you not to give him his allowance this week.
Rhys:
He would've just stolen my credit card. Seriously, though. What is that?
Marcus:
[image attached]
Isn't she adorable? She fits right in my hard hat, slept in it the whole way.
Alexia:
Babe, where did she even come from?
Marcus:
I told you I was going to get one from the shelter weeks ago.
Leon:
This is why I should never have gone to Port Lincoln. First you all end up involved with my sister. And now we have a fucking stretched out sock puppet living in our house.
Alexia:
I…have a class to teach. Um, she's adorable, babe. You two look like you'll be very happy together.
Marcus:
Thanks, babygirl. She's basically our child. She shall call you Mummy.
Alexia:
Yeah…um, I'm going to let the rest of you sort this out.
Rhys:
Is that swamp rat drinking out of my favourite water glass?
Marcus:
She says "Thank you, Uncle Rhys-y."
Rhys:
Swamp Rat's about to be fatherless.
Marcus:
So small update. Cannoli is not a girl. Vet just told me. he's a boy. she's a he. I've been saying "she" for a week. I even bought her a pink harness
Leon:
you've been raising this animal in a state of complete gender confusion for a week? What kind of father, are you?
Marcus:
It's not my fault! And anyway, I didn't confuse him, he was just wearing pink. Rocking it, if I do say so myself.
Rhys:
You'd have to, because no one else is.
Zachary:
Great fathering, bro.
Marcus:
I am! I have a mug that says "Cannoli's best dad!"
Zachary:
You bought it yourself.
Marcus:
Well, of course I did, Cannoli doesn't have Apple Pay. But it's the thought that counts.
Rhys:
That swamp rat hasn't had a thought in its entire life.
Marcus:
HIS! And I bet he's going to have some thoughts when I take him onto your bed to do his business later.
Alexia:
Don't you dare! I sleep on that bed too.
Marcus:
Cannoli says, "Sorry, Mummy Lexi. You'll just have to sleep on Daddy Marcus's bed instead."
Alexia:
Yeah. We're going to have to have a chat about this Mummy/Daddy business.
Rhys:
Bet you wouldn't have a problem calling me Daddy though, would you, Alexi?
Alexia:
*blushes*
Leon has left the chat.
Rhys:
MARCUS!! PICK UP THE FUCKING PHONE?
Alexia:
What's going on?
Rhys:
Is that walking prostate gland with you?
Alexia:
I'm scared to answer.
Marcus:
[image attached]
Leon:
Dude. Put some clothes on, especially if you're in my sister's bed.
Marcus:
Not my fault, Rhys is the one who was so desperate to know where I was.
Rhys:
YOUR FUCKING SWAMP RAT JUST GOT INTO MY OFFICE!
Zachary:
oh this is going to be good. rhys is typing in capitals.
Rhys:
He found Alexia's paper that I printed and ate the whole thing. All that’s left is a half chewed title page. It had like two weeks worth of my notes and annotations in it!!!
Alexia:
Oh no :( You worked so hard on that, Rhys. I'm so sorry.
Rhys: