eveything comes naturally ,

[aislinn marie hunter]

Aislinn was so glad that her shift was over and that she was able to go home. She had worked most of the day and had spent entirely too many hours on her feet. She was exhausted, to say the least, and going home felt like the best thing in the world to her for the moment. She would get to be home with her little man and with Eric hanging around it was a lot easier on Ais. She didn’t have to take care of everything herself anymore. After all, it was the least he could do for her lending him her couch. Honestly, though, Aislinn didn’t mind it at all. He was her oldest and closest friend, and she was so happy to have him around. It had been many years since she had last seen her friend, and the time they got to spend together now was great. Not to mention it was nice to have an extra person around to help with things. Aisy had almost forgotten what that was like. Her parents hadn’t been around after Ben was born. Her mother had died and her father was in prison. Aislinn had done most of it all by herself, no help from anyone. She hadn’t been able to rely on anyone but herself for so long. There were few people that she completely trusted Ben with. Not many got the chance see him, let alone look after him. There were only a few that got the chance. Aislinn knew that Brody would give anything for that chance, and there were times that she knew it would be easier to just swallow all her hatred and give in, but she just couldn’t. Yes, Ben needed a father, but he needed a better one than Brody. Aisy entered her house, and immediately she heard Ben’s footsteps as he ran towards the front door to see her. She grinned when she saw him and picked him up, planting several kisses on his face, making him giggle. She walked with him into the living room, listening as he quickly told her about all the fun things he and Eric had done that day. She couldn’t help but grin. Ben genuinely seemed to like her friend, which was always a big thing for Aisy. If Ben liked you, you were set in their lives. She sat him down and threw herself down on the couch next to Eric. “Well it sounds like you two had a good time today.” She smiled at him. “You honestly don’t even know how nice it is to have you around. I don’t have to worry about getting someone to watch Ben anymore, and I don’t have to make him sit at the diner all day while I work. He has more fun here with you.” It was true, and she was extremely grateful that Ben could stay home and play and be a kid and not have to sit in the corner booth at the diner. She loved that so much.

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tagged for: gabriel eric taylor // word count: 506 // notes: here ya go, m'dear!

[gabriel eric taylor]

"All right Ben, Uncle Eric needs a break." With that, Eric plopped down, half on half off, the couch with his head on the arm. He exaggerated the movement to get a laugh out of the little boy, but he really did need a breather. Since Ais so graciously offered to let him crash on her couch, after a convincing argument to make him stay a bit longer, the least he thought he could do was babysit her son Ben while she was working. It was a perfect set up for them both. Ais no longer had to pay, let alone find, a babysitter and Eric got free room and board. Not only that, he really took a liking to Ben and had no problem spending a few hours with him, tossing out everything he knew about being an adult and pulling out all sorts of games and characters from his childhood. Eric was probably killed about ten different ways throughout the day with plastic swords, a light-saber, even an imaginary car. He was even eaten alive by an alien race and animal mutations. All in all, it was a productive day. He was just extra glad it was a nice day so they could go outside, rather than remain cooped up in the house and damaging something. Eric did take the extra precautions of securing various valuable items in cupboards and moving things out of the reach of a three-year-old.

No sooner had Eric plopped on the couch did Ben dive onto his stomach. An "oomph" came from Eric before he laughed and pulled Ben all the way on the couch. He caught a glimpse of the clock over the television, which had been off nearly all day save for some morning cartoons, telling him Ais was going to be home any minute. "All right, Mr. Let's play another game, called 'Clean the house before mommy gets home and thinks we messed with firecrackers." Mustering up some energy, Eric pushed himself upright as Ben made a face and said his game didn't sound life fun. "Trust me, we're going to have so much fun you'll never want to have fun again." Ben didn't believe him, but Eric wasn't serious anyway. "Okay, here's the game. First person to clean up their half of the room gets ice cream after dinner." This seemed to bring Ben from the couch and picking up Hot Wheels from under the coffee table. "Whoa whoa whoa. I didn't say go. You get this half, I'll get this half. Kay? Ready. Go!" Eric purposely slowed himself down, knowing he would finish before Ben simply from the fact he could carry more at one time than the toddler. By the time Aislinn walked through the door, he and Ben had the room clean. Well, except for a few action heroes that were dumped as soon as mom arrived. Eric stepped into the doorway of the kitchen, smiling as Ais planted loving kisses on her son. He was finally getting used to the fact that Aislinn was a mom and a darn good one at that. He didn't like the way she became one, but he had no control over that. "Hey, welcome home! Yeah, we certainly had a full day. I'm even going to sleep well tonight." He chuckled, plopping down on the couch again, but this time leaving room for Ais. "Believe me, it's no problem. I enjoy hanging out with him. He's not like my cousin's kids. They're little monsters." He no doubt believed Ben wasn't always so easy to handle, as it was typical of all children, but easier than most. Seeing the action heroes abandoned on the floor, Eric gestured to them. "You know, sprinkles cost extra. I'll race you for them." Eric started toward the toys, but paused halfway off the couch when Ben scrambled to gather the toys and brought them to his room. Eric sat back down with a smile and triumphant sigh. "I hope that's okay if I promised him ice cream for cleaning up his toys...after dinner, I mean."