[PRP] face the thunder [Rylan, Cas & Jo][FIN]

[Chrystali]

She liked Cas, but trust didn't come easy, not when it came to her. Jo believed he and Ry would take care of the baby, believed they'd even take care of her, but that she'd be alright? She'd never been alright. Why would now be any different --

Pushing the intrusive thoughts aside, she allowed herself to be pulled against his larger frame, fitting against him in a comfortable and familiar way, her embrace fuller but also relaxed. They had a way, between them; could they really make this work...?

"I know, and in other news, water is wet. But he still needs to be told." She smiled with a bit more strength, still afraid, but lacking the raw terror of before. Little by little, her frayed nerves were numbing, and her heart was settling into acceptance. "I'm -- I'm not sure. I'm going to have to look for a smaller place, because saving money now will help. Should I -- should we start a bank account now for the future?" The blonde glanced up and laughed, the sound soft and uncertain. "Where do we even start, Cas? All I can think to do is prepare for the things I can control, and just...go by the seat of my pants as the rest happens. That's me, in a nutshell."

MoonRazor

 

[MoonRazor]

"Well," he said, nuzzling his face against her neck as she curled up against him. "Find a way to be financially stable, I guess. Then living situation. Then... I don't know. We can decide if we want to tackle this as a couple or just as two people casually having a kid together."

For now, the money was his main concern. If he remembered correctly the cost of raising a child came out to about $250,000. And that was without college tuition. That was no small sum of money, not to mention the rest of what having a child entailed. This was two historically flightful people preparing to take on a burden that would necessarily force them into some semblance of stability, one that neither of them had really prepared themselves for.

It would probably be a shitshow. It wouldn't be easy. But Cas had to believe that it was doable. If his own father could do it - albeit poorly - then he certainly could as well. And he was, if nothing else, determined to be a better parent than the one he had known.

"I've spent my entire life flying by the seat of my pants," he said. "Even did it after I got out of the Marines. But who knows. Maybe it's time for a change. Maybe we can learn from Ry."

Chrystali

 

[Chrystali]

She bit the inside of her lip, glancing up at him. "You'd -- want to consider being a couple?" Jo couldn't hide the surprise in her voice, and she wasn't sure she would, even were she able. She part wanted to argue that it would change what they had -- change everything about what made them, them. But the words died before they were given voice on merit that the reality was - it wasn't about them being a couple for sake of being one. It was for their child. And in their seemingly brief time together, she hadn't wanted to kick him out, not even once; maybe there was something there to look into.

"And as the fates would have it, two people flying by the seat of their pants flew right into each other." She made a soft sound but relaxed, languid like a cat against him, tracing the fingers of one hand over his shoulder and along his chest. "Learn from Ry? You mean, you go to men and I go to women so there's no such thing as accidental pregnancy? Hate to break it to you, but I'm already half there. You're just too much of a catch to pass up."

She half laughed, half shook her head and fully laid against him, starting to feel that her fear had been a little unfounded -- at least, when it came to Cas. "Okay. So. First thing's first, for me, and that's getting a smaller place. Unless we do the couple thing. Which means I actually can't move until I know, because I like you, but not enough to move twice in one year." Jo scoffed softly, even if the idea of waking up to Cas more than occasionally wasn't an entirely horrible idea.

MoonRazor

 

[MoonRazor]

"I'd be open to it," he said, a little surprised himself. Maybe a little unsure as well. "But I won't pretend there's not a risk involved." His longest relationship had lasted the better part of a year, but that had been an exception to the rule and it hadn't been easy.

He didn't have the best record of staying excited about relationships - somewhere along the way, they always wanted him to change. Or they would change. Or maybe he would change when they didn't want him to. Cas had never found a compelling enough reason to stay whenever those things happened.

"It could go really well, or it could go really poorly," he continued. And normally it wouldn't have mattered that much. If the relationship fizzled out, they'd deal with it - but now there was a kid involved and the last thing he wanted was for it to grow up with parents who couldn't stand each other.

Chrystali

 

[Chrystali]

"Okay, Captain Obvious, you're talking me out of it, not into it," she laughed, shaking her head a little and nestling more so against the larger man. "You're talking to the girl who has a hard time committing to a place, let alone sharing her space with someone else, like...permanently."

Jo exhaled slowly through her nose, weighing the pros and cons. "It's going to be hard, because I'm not going to entirely be myself. I'm going to be afraid and uncertain and not have the answers when I really want them. I'm going to want the most inane things with tears in my eyes and you already agreed to tend to my hunger cravings, so you're screwed there anyway." It was all coming out very matter-of-fact, now. The fear was freezing, but she was becoming numb to it: the worst was happening. What they did from here was going to shape the rest of their lives.

"But..." <********> "If we're both willing to do it, we can try. Best we know before baby is here. Gives us a few months to figure out if the...living together will be as a twosome or roommates." Because honestly, she could go either way; this was all for the kid. She'd sort herself out in the interim.

MoonRazor

 

[MoonRazor]

"I'm just saying, I don't have a good track record of staying in relationships," he said, pursing his lips in thought. "It's been a while since I've been in a position to try, anyway. Six month assignments, you know. Anyway, I wouldn't want to ******** it up, because of the kid..."

He didn't want to be the reason his own kid's childhood was shitty. He didn't want his mistakes to affect something so innocent and pure.

"But, okay, what if we try and it doesn't work? What then? Break ups aren't usually pretty," he continued with a worried frown creasing his brow. "That wouldn't... Well. Not having a family sucks."

Chrystali

 

[Chrystali]

"My 'track record' is three to six, so we're in the same boat, Iron Man." Jo shrugged a little, as if the idea of her shortcomings wasn't exactly something unusual in life. "The baby has nine months -- well. Seven-ish, now. That's a solid month beyond what I'm used to, so..." The blonde bit her bottom lip and then looked up at Cas, wary but serious.

"So we try. A month, three, six...we see if we get to that point either of us is uncomfortable, before the baby comes. That way, we know what we can handle. Wont disrupt the baby's life." No, she didn't like the idea of giving up all her space, but it wasn't about her anymore. Not entirely, anyway. "Hell, you can move in with me for that time if you want, but if things don't work out, you get to move me to a new place, 'cause I'm not moving nothin' but my fat butt in six months."

MoonRazor

 

[MoonRazor]

"Alright," he said finally with a nod. "That sounds like plan."

He craned his head to get a look at Jo's belly, which seemed entirely the same to him. It was a wonder that there was a little person in there that in a few months' time would be a part of this world.

"So what are we going to call it?"

Chrystali

AIM WON'T WORK. I found Iron Man and Captain America the other day xD

 

[Chrystali]

Odd. Jo making plans for the future in any time frame beyond a week was practically unheard of, and now...

She noted the look, and with a small sound, she shifted to rest on her back and maneuvered his hands over her lower stomach. "Don't we need to know a gender for a name?" she asked in her numb sort of joking manner, still not quite able to embrace her new reality openly yet. "I dunno. Bean sounds good." The silly nickname gave her a moment of giddiness before reality settled her down again. "Our little bean," she murmured softly.

Her body felt both light and heavy at the same time; Cas was, surprisingly, a continual grounding force for the chaotic moment. Pale green eyes fixed on the way her fingers curved around his, the way his hands - hands that had seen war, hands that had held her - rested against her so easy. "I can't imagine a name. It seems so...final."

MoonRazor

WELL THAT'S RUDE. If you have another chat service you prefer, just PM me and lemme know the specifics? o:

 

[MoonRazor]

"Bean, then," he said with a grin. It probably looked about the same as one right now anyway. For right now, that was enough. There'd be plenty more to worry about in the weeks, months, even years to come; no need to start right away.

Eventually Cafall glided to the couch as quiet as a shadow and laid down beside them. Cas let the three of them fall into a comfortable silence, and even when the sound of running water upstairs abated, Rylan didn't return, leaving them to their peace and quiet.

Chrystali

wrap