"when i saw you first, it took every ounce of me not to kiss you. when i saw you laugh, it took every ounce of me not to love you. and when i saw your soul, it took everyounce of me." - atticus

-----

Despite Nita's distaste for Freen and Becky's relationship, she was starting to find it more tolerable as Becky began inserting herself in their lives more.

Both Freen and Becky were present at each of her hockey practices on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday, and Becky started to take her and Emily home after school to allow Freen some extra time in the studio.

While it was weird at first to have her English teacher leave school with her, Nita soon realized that she didn’t give a crap about what the other students thought and that having another adult around that treated Emily well was something she shouldn’t complain about.

On the last Friday before Christmas break, Nita lingered in the English room so then Becky could pack up and Emily could meet them there.

“You’re going to have to come by my parents place sometime soon,” Becky mentioned as she slid the assignments she had to mark over the weekend into her bag. “My dad has been talking nonstop about how much Bon and Gracie liked you.”

“They were nice,” Nita said, from her desk in the back corner where she currently had her chin rested on her two hands on the table.

“Did you ever go through homes with pets?” Becky asked.

“One lady had five cats. We didn’t stay there very long because Emily's allergic.”

“That must’ve sucked.”

“A three-year-old that doesn’t stop sneezing is never fun,” Nita huffed, only further reminding Becky just how much of Nita's childhood was stopped by the foster system. “I also remember this creepy foster brother that had a bird. I think it was from our first placement. It’s too far back to remember though.”

“I had a bird lady once. She had like 8 different birds living in her garage and this one bird made these horrifying laughing noises. Charlotte cried every time it made that sound,” Becky said, making Nita snicker.

“I might use that as blackmail the next time she makes us do 20-minute speed skating drills.”

Becky laughed at that, finding herself slightly baffled by the amount of willing conversation she was getting from the girl today. It was like they turned a new leaf.

Before more traumatic pet experiences could be recounted, Emily was skipping into the room with a piece of paper waving in her hand.

“Hey, Emi Bear. What’ve you got there?” Becky asked, crouching down to accept the artwork.

“I made this in class today,” Emily explained.

Becky felt her heart swell at the finger painting of what looked to be like Emily and Nita with the nice cursive of Mrs.Mint on top labeling it as: My favourite person.

“Why don’t you go show your sister this amazing art,” Becky encouraged, standing up and taking in the moment between the sisters.

Nita seemed genuinely touched by the picture and hugged Emily tightly before the two sorted themselves out and approached Becky at her desk.

“Ready to go?” Becky asked, smiling at the two girls.

“Yup,” Nita agreed, returning a small smile before turning to leave the room with Emily skipping beside her.

Becky laughed lightly before grabbing her things and following after them.

She decided to shoot Freen a small update to let her know they were heading to the house.

Babe ❤️ : I’m about to take the girls home. Nita is in a great mood today btw.

-----

Freen smiled at the text she received before texting her girlfriend back.

BB 💕 : Thanks for the help, bebe. I’ll be home by dinner. Just finishing up a piece for a client.

The brunette returned to her work and continued to add the fine details of the commissioned piece.

She was interrupted once again, however, when her studio door swung open to reveal Irin and Athita.

“Hey, what’re you doing here?” Freen asked, leaving her art piece alone.

“ Tita and I were taking a walk and she said she had to use the washroom.”

“It’s through that door, sweetheart,” Freen said to Athita who thanked her before hurrying off, leaving the two adults alone.

“Not that I’m complaining, but a text would’ve been nice. I’m working on a piece,” Freen said, motioning to her workstation.

“Sorry ka. I didn’t know where else to take her, and we’re thirty minutes from home.”

Freen did her best not to roll her eyes before she sat back on her stool and grabbed her brush.

“I also don’t let kids in here. I thought you’d remember that.”

“Shit Freenky, what’s with you? I swear, you’ve changed since…” Irin faltered, which made Freen look at her.

“Since what, Irin?”

“Since you took those girls in,” Irin decided to finish, making the foster mom roll her eyes this time.

“That’s great. First my Mae, and now you.”

“Maybe Khun Nune wasn’t wrong. Maybe you’re in too over your head,” Irin said.

“How would you know? You haven’t actually seen the girls in months.”

“I saw them at Thanksgiving-,” Irin tried to defend, only to have Freen cut her off.

“And you avoided them like the plague,” Freen snapped back. “Things weren’t going to be perfect at the beginning, I knew that, and I made sure everyone around me knew that as well. But things have improved. Nita is improving.”

“When are you going to stop lying to yourself?” Irin asked. “When are you going to realize that Nita is too far gone to help?”

“Don’t talk about my kid like that,” Freen seethed, getting up to stand in front of Irin.

“She’s not your kid, Freen. Emily and Nita are not yours,” Irin sighed.

Freen seemed repulsed by the comment. She struggled to think of what to say next as her throat tightened and tears welled in her eyes.

“Fuck you,” Freen finally managed to say. “Take Athita and go play fake aunt somewhere else.”

“I don’t want to see you get hurt when they are taken from you,” Irin tried to reason.

“Please, Irin, just go. I have to work,” Freen said, shaking her head and turning away from her friend.

Irin sighed and went to get Athita from the bathroom before they headed for the door. Freen didn’t even bother looking their way as they left.

When the glass door shut quietly, Freen let out a tense breath and wiped the tears that threatened to fall from her eyes.

-----

Becky allowed Nita to unlock the door before following both girls in.

Everyone dispersed to do whatever they wanted to before Freen got home from work.

Becky got Emily set up on the coffee table with her math homework and Disney movie before seating herself on the single with the papers she had to start marking.

Nita took more time to get settled down, having gone between the top and bottom floor several times before she finally seemed to make up her mind.

Nita walked down to the garage and grabbed the guitar that Freen had in the corner of her studio. As quietly and inconspicuously as possible, Nita hurried up the stairs to her room where she rushed to close the door and sit on her bed.

She hardly ever got the chance to play any instruments as she moved between homes, but from the first time she laid eyes on Freen's guitar she wanted to try playing it.

Today, she finally grew a pair and grabbed it, hoping with all her might that it wouldn’t land her in any serious trouble if Freen ever found out.

Nita unplugged the earbuds from her phone and allowed the music to play through its speakers.

She did her best to copy the chords that were offered online and keep rhythm with the music that, in hindsight, she could only consider angry screaming.

Nita kept at it for almost an hour before she decided it was too futile to learn and decided to put the guitar back in the studio.

Just as Nita stopped her music, a knock at the door came before it was pushed open by Becky. The older woman smiled kindly at her as she peeked in.

“Hey, Emily wants to bake something. How do brownies sound?”

“Fine,” Nita sighed, feeling slightly annoyed that she couldn’t play the guitar the way she wanted to.

“What’ve you got there?” Becky asked, nodding to the guitar that Nita laid on the bed.

“It’s Freen's. I was going to put it back,” Nita quickly explained, realizing that Becky could rat her out.

“I’m sure she wouldn’t mind. Are you any good?” Becky asked, stepping into the room and stopping at the end of Nita's bed.

“I suck,” Nita said, shaking her head. “The music I listen to is too hard to copy anyways.”

“Can I see what you listen to?” Becky asked, motioning to the phone.

Nita thought about it before pressing play on the last song she was listening to. Paradise City by Guns n’ Roses continued from where Nita left off, making Becky cringe slightly.

“I can see why it would be difficult to learn how to play that,” Becky conceded, seemingly grateful when Nita paused the song once again. “I used to listen to heavy metal in high school too.”

“Not anymore?” Nita asked, her eyes following Becky who sat herself on the end of Emily's bed.

“I thought it would be an outlet for my anger. Turns out, it just made me angrier,” Becky explained.

“I don’t actually like this music,” Nita confessed, looking to her phone disdainfully. “When I found this thing it already had this stuff on there, and I guess I got used to it. It helps block out the things in my head.”

Becky nodded her understanding and pulled out her phone, scrolling through it for a minute before she found what she was looking for.

Fade Into You by Mazzy Star started to play, filling the space with a gently strummed guitar.

“How’s this?” Becky asked, handing her phone over to the teen who took it and looked at the song cover.

“It’s nice,” Nita agreed, allowing herself to sway slowly with the song.

“I have my laptop here. If you’d like I can download some new music onto your phone for you,” Becky offered, motioning to Nita's cellphone.

Nita chewed her lip unsurely before nodding and handing her phone over and reaching for her charger on the bedside table.

“Why don’t you listen to some more songs I have on there and you can come tell me if there’s anything you want to me add,” Becky suggested, not seeing any harm in leaving the teen with her phone.

“Thanks ka,” Nita whispered, hesitating before she started scrolling through Becky's Spotify account.

Becky decided to leave the teen with that and went to give her playlist a slight upgrade.

-----

Freen arrived home just as Becky and Emily finished making dinner.

Despite doing her best to forget about it, Freen couldn’t help but feel annoyed by her encounter with Irin.

Engfa did her best to mediate the argument, going between calling Irin and Freen, but she decided to remove herself entirely before she said something to upset either woman.

The sound of Becky and Emily speaking to one another eased Freen's tension slightly, which allowed her to smile as she made her way to the kitchen.

“Look who’s home,” Becky said to Emily as she smiled at her girlfriend.

“Hi, Mama,” Emily greeted excitedly. “We made sinchuan chicken.”

“ Sichuan chicken,” Becky kindly corrected. “You almost had it.”

Emily giggled and went to put the forks she was carrying in the right spots.

“Thanks for doing that,” Freen said, approaching Becky and pressing a kiss to her lips. “I really appreciate the extra help with the girls.”

“I love helping. Did you finish that commissioned piece?” Becky asked.

“Yup. Now that it’s out of the way I can stay home with the girls over their break.”

“Well, you know who to call if you need to pop into your studio,” Becky said, winking at Freen  before she handed Emily the napkins to put on the table.

“You’re the best girlfriend ever, you know that?” Freen asked, pressing another kiss to Becky's lips before turning her attention to the food. “And this looks amazing by the way. Can I help with anything?”

“We’re just about done here, right Emi Bear?”

Emily nodded and approached the two women.

“Should I get P'Nita?” the little girl asked.

“That would be helpful. Thanks, Emi Bear,” Becky said, sending the girl off.

“How was she today?” Freen asked, speaking about the older girl.

“Good. She’s more chatty than usual. I even learned something very interesting that I’ll have to tell you about later,” Becky said, already hearing the girls walking back towards the stairs.

“What is it?” Freen asked, knowing very well she’d be too impatient to wait.

“Not now, babe,” Becky whispered, smiling when the girls appeared.

“Damn it,” Freen groaned, also putting on a smile at the sight of Nita. “Hey, sweetheart. How was your day?”

“Fine,” Nita said, not offering much else as she went to sit at the table.

“I got a ten out of ten on my spelling test,” Emily said proudly as she took her seat as well.

“Good job, baby,” Freen said, rubbing Emily's back as she moved past her. “No toast tonight?”

“I wanna try the chicken. It smells yummy,” Emily explained as Nita helped put some of the food onto her plate.

Freen gave Becky and impressed look, to which the woman smiled and shrugged.

“I agree,” Freen said, taking her seat next to Becky and allowing her hand to gently rub along the shorter brunette’s back lovingly.

-----

“Please stay,” Freen whispered between kisses as she and Becky sat on her bed.

Freen was straddling the other woman’s lap and holding her cheeks between both hands to get some more leverage.

“I promised to meet my sisters for breakfast tomorrow. I don’t want to wake you up at the ass crack of dawn,” Becky said after breaking a long kiss.

“Waking up next to you makes me forget what time it is,” Freen dismissed, to which Becky laughed.

“Yeah right. Last time I stayed over you threw a pillow at me for waking up at 6am.”

“That was because you wanted to go for a run instead of cuddle. That was weird.”

“You do know the 6am run is a regular thing, right? Which means I would do the same thing tomorrow?” Becky asked, laughing slightly when the realization dawned on Freen.

Freen huffed and leaned back, allowing her hands to trail down Becky's nearly bare chest.

“Have you ever considered purchasing a treadmill?”

“So I can move the 6am run indoors?”

“No, so you can postpone it to the evening,” Freen said, smiling coyly at Becky.

“I’m too busy in the evening marking papers,” Becky reminded, pointing to her abandoned pile on the nightstand. “I really should get going, though. Emily mentioned that today was a hair washing day.”

“I really need to start teaching her how to scrub her own hair properly,” Freen said as she reached for her shirt which was in the middle of the bed.

“Don’t deny it, you love that she needs help with something,” Becky said, poking Freen's side, which made the other woman squeal.

“Don’t,” Freen laughed, batting away the offending hand. “And yes, I do enjoy it. She reads to me and I wash her hair. It’s a very peaceful practice.”

“I don’t doubt that,” Becky said, starting to rise from the bed since Freen evacuated her lap.

The shorter brunette moved around the room and collected her things, not catching the way that Freen followed her every move with a faint smile on her lips.

“You’re going to the game on Sunday, right?” Freen asked as Becky returned to the bedside, her bag now slung over her shoulder.

The taller brunette sat up on her knees and draped her arms over Becky's  shoulders, effectively bringing them closer together.

“I wouldn’t want to miss Nita's big hockey debut,” Becky said, pressing a kiss to Freen's  forehead, nose, and then lips.

“Thanks for being so good to her today. You’ve made more breakthroughs than I have in these last eight months,” Freen said, to which Becky shook her head.

“She’s warming up to the situation and the people around her. I promise, she’ll start being more receptive to you too soon.”

“Nonetheless, I can’t imagine what I’d do without you. It’s not like I have much support aside from Engfa.”

“Hey, Irin will come around. As will your Mae.”

“Say that enough and I might start believing it,” Freen said, frowning slightly at the thought of losing people from her already small circle.

“It’s true. It doesn’t feel like it now, but with the way Nita is improving I have no doubt she’ll be winning them over and making them feel like shit for every rejecting her.”

Freen sighed and nodded her understanding, allowing herself to steal one more kiss before she stepped off the bed and walked Becky downstairs to the front door.

“Tell the girls I said goodnight,” Becky said, turning at the threshold to properly say goodbye to her girlfriend.

“I will. Drive safe, Bebe,” Freen said, pulling Becky in for a hug and then kissing her once more.

“Goodnight, babe,” Becky said as they pulled away from one another.

“Night,” Freen said, waving to her girlfriend as she walked down the stairs of the town home.

Once Becky was in her car and pulling out of the visitor parking, Freen shut the door and moved back upstairs to start getting Emily ready for bed.

The routine carried out as per usual. Emily read, Freen worked on her hair, and the two shared a late-night snack of whatever Emily felt a hankering for (tonight it was cheese crackers).

The two ventured back upstairs by 10 o’clock, later than Freen preferred for Emily to fall asleep at, but it was Friday night, so she let it slide.

The foster mom carried a packet of cheese crackers up with her along with a glass of water with the intention to leave them for Nita.

It had started as a recent habit when Freen heard Nita down in the kitchen late one night after a homemade meal. She knew that the small portions weren’t holding the girl over until the next day and decided that leaving a snack at her bedside would give her the opportunity to eat something without the worry of getting caught in the kitchen and getting in trouble (not that Freen would punish her for that).

Despite Becky's delicious dinner, Freen only caught Nita eating a bit of rice and some veggies, which led her to bring the extra snacks up to the girls’ room.

When Emily and Freen entered the space, they found Nita already fast asleep with her headphones in and her blanket pulled up high.

Freen set the crackers and water down on the nightstand while Emily got situated in her bed and waited for her goodnight kiss.

“Goodnight, babygirl,” Freen whispered as she pulled Emily's blankets around her and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

“Goodnight, mama,” Emily whispered back. “Eskimo kiss,” she quickly reminded, making Freen laugh.

“Of course,” the woman obliged, rubbing her nose against Emily's.

Once the little one was situated and ready to fall asleep, Freen turned her attention to Nita.

As per usual, Freen picked up the blanket at the end of the bed and draped it over the teen. As she leaned over her, she heard the sound of a different song playing in her earbuds.

It was softer and much more soothing than anything she’d ever heard Nita listen to before.

Freen smiled in relief that Becky could bring some peace to the girl and finished arranging the blanket over her.

“Goodnight, my babygirls,” Freen whispered as she crept out of the room and shut the door behind herself.

Once in the hallway, Freen lent against the closed door and breathed out a sigh of relief. They were settling into a comfortable normal, and for the first time in a while, Freen felt like everything was good.

-----

Christmas was a new holiday that Freen had to navigate seeing as this would be the first one she spent with her foster daughters, and her girlfriend.

To her surprise, her Mae invited her over for dinner on Christmas eve, but claimed that she wanted a quaint dinner with only herself, Freen, Engfa, and Pete present. Aka, no Nita or Emily allowed.

To say Freen was livid would be an understatement. Becky had to talk her down from a pretty scary tyrant about how much she hated her Mae and wished it was her that died instead of her dad.

After that, Becky swore that there would always be room for Freen and the girls at her parents’ house and that they would love to have them for dinner on Christmas.

It sounded like a great invitation (aside from the fact that Freen had to come face to face with Irin again), but Freen wasn’t about to let that be the reason that she backed out.

On Christmas eve, after the girls fell asleep and Becky and Freen stayed up until 3am to make it seem like Santa came to the house, the two women found themselves full of way more energy than needed to fall asleep.

Which led them to Freen's room, where they ended up in a deep make-out session with no intention to slow down.

Becky reached behind Freen to unclasp her bra and allowed for the material to fall down Freen's arms, exposing her chest.

The brunette didn’t hesitate to palm her hands against Freen, eliciting moans that had both of them worried that they were going to wake the girls.

“Shit, Bec,” Freen breathed out past a laugh, doing her best to quiet down.

Becky didn’t respond; much rather, she carefully tipped Freen off her lap and rolled on top of her, allowing her to gain more control.

Becky kissed her way down Freen's chest, past her navel, and then stopped at her pant-line.

Wordlessly, Becky gave the joggers a slight tug, which signaled for Freen to raise her hips. Eager to continue, Becky quickly removed Freen's pants and underwear and tucked her leg between her legs.

“You’re so beautiful,” Becky whispered as she hovered over Freen and brushed her fingers up and down her stomach and chest.

For a brief moment, the two women looked at each other and got lost in each other’s eyes before Freen spoke.

“I love you, Becky.”

Becky froze for a beat before smiling lightly and leaning down to kiss Freen passionately. When their lips broke apart, she finally responded.

“I love you too, Freen.”

“Show me,” Freen whispered, pulling Becky down once more for another kiss.

Becky took this opportunity to slip her hand between Freen's legs, eliciting a slight gasp from the woman below her.

Between broken kisses and nuzzled noses, Becky made love to Freen the way that a storm grows over the ocean.

Waves kissed the shore slowly, hesitantly, and drew back just as quickly. But then the storm started to stir, and the waves began to grow.

They became larger, more aggressive. More arrived before the ocean could drag them back in. And then with a large heave, the tide rushed ahead before slowly pulling back entirely, leaving the waves to lap the shore in the wake of the chaos.

Becky pressed gentle kisses down Freen's body as she attempted to catch her breath. Before Freen  could properly recover, Becky had situated herself between her legs.

A second storm started brewing, and both women knew it wouldn’t be the last one of that night either.

-----

On Christmas morning, Freen sat on the couch with Nita as they watched Becky and Emily pass out the gifts that Santa brought the night before.

Emily was extremely giddy after she revealed to Freen and Becky that it was the first time she got gifts under the tree.

Despite Emily's joy, Freen could see how the comment made Nita distraught. She clearly did her best to make Emily's life good, but there was no doubt to be some issues when it came to gift giving on special holidays.

After that, Nita staked a claim on the corner of the couch and wrapped her arms around her legs as she watched the pile of gifts for her grow on the coffee table.

“Can I open my gifts now?” Emily asked as everything was finally handed out.

“Go ahead, Bubs,” Freen said, holding her phone up to record the little one opening her first gift.

The three older people watched as Emily opened various gifts. Many were books, some were more practical things like clothes and shoes. The real winner was a Lego set of Hogwarts Express, which made Emily extremely excited as she and Becky had taken to reading the first Harry Potter book together.

Afterward, Freen encouraged Nita to open her gifts, only to be met with a hesitant shake of her head and a down casted look to her knees.

“Sweetheart, it’s okay to receive gifts,” Freen said, trying to catch Nita's gaze once more.

“I don’t want to owe you anything,” Nita explained.

Freen looked to Becky who could only shake her head (a sign that it was a legitimate fear and that Freen had to roll with it).

“You don’t owe me anything. I want you to have this stuff. I got it just for you,” Freen said, hoping to get something out of the teen.

When Nita didn’t make a move for the pile, Freen sighed and reached for one of the six gifts. She set the small box down beside Nita's foot and gave the girl a kind smile.

“You don’t have to open the others, but I want you to have this.”

Nita looked at the little box long and hard.

“Let’s go get some hot cocoa,” Becky spoke up, deciding to give Nita some time alone to make a decision without any pressure.

Freen and Emily followed Becky to the kitchen, allowing for Nita to release her legs and loosen up thanks to the absence of others in the room.

Hesitantly, Nita picked up the box and pulled a piece of the ribbon until it came undone. The teen pulled the top off and looked at the necklace within, her heart-stopping a beat when she noticed the pendant on it.

It was a simple silver circle with the number 28 stamped into it.

It was Nita's jersey number; the one that P'Char said would be her’s until her last game at the club, and the one that Nita fell so deeply in love with.

What Freen wouldn’t tell her is that she saw Nita smiling at the jersey number all the way home after that practice and knew just how much it meant to her.

With shaky hands, Nita picked the necklace up and clasped it around her neck. She held to the pendant for a minute and allowed a smile to break out onto her face before she carefully tucked it under her pyjama shirt.

Nita went to the kitchen and approached Freen who was stirring cocoa mix into warm mugs of milk. Silently, Nita grabbed another spoon and started to help her.

“Thank you,” Nita whispered not looking to her foster mom but sensing the smile that she gave her.

What she didn’t see were the tears welling in Freen's eyes, nor the smile and thumbs up that Becky  shot in her direction.

To be continued...