A/N - it's May 27th 2023 which means it's actually their 20th birthday today 🥹🥹

(I'm too attached to these characters it's not healthy)

I love every second of this scene it's long so enjoy 🫶🏾

~~~

Xander

If there was one thing in my life that was both a blessing and a curse, it was being an identical twin.

You had a clone of yourself who knew you better than anyone else, who had been glued to your side since the day you were both born.

The downside?

He'd been glued to my side since the day I was born.

And with our twentieth birthday being next week, I still couldn't wrap my head around the fact that we'd been by each other's side for twenty fucking years.

Pat on the back for me.

"Twenty years around the sun with my favourite person, I'll cry", and I'd gouge out my fucking eyes if he said something sappy like that again.

"Shut up Xav", I muttered, shovelling a forkful of pancake into Jax's mouth and looking opposite me at my twin, "I'll kick your ass if you cry".

I wouldn't, he could drop to the ground and sob and I'd probably comfort him, but he didn't need to know that.

"So you guys aren't telling anyone what you're doing for your birthday?", Addy asked, resting her head on my brother's shoulder to which he smiled; Jax and I had been dragged on a 'double date' as if we didn't spend most days with the two of them anyway.

"Only you two", I shrugged, "and you're sworn to secrecy".

"Lips are sealed", Jax nodded, making a point by pretending to lock them and throw away the key. I tried to hide my smile, tried and fucking failed, which only resulted in Xav laughing at me from across the table.

"Zane's gonna kill us man", he grinned, sipping his strawberry milkshake- I say sipping as if he didn't nearly finish the entire thing in one go, "they're all gonna kill us".

"We're leaving them a note that says we're not dead", I shrugged, leaning back and placing a hand on my boyfriend's thigh under the table, "what more do they want?".

"A lot more than that", he muttered, "do you know who will kill us?". I knew the answer without a doubt in my mind.

"Bella", I replied and he hummed; did I kinda feel bad about leaving our sister behind and out of the loop? Sure.

Did that change my mind?

Not at all.

"I think she'll be okay", Jax shrugged, "we'll make sure of it". My heart fucking constricted in my chest, I don't think I could love him any more than I already did.

"Well I think you two will have a great time", Addy smiled, rolling her eyes when Xav stabbed his fork into her waffle and took a mouthful, "really?".

"I'm a growing man", he surrendered, "where do you think I got all this?". I ducked my head when he rolled up his sweater sleeves and started flexing his muscles, you couldn't bring him anywhere, I swear to fuck.

"I love you more and more every day", Addy sighed and I scoffed in disgust, "as if you two aren't completely attached to each other". I glanced at Jax and he shrugged sheepishly, we both knew she was right.

"So now that we've established we're all whipped, I say we-,", the ringing of his girlfriend's phone cut him off and he watched her when she answered, frowning at the same time she did.

"Okay, give me like ten minutes yeah? Stay in your room Mase, I mean it", she hung up and before she could even speak, Xav had his Jeep keys in his hand and was starting to get up.

"What's wrong?", I asked, glancing between the pair of them.

"My brother's dad is at my house", she replied and Xav's jaw clenched, I put two and two together and assumed he wasn't winning any 'father of the year' awards anytime soon, "I'm sorry to cut this short guys-,".

"Don't be stupid, it's fine", Jax smiled and I nodded in agreement, "I hope everything's okay".

"I'll send you the money if you cover the bill?", Xav squeezed my shoulder as he let Addy out of our booth, she stood next to him even though her mind looked elsewhere right now.

"Fuck off, it's like what? Thirty dollars?", I scoffed, "just go, I got it". He nodded in thanks and squeezed my shoulder again before the pair of them took off hand in hand, I turned to Jax with a sly smile.

"What?", he asked, sipping his vanilla milkshake.

"Wanna get outta here?", I smirked and he choked, pushing the milkshake away from him and standing, "fucking hell".

I tossed fuck knows how many bills on the table and latched onto his wrist, knowing full well we weren't gonna make it all the way back to mine. But who was I to complain?

~

Xavier

"Everything was okay at Addy's?", I dropped onto Xan's bed and sighed, what a fucking day it had been.

"All good now", I nodded, watching him close his suitcase and shove it under his bed, "you've started packing? And god she looked so hot when she shouted at Mase's dad-,".

"I'll take your word for it", he cut me off, sitting on the bed beside me, "you haven't started packing?".

"Have you met me?", I deadpanned and he shoved my head, "I'm more of a 'throw it all in a case the night before' kinda guy".

"And that's why you're the most disorganised person I know", he muttered and I grinned, giving him a salute, "I'm going to pick up Jax".

"Wasn't he here an hour ago?", I scoffed and he narrowed his eyes at me.

"So?", he shrugged, "I don't like him being in that house". From what my twin had told me, his boyfriend's parents were assholes who barely even looked at their son anymore; some people just shouldn't be parents in my opinion.

"Right. Sorry", I nodded, lying back on his bed and sighing after he waved off my apology.

"I'm getting him out of there Xav, asap", he told me, "I think I'm ready to move out". I coughed as if the oxygen had been smacked out of me, sitting up in an instant and staring at him for any sign of a joke.

"You- we- huh?", I scratched my head in deep thought, "what?".

"I'm not gonna stay here forever Xav, it's time- new chapter and shit", he shrugged, raking a hand through his black hair, "there's been a shit ton of bad memories in this place...some good times- really good times-". He patted his bed as he said that and I screamed, jumping to my feet and moving to the other side of the room.

"We shared baths in this house, we shared a room in this house, we-,", why the fuck was I welling up?, "I haven't even thought about the day when we wouldn't live under the same roof anymore". Silence filled the air for a moment as I stared out of his window overlooking the garden; we'd fought out there, hidden from Santiago out there, tried to teach Ash to sit out there.

"Are you crying?", he asked me- pull yourself together Xav.

"No", I muttered, wiping my eyes quickly. I heard his bed creak and felt him behind me, sniffing before he pulled me into a hug.

"Are you upset?", he asked and I shook my head, "angry?".

"None of that", I promised, "just...reminiscing, but I know you need to do this". Call me biassed, but I didn't think there was anyone who deserved to be happy more than my twin.

"I love him", he told me and I nodded against him, "like I really love him, Xav".

"I'm proud of you Xan", I sighed, pulling us apart.

"I haven't-,", yeah no.

"I mean it, and I know I don't say it cuz we usually just laugh at each other and shit, but I'm so fucking proud of you", I wiped my eyes again and chuckled a little, "you're moving in with your boyfriend, Xan, you couldn't even tell them that you were gay three years ago- do you know how big that is?". His cheeks flushed and he cleared his throat, I had a better chance of winning the lottery than seeing him cry right now, but oh well.

"It took me three years to tell them", he snorted, "and all along Zane wasn't straight either". I laughed at that, even though those three years between him coming out to me and our siblings had been torture for him.

"Still, you did it, and like you said- you love Jax...I'm happy for both of you", he wiped his eye and cleared his throat again.

"Something in my eye", he muttered with a sniff, "I uh- I'm proud of you too". Could he not do this now?

"Xan-,", I tried to cut him off but he was having none of it.

"You can't bring out the emotional speech and not expect one in return", he scoffed, "what you've been through Xav, the fact you could not have been here-,". His voice cracked and I winced, although we didn't shy away from the topic of my attempt, that didn't mean it wasn't still a sore subject.

"I know", I nodded, "but I'm so fucking happy I am here".

"Me too", he hugged me again and groaned, "okay, no more of this today, fuck". I laughed as we pulled apart, he was never one to show any emotion that wasn't anger.

"I'll miss you", I blurted out, "not having a wall between our rooms anymore, fighting on a daily basis".

"Yeah, me too", he smiled weakly, "can you...not bring this up yet? We can't drop two bombshells on them at once".

Right...his departure and our birthday trip.

We were gonna give Zane a heart attack.

~~

Xander

We were so gonna die.

But I knew it would be worth it.

It was May 26th, four in the fucking morning, and Xav and I were headed for the airport.

How we'd managed to sneak out with his loud-ass nearly dropping his suitcase down the stairs, I'd never know. I'd had a whopping two hours sleep, between finishing packing, checking Xav's last minute packing, sorting out both of our passports and shit, and dropping Jax home at the ass-crack of dawn, I may as well have just pulled an all-nighter.

And now I was the one driving us to the airport, my twin nothing but a jittery ball of energy beside me.

"I think we need to check the cases again", he told me and I squeezed the wheel slightly, trying not to let my flicker of annoyance show, "Xan-,".

"I checked them both three times, we're good- chill", I promised, "you know, I'm starting to feel six minutes older right now".

"Fuck off", he laughed, "you'll always be the baby". Yeah fucking right.

"What about Bella?", I frowned, tapping the wheel as adrenaline pumped through my veins, I can't believe we were fucking off abroad without telling anyone but our partners.

"We're talking about you, not Izzy", he scoffed, "you think we'll make it on time?".

"Our flight isn't until six", I told him, "plenty of time, even enough to get breakfast".

"I'm not hungry", he declined, "too excited to eat".

"Not even popcorn?", I raised an eyebrow and he narrowed his eyes at me.

"Where?", he asked sceptically.

"Glove compartment", I smirked and he practically ripped it open, greedy piece of shit, "not hungry my ass".

"I love you", he said in between mouthfuls and I grimaced.

"Who doesn't?", I scoffed, "so we'll arrive in Spain at about half two in the morning-,".

"Half two here or there?", he asked.

"There", I replied, "it'll only be half five in the afternoon here- so when we land, it'll already be our birthday".

"We'll miss the countdown?", he gasped and I rolled my eyes, Bella was the same with the whole 'start cheering the second the clock strikes midnight' shit.

"Does it matter?", I scoffed and he glared at me.

"Course it does", he nodded, sticking his hand back into his bag of popcorn, "I hope they feed Ash".

"They're not gonna neglect your dog", I muttered, "plus I told them to feed him and King in our note on the counter".

"Thank fuck", he nodded, "what did the note say?".

"We're alive, feed our pets, see you in a week", I recalled and he laughed, "what?".

"We're so gonna die man", he sighed.

"All the more reason to make the most of it", I shrugged and he nodded in agreement, this trip was gonna be interesting to say the least.

~

The second my ass sat down in the comfy seat on our plane I could finally breathe, praying the next eleven-and-a-half hours went somewhat smoothly, just like our airport experience.

Xav and I had went halves on anything and everything that could get us to skip lines and get on our plane as quickly as possible, one because I was an impatient piece of shit, but mainly because of my brother's sensory issues.

I would've emptied both my wallet and bank account if it meant keeping him from being overwhelmed in the overcrowded airport.

"Wanna watch Tangled with me?", the screen dividing me and Xav slowly came down and I stared at my brother incredulously.

"I'm going to sleep", I declined and he hummed, muttering something about me being boring under his breath, "chin up, we're twenty tomorrow". That got a grin out of him.

"No more teens", he sighed, "I still feel sixteen".

"You still act sixteen", I snorted, pressing a button to make my seat recline a little, "you doing okay?". I gestured to the headphones sitting around his neck and he nodded twice, I don't know how the guy was gonna sit here for nearly twelve hours straight.

"I'll let you sleep", the screen began to rise again and I chuckled to myself, "see you on the other side". He vanished a few seconds later and I finally let my eyes close, I needed to sleep desperately.

~

Xavier

I'd decided I didn't like flying all too much.

It was Xan and I's first time flying, and there was still that childish part of me that wished we had Zane with us; I shook my head rid of that and tried to focus on the film in front of me instead.

I couldn't focus on that shit.

Not calling Tangled shit, I promise.

I pulled my headphones over my ears in an attempt to block out every little thing I could hear around me, like I was on high alert or some shit. I pressed the button to my left to lower the screen separating Xan and I, taking in his sleeping appearance. Obviously I didn't want to wake him up, he was probably gonna be pissed, but it was either I talk to him or start pacing this damn plane.

"Xan!", I hissed, shaking his leg a little- no movement at all, "Xander- Alexander...Alexander Leonardo Delgado!". He groaned and peeled an eye open, if looks could kill.

"What?", he scowled, "you okay?". Well I didn't expect him to be concerned.

"No", I replied, "I hate this". I placed a hand on my bouncing knee and chewed the inside of my cheek, I wanted to talk to Addy.

"It's been less than two hours, Xav", that was some of the worst news I'd ever received in my life, "what's wrong?".

What wasn't at this point?

"I can hear fucking everything Xan, like I'm hyper focused on everything", he pressed a button which made his chair lift into a seating position again and nodded, "I feel like I'm being electrocuted, I need to move".

"So move", he waved a hand and I frowned.

"I don't want to", I shook my head and he frowned at me this time.

"But you just said-,", he rubbed his face, his voice still groggy.

"Of course I want to, but I'll look like some fucking basket case-,", or at least like I was gonna piss myself.

"You're not a basket case", he told me, "if someone wants to say shit they can deal with me, and nobody wants to deal with me when I'm running on three hours sleep".

Wasn't that the truth.

~~

"We're so gonna crash", I squeezed my eyes shut, "we're never doing this again".

"We have to do it on the way home", Xan deadpanned, "and we're not gonna crash, don't say shit like that". I pried an eye open and looked at him, he had his hands behind his head, chilled as ever, while Coraline played on the screen in front of him.

Glad to see one of us was having fun.

"Distract me", I told him, yanking my headphones from my ears, "please?". He faced me fully, pausing his film and raking a hand through his already messy hair.

"I spy?", he suggested.

"We played that already", I muttered, shaking my head.

"Hangman?", he raised an eyebrow and I frowned.

"Do you see any paper?", I scoffed, "and we're not in school anymore". He huffed through his nostrils harshly, peering around the plane before he nodded to himself.

"Who's most likely to?", he grinned and I couldn't help but chuckle, "okay...who's most likely to go to jail?".

Really?

"You", I said as if it were obvious- which it was, "you have been, multiple times".

"Oh yeah", he winced, "you go".

"Who's most likely to crash their car?", I asked.

"What's with you and crashes today?", he scrunched up his face but smirked regardless, "it's you".

"Excuse me?", I placed a hand on my chest in offence.

"You can barely concentrate on the roads most of the time", he raised an eyebrow in a knowing look.

"And you drive like you're at a Grand Prix", I narrowed my eyes at him, "settle for both of us?". We shook on it and he sat up further in his seat, not as pissed as I thought he'd be at the fact I'd kept him awake for almost this entire flight.

"Who's most likely to have kids first?", he asked and I looked at him, "what?".

"Do you want kids?", I found myself asking and he frowned, "you frown at Kade and Sienna all the time".

"Because they're gross sometimes", he shivered, "my kids wouldn't be like that".

"Kids plural? And I don't think you decide how 'gross' they are", I chuckled, we hadn't spoken about the future like this in a while, and with the topic of Xan moving out permanently on my mind, it seemed fitting.

"I want two, boy and a girl", he shrugged, "my kids would beat up your kids".

"Yeah right", I scoffed, "I don't want kids yet, but when I do, mine will be better".

"We're gonna have to agree to disagree", he hummed, "you didn't answer".

"What was the question again?", we'd gone on a tangent now, I couldn't remember what the actual question had been.

"Who's most likely to have kids first?", he repeated and my answer came instantaneously.

"You", I said and he raised his eyebrows, "you seem to have it all planned out, I dunno".

"I think it'll be you - wanna bet?", everything was a bet with us, "thousand dollars".

"You're sick", I shook my head, then his hand, "deal".

~~

Xander

"That was the longest twelve hours of my life", Xav stayed by my side as we dragged our suitcases through the airport.

"Tell me about it", I murmured, trying not to let the fact that I'd only managed to get about three hours sleep in total piss me off too much, "you okay?".

"Been better", he shrugged and my lips twitched up in amusement.

"Hey Xav?", he turned to me with a hum, "happy birthday". His face lit up like it was Christmas, he threw an arm around my shoulder and hugged me into his side.

"Happy birthday to you too", he grinned, "I mean, if we're being technical, I'm not twenty until 11:30 tonight, and you're six minutes later".

"I'm aware of the age gap you dick", I shoved him slightly and he laughed, "how many missed calls do you think we'll have from them?".

"Millions, from Zane alone", he snorted, "Cub won't give a shit, Izzy will give up on day two, Scott and Chase will be too busy being fathers to care".

"I think they're gonna be confused as shit", I chuckled, "and we may get killed when we get back".

"Well like you said", he ruffled my hair and I groaned, "we better make the most of it".

~

Did I fall asleep the second we got to the villa we were staying in? You fucking bet I did.

No longer scared for his life on the damn plane, Xav left me to it and went to 'explore' in the dead of night; I didn't have the energy to worry about him. When I finally emerged from my slumber it was nearly midday, the sun was shining there was minimal breeze, I was living my best fucking life right now.

"Sleeping beauty awakens!", I entered our kitchen shirtless, not shocked to see my twin wearing the exact same grey sweats I was, "okay, I may pass out in the next ten minutes, give or take- I haven't slept".

"You haven't slept at all?", I stared at him like he'd grown two heads, "since we were back home?".

"Did you see me on the plane?", he watched me incredulously, "I swam, explored, went on a walk and found a food place that may or may not give me food poisoning-,".

"Fucking hell", I shook my head, "you need to sleep".

"I will", he waved a hand, "what time is it back home?".

"Three in the morning", I replied after a moment and he laughed, "I've got missed calls from Zane".

"Shocker", he shook his head, "we should get drunk". Fucking hell.

"You should sleep, I'm going to swim", I announced, briefly glancing at my arms, "we should get tattoos".

"Now you're talking my language", he grinned, "do they hurt?".

"You've literally been body checked on the ice", I scoffed, "it's a needle Xav". At least he wasn't like Chase I suppose, the guy had literally thrown up at the sight of a needle before; the chances of him ever getting a tattoo were near to zero.

"I'm gonna brainstorm tattoo ideas while I try and sleep", yeah- he wasn't sleeping for now, "any preference? Big, small, inappropriate?".

"Just piss off", I waved a hand and he rolled his eyes, sauntering off towards his room...I needed a tan.

~

Xavier

I did, in fact, fall asleep eventually. Did I expect to walk outside after my shower and see my twin brother floating in the pool on his back, dead still? Not exactly.

"Are you dead?", I called out to him, dropping onto a sun bed and sighing contentedly, it was fucking boiling out here.

"Yeah", he said back and I hummed, slipping some sunglasses up my nose and tipping my head back, "wanna get drunk?".

A grinch-like grin spread across my face as I sat back up, lifting my glasses and making eye contact with Xan who was now rushing to get out of the water.

"I thought you'd never ask", I beamed, this was gonna be interesting...

~

I officially loved clubbing in Spain more than life.

As in, I'd endure those shitty flights every week if it meant I could experience this over and over again.

And who better to get shit-faced with than the person I'd shared the womb with for nine months?

I was definitely intoxicated, sure, but even that hadn't stopped the unease of the loud music and the strobes of bright lights from getting to me. I dragged Xan outside for a moment, luckily even in his state he could see I wasn't okay, he went so far as to stand in front of me and cover my ears while I sat on a bench.

I'd be bringing up his caring side if I could remember this tomorrow.

"Do you remember when I threw a trophy at your head?", he chuckled to himself, stumbling a little, "good times".

"Good times?", I frowned, "I have a scar on my head".

"Like Harry Potter", he ruffled my hair before dropping onto the bench beside me, "I miss Jax".

"Awww", I rested my head against his shoulder with a smile, "do you know what we should do? It's really romantic".

"You're my brother, gross", he shoved me away and I fell to the other end of the bench, my body limp.

"Not for us", I sat back up and looked around, I was seeing double right now, "you for Jax, me for Addy".

"I'm listening", he leaned forwards so our faces were nearly touching- ew, "are we gonna buy them presents?".

"Even better", I threw an arm around him, "we're going on a tattoo spree".

Tell me I wasn't a genius.

~

Not a good idea.

Everything hurt.

My head.

My body.

My- ugh.

I sprung from my bed and just made it to the bathroom in time to drop to my knees and empty my stomach into the toilet bowl; my throat burned and my eyes watered, a groan escaping me before I flushed and rinsed my mouth, proceeding to brush my teeth afterwards.

What a fucking mess.

I stepped back into my room and frowned upon seeing a lump under my duvet- what the fuck? I lifted the blanket instantly and groaned when I saw Xan curled up under there, nothing but his boxers on as he snored softly.

I mean, I'd slept in the exact same thing but ew. Grabbing my pillow I bashed it against his head, twice for dramatic effect, and he cursed, sitting upright and looking around frantically.

"Why are you in my room?", he rubbed his face and squinted, "fuck, my head". He dropped back onto his pillow- well my pillow, and groaned loudly, covering his eyes with his left hand...and that's when I saw it.

"Oh my fucking shit", I laughed, pointing a finger at him, "that tattoo- your arm- no fucking way Xan". He frowned, lowering his arm and trying to look at it awkwardly, it sat on his outer bicep so he had to crane his neck a little.

"Thing 2?", he exclaimed and I laughed harder, clutching my stomach as the blue haired creature dressed in red stared back at me, "you better have a matching one or I'll kill you right now".

My face fell as I dared look at my own arm, and surely enough, Thing 1 was right there, in the same place as my twin's.

"Fuck", I breathed out, "shit".

"I want to die, Xav", he groaned, sitting up again and staring at it.

"Been there, done that", I waved a hand and he scowled, "wait- we went on a spree right?". His face dropped and he jumped up, the pair of us searching our own bodies for any more tattoos.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck", he muttered and my head snapped towards him, "why the fuck do I have Jax's name in a heart on my waistline?".

There was no way.

I was in hysterics when he showed me, he wasn't lying, and it wasn't exactly small either.

"I don't see Addy's name anywhere on me", I shrugged with a smile, watching him narrow his eyes at me, "what?".

"Your ass", was all he said and I scrunched up my face, "I bet you any money you have a tattoo on your ass".

I wouldn't have.

Would I?

"You're gonna have to look", I told him and he stared at me incredulously.

"Fuck that", he shook his head and I stepped towards him.

"We're twins- thing 1 and thing 2- we've shared baths together Xan", I grabbed his shoulders and shook him, "you need to look at my ass".

He clenched his jaw before giving me an almost missable nod, waving a hand for me to turn around before I pulled down my boxers and he burst out laughing- no, no, no.

"You are such a fucking idiot Xav", he laughed louder than I'd heard him laugh in a long time, "oh my god". A click filled the air and I turned back around, pulling up my boxers in the process.

"Did you just take a picture?", I gasped, "tell me what it is".

"You have a popcorn bucket on your ass cheek", he laughed and my jaw dropped, "and there's two pieces of popcorn with legs and faces standing next to it".

Now I wanted to die.

"You're lying", I shook my head in disbelief, "that's not funny".

"Do you want to see the picture?", he asked and I begrudgingly looked down at his screen and- yep, there it was. At least it wasn't coloured in I supposed.

"Who's stupid idea was the tattoos?", I muttered and he glared at me.

"Yours", he scoffed, I huffed and dropped onto the bed, we were never gonna hear the end of this...

~~

Xander

Like they say, all good things must come to an end.

I don't know who the fuck says that, because there were good things in my life that were most definitely not gonna come to an end, but you get my point. It was Xav and I's last night abroad, and we'd decided to get food at the place he was convinced would have given him food poisoning on day one (it didn't).

I don't know why I followed through with my twin's 'genius' idea to take our food away and eat it on the beach, but here we were; the sun was setting and it was warm...life was so fucking good right now.

"Do you think we're permanently fucked up in the head?", and then you had that shit that came out of Xav's mouth. I stopped chewing and looked at him, he just carried on eating and staring out at the water as if what he'd said was a normal topic of conversation.

"A topic about the weather would've been okay, but this works too", I muttered, "why?".

"What do you mean why?", he turned to me, "you do remember all the shit we've been through right?".

"I was waiting for you to be more specific", I smacked his head and he flipped me off, "we're not that fucked up in the head".

Were we?

"I guess", he shrugged, "I just- we had Santiago as a father right-,".

"He's not our father, Zane is", I cut him off and he nodded firmly.

"I know that, but..", he trailed off and looked ahead again, luckily I knew what he was gonna say thanks to our twin telepathy that he always spoke about.

"You don't wanna end up like him", I finished and he nodded slightly, "it would take a lot of fucked up shit to be anything like him, I think we're good".

"Do you think about it?", he asked me and I clenched my jaw, not really wanting to get into this shit now but entertaining it nonetheless.

"Not that exactly", I shook my head, "I think about me, in the future and shit".

"Your temper", that wasn't even a question, was I that fucking transparent?, "and being a dad?".

"Is it written on my forehead?", I grumbled and he chuckled, shoving my head slightly, "I don't- what if I lose my temper with them?".

"You will", he said and I snapped my head towards him, "and so will I, and so will everyone".

"But it's different for me", I admitted and he nodded understandingly.

"I know that", he told me, "but you're not as much of a ticking time bomb than you were ten years ago".

"Thanks", I said dryly and he chuckled again, "do you think I need therapy?".

"The fact that you're asking me that speaks volumes", he told me and I stayed quiet, "I've been doing it since my attempt, it's not useless".

"Do you know who does need therapy?", I shifted the topic of conversation for a moment.

"Zane", he replied instantly and I nodded, "and do you wanna be the one to sit him down and say that to his face?". Fuck that.

"Touché", I sighed, "they're gonna kill us tomorrow".

"We're adults, how bad can it be?", he shrugged.

~~

"You two have some nerve", Xav and I stopped in the kitchen doorway and came face to face with all of our fucking siblings- shit.

"Aww, you guys came to welcome us home?", I smacked Xav's head and he shut up, "look, we-,".

"Where the fuck were you?", Caleb spoke up, abandoning Theo on the sofa and approaching us, "we thought something happened to you".

"Did you not read my note? I thought it was pretty detailed", it was Xav's turn to smack me and I scowled at him, "we went to Spain".

The room fell silent until Bella laughed, unlatching herself from Ezra's embrace and standing beside Caleb opposite us.

"You two got on a plane and went abroad?", she held her stomach, "and you're alive?".

"You little shit", I reached forwards and grabbed her, pulling her into a loose headlock and messing up her hair, "we're not incompetent".

"Xav might be", Chase muttered and my twin's jaw dropped.

"I'm really loving the birthday wishes too, keep them coming", he deadpanned, earning himself a slap from Caleb this time, "ow!".

"You would've heard the birthday wishes if you answered your damn phones", he scowled, "what the fuck was that about?".

"We went on a cleansing trip", Xav shrugged- cleansing my ass, "away from prying siblings".

"You two are something else", Scott shook his head, standing with a sleeping Kade in his arms, "you owe someone an apology". He cocked his head towards Zane and the pair of us swallowed, our eldest brother hadn't moved his eyes from us once, nor had he spoken yet.

"Zane, we-,", he lifted a hand and Xav shut up, the whole room now dead silent.

"You two are irresponsible, stupid, inconsiderate-,", well then.

"Share all of our best qualities, why don't you?", I grumbled and Xav laughed, one glare from Zane had us shutting up instantly.

"You were okay on the plane?", his gaze flickered between the two of us but stayed on Xav longer.

"I was fine", I nodded.

"Never again", Xav muttered and I snorted; the flight home had been even worse than the way there- I'd never seen him so restless in my life.

"I hate you two", Zane sighed, hugging the pair of us regardless before slapping our heads, "do that again and I'll get Marco to track you down so I can fly out and beat your asses".

"He can do that?", Xav gasped and I rolled my eyes, what couldn't our cousin do at this point?

"As beautiful as this family reunion has been, I need to go and see my boyfriend", I took a step back as Xav did the same, saying something about seeing Addy too.

"Wait", Scott called us back and we both turned back around, "Thing 1 and Thing 2?". My face fell as everyone clocked onto our tattoos and began laughing- I blame Xav for this shit.

"Don't even talk about it", I scowled.

"Are they permanent?", Zane dared ask and I gave him a look that said 'what do you think?', "the pair of you amaze and worry me more and more everyday". I'd take that as a compliment.

"Xan has Jax's name in a heart tattooed on his waistline", are you being serious?

"You piece of shit", I pinned him against the wall as everyone started laughing again, even Zane, "Xav has a popcorn bucket with popcorn people on his ass cheek". He scowled at me and I released him from my grip, two could play at that fucking game.

"I'm offended, you- you two broke your- your tattoo uh, virginity and didn't use- didn't use me?", Theo faked a hurt expression and I rolled my eyes.

"I'm sure you can tattoo Cub's ass Theo", I told him and Caleb sent me a death glare.

"Already have", Theo muttered and my eyes widened, too much information.

"You talk too much", Caleb told his best friend who frowned.

"No I don't", he scoffed, "have you heard me speak?".

"I love your voice", Caleb told him seriously and I rolled my eyes.

"And I feel like I'm interrupting something", I said, "later".

Xav followed me out of the room and laughed, throwing an arm over my shoulder as I grabbed my car keys.

"Same time next year?", he asked and it was my turn to laugh, I'd hold him to that...

~~~

A/N - happy Xan and Xav day 😍😍 tell me your fav scenes of the two of them >>>

Disclaimer: let's all pretend it's completely healthy to get tattoos while you're drunk 🫡

Gracious chapter coming soon...