Disclaimer: Don't own it.
I took the stars from our eyes, and then I made a map
And knew that somehow I could find my way back
Then I heard your heart beating, you were in the darkness too
So I stayed in the darkness with you
Cosmic Love-Florence and the Machine
Epilogue-Eight Years Later
"Justin!" Alex yelled from their room, she paced in front of their bed impatiently; her arms crossed and frown on her face as she studied the garment that lay on their bedspread. Seconds later she heard him make his way up the stairs and let out a frustrated sigh.
"What's wrong?" He asked.
She didn't answer just looked pointedly at the bed, making sure he would follow her gaze. He did and let out a sigh and rolled his eyes. "I don't see the big deal about it. You let Sofia wear it to her baptism. In fact, you raved about it. Went on and on about how beautiful it was."
Alex scoffed, "Yeah, okay, but Sofia is a little girl."
Justin raised an eyebrow, "So?"
Alex rolled her eyes, "So? Well, Justin. I don't know if you realized this, but Eli, you know, our kid that is getting baptized today? Yeah, he's a boy. Boys do not wear dresses, Justin. They don't."
Justin sighed and sat on the edge of their bed, carefully avoiding the dress, "Oh, come on, Alex. It isn't a dress. I wore it when I was baptized."
Alex furrowed her brow, "No you didn't. Mom and dad didn't have us baptized until we were seven and nine when grandma Russo forced them to. You wore a little suit and I wore a white dress."
Justin sighed patiently, Alex still did things like that sometimes, "Alex," he said softly, "No, I didn't. Remember? I was baptized a week after my mom, Vera Moretti gave birth to me."
Alex face fell slightly but she nodded, "Right. Sorry, I still. You know." She shrugged, she didn't need to elaborate.
Justin pulled on her gently until she was resting on his lap; she leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder. He kissed her forehead lightly and just held her until she relaxed. After a few minutes he said, "Come on, Alex, my mom already let you name the kids, the least you can do is put the dress on Eli."
Alex pulled away from him, her eyes bright, clearly ready for another argument, "Let me, your mother let me name my kids?"
Justin carefully removed himself from their bed and left Alex standing in their bedroom, still muttering to herself.
*****
You'd think that after nine years of dating, five years of marriage and two kids that Justin's mom would lighten up and get over the fact that Alex sullied her son. But, apparently, Vera Moretti held grudges for a very long time.
Alex watched her mother in law from across the loft. Vera was holding Eli and chatting amicably with Theresa, though Alex could tell from the lines in her mother's forehead that Theresa wasn't enjoying the conversation too much.
Alex took a sip of her water and frowned. Her relationship with Justin's mother had always been tense, especially after Vera found the two fornicating in Justin's apartment months after Alex had moved in with him. Alex shuddered slightly at the memory. Vera screamed at her until they were both red in the face and had the nerve to give Alex the once over and tell her she could lose a couple pounds.
The two had barely tolerated each other since. But, Justin's father on the other hand loved Alex. After raising five boys he said it was about time he had a daughter in the family. Alex was quite close to her father in law, Emilio; he was one of the few reasons Alex was willing to celebrate any holiday with her in laws. He reminded her a lot of Justin, same bone structure, same startling grey eyes, and he was just as nice and good as her Justin. She still doesn't understand how he's stayed with Vera all these years.
She found him on the couch with her father, the two watching a football game, Sofia playing quietly in between her grandfathers.
Alex smiled at her little girl. She was almost three now, growing bigger every day. She had thick dark locks like her parents, though they curled like her mother's, and had the same grey eyes as her father and grandfather. She looked like Alex and acted like Justin, eager to learn and very responsible for her age. She was already showing signs of magic, which unnerved Alex a little. She of course had given up her right to the family powers when she married Justin, five years earlier, she wasn't quite sure who would teach their children, though she hoped she could convince Justin to do so.
Alex studied her family, watching them all interact, her brother in laws were giving Max a hard time about something, Harper was now sitting with Theresa, calming her mother down and making the tension leave her face, and Abby, good ole Abby was sitting next to her husband, Paul in the living room, watching the game with two of Alex's favorite men.
"Hey," Justin said when he sat next to her at the counter, "What are you up to?"
She shrugged and smiled sweetly at him, "Plotting revenge on your mother."
Justin's face paled, "Alex, no, she's still pissed about you putting salt in her sugar."
Alex grinned and laughed deeply, "Yeah, that was pretty great."
Justin rolled his eyes and pulled her closer, kissing her lightly on the lips, "Okay, it was kind of funny. Though, having her spit her coffee on me wasn't quite as humorous." He tried sounding upset but the grin tugging at his lips told Alex otherwise.
"Hey, I told you not to sit there."
He 'hmmed' quietly and turned to watch their family, a content smile gracing his face.
"Ooh! Hey, I've got it."
Justin frowned and turned to his wife, "Got what?"
Alex smiled impishly at him and pecked his cheek, "I'm going to tell your mom we're naming our next kid, Buck." She removed herself from her chair and started walking toward their mothers.
"Alex!" Just called, rushing after her, "Alex, no!"
Alex laughed to herself. Some things, luckily, never change.
-fin-
A/N: I love all of you. Thank you so much for putting up with my bs the past few months. Hopefully, I'll be back to my regular writing schedule in the next couple of days when I move. Thank you so much for all your lovely reviews. And please, leave a couple more!