hawk_shot | for @theodorelasso

Kate's barely been able to sleep these last few days. It's a huge milestone, after all. It's been months since she and Ted started dating and, even with a werewolf in the mix, the prospect of meeting his son has been both the most surreal concept and the thing Kate has feared screwing up the most. It's just strange, being aware that they are into something serious and that would make her ~~a step-mom~~ part of this kid's family. Is she ready? Geez, according to her own mother it's surprising Kate can even look after a dog.

Remembering how Ted introduced himself to Lucky, Kate decides to bring a little something that hopefully will excite Henry even if he turns out to hate her guts. It's certainly more than just a steak. Getting out of her Uber, Kate's got her arm wrapped with Lucky's leash as she makes room to pull out the box they somehow managed to fit along in the back of the car.

"Ted? Can you give me a hand?" She calls out the second she sees her boyfriend step out of the house to come greet her.

The basketball hoop is not terribly heavy, but when a retriever is super excited to mee his own step-dad? Yeah, it becomes a bit of a challenge.

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Posted by

hawk_shot

Cocky as she can get, it never quite crosses the line of things getting nasty between them. Even if Ted taking the lead in some game has Kate cursing or raising her voice in frustration, that usually turns into her pouting for him to maker her feel better. Of course, when the tables are turned she's the first one to offer finding other ways to raise Ted's spirits.

Only official competitions seem to have the power to make things truly sour if things don't go as planned. Even then Ted (or even Beard somtimes) still has the ability to make it better.

More like cringey terrotory, you mean?
Territory*

She wonders how the talk went. Henry is old enough to sure have figured things out, or even that the conversation was happening, before Ted even brought it up. Kate's been there too.

So, how did the rest of the day go? Does he like your new place?
Did you guys set the hoop?
Is he in bed now? Are you free to talk?

Posted by

theodorelasso

It doesn't generally take a lot to raise Ted's spirits, nor it is often required. Except if he thought he lost because he played badly - Ted's main competition is really himself. Trying to be the best he can be, and if that's not enough to win, then so be it. But even if it's not really necessary, Ted will always happily accept cuddles or whatever Kate chooses to do to make him feel better.

Give me an hour or so. is the only reply that comes back from Ted at the moment.

Then, in just over an hour, he finally calls her on facetime, figuring that's easier than answering her messages, now he's free.

Posted by

hawk_shot

"God, Kate, don't sound so incredibly needy, you--" She can't even finish telling herself off before Lucky cranes his neck and gives her a mouthful of doggy tongue. With a groan and gently shooving him off herself, Kate hearts Ted's message and tells him to take her time.

Of course calling just as Kate goes to the bathroom, she rushes her way downstairs, only sounding slightly out of breath by the time she picks up his call.

"Hey baby!" With most of her hair up in a ponytail, Kate blows some strands of her long bangs off her face. She's still wearing his gray sweater, a couple of sizes too big on her. "How are you? What was your first day with Henry around like?"

Posted by

theodorelasso

Ted's down in the living room on his laptop, having already changed into his sleepwear (a Wichita State Shockers t-shirt). He looks a little bit sleepy as she picks up, but he instantly brightens when he sees her face.

"Heeey," he greets, speaking quietly but still with his normal enthusiasm and fondness in his voice. "I'm good. Sorry 'bout that. Henry was giving me the stink-eye for texting and not paying attention to the movie. I read to him a bit, so he's asleep now."

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hawk_shot

"Hey!" Kate repeats, her own enthusiasm undeniable. The background moves as she bends to pick a mug, moving towards the kitchen as Ted tells her about is day. "Don't apologize, he had a very good point," she manages to sneak in while he talks. "You still read to him? Ted, that's so sweet."

Kate recalls both her parents reading to her when she was a kid, but she had been much younger than Henry before that stopped. She still remembers fondly how they both used to make the voices. Surprisingly, it was her mom the one that really nailed that. "Sounds like you two had an awesome day. I mean it in the best of ways, baby. But you look so fucked." And before he gets a chance to say anything, she adds: "So, tell me, how did it go?"

Posted by

theodorelasso

"Man, I'll read to him for as long as he cares to listen," Ted answers with a chuckle. He really would. But it's especially nice now they don't see each other as often. It's just a nice way to get the kid to fall asleep.

He laughs a little when she says he looks 'so fucked'. Yeah, he's a bit tired and sleepy. But he did really want to chat with Kate for a little bit anyway.

"Well, we got too distracted to set up the hoop," he answers, checking her messages from earlier to remind himself what she'd asked. "Oh, and this isn't the first time he's been up here, just been a while," he adds. Since before they started dating. "He likes the no-longer-quite-so-new couch though, so apparently that one's just an all-around fan favorite."

Posted by

hawk_shot

"I don't blame you," she comments as he explains that the hoop is still waiting. At the comment of this not being Henry's first time visiting his dad in New York, things just suddendly makes sense. After all these months being around and not seeing his kid visiting, that just felt natural. Like this was actually Henry's first time for everyone involved.

Six months is too much time to be apart.

"That couch is amazing," Kate is quick to agree, trying to push off her heartbreak for Ted. Moving onto her own couch, she drops back on it, bouncing on the cushions as she grabs a blanket to drape over her lap. "So, tell me all about it. How did you bring things up? Was it weird? He was probably expecting the talk, wasn't he?"

Posted by

theodorelasso

"A little bit, yeah. I think he did notice how weird we were all being," he chuckles. "It wasn't too weird. I was trying to sort of sidle up to the topic, and then he figured out what I was doing and that we were dating, and then we just talked plainly from there. Went a lot smoother than talking to Michelle, I'll say that much."

Posted by

hawk_shot

"Or, you know, the random girl at Dad's place," Kate pointed out, her jaw locked as she changed her voice into a slightly more nasal tone. "Not that you're too old to have roommates," she joked. But then the mention of Michelle makes that smile of hers fade. It was easy to sense that things were a little weird when she and Ted disappeared upstairs. Even if the talk with Henry being so successful had managed to distract Kate.

"Was it that bad?"

His ex was definitely a nice person, Kate had no doubt about that. Awkward as everything was, Michelle had been super polite at all times when they interacted, Kate could tell she was putting an effort.

Posted by

theodorelasso

Ted makes a face like he's not sure how to classify 'bad' in this case. "I think she thinks I'm having a midlife crisis," he admits. Admittedly it did only seem to be the age thing she had a problem with. It just... was apparently a very big problem for her.

Posted by

hawk_shot

Kate doesn't react to that straight away, looking a little blankly at the screen as she processees what Ted just explained.

"But..." She straightens against the back of the couch. "Where's the cool brand new car, Ted? Are you growing a goatee? Thought you were against those." It was kinda crazy to accusse of Ted of all people of something like that. He's probably the most respectable and steady guy she knows. "You changed your wardrobe but you hid it from me?"

Posted by

theodorelasso

Ted laughs at her reassurances that come in the form of jokes. "Oh yeah, before you met me I was actually a goth," Ted answers playfully. She's seen enough pictures of him from when he was younger (like baby pictures of Henry with Ted holding him) to know this is definitely false, and if Ted has ever dressed goth, it's probably been for a Halloween or a otherwise themed party.

Posted by

hawk_shot

"Personally, I'm loving your drag era." As she is snickering, she suddenly has to hold her phone higher because that back of golden fur proves Lucky has claimed a spot on her lap. "Very Freddy in I Want to Break Free of you." What? She loves a good classic too.

Settling the phone down again, her dog's back makes the best possible support for her arm. "She was pretty nice to me, Michelle. I really appreciate that." Even if things clearly didn't go that great with Ted upstairs.

Posted by

theodorelasso

There's definitely at least one photo of Ted in playful drag out there somewhere. Sadly, not one he has on hand.

Ted hums and nods, with a small smile. "Yeah, I think she was more worried about you than me in a way," he observes with irony, and gives a soft shrug.

Posted by

hawk_shot

It's a little touching to hear that, even if her heart breaks a little for Ted. Which... Is sort of odd considering this is his ex-wife they are discussing. "I always appreciate a woman that stands up for her sisters," Kate offers quietly. Even if Ted is over her, it must be hard to be in that spot if you got along with your ex. "Even if she's wrong about it."

This won't be like this forever, at least. "But hey, in time she'll see this is not just a phase, young man." And what matters the most is that Henry is cool about it. "I'm sure, you got a swing for us, but that's not part of a mid-life anything."

Posted by

theodorelasso

Ted smiles softly, appreciating everything Kate says to cheer him up and support and appreciate him. It's a tricky subject, and she's doing her best to make it as easy as possible. He knows Henry is asleep, but on the off-chance he woke up again and was thirsty or something, Ted is glad the word 'swing' doesn't inherently imply something naughty.

"No, I guess she was worried about both of us, but in a..." he says, trailing off as he tries to figure out how to phrase it. In a 'what are you going to do when she leaves you?' way, he realizes suddenly, and it's a bit of a gut-punch. "You know, in different ways," he continues, putting on a smile.

Posted by

hawk_shot

She might not go around sucking up on his ex or anything, but it's just natural for Kate to understand one thing: if Ted shared such a big part of his life with her then she sure must be a really good person. But why would she worry about Ted on this? Does she think Kate is with him for a Sugar Daddy? Knowing him, he sure hasn't brought up the money at all.

She nods slowly, considering her words. "I guess we'll just have to prove it, right? How good we are for each other, as time passes and stuff." As time passes and they are still together. "Hey, but it all went good, didn't it? We still had cake and it was nice and Henry is okay with everything," she reminds him. "Michelle will see in time." Maybe they could do something for his birthday or Henry's?

Posted by

theodorelasso

"Yeah. It's all good," he answers, steadied by her optimism and reassurances, even if there's still that little spike somewhere deep in his chest, gnawing at him just a little bit.

"So, I was thinking," he says, changing the subject to focus more on the here and now and their plans. "Day after tomorrow, we stop by the shooting range to hang out with Beard, and then you can teach Henry a bit? Then on Saturday, d'you wanna come along to Legoland with us?"

Posted by

hawk_shot

The way her face brightens as Ted checks on her his plans definitely says it all. Sure, Ted had already mentioned his intentions to include her, but it's still exciting to see that turn into a
reality.

It's crazy how Kate would have shitted bricks about these plans a couple of months ago.

"If Henry is okay with that then I'm totes on board." The range, she is well aware that his kid will be happy to give it a go. "I mean, just in case he wants Legoland to be a thing between you two."

The range is familiar territory, like playing a match in your own stadium. But Legoland? It's crazy to think that it'll be their first day out as... A potential family together?

Posted by

theodorelasso

"I think there will be enough distracting things in Legoland that it doesn't matter who comes with," Ted points out with a chuckle. Plus, he definitely doesn't have the energy of a 12-year-old, so if Henry's interested in a lot of running-around type activities, it'll be good to have someone who can tag-team a bit.

He gives a yawn, and realizes he should probably go turn in as well. "Alright, I'll text you when I know more. I better go get some sleep, since he'll probably wake me up early."

Posted by

hawk_shot

Kate's memories of her mother starting dating again are still fresh, specially the sensation of having a third-wheel around when all you want is time with your parent. But she eeds to remind herself of what Ted said, her brief time with Henry. He does like her, it's different.

"Sure." Before Ted leaves though, Kate holds her phone closer to her face. "Baby, before you go. I love you. So much." And what happened today was huge, even if she's only now starting to fully comprehend it. "I know it took us by surprise, but... Thank you for convincing me to stay. And for like, asking me to be part of it."

Posted by

theodorelasso

Ted raises his eyebrows as she has something more to say, which quickly becomes a warm smile as she tells him she loves him, and then growing even warmer as she thanks him. "You're so welcome," he answers softly. "I love you too. Sleep well, sweetie." He touches his fingers to his lips and kisses them, then turns the fingers to the camera like he's placing the kiss on her through the video.

Posted by

hawk_shot

Kate practically beams at him, something that translates to more than just her huge smile. She cocks her head, touched by his sweet gesture but not at all surprised to see he keep raising the bar when it comes to being adorable.

"You too, Ted. Have sweet dreams and fun tomorrow. Love you."

Mimicking him, she kisses the pads of her fingers and touches the camera, only hesitating briefly before ending the call. Realizing she is pretty tired herself and that she does have to be up early, all things considered, she gently pushes Lucky off her and guides him upstairs. She falls asleep with the dog at her side and Ted's scent coming from the sweater she borrowed.

While he spends the next day with Henry, Kate uses the time to catch up with a friend after practice. Through the day she sends him a couple of innocent photos. One of Lucky after he stole the bagel she had for breakfast and a sneaky selfie, her expression one of pure boredom as she's clearly in the middle of one of those meetings she can barely stand.

Posted by

theodorelasso

Despite his sleepiness, it still takes Ted a little while to fall asleep. It just makes him feel excited and happy to have Henry sleeping next to him, with a lot of fun plans ahead of them. Though when he does fall asleep, he sleeps soundly and peacefully.

Kate gets a couple photos in return, one of Henry playing basketball with the brand new hoop. Then later in the day, one when they're at a toy store and Henry has a brand new archery toy set, holding it while grinning brightly up at the camera. Ted tried to find one that allowed for training up some skill at aiming and all that, but that wouldn't pose a danger to people or Michelle's home. (Doesn't hurt that they ended up with one that was Hawkeye themed.) Michelle gets these photos too, along with those particular reassurances.

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hawk_shot

While Michelle sends a short but loving text that's followed by almost a long row of loving emojis. Kate's excitement touches a personal even if very different fiber.

"You guuuuuuuys!! That's so cool! And that must be new because I had NO idea that it existed!

Tell Henry that if his bow disappears it TOTALLY WASN'T ME.🙊"

It's the next evening that proves to be harder for Kate to get some sleep. Having friends over distracts her from the anxiety. Of knowing she is sort of already bonding with Ted's son. Or that she will, at the very least. It's insane. She's only ever felt this nervous before performing at the biggest of championships.