[Samuel x Roman]

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s a m u e l​

It was nice to see Harper in a lot less pain, and to see that he seemed to have found something fun in all the horrible. Casts were fun, at least for kids. The way Samuel saw it, and the way he had felt when he broke his arm when he was little, was that while it was really painful at first, by the time you had to take the cast of it was almost a little said, because it had been so fun to have friends sign and doodle on it that it was a little hard to let go of. And Harper was a really happy kid, so Samuel had a feeling that in a couple of days he would turn the situation around completely and se mostly the positives.

They got everything settled in the hospital and got into the car to pick up the rest of the siblings. Samuel drove this time so that Harper got to get some comfort from his daddy as well, and also talk about what he wanted drawn on his cast.

Soon enough they were at Susan and Ollie's and the moment they were through the door they were greeted by their worried family members. The siblings all rushed up to them to check on their brother and Samuel quickly made sure to let out a warning, "take it easy guys, don't hurt him,"

And so they slowed down and Eden very sweetly asked, "Are you okay?"
 
h a r p e r
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"I mean, I'm not fantastic or anything but I definitely feel a lot better," Harper told his sweet little brother.

"That's good to hear, buddy," said Daddy, running a hand over Harper's light brown hair. "I'll go inside and see if Abuela has anything nice for you to eat, okay?"

"Okay." Harper went into the living room with his Papa and his siblings, and sat next to his papa on the couch. "Thank you for trying to help me to calm down today, Papa," Harper said. Because even if he knew it was his job to take care of him, Harper still felt amazing knowing that his parents loved him so damn much.
 
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"awe, any time Harper," Samuel said with a small smile. As a parent it was his duty to help his kids in any way they needed and that was of utter importance to him to do. But it still felt nice to know that the kids appreciated it. And it was nice to know that they were growing up to be the type of nice people who know that even if giving you help wasn't really optional for someone it was still help, and something to be grateful for, "I'm just happy you're feeling a little better,"

Samuel ruffled Harper's hair a little and there were some sounds of approval from the siblings, who all seemed very happy to know their older brother was okay and no longer practically screaming in agonizing pain. It had to have been scare for them as well. Samuel had to make sure to tuck them all in properly tonight.

Soon enough Susan came out with some ice cream for everyone to enjoy. Harper got as big of a helping as he liked, his grandmother claimed that you could eat however much ice cream you wanted when you had broken a bone, because milk contained kalcium and it was good for your bones. Samuel was just happy the kids got the ice cream he had promised them hours ago. The day really hadn't turned out as they had imagined, and that was a little sad, but they all had each other and were all gathered to support Harper and make sure his armed healed as well as possible.
 
b l a k e
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Blake could still remember what it had been like to be pregnant with Harper. She could remember the feeling of the small little person growing in her stomach, the phenomenon of him kicking or moving or making his presence known in any way shape or form. She could recall the pain she had felt, not only when she had been in labour, but also the emotional pain of the whole pregnancy and what it reminded her of.

But most of all, she remembered the immense feeling of fulfilment she had experienced when that tiny creature had been born and she had given him away to a family who couldn't have children of their own.

That was what Blake decided to focus on whenever she saw Harper -- the positives, rather than the negatives. Today, she was just spending a leisurely afternoon at the Hemlock-Ortega household, sitting in the living room as Harper, bless his sweet soul, tried to do a jigsaw puzzle with Letha while having only one arm. She leaned over to Samuel, who was sitting close to her, and murmured, "He's more capable with one arm than Roman is with two, how do you feel," as an obvious jest.
 
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Samuel followed Blake's gaze to Harper with a slightly amused smile at her comment. The by really was handling his broken arm quite well now that it was all bandaged up. The entire family had signed it, and it clearly didn't stop him from trying to do the things he normally did. Though it was a shame he had broken it right at the beginning of summer.

"Look I know who I got married to and I am not surprised in the slightest," Samuel quietly joked back at Blake. And then he glanced back at Harper just for a moment, "And mostly I'm very proud of his capability to use one arm only, I like to think he inherited it from me," he let out a small chuckle, jokes like that wasn't uncommon within their family, the kids knew they were adopted and no one got hurt from it. It was all just for fun, but it was a little odd to make jokes like that around Blake, given her actual genetic relation to one of the kids.

Whenever Blake was over by herself like this Samuel couldn't help but pay a little extra attention to Harper. Almost as if he was looking for a sign of him just knowing. Samuel wouldn't mind if the boy did know, but he knew that wasn't what Blake wanted and he respected that. He couldn't help but wonder though, if a day would come when Harper would wake up, look himself in the mirror and realise he looked and awful lot like Auntie Blake. Maybe he wouldn't ever, he clearly looked like her, but her genes were only fifty percent hers and his demeanour was, out of the kids, probably the clearest mix between Samuel and Roman's. So given the context, maybe it was harder to tell.

"Hey Harper, how's that going for you?" Samuel asked Harper sweetly, since trying to fit the pieces together while keeping the puzzle intact probably was a bit of a hassle.
 
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"I'm fine, Papa," Harper said. He clearly was having a little difficulty manoeuvring his arm while it was in that cast, but he was managing to help Letha complete the puzzle by having Letha hold the pieces still so he could attach the new ones. Blake smiled. He was such a sweet boy.

She obviously didn't have any claim to him, but she liked to see that the child was turning out to be a good person, especially since his biological father was not one. Blake had absolutely never wanted to get pregnant, but it had not been her choice. However, what had been her choice was what she did with that pregnancy, and she was immensely glad to know that the decision she had made had helped another family immensely.

"Let us know if you need any help, okay?"

"Okay, Auntie Blake."

Blake smiled and turned to Samuel. "He's so much like you and Roman," she murmured so the kids couldn't hear.
 
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"Thanks, i guess," Samuel knew it wasn't technically a complement, but it felt like one. The kids were adopted, they wouldn't naturally inheret a bunch of their traits, but the fact that they all, and especially Harper, shared so many traits with them felt like they were doing a good job as parents, having spent enough time with them growing up.

Samuel felt like you could see parts of their biological parents in them as well though, it was something more interesting than something that made him sad though. And if he was being honest, it was probably easy for him and Roman to see who knew all of their biological parents, while their friends would probably just see it in Harper. But at the end of the day they were their own people as well, their genes and upbringing factored in, but so did their own experiences, hobbys and interests.

Samuel smiled at the boy and his sister as they used team work to work out the jigsaw-puzzle. He continued speaking in a quiet voice, "I feel like he's got the best traits from both of us, which makes me happy," He was nice, compassionate, responsible, protective, active and stood up for his beliefes. He was also a fighter, someone who seemed like he could pull through the worst of situations without breaking down, which had just recently been proven with his broken arm. Samuel liked to think that that was something he got from Blake, even though he wasn't sure if a trait like that would be genetic. He didn't say anything about that out loud though. Blake wanted to be a part of Harper's life from the sidelines, so he wasn't about to properly point out their relation. Especially not with Harper there.
 
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"Oh, yes, he definitely has, he's a lovely little boy." Blake said that and she meant it with all of her heart. She couldn't claim any part of how Harper had turned out, of course, because she had forfeited any rights he had to call herself his mother. But still, she was proud of him for being a good person and a good kid, like any auntie would be proud of their niece or nephew.

Blake peered over at Harper curiously. She could see some of her own features in him, and also her family members'. She kind of liked that, mainly because she could tell that her own genetics had had more of an influence in his features than Kyle's.

"It's good that he hasn't inherited Roman's divaness, I don't think you'd have been able to live with two of that fucker."
 
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Samuel let out a soft chuckle at Blake's comment. And glanced over at Harper. No, he was a little to humble to be able to pull of Roman's diva traits off. But there were some things Harper had taken after from his Daddy that Samuel honestly hadn't expected as he grew up, but was becoming more apparant with each years. And that was his clearly blurred views of what to him was masculine and feminine.

It also made Samuel speculate a little, he knew there were no traits that inheritantly decided ones sexuality. It was all stereotypes. But with Roman filling up many of the stereotypes of being gay, and defing a lot of them as well, Samuel couldn't help but wonder about the kids. Especially Harper who was getting to a age where the opposite gender no longer was labelled as icky and gross by your peers. He wondered if his affinity for feminine things as well as masculine was a sign, or if it was just a good consequence of their upbringing with very nonexistant gender roles.

"I dunno, maybe it comes with age," Samuel half-joked, maybe it would, it was a possibility, or maybe Harper would stop showing interest in feminine things at all and they'd see none of Roman's diva-like traits in him. Or he'd skip out on the femenne things completely and still act more like that side of Roman. No one could really know and that was what made watching the kids grow up so much fun, "like who knows, in a year or two he might be worse than Roman, my bet is on that one though," Samuel said and nodded at Letha, "She might be a total sweetheart, but god do we all baby and spoil her," he was saying this with nothing but mild and kind amusement. Letha was the sweetest little girl and Samuel doubted that would change, but there was no doubt that she, nor her siblings, were a little spoiled.
 
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"What?! Letha?! Letha is a saint!" Blake laughed, a little too loudly though, because Letha heard her and looked up curiously.

"Huh?"

"Don't worry, sweetie," Blake said with a chuckle.

"Were you talking about me?"

"...Only good things, we promise."

Letha peered at them suspiciously and scurried over to get super close to her Papa's face and look at him with that scrutinising expression. "Is she lying?"
 
s a m u e l​

"Yes, she's lying, I was just telling auntie Blake about all the horrible things you do, like how you like to steal candy from tiny little babies and whisper mean thing to my garden so the flowers wont grow," Samuel said in a serious tone and nodded tentatively, as if these weren't the opposite things of what Letha would do.

He really couldn't keep that joke up for too long though, because Letha truly was such a sweetheart and he didn't want her for even a second to think he was serious. He reached his hand out and ruffled her adorable halo of blonde hair, "Just kidding sweetheart, I we were just talking about how sweet it is that you and Harper are both helping each other with jigsaw-pussle," it was a bit of a lie, but a white one.

"Do you wan't to show us how far you've gotten on it?" he added, allowing the kids to now be a part of a conversation with the two of them, which of course meant no more talk about genetics and whatnot.
 
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Letha looked genuinely hurt for a minute, but after a few seconds she laughed along with her papa and played along with the joke. "Yeah, there's a reason Daddy's cactus died," she jested, causing Blake to laugh. What a sweet little girl. She felt the same sort of pride towards her and the twins as she did to Harper, showing that the genetic relation between herself and the boy really didn't play much of a factor into how she felt about him.

"Sure," Letha said as Samuel asked her to show the progress they had made on the puzzle. She pulled her papa down to the floor and Blake went with them, sitting between Harper and Letha so Samuel could be seated beside both of his children.

"See, we did the outside bits like Daddy said to do the other day, and now we have them sorted by colour," Letha said proudly, pointing to the different piles of pieces. The puzzle was of a sea turtle, swimming close to the sand of a shallow reef. "We have the blue ones there and the sandy ones there and the ones that make up the turtle there."
 
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"Oh guys that's some really good strategies you've got going on, I'm impressed," Samuel praised the two, they were obviously older now so them being able to do a puzzle wasn't super weird or anything, but it wasn't like it was one for super young children and Samuel hoped they would see the thing through because it was always a valuble thing to make sure you finish the projects you've started.

"You should show Edie when you're done, or see if he wants to come down help you in a bit, I bet he'd like it," Samuel said, knowing that Eden very much liked sea turtles, but he was having a bit of an off day, as he sometimes and understandably did, and was thus allowed to be left to his own devices, just hanging out in his room to relax that day. It was too bad since it wasn't every day Blake came over. But still.

"Oh yeah, by the way Harper, have you asked auntie Blake to sign your cast yet?" Samuel added as he came to think about it, he didn't want to interupt the kids' actvity but he also didn't want to forget before they left. Samuel just felt like if as many people they cared about as possible got to sign it Harper would be able to look back at the memories of the summer when his arm was broken fondly, and not as the time where he couldn't really go out swim or play soccer with his friends.
 
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"Oh!" Harper exclaimed as he was reminded. "No, I didn't, actually, hang on a second ..."

The boy jumped up, hurried into the kitchen and came back out with a packet of multi-coloured permanent markers in his hand. He sat down beside Blake again and offered her the packet. "Do you want to sign my cast, Auntie Blake?" he asked her sweetly.

Blake hesitated for a split second. Signing the cast would involve touching him, which Blake tried to avoid wherever possible because even if he was almost a teenager, he still reminded her slightly of the ordeal she had gone through in her twenties. She didn't think she had touched him for years -- even when she said goodbye, she didn't hug him or any of the other kids, because she didn't want to make him feel singled out.

But this was different, this was going to help him feel better and the poor dear had broken his arm, so Blake wanted to assist with that in any way she could. "Sure," she said, taking a green marker out of the pack since she new it was Harper's favourite. She found a relatively blank spot on the plaster and wrote, GET WELL SOON, HARPER, LOVE, AUNTIE BLAKE.

Harper smiled when he saw it. "Thank you, Auntie Blake," he said happily. In that moment, seeing Harper so elated, Blake knew she had done the right thing, and it acted as reinforcement that even all those years ago, when she was agonising over the baby growing in her womb, she had made the best decision possible.
 
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"...And since we've no place to go, let it snow let it snow let it snow,"

It was finally getting close to Christmas, a holiday Samuel was loving more and more with every passing year. In his teens he hadn't really liked the holiday all that much. He liked the idea of it, spending time with family, enjoying good food, being happy. That's just not what it had really been for him growing up. Christmases at the Ortega household were usually pleasant enough, but the church going and the not at all mildly homophobic grandparents, and parents for the matter, and everything like that combined had always been stressful. Plus he had always been pretty bad at gifts, both buying them and wrapping them.

But now he was older, he had his own family with his own traditions, and it didn't matter how poorly he wrapped his gifts because his family loved them anyway. Plus Roman was there to help him as they both wrapped gifts for the kids to amazingly unfitting for the location Christmas songs. He supposed that was what you got when you just put on the first Spotify Christmas list you found.

Samuel continued to hum along as he did his best to wrap the gift he was working on, some art supplies for Stella, it tended to be what she asked for both Christmas and her birthday now a days. "Ah, darn it," Samuel interrupted his humming , using the milder phrasing out of habit from when the kids were little, "It just won't look good? Help me?" he asked his husband who was sitting across the table for help. The wrapping paper had gotten all scrunched up, but in his defence there were several items so the contents weren't completely symmetrical, which made it a lot harder to wrap.
 
r o m a n
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Christmas time. With the exception of the obvious religious connotations, Roman absolutely loved Christmas. He loved the food, he loved Christmas carols, and he loved giving and receiving presents. It was just all so much fun. Roman couldn't remember the last time he had had a bad Christmas.

He was sitting at the table with his husband, wrapping presents and admiring how adorable Samuel was when he hummed and sang. He was also adorable when he didn't know how to wrap presents that weren't cubes or rectangles — though he wasn't the best at wrapping those either.

"You're a dweeb," Roman told the love of his life in an affectionate manner. He stood up and leaned over the table so he could take over the wrapping of Stella's art supplies. He rolled his eyes, took the paintbrushes and tied the handles together with a piece of ribbon, and then laid the little bundle atop the metal tin of paints. Then he easily folded the paper over the gift. It came out looking as neat as possible for such a lumpy object.

"Whatever would you have done without me?" Roman joked. He sat back down, put his legs in his husband's lap and proceeded to continue with Harper's new rollerblades.
 
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"cry?" Samuel suggested. He temporarily but his hand on Roman's ankle as his husband had just positioned his legs in his lap and Samuel really enjoyed the closeness, "die? maybe both, there would more horribly wrapped gifts at least," Samuel chuckled gave Roman's ankle a little squeeze.

He went back to the gift, it was now nicely wrapped, Samuel had no idea how Roman did it but he was happy he had him. Samuel tied a bow around the gift, that he could to, even if it wasn't the most beautiful bow in the world, then he got the gold pen and wrote 'Merry Christmas Stella, love Daddy and Papa' it would be very apparent who had done what parts in wrapping Stella's gift, but she'd be happy anyway.

After Stella's gift was done he put it aside and found something that would be easier to wrap. Eden's gift consisted of rectangles, he was getting a book on the history of music they had found and decided to get on a whim when at the bookstore and also the video game he asked for. They were trying to keep all the gifts of the kids at about equal costs. That wasn't what mattered and the kids wouldn't actually be told what they had spent on each gift, but it still felt like the right thing to do.

As Eden's gift was easier to wrap he could do so by himself, it was still far from pretty but it was not the disaster that Stella's gift was, and honestly, he was a little better at the whole wrapping thing than he once had been, since he had taken up scrapbooking. At least the decorating part. When finished he held the gift up to show Roman, "see I'm not that horrible at this, like, I've done worse,"
 
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Roman looked away from the dance dress he had made for Letha to peer at the gift with amused curiosity. "Very nice," he said, allowing his adorable husband that must satisfaction even if, objectively, the present was not perfect by any means. "You'll be a pro soon. You should quit your job and go and work in one of those stores that wraps presents for you. You've been pursuing the wrong career your whole life, Samuel, but I shall support you through this drastic change."

Roman laughed, a pretty sound, and folded the dress before placing it in a nice box and then proceeding to wrap it carefully. He often made Letha's dance costumes, he had done the same thing for Allison when she had been younger also. He just loved to create things, it was one of his greatest passions.

"Though unfortunately you'll be restricted to boxes because let's face it, they'd fire you if you tried to wrap anything else."
 
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At first, Samuel just smiled at Roman's comment, he liked the compliments even though his husband probably was sugar coating things a little, he knew he wasn't the best at this, but it was still nice to have someone like Roman who loved and supported the things he did anyway. But then he added on that horrible insult and Samuel let out a dramatic gasp.

"Roman, that's not very nice! I'm very good at wrapping square boxes that it'd be my job only and no one would ever be able to replace me so they wouldn't fire me!" Samuel said, defending himself in this totally hypothetic joke scenario, because why not. "and besides Roman, if you say mean things like that you won't get any Christmas gifts at all!"

Now he changed his tone of voice, looked Roman straight in the eye, leaned closer, and said, very seriously, "Santa sees all, Roman."
 
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Roman just burst out laughing at Samuel's final comment, and he laughed so hard that he quickly lost his ability to breathe. It was just so stupid and so funny and that was one of the several things Roman loved so much about his gorgeous husband.

He laughed a bit more and then after a while actually regained control of himself. "S - Santa's not real," he stammered around the remains of his laughter.

Then he looked around the room and at the ceiling with fake panic. "Fuck, I hope our children who are at school didn't hear that."
 
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