Are you ready?
Betrayal/ Forgiveness
Rating: PG 13
Summary: Fifteen years ago, Bam met Ville. They had a whirlwind affair, and Bam left Ville alone and knocked up. Nine months later, Ville had twins. Fifteen years later, they are coming to West Chester.
Disclaimer: This is fiction, never happened, and I don't make money from writing it.
Authors Notes: Once again, thank you to my friend chelseatoddx, for helping with this. And thank you to everyone who's been reading this as well!
“You'd better make sure you're back by midnight young man,” Ville spoke in his sternest 'fatherly' voice. He hid his grin behind a coffee cup, watching Linde pull on his shoes. Linde gave a little laugh, and sat up.
“Or what? You'll ground me?” Linde grinned back at Ville, who laughed loudly. The laughter couldn't quite cover the slight sadness in the green eyes, and Linde moved to sit beside his friend, pulling him into a hug. “Don't worry Ville. You'll find your someone someday. I know you will.”
“That's the problem Lily. I already did...” Ville sighed, taking another sip of coffee. He smiled up at Linde, not wanting to ruin his friends happiness, “I'm glad that you're happy. Don't worry about me. I've got my kids to keep me company in my old age.”
Linde laughed, and was about to retort when he heard a knock at the door. He squeezed Ville's shoulder lightly before standing up, grabbing his jacket on the way. He pulled open the door and stepped out, met immediately with Ryan's gorgeous smile.
“Hey there Pretty Flower! Are you ready to go?” Ryan joked. Linde laughed at the name, but nodded, and allowed Ryan to take his hand and lead him down the steps to his car. The bearded man opened the door for him, giving Linde a second to slide in before shutting it behind him. Linde couldn't help but smile as he watched Ryan walk quickly around the front of the car, and climbing in next to him.
He noticed Ville on the front porch watching them, cup of coffee firmly in hand, and the brunette gave a little wave. He then made a kissy face at the two of them, causing Linde to laugh loudly. Ville could be so immature sometimes. And he wondered where the twins got it from.
Ryan backed out of their driveway, and then they were on the road. Ryan grinned over at him, “Do you mind if I stop at my buddy’s house before we head to dinner? I forgot my jacket over there last night.”
“Of course not. I was wondering why you weren't wearing one, it's freezing out today.” Linde smiled at him. A blush spread over his cheeks as Ryan moved to hold his hand. Linde squeezed the other man's hand lightly, and looked out the window as a comfortable silence lapsed between them.
Ryan was one of the few people in Linde's life that he was truly glad he had met. The strawberry blonde was a blast to be around, he always knew how to make the Finn laugh. He could also be very sweet, and understanding. Plus, he loved the twins and Ville. Of course, Linde still hadn't told him about how Ville was actually the twin's mother, but he could only hope that Ryan would be open minded about that as well. Linde's last relationship was years ago, and it had ended badly. The dreadlocked man was the happiest he had been in years.
Ryan turned the car down a road Linde didn't recognize, and pulled into the first driveway. Trees covered the driveway from the road, making it hard to spot, and Linde couldn't see the house from the road at all. Ryan rolled down his window, punched a few numbers into the security box, and the gate began to swing open. Quickly rolling the window back up, Ryan pulled into the long driveway, stopping in front of the house next to several other cars. He quickly put the car in park, and kissed Linde on the cheek.
“Just wait here, I'll be back in a sec.” Before Linde could reply, Ryan was out of the car and walking up to the door. He tried the handle, and finding it locked, began to bang repeatedly on the door. Linde chuckled, watching him as he pounded on the door. He looked away from Ryan, examining the house. It looked almost like a castle, a giant stone tower in one corner. There was a painting of two unicorns on the side with the door. Linde raised an eyebrow at that, it was certainty eccentric. The side of the driveway was built like a skate ramp, and passed that was a small patch of grass before being met by trees, hiding them from the road. Further down the drive, there looked to be a huge pasture, as well as a big barn looking building. It looked like the pasture continued to the back of the house, although Linde couldn't see it.
He looked back at the house again, and this time someone was standing there with Ryan. Ryan leaned against the wall as the other man went back inside. After a second, Ryan looked back over at Linde and waved. Linde waved back happily. Ryan turned away as the other man walked back out, Ryan's jacket in hand. Linde couldn't stop the gasp that escaped him as he caught a glimpse of the man’s face. He jerked straight up in the car, forgetting to breathe. It couldn't be... The man turned back, laughing at something with Ryan, and Linde sucked in a breath. He'd recognize that face anywhere, no matter how long it had been. There was no mistaking it. It was Bam.
After what seemed like an eternity, Bam turned and went back inside the house. Ryan walked back to the car, still laughing at whatever story Bam had told him as he pulled his jacket on. He slipped into the car and looked up at Linde, smile fading slightly as he saw the blonde. “Hey, Pretty Flower, are you okay? You look like you just saw a ghost.”
Linde nodded, giving a weak smile at Ryan, “Yeah, I'm fine... Just caught a bit of a headache all of a sudden.”
Ryan reached over, grabbing Linde's hand, “You sure? I'll take you home if you want.”
Linde hesitated. He should go home, and tell Ville about seeing Bam immediately. Something stopped him, though, telling him to enjoy his time with Ryan. Ville was a big boy, and Bam hadn't seen him, right? So what was the problem? Linde gave Ryan a brave smile, and nodded. Ryan grinned back, turning the car around and heading to the restaurant.
“Are you sure you're okay, Linde? You've been acting like you're not quite here all evening.” Ryan stopped the car in the driveway of Linde and Ville's house. He looked over at his blonde companion, worry on his face.
Linde gave him a reassuring smile, wishing he was a better actor. He hated worrying Ryan. “I'm fine, Ryan, really. I might have just caught a bit of a cold or something that's making me funny.”
Ryan nodded slightly. “Okay. Just call me if you need anything, okay? Even if you just want to talk. I care a lot about you, you know.”
Linde smiled a real smile at that, “I care a lot about you too, Ryan. I'll be fine, I promise. I probably just need some sleep.”
Ryan grinned at him, climbing out of the car and walking over to Linde's side. He pulled the door open, and reached for Linde's hand, helping him out. “Then I shouldn't keep you from it!”
The walked, hand in hand, to the door, and Linde quickly unlocked it. He stopped before he opened it, looking back at Ryan. “Thank you, Ryan, for everything. You are one of the sweetest guys I've ever met.”
Ryan leaned in slowly, pressing a light kiss to Linde's lips. “I think you've got that backwards, Pretty Flower. You're the sweet one. I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?”
As soon as Linde nodded, Ryan found his lips once more, kissing him deeply this time. For a long moment they kissed, simply enjoying the peace that they found in each other. All too soon, they broke apart, and Linde slowly went inside, giving Ryan one last smile.
When the door closed, though, Linde's smile fell. He leaned back against the door, until he heard Ryan's car pull away. Then he took a deep breath to muster up his courage, and went to find Ville.
He found him in the living room, strumming on an old acoustic guitar. Linde gave him a small smile, “Where are the kids?”
Ville sat up immediately, sitting the guitar aside. He knew Linde well enough to know something was wrong. “They're upstairs, supposedly doing homework. What's wrong, Lily?”
Linde sat down slowly, not looking forward to this conversation in the least. “Ryan forgot his jacket at a friend's house today, and we went over to pick it up...”
Ville nodded slightly, confused but encouraging the taller man to finish.
“When we got there, the friend came outside... Ville, it was Bam.”
Ville's emerald eyes went wide and he gasped, standing up in his shock. “Bam? Fuck, Linde, are you sure?!”
Linde nodded, looking up at his friend sadly. “Yeah, I'm sure. He didn't see me though.”
Ville stared at Linde for a long moment, before he began pacing back and forth slowly, biting on his lip. His mind raced as he struggled to wrap his thoughts around what this meant. Linde watched him silently, knowing all too well that Ville was unpredictable when he was like this. Ville stopped suddenly, looking at Linde.
“You have to break up with Ryan, Linde!” Ville's green eyes burned into Linde's blue ones, desperation swimming in the emerald pools.
“What? Why?!” Linde sat up straight, looking up at his friend as though he had just grown another head.
“Because, he's friends with Bam! And if you two get serious, he's going to want you to meet his friends! What if Bam recognizes you?! Linde, you have to!” Ville began pacing again, his tone getting more and more agitated.
“Ville, you can't make me break up with him, just because you're too scared to face Bam again! He's the best thing to happen to me since... well you know since when! Fuck Ville, I lo-” Linde cut himself off before he could utter the phrase. He stood up as well, getting angry. He understood why Ville was telling him this, he should have expected it. But he didn't like it at all. “I like him a lot! To ask me to break up with him is totally unfair!”
“I'm not asking you, Mikko! I'm telling you. Break up with him now!” Linde gritted his teeth. Ville never, ever used his real name.
“I'm not one of your fucking kids, Ville! You can't tell me who I can and can't date!”
“I sure as fuck can when it involves him! I'm not going to let Bam fucking Margera get anywhere close to my family again!” Ville's hand balled into fists, glaring down his best friend.
Linde didn't back down, staring straight back at Ville, “All you care about is keeping him a secret! Maybe the kids deserve to know who their father is Ville! You can't really keep this from them their whole lives!”
Ville's head spun. A small part of him feared that Linde spoke the truth, that he was hurting the kids by keeping them from knowing who their father was. The larger part of him, however, was scared, hurt, and angry. And all he could do was lash out at Linde.
“That's my fucking decision to make! Not yours! And how dare you fucking put your stupid relationship above my kids! Maybe you're the one who shouldn't be around them!” Linde's mouth dropped at Ville's words. Never, in almost sixteen years, had Ville ever used the kids against him. His eyes welled with tears, but he fought them back.
“That is such a load of shit, Ville! I would never put anything above the kids, you know that! But I don't think it would be such a bad thing for them to know that Bam is their father! You're being incredibly selfish taking that from them, just because you don't want to see him. And you're being incredibly selfish to make me suffer just because you can't move on.” Linde wasn't yelling anymore, instead talking in a soft voice that, to Ville, seemed much worse.
“It sure seems like you’re putting him above them! Break up with him, Linde! Or I swear to fuck I'll....” Ville couldn't finish his sentence; Instead he turned and stormed out of the room. He left the house, slamming the front door behind him.
Linde swore loudly, kicking the couch in anger. His shoulders drooped, and he dropped down onto the couch, staring at the fireplace, cold and empty. Ville couldn't really want him to break up with Ryan? Surely there was another way...
He rubbed his eyes with his hands, blinking back the tears. After a long moment, he picked up the guitar Ville had put on the floor. He began plucking the strings halfheartedly, wanting nothing more than to call Ryan.
Upstairs, Lauri silently shut his door, and turned to face his sister. Anja had tears running down her face, and she stared off into space. Lauri knew he must look just as bad, but he couldn't bring himself to care. He heard his father's words repeated in his head, over and over. Bam Margera... Their father.