Its that time of year
So Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Good Kwanza, whatever you celebrate, have a great day! This is a little late because I've been insanely busy the past few days, but I'll try to get the next one out on time.
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!
“Kids! Come on or I'm going to be late for work!” Ville yelled up the stairs. He leaned against the wall impatiently. A few seconds later, he heard the familiar sound of his children stampeding down the stairs, and a second after that, he first saw Lauri and then Anja appear. Both had skateboards in hand, and Lauri had a backpack strapped to his back. Ville knew from experience that the bag would be filled with plenty of water, along with chips, cookies, and all the other snacks necessary for skating.
Both kids gave tentative smiles to their father. Ville smiled weakly back. He knew that the new found tension between he and Linde was affecting the twins. He couldn't help it though, neither him nor his friend were willing to back down. Since the fight the night before, neither man had so much as looked at one another, much less spoken.
“Come on, Linde's waiting.” Ville led the way out of the house, holding the door for the kids and then locking it behind them. He turned to see the two jumping into the backseat of the car, Linde sitting in the driver’s seat waiting patiently.
Ville let out a sigh, and walked around the car to the passenger side. He pulled the door open with a little more force than necessary, and dropped into the seat. He slammed the door behind him, and watched out the window as Linde backed the car out of the driveway, and headed towards the photography studio.
For a few minutes, Anja and Lauri tried their best to keep up a conversation. After a few one word replies from Ville and Linde, they gave up, and the car fell into an awkward silence. Ville watched out the window, a frown on his face.
Ville knew that he was hurting Linde, demanding that the blonde break up with Ryan. He felt bad about it, of course he did, but he had to stay firm. If Ryan stayed around, eventually he'd want Linde to meet Bam. Bam would most likely recognize Linde, he had lived with the man for almost a month, after all. He couldn't allow that to happen, he couldn't allow Bam near his family. He couldn’t allow his kids to be hurt like that. If they knew who their dad was, then they'd get more and more attached to him, especially Lauri. And then they wouldn't stop trying to find him until they did.
And what then? If they found Bam, what if he told them off? What if he said the horrible things that he had said to Ville to them? That they weren't his, that they were monsters for being born the way they were? It would destroy Lauri, Ville knew. Anja would be stronger, it would hurt her, but she'd get over it. But his son... Lauri was always so sensitive. If they knew, it would tear their family apart.
Ville sighed softly. As much as Linde liked Ryan, he had to break it off. If he didn't... Ville ground his teeth together. In his opinion, Linde was being selfish. He was putting his feelings for Ryan above Lauri and Anja! Of course the Linde cared for Ryan, Ville didn't doubt that, but they had only been going out for a little over a month. And yet, the blonde was willing to risk his relationship with the kids he had spent fifteen years with for this man?
He shook his head, trying to shake away those thoughts. A second later, the car pulled into the parking lot at his work. He gave a smile and a quick goodbye to the kids. Refusing to meet Linde's eyes, he headed away, into the building
Linde gave a sigh, rolling his eyes as he pulled away. The drive to the skate park was short and silent. He dropped the kids off, making them promise to behave and to call him if they needed anything, before he left for his work. One of his coworkers had called in, so his boss had begged him to come in for a few hours today, promising him overtime if he did. He was already looking forward to picking the kids back up and going home so he could sleep.
Anja and Lauri jumped out of the car, and skated slowly over to the park. They stopped just inside the fence that separated the park from the street. A couple of the other skaters waved, and they both waved back, but stayed close to the gate. Lauri skated around for a few minutes, practicing his manual. Anja ignored him, watching silently as Linde disappeared down the street. Then she looked back at her brother.
“He's gone. Come on, Lauri!” She grabbed her board and left the park, taking off down the street at a jog. Lauri ran after her quickly, falling into step beside her.
“Why are we doing this again?” Lauri panted a few minutes later. Anja stopped quickly, almost making her brother trip in his effort to stay with her.
“Lauri! You heard Isa! Bam Margera is our dad! This might be our only chance to find him!” She started moving again, walking this time. Lauri fell into step beside her once again.
“We're going to find him by checking hair salons? That's stupid, Anja,” Lauri sighed. He was trying not to get his hopes up, but Anja's excitement was contagious, and he found himself picking up the pace of their walk.
“Of course not! But don't you remember Viva La Bam? The Three Mile Island episode? April works at a hair salon. If nothing else, we can meet our grandmother!” Anja said excitedly. She had never had a female role model. Ville's parents didn't talk to him, so she and Lauri had never met them, and the idea of a grandmother was exciting to her.
“How are we going to find that hair salon? There's got to be twenty of them around here! And we don't even know if she works in West Chester, Anja,” Lauri continued to try to be the voice of reason.
“Just leave that to me, Lauri.” Anja gave him a grin, and then jumped onto her skateboard, deciding that it would be quicker to skate to their destination. Lauri gave a high pitched giggle, and quickly skated after her.
A few minutes and a short skating competition later, they found the first hair salon of the day. Anja jumped off the board, kicking it up into her hand, before walking into the store. Lauri quickly followed suit.
“Can I help you?” the receptionist asked. She looked the two of them up and down, looking at the ripped jeans and band shirts in disdain. Anja ignored the look, having seen it most of her life.
“Yeah, you can. A friend of mine recommended a stylist named April, but she didn't say what shop she worked at. I was hoping you could help?” Anja gave the woman her best smile, trying her best to be polite. Lauri shifted awkwardly beside her.
“I'm sorry, there's no April here. Now if that's all...” The woman trailed off, obviously trying to get the kids to leave. They both turned, leaving the store, Anja muttering under her breath about the woman.
“Okay, where next?” Lauri looked at his sister. He stuck his tongue out at the receptionist, who was still staring at them.
Anja rolled her eyes at her brother. Then she grabbed him by the shoulders, and spun him around, ignoring his squeak of surprise. She quickly opened the backpack that he still carried, digging inside. She quickly found what she was looking for, a list of addresses that she had looked up the night before. “Okay, the next shop is three blocks down and one street over. Let’s go!”
Before Lauri had a chance to argue, she was jumping on her board and taking off down the street, shoving the paper into her pocket as she went. With one more stupid face at the receptionist, Lauri took off after her.
“Hi, how can I help you two?” A seemingly nicer woman greeted them this time. Anja smiled sweetly back, and decided to stick with the same story.
“A friend of mine told me that I needed to get my hair done by a lady named April. She didn't tell me what salon she works at though. I was hoping you could help?”
“April? The only April I know works over at Salon Nochea. Do you know where that's at?” The woman smiled kindly at Anja.
“Yeah, I have the address. Thank you so much!” Anja grinned, practically running out of the store.
Lauri ran behind her, a grin spreading across his face as he realized that they might really meet their grandmother. “So? How far is it? Can we make it there before Uncle Lily gets off work?”
Anja nodded, checking the time quickly. “It's a bit of a walk, but I think we can make it. We've got to hurry though.”
They took off at a run together, excitement and anticipation pushing them to go as fast as they could. Almost twenty minutes later, they stopped, breathless, as they saw a sign in the distance reading Salon Nochea. They walked the last bit slowly. Without realizing it, Anja had grabbed Lauri's hand and was squeezing it in excitement. Lauri squeezed back, biting his lip nervously. “So what do we say when we go in? Should we tell her who we are?”
“Umm...” Anja stopped. She hadn't thought this part through. “I don't think so... Bam might not have said anything to her about us... Hell, we don't even know if he knows about us. I think for now, we should just play it cool.”
Lauri nodded his agreement, and the two of them entered the salon together.
“Hi there. Do you have an appointment?” A brown haired woman greeted them with a smile.
“Um, no, but a friend of mine recommended that I get my hair cut by April... Is she available by any chance?” Anja said. She shifted nervously, what if they couldn't even see April today?
The woman smiled at her, sensing her nervousness, “Well, you're in luck sweetheart, April's next appointment just canceled. I'm sure she'd be happy to help you.”
With that, the woman disappeared into the back room for a moment, and then returned with a shorter, blonde woman. She was about Lauri's height, and her hair was cut just shorter than shoulder length, framing her face. She gave the two a big smile. “Hi, I'm April. What do you want done today?”
The two teens sucked in a breath simultaneously as April walked in the room, immediately recognizing her. For a long moment, Anja couldn't even think about the question, just stared at the woman-at her grandmother. Then Lauri nudged her, and she blushed brightly, “Um... Just a trim, really... Or whatever you recommend...”
April nodded, and led the two into the back room. She quickly ushered Anja to a chair. “All you want is a trim, Hun? How short do you want it?”
“Um... maybe shoulder length? A little longer than his?” Anja motioned to her brother. She hadn't thought this through- her father was sure to notice that she had cut her hair.
April simply nodded, and began to work on cutting Anja's hair. Sensing the two children's nervousness, she decided to speak up “So, how old are you two? Are you siblings?”
“We're fifteen, we're twins,” Lauri spoke up shyly, unable to look away from April.
“Twins? Really? That's awesome; do you two get along well?”
“Sometimes. We used to fight a lot, but we just moved here so we really don't have anyone else to talk to,” Anja spoke this time, watching in the mirror on the wall as April cut her hair.
“Aw, that's too bad. Don't worry, I'm sure you'll make friends soon. There's a lot of skaters in the area, my son is one.” April smiled slightly, having noticed their skateboards.
“Bam Margera, right?” Anja asked, already knowing the answer. April simply nodded in reply.
“What's he like?” Lauri asked before he could stop himself.
April just laughed, having heard that question many times before.“A handful, believe me. He can be sweet, though, although he'd kill me if he heard me say it. Are you two fans of his?”
“Yeah, you could say that” Anja laughed slightly.
They talked about Bam for a while longer. After that, they made simple small talk. All too soon, for Anja and Lauri, April was done. She led them back up front and bid them a good afternoon before she went back into the other room to clean up. Anja quickly paid, and the two left. They made it halfway down the road before they stopped, sitting on the curb.
“I can't believe it.... she's so nice! And she doesn't even know who we are!” Anja fought back tears, picking at a stray piece of grass amongst the cement. Lauri hugged her tightly, but kept quiet. “I mean... She's our grandma, Lauri! Why didn't Isa ever tell us about her! Why... We could have had a grandma all these years!”
Lauri opened his mouth to say something, but closed it immediately. He felt the same way, so how could he make his sister feel better? He hugged her close, and they sat there for a long while.
Linde left work thirty minutes late, and in a bad mood. He shouldn't have agreed to take the extra shift; Saturdays were always the worst to work. He climbed in his car quickly, slamming the door behind him. What a bad weekend. First seeing Bam, worrying Ryan, fighting with Ville, the possibility of not seeing Ryan again... and a bunch of asshole customers on top of it.
Linde pulled out of the parking lot, trying to calm down on the way to pick up the kids from the park. Fighting with Ville sucked. The two of them had been such good friends for so long that when they fought, it drove them both crazy until they made up. Linde sighed. Maybe he'd talk to Ville tonight, try to make things right again. Surely the brunette would see reason?
He pulled up to the skate park, and parked in the small lot off to the side. He climbed out of the car, leaning against the roof as he scanned the park for the familiar forms of the twins. His brow furrowed as he realized that he couldn't see them. Another quick glance, and he broke into a sweat. Where were they?
He yanked his phone out of his pocket, thanking whatever deity that was out there that Ville had bought them cell phones the year before, and quickly punched Anja's number.
Anja jerked her head up as her phone rang, the familiar tune letting her know that Linde was calling. “Shit! Fuck, Lauri, we were supposed to be back thirty minutes ago!”
They both jumped up, and were already starting down the street as Anja answered the phone, “Hello?”
“Anja where the hell are you two?!” Linde almost yelled into the phone. He sank down into the seat of his car in relief at hearing her voice. In the two seconds he had known they were missing, all the worst possible scenarios had crashed through his mind.
“Umm... We're at the library.” Anja offered. The library was far enough away from Salon Nochea that Linde wouldn't think that they were there. But it was close enough to make it there first if they ran.
“The library? Why the hell are you at the library?! Why did you leave the skate park without letting us know?! Anja, you know you can't do that shit!” Linde was getting angry again. What the hell were they thinking?
“I know.... We'll meet you there, okay Linde?” Without waiting on an answer, she hung up the phone. Then they ran.
The two of them sat on the couch. Lauri on the left, Anja on the right. Linde leaned against the wall, arms crossed and a look of agitation on his face. He had just gotten off the phone with Ville, who was getting a ride home from a coworker. The front door slammed, and in the next second, Ville stormed into the room.
“What the hell were you thinking?! You fucking know better than to leave the skate park without telling us!” Ville exploded, standing in the middle of the room and glaring at his kids. Anja opened her mouth to defend them, but Ville interrupted.
“Don't give me any shit about how you needed to go the library, I know you better than that Anja Lyyli Valo! If you needed to go to the library you would have said so! Do you have any idea how worried Linde was when he got to the park and you weren’t there?! Or how worried I was when he called me out of work to tell me about your little fucking adventure?! Where the hell did you two go that was so important?!”
“We didn't mean to worry you...” Anja said quietly, looking down at the floor. Ville gritted his teeth, turning away from them and pacing in an attempt to calm down.
“You cut your hair,” Linde suddenly spoke, taking his first good look at Anja. Ville looked up, seeing her shortened hair. Anja nodded, biting her lip lightly and looking at Lauri.
“That's why you left the skate park? To get your fucking hair cut?” Ville stared at her in astonishment.
She gave a small nod, looking up at him and hoping that he wouldn't figure out who she had gotten her hair cut by. Ville rubbed his face, struggling not to completely loose it.
“Go upstairs, both of you. You’re grounded. No TV, no cell phones, no skateboarding. I don't know for how long, I'll decide later. I am so pissed at the two of you right now; I don't want to say something I'll regret.” Ville stormed out of the room without looking at them again.
Lauri looked up at Linde, biting his lip. “We're sorry, Linde. We didn't mean to worry you.”
Linde nodded slightly at Lauri, but didn't move from where he stood. “Go upstairs. I'm with your Isa on this one.”
The kids hung their head slightly, and walked upstairs together.
Ville waited until he heard the kids head upstairs before he walked back into the living room. He held two cups of coffee in his hands. He paused at the door, looking at Linde who had dropped down onto the couch, and was staring of into space. With a sigh, he walked towards the blonde, holding out the coffee as a peace offering.
Linde jumped slightly as the cup appeared in front of his eyes. He took it gratefully, giving Ville a small smile. Attempting to lighten the mood, he tried for a joke, “Should I be checking for poison now?”
Ville gave a short laugh, sitting down next to Linde. “No. I only put poison in soup.”
“Good to know.” Linde smiled, sipping his coffee slowly. An awkward silence fell over the two of them, and they each studiously avoided looking at the other.
“Fuck. Linde, I'm sorry. I really am, but I feel like it’s for the best if you don't see Ryan anymore. I shouldn't have gotten so pissed at you about it, though. I'm sorry for that.” Ville's voice was quiet, and he continued on before Linde could say anything. “You've got to see where I'm coming from, though, Lily. I'm just so fucking scared that he's going to ruin everything all over again. I can't deal with that kind of heartbreak again... But I definitely don't want to lose you over this, either.”
Linde let out a long sigh, and set his coffee down on the end table next to him. He turned quickly, and pulled Ville into a hug. “I understand, Ville. This is hard for me, too though. I really like Ryan, Ville. I don't want to lose him, either.”
“I know.” Ville sighed, seeing that they weren't going to get anywhere in this conversation. He changed the subject quickly. “I can't believe they fucking did that.”
“I know. I thought I was going to have a heart attack when I realized they weren't at the skate park,” Linde shook his head slightly. “And just because Anja wanted her hair cut? Do you believe that?”
“Nope. But I know them well enough to know that they're not going to tell us anything else,” Ville raked his fingers through his hair. He suddenly stood up, reaching back to pull Linde up as well. “This coffee isn't strong enough. Didn't you buy some vodka the other day?”
Linde laughed, and the two made their way into the kitchen, differences set aside. At least for now.