Apartment Complex

[Its Smiley]

Format by Raiyane

Nikolai waved his hand dismissively at Parker. "They'll be back in time for dinner... hopefully," he corrected at the last minute. Seeing the youth excitedly hold up the car keys, the Sin couldn't help but chuckle, "Very well. I'd surely fall asleep at the wheel, anyway." He charged Aysun with watching over the kids while they were way, ignoring the boy's cries of protest from wanting to join in on the adventure.

Mayah Playah

 

[Mayah Playah]

Parker Loupohl-Court

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~~~

Two years later, Parker stood in the parlor of the Court house, nervously staring into a mirror and trying to adjust his now-rumpled tie. His father was in the kitchen, fixing up dinner for the younger kids since Leon was already at the dance and having to supervise. Speaking of dancing, Parker looked down at his feet and started to move a little to the side, tripping a little over the shoes he wore. "Crap," he murmured, then looked down at his watch to see if he still had time to figure out the moves. He had nearly forty-five minutes to get to his date's house, so he had time, but every time he touched anything, it got messed up. Why was he so nervous? It was just junior prom. Sure, he was a candidate for king, but still! It wasn't his first time winning a title at school. What was he so freaked out about?
"Again?" he grunted as he looked into his reflection to see his tie uneven and angry. He was just steps away from yanking it off and tearing it into pieces!

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Coconut Coalition

 

[Its Smiley]

Format by Raiyane

"Nervous, are we? Nikolai chuckled from the doorway. He strode into the room and stopped just about a foot away from the young teen, adjusting his tie for him. "I was never good at these until Leon-darling forced me to learn," he chuckled quietly. Once it was fastened on tightly, he took a step back and nodded in approval.
"Now then, what was that I saw before your tie fiasco, dearie? That wasn't an attempt at dancing, was it?" he mused, eyes glinting teasingly.

Mayah Playah

 

[Mayah Playah]

Parker Loupohl-Court

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The teen looked up and gratefully smiled at his father's friend. His hands fell helplessly to his sides, looking pathetic in the fitted suit his father had bought for him. In fact, even now he was paying off his father for the suit. At least it looked good on him once the tie was fixed. Parker glanced towards the mirror, then back to Nikolai with a humiliated blush on his face. "Dad tried to teach me a couple days ago, but I wasn't really paying attention," he confessed, eyes darting towards the ground. "I'm kinda nervous about tonight." He tried to laugh off his nervousness before feeling embarrassed once more at Nikolai noticing his dancing.
Parker rubbed the back of his neck, grimacing. "Heh, yeah. Well, Michelle keeps telling me we're gonna win the crowns, but every time she makes me practice dancing with her for the spotlight, I always screw up and step on her or trip. Dad never really taught me how to dance with girls, or... Really anything about girls." The blonde ran a hand over his hair before dropping it to his sides. "Grandpa always told me that Loupohls are naturals with women, but I'm a total mess anytime I talk to them. Michelle got a hotel room for us tonight and I don't even know how to..." Parker cleared his throat, reaching down and tugging his suit jacket to straighten it.

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Papa Smiley

 

[Its Smiley]

Format by Raiyane

"Mmm, yet you still chose not to take my class," Nikolai tsked with a teasing smile. "If you ever need help dating, dearie, I'd rather you come to me than your father or my husband. They have some knowledge, yes, but-" He grinned while waving his index finger side-to-side. "-I've been with more women than both of them combined."
He took a step forward, taking Parker's hands and placing them on his sides.
"Women aren't as nearly as frightening as you'd think, darling. Especially right now. Right now all that girl is thinking about is how cool she's going to look with a handsome man like you. As for dancing? Just small steps to the side. Like this." He placed his hands on the teen's shoulders and helped guide him through dancing. Once Parker got the hang of it, Nikolai sat him down and began his long talk of what to properly do in the bedroom.

Mayah Playah

 

[Mayah Playah]

Parker Loupohl-Court

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Dancing with Nikolai wasn't nearly as difficult as it was when Cecil had tried to teach him. As always, everything was much easier with the slender Russian, and at some moments when they were out and about, Parker could understand why people fell so quickly for him. While Nikolai didn't incite feelings of sexual attraction, he was greatly important to the teen who often was too anxious to talk to his father about certain things. Nikolai wasn't his parent, he knew that, but right here, in this bedroom and while wearing a pair of Sawyer's leather dress shoes, Parker felt like any other kid talking to their dad. He almost didn't want it to end, still having so many questions about what to do that night, but soon enough, his watch beeped. It was time to get going.
"Thanks for everything, Mr. Court," he said, standing with his shoulders much less tensely squared. "And thanks for answering my questions. I really grateful I have you to ask these things about. My dad couldn't even finish giving "the talk" when I first asked him at 13." He chuckled a little, then stopped. "I'm really happy that we're family, Mr. Court." Parker reached out, placing a hand on Nikolai's arm and smiling softly as his eyes shine with appreciation for his favorite "uncle".

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Papa Smiley

 

[Its Smiley]

Mayah Playah

Nikolai Court

~~~

Hearing the memories from a different point of view, it started to make sense. Nikolai sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. He royally messed up, didn't he?
"I see... I never thought of it that way," he admitted. He looked over to where Parker had ran off to. If he listened carefully, he could barely make out stifled sobs. Guilt sank down Nikolai's gut like a stone, he sighed and looked at his son wordlessly before moving to the guest bedroom.
The Sin was never used to being a good person, or admitting he was wrong. Wonders what marriage did. He knocked quietly on the door. "Parker, dear, let me in," he said gently. "We need to talk."

 

[Mayah Playah]

Parker Loupohl-Court

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The adult sniffed at the gentle knock, raising his head and listening to the gentle voice that spoke. The lilt exposed his father-in-law, and as much as he just wanted to lock the door and curl up on the guest bed, he still felt that yank in his chest that made him do what Nikolai asked since he was a teen. Standing slowly, Parker reached for the doorknob and turned it, taking a step back as he opened the door. His clothes were wrinkled from his former position, parts of his shirt wet from his tears that had stained his cheeks. His hair, already growing shaggy from even before the funeral, was tangled and sticking up at odd angles, and his eyes were rimmed a bright red. They examined the man before him, then lowered towards the ground as he turned and moved towards the bed.
Parker sat down, hands clutched in his lap and looking just as helpless and defeated as he did all those years ago when he'd been told that he and his father were leaving the Court house and he was full of fear that he'd lose another parent figure. The blonde sighed deeply, then closed his eyes before he could start crying again. "What do you want?" he muttered.

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Papa Smiley

 

[Its Smiley]

Mayah Playah

Nikolai Court

Nikolai looked at the disheveled man. He narrowed his eyes, the lime green irises filling with guilt. Silently, he walked towards the young man and sat besides him on the bed. He stayed looking forward, a grim look on his face.
"Aysun was the first child I ever had," he started after a while. "I love him, I wanted to coddle him as much as I could, that's why I was always hard on you. He loved you so much that every time you affected him, I wanted you to get backlash. I spent so long thinking like that that I had forgotten how much of an impact I had on you too."
He finally turned his head and gave Parker a sad look. "I'm sorry. For all the pain I've put you through all these years. I treated you like a mutt when I should have treated you how you really were: a son. My son."

 

[Mayah Playah]

Parker Loupohl-Court

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He didn't look up as the bed shifted from Nikolai's weight, eyes sliding open but staying focused on the carpet. There was a light stain near the wall from the time Charlie tried to feed newborn Nicolas a gusher. He almost smiled from the memory, remembering how adorable his two children were together. Fortunately, Nikolai spoke up before he could get too lost in the blissful memories of family.
Parker listened in a patient silence, neutral expression on his weathered face. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Nikolai was looking at him. He lifted his head in kind, momentarily shocked by the Russian's guilt and, even more so, his apology. He swallowed hard, nodding a little before raising his eyes again and opening his mouth to respond. "You know, my parents split before I could even talk. Mom got remarried pretty quickly after that and started popping out more kids and Dad used people up ad threw them away like Kleenexes. Even Cecil eventually left. I didn't have a constant in my life until you and Leon became friends with him. I don't care that you guys were a throuple or whatever, I just felt grateful to finally have someone in my life who actually cared to remember that Titanic was my favorite movie or to sit me down and explain to me how sex works without freaking out and walking away. But you got so cold so fast after Aysun and I got older, and even more so when we started dating. It was like I was trading a father for a husband." His voice wavered noticeably, before he cleared his throat and centered himself. "I just want us to be as close as we were before." He admitted quietly.

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Papa Smiley

 

[Its Smiley]

Mayah Playah

Nikolai Court

Nikolai listened to Parker, his expression softening at the story. At the very end,
he smiled lightly and put a hand on his shoulder. "We will, I promise," he vowed.
He pulled the man into a hug, gently running his fingers up and down his back.
It was funny, the Sin thought, how Parker was just about his age now, yet they still looked like a father and son.
Eventually, Nikolai pulled away from the hug, grinning at him. "Besides, dearie,
who else would watch Hallmark movies with me, hmm?" he teased.

 

[Mayah Playah]

Parker Loupohl-Court

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He welcomed the embrace, exhaling slowly as the stress that had caused tension in his back began to dissipate. Hugging Nikolai always made him feel better, like for a moment that all of his worries were off his shoulders. It was one the things he'd missed the most about the Sin. After pulling away, he laughed at Nikolai's tease, the first time he'd really done so since he heard the news about his mother. "You know, every time they have a Christmas movie marathon, Aysun makes me watch it in here instead of the living room. Apparently he doesn't want Charlie or Nicolas thinking that real life is like all those movies."
At his name, Charlie peered through the door, his little suit very wrinkled and a little dirty on him. He looked like he'd been running, probably from Aysun so he didn't have to take a bat or get changed.

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Papa Smiley

 

[Its Smiley]

Mayah Playah

Nikolai Court

"Mmm, funny how his life ended up turning out like that," Nikolai chuckled lightly before looking over to see a pair of curious eyes staring at them. "If it isn't my darling grandson!" the Sin cooed and held his arms out. "Come greet your Grandpa Nikki!"

 

[Mayah Playah]

Parker Loupohl-Court

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As Parker chuckled, his eldest son raced into the room and into his grandpa's arms. He hugged him tight like any little kid hugs, then pulled away and looked between them. "Are you okay? Are you fighting again?" He asked, distantly remembering the birth of Nicolas when Nikolai almost killed his father.
Parker shook his head, reaching to ruffle his son's hair. "No. We're okay," he reassured him, then tugged at Charlie's little jacket. "You should get changed, Charlie. We have to go to dinner with Steppa soon." He really didn't feel like going to dinner with his stepfather, but it was necessary. The older man wasn't taking the death of his wife well, and even Sawyer was planning to go.

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Papa Smiley

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