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 Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 12:04 am
After the first meeting with Romeo, it was all Emmet could talk about. He'd learned so much from that kind, black-haired boy who in his own mind had saved him from the clutches of the red-haired one. Really, Riley was just happy that Emmet, poor shy sometimes sickly Emmet, had made a friend. So he was more than willing to set up a playdate for the two of them...but when he called Marco, the conversation somehow took a strange twist and it had somehow turned into a sleepover rather than just a playdate. Which was fine with him, it got Emmet out of the house for a bit.
So, on the determined date, Riley strapped Emmet into his carseat and drove to the apartment that Marco had directed him to, eventually making it and guiding Emmet to the house. As usual, Emmet had refused to wear any sort of clothing on his human half, but he had compromised with Riley and now sported a bulging black backpack, which no doubt held anything Riley thought Emmet would need, right from the clothes the boy refused to wear to his heating pad which was more than necessary.
Reaching out, Riley knocked on the door, glancing down at Emmet as he did so. The boy's expression kept changing from panic to joy to worry to glee and back again, no doubt mirroring how quickly his thoughts were processing. This was a big step for Emmet, going to a strange house to play with one boy while knowing another boy who scared him and a girl he never really got to meet would be there too.
Riley was praying he wouldn't get a call in the middle of the night to pick him up.
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Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 2:08 pm
After a few seconds the lock on the other side of the door could be heard coming undone before it opened to reveal Marco and Romeo half hiding behind his leg.
"Good afternoon Mr. Grey." Marco greeted the man with his usual airy smile, "And hello to you as well Emmet." He said looking down at the little snake child smiling at him as well, "Romeo has been watching out the window all morning for you to arrive." He added with a laugh before stepping aside to allow them to come in.
Romeo saw Emmet and quickly lost his shyness, he was ecstatic to see the boy he had met at the park again, "Hi Emmet!" He said brightly his ears and tail twitching happily.
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Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 2:22 pm
Riley gave the other man a thin smile when he was greeted, turning his attention towards the little boy cowering behind his father's legs. "Emmet's been excited too, he won't stop talking about it...and he didn't even fall asleep in the car. Very out of the ordinary for him." The Military man confirmed, mummbling his thanks as he took the few steps into Marco's house.
"Thank you, for letting Emmet stay over." His gaze was back on Marco, that thin smile still on his lips.
Emmet's lips turned into a wide smile when Romeo greeted him, waving his free hand at his friend, the other grasping Riley's hand firmly. "Hi, Romeo!" He said excitedly, slithering into the house beside Riley, immediately letting go of the older man's hand in favor of slithering right up to his friend, waving again. "I brought my Weedle!" The little snake continued on to say, as if that was surprising and amazing at the same time.
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Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 2:30 pm
"No need for thanks, the both of you are welcome here any time." He said. His home seemed to have a very inviting feeling to it, very homey as if you had already been there for a while.
Romeo was thrilled to see Emmet again, and as such the boy greeted Emmet with a hug, "I'm so glad you came! It's gonna be a lot of fun!" He said his tail swishing back and forth in glee. Romeo was an awkward boy, he obviously wore his heart on his sleeve and expressed everything he felt.
Marco smiled at the boys before turning his head back to the man, "Can I offer you something to eat or drink?" Marco offered gesturing to the doorway that led to the kitchen.
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Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 2:51 pm
"I wouldn't say that too loudly...otherwise Emmet might not ever come home." Which wouldn't be so bad, he thought mentally. It would help him a lot actually...but something in him felt guilty even thinking about dumping Emmet on this serene, kind man. "If it's not imposing...I would like a glass of water please, its really hot outside."
Emmet froze for a moment when Romeo moved to touch him - no, hug him. The little Leucistic wasn't expecting that, and for the first moment he didn't know what to do. Suddenly, with a wide grin on his lips, he put his currently warm arms around Romeo in a big hug. "The car ride was looong~!" Emmet practically whined, letting the little cowlet go. "But yeah! Fun!" Sliding up higher on his tail, he looked over Romeo's head and around the hallway they were in. "Where's your room?" He asked curiously; he was sure Romeo's room would be cool! He had cool stuff, like Batman and Riddler toys!
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Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 3:04 pm
Marco laughed airily, "Not a problem," Marco said as he led Riley towards the kitchen and grabbed a glass from the cupboard, "Are you sure all you would like is water?" He said moving to fill the glass up from the refrigerator.
"This way!" Romeo said grabbing Emmet's hand and leading him down the hall and into a room, "The top bunk is Clays," He said as they got into the room. Half of it was cluttered with tons of different super hero and Pokemon toys, the rest of the room had Clay's things some toys, not as much, and some roller skates, a basketball, foot ball and other sports things.
"Clay's downstairs playing in the play room," He told Emmet, "My daddy said we can either sleep on my bed cause its big enough for both of us or he can set up the air mattress downstairs." He said letting Emmet decide, he was obviously very excited over the whole thing.
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Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 3:27 pm
"Yes, thank you...I already ate." That and Water was pretty much all he ever drank anyway. Riley was a very boring man. There was a moments pause before the military man spoke again. "Emmet's got a snake metabolism...he ate yesterday and he probably won't eat again for another day or two...so uhh, don't be offended if he doesn't want to eat." His hand had moved as he spoke, lightly scratching at the back of his neck. It was really awkward to explain it without sounding like he was malnurishing the kid.
Emmet only happily slithered after Romeo, clinging to his friend's hand to remove that small fear he would get lost. Or run into Clay. When he moved into the black-haired boy's room his black eyes widened in awe, staring around at all the toys for a moment or two, his forked tongue flicking in and out of his lips excitedly, tasting and smelling the air around him. "WOW! Your room is so cool!" Even to him, it was easy to pick out which side of the room belonged to Romeo, and he absently let go of his hand to slither over to the nearest set of toys, looking at all of them in turn but never touching them.
When he was offered the choice of where they slept, Emmet looked over his shoulder at Romeo, then away to look around the room. Tough choice! Stay in a smaller room where Clay would be, or move into a probably bigger, more open room and risk Clay getting territorial like he had with the tunnel. "Uh...Lets stay in here! I like smaller spaces better." He blushed a little as he spoke, as if he were embarassed to admit it; but the blush definitely stood out against his pure white skin. "I-If thats okay." He added as an afterthought, absently poking his index fingers together.
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Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 3:41 pm
"Oh, I made some cake for the sleep over, if Emmet doesn't want any though that is fine, I'll send him home with some tomorrow if that is alright with you." He said handing the man the glass of water. He didn't seem to mind at all the boys strange eating habits.
"Okay!" Romeo said with a smile, "Clay probably wont bug us, he falls asleep quick." He added with a smile walking over to Emmet, "So what do you want to do?" He asked excitedly, "We have lots of games and movies downstairs, and we have a pool outside, and we can play with these toys too if you want." The boy offered his tail beginning to swish around excitedly again.
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Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 4:09 pm
"Ah...I'm sorry. But that would be fine if you wanted to send some home with him." Truth be told, Riley was curious to see if Emmet would even eat it; He was a picky eater to begin with, but he'd only ever seen Emmet eat meat. But he didn't want to tell Marco that; if anything, either himself or Rysha would eat it. Crescentia probably would, too. "Thank you." He said, taking the glass of water and taking a drink; aah, the cold water felt so good. "Is it difficult to live with three little ones?" He found himself asking, despite the fact the only cowlet he'd seen today was Romeo.
"Really? Thats cool. Do you fall asleep fast?" Emmet's scaley tail swished across the ground, idly curling itself into a tight ball under him. He turned his wide-eyed attention to Romeo again, now in awe over the amount of things he could do here. So totally different from home! "Wow, you have the coolest stuff!" And he probably haven't seen it all yet. "I wanna...play a game! No, I wanna watch a movie! No, I wanna go swimming!" He flung his arms wide, absently being careful to not hit Romeo. Even Emmet was getting uncharacteristically excited. "I'll do whatever you want to do!" He decided with a proud grin, sitting back on his coiled tail.
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Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 4:20 pm
"They can be a handful yes, but it is worth it. They are sweet children and when you watch them sleep, or when something so simple makes them smile, or they give you hugs, it is all worth it." Marco said. It was obvious that he was quite fond of his children. He hadn't expected to have three of them, but he loved all of them, very much.
Romeo laughed at Emmet's indecisiveness, "Wanna go swimming? Clay's downstairs watching a movie, and Dei is in her room playing with her dolls, we'd have the pool all to ourselves!" He said with a wide smile. He had never gone into the pool without his siblings before, it was a neat concept.
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Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 7:29 pm
Riley listened to what Marco had to say in complete silence, occassionally sipping at his cup. He got so much enjoyment out of the little things in life, it was strange...Riley would have never have thought about watching Emmet sleep, or even taking notice of the very rare hug the boy dished out. "You really are a good man." The Military man said quietly, setting doen his now empty glass of water. "I have no idea how you do it, but you do it well."
Emmet's pure black eyes widened excitedly. The pool to themselves? That would be AWESOME. "Yeah, lets go swimming! Does your Dad have to know? Riley sometimes does." The leucsistic boy was a really good swimmer, and Riley never really had to worry about him drowning or anything.
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Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 7:38 pm
Marco was quite surprised by the response he got from Riley, "Well, thank you," He said with his loose airy laugh. He wondered if Riley had some trouble parenting. He seemed very tight but he didn't seem like a bad man, "I'm sure you are also a good man," He said with a nod, "Would you like some more water?" He asked picking up the mans empty glass.
"Uh-huh, my daddy says he has to watch us when we're in the pool, lets go ask him!" Romeo replied taking Emmet's hand again and running out towards the kitchen.
"Daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy!" Romeo said as he ran through the halls and into the kitchen, "Can me and Emmet go swimming?" He asked looked up at the two men.
Marco laughed a bit, "Of course, as long as Mr. Grey is alright with it." He told Romeo looking over to Riley, "Would you mind if Emmet went swimming?"
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Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 7:56 pm
Riley gave the other man a smile. "I beg to differ, I don't see the same miracle in Emmet that you do in your...ah, children. But thank you for the consideration." He lightly shook his head in regards to the offered drink. "I'm alright now, thank you."
Emmet made a strange, almost disgruntled noise when his hand was taken and he was suddenly dragged out of the room. The little snake made a very conscious effort to catch up but did manage to stumble over his own tail a couple times in the process. But, like always, he never let go of Romeo's hand. When they made it to their guardians, Emmet could only stare up at them; Romeo was doing the talking.
"I don't mind at all, Emmet's a really good swimmer." Riley said after a moment's pause, an eyebrow lifted in surprised curiousity at the loud appearance of Romeo. He had always pictured the boy to be more quiet and subdued...but then again even chicken-snake Emmet was braver and more outgoing around the black haired cowling, maybe they had a good affect on eachother. "And...you can just call me 'Riley', its okay."
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Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 8:02 pm
"Alright, Riley." Marco said with a nod, "Romeo, go get into your bathing suit and water wings please, and get a pair for Emmet to wear as well. I hope you don't mind Emmet, but it's a house rule to wear water wings in the pool, alright?" He said smiling down to the snake child.
"M'kay daddy, c'mon Emmet!" Romeo said with a broad smile as he again led the boy off though not as quickly this time.
"I'm sure you will discover the miracle soon enough, children bring out the best in people...if you give them the chance." He said once the boys had left the room, "Would you like to come sit outside while the boys swim?" Marco offered. He had no reason to rush Riley out, it was nice to have company and the calm man was always hospitable.
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Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 8:20 pm
Emmet shook his head no when he was asked if he minded at all. He waved to Riley and Romeo's Dad before he was pulled away again, eagerly slithering after Romeo. When he was sure they were out of hearing range, the little leucistic leaned closer to his friend and whispered to him sheepishly. "What are water wings?" He'd never heard of them before, but they sounded neat!
"Here's to hoping, I guess." Riley raised his hand in an empty toast before sliding his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "Sure, I'm sure it would be interesting to watch." A shy little snake and an excitable little cow...interesting was a word that didn't quite give it justice. "To be honest, I'm surprised Emmet's made a friend." Riley said honestly with a little shrug. This man made him want to be honest and to speak his mind...which may have been a bad thing, but he just couldn't help it.
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