Chapter 32 part 2

Samuel

The drive home was quiet, but not awkward. Matter of fact, Samuel found it a bit peaceful.

To his relief, Ellie was mostly calm as well when they were back. Glad he came back, but calm.

Once Amanda had left—after Samuel practically begged her to take some kind of payment— the three settled down at the kitchen table.

The sun had begun to set early with the winter and it was starting to get dark at only six, before they had even made dinner.

"How are we feeling about spaghetti?" Samuel asked, a smile tugging at his lips as he watched Ellie's eyes light up.

"Yes!" She shouted, her chair almost tipping over when she stood abruptly.

Samuel saw Matias grinning out of the corner of his eye. The two people he loved most being so at peace made his heart beat in a particular way that he couldn't describe.

"And after we can play Go Fish!" She nearly squealed.

"Okay, okay, lower your voice" Samuel spoke gently with a chuckle.

As he made the food he couldn't help but listen in on Ellie and Matias's conversation and consistently glance over to see them smiling ear to ear at one another.

He listened to Ellie babble on and on about how her and Amanda had played dolls and how they had watched a movie on the TV. Things that made Samuel feel at home.

Eventually, however, she said something that shocked him.

"I wasn't even scared while dad was gone, because I knew that you would protect him"

When Samuel looked back at the table he met Matias's eyes, which were already wide and looking back at him.

"What do you mean by that?" Matias asked slowly, gaining his composure quicker than Samuel had.

Samuel gave the nearly done spaghetti a half hearted stir, not even looking at the pot.

"Well last time he left you left too, and then when he came back you came back right after" she explained innocently, looking at Matias with curiosity in her eyes. "And you always hold his hand when he's scared"

Samuels eyes glued onto the two at the table as he continued to stir. Matias had a baffled look on his face and a red tint to his cheeks, and Samuel was sure his face didn't look any better.

"Do I?" Matias asked quietly.

"Yes!" Ellie answered like it was nothing, "like when you were watching the TV with him the day you came back"

Samuel cleared his throat quietly and took a deep breath. He hadn't realize she noticed things like that. Or that she saw them watching the news together.

"And you used to do it all the time before you went away" she continued.

"Oh" Matias sighed, speechless.

As Samuel stirred the pot absentmindedly it slipped off the eye of the stove. He was snapped back into reality quickly enough to prevent the whole pot falling off the stove and the food spilling everywhere, but not quick enough to prevent the painful burn that planted itself on his finger.

"Shit" he hissed, pulling his hand away and staring at the bright red mark on his finger.

Samuel heard a chair scoot across the floor and in moment Matias was standing behind him.

"Are you okay?" He asked in a hurry.

Matias grabbed Samuels burnt hand and led him to the sink, wasting no time turning on the cold water and running Samuels finger under it.

The paid subsided, not because of the water, but because his mind was taken over by how close Matias was to him and how gently he was holding his hand that he couldn't even think about the burn.

Samuel could feel Matias's breath faintly by his ear and the right side of his body pressed against the left side of Samuel's.

"Yeah, I'm fine" he answered in a breath.

He hadn't even noticed Ellie had left the table until she tugged gently on his pants.

He was just about to bend over and reassure her when Matias released his hand and took a half step back. He lifted Ellie off the ground and held her face to face with her father.

"Keep your finger under the water for another minute or so" Matias spoke calmly.

Samuel was silent. It baffled him how quick Matias was to react to such a small injury. Not to mention how caring he was to his daughter.

"I'm okay, Ellie" he whispered once he straightened out his thoughts. "It's okay"

Ellie's smile returned and any sign of fear left her eyes.

Matias passed her over to Samuel, assuring that he could hold her without hurting himself, and went over to turn the stove off and stir the spaghetti.

"Do you have bandaids anywhere?" He asked.

"Matias I'm fine, I don't need a bandaid" Samuel chuckled, turning off the sink and setting his daughter back down on the ground.

"It'll hurt if you rub it up against something" Matias continued casually as he opened a few junk drawers and shuffled around them.

"Matias" Samuel sighed with amusement still in his voice.

He walked up behind Matias and placed a hand on his shoulder, but it took Matias a moment before he turned around to meet him face to face.

"I'm not a child, it's fine" Samuel laughed once more.

"You don't have to be a child to put a bandaid on an injury" Matias protested, moving away to continue his search.

Samuel sighed in defeat, allowing Matias to open more drawers and glance over more counters.

"This is coming from the same person who didn't want to go to the hospital when he was stabbed" He groaned.

Matias let out an amused hum, but gave no response.

Eventually Samuel gave up, going to the cabinet with the bandaids and fishing them out. He put the bandaid on his own finger and held it up to Matias.

"Happy?"

Matias nodded, his face turning slightly red. Samuel couldn't help but grin, but hid his amusement as best he could to protect a bit of Matias's dignity.

"That should be done" Samuel nodded towards the food.

The three ate together, talking about small things. They even mentioned Ellie meeting Lexi at some point. Ellie went back for seconds, then thirds.

When they were done Samuel fetched out the Go Fish cards, a wave of nostalgia hitting him as he grabbed them. It wasn't even over four months ago when they last played, but it felt like an eternity.

Partially through the fourth game Ellie let out a yawn—which was her third one that night.

"Ready for bed?" Samuel asked, laying down a card.

"No!" She wined in response.

She hadn't won yet, and it became clear that they weren't quitting until she did.

Samuel so far was winning this game, but was tied with Ellie. In his hand was three fives, but he was now questioning laying them down. It was well past Ellie's bedtime and she would be exhausted and moody when she woke up if she didn't get to bed soon.

"Five?" He asked to the table, praying that nobody would lay one down.

"Go fish" both Matias and Ellie responded.

Samuel sighed in relief. He never let Ellie win, but maybe now was a good time to start.

"Seven" Ellie called.

She had three cards in her hand and Samuel had no doubt that they were the other three sevens.

"Go fish" the other two replied.

She drew a card from the deck that was steadily running out. When she glanced at it her eyes lit up and she slammed her cards down on the table.

"I drew it!" She practically squealed in victory.

She mock counted both her and Samuels cards, emphasizing the extra set that she had over him.

Matias faked an over dramatic groan, looking down at his cards in disappointment.

"I guess you win" he sighed.

Ellie laughed proudly before another yawn escaped her lips.

"Ready for bed now?" Samuel asked gently, beginning to feel sleep tug at his eyes too.

She nodded, her smile still planted on her face.

Samuel went back to her room and tucked her in, sitting with her for a minute and allowing her to settle in.

When he returned Matias was cleaning the last of the dishes and the cards were still laid where Samuel had left them.

"Thanks" he spoke up gratefully, grabbing a few cards and placing them in the box.

"Mhm" Matias hummed. "I meant to get to those too, I didn't mean to just leave it there for you" he chuckled, joining Samuel in picking up the cards.

When Samuel glanced up he saw a singular five, laying separate from the three Samuel had right where Matias had been sitting.

"Was that your card?" He asked with a slightly awkward inflection.

Matias looked down curiously before realizing what Samuel was talking about. "Yeah, why?"

"I called five, and you said go fish" he scoffed, an accusatory tone taking over his voice.

Matias smiled and let out a small scoff that Samuel admittedly found a bit funny.

"Yeah well I figured she should probably get to bed, and she wasn't going to do that until she won" he chuckled.

Samuel brushed the card with his fingers, holding onto it a bit longer than the others before dropping it in the box. He hadn't realized that all the other cards had already been put up and that was the last one.

Not another thought went through his head before he walked swiftly over to Matias and placed his hands on his shoulders. I'm just a moment he pressed his lips onto Matias's and Matias had wrapped his arms around Samuels waist in response.

When they pulled apart Samuel struggled not to laugh at how flustered Matias appeared, his pale skin turning pink and his typically blank face showing a look of pure wonder.

"Thank you" Samuel mumbled, his face only inches away from Matias's.

"It was really nothing" Matias stuttered, looking away from Samuels eyes.

Samuel laid his head down on Matias shoulder and pulled him closer. His hand reached up for his hair and ran bits of it between his fingers.

As embarrassed as he clearly was, Matias still tightened his grip around Samuels lower back.

Tears swelled in Samuel's eyes and it took everything he had not to sniffle. He hated that he was ruining this moment, but he truly couldn't help it.

"This won't last forever" he whispered, his voice breaking and quivering as a tear finally fell from his eye.

"What?" Matias breathed, the word barely present in the air.

Samuel's hands had begun to shake ever so slightly and his grip tightened on Matias.

"This peacefulness" he eventually clarified, his voice weak and steadily cracking. "We'll eventually have to settle things with the new villain, and Guzantee"

He felt Matias hug him even tighter as one of his hands ran up and down his back. The gesture brought him comfort, but did nothing to stop the tears that were now streaming down his face.

"Oh god, and the fucking court" he sobbed.

"Samuel" Matias mumbled into his hair.

Samuel said nothing as a few choked sobs filled the air.

"Oh, Samuel" Matias said once more. He pulled him back a few inches to look him in his red, watery eyes. "It's okay, we'll figure it out"

The feeling of Matias's thumb rubbing tears away from his cheek only made them stream down even quicker. The thought that soon, sooner than he was prepared for, this safeness and feeling of home would be gone sent him over the edge. He knew that once it was all over this feeling would be back, but how far away is that? How long would it take?

He could barely see with all the liquid in his eyes and he had tears running down his face and neck, wetting the collar of his shirt. The shaking in his hands had intensified and his knees had started feeling wobbly.

He was sure he was being dramatic, but he couldn't make himself stop.

"I'm sorry" he muttered through broken sobs.

"No no, you don't have any reason to be apologizing" Matias soothed.

Samuel pulled Matias back into a hug, planting his head into the crook of his neck and holding onto him tight.

"Just.. give me a second" Samuel cried.

Matias grabbed onto Samuel securely. Samuel was grateful for the silence. Any words of comfort only seemed to make his state even worse and he wasn't sure if he could handle it.

After what must've been ten minutes Samuel's tears stopped. His face was still wet and irritated and his breathing was still slightly uneven, but he was calm enough to pull himself away from Matias and look him in the eye.

"I'm sorry" he sighed, sniffling and wiping his face.

Matias shook his head, but still didn't say a word. He removed Samuels hands from his own face and replaced them with his, wiping the tears away much gentler.

"It's okay" he finally whispered before planting a short and gentle kiss on Samuels cheek.

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If you don't know how to play Go Fish Matias basically cheated so Ellie would win instead of Samuel