[ diez ]

Valerie was woken the next morning by her cellphone ringing on the nightstand. Her hand reached out to grab it and she looked at the caller ID, it was her mother, who had probably noticed she never made it home that night and was calling to know where she was. 

"Hello?" Valerie answered sleepily.

"Valerie, where are you?" Her mother's voice sounded worried.

Stretching her free arm over her head and letting out a yawn, she replied in a very nonchalant way. "I spent the night with my boyfriend Toni."

"Boyfriend?" Her mother asked, adding, "You didn't tell me you had a boyfriend."

"Well, its not totally official yet." Valerie crinkled up her nose, looking over her shoulder to see her two sleeping boys in bed. Her hand subconsciously reached over to play with Leon's hair while he slept. Valerie adored Leon.

"Bring him over." Her mother suggested, taking Valerie by surprise. She thought it was much too soon to introduce Toni to her parents. And knowing Toni, he would be very uncomfortable with the whole situation. His spanish wasn't very good, which was why he had been avoiding talking to people up until he started spending more time with Valerie. "Your father and I would love to meet him." Mrs. Greene continued when Valerie said nothing.

"Mom," Valerie wracked her mind for a way to let her down easy. "We just started dating. He hasn't asked for my hand in marriage or anything. I don't want you to scare him off." Remembering that they would be travelling later that day, she said, "Besides, we're leaving for Munich later and won't be back for a few days."

That was when her mother's voice sounded very surprised. "Wait, Valerie. First you tell me you have a boyfriend and then you casually add that you're going to Munich?"

"Toni is German, and he has something to do there." Valerie explained with a frustrated sigh. 

"Visit us before you go." Mrs. Greene pleaded. She knew that she couldn't forbid her daughter from doing anything, Valerie was an adult. "Just a quick meal with us. It'll only be a short while."

"Okay." Valerie sighed, convinced. 

She quickly said goodbye to her mother and hung up the phone.

Since she was already awake, she left Toni and Leon in bed, and went down to the kitchen to get a small snack. Her bare feet made a clapping sound as she walked down the cold tiled floor in the hallway. And she found her way to the fridge, which was well stocked ever since Valerie and Toni had been spending time together. She got a green apple and washed it before biting into it hungrily. Valerie would wait a bit longer before waking them. Leon had a rough night with that night mare he had; she and Toni had barely gotten any sleep.

Valerie then got her clothes and got in the shower.

By the time she got out, Toni and Leon were already awake. The two were in the kitchen. Leon was sat at the table in his high chair, and Toni was putting some bread in the toaster, while there was bacon cooking on a skillet nearby. 

"No!" Valerie yelled, running towards Toni and turning off the stove.

"What's wrong?" He asked, his blue eyes wide in shock. She had startled him with her yelling.

Her voice was calm. "My mom wants us to go to breakfast with them."

"Liebe," Toni crinkled up his nose. "Will we have time? And I don't know if they will like me. What will I say to them? I don't speak spanish."

Valerie got on her tiptoes and kissed him on the lips. "Please, ojitos. They speak english."

Toni sighed, the look on her face was one he couldn't resist. Her eyes were pleading, this was very important to her. "We'll go for a little while, but only a little while. I don't want to miss our flight to Munich."

"Thank you!" She grinned.

-

An hour later, Toni and Valerie arrived at her house. They parked his car inside, on the stone pathway that led to the front of the house. Both got out and Valerie went to the back passenger door to get Leon from his car seat. The blonde picked the child up in her arms and bounced him playfully, getting a giggle out of him. His small arms wrapped around her neck and he snuggled close to her.

Together, the three walked up to the front door. Valerie passed Leon over to his father to get her keys out of her purse and she opened the door, letting herself and the boys into the house.

It was nearing the time her parents came down for breakfast and she saw them right on time, making their way down the stairs. Her parents smiled at the sight of their daughter. But her mother's eyes widened in surprise when she saw the child in Toni's arms. 

Mrs. Greene grabbed her daughter's hand and pulled her aside, "Why didn't you tell me he had a son?"

Toni stood a few feet off with his son in his arms, watching them. He was fearing that her parents wouldn't accept him because he was a single father. 

But Valerie shrugged in response to her mother's question. "He's my boyfriend and I don't mind. I love Leon like he was my own son. I'm sure once you spend some time with him, you'll love him too. Leon is the cutest little boy."

"Are you sure you want to go into a relationship like this?" Mrs. Greene pressed her. She thought her daughter was much too young to be suddenly thrown into motherhood. She knew that Valerie was good with kids, but she had no real experience being a parent. 

Valerie gasped, "Mom, I really like Toni. I'm not going to leave him because he has a son."

Placing a hand on her daughter's shoulder, Mrs. Greene nodded, "Well if he makes you happy, all I can do is support you."

"That's all I ask." Valerie smiled and wrapped her arms around her mother.

She went to greet her father with a hug next. Then she introduced her parents to Toni, who did his best in speaking to them in Spanish. Valerie linked arms with him while he attempted to carry on a conversation, on her face was a proud smile.

It was only when he had gotten stuck formulating a sentence that she reminded him that her parents spoke english. Toni let out a sigh of relief.

The five of them went to the dining room in the house. The adults had bacon, ham, eggs, and potatoes for breakfast. Her parents had asked the kitchen staff to make churros and hot chocolate for Leon, which was a spanish traditional breakfast meal. Valerie eyed the food on Leon's plate hungrily, before looking down at her own food.

"I want some churros too." She said.

And Leon grabbed one in his small hand, offering it to her. "Here, mama." He said to her. It was the very first time Leon had called her that. And it was the fact that Valerie was spending much more time with Leon than Jessica. Valerie saw him at the daycare where she worked, and she saw him after work when she spent time with Toni.

Valerie leaned over, with a wide smile on her face, towards the child sitting next to Toni and grabbed the churro with her mouth. She bit a piece off and offered a piece to Toni. "Try it, amor. Its delicious." Toni did as she said, and he really liked the fried breakfast food.

During that meal together, Mr. and Mrs. Greene completely fell in love with Leon. They had even told the child to call them his grandparents.

When they finished eating, Toni said goodbye to Valerie, to give her time to pack her things. He told her he would be coming back to get her later. He needed to pack his own bags, pack for Leon, and purchase an extra plane ticket for Valerie.

Valerie gave him a kiss goodbye and he left with his son. 

She couldn't wait for this all to be over with. Valerie loved Leon and didn't want him to move away, especially because she knew how much it would hurt Toni.

-

another update for you all. i start school on monday, and i wont be able to update as much because i'm going to be working and going to school. and it fucking sucks. but at least this is my last year...but then i'll have to go out into the real working world. and im scared af. anyway, i hope you all like the update.

thank you for reading.

-clary xx