"You're smiling at your phone again," dad commented. 

I looked over at him from where I sat before getting rid of the smile on my face, "Sorry."

"No, no. Don't be sorry. I think it's lovely. Who's got you so happy?"

"The English poet," I joked before setting my phone aside. Warren and I had been talking for nearly the entire day. He had actually gone out of his way to send me pictures of tattoos - ranging from minimalistic all the way to full-on sleeve tattoos like the ones he had - for inspiration. None of them really caught my eye until he sent me a picture of a tiny Kirby tattoo with a rainbow behind him. 

Warren promised me that the next time we hung out, we could go get the tattoo together if I was up for it. I agreed. We spoke about his horse tattoo again. I asked him if he'd given the horse a name and he said he was too busy running for his life. I'd spent the past five minutes laughing at this.

"Dad, I wanna get a tattoo. Can I?"

"You're thirty, Juno. You don't need my permission."

This was another thing about him that I liked. He didn't treat me like a child. He treated me like what I was - a thirty year old man. This was also one amongst many reasons as to why I refused to make more friends. I didn't expect them to understand me. I was aware that the moment they found out I had autism, they'd treat me like a child. I am all too familiar with this. 

"Did something happen, dad?" I asked, watching him take a seat next to me with a grim expression on his face. "You look off."

"Son, I need to speak to you about something," he sighed. Before continuing, he felt around his pockets for what I assumed was a cigarette. I held onto his arm and shook my head at him. He seemed to get the memo and leaned back against the couch with a nod. "Delancey called while you were gone with that Warren boy."

I felt the bad news coming. 

"Her and I had a long.. discussion," he said, hesitating. He leaned forward and clasped his hands together whilst looking down at the floor. "About, y'know, about the baby."

"This can't be good."

"It.. depends. You have to promise me you won't get mad at me."

"When have you ever seen me getting mad?"

"Good point," he said with a small grin. "Delancey and I are planning on getting married."

I froze. 

For some reason, upon hearing him say that, I felt my body grow warm. I felt my cheeks begin to burn and my body began to tense up. My chest felt constricted and I was having trouble breathing properly. 

"Mom's sister?"

"When you say it like that, it makes me sound like an asshole," he said with a forced laugh. "I'm doing this for the baby.. and for you."

"For me?" I questioned. I felt my eyebrows furrowing. I began to raise my voice. This was anger. 

It was the first time I'd felt anger so deeply. Usually, it would come and go at the blink of an eye. This time, it felt like a burning pit in my chest - and the flame was only growing in size with every second that passed. 

"What do you mean you're doing this for me?"

He inhaled, "You told me you wouldn't get mad."

"Dad, answer me."

"Think about it, Juno. You never got the chance to meet your mother. You never had a mother that looked after you. Delancey can be your mother. Aren't you curious what it feels like to have another parent?"

"No," I responded bluntly, standing up. My voice was trembling. "I'm not. I'm not curious at all, dad."

He opened his mouth to speak but I cut him off.

"You wanna know why? Because this-" I gestured around us with my hands. "This is more than enough for me. You are more than enough for me. You always have been."

He said nothing.

"Tell me honestly, dad," I started, feeling a painful lump grow within my throat. I swallowed in an attempt to get rid of it but this would only make it worse. "Why are you marrying her? It's not for the baby, is it?"

He was silent for a moment before rubbing his face with his hands and letting out a defeated sigh, "Fine. Fine, you're right. It's not for the baby."

"Then why?"

"I.. I think I'm in love with her, Juno."