[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/eKRLILs.png?1[/img]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/uMNSDMZ.png[/img]

[img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/180806/31dd2a2a7cf9896da74f56f98b7bbcb5.png[/img]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/iiDCV5o.png?1[/img]

[sub][color=slategray][@Lovely Complex] & [@Universorum]
[b]Location: The Darling Household, and briefly the Snyder Household
Featuring:[/b][/color] [color=309b75][b]Damian “I guess this is the End” O’Connor[/b][/color], [color=7d1c7f][b]Erick “I’m Gonna End You” Darling[/b][/color], [color=4a86e8][b]Jude “No the Fuck you Aren’t” Darling[/b][/color], [color=6175ff][b]Joy “Oh my god he’s dead!” Darling[/b][/color][/sub][/center]

[indent]Damian O’Connor was making a bad decision.

That’s what it felt like, now that he’d spoken to Jude about his relationship with her daughter. 

Dating Joy? 

That wasn’t the bad decision. The bad decision was slipping out of bed, kissing a half-awake Joy and telling her he had to go, he had something to do. The bad decision was heading to Joy’s house to speak to her parents. He wanted to tell her mother and father that they were [i]together[/i] a thing, an item. He wanted to tell Jude and Ender both, Ender especially, in person.

When Damian had left the room, he’d found Jericho and the little guy hard at work playing Super Mario 3D Land; Damian had been asked to play by Tyty, but he had to say no. [i]That[/i] had been hard to do! The little guy didn’t like not having his friends hang out with him, apparently. After he’d explained to Jericho what he was doing, though, Jericho had convinced Tyty that it was okay.

And now, here Damian was. Sitting in front of Jude and Ender’s house, in his car, at seven thirty in the morning. Both of them would be awake; why wouldn’t they be awake? Ender, Damian knew for a fact, got up at five at the absolute latest. Damian gave a big sigh, and pushed the door to his car open. Then, he covered the distance between himself and the front door, before he hit the door bell.

And now, Damian O’Connor awaited his judgment.

The knock was rewarded with uncontrollable barking on the other side. Rocket was bouncing around in the front lobby, on high alert, [color=f26522][b][i]Stranger dangerrrrrr![/i][/b][/color] He had to protect his masters. [color=f26522][i]Go away you foul intruder![/i][/color] 

In the living room, drinking her morning tea, Jude sat in a side saddle position, on the white sofa. She was watching Law & Order, which still played in 2043. Raising an eyebrow, she took a sip of her hibiscus tea, and whispered to herself,  [color=4a86e8][b]“I wonder who that can be…”[/b][/color] 

Placing her glass mug down, she voiced in a higher octave, but still rather soft,  [color=4a86e8][b]“Apollo, please pause my show.”[/b][/color] She stood up and stretched her thin body,  [color=4a86e8][b]“Who’s at the door?”[/b][/color] The only people she could think of that would come this early was her mother and aunts, but even then, they were at the age where it would be better for her to visit them. Not saying they were crippling old, either. They all were simply enjoying retirement and Jude didn’t want to take that away from them. 

The Darlings were one of the few people that had the more advanced Assistants, since Jude was Jericho’s leading partner. Apollo essentially made her home wicked smaht, with control in every nook and cranny, that can recognize distinct voices and faces. He truly was an amazing Assistant and by now, all the bugs and defects were fixed to bring him to near perfection. 

[color=932727][b]“Ah, it’s the O’Connor boy. He’s been around here a lot, hasn’t he?”[/b][/color] Apollo mused, before continuing. [color=932727][b]“Shall I open the door? Oh, nevermind. Your husband is opening the door.”[/b][/color] The Assistant said, as Ender did just that, pulling the door open to see his Godson standing there, with a hand on Rocket’s head to relax him.

Ender gave him a smile, and Damian found himself unable to smile back. He was nervous, he was scared. Would Ender kill him? Probably; Damian would kill if he was in Ender’s position. [color=7d1c7f][b]“Hey, Damian. What’s up? ...are you okay, buddy?”[/b][/color] He asked, and Damian gave a stiff nod.

[color=309b75][b]“Huh? Oh yeah, totally. Hey, can I talk to you and Jude? Like, together. At the same time.”[/b][/color] Damian asked, and Ender nodded slowly. Damian gave a thumbs up and followed Ender into the house and toward Jude’s resting place, where Damian offered a small. [color=309b75][b]“Hey, Jude. How are you this fine morning?”[/b][/color] Was this what it was like being a good guy and making sure that you didn’t just do things that were probably bad and were honest? He did [i]not[/i] like this.

[color=7d1c7f][b]“Hey, Jude. Damian was wondering if he could talk to us. I dunno what about.”[/b][/color]

Jude’s attention went from her godson and then to her husband. [color=4a86e8][b]“Oh?”[/b][/color] Surprised at this, but not really worried. With a soft gleam, she gestured for the two men to come take a seat, [color=4a86e8][b]“My first day off in awhile, so, of course, I’m having a good morning. Please, rest your feet.”[/b][/color] She sat down on the left side of the three person sofa and patted the seat next to her.  

[color=4a86e8][b]“What brings you here? It’s been really nice seeing you lately.”[/b][/color] Apollo was right, Damian has been over a lot recently, which honestly made Jude happy because it showed he didn’t forget about them. 

Rocket rubbed his head against Ender’s leg, fully relaxed when he realized it was just Joy’s boy at the door. 

Ender sat down beside his wife, but Damian chose to stay standing. Ender gestured for him to sit down and Damian shook his head, [color=309b75][b]“nah, I’m good. Just gonna stand for this one.”[/b][/color] He folded his fingers together, and put his thumbs against his lips. This was going to be harder than he thought. How did he start this? [color=309b75][b]“Okay.”[/b][/color] That was a good, safe starter word, right? He moved his hands away from his face, and looked down at Rocket.

Was Rocket going to eat him after Ender inevitably got mad? Damian hoped not. He was strong, sure, but Rocket was an absolute fucking unit. Damian was in pure awe of the size of that lad. Even so, he had to press on. Maybe it wouldn’t go that badly? [color=309b75][b]“So about a week ago, now. Well, exactly a week ago now I guess.”[/b] [i]Jesus, Damian. You can do better than this. Ender loves you, you’re his favorite. You can do this! Plus, Jude is a mom. Moms also love you.[/i][/color]

[color=309b75][b]“One week ago, I threw a party at the beach. It went like, okay I guess. Owen kinda lost his mind, but hey, I hear Troy used to do that all the time, you guys probably get it. Joy and I were both at that party, and Joy was debuting new, red hair. I don’t know if you guys know this about me, but i really like red hair. Might be an Oedipus complex, I don’t know. I sure as fuck hope not.”[/b][/color] He paused for a second, judging reactions so far. Both seemed to be listening, and Ender didn’t seem too mad, at least not yet. As for Jude, she was carefully eyeing him, but there wasn’t much emotion written on her face. Yet. [color=309b75][b]“Anyway, after she was let into the party, I kind of attached myself to her. And she got, you know drunk. So… we made out, some?”[/b] [i]Oh, god. Did he just twitch?[/i] [b]“Anyway, after that, she jumped on my back, and wanted to go upstairs with me, so we did… and we got on the bed, and made out, uh, some more. And she took her shirt off, and then…”[/b][/color] Ender’s hands were flexing in and out of fists. Damian was going to get thrown out of window, wasn’t he? What a way to go. [color=309b75][b]“She puked on me. Like, all over me. Then she cried, and puked in a bucket. So I took a shower and got her some clean clothes — that’s why she was missing her clothes. Anyway, I just laid in bed with her and rubbed her back. Your daughter’s a lightweight, who knew?”[/b][/color]

Ender moved to speak, but Damian shook his head, holding up his hand to stop him. [color=309b75][b]“So we didn’t really talk or anything until the next school day: Monday. Monday was the day my life changed, and I’m pretty sure it was for the better, though at first it really sucked. Basically, Monday I was kicked off of the team, indefinitely, because of the party. I’m also on detention for the rest of my life, I assume. But, that was just the beginning. So I went to the library for some reason — right? Me, at the library. — anyway, I went there and Joy was there and I knocked some books down, and she helped me pick them up. Then [i]she[/i] kissed [i]me[/i].”[/b][/color]

[color=7d1c7f][b]“Why do you keep making out with my daughter, dude!? Come on!”[/b][/color]

Jude’s finger tapped on the sofa arm, methodically and quietly. Her expression was still emotionless. Ender was showing enough emotion for the both of them. She continued to watch Damian with hawk eyes. When her husband yelled, she put her other hand on his leg, but didn’t say a word. 

Oh there it was. [color=309b75][b]“I’m not done yet! I’m getting to it, I swear. I just want you guys to know, like, everything. Okay? Let me finish.”[/b][/color] Though it seemed reluctant, Ender gave a nod. [color=309b75][b]“Thank you. After that, she invited me here to… well, I think she wanted to hook up. But we didn’t, again. I got shirtless this time, though, and I think she’s kinda into that…. Anyway, we made out a bit, but wrestling came on and I got distracted. Then, the kid came down? Little dude, Jericho’s son, I think. Anyway, I played with him until she told me I had to leave, then I went home. The next day, at school, I kissed her in front of everyone at gym class, and that made her kind of embarrassed, so naturally, I kissed her again.”[/b][/color]

[color=7d1c7f][b]“[i]Naturally[/i].”[/b][/color] It was more of a growl than actually talking, but Damian got the point.

[color=309b75][b]“So then she asked me to the dance, the Valentine’s dance that’s coming up. Obviously, I said yes, because we’re dating. Like, she’s my girlfriend. Which I guess she didn’t even know at the time...”[/b][/color] Ender seemed to not like this revelation, but Damian had to press on anyway. [color=309b75][b]“That brings us to last night. I don’t know if you guys were aware, but Brian Helmsley was throwing a party on his boat last night. We went to that, but Joy was having issues. We talked about it a bit, and she wanted to leave. So, we left. We went from there to the parking lot, where I sang a Tim McGraw song to her —”[/b][/color]

[color=7d1c7f][b]“Are you [i]serious?[/i] God, you are so your father’s son. Asshole.”[/b][/color] Jude squeezed Ender’s leg. 

[color=309b75][b]“...yeah. Anyway, that went well. I think she liked it. So… we went to Jericho’s house, and I guess I woke up Amity and Tyty, which is apparently against the rules… so, I had to put him back to sleep, which I did excellently, by the way. So, I was in bed with Joy, the kid, and myself. I guess at some point, Amity came and got him — this woke Joy up… so she woke me up and we started… y’know. I won’t say it this time. So, then Jude called… and we talked, and uhm. Yeah. We didn’t do anything, I decided I wanted to talk to you guys about it, before… we proceeded.”[/b][/color]

[color=7d1c7f][b]“[i]Thanks.[/i]”[/b][/color] Ender said in a tart voice, though he hadn’t yet been triggered into a blood rage, like Damian had expected.

[color=309b75][b]“So… are we good… then?”[/b][/color] Hey, that was painless!

Or, so he thought, as Ender hopped out of the seat and shoved his finger into Damian’s chest. [color=7d1c7f][b]“No we are fucking NOT [i]good[/i], you piece of garbage! Give me that!”[/b][/color] Ender reached his hand out and snatched the necklace that Damian kept on at all times, the one that had Ender’s Super Bowl ring on it, and tore it off.

Damian stared at him with eyes that looked like Ender had just drop kicked a puppy.

[color=4a86e8][b]“Erick.”[/b][/color] With a leveled voice, Jude stood up and rested her hand on his back. [color=4a86e8][b]“Sit, please.”[/b][/color] Damian did throw a lot on them, in one sitting. Her husband did not take things like this well, but they were the adults in the situation and it was her job to make sure they acted like adults. She already knew Damian wasn’t the best with words, so she was at least prepared for this conversation to turn south. One thing she would respect, though, was he came to them before things got any further. 
 
Scowling all the while, Ender slowly sat back down, still holding the ring in his closed fist. Damian was quiet still for a few seconds, before speaking in a small voice, while staring at his feet. [color=309b75][b]“You took it. I just wanted you guys to know, because I thought you should know. Because you’re important to me, and I didn’t think it was fair to keep lying.”[/b][/color] He swallowed, and looked up at Ender, [color=309b75][b]“Give it back. I lived my whole life trying to earn that! You can’t just take it away.”[/b][/color] Damian protested, and Ender shook his head.

[color=7d1c7f][b]“I’ll give it back if you promise to stop seeing Joy.”[/b][/color] He said in a flat tone, and Damian shook his head.

[color=309b75][b]“No! I can’t do that.”[/b][/color]

[color=7d1c7f][b]“Why not!?”[/b][/color]

[color=309b75][b]“Because I love her!”[/b][/color] Damian shouted in exasperation, throwing his hands into the air. This wasn’t fair! He just tried to do the right thing.

[color=4a86e8][b]“SHUT UP, THE BOTH OF YOU.”[/b][/color] This time, it was Jude’s turn to speak and she was talking louder than Damian has ever witnessed her speak. [color=4a86e8][b]“Damian, sit.”[/b][/color] With a death glare, she gestured for him to go right beside his godfather, [color=4a86e8][b]“Erick, do not test me. If you lay a finger on him, I will get Nana involved, or worse, Troy, or worse than that, Sebastian. Now you two, look at me. Right now.”[/b][/color] Jesus, when was the last time she had to deal with something like this? For a brief moment, Jude thought about all the messy situations she got into when she was younger, usually enabled by Belle, Kylie, .and Melody, before shaking her head in disappointment. [color=4a86e8][b]“First off, thank you, Damian, for telling us something our daughter should’ve told us, days ago. Also, thank you for telling us everything in great detail, but honestly, it isn’t any of our business what you two choose to do behind closed doors. It is our business to make sure you two know what you’re getting into and to make sure any mistakes you make aren’t detrimental to your future. Now before I continue —”[/b][/color] 

Her stare darted from Damian to her husband. [color=4a86e8][b]“I have a couple of questions, but you know what. I’ll answer the first few for you. When we met, did you ask for my mom’s blessing to date me?”[/b][/color] She paused and shook her head, [color=4a86e8][b]“No. You didn’t. You asked for her forgiveness instead. When I lost my virginity, you remember, at that party, where I got high for the very first time, did you ask for permission?”[/b][/color] She shook her head once more and smiled, [color=4a86e8][b]“No. You didn’t. It was a spur of the moment kind of thing. Why? Because you loved me and I loved you. Look at us now.”[/b][/color] Her eyes glanced down at his wedding band. [color=4a86e8][b]“Happily married, with a family.”[/b][/color]  

She knelt down in front of Ender, grabbing his hands,   [color=4a86e8][b]“Answer this for me. Why do you blame him? Do you think he’s tricking Joy? Tricking her to explore her sexuality? If I can remember Damian’s words correctly, it sounds like outside of the first encounter, she was the enabler. Of course, I partly blame Kylie for that, but you and me both know Joy isn’t dumb. If he didn’t make her happy, she would’ve ended things before he could even latch onto her at the first party, before she even touched a drink. Joy isn’t someone who lets people take advantage of her. If she wants something, she’ll get what she wants. If she doesn’t, she’ll toss it away like yesterday’s trash. What do you plan to do, love? Stop her? Stop him? Do you think that’s going to work? Would that have worked for us?”[/b][/color] Her thumb gently glided over his wedding ring. 

Ender let out a long breath after Jude spoke, side-eyeing Damian. Damian was wisely keeping quiet; he appreciated Jude’s intervention, though he didn’t understand half of what she mentioned (including using Sebastian as a threat. From what Damian understood, Sebastian was just a lazy old guy. He could understand Troy though.), but he appreciated the thought. Besides, it seemed to be working, as Ender was softening at Jude’s words and touch. [color=309b75][b]“I couldn’t trick her anyway. She’s smarter than I am.”[/b][/color]

Even Ender had a hard time not smiling at that, [color=7d1c7f][b]“Yeah. She is. Look, just… just take care of her.”[/b][/color] He said, as he held the ring out and dumped it into Damian’s hand. [color=7d1c7f][b]“...where is she, anyway?”[/b][/color]

[color=309b75][b]“Uh… Jericho’s?”[/b][/color]

Joy walked downstairs with a sunken heart. She didn’t like this feeling. Waking up thinking she’d see someone, only to find out he left without telling her or kissing her goodbye. Quietly, she shuffled passed the room where her uncle and cousin were. Normally, she’d sit and play with them, but right now… she didn’t want to. Entering the kitchen, she opened the fridge, manually, yes manually, shocker, to retrieve one of Tyty’s juice boxes. Should she text him? No, it wasn’t her job to. He should’ve told her he had to leave early. They didn’t even share breakfast together. [color=6175ff][b]“Uncle, I want to go home.”[/b][/color] 

Joy, they were busy. Did kids these days have no respect? Was Jericho that bad when he was younger? [color=008b8b][b]“Joy, we are like ten seconds away from the Bowser fight. That takes priority. Besides, your boyfriend said he’d be back. Is he not back yet? What a fu— what an as— what a guy.”[/b][/color] Not swearing because you were playing video games with your child was a lot, lot harder than people thought. [color=008b8b][b]“He should be back soon, he even said he let you know. Did he lie? Or were you just half-asleep and forgot? Because I could totally see either.”[/b][/color]

[color=6175ff][b]“Nevermind, I’ll just walk.”[/b][/color] With juice box in hand, Joy, still in her pajamas, marched down the hallway. Before she left, she peered into the room to see them focused on the game, [color=6175ff][b]“Good luck. Lil’ Boss, I’ll see you tomorrow. See ya, Uncle.”[/b][/color] Not waiting for a response, she left the building.

[color=008b8b][b]“Why don’t you just wait for him!? Jesus, you are [i]so[/i] like Kylie. Joy if I have to stand up from this game, I’m going to be so fucking upset with you it’s not even going to be funny.”[/b][/color] So much for not swearing in front of the kid, huh? JJ grumbled, and paused the game, standing up and heading to the doorway, and staring at her. [color=008b8b][b]“Do you even know where he went? Because if I were you, I wouldn’t go to your house right now.”[/b][/color]

Turning around, but continuing to walk down the driveway, she shrugged, [color=6175ff][b]“It doesn’t matter, now does it? He didn’t tell me, so why should I care where he’s at? I’m not Princess Peach, who waits for her Mario. Even if he told me while I was half asleep, he should’ve thought to leave a note. Everyone knows I’m a hard sleeper. It doesn’t take a genius to know how I sleep, especially since this past week he’s seen me sleep a couple of times.”[/b][/color] 

Okay, here we go. JJ had to be the one who had to tell her where her boyfriend went. He had to be the one who wound up with all the loud noises and the freakouts and all the garbage. [color=008b8b][b]“Darling, Joy. Joy, Darling. He didn’t leave a note for the reason. Joy, he went to your house to tell your parents that he’s fucking you.”[/b][/color]

This got her to stop in her tracks. Naturally, she responded with laughter. She let it go on for a minute too long. [color=6175ff][b]“You’re kidding. Good one, Uncle. Always one to joke. Absolutely hilarious.”[/b][/color] It would be hard for Joy to accept this reality because she [i]knew[/i] how her parents would react. How her [i]father[/i] would react. [color=6175ff][b]“If that’s the case, we both know he’s dead by now.”[/b][/color]  

[color=008b8b][b]“You know what? That makes a lot of sense. That’s probably why he ain’t back yet. Ender probably pounded him into a bloody pulp. Speaking of pulp! Do you want pulp, or pulp free O.J. to go with breakfast? Also, Joy I’m not kidding. Why would I kid about this? That’s where he told us he was going.”[/b][/color] JJ shrugged his shoulders dismissively, shaking his head. [color=008b8b][b]“I dunno why he had to do it on his own. Pride, I guess? Plus, if you’re anything like Jude, you look real cute when you’re sleeping. Tough to wake up.”[/b][/color]

Aw shit. Running back to the house, pulling out her phone, she quickly mumbled to her uncle, [color=6175ff][b]“OJ sounds great. Pride? or he’s a fucking idiot.”[/b][/color] Running upstairs, back to the bedroom, she called him, pacing back and forth. He’s dead. He’s so dead. [color=6175ff][i]God, I just got a boyfriend and he went and got himself killed.[/i][/color] She listened to the ringback tone, her palms sweating in anxiety. 

It took a few times, with each ring seeming like it lasted longer as Joy slipped further into a panic attack, before Damian’s voice finally answered the phone. [color=309b75][b]“Hey, baby. What’s up? Did you finally wake up?”[/b][/color]

[color=6175ff][b]“Oh good, you’re alive.”[/b][/color] [/indent]