#c: Lyla (Real Canon)

[thedangelos]

floodgates | dex, sven&lyla (real canon)

Dex had been the one to leave the backyard gate open. He argued senselessly with Sven about it because that was who he’d become in the weeks following his once fiancé’s passing, but the emotional burden that led to the mishap didn’t change the fact that it was all him. Still, he stuck to his guns because if he didn’t have this and he didn’t have the ability to be a strong father for his daughter at a trying time like this, then what did he have?

His hand was tight and unnaturally damp in Sven’s as he stalled for time, sitting right there in front of the daughter he made every last one of his choices for. “Ly, there’s no easy way to tell you this…” Dex cleared his throat and glanced at Sven once more for a support he knew would be there before he even looked. “But while you were at school…”

Sven spared his husband after the second throat closing pause, “Honey, Koda got out this afternoon.” He gave his daughter a moment to process the information before adding, “We’re lucky though, your dad got him microchipped when he was a puppy and we’ve already called the company so they’ll be able to track him down in no time.”

It wasn’t either dad before her that Sven was referring to and the realization made a five year old Lyla’s expression twist messily. “Koda’s my best friend,” she winced, looking between her only parents for answers as to how this was fair on top of everything else. “I need him. I…”

Dex began to stand, seeing the countdown timer on his child’s temperament plummet. He felt untethered the moment he let go of Sven’s hand, but he had to go to his daughter anyway- he had to. But Lyla felt crowded by his approach and the second he moved too close she let out a shriek turned to a sob.

“We’ll find him, Ly, don’t worry. He’ll be alright-“

“It was your job to protect him!” Lyla blindly aimed her words straight for her father’s chest in the same beat she aimed her fists. Dex’s attempts to gather her into his arms were successful but only by force.

“Lyla-“

“No!” The howl ripped from her small body as she felt the last connection to her blood slip away. “You said we were a family, you promised! You were supposed to protect him!”

Each muscle in Dex’s heart felt inflamed from the sharp accusations and in a moment of weakness he paid the price for loosening his grip. As one of Lyla’s deeply distraught fists came waywardly crashing into his nose, Dex hissed and released her immediately, falling out of his crouch and onto the floor behind him.

He registered his husband moving into their space then but he couldn’t hear a word from either of them, his ears abruptly ringing from either the tension or the blow. He couldn’t tell which it was as he scooted himself back until he could lean back against the sofa. The heat that had been pooled in his stomach from the moment he realized their dog was gone, had now traveled up his chest, drowned his throat and made its way to his eyes, harshening his breath and drawing his palms to his hair.

Feeling a small trickle run under his nose, Dex surrendered the situation as yet another that Sven could bring a solution to where he could not. If he couldn’t be the father that Lyla needed at that very moment and he had also left the gate open, then who was he? And what did he have?

What did he have?

#I opened up a doc to write notes for this drabble idea I’d had for some time so I didn’t forget the outline and then somehow I blinked and i #HAD THE WHOLE GOD DAMN THING LAID OUT #AND THAT WAS AT 2 AM AND NOW ITS 3:30 AND IM JUST ROLLING AROUND IN MY FUCKING RC FEELINGS LIKE I FREQUENTLY THINK ABOUT HOW THIS PERIOD WA #WAS SO FUCKING HARD FOR ALL THREE OF OUR VOGEL SIBLING SHIPS LIKE IT WAS TRULY CRUSHING FOR EACH #AND THIS IS JUST A SNAPSHOT INTO ONE OF MANY BREAKING POINTS FOR THESE FAMILIES IM HOWLING #ANYWAY HERE’S THIS END ME NOW #ITS ME A WHOLE CLOWN POSTING THIS ON MOBILE IN BED BC I THOUGHT I WOULD BE ABLE TO JUST JOT DOWN SOME SVEX THOUGHTS AND CALL IT A DAY #WHO DID I THINK I WAS PLAYING #c: Dex (Real Canon) #o: Sven (Real Canon) #c: Lyla (Real Canon) #My writing #drabble #Real Canon

[thedangelos]

one day at a time | callum d’angelo (real canon)

Callum wakes up with a sharp inhale. The very first thought to cross his mind is that it’s bright. The bedroom he shares with his girlfriend has blackout curtains; it’s never this bright in their apartment. Callum lifts his head despite the protests of the stiffness in his neck and it’s this cursory glance that reminds him- he’s in his office.

His sense of touch prompts him to look to the side. There, he sees Banjo licking at his hand, requesting his attentiveness being that he is her primary caretaker now. 

On this particular morning, the thought of being the dog’s sole provider is what reminds Callum, exactly 30 seconds after gaining consciousness for the day: She is gone.

“Hi Jojo,” he whispers as he turns onto his side, eyes on the beautiful old dog who begins lapping at his cheeks next. It’s what makes him get up and start his day despite feeling as though a boulder is sitting on top of his chest. Banjo needs him. 

By the time they’re on the busy city street, a block from his glass box of an office building, Callum is as polished as ever. He’s just another man in the crowd until Banjo nudges at his leg and he looks to her. 

“Do we have a problem, Miss?” He asks, reaching down to her. His chuckle and rowdy pets work her up to a trot and Callum easily follows, jogging at her side as he asks her if she thinks she can outrun him. 

“Impossible,” he tells her, “I may be a suit but I’m nothing if not a fit suit!”  

Banjo speaks back to him and his laughter drowns out his awareness of people staring. 

Callum’s stomach growls as he sits in court an hour later. He clears his throat and flattens his tie over the sound, glancing at the cup of coffee, from which he’d only taken two sips all morning. It isn’t a breakfast of champions, but it’s the most he can manage without enduring bouts of nausea these days. 

He rises to his feet as the judge enters the room and takes a deep breath to center himself into the present moment. But as soon as he’s sitting again, his knee bounces under the table and his mind drifts back to his office. He can’t remember if he filled Banjo’s water dish before he left for this hearing and for a second he considers discreetly texting his assistant to check in with the dog earlier than scheduled. 

Will his assistant do an adequate job of meeting Banjo’s needs anyway? The intern doesn’t know Banjo like he does and it consumes him to think that the dog might be in any kind of distress.

The din in Callum’s mind quiets along with the cool afternoon breeze when he walks Banjo next. His tie is loosened around his neck the way he’d been itching to make it from the moment he left the courthouse and this time, he and Banjo don’t converse as much. She leaves him be so he can mentally prepare himself for the evening ahead of them.

It’s a curse that Dex is incapable of taking no for an answer. Callum must have told his brother at least 10 times he was busy and each time, Dex called his bluff and remained firm on his dinner invitation. Walking into Dex’s fully furnished, warmly lit house takes the oxygen out of Callum’s lungs, but he pushes a smile to his face as he’s hugged by his brother and brother-in-law anyway. He hands them a pie he picked up from the store not five minutes ago, before a much smaller hand closes around his. He’s tugged with insistence because Lyla has, “a ton of new stuffed animals! Maybe 50!” to show him.

Callum glances back at Banjo before his niece pulls him around the corner because Koda has gotten rough with her on occasion before. Dex needs to train that damn dog better. 

Callum is aware of his breathing during dinner. He looks around the table to whoever is speaking, keeping up his smile, which is only small because most of his energy is put into thinking loudly to himself, in, out, in, out. In and…

Dex and Sven have been maintaining their distance from each other more than usual, Callum notices not long after they sit at the table. Even during somber times in the past, those two have always presented clearly as a team, so truly in love, it was almost insufferable. Callum doesn’t want them to pretend for his sake; he lowers his eyes a few times so if they want to, they can hold hands over the table as they often do when they’re out together. 

They don’t take the opportunity but the one time Sven brushes a hand tenderly across his husband’s shoulders, checking to see if Dex is done with his plate before taking it, Callum feels ablaze with jealousy. Sven chose Dex. Sven chose Dex.

Sven chose Dex.

Callum calls it a night the moment it’s socially acceptable to do so following dinner. But as he’s leashing Banjo by the door, Dex begins to put his shoes on as well. He insists on seeing to it that Callum makes it home alright. Knowing to pick and choose his battles with his older brother, Callum gives in to appeasing him on this. If Dex needs the peace of mind to know he isn’t simply going back to work to slave away again till the morning then so be it. 

They’re quiet on the car ride, save Banjo’s panting in the back seat and Callum wouldn’t have it any other way. They hug their goodbyes at the front door of the apartment building and Dex even gives Callum a sturdy kiss on the cheek, imploring him to take care of himself. But it isn’t enough, nothing is enough to keep Callum from calling a cab the moment Dex is out of earshot. 

Callum lets out a deep sigh when he lays on his office sofa once more, 18 hours later than the last time. He shifts to give Banjo more room when she hops onto the sofa and sprawls her body out against the length of his back. In the dark, his eyes find the large, empty bed he’d purchased for her a month ago but he’s grateful she prefers to be by him anyway. 

Tomorrow will be a new day, but what it contains will not be and Callum knows it. When he finally closes his eyes, it’s involuntary and out of sheer necessity. 

#THE WAY THIS DRABBLE /KNOCKED/ THE BREATH OUT OF ME GOD HOW IS CALLUM GOING TO RECOVER FROM THIS HOW IS HE GOING TO BE WHEN SHE COMES BACK #LIKE HE'S GOTTEN SO USED TO THIS STATE OF BEING IN THE LAST MONTH HE'S A MESS. HE MIGHT BE MORE OF A MESS NOW THAN HE WAS BEFORE HE MET EMMA #IM GENUINELY YELLING #Doing the RC timeline ruined me having to relive how deeply and genuinely he opened up to her in the two years they were together I'm- #HOW IS HE GOING TO COME BACK FROM THIS HOW IS HE GOING TO COME BACK FROM THIS #I ALWAYS PANIC ABOUT HOW THINGS ARE GONNA WORK OUT BUT SVEX ALWAYS FINDS A WAY TO SHUT US UP SO HERE IS ME SENDING A PRAYER OUT INTO THE SKY #THAT CALLEMMA FINDS A WAY TO SHUT US UP TOO IM WHEEZING #c: Callum (Real Canon) #c: Dex (Real Canon) #c: Lyla (Real Canon) #o: Emma (Real Canon) #my writing #drabble #Real Canon #is this the christening of the real canon tag have i really written nothing for this verse yet I'm #o: Sven D'Angelo