To The Stars - 10. June, 2018 (B)

Tuesday, June 26th

The morning began similarly to the way the night ended. Diego, in his bed between two other dudes. One of them his son, Julian, whose very presence caused a cold Rachel tantrum in the first place. The other was Sean, who was only too eager to trade places with Rachel so she didn't have to sleep next to her stupid, clueless boyfriend and his irritating kid. While Julian slept like something from the exorcist, twitching, turning and kicking all night long, Sean slept like the beautiful little angel he was, serene and occasionally letting out this adorable sigh, usually when Diego's hand glossed over the warm, brown skin of his back. They kissed, cuddled and snuggled for quite some time together before Sean finally dozed off, happy and content in the arms of the bigger man. On the other side, Julian didn't wake up once and slept through the whole night, which was a huge relief.

Julian was in a better frame of mind, which automatically started the day off on the right foot. He was smiling and ate his weight in yogurt for breakfast while watching the Power Rangers. Jilly was not in a good mood. Every morning she demanded froot loops, and every morning Diego told her no. He refused to buy them. Naturally, he was the asshole, and she loudly and often reiterated how much she hated him and how much she loved Mommy because Mommy bought froot loops. This woke up nearly everyone in the house and Diego felt miserably guilty about it. Sean did not stir, thanks to Diego's master bedroom being on the other side of the house from the others. Gloria and Lance were fitness freaks and went for a morning run together. How nice for them. Rachel snapped at Jilly and said some nasty things before retreating up to Diego's room to slip into bed with Sean. Oh, Rachel, Diego had thought. The minute I have all my ducks in a row, you're so freaking gone.

By the time he'd cleaned up the kitchen with the help of Gloria and Lance while Sean was busy snoozing and Rachel was busy sulking, it was nine o'clock and Diego decided it was time to move forward with the plans.

"Juli," Diego beckoned to the boy, snuggled up by himself on one of the big chairs while the girls shared the sofa. "Can we talk?"

"No!" Julian scowled, his eyes fixed on the Power Rangers. What, seriously kid? Is this a joke? Diego even laughed. He hadn't been able to even go to the toilet by himself in the last few weeks, but the moment he needed to speak to his son, the boy was too busy all of a sudden.

"Come out here, please," Diego told him again, gently but firmly. "We need to have a talk, and then you can watch as much Power Rangers as you like."

"I don't want to!" Julian put on his pouting face. Diego was too tired for this.

"Well, if you're too old to talk to Daddy, then you're too old to sleep in Daddy's bed anymore," Diego was hoping this would do the trick... and it did! Holy hell, why did it work for this kid but not the other one? Are we sure they didn't accidentally mix up Jilly with another kid at the hospital, and he got the psychopath instead of the sweet little daughter he was supposed to have?

Julian plodded grumpily with one horrible look on his face. His eye was looking much better since last week, but there were still some ominous contusions on his collarbone and along his side and hip. He hoisted Julian up onto the youngster's bed - the one that hadn't been slept in for more than two hours in the last month - and knelt down so they were at eye level. It was weird, making eye contact with his son. As Julian got older, he looked so much like Diego's baby photos. The same eyes, nose, grin, complexion and curly black hair. Diego remembered the same face staring back at him thirty years ago when he looked into a mirror.

"I'm sorry about this, little man," he began, and Julian began to chew lazily on his fingers. What the hell was with that? Julian never showed much interest in picking his nose or playing with his dangly bits as Troy did. He just liked to have his mouth full - food, fingers, toys, it didn't seem to matter. It was a habit Diego was going to have to do something about, but not today.

"Now, you're still sure Mommy hits you?" He asked, grimacing in pain as his lousy knee throbbed. This sucked. He decided he needed to drag the chair from the corner of the room and he sat down on that instead.

"Sometimes," Julian confirmed.

"Did she hurt your eye?" Diego asked, despair festering in the pit of his stomach. He brushed Julian's curly fringe to the side to get a good look at it. The bruising was all but gone, but there was still a little wound next to the eye. Julian nodded, and Diego saw those dark eyes moistening.

"What about these bruises, Julian? Was it your sister? Did you fall? Or were these Mommy as well?" He gently brushed his hand along the welts on the kid's arm and lifted his shirt to trace the several on his body.

"I hate Jilly!" Julian huffed. "She does it too."

"Does she, now?" Diego nodded. He knew she did, but he wanted to make sure Julian could tell the truth. "Did she do this?"

"No... it was Mommy," Julian confirmed what Diego needed to hear. Okay. If Julian could say it himself, that was good enough for him. He was ready to call child welfare on that useless, parasitic, mean-spirited bitch and put a legal barrier between her and him, his money and their children.

"Julian, if you don't want to go home to Mommy, you don't have to," Diego reassured him. He used the nicest voice he could. "You can live with me all the time if you'd like to."

"I hate Mommy! And I hate Jilly!" Julian sniffed. "I want to live here, but I don't want Jilly to live here."

Ohh, dear. He was afraid of something like this. The idea had been nagging at him for a while. He had no idea what to do about his youngest daughter. Their mother wasn't targeting her; she was aiding and mimicking her mother. That doesn't matter, though. No matter what, she's my daughter, and Zoey is an unfit mother.

"Then you'll live here," Diego promised him. "I'll keep you safe no matter what. Now, you can go and watch as much Power Rangers as you like. If Jilly hurts you again, you tell me right away."

Turning his son into a tattle-tale? Tsk. A few months ago he'd never have dreamed it. He'd tell Julian to smack her one right back and grow a spine, but now that he knew why Julian was so submissive and scared... ahh. Julian did go back to the living room to watch more of his favourite show, but it was weird not having him relentlessly around. Gloria, Lance and Sean must have succeeded in cheering him up.

"How'd it go?" Gloria asked the moment Diego limped into the kitchen area again and painfully sat down. All that exercise in the pool last night did no favours for his swollen knee, it seemed. He was so tired of the brace and the crutch, but he was getting better. He wouldn't need them for much longer.

"Yeah he's settled on that story," Diego confirmed, looking at Gloria and avoiding looking at stupid Lance. "It's all Zoey. Jilly's probably doing it because she sees it happen. I'm about to call up, but I have no idea what to say to them."

"Just tell them the truth," Lance replied at once. He was almost attractive when he was out of the ridiculous makeup, Diego kept thinking. He had a pleasant face and a very nice body. He'd be a handsome man or a gorgeous woman, but when he drew on a face of his own design, he looked like an androgynous gargoyle. He'd still never seen Lance without his contact lenses, though. "The grommet's been coming to you with welts and bruises, and according to him, his mother's been beating him."

"Does Rachel know about this?" Gloria asked, leaning her head on her hand. She looked hungover, but if she were, she would never admit it. Holding her liquor was something of a pride thing with her. Michelle, too. Goddamn New Yorkers.

"I wouldn't be surprised if she did and just ignored it," Diego had his phone in his hand, tapping it on the table. "You know her. 'If I don't see it, it's not my problem' and all that."

"Make the call, little starling," Gloria squeezed his hand before getting up out of her seat. "I'll make you some tea. You, Englishman? Would you like some tea, you walking stereotype?"

"Bugger me square, you're the dog's bollocks," Lance replied with a smile.

"I have no idea what that even means," Diego remarked, searching up the number on his smartphone.

"Mm, something about a cake," Gloria replied, drawing laughs from both boys. Diego steeled himself and pressed the number.

The call wasn't nearly as awful as he thought it was going to be. Some austere but kind sounding woman called Molly received his call and helped him fill out the report. He gave every detail she asked for. His name, address and contact numbers. Julian's description, age and relationship to him. Zoey's name, description, age and place of work, and finally the extent of Julian's injuries. It wasn't easy to talk about it. Lance's supportive gaze and encouraging smile helped steel his nerves, as did knowing Gloria was in the room. It was the biggest injustice in the world, Gloria having faulty ovaries. She was the den mother of nearly the entire locker room, and especially her group of friends. Diego knew he might not have survived his rookie year had she not been there to hold his hand when it shook. She'd be an amazing mom. Molly told him that because he had Julian with him until Thursday, the investigation would begin tomorrow. Hahaha, oh dear. He thanked her again and again for the help, and both Lance and Gloria congratulated him for getting that over with.

"I didn't ask for tea!" Diego protested when Gloria sat big mug of what smelled like coconut and orange in front of him, and one for Lance as well.

"Well you got tea," Gloria smirked. "You didn't ask for an MCL sprain either, but look at you now."

"Goddamn, that's bleak," Diego muttered, taking his tea with both hands. Well, he was stuck with the injury, so he might as well make the most of the tea. "Thanks, Glo. How long can I expect you guys to be staying, by the way? I'm prepared for anything between right now and putting you on the plane on Friday."

"I have plans with a boy tonight in Miami, so I'm catching a flight at two," Lance explained, and Diego felt relieved by that. Lance was a member of the group whether he liked it or not. He was a part of KADA, whether Diego liked it or not. He had a new respect for his nemesis and was grateful to bury the hatchet with him, but the feeling of contempt between them certainly hadn't gone away overnight. He'd be polite and supportive. Everyone deserves that, even limp Lance.

"I'd like to stay another night if you'll have me," Gloria decided, running her hands through her pretty, wavy dark hair. "If I'm here, then I don't have to play Gin with my mother tonight in Queens."

"You should spend time with your mother!" Lance scolded her, sipping the scalding hot beverage in his mug. "I'd do anything to see mine. The UK tour can't come fast enough!"

"Hey Lance," Diego broke in. "Tell me about her."

"My mum?" Lance looked at him with suspicion in his red eyes. "Why do you ask?"

"You always get on my case about not knowing anything about you, so..." Diego shrugged. "Maybe I'd like to. It's up to you, of course."

"Well, she's the best person in the entire world, but you'd already know that, because she made me," Lance did the cute eyes-shut-and-smile-and-shrug thing he often did. Gloria laughed. "I miss her so much! We speak on the phone nearly every day, so it's not so bad, but I just want to see her so badly, you know? And have a butcher's at my Zander panda of course."

"Lance, I know you come from a weird and wonderful place, but you have to know that I don't understand half the stuff that comes out of your mouth," Gloria piped up, and Diego was similarly confused. What the hell was a butcher's?

"Oh, a butcher's means a look," Lance explained as though that made any more sense to them. "I forget you're a pair of septics sometimes."

"What?" Diego screwed up his face, and Lance grinned.

"It's rhyming slang where I grew up. Butcher's hook rhymes with look, so to have a butcher's is to have a look. Septic tank rhymes with yank, so when I call you a septic, which you are, I don't mean septic tank."

"You're making this up!" Gloria accused him, slapping his bare arm. "I'm not buying it. That makes no sense at all, and you're trying to trick us. Nobody could know what you're talking about!"

"Nice try Lance, but I was born in Brazil," Diego was giggling now. "Gloria is a total septic tank, though. Thank you for this."

"You guys are both bitches!" Gloria flipped them both off at once, but the cheeky smile remained on her face. She spoke with a very intense New Yorker accent, and it was actually harder for him to understand her than the British man. Even though Lance talked nonsense with his weird pommy words and this stupid rhyming slang, his accent was clean and pleasant. Gloria, though... wow, her words could be like nails on a board. Diego knew he wasn't one to criticise - he retained an accent from living his first sixteen years in Fortaleza, enough that Marg the Queen Wasp dared to ask him a few years ago if he can "speak more American" when he was on camera. He didn't think his accent was so bad. He never heard it, but he supposed that was the same for everyone. Hell, Lance was comfortable enough with his way of speaking that he thought Diego and Gloria would know what a "butcher's" was.

"Zander's my little brother. He's Nina's age and ohhh I miss him! I don't think he's forgiven me for leaving yet," Lance sighed. Nostalgia and melancholy. "My dad has always been my biggest supporter. He bought me my first pair of high heels for my thirteenth. They always wanted two boys and two girls, but they only had one girl with three boys. Dad always says I was the second chance for a daughter, though. He's always been so protective of me, and he hates that I'm all the way over here where he can't keep an eye on me."

"I'm keeping an eye on you," Gloria winked and squeezed her friend's hand. "You should definitely video call them right now and show them your special septic friends."

"Thank you Mummy, but I don't think that's a good idea," Lance smiled and averted his eyes. Diego already suspected he knew why that was. He was willing to bet Lance had told them all about what a horrible twat, wanker, tosser his childhood hero turned out to be. Yeah, no. If Lance's father indeed had a history of going to jail for assaulting people who hurt his son, then he felt like he needed to hire a bodyguard during that UK tour in October.

"Please don't call me that," Gloria begged. "I don't need to remember how young you are. The youngest wrestler to ever main event a KADA Pay Per View!"

"We don't talk about that," Lance muttered, turning red. It was indeed something of an urban legend in the KADA locker room. While Lance had been forgiven for his pitiful performance, his reputation was going to be stained by that match with Jimmy Vause forever. Fans at home still said such horrible things about Lance in comment sections, telling him to kill himself and all manner of unpleasantness. In time, Diego agreed that it wasn't entirely Lance's fault - you don't get to say no to Margaret, and she had no freaking idea how to book a wrestling show. Lance was somewhat of a celebrity in England - a dancer, made his way into some high profile shows and music videos and had been modeling since he was fourteen. Marg wanted to capitalise on that to draw as much attention and money from the end of year Pay Per View as she could without even thinking of the repercussions of putting a complete rookie in such a prestigious spot on the card.

"Well, maybe you and Sean will put on a good showing this Friday," she smiled. "It's hard to wash out the bad taste in everyone's mouth if you never get to wrestle, so it's nice that you have a match."

"We don't talk about that either, I'm terrified," Lance hid his face in his hands. "If I cock this up, they'll sack me for sure! I can't have another bad showing!"

"You don't need to wrestle a masterpiece," Diego surprised himself by the level of tenderness in his comment. "Sean's a great partner to work with, trust me. Just follow his lead, okay? He's good at knowing how to wrestle a match on the fly. You got through the bitch fight last week without any problems, right?"

It was a cute little rivalry the two had. After losing in a dance-off and then again in a rematch the following week, Sean had savagely attacked the Lance both times. Last Friday, the two had become embroiled in a very entertaining fight backstage that had Michelle pre-emptively recorded and played on the jumbotron during the show. Diego replayed it a few times in a fit of laughs. Lance, seeking vengeance, gave Waya an open-handed smack in the face so hard that Sean lost his balance and fell to the ground, and the two fought and scrambled and bludgeoned each other with anything they could get their hands on until Ollie arrived and played the peacemaker, pulling them apart.

Watching the show from home was different from participating in it, and Diego was excited to see who would win their match this Friday. It wouldn't be a high profile match - it served to keep Lance active while Diego was injured and it never hurt to have Sean make it to television. Poor Sean. His career was in a tailspin right now ever since he lost his push. A feud with rookie Lance inspired by losing to him in dancing competitions was a very far cry from twenty and thirty-minute matches at the main event - where he just might be had Diego not used Lance's influence to usurp his spot all those months ago.

"It's downright criminal that you're not on the Pay Per View again, Glo," Diego muttered. "You should be headlining every three months. Rachel's an awesome heel, but you put nearly everyone in that locker room to shame. I'd love to see you and Sean go at it for twenty."

"Reow," Gloria poked her tongue out. "I don't believe I'm his type, love! Perhaps you'd volunteer in my stead." Diego knew she was poking fun at him, but he felt like she knew what the two of them were doing in his bed. What they'd been doing in Sean's hotel rooms. He went red.

"I don't think I'm his type, either. Maybe big Ollie is the best option," Diego covered for himself. "Or even Lance."

"Well, then we're right back to where we started!" Lance smirked. "He certainly is very cute! I might very well have asked him out myself, had he not already been hitched to someone who could kick my perfect arse."

What the hell did he just say? Did he fancy Sean? My Sean? Oh, hell no! That was probably the single worst thing stupid freaking limp Lovecraft could have ever said. I hate this guy so much! He remembered how friendly Sean and Lance were to each other - at least after Sean went and tore up all of Lance's clothes. The Cherokee liked him a lot, always spending time with him and talking with him. No. This wasn't okay.

"You have a boy of your own in Miami, don't get greedy!" Gloria replied.

"Yes, Joey is certainly my silver medal," Lance winked. Hah. Well, kiss my ass, Lance. Guess who's winning the gold? Diego made a mature decision. Instead of being fiercely jealous that Lance had the hots for the pretty boy he got to first, he was going to settle for the joy of knowing that he had something Lance would never have.

~

Wednesday, June 27th

"I just..." Gloria was at a loss for words, which was very out of character for her. "I have never in my years ever seen something like this."

"Sean thought she was cute on Monday," Diego teased the Cherokee man, who was equally as horrified. "This is par for the course. When I told you she has fits, you didn't want to believe me, did you? Well, here it is."

Jilly seemed to melt down with the most minor of triggers. Diego had no idea how to stop them because there was no pattern at all that he could figure out. She could be tired or well rested, cheerful or angry, hungry or during dessert. Today, she was so mad that Diego couldn't un-slice her banana for her that she threw every segment at him and, even almost a full hour later, she was still screaming her little lungs out and slapping him with her fists if he dared to stop her leaving the quiet room. He had no idea how to calm her down, so the next best thing he could do was to segregate her so she didn't upset or attack Nina and Julian.

"Diego, this is not normal!" Sean pointed out to him. "No kid should ever be this angry for this long. Could it be from her mother?"

"I don't know, she's always acted like this," Diego swooped in to catch Jilly trying to run past him and painfully, hobbling on his bad knee, put her back down on the spare room mattress while she attempted to scratch him with the nails he was now smart enough to keep short and blunt.

"I hate you!" Jilly screeched at maximum volume. "You're a faggot!"

"You don't use that word, Jill," Diego wearily told her before he stumbled back out of the room and left the door open a crack. Rachel always told him to lock her in and let her cry herself out, but he didn't want to do that. His girlfriend's parenting advice left a chill on him. It seemed heartless, sometimes even cruel, and left him wondering just how her parents treated her if she thought this was all standard stuff.

"See? This is my life at home," Diego explained to a very sympathetic pair of his friends. "I have one kid who dropkicks me off the coffee table, another I have to watch while he's eating and then this one goes out of her way to be as horrible as she can. Then there's Rachel who is about as useful as a hog roast at a Bar Mitzvah." Gloria, a Jewish woman, found that particularly funny. "She has her own set of tantrums and passive aggressive fights, and it feels like I have four freaking kids when she's here. Then there's Zoey, who is more or less Jilly but twenty-five years older and has access to a legal team and hits Julian a hell of a lot harder. That's why I don't usually let people visit, you know? But I have to say, having you both here has made everything so much easier, and thanks."

"I can play goalkeeper here while you sit down for a while," Gloria offered, and Diego smiled but shook his head.

"That sounds like the best thing in the world, but I can't let her think she won," he sighed. Man, he was tired of this. "If she wins, she'll learn that she can beat me and I won't let her. Feel free to make sure Nina's not climbing on something, though."

"Alright, little starling," Gloria pecked him on the cheek and lumbered her way back to the living room. The other children were very fond of her. Much more so than Auntie Rach, who had decided to return home yesterday the same time Lance did. Diego knew he should have been sad to see her leave so soon, but he was thrilled. She sucked fun and merriment out of the air with her misery guts performance. Maybe he should have just seduced Gloria instead. He smirked. She would never agree to that, and neither would he. Romance would be the best way to kill their terrific bond. Diego once again caught Jilly and carried her back to the room. Everything was harder on a bad leg, but he wasn't going to give in. He hadn't lived through three and a half years of tantrums and meltdowns just to let her win now. Hell no.

"Were you a difficult kid?" Sean asked him, now brave enough to touch the back of Diego's hand with his fingers since Gloria vanished behind the living room door.

"Oh, I could be, I suppose," Diego shrugged. "I got my first girl pregnant when I was fifteen, but we didn't have that baby. My parents never forgave me for knocking her up or getting that abortion."

"Wow, that's... not the reply I was expecting!" Sean didn't know whether it was appropriate to laugh, particularly the way Diego spoke about getting an abortion like he was getting a ham from the delicatessen. "You're really fertile, aren't you? Do you know what a condom does and how to wear one?"

"Yeah, smartass," he laughed. "Zoey said she was on the pill, so that's where the twins came from. Mommy lied and Daddy was stupid enough not to learn his lesson from the other pregnancies."

"I can't wait for you to tell that story when they turn twenty-one," Sean remarked. "What about Nina? And the other one?"

"None of the pregnancies were planned," Diego admitted, hiding his mouth behind his hand. "I've been a part of six of them. Troy, Nina, the twins and then there were two abortions and a miscarriage. Nina nearly had a little brother or sister, but Audrey lost the baby. I mean, it wasn't a planned pregnancy, but I still wonder about the kid that never was. It could have been a kickass little boy, but on the other hand..." he pointed with his head towards the door he was guarding. Demon child.

"I never got anyone pregnant," Sean said, proudly. "But I suppose that doesn't count. I've never had sex with someone who had a uterus."

"Not even once?" Diego was shocked. "How do you know you won't like it?"

"It doesn't even interest me," Sean explained. "Not even a little bit. It never has. If I ever want children of my own, I'll adopt them."

"You can adopt Jillian," Diego offered, and Sean shoved him and laughed.

"You can keep the ones you already have!" The smaller boy smiled wide. Cutie. Still, Sean's words echoed in his head. Diego did like Sean. A lot. Touching him and kissing him. Maybe even getting more intimate. That aside, he did like girls. He knew that. But Sean? Men? That was all new to him, but he knew as much as he was scared of what he felt it was still there. He liked Sean the way he liked Rachel in the beginning. It was confusing.

The investigation began today. The caseworker who introduced herself as Mrs Sinnott was a friendly older woman who cut the nonsense and got right to business. She spoke at length with Julian while Diego was in the room with them and asked a lot of questions about Mommy, Daddy, Jillian and Nina. Julian was a brave boy and, although very shy in the beginning, managed to answer all her questions. She was patient and warm, and Diego liked her immediately. Next, she spoke with Jilly, who of course, decided she was going to act out, and she made one hell of a scene. Mrs Sinnott seemed shocked at the magnitude of the fit, and Diego sheepishly explained that she was often doing that and wasn't sure how to address it. To his relief, Mrs Sinnott didn't blame it on him being a trash father; she reassured him that some children are more challenging and demanding than others and gave him a referral to a pediatric psychologist. Maybe it was a good idea, he thought. Both the twins might benefit from seeing a professional.

After that, Mrs Sinnott interviewed Julian alone for a few minutes, but apparently, it didn't go so well. She was concerned about how clingy Julian was with his father and how his confidence seemed to disappear when Diego wasn't around. After, she interviewed Diego alone while Gloria and Sean made sure the kids didn't kill each other. She wanted to know all about his relationship with Zoey, and Diego felt naked telling her the dirty little secrets. It was a short-lived relationship, brought on by mutual attraction and little more, but Zoey fell pregnant and, Diego believed, used that as a way of securing a permanent stipend from the wealthy professional wrestler. Diego wanted the abortion, but she refused and gave birth while he was on tour in South America. None of Diego's friends or family knew the story of how the twins came to be. Diego did not want them and pleaded for Zoey to terminate the pregnancy, but she refused. When he saw them for himself, everything changed, and he knew he wanted to be their father, not just their origin. It took a long time to secure part-time custody, but he never regretted his decision... mostly.

Mrs Sinnott thanked him for his time and told him that she would be interviewing Zoey later that day, and if she believes Julian is at risk of harm with his mother, then Julian will be allowed to stay with him while the investigation continues. Diego asked about Jilly, and Mrs Sinnott explained that she would have to see for herself what happens at Zoey's house before she decided whether his little girl was in danger as well.

"We prefer to keep siblings together where we can," Mrs Sinnott explained gently. "This is a dicey case because it's clear to me that your daughter holds a lot of animosity for your son. This might be a learned behaviour if these allegations are true, or it might run deeper than that. I would like to have Jillian speak to a paediatrician about her feelings for Julian before we make that decision."

Diego was relieved at how professional and calmly Mrs Sinnott handled the situation. He'd prepared himself for something cold and traumatic, but it wasn't like that at all. Julian was perhaps affected, but that wasn't a surprise. He'd get a treat for being so well behaved. Jilly could suck a lemon for all he cared after the performance she gave.
Diego knew when Mrs Sinnott must have finished with Zoey a few hours later because his phone blew up with call after call and some of the most vile, offensive texts he'd ever seen from her. He didn't respond to her. There was no point in trying to engage with Jilly when she was in a mood like this, and Zoey was the same way. Threats, abuse and loud noise. Like bitch mother, like bitch daughter.

He hadn't been expecting Zoey to arrive at the house by the evening, banging and shrieking at the door. Downright rabid. Julian, upon hearing his mother screaming that loud and that angrily, pissed himself on the sofa out of fear. Jilly also went to ground, which was a surprise to Diego. She went into her room and closed the door behind her. Nina thought it was all hilarious and exciting, looking out the window to where Zoey was making one hell of a scene. She'd be drawing a crowd before long. This is bad, Diego thought. So bad. If the press gets onto this, it'll be all over the news. He was by no means Brad Pitt, but he was a celebrity. People all over the world knew who he was. This kind of publicity was toxic. His ex-girlfriend showing up and screaming for the world to hear about what a horrible person he was, and he was the one beating up their kids and everything else she could think up on the spot.

Sean was far too intimidated to do much more than supervise the kids while Diego decided he'd ring the police to have them take her away from his property, but Gloria was old school. She opened the door while Diego was a few feet behind her and in no uncertain terms, told Zoey where to go.

"You're not welcome here," Gloria warned her. She was terrifying when she wanted to be. She was a bodybuilder and fitness model before she was a wrestler, and she had muscles on her that would make a lot of men jealous. Zoey didn't back down for a second.

"Get out of my way and my business, you dyke!" Zoey roared at Gloria, who didn't even flinch. "Where is Diego? Where is that tiny-dicked coward? Get him out here!"

Tiny-dicked? Zoey, please. I'm Brazilian. A big Brazilian. Funny, how when they broke up his love tool apparently shrunk to a third of its size or something. Say all you want, Zoey. You can't take back all the foreplay we did so my "tiny dick" wouldn't hurt you. Or those earth-shattering orgasms you had.

"You're trespassing," Gloria put a hand on each side of the doorway so Zoey couldn't weasel past her like she was looking to do. "So you have a choice. You can leave now, or you can wait for the cops to remove you. Or I'll be happy to do it myself if you'd like."

"Get the hell out of my way, you ugly dog!" Zoey spat in Gloria's face. Oh no, Diego thought as he hobbled into the hallway and Gloria wiped her cheek. You've gone and done it now, you stupid woman.

"I was hoping you'd do that," Gloria shoved Zoey back so hard that the woman launched off her feet and she crashed hard onto the footpath. Diego was impressed. Zoey got back to her feet, her fists clenched.

"What? You're going to hit me now?" Gloria taunted her, folding her arms and standing her ground. "I better warn you. I'm not three years old like your son. I'll break you, bitch! Here, I'll even give you a free shot, if you're woman enough to take it." Gloria stepped forward, turned her left cheek towards Zoey and pointed at it. For a second Diego thought Zoey was going to go through with it, but she backed down, perhaps realising that Gloria would tear her to shreds.

"You tell that faggot I'll be suing him for everything for this!" She hissed instead, storming back to her car. "I'm going to ruin him!" So that's where Jilly learned that language from. Charming.

"Then I hope the money he gives you will pay for a good lawyer!" Gloria yelled after her. Zoey's tyres screeched as she accelerated away in the pricey car that came from his child support checks and his voluntary stipend. That's the last money she'll get from me, he thought. No more goodwill checks and no more child support, because they'll both be living with me.

"I am so mad at you," Gloria was still wiping her face when she came back inside. "You couldn't just put it in Audrey again if you were going to have more kids?"

"Oh, Audrey's going to be saying 'I told you so' until one of us dies," Diego rolled his eyes. "She told me not to hook up with Zoey long before I did."

"I recorded everything!" Sean gleefully held up his phone, emerging from the living room. "Through the bay window!"

"You little genius," Diego gave a bitter laugh. "Now everyone can see the mother of my kids coming to my house and telling the neighbours that I beat my son."

"Well, no," Sean flipped his hair back over his shoulder. "Now you have footage of her trespassing on your property, abusing you and spitting at Gloria. I'm just saying, if she tries anything with the police or the court, you've got evidence of what she's like."

"Right!" Gloria beamed, playing with her black and blue braid. "If she tries to fight for custody, she'll have a hard time explaining this."

"That's... actually great," Diego took Sean in his arms and hugged him close. Gratitude and friendship, not amour. Gloria couldn't know about that. "Thanks! That was quick thinking. And you, Gloria. I was really hoping you'd kick her ass."

"So was I," Gloria grunted. "I wish I didn't have to be a reasonable and mature adult sometimes."

"Are you sure you don't want to move in and be my bodyguard?" Diego joked, but he wasn't entirely kidding. He felt much happier and safer with his friends there. It'd be nice if Gloria were there more often. Sean too.

"To Columbus? It's a tempting offer, but I belong to the big apple," she kissed him on the forehead on her way past. "I need a shower. I can't stop thinking of that woman's spit in my hair!"

"How about you?" Diego asked Sean, who looked at him, his face hard to read. "You should live with me."

"I have a life in Knoxville," Sean shook his head. "With Oliver and our pets. I'd love to visit regularly! But I can't just up and leave."

No? Then... why are you even here, Sean? With me?

~

Thursday, June 28th

Thursday. Usually, this meant Diego would unwind from a very stressful but often rewarding week with his children and pack everything for his flight to whatever city he would be performing in. Audrey came to pick up Nina, and Diego filled her in on everything that happened. To his surprise and even a few tears of gratitude and joy, she offered to stay with him more often while he was injured and help out. This meant he would see more of Nina, and he loved that about Audrey. She wanted Diego and Nina to spend a lot of time with each other, and he felt the same way about her with his daughter. Sharing custody of a child didn't have to be a problem like it was with Zoey. Being flexible about it made everyone happier, he thought. The only issue was when Diego went on an extended overseas tour with KADA, but he would always generously compensate Audrey for taking care of their girl full-time.

Zoey was not permitted to come and get the children. Mrs Sinnott, however, decided that Jilly could still stay with Zoey for the weekend, but Julian would be safer where he was and came to take Jilly to her mother herself. This was a victory for Diego. If the caseworker believed Julian should stay with him, then it was a step towards liberating him from her permanently. He let Jilly go, though, something that bothered him. Zoey didn't hurt Jilly, at least he didn't know if she did, but Jilly did appear to be scared of her yesterday. Don't let your negative feelings for her give you an excuse to let her down, Diego told himself sternly. If you do that, you're no better than Zoey is. He decided he needed a break from her until next Monday where he would have his resolve back. She's your daughter too. Fight for her.

Gloria returned to New York earlier today. It was sad watching her go. Diego grew very accustomed to having his house full of friends and children, but now it was only the three of them. Sean, Julian and him.

"Don't you have to go home to Ollie?" Diego asked as they watched Gloria's cab round the corner, her hand flailing and waving out the window. "Isn't he going to wonder why you're here for so long?"

"Yes, and I told him why," Sean tweaked Julian's nose on his way back inside. "You're having problems with the injury and the kids, so I'm here to keep you company. He doesn't mind. I think he got used to having time to himself without me while he was injured, so he's not exactly begging to have me come home yet. I'll be with him tomorrow in San Diego."

"Maybe he's having an affair," Diego giggled. Sean didn't find it as funny.

"It'd be the least I deserve," he muttered sadly, and Diego used his fingers to caress his friend's neck gently.

"You can go home any time you like," Diego reassured him. "You don't have to stay here with me if you're feeling bad about it."

"It's not staying with you that makes me feel bad," Sean explained, using a hair tie to bundle up his long hair into a bun. It was a scorching day and his hair was sticking to the skin his tank top left bare. "It's that I want to."

The daily workout in Diego's home gym passed without incident, but he was starting to miss running on the treadmill. All this weight training was getting boring. Sean reluctantly did his strength training at Diego's strict orders. Afterwards, Sean had a blast in the pool during that afternoon while Diego spectated, letting his feet and legs soak while the rest of his body lapped up the warm sun. Now that the weather was hot and the sky was clear, he could adequately bronze his skin again. It was like his naturally dark skin lost its colour if he didn't recharge it with the sun's rays. Julian was the same, but Diego made sure to coat him head to toe in sunscreen first before letting him float and paddle and play on the inflatable toys. Sean and Julian were like peas in a pod, he thought happily. They loved the water and swam like fish. Diego would have liked to join them, but his knee still bothered him from horsing around too much during the pool party.

It was quiet without Gloria, Lance and Nina, and he was missing them. Even Lance, he realised. It wasn't that he missed Lance for himself, but the Englishman brought a lot of joy and positivity to the group as a whole. He was even funny sometimes. Julian hated the compulsory shower after swimming so much that Diego had to threaten to spray him with the garden hose. Sean, on the other hand, requested the garden hose and Julian laughed with sadistic glee at blasting the man with a jet of freezing water. Following that, they watched a movie, had dinner and read a book to put Julian to sleep in his own bed. Two books. Ugh, four. Four books. When his baby boy's eyes closed and he began to breathe slowly, he was satisfied and left the lamp turned on in case he woke up again.

"Well, I think I better brush my teeth," Diego complained after they shut the door to Julian's room, leaving it open a crack as usual. "It was a long week, and I think it's time for bed."

"Bed? It's only eight thirty!" Sean exclaimed.

"Well... I never said I was ready to go to sleep!" Diego pulled him closer and laid a kiss on his lips. Sean started giggling and returned the kiss with enthusiasm, his hands feeling so good around Diego's shoulders. "Why don't you come and keep me company? Unless you've got something better to do."

It didn't take long for them to be in Diego's room, the door closed and locked to prevent any sons from seeing anything they shouldn't. Both men had lost all their clothes aside from their underwear. Diego was face down on the bed, groaning and purring as Sean's hands teased and prodded and kneaded into the muscle of his back, shoulders, neck and arms. Now that they'd admitted their feelings to each other, massages between them had become far more intimate and loving. Sean liked to lay kisses on Diego's body from time to time and loved the way the big man's whole body seemed to shake when the smaller man mischievously traced his tongue along his spine. Eventually, Sean told him to turn over, but Diego wasn't sure about that. He was so painfully hard.

He eventually did when Sean made a disappointed whine, and Sean's eyes always lit up at the sight of Diego's chest, his abs and the very sizable bulge in his boxers. Sean eventually hooked his leg over Diego's waist and straddled him, and Diego felt both intense pleasure and embarrassment as Sean's weight pressed down on his fully engorged cock. Sean felt it. There was no question, and he did nothing to help the situation, choosing to playfully grind his hips back and forth and make Diego pant and whimper with feelings he wasn't sure he was ready for yet. He'd been dreaming about slipping himself inside the pretty, younger man for months, but the prospect of the real thing happening was... it was intimidating somehow.

Sean hungrily returned his lips to Diego's. Usually, this was where Diego would draw the line, but tonight was different. A lot of things were changing in his life, so why not this as well? He just felt like it was the right thing to do and wrestled his friend's tongue with his own. Sean knew as well that this is where one of them often wanted to stop, usually Diego, and slipped two fingertips underneath Diego's boxers. This was the signal that he wanted to take it further. Diego smiled and gently thrust his hips up as a sign of consent, and Sean, his hands shaky, put more fingers in the waistband.

"You let me know if you want to stop," Sean whispered, and Diego responded by putting his hands on the smaller guy's shoulders. He had a really lovely body, Diego thought. Most wrestlers were buff and bulky, but Sean didn't fall into that category. He was slender and toned, but very strong. He was someone who earned his body through a lifetime of exercise rather than protein supplements and rigorous strength training. Diego thought he was just beautiful. Everything about him. The long, broad nose, his beautiful smile, the long, umber coloured locks, but mostly the loving look in his dark brown eyes. That was his favourite part of Sean, he thought, that the younger man was crazy about him. Diego felt the same way, and even though was struggling with some parts of this new, frightening territory, Sean managed to make him feel right about it.

Sean lowered his head and began to press gentle kisses to Diego's collarbone, nipples, abdomen and just above the waistline of his underwear. He let out a strangled cry of ecstasy when Sean's hands groped at his most sensitive body part. He seemed to go in a daze from that point. Sean freed it from its confines. The next seven minutes were full of lightning bolts shooting from his groin to the rest of his body. Sensations flooded him, firing to his toes and to his ears and all the way back to the source, until fireworks turned him to jelly and he went limp, panting in the seat while Sean released him and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"I've wanted to do that for so long," Sean chuckled shyly and climbed back up onto his friend, who was still reeling from the most powerful orgasm he'd had in a very long time. Rachel was good, but Sean was much better. Diego gratefully wrapped his arms around Sean and pulled him close, but he could feel how hard his friend was against his leg. The thought of you know... touching it, or doing what Sean did for him... it didn't... it... he wasn't ready to do that, to touch another man so sexually. Was he? Sean leaned over to kiss him, and Diego, although initially feeling queasy at the thought of tasting himself on the cute boy's lips, found he couldn't deny Sean. He liked him too much, and it was the least he could do after what his friend - or his lover? - just did for him.

Emboldened perhaps by the sensuality of Sean's lips and partly because he wanted to please Sean in return, Diego moved Sean onto his back and lay between his legs. Needy, thirsty, he kissed at Sean's mouth, his tongue, his jaw and his neck, over and over, occasionally pinching at the rich brown skin with his teeth and eliciting a squeak of shock and ecstasy from the Cherokee. Sean looked flushed in the face by the time Diego decided he'd teased the boy enough and began to move down and press his lips to his pectoral muscles. Sean was just... perfect. There was no hair on his body, common for professional wrestlers. Diego waxed his chest, belly and armpits frequently, as did Sean and most of the locker room, aside from big Jimmy Vause.

How can a man be so pretty? Diego still could scarcely believe it. The long hair and petite frame were feminine, but that wasn't it. Sean had a cute face, but it was still quite masculine. So was the definition on his torso and arms. I love it, Diego thought with a smile on his face as his fingers traced Sean's ab muscles, causing the boy underneath him to squirm and whine from ticklish sensations. He kissed his belly, then tucked his fingers underneath Sean's tight underwear. As expected, Sean gently thrust his hips up, but Diego wasn't sure if he could go all the way as Sean did for him. Diego wiggled Sean's underwear down and gasped as another man's penis sprung free. It was humbling to see Sean's most private areas. Thrilling, even. Diego may not have used his mouth to please his friend, but he was as adept with his hands as any man who's ever played with himself before. Diego, apprehensive in the beginning, found himself enjoying the experience with Sean, making him gasp and moan, and eventually, he cried out and went limp the same way Diego had earlier.

"Kiss me!" Sean begged, panting hard. Diego did with gusto, moving up and passionately wrapping his arms around Sean's chest, squeezing him close and connecting with his lips. Every touch, every kiss, every sensation was as though Sean were filling him with lust and fire. It was a long time since he felt this with Rachel. He wondered if Sean felt the same way about Oliver. What they were doing was wrong, but it felt so right, so good, that he didn't care.

"I think I need to shower. I made a mess," Sean giggled eventually, and Diego grinned. "Would you like to help me?"

"That sounds like a great idea," Diego nuzzled into his cheek. "But maybe we could lie here for a little bit longer? I didn't even know how lonely I was until you became my friend. It's nice to have someone here who acts as though they like me."

"I don't just like you Di," Sean admittedly, wrapping his limbs around his friend's. "I think it's a lot more than that. I... really like you."

"I hope so," Diego agreed. "Because I... I feel the same way. I really like you a lot." He wasn't ready to use the word they were both avoiding. For Sean, it would mean betrayal to the man he already loved. For Diego, it would mean admitting that he loved a man, not a woman.

"How much do you... really like me?" Sean whispered, a beautiful, content smile on his pretty lips.

"Feel for yourself," he whispered, putting the boy's smaller hand on his chest so he could feel the intensity of Diego's heart beating.