Tonight we drink to youth, and holding fast to truth.

Tonight we drink to youth, and holding fast to truth. by pinklipstiiick featuring prada

I glanced sideways at the clock, the quiet knocks on the door right on time. Setting my piece of pizza back on it's plate, I cleaned my hands off on a napkin and padded barefoot through my apartment, opening it and smiling at my sleeping boy in his fathers arms.

"Shh," Ben whispered and smiled at me, his looks still as handsome as ever and our son taking after him in nearly every way. He was going to be a heartbreaker one day, I knew it. "He fell asleep."

I just nodded as I let them in, closing the door behind us and following him as they made their way to Gabe's room. Despite not spending much time at my place, Ben still knew it pretty well. Our life together had become a routine, Gabe spending one week with me and then the next with his father. We had agreed to split the custody of our son from the beginning, even switching days if one of us was busy and it worked perfectly for me. It wasn't easy of course, but it worked. "Is he wearing his pajamas already?" I asked in a barely audible voice, glancing at Ben from over my shoulder as I made the bed for him, adjusting the pillow just like I knew he preferred it.

He didn't answer but unwrapped the blanket from around his body carefully, a sad look in his eyes that I recognized. It was the leaving part that hurt... knowing that so much could happen in a week and you'd miss seven days of watching your baby grow. I mean, he was five now but he was still my baby and always would be. Gabe let out a quiet snort when Ben bent over and laid him down on his bed, his small body adjusting while I made sure he was well covered for the night since his room was unusually chilly. I was overprotective in every sense, but I had a lot to worry about.

He caressed his hair gently and pressed a light kiss on his forehead before following me out of the room and through the hallway, his eyes glancing into the kitchen and noticing the pizza on the table. "Were you eating?" He asked, getting a nod from me. "Do you want company?"

"I don't have enough for two," I answered with a small smirk on my lips, the mood between us relaxed and...easy. I was lucky to have him in my life still and I knew that. All the time spent wondering what could have been and if we'd made the right choice when breaking up? It seemed useless now; four years later and we were both happy. His career had skyrocketed and he was one of the top models at the agency. I was proud of him, he deserved every second of that success.

"I wasn't trying to invite myself, I ate already," He grinned back at me.

I shrugged, "If you don't have anything else do to."

"I don't," He said quietly and stepped into the room with me, sliding his hands into the pockets of his jeans as he leaned his shoulder against the wall.

"You're not going to stand there and stare me while I eat," I raised one eyebrow at him, sitting at the table and nodding to the other chair.

"Do you want me to stare at the wall instead?" He grinned but took a seat, leaning his back against the chair and looking lost in a thought. It made me wonder what he was thinking about, what the boys did over their seven days together. Gabe was an amazing child, a little crazy sometimes with enough energy to keep me on my toes always, but he barely every complained about anything. I wanted the best for him and would devote the rest of my life to giving him that. Of course I constantly wondered how mine and Ben's relationship effected him, but he knew that we loved him. "He missed you," He said eventually.

I smiled at his words, that heavy feeling in my chest returning like it did every time I watched him go. "I miss him always..." I trailed off, wondering if it'd ever get easier. I knew the answer already; it wouldn't. Luckily, I trusted Ben with not only my life but our sons too.

He nodded, sharing the same feelings as me. That love he had for Gabe? It felt like it lifted the weight of the world off my shoulders since I knew he was always in good hands. "Are you really going to eat that entire thing?" He let his eyes flicker towards the pizza, a personal sized pizza but more than the normal person could eat.

"Yes," I grinned at him, thankful for the change of subject. "But if you ask nicely, I might give you a bite."

"You're lucky I'm not hungry," He said instead and I rolled my eyes playfully, still grinning.

"Are you on a diet?" I wrinkled my nose, around models too much to know that most of them didn't eat. Surprisingly, the male models were sometimes even worse than the women. He laughed and shook his head, watching me bring the slice up to my mouth and take a bite, adding a dramatic moan as I chewed and swallowed. "Delicious. You're missing out."

He reached for a slice off my plate and wasted no time, taking a big bite and then returning it to my plate as he chewed. Nodding his head, he swallowed and grinned, "It's okay."

"Just okay? You're crazy," I shook my head, picking at a piece of pepperoni and eating it. I was a sucker for anything Italian; pizza, pasta, gelato... If it weren't for Gabe and his constant spurts of energy, I'd probably be twenty pounds heavier.

"Look at the bright side," He smirked at me, the same smirk that use to drive me crazy. Now that smirk made him millions. "More for you."

"I still have gelato for dessert," I shrugged and bit into the pizza.

"Are you depressed?" He asked, raising one eyebrow at me and taking me by surprise.

"Uh what? No! Why?" I furrowed my eyebrows as I looked at my ex, half offended and half puzzled. Usually when someone asked you that sort of thing it meant you looked awful.

"You're eating comfort food," He said with a wide grin, letting me know that he was joking. I was hard to read and I knew it from the many times he had told me that. I had always been a private person and now that we weren't together, I didn't share everything with him anymore.

I brought a hand to my mouth, chuckling and almost chocking as I tried to swallow, "I'm eating delicious food, there's a difference."

"Oh I see. Thank you for explaining," He said quietly but kept watching me with amusement.

"You know that if Gabe's home I can't eat like this," I sighed, propping my elbow on the table and leaning my cheek against my hand as I used my free one to take another bite of pizza.

He nodded in agreement, knowing that we had to try to make him eat as good as possible and pizza or gelato were more like a reward, not something he ate regularly. It made things harder being a single parent and having barely any free time. The agency required me to be on just about every shoot, then there were the freelance jobs or events. I'd never thought that being a makeup artist could be so time consuming, but it was. I wasn't going to make my son suffer over that small fact though. He was my top priority always. "I can feel your pain," He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Silence fell between us, both of us lost in our thoughts as I finished my pizza a little too fast.

I watched him as his eyes moved to the fridge which was covered in Gabe's artwork, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Do you like it?" I broke the silence as I glanced over my shoulder, following his gaze.

"Did you make it?" He asked with a grin, teasing me.

"No, but I made the adorable little artist and that should count as something," I winked at Ben and stood up, bringing my plate over to the sink. It was full of dishes and made me regret not cleaning the place earlier. I rinsed it off before contemplating what to do for not more than a few seconds and leaving it sitting on top of the pile of dishes. I'd do them tomorrow.

"Then I can take some of that credit too," He replied and when I looked at him, I bit my lip and shook my head.

"Do you want some gelato?" I walked over to the fridge to take the container out of the freezer.

"Only if its -"

"Mint and chocolate," I held it up, knowing it was his favorite. It was Gabe's favorite too.

"Are you trying to get me fat?" He joked as he leaned back in his seat and stretched his arms over his head, his shirt creeping up his chest as if daring me to look. I grabbed two bowls instead to distract myself, already scooping as I grinned. The guys body was hard everywhere, not an ounce of fat to be found on it.

"You sound like such a model," I lifted my head up and saw our sleepy boy in the doorway, grasping his blanket with one hand and rubbing his eye with the other. "What are you doing up, cutie?"

"You didn't say goodnight to me," He replied and looked back and forth between me and Ben, letting his words count for both of us.

"Come here," I held my arms out towards him and he shuffled over to me, lifting his arms up as I picked him up. God he was getting heavy, it was hard to see him growing up so fast. "You have school tomorrow and should be asleep," I said quietly and ran a hand through his hair then kissed his forehead.

He wrinkled his nose, "I want ice cream instead."

Ben got up and walked closer to us, staring into our boys gorgeous blue eyes. "You know the rules, no ice cream before sleeping," He said quietly as he offered a smile, knowing that it was better to say no gently if we wanted to have a chance at convincing Gabe. When sweets were involved though? It was hard.

"But I'm hungry," He retorted with a pout on my lips before nuzzling my neck and hiding his face.

I shot Ben a look as I tilted my head down to talk into Gabe's ear in a soft voice, "Didn't you eat with papa?"

He shook his head as he wrapped his arms around my neck, Ben rolling his eyes since we taught him better than to lie to us over something so silly. "Hey, do you want maman to think that I'm a bad papa?" He asked and poked Gabe's side, making a point of being playful instead of too strict.

Gabe pulled his head back, looking at his dad with a serious expression that was adorable. "No. But my tummy's empty again," He said as he shifted in my arms and rubbed his belly.

Ben's eyes met mine and I could tell that we were both struggling to keep a straight face. We raised one adorable kid and sometimes it was hard not to laugh, still, we couldn't or he'd stop taking us seriously. "Weird, you're pretty heavy," I said as I bounced him a few times, making him chuckle.

"Why can't I have it but you and dad can?" He asked anyway, not giving up.

"Because we're old," Ben answered as he grinned at me, my eyebrow raising as an amused expression appeared on my face.

I pressed a kiss on Gabe's forehead as he frowned a little, "Say good night to papa."

The second Gabe was close enough to his dad, he threw his arms around his neck instead, making it clear that he had no intention to go to bad again anytime soon. "I want to stay with you a little more," He protested, his voice so little and cute that it was nearly impossible for me to say no. I swear, I was such a pushover sometimes when it came to him.

Ben glanced at me, silently asking for my opinion and I nodded, letting him hold Gabe again before he sat back down on the chair. "Five minutes then you'll go straight to bed," He looked down at him but smiled when Gabe grinned back at him happily.

I let out a sigh, ditching the bowls on the counter and opening the container, using my spoon to scoop some of the gelato and eat it. "Tell papa what we're doing this weekend," I said as I scooped up more, not letting my eyes leave the boys. Sometimes I felt like I could watch them forever and never get tired of it. It was hard enough to deal with the fact that Gabriel was already five now and in just a few months he'd be going into the first grade.

He smiled wider at his dad with nothing but admiration on his face, "Painting!"

"I saw the picture you drew on the fridge," Ben smiled back at him and ruffled his hair up with one hand.

His head shook quickly, "My room instead! We're painting my room!"

Ben lifted an eyebrow and tilted his head in my direction, just as I swallowed the bite of gelato. "We're going to do a mural in his room," I smiled, remembering the description of what he wanted: Iron Man, dragons, pirates, and ninjas. He'd probably be over his Iron Man phase in a month, just like the Transformers phase didn't last too long... but it was what he asked for.

"I'm going to paint a monster," He said matter of factly, adding a new one to the never ending list of what we'd be painting.

Ben grinned back at him and the excitement he could never hide. Gabe's face gave him away always, maybe it was because I knew him better than I even knew myself or maybe he was just really good at expressing himself. "Are you going to be an artist?" He asked our son who shook his head.

"I'm going to be in magazines like you," He answered and I let out a small laugh.

"Oh are you now?" I asked him since last week he told me he was going to be a spy when he grew up. I wouldn't mind him taking after his dad, not when this life is the only one I'd ever known. Both of my parents modeled when they were younger, my friends modeled, I worked with models.. I had nothing against them. The lifestyle was demanding and sometimes unrealistic, but no job was perfect. Of course I wanted what was best for our son, including college, but in the end, the choice was his. Thank god he wouldn't be making that choice for another ten years at least.

He nodded his head and frowned a little, staring at me through his dark lashes, "Why are you laughing?"

"Because you're adorable," I answered, my smile getting wider.

He wrinkled his nose at the word, moving his gaze back to his dad. "Do you want to be a model?" Ben asked as he tried his best to keep a straight face.

"Yes." He paused, smiling a smile that looked a lot like mine, "Can I be a model papa?"

"Of course you can, you're a gorgeous boy," He nodded and this time couldn't help but smirk. With all the compliments we gave Gabe, his little ego had to be huge. He'd end up confident to say the least.

"Maman says I look like you when you were little like me," He shrugged, as if that explained everything.

Ben glanced at me, my eyes still glued on the boys. "I showed him some old pics," I said as I looked at him.

"How did she look instead?" He asked Gabe in a quiet voice, his eyes bouncing between our son and me as his lips curved into a grin.

"Beautiful," He said simply as he beamed at me, his smile so big and his eyes so full of love that I swear, I melted so hard right then and there.

"Oh baby-" I started but he cut me off with a sharp look and loud voice.

"I'm not a baby!!!" He protested, his mood changing instantly as he started wriggling in Ben's hold. It was past his bedtime and to be expected. He fought like crazy to stay up late and in return it always made him grumpy.

Ben wrapped his arms tightly around him, forcing him to calm down. "Hey, don't talk like this to your maman," He said in a soothing tone, staring at him.

Gabe blinked a few times before turning his head in my direction, his arms stretching out with a little pout on his lips, "Maman."

I walked over to where the boys were sitting, bending at my hips to lean over Ben and take Gabe from his arms. He nestled against me instantly, always a sign that he was tired since he told me that only babies got held so much. "Is my big boy tired?" I asked and pulled my head back to look at him, his eyes already half shut. It was like his batteries had run low; one second hyper and loud and exhausted the next.

"No," He said and yawned, resting his head back against my shoulder.

"Tell papa you love him and will call him tomorrow," I said quietly, running my fingers through his hair softly.

"I love you and will call you tomorrow," He repeated in almost a whisper, pulling his head away from me as Ben stood up and Gabriel kissed his cheek. Loud and sloppy, leaving me grinning.

"I love you," He smiled back, following behind me as we walked towards Gabe's room.

I laid him down on his bed and he rolled away from us to face the wall, asleep instantly. I pulled the blankets up and tucked him in again, hopefully this time he'd actually get some rest since he had school in the morning. Which reminded me. "We need to start looking into schools for him," I said quietly as we walked out of his room, his night light leaving the hallway lit up.

Ben stopped in front of a picture on the wall I had framed earlier, a smile playing on his lips as he stepped closer to it, "Is this the picture you showed him?"

I grinned at the picture of us with our sisters and my brother. Noah was still in diapers then, so I couldn't have been more than Gabe's age, Ben just a couple years older. "Yes... he really does look like you," I said seriously.

He tore his eyes away from the picture to look at me, his smile still in place, "I think he looks a lot like you too."

"But look at his eyes and yours!" I retorted, placing my index finger on the photo before glancing at him.

"But look at your smile," He said back as he let his gaze move on the picture again.

I turned my head in his direction and bit down on my lip, as if hiding my smile instead, "It was a silly one."

"Adorable instead," He said seriously, shaking his head.

"Well, Gabe is pretty adorable," I agreed eventually and let my smile free too, leaving him staring at it and smirking as he nodded in agreement.

"What were you saying about school?" He asked, changing the subject back to the previous one I had brought up.

"We need to start looking into schools for Gabe," I repeated in a gentle tone, then paused to sigh, "I can't believe he'll be going in first grade so soon."

"He grows up fast," He said quietly while we both went silent. I was proud of us for how far we'd come and how amazing our son was. It wasn't easy being a parent, but having Ben there to get through this together? It helped.

"So..." He trailed off as I glanced at him from the corner of my eye. Sometimes when I looked at him, I saw the same little boy in the picture. He'd always been handsome, even when we were little and I hid my crush on him. I think I always loved him, always knew we'd end up together... only when it actually ended? I had no regrets of our love.

"I talked to Julien's mom last week and she said she'd send me the name of the school where her older son is going, I guess we can take a look at that for starter," I broke the silence as I crossed my arms against my chest.

He ran his hands through his hair, a habit that usually meant he was lost in a thought. We might not still be together, but I knew him pretty damn well. "You and Gabe can come over for dinner on Thursday and we can talk about it..."

I nodded and tried biting back a smirk as I looked at him with what had to be a serious but on the verge of silly face, "Will you be cooking?"

He raised an eyebrow, "Whats that face for? I'm a great cook."

"Since when??" I gave into the smirk which quickly turned into a wide smile. Both of us grew up spoiled, it was no lie. As great of a mother I had, she didn't do much of the cooking... we had a cook and a maid. Getting pregnant right out of high school and moving in with my boyfriend? It was an eye opening experience and a little scary when we both realized we couldn't cook. Now five years later, I surprised myself sometimes with the things I whipped up in the kitchen... but when I thought about Ben in the kitchen, the idea made me want to giggle.

He grinned and thankfully didn't look offended, "Be careful, you're going to hurt my feelings."

I shook my head, trying to shake away the big grin on my face, "I'm sure whatever you make will be great. Gabe always tells me what he eats when he's with you."

"And?" He raised an eyebrow as I pursed my lips and let my eyebrow mock his.

"And I trust you," I added and he let out a small chuckle.

He shook his head, "Thank you, but I meant what's he tell you?"

"That you make this spinach pesto grilled cheese sandwich for him and it's his favorite," I smiled, remembering that it was what we ate most of the time when I was pregnant. Some people craved weird things like pickles, but I craved that sandwich.

He let out a small laugh, "He grew up with that even before being born, of course it's his fave...not because of how I make it." He shook his head but still looked secretly pleased with himself. Gabriel's eating habits were pretty awful. He wanted all of the sweets we wouldn't give him and pouted when he had a plate full of veggies.

"Oh come on, give yourself some credit," I nudged him with my shoulder, smirking up at him, "If you were so bad at making it I wouldn't have been so obsessed."

He smiled back at me, making me think of how different we were then and how much more mature we were now. I missed him all the time, I couldn't deny it. I missed the way we were... but we weren't those people anymore. Sure I thought how things might be if we were still together and able to give Gabe a real family, but I had to admit that we were still doing a damn good job and he was a happy kid nonetheless. "Do you still eat it?" He asked, curiosity showing in his tone.

"Well I'm not pregnant anymore," I answered with a joke. Honestly, I hadn't had that in forever... or pesto anything for that matter. Just thinking about it made me crave it all over again though.

"I can tell," He smirked as he poked my stomach which was pretty flat, "Is it a no? Because if it is, you're missing out."

I slapped his finger away, grinning at him, "I haven't had one in five years."

He shrugged as he leaned his shoulder against the wall, keeping his eyes on me, "I'd tell you I'd make it for you on Thursday but I doubt that it'd count as dinner."

"At least I'd be sure it's edible," I grinned even wider, still joking with him and glad we could still get along so well after everything we'd been through. He was my first love and my last, I'd always care about him.

"If you're afraid of my cooking skills I can come here and you'll be making dinner instead," He retorted as he let his grin match mine.

"No," I shook my head, trying to conceal my grin and failing miserably. "I think I need a night off instead... I'd love for you to make us dinner."

"Need a night off from veggies?" He quirked an eyebrow, his grin so wide but still so charming. I bit my lip and tried shaking off the urge to roll my eyes, failing at that too. "Gabe said you only feed him veggies and try to make it fun by calling it a veggie party."

"And I guess it's not working," I let out a small laugh, feeling like my little boy was tattling on me... But if all he had to complain about was being fed veggies? Then I was definitely doing a good job. Plus that wasn't all I fed him.

He smirked back at me and crossed his arms over his chest, "One day he'll thank you... maybe."

"He will," I grinned. "He has good genes. Think about how he'll look in 10 years and all the little girls that will be after him," I shake my head. God I hoped he wouldn't end up like my father or my brother. Both were heart breakers and as much as I loved them, I wanted my son to know how to treat a woman when the time came. I knew that Ben wasn't exactly abstinent, but what he did in his free time was his business. I could only hope that he didn't have a new girl around our son each week... but I was pretty sure he knew better than that.

"When he takes after me you mean?"

I studied the smug grin on his face and felt my own smirk growing as I shrugged, "Eh. You're not so bad."

"Not so bad?" He echoed me, his eyebrow raising as he shot me an amused look, "You wouldn't have made a kid with me if I wasn't more than good."

I cocked my head to the side, my dark hair falling over my chest as I watched his eyes glance down briefly. "It't not like I was planning that," I said slowly, my lips curved between a smirk and a smile. We might not have planned making a baby back then... but when you're young and in love? It's easy to be incautious, thinking that kind of thing could happen to everyone else but not to you. Instead, nine months later, we had our baby boy. People always ask me if I could go back, would I do things differently? I don't regret giving birth. Sometimes I feel like my son is all I have and I wouldn't give that feeling up for anything.

"Still, he wouldn't be so handsome if I wasn't his dad...you said that yourself."

"I hope he won't get as cocky as you," I shook my head but kept smirking, knowing that when we were together, I did plenty to boost his ego.

"Touchè," He lifted his hands in mock surrender. "But if he does, it's on you. He always tells me all the pretty things you say to him."

I let out a chuckle, feeling like someone who had just been caught, "I'm sure you feed his ego just as much."

"It's hard not to, isn't it?" He confessed as he looked at me, knowing that I understood completely. We spoiled our baby like crazy, and not just us but our family too.

"It is," I agreed as I gave him a warm smile before bringing my hand to my mouth to hide a yawn.

He grinned at the move, not able to take his eyes away from me, "Tired maman?"

My smile turned into a wide grin as I stared back at him, "Aren't you? Gabriel and Gucci in one day? Congratulations on the Gucci shoot by the way."

"Thank you," He smiled at me, making me wonder if he knew how proud of him I really was. I knew that modeling wasn't his first choice, it was because of me and Gabe that he fell into the family business. "And yeah, I'm a little tired. I just hide it better," He added with a smirk.

"I wear my emotions," I leaned against the wall and crossed my arms over my chest, wishing I were in pajamas since my bed sounded so incredibly tempting right now. "It's why I'd make a lousy model," I said with another yawn.

"For what it's worth, Gabe thinks you're beautiful. He tells everyone, everywhere we go," He grinned and I felt my heart warm a little.

"If he becomes a casting agent, I'll be in luck," I joked back, knowing that it was an easy profession to fall into with my connections and my background. The idea of modeling though, it never appealed to me. I, like my siblings, didn't want to be just like my mother. It was one thing to be compared to her constantly, but having my own career, it made me my own person.

He let out a small laugh, "I have an in with a casting agent if that's what you're worried about."

"Your boyfriend, you mean?" I smirked, biting my lip to try to conceal it.

"Tristan you mean," He said back and grinned at me, amused by my choice of words even though in all honesty, I heard more about Ben's bromance with Tristan than the girls in his life... not that I minded that. Honestly? I think I preferred it that way.

"Yes, your boyfriend," I repeated, making him laugh again. It felt good seeing him laugh. "Are you seeing him tonight for some cuddles?"

He shook his head and ran a hand through his hair, "Unfortunately, no. But he's taking me shopping this week."

"Lucky man," I grinned wider, looking at him.

He furrowed his eyebrows, faking a confused look, "Who? Me or him?"

"Both," I answered before bringing my hand to my mouth and yawning. The idea of the two of them together were enough to leave me a little hot and bothered... I mean, I couldn't even remember the last time I had had sex.

"You keep yawning Cami, am I that boring?" He asked but smiled to let me know that he was joking. Not that he really needed to do that, I still knew him better than anyone else.

I wrinkled my nose a little and nodded before smiling back at him, "Terribly boring. I might fall asleep right here, against the wall."

"That'd be uncomfortable and I'd feel guilty. Do you need me to tuck you in to bed instead?" He asked in a playful tone and for a second there, I was tempted to take him up on the offer. But did he plan on helping me undress and put on pajamas too? No.

"Hmm..." I trailed off before grinning. "Watch a movie with me instead?"

He smiled and ran a palm up the back of his neck then messed up his hair a little, that simple move that used to drive me crazy. Then again, pretty much everything about him used to make me lose my mind. Young love could be so intense, but I wouldn't have changed our past for anything. "I thought you were tired... Is this your way of trying to get me to stay the night?"

"You caught me," I shot him a smirk, resisting the urge to yawn again and just taking a deep breath instead.

"I have a shoot in the -" He cut his words off as I faked a pout, battling my lashes at him until he was smiling again. "Fine. But I'm choosing the movie."

"As always," I rolled my eyes, already starting for the living room. I flopped onto the couch, watching him go through my DVD selection and closing my eyes to rest them for a second. Or a few minutes. I'd be lying if I said I didn't start dozing off.

"You can't fall asleep on me," He poked my side and I straightened my body out a little, stretching my legs out on the coffee table in front of us.

"I'm not," I widened my eyes and then smiled at him, playing innocent. "What did you pick? Oh! Ben.. not this one," I wrinkled my nose as Fight Club started. It was like a blast from the past, a movie we'd seen together more times than I could possibly count.

"You told me to choose."

I sighed and set my head on his shoulder, "No, you made yourself at home instead and chose before I had a chance to."

"You were too busy taking a nap," He said quietly as the sound coming from the TV got louder.

"Oops," I grinned, closing my eyes again.

"I warn you, if you fall asleep right now you'll regret it tomorrow."

My eyes shot open and I furrowed my eyebrows as I looked up at him, "Why? What are you up to?"

"Nothing," He said as his smirk turned into a smile, "But my shoulder's not really comfortable. You'd wake up sore."

I clutched my lips together, taking a few seconds to come out with a response because my mind went back to all the times he'd made me sore in more ways than one. Four years apart and I still could remember everything about what we used to be; what he liked, the way he felt, everything. "Maybe you should stop working out, your body is too hard," I said eventually, trying to not blush over how wrong that had come out.

"Yeah right, then I'd have no job anymore," He smirked as he lifted an arm to wrap it around my shoulder in a way too familiar way.

I adjusted against his side without a word, folding my legs to a side until I was comfortable. "You face would still look fine, just no more half naked photoshoots," I said with amusement in my voice.

He tilted his head down, raising one eyebrow. "Those are the ones which pay me better."

"You have a son now, you can't make those kinds of editorials anymore," I shook my head as I kept a straight face even though I was being silly. I had no say in what he did for a living... that was his decision now, his life.

"Do you think that my body changed after our pregnancy?" He asked and tried to be serious just as I was pretending to be but he couldn't, smirking wide from ear to ear.

"Eh," I sighed as I tore my eyes away from his to look back at the tv, leaving it at that before I busted up laughing. I wished life were like that sometimes. It never seemed fair that women not only gave birth, but then we had to lose our fit bodies too. The diet my mom had me on a week after Gabe's birth was awful, the workouts even worse. You'd think I was a model for a living with all these expectations she set for me.

"Do you want me to pick another movie?" He asked, changing the subject.

"No," I said and shook my head a little, watching the movie. "This ones fine."

"Am I supposed to tuck you in after you fall asleep?" He asked and I tilted my head back to look up at him through my lashes, feeling my lips curve into a smile.

"I won't fall asleep, but if I do, just wake me up," I answered, averting my eyes back to the TV.

He let out a quiet chuckle, "I haven't forgotten how grumpy you get when someone wakes you up..."

"I've gotten better," I said honestly. I had to, what with call times for work and being a mom. Gabriel woke up way too early on weekends, school started at 7 am for him, plus I had to get up early enough to make breakfast and get him ready. I always knew having a child would be hard, but I didn't really think everything through beforehand. Still, he was worth it all and more. "How are you not exhausted? I didn't even have Gabe today!"

"He took a long nap," Ben replied and I laughed, my body shifting against his as my hand fell onto his leg. I quickly moved it before the moment could become awkward. As close as we still were and this friendship between us genuinely worked? There were still a few awkward moments occasionally.

"Did you nap too?" I asked out of curiosity.

"With Gabe? No," He shook his head.

"Never?"

"No, but I think you do instead."

I looked back up at Ben and grinned, "He loves cuddling."

"Or you do," He grinned back at me, ignoring the movie completely now.

I just shrugged, reaching for a whisp of my hair and playing with it, "I think he got it from me maybe. Don't you ever cuddle him?"

He watched me closely, his expression impossible to read and it made me wonder what he was thinking. "Of course I do, he's too cute to resist," He admitted eventually and smirked, "When he's tired he doesn't take no as answer."

"What did you guys do today?" I asked, genuinely interested since we paid attention to keep the other updated so that there could be a continuity between what Gabe did with one and the other.

"We went to the park for a walk, had lunch with Chloe and then we went back home," He explained quietly, a smile on his face as he thought back on his day with our son. The love he had for Gabe showed every single time he spoke about him or when he looked at him.

My smile mirrored his, "No wonder why he napped, he had to be exhausted."

"He fell asleep while watching Cars," He added as he shook his head, grinning at the mere mention of Gabe's favorite movie. I lost count of how many times he had forced me to see that movie sometime after 100. He knew it by heart and that still wasn't enough.

"I've seen that movie so many times, even I can recite it word for word," I said with a sigh, my words sad but true. "Speaking of which -"

"Disneyland?" He cut me off, somehow knowing what I was going to say. I quirked an eyebrow and he grinned, "Gabe's excited. He asked if I was going."

I stretched my legs back out, straightening out my body and moving away from his. It was easy to fall back into old habits, but if Gabe were to chose that exact moment to walk out of his room and find his parents almost cuddling while watching a movie? He'd probably be confused. Or worse, full of hope that we'd get back together. "Are you coming?" I asked, turning my body to face his on the couch but still keeping a space between us as I pulled my legs back up.

"Of course," He smiled and I smiled back at him, glad this worked so effortlessly between us. We made a great team and it showed by how amazing our son was. "Someone has to take Gabe on the rides since you'll be too scared to."

I shook my head and rolled my eyes, "Not you too."

"What did I do?" He faked an innocent face that only made me smile even more.

"Now I see where he gets it from."