The Saltwater Room

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Date: Tuesday, February 27th, 2018
Cameras: OFF

“Alright, so go ahead and press the red one, the green one, and the light blue one, Klaus…”

Adrien Cochrane tries to point out specifically which keys he was attempting to get Klaus Sears-Theron to press on a toy keyboard. The seventeen-month-old looks back at Adrien and is about to press two out of three correct keys. Adrien moves his finger to the right one and lets him press all three.

Adrien: “There you go! That’s an E minor! Well, the right hand part of the chord at least. Baby steps, right?”

Klaus, who has no idea what is going on, simply laughs. Adrien can’t help but join the blond haired son of his girlfriend, Everalda Sears-Theron, who descends the stairs and enters the living room just as the two began laughing. She leans against the smooth wooden railing and smiles softly.

Everalda: “Aw, my two favorite boys are bonding. This is wonderful.”

Her son picks up on the sound of his mother’s voice, and he turns to her with a big smile.

Klaus: “Mama!”

Everalda: “Are you hungry yet, sweetie?”

Klaus: “Baba!”

Everalda: “I made you a healthy strawberry and greek yogurt smoothie. Do you want me to feed you?”

He shakes his little head and points to Adrien.

Klaus: “Adween.”

Adrien smirks as Klaus has chosen him for the purpose of feeding.

Adrien: “See, look! He picked me! But I tell you what, if you got a dairy-free smoothie for me, I’ll let you feed it to me while I feed him.”

Adrien sticks his tongue out at Everalda playfully, yet angled where Klaus cannot see it. Can’t leave a bad impression on the infant, Adrien thought.

Adrien: “It took me a minute to figure out if these notes were accurate on this little keyboard so I figured out how to see if I can teach him a chord.”

Adrien glances back at the toy keyboard on his living room floor as he lifts his girlfriend’s son. The limp from the Dropkick King was almost completely gone at this point. No more knee brace, something that was huge progress in his eyes. But his eyes also gleamed a bit as he looks up at his girlfriend and smiles.

Adrien: “You look beautiful this afternoon.”

Wearing a long-sleeved casual floral dress, Everalda glances down at herself and giggles.

Everalda: “Thank you, dear.”

She takes a twirl and allows the dress to spin with her. The colorful patterns make Klaus smile and clap for his mother. She takes a cute little bow before she steps back into the kitchen to retrieve the smoothie for her son.

Everalda: “I can make you a non-dairy smoothie, dear. What kind of fruits do you want?”

She comes back around with the strawberry and greek yogurt in a bottle just for her son and makes her way over to the both of them. She presents the bottle to her boyfriend and nods. Adrien accepts the bottle and begins feeding it to Klaus while sitting on the sofa in the living room.

Adrien: “Make note of this as this is my favorite smoothie. Apple, kiwi, banana, pineapple, and a hint of kale that I thankfully won’t taste with all the fruit in there.”

Adrien chuckles a little bit as he tells her the list of ingredients for his favorite smoothie as Klaus happily begins drinking his smoothie.

Adrien: “Let me know if you need me to write that down for you.”

He winks at his girlfriend as he says that in a playful tone to her. She watches her boyfriend help her son drink his smoothie and she tilts her head.

Everalda: “Kale? Personally, I would go with spinach, but I love spinach. It’s my favorite dark green and it packs more protein than steak.”

She winks playfully, knowing they both love steak, and she makes her way back into the kitchen on her bare feet.

Everalda: “Apple, kiwi, banana, pineapple, and a hint of kale. I can memorize that.”

Klaus continues to drink his smoothie, but he pauses and glances up at Adrien. His left hand reaches up towards his face, but he raises it higher and touches his hair. There seems to be a trend with the Sears and hair.

Adrien: “That’s right, little buddy. I got blonde hair just like you!”

Adrien uses his free hand to touch Klaus’s hair as well. He smiles at his girlfriend’s son again as the smoothie continues to be consumed by him.

Adrien: “Drink it up, little man. This stuff will help you be big and strong. Like me!”

He smiles again as he sees Everalda’s eyes peering at him from the kitchen as the blender begins to liquefy the ingredients of Adrien’s favorite smoothie. She can’t help but smile.

Everalda: “You’re so good with little ones. You would be a wonderful father.”

The thought brings a soft blush to her cheeks and Klaus stops again. He glances back to his mother before he faces Adrien again.

Klaus: “...da?”

Everalda: “Sweetie?”

Klaus is trying to figure out how to piece the word together. His verbal speech is a little more advanced for someone his age, but he’s still very young.

Klaus: “...baba.”

Adrien: “Baba is still bottle, yes?”

Adrien chuckles as he continues feeding Klaus his smoothie.

Adrien: “Hopefully one day I get to experience that joy. I did help raise so many nieces and nephews growing up, that’s for sure. So I’ve definitely had the practice.”

Adrien pulls back a few blonde hairs out of Klaus’s eyes before continuing to feed him. He glances back at Everalda.

Adrien: “Maybe one day I’ll have one of my own. Maybe even be one to this little guy in the future…”

Adrien smiles as he can hear the blender no longer crushing ice at this point. The blush simply brightens before Everalda catches on the sounds the blender makes. Quickly she retreats into the kitchen to stop the blender and serve it in a tall glass. She returns to the living room in fluid motion and extends the drink, even going so far as to adding a straw for him.

Everalda: “Your ambitions are wonderful.”

She watches as Klaus is nearly done with all of his bottle, looking up to them with bright eyes. She smiles at him and moves to kiss the top of his head.

Everalda: “Two months ago, Anza asked me… when it was time to find someone to be a father to Klaus. I told her that I was somewhat afraid… I’ve read the stories and the breaking news of abusive fathers who mistreat their children. I didn’t want that for my son. I know it would break Alexander’s heart, God rest his soul.”

Klaus seems to pick up on that name: Alexander. He stops drinking, pulls away slightly, and looks up to his mother. Adrien notices this and offers to exchange Klaus for his own smoothie. Everalda complies and gently takes her son in her arms, allowing Adrien to take the drink in return.

Adrien: “I don’t have it in my heart to do such monstrous things. I had a hard time even doing wrestling moves to Jazmyn Rain in the ring, and that was an official wrestling match. Which reminds me...sorry for scaring you a bit when she had me in that figure four leglock. Jessica told me how you reacted to seeing me in that move…”

Adrien begins to slowly sip on his smoothie, made with a perfect balance of all the fruits, kale, and ice, for the flavor he was hoping to get out of the drink. He tries to smile back at Everalda as he can tell he was bringing back a bad memory to his girlfriend.

Adrien: “There might be moments like that in the future, I hate to say it. People spend a lot of effort trying to break me. And I can promise you one thing, nothing will ever happen in that ring that I can’t get back up from. I’ll always be coming home to you after these matches, no matter how bad they get, for as long as your door is open for me.”

He places a gentle kiss on her forehead, his lips a bit chilly from the smoothie. She feels that gentle blush return to the surface of her cheeks. Klaus glances up at the both of them, curious and confused.

Everalda: “I will never close my door, Adrien. You’re in my heart now. I don’t ever want to let you go. You… Klaus… both of you mean so much to me. I need you. We need you.”

She glances down at her son and smiles softly.

Everalda: “Don’t we, sweetie?”

Being so young, he can’t comprehend what’s going on, but seeing his mother smile makes him smile. He looks up towards Adrien and parts his lips.

Klaus: “Dada!”

Adrien: “Maybe one day soon, little buddy.”

Adrien smiles before placing a quick kiss on Klaus’s forehead. He places an arm around Everalda as he takes another gulp of his smoothie.

Adrien: “This came out absolutely perfect, Everalda.”

He gently squeezes Everalda with a side hug as to not interfere with her ability to hold her son. He treasured having them in his home and into his life. It was something he was hoping would be long term, having them around him. He spent so much time hating being in this house alone after his break-up with Stacy Sterling. The empty house was a burden to Adrien, so much that even Jazmyn staying a night once made it more bearable. But Everalda and Klaus...they have given a whole new vibe to the atmosphere. They’ve brought life to it.

Adrien: “I need you too, Everalda. More than you can possibly imagine.”

With a sweet smile on her face, she gently raises her son close to her boyfriend, and Klaus kisses Adrien’s cheek with a bubbly giggle. Everalda lets out a giggle of her own before she leans in and kisses the other cheek. Gently, she cradles her son in her arms and he smiles up at both of them. Everalda looks into Adrien’s eyes, parts her lips, and sucks in a breath of air.

Everalda: “I love you.”

Adrien’s heart skips a beat. It takes a second for him to process that simple three word sentence. This was the first time she said those words to him. He felt confident as he says those words back to her. It was only a matter of time before this was going to happen, and he was ready.

Adrien: “I love you too.”

Adrien kisses his girlfriend’s forehead again as those words leave his lips for the first time since they met. Everalda’s own heart skips a beat as he reciprocates her feelings. Her eyes gaze into his, and for a moment, it feels like it’s just the three of them in the world.

Klaus: “Ah wub wu!”

Blinking, Everalda glances down to her son and smiles.

Everalda: “You’re quite verbal today. Maybe I should enroll you in early-youth education?”

He has no idea what that means. He just giggles and creates a saliva bubble soon after. His mother plants kisses all over his little youthful face and he giggles even louder.

Everalda: “Don’t grow up too fast, my little Star Lord.”

Adrien: “Did you just make a Guardians of the Galaxy reference?”

Adrien remembers being compared to Star Lord himself, a character from the Marvel comic books and played very masterfully by Chris Pratt in the MCU movies. But the reference coming from Everalda was a little surprising to him. Everalda smiles and nods.

Everalda: “The time my baby sister and I spend together is precious. She’s shown me a lot. It’s like I’m experiencing a real childhood, something I was deprived of growing up, something that I will not take away from my son. He deserves everything that my heart can give him. Besides… look at how charismatic he is at such a young age.”

Klaus looks up to them again and giggles, his eyes shimmering in the light. Adrien lifts up Klaus’s head by the chin and smiles at the infant.

Adrien: “Charisma isn’t something you can learn either. As someone who has been in the professional wrestling business as long as I have, I can safely tell you that it is something you either have or you don’t.”

Adrien looks into his girlfriend’s eyes once more, feeling as if a weight was lifted off his shoulders upon hearing her say that precious three word sentence to him moments ago. He presses his lips against hers for just a brief second before repeating them to her.

Adrien: “I love you.”

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