|39| Mr frog

In one kiss,

You'll know all

I haven't said

~Pablo Neruda

____________

Dear buttercup,

This letter is when you miss me more than usual, the times when you see parents interact with their child, or a dad helping their kid in some way, first I want to say how I wish I could be there to help you and be by your side but I know you will be okay, and I'll always be here for you just not physically, I know it may hurt to see a father with there kid or a happy little family, but just know that just because you don't have that doesn't mean I am not there for you, I love you so so much and I'll always be here for you, in your heart and watching from above, as well as healing you throughout life in this journal, I hate to think you're crying because I'm not there, I hate to be the reason of your tears but I promise you it will be okay my buttercup, you will get through it because you are an Adler and we are strong and we can get through anything with a little faith and love, you my beautiful girl are going to achieve wonderful things in life and I will be watching and walking by your side through all of it, i will smile when i see your dreams come true, i will be right next to you when times get tough and will hope and pray that you continue to fight through your hard times, because there's light at the end of the tunnel my sweet girl, and if you hit a dead end you turn around and you take another path, but I promise you that it will be okay in the end, stay strong and remember your mother and I are so proud of you, and will always

~With all the love in the world, dad ♡

I close the journal and decide to finally try to get some sleep on this flight.

________________

I woke up the next morning cuddled close to Aaron on his bed,

We got home pretty late from our flight and immediately went to bed not bothering to unpack,

I quietly grab my phone and see yet another text message

Unknown number: finally back from your trip! Watch out sweetie because your so called man wont be yours soon

I frown and shut my phone off

I try getting up but Aaron's hold on me tightens and he pulls me back to bed

"I have to get up" I laugh quietly

"Baby go back to sleep" he mumbles in a deep raspy voice that gets my heart pumping extra fast

"We have a long day today...we have to look at apartments for me, then go to your mom's restaurant and I want to see henry" I whine

"Five minutes" he grunts when I shift in his hold

I sigh and cuddle close to him

After a few minutes, he's fast asleep so I take it as my chance to quietly slip out of his hold, I brush my teeth and then hair and go out to make us some breakfast

When I'm almost done with breakfast I feel warm hands wrap around my waist "you left me" he mumbles against my neck

I smile down at the pan "I'm sorry" I turn and kiss his cheek

_____________

"Okay I want an apartment that is both close to you and henry, but also within walking distance from work," I tell Aaron as we look at apartments online

He nods and pulls me on his lap and kisses my neck

"You can just move in with me" he suggests

I smile at him "we don't have to move so fast Aaron"

He hums "fine so when's the appropriate time for me to ask you to move in?"

I cup his face and press our noses lightly together "I don't know maybe in a few months" I say quietly

"Alright," he says pecking my nose which makes me smile

We sat for about an hour looking at places until we finally find a contender,

"How about this one? It's a couple minutes away from work, a ten minute walk from henry and a little over ten minute walk from me...and driving time would be even closer" he says

I smile and look at the place, its a two bedroom, two bathroom and has a beautiful kitchen, it's open concept so it looks nice and a spacious

"It's perfect" I grin

"Let's go look at it and then after we can go stop by my mom's restaurant," he says wrapping his arms around my waist

"Okay that sounds perfect" I smile

_____________

"I love it! There's even a park nearby, and the apartment has amazing natural lighting and a ton of windows showing the beautiful skyscrapers of New York" I clap my hands together jumping

"Ok then you better go sign it before anyone else takes it" he chuckles

I go up to the realtor and we talk and I sign a bunch of paperwork

After figuring out a ton of boring crap I finally sign the final paper that stated it was my apartment

"When can I move in?" I ask

"tomorrow" she nods

I grin "thank you"

After all of that, we drive to Love bites to see Lillian

"How are you guys? How was the trip?" Lillian asks bringing me into a hug then Aaron

"It was amazing, how are you?" I smile

"I'm doing wonderful, come with me I'll give you guys some food" she gestures for us to follow her

We get into the kitchen and she hands us a bag of food from the fridge "thank you" I smile when she hands it to me

"No problem, so how was the apartment hunting?" She asks sitting down

I beam "it was amazing I found the perfect place, it was the fifth place I looked at"

I show her some pictures of the apartment "that's very nice, I love how many windows there are, it's perfect if you wanna have a lot of plants since there's a lot of natural sunlight" she nods while smiling

We talk for a while about the apartment and Aaron and my trip,

Aaron looks at the time And says we have somewhere to be before it gets late

I knit my brows in confusion "where?"

He smirks "you'll see"

I sigh "can you please just tell me, Aaron"

He shakes his head "Nah I think I'll keep it a surprise"

"But I don't like surprises Aaron" I whine

He pecks my lips "too bad" he mumbles

Lillian laughs "I get you sweetheart I don't like surprises either, stay safe you two and text me when you get home so I know you made it safely" she hugs us both

"Alright, thank you for the food Lillian" I hug her back

"No problem, love you my sweet boy" Lillian hugs her son and kisses his cheek

"Mom" he whines like a little boy

I smile at their interaction, it makes me miss my mom a lot but I also remember that my parents are still with me...just not physically

Aaron grabs my hand and we head out to the car

"Are we going to visit henry?" I guess with a little smile

"Yes but not right now, that's not what we're going to do right now," he says pecking my lips

"Why can't you just tell me this one time" I frown

He looks down at me as I'm caged between him and the car and smirks

He lowers his mouth to my ear, and I feel the slight tickle of his lips barely touching the shell of my ear "What's the point of a surprise sunshine if you know it mhm?" He says ever so slightly kissing behind my ear

I sigh at his touch and close my eyes "I don't like surprises...I don't like not knowing what's going to happen or where we're going" I whisper

"Sunshine...it's a good surprise I promise" he caresses my chin

"Something tells me your hate for surprises is something entirely different from what I think it is" he sighs

"Why don't you like surprises, Vanessa?" He gently asks

"Let's just say it was a surprise for me when I found out my dad gave my mom his heart and I didn't say goodbye, or when my dad's heart stopped working for my mom and I lost her as well"' I whisper

"Sweetheart" Aaron whispers cupping my face

"It's fine...I just prefer knowing what's coming so I can prepare, you know?" I whisper as i shrug

"We're going to the pet store," he says tilting his head

My eyes light up as I look at his face, I try keeping the smile off my face when I slowly ask "what for?"

He kisses my lips, slowly and soft "what do you think?" He chuckles

I wrap my arms around his neck and hug him tightly

"You don't have to go through your fears alone Vanessa...I'm right here, I'm here to steal them away from you, to be someone you can turn to and hide behind when you're scared" he whispers in my ear

I nod a little against his neck "I love you" I whispered

"I love you," he says hugging me tightly

"Are we getting a frog?" I suddenly say grinning

He looks at me with a small smile and runs his finger along my smile

"I don't think I'll ever get tired of your smile..." he softly says

"Absolutely beautiful" he whispers

I frown which causes him to frown "you didn't answer my question"

He rolls his eyes "yes"

I full on beam up and him which causes him to smile "much better" he says kissing my cheek

"What is?" I tilt my head

"I always want to see you happy...truly happy to the point you don't know what pain is anymore," he says caressing my cheek

"You're cute" I whisper

He scoffs "am not"

I grin and kiss the little scowl on his lips "are too... you're the cutest man I've ever encountered" I tease

"You're not getting a frog anymore" he scoffs

I gasp "fine you're hot, sexy, and not cute at all"

He raises a brow and hums, he grips my chin and kisses my nose "yeah not cute...now get that through your pretty little head"

He's very much cute...

But I really want a frog so I'll keep my mouth shut about it until after I have my frog

"Sorry my strong very much not cute man" I smile

____________

"Aww aren't you just the cutest little thing ever" I squeal looking at the frog as we get in the car

Aaron rolls his eyes fighting a smile as he closes my door and gets in the driver's side,

I ended up picking a cute little white tree frog, it's green with a hint of a sliver-type color to it, and its a baby, and it's so adorable

"You know when we were on the trip and you said we can get a frog when we get back...I thought you were kidding not going to lie" I say grinning down at the frog

He puts his hand on my thigh "I won't lie Vanessa" he says sternly

"Yeah I know" I whisper gently placing my hand on top of his

"What are you naming the frog?" He asks

"Mr. frog" I nod

He laughs "very creative"

"I know right" I grin

After we get to his place he sets up the aquarium, the heat light, moss, water, and food

I decorate the tank with plants and cute little climbing decor and then we place the frog inside its new little home

"Isn't he cute" I grin, just as Aaron hugs me from behind and rests his chin on my shoulder

"So very cute" he teases

I smirk "you know who else is cute?"

He grips my chin "don't you dare...you will regret what's about to come out of your mouth"

I bite my bottom lip to keep my smile at bay and whisper in his ear "you"

He throws me over his shoulder which causes me to squeal, my laughs echo throughout the apartment.

____________

"We should invite henry for dinner since we have all this food from your mom, oh and henry can see Mr frog!" I say jumping on top of Aaron on the bed

"Stop jumping on me or were never getting out of bed" he grunts

"Oops sorry" I smile

"Yes we should, go call him," he says kissing the side of my head

"Okay" I laugh and get out of bed on shaky legs to go call henry

I hear Aarons chuckle behind me

"Shut up you did this to me" I frown

He smirks "yes I did" he nods

I roll my eyes and walk over to my phone that's still in the living room before he can see my smile

( phone call with henry)

"Hey Vanessa," henry says, I can hear the smile on his face as he speaks

"Hi henry, are you busy by any chance?" I ask

A moment passes until he answers

"I just finished a layout for someone's kitchen but other then that I'm not" he says

"Okay! Do you want to come over to Aarons's place for dinner?" I ask

"Of course, you can tell me about everything you did on your trip! Even though you did send me over a hundred pictures during it" He laughs

I grin even though he can't see me "well be warned I will not stop talking about a lot of cool stuff we saw"

"I look forward to it" he answers

We talk for a little more, and I tell him the time to come over and then we say our goodbyes

(End of phone call)

"Alright he's coming over in an hour," I say as I tackle Aarons back

He grunts and falls a little on the bed from me coming out of nowhere

"That's great sunshine" he chuckles and kisses the side of my face

"What are you doing?" I ask kissing his cheek

"Answering emails" he lets out a breathy laugh

I hum as I look at his computer "you are aware I answer those right?" I frown

"Yeah well I don't want to wait til tomorrow, I need to answer all of them now" he grunts typing away on the computer

"It's the weekend...you can wait one day Aaron" I shake my head

"Its a day too damn long" he grumbles

"Your such a workaholic" I mutter under my breath

"Just Go to your damn frog Vanessa and leave me be for a damn moment," he says with an annoyed bite to his words

"You're being an asshole just so you know," I say in his ear before getting off the bed and walking over to the living room to look at Mr frog

He's so moody when it comes to work, why can't he just take a moment to relax for two minutes?

Even when we were on the vacation I know that he answered emails and did work here and there when he could,

Like at night when he thought I was asleep, on the plane, in the bathroom, and my favorite one was when he answered an email while I was too busy being absolutely in love with a castle we saw in Scotland,

Who answers emails when you have a castle on front of you?

He's such a big dummy.

I get that he has a billion-dollar company and it needs a CEO

But what's the point of a vacation if you don't relax?

I finally allowed myself to let loose and not worry about work for about eight days, and I hoped that he would do the same,

But he clearly never fully let himself relax away from work

"Hello my little cutie...your dad is being a big asshole to mom right now so I'm going to hang out with you" I whisper to the frog

I watch as he explores his big aquarium we got him filled with all sorts of fun stuff he can climb on and explore,

I feel a presence behind me and arms wrapping around my waist bringing me flush against a hard chest just a few minutes later,

"I'm sorry," Aaron says in my ear

I sigh and lean my head on his chest and tilt my head up to look at him

"You're an asshole and I'm mad at you," I tell him with a frown

He nods and hugs me tightly

"I'm your assistant...which means it's my job to go through emails and then leave you with the important ones so you don't waste time, it's quite literally part of my job Aaron" I sigh

"You're right...especially about me being a workaholic" he sighs

"Forgive me?" He whispers

"Are you going to stop being a workaholic?" I frown

He doesn't say anything for a moment "probably not but I will try my hardest to not work on the weekends" he eyes me pleadingly

I turn around and wrap my arms around his neck, I play with the hair at the bottom of his neck and lean into his touch

"I forgive you...but if we go on vacation ever again, you better not answer emails and do work any chance you get like while you think I'm asleep, or in the bathroom, or while I'm too busy looking at a castle" I knit my brows

His mouth parts slightly and then goes in a straight line

"You are too damn smart for your own good...how the hell did you know that" he shakes his head

I give him a cheeky smile "because I pay attention, and didn't you tell me that the vacation was for us to get away from work for a while?" I raise a brow

He nods "I did say that, and I'm sorry I didn't listen to myself about it"

"Okay great now that the kissing and making up part is done we need to go put out the food because henry should be here soon," I say while trying to wiggle out of Aaron's hold

"There was definitely no kissing happening...I can tell you that right now" he says gripping my jaw with an eyebrow raised

I smile a little and give him what I thought was going to be a short and sweet kiss...but Aaron had other plans when he threaded his fingers through my hair pulling me close,

By the end of it, I'm gasping for air "I was going for a sweet short kiss with that" I say breathlessly

He pecks my lips, and I see a little smirk appear on his face

______________

"Henry I missed you" I grin giving him a big hug

"I've missed you too, it feels like forever since we saw each other" he laughs hugging me tightly

"Oh come and see my frog!" I grin taking Henry's hand and leading him into the living room

"A frog?" He says confused and looks over and Aaron who is setting plates up in the kitchen

"Hi henry" Aaron nods to henry

"Hi Aaron" Henry gives a warm smile and nods back

"You have an actual frog?" Henry laughs looking at the ten-gallon aquarium

"Yep his name is Mr frog come look at how cute he is" I smile

He looks at the frog "cute little thing" he nods

We spend the rest of the evening talking to henry while we eat, and I tell him all about the cool places to went to on our vacation, and then I told him all about the pregnant teen we helped

"Well that was sweet of you" henry smiles

"Vanessa wants to make a whole organization to help out all the homeless that she can, to give them a chance to have a better life" Aaron smiles down at me

"Well you both have already helped two...so that's a great start" henry smiles

It's crazy to think just months ago henry was sitting on the cold streets of New York hoping for enough change for some food and now he has a great job that he loves, a roof over his head, and can restart life he thought was going down the drain,

And then that poor girl in the Netherlands who got kicked out, I can't even imagine how she felt like...finding out she was pregnant at sixteen and then her boyfriend dumping her, then her parents kicking her out knowing she wouldn't legally be able to buy a place or anything like that,

I really hope to be able to help as many homeless that I can, no one should be sleeping out in the cold

"That was all Aaron" I shake my head

Aaron frowns deeply "no it wasn't"

I nod "yes it is... you are the one who is paying for that girl's apartment and groceries until she can get a job and pay for everything herself, and you also were the one to pay for everything for henry...I had no part in that" I shrug

Aaron rolls those beautiful eyes of his "if it wasn't for you I wouldn't have even paid attention to henry...no offense" he says looking at henry

He shakes his head laughing "non taken"

"And it was your idea to give the apples and buy things for the homeless in the Netherlands," Aaron says sternly to me

I sigh slumping in my chair "yeah well if you weren't there, that pregnant girl would have still been out in the streets because I'm not a billionaire who can just pay for everyone's rent..."

He smiles softly "knowing you, you would have let her stay at your place if you found her in New York...and if not...you would have figured it out because that's just the kind of person you are"

"He's right...before Aaron found out about me you would buy me blankets and things that helped me a lot, and you were thinking about letting me stay at your place" henry smiles

"But that's different..." I huff

"Sure sunshine sure" Aaron smirks planting a kiss on my forehead

"You're the type of person to give your last dollar to someone in need...so I have no doubt that you would have helped that girl and henry a lot if I wasn't there, so stop giving yourself such little credit, and you're going to do amazing with your organization idea," Aaron says sternly which melts my heart

"I love you...both of you" I sigh

Henry and Aaron both give me smiles that fill my chest with warmth

I have two incredible people that mean so much to me in front of me.

I remember I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow and swallow the nerves down and smile throughout dinner and laugh along,

It will be fine I remind myself,

The sickening feeling and how tired I'm feeling is absolutely nothing and it will be fine.

---notes---

HOLY SHIT!! I went to New York yesterday and my bookish dreams of going to New York were completed, I wanted to cry the whole time!!!!!

Sorry if this chapter seemed fast paced

Vote and comment!

Word count: 3920