Chapter Text
The knock on her door at exactly 1 PM had Jill wondering if Carlos was just waiting outside her door.
She swung it open anyway, fixing her sweater as she smiled at the man. The brunette tried not to let her shock show, but when Carlos Oliveira cleaned up, he cleaned up nicely.
“Finished looking, chica?” he teased, and Jill rolled her eyes, punching his arm before retreating into her flat to get her bag. Grabbing her keys she joined him in the hallway, locking the door as Carlos began walking.
“So what’s on the agenda today, neighbour?” she asked, looking up at him when she caught up. Carlos beamed at her, adjusting his shirt collar.
“I was thinking we could go to this coffee shop Ty and I came across a few weeks ago,” he told her, pressing the indicator for the ground floor. “Ty took Nat and the girls this past weekend and said their food and drinks were to die for.”
Jill laughed, fixing her bag from where the strap was slung over her shoulder. “Sounds like a plan,” she said, relishing in the rewarding smile he gave her. “So who’s ride are we taking?”
Carlos stopped, holding his chin as he pretended to be deep in thought. The brunette huffed, hooking her arm with his and pulling him out the lobby. “If we take mine, the girls’ might be a little more confused before the realization hits,” Jill offered, pulling him towards her car, but froze when they were beside it.
“Ximena’s car seat,” she started, but Carlos shook his head, walking over to the passenger side.
“Carlos has Xi’s spare. We’ll just put it in yours for whenever you have her,” he said, ducking into the car after she unlocked it. Jill stared at him, following suit a few seconds later.
She cleared her throat. “Whenever I have her?” Jill mumbled, watching as Carlos pulled up the GPS on his phone.
“Yes, whenever you have her. Ximena loves you. Only makes sense that you two do girl things every now and then,” he said, but Jill sensed the weariness in his voice. In truth, she was weary as well. The concept of Ximena’s car seat being in her car meant that Carlos intended her to be there.
He was making plans for Xi’s future with her in mind.
Jill pondered, blinking once. Twice. Three times, before grinning at him. “I look forward to our girl time,” she replied, chest tightening at the sigh of relief Carlos released.
-o-
The Coffee Bean deserved the praise Tyrell had given it, Jill mused, humming at the perfect, warm, buttery croissant that practically melted on her tongue. Carlos snorted, and Jill sent him an unamused glare.
“One might think that coming to an independent coffee shop would make you want to purchase from their specialty menu,” he paused, looking at her plate. “But you, chica, got a croissant.”
“A really good one, mind you,” she quipped, taking another bite. “And besides, you got a bagel.”
Carlos sputtered, holding up a piece of his order. “Hell yeah, I did. Ty said you couldn’t go wrong with the Kill Me Kindly bagel,” he said, shaking the bagel before taking a bite.
Jill gave him a dry look. “An everything bagel will always be an everything bagel no matter what you call it.”
The man smiled, and Jill had to ignore the heat in her cheeks. “Whatever you say, neighbour.”
-o-
“An aquarium?” Carlos asked, holding open the door for her.
“Not just any aquarium,” Jill said, turning back to look at him. “I’ve been to Ripley’s with my students before, but that was to dissect squids," Jill said, nose wrinkling as she did. "I actually want to look around this time." She smiled at him, and Carlos tilted his head when she presented the tickets to the employee.
“When did you buy these?” he said, following Jill to a giant tank. His heart swelled when she smiled at the tropical fish, biting her lower lip before replying to his questions.
“I’ve actually had them for a while,” she admitted, gesturing for him to follow her. “I was supposed to go with my friend Claire awhile back, but she got sick. Figured they expired this Saturday, so why not use them with my neighbour?”
Carlos smiled at her, watching the various fish swim through algae and seaweed. “I’ve never been to an aquarium so this is cool,” he said, and Jill grinned.
His surprise only grew when she took his hand, dragging him down some steps. “My favourite part is the overhead tunnel. You’re essentially walking through a tube in the water as sharks, fish, crustaceans, and everything else swims over and around you.”
He watched her ramble in awe, explaining the different sea life around them as she gestured wildly. The grip on his hand didn’t falter, in fact, it only tightened when she saw something she really liked.
Turning his gaze to their hands, he laced their fingers together, looking at her from under dark hair when she froze. Jill might not have returned his gaze, but her smile gave her away.
-o-
Tyrell’s house was nothing short of beautiful, Jill thought, pulling into his driveway after a twenty minute drive. Dark brick made the white windows and accents stand out even more, complimenting the various coloured bushes that lined the man’s family home.
She had barely stepped out of the car when two girls flung the door open, and Jill’s eyes widened.
Carlos never said Faith and Hope were identical.
“Uncle Carlos!” They screeched, running out of the house to tackle the man that had come to her side. He picked them both up with ease, balancing a twin on each hip. It didn’t take long for their attention to find her, however.
“Is this her, uncle?” the one with blue ribbons asked. “She’s so much prettier than you said, uncle!” The one with yellow ribbons said.
They wriggled out of his hold, grabbing one of her hands each. “So you’re the girl uncle was crushing on,” the yellow ribbon one said. “His descriptions didn’t do you justice,” the blue ribbon one said. Jill sent Carlos a questioning glance he avoided, ultimately saved by Tyrell when he came to the door. Before the twins could bombard her with any more questions, Tyrell cleared his throat when his wife appeared by his side, a sleeping Ximena in her arms.
“It’s about damn time you brought her over,” Tyrell said, gesturing for them to come inside. “I’m Tyrell Patrick, but you already know that,” he said, shaking Jill's hand.
The woman smiled. “Nice to meet you, Tyrell. I’m Jill Valentine.”
Tyrell nodded in approval before turning to his daughters. “The one with the blue is Faith and the yellow is Hope.” He shook his head. “We have to colour code them.”
His wife laughed, giving her free hand for Jill to take. “I’m Natalie, but you can call me Nat. It’s going to be really nice having a lady to talk to,” she joked, and Jill chuckled. “I can only take so much of Carlos and Ty’s snarky remarks before they make me want to pull my hair out.”
The Patrick patriarch led the small group to the kitchen, presenting Jill and Carlos with some drinks. Only then did the small Oliveira start to fuss, and Nat passed her off to her father.
Ximena woke slowly, eyes glittering when she saw Carlos in front of her. The giggle that left her only added on to the glee the group was feeling, laughter filling the air as the one year old began to bounce in her father’s lap. The toddler smiled, playing with her father's ears and beard.
She did reach for Jill, much to the brunette’s amusement, playing with her short hair as she normally did whenever Jill held her.
Jill looked up at Tyrell when he sighed, glancing at his wife. “Carlos, can you help me get the chicken on the barbeque? I wanna make use of this semi-nice weather before it gets too cold.” Natalie said, leading Carlos to the tray of chicken on the counter. Her neighbour sent him a sheepish grin before Nat pushed him outside the backyard door.
Ximena cooed much to Jill’s delight, and the teacher placed her on the table to sit.
“I assume you got him out there so you could talk to me, right?” Jill asked, raising an eyebrow in the man’s direction. Tyrell laughed, taking a sip of his own lemonade as he nodded.
“That’s right. You're the girl my best friend is interested in,” he said leaning on the table. “I just want you to know that Carlos Oliveira--” he jutted a thumb outside, and Jill followed it to where he pointed. Carlos turned to look at her, sending her a cheeky wave through the window. “--is a sensitive bastard.”
He was interrupted by Faith and Hope who came into the kitchen in matching jackets. Faith wore green and Hope wore orange… or it could be the other way around. Jill wasn’t too sure. “Can we go outside, daddy?” the one in orange asked. “We can take Xi too!”
At her name, Ximena whined, resting her head on Jill's shoulder while she fiddled with a loose string on her sweater.
Tyrell chuckled. “It’s alright you two. Go bother your uncle.”
When they left, Jill's brows furrowed together as she thought about what he had said. Tyrell continued, pushing up his glasses. “Carlos doesn't do the dating scene, he’s too busy with Xi. Most people he's remotely interested in kind of... push him away once they realize he has baggage,” Tyrell said, using air quotes on the last word. He pursed his lips. “But I think you’re going to be good for him. You seem like a no-nonsense type of woman who's already in love with my favorite niece," he joked.
They shared a laugh and Jill shook her head as she ruffled Ximena's hair. “I’ll take care of him. Xi, too,” Jill said, smiling brightly before her eyes widened at her words.
Tyrell chuckled at her expression, taking another sip of his drink. “Sometimes, when we finally see what’s right in front of us, it can give us quite the shock,” he said, glancing to the side at the sound of his daughters’ squealing. “That’s why we need to expect the unexpected.” At Jill’s dry look he quickly added, “it was my senior quote.”
She didn’t get a chance to give him a smart remark, for Carlos had reentered the kitchen flanked by his two nieces. He rubbed his neck when he met her gaze, only to smile at the sight of Ximena playing with Jill’s clothes. Clearing his throat, he opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by Faith and Hope.
“Can he stay, Jill?” one asked. “We’re making dinner and it would suck if you left,” the other added. “Mom makes a killer coleslaw!” the first exclaimed. “Please?” they finished, flashing her the cheesiest puppy dog eyes.
Jill snorted, looking at Carlos expectantly. He flushed pink. “Only if you want to, ch-- Jill.”
She held her chin, looking at Ximena before watching the twins. Her gaze met his tiredly. “Oh, I don’t know, Carlos. I have school tomorrow.”
Natalie laughed, peeking through the door. “So do I, hun, but a little fun wouldn’t hurt.”
The brunette huffed, giving Carlos a hard glare before sighing. “Fine. We can stay for dinner.”
The twins cheered, and Nat smiled in approval before finding her place behind the grill. Tyrell grinned, standing. “I look forward to seeing you in the future, Valentine,” he said smartly, sauntering into the backyard behind his wife and daughters.
“Yeah right, Patrick,” she yelled after him, apologizing to Ximena when she frowned at her.
Carlos smiled, walking over to press a quick kiss to her head that had the brunette reddening and his daughter laughing.
“Thanks, chica,” he said, propping himself up on the table with one arm. Jill shook her head, allowing the smile on her face to grow. He looked so dumb with his stupid hair, but she couldn’t be bothered, reaching up to push his pseudo-bangs out of his face.
“Any time, Carlos,” she replied, sending him a lopsided grin before Ximena demanded her attention again. They stared at the toddler before Jill understood.
“Take her outside?” she offered, moving to stand. Carlos took her from Jill, balancing her on his hip.
“Together?” he asked, voice quiet as he watched her.
Jill stared at him, icy blue meeting coffee brown. That word meant a lot of things. And just like Ximena’s car seat, it implied that he was thinking about them... thinking about their future. She frowned, biting the inside of her cheek. But with him... Jill bowed her head, looking at Carlos’ free hanging hand before smiling.
“Together,” she repeated, taking his hand in hers. Her heart probably skipped a beat or two at the smile he gave her, and Ximena laughed as she looked at the two of them.
...but with Carlos, Jill was willing to try.
FIN