Let's Play!

Ansel laughed, nodding in enthusiastic agreement.

"Yes, yes you are my dear girl. My precious little lovely Rosie. "

He kissed her forehead and hugged her close a bit before chuckling.

"Think we should go home and show mommy? "

The child pressed her hands to her cheeks with a gasp.

"What if mama is sad?"

She looked over at the attendant, her little brain scrambling for a second before coming up with an idea of just what to do.

"Can I have some fairy sparkles for my mama and Brooke and Ashteeg?"

She leaned to the side.

"We can put it in Daddy's pocket."

Ansel coughed and grinned when he winked at the lady to confirm that he would readily add that to the bill as the wand filled with glitter was placed in his shirt pocket.

"As you wish, your highness. "

The attendant easily agreed as Ansel kissed Rosie's forehead.

"You're so thoughtful and caring. Don't ever lose that, princess."

"Daddy will keep it safe," she assured the woman, assuming they were still talking about the wand.

However, that reminded her...

"Oh no! My peggles are gone! "

Ansel chuckled and shifted, pulling them from his back pocket.

"Here they are, sweetie. "

He soothed without missing a beat, rising with a chuckle at how precious his girl was. He would easily head out the door after signing the invoice brought over to him. Out they could head.

"Did you have a good time? "

Rosie was now using the wand on her veggies.

"Yeah! I'm fancy! And peggles are princesses too!"

Ansel chuckled at her, walking into the house, excited to show his princess off to Willow.

"Look at our little girl. "

He shared with such pride, handing Rosie to Willow as he sat at the bar with her, nodding to Liam and Taylor as he watched the glitter go absolutely everywhere. He could not be bothered to notice, let alone care.

Willow had maintained a solid bit of contentment this whole time. After watching TV a little, she was now playing a game with Aisling where they snuck a goldfish from the bowl whenever the lady wasn't looking.

Rosie cheered.

"Here! Fairy loves!"

She showered them all with glitter.

"It looks like you two had quite the adventure. "

Ansel chuckled as he grinned.

"She got the full princess transformation process. "

He agreed with a bright grin for Willow, leaning to share a kiss with her.

/ Thank you. I wanted her to be happy today, you saved me there. /

/ nonsense. She would have been happy with anything you did. /



Rosie was giving a play by play to the room.

/I wanted it special for her, though. I think this did it, and that's all you. Cause I .... well I was drawing blanks and kind of finding myself feeling stressed about it. /

He glanced to Aisling as she sloppily grabbed a fistful of crackers.

/.... Huh./

She was giggling like she'd just accomplished such a ninja like act, he couldn't be cross over it.

/ she loves you. /

Willow pressed a finger to her lips.

"You have to be quiet or we'll get caught. "

/ Caught, huh? What little delinquent game has our tricky little girl convinced you to play? /

He asked with a bemused smirk as he watched Rosie cover Liam in glitter with the rest.

"It's a no-sad magic wand, " the child explained.



/we are sneaking snacks. /

Ansel made a honest effort to not laugh, coughing and smiling at the glitter now being dump all over a very fairy like Taylor.

/ Dude.... you pull that off too easily. /

Shared with the man he was still trying to figure out if he was sexual attracted to and willing to follow through with.....

/fae. We're supposed to sweat this stuff. /

/ I'm very, very glad you don't. /

He admitted with a side glance.

/ It would be awkward to explain in certain circumstances. /

Taylor raised a brow.

/ maybe I do. How would you know? /

Ansel smirked.

/ I've seen you work up a nice sheen, thank you. You were stunning, but not sparkling. /

He flashed his teeth.

/glamor exists. For all you know, I'm wearing one right now./

/Oh don't pull that. You've no reason to try one one me, I'm a muddled mess as it is. Don't add illusionary twists to the mix. Let a man question his sexuality without corruption. /

Ansel glanced to how Rosie had charmed the entire kitchen into her story, smiling at how she kept sprinkling extra glitter on her sisters and mom. He was glad he got his special time with her. Even if it did now have him speculating on what drove his attraction to this half of Taylor.

/ You need to be a chick again. It's significantly less bothersome to my mind /

Surprisingly, he was joking and not actually fussing as he looked back to Taylor.

Taylor laughed.

/ don't worry. You'll have your time. I feel it coming soon. /

/ Yeah, yeah... promises, promises.. /

He was more giving them a hard time than anything as he glanced to Willow.

"I love you. I think I'm gonna go to our room and have a crash crisis about my known identity. Would you care to join me and maybe help me figure it out? "

Willow glanced up at him, remembering that she left her show paused. She scamper off ahead of him to try and hide her sins. However, she quickly discovered she'd lost the remote.

"I guess you'll have to have a crisis with a tropical backdrop. "

It looked like a jungle of some variety. There was a disembodied hand in the upper corner, providing zero context.

Ansel chuckled, reaching to pull her tight into his chest to kiss her.

"I think it's alright. I don't think it'll change the breakdown results. .... willow.... I don't like not knowing myself."

Worse, he didn't know what to do with what he was learning about himself.

"Why? " she asked him simply

"Cause it's .... unsettling? I've always known me. But even worse I'm generally aware of things as baseline......"

He glanced over his wife..

"I'm in love and easily attracted to you in every way. I adore looking and loving on Nora, I'm attracted to beautiful women. ..... but now I'm all mixed up about a part time man."

He felt ancient. This was hard.... but then again.

"I know this is easy for you, but every time I see him as him. I'm all mixed up again. I will be thankful when he is she so I'm less conflicted. "

Willow pulled the blankets over so he could sit down. She offered him a sly smile.

"The key to not knowing something is to not fight it. You can't think your way out of that kind of thing."

"Yet......I would rather. "

He offered with a light hearted chuckle and such.

"It feels like if I just work at it enough I'll figure it out, too. Twice as frustrating, really. "

Willow's smile stayed put.

"Of course it feels like that. You've never had to not know about something except by choice."

".... I guess I could try knowing.... but I dunno if I want to. "

Or if it would help, which was the biggest reason he hadn't tried.

Hesitantly, Willow nudged him with her toes.

"I'm sure you could try, but that's kind of the opposite of my point. "

"Or, I could forget all my problems, stick with what I know, and delightfully enjoy my wife since I've been so lucky as to steal her away? "

He offered, looking at her with a boyishly delighted smile, leaning to steal a kiss.

Willow smiled back, easing now that they had backed off the unsteady ground.

"I think that's missing the point by going to the other end of it. "

But she didn't seem to mind.

Ansel grinned.

"Well, avoidance is a way to cope?"

He was certain that his buddy therapist would protest that it wasn't healthy, but...?

"I can't argue with that."

So she didn't try to. The second he moved her, though, the TV sound flared to life.

'I think you found it."

Ansel laughed, shifting about until he finally found where it had fallen, shifting to turn the sound back to tolerable range. He kissed willow easily, pulling her to straddle him with no shame.

" i find you much more enjoyable than facing an internal crisis. "

Willow chuckled.

"Are you sure? "she joked, rocking a bit.

"I could see you being tempted otherwise."

"How on earth could you propose such a crazy thought? When something so lovely sits here in my arms? Absolutely not. I'd much rather unwrap this gift that was delivered to me from the heavens. "

He purred, easily tugging her free of her shirt. Girls he knew he liked. No question. He could lean into this.

Willow froze a few minutes later when Rosie opened the door and wandered in.

"Here, daddy. I'm done. You gotta keep it safe. "

She put the wand on the bed beside them before seeming to actually notice the two.

"What are you doing? "

When willow opened her mouth, the only answer that came out was a little choked sound. How was she supposed to answer that?