Chapter Text
Chapter 3 start/
Y/N's POV >>FF 1 week from initial video call
Once I glanced down at my phone for the fifteenth time in the past five minutes, it was apparent (to me and everyone else in the room noticing me) that I was very nervous about receiving a response from Stevie. My friend, Y/F/N, nudged me with an amused smile. "Impatient, much?" She asked, making me huff and smile back. "Yeah, I suppose. It's just all so nerve-wracking, y'know?" I said, brushing my finger against the power button subconsciously. When I looked back down, she waved her hand in front of my face and was offering a sympathetic expression when I glanced back at her. "Yo, Y/N- for real, let's join the others in playing a round of Cards Against Humanity so you can get your mind off of it." She told me. I furrowed my brows and glanced back to my phone, thinking the idea didn't sound half bad. It was all stressing me out so much, wondering what Rhett, Stevie, and Link were all thinking or doing.
We had a meeting on Skype about a week ago- when I sort of met Link. I couldn't help but recall how strange he seemed the entire call, fidgeting and (very) obviously faking laughing and smiling. His entire demeanor had been off-putting, which made me question what his thoughts were on all of this. After that initial meeting, he had excuses to miss the next two meetings. A small frown formed as I considered that he might just not like me, or think I'm intruding on their already moderately perfect family. My friend broke me out of that train of thought quickly enough. "Y/N, just set your ringer on loud and keep it over here. If you get a text, or a call, you'll hear it-" Y/F/N decided, grabbing my phone and plopping it on the seat next to me. "Okay?" I nodded, not bothering to protest when she dragged me over to our friends. I have to say, it was fairly easy to forget about the nerves in my stomach from everything going on while surrounded by good company, and playing a fun game. We were completely lost in our own hilarious world, playing for a good two or three hours. Even during all of this though, every once and a while my mind would wander to my phone, then my eyes would. None of my friends mentioned it thankfully, patiently waiting for me to get out of my funk as they laughed and talked in the circle. Eventually we stopped playing and began talking casually, excited chatter picking up when a parent walked in the room with two pizza boxes. The night continued normally, the eight of us in divided conversations that varied in topics- staying up until two in the morning before yawns began dispersing throughout the room. That was finally when we decided to go to sleep, finding our preferred spots and huddling in close- some of us cuddling and some not.
I chose to stay on the couch alone, finally picking up my phone and feeling a sadness in my chest when there were no notifications. I tried to push the feeling off, playing some games- but it was consistent until finally my phone began to ring, buzzing loudly in my hands. My eyes widened and I flew off the couch, heading outside to answer. "Hello?" I said, hearing some adjusting on the other side before Link's tired voice responded. "Hey, Y/N." He mumbled, and my chest tightened at the idea of what this conversation would be. "Link? What's uh.. what's up?" I struggled to find the right words, loosely biting on my finger from the confusion and anxiety. "I need to apologize to you, Y/N. I know I've been missing meetings, I can imagine it's nerve-wracking for you since I've been kind of a mess lately and especially when we first met, but..." he trailed off, a heavy sigh following his words. "I've just been anxious, I don't know why, but sitting on that call from before felt like I had rocks in my stomach, so I wanted to avoid it. But after talking with Rhett I realized it's affecting you negatively and I don't want that.. so.. I'm sorry for my behavior. I hope I can be better from here on out." Link finished, my eyes having widened impossibly further throughout the admission and apology. "I forgive you." I said, smiling sadly. "I don't blame you, I'm disheartened that I make you anxious but.. that can't really be helped so we can just try to look past it. I know you may not be able to as easily since you're primarily the one having to bear it, and I wish you didn't have to- but I'm okay if you ever need to take a deep breath or go to another room to refocus after speaking with me." I told him, hoping that could help him adjust. There was silence for a little bit, and I used the time to focus on the stars above me. The night air was warm for fall, a slight breeze occasionally rustling leaves and soothing my heated skin. "Thank you. I'll try to be at- no. I will be at the next meeting. Honestly I... I wanna be excited about being your second dad like I am to Locke and Shepard but the title just doesn't feel right..." he admitted, and I let out a little chuckle. "That's okay, it's a process. Maybe we can just start out by being friends, no dad or family member name in the title, so you can feel a little less like there's an expectation." I added, hoping he didn't also hate the idea of being my friend. Another moment that he was quiet passed by before I heard rustling again. "Yeah, friends."
Link, pleasantly enough, was at the next meeting two days after he had called me. He looked slightly uncomfortable, but Rhett was also being patient and understanding with him, it seemed. Halfway through it, after we had gotten me plane tickets, I perked up and talked directly to the nervous man. "Hey Link, how have you been?" I asked, and even though I caught the momentary panic in his eyes disappeared quickly and he smiled back, hesitant. "I've been good, nervous as always." He chuckled, not quite authentic but I knew he was trying so I smiled. "It's okay to be nervous, I am too, change is spooky." I admitted, and the four of us had a small laugh. Rhett turned to Link. "I'm glad you came to this meeting, Link- we all are." He said, probably providing some ease for his lifelong brother. It was sweet to watch the interaction, but swiftly after that we were back to figuring out plans and now had arrangements for me to head there at the end of the month. I would stay for three weeks, which would provide plenty of cushion for the 7-10 day wait for results. We also discussed the chances that the test came back stating he wasn't my dad, and I told them I understood the consequences of that situation (including cutting the trip short to two weeks), and would take responsibility since I was the one who contacted them about it. At the end of the call, we all were happy with what we had covered. I'm not ashamed to say I most definitely did a happy dance once the call was over, giggling excitedly in my room like a child.
Just as I had plopped back into bed to relax for the rest of the day, my mom opened the door and peeked inside. "Y/N? Did you just get off another call?" She asked, expression weary. "Yeah, what's up?" I said, sitting up straighter as she came inside and sat down in front of me. "I'm glad you were able to get a hold of Rhett, Y/N. I know I haven't been the most supportive lately.." She began, but I cut her off before she went any further. "Mom, no, listen. I know this has been difficult for you, I understand completely. I just want you to be comfortable with all of this. I know at first you didn't want me to, but this has been so eye-opening and I want you to feel the same." I explained, smiling when she did. "Thank you, I love you, sweetie." She said, leaning forward to hug me. Little did she know, I had plenty of my own insecurities and fears, gathering in the form of tears streaking down my face once she left my room. Taking a deep breath, I wiped them from my face. "It's all gonna be okay, we're gonna get through this." I muttered to myself. I could do this.
Link's POV 1 week after initial video call
Looking back on what I had said to Rhett the day he announced he may have a daughter, I couldn't understand what had changed my mind by the next afternoon. I just know I woke up that morning in a strange mindset that I didn't like, giving me anxiety about the "daughter" situation. When I first seen her, my stomach burned and my jaw tensed. All of these were pointing towards me being uncomfortable and unfamiliar with her, so my thoughts redirected towards her being a liar, a manipulator. I felt as though at the hand of these new confusing emotions, I let Rhett down, and guilt had settled over being so reckless with my words. He is my best friend, after all.
With that, not even an hour after our argument, I asked around where the giant man had gone off to- no one really knew until I found Jen. She had apparently followed him after she closed the door for me. How considerate, I thought, as she lead me towards the room Rhett had escaped to so he could cool off. When I reached for the door handle, she nodded towards me while stepping backwards, giving me a thumbs up and a hopeful smile. I nodded back, opening the door to find Rhett typing on his computer in Stevie's office. "Hey bo..." I mumbled, closing the door gently behind me as he assessed me with mildly narrowed eyes. "Hey." He said, shutting his laptop with a resounding clap. I flinched. "Listen," I began, taking a seat hesitantly. "I'm sorry about what I said. It was disrespectful and unreasonable, I didn't mean to take out my frustration on you man." I explained, using hand gestures as I usually did. Rhett arched his brow and crossed his arms. "I know what I said was wrong. I'll try to be more involved from now on, I promise. But you gotta believe me, she makes me nervous. I guess I thought about it a lot over night, I think I had a nightmare, but I don't know." I admitted. Rhett was silent. "Anyway, please give me the opportunity to join you and Stevie from now on during the meetings. I still feel anxious though- so... please also remember that I'm trying. For both of you." I added, hopeful that he accepted my apology. I wanted to make things right, so I thought making amends was a good start, regardless of how difficult it may be at times. Suddenly, Rhett smiled big, getting out of Stevie's chair and approaching me. "Thank you, Link. I forgive you, and yes," Rhett chuckled, pulling me in for a short hug. "You're always welcome to join us for the video calls."
That night, I probably did the most stupid thing I could have done in a situation like this. I called her from my phone, around two in the morning. Christy was sleeping soundly, my kids were all in bed, and I was up with my thoughts, well- Y/N was all that was running through my head. I ran my hand through my hair, making my way down the hallway and sighing heavily through my nose. I gathered up all my courage while stepping onto the back porch that I could muster. The night air was cool, but it didn't reassure me as I stared hard down at the contact information Rhett had given me earlier; once I had apologized. I glanced at the few stars I could see in the sky, and as the phone rang I felt dread in my stomach. The moment she said hello was the moment that deep down, I knew I was a goner.
Y/N POV >>FF 3 weeks
The car ride was mildly long, Stevie opted to play whatever was on the radio so there wasn't awkward silence. I could tell she was thinking, which I presumed was why she wasn't talking much. As for me, I'm a naturally timid person- so being awkward is kind of my thing. I just watched in awe as we drove through California, somewhere I had never been but always wanted to be. As for the reason that I came here... "We're almost there." Stevie said, glancing at me with a reassuring smile. I took a quiet, shaky breath and fidgeted with my hands, determined to make this encounter go well. She pulled into the parking lot of Mythical Productions and gestured towards the building, turning to face me. "Just stick by me, don't let anyone mess with you for any reason," She leaned in closer, "Some of these people doubt you. Just try not to let that faze you during this time." nodding to me to get out of the car as she was doing. I followed her loosely, looking all around the environment and basking in the last moments of peace. Once we were inside, I noted all of the people bustling about. "Wow..." I mumbled, continuing to follow Stevie. She lead me down a few hallways until finally we reached what I presumed to be her office. I sat down in a chair that was placed in the corner of the room while she took a seat in the chair behind a desk. "Okay, there are a few things I want to go over with you before you actually meet Rhett, so without any further ado..."
From there on, Stevie asked me all kinds of questions; how long I had been watching Rhett and Link, what I liked about them, all about my past and how my dad that raised me felt about all of this. Some questions made me feel emotional, but I powered through and the longer we talked the more she seemed to get comfortable with my physical presence in the office. I knew all of this seemed like a big gamble to them, but I had never felt more drawn to any place. I truly believe that Rhett is my real dad, I'm sure I know how the tests will go but my anxieties and fears tell me that I could be wrong. I sure hoped not.
Either way, Stevie seemed satisfied after we had talked for a while back and forth. I was surprised we hadn't been interrupted, but also grateful. It didn't take long for Stevie to look at me deeply in the eyes before she nodded, chuckling a little. "What's up?" I laughed, not sure how to ask what was going through her head. "Well- it's just that the more I look at you in person the more I see subtle features that remind me of Rhett. After talking to you, I don't really feel like you're tricking us." She said, smiling as she shook her head slightly. "This is so wild, but I'm really glad we took you seriously." Stevie told me, reaching for her phone and gesturing to it momentarily. "I think you're ready to meet Rhett now, don't you?"