FINN
Finn stood nervously on Elena's porch. He didn’t think he would be here again. But now he was, and she would leave soon to go on a date with another man. Before he could talk himself out of it, he knocked on the door. After a few moments, the door swung open. Elena stood framed in the doorway, still wearing her work clothes but with her hair down around her shoulders.
"Finn! Right on time." She stepped back, gesturing him to come inside. "Thanks again for doing this. You're really saving me."
He nodded, following her into the living room. "It's no problem," he said, dropping his bag beside the couch. "I brought some work to do after Miguel goes to bed."
Elena smiled. "Always prepared. Okay, let me walk you through everything." She guided him through the house, pointing out the critical items as she moved. "Emergency numbers are on the fridge. Miguel needs to finish his sciencehomework, but he'll claim he's already done it. That is not true. Bedtime is technically ten, but it's Friday, so eleven is fine if he's not being a monster."
Finn mentally cataloged everything as he followed her.
"Snacks in this cabinet," she continued, opening a pantry door. "Miguel knows what he's allowed to have. There's thirty dollars on the counter for pizza. Miguel likes cheese. But when he’s trying to act cool in front of his friends, he asks for supreme."
“Noted.”
Elena paused in her flurry of instructions, studying his face. "Are you sure you're okay with this? You seem... tense."
"I'm fine. Just making sure I don't miss anything important."
"Miguel's not a complicated algorithm, Finn. He's just a kid who needs to be fed and supervised for a few hours." She glanced at her watch. "I should finish getting ready. Miguel's in his room. Could you let him know you're here?"
Finn made his way down the hall until he found Miguel’s room. He knocked on his door. There was some shuffling on the other side, and then silence.
“Enter,” was the only word that came through the door.
Finn opened the door to find Miguel waiting for him in his desk chair. “Hello Miguel,” he said awkwardly.
Miguel analyzed Finn for a moment. “Why are you here?”
This was going to be a very long night.
Miguel was twelve years old, so not exactly a baby that couldn’t care for itself. If Finn told Miguel that he was here to babysit him, it wouldn’t go terribly well. Before Finn could respond, the sound of a door opening drew both their attention. Elena emerged from her bathroom, and Finn had to make a physical effort to avoid staring.
She wore a simple burgundy dress, and Finn tried not to notice how different she looked outside of her normal workclothes. She looked... hot.Fuck. He couldn't help but admit it. Hot for someone else.
"What do you think?" she asked, a note of uncertainty in her voice as she smoothed her hands down the front of her dress. "Too much? Not enough?"
Finn realized he'd been staring silently. "You look..." He should have learned how to answer this question from the previous train wreck. Instead, he was struggling to find the right word again. "Great." He decided on.
A faint blush colored her cheeks. "Thank you," she said, then turned to Miguel. "Mijo, I won't be too late. Eleven at the latest. Be good for Finn, okay?"
Miguel shrugged. "Whatever. It's fine."
Elena gave Finn an apologetic look. "He's being difficult because he's twelve, not because of you." She gathered her purse and a light jacket. "Call if anything comes up. And thank you again. Seriously, this means a lot to me."
Finn nodded, not trusting himself to speak as she checked her appearance one last time in the hallway mirror. She looked happy, excited even, and the knowledge that this anticipation was for David was painful to digest.
"Okay, I'm off," she said, giving Miguel a quick hug that he pretended to resist but didn't actually pull away from. "There's ice cream in the freezer if you finish your homework," she added, pressing a kiss to the top of his head.
"Mom," Miguel protested, but Finn caught the flicker of a smile.
And then she was gone, the door closing behind her with a soft click. Just as Finn was about to exhale, the room took on a new type of tension. Miguel turned to Finn, crossing his arms over his chest. "I willnotbe doing homework tonight."
The declaration was clearly a test. Miguel watched him,waiting to see what kind of authority figure Finn would choose to be.
Finn considered his options. He could insist on the homework, establishing himself as an extension of Elena's rules. He could negotiate, offering homework first and then fun. Or...
"On a Friday night?" Finn raised an eyebrow. "Fuck homework."
