Who: Vex (Paul), Raven (Karen), Terezi (Teresa), and Kurt. What: Family dinner. Where: Their house. When: Monday night. Warnings: None
When Karen’s husband left her and her son, Kurt, for a younger woman, she thought that she’d never find love again. Meeting Paul had changed all of that and she was so grateful to have him in her life. The fact that Kurt and his daughter seemed to be cohabitating nicely was a wonderful bonus. She knew that her son could be difficult, blamed that on his father, and had been afraid that he would not take kindly to her new relationship.
She was putting the finishing touches on dinner as she waited for Paul to return home from work. Today she’d tried a new recipe from one of her ladies’ magazines and she hoped that he would like it.
“Kurt! Teresa” she called. “Please set the table. Your father will be home soon.”
***
“He’s not my dad,” Kurt grumbled as he entered the kitchen. He had a fair point, he believed. Paul wasn’t his dad. True, his biological father was an asshole, but it wasn’t like Paul was much better. Of course, Kurt probably would have thought any male figure in his life was an asshole. ...and they probably would be, too. His mother had bad taste, it seemed.
“Why can’t Teresa set the table? I did it yesterday. It’s not fair.” Kurt was pissy. He was technically an adult but he was still a typical teenager. If a typical teenager was sulky, mopey, ornery.
...so, yes.
“I thought we were having spaghetti.”
*** Teresa did get along with Kurt well enough, though she still didn't like how he treated her father. He wasn't that bad, though she found that Karen could be annoying at times. She wasn't too worried about their family dynamics right now, she was too engrossed in the magazine she was reading while lying on the couch in the living room.
She just barely heard her name being said, but just flipped the page. "I'm busy!" she shouted, not taking her eye off the magazine.
***
Smile plastered firmly on her face, Karen refused to let either of the teenage attitudes bring her down. She was happy and looking forward to her new husband’s return home.
“We’ll have spaghetti tomorrow,” she said, in response to her son. “If you set the table now.” She could see that Teresa wasn’t really busy, but she didn’t push back, still trying to find her footing with her stepdaughter.
***
“She’s just reading a magazine,” he grumbled. “I didn’t even know she could read.” Okay, perhaps that was pushing it a little too far, but he didn’t care. He hated that his mother didn’t seem to push Teresa to do the things Kurt was required to do. Just because she was his mother’s stepdaughter. It wasn’t fair. Teresa was just as capable of setting the dinner table as Kurt was.
But, for once, Kurt decided that it would be easier to just set the table instead of arguing about it. So he started to set the table, grumbling slightly under his breath as he did so.
And just as Kurt finished setting the table, Paul walked in. He stepped into the kitchen, and placed a kiss on his wife’s cheek. “Something smells good,” he said, softly, smiling at her.
***
Teresa didn't get why Karen was trying to get on her good side. She didn't like her step-mother, never would, so it was pointless. Still, Teresa always took advantage of it and today, it meant not having to set the table while her step-brother had to and she could chill with her magazine.
"I heard that," she called, then went straight back to her magazine. Kurt might've just said she was too dumb to read but he was the one stuck setting the table.
When her dad came in, she greeted him. "Hey," she gave him a smile, though that faded when he went straight to Karen instead. Teresa couldn't help but roll her eyes at the display of affection.
***
Karen was beaming when her husband returned home and greeted her with a compliment and a kiss. No matter how difficult things might be between Kurt and Teresa, she knew that Paul was worth it. After Kurt’s father had hurt her so badly, she didn’t think she would ever trust again and she was grateful for Paul showing her that wasn’t true.
“I tried something new,” she said, ignoring the children’s bickering for the moment. They would eventually come to accept their new family dynamic.
***
Paul was certain that the children would eventually learn to accept that this was how it was now. If they didn't? Then they'd just have to deal with it. Paul wasn't about to allow two teenagers control his life.
"Well, it smells delicious," he said, kissing Karen's cheek once more.
He looked toward Teresa and arched an eyebrow. "Is your homework finished?" he asked, which caused Kurt to snicker.
***
Teresa honestly had no idea if she'd ever accept this new way of living. All she knew was that it was a bit too sudden for her and if she were to ever get used to things, it would take a long time. She still doubted she would though.
She rolled her eyes at the adults' display of affection. It wasn't the first time she witnessed it and wouldn't be the last, but she still gagged inwardly whenever she saw it.
"I did some of it. I just have to do math," she replied to her dad, lying smoothly. Truthfully, she didn't start any of it nor did she want to. She had better things to do than boring homework.
***
“Well, it’s just about time to eat,” Karen said. “So everyone go wash up and be at the table in five minutes.”
Both kids would grumble, as they always did, but family dinner was important to her and she wasn’t going to let them out of it easily. Since neither of them wanted to get a part time job, they would follow the rules.
“That includes you too, Mister,” she said, affectionately nudging Paul’s arm. “Get out of that suit and into something comfortable so you can enjoy dinner with your family.”
***
“She did her homework if her homework involves reading about who’s dating which too-skinny model or actress now,” Kurt piped up. Sure, Kurt didn’t like Paul. But he also didn’t like Teresa. So sometimes he had to pick who he liked least. And at the moment? It was Teresa. He flashed her a smile as he headed toward the bathroom to wash his hands and get ready for dinner. He wasn’t in the mood to fight his mother about dinner at the moment.
Paul eyed both Kurt and Teresa for a moment. “Do you need any help with math, sweetie?” he asked his daughter. He laughed softly at Karen’s words, and nodded slightly. He leaned in and murmured against her ear, “I’d rather you get me out of this suit, though.” And then he headed toward the bedroom to change out of his clothes.
***
Teresa didn't move at first when Karen announced dinner was ready. Oh, she heard her just fine. She was just being a typical, moody teenager and was slow to get up to go get washed up. Or she was on her way to the washroom if it wasn't for Kurt and her father. "I wish my homework involved punching you in the face," she sneered at Kurt as he walked by. Sometimes she really hated him enough to do just that.
Once he was gone, she turned to her father only to see him whisper something into Karen's ear. No doubt it was something flirty and she really didn't want to know what he said or else she'd lose her appetite. She quickly shook her head. "No, thanks, Dad. It's just a couple pages of algebra problems. I should be okay," she told her before heading to wash up quickly.
***
As always, Karen ignored the sniping between the kids. This was their new family and eventually they would come to accept each other as such. Plus, they’d both be off to college soon enough and then she and Paul would have some peace and quiet.
Her cheeks flushed at his whispered comment and she playfully pushed him away, though she was looking forward to later, when they were alone in their bedroom and didn’t have anyone else to worry about.
While everyone was washing up, she transferred all the food onto serving plates and carried it to the table so the meal would be ready when they all returned. It was a beautiful table and she was quite proud of it.