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rhoorl · 4 months

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Delta Landscaping Chapter 12: In a Rink Far, Far Away

Series Summary: In this AU, the boys of Delta Force start a new business post-Colombia.

Series Masterlist | Chapter 12 A03 Link

Word Count: 6.2k

Previously on As the Mule Falls: We learned a bit more about the back stories between Will and Katie. We also found out more about Benny and got some insight into his relationship with Cousin Joel. The Pikes will close on their house soon. Frankie was out in Dallas being the best uncle ever. Connor and Santiago help Benny study up on Omar as he continues to prepare for his fight. Speaking of Santiago, he sent a not-so-subtle message to Melissa…or was he playing games?

On this Episode: Benny and Will have a heart-to-heart. Frankie returns home after an eventful trip back. And we get the long-awaited (for me) birthday party for Olivia's twins. Cue montage A bunch of kids trying to chase Benny around the rink (he's skating backward), a curious Lucille, Megan and Katie whispering, David and his gold Stanley cup, Frankie checking his phone, and lots of Star Wars decorations.

Chapter Warnings: There are a few scenes that involve kids (we are at a children’s party after all). I pulled out a tissue while writing the Benny and Will scene at the beginning because I thought it was sweet. There are some Spanish phrases thrown in throughout, but hopefully, there’s enough context so you can understand the gist even if you don’t speak Spanish. If you have questions please let me know!

*Cue the theme music and roll opening credits*

Wednesday

Will walked back up the driveway and saw Santiago's car still in the driveway. He groaned at the prospect of having to face both Pope and Benny, knowing that his early arrival home was going to trigger questions and ribbing.

When he opened the door, the house was dark and quiet. It took him a second to see a faint glow coming from the couch. Benny watching something on his phone.

“Ben, seriously, in the living room?” Will rolled his eyes with a huff.

“Ha ha, very funny jackass. I'm watching a fight see?” He turned his phone around to show Will. “You’re home a lot earlier than I expected. What did we end up getting?” He motioned with his chin toward to the two presents in Will’s hands.

“A magic set and some Fortnite thing, I have no idea what it is.” He shrugged.

Benny inspected the packages once Will set them on the coffee table. “I take it this isn’t your handiwork then huh?” gesturing to the perfectly wrapped presents.

“Nah, that’s all Kat…uh Katie. She did that.”

Benny pulled his smile to one side, eyeing his brother as he plopped down on the end of the couch.

“Where’s Pope and Connor?”

Benny sat up, “Pope crashed here, he’s in the guest room, and Connor left a while ago.”

“How was watching film? Pick anything up?” Will asked, his gaze fixed on the television.

“Uh, it was good. Guy’s a typical boxer making the jump to MMA. I know what I have to do.” Benny swiped his bangs away from his eyes. “Soooo…we not going to talk about it or? Did something happen?”

Will sighed and got up to walk to the kitchen and grab a beer. He heard Benny follow suit, trailing behind him. “Nothing happened, Ben. We…talked, hung out. It was…nice,” Will leaned against the kitchen counter, resting his head against one of the cabinets.

“Nice. You just talked? Wow, you really are friend zoned huh?” Benny quickly stifled a chuckle when he saw Will’s serious demeanor unchanged. He knew his brother had a way of compartmentalizing and shutting down. After all, it took one to know one. So, he had to tread a bit lightly and back off the teasing. “Sorry, man. Uh…nice. So, what did you guys talk about?”

“A few things, I ended up talking a lot about you actually.” Will raised his eyebrows with the smallest of smirks dancing across his lips.

“Me?” Benny brought his hand to his chest dramatically. “Well, that’s a pretty good topic of conversation I’d say,” he winked.

“You’re such a dick.” Will shook his head and couldn’t help but smile.

The brothers sat for a moment in comfortable silence, Will rolling the neck of the beer bottle between his fingers while Benny sat on a bar stool at the kitchen island.

“Was it bad?” Benny finally broke the silence, but Will could barely hear him.

“What?” Will leaned slightly forward.

“You said you talked about me…was it bad? Did I do something wrong?” Benny started fidgeting with his hands, his eyes fixed downward.

“What? No Bean. It’s never anything bad,” Will pushed off the counter and walked a couple of steps to face Benny on the opposite side of the kitchen island. “You’re a good man, Benny. You know that right?”

“Hmpf,” Benny's eyes quickly flitted up to Will and then back down to his hands.

“I don’t think I tell you enough, or at all even, but I’m proud of you Bean.”

Will saw the crease between Benny’s eyebrows deepen as he chewed the inside of his cheek. Taking a deep breath, Benny looked up, “Thanks, man. I’m proud of you too.”

“Can I ask you a question?” Will studied Benny’s face and when he saw his brother nod he continued, “Do you resent me? For enlisting?”

Benny quickly looked up, tilting his head. “Resent you? Why would you say that?”

“I don’t know man, I left you home alone with dad…if I could have stayed around, I don’t know…” Will rubbed the back of his neck.

“I wasn’t alone,” Benny’s eyes met Will’s and he gave a small smile. “I had mom, and Joel, and Tommy. I missed you obviously…and I’m not going to lie and say it was a fucking cakewalk, but…I don’t resent you. But you are the reason I enlisted.” Will scoffed, but Benny continued. “You were! I…I wanted to be like you. I uh…I’ve always looked up to you man.”

“You have?”

“Are you serious?” Benny let out a harsh breath. He took a moment to compose himself, but his eyes started to water. “You’ve always been the example…in everything. I’ve always wanted to be like you.”

“Damn, Ben,” Will choked back tears. He was normally stoic and could keep his emotions at bay, but there was something about seeing his little brother cry that always punched him in the gut.

“I mean it. You got good grades, had lots of friends, always knew what to say, and … although I hate to admit this, girls liked you more,” he laughed and then sniffled. “So I wanted to follow you. Hell, if anything I always thought that you maybe…I don’t know…resent is too strong of a word, but I didn’t want you to think your kid brother was always taggin’ along tryna copy you or something.”

“You can always tag along Bean.” Will came around the counter and clapped his brother on the back as Benny pulled him into an embrace.

Thursday

On her morning walk with Bucky, Megan spotted Katie coming back from a run.

“Hey stranger!” she waved.

“Hey! Hey Buck,” Katie jogged over, giving Bucky some head scratches, which promptly turned into belly rubs as he flipped on his back.

“Soo…how was your night?” Megan waggled her eyebrows. “You never texted me back.”

Katie sighed, wiping her brow with her forearm, “Unfortunately, it was uneventful in that department. We went to Target, wrapped some presents, ate dinner, and talked. And he helped me plan out some home projects, mostly around the kitchen.”

“So you didn’t wrap his presen-” Megan could barely get it out before they both started cracking up. Once they composed themselves, Megan raised an eyebrow suspiciously. “So how do you feel about how the night went?”

“Honestly? Good. He’s a really sweet guy Meg and I…I don’t know, I feel like we have stuff in common…like we could help each other,” she looked down at her feet and then back up at Megan who started to smirk. “Don’t say it. We’re not going to ‘help each other’ like that,” Katie rolled her eyes.

“I didn’t say anything.” She held up her palms.

Katie narrowed her eyes, giving her friend a skeptical look.

“I’m just saying you friend-zoned a super hot guy when you could have had a chance to…you know,” she winked and poked Katie in her side.

“I’ve sucked his dick, Megan, it’s not like haven’t done anything.”

The two busted out in giggles as Bucky whined for Katie to give him more belly rubs.

Friday

“Hey Frank, I’m gonna run out while Vale is in the shower, gotta pick up some donuts. We have to cheer up Antonio before you leave,” Alyssa pouted as she grabbed her crossbody and keys. “The kids are really going to miss you…so are we.”

Frankie sighed, “I know. I’m gonna miss you all too. We have to get y’all out to Florida soon.”

“I’d like that. We all would,” she walked over and patted her brother-in-law on the arm with a tight smile. “Ok, I’ll be back soon. Neither of them should wake up for a while so you can relax for a bit. Got everything packed?”

“Ha, thanks Lys. Yeah, I’m all set.” He turned and opened the cabinet to pull out a mug and start brewing some coffee.

He was about to sit down on the couch and play a game on his phone when he heard what sounded like crying. It wasn’t like Leia’s crying, it was a bit more muffled, but he heard it nonetheless. He got up and walked down the hallway, hearing the crying grow louder as he stood outside of Antonio’s door. Softly opening it, Frankie saw his nephew sitting on his bed with his back to the door, huddled over and crying into a pillow.

“Pollito…” Frankie whispered as he slipped into the room.

The little boy turned, curls wild and eyes red. “Hi…Tio…Frankie…” he managed to say as he tried to catch his breath.

“Que te pasa?” Frankie rushed over and sat on the little boy’s bed, which was decked out in Star Wars sheets to compliment his Star Wars pajamas. He put a hand on the back of Antonio's head and brought him in for a hug. “Shhh calmate. What’s wrong?”

Antonio buried his head in his uncle’s chest and after a few minutes, he pulled back and used both hands to wipe the tears from his eyes. “I don’t want you to go. You just got here. Can’t you stay?”

Frankie felt like a dagger was driven directly through his heart as he closed his eyes and took a breath pulling Antonio back to his chest. “Hey, it’s ok. I can come back out to visit. Maybe you all can come see me and the rest of your Tios. I can take you up in a helicopter,” Frankie hoped the offer would help quell some of the tears.

“R-really? That…would…be…fun,” Antonio managed to get out between sniffles.

Frankie tried to take the boy’s mind off of his impending departure by telling him all about his favorite helicopter and the route he liked to use on his sightseeing tours. He offered up going to a Tampa Bay Rays game or throwing the baseball around with the guys which elicited the first smile of the morning from Antonio. After a few minutes, the tears were dried and Antonio’s breathing was back to normal as he started asking a bunch of questions and talking a mile a minute.

They were pulled from their little conversation by another set of cries, Leia’s. She had woken up and was not happy about it.

“Your hermana’s up, let’s go get her,” Frankie smiled as Antonio hopped off his bed and bounded down the door.

“Ok Tio Frankie, but you’re the one changing her diaper. I’m not doing that,” Antonio scrunched up his face.

“Babe! I’m home!” Danny decided to surprise Melissa by jumping on an earlier flight back. He knew that with the impending weather, he ran the chance of getting delayed or stuck somewhere. “Babe?” He started searching around. He saw her purse on the counter and her keys were on the hook by the garage door, so he knew she was home.

Scanning around the house, he saw a shirt strewn over the couch and wet footprints leading to the patio. That’s when he spotted her on a float in the middle of their pool, headphones in and eyes closed.

She must have sensed someone watching her because she cracked her eyes open slightly and jumped a bit at the sight of him. “Babe! I didn’t expect you home so early!” She paddled towards the side of the pool with her hands on either side of the float.

“I know, I just…missed you. I wanted to get home as soon as I could,” a wicked grin came across his face as his eyes grazed over her body; she was wearing one of his favorite bikinis.

She arched her eyebrow, intrigued by the playful side of him, something that had been missing. He’d been pulling long shifts over the last couple of weeks which left him with hardly any energy at the end of the day to engage in much frisky activity, even if it was just over the phone. But, he looked pent up and Melissa was not mad about it.

“Well, how about we take care of that, Captain,” her eyes trailed down to his pants which were starting to tent.

“Jesus Christ, Pope,” Benny muttered to himself, putting his pillow over his head to try and drown out the sound of Santiago’s alarm. “This guy could fucking sleep through anything.”

After about another minute with no silence in sight, Benny threw the pillow to the side, along with his sheets, and stomped over to the guest room. He didn’t even bother to knock, knowing it wouldn’t make a difference. When he walked in, he saw Santiago sprawled out on the guest bed, face down and snoring … loudly.

“Hey, wake the fuck up man,” Benny grabbed Santiago’s ankle and shook it.

Santiago woke up with a start, recoiling his legs and looking around confused before he registered Benny at the foot of his bed.

“Fuck, Benny, what’re you doing here?” He reached over and silenced the alarm.

“What am I doing here? First of all, hi, I live here. Second of all, your fucking alarm has been going off for the past five minutes. You haven’t heard it?”

Santiago sat up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and shaking his head. “No, I… damn I was out wasn’t I?”

Benny just gave him a look, turned on his heel, and walked out of the room.

When Santiago picked up his phone again he saw a couple of different text messages and a calendar reminder that said “Fetch the Fish.”

Frankie lay on the floor as Leia crawled over him and Antonio ate his chocolate frosted donut, with sprinkles of course. He was trying to soak up this last bit of family time before he and Valeria had to head to the airport.

“We’ll really have to figure out a time to come out and see you, Paco, maybe before the summer ends or something? I have to check with Tim before I schedule some time off.” Valeria smiled over her coffee mug.

“Why? That guy hasn’t taken a vacation in the last like five years, I think you’re good to do whatever you want, babe!” Alyssa called from the kitchen where she was packing Antonio’s lunchbox.

Valeria sighed, “I know. We need to get that guy laid.” She snorted.

Valeria was about to open her mouth to say something when Frankie’s phone buzzed on the coffee table. He groaned getting up, his back hurting no doubt, and sighed when he read the message on his phone.

“What’s wrong?” Valeria asked.

“There’s weather, so my flight got changed. I gave to go through Atlanta now,” Frankie rolled his eyes.

The drive up to arrivals was always stressful. Bumper-to-bumper cars, frantically scanning the crowd for your person, while trying not to crash. Luckily for Santiago, Frankie stood out from the crowd thanks to his trusty baseball cap and curls. I’d spot that fucker from a mile away he would often say.

That’s why when he saw Frankie giving a mystery woman a hug he was very intrigued. As he pulled closer he saw her break the hug and look up at Frankie with a tight smile as she retreated to a lime-green Kia Soul. He also noticed how Frankie’s gaze remained fixed on the car as it drove away. It’s why Frankie didn’t even realize Santiago had pulled up right next to him.

Santiago rolled down the passenger window and gave his special whistle - one he used to use back when the guys served to locate each other. That piercing tone snapped Frankie out of his trance and he looked to the side, locking eyes with Pope waved.

“Vamos pendejo, they’re gonna make me circle if you don’t get in,” Santiago yelled towards Frankie, motioning for him to get in the car.

“Fuck,” Frankie shook his head to center himself before walking towards the curb. He opened the back door of Santiago’s car and tossed his carry-on and backpack in before settling into the passenger seat. “Sorry, Pope. Thanks for picking me up.”

As Santiago maneuvered his way out of the maze of cars, he quickly glanced over to Frankie. “All good, hermano. You good?”

“Uh y-yea…I’m great, actually.”

Frankie stared out of the window as Santiago continued to drive, a smirk coming over his face.

Saturday

“When's the last time you went roller skating?” Santiago asked as he got out of Frankie’s truck. Frankie was head down on his phone and oblivious. “Fish? Hey, que te pasa?” Santiago slapped Frankie on the shoulder as he came around the front of the truck.

“Hmm?” Frankie murmured, quickly sending a text before shoving the phone into his pocket, but it was too late. Santiago saw the screen before Frankie could lock it. “What?”

Santiago stopped Frankie in his tracks and gave him a skeptical look. “Who’s Jo?” He glanced towards the phone in Frankie’s pocket. “Anyone we should be worried about?”

It was then that Frankie realized how Santiago may have been interpreting his behavior. Frankie being reclusive usually meant trouble, and he couldn't blame his friend for the worry. Given his track record, Frankie would have had the same reaction if the shoe was on the other foot.

“N-no hermano, it's nothing like that. I…uh,” he readjusted his hat before rubbing the back of his neck. “I kinda met someone on the flight home…I think.”

A wash of relief fell over Santiago's face. He was ready for evasiveness but was pleasantly surprised by the vulnerability.

“No shit man! Tell me about…this…person.” Santiago made sure to carefully choose his words.

“She…uh she…uh…we ended up sitting next to each other. Not a great flyer so I tried to help, her get through the flight. She wasn’t a fan of the turbulence,” Frankie smiled to himself.

Santiago raised an eyebrow with a slight smirk. He didn't want to press, knowing Frankie would share more in due time. They heard car doors closing, looking up to see the Miller brothers getting out of Will’s Jeep.

Benny was all smiles, excited to be able to recycle an old Halloween costume. “Pope! Nice man, good to see this get-up again,” he winked. “Fish, c’mon man, You really missed out on an opportunity to dress up like an X-wing pilot or something.” He shook his head.

“Pope’s the one who suggested this. Said we could go as a duo,” Frankie motioned to his shirt.

“David, seriously? Oh. My. God.” Olivia couldn't help but bust out laughing as David walked through the front door. When she told everyone they could dress up, she knew David was going to do the absolute most.

Ty sighed with a shrug, playfully acting defeated as they walked up, “There was no reigning him in.”

“Of course there was! I could have dusted off my Princess Leia bikini costume from Pride, but I figured that have been too much.”

“For a kid’s party, yeah I think so babe,” Ty laughed, still shaking his head.

David spent some quality time with his sewing machine throughout the week as he constructed a gold body suit complete with a matching gold jacket. But the pièce de résistance was his knee-high gold boots, complete with rhinestones. Ty followed behind dressed as R2D2 albeit, with a lot more subtlety. He wore a store-bought shirt with a simple pair of jeans. He humored David by wearing a R2D2 hat he had bought from the Disney store.

Olivia rolled her eyes and continued to laugh, but paused when she saw the cup David brought with him even though she told him to leave it at home.

“Don’t worry Liv, it’s empty, see…” he opened the lid to his solid gold Stanely cup to show Olivia, who gave him a tight smile and walked away to go greet some new arrivals.

Megan nearly choked on her water as she, Lucille, and Connor walked up. “Holy shit, David!”

“Hey! Language!” Olivia called over.

“Sorry Livvy! David. Hold on I need a picture,” she laughed.

David was more than happy to oblige, giving her a few different angles and looks.

“Ay dios mio!” Lucille shook her head as she bounced little Diana on her hip. The baby was entertained playing with Lucille’s glasses.

“Oh come on, Lulu, you’re just mad I took your idea,” David winked. “I love your buns, Katie!”

“Aw thanks,” Katie smiled, reaching up to touch the two Leia-inspired buns on the side of her head.

“Oh hey everyone!” The group turned to see Melissa walking in with Danny. She wore a white tunic with skinny jeans and had her hair in three buns down her head like Rey, while Danny kept it simple with jeans and a Star Wars shirt.

“You both look great! We missed you Danny, good to have you home” Olivia came over, giving them both a hug and taking the gifts from Melissa.

“Where are the birthday boys?” Danny asked with a big smile.

“Oh Chris is helping them with their costumes…oh there they are!” Olivia pointed over as her husband and twins walked out of the bathroom. Chris looked suave in his Lando Calrissian get-up, complete with a cape and mustache he grew out specifically for the party, much to Olivia’s chagrin. CJ and Max decided to go as Kylo Ren and Darth Vader.

“Ohhh and look at what we have here,” Ty smirked, bumping shoulders with David who let out a loud gasp, covering his mouth with his hand.

It was as if everything went into slow motion as Santiago, Benny, Will, and Frankie walked into the skating rink.

“Hey guys!” Chris called over with a wave as CJ and Max ran to say hi, getting high-fives from Benny.

“Uh oh, I gotta stay away from you guys!” Benny faked acting scared of the twins.

“Mr. Benny, who are you supposed to be?” Max asked.

“He’s Kylo Ren’s dad, duh!” CJ rolled his eyes.

“Kylo Ren’s dad?” Chris scoffed. “He’s Han Solo. The coolest…you know what, never mind,” he laughed. “Great costume, bud! You too Santiago.”

“Thanks! You too man, can’t say the same about these two,” Santiago gestured over his shoulder to Will and Frankie. Santiago happened to catch Frankie smiling at his phone again before tucking it away.

“C’mon, everyone’s going to be excited you’re here!” Chris ushered the guys over to where the other neighbors had set up shop.

Megan whistled as the guys walked up, making Katie laugh and Connor groan. “Mom, c’mon!”

“Oh stop it, you don’t wear pants that tight and not expect anyone to say anything, right Santiago?”

“Ha you know it,” he winked.

Frankie walked over to Lucille and gave her a big hug and kiss on the cheek. “Te extrañé, Francisco. How was your trip?”

“It was great, I’m so glad I went.” He smiled.

Lucille noticed he had quite a twinkle in his eyes. “Ok, well I need to see pictures!” She moved Diana over to her other hip as Frankie fetched his phone out of his pocket.

She cooed over the photos of little Leia and could not get over how cute Antonio was with his curly hair and brown eyes that reminded her so much of Frankie. “Your sister is beautiful! It runs in the family,” she winked.

Frankie blushed as he continued to scroll through the photos. His phone dinged and a notification for a message popped up, but Frankie quickly cleared it and pulled the phone away before Lucille was able to see it. He had just received a photo of some sort.

“Uh sorry, got a text,” Frankie fumbled with his phone and got back to sharing photos from his trip. “But yeah, that’s the kids,” he nervously laughed which made Lucille smirk.

“Hey, are you supposed to be Poe?” Connor looked Santiago up and down before taking a sip of his soda.

“Ha yea, bought this costume a couple of years ago. Had a girl at a bar tell me I looked like the guy who played him once so I figured I’d lean into it. That was a good Halloween for us wasn’t it Ben,” Santiago laughed as Benny buried his face in his hands shaking his head as he walked away to go lace up his skates.

“Aww, you have a couple’s costume with Frankie.” Melissa crossed her arms as she walked up and stood next to Santiago. Her eyes trailed after Danny who had gone to the cooler to fetch her a beer.

“Ohhhh, I get it now! Frankie has on a BB-8 shirt,” Connor laughed. “Actually, you two go together, Rey and Poe.”

“Eh no not really. They don’t really go together, do they Santi?” Melissa said with a tight smile and Santiago folded his arms in front of his chest.

“I like your buns…uh fuck, I mean your hair…uh…shit, sorry,” Will blushed, rubbing the back of his neck and chuckling to himself.

“Well, thanks. Either way you meant it,” Katie winked. “Why aren’t you dressed up? Too cool for school?”

“Nah, I figured I’d let Pope and Ben have the spotlight for a bit,” he put his hands in his pockets and let out a nervous laugh.

“I like this shirt, I figured you’d go for something Boba Fett,” she gestured to the tattoo on Will’s forearm. “Although I’m telling you once you watch The Mandalorian you’re going to change your tune.”

“We’ll have to watch it sometime.”

“Yeah…I’d like tha-”

Katie was cut off as Benny came behind Will, wrapped his arms around his brother’s waist, and lifted him off the ground. “C’mon man, we gotta show these kids how it’s done.”

Katie raised an eyebrow, “Show them how it’s done huh?”

“Yeah, don’t let him fool you. We used to go to the skating rink a ton in high school. It’s where all the hot girls went. Hey remember that time you and Elizab-... ow!” Benny rubbed the bicep Will had just punched to silence him.

“Well you boys have fun,” Katie smirked as she leaned forward against the wall at the edge of the rink.

“What you aren’t gonna skate? You’re coming right, Connor?” Benny called over to Connor who was quietly talking and laughing with Aria off in the corner.

“Uh, y-yeah. I’ll… we’ll…be out there in a bit,” Connor responded.

“C’mon Kat, you gotta show us what you got,” Benny teased.

Katie pursed her lips, but couldn’t help the smirk that came over her face as Benny used Will’s nickname for her. Realizing Benny’s slip, Will’s eyes widened as he swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down.

“No, you boys go right ahead, we’ll be happy to observe,” Megan came up behind Katie, wrapping her arms around her friend’s shoulders, with a wink.

“Besides, I…uh…I don’t know how to skate,” Katie said to the ground.

“Wait what?” Benny’s mouth was agape. “Where was your childhood?”

“Ben, stop it,” Will rolled his eyes, slapping his brother across the stomach, “But seriously, you don’t know how?” He directed his attention to Katie who shook her head. “Well, no pressure, but if you want we can teach you. Think about it, but first I need to show up my little brother,” Will winked as he turned and started speeding away.

“Hey! No fair, you got a head start!” Benny yelled as he tried to make up some ground while dodging eight-year-olds.

Megan came up next to Katie, leaning her forearms on the wall in front of them as the two giggled at the spectacle. Benny and Will skated laps around the kids and started drawing a bit of a crowd. Will shook his head and chuckled as Benny showed off by skating backward.

“It’s nice to see Will laughing, he seems to be having a good time,” Megan observed with a side eye over to Katie.

“Yeah, like he’s letting loose a little bit.”

“So you’re really just going to be friends then, huh?”

Katie rolled her eyes, facing her friend, with one elbow on the wall. “Yes, just friends. I think -” she paused as her focus was drawn behind Megan. “Well take a look here,” her eyes motioned to where she wanted Megan to look.

Turning around Megan saw Connor take Aria’s hand and lead her onto the rink. She also caught Lucille’s eyes along with Olivia who gave a wink as they all watched the pair start to skate around the rink together hand in hand.

“They’re so cute,” Katie put her arm around Megan, who looked at her with misty eyes.

“They are. Oh shit they’re about to skate back this way, I can’t let him see me like this or he’s going to be so embarrassed,” she laughed, dabbing her eyes.

“Excuse me, Lulu, I’ll be right back,” Frankie got up, phone in hand as he gave Lucille a quick wink and made his way over to a quieter corner of the skating rink.

“Hola, Lulu. Where’s he going?” Santiago asked as he kissed Lucille on the cheek before he sat down.

“I was hoping you’d know.”

Santiago shook his head from side to side. “Maybe it’s about this girl he met on the flight back.”

“Oh? Cuéntame más.” She perked up, hoping Santiago would spill.

“Unfortunately, I don’t have much more information than you do. He’s been quiet all day, well, more quiet than usual I guess. And he’s been texting a lot and Fish hates texting, so it must be worth his while. Oh, you know what?” Santiago scooted his chair up closer and leaned in to whisper conspiratorily with Lucille. “When I picked him up yesterday from the airport, he was giving some girl a hug. That has to be Jo, right?”

“Quien es Jo mi amor?” She whispered back confused.

“I saw a name pop up on his phone earlier, Jo. The mystery woman at the airport, and a mystery person in his phone…must be the same one. I could only see her from behind, but she looked pretty good,” he winked.

“Ay dios mio, Santiago. Well, this is exciting news. He seems … excited. It’s nice to see,” she smiled softly, eyes following Frankie who was now smiling and talking on the phone. “And what about you mi vida? Any…ladies catching your eyes?” She gave him an up and down before her eyes found Melissa’s, who quickly averted her gaze.

Santiago coughed and sat up in the chair. “N-no, I mean … well, I’m dating around. Nothing serious.”

She tilted her head and narrowed her eyes and as she opened her mouth, Frankie appeared.

“Hey Pope, you ok to get a ride with Benny and Will? I’m…um…gonna head out,” he took off his cap and quickly ran his hand through his hair before returning it.

“Todo bien Francisco?” Lucille asked, eyebrows furrowed.

“Y-yeah, all good. I…um…just need to go take care of something. You good Pope?”

“Si, hermano, go ahead.” He nodded to Frankie.

“Adios Lulu,” he bent down to kiss the woman on the cheek. “Ok, let me go find Olivia and tell her bye and I’ll head out.”

“I’ll be back,” Will nodded over to Benny as he slowed down to leave the skating rink.

“Admit it, you’re slow and are worn out,” Benny winked.

“Sure, Ben, whatever you say,” he rolled his eyes and waved his brother on. He spotted Megan, animatedly telling a story as Katie laughed. She was snorting as Will walked up.

“Oh, hey Will,” Megan stopped to acknowledge Will as he sat down.

“You having fun?” Katie asked as Will took down a bottle of water quickly.

“Yeah, gotta say I thought Benny had a lot of energy but he’s nothing on these kids,” Will chuckled. “You sure you don’t wanna try and skate?” He turned to Katie who quickly shook her head from side to side. “Aw c’mon Kat, it’ll be fun.”

“Will’s a strong guy, he won’t let you fall. Won’t you, Will?” Megan couldn’t hide her smirk.

“Definitely not. Why don’t you just try a little bit and if you don’t like it I promise I’ll carry you off myself.”

“Well, in that case, you have to go for it! If you won’t I will!” David suddenly appeared, as Will rubbed the back of his neck, a slight blush coming across his face.

Katie rolled her eyes at Megan and David before looking at Will. “Ok, soldier. But I swear if I fall I’m kicking your ass.”

“Deal. Let’s go get you some shoes,” Will got up and gestured for her to lead the way.

“Where’s Fish?” Benny panted a slight sheen of sweat on his brow from a vigorous skating session. He decided to challenge Connor to a race and lost.

“He left, had somewhere to go in a hurry,” Santiago responded before taking a sip of his beer.

Benny cocked his head to the side, eyeing Santiago. “He ok?”

“Yeah, Benny. All good, I checked. Don’t worry about it.” Santiago reassured him, seeing the tension in Benny’s shoulders release.

“Benny, I hear you signed yourself up for a fight?” Lucille perked up.

“Ah, y-yeah, I did do that. Wanna come watch?”

“No se, mi amor. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

“Ah no te preocupes, Lulu. We won’t let anything happy to him,” Santiago winked. “He’s training and he’ll be ready, right Ben?”

“Yeah. It’s going to be all good, Lulu. You’ll see. Nothing’s gonna happen to this pretty face,” Benny snorted as they all laughed.

“Shit, ok, ah…you swear you aren’t going to let me fall, right?” Katie raised her eyebrow as Will stood in front of her, taking both of her hands in his as he led her to the edge of the rink.

“I promise, you’re good. I won’t let anything happen. Just put one foot in front of the other,” he gave her a reassuring smile and she took a deep breath, extending a shaky foot to the slick surface of the rink. “Good, ok and the other, I’ll keep you steady.”

Katie took another breath as her foot left the carpet and met the other on the skating rink floor. “Oh shit,” she bit her lip as Will steadied her.

“You’re doing great, Kat.”

“I haven’t done anything yet,” she laughed.

“Yeah, but you actually got out here, I feel like that’s a win already,” he smiled, his tongue poking out to wet his bottom lip. “Here, you don’t have to do anything, just keep your knees bent a little and I’ll just guide you around first. Keep holding my hands.”

Will started skating backward as Katie clutched his hands and let him lead her around. She asked to stay as close to the wall as possible, a safety blanket she called it. They got about a quarter of the way around before Will coaxed her a little bit further away from the wall. By the time they finished their first lap around the rink, they were in the general flow of skaters, albeit going a lot slower.

“Yeah Katie, I see you boo!” David yelled out as she came by.

She took her focus off of her feet and looked up briefly to give David a weak smile, but the quick motion disoriented her a bit and she started to wobble. It all felt like it was going in slow motion and she felt her legs starting to give way beneath her.

“Whoa, whoa, steady,” Will let go of her hands and grabbed her by the waist and she grasped his shoulders. His strength managed to help keep her upright. “See, I told you I wasn’t going to let you fall,” he chuckled.

Katie could feel her cheeks on fire, knowing that so many eyes were on her, including the set of piercing blue ones in front of her. “Thanks.” She smiled as he straightened her back up again. He moved his hands from her waist as she simultaneously removed her hands from his shoulders. Their hands found each other again.

“Are you done? We can be done if you want,” Will searched her expression.

“No, it’s ok, just a little stumble,” she chuckled. “Let’s go around maybe once more?”

“Sounds like a plan,” he winked as they resumed their slow, but steady pace around the rink.

The rest of the party went by in a flash. The twins excitedly opened up their presents, thanking everyone and dolling out hugs and high-fives. That was followed up with everyone singing Happy Birthday, twice, once for each boy at David’s request. Before they knew it, a lot of the guests were starting to trickle out.

“You boys are sweet, but you don’t have to help clean up, we got it,” Olivia came over to Benny, Will, and Santiago who were walking around the tables picking up plates and cups.

“Nah, we don’t mind, it’s all good Liv,” Will smiled and Olivia felt her knees go weak.

“Well, you’re all sweethearts. Did you have fun?”

“Hell…I mean heck yeah! I haven’t skated like that in forever,” Benny smiled.

“Plus it gave you two a chance to dress up, huh?” She pointed to Benny and Santiago, who both smirked.

“Couldn’t pass up the opportunity once you said costumes were encouraged,” Santiago tugged at the lapels of his jacket.

“You know, you look a lot like that guy,” Olivia observed.

“Oh no, please don’t tell him that. As if he didn’t have a big head already,” Benny shook his head as Will snorted.

Next Time on As the Mule Falls: A holiday approaches as the neighbors celebrate the Fourth of July. The entire Pike family arrives at Mule Fall Court, including an additional person who catches the eyes of one of the guys. Katie and Will continue to build their friendship. We learn a bit more about Frankie and this mystery woman.

A/N: Well, I hope that was fun! I'll stop being coy about it and finally reveal that my Frankie one-shot, Turbulence, is now officially part of Delta Landscaping canon. I think a couple of people may have picked up on this, which was exciting, but it’s been the plan all along. I have a few more Easter eggs like that up my sleeve. I will have a Part 2 for Turbulence coming out this week, and a Part 3 is planned which will bring that series up to date with the events in Delta Landscaping!

Thank you so much for reading and supporting this story.

Taglist: @goodwithcheese / @gemmahale / @trulybetty / @noxturnalpascal / @periodtsparadox / @ramblers-lets-get-ramblin / @maggiemayhemnj / @mysterious-moonstruck-musings / @avastrasposts / @meveispunk / @chaoticfestninja / @beboldbebravethings / @casa-boiardi / @katw474 / @linzels-blog / @laughing-in-th3-purple-rain / @pimosworld / @lynnchun / @anoverwhelmingdin /@lilmizmoz / @pedrit0-pascalit0 / @titlee78 / @noisynightmarepoetry / @inept-the-magnificent / @perennialdoll247 / @for-a-longlongtime / @readingiskeepingmegoing / @harriedandharrassed / @musings-of-a-rose / @anavatazes / @sherala007 / @midnightraain / @partyofone3413 / @inthedarkestnight / @millennial-teenybopper / @csarab615 / @darkheartgatita / @southernbe / @weho2kcmo / @itspdameronthings

#triple frontier fic #triple frontier fanfiction #pedro pascal #triple frontier #frankie morales #delta landscaping #benny miller #will miller #santiago garcia

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