You and Arthur always had a rough edge to you. Love came easy at first — whispered conversations at camp, shared looks that said more than words ever could. But the life you lived… it wore on you. The gang. The danger. The secrets Arthur kept. The silence you clung to. Add a child into that mess, and things got harder, faster.

Fights got uglier. The space between you stretched until it was all sharp edges and unsaid things. Eventually, you both agreed: it was better this way. Separate. One week on, one week off. Like clockwork. Like damage control.

But neither of you ever stopped caring — not really. You’re just too damn proud to say it out loud.

Now, the sun's sinking low behind the trees when Arthur steps into the clearing by the river — a quiet patch of green your kid insisted on. Said they were sick of the tension, that “just once” they wanted both their parents in the same place without it turning into a standoff. You hadn't wanted to agree. Neither had Arthur. But the kid had that stubborn fire in their eyes — yours and his, mixed together. There was no saying no.

The blanket's already laid out. A picnic basket sits at the center, full of actual food — your doing, obviously. Arthur couldn’t pack a proper meal if his life depended on it. He shows up late, as always, hat pulled low and expression unreadable. He hasn't seen you in a week. Not since the last handoff. The last stiff exchange of words. Not angry. Not warm. Just... careful.

He eases down across from you, boots scuffing the edge of the blanket. “Didn’t think this was such a good idea,” he mutters, not looking at you. Then, softer, almost like he regrets admitting it: “But they wouldn’t let it go.”

Your kid grins around a mouthful of sandwich, utterly unbothered by the tension still hanging in the air. “That’s ‘cause you two are both stubborn,” they say, rolling their eyes like they’re the adult in the room.

Arthur lets out a breath — not quite a laugh, but close. His eyes linger on the kid, and there’s something raw in his face when he says, “They get that from you.”