**edited 21/01/2021**

Elle

Wednesday 21st December 2018

       "Ladies and gentlemen, as we start our descent, please make sure your seat backs and tray tables are in their full upright position. Make sure your seat belt is securely fastened and all carry-on luggage is stowed underneath the seat in front of you or in the overhead bins. Thank you."

 Ace and I had sat through a three hour plane journey and were finally landing in Portland where we would meet my mom. Ace was silent the whole time, he hadn't verbally said that he was nervous but I could tell he was. He kept asking questions about my family, wondering what things he should avoid talking about and what they liked talking about. It was cute, to be honest.

 The cabin crew walked down the aisle of the plane to ensure everyone's seatbelts were on before they sat down themselves and prepared for the plane to begin it's descent onto land. "You're sure there's nothing else I need to know?" Ace stressed and I chuckled, shaking my head. 

 "Stop fretting, they'll love you!" I smiled reassuringly.

 He sighed. "I don't know if you've looked at me recently, Elle, but I'm not exactly every parents dream for their daughter. I look like a fuck-up."

 "You're not a fuck up, nor do you look like one. My family doesn't judge people by how they look, be polite to them and don't mess me around, they'll be fine," I said, threading my fingers with his in an attempt to soothe his nerves. 

 Ace remained quiet but I knew he was still anxious, however I kept ahold of his hand as I watched the plane descend to the ground until the wheels hit the tarmac and we were safely back on land. A smile lifted onto my face as I looked outside the window and saw the dreary Portland weather, back in California it was still 68°F but here it was raining and freezing outside. I was home.

 "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Portland Interntional Airport. Local time is 4 o'clock in the afternoon and the temperature is 40.2°F. On behalf of FlyEasy Airlines and the entire crew, I'd like to thank you for joining us on this trip and we are looking forward to seeing you on board again in the near future. Have a nice stay!" The flight attendant then once the plane had settled on the ground.

 An excited sqeaul left my lips and Ace groaned. "It's only forty degrees here? I didn't pack any sweaters," he complained and a small laugh left my lips.

 "Why didn't you check the weather? It's December," I mocked him as we got up from our seats. Ace grabbed our luggage from the overhead compartment, nudging people out of the way as they tried to shove past him. He cleared the way for me to walk in front of him and I squeaked a thank you before walking towards the exit of the plane.

 I said goodbye to the flight attendants and stepped down the stairs of the plane with Ace following me closely. Luckily we didn't have suitcases because we weren't staying long and had packed all we needed in our hand-luggage, so we only had to get through customs before we were headed to meet my mom. Sadly my brother's weren't able to come with her to collect us as she was coming straight from work, she didn't have time to get them first. We would see them when we got to the house, though.

 We were mere steps from walking out of the final set of doors where visitors could stand and wait to pick up people who were arriving at the airport when a set of arms circled my waist and pulled me to one side, pressing me against the airport wall. My eyes darted up to see Ace hovering over me, his hands either side of my head as he held himself up.

 "I can't do this," he said breathily, his face screwing up as if he was in pain.

 "Bit late to decide that," I teased, raising my hand to press against his chest. I was trying to soothe him in any way I could, I knew things like this would be tough for him, especially after the small things I had heard about his family.

 "This isn't funny, Elle. Your mom is through there," he stressed.

 I sighed, my hand reaching up to gently touch his cheek. At the feeling of my touch, he visibly relaxed and a small smile lifted on my lips. "It's okay to be afraid-"

 "I'm not afraid," he said in an adamant tone. "I'm just concerned that I'm gonna say the wrong thing and they're not gonna let you see me... They can't take you away from me.'

 "They're not going to, Ace. I promise," I said. "It's fine to be scared of meeting new people, this is a strange and new experience for you so I understand-"

 "I'm not scared," he looked frustrated as he tried to express his emotions and my heart dropped. It was strange to me that he didn't understand his own emotions, that the regular person would just immediately know how they were feeling and he somehow had no clue. It made me wonder what he had gone through as a kid to cause this inner turmoil and I hoped one day he'd trust me enough to tell me, but I was waiting until he was ready.

 I sighed and nodded. "Okay, you're not scared... I get it. But just know that they're going to love you and nobody is going to take me away from you, I promise you. Do you trust me?" I asked him with a gentle voice.

 His eyes met mine and they softened. "I trust you," he nodded and I smiled, rising on my tip-toes to press my lips against his briefly. 

 "Come on, she's waiting for us," I said and threaded my fingers with his, leading him towards the doors. 

 The automatic doors opened for us and we stepped out into a large room where hundreds of people stood, some holding signs up with people's names on them and others were just waiting for people they knew. "Can you see her?" Ace asked, watching as I scanned my eyes over the crowd to try and spot my mom.

 My heart leaped when I saw her by herself close to the front, her eyes scanning the various people entering the room from their different flights. "I see her, come on," I said and take his hand once again, leading him over to my mom. 

 As soon as she spotted me, a massive grin lifted on her lips. "Elena!" She squealed and threw her arms around me, pulling me into a bone crushing hug.

 "Hi mom," I chuckled, wrapping my arms around her just as tightly. I forgot just how much I missed her until I saw her, and the emotions of sadness and homesickness came flooding back in.

 "I missed you so much, how have you been? Have you been eating? Taking care of yourself?" She asked, her eyes worriedly darting around my face once she pulled back from me.

 "Yes mom, I've been fine," I laughed, remembering her smothering ways. I then turned to Ace and saw he was awkwardly stood behind me, looking around the airport with an expressionless look on his face. "This is Ace, my boyfriend," I knocked him from his trance and he looked at her, forcing a tight lipped smile on his face.

 Mum's eyebrows shot up in surprise at the new revelation but soon her face broke out into a huge smile. "Nice to meet you Dear," she said giddily.

 "Nice to meet you- oh," Ace gasped in shock when mom pulled him into a hug like she had done with me. He stood as still and tense as a statue like he didn't understand what was happening and why someone other than me was hugging him.

  Once she let him go, she looked at him and said "I hope you're looking after my baby girl." He nodded, still looking and acting very awkwardly.

 "Of course ma'am," he said tightly and I had to hold back a laugh of how foreign that word sounded in his mouth.

 "Oh, don't be silly! Call me Lydia," she said brightly. "Shall we get you both home then? The boys are so excited to see you, Elena."

 "I'm excited to see them too," I told her, thanking Ace as he picked up both of our bags and followed my mom and I out of the airport and towards the visitors section so we could find her car and head home. 

 As we approached the car, Ace went ahead and placed the bags into the trunk of the car that mom had opened using the button on her car keys and I pulled her back a little to ask her something without Ace hearing. "I have gotten Ace a present, and tomorrow I'm going to pick it up. I need to sneak it in the house without him seeing. I'm gonna tell him I need to run some errands in the morning, and when I park on the drive I'll text you and I just need you to distract him," I said with a hopeful smile.

 Mum grinned coyly and nodded. "You really like him, don't you?" She asked and I nodded.

 "I really do, mom."

 "Well I can show him some baby pictures or something, it'll be fine!" She agreed and moved us towards the car where Ace was waiting at the trunk of the car for me to hand him my bag to put inside.

. . .

   The drive home was nice, Ace was extremely quiet but that was maybe because mom nattered on the whole time. She told me how it had been with just her and Harley at home, how Cady was getting on with her pregnancy and how she had painted the living room a nice 'toffee' shade. By the time she had actually closed her mouth, the car was rolling onto the driveway.

 I watched Ace look out of the passenger side window at the house, his lips parted slightly as he took in the view. I lived in a decently sized house, but it was no mansion, however outside was decorated with beautifully coloured flowers and a cute bird bath that mom had found at an auction before.

 "Are you coming?" I had to snap Ace out of his little trance by asking that, and he nodded, pushing open the car door. I stepped out with him and saw mom was already pulling our bags out of the trunk.

 "I've got those, Lydia," Ace said to my mom which made her smile happily.

 "Thank you, Darling! I'll get in and start making us a delicious supper," mom said cheerfully and headed for the front door.

 I walked over to Ace and squeezed his arm reassuringly. "You're doing so well," I mumbled in his ear and kissed his cheek. "Are you ready to meet my brothers?"

 He shrugged. "Not really, but let's do it," he said, leaning down to steal a peck from me before we both walked into my house.

 "Elle!" Harley screamed, the first one to spot me. He sprinted over to me and didn't hold back as he flung his body on mine, wrapping his arms around my body. "It feels like it's been years," he whined.

 "I'm home now," I said happily. 

 "Can I have a turn, or what?" Sawyer asked, and Harley reluctantly stepped back to let Sawyer give me a long hug. "How have you been?" He asked, finally pulling back.

 "I've been good, how're you? And where's Cady?" I asked, looking around.

 "She's in my old room having a nap, you'll see her later," he said and then glanced at Ace who was stood behind me with our bags in his hands. "Who's this then?" He asked, looking Ace up and down with a wary expression.

 "This is Ace, my boyfriend! Ace, this is Sawyer and Harley," I told them and then turned to look at Ace who had put the bags down and stuck his hand out for Sawyer to shake.

 "Good to meet you," Ace tried to sound sincere and I appreciated it.

 "You too mate," Sawyer nodded, shaking his hand. "But you hurt her like Carson did and I won't be responsible for my actions," he said with a sarcastic smile.

 "Sawyer!" I slapped his arm.

 "Wouldn't dream of it," Ace said and then shook Harley's hand, who didn't say a word to him. 

 "Okay... We're going to put our bags in our room," I said to my brothers and then mom popped her head around the kitchen door.

 "There is a blow up bed in your room, I didn't know what you're sleeping arrangements would be but feel free to use it!" She said in her normal shrill voice and my cheeks heated slightly as I shook my head.

 "Thanks mum, but I think we're fine without it," I said and she nodded.

 "Just chuck it in the hallway cabinet darling!" She said.

 Without any more embarrassment, Sawyer and Harley dispersed into the living room so that I could lead Ace up to my bedroom and show him where he'd be staying for a few days. "Your family are nice," he said to me as I pushed open my bedroom door, smiling as the familiar room came into view.

 "They're excited to meet you too, I can tell," I said, plopping my bottom down on my old bed. "It feels weird being back here."

 Ace kicked shut the door and dropped our bags on the floor, his eyes scanning the room as he walked further in. "Why did I hope it'd be untidy here? Like you had a secret life at home," he laughed to himself, running his hand over my plain white desk where my old high-school books were also lined up.

 "Sorry to disappoint," I laughed, noticing the rolled up blow-up bed on the floor beside my bed.

 "Oh baby, you never disappoint," he said as he turned to me, and then he walked over to press a long kiss on my lips. 

 "Well, welcome to the Matthews' house," I chuckled, letting out a squeal as he wrapped his arms around my waist and laid me down so my back was pressed against the bed.