FRANK DAMASCA
Banshee
Posts: 127
Played by:
Ange
Last seen Oct 18, 2024 17:04:31 GMT
|
Post by FRANK DAMASCA on Dec 7, 2023 20:09:25 GMT
Was that guilt he felt in the pit of his stomach? Frank shifted in his seat, trying to gauge the sensation as he waved to the security guard and drove out of the gate. Nope, that was definitely the first hunger pangs and the deep seated satisfaction that came with feeling like you’d gamed the system.
The first couple of afternoons he’d spent at home after the semester started hadn’t just been intended for family time. It’d been the luck of the schedule combined with a realisation that it was far easier to concentrate on prepping and marking when he couldn’t hear the noise of a busy building around him. He might’ve blamed that hyperawareness on what had happened on campus – that he absolutely wasn’t gonna conjure up in his head like an evil genie now – but Frank suspected it was far more likely a holdover from years in uniform. The army trained you to watch, to listen to the world around you and even years after you’d stopped actively serving, it felt impossible to just flip a switch on that part of his brain.
Weeks into it the bonuses had started to creep in and he’d felt less like a kid playing hooky from school as he walked out of the building and drove away from campus. Hey, it wasn’t his fault he could, he was just making the most of it. Time with Kit and Katja before he headed off to the bar, and she did whatever her mom’s creepy cult had her doing in town (it almost felt like a relief to see them both so happy). With Freyja and Bo too, Uncle Frank taking over diaper duty until Theo finally broke free of classes and headed home. Today it meant pushing back prepping his notes for Friday’s class on the origins of the Cold War back until later, but hey, if he didn’t get a start on it tonight, there were always his office hours tomorrow. By now he could probably just ad lib the whole thing anyway.
His mind was already drifting past the Marshall Plan as he drove through the woods, back towards the house. What had started out as that afternoon on the couch during the summer, watching Bo sleep and some bad daytime TV, had become something he looked forward to. Time drinking in the wonder of having a baby around (and the horrors when the worst of the diaper filling happened, or mashed sweet potatoes were brought back up all over the rug), taking Freyja’s jokes on the chin – most were actually pretty funny, even if he was the butt of them. The sort of family time he absolutely would’ve missed if he’d still been serving.
Slowly the food had grown a little more complicated, help yourself to whatever’s in the fridge becoming him putting together lunch. It wasn’t like he had a one-year-old stopping him from cooking. He’d already picked up what he needed to make mac and cheese when he’d gone grocery shopping on the way home last night and within half an hour of getting back, it was bubbling away in the stove, the sprinkle of bacon he’d added to the breadcrumbs on top going crispy.
Frank headed back to the fridge, retrieving the apple sauce he’d made two days ago. He’d warm it up for the little guy. It’d be something to mash the mini baby-friendly banana pancakes into when they were done. It went into a pot on the stove before he flipped the pancakes. The first of them were coming off when he heard a car pull up outside. Used to the routine by now he headed through to open the door. ”Hey,” he murmured, reaching for Bo with one arm as he pulled Freyja into a hug with the other. ”Nibbles are already on the table and I’ve got something almost ready for this chunky little monkey. How is he with bananas?” With Bo on his hip, Frank headed towards the kitchen. ”How was your morning?” Forgetting the afternoons off he’d managed, there were days where teaching made him want to tear his hair out. Juggling working from home and a kid staring down the tornado of toddlerdom at the same time? He’d have been bald by now, but somehow his sister-in-law was managing it.
|
|
FREYJA DAMASCA
Psychic
Posts: 184
Age:
28
Occupation:
Analyst at The Mystic Falls Courier
Status:
Married
Partner:
Theo Damasca
Played by:
Julia
“But it’s hard, when you’re hurt, to let somebody wreck you again.”
Last seen Nov 17, 2024 18:29:01 GMT
|
Post by FREYJA DAMASCA on Jan 9, 2024 21:26:44 GMT
 ━ they set me on fire, and i did a lot of burning ━
And look at that, she was already planning for next summer. She’d gone from never really getting along with Frank to looking forward to their lunch dates… which had slowly become eat-everything-you-can-see-at-any-given-time dates. They took turns providing the food (when Freyja had time to pick something up), and, once in a while, she begged him to come to her place because she didn’t have time to fight with Bo over getting dressed. Usually, though, it was at Frank’s━he was doing her the favour, after all.
Finally, they arrived, and Freyja smiled happily at Frank (despite her morning), whereas Bo was absolutely ecstatic. “Hi, Uncle Frank!” She said for him, and lifted her other hand to wave. Bo took a second, but eventually waved back. “There we go!” She mused, letting him get handed off to his uncle while she hugged Frank hello. “Good, I’m starvin’.” Freyja huffed as she stepped inside, but really, when was she not hungry now? “Loves bananas,” She shut the door behind her, “Just make sure the slices are cut into quarters.” Freyja dropped her laptop bag near the counter and Bo’s baby bag with it. She’d started leaving diapers and wipes here a while ago, but he needed some extra clothes just in case.
“Ugh,” She sighed, going right to the table, one hand on her round belly while she leaned over to start munching on the snacks he’d put out. “Well, this lil’ guy’s pretendin’ he wasn’t in the worst mood ever all mornin’.” Freyja said it in an overly sweet baby voice, and Bo’s head swivelled to find her over Frank’s shoulder. He giggled, watching her as she continued, “Uh huh! You’re gonna be good ‘cause Uncle Frank’s here now, huh?” His chubby little hands excitedly patted his uncle’s shoulder, and Freyja scoffed, her eyes returning to Frank. “He’s teethin’, so he’s in the worst mood ever. And… ohmygosh, is that cheese?” She sniffed the air like a dog before shuffling over to press in beside Frank, practically drooling over the mac and cheese.
“Thought you were gay,” She puffed, raising a brow up at him, a little smirk beginning to tug up the edge of her lips. “Are you trynna get me all worked up?” Freyja snickered, and eyed up the pancakes. “You made those with almond flour, right? No sugar or honey?” She wanted to give Bo at least a little headstart via a good diet without all those chemicals. And, unfortunately, he wasn’t old enough to have honey yet, so there was absolutely no sweetener for him.
FRANK DAMASCA | no notes. |
|
FRANK DAMASCA
Banshee
Posts: 127
Played by:
Ange
Last seen Oct 18, 2024 17:04:31 GMT
|
Post by FRANK DAMASCA on Jan 23, 2024 21:05:38 GMT
”Look at that!” Frank crooned as, with some coaching, Bo waved to him. He bounced him lightly on his hip, tickling him under one pudgy arm as he let go of Freyja. ”Waving for Uncle Frank. You gonna do that on Sunday for Uncle Kit too? Show off how smart you are?” And how deceptive Uncle Frank was. Nah, he hadn’t seen Bo pulling himself up to waver on his feet like a mini-drunk before he’d done it at Sunday dinner to a round of applause when everyone had realised what he’d done. He hadn’t seen him army crawl either, racing across the rug on his elbows and knees after his mama the first time, Hazel days later. Choir boy innocent, he’d cheered Bo on just the way he had when Hazel had been that age and every little milestone had felt like some sort of miracle was unfolding when they were shown off to the family.
Frank kept the bounce in his step as he led the way back to the kitchen. He’d found his own routine with the little guy, working on out on those afternoons what he could do to turn Grumpy Bo into Happy Bo, how to get the little guy belly laughing so hard it made his own ache with all that happy. ”Figured you would be.” With Bo and the new baby on the way it was pretty much like she was eating for three these days.
By now he’d trawled practically every cooking for your baby blog on the net, exhausting the Insta and TikTok suggestions too. There’d been a little pang over tossing up reviews for some of the dishes considering it wasn’t his kid he was making it all for, but hey, a failure was a failure right? It didn’t matter that he was just Uncle Frank when Bo was tossing the little chunks of kiwi onto the floor last Tuesday, his lips smacking, that little button nose wrinkling with disgust. ”They’re mashed,” he promised. All the better to avoid having to do the baby Heimlich.
As Freyja began to graze on the mini-buffet he’d set out, Frank carefully checked the pancakes. Bo was settled on the hip furthest away from the stove, one of range of the hot pan and any temptation to make an early grab for his lunch. Frank fake gasped at the announcement that Bo had been a lil grouch all morning. ”Course he’s snapped out of it. He knows it’s better not to have witnesses, right, buddy?” He chuckled, jiggling Bo as his hands drummed lightly on his shoulder. ”I feel for you little man. Teeth are always a pain in the ass.” As though he was demonstrating he patted the diapered butt propped against his hip.
The grown up menu had been planned on the fly as he’d trawled the grocery store on the way home the other night. His mom had made the best mac and cheese when they were kids, insisting that her kids got all the American classics alongside the sushi and tempura that they’d have whenever they headed off base. It’d been his favourite, especially when his mom snuck bacon or pieces of hot dog into it.
He smirked as Freyja worked her way closer, sniffing the air like a blood hound. ”Macaroni and cheese, with a soupcon of bacon.” Frank threw a little accent on the word, like it was really gourmet instead of just a Damasca family classic. Heat rose into his cheeks as she smirked up at him, but he chuckled almost ruefully. ”Definitely still gay, your virtue’s safe with me.” Well, there’d been a moment, but he was definitely 99.9 percent gay these days, what had kicked off right about where they were standing on Halloween last year was pretty much proof of that. Not that Freyja was gonna hear that story over lunch. ”Is this a pregnancy thing? Or is it like a common seduction technique, grill some cheese, get women throwing their underwear at you?" He raised his brows, his smirk growing.
”Yes ma’am.” His tone immediately ticked back to the polite as Freyja’s attention flipped to Bo’s lunch instead of her own. ”Almond flour, bananas and egg. No sugar. Wouldn’t wanna rot those teeth as soon as they make an appearance. Might’ve added some honey to the banana bread I made us for after though. How are you with bananas?” Frank winged a brow. There was ice cream in the freezer, fresh bought from the parlour on the square to go with it. It’d probably be enough to mask the banana bread if his sister-in-law was a heathen and hated them. ”You wanna go back to mama while I get this served up?” he asked Bo, looking down at that adorable face before he swung him back towards Freyja. Minutes later he was setting the tray of mac and cheese down in the centre of the table and Bo’s pancakes down in front of him on the plate that suctioned to his high seat.
|
|
hope to see you in the discord! 
