'Papa! Papa!'

A young girl runs about as she waves her small arms, groping the air, demanding to be picked up. Her grey eyes are shining brightly and she dons a sparkly tiara within the dark curls of her black hair. Upon her body is a beautiful silver dress that swishes about her as she twists her hips in a little dance, catching the rays of sunshine amongst the sparkly folds of material and throwing it all over the garden. She squeals with delight as a tall, handsome man picks her up and swings her in his strong arms. A light breeze rustles their dark hair, the sun lightening their similarly toned olive skin. The fact that they are parent and child is unmistakeable; they have the same features, the same brightness about them, and lingering in the air a strong bond which suggests that they cannot be any closer.

'How's my birthday girl doing?' he beams at her and kisses her cheeks, squeezing the little girl tight in his arms. He offers her yet another wrapped parcel which she ignores, clinging tightly to her father. 'Happy birthday, Elizabeth.'

He sets her down, and upon her release she zips away, rolling upon the lawn and picking one of the hundreds of daisies which peek lazily through the grass. Her father watches her, smiling constantly, failing to miss any move, ears catching every little sound as her feet patter along the stone pavement or swish through the pond nearby. He's completely oblivious to the world around him until another man wraps his arms from behind, kissing his cheek before laying his head on his shoulder.

'Back from work, Benny?' he asks the taller man.

'Mm. Sorry to have missed most of the day.' Benny runs his fingers through his partner's sandy-blonde hair. A smile parts his mouth, and he kisses him, holding their lips together for longer than necessary, though neither seem to mind, much less notice.

'Come on. It's two o'clock.'

'Feels like a lot later when I'm missing out on Elizabeth's birthday.' Benny sighs. 'I can't believe she's six already. Time passes so quickly.' He pecks his partner quickly on the lips. 'Come, I have to get ready. Excellent preparations with the party, Tyler.'

Tyler nods after Benny as he disappears into the house to change. The fairer man watches his daughter as she snatches at a butterfly and giggles as it floats just out of reach. Her eyes look up and catches the man's, and she leaps up to hug him. He scoops her up and kisses her forehead.

'Daddy, daddy, thank you for the party,' she says, and kisses him on the cheek. The man nods.

'You're welcome, honey. Your aunts and uncles are coming soon, so make sure you say hi to them.' Tyler sets her down. 'I love you, Elizabeth.'

'I love you, daddy!' She leaps back amongst the grass.

He doesn't smile as much as his partner, but somewhere within the brown of his eyes is a spark of emotion which suggests a much deeper love than he chooses to admit. If one fails to look close enough, they'll miss the adoration for the small girl, and the lengths he would go to to please her. No one would guess that it had been him who'd arranged the extravagant party, called caterers and selected the presents himself, filled up each of the thirty-six balloons with helium and tied them all around the garden before she had woken up earlier that day.

A slightly plump, motherly-looking woman joins him at his side, setting the last plate of food at the outdoor picnic table. She brushes her hands and gives the man a pat on the back.

'Thanks for distracting her a little, Susan. I didn't think I'd wrap that last one up in time,' Tyler says, giving a little laugh.

'My pleasure. You know, she's one of the best children I've ever had the pleasure of taking care of, next to Julian, that is.'

'Julian's your son.'

'I try not to be biased.'

Footsteps clomp down the stairs as Benny returns outside in a casual outfit. He kisses Susan on the cheek and Tyler once more on the lips.

'When are they coming?'

Tyler checks his watch. 'Should be around now - speak of the devil.' As he mentions this, the doorbell rings once, twice, thrice, and Elizabeth rushes for the house, laughing all the way through. She throws the front door open and is met with an enthusiastic, 'Happy birthday, Elizabeth!'

'Uncle Robert! Uncle Julian!' she laughs again as they stoop down to hug her. Robert picks her up and swings her around in a fashion not dissimilar to Benny's and squeezes her tightly. She kisses him clumsily on the mouth, and does the same with Julian, before they hand her yet another stack of presents, which is added to rather an impressive pile.

'You spoil her,' Tyler complains lightly.

Julian shrugs, watching as his partner runs to the garden, led by the small girl. He gestures to the pile of presents. 'So do you.'

'I'm just afraid that everyone else'll do the same -' No sooner are these words uttered, the door swings open, and several people crowd into the room, barging in without so much as a knock on the door. Each present a gift, adding to the pile with a flourish as Benny and Tyler hastily greet them.

'Marianne, David.' Tyler says, distributing hugs with the announcement of each name. He picks up a young boy of about five years. 'Hi Bradley.'

'Will there be cake?' the boy asks timidly.

'You betcha.' Benny ruffles his hair and the boy toddles through the doors and to the garden, where Elizabeth giggles delightedly at a tweeting bird.

'Cassandra! God, you made it.' Tyler grins, astonished.

'You meatbrain. Wouldn't miss it for the world.' The young woman gestures to a handsome man. 'This is Gordon. My finacee.' He smiles hello, and adds a teddy bear the size of a small car onto the pile, a bright red ribbon tied tight around its neck. Tyler cringes at the sight, but pretends not to acknowledge the unnaturally large toy.

'Michael,' Benny says, embracing his younger brother and his girlfriend. 'Jennifer. Good to see you guys.'

'Sam.'

'Vanessa, Alex,' Tyler grins, greeting his cousin and her husband. Her children stand tall at her side, obediently greeting him in return. The boy, already twelve, hugs his uncle, followed by his ten-year-old sister. 'Hi Mark, hi Valerie.'

'Hi uncle Tyler. Where should we put her presents?'

'Not more,' he grins, shaking his head. 'Just over there. You can't miss it.'

'Where - oh.' Mark eases the present onto the monstrous heap, eyeing it as it wobbles uncertainly. He opts to set it on the dining table beside, and his sister does the same.

As the guests finally finish their entries the hosts make their way to the garden. An extravagant afternoon tea is guzzled, rapidly reduced to crumbs. Soda is served to the children, wine for the adults. The children play rambunctiously as hearty conversation sounds at the table. During these hours, a phone rings several times, much to the annoyance of one person.

'Jules, turn your phone off,' Robert says as his partner returns to the table after yet another long talk. 'You shouldn't be working right now.'

'But -' Julian looks at his phone, and sighs. 'Alright,' he says, and complies, switching it off and handing it over. Robert tucks it within his pocket.

'When are you two getting married?' Cassandra teases. 'You've been a couple for God knows how long now.'

'Twelve years,' Marianne states, sipping from her glass. 'It's amazing they don't have a farm full of kids by now.'

'We broke up for eight of them,' Julian states curtly. Robert laughs and squeezes him protectively.

'I'm all up for it,' he says. 'But with the press and all, God, they'll have a field day.'

'Speaking of farms and fields, where's Lucy?' Sam says. Half the table laugh, and the other half begin to tell him off.

'Geez, Sam! Don't talk about your sister like that.'

'Are you calling her a cow?'

'You're terrible, but that was a good one, Sam...'

'Where is Lucy?' Jennifer asks, amongst the hum of voices.

Benny clears his throat and the entire table silences from their chatters, looking up expectedly at the couple seated at the head of the table. Benny smiles, and they stare, waiting.

'Tyler and I have decided to have another child, and we asked Lucy to be the mother of Tyler's - our - child.'

There's silence as the jaws begin to drop, one by one, but after a moment smiles spread on their faces and rounds of 'good for you,' are murmured.

'So where is she now?'

'I -'

The door bursts open and Lucy runs in, pulling in a young man with light blonde, almost white hair. The adults all stand, somewhat surprised at the sudden entry and Lucy gives a wide grin. Her slim stomach is beginning to show the effects of pregnancy, drawing the attention of all the family. Under strong gazes, she seems to remember her manners and breathlessly introduces the man at her side.

'Everyone, this is - my boyfriend - Jackson. Jackson, this is -' she sucks in a deep breath and makes her way around the table. 'Benny, Tyler, Susan, Cassandra, and...'

'Cassandra's fiancee. I'm Gordon.' Some handshakes are exchanged.

'- Robert, Julian, Vanessa, Alex, Michael, Jennifer, Marianne, David...' her eyes land on Sam, 'and my brother, Blockhead.'

'Hi, pleased to meet you,' Jackson greets. Lucy gives a puff and wobbles, to be caught by her boyfriend. Benny and Tyler run into the house and emerge with extra chairs which they help her into. She's not heavily pregnant, but drooped across the chair there's a fair tell-tale bump visible, and her heels make her walk unsteady. She smiles, her olive skin flushed, hands grabbing at Benny.

'Benny! Benny!'

'Lucy?'

'I just - came from - the ultrasound -' she gasps and grins. Tyler drops to his knees at her side, trembling at her voice. 'You have - twins.'

A gasp ripples through the garden and everyone applauds. The women squeal and run to her as even the children stop and question the arising commotion amongst their parents. They congratulate Lucy and Benny and Tyler, but all is hushed when Lucy's smile fades and she reaches out. 'Tyler?'

All the head swivel to the man as he slumps, hands shaking. His face is frozen and tears streak his lightly tanned skin. Lucy attempts to stand, but Tyler reaches for her, holding her in a firm hug.

'Thank you,' he whispers. 'Thank you for doing this.'

She laughs, taking a napkin and wiping his face gently. 'Why are you thanking me?'

'I - I-' Tyler stutters. He shakes his head, smiling as his husband wraps his arms around him from behind. 'I don't know. I just - don't think I could be more grateful than now. I have so many... so many things to be thankful for.'

'Daddy,' Elizabeth announces, hugging his shoulders tightly. 'Daddy, don't be sad.'

'I'm not, my sweet. I'm so happy.' He kisses her softly on her forehead. 'I'm not sad at all.'

'Oh.' She kisses him innocently on his cheek, squeezing him further at the affectionate gesture.

'Why don't we cut some cake?' someone suggests.

Bustling for the cake, everyone stands to leave Benny and Tyler for a moment of peace. Susan lights the candles on the fancy white three-tiered cake as Benny helps his husband to his feet.

As the children crowd around the cake, a single person is left equidistant between the two groups, watching silently as Benny and Tyler cry joyfully over more future children. Julian remains, blue eyes staring intently at the couple, feeling an inevitable sense as if something were missing, a gaping hole in his stomach and heart. As he stands, a hint of a melancholy expression is captured for a moment on his face, witnessed only by his partner.

'Jules? Babe, what's wrong?'

'Robert?' Julian's eyes flicker from the couple to the hazel-green of his boyfriend's. 'Sorry, I, uh, just had a little...'

'You alright?'

'Yes. I-I'm just...' His lips are sealed with a long, sweet kiss. As they break apart, Julian manages a small smile.

'Don't you think... I just wish that we could do that, you know. That we could... get married, and have a family like that without everyone who shouldn't really give a damn being on our backs all the time.' Julian laughs sadly. 'What happened to the little cottage? And the three kids you promised? I - sometimes, I just want that, you know? Even if it were a struggle, and if we're short on money, but it wouldn't matter, because no one would care. No one would be monitoring our lives. I'd much rather have that than have a company worth billions.'

Robert pulls in his waist, giving him a quick peck on the cheek, running his fingers through the neat, sandy-blonde hair. 'I wish that, too, Jules, I really do. And... and I'm sorry that some things didn't really work out as planned -'

'- some things?'

'Okay, a lot of things, and I'm sorry that I couldn't keep some of - a lot of the promises I made, but I'll be here for you. We'll be here together.'

'But I'm scared. What if - I just - what if I can't...' Julian's gaze moves down, unable to quite mention what he is so terrified of. 'I'm just scared. Life's going by unnaturally quick. I mean, I'm already thirty, and you'll be thirty soon. What if - what if everything just happens too late?'

'It's alright,' Robert whispers. 'It's alright to be scared, but we'll just help each other right along, you'll see.'

Julian's eyes meet with Robert's.

'We'll work it out. I won't leave, I won't doubt you or do anything to hurt you. I'll do my very best to make you happy and be with you, right up until the day we die, old and grey, and you know what, Jules?'

'What?'

'That's a promise I know I can keep.'

Afterword

Ahhh! Finally finished with the last instalment of The Shakespeare Couple. I hope you've all enjoyed it, or I guess you wouldn't be here reading this little bit.

Thank you for reading this story. I hope you'll continue to read more of my works. I'd like to thank everyone who's reviewed, and you guys who are reading this right now for even having bothered clicking on this story. Also, thanks to my two friends who bothered to read this several times searching for mistakes and all the like. I apologise if any are left over and I know there are, but hey, to err is human.

Sorry if there are plot holes or things that didn't quite add up. I know about partway through, the Romeo+Juliet storyline dropped off, and was replaced with the new, modernised twist. It's been a while since I studied Romeo and Juliet, so please forgive me. I wrote this because one of my friends said it would be cool to have a modernised R+J type BL, and it sort of just developed from there.

I wonder if everyone got the links between the characters? There were some that were obvious, and some less, perhaps even abstract. Did you get them all? :3 I wonder if any of my dear readers have a character link that is particularly interesting? Please enlighten me, I'd love to know~

Oh, yes. It might have been obvious, but most of the chapter titles were quotes from Shakespeare's works. I tried to fit them in as well as possible. I hope that worked out...? Some are a little weird, sorry about that...

Anyway. Whilst editing TSC and listening to music at the same time, I found that some songs matched the chapters quite well. Apologies if you don't agree with them, but I want to mention them here:

-TSC PLAYLIST-

I'm not a big fan of One Direction (well, I'm indifferent, since I rarely listen to music at all nowadays), but I think Little Things is a good song for Robert and Julian's relationship because of their personal insecurities. I can't say I'd pair it with a chapter, but if I had to, it would be 28, a bit before Julian watches Robert's video. I get emotional really easily. When I realised that Julian and Robert would break up, I thought this was perfect for their relationship.

I was editing the end of 30b whilst listening to Dark Blue by Jack's Mannequin. It sounds a bit happy, but I don't know, I thought it was a good fit. I thought that Paul fits quite rightly Kelly Clarkson's Dark Side. Basically, he's dark, and that's why Lee's bright personality is what he so needs, not Julian, who shares his torment.

If you have the chance, please listen to Lee's pieces. I love them! Beethoven's Appasionata Movement 3 and Rachmaninoff's second piano concerto. A bit long, but they're great. :)

AH! Julian's mother (Vivienne duBois) beautifully suits Romeo and Juliet Suite No.2 ("Montagues and Capulets"), fittingly. If you listen to anything from this playlist, PLEASE listen to this one! Especially the main theme! I think it fits how she moves, and you can imagine how she might stride into the office with this kind of music. (DOOM! DOOM! I'm not crazy, I promise) I think any scene with Vivienne needs this music.

-PLAYLIST END-

By the way, should anyone review again, I'm curious, please comment on who your favourite is! Mine is Benny, yum. I would ravish him if he didn't have a thing for Tyler. I think the bias shows in the story...

Anyway! Thank you again for reading. I cannot tell you how grateful I am to have people review my work, let alone just read it. I know I'm not a popular author, but I want to become one! Thank you again.

Okay, shameless self-advertising: New series! It's called Parasite. I hope you enjoy.

Thanks again for reading, and being so patient with me. I mean it.

Lots of love, until next time.

Lapari Caprise x

Hungry on a whim