Family (Pigeon x

[Kotorichan]

Ryan looked up and smiled when he saw Drew. The woman just lightly patted Ryan's shoulder. "Oh, sorry about that, I didn't realize you were on a date... I think you're right though, I'll call and make an appointment soon" she said before walking back to her seat. Ryan scooted closer to Drew. "Hey there, all cleaned up?" He smiled brightly.

[meluvcookies]

Drew nodded. "Yeah... Who was that?" At least it seemed she wasn't flirting with Ryan, so Drew relaxed and sat down. Remembering she said something about making an appointment, he continued. "Work related?" He reached for his soda, took a sip and smiled at the taste; Ryan remembered what he likes. That earned his boyfriend a peck on the cheek.

 

In the meanwhile Alec was observing the two from the other side of the table while blowing bubbles in his apple juice. He wasn't sure what to think of it because he's never seen his father like this before. The boy was jealous that the other man was getting so much of the attention that used to be solely his, but on the other hand, his daddy looked really happy, so he stayed silent.

[Kotorichan]

"Yeah, I gave her a tattoo awhile ago but I guess she gained some weight or something so it needs to be touched up..." Ryan sighed sadly. "It was a really awesome tattoo too.." He turned to look at Alec with a smile. "Hey, do you like apple juice? Sorry that I forgot to ask what you like..."

[meluvcookies]

Alec stopped making blowing to mumble something that sounded like 's okay before taking a sip as if to prove his point and then continuing with the bubbles. Drew sighed when he finally noticed his son's behavior. "Alec, that's impolite. Please stop doing it." The boy just blew harder. "Alec." Now the man's tone was distinctly low with a warning ring to it, and apparently the four-year-old picked it up as well because he finally obeyed, though not without protesting. "But I'm bored..."

[Kotorichan]

Ryan leaned on the table to get closer to the child. "Alec... Are you worried that I'm going to take your daddy away?" He asked softly. He knew it was kind of a wild guess, but he remembered his own experience with his mother remarrying and figured that it was worth a try to talk to the little boy.

[meluvcookies]

In a flash the boy's expression turned from a pout to a very good imitation of a deer in the headlights. Did this guy just read his thoughts? Then his eyes narrowed suspiciously. No way would he let his daddy be tricked by this mind reading stranger! He jumped down from his chair and went to grab a tight hold of his father's arm. "Daddy is mine! I won't give him to you!"

 

Drew was astonished. He hadn't thought about that. He'd just been so happy that he was finally reunited with his love, that now their family was whole, even if the other two didn't know the truth, he'd neglected to think about Alec's feelings. He was such a failure of a parent! Moisture was starting to gather in his eyes, but he didn't let the tears of shame fall. Instead he picked his son up and hugged him tightly. "I'm not going anywhere, Alec..."

[Kotorichan]

Ryan leaned in closer and gently touched the boy's cheek. "Alec... Your daddy loves you way too much to ever pick someone else over you... And I would never, ever want to take him away from you. I want you both to be happy, because I really love you both.." Ryan smiled shyly up at Drew. "Your daddy just hasn't seen me in a long time, but I still loves you the most out of everyone... Right?"

[meluvcookies]

The boy calmed down and lay his head on his father's shoulder muttering an okay. Drew started petting Alec's hair and returned Ryan's smile with surprise at the words coming out of the man. He already loved both of them? Back to comforting his son, Drew spoke with absolute conviction in his tone. "That's right. I'll never abandon my precious little boy!" Alec pulled out of the embrace far enough to be able to glare at his daddy. "I'm not little!"

 

Drew chukled and was about to retort when he noticed several of the other customers were staring at them, having been witnesses to their family drama. The man blushed in embarrassment and buried his face to his son's hair to avoid the looks.

[Kotorichan]

Ryan ignored the stares and moved closer to Drew to wrap an arm around the man's shoulders. He leaned in and gave Alec a quick kiss on the head. "see? how could your daddy chose some old guy like me over a cute kid like you?" he said lightly. He didn't care that people stared at him, he was used to getting strange looks, even wearing a short sleeved shirt earned him a few stares.

 

The waitress brought the pizza over and Ryan pulled away. "well, who's hungry?" his voice was perfectly cheerful, as if there was nothing wrong in the world. He wanted to make sure Drew and Alec both felt safe and happy, even if that meant hiding some of his own feelings for awhile.

[meluvcookies]

Alec's expression brightened when the temporarily forgotten pizza was set down. He turned around and reached for a slice but refused to budge from his father's lap for the time being. Not that Drew even tried. Getting over his embarrassment, he wrapped his arms around his, no, their son's waist and directed a smile full of love and gratefulness to Ryan. He was so ridiculously happy, he wasn't sure if this was even real. Then he took a slice of his own and started eating it around the boy on his lap.

[Kotorichan]

Ryan took a slice of pizza and started to eat. He went quiet as he wondered about Alec's mother... His smile slowly fell away ad he got lost in thought. Did Drew love her? Or was she just there to keep Drew's parents happy? Where was she? Did Drew have full custody or would he be sending Alec away on weekends? Ryan finally put his slice down and stared at the table as the questions swirled around in his mind. He slowly traced his first tattoo, it looked like vines that were growing around the ring finger of his left hand. The man traced the familiar lines, completely forgetting where he was for a moment.

[meluvcookies]

Having finally coaxed Alec to sit on a chair of his own, Drew saw from the corner of his eye that his boyfriend wasn't eating. Turning to actually look at him, Drew noticed his rather solemn expression. "Ryan?" He touched the man's shoulder gently. He was worried. Had the two of them done something wrong? Maybe he wasn't feeling well and had been hiding it till now. "Are you okay?" Alec was starting to pick up on the strange mood too and put down the juice he'd been drinking.

[Kotorichan]

Ryan jumped and looked up. He quickly forced a fairly convincing smile and picked up his slice of pizza again. "I'm fine, I was just thinking about some stuff I have to get done..." He took a bite of his food and looked down at the table, mentally kicking himself for letting his good mood slip. Even if he was going to talk to his boyfriend about this, he couldn't do it in front of Alec. They should just have a nice dinner together, all that other stuff wasn't important.

[meluvcookies]

Alec was convinced and turned back to his food and drink, but Drew didn't buy the other man's act of cheerfulness. He glanced at his son and decided he'd ask about it later, when the boy was asleep. He gave a reassuring sqeeze to Ryan's shoulder before resuming his meal.

 

~ A few hours later ~

 

Drew quietly pulled the bedroom door closed behind him. Alec had just fallen asleep on the bed. The boy had seemed unable to calm down in the new environment, but the familiarity of a bedtime story had finally done the trick. Now, at last, it was just him and Ryan so he approached the other man, determined to ask what had been bothering him earlier. He cuddled up to his boyfriend sitting on the couch, and after a moment of silence he spoke in a soft voice. "Is there something that's bothering you?"

[Kotorichan]

Ryan looked down at Drew with a gentle smile. He didn't want to upset the man by asking too may questions... "I'm fine, Why do you ask?" He gently wrapped an arm around the other's shoulders, pulling him into a gentle embrace. He just had to trust Drew, he would explain everything eventually... At least that's what Ryan hoped. ..

[meluvcookies]

"You were acting weird during dinner..." Drew's head was filled with negative thoughts. What if Ryan had just been glad to see Drew again? Maybe he had changed his mind about letting them stay after seeing how taxing a young child could be. Maybe he had been disappointed when he found out how Drew had changed in the last four years. Maybe he figured out he didn't love him after all. Maybe he found out the truth about Alec somehow and was trying to hide his disgust... Drew's thoughts spiralled out of control in the second long pause in his speech. "Did one of us do something to upset you?" What would he do if Ryan told him to get out?

[Kotorichan]

Ryan sighed and finally let his smile fall away. "Of course not, don't worry so much..." He scooted closer and wrapped an arm around Drew's shoulders. "Its so wonderful to see you, and Alec is so adorable" he lightly brushed his fingers through the other's hair. "I'm just being an idiot... I mean, I keep wondering about Alec's mother... Trying to imagine what see was like, worrying that you still love her... All that kind of stuff... I know that its none of my business, and you'll tell me anything I need to know when you're ready... But I just can't help thinkjg about it. Of course, I'm not mad or anything. I tried to move on when you left, I never got past a first date but..." He shrugged and looked away. "Sorry that I worried you... I want to make you and Alec happy, but I keep thinking about that..."

[meluvcookies]

Drew sighed in relief as the other man held him. Ryan wouldn't make them leave. But then his boyfriend said the dreaded words, Alec's mother, and Drew quickly buried his face in his boyfriend's chest to hide his distressed expression. What should he do? He couldn't tell the truth but didn't want to outright lie either. He was so scared Ryan would be disgusted, he just couldn't do it. But not knowing anything was hurting him, Drew could tell. What was he supposed to do?

 

Settling on a tiny part of the truth, he raised his head to look at Ryan in the eyes. "You're the only one I've ever loved. There's no need to worry about Alec's mother." Because he's sitting right next to you was left unsaid.

[Kotorichan]

"Alright... I won't force you to talk about that anymore than you feel comfortable with..." Ryan said with a sigh. He wanted to know everything, but it seemed like either the memory was too painful or Drew just didn't trust me enough. "Just... Tell me one thing, do you have full custody of Alec?" He gently stroked his boyfriend's hair, hoping that the question wouldn't be upsetting. He wanted to make sure that Drew felt safe and happy... And maybe then he would open up a bit more about their time apart.

[meluvcookies]

Ryan was willing to leave it be if he just told if he had full custody? This one he could answer with the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. "Yes, I do." Drew gifted his boyfriend with a brilliant smile and snuggled as close as he could get. He still felt guilty about not telling Ryan that Alec was his child too, but for now he was happy just being together with his love.

[Kotorichan]

Ryan relaxed at the man's words, at least he wouldn't have to worry about meeting Alec's mother... He pulled Drew into a close hug and lightly kissed his cheek. "hmm... It's gonna be hard to keep my hands off you since Alec'll be around all the time" he teased, gently running his fingers through his boyfriend's hair. Everything felt so perfect... Ryan hadn't realized how much he had missed Drew until he saw him, and it wouldn't be hard to treat Alec like his real son...

[meluvcookies]

Drew chuckled and decided to tease his boyfriend right back. "Is that all you think about, you pervert?" Then he leaned in to give him a proper kiss. When he pulled back he smiled. "That'll have to do for now. We should go to sleep, children tend to wake up early." Drew didn't make a move to leave the hug though.

[Kotorichan]

"Alright, I can live with that" Ryan gave his boyfriend another kiss on the cheek before pulling away. He reluctantly released the other from the hug and stood up. "I need to fold the couch out into a bed... And you know, if you wanted to sleep here with me so you don't wake Alec up, I wouldn't mind at all" He gave Drew a bright smile.

[meluvcookies]

Drew also rose from the couch. "You drive a hard bargain love, but sorry..." Drew gave an apologetic smile. "It's Alec's first night in an unfamiliar place and we've always slept in the same room." Though it had been more about not being allowed to leave the room than anything else. "I'm sure you can imagine what would happen if he wakes up and I'm not there..." He gave one more kiss to Ryan's cheek. "We'll try that when he gets used to staying here, okay?"

[Kotorichan]

Ryan let out a soft sigh of disappointment and nodded. "yeah, that makes sense..." He pulled the couch out into a futon. "I'll see you in the morning then. I have work at three so if you need any money or anything just let me know." He smiled at Drew and lay down on the futon. "sleep well~"