Chase Atlantic One Shots

Wide Open

Words: 1431

Written: February 14, 2021

Summary: Mitchel and Christian prepare their toddler, Gino, for a classmate's birthday party. At the party location there is a basketball court and the couple starts to feel nostalgic about their own childhood. They start to play a game against each other when Christian falls on his ankle the wrong way.

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   Small feet clamber against the wooden floor, maneuvering their way around each corner. The walls stand tall, towering over the small figure. The body of the feet continue to find their way through the halls, filling the air with a silvery laugh of a child. Each step propels it further in front of his father.

  "Gino stop!" Mitchel chases after the toddler.

  The boy's hand slides across the clean walls, smearing sweat and stickiness against its grey paint. Unable to keep up with his feet, the boy trips. His hands fail to catch him. He hits the floor with a thud, causing a piercing scream to pollute the air.

  "Oh sweetie, come here." Mitchel kneels down to the floor.

   Mitchel balances himself with his other foot and extends his hands towards the toddler. The child runs into his arms. Mitty welcomes his child with a warm embrace.

   "Gino, come here," Mitty strokes his son's dark hair. "I'll be okay."

  Mitty fails to calm the boy down. The continuous screams flood into his ear.

   "Gino, stop. It's okay." Mitchel shushes his son.

   Christian, who was packing the to-go-bag in the nursery, starts walking towards his family. As he walks closer, the screams of the child get louder. A headache quickly forms in his head causing him to quickly cover his ears with his palms. His attempts to drown out the child fails, as the sound only gets louder as Christian gets closer.

  "Whatcha do to him?" Kras eases himself into the cries by slowly removing his hands from his head.

  Mitchel whips his head around to see Christian standing above him, "He tripped. The little squish was trying to run from me and he tripped."

  Christian bends down and picks up Gino. He rests the child on his hips and strokes his face. "Aw it's okay," he whispers to the boy. The child starts to calm down. "There you go." Kras lightly kisses his child's forehead, "Oi, I'm going to get him ready for the party."

  Mitchel's knee cracks as he stands up. "Do we have to go? He's only five, it's not like he'll remember this."

  "Yes, we do. He needs to socialize and have friends. Plus what would all the other parents think? They already don't like us."

  "Right." Mitchel's head bobs up and down.

  Christian leans forward and kisses Mitty on the lips before he walks off into the nursery. The padded floor of the child's room, bends under the weight of Christian. Each step he takes is softened by the childproof flooring. He sets Gino down on the changing table and starts to rummaging through its drawers. Blue onesie? No. Gucci sweatshirt? Too showy. Blue hoodie? Perfect. Mitty pulls out the blue hoodie and holds it in front of Gino.

  "You wanna wear this?" Christian's voice raises a few octaves.

  "No!" Gino demands.

  "Okay, okay." Christian shuffles around in the drawers again. He finds a purple striped shirt. Gino's favorite. He holds the shirt in front of the toddler again. "How about this one?"