more than i can hold in my heart.

arts and crafts

a/n : i know im like a day late to valentine's but better late than never :))

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Tuck frowned at the pieces of colored paper in front of him. He was a smart boy with straight A's, sure, but he wasn't an arts and crafts guy.

There was a knock on his door as he contemplated on what to do. "Come in!"

The door opened and Ben's head peeked in. "Hey, uh, dinner's not gonna be coming from our kitchen tonight, so what do you want to get?"

Tuck shrugged, his focus on the task he was so pumped to do. "Anything."

Ben raised an eyebrow, and opened the door further, making himself welcome. He glanced at the table and frowned. "Is that for homework?"

"Nah," he said, shaking his head and looking up at his dad. "Valentine's Day is coming soon, and I wanted to get Kelly something." He grabbed his phone and scrolled down until he found what he was looking for. He showed the quick Tiktok to Ben. "It's an exploding box, see? It's gonna be filled with our pictures and everything." He turned around in his chair and revealed pictures of him and his girlfriend together. "I printed a dozen pics, and cut out a few, but I'm not really sure how to get it going."

"Aren't there tutorials for that stuff?" Ben asked, sitting down on the boy's bed.

Tuck shrugged. "Yeah, but it's so complicated, and you know I'm not artsy."

Ben let out a loud laugh. "I'm pretty sure you got that from your other dad."

He grinned at the joke. Both his fathers got along well enough, and the three of them together were a goofy piece. His mom often joked about having a handful when they were all together. "Yeah, for sure." They laughed.

"Well," Ben started, leaning forward to grab a few papers. "I can help you if you want."

Tuck's grin grew wider. "Yes!"

The two of them spent the night cutting and putting together pieces of paper with glue.

Once they were halfway through, Tuck's stomach grumbled. They looked at each other and shared a chuckle.

Ben glanced at the clock near his son's bed. "It's late, man, I gotta order something before your mom gets home." He winked.

Tuck nodded. "I'll just finish gluing these together."

He left to go downstairs and Tuck remained in the room. He glanced over all the mess on the floor, and he was so relieved he had someone to do this with. He really loved the idea of the gift, and he hoped his girlfriend would too.

A few minutes passed, and Ben returned with some Chinese food. Tuck hurriedly grabbed some siomai and fried rice for himself. He started munching, and two bites in, he heard his mother coming up the stairs.

"Ben? Tuck?" She called out.

"In here, baby!" Ben shouted, and Tuck rolled his eyes playfully at the endearment. "What was that for?" He was hit in the face with a pillow.

They burst out laughing just as the door opened and Miranda entered the messy room. "What the heck happened here?" She frowned, her bag still gripped between her fingers.

Tuck shrugged. "Valentine's is coming up," he said simply, before eating some more of his dinner.

Miranda shot a questioning look to her husband who shrugged as well. "I'm helping him, babe. I couldn't help it. You know the romantic in me." He smiled at her, showing his teeth.

She smiled in spite of herself. "I do know." Her eyes shone, staring at Ben like he was gold, and Tuck let out a fake gag. Miranda hit his head and he pouted. "Stop with the 'Tuck' eyes, you deserved that." She let out a giggle and sat beside Ben, who put down his food and moved an arm around her shoulders. She smiled contentedly and leaned in to kiss him softly.

Tuck rolled his eyes again, and he was lucky neither of them saw it. He finished his food quickly, eager to go back to his gift.

As he grabbed another picture of him and Kelly, he smiled. When he was a kid, he remembered Ben coming into their lives. It was almost blurry, but he could clearly see a moment where he realized that his mother, who seldom smiled beforehand, became happier than she had ever been with Ben.

He grew up idolizing their love and their marriage. They were the 'it' couple, the dream marriage everyone sought. Even his friends often commented about the love and affection that always seemed to circle the two of them.

Knowing that he probably wouldn't end up with Kelly, he still loved her, and he loved showering her with gifts like he saw Ben do almost every week.

His smile grew wider as he imagined the girl's eyes lighting up when he gave her the gift.

He looked up to see his parents murmuring to each other. His mother giggled and while it was almost too sweet at times, he loved that she was happy.

"Hey, dad, can you pass me the scissors?"