Forty Years of This [Monster Hunter World]

Chapter 35

The Commander had wanted to insist on his daughter and son-in-law to move in with him again so he could help with the infant, but the Quartermaster's tight grip on his shoulder stopped him. "Love," he had whispered in his ear a little more harshly than he intended to. "Let them have space. They will come to us when they need us. That will be sooner than you realize."

Sure enough, before the end of the week, the Commander was sitting in his daughter's home cradling the infant in his arms while the Quartermaster began to clean and be generally useful.

"Oh little baby boy," the Commander cooed. The child looked around, unseeing. "Aren't you so small? Aren't you so small? I could just eat you up-- swallow you whole!" He leaned over to press several kisses to his grandson's face, but the moment he touched him the baby started crying. "What? No! No-no-no-no!" He glanced at the Quartermaster in horror before stroking the child's head and bouncing him.

"What did you do?" The Quartermaster stared in confusion. He had no idea how to handle babies, and he thought the Commander had it all under control, but now the infant was wailing.

The kid's dad woke up from his nap on the couch, stood, took the infant, and bobbed and sung until his son was quiet again. When he handed his child back over to the Commander, something clicked. His son-in-law was clean shaven. He had a big prickly beard. It took him half a second to make his decision, and that night he brought out the straight razor.

"████████, Love, I know you like my beard, but it has to go."

"What?!" The Quartermaster shot upright from his chair. "Why?"

"Our grandson doesn't like it." He began to head for the wash basin.

"Wait!" The Quartermaster scrambled to catch him. "Give me time to mourn it first. Shave it tomorrow morning. You've had it for so long..." The Quartermaster reached out to stroke the Commander's face and beard. He would certainly miss it in all it's golden glory, but, he realized, it would be nice to see his partner's face beneath it again.

"Alright... Tomorrow then. Maybe when the kid grows up, I'll let it grow out again."

The Quartermaster did not sleep well that night. He rested like a grieving man with his head near the Commander's the entire night through, and when they woke that morning, he shuffled like a man condemned. He was moping. He didn't mope often, but he was absolutely moping. But there was no amount of moping he could possibly do-- no amount of wistful sighs and sad, lingering gazes, that could change the Commander's mind. Nor was it the Quartermaster's intent to change his mind.

He just hated change, and the Commander had had a beard for almost as long as they'd been together. There was a bright side to it for him, though. The Commander's beard grew quickly, and his stubble was prickly and uncomfortable by the end of the day which meant he had to shave at least once every morning. The Commander enjoyed his partner trimming his beard as much as the Quartermaster enjoyed trimming it for him, but shaving was something he'd have to do more frequently than trimming.

While the Quartermaster started with a melancholy as he applied the foam to his partner's face, his mood quickly shifted to fondness and a bit of reverence (but mostly just thirst).

"Gods above-- I forgot how well chiseled your face was. That jaw's been hiding for years..." He clicked his tongue as he made slow, intentional work out of the beard.

"Makes me wonder what's hiding behind your facial hair."

"Not much. A chin and a little bit of jaw around the edges. I suppose if lil ████ starts screaming when I kiss him, we'll find out."

"You would shave for him?" The Commander looked startled. He'd never seen the Quartermaster with different facial hair-- in fact, his appearance was so static and unchanging that at one point he wondered if the man wasn't some sort of fey.

"I admit it would be the greatest sacrifice I have ever made, but it also would grow back. And I do not want to be as distant from our grandson as I was to our daughter. I want to do better."

The Commander felt like he was melting. His shoulders fell as he smiled fondly at the man he loved. "Well, I hope for your sake you get to keep it, but know that I think you might look very handsome clean shaven."

"Clean shaven? Oh heavens no. Just the chin hairs. I don't think the rest of it will be an issue. After all, it's clearly a texture thing. Your very sexy beard is a bit scratchy, and while I always liked that, I could see why an infant wouldn't."

"Why didn't you suggest that before you shaved my face?"

"Because I dread the day you have facial hair like the Admiral's. Or worse: like mine. And..." The Quartermaster flicked his tongue over his teeth before looking over the Commander. "While I am resistant to change... I thought you might look very sexy. I was right. You're to die for."

"You're a ridiculous man, and I love you." He chuckled on his way out the door. The two of them still had jobs to do before they could visit their grandson, and while the Commander got many bewildered stares, it was worth it in the end. He held his grandson and kissed his little face, his little hands, his tiny tummy, until his daughter took the babe away. She loved her father and trusted him with her son, but there was more to raising an infant than holding them and cooing over them.

Of course, that never stopped the Commander (or the Quartermaster for that matter) from visiting precisely just to dote.