You Can't Hurry Love

7| Drawing

"Can you pass me a pen of yours? Mine's all out of ink." He shakes it to show him. "Fred? Earth to Fred?" FP waves a hand in front of him.

"Huh? Sorry, it's a text from Hermione. She had to pick Charles up from school."

Hermione was out grabbing them all a quick lunch from the diner when Alice received a call from the school. Alice won't be off for a while, so Hermione offered to get him and take him to the office.

"Is he okay?"

"Seems like some of the kids have been picking on him again."

"Again? The poor boy. Why would anyone be so mean to him?"

"He's unfortunately become an easy target for them. He's the smallest one in his class." Fred informs him. "Do you mind if he sits around here? Hermione is bringing him in a bit."

"Not at all. I'd love to see the kid."

+++

Charles walks in clutching his backpack. He wanders over to the corner and hides behind Hermione's desk.

"Hey, little man, it's nice to see you." FP smiles at him. Charles doesn't say anything.

"Do you want your milkshake, sweetheart? Your mom made it for you." Hermione asks, but he shakes his head. He's perfectly fine hiding.

Fred frowns. "I'd like to see my favorite little boy. Can he come out?"

"No!"

"I might be able to help," FP stands up and maneuvers over to his hiding spot. He crouches down to his level. "Hey, I didn't know we were playing hide and seek."

"Just hiding. No seeking."

"That's a shame. I thought I was going to hang out with the coolest first grader in town."

"He's not here."

"I don't know what you're talking about. I see him right here."

"That's not what the other kids think," He bites the inside of his cheek to keep himself from crying.

"Well they don't know just how awesome you are."

"They're never going to think I'm cool. They think I'm weird."

"Weird can be cool. Didn't you know that?"

"You think I'm weird, too?"

"I think-" FP sits down right next to him. "-you are a pretty badass kid." He nudges his side. "Don't tell your mom I said badass."

Charles cracks a smile.

"There we go. That's what we like to see." FP wraps his arm around his shoulders. "Now, do you want to tell us what happened?"

Charles's face drops. "The kids made fun of my drawing."

"Why would they do that? You make the best ones I've ever seen."

"Because we were supposed to draw our families and mine looked different from everybody's." Charles shrugs his backpack off and pulls out a crumbled piece of paper to hand to him. FP opens it up. "They said families are supposed to be a mommy and daddy, and brothers and sisters, too. They said I had a weird family."

"Is that all of us?"

"Yeah, that's me and my mommy." He points at the two blonds. "That's you. That's aunt Mione and uncle Freddie. Oh, and Vegas and Hot Dog."

FP is touched to be considered family. It even makes him tear up a little.

"You don't like it?" Charles worries.

"I love it, kiddo."

"Then why are you crying?" He raises his little hand to swipe at his cheek.

"They're happy tears. I really like your drawing."

"Oh, that's silly."

"Yeah, I'm pretty silly, aren't I?"

Hermione shoots Fred a glance. They're both thinking the same thing.

+++

Alice rushed home as fast as she legally could at the end of her shift. She wanted to see how her baby was doing. He was on her mind all day after receiving the call from his school.

"Charles! Baby, where are you?" She closes the front door behind her. "Mommy's home!"

The couple is sitting in the living room chatting about their day when Hermione hears her.

"Welcome home, Alice. He's in the backyard playing with FP."

"How is he?"

"FP cheered him up. He was really good with him actually."

"You should have seen it. Never thought I'd see that sweet little boy make FP cry," Fred chimes in.

"He made him cry?"

"Go look at the new addition to the fridge. It'll explain a lot."

Alice looks at him confused but goes to the kitchen anyway. She stops in front of the new drawing added to the collection.

"He made it in class!" Fred yells from the other room. "Turns out that's what he was getting picked on for!"

Alice takes a good look at it, absorbing every little detail he put into his art.

MY FAMILY

She loves the little caption in his handwriting. She notices how everyone in their home is included.

"Hey," Hermione brings her out of her daze.

"Hey."

"It's a cute picture, huh?"

"It really is. It even got me thinking," She looks her way. "Charles is getting really attached to him."

"We've noticed it, too." Hermione takes her hands and gives them a squeeze. "Maybe...it's time to tell him? No rush, of course, just...I don't know. It breaks my heart that they don't know why they have this adorable little bond."

"I know," Alice has thought about it day and night for weeks now. "I've been trying to think of how and when to tell him. I'm just not ready to tell Charles yet. I need to start with FP. What if this isn't what he wants? I can't put Charles through that. He's already hurting enough."

"Are you kidding me?" Hermione turns Alice to look out the window. They watch as they run around the yard without a care in the world. "I don't doubt that FP would be happy to know that that's his son. He thinks he's Hal's and there he is being the father Charles has always wanted. He checks on him when he's upset, he plays with him, he does silly little things with him; he loves him, Alice. That man was meant to be a father."

"I'm telling him."

"You are? Right now?"

"Not literally right now, but I will. I'll be brave and sit him down soon. Maybe then we can tell Charles together."

"You've got this, girl. You three deserve this closure."