Last Friday Night (ManxMan)

Chapter 20

(A/N: Temperature communicated in Celsius. They're Canadian after all)

How do you overdress on a snow day? It should be impossible. Yet parked in front of a children's playground, Hunter feels completely overdressed. All he'd worn was a winter jacket with some jeans. But he was a man who enjoyed layering so the gloves seemed like a good idea. But he also saw a spot of neck peeking out from his pompous fur-lined Root's coat so he wrapped a scarf around it as well.

But watching the children run around the park–a strange thing for an adult man to be thinking–Hunter looked as layered up as any other child there. Despite not having an overprotective mom dressing him. It was embarrassing and a little demoralizing. But River and Melodie were already standing off to the side, looking around for Hunter's tall frame, so he had to do this.

Hunter stepped out of the car and raised his hand to wave. Then, at the last second, he tore off his scarf and threw it into the car.

"Hunter!"

Hearing his name, Hunter's stomach fell. He was caught red-handed. Of course someone noticed his frantic outfit modification and called him out on it. Yet, when he turned around, everything made a lot more sense.

A pink blur was running into his stomach.

Melodie's hug was incredibly tight despite having to squeeze through down feathers, a sweater, and two shirts. Hunter crouched down to hug her as best as he could and by the time she let go, he was eye level with the small human.

"Are you going to play with us?" She asked, slightly out of breath. Remembering how far away her and River stood when Hunter spotted them last, it made sense she was tired after sprinting over to his car.

"Yes I am," he grinned. Hunter unconsciously straightened her hat, making sure it covered her dark brown ears. "I want you to show me all the games you know."

"I don't think we have enough time for that," she retorted with her kid brow quirked up high. "But I'll try."

Hunter started walking the 6 year old back to the park and River met them halfway. They saw each other most weekdays and had almost reached a double digit number of kisses–Hunter was anal about keeping count–but this greeting felt especially awkward. Hugging a man you were romantically interested in front of his child felt oddly intimate. As if feeling the same way, River settled for a zero contact wave.

"I'm glad you could make it."

"I'm glad to be here," Hunter earnestly replied. He'd once again questioned if he could actually forgo work for an afternoon play date, but River's stoney expression the first time he said no wouldn't leave Hunter's mind. And the department leads were unfazed by the extra tasks. So here he was, over bundled and being dragged through the snow by someone half his height.

Hunter eyed the playground structure and braced himself for the embarrassment that would come from two grown men trying to invade the jungle gym. But Melodie skirted right past the cute playground. She walked them deeper into the park, plowing through the snow like a woman on a mission. When the children's screaming was only a distant background noise, Melodie finally stopped.

"This is where we'll play the games," she announced proudly. Hunter looked to River but the older man was just sighing under his breath. Which didn't seem like a good sign to Hunter.

Within minutes, Hunter came to regret his earlier words. Melodie was smart. Too smart to forget someone challenging her to recall every game she'd ever played. Since twenty years had passed since Hunter was the same age, he'd assumed that "all the games you know" meant tag and duck duck goose. Melodie was introducing games like Cat and Mouse and Alaskan Baseball–which they could barely complete with 3 people.