𝙼𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙱𝚊𝚍 𝙱𝚘𝚢 (𝚋𝚡𝚋)

dads

Shawn rubbed his eyes as he was awoken by the smell of breakfast. He turns over to the bed, noticing the lack of Jaxon's figure. He lets out a yawn, making his way down the staircase of their house.

After adopting Lorianna and Oliver, they'd scoured the market for a house they all liked. It took months of open houses before they settled on this one. It was big enough, had a beautiful yard, and their neighbors were nice.

Shawn rubbed his eyes again as he stumbled into the kitchen, greeted by the sweet aroma of pancakes. Jaxon stood at the stove, spatula in one hand, a cup of coffee in the other. Lorianna was sitting at the table, her nose buried in a book, while Oliver sat in his booster seat, playing with his monster truck Auntie Kai got him as an adoption gift.

"Morning, sleepyhead," Jaxon says, giving Shawn a quick kiss. "Coffee."

Shawn nodded, grateful for his husband. He pours himself a mug of coffee as he joined the kids at the table. He glanced at Lorianna at the table. "Whatcha reading, kiddo?" he asked, peering over her shoulder.

"A mystery novel," She says as she looks up. "Dad recommended it. I can't put it down."

Shawn smiles proudly, making his way over to Oliver. "Sleep well, Oli?"

"Mhm," He says, flashing his smile as he picks up his monster truck. "I had a dream that we had ice cream for lunch."

Jaxon chuckles from where he stands at the stove, flipping another pancake. Oliver furrows his brows quizzically at Shawn. "Papa, can we have ice cream for lunch?"

"I don't know about that, Bubba," Shawn says, tussling Oliver's hair. "But, we can see about ice cream after dinner tonight."

"Promise?" Oliver asks.

"Promise," Shawn says before walking back over to Jaxon. "Do you need help?"

"Yeah, could you get plates?" Jaxon asks, taking a sip from his coffee. "Oh, and I'm working from the office today. We are still working on that grant, so I'm tossed up in a bunch of meetings."

"Okay," Shawn replies, setting the plates down. "Lorianna can sit with me after school at the shop until Oli gets out of school. Will you be home for dinner?"

Jaxon nods his head, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "I should be."

Soon, they were all gathered around the table, indulging in the vanilla pancakes Jaxon had made. Oliver reaches down to his plate, shoving his mouth full of strawberries.

"I can't believe Joshua turned out to be the villain!" Lorianna exclaims, referencing her book. "They wrote him in such a... captivating way. I for sure thought he was gonna be Lily's knight in shining armor."

Jaxon smiles at her. "I told you. Just wait...It gets even crazier."

The doorbell rings, and Shawn stands up to answer it. He smiles when he's greeted by Kai, her son, Devonte, by her side. "Good morning, everyone."

Kai and AJ moved into the same neighborhood, which made it easier to leave the house in the morning. Kai worked at the school, so taking the three of them worked out for everyone. She would drop Lorianna off at the middle school before driving the boys across the street to the elementary school.

"Auntie Kai!" Oliver exclaims as he sets his fork down. Devonte sets his bag down before running inside the house and sitting beside Oliver. Given that they were the same age, the two became inseparable.

"Morning," Shawn says as he lets Kai in.

"Oh, and a good morning it is. Hi, Miss Lorianna."

"Good morning, Auntie Kai," Lori says before shoving her last pancake in her mouth. "I have to go get my stuff." She stands from the table, running upstairs to her bedroom.

"Can I steal some of that coffee?" Kai asks as she follows Jaxon into the kitchen.

"Go ahead," Jaxon says. "How's work?"

"Ugh, fucking terrible," She whispers, pouring coffee into her travel mug. "There was a fight yesterday, and I had to break it up. Now, I have to meet with the principal and report what I saw."

"Jeez."

"What about you? How's the grant going?"

"It's not," Jaxon sighs as well. "Boss doesn't think we're making a strong enough argument. Which is dumb because diversity and inclusion should be enough."

"Well, if anyone can make that argument, it's you," Kai says, smiling at him.

Lorianna makes her way back down the stairs, her backpack slung over her shoulders. "Alrighty! I'm ready."

Shawn helps Oliver get down from his booster seat, grabbing his backpack off the couch and putting it over his shoulders. "All ready, Bubba?"

"Yup!" Oliver says, throwing his arms around Shawn. "I love you, Papa."

"I love you, too."

Oliver marches over to Jaxon, reaching his arms up. Jaxon smiles at him and reaches down to pick him up. "I love you, Dada."

"I love you too, baby." He kisses Oliver on the cheek. "Have a great day at school, okay?" Jaxon sets him down and watches as he runs back over to Devonte.

Lorianna hugs Jaxon. "Love you, Dad. I plan to give you my thoughts about this book by the end of the day."

"Love you, Lo. Can't wait to hear it."

Kai follows Lorianna into the dining area, helping Devonte put on his backpack. Lorianna hugs Shawn as well. "Love you. See you guys later."

"We love you. Have fun," Shawn waves to Devonte. "Bye, Dev."

Devonte just smiles and waves back. His shyness hasn't gone away yet. Kai smiles at them, the three kids ready to walk out the door. "I'll see you guys later."

"Have a good day."

With that, the four of them are out the door. Shawn joins Jaxon in the kitchen, placing his hands on Jaxon's waist. "Pancakes were yummy."

Jaxon smiles and tilts his head. "Yeah?"

"Mhm," He steps forward, leaning in to kiss him. "Thank you for making breakfast. I know that's usually my job."

"You had a long day yesterday. I can handle breakfast, I promise."

"Well, I'll take care of the kitchen," He gestures towards the mess. "You deserve a nice warm shower before work."

Jaxon smiles, reaching down to grab Shawn's hand. "Sorry, just remembering that I married the best man in the world."

* * *