A Home For Timmy (boyxboy)

Chapter 18: Choose.

Chapter 18

~Michael~

Timmy latched on to my leg the moment I unlocked the front door and stepped into the house.

"Hey buddy." I dropped my keys in the tray by the door and picked him up.

When I looked at him he was frowning at me; his mouth turned down in a miserable pout and his eyes narrowed in accusation.

"Alright, what did I do?" I asked, stepping further into the room.

"Micha no come." He said finally.

"But I'm here now. I'm sorry. How was your day?" I questioned and while he still looked at me with suspicion, he decided to vacate the topic of my absence...at least for now.

"Daddy no let Timmy pay." He said and I looked at the toy-covered floors that certainly hadn't been that way when I'd left this morning, then I looked at him.

"But it looks like you played all day Timmy. Where's daddy?"

He pointed to the kitchen and I followed his direction.

"Daddy dirty." He told me seriously.

"He is?" I asked him. "How come?"

"I no know." He replied, just before wrapping his arms around my head and kissing me squarely on the eyelid and I felt a warmth blossom in my chest. It was the moments like this that made me pause and think about how far I'd come with these two; father and son.

I reached up and ruffled his curls and he dropped his head onto my shoulder, before sticking his favorite fingers into his mouth.

I carried him with me into the kitchen, just in time to see Jason enter through the back door as filthy as Timmy had said. He was shirtless and sweating and I watched in appreciation as he wiped his palms on the shirt he held. When he looked up and saw me he froze for a fraction of a second, before he sighed in what I could only describe as relief.

"You're here." He said as though surprised by that fact, then just as quickly, gestured to the door. "The patio's pretty much done."

"Yeah? I thought it would take a week more at least."

He shrugged. "I just have a little bit more to do." He said and I noticed how he fought not to meet my eyes, instead turning his attention on Timmy, who was watching him without a word.

"You tired?" he asked his son and to my surprise, Timmy turned his head away from him.

"Hey." I nudged him gently." Daddy's talking to you." I told him, but he didn't budge.

"He's mad at me 'cause I didn't let him play in the dirt."

Ah...that would explain the 'daddy no let Timmy pay' rant he'd had going earlier.

"But big boys don't play in the dirt. Aren't you a big boy?" I asked him and when he looked at me it was with a frown.

"No."

I chuckled. "Then what are you?"

"Timmy."

I laughed. "Is that what you are?" and I tickled him causing him to giggle and squirm in my arms.

"No Micha!" he protested in a fit of giggles and when I had mercy on him and finally looked at Jason, it was to see him watching us; his expression unreadable.

"Everything okay?"

His eyes narrowed and for a moment I thought he wouldn't say a word, but then he shrugged and walked past me. "I'm gonna shower."