"Bunny? More Like Kangaroo"

Apple Pie

Tugging on the cuffs of his sleeves nervously, Aster glances at his boyfriend from the passenger seat. "Jack? Are you sure this is fine?"

"Aster," Jack starts, giving him an exaggerated sigh, "for the 100th time, yes! You look perfectly fine."

"But-"

"Nope!" He interrupts, looking at his boyfriend lovingly. "Aster, even if you wore nothing but a ratty t-shirt and jeans, my parents would still love you."

That's right. Aster is about to go through the most nerve racking, nausea inducing, and fear driven test in a relationship.

Meeting the parents.

It all started while Jack was talking with his mom over the phone last week.

* Flashback*

"Yeah, Mom. Everything's fine." Jack says, laughing at his mom's constant worrying.

"Jackie, I just want to make sure that everything's going alright. You haven't been talking about that young man of yours, Aster, in a while!" She argues.

"Mooom!" Jack groans, watching his boyfriend of one year from the kitchen as he sketches in the living room. The childish man smiles affectionately at him, making up his mind. "How about this?" He asks, interrupting his mother's current rant. "Aster and I can drive on down and you can meet him yourself." Jack offers. At the mention of his name, Aster looks up to give Jack a confused look. Waving him off, Jack just smiles.

It's silent on the other line for a couple of minutes before his mom starts gushing. "Really? Oh, sweetie! I know your father and I would just love to meet him! Emma is at school right now, but I'll be sure to tell her!" She exclaims, her joy evident in her voice.

*End Flashback*

Since Jack's family live down south of Ohio, Jack and Aster would need to make a four hour drive down there. Four hours of anxiety for Aster to go through.

"Next time we go to your parents house, remind me to not let you in charge of the music." Aster muses, his eye slightly twitching from the obnoxious pop music being blasted from the stereo.

Jack, who was nodding his head and singing along equally loud, turns to his boyfriend with a goofy grin. "Come one, Kangaroo! You love my music, somewhere in that grumpy exterior." He teases, pulling down into a side street. "And guess what?" He asks, pulling into a driveway. "We're here."

The house is in a pretty close knit looking neighborhood, with kids riding their bikes down the street and an owner walking their dog down the sidewalk. There's a small driveway with color flowers on either side of it as it leads up to a small garage next to a beige colored house with a red roof on top.

"Aster." Jack says, watching as his boyfriend turns his nervous gaze to him. Giving him a reassuring smile, Jack reaches out and clenches onto his hand. "I promise you, they'll love you. You really have nothing to worry about."

Nodding, still uncertain, Aster takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. "Okay, I believe you."

Satisfied that everything would be okay for now, Jack leans in and kisses his boyfriend softly. "Now, let's get out since I'm pretty sure I see my mom watching through the window."

With that, the two of them get out. Jack holding an apple pie and his backpack while Aster holds a bouquet of yellow tulips and their bags. They walk up to the door and before they can knock, it flies open and a little girl with brown hair flies out the door and jumps into Jack's waiting arms.

"Jack!" She yells happily, hugging him tightly. "I missed you so much!"

Laughing at her antics, Jack hugs her tightly. "I missed you too, Emma!" He then turns to his boyfriend, who watches with an amused look on his face. "How about I introduce you to someone special." Jack says, letting the girl down on the ground. "Aster, this is my sister Emma. Emma this is my boyfriend Aster."