Golden Pothos

Noticing

Mitch smiled at his husband. Beau was beyond considerate and bordered on angel territory. He had made Mitch a cup of coffee, knowing full and well Mitch would be far too tired to make it himself and would probably end up putting cocoa powder in the coffee maker in his exhaustion. He had worked almost all night on his new composition. He hoped it would impress directors enough to finally put one of his pieces into a movie.

Mitch took a sip of his coffee and had to force himself not to recoil at the taste. Beau had always put far less sugar into his coffee and it was much too bitter for him. But, he didn't want to seem ungrateful so he swallowed it.

"Baby, you need to get ready for work. I'll go wake the kids." Mitch said. Beau groaned.

"Mitch, we hardly ever get any peace and quiet. Let them sleep a few minutes extra. You didn't give me a kiss last night. You were too busy putting notes on paper and hoping they sound good to some director." He said, wrapping his arms around Mitch's neck. He started giving his husband gentle kisses from his ear to cheek, pecking softly and ignoring the morning stubble Mitch had failed to shave off before coming downstairs. In fact, Mitch didn't really do much to fix his appearance before coming to the kitchen other than rubbing his eyes. His hair was sticking up in every direction, his dark circles were unmistakable and his t-shirt was still wrinkled from being slept in. Beau still said Mitch looked perfect, though.

Mitch giggled and accepted a few kisses before pushing his husband away. "Its nearly seven, we need to wake the kids for school and you have work in an hour and your boss already kind of hates you." He said. Beau rolled his eyes but finally started towards the stairs. He didn't miss his chance to give Mitch's rear end a gentle smack, however. Mitch followed Beau upstairs, but separated as soon as they reached the top floor. Mitch went towards the right side while Beau went to their room on the left.

Mitch knocked on his son's door first. He was the easiest to wake, despite being the younger of his two children. He opened it slowly before calling "Tris, wake up, time for school."

Tris, or Tristan if you wanted to call him by his full name, was a six year old boy with duck fluff hair. His eyes were brown, just like Mitch's. Beau always talked of how much Tris reminded him of Mitch. Mitch thought Tris looked like Tris. Tris was just himself and no one else. He loved Tris for who he was.

Tris was adopted by Mitch and Beau when he was just two years old. He had been neglected at his former home. His mother had eventually given him up. The neglect became evident when they examined him and found that, even at two, he lacked the ability to hold up his own head, eat any solid foods or speak any basic language. It broke Mitch's heart and he devoted himself to teaching Tris how to speak and exercising him to make sure he'd be able to lift up his own head without help and slowly introducing him to solid foods. He worked from home, but still had to go on hiatus to take care of Tris. He wouldn't trade that time for anything.

"Morning, papa." Tris said, rubbing at his eyes."Is it a school day?"

"Yes, Tris. Get dressed. I laid out your clothes before I went to bed last night. They're on your colouring table." Mitch answered before stating he was going to wake Tris' sister.

Carrie, or Caroline-Louise, was a heavy sleeper and so unlike Tris. She didn't wake the first time she was called. She never had. Mitch and Beau adopted her when she was six, the age Tris was now. She'd been a part of their family for seven years. Her story was something Mitch could barely think about, much less reveal. The most he could ever say was that her brother was a cruel man who hurt a little girl in ways nobody should be hurt. Carrie had been afraid of Mitch and Beau when she first was adopted by them solely because they were men and men reminded her of her brother.