Little Things {Gumlee}

Chapter 6

It took nearly a whole five days of shopping before everything on the list was checked off. And another week to get everything set up and put together. They just got a few necessary things on the first night, everyone too tired to spend more than an hour out in their busy city. But they got a crib and that automated rocker Lee hoped and prayed for, and even managed to put both together before they passed out.

The next two days were insane for Marshall Lee, just because of the way Barnaby shopped. They walked through the stores with multiple carts, filling each one as high as they'd go. When it came time to pay the very expensive total, he just swiped his card like it was nothing. And how did he plan on getting everything back to the house? He rented a U-Haul and some movers to do everything for them. The other two days were to get items they forgot or just thought were cute.

It was a quite a long and tiring process but before they new it, Valerie had her dream nursery and the house was filled with various baby-related items, placed appropriately for convenience. Barnaby, in fact, was the one who did most of the work; he almost seemed more excited than Lee did. Every night they'd start building a project or two together, and when Marshall woke up the next morning, they'd both be completely finished, decorated if needed, and next to some other projects Barnaby decided to build on his own. Marshall was starting to wonder if the kid ever slept.

After spending a few weeks with Barnaby, he was getting familiar with his habits and routines. He didn't know why but it surprised him when he found out about his not-so-secret party life. On the nights when he wasn't putting together some shelf or stroller, he was out with his friends doing who even knows what until the break of dawn. There'd even been a few days where he wouldn't come home until later that evening, dressed in his clothes from the previous night, looking like he had just crawled out of a hole. Not very often did that happen though, but every time it made Marshall a little envious knowing he his own daily schedule catering to a baby couldn't exactly fit in partying time. Those days were in the past.

Lee also noticed that Barnaby had two very different sides to him, along with more characteristics that branched off from them, but the two bolder ones showed themselves more. Either he was hyper, excitable, loud and fast-paced — or he was quiet, sluggish, and just overall down. Marshall wasn't sure what to think about that when he first saw him on a bad day; he knew not everyone can be the same happy person everyday of their life, but he didn't expect Barnaby of all people to change into a completely different person when he felt upset. Honestly he didn't really know what he expected, the blonde boy was full of surprises and he knew better than to assume things about him.

A good thing, however, was that it didn't take long for the two boys to connect and bond a little. Once they both realized they could trust each other, at least sort of, the start of their friendship was smooth sailing from there. Barnaby didn't harm his daughter, and Lee didn't rob him and flee in the middle of the night so they didn't have any other reason not to trust one another. Pretty soon the two were joking around like they'd known each other for months; feeling comfortable enough to act like total weirdos together. Obviously there was a plethora of things they kept to themselves; things that not they necessarily hid on purpose but just didn't feel the need to share with someone they only knew for a few weeks. They were both fine with that, but they wanted to know more.

Learning bits and pieces about each other here and there through observation was cute and all, like how Barnaby was a big baseball fan, or that Marshall Lee was into poetry, but they both were curious about the bigger stuff. What was Barnaby's childhood like? Who was Marshall Lee before he became a father? What happened to Barnaby's family to make them absent and also a touchy subject? Had Marshall ever been with a guy before?

Time would have to tell.

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Barnaby emerged from his bedroom around five a.m., bored from yet another sleepless night. No amount of late night television and hours spent staring into space could make time pass quicker. It was early, the sun just barely peaking over the horizon, but not early enough to be weird or suspicious for him to be up and about. Not that it mattered, it was his own house and he could do what he wanted in it, whenever he wanted. It's not like there's anyone here to tell him what to do anymore.