The Father The Son The Campe Diem

Für Elise

The sound of his alarm roused him from his sleep, much to his disdain, and resulted in a fist shooting out from under the blankets and slamming down on top of the device, bringing an end to that annoying sound. He would've gone back to sleep in an instant had his door not been flung open right after that, and he himself not been snatched up out of his bed.

Red floof was all he saw after he cleared the remaining sleep from his eyes with a few rubs from his fists, and he was less than enthused to see it and the man it was attached to.

"I was sleeping, why the fuck would you do that?!"

"I told you to go to bed on time last night, Max, but you decided to stay up and play games so this isn't on me.", stated the camp counselor turned father as he placed the tiny boy back onto his bed so he could inspect the digital clock for damage like he did every morning.

Max groaned as he attempted to climb back under the covers only to pulled back out by his feet. Why his dad saw fit to be an early riser he would never know, but it annoyed him to no end and he made sure the man knew it by putting on his signature scowl and a pout. He could've went into little space and attempted to get his way by whining, but David had grown wise to the boy's use of it to manipulate him so it didn't really work that much anymore. Still was daddy's boy though.

David caught sight of the look he was getting from his son and smirked as he crouched down to eye level with him, "Aw, is my little man still gwumpy? Maybe a visit from the tickle monster can fix that~"

"No!! Not the tickle monster, anything but the-", but it was too late, because right after that David was on him like white on rice and went for every ticklish spot on the boy's body, causing him to erupt in laughs and giggles. "D-Daddy, sto-haha-oooop!!", he cried through his laughing fit, resulting in David stopping and scooping him into his arms so he could calm down. He loved the occasional childish slip up the boy made when he called him "Daddy" but even more so he loved the sound of his heavy breathing that came with an occasion giggle as he brought his laughing fit to an end.

Damn, he was actually fully awake now and there were nothing he could do about it. "No fair!!", he shouted as he was placed onto his feet and pouted again as David laughed and began making the kid's bed for him.

"Life's not fair kiddo, especially with your dad around.", stated Gwen from his place in the doorway. She'd been watching them for awhile now and never got tired of their morning rituals that seemed to get funnier by the day. She'd blown up in the few months it'd been since they left Woodcrest and complained endlessly about her feet and how full she felt, which always seemed to make David beam with joy, while Max on the other hand just couldn't wait for the baby hurry up and come out so they could do "bad shit" together. His words, not theirs.

Max walked over to Gwen and rested his head on her bloated stomach, backing up with a smile only after he felt slight movement or a "kick" from inside the woman's womb.

"He's active today!"

"He? What makes you think there's a boy in here?"

"I'm hoping it is, but David's so girly at times that I think he can only shoot pink..."

Gwen stifled a laugh as David shot him an unamused look that told Max it was time to shut up and get ready for the day. He was having a three day weekend sleepover with Steven and Connie at the barn, and Beach City was a few hours away so David wanted to get on the road early, hence the alarm.

As the boy entered his own personal bathroom, he actually genuinely smiled at his reflection for the first time. He'd filled out nicely recently and was no longer the twig everyone knew, not to mention that the bags and circles surrounding his eyes has dissipated like they were never even there. He felt good about himself morning, noon, and night, and when he didn't he had two people who loved him to pieces that he could turn to no matter what. It felt great to loved, and even more so it felt fantastic to know that he deserved this feeling and that it was okay to allow himself to fall head over heels into it. He was finally happy.