I'm A Big, Big Boy
Title: I'm A Big, Big Boy
Pairing: None but a Joe/Nick undertone
Rating: G/PG
Wordcount: 1,657
Warnings: Preslash, underage, fluff, gen
Disclaimer: I don't own anything and I don't make any money from this
A/N: I wrote this on very little sleep while on an airplane but I like how it came out
Summary: “Honey, you’re not old enough to walk to school by yourself,” Denise said sweetly to her youngest. Nick frowned.
“But I’m a big boy,” he insisted as she scooped out some peas onto his plate.
“Yes you are, honey, you’re my big boy,” she smiled, passing the peas to Joe. “But you have to be a big, big boy to walk alone.”
“I’m a big boy, I want to walk to school by myself!” 4 year old Nick proclaimed.
The Jonas family was seated around the dining room table, beginning their dinner. Kevin Sr. had just finished saying grace and Nick was the first to speak once he finished. Kevin and Joe shared a look and giggled behind their hands as their mother looked at their younger brother.
“Honey, you’re not old enough to walk to school by yourself,” Denise said sweetly to her youngest. Nick frowned.
“But I’m a big boy,” he insisted as she scooped out some peas onto his plate.
“Yes you are, honey, you’re my big boy,” she smiled, passing the peas to Joe. “But you have to be a big, big boy to walk alone.”
“Yeah, like us!” Joe grinned, passing the peas right to Kevin but stopped and scooped some onto his plate after he caught the look their dad was giving him.
“I’m a big, big boy!” Nick exclaimed. “I eat my vegetables and take my own baths and everything!”
“You can’t even tie your shoes, Nicholas,” Joe pointed out and Kevin laughed.
“Yeah and you only take your own baths after Mom draws them for you. And you still need bubbles and your rubber duck,” Kevin chipped in.
Nick’s little jaw set tight and he glared at the both of them. Big brothers were such a pain.
“I’ll take baths without bubbles and Mr. Quacky if I can walk by myself,” Nick bargained.
“Why don’t you want me to walk with you anymore?” Denise asked, frowning. Children were always in such a rush to grow up but she wanted to hold onto her baby for as long as she could. Though, she had to admit that Nick was the most mature 4 year old that probably ever lived.
“Because Joey and Kevin get to walk alone,” Nick said.
“They walk together,” Denise corrected.
Nick gave her an exasperated look; one she’d seen him give his brothers hundreds of times when they were being too silly or too immature.
“Please Momma?” Nick asked, looking at her hopefully.
Denise looked at her husband and he spoke up.
“Your mother and I will discuss it after dinner,” Kevin Sr. said decidedly. Nick counted it as a small victory and nodded, finally digging into his dinner.
After dinner, Kevin and Joe washed the dishes as usual and Nick sat on top of the counter, drying them as they were handed to him and put them away in the cupboards behind him.
“D’you guys think Momma and Daddy will say yes?” Nick asked, drying off the plate Joe just passed him.
“Nicky, you’re too little to walk to school alone,” Joe said, rolling his eyes.
“Am not!” Nick protested.
“Are too!” Joe argued. “You’re too little. Cars won’t be able to see you. You’ll fall into the cracks in the floor and fall right through the world and come out the other side in China! You don’t even know Chinese!” Joe said, waving his arms around, soapy water flinging from his fingers.
“No I won’t,” Nick scoffed. “You’re just making that up,” he accused.
“No I’m not. It happens all the time to little kids who try to walk alone when they’re not ready. Right Kev?”
Kevin nodded gravely. “Totally. It’s in the news all the time. You have to be careful, Nicky. They’re mean to you if you don’t know Chinese over in China.”
“That won’t happen,” Nick said strongly, but Joe and Kevin could see the flicker of doubt in his eyes.
“Nicholas?” Nick looked up to see his parents standing in the middle of the kitchen. “Your mother and I talked it over and we’ve decided that we’ll give you a chance. If anything happens, you’ll go right back to walking to school with Mom, you got it?”
Nick’s eyes widened and he nodded quickly. “Got it!” He practically shouted, beside himself with excitement. Joe and Kevin exchanged worried looks.
“You know how to get there, right? You walk all the way down to the corner and turn right. You walk down to the stop light and you wait for the crossing guard to help you cross the street and then down to the big building at the end of the block,” Denise instructed, fussing with Nick’s curls and his little book bag. The bag was empty since he was just in preschool, but he insisted on carrying one just like Joe and Kevin.
“I know, Momma,” Nick said for the tenth time that morning. “I’ll be okay.”
Denise knelt down to hug Nick tightly and kissed him on the cheek, then the top of his head.
“Okay baby,” Denise said reluctantly. “If anything’s wrong, you come right back home. We’re all here.”
Nick nodded, wanting to just go already. “Alright, Momma.”
“I love you.”
“I love you too. Bye!” Nick held onto the straps of his empty bag and headed out the front door, practically skipping down the path. He turned and waved goodbye before beginning toe walk proudly down the block, chest puffed out with pride.
“Okay boys. Go follow him and make sure he’s okay. Make sure he doesn’t see you,” Denise said, looking down at Joe and Kevin. Both boys nodded and said their I love you’s and goodbyes before quickly heading out, trailing after Nick.
Joe kept ducking behind trees and humming the Batman them song and Kevin smacked him on the arm.
“He’s not supposed to know we’re here, genius,” Kevin hissed. Joe grumbled and rubbed his arm. He continued to hum under his breath and watched Nick approach the corner ahead of them.
Nick stopped at the corner and looked around, suddenly forgetting which way he was supposed to go. In his excitement, he forgot which way his mother said to go and panic started to rise up inside him. Did he go right? Left? Straight ahead? Everything looked familiar in the way that he’d seen all the houses and every tree every day but he never paid any real attention to them. Did he pass the blue house on the way to school or the yellow house with a red roof?
He got more and more confused and scared, the longer he stood there. Suddenly, he felt absolutely tiny and lost. Why had he thought he was ready for this? Joe was right; he was too little for this. Joe. Oh how he wished Joe was here right now. Joe always knew which way to turn.
The longer he stood there at the corner, the more he got worked up. Soon he was near tears, scared and lost and young. He stepped back, trying to scramble and turn back around to head home he thought he was sure he’d somehow wound up miles away from home. He stumbled back and the heel of his sneaker got stuck in a crack in the cement of the side walk. His balance was thrown and he tipped backwards, falling onto his back. In his head, the fall felt like a life time. He felt like Alice falling down the rabbit hole except he wasn’t going to land in Wonderland - he was falling through the middle of the world and would wind up in China.
Nick started crying; loud and fearful sobs and he curled into a tight ball on the ground, hiding his face. He didn’t want to be in China. Joe was right. He didn’t know Chinese. Joe had been right about everything all along.
Joe and Kevin looked at each other, caught between wanting to laugh and wanting to help. They watched Nick look around confused, getting himself all worked up and when he tripped back and fell, the both covered their mouths to keep from laugh too loud. But when Nick curled up and started crying loudly, their laughter died down. They ran over to their little brother, Joe dropping to his knees by Nick’s side to try and uncurl the small boy.
“No! I don’t know Chinese! I’m sorry!” Nick cried out. Joe just looked up, confused at Kevin, who shrugged, looking just as confused as Joe felt. Joe started tugging on Nick’s arms harder.
“Nicky, come on,” he huffed but Nick wasn’t listening.
“I’m sorry! I’m too little to walk by myself! Please, I just wanna go home!”
Joe suddenly remembered the story he’d made up the night before. “Nicky, it’s just us. You’re not in China. You’re still in New Jersey. Com on, sit up.”
Nick lifted his head, eyes bloodshot and puffy from crying. “Joey?” he sniffled.
“Yeah Nicky, it’s me,” Joe smiled.
“I couldn’t remember which way to turn,” Nick wailed, throwing his arms around Joe’s neck and clung to his brother.
“I know, buddy,” Joe said, rubbing Nick’s back. “You wanna go home or you want Kev and I to walk you to school?”
Nick curled his hands into fists and rubbed at his eyes. “School. I don’t want Momma to know,” Nick decided, eyes still bloodshot but no longer crying. “She won’t let me walk alone again.”
“How about instead of walking to school alone, Kev and I walk with you from now on?” Joe suggested.
“You would?” Nick asked, his eyes growing wide. “Really?”
“Yeah, sue,” Kevin piped up. “It’ll just be the three of us. Just like the Three Musketeers.”
“What’s that?” Nick asked as Joe helped him to his feet. Joe brushed away the dirt from Nick’s clothes and book bag.
“We’ll show you after school,” Kevin promised with a smile. Nick nodded, sniffling a last time.
“Okay,” Nick said. Joe held out his hand and Nick didn’t hesitate to give him his own hand to hold. Joe gave his hand a little squeeze. “I guess I’m not a big, big boy after all,” he said sadly. “I guess I’m still little.”
“It’s okay, Little Nicky,” Joey smiled. “You’re a big, big boy in my book.”
Pairing: None but a Joe/Nick undertone
Rating: G/PG
Wordcount: 1,657
Warnings: Preslash, underage, fluff, gen
Disclaimer: I don't own anything and I don't make any money from this
A/N: I wrote this on very little sleep while on an airplane but I like how it came out
Summary: “Honey, you’re not old enough to walk to school by yourself,” Denise said sweetly to her youngest. Nick frowned.
“But I’m a big boy,” he insisted as she scooped out some peas onto his plate.
“Yes you are, honey, you’re my big boy,” she smiled, passing the peas to Joe. “But you have to be a big, big boy to walk alone.”
“I’m a big boy, I want to walk to school by myself!” 4 year old Nick proclaimed.
The Jonas family was seated around the dining room table, beginning their dinner. Kevin Sr. had just finished saying grace and Nick was the first to speak once he finished. Kevin and Joe shared a look and giggled behind their hands as their mother looked at their younger brother.
“Honey, you’re not old enough to walk to school by yourself,” Denise said sweetly to her youngest. Nick frowned.
“But I’m a big boy,” he insisted as she scooped out some peas onto his plate.
“Yes you are, honey, you’re my big boy,” she smiled, passing the peas to Joe. “But you have to be a big, big boy to walk alone.”
“Yeah, like us!” Joe grinned, passing the peas right to Kevin but stopped and scooped some onto his plate after he caught the look their dad was giving him.
“I’m a big, big boy!” Nick exclaimed. “I eat my vegetables and take my own baths and everything!”
“You can’t even tie your shoes, Nicholas,” Joe pointed out and Kevin laughed.
“Yeah and you only take your own baths after Mom draws them for you. And you still need bubbles and your rubber duck,” Kevin chipped in.
Nick’s little jaw set tight and he glared at the both of them. Big brothers were such a pain.
“I’ll take baths without bubbles and Mr. Quacky if I can walk by myself,” Nick bargained.
“Why don’t you want me to walk with you anymore?” Denise asked, frowning. Children were always in such a rush to grow up but she wanted to hold onto her baby for as long as she could. Though, she had to admit that Nick was the most mature 4 year old that probably ever lived.
“Because Joey and Kevin get to walk alone,” Nick said.
“They walk together,” Denise corrected.
Nick gave her an exasperated look; one she’d seen him give his brothers hundreds of times when they were being too silly or too immature.
“Please Momma?” Nick asked, looking at her hopefully.
Denise looked at her husband and he spoke up.
“Your mother and I will discuss it after dinner,” Kevin Sr. said decidedly. Nick counted it as a small victory and nodded, finally digging into his dinner.
After dinner, Kevin and Joe washed the dishes as usual and Nick sat on top of the counter, drying them as they were handed to him and put them away in the cupboards behind him.
“D’you guys think Momma and Daddy will say yes?” Nick asked, drying off the plate Joe just passed him.
“Nicky, you’re too little to walk to school alone,” Joe said, rolling his eyes.
“Am not!” Nick protested.
“Are too!” Joe argued. “You’re too little. Cars won’t be able to see you. You’ll fall into the cracks in the floor and fall right through the world and come out the other side in China! You don’t even know Chinese!” Joe said, waving his arms around, soapy water flinging from his fingers.
“No I won’t,” Nick scoffed. “You’re just making that up,” he accused.
“No I’m not. It happens all the time to little kids who try to walk alone when they’re not ready. Right Kev?”
Kevin nodded gravely. “Totally. It’s in the news all the time. You have to be careful, Nicky. They’re mean to you if you don’t know Chinese over in China.”
“That won’t happen,” Nick said strongly, but Joe and Kevin could see the flicker of doubt in his eyes.
“Nicholas?” Nick looked up to see his parents standing in the middle of the kitchen. “Your mother and I talked it over and we’ve decided that we’ll give you a chance. If anything happens, you’ll go right back to walking to school with Mom, you got it?”
Nick’s eyes widened and he nodded quickly. “Got it!” He practically shouted, beside himself with excitement. Joe and Kevin exchanged worried looks.
“You know how to get there, right? You walk all the way down to the corner and turn right. You walk down to the stop light and you wait for the crossing guard to help you cross the street and then down to the big building at the end of the block,” Denise instructed, fussing with Nick’s curls and his little book bag. The bag was empty since he was just in preschool, but he insisted on carrying one just like Joe and Kevin.
“I know, Momma,” Nick said for the tenth time that morning. “I’ll be okay.”
Denise knelt down to hug Nick tightly and kissed him on the cheek, then the top of his head.
“Okay baby,” Denise said reluctantly. “If anything’s wrong, you come right back home. We’re all here.”
Nick nodded, wanting to just go already. “Alright, Momma.”
“I love you.”
“I love you too. Bye!” Nick held onto the straps of his empty bag and headed out the front door, practically skipping down the path. He turned and waved goodbye before beginning toe walk proudly down the block, chest puffed out with pride.
“Okay boys. Go follow him and make sure he’s okay. Make sure he doesn’t see you,” Denise said, looking down at Joe and Kevin. Both boys nodded and said their I love you’s and goodbyes before quickly heading out, trailing after Nick.
Joe kept ducking behind trees and humming the Batman them song and Kevin smacked him on the arm.
“He’s not supposed to know we’re here, genius,” Kevin hissed. Joe grumbled and rubbed his arm. He continued to hum under his breath and watched Nick approach the corner ahead of them.
Nick stopped at the corner and looked around, suddenly forgetting which way he was supposed to go. In his excitement, he forgot which way his mother said to go and panic started to rise up inside him. Did he go right? Left? Straight ahead? Everything looked familiar in the way that he’d seen all the houses and every tree every day but he never paid any real attention to them. Did he pass the blue house on the way to school or the yellow house with a red roof?
He got more and more confused and scared, the longer he stood there. Suddenly, he felt absolutely tiny and lost. Why had he thought he was ready for this? Joe was right; he was too little for this. Joe. Oh how he wished Joe was here right now. Joe always knew which way to turn.
The longer he stood there at the corner, the more he got worked up. Soon he was near tears, scared and lost and young. He stepped back, trying to scramble and turn back around to head home he thought he was sure he’d somehow wound up miles away from home. He stumbled back and the heel of his sneaker got stuck in a crack in the cement of the side walk. His balance was thrown and he tipped backwards, falling onto his back. In his head, the fall felt like a life time. He felt like Alice falling down the rabbit hole except he wasn’t going to land in Wonderland - he was falling through the middle of the world and would wind up in China.
Nick started crying; loud and fearful sobs and he curled into a tight ball on the ground, hiding his face. He didn’t want to be in China. Joe was right. He didn’t know Chinese. Joe had been right about everything all along.
Joe and Kevin looked at each other, caught between wanting to laugh and wanting to help. They watched Nick look around confused, getting himself all worked up and when he tripped back and fell, the both covered their mouths to keep from laugh too loud. But when Nick curled up and started crying loudly, their laughter died down. They ran over to their little brother, Joe dropping to his knees by Nick’s side to try and uncurl the small boy.
“No! I don’t know Chinese! I’m sorry!” Nick cried out. Joe just looked up, confused at Kevin, who shrugged, looking just as confused as Joe felt. Joe started tugging on Nick’s arms harder.
“Nicky, come on,” he huffed but Nick wasn’t listening.
“I’m sorry! I’m too little to walk by myself! Please, I just wanna go home!”
Joe suddenly remembered the story he’d made up the night before. “Nicky, it’s just us. You’re not in China. You’re still in New Jersey. Com on, sit up.”
Nick lifted his head, eyes bloodshot and puffy from crying. “Joey?” he sniffled.
“Yeah Nicky, it’s me,” Joe smiled.
“I couldn’t remember which way to turn,” Nick wailed, throwing his arms around Joe’s neck and clung to his brother.
“I know, buddy,” Joe said, rubbing Nick’s back. “You wanna go home or you want Kev and I to walk you to school?”
Nick curled his hands into fists and rubbed at his eyes. “School. I don’t want Momma to know,” Nick decided, eyes still bloodshot but no longer crying. “She won’t let me walk alone again.”
“How about instead of walking to school alone, Kev and I walk with you from now on?” Joe suggested.
“You would?” Nick asked, his eyes growing wide. “Really?”
“Yeah, sue,” Kevin piped up. “It’ll just be the three of us. Just like the Three Musketeers.”
“What’s that?” Nick asked as Joe helped him to his feet. Joe brushed away the dirt from Nick’s clothes and book bag.
“We’ll show you after school,” Kevin promised with a smile. Nick nodded, sniffling a last time.
“Okay,” Nick said. Joe held out his hand and Nick didn’t hesitate to give him his own hand to hold. Joe gave his hand a little squeeze. “I guess I’m not a big, big boy after all,” he said sadly. “I guess I’m still little.”
“It’s okay, Little Nicky,” Joey smiled. “You’re a big, big boy in my book.”