Fic: When We Are Happy
Author: Stephanie (Gildedmuse)
Series: When We Are Happy
Chapter: Five: Kids Will Be Kids
Pairing: Roger/Mark
Rating: Pg-13 (Language, Boykissing)
Prompt: 28. Children
Word Count: 5,640
Summary: Mark and Roger have almost gotten settled into being a couple, when they're lives get interrupted.
Author Notes: This is a continuation of Feline Jealousy, although this chapter doesn't have much Cohen. Mainly, it's just an excuse for some fluff.
Past Chaspters: Part One/Two, Part Three/Four
Cross-Posting: _rentfic,rentslash,fuckingartists & below14thstreet
When We Are Happy
Chapter Five: Kids Will Be Kids
The loft likes silence in the mornings. In the afternoons, which are quickly turning hot and balmy as winter leaves, it has to deal with the sounds of creation and relationships. With music, if Roger is feeling inclined to pick up his guitar, or the sounds of Mark's camera reeling. Joanne's strong heels clicking over the floor, following Maureen's excited voice. Mimi's long sighs while she and Mark wait for Roger to apologize, telling them both she loves them anyway. Carpe diem, she says even if she can't seem to smile. Late nights the loft revels with the low hum or parties. Of alcohol and pot and intellectual babble. Now the nights are filled with the ruffling of covers and gentle kisses without words. From the afternoons to the early morning hours the loft is alive with the sounds of her artists.
In the morning, though, the loft and its occupants don't like being disturbed and usually aren't. Most anyone who would drop by is still fast asleep at those hours, and the boys themselves are curled around each other with the light sheets kicked off (a sign of summer). So the quiet tends to last until the boys finally wake up. That is until today, when a loud knocking decided to disrupt the otherwise usually morning.
From the piles of sheets that are strewn around Roger's bed, a head pops up. Wide blue eyes look around wildly for a second before the kitten yawns and lies back down. It doesn't feel like wasting its morning nap with loud noises.
The knocking doesn't stop.
"I'll get it." Groaning, Mark tries to fight away from the tangle of covers and strong arms that don't want him to move. "That's the door," he says, as if this will magically get Roger to let him go. All the struggling in the world won't get Roger to let Mark slip away when he's half asleep, something Mark learned pretty quickly once he moved into Roger's bed.
Even with Mark flailing around, Roger only barely wakes up. "So?" He nuzzles up to Mark's chest, ignoring the wiggling. In the past few months that Mark has slept with Roger he has become pretty use to this. Roger snores, kicks, hogs the blankets, and has the tendency of holding Mark in bed until he's ready to get up, which means Mark misses a few good daylight hours that could go towards filming. Yet despite the snoring and drooling and bad breath, Mark still winds up here every night.
"So..." Mark still hasn't escaped the bed, and whoever is at the door isn't giving up. "I have to answer it."
Roger doesn't seem convinced, or simply isn't willing to let go. "What if it's Benny?" He asks, squeezing his eyes closed and refusing to wake up fully even after Mark has finally managed to squirm away from him. Mark frowns, brushing some bleached out hair away from Roger's eyes. Weird how at night he is the one that can't get close enough to Roger, even when the Roger seems less than anxious. Then in the morning, it takes nothing short of beating him up to get him to let Mark out of bed.
"I'll tell him to fuck off," Mark promises as he pulls on a pair of jeans, just in case it isn't Benny or one of their friends who is use to seeing Mark in various stages of undress. It happens when you live in a cramped loft together for so many years, most of them spent drunk. With a quick kiss, Mark drags himself towards the door, muttering a few choice words under his breath at the persistent, early visitor.
If it had been Benny, and Mark is sure it is before he opens the door, he probably would have thrown a few vulgar sayings in his direction for interrupting their morning. Thank fucking God that when he does answer the door, he's shocked enough that the kid inappropriate words die in his throat.
"Mark." Cindy moves past him without waiting for an invitation, ushering two of her kids inside. Dan follows after his wife, a third kid tucked away in his arms and what the hell is this? Mark watches all of this like he's watching an out of place sequence in a dream like film. With this sense of surrealism and wonder as to why his sister and her family were standing in his loft but unable to reach out and actually do anything about it.
There is a small chorus of greetings. Very small, as Mark is still waiting for the surprise to wear off and his drowsy and now shocked mind to catch up with the rest of the world. Cindy is busy telling her oldest to take off his headphones and at least smile at his uncle. Dan merely nods at him, which is better than usual when the two get together. The only one who really says anything is Amanda, giving Mark a cheerful smile and jumping against his waist.
Mark gasps a bit, surprised by the weight of the - what is she now? Eight? - year old girl as she throws herself at him. "Uncle Mark!" she cries, jumping slightly and hugging Mark hard enough to hurt and sends him stumble backwards as he tries to catch her.
Giving up on Matt, Cindy sighs and reaches over to pull Amanda off of Mark, who is still reeling from this whole experience of having his sister's family show up at his loft. "Amanda, what have I said about jumping?"
"Who the fuck is it?" It's Roger's yelling that finally gets Mark to snap out of his shock, wincing as Dan and Cindy both give him a nasty look. As If it is somehow his fault she brought her kids to Alphabet City when they should be tucked away safely back in the suburbs.
Regardless, Mark gives his sister an apologetic look and calls back, "Just a second, Rog."
Cindy loses her disapproving look, the one she stole from mom, and Mark swears he can see his sister light up at the mention of his roommate. "Roger is here?" Years ago, when Mark first moved into the loft, Cindy had dropped by to visit him. This been right before Roger's band gained some local fame, some groupies, some addictions. He just smiled at her and, despite the fact that she had two kids and was pregnant with another and was, as far as Mark knew, happily married, she fell instantly in love with the rock star. Just like every Cohen does.
"He's sleeping," Mark explains, bristling slightly at the way Cindy goes all teenage girl over Roger. It's gross, to think of his sister wanting his boyfriend. "Why are you here?"
Amanda grabs hold of her mom's legs, no longer beaming up at Mark and bouncing around as much. In Dan's arms, their youngest twitches and nearly wakes up. Mark sighs gently, trying to relax and not act like a total bastard in front of the kids. He doesn't want his nephews and niece to think he's upset with them. He just wants to know why his sister, who he hasn't spoken to in months, is standing in his loft with her kids when Mark should be back in bed.
"Don't be like that," Cindy chastises, yet another thing she has mastered after learning from their mom. "I came all the way down here to see you. And, by the way, this isn't exactly the best part of town to bring children-"
"I know that!" Mark says, defending himself against more of that irrational logic that it is somehow his fault Cindy brought her kids here. If Mark had his choice, no one in his family would ever visit him. God, he could only imagine if his mom saw where he lived. She'd probably die of a heart attack out of pure worry.
It has always been like this between them. Ever since they were kids, Cindy and Mark had this clash in personalities. It not like they hate each other. At times Mark would swear he loves Cindy more than anyone else in the world, and she's shown she loves him about the same. Like the time in fifth grade that she pushed her boyfriend down the stairs for calling Mark a faggot (which, okay, turned out years later to be half true but that isn't the point) and all those times she soothed the parents over after Mark did something reckless like selling the car they bought him and purchasing a camera (and calming them down hadn't actually worked, but at least she tried). Still, there is simply something about being around one another that sets them off sometimes into fights like these.
"I don't see why you have to live in a place like this anyway," Cindy says, pursed lips and all to be a perfect replica of mom. Maybe it is the mom impressions, Mark considers. Like he doesn't get enough of his mom on the phone almost every day, and he loves her too but there is only so much he can take. "It isn't exactly safe or healthy."
That doesn't settle well with Mark at all. Who is she to come here, unannounced, with her family in tow and tell Mark how to live his life? He left home and came to New York to make his own decisions, not to be babied around by his big sister. And maybe that's what Mark's probably is with Cindy's random visit. Mark is an artist; independent and rebelling against the hegemony of society and all and here his sister is to make him feel like he's sixteen again and ready to get into another fight because mom and dad are letting her go out while he's stuck doing homework. Being with Cindy makes him feel trapped again.
It's about then that Dan decides to get in between the two, literally stepping between them with Adam still fast asleep in his arms. Probably worried that they're about to go for each other's throats. That's unfair. Cindy and Mark haven't been in a fight since Cindy beat him up when Mark was seven. He learned his lesson about pulling his sister's hair. "Honey," Dan says, fixing Cindy with a look. Not a bad look, just the sort couples give each other when they don't think anyone else can understand.
Mark stands to the side, crossing his arms over his chest as Dan and Cindy exchange looks. He gives the couple some of his own looks, too, wondering when they're going to get to the point and get out and he can go back to bed. The morning had been going so well, too, and then his sister shows up with her kids and husband and all those connections back to Scarsdale that Mark ran away from. He should be with Roger, even if Roger's probably already awake and so if Mark tries anything he'll push him away and just kind of smile, and damnit now he's upset over thinking back to being just some kid in high school and frustrated that his boyfriend won't do much more than cuddle and still waiting for his sister to say something.
Finally Dan and Cindy seem to agree silently on something, and Cindy sighs and looks back to Mark. "I need to ask you a favor."
"I'm not going home." Mark gets it out as quickly as possible, straightening himself out so that he's almost as tall as his sister (and how in the world did she get to be an inch taller than him, anyway?) trying to show off just how determined he is about this. No way, no how that he's going to go home and face his mom. He'd already called and done the good son thing. Well, he'd called Vince and told him about Roger, and Vince would end up telling his parents who would tell Mark's. That's how they found out about Maureen. That's how they find out about everything in Mark's life. It's a system that has never failed him and there is no way he is going home to test just how fast it takes for his parents to get the news that he has a boyfriend. No way, no how.
"I'm not making you go home," Cindy says with another roll of her eyes. Even if she's starting to treat him like just some stupid younger brother, Mark relaxes a little knowing that this isn't about trying to force him back to Scarsdale for a visit. "I just need to talk with you about something." Cindy glances around at her kids, not that they seem to notice much. Matthew who is leaning against the counter and never glances up from his game, Amanda clutching her mom's leg, and Adam resting in Dan's arms. Mark's niece and nephews he barely knows and have now taken over his loft. Okay, that's an exaggeration but he wants to be back in bed, not arguing with his sister. "Can we?" She asks, nodding back towards Mark's bedroom, asking for some privacy.
He doesn't have to go home, though, so it's probably best if he just gives in and does what Cindy wants. That's how it's always been. She's more stubborn and aggressive than Mark could ever be. That's why she always ended up winning when they fought. That's why dad always said she'd make a great lawyer, while he rolled his eyes when Mark covered his walls with anti-war propaganda from the seventies. "Fine," he says with a sigh, leading Cindy back into his empty bedroom. Maybe they can get this over with before Roger gets up.
*
Roger has always been a deep sleeper. Not just a snooze through the alarm sort of guy, but a keep sleeping while the building is collapsing around him and sirens wailing guy. So even after Mark has left, Roger is all to ready to just drift back to sleep and when whoever the hell it is goes away, Mark will come back and they can spend the morning not getting up.
So it's annoying when, after a while, Mark isn't back in bed. It means that Mark isn't there, Roger isn't sleeping, and he might actually have to get up and check to make sure his filmmaker hasn't wandered off somewhere with his camera and forgotten that Roger needs these mornings of not moving to get him through the day. Fucking Mark and his work ethics. It's all Collins fault, Roger thinks as he rolls out of bed with a growl. When Mark first got to New York, he wanted to be independent and artistic, sure, but then Collins comes and takes Mark under his wing and rants on about Anarchy and Change and Mark gets these big ideas in his head about how film can do these things.
It's a stupid connection to make, but Roger is tired and wants to be curled up with his boyf- ... With Mark, damnit, and Mark is probably of filming a dead bird or something. There are some days, when Roger would love to just throw his camera off the roof so that Mark would stop spending so much time with the damn thing.
Roger is not an early morning guy at all.
He doesn't really think about who might be at the door. Probably Benny to bug them about some shit or another. He doesn't really come around anymore (whipped, Roger thinks with a smirk, by that wife of his) but Roger has gotten use to the asshole coming to collect rent. So he stumbled out of his room, figuring he'll tell the guy to fuck off, grab Mark, and force him back into bed for another hour at least. Roger getting some rest should be more important than the film that Mark is afraid to finish, anyway.
Roger is too tired for the full shock to hit, but that doesn't mean he misses it totally as he leaves his room and finds four people he's never seen before standing around in the loft, staring at him. "Who the fuck are you?" Roger asks, scrubbing at his face and trying to wake himself. Not how Roger is use to being woken up.
"Umm..." The adult, some tall guy with a big nose and suit and a kid in his arms, looks at Roger with this uncomfortable expression. Roger is use to that look. It's the sort of look yuppies would give him and April as they went into those high end shops dressed in torn up, thrift store clothes, making a mess until someone came and kicked them out. That uncomfortable, almost frightened look. April use to bask in that look. "You're... You're Roger, right? You probably don't remember me. I'm Dan. Cindy's husband..."
Roger squints a bit as he takes a second glance at the guy, trying to place all this information. "Right..." He actually, barely remembers this guy from that one time Mark's sister came up to visit. He's been high that entire weekend, so everything is blurry at best. Having Mark's sister's husband here doesn't make any more sense than some stranger wandering up into the loft, though. "What the..." Roger pauses, looking down at the three kids standing around their dad. Okay, maybe he should cut back on the cursing. "Where's Mark?"
"Ooh!" Roger jumps away as the girl screams, clutching the doorframe as he stumbles backwards. Not that he's scared by some little girl's squealing. Just startled, that's all. Yeah, and the girl is totally harmless as she bounces towards him, pointing at the floor. "Is that your kitty?"
What the fuck is she - Oh. Roger looks down between his legs, and sure enough Cohen is stretched out and yawning. Apparently he can't sleep without Mark, either. "Yeah..." Roger says, straighten back out and running a hand through his hair. Not that it would help with the mess. "Yeah, that's Co..." Roger has to stop again. Okay, so maybe telling the girl that cat is named after her uncle would be a bit odd. Especially if Roger tries to explain why. "That's Pistol."
The little blonde girl, she looks a little like Mark with her blonde hair and bright eyes, she doesn't seem to be unnerved by Roger at all. She moves towards him in leaps and bounds, bending down and grabbing for Cohen. "She's so cute!" She coos in that typical, female to animal voice thing that they all do. Roger thinks it probably drives Cohen insane.
He lets her play with Cohen, though, because at least she isn't staring at him like he's a freak. Something the father is still doing. "Where's Mark?" Roger asks, unable to stand the look the guy is giving him. Come on, it's his own fucking loft and who does this guy think he is that he's just staring at Roger like that? At least Dan stops long enough to point towards Mark's old room. Roger nods, ignoring the family as he brushes by them. Maybe Mark can explain what the fuck is up.
"No! I just... No way in hell Cindy!"
Roger frowns, pushing the bedroom door open as quietly as he can and slipping inside so that he doesn't disturb Cindy and Mark's argument. Or, really, Roger could care less about that. He just doesn't want to get in trouble with Mark, who is looking more than annoyed as his sister gives a long winded, frustrated sigh. "They're your family, Mark. Don't you want to spend time with them? Adam doesn't even know you."
Before Mark can start something, and he looks about ready to, Roger steps up. "Hey..." He gets both of their attention rather quickly as he leans against Mark, who doesn't back down from his cute little pout even with Roger beside him. Cindy, though, she starts to relax a little and flashes Roger a smile, much brighter and opened then her brother's lopsided grin. "What's going on?" He asks, returning the smile to Cindy and setting a hand on Mark's shoulder to try and get him to loosen up a bit. What he really wants is for Cindy and her family to leave so that Roger can go back to sleeping.
"Nothing," Mark says, turning to leave and grabbing Roger's hand to take him with him. Not that Roger minds, but Cindy doesn't look ready to let them go just yet.
Before they can get to the door she reaches out and grabs Mark's shoulder. "Mark won't even take care of his own nephews and nieces!" She gives Roger a look, as if he should understand how important this is and why are they dragging him into this when he's still half asleep? "It's just for one day," she points out, turning back to Mark, begging with him. "Just take them to Conney Island for the afternoon. Let them have some fun. I'll even give you the money to do it, Mark. Please. Me and Dan want to spend one of our days in the city with just each other!"
From the look on Mark's face, he is determined to keep them here all day if Cindy doesn't give up. "Look, we'll take them," Roger says, and why not? Just some kids, and they get money out of it, and what is the big deal anyway?
They don't really seem like siblings until they're both giving him this wide-eyed, shocked look like he'd just announced his band's next show will be at the Republican National Convention. It isn't like Roger goes around punching babies. Hey, he used to take care of little kids all the time, back in high school. Not that Mark has to know about any of the embarrassing jobs Roger took to earn enough for his Fender.
"Well... Well, thanks, Roger..." Cindy recovers first, although she still looks shocked as hell to here Roger say he wants to take care of kids. The second she shakes that, though, she's smiling at him again, handing Mark a bankcard and telling him the PIN. She keeps shooting Roger these little, almost shy smiles that Roger has no idea how to react to so he just smiles, uncomfortable and getting annoyed with the looks Mark gives him. He doesn't see what the big deal is, anyway. They're being paid to hang out with some kids, and Mark keeps giving him these nasty looks like he's done something wrong.
"What the hell was that?" It's the first thing Mark says after Cindy goes to say goodbye to her kids. He narrows his eyes behind his glasses, Roger can't help but reach out and straighten them on Mark's nose. He knows how much it annoys him when other people touch his glasses. Okay, maybe he shouldn't be pushing Mark right now, but he doesn't get why he's so upset and he's cute, when he's swatting Roger's hand away.
"What's the big deal? It's just taking some kids on some rides all day." Plus, some free cash to get some food. It's a way to get out of the loft all day, too, with Mark instead of Mark being off pretending to work on his film while Roger calls up his old band mates and pretends to write music. "It will be fun."
*
"You be good for uncle Mark, okay? I love you, pumpkin head," daddy says, giving Adam a quick noogie before letting him go. He's laughing until daddy actually sets him down, his orange-blonde hair everywhere in a tangled mess as his daddy cuffs outside the arm one last time. "You have fun with uncle Mark, okay?"
It's then that Adam really lets it sink in that mommy and daddy were leaving him with strangers, and he hates when they do this. They did it at the temple and at school, and Adam doesn't like it. Why can't mommy and daddy just take him with them! He wants to be with them! He doesn't like this place. It's cold and smells funny and he doesn't know anyone and why won't mommy and daddy stay!
"Don't cry, Adam." Sniffing, Adam rubs at his eyes and glares at Amanda, who is playing with the kitty she'd caught earlier when that strange guy came out in just his underwear. "They'll be back."
Adam wipes at his eyes, looking around the large, gray looking room his mommy and daddy left him in. It's so big and boring and there isn't even a TV or carpet or toys and the two people mommy left him with - the uncle and underwear guy - they haven't come out yet, and Adam doesn't like this place at all. Adam doesn't know what to do, and at least Amanda has the kitty and Matt is listening to his headphone and playing on his gameboy. Matt is older, though, and he doesn't need parents to be around because he's almost grown up. Without mommy or daddy here Matt is the next best thing to a parent, so Adam walks over to his older brother, who throws himself down into one of the weird looking seats. It's all mismatched and creaks when Matt sits in it and messy. Why doesn't uncle Mark ever get yelled at to clean up?
"Matt..." Adam pulls at his older brother's sleeve, trying to get his attention. Matt keeps playing his gameboy. He's beaten every game ever. "Matt!" Adam raises his voice, tugging harder so that Matt has to tear off his headphones and look down at him. His music is blasting around the room. He listens to the coolest stuff. Stuff mommy won't even let Adam listen to.
"What is it pumpkin head?" Matt asks, rolling his eyes as he pulls Adam's hand off his jacket and pausing his game. Only Matt and daddy ever call him that and it makes Adam feel special because he has a nickname and no one else in his class has one other than stupid ones. Only right now Adam doesn't feel special. He just wants mommy and daddy to come and pick him back up. If he were special they wouldn't leave him here.
"Where'd daddy and mommy go," Adam demands to know, stomping his foot against the hard ground and pouting up at his big brother. Matt knows as much as adults and is really smart, so he should know where mommy and daddy are and why they left Adam. He could probably even get them back if he wants.
"They went to dinner," Matt says, shrugging and turning back to his video game. It's unfair because Matt has his games and Amanda has a kitty and they're both almost adults. This place is scary and big and Adam doesn't have daddy to play with! How could they leave him here?
"Why?" he asks. Don't they love him anymore? Why didn't they take Adam with them? The tears start to bubble up in his chest, his lower lip quivering and he keeps waiting for someone to do something. Adam hates crying in front of his big brother, because he says that crying is for babies and girls, but mommy and daddy just disappear without leaving Lindsey to play with or dropping them off with Grandma? "When are they coming back? Why'd they just leave us here?"
"They didn't just leave us," Amanda says, rolling her eyes as she bats at the white kitty around. "We're at uncle Mark's place, stupid."
Adam sniffles a bit when Amanda calls him stupid. He isn't stupid! He just wants to be with mommy and daddy! "Who is uncle Mark?" he asks. He's heard of his uncle, but he hadn't seen him. Amanda and Matt had, but they're older and they've done a lot of stuff Adam hadn't.
"He's our uncle," Amanda exclaims, sighing loudly as she picks up the kitten and starts looking around the large room they'd be left in. "Don't be stupid!"
"Hey, guys." The door opens from one of the rooms mommy went in and the blonde guy and the underwear man step out with these smiles that don't make Adam want to like them at all. They don't look anything like daddys or babysitters.
Amanda loves everything, though, and she lets go of the kitty and runs over to hug the blonde guy around the waist. "Uncle Mark!" Uncle Mark looks somewhat shocked, but reaches down to pick Amanda up. "Do you remember me?"
Uncle Mark pushes his glasses up his nose, like mommy does a lot. "Yeah, of course. Hey, Amanda." Adam sniffs a bit, not wanting to cry in front of Matt and get made fun of more. He's going to remember everyone but Adam, and then he isn't going to know who he is and he's going to kick him out and mommy and daddy aren't going to find him. He just knows it. "Matt," Uncle Mark says, waving at Matt, who just nods a bit and doesn't look up from his game. "And, ah... You must be Adam, right?"
Why would mommy and daddy leave him with someone who doesn't know him? Did he do something bad? Why wouldn't they take him with them? Adam doesn't want to cry, but the hot tears are already down his cheek, broken by small sobs and hiccups and he wants his daddy!
The two adults give each other a look, and then Adam is crying because he hates it here! Hates it! Hates it! Hates it! He wants to be with daddy and he hates this place and this city and his uncle and everyone! Matt sighs and moves away and in Uncle Mark's arms Amanda says, "Don't worry. He always does this."
A heavy, large hand lands on Adam's shoulder, and he has to stop crying for a second so he can look up. The underwear guy is kneeling there and smiling at him, and Adam watches him for a moment wondering what he's going to do. If he's like Mrs. Wilson he'll put Adam in time out, but then Mrs. Wilson never walks around in just her underwear. "Hi," the guy says. "I'm Roger. Uncle Mark's friend."
Adam hiccups, rubbing the tears off of his cheeks. Roger in his underwear is about as big as daddy, only he's hair is all messy like he doesn't brush it, and colored wrong. And he's been drawing all over his arms with markers. Mommy never lets Adam do that. "You ever been to an amusement park, Adam?" Roger asks, still smiling at Adam and not calling him stupid or getting him in trouble for crying.
"Like Disney?" Adam sniffs, wiping his nose off on his sleeve and Roger doesn't yell at him for that, either. Roger nods, helping Adam dry off his face. "No." He'd seen pictures, though, on TV sometimes when he watches cartoons in the morning. Daddy always says they'll go when he's older, but he's already four and daddy hasn't taken him yet.
"Yeah, like Disney. Only more fun." What could be more fun than Disney, though? Adam shakes his head, ignoring how Matt has walked away or that Amanda is talking with Uncle Mark and they're all leaving him. Maybe Roger will help find daddy and mommy again, even if Matt won't. "You want to go to one?"
"Maybe..." Adam doesn't want to leave and then be gone when mommy and daddy figure out that they accidentally left him here, even if some place funner than Disney sounds really cool.
"It'll be lots of fun," Roger promises. "Matt and Amanda both want to go, but they won't have any fun without you." Adam pauses for a moment, even stops sniffing, and thinks about it. If Matt wants to go it must be okay and Matt always has tons of fun things to do that Adam is too young for, but this time Adam can go with him. Adam starts to nod, and Roger smiles even more at him. He doesn't care that Adam is crying or anything, and he picks Adam up just like daddy does.
Tucked in Roger's arms, Adam reaches up and touches one of the drawings Roger had done on himself. It's weird, like a really colorful knot. "Why'd you write on yourself?" he asks, poking at the marker spot on Roger's shoulder.
Uncle Mark laughs a bit. "Because he's mom isn't around to stop him." Adam nods, because that makes sense. His mommy would never let him do anything like that. Roger must be really old not to live with his mommy. He's really cool, though, even if he is old and doesn't draw pictures very well.
"Let's just go before I go back to sleep," Roger says, nudging uncle Mark in the side. Maybe Roger is sort of like uncle Mark's big brother, Adam thinks as uncle Mark scuffs and swats at him, and Roger just laughs and pushes back. He's taller than uncle Mark, they live together, so they must be brothers.
"Great idea," uncle Mark says, reaching out and snapping Roger's boxers. Adam squeals as Roger nearly drops while stumbling forward "I'm sure they'll let you in with just your boxers and all."
Amanda giggles, still clinging to uncle Mark's leg as Adam gets shoved into his arms. "I'm sure you wouldn't mind," Roger says as he hands Adam off to uncle Mark. Adam whines a little, but lets uncle Mark hold him even though it feels like he's going to be dropped. Roger ruffles his hair up, and Adam watches as he disappears into the bedroom to put some clothes on. He doesn't mind daddy not being here, he decides, so long as Roger comes back for him.
Additional Chapters:
Part Six: Day Out
Part Seven: Have A Kitten
(All chapters at FF.NET)
Series: When We Are Happy
Chapter: Five: Kids Will Be Kids
Pairing: Roger/Mark
Rating: Pg-13 (Language, Boykissing)
Prompt: 28. Children
Word Count: 5,640
Summary: Mark and Roger have almost gotten settled into being a couple, when they're lives get interrupted.
Author Notes: This is a continuation of Feline Jealousy, although this chapter doesn't have much Cohen. Mainly, it's just an excuse for some fluff.
Past Chaspters: Part One/Two, Part Three/Four
Cross-Posting: _rentfic,rentslash,fuckingartists & below14thstreet
When We Are Happy
Chapter Five: Kids Will Be Kids
The loft likes silence in the mornings. In the afternoons, which are quickly turning hot and balmy as winter leaves, it has to deal with the sounds of creation and relationships. With music, if Roger is feeling inclined to pick up his guitar, or the sounds of Mark's camera reeling. Joanne's strong heels clicking over the floor, following Maureen's excited voice. Mimi's long sighs while she and Mark wait for Roger to apologize, telling them both she loves them anyway. Carpe diem, she says even if she can't seem to smile. Late nights the loft revels with the low hum or parties. Of alcohol and pot and intellectual babble. Now the nights are filled with the ruffling of covers and gentle kisses without words. From the afternoons to the early morning hours the loft is alive with the sounds of her artists.
In the morning, though, the loft and its occupants don't like being disturbed and usually aren't. Most anyone who would drop by is still fast asleep at those hours, and the boys themselves are curled around each other with the light sheets kicked off (a sign of summer). So the quiet tends to last until the boys finally wake up. That is until today, when a loud knocking decided to disrupt the otherwise usually morning.
From the piles of sheets that are strewn around Roger's bed, a head pops up. Wide blue eyes look around wildly for a second before the kitten yawns and lies back down. It doesn't feel like wasting its morning nap with loud noises.
The knocking doesn't stop.
"I'll get it." Groaning, Mark tries to fight away from the tangle of covers and strong arms that don't want him to move. "That's the door," he says, as if this will magically get Roger to let him go. All the struggling in the world won't get Roger to let Mark slip away when he's half asleep, something Mark learned pretty quickly once he moved into Roger's bed.
Even with Mark flailing around, Roger only barely wakes up. "So?" He nuzzles up to Mark's chest, ignoring the wiggling. In the past few months that Mark has slept with Roger he has become pretty use to this. Roger snores, kicks, hogs the blankets, and has the tendency of holding Mark in bed until he's ready to get up, which means Mark misses a few good daylight hours that could go towards filming. Yet despite the snoring and drooling and bad breath, Mark still winds up here every night.
"So..." Mark still hasn't escaped the bed, and whoever is at the door isn't giving up. "I have to answer it."
Roger doesn't seem convinced, or simply isn't willing to let go. "What if it's Benny?" He asks, squeezing his eyes closed and refusing to wake up fully even after Mark has finally managed to squirm away from him. Mark frowns, brushing some bleached out hair away from Roger's eyes. Weird how at night he is the one that can't get close enough to Roger, even when the Roger seems less than anxious. Then in the morning, it takes nothing short of beating him up to get him to let Mark out of bed.
"I'll tell him to fuck off," Mark promises as he pulls on a pair of jeans, just in case it isn't Benny or one of their friends who is use to seeing Mark in various stages of undress. It happens when you live in a cramped loft together for so many years, most of them spent drunk. With a quick kiss, Mark drags himself towards the door, muttering a few choice words under his breath at the persistent, early visitor.
If it had been Benny, and Mark is sure it is before he opens the door, he probably would have thrown a few vulgar sayings in his direction for interrupting their morning. Thank fucking God that when he does answer the door, he's shocked enough that the kid inappropriate words die in his throat.
"Mark." Cindy moves past him without waiting for an invitation, ushering two of her kids inside. Dan follows after his wife, a third kid tucked away in his arms and what the hell is this? Mark watches all of this like he's watching an out of place sequence in a dream like film. With this sense of surrealism and wonder as to why his sister and her family were standing in his loft but unable to reach out and actually do anything about it.
There is a small chorus of greetings. Very small, as Mark is still waiting for the surprise to wear off and his drowsy and now shocked mind to catch up with the rest of the world. Cindy is busy telling her oldest to take off his headphones and at least smile at his uncle. Dan merely nods at him, which is better than usual when the two get together. The only one who really says anything is Amanda, giving Mark a cheerful smile and jumping against his waist.
Mark gasps a bit, surprised by the weight of the - what is she now? Eight? - year old girl as she throws herself at him. "Uncle Mark!" she cries, jumping slightly and hugging Mark hard enough to hurt and sends him stumble backwards as he tries to catch her.
Giving up on Matt, Cindy sighs and reaches over to pull Amanda off of Mark, who is still reeling from this whole experience of having his sister's family show up at his loft. "Amanda, what have I said about jumping?"
"Who the fuck is it?" It's Roger's yelling that finally gets Mark to snap out of his shock, wincing as Dan and Cindy both give him a nasty look. As If it is somehow his fault she brought her kids to Alphabet City when they should be tucked away safely back in the suburbs.
Regardless, Mark gives his sister an apologetic look and calls back, "Just a second, Rog."
Cindy loses her disapproving look, the one she stole from mom, and Mark swears he can see his sister light up at the mention of his roommate. "Roger is here?" Years ago, when Mark first moved into the loft, Cindy had dropped by to visit him. This been right before Roger's band gained some local fame, some groupies, some addictions. He just smiled at her and, despite the fact that she had two kids and was pregnant with another and was, as far as Mark knew, happily married, she fell instantly in love with the rock star. Just like every Cohen does.
"He's sleeping," Mark explains, bristling slightly at the way Cindy goes all teenage girl over Roger. It's gross, to think of his sister wanting his boyfriend. "Why are you here?"
Amanda grabs hold of her mom's legs, no longer beaming up at Mark and bouncing around as much. In Dan's arms, their youngest twitches and nearly wakes up. Mark sighs gently, trying to relax and not act like a total bastard in front of the kids. He doesn't want his nephews and niece to think he's upset with them. He just wants to know why his sister, who he hasn't spoken to in months, is standing in his loft with her kids when Mark should be back in bed.
"Don't be like that," Cindy chastises, yet another thing she has mastered after learning from their mom. "I came all the way down here to see you. And, by the way, this isn't exactly the best part of town to bring children-"
"I know that!" Mark says, defending himself against more of that irrational logic that it is somehow his fault Cindy brought her kids here. If Mark had his choice, no one in his family would ever visit him. God, he could only imagine if his mom saw where he lived. She'd probably die of a heart attack out of pure worry.
It has always been like this between them. Ever since they were kids, Cindy and Mark had this clash in personalities. It not like they hate each other. At times Mark would swear he loves Cindy more than anyone else in the world, and she's shown she loves him about the same. Like the time in fifth grade that she pushed her boyfriend down the stairs for calling Mark a faggot (which, okay, turned out years later to be half true but that isn't the point) and all those times she soothed the parents over after Mark did something reckless like selling the car they bought him and purchasing a camera (and calming them down hadn't actually worked, but at least she tried). Still, there is simply something about being around one another that sets them off sometimes into fights like these.
"I don't see why you have to live in a place like this anyway," Cindy says, pursed lips and all to be a perfect replica of mom. Maybe it is the mom impressions, Mark considers. Like he doesn't get enough of his mom on the phone almost every day, and he loves her too but there is only so much he can take. "It isn't exactly safe or healthy."
That doesn't settle well with Mark at all. Who is she to come here, unannounced, with her family in tow and tell Mark how to live his life? He left home and came to New York to make his own decisions, not to be babied around by his big sister. And maybe that's what Mark's probably is with Cindy's random visit. Mark is an artist; independent and rebelling against the hegemony of society and all and here his sister is to make him feel like he's sixteen again and ready to get into another fight because mom and dad are letting her go out while he's stuck doing homework. Being with Cindy makes him feel trapped again.
It's about then that Dan decides to get in between the two, literally stepping between them with Adam still fast asleep in his arms. Probably worried that they're about to go for each other's throats. That's unfair. Cindy and Mark haven't been in a fight since Cindy beat him up when Mark was seven. He learned his lesson about pulling his sister's hair. "Honey," Dan says, fixing Cindy with a look. Not a bad look, just the sort couples give each other when they don't think anyone else can understand.
Mark stands to the side, crossing his arms over his chest as Dan and Cindy exchange looks. He gives the couple some of his own looks, too, wondering when they're going to get to the point and get out and he can go back to bed. The morning had been going so well, too, and then his sister shows up with her kids and husband and all those connections back to Scarsdale that Mark ran away from. He should be with Roger, even if Roger's probably already awake and so if Mark tries anything he'll push him away and just kind of smile, and damnit now he's upset over thinking back to being just some kid in high school and frustrated that his boyfriend won't do much more than cuddle and still waiting for his sister to say something.
Finally Dan and Cindy seem to agree silently on something, and Cindy sighs and looks back to Mark. "I need to ask you a favor."
"I'm not going home." Mark gets it out as quickly as possible, straightening himself out so that he's almost as tall as his sister (and how in the world did she get to be an inch taller than him, anyway?) trying to show off just how determined he is about this. No way, no how that he's going to go home and face his mom. He'd already called and done the good son thing. Well, he'd called Vince and told him about Roger, and Vince would end up telling his parents who would tell Mark's. That's how they found out about Maureen. That's how they find out about everything in Mark's life. It's a system that has never failed him and there is no way he is going home to test just how fast it takes for his parents to get the news that he has a boyfriend. No way, no how.
"I'm not making you go home," Cindy says with another roll of her eyes. Even if she's starting to treat him like just some stupid younger brother, Mark relaxes a little knowing that this isn't about trying to force him back to Scarsdale for a visit. "I just need to talk with you about something." Cindy glances around at her kids, not that they seem to notice much. Matthew who is leaning against the counter and never glances up from his game, Amanda clutching her mom's leg, and Adam resting in Dan's arms. Mark's niece and nephews he barely knows and have now taken over his loft. Okay, that's an exaggeration but he wants to be back in bed, not arguing with his sister. "Can we?" She asks, nodding back towards Mark's bedroom, asking for some privacy.
He doesn't have to go home, though, so it's probably best if he just gives in and does what Cindy wants. That's how it's always been. She's more stubborn and aggressive than Mark could ever be. That's why she always ended up winning when they fought. That's why dad always said she'd make a great lawyer, while he rolled his eyes when Mark covered his walls with anti-war propaganda from the seventies. "Fine," he says with a sigh, leading Cindy back into his empty bedroom. Maybe they can get this over with before Roger gets up.
*
Roger has always been a deep sleeper. Not just a snooze through the alarm sort of guy, but a keep sleeping while the building is collapsing around him and sirens wailing guy. So even after Mark has left, Roger is all to ready to just drift back to sleep and when whoever the hell it is goes away, Mark will come back and they can spend the morning not getting up.
So it's annoying when, after a while, Mark isn't back in bed. It means that Mark isn't there, Roger isn't sleeping, and he might actually have to get up and check to make sure his filmmaker hasn't wandered off somewhere with his camera and forgotten that Roger needs these mornings of not moving to get him through the day. Fucking Mark and his work ethics. It's all Collins fault, Roger thinks as he rolls out of bed with a growl. When Mark first got to New York, he wanted to be independent and artistic, sure, but then Collins comes and takes Mark under his wing and rants on about Anarchy and Change and Mark gets these big ideas in his head about how film can do these things.
It's a stupid connection to make, but Roger is tired and wants to be curled up with his boyf- ... With Mark, damnit, and Mark is probably of filming a dead bird or something. There are some days, when Roger would love to just throw his camera off the roof so that Mark would stop spending so much time with the damn thing.
Roger is not an early morning guy at all.
He doesn't really think about who might be at the door. Probably Benny to bug them about some shit or another. He doesn't really come around anymore (whipped, Roger thinks with a smirk, by that wife of his) but Roger has gotten use to the asshole coming to collect rent. So he stumbled out of his room, figuring he'll tell the guy to fuck off, grab Mark, and force him back into bed for another hour at least. Roger getting some rest should be more important than the film that Mark is afraid to finish, anyway.
Roger is too tired for the full shock to hit, but that doesn't mean he misses it totally as he leaves his room and finds four people he's never seen before standing around in the loft, staring at him. "Who the fuck are you?" Roger asks, scrubbing at his face and trying to wake himself. Not how Roger is use to being woken up.
"Umm..." The adult, some tall guy with a big nose and suit and a kid in his arms, looks at Roger with this uncomfortable expression. Roger is use to that look. It's the sort of look yuppies would give him and April as they went into those high end shops dressed in torn up, thrift store clothes, making a mess until someone came and kicked them out. That uncomfortable, almost frightened look. April use to bask in that look. "You're... You're Roger, right? You probably don't remember me. I'm Dan. Cindy's husband..."
Roger squints a bit as he takes a second glance at the guy, trying to place all this information. "Right..." He actually, barely remembers this guy from that one time Mark's sister came up to visit. He's been high that entire weekend, so everything is blurry at best. Having Mark's sister's husband here doesn't make any more sense than some stranger wandering up into the loft, though. "What the..." Roger pauses, looking down at the three kids standing around their dad. Okay, maybe he should cut back on the cursing. "Where's Mark?"
"Ooh!" Roger jumps away as the girl screams, clutching the doorframe as he stumbles backwards. Not that he's scared by some little girl's squealing. Just startled, that's all. Yeah, and the girl is totally harmless as she bounces towards him, pointing at the floor. "Is that your kitty?"
What the fuck is she - Oh. Roger looks down between his legs, and sure enough Cohen is stretched out and yawning. Apparently he can't sleep without Mark, either. "Yeah..." Roger says, straighten back out and running a hand through his hair. Not that it would help with the mess. "Yeah, that's Co..." Roger has to stop again. Okay, so maybe telling the girl that cat is named after her uncle would be a bit odd. Especially if Roger tries to explain why. "That's Pistol."
The little blonde girl, she looks a little like Mark with her blonde hair and bright eyes, she doesn't seem to be unnerved by Roger at all. She moves towards him in leaps and bounds, bending down and grabbing for Cohen. "She's so cute!" She coos in that typical, female to animal voice thing that they all do. Roger thinks it probably drives Cohen insane.
He lets her play with Cohen, though, because at least she isn't staring at him like he's a freak. Something the father is still doing. "Where's Mark?" Roger asks, unable to stand the look the guy is giving him. Come on, it's his own fucking loft and who does this guy think he is that he's just staring at Roger like that? At least Dan stops long enough to point towards Mark's old room. Roger nods, ignoring the family as he brushes by them. Maybe Mark can explain what the fuck is up.
"No! I just... No way in hell Cindy!"
Roger frowns, pushing the bedroom door open as quietly as he can and slipping inside so that he doesn't disturb Cindy and Mark's argument. Or, really, Roger could care less about that. He just doesn't want to get in trouble with Mark, who is looking more than annoyed as his sister gives a long winded, frustrated sigh. "They're your family, Mark. Don't you want to spend time with them? Adam doesn't even know you."
Before Mark can start something, and he looks about ready to, Roger steps up. "Hey..." He gets both of their attention rather quickly as he leans against Mark, who doesn't back down from his cute little pout even with Roger beside him. Cindy, though, she starts to relax a little and flashes Roger a smile, much brighter and opened then her brother's lopsided grin. "What's going on?" He asks, returning the smile to Cindy and setting a hand on Mark's shoulder to try and get him to loosen up a bit. What he really wants is for Cindy and her family to leave so that Roger can go back to sleeping.
"Nothing," Mark says, turning to leave and grabbing Roger's hand to take him with him. Not that Roger minds, but Cindy doesn't look ready to let them go just yet.
Before they can get to the door she reaches out and grabs Mark's shoulder. "Mark won't even take care of his own nephews and nieces!" She gives Roger a look, as if he should understand how important this is and why are they dragging him into this when he's still half asleep? "It's just for one day," she points out, turning back to Mark, begging with him. "Just take them to Conney Island for the afternoon. Let them have some fun. I'll even give you the money to do it, Mark. Please. Me and Dan want to spend one of our days in the city with just each other!"
From the look on Mark's face, he is determined to keep them here all day if Cindy doesn't give up. "Look, we'll take them," Roger says, and why not? Just some kids, and they get money out of it, and what is the big deal anyway?
They don't really seem like siblings until they're both giving him this wide-eyed, shocked look like he'd just announced his band's next show will be at the Republican National Convention. It isn't like Roger goes around punching babies. Hey, he used to take care of little kids all the time, back in high school. Not that Mark has to know about any of the embarrassing jobs Roger took to earn enough for his Fender.
"Well... Well, thanks, Roger..." Cindy recovers first, although she still looks shocked as hell to here Roger say he wants to take care of kids. The second she shakes that, though, she's smiling at him again, handing Mark a bankcard and telling him the PIN. She keeps shooting Roger these little, almost shy smiles that Roger has no idea how to react to so he just smiles, uncomfortable and getting annoyed with the looks Mark gives him. He doesn't see what the big deal is, anyway. They're being paid to hang out with some kids, and Mark keeps giving him these nasty looks like he's done something wrong.
"What the hell was that?" It's the first thing Mark says after Cindy goes to say goodbye to her kids. He narrows his eyes behind his glasses, Roger can't help but reach out and straighten them on Mark's nose. He knows how much it annoys him when other people touch his glasses. Okay, maybe he shouldn't be pushing Mark right now, but he doesn't get why he's so upset and he's cute, when he's swatting Roger's hand away.
"What's the big deal? It's just taking some kids on some rides all day." Plus, some free cash to get some food. It's a way to get out of the loft all day, too, with Mark instead of Mark being off pretending to work on his film while Roger calls up his old band mates and pretends to write music. "It will be fun."
*
"You be good for uncle Mark, okay? I love you, pumpkin head," daddy says, giving Adam a quick noogie before letting him go. He's laughing until daddy actually sets him down, his orange-blonde hair everywhere in a tangled mess as his daddy cuffs outside the arm one last time. "You have fun with uncle Mark, okay?"
It's then that Adam really lets it sink in that mommy and daddy were leaving him with strangers, and he hates when they do this. They did it at the temple and at school, and Adam doesn't like it. Why can't mommy and daddy just take him with them! He wants to be with them! He doesn't like this place. It's cold and smells funny and he doesn't know anyone and why won't mommy and daddy stay!
"Don't cry, Adam." Sniffing, Adam rubs at his eyes and glares at Amanda, who is playing with the kitty she'd caught earlier when that strange guy came out in just his underwear. "They'll be back."
Adam wipes at his eyes, looking around the large, gray looking room his mommy and daddy left him in. It's so big and boring and there isn't even a TV or carpet or toys and the two people mommy left him with - the uncle and underwear guy - they haven't come out yet, and Adam doesn't like this place at all. Adam doesn't know what to do, and at least Amanda has the kitty and Matt is listening to his headphone and playing on his gameboy. Matt is older, though, and he doesn't need parents to be around because he's almost grown up. Without mommy or daddy here Matt is the next best thing to a parent, so Adam walks over to his older brother, who throws himself down into one of the weird looking seats. It's all mismatched and creaks when Matt sits in it and messy. Why doesn't uncle Mark ever get yelled at to clean up?
"Matt..." Adam pulls at his older brother's sleeve, trying to get his attention. Matt keeps playing his gameboy. He's beaten every game ever. "Matt!" Adam raises his voice, tugging harder so that Matt has to tear off his headphones and look down at him. His music is blasting around the room. He listens to the coolest stuff. Stuff mommy won't even let Adam listen to.
"What is it pumpkin head?" Matt asks, rolling his eyes as he pulls Adam's hand off his jacket and pausing his game. Only Matt and daddy ever call him that and it makes Adam feel special because he has a nickname and no one else in his class has one other than stupid ones. Only right now Adam doesn't feel special. He just wants mommy and daddy to come and pick him back up. If he were special they wouldn't leave him here.
"Where'd daddy and mommy go," Adam demands to know, stomping his foot against the hard ground and pouting up at his big brother. Matt knows as much as adults and is really smart, so he should know where mommy and daddy are and why they left Adam. He could probably even get them back if he wants.
"They went to dinner," Matt says, shrugging and turning back to his video game. It's unfair because Matt has his games and Amanda has a kitty and they're both almost adults. This place is scary and big and Adam doesn't have daddy to play with! How could they leave him here?
"Why?" he asks. Don't they love him anymore? Why didn't they take Adam with them? The tears start to bubble up in his chest, his lower lip quivering and he keeps waiting for someone to do something. Adam hates crying in front of his big brother, because he says that crying is for babies and girls, but mommy and daddy just disappear without leaving Lindsey to play with or dropping them off with Grandma? "When are they coming back? Why'd they just leave us here?"
"They didn't just leave us," Amanda says, rolling her eyes as she bats at the white kitty around. "We're at uncle Mark's place, stupid."
Adam sniffles a bit when Amanda calls him stupid. He isn't stupid! He just wants to be with mommy and daddy! "Who is uncle Mark?" he asks. He's heard of his uncle, but he hadn't seen him. Amanda and Matt had, but they're older and they've done a lot of stuff Adam hadn't.
"He's our uncle," Amanda exclaims, sighing loudly as she picks up the kitten and starts looking around the large room they'd be left in. "Don't be stupid!"
"Hey, guys." The door opens from one of the rooms mommy went in and the blonde guy and the underwear man step out with these smiles that don't make Adam want to like them at all. They don't look anything like daddys or babysitters.
Amanda loves everything, though, and she lets go of the kitty and runs over to hug the blonde guy around the waist. "Uncle Mark!" Uncle Mark looks somewhat shocked, but reaches down to pick Amanda up. "Do you remember me?"
Uncle Mark pushes his glasses up his nose, like mommy does a lot. "Yeah, of course. Hey, Amanda." Adam sniffs a bit, not wanting to cry in front of Matt and get made fun of more. He's going to remember everyone but Adam, and then he isn't going to know who he is and he's going to kick him out and mommy and daddy aren't going to find him. He just knows it. "Matt," Uncle Mark says, waving at Matt, who just nods a bit and doesn't look up from his game. "And, ah... You must be Adam, right?"
Why would mommy and daddy leave him with someone who doesn't know him? Did he do something bad? Why wouldn't they take him with them? Adam doesn't want to cry, but the hot tears are already down his cheek, broken by small sobs and hiccups and he wants his daddy!
The two adults give each other a look, and then Adam is crying because he hates it here! Hates it! Hates it! Hates it! He wants to be with daddy and he hates this place and this city and his uncle and everyone! Matt sighs and moves away and in Uncle Mark's arms Amanda says, "Don't worry. He always does this."
A heavy, large hand lands on Adam's shoulder, and he has to stop crying for a second so he can look up. The underwear guy is kneeling there and smiling at him, and Adam watches him for a moment wondering what he's going to do. If he's like Mrs. Wilson he'll put Adam in time out, but then Mrs. Wilson never walks around in just her underwear. "Hi," the guy says. "I'm Roger. Uncle Mark's friend."
Adam hiccups, rubbing the tears off of his cheeks. Roger in his underwear is about as big as daddy, only he's hair is all messy like he doesn't brush it, and colored wrong. And he's been drawing all over his arms with markers. Mommy never lets Adam do that. "You ever been to an amusement park, Adam?" Roger asks, still smiling at Adam and not calling him stupid or getting him in trouble for crying.
"Like Disney?" Adam sniffs, wiping his nose off on his sleeve and Roger doesn't yell at him for that, either. Roger nods, helping Adam dry off his face. "No." He'd seen pictures, though, on TV sometimes when he watches cartoons in the morning. Daddy always says they'll go when he's older, but he's already four and daddy hasn't taken him yet.
"Yeah, like Disney. Only more fun." What could be more fun than Disney, though? Adam shakes his head, ignoring how Matt has walked away or that Amanda is talking with Uncle Mark and they're all leaving him. Maybe Roger will help find daddy and mommy again, even if Matt won't. "You want to go to one?"
"Maybe..." Adam doesn't want to leave and then be gone when mommy and daddy figure out that they accidentally left him here, even if some place funner than Disney sounds really cool.
"It'll be lots of fun," Roger promises. "Matt and Amanda both want to go, but they won't have any fun without you." Adam pauses for a moment, even stops sniffing, and thinks about it. If Matt wants to go it must be okay and Matt always has tons of fun things to do that Adam is too young for, but this time Adam can go with him. Adam starts to nod, and Roger smiles even more at him. He doesn't care that Adam is crying or anything, and he picks Adam up just like daddy does.
Tucked in Roger's arms, Adam reaches up and touches one of the drawings Roger had done on himself. It's weird, like a really colorful knot. "Why'd you write on yourself?" he asks, poking at the marker spot on Roger's shoulder.
Uncle Mark laughs a bit. "Because he's mom isn't around to stop him." Adam nods, because that makes sense. His mommy would never let him do anything like that. Roger must be really old not to live with his mommy. He's really cool, though, even if he is old and doesn't draw pictures very well.
"Let's just go before I go back to sleep," Roger says, nudging uncle Mark in the side. Maybe Roger is sort of like uncle Mark's big brother, Adam thinks as uncle Mark scuffs and swats at him, and Roger just laughs and pushes back. He's taller than uncle Mark, they live together, so they must be brothers.
"Great idea," uncle Mark says, reaching out and snapping Roger's boxers. Adam squeals as Roger nearly drops while stumbling forward "I'm sure they'll let you in with just your boxers and all."
Amanda giggles, still clinging to uncle Mark's leg as Adam gets shoved into his arms. "I'm sure you wouldn't mind," Roger says as he hands Adam off to uncle Mark. Adam whines a little, but lets uncle Mark hold him even though it feels like he's going to be dropped. Roger ruffles his hair up, and Adam watches as he disappears into the bedroom to put some clothes on. He doesn't mind daddy not being here, he decides, so long as Roger comes back for him.
Additional Chapters:
Part Six: Day Out
Part Seven: Have A Kitten
(All chapters at FF.NET)