fic: game plan
title: game plan
pairing: fernando torres (slight sernando)
rated: pg13
Fernando's father took him aside one evening twenty-two weeks into the pregnancy when his fears threatened to overtake him. With a hand on his shoulder and a patient smile on his face, his father explained about compromise and letting go of fears. It was like experiencing the speech on puberty and his father's "Treatise on a Successful Marriage" all over again, only worse in that his father made fatherhood sound like a never-ending pit trap of failure.
"You'll be a wonderful father, Nando," he said. "As soon as you realize that most times you will be quite bad at it."
Nando nodded and sniffed a little, disheartened. What else could he do at such sound advice? But his father, after a long life of fathering, decided on a different approach. He knew exactly how to reach his son.
He coughed into his fist and gestured into the air, recounting the way experience lead to growth just as the Nando had learned for the better part of his life. His voice held the same rolling quality that had lulled Nando in the past, soothed him and challenged him and sent him into dreams or into the world a little braver, a little stronger on the inside. By the time his father began to wind down, Nando's back straightened. The fact that he will not be perfect in another thing and the saddened resignation of this fact was a thing of the past.
"Parenting is the ultimate team sport. If your team is balanced and strong, then you'll be able to successfully navigate any obstacle. Even when she's old enough to start out," his voice lowered to a dramatic whisper. "Dating."
Nando's smile, the first in what felt like weeks, was slow growing and very bright.
His father had been right of course. He was almost always right, and the few times he hadn't been, Nando was older now and could better understand his point of view. That was parenting and that was fatherhood and along with his mother, Fernando could see how he grew to be a fine man. With Olalla at his side, he could feel stronger. And with time and less distance, he could feel more secure.
With Nora's birth and the whirlwind of time after, his life became condensed into tiny strategies to keep an already organized man on top of his game. Other people called them lists, but they were so much more. He didn't feel stifled by them. He didn't feel his life shrink with responsibility or any more scheduled than before. To continue with his father's well-meaning metaphor, Olalla became both their parenting team’s manager and president, and he a chairman and player and these lists became their strategies, strategies giving him direction and making sure he was prepared with everything he needed to meet the challenge fatherhood.
“Teething ring?”
“In the dipper bag.”
“Sunscreen and medication?”
“In the overnight bag.”
“Bottles?” Olalla highlighted the already checked items from the list while they prepared for Nando's first father daughter night away. Measure twice, cut once may be an old adage for carpentry but Nando felt they definitely worked in situations such as these.
He swung the bag around to check a second time. “Got them.”
“Sergio?”
Sergio laughed and Nora, who dangled in the air and reached for the smile that had captivated her the moment she laid eyes on it, squealed.
“Here.”
:: 568
pairing: fernando torres (slight sernando)
rated: pg13
Fernando's father took him aside one evening twenty-two weeks into the pregnancy when his fears threatened to overtake him. With a hand on his shoulder and a patient smile on his face, his father explained about compromise and letting go of fears. It was like experiencing the speech on puberty and his father's "Treatise on a Successful Marriage" all over again, only worse in that his father made fatherhood sound like a never-ending pit trap of failure.
"You'll be a wonderful father, Nando," he said. "As soon as you realize that most times you will be quite bad at it."
Nando nodded and sniffed a little, disheartened. What else could he do at such sound advice? But his father, after a long life of fathering, decided on a different approach. He knew exactly how to reach his son.
He coughed into his fist and gestured into the air, recounting the way experience lead to growth just as the Nando had learned for the better part of his life. His voice held the same rolling quality that had lulled Nando in the past, soothed him and challenged him and sent him into dreams or into the world a little braver, a little stronger on the inside. By the time his father began to wind down, Nando's back straightened. The fact that he will not be perfect in another thing and the saddened resignation of this fact was a thing of the past.
"Parenting is the ultimate team sport. If your team is balanced and strong, then you'll be able to successfully navigate any obstacle. Even when she's old enough to start out," his voice lowered to a dramatic whisper. "Dating."
Nando's smile, the first in what felt like weeks, was slow growing and very bright.
His father had been right of course. He was almost always right, and the few times he hadn't been, Nando was older now and could better understand his point of view. That was parenting and that was fatherhood and along with his mother, Fernando could see how he grew to be a fine man. With Olalla at his side, he could feel stronger. And with time and less distance, he could feel more secure.
With Nora's birth and the whirlwind of time after, his life became condensed into tiny strategies to keep an already organized man on top of his game. Other people called them lists, but they were so much more. He didn't feel stifled by them. He didn't feel his life shrink with responsibility or any more scheduled than before. To continue with his father's well-meaning metaphor, Olalla became both their parenting team’s manager and president, and he a chairman and player and these lists became their strategies, strategies giving him direction and making sure he was prepared with everything he needed to meet the challenge fatherhood.
“Teething ring?”
“In the dipper bag.”
“Sunscreen and medication?”
“In the overnight bag.”
“Bottles?” Olalla highlighted the already checked items from the list while they prepared for Nando's first father daughter night away. Measure twice, cut once may be an old adage for carpentry but Nando felt they definitely worked in situations such as these.
He swung the bag around to check a second time. “Got them.”
“Sergio?”
Sergio laughed and Nora, who dangled in the air and reached for the smile that had captivated her the moment she laid eyes on it, squealed.
“Here.”
:: 568