Walk With You Home Safe and Sound -- [standalone]
Walk With You Home Safe and Sound -- [standalone]
Writer: Ally (wasted_rawkstar)
Fandom: Simple Plan
Pairing: David/Jeff
Rating: R (language)
Summary: David's day isn't going right, until he makes a decision that makes it better, and gives Jeff a huge surprise when he gets home.
Disclaimer: The following is a work of fiction and is in no way related to, or intended for harm of, the following persons mentioned.
Notes: Written exclusively for the slash_theplan Anniversary Challenge
David frowned as he stood in front of the mirror, scrutinizing himself. He was in one of those moods where something just felt off, but he couldn’t pinpoint what it was. Was he forgetting something? He shook his head and pulled his fingers over his jaw. He traced all the bumps and blemishes, sneering at his reflection. He smoothed his eyebrows then and grabbed for the tweezers, plucking the strays.
With a sigh, he stopped and threw the tool back in the drawer, but something caught his eye. His brows drew together, thinking. Somehow, the impulse felt right. He looked back up at himself in the mirror, studying the reflection. He smiled and nodded; it was good to go on impulse. He pulled the items out of the drawer and set to work, pushing aside the screaming doubts. He needed this today.
A ping ran down his spine; he remembered what today was. He stopped momentarily and shook his head at the irony. Of all the fucking days… He rolled his eyes and carried on, not paying any attention to the clock. He worked until he was satisfied and smiled. Jeff wouldn’t believe his fucking eyes.
# # #
Jeff pulled into the driveway and cut the engine. It was a little after five and the sky was already dark. He felt drained, but happy. He’d spent all day with his daughters and they’d run him ragged. He never complained though, because they were so joyful. He knew there would never be a time in his life that they wouldn’t bring a smile to his face. He shook his head in awe and climbed from the car, dropping the keys in his pocket and grabbing the coffees he’d bought. He carefully made his way up the front walk, navigating the ice patches and fresh snow. He opened the front door and stamped his feet on the mat before stepping inside. He smiled; David had yelled at him more than a few times for tracking snow and sand and salt inside.
The door shut quietly and he set the cups on the entry table as he pulled off his coat, hat, and boots. The house was quiet. Jeff frowned, knowing there was a hockey game on, puzzled as to why David wasn’t watching it. Lately it was all they could do to peel themselves away from the couch and TV and have lives again. Jeff was grateful for his family responsibilities, because they kept him active. David, unfortunately, didn’t have anything to focus his energy on and was becoming apathetic toward everything. All their friends were settling down with families and careers, which made it harder when they would come back on their breaks. It had been a little easier this time though, because they had an actual home to come back to. It no longer felt like they still lived out of suitcases when they were at home for more than a couple weeks.
Jeff smiled and picked up the coffee before going to the kitchen. He wandered briefly around the downstairs, but it was obvious that David wasn’t there. He left the living room and headed upstairs. As he climbed he remembered David had seemed a little off that morning. He hoped that the younger man wasn’t getting sick. He hated when David was sick, with anything, because he was always miserable yet he refused anyone’s help. It made Jeff feel awful because he wasn’t able to do anything.
He continued up and reached the landing, heading right down the hall. Their bedroom light was on and as he went inside he could hear water running in the bathroom. “David?” he called.
“Jeff! Stay there!” David’s voice was surprised.
Hadn’t he been expecting him home? Jeff smiled again, realizing that David had most likely lost track of time. He had a tendency to get so focused he wouldn’t realize how much time was going past. “What’re you doing?” he asked, sitting on the end of the bed. The water shut off.
“If I told you, I couldn’t surprise you.” David stepped out of the bathroom with a grin.
“Holy fuck,” Jeff’s voice was quiet and his face felt slack with shock.
David laughed and grabbed the lattes from Jeff’s hands before they spilled. He continued to grin as he glanced at the cups and took a drink from his. Jeff simply stared. David laughed nervously. “I know, it’s sort of a drastic change, but… it feels right, you know?” He rambled, looking down at his feet and then to his reflection in the mirror across from the bed. “And maybe this is one look your mom would approve of.”
Instantly Jeff’s eyes met David’s and he stood up from the bed. “Is that what this is about?” he asked.
“No… but when I realized what today was I enjoyed the irony of what I was doing.”
Jeff balked. “You… what you were doing?” he asked. “As in, you did this… to yourself?”
David laughed. “Yes, Jeff. As a matter of fact I do know how to use scissors.”
“I didn’t mean-”
“I know, but yes, I did it myself. It was this or dyeing it black another fucking time and honestly I was a little sick of it.” He shrugged, handing Jeff his coffee then running his free hand over the shorn ends. He toyed with the small flip in front, pulling it up a little more with his fingers.
Jeff smiled. “Just put on your glasses and I’d swear you were eighteen again.”
David snorted. “I’d need a hideously oversized grandpa sweater to complete that look, and there’s no fucking way you’re getting me in one.” He smirked at the guitarist. “Hate to burst your bubble.”
Jeff leaned over and kissed him lightly. “What if I just save it for some bedroom role-play?”
He laughed and kissed back. “I suppose… since I wouldn’t have to wear it for too long.” They grinned at each other and shared a longer kiss, David wrapping his arms around Jeff’s waist.
Jeff’s free hand experimentally smoothed over the short hair on David’s neck and he smiled when the younger man shivered. He held the kiss a moment longer then pulled away, smiling. “It looks really good, babe.”
David beamed and let a second pass before he pressed their foreheads together, closing his eyes. “You have no idea how fucking relieved I am to hear that.”
Jeff rolled his eyes. “You thought I wouldn’t like it?”
David shrugged, lifting his head and meeting their eyes. “I didn’t know… I mean, it’s such a change.”
“But you’ve had it before.”
“Like ten years ago!”
Jeff laughed. “So? Elton John’s had the same hairstyle for like forty years and no one criticizes him.”
David’s lips turned in a slight pout. “That’s not the same.”
“I know, but the point is it looks good so you shouldn’t worry about it.” He grinned then. “I can’t wait to see everyone else’s reactions.”
David giggled, nodding. “I know! I’ve sort of been thinking about how to unveil this ever since I got the harebrained impulse.”
Jeff smiled and they kissed lightly. “You’ll figure something out, I’m sure.”
“Mm, but can I wait that long…” he mumbled against Jeff’s lips, continuing to kiss him.
Jeff ran his fingers over David’s hair once more and smiled into the kiss. This was definitely one of David’s better surprises.
David pulled back a second later and squeezed Jeff’s hip. “Can save the rest for later,” he said. “The game’s on.”
Jeff laughed as David dropped their embrace and headed out of the room. He trailed after him, watching in amusement as the grey flannel pajama pants hung precariously onto the slim hips.
“I know you’re looking at my ass,” David quipped.
“Actually, I’m only wondering how your hips and pants seem to be defying gravity. By all my logic you should’ve been naked from the waist down fourteen steps ago.”
David laughed and landed lightly at the bottom of the stairs, shimmying his hips around like a hula-girl. “Let’s just say my hips hadn’t been invented when Newton passed his laws.” He grinned and shimmied into their TV room, turning a few circles for Jeff’s benefit before settling on the couch and flipping on the flatscreen. Jeff stretched out beside him, propping his feet up on the large storage ottoman and slinging an arm across the back of the sofa. David scrolled through the NHL channels until he found the right one to select. Jeff smiled; the Habs were up two-one. The Senators could suck it.
David dropped the remote in Jeff’s lap and curled up beside him, resting his knees against the older man’s thigh. They watched the game silently for a few minutes, both focused on Montreal’s power play. When Lee took to the ice again, the first period ended. David finished his latte and set the empty cup on the floor. Jeff glanced at him, smiling.
“What?” David asked, reaching up and pulling Jeff’s arm around his shoulders.
He shook his head. “Nothin.”
“Bullshit. What’re you thinking about?”
“Well…” he spoke slowly, “you know what you said earlier? About my mom?”
David looked up, curious. “Yeah… what?”
“She actually has liked a couple of your hairstyles. You just never had them long enough for her to say anything.”
David raised an eyebrow. “It wasn’t during that terrible in-between stage when I was growing my hair out, was it?”
Jeff laughed. “No. It was after you decided to get rid of the blond, so your hair was all natural, except for the top of the ‘hawk.”
Both brows rose. “She liked that look?” he asked, incredulous.
Jeff smiled. “We both did.”
David rolled his eyes and laid his head on Jeff’s shoulder. “Now you tell me…”
“Hey, you only had that style for like a month before you were onto something else.”
“I couldn’t help it. I got bored with my hair.”
“And everyone else’s.”
David laughed. “Touché. Except Seb was the only one who ever let me play.”
“If I had hair to play with, I’d let you.”
David smiled. “I know.”
The conversation paused while they watched another few minutes of the game. The Habs drove the puck down the ice, but Kostopoulos missed the goal.
David frowned. “So, what was the other style she liked?”
Jeff smirked. “You’re going to hate it.”
He lifted his head up. “Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
He sighed. “Okay, tell me.”
“Uh-uh. Here’s a hint though: it was the second time you met her… after we got together.”
David’s eyebrows knit together in concentration. He murmured Jeff’s hint to himself, licking over his lip as he thought. “Was that…” he frowned again. “At your apartment? And…” he made a face then. “She liked it curly?”
Jeff laughed, nodding. “She loved it. She went on and on about how I should abscond with your flat iron and blow dryer, oh and your contacts. Basically she loved your entire ‘Oh shit I just met you for the first time last night as your son’s boyfriend and here I am rolling out of his bed… Fuck I can’t deal with this, where’s the goddamn coffee?’ look you had.”
David snorted. “That’s pretty much exactly how that happened, too.”
“I know, I was there… and just as fucking mortified.”
“At least she didn’t freak out.”
Jeff laughed. “Only because she’d known you for six years prior to that morning.”
“I guess…”
“Actually, I think if it had been anyone else she would’ve freaked out. She’s always liked you. God knows why.”
David rolled his eyes and kissed Jeff’s neck. “Whatever the reason, it seems to run in the family.”
Jeff pecked his forehead. “And you wonder why I’ve never let you meet my uncles.”
David laughed, burying his face in the guitarist’s shoulder. “You’re horrible,” he mumbled, nuzzling his nose in the shirt.
Jeff smoothed his hand over David’s hair again, smiling. “That’s never going to change, either.”
He lifted his head and kissed Jeff slowly, letting his tongue dip inside the man’s mouth. After a minute he pulled away and they stared at each other. “I hope not,” he said softly.
Jeff kissed him lightly. “If it hasn’t in eight years, it’s probably not going to.”
David smiled and shifted closer to Jeff, pulling his arm around him. “Hard to believe it’ll be three years in August.”
He scoffed. “Hard to believe it only happened three years ago.”
David shrugged. “I think… I needed to grow up a little more. I don’t think I could’ve had this relationship much before then, let alone one so open.” He glanced up at Jeff. “I mean, you and France have kids together… it doesn’t get more open than that.”
“I just meant… it could’ve happened a long time ago.”
“And I would have totally fucked it up and then begged you to take me back, and repeated that a few times before I realized what I was doing.”
Jeff laughed. “Yeah, I don’t know if I would’ve been too patient with that.”
“Exactly. So I waited, and look where we are now.”
Jeff kissed him again. “Together, and happy.”
David nodded. “Precisely. And no one’s been hurt the worse for it.”
Jeff toyed with David’s hair, looking absently back to the TV. “You know, I told Maya we’d go to the toy store tomorrow.”
“Oh? I thought you didn’t have the girls again until next week.”
“I don’t, but France has an appointment, so I said I’d take Maya for the afternoon. One baby is a lot easier than a toddler.”
David’s reply was quiet. “I wouldn’t know.”
Jeff squeezed David’s shoulders. “So I was thinking, you should come along with us. If this is a proper relationship, you’re going to be as much a part of their lives as I am, so we might as well start now.”
David looked up, his eyes brightening. “You mean it?”
“Yes, but you’re not going to turn them into little divas.”
“Yet,” he replied mischievously.
Jeff rolled his eyes. “Anyway, then I figured since you and I were supposed to have dinner with my mom, why not make it a real family affair?”
“Seriously?” David sat up, suddenly intent. “Like a big family dinner with the girls?”
He nodded. “Yep. A proper family dinner.”
David smiled and kissed Jeff. “It sounds amazing.”
Jeff laughed. “I think I’m trying to make up for the first one gone awry.”
“Well, we’ll just replace that anniversary with this one. Okay? Besides, how were you supposed to know your brothers and their girlfriends would be there? No one said shit to you.”
“I know, but-”
“Nope, you’re dropping it. Tomorrow night we’re going to have a nice dinner with your mom, France, and the girls. I’ll even suck up and go over early to help her clean and make some appetizers.”
Jeff snorted. “Well, okay then Martha Stewart.”
David kissed him again. “Giving myself a haircut suddenly makes me feel all crafty. I might just make some name-card holders out of pinecones and glitter.”
“If you do that I am never letting you help with a family dinner again.”
David smirked. “Maybe that’s my goal?”
Suddenly noise blared from the television and red lights flashed around the arena. Montreal had scored. Jeff laughed. “Well, that was sort of appropriate.”
David shook his head. “If they scored every time I said the word goal, they’d have won the Stanley Cup the last eight years in a row.”
“Point taken. So, you’re okay with dinner then?”
David smiled. “Yes, Jeff. I am more than okay with it. I’ve been fucking waiting for you to ask me to spend time with the girls. I actually started thinking that maybe you didn’t want me around them… for whatever reason.”
“Oh, no… I just… I guess I thought it might be weird.”
“It is, but that doesn’t mean it always will be.”
Jeff smiled. “Good, cause I’m getting a little tired of splitting myself between everyone.”
“Well, you won’t have to do it anymore.” They kissed lightly and David shifted, leaning his back against Jeff’s chest and stretching his legs onto the sofa.
Jeff wrapped his arms around David and kissed his hair. “I love you.”
David smiled. “I love you too. Now let’s just watch the rest the game? We’ve had enough serious conversation for tonight.”
Jeff laughed and nodded, turning the TV volume up a little more. “Fair enough, but for the record… my mom’ll like this haircut the best.”
David grinned smugly. “I fucking knew it.”
FIN
Writer: Ally (wasted_rawkstar)
Fandom: Simple Plan
Pairing: David/Jeff
Rating: R (language)
Summary: David's day isn't going right, until he makes a decision that makes it better, and gives Jeff a huge surprise when he gets home.
Disclaimer: The following is a work of fiction and is in no way related to, or intended for harm of, the following persons mentioned.
Notes: Written exclusively for the slash_theplan Anniversary Challenge
David frowned as he stood in front of the mirror, scrutinizing himself. He was in one of those moods where something just felt off, but he couldn’t pinpoint what it was. Was he forgetting something? He shook his head and pulled his fingers over his jaw. He traced all the bumps and blemishes, sneering at his reflection. He smoothed his eyebrows then and grabbed for the tweezers, plucking the strays.
With a sigh, he stopped and threw the tool back in the drawer, but something caught his eye. His brows drew together, thinking. Somehow, the impulse felt right. He looked back up at himself in the mirror, studying the reflection. He smiled and nodded; it was good to go on impulse. He pulled the items out of the drawer and set to work, pushing aside the screaming doubts. He needed this today.
A ping ran down his spine; he remembered what today was. He stopped momentarily and shook his head at the irony. Of all the fucking days… He rolled his eyes and carried on, not paying any attention to the clock. He worked until he was satisfied and smiled. Jeff wouldn’t believe his fucking eyes.
# # #
Jeff pulled into the driveway and cut the engine. It was a little after five and the sky was already dark. He felt drained, but happy. He’d spent all day with his daughters and they’d run him ragged. He never complained though, because they were so joyful. He knew there would never be a time in his life that they wouldn’t bring a smile to his face. He shook his head in awe and climbed from the car, dropping the keys in his pocket and grabbing the coffees he’d bought. He carefully made his way up the front walk, navigating the ice patches and fresh snow. He opened the front door and stamped his feet on the mat before stepping inside. He smiled; David had yelled at him more than a few times for tracking snow and sand and salt inside.
The door shut quietly and he set the cups on the entry table as he pulled off his coat, hat, and boots. The house was quiet. Jeff frowned, knowing there was a hockey game on, puzzled as to why David wasn’t watching it. Lately it was all they could do to peel themselves away from the couch and TV and have lives again. Jeff was grateful for his family responsibilities, because they kept him active. David, unfortunately, didn’t have anything to focus his energy on and was becoming apathetic toward everything. All their friends were settling down with families and careers, which made it harder when they would come back on their breaks. It had been a little easier this time though, because they had an actual home to come back to. It no longer felt like they still lived out of suitcases when they were at home for more than a couple weeks.
Jeff smiled and picked up the coffee before going to the kitchen. He wandered briefly around the downstairs, but it was obvious that David wasn’t there. He left the living room and headed upstairs. As he climbed he remembered David had seemed a little off that morning. He hoped that the younger man wasn’t getting sick. He hated when David was sick, with anything, because he was always miserable yet he refused anyone’s help. It made Jeff feel awful because he wasn’t able to do anything.
He continued up and reached the landing, heading right down the hall. Their bedroom light was on and as he went inside he could hear water running in the bathroom. “David?” he called.
“Jeff! Stay there!” David’s voice was surprised.
Hadn’t he been expecting him home? Jeff smiled again, realizing that David had most likely lost track of time. He had a tendency to get so focused he wouldn’t realize how much time was going past. “What’re you doing?” he asked, sitting on the end of the bed. The water shut off.
“If I told you, I couldn’t surprise you.” David stepped out of the bathroom with a grin.
“Holy fuck,” Jeff’s voice was quiet and his face felt slack with shock.
David laughed and grabbed the lattes from Jeff’s hands before they spilled. He continued to grin as he glanced at the cups and took a drink from his. Jeff simply stared. David laughed nervously. “I know, it’s sort of a drastic change, but… it feels right, you know?” He rambled, looking down at his feet and then to his reflection in the mirror across from the bed. “And maybe this is one look your mom would approve of.”
Instantly Jeff’s eyes met David’s and he stood up from the bed. “Is that what this is about?” he asked.
“No… but when I realized what today was I enjoyed the irony of what I was doing.”
Jeff balked. “You… what you were doing?” he asked. “As in, you did this… to yourself?”
David laughed. “Yes, Jeff. As a matter of fact I do know how to use scissors.”
“I didn’t mean-”
“I know, but yes, I did it myself. It was this or dyeing it black another fucking time and honestly I was a little sick of it.” He shrugged, handing Jeff his coffee then running his free hand over the shorn ends. He toyed with the small flip in front, pulling it up a little more with his fingers.
Jeff smiled. “Just put on your glasses and I’d swear you were eighteen again.”
David snorted. “I’d need a hideously oversized grandpa sweater to complete that look, and there’s no fucking way you’re getting me in one.” He smirked at the guitarist. “Hate to burst your bubble.”
Jeff leaned over and kissed him lightly. “What if I just save it for some bedroom role-play?”
He laughed and kissed back. “I suppose… since I wouldn’t have to wear it for too long.” They grinned at each other and shared a longer kiss, David wrapping his arms around Jeff’s waist.
Jeff’s free hand experimentally smoothed over the short hair on David’s neck and he smiled when the younger man shivered. He held the kiss a moment longer then pulled away, smiling. “It looks really good, babe.”
David beamed and let a second pass before he pressed their foreheads together, closing his eyes. “You have no idea how fucking relieved I am to hear that.”
Jeff rolled his eyes. “You thought I wouldn’t like it?”
David shrugged, lifting his head and meeting their eyes. “I didn’t know… I mean, it’s such a change.”
“But you’ve had it before.”
“Like ten years ago!”
Jeff laughed. “So? Elton John’s had the same hairstyle for like forty years and no one criticizes him.”
David’s lips turned in a slight pout. “That’s not the same.”
“I know, but the point is it looks good so you shouldn’t worry about it.” He grinned then. “I can’t wait to see everyone else’s reactions.”
David giggled, nodding. “I know! I’ve sort of been thinking about how to unveil this ever since I got the harebrained impulse.”
Jeff smiled and they kissed lightly. “You’ll figure something out, I’m sure.”
“Mm, but can I wait that long…” he mumbled against Jeff’s lips, continuing to kiss him.
Jeff ran his fingers over David’s hair once more and smiled into the kiss. This was definitely one of David’s better surprises.
David pulled back a second later and squeezed Jeff’s hip. “Can save the rest for later,” he said. “The game’s on.”
Jeff laughed as David dropped their embrace and headed out of the room. He trailed after him, watching in amusement as the grey flannel pajama pants hung precariously onto the slim hips.
“I know you’re looking at my ass,” David quipped.
“Actually, I’m only wondering how your hips and pants seem to be defying gravity. By all my logic you should’ve been naked from the waist down fourteen steps ago.”
David laughed and landed lightly at the bottom of the stairs, shimmying his hips around like a hula-girl. “Let’s just say my hips hadn’t been invented when Newton passed his laws.” He grinned and shimmied into their TV room, turning a few circles for Jeff’s benefit before settling on the couch and flipping on the flatscreen. Jeff stretched out beside him, propping his feet up on the large storage ottoman and slinging an arm across the back of the sofa. David scrolled through the NHL channels until he found the right one to select. Jeff smiled; the Habs were up two-one. The Senators could suck it.
David dropped the remote in Jeff’s lap and curled up beside him, resting his knees against the older man’s thigh. They watched the game silently for a few minutes, both focused on Montreal’s power play. When Lee took to the ice again, the first period ended. David finished his latte and set the empty cup on the floor. Jeff glanced at him, smiling.
“What?” David asked, reaching up and pulling Jeff’s arm around his shoulders.
He shook his head. “Nothin.”
“Bullshit. What’re you thinking about?”
“Well…” he spoke slowly, “you know what you said earlier? About my mom?”
David looked up, curious. “Yeah… what?”
“She actually has liked a couple of your hairstyles. You just never had them long enough for her to say anything.”
David raised an eyebrow. “It wasn’t during that terrible in-between stage when I was growing my hair out, was it?”
Jeff laughed. “No. It was after you decided to get rid of the blond, so your hair was all natural, except for the top of the ‘hawk.”
Both brows rose. “She liked that look?” he asked, incredulous.
Jeff smiled. “We both did.”
David rolled his eyes and laid his head on Jeff’s shoulder. “Now you tell me…”
“Hey, you only had that style for like a month before you were onto something else.”
“I couldn’t help it. I got bored with my hair.”
“And everyone else’s.”
David laughed. “Touché. Except Seb was the only one who ever let me play.”
“If I had hair to play with, I’d let you.”
David smiled. “I know.”
The conversation paused while they watched another few minutes of the game. The Habs drove the puck down the ice, but Kostopoulos missed the goal.
David frowned. “So, what was the other style she liked?”
Jeff smirked. “You’re going to hate it.”
He lifted his head up. “Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
He sighed. “Okay, tell me.”
“Uh-uh. Here’s a hint though: it was the second time you met her… after we got together.”
David’s eyebrows knit together in concentration. He murmured Jeff’s hint to himself, licking over his lip as he thought. “Was that…” he frowned again. “At your apartment? And…” he made a face then. “She liked it curly?”
Jeff laughed, nodding. “She loved it. She went on and on about how I should abscond with your flat iron and blow dryer, oh and your contacts. Basically she loved your entire ‘Oh shit I just met you for the first time last night as your son’s boyfriend and here I am rolling out of his bed… Fuck I can’t deal with this, where’s the goddamn coffee?’ look you had.”
David snorted. “That’s pretty much exactly how that happened, too.”
“I know, I was there… and just as fucking mortified.”
“At least she didn’t freak out.”
Jeff laughed. “Only because she’d known you for six years prior to that morning.”
“I guess…”
“Actually, I think if it had been anyone else she would’ve freaked out. She’s always liked you. God knows why.”
David rolled his eyes and kissed Jeff’s neck. “Whatever the reason, it seems to run in the family.”
Jeff pecked his forehead. “And you wonder why I’ve never let you meet my uncles.”
David laughed, burying his face in the guitarist’s shoulder. “You’re horrible,” he mumbled, nuzzling his nose in the shirt.
Jeff smoothed his hand over David’s hair again, smiling. “That’s never going to change, either.”
He lifted his head and kissed Jeff slowly, letting his tongue dip inside the man’s mouth. After a minute he pulled away and they stared at each other. “I hope not,” he said softly.
Jeff kissed him lightly. “If it hasn’t in eight years, it’s probably not going to.”
David smiled and shifted closer to Jeff, pulling his arm around him. “Hard to believe it’ll be three years in August.”
He scoffed. “Hard to believe it only happened three years ago.”
David shrugged. “I think… I needed to grow up a little more. I don’t think I could’ve had this relationship much before then, let alone one so open.” He glanced up at Jeff. “I mean, you and France have kids together… it doesn’t get more open than that.”
“I just meant… it could’ve happened a long time ago.”
“And I would have totally fucked it up and then begged you to take me back, and repeated that a few times before I realized what I was doing.”
Jeff laughed. “Yeah, I don’t know if I would’ve been too patient with that.”
“Exactly. So I waited, and look where we are now.”
Jeff kissed him again. “Together, and happy.”
David nodded. “Precisely. And no one’s been hurt the worse for it.”
Jeff toyed with David’s hair, looking absently back to the TV. “You know, I told Maya we’d go to the toy store tomorrow.”
“Oh? I thought you didn’t have the girls again until next week.”
“I don’t, but France has an appointment, so I said I’d take Maya for the afternoon. One baby is a lot easier than a toddler.”
David’s reply was quiet. “I wouldn’t know.”
Jeff squeezed David’s shoulders. “So I was thinking, you should come along with us. If this is a proper relationship, you’re going to be as much a part of their lives as I am, so we might as well start now.”
David looked up, his eyes brightening. “You mean it?”
“Yes, but you’re not going to turn them into little divas.”
“Yet,” he replied mischievously.
Jeff rolled his eyes. “Anyway, then I figured since you and I were supposed to have dinner with my mom, why not make it a real family affair?”
“Seriously?” David sat up, suddenly intent. “Like a big family dinner with the girls?”
He nodded. “Yep. A proper family dinner.”
David smiled and kissed Jeff. “It sounds amazing.”
Jeff laughed. “I think I’m trying to make up for the first one gone awry.”
“Well, we’ll just replace that anniversary with this one. Okay? Besides, how were you supposed to know your brothers and their girlfriends would be there? No one said shit to you.”
“I know, but-”
“Nope, you’re dropping it. Tomorrow night we’re going to have a nice dinner with your mom, France, and the girls. I’ll even suck up and go over early to help her clean and make some appetizers.”
Jeff snorted. “Well, okay then Martha Stewart.”
David kissed him again. “Giving myself a haircut suddenly makes me feel all crafty. I might just make some name-card holders out of pinecones and glitter.”
“If you do that I am never letting you help with a family dinner again.”
David smirked. “Maybe that’s my goal?”
Suddenly noise blared from the television and red lights flashed around the arena. Montreal had scored. Jeff laughed. “Well, that was sort of appropriate.”
David shook his head. “If they scored every time I said the word goal, they’d have won the Stanley Cup the last eight years in a row.”
“Point taken. So, you’re okay with dinner then?”
David smiled. “Yes, Jeff. I am more than okay with it. I’ve been fucking waiting for you to ask me to spend time with the girls. I actually started thinking that maybe you didn’t want me around them… for whatever reason.”
“Oh, no… I just… I guess I thought it might be weird.”
“It is, but that doesn’t mean it always will be.”
Jeff smiled. “Good, cause I’m getting a little tired of splitting myself between everyone.”
“Well, you won’t have to do it anymore.” They kissed lightly and David shifted, leaning his back against Jeff’s chest and stretching his legs onto the sofa.
Jeff wrapped his arms around David and kissed his hair. “I love you.”
David smiled. “I love you too. Now let’s just watch the rest the game? We’ve had enough serious conversation for tonight.”
Jeff laughed and nodded, turning the TV volume up a little more. “Fair enough, but for the record… my mom’ll like this haircut the best.”
David grinned smugly. “I fucking knew it.”
FIN