Chapter Text
“Aw, look at how cute you were!”
Archie pointed at a photo in which a little, bespectacled boy with wild red hair and a freckled nose hugged a Numel and a Poochyena, smiling at the camera and showing his big front teeth. Maxie pushed up his glasses, offended. “What do you mean were ?”
Archie giggled, pulling his husband in for a kiss. “I mean that somewhere along the way you stopped being cute ,” he purred, “and started being handsome .”
Maxie made a flustered noise, pouting when both May and Archie laughed, but then his expression softened. “I had these horrible buck teeth then, though…”
“I think they look cute!” said May, entranced by the photo. He must have been around eight years old, and his pokémon looked so small, too - Zubat hadn’t even joined the team, it seemed.
“May, in a couple years you’ll be looking at pictures of yourself now and be embarrassed too,” he said, turning on a new page of the album with a cocky expression on his face.
“Why? I'm cute now, and I'll be cute when I'm big too,” she said innocently, making both of her dads burst into laughter.
Archie had fished a couple of photo albums from the attic during its yearly cleaning, and, naturally, they had been looking at them all morning with May, showing the little girl pictures of how her dads looked when they were younger. From baby pictures to photos of each one’s college graduation together, the photo albums documented everything. May had enjoyed looking at the photos and listening to all the stories they had to tell about each of them.
There were also people she didn’t know in some of the photos. Some of them turned out to be her grandparents, aunts and uncles, which she hadn’t recognised. But dad’s branch of the family was way bigger. He must have dozens of cousins, and many more distant relatives.
They were looking at Maxie's album now. In the next page, he was still with Numel and Poochyena, posing in front of a large pumpkin with a tall, lanky man that looked a lot like how Maxie looked in the present, but with a black short ponytail instead of his fiery red head. If they didn’t know Maxie was adopted, they would have sworn they were biologically related - the resemblance was uncanny.
“Who’s this?” asked May, pointing at his face. Maxie immediately smiled slightly.
“Uncle Haru… God, it’s been ages since I’ve heard from him…” he said, pensive. “Does he even have his farm, still?” he asked himself.
“A farm?” said May in a high-pitched voice. She had several books about farms, depicting pokémon that lived there and their cries. Some of them even popped up when you turned on a new page. She liked them very much.
“Yeah, I remember him! Your father’s older brother, with the ranch in Fallarbor. You brought me there once, didn’t ya?” asked Archie, suddenly breaking into laughter. “We hid inside that barn but we got locked in, and they didn’t find us ‘till sunset,” he said, elbowing Maxie. “But we had a lot of fun in the meantime, didn-?” he said, raising his eyebrows as Maxie put a hand over his mouth, red as his own hair.
“Petting the Camerupt! Yeah,” he said, smiling awkwardly at May.
“I’d love to pet your Camerupt again sometime soon,” he purred in his ear, making Maxie go even redder and punch his arm lightly so he would stop making him blush in front of the kid.
“My uncle-” he said, increasing the volume of his voice, “had a farm full of Camerupt, May. And many different crops, too - nothing too big or fancy, but little me adored spending a week or two with him in the farm in the summer, helping around… We… sort of lost contact throughout the years. Last time I saw him was years ago, there was some sort of family meeting and I - well, I got to bring papa there, too, but at the time I introduced him as my friend. It… didn't go well,” he sighed, massaging his temple. “I barely know what happened to my family, afterwards. I think he started having arguments with his wife, but that’s about it… Whoa, I can’t believe it’s already been so long… wonder how things are going there?”
“Why don’t you call?” said Archie, who had been playing with Maxie’s hair and suddenly came to a halt.
“Pardon?”
“I said you should call him, if you miss him so much. I… well, I don’t think you should stop keeping in touch with family members that are nice to you. I’m sure he would be happy to know of you again and - oh, we can introduce May to him!”
“You think so?”
“I wanna meet Haru!” chanted May, jumping out of the couch and running towards the napping Mightyena in the rug - well, Reina, Maxie’s Mightyena, napped. Bucky pretended to, thinking his female companion was playing some sort of game, but his wagging tail gave him away.
“Yeah, it can also be a great chance for May to get a little in touch with nature!”
“I wanna get in touch with nature!” she repeated, making her parents laugh as Maxie stood up and reached for his cell phone, laying in the coffee table. Archie then picked May up in his arms, scratched Bucky’s head, and took them both to the pokémon courtyard, guessing Maxie would like some time alone to talk to his relative.
However, after looking through his phone contacts and making the call, an unfamiliar feminine voice greeted him. “Hello?” she said, speaking japanese in a thick Unovan accent.
“Uh, hello… Does… is Haru Matsubusa around?” he said, pinching the soft cushions, nervous. That didn’t sound like his aunt’s voice at all. Maybe they changed numbers? Maybe he had the wrong one?
“Uh… wait one second,” she said, saying something from far away the speaker for Maxie to hear. In a matter of seconds, a second feminine voice spoke to him.
“Yes, who is this?”
“Uh… Sorry, I must be mistaken. I’m looking for my uncle, Haru Matsubusa…”
“Maxie?” she yelled, making him have to take his cell phone away from his ear. “Is that you? Oh, how happy I am to hear your voice again!”
He blinked twice, now more confused than before. “I’m sorry, who am I speaking to?”
The woman laughed slightly, “Yeah, I suppose you don’t recognize this voice… God, it’s been so long we haven’t seen each other - Maxie, it’s me, Haru. Aunt Haru.”
“Okay, everyone,” said Maxie, turning around to face May. “I want all of you to be on your best behaviour when meeting aunt, okay?”
“Aye, captain!” said Archie, putting his hand in his forehead.
“Aye, cap’n!” repeated May.
“She has changed a lot since I last met her, and that’s okay,” he said, speaking to himself rather than to his family as he looked out of the car window to the passing trees. The same thing had happened with Tabitha before, he remembered, and when catching up with them he had had the opportunity to learn a lot about their experience as a trans person. Meeting aunt Haru would be no different. “It will all be okay.”
“Maxie…” whispered Archie, leaning in close so May wouldn’t hear. “You look nervous.”
The redhead exhaled. “I just don’t want to mess up. I still catch myself misgendering Tabitha on accident - they don’t deserve it. I care about aunt too, and I’m afraid something inappropriate will slip from my lips...”
Archie quickly glanced at him, smiling fondly. “I think you do care. And if worse comes to worse, I’m sure she will understand. Just apologise and move on, yeah?”
Maxie smiled slightly, then ordered him to keep his eyes on the road. Archie was at his peak attractive when he showed that behind his goofy persona there was the mature, sensible man he knew and loved so much. One of the few people in the world who, with his reasonable arguments and calm patience, was able to make Maxie think straight when anxiety took the best of him. He tapped his fingers on the glass. “I just want to know why dad - never told me anything,” he said, looking back again and giving his father, who was sitting in the already crammed back space of the car, a mean look.
“Understand, Max,” he stammered, smiling awkwardly, “I - talk to her on a daily basis - I have been in touch with her every day during her transition, and visited as often as I could. I did not think twice about it, and it was... what felt natural? So I forgot!”
Maxie grumbled. “How do you even forget …”
“Well, it was routine to me! I don’t call to tell you Mom paints her nails every day!”
“Pops has a point,” said Archie, glancing at his father-in-law through the back mirror and winking an eye at him. He tried the same with Akane, but she was too busy speaking to May about everything she needed to know about life in the farm, as if it was her running the ranch and not her sister-in-law.
“Okay,” said Archie, coming to a halt in the path. “Here it is.” It was long since they left a properly asphalt road, and had been driving for about fifteen minutes on a winding trail of dirt stopping in a large wooden gate which was open - therefore, making it kind of useless. “Should I just go on?” asked Maxie.
“Yes,” said Akane, gesturing at him to continue. “Your aunt always leaves the gate when she knew someone was coming to visit. Guess some things never change, but I tell her, one day someone is going to break in and you are going to regret it, but she never listens, no sir-” she ranted on, Maxie rolling his eyes as he introduced the car into his aunt’s property and drove onwards.
Ranch Matsubusa was not impressive in size, but what it lacked in extension it made up in rustic beauty. The trail continued beyond the gate across a plantation of fruit trees that grew on each side of the road, and led to a modest, two-story manor with walls of light brown wood and dark roof tiles. Not so far from the main building there was a coop and a big, olive green barn, but the tallest buildings were the silo - close to the barn for convenience - and an impressive windmill that overlooked about half an acre of various crops, some covered with a small plastic tent, some already growing tall and near ready for harvest. A soft breeze gently moved the blades of the mill, slow but steady. Combee, Beautifly, and other bug pokémon busily buzzed to and fro here and there, and the smell of ripe fruit and honey was replaced with the delicious aroma of apple pie as they approached the house building. A tall, plump, dark skinned woman Maxie didn't recognise stood in the porch, and her wife, a much taller, lanky woman with black graying hair was already running towards the car, waving her hands frantically.
Daichi was the first one to get off the car, his face looking paler than usual, and holding his belly with his hands - and was the first victim of one of Haru’s squeezing Bewear hugs. “Brother!” she yelled, lifting him off the ground and swinging his body with ease, the little man screaming and pleading for her to stop. She did let go - once she was satisfied, though. Everyone else slowly got out of the car, straightening their clothes and stretching themselves. Archie unfastened May’s seatbelt and picked her up in his arms, and then all of them walked up to where Haru laughed and Daichi knelt on the ground, feeling his breakfast about to leave his body.
“Wow, was Haru this lively, back when I first met her?” asked Archie to Maxie. He did remember her going through a rough time back then - she was friendly polite, but that was about all. Stiff and quiet, otherwise. “Was startin’ to think y’all Matsubusas had a stick up your-”
“Archie!” he reprimanded him, the aforementioned bursting into laughter, which only grew stronger when Haru suddenly hugged Maxie and squeezed the air out of him, sparing him, luckily, from being lifted in her arms thanks to his being similar in height.
“Awww, lookit cha! How you’ve grown!” she said, rustling his hair afterwards.
“Aunt Haru -” he began to say, trying to be extremely patient. How he hated to be babied like that - and his family were the worst offenders in that matter. “Aunt, last time you saw me I was, like, twenty-one. I haven’t gone through a second puberty or anything since then,” he said.
Haru smiled, looking at Akane and shaking her hand vigorously. “This boy of yours, always so - eloquent!” she said, directing her attention to Archie as Maxie sighed. Haru actually stood quiet as she examined him and the little girl, who, overwhelmed by her aunt’s unexpected excitement, hid her face in Archie’s shoulder. And, for the first time since they arrived, Haru slowed down a little bit, looking at Archie with a slight smile in her face and holding out her hand for him to shake. “Archie, was it?” she asked with such a quiet voice that made everyone, her wife included, turn their heads.
“Aye.”
“And this little one we have here - you must be May, right?”
The girl didn’t say anything - just peeked for a split second, the hid her face again, blushing. Archie laughed fondly, poking her head with a finger. “Hey now, what got ya?” he asked, whispering sweet words to her as if to try to make her more comfortable. “Sorry, ma’am. She… she is usually shy at first. But she’ll warm up in no time, I’m sure ‘bout it.”
“Yes,” added Maxie. “She was just so excited to meet you, we have been telling her everything about you and the farm and - and…”
He stared vacillantly at the woman in the porch stairs, who stared back equally hesitant to come and say hello. Haru laughed. “That’s a-okay. My girl here’s shy too.”
“Now, now, don’t go around saying such things!” she said, walking up to her and, holding close to Haru, she introduced herself, “Rani,” she said, unable, for some reason, to stifle a light chuckle after her brief introduction. Maxie arched an eyebrow. That definitely wasn’t her aunt, not the one that used to be married to Haru, anyways, but he recognised her voice as the Unovan woman’s that had answered his call.
He had never been one to enjoy family drama, not him, and not his mother - who enjoyed to be the centre of attention rather than directing it to others - and not his father, who was definitely a much quieter, introverted man. But now he was curious to know about his aunt - the one who used to be married to Haru, and her whereabouts. “We probably should come inside,” she said, pointing at the open door behind them, “the apple pie will have probably cooled down by now. Are you hungry?”
“Ya kiddin’?” said Archie, mouth already watering as he noticed the pleasant smell again. Maxie’s own stomach made some noise, and he blushed, taking Rani up in her offer.
“Be right back, pumpkin,” said Haru, jogging past the group towards the ranch’s entrance. “Gotta close that gate!” and off she ran. Daichi shook his head with a smile on his face.
“This Haru, always the same, running to and fro, unable to calm down…”
Maxie did not comment. Inside, he was conflicted. He was convinced his aunt’s transition wouldn’t possibly change her attitude at all - yet there she was. Maxie remembered a much milder personality - definitely not stuck up or unpleasant, but much more gentle and calm at heart.
“That,” said Haru, minutes later, “was the depression.”
Archie, who was devouring his apple pie, stopped eating for a second. Maxie put down his cup of coffee. Everyone sat in the kitchen table, except May, who played outside with her dads’ and grandparents’ pokémon, supervised by them through the window. The little space available was spacious for two people - but a crowd of six could barely fit in. However, the decoration in the inside was charming. The walls were covered with quaint little terracotta plates decorated with colourful, lively floral patterns. The tablecloth was hand-embroidered and had a soft touch to it. Everything seemed artesanal, and all the furniture was made of either wood or stone. The general atmosphere, rustic and cozy, was a bit disturbed by Haru’s statement.
Rani held her hand, and she smiled as lively as ever. Maxie looked at his parents, then at Archie. “Yeah, I’m not gonna deny it. People usually think us farmers ain’t got nothin’ to worry about, living in the countryside, far from everything…
“Nobody ever told me anything-”
“I didn’t even know what it was back then,” she continued. “I knew something wasn’t right. It was not just denial about gettin’ older, or the monotony of routine - no, it actually took me a while to realise what was missin’ - and a good while at that. It was when I started seeking counseling online that I got in touch with some trans people, and wham, everything suddenly started making sense. This was the first step, though, of what would be a long journey. Figuring out I was transgender didn't cure it. It certainly helped, but I took another hit when… she left me after I came out.” She paused for a second. “I continued on my own, I knew I could do it, get over the dysphoria while balancing it with the acceptance that I wasn’t gettin’ any younger, either… But, well, here i am!” she said, looking affectively at Rani. “Or should I say, here we are.”
“I’m from Unova, you know. My former husband cheated on me, so I left, decided to take some me-time, and took his jeep with me in the process,” she laughed maliciously. “I wanted to make some adventure tourism, rub in his face that I didn’t have to be the pretty, quiet housewife for him anymore and that I was ready for everything-”
“Except for - heavy rain, a tyre bursting, running out of gas...” teased Haru, smiling smugly as Rani punched her slightly in the arm.
“Aw, shaddap. If it hadn’t been for my - lack of prevision, we wouldn’t have met each other. I happened to be nearby and her farm was the first building I found in the middle of nowhere,” she continued. “She helped me push my car through the rain and the mud and, well, offered to help me repair it and gave me shelter. It was an instant crush,” she admitted, blushing. “And I didn't even speak the language! The following months I didn’t leave Fallarbor, in hopes of seeing her around the local market, and I would sometimes visit her farm, too.”
“She looked like a wee pup in love, I couldn’t help growing fond of her, too,” commented Haru, laughing out loud. Maxie smiled. He was thrown back to when he was hopelessly falling for Archie, back in college. He looked at his husband fondly, knowing that, as much as he was totally head over heels for him, he felt the same for Maxie. Rani kept telling her story and giving more details, but Maxie had disconnected and was absentmindedly looking at May through the window. She had managed to make all the pokémon sit in a semi-circle, and was telling them something, moving her hands and gesturing a lot, the pokémon focusedly looking at her. He chuckled.
“Well!” said Haru, loudly clapping her hands and making Maxie snap out of it, “enough of talking about us - Maxie, I believe my dearest nephew and I have some catching up to do!” she said, looking at him, then at Archie, and wiggling her eyebrows.
“Oh,” he said, playing with his hair, “you know… uh… Back then I was only out to my parents, but not even they knew I was dating Archie. I thought it would be less complicated to introduce him as a friend - what with the whole family being here…”
“I can understand that,” said she, but Akane inhaled.
“Well, to this day, frankly, I can’t ,” she said, crossing her arms. “Maxie never had any reason to not tell us something, I don’t understand how such great news as his dating Archie had to be a secret. Or why they must have ‘married’ in such a hurried way, not even inviting their families.”
“Mom, how many times do I have to tell you - we didn't even have a ceremony - it wasn't even a marriage, per se!” His mother frowned, still clearly upset. Archie grinned awkwardly. “Would you have wanted me to take you with us to just watch us sign a paper?”
“I would have loved to!”
Haru laughed. “Y’haven’t changed a bit,” she said, addressing both. “Max, I’m glad ya ended up with Archie. I knew he was a good lad the moment I met him. I want to say I kind of suspected it, but I know it can be scary, bein’ confronted about that stuff… I’m really happy to see my eyes weren't playing tricks on ol’ me. ”
Archie blushed slightly as his in-law winked at him. Yes, the Matsubusas were definitely a peculiar family...
“Papa, dad!” said May, abruptly entering the room. “I saw them, I saw the Camerupts!”
“Now, did ya?” asked Archie, standing up and picking her up in her arms.
“Yeah! You gotta come and see! And dad too, and everyone!” she said enthusiastically, waving her arms in the air.
Everyone was soon out of the kitchen, following Haru and Rani towards where they kept the cattle, their pokémon running and playing not far from the group. Archie shifted, nervous. If he remembered correctly, the slaughterhouse was not far from that place. He really didn't want to go that way. However, upon reaching the gates of another modest fence near the barn, the dreaded building was nowhere in sight. Discreetly, he asked Haru.
“Oh, I decided to get rid of it. My father, he was more interested in profiting off our old pokémon than caring for them… and so was my ex-wife. I was never fond of it anyways so as soon as she left, I closed it for good.”
“Neither of us eat meat,” said Rani, piquing Archie's interest and engaging in a conversation about vegetarianism with him as Haru opened the gates and they all entered.
The space was enough for about fifteen Camerupt, ten Mareep, a couple of Gogoat and a Rapidash to move freely and graze peacefully. A large, guardian Arcanine lazily watched over the herd, lying near the door of the barn. May opened her eyes widely, wanting to run and get closer to them, but Maxie stopped her. “May, don’t be hasty. Pokémon can get startled by strangers and… react if they are disturbed,” he said, fidgeting nervously and shooting glances at Archie. She puckered, but obeyed and stood close to the group as Haru guided them across the field towards the barn. The old Arcanine sat straight as she saw her, and barked happily, running all the fast her joints allowed and giving her owner a lick in the face.
“Hestia hasn’t changed a bit since you last saw her!” said she, rustling her white mane and winking at Maxie. “C’mon. It's safe. You can let May get near.”
Maxie's lip trembled. Hestia, Haru's Arcanine that he had known since she was a puppy, was now of old age - still playful, but also less reckless and much less hot-headed - and he couldn't help remembering all the good times playing with the pokémon. But things had changed. Hestia was four times as tall as May, and at least three times as wide. He clung to her tighter. Archie noticed, and he put his conversation with Rani for a second to place a hand on his shoulder.
“It's fine. C'mon.”
Slowly, Maxie let go of May, and she approached the large pokémon carefully. Arcanine lowered her head in a noble gesture, smelling that little chubby hand that was suspended in the air, and finally let her pet her fur. She giggled, “It's warm! I love her.”
Everyone collectively made sounds of adoration, and Maxie felt as if a large weight had been lifted off his chest.
The Camerupt seemed far less threatening or intimidating than Arcanine. All but one or two were female, who, while bigger than the average male, were also more pacific when left undisturbed.
“Now,” said Rani, holding up a bucket and a little stool, “who wants to do some milking?”
May watched curiously as Rani sat near one of the Camerupts, humming a song that the little girl liked very much. She patted the pokémon’s head first, whispering sweet things to her before starting to milk her. Haru, Maxie and Archie all watched and listened to the explanation, although Maxie and Haru were acquaintances with the task already.
Archie, however, had never in his life milked a pokémon. His early life by the sea had involved mostly marine creatures, and now his specialty was wild pokémon, not domestic ones. The one time he had visited the farm, he had been only given a quick tour around the premises. This more interactive approach was very interesting.
“I don’t know, Haru,” he said, laughing, “I’m still a bit reluctant to invade our girl's privacy here,” he said, pointing at the Camerupt, who seemed like she couldn't care less. Maxie giggled a bit, rolling his eyes, and placing his hands over Archie's slowly guiding them to the udder. Archie actually yelped as he felt it. “Oh my, this is too lewd…! It's been so long since I last touched a boo-”
“Cut it out!” replied Maxie, playfully, nudging Archie as if to make him fall off his stool.
“Daddy, dad, come here! Look at this!” said May, waving a bucket bigger than her head. “I did it!”
“Oh, that's great!” he said, standing up and walking towards her and Rani, and trying not to chuckle when May proudly showed a small puddle of milk in the bottom of her bucket. “Well, you're learning faster than papa, that's for sure!”
“Hey, I heard that! And I'll let you know I don't go around touching any lady’s private parts, I'm a gentleman, darn it.”
Everyone laughed. Haru glanced at Archie, a smile on her face - but it wasn't anything like the big, joyful smiles she had put on the whole morning. There was a certain fondness as she looked at how Archie watched Maxie and May milk the Camerupt together.
“Maxie seems very happy here,” said Archie, finally, deciding he could drop the funny facade and converse a bit with his in-law. “I’m glad he gets to unwind and spend some quality family time. He needed it.” Haru chuckled a bit. “What’s up, auntie?” asked Archie.
“It's just - I was remembering that time when Maxie brought you here. I don’t like to word it that way, but it was obvious from the beginning that you two were probably lying about being ‘only’ friends. I mean,” she said, embarrassedly waving her hands, “some nasty stuff went down that day, I shouldn't laugh…”
“Oh, no, it's all forgotten now. Believe me, I… deal with stuff every other day, it just feels like routine. We're good.”
“I never got to apologise to Maxie or you for the horrible things my sister said…” she said, moving in closer.
“Hey, that's fine. Every family has that one racist, homophobic aunt!” he laughed. Then he looked at her.
“It's hard, sometimes. To keep moving forward despite everything. To learn to ignore them. But I try my best. And I guess you two do as well.”
Lowering his voice, Archie told her about the whole thing when May caught them, about a month ago. He wasn't the type to disclose his private life to a perfect stranger, even if she was family, but the situation called for it. “...and it's been a source of stress for Maxie. He thinks I don't notice, but he has this idea that - we have to be a paragon among parents. Just because we happen to not be a straight couple.”
“Oh, no, my baby… I can see where this is coming from, though.”
“I just want him to relax a little bit. Stop worrying about things that would be perfectly natural among hetero parents, but supposedly, queer parents doing said things is completely out of the question. Make him see we don't have to be, like, this role model of abstinence to be taken seriously. Ya feel me?”
“I think what you need is some time alone.”
“We’ve had this conversation. We even tried to hire a babysitter, but having some time alone at the expense of my little girl suffering feels bad. We think she is still in this stage of attachment - which is natural, since she was adopted relatively not long ago.”
“Maybe she would feel better if family were to take care of it.”
“Yeah, that's… a possibility. But Maxie's folks live quite a ways, and my younger siblings still live with my parents. I wouldn't like to bother them.”
“Well,” said she, standing up, winking an eye at him as she pointed with her head towards the house. “Family’s here now. And it's a long weekend. I'm sure you two will manage to find some time to be alone.”
For lunchtime, Rani and Haru offered their guests a light fruit salad and some tasty pasta they had made themselves. Everything tasted so rich and fresh that everyone asked for a second helping. “You don't get this kind of quality products in the city so easily,” commented Maxie, helping May clean tomato sauce off her face. “Wish we had the chance to eat healthier more often.”
“Says the guy who forgets to eat at all when he’s working,” commented Archie, Akane immediately shooting her son a glance between anger and worry. “That's fine, Ma, I always make sure to remind him to stop and refill. Your son is in good hands.”
Maxie sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as his mother lectured him, heedless of Archie's attempts to take importance off the fact that Maxie was overworking himself. The redhead curtseyed him, an indefinite emotion in his eyes that confused Archie. Was he angry that he had exposed him like that? Grateful that he worried about him and thought he needed help?
They all helped to tidy up the kitchen table after eating, but Archie went further and offered to wash the dishes with Maxie. “What?”
“Oh, c'mon, we are their guests, and Aunt doesn't have a dishwasher. It's the least we can do,” he said, rolling up his sleeves and winking at Haru.
“Oh yeah! And while you boys are at it, we are gonna go ahead towards the fruit tree plantation! I reckon the apricots are ripe by now. How would you like to learn to pick the juiciest one to make pie?” she said, specially addressing May, whose eyes gleamed.
“Ohh! I love pie!” she exclaimed, jumping excitedly.
“Wait - are you gonna leave us behind?” said Maxie, arching an eyebrow as Archie softly nudged him.
“We can go as soon as we are done here, right, auntie?” he said nonchalantly.
“Sure thing! We’ll be away for about… two hours , I reckon,” she said. “Aw, what a cutie you’re being today, Archie. So! Are y’all ready? Then off we go!” she said, Maxie waving goodbye at the rest of the family with a sad expression on his face. Archie looked at him, nervous, rethinking again the right words to say. The door was shut with a loud bang, and Archie sighed deeply, going to pick up a plate for the pile in the sink. He was convinced that a little smooth talk and some intentional hand touching would be enough to get Maxie in the mood. That's how he won him over the first time, at least.
But seconds later he almost has to struggle to not drop it as the redhead pushed him against the counter, encasing his body between his arms, and leant on to graze his lips with his as he whispered with a low voice, “God, I thought they were never gonna leave. Finally, we can - have some time to - ‘do the dishes’...”
Archie’s knees started to shake, and he took a big gulp. “I-is that what they call it now?” he said, his voice barely a squeak as Maxie pressed their bodies close and let out a chuckle. “W-wait! Are you- oh, god, Maxie, let's at least go upstairs!”
Maxie blinked, playful. He backed off, and walked away slowly, suggestively swaying his hips. Archie was definitely not ready for such a twist. To see him suddenly so confident, so assertive… And he thought he would have a hard time wooing him. Yet another proof that it was definitely impossible to guess what the redhead was scheming or thinking about.
“So is that a yes?”
“A yes!? Of course!” he said, rushing behind him and abruptly scooping him up, carrying him bridal-style upstairs. Maxie just gasped and chuckle, happy to see his bold advance had been effective on him. He was dropped onto the bed gently, and from his privileged position underneath he could see those blue eyes already scanning him with desire and love.
“I'm… sorry to have kept you waiting all this time,” he said, lunging forward to meet their lips in a kiss.
But Archie shook his head, smiling. “I would wait for you all my life,” he purred, kissing Maxie's neck as the redhead scoffed and said,
“Cheesy…”
“Oh, shut up, you like it cheesy,” he said, playfully putting his hand over his mouth as the redhead laughed and struggled to escape his grip. “What I meant is… ah, blast it, I wanted this too but I didn't wanna pressure you either, so I'm really happy - to see you take the initiative like this.”
“I've missed this too, Archie. I've just been waiting for the perfect moment.”
And it seemed like it was the perfect moment, right then, right there.
“Archie, dear, care to pass me the flour?” said Maxie, smiling, a dreamy look on his face as he mixed the batter. Archie giggled, taking a flour packet from the pantry, and dancing across the kitchen towards the counter. Maxie held out his hand, but his husband quickly withdrew it from his reach, eliciting a playful groan from the redhead. “C’mon, you tease!”
“You gotta pay for my services, babe,” he said, puckering up as Maxie rolled his eyes and kissed him long.
“Oh!” said May, snatching the packet of flour from Archie's hand and opening it as her dads kissed each other, her face ending up covered in white when she opened it too carelessly. Maxie laughed, and knelt down, wiping off her face with a wet towel and kissing her forehead.
“Be more careful next time, yes?” he said, his voice almost sing-songy. May smiled. She didn't know why daddy and papa were in such a good mood, but she supposed that the nap they took after washing the dishes must be the cause of it. She liked it when dad was less stressed, and when papa was even more playful, and she hadn't seen them in a very good mood lately - yes, even she could notice that. But now things seemed to be alright, so she decided to join in on the fun. She licked her finger, dipped it in the flour, and smeared some on Maxie's face on purpose, laughing as the redhead acted confused.
“Archie! Look at what your daughter did!” he said, feigning offence as Archie knelt down to examine, only to be greeted by a splatter of flour on his face too.
“Hey! My beautiful face!” he said, what made May laugh more with joy, and finally lose it when Maxie himself sprinkled more flour on him afterwards. “Grrr! That’s it, you two!” he growled, making May scream in joy as Maxie picked her up in her arms and ran with her around the kitchen, being chased by Archie. Alerted by the noise, Haru, who was tending to the Matsubusas (they suffered from mild light-headedness due to being out in the sun for too long) entered the kitchen only to see the heart-warming scene that made her smile as well.
“Aw, what's happening here, you lot? This is my kitchen you're makin’ a mess of!” she bellowed, stopping the ruckus for a second. But then she grabbed a second packet of flour, and took a handful of it. “This means revenge!”
But they had only so much flour they could waste on fighting each other (it was home-made after all) so in a couple of minutes, Haru proposed both a truce and a break to get cleaned up.
“I got all of us dirty!” announced May, more triumphant than sorry. She hopped around, leaving footprints in the now white floor. “Oh!” she said as Haru picked her up. By then she was already used to the presence of her newly discovered relatives, and was far from shy around them. “Aunty! Don't eat me!”
She laughed heartily. Archie leant over the counter, breathing heavily, and hugged onto Maxie, both watching fondly how their daughter played with her aunt. “I'm not! Well, not yet, you have to get much bigger! How about a bath now?” she asked, May nodding and waving at her dads as the elder woman took her upstairs. Maxie was practically glowing when Archie looked at him, his smile contagious.
“I’m so glad they managed to get along,” said Maxie, turning around and resuming the preparation of the batter. Archie hugged him from behind, burying his face in his hair and taking in the scent, but sneezing and coughing soon afterwards when some flour got into his nostrils. Maxie laughed, turning his head around to give him a brief kiss in the cheek.
“It was - worth it,” Archie said, rubbing his nose and resting his head in Maxie's shoulder, caressing his belly with his hands. “Smells so nice…”
“I can't concentrate like this,” replied Maxie, coy, battering the mix with shaky hands as Archie snuggled against him, making him laugh with light tickles on purpose.
“I wanna try,” said Archie, opening his mouth. “Give me some.”
“The batter? It's raw. No, no, no,” said Maxie. He knew Archie would have his way in the end, as it usually happened when he had something in mind. He had a (in Maxie's opinion, disgusting) liking for raw batter, just like that. Archie pouted, and began kissing his ear. His breath so close against his skin felt like a warm caress. His knees weak, he finally turned around, holding a spoon with some sugary mix, and Archie happily obliged. “There, happy now?”
“My life has a meaning now,” he said jokingly, leaning forward and giving Maxie a loud smooch, the redhead groaning and laughing as Archie pressed him against the counter with all the weight in his body.
“Hey Maxie, your parents are better - oh goodness,” said a feminine voice that made both of them turn around and Maxie go red. Rani stood there, a wet towel in her hands. She looked visibly flustered too as she pointed with her thumb to the corridor she just came from “Am I interrupting…?”
“Oh, no, not at all,” said Archie, clearing his throat and then smiling kindly. “I just like to shower my Maxie with love here and there,” he exclaimed happily as Maxie tugged at his hand and mumbled something to him. But Rani just smiled and touched her cheek.
“I see. Ah, young love is so beautiful…”
“But Auntie! We’ve been a couple longer than other Auntie and you have!” laughed Archie, taking a seat in the kitchen table. Maxie followed, and so did Rani. “It will be, what, ten years now?”
“Ten years? Archie, we didn't start dating in freshman year!” said Maxie. He smiled, though. Their own mind played tricks on them when reminiscing how long they had been together. The boundary between friendship and romantic feelings were blurry between them since day one, and only became more confusing as they grew closer and closer. But it didn't matter. This was their way of loving each other. They wouldn't have it another way. “We got together officially by the end of senior year,” he explained. “It… hadn't been a very good year for either of us, let's say. But Archie… even if he was dealing with stuff of his own too, he was by my side. And that's why… I knew it was him I wanted to be with.”
“Same for me,” said Archie. “I mean, I didn't even know I liked men back then, but I knew being with Maxie made me happier than I've ever been. And well, what had to happen, happened. One can only pretend to be straight for so long, ya know? Specially around such a cutie like my Maxie,” he said, receiving a coy look from the aforementioned when Archie blew a kiss in his direction. “He doesn't want to believe he made me gay.”
“Because I didn't!” protested Maxie. He knew Archie meant it as a joke, but anyone who was not familiar with him could think he had a rather questionable concept of how sexuality worked. He just sighed and shook his head, smiling slightly.
“Anyways, as I was saying… after that, the following summer we moved in together. I remember some people sayin’- Maxie included - it was too early for a couple to do so, but… C’mon, I’d known him for almost four years. It's not like he was a stranger.”
“Oh, I understand!” she said, nodding energetically. “And I suppose… that after some time you both decided you wanted to be parents.”
“Well,” chimed in Maxie, “actually, it was… Archie, who wanted to.” He received a surprised look from Rani. “I had no interest whatsoever in becoming a parent before Archie proposed it to me. I thought, he’s gone mad, we aren't even married yet, and we are too young - I believe that was two years ago.” He combed some strands of hair off his face, smiling in a slightly nostalgic way.
“I was so nervous, I just blurted it out during dinner! No wonder he got so scared when I suddenly screamed in his face that I wanted to have a baby with him,” laughed Archie.
“I said no at first. I was terrified, if I'm being honest. But… after giving it much thought, I brought up the topic again and finally agreed. I was unable to see myself as a parent before it all. But I guess that somewhere along the way I must have started to see us as parents.”
Archie smiled, putting his hand on his thigh and stroking it reassuringly. “While, in my case… well, I've always wanted to be a dad, and being with Maxie - I could perfectly picture us together raising a child, it had to be with him. Turns out that biological clock thing is not just for white moms,” he laughed, then turned his head towards Maxie. “I just hope I didn't press you a lot to make that decision. Not everyone’s born ready.”
“Oh, no! It's the choice I made, all things considered. I couldn't be happier now about our life with May, you know it…”
Right that moment, Haru appeared from behind the corner, carrying a sleeping May in her arms. Maxie stood up, and held her himself after Haru explained that she was already groggy after the bath, and that the warmth of the fresh towels and the hair dryer must have done her in. Archie nodded, and put his arm around Maxie's shoulder, looking alternatively at his daughter and his partner with adoration.
“We should let her take a nap, yes?” asked Maxie, seeking approbation from Archie. He must have the idea that his partner somehow knew more about parenting than he did, but Archie couldn't help but think it was cute how he liked to check everything with him before taking decisions.
They had set up Maxie's old bed from when he used to visit as a kid, just for her. Archie could swear Maxie was tearing up a bit as he carefully tucked her in in a bed that, despite it's already tiny size, was still too big for a little girl like her. “Archie. We are doing this right, I think,” he said, breathing heavily and looking at his husband, light shining in his eyes in the dim room.
“Did it take ya this long to figure that out?” he chuckled, leaning in and making him rest his head in his shoulder, hearing Maxie sob with joy as he nodded.
“This must be the - hormones from - you know - don't rub it in my face!” he said, blushing a little after his little outburst of emotion.
“Of course I will, and there's nothing you can do about it,” said Archie, smiling evilly as Maxie protested and threatened with clamming up forever, both leaving the room to let their daughter sleep well.