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Sky is blue. Roses are red. Grass is green.
Candy is awesome. Ice cream is yummy . So is Chocolate .
Not anymore.
Now they are all icky.
Candies are icky. Ice cream is icky. Even the chocolate ice cream that TJ loved so much is icky as well . The blue sky is icky. The marshmallow clouds floating on it are icky. The red roses in the garden are icky. And the velvety green grass that TJ loves to roll around on is icky too.
Everything is icky and gross.
Everything.
It was a bright and sunny morning .Tyler Jacob Padalecki was lying in the middle of his dada and jenjen’s bed , forlornly looking out of the window. He clutched his jenjen’s pillow to his chest while he rested his head on the one his dada used.
Jenjen’s pillow. TJ inhaled it deeply and the tiny ache in his little chest eased up a little .It smelled of flowers, honey , sky and the breeze. Yet it smelled uniquely of his jenjen. TJ would recognize it with his eyes closed and hands tied behind his back.
TJ hadn’t seen his jenjen for one two three four five six….seven days. For seven long days, he had been a good boy just like his dada and jenjen had asked him to be.
He had taken his nasty bitter syrups and pills that the doctors had given him for his fever.He hadn’t cried a bit even when Nini had approached him with simply “ewyyy!!” soup declaring,
“You wanna be better, don’t you baba?” He had eaten the soup too.
Yes, TJ wanted to be better. He wanted his baby brother to come home soon. He wanted his jenjen to hug him again.But that was until this morning when dada rushed from bed, washed his face , quickly changed into his suit and whispered goodbye in TJ’s ears,
“I’ll come back soon Teej!”
Then he was off.
And that was it. All of a sudden the huge room came back to swallow him in whole.And that’s how everything became icky for a little boy who had never seen anything but happiness.
For TJ , sickness meant the comfort of jenjen’s arms. It meant snuggling to jenjen’s chest to his heart’s content and listening to him sing softly in his ears.It also meant that dada wouldn’t go to work and be with him all day.
He remembered when he had a bad cough and fever last time.
FLASHBACK
“No..no..no…!! Pweaseeeeee!!!”
A whiny TJ cried from his jenjen’s arms.The object of his distress was bottle of gooey black syrup that his dada was holding.
His dada made puppy face at his partner. He was a goner when TJ’s tears were concerned.
“Please Jen? Don’t make me?Just see his face!” Jared implored.
“Jesus! It’s like I have two babies instead of one.” mumbled Jensen. Laying TJ back on bed he overtook the current task from his giant husband .
“You do this every freakin time! It’s for his own good Jay!”Jensen complained.He put the bottle back on the bedside table.
TJ’s dada just let out a relieved breath .He went back to his place beside TJ and kissed his warm forehead.
Hey Jay?”
Jared looked up to find his husband looking at him with eyes full of mischief.
“Hmmm?’’
“Have you seen my TJ?”
Jared frowned. But a wink of the bright green eyes got him into the act fully .
“No.” he responded blithely.
“Is he under the blanket?” came the next question.
Instead of answering verbally, Jared lifted the blanket with flourish to find a pouty little boy underneath.The hazel eyed man pretended to look closely at his son before declaring,
“No! Where did he go?”
TJ had been listening to dada and jenjen all along. His jenjen was searching for him. He rose from under the wooly blanket to look at him ,
“I m hewe jenjen! I m hewe dada! Wook at me!!” he chirped.
Jensen looked at his son with narrowed eyes.
“You look like my TJ for sure!” he murmured.
“I m TJ jenjen.” the little boy pressed on the matter further. His jenjen not recognizing him was a mishap beyond imagination.
“Nope” Jensen shook his head .
TJ’s eyes filled with tears. He hid his face under his blanky again and whimpered,
“Why?I am Teej weally.”
He could hear his jenjen leaning against the headboard close to him.
“My Teej loves me very much.” Jensen shook his head sadly.
“He is very brave and always listens to me so that I don’t cry.” Then the green eyes narrowed suspiciously at Teej again.
“You are not my Teej. I know that!” Jenjen looked out of the window and let out a deep sigh.
TJ rose from his bed abruptly. He turned towards his dada who was watching the whole scene . This time he had the medicine in hand.
“Ready baby?” he asked. He smiled at his husband knowingly.Just like him,his son hated to see anything but happiness in those green eyes. If anyone could make TJ swallow the bitter medicine without a single tantrum, it was his jenjen for sure. And the same applied to him as well.
His son has totally taken after him in this.
TJ nodded and swallowed the entire spoonful with a pinched face. Jared chuckled at the sight and kissed the tip of the tiny wrinkled nose.
“Have some water Teej.” he said softly. The little boy drank some water and then rushed back to Jensen.
“Am I Teej, jenjen?” he asked anxiously to his father who was looking at him with soft eyes. Jensen hugged his son to his chest and breathed a sigh of relief.
“Hmmmm….Yeah. That’s my Teej. Don’t leave me ever..okay?” He rocked TJ back and forth.
TJ was already halfway to dreamland.His jenjen’s scent always put him to sleep.
“Not goin annywhey . Pwomise” he murmured
END OF FLASHBACK
Elena peeked into the master bed room to find TJ sleeping at last. She crept to the bedside and kissed the petal soft cheek. Last night had been a hard one and she didn’t blame the little boy at all.
The kid had never been away from Jensen for more than a few hours. Elena had been expecting the meltdown any moment. She was rather proud that Teej held strong for six long days before having the outburst. He was a little boy after all. Even Elena was missing Jensen like crazy.
The sound of a car broke her train of thoughts. Elena rushed to the front door to find a black Bugatti screeching to a halt under the huge portico outside. The first person to get out was Jared, who descended from the driver’s seat and rushed to help out his precious ‘cargo’.
It was then that Elena saw him. The door opened and a beautiful man got down.He winced a little but stood straight.
“Slowly Jen!” murmured Jared anxiously, prompting a rapid headshake from the blond. He looked a little pale but held his ground resolutely.
“I am fine Jay!”Jensen rolled his eyes in response.
Elena shook his head from distance. She knew where TJ got all his stubbornness from.
Jensen just about turned to pick up the baby carrier but his husband beat him to it.
“Nothing heavy remember?
“Heavy?” the brunette smiled.
“He is much lighter than TJ was at birth.” The memory of a chubby TJ made him smile .
“ Not to mention I have been carrying him all along” He placed his hand on his newly healed stomach and looked at his husband who kept on staring .
“I don’t want to take any chances.” came the reply. Jensen snorted in amusement.
“You should have thought that before giving me your giant babies Jay!” The green eyes twinkled in amusement. But then they fell on his baby son and softened.
“Or not!”
The baby in question slept on blissfully. He was an exact replica of Jensen except his hair. That was all Jared.
It was in the middle of the conversation that both the men saw Elena.
Jensen hugged Elena and kissed her cheek.
“Missed you !” she whispered. He smiled and kissed her again.
“I missed you too Elena…so much.” Jensen whispered.
Once the little party was inside the mansion, the inevitable happened. Jensen bypassed the waiting couch and started towards TJ’s bedroom. But Elena stopped him on his tracks.
“He’s not in his room baby.”
The green eyed man frowned.
“Then where is he?”
Elena glanced at Jared before answering.
“Slept with his dada last night. He was too distraught”
Jensen looked at his husband for clarification. He knew something was awry. His husband’s face only established his doubts
“Baby calm down please.”
“Why do I have to keep calm?”
“Last night…” Jared paused.
“Last night?” pressed TJ’s impatient jenjen.
“Last night Teej cried a lot…and refused to eat.”
Jensen paled . His son has never refused his meal in all these years.Jared quickly hugged his husband as if to pacify his impending outburst .
“It’s ok..it’s ok Jen.”
“No,it’s not.He is sick. What if …” glared Jensen.
Elena cut in .
“He had a couple spoonfuls after this morning. The poor kid was crying for you both!”
She then looked at both the men. When they nodded, she picked up the youngest member of the Padalecki family and walked towards the newly decorated nursery. Her exit seemed to calm Jensen. His husband had to handle everything alone all this time. He crossed the little distance separating him from Jared and gave him a mighty hug and kissed his lips passionately.
“Sorry Jay!” he murmured. Jared gave himself fully into the kiss and smiled indulgently.
“I would do the same if I was in your place Jen.”
The two doting fathers rushed to their bedroom at last .
It was in pristine condition just as Jensen had left it. But the bed was in utter disarray. Their little prince had rolled himself up like a cocoon and was snoring softly. He sat beside his sleeping son and uncovered the precious face he had been aching for. Dried tear tracks testified for a turbulent night. His son was clutching his pillow tightly to his chest. Jensen bent down and placed a soft kiss on the warm forehead.
***
TJ was dreaming.
In the dream he was holding dada and jenjen’s hands and they were running together. Soft breeze played with their disheveled hair. It was a nice dream. All of a sudden he felt something touching his forehead. As if he was being tickled with a feather. A scent invaded his senses that drew him out of his restless slumber. TJ knew this scent. He would recognize this scent anywhere. It belonged to his..
“Jenjen?” the little boy jerked up. His jenjen was looking at him with tearful eyes.
“Hey baby?”
TJ didn’t waste a single moment. This was what he had been waiting for …one two three four five six seven biiiiig days. A face so beautiful that it made his world turn. Arms so soft and inviting that it made all of TJ’s hurdles worthwhile. A voice so sweet that seven days without hearing it made his days icky and gross.
His jenjen.
“Shhhh!” Jensen rocked TJ in his usual rhythm.
“Will you go again?” asked a broken little voice. Jensen smiled fondly and shook his head.
“Nope. I am gonna be with my babies forever…big and small”.
Teej giggled. He knew who his jenjen’s big baby was. The ‘big’ baby in question was watching the moment with tender eyes.
But TJ looked around and frowned. “Whe’s bwother?”
The two fathers exchanged loving glance. And then dada answered
“He is sleepin squirt. You will meet him when he wakes up..okay?”
TJ nodded. He was too happy to care. He nuzzled the little curve between jenjen’s neck and shoulders and inhaled the scent of his hair.
“Okay.”
And then a sudden bright idea made his eyes twinkle with glee. He looked at his dada and shouted
“Let’s have a sleep over just like big boys!!”
Dada snorted in amusement .He didn’t remind his son that it was a bright morning outside. He nodded in acceptance.
“Okay Teej. Sleepover it is.Come on jenjen”
That was exactly how Elena discovered them half an hour later. Teej lying between his fathers , clutching his jenjen’s shirt buttons in his hands. It was a childhood habit of his.The other chubby arm was resting on his dada, as if to ensure that both his parents remained within touching distance.
It was well at last.
Sky is blue. Roses are red. Grass is green.They were beautiful…but not so much as TJ’s jenjen.
Candies, ice creams and chocolates are awesomely sweet.
But TJ’s jenjen is the sweetest.
Even dada agreed .