Work Text:
At the sound of the doorbell ringing, her eyes popped open. She reached out and grabbed her phone, blearily checking the time.
It was 6:43 in the morning. On a Sunday.
She groaned, burying her head in her pillow. As the doorbell rang again, she kicked her legs in frustration. She then heard the muffled voice behind her.
“He’s just going to keep ringing that bell until one of us lets him in.”
“So, you do it!” she huffed in frustration, glaring over at her husband. He chose to respond by rolling over onto his side, covering his head with his own pillow. “He’s your father. You let him in.”
Letting out a dramatic huff, she rolled her eyes as she rolled her body out of bed and began to make her way down the stairs. As she opened her front door, she couldn’t help the knowing smile that reluctantly made its way onto her face.
“Morning, Papa,” she greeted.
“Morning, sweetheart.” He gave her a kiss on the cheek as he entered.
He was exceptionally chipper this morning, likely running on the bare minimum of sleep. She knew neither of her parents slept well without the other and her papa in particular was a very light sleeper when he was alone.
“Would you like some coffee?” she asked as they both made their way into the kitchen.
“That would be great, thank you.”
As she started the coffee maker, her mind again drifted to her parents. They had been together for almost 40 years, 38 this year if she wasn’t mistaken, and they had spent nearly every day of those 35+ years together. To her amazement, they weren’t ready to kill each other. Sure, they bantered back and forth, a game of sorts they had perfected from the beginning, but somehow, they were still madly in love with each other. They still loved spending their days together.
Which, naturally, led to moments like this.
Over the years, they had expanded their business, branching out into major grocery stores and retail chains, as well as expanding their online presence. This expansion naturally led to business trips for them both, and ultimately, days like today.
Her dad had been gone, negotiating some major deals, for the last 10 days.
To his credit, her papa had been trying his best to keep himself busy, but Malia could tell he was reaching his limit. He worked at the original store as much as he could, but they had a competent manager in place, as well as a couple sales associates who knew what they were doing, which meant that on days like today, she often found him on her doorstep, looking for anything: leaves that needed to be raked, doors that needed to be rehung, taxes that needed to be looked over. Anything.
She understood. She got it. But it drove her nuts.
“Thanks, baby,” he said quietly as she placed his coffee down in front of him, taking the seat nearest to his.
“So how are you doing, Papa?” she asked.
“I’m good,” he answered as he took a sip of his coffee. “Days are starting to run together a bit, but overall I’m doing okay.” He paused for a moment. “Sorry to bother you so early,” he said sheepishly.
She chuckled. “You’re not bothering me, Papa. You could never bother me. It’s just a bit… early…on a Sunday…” They both chuckled. “When is Dad supposed to get home, again?”
“Two more days.” Malia couldn’t help but notice his bright smile. Yup. Still lovesick.
“Thank god.”
They both turned to the chuckling voice behind them.
“Morning, Patrick.”
“Morning, Jason.”
Jason kissed his wife good morning and gave the older man a side hug on his way to the coffee maker, watching the father and daughter fondly as he sipped his drink at the counter.
He had known from day one that his wife was close with her family. She told him how she had been adopted when she was 3, but she didn’t actually remember it. As far back as her memory went, her dads were her parents and that was just the way it was. There was genuine conflict once they got engaged because she refused to drop either parts of her last name. Stubborn as she was, once they were married, she wore all 3 parts of her last name proudly, taking the endless jokes in stride.
She had told him, once their relationship began to get serious, that she flat out refused to move farther than Thornbridge. As a kid from Toronto, he wasn’t sure he could adjust to small town life, but he eventually learned to thrive in it. “Could be a few more brothas in town if you ask me,” he would always say, half-jokingly. But he did love the quirky little haven that was Schitt’s Creek.
“So, what can I do today?” Patrick asked. “Any yardwork that needs to be done?”
“Papa, you don’t have to do anything,” Malia gently prodded. “Why don’t you just relax?”
“You gotta give me something, Malia.” His puppy dog eyes pleaded with her. “You gotta let me do something. I’m going crazy here.”
Both of the younger two laughed.
“Alright, well, our kitchen sink has been acting up and we haven’t gotten around to calling a plumber yet. Think you can give it a look?” Malia asked.
“Yeah, no yardwork for you, old man,” Jason added good naturedly. “We love you, but you’re almost 70. The last thing any of us need is you passing out in the heat. Your hubby would have a heart attack…and all of our heads.”
They all talked a bit more over coffee before Malia and Jason went back upstairs to get ready for the day. Patrick thought it was as good a time as any to at least assess the sink problem.
He was on his back, assessing the situation, when he felt a weight suddenly land on his legs.
“Morning, Grandpa!” he heard the familiar shout.
Knowing smile on his face, he removed himself from under the sink and sat up, reaching out to send the 3-year-old into a tickle fit.
Eventually, they heard that patented ‘parent voice’ that every parent he’d ever known had perfected.
“Whenever you children are done, I can start making breakfast.”
As they all sat around the table eating breakfast together, the conversation flowed.
“What do you think, Leigh? You feel like being Grandpa’s helper today?”
The little boy nodded enthusiastically.
The rest of the day went by uneventfully. Patrick was able to fix the sink after all; he helped out around the house with miscellaneous things; and he later took Leigh out for ice cream, giving the parents a bit of alone time to themselves.
Eventually, 6:00 rolled around and they were all relaxing around the TV before tackling dinner when they heard the sound of a car pull up.
Jason got up to peek out the front door’s window and couldn’t help but smile.
He silently stepped outside, closing the door behind him.
“Hey, stranger,” he called to the person making their way up to the house.
David lifted his head and smiled as he approached.
The two met in a hug before pulling back.
“Long time no see,” David joked. “My man in there?” he asked, fully knowing the answer.
“You know it. I promise we tried our best to keep him from overworking himself.”
“Thanks. I appreciate it.” There was a smile on his face, but Jason had known this man long enough to see the sincerity in his words. He would never tell his wife because he knew any talk about her parents’ eventual passing made her upset, but he secretly hoped his in-laws died together when the time came. He couldn’t imagine one without the other.
As they made their way into the house, Jason called out to the others.
“Look who decided to drop in!”
Leigh immediately jumped up with a yell of “Grandpa!” before throwing his arms around David’s waist, Malia quickly following and giving her dad a big hug.
It was when she pulled back that David’s eyes finally landed on their target. Their one and only target over the last 10 days.
Without a word, Patrick strode up to his husband, wrapped his arms around his neck, and kissed him within an inch of his life.
There was a chorus of groans, laughs, and a scandalized “ewww!” from the 3-year-old, but he paid them no mind. His love was home.
They eventually pulled back when air became a necessity.
“You’re early,” Patrick eventually panted, the smile never leaving his face.
“I missed you.”
They kissed briefly again before finally turning back to the others in the room.
“Aren’t you guys too old to be making out at this point?” Malia asked, fake indignation in her features.
“Never,” they answered in synchrony.
As they all sat down for dinner together, Patrick couldn’t help but think that they had built a pretty damn good life for themselves.