Work Text:
Andy looks down at his children, smiling softly to himself. He’d spent the afternoon with his ex-boyfriend, and he wanted to spend some time with the only two people on the planet that he knew would always love him.
Roger had been his life-- his everything, until that fateful day in 2009 when Roger announced that he and Mirka were getting married, and they were going to have children. Andy can still remember how sorrowful Roger looked as he told Andy that he loved him, but he couldn’t be with him anymore.
Reaching out to stroke a curl off his daughter’s forehead as she naps, he lets out a quiet sigh. He hadn’t expected to feel so betrayed still. But when he saw Roger with his children at their meeting, he knew he was still hurting. He’d known then that he would always be hurt by the way Roger had ended them. He didn’t begrudge Roger and Mirka their happiness, and he knows he hadn’t done anyone any favors when he married Brooklyn within days of Roger’s marriage. He’s grown to love Brooklyn, but there’s a part of him, he knows, that will always love Roger with every part of his being.
The only people he loves more than Roger are his children. He glances up when his son mumbles in his sleep and he sits next to him, rubbing his back until his boy settles.
Another noise has him looking to the doorway. Brooklyn is standing there, smiling sadly at him. “That bad, huh?”
“I’m sorry, Brook. You don’t deserve this.”
“No, I don’t. But I love you. And I love them. And we can move past this.”
Andy nods, glancing down at the children. “I’ve tried for nearly ten years to put him behind me.”
“I know. I’m not asking you to forget him or forget what you feel for him. But you and I have a family to raise. Do you really want to put our children through their parents hating each other?”
“No. And I don’t hate you. I could never hate you.”
“I know. But if you keep on like this, Andy, I will start to hate you. I’m not asking you to forget him, or to stop loving him, but you do need to start focusing on the here and now.”
Andy gets to his feet, crossing to his wife. He places his hands on her hips and she smiles at him. He can’t help but smile back. “I promise. From now on, I will focus on you and our children. I love you, and them, and he is my past. You three are my future.”