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The slow tones of the Jazz playlist steeps the home in a comfortable atmosphere. The soft tapping of a trackpad is barely audible as she scrolls through webpages. Then, the sound of the door opening and closing brings a smile to Melissa’s face.
“Welcome home loves,” She calls out, getting up from the table and making her way to the front of the house. Expecting to see both her husband and son back from work, she’s surprised when she finds her man alone. “Connor staying late again?” She asks, slipping easily into a welcoming embrace.
“Meeting with Jericho,” Hank responds, pressing a brief kiss to his wife’s cheek. “he is helping Markus negotiate with another one of those new splinter groups, and he told me I could head on home without him ‘cause it’s not my area of expertise. Those android terms still always make me a lil’ sleepy because I can’t follow beyond the basics the boys taught us.”
As if to reinforce his words, Hank’s mouth almost splits open in a yawn that he hides with his hand just too late. He shakes his head as if trying to fight the drowsiness, and Melissa helps him slip his coat off. “You relax on the couch,” She suggests. “I’ll get you something to drink. Water, tea or coffee?”
Hank chuckles and gives her another quick smooch before sauntering to the living room. “’s almost eight, Christ.” He realizes, flopping down onto the couch. “Not too late for a good cup of coffee though. And the music,”
He chuckles, nodding along softly to the relaxing Jazz. “You feelin’ romantic tonight, honeypot?”
“Well, if the boys are going to spend the night elsewhere...” She answers with a wink. He grins almost roguishly back at her. “Sign me up. You always keep me awake in the best of ways. Just gotta heat some leftovers for dinner.”
It’s then that Sumo pads over and licks his owner’s hand, shortly after which he launches himself onto the couch for a cuddle, interrupting the little moment. Hank “OOMPH-s” as the huge canine lands on him, but pets the aging dog anyway. “Sumo, you big beast, you’re no pup anymore.”
Sumo gives a happy, deep ruff in response.
Melissa smiles and leaves to get Hank a coffee. “Oh, when’s your next free day, hun?” She asks from the kitchen. She hears Hank groan softly from his place in the living room as he tries to recall. “...Nnnnext Tuesday! Yeah, Tuesday. Don’t think I’ll get anything more for a while though. Gonna have to schedule the dog nanny if Cal stays at Jericho Prime a lot this summer.”
She picks out her husband’s favourite hazelnut-scented coffee, and lets the water heat. Two scoops of powdered coffee milk, one sugar. “Could you take Sumo to the dog salon then? I noticed today his fur’s getting too thick to comb and it’s getting warmer, so he’s going to be hot if we don’t let him have a bit of a trim. The salon was closed today, else I would’ve gone.”
The dog gives a few more yips and borks, presumable playing with Hank. “Of course sweetie,” Hank replies over the noise. Then he puts on his cooing voice, probably playing with the dog’s droopy face. “You’re a good old boy Sumo, such a big warm boy. You’re gonna get a haircut next week, yes you are.”
The coffee machine rumbles while Melissa shakes out some dog food into Sumo’s bowl, a sound at which the enormous Sumo quickly plonks back down onto the floor to come eat. Both Hank and the dog amble into the kitchen, and Hank presses himself to his love’s back where she waits on two cups of coffee. “How was your off day, sweet bun?”
Melissa tilts her head up a little to nuzzle up against Hank’s bearded jawbone. “Walked Sumo twice, gave Caleb some of that new blue candy to take with him to Jericho today because he’ll be staying the night, got an avalanche of texts from Connor because Chris shared pictures of Damian. Cleaned some, put a reminder up for Connor to clear the buckets for his fish tank away... You’d think androids would be neater, right? I keep telling him to keep them in his own room instead of stacked on the kitchen counter just because that’s where he empties them.”
Hank laughs softly. “He’s so dedicated to those fish, but never cleans up after the water changes he does for them.” He wraps his arms more tightly around her. “I’ll take cleaning duty on my free Tuesday once Sumo’s had his haircut, and if I find Connor leaving those buckets out again, I’ll take the hanging flower pots off the ceiling hooks and put the buckets there so he can go look for ‘em.”
“You’re a hero,” Melissa jokes. The coffee finishes brewing, but she turns around in Hank’s hold to hug him back. They exchange a few gentle kisses, after which they part again. They both take their respective cups of coffee, and Hank migrates to the fridge to look for last evening’s leftovers to reheat in the microwave.
Then her phone buzzes. She fishes the device out of her pocket to see a text from Caleb.
[Cal]: “Is he home yet? Don’t forget about his present”
“Shit,” She mutters under her breath, drawing Hank’s attention back to her. “What’s wrong sugar?” He asks, but gets no immediate answer when she fishes behind a stack of books, until she hands him a small box.
He takes it and looks it over. Fits in the palm of his hand, looks like a jewelry box. “What’s the occasion?” He utters, opening it up to find a silver pendant.
“A father’s day gift.” Melissa replies. “ It arrived too late because it’s custom-made. It was Caleb’s idea. We hope you’ll like it.”
He lifts the pendant out of the box by its’ chain, and watches it sparkle in the slightly dimmed lights of the kitchen. Then he sees the tiny latch on one side. “A locket?”
“Look inside,” She urges gently, moving to lean slightly against him. He manages to open the latch, an folds the two sides out. On the left, is a tiny picture of him. On the right, there is an inscription on the raised right half.
“The Andersons”
Hank quirks a brow in confusion, but then Melissa gingerly reaches into the locket and pulls the inscribed inner half to the other side, revealing a picture of... Caleb. She continues, folding the narrow frame open again. The next image is a photo of Connor, and then Sumo, Mellissa herself and... Cole. Hank’s favourite picture of their late son, smiling brightly at him.
“You’ll always be his father,” Melissa whispers when she sees her love beginning to tear up. “And he’ll always be our son.”
Hank swallows and nods, folding the locket back together as if afraid it could break. He clicks it shut and fastens the latch again, raising the chain to put it around his neck. Melissa presses a gentle kiss to the locked piece of silver, and leans against him for a moment. When she looks up, she sees him teary-eyed, but smiling.
“Our boys are so good, Mel. It’s a wonderful present.”
He kisses her, and she runs her fingers through his stormy grey hair for a few tender, eternal minutes. “Go have dinner,” She reminds him eventually, lips curling in a foxy smile. “We have the house to ourselves tonight, and I won’t waste that opportunity to cuddle.”