Archive of Our Own

The first time Craig ran into Kyle on his return to South Park, the first words out of his mouth were as such:

“What the fuck?!”

Kyle gasped, and then covered the child’s ears with his hands. “We are in the presence of children, Craig.”

Craig stared at him accusingly. “Whose child did you kidnap?!”

“She’s my daughter!”

“Daddy,” the young girl said, holding aloft a quickly melting ice cream cone. “I gotta go potty.”

And Kyle scrambled, tossing the melting cone at Craig, who will never admit in a thousand years that he squawked when he caught it with his bare hands.

“I didn’t know you had a daughter.”

Kyle sighed as he stretched his legs out on the bench, watching as the young girl (“Sarah,” he had supplied) played on the swing set. “She’s mine and Heidi’s.”

Craig stared. “You’re married?”

“Hardly in a relationship,” Kyle offered in response. “Heidi left me after she had the kid. Made it very clear she wanted no part of our family.”

Craig turned away, staring at the child as she squealed each time the swing descended. “I’m sorry.”

Kyle snorted. “For what? You didn’t do anything.”

“I know,” Craig said. “But still, I’m sorry.”

A small smile formed on Kyle’s face. “It’s fine. I got something really good out of it, so it’s okay. Sarah is amazing, and I love her with all my heart. I’m very lucky to have her.”

“You raised her all by yourself?” Craig had to ask, curiosity getting the better of him. Sarah allowed the swing to stop, then started spinning in place, giggling as it would undo its tangling.

“For the most part,” Kyle answered. “I was living with mom and dad still when she was born. Mom helped out until I got my own place. She offered to babysit, which I did take up for a while. I hate asking for help,” he sighed. “I should be able to handle this on my own.”

“Sometimes you will need help though. Everyone does.”

Kyle’s smile thinned out. “I guess.”

Craig was going to continue his questioning but Sarah ran over. “Daddy, don’t forget I have homework.”

Kyle sighed and Craig was stunned. “You have homework? You’re in what, pre-k?”

“Kin-der-gar-den,” she slowly pronounced. “I have to make a family tree.”

“Homework at your age,” Craig tutted. “Anarchy.”

She stared at Craig before turning to Kyle. “Daddy, what’s anarchy?”

Kyle gave Craig a dirty look, then turned to his daughter. “Anarchy is like when Mr. Garrison is your teacher instead of Mrs. Turner.”

Sarah nodded once in understanding, and then rolled her nose. “It’s stinky.”

“Stinky?” Craig grinned, ducking down so he was level with her. “How is it stinky?”

She looked at him innocently. “He smells like the litter box at Uncle Cartman’s house.”

Craig choked on his tongue as Kyle let out a full belly laugh. “What?!”

“Yeah,” she nodded sagely, eyes closed, deep in thought. “Mr. Kitty is gross too.”

Craig ended up going over to Kyle’s place (a tiny apartment with a single bedroom. Sarah got the bedroom, Kyle slept on the couch), and made himself comfortable at the cramped kitchen table while Sarah colored in the tiny living area.

He talked with Kyle, catching up on things he had missed since his return to South Park.

First being Sarah’s existence. The five year old, looking very much like her dad with the shape of her face and nose and the paleness of her skin, had sandy brown hair and bright hazel eyes. She was in kindergarten, was primarily in Kyle’s custody and was raised mostly by Kyle and Kyle’s parents (apparently Ike is a terrible babysitter).

She referred to Kyle’s closest friends as Uncles, meaning there was Uncle Stan, Uncle Kenny, and Uncle Cartman. She apparently never called Tweek or Token or anyone else with any sort of term of endearment. Wendy had tried her hardest to get her to call her Aunty, but in the end, she got grandma and that lasted all of thirty seconds.

Second being that Kyle was working multiple jobs in between raising his daughter and just barely getting by.

“Kids are expensive,” Kyle explained in hushed tones. “Clothes, food, school supplies, insurance, doctor’s visits, it’s so much.” He sighed. “Thank fudge that my parents started a college fund for her.”

Craig stared. “You didn’t go to college?”

Kyle shook his head. “I had Sarah, I couldn’t go.”

“But you—“

“I wanted to,” Kyle ran a finger over the warn tabletop. “But my priorities are with my daughter. I can always do it down the road, you know? I don’t have to do it or try it now.”

Craig was going to ask him another question when Sarah appeared beside them, producing a piece of paper. Kyle took it, smiling. “Thanks, honey.”

“That’s us,” she chirped. “That’s you, that’s me,” her finger traveled across the paper as she pointed to each person she drew. “That’s saba and savta, and that’s Uncle Ike, and that’s the other uncles,” Craig stifled a snort as she hovered her finger over the sketchy figures of Cartman, Kenny, and Stan.

Craig immediately noticed there was no mom.

He looked up at Kyle, who was fondly running a hand over soft locks and kissing his daughter on the cheek. “It’s beautiful sweetie.”

She beamed, then skipped back to the couch to draw some more.

Kyle looked at the paper sadly. “She’ll never know her mom,” he said. “Heidi cut off all contact. She wants nothing.”

Craig pursed his lips. “Did you try for child support?”

Kyle shook his head. “No, the less Heidi is in the picture the better,” he sighed. “I don’t want Sarah to think too harshly of her mother.”

Craig had some choice words to say about her mother, but wisely kept his mouth shut.

Over the next few weeks, Craig kept meeting up with Kyle in random spots, whether it being the grocery store, the park, the coffee shop, or even the library.

Sarah was usually with him, and when she wasn’t, she was at school. Those were the days that Kyle was more talkative, even more prying.

Today was one of those days.

“So, back to South Park?” Kyle sipped his dollar value coffee, solid black and piping hot.

Craig opened several packets of sugar and dumped them into his coffee. Can’t be too bitter. “Yup, lived in Denver for four years. Decided the city scene was enough for me after I finished college, and decided to move back.”

“What did you go to college for?”

“Computer sciences, a broad bunch that I went for,” Craig opened up two more packets of sugar when he deemed it wasn’t enough. He dumped them in, stirring with the plastic stirring stick. “I started an IT job that I can do remotely, so I’ve been doing that for over a year. I got a house here because it was more affordable and didn’t want to live in the city anymore.”

Kyle nodded, watching Craig as he then opened a small thing of creamer. “If you don’t like black coffee,” he started as Craig dumped more three things of creamer into his coffee. “Why didn’t you just get a latte?”

Craig scoffed, feigning offense. “Please, I have more control of my drink this way. You judging me?”

“By the mere fact I just saw you dump eight packets of sugar and now going on five things of creamer, I’m judging you very harshly.”

It was a couple days later that Craig got a call from Kyle.

“Listen, I’m so sorry,” he started, and Craig rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“What’s the matter? Why are you sorry?”

Kyle’s voice was border line on breaking. “I got called into work. I don’t have a baby sitter. Mom and dad are out of town, is it possible that you take Sarah until I get out of work this afternoon? I promise this won’t be an everyday thing, I swear. I’ll even pay you—“

Craig’s eyes widened. “No, listen, Kyle, you don’t have to pay me. Sure, I’ll watch Sarah.”

“Awesome, I’ll be over in ten?”

He was over in ten.

He had Sarah at one side and her bright pink backpack on the other. “Okay, I wasn’t sure what snacks you had, so I packed some crackers, some fruit packs, there’s juice boxes in here, and a sandwich for lunch, fresh apple slices. There’s coloring books, some movies, and even her favorite toys. If there’s an emergency call me, and she has no allergies thank goodness, so shouldn’t worry too much if there’s a bee sting.”

Sarah tugged at Kyle’s sleeve. “Daddy, you’re gonna be late.”

He ducked down and kissed her on the forehead. “Sorry sweetie. Thanks Craig! I owe you. Text me if you need anything!”

With that, Sarah was handed off with her bright pink unicorn backpack.

The two made eye contact and Sarah cocked her head. “You and daddy friends?”

“Yeah, I guess,” he shrugged.

She stared. “Okay. Can we watch cartoons?”

“Are you allowed?”

She gestured to her bag.

He sighed. “I have much to teach you.”

Craig didn’t have much for things around the household for kids, but he did wield a deck of playing cards.

Sarah was a force to be reckoned with when it came to goldfish and old maid.

After kicking Craig’s ass after the fourth round, she stared at him wide-eyed. “I’m hungry.”

“Do you want snacks or lunch?”

She squinted. “What kind of snacks?”

He pointed in his fridge towards what her dad had packed.

“Apples?” She offered.

He snatched the procured slices from the fridge, offering the bag to her.

“Juice please?” She asked.

“I feel like your maid,” he said.

“Like the cards?” She asked again.

“Just like the cards,” he offered the juice box to her, straw tucked into place and plastic sleeve tossed in the trash.

“I like the cards,” she chirped, and slurped her drink.

Craig discovered a lot about Sarah the more he spent the time with her.

Firstly, she loved card games now that he taught her. He promised he’d teach her others (her eyes had got wide, “there’s more?” she asked in wonder).

Secondly, she was a girl of few words. He’d tried to strike up conversations, but if she didn’t want to talk, it was a single word response he’d get. If she was chatty, it was two or three. If she was going all out, there’d be more.

A girl after his own heart.

Thirdly, she liked to entertain herself. He’d frequently check on her from what he was doing, and she’d be coloring or watching her show silently, nibbling on her snack or drinking from her juice box. He’d ask if she was bored and she’d shake her head, continuing on her way.

Fourthly, she very rarely asked for many things. If it was something she couldn’t get, she’d ask. Once she realized where Craig had put the juice boxes, she often opted to retrieve them herself. The next time she asked Craig a question was hours later, and he was in the middle of doing laundry when she poked her head in.

“Bathroom?” Was all she offered with a puckered face, and he scooped her up and raced to the requested room. He showed her where everything was, and left when she shooed him out.

When she was done, she requested a stool so she could wash her hands.

It was after their lunch break when she started yawning, and Craig tucked her in on his couch, closing curtains and shutting the television off. “How long do you nap?” he asked as he covered her with one of his blankets.

“I dunno,” She yawned. “Mrs. T always wakes us. I can’t read clocks yet.”

“Tell you what,” He said. “We’ll have nap time for one full adventure of My Little Pony, okay?”

“Okay,” she answered softly, closing her eyes.

He brushed a hand through her hair, retracting his hand when he realized what he had done.

He wasn’t ready for that adventure yet.

Kyle’s shift ended some time before dinner, but Sarah insisted on prepping something for her father. “He works hard,” she urged, eyes big and bright and fierce, just like her dad’s. “I have to help him.”

So Craig found himself at the stove at her request, making a simple meal of spaghetti and a meat sauce.

How, he didn’t even know. He just couldn’t resist her watery gaze.

When Kyle arrived to pick her up, the group of three found themselves seated at Craig’s dining room table, Sarah happily humming as she slurped a single noodle with joy.

Kyle was stunned, staring at his plate, then to Sarah, then to Craig. “You did this?”

“It’s hard to tell her no,” was all that Craig offered.

Kyle smiled, a softness to his face that Craig only saw whenever Sarah was the topic of discussion. “Yes, yes it is.” He picked up the fork and hesitated. “Thanks, for—you know, everything. It means a lot to me.”

Craig fought down the heat that broke out on his face, and ended up escaping to retrieve a juice box when Sarah asked for one after getting sauce on her cheek.

Craig ended up with Sarah more than what any of them really anticipated, but he didn’t really mind. She was a good kid, a quiet kid, and wasn’t a messy child. She didn’t ask for much, wasn’t temperamental, and was the exact opposite of Kyle. She was very reserved for a child of her age.

Craig didn’t realize what sort of effect she had until almost a month later when he opened his fridge and did a double take at the juice boxes and assorted snacks he had in there.

A section of fridge that was normally dedicated to alcohol was void of the very beverage, replaced with tiny cardboard boxes with dancing fruit in a variety of colors. There were Tupperware dishes of assorted fruits of various types, sliced and diced to small sizes for a child her size, and there were bags of sliced vegetables neatly labeled and clean for the grab and go.

He then did a further double take when he opened a cupboard to grab a box of curry and found snack crackers of various types, and travel packs of cookies and chips and fruit packs.

His kitchen was overrun with children snacks.

He then did a double take when he entered his living room and realized he had a tote, a tote, of various art supplies, from markers to crayons to colored pencils, and a stack of children’s coloring books tucked inside. His corner, normally dedicated to nothing in particular, was now an assortment of children’s picture books and a small bin of building blocks and toys.

His bathroom now had a small station set up with a children’s toothbrush, bubblegum flavored toothpaste, and there was a stool tucked neatly inside with her name wrote proudly on the side of it.

He scratched his head, wondering when the hell he did all that.

“Is it all right if I put you down as an emergency contact?”

Craig inhaled the powder off his doughnut and wheezed. “What?”

Kyle hummed. “Is it all right if I put you down as an emergency contact for Sarah? I have myself and my parents, but if they aren’t reachable I’d like to have someone else there if something happens.”

Dread filled his stomach. “Is—“

Kyle laughed it off, shaking a hand. “Just in case if she gets an upset tummy and I can’t leave work, you know? Or if my parents can’t come out, or if god forbid my phone doesn’t work. Can…can I?”

Craig dreaded the thought of Sarah being stuck at the school not feeling well and agreed, and Kyle’s smile was worth it.

“When did you and daddy meet?”

Craig hesitated as he cleaned up from making dinner. Tonight was chicken and roasted potatoes, which were oddly a favorite of the girl. “Back in school, I guess. I’ve known him forever to be honest.”

Kyle’s daughter was seated at the table, hands clenched on the seat of her chair and she was swinging her legs back and forth. “Were you friends forever?”

“No,” he placed a plate onto the drying rack, turning the water off to dry his hands. “We weren’t always friends. I—I didn’t like him.”

“Do you like him now?”

“Of course,” he sat across from her, pulling the coloring tote out from under the table and placing it on top gently. “If I didn’t like him you wouldn’t be here with me right now.”

“I’m glad you like him,” she chirped, smile bright. “Because I like you.” She leaned in conspiratorially and comically whispered. “The uncles are weird. Uncle Stan is okay, but Uncle Kenny and Uncle Cartman are super weird. Don’t tell dad, but I think you’re better than them.”

It was at that moment something came alive in his chest. A feeling, a pressure, something knowing pulsated, and he found himself grinning at the giggling child as she shielded her mouth when he looked back at her. “What are you gonna give me to keep my silence?”

She pushed herself up so she was kneeling on her chair, and she leaned in. Without a word, she kissed his cheek. “Now you can’t tell.”

Craig covered his eyes. “That’s unfair, that’s a sneaky play.”

Sarah took the tote and tugged it towards her awkwardly, grinning. “Still my favorite.”

It was weird when Sarah had school and Kyle had to work. It was almost like Craig had a void and he didn’t know what to fill it with. Kyle was almost always over at his house now, whether it was working with his daughter or catching up with Craig or the three having dinner together, it was unsettling without them.

So he busied himself with menial tasks, from doing laundry, washing dishes, and doing the shopping to make sure his pantry was plenty full of snacks for the kidlet and the freezer full for dinners for the three of them.

He was in the process of putting things away when he got a phone call from an unfamiliar number, and he answer. “This is Craig.”

“Mr. Tucker?”

“This is he,” he responded, putting away several boxes of macaroni and cheese. “How can I help you?”

“It’s Mr. Mackey at the South Park School,” the voice drawled. “We had an incident with a Sarah Broflovski today and Kyle and the grandparents are unreachable. Are you free to come down to the school?”

Craig froze. “Is she okay?”

“Oh, Sarah’s okay,” Mr. Mackey was laughing, clearly amused by the whole thing, but he was trying to hide it. “Sarah has finally shone her true Broflovski genes today.”

Craig had no idea what that meant until he got to the school and saw her sitting on the bench inside the principal’s office, a petulant scowl on her face with her arms crossed.

The other child was wielding a black eye and had blood under his nose.

The mother of the other child, who hovered close by to him, sighed. “Andy, we’ve talked about this. I told you to leave her alone.”

The boy scowled the best he could with one working eye. “She started it.”

“I did not,” Sarah snapped. “I was trying to color. You were being mean.”

Craig knelt down beside her, brushing the loose strands that escaped her braid. “What happened sweetie?”

Her gaze traveled to the other kid, then back to Craig. “Andy was mean. I just wanted to be left alone.”

“She wouldn’t let me see her picture!” Andy cried out. “I showed her mine, and she wouldn’t let me see!”

“I didn’t want to see your stupid picture,” Sarah cried back, the tears forming at the corners of her eyes. “The drawing I was doing wasn’t for you anyway!”

“So you hit him?”

Sarah sniffed, the tears finally escaping their confines. “I hit him when he ripped it from me. He ruined it. It was—it was s-s-supp-posed to b-be a present—“

Craig wrapped his arms around her, and she started crying into his shoulder.

Andy looked torn between wanting to be angry at her and being upset that she was upset. He looked away as his mother spoke to Mr. Mackey, who spoke in hushed whispers.

“Mr. Tucker,” the mother said finally. “I know Sarah wouldn’t normally do this. I’ve had play dates with her before and she was always a quiet girl, I—I will have my son apologize to her, and if she apologizes for hitting him and promises to not do it again to any child, I think we’ll be even.” She fidgeted. “Mr. Mackey says Mrs. Turner had spoken to Andy about bothering Sarah before, and I have spoken to him about it, so I’ll—I’ll work with him to get him to stop pestering her.”

Sarah’s hot breath and wet tears on his neck reminded Craig that Sarah was in fact upset and that little shit across from him was the cause of it. “What did he ruin?”

Mr. Mackey picked up a torn piece of paper, holding it out to Craig.

Craig felt his eyes widen as he looked over the drawing, staring at the stick figures.

There were three, one labeled daddy—an obvious homage to her father, one labeled Sarah, and then the third figure was a new one he had never seen before. The figure had black hair, was holding her in his arm, and was holding her father’s hand.

It was labeled Craig with several question marks beside it.

“Can I take this?” He asked, voice quiet.

Mackey nodded.

He didn’t even remember the brat apologizing, nor did he remember if he forced Sarah to apologize. He just remembered walking out the school with her tucked under his chin, and put her in her booster seat in the back of his car (when the hell he bought it, he couldn’t recall. He just remembered spending hours researching the best out there and bought the one with the highest safety and comfort rating) and drove back to his home.

He sent a text to Kyle to let him know what had happened, and had put Sarah to bed in his room, the small child looking incredibly small on his queen size bed. He turned to leave when her voice broke through the quiet.

“Are you upset with me?”

Craig paused, feeling his eyes widen. “No, why?”

She had her eyes squeezed shut. “I caused trouble for daddy today.”

“Sweetie,” he knelt beside the bed and ran fingers through her hair. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

The tears escaped regardless, and she whimpered.

That settled it.

Craig climbed up on the bed beside her, enveloping her in his arms. “Don’t cry, honey. You’ve done nothing wrong.”

She sniffled, burying her face in his chest. “Don’t go.”

“Why would I go?”

She sniffed again, voice breaking. “Mommy left. I think—I did something wrong and that’s why she’s not here.”

Craig felt his heart drop at her words.

Kyle was never clear as to what he told Sarah about her mother, whether it was brought up at all. He just knew she wasn’t in the picture, and based on what Kyle had told him, Heidi was gone before Sarah was old enough to remember her.

Craig squeezed her close. “I’ll never leave you.”

“Promise?” She mumbled into his shirt.

“I promise.”

Kyle found them like that less than an hour later, winded as he ran into the house, his jacket haphazardly thrown on and the buttons not connected correctly.

Craig peered over his shoulder at him and urged him over. “She had a bad day.”

Kyle yanked off the jacket and kicked off his shoes, hesitating on the other side of the bed behind her.

Craig reached out and tugged him down, and Kyle curled up behind her, brushing her hair with his shaking fingers.

“Is she okay?”

“She—was upset. A kid at school wouldn’t leave her be, ripped something she was working on. I’ll show it to you later.” Craig paused, licking his lips. “She thinks I’m going to leave.”

Kyle’s gaze jerked up. “What?”

“She thinks I’m going to leave,” Craig repeated. “She brought up her mother and—Kyle, it’s wrong of a child to think this way.” He pulled himself back, freezing when she mumbled in her sleep. “Come to the kitchen with me.”

Kyle’s eyes were red rimmed and sunken when Craig finished telling him.

“I can’t believe she thinks that,” Kyle croaked. “She’s five, her worries should be about what cartoon she wants to watch. Not that someone is going to abandon her.”

“Kyle, with utmost honesty, have you been seeing anyone at all in the past five years that would hurt her that way?”

Kyle shook his head. He grabbed his hair with trembling fingers. “I’ve never had time for relationships. I was always working or taking care of her. And Cartman was always with someone else, so if he said something, they would’ve told me. I—I don’t know—maybe school? Maybe the kids?”

Craig didn’t know, but he did pull out the torn paper and showed Kyle the drawing.

The color on his face left him, and his eyes widened. “She drew this?”

Craig nodded.

Kyle’s mouth worked itself, but before he could say anything, Sarah came running out of the bedroom and leapt onto his lap, wrapping her arms around him and cried out into his neck. “Daddy!”

“Sweetie,” he hugged her, pulling her close. “Craig told me you had a bad day.”

She nuzzled him. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

He frowned, looking to Craig, who just pursed his lips. “That’s—that’s okay, we can talk about it later. We shouldn’t hide our feelings, especially when we’re upset, remember?”

She turned so she was able to look at Craig. “You promise you won’t leave?”

“I promised then and I still promise now,” Craig reminded her.

She looked doubtful.

“Sarah,” Kyle asked, gaze tearing between Craig and his child. “Who said your mother left because you did something wrong?”

She was silent for a moment. “No one.”

Kyle opened his mouth but Craig held up a hand. “Did something happen?”

Sarah’s eyes watered. She frowned.

Kyle squeezed her. “Honey—“

“Most of the kids have a mommy and a daddy,” she blurted out.

The two men froze, watching her like a hawk.

“There’s a couple kids that don’t. Tina’s mom died before school, and Andy’s dad left cause of his mom.”

Kyle’s eyes were blazing. “Did Andy tell you that?”

She nodded. “I’ve never seen Andy’s dad at the school. Always his mom.”

“Welp,” Craig scooted his chair close, and Sarah warily watched him. “I have a solution.”

She opened her mouth to speak when he held out a hand, pinky extended.

“This is a pinky promise,” he explained. “What happens is when you wrap your pinky with mine, I have to keep my promise no matter what. It means that I vow to keep my promise with you.”

She stared at him, then slowly reached out and wrapped a tiny pinky, barely quarter the size of his own, and squeezed. “Promise?”

“Promise,” he smiled, and she finally allowed the shadow to sweep away.

“Okay,” she mumbled. “Now promise daddy.”

“What?”

“Promise daddy,” she repeated, pushing herself up to her feet, and pulling at Kyle’s hand. “Pinky promise with daddy that you’ll never leave. Cause if you leave he’ll be sad, and I don’t want daddy sad.”

Craig watched as the blush on Kyle’s face exploded brilliantly on his pale skin, and he stammered. Ignoring the heat on his own cheeks, he stuck out his pinky. “Well?”

Kyle’s gaping mouth working repeatedly before he hesitantly wrapped his pinky with Craig’s. “Promise?”

“Promise.”

“So we’re together forever?” She asked, voice clearing of the thickness of her lingering sadness.

“Yeah,” Craig smiled. “I guess so.”

“Thanks for getting her.”

“Not a problem. I said I would if she needed me.”

“I was hoping she wouldn’t, but still—thanks.”

“She’s a good kid. She deserves good things, and—“

“…and?”

“…and if I can give her good things, I will.”

“…you care about her?”

“Yeah, yeah I do.”

“…thank you.”

‘Hey, I know it’s sudden, but can Sarah and I stay over a few days? I haven’t been able to pay our electric bill and we have no running water. I get paid tomorrow and it should be back on by Saturday.’

It’s a week or so later that Craig gets the text from Kyle while he’s out grocery shopping that stops him in his tracks. He almost drops his shopping basket after reading the words, but scrambles to right himself and respond.

‘Of course you guys can stay over. Everything okay?’

‘I’ll talk to you later. Thank you.’

Craig stares at the text with a hardened gaze before he sighs, returning to the exit. He trades his shopping basket for a shopping cart and resumes what he was original doing, but starts picking up some other things to add to his grocery list.

It’s later that day after Kyle has picked Sarah up from school and the girl is nestled in the living room with her coloring pages and an afternoon snack does Kyle finally talk to Craig.

“I haven’t been able to pay the bills,” Kyle says, eyes sunken with exhaustion. “One of my jobs let me go cause of lack of work, and the other cut my hours. When I’m not working or caring for Sarah, I’m job hunting.”

“How long have you been struggling?” Craig asked.

Kyle grimly laughed, face not at all smiling. “Quite a while. If I’m completely honest, I’ve been drowning for years.”

Craig frowned, gaze traveling to Sarah.

Then he allowed his eyes to revert back to Kyle. “How long have you been starving yourself?”

Kyle grimaced. “I eat, usually here,” he murmured. “I can’t let her go hungry.”

“Kyle—“

“I can’t, I won’t,” he raised his voice, and then shrunk in himself when his daughter peered over at him worriedly. “I’m okay.”

She gave him a look, but went back to what she was doing.

Craig sighed. “Kyle, listen to me you great buffoon—“

“Excuse me?”

“When we were growing up, and Kenny was starving himself to make sure his sister was eating, what did you asshats do?”

Kyle stared at him. “We shared our food.”

“Do you honestly think any of your friends would allow Sarah to go hungry? Do you think your parents, who I bet absolutely adore her, would allow her to go hungry? Your mother would conquer this state before she’d allow that.”

Kyle’s gaze was fixed on him, sadness filling them. “I shouldn’t have to ask anyone for help though.”

“Shouldn’t have to doesn’t mean shit when a child’s well-being is a stake, and if you neglect yourself, what then?” Craig hissed. “What happens if you die because you’ve let yourself go?”

Kyle went ashen, his breathing stopped.

“Sarah would be without her mother and her father,” Craig inched his hands out and grabbed hold of Kyle’s and squeezed them. “Kyle, I’m thankful you reached out today. I want to help you, let me help you. Sarah’s a great kid, she deserves you, she needs you,” he smiled. “Let me help.”

Kyle’s expression crumbled, his smile watery. His voice broke as he responded with a single, “Okay.”

Sarah appeared by the table. “Daddy, what does asshat mean?”

Instead of glaring, Kyle started laughing, and earned a confused reaction from his daughter.

“You’re not sleeping on the couch.”

“But it’s a perfectly fine couch—“

“Why sleep on the couch when there’s a perfectly fine bed in there? You and Sarah can share the bed.”

“This is your house! We can’t kick you out of your own bedroom!”

“It’s not kicking me out if I’m leaving willingly.”

“But—“

“Kyle, take the bedroom and cuddle with your daughter.”

“Are you going to cuddle with daddy and me?”

“…?”

“!!!”

“Daddy? Why is your face all red? Craig, can you cuddle with us?”

“I—I guess I can, if you and your father are fine with it.”

“I’m fine, daddy? Are you fine?”

“!!!”

“I think you broke your father.”

“I’m not broke, I just—wasn’t prepared, is all. And yes, I’m fine with it.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

“Can we watch The Little Mermaid again?”

“…did…did you buy Disney movies? For Sarah?”

“No, I got a streaming account. We had Lilo and Stitch on repeat the other day.”

“…oh wow.”

Sarah was up to something.

Craig could smell it.

She wore innocence like a well warn jumper, and smiled that smile that covered her schemes.

Craig didn’t know what she was up to, but the signs were all there.

From switching spots at the dining room table with Kyle so instead of sitting in the middle, she sat in Kyle’s spot, forcing her father to be seated closer to Craig.

Come movie time, she always sat on the middle or on Kyle’s lap, and now she forced herself in between Craig and the arm rest so he was trapped between her and Kyle, both men with flushed faces and sitting awkwardly while the young girl sang along with Elsa.

It was the third night of Kyle and Sarah staying over at Craig’s and the little shit finally played her trump card.

“I want to sleep on the couch,” she declared at bed time as the two men got the bedroom ready with their usual routine.

 Kyle stopped in his motions and stared at her as she hovered in the doorway, tiny hands on tiny hips as she stared back proudly. “What? Why? Do you not like the bed?”

“I want to sleep on the couch,” she repeated. “I want to be a big girl tonight.”

Kyle stared at her, then at Craig. “I can sleep on the couch—“

“Nope!” She shook her head. “You and Craig stay here, I sleep on the couch.”

“Or,” Craig offered. “I can sleep on the couch?”

The look she gave him spoke volumes at how she thought that that was the dumbest idea she ever heard. “Uh, no?”

Kyle’s eyes narrowed. “Sarah.”

She beamed back at her dad. “Just tonight, I want to try.” She grabbed a pillow and swiftly scooted out the bedroom door, peeking back at them. “If I get scared, I’ll be back. Night! Love you both!” She then slammed the door quickly, allowing no arguments.

Kyle sighed. “That little shit.”

Craig finally realized what had happened and agreed, but found he wasn’t too upset by her set up. But he wasn’t sure about Kyle. “Listen, I can sleep on the floor—“

“No,” Kyle snapped out quickly, face flushing. “No, that’s—that’s not necessary. It’s okay. Um…unless you’re not--?”

“I’m okay with this. I mean, it doesn’t—I—I’m tired,” Craig ignored the flush on his own face. “Your daughter is a con artist.”

Kyle sighed, avoiding his gaze. “Tell me about it.”

The idea popped into his mind when he was in a big box store staring at the children’s furniture.

It had been a few days since Sarah and Kyle were back in their own apartment. Sarah was at school and Kyle was at work and Craig was standing in front of a display set up in the store of a twin size bed with a white wood frame and pink bedding. There was an assortment of furniture, including a dresser with pink splashes along the sides and on the drawers. There was a desk and a chair, and it just screamed Sarah.

He took a photo and texted it to Kyle.

His response was almost instantaneous.

‘What are you doing?’

‘Shopping, lol.’

‘Why are you buying children’s furniture?’

‘Why not?’

The phone rang and Craig answered it. “Yes dear?” he answered sardonically.

Kyle sputtered. “What on earth are you doing?”

“I was here for laundry detergent when I happen to pass this adorable set up and it made me think of Sarah,” Craig responded as he grabbed a flat cart. “I wanted your feedback on it.”

“We don’t have room at our apartment.”

Craig rolled his eyes. “Wow, it’s almost like Sarah stays exclusively at one house all the time.”

There was silence on the other end of the line. “Craig,” Kyle started. “I will never be able to pay you back for this.”

A low heat of anger started in his belly. “I don’t want you to pay me back, Kyle,” he hissed. “I do these things because I want to, not because I expect anything in return.”

Kyle sighed. “Listen, I have to go. Just—I don’t know.”

Kyle hung up, and Craig stared at the display.

Sarah and Kyle didn’t come over the whole week.

The apples in the fridge started to rust, so Craig made turnovers with them. The juice boxes sat untouched, and the vegetables were thrown together in a half-assed stir fry.

He stared at the corner of the living room where the coloring books sat untouched and sighed.

He screwed up. Kyle didn’t—he didn’t—

He didn’t feel the same as Craig, and Craig hadn’t even asked about feelings, he asked about furniture, the prospect of opening his home up in a way that he hadn’t ever considered in his life.

There was a knock on his door, and he answered it, not at all expecting the person standing on the other side.

“Hey,” Stan said, waving a single hand in greeting. “Can I talk to you?”

“Kyle’s a fucking moron.”

Craig snorted as he poured a cup of coffee and laid out the cream and sugar for Stan to choose from. “You’re telling me.”

Stan smirked as he grabbed two cubes and dumped them in his coffee, stirring his mixture. “He’s punishing himself and currently wallowing in self-pity. But I’m here for a lot of reasons, the first is being, Kyle likes you.”

Craig stared at him. “I like him too. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have let him over.”

Stan rolled his eyes. “No, Craig, I mean, Kyle’s got the hots for you. He wants to jump your bones. But anyway, that’s number one. Number two—“

“Woah, wait,” Craig placed his coffee cup down and narrowed his eyes at his guest. “What did you just say?”

Stan stared. “Kyle’s got a crush on you? Like, he’s in love with you?”

Craig gaped.

Stan blinked. “Great, now, number two, he lost his other job yesterday, so he’s gonna lose the apartment.”

Craig did a double take. “What?! What happened?!”

“He didn’t have a baby sitter and called out too many times so they fired him for attendance,” Stan offered, taking a sip of his drink. “Kenny and I offered assistance, but he wouldn’t let us help out. Fuck, his mom even tried—“

Craig shoved himself out of his chair and stomped around the kitchen. “That idiot!”

“I know, right?” Stan agreed, one hand poised in the air and the other holding his mug. “He’s just so—‘I’m an adult, I have to do this myself.’ Jesus, I’ll never understand—“

“I’ve been the one babysitting Sarah for the past six months!” Craig exploded, yanking open the fridge. “Look at my fridge!”

Stan stared at it. “That’s a lot of Juicy Juice.”

“I have mountains of boneless chicken breasts in my freezer. I have a hoarder’s collection of mac n cheese in my cupboard,” he threw open the door to said cupboard and revealed the mass collection of blue boxes with orange writing. “I don’t even like Kraft!”

Stan’s mouth started to curl up.

“And my living room, I have toys, coloring books, crayons, markers, for fuck’s sake I have a Disney plus account!”

“You have Disney princess cups in your dish drain,” Stan supplied.

Craig picked one up. “I have Disney princess cups in my dish drain!”

“You like Sarah,” Stan said.

“I love Sarah!” Craig snapped, putting the glass back carefully.

“You like Kyle?” Stan asked.

“I love Kyle!”

There was a dead silence in the kitchen as what Craig said knocking on his brain and woke him up.

“I love Kyle,” he repeated slowly, lowly, and he sank against the counter.

“You love Kyle,” Stan repeated, standing up from the table.

“I love Kyle,” Craig said shakily, accepting Stan’s help as he guided him to a chair.

“And Kyle’s an idiot in denial of his feelings,” Stan offered.

Craig grimaced. “I’m an idiot.”

Stan sighed. “One idiot at a time. At least you have acknowledged your feelings.”

“Sarah knew,” Craig supplied in shock. “Sarah knew and that five year old genius was trying to tell us in her crafty little kindergarten ways.”

“Oh?” Stan said, observing his nails.

“She drew pictures,” Craig said, pointing to the newest drawing on the fridge of the three of them huddling close with a giant heart around them, Craig’s house conveniently drawn beside them with the sun in the corner as a full circle.

“She’s an artist,” Stan commented.

“She slept on the couch,” Craig continued.

“What.” Stan stopped short of what he was doing and stared at him.

“She wouldn’t let either of us sleep on the couch, she chose the couch—she was setting us up,” He drew his fingers up to his mouth and chewed on them. “Oh fuck.”

“Why was she sleeping on the couch?” Stan asked, eyebrows furrowed.

“She wanted to be a big girl but secretly she wanted me to be with her dad,” Craig nearly wailed.

Stan rubbed his forehead. “How the fuck did she make it to five years with morons like us in existence?”

Craig was having a crisis.

He loved Kyle. He loved Sarah.

Apparently Sarah and Kyle also loved him, but Kyle, the absolute git, was refusing to answer his fucking phone and answer his text messages.

So Craig did the next best thing.

He laid on his couch and wallowed in self-pity.

Stan said that Kyle lost his other job, and was on the brink of losing his apartment.

Craig had solutions, but he was sure that Kyle, the ever proud Broflovski that he is, would never accept Craig’s offers of help.

So Craig hugged a pillow tighter and fought back the tears that threatened to spill.

Then the phone rang.

“This is Craig.”

“Mr. Tucker,” Mr. Mackey drawled again. “We speak again.”

Craig rubbed his forehead. “Kyle unavailable again?”

“Not quite,” the man said, and Craig could just see the smirk on his face. “Kyle’s here, but Sarah doesn’t want him. She’s crying for you.”

Craig snapped to attention. “What?”

“Sarah had a little bit of a meltdown today, and was screaming for daddy. Kyle showed up, and she said, and I quote, ‘No, I want the other daddy.’”

Craig blinked, feeling the heat spread across his cheeks and down his neck. “Um.” He said smartly.

“Mr. Tucker,” Mr. Mackey said, the drawl completely gone now. “If you would be so kind as to make an appearance, I would greatly appreciate it, for everyone’s sanity and for the safety of the school. This child may be five years old but I fear she would rip this estate apart brick by brick with those tiny hands of hers, and I can’t afford reconstruction.”

“I’m on my way,” Craig said robotically, dropping the phone on the coffee table and scrambled for the door.

Kyle was avoiding his gaze as Sarah screamed bloody murder.

The moment she realized he was there, she flew to him, wrapping her tiny arms around his thigh.

Craig knelt down on both knees and held her out. “What’s going on?”

Tears poured down Sarah’s face. “Daddy broke the promise! I wanted to see other daddy and he said no! He said we’ll—we’ll never see you again!”

He glanced over and saw Kyle curl into himself, trying to hide away from what she said.

Craig frowned. “Honey, I—I’m not daddy?”

Her eyes widened slightly. “But—you—you care for us and love us—“

Craig forced his gaze to the floor. “I do.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I care very much about you guys,” he said, running his hands along her arms. “I love you both very much, but sometimes, it’s—it’s too much, or it’s not enough. And it doesn’t work.”

Sarah didn’t accept this and exploded. “Make it work!”

“Honey—“ “Sarah—“

Kyle and Craig stared at each other before Kyle looked away, shame branded on his cheeks.

Sarah wasn’t accepting this excuse. “You love me and you love daddy, so what’s wrong? Why can’t we be a family?”

“Sweetie—“

“I love you, and I want you to be my other daddy. You make me happy and you make daddy happy, and I don’t get it!” She pulled at her hair. “Why do you make yourselves sad?!”

Craig closed his eyes, holding back tears. He hated seeing her this upset, but there was nothing he could offer that would help her through this.

He fucked up getting too close.

He fucked everything up.

And now—she’ll be scarred forever.

“Sometimes,” Craig jumped when Kyle spoke, far closer than he was seconds ago, kneeling on the floor beside him talking to his daughter. “Adults do foolish things and we’re not brave enough to admit we did something wrong.”

She sniffed. “Why?”

Kyle shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe cause we’re scared? We don’t want to hurt anyone, especially those we love, and sometimes we—we do dumb things that make us sad.”

“Then stop doing dumb things,” she stated bluntly, fresh tears escaping. “I’m tired of being sad.”

“Sarah,” Craig tugged at her hand that had clenched in his shirt. “Let me talk to daddy alone for a moment, okay?”

“But—“

“We’ll be back, stay with Mr. Mackey, okay?”

“I’m sorry,” Kyle blurted out, hands covered his eyes.

Craig looked away. “You’ve been saying that a lot to me lately.”

Kyle frowned. “I have a lot to be sorry about.”

Craig rubbed a hand across his face. “Listen, Kyle.” He turned, staring at the redhead who was watching him warily. “The day I was furniture shopping, I didn’t mean to piss you off or scare you away. It wasn’t my intention, nor did I actively seek out the stuff. I just saw it and it made me think of her, and I—guess I wanted to see your reaction.”

“I reacted badly.”

“You actually didn’t really react,” Craig bit his lip. “Stan says you lost your job.”

Kyle instantly flinched.

“You’re also losing the apartment.”

“Did he fucking tell you everything?” Kyle snapped, bristling with indignation. “Did he tell you my cellphone was shut off cause I couldn’t afford the bill anymore?”

Craig’s eyes widened. “No. But that explains a lot.”

“What does?”

“The cellphone, I’ve tried calling you and texting you. You never answered and I assumed you had blocked me or something.”

Kyle sighed, staring up. “No, I—I’m losing everything, I suppose. I was going to ask my parents if we could move back in until I get myself above water—“

“No.”

Kyle blinked. “No?”

Craig approached him. “Move in with me.”

Green eyes widened. “What?”

He brought his hands up, lightly touching his chest. “Move in with me,” Craig breathed. “Please.”

Kyle frowned sadly. “I don’t want to be a charity case.”

“I’m not offering charity,” Craig answered. “I want you to move in with me because I love you guys. I want you with me. I want her with me. I love you like one loves a lover and I love her like a daughter, and I want you two with me. My house is so quiet, and I hate it. I fucking hate it.”

Kyle’s eyes started to water.

“I want you two back in my life. I’m going crazy without you two,” Craig leaned in, breathing tickling Kyle’s lips. “Besides, I have so much fucking Juicy Juice in my fridge and I fucking hate grape juice.”

Kyle broke, and started laughing, tears escaping and cascading down his cheeks. “You fucker.”

“It’s Tucker.”

“Fucker,” Kyle repeated. “I’ll never be able to pay you back.”

“I don’t want you to pay me back, asshole,” Craig said. “I want you to move in with me because I love you and I want to take care of the both of you. I want to spoil you both because life’s been shitty for the past few years and if buying grape juice for Sarah provides some joy then I’m going to buy some shitty ass grape juice for that child.”

Kyle finally smiled, bright, and the tears continued. “She loves you like she loves me.”

“I know,” Craig said as he ran fingers through Kyle’s unruly curls. “I saw her drawings. I have them on my fridge.”

“Seriously?”

“Children are honest with their feelings,” Craig reminded him. “She knew what she saw and knew what she wanted. Don’t deny her that truth.”

Kyle smiled. “I love you.”

Craig smiled back. “I love you too. Move in with me?”

“Okay.”

It took Craig a day to paint the spare room a light pink. Then it took him another day to assemble the furniture.

By the time Kyle and Sarah moved in with him, he had the Disney Princess decals applied to the walls and glow in the dark stars on the ceiling.

Her eyes were huge when they walked into the house, and she swept her gaze over the room. “This is mine?”

“This is yours.”

She touched the post of her bed, the princess comforter softened from repeat washes that Craig put it through to get it fluffed. “This is all mine?”

Craig knelt down beside her and pulled her in. “It’s all yours.”

She squealed, escaping his grasp to jump onto the bed, roll around giggling, then bounded around the room to look over the set up. “This is mine?”

“Yes.”

“The desk?”

“Yup.”

“This chair?”

“Of course.”

She flung open the closet. “Even stuff I put in here?”

“All yours.”

She turned, eyes watering. “Mine?”

He grabbed her, sweeping her up to his chest and squeezed her close, kissing her cheek. “All yours.”

Sarah was so excited about her room and they let her be so they could go to the master bedroom.

The first thing Craig did was hold out a hand. “Here.”

Kyle held out cupped hands and jolted when a key was dropped into his open palms. “This—“

“Is your key,” Craig said, smiling. “To our house.”

Kyle’s eyes watered. “Our house.”

“This is our bedroom,” Craig tugged him in, and Kyle realized there was new furniture added in the room. “Another night stand. I cleaned up the dresser and closet so half is yours and half is mine. Of course you’ll have to help redecorate the rest of the house with me. I got a desk being delivered here in a couple days.”

Kyle blinked. “A desk?”

“Yes,” Craig said, running a finger through his curls. “A desk. This is the chance for you to do something for you.”

Kyle stared at him.

“I work from home, Kyle,” Craig reminded him. “Sarah is covered. What’s one thing you always wanted to do?”

Green eyes widened. “I couldn’t.”

“You can.”

“I can’t afford it.”

“I’ll help you.”

“Craig,” Kyle stammered. “I’m not a charity case.”

“I’m not offering charity, I’m offering help. Financial support, I’ll help you get forms and scholarships. I’ll make phone calls. Fuck, I’ll get a loan myself,” He tugged in the redhead. “It’s about damn time something good happened for you, besides having Sarah in your life.”

Kyle covered his eyes. “This is overwhelming.”

“It’s a lot, I get it, but Kyle,” Craig quirked his lips. “When you love someone, you want to do everything in your power to make them happy. You want to make them comfortable, to spoil them. You’ve been caring for Sarah for years, let me take care of you and Sarah, okay?”

Kyle finally looked at him, eyes bright. “Okay.”

Craig grinned. “Welcome home.”

Kyle grinned back. “I’m glad to be home.”

Kyle started college when Sarah started the first grade.

The house was always quiet, and Craig hated the silence. But the moment that the clock struck that certain hour, the energy flooded back in like the tide.

Sarah was always the first in, bounding in with exuberant energy and a bright smile. “Dad!” She clung to him as he peppered kisses all over her cheeks. She giggled when he blew a raspberry onto rosy cheeks, and then she zoomed to her room to drop off her backpack and jacket.

Then Kyle stepped in, normally pale cheeks rosy as well as he smiled at him. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Craig returned, tugging him in with a finger hooked onto his belt loop. “Good day?”

“I have so much homework,” Kyle groaned, and Craig planted a kiss on his lips, pulling back just as Sarah bounced into the kitchen to retrieve a snack.

“That’s good, I have a new instruction booklet I have to read through for work. We can work on homework together?”

Kyle smiled. “Kitchen table?”

“Of course,” Craig said. “Maybe Sarah will join us.”

Kyle scoffed. “She loves her desk too much.”

“I mean,” Craig watched as she bounced into her room and the desk lamp clicked on audibly. “You’re not wrong.”

Weeks later Craig found himself the center of Sarah’s attention when she made an important announcement.

“Dad!” A paper was shoved into his face and excited hazel eyes danced just outside of his vision. “Field trip!”

Craig took the paper and read it over. “This is a form looking for chaperones.”

Kyle leaned over. “They need three chaperones. They’re going to the Children’s Museum.” He gasped. “That would be so nice! You should go with her!”

Hazel eyes pleaded with him and he sighed. “All right, where do I sign?”

“You don’t look like her, so you can’t be her dad,” a snotty little snot nosed little shit snapped.

Craig glared down at him as he checked off the names of his little assigned group. Sarah was grouped with him, along with two other girls and three boys.

One of the boys, who looked like an exact replica of Cartman but shared the name James, sneered at him.

Sarah scoffed and Craig watched her with eagle eyes. “You claim to be smart, but you don’t look it, so you must be a moron.”

James screeched and Craig coughed into his sleeve, and one of the other boys snapped at James to stop being a little bitch.

“Where did you learn that language?” Craig asked, pretending to be appalled.

The other boy, Leroy his brain supplied, stared. “From Mr. Garrison.”

Of course.

Leroy ended up being his favorite student (after Sarah, of course), and after they returned to the school, Craig stuffed a bunch of goodies into the child’s backpack with careful precision and received a gaze of admiration for his efforts. “You were an awesome dude. Don’t be a stranger kiddo.”

Leroy stared at him with wide eyed wonder. “Can you be my dad too?”

“Sorry kid, Sarah’s already got me,” Craig grinned, and left after the teacher thanked him for his time, and he walked out to the car with Sarah skipping beside him.

“Best field trip ever!” She exclaimed as she yanked open the car door.

“This is your first field trip,” Craig said, “You have nothing to compare it to!”

“You were here so obviously it was the best,” she said as she buckled in her seat belt in the back seat. “Duh!”

Craig couldn’t help it. He laughed until Sarah complained about the distinct lack of musical numbers in the car so he turned on the radio and played her favorite soundtrack in the car.

“Why should I worry?!” She belted out. “Why should I care?!”

“I may not have a dime, but I got street savoir faire!” Craig finished.

Sarah’s birthday crept up like a stealthy snake in the grass, and then attacked like the apex predator that she was.

Leroy was on self-proclaimed guard duty of the birthday girl, and when Stefanie tried to swipe a cupcake before presents were unwrapped, he attacked with the water gun he was armed with like a professional hit man.

“He likes her,” Kyle offered from his spot, watching Stefanie shriek at Leroy and him blatantly ignore her in favor of saving all of his attention for the birthday girl.

“I know,” Craig agreed. “He’ll have to go through the trials to see if he’s even eligible for her hand in the dating world.” He sipped at the grape juice box he held and made a disgusted face as the flavor.

Kyle smirked. “Why are you drinking it if you don’t like it?”

“Grape juice is all the rage among the first graders,” Craig offered. “I’m trying to be hip.”

Kyle shook his head and didn’t even bother hiding his grin. “Weirdo.”

“I’m your weirdo.”

“Yes, yes you are.” Kyle snatched the juice box and finished it.

Mr. Mackey, oddly enough, was the one to remind Craig that their one year anniversary was coming up.

That was, of course, after Craig went to the school to bring a change of clothes for Sarah after she slid in the mud while playing kickball.

“A year with the Broflovskis,” he drawled lazily as Sarah took the offered bag of clean clothes and waddled proudly into the girls bathroom. “However did you make it without losing your sanity?”

Craig stared at him. “What?”

“I said—“

“I know what you said,” Craig said, “Has it really been a whole year already?”

Mr. Mackey smiled thinly. “Yes, yes it has.”

“Dad!” Sarah stomped out of the bathroom. “Unicorns and ponies don’t match! Unicorns and stars go together!”

“Yeah, dad,” Mr. Mackey smirked. “How could you not know that?”

“Pardon me for my fashion faux pas,” Craig snorted. “I’ll be sure to remember that next time.”

Sarah just shook her head and offered the bag of dirty clothes and headed back to class with a kiss on the cheek and a dash down the hallway.

“So, one year,” Mr. Mackey repeated.

“I get it, I had to be ready in three hours with a romantic dinner,” Craig snapped.

“Or just do something with the three of you. Sarah is very much part of your anniversary you know.”

He would never tell Mr. Mackey that was a good idea, so he thanked him for his time and slinked out of the school.

They ended up going out to Applebee’s for dinner.

Sarah was ecstatic when she discovered the three cheese chicken penne. “It’s cheese, chicken, and pasta!” She exclaimed.

Kyle frowned at the menu. “You don’t want something off the kids menu?”

She stared at him, and then pointed to the item of her current desires. “This isn’t on that menu.”

Couldn’t argue with that logic.

Dessert consisted of a super sugary triple chocolate meltdown for Sarah, and a shared butter pecan blondie between Kyle and Craig.

With school tomorrow, they couldn’t stay out too late, and by the time they tucked Sarah in, her sugar rush had faded and she was crashing. “Night dads,” she sleepily chirped.

Kyle kissed her cheek, and Craig took over to finish tucking her in and kissed her other cheek. “Sleep well, sweet dreams and don’t let the bed bugs bite.”

She pulled the blankets up to her nose. “I just bite them back.”

Craig smiled at her before flicking the light off, closing the door, and following Kyle into their room.

It was there that Kyle gently closed the door behind Craig and smiled. He wrapped his arms behind Craig’s neck and pulled him in. “Thank you, for everything.”

Craig smiled back. “It was just Applebee’s.”

“No, you goof, I mean,” Kyle hesitated. “For everything.”

Oh.

Oh.

Not trusting himself to say anything, he swooped in and captured Kyle’s lips, absorbing any further comments from the other man.

Kyle eventually pulled away to catch his breath. “You’ve changed my world.”

“Nonsense,” Craig replied. “I’ve just wheedled my way into your world.”

“Hence, why you’ve changed my world.” Kyle smiled. “I don’t know where I’d be now if I haven’t reunited with you.”

“We won’t think about that.” Craig said. “We’re going to think about how delightful that bed looks right now and how tomorrow morning you have school, Sarah has school, and I have work, and then I’m going to debate if we want pizza for dinner or chicken tenders with fries.”

“Chicken tenders with fries,” Kyle chortles. “Sarah has a hankering for Sweet Baby Ray’s barbeque sauce.”

Craig laughed, peppering kisses all over freckled cheeks. “Anything for you guys.”

Kyle’s laughing subsided, and the heat in his eyes didn’t dissipate. “I love you.”

Craig hesitated, feeling something coiling inside him. He pressed up again Kyle, forcing him onto the bed. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“I’d say show me,” Craig hummed as he crawled over Kyle. “But our luck would have Sarah breaking in here cause she’d have visions of someone hurting her dads.”

Kyle laughed. “Then—cuddle with me?”

Craig breathed in Kyle’s scent. “I can do that.”

And he did.