Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Now Lottie that’s not very nice is it,” Sebastian said as the grumpy hen pecked at his hand. “Who else is going to feed you hmm?” he questioned. Lottie flapped her wings wildly to get off his lap. “I guess you don’t care,” Seb chuckled, brushing off his pant legs as he rose from the floor. “I’ll see you tomorrow lovelies.”

Sebastian made sure the chicken coop was properly secured, before he started to make his way back toward the house. The sun was high in the sky; it was a good time to start lunch. It’s not like he wouldn’t be hungry by the time he was finished. He was midway through the mental preparations of his zucchini lemon orzo when he heard a voice off to his left.

He paused.

The branches of one of the lemon trees lining his fence shook.

Then he heard the voice again.

“Higher Alex, higher,” the voice called impatiently.

He didn’t hear a reply from the so-called ‘Alex’, but the tree shook again.

Sebastian slowly walked toward the fence, more in an effort to fuel his amusement, than out of any real trepidation.

After all, it was clearly a child talking.

It’s just that he didn’t realize there were any children living next door to him.

“Just one more time Alex,” the voice asserted just as Sebastian reached the wooden planks.

He peered through the slats as best he could and could make out two small figures.

The obviously older child looked exasperated, but the younger one, with his hands on his hips, only looked more determined.

“We need them Alex!”

“I know, but we can’t reach them George, maybe we should just ask daddy-”

“No!” the younger one interrupted. “Daddy’s busy! It has to be a surprise Alex. Just lift me one more time, please,” the kid who was apparently named George begged.

Sebastian wasn’t quite sure how to interrupt their conversation without scaring them, but it was apparent he was going to have to step in if he was going to save Alex from another literally fruitless attempt.

Sebastian dragged over the stool that he used when he wanted to tend to his fruit trees, and knocked sharply on the wood fence - one. two. threefour. five - before he peeked his head over.

He was met with two pairs of shocked eyes looking up at him.

“Hello, sorry if I scared you. I’m your neighbor,” at least he assumed he was, “my name is Sebastian, and this is my lemon tree. Did you want some lemons? I can pick some for you, if you’d like.”

Both boys continued to stare at him, before the older one, Alex, spoke up.

“We’re sorry for trying to take your lemons sir,” he muttered sheepishly.

“I’m not,” George said, before Alex could clamp his hand over the younger’s mouth.

“Ewww George,” Alex whined, as he pulled his hand back and wiped it on his jeans. The feisty little one must have licked him.

“Well I’m not,” George pressed on, “Lando needs these ‘lex, we have to help him.”

Lando, that was a new name to file away. Sebastian had to admit that he was surprised the boys seemingly had noble intentions in their pursuit of snatching his lemons. He certainly didn’t remember being quite so virtuous at their age. He certainly wouldn’t have faulted them for simply acting out of want.

“Who’s Lando then? And why does he need lemons?” he questioned.

Alex shot him a wary look, but George clearly shared none of the older child’s worries.

“Lando is our little brother,” he proclaimed, chest puffed out like he took great pride in that fact, before George deflated a little. “But he’s sick, and it’s not nice being sick, so daddy needs to make him lemon tea so he’ll get better, but there aren’t. any. lemons,” he emphasized, stomping his foot on the ground at the injustice of it all.

“That does sound like a problem,” Sebastian sympathized.

This time Alex stepped forward. Not exactly shielding his younger brother behind him, but putting himself between Sebastian and George nonetheless.

“I don’t think we should be talking to strangers,” he announced, eyes rapidly flicking between the house and the fence.

Yeah whoever raised these kids was doing a pretty good job, Sebastian had not been quite so familiar with the concept of stranger danger. In fact he distinctly remembered having to be returned to his parents on many occasions after spending his afternoons running around the village.

“You’re right,” he said, nodding at the older boy. “This is a conversation I should have with your father. How about I pick some lemons for Lando right, and I bring them to your house. Do you think your dad will be able to answer the door if I come over in a few minutes.”

Alex tilted his head in consideration before nodding, “probably.”

“Perfect then, you two can head inside. Please tell him I’ll be over shortly.”

Sebastian watched Alex grab his little brother's hand to lead him back across the garden, slowing down when they reached the ground level deck to make sure the little one was able to make the step up, before he slid the screen door open and they disappeared inside.

Picking the lemons was easy work although he wasn’t sure how many lemons would be appropriate. Too few would surely make a bad impression, but by that logic surely there must be such a thing as too many lemons as well. He couldn’t be certain so he settled for lucky number five. It had always worked for him before. Sebastian stepped off the stool, cradling the lemons in his arms, and made his way back inside the house.

He rummaged through his lower kitchen cabinets looking for something to place the lemons in. He was going to be meeting his neighbor for the first time after all, he wanted to do better than a plastic bag.

Finally, he found an old wicker basket he had used for bread once hidden behind a set of tupperware. It didn’t have a lid, but it's not like a bunch of lemons needed to be sealed anyways. Sebastian debated putting an old tea towel in the bottom of the basket as a sort of decorative lining, but he would need to find one first, and he didn’t want to waste time now that he’d said he was coming over. He did however grab a small mason jar of honey that he had gotten from the last time he tended to the bees across town. He’d found it to be great for soothing a sore throat. And while Sebastian didn’t know what malady the little Lando was afflicted with, it didn’t hurt to cover the bases.

Sebastian slipped on the worn sneakers he kept by the front door specifically for quick trips outside, and made his way to the house just left of his. He’d always admired the exterior of the home next door, it was pretty in the way that old classic homes tended to be. A quintessential English tudor style home, but one that was clearly well kept. The brick portion of the façade still looked new and the garden was heavily pruned, very unlike the front of his home which bore a closer resemblance to a secret garden.

Sebastian climbed the brick steps to the front porch, and rang the doorbell. He wasn’t sure who he expected to open the door to be completely honest, but it definitely wasn’t a man who looked like he’d just stepped off the cover of a magazine. While the cream henley and matching sweatpants his neighbor was wearing didn’t scream opulence, Sebastian was sure he’d never seen a man look more put together. It made sense though. A magazine cover house, with a magazine cover man, who surely had a magazine cover wife to go with. Some people just had all of the luck. Suddenly, he felt very stupid with his small basket of lemons and honey. He was certain you were supposed to bring more substantial offerings to a Greek God.

“Hello,” the half-man half-God smiled at him, “you must be my neighbor.”

“Um yes hello, I’m Sebastian,” he said, which he thought was pretty eloquent considering the circumstances.

“I’m Lewis,” the maybe demi-God smiled, “and judging by the lemons in your arms you’re definitely the poor person my kids accosted. I’m so sorry about that man, I thought they wanted to go outside to play, not steal someone’s freaking lemons.”

Sebastian chuckled at the absurdity of the sentence. “I wouldn’t say they accosted me,” he tilted his head and smirked, “maybe just lightly threatened.”

Thankfully, the other man took the joke for what it was and laughed, his warm brown eyes lighting up in the process.

“I believe it,” the other man giggled.

Sebastian wondered how someone so handsome could be so cute.

“They can be quite threatening when they don’t get their way the little menaces,” he rolled his eyes, but Sebastian could see the fondness behind the action.

“Tell me about it,” Sebastian enthused, “my nephew Mick is normally the sweetest thing in the world, but suddenly I put his juice in a blue cup instead of his special froggy cup and boom there’s tears and complaining, and I’m some kind of criminal instead of Uncle Seb.”

“I don’t know man,” Lewis shook his head, “I think not putting juice in a froggy cup is definitely a criminal offense.”

“Well then you two can take me to court together,” he winked.

Oh my God he couldn’t believe that he just winked at a man he had just met, a married man he just met at that. His grip on the lemon basket tightened in an effort not to physically show how hard he was cringing at his actions. Luckily, Lewis didn’t seem to notice his misstep, and instead looked like he was about to ask him something when a voice from inside interrupted them.

“Daddy Lando’s awake!” the voice yelled.

Lewis’ eyes widened in surprise, “Okay! Thank you!” he yelled back through the open door before he turned to Sebastian. “I’m so sorry, but do you mind waiting here for a sec while I go fetch my youngest, he’s sick and-”

Sebastian waved him off, “Go, of course,” he smiled softly, “I’ll be here, thinking of what to say for when I get charged with sippy cup related crimes.”

Lewis covered his mouth with his hand when he laughed at Sebastian’s frankly terrible joke, but he could see the way the lines beside Lewis’ eyes deepened with amusement, and they only served to make him look even more lovable. Hand tattoos and piercings had never been his “thing” when it came to men, but boy was Lewis making him question everything he thought he knew about himself.

“I’ll be right back,” Lewis assured, before he dashed into the house.

Now that Lewis wasn’t standing in front of him, and what a shame that was, Sebastian could see a little further, beyond the foyer of the house. He could see the side of a dark brown sectional that was likely pointed at a television, as well as a couple of toys scattered between him and the apparent living room. The thought of the boys he’d met earlier playing together spread warmth through him, so much so that he had to tamp down the flames consuming his mind. The whispers telling him that he could be involved in their lives too. Sebastian barely knew anything about the people living in this house, certainly not enough to consider playing happy family.

His pessimism was all for naught though because the wildfire in his heart reignited at the sight of Lewis walking towards him with a toddler in his arms.

The little one must have been Lando, with curls all over his head, slightly flushed cheeks, and an all too woeful expression.

Lewis gave him a weak smile like he was apologizing for something, for what Sebastian didn’t know, he should hardly apologize for being both an amazing and hot father.

“Sebastian this is Lando, he’s not feeling his best right now, can you say hi to Mr. Sebastian?” he asked.

Lando stared at him pensively like he was pondering his father’s words, before turning and tucking his face into his dad’s neck.

“Sorry, he can be shy around new people,” Lewis said sheepishly, but Sebastian waved off his concern.

“I can’t say I like talking to strangers when I’m sick either,” he sympathized. “And you can call me Seb by the way, if you’d like,” he added.

“Of course…Seb.”

He loved the way Lewis’ lips formed his name.

“And you’re right,” the man continued, “definitely not in the mood for chatting when I’m ill.”

Lewis readjusted Lando in his arms and made sure the boy still had a tight hold on the baby blue blanket he was clutching.

“Oh I completely forgot,” Sebastian said, “I brought these lemons from my tree over to you specifically because the boys said they were trying to pick the lemons for Lando.”

Lewis looked surprised, like he had also forgotten about the basket in Sebastian’s hands.

“My boys?” he questioned. “Alex and George said that?”

“Mhmm,” Seb nodded, “George specifically was quite emphatic about needing them to make Lando better.”

Lewis chuckled as he ran his hand through Lando’s curls; the boy still sleepily resting against his father’s shoulder. “I don’t know where they could’ve gotten an idea like that.”

“I believe they said something about lemon tea,” he said, quirking one eyebrow.

“Oh my God of course, I mentioned that my mum would always make us lemon tea when we were sick, that it was the best, but I didn’t have any lemons to make it. I didn’t expect them to pick up on it,” Lewis said.

“Well you’ve raised some very smart boys,” he returned.

“I don’t think I can take credit for that,” Lewis said, and Sebastian felt his heart clench at the thought of there being another positive influence in the boys’ lives. “Their intelligence is all their own.”

Oh. He felt silly at his own overreaction. Lewis was just displaying more of his good character.

“Well their compassion certainly comes from someone close to them,” he said, pointedly looking at his neighbor.

Sebastian couldn’t be certain that Lewis caught his thinly veiled compliment, but he’d like to think that the man ducking his head to hide a smile meant that he did.

Lewis must have examined the contents of the basket further when he glanced down.

“Is that honey as well?” he questioned.

“Yes,” Sebastian said, “it’s actually from the apiary across town. I help out there whenever I have the time. I’m working with them to get more bee friendly flowers planted in the area. It helps that it’s a good way to get children more excited about nature and environmentalism.”

“Huh I never knew there was a bee yard in town, I mean I’m vegan so I don’t really eat honey but-”

“Oh my gosh I’m so sorry. I never would of brought it if I knew th-”

“No no it’s okay,” Lewis was quick to reassure him, although it looked funny without him being able to use his hands. Just a lot of shaking his head back and forth. “First of all there was no way you could have known, and besides the kids are more or less vegetarian and this is for them right?”

Sebastian nodded even though he still felt a bit embarrassed by the whole situation.

“Yes, I didn’t know what Lando might be sick with, but I thought a dollop of honey for a sore throat would go well in lemon tea.”

Lewis nodded as enthusiastically as he could without displacing his son, who now really was sleeping against his father’s neck. “You’re completely right. And that was seriously thoughtful of you man. It sounds like you really care about the bees too, which is like what’s really important to me when it comes to animal products.”

“Of course, I mean I’m not vegan myself, but I try to make sure that most of what I eat is locally sourced. Not the result of some poor animals being kept in filthy cages, you know.”

Lewis smiled one of his brilliant smiles. “Exactly mate, like everyone’s free to do what they want, but I feel like we should at least be thinking more about this stuff.”

Sebastian decided that he loved the way Lewis’ eyes lit up when he talked. The passion and excitement turned his brown eyes into a vibrant amber.

“Would you like to come inside?” Lewis blurted out as if the invitation had leapt from his mind to his mouth without his brain’s permission. “I mean I need to put this guy down in his crib ‘cause he’s getting pretty heavy, and I’m sure you’re tired of carrying that basket. If you’re not busy maybe we could talk some more? I can make you a cuppa to make it worth your while.”

“That sounds amazing,” he replied. It was a bit of an undersell, but saying it was the best thing he’d heard all year might have scared off the Brit. “As long as I won’t be intruding.”

Lewis scoffed. “Please. I don’t think you could possibly be intruding,” he said as he beckoned for Seb to follow him inside. “Three very inquisitive little boys and a dog live in this house, well this one’s asleep, but still. I think they will certainly be more invasive when it comes to stepping over boundaries or asking questions. Fair warning.”

Almost as if they heard their cue, the two boys playing on the floor in the living room swiveled their heads to look at the men approaching them.

“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with asking questions, and definitely nothing wrong with dogs,” Sebastian said as he entered the open floor plan kitchen living room combo that he could only see a sliver of earlier.

Lewis glanced over his shoulder at him with a smirk, “I hope you keep that energy. You can sit here,” he said motioning to the barstools at an all white marble island. “I’m just going to put him down and I’ll be right back. Boys be nice to Mr. Sebastian please, he’s going to visit for a bit. Maybe say thank you for the lemons he brought you as well,” he called as he headed to the stairs.

Two little pairs of feet came pounding towards him.

“You brought the lemons Mr. Sebastian,” George exclaimed, while he pulled out the barstool across from Sebastian. Alex kept an eye on his little brother as he clambered onto the chair, but otherwise made no move to stop him in his quest to get closer to the basket of lemons sitting on the island.

“Of course I did,” he said, “I told you that I would. Also it’s pretty shameful that I never brought you a gift as your neighbor, so I figured now would be as good a time as any.”

“Thank you for the lemons Mr. Sebastian,” Alex said from his left. He hadn’t taken a seat like his brother, seeming content to stand at the island instead, but he still seemed interested in the little wicker basket.

“Not a problem, you boys are welcome to my lemon tree any time, although I think it’d be best if you asked me or your parents first.”

At that Alex gave him a quizzical look, “our dad you mean. He raises us, you know? Just him.”

“Yeah daddy’s single,” George piped up excitedly.

“Well…that’s very good to know,” he said.

Good. Great. The Best Thing Ever.

Sebastian always knew he wanted kids, but suddenly the love in his heart for the little rascals increased tenfold. Alex and George deserved the world. He couldn’t believe Lewis was single, but he wasn’t going to take their confirmation for granted either.

“Are you two bothering Mr. Sebastian?” Lewis questioned as he walked back down the stairs.

“Nope, just telling him that you’re single daddy,” Alex smiled cheekily.

“Great. Thanks for that boys. I’m pretty sure putting my love life on blast is not a part of thanking Mr. Sebastian for his generosity.”

“I don’t know about that,” he couldn’t help but blurt out.

Lewis raised an eyebrow, “yeah?”

“Yeah, I mean I found the information to be pretty um…relevant,” he coughed.

“See daddy,” George said smiling at his father like he had solved all the world’s problems, “you just need to thank Mr. Sebastian too.”

“I will,” Lewis said, walking up behind his son to drop a kiss on his forehead. “In fact I was just about to use Mr. Sebastian’s lemons to make us all a cup of tea. How does that sound?”

“But what about Lando daddy?” George pouted.

“I promise there will be more than enough left for when Lando wakes up,” he assured him. Lewis glanced over Sebastian’s shoulder at what must’ve been the clock. “In fact, how about I make lunch for all of us.”

“Can we have tea sandwiches?” Alex questioned.

Lewis chuckled, “sure love, of course.” He walked over and ruffled his son’s hair, as he mouthed “they’re so British” to Sebastian over Alex’s head.

Sebastian snorted, but Lewis covered it up as he told the boys to go play while he prepared lunch. Once the two were out of earshot he joined Lewis at the kitchen counter.

“Do you need any help?” he asked.

Lewis shook his head. “Nah it’s just sandwiches, I can manage. Thank you for asking though.”

Sebastian felt the involuntary clench of his chest when he realized that he was officially out of excuses to stay in Lewis’ house any longer. They had just met and yet for some reason he felt that there would never be enough time in the world for him to fully enjoy the other man’s company.

“I see. Thank you for your hospitality then,” Sebastian said, forcing a smile onto his face. “I hope you and the boys enjoy your lunch.”

Lewis looked surprised, quickly setting down the loaf of bread he was holding. “Do you have something to do? I mean, you’re welcome to stay for lunch. I still haven’t repaid you for being so nice to the boys and for bringing us these gifts.”

“I’d hardly call them gifts, I mean they’re things that were already in my house.”

“Still Seb,” Lewis insisted, “there has to be something I can do to repay the favor. If not lunch, then something else.”

Sebastian froze. Lewis had no way of knowing just how much he wanted to take advantage of that offer. He’d never considered himself to be very shy when it came to dating. Flirting came naturally to him, and he already knew that Lewis was single. True, he didn’t know if the other man was interested in men, but that wasn’t something that had ever stopped Sebastian before. For some reason he was just uncharacteristically nervous around his neighbor. Maybe that was it, maybe his heart knew that Lewis could be something special, and that’s why he was freaking out. But running scared had never gotten him anywhere, he needed to face this head on. If Lewis rejected him he’d just hide in his house and never go outside again. He’d have to find someone to take care of his chickens, but he’d manage.

“Dinner then,” he finally stuttered out. Sebastian cleared his throat. “Not lunch, but dinner. That’s what I’d like as payment. Only if you’re willing of course.”

Lewis looked stunned, which was doing nothing to calm the furious beating of his heart.

“Um, do you mean dinner as in like dinner dinner?” Lewis asked. “Sorry it’s just been a while since someone asked me on a date,” he chuckled, running a hand over his braids, before his eyes widened. “If that’s what you’re asking of course,” he backtracked, “I didn’t mean to assume and God I’ve made this awkward haven’t I man,” Lewis sighed.

Sebastian smiled, soft and sweet. He felt strangely comforted by seeing Lewis flustered. It made him appear less like someone he had just imagined, but no less like his dream man.

“No I definitely meant dinner dinner,” he winked. “I’d love to go on a date with you Lewis,” he continued more seriously. “I know that we’ve just met, despite the fact that we literally live next door to each other, but um yeah I’d like to get to know you more, if that’s okay with you…” he trailed off.

“I’d like to get to know you more too,” Lewis smiled, but the brightness of it waned, “if you’re okay with all of this.” He gestured vaguely to the house, but Sebastian knew what he meant.

“I’m okay with it, all of it,” he assured. “We can take things at whatever pace you need. Seriously. I didn’t wake up this morning expecting to ask my beautiful next door neighbor on a date either, but here I am,” he shrugged.

“Beautiful,” Lewis smirked.

“Incredibly.”

The smile was back on Lewis’ face. “Well in that case, I’m sure my mum would be willing to babysit any night you’re free.”

Sebastian was never more grateful for the amount of free time retirement provided him. “How does next Friday sound? Hopefully Lando will be better by then.”

“I’m sure he’ll be great if your lemons and honey have anything to do with it,” Lewis said, “and Friday sounds perfect, so long as you promise not to be a stranger until then.”

“I promise. If you’re missing me you can just knock on my front door,” he pointed out.

“Or your fence,” Lewis sassed.

“Or my fence,” Sebastian amended, the banter between them flowing easily.

“Sooo,” Lewis giggled, honest to God giggled, “I take it this means you’ll be staying for lunch after all.”

“Well I don’t know,” he smirked, “you might need to keep working on convincing me.”

“Can you please decide now so daddy can make lunch,” a voice interrupted them.

Both men turned in surprise to see Alex staring at them over the back of the couch.

“If you’re taking daddy on a date then you should help make sandwiches too,” he stated matter-of-factly.

Lewis looked as he gobsmacked as he felt, but they both burst out laughing when they caught each other’s eye.

“Well I guess that’s decided then,” Sebastian chuckled.

“Yup,” he said, “Thank you for the input Alexander, maybe less eavesdropping next time though okay? Lunch is coming right now.”

“Thanks dad, thanks Mr. Sebastian” he smiled, before he disappeared from view.

Lewis put his face in his hands. “Are you sure you know what you’re signing up for?” he mumbled.

But Sebastian was just brought back to the same thought he’d had earlier; he was never one for running from challenges. “I’m willing to find out,” he smiled.

Lewis matched his determined gaze with his own intensity. “Good,” he said, handing him the forgotten loaf of bread, “you’re on bread cutting duty then.”

Sebastian smiled to himself as he went over to the kitchen sink to wash his hands. He’d had a lot of good Sundays in his life, but this was turning out to be one of the best.

“Oh and by the way Seb,” Lewis said, catching his attention, “I think you’re beautiful too.”

Chapter Text

George

While all of the boys had been fairly welcoming of Sebastian and his increased presence in their house, George was without a doubt the one who warmed up to him the quickest. It was probably just because he was the most extroverted of the three, but Sebastian liked to imagine that George had really taken a shine to him. Whatever the case, George had been thrilled to have a new playmate, so Sebastian had spent the majority of the afternoon playing outside with both George and George’s stuffed rabbit, BlueBun. Okay so maybe George wasn’t the most creative when it came to names, but Sebastian certainly couldn’t doubt the kid’s imagination after having played at least three different versions of “Find the Doll” in two hours.

Thankfully, Lewis came to his rescue by calling George inside to help Lando clean up the toys the two had played with earlier.

“Did he tire you out?” Lewis asked as Seb made his way through the sliding doors.

“Maybe a little,” he said, smiling as Lewis chuckled.

“You staying for lunch?”

Sebastian glanced at the clock in the kitchen. “I have a couple things to handle at mine, I could probably be back in time for dinner…” he let the question hang in the air.

“That sounds great,” Lewis said, before kissing Sebastian on the cheek. “I’ll see you later.”

Sebastian found it hard to tear his eyes away from Lewis when the man turned his back to him to root through the refrigerator, even his shoulders were gorgeous.

Sebastian looked down at the dirty, baby blue rabbit he was holding. He figured he should take care of this now instead of leaving it to be done later.

Sebastian made his way to the laundry room off the kitchen, suddenly very thankful that Lewis’ shiny black washer and dryer weren’t too different from his own. It would’ve been kind of embarrassing for him to ask Lewis for help when he was trying to reduce the man’s workload, and maybe earn a few brownie points as well.

He left after starting the washer, he’d just switch the bunny to the dryer when he came back later. Sebastian closed the front door behind him as he made the short walk to his own house. The sun was high in the sky already, he sighed, his chickens were going to be so mad about being fed late.

–

Sebastian could only think of one word to describe the state of Lewis’ house when he came back around three hours later and that word was anarchy.

After he let himself in, he had his own key, Sebastian was faced with an assault on both his ears and his eyes. The toys that had been neatly put away earlier were scattered across the living room as if a hurricane had blown through. And in the eye of the storm was an inconsolable George Hamilton. The boy’s face was red and blotchy from crying, and his screams were only increasing in volume the longer Sebastian stood there.

Lewis was kneeling in front of his son, gently trying to coax him down from the metaphorical ledge he’d worked himself onto, but it didn’t seem like George was hearing much of anything at the minute.

“Lewis,” he called, trying not to startle the man but also having to raise his voice a considerable amount to be heard over the bawling.

Lewis turned around looking incredibly stressed, but his eyes softened a bit when he saw Sebastian.

“Seb, I’m sorry it’s just-”

“What’s wrong,” he interrupted, not wanting Lewis to finish whatever self-deprecating sentence was coming.

“Georgie is upset because we seem to have temporarily misplaced BlueBun,” Lewis said, rubbing George’s back the whole time. “George do you think you can take some more deep breaths, and tell Sebastian where you last saw BlueBun? Maybe he can help you look,” Lewis soothed.

George tried to listen to his father’s instructions, his chest hitching after every breath, but eventually his panic subsided enough for him to be able to speak.

“We…were…playing…*sniff*...outside, and…I…lost…BlueBun,” he cried.

Sebastian’s mind jumped to the stuffed rabbit that was without a doubt sitting, sodden in the washing machine right now.

“You haven’t lost him George,” Lewis emphasized, “I’m sure with all of us looking we’ll find where he’s been hiding in no time okay.”

George nodded, but the sob that broke through, didn’t make him look very convincing.

Sebastian had no clue what to do. He wanted to tell Lewis that the doll was just in the laundry room, but he also didn’t want to tear the man’s attention away from his son right now, especially when it was to fix his mistake.

Sebastian contemplated sending George outside to look, then he could quickly stuff the rabbit in the dryer and present him to George when it was at least no longer soaking wet. But Lewis was smart, it was unlikely that the two hadn’t already looked out there. And making George go back outside when he knew that search would be pointless was just cruel. He got himself into this mess, he’d have to get himself out of it.

“Oh I think I know where BlueBun is George.”

“You do,” two voices chorused, as both people on the floor turned to look at him.

“Mhmm,” Sebastian nodded. “Before I left he said something about being really dirty from playing outside, and that he wanted to take a bath.”

George’s eyes brightened, “he’s in the bathtub!”

“Well maybe, but I’m not sure BlueBun can climb the stairs without help like you can. Hmmm he must be somewhere down here…” Sebastian trailed off, walking toward the laundry room.

George pieced things together in his head and ran ahead of Sebastian into the room. He knelt in front of the washer, and smushed his hands and face against the circular window.

“He’s in here! Daddy, Mr. Sebastian, he’s in here,” George exclaimed excitedly.

The little one was practically bouncing in place as Lewis walked over to the machine to open the door.

He pulled out the soggy bunny to show to George. “I think BlueBun is nice and clean now, but he isn’t dry is he? Let’s get all the water off him.”

“But daddy…” George whimpered.

“I know, I know,you’re happy to have him back. But when you take a bath I make sure you’re nice and dry after right? It’s the same for BlueBun. We have to make sure he’s nice and dry or he could get sick,” Lewis pointed out, “you can hold him again after dinner.”

George nodded, “okay,” before he brightened, “what’s for dinner?”

Sebastian couldn’t help but laugh, and Lewis gave him a look that said “can you believe this kid?”

“I was thinking lasagna,” Lewis said, which was met with an approving yay.

“I love lasagna!” George said, like it was new information to them both.

Lewis ruffled George’s hair, as they walked back into the kitchen “I know little one.”

“Can we come out of our rooms now?” a voice said from the top of the stairs.

The two of them looked up to see Alex standing there with Lando just in front of him.

“Of course,” Lewis smiled, “everything’s okay now.”

The two boys raced down the stairs. Well Alex raced, Lando slowly slid down on his butt, but they both got the job done.

Alex gave George a quick hug before pushing him toward the couch.

“Can we watch TV daddy?” Alex asked, even though his hand was already halfway to the remote.

“Sure Alex, you guys can watch cartoons until dinner’s ready,” Lewis said, pushing up his sleeves to wash his hands at the sink.

Sebastian walked over to his boyfriend. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” he said quietly.

Lewis shrugged, “I would’ve liked to know where it was sure, but it’s not that big of a deal Seb.”

“It kind of feels like a big deal,” Sebastian mumbled.

Lewis sighed, and looked at him, brown meeting blue.

“Sebastian this isn’t something you have to feel guilty about, I get it. You saw that the toy was dirty so you put it in the wash, you had no way of knowing that George was going to go looking for it in the time you were gone. I knew having another person, adult,” he amended, “around so often was going to mean adjustments. This is just one of those moments.”

Lewis made it seem so minor, like Sebastian sending George into a crying fit was an okay thing, and he couldn’t understand it. As far as he was concerned, Lewis should be kicking him out of his house right now, not standing in the kitchen comforting him like he was a puppy.

“It was stupid though,” he said. “I was trying to prove myself to you and it just caused you more problems.”

“Prove yourself,” Lewis said, taken aback. “Seb I literally gave you a key to my place, you don’t have to prove anything.”

“That was out of convenience though,” he replied.

“That was because I trust you,” Lewis stressed. “I want you to be a part of our lives, and that means things like what happened today too, it’s not all cute couple’s cooking like you see on TV,” he smirked.

Sebastian felt a huge weight lifted off his shoulders. “I don’t think I’ve ever watched ‘cute couple’s cooking’ on TV, is that something you’re into?”

Lewis shrugged, “I'm into lots of things.”

“Oh really?”

“Really.”

“Well you’ll have to show me some of those things.”

“I guess you’ll have to keep coming around then,” Lewis smiled.

Seb paused for a moment, Lewis always managed to get him right where he wanted.

“Yeah, I guess I will.”

–

Alex

The time Sebastian got to spend with Lewis and the boys after they arrived home from school was some of his favorite. He wasn’t at Lewis’ place for the after-school activities every day. In fact, he tended to still come over on weekends mostly. After all, just because he and Lewis were dating now did not mean he immediately became a second parent. They both wanted things to work out in the long run, so Seb made frequent appearances, but he did his best not to overstep any boundaries.

Today was one of the rare, although becoming increasingly more common, days that he was already waiting at Lewis’ house when the man returned from picking the boys up from school. Picking up Alex and George more specifically, but Lando got to go along on his tricycle, which made the whole journey worth it for him too.

And it was nice. Sebastian played with Lando while Lewis helped the older two with their homework, then moved to assist Lewis with dinner as the boys went off to entertain themselves. It filled him with that warm feeling of domesticity that more and more was feeling like it would never go away.

When Lewis went upstairs to go bathe Lando, Sebastian started to wonder if this was the night to finally ask about staying over. Mind you, he had spent the night with Lewis before, both at this house and his own. But that had been with other activities in mind, and with the condition that the boys stayed with their grandma. He had never spent the night “just because”. Sebastian thought about it though, especially in moments like these where he could hear Lando’s laughter ringing out from upstairs, Lewis must have put bubbles in the bath, and he so desperately wanted to hold on to the happiness he was feeling instead of trudging back to his own empty house.

It was easy to rationalize too; tomorrow was Friday. Lewis would drop the boys off at school and Seb would volunteer to stay back and watch the morning cartoons with Lando. He could head out in the afternoon to get out of Lewis’ hair while he worked, maybe pick up some lunch for the two of them. They’d even do the pick-up run together before starting their weekend. All in all the fantasy he created wasn’t too different from the dynamic they already had, it was just a bit… more. And it was hard to take that first step. Sebastian had been content to let Lewis lead because realistically he would suffer the most if their relationship didn’t pan out, he couldn’t help but regret that a little now.

Sebastian was so consumed by his thoughts that he didn’t even notice the boy standing in front of him until a pointed cough interrupted his daydream. He opened his eyes, when had he closed them, to see Alex standing in front of him.

“Sorry I didn’t see you there Alex, what do you need?”

Alex shifted uncomfortably, rocking his socked feet back and forth against the tile below.

“I need help,” he finally said.

“Of course, anything,” Sebastian said, doing his best to hide the way his heart jumped into his throat.

“I have to do a project for school, and I need help,” Alex said.

He let out an internal sigh of relief. Gott sei Dank. That was something he could manage.

“Okay then, I’d love to help you Alex, when is the project due?”

“...Tomorrow.”

“...Scheiße.”

–

After explaining to Alex that yes the word he said was German, but no he could not learn it. Sebastian found himself rummaging through all of the boys' art bins for anything that could even remotely resemble a science project. If Alex had told him about the project literally any earlier, then he could have gone to the store, but now it was simply too late to drive to any designated craft store. And while he found himself to be pretty creative with food, he doubted a 24/7 grocery store would help him right now.

“Is there a reason why you didn’t tell your dad or I about this sooner Alex?”

The little one just shrugged, “I don’t know.”

“Okay,” he said, opening a bin full of pipe cleaners and staring at them before deciding they were useless, “but is there a reason why you didn’t tell him about it now.”

“He’d probably be really mad,” Alex said quietly.

Sebastian gave the boy his full attention. “No Alex, I don’t think he’d be really mad. Yes I’m sure he’d be upset because if you had told him earlier then the two of you would have had more time to work on this. Now the project probably won’t be as good. You understand that the reason your teachers give you so much time for projects is because it takes time to put them together right?”

“Yeah, I know, I don’t know why I didn’t say anything.” Alex mumbled.

“Well I guess that’s a conversation the two of you can have later,” he said, as his eyes caught the bright yellow plastic of the play-doh cans on the shelf above, “we’ve got work to do.”

Sebastian couldn’t say the faux clay model of the Earth and its core was the most extraordinary thing he’d ever pieced together, even on such short notice, but it turned out pretty decent. Alex carefully wrote the figure notes naming each section, and not so carefully stuck a wad of blue clay in Sebastian’s blonde hair. While he did the majority of the sculpting and molding under Alex’s careful supervision. In the end it really didn’t take much time, definitely not long enough for Alex to have delayed it for so long, and the boy was able to waltz upstairs to take his bath with Lewis none the wiser. Of course, Sebastian was going to inform Lewis anyway when his boyfriend undoubtedly questioned him about the bits of play-doh sticking out of his curls.

But for now it was their little secret.

And when Alex came running to both him and Lewis after school one day, showing them the smiley face sticker he received as a grade from his teacher, it felt worth it.

–

Lando

Lando was a sweet boy, genuinely. He was a bit shy at times, but for the most part he did a good job of being adored by his brothers and doted on by his father. However, he was a toddler, and like all toddlers he was prone to extreme fits of irritability. It’s just that normally his fits of irritability lasted for five minutes and not five days.

Lewis was constantly trying to strike the balance between being understanding of Lando’s moodiness, while also punishing his more extreme actions, like yesterday when he smacked George across the face in frustration. It was exhausting, and the situation was taxing the whole family. Worst of all, they were getting no closer to figuring why Lando was suddenly so cranky all the time.

Lewis sighed as he wrapped his arms around Sebastian from behind.

“All settled?” he questioned.

“Mhmm,” Lewis mumbled against his shoulder. “I put him down for a nap, he was just so exhausted.”

“It’ll be okay,” Seb said, holding Lewis’ hands where they were settled on his stomach, “these are probably just growing pains, they’ll pass.”

“I hope so,” Lewis said, “I just wish he’d tell me what was wrong, or that I could, you know, do my job as a parent and actually figure it out.”

Sebastian lightly checked Lewis with his elbow. “Hey, none of that. Lando may be your youngest, but he isn’t a baby anymore. Eventually he has to learn how to communicate what’s wrong.”

“I guess,” Lewis sighed, with an adorable pout on his face.

“Now I see where he gets it from,” Seb joked.

Lewis’ pout turned into one of his brilliant smiles as he laughed, “what are you trying to say hmm?”

“Nothing darling,” he said, as he turned to face Lewis, “nothing at all.” Sebastian brought Lewis’ hands up to his mouth for a placating kiss that seemed to do its job if the soft look in Lewis’ eyes was anything to go by.

Suddenly a cry from the nearby baby monitor alerted both of them. Lewis didn’t really use it much anymore, it was more a precaution than anything. The screen helped him see if Lando was getting into any danger when the boy was alone in his room, and that sounded like the case now.

Sebastian watched Lewis jog over to the monitor, and then leave it on the kitchen counter as he headed to the stairs. Sebastian felt stuck in no-man’s land all of a sudden. He wanted to go check the video screen, see it for himself, but he also desperately wanted to follow Lewis up the stairs to go help in any way. He wasn’t sure if he was allowed to do either.

“Come on Seb,” Lewis said, his boyfriend paused halfway up the steps. “Let’s go see what’s wrong.”

It was probably the wrong moment for it but Sebastian definitely felt a smile spread across his face as he scurried over to trail Lewis up the stairs.

His happiness was short lived however as he came face to face with their current predicament when Lewis switched on the light.

Lando’s room was all woodland theming and plush decorations, he even had little mushroom nightlights “growing” out of his wall. Sebastian loved it. Lewis had gone to the extremes for all of his boys’ rooms, and they were each a testament to how good his design skills were. But seeing Lando curled up smack dab in the middle of his toddler bed shaking with tears, was enough to put a gloomy aura over the entire room.

“Oh baby,” Lewis cooed as he lowered himself onto the bed, pulling Lando into his arms in the same motion, “what happened my little lamb?”

For a few seconds Lando said nothing, simply continuing to cry against his dad’s shoulder until he got something intelligible out.

“I don’t like it,” he cried, fisting the back of Lewis’ shirt.

“What don’t you like Lando?” Lewis probed, absent-mindedly rubbing Lando’s back while looking at Sebastian.

“I don’t–I don’t like being a big boy,” he sobbed.

Lewis’ eyes widened in a panic, before he rushed to make more soothing sounds into Lando’s ear.

“It’s okay my love, we’ll talk it through, just try to relax for me darling. It will all be okay soon.”

Lewis reached out for Sebastian with the arm not holding Lando, silently inviting him to join them on the bed.

He obliged, and gently sunk down onto Lando’s tiny bed, doing his best not to disturb the shaken boy.

“It’s all right Lando, my little one, you know you’ll always be my little one. What don’t you like about being called a big boy hmm?” Lewis questioned.

Lando continued to cry, but thankfully he seemed to be catching his breath easier now.

“Big boys have to…they have to sleep in big beds,” Lando whined, “and I don’t like my big bed daddy,” he sobbed.

Lewis looked down at the wooden bed they were sitting on like it had personally affronted him.

“What don’t you like about it Lando, hmm? Daddy can get you a new bed if this one’s uncomfortable.”

Sebastian didn’t think it was possible, but at that statement Lando’s face flushed even redder.

“I don’t wanna new bed,” he cried, fists swinging wildly, “I want my old bed.”

Lewis paused his ministrations and looked over at Seb, sadness written all over his face.

“Oh Lando, do you miss your crib love?”

Lando miserably nodded into his father’s shoulder.

Lewis audibly exhaled, slightly ruffling Lando’s curls, and Sebastian moved to grasp Lewis’ unoccupied left hand. He needed Lewis to know that he’d support him through what was probably going to be a complicated conversation.

Lewis shot him a grateful look as he squeezed Sebastian’s hand in return.

“Lando, I need you to listen to me, okay baby. I know that you’re sad about switching to a toddler bed, but you’re growing up love. You simply can’t fit in a crib anymore.”

“I could fit,” Lando said petulantly.

“Well maybe at the moment,” Lewis acquiesced, “but soon you wouldn’t be able to. Also it isn’t just a size thing Lando. It's also a mental thing darling.”

Lando continued to shake his head, like what Lewis was saying couldn’t be true.

“Lando,” Lewis coaxed, as he gently pushed his hands into the curls on the back of his son’s head to stop the shaking. “Listen please. You said you don’t want to be a big boy, because getting older brought this change, and you don’t like the change. But I have to tell you sweetheart, change isn’t just a part of growing up, it’s a part of life. And staying little won’t stop it from happening.”

“But I don’t like it,” Lando almost whispered, as his tiny hands clenched against Lewis’ back.

“I know, and that’s okay. Sometimes I don’t like change either, but it exists Lan. All you can do is find a way to work through whatever part of the change is bothering you. So,” Lewis said, pulling Lando back so he could look him in the eyes, “what is it that you miss about your crib?”

Lando looked perplexed, brows knitted in confusion. “It’s my crib,” he said, like the answer was obvious.

Sebastian barely concealed his chuckle with a fake cough.

Lewis lightly squeezed one of his fingers, since he couldn’t exactly roll his eyes at him now that Lando was looking at them.

“I know that, but now you need to sleep in your new bed right, because you’re growing up. So is there anything you liked about your old bed that we can put into this one. Maybe the way it made you feel?” Lewis probed.

Lando looked at his father with blank eyes, and Seb thought it might be okay to cut in.

“I think,” he cleared his throat, “maybe you liked that you felt safe in your crib, because it’s all you’ve ever known. You think being a big boy is scary right, but if we make your new bed feel just as safe as your old one I think you’ll feel a lot better Lando.”

Lando frowned at him, but he didn’t say anything to refute Sebastian, so he was going to take it as a win.

Seb could practically see Lewis racking his brain for a solution when he looked at his lover, but if he was right he might have already come up with one.

Seb squeezed Lewis’ hand again to catch his attention, and tried to pour as much emotion as he could into his eyes. Hopefully, Lewis knew him as well as he thought, and could read the message he was telepathically sending.

Do you trust me?

Lewis slowly nodded his head, and that tacit permission was enough for him to act.

“Lando I was wondering, does your family make you feel safe?”

“My family?” the little boy echoed.

“Mhmm, do you feel safe and happy when you’re with your brothers and your dad?”

“Yeah,” Lando said, gaining back a little bit of the enthusiasm he wore more commonly.

“Well then I think the answer is simple then,” he said, clapping his hands together. “Your new bed needs to make you feel just as happy as your old one did. So why don’t all of us come camp in here tonight.”

“Camp!?” both Lewis and Lando chorused, looking at him with equally surprised faces.

“Well it is a forest in here is it not,” Sebastian said, gesturing to the room. “We’re all going to give you that cozy feeling you’ve been missing by staying in here with you tonight.”

Once Sebastian said the words out loud he was suddenly very aware that he might have made a major overstep. He didn’t dictate the boys’ sleep schedules, that was Lewis’ job, and it was completely possible that his partner may not approve of altering the kids’ bedtime routines so drastically. Virtually every child rearing book he had read stressed the importance of having routines for young children.

He was certain the nerves were showing on his face, but to his surprise Lewis just smiled at him and thumbed the top of Sebastian’s hand.

“I think that sounds like a brilliant idea,” his boyfriend said, turning back to face Lando. “We’ve never been camping as a family.”

“What’s camping?” Lando questioned.

“Well, it’s when people travel somewhere outdoors, kind of like the place we went hiking before, do you remember that day? And they bring tents to sleep in, and food to cook, and they sleep outside. Sebastian is suggesting that all of us pretend to camp here in your room tonight.”

Lando still looked skeptical about the whole thing, until Lewis said the magic words.

“We can have chocolate.”

The little boy’s eyes lit up.

“Chocolate!”

“Mhmm you always have chocolate when you go camping.”

Sebastian shot his own skeptical look at Lewis, but the man just patted his hand. Well whatever works he supposed.

“So we’re all gonna sleep in here and eat chocolate!” Lando said, eyes finally brimming with excitement and not tears.

“Yup. Does that sound like a good idea to you?” Lewis asked.

Lando frantically shook his head yes.

“Then why don’t you go tell your brothers what we’re going to do tonight while Sebastian and I set up the camping stuff.”

Lando climbed off his dad’s lap in a hurry and raced out the open door.

Seb was startled by a sudden pinch to his arm.

“Ow,” he yelped, turning to Lewis, and expecting to see the anger that he had feared was coming. Instead he was met with Lewis’ most loving eye smile.

“Sorry, I was just checking to see if you were real.”

Sebastian stared at him in disbelief before a guffaw practically forced itself out of his throat.

“Are you kidding me,” he laughed, “that was worse than the corny lines I normally use.”

Lewis was laughing with him. “I know, we’ve clearly been spending too much time together, but I meant it. How did you even come up with something like that?”

Seb shrugged. “Honestly, it was just the first thing that came to mind. I was worried you’d be upset though, with me overstepping and all.”

Lewis scoffed. “Trust me Seb, that was in no way an overstep, that was a life preserver. And besides, you said you wanted to do this right…”

Lewis paused, but Sebastian quickly nodded, so Lewis continued.

“Then that means you can be involved in more stuff like this too, decision making things. We just have to communicate. If I ever feel you’ve gone too far, then I’ll tell you, and we’ll talk it through. But right now I’m just… so in love with you.”

Lewis smiled in a way that made Seb melt.

Their lips met in a comforting kiss, and it felt nice to just relax into each other after the constant stress that had been their reality the past few days.

“Ewww.”

The two of them broke away to see all three boys staring at them from the doorway of Lando’s room.

“Oh? Is kissing gross now? I’ll remember that when you all want your bedtime kisses tonight,” Lewis snarked.

“No. It’s only gross when you guys do it,” Alex retorted.

“Yeah you’re adults.” Sebastian was amazed at George’s ability to make the word adults sound like a terrible disease.

“Well us adults could choose not to go to the garage and get the camping supplies you know.”

All three boys looked appropriately stricken.

“Please daddy, we have to go camping,” Lando begged.

For someone who had just discovered the concept of camping only moments ago, Sebastian thought Lando was awfully attached to the idea.

“Well then, you all need to bring whatever you want to take camping in here okay. That means anything you need to sleep or cuddle with, while Sebastian and I set up.”

“Okay,” Alex and George chorused before they took off for their rooms, Lando following behind them in what could only be a bid to not feel left out.

“I guess we better hold up our end of the bargain,” Seb said, as he stood from the forsaken bed.

“Yes,” Lewis said, but before Sebastian could get through the door Lewis grabbed him by the waist, and spun him into one more kiss.

“Just had to finish that first,” Lewis grinned cheekily.

“Finish?” Sebastian questioned, “what do you think I’m planning to do after the boys fall asleep?”

And they did manage to sneak in many more kisses once Lando was snug in his bed; his brothers sleeping soundly nearby on their own mattresses which had been temporarily relocated to Lando’s floor.

The next day Lewis bought taupe brown curtains, Seb helped attach them to the ceiling, to drape over the head of Lando’s bed like his own private tent.

Lando’s crying and irritability stopped, although “indoor camping” continued on in a much bigger way, with the boys asking for it at least once every weekend.

But Sebastian found that he didn’t mind constantly setting up and taking down the tent in the living room too much. Not when Lando always gave him the biggest of hugs as a thank you.

–

Roscoe

“SEB!”

Sebastian startled as he heard his name ring through the house on what had been a relaxing Wednesday evening. Lewis had gone upstairs not even 15 minutes ago to give George a bath, and now he was apparently in need of assistance.

“Seb!?!” Lewis called again, so Sebastian put a bit more pep in his step.

“Coming perle!” he said as he reached the top of the stairs.

His initial worries dissipated as he could now hear George’s laughter coming from the bathroom as well.

“Hahah Roscoe wants to play Daddy,” George squealed, as Sebastian came to stand in the open doorway.

“Yeah, Roscoe definitely wants to play Georgie,” Lewis laughed.

Apparently the chubby bulldog had decided that he’d gone long enough without any attention, and had climbed into the bathtub with George. Well jumped more likely given the dog’s short stature. Sebastian really wished he had been in the room when it happened. He’d never seen Roscoe successfully jump onto anything.

But obviously the bulldog had managed, since he was covered in bubbles and happily licking away at George like he was assisting Lewis with the bathing process. And Lewis, well, he was doing his best to sound exasperated, but he couldn’t keep the amusement off his face when he turned to look at Sebastian.

“Think you can help me out? I don’t think the bathroom will survive if I try to wrestle both of these little monsters out of the tub.”

Sebastian chuckled.

“Of course. As much as I’d like to see that, I also feel like the water damage would be…extensive,” he said, pushing up the sleeves of his gray sweatshirt.

Lewis pointed him to one of the decorative turquoise blue towels on the towel rack. “You can just use that one,” he said as he was already preparing a fluffy yellow towel for George. “You ready to get out Georgie?”

“Wait,” George said, as he quickly scooped up a handful of bubbles and placed them on Roscoe’s head. “Now Roscoe has a bubble hat.”

“Awww I think Roscoe loves his bubble hat, but no more bubble hats for you mister,” Lewis quickly intervened as George tried to cover himself in bubbles once more. “Head back,” Lewis ordered as he poured a small bucket of water over George’s head to rinse out both the bubbles and any remaining conditioner. “There all done. Time to dry off ducky,” Lewis said, as he held up the towel from earlier, which Sebastian could now see had a small hood attached to it with a duck face.

“Get ready to grab Roscoe in case he runs,” Lewis chirped.

Sebastian squatted down in front of the bath while Lewis wrapped George in his towel, drying his hair until it was sticking up at all angles like a true duckling.

“Come on ducky, let’s go put your pajamas on,” Lewis said before he turned to him, “Are you okay in here for a minute?”

“Of course,” he said, “Roscoe and I are going to have a great time in here, a real rager.”

Lewis snorted as he led George out of the bathroom, “all right, well don’t have too much fun.”

Sebastian sighed as he looked at the sopping wet bulldog sitting in front of him.

“I’m really going to have to lift you out of here aren’t I buddy. You know for a little guy you’re quite the troublemaker.”

Roscoe was either a lot smarter than Seb initially thought or he was simply tired of sitting alone in the rapidly cooling tub, because suddenly he put his front paws on the edge of the bath and flung himself out toward Sebastian.

“No Roscoe-” he tried, but it was too late.

As soon as Roscoe had all four paws on the floor he shook his short fur vigorously, and splashed water all over the front of Sebastian. He could even feel a couple strands of his now damp, blonde hair sticking to his forehead.

He covered Roscoe in the towel, and held the almost smug looking dog in place so he could dry him off.

“Oh don’t you look proud of yourself, getting me all wet,” Sebastian muttered.

Roscoe continued to pant loudly as a response.

Lewis on the other hand started giggling.

Sebastian turned to see that Lewis had indeed re-entered the room, and more importantly he was taking in Seb’s somewhat disheveled state with amusement.

“Sooo less a rager and more a pool party then,” Lewis quipped.

He only laughed harder when Seb showed him the middle finger.

–

Lewis

If there was one thing Sebastian learned after he officially moved into the Hamilton household, he was keeping his home as well until the two of them could put an offer on a new place together, it was that Lewis kept odd hours.

Which to be honest wasn’t something that he’d been expecting seeing as the boys’ lives were fairly scheduled. But, it was true.

Lewis never neglected his work; whether it be household duties, homework help, or assignments for his actual job. But that also meant he handled a lot of things at once. While Seb had made it his mission to help out where he could, especially now that he was a permanent member of their home, oftentimes Lewis still tended to get a lot of things done all at once and then proceed to crash on the nearest item of furniture.

It was actually quite endearing, walking into the living room and seeing Lewis curled up on the couch, Roscoe inevitably sleeping somewhere nearby in solidarity.

But it became less fun when Lewis complained of neck or back pain caused from sleeping in such uncomfortable places. Seb wanted to remind Lewis that he wasn’t exactly a spring chicken anymore, but he had a feeling that would end with him sleeping with his actual chickens.

So instead he just did the best he could. Sebastian would grab any errant fleece blanket to drape over Lewis on the couch, slightly rearrange his sleeping position so that his neck wouldn’t be at such a weird angle when he woke up in his office chair, or sometimes he’d just gently nudge Lewis awake. After all, they had a nice comfortable bed Lewis could be sleeping in instead.

It was on one such occasion when Lewis unknowingly implanted an idea in Sebastian’s brain.

“Ugh,” his lover groaned as he rose from the kitchen table with bleary eyes, “sometimes I wish I was still as little as the boys, then I could be carried to bed,” he chuckled.

Sebastian had chuckled in return, but the gears in his mind were already turning. Lewis was little, maybe not by general opinion, but in Seb’s eyes he was the most precious thing in the world. And even if he was adhering to the laws of reality, Lewis was roughly the same height as him, certainly close enough that Seb didn’t think he was being too foolish with his new daydream.

But, Lewis was quite muscular. Muscles that Sebastian loved and took advantage of on the regular, but right now he could admit that they’d be the main roadblock to his current plan. So after Lewis had been hustled up to bed, and tucked under their sage green comforter, Seb snuck out of the bedroom to make a call.

Sebastian had continued to workout after he retired, he still wanted to be healthy after all, but he certainly wasn’t training to a Formula 1 standard, there hadn’t been a need to. But now he had a need, a need to spoil the hell out of his amazing boyfriend. Even if it meant he was going to be doing a lot more pushups in the near future.

“Antti, how are you? … Good… I was wondering if you could put together a new workout regimen for me…Why are you laughing?”

–

His time to shine came on a Monday afternoon. All three boys were at school, Lando was at nursery school but apparently it still counted because he was “learning stuffs”, his words not Sebastian’s.

Lewis had once again fallen asleep on the couch after performing a rather vigorous cleaning of the entire house, muttering something about cleansing negative energy to start the week off right. Seb couldn’t say he fully understood what that meant, but the house smelled like lemon now, and he certainly didn’t like bad spirits either so he considered it a win on all fronts.

He knelt down in front of the couch and observed Lewis’ sleeping face, he looked so angelic like this that Sebastian almost felt bad for staring, almost.

He carefully positioned his forearms, one under Lewis’ back and one under his knees, and said a silent prayer to Antti that one month of hard training would be enough for this to work.

Sebastian slowly picked Lewis up, lifting from his knees and not his back, until he was standing with Lewis cradled against his chest.

Thankfully, his boyfriend hadn’t stirred, and instead continued to breathe peacefully from his position in Sebastian’s arms.

He walked as slowly as he dared. If he went too quickly he risked jarring Lewis and waking him up, but he also couldn’t move at a snail’s pace or his arms would give up on him before he made it up the stairs. Antti was magical in the gym, but a miracle worker he was not.

Sebastian took it one step at a time, breathing almost as deeply as Lewis was to steady his core as he made his way up to their bedroom.

Thankfully the door was cracked open already, he couldn’t imagine making it this far and then trying to balance Lewis on one arm so he could turn the door handle, and he was able to slip inside.

Sebastian approached the side of their California King bed, and gently attempted to lower Lewis when suddenly a strong hand clutched his shirt.

“Seb,” Lewis whispered.

He felt his eyes go wide as he froze like a deer in headlights. Why did Lewis have to wake up now when he was almost home free?

Lewis slowly blinked up at him like he was trying to understand the situation, but his brain hadn’t quite started processing yet.

“Shhh go back to sleep mein Engel,” he said as he carefully deposited Lewis on the bed.

Lewis sunk further into his satin pillow as he smiled sleepily at Sebastian.

“Thank you mein Prinz,” Lewis murmured before shutting his eyes.

As he cuddled up to Lewis’ other side, Sebastian made a mental note to send Antti a very nice gift basket as a thank you…and to take a bath later, he was gonna be sore.

–

+1 Sebastian

Lewis knew that Sebastian was a former Formula 1 driver. He hadn’t known when they met; Lewis was British enough to know what Formula 1 was, but not enough to actually care about the sport outside giving it the occasional glance when it was on after a football match. However, fairly early on in their relationship Sebastian made sure to tell his partner that while he liked living an incredibly low-key lifestyle, in some circles he was still considered a celebrity. It was only right that Lewis could make the decision for himself, and more importantly for his kids, on whether he wanted to be associated with someone famous. After all, there were problems that could arise from dating someone like him. Lewis thankfully did not immediately escort him off the premises, instead they had a conversation about it. He told Lewis about his championships, the teams he drove for, and what the sport meant to him even now, and Lewis listened patiently. Lewis also asked for permission to google him, which he allowed, and they spent the rest of the hour looking at some highlight clips from his career. However, outside of that his past as a Formula 1 driver wasn’t a major deal in their household.

Sebastian didn’t avoid the topic. After all, he still kept in contact with some of the higher ups to make sure that the sport wasn’t overlooking any sustainability issues, and he kept up with the races as well when he remembered to. Seb learned that lesson very quickly after Charles whined for hours when he told him that in fact he hadn’t watched his spectacular comeback drive through the field, but he was certain that it was great. Following that day Sebastian made sure to at least look up the race highlights on YouTube, lest he be subjected to Charles’ ire once again.

The boys had gotten into the sport too, to an extent. They understood that Sebastian used to drive one of the cars on TV, so sometimes they’d sit down and watch whatever race was on with him. Blessedly there were never any fights with regards to the winner, because they all rooted for the red cars. Sebastian of course denied that he had anything to do with that decision.

It was a nice balance. Lewis understood his career and how important it was to him, but he didn’t try to make Sebastian be anyone different than the man he had met on his front porch that day. It was just one more thing that made him so grateful for the little family he was steadily becoming a part of.

Though even in his life of domesticated bliss, sometimes he still managed to surprise himself.

The idea caught him completely off guard. Sebastian rarely attended races anymore. He’d gone to a couple of German grand prixs once his home country had returned to the calendar; Monaco once too, just to see some of the younger drivers. But more often than not he didn’t feel a need to visit the paddock. Sebastian loved racing more than anything, but he also liked the quiet life he had chosen for himself, and these days the two so rarely mixed. But seeing the boys happy faces as they watched the cars go ‘round filled him with the sudden urge to take them to an actual race.

Lewis, to his relief, was completely onboard with the idea; promising to clear his schedule in advance for the weekend of the Silverstone Grand Prix.

Once the idea was planted in his mind it didn’t take much for Sebastian to see it through. He made a couple of calls, correction, Britta made a couple of calls, but VIP paddock passes were secured for the whole family nonetheless.

The only thing Sebastian was unsure of was which team’s garage they should stay in. Ferrari was the obvious choice for the boys’ sake, but they also weren’t the team he had ended his career with, and it seemed to him like showing up there might be a bit of a slight to Aston Martin. So instead he settled on Alfa Romeo. Sebastian already knew Fred from his years of living in Switzerland, and besides, the car was still red.

The five of them decided to make a mini-vacation out of it. Lewis even wrote letters noting that the boys would be absent from school on Friday to Sebastian’s surprise. However when asked, Lewis simply shrugged and told Sebastian that sometimes life experiences were more important than attendance.

So, Sebastian drove them to Silverstone early Friday morning; giving them ample time to settle into their hotel room before heading to the track for Free Practice.

He and Lewis had already discussed how the general format of the day would look, with Friday largely being a test to see how the kids would handle the rest of the weekend. They were both hopeful though. The boys didn’t tend to do badly in social situations, and with Sebastian being a former driver, they would have access to places normal fans wouldn’t if the kids needed some time away from the crowds.

“You’re all still sure you want to take your backpacks right?” Lewis asked as he adjusted his own Nike backpack on his shoulders, filled with snacks and some basic necessities for the day.

“Of course,” George said, “this way I can carry my stuff.”

“Yeah! Makes it easier on you daddy,” Lando continued.

Seb could have pointed out that Lewis was still carrying the bulk of what would be necessary, but he chose not to. The boys carrying their own pick of toys at least meant for a few less things the two of them would have to keep track of throughout the day.

“I think we’re ready then,” Lewis smiled, as he quickly smeared a last minute bit of sunscreen on Alex’s nose. “Lead the way Seb.”

The drive to the circuit was relatively quick as their hotel was only 5 minutes away. They got held up in some traffic waiting to pass the long line of cars filing into the parking lots, but thankfully being a former driver still carried some perks. So when Sebastian showed his pass to the track parking attendants he was able to pull straight into the private lot where the rest of the F1 personnel were parked.

“Are you excited love?” Lewis quietly asked after Seb shut off the car engine.

Sebastian looked to the passenger seat and smiled, sunlight illuminated half of Lewis’ face like this and he could clearly see the curiosity his honeyed eyes held.

“You know, I think I am,” Sebastian replied.

He gave Lewis a quick peck on the lips and got out of the car before the boys could start complaining.

Sebastian helped George from his carseat while Lewis mirrored him on the opposite side of the vehicle.

“Are you excited to see the cars, George?” he questioned, as he pushed George’s blue dinosaur backpack onto his shoulders.

“Yeah!” George said excitedly, “the cars are gonna go really fast like on TV!”

“Yes they are liebling, if we’re lucky we might even meet some of the drivers,” Sebastian said.

“Won’t that be cool?” Lewis said, as the five of them made their way to the entrance.

“Very cool,” Alex said matter of factly.

Seb’s phone buzzed in the front pocket of his cargo shorts, so he switched sides with George, letting him hold his left hand instead as he checked his phone with his right.

There was a message there from one of the Alfa Romeo public relations officers he’d been in contact with saying she’d meet them at the gate.

“It looks like things are all set for us once we check in,” he told Lewis.

“Awesome,” Lewis smiled before he giggled. “You know I think I’m really excited. I haven’t gone to a sporting event in so long,” he said as he swung Lando and Alex’s hands back and forth to their delight.

“Well I hope I can make this special for you all then,” he replied.

“I think it’s already pretty special getting to go to a Formula 1 race with an actual Formula 1 champion,” Lewis pointed out.

“Will you drive the car?” Lando questioned from his right, as he looked up at him with wide eyes.

Sebastian chuckled. “No I don’t drive anymore little one, but you’ll get to see some of my old friends drive today.”

Alex leant around Lewis, “Will we see your car?”

“Hmm we’ll see what we get around to, let’s just take the day as it goes,” he settled on, not wanting to make any promises.

“That sounds like a good plan,” Lewis said to back him up. “I’m sure we’ll get to explore a lot today boys, but don’t forget people still work here okay, this isn’t a playground.”

All of the boys nodded their heads as they reached the pass scanner. Sebastian let Lewis go first, feeding the boys through to him after he scanned each of their passes for them, before he followed suit and stepped into the paddock.

He couldn’t help but take a deep breath in. There were always things that changed about the circus each time he came back, but the smells and the sounds always remained the same.

A woman in a burgundy Alfa Romeo shirt waved them over from the left side of the entrance.

“Hello everyone,” she said in a chipper voice. “I’m Emily, and I’ll be showing you around the garage.”

“Nice to meet you Emily, thank you for taking the time to do this,” Sebastian said amicably.

“Not a problem, it's an honor for us to be hosting Sebastian Vettel and his guests this weekend,” she said as she gestured for them to follow her.

“Thank you, we’re all very happy to be here. I can’t wait to tell Kimi I paid a visit to his old team.”

Fans were starting to take photos of him as he walked by. It was always one of his least favorite aspects of being a driver, the attention, combined with the total lack of privacy. But at the same time he couldn’t really fault them. Sebastian didn’t show up to races often, obviously people were going to take their chance to photograph him in the paddock. He just hoped Lewis and the boys weren’t going to be too uncomfortable, the day had just barely started.

Suddenly a group of men rushed him, asking for signatures. Sebastian did his best to tuck George behind him and he moved in front of Lewis as well, guarding their little group. The two of them had already talked, Sebastian had no qualms with anyone knowing he was in a relationship with a man, he’d made peace with his sexuality a long time ago. However, he wasn’t going to risk anyone in his family getting hurt because of his fame, even if it just meant shielding them from fans with no sense of personal space.

Sebastian signed a few hats, he internally chuckled when he saw they were McLaren fans, clearly his influence spread beyond just the teams he had driven for. And the fans disappeared just as quickly as they had come; Sebastian quietly hoped they would be the last.

“Come on, let’s hurry on to the garage,” he said, trying to move away from the exposed areas of the paddock as swiftly as possible. “There’s lots to see today.”

Lewis shot him a reassuring glance, like he knew what Sebastian was worried about and was trying to soothe him without words.

“It’s not easy being a star huh,” Emily chuckled, as she complied, and went to move their little group along.

“I don’t know about a star,” he scoffed, “just a relic of the old days.”

But as Sebastian tried to move, two tiny hands grabbed hold of his kneecap.

Lando wouldn’t budge from his position, staring at Seb with big blue-green eyes that were slowly filling with tears.

“Lando what’s wrong, are you hurt bärchen?” he said quickly.

“Papa…are you going to leave us?”

Sebastian was gobsmacked.

Not just because of what Lando had asked, but because none of the boys had ever referred to him as their father before.

When Lewis asked him what he would prefer the boys call him, he didn’t force the issue. At the end of the day, while he fully felt like the boys were his own, and that Lewis was the man he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, that didn’t mean the boys were instantly going to see him as a father figure.

He’d hoped.

Of course he’d hoped that the boys would grow to love him, but he still found himself to be completely unprepared now that the moment was here.

Sebastian squatted down so he could be face to face with the child-with his child.

“No, of course I’m not going to leave you. What made you think that Lando?”

Lando’s lower lip trembled as he tried to articulate his thoughts.

“Everyone here wants you, they’re all looking at you, so you came to go back to the cars. Now you’re going to leave us,” he asserted.

“No Lando, bärchen, I didn’t come here to race cars again. We’re here to have a good time okay, to watch the race cars as a family. I could never leave my family.”

“But-” he quivered.

“No buts,” Sebastian said resolutely. “Racing was one of my favorite things in the world, and I’m very excited to show you all how amazing it can be. But it will never top the love I have for you, or your brothers, or your father okay. You mean the world to me.”

Lando nodded and held his arms out for a hug, which Seb readily gave him, scooping him up into the air in the process.

“I love you papa,” Lando said.

“I love you too Lando,” he said, almost choking on the words, but somehow managing to keep his composure.

Lewis looked incredibly proud when Sebastian looked over at him, but the inevitable conversation about how Lewis was right that his insecurities were completely unfounded would have to come later, they did have a garage to get to after all.

“We’re ready,” Sebastian said to Emily, shifting Lando so he was higher up on his hip, “everything’s good now, great actually.”

–

It was sometime near the end of FP2 that Lewis finally approached him. The boys took off their protective headsets now that they were back in the Alfa Romeo hospitality, and traded them for colored pencils and paper from Lewis’ backpack to draw the cars they had just seen. The three of them commandeered an entire table so they could work, leaving Sebastian and Lewis to sit down at the next closest one.

“Today’s been a bit wild hasn’t it,” Lewis said.

Sebastian couldn’t help but chuckle at that. “It has. And you haven’t even met Charles yet.”

Lewis smiled, “I’m sure he can’t be as bad as you’ve made him out to be.”

“Well let’s just say that he’ll get along well with the boys. I swear somehow he’s still about their age.”

“Then he’ll fit right in,” Lewis laughed, before he whispered, “into our family.”

He looked at Lewis in shock, but he was just met with knowing eyes.

“Why do you look so surprised? This is your family Seb,” Lewis continued.

“Well I mean–”

“Lando literally called you papa earlier.”

“Yeah but I don’t know where that came from Lewis.”

Lewis wrapped his hands around Sebastian’s where they rested in his lap.

“It came from…from everything Seb. Every day you wake up and treat the boys like they’re your own, like you’ve been there, with us, from the beginning.”

“Well it does feel that way for me,” he stated.

“Exactly. It feels that way for me too Seb, you know this. And the boys? They can see how much we love each other, and more importantly they can feel how much you love them. I told you it was just a matter of time before they started referring to you as their dad too,” he paused to giggle, “I’ll admit I don’t know where they got papa from, maybe one of the kids at school, but don’t you think it just fits.”

Sebastian exhaled. He didn’t realize he was feeling tense until Lewis’ hands tightened around his.

He smoothed over the back of Lewis’ hand with his thumb. Why he was so worried over something that had been falling into place naturally for months, he couldn’t explain. And he didn’t know why Lando called him papa now instead of any other day, but he wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

“It does perle. I’m so happy to be a part of this family, you have no idea,” he said.

“I think I have a bit of an idea,” Lewis said happily, “because I’m happy to be a part of this family too man.”

The urge to kiss Lewis was strong, potential lurking cameras be damned, so that’s exactly what he did. Cradling Lewis’ head in his hands as they leant into a casual display of affection.

Lewis had a mischievous look on his face when they broke apart.

“What?”

“Does this make a WAG?” he teased.

Sebastian rolled his eyes and kissed Lewis on the tip of his scrunched up nose.

“You already were Lewis. We’ll need to come up with a new term though, I think that one’s a tad outdated.”

“Are you saying I can’t be your girlfriend,” Lewis pouted, as he fluttered his eyelashes coquettishly.

“You can be whatever you want darling,” he said before he whispered, “you’re prettier than the rest of them anyways.”

Lewis gasped and thumped him on the shoulder, “Seb! That’s not very nice.”

Sebastian just laughed at his indignation, “it is true though.”

“You’re a menace,” Lewis huffed, but the satisfaction was clear in his eyes.

A clatter sounded from their left, and Sebastian turned to see a few colored pencils falling to the floor as Alex and George started arguing.

Lewis sighed, “speaking of menaces.”

“Should we check on the boys?” he said.

Lewis looked back at him. “Our boys. We should check on our boys.”

Sebastian felt like happiness was radiating from every pore in his body as he made his way to the children’s table, hand in hand with Lewis.

He didn’t know how he got so lucky in life to have three beautiful boys to call his own, but he was willing to spend every day of his life trying to figure it out.