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There were many things Don enjoyed about being a father.
He liked having someone to look after.
He liked having someone who needed him and loved him and wanted to be around him with no strings attached.
He liked having someone to teach about football and life.
He liked having a son most of all because he got to give him the life he never had, and could get a tiny glimpse of what his life could’ve been like if his parents weren’t complete assholes and actually let him have a childhood like he deserved.
He also liked having someone to ruthlessly bother Michael with, because Luca, their sweet lovely little son, fell from the same tree as he.
Luca had Michael’s pretty face, but not much else, and Don credited that to Luca fully being his tiny little sidekick in all things. He was gifted so graciously with Don’s dark hair and lanky stature, and even though he was only six years old, they could tell how tall he would be when he was fully grown. He also developed Don’s personality as he got older as well, a penchant for mischief and teasing very apparent.
Even so, Luca was a good boy. Sure, he assisted Don in his pranking and teasing of his Papa Michael, but after making Micha fuss and whine, Luca always hugged his legs and made sure he knew things were just a joke.
He listened, more often to Don than to Michael, and followed instructions when told to do something. The only time they fought during the day was when it was time to go to bed, and Luca was sure he didn’t need to go to sleep. He wanted to keep playing, always so active and strong, and he fought them every step of the way when they tried to begin his nighttime routine.
Luca made Don proud. Oh so proud. To think a perfect little thing like his son could have come from a fuck-up of a man like him… Luca was his entire world, and all he wanted was for him to be happy and healthy and strong.
And he was. He was hitting all of his milestones at or before he was meant to, and had never been underweight a day in his life. He ran circles around the other little boys at their youth football camps, and it was still up in the air as to whether he would end up being a striker or defender because honestly, he was so skilled in everything he tried that it would really be up to him one day.Of course, Don was rooting for defender, but if he chose to go on the offensive, at least Luca had two great mentors in Michael and his grandpa Snuffy. He would accept a little striker in Luca only because the two people he loved most, aside from his son, played the position.
Oh how he loved being a father. Oh how he loved his son…. Everything about him was perfect, and Don wouldn’t trade this life he and Micahel had created together for anything , but there was one tiny thing that he had been dreading, ever since the day that Luca cut his first tooth.
It was inevitable of course. And it was healthy. All children did it, but even so, Don had not been looking forward to this.
Maybe it was because Don had his own trauma related to his teeth, rotten and broken from years of neglect due to the way he had to live as a child and teenager. Maybe it was because loose teeth were just disgusting and he hated the way Luca wiggled it with his tongue while they sat together eating lunch. It had been loose for a few days now, and Luca gave him regular updates on how loose it was. Don just wanted him to pull it out or bite into an apple or something so he could be done with it, and they could do the whole tooth fairy thing and forget about this until another tooth came loose.
“I think that one’s ready,” Don mused, watching the way Luca wiggled the stupid thing with his tongue. “You should just pinch it and pull it out.”
Luca nodded, grabbing his tooth with his tiny little fingers, wincing as he did, before shaking his head.
“I can’t…” He whined, dropping his hand from his mouth and looking over at Don with his sharp blue eyes. Little manipulator with Don wrapped around his thumb, knowing he can get him to do anything he wants for him. “Babbo, help?”
Sighing, Don moved to his son’s side, kneeling down on the floor. He turned Luca towards him, scooting his chair around until he faced him. Grabbing him by the jaw, he encouraged Luca to open his mouth, and frowned when Luca pulled his head away.
“Will it hurt?” He asked, voice tearful and shaky, rightfully nervous to have a tooth yanked from his mouth.
“We’ll find out, won’t we? Now let me see and sit still,” Don instructed firmly, knowing Luca would wiggle around too much without that explicit instruction, which would in fact make the removal of the tooth hurt.
Luca nodded, little hands grabbing the edge of the chair he was sitting in, holding himself there firmly as Don grabbed his chin again. It was one of his bottom teeth that was loose, one of the two right in the front. Even now, Luca pressed his tongue against the back of it, making it tip forward in a way that made Don want to vomit. So gross. He loved his son, but god kids could be so gross.
Reaching his fingers into his son’s mouth, he grabbed the tooth, barely even having to pull before the tooth let loose, showing just how ready it was to come out. Don retreated, letting go of Luca’s face.
Luca looked at him expectantly, as if he didn’t believe the tooth was gone.
Holding the tooth up between his fingers, Don showed him the treasure he had stolen from his mouth.
“Well, did that hurt?”
As if on cue, Luca’s face crumpled, blue eyes turning wet as he stuck his finger in his mouth, feeling over the place that his tooth no longer was. He huffed, clearly trying to not let himself cry, before he hopped off the chair, running out of the kitchen screaming for his Papa.
Don sighed, knowing Micha would have that mess handled. He placed the tooth in a tiny dish from the cabinet, knowing his son would still want to put the silly thing under his pillow once he calmed down, before cleaning up their lunch. Just as he was putting the last plate away to dry, Michael walked into the kitchen, frown on his face as he stared at Don from across the room.
“What?”
“Don’t ‘what’ me, Don. Why is Luca crying?” Michael crossed his arms across his chest, frown deepening as he recalled the way Luca must have run up to him. “He interrupted my phone call, and all he could get out was ‘Babbo’ and ‘tooth’ and so I know it was you who did something.”
Don shrugged, grabbing the tiny bowl to show Micha the tiny tooth.
“He asked me to help him with his loose tooth. I did.”
Shoulders and arms dropping immediately in defeat, Michael rubbed his forehead, staving off another headache that spurred from his two dear boys.
“Oh my god… you two are going to be the death of me…”
Don smiled, grabbing Michael before he walked away to comfort their son, laying a big, wet kiss on his cheek. Michael fussed, cheeks burning red as he pushed Don off of him, quickly turning away and stalking out of the kitchen.
“Til death do us part, though, Micha. Remember?” Don laughed as Michael grumbled, not really answering him but acknowledging what he said nevertheless. Don blew him a kiss that he couldn’t see, following behind Michael after turning off the kitchen lights. “Yeah, yeah, Micha. Love you too.”
Don shook his head with a sigh as they approached Luca’s room, still hearing his soft cries on the other side of the door. Don tried to put on his comforting dad face, but the teasing grin that he usually wore really wasn’t going away today because man. This whole situation was so silly. Especially as he remembered that it wasn’t just Michael’s face that Luca received when he was born.
It was his husband’s absolute penchant for dramatics. The tantrums, the crying, the moody quietness that came when he didn’t get his way.
Which wasn’t often, because Don couldn’t deny his son of anything.
Just like Don couldn’t deny his husband of anything.
Maybe then, the dramatics were a beast of his own creation, because he always said no before he said yes, and he loved to tease them. Which was why Luca wasn’t getting off easy for crying over something as silly as a lost tooth.
He loved to tease them just as much as he loved them, which was why he would apologize to his son with more money than was appropriate for a baby tooth, and he was going to smoother Micha in so many kisses after they played tooth fairy that night.