Archive of Our Own

“Are you sure you don’t want to come with Papa and Banzai on this trip, little one?” Pete asked his son, trying to coax the four-year-old boy out from where he was hiding underneath a few pillows on the sofa. His Shih Tzu, Banzai, stood against the couch, small front paws just barely reaching the cushion to let him see onto it. The dog gave Pete a look as if he was also concerned.

There was a strangled cough from the other side of the room, a clear coverup of laughter. Pete was sure the three of them made an amusing sight- Martin not at all covered by the few throw pillows he’d curled up under but seemingly believing that if he couldn’t see anyone that they couldn’t see him, Pete kneeling on the floor next to the couch trying to reason with the boy, mirrored by his little dog that wanted to comfort his owner’s son. That his boyfriend was making sure not to be heard laughing was of great relief to Pete. Martin would not take any laughter in this situation well at all.

Martin shook his head vigorously in response. “No!” he whined. “Planes are scary!”

He’d done his best to try convincing Martin that planes weren’t scary, but his son had yet to get over the fear. Despite how smart Martin was for his age, he was still too young to be reasoned with when it came to his childhood fears, so Pete let it go. He wouldn’t force Martin to go on a trip that would make him miserable. “Alright. You don’t have to come with us if you don’t want to.” He rubbed his son’s back, and Martin peeked out from behind a pillow. Thankfully, he’d planned ahead for this and had already called around, in case Martin needed a sitter. “Do you want to stay with P’Charlie again while I’m working? Or with your grandparents?”

Martin pushed the pillows off of him, giving Pete a confused look. “Huh?”

“You can pick who you want to stay with while I’m on my business trip.”

“But…” Martin frowned, looking even more perplexed. “I’m staying at home, Papa,” he said, as if it had already been decided upon and he was simply reminding his father of the fact.

It was strange for Martin not to be jumping at the chance to visit his favorite uncle or his maternal grandparents. He loved them a lot and usually was demanding his father bring him to whichever one he wanted when Pete had to go away.

“Martin, you need to pick someone. You can’t stay here by yourself.”

“I’m staying home with Mama!” the boy insisted. He looked around and spotted Way at the other side of the room, then slid off of the couch so he could hurry over to him. “Mama!” Banzai followed after him, yipping at the boy as he ran.

“Huh? With me?” Way asked, completely surprised. Martin barrelled into his legs, then tugged on his shirt until Way crouched down to let the boy hug him. He looked almost as overwhelmed at the child wanting to spend multiple days with just him as his guardian as he had when Martin first asked if he could refer to him as Mama.

Pete hadn’t even considered that as an option at all. Since Way had moved in with them, Martin had just continued to stay somewhere else whenever Pete was away. He was perfectly fine with spending time with Way, having no objections to his father’s boyfriend moving in with them and coming to see Way as an unofficial stepfather. They’d been home together without Pete there plenty of times, and Martin had enjoyed the few shopping outings Way had taken him on after the man had discovered Pete just tended to let Martin wear his school clothes even at home.

Now that he thought about it, every time he’d asked before, it’d been while Way was out, either at work or doing something with his teammates. This was the first time he’d asked with Way at home. Martin just liked visiting his uncle and grandparents when he believed both of his parents were busy, he realized. Otherwise, he’d much rather stay with them.

It was nice to see that they had grown so close. Pete hoped that finally Way would see how important he was to their little family, and actually believe that Martin had fully accepted him as part of it.

He went over to them and gave Martin a pat on the head. “If Mama says it’s alright, then you can,” he told his son.

Though still in disbelief, Way immediately agreed, stumbling over his sentences as he rapidly planned out how the next few days would work. “Of course- he’ll just have to come to the garage with me, I’ll have to rearrange my practice schedule to pick him up from school Monday but Uncle doesn’t mind when we- and take him to the showroom, but that’s fine, that…” Pete patted Way’s head as well to get him to calm down. Way took a deep breath, then asked, “You really want to stay here with me, Martin?”

Martin nodded. “Wanna stay with Mama,” he confirmed, hugging him tighter. Way finally returned the hug.

Feeling left out, Banzai barked at the two of them. Martin pulled away so he could kneel down and carefully lift up the dog. “A hug for Banzai too!” The dog licked Martin’s face.

“I’ll wake you up in the morning before we go tomorrow so you can say goodbye to Papa and Banzai, alright?”

“And Mama?” Martin asked.

Pete smiled. “Of course. Papa won’t forget to say goodbye to Mama.”

With all that settled, Martin was back to his usual happy self. He set Banzai down and told the shih tzu that they needed to play a lot before he went on the trip, then went to find some of the dog’s toys, calling Banzai’s name so the dog would chase after him. Pete chuckled as the pair disappeared around a corner.

He held out a hand to help Way up, since his boyfriend still looked rather dazed about the whole thing. His eyes focused and he stared off to the side, no doubt thinking about the adjustments he’d have to make to his work schedule to accommodate bringing Martin along when the boy wasn’t in school. Pete had no doubt Alan would be fine with it, and also had no doubt that Martin would enjoy himself. The boy was easily entertained and well-behaved, always fascinated by whatever his guardians were doing. If Martin found it interesting to be brought along on occasion to his father’s work, he was bound to enjoy being brought to a racing garage and a luxury showroom. His usual babysitter, Charlie, had already sparked Martin’s growing interest in cars, so there was no chance of the child being bored.

Pete leaned in close to Way, waiting for him to get out of his thoughts. Way didn’t even notice as he was barely an inch away from him. Finally, Way turned to look at him and almost jumped out of his skin. “Pete!”

He gave him a kiss. “Things will be fine. Martin loves you.” Way’s face went red. Pete kissed him again before the other man could try to protest.

-

“I wanna wear a button shirt too, Mama,” Martin insisted as Way helped him pick out clothes in the morning. Pete usually just put Martin in the first thing he grabbed from the closet, and had used to let Martin just stay in his school uniform all the time. Though Martin looked quite cute in his little kindergarten sailor suit, Way had made sure to expand the boy’s wardrobe. Martin seemed to enjoy fashion, even at his age, so Way was happy to help the child style himself.

“Alright. Your button-ups are over here… which one would you like?” Way sifted through the shirts, not noticing that Martin glanced between the team t-shirt and almost fully open black button-up that his father’s boyfriend was currently wearing and each available shirt he was shown. Oftentimes the boy asked him to pick for him, so Way was too focused on weighing the potential of each one in case they got through all of them without a decision. Martin had chosen a pair of black pants and socks to pull on, so any of his shirts would work well with his outfit, Way thought.

“That one! Blue!” Martin reached up for a white button-up with a wide blue stripe across it as it was revealed. Way brought it down for him. Martin pulled it on by himself, then asked, “Mama help button? Please?”

Way crouched down to button up the boy’s shirt for him. He adjusted the collar of it and gave Martin a smile. “There. You look very nice.”

The pup beamed at him, giggling and stepping forward to give him a hug. “Mama looks nice too! Mama’s pretty!” Pete definitely complimented him too much in front of Martin. He was just in his work clothes.

Still, it made him happy. “Thank you, pup. Do you want to wear anything else?”

Martin chose a little silver necklace and a Lego-themed watch he’d gotten as a gift from Charlie. Then he went back to his closet, tugging at a hoodie. “I want my jacket. The black one!”

“You’ll be too warm in a hoodie, pup.” Seeing Martin’s dejected frown, Way glanced through the closet and pulled down a little black vest instead. “How about this?”

“Yeah!” Way held it out for Martin to put on. He went to zip it up, but Martin stepped away, saying, “I want it like this, Mama.” With that, Martin had his outfit for the day. It was completed by sneakers after they’d eaten and gotten a little backpack filled with some toys, papers, and crayons to keep him entertained before they went out.

Way sent a text to Alan that he was on his way to the garage, thanking him for accepting his sudden late evening request to make so many schedule changes and come in late that morning, so Martin could sleep after being woken extra early to say goodbye to Pete and the dog. With that, the two of them were off.

-

“Remember not to touch any of the cars or tools, Martin. Stay away from the mechanics while they’re working. Otherwise, you might get hurt. The cars and tools are for grown-ups only,” Way reminded Martin as he got him out of his car seat. Having already slung the boy’s bag over his shoulder, Way lifted him up and shut the door of the car. He set Martin down and made sure the car was locked. “Got it?”

“I promise I won’t touch anything, Mama,” Martin assured him, nodding seriously. “I won’t bother anybody, promise!”

“Alright. The others that work in the garage might be a bit loud, but they’re all very nice. You know Babe already. I think he’s here today, but he might be at the track or gym, so we might not see him yet.”

“Phi Babe!” Martin lit up at the possibility of seeing his second favorite uncle. “And P’Charlie?” he asked, hopeful that he would get to see his favorite uncle too.

Way held back a sigh at the strong possibility that Martin would want to spend the whole day with Charlie if the young Alpha was at the garage. But he didn’t let Martin see his jealousy and kept his smile as he told him, “Er, maybe. He’s usually here if Babe is. We’ll see when we go in. Do you want to carry your bag?” The boy nodded, so Way let him take the backpack. He adjusted Martin’s vest and shirt collar, then took Martin’s hand and led him into the garage.

In hindsight, Way would wish that Alan wasn’t so accommodating and relaxed about his drivers’ sudden demands. When he’d messaged him asking for schedule adjustments, Alan hadn’t even asked why, just replied saying that he would work things out and put it on the board in the garage for when he came in. If he had, then Way could have explained that he was looking after his boyfriend’s son. But he hadn’t, and he only realized his mistake as he walked in with Martin and everyone seemed to explode at once.

Alan was talking to North and Sonic in the middle of the garage as they showed him something on North’s phone, while Babe and Charlie were near the simulator on the side. Charlie was just sitting down in it, while Babe was pulling off a glove, likely having just finished his own session on it and getting ready to coach Charlie through his. A few mechanics milled about, working on the cars or getting parts from the work tables.

“Hey, Way!” Sonic saw him first and shouted a greeting, making everyone glance at him. “Huh?”

Everyone was wide-eyed as they saw Martin trailing after Way. Though Way hadn’t taken notice of it, the boy’s outfit was very similar to his own. His black pants, open vest, and blue and white shirt matched the similar pants, X-Hunter tee, and open black button-up that Way was wearing. Even the chain necklaces and watches matched. Though Martin, not being related to him and looking so much like his father, had no resemblance to Way, the clothing and simple fact that he was holding Way’s hand was enough to give the illusion of relation.

Babe and Charlie, knowing Martin from having babysat him in the past, got over their shock almost instantly, only surprised to see that Way had brought him along. The mechanics simply stared, surprised to see the racer that had been with the team for so long suddenly turning up with a child none of them had heard about before.

North and Sonic shrieked, and even Alan made a loud sound of shock. Way froze, startled by the volume and their astounded expressions.

“Way! When did you have a kid?!” Sonic screamed in disbelief. “Oh my god!”

“I can’t believe you hid a kid from us! We’re your best friends!” North shouted. “Uncle, did you know Way had a kid?!” North grabbed onto Alan.

“No. I didn’t, I- huh? When did- what- Way!” Alan couldn’t form a proper sentence, deciding just to yelp his friend’s name instead as he shoved North off.

“He-” Way started, trying to tell them that Martin wasn’t his real child, just his boyfriend’s, but didn’t get to finish as the three of them all started trying to talk over each other, drowning out any explanation he could have attempted to give.

“How could you not tell us we were uncles?” North asked, looking heartbroken.

“I thought we were family!” Sonic wailed dramatically. “This is insane! You have a kid and you never told us!”

“Way, why didn’t you tell anyone?” Alan asked, looking almost like a distraught mother whose firstborn son had suddenly shown up at the family home with a secret child. He tore his gaze from Way and Martin to look at the other senior driver in the garage. “Babe, did you know?” His expression turned helpless as he didn’t receive a response, Babe turning away from everyone else to lean with an arm against the wall.

Charlie stood up from the simulator and rushed over to Martin, who was staring wide-eyed at everyone, cheerily greeting the child. “Hey, nong! Want to go get a snack with P’Charlie?” he asked. He scooped up the four-year-old before the boy could answer and quickly whisked him away to the little kitchen in the garage, getting him away from the chaos before the child could process what was going on and get upset by the yelling. “Everyone’s so excited now that P’Way is here, huh? Phi North and Phi Sonic like having fun with him at work,” he assured the pup.

“Okay,” Martin accepted, now perfectly fine with any yelling that would occur.

The movement of Charlie triggered a chain reaction, and North and Sonic rushed at Way, voices still raised. Alan followed after them. Way looked around desperately, but there was nowhere for him to go before North and Sonic grabbed at him.

Way made a strangled sound as they began shaking him, desperately looking over at his teammate. “Babe-!” he called, hoping the other man would come to his rescue.

But Babe didn’t show any sign of having heard Way’s cry for help, shoulders shaking as he bit down on his gloved hand and tried his hardest to hide his laughter.

Taking it as a personal offense against them, North and Sonic kept yanking him back and forth to take turns shaking him and bouncing up and down, their shouting becoming incomprehensible as it grew impossible to hear one over the other. Way had no idea what Alan was saying, as he wasn’t yelling and had no hope to be heard over the junior drivers’ demands, but it seemed like some kind of distressed ramble, the man obviously hurt about not being told one of his beloved ‘nephews’ had fathered a child.

In the kitchen, Charlie handed Martin a little milk carton from the fridge after poking a straw into it for him. Martin beamed and thanked him, then looked at the contents of the fridge before his uncle closed it and went, “Oh!” He scurried out of the kitchen, going a little ways back into the main part of the garage. Charlie gasped and bit his lip, going after him to try to herd him back out of the way.

“Mama!” Martin called loudly, silencing everyone. North and Sonic froze. Alan stopped breathing. Way almost stumbled as the shaking abruptly stopped, but caught himself. He went to speak but realized the duo and Alan weren’t looking at him anymore. He followed their gaze to where Martin was standing, an anxious Charlie hovering behind him, ready to scoop him up again if things got too much for the boy. Upon making eye contact with him, Martin smiled wide and asked, “Mama, do you want a milk too?”

The tension in the air was so thick that a knife could have cut it. But Martin only had eyes on Way, blissfully unaware of the horrified expressions on the other three’s faces and the shared winces between the mechanics as everyone jumped to an even more shocking conclusion about Way’s supposed secret son. Babe made a choking sound around his fist that also went unnoticed by the boy but not to Way, then managed to quiet himself enough that no one else would risk hearing him.

All Way could do was give Martin an awkward smile and reply, “N-no, Martin. I’m not thirsty. Thank you.”

“Oh, okay.”

Alan took in a breath. Before he could say anything, Charlie stooped in front of Martin and asked, “Martin, do you wanna see where my little brother is working? You haven’t met him yet!”

“Yeah!” Martin agreed. He waved to Way as Charlie grabbed his hand to usher him to the other room in the garage where Jeff was probably tuning a car in the back room. “Bye-bye, Mama!”

“B-bye…”

They disappeared around a corner. For a moment, there was silence. Then, all at once, the three exploded again.

“Mama?!” they all shrieked.

“It’s not what you th-” he tried to explain.

North shook him again. “You secretly had a baby?!”

“When were you pregnant? How did you hide having a baby from us?” Sonic clung to his arm. “He’s so small, it had to have been while we were here!”

“Uncle, was it before? You never said!”

“I didn’t know! Way-” Way winced at Alan’s expression. It was the one he got before he launched into a lecture. “You haven’t ever taken a season off from racing since you joined the team! I can’t believe you were driving while you were pregnant! Do you have any idea how dangerous that could have been?”

Way couldn’t believe Alan thought he would do that. “Uncle, I-”

“Did you know you were pregnant? Was it one of those things where you didn’t know?” Sonic asked.

North nodded. “Oh, yeah, I’ve heard of that happening!”

Briefly, relief flooded Alan’s eyes. But then that was washed away as Way tried yet again to protest. “No, it-”

Alan made a pained noise. “You knew and you still drove?!” He cast a glance at where Charlie and Martin had been, clearly thankful that things managed to work out well for Martin’s survival and health in spite of Way’s horrible past choices. Choices that hadn’t actually even happened, Way wanted to get across. “Did you think I would dismiss you from the team if you told me? Way. I would have let you back on as soon as you were ready.”

“I know, I just-”

“Yeah, one of us totally would have filled in for you!” Sonic nodded vigorously. North did as well.

Running a hand through his hair, Alan looked agonized. “You’ve never even taken more than a few days off at a time before. When was he born? Did you get enough rest after you gave birth? You really could have been hurt!”

“We would have thrown you an awesome baby shower, Way.”

“The best!”

They weren’t listening to him. “But Martin isn’t even-”

“Way…!” Alan put his hands on Way’s shoulders. “We’re like family. Family has to-”

“Uncle, I didn’t-”

“No, I mean it, Way, we-”

“P’Alan, just listen, I’m not-”

“Way-”

Babe finally got over his laughter and turned to them and yelled, “Martin isn’t his pup! He’s Pete’s kid!”

Finally, the three of them settled down. North and Sonic tilted their heads. Alan blinked a few times. “He’s… Mr. Pete’s son?”

“Yeah, with some ex-girlfriend that left him. Not with Way.”

Alan visibly sagged with relief, holding his chest. “Oh, thank goodness…”

“Yes.” Way pulled away from North and Sonic’s grasp. At last, he could explain. “Martin isn’t my biological child. He’s not even technically my child at all, since Pete and I are just dating. I brought him with me today because Pete is on a business trip and I’m looking after Martin while he’s away.”

“Ohh. So he’s like… your future stepchild.”

“A pre-stepkid!”

Everyone loved to tease him about how it was inevitable that he and Pete would get married. Way was too drained to do anything but agree. “Basically.”

“So why does the kid call you Mama?” Alan asked. Babe coughed a bit and Way thought he saw the barest hint of jealousy cross the Alpha’s face. Way gave his friend a confused look, but Babe turned away again.

“Well-”

“Aww!” Sonic practically squealed, latching onto Way in a hug. “He must really like you! He’s already calling you his mama even though you haven’t married his dad yet because he loves you!”

“I… I guess he likes me.”

“That’s so cute, Way! You have a baby now.” North joined the hug.

“He’s not a baby,” Way corrected. “He’s four.”

Sonic only cooed. “He’s so little… we have a baby nephew now. We should throw you a late baby shower.”

“He’s four. And I didn’t give birth to him. Why would you throw me one?”

“That’s basically a baby, Way. And it doesn’t matter that you didn’t. We still should,” Sonic insisted. Then he straightened up. “Wait, Babe knew about our nephew and didn’t tell us?!”

The two junior drivers went to Babe instead to scold him for keeping such an important thing a secret from the rest of the team while also suggesting ideas for a baby shower to each other, wrangling Babe into the planning as well. He tried to talk them out of their scolding by saying that Charlie knew before he did, but since Charlie wasn’t in the room, it didn’t do anything to help.

It seemed like he’d be getting the baby shower.

Way tried to ignore how nice it felt to know they cared enough about him to do that, even when Martin wasn’t his biological child.

Alan put his hand back on Way’s shoulder, but this time more to support himself, leaning a bit against Way. Getting so worked up had taken a lot out of him. Way put a hand against his back. Though Alan wasn’t actually old, Way was still worried.

“Uh, feel free to bring the kid around whenever you want. And just send a text or call whenever you need your schedule changed again…” Alan offered.

“Thanks. If Martin doesn’t hate being here by the end of the day, I’ll probably bring him again.”

“And, uh… if you ever do…” Alan squeezed his shoulder. “...get, um, pregnant. You can tell me right away, okay? You’re part of our family. We’ll make sure you have a place on the team while you can’t race or train.”

Way felt mortified. This wasn’t a conversation he’d ever thought he’d be having with Alan. He’d never even considered… Way didn’t even know if that would work between two Enigmas. Why had the three of them immediately thought so? They hadn’t even known who the sire was in their false belief. They knew he hadn’t been with Pete long enough for the other Enigma to have fathered a child Martin’s age with him. Did they think he’d found another one? Or had they forgotten his subgender?

Alan was looking at him expectantly. Way swallowed and weakly replied, “You’d be the second or third person I’d tell.”

“Third?” Alan echoed, disappointed.

“He’d tell me first!” Babe hollered.

“Either you or Babe. After-” He felt like he was drowning. Was this something he should be entertaining the thought of? Did he want that? “After Pete. Depends on who I ran into first here.”

“Huh? Not me?” Babe frowned. “Way…!”

Sonic jabbed him. “If you got pregnant you would tell Charlie before Way! Don’t get jealous!”

Babe immediately protested at the accusation of jealousy while also agreeing that of course he would tell Charlie first, grabbing at Sonic. North did his best to hold the Alpha back. “Yeah! If I got pregnant I’d tell Sonic before anyone else!” North added.

Sonic jumped back. “Me? And why would I be getting you pregnant?!”

“Who else would be?” North asked, tilting his head.

Charlie and Martin returned, having been shooed away by Jeff so they wouldn’t keep distracting him from his work. Seeing that everything had calmed down from the initial chaos, Charlie let go of Martin’s hand so the pup could run up to Way. “Mama!” Martin tugged on his hand as soon as he got to him. “P’Charlie let me meet his little brother, P’Jeff!”

“Oh, come on! Jeff gets to be P’Jeff and I can’t be P’Babe today? You just met him! Why am I Phi Babe again, kid?”

Martin ignored Babe, excitedly telling Way how they’d gotten to see P’Jeff working on a car and had talked to him until he needed to keep working.

“That’s great, pup.” Alan elbowed Way when he didn’t sound appropriately excited about Martin ‘befriending’ Jeff. “Uncle…”

“Jeff is pretty great, huh, noo?”

Way heard Sonic snicker and whisper to North that Alan called his boyfriend the same thing he called a toddler. North covered his mouth to muffle his laughter.

“I like P’Charlie better,” Martin told Alan. North, Sonic, and Babe all snickered this time at Alan’s dismayed look. Charlie smiled, but then looked a bit conflicted, not sure if he should encourage a child to openly prefer him to his younger brother. “Mama, are you friends with P’Jeff too?”

“He’s just one of my coworkers.” Way took a step away before Alan could elbow him again, tugging Martin along. The boy didn’t even notice. Martin reached up at Way, so he lifted him up.

“Hah! See?” Babe pointed at the two of them. “The kid looks absolutely nothing like Way. How did you guys think he could be his biological parent?”

Martin frowned, looking over at Babe. “Martin looks like Papa, but Mama is Mama!” he said loudly in response.

Charlie hurried over to his mate. “P’Babe, don’t argue with Martin again.”

Babe gave the other Alpha an aghast look. “Wh- I’m not! Charlie!”

Martin wrapped his arms around Way’s neck, holding onto him possessively. “Phi Babe can’t play with Mama!” he announced.

“Huh?!” Charlie held onto Babe to keep him from marching over. “No way! You’re always getting on my case about sharing! Look who isn’t sharing now!”

“Mama is Martin’s Mama, not Phi Babe’s! I don’t have to share him. Only with Papa and Banzai!”

Way’s jaw dropped. Martin was usually so polite and quiet when they weren’t at home, a soft-spoken, shy kid. He’d never seen him act like this before. “Martin…” he murmured, totally shocked. All he could do was stare at the usually sweet little pup, completely bewildered. The boy was practically bristling.

Charlie covered Babe’s mouth with his hand, throwing his other arm around his shoulders and sort of dragging him down before he could start bristling as well. “Sorry, P’Way. These two always start riling each other up. They love each other, I promise.”

He’d said that as if it was a normal occurrence. Way couldn’t believe it. “Huh?”

“Who’s Banzai?” Alan asked.

“Pete’s dog,” Charlie answered.

“Ohh, the little one he’s always carrying around?”

-

North and Sonic teased Babe for starting an argument with a toddler until Alan shooed them off, telling them they could take their turn with the simulator early. With things finally calm, Way set Martin down in the break area, helping him unpack his toys and snacks on the table. After once again having Martin promise not to wander around touching anything dangerous, Way gave him a hug and went to join Jeff in working on his car, the first task on his schedule for the day.

Now with a free chunk of time in his own schedule, since his turn on the simulator had been given to North and Sonic, Charlie called to Way that he’d keep an eye on Martin while he was working on the car with Jeff, then went to play with the boy. Babe went to join, but Alan grabbed his arm.

“Hey. We’ll take turns looking after him. Go help the mechanics with North’s car.”

“Uncle…!”

“I can’t let everyone play with him at once. We’re working.”

“But I was supposed to spend time with Charlie now…” Babe pouted. “It’s not fair that the kid gets to take him.”

“Babe. He’s four. He’s not stealing your husband from you.”

“He is. You don’t get it.”

Charlie sighed. He loved how Babe was so possessive of him, but his idea that Martin, a child who simply thought of Charlie as his uncle and best friend, was trying to steal him was a bit much. The boy was simply at an age where he was still in the process of learning to share the attention of his friends and loved ones with other people. Seeing Charlie looking less than perfectly happy, Martin tilted his head and thought for a moment. Then he held out his wrist. “Look, P’Charlie!”

Immediately, Charlie brightened up. “Aww, you’re wearing the watch I got you! I’m so happy you like it!”

“Mama helped me put it on,” Martin told him, beaming.

“See?!” Babe gestured to the pair as if that little exchange had proved something.

Alan sighed. “Babe…”

Despite both Babe and Way believing that Martin would eagerly spend the rest of the day glued to his favorite uncle’s side, Charlie soon came to realize that that was not the case.

Though Martin was happy to play with him, showing him all his toys and letting Charlie give him a brief tour of the garage, Charlie noticed that the boy wasn’t as excited as he usually was when being babysat by him. Every so often, he’d glance over at the hall Way had gone down, obviously waiting for the man to come back.

Seeing his mate looking like an abandoned puppy whenever Martin’s attention shifted off of him, Babe felt relieved. The child had finally gotten over his obsession with Charlie, he thought. And sensing that Babe was somehow being completely ridiculous even though he was just standing there, Alan sighed again and went to chastise him for doing nothing and staring at Charlie.

As soon as Way returned from the other part of the garage, Martin instantly abandoned the game he was in the middle of with Charlie so he could dart over to him. “Mama!”

Charlie’s sad little sound of dejection went unheard by everyone but Babe, who silently mouthed ‘yes!’ to himself and pumped his fist, earning himself an odd look from the mechanic closest to him.

“Hi, pup. Are you having fun?” Martin nodded, grabbing at him to be lifted up. Way took his hands instead. “I’ve got to help Uncle Alan with paperwork now. I’ll grab a laptop and come sit with you, okay?”

“Okay!” Martin beamed and hurried back over to the break area to wait for him.

Seeing that Charlie had been totally forgotten as Way returned with folders and a laptop, Alan got him set back on work. Martin scooted close to Way, dragging over his papers and crayons to alternate between drawing and watching the computer screen while Way worked.

Until Sonic got frustrated with North’s comments about his simulator skill and wailed for Way to monitor his training instead. Way closed the laptop and gathered up the papers before telling Martin he’d be just across the garage if he needed anything.

North popped over to take over babysitting duties. He did his best to keep Martin engaged, but eventually the pup wandered across the garage to watch Way and Sonic at the simulator. “Mama, can I watch?” he asked, pulling on his sleeve.

“Sure, kid!” Sonic agreed, letting his current car run into the wall on the screen as he turned to the pup. “I’m gonna totally ace this next one, so pay attention!”

“Sonic.”

“Oh, sh-” Sonic caught the horrified look Way gave him as he nearly swore in front of a kindergartner and managed to censor himself, “-shoot! I crashed. Guess I died, huh?” he told Martin, ignoring Way’s unimpressed tone, making the pup giggle.

Babe dragged North to help him work on his car now that he was also free from babysitting. “Aw, I wanted to keep playing with him…!” North protested.

Each time one of them tried to take a turn looking after the pup, it ended up the same. Martin would play with them and talk, though albeit more shyly with North, Sonic, and Alan than with Charlie or Babe, but was frequently distracted or would soon end up back clinging to Way or hovering close to him if he wasn’t doing something Martin couldn’t interfere with. Way seemed completely unaware of the agony of everyone else as they didn’t get to properly attempt uncle-nephew bonding with the child, simply letting Martin hold onto his leg or hand or stand nearby while he was busy and gently coaxing him back to the break area when he couldn’t have him nearby. And if Martin was with Way, it was like the others didn’t exist to him.

At least until later in the afternoon, as Martin was starting to doze off in Way’s arms as he discussed something with Alan and Jeff. Charlie was finally taking his turn on the simulator and had just completed a successful run, one of his best. With everyone else busy and the pup looking like he was napping, Babe felt free to settle onto Charlie’s lap to reward him.

“P’Babe, what about-” Charlie tried to twist to see where everyone else was, but Babe pressed down on his chest to keep him in place.

“Kid’s asleep, Papa. No one’s looking.” With that assurance, Charlie grinned and let Babe lean down to kiss him.

So absorbed in giving Charlie a passionate reward, Babe didn’t notice that they were no longer alone in their corner with the simulator until he felt little hands yanking on his jacket, accompanied by small, upset sounds that were halfway to being outright little growls.

“Nooo!” Martin wailed, making Charlie choke and push Babe back. “Stop!”

Babe glared at the boy for interrupting them. “What are you doing?!” he hissed at him.

Martin huffed, glaring right back. “Phi Babe said he wouldn’t play with P’Charlie like that!” he accused, pointing at him. Charlie grabbed Babe’s hands before he could knock away Martin’s, urging him to calm down.

Babe ignored his mate’s quiet pleas that Martin was only four and just in a clingy phase. “That was ages ago!” he shot back.

“Phi Babe promised!”

“Nope! That was just for when we were babysitting you at my house. This is a different place, different time. The promise expired.”

“It did not,” Martin insisted. “Promises are infinite.”

“It did too!” Babe replied. “And they are not in- really, why does a kid like you know a big word like that?! Stop using it so much! You’re four!”

“It did not!” Martin whined, indeed only four and latching onto that part of their argument.

Charlie tried putting his hands on Babe’s chest and shoulder, rubbing soothing circles. “P’Babe-”

His intervention attempt failed. “Did too!” Babe snapped back.

“Did not!”

“Okay, okay, everyone calm down,” Alan stepped over. “You two should probably cool it down while there’s a kid in the garage.”

Babe immediately protested, “But, Uncle-!”

“C’mon, Babe. It’s just for today. Get up.” He got the two to get off of the simulator chair.

“It’s every time that kid is over at my house!” Babe whined.

Alan had no clue how often that was. Knowing Babe, he doubted he’d be able to handle not being allowed to have his hands all over Charlie for just a few hours even if it’d only been a few times.

Charlie, knowing Babe hadn’t even been able to take it from the moment he’d first brought Martin to their house to be babysat, sighed heavily. Babe gave him a betrayed look.

Not wanting a fight between the two Alphas to break out, Alan came up with a solution. “Fine. Why don’t you two go practice at the track?” That would give them the freedom to do whatever they wanted without the risk of being seen.

“What’s that mean?” Martin asked.

“Uncle Charlie and Uncle Babe are going to go to work. They’re going to drive their cars around the track.”

Babe gave Alan a hateful glare for referring to him as ‘uncle’ instead of ‘phi.’ Charlie winced.

“They’re not playing?”

“Nope!” Alan confirmed, lying. “Just work.”

Martin nodded, satisfied. “Good.” North and Sonic laughed from where they’d worked their way over to stand with Way, the three of them watching the whole thing go down with wide eyes. North and Sonic thought it was hilarious, while Way just stood frozen in disbelief. Babe went to grab his things, but before Charlie could follow and take more than a few steps, Martin latched onto his leg. “P’Charlie! Are you mad at Martin?”

“No, pup. I’m never mad at you.”

“Is Martin still your favorite?”

“Uh-”

Alan could see that this was a question that had been asked many times before, as Charlie instantly froze up with horror. Babe looked ready to lose it. The older Alpha carefully but quickly crouched down to pry Martin off of Charlie, lifting him up.

“Let’s get you back to your mama, huh? Babe, Charlie, get to work, okay?”

“Let’s go, Charlie.” Babe surged forward to grab Charlie’s hand and drag him to a car before Charlie could come up with an answer that might upset either of them.

North laughed loudly before clapping Way on the back and asking, “Are you sure that Martin isn’t actually yours?”

“He’s a menace!” Sonic agreed, a delighted grin on his face.

“He’s usually so sweet and quiet…!” Way couldn’t understand how the innocent little pup could behave so much differently than usual. “I don’t… He’s never acted like this before! He’s so sweet!”

That just made the two laugh harder. Alan brought Martin back to Way and deposited the boy into his guardian’s arms. Martin immediately cheered up, hugging him and giggling as though he hadn’t just gotten into an argument with an adult. “Mama!”

“Martin…” Way buried his face against the pup.

“Do you like Phi Charlie a lot, kiddo?” North asked.

“Yeah!” Martin answered, swinging his legs.

“Is he your favorite?” Sonic asked.

“No.”

“HAH!” Babe said triumphantly from where he was in the doorway. Sonic had to lean against a work table to keep himself up before his laughter could knock him over. North leaned against Way.

“Martin likes Mama more than P’Charlie!” Martin explained.

“You do?” Way asked, surprised.

“Yeah!” Martin nodded as though it was the most obvious answer in the world. He purred as Way kissed his head and nuzzled him.

“Aw,” Charlie said, disappointed that he’d lost his position as Martin’s favorite person after Pete and Banzai.

“Why are you disappointed?! Of course he likes Way more! He’s one of his parents!” Babe hissed at the younger Alpha, finally dragging him out of the garage.

“Bye-bye, P’Charlie! Bye-bye, P’Babe!” Martin called after them.