Chapter Text
The door slammed, and enthusiastic feet ran towards the kitchen. “Dad, Papa, I know which sport I want to play. I wanna play foo’ball’!” Charlie saw Nick’s jaw drop whilst he turned away from the stove to look at his son with pure horror. Charlie closed his laptop, got up, and wrapped his arms around Nick’s waist, his head resting against Nick’s arm. Big Aaron came in, too, and shrugged his shoulders. “He hasn’t talked about anything else on the way home. His PE teacher said he’s talented or something.”
Nick repostured himself and hugged his son. “So tell me, Air, why do you want to play football?”
A flood of flailing followed; incoherent and hopping from one reason to another, back and forth. The immediate love he had found for the game was evident. Did that mean they were going to be football dads? Charlie’s mind was crawling with it. Even if they would never want to deprive their sons of anything, he had to admit choosing football was something they would have discouraged, if possible, but that boat had obviously sailed.
Their sons; a little, flashing, instantly comforting thought bounced through his brain when he used those words, words both Nick and Charlie had started using the moment they moved in together and were paired with Dad and Papa. Both boys organically adopted the names from each other.
After little Aaron went to bed, Charlie sat at the diner table, and Nick handed him a cup of tea. “Okay, football, what are our thoughts?”
“You really want to know?” Charlie scowled. Nick lifted his eyebrow and smirked with a lopsided smile.
“Yes, please.”
So Charlie started his vent: “It’s the most homophobic sport in the world. There are even less openly queer players than in rugby league. Assaulting referees or cursing at them is supposed to be normal. The fans think it’s funny to have anti-Semitic, homophobic, and racist chants. It’s one of the least self-reflective organisations I know of in sports, and please don’t get me started on the football parents.”
“So he can play,” Nick deadpanned.
“Of course,” Charlie answered, covering Nick’s hand with his, “We are going to be the self-aware, self-reflective parents, trying to change the system from within.” They heard a snort behind them. Big Aaron was playing with his drumsticks between his fingers and shook his head with a hint of irony in his eyes.
“So I have football parents now? Never thought I’d see the day.” With that he twirled one of the sticks in the air, caught it, put both sticks in his back pocket, and left the room.
Nick called out behind him with a giggle in his voice: “We’re not going to be football parents. You’re in this with us. We’re gonna be a football family!”
“Nice try, Papa. Sounds like an air ball to me.” He emphasised it with a gesture of throwing a basketball in the direction of a hoop.
Little Aaron was over the moon before school the next day. Charlie told him he would pick him up from school in the afternoon to talk to the football coach and see if he could join the team. Little Aaron’s enthusiasm was unstoppable. He was jumping and holding his hands up in fists, his face consisting of one big smile. “Papa, Dad, I need ‘pecial shoes, and socks, and I want my own ball, the same as Zayn, and I nee’ those thingies to put in my socks, and I need a football bag, and…” Nick lifted little Aaron from the ground, and spun him around. “First a talk with the coach, little Bee.”
Big Aaron entered the room in his pyjamas, messed with little Aaron’s hair, and tickled him. “You keep on mispronouncing, Air. Bas-ket-ball, not football.” Little Aaron stuck his tongue out and wriggled out of Nick’s embrace. A substantial amount of speech therapy and a very patient Nick had helped a lot with little Aaron’s speech difficulties, and they were now barely audible. It sometimes reared its head when he was emotional. His brother was the only one allowed to tease him about it, and he was the only one who could tease him back with his dyslexia, which he proudly did, especially when he noticed something misspelt on the family bulletin board.
Big Aaron turned to his parents and raised his eyebrows, and as soon as little Aaron had left the room, Charlie saw his son’s demeanour shift. His mouth became a tight stripe, he frowned, and his eyes shot balls of fire. “You’re seriously gonna let him play that fucking homophobic sport?”
“Language!” Both Nick and Charlie hissed at their son. “And, yes,” Charlie continued, “you of all people should know how important it is to be able to follow your heart when it comes to hobbies, Mister Metaller.” Big Aaron scrunched up his nose and rolled his eyes, before he started to make breakfast. Charlie shook his head and Nick squeezed his hand. It made Charlie’s heart skip a beat; those little gestures made him feel loved at home and supported. They knew in the end big Aaron would be the one who would be Air’s biggest fan, but of course, he had to make an argument out of it first.
The moment Charlie stepped into the sports department, a chill ran through his veins, and, unconsciously, he started biting the inside of his cheek. Being openly gay in secondary hadn’t been a walk in the park, especially not in the dressing rooms. Little Aaron wasn’t aware of his father’s feelings as he skipped through the hallway towards the coach’s office. Aaron leaned against the door after he knocked to make sure he didn’t miss the “come in”. The moment he heard the coach say it, he pushed the handle down, and almost fell inside. “Hello Aaron, nice of you to join us, and this must be Mr. Nelson, your father.”
Aaron giggled, and before Charlie could say anything he said: “No, this is Charlie Spring, my Dad.” The chill in his veins was replaced by a tingling warmth. Aaron turned to Charlie and whispered clearly audibly: “She thought you were Papa.” Charlie’s face flushed as those few words spoken by the little boy made him feel simply acknowledged. He kissed him on top of his head.
The appointment with the football coach went well. She had already been informed by the PE teacher that Aaron was talented, so she was more than happy to welcome him to the team. Schedules, clothing, and agreements were all covered, and with heads swirling with information, they went home.
During dinner, little Aaron shared all the information with them, and when dinner was over, he crawled into big Aaron’s lap. “I know you don’t like football, but will you come watch my games?”
“Of course, Tiny, wouldn’t miss it for the world, but I have my basketball games, too, and band practice, but whenever I can, I will be there!” With that he got up whilst holding his brother by his ankles, and started swinging him around. Nick winked at Charlie and blew him a kiss.
Before everybody left the table to get ready for bed, to go to their boyfriend’s, or to do the dishes, Nick reviewed some upcoming events. “Just to verify: Air, the grandparents are taking you out this Sunday. Munchkin, you have band practice then, if I’m not mistaken?” Both boys nodded, one standing, one hanging upside down. “Okay, Char, that means we have the house to ourselves.” The way Nick raised his eyebrows, made him blush. With the puking sounds of their sons in the background, they moved to the kitchen holding hands.
***************
Nick and Charlie sat together on the sofa, Charlie curled up with his head on Nick’s shoulder. They were each having a cup of tea. The silence was striking, and they both leaned into it. For the first time in months there was nobody home besides them, and they allowed themselves to just exist; enjoying being Nick and Charlie without the parent label. It reminded Charlie of the times they’d spent secretly at Charlie’s whilst big Aaron was babysitting little Aaron.
Sarah, Julio, and Jane had taken little Aaron to the zoo, and big Aaron had left for band practice with Jesse. They knew they had to address some things, but for now, relishing in each other’s presence and feeling their shared energy was enough. Nick kissed Charlie’s temple and wrapped his arms around Charlie like a blanket.
Charlie must have dozed off, and he woke up as Nick shifted his arms to sit more comfortably. He slightly opened one eye and kissed Nick on his muscular shoulder, which still made him melt on a daily basis.
“Char, love. Are you ready for some parenting issues?” Nick whispered in his hair, and Charlie mumbled an incoherent answer before stretching and opening his eyes fully. “I’ll take that as a yes. We have three things that we have to focus on before everybody gets home. We need an appointment with big Aaron’s special needs coordinator (SENCO) to discuss the options for him for extra aid. He’s more and more convinced that he wants to go to uni and study interior design, and he will need the aid to get through his A Levels because he won’t be able to make it the way he’s struggling right now. But we also have to discuss the route via College if it is too hard even with help.” Charlie's eyes teared up thinking about the hardship their son had at school, dealing with his dyslexia. He had never given it much thought as he, and almost all of his friends, were people studying came easy for, but seeing his son’s battle with the school system, highly relying on linguistics, made him distressed.
Seeing Charlie’s discomfort, Nick stroked his hand with his thumb, and then continued. “His birthday is coming up, so we have to think about that, and the last thing…” Nick took a deep sigh. Charlie knew what was coming so he took both of Nick’s hands, kissed both and held them whilst he placed them back in Nick’s lap. “How are we gonna handle Stéphane moving back to the UK and wanting to regain contact?”
The week before, out of nowhere, Stéphane had called to tell them the news. He hadn’t apologised or given an explanation for being aloof, but had said he wanted to be a part of his grandsons’ lives. Actually, that was not exactly what he had said. He wanted to be part of his grandson’s life. Nick had been angry, but he knew anger wouldn’t get him anywhere, so instead of exploding, he had just asked every time Stéphane mentioned Aaron, which one he meant. The phone had been on speaker, so Charlie had grinned, hearing the annoyance in Stéphane’s voice growing bigger and bigger.
“Okay, love, we can meet him on neutral grounds with both boys first. Give them the chance to get to know each other a bit. Maybe go to the park together, bring some stuff to play around with, and get a milkshake? You can even have your awful bubblegum abomination to comfort you.” Charlie saw a little glint in Nick’s worrying eyes, mentioning his favourite treat. “Based on how that goes,” he continued, “and how the boys feel about him, we can think about if we want to, and if so, how we want to fit Stéphane in our lives.” It took Nick some time to chew on this information, and Charlie saw his mind wandering back to his childhood as his expression changed from concerned to bitter and sombre; a little tear formed, gliding down his cheek. Charlie thumbed it gently away, cupping his love’s face. “Whatever we decide, we will never let him hurt our sons, and perhaps he has changed a bit, and the boys will get the chance to get acquainted with their other grandparent.” Charlie saw the darkness in Nick’s eyes gradually disappear, and he placed his forehead against Charlie’s, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.
“You have so much wisdom, Char. It makes us better together and better parents.”
Charlie smiled. “It’s not the wisdom we share, it’s us we share that makes us better parents.” With that they closed the space between them and poured their feelings into the most tender kiss, a kiss that got heated fast, and without any warning Nick lifted Charlie from the sofa, threw him over his shoulder, and took him upstairs. Charlie could only yelp and surrendered himself to the man compliementing him in every aspect.
In the afterglow of lovemaking they laid naked in each other’s arms, whispering sweet nothings into the shared space. Calmly, their words got more coherent, and in the end, they circled back to the conversation on the sofa. They agreed on Charlie’s proposal regarding Stéphane. He wouldn’t return before big Aaron’s birthday, so they didn’t have to hurry in planning a date, deciding to set it aside for now.
Charlie would call big Aaron’s SENCO first thing on Monday to make an appointment, and they would talk to him in the evening to get to know exactly what he wanted and expected from the extra aid. Charlie growled into Nick’s chest, not looking forward to this particular conversation, knowing that confrontation with things that felt like failure could change big Aaron in a violently erupting volcano. That was the most difficult thing for both of their sons: they were sensitive, which resulted in a build up of emotions that were kept hidden, and then they exploded. Nick and Charlie could navigate those moments quite well in the meantime, but it was so hard to see their pain, and the energy drainage after such an episode was excruciating for everyone. Nick kissed Charlie and stroked his back silently.
The only thing that was an easy topic was big Aaron’s birthday. He already mentioned he wanted to have a barbecue with some friends, and the next day, family, found family, and Jesse and his parents, would come over for dinner. As most of Aaron’s friends were vegetarian as was Aaron himself and Charlie, too, Nick opted to make everything veggie.
They were sloppily kissing and teasing each other as they heard the front door and a dark voice calling that he was home. Charlie looked at Nick with laughter in his eyes as he saw panic emerging on his love’s face. “Charlie, don’t laugh. Give me my clothes and hurry. He can’t see us like this.” The nervousness dripping from Nick’s body made Charlie erupt in giggles.
“You know they have seen us naked before, don’t you, sweetheart?” The giggles turned into snorting as he saw Nick throwing him an unhappy, daggering glance and heard Aaron coming up the stairs as Nick tripped over his own legs whilst trying to get his pants on.
“You’re not having sex now, are you? Ugh, you knew I would be home around four thirty.” Charlie opened the door and peeked his head around.
“No, Munchkin, we were taking a quiet nap, we will be down soon.”
Luckily, big Aaron bantering their dads and constantly hinting at their afternoon break took the sting out of the conversation about the extra aid, and the path he would like to take regarding his study. It still wasn’t easy to have to discuss the fact that his chosen career path would most likely be accompanied with aid and that it might even need a diversion route, and became even arduous the moment they touched the sensitive subject of his marks. Aaron was stubborn in accepting much help, and blankly refused at first to tell them what he wanted and needed, stating he could fend for himself. Nick, especially skilled at probing in a positive manner, was able to get him to voice his needs in the end. Charlie carefully broached the possibility of College, and he was relieved to notice Aaron was not resistant to that at all. He had some friends in another band that were following that route, and knowing he could still get into uni made it a valuable alternative.
That night Nick and Charlie cuddled against each other, relieved. Sleep came soon and was deep, as they realised together they could conquer the world, or any universe for that matter.