Archive of Our Own ^beta

Missus Hudson, or as she asks David to call her, Jenny, is nice.

She is! She's very friendly and easy to talk to, even though David gets nervous and likes to hide behind her kids instead, Ben and Nick, when they ask her for things. She makes really, really good muffins, and she's introduced David to so many fun foods that his dad doesn't get in Alaska.

But at the same time, she's not his dad.

Of anybody, David does think that being with someone his dad calls a friend's house is probably the safest option. He can't stay with Uncle Woods, after all, because his dad and Woods are both out somewhere in the world together, right now, and Mister Hudson, who Jenny calls Jason, is with them. So David is here. And he's homesick, but he's here, and he sits in his tree, peeking down from a thick, sturdy branch, watching and giggling while Ben tries to climb up after him, balancing on a branch and holding onto another, with his other hand on the trunk of the tree while he argues with Nick.

Autumn winds tug on their jackets, and David nuzzles his nose into his scarf, smiling to himself. He looks up, leaning forward, and can see Nick sitting on a branch on the other side of the trunk, watching Ben with a face somewhere between boredom and amusement.

"Not fair!" Ben whines, putting both hands on the branch he was holding onto before, and looking up at David, then over at Nick, pouting. "You're both taller than me!"

"And older," Nick points out, snickering. David giggles, and then wiggles forward, putting a hand on the trunk and leaning forward.

"Ben, turn around. Do you see the branch behind you?"

Shuffling nervously, Ben turns, dark hair tucked behind his ear and curling around his shoulders, still long. David thinks to himself that him being like David himself and his dad must be a new discovery if he hasn't cut his hair yet. 

"Uh huh?"

"Get up onto that, it'll be easier to get onto a higher branch from there, and then you can sit with me or Nick."

While Ben hops and pulls himself up on the branch that was behind him, if a little further away, pulling himself up with Nick's help, David tilts his head and watches.

He didn't know you could decide not to be a girl, until his dad told him so. That's why his dad says he'll never meet his grandpa, or his Auntie Dot. Because when his dad decided he wanted to be a boy instead of a girl, they got mad at him for it, and didn't want to be his family anymore. And then he cut his hair, with his Auntie Marion's help.

(The fact you can just decide you don't want to be someone's family scares David a little, but his dad told him that you can also decide to be someone's family even if you're not related, and that's why his Uncle Woods is his Uncle, and that always makes him feel better to think about.)

Ben perches on the branch, wobbling with a nervous noise, and still clinging to his older brother's hand. Nick holds it, and tugs gently, urging Ben to stand up, go sit by David, that branch is thicker and it'll be safer. Ben scowls at him, accuses him of just not wanting Ben to sit next to him, and then wobbles again and yelps, grabbing onto the trunk for safety.

Nick laughs at him, and uses his foot to gently nudge the back of Ben's knee.

Visibly afraid, Ben glances at David, and David offers him a grin, scooting closer to the trunk and patting the branch next to him invitingly.

"You can use the branch there," He points at it, about chest level from were he sits, a little bit above Ben's forehead. "And step over to me. I'll help you!"

The gears behind Ben's eyes seem to visibly churn, thinking, and then he takes a deep breath, and nods. He climbs up, onto the branch, and reaches for David's hand. David takes his hand (smaller, but bonier than his), and helps pull the littlest of the group over to sit with him. Ben stumbles slightly, using the trunk to steady himself on the thick branch, and beams down at David proudly, before flopping into place next to him, shoulder-to-shoulder.

(It almost reminds David, fondly, about how his dad's eyes widened, and then how he smiled so wide he looked like a cartoon when he, shocked, asked if you really could decide not to be a girl anymore. His dad had been so excited, and when he didn't know David was listening to his phone call, he told Uncle Woods about how excited he was that his son [!!!!] was just like him, and that he wanted to find a way to tell Mister Hudson as soon as possible, just in case David ever went over to his house again.

Turns out that was the right call, because this time, when Missus Jenny showed up in Alaska's airport to pick David up and bring him back to their home somewhere in Washington state, she greeted him as David and told him that the littlest of the two, once-Lily-now-Ben, also decided he didn't want to be a girl.

David had wondered, then, why Missus Jenny seemed so amazed by the fact Ben, David himself, and his dad all chose not to be girls and that she knew all three of them. Was that rare? Why would it be? David thinks its cool that people can just choose not to be a girl, and, like his dad told him, can choose not to be a boy, too, if they want to. He thinks people should get to do that more. He doesn't understand why the adults say that a lot of people think it's a bad thing to do.)

The three of them sit for a while, Ben and Nick arguing about what movie to watch that night (Ben passionately arguing for Robin Hood, Nick insisting on Winnie the Pooh stubbornly) while David rests his head against the trunk and listens, giggling.

Listens, giggling, until he hears a distant conversation and the creak of door hinges, making him lift his head and look over the horizon, only to be cut off by-

A bell rings out, one-two-three-four-five and a quieter sixth time, and Ben shrieks in delight, wiggling and reaching for the branch in front of them to start climbing down.

"Daddy's home!"

David blinks, surprised, and stands up on the branch he was on, watching Nick start climbing down much quicker than Ben.

"How do you know?"

"Mama doesn't ring the bell like that, you've heard it!" And David has, Missus Jenny rings the bell a lot more times, never a consistent number, not really, but she doesn't ring it as fast or as few times as that. "But daddy does! That's how we can tell who's calling for us!"

"Come on, David," Nick calls up, hanging off a low branch and then dropping to the ground, feet slipping slightly on leaf-strewn roots. He catches himself on the trunk, and looks up at David, grinning. "Your dad might be here, too!"

...he doesn't say it, but David doubts that. His dad said he'd send a letter before he came home, and Missus Jenny has been checking the mail every day for him, and he hadn't gotten a letter yet!

But he still climbs down, dropping to the ground and bending his knees when he lands in the dirt, because his dad told him that's the best way to do it when he's jumping down from a tree, and stumbling to his feet. Ben is already halfway down the hill, sliding between trees and giggling.

Nick grumbles a complaint under his breath, and then starts leading the way down, David close behind him.

When they reach the foot of the hill, David slips a little, and Nick grabs his arm to pull him back up, leading him up to the edge of the yard, and then bursting into a full sprint, David's arm released from his grasp.

Mister Hudson is sitting on the edge of the porch, Ben already burrowed into his chest, with his other hand extended for Nick, who immediately runs into his arms and hugs him. Missus Jenny sits next to Ben, rubbing his back and laughing fondly, and behind them is -

"Dad!" His dad laughs brightly, steps off the porch into the yard, and catches David in his arms, holding him to his chest and rocking him side to side. Even with his face pressed into his dad's stomach, his arms wrapped as tight as he can around him, David can still hear it when the sliding glass door opens, and then closes, and heavy footsteps walk over the porch and come over to them.

"Hey, kid." Uncle Woods' voice says, and a hand runs over his hair. He peeks out from his dad's chest, and reaches for his uncle, too.

"U'cle Woods," He mumbles, and giggles when he sees his dad grab Uncle Woods by the back of the jacket and yank him into the hug. His uncle sighs loudly at his dad, and he can hear his dad snickering as he nuzzles his face back into his dad's stomach again. "Missed you both."

"I missed you too, David." His dad hums back, and then crouches, scooping David up into his arms. "C'mon, kid. Jenny says you were out here for hours, lets get you inside with Ben and Nick, alright? It's getting dark."

"Gets dark all the time in Alaska," David complains with a whine, still wrapping his arms around his dad's neck and shoving his face into his shoulder. Uncle Woods snorts behind them, and he can hear Mister Hudson laughing somewhere nearby. The sliding door opens again. "And you never make me go in then."

"Alaska gets dark very early," His dad reminds him. "If it's getting dark here, that means it's getting late."

He whines in protest, but drops himself onto the ground when his dad sets him down inside, and starts pulling off his boots. Ben is helping Missus Jenny put away his gloves and his hat, while Nick quickly kicks his boots off and tosses his gloves in the direction of the drawer his little brother and mother are putting things in.

(He misses, and David giggles at him while Ben cackles.)

"Come on, kids." Mister Hudson scolds gently, sounding as patient as Missus Jenny does when she's herding them around. "The sooner you get your outside gear off, the sooner Jenny can make you hot chocolate. Or apple cider."

David inhales sharply at that, excited, and starts wiggling off his gloves, his dad kneeling next to him to help, the hat being snatched off his head with a soft whistling noise by Uncle Woods, making him giggle and look up. His uncle winks at him, and then turns over to where Missus Jenny and her kids are, David following his gaze.

"Hey, Jen. Where should we put David's things?" Ben looks up at his mom, and Missus Jenny winks down at him, ruffling his dark curly hair and shooing him away, turning to Uncle Woods with a smile, while holding her hands out for Nick's hat and scarf. 

"They go on top of the dresser here. Go ahead and set them down, then he can go off with Benny and Nick." She explains simply, taking the hat and scarf from Nick, and letting him scurry away, tucking them into the drawer. 

"Come on, David," His dad murmurs, drawing his attention away. He giggles, and holds his arms out straight on either side of himself so that his dad can unzip his jacket. "Lets get you that drink. You want cocoa or cider?"

"Cocoa."

"Just like his father." Uncle Woods teases, and kicks his dad's ankle as he passes. His dad turns towards him, face scrunching up, clearly trying to look mad even though he's smiling.

"Don't let your Uncle Woods fool you," His dad whispers to him, winking. "He loves chocolate too. He just won't admit it."

"I heard that!"

"No you didn't! You just heard me talking to my son quietly!"

"I know you well enough to know you're making fun of me!" Uncle Woods accuses, pointing at his dad and grinning something wicked, and his dad's arm moves to do - something? Make some sort of gesture at his uncle, maybe, that makes his uncle cackle, turning away and following after Mister Hudson's retreating back.

His dad looks at him, and shrugs like he doesn't know what his uncle is doing. But David is smarter than that. He knows that was just another in the looooong list of inside jokes his dad and his uncle have together. Nothing out of the ordinary.

"Alright, Davey." His dad kisses his forehead, and stands up, his jacket now over his arm. "Go ahead, catch up with the kids. I'll let Jenny know you want hot chocolate."

He throws his arms around his dad's leg, and squeezes tight, thinking about how, just like his dad said, you can choose who you want to be your family.

"I love you," He says, smiling up at his dad, and he watches as his dad melts into a smile, before saying it back.

"I love you too, David."

"I'm glad you're back."

And then he lets go, and hurries away, barely hearing Missus Jenny's awwing at something - maybe him and his dad - as he follows the sound of running water from the bathroom, probably Ben washing the sweat from his gloves off his hands, and the sound of Nick continuing their argument about what movie to watch later, this time now voting for Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, on the basis of the fact their dad apparently likes that one more than Winnie the Pooh.

(Ben, however, remains firm on watching Robin Hood. Of course he does. That's one of his favorites, David remembers.)

"Maybe we could let our dads pick what movie to watch?" David suggests a little meekly, peeking around the doorway of the bathroom, watching as Ben stretches his arms to turn off the faucet, before hopping off the stool and walking over to where Nick sits on the toilet, holding a towel.

"Oh," Ben chirps, looking over his shoulder before Nick gets his attention with a soft kick, stumbling over and letting Nick dry his hands for him. "That's smart!"

"I think dad would like that." Nick agrees softly, and David, still standing by the door, beams.

He wonders if his dad and his uncle would argue over what movie to watch, too.

(They do, and the he laughs himself into tears about it, the Hudson-half of their family sounding not too far behind.)