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“Okay, okay, we’re almost here,” TK says as Carlos turns the car onto the street. In response, Jonah squeals in excitement, and TK and Carlos both laugh.
They’re on the way to their new house. They got the keys yesterday, and TK and Carlos started to move the first of their boxes in whilst Andrea looked after Jonah for the day. They didn’t get much done in the end, far less than they’d hoped, but still, it felt like the start of the rest of their lives, something neither of them can wait for.
Today, they’re bringing Jonah for the first time, and, well, his excitement is off the scale.
Carlos wasn’t sure how much he understood at first. And he’s had his concerns about moving him again when he’s only just fully settled into the loft, but they’ve explained it multiple times, called it an adventure, involved him in packing up the loft, and even started to discuss painting his very own room in the new house, so now they’re actually here, Carlos is certain he’s going to love this place as soon as he sees it.
So, hearing Jonah’s excited noises just makes Carlos so happy, too.
He signals into the driveway, and it feels all kinds of surreal. He had a house before, the townhouse, and he was always so proud of it because it was his, but it was never fully a home. The loft was. The loft is, and Carlos knows he’s going to miss that place so much, but he pulls the parking brake on and looks up at the huge house in front of him, and he can’t believe he’s moving into this place with his family.
“We’re here, buddy,” TK tells Jonah, stretching around to look at him. There’s a smile on his face, too, that widens when Jonah squeals again, and Carlos chuckles at them both, at his two favorite people in this world.
“House!” Jonah yells happily.
“That’s right,” TK says. “This is our house.”
He makes another excited noise, and TK laughs, looking back to Carlos. Their eyes lock, and though they’ve been here a number of times now, even spent most of the day yesterday, Carlos is certain TK feels the same level of anticipation as he does. It’s nerves mixed with excitement mixed with disbelief, and Carlos still feels like this is all a dream. A very, very good dream, but a dream nonetheless.
Then, TK reaches for his hand, and Jonah repeats the word “house!” in his excited voice, and everything just feels too real to be a dream.
They get out of the truck. Carlos gets Jonah out of the back, handing TK the keys before he does so. It means two things: firstly, he gets to carry the boy who has become his son into their new house, but secondly, he gets to watch TK open the front door to their new home, too.
Jonah wriggles in his arm, but Carlos doesn’t let him down yet. Instead, he follows TK into the house, both wide and beaming smiles on their faces, then waits until the door shuts behind them.
It’s a shell at the moment. They didn’t make enough progress yesterday to make it anywhere near livable just yet, but the 126 gang are helping tomorrow with cars and trucks and vans, and Carlos just can’t wait to move in.
Still, it’s their house, it’s their home, and Carlos is in love with it.
“Hey, buddy,” TK says to Jonah in that gentle voice of his, “welcome to our new house.”
Jonah looks around from Carlos’ arms. He’s so much more confident than the shy and uncertain boy who walked into the loft that very first day they adopted him. He’s come into himself, gotten past some of what he’s been through, and turned into an excitable toddler whose eyes light up at the space in front of him. Today just proves that.
“Papa, let me down, let me down!” he says as he tries to wriggle out of Carlos’ arms again, giggling. “Papa Carlos!”
Carlos chuckles softly as TK smiles. “Okay, but be careful, yeah?”
Jonah vaguely agrees, so Carlos lends down and sets him on the floor. When he lets go, Jonah stands there for a split second, then goes speeding off into the room at the back of the house, and already, Carlos can’t help but think he’s going to cause a lot of mischief here. It’s a big house, so much bigger than they’re used to with its four bedrooms, a home office, and a playroom, but it’s exactly what they wanted. It’s got space to expand when they’re ready, a massive backyard for Jonah to play in—and their inevitable future dog—but Carlos swears they’re going to spend more time running around after Jonah than anything since.
He tells TK as much, and TK laughs, taking his hand. “Guess we should see where he’s gone, right?”
Humming his agreement, Carlos follows TK into the back.
They find Jonah running in circles around the kitchen island. TK tells him to be careful with the tiled floor, but Jonah keeps going, running around with his arms in the air. He’s happy, endlessly and infectiously happy, and Carlos can’t help but smile with him. He stands next to his husband, their hands linked together, and TK smiles just as widely, even as Carlos catches his gaze.
“That’s one way of getting all his energy out,” Carlos comments, and TK laughs.
“Let him run riot, you mean?”
As if on cue, Jonah diverts from the kitchen and toward the back door. They’re bifolding ones, can open up the back of the whole house to bring the outside in, and it will be perfect for when he’s cooking dinner or chilling with TK, and Jonah wants to play. It was a big selling point in the house, as was the backyard as a whole, but really, Carlos just knew this house was perfect the moment he set eyes on it.
Luckily, TK thought so, too.
“Not yet, sweetheart,” TK calls to Jonah. “We need to explore upstairs.”
Jonah gasps like it’s the most exciting news all day. He speeds back over to them, jumping up and down as he says, “Please! Please! Please!” so TK looks at Carlos with that faux serious gaze in his eye. He knows it too well; TK likes teasing Jonah with it.
“Hmm, what do you think, Papa Carlos?”
Playing along, Carlos pretends to think, too. “We could show Jonah his new room.”
“Please, Papa Carlos! Please, Papa Bro! Please!”
Well, Carlos knows he’s weak when it comes to both of his boys, but TK is no better, so after less than a second of fake contemplation, Carlos leans down to Jonah’s level and says, “Let’s go upstairs!”
Of course, Jonah runs. TK tells him to be careful again, and Carlos already knows there’s going to be a lot of that. He’s not used to stairs at the loft, so they speed to catch him up, and thankfully, he’s going slower than Carlos expected. When he struggles a little, TK helps him out, but the moment they’re at the top, Jonah runs off again with TK trailing behind, waiting to take Carlos’ hand when they follow.
“I think he’s gone into our room,” TK comments as they follow the trail.
“Don’t you be giving that to him, babe,” Carlos warns lightly, and TK laughs as they find Jonah standing in the master bed with a grin on his face.
Of course, he wants it because it’s the biggest bedroom, but TK gently diverts him to the second biggest room—without an en suite—and Carlos beams proudly at him as he leaves the room. He trails behind, taking a moment to take in what will soon be their bedroom filled with their belongings, and he still can’t believe it. It’s a stunning room with a half decent view out of the window, but more than that, it’s a goddamn private room, which is something they really need, and Carlos can’t wait to move in.
Half a minute later, he hears Jonah screech his name, so he pads in to find TK just in front of the doorway of Jonah’s new room, watching Jonah jump around excitedly. He steps up beside his husband, wraps an arm around him and gets a smile in response, then they both watch Jonah explore each and every corner of the currently empty room.
“Green!” Jonah says.
“Wall color,” TK explains. “We have our work cut out.”
As Carlos laughs, Jonah says, “No! Orange!”
“Sure, buddy,” Carlos agrees. “Whatever you want.”
Jonah cheers, does another lap of the room, then runs into a sharp halt in front of them. He looks up at them both, does what TK has called Jonah’s own cow eyes, and, in his sweetest voice, asks, “Papas, can Lou sleep in my room?”
TK laughs loudly, but Carlos immediately vetoes that idea, much to Jonah’s disappointment.
Luckily for them all, he diverts his attention by showing him the playroom downstairs instead.
Then, of course, TK promises Lou’s tank can go in there instead.
“Tyler!” Carlos chastises lightly in a quiet voice between them, and TK just smiles brightly as he joins Jonah on the floor.
A beat later, Carlos joins them, too. In their home.