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There’s no manufactured greeting card holiday that could possibly sum up the scenario TK and Carlos have found themselves in as Jonah’s caregivers. There isn’t a holiday for proclaiming “best big brother who took me in to raise me” day. So Father’s Day is as good as any other day to make their own.
Carlos has had this day all planned out for weeks now. He enlisted Jonah to make TK a card on the rare occasion he could get TK to go run an errand without them. He’s secretly ordered a few things as well. It’s nothing fancy, but the sort of gifts traditional dads get from their kids: cheesy coffee mugs and new pictures for the wall.
Carlos knows how much–even before they got married–TK wanted to be a father someday. And despite not being sure if he was dad material himself, Carlos has come to love the little chaos gremlin they’ve taken into their home. Jonah brings light and vibrancy with him everywhere he goes. He makes Carlos laugh on days that pain and grief hit Carlos harder. He gives the best hugs and somehow runs even warmer than Carlos himself as a little heater that can knock Carlos right out on the couch or the armchair when they cuddle. Carlos doesn’t know what their lives would be like without Jonah, but he sure has made their lives better since moving in with them in the loft. Carlos now understands what TK means when he says Carlos has cow eyes, because Jonah absolutely has the biggest baby cow eyes of all.
What Carlos loves most, though, is getting to watch TK flourish in his new role of raising his little brother. Carlos’s husband shines at most endeavors he takes on, but he’s been absolutely glowing ever since quitting his job to become a stay-at-home dad, dedicating himself to caring for his mother’s parting gift in life, their sweet Jonah.
They may not be fathers in the traditional sense, but they are the parents and guardians of one incredible little boy and Carlos just wants everything today to be special for TK. He works so hard to take care of Jonah, keeping him safe and happy, even as they’ve already been exposed to some of his big feelings from the trauma he’s experienced in his short life. TK deserves to feel special and loved, his efforts acknowledged and appreciated since Carlos can’t be home as much as TK is.
So the next best thing he can do is give his husband a break this bright and sunny Sunday, their first Father’s Day with Jonah.
TK has become very attached to his brother in the short time he’s been living with them. It’s more than an attachment, really. He’s just as dependent on Jonah as Jonah is on them. They have a bond like no other, and it’s not the type of relationship Carlos would ever even attempt to infiltrate. He has an amazing bond with Jonah too, and he loves the little boy like his own, but there’s no doubt that what Jonah has with TK is special.
Because of how much TK does to take care of Jonah, Carlos wants to take care of his husband. It’s still early. He’s woken up naturally this morning, always early to rise even without an alarm. Despite a few offhand comments, they never made any solid plans for what to do about Father’s Day, which is excellent, in Carlos’s opinion. It means his husband is unaware that he’s got any plans of his own to celebrate their first Father’s Day as parents.
He slides out of bed, careful to not disturb TK as he gets up and starts his day, washing up in the bathroom and throwing on some comfortable clothes, knowing he’ll change later before they go out for the late lunch plans Carlos has in mind.
Before Carlos slips out of the bedroom, he makes sure to turn TK’s alarms off, before quietly sliding the doors shut behind himself and heading straight for Jonah, who’s own internal alarm clock is already activating. Because of his age and the great windows in the loft that they still haven’t managed to get fitted for blackout blinds, Jonah tends to be an early riser like Carlos. He often wakes up when Carlos is out in the main area of the loft, getting ready for work in the mornings, but TK usually swoops in to help Carlos with Jonah so Carlos doesn’t end up being late, held up by a curious toddler with a million questions who wants to help with everything they do.
Today however, Carlos has endless time for Jonah, and he has specifically dedicated himself this morning to their kid. He kneels down in front of the sleepy toddler, who’s already sitting up in his adorable race car bed, rubbing his bleary eyes and shoving off his comforter, already rearing up to go from zero to a hundred.
“Buenos dias, mijo,” Carlos says in a soft, gentle tone.
"Morning, Car-wos,” Jonah mumbles sleepily.
Carlos smiles at Jonah and holds his arms out. “How do you feel about some morning cuddles, Jo-Jo?”
Jonah grins, eyes widening as he leaps from his bed and into Carlos’s arms, wrapping his little arms tight around Carlos’s neck and burrowing into him. Carlos hoists him up and carries him to the couch.
Jonah snuggles into Carlos and Carlos gently rubs his back. “Did you sleep well?”
“Yah! I had a dweam about Bluey!” Jonah exclaims.
“Shh, soft voices,” Carlos encourages. “TK’s still sleeping.”
Jonah frowns at that. “Why TK still seep?”
Carlos chuckles softly. “Because it’s a special day and I want to give TK the chance to sleep in.”
“Oh,” Jonah frowns. “Is it his birfday?”
“No honey,” Carlos smiles again. “Remember when you made TK that card a couple of days ago and you also made another card that we sent to your dad?”
“Mhmm,” Jonah nods. “Is Daddy visiting?”
“No baby,” Carlos shakes his head sadly, his heart breaking at the question. “Maybe we can visit him soon. But today is Father’s Day, which is a day when you can celebrate the men in your life who take care of you and love you.”
“Which is TK?” Jonah asks with a tilt of his head.
“And me,” Carlos boops Jonah’s nose with a gentle finger and a soft smile as Jonah giggles. “And because TK gets to stay home with you all the time to take care of you, I wanna take care of him this morning. How does that sound?”
“Good!” Jonah exclaims again.
“Shh, quiet voices, remember? So we don’t wake TK,” Carlos reminds his toddler again.
“Good,” Jonah whisper-shouts. “TK seep in!”
Carlos laughs softly again. “Let’s get you washed up and see about making some pancakes for breakfast, how does that sound, Jo-Jo?”
“Mmm, I want pancakes!” Jonah squeals again, despite Carlos’s shushes and reminders.
Carlos can’t wait for them to start looking for an actual house where he can close the door to his and TK’s bedroom and not be as worried that Jonah will wake him up if he’s loud in a different part of the house. But until then, he presses a kiss to the top of Jonah’s head and sweeps him back into his arms as he gets up.
Carlos carries Jonah to the bathroom asking, “So what was your dream with Bluey about?”
The first thing TK notices when he wakes up is that the spot in bed beside him is empty. He’s used to this most mornings, so it doesn’t automatically alert him to anything off. But then he realizes it’s brighter in the room than he’s accustomed to waking up to and he rolls over to tap his phone.
“Shit!” He whispers loudly in alarm upon seeing the time.
He bolts upright and crashes out of bed, cursing again as he stubs his toe in his hurry. He slides the rolling doors open and turns his head towards Jonah’s bed, his panic only growing as he finds it empty. Shit, shit, he thinks, his delirious and still half-asleep brain trying to catch up. Jonah’s gone, Carlos is gone, and for a moment TK is fearing the worst.
“Good morning, big brudder!” Jonah squeals from the breakfast bar, shoveling blueberry pancakes fresh from the griddle into his mouth. “Car-wos made pancakes!”
TK’s adrenaline-induced state pauses long enough to assess the rest of the loft, finally seeing both his husband and brother in one piece, Carlos already dressed for the day, Jonah in his firetruck pajamas with syrup dripping down his chin, his long hair in a ponytail to avoid a bath before noon.
“Morning, babe,” Carlos calmly smiles at his husband. “There’s coffee and pancakes.”
“Good morning you two…” TK says slowly with a soft sigh as he crosses the living room into the kitchen. Normally he’d kiss Carlos’s cheek and covertly pinch his butt, but today he just grabs a paper towel and dampens it under the running faucet before gently scrubbing at Jonah’s chin and the dollops of syrup on his chest.
“Too cold, TK!” Jonah squeals at the wet paper towel, trying to pull away as TK cleans him up.
“You’re all sticky, Jo-Jo,” TK says softly. “I have to clean you up.”
Despite his gentle tone, there’s a hard line to TK’s shoulders, and he knows Jonah can’t pick up on his annoyance, but Carlos can.
“Babe?” Carlos asks softly, following TK to the coffee maker where TK starts pouring his mug, before reaching into the fridge for his creamer.
“Hmm?”
“Are you okay?”
“Fine,” TK says, then after a moment, he adds, “Actually I’m going to take a shower before breakfast. Carlos, can I talk to you for a moment?”
Carlos bites his lip, looking between his husband and Jonah before nodding. He turns off the burner while TK sets Jonah on the floor.
“We’ll be right back, Jo-Jo. Why don’t you play for a bit?” TK says with a soft kiss to the top of his brother’s head.
Once they’re in the bathroom, TK turns on the shower so the jet of the water can mask their conversation.
“Are you going to tell me what’s bothering you now?” Carlos asks, tilting his head as he watches TK pace around the bathroom.
“Why didn’t you wake me?” TK shakes his head, choosing to focus on what he’s most upset over. “I do mornings with Jonah.”
“Babe,” Carlos says softly, reaching out to halt TK’s pacing and rub TK’s shoulders. “It’s my day off and you deserve to sleep in. You were up late with him last night when he couldn’t sleep.”
“So were you,” TK throws back. “He’s my brother.”
“That we agreed to take care of,” Carlos insists. “This isn’t all on you, TK. We’re a team, remember?”
“Of course we’re a team, Carlos, but that doesn’t mean you can just disrupt our schedule,” TK pushes Carlos’s hands off him and goes back to pacing the bathroom. “He’s been through so much. He watched our mom die, he watched his dad go to prison. I can’t let anything happen to him, and when I wake up and he’s not in his bed, I freak out. I’m all he has left, Carlos. He needs me.”
“TK,” Carlos catches TK’s hand and forces him to meet his eyes. “That’s not true. He has us. And he still has Enzo. We’re not raising him without a connection to his dad. And you, my husband, are not doing this alone. I’m sorry I scared you this morning but Jonah’s okay. He’s okay, he was safe in his home the entire time. Can you try and focus on that?”
TK finally stops his spiral and listens to Carlos, worrying at his bottom lip.
“I’m sorry,” TK whispers. “I–I overslept, and he wasn’t in his bed, and I freaked. Fuck, I’m so sorry, Carlos. You didn’t deserve to be treated like that.”
“I didn’t,” Carlos agrees, wrapping TK in his arms. “But I can take it and I forgive you.”
“I’m just so exhausted all the time,” TK admits, burrowing into Carlos as he lets himself feel what he needs to, tears choking him up. “And, shit, I thought trying to save lives and assess patients in the field was overwhelming, but nothing tops a toddler’s meltdowns.”
“I’d say you have the more difficult job between the two of us, babe,” Carlos chuckles lightheartedly, a hand running up and down TK’s spine. “And I face off murderers for a living.”
“Babe…” TK sputters through his emotion at Carlos’s awful joke.
“It’s true,” Carlos presses a kiss to TK’s cheek. “I’m so amazed by the work you put in to make sure Jonah is happy and comfortable.”
“I don’t deserve you,” TK whispers, clinging to Carlos.
“You do, TK. And I know I can’t be home for as many breakfasts as I wish I could, but every chance I get, I just want to spoil you and make your life easier because you’ve sacrificed so much to take Jonah in,” Carlos murmurs in TK’s ear, his hands gentle on his back.
“I would’ve done anything it took, baby,” TK reminds Carlos almost sadly.
“But you didn’t have to,” Carlos squeezes TK gently.
“I’m sorry.”
“I know you are. You need Jonah just as much as he needs you,” Carlos murmurs.
TK sniffs and lifts his head. “You’re a good husband.”
“And you are an incredible husband and father,” Carlos whispers back. “Do you know what today is?”
TK shakes his head. “Sunday?”
“Well, yes,” Carlos chuckles. “But it’s also Father’s Day.”
“Shit, you’re right. I completely forgot,” TK says. “I thought we agreed we weren’t gonna do anything?”
“Babe, we don’t have to be traditional dads to celebrate what we have,” Carlos shrugs. “We’re raising Jonah. We are technically his parents. You’ve always wanted a family, and this is the first year you have one.”
“Oh, baby, you were already my family,” TK gives Carlos a watery smile, emotion overcoming him again at Carlos’s sweet words.
“As you are mine,” Carlos promises. “But our family has grown. Jonah is ours to care for. We made our own definition of family, so we can make our own definition of today too, right?”
TK nods, sniffling and swiping at a tear before it can fall. “Definitely. Did you really plan something?”
“Well if you come out of the bathroom and have breakfast with us, Jonah and I might have a surprise for you,” Carlos winks, pressing a kiss to TK’s cheek.
“You’re never gonna believe this…”
“What?” Carlos asks, his turn to give TK a curious smile.
“Jonah and I might have a surprise for you too,” TK admits with a small grin.
“And I thought we weren’t gonna do anything about today,” Carlos laughs, mirroring TK’s comment from earlier.
TK smiles, wrapping his arms around Carlos’s neck. “It’s your first Father’s Day too, Carlos.”
“I love you,” Carlos shakes his head, eyes dazzling.
“I love you too,” TK softly murmurs before leaning in to give Carlos a gentle kiss.
“Come have breakfast with us?”
“Jonah’s gonna wonder why I’ve had the shower on and didn’t shower.”
“Doesn’t matter. Turn it off and come with me.”
There’s really nowhere TK wouldn’t follow Carlos to. And following him back to their living room is easy. So, TK shuts off the shower and takes Carlos’s hand, letting himself be led back into the main room. He lets Carlos make him a plate of pancakes and he sits with Jonah–who complains about them being gone so long that his own pancakes went cold–while Carlos disappears into their bedroom.
“Here babe, this is a little something from me and Jonah,” Carlos announces, returning with a small gift bag that he sets in front of TK’s place setting.
“Where was this even hiding?” TK laughs, his turn to stand up and head for Jonah’s makeshift bedroom, digging into a little cubby and procuring his own gift bag meant for Carlos.
“My side of the closet,” Carlos laughs. “Really, babe? You’re hiding gifts in Jonah’s toy bins now?”
“It was the one place I knew you might not look,” TK laughs, returning to his seat and setting the bag in front of Carlos. “I only put it in there last night before you got home.”
Carlos’s eyes dazzle and TK smiles, knowing he put that light in his husband’s eyes.
“You better not have gotten me the same thing I got you,” Carlos accuses, pointing a finger at TK.
Jonah looks between the two like he’s watching a tennis match, unbothered as he eats his pancakes.
“I guess you just have to open it then,” TK hums.
Carlos shakes his head, smiling. “You first, babe.”
“Alright, alright,” TK giggles, reaching for the gift bag and plucking neat tissue paper from it.
He blindly reaches inside and his hand closes around a piece of construction paper first. He pulls it out, bright green construction paper with scribbles in crayon and drawings on the front.
“Oh Jonah,” he murmurs, more tears already prickling behind his eyes. “This is perfect, sweetheart.”
“It’s us!” Jonah exclaims, hopping down from his chair and moving to TK’s side. “Uppy!”
TK lifts Jonah into his lap as Jonah points at each of his drawings–most of them resembling potato shaped people with spaghetti noodle hair–and proclaims which one is TK and which one is Jonah, and what activity they’re doing together.
TK presses a kiss to the top of his little brother’s head, holding him close. “I love it so much, Jo-Jo.”
“Open the rest!” Jonah urges, excited to see the other gifts TK got.
TK chuckles and reaches back into the bag. He pulls out a mug that says ‘Best Big Brother Ever.’ TK doesn’t know why, but the emotions hit him hard once again. He clutches Jonah close, sniffling as his eyes well up with more tears.
“Oh my god, I’m such a mess this morning,” he shakes his head, thumb brushing over the words on the mug.
“No, baby,” Carlos shakes his head. “You’re not a mess.”
“This is amazing, Carlos,” TK says softly. “Thank you.”
“Open the rest, babe,” Carlos smiles, nodding at the bag.
TK pulls out the last item in the bag, a picture frame for the wall with space for multiple pictures. Each slot is taken. There’s a baby picture of TK, and a baby picture of Jonah, and then family pictures of the two together, and one with the three of them. But the one that makes TK actually start to sob is the picture in the center of Gwyn holding TK as a baby alongside a picture of her holding Jonah not long after he was born.
“Baby…” TK cries as Jonah squirms out of his arms, alarmed by TK’s tears. “How did you do all this?”
Carlos just smiles, reaching out to rub TK’s arm. “I have my ways. Are you happy?”
“Beyond happy. This is perfect. Thank you, husband.”
“You’re welcome, TK,” Carlos smiles.
Jonah successfully wriggles to the floor and TK sets the picture frame on the table and gets up to properly hug and kiss Carlos.
“I love you so much,” TK whispers into Carlos’s shoulder. “Now open yours.”
Carlos rubs TK’s back and kisses his cheek before TK pulls back and settles back in his chair. He urges Jonah to come sit with him this time and pulls the young boy into his lap.
“Are you gonna cry too, Car-wos?” Jonah asks skeptically, eyeing Carlos and then glancing back at TK.
“No promises, buddy,” Carlos laughs softly with a kiss to the top of Jonah’s head. “But they’ll be happy tears like TK’s.”
Carlos opens his own hand-drawn card from Jonah first. It’s similar to TK’s, in blue construction paper this time, but with Jonah’s drawings of the pair of them. He gives Jonah another kiss, telling him how much he loves it, before he reaches into the gift bag and pulls out his first gift, a silk blue tie with white pinstripes.
Carlos chuckles, meeting TK’s eyes. “Classic, babe.”
TK just laughs. “I had to. Keep going. I think you’ll like the rest.”
Carlos fishes into the bag again and his hand closes around a mug. He pulls it out and shakes his head at his husband.
“Babe.”
“Read it,” TK’s eyes gleam with mischief.
“‘I’m not the step-dad, I’m the dad who stepped up,’ really, babe? I’m not even a step-dad,” Carlos rolls his eyes in amusement.
“I know! That’s what makes it funny. And technically, you did marry me and step up to the challenge of adopting my baby brother. You didn’t have to take Jonah in,” TK shakes his head.
“Of course I did, babe,” Carlos softly insists. “We’re a team.”
TK smiles at that, reaching out to rub Carlos’s hand where it’s pressed against Jonah’s stomach, keeping him secure and balanced where he’s perched on Carlos’s leg.
“You have one more gift, baby.”
Carlos again reaches into the gift bag and pulls out a picture frame. “You really did get me the same gift I got you, huh?”
TK just smiles. “Great minds think alike, my love. It’s for your desk at work when you miss us an extra lot.”
Carlos’s own eyes are watery as he looks back at the picture, really taking it in. It’s a really sweet picture of TK and Jonah, that one they took at TK’s birthday dinner at Owen’s house, back before Jonah was even theirs. Carlos has always treasured it, and TK knows it lives in his favorite’s folder on his phone and as one of his lockscreens when he’s not at work–never keeping anything too personal while at work because of the nature of his high profile job.
“This is perfect,” Carlos murmurs, his voice tight. “I love it so much, TK. I love you.”
“I love you too, Carlos,” TK murmurs back. “Happy Father’s Day.”
“Happy Father’s Day, TK,” Carlos whispers, looking up and meeting TK’s eyes.
TK never thought this would be his life, so full of love and joy. There was a point where he didn’t even think he’d ever make it to his thirtieth birthday at all. And now he’s married to his soulmate, who spoils him and shows him how loved he is–even when TK is a little crabby. He’s provided a safe home for his brother who needed normalcy, love, and a family. Maybe it’s not the way he envisioned he’d be a father, but TK wouldn’t trade it for the world.
After breakfast, TK snuggles into Carlos’s side on the couch while Jonah burns off his sugar-induced energy by running laps around the living room.
“We really need a house,” he laughs softly.
“We really, really do,” Carlos agrees, pulling TK closer and kissing the top of his head.
“I love you so much,” TK sighs, laying his head on Carlos’s shoulder and letting his eyes close. “You’re the best husband and father I could ever go through any of this with, you know that?”
“I feel the same way about you, babe,” Carlos says, hooking a finger beneath TK’s chin to bring his eyes up to his. “Thank you for the gifts. They mean the world to me.”
“You mean the world to me too, baby,” TK sighs, leaning in for a chaste kiss before pressing his forehead against Carlos’s. “Did you really make plans for us?”
“I did,” Carlos chuckles. “I was thinking we could have a late lunch, early dinner at Phil’s Ice House since you love the burgers and Jonah loves the playground.”
“Mmm, that sounds amazing,” TK hums, chasing another kiss. “And after?”
“We sit on this couch and watch some animated Disney movie for the hundredth time?”
“Popcorn?”
“What kind of husband do you take me for?” Carlos huffs softly.
“And when we put Jonah to bed,” TK bites his lip, fluttering his eyes open to meet Carlos’s stare, so close to his own from where their foreheads are still pressed together. “Do you think I’ll get lucky with a dad tonight?”
Carlos nods, rubbing his forehead and nose against TK’s. “Oh, definitely, babe. You can count on it.”
“I love you,” TK whispers again, chasing another soft kiss before repeating, “Happy Father’s Day, husband.”
“Happy Father’s Day, TK,” Carlos murmurs against TK’s lips.
“EWWW STOP KISSING!” Jonah jumps them both, head bonking right into TK’s shoulder and TK wraps his arms around his little brother, rubbing the red spot on Jonah’s forehead and laughing as he meets Carlos’s eyes, giving him an intimate smile. This is their life, and he couldn’t possibly imagine it any other way.