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By the time the police leave the office, Chanse is barely holding on to his adult self, so when Tommy pulls him into a hug, he cracks and drops.
“Dada.” he whines through his tears, sounding much younger than usual, clutching Tommy’s shirt tightly when he’s picked up and carried away from the others.
“Hi bub.” he murmurs, rubbing his back, “Are you ready to go home?”
Chanse lets out a small sob and shakes his head, wiggling to get down, “Sissy.” he whines, “Help.”
“She's ok, she's safe, she's with her mama.” Tommy assures him as he places the little back on the ground, gently holding him in place by his shoulders.
He shakes his head again, attempting to pull away from him, “Gotta go.” he tells him through his tears, ducking away from his hands and bolting towards the little corner to get to Angela.
Chanse runs into Amanda, and lands on the floor in front of her.
“Manda,” he says out of breath from running and crying, “Angie ok?” he asks, looking over at her with concern as she stares blankly at the wall.
Angela drags him into her lap and he immediately wraps his limbs around her and buries his face into her neck as he starts sobbing again.
“You're ok,” she whispers weakly, hugging him tightly, “We're all ok.”
Chanse’s crying lessens as Angela rubs his back, not paying any attention to the caregivers talking as Tommy takes his hand.
He squeezes it in acknowledgment as he continues to slowly calm down, until he eventually pulls his head out of her neck.
“Sorry.” He mumbles looking down at Angela, his eyes briefly drifting to the caregivers as well.
Angela looks up at him and kisses his nose, pulling a small, hesitant smile to his face.
“That was scary baby, you’re allowed to be upset.” she says, attempting to comfort him, but even little and upset, he can tell her tone is off. There's still love and care in her voice, it's just weirdly empty.
He hums in lieu of a response, reaching for Tommy when Angela shifts under him, suddenly remembering that he's probably heavy.
Tommy grabs him from her, cradling him in his arms, probably because he's younger than usual. “You’re bigger than your aunt Angie, aren’t you?” he asks rhetorically, but Chanse doesn't understand that and answers anyway.
“Angie short.” he responds, and everyone laughs, but Angela’s is off.
“I think it’s time to go home,” Tommy tells Chanse, continuing to speak while he whines, “I know you wanna stay with Angie, but I think we all need our own space tonight,” he explains gently, “Don’t you wanna sleep in our bed?”
Chanse whines again, looking between Angela and Tommy curiously.
“Angie no ok?” he whispers surprisingly quietly into Tommy's ear.
“She’s safe, but I think she needs alone time.” he whispers back, “You two can text or call,” he assures him out loud and Chanse nods begrudgingly, a small pout on his face.
“Bye bye,” he murmurs, leaning out of Tommy's lap to hug Amanda tightly before being passed to Angela.
“Love you,” he says softly, looking deeply into her eyes, “No you fault.”
He watches the emotions flash through Angela’s eyes as he's pulled from her arms by Tommy as he stands
“How about Wingstop?” Tommy asks, “I know you love it.”
Chanse cheers as they turn the corner, momentarily distracted by the offering of one of his favorite fast foods.
“Spicy?” He asks hopefully and Tommy nods as he carries Chanse towards the car.
It's not until he's placed in the back seat and his seatbelt is buckled that he remembers he's supposed to be upset.
Tears well in his eyes again as Tommy starts the car and Chanse looks worriedly towards the office again, hands subconsciously reaching for his seatbelt buckle.
He hears the child lock click in the car and he looks up to make eye contact with Tommy through the rear view mirror, “Please don't touch your seat belt, bubs.” he says gently, reaching into Chanse's bag to give him his Switch.
“How about just for today you can play in the car?” He bargains and Chanse stares at him in surprise, cautiously taking the Switch and turning it on.
“No touch seatbelt.” He promises as he slowly opens up Mario Kart, occasionally wiping away the tears that continue to fall down his face.
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They pick up food on the way, Tommy managing to carry Chanse, their bags, and dinner upstairs without help.
“Can you wash your hands for me, bub?” He asks as he places him down in front of the kitchen sink, pulling the food out of the bag to set up for them.
Chanse nods, washing his hands before sitting down and looking at his extra spicy wings excitedly.
Tommy places their drinks down as he sits and Chanse pouts at the Transformers sippy cup placed in front of him.
“It's only because it's a Fanta, otherwise I'd give you a straw cup.” He assures him.
“Pineapple?” He asks excitedly, grinning as he takes a sip, “Thanks dada!”
The two eat quietly, Chanse not being interested in conversation, despite his excitement over his dinner. Tommy tries his best to keep up a one sided conversation, but it's hard.
“Sissy?” He asks quietly before taking a sip of his soda, tears in his eyes again.
“I can text your auntie Manda to ask her to talk later,” Tommy offers, “But she might be too little to talk back.”
“Don't care” he says firmly and Tommy pulls out his phone to quickly text her.
Tommy picks up their trash when they finish and throws it away. “What do you want to do now, sweetheart?” He asks as Chanse takes his final sip of his soda, tipping his head back all the way to get it out.
He shrugs, wiping his eyes and reaching out to be held by his caregiver, resting his head on Tommy's shoulder after he lifts him up.
“My cuddly little boy.” Tommy coos, walking towards their room, “How about we change our clothes?” He questions, starting in his own closet to grab himself some sweats and a tank top.
Chanse hums, reaching for an old Moon Goon shirt instead of his little pajamas before randomly picking Pokemon pajama pants.
Tommy places him on the bed and quickly changes his own clothes, helping Chanse when he doesn't move to do it on his own.
“How about a movie?” he asks as he grabs Chanse's stuffed turtle Leo from the bed and carries him to the living room.
“Angie?” He asks again, looking down at Tommy's phone as he checks his texts.
Amanda: She’s as little as last week
But she can facetime I guess
Chanse slowly reads it as Tommy types out a response, “Call now.” he whines, pulling at the phone impatiently.
“We can call now, but we can only call once.” He tells the little who nods quickly, a small smile growing on his face as Tommy presses the call button and holds it out so they're both in frame.
“Angie!” Chanse yells excitedly when he sees the two girls on the phone.
His smile grows when Angela looks around excitedly at his voice, waving to try and get her attention
“Right here,” Amanda explains, pointing at her phone, “There he is.”
“Ah!” she says happily, reaching for the phone, and suddenly all they can see is her eye.
He giggles, “That you eye,” he says through his giggles, “No see you.”
“I don’t think she understands that, baby,” Tommy says, “Unless Amanda takes the phone back, I think you’re stuck with baby vision,” he explains, rubbing his back
Amanda laughs, “She’ll probably-” she starts, but Angela starts babbling into the mic, making the rest of what she says inaudible to them.
“You have so much to say, little bee.” Tommy coos through the babbles, chuckling when he sees Amanda try to readjust the phone in Angela’s hands.
“Sissy?” Chanse calls, giggling when just Angela’s eyes pop into frame again, “Love you.”
He looks up at Tommy in concern when her phone falls, their screen now black.
“Can you do that again so bubba can see?” Amanda asks as the phone shows the two girls again, Angela seemingly dropping it.
Angela signs ‘I love you’ to him before laying back in Amanda's lap.
“Baby sleepy?” he asks quietly, sadly realizing that they'll have to disconnect soon and he won't get to see her again until tomorrow.
Amanda smiles sadly at him as she answers, “It’s almost her bedtime and she needs a bath.” she tells him, Tommy continuing to rub his back.
Chanse frowns as he nods, not wanting to go, but understanding he has no choice, “Night Manda, Night Angie,” he murmurs with a small wave, “Love you.”
“I love you so much Chansey, and so does Angela,” she tells him softly, “Can you blow your bubba a kiss?”
Angela grins, clumsily blowing him a kiss, “Mwah!” she chirps before resting her head back on Amanda.
He smiles slightly at the kiss before burying his face in Tommy’s neck, tears falling again.
“I’ll text you later, good night.” Tommy murmurs before hanging up the phone, carefully kissing the crown of Chanse's head as he quietly begins to sob.
“Oh bubs." he murmurs, standing so he can pace the living room, gently swaying the little in his arms as he hums quietly.
Chanse slowly calms down, eventually pulling his face out of his neck to rest his chin on Tommy's shoulder.
Tommy walks into the kitchen to grab them both some water, hesitating before pouring Chanse's in a sippy cup.
He sits back on the couch, smiling gently at Chanse as he readjusts himself to look up at Tommy, his three middle fingers in his mouth.
“Hi baby,” he murmurs, handing him the sippy cup as he carefully wipes the tears and snot from his face, “Look at my little guy.”
Chanse sniffles, tilting his head back to drink, resting his head on Tommy's chest.
“I wish I had something for you to chew on,” he mutters with a small grimace as Chanse places his fingers back in his mouth, but ultimately decides to just let him be.
Tommy gently runs his fingers through Chanse's hair, kissing the boy's forehead when he looks up at him.
“Wanna watch a movie?” He asks gently, exchanging the water clutched in Chanse's hands with Leo.
The little reaches for the remote and Tommy hands it to him, watching with a small smile as Chanse slowly navigates to what he wants.
As the theme song for ‘Bear in the Big Blue House’ starts playing, Chanse grins widely and leans forward in Tommy's lap, mumbling the lyrics through his fingers.
Tommy watches Chanse more than the show. He's never seen him this little before. Usually when he's four or around that age, he still likes the same shows and movies.
He's never seen him have an interest in a show made for littler kids before, but he's clearly enthralled with the show, mumbling the answers to all of Bear’s questions and the lyrics to all the songs.
They get through a few episodes until Chanse starts to lean into Tommy as he struggles to keep his eyes open.
“I think it's bedtime, baby.” He murmurs at the end of the episode, letting out a sigh of relief when he doesn't complain about the TV being shut off.
Chanse looks up at him sleepily as Tommy stands, “Potty?” He murmurs, clutching Leo and his water in his hands
“Clever boy,” he praises, deciding to attempt to copy how Amanda speaks to Angela because he doesn't have much experience with babies.
The little smiles at the praise and Tommy considers it a win, having Chanse drop his stuff at their bed before having him go potty, helping him wash his hands and brush his teeth.
Eventually Tommy and Chanse lay in bed. Usually Chanse likes to face the same way as Tommy as the caregiver holds his back to his chest.
But tonight he grabs onto the collar of his shirt, tucking his face in his neck.
“Good night baby,” he whispers, rubbing the littles back, “Dada loves you so much.”
Chanse pulls his head back slightly to peek up at him, “Ni dada love you.” He mumbles through his fingers, tucking his head back in and slowly drifting to sleep.
Tommy pulls open his phone and texts Amanda, deciding to scroll through Reels for a while as he's not tired yet.
About 45 minutes later he's about to put his phone down and go to sleep when Amanda responds.
The two text back and forth for a minute before he pulls himself away and puts his phone down, drifting off in what will become a short sleep
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Chanse is pulled ungracefully into consciousness by a nightmare, letting out a small yelp as he clambers on top of Tommy, unceremoniously waking him as well.
“Chanse?” he murmurs concernedly, drowsiness audible in his voice as he opens his eyes, wrapping his arms around the little, “What's going on bubs?”
“Nightmare,” he answers shakily, clutching onto Tommy's shirt as the man sits up, “He got her.”
Tommy hums, adjusting Chanse in his lap as he slowly rubs his back, “Do you want to talk about it?” he asks gently.
Chanse nods, looking up at him with tears in his eyes before resting his head over Tommy's heart.
“He took her and put her in cage and no let her out,” he explains shakily, “Couldn't find her, couldn't help.”
“Oh baby,” Tommy whispers, gently lifting Chanse's chin to look up at him.
“Jake is with the police. He doesn't know where Angie lives, and Smosh is going to get security” he says reassuringly, “Angela is safe sleeping at her apartment with Amanda.”
He sniffles, smiling slightly when Tommy gently wipes his tears, “What if he does?” He asks quietly, looking up at him with wide eyes, “Gotta protect her.”
Tommy sighs, gently rocking the little in his lap, “All we can do is be cautious, we can't live in fear that he's going to get her,” he tells him, “No one will let him get near her.”
Chanse nods quickly, “We kept him back!” he says proudly, “I kneed him in the nuts.” he adds conspiratorially, grinning as Tommy laughs hard.
“That’s my boy!” he compliments, ruffling his hair, “And even if we aren’t there, he’s hopefully going to stay away with the restraining order.”
The little hums as he attempts to fight off sleep, “Want sissy to be happy,” he mumbles, “Yesterday was scary.”
“You’re such a brave boy, Chanse. How about we do something fun today?” Tommy offers, hoping to distract him from how upset he assumes Angela will be in the coming days.
“Trampoline?” he asks hopefully but resigned. There’s a little focused trampoline park about an hour out from LA that Chanse has been begging to go to, but it’s a bit more expensive than either of them want to pay for just a random weekend.
“I think we can do that.” Tommy decides easily, “As long as we can get some more sleep.”
Chanse grins, hugging his caregiver tightly and kissing his cheek. “Thank you dada!” he says excitedly, wiggling out of Tommy’s lap and laying back in his spot in the bed, “We gotta sleep!”
Tommy chuckles as the little watches him expectantly until he lays down, snuggling into him in their usual position.
“Goodnight dada, I love you.” he whispers loudly, blindly reaching backwards to pat Tommy’s head.
“Love you bubba, goodnight.” he responds, closing his eyes as he pulls Chanse closer to him. Hoping that the rest of the day works out.
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Tommy wakes up in bed alone, something that surprises him with how excited he assumed Chanse would be. He'd thought the little would wake him, but clearly he was wrong.
Stretching he heads to the living room to check on Chanse, wanting to make sure he’s ok before he gets ready for the day.
He smiles at what he finds. Chanse is watching Power Rangers intently, mimicking their movements from the couch. There’s a packed backpack at the end of the couch and Chanse is dressed in basketball shorts and a tanktop, seemingly ready to leave the apartment the second Tommy is.
“Good morning, Chanse.” he calls out, smiling when the little’s head snaps over to him, a huge smile on his face.
“Hi dada! Are we still going to the trampoline park? I got ready.” he says quickly, hopping up to hug him.
Tommy laughs lovingly, “I still need to get ready, but we’re going,” he assures him, “Are you my big boy today?”
Chanse nods, “I’m eight and a half,” he answers easily, “I packed the bag and everything.” he adds proudly.
“Extra clothes, socks, water, and snacks.” he lists, counting on his fingers, “So all you gotta do is shower and change.”
The caregiver laughs again, “Good job bubba,” he praises, continuing as Chanse preens, “Do you feel big enough to make breakfast?”
His eyes light up, “I can make oatmeal cups!” he tells him proudly, bouncing on his toes.
“Perfect.” Tommy says, pulling the little into another hug, “I’ll take a quick shower and then we can eat.”
“Ok dada!” he says, already heading to the kitchen, “I’ll be careful.” he adds as he turns the corner, predicting what the man was gonna say.
Tommy rolls his eyes and heads back to their room to shower and change, hopeful for where the day was heading.
He takes a quick shower, putting on some comfortable clothes for when Chanse inevitably drags him onto the trampolines and heads to the table.
What he finds surprises him.
He’d expected just two of the microwavable oatmeal cups on the table, but instead there’s also blueberries, a bottle of honey, and one juice box.
“I made you coffee,” Chanse says as he takes a sip of his juice, “But I didn’t touch it after it was hot.” he explains, pointing at the coffee machine with a hot mug of coffee sitting under the dispenser.
Tommy smiles, kissing the little’s forehead as he walks by to retrieve his drink, “You’re too smart and too sweet,” he compliments. Chanse isn’t supposed to use the coffee machine because it’s dangerous, but apparently he’d found an effective loop hole.
Chanse grins proudly, dumping blueberries into his oatmeal now that Tommy is here, pushing the honey towards his caregiver, “I love you.” he responds easily, taking a bite of his food.
“I love you too, baby.” Tommy murmurs, pouring honey into his oatmeal and taking a sip of his coffee.
“Dada?” he asks quietly, continuing when Tommy hums, “Can we check on Angie?”
He pulls out his phone as he answers, “I’ll text Amanda to see if she’s up,” he tells Chanse, “But I promise she's safe, bub.”
Chanse nods, taking a bite of his food before beginning to ramble to Tommy about all the cool stuff he’s going to do at the trampoline park.
This conversation continues into the car, the duo getting about halfway to the park when Tommy gets a text from Amanda, the car reading it out to them over their music.
Amanda: You can call
She is tiny
“Sissy!” Chanse chirps excitedly as Tommy navigates through the car menus to call Amanda, the phone ringing a few times before it connects.
“Good morning!” Chanse says excitedly, making sure to be loud enough to be heard from the back seat, “We’re in the car.”
Amanda laughs, “Where are you going?” she asks curiously.
“Trampoline!” he says excitedly, bouncing slightly in his seat “Dada said I was brave and I could do something fun today!”
“You were so brave, bub.” Tommy tells him, making brief eye contact through the rear view mirror, “So was your sissy.”
“Sissy?” Chanse calls out, suddenly remembering why he was on the phone in the first place, “Hi!”
There’s a moment of silence before Amanda answers, “Angie is really little, bud. But she looked at the phone and smiled,” she tells him, “I’m pretty sure that’s the first time she moved her head today.”
Chanse frowns slightly, “My baby is ok.” he says to remind himself, taking a deep breath, “Angie is safe, dada says so.”
“Angela is ok,” Amanda promises, “When she ages up a bit I’ll tell your dada and we can call again, how’s that?” she bargains.
“Thank you Manda.” Chanse says genuinely, “I love you both.”
“We both love you,” she tells him, “Have so much fun, ok?”
“I will, dada will take a video of my flip.” he assures her, “Gonna look so cool.”
Tommy sighs and Amanda laughs as they say goodbye and hang up, the music turning back on as the car disconnects.
“You can’t do anything too dangerous,” he reminds Chanse for the millionth time this morning, “I don’t want you to get hurt.”
Chanse rolls his eyes, “You said that already, I won’t” he promises, also for the millionth time, “Can’t play Switch if I break my wrist.”
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They pull up to the building and Chanse looks out the window excitedly, turning to Tommy confused when he doesn’t immediately unlock the door.
The trampoline park is all ages most of the week, but Saturday at this specific location is little’s day. Tommy assumes that it makes the park slightly more crowded, but it means the littles don’t have to be as careful, not having to worry about dodging toddlers and preschoolers.
“It’s probably going to be busy in there,” Tommy reminds him, “And it’s possible we’re going to get recognized.” he adds, something he’s much more nervous about than Chanse is.
“Gonna be okay da- Tommy,” he says, correcting himself mid-sentence, “I don’t mind people.”
Tommy nods and unlocks the door, grabbing the backpack and walking with Chanse to the front door to wait in line.
It’s not as crowded as Tommy feared with it being early and Chanse happily moves around from location to location, dragging his caregiver with him as he does all the special activities before it gets too crowded.
“Can you take a video for Manda?” he asks as they walk over to the foam pit, a huge grin on his face.
“Be careful.” Tommy reminds him for the hundredth time, pulling out his phone and standing off to the side as Chanse gets in line to jump.
There’s only one little in front of him and Chanse waves at Tommy before jumping onto the trampoline and doing a flip into the foam, landing on his butt in the middle of the pit with a laugh.
Tommy meets him at the ladder, “Good job Chanse!” he praises, showing him the video when he reaches for the phone.
“Can do better.” Chanse decides, and he returns to the line of one other little, having Tommy film him a few more times before deciding to just goof off instead.
The duo move on to the next activity, managing to get through almost everything before the crowds arrive.
But the crowds means there’s now enough people to play dodgeball, something Chanse is extremely excited for.
“I’m just going to watch.” Tommy tells him, taking a seat just outside the court, “Go get in line.”
He hugs Tommy before running off to wait for the match to start.
The littles are split off into teams by age, the employee trying their best to put two equal age and size teams together quickly.
Chanse stands on the red side, bouncing on the trampoline excitedly when another little walks up to him.
“You’re Chanse.” she says excitedly, bouncing on the trampoline next to him, “We’re gonna kick butt with you on our team.”
He grins at her, “Heck yeah we will!” he says back, the two getting in position when the employee calls out to them.
The whistle is blown and Chanse rushes forward and grabs a ball. He jumps around their side of the court, dodging the balls and hitting people, managing to eliminate half the other team before being hit.
Despite getting out, his team wins. He makes sure to run over to the girl who recognized him and give her a high-five before running back to Tommy.
“We won!” he tells the man excitedly, “And she knew who I was.” he adds, something he’s always supposed to do.
Tommy hums, combing back his curls from his face as he drinks some water, “You did so good, do you wanna play again?”
Chanse nods, quickly hugging his caregiver and running to rejoin the line.
He plays through when he would normally eat lunch, Tommy not dragging him away from the park until his wristband expired and they had to leave.
“This was one of the best days ever!” Chanse tells Tommy as he buckles his seatbelt, his eyes sparkling, “Thank you so much!”
Tommy turns around and smiles at him, “I’m glad you had fun.” he tells the little genuinely, turning back around to start driving.
“I’m hungry.” Chanse says and Tommy laughs.
“It’s late.” he reminds him, “We missed lunch.”
“Oops.” mumbles Chanse, looking out the window, “I’m tired too.”
“How about this,” Tommy starts, “Try to nap, and when we get home we can have an early dinner.”
Chanse huffs, leaning against the window, “Napping is boring.” he grumbles, closing his eyes.
Tommy chuckles at him, keeping an eye on him through the mirror while he drives home.
A text comes through from Amanda that Angela is bigger, and he lets it be, waiting for Chanse.
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Somehow Tommy manages to get Chanse upstairs without waking him.
As much as he wants to let him sleep, he knows that he has to wake him or he won’t go to bed.
He smiles as he gets a fun idea, pulling his phone out and calling Amanda
It only takes a few rings until a grinning Angela appears on his screen.
“Hi!” Angela chirps excitedly, waving at him, “Where Chansey?”
He laughs, turning the phone to show Chanse sleeping on the couch, “I thought you could wake your bubba up for me.” he explains, smiling at Angela’s excited face.
“Bubba!” she yells, giggling, “Bubba gotta up!”
Chanse’s eyes fly open, a confused expression on his face as he looks up at Tommy, until he notices Angela’s face on the phone screen, “Angie!” he says excitedly, stealing the phone, “I miss you!”
“Miss you!” she calls back, giggling as she suddenly is lifted from the ground and resituated into Amanda's lap.
“Here’s your fruit snacks,” Amanda tells her, seemingly taking the phone and handing Angela a small bag, “How was the trampoline park, buddy?”
“Awesome!” Chanse answers excitedly, “Dada’s gotta send the videos, I did so many flips.” he tells her, Tommy nodding behind him.
Angela looks up, “Trampoline?” she asks curiously, and Chanse quickly thinks of how to answer, not wanting his sissy to be sad.
Chanse nods, “Went to the trampoline park,” he tells her, “Was really busy.” he adds quickly, smiling proudly when she scrunches her nose, and holds up a fruit snack up to Amanda.
“Got stuff.” Anglea tells them, holding up her snack small bag of fruit snacks, “Got bat.”
Amanda laughs, reaching out of frame to hand Angela a hot pink baseball bat, “Wanna tell them what we’re hitting with the bat?” she asks the little, seeing the confused expressions on both of the boy's faces.
“Jake!” she answers proudly, and Tommy laughs hard, Chanse laughing next to him.
“I kneed him in the balls.” Chanse tells her proudly as Amanda takes the bat back, “Cool bat.”
“Good job!” Angela praises, looking up at Amanda, “I hungry mama.”
“You’ve only had shakes today.” she reminds her, “But there’s pizza and garlic bread now.”
Angela nods, “I stay bubba, mama dinner. Please?” she asks sweetly, looking between Amanda and the phone
Amanda places Angela down on the couch as she stands, handing her the phone, “Come get me if you need me, love.” she tells her, kissing her forehead, “Bye boys.”
“Bye bye Manda,” he calls out, Tommy also saying goodbye as Amanda leaves frame, leaving Angela alone with the phone.
“We didn’t have lunch so I’m also hungry, what about you bub?” Tommy asks, knowing that he's hungry.
“Hungry.” he answers immediately, looking over at Angela and seeing her not paying attention, too focused on petting Spork.
“I'm gonna be big.” he tells Tommy, “Just need to say bye to sissy.”
Tommy nods, “Want a drink?” he asks, “I could use some alcohol after the last 48 hours.”
Chanse laughs, “I will.” he replies, hugging Tommy before he can leave, “Bye dada, love you.”
“Bye bub, I had a great day with you.” Tommy says back, kissing his forehead and going to the kitchen to start on dinner and make the two of the drinks.
“Angie?” Chanse calls, smiling when she looks back up at him from petting Spork.
She squints at him curiously, tilting her head slightly, “Bubba gonna big,” she says knowingly, as if struck by a prophecy.
He looks at her in surprise, “You can tell by looking at me?” He asks incredulously, voice sounding closer to his adult voice.
“Look different,” she says simply, as if it makes total sense, waving at him “Bye bye bubba, love you.”
“Love you too sissy,” he responds, “Wanna stay on the phone?” he asks as he closes his eyes, laying back on the couch.
“Please.” She murmurs quietly, and he lets his older self surge forward, taking a minute to center himself before opening his eyes, a small smile on his face as he greets her.
Angela's lip wobbles at his greeting, tears welling in her eyes, “Chansey,” she whines, shocking him with her sudden shift in mood, “Scared.”
“I know,” he whispers, “When I was little, so was I.” he says honestly, doing his best to not also start crying.
“Now?” She asks hesitantly, wiping her eyes.
He shrugs, “I'm worried about you, but I'm not scared,” he admits, “I don't think he's dumb enough to come near you again.” he tells her, truly believing it.
“I sorry.” Angela says sadly, “He mean to you.”
Chanse shakes his head, holding the phone closer to his face as if it will emphasize his point, “Nothing he has done or ever will do, is your fault,” he tells her firmly, “He’s just an awful person, and awful people's words don't matter.”
“Besides,” he adds a little brighter, pushing his true joy into the sentence, “I like being a little, I know I'm not a useless waste.”
“He is.” Angela grumbles and Chanse laughs, proud of what she's saying.
“Exactly, he's not worth our thoughts.” He affirms, smiling at Tommy as he walks in with a cocktail, grabbing it from his hand.
“What's that?” Angela asks curiously, giggling quietly when Chanse shrugs before taking a sip.
Chanse sighs happily, enjoying the taste of what he's pretty sure is some of their higher quality liquor, “I don't know what's in it, but your uncle Tommy made it, so it's delicious.”
Angela hums, a contemplative look on her face, temporarily concerning Chanse until she starts speaking.
“Bubba and Tommy uncle, but Tommy bubba dada.” She starts, and Chanse looks at her blankly as he attempts to put together what she said.
“I'm your bubba, Tommy is your uncle Tommy. But Tommy is my dada?’ he clarifies confusedly, sighing in relief when she nods.
“Tommy uncle dada?” she asks, her brows knit together in thought.
Chanse laughs through his nose in an attempt to not laugh at the genuine confusion apparent on Angela’s face, “I think he's still just uncle Tommy, but I doubt he would mind if you called him that,” he tells her, chuckling again when Tommy re-enters the room and moves back into frame.
“I heard my name,” Tommy teases, “How's the drink?” He asks his boyfriend, being mindful of Angela and kissing Chanse's cheek.
“It's delicious.” He answers, covering the camera for a second to kiss Tommy on the lips, before uncovering it, “Wanna ask Tommy your question?” He asks, attempting to push past him covering the camera as best he can.
“Bubba and Tommy uncle, but Tommy bubba dada. So uncle dada” she explains choppily, Chanse grinning as he watches Tommy figure it out.
“Let me make sure I have this.” he says, also trying his best to not laugh, “Because I'm Chanse's dada, he's your brother, and I'm your uncle; I’m uncle dada?”
Angela shakes her head, “I ask you, not you ask me.” She tells him, confusion still evident on her face, “I no know.”
Tommy laughs, “You can call me whatever you want, little bee.” He answers as he stands, and leaves frame again “I need to get back to the food.”
As Chanse goes to ask a follow up question, Angela jumps to something else, the two talking about whatever Angela wants until Amanda calls her for dinner.
“I love you Angie, call me if you want me.” He says lovingly, catching the kiss she blows him and slapping it on to his forehead in the hopes of making her laugh, grinning as she giggles.
“Love you Chansey, bye bye.” She says back, hanging up and leaving him alone in the living room.
Chanse stretches, heading to the kitchen to spend some time with his boyfriend and help him make dinner.
.-/... --- ..- .-.. -- .- - ./-.-. .- -./-... ./.-/..-. .-. .. . -. -..
“How are you doing?” Chanse asks Tommy before taking a bite of his dinner, “The focus has been on me.”
Tommy smiles at his concern, “I'm alright,” he assures him, “It was scary and I'm worried about you and Angela, but I'm ok.”
Chanse nods, “I'm scared this is going to push back her progress, she was thriving. It was the happiest I've ever seen her,” he explains, “I loved getting to see her so free as herself.”
“Don't use past tense,” Tommy says. “She's a resilient person, we already know that. I have a feeling she's going to bounce back faster than you think, especially with you and Amanda.”
“Amanda is the best thing to ever happen to her.” Chanse says with a small smile, but Tommy shakes his head.
“You and Amanda are the best thing to ever happen to her,” Tommy corrects, “Give yourself credit. Angie adores you and Amanda's always talking about how amazing you are with her, especially at the beginning.”
Chanse rolls his eyes lovingly, “Either way, I just want Angela to be safe and happy.”
“She will be.” Tommy says confidently, taking a sip of his cocktail. “How are you feeling with all of this?’
He sighs, taking his own sip of his drink, “It was weird being that little,” he murmurs, “It's been a while.”
“My baby boy,” Tommy teases, “We should buy some just in case stuff for that,” he adds, “I don’t love you having your fingers in your mouth.”
“Neither do I,” he grumbles, with a small blush “But I agree, get a matching microphone with Ang or something, she’ll love that.”
“You’re such a good big brother,” Tommy praises, picking up both their plates before Chanse can.
“Lemme do it,” he argues, “You’ve been taking care of me, let me take care of you.”
Tommy puts the plates in the sink and turns around, a loving smile on his face as he carefully cups Chanse’s face and kisses him.
“I’ll happily take care of you everyday for the rest of my life,” Tommy tells his boyfriend, pulling him closer by his waist, “I love you.” he murmurs.
Chanse smiles, kissing him as he rests his arms around his neck.
“I love you, too.”