Chapter Text
Rick was terrified. He sort of paced around the kitchen, wringing his hands and whispering affirmations to himself. Christian was moving in today, and Rick was rather nervous about how it would go. Sure, he's spent considerable time with the kids before, going to their sporting events or taking them out to lunch. They'd all bonded in some way, but living together was a completely different step.
He should just chill out… right? Everything's gonna be fine!
His ten year old son, Sawyer, decided to bring out his entire action figure collection, and was in the living room, dedicated to fixing them in a perfect order. Beautiful. Perfect. They can nerd out together. His eldest, Amara, acted like nothing was different: she sat at the kitchen island with her laptop and a bagel. This was perfect for Rick's sanity; her calm balanced out his nerves. However, his six year old, Isabel, was nowhere to be seen. Not good.
"Izzie!" He calls, leaning back against the countertops, "whatcha doin', baby?"
She comes scurrying out of her bedroom, a piece of paper in her hands. She holds it out in front of her, absolutely beaming.
"It's for Christian." She shares. Rick squints to see two stick figures, smiling with a sun behind them. "Me and him."
"Very nice, kiddo!" He caresses her head, and she grins up at him before running away again. Okay. This is fine. Everything's gonna be fine.
Amara looks up at him. "Don't freak out." She directs, eyes darting down to where he's fidgeting with his bracelet. "It's fine. He likes you."
"Is it—do you think it's that simple?" He ponders, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Yeah." She replies plainly. "Dad… he wouldn't be moving in with you if he didn't know what he was in for."
Rick swallows. "You know too much for thirteen."
"Maybe I'm secretly thirty." She smirks, resting her chin on her hand. "Just be normal."
"Okay. Yeah."
He looks out the window on the front door to see a u-haul van parked out front. Sawyer hears the engine switch off—he's trained his ears to listen for such—and scurries up to open the door. He runs outside, and Rick follows, albeit much slower. He laughs under his breath as Christian struggles to balance a few boxes in his arms. Sawyer sneaks around his, grabbing some of the smaller packages.
"Thanks, buddy," Christian grunts, looking down at the boy the best he can.
"You're welcome." He scampers back up to the house, although nearly tripping on his own feet.
"Careful!" Rick warns, curling into himself.
"He's alright. Probably nothing valuable," Christian shrugs, turning towards the house. He pauses to kiss Rick, pulling away faster than the latter would've preferred. Rick grabs the last few boxes, stuffing them under his arms, and starts back towards the open door.
Amara's got a nice assembly line moving at the counter. She opens each box and slides it to the side for Sawyer to take.
"Bedroom… bathroom…" she hums in a steady rhythm, and her brother is quick to oblige. Christian tries his best to help, reaching in to open the especially tricky boxes. Amara lets him… not willingly, usually having to take a breath, but she does.
"They're very helpful." Christian whispers in Rick's ear.
"Soak it in. Haven't seen them like this in a while."
< < <
The next few days pass by faster than Rick expected. Sawyer's eager to show Christian all of his collections, and now, Christian's ready to build him a whole robot. Rick's pretty skeptical. Sawyer will come and sit criss-cross in the living room, a lego set or monster trucks in his lap. He'll call Christian over, if he's home, and ask him to build or play with him. Rick's alright with him taking over the position of Sawyer's Playmate for a while.
Izzie's quickly become close with Christian; she's practically his shadow. She's always at his side, whether he's cooking, working, or watching TV. She's usually not bothering him, often drawing or playing with her dolls, but she finds comfort in being next to him It absolutely warms Rick's heart. Izzie's rather shy, all things considered, but Christian seems to be the exception.
Amara's the tough one, and Rick doesn't blame her. She was close with her mom, and has been very adamant that Christian's not going to replace her. At the same time, she's extremely close with Rick, and is mostly concerned about Christian breaking his heart. She's very intuitive for thirteen; sometimes it terrifies him. But he understands, and Christian does, too. They don't push her, and instead let her approach them at her own speed. Most of the time, she prefers her bedroom or practicing volleyball outside. Rick reminds himself that this is just the way these things go.
About a week in, they all go to one of Amara's volleyball games. She was nervous how her friends would react, considering the deep-red area they live in. Rick told her he would lie and say Christian was his brother, and she told him he didn't have to do that—she said she would deal with it. Rick's ready to deal with it, too.
They crowded into the school gym. Rick figured he'd give poor Christian a break, and took Izzie into his lap. Sawyer scootches in next to Christian, leaning against his side.
"Do you know volleyball?" He asks, bouncing in time with the ball moving back and forth over the net.
"Can't say I do."
"Okay. I'll explain. So basically…" Eagerly, he rattles on, and Christian leans in, listening intently. Rick always admired that in him: even though he was so, wildly intelligent, he was always willing to learn something new. To be fair, he was a good listener in all aspects.
A woman in front of them turns her head behind her. "Who're you here for?"
"Amara," Rick smiles, "number six."
"Oh, wonderful! I'm Ellie's mom," she points to the tiny, blonde libero, to which Rick nods. "Don't think I've seen y'all before."
"Well, I've been here with my son and daughter." He explains, his palms starting to sweat. "But, uh… this is my partner, Christian." He briefly sets a hand on the other man's shoulder. The woman's brown eyes go wide—not in rage, but like she has no idea what to say. Christian smiles innocently, obviously no clue as to what the conversation was.
"Well— alright!" She chimes, smiling quickly before turning back to the game. Rick sighs, resting his chin on top of Izzie's head. Christian places a gentle, grounding hand on his back.
"It could've been worse." He murmurs.
"Yeah. Just freaked me out." Rick winces, as if reliving the moment again.
"It's okay."
"Look!" Sawyer stands up out of his seat. " 'Mara just got an ace!" He points out at the court, where her teammates surround her in a huddle.
"That's my girl!" Rick cheers, to which the other parents laugh. Amara hears him and rolls her eyes, but he can tell she's holding back a smile. "Dad 101: embarrass the children—they'll eventually thank you for it."
< < <
Undoubtedly, the best part of Christian moving in is finally getting to sleep in the same space. He hated not having anyone to hold or a cold body to stop him from overheating. He tried his best to remember the curve of Christian's body against his own. Sometimes it worked, and other times it only made him long for him more.
But now he's here, and he's not gonna take him for granted.
They brush their teeth in the mirror. Rick stands behind Christian, bracketing him between himself and the counter. He admires him in the mirror, his eyes tracing each bend and crevice in his face.
Christian leans over and spits out his toothpaste. "You're awfully touchy." He notices, leaning back into Rick.
"I've been touch starved… going to bed alone every night, having no one to hold…" Rick drags, pressing his lips to the other man's jaw. Christian spins around to face him, his eyes glancing down to Rick's mouth and back up.
"Well, not anymore." He presses their foreheads together, soaking in the tension. Rick's hands drift to Christian's waist and finally pulls him in to kiss him. An enchanting, extremely gratifying feeling warms Rick's chest: finally, he has everything he needs within these walls.
He pulls back, laughing against Christian's lips. "Off to bed, dear."
"I'm not a child…"
"I know, I just wanna cuddle." He guides Christian back into the bedroom, where the two of them seamlessly slide under the covers. The smaller man curls up against Rick, wrapping his arms around his torso and laying down on his chest. Rick sighs in relief, his head hanging down into Christian's hair.
He'll finally get a good night's sleep.