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‘Take a summer vacation with your almost two year old’, they said ‘it’ll be fun’, they said.
Alex wasn’t sure who defined cleaning throw-up out of carseat for the 2nd time in one day was fun, because it sure as hell was not. John assured him that it was only because this was the first time he’d been in a car for more than an hour, and that he would be fine once he got used to it. John had experience with little ones through his siblings, so Alex trusted him with that. 3 hours and no more car-seat cleanings later, they finally arrived at Eliza's house. Philip was sound asleep when they pulled into the driveway, and John stopped his husband from rushing to wake him up, more or less forcing him to watch the sunset from their car.
“You know Eliza is probably watching us from her window right now, and thinking we’re on drugs.” Alex chimed in when John reached across the console to grab his hand, laughing and pecking his cheek.
“Let her, the sunset is pretty.”
-
As if on queue, Philip woke up right as the sky faded to black, whining and reaching forward.
“Hold your horses, Phili” John cooed back as he got out of the car, opening the trunk for Alex to get their bags before going back around to get Philip. He was still in a post-nap sleepiness stage, clinging to John and gripping the collar of his shirt in his fists. Alex trailed behind him to the front door, shifting their things around in his arms to ring the doorbell. Eliza answered almost instantly, more or less confirming that she had been watching them.
“About time you came inside.” She said and ushered them inside, Maria and Gracie coming from around the corner. Gracie ran full speed at Alex, almost knocking him over in a bear hug. He chuckled and went with it, picking the six year old up and swinging her around.
“You’ve gotten so big!” He remarked as he set her down, Gracie already moving on to John and Philip. “He’s still little.” She whispered and pointed at the toddler, Alex following her finger and beaming at them.
-
Philip became fully awake shortly after they got settled in, toddling around and exploring their temporary home. Alex, being the hawkeye parent he was, opted to follow him around while John had coffee with Maria and Eliza.
“He’s growing up so fast, I cried like a baby when he turned 1, I don’t think I’ll be able to cope when he’s 2.” John remarked as he sipped at his coffee, watching Philip look through a picture book he had found in Alex’s lap, Gracie next to them.
“I feel like Gracie turned 1 yesterday, I almost don’t want her to start school.” Eliza sighed and leaning back into Maria, who ran her fingers through her hair. John had become so caught up in their conversation that he didn’t notice Philip barrelling at him, standing on his tippy toes when he got to the couch.
“Dad-ee” He said and reached up, flashing John a grin and bouncing on his heels. John picked him up, pressing kisses all over his face as he sat him in his lap. Philip only giggled in response, batting his fists around aimlessly.
-
Alex was left with Gracie, and he finished flipping through the book with her before going to get up, being a little taken aback when she tugged on his pant leg to get him the sit back down. Her face was etched in nervousness, which concerned him greatly.
“You good love?’ He questioned as he sat back down, the little one shrugging and picking at a loose thread on her dress.
“You know you can talk to Uncle Alex about anything, right?” She looked up at him at that and nodded, biting on her bottom lip for a minute before finally speaking up.
“When did you know you were born...wrong?” Gracie stumbled over her words and spoke more to the ground than Alex, a little embarrassed of herself. That was the last thing he had been expecting her to ask, but he welcomed the question nonetheless.
“I didn’t really figure it out till I was 13, but some people figure it out when they’re big like me or little like you. It’s different for everyone.” He spoke softly and Gracie looked back up, hanging onto his every word doe-eyed.
“What’s got you wondering? If you don’t want to tell me you don’t have to but it’ll make you feel better if it’s got you worried.”
That question shot her right back into nervous land, and she looked back towards her mom's quietly, shrugging her shoulders.
“I dunno, just thinking.” She said under her breath and sighed, leaning onto Alex and resting her head on his shoulder. Alex had a feeling he knew what was up, but he wasn’t going to force it out of her. That definitely didn’t help him when he was at this stage.
-
Their conversation didn’t enter his mind again until he was putting her in for Maria, and she hugged him a little tighter than she normally did before she climbed into bed.
“Goodnight Uncle Alex, love you lotta”
“Goodnight Gracie, don’t let the bedbugs bite. Love you a lotta”
He blew her a kiss and she caught it with her fist before he turned off the light and shut the door, walking back into the living room where Philip was falling asleep on Johns chest. Kneeling down next to the couch, he ran a hair through the toddler's hair, the action stirring him awake.
“You ready for bed Phili?”
He nodded and John let Alex take him, walking upstairs to the guest room where they had set up his pop-up crib. As he changed him into his pajamas and gave him his nighttime bottle, he took the time to think about how lucky he was. He had John, his son, and a found family that all loved him dearly. Sometimes he just couldn’t believe how lucky he was. But when Philip mumbled ‘ight papa’ as Alex put him down, it was pretty easy to believe.