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"Angel, do you know where my Queen CDs are?" Anthony Crowley-Fell called to his husband.
"Anthony, why would I know where they are? They're your CDs. Also I thought you said you were ready? Finding something at the last minute is not you being ready!" Asa called back.
"Well, I thought that I was ready and that my CDs were in the car, but then Elsbeth said they weren't there, so now I have no clue." Anthony said, walking into the room Asa was in, doing a last minute check to make sure they hadn't forgotten anything. The ten of them were going on a road trip for several days, and they had hotel reservations for tonight. They had to check in by 8:30 or they would have to find somewhere else to stay.
"Daddy, I found the CDs." Jemimah said. She was hopping up and down as she entered the room excitedly, holding the cardboard box of Queen CDs. Since Freddie Mercury was actually a family friend of Anthony's, he had been given all the CDs from Freddie personally. Some of them were given before he was born, but the others were given to him during the mid to late 70s, 80s and really early 90s when Anthony was old enough to be responsible for them.
"Ah, thanks, Jem." Anthony said, relieved. "You wanna get in the Bentley now? I'll be there in a sec to do your seatbelt. Wait- do you need to go to the toilet first?" Jemimah nodded. "Alright, you go- don't forget to wash your hands!"
Jemimah turned back around to look at Anthony, a disgusted look on her face. "That's disgusting, Daddy. I'm not Warlock; he never washes his hands. I don't think he knows how to." She whispered the last line loudly.
"Alright, I know you can, just go. Before you go in your pants." Anthony ushered Jemimah to the toilet, then went back to helping Asa check they had everything.
"Kids, you ready?" Anthony called once they had packed everything. There came a chorus of yeahs and the eight kids came to the front door, which was in the kitchen.
Jim, the oldest, was wearing a hoodie and baggy jeans. Elsbeth, the second oldest, was wearing a brownish yellow and blue flannel and also baggy jeans. Twins Muriel and Josh were both wearing different shades of brown, and cream colours. The next oldest were the other set of twins, Adam and Warlock. The only thing similar about them was their birthdays. They didn't look alike, they didn't dress alike, they didn't like the same things. Adam was wearing black skinny jeans and a band tee while Warlock was wearing a plain black hoodie and shorts. The second youngest was Jemimah. She hopped into the kitchen, hands still wet since all the hand towels were dirty and she was wearing an orange t-shirt under a large hoodie and brown pants. The youngest was Eden. She had firey red hair much like Anthony's, and blue eyes like Asa's. The husbands joked it was destined to be due to the resemblance when they first saw her in the orphanage. She was wearing a dinosaur t-shirt and grey tracksuit pans.
"Let's go now," Asa said. "We don't want to be driving all day, do we?" The kids shook their heads. All ten went outside and got into the cars. Since there was too many of them to fit into one car, Anthony had Eden, Jemimah, Elsbeth, and Adam while Asa had Jim, Muriel, Josh, and Warlock in his car. They drove off. The plan was to go on a road trip to Asa's parent's house. Since, of course, the drive would take more than a day, some days they would be staying in tents, and others they would be staying in hotels.
When they arrived at the hotel that night, Jemimah and Eden were both asleep in their car seats so Asa and Anthony had to carry one of the girls each up to the hotel.
It was a big hassle to sort out who would be sleeping in the same room since they didn't all get along. Of course, there would be two or three people to a room: Jim and Muriel; Josh, Adam, and Warlock were assigned to a room together as well, to Warlock's disdain and Josh and Adam's excitement. Lastly, Asa, Anthony, and Eden would be sharing a room. For Eden and her parents, they had asked for a queen sized bed as well as a single. They got given the keys to their hotel rooms and made their way to them. All the rooms were on the next to each other for convenience, in case there was an emergency or something.
"Alright kids," Asa said. "We'll give you.... ten minutes to settle down and unpack a few things- but not everything since we'll be leaving tomorrow morning anyway." The kids all went into their hotel rooms to unpack, and the adults as well as Eden went into their room.
There have been several occasions before where several of the kids were arguing so loud in public Asa and Crowley could hear them from a whole other room. There was none of that this time fortunately as the kids sorted out whose bed was whose and put their suitcases next to their beds. Once they were done, they met outside their rooms in the hallway.
"Alright, kids. We all done?" Anthony asked. The kids all nodded in reply. "Great. Let's hope the hotel restaurant is still open, I'm starving. Let's go." The kids all raced down the hall to the restaurant, evidently forgetting that despite how early it was, it was still dark and people might be trying to sleep or rest. Eden and Jemimah were falling behind, and were pushing each other out of the way to be in front of the other. Eventually, they both tripped over the other and fell to the ground in a blur of red and brown. The two little girls started wailing in pain; they had both hit their heads hard on the fall.
"Oh, you two." Anthony sighed. He scooped the two of them up into his arms, a girl in each one. "You two will be alright. Angel, take Jemimah, please. I don't want to drop one." Asa hastily took Jemimah from his husband and cradled her in his arms. The two men with their adopted daughters followed their other children to the hotel restaurant.
"It'll be alright, Eden. You just bumped your head, nothing to worry about." Anthony comforted her. "Now, are you hungry? Let's hope the restaurant is open." He held Eden tightly, and she rested her head on his shoulder. She had stopped crying now, but was clearly still in a little pain.
They made it to the restaurant, where the others were already, sitting at a large table that miraculously fits all of them. Eden fell asleep on Anthony's shoulder on the long way down, and once Anthony moved to sit down on a chair, she lifted her head groggily and groaned.
"It's alright, Eden." Anthony said. He sat down next to his husband, who had stopped carrying Jemimah when she asked to be put down.
"Now, what are we all thinking of getting?" Asa asked.
"Chocolate lava cake!" Jemimah exclaimed.
Anthony snorted as he tried not to laugh. He was supposed to be a responsible parent, although he really wasn't most of the time.
"For dinner, Jem." Asa said. Everyone ordered either pizza, burgers, or fish and chips for their dinner, and when they were all around halfway through it an old couple came up to them.
TW THIS IS THE HOMOPHOBIC BIT BUT I'LL TELL YOU WHEN IT'S OVER
ALSO TW THE F SLUR IS USED
"Excuse me," the old man said in a bitchy tone. "Excuse me. Which one of you is the legal guardian of these children?"
This confused the husbands. No one had asked them a question like this before. There have been people who questioned their ability to be parents because they were gay, but the question had never been asked like this before. It's usually just people who mutter things in passing.
"Um, we both are." Anthony said, instantly on guard.
"We're married." Asa said firmly. HIs tone was try me. If you do or say anything homophobic around my family, you won't make it until tomorrow.
"Is there a problem?" Anthony asked.
"It's not right, you know." He said matter of fact. "Two men shouldn't be having a family together. Who's the women in the relationship?"
"It's Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve," the woman butted in. The teenagers all started speaking at once to defend their dads.
"It's the bible not the straightble." Muriel said.
"Steve is Eve's dead name though." Adam said.
"It's straight to hell, not gay to hell." Jim said. They all smirked, and the old couple looked at them all in disgust.
"See, this is what happens!" The woman said. "You've corrupted them! Making them think that that lifestyle is alright when it's obviously not!" Her voice was getting more and more shrill as she continued.
"We're not corrupted," Jim snapped. "You are for thinking being LGBTQ is wrong. They adopted me five years ago, and I was already pansexual then. Why would you think that?"
"Just piss off," Anthony said. He was clearly very tired of having this conversation. It happens almost every time they try to do something nice with the whole family.
"I just don't understand," the man said. "Other than you two being a couple of faggots, why adopt so many children? Trying to corrupt as many kids as possible, are you?"
"They adopted the kids that straight people abandoned in orphanages or put up for adoption. At least they want us." Elsbeth said. She crossed her arms.
"Ugh. Let's go, Derek." The woman grumbled. She and her husband stalked off, and Derek flipped off the family. The children - except Eden and Jemimah - were more than happy to do it right back to them.
HOMOPHOBIA IS OVER :-)
"That was a horrible experience." Asa remarked. He squeezed his husband's hand for comfort, since he knows Anthony always gets uncomfortable and anxious at moments like those.
"Mhm." Anthony was quiet. I mean, what was there to say?
Everyone continued eating.
"You good, Anthony?" Warlock asked. They all looked up at him from their dinners.
"Yeah. Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Anthony croaked, and the children all believed him. Asa, on the other hand, could tell he was lying.
"Are you sure, my dear?" He asked.
"Of course, Angel." His voice was shaking. He was very clearly not alright. Asa just looked at him. He could see it on Anthony's face. They were together for a decade and a half, so of course they would know what the other's emotions looked like.
"Can we talk privately?" Asa asked quietly. After a too long silent period, "please?"
"Fine." Anthony got up and left quickly. Asa stood up and hastily followed him, reminding the kids to "be nice and not make a scene" as he went.
Asa found Anthony crying in the bathroom. Thankfully, there was no one else there. He was gasping loudly in an effort to calm himself.
"Oh, my dear. What's wrong? Was it that old couple?" Asa stopped himself before he asked too many questions. Instead, he went over to hug him. Anthony broke down and hugged his husband back tightly.
"I can't take it anymore." He sobbed. "Why can't people just mind their business?"
"I understand, love. People are stupid and will just hate on anything and anyone who's different." Asa explained sadly.
"It's bullshit."
"I know. It is bullshit, my dear. But unfortunately there's nothing we can do about it."
Anthony nodded. He reached for one of the paper towels to dry his eyes. "C- can we go back now?" He asked.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. I don't want to be in here any more. It stinks." The husbands chuckled, and they left the bathroom.
They arrived back to the restaurant area, where the kids had finished eating and were now chatting. The kids looked around as their adoptive parents walked over to them. They were holding hands.
"Are you alright, dad?" Jemimah asked once Anthony and Asa sat down at their respective seats. Anthony nodded, not looking up from his hands resting in his lap.
"Can we go now? We've all finished." Warlock asked.
"Yes, you all can go. Be safe and don't be too rowdy." Asa said.
"Let's go to the gym! That's always really fun!" Exclaimed Muriel, to the agreement of all their siblings. All eight of them got up and raced each other to the gym.
"Shall we go pay?" Asa asked softly.
"Yep. Let's go." They got up to pay for their dinner before going to find their children.
It didn't take too long since they were probably the loudest group of people in the hotel. Eden and Jemimah were sleeping on the floor basically on top of each other, and that was the deciding thing that made it bed time.
They all went to their rooms and thankfully there wasn't anymore arguing about sleeping arrangements and they all fell asleep fairly quickly.
The next morning, they left at 9:30 to go the rest of the way to Asa parents house. They piled into the two cars and drove off.
Once they finally arrived at the house, the first thing they did - other than sort out sleeping arrangements - was go to the beach. Everyone was swimming and having a good time, and since Asa's parents house was literally on the beach, it was easy for them to bring food and drink down for them to consume.
At nighttime, after a full day of swimming and having fun at the beach, Asa and Anthony were resting on several towels on the sand. The kids were all either asleep or doing something inside, and everything was silent.
"Angel," Anthony began.
"Yeah?"
"I love you so much." He said before falling asleep on his husband. Asa gently kissed his forehead before whispering "I love you" back.