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In theory, Jensen always thought breakfast in bed sounded like a great idea.
He was convinced it was a sweet, smoothly running gesture that would put a smile on Jared’s face.
As it turns out, not all of that was true; he just didn’t know that from the start.
In the beginning, it is all a plan he has building in the back of his brain. Actually, Jensen has been thinking about it for quite some time. He’s been thinking about something he can do to mark Jared’s second Father’s Day.
For Jared’s first Father’s Day, Jensen hadn’t been such a permanent fixture in Jared’s and the twins’ lives. They’d still been a new item and Jared had still been skittish. Jensen hadn’t wanted to push too hard, too fast. He had been afraid of being too presumptuous in assuming his place in Jared, Arianna, and Brooke’s lives was more important than the little family felt. In Jensen’s brain, he knew early on that he couldn’t live without Jared and the girls. But with Jared running scared and way too jumpy from previous heartaches, Jensen hadn’t known at the time that deep-down, Jared felt the same way.
Now, however, after over a year and a half together, Jensen and Jared both know that they are too far in to ever fathom living without each other.
So, yeah, it is Jared’s second Father’s Day, but it is the first time Jensen actually feels like he’s a part of it.
Technically, he is a huge part of it. The girls’ paperwork is going through to make Jensen their other legal father and Jared is very obviously growing their newest addition in his tiny swell of a belly. While Jensen wishes the girls had been his from the moment he helped bring them into the world, he can’t complain too much since fate has righted itself and they are practically his now. He was always theirs, but the law is close to recognizing it too.
Jensen is completely devoted to Jared as well. He gets a boyfriend and two daughters in one shot.
How lucky is he?
Now with a new baby on the way, Jensen has a lot to be happy for and he is more than a little over the moon that he gets to check off his first Father’s Day with the most perfect beings on the planet.
Thankfully, Father’s Day morning, Jared is passed out. Jensen doesn’t blame him, he’s not only exhausted from being pregnant but Jensen also wore him out last night with an extremely drawn out bout of love making. It had been the first time Jared felt up for more than a quick romp in the sheets since morning sickness kicked in and Jensen never let a good opportunity go to waste.
With Jared asleep, Jensen sneaks out of bed to pull on a shirt and a pair of lounge pants.
The twins are awake. He can hear them ‘talking’ to each other softly from the monitor on the nightstand. Clicking it off so that Jared stays exactly how he is, he pads out of the room.
Ari and Brooke are on the knees babbling at each other when Jensen comes into the room. Their eyes light up when they see Jensen.
“Dada!” Arianna bounces up and down, giving a toothy grin.
“Hi angel-face.” Jensen scoops her up and attacks her cheek with kisses. The girl giggles and breaks into a dimpled smile. Behind him, he hears Brooke making a fuss in her crib. He’s not surprised. Brooke and Ari get along a majority of the time, but they get jealous in the morning when one is left in the crib and the other is getting all the attention. He knows better than to try and change Arianna’s diaper without taking Brooke out of her crib. Brooke’s cries in complaint are a sure way to wake Jared up earlier than expected.
“Hey, Queen-bee. What’s a’matter Brooke?” Balancing Ari on his hip, Jensen leans down to grab his other daughter. Brooke is practically climbing up the crib’s bars and it is easy for Jensen to pull her into his arms. He kisses her forehead before leaning his own against hers. She smiles and hugs his face with both hands before he deposits her at his feet near the changing table while he works on Arianna’s diaper. It is a quick job, making sure his eldest is dry and clean before doing the same for Brooke.
Once done, he grabs both of them and heads downstairs to start on breakfast. Before he can do that, however, he needs to feed the girls.
Plopping them into their highchairs, he cuts up some bananas gives each girl a handful. He throws some Cheerios on their highchair trays as well, hoping that will keep them busy enough until he’s done preparing the actual breakfast he has planned.
It does keep them busy…for about two minutes, just enough time for Jensen to pull out the waffle iron and the ingredients he needs.
A scream from Brooke makes Jensen pause just as he is about to crack an egg into a bowl. He abandons his task of whipping up the waffle batter, turning to see Brooke with a piece of banana sliding down her face and Arianna looking awfully proud of herself. There is a big smile on her mouthful of Cheerios. “Hey! Ari! No throwing food at your sister!”
Ari’s lip quivers, proud smile instantly a memory as soon as her father’s reprimand hits her ears. She whimpers, slams her hands on the highchair tray, and lets out a cry.
The twins’ actions leave Jensen conflicted. He wants to hush their crying for fear of waking their other father up but the only way to do that is to go back on his previous scolding. It’s a terrible crossroad and both girls start pouting at him. They are making soft shaky cries but are building in volume and should hit full steam in about thirty seconds.
He knows he will regret it later when he crouches down in front of the girls and shushes them. Placating them is building a nasty habit. Jensen knows he’ll probably go back on his word when he says this is a onetime exception.
“Shh, monkeys. It’s okay. Just, don’t fight okay. Please, babies?” Jensen gently runs his thumb over Brooke’s cheek and wipes away the banana residue. “You two are sisters. So, please, please try not to wake your papa up, okay? Don’t we want to surprise him for Father’s Day? He’s been doing a very good job being your papa.”
The twins react to Jensen’s voice. They have no idea what he is saying but his voice picks up in just the right pitch and he emphasizes enough syllables to make them giggle.
He turns to go back to his task but the quiet doesn’t last long. The girls seem happy enough while he cracks two eggs and measures out enough milk and waffle mix in a large bowl. Soon enough, Brooke is crying again. This time, it is not Arianna’s fault. When Jensen turns around, Arianna is happily shoving her face full of Cheerios again but Brooke looks miserable.
It’s not solely that Brooke is being difficult. She’s had an ear…thing…going on for a few days. She’s fine, but she has been more temperamental than usual.
Sighing, Jensen grabs two sippy cups from the drying rack next to the sink and quickly pours two servings of milk into each. Arianna reaches up to take hers with greedy, grabbing hands while Brooke is more reluctant. She eventually takes her cup, but she does so while giving Jensen a look like she is the one doing him the favor. Using both hands, she brings it to her mouth but then throws it on the floor and cries.
“Hey! Brookey, what’s wrong baby girl?” Without breaking eye contact with the little girl, Jensen snags the cup from the floor and holds it out to her again.
Brooke’s hands push past the cup and reach out towards Jensen. Her fingers wiggle and she grunts as she tries to latch onto her father. The man is still too far away and her highchair’s straps are keeping her safely seated but she still tries. “Dada! Up, dada!” She blinks big green eyes at him.
Jensen’s lost the battle even before it has really begun. Every time his daughters blink their eyes at him like that, giving him their pathetic puppy look, he’s done for. “Aww, B.” Surrendering, he unhooks her highchair and gathers her into his arms. She latches on like a leech, suddenly all smiles and toothy grins. “You’re manipulative.” He ruffles her bed-head and gives her the cup of milk before propping her on his hip.
Arianna seems content in her highchair, thankfully ignorant to the fact that Brooke gets to be part of the breakfast making activities and she doesn’t.
Eventually, Jensen gets the griddle heated up and is just finishing whisking the batter when Brooke drops her sippy cup smack dab in the middle of the bowl.
The batter splashes on him and Brooke, as well as coating a fair amount of the floor and counter.
Brooke thinks it is hilarious.
Jensen starts to second guess his plan at making Jared breakfast in bed.
He figures that he is too far into the breakfast plan to abort the mission now. The pot of coffee is going, the orange juice is squeezed, and the strawberries are all laid out.
Removing the sippy cup, he shakes it off and decides there is still plenty of salvageable batter left.
He pours a portion on the waffle iron and turns around to check on Arianna as it cooks. He has to do a double take because he swore he left his child in better condition than what he is faced with now.
Arianna is absolutely fine, but she is a mess. She has smashed so many pieces of banana in her hair that it looks like she taking part in some strange deep conditioning treatment.
“Arianna! What did you do to your hair?” Even though he is getting increasingly frustrated with the speed bumps he is hitting along the way to make breakfast, he has to laugh. Arianna looks at him with pursed, confused lips as she pulls at her hair. No wonder she was so quiet.
“Yucky.” She holds out mushy banana hands to Jensen.
“Yeah, yucky. I wonder how you got that way, huh?” Plopping Brooke on the floor, he makes his way over to Arianna so he can attempt to get as much banana out of her hair. He doesn’t care if he gets it all out, he just needs her to be semi-presentable for the next thirty minutes. Once he gives Jared his breakfast and he receives all the praise he quickly feels he is earning, he can throw her in the tub and scrub her up.
Eventually, he wipes most of it down. She smells like a banana smoothie but he knows there are worse things his daughters can smell like. He finishes just in time to remember the waffles and almost trips over Brooke in his mad dash to check on them.
Thankfully, the waffles are fine. They are on the darker side of golden but they’re totally acceptable.
Brooke walks over to him and practically clings to his leg as he tries to deposit the breakfast on a tray. Since she is doing a very good job and getting in his way, it makes it hard to get around the kitchen but it isn’t impossible.
He soon has a tray filled with waffles, syrup, sliced strawberries, orange juice, and coffee. He drops a Father’s Day card he’d written out the day before into the mix. Standing back to look at his work, Jensen is mostly pleased. Sure, he thinks he could have done a little better with the presentation, but it isn’t a bad effort considering Arianna and Brooke want to be difficult.
Now he is faced with a bigger problem. He needs to get the twins and the tray upstairs. There is no way he can do both at the same time.
Ari is still in her highchair so he grabs Brooke and totes her up the stairs along with the tray. It is a bit of a balancing act but he gets up the stairs without any spills.
Resting the tray on the small hallway table, he goes back down the stairs to retrieve Arianna. She is waiting for him expectantly, a big smile on her face. As soon as Jensen has her out of her chair, she kisses him on the cheek, making Jensen melt.
“Wanna go wish papa a happy Father’s Day?” He sets both girls on the floor in front of his and Jared’s closed bedroom door.
Arianna lets out a jumble of words that might be her version of “happy Father’s Day” and Jensen figures that is good enough.
“Okay monkeys, go on. Go get papa.” He pushes the door open and ushers them inside.
They rush the bed. Jensen is sure he’s never seen them move so fast before. They are all giggles and “papa” and they struggle to climb up the bed. Jensen gives them a hand, cupping their little butts and pushing them up onto the mattress. They crawl over to their father, being none too gentle in their attempts to find Jared under the thick comforter.
Knowing the twins are safe on the middle of the bed, Jensen dashes out and gets the breakfast tray. He comes back in to find Jared cracking open a groggy eye and coming face to face with two toddlers. “Good morning, Jared.”
“Jen?” Jared pushes himself up in the bed, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
“Papa! Morning!” Brooke lunges at her father and Jared catches her in a big hug. He reaches out to pull Arianna into the hug as well.
“Good morning babies! What are you two doing in here? Huh?” Jared makes a big production of hugging the girls, making them giggle more as he swings them back and forth.
Watching Jared light up when he sees his daughters is the best Father’s Day present Jensen could ask for. He’s sure that sight is better than any other gift. “Happy Father’s Day, Jay.”
Jared blinks at him, finally noticing the tray he has balanced in his hands. “Jensen, what’s all this?”
“Breakfast in bed.” Jensen sits down on the bed. Jared looks at him with pleasantly surprised eyes and smiles.
Everything is kind of perfect until the twins get a little too excited.
Arianna bounces happily on Jared’s lap and tries to scramble up her father. Her legs kick out and knock into the tray.
On impulse, Jensen goes for the hot coffee, not wanting it to spill on his family. As a result, he gets covered in orange juice. The waffle falls on the floor and Jared gets a lap full of strawberries.
Cursing under his breath, Jensen feels like a total failure. The plan had seemed so perfect in his head, nothing like what is actually happening. The whole morning is ruined. Jared deserves a perfect breakfast in bed, not bed sheets full of fruit and a waffle covered in carpet fibers.
He looks up at Jared with an apology on his face to find his boyfriend laughing.
“Oh, Jen! Look at you! You’re covered in juice.” Jared is laughing so hard his eyes are tearing up and he has to stop to take a breath. Brooke catches his attention by calling his name and he gives her a confused glance. “Is she…is she covered in batter?”
“Umm, yeah. And Arianna’s hair is full of bananas.” Jensen’s shoulders fall but Jared is still laughing. He watches Jared sniff Arianna’s head before his boyfriend dissolves into another fit of laughter.
Wiggling his nose at Ari and Brooke, Jared smiles at them. “Were you guys being difficult for daddy, hmm?”
“Boy were they ever. And of all days. I just wanted you to have a perfect Father’s Day. You deserve it.” He is trying as hard as he can to not let on how disappointed he is that things fizzled out so completely but even he knows his voice is giving everything away.
“Aww, Jensen!” Jared sighs and gives Jensen a sad look. “This is perfect. You, covered in juice and whatever else you have on your shirt. And my girls, who clearly wanted to be as much a part of this breakfast as you did. This is perfect. I mean…who cares…we can do laundry. But that type of sentiment? Yeah, that is perfect.” He smiles and kisses the shocked look off of Jensen’s face. When he pulls away he pops a strawberry in his mouth and lets out one of the most delicious moans Jensen has ever heard. “And you got the strawberry part right.” He eats another one and closes his eyes in effort to savor the taste completely. “Yum.”
“Staw-berry, yum.” Brooke mostly smushes a berry to her mouth, leaving her lips a juicy red and her tongue snaking out to lick it off. Arianna grabs a berry too and chews it with big open mouthed bites.
Jensen is face to face with three very content looking people, leaving him the odd man out. He is confused, but Jared shoves a strawberry in his mouth. With no other option but to chew it, he finally laughs at the situation. Swallowing, Jensen snorts. “I’m sorry. I was trying to surprise you with breakfast in bed, not breakfast on bed.”
“I figured this wasn’t your plan. But still, if that state of our kids and yourself is any indication, I can see you put a lot of effort into it. And isn’t that is so meaningful about breakfast in bed? It isn’t about the food. It is about the sentiment behind it. So, Jen, you hit the nail on the head. This is perfect.” Jared reaches out and grabs the coffee mug from Jensen’s hold. “Plus, you saved the coffee, so I have no complaints.” Taking a big gulp, Jared gives a content sigh. “Oh, god, I love you.”
Immediately, Jared’s expression puts a smile on Jensen’s face. He knows Jared doesn’t drink caffeine that often, despite the doctor telling them a cup a day was fine, and he is glad the coffee is turning out to be the treat he intended it to be.
“Love you too.” Putting the destroyed breakfast tray on the floor, Jensen peels off his orange juice soaked shirt so that he doesn’t destroy the bed any further by dripping all over it. Dry enough, he saddles up next to Jared, snagging another berry from his lap. “I just…I wanted our first real Father’s Day together to be memorable.”
“Oh, this is memorable alright. Look at Ari, she looks like a berry smootie over there.” Jared gestures towards his eldest with his head. Arianna is eating another strawberry, juices running down her chin and adding pieces of strawberry to her banana infused locks. Jared gives her a loud kiss on the cheek and she laughs.
“Yeah?”
“Absolutely.” Jared pops another strawberry in his mouth. Talking with his mouth full, Jared smiles, “Plus the strawberries? Yeah, I love you right now. The baby likes strawberries.”
Jensen knows that, it’s why he made sure to pick up a fresh bunch yesterday. He also knows Jared’s craving for strawberries is more than the baby’s doing. Jared has been torturing Jensen with his love of strawberries since Jensen hired him. At least something went right. At the mention of their baby, Jensen runs his palm under the blanket, letting it come to rest over the swell in Jared’s middle. He doesn’t need to say anything for Jared to know exactly how happy he is that the swell is there.
“Funny. I wanted your first Father’s Day to be memorable as well.” The corners of Jared’s lips turn up and it instantly spreads to his eyes. He curls his hand over the one Jensen has over his belly.
“You did, huh?” Jensen gets closer, letting their girls snuggle between them.
“Yeah. Open the top drawer of my nightstand.”
Raising an eyebrow at his boyfriend, Jensen isn’t sure what to expect. It’s why he adores Jared so much. They’ve both had their fair share of thoughtful gestures but Jared never ceases to surprise him. Pulling the drawer open, he finds a thin wrapped square. Giving Jared another questioning eyebrow raise, he tears open the gift to find a hardcover photo book. The cover has a picture of him and the twins on it with the title “Daddy and His Girls” and it should be cheesy but it isn’t. It’s adorable. “Jay, this…” He goes speechless for a moment as he flips through the pages. There are pictures in it that he didn’t even know existed. It seems to go chronologically, the first pages bearing pictures of the twins when they were so tiny that Jensen cannot even remember how he found the courage to hold them.
“The girls wanted to get you something. I know how you like pictures, so I thought a book collecting pictures of the three of you would be much appreciated.” Pulling both girls onto his lap, Jared bit his lip nervously. “My gift is at the end of the book.”
Without delay, Jensen flips to the back. The last page of the book is a printed page containing two pictures of documents. Looking at them more closely, Jensen reads that they are Arianna’s and Brooke’s birth certificates. He’d seen them before but this time they have his name as their other father. “Jared, really?”
Nodding happily, Jared gives a smile. “Yeah. They’re yours. The paperwork went through. I have the real ones in the lockbox. I got them a week ago but I wanted to surprise you…”
Jared doesn’t get to finish his statement because Jensen’s lips are too busy stopping the words from coming out. He grabs at the sides of his face and kisses him softly. He is so happy that his heart might burst. Their birth certificates are just pieces of paper but they are paper that means he can legally be the father of the two amazing little girls in the world. Heart hammering like it’s about to knock a hole in his chest, he thinks he is so happy he might cry.
And suddenly he is crying, tears falling onto Jared’s face, but he’s laughing too. He pulls away enough to cup each girl’s face in his hands and kiss her on the forehead. “Ohh, Jared! You…That…This,” he holds up the book opened to the birth certificates. “You’ve made me so happy. I couldn’t have dreamed of a better Father’s Day gift.”
Wiping a tear away with his thumb, Jared is smiling just as wide as his boyfriend. “I don’t know, these strawberries are giving my gift a run for its money.” He’s joking of course, Jensen can tell immediately because he starts laughing. “Happy first Father’s Day.”
“Happy Father’s Day, Jared.” Jensen leans in for another kiss, gently shoving Jared so that he can slide into bed and have a lazy morning with his family. “Here’s to many more Father’s Days.”
“Yeah, many more.”
“Daddy!” Brooke grabs onto Jensen and snuggles into his arms while Arianna does the same to Jared with a loud exclamation of, “Papa!”
Breakfast may have tanked, but in the end Jensen got exactly what he wanted.
It is nice to spend a morning having easy conversation with Jared in bed, but soon enough he and the girls will be too sticky to ignore. He’ll be on bath-time duty while Jared changes the sheets.
And in a sense, that is exactly the way he wants it as well.