Chapter Text
When Mack pulled into the Walmart parking lot at exactly five o’clock, he really wasn’t surprised to see Will’s black Bronco parked all the way in the back. Despite being early, Will had somehow managed to show up before him again. Yeah. That was normal.
It kind of irked Mack how Will always made him out to be the irresponsible parent. He always did things that made him look bad—like showing up thirty minutes before the arranged pick-up time. It didn’t help that Mack was horrible at being on time.
Re-adjusting the rearview mirror, Mack cleared his throat before parking his car a couple of slots away from Wills. “You ready, bud?” he asked the four-year-old squirming in his car seat, eager to be free from his shackle of a seatbelt.
Liam nodded, his brows furrowed in determination to set himself free. Mack smiled, amused by the kid’s antics. “Alright then,” he said before shuffling out of the car.
Will stood by, leaning on his own car, scrolling on his phone mindlessly. He perked up at the sound of a car door shutting, tucking his phone away.
“Will.” He nodded.
“Macklin,” Will said, unimpressed. “You take care of our son?”
Mack scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Don’t call me that,—and what kind of question is that?” he huffed, “Of course I did, William.”
Will grimaced before gesturing towards Mack’s car, “C’mon now, I don’t have all day.”
Shifting on his feet, Mack bit his tongue, holding himself back from saying something that’ll have them both here till sunset. “He’s kind of, uh, pissy,” Mack informed. “We went to the doctors this morning—he got a shot,” he explained, motioning to his own shoulder, “Arm’s sore.”
“Okay,” Will said, seemingly uninterested, but Mack knew every thought flowing through Will’s mind. He was anxious. He always was when it came to Liam’s health. Mack remembered when Liam had the flu, and he had to force Will under layers and layers of blankets and run his fingers through his hair to soothe him to sleep because he just wouldn’t on his own.
“He’s, like, fine.” Mack subtly reassured, rounding the car, “It was a normal vaccine.” He swung the car door open, greeted by his frustrated son. “What’s wrong, buddy?” Mack asked, his voice softening, gentle.
“Stuck,” Liam whined, kicking his leg out. Mack smiled fondly before unbuckling the kid’s seatbelt and freeing him from the car seat, and carrying him out of the car, shutting the door with his elbow.
“Papa!” Liam exclaimed, grinning, showing off his two front teeth. Practically jumping out of Mack’s arms, as soon as his tiny feet hit the cement, he ran over to Will, who was kneeling with his own arms wide open, wearing the exact same smile on his face.
Tiny hands wrapping around his neck, Will peppered his face with kisses. “Hi, baby!” he scooped the boy up, rising to a stand. “Did you have fun with Dada?” Nodding, Liam slumped down against Will’s chest and started rambling about his weekend, the golf trip, ice cream, and a new toy Mack had gotten him.
And even though Mack busied himself with taking Liam’s bags out of the car and settling them into Will’s trunk, he couldn’t help but get distracted at the sight, his heart fluttering as Will swayed back and forth, pressing tiny kisses along Liam’s hairline as he stuttered through his words.
“And Dada got me a…” Liam trailed off, playing with the metal cross hanging from Will’s silver chain. “...stuffy.”
“That’s amazing, Li.” Will smothered the boy with light pecks across his face before murmuring a small, “You wanna say bye to Dada now?” He asked, cautiously, though he had to bite back the groan when Liam’s smile fell, his expression crumpling, his face twisting up, his lip starting to wobble.
“Oh, baby—” Will said, hurriedly and way too late.
Liam thrashed in his hold, his little legs squirming against Will’s abdomen. “I don’ wanna say bye!” The four-year-old cried out.
“Liam,” Mack winced before stepping forward, next to Will, grasping Liam’s flying hand in his own. Biting his lip, Will offered Liam back into Mack’s arms. Mack took him with a frown, rubbing a hand up and down his son’s back in a soothing motion as he stilled against his chest. Liam’s arms wrapped around Mack’s neck, the boy’s head resting against his shoulder.
“Dada,” He sobbed, spit and tears wetting Mack’s shirt, leaving a dark imprint, his tiny fists bunching in the collar. “I don’t wan’ you to go,”
Mack’s hand trailed up his back and petted his dirty blonde hair, humming tentatively. When his cries lessened, “I know, buddy, but don’t you want to stay with your Papa?” he asked.
Liam sniffled, turning his head to look at Will, who gave him a small smile. At that, he burst into another fresh wave of tears, reaching out for his other father.
Will took Liam back, holding the boy against his hip as he clung to Will’s sweater, his eyes glassy and irritated, wetting his flushed, rosy cheeks. He tutted, wiping away the wet streaks with his sleeve.
“You’ll get to see your Dada next week, baby.” Will tried, but Liam just shook his head, burying his face in the cotton, muffling his wails into his sweater.
That was the part that sucked about being a divorced parent with a kid still so young. They tried to make it work, but sometimes Liam just didn’t want to cooperate—and he shouldn’t have to. A kid so young shouldn’t have to choose between both their parents every week, and the guilt of that ate Mack up every night. And he knew by the pained expression on Will’s face that he felt the same, too.
He looked back up at Mack, a weary expression on his face. “Uh, I’m okay with him staying with you this week—if you’re okay with it and that’s what he wants.”
“Uhm,” Mack shrugged, “I’m totally okay with that, but like, if he wants that.”
Will shifted, nudging Liam’s face out of his neck, his cheeks splotchy, “Hey, baby.” He murmured, cupping the boy’s chin, “You wanna stay with Dada this week?”
Liam perked up at that, looking at Mack with sad, blue eyes. He turned back to Will, his brows furrowed, “Papa, too.” He pouted.
Mack looked at Will with the same stumped expression he wore.
Liam looked between them and broke out in tears once more, kicking his legs and throwing his arms back and forth, screaming. Mack flinched and ran his fingers through his own auburn hair. He was grateful they parked so far from the actual Walmart, away from any other cars.
“Okay, dude,” Will huffed, “Liam.” He set the boy down onto the ground, balancing him as he wobbled on his two feet. He knelt down in front of him, holding Liam’s hands in his own. “You gotta calm down, baby.”
Mack squatted beside them, “Yeah, bud, just breathe.” He instructed, “In and out, like we practiced, alright?”
Liam huffed, in and out, quieting down his cries, though the stream of tears dripping down from his waterline hadn’t lessened. He wiped at his own face with his fisted hands aggressively.
“I want—I want…” He hiccuped, stuttering, heavy breaths coming out in puffs.
Will gently stroked his cheek, “What do you want, baby?”
“Dada and Papa,” Liam mumbled, leaning forward to tuck his face away into Will’s neck, snot, tears, and spit wetting his collar.
Biting his lip once more, Will picked the boy up and turned back to Mack. “We could…you could…”
“What?”
“Just like…come over for dinner, or something?”
“What?”
Will sucked in a breath, glancing at Mack’s car and his own open trunk. “Yeah, like, until he falls asleep…”
Mack stared at him, baffled. “You want me to come over?”
“Don’t make it weird, Mack.”
Raising his hands in surrender, Mack huffed, “I’m not making it weird, you invited me over for dinner!”
“So our son wouldn’t have another meltdown!” Will snapped, flinching when Liam peeled his head off of Will’s shoulder, tear-glassed eyes peeking over at them. “Listen,” he said, quieter, adjusting his grip. “I haven’t had a good day, and I really don’t want to deal with Liam having another breakdown.”
Mack pursed his lips.
“Besides, I think it’d be…good for Liam.” Will added, “To have both his parents together. Quality time is especially important when they’re younger.” He said, matter-of-factly.
“Right,” Mack nodded, hesitantly, “Sure,” he agreed, “That’s reasonable.”
Liam perked up, “Dada and Papa together?”
“Sure, bud.” Mack smiled, “Yeah.”
And maybe it was a bad idea, the two men spending any more time together than the scarce amount they already did, but the giggles and shrieks of overly joyous laughter let out from their son were enough to subside any bad gut-feeling Mack could register.