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Maxwell drummed his fingers on the steering wheel as he drove to the school to pick up his son. He smelled like oil and exhaust steam, and there were grease stains up his forearms, but at least the work day was done. He was exhausted and his hands ached, but as he pulled into the school’s parking lot, being able to pick Connor out of the crowd just by those familiar long brown curls brought a soft smile to his lips.
However, the frown on his face wiped it right off. He watched the boy climb into the passenger seat, concern likely evident in his expression. “What’s up?” He asked gently, reaching over to put his rough hand on his son’s shoulder as he drove back onto the main road. “Everyone was calling me a girl.” Connor mumbled, fidgeting with his hands in his lap.
God, kids were assholes. Connor was only eleven, and he was already experiencing this sexist bullshit. Jordan would just love to hear about this later.
Maxwell sighed aloud, because he knew exactly why it had happened. “Don’t listen to them, Connor. They don’t know what they’re talking about.” He stated, gritting his teeth together and doing his best to keep his focus on driving. His son was wearing a pink shirt, that was it. He’d bought it for him because he saw it and asked for it, as the boy liked the colour. As he should, it was a pleasing colour.
“I don’t wanna wear this anymore. I hate pink, dad.” And just like that, he’d had enough. He pulled over on the side of the highway, turning to the side in his seat and gripping his shoulder. “Listen, Connor. That’s a damn lie, and I know it. You and your daddy are pretty much the same here, he used to get bullied for it all the time.” Maxwell said, brushing one of the loose curls away from his face.
“Really?” The boy looked up at him properly, hope in his gaze. “What did daddy do?” Connor wondered, with that same curious look in his deep brown eyes that he’d seen on his own so many times before. “Well, it took him a while to get the courage to do this because no one was there to encourage him, but he got there eventually, and it’s actually the reason we met. D’you know that?” Maxwell smiled softly, thinking back to that day with nothing but fondness.
“Really?” He repeated, and his father’s smile only grew. He was such an adorable boy, and he looked so much like his daddy, especially in the hair. “Yeah. He was sick of being bullied for it, so he stopped reacting when people said anything.” Well, he’d also been spitting some pretty nasty insults back and gotten sent to the office more times than he could count, which was really how they met, but he wasn’t going to encourage their son to start telling people their dicks were small when he was in the fourth grade.
If he came home upset again, he would definitely be telling him to start fucking with their heads.
With that, he started driving again as they talked. He loved to talk about Jordan, he was his favourite subject and the only man he ever planned on loving. Connor loved listening to him talk about his other father, too, which made them a perfect match.
Jordan was going to be so proud, knowing that his son was going to stand up for himself.
Jordan had always loved pink.
If only Jordan was still alive to see this.