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Ron was never very fond of kids until he met Judith. He found children to be annoying. Not Sam, of course, but all other children. Younger children. Judith, though, he loved Judith.
And okay, maybe it had a little bit to do with how much he loved watching Carl with her.
Carl loved Judy so much. He spent a lot of his time with the baby, taking care of her and playing with her. He talked to her, told her stories and tried to teach her how to speak. Judith was a big part of Carl, and Ron loved Carl, so he loved her too.
Ron remembers the time he realized he loved Carl, and, subsequently, Judith too.
He and Carl had been dating for a little while, maybe a month or so. At that point, they were seeing each other almost every day. Considering at there wasn't a whole lot to do in Alexandria, they often just sat around and read comic books. On this particular day, they had plans to do just that. Carl had to watch Judith so they were just going to hang around his house.
When Ron arrived at the boy's house, Rick opened the door. Immediately, the teen could hear Judith giggling, and quiet metallic pangs. "Carl's in the livin' room with Judy."
Ron gave Rick a small smile in thanks and walked past him. As he toed off his shoes, he looked into the living room. He could barely see the top of Carl's head over the couch, which told Ron the boy was sitting on the floor. As he got closer, the sounds of metal on metal became louder. Ron rounded the couch, and an awestruck smile spread across his face.
Carl was sitting with his back against the couch, his sister sitting between his legs. A weathered xylophone sat in front of them. Judith was holding a metal spoon, and Carl had his hand wrapped around her wrist. He guided the baby's hand over the keys, tapping out a familiar tune. The teen was quiet singing the words to 'Mary Had a Little Lamb' in Judith's ear, earning giggles from her.
Ron felt his heart flutter as Carl looked up and met his eyes. The brunet smiled shyly at Ron, a blush spread across his cheeks which he tried to hide in Judith's hair.
"Hey," He murmured, still holding on to Judy's arm.
"Hi," Ron responded, sitting next to his boyfriend on the floor, so close that their hips were pressed together. "Hey Judith," he greeted with a chuckle as the girl gave him the same sassy look Carl sometimes did.
"That was adorable, by the way," Ron said softly, smiling at Carl.
"Yeah, she's a cutie," the younger boy said, smoothing a hand over her thick hair.
"She is, but I wasn't talking about her."
Carl's blush deepened and he turned away, looking down at his leg. "Oh. Thank you."
"It's nice, how much you care about her," the blond added, taking Carl's hand in his own and squeezing it gently.
Judith slipped her wrist out of Carl's loose hold and began hitting the xylophone with the spoon recklessly. "My mom would've done this. She did with me. I want Judy to have as normal an upbringing as possible, you know?" The brunet confessed, watching his sister attack the toy.
Ron nodded, squeezing Carl's hand again and giving him a small smile. "That's sweet. She's lucky to have a brother like you."
After a brief moment of hesitation, Carl turned to Ron and kissed him on the cheek, then hid his face in the crook of his boyfriend's neck. "Thank you."
Smiling contently, Ron brought his free hand up to play with Carl's hair. Ron could feel Carl's warm breath against his skin, sending chills down his spine. The only sound in the room was the metallic music Judith was making, and it was perfect.
When Carl looked up at Ron and shyly asked if he could kiss him, warmth spread through the older teen's bones, and he knew that he was in love.