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Robby and Jack have two boys.
Milo James Abbot is five years old with dark brown hair that naturally wants to stick up in a faux hawk, big brown eyes, and a smile that could melt your heart. He is biologically Robby’s and is the spitting image of him. He is pure sweet love and does no wrong. He is a very agreeable child, loves to help, has never had a tantrum in his life, and is soft spoken and calm. He loves to learn and began reading at four years old.
Milo is the reason Robby and Jack went for one more kid.
Clark Henry Abbot is two years old with wild and unruly brown curls, hazel green eyes with thick long lashes, and an always present glint in his eyes. He is Jack’s biologically and is also the spitting image of him.
Clark is the reason they stopped at two children.
He is fire and sass and attitude and loud energy all rolled into one tiny being. He is possibly the most disagreeable child you could meet and if you say red, he’s absolutely going to say green. He screamed nonstop the first nine months of his life. His fathers genuinely thought something was wrong with him.
When he took his first steps at nine months, they knew they were in for it. They quickly realized that Clark had screamed the first nine months because he was itching to move. And move, he did.
He was the epitome of chaos. Nothing was safe. Their entire house became one big baby proofed jailhouse. Gates were everywhere. Cabinets were locked tight. The toilet even had to be baby proofed. They learned that one the hard way.
Clark is their wild child and is most certainly the cause of them getting grays in their hair.
Being two years old brought its own new level of chaos. They added in frustration at not being able to communicate as well as he’d like which naturally evolved into bigger and louder tantrums.
Clark wants what he wants when he wants it and he is going to let you know if you’re taking too long.
Robby walks in after work, throws his keys on the table by the door, and finds his husband walking out of the bathroom with Milo wrapped in a towel, wet hair sticking up and still dripping water.
Clark is being carried like a football under Jack’s arm, giggling loudly and kicking his feet, shrieking when Jack drops him on the couch. Clark immediately unwraps himself from the towel and runs naked across the couch, shrieking in pure glee.
Robby catches him at the end of the couch and scoops him up.
“Papa!” Milo runs over to Robby and puts his wet head against his leg.
“Goose!” Robby rubs his hand over Milo’s head.
“Papa!” Clark imitates his big brother.
“Clark Kent!” Robby says as he tickles the baby. Clark giggles and tries to jump out of Robby’s arms so Robby puts him down on the floor where he runs circles around the living room.
“Clark shook his nakey butt at me,” Milo told him in his most serious tone.
Robby glances at Jack who rolls his eyes affectionately before glancing back at Milo.
“He did, did he?”
“Yep,” Milo says.
Clark walks over to Robby and taps him on the arm before turning around and shaking his naked butt at him.
“Oh, I see how it is…” Robby stands up and chases the boy who screams in both glee and terror at being chased.
Milo is giggling hysterically by the time Robby catches Clark.
“Clarky is so inappropriate,” Milo comments with his big vocabulary, although he’s grinning.
Robby smiles at him and says “That’s okay, buddy.” Then he whispers conspiratorially, “Butts are kind of funny.”
Milo giggles and nods in agreement.
Robby grabs a diaper and wrangles Clark into it before he takes off running again.
Jack has been helping Milo step into his underwear and pajama bottoms while Robby was diapering Clark.
“Love those Elmo jammies, my man,” Robby comments to Milo before looking at Jack. “You’re very quiet. Everything okay?”
With a sigh, Jack rubs his hand down his face and says “I’m just tired. I didn’t sleep well this morning while the boys were at school and Clark has been a handful today.”
Jack worked nights at the hospital and Robby worked days. The boys were at a private preschool for the first part of the day so that Jack could sleep. Robby got them ready and dropped them off at school before work, Jack came home to sleep for a few hours before he’d get up and go pick them up from school and have them for the rest of the day.
Usually they have a nanny that comes for about an hour to fill the gap between Jack needing to get to work and Robby making it home. She’s there to supervise the boys while they play and occasionally she helps prepare their school stuff for the next day. She also occasionally babysits so they can get a date night, although that’s pretty rare these days.
Tonight, however, Jack is off and will be home with them.
Robby cups Jack’s cheek and says “Go take a break.”
Jack snorts. “You’re the one that’s been working today.”
“Doesn’t matter. You need a break.”
Jack sighs and turns his head to kiss Robby’s palm.
Robby does go up to change clothes first, and as he’s leaving the bedroom he hears a tiny voice calling “BABE!” up the stairs. Robby grins. Clark had started calling Robby babe because that’s what he hears Jack calling him.
“Babe!” The voice hollers again followed by nonsensical babbling.
“He’s trying to tell you about his dinner that went cold because he won’t sit still long enough to eat it,” Jack explains as Robby makes his way down the stairs.
Clark babbles some more, pointing in the direction of the kitchen.
“Okay, I hear you.” Robby acknowledges before kissing Jack on the side of the mouth and heading into the kitchen with his youngest son.
He re-heats Clark’s chicken nuggets and puts it on the table. Clark demands, “CHETCHUP!”
“Can I have ketchup, please?” Robby models the appropriate way to ask.
Clark stands his tiny body in the dining chair and points to the refrigerator, demanding “CHETCHUP!” again.
Robby leans back against the counter and crosses one leg over the other, looking like he has all the time in the world.
Clark stares him down. Robby stares back. Shrugs. “You don’t have to have ketchup.”
Clark screeches “CHETCHUP!” and jumps in the chair, screaming in a tantrum.
Robby scoops him up and plants him on the floor. “Not safe.” Then he goes back to standing nonchalantly against the counter.
When Clark throws himself back on the floor, Robby walks out of the room.
Milo is playing with his doctor set. He’s listening to one of the baby doll’s hearts.
“Clark is very angry,” he comments as he listens through the stethoscope. “I can’t even hear the heartbeat over his screaming.”
Robby’s lips quirk in a grin. “It is hard to hear over loud noises, isn’t it?”
Milo nods seriously and concentrates on his task.
Suddenly the noise from the kitchen stops and little footsteps approach. Clark’s face is red and wet with tears and he says “Chetchup, pease?”
Score one for Papa.
“Wow, I love those good manners, Clark. Let’s go get some ketchup for your nuggets.”
He walks back and puts some ketchup on the plate and sits beside Clark at the table.
“Did you have a good day at school, Clark?”
Clark dipped his nugget in ketchup and took a bite before nodding. He looked around and said “Dada?”
“Dada is resting. He’s tired.”
“Me night night Dada.”
“You can’t go night night with Dada because you need to sleep in your bed.”
“Me night night Dada…” Clark says as he wails.
Jack is a big softie and lets the boys crawl into bed with them whenever they want. Robby tries harder to stick to a routine for everybody’s sanity.
A few more minutes of carrying on brings Jack down the stairs.
Clark grins and bounces. “Dada!”
Jack picks him up and nuzzles his cheek.
“Jack…” Robby says in a warning tone.
“He’s sad… look at his face….” Jack puts their cheeks together and they make identical pouty faces.
Robby sighs in defeat and says “Goodnight, Clark Kent.”
“Night night, Babe,” Clark says happily and pokes his lips out for a kiss.
That done, Jack carries Clark up the stairs which gives him some time to hang out with Milo.
They play doctor for a bit with Milo’s baby before cleaning up the doctor set.
“Go pick two books that you can read and one book that I can read.”
Milo runs off to the playroom to find the books. He’s gone for several minutes before he runs back with three books.
“I can read these two.” He tosses two easy reader books on the couch. “And you can read this one,” he says excitedly. It’s an old favorite. The Little Engine That Could.
They sit side by side on the couch and Milo begins reading to him, very rarely stumbling over a word that Robby helps him work through.
Robby reads “The Little Engine That Could” with Milo helping him out with the “I think I can, I think I can.”
Robby helps Milo brush his teeth and tucks him into bed, nightlight on and stuffies placed just so on the bed.
He makes his way to his room, finding Jack on his back snoring lightly with Clark cradled in his arm, pressed against his side.
He crawls into bed and kisses both lightly on the head before getting comfortable and dozing off.
************
Jack wakes at some point and gets up so he doesn’t totally mess up his sleep schedule. Clark snuggles up to Robby and Robby cradles his little sleep warm body to his.
When he wakes next it’s to his alarm. He groans and stretches. Clark stretches next to him and rolls over, sticking his little tush in the air as he goes back to sleep.
Robby gets up and goes about his morning routine, getting ready for another day of work.
He then goes about getting the boys ready for school. He dresses Clark first in a navy and white striped polo shirt with khaki shorts. Then he carries Clark into Milo’s room and lays him on the bed. He wakes and dresses Milo in a plaid button down shirt that has shades of pink and purple and navy blue with navy blue shorts.
He carries both boys downstairs and lays them on the couch. Jack takes one look at them and shakes his head, whispering “Robinavitch. Stop dressing our kids like fucking nerds.”
It’s one of their favorite arguments. Robby dresses the boys preppy, like little old men. Jack prefers a skater/athletic vibe.
“Switch to days and you too can dress our children,” Robby jabs back at him.
Robby sets about cooking breakfast while Jack snuggles a sleepy Milo on the couch, talking in low murmurs about what might happen at school today.
“You want eggs, baby?” Robby calls to Jack.
He hears three yeses.
They eat breakfast together at the table. Clark is cranky and has to be fed to get any food in him.
Jack helps put shoes on feet and walks them to the car, strapping Milo in while Robby gets Clark strapped in.
Robby lingers by the driver door to say bye to Jack. Jack presses him against the side of the car, hands on Robby’s cheeks and leans in to kiss him. Robby feels a spike of arousal shoot through him.
“Don’t start something you can’t finish,” Robby jokes.
Jack pecks him on the lips. Once, twice, three times before he pulls back and says “Something to get you through your day.”
Robby growls and chases Jack’s mouth with his own. Jack allows it for a moment before he says “Go. Get our hellions to school so they can learn something. Go be a hero and save lives.”
Robby rolls down their windows and the boys shout “I love you, Daddy!” and Jack shouts back “I love you, babies!” until they can no longer hear each other.
Robby can’t wipe the happy grin off his face. How did he get so lucky? What a life they’ve made together. He couldn’t be happier. He never envisioned this to be his life, but he certainly can’t picture it any other way now.