♤SPRING SHIELD (MxM) ~fantasy~♤

Let's do this

Elijah

Two days before I had to leave for Europe,Kristian,ruined me. He made the week and a half I'm spending away seem like eternity just by sitting on my bed and listing things that make me masculine to him.
It did something to my pride in way I can't really describe at all.
I'm still thinking about it and I'm in the airport,about to board my flight. "Dad,when will you be back?"Oliver asks me,clinging to my legs like he has no intention of letting me go.
"Soon. Don't worry,Kristian will take good care of the both of you while I'm away make sure to not cause trouble,"I tell them and Kristian laughs,
"We'll be just fine without you."he says,sounding a little too proud,
"I except two calls a day."
"I'll think about it."
"I want to know where they are if they're destination changes from my house."
"Debatable."
"Kris,I mean it. Don't do anything reckless and if something goes wrong just call me,I'm never too busy for my boys."I cation and he refrains from rolling his eyes. For once.
"Dad,when you're away you'll face time,right?"Liam asks,tugging on the sleeve of my trench coat,
"Of course. Call me anytime."
"Isn't time here and in Europe different?"Oliver adds. I nod,
"Not too much,buddy. Not too much."I say scratching his head. Before looking to Kristian again. "I believe you know what to do if-"
"Something goes wrong! You made a sixteen page long list of emergencies that might happen,allergens,contacts meal plans. You've done more than enough,Lewis."him calling me Lewis is never going to stop,is it? I guess it's all my fault for telling him to do that,
"I just like to be safe."I mutter,kissing both of my boys on the top of their heads and getting up to kiss Kristian on his cheek. He holds the spot with his hand and blushes. Dear Lyria,I don't think I'll be able to do this,
"Bye."I whisper. It hurts me to say it and it's just pathetic at this point. It can't be that hard anyway. It's just a week and then some. I can totally do this.
I wave then walk off into the terminal.

_________________

Kristian

I can't do this.
I sent Elijah to the airport,he boarded his plane,twelve hour flight,no biggie. Took the kids to school,went to work and supervised progress,made notes on it for him to read when he gets bag.
Left work early to pick up the boys from school. Drive home and have a crisis because I don't know how to teach them math. But I could do English and social sciences. Finished their homework.
Great,now I need to make dinner and hopefully I can mimic Elijah's cooking skills. Flipping through the meal plan for the first day. Yeah,he made an extensive meal plan with close substitutes and stocked up the fridge with ingredients.
He did all that I somehow manage to still be stressed out.
Pro tip from the master himself,let them play with legos while you cook. They won't come to the kitchen.
Chopping up vegetables I silently thank him for that because I don't think I could deal with kids in- forget it,their here.
"Whacha doing?"Liam asks with his brother in toe as they sit across the kitchen watching me as if I'm on some ridiculous cooking show. For two siblings who claim to dislike each other they sure do go everywhere together.
"Cooking."I answer,making frequent checks to the recipe Elijah wrote for me,
"Are you any good at it?"Oliver questions tapping two pieces of legos onto the counter,
"A little."I shrug,finishing the veggies and moving on to the chicken breasts.
"Our nanny,Maya? She isn't good at it,she just makes the same stuff all the time."Liam says,placing his tiny head in his hands,"Or does what your doing."
"What am I doing?"
"Reading dad's recipes."he deadpans,
"It never really tastes the same though."Oliver says and they both nod like this is some profound statement. I shake my head and wonder how everything seems to great when Elijah's around.
"Has your dad always been good at cooking?"
"Yeah,he always wants everything to be perfect."
"Right?"I laugh,even his kids agree with me,"Does he ever want you two to be perfect?"I take out the multiple seasonings out of his seasoning drawer. Yeah,he has one of those.
"Not really,but sometimes he says it's okay if we lose but really he wants us to win."Oliver explains,stealing a carrot to munch on,
"Isn't that normal for a dad? He knows you'll be sad if you lose."
"You haven't seen him at my soccer games,he goes absolutely crazy when I win."Liam says and Oliver laughs,
"He just wants us to be good at everything we do so we can feel good and make him proud."I have a hard time imagining Elijah screaming at the top of his lungs at his son's soccer match. He always seemed like a quiet celebrator.
I turn on the stove and start frying the chicken breasts. When that's ready I do the greens and then put the chicken back. Then rest happens smoothly and soon we're done with dinner.
Then they watch their show while I work and then it's bed time. Elijah warned me that since he's not there this might become the most difficult part of my day.
I got them into bed. Then I started my bed time story,"So,this is how this story goes..."
"Is it about princesses or Kings?"Oliver asks,I smile because they both look so silly in their matching pajamas.
"I love ones about kings."Liam says,turning on his bed side lamp that makes the room glow in the soft way,
"Well,tonight's story is not about kings or princesses. It's about a boy. A very poor one,his parents passed away when he was very young,it was only him and his grandmother. And all the people in the village didn't like them-"
"Why?"Oliver asks,
"Because they were mean,really mean. Have you ever met a mean person?"
"Yeah. Cassie,this girl at school is mean to people sometimes."Liam answers,
"For no reason,right? It's so weird. But anyway the villagers hated the boy and his grandmother for no reason. And because they didn't have any money they couldn't afford a lot of food."A pause,as they suddenly come and rest on either side of me,"One day the boy stole a single bean,from his neighbours farm. Just one,small like this."I show them how small it was by putting my fingers together.
"Just one?"Liam asks,
"One. And then he ran and ran as fast as he could all the way to his home and planted the bean. And each day after that,it grew and grew. A little higher each and every day until it was taller than their house."I put my hand as high as it can go over my head,"Once it was super tall they had all sorts of veggies from the tree. Like,eggplants and tomatoes..."
"Even carrots?"Oliver asks,excited,
"So the tree was magical?"
"Yes! The tree was a magical bean sprout. And now that the boy had all this food the villager started to hate them. Where did they get this bean from they asked?"
"They were jealous?"
"Yes,they were. Very jealous of the boy and his grandmother. But one day an old mean man came and pointed his finger at the boy and yelled. You stole that bean sprout! You thief! Thief,thief,thief."
"Then what happened?"
"The boy said no. Even if it was a lie then told the mean old man that he had nothing to prove it. The mean old guy said,'well I'll show you. Just you wait!' So together with the villagers they planted a bean sprout in the ground."
"Then they caught the poor boy?"
"Nope! Because the bean sprout never grew any higher than an inch. So they couldn't prove he stole it from anyone's farm. And they had to leave the boy alone."I shrug,finishing my story,
"But- but why?"
"Because they were mean and mean people don't get to have magical things."
"That's a silly story."Liam says grinning,
"But I like it. I like that story."Oliver smiles up at me. They're precious,these two. So,so,adorable. It squeezes my heart.
"Good,then are we ready for bed?"the silence that comes after is deafening. "Helloo...?"they whine and I can't help but laugh,
"Do we have to?"
"Yep. Sorry,boys."they both go to bed and I finally breath. I snuggle up into my bed and as soon as I sit down I get a call from Elijah. I wasn't expecting this. "Hello?"
"Yeah,hi. I know it's late over there,sorry."he sounds rushed,a little dishevelled but still his normal self. I try to imagine what he looks like,
"No problem. I just put the boys to bed."I answer,snuggling further into my covers,
"Good. I just landed in France and I got a call from David."
"What did he say?"
"The investors in Spain are taking up the offer."he sounds a little stressed out even though this is wonderful news,
"Oh,the Sanchez group? Congrats."
"Yes,but the Sanchez group wants to meet with me next week."
"Oh."
"I can't send someone in my place. It makes my stay longer."
"That's alright. Are you okay? You sound a little tired."
"Maybe I am. I'm sorry,Red. About leaving you-"
"You haven't left me. I choose to be here. I'm doing just fine without you,by the way."
His silence is deafening. The sons are like their father.
"I won't take long,Red. Promise."