let them boys be

(a pocketful of sunshine)

summary: Jay is twenty-four, tired, and it's been him and his son for a while now. Li is twenty-six, tired, and has been on his own for a long, long time. 

tags/themes: slight hurt/comfort. fluff. sweet warm gentle fluff. falling in love. food?

notes: request fill for @Chris_Kane, thank you for reading! sorry for how late it is omg i fell into a pit called fanfiction........... also titling seems to be harder than writing an actual fic.

a pocketful of sunshine -

"Daddy, I'm hungryyyyy!"

"I know, Ollie, I know." 

Jay shuts the fridge door, biting his lip. It's completely empty inside, save for milk and eggs, which is definitely not enough for dinner. How could he have forgotten to do groceries this week? It's irresponsible, that's what it is. And now his three year old is rolling around on the floor, whining in hunger. He sighs.

"Okay, Ollie, how about this." He crouches down, waiting until Ollie pauses in his chants of "Hungry, hungry, hungry, hungry" to look up at him. "Let's put on our coats and go out to find food, okay? Want to go on an adventure with daddy?"

A shine enters Ollie's big brown eyes. The child bolts straight up, arms stretched above him. "Yayyyyy! Food! Daddy!"

Jay juggles his phone and his jacket while Ollie stuffs his feet into his tiny shoes. It's pretty late, since his boss kept him over time (without pay, too, unfortunately), and he doesn't want to keep forcing his kid to eat pizza every day. He doesn't have a car, and the bus routes in their area only come every half hour... All the restaurants are at least two blocks away... Jay taps at his phone, but he only gets to the internet app before it flashes Low Battery. He growls.

"Daddy?"

"Everything's fine, kiddo." Jay pats Ollie's head. They open the door, Ollie rushing forwards with his little legs, prompting a laugh out of Jay despite his growing worry. He wishes he was more competent, but he's all Ollie has. He just needs to try harder. 

"What do we eat, daddy?"

"Uh..." They stand outside their door, Ollie staring up at Jay while Jay stares back down helplessly. "Let's... Let's go for a walk first, okay, buddy?"

Ollie blinks, once, twice, and then his lower lip begins to jut out. Oh no. His eyes squeeze tight, his mouth opening wide as tears start to slide down his cheeks. "But I'm hungry!"

"Oh, Ollie, shhh, it's okay, I know, I know..." Crouching down, Jay tries to wipe away his tears, but Ollie only ducks away. Helplessly, Jay glances around, hoping he's not disturbing his neighbours. He reaches out again, this time hugging Ollie against him, but Ollie continues to cry. Jay swallows. The sound of his kid crying never fails to make him want to cry himself.

Just as he's considering just picking Ollie up and running two blocks to the nearest fast food restaurant, a voice comes from somewhere above him.

"Are you two alright?"

A man around his age, dressed in sweats and a worn sweater, peers down at them from a few feet away. He's holding bags of what looks like groceries, and a key in his right hand.

"Ah, sorry," blurts Jay. "My kid's just---we're----he's a little hungry, I was going to take him to get food, so I----sorry. I'm sorry."

The guy tilts his head. He glances from Jay to Ollie to the groceries in his hands. He looks back at Jay. "If you'd like, um... I haven't ate yet either, so I was about to cook a meal... you could join me? If you want."