Play date

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Giggling echoed through the large house, the sound of small feet pattering on the hard wood floors leading from room to room could be heard. Three small children ran through the living room, having been in a small girl's bedroom for the past hour. In the garden, surrounded by many trees and the back of the house, sat three exhausted adults, talking about their day and sharing stories.

"I'm glad they're all getting along. It's been difficult to find a good friend for Taya."

Edd and Matt nodded, smiling softly to themselves as they thought about their own son, Mickey. They had arranged for another child to come to the play date, a son of their close friend, who happened to have a last shift that day.

"Has it been difficult raising Taya, Tord?"

The man in red looked up at his friends, then sighed and sank into his chair. A tired chuckle leaving his lips, he shrugged.

"It's not easy, but I'm managing. You guys always help me out a lot with these kinds of meetups. Plus, Taya seems to be getting along great with the boys."

The happy couple nodded, taking another sip of their cola and tea while making smalltalk with their friend.

Meanwhile, the pattering of feet had stopped, the three children looking up at the small staircase in front of them. It lead to the attic, Tord having forgotten to take the ladder down.

"Ooh! Let's go up there! Daddy never lets me look around!"

The two boys cheered with a nod, following the young girl up the stairs until they were met with a cloud of dust. Coughing and complaining, they all eventually made it into the attic, spider webs hanging in the corners and a few small beans of light beaming in through a window.
Looking around, the three could see numerous boxers, some old and ripped while others looked new and hardly touched.

A few small sounds of wonder leaving their lips, the children explored the room with anticipation. It wasn't a large attic, though it was big enough to house a few shelves and chairs.

Mickey sat on an old chair, hearing a slight creak come from it as it began rocking. Having never been on such a seat, tears welled in his eyes, a pout over his face as he hugged himself.

On the other hand, Theo and Taya were looking through some older boxes, wiping books down and taking a quick look inside. Nothing seemed of interest to them, their little hands placing them to the side as they searched for something of interest.

"What are you looking for?"

The boy in the dark blue jumper asked his friend, seeing her deep in thought with the task at hand. She shrugged, placing yet another book to the side and pouting as she emptied another box.

"Something daddy doesn't want me to see."

A brow raised, the boy was about to ask what she meant, when the girl let out a gasp. All attention focused on her, Theo watched as she pulled out a dark picture from under the box's bottom flap. The picture was of two boys, both in their teen years, smiling at the camera with their tongues hanging out.

Taya noticed that one of the boys resembled her father very much, his caramel hair going up in two spikes as well, and a red hoodie dangling over his waist. His silver eyes and familiar smirk made it clear that this was indeed a photo of a younger Tord. Though, Taya couldn't identify the person standing beside him.

A young boy with void like eyes, hair that stood up in a strange style. His blue hoodie seemed large on him, though it seemed to suit his goofy smile. The general vibe from the picture made Taya smile, seeing her father so happy in a picture she knows nothing about.

"Hey! I wanna see!"

Theo moved up to Taya, placing his chin on her shoulder to get a good look. She giggled in return, pushing his face away with a goofy grin. The two heard a loud thud, both turning around to see their friend laying on the ground, face flat on the ground. After a few seconds, he got up, looking at the two with a wide grin.

"I WANNA SEE, TOO!"

Mickey jumped over to his friends, seeing the slightly torn photo in Taya's hands. He took it, holding it up to the light to get a better glimpse of it. After inspecting it for a few seconds, the boy looked at his friends in confusion.

"He looks like someone I saw before."

Now intrigued, the two friends walked up to Mickey and stared at the picture. Having only now gotten a good look at the two men in the picture, Theo perked up, gasping in realization.

"That's my dad!"

Taya's eyes widened, staring up at her friend in wonder. Questions filled her mind, the biggest one being as to why her father kept a picture of her friend's dad in the attic. Though, she did have theories of why they both looked so young.

"Are you sure? Maybe they just look a lot alike."

Taya looked around, seeing a small box behind the larger one she had cleared out moments ago. Taking the small container into her hands, she was confused about the colourful decoration. The box was covered in red and blue wrapping paper, a few small pictures printed out and stuck onto it.

Taking off the lid, the two boys joined her and looked inside. A small bundle of envelopes tied together sat at the side, a few loose objects like a plastic ring and a small wrapper with a circle inside of it. The three ignored it, since they didn't know what it was.

In a small section of the box, a few stray pictures laid scattered around. Most of them were from years ago, the two looking like classic teenagers. Though, there was one picture that caught their eyes. It seemed very recent, the quality being much better than any other they had seen.

The two men standing in the picture were no longer teenagers, nor were they looking in the camera.

They were both fully grown men, looking exactly like Taya's and Theo's fathers at this point in time. They were looking into each other's eyes, warm smiles on their faces and soft blushes resting on their cheeks. The sight made all three children squeal, the adults sitting outside getting slightly worried about the strange sounds coming from the house.

Tord dashed up the stairs, looking frantically through every room, trying to find the source of the squealing. His heart dropped as soon as he saw the ladder to the attic pulled down, a cloud of dust still lingering. He cursed under his breath, climbing up the stairs swiftly and widening his eyes at the sight before him.

The three children gathered around the box he's kept hidden since he first created his daughter. He cleared his throat, gaining the attention of the young children huddling over the photograph. Taya gasped, her eyes sparkling as she looked at her father. Without letting him speak, she squealed and held the picture up, jumping up at Tord and giggling.

"DADDY! WHY DO YOU HAVE A PICTURE OF THEO'S DADDY IN HERE?"

She tugged on the bottom of his hoodie, Tord unable to hold down an aww and a smile. He picked his daughter up, holding her in his arm with one hand while taking the picture into the other. His face melted into a warm smile, cheeks rosy as he looked at the photo. It was taken only three weeks ago, the memory of Tom holding the camera while they both smiled lovingly at each other was burned into his mind.
It made his heart flutter.

With a small sigh and a smile, Tord looked at his daughter, giving her a kiss on the cheek before sitting on one of the rocking chairs. Of course, Mickey warned him not to do so by screaming, "THE CHAIR IS ALIVE," but the man just laughed in amusement.

"Daddy? Why was the picture in a box?"

Tord chuckled lightly, partially out of nervousness of what his daughter's reaction would be. Clearing his throat, he began speaking, noticing Edd and Matt coming up the ladder and sitting down.

"I suppose I should explain. You see, back in high school, Tom and I were sweethearts. We dated for a few years, until I had to move away. We broke up, knowing it would never work out with the long distance. So a few years went by, I worked in the army for a bit as their leading scientist, until I moved back to the town I grew up in."

Taya had leaned against Tord's chest, listening to her father's words while smiling softly. She'd never heard much about her father's past. Mostly just about his past jobs and how she was created. It led to many questions Tord never wanted to answer, though now she was finally getting them. Her pitch black eyes stared at the picture with excitement.

"I ran into Tom one day. It wasn't much of a surprise, to be honest. We'd chatted before I moved, so we met up in a coffee shop. It felt like a day hadn't gone by since I last saw him. He was still as wonderful as ever. Time really didn't change much about him, apart from making him the most beautiful man I'd ever laid my eyes on..."

Edd and Matt playfully awwed, the children joining in while Tord snapped out of his daydream. His cheeks turned a burning red, Taya giggling as he groaned to himself.

"Keep telling the story!"

A few chuckles leaving his lips, Tord nodded and continued.

"It didn't take long for us to fall in love again. We started going on dates every night, cuddled with each other while eating ice cream, relationship stuff. Eventually, the topic of having a child came up. Since we can't have children, it brought up a few questions on what we should do. I know, we probably should've waited until we both got a secure job and moved in together at least, but we couldn't help it. We... wanted a kid."

Taya and Theo perked up at the subject. Tom had also kept Theo's background vague and secretive, despite the boy asking many questions daily.

"Because of my love for Tom, I wanted to have a child made by the two of us. His DNA and mine mixed to create someone made by our love. But Tom wasn't too fond of the idea of creating a child in a lab. He wanted to adopt..."

The feeling of guilt built up in Tord's chest, memories of Tom's stinging words sending spears through his heart. Nevertheless, he pushed down the feeling, knowing now was not the time to interrupt the story.

"We had a huge fight about it, and decided to go our separate ways. Despite being told not to, I used Tom's DNA to create a child. You, Taya."

The young girl looked up at her father, hugging him around the neck and kissing his cheek. Tord giggled, hugging his daughter back. He never regretted creating her, even if it tore him and Tom apart for a time.

"Tom adopted Theo as a baby, and for a long time, we didn't talk to each other. Of course, I cursed to myself every night for going behind Tom's back and making a child, basically his child, without telling him. So one day, I came clean. Tom was shocked at first. I can't blame him.

But as I told him about how amazing Taya is. When she first started walking, I sent him a video of it, and he just melted. He still wasn't sure about meeting you, seeing as you didn't know anything about him and we were still broken up. I told him I was sorry that I went behind his back, but seeing Taya run through the house when she just learned how to stand? It was the most amazing thing I'd seen."

While Tord was talking, Edd and Matt had pulled Mickey back, cuddling him in their arms while they listened to their friend. Theo smiled warmly, hearing the tale of his mother's love story and finding out his friend's father played an important part. It made him feel like part of the family, even if he wasn't related to any of them.

"Tom and I started dating again a year ago. We caught up on all that we'd missed over the past few years, shared stories about our kids, and so on. That picture was taken a few weeks ago, actually. I put it in that box because it's where most of my treasured pictures and items go. Like the letters Tom and I wrote to each other, or the plastic ring he gave me when we were kids."

"What about the little plastic circle thing?"

Tord looked at his daughter in confusion, though as he looked in the box, he went slightly pale.

"U-hm, that's not im-portant..."

He'd forgotten when he and Tom were about to have their first time together, but his dad came into the room and kicked him out. He still kept the unused condom to remind him, though he would never explain what it was to his daughter. Even when she's over 18.

"Anyway, Tom and I have recently talked about introducing him to you, Taya. I've told him everything about you, and he's excited to meet you!"

The young girl gasped, her eyes wide and mouth open. Her void eyes seeming to sparkle, she squealed, hugging her father around the neck once more and screaming "YES" into his ears.

"SO I'LL FINALLY MEET MY MOM?!"

Hearing those words, Tord stopped to think for a second, getting up and carrying Taya in his arms.

"I suppose so. Are you sure you want to meet him?"

Vigorously nodding, Taya squealed in delight. Tord placed his daughter down, smiling at her and his friends. The sound of the doorbell ringing made everyone perk up.

"That should be him!"

As fast as a bullet, Taya raced down the stairs, the two boys following closely behind her. Edd and Matt chuckled to themselves, walking down the ladder hand in hand, which left Tord standing in the attic, still holding the beloved picture in his hand.

With a smile and a sigh, he walked over the wooden floor, kneeling down to the box and ghosting a hand over the photograph. He placed it back in its rightful place, looking at the many cherished items he's kept hidden away for so long. Though, it felt good to tell his secretive story, Taya finally knowing where she came from, as well as Theo.

Tord's smile turned to a smirk as he heard the front door be flung open, all three children screaming in joy and jumping.

"Hello! You must b- Oof."

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