Fine Line

2.1 - ignoring the obvious

This is where it all begins (;

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THIS MONTH, Dylan and Nick's 'monthly outing' took place in the former's home. Rose had invited Nick and Alexandre over for a barbecue. Like usual, Nick was immediately whisked away by the twins, who demanded he played games with them while Dylan joined. Alexandre, on the other hand, helped Rose with the grill and the burgers she was making.

Alexandre was in charge of manning the grill while Rose prepared everybody's burgers. She would ask him all about his clothing line, taking a genuine interest in the process and he'd gush about how excited he is to have his upcoming collection featured in the New York Fashion Week. Then, he'd ask her about how work was going and would listen to her rave about the promotion she was trying to get.

"Rose Amity, Nursing Supervisor has a good ring to it," He mused, sliding the spatula under the patty to flip it.

"It does, doesn't it?"

He waved away the charcoal-scented smoke and snapped his head in the direction of child-like screaming. There, in the distance, he could see his husband chasing behind Céline and Cody, Dylan's four-year-old twins. Nick had a wide grin on his face, outstretching his hands to catch one of them, only for them to slip through his fingers.

Or maybe he let them.

Alexandre couldn't deny that seeing Nick so happy around Dylan's kids made him smile too. But it was just that– he loved seeing his husband laugh. Nick's eyes would light up, the corners crinkling as his cheeks flushed pink. He liked seeing his husband happy, but that didn't mean that he liked the idea of having his own child.

The thought alone made him feel uneasy.

He wasn't stupid. He knew what Nick was doing. The brunette had been persistently (and randomly) bringing up babies whenever the two spoke. Whether it had been while they lay in bed; when they were out for dinner; right before they left for work– it was always baby this, baby that.

It was starting to make Alexandre anxious. When was Nick going to ask him? Would he ask him, or was Nick expecting him to bring it up? Ever since he got him a pizza instead of a McChicken, Alexandre had known his husband was only trying to butter him up.

He wouldn't have agreed to go shopping with me so easily, he thought as Nick picked Cody up to throw him over his shoulder.

He thought that the two had silently agreed to live the rest of their lives together, without any children to take care of for their lifetime. He didn't know what would happen when Nick brought the topic up and Alexandre told him he didn't want any children. Would he easily let it go or would he put up a fight like he normally did?

The thought of fighting with Nick didn't sit well with Alexandre. He loved living a happy, stress-free life with his husband, and he didn't want to be the reason the love of his life was sad. He chose to ignore the thought, just like he was ignoring how obvious his husband had been about wanting a baby.

Instead, he sat down as Rose called for everybody to sit around the dining table they had set up in their backyard. Nick sat next to him, placing a small kiss on his cheek before shamelessly reaching over for two of the biggest burgers on the platter. He listened to Antoine talk about how 'stupid' fifth grade was while Céline enthused about how much she enjoyed kindergarten.

He couldn't help but glance at Nick throughout their dinner. He wasn't oblivious to how he leaned forward in interest or how his eyes twinkled whenever Cody laughed because Nick insulted Dylan. He chose to ignore it.

Maybe, he thought yearningly, maybe it wasn't up there in his wishlist. Maybe it was a couple of bullet points below 'buying and owning a McDonald's franchise'.

How important could having a kid be to Nick if he hadn't brought it up in the twelve years they'd been together? But when he noticed how happy he seemed around children, especially when considering how he would not stop talking about how cute they were for the past few weeks, he couldn't deny that Nick would be more radiant than he usually was with a kid of his own.

But Alexandre didn't want a kid. Ignoring all the signs that pointed towards Nick wanting a child seemed to be working well for the past two months. Did that make him selfish?– That he wouldn't bring it up because he wanted to avoid the conversation?

It was nine when the couple decided it was time for them to leave. Nick was visiting his mother tomorrow morning and, unfortunately, Alexandre couldn't join him since tomorrow was the day they'd plan his campaign launch. It couldn't be rescheduled. Nick held his husband's hand as he drove his car down the empty streets.

"Dylan's kids are fucking adorable," Nick voiced out his thoughts, a small smile on his lips as he focused on the road lined with streetlights.

Oh, no.

Alexandre swallowed loudly but nodded nonetheless, "They are, aren't they?"

Nick hummed in agreement, fingers drumming against the steering wheel. Then, a moment later, "It kind of makes me want to have a kid of my own."

Fuck.

"It does?" He squeaked, grimacing when his voice came out pitchier than it normally was.

Nick glanced at him, honey eyes shining in the dimly lit streets and grin so wide it spanned from ear to ear, "Come on, André," He said, tightening his grip on Alexandre's hand, almost like he was afraid of his answer. "Why don't we adopt a kid of our own?"

Alexandre knew that pizza Nick ordered a month ago would come back to bite him in the ass.

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– 13/08/20

Yall, I was writing the second BC of Worth The Trouble and I started sobbing.

So, idk how you guys r gonna react.

Anywhooo, please enjoy the next 4 chapters.