Treebros Oneshots

Anybody have a map? (A parent AU)

Trigger warning: mentions of past drug addiction
1109 words, it's a long one

To say Evan was anxious was just scratching the surface. A woman from the adoption agency downtown was supposed to be doing a home inspection. While Connor cleaned the downstairs, Evan was trying to relax. With all the anxiety that was bubbled up in his chest, he never even heard his husband sit next to him on the bed.

"Evan, relax, baby. Breathe." He said, putting his hand on his shoulder. Evan jumped at the sudden motion before melting into it.

All he could think about was what could go wrong. What if they found out about Connors past addiction? What if the house is unsafe?

"But Connor-"

"No, No buts. It'll be fine. The house is perfectly safe and I've been clean for almost six years now, nothing can go wrong."

Evan felt like there were times where he could read his mind. He nuzzled into Connor's side while he stroked Evan's back. The two stayed like that until they heard the short sound of the doorbell. They walked down hand in hand and opened the door to reveal an older woman in a  blazer and gray skirt. They let her in as she introduced herself.

"Before I begin, just as a heads up, are there any drugs I should be aware of?" She asked, biting her lower lip.

"P-Prescription drugs, o-or like," he paused, "d-drug drugs?"

She laughed. "Prescription drugs, Mr. Murphy. It's ok, there's nothing to be worried about." Connor took his hand and stepped into the conversation.

"Evan takes Escitalopram for his depression and anxiety and I take Bupropion for depression. We have prescriptions from our therapist if you would like to see them." He squeezed Evan's hand as a sign of reassurance.

She smiled. "That won't be necessary, Mr. Murphy. Just wanted to be aware." She left them to do a run through the house, leaving the couple alone.

"Drug drugs?" Connor mocked, giggling as he nudged Evan with his shoulder.

"Oh shut up." He leaned down and planted a kiss on Evan's nose, causing a blush to spread across his cheeks.

The next twenty minutes felt like hours to them. It wasn't until she finally came back into the room they were able to let out a breath they never realized they were holding.

"Well everything looks great! When would be the earliest you could take her?"

"Well, we would need a day or two to get her room painted and set up, so we could take her Saturday."

"Great!" She handed them a folder with papers sticking out of it, "here is her file, all you need to know about her is in this stack of papers."

She talked more about what would happen on Saturday, and minutes later, bid the two Murphy's adieu. They sat side by side and looked at the file they were handed.

Name: Charlea
Birthday and age: November 14, age 10
Eye color: Blue

Evan and Connor read through the file, remember all the things she liked, her hobbies, all that stuff. They decided to make a list of what to buy their soon-to-be-daughter and run out to shop.

~time skippe to Saturday~

Evan was back in the same position as before, anxiously pacing around the master bedroom, but this time, Connor was there trying to help him relax.

"Evan, honey, you have to relax. Just breathe, baby." He cooed, snaking his arms around Evan's waist. Evan felt his shoulders drop as he melted into the touch.

"But Connie, what if she doesn't like me? O-Or what if she hates her room? Or If she's mean and hates us because we're ga-"

"Hey, don't say that. Charlea's going to love us! She seems just like you. She is going to love everything and anything she gets, got it?" Evan nodded. They go to close the gap between them, but are interrupted by three sharp knocks at the door. "Come on, Ev, let's go meet her." Evan smiled as Connor grabbed his hand and led them downstairs.

He opened the door to reveal the older lady from before, and Charlea, a beautiful, ten year old girl. She had lightly tanned skin, curly brown hair, sparkling blue eyes, and a smile brighter than the sun.

"Umm, hi! I'm Charlea, but you probably already knew that already, so... yeah." She nervously laughed and scratched her arm. The two of them realized that her scratching was an anxiety tic, knowing from Evan's personal tics and her file saying she was diagnosed with anxiety only a few years ago.

"I'm Connor, and this is my husband Evan." Connor motioned towards Evan. Evan waves to the girl and no more than two seconds later, the three were huddled into a new family hug.

"Hey," Connor started, pulling away from the embrace, "how about I show you to your room while your other dad signs some paperwork." She quickly nodded and they took off upstairs.
It felt wired to Connor that this beautiful young girl was his- no, their daughter.

"This is... amazing!" She cheered as Connor opened the door to reveal her yellow-painted room. She threw herself onto the twin, but sat up again once she saw the reading nook set up in the corner. "Holy shit!" Connor watched the color drain from her face as she realized what she had said, "oh my god, I'm so so sorry. I get it if you don't like swearing, I'll stop"

"Hey, it's ok. I'm like, a constant swearer, just ask your other dad." She giggled and went back to the nook.

"I just- I love this! Not that I don't love everything you guys have given me, because I do. I love it all, but I just really love this and- fuck, that came out wrong. I just-"

"Hey, breathe," he said, rubbing circles in her back, "I know what you mean."

"I'm sorry, it's just my-"

"Anxiety? We know. Your dad has it too and we know from your file. Your dad's mostly acts up when he's meeting new people or he's in a new place, so don't worry about rambling or apologizing too much." As she laughed, Connor could feel her relaxing.

"I'll be better later, I just need time to process everything." She smiled.

Connor kissed the top of Charlea's head. "Why don't we head back downstairs, I have some papers to sign as well, and when we're done we can unpack your backpack." He took his daughters hand, "Shall we, my gorgeous daughter?"

"S-Sure, dad. Or I can call you papa, whatever you're more comfortable with."

He laughed. "Dad is perfect."