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“I cannot thank you enough for this,” he calls frantically from his closet as he finishes dressing hastily, emerging with an uneven tie and his hair a mess as you sit perched on the edge of his bed. You give him a sympathetic smile as you stand, gesturing him towards you so you can fix his tie.
“I told you it’s not a problem, Maxwell. I love Alistair, he’s a fantastic kid.”
“I know,” he sighs, running a hand through his hair as his shoulders slump. “But I’m always calling you for help, it seems. You must have better things to be doing than constantly playing babysitter or errand girl for a washed up loser like me.” You wince at his words, knowing that those thoughts were far more deeply ingrained in his psyche than he would normally allow anyone to believe.
“Don’t you say that, you aren’t a loser, Max. I love spending time with him, and I enjoy helping you out. He has a very special place in my heart.” You smile as you tighten his tie, laying down his collar and smoothing his lapels before reaching to straighten his mussed hair. He was letting it grow out, trimming away the blonde dye job as it did and at this point he was almost back to his natural color. “Alistair and I have a lot of fun together. Who knows what kind of trouble we’ll get into this time.” You flash him a goofy grin, hoping to put him at ease, and your heart flutters when he returns it, taking your hands in his own.
“All the same, thank you so much for this. I’ll make it up to you somehow.”
“Don’t worry about me, Max. You take care of what you need to take care of so you can spend some time with your son before he goes back to his mother on Monday, okay?” His eyes search yours for a long moment before he nods, squeezing your hands gently before letting them go to finish getting ready.
With a smile, you make your way from the bedroom to find the man of the hour himself sitting at the kitchen table, idly kicking his legs. When he hears you approach, he glances up at you and the sadness is plain as day on his face as you take your seat next to him. “You’re babysitting me again?”
“Is that okay?” you ask, cautious of this mood he’s in, not wanting to make it worse, especially while Maxwell is still here. The recovering businessman needs to focus on his big meeting today, and can’t afford to be focused on too much else. He needed peace of mind. Alistair simply shrugs in response, looking back at the table, and you purse your lips in thought. Today might be a little bit more difficult than originally anticipated.
Not long after, Maxwell strides from his room, briefcase in hand. “Alright, I’m heading to the meetings. I don’t know how long they will last.” He stops by the table, glancing at his son. “But I’ll try to be home as soon as possible, okay buddy?” When Alistair doesn’t move or reply, you see Maxwell’s shoulders visibly slump once again.
“Hey Alistair, I think one of your world famous good luck hugs is just what your daddy needs right now, yeah? Maybe it will help him finish the meetings early!” The little boy looks at you, considering your comment before he looks back to his father who stands watching with a forlorn hopefulness in his eyes. You hold your breath until the boy finally hops up, going over to hug his father, Maxwell crouching down to match his height.
“You’re gonna do awesome, daddy,” he mumbles into Maxwell’s shoulder, and you see the struggling businessman clench his eyes tightly closed as he holds his son. “I love you.”
“I love you too, my son,” he murmurs back, letting go of Alistair to press a kiss to the boy’s forehead before standing and grabbing his suitcase. “Wish me luck!” he smiles, turning to head out the front door.
“Alistair, I’ll be right back,” you say as you hop to your feet, following after Maxwell, catching him just at the doorway. He flashes you a confused look as you smile up at him. The look turns from confusion to shock and you hop up on your tip-toes, pressing a small kiss to his cheek before falling back flat-footed. “And a good luck kiss from me. You’re going to do amazing, Maxwell, because you’re amazing. Remember; confident, not cocky. Persuasive, not misleading.”
The corners of Maxwell’s lips quirk up into a small smile, his shoulders relaxing slightly as he nods before bidding you farewell, off to once more attempt to rectify the aftermath of that accursed stone in his mad grab to make something of himself.
With a sigh, you close the door behind him, heading back to find Alistair once more sitting at the table, dejected. You crouch down beside him, smiling up at him as you take his hand in yours. “Okay sweetheart, you have me all to yourself today. What do you want to do, hm?” The boy simply shrugs at your question, looking away from you again, and you purse your lips. Distraction is probably the best method here. “I tell you what, why don’t we make some cookies, yeah? Your daddy loves snicker-doodles, so why don’t we make him some for when he comes home?”
He gets a contemplative look on his face, clearly thinking very hard about the decision. “Do I get to lick the spatula?”
“Uh, of course you do! What’s the fun in baking if you don’t get to lick the spatula?” You grin at him, tapping his nose which earns you one of his adorable grins.
“Okay, that sounds good.”
“Perfect. Then, let’s get baking.” You hold your hand out for him, helping him out of his chair when he takes it. “This is going to be so much fun, I promise.”
And oh how much fun it is. Safe to say, the kitchen is effectively destroyed by the time you and Alistair have finished your baking ventures. Flour coats the counters and some of the cabinets from where Alistair got a little too ambitious with the speed of the mixer, and the two of you are equally coated as well. Cooling racks stacked with cookies and brownies cover the table, and Alistair is on such a sugar high that he’s practically vibrating, running laps around the island while his mouth runs a mile a minute.
“And then and then and then the dinosaurs were all killed by a meteor!A meteor! From SPACE!”
“Oh is that so?” You lift the final rack of cookies over his head as he laps you again. He’s been going on about dinosaurs for the past hour, and it’s honestly impressive how much knowledge he has stored away in that head of his.
“Yeah! It killed them all!Except the crocodiles. They were fine. I’ve seen a crocodile in the zoo!”
“That’s very impressive! Crocodiles are scary.” You set the tray down on the last empty spot on the table before turning to smile at Alistair bouncing on the balls of his feet. With a smile, you rest your hands on your hips to appraise the boy in front of you. “Well, we have certainly managed to make a mess, haven’t we?” Taking it as a cue, he reaches up to dust the flour from his hair, the fine white powder settling around him as he grins at you. It takes everything in you to not burst out laughing at the sight. “And you are absolutely not helping when you shake like a puppy dog.”
With that same grin on his face, he runs over to you, wrapping his arms around your waist. “Are we going to need to clean up before daddy gets home?”
Brushing his bangs aside as he smiles up at you, you nod. “Yeah, we will. That way daddy can enjoy the cookies and brownies we made him.” He pouts at your confirmation, only causing you to grin wider. “Buuuut, if you go and take a shower and get into some clean clothes, maybe I can take care of cleaning the kitchen and then we can watch a movie! How does that sound? Good?” Your words work like magic, erasing the frown and replacing it with a smile as he lets you go.
“Can I pick the movie?”
“Of course you can. Now go on, go get cleaned up.” With that, he’s off down the hallway and not long after that you hear the water start as you tackle the mess that is the kitchen.
The timing couldn’t be more perfect. As you close up the dishwasher to start it, Alistair runs back to you, loudly proclaiming that he’s finished getting cleaned up. “Can we watch the movie now?”
“You’re just in time,” you say with a smile, turning around to face him. “I just finished cleaning. Let’s go!” You follow him into the living room, settling down as you grab the remote. “So, Mr. Alistair, what is it we are watching today, hm?”
The boy crawls up onto the couch beside you, settling himself against you as if it’s the most natural thing in the world, and your heart clenches in your chest at how comfortable he is with you. “Uhm… how about we watch the one about the cars?”
“Cars?”
“Yeah! With Mater! You know, like TA-Mater!”
“But without the Ta!” you finish the quote, earning a delighted giggle from the boy snuggled against you. “I think Cars is a great idea.”
As the movie starts up, you reach behind you to grab the blanket, snuggling it around the both of you before you wrap your arm around Alistair, holding him against you. You know this is Alistair’s favorite movie, and you’re fairly certain he has the entire movie memorized, but the power of the crash after a sugar high is too much for his little body and it doesn’t take long for him to relax against you, snoring softly. You like this, you think. This soft domesticity and comfort of spending time with this boy is something that absolutely fills your heart, and as much as Maxwell apologizes for taking your time to do things like this, you wouldn’t trade it for the world.
It doesn’t take long after Alistair dozes off for you to follow after, your head resting against his as your eyes slowly slip closed. It’s warm and cozy and comfortable and if this is how you could fall asleep every time you needed a nap, you wouldn’t complain.
~~~
It’s been an arduous day. Meetings these days are more exhausting than before the stone, the trust in Maxwell as a business man and person all but shattered among the business world. He was fighting his way up from belowthe bottom now, clawing his way out of the grave he dug for himself, but every day brought him a little closer to the surface as he rebuilt bonds and regained trust. And for a majority of it, he has you to thank. You’ve kept him sane since day one when his whole world crumbled around him. Coming home today, he finds himself excited to not just be home with his son, but to see you as well, hoping you’ll stay for a while so he can talk to you and spend some time with you.
The truth is, he’s liked you for quite some time now, but hasn’t had the courage to say so. Rejection has followed him everywhere, even since before the stone, and he doesn’t think he can bear to have you turn him away as well. So for now, your friendship would have to do.
When he opens the front door, all is quiet, and he finds it odd. Alistair is always so talkative when you’re around, he was certain that the boy would be regaling you with all kinds of stories as you nodded along politely, oohing and ahing at all the right times. With a furrowed brow, he makes his way further into the house, only stopping when he spots you and Alistair in the living room, both sound asleep under the blanket on the couch. A gentle smile plays across his lips as he watches you, his heart overflowing with joy at the sight. It seems so natural, the way Alistair is curled up there with you, and he thinks how he would love to come home to this more often.
He decides not to disturb you, letting you both rest as he heads to the bedroom to change out of his suit. He pauses when he passes the dining room, seeing the table covered in all kinds of delicious baked goods, and it only serves to make him smile wider. You’re a good one, he thinks, as he continues to go get changed into his house clothes, returning only after he’s washed away some of the stresses of the day.
The snicker-doodles catch his eye as he walks past the kitchen again, and he snags one with a smile, doing his best to stifle the moan that bubbles up at the taste of his favorite cookie. Oh yeah, you’re definitely a good one.
The sound of his stifled moan rouses you from your nap, and you blink with bleary eyes to try and find the source of the sound. When your eyes land on Maxwell in the kitchen, a smile splits your lips. “Maxwell,” you whisper, getting his attention. He turns to look at you with wide eyes and a mouth full of cookie, and the look has you biting back a laugh as best you can. “Welcome home.”
Borderline frantically, he chews and swallows his mouthful before dusting his hands on his pants and making his way over to you. “Thank you so much for watching him,” he whispers, carefully seating himself beside you on the couch, opposite the side where Alistair is currently snuggled. “I owe you so much.”
“I keep telling you, it’s not a problem. I love him to bits.” And I love you too. It’s a thought that’s crossed your mind many a time, and in your newly woken state, you very nearly verbalize it.
“He loves you too. You’re all he talks about when you go home.” Maxwell smiles at his son sleeping peacefully in your arms. “Sometimes he asks if you could live here with us too.”
Your heart throbs in your chest as you look up to the man sitting beside you. The sad smile on his face as he watches his son very nearly breaks your heart in two. “Sometimes I want to ask that too,” you confess, and he looks up at you with confusion in his eyes, thoughts dancing back to your kiss before he left.
“What?”
“N…Never mind, it was silly to say something like that.” Heat floods your cheeks as you look back down at Alistair. That is, until Maxwell’s gentle touch lifts your face to meet his eyes again.
“You want to live with us?” His brow is furrowed, but there is a hope that glimmers in his eyes as he asks.
“I… I like you a lot, Maxwell. I like Alistair. I like being here with you, with you both.”
“I… like you too. And obviously the boy does as well….” He glances down at his son before looking back up to you. “If he says yes… do you want to move in?”
“Are you being serious right now?”
“Deadly.”
You take your bottom lip between your teeth, thinking it over before giving him a nod. “I… I would like that, Maxwell. I won’t impose, I promise. I’ll help keep the house clean.”
“You could never impose, darling. And… I have another question as well.”
“Anything.” Your heart is racing in your chest. This is all out of order, but to say you’re upset would be a total lie.
“May I take you to dinner some time?”
The smile on your face widens as you nod, blood singing with excitement. “I’d love that, Max. I really would.” You must still be dreaming, still be asleep with Alistair. This couldn’t really be happening, could it?
“Then, it’s a date,” he murmurs, reaching down to stroke Alistair’s hair again before smiling up at you with those soft brown eyes of his. “And I think this one still has a good idea what with being asleep. The meetings today were exhausting, and I think I could use a nap as well. Mind if I join you both?”
“You know, I think I’d really like that.”
With a smile, he snuggles in beside you, letting you relax back against him as he wraps the blanket around himself as well. There, snuggled with your two favorite people in the world, you drift to sleep once more, happier than you have been in a very, very long time.