He made a noise of agreement but then sort of tuned her out as she kept going about the upcoming baby and his brother’s promotion at work. As she talked, he finished preparing dinner, keeping an eye on the clock. Rooster would be there in less than fifteen minutes, and he’d wanted to have everything ready for him when he arrived.
The salmon was half-done by the time she slowed down, and he cleared his throat. “Um, I wanted to let you know… I might bring someone to Christmas Eve dinner.”
He wasn’t sure if he would have the guts to actually ask Rooster to go, but he knew it would be worse if he didn’t mention it and showed up with an unexpected addition. Things were still pretty new between them, and Rooster had a long history with Emmett’s family that might make things awkward, so he’d have to be prepared for the possibility of Rooster saying no if he got up the nerve to ask.
“Hm? Okay, dear,” she said absently, then said something to someone else, her voice muffled. He wasn’t surprised when she spoke to him again and said, “I have to go. Judy from across the street just popped over.”
“Sure. Bye, Mom.”
And then she was gone, and he was left standing in his cozy, safe kitchen, feeling like his insides were curdling. He tried to remind himself that a lot of people had it worse than him, that his parents had never physically hurt him or anything likethat. They just didn’t… like him. Or understand him, maybe. Either way, he’d told her he might bring someone to a holiday family dinner for the first time in his life, and she’d barely even noticed.
He was on autopilot as he finished dinner and greeted Rooster when he arrived. The two of them sat down to eat, and he knew he was being too quiet as Rooster told him about his shift, but he was stuck in his head, thoughts swirling all around and drowning him in bad feelings.
They’d barely cleared the table when he blurted out, “Can I have Emmie time?”
Rooster finished rinsing off the plate in his hand before turning to him, wiping his damp hands on his jeans. He studied Emmett’s face for a moment and slowly nodded. “Of course, baby. Let’s go to your room, and I’ll change your clothes.”
Some of the tension leached out of him, and he let Rooster take his hand and lead him up the stairs to his room. The stars on the ceiling were glowing, and he smiled at them before Rooster turned on a lamp. Familiar, comforting hands cupped his face, and he closed his eyes, letting out a breath. Rooster kissed his forehead, then his nose, and then his lips, so gently they felt like butterfly kisses.
“Stay right here. Don’t move.”
“Okay,” he said on a sigh, eyes fluttering open.
Rooster went over to his dresser and crouched to open the bottom drawer, where he kept his little clothes, movements sure and without hesitation. He didn’t ask what Emmett wanted to wear because it wasn’t up to him. Nothing was anymore.
He let himself start to sink into that space in himself where Emmie lived, and he could let go of the stress and anxiety weighing him down. Even with the phone call from his mom so fresh, he didn’t have any trouble slipping into the headspace.
He wiggled his toes on the fluffy rug under his feet and frowned down at his socks. Socks were dumb. Why was he wearing socks? Especially ones so plain and boring? He couldn’t feel the softness with his toes like this.
Dragging a foot backward on the rug, he giggled as the gross gray sock slipped over his heel and he was able to kick it off. Just as he flopped his other foot in the air to try and remove the sock without using his hands, a shadow fell over him.
He had to crane his head back to see Daddy’s smiling face. He was so handsome when he smiled, his cheeks bunching up and making little lines appear by his eyes. “Hi, Daddy.”
“Hi, Emmie. What’re you doing, silly boy?”
“I don’t like socks.”
Daddy nodded in understanding, and Emmie fell against him, wrapping his arms around him in a tight hug. His daddy was the best. And he smelled good. And he was the bestest cuddler in the whole world.
Lips pressed to the top of his head, and he wiggled in happiness. Daddy kisses were the bestest too.
“Let’s change the rest of your clothes too, then you can go play.”
“Will you play blocks with me, Daddy?” he asked as he straightened and held his arms up. He wanted to build the biggest castle ever for Snowball to protect.
“Sure, baby.” Daddy grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled it up over his head, stopping when just his mouth was free and biting at his chin.
Emmie laughed and squirmed, arms trapped above him. “Daddy! Now you’re being silly!”
“I suppose I am,” Daddy said and kissed the spot before pulling his shirt the rest of the way off. He ran a hand over Emmie’s hair, smiling in a way that made Emmie’s belly feel all funny. “There’s my sweet little boy.”
Emmie beamed at him and sucked his tummy in a little when Daddy started working on his pants, wanting to watch what he was doing. Daddy crouched and pulled his jeans and undies down his legs. He rubbed his face against Emmie’s tummy, making him giggle at the scratch of his beard.
“I got your favorite undies,” Daddy said, leaning over to grab them off the corner of his bed. He held up the purple briefs with green around the waist and leg holes, and Emmie vibrated with excitement.
“So I can match Snowball!”
“Yes, but you have to keep your pants on this time,” Daddy said firmly, tugging the undies up his legs. “It’s too cold to run around without pants.”
