“Yeah.I may make omelets in the morning, though.The kids won’t eat them, but we can.”
“I thought the kids liked eggs.Or eggies as they call them.”Surely he’d seen them eat eggs.
“Oh, yeah, and I’ll make them eggs, but not omelets, you know?Those are ‘weird’.”Ian rolled his eyes.
JP snorted.Some of the things the kids came up with were strange.He wondered what went on in their heads at times like this.“But omelets are eggs.I mean, that’s the main ingredient even.”
“Yes.And tacos are meat and cheese, but Peter only wants the ‘flying saucer’ ones.”Ian rolled his eyes.“And Tori wants the shells, the meat, and the cheese separate.”
“There are flying saucer tacos?And so Tori eats everything on its own?”He grinned.“Like she’s having a deconstructed taco at a fancy restaurant or something.”
“Tostadas.Flying saucer tacos.”Ian rolled his eyes.“He gets frustrated when they break, so that was my compromise.”
“Oh I get it – because they’re shaped like flying saucers.”Yep, weird.But they were his kids, so he still loved them.
Ian nodded and chuckled.“They’re so imaginative.I love how their minds work.We’re working on our letters right now.”
“That’s neat.Do they go to kindergarten in September?”
“They do.”Ian shrugged and shook his head.“I guess I’ll have to go get a job then.It’s wild.It’s gone so fast.”
“You don’t need to work, Chou.It’s my job to take care of you.”And his agent was working on a big settlement.They’d be okay.
Ian’s eyes went wide.“You…you’ve been taking care of me for years.”
“And I don’t see why that has to change.”He didn’t want to argue about it, this was how it worked.
“But do you want to?I mean…do you still want…me?”
So much.“I do.You’re mon p’tit Chou.”
Ian’s cheeks went pink.“I missed you.I…I can’t believe you didn’t see me for so long.”
“Same.I thought for sure you’d phone and tell me you were coming.”He’d been convinced it would just be a matter of time.
“I didn’t know how to raise the babies so far away from home.I felt…unimportant.”
“You were always important to me.I’m sorry you didn’t know that.”And maybe he didn’t realize how important until Ian wasn’t there anymore.
“I didn’t, but I wouldn’t have my babies without you, so…the loneliness was worth it.”
He hauled himself out of the chair and limped over to Ian so he could hug him tight.He didn’t want Ian to ever feel like that.And he’d left him for three years.He’d let the hurt of their last words keep him away, keep him from reaching out, waiting for Ian to make the first move.He wasn’t a dumb jock — he was a stupid man.
Ian blinked at him, eyes wide.“Are you okay, love?”
“I’m fine, Chou.Are you?”
“I—Yes?”Ian leaned into him, just the slightest bit.
He kept holding on, enjoying the closeness.Ian smelled good.
Ian breathed nice and slow, and he loved how Ian felt in his arms, so lean, so close.
His.
So maybe there was a silver lining to this injury thing.A pretty damn big silver lining at that.
“I still love you,” Ian whispered.“I know I’m a fool, but I do.”
