Two Plus One

One Friday evening in Baltimore, a 27 year old Jack Barakat rolled over on his bed, laying on his right side and staring right at his lover, who appeared to be asleep. "Hey, 'Lex? You awake?" He whispered, immediately biting down lightly on his lower lip. He heard a small hum come from the elder and assumed that was the best that he was going to get at that time. "It's important.." Jack trailed off.

A small sigh came from the other man, then he lifted his balled fists to his eyes and rubbed the sleep out of them, before dropping his hands and staring back at the younger man. "What is it, Jay, darling?" A still slightly sleepy Alex Gaskarth inquired, a yawn leaving his lips.

Another sigh, this time from Jack, then, "Well, uh.... There's something I have to tell you, and I'm not sure how you'll take it.."
"Just tell me, baby. I won't get upset or anything, I promise." The 28 year old replied, staring into the brown eyes of his boyfriend of a little over one year.
"Well, okay," Jack paused and took a deep breath. "So, you know my last ex? The ex wife, Catie?" Another pause. Alex nodded, looking expectantly at the black haired man, waiting for him to continue. "Well, uh... I didn't exactly tell you the entire thing.... We had a kid."

Jack stopped talking and stared at Alex, waiting for the bomb he had just dropped to sink in. After a few moments, a calm "You did?" came from the elder, his poker face intact. Jack nodded numbly, heart racing as he waited for Alex to explode on him.
Then, suddenly, "Really, Jack? How come you didn't tell me? That's so cool! Is it a boy or a girl? When can I meet him? Or her, if it's a her.. Jay, oh my gosh!" Alex gushed, a wide grin making its way onto his face.
"I.. What? You're okay with it?" Jack asked, incredulously. "Of course! I love kids, and I know you'd be a great father, and it'd be so cute to see you running around with little people with the same mental capacity as you." Alex replied with a teasing snicker as Jack began to blush furiously.
"Oh.."
A small chuckle came from Alex, before he replied, "Babe.. Why wouldn't this be a good thing?"
"I just... Catie and I don't really get along too well, and I never get to see her too often, so I feel like a terrible father... She's my sunshine, Alex.." Jack whispered, beginning to look down as tears filled his eyes.
"Oh, Jay! Baby, don't cry!" Alex frowned, hand cupping Jack's jaw and tilting his head up. "I know you'd be an amazing father, sweetie. You're so caring and cute and playful, and I've seen you with kids, you're so great with them. Maybe you just have to show Catie that you can be a good dad, and you can see your kid more. I'd love to have her stay here some time! What's her name?"
Jack nodded at Alex words, a few tears sliding down his cheeks before mumbling, "Izzy. She's 2 years old."

"I'd love to meet her." Alex murmured, wiping the tears off Jack's cheeks with his thumbs.
Jack nodded at this, sniffling slightly. "I-I can call Catie and see if she'll drop Izzy off tomorrow.." He suggested, staring at Alex.
"That sounds like a great idea, Jacky." Alex pressed a kiss to his lover's nose, before they laid down, said their goodnights and fell asleep.

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The next morning, Alex was woken up by voices coming from another room. The kitchen? Yes, people were in the kitchen. He opened his eyes to see.. nothing. Jack wasn't in bed, his side of the bed wasn't even made. Was he one of the people talking? Rubbing his eyes, Alex sat up and let out a yawn. Then, he got up, stretched and pulled one of Jack's Ravens hoodies on, made sure he was wearing boxers -yes- and walked out of the bedroom he shared with the younger.

The first thing he saw when he entered the kitchen was Jack, standing by the door. He was talking to a woman, about his age. This was Catie, Alex had seen her a few times before. Perched on Jack's hip, was a small girl with thin brown hair. That must be Izzy, Alex thought. Jack and his guest looked up at the sound of Alex walking into the kitchen, and a grin lit up Jack's face. "G'morning, baby!" He called happily, receiving a warm smile from the elder.

"Morning." He mumbled, making his way over to the door, glancing over at Jack's ex-wife. "Catie." He greeted, semi-bitterly, face now blank. Catie had a reputation of being a bitch, and even Alex knew this. "Alex." She replied with a curt nod. Alex directed his gaze to the child on Jack's hip. "So, this must be Izzy, huh?" He asked, smiling widely as he glanced up at Jack. "Yep!" Jack and Catie replied simultaneously. "She's adorable.." The brown haired man laughed breathlessly as he looked between Catie and his boyfriend. He then reached his hand out slowly, placing it on Izzy's head, gently tousling her hair.
"Yeah, she really is." Jack replied, which earned a bored sigh from Catie.
"Well, I have to go. Jack, Alex.. Have a good one," She said, glancing between both men before looking directly at Jack. "Don't forget what I said. Bye, Iz." She finished, blowing a kiss to her daughter before turning and walking out the door.

Shutting the door behind her, Jack let out a relieved sigh as he set Izzy down on the floor, watching as she crawled towards the couch in the other room. "I didn't even know that they were here.." Alex trailed off as he too watched the toddler. "Yeah.. Sorry about that.. They showed up and you looked so precious, I didn't want to wake you. Well, that and.. We'll probably be woken up a few times tonight by my little princess."

"Yeah, yeah. How long is she staying?" Alex asked, laughing softly. "Until tomorrow morning."
"Then I guess we better have some fun, huh?" Alex grinned and walked after Izzy, sitting down on the couch as his eyes followed her around the room. "So, what did you guys talk about?" He asked casually as Jack walked over as well, scooping Izzy into his arms. "Oh, you know. Nothing much. Izzy, mostly. We talked a little about you, too." He sat beside Alex on the couch, smiling as he lifted his feet onto the top of the coffee table, Izzy sitting on his lap, making gurgling noises and flapping her arms.
"Ooh, tell me what you said!" Alex gushed, resting his feet against Jack's thighs. "Well, she asked if we were doing okay, and asked how I felt about you, stuff like that."

"Well, what did you say?"
"I said that we're doing great, and I'm in love with you. Nothing but truths." Jack replied with a lazy smile, chuckling airily. "You're such a sap," Alex mumbled, playfully rolling his eyes. "It kinda seems like she's not just making conversation."
"Well, she's convinced she still loves me." Jack sighed, smile faltering as he began to frown. "Oh, right."
"'Lex.. You know I'm not getting back with her again. I'm done with her, she's kind of a bitch. Besides, I'm in love with you. You have nice fingers." Jack laughed, smiling once again before kissing the top of Izzy's head. "You're so gay." Alex mumbled with a blush, trying to hide his face.

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Several hours later, after spending the day with Izzy, Jack was still playing with her, while Alex stood in the kitchen, a pot of water boiling on the stove - Mac and cheese for Jack's little girl. Resting his forearms on the countertop, he leaned forward, watching his favorite man with his new favorite toddler -like he knew any other toddlers- with a wide smile. Jack was a natural at this, Alex thought. How on Earth could he have thought that he was a bad father?
Alex let out a content sigh, falling more and more in love with Jack by the second. He looked so at home with Izzy.. Starting to frown, Alex began to think that maybe he and Jack should have a kid. He had never really wanted any, but now.. It seemed like a great idea. He could tell that Jack loved being around his daughter, so what could go wrong?
Hearing Alex's sigh, Jack turned his torso, looking back at the elder. His grin now reached his eyes as he met the gaze of the brown haired man. He lifted his hand and waved at Alex, who was waytoo deep in thought. Seeing the sudden movement, Alex jolted back into reality, immediately smiling and waving back. "Food's almost ready." He called to the younger, who nodded and turned back to Izzy.
Alex knew already that he wanted to spend forever with Jack. He also knew that Jack was in love with him, but he didn't want to get remarried for at least a few more years. Letting out another sigh, Alex straightened back up and turned to the stove again, trying to stop zoning out.

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Later that night, when both men had stripped down to their boxers and were now cuddling in their bed, Alex couldn't help but think about everything that he was thinking about earlier. Jack, of course, noticed Alex's unusual silence. "What's wrong, 'Lex?"
"Huh? Oh. Nothing." The elder shook his head, making Jack frown. "Alex, I'm not stupid. Please tell me what's going on."
A sigh came from Alex, and then, "I was just thinking about us, and the future."
"What do you mean?"
"Earlier, when you were playing with Izzy and I was making mac and cheese, I was thinking about how you're an amazing father. I was also thinking about us.. Getting married and having kids.. Not necessarily in that order.." He began to trail off, looking down. Jack began to laugh, shaking his head at Alex. "Oh my God, that's it? I thought it was something important. Jesus, 'Lex."
"Wha- This is important, Jay!" Alex frowned, furrowing his thick eyebrows at Jack. "No, baby, that's not what I meant."
"Then what did you mean?" Alex demanded. "I don't know! I just didn't think you were going to say that! You got me so worried!"
"I.. I did?" Alex asked, frowning at Jack.
"Yes, 'Lex."
"Oh.."
"So, back to the kids and wedding thing. You know I don't want to get remarried for a while-"
"I know." Alex interrupted, nodding. Jack gave him a look and continued. "As for kids.. I don't know."
"You just looked so natural and happy with Izzy. You were in your element. Well, you're in your element when you play guitar, but this was just like that. You're a wonderful dad, baby." Alex replied, smiling at Jack, who was starting to blush. "Well.. Maybe we can adopt a kid some time." Jack mumbled, biting the inside of his lip to keep from smiling.
"Okay. But I was so right." Alex said smugly, grinning widely. "What?"
"Last night, I said I knew you'd be an amazing father, and I was right!"
"Oh, whatever! Go to sleep." Jack replied, laughing and leaning forward to kiss his beau, before they repeated their nightly routine of saying goodnight, and I love you, and finally went to sleep.