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Everyday is Father's Day
by Corky
Every Day is Father's Day
Laytonville, California
August 30th, 2000
Face stared at the papers in his hand. Those little sheets of lined notebook paper, the edges still covered in the confetti pieces from where it'd been torn from the metal rings. The sloppy writing belonging to none other than a child, his child to be exact, and filled the sheets as carefully as any seven eight year old could.
His eyes scanned the sheets slowly. How could John have not shown them that little essay? Especially after it'd received such a high grade. They hadn't even known it was written until Face checked the answering machine when he got home and heard the message from John's teacher telling him and Murdock how impressed he was with their son's paper and that they should be proud of him.
Well of course they were proud of him. They were always proud of him. This little assignment though brought a whole new wave of love, pride and even admiration to the former Lieutenant's heart, not to mention a tear to his eye. To read those lines, the choppy little sentences that wiggled up and down in between two pale blue lines, it seriously made the man regret all the times he'd panicked and thought about leaving when they'd found out John was going to be born.
The sound of socked feet treading softly down the stairs and into the living room caused him to raise his eyes, watching as his partner and love of his life came in. Even in sweats and a T-shirt Murdock could still make the man's head turn. He and that little boy upstairs were everything to Face; they weren't just his family they were his world, the very air he breathed.
"Alright. One bath, teeth brushed, PJs on, socks off, two stories, one song, and three hugs goodnight later...your son...is finally...asleep." Murdock sighed as his long, lanky body flopped rather ungracefully onto the couch next to Face, instantly conforming to snuggle in against the man and nuzzle his nose into the softness of his husband's T-shirt.
"I was starting to wonder what took so long," The fact a set of talented long fingers were snaking under the hem of his shirt, moving for the waistband on his pants was not lost on Face; well, not completely lost on him that is. His mind however was still sucked into the writings of his little boy.
"Mhmm...so ya know what that means right? Kid's asleep, it's just you an' me, alone..."
Lower those teasing fingers dipped, trailing seductively across his skin and over the hills and valleys of his hips and lower abs.
"Did you listen to the messages tonight? We got a call from Mr. Baxter. Wanted to tell us how well John had done on a writing assignment," Though his body took notice and reacted accordingly to the touches and kisses' getting breezed across his body, his mind was completely engaged somewhere else.
Tongue flicked across the crook of his neck, a sharp burst of cool air hitting it as Murdock blew gently over the area before moving to kiss and nibble playfully at that delectable earlobe just calling out to him. One of the rare times they both had the following day off and Face wanted to discuss John's schoolwork instead of being playful and frisky on the couch all night? What kind of cruel torture was that?
"Nut-uh...didn't know there were messages..." He murmured, his lips brushing over his husband's ear, trying his best to seduce him into playing.
"Hunter...stop it. I mean it, you've gotta read this. John got an A on this." Face pulled away and turned to face Murdock, bringing his knee up onto the couch to put enough space between him and his frisky lover that the man would be forced to sit up and listen.
"Facey...the li'l guy gets A's on lots of things."
"How often does he get them in English though? And on essays?" He paused as he held up the papers and raised an eyebrow.
Sitting up a bit straighter and furrowing his brows, Murdock reached for the papers, a large red "A" in the corner followed by "Very nicely written, John! Great Job!" Couldn't be the same kid who wrote it. Their little boy hated writing essays and always wound up getting a C, sometimes a B, but never an A.
"What? Lemme see that? Where'd you find it?"
"Crammed in his backpack. It was hidden among two or three rocks, his lunchbox -which by the way, when was the last time you checked that thing? I'm not sure what was in it but it was growing hair and I swear it winked at me--and a couple of overdue library books I'll take back tomorrow." Shaking his head, Face leaned back against the arm of the couch, still putting distance between him and those oh-so-tempting lips.
Slowly, brown eyes moved back and forth, taking in each word and hearing that little voice of John's reading it in his head. He could just imagine the little boy standing in front of the class reading it, the rest of his classmates and teacher watching on. It wasn't a secret that the boy just happened to be the son of the only gay couple in town, nor was it a secret that many people--both adults and children--weren't exactly thrilled with that. Never mind the fact they'd been living there for nearly seven plus years and had done their fair share around town. Different was different and some people still just couldn't handle that.
Lifting his eyes from the last page, he stared at Face in amazement.
"Holy -"
"I know,"
"He..."
"Yeah, he wrote it, that's his handwriting."
Murdock let out a low whistle as he shook his head gently and looked back down at the papers in his hand. They'd always known they had a special kid who absolutely adored them, but never had they ever seen or heard just how much put into words.
Looking back up at Face, the two locked gazes, sharing information and awe without ever saying a word.
"So," Murdock started, setting the papers down on the coffee table, watching them for a moment as if they were going to suddenly start doing tricks, "are you thinking what I'm thinking, Pinky?"
Face rolled his eyes at the cartoon reference. How he always wound up being the doofussy, but lovingly dumb side kick Pinky, while Murdock took on the role of Brain, he didn't know. Sighing a bit, he nodded as he moved to push himself up off the couch.
"Sleepover in John's room?"
"You read my mind, muchacho. You go get some popcorn and soda and some movies; I'll go grab the pillows and blankets and wake the kid up." Murdock grinned as he practically leapt off the couch and sprang towards the stairs once more.
Spinning around on the bottom stair, Murdock took hold of the railing and lean forward to gaze back through the living room.
"By the way. Sacramento's last air show of the season's comin' up on the seventh. Thunderbirds are gonna be there. Thought I'd keep Baby J home that day and we'd go see it, ya know, providing I don't have to work."
A faint chuckle sounded from the movie shelf as Face looked for something they all could agree on. That guy and his airplanes. Still just a big kid who refused to grow up and he was doing his best to keep their son from growing up too.
"We'll talk about it upstairs. Now get up there. I'll be up in a few minutes."
Grinning like a fool, Murdock nodded as he turned to start back up the stairs.
"Oh, hey Tempy...happy Father's Day."
My Two Dads
By John Arthur Peck
My dads are the greatest dads in the world. Some kids only have one dad, and some kids have step-dads, and some kids don't have any dads. That's how my dads' grew up. My Dad, Templeton Arthur Peck, was raised in an orphanage by nuns in Los Angeles, California since he was very little while my Dadu, Hunter Matthew Murdock-Peck grew up on a farm with his grandparents in a tiny town in Texas. They didn't get to know their dads and that's sad.
Some kids say that their dads are the best, but that's not true because I know that mine are. I have two real dads and everyone else only has one. My dads are the greatest because they love me very much and take care of me no matter how much trouble I get into. Sometimes my Dadu jokes and says he's going to sell me to the flying circus, but I know he is just joking.
When I was very little, my Dadu took care of me all of the time while my Dad worked. We would play lots of fun games and he would tell me stories about flying and famous pilots. My Dadu is a pilot too. He has an important job of saving people's lives during fire season or if anyone gets lost in the wood. He flies the helicopters that put out the forest fires and help to find lost people. My Dad has a very important job, too. He's a police officer and makes sure everyone plays by the rules and stays out of trouble. If someone is doing something they aren't supposed to, he goes in and tells them to stop. If they don't stop, he takes them to jail where they have to sit until their mom or dad can come get them.
I don't get to see them both at the same time a lot because of their work. It keeps them really busy, a lot. That's ok though, because I know they still love me very much. They like to take me places when they don't have to work. Sometimes we go to the zoo or the beach and sometimes we go to the city to spend the day and listen to the big bands play in the park. They know that I want to be in a big band when I grow up, that's why they take me. They even listen to me play and practice my instruments, even when I don't sound very good at all.
All of that isn't what makes my dads so great though. What makes them the best is that they love each other and me so very much. They don't care that people look at them funny or don't like them because they're two boys and they tell me that it doesn't matter either. They're great because they teach me that it doesn't matter what anyone says or thinks, it's ok and good to be whoever you want to be. That's why my favorite holiday is Father's Day, because I have two dads and two is the best of all and because that means every day is Father's Day at our house. Even if it's not on the calendar and they don't think so, it is.
The End.
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