HE WOULD GIVE ANYTHING to have every morning be just as quaint and peaceful as this ; to have spent the first part of the morning preparing breakfast with little eli, and to spend the rest of it in bed beside him and charles, watching television as eli sleeps on charles’s shoulder.
charles’s ailing health still looms in the back of his mind ; always has, perhaps always will, so long as they’re without a new heart for him. time will keep on ticking until they find one, if they ever find one, and god, has he tried ! he has searched relentlessly for a lead, has tried to pull so many strings ( as many as he’s allowed in his position ), has exhausted himself trying to find a heart in time for this day. it just didn’t seem to be in the cards.
perhaps it’s not just that he wants every morning to be like this one. he just doesn’t want this one to end.
charles passes kaidan the television remote not long after little eli has passed out, and he idly flips through channels with one hand, the other settled upon charles’s lap as he eats. he settles on the local news, if that’s not an indicator of how old the two of them must be ; eli would be bored out of his mind, he’s certain. kaidan, meanwhile, doesn’t mind watching the same weather forecast three times.
they talk, idly ; they exchange frequent kisses, kaidan humming every time charles presses one to his lips. eli sleeps on, and kaidan again savors the moment he has with charles, savors the fact that he can both have charles all to himself while still having their child sleep between the both of them.
that was delicious, my love — not that that surprises me. but, i assume you and eli have something else up your sleeves that will surprise me.
there’s a knowing look that shines in kaidan’s eyes, and he can’t help the smile that pulls at his lips. “ maybe, ” he answers, with an air of mischief about him. “ like you said --- you’ll just have to wait a few hours to find out. ” a beat, before he grows sheepish. “ whatever it is, i, ah, hah --- i hope you like it. ”
he can’t imagine charles not liking it, naturally ------ but kaidan won’t deny that one of the gifts he’s prepared may potentially be a little imperfect, needed to be desperately saved by his brother - in - law ( who will insist, if asked for his opinion, that there’s nothing ‘ imperfect ’ about kaidan’s finished product ).
wanna ... watch a movie ? you can choose.
“ are you sure you want, ah, give me this power ? ” kaidan asks, teasingly ; picks up the remote again, as charles speaks, starts diving into streaming services for a decent movie to watch. “ i could choose to put on that --- that despicable minions movie, a - and per our rules you wouldn’t be able to stop me. ”
he won’t go that far. he’s going for hairspray instead.
i love you, kaidan, and i couldn’t think of a better way to spend my birthday than just staying in bed with my two favorite people.
he smiles at that, all soft, settles himself more comfortably in their bed and leaning just that much closer against his husband and his son, presses a sweet kiss upon charles’s lips. “ i love you, mi corazón, so much. nobody is more deserving of the perfect birthday than you. ” another kiss --- then, after another beat, “ a - although, i will be, ah, dragging you out of bed. eventually. ” a smile. “ for later. but - but, i will make it up to you ------ tonight, mm ? ” @labyrithn / from here !

















