Untitled

It irked you every time you looked at the stack of overdue bills crowding the kitchen table. The dryer had broken three weeks ago, and there wasn't enough money sitting in your account to fix it. Three weeks of hauling damp laundry across town, three weeks of stretching groceries until payday, three weeks of pretending you weren't calculating every dollar before falling asleep at night. You tried not to let Charlie notice. Children noticed everything anyway.

You thought about it often during those walks to the laundromat. The warm weather had finally settled in, and the orange glow of sunset always seemed to rush across the sky faster than you expected just a little after 5pm. Charlie was the only thing that made those trips enjoyable. He skipped ahead on the sidewalk, darting from one side to the other, making you nervous every time he got too far in front.

"Charlie, stay where I can see you." You shouted, panting as you carry the heavy load.

"I am!" he called back, grinning as he spun around.

"You are not."

His laughter carried through the evening air as he hurried back toward you.

The familiar chime above the laundromat door rang when you stepped inside. Warm air immediately wrapped around your body. The place smelled like clean laundry, lavender detergent, and hot steam. Commercial dryers hummed steadily in the background while fluorescent lights buzzed overhead.

Charlie immediately attached himself to your side again, the excitement of the walk gone the moment strangers were involved. His small green frog rain boots squeaked against the tile floor while he rolled a little red toy car across his arm, making quiet engine noises beneath his breath.

Across the room, Lion looked up. He hadn't expected anyone this late. His eyes landed first on your worn white sneakers, then drifted toward the tiny pair of frog rainboots beside them. He watched Charlie press himself against your hip.

Lion wasn't trying to stare. He just couldn't help it. In his old life, women had always seemed untouchable. Ring girls in glitter and heels standing under bright lights. Perfect smiles. Perfect makeup. You looked nothing like that. You looked like you'd been through it for the day, like you could've crashed an hour ago if you could. And somehow he found himself watching anyway.

His attention shifted when he noticed something resting beside his steel-toed boot. A tiny red toy car. Lion glanced up and caught Charlie staring at it from behind one of the folding tables. The boy froze the second their eyes met. Lion bent down, picked up the little red car, and turned it over in his hand.

"Yours?" he asked quietly, and Charlie nodded. Without another word, Lion crouched down and rolled the car gently across the floor. Charlie hurried forward, grabbed it, and immediately retreated back to your side.

Lion couldn't help the small smile tugging at his mouth. Charlie narrowed his eyes suspiciously while making whispered car sounds, making a classic buzzing sound with his lips. That only made Lion smile more.

That had been the start of everything.

You'd been struggling with the dryer door, trying to keep it open while balancing a basket full of soaking wet clothes against your hip. The machine kept swinging shut every time you turned your attention away from it. "Come on," you muttered. The door slammed closed again. "Seriously?" You groaned. A large hand suddenly caught the edge before it could shut. You looked up. Lion.

"Oh." You said, embarrassment lacing into your words, obvious with the heavy sigh you let out. "You looked like you were fighting it."

Heat crept into your cheeks and flushed your face into your hairline. "I was winning." Lion looked at the overflowing laundry basket, then at you. Then back at the basket.

"You sure?" He asked. You looked annoyed despite yourself, you laughed. "Alright, maybe not. But, I've got it." You insisted but Lion insisted back. "Let me help." Without another word, he took the basket from your arms. Like it weighed absolutely nothing.

You stared.

"Jesus."

"What?"

"That thing's heavy."

Lion shrugged.

"It's laundry." The corner of his mouth twitched slightly. For some reason, it made your stomach flutter. Charlie peeked out from behind your leg. Lion noticed.

"Hey there," Lion said and Charlie furrowed his eyebrows, turning his head into your shorts immediately. You wanted the floor to swallow you whole. "Sorry." You said placing your hand on top of Charlies head. Lion shook his head. "Don't be."

And somehow he sounded like he genuinely meant it. He didn't sound like someone who was trying to just dismiss a child's behavior for the sake of the parent. After that, things moved slowly.

You'd started seeing each other. At first it was coffee, then lunches, then dinners. Somewhere along the way it became something more serious. You had tried to keep some distance between the two of you. Partly because you were scared. Partly because Charlie was involved. You kept waiting for Lion to notice and leave. To decide you came with too much baggage.

A struggling single mother. A quiet little boy. A complicated life. But he never left. He noticed. You knew he noticed. Yet he stayed anyway and didn't walk out because it would just be easier then continuing to try.

That scared you more than if he'd walked away. Because if Charlie got attached and Lion left later, it would destroy him. It would destroy you too. Crush you. But Charlie never made getting attached easy.

Normally he was energetic and chatty once he was comfortable. Around Lion, though, he became impossibly quiet. He sat pressed against your side during lunches. He buried his face against your shoulder whenever Lion asked him questions.

"How was school?" Charlie shrugged. "You got any favorite cartoons?" Another shrug. Lion glanced toward you. Charlie immediately looked toward you too. You wanted to laugh and cry at the same time.

Still, Lion never pushed. Never complained. Never acted annoyed. He simply kept trying. "Got something for you." Lion said. Charlie's eyes immediately narrowed towards Lion with suspension. Lion held out a Matchbox car. The little boy stared at it with want but strong anxiety with the thought of taking it. "You don't have to take it." Lion reassured the young boy, Charlie looked at you.

You nodded, you didn't have to give him approval, he wanted it for himself. Slowly, he reached forward and accepted it. Lion smiled. Charlie clutched the car to his chest, his eyes lingering on Lion. That was enough.

There had been cookies one night after dinner while Charlie slept upstairs. Flour covered half the kitchen. Lion somehow managed to get chocolate chips everywhere.

"How did you even do that?" you laughed.

"I don't know."

"You literally missed the bowl." You said grabbing a rag to clean the mess. "I was trying."

"You were losing."

Lion rolled his eyes.

You laughed harder. Trying not to laugh too loud because of Charlie. Before he left, Lion carefully placed a cookie into a sandwich bag.

"What's that for?" You asked, watching him set it aside. "Charlie." Your heart squeezed painfully. It meant a lot to you that Lion was trying so hard with Charlie, even if Charlie was stubborn and stand-off-ish with Lion. The next morning Charlie found it waiting for him. He never said thank you. But he ate every crumb and asked you about more cookies later.

Sometimes Lion would sit at one end of the couch while Charlie sat at the other. Cartoons played on the television while neither of them said much. Lion never seemed bothered by the silence.

Charlie caught some awful bug near the end of the month. The kind that left him miserable, his tiny body hurting, making him unable to sleep, he couldn't even get comfortable. He spent the entire night sick, crying, and exhausted.

Every time you thought he'd fallen asleep, another coughing fit or wave of nausea woke him up again. His tiny sobs broke your heart. You sat on the bathroom floor holding him while he cried against your shoulder.

"It's okay, baby." You cooed, patting his back.

"I don't feel good." she sobbed, the sob breaking with a cough following a gag before a deep inhale and another sob.

"I know."

Your own eyes burned with exhaustion. The fever came next. Charlie would sweat through his shirt only to start shivering minutes later. The thermometer numbers made your stomach twist. Lion had never taken care of a sick child before. Truthfully, he'd never really taken care of anyone but himself before.

Yet he showed up without hesitation. He made soup. Ran to the pharmacy. Picked up medicine. Helped clean up. He even held onto to Charlie when he got sick when Lion was around and you weren't.

Not because he expected praise. Not because he was trying to earn brownie points. Simply because he cared, not just about you, but Charlie. A few days later you were finally able to go back to work while Charlie recovered at home. Lion stayed with him. The little boy sat bundled beneath a blanket on the couch. His cheeks were still pink from the fever. The sticky Mickey Mouse fever patch was peeling away from his forehead.

The television played quietly in the background. Neither of them were paying much attention. "When are you leaving?" Charlie asked with no clarification. Lion blinked.

"What?"

Charlie kept staring at the television. "When are you gonna leave?" The question caught him completely off guard. He shifted slightly, turning toward the boy. "What'd you mean?" he asked, slightly nervous at the kids words.

Charlie shrugged. "Are you gonna leave?" His voice no longer sounded mousy and instead sounded rough from being sick. For a moment Lion didn't know what to say. Children didn't ask questions like that for no reason.

He leaned back against the couch. "I'm right here." Charlie finally looked at him. Lion held his gaze, it was clear that Charlie was confused. "I don't have any plans on going anywhere." The little boy studied him carefully, like he was trying to figure out if the answer was true. Then Charlie looked back toward the television.

Neither of them spoke again. A few minutes later, Charlie shifted slightly closer. Only a few inches. Lion pretended not to notice. The moment felt too important to scare away.

The payoff for Lion was never being called Dad. It wasn't some grand declaration. It wasn't Charlie suddenly becoming talkative overnight. It was smaller than that. More important than that.

It started with Charlie waving goodbye when Lion left at night. Then asking him for help with things. Then sitting beside him on the couch instead of across from him. Tiny moments. Little pieces of trust that meant everything to Lion.

One evening Lion had stopped by after work. He kissed you softly at the front door before heading home. "See you tomorrow." he murmured..

"Drive safe."

He'd made it halfway down the porch before a tiny voice stopped him.

"Bye, Lion." Charlies small mousy voice echoed.

Everything seemed to freeze. Lion turned. Charlie stood in the doorway clutching one of his toy cars. The little boy lifted his hand and gave an awkward wave. Lion smiled immediately. "Bye, Charlie." Charlie nodded and sprinted away back into the house.

That was it. Nothing dramatic. Nothing huge. Yet it meant more than any title ever could.

Because for the first time, Charlie had spoken to him without being prompted. Nobody reminded him to say thank you. Nobody told him to say goodbye. He'd wanted to. That meant everything.

The moment meant even more a few weeks later. The dryer still wasn't fixed. Life was still busy. Laundry still needed done. Lion had offered to bring Charlie with him while he emptied the change boxes in the laundromat machines.

The three of you walked down the sidewalk together beneath the afternoon sun. Without warning, Charlie squeezed himself between the two of you. You looked down. So did Lion. Charlie slipped one hand into yours. Then reached for Lion's with the other. For a second, neither of you moved. Neither of you wanted to ruin it. The little boy simply kept walking as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Lion thought his heart might stop. Nothing needed to be said, it was simple acceptance.

For the first time, Charlie wasn't just tolerating him. He was choosing him. And as Lion looked down at the tiny hand wrapped around his own, he couldn't think of anything in the world that had ever felt quite so special.

Sliding divider credits to @ / honeyluvsw