#nathan oc

Lawrence blinked at the flier being shoved in his face. "Woah, not so close, I actually wanna read what it says."

Nathan grumbled under his breath and pulled it back so he could read it more clearly. "Knotfest. It's coming up, and I wanna see it. Can we?"

"Kiddo, I don't know..."

"Please?" For the first time in what seemed like forever, Nathan gave him his best puppy dog eyes, a very rare sight. "I'll never ask anything of you ever again."

Lawrence snorted. "That's a bold statement."

Nathan continued to give him the look, and Lawrence sighed in defeat. He already knew he wasn't going to win this battle. He could only refuse his darling kiddo anything for so long before breaking down under pressure. Nathan was great at playing with his weaknesses to get what he wanted, and it scared Lawrence sometimes how well he knew just what buttons to push.

"We can go," he said finally, watching as a grin split across Nathan's face. He knew he had done so much for Marshall and Sadie, it was only fair to indulge in his eldest's interests. "Promise you'll stay by my side? Not talk to anyone? No drinking?"

"Yeeesss," Nathan groaned, though it wasn't of genuine frustration. He hugged Lawrence. "...thanks. I mean it."

Lawrence almost teared up upon hearing that, but forced himself to hold it together. His kid actually thanked him for something. "Oh, Nate," he chuckled, voice cracking as he hugged him back. "You're welcome. You know I'd do anything for you."

"I know, Dad." It was so quiet Lawrence might've thought he misheard him if he didn't know any better. The shock of it stunned him for a moment. "Um, anyway! It's next month, soo... don't make any plans, or whatever..."

"Wouldn't dream of it," he managed to reply when he snapped out of it.

...

"So, who are you most excited to see?" Lawrence asked while parking. He asked Charlotte to watch Sadie and Marshall on their outing. He trusted them, but wanted them to have some company while he and Nathan were gone, considering they had made a road trip all the way to Florida.

Nathan's answer took a moment. "Korn, probably. Linkin Park is a close second, I was literally obsessed in middle school." His knee wouldn't stop bouncing.

Lawrence ruffled his hair. "I think I heard of Korn before. They made... what's that one called? Twisted Transistor? I like that one."

"I'm surprised you'd approve all of this. Considering you're, y'know, an old man."

"Excuse you! I am very cool and hip."

"Mmm. Right. That's why you're wearing an actual suit and tie to this event." Nathan rolled his eyes. "You look like my bodyguard."

"Well, you aren't wrong," Lawrence laughed. He found a parking spot and put the car in park. "Don't stray too far away from me today, alright? There'll be tons of people." As he unbuckled, Nathan did too.

They both got through the line with surprising ease and found their seats, after Lawrence insisted they get bottled water at the concession stand

"Oh, honey. Are you nervous?" Lawrence asked softly, patting Nathan's shoulder.

"It's just been a while since I've been in public," he muttered. He cracked open the water bottle and took a swig. "Also I hate this fuckin' state. I've never felt so sweaty before. How are you wearing a suit?"

"Language, kiddo. And with how many sets I've had here, I think I've grown an immunity to the heat," Lawrence replied easily. He led him to their seats and sat down beside him. The stadium was filling up quickly.

Soon enough, the opening acts began performing.

For the first time in what felt like years, Nathan smiled brightly. His eyes lit up as the bands played, and he bobbed his head along with the music. And that was when the nerves started to settle for him.

Lawrence hadn't seen him so happy in a long time, and tried to match his energy. His baby deserved a nice time, especially with the stress he'd been under for ages now. As long as Nathan was happy, he didn't mind the crowd so much.

He had never heard Nathan yell so hard when Korn finally started performing. Nathan knew every single word to all of their songs, and Lawrence made a mental note to take him to more concerts in the future.

When the concert had ended, Lawrence made sure to buy all the merchandise Nathan wanted on their way out.

"Look, we can have matching shirts!" Lawrence crooned with delight, holding up a Korn shirt.

Nathan chuckled. Even if it was corny (no pun intended), he'd take anything over more pastels. "Get me a Slipknot one, too."

Marshall (Ladybug):

Nathan (Black Cat):

Sadie (Pigella):

Lawrence (Hawk Moth/Shadow Moth):

Charlotte (Mayura):

Luca (Scarlet Tigress):

Luca (Violet Moth)

"Four," Lawrence replied, offering a polite smile. He pulled out his wallet and began fishing out enough cash to pay. The four were given bright green wristbands, which they secured on each of their wrists before proceeding inside.

Sadie looked around in awe, grasping Lawrence's arm again. "What are you most excited to see, Dad?"

His heart warmed whenever his kids referred to him as that. "Hmm... dolphins, probably. Though I'd love to see an octopus too. How about you, kiddo?"

"I'm happy with anything! It's all so cool," Sadie marveled, taking it all in.

Marshall still clung onto Lawrence tightly, but with less enthusiasm than before. He seemed more nervous now. "There's so many people..."

There really wasn't, but it was definitely more people than the poor thing was used to nowadays. They could have gone on a weekday to lessen the crowd, but the aquarium would be practically filled with screaming kids on field trips.

Nathan scoffed. "You're the one who was demanding we go here."

"Nate," Lawrence scolded, then turned his attention back on Marshall. "If you get too overwhelmed, we can always take breaks or leave early, okay, baby?" His gaze fell on Nathan. "That goes for all of us. This is supposed to be a good experience--I don't want anyone getting stressed out."

"Look! Piranhas," Sadie called, pointing to an exhibit at the entrance of the tunnel.

Lawrence kissed the top of Marshall's head before taking a few steps forward towards it. He gestured for Nathan to come closer too. He wanted them all to stay in sight.

As much as he trusted the kids wouldn't run off (or try to report him to staff), old habits died hard and he couldn't help but feel slightly paranoid in public. It was rare for his anxiety to affect him--only when his children were involved would he ever worry.

Marshall cringed. "Why do they look like that?"

"I think they're cool," Nathan muttered.

Sadie pointed to the sign. "It says they're actually not as bloodthirsty as movies portray them as. I guess I'm not surprised." She made a face. "They still freak me out a little though." She rushed on ahead, ignoring the exasperated sigh Lawrence gave. "Ooh, there's seahorses over here! That one's pregnant, I think." She gestured to the obvious one. "He's so cute."

Lawrence chuckled. "Seahorses are probably one of my favorite animals. It's nice seeing one in person."

Nathan shrugged. "I think they're overrated."

"There's more exhibits this way!" Sadie exclaimed, running down the hall.

"No running," Lawrence reminded her. "We aren't in a rush."

It was both funny and exhausting to him how different they all were; Sadie was running ahead, Marshall was clinging onto him, and Nathan could barely keep up in favor of trudging everywhere.

Not that he didn't like it. After so long treating them like children, they were finally acting like it.

"The penguins are here!" Sadie called in response. Marshall gasped and ran ahead too. Nathan kept at the same pace, unaffected. Penguins must not have been very high on his list.

Only once when Lawrence had the two in their line of sight, he slowed down to Nathan's pace. "Are you okay, sweetie?"

"Yeah," Nathan muttered, keeping his eyes focused on the floor. He no longer got angry and embarrassed at the terms of endearment.

It took time for the kids to adjust, but now even Nathan would say 'love you' back to him from time to time. Only if he was feeling particularly loving towards Lawrence, however--which was pretty rare. Regardless, Lawrence was proud of him either way.

Lawrence glanced back at the other two for a brief moment, just to make sure they were still there. "Is there anything in particular you want to do after this? We'll probably only be here an hour longer at most."

Nathan played with the zipper on his jacket. "You'll say no."

"Maybe," he admitted. "But I'd still like to hear it." Despite being so controlling of them, he really did love hearing his kids talk.

"It's stupid, but I was wondering if we could stop by an arcade. There's one across town. It's alright if you don't wanna. I don't even care anymore, honestly." But it was easy to tell it was a lie. His cheeks were red despite the nonchalant act. "You probably hate games, anyways."

Lawrence snorted. "Nate, I'm not ancient. When I was a teen, I practically lived in the arcade."

"That was thousands of years ago," Nathan smirked. He peered over to see Marshall pressed up against the glass of the exhibit, watching the penguins play around while Sadie read the facts about them displayed nearby.

It was like they completely forgot the other two were even there. Maybe that was better. He secretly loved their company, but it was rare he got one on one time with his dad.

Lawrence pinched his cheeks. "Watch yourself, brat," he teased, "we can go but don't make me change my mind."

Nathan swatted his hands away playfully, letting a giggle escape his mouth. He tried to keep quiet, so Marshall and Sadie wouldn't overhear, but it didn't matter much anyways. They weren't paying attention to him or Lawrence at the moment. "I'm excited to introduce you to Street Fighter."

"Oh, please, you weren't even alive when that game released," Lawrence rolled his eyes fondly. "C'mon, let's go catch up with the others." The pair began walking over to join Marshall and Sadie who were already moving on to the next exhibit. He stopped behind them. "Ooh, electric eels."

Sadie shook her head. "Those are actually moray eels. Moray eels have cuter faces, electric eels have flat, weird-looking heads."

"Like you," Nathan snickered. She shoved him in a playful retort.

"There's the Nemo's," Marshall rushed towards the clown fish and leaned into the glass.

"'Nemo's?'" Lawrence cooed at how adorable he was.

Marshall glared at him in a mock pout. "You know what I mean! If you didn't make me watch that movie a million times, I'm sure I would've called them clown fish." He stood normally again and wrapped his arms around Lawrence, burying his face into his chest. "Anyway, I'm ready to go home. I'm so tired already." This was the first time in a while that he walked this far.

He was met with a kiss on top of his head. "You were such a trooper today. Thank you. Nate and I are gonna go to the arcade after this, but I can drop you off at home." He glanced at Sadie. "Do you want to come to the arcade with us or stay home?"

"You can drop me off at home too, I'm, also kind of tired. Can we check out the gift shop before we leave?" she asked.