"Just don't burn the kitchen."
"One time!"
"And there weren't any scratches on her? You checked?"
The redheaded man bit his lip in thought as he chopped up carrots to put in the salad. "I did, it doesn't look like she got into a fight with anyone. Some kids were probably messing with her."
"I bet it was the LaSalle's kid," Marc grimaced. "Remember when he pulled on her pigtails during career day?"
"Oh my God," Nathaniel seethed, setting down the knife before he did something he would regret. "Is it wrong to hate a kid?"
"Aw, come here." Marc begins to comb his fingers through Nathaniel's hair when he falls into his embrace. "You're still so overprotective after all these years," he smiled. "It's kind of hot actually."
Nathaniel smirked. "Oh really? Remember when I kicked that guy who tried hitting on you in the sack?"
"And he cried," Marc reminisced. He tilted Nathaniel's head up with his finger and kissed him. "Promise me that when we find out what happened to Michaela, you won't be too mad."
He rolled his eyes and said, "We'll see... Only if you promise to not go all 'Mama Bear' like you did at last week's PTA meeting."
Marc didn't say anything for a moment and went back to seasoning the chicken they were having for dinner. "... I have no idea what you're talking about, Nathaniel."
Nathaniel slinked his arms around Marc with a smug grin on his face. "Oh, really? You don't remember a certain group of people at that meeting hitting us with about a dozen insults a minute? Then, I think one of them started talking to Michaela, asking if she was happy with us, and well, that seemed to set my normally pacifistic husband off. Then you chased Lori's husband around the school."
"Nathaniel..."
"With a- what was it?... Oh yeah, you ripped the leg off of a table-"
"Michaela!" Marc called out. "Dinner time!"
His husband smirked. "But you're not done seasoning-"
"We'll eat it bland!"
Michaela made her way into the dining room shortly, sitting in her usual seat at the table as her fathers started dishing food onto their plates and hers'. Once the food was distributed, the three of them sat in silence, waiting to see who would make the first move.
It was Marc. "Michaela, your dad said something happened at school today," he said softly. "Any chance you'd like to tell us what happened?"
Michael looked between him and Nathaniel. "If I say it, it's gonna hurt your feelings."
That again. Nathaniel got out of his chair then went kneeled down to be at his daughter's eye level. "Sweetie, you won't hurt our feelings."
Marc added, "Michaela, whatever happened, you can tell us, and we'll do everything we can to fix it. Okay?" Michaela nodded with the faintest smile. "Okay. Now tell us what happened."
The eight-year-old took a deep breath. "Anthony Afraire and these two other guys came to me, Becky, and Tristan during lunch and started talking about you two, and they made fun of me for having two dads."
That's what this was about. Marc took her hands into his while Nathaniel kissed her forehead.
"Is... Is it bad that I have two dads?"
Nathaniel covered his mouth with his hand to prevent a gasp. "Sweetie, no. Of course not."
"But they said I need a mom to teach me girl stuff," she muttered.
'Oh, I'm gonna go all Mama Bear on their parents' asses,' Marc thought to himself. "Michaela, you have four wonderful aunts who all love you very much. That's better than just having one mom."
"That's right," Nathaniel nodded. "And there's no such thing as 'girl stuff' or 'boy stuff.' Your dad likes painting his nails and I grow my hair out long."
Marc added, "And your aunt Alix wears tuxedos. Now as for Anthony and his friends, they're just saying all of that dumb stuff because their parents taught them those things. What's important is that you don't let their words get to you."
"Didn't you beat Kyle's dad up with a table?" She innocently asked, making Nathaniel burst out into a fit of laughter, also causing her to giggle.
"N-no, sweetie, it was a table leg," he corrected. "And I didn't beat him up, I just... Gave him and the other dads a little scare and probably caused Austin Armbruster to ruin his pants."
His husband rolled his eyes in amusement. "After dinner, I'll call the school, see if your dad's still allowed on school grounds after the PTA meeting, and ask the principal what she intends to do about Anthony and his friends. Then maybe later, watch a few Miraculous movies?"
Michaela's eyes practically sparkled at that. "I wanna watch the ones with Rooster Courage and Caprikid! They're my favorite!" The fathers pulled their daughter in for a hug, much to her confusion, but she didn't mind and hugged them back.
As promised, Nathaniel called the principal and got her to look into the incident. Anthony, his friends, and their parents would be called into the office one day and have the zero-tolerance rule explained to them once again. Apparently, this has happened many times. And Nathaniel had Marc promise that he wouldn't take a bat to the parents' cars... Or key their car doors, flatten their tires, or do anything that involves weapons to their cars.
Funk
Începe de la început
