Summary: Patton is a trans man raising his son alone - but he's happy with that. But as Jarah grows older he gets more curious about how the world works - and why his father has self-installed cushions.
TW - Accidental transphobia by baby, mention of having boobs, general trans worries. Also mention of financial issues (I imagine Patton to be a teen/very young parent here - not that those parents are any worse than others of course!)
There's also an opportunity for a ship part 2 if you want with the characters mentioned in the end XD
Words: 1289
Patton was woken up by hearing quiet shuffling and banging. It was not enough for him to immediately think of danger, just enough for him to be confused. He wasn't the type to panic immediately but he was alone in the house so he really should look at what or who was making the noise... But just 5 more minutes to nap...
Another crash caused Patton to sit up and run out of bed towards the kitchen. But instead of a tall man with a covered face and some kind of weapon Patton spotted his baby Jarah leaning on the cupboards and dragging pots and pans to the floor. He was so cute being a curious baby - although Patton was unsure how he got out of his bed. Patton would never punish innate curiosity. "Hey Jerry..." Patton whispered, picking up Jarah in his arms and cuddling him as he looked around curiously but he was definitely tired.
This had been Patton's life for around a year - and he loved it. He didn't have much money, he was quite young, and was single but he didn't mind any of those things. He already had the perfect little son and needed no-one else. Jarah leant against his father as his eyes fluttered sleepily and his arms grasped onto the loose t-shirt Patton was wearing.
The little arms went right towards the chest area.
"Ma..." Jarah whispered. Whether he was trying to say the cursed word or just the letter 'm' Patton was unsure but he wasn't going to overreact either way. He just sat on the double bed and rocked his son a little. He heard lots of adults say he was the mother either accidentally or purposefully but never heard that word come out of his own kid's mouth.
Jarah was still infatuated with the lumps on Patton's chest. He didn't see them that often his father guessed - Patton wore a binder most of the time even if it was unhealthy to wear it without a break.
"Um... I'm not your Ma kiddo. I'm Paps." Patton chirped, Jarah just looked up at his father confused. He probably was confused. None of his baby group friends had parents like his so Patton could have plenty to worry about. The baby group Patton was a member of was full of straight women who threw themselves happily into gender roles - Patton got anxious at anything feminine. The only 'feminine' thing he got used to was having a baby come out of him. "I'm your Paps. Paps can come into all different shapes and sizes, Ma's too, and that doesn't effect whether or not they are Mas or Paps."
Luckily the baby didn't seem to mind the fact that his Paps was different; but unluckily he seemed a little more awake and was standing against his father and looking around for more trouble. Hopefully Patton will raise his son to be an activist for all different types of social issues but he shouldn't expect much of him yet, especially at 3am. Right now he was a little mischievous baby Patton had to constantly keep his eyes on to make sure he doesn't hurt himself or cause financial damage.
Patton could swear after letting his son hit pans for a few more minutes he took Jarah to bed in the Moses basket - but he was mistaken. Patton was woken up at 6am when he felt a being crawling around on his bed and heard Jarah's shout when chest hit chest. "Oh... Jerry how did you get here?"
All Patton could see was a fuzzy version of his son smiling widely and giggling at himself as he tried chewing his fist. Patton couldn't help but giggle too as he reached for his glasses. "You're a little cutie kiddo."
Jarah screamed happily again and reached out for a hug. Today was going to be a day of outdoor adventures (they were free or very cheap so money could be saved for other things) and he was looking forward to this day like all others. Every day of Jarah's life was exciting and fun.
With the small infant in an appropriate animal onesie and Patton wearing his binder the family got to the park. It was a different park from usual as Patton needed some variety so he travelled a little further with lunch in a picnic basket. The father and son sat together on a picnic blanket - Jarah was allowed to toddle a short distance away but knew to never go too far.
Other families seemed to have the same picnic idea and other kids were playing with Jarah and entertaining him with parents' supervision. It seemed like a diverse little group of people who never met before - a pair of two mothers, a stereotypical male-female pairing, a single mother in a business suit, a non-binary parent with their male partner, an older couple with only dogs that seemed to play with the surrounding children like they were humans themselves... Patton was lucky to live in a world like this. Jarah might be judged by a few outsiders but in the end there were always people in families like his.
"Connie! Steven! Don't disturb other picnic-ers!" One of the members of the older couple, a man wearing pink and other soft materials, shouted towards the gaggle of kids but at the two labradors chasing each other and falling into everyone's picnics. Their partner, one wearing black and had a large pair of shades, put an arm around the soft looking person and tried beckoning his dogs with a whistle. The two dogs didn't obey and instead ran up to Patton excitedly to say hello.
"Dog!" Jarah shouted as he toddled over. He walked back to Patton and sat on his lap, reaching out to the labradors that sniffed him all over. Jarah's giggle became louder as fur covered him.
The pink wearing person smiled at Patton and also came bounding over after their dogs. When they reached them the dogs ran over to their familiar family member barking and shaking their tail - the pink wearer gave them treats without hesitation. "Sorry about my puppies! They're super excited to see everyone - I'm Emile, you?"
"Patton." Patton smiled wide. "And this is Jarah."
"This is Paps!" A voice erupted from Patton's favourite little human - that was Jarah's first sentence. The young father felt immensely proud. All Jarah cared about was the dogs that were now licking his face though.
Emile turned to the man now sitting alone on the picnic basket and chugging a Starbucks coffee. "Remy! Come here!" He shouted, Remy seemed to obey and begin carrying their entire picnic towards Patton and his son. "Your kiddo reminds me so much of Remy and ours when they were young - you remind me of my younger self too." The cheery person sat opposite Jarah and squeezed his cheek. Jarah loved any attention and showed his two new friends the food Patton packed.
Remy and Emile were happy to talk about their five sons. The oldest was a theologian and lawyer, one was an accountant and book nerd in the city, another a musician that founded a mental health charity, and the youngest two were a comedy duo touring the local bars. They were LGBTQ parent too as they were both gay and Emile was gender fluid which was reassuring as it showed that Patton could raise his son being the man he was. And now Patton had two new friends that could give him advice - and maybe (as Emile and Remy's sons were around the same age as Patton) he could meet the rest of their family too.