Summary: It's family reunion time for two couples who have adopted Emile and Remy, at very different ages. It's the first time Remy and Emile are meeting each other and they don't believe they'd get along that well especially since there are plenty of other cousins to chat to - but they are wrong.
Words: 1127
Roman and Patton were siblings who were very much alike. They were only two years apart and they both had a romantic and sexual preference for men. They were both loud and proud people but preferred quiet and introverted types. In high school Roman fell head-over-heels for the new emo boy from rural south Texas, and when Virgil realised he was gay and they had begun dating he was accepted into the family with open arms. It took a while for Patton to find his soulmate - it wasn't until he became qualified as a cookery teacher that he met and fell in love with the strict but kind history teacher, named Logan. Logan was also accepted straight away into the family and got on well with both his brother-in-laws (as Roman and Virgil were married at that point), especially Virgil.
For Virgil it was important he and Roman adopted an older child since he never had a good relationship with his parents, and they found their perfect child in a eleven-almost-twelve year old boy named Remy. He was sassy and funny and always wore black just like his father, but also reminded Roman of himself at that age as he was very flamboyant and happy with himself, or at least as happy as a pre-teen could be.
At the same time Roman and Virgil adopted Remy, Patton and Logan were preparing for their new younger addition. Logan's sister wanted to be a surrogate for the couple, so the duo decided they were going to raise this particular child through all the developmental stages. Patton always had super strong baby fever anyway. The child they received they named Emile, and dressed him purely in pink and fluffy things. As he was so young he didn't have much of a personality yet, but because he was raised by two teachers he was very inquisitive of the world around him.
Unfortunately Patton and Logan lived in a different city to Roman, Virgil, and other members of Patton and Roman's family. Whenever there was a reunion though Logan and Patton travelled back home. And this year was the first time both Remy and Emile could go.
"Pocket Protector! Did you read that Sherlock fanfic I emailed you?" Virgil shouted towards the couple sat on the sofa with their almost-year-old Emile, immediately chatting to one of the fathers about fanfictions like every adult topic should be about. He had to dodge a few nephews and nieces along the way - Patton and Roman's siblings were older so therefore had older kids that were more around Remy's age. Emile was the baby of the family and was being treated as such by older members of the family. "Wait - is this Emile all grown up? Hi buddy!"
"He's not evolved to his full size yet babe, he's got a few more levels to go." Virgil's husband quickly followed behind, immediately wrapping his arms around his husband's waist and kissing his cheek. "How is he Pat? I'm surprised he doesn't need glasses yet!" Roman immediately sat next to his brother and squished the baby's cheek. Emile squealed in response which made both young fathers smile softly.
While the three talked about Emile's development, and that in fact he did have an optometry appointment in the books, Virgil turned and watched his son with the rest of his cousins. Remy had been to the previous family gathering so already had friends his age. It wasn't likely he was going to play with the only baby in the family anyway - there was a big age gap between Emile and the rest of his cousins. Still, Virgil didn't want his boy to ever feel left out. "Rem? Did you want to come meet your new cousin?"
Remy, who was on his fifth serving of a coffee cheesecake that evening, tilted his head before being distracted by yet another cousin that wanted to play on his Nintendo Switch. Oh well, coming into a new family would take time.
The party continued though, with plenty of chatter and fun. As it got later a few family members, and their kids, left - until it was just Patton and Roman's parents; Patton, Logan and Emile; and Roman, Virgil and Remy. At this point Roman and Virgil would believe Remy was tired of the gathering. Virgil had already 'turned off' and was scrolling through his phone quietly with Roman's fingers through his hair like he needed to do. Logan and Patton were stood and helping the grandparents clean up a little, and Emile was on the floor playing with a shape-fill activity.
And Remy was sat on the sofa beside his parents, gardening in his Animal Crossing island but keeping his eyes on the baby in front of him. Neither fathers were focusing on their sons particularly and rather each of their partners.
The baby was cute though. How could Remy seem like the cool almost teenager he was while also playing with a baby?
He slunk down to the floor in front of Emile. Emile was struggling with a certain pink piece. "You want a cheat code?" Remy whispered in front of Emile's face. The baby looked up at his cousin with interest, chewing the wooden piece he was holding and mumbling. "The colours match as well as the shapes!" Emile cooed again at that extra information but remained insistent on fitting the pink circle in the blue square.
"I'll help you out bud." Remy laughed, placing the yellow triangle in the correct hole with ease. Emile paused seeing him solve a part of the puzzle, then looked up at his older cousin like he'd just completed a magic trick. It was really cute, Remy wasn't going to lie, especially when Emile squealed and threw out his hands.
Remy thought he still looked cool and nonchalant, but when he turned he immediately saw his fathers grinning at him excitedly and leaning forward. He could already tell they were going to spit out something sentimental. "Do you like your new cousin Rem?" Roman chirped, in a whisper as if he was going to disturb this special moment. Emile screamed after a moment of silence when the attention wasn't on him.
"Yeah, he's pretty dope." Remy laughed, squeezing the baby's cheek to assure him that all the attention was indeed on him again. "Do you think Uncle Patton and Logan will allow me to babysit?"
"Of course kiddo!" Patton babbled back, sat on a dining room chair behind his baby with his husband lingering behind him happily. And he was holding a video camera. Remy's face immediately became the face of cringe. This moment was indeed forever memorialised, even as Emile and Remy grew up as each other's favourite cousin.