Summary: Patton and Virgil are settling in with their newly adopted child, and they are overjoyed to be driving him to a classmate's birthday party. They don't expect such a big step to be covered though.
Words: 1085
Virgil grabbed his car keys and swung them around his fingers, turning slightly to admire the adorable sight behind him. His husband, Patton, was helping their son, Levi, put his bright blue coat on. To most parents that seemed like nothing special but for Virgil it definitely was. Levi had only been adopted for almost a year but it still seemed so new and exciting. Being a parent was amazing.
"We ready to go?" Virgil chirped, admiring Patton's soft smile as he zipped up the little coat their son was wearing. Levi was nodding excitedly and trying to get away so he could get out the door quicker. But it seemed as though Patton was also in a trance just admiring the little family they had. "C'mon Pat. Party starts at 6."
Patton smiled widely at that and also stood up, giving his husband a kiss on the cheek and smiling back at the little five year old trying to carry all the rainbow wrapped gifts he was ready to give his best friend. "Are you excited Lev?"
"Yeah!" Levi cheered, dropping one of the presents as he ran out the front door. Virgil picked up the present on the way and Patton caught up with Levi to help him in the car.
Patton could never stop smiling at the boy he and his husband adopted, he felt like the luckiest man in the world. Levi was quiet and nervous when he first arrived in Patton and Virgil's care but over the year he had built strong friendships in school and therefore strong friendships with the people he lived with. He didn't call them anything other than their first names yet but Patton didn't mind.
The little boy gasped and reached to the door of the car, a look of recognition in his eyes. "Patton, look! It's the welcome book!"
In Levi's hand was a rainbow book covered in glittery animal stickers - it was the book he was given before moving into Virgil and Patton's house. It was full of pictures of the husbands and all their pets including a garden of chickens and a giant black spider (that stayed in Virgil's study).
"How about you give that another read while we drive you? Then you can tell all your friends about all the animals we have!" Levi nodded happily at that and finally let Patton buckle him into the car. The parents sat at the front of the car and Virgil drove, and even though the back of his seat was being kicked he felt so happy. Happy that he was a parent taking their child to a friend's birthday party for the evening.
And he loved listening to Levi babble on about the couple's friendly golden retriever and their two tabby cats and their chickens and their spider and their birds. He loved all the animals in the house he lived in, and Virgil and Patton adored raising an animal enthusiast.
Patton's hand laid on Virgil's arm and the small taps reminded Virgil to keep his eyes and ears on the road. "Virgil?" Levi eventually chirped, the book open to the spider page. "How old is Fang?"
"He's around seven years old, I got him when I graduated high school." Levi nodded at that and carried on reading, stroking the pictures of Fang like he had leant to stroke the spider when it was out of the cage. "Do you want a pet when you're older Lev?"
At first Levi shrugged but then mumbled softly as he turned the page. "My friend has ferrets so I want one of those. They're slinky and soft." Patton smiled mischievously at that, and Virgil knew he'd keep that in mind. Patton was always happy to add other animals to their collection.
Soon the family reached the church hall that this child's birthday party would be at. There seemed to be balloons everywhere and parents lingering outside with/without their kids riding on a sugar high. Without thinking Virgil took a deep breath to prepare for social interaction, even though he had met these parents before. But when Patton saw the nerves in his husband he squeezed his hand.
"Ready to go meet your friends buddy?" Patton cheered to the back of the car at the child who was already trying to lean out of the car towards his friends. Patton giggled softly and went out to help free Levi from his constraints.
Levi ran towards his friends with all his presents in his hands. He placed the presents on a giant table with the rest of the gifts and then ran to the birthday child for a hug and excited six year old chatter. Patton and Virgil were just holding each other's hand and watching him. Other parents soon approached the couple in more adult chat about how Levi was settling in and how excited each child was to start elementary school soon. Patton was a natural at fitting into these conversations while Virgil watched his son happily play and giggle.
Until Levi realised he was still holding the small rainbow book. In that moment Virgil was brought into a conversation by another father and he was only brought to his son's attention when Virgil heard a shout.
"Dad! Dad!" Levi ran over to Virgil, waving the rainbow book. Virgil leant down with just a smile to not show an over-reaction. Only Patton was smiling like an idiot at Levi's happy chirps during the book-handover before he ran away again.
When the parents dispersed again Patton was still shaking and giggling, showing excitement in only his eyes. Virgil's job was to calm him down. "It might just be because we're in public sweetheart."
Patton pouted and leant on his husband's shoulder as they walked away to leave their son in safe supervision of another parent. "I know but he said it! It's an achievement." Patton was whispering as if it was a secret that Levi called Virgil 'Dad', acting like an excited high schooler. "And it's you! I know you secretly love that it's you." Virgil giggled at that, reminding himself of the sleepless nights where Virgil imagined actually being called 'Dad' for the rest of his life.
The husbands spent the few hours of freedom by watching movies and cuddling, as well as looking through all the photos in the welcome book. Whatever happened, whether Virgil and Patton would be Dad or not, the two men loved Levi however he wanted his family to look.