Dean hated having to ride the bus when he had his son Mason with him, but today was the hottest day of the year and Dean had left his stroller in his car that was getting fixed. It wasn't this hot when Dean had walked Mason to daycare this morning, but he knew walking 2 miles home in 90 degree weather with a 2 year old wouldn't work. So he found himself and his son sitting in a hot, stuffy bus, waiting for their stop.
But Mason's crying only made it worse, Dean bouncing him up and down on his knee, trying to calm him down.
"Hey buddy, what's wrong?" Dean cooed in Mason's ear, trying to calm his whining. Mason only continued, him gradually getting louder. "Don't worry, we're almost home."
Dean held his hands on different sides of Mason and held his palms facing up, trying to take Mason's hands. Dean's touch only set Mason off, him letting out a wail that made people around them glare at the two. Dean only glared back, making them turn back around and mind their own business.
"Mason, you'll be going straight to bed if you don't stop and tell me what's wrong." Mason didn't like Dean's statement, him starting to cry loudly. Dean cursed himself, remembering that he read somewhere not to punish your kids for their feelings, try to get them to talk to you about it. Dean sighed and lifted Mason, turning him around to face Dean "Mason baby, can you tell me what's wrong?" Dean pleaded. "Are you hungry, thirsty, tired?"
Mason had his attention elsewhere, his crying calming down to soft whimpers as he tried to wipe the tears from his eyes. Dean wiped Mason's tears away with his thumbs, then turning around to see where Mason's attention was directed at. He was a guy who was sitting diagonal from them, a few rows back and was smiling at Mason, then making a silly face that replaced Mason's whimpering with laughter. Dean smiled, glad somebody was helping him with his son's crying.
Plus, the guy was really attractive, Dean couldn't lie. He had half-blond half-brown hair which he pulled off quite well, and he was mesmerized by dark brown eyes, plus he had a nicely trimmed beard that made him look even hotter. Dean's eyes trailed down his body, the guy's shoulders and arms bulging through his t-shirt, and he was pretty sure he had a six pack under his shirt.
When Dean looked back up, he met the guy's eyes and saw he was smirking at him, knowing that Dean had just been checking him out so shamelessly in front of his son. Dean smirked back, then turning his attention back to now loudly laughing Mason.
"Just needed to be entertained, didn't ya?" Dean asked Mason, putting his hands on his hips. The bus came to a stop and Dean put the diaper bag on his shoulder and set Mason on his hip, standing up and walking down the aisle to get off the bus. Once off the bus, Dean bent down to set Mason on his feet, but stopped when he heard Mason whine and wrap his arms around Dean's neck.
"No Daddy." Mason whined, Dean sighing as he stood back up straight and felt Mason lay his head on Dean's shoulder.
"Too tired to walk buddy?" Dean turned his head to see the same guy from the bus. "Don't worry, I'm not following you. I have to walk this way to get home too."
"You live near?" Dean asked.
"Yeah, I live in the townhouses on Third."
"We do too!" Dean nodded. "Well, I'm Dean, and this is Mason."
"Nice to meet you both. I'm Seth." Dean twisted his left hand to shake Seth's outstretched hand, Seth chuckling lightly at Dean.
"Thanks for helping on the bus. Not sure what was wrong with him back there." Dean shrugged Mason a little bit higher on his hip.
"Here, let me hold that for you." Seth took the diaper bag from Dean before he could protest, hanging it on his shoulder.
"Oh no, you don't have to." Dean reached out to get the bag back. He hated getting help, he was independent, and could take care of himself.
"No really, let me. I'm going to the same place as you and my hands are empty." Seth insisted. Dean dropped his hand, thanking Seth.
"It's nothing. Parents need some help too." Seth said. Dean nodded in agreement, smiling appreciatively at Seth's understanding tone.
"Yeah it's definitely a lot harder when you're a single parent, too." Dean replied.
"Single?" Dean nodded at Seth's question. "If you don't mind me asking, where's his mother?"
"She died when he was 8 months. She was hit by a drunk driver." Dean explained, his voice flat. Seth's eyes widened in surprise, feeling incredibly rude and invasive.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked." Seth sighed.
"Don't worry about it. You didn't know, and I've come to terms with it." Dean brushed him off.
It was silent for a little while after that, until Seth broke the silence.
"How old is he now?" he asked.
"Just turned 2 last month." Dean answered. "How long have you been living in the townhouses? I haven't seen you around."
"I just moved in last month. I finally paid off all my bills from my other apartment with some roommates and was able to get my own place." Seth explained. "It's only been a month like I said, but I love it. It's nice to have your own space and not have to worry about other people. Plus, it makes banking and paying bills a lot easier."
"I'll bet." Dean scoffed at the idea of having roommates. "How many people were you living with?"
"I was only living with my friends Randy and Dolph. I had no problems with them, I just kind of felt like the roommate phase of my life was over, you know?" Dean shrugged, understanding Seth's explanation.
"I think that's one of the pros of moving in with your partner. They're similar to a roommate, but then they're also not. Plus, his mother and I had a shared bank account, so that helped us learn to budget our money so we weren't always living from paycheck to paycheck and we would still have some money left over after paying bills to spend on fun or put into a saving account. With roommates, you can't really do that since they're not as permanent and sometimes, that's the purpose of a roommate. Because you need help financially."
"Yeah, exactly." Seth nodded, agreeing with everything Dean had said. "Wow, I could really use your help on budgeting money one day, and maybe meet up for coffee too." Dean stopped in his steps at Seth's suggestion, surprised at his boldness and that he just asked him out like that.
"Really?" Dean asked. He hadn't been having the best luck with dating, usually people would be turned off by the fact that Dean had a kid, meaning he didn't have as much leisure or they'd have to share Dean's attention with Mason.
"Yeah." Seth answered, confusion etched into his voice. "Why do you sound so surprised?"
"Well, a lot of people are turned off by the fact that I wouldn't be free every single moment of my life since I have a kid." Dean rubbed Mason's back.
"Oh, I'm not like that. I don't have any place to judge, plus I understand how stressful it can be, my mother was a single parent. Plus, I've always loved kids." Seth smiled. "And, it's actually quite attractive to see a man take responsibility and know he genuinely cares about his child. Definitely a bonus to the good looks." Dean felt his face getting hot, mainly because he hadn't been flirted with in a while or got any romantic interactions directed towards him either.
"Well, thanks." Dean awkwardly cleared his throat, then started to walk again.
They walked around the corner and down the street past the similar townhouses, Seth continuing to follow Dean. They walked towards the sidewalk until Dean turned and walked up the small set of stairs onto the front porch of his apartment, stopping in front of his door and fished his keys out of his back pocket. He inserted the key into the the lock and unlocked the door, opening the door. He gently shrugged a now asleep Mason on his hip, holding the door open for Seth and Seth thanked him as he walked into Dean's apartment. Dean followed Seth and closed the door behind him.
"Sorry for the mess, he was playing this morning and I didn't have time to clean up before we left." Dean led Seth through the apartment, opening Mason's bedroom door.
"Don't worry about it. My apartment is still filled with moving boxes. Seth replied. "Where do you want me to put the bag?"
"Put it on the changing table." Dean whispered as he gently placed Mason in his toddler bed, kneeling by it to strip him out of his day clothes. "Could you please go to the second drawer and get him some pajamas?" Seth nodded and went to the dresser as Dean placed the dirty clothes in a pile on the floor.
"Here." Dean thanked Seth and cautiously dressed Mason in the pajamas then put the covers over his small body. Mason shifted and whimpered softly, Dean quietly shushing his son as he stroked the top of his head, then kissed his temple and stood up, Seth standing back as he watched the affectionate interaction. It was quite strange to see, Dean's inside seeming to be softer than his rough outside. Dean picked up the dirty clothes and tiptoed out the room, Seth following. Dean threw the clothes in the hamper and Seth quietly closed the door, leaving a small crack in the door open.
"I can see that you really love him and that you're a great father and a hard working man." Seth crossed his arms across his chest.
"Thanks." Dean felt strange, not used to opening up and showing his softer side so early to a stranger, but with Seth he felt so comfortable and vulnerable, he wasn't sure if he liked it or not.
"Could I get your number? I'd really like to take you out and get to know you better." Seth grinned, his grin almost making Dean melt and made his stomach churn.
"Yeah, sure." They exchanged numbers and as Dean placed the small slip of paper in Seth's hand, Seth wrapped his hand around Dean's.
He pulled his hand away first, leaving the slip in Seth's hand as he shoved his hands in his pockets. "Well, text me when you're available."
"Definitely." Seth nodded, Dean then walking Seth to the door.
"I'll see you around, Seth." Dean smiled at him.
"See you, Dean." Seth smiled back at him then walked outside, Dean closing the door behind him.
Dean put the slip back on the counter, then going to Mason's room to tuck him in once again. He kneeled on the floor beside his bed, gently rubbing his hand up and down his son's back as he slept peacefully.
"Well, you really got me a cute one this time, bud." Dean whispered then kissed his head, standing back up and left the room, closing the door behind him once again.