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Many hobbies and activities had been attempted by the members of the York-Dakota family in the less than two years since the four decided to give suburban life a try.
The family bike ride that would take place every morning, an hour before the school bus even arrived for the boys had been forgotten about almost immediately. However Theta and North still liked to get up and go for a brisk walk to the local park every Saturday after seven, followed by a sleepier, and in the latter’s case grumpier, Delta and York roughly a half an hour later.
Game night failed on a disastrous level when North and his horrified children realised that York had been holding back his competitive streak whenever they dared to break out a game of Tekken or Wii Sports. They came to a solemn agreement that even the mention of Monopoly was forbidden around the younger father figure.
Even York’s cookbook, as fun and tasty an idea as that was, fell through. Sunday evenings, York had decided, would be his night to cook a new meal for his family. He would whip out his laptop on a Saturday night after the boys went to sleep, look up something he had never made before and whip it together the following day. An old notebook had been fished out from the designated “junk room”, once the office, which mysteriously got messier after every time anyone ever cleaned. After ridding it of some pages of less than mature doodles, York designated it as his cook book. He would scribble down the recipes and after Sunday dinner both Theta and Delta would write down their thoughts on his attempts. It ranged from Delta’s highly praised review regarding the deliciousness of York’s Spam Sushi to Theta’s crayon “NO” underneath the recipe of his fathers failed attempt at home made fish fingers.
However all it took was one lazy evening, one day in which York decided they should just order in Chinese food instead for that to change. They realised it was a lot more fun to curl up on the couch watching cartoons and waiting for their food to arrive, than it was to have to stay out of the kitchen for hours because the young man couldn’t focus when they were around. All three agreed that it was much more enjoyable to have him here, squished between North and Delta, with Theta on his lap than to have him slave away in the kitchen. His crazy cooking experiments dwindled down to one night a month, then just every now and then but the boys didn’t mind. They were lucky enough to have a normal home cooked meal six out of seven days of the week and honestly pizza, Thai food or whatever took their fancy that week was almost always better than York’s cooking.
Gardening however was different. It was the very first project they decided to tackle once they moved into the red brick semi-detached home with a back garden that only made York and Theta’s desire for a dog even stronger. Before they committed to any pets however, they took a trip to the closest gardening centre, got their hands on any equipment they saw on those home renovation shows and let the boys pick out what plants they would be placing in the patch. Somehow, of all things, this persevered.
It wasn’t that gardening was more enjoyable than the other activities. It ended up being more work than even those early morning cycles and if North and York had been the only ones invested in the garden, interest would have plummeted long ago. Even Theta lost faith in their gardening abilities when nothing bloomed after a long three days of work. Delta remained interested however, not so much in the growth of the plants but in the protection of them. He would research ways to reduce the population of tiny predators, concocting traps to snare the insects that would devour their hard work. It fascinated him to no end and York often had to force a smile despite his stomach churning when his son would insist he look at just how many slugs he got today.
However they kept at it. Even when after the first year only a pathetic flower or two bloomed. North would insist Theta take the time to water the plants and take a much more sincere interest in Delta’s thoughts on how the hot peppers they had left over from York’s last adventures in the kitchen could be used to keep away flies. He didn’t want for every project they started together to fall apart. They were a perfectly happy family with diverse interests and great support for each other’s hobbies, but after all the other failed attempts at activities he just wanted this to work. He didn’t want the boys to give up on something just because it was hard or even boring as Theta claimed.
He wasn’t saying that today however.
“Pop! Pop! Ugh, Papa, come out here! Come look at this!”
“Look at what Theta?” North asked from the sink where he was cleaning up their plates from lunch. He wasn’t sure why he asked, the boy wouldn’t tell him as it would be a lot more impactful for North to just see. His six year olds small hand wrapped around his wrist, dragging his attention away from the sink.
“Pop c’mmoonn!” He simply pleaded, putting so much effort into his tugs and pulls as he tried to bring his dad towards the sliding door that opened out onto their patio and subsequently, their garden.
Theta was North’s own kid, his flesh and blood from his first real relationship. He and Theta’s mother had met in college and she realised she was pregnant three years after they started dating, and two weeks after North ended things, telling her he was gay. The man had been at war with himself for years, hiding such a vital part of himself. Once he revealed the truth to his partner he had thought he would be free to live his life without anything holding him back and then she dropped the bomb.
He would be lying if he said he was excited to be a father straight away, which was impossible to imagine as his sons small hand held on tighter, pulling him from the shade of the house to the sunny outdoors. Just looking to his son with his wavy blonde hair that really needed to be cut, freckled nose and almost grey eyes that perfectly matched his own and he was filled with a love and pride he couldn’t begin to explain, but it wasn’t always the case. When Theta’s mother revealed to him she was carrying his child, swearing it to be his, he freaked out. He stopped speaking to her for a week or more, retreating into himself. He didn’t even tell his twin sister South, who knew everything about him. She had clocked him as being gay since he was twelve but even he couldn’t bring himself to inform her about his “mistake”.
When he finally spoke to his ex-partner, he had planned to tell her he wanted nothing to do directly with the child but once he got a job after college he would send her money, support them. The moment she told him she wanted a termination everything changed. He wasn’t sure what it was but suddenly neither option was right. It resulted in a lot of fighting, even begging as she reminded him how this was her body and any attempt he made to remind her that it was his child was just spat back in his face with a quick “you didn’t want anything to do with this!”
Somehow they came to an agreement and to this day he didn’t know how he managed to convince his old girlfriend to carry the baby to term. She stuck around for the first few weeks, North mostly supporting them with the little he made on his weekend job but once she felt her presence was no longer required, the arrangements were made. North had full custody of Theta. By now his parents and sister knew, the latter thought he was crazy when she realised he was still going to attend college full time but all stood by him. His parents would mind his kid while he continued going to class and less than a year after his son’s birth, North was a qualified occupational therapist.
Now, it was five years after that and not only did he have a loving partner but a big brother for Theta that North himself adored. With all this, a steady job as an OT and a beautiful house, he struggled to remember how it used to be. How he didn’t get a job straight out of college like he envisioned, how dating was put on hold for years until at twenty-eight, North finally decided to allow South to set him up on a blind date with a guy. A guy with chestnut hair that had just a little too much gel in it, a t-shirt that was just a little too tight and exposed his hip bone when he stood up to shake hands and a series of scars surrounding his glass eye that North stared directly towards for the first few moments of their interaction until his date explained.
“It’s pretty simple actually. I was blinded by your beauty. Oh I’m going to need your number by the way….for insurance purposes.”
Three years later and he was happily living with the idiot.
“Papa you’re not looking.” North was snapped from his thoughts as his adorable son pouted and indicated to the patch they had dug roughly twenty-one months beforehand. Among the mess of green leaves that made it hard to tell the difference between the chrysanthemums and the basil, he could see small, white flowers, fully bloomed and not only that… “Strawberries!” Theta squeaked excitedly, wrapping his fingers around the first fully bloomed strawberry their garden ever produced and pulling it free.
“Would you look at that?” North breathed happily, brushing away the strands of near white hair from his sons forehead, allowing him to see those excited eyes. Theta used to grumble and moan how there was no point when his dad would demand he water the plants outside but seeing the excitement now, North was glad gardening was something they stuck with. “Hey maybe we should wash…” Before he could warn the boy, the strawberry was in his mouth, the child happily chewing on it and North could only smile. It was only a little dirt on the berry, it wouldn’t kill him and with Deltas all natural pesticides he could be sure there wouldn’t be as much as a greenfly having touched the fruit. “How’s it taste buddy?” He questioned, ruffling his hair and the boy moaned.
“So good!” He exclaimed with a grin, looking back to the patch, his smile fading slightly as he realised none of the other strawberries were ripe. All of them were mostly green, blending in pretty well with the leaves. North wouldn’t have noticed how many there were only for he was looking for them. Did they really plant that many strawberry plants? “There’s none for Delta…” His youngest son couldn’t hide his disappointment as he realised he had greedily swallowed the only real strawberry without even showing it to his big brother.
“There will be.” North reassured him, patting his shoulder. “Why don’t you go get him now and show him the ones that are growing? I’m sure he’d like to see how both your hard work is turning out.” The blonde boys smile was wide and he hopped up without another word, rushing to find the other boy, leaving his dad alone in the grass with just some unripe strawberries and his thoughts.
“Theta you realise I’ve already seen the strawberries.” Delta’s voice drifted from inside, sounding a little put out that the six year old had dragged him from his room for this.
“I didn’t even mention strawberries.” The younger boy tried to defend himself, even though the nine year old was entirely right.
“You don’t have to. When I was maintaining the garden this morning I noticed them. What else could you be this excited for?”
“Oh just pretend Dee, pleaseeeeee…” The two stepped onto the patio from the back, sliding door. Delta towered over the younger boy despite there only being three years between them. They couldn’t have looked more different. Theta was small for his age and soft in many areas from his round cheeks to the baby fat on his stomach he had yet to lose, while Delta was considerably taller and slimmer. His darker skin was a stark contrast to Theta and with his black curly hair and deep brown eyes, they sometimes got looks from strangers when referring each other as brother, but brothers they were.
Theta had been a much shyer child when he was three and Delta even now could be considered reserved. He was a very mature young boy, more than capable of taking care of himself and content with his own company. However the moment the two met once their parental figures decided it was time, they clicked. Theta adored Delta, following him everywhere and asking him all sorts of questions because he was convinced the three year older boys knew everything. Delta never seemed put out by it, while he was considered quiet, even with York, he always had time for Theta who had more time than anyone else to listen to him talk about whatever the topic of his newest library book was. Even now, though he sounded annoyed with being dragged here to see something he had already known to exist, North could tell that he wasn’t. Those boys would do anything for each other.
“Huh...” Delta mused as he knelt down beside North, observing the small, growing fruit his brother so excitedly showed off. “There’s even more starting to grow.”
“We’re gonna have SO many to eat!” Theta grinned, eyes widening at the realisation that he hadn’t yet watered his now beloved plants. He rushed over to the outdoor tap, filling the large, green watering can and looking over his shoulder to his Pop. “Do you think we can make stuff with them? Like jam?” The child questioned, grey eyes shining. “Oh we should bring some to Gammy and Gamma’s.”
“Buddy with this many you could probably sell them.” North chuckled and noticed a lone, red strawberry peeking out from the back of the bush, just out of sight. He stretched across, plucking the fruit and handing it to Delta with a warm smile. “I think you both deserve to taste the fruit of your labours.”
North was their Pop, not their dad so Delta didn’t groan or complain about his pun considering it probably wasn’t intentional and it wasn’t accompanied by a toothy, goofy smile like York would have. Still the corner of his lips tilted as he took the berry with a polite thank you and examined it. He gently squeezed and smelled the strawberry first, satisfied it had not been contaminated in some way. However, unable to help himself, Delta wandered over to his brother, washing the strawberry beneath the tap before he’d even consider consuming it.
Theta carried the heavy watering can with both hands, shoulders reaching his ears as he walked towards the patch, water splashing on his t-shirt. He ignored Delta’s recommendations to lift with his knees not his back, despite wanting to inform his brother that he was in fact lifting with his hands. The weight was just a bit too much and needed his full attention but even though both men offered to help him he refused. After all it was HIS superior watering that got them this many strawberries.
“So what’s the verdict Dee?” North gazed to the darker haired boy, watching him as he tried the berry with a cautious nibble before devouring its flesh. He licked his lips, sucking his bottom one into his mouth the exact way York did.
“It’s considerably nicer than the ones the supermarket sells.” He noted, making a point to drop the stem of his food into the compost. He then looked towards Theta who was focusing on watering the strawberries more than any other plant, humming happily. Delta may not have been hopping around the way his younger sibling was but North could see his second kid was just as excited at the harvest as his brother. He felt a swell in his chest of pride for them both, glad he didn’t let this be something they quit.
***
“I want to sell them.” Theta told both his Pop and Delta as he put away his dinner plate later that night, North leaving York’s in the oven. Their dad was running late tonight, having to meet late notice with a client. The boys had been disappointed but tomorrow was one of those Sundays and over the phone York had promised the boys he’d make them something with strawberries. North was pretty sure they’d have to buy a punnet from the supermarket as it would be later in the week before a majority of them were ripe but the boys were excited so who was he to say no.
“Sell them?” Delta quizzed, sounding more interested in the idea than confused. The blonde boy nodded his head firmly.
“Yeah, we’d be like dad!” North couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face, noting how the boys admired their father.
York had started working directly after high school, helping out in his local hardware store. He never really had goals or dreams at the time, just needed enough money to get by until he could get his own place, be independent. Eventually he got his own apartment and landed a job as security in a bank. At first he obtained the job because of his intimidating look and skills in kick boxing but he took to the job easily.
That all changed when he met three year old Delta. Suddenly it mattered to him to grow beyond just standing by a door, keeping an eye out for generic, suspicious figures. He started taking night time courses in Business Management and finally saved up enough to justify moving from his bachelor pad to a two bedroomed apartment. When Delta was four he was told of the up and coming interview with a potential foster parent. His last house was a nice one, he had many other children around so he was never alone but there had been one too many. He was the one. His foster parent, as kind as she was, just couldn’t keep up with the number they had agreed on so once it suited he was back in the system.
So he couldn’t help but feel more nervous than hopeful at the idea of this next one. Even at three Delta was considered mature for his age. He was reading at a fourth grade level and had what many considered an old soul. It wasn’t that he had been mistreated by the system. He almost always had a home in the past; it was just always a home with a lot of other children. Focus was rarely ever on him but York planned to change that.
Delta was everything to the twenty-nine year old. He worked desperately hard to provide for the child as best he could even when it was just himself. Now, York owned his own security company. It wasn’t a large one by any means, they weren’t millionaires but he had a couple of good clients and a boyfriend to whom their children’s future mattered.
“What’s this I hear about being like me?” The door swung opened and York appeared, a weary look across his face but his smile was as infectious as ever. The two boys rushed over, Theta loudly begging his father to come see the strawberries outside and Delta already questioning him about good business practices when trying to get a product out to the public. “Hey now slow down there squirts.” York’s chuckle was infectious and North smiled brightly at the sight by his kitchen door. “Alright Theta, I’ll come see them stop pulling me. Delta, I think I’m gonna need some food in me before my brain is ready to answer any of those questions, bud.”
The youngest family member dragged his father out the door so quickly that York was only able to share a fleeting smile with his boyfriend before he was stumbling out the patio door. North could hear him from inside as he loudly attempted to share Theta’s excitement over the plants growing. He placed the younger man’s dinner in the microwave, turning it on and following them into the garden.
“So what do you think about this master plan to sell them?” North queried, large hand resting on the small of York’s back as he straightened.
“I think I want to help.” He grinned, finally kissing North’s lips before he patted Delta on the head. “I know you already have plans buddy, c’mon inside and lay ‘em out for me.”
***
It was a little over a week later by the time they had enough strawberries to make their idea a reality and North couldn’t be prouder of his children. Delta had become hugely invested in their venture together, going so far as to draft up a business plan to show his fathers. North suspected he was trying to show off to his dad, demonstrate to him that he too had business smarts and there was no denying the impressed look in York’s eyes as he scanned through his sons’ detailed plan. Both fathers ended up heavily involved, helping the boys in the shed as they made a small stall. While neither boy helped with the construction, Theta was only too happy when it was time to paint the wooden structure.
He insisted on red and green as they were selling strawberries and despite Delta’s clear dislike at the colours, going so far as to refer to it as “a little too festive”, he didn’t stop his brother. After all Theta was as much a part of this as he was and sometimes as the elder sibling you just had to compromise.
“I don’t really wish to be in a photo.” Delta weakly protested as their dads pleaded, North holding his Panasonic DMC-FT5 in his hands.
“Delta just one, I promise I won’t put it on facebook.” The taller boy gave him an unimpressed look. “Or that I won’t let your dad put it on facebook.” This promised seemed to satisfy the boy more and finally he edged behind the table, Theta pressing up to his side and grinning broadly as their Pop took a picture. “We gotta commemorate your first day of business.” They set up shop in the front garden, the colourful stand sticking out so any neighbour who dared glance out their window couldn’t miss it. The strawberries were packaged in small, clear containers that Delta had meticulously picked out after dragging his dad around to numerous greengrocers, quizzing them about the best means of distribution. He really had put considerable thought into the small business they were forming.
Last night, with North and Theta asleep by nine, York had spoken to Delta about how much work he had put in. He knew the boy had organised practically the whole thing himself but he wanted to make sure Theta was still helping him and behaving himself. Delta reassured his dad that his sibling was a great help, with his considerably younger, more innocent features he would be the perfect face for their company.
“People can’t turn down cute.” He had informed his older father figure who right now couldn’t think of a better word to describe them both.
“Maybe the two of you should go inside.” York could see his son getting a little embarrassed at the attention they were showering them with, his hand rubbing the back of his neck. “It’s bad for business to have you both loitering around.”
“Yeah get outta here!” An excited Theta waved them off. The moment they had come home from school he dumped his schoolbag on the table and rushed outside, hand picking a majority of the fruit himself. He couldn’t even begin to contain his excitement for his and his big bros project.
“Alright, alright we’re leaving.” As he passed, York snuck a strawberry from one of the open containers, much to the revulsion of their kids.
“Daaaadd noooo.” A tiny fist connected with York’s hip and only for the fleshy fruit in his mouth his chuckle would have been more audible. Theta was beyond adorable even when angry. He ruffled the kid’s wavy locks and swallowed.
“Sorry kiddo, I couldn’t resist.”
“You are honestly the worst.” A humoured North rolled his eyes and pocketed his camera, fishing his wallet out from his trousers. “Why don’t we make it up to you by being your first customers?” He placed down the two dollars the boys had decided to sell each packet by and picked up one. “We’ll be inside and we’ll call you when dinners ready.” He placed a hand on Delta’s shoulder. “Come get us if you need us, alright?”
The dark skinned boy nodded. He looked calm as ever but North knew better, there was doubt in his eyes that this would work but his Pop had faith in them both.
***
“Look! Look! Sarge is coming back again.” York was worse than an old woman the way he spied on their children from the sitting room window, informing his boyfriend of every customers and every small interaction. North was sitting with his back to the window, book on his lap while his lover was beside him, propped on his knees and leaning over the back of the couch, almost pressing his face to the glass. The blonde chuckled and stretched his arm out, fingertips brushing over the small expanse of skin that was visible under York’s t-shirt and resting on his hip.
“Relax love, they wouldn’t want us staring.”
“But that’s the third pack he’s bought.” Sarge was the elderly war veteran that lived across the street. He was an eccentric older man and half his war stories were hard, if not impossible to believe but he was a good soul. North had worked with him a number of years ago, long before moving into the neighbourhood. Nowadays the war hero had adjusted to his life much better; he didn’t see North anymore and he proved to be a good neighbour. If York’s top of the range security system didn’t make them feel comfortable with leaving the house, Sarge’s watchful eye and his ever trusty shotgun would.
“Is Simmons with him this time?” North couldn’t help but ask, not gazing after their boys but still every bit as nosey.
“No, he left like fifteen minutes ago.” Norths thumb gently rubbed circles against the warm skin of York’s hip, encouraging the younger lover to finally sit down on the couch, curled up beside him but remain tilted so he could still look out the window. “I’m really proud of them.” He said after a while, a soft smile on his lips as he looked out at their sons. “They put a lot of work into this.”
“I know.” North agreed, warmth spreading through his chest as he finally twisted his body to look out once more as Theta flagged down Washington and his younger brother, no doubt screaming at them that they had to buy their product. The lovers fell into a comfortable silence, North simply thinking about how in love he was with his entire family, his hand still stroking York’s flesh under his t-shirt. “So hey, have you heard anything…”
“They said it could be another month….possibly more….” York didn’t need to know what his lover was going to ask, it was the most popular topic of conversation between them lately. “I rang up earlier to see how things were going, did they need to talk to more people, if they were satisfied and she swore they were but if so….” He sighed. “…then what’s taking so long?” He leaned into his larger partner, snuggling against him. “I just want us to be a family.”
“We are a family.” North reassured him, kissing his temple. He sounded confident but he knew exactly how his boyfriend felt. If they had to wait any longer for this adoption to go through he felt he would explode.
“Dad? Pop?” Delta’s voice came from the front door just moments before Theta came bouncing in, interrupting their cuddles by jumping on his dads.
“We did it! We sold them all!” He eagerly yelled, toothy grin covering half his face. North responded with an equally wide smile but York looked apprehensive, gazing from Theta to Delta who was carrying over a closed tin in which they had kept their money.
“I’m not buying that.” He stated apprehensively. “I looked out the window like ten seconds ago and you definitely had at least four punnets left.”
“Mr. DuFresne bought them.” The blonde informed his parents while the nine year old sat beside York.
“I simply explained the pesticide free way we cared for our organically grown fruit and after giving him a free sample he couldn’t resist.” Delta had a sly smile on his face and York chuckled, pulling him closer.
“You’re an acute businessman alright!” He praised the child, ruffling his hair. “So come on then, don’t leave us all in suspense.” He tapped the tin. “Let’s see how much you made.” The boy only had to open the tin to impress his fathers. Both North and York leaned forward, gazing towards what had to be more than a hundred bucks in the tin. “What the…”
“I thought you were selling them at two dollars a punnet?” North’s question cut off his boyfriends’ more than likely inappropriate exclamation. “You wouldn’t have had enough to make this much.”
“We charged you two dollars.” Delta corrected him. “It’s simply a matter of knowing your customers…some are just willing to pay more than others.” York really did have a shrewd businessman on his arms and North couldn’t help but stare at the tin, dumbfounded.
“I made like ten bucks on my first lemonade stand.” He laughed, Theta bouncing on his lap as he did. “Careful York, he’ll be taking your company before high school.”
“Brains run in our family North, where do you think he got it from?” York chuckled, pulling the boy closer to his side and kissing his forehead. “I’m proud of you kiddo.” His fingers found their way into the mob of Theta’s hair. “The both of you.”
The younger boy smiled lazily to his dad before he followed Delta to the small coffee table in the centre of their sitting room. Delta counted their cash, not hesitating even while Theta questioned him over what they would do with the cash, suggesting everything from a new skateboard, to more fruit seeds.
The latter choice interested Delta who saw it as an opportunity to expand on their business. They sat side by side; lost in their conversation as to what fruit should they buy next. Perhaps they could expand to vegetables. Their excited chatters filled the room, the older men curled up side by side, watching.
Gardening had really been the first thing they did here after moving in. Before they even painted the walls they had decided it would be a good idea. For almost two years they put up with grumbles and moans about what hard work it was and how it wasn’t fun but right now North was so glad he had his boys stick with it. Their family arrangement was far from the most typical but he didn’t think it was possible to be happier than in this moment.
“Okay, who wants strawberry ice cream to celebrate?” York stood up, Norths hand sliding from his hip as he let him go, the two boys looking over their shoulder with a worrying glimmer in their eye. “….this time I got it from the shop.” He reassured them.
“Aw yeah!” Theta stood up, Delta remaining seated as he organised the money into piles. “I’ll get you a cone.” He promised his sibling, clinging to York’s hand.
“Bring me one with two scoops.” North cupped his hand around his mouth, yelling at them after they left the room.
“Theta says your tummy’s getting too big for that!” Theta’s loud shrieks could be heard, denying everything over his dad’s chuckles and North just smiled, leaning back in the chair.
Yeah, his life was pretty perfect.