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"An important day is coming up soon, Li'l Petey." Sarah plopped down across from him at the dining room table. She was currently babysitting him while his dads went out on a date.
Li'l Petey looked up from his drawing. He didn't remember anyone saying there was an important day coming soon. He was wracking his brains and everything for what it could be, but nothing came to mind. "There is?"
"Of course! Father's Day is right around the corner - no one told you?"
That's right! He did hear Papa say something about that, didn't he? No one had really told him it was "supa' important" or anything, so he had kind of forgotten he heard about it. "No, not really. It's like a birthday for all papas, right?"
"Sort of. It's just a celebration of everything our dads do for us. You've got your work cut out for you - most people only have to worry about celebrating one dad."
"That's okay! I don't mind."
"Do you have any ideas for what you're going to get for them?"
Li'l Petey looked back down at what he was working on right now. He could make them both cards... but he drew them pictures all the time. This was supposed to be special! He'd have to do more than just that!
He would have to have help, though...
--->
"Morning, Papa!"
"Good morning, Li'l Petey." Li'l Petey watched as his Papa made his way to the kitchen to start on breakfast.
"Can you go to the store today? I need some stuff."
"Mm.. what is 'some stuff'?"
At least he hadn't outright denied him! Hopefully, that meant he was still sleepy enough to actually agree to go. He watched his Papa put on his apron - that now sported a handful of patches they had added to it - looking for any sign that he might be susceptible to suggestion.
"80-HD has a list! You should take him with you!"
"Not gonna happen, kid."
"Awww, what? Why?!" Li'l Petey groaned. He was so sure his Papa was about to be on board with his plan!!
"I'm not allowed out and about without my 'Oh-so-handsome' Police Escort, remember?"
"Oh... right..." Well, rats. Li'l Petey did kind of sort of forget about that. How was he supposed to remember!? His dads always made their time together look like it was their own idea. They always seemed to willingly be together. It had drifted far from his mind that his Papa was still mandated by law to be escorted around by his Dad.
"Listen, kid.." his Papa started with a sigh. "I'll ask Greg if he's up for some shopping later, and we can all go together."
"Aww, okay.." Li'l Petey chewed on the inside of his cheek in thought. He'd have to come up with another plan quickly. Maybe he could pretend to be innocent if they start to suspect? Hopefully, he could still surprise both of them...
--->
'You said you wanted to go to the store?' Li'l Petey looked up at his Dad when he came over and tapped his shoulder.
"Yeah, did Papa come and tell you?"
His dad nodded, taking a seat next to him. 'We can all go, but...' Li'l Petey watched his hands halt in hesitation, and his face did a funny thing where he looked like he was about to laugh but wasn't sure how to. His hands continued. 'What store, specifically? We can't very well just go to "the store" when there's a lot of them.'
"Oh, right! Hmm..." What store did he need? Oh, but Li'l Petey just realized his dads would be paying no matter how his plan worked. That wasn't going to work. What good was a present if you had to buy it yourself? Maybe he should have 80-HD throw the list away. "The craft store! Like the one where we got the patches for Papa's apron from."
His Dad tilted his head to the side, his expression puzzled. 'We went not that long ago. Did you run out of something?'
"Um.. yeah, I think I did! I'll go check, but we should still go!!"
It wasn't his original idea, but another great one had just popped into his head. Hopefully, this one was more successful than the last!
--->
"You're absolutely sure you're out of markers? I thought we just bought you some!"
Li'l Petey giggled to himself as he watched his Papa pinch his nose, where it met his eyebrows when he held up a set of brand new markers. "Well, yeah... but these ones are cool!! Look at them, Papa!!" He glanced over at his Dad when he heard him chuckling, too. He was hiding his mouth behind his hand, but he wasn't really doing a good job at hiding his laughing.
"Not you, too," his Papa grumbled, crossing his arms.
'More markers won't hurt. At least then, we won't have to get more anytime soon.'
"Oh, hey! Can we go to the big store?"
"You mean the supermarket? Why? Didn't you just need craft stuff?"
"Well, yeah... but I just remembered something I wanted to get!!"
"Okay? Well, what is it?"
"I can't tell you guys! It's a surprise!! Please?" He clasped his two little paws together, watching his dads share a look before looking down at him again.
'Yeah, alright.'
"But don't ask for anything craft related while we're there. Get what you need here first. They have better supplies." His Papa waved a hand at him.
"Yes!" Li'l Petey quietly celebrated this small victory before he ran off to collect the other things he wanted to grab from here.
-->
"Papa, I need to go potty! Can you take me to the bathroom?"
"Geez, kid, you're nothin' but bossy today, huh? Fine, we can all go to the bathroom together. Greg, you can stay outside the bathroom and wait so we're not crowding it up."
His Dad gave a professional salute in response before they began walking that way. Truth be told, he didn't actually have to go to the bathroom, but he needed to do something to talk one on one with both of them for this to work.
"Alright, kid. Do your business."
Li'l Petey grabbed his Papa's wrist and tugged him down towards him.
"Woah, hey - !"
"Hey, Papa?" he started in a whisper.
"Yeah, what?" Papa sounded rather annoyed with Li'l Petey right now. He probably was annoying him quite a lot.
"I don't actually have to go potty."
"What?! You're unbelievable - !"
"Wait! Listen!!"
"Fine. We're already here anyway. What's your deal?"
"Father's Day is coming up."
"I- huh? I mean, um.. ahh.." Papa stumbled over his words. Li'l Petey waited, watching his Papa blink a few times before he registered his son's words properly. "Yeah, sure. What of it?" Even with more sure words, his Papa's face still seemed to wobble.
"I wanted to do something special for Dad, but I want it to be a surprise!! I thought of a few things, but I don't know what to get him. Do you have any ideas? Can you help me?"
"Oh..." For some reason, his Papa looked sad for a moment. Then his face lit up a little. "Hey, actually... I've been working on something that we could give him together. You gonna make him a special card, too?"
"Yeah! We can make the card together!!"
"If that's what you really want, yeah. We can do that, Li'l Petey." He ruffled the fur atop Li'l Petey's head playfully. "Let's get back out there before he gets suspicious."
"Right!!"
-->
'Woah, Li'l Petey! What're you doing, running off like that?' His Dad stopped him, having gently grabbed him by the arm. Li'l Petey knew that he would. He was always keeping a good eye on him. This was his moment, while his Papa was distracted by his argument with some person who was saying something mean about Li'l Petey's Dad.
"Can I talk to you real quick?"
'Of course, anytime!' He flashed him a small, concerned smile.
"Father's Day is coming up, I wanted to do something special for Papa. I was thinking we get some decorations together and throw a party! But I want to surprise him with it! Do you think we can make some decorations at home?"
His Dad blinked for a moment as his brain caught up. He smiled again. 'Sure! Was there anything else? If you have any ideas, I'm happy to help! That sounds like a great idea.'
"Thank you!!"
--->
Li'l Petey turned his head when he felt a tap on his shoulder. 'Is this any good??' His Dad held up a handmade banner that said: 'Happy Father's Day' just as Li'l Petey had requested.
"Perfect!!"
'How are your chain link streamers coming along?' he asked, setting the banner to the side.
Li'l Petey lifted up what he was working on, showing it off. "Ta-daa!! Pretty good, right?"
His Dad clapped enthusiastically before signing the words: 'Wonderful work! He's going to love it!!'
"Once we finish these, we should start setting up! 80-HD is making sure Papa stays out in the shed, so we have time to try and make a dessert, too!"
'You got it!' He saluted Li'l Petey. The boy giggled.
He was so happy his plan was actually working out this time!! He'd kept running into trouble before, but right now everything was going smoothly!
->
Everything was set up in no time, and the cookies Li'l Petey was helping his Dad make were just about done in the oven.
"Think we can let Papa know he can come out now?"
'Up to you.' He shrugged. 'This was your idea, after all.'
"Right. I'll be back then! Don't forget to grab his card and gift!" Li'l Petey jumped up and ran out to the shed, which was his Papa's temporary workshop until they figured something better out.
"Okay, Papa! Is it almost ready?" Li'l Petey stuck his head in the door.
"Ah! Sheesh!! Don't do that! You startled me." He gripped at his chest, trying to calm his breathing.
"Sorry. Is it ready?"
"Yeah, yeah. I'm just finishing up. I really hope it works like I want it to..." Li'l Petey watched him place whatever he'd been working on in a nice box. "Okay, that should do it. 80-HD, can you grab the card?" He waved his hand.
80-HD took a look around before snatching up the card from where it was tucked away out of sight and handed it to Papa.
"Alright!! Let's go!!" Li'l Petey was so excited to see their reactions. He was just about ready to jump out of his skin.
"I'm coming, I'm coming."
Li'l Petey shook his hands preparing himself, before he pushed the door open, and stepped inside, his Papa and 80-HD right behind him.
"Happy Father's Day!!" he shouted as he looked at his two dads, who'd come face to face, cards and gift boxes for the other in hand. They both stared at each other in shock before looking at Li'l Petey - who was quite literally bursting with excitement.
"Um, Li'l Petey?"
"Just swap cards first!!"
Obediently, they did so. Realization dawned on them at the same time. While his Dad covered his mouth, his Papa looked just about ready to faint. "Oh..."
His Dad seemed to notice about the same time, as he tossed the box and card to the side, quickly aiding Papa to a seat.
"You guys did all this for me?"
'He wanted to surprise you - or well, it looks like he wanted to surprise us both.'
"Yeah, when he first asked me for help, I thought he was just going to do stuff for you because I wasn't a good enough father, and well - you're you..."
Oh... that's why he looked sad.. "I didn't mean to make you sad, Papa.."
"No, no. It's alright, your heart was in the right place, and I see now I was wrong to doubt your view of me."
'And I just expected him to do something for you because you're actually his father - it's not like we're married, so I'm not technically a step-father, yet...'
"Oh, 'yet'? You planned on it?"
Li'l Petey wasn't sure what the look they were sharing was supposed to mean, but it felt promising. His Dad looked embarrassed and shy all at the same time as he rubbed at his neck.
"Oh, right! Here. To keep you from doing that." His Papa handed over the box he was holding. "It's a gift from me... and Li'l Petey by extent."
Li'l Petey made his way over, trying to get a peek at what it was.
His Dad raised a skeptical eyebrow when he lifted out something that looked like a collar.
"Don't look at me like that. It should be rather comfortable against your sensitive neck, and it'll keep you from scratching. You don't have any stitches to scratch loose, really... but it's still not good for you to make your neck irritated. Also..." He pointed at the small speaker on the side. "I'm hoping it works right, but it should be able to pick up your brainwaves so you can speak. If it doesn't, I set up a backup program. You can connect your phone and type messages for it to read out - or have pre-written messages read. And you can choose the voice."
"You mean it can make it so Dad can talk?! That's so cool! I wonder what you'll sound like!!"
His Dad jumped at Papa and attacked him with a hug. "W-Woah! I'm glad you like it!"
He pulled away, smiling brightly. 'I'll put it on in a moment, but I can't promise a lot of talking. I'm not used to it. I'll probably start with using words for special occasions. For now, here's your gift! We did our best, I'm sorry if it doesn't quite fit right...'
The two of them had worked together to try and make a crocheted sweater for his Papa. It turned out pretty good, in Li'l Petey's opinion. His Papa seemed to agree, as he buried his face in it and seemed to be... crying...? Maybe he didn't like it..
"You don't like it, Papa?"
"No, no.... I love it... I don't deserve this.. I don't deserve you guys.. I've done horrible things - !" Li'l Petey launched at him, colliding in a hug.
"Don't say that, Papa!! You're a good guy. You helped save the town, remember?"
"Yeah, but - oof!" Dad joined the hug, squeezing the two of them. 80-HD made himself a part of the hug, too, wrapping them all up.
"We love you, Papa. No matter what you did. You know why?"
"... Why..?"
"'Cause you stuck around! And you continue to stick up for us! And you work hard to be better! I see you trying to be a good person."
"I - um... thank you, guys.. I love you, too. Both of you." He chuckled through a sniffle, then wiped at his nose. "Oh, and you too, I guess, 80-HD."
Li'l Petey laughed. It seemed to be contagious, as the room filled up with everyone's laughs. Yes. This was indeed a success! Best first Father's Day, ever!