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“And then, Javy dropped the pie straight on Bob’s feet, so we really didn’t have anything left to eat. And, sure, most of the meal was uneatable so it’s safe to assume the pie would have been too, but we were starving, you know ? How can you mess up apple pie ? Payback is a bad cook but he can’t be that bad, right ? Anyway, now you understand how lucky you are to have such yummy fruits and cookies for your snack, so be the good girl I know you are and eat them.”
“No !” Angie said, shaking her head, and Jake sighed, dropping the piece of apple he failed to have her eat. “Does food look better with Baba ? Am I not presenting it right ?” he asked her softly, not hurt at all by it but actually curious. He could usually get her to eat, there was no real issue, but she was just always easier with Bradley about it. “Alrigh’, we’ll get dinner earlier then,” he announced with a smile. Angie smiled right back and raised her arms like she was celebrating a win and Jake rolled his eyes. Played by a baby, if the squad could see him… “You’re lucky you’re cute,” “Dada !” she called, raising her arms again and Jake froze, not for the first time because of what she was calling him. Taking a second too long to get back to himself, Angie tried to push herself out of her chair and started to get frustrated when the security harness kept her from doing so. Jake made himself take a deep breath through his nose and breathe out through his mouth. He had to talk to Bradley about it, he couldn’t push it back anymore.
“Easy, I got you,” he soothed, finally getting her free and back on the floor. “Alrigh’, what do you want to do now ? I’m thinking cubes,” he offered. He wasn’t sure Angie was listening to him at all, already walking away on wobbly legs and so he just followed her and sat next to her on the living room’s rug that kinda became a playmate.
They managed to pile up, make fall, and pile up again the cubes a dozen times before Bradley came home, putting a stop to it. “Baba !” Angie squeaked when she saw him, immediately getting on her feet. Bradley dropped the bags he was carrying and crouched down to gather her in his arms when she ran toward him. “Hi baby. Did you have a good day ? How are you ?” he cooed, hugging her and kissing her cheek. Angie hugged him back before putting both of her hands on his face, smiling and running back the other way to grab her doll and present it to him. “Did you have fun with Lola ?” Angie nodded, made Bradley kiss Lola hello, grabbed her back and left running again. She didn’t go back to Bradley this time, focusing on a book they had read earlier, so Bradley stood up and made his way to Jake with one of his bags.
“Hey babe,” he greeted, leaning down to kiss Jake still sitting on the floor. “Hello darlin’. What do you have here ?” he asked, an eyebrow raised. Bradley sat next to him, back against the couch, and emptied his bag on the coffee table in front of them. “We need to talk,” he announced seriously, contrasting with the colourful hairclips and scrunchies that caught Angie’s attention. “Hum, sure. What’s that ?” “Hair stuff,” Bradley said unhelpfully. “We need to do something about Angie’s hair,” he added. “What’s wrong with Angie’s hair ?” Jake asked, barely keeping away some outrage. Their baby was perfect, that was usually something they both agreed on so what was going on now ? “Calm down, it’s perfect. But look, it’s going everywhere ! And I don’t mind, except for how she seems bothered by it sometimes, but it gets looks,” he said, stopping to keep Angie from putting a purple flower into her mouth. “Looks ?” “Yes, looks. People are thinking we can’t do our baby’s hair. And look at us ! We can’t go around looking like that and have our kid be disheveled,” he said very seriously. “Looking like what ?” Jake asked, very confused. Sure, Angie wasn’t put together most of the time, but she was a kid. A baby. She was playing on the floor, jumping around, getting food all over herself… “Please, like you don’t know how good we look,” Bradley said. “Well, yes, but I don’t see how…” “Her hair is a mess, Jake ! We need to learn how to make it look nice. Hence, the hair stuff,” he announced, showing his purchases with a wave of his hand.
Jake blinked a few times, trying to process what Bradley said and what he was not saying, suddenly remembering some side looks from other parents he assumed had been admiration or homophobia. “To be fair, most of the kids are messes at the end of the day. Even the ones with hair clips and stuff,” he tempered. “Yes, ok, but they’re not when they arrive, and the bows are a reminder of how the parents try to keep it contained,” Bradley argued. Jake rolled his eyes but saw the point. “Fine, we can put bows in her hair if that keeps other parents from judging us, but how do you want to make it stay the day ? She doesn’t have that much hair to begin with,” he reminded him, handing Angie a yellow crunchie to distract her from the hair clamp she was reaching for. “I don’t know, but we have to try,” he decided.
Jake knew better than to argue with Bradley when he had set his mind up to something, especially when it was something he couldn’t see anything wrong with, so he simply intertwined their fingers together and squeezed his hand. “Alrigh’ then, I’ll look for Youtube videos while you figure out how to keep her still long enough for us to actually do her hair.” Bradley made a face at that perspective but didn’t disagree.
They fell silent, Angie’s babbling the only noise in the room until Jake noticed them. “Are those airplane hairclips ?” he asked, knowing perfectly that it was. “Yes, until I order fighter ones,” Bradley explained like it was a very normal thing to do. Jake didn’t comment. At this point, between Bradley and the rest of the squad, Angie was basically a living publicity for the Navy.
They stayed like that for a few more minutes, Angie back to her doll, the yellow scrunchie around her wrist, and Jake thought it was as good a time as any. “I need to talk to you about something,” he started carefully. Bradley straightened next to him but squizzed his hand reassuringly. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but, hum…”, darn that was hard. “Angie’s starting to talk, and, hum, I’m assuming she picked that up at daycare but she…” He didn’t know how to say this. Which was dumb, because it was already happening, it was more than probable that Bradley had picked up on it already, but still. Jake didn’t want him to feel put aside, or think Jake assumed he was more important somehow. “Jake, what is it ? I didn’t notice anything strange,” Bradley pushed softly.
Jake sighed, thinking he was maybe making this to be too much of a big deal than it was but it felt enormous. “She… she called me ‘Dada’, a few times. And I’ve been correcting her, but I think that’s how the daycare’s staff announces me when I get there, and… Well we never discussed it, and I know for all that matters we’re her dads but…” It was like pulling out his own tooth for crying out loud. “Jake…” Bradley started again, and Jake was too chicken to dare to look at him but he could go through this. Bradley and he promised each other : no more secrets.
“I don’t want her to call me ‘Jake’, or ‘Uncle Jake’, I want her to call me ‘Dad’,” he admitted in a breath. “And you too, obviously. She’s been calling you ‘Baba’, and I think it suits you, but whatever you prefer. We can both be ‘Dad’, I think,” he rambled until Bradley stopped him. “Jake, ease up, you’re fine. We’re fine,” he said, a smile in his voice. Jake finally turned to look at him and actually relaxed. Bradley didn’t seem mad at him in the slightest. “So, what do you think ?”
Bradley shook his head, smiling like Jake had just told a joke but it wasn’t unkind. “I’m sorry, we should have discussed it before, I shouldn’t have assumed, but…” “But what ?” Jake pressed when Bradley took too long to finish his sentence. “I’ve been referring to you as ‘Dada’ when talking to Angie, have you really not noticed ? She started it, I think, I’m not sure where she got it from, but I rolled with it. It makes sense,” Bradley explained, shrugging. Jake was stunned and a little self conscious that he didn’t see any of that. He was also incredibly relieved and satisfied that he got to be called ‘Dad’ by Angie. He hadn’t realized it was so important to him. Which brought back his other concern. “What about you ? We’re both equally her dads, we can’t…” “Jake,” Bradley cut again, “‘baba’ means ‘dad’ in several languages. I mean, she obviously had been trying to say ‘Bradley’ at first, but that’s not it anymore. It was a great coincidence,” he finished. “Oh,” Jake could only say, feeling dumb. He should have known that.
“Are you fine with that ?” Bradley asked, turning fully to face Jake and leaning over so his lips brushed his. “Yes, that’s great. Perfect. Let’s keep doing this,” Jake agreed before crossing the last millimeters to kiss him. He raised his hand to frame Bradley’s jaw, running his thumb along his cheekbone, feeling at peace once again.