#imagine the panick of his caregivers n doctors and n family when they find out the patient is MisSiNG

[ohshinytrinketsmine]

Sneaky sneaky little birdie

The Sign, Ep 9

[words-and-fangirling-wonder]

K is for Kids

The next installment of this story is here! And in a somewhat timely manner, too! Fair warning, it’s pretty long for me, and there’s a lot of kid-speak. The twins are also my own characters, and I’m really nervous posting something that focuses so heavily on them because OCs are scary aaaaahhhhhh.

Also, interesting fact. Did you know that 8 out of 10 three-year-olds can say “Eustass” perfectly, yet only 3 out of 10 can say “Law” clearly? (Who would’ve thought working with kids would help me write fanfic, huh?)

Anyway, here it is!

Author: fangirlwonder (wordsandwonder on AO3)

Pairing: Kid/Law

Prompt: Kids

Rating: Teen?

Unbeta’d, so please excuse and/or point out any glaring mistakes!

“Mr. Eustass, do you know why I chose not to specialize in pediatric medicine?” Law asked in the quiet, even voice that Kid had come to realize meant he was in deep shit.

“Well, considering your bedside manner I’m guessing they wouldn’t let you?” Kid snarked, hoping that a joke might lessen the tension currently thick in the air between them.

He was an idiot. He knew Law wasn’t exactly crazy about children, but he’d gone and agreed to babysitting at their apartment without even consulting the other man, and now it was painfully clear that Law was pissed.

“Hilarious though I’m sure you find yourself, Eustass, I am in no mood for your attempts at humor right now,” the definitely-not-less-tense surgeon warned. “I did not pursue pediatrics because I find children rather … difficult. And while I don’t exactly mind spending time with your brothers at your family functions and such, I’m not sure at all why you agreed to babysit them here rather than at your mother’s house where they live.”

“Aw, c’mon, Law –“

“Without discussing it with me,” Law interrupted.

Kid stared dumbly at his seething boyfriend and tried to decide if it would be better or worse to tell him the truth. Which was that he liked seeing Law interact with children and wanted the chance to see how he handled it when he had a more active, caregiver-type role. But only because it was funny, and not for any other heart-fluttery reason at all. Obviously.

“Well? Please, Eustass, I cannot wait to hear your reasoning on this.”

Yeah, the truth definitely wasn’t an option right now. “Well, just … you were good with them at Christmas and my birthday dinner so, I dunno, I thought it’d be okay,” he finally replied lamely.

“Both events which were held at your mother’s house, and at which I was not expected to provide any level of care. I assume since you scheduled this for my day off, my only day off for a week and a half, that you are expecting assistance with them?”

“I mean, it’d be nice,” Kid agreed sheepishly. “But you don’t have to.”

Law scanned the living room he had been obsessively cleaning and reorganizing all afternoon in an attempt to make it more “child friendly” and ran a hand through his hair. “Well obviously I’ll help, I know they’re a handful,” he muttered. “And it’s not as though I’d just hide in the bedroom all night. They’ll be in bed by nine, right?”

Kid nodded eagerly. “Probably before. And they sleep like the dead, so it’ll be like they aren’t even here. And I’ll owe you one.”

“Oh, Mr. Eustass, you will owe me so much more than one,” Law growled.

“Whatever you want, doc. I’ll even do that thing you’ve been wanting.”

That got Law’s attention. “Really?” he narrowed his eyes. “You’ll really wear it?”

“Yeah, I’ll wear it,” Kid promised. “I’ll wear it and do whatever you want me to in it, I swear. All you have to do is kinda help me herd them and act like you like them, and I’ll do it all without a single complaint.”

Law considered that for a moment, but then had to shake his head to clear his mind of the images of Eustass that were popping up and putting him in a less than babysitting-ready mood. “Fine, fine,” he snapped eventually. “When will they be arriving?”

The buzzer sounding answered Law’s question before Kid could, but it wasn’t like the doctor didn’t know when they were coming anyway. He’d been anxiously counting down since Kid had told him the plan at breakfast.

“Shit. I mean shoot,” Law corrected under his breath (which Kid found hilarious considering the twins were still downstairs) before hitting the talk button. “Hello?”

“Law! How are you, honey? Thanks so much for taking the boys!”

“Uh, not a problem, Annie. The door should be open, please come on up. Unless you need assistance?”

“No, no, I’ve got it. C’mon boys, let’s go play with your brother and Law!”

Releasing the talk button, Law rounded on Kid with wide eyes. “Toys!” he whisper shouted, clearly panicked at the sudden realization that his apartment was completely devoid of child-appropriate entertainment. “Children require toys. We don’t have anything for them to play with. Damnit, Eustass, if you had told me earlier I could have purchased them some toys!”

“Law, relax. They’re three. If you bought them a toy they’d probably play more with the box it came in.”

Law lit up at that. “I have a box! It has some old photo albums in it, but I could empty it and then they would have a box.”

Laughing at Law right now would be a very big mistake, Kid knew. But the temptation was overwhelming, especially as Law looked at him with such sincere, if slightly freaked out, eyes. “Nah, mom probably brought some with her. Worst case scenario we give them a spoon and a pot to bang it on and both suffer through a headache. They’ll be fine.”

“Helloooooo!” Annie called cheerfully from the hallway. “A little help, please? My hands are full out here, boys!”

Kid gave Law one last reassuring smile and opened the door, only to immediately stumble back as two energetic toddlers collided with his legs.

“Bubba!” they cried in unison, hugging tightly to his thighs.

“Hey Austin. Hey Kyler. How’s it going?”

“We – we gonna stay with you! An’ play!” Austin replied enthusiastically.

“We saw a old person,” Kyler informed him solemnly.

“Let me help you with that, Annie,” Law offered, bypassing Kid, who was trying and failing to keep up with all the information his brothers were trying to share with him at once.

By the time Kid looked back up from his extremely jumbled conversation with the boys, his mom had slipped back out and Law was staring, perplexed, at a small rock with googly eyes glued onto it.

“That’s Dig,” Kid answered Law’s unspoken question. “Kyler won’t go anywhere without him.”

Kyler detached himself from Kid’s leg and went to the pile of things his mother had left behind, rummaging around until he found a step stool, which he then brought over to Law. He climbed up, which still didn’t put him anywhere near Law’s eye level, and reached a hand out for his rock.

“Dig not a person,” he assured Law. “Only pretend. He jus’ a rock.” With Dig safely tucked into the palm of his hand, Kyler jumped down from his stool and carried it dutifully off to the side of the room where it wouldn’t be tripped over.

“I … I see,” Law replied, though his face showed very plainly that he did not see. Turning to Kid, he asked, “Your mother brought him a step stool?”

Kid shrugged. “He likes to be tall. He climbs on stuff that isn’t sturdy if he doesn’t have it. The stool is a hassle, but it’s safer.” The redhead clapped his hands together. “Okay! So, what d’you hooligans wanna do?”

“We not!” Austin protested indignantly.

“Only Austin a hooligan. I not,” Kyler insisted.

“Oh, I think you both are hooligans. Do you know what we do to hooligans in this house?” Kid asked, slowly crouching down and raising his hands with his fingers splayed apart like claws.

Both boys started giggling, watching Kid creep slowly closer and closer. When he was almost close enough to touch them Kid let out a playful growl and both boys scampered away, shrieking with laughter as Kid chased them around the room.

Law stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, watching his boyfriend chase the squealing three-year-olds around and around, and tried to ignore the warmth spreading in his chest. Because he was mad at Eustass, and that man was absolutely, by no stretch of the imagination, completely adorable.

A loud thunk followed by deafening silence drew Law sharply out of his denial. The silence lasted only a moment before being replaced by an ear-piercing wail and Kid’s hurried sounds of comfort.

“Shit, Austin, it’s okay, buddy. You’re okay. Can I see it?”

“N-N-N-NOOOOOOO!” the boy screamed into Kid’s chest, refusing to move so the mechanic could inspect where he’d hit his head.

“What happened, Eustass?”

“He tripped and bashed his head right into the corner of the coffee table,” Kid replied, not looking away from his brother and trying hard not to let his panic creep into his voice. Shit, what if the kid was really hurt? Fuck.

He was too busy trying to coax Austin into letting him get a look at the injured area to notice Law step out of the room, but when a cool hand replaced his on Austin’s head he glanced up. Law had on his doctor face, and had laid out a first aid kit next to him where he knelt by the boy.

“Austin,” he said calmly. “This is very important. I need you to do something for me, do you think you can try?”

Austin shook his head violently and tried to bury his face further into Kid’s chest. “I don’t think that’s gonna –“

“Hush, Eustass. Austin, I know it hurts, and it was probably quite startling, but it’s very important that you take a deep breath and let me look at your head, understand?”

Austin did take a deep, stuttering breath, which reduced his sobs to quieter, hiccuped whimpers. But he still refused to turn fully toward Law, instead only peeking at him with one watery eye.

“C’mon, big guy, you can do it. Law’s a doctor, y’know. He’ll take really good care of you.”

Austin still wasn’t convinced. He’d always been warier of Law than Kyler, and now that he was hurt he was naturally being extra clingy toward Kid.

“Do you know how I met Eustass, Austin?” Law asked in that same unshakably calm voice. Austin shook his head slightly. “He hit his head, just like you. And he came to my hospital to get fixed up. Do you think I did a good job fixing his head?”

Kid tried to hide a smile as Austin very seriously examined his face, as if looking for any indication that Kid’s head was damaged. After a moment he seemed to decide that Kid was okay, so he nodded and finally turned to face the doctor.

“Good. Do you think I could do a good job fixing your head too?”

The boy nodded slowly and walked a step closer so that Law could look at his wound. There was a shallow cut on his forehead, but it wasn’t really bleeding. There would definitely be a bump there, though. Law took out a small flashlight and gently talked Austin through the steps of checking for a concussion. Kid suspected Law was adding in a few extra things, because he was pretty sure he’d remember if he’d had to pull a face and waggle his fingers at a nurse or something like Law was having Austin do to him, but it made the boy giggle, so he really didn’t mind.

“Alright, Austin. Thank you for helping me with that. You did very well. Now I just need to get a band-aid on you, and then we need to put some ice on your head for a bit, okay?”

Austin nodded and leaned his head forward to receive his band-aid like it was a medal of honor. “I brave?” he asked earnestly.

“Very brave,” Law confirmed. “Eustass, if you could get the ice?”

Once Austin was situated comfortably on the couch with an ice pack and Wallykazam streaming on Law’s smart TV, Kid pulled the surgeon to the side.

“How the hell did you do that? Last time Austin got hurt he cried for two hours, and that was with my mom comforting him.”

Law raised an eyebrow. “It is literally my job, Eustass.”

“Yeah, but you said you weren’t good with kids.”

“I’m not,” Law agreed. “But when I work in the ER I do come across quite a few highly intoxicated individuals. They’re remarkably similar, wouldn’t you say?”

“You … You used drunk people techniques on my three-year-old brother?” Kid asked incredulously.

Law frowned. “Well, it worked, didn’t it? And I did make some modifications that I felt fit the situation.”

“Like having him make faces at me?”

Law’s smirk was all the answer Kid needed. “It seemed appropriate. He did get hurt because of your roughhousing, after all.”

“He got hurt because he’s three and uncoordinated!” Kid defended hotly.

Law chuckled and nudged his boyfriend fondly. “I know that, Eustass. You’re a good brother.”

The praise caught Kid off guard, but he quickly schooled his expression into one of disinterest. “Whatever,” he grumbled. “I’m gonna make dinner. Watch them, huh?”

The smirk fell off Law’s fast so fast it was comical. “By myself?”

“What, can’t handle that, Trafalgar?” Kid challenged. “Just keep pretending they’re drunk people.”

The death glare that got him was totally worth it, and Kid just grinned in return as he backed toward the kitchen. “Oh, by the way,” he added, “we’re having spaghetti.”

“I am going to actually murder you, Eustass Kid, and they will never find your body,” Law hissed quietly.

“Love you too, babe.”

Law turned on his heel to storm back into the living room, but was immediately stopped in his tracks so abruptly that he nearly fell backwards. Because standing behind him, he hoped not for very long, was Kyler, on his step stool, looking quite proud of himself.

“Oh, uh … pardon me, Kyler.”

The boy simply looked up at the surgeon with wide, unreadable eyes.

“Did you – uh, do you need something?” he asked after an uncomfortable silence had stretched between them.

Instead of answering, Kyler leaned forward, his expression so solemn that Law felt himself starting to panic a little. “Did you know …” the boy asked lowly, “I very fast?”

“I …” Law knew he was blinking like an idiot right now, but he really had no idea how to respond to this child. “Uh … I suppose … I do now?” he finally managed to sputter.

Kyler gave a nod, got down off his stool, and raced in a circle around Law. “See?”

“Yes, uh … very fast, Kyler. Why don’t we, uh … go join your brother?”

“He hiding,” the boy informed with a shrug.

“He’s … hiding?” Law asked stupidly.

“Yup! Him hide sometimes. But it okay! Him come out for food.” The boy paused and looked at Law calculatingly for a moment. “Waw?”

“Yes?”

“Why Bubba say “wuve you too, babe?”

Law felt the heated blush spread across his face and added several more things to the long list he’d already made of what exactly Eustass was going to do to make this up to him. He really shouldn’t have been surprised by the question. If anything it was probably overdue. The twins had surely noticed by now that he and Eustass were more than friends, though they were careful to keep displays of affection to a minimum when the children were present. But Law had attended enough family functions and holidays for them to realize he was different from, say, Killer, or any of Kid’s other friends.

“Uh, well, because … uh … because he loves me?” Law offered somewhat lamely. He had no idea how much the boys knew about relationships, especially same-sex relationships, and he didn’t want to overstep his bounds with them. Not that he thought Annie and Al would really care. They were nothing but supportive, after all. But still. He did not sign up to educate a three-year-old about his sexuality.

“Like mommy wuves daddy?”

“Yes, something like that,” Law agreed gratefully.

Kyler cocked his head to the side and grabbed Law’s hands, inspecting them closely. “Where you wing?”

“My … wing?”

“Mommy and daddy has wings,” Kyler explained, pointing to Law’s tattooed but otherwise unadorned fingers.

“Ohh,” Law breathed, understanding. “Ring.”

Kid, hearing voices still in the hallway, took that moment to pop his head out of the kitchen to investigate. A choice he almost immediately regretted as he heard Kyler repeat slowly, as if what he was saying was completely obvious, “Yeah, wing. Where you wing?”

“Ah, Kyler do you want to, uh-“ Kid fumbled from the doorway, trying to redirect the conversation to something he, and no doubt Law, would be more comfortable with.

But Law, being the devious little fuck that he was, smirked evilly up at his boyfriend. “Yeah, Eustass, where’s my ring?”

It was meant as a joke. Kid knew it was meant as a joke. But he still felt all the blood drain from his face as he choked on his own spit. “Uh, I mean,” he coughed. “Do you … do you want one?”

Now it was Law’s turn to go pale. “I … well, we haven’t really discussed it.”

“Waw, you wuve Bubba too?”

Both men turned their attention back to the boy, who continued to stare at them critically.

“I … yes, of course,” Law replied quietly.

“Where Bubba wing?”

“Look, this is silly-“ Kid began.

“Really more complicated than that,” Law muttered.

“But you in wuve?”

“Yeah,” the now highly embarrassed couple agreed simultaneously.

“Then you get wings,” the boy said decisively. “Just wike mommy and daddy.”

Kid and Law exchanged a look before both smiling somewhat awkwardly.

“Well, we’ll get right on that, Kyler. Why don’t you go show Law what toys your brought while I finish dinner, okay?”

“’kay! Come, Waw.”

Law dutifully followed the three-year-old into the living room, only to remember what Kyler had said about his brother.

“Uh, Kyler? Where exactly is Austin hiding?” he asked, trying to mask his apprehension. There were a lot of things around this apartment that were dangerous for children to get in to, and Law knew he hadn’t been able to put all of them out of reach, and probably forgot some of them entirely.

The boy shrugged. “He jus hiding.”

“Yes, but … where?”

“We find him?”

“Uh, yes, I think that would be good,” Law agreed, already scanning the room for any sign of the child. “Eustass, your brother is hiding somewhere!”

Kid stuck his head out of the kitchen again. “Look in cabinets. He likes cabinets.”

“Does he do this often?” Law demanded, kneeling down to check under the couch.

“Yeah, sorry. Forgot to warn you.”

Thinking about several things that he would “forget” to warn Eustass about when the redhead was paying him back for this absurd evening helped Law to calm his frustration enough to search for the missing boy.  His stomach dropped when it became clear that Austin was not in the living room. If he’d gone into Kid and Law’s bedroom … into the closet …

“If he’s found any of our toys I really will kill Eustass,” he seethed under his breath as he raced to their room.

“You has toys too?” Kyler asked.

Law choked on air and cursed himself for forgetting that Kyler was there. “Uh, yes, but they are only for Eustass and me,” he explained.

“You gotta learn share, Waw,” the boy reprimanded. “Or you not make fwiends.”

“Austin!” the surgeon called a little too loudly. “Uh, dinner’s ready!”

“Yay!” a small voice cried happily from the bathroom. Law nearly collapsed in relief. Until the boy emerged from his hiding place carrying several … balloons?

“Look! I find balloons!” he announced proudly, holding them up for Law to inspect. “They slippery.”

“EUSTASS!”

Kid rushed out of the kitchen upon hearing his boyfriend’s distress, but the sight that greeted him in the hallway had him nearly choking trying to hold back his laughter. There was Law, blushing furiously and pointing at Austin, who was excitedly showing his brother the “balloons” he’d found and blown up (all by himself!) in the bathroom.

“This is not funny, Eustass!” Law hissed.

“Oh come on, Law, we barely use them anymore. At least someone is getting some use out of them.”

“Your brother has blown up our condoms like balloons and you are making jokes?! He’s playing with them! Look at him, he’s covered in lube! What would your mother say?”

“She’d probably laugh and tell you about the time Bonney wore her anal beads like a necklace.”

“Oh my god.”

“C’mon, guys, lets wash hands for dinner. I made spaghetti, how’s that sound?”

The twins cheered and rushed back into the bathroom to wash their hands while Law grudgingly helped Kid set the table.

“I made you a salad,” Kid offered cautiously, holding the plate out like an olive branch.

Law glared at him and didn’t reply, but he did take the salad, which Kid figured was a good sign.

Kid got the boys situated at the table, placed between him and Law so that Kid could help Kyler and Law could help Austin as needed. Kid couldn’t help but smile as he watched Law relax a little in the familiar territory to eating with the twins. He’d shared plenty of meals with them, starting way back when Kid was still in the hospital, so he was more comfortable passing them things and encouraging them to eat veggies and such. Kyler excitedly told them more about the old person he saw in the hallway coming up to the apartment, but Austin was uncharacteristically quiet, staring intently at Law’s salad.

“Waw, you not eat?” he finally blurted out.

Law looked confused. “What? Yes, I’m eating. I have salad.”

“No, you not eat bascetti?”

“Ah. No, I not – ah – I don’t eat spaghetti.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m not fond of pasta,” Law explained gently. Kid was impressed by his patience, honestly. He knew that Law had explained his dislike of pasta to the boys several times, and Law wasn’t one to repeat himself.

“No, it not pasta, it bascetti.”

“Right,” Law acquiesced slowly. “But spaghetti is a type of pasta. And I don’t particularly care for it.”

“Oh.” The boy looked troubled for a moment before brightening up significantly. “But, Waw? It not bascetti! It ice cream, see? You jus … you use the-the pointy one? An’ eat it!”

The laughter Kid had been holding back escaped him in a loud guffaw that had Law glaring halfheartedly at him. “Well, kiddo, that was a good try, but Law doesn’t eat ice cream either. It ruins his figure.”

Law discretely kicked Kid in the shin under the table. “I’m afraid he’s partially right, Austin. I don’t eat ice cream or spaghetti. So either way, I think I’ll just eat my salad.”

The boy looked so dejected that Law briefly considered sucking it up and eating the pasta, but a flashback to the loaf of bread meltdown had him shaking the thought away. He was perfectly content with his greens.

“Alright, boys, I think it’s time we clean up, huh?” Kid asked when they’d finished eating. Admittedly, he was pretty sure that more spaghetti had ended up on the twins than had gone in them, but they both seemed satisfied with the meal, so he wasn’t too worried about it. Law had already begun clearing the dishes, so Kid jumped up to help him. Law, however, had other plans.

“No. You stop right there and take those two to the bathroom immediately. And for the love of god, don’t let them touch anything. I’ll clean up this mess. You clean up that one.”

Now that he looked at them, Kid did see where Law was coming from. He made a point to keep the apartment obsessively clean, after all, and two spaghetti-covered three-year-olds running around all over would definitely cause some damage.

“Alright, hooligans! To the bath!”

Austin giggled and tried to escape, so Kid wrapped him up under his arm and carried him, but Kyler seemed more resigned to his fate and let Kid simply lead him by the hand. He got them set up in the tub with these weird little fizzy things his mom had sent that made the whole bathroom smell like lavender and chamomile. Apparently the boys would be impossible to get to sleep without them, and Kid definitely didn’t want that. Law had been great so far, and aside from being a bit frazzled by the condom thing, he hadn’t seemed terribly unhappy about spending time with the boys. Kid didn’t want that to get messed up by Austin and Kyler fighting sleep with all their cranky might. He’d seen it before, and it was not pretty.

Man, Law really had been great, though. The way he handled Austin’s injury had Kid’s heart skipping a beat. He could say it was just his experience with drunk people, but Kid knew better. And seeing his boyfriend engaging with the kids, especially getting Austin to smile through his tears, well … it had Kid feeling things he wasn’t sure he was really prepared to feel.

And then there was the ring thing. Shit, that had been unexpected. Maybe …

“Eustass? Is everything alright in there? There seems to be quite a bit of splashing.”

Kid jerked out of his thoughts just in time to get hit by a massive tidal wave of fragrant water. “Ah shit, you guys, seriously?!” he cursed, leaping to his feet and wiping the water out of his eyes.

“Sorry, Bubba,” Kyler giggled remorselessly.

“Yeah, Bubba. Sooooorrrrrry.”

“Oh you aren’t sorry at all, you little-“

“Eustass!”

Scowling, Kid opened the door and glared at Law. He expected Law to be pissed about the messy bathroom, to snark at him for not paying close enough attention, but instead the surgeon smirked.

“Now who’s the cat?” he asked, obviously far more amused than he should be at Kid’s predicament.

“Oh, I’m pretty sure it’s still you, doc. How about a hug?”

“Don’t you dare,” Law warned, backing away and pointing a finger at him.

Kid grinned. “See? Still you.”

Law clicked his tongue dismissively, but still kept his distance from his soaking wet boyfriend. “Are the boys clean? It’s nearly nine.”

“We clean!”

“Alright, let’s get you dried off and then we can show you where you’re sleeping,” Kid suggested. “And maybe, if you ask really, really nicely, Law will read you a story.”

Kid ignored the raised eyebrow that got him and proceeded to help the boys dry themselves and get into their pajamas. He was kind of excited to see their reaction to the “big boy” bed they’d be sharing. It was huge and soft and he knew from experience that it made for a great night’s sleep. But when he opened the door with a flourish he was surprised to see both boys shrink away at the sight of it.

“What’s wrong, boys?” Law inquired, concern etched into his features.

“Too wisky,” Kyler announced.

“Yeah,” Austin agreed. “It too wisky. We too small.”

“Whisky?” Law mouthed to Kid, confused.

“You guys, it’s not risky. It’s just a bed. Look, it’s really comfy!” Kid threw himself down on it, bouncing slightly before settling into the luxurious sheets.

“Nope,” Kyler insisted. “Too wisky. We sleep wif you.”

“Yeah! We sleep wif Bubba an Waw.”

Shit. Kid knew Law was never going to –

“Alright, then, if you’re that frightened. Come on. But our bed is just as big, you know.”

What the fuck. “Law, you know they want us to sleep with them, right? Like, not just change which bed. They want us to go to bed with them … right now.”

“I understand that, Eustass. But if they’re scared to sleep in the bed alone there’s not much we can do, is there?”

“Well, no, but … I mean, you don’t have to. I can just go to bed with them. You can go do whatever.”

“No! Waw gotta sleep too!” Austin insisted, wrapping his arms tightly, and uncomfortably high, around Law’s thigh.

“Yup,” Kyler confirmed solemnly from their bedroom door.

Kid looked helplessly from his brothers to his boyfriend, but was once again shocked to see no trace of annoyance on Law’s face. Okay then. Apparently they were all going to bed … at nine o’clock at night.

“We can just stay there until they fall asleep and then get up,” Kid assured Law quietly as they changed.

“Mmmhmm,” Law murmured, watching closely as Kyler and Austin helped each other climb onto the bed.

“You really surprised me today, you know.”

Law shot him a quick glance. “Yes, well, I do have some rather enticing motivation. Don’t forget your promise, Mr. Eustass.”

Kid smirked partially at the thought of that motivation, but mostly because he and Law both knew it was more than the promise of Kid doing that that made him so cooperative today.

After their fourth rendition of Pete the Cat: I Love my White Shoes, Kid and Law finally turned off the bedside lamps and laid in the dark, waiting for the boys between them to settle down.

“Pet him,” Kid whispered.

“I’m sorry?”

“Austin. If you kinda … pet him, he falls asleep.”

“You want me to pet your brother.”

“I’m telling you, he’ll fall asleep way faster if you do it.”

Law reached a tentative hand out and ran his fingers through the unruly mop of hair currently using his arm as a pillow. Austin sighed and tucked himself closer to Law, so the surgeon continued to smooth his hair back. Sure enough, within a few moments the boy’s breathing was slow and even, just like his brother’s.

“You wanna get up?” Kid asked.

“I am currently a human pillow.”

“Right.” Kid let the silence stretch comfortably between them for a moment, thinking. “Hey Law?”

“Hmm?”

“Would it be like, cliché rom-com levels of cheesy if I said I love you right now?”

“Yes,” Law whispered back curtly. “Just go to sleep.”

Kid shrugged and shifted to let Kyler snuggle closer in his sleep, resigned to the fact that he was going to bed for real after all. His eyelids grew heavy in the darkness and he felt the irresistible pull of sleep washing over him.

“I love you too, asshole,” Law murmured, his voice so soft Kid almost thought he’d dreamed it.

He fell asleep smiling.