Amulius was sort of still processing, he didn’t hear Lazlo until he felt his weight on the bed again, and his hands atop his own. He sort felt sheepish, a little embarrassed, just because he was normally very cavalier about most things and this threw him off his rhythm. He sort of waved off Lazlos concern over the mystery.
“No no, it’s ok. I understand. Sorry, I guess I’m just surprised.” He shrugged weakly before looking over at Lazlos phone. Sure enough, there was a little boy, the spitting image of his father and his father before him. He had the same “moon” face Amulius had seen so many times before, the same dark eyes and jasper colored hair. The deer ears gave away maternal supernatural qualities, clueing Amulius in that he wasn’t the only supernatural to go to bed with the hunter. Again, not surprising when Amulius took the time to consider it. Sharing all the same features just about, with his paramour, it went without say: Buck was cute.
“He looks just like you.” Amulius said, with a soft smile.
"He sounds like me, too. His mom can't stand it." Lazlo laughed, relieved that Amulius wasn't freaking out, at least outwardly. He was a bit curious though, about what Amulius thought of the new situation. "Does it bother you at all? That I have a kid?" _________________ Butts n' butts n' butts n' butts.
Amulius took a moment to consider his answer, mostly because he was still wrapping his head around the new information. He didn’t look upset though, just thoughtful.
“Hm, no. I don’t think so. It was surprising, but the more I think about it, it’s not surprising.” He sort of chuckled at that last part, sighing a little before sort of relaxing into the conversation then. “No, it doesn’t bother me. But, I don’t want to make you late. You should go, don’t keep him waiting.”
"'Not surprising'? What does that mean? Do I look like a slut who pumps and dumps around town?" Lazlo joked, although, if Amulius could get pregnant... well he certainly would be by now. He chuckled and took a beat before stretching over to place a soft kiss at Amulius's mouth. "I'll text you later and we can talk about it more when I see you next if you want." _________________ Butts n' butts n' butts n' butts.
“You know what it means,” Amulius laughed but accepted the kiss. Amulius never considered himself as a person who was partial to physical affection. There was something very pleasant about the tenderness, even in passing as Lazlo would depart. “Sure, I’ll see you later then.” He waved him off.
Lazlo grinned and, before he pulled away to head out, he placed a firm yet playful enough, bite at Amulius's bottom lip.
"I'll see you when we're both free." He cheesed and rushed out the door.
---
(FF)
A few months passed, the seasons had changed from the kind of summer days that had humidity clinging to every square inch of your body to the first days of fall that were still warm, but the air was certainly crisping up as the heat dried out into more mellow weather. While the weather was beginning to cool down, Lazlo and Amulius's relationship was as steamy as ever.
Their relationship had, first and foremost, been one of sexual desire, but as time went on and the two of them began spending more and more time vertical rather than doing the horizontal tango, there was certainly more soft intimacies shared between them. They had started going on dates just for the sake of spending more time, they talked more at length about one another although they always skirted around the matter of their parents relationship with one another, and they more and more often shared innocent gestures of affection that felt like just a little bit more than the touching and kissing that came with bedroom romps. It was very clear that Lazlo didn't have any intention of going anywhere, not if he had any choice in the matter.
He wasn't quite ready to admit he was in love, but it was something that he often thought about, this love that was blooming beautifully and just a little menacingly like a wild rose.
And what did people who were "not quite in love" do? Well, in Lazlo's opinion, they met the children of the other "not quite in love" party.
Lazlo had recently told his ex lover about his current squeeze and while he certainly omitted some things (like who Amulius was, or rather, who his parents were) he was transparent about his intentions of sticking around. Bambi had no reason to doubt Lazlo, after all, he was ready to commit to her for a human lifetime until she turned him down. While he was certainly not shy about sharing a bed with the occasional person, it was always very clear that those were just brief dalliances with no intention of permanency. He had never asked her to introduce Buck to anyone before and he had never told her about anyone in his life that he was seeing with any regularity. She felt secure knowing that Lazlo was always cautious and thoughtful in all matters involving Buck. If he felt like this was someone who would treat their son good and wouldn't just up and leave, she trusted his judgement.
Bambi had dropped Buck off via portal and as soon as she gave Buck her usual heap of affectionate goodbyes, Lazlo looked down at the little boy. He was all bundled up in a cableknit sweater, beanie, and scarf combo, all of which looked just a little too big for him, definitely for the sake of hiding little deer ears and a swishy little tail to boot. He grinned wide before slinging his little Yo Gabba Gabba! backpack over his shoulder.
"Hey, Boss Man, wants to take you to meet a friend of mine. Can I trust you to be good?" He asked Buck.
Buck looked up at him with his soft doe eyes, tail ears flicking eagerly enough that his hat moved. He grinned back up at Lazlo in the same way Bambi often grinned when she was excited herself.
"Are they fun?" He asked.
"He's the most fun, well, to me at least." Lazlo laughed before bending over and tucking Buck under his arm like a football, which of course delighted Buck. "He said to meet him at the park a few neighborhoods over. If we get there before him, I'll see if we can get some pretzels."
"I love pretzels!" Buck rejoiced. Living out in the wood with his mother's family and not usually leaving the Maniac compound for his own "safety" meant pleasures like warm pretzels from street vendors and getting to, even if briefly, play with other children his age was a novelty few and in between.
"Me too, so we better hurry!" Lazlo grinned as he began galloping off, earning giddy squeals from Buck as he was jostled about.
---
The father and son duo took the subway to their destination, Buck tucked safely behind Lazlo and clinging to the back of his dad's knee the entire time. Buck was a mostly fearless little boy, always eager to talk someone's ear off or sing along to whatever song he crossed paths with, but whenever his parents took him out he minded their caution for him.
He wasn't quite sure why they fussed over him so much, but he imagined it had to do with how he looked. He didn't look like everyone else, neither did his mother or anyone in her family. One time, when he was even smaller, he could vaguely remember coming to the city with his mother and a man yelled at her and pulled off the scarf she'd been using to cover her her ears with. She'd gone to Lazlo weeping and a reddened cheek where she must have been hit. After that, she didn't like coming to the city, not outside of the Maniac compound, and whenever Buck came to stay with his dad, he didn't leave much either. When he did, his father or grandparents would make sure he was all covered up and he had to promise to stay covered up.
Between being able to go out with his father, meeting his dad's friend, and the promise of a hot pretzel, Buck thought this was a good day.
When they reached the park, Lazlo checked his phone before perching Buck and his backpack on the edge of a water fountain. He was squatted down as he straightened Buck's hat and fluffed at some of his orange curls peeking out.
"Alright, sit here for a minute and I'm going to go get us some pretzels, okay? I'm just going right over there." Lazlo nodded towards a pop-up food vendor just a bit away, close enough they would be able to keep an eye on each other. "Don't take off and don't talk to any strangers. If someone starts talking to you, bite 'em and start yelling. I'll come running." He nodded firmly, to which Buck responded with a firm nod to mirror his own. "Okay, be good."
Lazlo got up and trotted off towards the stand, leaving Buck to mind his own.
The little boy kicked his legs back and forth, heels bumping against the stone of the fountain, when he heard someone with a radio nearby playing 'Jolene' which instantly made his ears perk. His head swiveled to find a group of girls sitting on a nearby set of stairs sharing a bag of chips between them. Between one of the girl's feet was a phone that must have been playing the music.
Buck grinned to himself, delighted, and began wiggling in his seat, singing brokenly at the song, some words made up of just similar sounds (after all, how good was a toddler at remembering actual lyrics). _________________ Butts n' butts n' butts n' butts.
When Amulius first learned about Buck, he truly wasn’t bothered, it definitely didn’t make him feel differently about Lazlo. It seemed that even the conflict between their feuding families couldn’t keep them apart, why would a child? While it didn’t bother him at all, Amulius was the baby of his siblings (for the moment). Even if he wasn’t, he imagined there would be separation between him and the younger siblings, same as him with the elder kids. Such was Natas and Armand’s way. Natas would reason in a matter of speaking, that Amulius had too much potential. Being around the ‘spare’ children and Fauna would surely damage his quality. Of course Amulius didn’t believe that, but he knew better to question Natas. So his exposure to children had been limited, of course he knew the basics; don’t shake them, no small lego pieces to choke on, they don’t smoke. That being said, Amulius was quietly fretting over the particulars; what would he say to him?
He had teleported himself to the park that him and Lazlo had agreed on. Amulius was walking a bit, he could’ve teleported directly to them if he knew where in the park they would be specifically. But walking a bit offered him the chance to contemplate how he would converse with a toddler. It was fairly chilly, which you’d think Amulius would prefer since he normally dressed in layers. But truthfully, Amulius was attracted to sunny and warm weather; he surprisingly bronzed nicely when out in the sun and elevated his confidence. Presently, his face was buried in a thick knit scarf; it was multicolored and extra long. Even wrapped around his face twice, the length of it still swayed behind him as he walked, and his nose still poked over its edge. Icy cold to touch and pink looking, even in his pockets, his fingertips surely looked the same. He still was dressed up for the occasion, even though, why would anyone dress up to meet a toddler? If there was anything Amulius was sure of, no matter how this meeting went, he would be well dressed for it.
His tall and lean body was folded comfortably in his best peacoat, the lapel of it was delicately littered with varying pins and buttons, that shined and twinkled in tandem with his assortment of jewelry. He had a ring on every finger and his nails were painted, he even changed out all his ear jewelry for the occasion; from silver to gold. He understood sometimes the fae folk have an aversion to silver; he wanted to be mindful of that. The heel of his boots clacked rhythmically as he hurried down the cobblestone path. He could see Lazlo at a food cart, he removed a hand from his pocket and cupped it around his mouth before calling out to Lazlo.
“Hey,” he called, though he magicked the rest of the way, stepping beside Lazlo, almost from nowhere. Before he fully greeted Lazlo, he looked over him, looking around for young Buck since he wasn’t standing beside Lazlo. He did spot the child, a few feet away on a bench, kicking his feet and bobbing to nearby music. Something about him in just sitting like that and swaying in place, it was very Lazlo. The notion allowed a small and subtle smile to escape him.
“Christ-you scared me.” Lazlo let out a startled laugh as Amulius appeared at his side. “I hope you’re feeling snackish. I promised pretzels.” He explained before he noticed Amulius looking at Buck at his nearby perch with a soft smile. He definitely was pleased. “Ain’t he cute?” He asked as they moved forward in the line. _________________ Butts n' butts n' butts n' butts.
Amulius allowed his smile to disappear, though it seemed his paramour had already seen it. Maintaining appearances was something Amulius did by default.
“Do I look okay? I didn’t know what I should wear.” Amulius asked, ignoring Lazlo’s question about being hungry at first. He wasn’t hungry, because he was nervous, so he was unlikely to eat. But he also didn’t want to have empty hands while Lazlo and Buck ate, and perhaps Buck would ask about it too. Naturally Amulius didn’t want to have to explain his eating habits to a child and admit out loud he was nervous. “Sure, I’ll have a pretzel.” He finally decided.
His tone was the same as always, but something in his posture lacked confidence, as he brushed the front of his peacoat.
Amulius might have thought he was putting up a good front, but Lazlo was very aware of his anxieties. He reached up to straighten a lopsided pin on the other boy’s coat.
“You look good, though, as long as we’re being honest, Buck isn’t exactly a fashion critic. He runs around naked at least ninety percent of the time when we’re home.” Lazlo chuckled. “He is one of the folk though, so he likes things like this.” He tapped a knuckle to the busy lapel. The folk were known for their love of the eclectic and particularly shiny things in great numbers, also Buck was two and a half. He was excited by just about anything.
The line continued to move and Lazlo got the three of them pretzels. He ordered him and Amulius regular salted pretzels and a cinnamon sugar one for Buck. Most of the fair folk had an outright intolerance for salt, however, being that Buck shared human blood, it didn’t bother him as much, although he often complained of an irritated tongue if he ate too much of it.
“Here, you can give him his. Like a peace offering or whatever.” Lazlo said, offering up the sweet crystal dusted pretzel. _________________ Butts n' butts n' butts n' butts.
Amulius accepted both pretzels, he was worried about appearing awkward with empty hands, but it seemed he looked just as awkward with them in his hands. He did take a breath before approaching Buck, he hoped his height wasn’t intimidating. He did make an effort to bend down a little, to be closer to Bucks level.
“Hi, are you Buck?” Amulius asked, he offered his sweetest smile that was still soft in appearance.
Buck had gone onto humming along to some pop song on the radio he didn't really know, but wanted to hum along to anyways. He stopped when he heard his name and turned to face whoever was speaking to him. It was a tall man who (much like his dad) he thought was awfully pretty. He'd crouched down in front of him, just low enough that Buck could see his dad over the top of his head.
This must have been his friend.
"I am." He nodded. "Are you Boss Man's friend?" He asked, tilting his head as if to get a better look at Amulius. _________________ Butts n' butts n' butts n' butts.
Buck lit up, leaping from his seat to grab at the pretzel. He tapped his feet happily as he promptly shoved a corner into his mouth.
"Mai muv premzels!" He laughed around the pretzel. When he managed to swallow, he grinned up at Amulius, sugar sticky around his mouth. "How'd you know I love pretzels?" He asked.
Lazlo smiled and gently nudged at Amulius.
"Amulius just knows things. He's magic like that, oh, and like Mom." He said. _________________ Butts n' butts n' butts n' butts.
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