Wait! How Did The Stray Dog I Picked Up Turn Into A Man?!

"The weather’s quite nice today." Noah exclaimed as he looked up at the sky.

"Yeah, very nice for a stroll." Michael added.

"Then, shall we start going? I’m getting too excited." Olivia said, putting her weight on their hands so her legs wouldn’t touch the ground.

"Alright, alright." Michael said. "They’re here so let’s get going."

Instead of taking the car to their destination, they decided to walk. Taking a stroll while holding her parents’ hands was also part of Olivia’s little to-do list.

She had watched other kids do it. And though her parents seemed a bit different from the other kids who usually had their mamas, she wasn’t complaining.

She was super happy.

She held both her parents’ hands, swinging her arms between them like she was conducting an orchestra of joy and they watched her softly.

Alyssa and Roland walked behind, as usual.

They didn’t want to tag along and allow the family of three to do whatever they wanted today, but Olivia insisted that they come along.

"It wouldn’t be very fun if the entire ’family’ wasn’t together, right?"

She had said this, emphasizing that she saw Alyssa and Roland as her family, despite it being their job to protect them from the get-go.

But it lit something in them.

A special feeling.

They couldn’t say no to the little munchkin.

"I don’t want pancakes," Olivia announced suddenly, kicking a pebble ahead of her. "Everybody always thinks kids want pancakes. I want..." she looked up, her eyes lighting in excitement, "—a pancake as big as my face."

They were supposed to have breakfast at the suite but with Olivia’s suggestion to go out and have breakfast, they all got ready to leave while she munched on some snacks Alyssa had carried along.

There was no way she’d stay till noon without having anything in her belly.

And since it was already noon, they were having brunch, not breakfast. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Michael chuckled, reaching his hand towards her face to brush a loose curl from her forehead.

"That’s a pretty big pancake," he said, and she snapped.

"Exactly!" her face beamed. "So don’t try to trick me with those baby-sized ones."

After saying this, Noah and Michael laughed, which made her rethink what Michael had said and then when she got it, her mouth widened in a cute ’o’ shape as she let out a gasp of shock.

"Papa, you didn’t." She said, prompting him to laugh more. She was in disbelief. "You indirectly said I have a big face, Papa. Your mean."

"I’m sorry, sweetheart but..." He couldn’t contain his laughter even if he wanted to and she let go of his hand, holding on to her daddy’s.

"Daddy, seek justice for me." She pleaded but Noah was no different. He was laughing but had a very good rein over his emotions compared to Michael, so he could act like he never laughed.

Noah leaned over, tapping the tip of her nose.

"Your Papa just wanted to let you know that it’ll be a big pancake," Noah said. "If he said your face was small, then you’d get a small pancake in the end. You see, he’s not making fun of you. He just wants you to have a big pancake."

Olivia thought of this and then nodded in understanding.

"Owh, I get it now." She said, and Noah secretly gave Michael a thumbs-up.

The deed had been done.

"Then Papa, I forgive you." Olivia said, holding his hand again. "Olivia needs to learn more so she doesn’t misunderstand easily." She added, her fire for leaning igniting into a blaze.

"Well, just don’t run faster than your shadow," Noah said, patting her head and she nodded.

"I won’t. My shadow will always be behind me. That’s a fact." Yeah, she was smart, they got it.

They laughed a little more and they got to the restaurant.

Olivia inhaled dramatically and said, "This place smells really nice, Papa."

A barista behind the counter laughed.

"We get that a lot." he said. "And we like to keep our customers satisfied."

"Papa, we should sit near the window," she immediately declared as soon as she spotted the empty spot by the window. "I want to count red cars. Whoever sees the most wins."

"Ugh, I always end up losing to you." Michael grumbled.

"That’s because you get distracted, Papa." Olivia giggled.

"Yes, your Papa is always easily distracted." Noah teased, lightly nudging his shoulder as they walked and then he whispered. "Especially when I’m next to you."

Michael’s face flushed lightly, and then he cleared his throat.

"That’s because your existence alone is cheating." Michael whispered.

"I don’t know. I’d say I was born just for the likes of you." Noah boasted, his lips curling up in a knowing smirk. "You should be glad."

"Yeah, yeah, I’m super glad." Michael rolled his eyes. "And likewise, you also get easily distracted when I’m doing what I do best."

Noah tittered.

"Fine, have it your way."

They both went silent for a second and then burst out laughing. Sure, they both easily got distracted by the other by their side.

They finally sat down and Olivia patted her hands on the table in excitement while Michael handled the menu.

They were seated at a cozy corner booth by the window, just as Olivia requested. The light poured over the table nicely but it was still a nice view.

Since she said she wanted to count cars, she decided to do just that.

"Three red cars already. Papa, you’re going down." she cooed, her lips curled up in a victorious smirk.

Michael smiled and said,

"I haven’t even started yet."

But Olivia wasn’t about to take his word for it.

"Excuses," she muttered, eyes narrowed like a spy on a mission. "You’re just going to use that as an excuse for when you lose, aren’t you?"

Michael shrugged.

"Well, let’s see."

Noah sat beside Michael, their thighs just barely touching as there was hardly any space between them while Olivia sat opposite them.

The other two took a table that was right next to theirs and waited for their order, just fine, like they were on a separate date.

"So..." Noah said, voice low, but Michael was able to make our every word. "This is what I missed."

Michael didn’t answer right away. He stared at the child counting cars like her life depended on it, then down at the menu he was already done with.

A little smile crinkled on his lips as he muttered softly,

"Yeah, you missed a lot,"

Noah turned to him.

"I know," Noah replied. "And I’ll never stop making it up to you and her."

Michael looked up. The ache in his chest was still not settled. While it felt like his burden had been lifted as soon as he lay in Noah’s arms and shared his heat, it wasn’t that easy after all.

Five years of raising a daughter alone, though not completely alone, still weighed a lot on him, so it didn’t vanish. But it softened, just a little bit more, seeing Noah’s eyes. Honest. Pleading and hopeful.

He had no reason to stay mad anyway so it was only a matter of time before the weight in his heart was completely lifted.

The server came just in time to break the intense moment.

"We’ll have the biggest pancakes please."Olivia said, tearing her eyes away from the window for a bit.

"And a flat white slice of banana bread. We can share that." he said, looking at Noah.

"And for you, sir?" the server turned to Noah.

Noah hesitated. Then, glancing at Michael again, he said, "I’ll have the same as him. Just add a hot cocoa to it. Since someone wants me to join him in eating his banana bread, I guess I’ll let him join me in having my hot cocoa."

Michael rolled his eyes. But the corner of his lips twitched upward.

"Me too. Me too. I’ll have hot cocoa." Olivia announced, raising her hand in excitement.

"No, you’ll get milk." Michael said. "Children need to drink lots of milk to grow."

Olivia pumped her cheek and folded her arms.

No fair.

She wished she could say that as well.

"One strawberry milk as well." He said and the server nodded.

As the server walked away, Olivia reached over the table and placed her tiny hand atop both of theirs. "This is nice," she said softly. "I like this."

Noah leaned down and kissed her knuckles. "Me too."

Michael looked down at their tangled hands, Olivia’s tiny fingers between his and Noah’s, and for the first time in years, something in him relaxed.

Like maybe, just maybe, the life they lost was waiting to be rebuilt here, over warm pastries and red cars and laughter.

And this time, Noah wasn’t just behind his screen or a piece of paper.

He was there.

Noah met his eyes and it felt warm. A warm smile played on his lips and Michael thought,

’Ah, it’s been forever, hasn’t it?’

He closed his eyes and then looked out the window.

It certainly had been forever since he felt this level of warmth. It was nice.