Returning home after a day of long meetings that he didn’t care to be in, endless phone conversations with useless interns who could barely tell one fabric from the other, even when he’d spelt it out to them a thousand times what it was, Zacky’s spirits were lifted slightly when he heard the sound of his two children and his husband laughing from the living room, upbeat music playing from the stereo in the kitchen as something hummed as it cooked in the oven. Sometimes Zacky thought he must be dreaming during his life, because surely things didn’t get to be this good. He had the perfect husband and two incredible children in a house he could easily afford. Of course, there was Kennedy who he was deathly worried about, but what kind of life came without a little problem once in a while.

The sound of a little child’s laughter made his heart soar and his problems float out of the window as if they were weightless.

He walked into the living room and knelt down beside Brian capturing his lips in a deep kiss, that not only surprised the other man, but had him reciprocating almost as quickly as it had happened, wrapping his arms around Zacky’s neck and climbing ontop of him, legs wrapped around the other man’s torso. Gently pushing him away, Zacky very nearly dragged Brian up to their bedroom when the other man offered him a puppy dog pout to rival their own three bundles of fur.
“Honey, no fucking in front of the kids. We’ll have sex later when they’re sleeping,” Zacky promised, pressing one last chaste kiss to his husbands lips as he sat down properly on the carpet and put an arm around Brian, who was still making strange faces at Winter and Teddy.

They were giggling and shrieking, their legs flying everywhere there was free space, and their hands just reaching up to grab the little toys that were hanging from the bar over the playmat.
“So how’s my favourite little Prince and Princess doing, huh?” Zacky asked as Brian disappeared to check on whatever was cooking in the kitchen and he leant forward, tickling Winter’s stomach, making grabby hands for the pendant that was dangling from his neck. Brian had a similar one; dog tags with each other’s names engraved on them. It was something for her to put in her mouth, he supposed as he pressed a sweet kiss to her forehead and one to his son’s, just as Brian walked back in and handed him a beer, a glass of red wine in his hands. When Zacky gave him a look, he pointed a warning finger at his husband.

“Don’t even say a word, Zacky Baker, or I am withholding sex for a week” he cautioned and Zacky rolled his eyes, wrapping his arm around Brian’s waist and smiling when his head slipped onto his shoulder in search for comfort.
“You couldn’t withhold sex if you wanted to, baby. You love me too damn much to do that” he said sweetly, and for a moment the two of them sat in silence, watching their children play excitedly with the colourful plastic objects.

“Jimmy called by the way. Tomorrow’s Kenney’s first round of Chemo and Matt asked if we could all come to the hospital to see her after the treatment” Brian said softly. The night they’d found out about the leukaemia, both of them had stayed up all night, listening out for the twins and making their way through a bottle of Jack Daniels as they talked about their favourite times with Kennedy and what would happen now that she had been diagnosed. They’d woken up in the living room to find the children screaming and whiskey staining the red carpet, but neither of them cared. Because it was there to remind them that Kennedy was going to make it through.

“So how was your day?” Brian asked softly, taking a sip of his wine and Zacky groaned, wishing that he could go back and erase his day entirely, because all it had done was annoy him more and make him wish he had an ordinary job, instead of one where no one listened to him or did what he asked them to do.
“Shitty. I don’t think any of the interns know the first thing about clothes design, and none of them do anything right. I think I’m more stressed out now than ever” he said softly, not wanting to worry Brian with his own problems. His husband patted his arm and got up, kneeling behind Zacky and letting his fingers delve into the knots of Zacky’s back and began to work out the kinks, something he knew that the other man particularly liked after a long day at work where he’d been nothing but stressed out and annoyed by everyone who worked for him.

It had all started just after three months of the two of them dating, when Brian had come home early from work to find Zacky yelling at someone down the phone about something with shipping clothing to other countries. Zacky, who could have a horrible temper when he wanted to, had tried to ignore Brian and refused to tell him what was wrong, and when he’d turned away after Brian had pleaded him to let him in so they could talk, he’d given Zacky the back massage from fucking heaven, and they’d ended up banging on the couch. After that he’d told Brian everything, and they’d managed to work things out. Now, it was almost like tradition.

When Zacky got stressed at work, Brian would use those long fingers that came from years of playing guitar to his kids to make Zacky forget, and when Brian got stressed or annoyed, Zacky would buy him his favourite Chinese food and cuddle with him to Disney movies. And like the first time, they’d always end up having sex in a various place in the house.
“That feels so much better Bri-Bear. There were two reasons I married you; this and because I love you so much” Zacky groaned as he melted into Brian’s hands, letting his stresses just disappear out of the door with all of his worries. He loved that his husband knew exactly what made him feel better after a long day, and what made him just relax that little bit more.

“So your day was stressful” Brian said, pressing a soft kiss to Zacky’s neck, “and difficult” another kiss to his cheek, “but you have a loving husband to come home to, and that’s all that matters, right?” he finished, turning Zacky around and pressing a sweet kiss to his lips as he sat back down beside the other man, picking up Teddy in his arms and smiling. Repeating the action with Winter, Zacky smirked back at his husband and knew that he could have had the worst day in the world, and the three people that sat in that very room could make him happier than any other man in the world.
“It’s all that matters to me” he said softly, the moment breaking slightly when the doorbell went off in the background. For a moment, neither of them went to answer the door, locked in a gaze with their children, and both wondering how they could’ve gotten so happy in the first place.

“Zack, can you check on the chicken for me? I’ll get the door, it’s probably someone trying to sell us something” Brian asked as he was halfway out of the living room, leaving Zacky to haul himself to his feet and walk into the kitchen with Winter. It was undoubtedly one of her favourite rooms in the house, and as soon as he walked in, she began to laugh and point at the different objects.

Saucepans entertained her the most, as did banging them with the wooden spoons that Brian had thought it was wise to give her. She was going to be a drummer, Zacky thought as he knelt down and tried to assess the slowly cooking chicken in the oven. Jimmy would be so proud when he found out.
“Arrest him- arrest them both!” a female shout suddenly came from the front door and in a second, Zacky had ignored the chicken altogether and run out into the entrance, where Brian was stood beside the door clutching Teddy in his arms, a police officer and a hysterical woman neither of them knew stood in the entrance of their home.

Before Zacky could say a word, the woman pointed at him and Winter. She had bright blonde hair and a thin nose, pale skin and sunken eyes that reminded him of the crackheads he saw on the street.
“There’s the other one! I’m telling you Officer, they’re guilty!” she shrieked again and Zacky stepped forward, putting his free arm around Brian, who looked like he was about to collapse in shock.
“Will someone please just explain what’s going on?” Zacky finally ordered, and the woman took a deep breath, obviously trying to calm herself down, before she pointed an accusing finger at the two men, looking at them both like they were nothing more than dirt on her shoe.

“You two…ungodly creatures kidnapped my children!”