“I need to go home soon.” Zack quietly spoke laying on his left side facing Brian who was on his right. Their heads were propped up in their hands; each man was on either side of the little boy.

“Why?” Brian wondered looking over at his friend.

“I can’t just stay here Brian. I have a house to take care of and I need to start looking for a job.” Zack spoke quietly looking Brian in the eyes.

“I want you to stay.” Brian nearly pleaded. “At least until you get out of your contract. I don’t want anyone going around your house from-” Brian looked down at Jared to make sure he was sleeping, “from work.”

“I can take care of myself Brian. I’m a big boy and I can fight my own battles.” A smile tugged at the edge of his lips.

“I know but I want to fight them for you.” Brian admitted looking down at his hands sheepishly. Zack leaned over easily and pecked the older man on the lips before pulling away. Both men settled down in bed, pulling the blankets up and getting cozy. After a bit of thinking both men fell into a deep sleep.

The light shining through the window had all three boys rising from their peaceful sleep; one at a time. Sometime in the middle of the night Jared had wound up sprawled across Brian’s chest. Zack looked over at the two with a big smile just now realizing how much Jared really does look like his dad.

Zack decided it was time to get up and get dressed; throwing on an old pair of skinny jeans and a band tee. He headed downstairs and started cooking some breakfast, on his way down he ran into a half asleep Matt. “Hey man you look exhausted.”

“I am, the baby kept Val and I up all night.” Matt grumbled grabbing the jug of juice from the fridge and taking a swig. He poured himself a glass and sat down. “You look wide awake you ass!”

“I got some good sleep last night.” Zack smirked as he mixed some pancake batter.

“At least that makes one of us.” Brian’s sleep filled voice stated from the archway. Zack looked over at him; Brian’s hair was tussled and sticking up everywhere. Jared was half asleep hanging onto his neck.

“You two looked pretty cozy this morning.” Zack stated nodding his head at Brian and Jared as they took a seat at the island counter.

“Maybe this morning but all night he kept wriggling around and at one point in time kneed me in the nuts.” Brian grumbled ruffling his son’s hair.

“Why don’t you two go back to bed then?” Zack suggested flipping the pancakes before turning around.

“We can’t, I have to take him to his school meeting in an hour.” Brian mumbled taking a sip of Matt’s juice. The hazel eyed man looked at him oddly before taking his drink back. Zack saw the action and went to the fridge; he got out the orange juice and two cups. He poured one and handed it to Brian. He then poured the second but put less in it and handed it to Jared. The little guy lifted his head from Brian’s shoulder and took his drink with a little smile. “Thank you.” Zack pecked Brian’s lips quickly in return and headed back to the stove.

When the pancakes were done he placed a pile in front of Matt and handed the other to Brian. Zack quickly grabbed a little plate and cut up one in small pieces before putting it in front of Brian too. Jared quickly turned around on his dads lap and dug in. Zack grabbed a plate and sat next to them. He watched with a smile as Jared poked his fork at his dad’s plate. Brian would hold it away from him with a laugh; Jared had plenty on his plate still. Zack laughed, the little head turned to him. Jared poked his pancake piece and moved it to Zack’s plate. The older men were confused until Jared dipped it in the syrup that had dripped off of Zack’s pancakes.

Knowing he had way to much syrup on his plate Zack pushed it closer to Jared, while he ate his own pancakes the boy would dip his in the extra syrup. Matt laughed watching the small group interact. Eventually Val came into the room and gave the boys a smile.

“Good morning.” She spoke quietly. Zack stood from his chair and grabbed her plate and some pancakes. She smiled at him appreciatively before sitting down next to Matt. Zack grabbed his and Jared’s empty plates after asking the boy if he wants more. Jared shook his head no and climbed down and went to the living room. Brian stood and put his plate in the sink, resting his head on Zack’s shoulder.

“You sleepy?” Zack asked when Brian’s arms wrapped around his waist. Brian nodded and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

“I’ll get him ready and take him to school. Go back to bed.” Zack pushed Brian back a bit and led him from the room. “After I drop him off I’m going to go get a few things from my house and come back.”

“You don’t have to Zack. I can take Jared to school.” Brian murmured looking over to the couch where Jared was watching cartoons. “He starts normal school again tomorrow.” Brian groaned not looking forward to getting up at seven am.

“He likes home school doesn’t he?” Zack wondered looking over at the little boy.

“Yeah he does but I only signed him up for the two weeks. He has been way over by now but the principal let me keep him on it for a little longer.” Brian pressed a kiss to Zack’s cheek and headed to the couch. “Hey little man its time to get dressed.”
“In a minute.” Jared stated keeping his eyes on Scooby Doo.

“No you need to get dressed now or you will be late. You also need to gather your school work.” Brian stated ruffling Jared’s hair.

“A dad,” Jared whined turning to Zack and giving him doe eyes.

“I won’t fall for it but how about,” Zack leaned down and whispered to Jared. “How about after words we go find your dad something at the store?” Jared nodded eagerly and jumped off the couch, heading upstairs.

“What did you say to him?” Brian wondered with a raised brow. Zack stood from the couch and turned; looking back at Brian.

“Him and I are going to stop by the store. Don’t ask why, I will not tell you.” Zack stated.

“You don’t have to bribe my son Zack.” Brian spoke softly.

“Is it really considered bribing when he doesn’t know he is gaining anything?” Zack smirked and headed upstairs to get Jared ready.

At school Zack and Jared waited for the teacher to call them back. When he finally did Jared and Zack headed to the office. The man had Jared turn in his school work and he gave me a few odd glances as he talked to the little boy. When Jared got done the man stepped outside with me and sent Jared to play on the toys for a few minutes. “I have never seen you in here before with Jared. If you don’t mind me asking how do you know my student?”

“I am Jared’s father’s friend.” Zack smiled he better not mention that he is also his ex co-worker. The man known as Mr. Kale raised his brow at me.

“Normally we do not allow people we don’t know to bringing our students in.” Mr. Kale crossed his arms over his chest.

“You are Jared’s every day teacher when he is in normal school right?” Mr. Kale nodded questioningly. “Well then I have a feeling you will be seeing a lot of me around Mr. Kale.”

“I certainly hope it’s sporadically, at this school we take pride in how active our student’s parents are in their schooling.” Mr. Kale announced with a frown. “We also frown upon our students being pulled out of school without stated reason. Children so young should be in school and interacting with other kids their age.”

“Well that’s something you will have to talk to Brian about but in my opinion Jared seems happier now that he is in home school than he was before in regular school.” Zack stated sending a glare his way. He turned his head and looked over at Jared. “Hey buddy, are you ready to go?” He asked loud enough for Jared to hear. The little boy nodded and ran up to him. Zack kneeled down and caught the pouncing boy in a tight hug. He turned to Mr. Kale and spoke once more. “I wish I could say it was a pleasure meeting you but I’m not a liar. I will see you soon Mr. Kale.”

Jared giggled against Zack’s neck as they walked away. “Mr. Kale is mean to people.”

“Is he ever mean to you Jared?” The boy shook his head as Zack placed him in his seat and buckled him in.

“No, he is just mean to older people.” Jared spoke looking up at Zack. “I don’t want to go back to normal school.”

“You will have to talk to your dad about that buddy but in the mean time let’s go pick out your dads surprise.” Jared quickly nodded with a giant smile. Zack had just the perfect idea in mind and Jared wouldn’t know a thing until the time was right.

Notes

Make sure you read the other three updates I have posted today. Sorry for not posting for two days. I thought I did yesterday and today I was busy trying to figure my laptop warranty out.