1 - Being A Parent

Of course becoming a parent required a big life change and added many complications, one of which being ditching work to go bail the little squirt out of jail.

The worst part about being a parent is the lack of sleep.

Cailen thought that maybe since they weren't dealing with an infant, that they wouldn't have as many long nights as most parents complained about when they had a newborn baby.

Boy was he wrong. Maybe it wasn't as bad, he wouldn't really know, but it was certainly tiring.

The first challenge was actually getting Ezekiel to go to bed. Either of them was really good at being the strict, 'no fun' parent that they sometimes needed to be, though Cailen thought Asher was worse at it.

Sure, he was good at pointing out what they should be doing, but when it came to actually following through with that plan, one puppy-dog eyed look from Ezekiel and Asher was done for.

Cailen often had to step up and lay down the law, but he always felt horrible after because, why couldn't he stay up and watch one more episode of Batman?

The second problem was getting him changed into pajamas and getting him to brush his teeth. He was good with excuses, quick and clever, making Cailen question why he thought trying to raise a child that reminded him of himself was a good idea.

Then there was getting him into the actual bed and to stay in the bed long enough for him to fall asleep. And if that wasn't enough, taking up any and all time Asher and Cailen would have alone together, Ezekiel tended to get nightmares.

He didn't like to talk about them, he would hardly even admit to getting them, even when Asher or Cailen would rush into his room at two in the morning because they just heard him screaming bloody murder and would find him curled up in a ball, often with tears running down his cheeks.

Asher and Cailen could guess what the nightmares were about, had actually been warned about them by the orphanage, but Ezekiel would never admit to it.

The orphanage had told them that when Ezekiel was four years old, he was involved in a fatal car accident in which both his parents were killed. He had no immediate family that were suitable to take him so he went to the orphanage.

Asher and Cailen figured he was dreaming about the accident since the words he would often scream out were 'Mommy' and 'Daddy'.

Asher was often the one to get him to say anything at all about them and even then, it was never more than an admission to having a nightmare.

To add to that list, there was the fact that not only did Cailen have to think for himself, which was not an easy thing to do with the amount of sleep he's been getting, but he had to think for Ezekiel as well.

He had to make sure he got up in time for school, ate his breakfast, brushed his teeth, and got dressed because apparently, the little guy was a lot like his brother William and enjoyed prancing around in his underwear, if in anything at all.

He had to drive him to school on time, which is harder than it seemed with having to remember to pack him a lunch, and make him dinner later on after work, Asher picking him up from school.

After that, he had to make sure Ezekiel did his homework, had a bath and get him to bed on time, all the while making sure he ate himself and got to work on time looking at least decent.

Of course Asher did help, but even still, it felt never ending. Of course, there were more good times than there were bad times, even if it didn't seem like there was.

There were times when Ezekiel would smile so big, like when they told him he got his very own room or that first day they brought him home and he met Loki, their little black puppy, for the first time.

There were times when Ezekiel would just be giggling about something, whether that be from Loki licking his face or something he saw on the television, and it made Cailen's heart swell in fondness that made it all worth it.

There were even smaller, everyday moments like all of them sitting down to watch a movie or going to the grocery store that had Cailen smiling because they were doing it together, as a family.

He was happy with this new change in his life, even if it was very difficult at times.

Ezekiel was quiet all the way up to the flat, walking with his arms crossed over his chest with an apparently permanent pout on his face.

When Cailen opened the door to the flat, they were immediately greeted by the black fur ball that only seemed to grow every day. Loki, the aforementioned fur ball, otherwise known as a black lab, was nearly at Cailen's knees in height now and had a bad habit of jumping up on people.

Ezekiel uncrossed his arms for the dog, getting down on his knees and allowing Loki to lick at his face, the pout disappearing for a moment. Although Cailen wasn't in the best of moods, he couldn't help but smile down at the giggling boy and over-excited puppy.

He knew the state of his family was questionable at the moment because they hadn't technically adopted Ezekiel yet, but Cailen really couldn't imagine a life without the little boy now.

"Straight to your room, mister. Asher should be home in a couple hours and then we will talk." Cailen said, wiping his smile off to show he was serious.

Ezekiel looked up at Cailen, his smile fading and pout returning as he silently asked if Cailen was serious.

Cailen nodded his head towards the hall, indicating he should get moving.

Ezekiel huffed and stood, giving Cailen an annoyed look before stomping down the hall to his room, Loki following behind him.

"Loki, stay." Cailen instructed, the dog coming to a halt in the middle of the hallway.

Ezekiel slammed his door shut, obviously not happy with not being able to bring Loki in with him.

Cailen let out a sigh as he made his way into the kitchen, shucking out of his jumper and hanging it over the back of one of the chairs at the kitchen table. He was still in his nurse's scrubs but he couldn't be bothered to change at the moment.

Cailen turned when he heard a little bark from behind him and saw Loki sitting in the entry way to the kitchen, staring at him.

Loki was Asher's idea. He said he had always wanted a dog but his mom never let him have one. Cailen knew that, of course. Asher always talked about it when they were kids so Cailen was pretty hard pressed to deny his husband of his wish any longer.

Cailen had developed an understanding with the dog; Cailen let him sleep at the end of the bed and Loki agreed to not cover his face in slobber anymore.

Loki barked again, looking behind him in the direction of Ezekiel's room, then back to Cailen and just waited.

"I know, I suck. Get over it."

Cailen spoke to the dog as if the dog could actually understand, because Cailen really did believe this dog was a genius and actually could understand him sometimes.

Loki let out another bark and scurried off down the hall to sit infront of Ezekiel's door.

It's not as if Cailen enjoyed punishing Ezekiel, but when you throw books at your teacher, you're going to suffer the consequences. He should know that.