Work Text:
1st
Alex is mesmerized. Or at least pretending to be for the sake of his daughter.
Coco jumps all over the kitchen in an offbeat rhythm. Alex doesn’t even mind; he still fully believes he’s witnessing the coolest kid in all of Texas. Coco twirls and sends Alex a look to make sure he’s still paying attention to her, only looking away once she has made sure he has his eyes on her.
Alex reasons she’ll have to get it eventually; with Henry and Bea being so musically inclined and his Latin blood running through her veins—admittedly not directly—something’s gotta give. He’s certain she’ll develop her rhythm eventually. Alex is not worried about it. Not one bit.
“Papi! Are you watching?” Coco all but screeches to be heard over the music. Alex snaps out of it and smiles as Coco raises her arms and lets them flop and flail around her erratically. Alex watches her intently… Maybe they should consider getting her some dance lessons.
Coco jumps into a split as the song ends, and she stares up at Alex with a proud smile on her face. Alex wastes no seconds as he breaks into applause.
“Bravo!” he exclaims without missing a beat.
Coco stands up and says, “Alexa, stop!” before the smart speaker begins playing another song. Then, she turns to her father. “Do not move, okay? I need different clothes.”
Alex bites his lip to keep himself from laughing as he watches her disappear into the hallway. He has tried to give her good taste in music, he really has, but they somehow always end up listening to movie soundtracks from the studio behind a certain animated rodent. And the damn songs are so catchy, he can’t count how many times he has found himself humming them as he drives to work. He can already feel the grip of the last song on his brain.
“Alexa, play Bad Bunny,” he says quickly. He refuses to spend another day with Let It Go playing in his head in a relentless loop.
As the song begins, Alex immediately sways to the beat. His fingers twitch, yearning to be put around his husband’s waist, to hear Henry’s laughter at his antics before eventually giving in and dancing around the kitchen with Alex. Oh, how he misses Henry—his obnoxious pretty face, his gentle hands, his endlessly long legs, and that ass. Uprooting the entire family for a few days while Henry attends to royal matters would have simply been impractical. Alex couldn't be away from work for that long, and it would have disrupted Coco's schooling; it was easier for Henry to go by himself, but Alex already misses him. Being apart never gets easier.
Alex hums along quietly as he waits for his daughter to be back. He should really start trying to figure out what to make for dinner. Maybe he could grill some burgers or—
“Papi! You changed my music.” Coco stares at him indignantly, and Alex would be taking her seriously if her outfit wasn’t so outrageously awful. He struggles to keep a straight face as he takes it in. That’s one thing about parenting no one had warned him about: the constant desire to roast Coco mercilessly and the inability to do so.
“That’s… an outfit, Coconut,” he says in a hysterical high pitch. She is wearing her favorite swimsuit, all of her necklaces, tights, a cheetah print skirt that Bea gave her as a joke and ended up becoming her favorite piece of clothing, socks, sunglasses along with two headbands, and the long gloves from her princess costume. “It’s very… kitsch.”
Coco nods proudly, although Alex is pretty certain she has no idea what the word kitsch means. “Yes, it is.”
Coco spins around, showing off the full outfit, and Alex can only think about Henry missing this. Whenever Alex is forced to be away from her, the only thing that keeps him going is getting pictures from Henry every few hours, so he does the same for him. It’s their unspoken arrangement.
Alex gets his phone out and holds it up. “Coco, say cheese for Daddy.”
Coco saunters over to him—there’s no other way to call what she’s doing—and then smiles big at him. Her one missing tooth makes the sight even more adorable.
“Cheese!”
Alex snaps the picture.
“Can I see it?” Coco asks, already craning her neck to see the screen. Alex turns it towards her. She looks at it with a critical eye. “Let’s do another one.”
Alex once more refrains from laughing and, instead, points the camera towards her. Coco purses her lips and sends a kiss towards the camera. Click. “One more, one more!” she says and throws a peace sign.
Alex chokes as the laughter finally erupts out of him. He barely has time to snap the picture before he doubles over with a hysterical laugh. He can’t help himself. He has never seen her do that before. What. The. Fuck.
Coco giggles, not understanding the situation entirely but delighted to make her father laugh. She quickly gets distracted as she remembers she’s supposed to be putting on a show.
“Alexa, play the Encanto soundtrack!”
Alex groans quietly and resigns himself to having ‘We Don’t Talk About Bruno’ stuck in his head for the foreseeable future. Small sacrifices; at least she’s entertained.
He opens the picture with the peace sign. It’s slightly blurry but good enough.
HRH Prince Dickhead 💍
September 23, 2039, 17:04
IMG_0818.jpg
apparently, she has learned about peace signs
although sadly not from me
Henry answers almost right away and Alex feels another pang of longing in his chest.
HRH Prince Dickhead 💍
My dear, I don’t think you’ve taken a single picture without a peace sign since the day I first saw you in Rio. Of course it’s from you.
Alex looks at the picture he has assigned to Henry’s contact. It’s one of Alex’s favorite pictures, taken a couple of years back; they’re both smiling lazily at the camera with their Stetsons on, Henry has his eyes closed because of the sun and his nose is scrunched up adorably. Alex is sticking his tongue out slightly and he’s…holding up a peace sign. Perhaps his husband is right on this one.
His phone buzzes with a few more texts from Henry.
HRH Prince Dickhead 💍
Why is she wearing that god-awful skirt? We have to get rid of it.
Is that her swimsuit?
I guess the overall tone of the outfit is very kitsch.
That’s exactly what I said!
Alex looks over at his rhythm-challenged kid and feels a sense of pride come over him. They’re raising quite a remarkable little human. Maybe not the best dancer, or the best dressed, but a kind, compassionate, smart, peace-sign-holder kid, which is more than he could’ve asked for.
The song ends and Alex claps once more. Coco doesn’t hesitate before starting to bow and blowing kisses; maybe she does have a future as a performer after all.
“Coconut,” he calls with his phone back on the camera app. “Let’s do one more picture, yeah? Let’s take a selfie.”
Coco nods and runs excitedly to his side. He puts his free hand up in a peace sign, watching her closely to see if she will follow suit. He raises the phone with his other hand and watches as Coco smiles at the camera before spotting his peace sign on the phone screen and doing one of her own. A mirror image of his.
He stares at the picture as Coco goes back to her dancing.
HRH Prince Dickhead 💍
September 23, 2039, 17:12
IMG_0819.jpg
come back to us soon.
HRH Prince Dickhead 💍
Tell mini ACD to remind you she has her show and tell at school tomorrow.
I’m counting down the seconds until I get to hold you both again.
Don’t let her stay up too late. And please, I’m begging, get rid of that skirt.
2nd
Alex is having a bad day. No, scratch that. He’s having a bad week. Maybe even a bad month.
It’s like he’s running on a hamster wheel and, no matter how fast he runs or for how long, he isn’t able to catch up with the amount of stuff he has to do. He was late to his first meeting that morning, which meant he was late for the second one, and so on, and so on. Which means he is now late to pick up Coco from school, which means he’ll be late for her ballet lessons, and— He groans.
How do people live without caffeine?
He can already hear the whispers from all the moms at ballet, feel their judgemental stares, all while holding their stupid styrofoam cups full of steaming coffee… Alex adjusts his sunglasses and looks in the rearview mirror. No cars are moving; they’re all standing completely still, and he’s ten minutes late already, only one street away from the school.
Alex is fed up. He briefly contemplates leaving the car and running to get his daughter, but the thought of running back to the car with Coco and her stuff trailing behind him just worsens his bad mood. His fist spasms as he thinks about honking, but just as he’s about to give in to the urge, the car in front of him slowly starts rolling forward. Thank fucking God.
As he finally approaches the school, he swiftly grabs the sign with Coco’s full name from the glovebox compartment. With a fake, tight smile—the best he can manage today—he presents it to the security guard.
The security guard nods and brings his walkie-talkie to his lips. “Victoria Claremont-Diaz-Fox.”
“Thanks, man,” Alex exhales. He taps the steering wheel while he watches the school’s entrance, willing Coco to appear. The minutes continue to tick by, each one bringing more and more stiffness to his shoulders. They’re so fucking late.
Finally, Coco exits the building, carrying her backpack and a few papers in her arms. She walks slowly to the car—the girl was born without a sense of urgency—and then attempts to open the door, but it’s locked. Alex unlocks the door with an apology, and Coco throws her stuff in carelessly before plopping down on her car seat.
As he watches her buckle, a smile finally takes over his face. He sets a reminder in his head to thank his husband because the kid’s already wearing her hair in a bun. Alex loves to mock Henry for being so anal about Coco’s hair in the morning, but on this day, it is a blessing, and he’s not too proud to admit it.
“Hi, Coconut, how was your day?” he asks once she’s in place.
“Good,” Coco mutters.
Alex barely stops himself from rolling his eyes at the response.
“Is that all you have to say? Just ‘good?’” he asks with a raised eyebrow.
Coco shrugs. “Yeah.”
“What did you learn at school today?” Alex presses on as he pulls back into the street. He feels every muscle in his back tighten as he realizes the congestion has somehow worsened into a full-on traffic jam. Fuck.
“I don’t really feel like talking, Papi,” she says with her arms crossed, and Alex moves the rearview mirror to see her properly. He notices she looks upset.
“That’s okay, baby. We don’t have to talk, but is everything okay?” Alex searches her face for any signs of what could be wrong, but she hides her face against her car seat. He decides to let her be for a moment.
He maneuvers his way through the street slowly, although there’s not a lot of room for him to move. He tries to change lanes but gets stuck halfway through the move as the cars stop advancing once again.
“Can you fucking move? God damn it,” he whispers angrily under his breath, low enough for Coco not to hear. “Did something happen at school, kiddo?” he presses on at a regular volume.
Coco full-on groans, and Alex feels the spirit of his Mexican ancestors coming through him as he fights the urge to raise his voice at her. He takes a deep, steadying breath and reminds himself that that won’t do anyone any good and will just further upset her. Breathe in. Breathe out. He reaches for his coffee thermos before remembering there’s only an almost full water bottle in its place and has to bite his tongue to keep from cursing out loud.
The cars begin to move, but another car cuts him off and stops him from merging into the new lane. Alex scratches his cheek with his middle finger as discreetly as possible, just in case Coco stops sulking and turns to look at him.
“Did you fight with one of your friends?” Alex spares a look at Coco. “Was it with Monica? I keep telling you, she’s bossy, and her parents are even worse.”
“No, she wasn’t at school today.”
“Huh.”
Alex looks back just as another car is surging forward. His heart leaps into his throat, and he instinctively slams on the brakes. The car screeches as he narrowly avoids crashing into the other vehicle. And that is just too much for him today; he doesn’t think twice before honking twice at the other car.
“What the fuck, man?” he shouts, remembering a second too late that Coco is in the back, and he’s not supposed to swear in front of her. “Shit,” he says in his effort not to say fuck but lands on another curse word. His brain is broken. He needs coffee; he’s getting a headache.
Alex winces. “I’m sorry, Coco. That car surprised me, and I didn’t think before speaking.”
Coco stares at him with wide eyes. “That was scary.”
“I know,” Alex sighs. “I’m sorry.” He eventually merges into the lane, and the cars start moving slightly faster. Alex groans as he realizes the ballet class must be starting right about now, and they will not be there any time soon.
“Papi?” Coco says after a moment.
“Yes?”
“It’s okay,” she says soothingly, and Alex's heart melts a little. Coco continues, “Today has been a shit day.”
Alex matches her earlier expression, eyes as wide as they can go. “Excuse me, Victoria?”
“You can’t tell Daddy I said that, or I’ll tell him you said it first,” she says with a smug look on her face.
“Oh my Go…sh.” He catches himself this time around. “I’ve created a monster.”
“Monsters come from monsters,” she says simply. And then, honest to God, giggles. The little shit. Alex clicks his tongue and shakes his head; he tries to think of what his parents would have said in this scenario, but he can’t recall anything else other than his mom saying, “Language!” after hearing him swear.
He looks at the clock once more and finally gives up. They are way too late. He knows when it’s time to quit, and he’s pretty sure he’ll lose his mind if he stays in this traffic for one more second.
“Coco, what do you think about forgoing ballet class and getting ice cream instead? You can tell me all about your bad day.”
“Okay!” she agrees, bouncing a little on her seat. Alex is relieved to see her back to her usual self.
He turns onto the nearest side street and flees the traffic once and for all. His head is still pounding, but at least some of the stress is gone. He rolls his shoulder to release the rest of the tension. There’s not much he can do about the exhaustion. So far, giving up caffeine has brought nothing but bad fortune; maybe it’s a sign.
“Maybe they’ll have coffee-flavored ice cream,” Alex muses out loud.
Coco sticks her tongue out. “Yuck.”
“Yes.” Alex nods fervently. “Yuck, coffee. Bad. Do not try it, it’s gross. It’s bitter, and hot, and so…so good. What am I doing? My blood pressure is fine.” Alex pulls into a parking spot right in front of the ice cream shop. He turns to help Coco unbuckle.
“What is blood pressure, Papi?”
Just hearing the words makes Alex’s blood pressure shoot up. “A traitorous son of a—” Alex coughs. “Gun. A traitorous son of a gun.”
3rd
Alex winces as the man slams down the papers on the table. His nostrils flare unflatteringly, and Alex chances a look around only to find everyone else in this meeting wearing different variants of the same annoyed expression.
He takes off his glasses and rubs his eyes. What a shit show.
“Why don’t we take five, everyone?”
Murmurs of protest begin to arise, but he stands up and surveys the room. Everyone quiets down and begins filing out reluctantly. Alex looks at his clock and sighs—how is it not even noon yet?
He slips his phone out of his pocket and feels a stab of panic in his chest when he sees several missed calls and texts from Henry.
HRH Prince Dickhead 💍
February 12, 2040, 11:17
3 missed calls
HRH Prince Dickhead 💍
Alex, I know you’re in a meeting, but it’s an emergency.
Call me back as soon as possible, please.
Alex.
I’m about to call your work phone.
Alex almost drops the phone in his haste to return the call, and Henry must’ve been in a similar position because he picks up almost immediately. “Alex.”
“Baby,” Alex exhales upon hearing his voice. Henry sounds fine, if slightly worried. “What’s up? Are you okay? Is Coco okay?”
“I’m alright. Everything is fine,” Henry is quick to reassure him.
“You said it’s an emergency. What’s going on?” Alex asks, speaking so fast he’s worried Henry won’t understand him.
“I got a call from Coco’s school,” Henry explains, but it does nothing to calm Alex down. He waits for his husband to continue. “They said there was an incident, and they want to speak to us both after school today.”
“Damn.” Alex flops back down.
“Can you make it?” Henry asks. His voice is taut with anxiety, and Alex just wants to wrap his arms around him and soothe him. He looks at the table covered in files and documents and resigns himself to working overtime another day to make up for leaving earlier today.
“Of course, I’ll be there,” Alex says. “Did they say anything else? What kind of incident?”
“No, nothing. They just reassured me that she’s perfectly fine, but Alex, if I see a single strand of hair out of place, I’m going to—”
“God, I love it when you get all protective,” Alex says with a smirk.
Henry is quiet for a second. “Stop, this is serious.”
“No, yeah, for sure, keep going.” Alex sucks his teeth as he absentmindedly twirls a pen back and forth between his fingers.
“You’re a menace,” Henry says, and Alex can almost hear the smile in his voice.
“You’re in love with me.”
“More and more every day,” Henry quips back, sounding more like his usual self, which in turn makes Alex feel more relaxed. They’ve got this. They can do this together. Alex wouldn’t want to go through the ups and downs of parenthood with anyone else.
“I’ll be on my way soon, okay? I’ll meet you there.”
Henry agrees before hanging up, and Alex closes the folder closest to him with a sigh. He’s about to make an entire board of angry assholes even angrier. He can’t imagine anything worse than this.
This. This is worse than the angry mob at his law firm. The principal’s office at Coco’s school is a tiny, claustrophobic little room with next to zero natural lighting. It had somehow seemed cozy when they were last here to enroll her, but, under these new circumstances and with Mrs. Harris, the principal, staring down at them, it now has the same vibes as Trunchbull’s office in Matilda. Alex is just waiting for someone to roll in The Chokey, call them disgusting little maggots, and dictate their sentence… Perhaps he needs to stop reading Roald Dahl's books to Coco before bed.
Coco sits between Alex and Henry with an uncharacteristically stoic look on her face, refusing to make eye contact with anyone. Alex grabs her little hand in his and squeezes it gently. She squeezes it back but doesn’t budge otherwise.
“As I’m sure you understand,” Mrs. Harris says in a measured tone, “we need to ensure the safety and well-being of both our students and our class pets. It’s crucial to have a conversation about the incident and make sure it never happens again.”
“Of course.” Henry clears his throat. “We completely understand.” He turns to look at Alex and sends him a warning glance. “Right, Alex?”
Alex clamps his mouth shut and nods.
Henry leans down to try and get Coco’s attention, softly putting his hand on her arm. “Sweetheart, can you tell us what happened?”
Coco finally looks up, and Alex has to stop himself from picking her up and carrying her out of the school and away from the whole thing. Her watery eyes go from Alex to Henry a few times as she collects herself to speak.
“Echo the Gecko looked so sad in his cage, Daddy,” Coco begins with a trembling lip. “I just wanted to take him to the playground for a bit. I thought he would like to run around in the sandbox and have some fresh air. You always tell me how important it is to have fresh air!”
Henry looks around helplessly. “I mean, it is important.”
“Exactly.” Coco nods. Alex bites his bottom lip to try and keep his expression neutral; their daughter has this tendency to sound as British as Henry whenever she’s upset, and it has always made Alex laugh, which is not a good thing in serious situations like this one. Coco continues, “Echo the Gecko’s cage looked dirty and lonely, and I just wanted to make sure he was having a good time. I didn’t know he would escape as soon as I opened the cage, but I think that’s proof of how awful it must be to be trapped in there.”
Alex has to admit her arguments are strong and he can’t argue with her logic. He exchanges a look with Henry and shrugs. Henry winces.
“I understand, darling, but you need to follow the rules,” Henry tells her gently. “I commend you for your empathy, and I’m sure you had good intentions, but Echo the Gecko could’ve gotten injured. The rules are there to keep everyone safe.” Henry shifts his eyes toward Alex and gives him a look, urging him to say something.
“Uh…” Alex hesitates. He shifts in his seat. “Yeah, no, I’m sure the gecko was pretty happy being trapped in its cage, Coco.” Henry kicks his leg under the seat, and Alex begrudgingly continues, “It’s important to follow the rules, princess.”
“I sincerely apologize about the incident, Mrs. Harris,” Henry says, upping up his usual charm. “Alex and I will continue to have conversations with Victoria about her behavior.”
Both Coco and Alex flinch at the use of her full name.
“Releasing the gecko into the classroom caused quite a disruption, Mr. Fox,” Mrs. Harris says with a deep frown, decidedly not swayed by Henry’s charm. “The children were startled, and it took considerable effort to capture and return him safely to his enclosure. It’s crucial for Victoria to face some consequences for her actions. This kind of behavior is unacceptable.”
Alex sits upright in his chair as a speech in Coco’s defense is already forming in his head, but just as he opens his mouth to speak, Coco stands up beside him.
“But I was trying to do the right thing,” she begins. Her voice is wobbly, but her face and stance are confident. “Whenever we find a spider or a bug in class, we make sure to carefully let it outside so that it can be in its natural habitat. That's what I was trying to do! We read a book in class about geckos, and their habitats are all outside, not in cages. Would you like to live in a cage, Mrs. Harris? I wouldn't. And I thought Echo the Gecko would be able to hunt his own insects, and he would shed his tail if he was attacked. I thought he would survive just fine out in the yard.
“I’m sorry I scared my classmates; I really wasn’t trying to hurt anyone, and I understand now that Echo the Gecko is safer in his cage.” She pauses for a moment and takes a deep breath. “But it was also Monica's turn to clean the cage, and she did a terrible job, so the poor thing is living in a sad, dirty cage, and he can do nothing about it. No es justo.”
Alex finds himself clutching his chest and holding his breath as he watches his daughter deliver her poignant and effective speech. His heart soars with every word, and it flat out stops for a second when she ends the whole thing in Spanish. He looks away to stop a tear that’s threatening to fall.
Mrs. Harris blinks. She stands up and goes around her desk to stand in front of the kid, kneeling to look at her at eye level.
“Victoria, I can see that your heart is in the right place,” she begins with a softer voice, miles away from the stern one she had been using up to that point. “I’m glad to hear you’ve learned from this experience why Echo the Gecko must stay in his cage, and I understand your concerns about his living arrangements. I will personally make sure the cage stays in proper condition.”
“Why don’t you help clean the cage tomorrow to make amends?” Henry whispers loudly to their daughter.
Coco nods shyly. “Mrs. Harris, I will help clean up Echo the Gecko’s cage. I’m sorry for causing trouble.”
Mrs. Harris squeezes her shoulder before walking back to her side of the desk.
“We will assign Victoria extra responsibilities related to caring for the gecko and provide her with some additional education about the importance of animal welfare.”
Alex and Henry nod, each with one hand on their daughter’s shoulders. Alex itches to leave the tiny office.
“That seems reasonable,” Henry says. “We appreciate your willingness to work with us on this matter, Mrs. Harris.”
“Very well, then,” Mrs. Harris says. “Thank you for coming in today. Please keep talking with Victoria to make sure she understands the importance of her actions. We’ll see her tomorrow.”
As they’re leaving the office, Alex catches Henry’s hand and pulls him close enough for him to whisper into his ear, “I can’t believe it.”
“I know,” Henry whispers back. “She’s usually so good with rules.”
“No, not that.” Alex stops walking, and Henry looks back at him. “I can’t believe we just witnessed her first filibuster. At only 6 years old.”
Henry rolls his eyes affectionately. “You and your mini-me are going to give me grey hairs.”
“And it will totally elevate your status as daddy.”
Henry coughs and looks around, but there’s no one else within earshot.
“Daddy, am I in trouble?” Coco asks quietly, and they both look down at her. Alex’s heart feels like it’s being squeezed. She looks so tiny.
As Henry shakes his head, ‘no,’ Alex grabs her and lifts her onto his shoulders.
“Papi!” she shrieks.
“I’m so proud of you, Coconut.”
Coco puts her chin on Alex’s curls. “Can we get Helados?”
Henry begins saying, “Nice try—” just as Alex imitates Coco’s pout and says, “Can we?”
“Good God, it’s like being attacked by an army of clones.” He chuckles. “I suppose we can.”
4th
EE-ERRR. EE-ERRR. EE-ERRR.
Alex hits the stop button of his alarm with a soft groan. He wipes the sleep from his eyes and looks over at his sleeping husband. Henry barely stirs, his soft snoring the only sound in the room. Alex yawns as he forces himself to sit up; it’s way too early. He wishes for intravenous coffee, not for the first time.
Alex moves around the room quietly, not wanting to wake up Henry. He knows he has had a few late nights at the centers and could use the extra sleep. Alex will handle things.
He throws on a shirt and some shorts before leaving the room, closing the door behind himself. The eerie quiet of the morning always makes him feel uneasy, so he grabs his AirPods and puts on his usual running playlist before fastening his running shoes by the front door. The crisp, cold air of the morning helps him fully wake up. He runs for half an hour before returning home to a still-silent house.
He leaves his shoes by the door and makes his way upstairs to Coco’s bedroom. He knocks on the door softly, not expecting an answer, and pokes in his head to find Coco still fast asleep, a trail of dry saliva on her cheek and the same adorable snores from the other room.
“Good morning, Coconut!” Alex turns off her sound machine and opens the blinds. “It’s time to wake up!”
Coco grunts and turns away from the light. “Five more minutes.”
Alex is used to this, so he always wakes her up well before it’s time for her to actually get up. He drops a kiss on her head.
“I’m gonna go shower,” he says before adding, “Do not wake up Daddy.”
“Mhm,” she hums in agreement with her eyes closed.
Alex ruffles her hair softly before leaving the room and heading straight to the shower. He lets the water run over his face and down his body, washing away all the dust and sweat from his run. He feels his muscles relaxing with the rhythmic stream of water and allows himself an extra minute in there just to center himself before tackling their hectic morning routine.
He wraps a towel around his waist and goes through his skincare routine:
- Cleanser
- Serum
- Moisturizer
- Eye cream
- SPF
Done. He checks the time; he’s doing alright, so he calmly proceeds to get dressed. Their walk-in closet is divided exactly in half, and he goes to his side to pick out his suit for the day, complemented by Henry’s favorite tie. He looks at himself in the mirror and does two finger-guns as he clicks his tongue. He is ready for the day.
When he goes back to his room, he finds Coco in their bed, snuggling with a still-sleeping Henry. She opens one eye and blinks as he glares at her.
“What?” she whispers loudly. “I didn’t wake him up.”
“Shhhh!” He motions with his arms for her to get up. “Let’s get out of here.”
Coco extricates herself from Henry’s side and follows Alex back into her room. Alex gets her uniform for her, and she changes wordlessly, her face still looking half-asleep. She yawns, and Alex does, too. He waits for Coco to be dressed before carrying her towards their kitchen and plopping her down in a chair; she folds her arms on the counter and buries her head in them.
“Cereal?” he asks, and she immediately nods. Her curls are a knotted mess atop her head; he subconsciously touches his much neater hair. He will have to do something about hers.
“Maybe put on a headband?”
Coco touches her hair before looking up and sending an unamused glare to him.
“Ponytail?”
She raises one judgemental eyebrow.
“I can try doing a braid, but I don’t think that will end well for either of us.” He shrugs. “Daddy is the braider in this relationship, I can’t be good at everything.”
Coco groans loudly before burying her face back in her arms. She’s so not a morning person.
Alex goes through his morning routine:
- Coffee (for himself)
- Tea (for when Henry wakes up)
- Cereal and milk (for Coco)
- Yogurt with fruit (for himself)
They eat in silence, Alex watching as the sun begins to enter the house in between sips of coffee and spoonfuls of yogurt. He feels much more like a human by the time he’s done. He begins preparing Coco’s lunch while she continues to eat her breakfast.
“You can’t go to school like that,” Alex says as he closes her lunchbox. “What about a bun?”
“No.”
“Two buns.”
“No.”
“We need to do something about your hair,” Alex says with finality. “Daddy will have a crisis if he picks you up later, and your hair looks like that.”
“I want it down,” Coco whines.
“Not today, and we’re running out of time.”
Coco rolls her eyes. “Fine! A ponytail.”
“Don’t roll your eyes. It’s not nice.” Alex grabs an elastic and attempts to collect all of his daughter’s hair in his hand. It’s not perfect by any means, but at least it’s something.
Coco finishes her cereal and jumps down from the chair. She grabs the empty bowl and puts it in the dishwasher. Then, she grabs her water bottle and fills it up before putting it in her backpack.
Alex pours the rest of the coffee pot into his thermos and starts going through his mental checklist:
- Coffee
- Briefcase
- Coco’s backpack and lunchbox
- Car keys
- Wallet
- Child
Check, check, check. He’s ready to go.
“Shoes on, Coconut,” he says as he puts on his own. “Come on, it’s time to—” He stops when he turns to look at her and sees she is frowning. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m forgetting something.”
It is now his turn to frown. “What are you talking about?”
She extends her tiny hand towards him and starts lifting a finger for each item: “Backpack, lunchbox, water, homework… There was something else, but I can’t remember. It was five things because I have five fingers.”
Alex sucks on his teeth to keep himself from smiling; he doesn’t want her to think he’s mocking her or laughing at her. He tries to think what else she could have added to her list, but he comes up short. “We need to go, Coco.”
She pouts, and her lip begins to tremble. “I know I’m forgetting something.”
Alex sighs. “Alright, let’s think about your day. You have to turn in your homework, you will have class, you will eat lunch, you’re staying hydrated through it all… I think you’ll survive without whatever it is you’re missing. It will come back to you, and we won’t forget it again.” Coco sniffles. “Tell you what, I’ll get you a whiteboard so you can write your items down, that way you won’t forget them.”
“That’s not a bad idea,” comes Henry’s voice from the doorway. He looks sleepy, and Alex is so in love. “It’s Friday. Football practice. Uniform and ball.”
“It’s soccer,” Alex and Coco reply in unison. Henry crosses his arms.
Coco smiles and runs to hug his legs. Henry picks her up. “That was it, Daddy!”
“Nice ponytail,” Henry says, looking at Alex. Alex shrugs. Henry puts Coco down, and she runs to get her soccer stuff. “Thank you for getting her ready.”
“She’s making lists,” Alex says with glee.
Henry goes to hug him and gives him a kiss. “That’s good. It would be better if she didn’t forget the items in them, but—”
“She’s so smart,” Alex whispers against Henry’s lips.
“I mean, she’s our kid. What was it that Nora said when she was born?”
“87% chance of her being a gifted kid,” they say in unison and laugh.
“Estoy lista!” Coco says, running back into the kitchen with her shoes on.
Alex claps his hands. “Vámonos, vámonos!” He kisses Henry one last time. “See you later.”
“Tengan un buen día!” Henry says with a wink, and Alex immediately knows he will indeed have a good day.
5th
Alex sits down on their bed and watches as Henry finishes getting ready in front of the full-length mirror in one corner of their room. He straightens the collar of his shirt before looking back at Alex through the mirror.
“Tie or no tie?” he asks. “Am I overdressed? I think I might be overthinking it.”
Alex smiles. “You’re definitely overthinking it, it’s our nephew’s 10th birthday party.”
“Shush,” Henry says. He fixes his tie and looks at it for a second before undoing the whole thing and unbuttoning the top two buttons of his shirt. “Is this okay?”
Alex whistles playfully. “Damn! Looking good, Mr. Fox.”
Henry turns and walks over to him. He traces the border of his cowboy hat with his hand and laughs softly. “You are somehow pulling this off.”
Alex looks down at his much more casual outfit: a flannel over a white t-shirt, jeans, and his cowboy boots. And the look wouldn’t be complete without his Stetson, obviously. Alex winks at Henry.
“What can I say? You can take the cowboy out of Texas, but…”
“Art is gonna love this,” Henry says and leans down to kiss him. When Bea’s son, Arthur, had decided his birthday party would be cowboy themed, Alex couldn't pass up the chance to dress up in full cowboy attire. Alex loves a theme. And cowboys. And watching that affectionately exasperated look on Henry’s face.
Henry hasn’t even seen the best part. Which reminds him…
“I should go check on Coco,” he whispers against Henry’s lips.
“Are you finally deigning to tell me what the surprise is?” Henry says, his hands keeping Alex in place.
“Soon, baby.” Alex looks at him through his eyelashes and smirks. “The wait will be worth it, I promise.”
Henry leans in for a kiss but instead nibbles Alex’s lip. “You are such a tease.”
“You better stop that, or we won’t make it to Art’s party,” Alex says, eyes clouded with lust. Henry laughs and steps away.
“Alright, I’ll behave, then.” He goes back to the mirror and fixes his collar. He sends Alex a look. “Go on, then. We have to leave soon, go check on our daughter.”
Alex shakes his head to clear it. “Right. On it.”
He leaves the room, sparing one last glance at his husband. Henry’s ass looks unreal in those pants.
Just as he exits the room, the door across the hall opens, simultaneously revealing Coco. They both stare at each other for a beat before Alex bursts out in delighted laughter.
She’s wearing a fringed faux-leather jacket, jeans with a big, brown belt that’s being held together by a gold buckle, her brand new cowboy boots, and a custom-made Stetson Alex ordered just for the occasion.
Alex is speechless. It’s even better than he expected. It is absolutely perfect. His whole life has been building to this moment: matching cowboy outfits with Coco.
Alex feels Henry’s presence behind him before he hears his melodic laughter in his ear.
“Did I somehow miss the dress code?” He turns to Alex. “Alex, is this my surprise?”
“Papi got us matching outfits!” Coco declares before twirling to show Henry the full attire. “He told me not to tell you.”
Alex sends Henry a sheepish smile. “Isn’t it perfect?”
“You’re both quite the sight.” Henry smiles fondly and leans on the doorframe. “Art is going to be so happy.”
Alex nods and goes to stand next to Coco. “Can you snap a pic? My mom is going to love this.”
He puts Coco on his back, and she immediately wraps her arms around his neck. They both smile at Henry, who already has his phone out and pointed at them.
He quickly frames them and… Click. He stares at the picture. “Oh, I need to make this my lock screen.”
Alex puts her down, and they both look at the picture. Coco’s blonde locks are carefully tucked behind her ears, and there’s a smile on both of their freckled faces.
“I think Art is going to love my outfit because he loves cowboys,” Coco says matter-of-factly.
“I’m sure he will, darling,” Henry says. Coco wraps her arms around his waist, and Henry rubs her back gently.
“Did you like our surprise?” Coco asks. Alex watches Henry’s face carefully, but he can’t find anything besides adoration.
“I loved it,” he says sincerely. He turns to Alex and mouths, ‘I love you.’
“I love you, too,” Alex whispers back before pecking his cheek.
“Okay. Are y’all ready or what?” Coco says as she extricates herself from the embrace and walks towards the entrance.
Henry and Alex exchange amused smiles before saying, “The attitude is from you,” and “That’s not from me.”
“Oh, shut up,” Alex says with a soft push. They both chuckle before Henry grabs his hand, and they both follow in Coco’s footsteps.
Henry
The first time Alex met Coco, he could’ve sworn he felt his heart instantly swell to make room for the insane amount of love he felt for her. He blames a lot of this on the fact that the little shit came out looking exactly like the love of his life. Victoria Claremont-Diaz Fox is the spitting image of Henry Fox. Her tawny blonde hair, the speckle of freckles on her cheeks and forehead, the big blue eyes… When she was a baby, Alex used to joke that she was made out of all his favorite things in the world: Henry, June, and coconut—hence the nickname— before pretending to munch on her feet and feeling on top of the world as she laughed. As time has passed, Alex has started to see some of himself in her, like the way her skin never burns and instead tans, or her long eyelashes, or the shit-eating grin she tends to display after saying something completely out of left field. Coco is his perfect puzzle, a mixture of him and Henry with only the best of them both.
They enter the party as a family, Coco in the middle with each of her hands holding one of theirs. She propels herself, and they help her jump with each step, Alex and Henry lifting her easily, her giggles echoing in their ears.
“Alex! Henry!” Bea’s husband, Noah, approaches them. Henry immediately stiffens, and Coco jumps to hide behind his leg. Henry, in turn, hides slightly behind Alex.
“Hey, man!” Alex exclaims happily and shakes Noah’s hand. He looks around before saying, “Cool party.”
“Cool hat,” Noah replies without missing a beat. He has a thick Australian accent that tickles all the right parts of Alex’s brain. Noah is a billionaire, entrepreneur, and CEO of his company, and the guy who somehow swept rebellious Bea off her feet. Alex gets it, Noah is kind of a rockstar and perfect for her. Henry, on the other hand, might never warm up to him.
“Noah,” he says tightly with a courteous nod.
Noah sends him one of his characteristic cool smiles before kneeling to greet Coco. “Oh my goodness, Victoria, you look just like your dad!” he coos, and Alex has to bite down a laugh at Henry’s annoyed expression.
Coco tilts her head curiously. “Which one?”
“Oh,” Noah hesitates. “I was talking about the outfit, but I guess technically, you look just like Henry, too.”
Coco looks up at her parents and smiles.
Alex has no time to react before Art arrives like a cannonball and throws himself into his arms. “Uncle Alex! You’re a cowboy!”
“Howdy, birthday boy!” Alex says in his best southern accent. He hugs Art tightly, realizing he has grown quite a bit since he last saw him. His auburn hair is long and wild, probably from running around all day. “Happy birthday.”
Art hugs him back and, without letting go, turns to Henry.
“Hi, Uncle Henry,” he exclaims. Art then finally spots Coco and gasps. “Coco, you are a cowboy, too!”
She recoils and hides further behind Henry, clutching Art’s birthday present tightly in her little arms.
Henry and Alex exchange a look before Henry kneels beside his daughter. Alex knows he’s got it, so he lets them have their moment while he jokes with Art about cowboys.
“Hey, Coco,” Alex hears Henry say with a gentle tone. “Why don’t you give your cousin his birthday gift? You chose a really good one, and I bet he’s going to love it.” He gently pushes her towards them, and Alex puts Art down just as she approaches, holding the present out for him.
Coco hands him the present wordlessly, and Art brushes a strand of auburn hair out of his eyes before accepting it gracefully.
Henry clears his throat, and Coco finally mutters, “Happy birthday, Art.”
“Thank you, Coco,” Art says. “Do you wanna come play in the bouncy castle with me and my friends?”
Coco looks up at Henry with a question in her eyes. Henry simply nods and ushers her away. Alex puts an arm around his waist as they watch her go with Art toward an unnecessarily big bouncy castle.
Alex leans his head on Henry’s shoulder and sighs. “Good work, Daddy.”
“Please, stop.”
“What?”
“You know exactly what,” Henry laughs.
“Hen, darling!” Bea shouts before throwing her arms around him. “Oh, I’ve missed you.”
“Hi,” Henry says, hugging her back just as tightly. “It’s been too long.”
“Way too long. We cannot let that happen again,” she says with a pointed look at him. She turns to hug Alex. “Hello, Alex; thank you for taking such good care of him.”
“Of course,” Alex whispers. “How have you been?”
“Oh, you know, busy.” Bea shrugs. “Noah and I have been traveling so much. It’s nice to be home for a bit. Have you seen him?”
“We did. He was just here,” Alex says, looking around for the man; at the same time, Henry mutters, “Unfortunately, yes.”
“Stop that, Henry. He has done nothing to you,” Bea admonishes him with a laugh. In reality, they all find Henry’s beef with Noah quite amusing.
“Alejandro!”
Alex turns to find June and Nora holding at least five different boxes and bags with presents. He jogs to help with a couple of them before walking the rest of the way back to his husband and sister-in-law.
Nora whistles. “What an event!”
“Isn’t it nice?” Bea says proudly. “Oh, look at Art and Coco! They are so cute.”
They all watch as Art and Coco slide around the bouncy castle together. She follows him around as he says something that has her full attention.
“Henry, where’s your cowboy outfit?” June jokes.
“Ah! He only wears it on special occasions.” Alex winks and earns Henry's elbow to the ribs.
The group talks for a while, with Noah eventually joining them and Pez arriving fashionably late. Alex keeps an eye on Coco the whole time; he watches her as she plays with Art and some other kids for a while, but eventually, she jumps out of the bouncy castle and makes her way to an empty table full of drawing supplies. She grabs a paper and begins to work.
Alex excuses himself and goes to a table covered in all different kinds of fruits and juices for the kids. He makes a small platter full of Coco’s favorites and grabs an apple juice before joining her at the empty table.
“Hey, princess.”
“Hi, Papi! Look!” She holds out her drawing proudly. Alex leans forward and contemplates the drawing for a long moment, trying to figure out Coco’s colorful scribbles without any luck. Coco finally relents. “It’s me riding a unicorn.”
“Oh!” Alex nods enthusiastically. “I totally see it now.”
“This is the planet where I live with my unicorn, see?” she explains, pointing to a big purple circle in the middle of the drawing. “And this is a special flower that makes us smart, like broccoli, but it tastes good. It’s my unicorn’s favorite food, which means she’s the most smart unicorn because she eats it all the time.” Alex nods along, completely enamored by her storytelling.
Coco continues explaining all the details in her drawing, and Alex listens intently. The more she talks, the more he hears those lovely hints of her British accent that remind him so much of Henry. When Coco was a baby, Henry used to read to her day and night. Alex would often find them in the recliner in Coco’s nursery, surrounded by piles and piles of books. Sometimes, he would join them, sit on the floor, and listen to his husband read; other times, he would let them be. He knows how important those moments were for Henry. This, in turn, resulted in Coco speaking with a British accent for the first couple of years of her life. She lost most of it once she started school, but Alex can still catch these little glimpses of Henry in their daughter’s voice whenever she's excited or telling a story. A word that’s too formal for a six-year-old, a long vowel, a missing r at the end of a word. Alex could listen to her talk forever.
Coco puts down the drawing and points towards the platter of fruit. “Can I have some watermelon?”
Alex gives her the plate, and she grabs a fork with all the propriety he has come to expect from his husband before stabbing a small piece of watermelon and eating it nicely. No one can ever tell them Coco has no manners.
“Parties are very loud,” she says after a while, just as a kid screams near them.
Alex can’t help the laugh that escapes him. “They sure are.”
“I don’t think I like them,” Coco says before eating a piece of mango.
“I think Daddy would agree with you on that one.” They both look for Henry and find him quietly sipping a beer in a corner while June, Nora, Noah, Bea, and Pez talk around him.
Henry meets Alex’s eyes and smiles. He says something to the group before walking away from them to join Alex and Coco.
“What are you both doing over here?” Henry asks before spotting Coco’s drawing, which now has a splotch of watermelon juice on it. “That’s quite lovely, darling.”
“Thanks, Daddy.”
Henry sits down on an empty seat. “Why aren’t you playing with the other kids?”
Coco shrugs. “They are too loud.”
“Fair enough,” Henry says, and Coco goes to sit on his lap with her fruit plate carefully balanced on her lap. Alex looks over at June, Nora, and Pez, who seem to be screaming about something.
Henry nudges his leg with his foot. “Go mingle, I’ve got her.”
Alex looks at them, his heart soaring with affection for these two humans. His two favorite people. Identical bookends framing his heart.
He gets up and deposits a kiss on Henry’s head. “I’ll be back.”
“Take your time, love,” Henry says. “Coco and I will work on some more drawings.”
“Can you draw me a cowboy princess?” she asks excitedly, almost dropping her plate. Henry catches it and holds it in place.
“I can certainly try.”
Alex chuckles as he walks away toward his sister and his best friends. Nora is trying on Pez’s sunglasses, and June has busied herself with her own fruit plate. They all turn to look at him as he reaches them.
“What’s up, dorks?”
“Wow, you really don’t grow up,” June says dryly.
“Is Miss Coconut okay?” Nora asks.
“Yep. Just not very interested in parties, apparently.”
June laughs. “I guess she did take after Henry.”
Alex shrugs with a soft smile on his face. “Yeah, in some ways, she did.”
Pez attempts to steal a piece of fruit from June’s plate, and a battle for the strawberries breaks out. Nora joins them, still wearing Pez’s sunglasses, and attempts to grab a piece, too, but June swats her away.
“Stay away from my fruit, both of you!” June shrieks.
Alex looks back at his family once more. Henry and Coco are sitting with perfect posture as they work on their drawing, both scrunching their noses in concentration, mirror images of each other. Alex can’t help but smile at the adorable sight, silently thanking God for blessing him twice.
