catchacold | Babysitter's Club

Hartley quickly ate one more slice of toast, because he had a suspicion that he might get kicked out shortly. He hesitated, but then put the other slice that was ready into his kangaroo pocket, glancing at the door. He could bolt in case Mick got angry, good. At least his stomach was filled a little bit, with warm food no less. That felt like a pretty great luxury right now, more than he expected out of the day.

So he finally said, very much full of confidence. "I'm gay." And he'd suffered for it, but that didn't change facts. "I can leave, if you'd like."

"Yeah. Me too." Mick said without even flinching or looking up, focusing instead on wiping his boys face. "Well, what's the one? Snart told me before. Where you fuck chicks but -- wait, Bisexual. That's the one." Mick confirmed with a nod as he looked at Teddy and signed, he was pulling a face and he didn't want to take another spoonful apparently. "You're just going to be a dick, aren't you? Fine."

Mick made aeroplane noises, moving the spoon around and like that, Teddy ate it. God damn him. He looked up at Hartley finally and grunted a little. "My old man hated fags too. Fortunately it's a dying generation. Fuck 'em." He did yet another aeroplane spoonful to Teddy. "You just gotta go out there and be as happy and gay as you can be to spite them."

What? Hartley blinked and made two more slices of toast, wondering how many he could eat before he'd get stomach cramps. He couldn't believe that Mick actually claimed to be gay. Bisexual? This stuff didn't happen. But at least the man seemed to be less than scandalised by his confession and so he relaxed for the moment, nodding his head. "I'll try to be happy and gay." One out of two, hey. Happiness had to come any day now, right?

Right?

"Look, I don't care if you're gay, you seem all right and you can handle a baby. You're welcome here." And maybe he could talk him into crashing here. It was only a matter of time before someone cruel got a good shot at this kid and then he'd just end up feeling guilty over it. And he didn't need that kind of shit. "I'm gay, my boyfriend is pretty gay and our rent boy babysitter is also gay."

He just thought he'd clarify so he knew he wasn't entirely alone. "There's pudding cups in the fridge. Snag one for me and Teddy. And for you, obviously."

How was this happening? Hartley tried to figure out the trap, he didn't want to get caught in one again. He got pudding cups without really thinking about them, setting them down in front of Mick and then starting to eat his own. His stomach was definitely hurting now, he shouldn't eat more. He wasn't used to so much food at once, but who knew when he'd have the chance again? "Thank you," he finally said, "I don't mean to be impolite, but mostly people just want to fuck me or fuck me over."

"Yeah, well, Teddy made me give a shit these days. I didn't use to but if my kid was alone and he needed help, I'd like to think someone would help him. So I gotta set that example, right?" Mick took a mouthful of his own pudding then fed Teddy some too. They slowly shared one pot, the other set aside. This way, they both got pudding with no whining. "Besides, I'm like twenty one here and I'm raising a kid, I didn't expect or prepare for this. I got no skills and I gotta support him. I'm trying to train in a job here but I don't have the time and I need the time. I figure having a few friends around to watch my kid is a blessing cause I can't afford child care."

Leonard was busy a lot so he couldn't do it and Axel kept strange hours because of his job, he could use more back up. "Look, help me out with the kid and I'll give you some money, not a lot, and you can crash on my couch for now until you find somewhere else. That's my offer, it's on the table. No obligations. You help me, I help you."

"I graduated high-school?" Was that a skill that was worth anything? It was supposed to, but given he was too young, it didn't tend to be. "I speak six languages." Maybe that meant he could stay and be worth something. He was lucky to be done with high-school already, but he couldn't afford his college classes, he had no chance of any of that until maybe he could get a scholarship. "...it's okay if you change your mind, but it'd be nice to sleep somewhere warm for a bit."

He wasn't expecting much.

"Okay, great? Good to know." What was that all about? Nice to know he had skills. "Mostly all you gotta do is make aeroplane noises when he won't eat, sing to him and have a lot of patience. He's on and off teething, some days are better than others. Today is a good day but some days he screams bloody murder. Otherwise, he's a happy kid." Happy, healthy and just in love with the world. Once the pudding was gone, Teddy rocked back and forth a few times then tumbled back lightly, legs in the air, cooing excitedly at Hartley from where he was and wriggling his fingers.

"Oh and you gotta know how to change a diaper. Think you can do that?"

"Yes. I have a baby sister." Obviously changing her didn't really fall under his jurisdiction, but since he had taken it on himself to spend more time than intended with her, he had learned how to do that. He smiled at Teddy and waved back at him, still wondering how long any of this could last. But Teddy was so cute, it was hard to be a pessimist in a moment like that. Which was probably why once he was back to playing with Teddy, it didn't take long until he passed out next to the baby on his teddy bear blanket right on the floor.

Mick left him sleeping because at least he was warm and happy, that beat being outside. Mick lifted Teddy up and sat him in his lap, not far away from where Hartley was sleeping as he fed the kid his night time bottle. If he was going to sleep, he was going to need a nice warm bottle. Teddy drank silently, his eyes getting heavy as Mick leaned against the wall and hummed gently to him.

Well, this went better than planned.

Leonard came home carrying two bags of groceries, because he knew Mick was busy and he had just passed by the store. He closed the door behind him quietly, knowing that Teddy was either asleep already or about to be asleep. So he just nodded at Mick and quietly tiptoed into the kitchen to put the groceries away, then walked into the living room.

And noticed a kid he didn't know. "...the hell?"

"New babysitter. Shh. Calming voices, he's almost asleep." Mick whispered gently as Teddy slowly sucked the last of his bottle and once it was empty, he set it aside and gently rocked his little boy, eyes on Leonard. Yep, he had a lot of explaining to do. Honestly, he was shocked Leonard didn't recognise him, he slept outside for two days. "He speaks six languages and he can change a diaper." That was all he needed from the kid. The last one more than the others. "He's not on speed like our other babysitter."

"Sure. He dresses like he's an upstanding citizen." Leonard rolled his eyes and let out a huff of breath. Of course, they had to have an argument and Mick had a sleeping baby in his arms. There was nothing more annoying. "I know Axel and he's always been clean around Teddy. You know that, I'd not let him near him otherwise. He's a good kid, just a rough life. We don't know this kid.2

"Why is it I have to trust the addict rent boy you like but I can't trust one I pick. he's a good kid, he got kicked out because he's gay. Remember how often my dad did that? It happens. He's sleeping rough, he's gonna look like shit." Mick whispered, he's gotten so good at talking all soft and gentle, he no longer slipped up like he used to. Teddy was a warm, sleeping lump in his arms now and he had to be put down. He slowly got up and held the baby close, gesturing his head at the nursery door so Leonard could open it. "I need more help than an unreliable whore."

"Axel is not unreliable with me. I don't work with anyone unreliable. Did you check this kid's arms?" It was a valid question. Leonard huffed again and opened the door to the nursery, letting Mick carry Teddy inside. Maybe then they could have a normal conversation although, yes, a lot of it boiled down to Leonard trusting his own judgement more than Mick's and he didn't know this kid yet.

"He's not on drugs. He's all fancy. He says 'may I' and 'please'. All la-de-da and shit." He set Teddy down gently and pulled his blanket up. Teddy made a whining sound and Mick swiftly slipped his pacifier in until he calmed and returned to sleeping. Mick stroked his hair a few times before pulling away and shooing Leonard from the room. Once the door was shut, he went to the furthest away point in the place, the kitchen, and raised his voice a little more. "You don't trust that I know what I'm doing around my own boy. I trust that kid. Hell, I ain't saying he's perfect but he ain't on drugs and I'd have fucking checked, don't you think? I can see the signs. Especially when carving. The unease, the paleness, the itching, twitching, fidgeting? You know. Like Axel."

"He's a street kid around here, that age, and he's not on drugs? How does that not ring alarm bells for you? You show me any boy in that bracket who's not using and bending over. Something fishy about that. May, right." Perhaps Mick was right, but Leonard didn't trust easy and it just felt invasive to come home and have a strange kid sitting right there. However, he also realised that he might be a bit too hard on Mick's judgement, so... "I got you a chicken from the rotisserie, the way you like."

"I checked. I was careful. I watched him for two days because he was going to hold my fucking son so don't you dare question me, asshole." Mick growled angrily because he was pretty much a papa bear when it came to his boy and he feared losing him to someone bad a lot of the time, he had a lot of paranoia and if he trusted someone, he vouched for them. "Look, I need more help than you and Axel, you're both never around. He'd be around. If I ever want a job that's legit, I need time." And time was what he didn't have with an infant and no consistent support. He sighed and rubbed at his face, tired and unsettled. "... Yeah. Thanks. Sorry. I'm stressed, you gotta just... trust me? This once, just do it."

"You're watching teens for two days, that ain't concerning at all." Leonard decided to go with the joking tone, since obviously Mick had reached something close to a breaking point. He stepped forward and wrapped an arm around Mick, looking at him from inches away. "I'm just concerned too. I'll talk to the kid later and if he's like you say, it's fine. If not, I'm sure we can find someone else. Look, I got groceries and it's all my money, so you don't gotta worry about that. I'm working things out, Mick. You ain't alone."

"Great, pity food cause I'm broke." Mick muttered as he pulled away a little and started rummaging through the bag. He was stressed and sad, he wanted to eat something. Ah! Snack cakes. He unwrapped one and started to eat it, knowing he was being a baby about this but he spent all of his time looking after a kid that took all his time, stole his nights and left him a little all over the place. The best parents broke to pieces over this shit, let alone a single dad who just stopped being a teenager. "I'll handle it, I just need some back up." Like Hartley.

"No, it's romance food, cause I kinda like you." Leonard rolled his eyes and unwrapped the chicken for Mick as well, so he could indulge on that if he felt like it. He stepped back to give him space, but he also put a hand on Mick's hip, because he wanted him to know that he was there. "Look, Mick. I'd be here more often if I could, you know that." He still had to be home sometimes, with Lewis, with Lisa, with all the rest of this mess. "And I'm making a name. I'll have cash in-coming regularly, it ain't gonna be much longer and you know I'll always take care of you."

"Yeah." Though Mick detested this kind of talk to. He used to be such a badass, he had a life path he wanted and now he was feeling a little like a housewife. It wasn't doing much for his masculinity and he was far too macho to take the nice gesture as it was. He just sort of squirmed a little and forced down any objections. He didn't want to be a dick. "Thanks. I know you got my back, I just get uneasy. Lots of stuff going on. I think the kid is gonna be an asset, don't knock him just yet."

Babysitter's Club

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