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Even if a little belated: Happy Birthday to you, my dear muse! And to your character Alex, too, of course~ <3

Here, a little story I have been rolling around in my mind for some time now. I hope it has enough squee for a humble little gift!

OC one-shot
Characters: Little Luka, Alex and Kevin
Contents: Well, duh. Happy Birthday! - and lots of squees.

-*-*-*-

"Careful, Luka, you're close to falling down."

The small boy glanced back at Kevin briefly, grinning and carefully balancing on the low wall. Despite the rather strong scars, Luka had insisted on trying to do it like the other children. And surprisingly, he seemed to have little trouble with keeping himself perfectly balanced.

Alex was walking down in the sand, watching how the blond boy slowly inched along the concrete wall. Kevin had chosen to stroll on the sidewalk, having taken over the bird plushie Luka usually was clutching tightly to his chest. Whenever something got into their way, Alex climbed back over the wall, in the course snatching Luka and ruffling the squirming and laughing boy.

Over the course of the past months, Luka's voice had returned. They had no explanation if it was because of some healing process, or how it was possible in the first place, but either way, it made everything a lot easier. As he now clung to Alex, still chuckling, he called Alex a 'little silly'. Which immediately was countered with a tickling, until Luka had the hiccups from laughing so much.

As soon as they had enough room again, Luka was back up on the wall, this time having grasped Alex's hand. Kevin chuckled about the grimaces Alex made, as if it was so very horrible to have to watch out. Luka noticed them after a while, and he fell against Alex with the new laughing fit. Alex had been unprepared for that, and ended up falling over into the sand.

"Everything alright there?" Kevin had the hardest time to even talk normally. Alex had landed back down in the sand, Luka right on top of him, and apparently the raven-head had still gotten a nice mouthful of beach. "Oh dear, someone gave the beach a kiss. Come on, Luka, get off him."

Luka slowly got up, looking worried beyond words. "Is everything alright, Daddy?"

Alex spat out the sand, grimacing once more, before he snatched the squeaking boy. "Sure, everything's alright!" Had to be, since he was tickling Luka like he wanted to make the boy die from a laughing fit.

Even so, Kevin bought them something to drink, and soon enough, they were sitting on the beach, close to the still dark patches of sand. The low tide almost had reached its deepest point, leaving behind tang and a damned lot of shells. Luka, with his bird tucked under his left arm, was close to the water, picking up some shells and cleaning them in the soft waves, before he chose the ones he would put into a little bucket.

Alex exhaled some smoke, digging his toes into the sand. The sun was pretty low already, the sea calm and the waves barely licking at the shore. Kevin had laid back, smiling and his eyes closed. As Luka had collected enough, he returned to them, seeming to be unhappy about something. And soon enough, Alex knew what was the trouble.

Luka's beloved plushie was soaking wet. It had fallen into the water as he had seen an especially beautiful shell, and now it was covered in sand and tang alike. Handing Kevin the small plastic bucket, Alex snatched Luka up with a grin and went to clean the bird plushie with him.

Only as the bird was cleaned from the dirt, though still soaking with fresh water, Luka was all calm again. But he also was tired, and was resting his head against Alex's shoulder. Even if Luka was walking without too much trouble, he was tiring faster than other children, and it once more showed.

Kevin chuckled as Alex returned with a half asleep Luka clinging to him. "Daddy took good care of you, right?"

Luka nodded, drowsy and seeming to be close to dozing off. "I want to go home..." he muttered, coughing lightly and shuddering. "I want to sleep."

"Sure you want to." Alex held Luka a little higher, nuzzling his nose against the boy's. "But we will have to walk quite a bit."

Luka had been walking with them, without complaint, from one end of the beach promenade to the other. Of course, he was tired now, since it wasn't a too short distance.

By the time they had walked back about half of the way, Luka was fast asleep against Alex's back. Kevin snickered about the sweet image, teasing Alex about it until the raven-head was looking like he would have loved to strangle Kevin for that.

About five minutes before they returned to their apartment, Luka woke up from his nap. He yawned softly, then began to squirm lightly. He wanted to walk the rest of the way, it seemed.

With 'Daddy' Alex on his left side and 'Papa' Kevin on the right, he was entirely happy and relaxed. Cicadas were buzzing, two or three owls hooting in the pine trees above, and from the city, the noise of countless people and cars came. Just another restless night, and yet they would sleep without trouble.

Alex's thoughts were entirely elsewhere in the meantime. It was pretty much the last week of July - it was Tuesday night, 24th of July, to be precise - and his birthday was approaching. But most of their focus constantly was on Luka. Only in such calm moments, they could occupy their minds with different matters.

"Daddy, why are you looking so sad?" Alex flinched lightly at Luka's question, needing some time to realize the little one had been talking with him. "You always look like you remember something bad."

Alex smiled lightly, lifting Luka into his arms. "No worries, I'm alright."

"Really?" Luka didn't look like he was convinced. "You're not lying to me, Daddy, are you?"

"No, I would never lie to you." Alex stopped as they arrived at the door of the apartment, cradling Luka lightly. "Don't worry, Luka. I'm alright."

"Okay. I believe you, Daddy." Luka had put on a broad smile, which almost made Alex's heart ache. Why did the little one always have to make his bad conscience stir? "And don't stay awake so long again. I wanted to go to the pool with you!"

Now, Alex couldn't help but to laugh lightly. "Is that your only worry?" he teased, ruffling through Luka's hair until the blond boy was protesting. "We still have a whole week!"

"You promised to go to the pool with me since the first day we were here! And you always overslept!"

"Alright, fine, you won."

Alex carried Luka on his shoulder, while Kevin had the hardest time to even move. It was just too funny to see the two quarreling like that - even more when Luka insisted on something and Alex tried to talk his way out of it. It never would work out for Alex, and as often as the raven-head was reminded of that, he would still make the same mistake over and over again.

"Alright, bed time for little birds." Kevin leaned up to kiss Luka's cheek, snickering about how the boy was rubbing his eyes and yawning softly. "If you want to go swimming tomorrow, you need to be fit."

"Okay..." Luka curled up against Alex's chest, still struggling to not fall asleep quite yet. "Good night, Papa. Good night, Daddy."

"Good night, Luka." Alex carried the boy into his room, and even before he had laid Luka down on top of his bed, the blond boy had fallen fast asleep.

-*-*-*-

"Alex, why are you so distracted?"

Alex just had dragged Luka out of the water, as the boy already was shuddering from being too cold, just to be reminded of his constantly all too obvious state. While rubbing Luka dry, he tried to think of a sensible answer.

"I just have a lot on my mind lately." Alex ruffled through Luka's hair, then wrapped him tightly into a warm towel. "Nothing serious, though."

"Ah yes." Kevin didn't believe one word, it was clear by how he looked at Alex. "Ever thought that you might be giving away more than you would like with your behavior?"

Alex bit on his lower lip, just to snatch one of the keys to their apartment and vanish in the house. He needed to cool down for a moment, and that wouldn't work out with jumping into the pool for a change. No, he needed a cigarette now. Even if it was unhealthy and what-not. He didn't care for the moment.

The moment Alex was away enough, Luka and Kevin began to whisper amongst themselves. In two days, it would be Alex's birthday, so they had to be fast. And abuse any opportunity to plan out.

"Any ideas for presents, Luka?"

"I think Daddy should have a relaxed evening..." Luka chewed on his lower lip, looking all focused. It somehow wasn't quite fitting for a seven year old, but then again, it was oddly cute. "And he needs a new jacket. His old one is close to falling apart."

"That's true." Kevin thoughtfully ruffled through Luka's hair, until the boy was squirmign around and repaying the gesture. "H-Hey!"

They ended up toppling over and laughing about each other, only slowly able to peel themselves off the ground again. "Alright, alright, I stop it now."

"You're mean, Papa." Luka was still grinning broadly, but then moved to hug Kevin. "But I still love you."

"Aww..." Kevin kissed Luka's forehead, then glanced up as he saw Alex returning. The raven-head looked a lot more relaxed. "And now it's time for Daddy to go swimming again."

"W-What?!"

Too late. Kevin had shoved Alex right into the pool, and Alex spat out a load of water as he resurfaced. Luka laughed that hard he fell over once more and had to be picked up by Kevin. "Heh, Papa, you're really mean today!"

"Then you should help me!" Alex had snatched Kevin's wrists and was struggling to get him into the pool, too. And with a shove from Luka's side, Kevin yelped and landed in the water, right next to Alex.

"Good, now we are both wet. Fine fine." Kevin shook out his hair, then grinned at the look Alex was having on his face. "Oh Luka~"

"Nooooo!" The boy was squeaking in laughter, struggling to get out of reach. Too late, Alex and Kevin both had grabbed him. "I don't want to!"

They gave him just a bit more free room, but that was enough already. Luka had already gotten out of their grips and was poking his tongue out at his 'Daddy' and his 'Papa'. He curled up on the sun lounger, warming up for a while. Then, as Kevin and Alex just had started a little fight in the water, he peeled out of the warm towels and came over to the pool again, just sitting at the rim and holding his legs into the water.

Alex and Kevin were more occupied with each other for the moment, and it made Luka smile to see them like this. He had been hoping that they would have some time for themselves, as they usually were this occupied with keeping him safe. He did sometimes feel like he was a bit of a liability, an obstacle for them. But like this, when they were laughing together, it was all fine.

"Want to come into the water, Luka?"

Luka shook his head at Kevin's question, chuckling as Alex immediately was close to Kevin once more and was teasing the other male. He was entirely happy with just moving his legs around a little, sometimes glancing over to the other two males, how they were diving and teasing each other. He would have loved to do that, too, but his leg wouldn't allow him to.

At some point, Kevin grabbed Luka and pulled him into the water, which caused the boy to squeak in surprise. Luka clung to Kevin, glaring lightly at him, but not able to keep up the expression for a long time. No reason to get mad at his Papa, after all.

Alex was chasing them all around the pool, which Luka found hilarious. Now and then, he was diving for a short time, and generally having this much fun he completely forgot about the time. And by the time Kevin fished him out of the water, he once more had cooled out noticably. Shuddering and with chattering teeth, he was carried back into the apartment, where he was dried off and taken care of.

The heat of midday was weighing down on the city, getting them all to slow down and just hang in their chairs lazily. Luka was napping in his room, while Kevin and Alex took the opportunity for some couple time.

"Care to tell me why you're always this sad?" Kevin was stroking along Alex's cheek, but quite predictably didn't receive any respnse. "You can tell me, Alex..."

"I know, Kev, but it really isn't a big issue."

"Liar, it's really getting to you."

Alex bit on his lower lip. Of course, the other two had noticed his constantly distracted look. He had still told himself that he had kept it under control pretty well. Apparently, he had fooled himself into believing a lie.

"Alex, please, tell me what's the matter. Luka is really worried about you, and so am I. It's not like you to be this far away with your thoughts."

Alex really would have loved to tell Kevin, but he didn't want to sound like a jerk. And by this point, he was sure that if he gave a reply, it would turn out snappy. So he just sat there, wondering what to do to make it any more bearable. The tension between them had been rising for a whole while...

"I'm having a difficult time to understand you, Alex." Kevin had pulled the raven-head into a close embrace, leaning his head against the other's shoulder. "You seem so different lately."

"It's nothing, really." He couldn't say that he felt envious all the time Kevin was focused on Luka. It simply was ridiculous. "Let's forget about it."

"I can't." Kevin gave Alex a mildly annoyed look. "I can't forget about you. You mean everything to me."

-*-*-*-

The tension subsided, bit by bit, over the next day. Luka played a big part in that subsiding. Kevin and Alex had surprisingly much time for themselves, as the boy was more occupied with the friends he had made during his vacation. They had accepted him right away, and to watch them was really cute.

Alex was just occupied with bothering Kevin a little, with biting along his neck and suckling on the skin. It didn't help that Kevin hit the other lightly, and it got to the point where they were wrestling lightly to gain the upper hand. Luka caught that sight, and of course, the children began laughing like mad.

"Would you stop it already?" Kevin had blushed to a ridiculously deep degree, glaring at Alex with what could have been described as the will to murder for that. "It's not like we are all alone!"

"And it's not like anyone would be bothered by it, eh?" Alex merely kept up the rather hard nipping, until Kevin was squirming hard enough to attract everyone's attention. "Or are you startening to stiffen up?"

"Alex, for the last time, stop it!" Kevin hit the raven-head against the chest, glaring at him. "It's enough."

"Aww, you're no fun. It would be so very entertaining if we gave them a good show."

"In front of the children? Are you the Hell out of your mind?!"

Only then, Alex seemed to find out of his strange mood, and with a mildly embarrassed expression leaned back. But at least, Kevin was fast to forgive him for this time, and soon enough, they were leaning aganst each other.

"You're a weirdo lately." Kevin sighed, petting along Alex's stomach. "Sure that everything's okay?"

"Yes, I'm sure." Alex was all relaxed again, even if he didn't feel like he was relaxed. "I'm perfectly fine."

"Good." Kevin smiled against Alex's nape, nipping very lightly on the skin. Just a little payback for the former teasing, and for everything that had come with it. Kevin didn't intend to make it any worse like Alex had.

Luka, meanwhile, had come back over to them. "Daddy, can you go into the pool with me? They want to go into the deep water, but I can't swim like them..."

"Alright." Alex got up, in the same movement pressing Kevin back lightly to make the blond male remain lying. "Daddy got this."

Kevin snickered to himself as he watched how Alex handled Luka and his four friends, and at how much fun they had with the older male. Luka was genuinely happy, and Alex seemed to have gotten over his strange sad mood from the last few days.

Still, the blond male chewed on his lower lip, smirking to himself. Tomorrow was the big day - and he assumed that Alex thought they had forgotten about it. But, hey, how could they possibly have forgotten about Alex's birthday? Sometimes, he really wondered what the raven-head was thinking about him...

So, for tomorrow, Luka would stay with his friends. Kevin had asked the family, and they had agreed they would take care of Luka for a little. Truly nice ones, to take care of a stranger. But he assumed they understood how important it seemed for Luka that 'Daddy' and 'Papa' had some alone time for Alex's birthday.

It had been quite the year for them up to now. How long had it even been since they had spent a day all by themselves? Ever since they had started taking care of Luka, there hadn't been much free time. Adding to that, there was the constant worry some creep might abduct Luka for what obscure reasons ever.

For now, they could relax and sit back. They still had one and a half weeks of vacation, the weather was stable - there wasn't much that could go wrong. But Kevin almost didn't dare to think about this one blasted phrase ("What could possibly go wrong now?"), as there always was something which could go the really horrible way.

The boys kept Luka busy for two hours flat, and by that time, they all were exhausted. One by one, they returned to their parents, and by the time Kevin took over Luka, he once more had fallen asleep.

"He does sleep a lot lately." Alex began rubbing himself dry, glad that he finally had gotten that over with. "I guess it's because he's still recovering."

Kevin nodded absent-mindedly, stroking along Luka's cheek. "We probably are worried too much, that's all."

"Better worrying a little too much than too little." Alex rubbed the wet towel over Kevin's face, getting the blond male to protest at this sillyness. "And you should loosen up."

"Says the one usually being stiff as Hell." Kevin dead-panned, making Alex blush to his ears. "Well, that would settle that."

Alex huffed, but didn't counter anything. He didn't have a witty answer for the moment, which kind of pissed him off. He couldn't be really mad, though. Not with the strange smile on Kevin's face. And that hadn't got anything to do with just Luka being curled up in his arms. He knew that kind of smile.

"You are happy about something. Have you got a new secret to tease me with?"

"Not that I would know." Kevin grinned now, poking his tongue out at Alex. "But okay, if you think like that, all fine."

-*-*-*-

"Ready for the night?"

Alex nodded lightly, though didn't look all convinced. He was worried about Luka, fine, but then again, he was really looking forward to a night with Kevin - all for themselves. "I'm ready."

Kevin pulled the raven-head with him, grinning from one ear to the other. Now, it should be all fine for them this evening. Luka was in good hands, the night belonged to them, and the city was just bustlingwith all sorts of fun things to do.

Soon enough, they had found a rather good restaurant, not needing to care about anything else but each other. It was a relief after the long time of working without pause. Alex had figured out in the morning that Kevin and Luka had remembered his birthday, and had been accordingly embarrassed he would think they had forgotten about him.

"So, why did you think we forgot about you?"

"I don't know, really. I guess it was because we have invested almost all of our time into Luka, and barely got to do anything on our own."

"Ah, that." Kevin smiled, leaning over the table to press a teasing kiss to Alex's cheek. "You're worrying too much again."

"I'm not worrying too much. I'm merely keeping everything in mind."

"I still say you're just too worried. That's no life, Alex. You should keep the good things in mind, and not the bad."

"I know. It's just kind of hard, with seeing all this weird shit around."

Kevin nodded faintly, then ruffled through Alex's hair until the raven-head protested. "Now cheer up already. It's your birthday, your night, and we have all the time we need."

"Yeah, that we have." Alex smiled, and finally, the unease fell off him. "And I'm looking forward to every last bit of this evening."

Description
Even if a little belated: Happy Birthday to you, my dear muse! And to your character Alex, too, of course~ <3

Here, a little story I have been rolling around in my mind for some time now. I hope it has enough squee for a humble little gift!

OC one-shot
Characters: Little Luka, Alex and Kevin
Contents: Well, duh. Happy Birthday! - and lots of squees.

-*-*-*-

"Careful, Luka, you're close to falling down."

The small boy glanced back at Kevin briefly, grinning and carefully balancing on the low wall. Despite the rather strong scars, Luka had insisted on trying to do it like the other children. And surprisingly, he seemed to have little trouble with keeping himself perfectly balanced.

Alex was walking down in the sand, watching how the blond boy slowly inched along the concrete wall. Kevin had chosen to stroll on the sidewalk, having taken over the bird plushie Luka usually was clutching tightly to his chest. Whenever something got into their way, Alex climbed back over the wall, in the course snatching Luka and ruffling the squirming and laughing boy.

Over the course of the past months, Luka's voice had returned. They had no explanation if it was because of some healing process, or how it was possible in the first place, but either way, it made everything a lot easier. As he now clung to Alex, still chuckling, he called Alex a 'little silly'. Which immediately was countered with a tickling, until Luka had the hiccups from laughing so much.

As soon as they had enough room again, Luka was back up on the wall, this time having grasped Alex's hand. Kevin chuckled about the grimaces Alex made, as if it was so very horrible to have to watch out. Luka noticed them after a while, and he fell against Alex with the new laughing fit. Alex had been unprepared for that, and ended up falling over into the sand.

"Everything alright there?" Kevin had the hardest time to even talk normally. Alex had landed back down in the sand, Luka right on top of him, and apparently the raven-head had still gotten a nice mouthful of beach. "Oh dear, someone gave the beach a kiss. Come on, Luka, get off him."

Luka slowly got up, looking worried beyond words. "Is everything alright, Daddy?"

Alex spat out the sand, grimacing once more, before he snatched the squeaking boy. "Sure, everything's alright!" Had to be, since he was tickling Luka like he wanted to make the boy die from a laughing fit.

Even so, Kevin bought them something to drink, and soon enough, they were sitting on the beach, close to the still dark patches of sand. The low tide almost had reached its deepest point, leaving behind tang and a damned lot of shells. Luka, with his bird tucked under his left arm, was close to the water, picking up some shells and cleaning them in the soft waves, before he chose the ones he would put into a little bucket.

Alex exhaled some smoke, digging his toes into the sand. The sun was pretty low already, the sea calm and the waves barely licking at the shore. Kevin had laid back, smiling and his eyes closed. As Luka had collected enough, he returned to them, seeming to be unhappy about something. And soon enough, Alex knew what was the trouble.

Luka's beloved plushie was soaking wet. It had fallen into the water as he had seen an especially beautiful shell, and now it was covered in sand and tang alike. Handing Kevin the small plastic bucket, Alex snatched Luka up with a grin and went to clean the bird plushie with him.

Only as the bird was cleaned from the dirt, though still soaking with fresh water, Luka was all calm again. But he also was tired, and was resting his head against Alex's shoulder. Even if Luka was walking without too much trouble, he was tiring faster than other children, and it once more showed.

Kevin chuckled as Alex returned with a half asleep Luka clinging to him. "Daddy took good care of you, right?"

Luka nodded, drowsy and seeming to be close to dozing off. "I want to go home..." he muttered, coughing lightly and shuddering. "I want to sleep."

"Sure you want to." Alex held Luka a little higher, nuzzling his nose against the boy's. "But we will have to walk quite a bit."

Luka had been walking with them, without complaint, from one end of the beach promenade to the other. Of course, he was tired now, since it wasn't a too short distance.

By the time they had walked back about half of the way, Luka was fast asleep against Alex's back. Kevin snickered about the sweet image, teasing Alex about it until the raven-head was looking like he would have loved to strangle Kevin for that.

About five minutes before they returned to their apartment, Luka woke up from his nap. He yawned softly, then began to squirm lightly. He wanted to walk the rest of the way, it seemed.

With 'Daddy' Alex on his left side and 'Papa' Kevin on the right, he was entirely happy and relaxed. Cicadas were buzzing, two or three owls hooting in the pine trees above, and from the city, the noise of countless people and cars came. Just another restless night, and yet they would sleep without trouble.

Alex's thoughts were entirely elsewhere in the meantime. It was pretty much the last week of July - it was Tuesday night, 24th of July, to be precise - and his birthday was approaching. But most of their focus constantly was on Luka. Only in such calm moments, they could occupy their minds with different matters.

"Daddy, why are you looking so sad?" Alex flinched lightly at Luka's question, needing some time to realize the little one had been talking with him. "You always look like you remember something bad."

Alex smiled lightly, lifting Luka into his arms. "No worries, I'm alright."

"Really?" Luka didn't look like he was convinced. "You're not lying to me, Daddy, are you?"

"No, I would never lie to you." Alex stopped as they arrived at the door of the apartment, cradling Luka lightly. "Don't worry, Luka. I'm alright."

"Okay. I believe you, Daddy." Luka had put on a broad smile, which almost made Alex's heart ache. Why did the little one always have to make his bad conscience stir? "And don't stay awake so long again. I wanted to go to the pool with you!"

Now, Alex couldn't help but to laugh lightly. "Is that your only worry?" he teased, ruffling through Luka's hair until the blond boy was protesting. "We still have a whole week!"

"You promised to go to the pool with me since the first day we were here! And you always overslept!"

"Alright, fine, you won."

Alex carried Luka on his shoulder, while Kevin had the hardest time to even move. It was just too funny to see the two quarreling like that - even more when Luka insisted on something and Alex tried to talk his way out of it. It never would work out for Alex, and as often as the raven-head was reminded of that, he would still make the same mistake over and over again.

"Alright, bed time for little birds." Kevin leaned up to kiss Luka's cheek, snickering about how the boy was rubbing his eyes and yawning softly. "If you want to go swimming tomorrow, you need to be fit."

"Okay..." Luka curled up against Alex's chest, still struggling to not fall asleep quite yet. "Good night, Papa. Good night, Daddy."

"Good night, Luka." Alex carried the boy into his room, and even before he had laid Luka down on top of his bed, the blond boy had fallen fast asleep.

-*-*-*-

"Alex, why are you so distracted?"

Alex just had dragged Luka out of the water, as the boy already was shuddering from being too cold, just to be reminded of his constantly all too obvious state. While rubbing Luka dry, he tried to think of a sensible answer.

"I just have a lot on my mind lately." Alex ruffled through Luka's hair, then wrapped him tightly into a warm towel. "Nothing serious, though."

"Ah yes." Kevin didn't believe one word, it was clear by how he looked at Alex. "Ever thought that you might be giving away more than you would like with your behavior?"

Alex bit on his lower lip, just to snatch one of the keys to their apartment and vanish in the house. He needed to cool down for a moment, and that wouldn't work out with jumping into the pool for a change. No, he needed a cigarette now. Even if it was unhealthy and what-not. He didn't care for the moment.

The moment Alex was away enough, Luka and Kevin began to whisper amongst themselves. In two days, it would be Alex's birthday, so they had to be fast. And abuse any opportunity to plan out.

"Any ideas for presents, Luka?"

"I think Daddy should have a relaxed evening..." Luka chewed on his lower lip, looking all focused. It somehow wasn't quite fitting for a seven year old, but then again, it was oddly cute. "And he needs a new jacket. His old one is close to falling apart."

"That's true." Kevin thoughtfully ruffled through Luka's hair, until the boy was squirmign around and repaying the gesture. "H-Hey!"

They ended up toppling over and laughing about each other, only slowly able to peel themselves off the ground again. "Alright, alright, I stop it now."

"You're mean, Papa." Luka was still grinning broadly, but then moved to hug Kevin. "But I still love you."

"Aww..." Kevin kissed Luka's forehead, then glanced up as he saw Alex returning. The raven-head looked a lot more relaxed. "And now it's time for Daddy to go swimming again."

"W-What?!"

Too late. Kevin had shoved Alex right into the pool, and Alex spat out a load of water as he resurfaced. Luka laughed that hard he fell over once more and had to be picked up by Kevin. "Heh, Papa, you're really mean today!"

"Then you should help me!" Alex had snatched Kevin's wrists and was struggling to get him into the pool, too. And with a shove from Luka's side, Kevin yelped and landed in the water, right next to Alex.

"Good, now we are both wet. Fine fine." Kevin shook out his hair, then grinned at the look Alex was having on his face. "Oh Luka~"

"Nooooo!" The boy was squeaking in laughter, struggling to get out of reach. Too late, Alex and Kevin both had grabbed him. "I don't want to!"

They gave him just a bit more free room, but that was enough already. Luka had already gotten out of their grips and was poking his tongue out at his 'Daddy' and his 'Papa'. He curled up on the sun lounger, warming up for a while. Then, as Kevin and Alex just had started a little fight in the water, he peeled out of the warm towels and came over to the pool again, just sitting at the rim and holding his legs into the water.

Alex and Kevin were more occupied with each other for the moment, and it made Luka smile to see them like this. He had been hoping that they would have some time for themselves, as they usually were this occupied with keeping him safe. He did sometimes feel like he was a bit of a liability, an obstacle for them. But like this, when they were laughing together, it was all fine.

"Want to come into the water, Luka?"

Luka shook his head at Kevin's question, chuckling as Alex immediately was close to Kevin once more and was teasing the other male. He was entirely happy with just moving his legs around a little, sometimes glancing over to the other two males, how they were diving and teasing each other. He would have loved to do that, too, but his leg wouldn't allow him to.

At some point, Kevin grabbed Luka and pulled him into the water, which caused the boy to squeak in surprise. Luka clung to Kevin, glaring lightly at him, but not able to keep up the expression for a long time. No reason to get mad at his Papa, after all.

Alex was chasing them all around the pool, which Luka found hilarious. Now and then, he was diving for a short time, and generally having this much fun he completely forgot about the time. And by the time Kevin fished him out of the water, he once more had cooled out noticably. Shuddering and with chattering teeth, he was carried back into the apartment, where he was dried off and taken care of.

The heat of midday was weighing down on the city, getting them all to slow down and just hang in their chairs lazily. Luka was napping in his room, while Kevin and Alex took the opportunity for some couple time.

"Care to tell me why you're always this sad?" Kevin was stroking along Alex's cheek, but quite predictably didn't receive any respnse. "You can tell me, Alex..."

"I know, Kev, but it really isn't a big issue."

"Liar, it's really getting to you."

Alex bit on his lower lip. Of course, the other two had noticed his constantly distracted look. He had still told himself that he had kept it under control pretty well. Apparently, he had fooled himself into believing a lie.

"Alex, please, tell me what's the matter. Luka is really worried about you, and so am I. It's not like you to be this far away with your thoughts."

Alex really would have loved to tell Kevin, but he didn't want to sound like a jerk. And by this point, he was sure that if he gave a reply, it would turn out snappy. So he just sat there, wondering what to do to make it any more bearable. The tension between them had been rising for a whole while...

"I'm having a difficult time to understand you, Alex." Kevin had pulled the raven-head into a close embrace, leaning his head against the other's shoulder. "You seem so different lately."

"It's nothing, really." He couldn't say that he felt envious all the time Kevin was focused on Luka. It simply was ridiculous. "Let's forget about it."

"I can't." Kevin gave Alex a mildly annoyed look. "I can't forget about you. You mean everything to me."

-*-*-*-

The tension subsided, bit by bit, over the next day. Luka played a big part in that subsiding. Kevin and Alex had surprisingly much time for themselves, as the boy was more occupied with the friends he had made during his vacation. They had accepted him right away, and to watch them was really cute.

Alex was just occupied with bothering Kevin a little, with biting along his neck and suckling on the skin. It didn't help that Kevin hit the other lightly, and it got to the point where they were wrestling lightly to gain the upper hand. Luka caught that sight, and of course, the children began laughing like mad.

"Would you stop it already?" Kevin had blushed to a ridiculously deep degree, glaring at Alex with what could have been described as the will to murder for that. "It's not like we are all alone!"

"And it's not like anyone would be bothered by it, eh?" Alex merely kept up the rather hard nipping, until Kevin was squirming hard enough to attract everyone's attention. "Or are you startening to stiffen up?"

"Alex, for the last time, stop it!" Kevin hit the raven-head against the chest, glaring at him. "It's enough."

"Aww, you're no fun. It would be so very entertaining if we gave them a good show."

"In front of the children? Are you the Hell out of your mind?!"

Only then, Alex seemed to find out of his strange mood, and with a mildly embarrassed expression leaned back. But at least, Kevin was fast to forgive him for this time, and soon enough, they were leaning aganst each other.

"You're a weirdo lately." Kevin sighed, petting along Alex's stomach. "Sure that everything's okay?"

"Yes, I'm sure." Alex was all relaxed again, even if he didn't feel like he was relaxed. "I'm perfectly fine."

"Good." Kevin smiled against Alex's nape, nipping very lightly on the skin. Just a little payback for the former teasing, and for everything that had come with it. Kevin didn't intend to make it any worse like Alex had.

Luka, meanwhile, had come back over to them. "Daddy, can you go into the pool with me? They want to go into the deep water, but I can't swim like them..."

"Alright." Alex got up, in the same movement pressing Kevin back lightly to make the blond male remain lying. "Daddy got this."

Kevin snickered to himself as he watched how Alex handled Luka and his four friends, and at how much fun they had with the older male. Luka was genuinely happy, and Alex seemed to have gotten over his strange sad mood from the last few days.

Still, the blond male chewed on his lower lip, smirking to himself. Tomorrow was the big day - and he assumed that Alex thought they had forgotten about it. But, hey, how could they possibly have forgotten about Alex's birthday? Sometimes, he really wondered what the raven-head was thinking about him...

So, for tomorrow, Luka would stay with his friends. Kevin had asked the family, and they had agreed they would take care of Luka for a little. Truly nice ones, to take care of a stranger. But he assumed they understood how important it seemed for Luka that 'Daddy' and 'Papa' had some alone time for Alex's birthday.

It had been quite the year for them up to now. How long had it even been since they had spent a day all by themselves? Ever since they had started taking care of Luka, there hadn't been much free time. Adding to that, there was the constant worry some creep might abduct Luka for what obscure reasons ever.

For now, they could relax and sit back. They still had one and a half weeks of vacation, the weather was stable - there wasn't much that could go wrong. But Kevin almost didn't dare to think about this one blasted phrase ("What could possibly go wrong now?"), as there always was something which could go the really horrible way.

The boys kept Luka busy for two hours flat, and by that time, they all were exhausted. One by one, they returned to their parents, and by the time Kevin took over Luka, he once more had fallen asleep.

"He does sleep a lot lately." Alex began rubbing himself dry, glad that he finally had gotten that over with. "I guess it's because he's still recovering."

Kevin nodded absent-mindedly, stroking along Luka's cheek. "We probably are worried too much, that's all."

"Better worrying a little too much than too little." Alex rubbed the wet towel over Kevin's face, getting the blond male to protest at this sillyness. "And you should loosen up."

"Says the one usually being stiff as Hell." Kevin dead-panned, making Alex blush to his ears. "Well, that would settle that."

Alex huffed, but didn't counter anything. He didn't have a witty answer for the moment, which kind of pissed him off. He couldn't be really mad, though. Not with the strange smile on Kevin's face. And that hadn't got anything to do with just Luka being curled up in his arms. He knew that kind of smile.

"You are happy about something. Have you got a new secret to tease me with?"

"Not that I would know." Kevin grinned now, poking his tongue out at Alex. "But okay, if you think like that, all fine."

-*-*-*-

"Ready for the night?"

Alex nodded lightly, though didn't look all convinced. He was worried about Luka, fine, but then again, he was really looking forward to a night with Kevin - all for themselves. "I'm ready."

Kevin pulled the raven-head with him, grinning from one ear to the other. Now, it should be all fine for them this evening. Luka was in good hands, the night belonged to them, and the city was just bustlingwith all sorts of fun things to do.

Soon enough, they had found a rather good restaurant, not needing to care about anything else but each other. It was a relief after the long time of working without pause. Alex had figured out in the morning that Kevin and Luka had remembered his birthday, and had been accordingly embarrassed he would think they had forgotten about him.

"So, why did you think we forgot about you?"

"I don't know, really. I guess it was because we have invested almost all of our time into Luka, and barely got to do anything on our own."

"Ah, that." Kevin smiled, leaning over the table to press a teasing kiss to Alex's cheek. "You're worrying too much again."

"I'm not worrying too much. I'm merely keeping everything in mind."

"I still say you're just too worried. That's no life, Alex. You should keep the good things in mind, and not the bad."

"I know. It's just kind of hard, with seeing all this weird shit around."

Kevin nodded faintly, then ruffled through Alex's hair until the raven-head protested. "Now cheer up already. It's your birthday, your night, and we have all the time we need."

"Yeah, that we have." Alex smiled, and finally, the unease fell off him. "And I'm looking forward to every last bit of this evening."