Hey there guys!
So, if you follow me on tumblr, you know that I have mad love for crossdresser!Alfred. :) So this was a fic I wrote awhile back for the Back to School Event on the Russiamerica livejournal community, which involves crossdresser!Alfred and Ivan raising a kid together. So this is the story of the first day of school for our little family :)
Enjoy!
Ivan thought it some kind of destiny when they were given the chance to adopt the wide, blue eyes bundle whose name just happened to be Alfred. Alfred—the other Alfred, Ivan's husband—didn't think it as fated at first, and admittedly whined quite a bit at the confusion it would cause. And yet the moment he saw the tiny baby and held him in his arms—Alfred knew that he never wanted to let go. He knew that this Alfred—this other Alfred—was certainly destined to be a part of their tiny little family.
And so the burgeoning Jones-Braginski family grew by one little golden-haired addition.
Little Alfred was Al—or Alfie, or sweetie, or sugar, or treasure—and Alfred was a host of other names, mostly given to him by Ivan, that he would never let Al hear.
But to little Alfie, Alfred was only one thing—his Daddy. Daddy, because Alfred had insisted that he not be known as "Mommy" despite their son's predisposition to do so after learning from a couple of kids at daycare that only "mommies" wore dresses. But when Alfred and Ivan both had to sit down and give their four year old son a "talk," their son seemed to understand. It didn't damper the unconditional, wide-eyed love that the boy had for his parents, as unorthodox as they may be.
And both Ivan and Alfred constantly tried to match that unconditional affection in everything that they did for their son, teaching and helping him along in any way that they could.
Today was the first day of school for their treasure, so both parents were bustling about, trying to make sure everything was as perfect as possible for their son's first day of kindergarten. Alfred had spent the whole morning fussing over his little boy while Ivan had cooked breakfast and got ready for work, making sure his hair was combed right and that his backpack and Superman lunchbox were stuffed with everything that Al could possibly need throughout the day, from cookies to juice boxes to emergency band-aids. Alfred even took the time to write both his and Ivan's numbers—one labeled "Papa" and the other "Daddy" for clarity's sake—on a small yellow Post-It note stuck to Al's crayon box.
Ivan got their son his breakfast as Alfred went to change out of his silk nightgown and pajama shorts, yawning and rubbing his eyes as he let the rumpled clothing fall to the floor. He quickly threw on a rose pink sweatshirt and a pair of dark jeans, debating over his pumps for a moment before sticking to simple black flats. He then bustled through his makeup bag, setting aside the more garish blues and purples before settling on a more subdued brown eyeliner and a dash of mascara and nude lipliner. He mussed his hair into an acceptable shape and sprayed a tiny bit of perfumed product into it before standing back to admire himself in the mirror.
Alfred didn't want to hid himself or who he was just because of some ugly, judgmental old biddies—but for his son's sake, he would tone it down a little.
He strode back into the kitchen, where Al and Ivan were finishing their breakfast, or rather arranging the leftover egg scraps and sausage links into smiley faces or scraggly lumps that Al insisted were superheroes.
As Ivan cleared the plates Alfred looked over his son one more time, making sure he was perfectly armed with all that the first day of school necessitated.
Soon enough all three of them were packed in the car, Alfred choosing to sit in the back with his son while Ivan drove them to the school. Alfred smiled and laughed at his son's excitement as Al babbled on about everything that he was looking forward to doing in school—all the new things he would learn and all the new friends he would meet.
But even as Alfred smiled, there was a touch of sadness that bloomed up in his chest at his son's intense optimism.
Because remembers from his days at school—when he would rather play with his dolls in the sandbox rather than roughhouse with the other boys. He remembers the teasing and the hurt, the way the other children would push him down and call him horrible names.
His treasure wasn't like that, wasn't like him—but still, Alfred worried.
His worry only grew when they arrived at the school, hopping out of the car, he and Ivan both holding one of tiny Al's hands, occasionally lifting him up so he could swing on their arms.
Alfred could feel his stomach twisting harder as they arrived at Alfred's classroom. He could feel the stares, saw the swivel of heads and—hadn't he gotten over this a long time ago? What was happening?
And then it came time for them to say goodbye and let their little precious treasure go into the care of a complete stranger—though Al's teacher did seem normal and nice and didn't bat an eye at his parents as Alfred and Ivan knelt down to give their son a tight hug and a kiss on the forehead.
As Alfred was about to rise to his feet, however, his son pulled on his arms, keeping him down. Alfred cocked his head.
"What is it, sugar? Do you gotta go potty or something'?"
Al pursed his lips and shook his head, before jumping up a bit to hug him again around the neck. Alfred was a bit startled, as their son wasn't normally clingy, but then he heard the little boy whisper into the thick cloth of his hood.
" 'S okay, Daddy. Don' be all scared."
And instantly all the fretful and scared feelings in Alfred's chest lifted, disappearing and making him feel as light as air. Smiling, his eyes a little dampened, he returned the hug, holding his son tight for a moment longer.
"Thank you sweetie."
He pulled away and patted his son on his head, ruffling the bob of blonde hair affectionately.
"It's all right. Daddy's going to be fine, treasure."
And Al smiled wide before trundling off into his classroom, giving both of his parents an exuberant wave before disappearing as the teacher closed the door. Alfred stood up, sniffling a little bit as he rubbed at his eyes. Ivan was immediately at his side, one arm around the man's shoulders, rubbing at his bicep, eyes concerned.
"Is everything all right, sunflower?" He asked as the two of them walked back to the car, Alfred leaning into him as he snuffled a little bit. The blonde man tried to dry his eyes on the cuff of his hood, trying to avoid smearing his makeup as he did so. Nevertheless, he turned his head and met his husband with a smile.
"Yeah. Everything's all right Vanya," Alfred briefly cocked his head over his shoulder, looking back to where the two of them had dropped off their son.
"I think he's gonna be fine."