"No, Kris, it's not okay," Adam stormed around the kitchen pulling opened cabinets, leaving them opened in his wake. "Where the hell are the bowls? Where did you move the bowls?" Adam snapped his husband a look as he sat sipping his coffee calmly at the kitchen table.
"Left of the fridge," Kris answered in monotone, "and you need to calm down, it was going to happen eventually," he looked up at his husband sympathetically.
"No, I refuse to believe it," Adam opened the cabinet left of the fridge to retrieve a bowl for cereal, "she's growing up too fast, can't we wait another year?" Adam whined, pouting staring down at his bowl as if it could give him all his answers.
Kris set his coffee down on the table before walking over and wrapping his arms around his husband from the back and wresting his chin on Adam's shoulder. "She's almost five, baby, no matter how long we prolong it, she will have to start school eventually." Kris rubbed Adam's sides as he held him, attempting to soothe the very protective man.
Adam leaned back into Kris' touch, but still kept his grip on the bowl. "But it seems just like yesterday that she was learning to walk," he sighed, staring down at the white bowl with Winnie the Pooh on the bottom of it. "And now she's going to kindergarten, then high school, then she will leave us and go to college, oh god!" he lifted his right hand to cover his eyes from leaking the emotion of his baby girl someday growing up and leaving.
"Hey, hey, first put the damn bowl down," Kris gently took the bowl from Adam, placed it onto the counter and turned his husband around to face him; he cupped Adam's face in his hands. "She is still a baby, okay?" he said in a calming voice, staring into the blue of his partners eyes. "She is not going to leave anytime soon, we have over a decade until she leaves for college, okay? Baby, don't cry," Kris wiped the tears off the freckled cheeks that had broke loose from Adam's eyes.
"She just," Adam sighed looking down, "I don't want her to forget us when she goes away." Adam wiped his leaking eyes with the back of his wrist, "I know I sound stupid, I just can't help it. My baby girl is growing up, I know I need to except it, but it's hard I—"
"Shh," Kris interrupted, pressing a finger against his husband's lips to silence him. "Adam," he whispered, "everything is going to be fine, our baby girl is smart and she loves you, she could never forget you as much as she wanted to," he smirked taking his finger off Adam's lips to run his hand soothingly through the black tufts of bed head belonging to his husband.
Adam tried to suppress a smile, "I know," he admitted, "thank you." He leaned in to claim his husband's mouth with his own. They both closed their eyes and enjoyed the moment.
"Gross guys," Ryleigh made her appearance in the kitchen plopping herself at the table causing Kris and Adam to part and look over at their four -almost five- year old daughter.
"Good morning, baby girl, did you sleep well?" Kris asked, squeezing his husband's hand briefly as a silent reminder of 'it will be okay' before walking over to the table sitting down to join his daughter.
"Yup!" she squeaked, swinging her legs under the table. She wore her silk pink and purple nightgown with monkeys on it.
"What kind of cereal do you want today, sweetie?" Adam asked picking up the bowl again.
"Lucky Charms, please, Papa!" she gave him a wide smile, showing her missing front tooth.
Adam chuckled at his daughter. She couldn't be more adorable if she tried.
"Anything for my little school girl," Adam opened the cabinet to retrieve Ryleigh's favorite cereal, before meeting his husband's eyes staring at him from the table. Kris smiled weakly and nodded to him. I'm going to be okay.
"So," Kris took a another sip of his coffee before turning to his daughter, her light brown curls framed her young face and chubby little cheeks, "you excited for today, honey?"
"Oh my goodness, Daddy, yes!" she beamed holding out her arms with wide eyes, "I am so so so so excited, like Daddy, you have no idea, yes I am very very excited."
Kris giggled, "I'm glad to hear that," he pat his baby girls arm.
Adam smiled hearing Ryleigh's excitement as he poured the milk into the little Winnie the Pooh bowl on top of the cereal.
After breakfast Adam helped Ryleigh pick out her best outfit for her first day of kindergarten. She wore what would look like a homecoming dress to some, it was sleeveless and silky black, the bottom has lots of netting making it puff out about halfway down her knees, it also had a hot pink ribbon tied in a bow in the back around her waist. She wore black panty hose and teeny shiny black shoes. Adam also curled her hair some more with the iron and put a small and stylist hot pink bow on side.
They were running late so when Adam and Ryleigh finally emerged at the bottom of the stairs, Kris didn't have much time to say anything but, "Oh baby girl, you look beautiful!" before he handed his daughter her new pink backpack and they all had to clamor into the car and head to the elementary school a few miles away.
They walked into the school, both of her daddies holding her hands. They got a few disapproving looks from other parents but they ignored them. Ryleigh was smiling from ear to ear, skipping down the hallways and being swung every few steps by Kris and Adam holding her hands.
Adam was fine until they got up to the door to the classroom and he saw all the other parents saying goodbye to their children. Ryleigh let go of her Daddy and her Papa's hands and ran into the classroom to put her backpack up, where she had been instructed it go during her 'Meet your teacher' meeting the week before.
"I don't know about this," Adam reached out to grasp his husband's hand.
"It's okay, baby, look at how happy she is, she's okay, you can be too," Kris rubbing Adam's gripping clawed hand with the palm of his other hand.
"Daddy! Papa! Oh my goodness, they have so many toys and cool stuff and oh my goodness I am so excited, come look come look!" she ran out of the class to pull her father's by the hand into the classroom.
Kris and Adam looked around and took in the view of the beautiful classroom that their precious baby girl would be learning in.
"I love it!" Kris smiled and squeezed Ryleigh's shoulder lightly, "You're going to have the best time here."
"Yeah, it really is beautiful," Adam smiled down at his daughter trying to keep his eyes from welling with tears.
"I know! I know!" Ryleigh giggled looking up at her Daddy and Papa. "Papa are you crying?"
"What? No," he reached up to wipe his eyes clean with the back of his hand, he didn't want to worry his baby girl.
Ryleigh walked closer to wrap her little arms around Adam's leg, "I love you, Papa, don't cry."
Kris' eyes filled with adoration and he began feeling his own emotions well up watching the scene between his daughter and husband.
Adam's heart tightened and he crouched down to pull Ryleigh into his arms, "Thank you, baby girl." He held her for a good twenty seconds, rubbing her back before he finally let her go. "Now go play, I'll be fine, I promise," Adam sniffed and rubbed his face clean again. Ryleigh leaned in to kiss her Papa's wet cheek, "See you after school Papa," she smiled her adorable missing toothed smiled at him before turning to Kris who crouched to hug her too, "I love you, Daddy, see you later," before she ran away to go make new friends and play with the never ending array of toys that the classroom provided. "You too, sweetie," Kris called after her.
"She'll be okay," Adam reached out to hold his husband's hand in his own. Now it was Adam comforting Kris.
Kris reached up to wipe his own tears away, "I know."