Dress Up

"Look, I'm Jack!"

The two adults immediately looked up from their cyber chess game, only to stare in wonder at the little boy standing in the doorway. He had managed to get into the Greytrexian's dresser, and had pulled out his favorite purple robe. Of course, being unable to properly zip it up, the fabric hung open in the front, and one of the sleeves was falling down his shoulder.

"Gary," John tried to sold, but Jack only shook his head at him.

"Come here, and I'll zip it up for you," the little man insisted. Once he'd fixed up the outfit, he stepped back to survey his handiwork.

"Don't you make an adorable Greytrexian," Jaxx said, giving the boy a broad smile. "You are still wearing underwear, aren't you?"

"Yep!"

"Good. It's always best to wear underwear," Jaxx told him. "You know, I think blue might be a better color for you. What do you think, John?"

"Hmmm… I do think purple looks better on you," the captain agreed, looking directly at the Greytrexian when he said it. He turned back to look over his son, clearly missing the blush that spread across Jaxx's face. "Blue or green would go better with your blonde hair, Gary."

"Why don't we go see if I have a smaller robe in my dresser. This one is too big for you," Jaxx suggested, trying to hide his pink cheeks as he led the boy out of the room.

Her

"Gary, I have a gift for you," Jaxx said, after coming back from his latest mission.

"Jack, you're back!" The little blonde raced to greet him, throwing his arms around the pilot in excitement.

"My, what a warm welcome," the Greytrexian laughed, hugging his practically-adopted son back.

"What did you bring me?" the boy asked, his blue eyes sparkling with curiosity.

"Why don't you open it and see," Jaxx suggested, handing the boy the gift bag.

Gary reached in, pulling out a nicely folded blue robe. "It's beautiful." The boy's eyes suddenly widened as he remembered his important news. "Daddy has a lady friend over, but I like YOU better."

"Oh… thank you, Gary," Jaxx said, patting the boy on the back.

"I'm going to go try this on right now!" Gary yelled, racing upstairs to his bedroom.

"Jack, is that you? We're on the patio!" John called from the back yard.

"I'll be right out," Jaxx answered, setting his bags by the foot of the stairs. He took a moment to steel himself, but he could feel his stomach churning. This was the first time John had brought a woman home. It might finally be time to let his soulmate move on.

"Jack, you're back from your mission early," John said, smiling from ear to ear. He and the red haired woman next to him stood up from the patio table. "This is my girlfriend, Vanessa."

"It's nice to meet you," Jaxx said, shaking her hand.

"John's told me all about you. In fact, he won't stop talking about you," the woman said, throwing the captain an amused look.

"Sorry, I do talk about you and Gary a lot," John admitted bashfully.

"It's fine," Jaxx assured him. John's new love interest seemed… nice.

"Up until this point, I wondered if there was something more than just friendship between you," Vanessa commented offhand, causing Jaxx to gawk at her. "But now I can see that there obviously isn't."

"I'm sorry?" Jaxx wasn't quite sure if he had heard her correctly.

"Well, look at you. Oh, I'm sorry. You're probably very attractive to other members of your species," the woman insisted.

"Thanks…" Jaxx resisted the urge to grind his teeth. This meeting was not going well.

"John mentioned that you were in the Infinity Guard. What do you do again? Janitor?" the woman asked.

"I'm a pilot."

"He's a pilot."

"Oh, yes. You did mention that, John. I'm sure he's a very good pilot for someone his… size," Vanessa said, reclaiming her seat.

"One of the best in the fleet," John said, clearly missing her rather judgmental statement.

"Of course," the woman replied, clearly humoring him.

Thankfully, they were interrupted by the pitter patter of little feet as Gary rushed onto the patio. He'd changed out of his t-shirt and shorts, and was now wearing the blue robe — although it wasn't properly done up. Youngling clothing always required a little parental aid.

"And who is this fancy young man?" John asked, walking over to crouch next to his son.

"It's me, daddy! Jack brought me my own robe." Gary twirled, showing off the fancy blue fabric.

The captain laughed at the boy's enthusiasm. "It looks very handsome on you. Here, let me help zip it up. Or does it button up…"

"I can't believe you're encouraging that lifestyle. What if he turns out gay because you keep making him wear dresses?" Vanessa stated abruptly, her green eyes narrowed on Jaxx.

"One, it isn't a dress, it's a robe. Everyone wears robes on Greytrexia. Two, I didn't MAKE him wear it. Three, there's nothing wrong with liking the same gender. I would love him no matter who he fell in love with," Jaxx informed her.

"Well, when John and I get married, Harry will finally have the mother he needs. And he won't be allowed to wear dresses or hang around with strange little men like you," the woman answered in a snooty tone.

"His name is Gary," Jaxx found himself hissing back, his golden eyes narrowed up at her. There was absolutely no way in hell he was going to allow a woman like her to be the mother of his… John's son.

"Everything alright over here?" John asked, striding over to them with Gary in his arms. The little boy was clearly uncertain, his eyes flicking back and forth between the woman and his other caretaker.

"Everything is fine, John," Jaxx insisted, pasting a smile on his face. "Gary and I are going to go down to the ice cream shop." John was quick to place his son on the ground, and the boy ran to the alien's side to grab his hand.

"We haven't even eaten dinner yet," John commented. "I have steaks for the grill, and…"

"There are days when dessert should come first. You two should stay here and get better acquainted. Come along, Gary," Jaxx said, lightly tugging the boy into the house.

"Are we really going to get ice cream, Jack?"

"That we are. I need time away from that woman, and I'm not allowing you to be subjected to her hateful words," Jaxx snarled under his breath.

"I can't believe you're letting your boy walk around in public like that," Vanessa snarked, her arms crossing over her chest in annoyance.

"Like what?" John raised a brow at his girlfriend.

"It's obvious, John. He's wearing a dress. The poor boy is going to grow up thinking that crossdressing is normal. And he'll probably wind up gay," the woman announced. "It's that roommate of yours. I don't approve of your relationship with him. You probably only took him in out of the goodness of your heart, despite how bad of an influence he is on your son. Although, you can't really expect those kind of people to understand how things work on Earth."

Well now, this explained the anger he'd seen on Jack's face from across the patio. Despite dating for several months, this was clearly a side of Vanessa that he had not been aware of until that moment. A side that he really did not like.

"My roommate is a kind-hearted man who doesn't deserve to be treated this way. I think YOU should leave. It's clear that you would not be a good influence on any member of my family," John told her, waving toward the door.

"Well, I never!"

By the time Jaxx and Gary returned to the house, along with a pint of mint chocolate ice cream for John, the little Greytrexian had calmed down significantly. He could only hope that the woman had managed to stick her own foot in her mouth, but sometimes John managed to be especially oblivious. For Gary's sake, he'd have to say something — even if it meant jeopardizing his relationship with the captain.

"Welcome back! I already have the steaks on the grill, and plenty of vegetables to go with them," John announced enthusiastically as they stepped onto the patio.

"I had chocolate ice cream!" Gary yelled.

Golden eyes glanced around the yard, unable to find the initial source of his ire. "Where's your lady friend?" Jaxx asked, as casually as he was able to.

"She had to leave," the captain said, shrugging his shoulders.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Jaxx lied.

"No, you're not," John suddenly stated, his dark eyes meeting Jaxx's golden gaze with an intenseness that made the Greytrexian freeze in his spot. "But I'm glad she's gone, too. Between you and me, she wasn't going to be a good influence on Gary."

Jaxx managed a sympathetic smile, but inwardly he chuckled at the woman's departure. Someone like her had no right to try to take his place in their family. He wouldn't accept anyone who didn't adore both John and Gary for who they were — like he did.