Disclaimer: See initial chapter.
A/N: This is very fluffy, and slightly angsty. I apologize for errors, and extraneous fluff. This was inspired by a prompt from one of my Camp NaNoWriMo cabin mates, Klepto von Umbre, who gifted our cabin with the following prompt: There was a pile of scrap paper. Hopefully this doesn't disappoint...it is imperfect.
There was a pile of scrap paper of different sizes and colors in front of where Danny lay on his stomach in the living room. Danny kicked his legs and sighed as he twirled the marker between his fingers, tongue sticking out between his lips as he tried to think.
He wanted to get this just right, but had no idea where to begin. His Uncle Steve's favorite color was blue, Danny was certain of it, and there was plenty of blue scrap paper in the colorful pile, but there were all different kinds of blue, which was problematic.
Which blue would Uncle Steve like best?
Danny frowned in thought and blew at a stray lock of hair that had fallen in front of his eyes. Frustrated, he pushed himself to his knees and crawled around to the other side of the pile and lay down again, kicking his feet out behind him and resting his chin on his arms crossed in front of him.
Uncle Steve was on a business trip (again, he seemed to go on a lot of them) and his Aunt Deb was watching Danny until Steve came home, which was supposed to be tomorrow.
Danny wanted to make Uncle Steve a welcome home card, but had no idea how to start. He wanted it to be perfect, to show Uncle Steve, whom he'd started to call, dad (at least in his head, and heart), that he'd missed him, and hopefully to get his Uncle Steve to want to stay home instead of go on another business trip.
Steve always came back with a hard, unhappy look on his face. Maybe if he knew just how happy Danny was to see him, Steve would be happier when he came home, and not leave again so soon. He'd gone on two business trips in a row this last time, and Danny'd barely gotten to see him.
'What's the point in having a dad, or an Uncle Steve, if he's never around?' Danny wondered with a sigh.
His stomach twisted unpleasantly with guilt at his thought, and Danny rolled onto his back. He should be thankful, not angry. Kento, his best friend, didn't have a dad, and there were other kids who didn't have dads, but Danny'd had, not just one dad, but had gotten a second one, even if Uncle Steve didn't know it yet.
He had nothing to complain about. Not really. Sure, he'd lost his first dad and missed him terribly almost every single day, but then Steve had found him, and he'd become Danny's other dad. His...after dad.
Danny studied the ceiling. There were cracks, small spidery like things, here and there across it. Some of the cracks even formed shapes, like kitty cat ears and what looked like a dolphin.
Bored, Danny flopped onto his belly and studied the pile of scrap paper with a critical eye, separating the blue pieces from the rest. Stitch was outside, on the lanai, every once in awhile, he let out a shrill, happy bark. Danny was a little sad that the dog was stuck outside, but his aunt had been right, if Stitch had been allowed to stay inside with Danny, all of the paper would be scattered everywhere. Danny giggled when he thought of what would happen if he'd kept Stitch inside with him, but then sobered quickly to the task at hand.
There were five pieces of blue paper, each a different shade and different size; the smallest looked like it had once been part of a larger piece of paper that had been torn into strips and was a light blue, like Uncle Chin's baby's blanket.
The baby hadn't even been born yet, but it had already gotten a blanket and loads of toys and other stuff. It seemed strange to Danny to give so many gifts to someone who hadn't even been born yet. He hoped that the baby, when it was born, appreciated everything it got, especially its mom and dad.
Danny turned the strip of light blue paper over and over in his hand, trying to see it from every possible angle, wondering what he could do with it. It was uneven, and the torn edges were rough. Danny placed it off to the side and studied a scrap of paper that was the color of the sky, bright and pretty. Maybe too pretty for a man like his dad who was tough and brave and hardly smiled, especially after returning from one of his business trips.
Danny cast the bright blue scrap of paper off to the side and studied another piece of paper that was cut in the shape of an almost triangle. It was dark, like the ocean on a cloudy day, and it reminded Danny of his new dad's eyes. Danny placed that paper next to the marker that he'd discarded when he'd switched positions and squinted at the remaining scraps of blue paper, weighing the merits of each in his mind before placing a navy blue piece of paper on top of the almost triangle blue paper, and the final piece of paper, the color of a pair of faded blue jeans on top of that.
Having chosen the blue papers he would use to make his welcome home card, Danny gathered the papers, and the marker, and made his way over to the coffee table which had been pushed off to the side. There was a layer of newspaper on the table (to keep it from getting messy) and Danny had all of his supplies laid out on top of the newspaper: glue, glitter, scissors, markers of almost every color (he'd lost the yellow one a week ago and hadn't been able to find it), mostly unbroken crayons, stickers, watercolor paints and colored pencils.
His Aunt Deb had helped him set up the table and gotten the scrap papers for him. She'd gone into the kitchen to make lunch and work on dinner, reminding Danny to clean up after himself when he was done, and that she was just a shout away should Danny need her help with anything.
Danny scrunched up his nose as he looked at the glitter. "Too girly," he said, dismissing it.
The watercolor paints would be too messy, and they probably wouldn't show up well on the dark blue paper that Danny was going to use for the base of his card (it was the biggest piece of paper and the only one that he could kind of fold into a card-like shape). Danny frowned as he cast the watercolors aside and regarded the rest of the materials that he had available.
The markers would work well, and he could maybe use the crayons too. The colored pencils would be useless, though.
Danny tilted his head to the side as he looked at what he had left to work with and smiled as a new idea popped into his head. One that he was sure his dad would like, because Danny knew that it was something that the man loved - the ocean and dolphins and sharks and boats.
Excited, Danny set to work on the welcome home card, grabbing other pieces of scrap paper from the pile that he'd dismissed earlier, and using the glitter he'd declared, too girly, a little too liberally.
The scissors and glue were instrumental, as were the crayons and markers. It was okay that he'd lost the yellow marker, because there was a bright yellow piece of scrap paper that Danny could use to represent the sun, and the red and orange markers made perfect rays of light for the sun, as well as a lovely smiley face.
"Danny, it's time for lunch," Aunt Deb called just as Danny was putting the finishing touches on his card.
All that was left was to write the words, Welcome Home, and, Dad, on the card, but he'd have to let the glue dry a little before he did that.
"Coming!" Danny called, and he sprinkled a little more glitter onto the card and then shook the excess off onto the newspaper a few seconds later before placing the card onto the center of the table and then racing into the kitchen. Making cards sure worked up an appetite.
"Wash your hands, young man," Aunt Deb said, pointing toward the bathroom, as Danny scrambled onto his seat at the table.
Sighing, stomach growling as the scent of the macaroni and cheese with hotdogs hit his nose, Danny jumped from the chair and raced into the bathroom. His hands were full of glitter, glue and marker, and even after washing, his hands had little blue sparkles in the cracks and all sorts of lines of red, orange, black and blue from the markers. It just wouldn't wash off, and Danny hoped that Aunt Deb would declare his hands clean enough so that he could eat. He was starving.
Danny climbed back into his seat at the kitchen, and turned over his hands for his aunt's inspection, holding his breath as she held each hand in her own and peered closely at both the palms and the backs of Danny's hands.
Danny bit his lower lip, and his stomach growled again. Smiling, Aunt Deb declared his hands, "Good enough," and Danny let out the breath that he'd been holding.
"Manners," Aunt Deb admonished when Danny stuffed too much food in his mouth at once and almost choked on it.
Ducking his head, Danny mumbled out an apology and tucked into his food at a slightly slower pace. There was haupia pudding with slices of apple banana for dessert, and a big glass of vitamin fortified almond milk to wash it all down with.
"How is your card coming along?" Aunt Deb asked when Danny'd slowed down enough to place his spoon on the table between bites.
Danny swallowed his bite of food, and took a sip of his milk before answering. His stomach fluttered a little and he looked at the tabletop. "It's almost done," he whispered. "I just need to write the words."
"That's great, Danny, I'm sure that Steve will like it," Aunt Deb said.
Danny bit his lip and nodded. He wasn't so sure. There was too much glitter. Steve, his dad, would probably hate it, might hate the words that Danny was going to write on it.
"He will," Aunt Deb said, voice firm with conviction, when Danny just shrugged. She placed a hand over his and squeezed. It was comforting and Danny raised his head.
"I am sure he'll love it, sweetheart. Now, finish your lunch and eat your dessert so you can finish that card of yours."
"He's coming home, tomorrow, right?" Danny asked. He didn't want to be a bother by asking that question over and over again, but he had to be sure.
Aunt Deb nodded and Danny finished his lunch. "He'll be home tomorrow," she said, tucking a wayward piece of hair behind Danny's ear.
Danny helped rinse his dishes and put them into the dishwasher, then he refreshed Stitch's water and food dish, making sure to give the dog some attention before he ran back into the living room to write out the words on his card, heart thumping loudly and almost painfully in his chest as he wrote.
When he was finished, Danny held the card up to the light and inspected it carefully. It was still a little wet from all of the glue that he'd used to stick the glitter on, and the smile that he'd drawn on the sun was a little lopsided. His letters weren't perfect (it was hard to make straight lines; his looked a little wobbly) and he wasn't sure if the letter D was going in the right direction, sometimes he got D and B backwards.
Frowning, Danny placed the card underneath the coffee table where it would be out of sight, and, with the help of his Aunt Deb, he cleaned up the mess he'd made (they had to vacuum the living room and wipe down the table, because there was glitter EVERYWHERE) and put everything away.
Afterwards, Aunt Deb helped Danny make an envelope for his card, which he kept hidden from his Aunt's eyes - he wasn't ready for anyone to see it just yet, and wasn't sure what Aunt Deb would think about him calling Uncle Steve, Dad.
What if Steve hated it? What if he didn't want Danny for a son? It would be too embarrassing if Aunt Deb knew about it beforehand and Danny was rejected.
Danny's stomach was a tangle of nerves. He barely touched his dinner - mashed potatoes with gravy, roasted chicken, steamed veggies, and a dish of cinnamon sugar apples for dessert - and couldn't seem to fall asleep, though he must have fallen asleep at some point, Stitch tucked close to his side, because before he knew it, it was morning, sun was streaming in through the slats in his blinds, and his aunt was getting him up for breakfast.
Danny almost couldn't eat, he was so nervous, but he did his best to eat as much of his oatmeal as he could, and then got ready for the day. Time seemed to drag. Danny went to the park and played with Kento and a couple of other neighborhood kids. He ate lunch, and took Stitch on a walk, and when he came home, his heart nearly stopped beating. Steve, his dad, was home. His truck was in the driveway.
Danny walked Stitch around to the back of the house, making sure that the gate was in place so that Stitch couldn't get out, and then he quietly entered the house. Now that Steve was home, though Danny'd been waiting for him to return for days, he wasn't sure that he wanted to see the man.
"Danny?" Steve poked his head into the living room that Danny was tiptoeing through. There was that hard look on his face - lines around his eyes and mouth - though the man was smiling. He looked tired, and Danny felt sad.
"You're back," Danny said in a whisper.
Steve smiled and rubbed a hand over his face. There was the start of a beard, and it looked like he had a bruise on his cheek.
Frowning, Danny approached Steve carefully, fingers reaching up to touch the bruise before he even realized what he was doing. Steve blinked at him, and the smile fell from his face.
"Are you okay?" Danny asked.
Steve nodded. "I'm fine, buddy. Missed you, though."
"I missed you, too," Danny said.
He let Steve pull him onto his lap and rested his head against the man's broad chest, listening to the steady thud, thud, thud of the man's heart, and relishing the nearness of his dad. Steve smelled like the ocean and something spicy, Danny breathed the scent in and closed his eyes. His dad was home, and Danny never wanted to let go of him.
"Danny, is everything alright?" Steve asked.
Danny nodded, and hugged Steve a little tighter. "I made you a card," he said.
"You did?" Steve sounded surprised and maybe even happy.
Danny's heart felt like it was going to hammer right out of his chest as he nodded. "I'll go get it for you. I wanted to give it to you right away, but you got home before I finished walking Stitch."
"Now's just fine," Steve said, running his fingers through Danny's hair and untangling a stubborn knot that his aunt hadn't been able to work loose that morning.
Reluctantly, Danny released his hold on Steve and went to get the card from where he'd hidden it, underneath his bed. His hands were shaking, and it was hard to breathe, but he handed the card to Steve, and watched, through his eyelashes, as Steve carefully opened the homemade envelope and pulled out the card.
Rooted to the spot, Danny watched, not daring to breathe, heart hammering, as Steve stared at the card, lips forming the words that Danny had painstakingly written on the inside, the tip of an index finger tracing over them. Steve blinked several times, and swallowed, and Danny wanted to sink into the floor and disappear.
"Danny, I -" Steve's eyes were misty and the hard lines of his face were softening, and he was still tracing the words that Danny had written on the card as he stared at Danny, lips quirking upward in a smile. "I don't know what to say."
"Well, you could hug the boy," Aunt Deb said, startling both of them, and causing Danny to jump just a little.
"Danny, I don't...that is you don't..." Steve started and stopped, and looked at Danny as though pleading.
Leaning against Steve's side, Danny started tracing the letters of the words he'd written right alongside Steve, quietly lamenting the fact that he had indeed written one of the D's in dad backwards.
"You don't have to if you don't want to," Danny said, voice trailing off into a husky whisper. "It's okay."
"Danny, I'd...I'd love nothing more than to be your dad," Steve said, voice thick. "But you don't have to -"
"I want to," Danny said, looking up at the man he'd come to think of as a dad and searching his eyes. They were a stormy blue, and filled with something that Danny didn't understand.
"I miss my first dad," Danny said, fingers stilled in their tracing by Steve's hand. "And sometimes I wish that I could see him again, but I'm happy to have you, and..." Danny bit his lip and traced a line on Steve's palm. "And I think that maybe he sent me you, you know, when he, when he died."
Danny blinked back tears, and leaned into Steve's touch when the man wiped away the tears that fell anyway. Steve pulled Danny back into his lap, carefully placing the card with its glittery waves and paper boat, dolphins, shark fins, and smiling sun, on the top of his desk as he did so.
Steve said nothing. He held Danny and stroked Danny's hair, and let Danny talk about how much he missed his dad, but he loved Steve and didn't want him to go away on such long business trips.
"I don't deserve you," Steve said when Danny had exhausted his words and his tears had died down. "God knows I don't, but," Steve's voice broke, and he squeezed Danny tight to his chest. "But I'd be honored to have you call me, dad. Don't feel like you have to, Danny. I couldn't ask that of you, but I won't pretend that it doesn't make me happy."
"Really?" Danny asked, hardly believing his ears. He could breathe again, and his heart stopped trying to beat its way out of his chest. He didn't understand what Steve meant by saying that he didn't deserve Danny, but that didn't matter, because Steve had said it was okay for Danny to call him dad, and even that it would make him happy, and that was all that mattered. He missed his first dad more than anything, but he'd been given Steve, not as a replacement for his dad (no one can replace someone else) but as someone else for Danny to love like a dad.
"Really," Steve said.
"I love you, dad," Danny whispered, trying the word out and holding his breath once more.
He didn't have to hold his breath long. "I love you, too, kiddo."
Danny settled on his dad's lap, happy to have him home.