Hello there! Here's the next one, I hope you'll like it.
Thank you all for your support and to my beta Lyssa813!
School.
Rafael was walking a few steps behind his wife and son. He knew today was going to be a hard day for him, and as he looked at them, he was trying to settle his thoughts. He was trying to prepare himself for what they were going to face sooner than he would ever want.
It didn't take them long to go from Sarah and Graham's day-care center to the place they were headed now. He and Olivia had done it on purpose, but now he would have loved to have had a little more time. His two younger kids were still going to the same center he and Olivia had chosen a few years back so Noah could interact with other kids for a few hours a day. However Noah wouldn't be going there anymore.
And that fact was why today was a special day. Today was Noah's first day of school.
Noah was happy about it, saying to everyone he was a big boy now that he had to go to school. Rafael wasn't that happy, in truth, he didn't know what he was feeling. He had been on the edge since the alarm clock had woken him and Olivia up because all the emotions and thoughts running through his head.
He was happy, of course. He was thrilled and proud of his son. His boy was growing up beautifully. He loved seeing his young mind getting sharper and sharper each day, always striving for knowledge. But at the same time, he was scared. He still could absolutely remember his own first day at school, and it hadn't been the best experience in his life. He wanted Noah to be accepted, to find good friends and to have a good time each day he had to go to school. He didn't want him to experience how cruel could kids be. And, at the same time, he felt sad because his boy was growing up so fast, and it didn't make any sense to him.
"Doing ok there?" Olivia asked after slowing her steps, so Rafael was walking beside them again.
"Yeah."
"Cat got your tongue? I think... No... I can count with one hand the times you've been this silent for this amount of time. And I'm not counting when you're sleeping." Olivia tried to cheer him up, but she only managed to get a tiny smile. "You know...I'm nervous too," Olivia confessed.
"Really?" Rafael asked, not believing her words.
"Yeah." She said taking his hand in hers.
"It's just... I want him to have a perfect day."
"And you'll see how it's going to be."
"But he's so shy."
"They are all in the same boat," Olivia said looking at the other kids surrounding them. "Don't worry that much. Ok?" Olivia only managed to get a quick nod from Rafael.
It didn't take them much longer to see Noah's new classroom. During the first week, kids of Noah's age had to be accompanied to their classroom.
Once inside, they were surrounded by other little kids and their parents, all sharing their first day at school. Olivia, not giving a second glance to Rafael, kneeled in front of Noah.
"You ok honey?" Olivia asked her little boy. Since the morning he had been vibrating, barely containing his energy, wanting to get to school as soon as possible.
"Yeah," Noah said watching his surroundings carefully. He was realizing for the first time that going to school meant going to a new place, with new people alone, and with that, his shyness came back.
"Do you remember your teacher?" Olivia asked him, making the boy remember how they had come to the same class a week ago to meet his new teacher.
"Yes," Noah nodded.
"Good," Olivia kissed his forehead. "Remember, when school finishes Papi or I will be there to pick you up." Olivia saw how Noah carefully looked at Rafael. She could see her son wasn't that sure about being left alone, and both she and Noah knew Rafael was the soft one, the one who would break first. She also saw Rafael's watery eyes, barely containing the tears. "Noah?" Olivia tried again to gather his attention. Not caring if she interrupted her son's scheming as she made sure his clothes and backpack were in their rightful place. Despite being the tough one now, she was as nervous as Rafael. "You don't have to worry honey, you'll make plenty of friends in no time." Olivia tried to reassure him, and from the corner of her eye, she saw someone. "Look," She said gladly surprised. "Isn't that Lucas?" Olivia asked making Noah look to the other side of the classroom. Lucas and Noah had been good friends at the day-care center. But the last time she saw the boy and his mother, she still didn't know for sure which school she was going to pick for her son.
"Yes!" Noah said happily, already trying to go and talk to his friend.
"Noah, wait a minute!" Olivia tried, but Noah slipped from her fingers, leaving her all alone. She couldn't stop her pout as she turned to look at Rafael, but when she saw a few tears trickling down his face, her pout turned into a smile.
"Are you crying?" She asked him, trying not to mock him too much.
"Shut up." He bit back at her. Last night they had joked about who would be the first one to cry, and neither of them didn't like to lose their little bets.
"Come on Rafa," Olivia took his hand between hers.
"He just left us," Rafael murmured. "And it didn't look like it was really hard for him to do that."
"Rafa." Olivia was trying to keep her laugh hidden as she squeezed his hand, slowly moving closer to him to kiss his cheek. "He just went to the other side of the room. He didn't leave to never see us again." She loved it when he let her see how much of a big teddy bear he was.
"I know but..." Rafael didn't know how to finish that sentence.
"He's just being a big boy." She tried to reassure him.
"But he's growing up so fast." He complained.
"I know honey." She said smiling at him. "But isn't it beautiful to see him growing up."
"Yeah..." Rafael murmured, seeing how the teacher moved closer to the parents and started to inform them it was time for them to leave. "Do we...?"
"Yeah." Rafael wasn't the one who wanted to have a proper goodbye from their boy, but before either of them could move Noah came to them running.
"Wait! Mommy, Papi!" He shouted as he glued himself into his parent's legs, trying to hug them both at the same time. "I love you." Noah murmured. And it was Olivia's turn to break into a barely contained mess of tears. Both her and Rafael kneeled to hug Noah properly, squeezing him between their bodies.
"We love you too." Rafael murmured kissing Noah's messy curls. "Come on," it was his time to try and be the voice of reason. "It's just for a few hours, ok?" He asked Noah and felt his nod. "And we'll be here to pick you up, and I want to hear all the funny things you've done today. Ok?" Rafael asked as he moved him to to be able to see Noah's face.
"Ok." Noah nodded seriously, wanting to ace his father's request.
"Do we have a deal?" Rafael asked him.
"Yeah," Noah said laughing.
"Good." Rafael nodded at him. "Now kiss mommy, kiss me and go play with Lucas."
Quickly Noah did what he had been told, leaving Olivia and Rafael alone.
"What were you saying?" Rafael said messing with Olivia as they walked through the school hallways. She was the one crying at the moment, and there was no way he wasn't going to tease her.
"Shut up," She bit back at him, hitting his shoulder, and making him laugh.
"He's going to be fine," Rafael said.
"I know," Olivia murmured, not entirely persuaded.
"Come on, you barely ate this morning. Let's go have some breakfast." Rafael offered to her. They had taken a few personal hours from work to walk Noah to school.
"Ok..." Olivia murmured. "Just... I barely survived today..." She said referring to Noah's first day at school. "I hope I'm tougher for the next two." She said making Rafael chuckle.
"I hope so." Rafael looked at her, with his eyes full of love. "We'll get better." He said before kissing her chastely on the lips, after all, they still were on the school grounds.
