A/N: Alright, everyone I know this thing is several months later, and I do sincerely apologize for that. The last few months have been VERY stressful to say the least, but things have been taken care of, and I'm back and ready to put out more chapters that I hope you lovely readers will enjoy. Thank you to Fox Teen for the review on the previous chapter. Enjoy, everyone!
Disclaimer: I do not own Sing or any of the characters, Illumination does.
...
Marcus grumbled as he cracked the sides of his neck.
Morning came quickly. Too quickly.
Johnny still lay in the bed beside him, the infant's knees tucked up against his stomach, his head resting against the massive forearm that he was clinging to.
As carefully as he could, Marcus attempted to pull his arm free without waking the boy. Only for both of Johnny's arms to wrap around it more tightly.
"Oh, come on," Marcus growled under his breath as Johnny murmured softly and snuggled closer.
Normally, Marcus would have been pleased that Johnny was making use of that strength he'd inherited, but now what not the time.
Once more, the older gorilla attempted to pry his arm loose from his stubborn offspring.
"I have to go to work, son," he sighed.
If Johnny heard, he clearly didn't care; at that moment, an outpouring of contented grunts and gurgles emitted from the little one as his cheek nuzzled against Marcus's palm, the faintest hint of a smile on his face.
After what was only a few minutes but felt more like an eternity, Marcus managed to tug his arm out of his son's grasp and he began getting ready for work.
He had just entered the front hall when the front door opened and in walked Lucy.
Marcus couldn't suppress a slight scowl as his gaze landed on his mother-in-law, but he bit his tongue. She was here to watch Johnny.
Lucy turned to him and opened her mouth to speak, but before she could utter a word, there was a sound of footsteps frantically moving across the floor behind them.
Marcus felt something immediately wrap around his middle before scurrying up his back.
A barrage of giggles escaped Johnny as his father made a grab for him, turning and reaching only for his hand to find air.
"Missed me!" the five-year-old said with a grin that quickly became a wide-eyed look of playful horror when he felt a large hand pin him down.
"What was that?" Marcus smirked, holding up his other hand.
Johnny frantically shook his head as he began pulling at Marcus's fingers in a desperate attempt to escape, all the while legs and feet pushing in vain.
"S-stop!" Johnny squealed as his dad started to mercilessly tickle him. "C-cut it out, Dad!"
"Nope, not happenin'," Marcus shook his head. "You coulda just stayed in bed, but you didn't. You brought this all on yourself."
The infant's shrieks and laughter mingled with that of his father echoed throughout the room until Lucy spoke up.
"Alright, that's enough!" she shouted over the pair.
Marcus turned to glare at her, giving Johnny exactly the distraction needed to scramble free and crawl once more up his father's back before latching onto one arm with both of his own arms and legs.
"Alright," Marcus growled playfully, his attention now trained back onto his son, now swinging from his arm and smirking victoriously. "You win this round, you little arm-squeezer."
...
To say the sight before her was an unwelcome one would have been an understatement.
Lucy had never felt anything more than disdain for the rough-hewn gorilla her daughter had chosen to marry, and her dislike had only increased when the pair had a child together.
Thankfully, sweet little Johnny was an unlike his father as could be. It seemed the only thing the boy had inherited from his was the black shade of his thick fur rather than the softer brown tint Megan's had had. That, and unfortunately the tendency to play rough.
"Alright, that's enough!" she called out over the squealing and laughter.
Her efforts had only earned her a glare from her son-in-law as his son, oblivious to the tension, swung from his arm.
"Johnny," Lucy focused on her grandson. "It's very early. You should still be in bed, sweetheart."
"I wanted to see Dad off," Johnny said softly from where he now sat on Marcus's shoulder. "And then I wanted to play."
"I'll be back a little after four," Marcus spoke up, but Lucy noticed it was directed more to Johnny than to her; the lighter tone in his voice didn't match the glowering look he was still giving her.
But this didn't seem to help matters any since little Johnny wrapped himself around Marcus's leg, ensuring that the older gorilla couldn't take a step forward.
"I have to go now, Johnny," Marcus stated, reaching down to peel the infant off.
"No you don't," came the reply.
Marcus tugged the boy loose and looked down, holding him at arm's length.
"Yeah, I do."
"Johnny, you need to be in bed," Lucy cut in. "It's still too early for you to be up yet. And Marcus, the next time you're getting ready for work, maybe try to be a bit more careful not to wake Johnny."
Johnny was so busy trying to hang onto Marcus that he didn't see the warning glower that the latter threw at Lucy.
"I already told you I'll be back at four," his father said again. "It's only about eight hours away."
Johnny frowned.
"That's still a long time," the toddler pouted.
"Johnny, I'll take you back to-"
"Tell you what," Marcus cut his mother-in-law off as he gave his son a smile. "You head back to bed for now and I'll be back before you know it. Then after that, we'll go do something together. How's that sound?"
Johnny thought for a moment before nodding eagerly.
"But that means you gotta go back to bed now," Marcus pointed out before lightly shaking the arm the five-year-old was hanging off of. "Which means I need this back."
Johnny giggled and let go, landing onto the floor on all fours before standing back up and giving his father one last hug.
"See ya after work, Dad," he said.
"See ya, son," Marcus replied, returning the hug before sending the infant on his way.
As Johnny scampered back to bed, Lucy turned back to Marcus.
They had talked numerous times about playing rough. Yes, it was natural for fathers and sons to roughhouse every now and again. But Johnny was quite small for a gorilla his age. At five years old, Lucy knew he should have at least grown somewhat.
Her husband George had once voiced his suspicions that Johnny was a runt. He had made sure that their daughter of course did not hear this. After all, as gentle and loving as she was, Megan would not have blamed Johnny for something he couldn't help. But she would have likely blamed herself, even though the fault wasn't with her.
If anyone, Marcus was the one who constantly needed to be supervised. It was as if even the most basic of parenting skills were foreign to him. Lucy had lost count of how many times she had had to point out him not holding Johnny correctly back when he was a baby. Feeding, changing, just about everything had to either be reiterated or done for him. Whenever he actually took an active role in his son's life that is.
Lucy couldn't see why Megan had chosen someone like this. It was clear Marcus was used to getting his way and would become angry if anything even slightly deviated from the way he wanted things.
The elderly gorilla prided herself on knowing how to read other animals and it hadn't taken her long to figure Marcus out. Her heart went out to her dear departed daughter, who might as well have been raising two children instead of one.
Though she doubted it would, perhaps Marcus having to parent Johnny without having Megan to go behind him would make him finally grow up.
Of course, one couldn't expect miracles.
...
...
I hope everyone enjoyed that chapter, and the next one will be out first thing Monday, April 12th. Until then, everyone.