PATERNITY BY PROXY – DAD BY DESIGN

AN: The last episode was so heart wrenching and mine just broke for Walter but especially for Ralph. Then I was too keyed up to write yesterday because of the TV Line article then the promo. I needed to get something out or forget how. SO, here it is. This is a little established Waige+Ralph mega fluff, so sweet it'll send you to the dentist with a tooth ache.

Rated K.

The previous night's experiment was a resounding success in numerous ways. He concluded staying the night at Paige's condo had a great many perks. Aside from getting to make love more than once before they had to go their separate ways, he was able to sleep next to her and cuddle her close throughout the night. Something he'd never wanted with anyone else. The idea of being that vulnerable with anyone aside from Paige was always repulsive to him before. And to wake up and see her first, before anything else, made him indescribably happy like he was starting off his day in just the perfect way.

But this kind of thing had never occurred to Walter. It would certainly take some adjustment on his part.

He'd left the bathroom door ajar while he was getting ready for the day. He'd never had to consider it before, but when Ralph tapped a knuckle twice on the door, then let himself in, the lack of privacy crossed his mind for the first time.

It wasn't like Walter really minded. In fact, he actually thought it odd that he wasn't uncomfortable in the slightest. It just felt… different and kind of companionable when the young genius, still clad in his pajama bottoms and t-shirt, boosted himself up to sit on the counter and observed him going through his morning routine.

Walter had just gotten out of the shower a few minutes prior, his feet and chest were bare and his hair was wet. The towel he'd used to dry off was now tossed casually around his neck. He supposed it was a fortuitous thing he'd already put on his pants.

Neither one said a word for a bit while Walter brushed his teeth then wiped the steam off the mirror using his towel. When he began to lather his face up for a shave, Ralph picked up the shaving cream, squirted a little dab on his fingers and sniffed at the foam absently.

"Do you have to shave your face every day?" The boy finally asked, breaking the easy silence for the first time.

"I do," Walter answered as he passed the razor down one cheek cutting a path through the white and producing a streak of smooth skin. He swirled the razor in the sinkful of warm water, wiped it on the towel and continued, "In fact, I could probably stand to shave twice a day. I have a lot of beard stubble by evening."

Ralph swiped his fingers along his own jawline, leaving a trail of soap in a loose imitation of Walter's earlier actions. "Is it like that for everyone?"

"Well, all human hair grows at approximately the same rate. About 1.25 centimeters per month. So that's roughly four tenths of a millimeter per day. That's average for most people, but I think mine is more obvious because it's darker. You will have the same problem. Your beard will probably be dark and since your skin is a lighter tone than mine, it will likely show up even more."

The boy twisted his upper body around and peered over one shoulder at the mirror, craning his neck to examine the area under his nose closely. "I think I may need to start shaving soon. Or do you think I should grow a mustache? In the book Toby loaned me, I read that facial hair appears on the top lip first."

Walter bit his own lip to keep it from twitching in amusement. He was finding this whole conversation a bit too… cute. A word he'd never used before. "It won't be long now. But perhaps you should wait until your voice changes? Before you make a decision on the mustache, that is." His eyes met Ralph's in the mirror and the older genius winked.

"Would you show me how to shave? I'm a novice and I wouldn't want to cut myself."

Ralph slid off the counter and stood beside Walter looking up at him with enthusiastic anticipation. The older genius grinned indulgently and nodded. "You may not be so excited after the first thousand times or so."

A smiling, teary-eyed Paige sat on the end of the bed, the task of putting on her shoes momentarily forgotten. The thought never entered her head before that day, but Ralph had probably never watched a man shave in his life. Letting a boyfriend stay all night was a first for her since Drew left when Ralph was two. She'd been apprehensive about letting Walter stay over too. She didn't want Ralph to count on the presence of anyone else in their home until she was sure whoever it was would stick around for the duration. But Walter had proven himself in every other way in the last four months since they'd been dating officially and in reality longer than that during his relationship with her son. Their mutual admiration and love actually started long before hers and Walter's evolved.

Listening to her boys left her heart so full the love was spilling over into tears. The domesticity of the scene and the absolute trust Ralph had in Walter was touching, but the fact her son was able to open up at all was a miracle in years past she sometimes wondered if she'd ever see.

And she owed all of it to the amazing man now patiently and affectionately explaining a purely male ritual to her son.

With love. Just like a Dad.