Gordon exited the bathroom after relieving himself and making an effort to brush his teeth. On his way downstairs, he passed by Charlie's room; he was still asleep with one of his pillows on top of his face. He smiled softly. It was almost unfathomable to recall back a few years ago when he'd been forced to coach peewee and met all those little runts who he came to love. So much had changed since then; he was a married man now and a father.
He quietly made his way down the stairs, mindful to avoid the step that creaked. Casey was at the stove, humming softly and flipping what looked like pancakes on the stove. He took a second to admire her. She was dressed in one of his t-shirts and basketball shorts. They fit her well.
He wrapped his arms around her middle, pulling her closer to him, pressing delicate kisses up her neck. She'd obviously heard him come down, as she wasn't startled by his sudden presence. "Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?" he murmured in her ear.
"Once or twice," She recalled.
"You deserve to hear it everyday."
"Are you trying to flatter me, Mr. Bombay" She turned, still staying within his arms, her arms going around his neck.
"Is it working?" He brushed a few pieces of hair from her face to behind her ear.
"It just might," she said, her smile causing his stomach to flip flop. She was truly unaware of her own beauty. She traced a finger on his chest. "Is Charlie awake?"
He chuckled. "I don't think anything will wake him right now."
"I'll give him a few more minutes, then could you please get him up?" She asked
"Of course," they shared a kiss. Not for the first time, Gordon marveled over how lucky he was. Everything had fallen into place. Casey turned back to the pancakes, with his arms still holding onto her and his chin resting on her shoulder.
"I'm sure watching me cook isn't that entertaining, sweetheart," she laughed lightly. She poured more batter on the hot pan. One was filled with blueberries, the other being chocolate chips. "Charlie's been begging for chocolate chip pancakes for weeks. You;d think that boy was old enough to make some himself but apparently they're better when I make them." She rolled her eyes, letting out a huffy laugh. "I think he's just being lazy."
"He's not wrong," Gordon said with a grin, "they are better when someone else makes them."
"I know exactly what he'll do, too," she continued, "he's going to pour more chocolate chips until it's more chocolate than pancake."
"Not a bad idea," Gordon considered.
"I suppose I'll be the only healthy one here and enjoy some blueberry ones?"
"Afraid so," Gordon kissed her temple. She laughed again.
"Go wake up, Charlie."
He turned on his heel, rendered surprised when she swatted him on the butt with her kitchen towel. He raised his eyebrows and she smiled innocently. "I'd be careful if I were you," he said, his eyes sparkling mischievously, "I might just have put you in contempt."
"Oh?" She said, coyly.
He took a step closer. "I think we should send Charlie out of the house for a bit," he whispered, "I don't want you distracted while you learn your lesson."
Her eyes were filled with lust, mirroring his own. He longed to take her upstairs now. "I must agree."
/
Was it acceptable to kick Charlie out of the house at this moment and tell him to go to Adam's or Hans' shop or somewhere?
Charlie was still knocked out. Gordon, with amusement, noted how the way he looked wasn't too far off from how he must have appeared while sleeping off a night of partying.
Before he could say anything, the pillow moved and fell off the bed. Charlie was scrunching up his face, eyelids starting to crack open. "G...Gordon?" He mumbled sleepily.
"Rough night?" Gordon teased him.
"Mhm..."
"Get up," Gordon reached over to ruffle his hair.
Charlie groaned. "Five more minutes."
"Oh, no," Gordon pulled off his blanket, much to his son's protests. "Your mom said you have to get up."
"It's Saturday."
"She made pancakes," Gordon hinted.
This peeked Charlie's interest. He raised his head slightly. "Chocolate chip?" He said with hope.
"Possibly," Gordon winked.
"Alright!" Charlie was happy. He shook off his sleepiness quickly, getting out of the bed easier than Gordon thought he would. This was another thing; just a few years ago, he'd been taller than Charlie-and the other Ducks, too-and now his new son was right at eye level with him and would likely surpass him.
"Oh, and Charlie? Your mom and I have some errands for you to run..."
/
Casey was rolling her eyes fondly as Charlie did as she predicted; he put a very generous amount of chocolate chips on top of his pancakes and placed it in the microwave to melt. "I know it won't offset it but here," she set down a container of fresh strawberries in front of her son. "Take a few."
"Charlie, I don't know if Gordon mentioned it to you but we need you to-"
"Run a few errands," Charlie finished, "yeah." he then grimaced. "Crap, Adam was right."
"Right about what?" Casey wondered.
"He said you guys would want alone time and come up with lame excuses to get me out of the house like his parents do to him," Charlie's nose wrinkled. "That's so gross."
"Hey," Casey said playfully, "one day you're going to have a girlfriend and be all over her too."
"Yeah, but you guys are old. That's different," Charlie said matter-of-factly.
"We are not old," Casey insisted.
"Mom, you got excited because Jan gave you a new toaster. Only old people get excited by appliances."
Gordon watched his wife and son playfully bicker back and forth, knowing that there was no place he'd rather be than here.
