May 28th, 2034
"Taking Goob and Tink to the park for a walk. Who wants to be Pooper Scooper today?" Finn asked to the living room full of his children, all staring intently at the TV and whatever show was on. They all had that dopey look on their faces that Finn adopted whenever he was engrossed in something and basically dead to the world. "Yo! Hudsons!" His brood turned their heads in his direction to stare mouths agape and eyes slightly glazed at him. He really needed to get them all out of the house.
Finn sighed and hung the leash he was holding back on the hook. Goober jumped up and pawed at his chest as he whined, disappointed that the leash had been put away. His tongue lolled out of his mouth and his tail wagged as Finn started petting his head, trying to hold the weight of the giant dog. "Don't worry, buddy. We'll go out soon." Goober jumped down and walked closer to the door before circling and lying down, eyes shifting between Finn and his leash. Goober lived for walks in the park while Tinker on the other hand was the definition of lapdog.
He looked back to his children who had gone back to staring at the TV. They were quite a sight honestly. Roxy on the recliner sideways, her legs hung over the side as she held a pillow to her chest, Liam on his stomach with an arm and leg hanging off the couch, Zach on the free cushion on the end, his legs stretched out on the coffee table as he kept pushing Liam's foot off his lap absent-mindedly, and rounding out the crew, Ian sitting cross-legged on the floor back against the coffee table half naked as usual as he picked at his toes and tilted his head back to stare up at the screen.
"Okay, that's it." Finn walked over to the television and turned it off earning protests and pouts from everyone. "We're all going to the park because you four need to get off your butts and away from the TV."
"But Daddy, the show was just getting to the good part!" Roxy whined, her hands folded pleadingly in front of her.
"And how would you know it was the good part?"
"'Cause I've seen it."
"You really think that answer is helping your cause?" Finn looked at each of his children pointedly before clapping his hands together and smiling enthusiastically to get them excited. "Come on! It'll be fun! When was the last time we had a family fun day? We can pack a picnic and bring some dog toys and the Frisbee and football. We'll have a good time."
The kids all looked at each other skeptically. Generally unless there was a TV program on that caught all their interests, the four of them didn't usually get along. They all looked back at Finn like he was insane before bursting into a cacophony of reasons why it was a bad idea.
"Hey!" he shouted loudly over everyone else, shutting them all up instantly. "All of you get dressed for the park now! We're going and that's final."
The four all mumbled 'yes sir' as they hopped off the couch, recliner, and up from the floor. As Zach walked by his father, he paused and looked up at him. "Yes, Zach?"
"Is Mom going to?"
"She's part of the family isn't she?"
Satisfied with that answer, Zach nodded and followed after his brothers down the hall to his bedroom. He watched him go and before he could run upstairs to tell Rachel of the new plan for the day, Finn felt a wet nose nudge his hand. He looked down and found Goober staring up at him longingly. Goob really wanted a walk.
"Soon, Goob. Really soon." Goober barked at him then ran to the couch to lie down. "Risky move, dude. Don't let Mom see you on the couch." Goober just rolled onto his back defiantly and stretched, yawning before rolling back onto his side to take a cat nap. Finn just snorted with a smirk and shook his head before ascending the stairs.
"Rachel?" He opened the bedroom door and found Rachel asleep with Tinker lying next to her. She had arrived home later than usual the night prior as after work, Rachel and a few friends from her show went out for drinks. She had come home rather drunk and a little handsy as she climbed into bed to rouse Finn for some midnight lovin' but before she could get very far, her unfortunate habit of passing out on him surfaced. She was still passed out but instead of in the dress she had been in before, she was now in a tank top and her panties.
As Finn climbed onto the bed and moved closer to Rachel to brush her hair out of her face, Tinker stretched and yipped at Finn trying to tell him to leave Rachel alone. Though she was supposed to be Roxy's dog, Tinker had really taken to Rachel. He stood back up and Tinker wagged her tail before settling back next to Rachel thinking she had won.
Then to her sudden surprise she was hoisted into the air and being carried to the door. "Tink, I know you think you're scary, but you aren't. I will always win." Tinker barked at him as she writhed in his hands before he put her on the floor outside the door and kept her back with his foot while he shut it.
Returning to his sleeping beauty, Finn climbed back onto the bed and crawled over to Rachel. He pressed a kiss to her shoulder and continued up to her cheek. "Rachel…Rach, wake up, baby." Finn slid his hand under her shirt and rubbed gentle circles on her back. "Rachel."
"Hmrhmph," she replied.
"I know, but you need to wake up."
"No." She was whiny as she buried her face into her pillow more. "It's Sunday. No work. Sleep."
"You don't need to work. We're going to lunch."
Rachel lifted her head up and glared at him, her eyebrows pulled together, the corners of her mouth turned down. "Who?"
"The family. We have got to get the kids out of the house before their brains rot. They've been glued to the TV since they got home from school on Friday."
"Sounds like you. Then take them. I'm…sleep." Rachel's head fell back down onto the pillow and she tried to ignore Finn kissing her to wake her up. "No. No, kissing." She put her hand on his face and shoved him away.
Finn chuckled. "Come on, Rachel. I know you're a little hung over and tired but you'll have the house to yourself tomorrow to sleep as much as you want. It's been weeks since we've done anything as a family."
Rachel turned her face toward Finn and her features softened. "Where are we going?"
"Central Park. I was going to pack a picnic for us all."
"Dogs going?"
"Yep. They need some exercise."
"Goob can't run though. He needs the leash."
Finn shrugged. "I'll take him to the dog park after school tomorrow so he can run around. I wasn't planning on running with him today anyway."
"You know he's going to want to chase the kids if they're running around."
"I think we'll be fine."
Rachel turned onto her back and started stretching, showing off her tanned tummy and drawing Finn's eye. He still couldn't believe after four kids she still was about the same size as she was in high school. Unfortunately, he couldn't say the same for himself. Rachel didn't seem to mind the little gut he had developed over the years though.
"Let me get some aspirin, water, and a shower and I'll meet you downstairs." She inhaled deeply and breathed out loudly before yawning and sitting up.
Finn sat up too and pressed a kiss to Rachel's cheek before getting off the bed and making his way downstairs to pack their lunch.
Almost an hour later, Rachel and Roxy were spreading out their blankets to enjoy their lunch while Finn reeled in Goober who attempted to chase after a bird but only succeeded in choking himself. No matter how many times he did that to himself he never seemed to remember it left him hacking.
"Goob, settle down." The dog looked back at him over his shoulder before turning around and bounding like a maniac over to the picnic basket that Liam had put down, sniffing it intently before licking it.
"Goober! No!" Rachel cried, pushing his head away from the basket and pointing for him to sit down. Her shrill voice made his ears flatten and he stalked over next to Ian who had plopped himself down, already tired from the walk to the park. For a born and raised New Yorker, he wasn't exactly into the walking. Goober sat down and was so tall next to Ian he could look right over his head.
The rest of the kids made themselves comfortable on the blanket and everything was peaceful for about two seconds before the whining began.
"My feet hurt," Ian cried.
"The sun's too hot. I'm going to burn. Did anyone bring my sunscreen?" Liam chimed in.
"This is boring," Zach added.
Roxy just rolled her eyes and dug her phone out to text her friends as she laid back on the blankets ignoring them all in a fit of pre-teen familial hostility.
Between the annoying whining, the annoying barking and yipping at everything, and the annoying chastising of everything by his still hung over wife, Finn was beginning to sorely regret the decision to picnic in the park. Finn rubbed his temples before hopping to his feet.
"Enough!" Everyone stopped talking and stared up at him. "It is a beautiful Sunday when none of us are busy for once and we're going to have a nice lunch as a family. Roxanne, put the phone away, Liam, your sunscreen is in Mom's bag and so is your hat, Ian, we walked like twenty minutes, your feet cannot possibly hurt, and Zach, I don't care if you are bored. You're going to be bored with your family today, alright?" All the kids nodded in understanding and all complaints ceased. "Roxanne, I mean it about the phone. Put it away."
Roxanne pocketed her phone and sat cross-legged on the blanket as she picked at a stray thread in the stitching while Liam dug around in Rachel's bag for his hat and sunscreen. Despite having most of Rachel's features, he apparently had Finn's unfortunate tendency to burn easily. Finn sat down next to Rachel again and tied both dog leashes to his belt loop to keep either of them from running if any exciting stimulation came along. He knew Tinker wouldn't be likely to go after anything, but Goober would be gone in a flash.
Silently, Finn opened the picnic basket and rifled through it pulling out the cups and plates. He handed them out and Goober stood up again trying to get to the basket.
"Uh uh, no. Sit, Goob," Finn said pointing down. Goober sat back down and whimpered until Ian started petting him. He rolled onto his back and enjoyed the belly rub he was receiving. Wanting to break the tension that had descended on them so that they could get to the nice family outing part, Finn asked Rachel about her show. "How did the show go last night?"
"Brilliantly as always. I received a standing o." She smiled and started pouring the tea that they had packed. "Ian, don't pick your nose." Ian looked guilty as everyone turned to him.
"Do you think you'll win this year?" Roxy asked. Rachel had been nominated for a Tony for Best Actress again, in total five times but had only been awarded a win twice. Her overall goal for herself was a total of five wins but she would always be accepting of more.
"The competition for the category is pretty steep. I could make a case for any of us to win."
"Mom's gonna crush 'em all!" Ian yelled, smashing his fist into his palm and digging it in. Rachel laughed brightly and it melted away all the tension that had grown.
"Ian's right. While the show was fantastic, Miss Margot's performance in Promises, Promises could not even compare with Mom's in Thoroughly Modern Millie and don't even get me started on Miss Heather and Miss Lucy," Liam added shaking his head. For a nine year old boy, Liam was quite opinionated about musical theatre.
"Okay, so I'm pretty confident that this will be another one of my years," Rachel crowed a little proudly. She hated gloating in front of the kids but she had a feeling the win was in the bag.
From there on the family ate in happiness as they joked and laughed about all sorts of topics from Broadway to school, to the goofy antics of the dogs – Tinker had climbed into the picnic basket to use as a bed while Goober nearly dragged Finn off the blanket when he saw a squirrel – to what Kurt and Blaine had been up to, and how Isaac's first baseball game of the season had gone to which Roxy pretended to have zero interest in.
When they finished eating, Roxy and Liam conspired against Ian by asking if he wanted to play Pickle in the Middle before running off with his unopened pudding cup. Ian chased after them as Liam and Roxy threw it over his head back and forth. Zach decided to forgo tormenting his brother for a moment to ask his father a personal question.
"Dad? How do you know when you're in love?"
Finn was surprised by the question. He looked toward Rachel who seemed just as surprised. "Um, well, there are a lot of different ways you can know when you're in love. Uncle Kurt knew because he developed a crush on a guy who was actually gay, Uncle Puck knew because he stopped looking at other women as much." Rachel smacked him while she pursed her lips and glared. "Okay, I don't know how they knew…but for me, it was when I knew I didn't want to be without her…ever. We're tethered," he looked at Rachel and took her hand, "I could feel it in here." He placed his hand over his heart.
"Will you never learn? You're heart is on the other side of your chest." Rachel moved his hand to the other side of his chest and suddenly they were both transported back to the auditorium until Zach cut in with another question.
"But how do you know?"
Finn turned back to his son. "There's no clear answer. You just know when you know. Sometimes we try to hide from it by dating other people that we probably shouldn't date a second time after the first time went horribly wrong…" Finn stared off thinking about Quinn while Zach looked at him in confusion, not understanding what he meant, "but it's still there. Even when you're mom isn't around, I can still feel her with me."
Zach's face scrunched in thought as he absorbed Finn's answer. "How did you make Mom fall in love with you?" He put his elbow on his knee and perched his head in his hand as he waited for an answer.
"I didn't make her fall in love with me. She just did."
"You sang."
"What?"
Rachel smiled brightly and readied herself to explain. "Well, obviously I had seen you around school before and thought you were very cute, but it really wasn't until I heard you sing that I realized how deeply my affections ran." Rachel turned to Zach. "If you really want to impress a girl, learn music. I've never met a girl who didn't go a little weak in the knees when a guy sang to her…except for Santana. Let me rephrase…"
"I think he gets it, Rach," Finn cut her off.
"So, if I love a girl…I should sing to her?" Zach asked to clarify.
"Do you love a girl?"
Zach's face flamed red at the question and even though he had begun denying it, Finn and Rachel could tell he wasn't being entirely truthful.
"No! Girls are gross. All they want to do is hold hands and kiss and chase you around and they think they're so pretty with their long hair and shiny eyes and pretty smiles. Then they're nice and bring you cupcakes and tell you the pins on your backpack are cool." His tone had started out appalled but eventually softened to longing. It was evident that Zach had a specific girl he was thinking about and when he realized that he was giving himself away he hardened again. "Girls are gross."
Rachel pretended to be offended. "I'm a girl. Am I gross?"
"You're a mom. Mom's aren't girls."
Finn started laughing and Rachel cracked a smile too. "Zach, someday I don't think you'll find girls as gross as you do now." Finn pulled out the football from Rachel's bag. "What d'you say we go give Ian a break from chasing after his pudding cup and toss the pigskin?"
Zach leaped to his feet and Finn tossed him the ball. Finn turned to Rachel. "Think you can handle Goob?"
"I'll try but I will let go of the leash and make you chase him if he starts to drag me anywhere. I am in no mood to look like a fool today."
"I think you'll be fine. Goob is more scared of you than he is of me anyway." Finn placed a quick kiss on Rachel's lips before she could retort then got to his feet and ran onto the grass to corral their children.
Later that day after a game of Frisbee and chasing Goober all over Central Park before he finally found a Poodle by the name of Beatrice to hump, which her owner was none too happy about, the Hudson's made their way back to their home quite drained. Finn hadn't run that much since high school.
Despite putting on massive amounts of sunscreen and his Indiana Jones fedora, Liam still managed to get sunburn on his face and dragged his feet as he walked through the door behind Rachel who actually seemed perkier than she had that morning. Then Roxy strolled leisurely into the apartment before rushing upstairs and descending into her pre-teen female sanctuary, followed by Zach who seemed pensive the entire time they had walked home. Bringing up the rear was their youngest. Ian made a dramatic show of breathlessly walking into the apartment, clutching at the walls for support before walking into the living room and collapsing on the couch. Obviously the kid needed to get out more.
Finn carried Tinker into the apartment and he closed the door behind them. She wiggled in his arms before yapping in his ear, demanding to be put down. Once on the floor she took off upstairs after Rachel, Goober following behind sniffing her butt as they climbed the stairs. Finn walked into the kitchen to deposit the dirty dishes in the dishwasher when he heard the TV turn back on in the living room. He looked out to see Ian lazing on the couch, remote in hand, channel surfing. At least he had gotten a few hours in the sun.
"Hey Dad," Zach started as he walked into the kitchen. "Can I ask you a question?"
"You just did."
"Haha," he said mockingly making Finn grin in satisfaction, "I meant another question."
"Shoot."
"What Mom said about music… Does that really work?"
"You mean to get girls?" Zach nodded his head. Finn shut the door of the dishwasher and motioned for Zach to sit at the table. He sat across from him and folded his hands. "Buddy, are you sure you don't have a crush?"
Zach turned into a deer in the headlights as he tried to deny. "No! I don't like girls."
"Do you like boys? It's okay if you do. Uncle Kurt and Blaine like boys."
Zach sputtered before dropping his head in his hands in frustration. "I don't like boys, Dad. I don't like girls either." He scrunched his face in aggravation. "But if I did…would singing a song make a girl like me?"
Sensing he wouldn't get a straight answer out of him, Finn went along with his hypothetical situation. "It could. Mom still loves when I sing for her."
"What songs did you sing for her?"
"A bunch of them. I wrote her a song once. It's on YouTube."
"I've seen it. Uncle Kurt still makes fun of you guys."
"Everyone's a critic."
"What would be a good song to sing to a girl?"
Finn thought about it for a moment. "You should find out what the girl likes, maybe her favorite song. Or maybe a song that explains how you feel. Like this one time when your mom was dating this real ass-…not cool guy, I sang Jessie's Girl because it explained how I felt. And his name was Jesse so it really worked out."
Zach stood up from the table. "Thanks, Dad."
"Anytime." He smiled at him and Zach walked away. Finn wasn't entirely sure what Zach was thanking him for but he was glad he could help somehow. Finn stood up and went into the living room. "You're showering tonight, dude. It's been two days and you stink."
Ian's face paled as Finn stared him down. He leaped off the couch and ran for his bedroom. "Never!" Finn heard the door slam shut. He would never understand the boy's aversion to bathing. Ian loved to swim; baths were basically swimming with soap in the water.
Before sitting down on the couch to put on ESPN, Finn happened to catch Zach in the corner on the computer watching YouTube videos with the headphones on. He was pretty sure he was listening to Hey There Delilah. And that was when he realized he knew who Zach had a crush on. He didn't want to dash his hopes but Finn had a feeling Zach was going to be let down since Delilah was in 8th grade and had a boyfriend.
He sighed contemplating how to handle the situation. He could try to talk him out of the apparent plan he was forming or he could let Zach learn about rejection. It would hurt, but wasn't it better to learn from a failed experience than never even try? Of course, he was still a kid. It would probably kill him since he was a worrier and took things very much to heart. Finn flicked off the TV and moved upstairs to talk to Rachel about it.
When he made it upstairs, he found Rachel lying in bed reading a book on her iPad with Tinker who growled a bit when he moved to get on the bed. "Move it, Rat. This bed is mine." She protested with a yip and backed into Rachel's lap to protect her. Finn didn't know why Tinker felt the need to protect his wife from him, but she always did when they were on the bed together. He attempted to grab her body but she just opened her mouth and nipped at him whenever his hand came close. Her nips never hurt but they were annoying. "Why after all this time does this dog still hate me?"
Rachel just chuckled and scratched Tinker behind the ears, calming her down, before lifting her up to hold her like a baby against her chest. Tinker licked her chin and Rachel pet her long body making her little tail wag rapidly. "She always takes her naps in here with me. She's very protective of the bed because you always squish her and try to steal me away."
"Well, you were mine first. She needs to get over it." He leaned back against the headboard. "Zach has a crush on an 8th grader."
Rachel raised her eyebrow questioningly. "What?"
"He was asking me about songs to sing to girls to make them like you then went right to Hey There Delilah. There's only one Delilah at school and during her free period she's class helper in Abby's music class which is the same time Zach has music. He's got a crush on her and I think he's going to act on it but I'm not sure he should."
"He should."
Finn was surprised. "He should?"
"Trial and error is essential in life. Sure, Delilah may be six years older than him and will definitely turn him down if he asks her out, but he'll learn from it."
"But he's seven."
"Puck was much younger when he started getting turned down by girls. He survived and did quite well for himself."
"Are you saying you want Zach to be like Puck?"
Rachel pulled a face in horror. "Absolutely not! Our son will not be a pig. I just think, like one Wayne Gretzky, that you miss 100 percent of the shots you don't take."
"But this could backfire and make it so he never asks a girl out again. You know how sensitive he can be."
"Or it could teach him to try until he succeeds and then when he is faced with rejection, it won't hurt so badly. Look at Puck, rejection rolls right off him and he just presses on until he gets the desired result. That's how he's won over many a woman." Rachel shifted on the bed to look at Finn straight on. "And I faced a lot of rejection at an early age but it just made me stronger and want to work harder."
"So you think we should encourage him?"
"I think we should let Zachary decide what to do. We can offer our advice if he asks for it, but ultimately he needs to make the decision for himself. We just need to be there to support him no matter what happens."
Finn knew she was right. The ball was in Zach's court and it was up to him how to handle his crush. Obviously Finn would help in any way he could if need be, but he couldn't make choices for his kids. If they wanted to be independent and learn to think for themselves they need to start at an early age.
"You're right. I guess we'll see how it goes."
May 31st, 2034
As Finn made sure everyone was getting ready for school, he was surprised to see Zach walk into the kitchen wearing the nicest suit he owned that he had worn to Kurt's fashion show during Fashion Week in February. He looked quite debonair but Finn was reluctant to let him go to school in a nearly $300 dollar designer suit.
"Do you have some important business on Wall Street today?" Finn asked sarcastically as Zach sat himself at the table for breakfast.
"I need to look good today. All the models at Uncle Kurt's fashion show thought I looked good in this." He smoothed out his teal tie, which despite being seven he knew how to tie better than Finn thanks to Kurt's constant tutelage, and went to eating the cereal Finn put in front of him.
"Why today of all days do you need to walk around like Barney Stinson?"
"Who?" Zach asked through a mouthful of cereal.
"Never mind. Why do you need the suit?"
"I'm gonna ask a girl on a date." The room went silent as all the kids stared at Zach before Roxy and Liam burst out laughing, Ian joining in even though Finn was pretty sure he didn't get what was so funny. "Shut up." Zach shoved Roxy, whom he was seated next to.
Roxy snorted a final time. "Who would want to go out with you? You're an annoying, whiny, baby."
"No I'm not," he whined, pushing her over.
"Both of you stop it. And what would this date include?" Finn questioned.
Zach shrugged. "I dunno. I haven't thought that far ahead yet."
"Who are you even asking?" Liam asked, curiosity lacing his question.
"Nunya. Nunya Business." Liam rolled his eyes at Zach's response and went back to his toast.
"Good morning, Hudsons!" Rachel crowed jovially as she walked into the kitchen in her yoga pants and a sports bra. Sometimes Finn swore she did it to him on purpose. Rachel walked to Finn and gave him a kiss before double taking Zach's choice of attire for the day. "Is there a reason you're dressed like you're ready to go to a prom, Zachary?"
"I need to look my best."
"Are you sure you'll be comfortable in your suit all day? And what if you get your lunch on it or paint? Aren't you working on finger painting self-portraits in art this week?" Rachel didn't want to outright tell him he couldn't wear the suit, but she didn't want him to make a mess of it either. Everyone would suffer Kurt's wrath.
"I'll be careful." Zach stood up and put his emptied bowl in the sink, flashing her a reassuring smile before exiting to his room to grab his backpack.
"Should we let him out in the suit?"
"I think if you could pull off Lady Gaga he'll be fine in a suit for a day. I just hope he doesn't spill anything on it." Rachel leaned up to peck Finn on the cheek. "You really need to get going. I'll see you when I get home tonight." Rachel grabbed the hoodie she brought in with her and put it on, hiding her toned stomach.
Finn pulled her close enough to whisper in her ear before she could leave. "Will I get to see you when you get home?" he asked cheekily, sneaking his hand under her hoodie to caress her smooth front and back, his fingers naughtily dipping under the waist of her pants.
She glanced up at him through her lashes and bit her lip. "We'll see." Rachel pulled away, opened the fridge and grabbed a water bottle, then kissed her kids goodbye before grabbing her gym bag leaving for the yoga studio.
Finn cooled his jets as he rounded everyone up and got them out to the subway to get to school.
As soon as they were within fifty feet of the school, Roxy went into moody pre-teen mode and ignored Finn, acting as if she weren't his first born and only daughter and didn't know who he was whenever he tried to speak to her, while the boys messed around with their friends they met up with at the stairs. Once in the building before Finn let Zach walk to his classroom however, he tugged him over to the side of the front stairwell.
"I'm gonna be late, Dad."
"I'll write you a note if you are." He knelt down to look him in the eye. "Are you sure you want to do this? Ask this girl out I mean?"
"You don't think she'll say yes," Zach deduced from Finn's tone.
Finn didn't want to deflate him but he didn't want to get his hopes up only to have them come crashing down either. "I don't know what she'll say. Girls are mysterious. I've been with Mom for over twenty years and I still get confused and awed by her." Finn leaned a little closer. "Women are tricky. Just when you think they'll go right, they swerve left. I just want to be sure that no matter what happens with your plan, whatever it is, you'll be okay."
Zach's lips mashed into a straight line as his eyebrows pulled together in thought. He looked so much like Finn when he was thinking hard. "I need to do this, Dad. If I don't take the chance, I might miss it. Wouldn't you have always wondered what would have happened with Mom if you didn't kiss her at your competition?"
For a seven year old, the kid was wise beyond his years. "I see your point. Well, break a leg, kid. I hope things work out for you." Finn ruffled his hair as well as his feathers as Zach angrily glared at him and began fixing his well coiffed hair. "Sorry. I forgot you're playing Don Draper today."
"Who?"
"Never mind." He stood back up and put his hand on Zach's back to lead him inside. They went their separate ways and the day continued as normal.
Until Zachary made it to music class at the end of the school day.
Zach was beyond nervous. He knew it was a long shot. Delilah was an 8th grader and he was only in 2nd plus she had a boyfriend, but he really liked her. Was there anything wrong with giving a gift to someone you liked? And sure, he was young now, but someday he'd be grown up like his dad and according to Uncle Puck a lot of women liked younger guys. Plus, he knew he was a stud. Girls always showed him attention and a bunch in his class had hand made Valentine's just for him while all the other boys in class got the usual cutout ones. He was popular with the girls. He knew that. But he only had eyes for her.
As Delilah walked into the classroom, tossing her long blonde hair over her shoulder, Zach's vision focused solely on the girl as his mouth hung open a little. She was the prettiest girl he had ever seen and ever since she had become classroom helper of the month, he'd wanted to tell her that. But now the month was over and it was her last day. That was why he had to make his move now. Tomorrow she would be gone and he would miss his chance completely.
She sat in the desk next to Mrs. Lowe's and as her eyes scanned over the classroom and met his, Zach smiled and waved and she waved back. The kids goofed around and Zach got a few flirty stares from other girls in the room and Mallory Hyde even told him he looked handsome. Class moved smoothly until the end.
When Mrs. Lowe gave everyone the last five minutes of class to talk amongst themselves, Zachary grabbed his gift for Delilah and stood up, straightening his tie as he walked over to her sitting at the student helper desk where she was reading a book. Zach cleared his throat to grab Delilah's attention as he stood before her. She looked up and smiled at him.
"Hi Zach. What's up?" she asked, looking at his wrapped gift quizzically.
His palms were sweaty and he was suddenly regretting wearing the suit as it seemed to shrink two sizes at once. "Uhm, uh, hi," he started shakily. "This is for you." Zach handed over his package.
Delilah ripped the paper off and found a pink CD case with Hey There Delilah written across it in Zach's messy scrawl. "What's this?"
"It's a mix CD I made for you. It's all songs that remind me of you. My mom and dad said I should sing you a song, but I'm not a good singer and it's kinda embarrassing singing in front of everyone."
Delilah's face held shock. "Oh. Um, thank you, Zach. That was really nice of you."
Before he could completely chicken out and bolt back to his seat, Zach stared at his shoes and spit out his next piece. "I hope you like it. I put a lot of thought into the songs because I really like you and I just wanted to tell you that before you weren't class helper anymore. I know you have a boyfriend and are way older than me but my Uncle Puck says some girls like younger guys so I thought maybe I would at least try…"
Delilah's eyes widened as she realized what he was attempting to do. She leaned closer to him. "Zach, are you asking me out?"
Zach turned beet red and gulped thickly. His head nodded silently and Delilah smiled, flattered that she had a little admirer. "I'm sorry, Zach, you're a really nice kid, but like you said…I have a boyfriend and I'm older than you." Zach's face fell completely and he turned to move back to his seat. "Hold on." Delilah turned him back around. "This is really sweet of you, Zach. It's the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me." She smiled a big bright smile at him and he found the corners of his own mouth turning up too. "Tell you what, maybe if we're both single once you're over 18, we can talk about a date. How does that sound?"
"So you are a cougar? That's what Uncle Puck called them." His heart grew again and he suddenly couldn't wait to be eighteen. Then he would actually have a shot.
Delilah chuckled. "Well, I am about four months older than Brody. I don't know if that makes me a cougar." Delilah put her hand on Zach's shoulder. "Thank you for my CD. It was very thoughtful of you."
Zach smiled crookedly at her, the same way he often saw his dad smile at his mom, and spoke, "You're welcome. I hope you like the songs. There's like 30 of them on there."
Delilah laughed and Zach was pretty sure his heart nearly leaped out of his chest. "I'm sure I will."
"Well, I'll go back to my seat." Before Zach could walk away, Delilah happened to notice the way Mallory was staring at the two of them. She looked both awestruck and jealous.
"Hey Zach?" Delilah stalled. He turned around expectantly. "Just because you didn't get a date with me today doesn't mean you can't get another nice girl." She subtly motioned toward Mallory who, when Zach turned towards, immediately began checking out her nails like she hadn't just been staring at Zach longingly.
"Mallory?" he asked incredulously. "She's just my friend."
"I don't know. She seems pretty into you. I think you'd have some luck there."
Zach turned back to Mallory who smiled at him this time. He smiled back. Zach had never realized it before but Mallory was actually really pretty. Not as pretty as Delilah, but her hair was long and blonde too and her eyes were really bright blue like the sky and she always had a smile on her face. She also liked superheroes and dinosaurs like him. They had a lot in common.
He turned back to Delilah who was lifting her eyebrows and smirking, telling him with her expression alone that it was a good idea to maybe talk to her. Just then the bell signaling the end of class rang. As it was the end of the day, everyone was rushing to the door to get to back to their classroom to get their stuff with Mrs. Peterson their teacher, except for Mallory who was taking her time.
"I'll see you around, Zach. Thanks for the CD." Delilah stood up and grabbed her books before following the students toward the door.
Zach walked over to Mallory, his hands in his pockets. "Hey Mallory."
"Hey Zach."
"Are you doing anything afterschool today?"
Mallory shook her head. "I'm just going to go home and work on my homework before dinner."
Before he could lose his nerve, Zach asked, "If it's alright with your mom, would you maybe wanna come over to my house? We can do our homework together and if you want you can stay for dinner."
Mallory looked skeptical. "You want me to come over to your house?"
"It could be fun." She still looked reserved. "I don't have cooties, I promise."
"Cooties aren't real."
"Then you have nothing to worry about," he replied smoothly, smirking at her.
"I guess I can come over if it's alright with my mom."
Zach nodded his head trying to act cool about the whole thing. "Cool."
They walked out of the room together and found Mrs. Peterson waiting there to make sure they got back to the classroom alright. Once he had his stuff, Zach walked to Finn's classroom and found him putting his papers in his bag.
"Hey dude, how was school?"
"Good."
"Did your suit work for whatever you wanted to do?"
"Sorta."
"Sorta?"
"Hey Dad, would it be okay if-"
"My mom said I could come over," Mallory cried as she rushed into Finn's classroom, her mother following behind.
Finn arched an eyebrow at his son before standing up to speak with Mrs. Hyde. "Hello, Mr. Hudson. I apologize for the earsplitting scream."
Finn waved her off. "I have four kids and a wife. I'm used to earsplitting screams. What can I do for you, Mrs. Hyde?"
"Mallory has informed me that she has been invited over to your house for dinner by Zachary. I was just checking that it would be alright and that she actually had permission."
Finn folded his arms over his chest and looked down at Zachary in surprise. Zach stared blankly at the floor. "Yeah, sure, if it's alright with you, of course. I have no problem with it."
"Excuse us for a moment," Mrs. Hyde said, pulling her daughter to the side as Finn did the same with his son.
Finn knelt down to Zach's level. "What's up, bud?"
"I was gonna ask you. She just beat me to it."
"What happened with Delilah?"
Zach shrugged. "She told me if we're single and I'm over 18 we could go on a date," he replied before he realized his father knew about Delilah without him telling him about her. "Wait…how did you know about that?"
"I'm your dad. I know everything."
"You don't know everything. That's Mom." Finn snorted.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah. Can we just go? Mallory and I got homework to do and I'm hungry."
"Just need to find your brothers and sister." Finn patted him on the shoulder and stood back up turning to Mrs. Hyde. "Are you sure you're alright with Mallory coming over? I'll be sure to return her to your apartment personally whenever you want her home."
"Oh yes, it's fine. It'll be nice for her to spend some time with a friend. I was just telling her she needed to be polite and listen to you and your wife." She looked pointedly at her daughter.
"Oh Mallory is great. I never had problems with her in music class the last two years."
"Thank you, Mr. Hudson." Mrs. Hyde nudged her daughter, making her say thank you as well.
"It's not a problem. I hope you like spaghetti and meatballs because that's what's for dinner." Just then Roxy, Liam and Ian walked into the room. They all looked confused as to why Mallory and her mom were there but didn't say anything. "Guess we can go now."
Mallory said goodbye to her mom and the Hudsons plus one started for home. As Finn watched Zach for any signs of distress over being rejected by Delilah, he only saw a happy kid having fun with his friend. The entire afternoon and evening they spent together, the kids had been inseparable and Finn had a feeling Zach would be just fine. In fact, he had a feeling he was better than fine. He didn't know what had happened that day at school but obviously it hadn't been that bad.
Later that night when Finn checked that Zach and Ian were in their pajamas with their teeth brushed and in their beds, he made sure one more time that Zach was alright.
"Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yes, Dad. I'm fine."
"I'm just checking. You asked out a girl today. That can be scary for grown men."
Zach just shrugged. "I dunno. It wasn't that bad. The roller coasters at Six Flags are scarier than asking out a girl." Finn chuckled before pausing contemplatively.
"So how did Mallory end up on Delilah's date?"
"Dad," Zach groaned. "Mallory and I weren't on a date."
Finn held up his hands in defense. "I'm sorry. My mistake."
Zach sighed then explained. "Delilah thought she liked me. Mallory's pretty cool. She liked my suit."
"It's a nice suit." He wasn't about to tell his seven year old that a nice suit on a man was akin to sexy lingerie on a woman, but it was the truth, according to Rachel anyway. He even had the proof as whenever he wore his Armani Rachel tended to rip it off him when they were alone.
Zach's eyebrows scrunched together. "Yeah, a lot of girls liked my suit. Everyone kept staring at me."
"It could have been because you were the only second grader at school wearing a suit."
He just shrugged. "Probably."
"Alright dude. Time for bed. Shower in the morning."
"But I just showered today!"
"But you've got about a pound of gel in your hair. Who do you think you are? Uncle Blaine? The only reason I didn't make you shower tonight was because Ian took a half hour longer than was called for." Finn looked over at his youngest who was innocently staring at his book on sharks. Finn stood up from Zach's bed and walked to the door. "You two better go to bed. Goodnight."
"Night, Dad," both boys said as Finn shut off the light and closed the door leaving it open only a crack.
Finn moved over to Liam's bedroom. "Whatcha doin'?" Finn asked when he found him at his desk.
"Extra credit for math. I want the extra points for correcting the questions I got wrong." He definitely was Rachel's son.
"Good man. Lights out when you're done." Liam nodded and Finn closed his door to leave him to his homework. Then Finn went upstairs, popping his head in his bedroom for a moment. Goober and Tinker were lying in bed together; Tink snuggled against Goob's side. It was going to be a joy moving those two. His next stop was Roxy's room. He knocked on the door and a few seconds later it opened a sliver. Finn could see an amber eye and a bit of cheek peeking out at him.
"What?"
"Don't 'what' me. What are you doing?"
Roxy opened the door a little wider. "I'm going to bed."
"Okay. Goodnight."
"Night, Dad. Love you."
"Love you too, Rox." She closed the door and Finn went back to his bedroom.
After much fighting with Goober and Tinker for his space on the bed, Finn was finally comfortable and watching some late night TV when about two hours later, the bedroom door opened and Rachel entered the room.
"Hey babe," Finn greeted while Goober lifted his head and began beating his tail against the mattress hard. Tinker stood up, her little tail going a mile a minute as she yipped.
"Shhh, Tinker!" Rachel chastised the dog. Tinker quieted and spun in a circle before leaping off the bed and following Rachel into the bathroom.
"How was your show?" Finn asked.
"Fantastic as usual. How was school? Did Zach keep his suit clean?" Rachel asked poking her head out of the bathroom, worry in her question.
Finn chuckled. "The suit made it out alive."
"What did he even want to wear it for?"
"Asking a girl out."
"What?" Rachel was shocked as she walked out of the bathroom in her robe.
Finn explained what happened while Rachel shooed Goob and Tink out of the bedroom and made her way back to bed. She made herself comfortable against Finn as she rested her head on his shoulder.
"Sounds like someone might have a new crush," she commented.
"Mallory certainly has a thing for Zach. She didn't take her eyes off him the entire time and she flirted all afternoon. I didn't even know seven year olds could flirt."
"I have a feeling Zachary is going to be our little ladies man. He's already got a head start with the suit."
"Ladies certainly do like suits," Finn commented. "Too bad he only has one that fits."
"Well, if he's anything like his father I'm sure Zachary will be just fine in the girl department. I mean, you dated the head cheerleader twice, had sex with a closeted lesbian, and fell in love with a Broadway star-to-be who was quite enamored of you in high school. Not too bad, Hudson."
Finn looked worried suddenly. "I hope Zach's love life is a little less complicated."
"What's true love without a few bumps along the way?"
"He's a long way off from true love."
"I guess we'll just have to wait and see." Rachel pushed herself up onto her elbows. "Until then, what d'you say we test that theory on suits with the birthday variety?" Rachel's eyes smoldered and she bit her lip before releasing a chuckle as Finn rolled her over and attacked her lips with his.
Rachel was right. If Zachary was anything like Finn, he'd be a-okay when it came to finding a great girl to love who loved him in return.
So as far as Zachary's personality goes, he's very much a combination of Barney Stinson from How I Met Your Mother and Manny Delgado from Modern Family. Great at winning over the girls and pulling off a suit like Barney yet with the sensitivity, passion, and caring of Manny.