Blarg. A long time between updates, and it's a short chapter. Sorry, people.

Chapter Sixteen

"How do I look, Uncle Carlos?" Mattie asked at breakfast.

"Spiffy," Carlos said as he ate his cereal. "What's the occasion?"

"Picture Day! Granny and Grampy bought me this outfit." Mattie was wearing a pair of khakis, a white dress shirt, and a black sweater vest. Along with a pair of sneakers. Kendall could not get him to wear nice shoes.

Kendall finished filling out the form for pictures. He had to get enough for him, his mom, Logan, Logan's parents, and various family members who would want one. Kendall wrote out the check and put it and the order slip in the envelope the picture company provided. "Don't forget the envelope, Mattie."

Mattie sighed. "I won't, Daddy."

Once they finished breakfast, Kendall helped Mattie put his jacket on then they got in the car.

"Be sure to smile real nice for your picture," Kendall told Mattie.

"I will. And Uncle Carlos said I have to try and not blink."

"I'm sure you won't."

"Daddy?"

"Hmm?" Kendall pulled up outside the school.

"When I touch my tooth with my tongue, it wiggles a little."

"You have a loose tooth?"

"What does that mean?"

That you're growing up. Too soon. "Your tooth will fall out soon."

"Why?"

"To make room for a grown up tooth. And when it falls out, you'll put it under a pillow and the Tooth Fairy will leave you money."

"Cool!"

When Kendall got to work, he texted Logan: "My baby's growing up."

"What?" Logan texted back.

"He has his first loose tooth."

"Aw. He's on his way to being a big boy."

"Don't make me cry."

"Haha. Want me to tell him tales of the Tooth Fairy?"

"What kind of tales?"

"I thought I saw her once. I was half asleep and later learned it was my mom."

"Poor you. And yeah. Talk that bitch up. I'd like him to believe in that stuff for a while." He didn't want Mattie to grow up faster than he already was.

He and Logan agreed to meet for lunch then he spent the morning working a register.

When lunchtime rolled around, Kendall was happy to see Logan. As always.

"So, are you feeling old?" Logan asked. "Mattie's gonna get his first adult tooth soon."

Kendall sighed. "It seems like just yesterday he got his first tooth ever."

Logan got a dreamy look on his face. "I wish I could've been around for that."

Kendall found himself wishing Logan had been around too. What would it have been like if Logan had been around for Mattie's first steps? Mattie's first word? "I should show you his baby book. We documented, like, everything."

"Can we look at them later tonight?"

"Don't you have to write a paper?"

Logan frowned. "It's not due until next week."

Kendall laughed. "Fine. After Mattie goes to bed, I'll show you."

Logan smiled now. "Awesome."

Once they finished eating, Logan took Mattie's car seat and put it in his car.

Kendall gave Logan a good-bye kiss and said, "I get off at six."

Logan nodded. "Carlos is hanging out with Lucy until late, so I'll make dinner."

Kendall smiled. "OK."

When Kendall arrived home, only Fudge greeted him. "Logan?"

"We're upstairs!" Logan called.

Kendall headed upstairs and went to the bathroom where he heard voices. In there he saw Mattie standing over the sink, rinsing out his mouth. "What happened?"

Mattie spit out some water. "My tooth fell out!" He smiled, showing Kendall the gap in his top row of teeth.

Kendall couldn't believe he missed it. "How'd this happen?"

"Mattie told me he'd been wiggling it all day long," Logan said. "And it kept getting looser. While we were working on our homework, it popped out while he was wiggling it. I think he got some blood on his worksheet."

"Logan said he saw the Tooth Fairy once," Mattie went on. "I said I wanted to stay up to see her, but Logan said she won't leave money unless I'm asleep."

"That's very true," Kendall said. He picked Mattie's tooth up off the sink. "I'll put this in a baggie."

"I wanna help!" Mattie said.

"Wait." Logan stopped Mattie from running off. "Did the bleeding stop?" Mattie opened his mouth for Logan to examine. "OK. You're good."

Kendall sighed as Mattie ran out of the bathroom. "At least he had his tooth for his school picture."

"But a gap-toothed grin would've been so cute," Logan said. He gave Kendall a kiss. "You OK?"

"I just wish I could've been there for it."

Logan touched Kendall's face. "I know. I'm sorry. But he wouldn't stop messing with the tooth."

"Of course."

"Daddy!" Mattie called from the bottom of the stairs. "I got a baggie! I need my tooth!"

After Mattie went to bed that night, Kendall showed Logan Mattie's baby book.

"He was such a cute baby," Logan said as he flipped through pictures.

Kendall smiled. "I know. He gets it from me."

Logan laughed. "He learned how to pose for pictures early."

"My mom never stopped photographing him."

Logan continued to flip. "Your mom loves him. I sometimes forget she has that side since she doesn't hide her disdain for me."

"I wish she'd get over that," Kendall said sadly. "I just want her to accept that I like guys in addition to girls. I want her to get that it's not a phase. I want her to see how great you are, and see how well you fit. I wish she could understand that I love you."

Logan shut the book after he finished looking through it. "Have you told her all that?"

"No… Not that it would matter. She's so fucking stubborn."

Logan placed a kiss to Kendall's cheek. "It'll all work out."

Kendall smiled. "I sure hope so. You spending the night?"

"I was planning on it."

"You spend the night a lot."

"I know. Is that a problem?" Logan asked with worry.

"No! I was just thinking… Maybe I could clean out a drawer here for you. And you could keep a tooth brush here and shit."

Logan smiled brightly. "I'd like that." He leaned forward and brought his lips to Kendall's.

Kendall wanted the kiss to keep going, but… "We gotta go play Tooth Fairy."

"OK." Logan looked excited as he stood. "Let's go."

Mattie was fast asleep when they snuck into his room. Logan shut off Mattie's TV and DVD player. Meanwhile, Kendall exchanged Mattie's tooth for a dollar.

In the middle of the night, Kendall woke to the feeling of someone jumping on his bed. "Daddy! Logan! The Tooth Fairy came!"

Kendall opened his eyes. "Oh yeah?"

Mattie tossed Professor Bear in Logan—waking him—and sat down. "Yes! Look! I got a dollar!" He waved the dollar in Kendall's face.

"You're rich," Logan said.

Mattie yawned. "I am." He grabbed Professor Bear and stuffed the dollar in the bear's pants. "Can I sleep with you guys?"

Kendall smiled. "Sure, kid."

Mattie settled between them under the covers, and quickly fell asleep.

…

On Saturday, Mattie had a play date with Emmy. They met up at the playground. Logan and James came along.

"Will you play with us?" Emmy asked James.

James smiled. "Sure, Little Lady."

Logan chuckled as he watched Mattie frown at them. "Come on, Big Guy. Let's go join them." He picked Mattie up, making him squeal happily, and ran off.

Kendall and Camille sat on a bench. "Have you and James been on a date yet?" Kendall asked Camille.

"Nope," she said. "We've been texting a lot, though."

"Why haven't you gone out?"

"It's not like he hasn't asked," Camille said. "It's just… I don't want Emmy to get attached to a guy who won't stick around."

"James might stick around."

Camille rolled her eyes. "I know James' reputation, Kendall. He's kind of a slut."

"Logan says he's been maturing recently. James actually wants something serious now."

"But I have a kid. He doesn't seem like the type who's cool with that."

Kendall watched James chase Emmy across the little bridge on the play set. "He seems to get along with Emmy. And he's pretty great with Mattie."

"But-"

"Plus, Logan said James told him that he couldn't stop thinking about you after that party over the summer."

"I didn't know that."

"And you haven't been on a date in a really, really, really long time," Kendall reminded her. "It could be good for you."

"But Emmy…"

"Have a few dates that include her. That way James can get used to being around her and dealing with her. If he sticks around for a while, you should try having him babysit her for a few hours."

"Is that what you did with Logan?"

"It just kind of happened that way. But now Mattie's used to Logan being around all the time. Logan is a part of his life."

"So, if I decide I like James, I should try to make him a part of Emmy's life."

"Yeah," Kendall said with a nod. Not that he was an expert on these things. All his relationships before Logan failed. Mostly because these people couldn't handle Mattie. But Logan could. Ever since he first met Mattie. "It's a good thing that Emmy likes James too. Mattie hated pretty much everyone before Logan."

"It's like it was meant to be," Camille said.

"Huh?"

"It's like Logan and Mattie have this bond. As if all along Logan was meant to be there for him."

Kendall smiled. "I never thought of it that way. But… it makes sense, I guess. Logan fits. It's like he's the piece of the machine that is our family that's been missing. He makes things easier."

"I'd like easier," Camille said.

They sat in silence as they watched Logan, Mattie, James, and Emmy head over to the swings. Kendall laughed as Mattie suckered Logan into pushing him. Mattie could swing himself, Kendall knew. And Logan most likely did too. Mattie kept screaming "higher!" and Logan complied. Then Logan did that thing where a person runs under the swing. Mattie laughed loudly when Logan appeared in front of him, demanding that Logan do it again. Then, a few minutes later, Mattie did something Kendall told him not to do. Mattie was too high when he jumped off the swing. Mattie landed on his feet for only a second. Then he fell. Hard.

"Shit." Kendall got up and ran over. "Matthew! I've told you a million times not to do that!"

Logan was already by Mattie's side, helping him up. "You OK, Big Guy?"

"I think I hurt my arm," Mattie said. "It stings."

Logan removed Mattie's hoodie to look. "Oh. It's just a scrape. He's OK, Kendall."

"He knows he's not allowed to do that," Kendall told Logan.

"But jumping off the swings is fun!" Mattie whined.

"You get hurt every time you do it."

"That's why I need to practice," Mattie insisted.

Logan spoke up before Kendall could say something, "Maybe you two could compromise."

"What?" Kendall asked.

"Mattie wants to jump off the swings, and you don't want him to get hurt. Maybe Mattie could promise to only jump off when he's swinging low."

"But that's boring!" Mattie said.

"Mattie," Logan said calmly. "When you do that, you scare Daddy. He gets afraid you'll be really hurt. Daddy doesn't want to see you get hurt badly."

"Were you scared?" Mattie asked Logan.

"Very much."

Mattie sighed. "So you want me to be boring too."

Logan held back a laugh. "I just want you to be safe."

Kendall ran a hand over his face. "Mattie, if you promise to only do it when you're swinging low, I'll let you jump off the swings. OK?"

Mattie rolled his eyes. "Fine."

"Let's get your scrape cleaned up," Kendall said. They went to his car where he kept a little First Aid kit. He put some Neosporin and a Band-Aid on Mattie's scrape. When Mattie ran off to play again, Kendall turned to Logan. "Where'd that compromise stuff come from?"

Logan shrugged. "You and I both know that if you tell a kid not to do something they just do it more. Especially if it's something fun, yet a little dangerous. And kids should learn about compromise and not always getting what they want."

"How scared were you when he fell?"

"Christ. My heart flew into my throat. He didn't say he was going to do that. He just went for it. I didn't overstep any boundaries with the compromise thing, did I?"

Kendall took Logan's hand. "No. You thought of something I didn't. Now let's just see if Mattie actually does what he promised."

Sorry if this was boring. But I promise things will get more interesting.