Hello. New update, excited? Thanks for the reviews everyone, and overall support! Hope you enjoy the cute moments, both Kames and non-Kames, in this chapter! Disclaimer: I don't own Big Time Rush! All I own is the plot and the OCs that are Mau and Royce!
The next morning Kendall woke up with quite a surprise.
He had been sleeping like normal, on his back with the sheets tangled around his waist. One hand was buried under his head and pillow, mouth slightly parted as he continued sleeping. The other dangled over the edge of his bed, shirt bunched up to his naval.
He had been sleeping soundly, in no rush to wake up, get up and get yelled at (like always) by a certain loudmouth producer.
Until he felt...a slight tugging at his mess of dirty blond hair.
At first he merely rolled around, back now towards the ceiling. His face smoothed out for a few minutes until he felt the tugging again, only this time at the hairs at the back of his neck. They weren't painful tugs per say, but they weren't light either.
One particular long tug got him to finally stir awake, bottle green eyes sprinkled with Sandy's sleep sand.
Once he saw what (make that who) was causing the tugging though, his eyes popped wide open and a dazed expression crossed his face.
It was Royce, still in his jammies and hair messier than usual. He had one hand pressed to his mouth, a toothy grin on while the other reached for Kendall's aristocrat nose, poking at it curiously.
'How did he crawl out of bed without making any noise?!' Kendall thought in a rush of words, that striking him as oddly familiar.
James never made a sound when he got up every morning, showered and dressed for the day. It was like he was Aang or something, because he was always so light on his feet. Unlike Kendall who usually crashed into the bathroom door, still asleep and out of it in the morning.
Royce's big hazel-green eyes sparkled and his smile broadened, giggling before he cupped the blond's face with both hands.
"Haha, Kendy cansado. Mami esta dormido, me bored." He said, soon his attention drawn away by his bracelet.
Kendall couldn't believe his ears; Royce had just used one of the nicknames James made up for him when they were really little. The blond wasn't good at Spanish, but "cansado" he guessed was "tired". He said that after saying his name, so he was probably saying that he was tired, "Mami", he meant James and "dormido" meant "asleep".
So he said, "Kendy is tired. Mami is asleep". And he obviously knew what bored meant since he said it in English.
"Hey champ, you're up early." Kendall said as he stifled a yawn. He sat up, Royce crawling into his lap, and tried to make sense of the time flashing in big, red bold across James's alarm clock. It was six in the morning; there were still a good two hours before Kelly would show up to take them to the studio.
Logan was probably awake, though reading with classical music in his ears in his and Carlos's room. Said Latino was probably still dreaming of running through a field of corn dogs, drooling away. Katie and Mama Knight were probably out like they said they would be, no doubt the girls in them at the mall shopping for presents for Royce. And James was still asleep too, by the unmoving bump under the covers.
That left Kendall and Royce wide awake. Well, Kendall was still out of it but the baby bouncing in his lap wasn't. He was wide awake, looking around and eager to start the day.
"Well even though it's six in the morning...better now than noon to get up, huh?" The leader of Big Time Rush said with a little laugh, surprised that he wasn't annoyed with Royce for waking him up.
Back when Katie was little, like little-little, he use to get up and feed her, rock her to sleep, change her, etc. when their mom was drained and needed sleep. Royce wasn't any different from what she was back then: a jumpy, adorable ball of energy.
Well, he was a boy not a girl. And he happened to be the son of one of his band mates/best friends/crush since like the sixth grade.
Royce started giggling at Kendall's reddening face, "Hahaha, Kendall un tomate!"
That meant "tomato", if he remembered correctly. Wow the kid was smart, using a familiar expression in Spanish flawlessly.
The dirty blond smiled and gently hushed the child, green eyes twinkling. "Shh, champ! Your Mami is sleeping, how about I make your breakfast in the meantime? Do you like French toast, do you champ?" He asked as he freed himself from the sheets and got to his feet, bare foot. He adjusted Royce in his arms, the little boy wrapping his tiny fingers around Kendall's neck.
"Que es eso, tio?" He asked, chewing on his full, bottom lip.
Kendall realized he had James's nose and mouth too, apart from his big, wide eyes.
"Que" meant "what" and "tio" was "uncle"; he was probably asking what French toast was.
Kendall faked an offended gasp, his funny face shooting Royce into another fit of giggles. "Why champ, Mami has been keeping you out of the loop hasn't he? Never had French toast?! Well don't worry, good old Uncle Kendall will fix that! I'll make the best French toast you'll ever have!"
-Page Break-
While Royce sat and watched with interest from the counter, Kendall was at the stove, making sure the slices of French toast didn't burn to a crisp. He had turned on the radio, spending twenty minutes fiddling about until he found a Spanish music station.
Kendall knew that Royce understood English pretty well. When their song "Oh Yeah" had played not too long ago, the child had sang along and nodded his tiny head to the beat, smile broadening when he heard James's voice. Kendall knew that Royce would be able to get the hot songs of the year, but Spanish was his first language. No doubt it was the Spanish culture he was exposed to as a newborn, so the blond had no issue with playing Spanish music. It was kind of cool hearing it too, the infectious beats and perfect slide of the words.
No wonder people went gaga over those who spoke Spanish or were from a Hispanic heritage; they sounded beautiful.
As he flipped another slice, keeping an eye on Royce who played with the squishy ball from yesterday, Kendall's ears caught sound of the announcer saying a familiar name on the radio.
"Y ahora, la cancion 'Te Robare' by Prince Royce!"
'Wait, Prince Royce? He's a singer, James named Royce after a famous singer?'
As the guy began singing Royce began squealing and clapping his hands. He must have known he was named after this angel-like sounding man; his cheeks were flushed, teeth showing off in a big smile.
That strange, warm feeling entered Kendall's chest again, a soft smile pulling at his lips. He checked to see if the French toast was ready, turning off the stove and piling the slices onto a plate. He walked over to Royce and picked up the smallest piece, blowing on it while drizzling maple syrup all over it. Once he deemed it drowned, he held the piece up to the boy's puckered lips, one hand underneath to catch any stray drops; he didn't want to dirty up Royce's pajamas.
"Wanna try, champ? It's not too hot, I promise."
The little boy opened his mouth. Kendall entertained him with choo-choo sound effects before gently pushing the piece into Royce's mouth, making sure not to use too much force.
Royce's balloon-round cheeks puffed up even more with the sticky, sweet treat in his mouth, he chewing slowly and tasting. Kendall waited until he swallowed before asking, "How was it, champ?"
Hmm, seems like that was a nickname to stay now.
And Kendall could have sworn his heart exploded when Royce smiled, giggled and made for another one.
"Tio Kendall es muy divertido! Me gusta!"
-Page Break-
James woke up to the vibrating of his cell, meaning either a text or his alarm was kicking in. The time, flashing, was seven-thirty in the morning. Kelly would be here around eight, plenty of time to get ready he supposed.
Since having Royce, James rarely used three hours to get ready. He's learned to be more flexible since giving birth.
It wasn't just his alarm going off though, but a text from Mau too. He typed in his password and went to his messages, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
James, I'll have to bring Royce's crib up later, Hawk wants me early at the studio for rehearsal. I'll see you two later, like around four at best. Besos a My Rey, y a ti tambien. Los amo.
-Mauricio.
James tried to ignore the whole "I send you kisses, too" part and sent a quick reply back.
That's when he noticed the empty space at his side.
Panic soon flooded him, eyes wide and heart pounding.
"Royce?! Mi'hijo, dondes estas?!"
"Mama!"
'ROYCE!'
James bolted out of bed and skittered out of the room, searching the kitchen for his son. He heard his voice come for the living room, he had to be here!
He...!
"Mama!"
James's eyes fell to the large, vibrant orange L-shaped couch. There was his little Royce, sipping orange juice through a bendy straw, in...Kendall's lap as they watched the Ziggle-Zaggles. The blond was still in his pajamas, wiping Royce's mouth with a napkin for any leftover maple syrup, looking up to meet the brunet's eyes with a smile.
A wave of relief washed over James, before confusion suddenly settled in.
"You're already up? Usually it takes me and Logan combined to get you out of bed." He teased the blond playfully, getting a mock glare in return.
"Well the champ was bored and hungry, no way I was going to let him starve. Plus, you needed the sleep; you were dead tired yesterday." Kendall replied, smiling when James slumped into the seat next to him. Royce clapped his hands and wiggled around so his head rested on James's left knee, his feet still in Kendall's lap.
Clearly he was intrigued by Wally Dooley's impressive performance.
"He was hungry? What did you feed him?"
"French toast, he told me he's never had it, shame on you by the way, so I whipped us up some. You hungry, Mami? There's plenty left, I put them in the microwave so they wouldn't go cold." Kendall responded, James turning a light shade of pink at this.
"You know you could have woken me up, you sometimes get cranky in the morning." He pointed out. Kendall shrugged though.
"Yeah but what kind of uncle would I be if let you take all the weight? Also Roy was up before me; he woke me up."
"H-he did? Oh Kendy I'm so sorry!"
There was that nickname again.
Said blond shrugged his shoulders again, brushing off the apology. "Again Jamie, no big deal. Honestly I didn't mind; the champ was bored, I was too, we helped each other out there."
"How did you know he liked sweet things?" James asked suddenly.
Kendall raised a thick, dark eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"Royce. He likes sweet things for breakfast, like pancakes or waffles. How did you know to make him French toast?" The brunet elaborated, meeting Kendall's bottle green eyes.
"Well, like I mentioned earlier he told me he's never had French toast. He had no idea what it even was, so I thought it would be a great idea to make him some. Plus", a smile touched the dirty blond's lips, "you like sweet things in the morning too, James. You usually have a cup of low-fat, not too sugary chocolate milk with your eggs. I kind of guessed he'd liked something like that for breakfast too; he's a lot like you."
"He is?"
"Yeah. He keeps staring at the new purple Ziggle-Zaggle, he said purple's his favorite color. Yours is too. He likes sweet things for breakfast, when he sings he beams like you do on stage, and on his bracelet there's a star next to his name. You sign your name with a star, Jamie." Kendall said, counting off on his fingers.
James felt the pink flush across his cheeks darkened. He had no idea Kendall paid attention to such small, usually missed details. What else did he notice?
"He also likes poppies like you, since he was practically breathing in the ones in the vase by your bed. He's a music junkie at two; I turned on the local Spanish station and he was singing along the whole time. I now know where you got his name by the way: you named him after a famous singer, Prince Royce ring any bells?"
"You caught me." Was all James could say, hands up in the universal surrender pose. Kendall laughed.
"I'm was curious at first; your favorite singer is Adam from Maroon 5. I wondered why you didn't name Roy after him. After listening to some songs though I finally got it, Prince Royce is a pretty awesome singer too and he's good-looking. You did good there."
James was lost for words, so he remained silent.
"Aren't you hungry?"
"Huh, what?" Kendall smirked on the inside at seeing James's cute, lost look.
'I always love teasing him.'
"I said, is Mami hungry? Kelly will be here in a few, Logan's probably awake too so he'll get Carlos up. You can eat and I'll pick something out for Royce to wear if you want. Is Mau still coming with his crib?"
James looked down at his hands, confusion buzzing in his stomach like a trapped bed. "No, he has to head to rehearsal early so he'll show up around four."
"K, so want me to help you with Royce?"
"Actually...how about I bathe and change him, and you pick out his clothes and get his stroller out? It's in my closet, his baby bag is all set so there's not much to scramble over before Kelly shows up." James said, picking Royce up.
Kendall smiled, ignoring his own burning cheeks as James flushed red again. "Whatever you say, Mami. See you in a bit, champ! Gotta make you even cuter for your first day at Rocque Records! And Jamie, remember what I told you last night: Gustavo steps out of line, we quadruple corner him. Plus I think Kelly will help smooth things over when we get there." He said, putting a reassuring hand on the taller boy's shoulder.
"Okay." James answered with a nod, Kendall taking his leave back to their room while James went for the sink. Royce was still too small to bathe in the tub just yet.
As he unzipped Royce's bag and pulled out a fresh diaper, his towel, shampoo and after-bath baby oil, James found himself thinking, 'Kendall would make a great dad.'
Why he thought this he had no idea, and it shocked him a little. He felt his cheeks burning again, so he shook his head and turned the water on, making sure it wasn't too cold or hot.
'Why I thought that, no idea. It's the heat, yeah that's it. The L.A. heat is getting to me again; I'll take a cold shower while Kendall dresses Royce. Huh, it's only been like two days and Kendall's been...like a dad to him. No, no, no. Stop thinking that, James. You and Kendall are best friends, nothing more. And best friends help each other out all the time, no biggie. Yeah, just best friends. Keep that in mind, best friends. Plus you have a son by another guy; he wouldn't really accept that...would he?'
That's when James noticed that another Prince Royce song was playing on the still-on radio, this time 'Incondicional'.
'Incondicional...means unconditional in Spanish. Unconditional love...'
"Mami, estas bien?" Royce asked, soon freeing James from his pressing thoughts. The brunet smiled down at his son, hoping his dazed look wasn't too noticeable.
"Yes sweetie, it was nothing! Just a crazy thought, bath time!"