Chapter Text
If there’s one thing that Evan was told, it was never that things can change and work themselves out.
The one thing that he wouldn’t need to be told was that it wouldn’t be entirely easy.
After graduation, it hadn’t taken much to convince Connor to get an apartment with him, and even after that, once it was brought up to Cynthia, she seemed all too ready to help them out. He can remember her chirping that, ‘Oh, Connor, that’s a fantastic idea, ’ while Larry fixed his newspaper and grumbled something behind the sports section. Sure, it had been years since, but he's sure that he'll never be able to forget the shine in Cynthia's eyes at the sheer prospect of her son doing something so big.
Of course, his own mother was no exception. She'd given him and Connor a hug after reassuring them that they'd always have a place with her. It was a comforting notion, sure, but Evan couldn't imagine staying with his mother forever if he wanted to actually do things for himself.
And so he didn't.
Shortly after graduation, Evan had picked up a part-time job at Pottery Barn, and Connor wound up talking to his mom, who pulled some strings and landed Connor a job at a daycare center in town.
All in all, though, things felt easier said than done.
The jobs were juggled between days at home, days with each other, and days apartment-hunting. Which was a pain. In all honesty, it wasn't the worst, but Evan could certainly figure out things that he'd rather be doing with himself.
However, it hadn't taken that long before they settled in on a relatively cheap apartment not too far from home, and with the help of Pottery Barn’s cash and more support from the Murphys than Evan would have liked to admit to, they found themselves with their own home. Well, apartment.
Admittedly, it was still a concept that Evan had a hard time wrapping his head around. But there they were.
It had taken time to turn it into their own space, sure, but it was something to be worked on. And neither of them were strangers to working on things.
After a year, Evan had finally picked up on community college, and it wasn't until then that things had finally felt like they were falling into place.
It’s been two years since he graduated, and life had certainly been happening.
--
No matter how much Evan tries to convince himself, waking up next to someone else every morning in a bed that isn't twin-size is still an experience to relish. It's officially gotten to a point where it's weird if he doesn't feel Connor's arm flung over his side, or Connor's face in his hair, or some equally tangled mess upon waking up to his alarm. Or the sun. Whatever came first.
Today, there was definitely an arm around him, and hair in his mouth. No alarm, but there was sun, and—
“Get up !”
Oh, shit.
Something— or rather, someone— throws themself into Evan's side, and when he opens his eyes, there's a flash of blonde hair.
“Effa, up! Up, up, up, it's already sun up, and you promised pancakes today.”
“Mmh. Five minutes,” Evan mumbles, smiling a little before he turns in towards Connor more, fingers sort of curling in absentmindedly against his shirt. “Just five minutes.”
“I've already waited, like, a whole hundred! Maybe even more!”
Evan snorts, pulling away from Connor in order to sit up, pushing his hair back as he stretches out. Damn . His eyes flicker to the clock at the bedside table, proudly displaying ‘8:37 AM’ in obnoxious neon green lights before he looks back to this morning’s alarm clock.
“Alright. You got me, Miss Chloe. Sleep well?” he asks softly, reaching to ruffle her hair. He could have sworn that Connor put her hair in braids before bed, but hey.
The only response he gets from the four year old is a hum before she flings herself across him in order to pat at Connor's back. “Yis! And Connie needs t’get up now, too!” Chloe calls out, drumming rhythmically against Connor's back as he sleeps.
Evan snorts. “...He'll get up, Chlo. Come on, you wanna help with pancakes? Let Connie sleep in a little bit, and we can surprise him. That sounds fun, right?”
He watches her pull away before she nods slowly, huffing as she loops her arms around Evan's neck and clings onto him. “...Okay. Fine,” she chirps softly, voice lowered to a poorly executed whisper as she giggles. “Le’s go? Now?”
Evan hums softly and watches as she scoots off the bed and scurries off in the direction of the kitchenette as he turns to go to the bathroom. He realizes that she's wearing the purple star pajamas that his mom picked up from Walmart as a last-minute present on the day that she met her the day after Evan had told her that they were fostering, and it has him smiling to himself as he washes off his hands.
When he's shuffling down the hall after a moment, he finds Chloe standing in the middle of the linoleum floor, holding a box of pancake mix and squinting at the back. He snickers and goes to lift it from her hands before setting it on the counter. “Alright, Princess Chloe, what in the world are we lookin’ for today?” he hums, smiling. “Think you can remember the ingredients?”
“Egg.”
“Just one?”
“Yis.”
Evan laughs, looking at the box. “And?”
Chloe pauses, lips pursing before she goes over to pat at his leg. “Milk, Effa! You're wastin’ pancake time!” she chirps, slipping over to the fridge and pulling the quarter gallon of milk from the fridge, holding it up to him with some admirable amount of effort. He snickers, taking it after pulling down a bowl and measuring everything out.
“Okay, okay. Sorry for wasting pancake time, Chlo, let's get on it, okay? Get your step-stool, if you wanna watch.”
There's a nod in response, and a dull squeak as Chloe drags her step-stool across the linoleum before she stands at Evan's side, and he starts on breakfast.
--
They've made it through most of the batter when the floor creaks behind him, and Evan feels a hand ruffling his hair at the same time that he hears Chloe shriek, and he watches her lunge off of her step-stool to throw herself at the legs behind him.
“Morning, Connor,” Evan muses without turning around, and he smiles when there's a lazy kiss being pressed to his temple. “Sleep well?”
“Mmh,” is the response that he gets, and he turns to look at him as he flips another pancake onto the stack he's been forming. They're mini-cakes, as per request, and every few have a blueberry or chocolate chip dropped strategically into the center by Chloe herself. Connor looks tired, of course, but he's lifted Chloe up already, and he's snorting as she plays with the messy bun in his hair.
“Connie, y’need t’brush your hair in the mornin’! I'll do it for you,” she declares, practically bouncing in his arms. Connor just laughs, ruffling her hair in response before leaning to set her down again.
“I'll worry about it later, Squirt. Why don'tcha go feed the kitty? Have you seen him this morning?”
Chloe gasps as she's placed back on her feet, and she draws in a sharp breath before she cups her hands around her mouth and calls out for the cat.
“Weeeeed! S’breakfas’ time!”
Well. Kind of.
Evan's eyes narrow at Connor, who's covering a laugh with his hand.
“Holy shit,” he gasps out. “It was an accident, Ev, I've said it like twice in front of her. She just picks up fast, it's not my fuckin’ fault,” he whispers, watching over the half-wall into the living room at Chloe as she dumps a cup full of cat food into a metal bowl in front of a grey tabby.
“He doesn't even answer to Ash anymore. He doesn't. You made our cat's name Weed.”
“It suits him, Ev,” Connor muses, shrugging before he goes to pour a few glasses of milk and set them at the table. “...She's been doin’ good, though, yeah? Which is— it's good. I'm glad.”
Evan pauses, flipping the last of the pancakes onto the stack. “She's been doing good,” he agrees softly, smiling before leaning in to kiss Connor's jaw. “...I think we all are.”
He watches as a smile stretches itself across Connor's lips, followed by a soft laugh, and within a second’s time, he realizes that he's being kissed. It's his turn to echo the laugh back at him against Connor's lips, and it's only broken off when Evan feels a hand at his pant leg.
When he looks down, he's met with big brown eyes and a speck of green, and Chloe sticks her tongue out, smile on her lips. “What’re y’whispering about?”
“How good breakfast is gonna be,” Connor lies, smiling over at Evan, who just laughs before he nudges into his side. “Why don't you go go wash your hands with Effa while I get everything ready?”
“‘Course!” Chloe locks her arms around Evan's legs, and she beams. “Effa, c’mon, we gotta wash our hands before we eat! We gotta.” She tugs at his pant leg, and he laughs, kissing her head before he lifts her up, balancing her at his side.
“Right,” Evan murmurs, smiling at her. “Wanna use your step-stool, or do you want me to hold you?”
Chloe tosses her head back against Evan's shoulder, groaning as she seemingly goes between her options. “...Hold,” she decides as they step into the bathroom. Evan snickers and nods, lifting her up to the sink.
“Alright, soap first,” he murmurs, reaching for the soap carefully and humming as he passes it off. “You know how to do it.”
“Right,” Chloe chirps, humming Happy Birthday to herself as she scrubs her hands. Once she's done, she puts the soap down and turns the sink off, throwing her hands in the air. “Done! Done, done, done, s’pancake time now, Effa, let's go!”
Evan laughs, drying off her hands before he ruffles her hair, carrying her back out to the kitchen.
“Effa! I want a chocolate chip one.”
“Alright, Chlo, you got it.”
“You gotta eat a blue one!”
“I will, I will!” Evan laughs, placing her down in one of the chairs before he goes to wash his own hands. Connor's already set out plates and glasses of milk (chocolate for Chloe), and the syrup.
Which Chloe already has in both hands.
Connor laughs, leaning over to take it from her. “Cakes first, Squirt, syrup after. And I'll pour it for you.”
Chloe huffs before she hands it over, reaching for at chocolate chip pancake. “Okay,” she murmurs. “‘m ready, Connie! Go!” She beams, patting at his hand before he goes to pour the syrup over the pancake. Evan smiles, grabbing a few blueberry pancakes for himself.
Once breakfast is in full swing, the only sound aside from forks against plates is Chloe humming to herself as she eats. Evan's gaze flickers between her and Connor as he makes his way through pancakes. When he's pulling a fifth little one onto his plate, Connor places his own fork down.
“So,” he muses, looking up to Chloe after taking a sip from his glass of milk. “Auntie Zoe wants to know if you wanna go to Build-a-Bear with her on Tuesday after daycare. Is that something you'd wanna do?” There's a smile across Connor's lips, and it's hard to ignore, especially as Chloe takes in a sharp gasp.
When Evan turns his head, she's scrambling to her feet with a fistful of syrup-soaked pancake. The syrup is really all over her, too, but that's fine. She just tosses her fist triumphantly in the air. “Yis!” she announces, collapsing back into her chair. “Yis, yis yis yis!” She's cut off as she shoves another piece of pancake in her mouth. (It's only her second one, Evan notes. She's just been on it for a while.)
“Okay, okay!” Connor laughs, going to lean across the table to wipe her face before settling back down. “I'll let her know. Use your fork, Chloe. You know better.”
“Use m’fooork,” Chloe sings back, going to wipe her hands on her napkin before grabbing her fork and continuing to eat.
“Alana will probably tag along, won’t she?” Evan asks, taking a long sip from his glass of milk. “They’ve been doing a lot together lately. Zoe keeps posting pictures of them together on Instagram? It’s kind of sweet.” He laughs, looking to Connor before taking another bite of his pancakes. “It’s nice to see her around, too.”
“I like hanging out with ‘Lana,” Chloe chirps, kicking her feet a little underneath the table. “And Aun’nie Zoe. They’re fun. And pretty.” She smiles up at them, and pushes her plate away after taking another bite. “All done. Movie time? Pleeeease?”
“Got it,” Evan muses, going to pat at Connor’s arm before he stands up, taking Chloe’s dish to the sink along with his own. Hearing Zoe referred to as her aunt feels right in a thousand ways, and he can’t brush it off. “What movie do you wanna watch this time, Miss Chloe? You’ve got a whole library’s worth of choices, so we could watch anything you want—”
“ Tangled !” Chloe chirps, getting up and going to wash her hands at the sink beside Evan, just before scurrying off to lay down on the couch beside the cat.
“Oh, man,” Connor laughs, shaking his head. “Again, Chlo? We’ve watched it a whole lot here. That’s not even counting how many times you’ve tried to drag it out at daycare.”
“It’s not a bad movie.” Evan dries his hands off before he laughs, going to pack away the few extra pancakes. “I don’t mind watching it again.”
“Y’gotta sing.” Evan looks into the living room, eyebrow quirked as Chloe looks right back at him. “You have to sing along, Effa!! Y’gotta!” Her lower lip juts out in a pout, leaning forward to pat her hands against the couch. “Y’gotta.”
“You gotta, Evan,” Connor teases, going to grab his hand and press a kiss to his lips before leading him to the couch. “Someone’s gotta be Rapunzel, right?”
By the time they’re on the couch, Chloe’s weaseled herself between them, and she blows a raspberry. “No! Connie, you’re A’pun’sull, Effa’s Finn, and I’m everyone else.”
Connor looks at her for a moment before he laughs, going to grab the remote to flip through the movies until he finds Tangled . “What happened to Jared saying that you’re ‘Punzie’? You got a kick out of that last time, didn’t you?”
“That was last time! This is this time, an’ the movie’s gonna start now, so you gotta hush,” Chloe exclaims, reaching a hand up to cup it over Connor’s mouth.
He just laughs in response, finger mashing against the play button before he places the remote down and ruffles Chloe’s hair. “Got it, Squirt.”
--
The rest of the day comes and goes without complications, and before there can be much debate, the sun is setting. Dinner dishes are cleared— they'd had dino nuggets and mac and cheese, as per request— and after Evan presses a kiss to Chloe's cheek, she's whisked off with Connor to get ready for bed.
Evan finds himself standing in the living room for a bit longer than anticipated, eyes focused intently on a picture of himself and Connor on graduation day, all smiles. So much has happened since then, and it's almost baffling to him. The fact that they made it past school was once something that they couldn't even begin to imagine, but they were here , and…
He takes in a little breath as Weed brushes up against his leg and meows. Laughing to himself, he leans down after wiping mist from his eyes, carefully bringing a hand along the length of the cat's back. “Bedtime,” he murmurs softly, coming back up and stretching out. Weed meows again, purring as he makes the leap onto the couch, and Evan laughs, flicking off the lights and making his way at last to their bedroom.
On the way in, he hears Chloe squealing in the bathroom, and he can only assume that Connor's putting her hair in braids, or promising her a bedtime story, or something, something, something. Evan smiles, going to change into clean pajamas before he goes to lay down, shifting underneath the blankets and sighing.
With the lights off like this, it's easy to just stop and think.
Think about the fact that things are so much different now, but they're better in a weird way. Sure, there are no glow stars on the ceiling, but there's a ceiling fan spinning away, carefully engraving the rhythmic sound of the spinning blades into Evan's mind alongside memories of prom, and the look on Connor's face after their first kiss, and the sound of cheering as he took his diploma and walked, and— and—
The lights suddenly flicker on, and Evan reflexively closes his eyes as the dark is flushed out and light fills his vision. It takes a second before he turns his head to the doorway, opening his eyes in time to see Connor placing his old copy of The Little Prince down on the top of his dresser.
“Sorry,” Connor murmurs, going to change into his own pajamas. “I didn't wake you up, did I?”
“No,” Evan echoes back softly, watching him for a moment’s time before his gaze falls to to the blankets. “I was awake. Just thinking. Is she out?”
“Like a light.” Connor snorts, smiling at him before he goes to turn the lights back off. “We made it to the rose,” he murmurs, and Evan squints through the dark to see him shuffling over to the bed. Pulling the blankets back, he hears Connor mumble a thanks as he gets in beside him. He hums in response.
“Mmh, got it. And that's chapter..?”
“Eight. Out of twenty seven. We're getting there.” Evan can almost hear Connor smile as he shifts over closer, fitting an arm around him carefully. “She tugs on my sleeve when she's falling asleep to get me to stop reading so she doesn't miss things. She does that shit at the daycare, too.”
Evan hums softly, closing his eyes as he presses back against Connor, going to reach for his hand. “She's cute,” he mumbles, squeezing Connor's fingers. “She makes the apartment feel homier, too. D’you get that?”
There's not a moment of hesitation on Connor's part as he hums, shaking his head. “...Yeah, I do. I love her so much, Ev. You might have competition.” Evan rolls his eyes, nudging him before he lets go of his hand and turns to face him completely. Both hands come up to cup Connor's cheeks, and he leans up to kiss him once before he lays down again, making himself comfortable. Connor just snorts.
“Don't be a dick. We're having a moment, you can't ruin it,” Evan chides, going to loop an arm over Connor's side as he shifts closer.
“Oh, come on. I'm not! I'm just telling the truth, and the truth is that our— that Chloe is adorable, and I love her.” Silence envelopes them, and Evan's fingers twitch against Connor's side. “But, hey. You said you were thinking earlier? What's going on in Hansen Headquarters tonight?”
“Oh.” Evan laughs, shaking his head. “No, nothing. Nothing really big or anything. Just— just us. The past. Cheesy shit like that, you know? God, it feels even dumber to say out loud.” Evan snorts, looking up to Connor before he scoots closer, watching him. “Just— basically just that we did it and whatever. It’s dumb.”
Connor blinks at him before he just laughs, shrugging. “Doesn’t sound stupid,” Connor decides, shrugging as he pulls Evan closer. “I think about it too, sometimes.” Connor snorts, shaking his head. “It’s kind of hard not to think about it, right? I mean, shit, Evan, we’re kind of, like— sort of a family.”
Huh. Yeah. Evan purses his lips and nods, shrugging. “Yeah. Guesso.”
“And that’s cool. It’s cool, and I’m glad.” He laughs, and Evan watches him stretch out before he loops his arms around him in response. “I love you, Evan. I do. You know I do,” he mumbles softly, moving closer to him again. His arms are tight around him, and it’s sweet in the best way. “I love you, and I want to stay here. With you. And— Yeah. See, look. Now I’m sounding like an idiot.”
“...No, you don’t. Keep talking?” Evan moves closer, hand moving from Connor’s side in order to gently push his hair out of his face.
“Uh—” Connor breathes in, watching him before Evan watches his gaze avert to the ceiling. “Okay, so it’s just like…” He groans, drawing a hand away from Evan in order to drag it along his face. “Christ, you make me happy. You being here makes me fucking happy. It’s so easy to smile around you, Evan, like— holy shit.” There’s something of a forced laugh, and his arm fits itself once again around Evan. “...Holy shit .”
Whatever level of sleepiness that Evan had been at prior to this is gone, and he lets himself be tugged closer before he nods, feeling Connor’s fingers twist up through his hair and play with his curls.
He understands, in some sense, but there’s still confusion that Connor’s words are leaving in his head, and he stays quiet.
“I just, uh… Fuck, Evan, I never thought I’d be able to be this fucking happy about being here. Not, like, here in this apartment, or in bed with you or whatever, I just mean, like, here here.”
Here as in alive. Evan breathes in, nodding again as he registers Connor’s hand trailing down to his back. “...Yeah.”
“Yeah. So, excuse me if it’s easy to get all fucking sappy when I think about spending any amount of my life with you, Evan, but I can’t help it. I can’t help loving you. I can’t help wanting to be with you until I have to use a walker and a hearing aid.”
Wait. What? Evan’s eyebrows furrow, and he breathes in, looking up at Connor, who he finds is just staring right back at him. “Connor, what are you—”
“Hold on. Shit. Okay— All I’m saying is… All I’m asking is if it’s so wrong to want to be with you. That’s it. That’s all. It’s not— It’s— Seeing you, here, with— Shit. Ev, I just love you a lot. And it’s— I—”
He’s fumbling hard, and Evan can’t help but it find it some weird level of endearing. It’s not particularly news to him that neither of them are the best with words, but it doesn’t change the fact that Connor’s rambling, and it’s got Evan’s heart racing.
“Connor, what are you doing?” Evan manages, trying to ignore the way that his breath catches on the last syllable. “Come on, please, you’re— I don’t—”
“Just give me a second. Please?” There’s a level of desperation in Connor’s voice, and it almost sounds strained. Evan sucks in a sharp breath before he nods quickly, looping his arms around Connor again and adjusting himself to look at him.
There’s a moment of silence again before Connor breathes in again, and Evan just watches through the dark as he finally begins to talk again.
“...It doesn’t have to be today,” he whispers, eyebrows furrowed. “Or tomorrow. Or this year, or in the next five years. I just know that at some point, I want to marry you. Because Evan, for me, you’re it.”
Oh. Oh . Evan can feel his heart pounding in his chest as he nods slowly, leaning up to press a chaste kiss to Connor’s lips before he pulls back enough to rest his forehead against his. His throat is burning. Or maybe that’s his chest. Or both. Everything feels like it’s on fire, but it’s right, and good, and the gears in his mind practically stop moving, because he’s known the answer for long enough.
“Evan? Fuck, come on, please—”
He cuts Connor off with another kiss, hands cupping his cheeks as the word pushes past his lips without a second thought.
“Yes.”