the airport was already loud, people everywhere with suitcases rolling past, but somehow jake still made it all feel easy.
one hand pulled the suitcase behind him while the other kept your daughter tucked against his side. her little dog plushie was squished between them as she pointed excitedly out the huge windows every few seconds.
"daddy, is that ours?" adeline asked again, her little sunglasses slipping down her nose.
jake looked up at the plane she was pointing at and smiled. "not yet, princess. ours is gonna be bigger."
adeline's eyes widened straight away. "bigger?"
"way bigger." he said, nodding seriously.
she gasped and instantly hugged his neck tighter, her little legs kicking against his side from excitement. you laughed softly and reached over to fix her sunglasses back into place.
"she's been talking about brisbane all week.." you said.
jake glanced over at you with the softest smile. "so have i."
"you too?" you teased.
he leaned a little closer while the line moved forward. "a whole trip with my girls? obviously i'm excited."
your heart melted a little at that. even in the middle of all the airport noise, he somehow made everything feel warm.
once you finally got through, your daughter wriggled in his arms until he set her down by the giant window near the gate. her tiny hands pressed against the glass as she stared at all the planes outside.
"mommy, look! that one's moving!"
jake crouched beside her, one arm around her little waist so she wouldn't wander too far. "maybe ours is next."
she turned to him so fast her plushie nearly slipped from her hands. "really?"
"maybe.." he said with a grin. "guess we'll have to wait and see.."
that only made her bounce on the spot, talking about window seats, plane snacks, and how her plush dog needed to look outside too. jake listened to every single word, smiling and answering her little questions like they were the most important conversations in the world.
by the time boarding was announced, she was practically buzzing with excitement. the second she heard it, both arms went straight up.
"daddy, up!"
jake laughed and lifted her onto his hip without hesitation, her plushie tucked safely between them again. she rested her cheek against his shoulder this time, still peeking over at the planes while he rubbed her back without even thinking about it.
"always got you, princess." he whispered, kissing the top of her head.
you walked beside them toward the gate, smiling at the way she kept whispering excited little things in his ear about brisbane and how jake nodded along to every word.
and honestly, just watching the two of them like that, the trip already felt special before you'd even left the airport.
how would husband!jake be with the kids while you’re pregnant with the third baby
I love husband enhypen!
Husband Jake would let you rest, to put things short.
With his two rascals, most likely aged between 2-4, Jake would take them out. Nearly everyday he will drag the kids away, whether to the playroom or even to the park. Jake will send the stress away from you. He wants to be with you but he knows you need some rest.
Making more memories with his two angels, Jake will place gentle reminders on them, reminders to be nicer to you...that their baby sister or brother is in their mum, so they need to be careful of that.
Entering the house, he closed the door quietly. In case you were taking a nap, he wanted to be as quiet as possible.
"Mommy may be sleeping so let be quiet okay" He smiles down at his children, locking the door before grabbing their precious hands. Walking at a slow pace, he passes by your sleeping form on the couch. 8 months pregnant, you only had another month before you could meet your third angel.
"Hi mommy" The eldest child whispers, holding Jakes hand tightly as Jake takes them to their bedrooms.
"You excited to meet your sibling?" Jake crouches down at their level once they are in the bedroom.
"Yes! A baby sister!!" The youngest chimes in. The only girl so far, she wanted to meet her sister so bad. Jake ruffles the two year olds hair.
"Can we watch a movie now..." The eldest pouts. His 4 year old tantrum slowly appearing. Jake quickly hushed it down.
"Of course! But a quiet one okay, Mommy is napping"
warnings: dad!jake, newborn baby, fluff so sweet it'll give you cavities
word count: 1.2k
Jake's eyes sprang open as he sat up with a jolt. He tapped on his phone and squinted at the sudden glow, reading the time. 2:53 a.m. He listened for just a moment, as he tried to decipher what awoke him. You began to stir slightly as you nestled into his warmth from his empty spot in bed, snoring a low, quiet rumble as you fell back into a deep sleep. He smiled at the sound. It had been quite awhile since you'd slept so deeply, let alone snored. As he watched you slumber, he heard the noise that must've woken him up. A high-pitched wail from through his closed door that threatened to split his heart in two, as it did every time he heard it. "Shit" he whispered as he felt you begin to stir again.
He stood from the bed as quickly and quietly as he could, performing a little dance across the hardwood floor to the bedroom as he avoided the boards that creaked, long grown familiar as you and he had shared this home for the last 3 years. He slowly turned the knob and opened the door the smallest amount to avoid any squeaking, shut it silently behind him, and tiptoed across the hall to a room that’s door was already slightly ajar. "Shhh..." he began to soothe as soon as he crossed the threshold. He leaned over a white wooden crib and took in the sight of the screaming baby girl inside it, a wild mop of dark wavy hair stuck in tear-dampened strands across her face. "I'm here, Rhi, Daddy's here" he said as he picked up the warm bundle of blankets from the crib. Her wails lessened at the sound of his voice and the feeling of his large, protective hands stroking her back, but the sobs still wracked through her tiny body as he held her tightly against his bare chest. “Shhh, baby, you’re okay,” he whispered as he gently bounced her in the moonlight streaming in through her sheer curtains. He felt her begin to still in his arms, and he pulled her slightly away from him to assess her state, her tears leaving wet streaks on his skin. She stared up at him with her big, deep brown eyes, much like his own, sparkling with the remnants of her tears, her bottom lip stuck out in a quivering pout. “Oh, honey, you are just fine,” he said as he kissed her forehead and began his nightly dad routine.
He changed her diaper, forgoing putting her pajamas back on as it was a warm night and began to feed her the bottle you had pre-made for her earlier. He rocked her slowly in the pink, plush rocking chair in the corner of the room, and glanced down at his daughter’s face to see her staring right back at him with her wide, bright eyes. “Now, Rhiannon,” he began in a mock, scolding tone, “you are supposed to be falling back asleep when I do this.” She merely blinked. He grinned at her chubby fingers holding his hand that held her bottle and looked back into her eyes. “You sure are a Kiszka, aren’t you? Stubborn thing.” He placed the bottle on the side table as it was long gone. “Well, what do you plan on doing instead if you’re not going back to sleep, huh?” he asked as he booped her nose, causing her to let out a tiny, melodic giggle that warmed his body from head to toe. He giggled right along with her, speaking little teasing phrases to her. This wasn’t out of the ordinary at all for Jake and Rhiannon. He frequently conversed with her about anything and everything, and he swore up and down she understood everything he was saying. She was responsive too, with little smiles, blinks and giggles, and undiscernible noises.
“I can’t wait ‘til you get a little older, Rhi. There’re so many things I’m gonna teach you. You wanna learn guitar like Daddy? I bet you’ll be a natural. Probably a brilliant little singer too like your Uncle Josh.” he mused as he rocked her. She continued to smile and stare into his eyes, all her attention on him. “I wonder what sports you’re gonna play. You think you’re gonna try soccer like Daddy? Or maybe softball like Mommy. I don’t know, you were quite the kicker, you really wore your mom out. I bet you’ll play soccer.” He kissed her little cherub cheeks as he spoke to her. He carried on, telling her stories about he and his brothers and sister when they were younger, about his first guitar, when he learned piano and any little thought that crossed his mind, until he looked down again and saw that her eyes were finally closed. “I bored you to sleep, huh” he smiled. He slowly eased his way up from the rocking chair and carried her to her crib where he carefully lowered her back into a bundle of blankets. He watched her lips part slightly as she shifted in the bundle, and cautiously backed away towards the door when he heard a shaky sniffle. “Oh no no no,” he started as he took two big strides back to the side of her crib, “Baby, you gotta be good and go to sleep, Mommy is so tired.” She let out a pitiful little cry, and with that he had an idea.
You awoke early enough that your room was still washed in darkness, but late enough you actually felt refreshed for the first time in a few months. You stretched slightly, and realized you were partially on Jake’s side, but it was empty, the sheets cold, indicating he hadn’t been in bed for at least a couple hours. You massaged the sleep from your eyes and grabbed your glasses from the nightstand, setting them on the bridge of your nose as you stood up from the bed. You could sense the house was still and quiet, so your husband and daughter must be asleep somewhere. You tiptoed around the hardwood floor to the closed bedroom door, avoiding the creaks. You reached Rhiannon’s door, and peered into her room as you slowly opened it, the sight before you caused tears to spring from the corners of your eyes and your breath to hitch in your throat. Jake was curled into the fetal position in Rhiannon's crib, and she was tucked snugly skin-to-skin against his bare chest, his hand holding her whole bare torso just above her diaper, and her little hand on top of his, holding his thumb. Both their mouths were parted slightly, the tiniest bit of drool coming from the corners, indicating their deep sleep. You inched forward silently and grabbed one of her blankets hanging over the back of the crib and threw it over Jake’s legs to help maintain some warmth and comfort. You couldn’t reach either of their faces to actually kiss them due to the depth of the crib, so you kissed the tips of your fingers and lightly grazed them over each of their cheeks. “I love you both so much, my angel babies.” You whispered as you backed out of the room. -fin.
Plot: from the past couple of nights, their baby son has a hard time falling asleep at night when they come back to their fist of Khonsu missions, but Jake does something that the other two didn’t know about …singing their baby son to sleep as Moonknight. Featuring viejitia the cat by gunan
A/N: this fic is going to be Base on my moon boys single dad headcanon and a song ficish“Joseph lullaby” by mercy me and I used google translate because there isn’t any Spanish lyrics for the song so yeah enjoy reading this
next>
“Marc Isaac’s crying again” Steven said to Marc in his reflection in the mirror while trying to calm down their baby son which they named Isaac Randall Spector (Grant , Lockley) after becoming a single father to their little bundle of beautiful child (aka “their mini me”that what Jake jokes on calling him). Recently some how Isaac started to cry at night lately even when khonshu isn’t around, heck he was usually a quiet one when sleeping and napping, but they don’t know how to put him back to sleep, Marc changed the diapers and bottle fed him , Steven rocks him and read him stories but not seems to be working anymore leaving them bags under their eyes when going to work.
Marc frustration is evident on his face “I’m not sure what to tell you Steven.…we can try to read Peter Pan again he seems to love it” he told him he also is worried for Isaac too and they haven’t heard Jake’s options on the matter.
“I dont think it’s a good time for that Marc” Steven replied with ruffling Isaac’s curly black hair and played with his stuff bunny to clam Isaac down even that doesn’t help anymore as Steven is too about to urge to cry over this.
The next night Jake was in front now while patrolling in his moon knight suit his mind wasn’t only on the target that Khonshu told him to kill but on Isaac, he took mental notes about what to do with his son’s refusal to sleep, that’s when got an ideal . “Hurry up Lockley we cannot let our target escape he must me punish” Khonshu yelled in his ear letting him know it’s time for justice “Ay, lo tengo” Jake responded and jumps on the target they were hunting for.
(Time skipped)
The apartment quietness was interrupted by Isaac slowly starting to cry as Jake went in through the window still in his Moonknight suit as he checks on him while Viejita is hiding underneath the furniture just to get away from Isaac crying or him grabbing their tail. Sighing jake looks at Isaac and softly says “I’m back like I said I would Isaac” wiping the tears off isaac’s cheeks taking off his mask warping his son in his cape as a blanket “I understand you mini bebé lunar are refusing to go to sleep lately” the baby whimpers in response making him smile.
Steven and Marc watch through a mirror “what is he going to do Marc?” Steven asked worrying and curious, “I dont know Steven” Marc answered “but whatever he is doing I hope it isn’t bad”
Ignoring his alters commentary about what he’s going to do with Isaac and Jake starts … singing “Vete a dormir hijo mio este pesebre para tu cama Tienes un largo camino por delante Descansa tu cabecita…” Isaac starts calming down and cuddling into Jake’s chest as jake continues singing to him to sleep and rocks him “Vete a dormir hijo mio Ve y persigue tus sueños Este mundo puede esperar un momento más vete a dormir en paz Creo en la gloria del cielo Está mintiendo en mis brazos esta noche Pero Señor, te pido que solo por este momento Simplemente sé mi hijo Vete a dormir hijo mio Nena, cierra tus ojos Muy pronto salvarás el día Pero por ahora, querido hijo mío…”
Isaac’s finally falls asleep in peace leaving Marc and Steven mouth to drop at Jake’s actions, and he looks at them “Que? I’m not all blood and violence you know” Jake responds holding Isaac close to him as the suit disappears. At least the three of them have a peaceful night again.
I think Jake always thought to be the cool dad, doing all sorts of cool things with his kid, dressing up his baby in cool outfits, showing him or her off. But now that he is an actual dad, he changed his mind about that when reality hits him. Babies get sick, a lot, teeth coming through, nightmares, sleepless nights. All the wants to do is take care of you and your little kiddo. Because now you are taking care of the little one with the two of you, but when he's away for work, it's all coming down on your shoulders. His admiration and respect for you grows every day.
He doesn't want to be the cool dad yet, that can wait, he wants to be the loving and caring dad. And he likes it a lot.
Finally got it all done for you, Anon - Jake's fatherhood snapshots. I wanted to make sure I didn't rob the experience from all my friends in Jake's lane by writing it too similarly to Josh's (although I do think they would have similar parenting styles), but I'm not sure if I succeeded or not, so I apologize if it doesn't seem in line with his character. This isn’t set in the same plane of existence as Josh’s either, but I still feel like Jake would be one of those dads obsessed with parenting books and pregnancy blogs.
Also, since I don't name the babies I write cause it seems too contrived, sorry about all the stilted phrases used in substitution. I do have a funny headcannon that Jake would definitely name his son Oliver Reid Kiszka or something.
Lots of twin interaction in this one, and since I felt compelled to add a bonus snapshot, I gift you a small heart to heart between the reader and Uncle Sam (Kiszka...not the "I Want YOU!" guy).
(And as a courtesy tag to my #1 Jake girl, @skankforjakekiszka - I messed around and got attached to you on accident...sorry darlin’)
Nothing I Wouldn't Do, Nowhere I Wouldn't Go
Warnings: Little bit of language and crude humor, other than that, just fatherhood and fluff again
Pairing: Jake Kiszka/Reader
Words: 5k (reading break for length control)
1.
“Ok, what about ‘the turkey isn’t the only thing Jake’s stuffed, Baby Kiszka should be ready to come out in 7 months’?”
Jake tried and failed to hold back a pained smile, finding the phrase funny when he very much didn’t want to. “No.”
“Or I could walk in and say ‘Jake should be in charge of the rolls, because he was successful at putting a bun in my oven’.” Jake couldn’t stop the snort that escaped this time, shaking his head.
“No.”
You pretended to think again, having already looked up an entire list of bad Thanksgiving baby announcements. “Jake gave me some of his gravy and now I’m pregnant.”
Jake made a disgusted sound and shook his head, face scrunching up. “I think that was the worst one. What if we did something normal and…not crude?”
You shot Jake a scathing look. “Do you really want to look your brothers and sister in the eye and say ‘we’ve added a little turkey to our family, say hello to Baby Kiszka’ or something cheesy? At least they’ll appreciate the crude aspect of it, it might offset the teasing.”
Jake sighed. “Do we have to do a Thanksgiving-themed reveal at all? I mean, there are so many other ways we could go about this.” You tapped your fingers on the table, book of baby names laying spread out in front of the both of you.
“But—”
“Also, my parents would find the crude ones funny too and that in itself makes me a little uncomfortable.”
You laughed, because it did sound like something his parents would find funny. You supposed most of the boys and Ronnie had to get their humor from somewhere, you just happened to snag the one who didn’t.
“Okay, okay, I guess we could tone it down a little bit, even if we’re really passing up an opportunity here. What are you thinking? You’ve been doing a whole bunch of vetoing and not a whole lot of contributing.”
Jake stuck his tongue out at you. “I’ve been too busy trying to keep my lunch down at your unpalatable suggestions,” he teased.
You pushed him lightly. “Yeah, yeah, you prude. Now tell me your ideas so that I can veto them, too. I want a turn at being the sourpuss.” You absently flipped a page in the book.
The top of Jake’s cheekbones tinged pink, and when he didn’t say anything, you peeked over at him and noticed his quiet embarrassment. You hoped you hadn’t made him pout with your sourpuss comment and internally ran through potential things he could be embarrassed about.
“I’ve got a few ideas,” he mumbled.
You smiled in realization, softly observing, “You’ve been thinking about this a lot, haven’t you?”
Jake looked at his hands, playing with his rings – a behavior of his that made your heart squeeze. “Since you told me. I just like thinking about how happy my family is going to be, so it was just…a natural thought progression, you know.”
You wrapped your arms around him in affection, disliking that however gentle he’d said it, he thought he had to defend himself to you. “Of course it was. And I love that you’ve thought about this, too – I’ve seen way too many women excited about their pregnancy while their partner just sits there like a limp noodle.”
Jake went boneless in your arms with a smile. “Like this?”
“Nice. You definitely resemble a big piece of cooked spaghetti,” you giggled, letting him go. “Now really, what were you thinking?”
(Jake wouldn’t stop subtly bragging to his family and friends about how dragging a newly-bought highchair to the table right before they ate just to “see if the new kid would fit next year” was all his idea.)
2.
The small release party was lowkey – partly because it was only celebrating the release of a single and partly because none of the boys felt like hosting a big party or being responsible for getting someone else to host it.
You were grateful for the fact regardless of the reason because it meant less strangers coming up to you to talk about the pregnancy and your relationship with Jake and yada yada yada blah blah blah – a bunch of things that you’d already discussed with everyone who meant anything to you guys.
However, you weren’t a fan of the way that apparently, the size of the party made it easier for people to catch you sneaking charged glances Jake’s way (although you may have just been much less subtle than you’d thought you were being, too). You wanted to ogle him in peace, thank you very much, but your “condition” kept drawing the eyes of everyone there except the man you were ogling.
He’d been glued to his phone for the entire evening, showing everyone something on the screen that made him smile, and for the life of you, you couldn’t remember him showing you anything of the sort recently at all.
Now, perhaps it was the hormones talking, but you did not appreciate feeling left out of a joke that evidently, Jake was keen on letting everyone else at the party in on except you.
When your silent plea for Jake to just fucking look at you already was ignored once again, you heaved yourself up and grimaced at the ache in your feet. You hadn’t even been exerting yourself, except perhaps emotionally, on that couch, so the rebellion against your body was totally uncalled for.
You made your way over to Jake, who looked at his screen briefly (yet again) and smiled (yet again).
“You got a secret girlfriend or something that I don’t know about?” you joked, trying to hide your (probably) irrational irritation at him.
Jake smiled hesitantly, belying his confusion. “Huh?”
“Your phone, doofus. You’ve been smiling at it all night, and I’ve been undressing you with my eyes since 10 minutes after we got here but you haven’t even noticed, dammit.” You pouted. “Even other people noticed – which was humiliating, by the way.”
Jake smiled insolently. “Undressing me with your eyes, huh? There something you want, sweetheart?”
You made a face at him. “Not if you really do have a secret girlfriend on that screen.”
Jake’s smile grew, and with it, your irritation. “Are you jealous?”
“No,” you denied vehemently, perhaps too much so. “Maybe. I just want to know what you’re smiling about.”
Jake’s smile softened into something that eased your temper. “No secret girlfriend, just our little bean,” he explained finally, pressing the button on his phone to light up the lock screen and revealing a stitched-together compilation of the baby in various ultrasound photos ranging from your first appointment to your most recent. Like they were growing in front of your eyes.
You tried to swallow the lump that appeared so suddenly in your throat, but Jake must have heard you and looked up from the screen, immediately pocketing the phone and wrapping his arms around you at the sight of you holding back abrupt tears.
“I’m sorry baby, I didn’t mean to make you cry. I wouldn’t have teased if I’d known you were really worried. You know I’d never.”
You sniffled into his dress shirt, tears flowing despite your attempts to stop them, and you choked out a laugh. “It wasn’t that. Stupid hormones are just really potent right now, I guess. They’re growing so fast,” you said jaggedly, a fresh round of tears spilling out. “And the fact that you keep them as your lock screen is so cute,” you half-sobbed, half-laughed.
“Shhh,” Jake comforted. “It’s pretty normal for your hormones to be all fucked-up right now, you’re getting into the last leg of pregnancy, they’re usually highest right about now.”
You let out another uncontrollable sob-laugh. “Did you read that on a pregnancy blog?”
“…Yes.”
3.
The way Jake loved was unconditional. It was all-encompassing and there was very little that could force him to let go once he started loving you.
But the nurses did.
The nurses forced him let go of your hand when the birth went awry and you had to be rushed into an emergency c-section surgery.
And that was an actual nightmare of his come true.
He thought he’d known stress, being a rockstar. He thought he’d known pressure. But they were nothing compared to what he was feeling now, trying not to pace outside the room but too anxious to stand still. And while the worst part was the anticipation, the waiting – it was all exacerbated by the fact that he was so alone.
You’d told your families that you’d call them when visiting hours started the next day due to the late hour your labor started, so no one was there except Jake and the linoleum floors and the night shift workers and his anxiety.
He would have called someone – it wasn’t as if any single member of his family would be anything but happy to get up and come wait with him – it was that he didn’t know who he wanted.
He wanted his mom so she could hug him and let her tell him everything was going to be alright. He wanted his dad and his endless support. He wanted his sister and her ability to take his mind off of things. He wanted Danny and Sam to drag him into their shenanigans and play fights. He wanted Josh and their bond, their unspokeness and –
And he wanted Josh.
His hand trembled slightly as he took out his phone, but before he could tap on Josh’s name, a hand came to rest gently on his shoulder. Jake turned and looked back to see none other but the man whose name was under his hovering thumb, holding a small bouquet of flowers and a fast food bag.
“Is everything okay?”
Jake slowly shook his head and Josh immediate put the things in his hands on the ground, roughly pulling him into a hug. “How’d you—” he cut himself off before his rough, wavery voice devolved into tears, not wanting to cry.
“I didn’t,” Josh confessed, the ending of Jake’s sentence unnecessary for comprehension. “I came here because I couldn’t sleep, I was too excited, so I looked up the average labor time and figured she’d be just about done. I wasn’t sure if they’d let me in, but Danny had mentioned something yesterday about how you guys would probably hate the hospital food, so I thought I’d at least bring you some late dinner. What happened?”
Jake pulled back and exhaled audibly, squeezing the bridge of his nose as if that would make the wetness go away. “Something went wrong, I’m not sure what, but they rushed her into surgery about a half hour ago. I think. Give or take, you know, time seems a little distorted in here,” he said with a small smile, sharing his brother’s hatred of hospitals. “Should’ve been a doctor, maybe I’d understand a little more about what’s happening.”
“Did they sat anything about the baby? Not that I’m not worried about Y/N, too,” he backtracked.
“Uh, I think it was something about the positioning – or was it the umbilical cord – I can’t…I can’t remember,” Jake despaired. “Everything happened so fast and now I can’t tell if I’m remembering something I read or what the doctors told me.”
Josh opened his mouth to answer but the door opened behind Jake, causing him to spin around so fast it made him dizzy.
One of the nurses that had ushered Jake out of the room before smiled at him, and a wave of preemptive relief surged through him.
“Your wife made it through just fine, she’s recovering under supervision.”
“And my baby?”
The nurse smiled again, and Jake swiped a stray tear from his eye. “Your son was brought into the world kicking and screaming.” Her sentence was punctuated by a tiny, yet fierce cry from the room, and the nurse gave Jake a look that read, ‘see’. “You can go in and see them as soon as the doctors finish up.”
Jake turned back to Josh, biting back more tears – happy this time – and leaned straight into his waiting arms, wrapping his own arms tightly around his brother.
“My son,” he laughed wetly, shock and awe radiating through his voice. “I’ve got a fucking son.”
“And I’ve got a fucking nephew,” Josh echoed with a smile. Jake pinched Josh on the side.
“Stop trying to one-up me; let me have my moment, I just became a dad.”
4.
“Jake?” you called frantically, moving fast as you could around the corner. “Jake, do you have our son? I put him on the changing pad and went to get a diaper, and now he’s gone. He can’t even crawl yet!”
“What? Oh yeah, I have him. He seemed lonely, all by himself on the floor,” Jake said innocently from your bedroom. As you got closer, you heard him babble softly to the baby. “Unacceptable, mate, there’s no fuckin’ room for fuckin’ loneliness in this fuckin’ house.”
You frowned in the doorway. “Hey, Oliver Reed.” Jake looked up at you with wide eyes, adjusting the last strap on the baby carrier.
“Yes?”
“Watch your fuckin’ language and fuckin’ tell me when you abscond with our son next time.”
“Aye, aye, captain.”
You walked toward the pair with the diaper still in hand. “Now take him out of the carrier, he still has a full pee diaper.”
Jake wrapped his arms around the boy and turned away. “Noo,” he whined softly, “he’s comfortable already.”
“He might leak onto your shirt.”
“That’s what washing machines are for.”
“He’s gonna get diaper rash,” you insisted with an exasperated chuckle, still dancing around Jake trying to get to your baby.
Jake sighed dramatically. “Fine. But he comes right back to me after, you baby snatcher.”
You swatted him upside the head. “He’s my son too, you know.”
“I’m not letting him down until I hear a promise.”
“Fine, fine,” you huffed. “You can have him back afterwards.”
Jake gently let him out of the carrier while you got the travel water-proof pad to lay onto the mattress.
“Hyena,” you mumbled at Jake, who was standing right behind you as you changed the baby.
Jake put his hand to your lower back, and you felt the heat through your shirt. “You’re the opportunistic one,” he chuckled, and you rolled your eyes as he was clearly not talking about the baby anymore.
You carefully helped Jake situate your son in the body carrier again. “Keep hogging my son and see just how many opportunities arise, Jacob.” He smiled impishly. “And if I catch you trying to cook open-flame with the carrier on again, I’m selling it.”
His smile dropped to a pout.
5.
You were used to dealing with children, what with nieces and nephews and being a mother for going on four years now.
But a man-child? Oh, they were a different breed. And in addition to marrying one, you just had to marry one that was in a band with three other man-children, two of them his blood brothers.
Which is why every time you looked at your sweet little boy, your pride and joy, you hoped and prayed that he would take after you. But every time you saw him hanging out with his dad and uncles, your hopes and prayers were dashed, just a little bit.
“It is twenty minutes until you are supposed to be on stage, and he is not going with you.” The warning in your voice was clear, but so was the mischief in Jake and Josh’s. They seemed stuck in the same frozen half-crouch that you found them in, ready to bolt down the hall somewhere backstage, and you took a step towards them, eyes catching the way Jake’s hands twitched toward your son, who was giggling at the tension in a mini Jake outfit that you had no idea the origin of.
“Look Mommy, I’m Daddy!”
“That’s very nice, honey, wanna come to Mommy so that Daddy and Uncle Josh can get ready for the show?”
“But Daddy said I could go with him!”
“Jake,” you warned again, though the underlying threat was stronger in your tone this time. Jake shrugged, mouthing ‘I love you,’ to which you subtly shot him the bird where your child couldn’t see.
“Y/N,” Josh said cheekily.
“If you value your vocal chords, you grungy little elf man, shut up and walk away.” You shifted your eyes to Jake again and took another step. “And if you value your fingers, sweetheart,” your voice turned saccharine with the unspoken threat and another step, and this time Jake did put his hands on his son’s waist, ready to scoop him up. The sudden movement had the child clutching at Jake’s sleeves and smiling widely.
You didn’t stop to think about what the various backstage workers thought of the three grown-ass adults and a child stalking each other in a random hallway, and you weren’t all that concerned, either. What you were concerned about was the tantrum that would plague every single passenger of the car all the way to the next stopover if you didn’t get your son wound down to a solid 3 on the energy scale within the next 30 minutes.
You could tell he was matching his father and his uncle at their level 8.
“Just one show?” Jake pleaded. “Part of one show? One song? The chorus of one song,” he negotiated, taking his offer down each time at your continued glower.
You saw Josh whisper something in Jake’s ear and knew the light that started twinkling in his eye.
“Jake, Josh, I’m serious.”
They looked at you with wide, mischievous eyes and then side-eyed each other at the same time.
You started running then, still not quick enough to catch them as Jake swung your son into his arms and took off after Josh, all three of them laughing maniacally.
6.
All the Kiszka boys were relatively deep sleepers. For Jake, that changed after his son was born, stirring at every movement on the bed when they co-slept and then at every sound from the monitor once they started sleep-training.
The adaptation was both a blessing and a curse – at times making sleeping on a moving tour bus nearly impossible but also saving his face from permanent marker mustaches (thanks, son) and crude phrases (thanks, band).
So when his phone buzzed from its spot on his nightstand at 2:52 am one very early Saturday morning, his hand shot over almost unconsciously, flailing and groping around for the device before rolling over and putting it to his ear, whispering, “Hello?” in an attempt not to wake you.
“Um…hey, dad.”
Jake’s eyes flew open and he opened the bedroom door quietly as he could. “Hey buddy, whatcha doing?” He walked the length of the hallway to where your son’s room was and turned the knob, only to find it locked. “Are you okay?”
“Uhh, yeah?”
“You don’t sound so sure of that,” Jake observed. It was only then that he heard a faint giggling in the background. “And where are you?”
“How do you know that I’m not –”
“You should tell your friends they’re laughing pretty loudly if I can hear them across the phone.”
“Oh.” There was a pause. “Are you mad?”
Jake huffed into the phone. “I’d be a hypocrite if I was. A little worried, but I’m not mad.” There was another pause and when the boy didn’t offer anything else, Jake asked, “So is everything ok? Or were you just so – so wracked by guilt that you needed to call to confess?”
“I didn’t mean to get drunk, dad, I swear.” His son spoke softly. “The punch was spiked and I didn’t know.”
Jake smiled. He really did take mostly after you, both in appearance and disposition – something he knew you was secretly happy about – and it was always funny when you guys caught the rare few moments that Jake’s contribution to his DNA surfaced. Or rather, when he guiltily called Jake once the contribution sank beneath the surface once again.
“Are you sick? Do you not feel safe?” Jake was still trying to get an answer out of him.
“No, no, everything’s alright, I’m fine. I just – I think I want to come home, now.”
Jake’s heart softened. “Yeah? Ok, bud. I’ll be right there; can you tell me where you are?”
His son rattled off one of his friend’s addresses. “Hey dad?”
Jake tiptoed downstairs and slipped on a pair of shoes by the door, grabbing his keys and quietly making it through the front door. “Yeah?”
“Mom won’t be disappointed in me, will she?”
“No, I don’t think so,” Jake laughed. “She’d have left me before we even started dating if alcohol was a game-changer for her.”
There was a shuffle on the phone and a faint voice yelled, “Jake Kiszka, I love you!” from the background, and Jake stifled his laugh.
“Got some Greta fan friends, do you?”
“Ugh,” his son groaned. “They haven’t left me alone since they figured out you’re my dad.”
“Gee,” Jake snickered, navigating the streets in the dark, “some bright friends you got there. Kiszka isn’t exactly a popular name.”
“I dunno,” he sighed. There was silence for a few minutes and Jake looked at the call to make sure it hadn’t been ended when his son spoke again. “Oh, I think I see you.”
Jake chuckled again. “You must be pretty drunk, because whoever you see definitely isn’t me. I’m still driving.”
“Oh. Whoops.”
“Maybe your Uncle Josh grew his hair out, straightened it, and crashed your high school party.”
“Wouldn’t put it past him.”
“Me and you both, bud. I do think I’m almost there, though.”
Jake finally made the last turn into the neighborhood his GPS directed him too.
“I’ll meet you out front, then.” The call ended abruptly and Jake pulled in front of a house that was saturated with cars, waiting until a familiar figure came out the front door. He tried to close it, but it was yanked open by a few more people who tumbled out of the doorway, laughing and waving at Jake.
Jake rolled his windows down and stuck his arm out to wave back, which ignited a cheer from the high schoolers.
His son made it to the car and sat himself in the front seat. “Hey dad.” His words were definitely a little looser than normal. “Thanks for coming to get me.”
Jake put a hand on his knee and gave it a shake, routing them back to the main road. “You know there isn’t a thing I wouldn’t do for you nor a thing you could do to make me love you any less.”
“So you’re sure Mom won’t be mad?”
“Son,” Jake began, “let me tell you a few stories from my early twenties and high school days, and then you can be the judge on whether Mom’s perception of you will change based on one experience with alcohol.”
7.
You were suffocating, and it was all the internet’s fault. If Jake didn’t feel the need to be so damn attentive and the internet wasn’t so damn extensive, perhaps Jake wouldn’t have turned into baby/father-zilla and smothered you so damn much.
And you wouldn’t say that you hated it; you loved it, you really did. You loved him.
But sometimes Jake was his own worst enemy, letting his anxiety rule him and leading to a whole night of are you okay and have you drank enough water and that might have too much salt in it and we should take a walk so you don’t start aching and all these different facts and figures that those damn pregnancy websites gave him.
You didn’t tell him, but it had gotten so bad in the past few weeks that you secretly put a filter on his phone’s internet searches in an attempt to keep him from finding any new, niche, and unnecessary information.
Even his mother had picked up on your growing urge to strangle her son, whispering to you, “It’s because he loves you, but I’ll try to say something to him.”
But anyway, back to the suffocation.
You definitely should have picked a less crowded closet to hide in, and that was a rookie move, but you were nothing if not adaptable. Well, and maybe stubborn, because you definitely also could have just up and walked to another hiding place, but where was the dignity in admitting defeat?
And also, the bathroom closet had been a perfect escape because once you’d gone to the bathroom, all you’d had to do was open the door and poof, you were gone, no explanation.
Now, you did feel bad when you faintly heard Jake ask where you were the first time from downstairs, but then it came again and again and again all within the space of a minute and you just needed to breathe a little bit, even if was the stuffy, towel-closet air.
There was a slight ruckus outside the bathroom and your curiosity grew until you were about to give up the game and get back to the family, but then the door flew open and you looked up with guilty eyes, expecting to see Jake tearing the house apart, only to be met with a manic gleam in Sam’s eyes.
“I’m not gonna ask what you’re doing here, but you need to move over because I need to hide.”
You sighed and scooched over as much as you could in the already limited space while Sam shoved towels into the top shelves to make room at the bottom for him. Someone – Danny, more specifically – bellowed out Sam’s name from somewhere in the house and his footsteps quickened downstairs.
You raised your brows at Sam and hid a smile as he frantically shoved even more towels anywhere they would go before throwing himself in the tiny space he’d cleared out, gently shutting the door into darkness again.
There was a beat of silence as heavy footsteps raced past the bathroom door and into the boys’ old bedrooms before racing back, Danny asking very loudly where Sam was hiding.
Once his footsteps faded, Sam let out the unholiest string of snorted coughs and aborted wheezes.
“What in the world did you do?” you said, beginning to giggle along with him solely because of the noises he was making.
“You first – can’t talk,” he forced out, trying to catch his breath.
You sighed and gently let your head fall against the wall with a thunk.
“Your brother is driving me insane.” Your eyes had adjusted to the dark once again and you saw that you were closer to Sam than you had realized. “I love him with my whole heart, but I cannot deal with him right now. If I felt like I was suffocating in here, it’s nothing compared to Jake. I can’t even breathe without him asking if I’m okay, and as much as I appreciate the sentiment, I honestly think he’s trying to recognize the pattern of my breaths so that he can draw up some sort of – of old midwife’s breathing plan that he found in a picture on the internet engraved in a fucking stone tablet or some shit.”
You couldn’t draw as deep of breaths these days, and by the end of the sentence, you gasped for a breath.
Of course, Sam couldn’t help but comment, the little shit. “Damn, maybe you do need to start taking more walks, that was like, one sentence before you were out of breath.”
You kicked him, and he let out a pained yelp that was much too loud.
“Come talk to me when you’re 27 weeks pregnant and crammed in a towel closet, and then we’ll have a breathing contest, yeah?”
He rubbed his shin, where your foot had made contact. “Damn, woman, that child’s gonna be a soccer star if they inherit your leg,” he grumbled.
“Pregnancy super-strength.”
“Bullshit,” he said.
You hummed, letting the exchange peter out. “So what’d you do to Danny?”
In the low light emitting from the cracks in the door, you saw him smile wolfishly.
“Danny’s been losing track of his clothes here recently.”
“Losing track of, huh?” you said dubiously.
“Oh yeah, very disorganized, Danny. Anyways, more specifically, his tighty-whities. Well, his boxer briefs, at least. He didn’t notice until I almost cleaned him out of underwear – you should’ve seen his face when he told me that he suspected someone was stealing ‘em.” Sam laughed. “I gaslit him so hard.”
You rolled your eyes. “And he found your stash of his underwear in your childhood bedroom? See, now that’s the reaction I would have liked to witness.”
“No – he never found them. Well, he did, just now. There was a reason I volunteered to put all the food out.”
“Of course there was.”
“I was surprised my mom didn’t notice first, but I think the designs gave them away – the uh, the new pot-holders we used today, that is.”
You snorted and shook your head. “Never gonna grow up, will you?”
Sam shook his head. “Never,” he agreed. “Besides, my niece or nephew will need someone to guide ‘em in the art of Kiszka pranks.”
“As if Jake and Josh don’t have that covered,” you scoffed.
Sam scoffed right back. “Please, I’m the best prankster in this family. And I’m gonna be the favorite uncle – Josh might have a leg up since he’s Jake’s twin, but I have a couple tricks up my sleeve.”
You laughed. “I’m sure the baby will love you all equally.”
“You think so?”
There was a sudden, slight change in Sam’s tone – an infinitesimal waver, a tiny drop of insecurity that was just potent enough to be detected.
“Yeah, I’m certain,” you said softly. “And besides, Josh can’t be the favorite uncle if he’s drunk on salty dogs every time we have a family gathering.”
“True,” Sam said with a small chuckle. He spoke up again after a moment. “I’ll love ‘em anyways, even if I’m not the favorite, though. They won’t have to worry about that.”
You smiled at the uncharacteristic emotion Sam was showing you. “That’s good. If their dad smothers them as much as he does me, they’ll need some place to escape where they’ll be loved just as much, but in a different way.”
Sam’s foot shifted against yours. “I can do that.”
You didn’t know what else to say, but were saved from blurting out something random and ruining the moment by the door flinging open, Danny glaring down at Sam and Jake looking all out of sorts – relieved, confused, frantic – right behind him.
“What the fuck are you guys doing hiding in Mom and Dad’s towel closet?”
summary | a soft timeline of your and jake's relationship. dealing with tour, how you met, and him finding out that you're pregnant.
warnings | light smut, mentions of self doubt
word count | 2.1K+
author’s note | ahh ! here's jake's part :) the song of the title is mystery of love by sufjan stevens. the movie it comes from, cmbyn, is one of my favorites all time stylistically, musically, and actor-wise (at least timmy's performance). i'll be posting josh's either tonight or tomorrow :) thank you guys for reading these and humoring me. y'all are the coolest and i love y'all w everything i have
here's danny's part: heavenly
and sammy's part: la belle fleur sauvage
here's josh's part: tiny dancer
When you first met Jake, you were barely eighteen, a couple days shy of your birthday. The bouncer let you in anyways, telling them that you were with friends to see a band play. The two of you were able to stand super close to the stage, being able to reach a hand out to touch them if you really wanted to. Although you had no idea who they were, from what you had heard from your friend, they were incredible.
You watched as they came on stage one by one, saying their hellos with a wave of their hand to everyone who came out. You looked over all the band members, eyes falling onto the guitarist. Once they had landed, your eyes never left him. You were absolutely mesmerized, as was he. The smile you sported was intoxicating as you danced along to the music.
When the show ended, you met them outside, taking pictures with some of the fans. You took pictures of your friend and the boys, letting her take some of you and them. When you took yours with Jake, his lips brushed against your ear, sending shivers down your spine as he whispered in your ear, “I couldn’t take my eyes off of you tonight. Could I maybe get your number or something?”
After that, you and Jake became inseparable. You used any and every excuse to be able to follow them on their tour, going under the guise of being their photographer. Although photography was one of your hobbies, you had never taken it seriously. After the tour was over, the boys officially hired you, giving you a full time job and a reason to be with them all the time.
While off the tour, the two of you developed your relationship even further, beginning to sleep together. While it wasn’t ever asked, everyone knew you as Jake’s girlfriend. Lots of fans would come up and take pictures with you, telling you how much they loved you and Jake together. You would always interact them on your Instagram page, giving them the quality content of the boys that they wanted. Most of the time, it was pictures of them on stage, but occasionally you would share with them the behind-the-scenes photos; vacations taken, sightseeing being done, hiking pictures especially.
On any given cabin trip with the boys, they were sure to find one with separate little cabins for each of you. Danny and Mackenzi would wander into theirs, as would Josh and Sam, going to their own cabins. You’d lead Jake back into yours, biting your lip as you smile at him. The pace and tone for the night was soft, letting your lips brush against Jake’s as if you hadn’t done it before. The two of you would remove each other’s clothing, eyes glazing over each other’s bodies. He walked the two of you backwards, the backs of his knees hitting the cushions.
His hands cupped your cheeks, keeping you there, as close to him as he could get you. A blanket wrapped around your bodies, thighs against his. You rolled your hips on top of him, noses brushing against each other's. Your hands weaved through his hair, tugging lightly at the roots every time he brushed over that spot – the one that made you emit a quiet moan. “I love you.”
“I love you, Jake.” It never once stopped there, Jake carrying you into the bedroom, where he absolutely ravished you. He never once wanted his lips to leave your skin, even for a fleeting moment to change positions. His lips – hands especially – had to be touching you at all times. You sighed into his touch, rocking your hips against his fingers.
The way Jake sounded when you had him in your hand was something that would always stick with you, living in the background of your mind for as long as you were living and breathing on this Earth. You lived for the way he reacted to your touch, the eye his eyebrows furrowed the harder you scratched his scalp. He was so vocal, you were silently thanking yourself that the two of you were in this little cabin by yourself.
Your front was pressed into the mattress, arm draped over Jake’s chest as he lies on his back. Your eyes focus heavily on the slope of his nose, outlining the shape of his face. You were lucky to love someone like him – someone so attentive to your shifts. He noticed a shift in your mood, but not necessarily able to pinpoint the emotion you were feeling. He turns onto his side, facing you. “What’s on your mind? You seem off.”
“Just thinking about us, the future.”
“What about it?” He asked, running his fingers through your hair. He could coax absolutely anything out of you with the touch of his hands. You melted, completely.
“Nothing in particular. Just what we should do. Where are we gonna live? In the countryside or in the city? Somewhere big with lots of open spaces or somewhere small, but us?”
“We’ve gotta live somewhere with an open space, so definitely in the country. If my kids are anything like Josh and I were, we’ll be fucked and need lots of space for them to do dumb shit.” The two of you shared laughter, conversation delving into the future lives of your kids, what they will be doing and what happens if they want to do something other than music.
You didn’t have to worry about that for some time though. At least you truly thought you didn’t. After a hiking trip ended with a quickie with the most amazing view, you had fallen pregnant. You weren’t scared for the way Jake would react, but mostly just for the way the two of you would handle this.
It went about as good as to be expected. You told Jake, to which he cried and hugged your stomach, beginning to tell the little bean growing inside of you that he loved them so much. He cried when he told the boys, Josh being more overjoyed for the two of you rather than the other boys. They were just as happy, but you two knew how much Josh loved babies.
Along the entire journey through your pregnancy, Jake is right by your side. Even while going on tour and being their photographer, he stuck by you every single moment. When you had started to show, Jake announced it live on stage with Josh’s help. The sheer amount of love you felt when everyone began cheering was incomparable. The stage lights made you warm, but so did the reaction from the crowd. Jake pressed the biggest kiss to your lips, loving filling his eyes. The atmosphere in the air that night was intoxicating.
When you had finally given birth to your son, Michael Everette Kiszka, the world seemed like such a loving place. Josh had cried when he found out the name of your son, understanding where Jake had gotten Michael from. Karen and Kelly cried, too, seeing how small and perfect your son was. Once you had started crying, it was almost like you couldn’t stop. The sheer amount of love you had felt while giving birth to the newest Kiszka was overwhelming.
The more Michael had grown, the more things Jake had missed out on. It wasn’t intentionally, but it absolutely wrecked his heart. You had sent him the video of him learning to walk, saying ‘mama’ and various pictures and videos of the teeth that had begun to peak out from his gums. Jake hated how much he was away because of tour, but it was what he loved.
You swore to him that you didn’t mind, but in reality, you did. You really did mind. It felt as if though you were a single parent. Although you had help from Karen and Kelly, living just a little less than an hour away from them, it still felt lonely. You did every chore with a kid on your hip, heart missing Jake, but getting distracted from the feeling due to being so wrapped up with Michael.
It was real late at night, you had already had Michael down for a few hours now, taking some time for yourself in the bathtub with a new book you had started a couple weeks ago and a little Tito’s and seven. Your phone buzzed with a call from Jake. Part of you wanted to ignore it and pretend you didn’t hear your phone going off – that you were sleeping. But you answered it. “Hello?”
“Hi, babe. Is he awake still, or no?”
“I put him down hours ago. I don’t really want to wake him. It’s already been hard enough trying to get him into bed.” You spoke into the phone, drawing your knees closer to your chest. “How’s tour been?”
“Good, you know, busy. I’m sorry.”
“You’re starting to sound like a broken record, Jake.” You sighed. He knew it, but still it hurt to hear. It hurt to say it, too, but it was the truth. He always apologized, but nothing ever changed.
“We’re coming home next week for six months.” When Jake came home, things between the two of you were awkward. You’d spend nights at the Kiszka family house, letting Sam and Josh take turns playing with Michael, watching them with him. You look around the entire kitchen and living room area, not finding Jake anywhere. You looked to Karen, to which she alluded to you that Jake was in his old bedroom, which is where all of Michael’s things had been set up for when he would spend time with Grandma and Grandpa K.
You followed the staircase up to his room, noticing the lake of Jake-ness in the room. You see him looking out the window, holding Michael’s blanket within his hands. You touched his shoulder and he turned around, tears streaming down his face. You pulled him in for a hug, his arms wrapping around your stomach, sniffling into the crook of your neck. “Hey, hey, hey. What’re you crying for Jake?”
“I’ve missed so much. I’ve been such a shit dad.” You pulled him away from you, hands on his cheeks. You wipe the tears from his cheeks, kissing both of them.
“You aren’t a shit dad, Jake. You’ve been busy, but you’re here now. Make up for lost time instead of feeling guilty about it. He knows who you are, we talk about you every night before we go to bed.”
“You do?” He asks, sniffling.
“Of course we do, Jakey.” A small smile appears on his face. “We talk about how you are a rockstar and that rockstar daddies have to be away for a long time, but when they come home, we love them as much as we can. There’s a picture of you next to his bed and he has a guitarist Build a Bear that he refuses to sleep without. It’s in his diaper bag downstairs if you’d like to see it.”
He reluctantly follows you downstairs, wiping away any remnants of his tears so his family wouldn’t see. Michael runs into your legs, wrapping his little arms around them as Josh winds up in front of the two of you. “Uncle Josh, were you chasing my sweet little Michael around?”
“What? No, Y/N, I would never chase him. But the Tickle Monster will!” He creeps behind your legs, his laughter filling the air as he hides behind Jake’s legs. Jake turns his body, picking Michael up as he begins to run out the backdoor with Michael in his arms.
“I’ll protect you, Michael! Tickle Monster can’t catch Dad!” You watch the three of them run around, Jake’s dad instincts immediately kicking in.
“He’s really a natural out there with him.”
“He really is. I kinda want to give him another one, give Michael a sibling.” You turn to Karen, face warm with love. She gave you an endearing smile, wrapping an arm around you. You lean your head on her shoulder, watching Jake throw your son onto his shoulders, holding his little hands as he runs around his backyard, Josh chasing after the two of them. “This is giving me too many ideas about having more kids, Sam distract me.”
“I can’t, I’m too busy watching your stupid baby daddy and your cute ass son. I’m still mad you didn’t give him my middle name.”
“I was not naming my kid, Francis, Sam.” Little did Sam know, though, that with the birth of your next child, a daughter, her middle name would be Francis, for the best younger brother a guy could ask for. Rosalyn Francis Kiszka.
