Dad's Day (Open)

[Hunter Maynard]

Every week, three times at the very least, Hunter made a day full of fun for him and his son. Whether it be going for ice cream and playing catch or days like today when he brought Julian to the lake for some fishing and swimming. The weather was warm and Julian was going stir-crazy. Hunter couldn't handle the crazy, spastic young boy. He was constantly running around, hopping on the beds and couches and everything else. Long story short, it was days like this he wanted to drop his son off at his mother's house so she could see what she left him with. But he would never subject his son to that. Adison wasn't interested in knowing anyway.

After packing up the bag full of towels and sunscreen and tanning oil and everything else, he went back to his room and changed into trunks and a white t-shirt. It was far too quiet in his apartment and he had to admit, he was a little scared to find out what the boy was doing. He took a deep breath and let it out in a sigh before calling the little hellian. Just as the name passed his lips, the seven year old came barreling down the hallway right at him. He snatched up his kid and threw him over his shoulder, "Off to the lake we go. Quit your squirming, boy!"

Tossing (gently) the boy in the car, he belted him in and got in the driver's side, before pulling out of the parking lot and heading off to the lake. It was bound to be crowded, even if it was still pretty early. Julian always decided to wake up at the butt crack of dawn and of course it was part of Hunter's sleeping pattern as well. They arrived at the lake, and Hunt was glad to see that their spot was open and he rushed the young one out of the car to claim it. Julian was barely out of his shirt before he ran straight for the water. Hunter stayed back to set up a chair and stripped off his own shirt.

"That kid is crazy," He muttered under his breath.

[Deleted]

Jackson had a photo shoot that day. Kiara didn’t mind it though. By now she had grown very used to having Gabe around and the fact that he had promoted her to be his mommy. Given the fact that it had been quite warm the last couple of days and that the little boy had stayed inside the apartment, Ki had opted to grab together some swimming stuff after her boyfriend had left. After that she had plopped down on the couch, waiting for the kid to wake up. Once he did, he got to eat some cereals and then got dressed in his little swimming shorts and a t-shirt.

With everything gathered in the trunk of her car, Kiara took off to the lake with Gabe buckled in the car seat. It only took a couple of minutes for them to find a parking spot and for the blonde to swing the bag over her shoulder before opening up the door and plucking Gabriel out and onto her arm. With a small cap on his head to protect him against the sun, Ki managed to adjust her floral summer dress before closing the door again and locking the vehicle. “Let’s find a spot, mm?” She wasn’t too sure how he would react to the water, but the girl did hope it would be a nice refreshment for him.

Luckily a spot underneath a tree was still available, providing some shadow for the little one. The blanket draped over her free arm soon got spread on the ground after having put Gabe on his feet. Not too far away, a young boy sprinted into the water. It clearly caught her son’s attention as he pointed over to him with his other tiny hand tugged at the hem of Ki’s dress. “Not yet, sweetie.” The young woman mused while sitting down on her knees to take some toys out of the bag, attempting to distract Gabe. He, on the other hand, didn’t seem to find them interesting enough and was slowly starting to grow restless. He even began to whimper and whine, taking a couple of steps away from the blanket, yet not overstepping the boundaries (partly because he was scared as well). Of course it made Kiara feel bad, especially since it probably drew the attention of others because Gabe was starting to grow annoyed, but she just wanted him to learn to wait.

[Hunter Maynard]

Hunter sat back in one of the beach chairs that he set up, the bigger of the two and watched as Julian went crazy. His son really was a lot like him when he was that age, constantly full of energy and happy. It was like the little boy didn't have a care in the world and that was what Hunter had hoped for his son. Growing up without a mother was a hard thing to do, but it was sort of Hunter's fault seeing as how he hadn't been looking for anyone to take Adi's place in his son's life or his heart. He just couldn't stand the thought of letting someone in and then having her leave, hurting Julian and himself in the process.

Julian often asked why he didn't have a mother and the answer was always quick and the same. Adison wanted a different life, she didn't belong in this one. More often than not, Julian just accepted it and went off to do his own thing, but there were those days that he asked why she wanted something different and why she didn't love him. Those days were the hardest to get through because Hunt just couldn't lie to his son. Not about her. He knew Julian would need someone to talk to about it when he got older and honestly he thought about taking the boy to a counselor, but decided he was too young. If he ended up screwed up, then maybe Hunter would take him to counseling, but until then, he just didn't want his son to go through that.

The young boy came sprinting back to his father and Hunter just laughed, "Whoa, slow down, you're gonna end up plowing into someone. What'dya need kiddo?"

Julian was rummaging through things and snatched up the bag of beach toys, sand shovels and buckets. "This! C'mon Dad, let's build a sand castle. Please? C'mon, c'mon!" He tugged on Hunter's arm and dragged him out of the chair. Hunt just smiled and followed after his boy to the sand right where the sand was wet and dry so that they could get the best sand possible.

As Julian started filling the bucket with sand, along with all of the molds, Hunter could hear a younger child whining and whimpering. Jules looked up when he heard it as well and waved at the small boy. Hunter laughed at his son's social behavior and gave the young girl a slight nod. "Dad, can they come build it with us? Please?" Julian asked excitedly.

Hunter shrugged, "Go ask 'er and see what she says." He barely finished the sentence before Julian ran over to the girl and the little boy and he could just see the pleading puppy dog eyes that the boy used. Yup, he definitely got those puppy dog eyes from his father.

[Deleted]

”Oh, come on, Gabe. Be a good boy.” A brief glance had been cast in the direction of Hunter and Julian. She was not going to allow the little one to wobble over while she was still taking care of the toys and her own belongings. With her back turned towards them again, Kiara took out the book that she had brought, along with some sun lotion to protect the toddler’s fragile skin. At that point, Gabriel let himself fall down on his swimming diaper-covered butt. The sobbing had grown louder, especially when the other child took out toys that looked so much more interesting than his own. While it did make the blonde feel bad, she was not going to give in. Not yet at least.

A few seconds later, the whimpers audibly slowed down, which in turn drew Kiara’s attention. Rising to her feet, she looked over at the man and his son. She had no idea why he gave her a nod, for a second fearing that her memory was failing and that she had to know this person, but the girl simply returned the courtesy with a soft smile before squatting down next to Gabe. Turning the lid of the lotion, she got some on her hand before starting to apply it to the young one’s arms, legs and face. ”Look at those tears…” The girl mused soothingly while her free hand smoothed them off his chubby cheeks. ”We don’t want to get a sun burn, now do we?” With that, Kia poked his nose, leaving a white dot of lotion. In turn it brought a weak smile to Gabriel’s lips.

And then, before she knew it, the young boy was standing next to him, mentioning a sand castle. Kiara frowned and peeked down at Gabe who was once more pointing to all the toys. Then she gazed over at the blonde guy, and down to his son again. Or perhaps it was his younger brother? ”Um, sure. If your father doesn’t mind.” A second of silence took place on her part. ”He… is your dad, right?” God save her if she were to make that mistake within his ear reach. It might not be that pleasant for him.

Taking Gabriel by the hand, moving forward with miniscule steps to match his, Kiara headed over to where the guy was located. It did feel kind of awkward, but Gabe and the young boy did not seem to care. The youngest one even tugged his hand free once they arrived, immediately landing on his knees to hog the red mold in sight. There was no longer any sign of tears.

After making sure he was alright, Ki allowed herself to grow comfortable as well. Or, well, as comfortable as possible while joining a stranger and his son. ”Just so you know,” she began while looking at Julian. ”I am no good at this.” With the small smile that appeared, she looked over at his dad. It kind of did feel abrupt, but the girl was not sure how else to get more social with him. A hand first motioned at herself and then at the little one. ”Kiara, and Gabe.”