Drake snorted. "Sure, the uncle who the kids barely knew before Minds got deployed." The man shook his head. "If she hadn't gone, I'd have never really known them."
"Sure you would. She loves you."
"And I love her like crazy, but when did I come see them? Once a year, if that. I was so busy living my life." Drake snorted.
"That's what people do. Hell, that's what I do." He saw his nieces and nephews a couple times a year, if he was lucky. "Drake, I spend a good amount of vacation with Travis and Joey in Mexico most years."
"Yeah? I'm not an asshole for not having been more…involved before now?"
"Why? You called. You sent them gifts. You visited."
Drake nodded slowly. "Now that I really know them, though… Well, I'm glad, you know?"
"I am too." Slayde couldn't help his smile. "You are one hell of an uncle."
"You're one hell of a nanny." He could see the teasing glint in Drake's eyes, hear it in the man's voice.
"I am. I'm exceptional." He knew it was odd, but he was. "I'm not the only male nanny on earth, you know. We're rare, that's all."
"I bet being a guy's a hard sell for a lot of people."
"Yeah. And then if you add gay on, it complicates things." Slayde pulled his legs up underneath him. "It's like the assumption is that if you're queer, you're untrustworthy or you're a sex fiend or something. I'm just as good at caring for kids as anyone."
"What you need is one of those nanny services that specializes in gay nannies. Like… Mannies Incorporated, or something."
"Right. Like those exist." Those didn't exist.
"Then they should, right?"
Slayde thought about that. "I… I don't know. In a way, it would rock because you wouldn't have to have that whole awkward conversation, but what about the haters?"
Drake chuckled and gave him a look. "Baby, I was so far in the closet I was terrified to even tell my sister, who has a gay nanny for fuck's sake. I don't think I'm the right person to ask about haters."
"Who else would I ask? I talk to you."
Drake was… Drake.
"Well, then, I'd say screw the haters. You didn't let them stop you becoming a nanny in the first place."
"No, but… I don't know. Would it cater to gay men with families? I mean, I couldn't do it in Texas, really, the market is so small." He wasn't committed to staying, though.
"I think you'd be limiting yourself if you insisted on the clientele being gay men with families, just like you'd be limiting yourself if you make the mannies be gay. Equal opportunity. Doesn't mean most of your guys aren't going to be gay and so are most of the families wanting them." Drake shrugged. "And no, Texas wouldn't be my first choice if I was starting the company up."
Slayde chuckled and nodded. "I don't know, Drake. It's a fabulous idea, but… Am I a business owner type? I'm a nanny." Still, he wasn't sure that he wanted a whole new family again.
"You're kind of amazing."
"What?" He hadn't been expecting that.
"I said I think you're kind of amazing." Drake's eyes were saying it, too.
"Thank you." Kind of amazing? Wow.
Drake grunted. "You're welcome." Drake smiled at him.
"What… Are you going to go back to being a police officer?" They hadn't talked about the future at all, they'd just…done a really good job of living in the now and enjoying every damn second of it.
"I don't know, baby. I would have said absolutely if you'd asked me when I first got here."
Oh. Oh, God. Stop it, Slayde, he told himself firmly. That didn't mean anything.
Drake kept looking at him, something warm between them. He slid his hand across the sofa, toward Drake's fingers. Drake met him partway, hand sliding over his.
"I love you." He said it this time, with no one naked, no one freaking out. No one else but the girls around. "Crazy, huh?"
"Actually, sounds pretty fucking good to me."
"Be careful. Those girls will have you pushing up."
"You'd like that," teased Drake.
"I would. You look amazing." There was no reason to lie.
Drake didn't move, yet the man puffed up at his words, he could tell. "Thank you."
"Unca Drake! My baby's leg falled off!" Maggie came running in, a disembodied leg in her hand. "Help!"
Drake slid -- not yanked -- his hand away. "Does she need the hospital?"
"No, she needs you!" Oh, God, so cute. Mags really believe Drake could fix the world.
"Okay, baby girl, let's take a look." Drake took the doll and the leg and examined them both closely.
"Please, please make her all better." The tears were close and Slayde winced.
"Would you like some juice?" He needed to get up and check on Jenny anyway.
"No. I stay here."
"We're good," murmured Drake, head bent over the doll as he tried to work the leg back in.
He went and peeked in on Jenny, who smiled at him and raised her little arms up toward him. "Juice?"
"We can do that. Are you cooking in your kitchen?"
She nodded. "Uh-huh. Sissy's baby got an owwie."
They headed toward the kitchen. "Uncle Drake will fix her."
"Okay."
Sure enough, a couple minutes later Maggie came running in. "Unca Drake fixted her!"
"Uncle Drake is a good guy. Let me see." He bent down, checked out the baby doll. "Perfect. Would you like some juice now?"
"Uh-huh. Can I bring Unca Drake some juice, please?"
"Does he want some?"
She shrugged. "I want to bring him some."
"Okay." He poured a cup about a quarter full. "Be very careful."
"Okay!" She took the cup and bit her bottom lip, walking oh-so-slowly out of the kitchen. At least it was apple juice. It wouldn't stain anything if it spilled.
They followed her, and he heard, "I gotted you juice."
"Got you juice."
"No," she said, very patiently. "I gotted you juice."
Drake looked up at him and he nodded.
"It's not 'gotta', sweetheart,
