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"Can't we just go back home now?" Neal asks, looking over at his boyfriend while trying to keep Sixx from dragging him face forward into the snow.
"No, Neal, this was your idea. Remember?" David shakes his head, and Neal thinks he looks adorable in his too big parka, and the trapper with the tazzles untied, dangling as he moves his head. "You explicitly said, 'Let's go for a walk to the park; Sixx needs to be walked anyway and you know Joshua loves going to the pond.' That's what you said, and now you don't get to change your mind."
"But it's cold, Archie, please?" Neal says, hearing fully well the whining-slant in his tone of voice. The look David gives him tells Neal just how much he sounded like their four-year-old son.
"Of course it's cold, it's been this cold for days now, Neal." The sound David emits after saying this is probably the closest he's ever come to snorting. "Besides, we're nearly there."
Before Neal gets a chance to say anything further, David takes off in a jog to catch up with their son, who's somehow ended up nearly fifty feet in front of them, rolling down the hill. The sight makes Neal smile, he can never not smile when looking at his son. Even four years on, the concept of him having a son, with none other than David James Archuleta, is still foreign to him. This was not how he pictured his life turning out be when they first met all those years ago. He's not going to to complain, though; never would, because this is fucking awesome and he wouldn't change it for the world.
"Are you coming?" Neal hears David calling him from a distance, and he has to mentally shake himself out of his thoughts. Sixx must have gotten bored just standing around - he was such a good dog in his old age; having David in their lives hadn't just changed Neal, but his dog too - because he was currently rolling around in the snow.
"Yeah, hang on," Neal calls back, pulling the leash to get Sixx to move again. "Come on, let's go see the ducks." Neal could swear he didn't start talking to his dog like he was a human until David did. Jeez, that's kind of ridiculous, isn't it?
Joshua is already down by the pond when Neal gets nearer, and David is watching him from a bit away. Neal doesn't even have to see his face to know what David looks like; he's always got the same fond expression on his face when he's watching their son.
It gets even colder as he gets closer to the pond. He knows that it gets colder closer to water, but it's just a little pond, for heaven's sake. David isn't letting on that he's aware Neal is close, so he walks up to him, putting his arms around David's waist and his chin on his shoulder. "Hi you," he says, his breath fanning across David's cheek, making him shiver. "I can't believe how fast he's grown. Before we know it he'll start driving and dating."
"Uh huh," David says, leaning back against Neal's chest just a little. "It's a scary thought, isn't it? Watching your son grow up and realize that you're getting old yourself."
"Speak for yourself. I, for one, will always be twenty-five," Neal says, grinning and waiting for David to catch on.
"Twenty-five? Why not twenty-one, when you were finally able to do everything you wanted legally?" David asks, turning slightly to look up at Neal.
"Because that's when I first met you." The duh is clearly implied, if unspoken. David doesn't say anything, but Neal can feel him move even closer, if that's possible. That's when a really cold gust of wind envelopes them. "Fuck, that's cold," Neal swears instinctively.
"Neal!" David complains, and there's the same whine in his tone as there was when he was seventeen. "You're lucky Joshua is out of earshot, I don't want him running around saying that a thousand times a day like he did last time."
"It's really cold though." Neal might be pouting, but he can't see it himself, so he won't admit to anything.
"You know, if you would've just worn proper gloves, like I told you to, you wouldn't be so cold now," David says, turning around completely in Neal's arms now, just to roll his eyes at Neal. "Really, I don't know why you still insist on these fingerless things, you're thirty years old, Neal. You should know better." David takes his hand and pulls, continuing to speak before Neal can say anything. He never really did know when to stop talking, that would never change. "Come on, let's go help Joshua feed the ducks. Since that's why we're here."
"Hey Josh, take it easy, okay?" Neal calls out when they get closer, and he sees just how close his son is to the edge of the pond. He would rather not have to jump in after him.
At the sound of Neal's voice, Joshua spins around instantly. "Daddy, Papa!" he calls out, running towards them and clinging to Neal's legs. Neal has to hold onto David so as to not fall backwards into the snow when Sixx moves forward to lick Joshua in the face at the same time.
"Take it easy, okay Joshua?" David says, his face neutral, but Neal can hear the smile in his voice. "We don't want Daddy to fall into the snow, do we?"
Joshua looks up at them with his big brown eyes. "Daddy, we're gonna make snowangels." That's definitely not a question. Joshua is at that stage now when he makes demands instead of asking. Neal finds it hilarious when it's directed at David — now not so much, but of course he can't deny his son anything.
"Sure Josh," he says, and takes his son's hand while handing the leash over to David. They move a little up the hill where there's more snow. Neal is shuddering even before they settle down in the snow, and he has to bite back a curse when he lies down. Shit, that's cold.
They make three angels each before Joshua let's him get up. Joshua runs down to the pond again, and it's just Neal and David left on the hill. Neal scowls at David as the other man outright laughs at him.
"It's not funny," Neal says with a growl, rubbing his hands over his hair to get out all the snow. "Damn it all to hell, that shit is cold."
"It's snow, Neal, it's supposed to be cold," David says. "You know, you really should learn to wear warmer clothes when we're out with Joshua one of these days…"
"You know," Neal says, moving closer to David. "If you love me, you should warm me up…" By the time he's finished speaking, he's reached David. Before David has time to react, he leans in; snakes his hands up under David's coat and shirts, reaching his skin. The action makes David yelp for a second, before Neal leans down and captures his lips in a kiss.