Chapter Text
Lewis hissed, bouncing his son up and down in hope to calm him. It was useless, he had been trying with no success for almost half an hour now and he felt like the worst parent ever, knowing that his other son was in the living room sobbing his heart out and he hadn’t even properly checked on him.
It wasn’t supposed to be that hard, after all Sebastian kept the kids all week and all Lewis had to do was watch them two weekends in a month. Bad choice of words here. It wasn’t like he "had to", he wanted to . If it was his choice, he would have kept them longer, but his job didn’t allow it. It was so much easier to let Sebastian be the parent while he could stay with them for a couple of days and spoil them. It was easier to be the good one who bought them toys, let them eat ice cream before dinner, break the curfew and so on.
It had been six months since he and Sebastian split up and Lewis moved to a not so fancy apartment with a spare room for the rare occasions when the kids slept with him. But overall it had been just fine; Lewis had been so into his work that he barely had any time left to process his broken marriage and miss his children who didn’t even call him for goodnight anymore.
Then Sebastian dropped the bomb. He had a date with another man, he announced just as he was standing on the doorstep of Lewis' house with Lando's backpack still in his hands, while the kids had already ran inside.
Lewis had blinked at him, unsure of what to say and once Sebastian had left, he had stumbled to his room, leaving the kids on their own.
Charles and Max were almost nine after all, they were supposed to be able to handle themselves and Lando was a usually quiet toddler.
He had been so wrong.
After a couple of hours of sulking in his room, Lewis had come downstairs alarmed by the boys’ screams. He had no idea of what happened, he just found Lando sitting on the floor, crying inconsolable, while Charles and Max yelled at each other, tears streaming down Max's face too.
He had quickly picked Lando off the floor, staring helplessly at his bright red cheeks, snot caking his whole face as he flay his arms around. He glanced at Max curled up on the couch, his shoulders shaking with cries, while Charles tried to make him shut up.
“Is everything alright?” Lewis asked.
Max didn’t bother to reply, but Charles quickly nodded. Too quickly to be trusted, maybe. But Lewis had something else to deal with, like Lando who was screaming so loud that his voice sounded scratchy.
That’s how he ended up in the kitchen with a crying toddler for half an hour.
Eventually, he swallowed his pride and dialed Sebastian's number.
"Lewis. You know I am busy," Sebastian's stern voice said through the phone. He didn’t even say hi.
He picked up though, and that was just fine. "I know, I am sorry," Lewis rushed to say, before his now ex-husband could hang up.
"Why is Lando crying? Is he okay?"
Lewis groaned, holding the phone between his ear and shoulder and readjusting the kid in his arms. "He is inconsolable. And Max and Charles had a fight, I think. I don’t want to ruin your plans, but…"
"I am on my way," Sebastian said and hung up. Not even saying goodbye.
Lewis couldn’t tell if Sebastian was mad at him, and maybe he didn’t even care. The kids were his priority, after all.
"Could you shut your mouth just for a moment? My head is splitting in two. And I need to check on your brothers. Please, Lando," Lewis begged.
The toddler briefly opened his green eyes, giving him a pitiful look, then he let out another scream. Lewis lowered him on the ground and left him there, still sobbing.
He just needed a minute.
As he passed by the living room, he heard some more sniffling and Charles' voice.
"Please, don’t tell dad. Please, I'll do whatever you want, just don’t tell him."
"Don't tell dad what?" He asked, his brow raised.
Charles quickly pulled away from where he was clumsily stroking his brother's hair. "Nothing!"
"Charles, talk. Now."
Charles bit his lip, looking at the floor.
"Max?" Lewis asked, crossing his arms on his chest.
Max, sprawled on the couch, pressed his face on the fabric, covering his head with his arm.
"Fine. Don’t talk. You two are both grounded until you tell me," he hissed.
He would have probably insisted, but for the boys' luck the doorbell rang and Lewis rushed to open.
Sebastian's bored face stared at him. "Lando is crying because he forgot this in my car," he explained, showing Lando's badger plushie. How had Lewis not thought about it?
He snatched it from Sebastian's hands and went to the kitchen where Lando was still sitting on the floor.
Sebastian followed him, giving him a few minutes to pick up his son and finally calm him. Lando hugged the plushie, lying exhausted with his head on Lewis' shoulder, his thumb in his mouth.
"You are doing an amazing job here, as I can see." Sebastian stated, a snort on his face.
Lewis rolled his eyes. "I am doing my best. Not my fault I am the only one dealing with the three of them."
Sebastian snapped his tongue in his mouth. "Which is exactly what I do all week. Anyway, I have to go."
"Seb, wait. Charles and Max are hiding something. If you-"
Sebastian didn’t let him finish and moved to the living room.
Lewis considered following, but he decided against it and sat with a now half asleep Lando in his lap, finally allowing himself to take a break.
Less than ten minutes and Sebastian was back. "Lewis!" He hissed, making him jump and look in his direction. Even Lando woke up with a start.
Sebastian stood with Max cuddled in his arms and a crying Charles next to him.
"I can't believe I can’t leave them with you for half a day. I really can’t believe it, Lewis."
"What? What are you talking about? What did they do?"
Sebastian shook his head, muttering something under his breath. Lewis was at a loss of what to do, once again. He had left them alone, right. But the kids were usually so quiet. Why was Sebastian so mad at him now? Lewis tried not to think that he was most likely thinking about his date. It was almost nine in the evening, he had to be late at this point and he probably blamed it on Lewis.
"Ice," Sebastian instructed, sitting Max on the edge of the table, the kid clinging to him and not letting go.
Lewis frowned. "I don't think I have any left. I- I made myself a cocktail last night." He replied. Why did Sebastian need ice? The kids were fine, he would have known if one of them was hurt. A shiver ran down his spine.
"Jesus, Lewis. You have three kids, how can you not have ice in your freezer?" Sebastian complained, ruffling Max's hair. "Don't cry Maxy, please. Shhh."
"Why is he crying? I don’t understand," Lewis said, standing up, readjusting Lando in his lap. "Please, Seb."
Sebastian completely ignored him. He moved to the sink, drenching a washcloth under the faucet.
Meanwhile Charles went to his brother, reaching for his hand. "Forgive me?"
"Forgive you what for?" Lewis insisted, hoping at least his child would talk to him.
Before he could, Sebastian moved him out of the way and dragged a chair in front of Max. He sat and carefully reached out for Max's left foot, pulling up the hem of his pants.
"Jesus," Lewis hissed, peeking from behind Sebastian's shoulder. Max's outer ankle had a lump on it, the size of an orange. It looked reddish and there was a bruise forming just above the ankle bone.
Sebastian pressed the wet cloth on it, making the child whimper. "I know, I am sorry. It's cold though, you'll feel better in a while."
"Seb, how did it happen?"
"Charles tripped him down the stairs. And he is grounded because of that, right Charles?"
Charles bit his lip, nodding his head sadly. "I didn’t mean to, we were playing around."
“Playing around on the stairs,” Sebastian echoed, just to make sure Lewis knew it was his fault. That was exactly why he was supposed to watch them, instead of hiding in his room, too sad because his ex husband was seeing someone else.
"Is it bad?" Lewis asked, his eyes focused on Max, who was wiping his face with his hands.
Sebastian glanced at Max to be sure that he wasn’t watching and then gave Lewis a brief nod. Then he said out loud, "Nah, I am sure he'll feel better in no time, right Max?” He ruffled the kid’s hair, then he added, “Just to be sure, he should be checked out though."
For the first time since Sebastian had brought him in the kitchen, Max looked up, letting out a scared whine.
"Just a quick check up, baby. I'll be right there with you and hold your hand the whole time. How does it sound?" Sebastian said.
"Do you think it's necessary?" Lewis asked.
Without replying, Sebastian moved the washcloth from Max's swollen ankle and gingerly pulled his toes up, making his ankle move slightly.
Max instantly let out a scream, fat tears running down his cheeks once again. Sebastian quickly shushed him and picked him up again.
Lewis hissed. Had it been Lando, he wouldn’t have worried, the toddler cried for the tiniest scratches. He probably wouldn’t have worried much even if it had been Charles, always a drama queen. But Lewis had never heard Max cry like that, it broke his heart.
"I’ll take him to the hospital. When we come back, they all come home with me."
"No, Seb-"
"Shut up. Accidents happen, but you left Lando crying alone on the floor, these two have been alone all the time and you didn’t even realize Max was hurt."
"Seb, they didn’t give me a break. I- I am sorry, I tried-"
"You tried and one of them got hurt," Sebastian said, rolling his eyes and leaving.