Chapter Text
“Ten cuidado, Leonardo!” Foolish peeked his head into the living room, seeing his husband worrying over their son. Leonardo was some eight feet off the ground, sitting on top of a bookshelf that definitely wasn’t meant to support his weight.
Vegetta stood next to it, his arms reaching out to grab their son if he happened to fall. He looked like he was actively losing years of his life the longer the kid was on top of the unstable furniture.
Leo, meanwhile, seemed entirely unconcerned. He was past the point of merely sitting, instead trying to stand up. He wobbled, arms shooting out to steady himself. Vegetta let out a cry of alarm. Of course, none of this seemed to deter their son, who was bending his knees as if he was planning to jump off the bookshelf. Foolish decided it was time to intervene.
“Woah, woah there! Leonardo, listen to your papá. Get off of there.” Foolish’s voice carried across the room from where he leaned against the wall. The kid pouted but allowed his father to take him in his arms with a roll of his eyes. When Vegetta didn’t immediately let him down, he began to squirm.
“No hagas eso, hijo, podrias salir lastimado– You could have gotten hurt!” Leonardo continued to struggle as his dad pressed him close to his chest, chiding him in both Spanish and English to ensure he got the point.
Leo started walking towards Foolish the second he was placed back on the floor. He always went to his dad when Vegetta would lecture him about safety, not unlike a dog coming home with its tail between its legs.
His son pushed himself into his side, his shaggy dark hair covering his face. Despite his brashness, Leonardo was easily distressed when he thought his parents were angry with him. Foolish chuckled, looking up at his husband. Vegetta was in the process of taking apart the bookshelf, it seemed. He pulled his son closer and adjusted the backward cap on his head.
Leonardo muttered something, the words muffled into Foolish’s shirt. The man made a questioning sound, nudging him as a sign to repeat what he had said.
“I just wanted to try that one stunt that you did on set,” he sniffled, cheeks red with embarrassment. “The one with the water drop?”
Oh. The stunt he was talking about came back clearly to Foolish. One of his earlier movies; the first installment of the Minecraft franchise. He played a gritty survivalist trying to find the End, a mysterious dimension that would supposedly set him free from the curse placed on him by a vengeful god.
It was an indie movie, one that wasn’t expected to do numbers at the box office as it did. The unlikely success of the movie skyrocketed all of its actors into fame, Foolish most of all.
The stunt was one of the more famous of the movies, affectionately dubbed the water drop by fans. Foolish’s character was running away from hostile mobs and had to jump off of a ruined building twelve stories high. He managed to survive the drop using only a bucket of water to stop him from slamming into the hard ground.
It was a fan favorite for a reason. Personally, though, Foolish thought he had done cooler stunts that were far less appreciated. He also thought that his son should stop watching his movies if it was going to make him jump off whatever ledges he could find.
“Well, you can’t exactly perform a water drop without water, kiddo.” Foolish shook his head in faux disappointment, grinning as his son scowled at him.
Leonardo was clearly fed up with both of his parents, trying to push past his dad to go up to his room. Although Foolish didn’t stop him, he did snatch the baseball cap off his son’s head to place it on his own.
The kid let out an indignant cry, immediately reaching up to try and trying to take back his precious snapback. All of his previous embarrassment was forgotten as Foolish dangled it in front of him, just a little bit too high for him to reach.
“Give that back!” Leo huffed in annoyance, jumping up and screeching whenever his dad would lift it just slightly out of his reach again and again. “It’s my hat, you can’t take it!”
“Actually,” Foolish countered, “I’m pretty sure it’s my hat. You just stole it from my closet and thought I would forget about it.” He raised his eyebrows in amusement when Leonardo floundered in shock. “Yeah, you brat. I’ve known the whole time.” He whacked his son on the head with the cap but didn’t stop him from prying it out of his fingers.
The second his cap was securely back on his head, Leonardo was off. As he retreated up the steps, he told Foolish he would be on call with Tilín and Juana for the next couple of hours. Then he was gone, up to do whatever shit kids his age did.
Looking back to his husband, he found that what was once their bookshelf was now a pile of wooden planks and screws. Foolish snorted, walking over to where Vegetta was sitting on the floor muttering to himself.
“Que haces, amor? That was a perfectly functional bookshelf.” He slung his arm around his husband’s shoulders, taking a seat and leaning into the other man.
“I’m, eh, preocupado. Worried.” Vegetta stopped what he was doing, eyes focused on the ceiling. “Leonardo es ingenioso. He’s smart. Solo estoy astutado– ehm, scared, that it will hurt him.” He turned towards Foolish, purple eyes glistening with unshed tears. Shit. This was serious.
“I mean, somos famosos, Foolish. Leonardo no puede ser imprudente. La gente siempre tratará de aprovecharse de él, people will never–” Vegetta cut himself off, burying his head in his hands with a groan.
Ah. There it was. Foolish’s acting career and Vegetta’s widely-known builds meant that their lives were always in the public. It would be the same for their son, no matter how hard they tried to prevent it from happening.
The couple had to learn how to anticipate bouts of interest in their lives and relationship. They couldn’t afford to be careless if they wanted to keep whatever sanity they had remaining, needing to be thorough when it came to public events and paparazzi encounters. One wrong step could be disastrous.
Leonardo reminded Foolish of himself when he was younger, a careless teenager that would do whatever he wanted regardless of the public’s opinion. Luckily, his son wasn’t yet at the age where he would start getting into troublesome relationships. The actor shivered at the thought.
His past affairs were no secret, widely discussed as the golden age of celebrity drama. There was a new scandal every week, a new man seen escorting Foolish to an afterparty or caught leaving an event with him. Everyone wanted a piece of the new hotshot actor on the street.
Vegetta still laughed whenever they found old magazines with his face plastered all over the cover.
But he wasn’t laughing now. Foolish hadn’t seen him so upset in years, not since a time long before they had Leonardo, a time of flasks of alcohol and the constant stench of cigarettes that both of them wished to forget.
He realized this was a breakdown that had been coming for a long time.
Even so, Foolish couldn’t think of a single comforting thing to say. The two husbands sat together until the sun began to set on the horizon. It was all they could do.
/
Dinner was usually a small but lively affair in Foolish’s household. The small family would sit together in the kitchen, as the dining room was far too large for just three people. They only used it when they were hosting parties, really.
This dinner was turning out to be livelier than most, though.
“I mean, Juana’s parents don’t even love each other, so…” Vegetta gagged on the water he was drinking, breaking into a coughing fit. Leonarda grinned, smiling into her glass.
“And where did you hear that?” Foolish raised an eyebrow, taking another bite of his meal. He might need to consider limiting her media intake. Leonarda shrugged.
“She told me. And her dad was talking shit about her mom to the press, saying that it was hard for him to find the time to be a part-time mother since he had a prior commitment of being a full-time bitch.” Now it was Foolish’s turn to choke on his food, looking at his daughter in disbelief. Leonarda took the opportunity to steal a diced potato from his plate.
“Is Juana… okay? Ella puede quedarse con nosotros si necesita, eh, she can… stay with us?” Vegetta looked over at Foolish for confirmation, who nodded.
Slime and Mariana’s relationship had never been the most… stable. Well, none of Mariana’s ever were. Foolish himself had dated the man for a while and could confirm it was a wild ride. But the two of them never had a child. (Unless you counted their pet fish Mariana is a Bitch). He couldn’t help but worry for Juana.
“You should ask her to come over sometime,” Foolish nodded, “and invite Tilín too. Quackity could use a break for a day.” Vegetta hummed in agreement.
The family lapsed into silence, Leonarda routinely taking food off of both her father’s plates. Foolish was the only one who actively tried to stop her, as his husband was too much of a doting father to tell her no. After a couple of minutes, their daughter broke the stillness by clearing her throat.
“I, uh, finished the semester with a 100% in my architecture class.” Leonarda shoveled more food into her mouth, looking somewhat embarrassed. “I’m not trying to brag, I just– thought it was cool.”
“¡Leo, eso es increíble! Estamos muy orgullosos– very proud, mi hija!” Vegetta put his hand on her shoulder, looking at her with nothing but happiness.
“Yeah, kiddo, that’s great! I’m glad you love building, uh, ¡como tu papá!” Foolish pointed his fork at his husband. “But if you ever decide you don’t anymore, we’ll always support whatever you want to do. As long as it’s not, like, illegal or something.” He cracked a smile that his daughter mirrored.
Leonarda didn’t stop grinning for the rest of the evening.
/
Foolish waved to Juanna and Tilín when they entered the house, although Leonarda ushered them upstairs before he could properly greet them.
He had been on a phone call for the past hour. His agent came to him with an offer from Beast Studios, one of the largest film production companies in the industry. They wanted Foolish on board for their “biggest project yet”, and were willing to pay him a handsome amount of money. It sounded like a dream offer, a movie that would keep him relevant for years to come.
There was one problem.
The filming process would take place across the world in Australia, and would supposedly take around four years to film. The very idea made Foolish’s heart squeeze. To be away from his husband, from his kid that long would be heartbreaking.
So he denied the offer.
His agent was shocked, reminding him that this was quite possibly the biggest film production company in the world. That the amount of money they were offering would have his whole family set in luxury for the rest of their lives. Foolish would never have to act again if he took the deal. He would become one of the most widely-known actors in history, cemented in the hall of fame of performers.
And yet.
He could hear Leonarda giggling. She and her friends were running around upstairs, chasing each other throughout the house. Four years. Foolish couldn’t afford to be gone for four years. He couldn’t afford to miss all those years, all those moments of her life.
Leo would be a teenager soon. It would be a tumultuous time no matter what, and if Foolish wasn’t there to help? Things would surely become even worse.
It wasn’t something he was willing to do. His family was everything to him. Foolish couldn’t bear to spend so much time away from them, even if he did fly them to Australia with him. He would be busy filming most days and would miss what could be key events in his kid’s childhood.
For him, it wasn’t a hard choice.
Unfortunately, his agent was persistent. She kept trying to talk him off the ledge, saying she could get in contact with the head of Beast Agencies and try to negotiate for a better deal. Foolish wasn’t interested. After about three hours on call, he finally hung up on her and slammed his phone down on his desk with a groan.
There was a knock on his door. When Foolish looked up, he saw his husband standing in the doorframe. Vegetta was balancing a pile of papers and his briefcase, shakily putting them down once he reached the desk.
“Hello, mi amor. I’m here to give you company!” He grinned, and despite how tired he was, Foolish’s lips quirked upward.
“You actually let them kick you out of your own office?” He couldn’t help but cackle when Vegetta deflated, knowing that his hypothesis was definitely correct. Leo had a running joke with her friends that seemed to involve evicting her father from whatever room he happened to be in.
“They were very persuasive!” Vegetta argued, throwing his hands up in exasperation. “Papá, te quiero mucho y eres la persona más fuerte y genial que conozco. Podemos jugar en tu oficina? Estoy practicando para cuando sea empresaria…” He pitched his voice up to sound more like their daughter, sighing at the end of it. “That kid is too smart for me, amor.”
“Right, says the genius architect that’s built houses for some of the richest people in the world.” Foolish pulled one of the papers out of the large pile dropped on his desk –a blueprint of some elaborate house design with an unnecessary amount of detail– and handed it to his husband with raised eyebrows. “Including us.”
“No, esos son dos tipos differentes de intelligencia, Foolish. Very different.”
“Sure,” He rolled his eyes, knowing that Vegetta wouldn’t just admit to being a sucker for his hija.
“Anyways,” His husband continued, eager to change the subject. “What did your agent have to say? You were on call for a long time.”
Foolish’s smile tensed. This was going to be a long conversation.
“Right, so I might have turned down a multimillion-dollar acting role–”
“You did what?! Why would you–”
“And it was an offer from Beast Studios, so–”
“You turned down an offer from Beast St–”
“Yep! I told my agent I didn’t want the role.”
By the dumbfounded look on Vegetta’s face, Foolish had a lot of explaining to do.
/
His agent called him back the next day. Foolish happened to be in the middle of a board game tournament with Leo when the phone rang. He considered ignoring it, but a pointed look from his son had him walking over to the corner and picking up the phone.
“Hello? Is this urgent, I’m a bit–”
“Foolish, I’m sorry, I swear I didn’t know about any of this until just now–”
“Woah, hold on. What are you talking about?”
“It got leaked. You denying the role in Beast’s new movie. It got out to the press. What do you want me to–”
“Just leave it. It’s fine, calm down. Let them go crazy about it for the day. I’ll make a statement once things simmer down, but responding now would only fuel the flames. I’ll call you back in a couple of days if things don’t go back to normal.”
With that, Foolish pressed the end call button. He did feel bad about how often he seemed to hang up on his poor agent, who was doing her best to try and maintain his reputation. He would be sure to give her a raise for putting up with him.
His curiosity did end up getting the best of him, though. He opened Twitter– which he really should have deleted months ago– and checked the trending tab.
Sure enough, his name was all over it. News spread fast on social media, and Foolish was sure any other celebrity would have basked in it. He only found it somewhat irritating. He skimmed through some of the more popular tweets with his name mentioned.
@minecraftfan3583
Wdym Foolish isn’t doing the new Beast movie???? This would have been the collab of the century wtf @BeastStudios @FoolishGamers
@chompingdoozer
idk guys if foolish doesn’t want to do the movie maybe you should stop pushing him to do it just because you want to see it :/ he probably has his reasons so like stop being weird??
@therealcopics
you’re saying we could have had THE foolish gamers in a beast movie??????? beast studios pls offer him more money or something plsplsplspls @BeastStudios
@vegettamiamor
Y’all seem to be forgetting that Foolish literally has a husband and a kid at home he can’t just be running off to film whatever he wants lmao
@sunglassesatnight
does anyone else miss foolish’s player era because i still think about it. all the time. all those photos of him in the backward caps and unbuttoned shirts? the clips of him at those crazy ragers? i miss that sm can we bring that back for round two
Foolish turned his phone off after that, turning back to his game with his kid. He pointedly ignored how the last post stuck in his brain like a thorn.
/
Mariana and Slime were arguing on Foolish’s front doorstep. Apparently, they both planned on picking up Juanna without coordinating with one another, and it had dissolved into a fight in front of their daughter. Vegetta stood behind Foolish with both Leo and Juanna tucked into his sides, eyes cold as he looked at the bickering parents. Foolish was sure that his gaze was just as hard. The two of them had very little tolerance for adults that lost their composure in front of children.
Juanna’s ears were bright red, her mouth set in a straight line as she hid her face in Vegetta’s shirt. On his other side, Leonarda looked just as pissed as her parents.
“Slime, Mariana.” Foolish addressed the two adults, taking a deep breath to try and remain calm. “I think Juanna should stay here another night. You two clearly have some things to work out, which you should probably do without kids watching.”
“You tryna tell us how to raise our daughter, man?” Mariana took a step closer, his mouth splitting into a grin as he got up right next to him.
It would have been easy to fall into their old song and dance of toxicity, a tango of bites and bruises that were all too familiar to Foolish.
Instead, Foolish kept his expression impassive, eyes narrowed as he stared directly at his ex-boyfriend.
“I’m joking, I’m joking,” Mariana put his hands up in surrender, although he only inched closer to his ex’s face. “I’m joking, shut up and kiss me.”
Foolish reared back, his mind reeling. The absolute audacity of this man. He let out a sharp exhale, desperately latching onto what was left of his composure.
Mariana represented everything that he once was. A reckless, immature man that couldn’t take responsibility for a single thing that he did. They had been like fire against fire when they were together, instigators of each others’ worst habits. Their relationship had started well but somehow devolved into a hellish nightmare of blame and hatred. It was evident that they were never going to be able to work things out.
So Mariana broke up with him.
And here he was, all these years later, trying to take back everything he had said, trying to pretend as if all of their troubles had never happened in the first place.
“Listen. I’m in a happy relationship, and I have been for a while. I don’t need you to come here and try to stir up feelings from the past. That was a long time ago. You had your chance.” Foolish stepped forward then, making Mariana step back and out of his personal space.
“Now, you have a kid, and like it or not, you have to learn how to co-parent. So I recommend taking a breather, figuring your shit out, and coming back tomorrow.” With that, Foolish slammed the door shut in their faces. It felt good.
When he turned back around, he saw Vegetta looking at him with a storm brewing in his eyes. It wasn’t directed at him– it never was– but it made a shiver run down his spine all the same. Juanna was in Leo’s arms, head buried in her shoulder.
Foolish clenched his teeth. These types of things were always ugly. Vegetta wrapped his arms around him the second he stepped in his direction, gently easing his husband’s head down to rest on his shoulder.
“Estás bien, mi amor, todo está bien.” The whispers into his hair remained just as comforting as they always had been, a reminder that everything would be okay as long as his husband was there with him.
They would figure it out together.
They always did.
/
Neither Slime nor Mariana came back for another week. In that time, Juanna was treated just like another member of the family.
Foolish was seriously reconsidering that choice as she won another round of Uno. He cursed as she placed her last card, and of course, it was a Draw Four card. Vegetta laughed, chiding him for cursing in front of the kids and accusing him of being a sore loser.
And so what if he was?
“There’s no way you just won six games in a row. You must have hidden all your other cards somewhere!” He shook his head in disbelief, throwing down his remaining cards. Juanna shook her head, silent giggles racking her shoulders.
“You have no right to accuse her of cheating when you stole money from the bank last time we played Monopoly!” Leo pointed an accusing finger at her father, who gasped and put a hand to his chest.
“How dare you accuse me of such a thing! I am a very honorable man, I would never–”
“Y también hiciste trampa en Scrabble– you cheated at that, too.” Vegetta coughed into his fist to keep from laughing at Foolish’s betrayed look.
“My own husband?” The man put a hand to his heart, acting as if he had just gotten stabbed in the chest. “How could you, mi esposo? Y mi hija? I can’t go on.” With all the skills of a great actor, he flopped over to the side and stuck his tongue out with a blegh sound.
He was expecting an apology, sympathy, something from the people that stabbed him right in the back.
Instead, Leo’s snapback hit him right in the face.
“All right, that’s it, you little–”
/
When Slime came to pick up Juanna– six days after she arrived– Foolish couldn’t help but worry. He gave her both his and Vegetta’s numbers and reminded her that she could come back whenever she needed to.
Leo was consumed by boredom the second her friend was gone, draping himself over all of their furniture like a sad wet towel.
It was only when he spread out on top of Foolish where he was sitting on the couch that he realized this kid needed to get out of the house. So he proposed heading to the park nearby. Leo was ecstatic, of course, always one for a good adventure.
He brought it up with Vegetta, who was happy to drop his work for a couple of hours and go out with them. The two of them spent a couple of minutes packing their bags, and they were off. Leonardo skipped ahead of them, happy to be out in the sunlight of the path. He had insisted on carrying a backpack on his own even though it was almost as big as him.
“So, how many guys did you date when you were younger?” Okay. That wasn’t a question he had been expecting. Foolish looked over at his son, who stared back with big eyes.
“Um, a lot, I guess? I don’t know if I would count most of them as actual relationships, but there were definitely some crazy things going on at the time. The gossip channels loved it.” Foolish grinned, although joylessly.
“Oh. So why did you choose to marry papá? Sounds like you had a lot of options.”
“Well, he offered me the most expensive engagement ring.” Vegetta snorted beside him, knocking their shoulders together.
Was the ring comment a desperate attempt to change the subject? Yes, yes it was.
It was a gorgeous piece of jewelry, though. His husband had it custom-made, with emeralds, topaz, and amethysts weaving around a large diamond in the center. It was worth millions of dollars, Foolish was sure.
Vegetta had always been one for gift-giving, leaving him entire rooms of fine luxuries from all over the world when they were dating.
Foolish still vividly remembered the headlines.
MINECRAFT ACTOR FOOLISH GAMERS SPOTTED WEARING JEWELS WORTH THOUSANDS! ARE THEY FROM A SECRET ADMIRER? LIST OF THE TOP TEN MOST LIKELY BENEFACTORS ON PAGE 37!
MULTI-MILLIONAIRE ARCHITECT VEGETTA DENIES COMMENT ON RELATIONSHIP WITH HIT ACTOR FOOLISH GAMERS– IS THERE SOMETHING THERE?
IS MINECRAFT ACTOR FOOLISH GAMERS FINALLY PICKING A MAN? WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO HIS CAREER AFTER HE LOSES HIS PLAYBOY STATUS?
FOOLISH GAMERS SEEN WEARING MYSTERIOUS MILLION-DOLLAR NECKLACE TO THE OSCARS, GOES ON TO WIN ACADEMY AWARD FOR BEST ACTOR
MEN AND WOMEN ALL AROUND THE WORLD CRYING TONIGHT– FAMOUS BACHELOR FOOLISH MINECRAFT CONFIRMS ENGAGEMENT TO WELL-KNOWN ARCHITECT VEGETTA, SAYS THEY’VE BEEN DATING FOR OVER A YEAR
Ah, yes, good times.
Before he could make another joking comment about how Vegetta was pretty much his sugar daddy, Foolish was blinded by the flashing of cameras.
“Shit,” he breathed out, wondering why he could never get a fucking break. “Leo, come here.” For once, the kid didn’t question his father, sensing how serious the situation was.
Foolish lifted him into his arms, squinting as he tried to see how close the paparazzi were. The bright flashes and clicking of cameras never stopped as they approached, although Foolish felt his husband right next to him.
“C’mon, we have our kid with us!” He yelled, speeding up as he tried to think of a way to get out of this. Foolish was usually good with the paparazzi. He would let them take photos, flirt with them a little bit, and then tell them he had business to do. But he couldn’t do that shit now. Not with his son in his arms. It was too risky. Too potentially damaging.
Some of the paparazzi began to whisper to each other. A few of them even backed off. Public opinion of them always grew more negative when it came to taking photos of children.
Foolish whispered apologies into his son’s ear, tucking his head into his shoulder so he wouldn’t be blinded by the flashing lights. Vegetta continued to berate the paparazzi for having the audacity to approach them while they had their kid with them.
It didn’t stop them from screaming questions at the actor, each of them trying to get statements from him.
“Why did you reject the leading role in Beast Studio’s new movie?”
“Mr. Gamers, are you and the owner of Beast having a feud?”
“The people are begging you to reconsider your offer. Was the amount they offered you not enough?”
“Foolish, is it true that your ex-boyfriend Mariana has been trying to get back together with you? What are your thoughts on the situation?”
Eventually, after they realized that they weren’t going to get any answers, the paparazzi left them alone. Off to find other shots that would make them more money.
Foolish called their chauffeur to take them back home from the park, unwilling to walk all the way back.
/
A representative from Beast Studios was asking to come into his house. Really, there have been too many unwanted people on his doorstep recently.
“I’m sorry, my agent isn’t here right now,” Foolish said for the millionth time. “I don’t talk about movie deals without her present. You’ll have to discuss with her on the phone before trying to bring anything to me.” The actor tried to keep his voice steady despite the aggravation he felt at having to repeat himself over and over again.
“Mr. Gamers, please. This will only take a minute of your time. I don’t even need your answer right now– you can think it over as much as you want.” The representative furrowed his eyebrows as if struggling to find Foolish’s reason for not wanting him to come in.
“This is a new offer coming Mr. Beast himself.” The man held the manilla folder he was carrying. “You might as well just hear me out.”
Foolish let him in with a sigh, settling down on the couch in his sitting room. He gestured for the other man to sit in the chair across from him, pointedly ignoring the way he looked uncomfortable sitting in such a casual area while wearing a suit and tie.
“Right,” the representative started, opening up the folder and pulling out a document. “Beast Studios is willing to offer an even more lucrative deal for you to come on board for our newest project. Fifty million dollars. This is the most money any actor has ever been offered for a single movie. Surely you know that.” He slid the paper across the low table in front of the couch.
Foolish felt like he couldn’t breathe. The representative seemed to notice his distress
“Mr. Beast really wants you on this project, Mr. Gamers. He told me that he wrote the role specifically for you. Just… consider it. I’ve left my contact information in this folder. I’ll need an answer by the first of next month.”
With that, the representative left.
Fuck.