"You ready?" Laurence asked. Garroth, Laurence's husband of almost a year and a half, tightened his grip on the brunette's hand and nodded.

The two of them pushed the doors open, stepping inside the large building. As soon as the door was opened, a woman who appeared to be 30-ish years old who sat at the front desk smiled at the couple.

"Welcome! How can I help you?" The woman asked. She had dark brown hair with similar colored eyes. A pair of black frames sat upon the bridge of her nose that was dotted with faint freckles, standing out against her pale complexion.

"We're interested in," Laurence paused, glancing over at Garroth. His eyes asked the question of 'Are you sure?' This was answered by a small nod of the head from Garroth.

"We're interested in adopting," Laurence finished. The women's smile grew and she rose from her seat. She had a short and petite figure, similar to that of the men's close friend, Aphmau.

"That's wonderful!" She exclaimed, a little too ecstatic. "I'll go let Miss Villanueva know you're here!"

With that, the woman left. Garroth's eyes met Laurence's, and they were sparkling. A soft smile had taken place on his lips.

"Miss Villanueva," he muttered under his breath, and his smile grew. Garroth raised an eyebrow at his husband's questionable acts. Laurence noticed this, and opened his mouth to explain. Before he could, however, a cheerful voice interrupted him.

"Laurence, is that you?" The voice asked. The brunette in question turned his head, and his smile grew even larger, if it was possible. The owner of the voice was an elderly hispanic woman. Her graying hair was pulled together in a braid that lengthed down to her lower back. Her smile caused her hazel eyes to wrinkle at the corners. She was a shorter woman and wore a long and flowy dress that was patterned with an assortment of tropical looking flowers. Just seeing her triggered so many memories to flood into Laurence's mind.

"Long time no see, Miss Villanueva," he said. The woman chuckled and walked over to him with her arms outstretched. Laurence let go of Garroth's hand to return the gesture and hug her carefully. Miss Villanueva didn't embrace as gently, seeming to cut off Laurence's circulation.

"So good to see you again, Laurence!" She cheered. "I hope you are well." italics

"Yes, I've been wonderful," Laurence replied. This confused Garroth, as he had no clue what they were saying. Miss Villanueva finally let go of poor Laurence, allowing him to breathe properly. Her eyes trailed towards Garroth and she raised an eyebrow in question.

"Who is this?" She asked.

"Ah, this is my husband, Garroth," Laurence replied, in English this time.

"Does he treat you well?" She asked. Laurence smiled and gazed at Garroth with the most loving look in his eyes.

"He's never done anything to hurt me in his life," he said, his voice gentle.

"And you love him very much?" Miss Villanueva queried. Laurence's eyes sparkled at this question.

"More than anything in this world," was his reply.

Miss Villanueva grinned and stepped towards Garroth who outstreched his hand to greet her. She took his hand but rather than shaking it, she pulled him into an embrace just as tight as the previous one. Garroth awkwardly hugged back, not sure what to make of the situation.

"Thank you for taking care of my little Laurence," she said. Garroth smiled and hugged back with a bit more confidence.

"Of course," he said. He was still a tad confused. Who was this woman? How did Laurence know her?

It was then that it struck Garroth. This woman was who had taken care of Laurence for so many years. His husband and shared so many stories about her, and Garroth was only just now remembering. This woman had taught Laurence Spanish while he was still an orphan. This was the place Laurence had spent his earlier years of childhood in.

Finally, Miss Villanueva stepped out of the embrace and stood back so that she could have both Garroth and Laurence in her sight.

"So, I heard you two are interested in adopting," she said. Garroth and Laurence nodded in response. "Well, lucky for you it's play time, which means all of the kids are in one room. Just follow me this way."

She gave them one last large gring before turning on her heel and walking down the hallway. Laurence took Garroth's hand in his and the two followed after her. They started up conversation as they walked down hallways, making the occasional turn.

"So, how long have you two been together?" Miss Villanueva asked.

"Ah, about six years," Laurence answered.

"And how long have you been married?"

"About two and half years, ma'am," Garroth replied this time. Miss Villanueva nodded and turned left, followed by the couple.

"How long have you known each other?"

"Since our early years of middle school," Laurence said with a proud smile, squeezing Garroth's hand lightly. This earned a light squeeze in return.

She nodded and turned right. At the very end of the hallways there was a closed door, and you could hear the voices of children chatting and laughing from where they were standing. Garroth's heartbeat quickened rapidly and his grip on Laurence's hand tightened. He was so excited, but at the same time, nervous. One question ran across his mind repeatedly...

Would I be a good father..?

Laurence noticed his change in mood and reassuringly held his hand tighter. Garroth's eyes shifted up to his icy blue ones, and Laurence gave him a gentle smile.

"You're gonna be great," the brunette whispered, and gave Garroth a reassuring smile and squeeze of the hand. Garroth smiled and nodded, relaxing a bit. He leaned forward and placed a small kiss on Laurence's lips, both of them smiling before turning and walking to the door that Miss Villanueva was now opening.

Upon entering the room, they were overwhelmed by children of several different ages running around the room. Some held toys, others held out their hands to try and tag the child they were running after. all of them were smiling and laughing. Each kid got along perfectly with each other. At least, that's how it appeared. Miss Villanueva motioned for Garroth and Laurence to walk around, telling them to interact with them. Laurence squeezed Garroth's hand as he led them through the room.

Garroth's eyes darted everywhere, searching for a child to interact with first. His eyes caught onto a small boy in the corner of the room. He was all by himself, a stuffed rabbit in one hand and a dragon in the other. Garroth smiled and the cheery look on his face, despite him being by himself. He squeezed Laurence's hand and began to make his way over to the boy, dragging his husband with him. Laurence grinned when he realized where they were going.

When the couple reached the boy, he looked up. It was as if a lightning strike of silence and fear had struck the poor boy, as his eyes had widened and his smile had fallen. Garroth gave him a gentle smile, letting go of Laurence's hand to crouch in front of him.

The boy had pale skin, freckles standing out well against his complexion. His eyes were a deep shade of forest green, and they sparkled naturally. A heap of curly read hair sat atop his head, and there was a lot of it too. It grew just past his eyebrows and reached to about halfway down his neck in length. He wore a red t-shirt and light blue overalls.

"Hey, what's your name?" Garroth asked, his voice soft and gentle. The boy swallowed and looked down at the ground, fingers fiddling with the ears on his stuffed rabbit.

"Isaac..." he mumbled, just loud enough for the couple to hear. Laurence took a seat on the floor beside Garroth, legs crossed. Garroth got in a similar position, his legs growing uncomfortable from crouching.

"Isaac... That's a nice name," Laurence complimented. A shy smile crept onto the boys face and he look up at the brunette who gave him a large, friendly smile. "I'm Laurence, and this is Garroth," he said, pointing to his husband who gave the gentlest of smiles.

Isaac sat up straight, growing significantly more comfortable with the two men that had just approached him. Garroth smiled at the toys he had in his hands.

"What are their names?" He asked, motioning towards the stuffed plushies. Isaac glanced down at the rabbit and dragon, smiling even wider now.

"This is Kooky," he said, holding out the rabbit.

"And this is Daniel," he explained, holding out the dragon. Laurence chuckled and extended a hand out to Isaac.

"Can I see Kooky?" He asked. Isaac nodded and carefully handed the stuffed rabbit over. Laurence gently took it in his hands, smiling at the small boy in front of him.

Laurence began to make conversation with the rabbit...

Isaac giggled.

"Kooky can't talk!" He said. "He's a stuffed animal!" Garroth giggled at Laurence's 'shocked' expression.

"What?" He gasped. "I could've sworn he talked to me!" Isaac giggled and reached out for the rabbit. Laurence handed the toy back over, smiling at the young boy.

Isaac lifted the rabbit up in the air before dropping it with a small thump.

"See? He's a stuffed animal, he cant talk!"

"I suppose you're right..."

Laurence let out a long sigh as he shut the front door behind him, placing his bag on the floor and pulling off his coat to hang it up on the rack. He slid out of his work shoes before walking further into the house. He walked down the hallways and towards the room at the end of it, where he heard the voice he was so in love with.

"I am very fond of Charles Dickens, Matilda said. He makes me laugh a lot. Especially Mr. Pickwick."

Laurence leaned against the doorway, a smile full of nothing but adoration taking the place of his previously exhausted facial expression.

"At that moment the bell in the corridor sounded for the end of class." Garroth folded down the corner of the page he left off on and shut the book before placing it onto the bedside table. Matilda, by Roald Dahl.

"Alright, it's time for you to go to sleep," he said.

"Yes, daddy," Isaac said through a yawn. Once his mouth shut his eyes fixed on the man in the doorway, a large grin growing on his face. "Papa!" He exclaimed.

Laurence giggled and walked over to the bed where Isaac laid, taking a seat beside Garroth.

"Did you have a good day?" Laurence asked. Isaac nodded with a giddy smile, making Laurence's entire heart melt.

Garroth leaned down and placed a kiss on Isaac's forehead.

"Get some rest, buddy," he said.

"Good night, daddy," he said. Garroth smiled.

"Good night," he whispered. He turned and placed a kiss on Laurence's cheek before standing up and exiting the room. He walked down the hallway and into the kitchen, where he grabbed two wine glasses that sat atop a shelf and carefully put them on the counter with a light tap. He grabbed the wine bottle that rested not too far from him on the marble top, carefully lifting the already opened bottle and pouring an even amount in both glasses.

After placing the bottle back on the counter, he grabbed the two glasses and walked into the living room, taking a seat on the couch before putting the glasses on the table.

Bot too long later, Laurence appeared in the entryway from the hall to the living room. He smiled at his husband, walking towards the couch to sit beside him. Garroth let out an exhausted sigh and dropped his head onto his shoulder. Laurence's smile grew and he wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

"He hit his first baseball today," Garroth said.

"Really?" Laurence asked, reaching for one of the two wine glasses. Garroth nodded. The brunette brought the rim of the glass up to his husband's lips and the blonde tilted his head back, allowing the dark liquid to slide into his mouth before swallowing it with a satisfied sigh.

"I'm exhausted," he whispered.

"I'd imagine so," Laurence replied in a soft tone.

Garroth curled into Laurence's embrace, enjoying the warmth that enveloped him. He felt at peace. He felt like the world was his.

And he never wanted to let it go...