All The Small Things

101

[Hey, Y'all. Sorry about the late update. I've been locked up from Friday to wendsday, yesterday, and only just got the chapter finished. Sorry to keep you guys waiting, here you go.]

[Jacob POV]

Today's my brother's birthday celebration thing. I wouldn't say party, because it isn't really. It's more like a family get-together at the house. But Luca just really doesn't wanna wear jeans
"Baby, you can't wear pajama pants, and you don't have any other good ones," I explained, setting the specific pair I was trying to get on him. He whined and sat down on the floor, tears slowly running down his face.
"Baby, come here... You know you need to wear nice pants. Or, at least, nicer than jammies," I told him as I pulled him into my lap.
"Shorts?" He softly asked, looking back at me since his back was pressed against my chest. He had tears falling down his cheeks, and his nose and eyes were getting red.

We had already found a long sleeve for him since all his cute were still new.
"Let me see what kind you've got," I mumbled, patting his back as a way to encourage him to stand up. He slid off my lap and opened his last drawer to show me all his bottoms. I don't know how my family would be about most of his shorts. I think they're all super cute and show off his legs nice, but I don't know about my family. You know what? What the hell, why does it matter what they think of him? They aren't dating him.
"Find a pair. I don't mind which ones," I permitted him. He dug around a little to find the ones he wanted, handing me them as soon as he did.
"Dady, I shave?" He asked, running his hand up and down his legs. I sighed before nodding. I'm gonna sit with him and help just in case anyway. He smiled and hopped up, running to the bathroom as I stood. He sat on the ledge of the bathtub, watching me walk in after.

I dug out my razor from the cabinet and shut the door most of the way. Not to where it latched shut, but so there wasn't a gap.
I turned on the faucet low and scooped water in my hands, pouring it on one of his legs. In the middle of me doing his one leg for him, he reached for it.
"I do it! Please," He whined.
"Baby, you're too little. You'll nick yourself," I told him, shaking my head. He pouted, but let me do the rest of it. And his other one. By the time I was done and we were both dressed, it was time to go. We had already gotten Mason his present yesterday, so I wasn't worried about that.

We were a few minutes early when we pulled in the driveway, but it wasn't too bad. I'd say we're still on time. I saw probably 6 ars in the driveway, but I know 2 were my parents. And the others were close family. I opened my truck door and took a breath, mentally preparing for my family's questions. They're not crazily invasive, just a whole lot of them. Luca slid out of the truck and shut his door, running to catch up to me as I walked to the front door. He held onto my hand as I opened the front door to my mom's house. I stepped in, Luca behind me, and greeted all the family that noticed someone walked in. They hadn't started eating yet, so I definitely wasn't that late.

"Jakey!" My little cousin yelled, running over. I smiled and picked her up, kissing her cheek for a second.
"Hey, Bubba. You got so much bigger!" I exclaimed. Even if she hadn't gotten taller, it made her giggle. I set her down so she could go play with the other two kids as my mom wrapped her arm around my torso.
"Hey, where have you been?" She asked.
"Busy, you know how it is. Work almost all day, sleep the rest," I said, smiling and hugging her back. I didn't feel like getting into why I hadn't visited her, so I kept it pretty vague.
"Alrighty, come sit down," She finally sighed, patting my back and pulling away.
"Oh, is that your boyfriend?" She asked, looking over and realizing he was next to me.
"Oh yeah, figured I'd let y'all meet him after all this time," I explained.
"I'm Luca," He introduced himself, holding his hands off to his left side.
"Hi, hun. You look so cute," She said, pulling him into a quick hug.

I pulled a chair out at the dining table, my brother on my right, and Luca sat down on my left after me. He quietly tapped his foot under the table while everyone talked, telling stories about Mason.
"I remember when he tried to jump off the garage roof to catch a bird. Some of the dumbest, god damn kids I've ever met," my uncle recalled, laughing instantly after. All of us either smiled or laughed with him until my mom told all of us to get up and make a plate. She made Mac n cheese from scratch, and various cousins brought potato soup, pies, and other traditionally mid-western dishes. I stood up and saw Luca watch me, unsure what to do. I stood by my chair, waiting for people to start sitting back down before I pulled his chair out a little to signal him to stand up. I grabbed two plates, fanning him with one until I needed them. It's just a habit I do with my hands, but it made him giggle when I did it.

"What do you want?" I asked, getting a shrug.
"I don't know," He mumbled, looking at everything layed out.
"I'll take a guess. You can just eat what you want from it," I decided, starting to make his and my plate. I made both of ours at the same time, quietly telling him to sit back down. He listened, sitting where I sat his plate at. I sighed as I sat down and started eating, continuing to just listen to all my family talk.

"So, Luca, are you living with him?" My mom eventually asked while a minor conversation was still going on.
"Yeah, we moved into the new apartment a couple of weeks ago, I think," He answered after he finished what he had in his mouth. He wasn't eating a whole lot, but I don't know the exact reason behind that.
"How's that going for you?" She continued to ask.
"Pretty good. The neighbors are alright, and the place isn't bad or anything," He answered, rubbing his eyes. I didn't think much of it at the time. I just figured it was because he was anxious or something. But I figured out hours later, he was currently missing his nap.

"Jacob, why don't you two go watch the kids play outside? You're the only one who's done eating," my mom suggested as my three cousins ran over to the front door.
"Okay," I sighed, getting up and grabbing my plate. I picked up Luca's with me and threw them both in the trash. He stood up and followed me outside as I walked out after the toddlers. I let him shut the door behind us as I told them to go to the backyard instead of the front.
"Jakey! Push me!" Jazmine shouted, running to the swing.
"Is that your boyfriend?" She asked in the middle of my pushing her.
"Yeah, you met him before, remember? When I watched you at my place," I reminded her. Luca came around the swing set and leaned on me, holding my left hand so I could still push her.
"No, but I was like a baby then. That was forever ago," She claimed, regardless of how it had only been a month or so since I last saw her.
"Oh, okay," I agreed, giving her one last hard shove. "Kick on your own," I instructed. I turned my head and saw Luca zone out, staring into whichever direction.

I reached up and gently shook him by the shoulder. He quickly looked at me, putting his fingers up to his mouth. His eyes were glossed over as if he were about to cry, which really concerned me.
"What is it, Bubba?" I quietly asked. He didn't answer, just shrugged and sniffled a little. All the little kids were running around, unbothered by anything I was doing over here. And Jazmine had jumped off the swing to go play with the rest of them.
"You can tell me, Baby. I'm not gonna be upset," I tried to tell him.
"Just thinkin'," He mumbled, biting on his fingers.
"What about?" I continued, looking up to make sure they all weren't getting into anything.
"Hey, be nice! Don't shove him," I called out after one pushed another. They looked at me for a second before finding something else to do.

He didn't answer, just shrugged. I kissed his head as Mason carelessly walked to the backyard.
"Mom wants all of them inside since they don't have bugspray," He called, continuing to walk over to us. I nodded and pushed myself off the swing, going to guide all the little kids inside.
"Come on, we don't want you getting eaten up by mosquitoes," I said, picking up one and grabbing Jazmine's hand. Luca hurried after me as Mason picked the last one up. We brought them inside, letting them wait to be sprayed. Luca followed behind me, shutting the door and trying to take up as little space as possible. I think he's ready to go. I'll tell my mom bye after she's done with the bugspray.

She sent the last one off to go back out with Katie, Jazmine's mom, so I figured I'd tell Mom bye now.
"Hey, we're gonna go ahead and head home. I've got 12 million things to do before work tomorrow," I said, hugging her briefly. She kissed my cheek and let me say bye to the rest of them. Everyone said bye to Luca, too, but I think he was overstimulated. I held his hand, leading him to the driveway. I unlocked the truck and got in the driver's side.
"Papa, I wanna nap," He whined, scratching down his right leg.
"Did you get bug bites?" I asked, turning the keys in the ignition.
"Nooo..." He quietly whined, flopping back against his seat.

I let it be and just drove us home. I parked in the lot outside the apartments and opened my door. He slid out of his side, running over to me and holding my hand.
"Honey, I can't carry you all the time," I sighed but didn't pull my hand away. I guess he's just really sleepy.