Chapter Text
“Down the block there’s and antique shop
And something in my head said ‘stop’, so I walked in
On the counter was a cardboard box
And the sign said photos 25 cents each
Black and white saw a 30's bride and
Two lovers laughing on the porch of their first house
The kind of love that you only find once in a lifetime
The kind you don’t put down.”
Marvin tapped his fingers to the beat of the pop-country song playing on the radio. He wasn’t a big fan of both of the genres that the song was but he could appreciate the lyrics. He checked the back seat. Jason was staring out the window at the buildings passing by. He was excited, with a smile practically cutting his face in half.
It was his first baseball practice of the year, which was a big deal to him. When Marvin and Trina had got divorced Jason used baseball as a coping mechanism, (after Marvin and Trina had convinced him to leave the house) and he ended up loving it. At first he was terrible. Dropping the bat while setting up to the home plate, trying to slide, eating the dirt, and chipping his tooth, and many other things. The kid was a mess. He was so bad he ended up talking to Marvin about quitting, but as he practiced he began to realize he actually had a knack for the sport.
Marvin pulled into the parking lot of the school. The second he stopped the car Jason jumped out of it, running up to his teammates, leaving his bag of equipment behind. Marvin rolled his eyes, picking up the bag and walking over to the bench.
He set the bag down on the metal bench. Going through it just to make sure Jason had packed everything correctly. He had his bat, his spikes, his cap, helmet, water bottle and a small bag of cheez-its as a snack. Everything seemed to be in order. Marvin zipped up the bag and turned to leave but was met with the chest of a tall man.
Marvin paused for a second, taking a second to realize that his face was currently smushed into this random guy’s shirt. Marvin jumped, realization setting in.
“Oh shit, I’m sorry,” Marvin says, frantic eyes meeting the man’s.
The man in front of him was tall, obviously. He had tan skin, dark brown hair, and honey brown eyes. He was wearing the coach's outfit, which looked a lot like Jason’s. It was a dark purple top with white-grey pants. The shirt had the word “comets” in white, which was the school’s mascot. Marvin’s eyes trailed up a little further and saw that his name was embroidered into the shirt.
Whizzer.
What a weird name.
“You’re new,” He says, looking Marvin up and down with a smirk and a brow raised.
Marvin’s brows furrowed, confused.
“I think you’ve got it wrong,” Marvin says, “My son has been in this baseball program for 2 years now. I think you’re the new one.”
Whizzer smiled. Marvin watched his face light up and the crinkles around his eyes become more predominant.
“I know, I’m just messing with you, calm down.” He said, raising his hands in defeat, chuckling.
“I don’t know how you didn’t get it,” Whizzer patted Marvin’s shoulder, still letting out small laughs.
Marvin huffed, embarrassed. It wasn’t even that funny. Why was he still laughing?
“I should be going now.” Marvin grumbled as he pushed past Whizzer and back over to Jason.
“Wait! I never got your name!” Whizzer called out. Marvin ignored him.
Jason was in a huddle with his team mates, one of them was showing a pretty bad scar he had gotten over the summer to the others. Marvin tapped Jason’s shoulder, grabbing his attention.
Jason whipped around.
“I’ll see you in 2 hours kid.” Marvin said, patting Jason on the back.
“When am I going back to mom’s?” Jason asked.
Marvin’s already very noticeable frown became a lot more noticeable.
He pulled out his phone and opened the calendar app, which he only used to schedule Jason’s visits, and a doctor's appointment here and there.
“You’re going back today. She’s coming at 7.” Marvin said, flatly.
“Okay, thanks.” Jason said, turning back to his friends.
Marvin stomped his way to the car.
The drive back home was silent. Marvin was pissed off which he often found himself being. He was miserable all the time which made everything even more miserable. Why was Jason so eager to go back to Trina’s house? Marvin wasn’t the best dad but he’s definitely been trying.
The entire week Marvin had him Jason was huddled up in his room. Doing his “homework.” Marvin knew that homework didn’t require you to scroll on your phone, but he never bothered him. He just wished Jason would try to talk to him at least.
The car in front of him was going unbelievably slow which was just a sign of traffic. Marvin sighed. Marvin lived just outside of New York city, occasionally going into it for work, why was there traffic out here? Marvin groaned as his vehicle came to a full stop. He wasn’t moving for a long time.
In the meantime, he thought of ‘Whizzer’ if that was even his name. Because who in their right mind would name their child that? Marvin replayed the moment in his head over and over again in his head, chastising himself for not catching on. But as he played it over and over again soon everything turned into a blur and the only thing he saw was his eyes, upturned and impish.
He got even more pissed.
====
When he finally got home after an hour he collapsed on the couch. He needed a nap. He was so tired for absolutely no reason at all. He hadn’t been at work since friday, he’s been able to sleep in the past two days so why was he so tired? Marvin groaned and got up, hobbling over to the kitchen where he downed a capri-sun in about 3 seconds.
Marvin used to drink a lot, but not anymore. Thankfully he had gotten over that addiction. He still drinks sometimes, like when out with friends and stuff like that, but never at home. He began to see Mendel because of that addiction (among other things). But, he can’t really talk to him anymore after he married Trina. It’s awkward now.
Marvin walked down the hallway of his apartment building to his next door neighbors: Charlotte and Cordelia. When he moved into his apartment they were eager to help him, and he couldn’t say no to that. They ended up becoming really good friends and now they hang out every other day.
He knocked on the door and it was opened almost immediately by Charlotte with a big smile on her face.
“Marvin!” She greeted him, “Come in!”
Marvin’s mood got a little bit better now that he was around people he liked. He sat down on the couch where a movie was already playing. Charlotte was stumbling around the kitchen trying to pick up a mess that he assumed was Cordelia’s.
“Is she trying new recipes?” Marvin asked with a smile.
“Yeah,” Charlotte sighed, “ She seriously needs to read the instructions better.”
In the past year Cordelia had picked up cooking (and sometimes baking) as a hobby. Sometimes when Marvin would come over it would stink of burnt something. Marvin was always forced to taste whatever she was making, and it definitely wasn’t the best.
“What is it this time?” Marvin watched as Charlotte washed the dirty cake pan.
“Cake pops.”
Marvin looked at her in sympathy.
“The cake was fine since she was using a box set, but the frosting she made..” Charlotte shivered. “It was filled with chunks of butter and was way too sweet! And then she added too much to the crumbled cake so they were too heavy to put the melted chocolate on top! She didn’t even know she had to freeze the cake before putting the chocolate on, so now we just have a plate of ‘cake balls’ or whatever she calls it in the fridge.”
Marvin laughed.
“But seriously, they aren’t that bad.”
“Really?” Marvin’s eyes widened.
“Yeah, they’re mediocre, but that’s better than normal.” Charlotte snorted.
Marvin walked over to the fridge and grabbed one of the ‘pastries’ if you could even call it that. He popped it into his mouth and chewed. It tasted…normal!
“You’re so right!” He says, turning to her.
“I know!” She exclaimed, walking over to the couch and sitting down.
Marvin followed suit, grabbing a pillow to hold on to.
“Isn’t your guys’ anniversary around next week?”
Charlotte shot up
“Oh my god it is!” she exclaimed. “What am I gonna get her? Should I plan something fancy? How did I forget?”
Marvin watched her pace back and forth across the room, mumbling to herself.
“I think anything you get her she’ll love. You guys have been married for 3 years now, she obviously loves you otherwise she would’ve left.” Marvin reasoned.
“Well you and Trina got divorced,” She shot him a confused look.
Marvin and Trina had been married for 6 years when they decided to have Jason. It was the best decision of his life. He loves him dearly. Trina on the other hand, not so much. Marvin never found himself attracted to her. The only reason he really started dating her in the first place was because he was pushed by his parents to do so, and ever since they’ve been in a loveless marriage. Until they got divorced. Marvin felt like a weight had been lifted off his chest. He didn’t have to fake smiles and kisses anymore.
Marvin was straight, of course, Trina just wasn’t the one.
At first Marvin always thought it was a little weird since he was a straight man hanging out with 2 lesbians, but he grew to not care about stuff like that anymore.
“I know what to get her!” Charlotte practically yelled, pulling Marvin out of his thoughts.
“What?”
“I’ll get her a really fancy cooking set. Sure, I’ll have to work a few extra hours every day at the hospital but it will be so worth it to see her face.” Charlotte looked extremely proud of herself.
“I’m sure she’ll love it.” Marvin smirked.
Cordelia was out at her office job, which she absolutely resented. Her true dream job was being a caterer, but she had to get the money (and get better at cooking) before she could pursue it.
“I’ll get her one of those hu-”
DING
Charlotte was cut off by a notification on Marvin’s phone. Jason’s practice was almost done.
“Shit!” Marvin exclaimed, quickly getting off the couch.
“What?”
“Jason’s practice is almost done. I should get going. I don’t want him to wait for an hour because I'm late.”
“Oh Jason, I haven’t seen him In so long. How’s he been?” Charlotte cocked her head to the side.
“He’s been fine. He’s just been hiding in his room the entire week.”
“Oh. Well tell him I said hi!” She waved to Marvin as he left the apartment.
Marvin ran to grab his keys off of his kitchen counter and hopped into his car. Speeding, a little bit faster than normal, he made it to the school just as practice had ended. Thankfully there was no traffic.
He took off his red sweatshirt and laid it on the seat. School had just started so it was still warm out. He doesn’t know how the boys run around in those sweaty pants and knee high socks for that long.
Marvin got out of the car and slowly walked over to where the field was, nervous to talk to Whizzer after making a big fool of himself. It’s not even that big of a deal why he is so persistent on being embarrassed.
He began to sneak his way around the field, trying not to be seen by Whizzer. He did not want to talk to him and possibly make an even bigger fool of himself. But, God had decided to not answer his prayers because he heard a familiar voice behind him.
“Hey,” Whizzer said with a sly tone to his voice.
Marvin (reluctantly) turned around.
“Hi.” He said, obviously not wanting to hold a conversation with him.
“I never got your name,” He said, pulling out a clip-board. “I need to keep track of who’s kid is who’s.”
“Marvin.”
“Marvin? Who would name a baby that?” Whizzer scoffed writing down his name.
“Seriously? You’re asking me that question? Do you even know what your name is?” Marvin rolled his eyes.
Whizzer crossed his arms. “You’re no fun, lighten up.”
“It’s hard while you’re here.” Marvin grumbled under his breath.
“What did I do to you? I’ve talked to you for a total of, I don’t know, 12 minutes.” Whizzer seemed to be agitated, but he kept that stupid impish smirk that Marvin hated. It reminded him of a predator playing with its food before it ends up eating it.
“You have a weird smile.” Marvin said flatly.
“How so?”
“You know what you’re doing. Stop.”
“Doing what?” His grin seemed to grow even more wide.
“You know what I mean. Stop.”
“I can’t stop unless you tell me what I’m doing.”
“I’m not doing this right now,” Marvin said, walking over to the group of 11 year olds packing up their equipment.
Jason ran up to him, he seemed as ecstatic as he was earlier in the day. Marvin would’ve been wiped out, especially since the sun was setting.
“Thanks for taking me, Dad.” Jason smiled and Marvin rustled his hair.
“Get in the car i'll be there in a minute,” Marvin dug his keys and tossed them to Jason. “Here’s the keys, don’t drive away on me or you’ll be grounded for the rest of your life.” Marvin kid.
Jason eyed the keys in delight, before running down to the car.
Marvin sat down at the bench opposite to the one all of the kids were at, sitting and watching the sun set. Marvin loved bad weather but he definitely could appreciate a good sunset. The oranges, yellows, and reds all blended together like a painting. The clouds were scattered about the sky, orange from the rays of sunlight.
He was calm. For the first time in hours.
But all of that had to be ruined by his son’s new baseball coach, who sat down right next to him.
To Marvin’s surprise, he didn’t say anything. He just sat there. Awfully close to Marvin like they were close friends which they were not.
Marvin thought about his actions today. He really should be more nice to people. He’s been like this since Mendel married Trina. He has no one to talk to about his anger.
“Um, I’m sorry about how I acted before, I was being a dick.” Marvin said, not looking over to Whizzer.
Whizzer turned to him, at least that’s what it looked like in Marvin’s peripheral vision.
“It’s okay.” Whizzer said and Marvin turned to him.
He was smiling, but this one was different. It was more soft and welcoming.
Marvin found himself smiling too.
That was until Whizzer grabbed his shirt and stood up. Marvin was on his tip-toes, gripping the collar of his shirt, hoping it didn’t rip.
Whizzer whispered, “You better not get in the way of my job or I’ll destroy you.” His breath was hot on Marvin’s ear.
He let go of Marvin’s shirt, his mood changing the second Marvin’s feet were flat on the ground.
“I’ll see you next Monday, Marvin.” Whizzer smiled, waving as he walked to his car.
What the fuck?