Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Jack is discharged from the hospital the following day, partly to his relief, because he’d much rather sleep in his own bed than the tiny, uncomfortable hospital bed for another night, but also partly to his dismay, because his wound is less than a day old and he feels like he’d like to have medical supervision for just a little while longer in case anything happens. But alas, the doctors saw no reason to keep him in another night, so that’s that.

Although, he can’t exactly be disappointed considering it means that he and Iris are both well enough to go home.

“You think she’ll be okay back there?” Jack asks, turning around to look at their day-old daughter asleep in her car seat in the back.

“Baby, she’ll be fine. The car seat is totally safe. And I’ll try to drive as carefully as possible,” Alex responds, placing his hand on Jack’s thigh reassuringly. Jack purses his lips but doesn’t respond, turning back around to face the front as Alex starts the engine.

“It feels weird that we’re allowed to just take her home just like that,” Jack comments instead, earning a puzzled look in his direction from Alex.

“Why wouldn’t we be?” Alex asks with a chuckle.

Jack shrugs. “I don’t know, I just feel like there’s no way we’re ready to look after a tiny baby all on our own. Feels like we should have some sort of supervision.” This earns a surprised snort from Alex.

“What, you think the hospital should send new parents home with a ‘How To’ manual on parenting?” Alex jokes, and Jack laughs.

“Exactly,” he answers, before his expression changes into something softer. “It’s fucking crazy how much our lives have changed just over one tour,” he adds, glancing over his shoulder once again at Iris who’s still asleep in the back.

“Tell me about it,” Alex muses. “If you’d given me a million chances, I don’t think I would ever have guessed that we’d end up here. But I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”

“You’re such a sap,” Jack teases, although he’s unable to hide the wide smile that spreads across his face.

Alex snorts indignantly. “Hey, fuck you. I think we’re allowed to be a little corny today.”

Jack chuckles softly. “You’re right. And neither would I.”

When they arrive home, Jack suddenly realises that getting out of the car is going to be more of a challenge than he’d anticipated, what with every lower body movement causing him significant pain.

“I’ll get the baby,” Alex murmurs once he’s switched off the engine. Jack opens his door and carefully rotates himself so that his feet are on the floor, and he’s about to attempt to stand when Alex appears in front of him, holding Iris in her car seat. “Wait, let me help you,” he says, and offers Jack a hand, which he takes gratefully, carefully pulling himself up and out of the car. He winces slightly as he feels his stitches strain slightly, but once he’s standing up it eases off a little. “You okay?” Alex asks.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just need to take it slow,” Jack responds, and Alex shuts the door behind him and locks the car.

Once they’re inside, Jack slumps down onto the sofa with another slight wince.

“Where’s my baby?” He asks, smiling warmly as Alex puts her car seat on the floor and takes her out, handing her to Jack carefully. Jack holds her so gently and so lovingly that Alex swears he falls even more in love with both of them.

“I need to put some laundry on, but when I’m done, I’ll come join you guys,” Alex says, and Jack lifts his head up, eyes widening.

“Oh, I’ll come help you, hold on,” he says, but Alex shakes his head.

“Don’t worry, babe, I got it. You should rest.”

“I can move, Alex. Let me help you,” Jack says, although as he starts to stand up, he feels a twinge of pain which he tries to hide, however Alex sees right through him.

“No, Jack, stop. Don’t hurt yourself. You’re still healing. I got this,” Alex says, and Jack is about to protest, however when he feels his stitches throbbing, he realises that Alex is probably right. Instead, he carefully repositions himself on the sofa so that he’s sitting sideways with his legs up, leaning back against the arm and cuddling Iris closer to his chest.

She blinks sleepily and looks up at him with big, curious eyes, and Jack smiles adoringly down at her.

“Hey, sweetie,” he murmurs, kissing the top of her head softly, She makes a little noise which only makes Jack smile wider. A few minutes later, Alex reemerges, coming to sit down on the adjoining section of sofa next to Jack and Iris. “Look – it’s Daddy,” Jack says to her as Alex sits down, and Alex feels a surge of love. “Do you wanna hold her?” Jack asks, and passes her over to Alex gently.

“Hey, baby girl,” Alex says softly as he takes Iris, and Jack rolls onto his side, gazing lovingly at the two of them together. Before either of them can say anything else, however, Iris lets out a loud wail. “Oh, God, She’s not even a day old and she already hates me,” Alex says, mostly joking but also unable to hide his concern at the fact that she started crying almost as soon as he picked her up. Jack chuckles softly.

“I think she’s probably just hungry,” Jack responds, sitting up slowly and getting to his feet before Alex can protest. “I’ll go make her a bottle,” Jack adds, trying to hide the pain the action causes.

He returns a few minutes later with a small bottle of formula, and he passes it to Alex, who’s still trying to soothe their crying baby.

“Thanks, babe,” Alex says as he takes the bottle from Jack. He carefully offers the tip to Iris who takes it, drinking from it gratefully as her cries finally die down.

When they started getting the house ready for Iris’ arrival, they both mutually agreed that they wanted her to sleep close by, at least for the first few weeks.

Which brings them to where they are now – getting ready for bed in the dark so as not to wake Iris, who’s already asleep in her cot in the corner of the room.

“You okay?” Alex whispers as he notices Jack’s grimace as he gets into bed.

“Just a little sore,” Jack responds equally quietly.

“Want me to get you some Tylenol?” Alex offers. Jack considers it for a moment before nodding gently.

“Maybe, if you wouldn’t mind,” Jack says, and Alex knows that the pain must be bad for Jack to say yes without needing to be persuaded.

“Of course I wouldn’t mind, babe,” Alex murmurs, and he kisses the top of Jack’s head softly before heading downstairs.

Jack adjusts his position a little, trying to manoeuvre himself so that he isn’t resting on his stitches. Everything hurts – his back, his abdomen, his crotch. Even his head is starting to hurt a little now, too. But when he looks over at the small bundle lying in the cot in the darkness of the room, he can’t bring himself to care too much – she’s absolutely perfect, and he’d jump in front of a train for her.

Alex returns a few moments later, a box of Tylenol in one hand and a glass of water in the other.

“Thanks, baby,” Jack murmurs as he takes the medicine and the glass from Alex. He pops two out of the foil and makes quick work of taking them, drinking the whole glass of water before placing it on his bedside table. Alex cautiously gets into bed beside Jack, and Jack adjusts himself carefully so that he’s resting his head on Alex’s chest.

“I know I’ve said it about a hundred times, but I’m so proud of you,” Alex whispers, wrapping his arm around Jack’s shoulders and cuddling him closer.

“And as I’ve said just as many times, I could never have done this without you by my side,” Jack responds quietly, smiling to himself as he shuts his eyes.

“I love you,” Alex murmurs, kissing the top of Jack’s head and stroking Jack’s arm with his free hand.

“I love you too,” Jack whispers in response.

Chapter Text

“We should really tell people,” Jack says as Alex walks into the bedroom.

Jack and Iris are lying on the bed, Jack curled up on his side with his arm protectively across Iris, who’s lying on her back next to him, and they both look so content that Alex can’t resist when he retrieves his phone from his pocket and takes a photo of them both, pride and adoration swelling in his chest.

“I should really start by telling my mom,” Alex says with a chuckle, putting his phone away and sitting down next to the two of them carefully, stroking Iris’ head softly. “I feel so bad that I haven’t told her yet.”

“Why don’t you call her now? Invite her over,” Jack suggests.

“Would you be okay with that?” Alex asks.

Jack shrugs. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I don’t know, just thought you might be kinda tired and not in the mood for people to visit,” Alex explains, turning his head towards Iris as he feels her grip onto his finger, smiling down at her widely.

“No, it’s okay. I’m up for seeing family and close friends,” Jack answers, gently stroking Iris’ cheek with his knuckle and feeling his heart swell with pride and adoration as he looks at her. “I wanna see people, actually. I wanna show Iris off to everyone.” Alex laughs softly, kissing Jack’s temple sweetly before leaning down to Iris and kissing her on the forehead.

“Yeah. So do I.”

Alex calls his mom later that morning, and she ends up coming over just after lunch, just after Iris has fallen asleep. So, perhaps not ideally timed, but either way he’s glad to see her.

“How are you both doing?” She asks as Alex shuts the door behind her.

“Oh, over the moon,” Alex answers, unable to stop the wide smile from crossing his face. “She’s just perfect. We honestly couldn’t be happier.”

“Where’s Jack?” Alex’s mom asks, taking a seat on the sofa.

“Iris just fell asleep, so he’s sitting with her for a couple minutes,” Alex answers, and his mom furrows her eyebrows.

“Oh, did I come at a bad time?”

“No, not at all,” Alex answers immediately. “She’s a newborn, so honestly it’s a surprise when she’s not asleep.” He laughs softly at the end, punctuating his sentence. “Wanna come have a look at her?”

“Is that okay?” His mom asks.

“Of course. Just don’t wake her.”

He leads her up to the bedroom, knocking gently on the half-shut door once he gets there before pushing it open slowly.

“My mom’s here,” he whispers, peering around the door to see Jack sitting on the bed with his back against the headboard, Iris asleep in his arms. Alex pushes the door open the rest of the way and walks in, his mom following behind.

“Hey,” Jack whispers with a smile. “Nice to see you. Sorry, Iris just fell asleep.”

“Oh, don’t apologise,” Alex’s mom whispers. “I know how newborns are.” Jack huffs out a quiet laugh, staggering to his feet – struggling slightly to get up, both from the pain and also from trying not to wake Iris.

“Here she is,” Jack says softly, crossing the small room to where Alex and his mom are standing.

“Oh, look at her,” Alex’s mom marvels. “She’s so beautiful.” Alex beams widely, his arm loosely looping around Jack’s waist and rubbing his side. “You two must be so proud.”

“Believe me, we are,” Jack answers, looking up and meeting Alex’s eyes with an equally wide smile. “I’m just gonna put her in her crib, then I’ll come down,” he adds softly, heading over towards the cot and placing Iris in it gently, before turning around and motioning to the others to leave the room.

They head back downstairs and into the living room, Jack and Alex sitting on one end of the sofa with Alex’s mom sitting in the adjacent armchair.

“So, how are you two finding parenthood?” She asks.

“It’s so great,” Alex responds, beaming. “I know it’s early days, so it hasn’t gotten to the really tiring part yet, but it’s just great.”

“Tell me about it,” Jack muses, a small smile on his face. “I know it sounds so cliché – especially since we’ve only been parents for, like, two days – but it’s the best.” Alex’s mom chuckles softly, her eyes flickering between the two of them.

“It’s crazy how much you two have grown up suddenly,” she comments wistfully. “Feels like just yesterday that you two were coming home from school together and playing videogames in the living room.”

Jack releases a quiet laugh in response. “My mom said something similar,” he says. “Said that, before we know it, Iris is gonna be the one getting married and having kids.”

“Well, she’s right – it does go fast,” Alex’s mom answers with an amused smile. “Have you two thought about that at all, though?”

“About what?” Alex asks.

“Getting married,” she clarifies. And suddenly Alex feels an uncomfortable churning in his stomach.

“Oh, uh… not really,” Alex fumbles, fiddling with his hands nervously.

“We haven’t thought that far ahead, to be honest,” Jack interjects.

“We’ve only been together for six months, anyway,” Alex adds with an awkward laugh. “Who wants a shotgun wedding?”

“Exactly,” Jack says with a laugh. “Marriage is overrated.”

“I think I’m gonna go take a shower,” Jack comments after Alex’s mom has left. “I feel like I still haven’t washed the hospital grossness away.”

“Need a hand?” Alex asks. Jack huffs out a laugh.

“With taking a shower?” He asks with an amused grin. “Thanks for the offer, babe, but I think I can manage.”

“I just thought it might be hard with you not being healed yet is all,” Alex points out, huffing quietly.

“I got that. But I think I’ll be okay, thanks.”

“Okay, but call me if you do need anything,” Alex says. Jack doesn’t respond, but stops to press a sweet kiss onto Alex’s lips as he passes him.

Once he’s undressed and in the bathroom, he gets a proper look at himself for the first time since he left the hospital, and he can’t help but feel… insecure? Dysphoric? He can’t quite tell, but as he stands there prodding at the skin on his stomach and examining the stretch marks that the pregnancy left, he suddenly can’t stand to look at himself in the mirror. He darts into the shower without looking back, turning on the water and letting it heat up.

He manages to clean himself without issue, until he gets to his stitches; the doctor had told Jack that he needed to make sure to rinse them carefully with warm water, however the prospect of going near them suddenly seems so daunting. Regardless, he sets about tending to his wound, removing the shower head from the holder and carefully aiming its spray at his stitches. Almost immediately, however, he yelps in pain, having misjudged the water temperature and unintentionally scalding himself, and he drops the shower head onto the floor with a loud clatter, slumping against the wall as he waits for the pain to pass.

Of course, seconds later Alex rushes into the bathroom.

“Jack? Are you okay?” He asks, sounding worried. “I heard you yell and something falling.”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Jack responds. “Just- don’t come in, please.” Alex frowns. 

“Why not?” He asks. “Is everything okay?”

“Fine,” Jack says, but Alex’s frown deepens.

“What’s wrong?” Alex asks, and without any warning, opens the door to the shower cubicle. Reflexively, Jack wraps his arms around his stomach and seems to shrink into the corner. 

“I told you not to come in,” Jack says, and he sounds close to tears. “I’m fine, Alex.”

“Why don’t you want me to come in?” Alex asks gently. Then, when he sees Jack desperately trying to cover his stomach, it hits. “Do you not want me to see you naked or something?” He asks. Jack looks away self-consciously and doesn’t respond. “You’re not fine, Jack. I’m coming in, okay?” Alex begins to strip off, stepping into the shower and shutting the door behind himself once he’s fully naked.

“But what about Iris?” Jack asks. “What if she cries and we don’t hear her?”

“Baby, she’s right next door. We’ll hear her,” Alex says, and carefully rests his hands on Jack’s upper arms. “Now, please talk to me. What happened? Why did you yell?”

“I, uh… I was trying to rinse my stitches but the water was too hot and it really hurt,” Jack responds. Alex pulls a face as Jack says that.

“Yikes, okay. Why don’t you let me do it for you,” Alex says, but Jack’s eyes widen.

“No, please, I don’t want you to look down there, Alex. It’s a mess,” he exclaims. Alex frowns.

“Jack, I was right beside you when you gave birth. It’s not like I don’t know what it’s gonna look like,” he says gently, but Jack shrugs.

“I just don’t want you to see me any differently,” he responds, and Alex raises his eyebrows.

“As if I’d see you differently, Jack. Hey, come here,” he murmurs, and pulls Jack into a tight hug. Jack relents, wrapping his arms around Alex’s waist. “Listen to me – what your body went through is amazing, okay? I know you’re still adjusting to things, but everything about you is absolutely beautiful to me, baby. You’ve just spent nine months growing a human inside your body, and you gave birth only two days ago – stop being so hard on yourself.” Jack nods gently, a stray tear running down his face and mingling with the water from the shower. “Now, will you let me help you?” Alex adds, pulling away and looking Jack in the eyes. Jack sniffs softly but nods. Wordlessly, Alex picks the shower head back up off the floor and adjusts the temperature slightly, making the water a little cooler. “How does that temperature feel?” He asks softly.

“Maybe a little colder, please,” Jack responds in a small voice. Alex turns the temperature down a little more before promptly getting on his knees in front of Jack.

“Can I?” Alex asks, resting a hand on Jack’s hip gently. Jack nods, trying to ignore how self-conscious he feels as Alex looks directly at the stitching on his perineum. Seconds later, he feels the stream of the shower running over his wound, and he tries not to flinch, although it hurts a lot less than before. “The doctor said to make sure it’s rinsed thoroughly, didn’t she?” Alex asks rhetorically.

Jack doesn’t think he’s ever felt more loved as he stands there with Alex carefully tending to his wound, and he can’t express how much he adores the older boy.

“Okay, you think that’s enough?” Alex asks softly a moment later. Jack nods.

“I think so,” he responds. “Thank you, Alex. This means so much to me.” Alex refits the shower head in place, making the water a little warmer again.

“It’s nothing, I promise,” Alex murmurs, pulling Jack into another hug. “It’s the least I could do.” Jack winds his arms around Alex’s waist, pressing their bare chests together. “Come on – let’s get out,” Alex whispers after a moment. 

Once they’re back in the bedroom, Jack is relieved to find that Iris is still sleeping soundly in her cot. 

Alex sits down on the bed once he’s redressed and wordlessly motions for Jack to sit next to him. Tentatively, Jack takes a seat beside Alex on the end of the bed, wearing just his towel around his waist so his wound can air-dry.

“Wanna tell me what that was back there?” Alex asks gently, resting his hand on Jack’s knee. Jack looks down, fiddling with a loose thread on the towel. 

“I just feel… I don’t know. I hate looking in the mirror now because of how I look. I don’t know whether I’m dysphoric or just insecure about what the pregnancy has done to my body,” Jack says quietly. “I thought you might… not be attracted to me anymore if you saw what a mess I look.” Alex frowns deeply. 

“Hey,” he begins. “First of all, I could never not be attracted to you. Like I said before – you’re so beautiful. Everything your body has done is just so incredible, Jack, so the fact that you could think that I’d think that you’re anything less than stunning breaks my heart. Yeah, your body has changed, but you’re still sexy as fuck. And not to get sappy, but all the things that being pregnant has done to your body just remind me of Iris – I couldn’t ever dislike the way you look.” Gently he takes a hold of Jack’s hand, rubbing circles on the back of it with his thumb. “But more importantly, there’s no way I’d ever see you any differently just because your body has changed. Even if you hadn’t just had a baby – I’m not so shallow that I’d think less of you because your body looks different to how it used to.”

Jack nods solemnly. “I know, I’m sorry I thought you’d, like, judge me or whatever. I was just insecure I guess.”

“No, don’t apologise,” Alex responds softly. “I get that you’d feel that way. But you’re still the most beautiful thing ever to me.” This earns a small laugh from Jack. 

“Wow. How cliché,” he jokes, and Alex laughs.

“I mean it though,” he murmurs, and he presses a soft kiss onto Jack’s lips. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. You and Iris.”

“What did I do to deserve you?” Jack asks, kissing Alex softly again. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too,” Alex whispers.

Chapter Text

Jack and Alex are awoken in the middle of the night by Iris letting out a wailing cry. 

“I’ll get her,” Jack murmurs, barely awake. 

“I’ll go make a bottle,” Alex says, getting out of bed and heading downstairs as Jack goes over to Iris’ cot and lifts her out, cradling her and trying to calm her down.

“Hey, baby girl. It’s okay, I’ve got you,” he soothes, and he walks over to the bed, sitting on the edge of it and continuing to rock her gently. Moments later, Alex reappears with a bottle in his hand, which he passes to Jack. “Thanks, babe,” Jack says as he gives the bottle to Iris. Her cries die down almost immediately, and she falls asleep again fairly quickly once she’s had enough. Jack carefully places her back in her cot once he’s sure she’s not going to wake back up, and he kisses her softly on the forehead as he does so.

He climbs back into bed and immediately into Alex’s open arms, cuddling up to him and resting his head on his chest.

“Look at your tiny little nose. I could just eat it up,” Alex coos at Iris as she lies in her bouncer in the living room.

Jack snorts softly as he overhears Alex, walking into the living room. “Do not eat our daughter, Alex,” he quips.

“She’s just too cute, I can’t help it,” Alex returns, looking up and meeting Jack’s eyes. “I just wanna pick her up and squash her.”

“No!” Jack exclaims with a laugh, coming to sit on the floor beside Alex, in front of Iris’ bouncer.

“I’m not going to, obviously,” Alex responds with a soft snort. “It’s just…” he trails off, making a squeezing motion with his hands in front of Iris’ face. “Ahh! Look at her chubby little cheeks. They’re so squishable.” Jack laughs again at Alex’s answer, shrugging slightly.

“Yeah, it sounds crazy but I actually get what you mean,” he says with a small smile, leaning down and kissing the top of Iris’ head softly, caressing her soft baby hair with his index finger. “Man, I wonder when she’s gonna get the memo that she doesn’t have to stay like this anymore?” He adds, gesturing to her legs scrunched up as though she’s still in the foetal position.

Alex chuckles softly “I mean, if you’d been like that for nine months, it would probably take you some time to get used to it, too.” He beams down at Iris, holding each of her hands gently in his own and leaning down and kissing her forehead, nuzzling his nose against hers. 

“True, I guess,” Jack answers with a quiet laugh, feeling his heart swell from pride and adoration at the sight of his boyfriend interacting with their daughter so tenderly and with so much love. “By the way,” he adds, lightly stroking Iris’ leg, “how about I make dinner tonight?”

Alex turns his head towards Jack, raising his eyebrows in surprise. “Oh, don’t worry, babe. I got it.”

Jack huffs quietly. “But you’ve done it every day for, like, almost two weeks,” he points out.

“Well, that’s because you were heavily pregnant until, like, a week ago. And now I don’t want you to over-exert yourself while you’re still healing.”

Jack rolls his eyes. “There’s literally no part of cooking that’s gonna affect my wound in any way.”

“I know, dumbass,” Alex retorts, although not unkindly. “I’m just saying, I’m more than happy to keep doing stuff like this while you’re healing. I just wanna make it easier for you in any way I can.”

“That’s really sweet, Alex,” Jack says softly, “but I promise that cooking isn’t too hard.”

“Well, if you’re sure,” Alex answers. “What were you planning on cooking?”

“I don’t know,” Jack responds, pursing his lips in consideration. Alex laughs softly.

“That’s a good start,” he jokes, and Jack laughs too.

“I’m sure I’ll think of something,” Jack answers, before raising his eyebrows as his eyes land on Iris. “Oh shit, looks like somebody’s about to need a diaper change,” he comments as he notices the look of intense concentration on her face.

Alex chuckles. “Oh, yeah, she’s got that look,” he says, getting to his feet and lifting her out of her bouncer. “C’mon, baby girl – let’s get you changed.”

Once Jack has finished preparing the dinner, he decides to go upstairs to join Alex in putting Iris to bed.

As he reaches the landing, he hears the sound of Alex singing softly to Iris coming from the bedroom, and his heart just about explodes. He tentatively pushes the door open, and Alex looks up as he walks in, smiling as their eyes meet.

“Getting her cultured early, I see,” Jack comments softly, immediately recognising the Green Day song that Alex is singing to their daughter.

“Of course,” Alex answers, before continuing with the so-called lullaby. Jack grins widely, leaning against the door frame and listening in silence as Alex finishes the song, feeling his heart swell from love at the sight.

Iris is already asleep by the time Alex has finished singing to her, so carefully he gets up from where he’s sitting on the bed and crosses over to her cot, kissing the top of her head softly before placing her in it gently.

“Man, I really need to think about moving all my shit here,” Jack comments as they eat dinner.

“What?” Alex asks, raising a confused eyebrow.

“From my house,” Jack elaborates. “It’s just been closed for, like, almost eleven months. I should really start thinking about selling it and moving my stuff back here.”

“Where’s this coming from?”

Jack shrugs. “Just been weighing on my mind.”

“I thought you were gonna leave it for a bit, though,” Alex points out. “I thought you wanted to wait until you’d healed and stuff.”

“I did, it’s just… y’know that feeling when you have something you need to do and it’s like it’s just hanging over you?”

Alex huffs quietly. “Too well.”

“Well, that’s how I’m feeling right now,” Jack says. “It’s gonna be a big fucking job, and I just wish it were out of the way already.”

“You really don’t need to rush into it, though,” Alex says. “Like you said before – you have enough stuff to last you a while. There’s no real hurry.”

“No, I know, it’s just knowing that I’ve still gotta do it. Besides, it would be useful to have my car here.”

“You can drive mine,” Alex points out.

“Sure, but wouldn’t it be better to have two?” Jack suggests.

“Eventually, but there’s still no rush,” Alex answers with a nonchalant shrug.

“It’s just annoying knowing that I still have to do it,” Jack says with a huff.

“You know you don’t have to sell your place at all, though, right?” Alex asks, raising an eyebrow at Jack.

“Why wouldn’t I?”

Alex shrugs. “I don’t know. Do you plan on living here permanently?”

Jack snorts softly. “No, I was gonna leave you and our daughter to go live back in my place in LA on my own,” Jack deadpans sarcastically.

“Asshole,” Alex responds with an eyeroll, “I meant, are you sure you want to live in Baltimore forever? As in, all of us.”

“Maybe,” Jack answers. “But even if we decide to move one day, we’d probably buy a place together. Either way, it makes sense for me to sell. I can’t really see us going back to live in my old apartment as a family, y’know?”

“Why not? It’s big enough.”

“Sure, but it’s not exactly a family home,” Jack points out. “Besides, we could keep the money in a savings account or something.”

“Well, whatever you wanna do. It’s entirely up to you,” Alex says. “But seriously, don’t stress about it now. You’ve got all the time in the world. Iris is literally just over a week old. Why don’t you just focus on healing for now and worry about this later?”

Jack chuckles softly. “When did you become so wise?”

“Well, y’know, parenthood has really opened my eyes,” Alex jokes, and Jack snorts.

“You’re such an idiot.”

“Hey, I thought you just said I was wise.”

“Can two things not be true at once?” Jack quips with a raised eyebrow, making Alex laugh.

“I suppose so,” Alex answers. “You’re a pretty wise idiot too, I guess.”

“Hey, fuck you,” Jack retorts, although he’s still smiling.

“You literally started it, you asshole.”

“Yeah, well, fuck you anyway.”

Alex laughs aloud. “God, who the fuck let us be parents?”