Chapter Text
Mesut sat on the floor of his room, pulling a dress onto his favorite teddy. Daddy gave Mesut left over fabric from the studio and Mesut was always making them into outfits for his bears. Daddy helped him sew them.
From the dining room, Mesut could hear Xabi practicing his piano. Forever practicing his piano. Mesut went to turn on the radio, but there was a knock at the door.
“Hey Mes, you want to come help me with dinner?”
“Look!” Mesut said as he held up his bear.
“Wow, is that the new one we made last night?” Iker asked as he came in to examine the bear. “You made a great design.”
Mesut had taken strips of the fabric and had Iker sew them onto a strip of elastic to make a skirt. Then, Mesut had taken two of the strips and tied them around the bear’s neck like a halter top. It was rather impressive for a five year old.
Iker handed the bear back and Mesut tucked it under his arm as he took Iker’s hand to follow him out to the kitchen.
“What are we having tonight, Daddy?” Mesut asked as he pulled his step stool across so he could stand at the counter with Iker.
“We’re going to have rice and beans with peppers and onions.”
“Can I open the beans?” Mesut asked, having recently mastered the can opener.
“You sure can,” Iker said as he slid a can of black beans across at him and got out the peppers and onions.
Mesut got the opener out of the drawer and opened the can, carefully draining the beans as they listened to Xabi play one phrase over and over again.
“He practices a lot,” Mesut said as he watching Iker sauté the vegetables.
“He wants to be good,” Iker said. “When you want to be good at something you practice a lot.”
“Maybe he could try to be good at something quieter?” Mesut wondered and Iker had to bite his lip not to laugh.
Iker called Xabi to dinner and the boy emerged from the dining room, looking disgruntled. His teacher had given him a new piece and he was struggling with it.
“So,” Iker said as he handed the boys ice cream cups for dessert. “This weekend…”
“What about it?” Xabi said as he peeled off the lid and licked the chocolate off. “We’re not going to Mom’s…?”
“No,” Iker agreed, knowing that neither boy much enjoyed their monthly visits to their mother’s house. Iker tried his best, but she just didn’t seem that interested in them. And she didn’t have a piano so Xabi always came home grumpy. “But some friends of mine wanted to go to the beach this weekend, and I thought you could spend the weekend with Uncle Raul and Sergio!”
Xabi cheered but Mesut slumped. “Can’t we go to the beach with you Daddy?” Mesut asked in a little boy voice.
“You like Uncle Raul!” Iker said cheerfully, but he knew that Sergio and Xabi often paired up and went off without Mesut, leaving the younger boy to himself. While Uncle Raul was pretty cool, it wasn’t the same as being a part of the group.
But Mesut didn’t argue, just sat in his seat, holding his bear, not even eating his ice cream.
* * * *
Xabi disappeared into Sergio’s bedroom as soon as they arrived at Raul’s Friday night. Mesut usually followed, usually had the door slammed in his face.
He carried his teddy (the only one Iker had let him bring) to the living room and slumped onto the couch.
“What’s up?” Raul asked.
“Nothing,” Mesut said as he toyed with the skirt on the teddy.
Raul sat with him. “You want to play a game?”
“No.”
“You want to watch a movie?”
“No.”
Raul eyed the boy. He knew what was up, but… “Hey, you know who just moved in next door?”
“No,” Mesut said again, but this time it was less definitive.
“A new family and they’ve got a little boy about your age…”
Mesut feigned indifference with a shrug.
“You want to go an meet him? They’ve got a swing set in the back yard. Sergio never wants to play with him because he thinks he’s too old for that, but…”
Mesut had perked up at the mention of a swing set. “Maybe…”
“Come on,” Raul said and offered his hand. He peeked into Sergio’s room to see the two were engaged in a video game before leading Mesut out the back door. As he’d predicted, the new boy was in the back yard on the slide. “Hey Per.”
The gangly boy jumped off the slide and ran to the fence. “Hi Mr. Raul!”
Raul smiled. “Per, I want you to meet my nephew, Mesut.”
Mesut clutched his bear and hid behind Raul’s leg. “Hi.”
“HI!” Per said brightly. “Is that a bear? I love bears!”
“Me too!” Mesut said excitedly. “This is just one of mine.” He held it out for inspection.
“Cool. I got a bunch. Dad said I had to play outside for a little while. He has a headache.”
Raul bit his lip, imagining his neighbor Jurgen sending the rowdy boy away. He’d done it to Sergio more than once.
“Mesut, why don’t you and Per play, and I’ll check with Per’s daddy to see if it’s okay.”
“Come on!” Per said excitedly as Raul let Mesut through the gate. The pair of them ran for the slide. At first, they took turns sliding the bear down, and then setting the bear carefully on the patio table, they began to swing. Per challenged Mesut to go as high as he could, but Mesut could never quite get as far as Per’s long legs would take him.
But Mesut didn’t even care.
Per ended up at Raul’s for dinner that night, sharing their pizza while his daddy had a nap. Sergio and Xabi eyed the newcomer warily. While neither of them much wanted Mesut to play with them, the idea that Mesut didn’t actually want to any more made them both a bit jealous.
Per ended up spending the night, Mesut and Per happily sharing the couch, totally unconcerned that Sergio and Xabi occupied the bunk beds in Sergio’s room and didn’t like to share.
By the time Iker arrived at Raul’s Sunday evening, nose sunburnt from the beach, Mesut begged him to be allowed to stay at Per’s one more night.
“Please Daddy? He’s my BEST FRIEND!”
“I can drop him at daycare on my way into the office,” Raul agreed as Mesut danced around Iker.
A sullen Xabi got in the car with Iker.
“You have fun at Raul’s?” Iker asked.
“Sorta,” Xabi said. “All Sergio wanted to do was play video games. He never wants to go outside.”
“Maybe you should have played with Mesut and Per,” Iker said gently.
“They didn’t want to play with me!” Xabi pouted.
Iker didn’t reply. He’d let Xabi figure this one out for himself.