Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 6

jumped up out of bed as an explosion shook the foundation of the house, the sound echoing through the hall. Rushing from the room, he rounded the corner and stopped dead in his tracks as a high-pitched wail broke the silence that followed the blast.
    Making himself move once again, he made his way towards the sound of crying, and found himself in their now-blackened kitchen, soot covering the counters and the stove, dust still floating in the air.
    And in the middle of it, an adorably plump baby boy sat on the floor in nothing more than a diaper, wiping uselessly at the black soot on his face, frustration evident in his every move.
    Utterly confused, Alex went to the unknown baby and lifted him into his arms. Grabbing a washrag from the counter, he used the clean side to wipe at the chubby face as he looked around the kitchen for his lover.
    "Babe? Where you at?" He looked around the room again, slowly this time. "And what the hell did you do to our kitchen?" he yelled, and then cursed when the baby gave another ear-piercing wail.
    Bouncing up and down, trying to quiet the child, Alex glared at it. "Who the
    hells are you, anyway?"
    The baby swatted at his face, giggling. Sighing, Alex moved the baby to his hip and used the rag in his hand to wipe ineffectively at the mess darkening the stove.
    "Babe! Where are you?" He turned on the faucet in the sink, rinsing the rag. Again, the baby swatted him in the face with his small fist, giggling.
    He couldn't help but smile at the sound. No matter how much his fool of a partner enjoyed playing around with magick and doing spells, Alex believed the only thing truly magical in the world was children. Everything about them was so damn perfect. Their laughter at the most ridiculous things, their ability to accept and love any and everything, no matter how different from them, and the endless joy they had for life.
    A damp fist splatted against his cheek. He glanced at the small bundle in his arm, smiling. After a second his smile disappeared and he caught the little fist as it was making a go for a fourth punch.
    Near the corner of the boy's right eye was a tiny scar. A very familiar scar.
    He held the baby at arm length and stared.
    Eyes? Blue.
    Hair? Well, it was hard to tell, but he thought it was black.
    He jerked the baby closer, their noses almost touching as he stared into blue eyes.
    "Jared?" A small pink tongue stuck out in answer and spit blew all over the lower half of his face before the baby– well, the baby that his partner seemed to have turned himself into– laughed uncontrollably, his little face turning red.
    Groaning, Alex plopped the boy on the counter, holding him in place when he started to wiggle towards the sink. "What the heck did you do?"
    Looking at him, Jared popped his thumb in his mouth, his face a blank mask of innocent ignorance. Just as Alex was starting to doubt that the boy was Jared, he grinned up at Alex and tried to crawl towards the still sullied stove.
    Alex debated the smartness of letting what appeared to be an eight-month-old baby next to a recently destroyed stove. Then again, if he had any chance of restoring Jared to his former self, he'd better hope that despite Jared's current appearance, he'd retained some part of his twenty-six year old mind.
    Sighing, he walked alongside of the counter, making sure Jared didn't slip and fall. Once they got to the stove, his partner reached for a blackened pot; and only succeeded in knocking it over and spilling its contents as the lid fell off.
    "Jesus, God Almighty! What in the name of... oh, man, that stinks."
    Apparently Jared agreed with his assessment, if the little button nose scrunching up in disgust was anything to go by. Tentatively, Alex reached out and straightened the pot, returning the lid to its rightful place.
    Glaring at Jared, whose little palms were squishing his pink cheeks together in an attempt to block the smell, Alex tried to wipe up the mess, gagging at the slimy feel of the liquid through the rag. All he succeeded in doing was spreading the mess.
    "Oh, I swear Jared, when you're six feet tall again, you better run as fast as you can, 'cause I am kicking your ass!" he grumbled.
    The baby looked up at him, his hands falling away from his face, before crawling towards him. Fisting his little hands in the material of Alex's shirt, Jared used the handholds to pull himself up, wobbling precariously on his stubby legs. Slipping, he fell back on his butt with a small grunt,