Steven and the other men were very   protective of their children, but the playground near the beach was a good opportunity to socialize them and be outside. That and the mothers had given them strict rules not to hover, all of them were helicopter parents and the kids needed to learn how to fend for themselves.

Adam snorted at Asher, age 10, watching his little sister carefully and far away from the other children. "We had a conversation about trying to be more social. I guess we need to discuss what that actually means."

Hazel chuckled and shook his head. "Nah, he's okay. We don't want to push him too hard, he'll come around, honey."

Steven was mystified with their endless energy, but muttered, "He's at least smiling a little. And there goes Comet to get him to play."

They chatted for a while and it was very hard to miss them emulating their fathers. Comet had his hands shoved in his pockets while he nudged Asher with a shoulder. Asher's arms were crossed but he smirked anyways and rolled his eyes.

"Uh oh," Jacob muttered, redirecting their attention to an altercation. "Trouble in paradise."

Across the playground, Phoebe was trying to re-buckle her sandal before she went down the slide, but a boy behind her was making a big stink about it.

"What are you even doing?" He sneered at her as he waited.

Phoebe didn't even look up, she was an unbothered child if they'd ever met one. "I'm fixing my shoe so I don't hurt myself when I go down."

"Well you're taking forever!" He groaned.

Her eyes went to him. "Be patient. Wait your turn."

And then he pushed her down the slide.

Before any of the dads could respond, Milo, Leo, Asher and Comet sprinted for the incident and a sobbing Phoebe.

"Are you alright?" Milo asked as he observed her knee. "Blimey, that looks bad."

Leo hugged Phoebe and wiped away her tears. "It's okay, Bee. I got you."

Comet and Asher turned as the boy went down the slide and into the worst possible situation.

Comet and Asher were standing waiting for him with nasty nearly matching glares, and Leo and Milo were doing the same past comforting Phoebe.

The kid looked a little nervous but scoffed. "Get out of my way."

"You pushed Phoebe," Comet shot back.

Milo grunted, "We're not going anywhere."

Phoebe sniffled and rested her head on her knees. "My knee h-hurts." Then to the kid, "You're a total asshole."

He stepped toward Phoebe and the four boys blocked his way with ease. He went to go push at Asher but Asher summoned a shield and shoved him so hard he skidded a foot across the wooden chips.

A mother ran up to start yelling at their kids and the dads decided to finally step in, they were headed that way anyways with Asher's self defense. He was a good kid, he didn't just hit people out of the blue or retaliate like that unless it was to protect himself or his family. The other kids looked up to him and he seemed to prefer the role as the oldest.

"Mom, that kid pushed me and his brothers ganged up on me!" The kid whined.

"You boys ought to be ashamed of yourself, little miscreants running around causing chaos and being little brats!" The mother hissed, getting alarmingly close to Asher as a father walked up.

Jacob picked up his speed immediately, Steven lagged behind.

"Your son pushed my little sister off the slide," Leo protested. "And then he pushed Asher."

The dad hummed and squatted down to the kid. "Bruno, is that what happened?"

Bruno shook his head. "She tripped."

"Well then, no harm, no foul," He exclaimed quickly. "I believe you, son."

Milo went red in the face fast, a sign of a major temper show and the dads quickly escorted them to go keep Phoebe company on a bench.

The parents turned to them and the mother wrinkled her nose. "Your children are very ill behaved, the dark haired one pushed my son for no reason!"

Adam glowered and stepped to pull Asher back a little, she was still way too close to him. "We watched the whole thing. That only happened after your son pushed ours."

Hazel nodded. "Our kid doesn't start fights. Your son pushed a girl down the slide, she got injured, he did what he had to do."

The father rolled his eyes. "Little girls are so dramatic."

"That little girl is my daughter, you'd be smart to watch how you address her when your son is in the wrong," Jacob snapped, giving him a nasty stare.

The man raised his eyebrows. "Bruno says he didn't do anything wrong, so just walk away."

The couple turned with their child to find Steven smiling pleasantly. "Steven Universe, charmed I'm sure." He jutted out a friendly hand and the dad hesitantly shook it. "I think you know you're being unreasonable, and that I could do something about it." He dipped a little because he was that much taller than them and his eyes flashed pink. "Now, you wouldn't want that, Mr. and Mrs. Henson, and frankly, neither would I. I really, really like to be nice to people, but not when it comes to my kids." Mr and Mrs. Henson went quiet, which was shocking considering the fact that they'd been so loud not ten seconds ago. "I think you know what I want." She went into her purse and he scoffed. "No. Your kid needs to apologize to Phoebe."

Mrs. Jensen marched Bruno over and he grunted a half assed apology to Phoebe. "Sorry."

She smiled with all her heart. "It's okay, I forgive you."

They shuffled off and Milo called, "And stay away from my sister!"

Asher snorted and ruffled his hair. "Isn't he in her class?"

He raised his eyebrows and looked so much like his father that if he weren't the size of a child, it would be impossible to tell them apart. "I'm also in her class, so I can make sure he does that."

"Whoa, there, Tiger," Jacob warned with a humorous undertone. "Take a deep breath, no one's going to hurt Phoebe."

Adam pulled Asher into a hug with Hazel. "Do you know what you did wrong?"

He shook his head and pulled away to fix his thick black hair. "No."

Hazel mumbled, "You forgot to check your surroundings, kiddo. We don't want you fighting people, but if you have to..."

"Do it smart," They chorused.

He was the kid of a polyamorous trifecta, two of which were trans and two were BIPOC. Their family had the highest risk, so they made sure their son and daughter could protect themselves if someone lost their mind at them.

Steven patted Comets head. "You're a good big brother, Comet."

He then went to Phoebe and kissed her forehead. She had a nasty goose egg forming and he'd hate to go to bed worried about her all night. "There you go, all better."

She beamed at him and hugged him tight. "This is why I like coming with Dad's. Connie would've pulled out her sword."

He laughed heartily. "Don't I know it."

Jacob observed all of his children closely and praised his look alike boys. "Way to go, Leo and Milo. I'm very proud of you for sticking up for your sister."

They grinned identically and he scooped Phoebe into his arms. "You okay, Bee?" She nodded into his shoulder but clung to him when he tried to put her down. She was seven, but he held her anyways. "I'm sorry that happened. Sometimes people are just bullies, but I'm very proud of you forgiving him after he made you cry."

"You and mom always say forgiveness is a human superpower," She reminded him softly.

They went out for ice cream as a small reward. The kids deserved a treat for their bravery.