"Hey, Val. When is this punk coming over again?" Marshall Lee asked his daughter when he walked into the spacious living room.The sixteen year old rolled her eyes and tossed her phone beside her on the couch.

"Seven," she stated. "And will you stop calling him a 'punk'? He's a really nice guy." Valerie crossed her arms over her chest, annoyed by her unapproving father.

"Mhm.." he grumbled, not trusting this boy with his precious daughter's heart.

"Hush, will you? Matthew is nice, I trust him. And you should too," Bubba placed a hand on his husbands shoulder when he entered the room, a frilly apron on. He had already met the boy and liked him right off the bat. Marshall Lee just grumbled in response and left to ascended the spiral stairs. Bubba shook his head and sat next to the teenager he called his own.

"Don't listen to him, hun. He's just being bitter."

Valerie sat up properly on the large couch. "I don't get why he's always like this! It's like he doesn't trust me or something... it's so annoying!" She ranted.

"Oh stop it," Bubba consoled, running his fingers through her dark hair in a comforting matter. "It's not that he doesn't trust you, it's that he doesn't trust everyone else. You're his only daughter, he's scared of you getting hurt."

Valerie frowned. "By what! You guys already made me take karate and self-defense classes! And carry two bottles of pepper spray wherever I go. I'm pretty sure I'm not gonna get hurt by anyone. If anything, I'll hurt them." She huffed in annoyance.

"Yes yes, I know. But I meant getting hurt by cute boys with bad intentions." Valerie rolled her eyes again.

"Matt's not like that. He hasn't even kissed me yet. And it's been two months!" She said, kind of bitter about it, but nonetheless proving her point.

"Like I said, I trust him," Bubba said in response, being on her side on this.

"Yeah, but Dad doesn't." She frowned. Bubba rubbed her back.

"He's overprotective, you know that. But he'll come around soon. This dinner will be good for him. He'll like him once he sees what a good kid he is."

Valerie scoffed. "Yeah, right." Bubba sighed.

"Alright well, I'll go talk to him. See if I can change his mind a little," he tried to comfort her a little, even though he knew very well himself that his stubborn husband wouldn't change his mind about their daughter's boyfriend.

"Good luck with that," she said sarcastically. "He won't come to."

"Maybe not. Maybe he'll never trust a boy you like. Maybe he'll never trust the world that's always after pretty girls like you. Maybe he still won't trust your husband of ten years down the road. But he's entitled that right," Bubba stated, laying the hard truth of fathers on her. He pulled her in and she rested her head on his shoulder. "He's not going to like every boy you bring home, and that's just the way it is. You're his little girl, he doesn't want to give you away to some other guy. And he doesn't want you getting your heartbroken either. I mean, neither do I, but sometimes you gotta take that risk..." He remembered the words his aunt Pepper had told him when he began dating Marshall Lee. He was scared of trusting the young man with his heart, considering Marshall was just a desperate broken-hearted boy all alone with a baby at the time, but Pepper told him to take the risk, and thankfully it had paid off.

"At least you try to be understanding about it. Dad doesn't even try," she pouted, playing with the strings on her jeans.

"I don't know what to tell you about that, Val. You're growing up. And he's not ready for it." Valerie just sighed. Bubba checked his watch. "It's 5:30, you better start getting ready. And I need to get started on dinner!" He gave her a fatherly pat to the knee and sat up. Valerie went to leave to her room, a frown still on her face. All she wanted was for her father to be happy for her.

"I love you, princess," Bubba called out to her, making her stop midway up the stairs, seeing her still upset. Valerie smiled a little and shook her head at the childish, girly nickname before climbing up the rest of the stairs.

"Love you too, Papa." Bubba smiled before entering the kitchen to start dinner.

While the food was still cooking, Bubba turned down the heat on the stove so that nothing wouldn't burn when he left it unattended. Making sure everything was fine, and that he had a maid to watch over the food, he took his apron off and went upstairs to the bedroom. He entered the room slowly, knowing his husband had been in there for a while, unsure of what he was busy doing. Not being able to find him in plain sight, he looked towards the open door of their walk-in-closet and found Marshall sitting in the middle of the floor, looking through a box of old photos.

"You doing okay there?" Bubba asked softly. Marshall shrugged and continued to stare at a picture. Bubba carefully stepped closer and sat down next to his husband, interested in what he was looking at. It was an old candid photo of Marshall holding his baby daughter, smiling happily, both their faces smeared in cake. Bubba had taken that photo at Valerie's first birthday party, when the two had only been dating for a few months.

Marshall placed the photo in a pile next to him and picked up another one. It was of Marshall and Valerie again. The five-year-old and him were making funny faces at each other, trying to make each other laugh. Bubba had taken this photo too.

He smiled and leaned his head on Marshall's shoulder, reminiscing in memories of their younger days with the child, when they were just children themselves. The three of them had watched each other grow up, and are still continuing to watch one another grow. The two men were only in their early-thirties after sixteen years of being together, ten of them being married.

"She was so cute back then," Bubba smiled at a picture of himself feeding Valerie in a high chair.

"Mhm," Marshall grumbled, agreeing.

Bubba didn't know how to start this conversation with him. They needed to talk about their little girl growing up, and what that meant.

"She's still cute. She's growing up into a wonderful young lady. I think we did well, don't you think?" He asked Marshall, who was still glued to the old pictures. He frowned a little, but nodded. Bubba watched him for a moment before placing a kiss on his cheek. After they looked at a few more photos, Bubba ran out of ideas on how else to ease into the conversation and simply just said it:

"You have to let her grow up, Marshall. You gotta let go, just a little. Like it or not, she's not a baby anymore..." Bubba looked up at his lover with a sincere face, rubbing his arm in a comforting matter.

Marshall's frown deepened. He placed another photo on the ground and laid his head on Bubba's shoulder. In response, the pink-haired man wrapped his arms around his sad husband in a loving embrace. The two sat like this for a while before Marshall finally spoke.

"I don't want her to grow up..." he whispered sadly.

Bubba placed a kiss in his hair before running his fingers through it. "I know you don't. I don't either. But I'm afraid there's nothing we can do about it. She can't stay in the nest forever, Mama Bird, eventually she's going to have to learn to fly."

"Well Mama Bird's putting barbed wire around the nest so she can't fly away," he said grumpily. Bubba laughed at his ridiculousness.

"Marshall, please."

"I'm sorry," he sighed, lifting his head up. "I'm just not ready yet... Soon she's gonna learn to drive, which means she'll be spending less time with us. Then we'll have to send her away to college where she won't need to depend on us anymore. And then I'm gonna have to walk her down the isle and give her away to some other man who's gonna impregnate her and make her not any time for me. And I'll just be by myself to die alone in my empty nest!" He cried out. Bubba couldn't help but laugh a little.

"She's not gonna leave us forever, Marshall. And come on, what am I to you? Chopped liver? I'll always be here."

"Ugh..."

Bubba rolled his eyes. "Stop thinking about the future so much. Remember what you said to me? 'Stop thinking about the future and live in the present. Then you won't have to regret your past.' You're missing out on our baby being happy. And she wants you to be happy for her, Marsh. This is big for all of us. We're meeting her first boyfriend!" He shook his by the shoulders. "This is exciting!"

"But...-"

"No no. Don't start. Today is a happy day. So stop sulking and make yourself look presentable. It's 6:30." Bubba stood up and nudged him with his foot. Marshall didn't move. "Get up." Marshall still sat where he was. Bubba sighed and crouched down to his level. "I know you don't trust this boy with Valerie's heart, but you can't stop her from liking who she likes. That's just wrong... Matthew is a nice boy, neither of them are ready for that sort of thing." 'That thing' being getting physical with each other. "Just support them. Be happy for them."

"Eh, I don't know about him. I was a straight boy once, I know how they think."

"Look on the bright side, at least she's not into an eighteen-year-old with a baby," Bubba joked at themselves. Marshall cracked a smile.

"Fair point." Bubba stood again and held out is hand for Marshall to grab. He helped him up and placed a love-filled kiss on his lips.

"Please get ready." With that, Bubba exited the closet, sighing to himself. He always had to be the one to give pep-talks or calm everyone down. He guessed that that was the downside of living with two emotional/dramatic children.

>>>>><<<<<

At 7pm sharp, a door bell rang throughout the large house (borderline mansion), alerting its residents. A maid was just about to open the door when Valerie ran down the stairs.

"I got it! I got it!" Her long, black curls bounced as she ran to the foyer. In a nearby mirror, she quickly fluffed her hair a little, soothed her pleated black skirt, and adjusted the hem of her form-fitting maroon crop-top. She took a deep breath and opened the front door.

A teenage boy with curly brown hair stood with a nervous smile on his face. The two teens greeted each other with a hug before she allowed him in. As he kicked off his brown leather dress boots, he glanced around the foyer, in awe about how big and spotless it was.

"Wow, your house is really big," he spoke in a smooth voice.

Valerie smiled nervously. "Heh, thanks." She was often embarrassed about coming from such a wealthy family, as selfish as it sounds. Most people always assumed she was stuck-up and bratty because of how she lived. People who got to know her quickly figured out she was quite the opposite.

Bubba entered the area after giving the two a moment to themselves. "Hello, Matthew! It's good to see you again," he greeted with a welcoming smile. He had changed his outfit into something sharper; a lilac button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up halfway and sky blue dress pants.

"Nice to see you too, sir," the boy greeted politely, shaking hands with Bubba. He smiled at his manners.

"Dinner is just about ready. Now if only your father would hurry the hell up... I'll be right back. Make yourself at home, Matt!" Bubba patted Valerie's shoulder with a fatherly smile and jogged up the stairs to fetch his husband.

"Oh, I didn't know your parents were..." Matthew started, unsure if he was going to offend his girlfriend.

"Annoying? Yeah, get used to it." She grabbed a hold of his arm and dragged him into the living room.

Meanwhile upstairs, Bubba entered their private bathroom when hearing the hairdryer on. Marshall saw him in the large mirror and turned it off, shaking his fingers through his hair. Bubba smiled warmly at him, "You look handsome." Marshall turned around and kissed him deeply, catching him by surprise. Bubba was into it, until he tasted something off with his lovers lips. He pulled away and licked his lips, glaring at Marshall. "Fireball? Really? How many shots did you take?"

"Only four. I'm fine." Bubba huffed in annoyance. Marshall kissed him again, which made him smile. Even after all these years, Marshall still made him feel like a lovestruck middle schooler.

"Dinner's ready, my love," Bubba kissed his cheek and started to leave. Marshall followed him. "And please be nice. Don't scare the poor boy away."

"Why'd you think I drank before this?" Bubba rolled his eyes at him.

Once downstairs, the married couple walked into the living room where the teens were sitting, chatting about teen stuff. Valerie noticed the two and stood, ready to introduce her boyfriend to her dad, no matter what he thought of him.

"Dad, this is Matthew. My boyfriend." The brown haired boy was nervous to say the least. It was hard enough meeting one father, he had to meet two! He stood up and held is hand out.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Abadeer," he smiled awkwardly. Marshall Lee gave the boy a hard look in the eyes before shooting him a warm smile, shaking his hand with a strong grip.

"Marshall. You too."

"Well," Bubba clapped his hands together. "Now that everyone knows each other, let's eat!"

>>>>><<<<<

After a maid served them their plates and they had a few bites of the pasta, Bubba asked:

"So, how is it everyone?" He already knew his own zesty chicken pasta recipe was amazing. He just liked to be praised for his skills. Marshall knew that.

"It's wonderful, babe. You're the best cook I know. Ten outta ten."

"Oh, stop," Bubba dismissed with his hand, a shy smile on his face. Valerie rolled her eyes, knowing his B.S. Nonetheless, she and her boyfriend complimented the meal as well.

For the duration of the meal, the two fathers (mostly Marshall) were gently interrogating the nervous boy, trying to get to know him better. So far, they were impressed by his politeness and ability to hold a good conversation. Valerie was hoping he was making a good impression on Marshall, seeing as they were able to bond over some things they had in common. She brought up another bondable subject. Basketball.

"Matt, tell Dad about how you won the winning goal at last night's game," she pointed with her fork, just making sure the boy knew which father was 'Dad.' Matthew adjusted his glasses before going on an excited rant about scoring the tie-breaking goal and how everyone went crazy and whatnot.

Marshall saw how passionate he was about the sport and it reminded him of himself when he was in high school. He was the team captain, best player on the team, and knew all too well how great it felt to break the tie of a heated game. The two started talking more about the sport, sharing stories, discussing favorite NBA teams and players. Bubba smiled, happy that their daughter's boyfriend and him were able to connect a little.

The dinner chat continued on with typical small talk and some jokes here and there. Matthew was starting to realize how young the two fathers looked and acted. Yet they had a teenage daughter? There was no way they adopted, she was definitely Marshall's child. Valerie was almost a splitting image of her father, besides the eyes, and he quickly realized that she got most of her personality from him. So what all happened? Matthew was curious, but also afraid to ask. He asked something similar.

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but how did you two meet?" The boy asked with a smile, pushing up his glasses again. He was genuinely curious about this too. The couple seemed like such opposites, yet they were so in love.

Bubba's face lit up. He loved talking about his relationship with Marshall Lee. Or just Marshall Lee in general. He usually told the simplified, more glorious version of their story, but today he decided to tell it all.

"Well, we knew of each other in high school. Then again everyone knew Marshall," he smiled brightly, grabbing ahold of his husband's hand on the table. "Star of the basketball team, lead singer of his band, hottest girlfriend in the school. He had it all." Marshall rolled his eyes. All that stuff seemed so pointless to him now that he had Bubba and Valerie. They were all he needed in his life. "I was just a really big nerd," Bubba continued. "Don't mean to brag but, I graduated at the top of our class... anyway, unimportant. We weren't friends, but we knew who each other were. He was cool, I was not."

Marshall picked up the story from there, sick of his rambling. "Key word 'was'. People don't think you're that cool once you have a screaming child always around you." Matt saw where this was going. He glanced at Valerie, understanding that she must've been the screaming child. "Yep. I was only seventeen, halfway into my senior year when Val was born... Her mom was gonna get rid her beforehand, but I just couldn't allow myself to let that happen. So then we were going to give her up for adoption, but after I held her in my arms for the first time I just knew I couldn't let her go." Marshall shot a smile at Valerie. "I fucking should've though, you made my life a living hell!"

"Marshall Lee Abadeer! Don't you dare say that!" Bubba smacked his hand, shooting him a very angry look. However, Valerie understood her father's humor and laughed along with Marshall.

"Chill, she knows I'm just kidding. Kind of. Anyway! A month into this whole Father-thing I realize that trying to support a new family and get an education is just way too hard. So I drop out. And my bitch of a mom kicks me out too, so now here I am, a seventeen year old kid with a new born baby, no money, no car, living at my girlfriend's house. What the hell am I going to do? I'm forced to get a job. With no diploma, and no college degree. Great. McDonalds it is.

So blah blah blah, few months later, I'm still broke. My girlfriend doesn't like this. And remind you, she didn't even want the baby to begin with. So she does what any other heartless bitch of a whore does, and leaves us. No warning." Matthew's jaw hangs open, shocked that anyone could just abandon their child like that.

Marshall continues on with his rant of a story. "I come home after work one day and everything is gone. Everything. Except for poor baby Valerie, all alone, crying to herself in a practically empty house."

"Holy... crap. How could someone do that! That's horrible!" Matthew exclaims, still shocked. He grabs Valerie's hand under the table, upset at the thought of her being all alone like that.

"Here's where I come along!" Bubba shouts happily, trying to divert from the sad thought. "Okay so the rest of us just graduated, and I'm already at college. One day, as I'm walking through the park to campus, I see a familiar face sitting on a bench. And guess who it is? Marshall fricken Lee. No one has seen this boy in months, so I'm shocked. And I can tell there's something off with him, so as the kind person I am, I approach him.

The second he looks up at me, he just starts bawling his eyes out. I'm talking b-a-w-l-i-n-g. There's tears, there's snot. All the bodily fluids," he joked, trying to make light of the story. "After I ask him 'what's wrong,' he spills everything. I found out about him dropping out and being broke and all alone with this baby, and I have no choice but to help him." Bubba smiles at Marshall, remembering the past. "Slowly I was able to help him back onto his feet, give him some extra cash every now and then, help babysit when he needed it, et cetera," he waved with his hand. "I later made him get his GED so he could go through college and get a good paying job, yatta yatta yatta.

But as the weeks and months go by, I'm starting to realize that I'm becoming attached to these two. A little too attached. At this point, I practically had Marshall move in with me and we had gotten really close... A few more weeks go by, and one thing leads to another," Bubba smiles shyly, a light blush dusts his cheeks and he gives Marshall's hand a squeeze. "Ever since then, I've treated Valerie like she was my own, and Marshy and I have been inseparable." Matthew smiled at the way the couple looked at each other. They definitely had a true loving relationship. He squeezed Valerie's hand.

"I owe everything I have to him," Marshall smiled at his husband, placing a loving kiss to his knuckles. "I literally would not be here if it weren't for you, Barnaby. I honestly cannot thank you enough. It's been sixteen years, and I still can't thank you enough. I apologize for getting so sappy, but glob, I love you so much."

"You cornball. I love you too," Bubba said, blushing like a child in love.

"You guys are gross," Valerie commented, sickened by her fathers' needs to always show their affection for each other. Matthew found it adorable. He'd never seen any couple more in love. Especially after so many years.

"You're gross," Marshall blew raspberries at her. She stuck her tongue out at him. Matt laughed.

After dinner the two teens hung out for while, chatting and playing video games. Marshall still didn't like the idea of this boy dating his daughter, but he did like Matthew. He would be good for her, as much as he hated to say it.

He knew that her growing up would be inevitable and he would just have to except it. As he watched Valerie hug her boyfriend goodbye, he smiled a little to himself. She was happy. And that was all that mattered. Once the boy was gone, Marshall walked up to his little girl and engulfed her in a big bear hug. She giggled and tried to pry herself away from him as he placed a messy smooch on her cheek.

"I'm sorry I freaked out earlier," Marshall apologized, still hugging her. "You're right. He's a nice kid. I just don't like seeing you grow up so fast."

"Don't worry, Dad. I'm not going anywhere anytime soon." Valerie hugged him back and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Good. I love you, Val."

"Love you too, Dad."

"And I love you both!" Bubba exclaimed as he came out of nowhere. He wrapped his arms around his daughter and husband, kissing both of them on the cheek. The two laughed and Marshall kissed him back.

The happy family ended their long day by watching movies and chatting. The two fathers were extremely proud of the girl they raised. She was naturally beautiful and smart and respectful, for the most part, and they couldn't ask for anyone other than her.

Marshall was ready to accept the fact that someday he'd have to let go. Just a little.

                              >>>>><<<<<

I'm a sucker for family AUs