A Family is Love

by Godslittleprincess

Chapter 4: Terms and Conditions

At Button Mash’s house, Button and his family had just finished having dinner and were cleaning up. His mother Love Tap had sand-colored skin, light brown hair, and bright blue eyes. His father Cinnamon Swirl looked almost exactly like Button but older and without the patch of light brown hair.

“Button,” Love Tap called out, getting the teen boy’s attention, “your father and I have been talking about something, and we think it’s time we included you in the discussion.”

“Okay,” Button replied hesitantly. “What have you guys been talking about?”

“Well, you know how our neighbors have been fostering those kids from the children’s home, right?”

“Yeah, of course.” Considering that said kids have been in the neighborhood for two weeks now, how could Button not know?

“Well, last Mom’s Night Out, Flare and Canela were asking me and Velvet if we’d consider fostering ourselves. I told them that I’d think about it,” Love Tap continued.

“And?”

“And your mother wants to know how you would feel about having at least one foster sibling,” Cinnamon added. “I told her that I’d be open to the idea but that we’d have to discuss things with you first. I mean, this isn’t the kind of thing you just jump into on a whim. If we’re going to do this, we need to agree as a family.”

Button just stood there and stared back at his parents, a thoughtful look crossing his face. Then, he rushed out of the dining room and down the hallway to his bedroom. His parents shared a confused look with one another.

“Umm, was that a yes?” Love Tap asked.

“It wasn’t a no,” Cinnamon noted.

Fifteen minutes later, Button returned with a sheet of paper that he proudly handed over to his mother.

“What’s this?” Love Tap asked as she and Cinnamon read over the paper’s contents.

“It’s my terms and conditions for a sibling,” said Button. “As long as these are followed, feel free to take in whoever you want.”

“Must be male. Must not be older than me. Must not be bigger or taller than me. Must enjoy and know how to play video games. Must enjoy milkshakes and apple juice. Must not receive a bigger allowance than me. Must cheer me on at my baseball games. Must not touch my things without permission. Must not fight with me over the game controller, computer, or TV remote,” Love Tap read out loud. She stopped reading and facepalmed. “Button, I think you’re missing the entire point of fostering a child.”

“Son,” Cinnamon began to explain, “the reason your mom and I are considering going into foster care is because there are kids out there who need a place to call home and a family to care for them, at least temporarily, not because we’re trying to get you a playmate.”

“Can’t you help a needy kid and get me a new gaming buddy at the same time?” Button asked.

“Of course, we can,” Love Tap conceded, “but we can’t promise you that the kid we help ends up being the ideal playmate for you. For one thing, what if we end up taking in a girl?”

“I don’t know, Mom,” Button replied, his face twisting in confusion. “Girls are kind of weird.”

Love Tap glared at her son sternly.

“But if you guys really want a girl that bad, maybe I can change that first one into ‘Must be male or a tomboy,’” Button suggested, causing his mother to facepalm again.

“What your mother is trying to say is that if we do decide to jump into this, we’re more than likely going to have to pick between taking in the kid who needs us the most and following your terms and conditions, and I think you know which of those two is going to take priority,” Cinnamon Swirl explained.

“Oh,” Button uttered finally understanding. “You mean if we decide to take in a kid, it’s possible that he or she might be someone I’m not even going to like?”

“Well, that might depend on how long he or she would be staying with us,” answered Cinnamon. “I mean, your mom and I still haven’t decided if we’re just going to foster for the short-term or if we’re going to foster to adopt.”

“If the former, then yes, but if the latter, then, well, you’re just going to have to learn to like him or her, aren’t you?” Love Tap added.

“Ugh,” Button groaned. “What’s the point of getting to pick out a sibling if you’re just going to run into the same problems you would from getting a sibling the normal way?”

“You think that’s bad?” Cinnamon scoffed. “You obviously haven’t considered the fact that a lot of the kids in the system are going to be coming in with a lot of baggage. After all, we have no idea what they went through before they entered the system.”

“So, if I agree to our family taking in a kid, I might end up with a sibling who I might not like, who might not like me, who might not get along with me, who might have personal issues, or all the above at least temporarily but possibly permanently?” Button asked, staring incredulously at his parents.

“Well, yes,” his father agreed, “but if it makes you feel any better, we definitely won’t give him, her, or them a bigger allowance than you. We’ll also take the time to teach them to respect your things and share the TV and computer, but it might take a while for the lessons to really stick.”

“Wait,” Button cried, catching the pronouns his father was using. “Just how many kids are you planning on taking in?”

“As your father mentioned earlier,” Love Tap replied, “at least one, but I don’t think we’ll be able to handle more than two.”

“So, it’s possible that we might be signing up for twice the problems?”

“Possibly,” answered Cinnamon.

Button groaned again, “If this fostering thing is really that hard, why the heck would anyone want to do it? Sure, we’re going to be helping someone who needs it, but if you ask me, it sounds like we’d be getting the short end of the deal.”

Love Tap and Cinnamon Swirl shared a look with each other. Then, Love Tap smiled knowingly and pulled Button Mash into a hug.

“You know, sweetie,” Love Tap began, “when Dad and I first had you, you sure didn’t make being parents easy.”

Button frowned in offense to that statement.

“Yeah,” Cinnamon agreed with a smile. “I know you were too young to remember, but man, was being your mom and dad a lot of work! We had to get up in the middle of the night to feed you and rock you to sleep. Whenever you cried, we had to drop whatever it was we were doing to see if you were okay. We had to clean your spit up and change your diapers. We had to be careful that the TV didn’t wake you, so we couldn’t just watch whatever we wanted whenever we wanted. I remember the first time you got sick, you cried so much that I thought I was going to go deaf, and I held you for so long both my arms went stiff.”

“Why are you guys telling me this?” Button asked, still frowning.

“Because,” Love Tap explained, “when we became parents, we couldn’t put ourselves first anymore, and we had to learn to be okay with getting the short end of the deal because that’s what you do when you love someone, and somewhere out there is a kid or two who needs to be loved like that, and our family might just be the people to give them what they need. You understand?”

Button’s frowned deepened as he allowed his parents’ words to sink in.

“I don’t know, Mom,” Button answered, shaking his head. “If you and Dad really think this is the right thing to do, then I don’t want to be the one to stop you. It’s just that Base and Flash make having a sibling look so much fun, except for whenever Flash starts bossing us around or gets mad at us for not listening to him. I guess I thought that if I can somehow help you pick out the perfect sibling for me, then maybe we can avoid having to deal with the problems that come with being in a family with more than one kid.”

“Aww, kid,” Cinnamon cried out sympathetically. “I think it’s time I told you something that your grandfather told me back when I was dating your mom.”

“What’s that?” Button asked, raising an eyebrow at his dad.

“‘Never go into a relationship looking for the perfect match, just look for someone you can grow old with.’ It took marriage and fatherhood for me to finally understand what he meant by that,” Cinnamon replied nostalgically.

Button just stared at his father and blinked twice.

“Son, no matter how subjective your definition of perfect is, you’re never going to find it. Everyone is messed up in some way, and everyone has something that makes them hard to love,” Cinnamon explained. “For example, did you know that when your mom and I had our first dance, she stepped on my feet several times, elbowed me in the chest, and tripped me?”

“Well, you like wearing fake mustaches because your actual facial hair makes you look like you got attacked by a rabid racoon,” Love Tap retorted.

“I love you, too, dear,” Cinnamon replied, tenderly kissing his wife’s cheek.

“Uh, guys, Dad” Button interrupted before Love Tap could kiss Cinnamon Swirl back, “can you just get to the point you’re trying to make?”

“Oh, right. Anyway, everybody has something that makes them hard to love, but everyone NEEDS to be loved, so what do we do?”

“Love anyway?” Button guessed.

“Exactly, and loving anyway doesn’t just apply to romantic relationships, you know.”

Button bit his lip as he allowed his father’s words to sink in. He looked from his mother’s face to his father’s face to the floor and back the other way before looking back at the floor again. On some level, he understood what his father was trying to tell him. However, he also really wanted that perfect sibling that his dad just told him that he was never going to find.

After spending what felt like forever but was actually only a few seconds wrestling with his selfishness, he finally said to his parents, “Okay, we can try taking in a foster kid or two, but I have one condition, only one condition.”

Love Tap and Cinnamon Swirl shared another look before Love Tap relented, “Okay, sweetie, what’s your condition?”

“I want to meet them before we bring them home, okay?”

Love Tap and Cinnamon Swirl smiled and agreed, “Okay.”

Author's Note:

Okay, so now, Button and his family get a proper introduction in this series. Yeah, I know when JanAnimations made Button's Adventures, Button had an older brother, but in the first fanfic I read featuring Button, he was an only child, and I personally had an easier time writing him as an only child. Also, according to tvtropes.org, CartoonNerd12, KidatHeart5, and I have been using the wrong name for Button's mom. It turns out JanAnimations named Button's mom Cream Heart instead of Love Tap. Whatever. I'm just going to keep using the name I've been using for her.

Comments

[SuperSonicHeroes]

Button’s list of “terms and conditions” is definitely something a kid his age would list as something they would want in a step-sibling.

[The Blue EM2]

Button's mom has many names. I've also seen Elaina, Milano, and even Nursery Rhymes in one story.