“You did?” Eric perked up. “You didn’t show me!”
Olivier blushed. “I didn’t know you wanted to see them. I mean, they were small things. I put them away and we got distracted in the bathroom.”
“Show me,” Eric said, kissing Ollie’s knuckles. “I want to know everything you do.”
“Even the puking?”
“Even that.”
Ollie’s eyes sparkled. He hefted Jenn in his arms, then led Eric to the nursery. There, a pastel green rattle lay on Jenn’s mattress. Eric had seen that, but he hadn’t thought too much about where it had come from. Had Olivier bought that?
“There’s this, too,” Ollie said, pulling open a drawer. He took out a bottle of pink lotion—it looked familiar.
“Highton’s Finest?” Eric took the bottle, turning it over. “This is expensive shit, Ollie. You bought it? For Jenn?”
Ollie looked away, blushing. “Yeah. I figured... you might approve of it.”
He sneaked a quick glance at Eric, watching Eric’s reaction. It mattered to him, didn’t it? Considering how Olivier’s Strings wasn’t back to its former glory, and how Ollie hadn’t turned down the share of rent that Eric slipped him, he wasn’t doing so great on money.
So Ollie buying these things for Jenn, without even trying to show them off to Eric...
“You care about her,” Eric said with a smile, scooping Ollie into his arms. Jenn squealed, and Olivier yelped.
“I just thought you’d appreciate having the best thing for her,” Olivier spluttered, his cheeks pink. “I mean... you grew up with Highton’s Finest.”
Eric kissed him soundly on the lips. “Yeah, well. It was a little pricey, though, so we’d never bought it for Jenn. The Babysaur brand works the same.”
Ollie squirmed. “So... is it really worth all that money?”
“I haven’t tried it in years. Let’s find out.”
He peeled off the plastic seal on the bottle, pumping the nozzle a couple times. Then pink lotion oozed onto his palm, and Eric rubbed it into the back of his hand.
It was decent. Kind of thick, but it smelled like the heavy perfumes the omegas wore back at the Total Sounds corporate office.
For that tiny dab of lotion... the scent was sure strong.
Olivier wrinkled his nose, sniffing. “That’s it?”
Eric turned the bottle around in his hand. As pricey as it was, it should’ve been... better. A little less cloying, maybe. Was this bottle an exception, or was the lotion meant to be like that? I’m not putting perfume on my baby.
To think that Ollie had bought this bottle with the best intentions in the world... Eric hesitated, his stomach flipping. How did you tell your omega you weren’t likely using his expensive gift?
“I don’t remember it being this strong,” Eric said slowly.
“Me neither,” Ollie answered, his face dismayed.
They looked at the lotion, then at Jenn. Jenn stuck her thumb in her mouth, looking curiously at them.
Ollie winced. “S-sorry, I swear I didn’t know it was so bad. I’ll take it back to the store. Maybe I’ll return it or something—is that possible?”
“Maybe.” Eric’s heart squeezed at Olivier’s panic. He set the bottle down, wrapping his arm around Ollie’s shoulders. “It’s fine. I’ll use it. My feet have been peeling in the winter air, anyway. It’ll work for me, right?”
Olivier relaxed slightly. “I guess.”
But he was still eyeing the bottle of lotion, his shoulders sagging.
“It’s still appreciated,” Eric murmured, nuzzling his ear. “When Jenn grows up, it’s gonna be one of those stories you tell all her friends.”
Olivier laughed then, cheering up slightly. “You think so?”
“Yup.”
Eric turned his omega away from the bottle, trying to remember if the Highton’s Finest brand had been any better in his childhood. Or had it always been like this, and he hadn’t noticed until he’d stepped away from it?
Had his mom only turned snide recently, or had she always been that way?
He hadn’t answered the string of angry texts from her; it wasn’t appropriate to talk this out through text. But he hadn’t had time to meet up with his mom, either, when he’d been so busy with work and Jenn.
“I have these mittens, too,” Olivier said shyly, pulling open another drawer. Then he fished out a tiny, striped pair of newborn mittens, running his thumb over the soft cotton.
Eric’s heart warmed. With the way his mom had treated Olivier, how had Ollie grown up to be this lovely?
“Here, let me carry Jenn,” Eric said, lifting his daughter out of Ollie’s arms. Jenn cooed, grabbing his ear.
The mittens were soft between his fingers, and so very tiny. In another six months, they’d have a new baby joining them—a mix of his and Ollie’s DNA. And maybe Eric was a little bit excited about what that baby would look like, whether it’d resemble himself or Olivier more.
“You didn’t get the matching socks?” Eric asked, pressing a kiss to Ollie’s cheek.
Olivier shrugged. “This was enough of an impulse buy.”
“I’ll get you the socks,” Eric said. “That’ll be my impulse buy, so we’ll have a complete set between us. How about that?”
“I can’t believe you, Eric.” Olivier laughed, and Eric kissed down Ollie’s neck, to his shoulder.
Then he knelt at Ollie’s feet, tugging up Ollie’s shirt with his free hand.
“Eric,” Olivier squawked.
“I’m saying hi to the baby,” Eric murmured, pressing his nose to the slight bump of Olivier’s belly. Ollie’s skin was warm, firm, and he smelled sweet. “Hey, I’m your other dad. I’ve listened to your dad singing to you in the shower. He sounds pretty darn good, doesn’t he?”
“I didn’t know you were listening!” Olivier flushed.
“You took singing classes with me.” Eric kissed Olivier’s belly. “You know you sound good.”
“But that was... I don’t know, fourteen years ago?”
“Yup, fourteen years ago.” Eric cracked a smile, pressing his face against Ollie’s baby bump. “Been a while since we sang together, hasn’t it?”
Olivier chewed on his lip. “Do you think we’ll still sound good together? I mean...”
“You’re the one with a music shop.” Eric squeezed his
