Olivier sucked in a shaky breath. Then he looked at the rings, and his eyes filled with tears. “Eric,” he said, his voice cracking. “I didn’t—I thought...”
“I almost threw these away,” Eric murmured. “That box you forwarded to Cole’s place? It was from the jeweler’s. Meadowfall Dreams. I told Cole to toss the box, and Cole... that bastard. He opened it. He kept the rings.”
Olivier lifted the larger ring, turning it over. That was Eric’s. It was white gold embedded with an aquamarine, words engraved in cursive on the inner surface.
A song from my heart to yours.
Olivier fitted the larger ring around the smaller ring, still silent. His eyes were filled with awe, though.
Eric wet his lips, nervous now. “I ordered them a few months back, so yours might not fit—think your finger will change sizes again?”
“It’ll change sizes for a while after the pregnancy,” Ollie said, tears trickling down his cheeks. “Or are we stopping at two?”
Olivier was staying for more children, so that meant... Eric gulped. “Up to you. Are you gonna marry me or not, Ollie? I’m dying to know—”
“Yes! Yes, I am.” Ollie pulled Eric close and kissed him, wet and messy, his laugh bubbling against Eric’s mouth. “I’ll marry you if you’ll have me.”
“I won’t have anyone but you,” Eric murmured, his heart swelling with joy. He slipped his fingers through Olivier’s hair, kissing Ollie tenderly, caressing the firm, round bump of his abdomen.
His. Ollie, the baby, and Jenn. They were all his.
And the old cage in Eric’s chest creaked, its rusted iron sides falling apart as the burdens holding it faded away.
Eric broke the kiss, leaning back so he could meet Olivier’s eyes. Ollie beamed, his smile wet and beautiful.
There wasn’t a more perfect person in the entire world.
Eric closed his hands around Olivier’s, about to slip the ring onto his finger. Then the bells on the shop door jingled.
It wasn’t opening hours yet. They turned, Ollie freezing against Eric when they found Dad stepping into the shop. Eric got to his feet. Stepped in front of Ollie, protecting his omega. His stepbrother. His husband-to-be.
“Dad,” Eric said stiffly.
Olivier touched Eric’s hand. “I asked him here,” Ollie said quietly. “I—I had no idea you were going to propose. Sorry. He... might’ve seen.”
Eric lifted his chin defiantly.
Dad met Eric’s eyes, then Olivier’s. And then he glanced at Olivier’s swollen belly, his jaw tight. “I did see. I... was not aware you were going to propose, Eric.”
“Ollie accepted it,” Eric growled. “I’m providing for him and our children no matter what.”
He expected Dad to diss them and leave. Except Dad bowed his head, stepping forward.
“These past few months, you and Olivier have been visiting your mother,” Dad said, chagrined. “For Eric to do that, I understand. But Olivier—that’s... that’s kind of you.”
Eric blinked. Dad was acknowledging what Mom had done to Ollie. And a surge of satisfaction welled up in his chest.
Olivier shrugged. He’d popped into the house for the briefest of moments; it was the longest Eric could convince him to visit his bed-ridden stepmother. And it took a lot from Ollie to do that, so Eric hadn’t pushed him any further.
“I tried,” Olivier mumbled, looking away.
“I still don’t know if I condone this,” Dad said, nodding at them. “But that’s not the reason why I’m here.” At Eric’s confusion, Dad sighed. “Eric—I’m sorry for turning you away. I do still consider you my son.”
“That was my surprise,” Olivier said quietly.
Eric stared. Then his throat tightened; neither he nor Olivier had been welcome with their parents. Their visits had been terse, awkward. So this... Just having Dad accept him again... Eric felt like crying.
“Yeah?” he croaked. “But what about Ollie?”
Dad exhaled, looking old. “I consider Olivier my son, too. It doesn’t make sense to cast the two of you away just because I don’t agree with your choices.”
Behind Eric, Ollie made a soft, choked noise of surprise. He struggled to his feet; Eric had to help him up. Then Olivier waddled a few steps closer to Dad, afraid to go any closer.
Eric stood by his omega. Wrapped his arm around Ollie’s waist to lend him support. “So... Ollie and I,” Eric began awkwardly.
Dad took another step forward. Then he closed the rest of the distance, pulling them both into a tight hug. “You’re still my sons,” Dad whispered, his arms warm and sturdy around them. “I should be lending you support, instead of severing our ties.”
Eric gulped, trying not to cry. But Ollie sniffled, and it was difficult not to keep his own tears back.
So he held Ollie’s hand, breathed in Dad’s padauk scent, and for the first time in a while, felt like he had his family’s support again.
“Thanks,” Eric mumbled, dashing away his tears.
Dad patted them on the back, pulling away. Then he eyed their hands. “If you’re engaged, then where are your rings?”
“But—” Olivier squirmed, his nose blotchy. “But I thought you didn’t want to see this, Dad.”
Dad cracked a smile. “That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t wear your rings. You’re proud of being bondmates, aren’t you?”
“Yeah,” Eric said, feeling braver. “We are.”
With Dad watching, Eric slipped the smaller ring onto Ollie’s finger.
It didn’t fit right—Ollie’s hands had swollen with the pregnancy. Eric sighed, pressing their foreheads together. He wasn’t sure what he’d been thinking, giving Ollie a ring he couldn’t wear. “Sorry. Shoulda gotten it resized.”
“It fits better on my pinky,” Ollie said. “What if you make it a pinky promise? That we’ll get married.”
Would that help? Eric pushed away his doubts, sliding the ring onto Olivier’s last finger. It fitted better there—it still wasn’t the right finger, but Ollie could wear it. Ollie wanted to wear it. He would marry Eric, and they would raise a family together.
“It’s a promise,” Eric murmured, his heart full.
“Good enough,” Dad said, cracking a smile.
That made Eric smile, too.
Olivier slid Eric’s ring onto his finger; this one fitted perfectly.
“Maybe you should get pregnant the next time,” Olivier mumbled. “So you, too, can have
