He wanted to stay by their sides. He wanted to grow old with them. He wanted to cherish every second, because the next moment would never be quite like this one—the present.
And regardless of what the future held, he was sure that it would be beautiful, because he had the very best people by his side.
“Welcome to the family, Lenna,” Spike murmured, wrapping his arms around Kai and Micah, holding them as close to himself as he could. “And welcome back, Kai. We’ve been waiting for both of you for the longest time.”
Epilogue One year later
The moment the countdown hit 0:00, the arena exploded in a roar. Around, spectators leaped from their seats, cheering for the Colorado Whitecoats.
Micah remained seated, pressing his palms lightly over Lenna’s ears to shield her from the commotion. Lenna babbled, waving a French fry around.
At a year old, she was growing out of some of her clothes, her wavy brown hair tied up into ponytails, her teeth coming in. She was starting to look more like Spike than Micah, but Micah didn’t mind.
“You excited?” Spike asked, leaning forward to snag Lenna’s attention. “Daddy did real good with his game. Look. Do you see Daddy?”
Lenna peered at the big screens high above the arena. For a moment, the camera panned across the entire team. Then Kai jogged into view on the screen, and Lenna raised her hands, cheering. “Dada!”
Micah’s heart swelled. He was always glad when Lenna recognized Kai. Being a Colorado-based athlete meant that Kai wasn’t home five months in a year, and Kai had missed some of Lenna’s milestones because of that.
Micah and Spike had tried to make up for it over the video calls. More often than not, they had Lenna with them whenever they talked with Kai, so Kai had a chance to bond with her.
This wasn’t what Micah had anticipated when he’d first begun seeing Spike and Kai.
When he’d first conceived, he’d resigned himself to caring alone for his baby girl. But now that they’d all gotten together, the engagement rings on their fingers, Micah rarely ever felt alone anymore.
During game season, they’d fallen into a routine: Spike would sit out of Micah’s college classes on babysitting duty. When Micah had some spare time, he’d go over the classes with Spike privately, to make sure Spike wasn’t falling behind. Not that Spike really needed much help, when he was one of Micah’s best students.
Sometimes, when they were both busy, they’d rig up a tablet in Lenna’s cot, and connect her to a call with Kai. Kai would watch over her, and call Spike or Micah if anything went wrong—not that they were more than a few rooms away from their daughter at any given time.
When the season ended, Kai would return home, freeing up their schedules some.
During those months, Spike attended Micah’s classes. Sometimes, Kai sat in on those classes with Lenna when she was in a quiet mood. Then they’d all go to lunch together, and it was the best thing in the world.
Now that the last game of the season was over, Micah couldn’t wait to bring Kai home with them.
The sports camera zoomed in on Kai on the big screens—Kai wasn’t looking at the camera, though. He was searching the crowd.
For his family.
Micah’s heart skipped. Spike stood and waved, and after a while, Kai waved back. Lenna giggled, waving, too.
“We’ll see him real soon,” Spike said, sitting back next to Micah in a puff of juniper. “You excited, Lenna? Daddy’s gonna have big hugs for you!”
Lenna babbled back at him.
“Here, why don’t you play Fly with her?” Micah handed Lenna to Spike. Spike obliged, and Lenna squealed as she went soaring up above the crowd, Spike’s grasp secure around her tiny body.
For all that Spike had been uncertain about being a dad, he’d taken to the role really well. Sometimes, Micah passed by the kitchen, only to pause when he found Spike curled around their daughter, feeding her cereal O’s, or helping to wash her hands at the sink.
Spike let her swoop down, then flew her high into the air again. Lenna shrieked. Micah checked his phone—there was a message from Kai. Meet me at the locker rooms in 15?
Micah answered, We’ll be there.
When Spike was done playing with Lenna, he sat back down with Micah, glancing at the time on his phone. They had another five minutes before they had to make their way downstairs.
Micah leaned into Spike’s warmth, smiling when Spike kissed his ear, then down his cheek, to his lips.
“Kai’s gonna want to celebrate,” Spike murmured against Micah’s lips. “They’ve won the G-league championships twice in a row, now. Can’t blame him if he wants to sow a few seeds.”
Micah blushed. He’d gladly take a few of Kai’s seeds, any day. “We’ll have to tire Lenna out a bit more, then,” Micah said, laughing. “She’d better fall into a deep sleep.”
“Yeah, she better,” Spike growled. “You’re gonna be screaming all night.”
Micah swallowed, warmth pooling between his legs. “Maybe a gag might be better.”
Spike slanted him a roguish grin. “Oh, yeah. Definitely. Except we love to hear you moan.”
Micah squirmed. “We really should get going. I’m going to wet my pants if you keep this up.”
“I have every intention of keeping you up.” Spike winked, and Micah slapped his ass.
They grabbed their travel bag, making their way down to the locker rooms. The crowd had cleared somewhat. Further in the depths of the arena, Spike turned them down a few corridors, into a quieter area where there were yells and laughter, and the crush of the crowd was all but nonexistent.
Kai was waiting next to a discreet gray door, his duffel bag at his feet. Micah’s heart skipped; Spike perked up.
“Took you long enough,” Kai grumbled, but he was grabbing Micah, sliding his tongue past Micah’s lips in a deep kiss. Micah groaned, opening for him. This never got old.
They’d spent the past couple
