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Thane stares at me, his eyes darting between my own. “Are you sure this is what you want?”

“Never been more sure of anything in my life,” I tell him with a grin, pulling him into another kiss.

The two of us leave the car and head inside, careful to be quiet so we don’t wake up the twins. After taking a shower, I get into bed beside Thane.

That night, I take control, doing what we both need. I whisper praises into Thane’s skin. I tell him how beautiful I find his green skin, how lovely I think his tusks are. I remind him over and over and over again how much I love him.

Thane loses himself in his submission, allowing everything to fall away.

Thane rides me slowly, our hands gripping each other, our pleasure rising steadily. When we come, it’s with soft sounds against each other’s lips. All the stress of tonight falls away as we find release with each other’s bodies.

I fall asleep ready for whatever tomorrow will throw at us, knowing we have each other to lean on through it all.

~~~ About Two Months Later ~~~

Time certainly flies when change is happening. We get the twins properly moved into the house along with all their belongings. Thane files the paperwork and gets guardianship over Bax and Blaire without much fuss. There are some growing pains when it comes to all this, but the four of us figure it out.

“So,” I say, bumping my hip into Thane’s. “Did the scores come through yet?”

“You’re worse than me,” he says with a fake grumble, his lips curling up into a smile. “Let me look.”

I pull the ham out of the oven, setting it to the side. Everything is ready for dinner. From the dining room, I can hear a cacophony of voices, all of them cheery and bright. Looking out the window, I watch snow slowly fall down.

The perfect night to celebrate Christmas all together.

“Oh! I passed! I passed my exams!”

“I knew you would,” I say, pulling Thane into my arms and kissing his cheek. He turns his head, giving me a proper kiss.

Ever since quitting the hospital, things have felt much better. I’m not emotionally and physically exhausted all day every day. I’m able to drive the twins to their new school every morning and pick them up at the end of the day.

I love being able to share this with Thane. I love the way he’s bloomed now that the twins are safe and here with us. I love the way he’s more sure of himself than ever before.

I’m so fucking lucky I got to be the one to help him through this. It feels like such a privilege, to have someone like him trust me with this.

“I love you so much,” I tell him, holding his face between my palms. “I am so fucking proud of you.”

“Thank you,” he breathes out, grinning. “Thank you for all the help, Maverick. I couldn’t have done all of this without you.”

“And you’ll never have to worry about doing it alone again.” I give him one more kiss before putting on my oven mittens again and grabbing the ham.

Walking into the dining room, I let everyone know I’ve got something hot in my hands. I set it on the table.

“Oh my gods,” Bax says, his face tilted up. “That smells so good, Maverick!”

“I’m starving,” Blaire says in agreement, already licking her lips.

“One second, one second,” I say, bringing the rest of the food into the room.

I hear someone slap someone’s hand before Tess bursts out laughing. I smile as I work, happy that our home is big enough to host everyone here.

Once everything is set, I sit down beside Thane. Next to him is Tess and Savannah. Across the table are Bax and Blaire. Joining us as well are Percy, Wendy, and Simon.

I never would have said my house was cold but now that it’s full of people, I can admit it lacked warmth. Now, things are always busy, always loud. My life feels so incredibly full these days and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Later, we’ll sit around the Christmas tree and exchange gifts but for now, we’re all content to fill our faces. Somehow, I’ve gone from an empty house to one full of love, full of a diversity of people, full of family.

“Did I ever tell you guys about the time our Christmas tree started on fire?” Simon asks, shoving an entire roll into his mouth. “Okay, so one time…”