8. Luca
Summer was in full swing, sunlight beating through the window despite the early hour on what Luca hoped would be a lazy Saturday.
Last week at work had been rough—dental cleanings had not been designed with the heavily pregnant in mind, and he’d been doing way more of those since they’d taken him off X-ray duty—but at last, the torture was over.
Friday had been his last day in the office.
Paternity leave had officially begun.
“You awake?” he whispered.
Beside him, West stirred.
These days, his bed was less The Elite Home Magazine and more like a very comfortable peacock made of bedding had exploded across it, but otherwise, the room remained more or less the same, with the exception of the mess that was Luca’s laundry, which only made it into the basket eight times out of ten.
“Mm,” West confirmed, cracking open an eye.
“You hungry?”
“No. Pretty sure if I smell so much as bread toasting, I’ll hurl.”
“Meal replacement shake, then?”
“Yeah. I could go for that.”
“I’ll go get you one in a bit. I just need a second to wake up first.”
“Yeah?” Luca grinned, biting down on his lip.
“Do you need a little help?”
West opened his one cracked eye fully.
“Right now? Do you think we have time?”
“Only one way to find out. C’mere.”
With all the open joy of a schoolboy getting into mischief, West closed the distance between them and wrapped Luca in his arms, dragging him in for a kiss that made Luca glad they’d put breakfast on hold.
He hummed in enjoyment and kissed West right back, one hand fishing between their bodies to find the fly of West’s boxer briefs.
While his hormones had somewhat stabilized, he found himself in frequent need of West’s body, and West was always happy to accommodate.
It was a good thing he’d be home for the next couple weeks before the baby got here, because chances to act on his impulses had been few and far between, and now that they’d both be home all day, there would be way more time to sneak in a little nookie whenever?—
As though summoned by the cock-block gods themselves, the bedroom door creaked open.
Luca froze.
West ended the kiss.
Still and silent, they listened as a pair of tiny bare feet tried—and failed—to sneak across the bedroom.
There was a moment of silence, and then, with a roar, their two-year-old son, Shiloh, leapt onto the bed.
“ Daddy! ” he exclaimed, clambering over West so he could glom onto him and press his face into West’s chest.
“Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!”
Luca’s lips trembled from the effort of holding back his laughter.
For a kid who was supposed to have been his, and his alone, he’d sure taken a liking to the man who was supposed to be his “uncle.”
“Good morning, Lovebug,” West said, catching Luca’s eye with an “I told you so” expression before pressing a kiss to the top of Shiloh’s head.
“Isn’t a bit early to be committing crimes?”
Shiloh giggled maniacally and rubbed his face into West’s chest.
“Your dad’s right, you know,” Luca teased, slotting behind him so he could cuddle Shiloh.
“Breaking out of your crib is an offense punishable by… tickles!”
Shiloh started shriek-laughing before Luca even touched him, flailing and flopping around until West wrapped him up in a bear hug and rolled over to keep Luca from suffering any accidental kicks to the stomach.
When Shiloh had calmed down, he popped up to look at Luca from over West’s shoulder.
“Hi Daa.”
“Hey, baby. Are you hungry?”
“Want egg.”
“Oh, no. Not stinky eggs.” Luca wrinkled his nose.
“I’m gonna have to hide from the smell, or the baby will get upset.”
Shiloh laughed and dropped back down onto the bed, out of sight, no doubt to cling to West again.
“I’ll get him cleaned up and fed,” West said, sitting up and taking Shiloh with him—he refused to let go of West’s neck.
“You stay here and rest. I’ll bring you up a shake first thing after I get his diaper changed and some new clothes on him, okay?”
“Okay.” Luca eyed West’s back from where he lay, butterflies stirring.
“Will you turn on the hood when you make eggs? Maybe open a window? I almost want to puke just imagining the smell—if I actually smell it, it’s game over.”
“You got it.”
West rose and carried Shiloh across the room, grabbing his robe from the back of the door.
“Hey, before you go,” Luca said, stopping him.
West turned at the hip to look back at him, Shiloh’s cheek smushed up against his chest, and Luca felt butterflies all over again.
“I love you,” Luca said simply.
“Thanks for taking such great care of me.”
West lit up like a starry sky, and the sparkle in his eyes spoke for him.
They didn’t need words.
Those quiet constellations told Luca that West loved him, too.