Chapter Twenty-Three
Twenty-Three
Miles
"There's something I need to say to you two," Duckie declared as we were sitting down to have lunch the next day, and I turned to him, letting him have my undivided attention since he sounded serious.
"What is it?" Mateo asked as he stuck a piece of carrot into his mouth, apparently not as perturbed.
Duckie bit his lower lip as he glanced between us, his dark eyes unsure and full of hesitation. I wasn't sure what could be making him feel this way. Yesterday had been amazing, and we'd woken all tangled up today. As far as I knew, everything had been going great, but I'd must've missed something.
"You might want to say it before Miles gives himself a heart attack." Mateo regarded me, a teasing look in his eyes, but I was too wired to snap back at him.
Duckie shot me a worried look, and I tried to reassure him with a smile but didn't think I succeeded.
"It's nothing bad," he hurried to say, his eyes flashing from me to Mateo.
Then he blew out a breath and reached across the dining table—for once, we'd decided to eat at the table—to take Mateo's hand in his before grabbing mine with his other hand.
"I know it hasn't been that long, but I wanted to tell you two that I.
.. I love you. Both of you mean the world to me, and I'm so happy Fate paired me with you.
It's the best thing that ever happened to me. "
I swallowed hard as Duckie spoke, in awe of him once more.
Here I'd been struggling with the momentum of my developing feelings for him, and there he was, confessing how he felt without a lick of fear.
He might've spent the earlier years of his life in fear, but he was quickly becoming the bravest person I knew.
"Damn, Duckie. Way to make me cry," Mateo grumbled, clearing his throat. His brown eyes were a touch too bright, and my heart squeezed for my twin. Mateo rarely got emotional, but if anything should bring you to tears, it was hearing your mate tell you he loved you. "I love you too, okay?"
Duckie chuckled, then nodded, releasing Mateo's hand so he could wipe his eyes before taking hold of it again.
I leaned into his side, pulling his attention to me, and dipped my head in a nod. "I love you too. More than I ever thought I could love someone other than Mateo."
Duckie smiled brightly, then pressed his lips to mine, giving me a soft, gentle kiss that sank all the way into my heart before cozying up there, filling me with warmth and more love than I knew what to do with.
"Okay, enough mushiness for today. Time to eat," Mateo announced, and Duckie pulled back, giving my hand a squeeze before letting go so he could eat.
We were quiet as we ate, all of us absorbing the enormity of the moment that had passed.
In my short life, I hadn't told many people that I loved them.
Actually, Mateo might be the only one I'd ever said the actual words to.
I knew my dads and Micah knew I loved them.
I did my best to show them that, but I'd never been able to bring myself to say the actual words.
Maybe it was because I wasn't used to it, or because for the longest time, I hadn't had anyone except Mateo to love.
But saying the words to Duckie had made something unclench inside me, and I had a sudden urge to tell my parents I loved them. The next time I saw them, I'd say the words, and I'd tell them exactly how grateful I was they'd chosen to be our dads.
After lunch, the three of us dragged the couch cushions onto the floor, then curled up together and spent the afternoon watching Buffy.
It was cozy, soft, and so damned good. Duckie and I snuck kisses every once in a while, with Mateo playfully teasing us when he caught sight of it.
Snowball joined us at some point, spreading his body lengthwise across ours and quickly falling into a doze.
The sound of the TV and Duckie’s and Mateo's murmured voices slowly lulled me to sleep, and I drifted off before long, warm, content, and utterly safe with the two men I loved more than anyone in the world.
The buzzing of my phone pulled me out of my sleep, and Duckie mumbled sleepily beside me as I stretched to grab my phone off the coffee table.
The Mistvale group chat was blowing up, and I could hear Mateo's phone buzzing away somewhere near him, though he was dead asleep.
Noel: Party at the packland tomorrow noon! Raiden has an announcement to make, so if you can, make sure to drop by!
Raphael: An announcement? What about?
Papa: Are the babies okay?
Noel: Yes, yes. I don't know what the announcement is, but Raiden promised it's nothing bad.
I knew exactly what the announcement was, but I refrained from chiming in since Raiden wanted to tell everyone at once.
Noel: That's not the only reason for the gathering, though. We're also welcoming Mateo and Miles's mate, Duckie, and his mom, into the pack, as well as the Hawthorne babies.
Dean: Mateo and Miles found their mate? Man, I've been way out of the loop.
Penny: If you'd answered my video call last week, I would've told you.
Dean: I called you back like TEN MINUTES later
Penny: I was busy
Shaking my head, I muted the group and put my phone away as the conversation devolved into sibling bickering I was only too familiar with.
I'd been looking forward to the party, and I hoped Duckie would enjoy meeting the rest of the clan.
I'd done my best to introduce him to as many people as I could, so at least he would know some of the people we'll be seeing tomorrow.
Duckie was a friendly guy, and it wouldn't take him long to get to know everyone else.
Duckie
"Do I look okay?" I asked as I glanced down at myself. I'd picked black jeans and a soft green, short-sleeved button-down to go with it, and while I felt good wearing it, I had zero clue how I looked in it.
Miles turned to look at me, his hand pausing with the brush halfway to his hair, and a shiver passed through me as his gaze slid down my body. His gaze was like a physical caress against my skin, heating me up from the inside.
"You look perfect," he murmured, and heat raced up my cheeks. Despite how close we'd grown over the weeks, despite the fact that I'd seen him naked multiple times, that I'd touched him while he was naked, his words still flustered me. Would that ever change?
"So do you," I said, eyeing the black leather jacket clinging to his form. He had on a light blue t-shirt underneath, with navy blue jeans and black boots that made a soft thunking sound when he walked.
"Thank you," he said, turning to the mirror to finish brushing his hair as Mateo stuck his head around the doorway.
"You guys ready?"
"Yeah, just a minute. You driving?"
"Yup," Mateo replied, popping the 'p' with a grin. "Looking good, Duckie."
"Thanks." Smiling, I grabbed my phone—I still hadn't gotten into the habit of taking it everywhere, and I didn't want to forget—and slid it into my pocket, then glanced around to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything.
Snowball was sprawled on our bed, and I'd already filled his bowls. We were also going to leave the sliding door open enough that he'd be able to go out to do his business. Mateo had assured me that it was safe to do so.
"Okay, let's go," Miles said, putting his brush away and taking my hand in his.
"Mom's coming too, right?" Mateo asked as we made our way downstairs, and I smiled, loving that he was already calling her that.
Miles hadn't taken it up yet, but I didn't mind.
I struggled with calling their dads by their titles too, though they'd told me I could call them whatever felt comfortable to me.
"Actually, she's already there."
"Really?" Miles asked, and I nodded.
"She and Noel have become friends. She texted me earlier to tell me she was going earlier to help with the cooking."
"I can totally see that friendship," Mateo said. "Noel's like the perfect person to get Mom involved in clan stuff."
"True. Nothing gets past Noel."
Mateo snorted. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but Noel is like the mom of our entire clan. Raiden is the dad, of course. Or well, he has been until now."
I hadn't met Noel yet, but I'd heard a lot about him, from my mates, and from my mom. Noel was an elf, and he'd hosted every single clan party so far.
"So according to your theory, will Cam be the next 'Dad' of our clan?" Miles asked with a raised brow, turning to lock the door as Mateo kept walking.
"Nah," he called over his shoulder, turning to walk backward so he could look at us. Clearly, he hadn't learned from his mistake. "Maybe Ember, though. He's got very strong Dad vibes. Which is different from Daddy vibes. Micah's got those in spades."
"Mateo!"
"What?" Mateo asked with a laugh as he unlocked the car, and I called shotgun—Mateo had taught me what that was a few days ago—while Miles was still sputtering about what Mateo had said,
"What exactly does 'daddy vibes' mean?" I asked as Mateo started the car, and he snickered, then glanced at Miles through the rearview mirror.
"I'll let you field that one, dear brother."
Miles scowled at him as I turned in my seat so I could see his face. He sighed, then smiled in a way that looked more like a grimace. Should I maybe put him out of his misery and tell him I had a fairly good idea what it meant from all my 'research?'
Nah. Let him struggle for a bit. It was fun watching him try to find the words to explain it. This was why Mateo teased him so much, wasn't it?
"Oh my God, you look like you're going to explode," Mateo said with a laugh, and I chuckled because he was right.
"Okay, Duckie. Here's the thing. Some people have a more dominant personality than others.
In a sexual context, when that dominant person also likes taking care of their partner and is more nurturing than strictly commanding, they have a 'daddy' vibe. Does that make sense?"
I nodded, then glanced back at Miles, who looked relieved to be let off the hook. I bit my lip. Should I… maybe I should spare him. But he looked so cute when he got all flustered…
"Miles?"
"Yeah?" he asked, completely clueless about what was going to come out of my mouth next.
"Do I have daddy vibes?"
Miles sputtered as his face went redder than I'd ever seen, and Mateo broke into a loud, booming laugh as I pressed my lips together and tried not to join in.
Mateo pushed my shoulder, his face alight with amusement. "God, Duckie. I fucking love you."
I grinned, then glanced back at Miles, who looked ready to shift and fly out of the window to get away from us.
"I hate both of you," he grumbled, and I dug my fingers into my thighs, resisting the urge to climb into the backseat and kiss him senseless.
When we got to the packland, I got out of the car quickly, grabbing Miles's hand as soon as he got out. Pressing him against the car, I leaned closer until our lips were a breath apart. "I'm sorry if that was too much."
Miles met my gaze, his brown eyes soft and inviting. "It wasn't. I'm used to it with Mateo. It just took me by surprise coming from you."
"Bad surprise?"
Miles shook his head, and I smiled, then pressed my lips to his in a soft apology.
"Come on, lovebirds!" Mateo called, already halfway down the path, and we chuckled as we separated.
"Let's go," I murmured, taking Miles's hand in mine, and together, we followed Mateo through the large, open gates, and down a well-used path to a clearing surrounded by a few cabins.
Mateo headed down a narrow path between two cabins, this one lined with yet more cabins, to a second clearing on the other side.
I blinked at the crowd, surprised by the number of people.
I'd known the Mistvale clan was big, and both Mateo and Miles had warned me there would be a lot of people, but somehow I still hadn't realized quite how many. There had to be at least fifty people here.
People milled about, split into small groups that joined and separated as the conversations started and ended.
One side of the clearing was lined with long tables covered in colorful tablecloths and far too much food.
The scent of spices, cheese, coffee, and chocolate filled the air, overshadowing the scents of the various supes present, and I breathed it all in.
This was going to be one hell of a party, wasn't it?