“Good boy,” Ro crooned at his nephew.
Wow, this was surreal. If someone had told him that his trip would end up with him feeding his nephew, he would have laughed in their faces. Of all the scenarios he'd imagined, this hadn’t even crossed his mind. Rowan still couldn't believe Axel and Alfie had kids... like honest to god,birthed themkids. Okay, sure, with his experience with shifters and trans men, he knew men could have kids. He just never thought that his brothers would be two of those men.
“So?” Rowan prompted Axel.
“I have no idea where to even begin.” Axel rubbed his nose and met Ro's eyes for a second before looking away. His brother walked over to the laundry basket in the corner of the room and emptied it out before lowering himself cross-legged to the floor and began sorting. “Where do I even start?” Axel muttered.
“The beginning is a good place,” Ro suggested. He couldn't help the teasing note that crept into his tone.
“When you read, you begin with ABC,” Axel replied in a sing-song voice.
“Don't thinkThe Sound of Musicis going to get you out of spilling.” But there was a smile on his face. All of them lovedThe Sound of Music.
“I know, I know... but remind me to ask Malek if he’s watched it, and if he hasn't, he will definitely be sitting through it.” He didn't even need to see his brother's face to imagine the huge smile he wore at the mention of his fiancé— no, mate... Ro figured he should start to use the right word.
“I’m not mad at you, Ax... maybe a little hurt.” Ro hated to sound like he was whining, but he couldn't help it. “I just feel a little left out.”
“You know all about how Malek and I met, well, except the part where he was actually a wolf and then he shifted and I passed out in his arms.” Axel giggled, and Ro couldn't help laughing along with him at the image.
“My first thought was ‘oh fuck, I'm dead,” Axel admitted. “Then, there was this hot naked guy in front of me, and I was like ‘holy crap, what the hell did I smoke?’”
Rowan let out a loud snort that startled his nephew. Mason stop drinking his milk and let out a small cry, his body in Ro’s arm startling.
“Sorry, love. Your daddy said something funny. If you knew how rare that was, you'd understand my reaction.” Ro’s voice was low and soothing, and his nephew settled.
When Mason went back to his feeding, Axel said, “Fuck you very much. Iamfunny.”
Ro rolled his eyes, not surprised that Ax had taken the bait. “In your dreams. And go wash out your mouth with soap. I’m pretty sure daddies aren’t allowed to swear.”
“I will put money on the fact that mummies and daddies invented swearing,” Axel retorted, although there was no heat to it.
Ro sighed. This was what he’d missed. This back and forth with his brother. The easy banter. To be honest, he just missed Ax. They hadn't ever been apart long, even at Uni—they'd both gone to the University of Manchester and lived at home to save money. It hadn't been the same without Fi and Ax at home.
“I missed you, Ax,” Ro said.
Axel looked up and met his gaze, holding it as his lips curved. “I missed you, too, Ro.”
A small voice in his head whisperedyou could live here too... have this too... and that had the image he’d been trying to block out since he and Axel came upstairs to the nursery—leaving ‘he who shall not be named’ downstairs—the image of a child that looked a lot like the man who had barely taken his eyes off Rowan.
Yup, as much as he tried to pretend Mikhail didn’t exist, he could feel the man’s eyes on him.
Ro shook his head trying to dispelthatthought. He was not even going there… nope.
Instead, he looked at Axel and said, “Fill me in on everything I’ve missed. And just so you know, I am mad about the fact that I am just meeting my nephew even though this wasn’t how I thought it would happen. I always figured we would be together when our little ones were handed to us by our surrogates.”
“I’m sorry, Ro, trust me. But I have videos and pictures of Mase since the moment he was born.”
“I can't wait to get a look at those, but that doesn't mean you get out of telling me what on earth kind of trouble Alfie got himself into?”
Axel groaned and flopped down on the floor in a dramatic heap and began telling him all about Alfie and Rupert. Gahh! Ro had never wanted to punch anyone on the nose as much as he wanted to do to that uppity wanker.
Even though he heard about what Malek did to the asshole, Ro still wanted to get a chance to thump Rupert. He really hoped he got it.
While they were talking, Mason finished his bottle, and Ro burped him and held him while he slept as he continued to listen to Axel fill him in on the past few months.
When it came up to his pregnancy, he couldn't help but ask the question that had been on the tip of his tongue all day. “What was it like?”
Axel sat, his eyes falling on Mason asleep in Rowan’s arms, his face beaming with contentment. “I know this is the most clichéd answer ever, but honestly, there are no words. It wasn’t something I ever thought about or imagined, but it was just amazing.” His brother sighed. “I know that’s not really an answer, but it was. And with Malek, there was a whole other level, even though he barely let me out of his sight. But, it just bonded us, you know?”
