Eli

*Epilogue*

~One Year Later~

"Ugh, daddy, why can't we just live in our apartment?" Eli groaned, dropping a box of his toys on the floor.

"Because. Troye and I are in a relationship and when you're in a relationship with someone, you usually end up living together. And it made more sense for us to move into his apartment." I explained to him, most of my focus on the box I was taping closed.

"Why?"

"Because his apartment is bigger than ours. Don't you want more room to play in? A bigger bedroom?"

"Maybe." He let out a sigh and sounded so dejected that I looked over at him, seeing the sad look on his face. I went over and pulled him to sit on the floor beside me.

"What's wrong, Eli?"

"Nothing." He mumbled.

"Come on, I know things have changed a little since I started seeing Troye, but I'm still your dad. I'm still here for you. You can tell me anything you want."

"Just something that Patrick said at school last week."

"What did he say?"

"He was telling me how when his mum moved in with her boyfriend, into a bigger house, she promised it would still just be them but then she had a baby and now Patrick says his mum and stepdad ignore him."

"Eli..." I hugged him tightly. My heart breaking to hear what was going on in his head right now, "What happened to Patrick won't happen to us, okay? His mum and he are different from us. No matter what happens, you're my baby, okay?"

"So no baby?"

"No. If one-day Troye and I want to think about having a baby, you get to decide too, okay? I promise."

"Jakes? I-" Troye came into the room then but stopped when he saw Eli and I curled on the floor together. I shook my head at him gently and he nodded, understanding my wordless request for him to come back a little later.

"Elijah, look at me." I insisted, waiting until my son looked at me before continuing, "The only thing that is changing for you right now is a new home, okay? Even if I hadn't met Troye, we'd probably be moving soon anyway. You and I are outgrowing this place. It's not big enough for us."

"Promise?"

"I promise." I kissed his head and hugged him one more time. "Do you think you can finish packing up your toys now?"

"Okay. I love you daddy."

"Love you too."

-----

Later that day, after I'd finally managed to convince Eli to sleep in his new bedroom, I flopped onto the sofa beside Troye who was sipping at a coffee and watching some stupid reality TV show.

"I take it he's not too happy about the move?" He asked, pausing the TV.

"Not so much the move, just things changing. A friend of his said some things to him that scared him a little. It's okay, though. He'll get used to it."

We fell into a comfortable silence for a moment before Troye shifted to sit facing me.

"Jakes, I've been thinking about something but I wasn't sure how or when to bring it up."

"Sounds serious."

"Kind of. It's just, I know that Eli is your son. And I never want to take that away from you. But I've come to love him as if he's my son too. It kills me to even have this thought; what if something were to ever happen to you? I don't know about Eli's mum but I'm guessing she wouldn't be too happy about having a kid dumped on her."

"Where are you going with this?" I asked cautiously.

"I'm asking if you think it would be okay for me to apply to adopt Eli. You know, so I can officially be his second dad and that way he's guaranteed to be safe with one of us in the worst case scenario." My eyes went wide at the suggestion. Even though it'd been something I'd dreamed of for years; for Eli to have two parents, I'd never thought it would actually happen.

"You really want that?"

"Yeah. I want us to be a real family one day. I want to marry you and I want Eli to be my son."

"Marry me?" Only slightly shocked, I gasped.

"That was the worst proposal ever." He laughed, softening the atmosphere around us.

"It wasn't supposed to be. I just..."

"I know." He kissed me, "We'll talk about marriage when we're ready but I want you to know, I'm not planning on going anywhere. And I want to prove to Eli that I'm not going to leave either of you."

"I- I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything right now. It's just a thought. When you've made a decision, you can tell me. I won't pressure you. I know it's a big thing to ask."

"I don't need to think about it." I decided, sliding onto the floor by his feet and taking his hands in mine. "Troye Mellet, I love you. You've made my life so good in the last year. I never thought, having Eli, that I'd ever find someone to love me. But you have, you've taken not just me but my son as well, into your life as if it's the normal thing. And I couldn't possibly as for any more. Will you marry me and become my son's other dad?"

"Of course I will," He slid down to kneel in front of me, pressing his hands to my face, "I'd love nothing more."

We kissed to seal the promise and in that instant, I knew my life would be perfect from then on.

-----

As part of our wedding ceremony, Troye signed the final adoption papers so that not only was he becoming my husband that day, he was also becoming Eli's dad. It was emotional for everyone present and I felt like my heart would burst as I stood beside my new husband, our son stood between us, holding each of our hands, the photographer freezing that moment for us to stare at for years to come.