Over the next few hours, I went through everything in my head. Bar Silencio, the party at Leather and Lace, last night’s art show… everything that happened filtered through my mind. Meanwhile, Hank was screaming bloody murder underneath my hands, and I didn’t know how I could help him.

The baby was coming.

The doctor stood in front of Hank, making sure everything was going smoothly. “Are you two ready to become fathers?” he asked.

What did he expect us to do? Jump in the air and click our heels together? This whole process was terrifying! I couldn’t help but feel like I was doing something wrong.

All Adam and I wanted to do was take his pain away, but the doctors had it under control. The whole room chanted, “Push!” Hank’s cries grew unbearable and frail. In that moment of weakness, I heard the piercing scream of a newborn baby.

The sound latched to our hearts, bringing me to my knees. The doctor handed our precious baby to the nurse, where she cleaned him, and I felt my body melt.

“Cut the cord, Adam,” I whispered.

“I cant move, Noah,” he said. Tears were trailing down his eyes.

I found myself walking forward, hands stretched out in front of me. In a daze, I cut the cord. The nurse smiled and handed me our baby. I froze when I looked into his solid green eyes. He was the most unique thing I had ever seen and devastatingly cute.

He was our saving grace.

“Hank. Our baby. Do you see him? Our baby… he’s beautiful. You’re beautiful. Oh fuck, everything is so beautiful.”

For the first time in Adam’s life, he was without a camera. Today was the start of countless memories that didn’t need to be documented for the world to see. Today was ours.

Adam’s tears rolled down his face. We were all, in fact, crying. As the doctors left the room, we huddled close to each other. All we could do was stare at our child.

Hank had a faint smile on his face. As I lowered our baby into his arms, Hank kissed his scrunched forehead, so tiny and dear. “Ten hours of labor was worth it,” he whispered.

“We need a name, Hank,” I said.

“I already have one,” Hank whispered. Touching his nose, he looked at him longingly and said, “Welcome to this crazy world, Morgan.”

Morgan. It was such a perfect name. Unable to stop looking at both Hank and Morgan, I felt an overwhelming love for my family hit the center of my heart. I stared and studied every single feature on his face and memorized the details carefully.

Nothing went unnoticed that day, and even though we were hundreds of miles away, we felt at home. Soon, our family could be at peace. Soon…

* * *

Leo and Hayden helped around the house. Like the good friends they were, they waited hand and foot on Hank, making sure he could rest up in every way possible.

Morgan was a quiet baby, and as practical as a baby could be. When he needed milk, he asked for it politely without screaming his head off. When he wanted to sleep. He’d simply close his eyes and curl up into my chest.

With red hair, green eyes, and the cutest freckles I had ever laid eyes on, I had a feeling which alpha he sprung from. Adam was relieved about it, citing that the only sane alpha around the house was me. I wasn’t so sure, but I took his word for it and proudly held him to my face whenever anybody saw the similarities.

The ongoing exhibition was a smash hit. The New York Times called it a “fierce operation of erotica, kink, and the secret love only a family can understand.” Adam said it was the first review that he had actually enjoyed.

With the money made from the show, plus Leo’s contribution, we could save the Leather and Lace club. Hank even wanted to make it a historical landmark, although Leo was unsure that would ever fly with the state legislators.

“At the end of the day, it’s a sex bar,” Leo said.

Hank chuckled, still a bit too exhausted to get up from his spread-out position. “Remember the twentieth-anniversary party? I thought you said it was more than a sex club,” Hank said.

Smirking, Leo stood up and grabbed a drink from the fridge. “I doubt I said that,” he muttered. “Besides, it doesn’t matter what I said. You should know by now that I talk a lot of bullshit.”

“Word will get out about the updates you’re doing to the club,” Adam said. “I think it’ll be more popular than ever.”

Hank smiled, nodded his head, and went back to looking at little Morgan. With a peculiar look in his eyes, he asked, “Do you think our kids are going to think we’re insane?”

“I think that’s obvious,” Hayden muttered.

“Ugh. What a path we took,” Hank said.

I wasn’t worried about what people thought about us. In the end, we were good to those we loved. That’s all that mattered. “I’m just glad Kenny Lorel got his lights knocked out,” I said, laughing a little.

“I don’t condone violence,” Hank said, smiling.

“Mmhm.”

With the new addition to our family in the room, it was hard not to get sentimental. So many memories in such a short amount of time… life was a joy to behold. I had never felt that way before.

Hayden nudged Nathan’s small body against his thigh and leaned back against the couch. I almost forgot about their wedding, but the date was coming up fast. “Oh, I wanted to ask about the wedding,” I said. “It’s kosher if we gift you the double doggy style photo from the exhibition, right?”

Hank couldn’t hold back his snickering, and neither could Adam. Somehow, the joke went over Leo’s head. “Double what?” Leo muttered.

“They’re joking,” Hayden said. “To answer your question, the picture you guys fucking is going right behind us on the altar for everyone to see.”

“Fantastic,” Hank groaned. “Everyone will know your best man is a panty-obsessed horn dog.”

“I’m sure the people coming already know that,” Adam said. “I do have to say that I’m a little disappointed you’ve stopped wearing them around the house. I thought that was part of the deal.”

“Everything changes after the first kid,” Hank joked.

“Hey, that’s true. After we had Nathan, I stopped wearing mine too,” Leo joked.

“All jokes aside, I’m really excited to see you guys get married. It’s been a long time coming,” Hank said.

“You’ve been there since the beginning. I couldn’t think of anyone more perfect to be our best man,” Leo said.

Hayden saw the tiredness in our eyes. “Okay. Enough bromance. I think it’s time hit the hay.”

Our friends hugged and kissed us goodbye. We’d see them at the wedding, but for now, it was all about the family. Hank started to close his eyes, but there was a big smile on his face.

“Goodnight, guys,” Leo said.

“Goodnight.”

With the night fading fast, we made our way into bed. We cuddled up and talked about our future. Our life was already so beautiful with Morgan in it.

I used to think dreams were for fools. But once I gave into love and had a child, I quickly realized that dreams are the only things that exist. We’d pass our dreams on to our child, and in turn, life would feel lighter than lace.