Royal

“Babe, everything is going to be fine,” Zade says, grabbing my hand in an attempt to stop my pacing in the waiting room of the lawyer’s office.

“What if it’s not? What if he says I won’t be able to adopt Liam and keep him safe from Ray?”

Liam looks as nervous as I am as he sits a few seats down, quietly staring off into space. I’ve only known about my little brother’s existence for a few days, but I already know he belongs with us. I have no intention of failing on my promise to protect him from Ray.

“Mr. Graham is ready to see you,” the receptionist informs us, and all four of us file into the office.

We’re greeted by a middle aged man in a nice suit and a kind smile.

“It’s nice to meet you, I’m Jim Graham. Why don’t you tell me what brings you to my office today?”

“Well, I’m Royal, and this is my half-brother, Liam,” I say gesturing to Liam. “I didn’t know I had a half-brother until a few days ago, when he showed up with that black eye you can see is still fading. Our father, Ray King is an abusive asshole, excuse my language, and I want to seek custody of him so Ray can’t hurt him again,” I explain.

Jim nods and makes some notes, asking Liam a few more specific questions about Ray.

“I think the best course of action will be if we can get Ray to sign away his parental rights. As Liam’s only family it won’t be a problem for you to be granted custody,” Jim explains.

“The things is, Nash and Zade are my partners. Is that going to cause a problem for me getting custody?” I ask.

 That’s the main thing that has been nagging at my mind for days because if that will cause a problem I’ll be between a rock and a hard place.

“In the state of Washington there are protections in place to allow same sex couples to adopt. Legally, the state can’t deny you custody based on who you are in a relationship with. There will be a visit from the Department of Child and Family Services to make sure there is a suitable living environment, and they will want to see financial records to ensure you can afford to take responsibility for Liam. Will there be any surprises on that end?”

“No, our place is small but it’s clean and everything. And, we’re going to start looking for a bigger place right away. I make a decent living as a tattoo artist that can more than take care of Liam and myself, even without Nash and Zade in the picture.”

“Sounds like this shouldn’t be a huge problem then, as long as Ray doesn’t make things difficult. I’ll start paperwork and have it sent over to Ray King this afternoon and then I’ll be in touch when we get to next steps.”

“Thank you so much.” I stand and shake his hand. As we head out I’m feeling lighter than I have in days.

 

 

Zade

After our meeting with the lawyer it’s obvious Royal is feeling a lot better. Nash and Royal had to work so Liam and I spend the afternoon decorating his room, playing video games, and then making dinner for the guys before they get home.

“It smells good in here,” Nash says as he and Royal walk through the door around eight in the evening.

“Had to make sure my men were fed when they got home.” I give each man a kiss as they enter the kitchen.

“Where’s Liam?” Royal asks as he grabs plates to start setting the table.

“He said he was going out to buy some drugs. I told him to make sure to ask if the dealer is an undercover cop before he hands over any money, because they can’t arrest you until you actually pay.”

“Excellent advice,” Royal agrees.

“I was thinking, we should all go see the Fourth of July fireworks at Sunset Park tomorrow,” Nash says interrupting our sarcastic conversation.

“That sounds fun,” Royal agrees, grabbing Nash’s hand and tugging him into a kiss.

God, it makes me so happy to see Royal safe and happy in Nash’s arms.

Royal and Nash both look over and see me watching them with a smile. They break apart just enough to welcome me into the hug as well. Royal nuzzles his face into my neck as the three of us hold each other, enjoying the closeness of the moment.

“I love you,” Royal sighs happily.

“Love you,” Nash and I say at the same time and then laugh at our tandem declaration.

 

 

Nash

“No, not that blanket. It’ll get grass stains,” I admonish as Royal gathers up our white comforter to take to the park to watch fireworks. “Get our dark blue comforter.”

“So bossy.” Royal softens the complaint by brushing a kiss against my lips.

I don’t see how I could ever get tired of the way my body tingles every time we touch.

Another pair of strong arms wrap around me from behind and I sigh with contentment. If you’d told me a few weeks ago that having not one but two boyfriends would make me happier than I’ve ever been in my life I wouldn’t have believed you.

Zade’s lips trail along the back of my neck. When he kisses the ticklish spot just behind my ear I chuckle and squirm.

“We’d better hurry up or we won’t get a good spot,” Zade says, giving me a smack on the ass.

“We’ve got like five hours until it’s dark enough for fireworks to start,” Royal argues.

“Yeah, but there are going to be a ton of people there. Bet you anything we have to fight someone for a good spot,” Zade reasons. “Plus, with everybody meeting us there we’re going to need a big spot if we all want to sit together.”

We’d decided after dinner last night to send a group text to everybody and see if they wanted to come out to see the fireworks with us. Everyone was dying to meet Liam as well, so we figured this would be perfect.

“A bet? You’re on. What do I get if there are plenty of open spots?” Royal asks.

“Winners choice. But if you lose, you have to tell me your real name.”

Royal gasps dramatically and then glances in my direction.

“What are the chances I’ll lose this bet?”

“Eh, fifty-fifty.”

“Liam, hurry up, I have a bet I can’t lose.”

Liam comes out of his bedroom, dressed and ready to go.

“This is awesome, I’ve never gone to see fireworks before.”

My heart breaks a little at that. I know it’s not my fault that Liam got stuck with both a shitty father and a mother who took off, but I feel like I dodged a bullet and it hit him instead.

I free myself from Nash’s grasp and put my arm over Liam’s shoulder.

“You’re going to love this. We packed a picnic, there’s going to be some local bands playing for the next few hours, it’ll be a blast.”

 

 

Zade won the bet by a wide margin. We eventually managed to wrangle a large enough spot, but it took convincing people to shuffle around for us and even relocate entirely. Most of the cooperation didn’t come until Zade started casually mentioning that he’s a veteran.

“So, give it up, what’s your real name.”

“Okay,” Royal sighs, “I’ll tell you...some other time.”

“What? That wasn’t the deal,” Zade argues.

“You didn’t stipulate when I would have to tell you my real name,” Royal points out with a smug grin.

“You are such a dick,” Zade complains.

“Aw, baby, don’t pout. I will tell you eventually,” Royal promises, kissing along Zade’s neck and jaw in way of an apology.

Royal waves at someone he recognizes and then jogs over to say hello.

“If you want to know his name, you know you could just check his driver's license,” I suggest.

Zade shrugs.

“It’s not about knowing his name as much as it’s about him wanting to tell me.”

“Don’t take it personally, I don’t think he even associates that name with who he is. He’s been going by Royal for as long as I can remember,” I explain, putting my arms around Zade’s waist and kissing his neck.

“That’s the thing though,” Zade laments. “You know his real name. I guess I kind of feel like it means something that you get to know but I don’t.”

“First of all, it’s not like Royal told me his real name. I know it because I knew him before he went by Royal. I guarantee he would prefer if I didn’t know it either. And secondly, I’m sure if you tell him how much it’s bothering you to not know, he’ll tell you.”

“No, you’re right, it’s dumb. He’ll tell me if he wants to, it’s not a big deal.”

I want to push for more because it’s obvious this is bothering Zade more than I–and I’m sure Royal– realized. But before I can force the issue Zade is jogging over to where Royal is standing hoisting him over his shoulder with a playful smile.

“Nash, quick, come give him a wedgie,” Zade suggests.

“Joke’s on you, I’m going commando,” Royal quips back.

I laugh and shake my head at their antics as I pull out the blankets we packed and start setting up a spot for us to sit.

I’m glad I thought to pack a beach umbrella as well because sitting out in an open field in July is not awesome.

It’s not long before Thane and Madden show up, followed by Dani, and then Adam and Gage. This is the first time any of our friends are seeing the three of us together, but if they find it weird no one says anything about it. They’re more interested in getting to know Liam than the ins and outs of our relationship, for which I’m grateful.

It’s a fantastic afternoon of lounging around together, listening to local bands play, and people watching. And, it was made even better by having Royal and Zade both by my side, offering casual touches, constant jokes and one-upmanship, and surprise kisses whenever they could get away with it.

“Those three are sickening, how are you living with them?” Dani asks Liam in a teasing tone.

“Yeah, they’re all over each other all the time,” Liam agrees with a laugh.

“You guys are all jealous that you can’t get two smoking hot guys to keep your bed warm at night,” Royal taunts, flipping the double bird to all our friends.

“One man is more than enough for me,” Madden says, mostly to Thane, before pulling his man in for a kiss that is almost indecent in public.

“I will openly admit that I’m jealous as hell,” Dani agrees. “But I might be able to move on if you would all be so kind as to send me a video.”

“It’ll cost you,” Zade warns with a smirk.

“It would be worth it.”

“Is this an appropriate conversation to have in front of a kid?” Adam asks.

“I thought we agreed that poor Liam has been scarred for life by these guys already,” Gage chimes in.

Once everyone falls back into their own conversations, Dani squeezes between me and Royal and puts her head on my shoulder.

“You seem really happy.”

“I am,” I agree with a smile. “I’ve never been happier.”

Dani gives me a kiss on the cheek before flopping back under our shade umbrella and declaring that she needs a nap.

As the day wears on and the sun sets we take down the umbrella and start getting comfortable to watch the fireworks. In our case, this means Royal and I on either side of Zade using his massive chest as a pillow so we can look up at the sky. Liam is sprawled out perpendicular to us by our feet.

“This is nice,” Royal sighs, trailing his fingers up and down Zade’s arm.

I nod in agreement and snuggle closer, reaching over Zade so I can touch Royal at the same time. Royal laces our hands together and rests them on Zade’s stomach and the four of us all lay on our blanket and watch the colorful fireworks explode in the night sky.