Chapter Text
January 4th was the single happiest day of Neil Josten’s life. He’d been pretty sure he’d already reached the max happiness he was capable of, but when Lily was officially declared Lily Josten for the rest of her life, Neil felt like he was floating.
Nothing could get him down. On Christmas, Neil and Andrew had presented Lily with a gift stating that they’d legally adopt her on January 4th. It was the first time either of them had seen her cry, and Lily cried hard. Huge crocodile tears dripped down her cheeks as Neil and Andrew stared at her in shock and horror.
Until she finally sobbed that she was happy. Neil had then hugged her while Andrew squeezed his bicep. Neil was pretty sure he was trying not to self-combust.
As Lily calmed down, Andrew relaxed into Neil, who cuddled both as best as he could. They sat the for at least an hour until Andrew got up and went outside with his cigarettes. Lily pulled her boots and coat on too and followed.
That night, Neil heard a new song coming from Lily’s room. She’d been on a Christmas tunes kick, but it was something new he hadn’t heard. But the lyrics warmed his heart. He stood outside her door and listened for a moment wondering how exactly he’d even gotten there. How was it that he was standing outside of his daughters’ room down the hall from the love of his life?
On January 4th, they were all antsy. Andrew stood on the back deck for over an hour despite the cold. Lily went out first. Neil went out when she came in.
Andrew stood with his hands tucked in his pockets, cigarette between his lips, staring at nothing. Neil stood next to him. Yesterday, Andrew had gone to meet with Betsy who was in town to accompany them to the courthouse. Neil wasn’t sure it eased any of Andrew’s tension.
Neil was a bundle of nerves too. He’d spent an hour the night before pacing their bedroom. They slept locked together, but Neil was pretty sure Andrew hadn’t slept, just kept his arms tight around Neil.
“Lily wants to go out for lunch after and I invited Betsy,” Neil told Andrew. They’d discussed it, but Neil had just finished finalizing the plans. Betsy was not someone Neil was thrilled about, but he knew it was polite and she’d done a lot to help them both get to the point of adoption.
“Okay,” Andrew said flatly. Neil bounced on his toes. It was freezing and gray out.
“It’s that Puerto Rican place. With the plantains you and Lily like,” Neil continued. For Lily, he wanted it to be a celebration, and for Andrew, he wanted it to be comfort. He looked over at Andrew who moved to put the cigarette out. He stared at Neil intently. Neil gave him a small smile. “Yes or no, Andrew?” Neil asked, bending forward into Andrew’s space.
“Yes,” Andrew breathed.
Neil pushed their lips together in a quick kiss. He rested his forehead against Andrew’s. “We’ve got this,” he whispered.
“Mmm,” Andrew hummed, reaching up and digging his cold fingers into the warm skin on the back of Neil’s neck. Neil grunted to show his discomfort, but Andrew held him still.
Neil shut his eyes, listening to Andrew’s breathing slow, feeling the warmth against his cheeks and lips.
“You can protect her,” Neil added after a moment. Andrew griped him tighter. “We’ve fought the system. Everything and everyone who said we couldn’t; here we are and now we are opening the doors for another.”
Andrew nodded, letting go of Neil and turning to go inside. Neil watched him, watched the door slide shut and Andrew go up to Lily who was still eating her breakfast. Whatever Andrew said to her, made a huge grin spread on her face. Neil smiled too, digging his car keys out of his pocket.
“I’ll go warm up the car,” he said as he passed through the house, turning before Andrew saw the smile on his face. They were going to be proper dads in a few hours.
And that thought made him beyond happy.
Neil was still floating when they reached the restaurant. Andrew wasn’t faring well, Neil could tell by the he moved, but he held Lily hand during the entire court hearing and was still holding her hand as they headed inside. Leaving Neil to walk with Betsy.
“During Lily’s spring break, we are going to go to Disney World,” Neil told Betsy when they were seated. He didn’t expect Andrew to make conversation.
“That’s what I heard. It sounds like it will be a great trip.”
“Yeah, Lily made the choice. And we might go together for games with Court this year,” Neil added. With everything that was going on in his life, Neil was surprised he, for once, wasn’t itching to get back on the court. Exy still drove his life, but usually Andrew couldn’t stand Neil in the winter when there was no Exy because Neil started to obsess about it.
“Are you doing any interviews?” Betsy asked. Neil sighed.
“Yeah, but I said I was only doing specific ones and nothing like a press conference.” All his coaches had sat him down and told him it was time for interviews. They said it was up to him what he said about Lily, but since rumors about her had started he and Andrew were a hot topic that the teams wanted to cash in on.
It didn’t really bother Neil. He got out of a lot and the interviews he did had become routine. There was a particular writer at Sports Illustrated that he liked because she didn’t add fluff to her articles or embellish on anything Neil had ever said. She didn’t ask touchy questions either.
“Are you going to participate?” Betsy asked Andrew who only shrugged. Betsy nodded.
They ate in relative silence, but Lily looked like she was enjoying herself, so Neil didn’t mind. He and Andrew had found the restaurant before taking in Lily, but they frequented it wanting to expose Lily to what was part of her heritage.
Neil had gotten Lily some Spanish picture books and a Spanish picture dictionary for Christmas. He and Andrew had started to do some research on Puerto Rico, but most of it was interrupted by getting ready for the adoption.
They parted ways with Betsy after lunch and headed back to their house as a full family. Neil entered their house liking that he’d always see Lily’s shoes on their mat and her coat on the rack. There would always be kid movies by the TV and her artwork on the fridge and the walls. Her little league pictures would always hang with theirs.
Andrew sat on the couch in his normal spot, with Lily at his side sticking her toes under his thigh to warm them. Neil stood behind the couch watching Andrew turn on game shows. Lily was getting good at them.
Neil’s hands hovered over Andrew’s head until he nodded. Neil raked his fingers through Andrew’s hair feeling the stress of the day pour out of him.
“I don’t like court houses,” Lily said looking up at Neil. He nodded.
“Let’s plan to stay away from them,” he said.
“Tonight, we are going to eat my cake, right?” Lily asked. Last night, she’d attempted to bake a cake herself. She’d mixed all the ingredients and poured it in a bowl. Neil put it in and took it out of the oven and then Lily had decorated it.
She’d already made thank you cards that Neil and Andrew received the day after Christmas. They sat proudly on Andrew’s dresser.
“Of course,” Neil said still dragging his fingers through Andrew’s thick hair.
“Good!” Lily shouted jumping up. “I’m just so happy now! I want to run around the house!” she cheered, leaping off the couch and running to the kitchen. “Hakuna Matata, Neil!”
The Lion King had been a gift from Dan and Matt. They’d only watched it twice, but Neil kept dreaming about the giant pig.
Neil kissed the top of Andrew’s head. “I love you, and our family,” he whispered. Andrew reached up, holding Neil’s head as he looked up. Andrew placed a quick kiss on Neil’s eyes, his nose, and then his lips.
It was Andrew’s way of saying I love you, too.