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At a Christmas party hosted by city hall and the brass, the last person Rafael, Sonny, or Mike want to see is Williams Dodds. In their attempts to meet each set of parents, he has been the last one they have chosen to meet up with and the one who gives Mike the most anxiety. Not Lucia Barba, who had been initially critical of her son’s boyfriends until she warmed up to them with their humor and clear adoration for Rafael. Not Dom and Tessa Carisi who welcomed them with open arms, only sparing a few questions about polyamory to Sonny when Rafael and Mike were otherwise entertained, swearing to research it later. All three had careers involving public service and working hands-on with people, so it was more possible to open up to ideologies outside of heteronormativity, even if they hadn’t had any personal experience until their sons brought it up.
But Williams Dodds was the chief of detectives. He was a pain to work with, specifically and usually when he descended from his office to poke his head in and criticize their working too hard or too soft. There was some sort of invisible hold over Mike that demanded a name drop or some influence or another. Sonny was convinced he was different as a person without the work titles; Rafael was indifferent; Mike was anxious. And when Mike got anxious, it took a bit more effort from his boyfriends to remind him of their presence and undying support.
So when Sonny read a text from Amanda via Apple Watch that William Dodds was looking for them and heading their way, it’s enough to make Mike go silent and keep his head bowed. He had not prepared for this—his plan had been to sweep by his father without a second glance and escape the possibility of questions he wasn’t ready to answer. Such as: why polyamory, why now, why those two who were already together decided to include him, why wouldn’t he tell him anything until now—it’s overwhelming. And the anxiety is already rising and threatening to eat him up.
Rafael catches the sign of Mike’s anxiety rising and grabs his shoulder gently. “We’re right here,” he says in a soothing tone, “and we’re not going anywhere.” Sonny, pout in full force, nods and reaches a hand out for him to take. Mike squeezes and keeps his attention on their tangled fingers. “If he says anything, I can do the talking. It’ll be less awkward for me since he’s not my boss.”
“You’re okay,” Sonny adds. “You’re here with us and you’re okay.”
“And if he wants to say something rude, I have no problem responding with something meaner—verbally. Maybe physically, if it comes to that.”
Sonny pokes him with the hand not occupied with Mike’s. “The last time you were in a physical fight, you got us kicked out of trivia night in a bar in Delaware.”
Rafael shrugs, noticing the slight smile Mike wears at the memory and the image. A minor distraction, a reminder of fun times together, a bit of banter. The first step is complete. “It’s not like I called him a mucus-eating innkeeper worm without reason. He said Donna Summer was in The Supremes, which she was not, and he thought it was overdramatic to get angry at him for it.”
“It was a little,” Mike chuckles. Rafael rolls his eyes but still smirks. “But that’s what we love about you.”
“I’d hope you would. Otherwise, going home with you tonight would have been awkward.”
Sonny cuts off both of their laughter by straightening up and holding out a hand for an instantly cautious William Dodds, dressed nicely but with a clear pull at his tie. “Good to see you, Chief,” he greets him, ever polite. Mike fixes his posture almost immediately; Rafael keeps a hand on his lower back for comfort.
“Same to you, Detective,” William says, nodding to Rafael and eyes falling on his son. His face breaks into a grin and he holds out his hand to pull Mike close. “Sergeant. I thought you’d be working tonight.”
Mike shrugs; his legs and arms are stiff with tension. Both Rafael and Sonny want to reassure him to silence any suspicions his father might have. “Night shift said otherwise. They banned me from the office.”
“And rightfully so,” Sonny adds. “With Cap becoming, well, Cap and getting calls to talk at other SVUs around the country, he’s been working pretty damn hard to keep things calm.”
William nods but not without a bit of trepidation at that new information. Sonny instantly regrets saying anything. “You’ve really made a home for yourself at SVU.”
“Well,” Mike says, the bitter tone rising to the surface, “I like where I am.”
Rafael doesn’t work as close to William Dodds as Mike or Sonny do—which is already at a distance, considering his position is much higher than them—but his experience of reading people’s reactions has been perfected over the years. He watches the alarm flit across William’s face for a split second before it’s hidden with a blink and a cleared throat. “Of course. I’m glad you’ve found your footing. You can’t just jump from different squads, right? You have to build a reputation with one and move on slowly.”
“That, and I’m not really looking to move anywhere anytime soon.” Mike gestures to Rafael and pulls Sonny in by a gentle hand on his hip. “If I don’t have to move, I’m alright with it.”
Chief Dodds barely balks at the motions, just takes a sip of his drink and hums. “So you’ve said. If you don’t mind my asking,” he gestures with his glass at Rafael and Sonny and lets the question go unasked, but the meaning remains.
Mike swallows. Rafael squeezes his side, and he pulls Sonny in. Sonny grabs his hand. “Both. It’s both of them.”
William’s eyebrows shoot up, clearly not expecting that. Both Rafael and Sonny knew he had avoided going into the specifics only because he wasn’t sure of the reaction he would have. His father had known he wasn’t straight from the moment he came out and was okay with it, but there was something different about it when he added in the fact that he was in love with two people at the same time. Rafael, for all his spouting about how much he didn’t care what his mother thought, took extra care to educate her and make sure she was at least indifferent to it when they met; Sonny had recruited his sisters to help drop hints as the day got closer. Mike had done everything he could to keep his father as in the dark as he could.
“We live together,” Mike explains, already set on a road of nervous rambling. They liked to joke that Sonny was the one whose mouth ran when he got anxious, but Mike was just as bad about it. “The three of us. In an apartment. That we pay for together. And live in. Together.”
“We have two dogs,” Sonny adds, smiling and placing a soft peck to Mike’s cheek. Step two—the gradual presence of physical affection—is nearly complete. Rafael’s assured nod is for the statement itself and in acknowledgment of their progress.
Rafael pulls out his phone. He has an entire album on his phone dedicated to their rescue pups: an American bulldog with a white brindle pattern named Opal, and a blue Staffordshire terrier named Admiral. Mike and Sonny had been the ones to find them after interviewing a witness at his job at an animal shelter, but Rafael was the one who could never say no to them. “See here,” Rafael points to the dogs, “this is Opal and Admiral.”
William steps closer to see the pictures and his face breaks into a bright beam. “Oh, god, look at those faces.”
Mike’s shoulders sag, covered by a small chuckle and Sonny’s giddy giggling beside him. Dogs always made everything better—isn’t that what Sonny said?
Rafael laughs and swipes through a few pictures, each one garnering some type of verbal reaction from Chief Dodds. “They’re probably the most gentle dogs I’ve met.”
William glances up at them. “Doesn’t Rollins have a dog?”
“Yeah, but Frannie isn’t afraid to bite someone’s head off,” Sonny says with a grin, causing the Chief to smile as well. “If Opal and Admiral ever met a burglar, they’d ask for belly rubs or show off their chew toys.”
“Admiral loves his turtle,” Mike sighs. The thought of that big baby showing off his toy to guests and his three dads made his heart warm. Step three—memories of pleasant moments, brought up by his own efforts—is a success.
“I still have a mark on my back from when Opal tried to hop on me,” Sonny says.
Mike looks at him, thankfully a bit more like himself, and scoffs good-naturedly. “Oh, Sonny, don’t even start. Do you know how marked up my arms are?”
Rafael rolls his eyes and encourages William to look through the photos and not at the two men. “They’ll go on for hours,” he mumbles. “Just let them get it out of their systems.”
“Do they compare a lot?” William asks, equally as quiet.
Rafael scrunches his nose with a shrug. “Sometimes. Only with the dogs. One of the only times they’ve fought is over who the dogs love more.”
“Who won?”
“I did.”
William laughs—a real, genuine sound—and shakes his head. “Yeah. That sounds right.” He watches Sonny untuck his shirt to point at a nearly healed bruise from where one of their dogs apparently headbutted him a bit too hard to compare to the one on Mike’s bicep that he removes half his jacket and rolls his sleeve for. “You three, ah…” He trails off to regather himself. “What’s it like? Are you happy?”
Rafael glances at the two idiots he calls his boyfriends and smiles. He can’t help it—those two bring out such a warm, soft side to him that he thought was lost. “We are. I know there are only a few people who make me feel as happy as they do. It’s…an honor to be with them.”
The next picture William sees is a selfie Mike had taken from their couch. Rafael has both Opal and Admiral on his lap, but Opal is grinning and actually looking at the camera, and Admiral is busy kissing Sonny’s face and trying to hop on him, much to Sonny’s amusement. Mike is grinning wide and happy, the kind he saves for special people in his life. Typically, his signature smirk is coy and just a flick of his lips. To see such a rare sight caused by the two of them is an incredible feat.
William looks over at him, and Rafael can watch the gratitude and appreciation cross his face. So open and real. So accepting. “Thank you.”
Rafael smiles and nods in respect. Anything for Sonny. Anything for Mike.