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Parenthood still amazed George. Every day with Lily was a new experience, a learning curve, and having Dream by his side only made the experience so much more wonderful.
Today was no exception.
Snow crunched under the three pairs of feet, with louder, more satisfying noises coming from George and Dream’s feet, and dainty, quick sounds coming from Lily’s. She was practically running to keep up with her fathers’ long strides, but she was happy: the grin hadn’t left her face since they’d landed in Lapland the day before. She was obviously jet lagged, the sparkle in her eyes a little muted by exhaustion, but too excited to stop smiling. Her cheeks were dimpled and rosy from the cold, her hair in pigtails and hidden by a wooly hat that was just a little bit too big for her, and a scarf that was a little too long kept her warm.
“Why don’t the reindeer live at the North Pole, daddy?”
“This is where the reindeer are trained.” George explained patiently, smiling down to Lily as they walked. “It’s like a school, and when they’ve finished learning how to fly they can go work for Father Christmas.”
For a moment he looked up, and George caught a glimpse of Dream, who could only raise an eyebrow at his husband. George just gave a non-commital shrug, and Lily came to a stop and looked up to Dream.
“Dad, can you carry me?”
George gave a smirk then - answering Lily’s question seemed to have gotten him off the hook for any further requests for now - but Dream just stopped in his tracks and grabbed Lily under her shoulders.
“How do I carry you, like this?” He asked, holding her out at arm's length and wiggling her around a little. Dream continued until she giggled and kicked her legs, shaking her head.
“No dad! That’s silly!”
“Okay, how about this?” And with that, Dream turned her upside-down. Lily let out a scream, her mitten covered hands moving to her head as her hat fell into the snow beneath. Dream’s grip had moved to her ankles as he dangled her over the snow, lowering her and raising her back up over and over again to make her laugh even harder. George just stepped in to grab Lily’s hat, shaking his head as he brushed the snow away.
“Daddy! Save me!”
George chuckled, looking to Dream with a wide smile and bright eyes. Lily squealed again, and Dream moved to hold her upright again. George took the moment to pull her hat back over her head, keeping her ears shielded from the cold and pressing a quick kiss to her cheek.
“Is that not what you wanted?” Dream asked, mock shock on his face when Lily shook her head vehemently.
“I want a piggyback ride!”
“I’m not your Uncle Techno, Lils.” Dream teased, but he didn’t say anything more as he lifted her over his head and placed her on his shoulders. “You’re getting so big, I’m not gonna be able to do this for much longer.”
“Yes you will.” Lily replied firmly, her head resting on top of her father’s and her hands moving to wrap around him tightly. George could see just how tired she looked, and his heart fluttered a little.
“You can have a sleep up there if you need.” He told her kindly. “We can see the reindeer this afternoon instead.”
“I’m awake.” Lily grumbled. “I wanna see the reindeer.”
Dream and George simply exchanged smiles, and George closed the space between them. Rather than holding hands, George wrapped an arm around Dream’s waist and held him close whilst Lily narrated the otherwise peaceful walk. She was excited for Christmas, and she was excited for their little holiday, it was only natural that she would be talking so much - how else could a child like her convey her feelings?
“What do you want for Christmas, Lils?” Dream asked, tilting his head up a little to look at her. “We can help you write a letter to Santa.”
“I want trains.” She said. “And another doggie.” Made sense, George thought, she is going through a Paw Patrol phase.
“I don’t think Santa does living presents.” Dream laughed. “His elves make toys, but dogs aren’t toys, and they’d be chilly at the North Pole all year round! Trains are a speciality of his.”
“Could he get me a scooter?”
“That sounds like something Father Christmas can do.” George smiled. “Trains and scooters are very good choices.”
“And a sister.”
Dream very nearly stopped in his tracks at that, and George struggled to hold in a laugh. That was a little more complicated than a dog. The two of them could easily head to a shelter, fill out some forms, and bring another puppy home - the pets they currently had made their family whole, and another dog would always be welcome - but a child was so much harder. It wasn’t as if another child was going to be dropped on their doorstep, and becoming fathers a second time required a much more serious conversation.
“Why do you want a sister?” George asked.
“Because I don’t like playing by myself all the time.” She said quietly, George turning to look at Lily with a much more gentle look on his face. Another child wasn’t part of the plan - though really, nothing was part of the plan. Adopting a child, getting married, realising they were actually in love with each other had all happened by chance.
“Well, sister’s are very different.” George began to explain. “That’s not really something Father Christmas can do, it’s up to your dad and I because we’d have to take care of both you and any sister that you had. We’d have to talk about it a lot before it happened.”
“Can you talk about it then?” Lily asked. “I want a sister.”
George’s eyes moved from Lily down to Dream, the younger man giving him an inviting, warm smile. That was enough confirmation from him.
“Yeah, dad and I can talk about it sweetie.”
Lily’s smile at his words gave him nothing more - and nothing less - than pure joy. She went back to babbling about the reindeers she could see between the pine trees, and George shoved his hands into his pockets as his mind began to wander. Another kid… Dream’s smile wasn’t one that said we’ll talk, but it’s a no and he began to think about what life would be like with another child. More laughter, more love, more memories…
He thought quietly as they walked together, and he remained in thought when they arrived at the reindeers. Lily was beyond excited to meet them, but her exhaustion was beginning to catch up to her, so they decided to take a ride first. Dream and George sat side by side in the sleigh, and Lily quickly fell asleep on Dream’s chest.
“So…” George said quietly. “Do you want to be a dad again?”
“Do you?” Dream asked, his fingers playing with Lily’s hair. “I wouldn’t mind being a father again. Lily’s a good kid.”
“She’s brilliant.” George said softly, resting his head on Dream’s shoulder and turning to look at his husband. “I’d like to be a dad again. I think having two girls would be nice. And think of it this way - we’d be adopting. That’s a kid that might never have a family if we don’t adopt, a kid that might just grow up, age out of the system. We can provide for them, we can give them a happy home, we can give them love and support - and so can Lily.”
“Yeah.” Dream turned to face George, a smile plastered across his own face. “We’ll look into it when we get back home.”
“Good.” George replied. “I love you.”
“I know.” Dream whispered, and George rolled his eyes. As the reindeer continued to pull their sleigh through the forest, Dream wrapped an arm around George’s shoulders and after a quick peck on the lips, they snuggled closer together. They might not have enough time to find Lily a sister for Christmas, but their family would soon be expanding. For now though, they would let Lily sleep and they would enjoy the rest of their holiday, and they could think about the future after they’d enjoyed their present.