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Max kept an eye on the door all day long.
He kept hoping the door would open, and Lewis, Emilia and Senna would come in.
It was New Year's Eve after all, and Max wanted to spend it with his family.
He had only seen Senna and Emilia on Christmas eve. Lewis had been there too but they had kept a bit of distance, still awkward around each other. Their therapist had advised them not to push it, to even live separately for a bit and build up their relationship from scratch. It had meant Lewis staying with his dad, taking the kids with him, while Max stayed in their Monaco home.
But Lewis had said he was considering coming home for New Year's Eve.
Max had been so hopeful, so fucking hopeful, but it was already getting dark outside and there was still no sign of Lewis, or their precious daughters.
He doubted Lewis would still show up.
Max turned away from the window, walking to the sofa and falling down heavily, his hands trembling. He checked his phone for the millionth time but Lewis had not texted him, so he called Daniel instead.
"Hey bud." Daniel picked up immediately.
"They're still not here." Max whispered. He heard Daniel sigh empathically.
"I'm sure he will come, Max. Lewis might be struggling but he would never keep you from seeing the kids." The Aussie spoke, and Max wondered since when Dan had gotten so wise.
"What if they don't? Is that the end of us?" Max whispered, pulling his knees up to his chest and pressing the phone to his ear so hard that his head hurt.
"Max. Lewis loves you, and you love him. This is not the end." Daniel promised, and after a good 5 more minutes of Daniel talking nonsense just to soothe Max, they finally hung up.
Max went back to the window. It was past 8PM already and Max was almost certain Lewis wouldn't show up anymore. Lewis would be bathing Emi and Senna now, getting Emilia ready for bed and watching some more TV with Senna cuddling on his lap.
Max would give everything to be there for that.
Lone tears ran down Max's cheeks and he didn't bother wiping them away. He wanted his family back so badly.
A sudden knock at the door made Max sit up, but then sigh. Lewis had a key, there was no reason for him to knock. It was most likely just a fan who figured out where he lived.
He sat back down, shaking his head, but the knocking didn't stop.
"Papa! Papa, are you home?" A little voice called through the door, and Max almost fell over with his eagerness to get there.
He tore the door open and almost cried all over again when he saw Senna grinning up at him. He knelt down and hugged Senna tightly, the little girl hugging back and patting at his cheeks.
"Papa? Why are you crying? Are you sad the year is over?" Senna asked.
"No baby, I'm just very happy to see you." Max smiled, brushing her hair back and kissing her forehead, brilliant blue eyes looking back at him.
"Daddy's phone broke and Emi was taking so long in the bath!" Senna smiled.
"Where are Emi and your daddy?" Max asked Senna, standing up with his oldest in his arms. Senna happily snuggled into him, clutching on to Max’s shirt.
“Emi saw a snail.” Senna said, and Max smiled, knowing the youngest was obsessed with all kinds of animals and insects and could spend hours just looking at snails and the likes moving around. He stayed in the doorway, his heart skipping a beat when Lewis came walking over to the front door with Emi in his arms.
“Papa!” Emi giggled happily, also making grabby hands for Max and Max happily lifted her up too, holding them both close. He glanced up at Lewis with a shy smile, jerking his head to gesture Lewis to come inside.
“Look at my beautiful girls, I missed you, darlings.” Max smiled, sitting on the sofa with his kids snuggled up on his lap and hugging them tight. He realised Lewis had brought Roscoe too and he quickly leaned down to pet the dog's head too, happy Roscoe was excited to see him.
Their cats, Ricky and Bobby (Daniel had bribed the girls into choosing those names), came running past to hide in the master bedroom when they saw Roscoe and Emi wiggled around next to Max, clearly wanting to go and say hi to the cats and Max let her go. Max glanced at Senna, who huffed a bit but followed after her sister.
Which left Max and Lewis alone together.
“Are you okay? You look like you have been crying.” Lewis said quietly, moving from where he had been sitting on one of the armchairs to the sofa. They were sitting awkwardly far apart and Max lowered his eyes.
“I thought you weren’t coming.” he said hoarsely. Lewis sighed softly, reaching out to grab Max’s hand and bringing it up to kiss Max’s palm.
“I’m sorry. My phone broke yesterday because I dropped it in the bath while bathing Senna.” Lewis chuckled. “I did email you.” he added with a gentle smile. Max swallowed thickly.
“I always forget to check my email.” he said, embarrassed that he had overreacted while it had apparently been his own fault. Lewis seemed to notice and pulled him close, tucking him safely into his side and Max felt stupid but wanted to cry once more.
“Max, of course I wanted to be with you here tonight. It’s the perfect day for a new start, don’t you think?” he whispered. “And the girls deserve a nice day with their dads. They missed you a lot.” Lewis murmured, lips brushing over Max’s temple.
“I missed all of you too. So fucking much.” Max sighed with a gentle smile. Senna came walking back, crawling onto the sofa next to them and giving them a long look.
“Are you going to get un-hurt?” she asked with a serious look on her face. “Are you going to be happy again?” she added. Max tensed, but quickly pulled Senna into his arms.
“We have a long way to go. But yes.” he soothed, Lewis nodding as well. Senna smiled and snuggled in between her daddies.
Emi quickly came running over too, the cats following after her. Max lifted her up too, kissing her head and letting her settle with them too. He locked eyes with Lewis over the tops of their daughter’s heads.
Lewis smiled fondly, and Max smiled back.
~~~~~
“They were so eager to make it to the countdown.” Lewis snorted, the two of them standing in the doorway of their bedroom and looking at Emilia and Senna, who were both fast asleep in the master bedroom, Roscoe and the cats accompanying them.
“They are still so small.” Max smiled fondly, his heart about to burst with the love for his daughters. Lewis’s hand touched his waist, before the Brit walked back to the living room. It was just a few minutes before midnight, and Lewis went to stand at the window to prepare for the fireworks. Max went to stand next to him, unsure what would happen at the countdown. Would Lewis be okay with a kiss at midnight? Would Lewis just nod and go to bed?
What were they to each other now?
Max fiddled with his wedding ring and lowered his eyes, listening to the countdown playing in the background.
“Happy New Year, Max.” Lewis whispered when the timer reached 0.
“Happy New Year.” Max replied hoarsely, not daring to look up at Lewis.
Lewis’s hand gently cupped his cheek, pulling Max to face him and gently urging Max to meet his eyes. Max felt even more shy than during the first time Lewis had pulled him in for a kiss.
Their lips met in the most gentle kiss, arms wrapping around each other as Max sighed, so much of the tension of the year leaving his body when Lewis' lips brushed over his, his tongue gently nudging into his mouth.
“I love you.” Max sobbed out when Lewis pulled away. Lewis quickly pulled him into a hug.
“I love you too, Max. So much.” his husband replied, sounding tearful as well. Max dared to smile.
They had a new year ahead of them. And Max wasn’t going to waste this one on silly team politics.
All he wanted was for him, Lewis, Emilia and Senna to be a happy family again. And for the first time in a long time, he was hopeful.