Work Text:
It'd been a year since their return from that wretched village.
Rose was almost two now, and her first word had been “baba”, which effectively thwarted Mia and Ethan's unspoken competition to get her to say “mama” or “dada” first. Not that either of them truly minded. Rose called everyone “baba” now - even Chris, who had fit so perfectly into their little family it sometimes felt like he'd always been there.
Chris, who Mia and Ethan had come to trust, and then to love dearly; and who had come to love them as well.
Ethan had been wary to pursue his feelings for Chris, at first. He loved Mia more than anything, and he knew he didn't want a life without her in it. But in the years since Louisiana, Ethan felt his heart grow full of more love than he ever thought possible: love for Mia, love for Rose, and now, love for Chris. But Ethan was content simply being Chris's friend, content to have Chris in his life, in their lives, at all. But Mia knew firsthand the consequences of keeping things in - she and Ethan had many an argument about her tendency to do such a thing, over the years - and she’d pushed Ethan to not make her same mistakes.
Mia loved Chris, too. Maybe not in the same way Ethan did, but the idea of Chris becoming even more of a part of their family excited Mia just as much as it did Ethan. While Chris and Mia had a connection not even Ethan could understand at times, Ethan thought about the women in Chris's life - his sister Claire, his best friend Jill, his old partner Sheva, all of whom Chris spoke of affectionately and reverently - and decided Chris's friendship with Mia made perfect sense. Chris had protected them, trained them, looked after them, even covered for them at times, and he cared for them deeply. Ethan and Mia knew that; and they knew inviting Chris closer was something they both wanted.
Chris had been surprisingly eager, ever since his and Ethan's first conversation about it. Sure, Ethan had softened Chris up with kisses, but it was like a dam had opened within Chris. He'd never considered that Ethan might want him and Mia both, but once that option was presented, Chris embraced it readily.
He was also so respectful. Almost too respectful. Even months later, any initiation of affection towards Ethan was preceded by a questioning glance to Mia; and any affection initiated by Ethan was stiff until Mia smiled fondly at Chris's hesitation.
Chris had refused to fuck Ethan unless Mia was present, at least for the first time. It was awkward at first - Chris was beat red, Mia couldn't stop laughing, and Ethan was highly amused - but then Mia took over, showing Chris the ways she likes to torment Ethan, and it became a strange game between them after that. Chris and Mia didn't want to go at each other, either; Chris wasn't attracted to women, and Mia just wasn't interested, so making the situation an analytical puzzle of studying Ethan's pleasure was both intriguing and neutral enough for the both of them. And Ethan of course got to reap the benefits of such an arrangement.
Chris even took to helping care for Rose, without being asked or expected to. He claimed it was what he was used to, that raising Claire after their parents had died made him good with kids. But he loved Rose, too, and his care for her was a blessing for Ethan and Mia.
Also, it meant Ethan and Mia had more time for just each other.
They'd tried therapy, after the village. It was hard to find a way to talk about the things they'd gone through in analogies and metaphors, never fully able to express the truth of the situations. And Chris's recommendations had been unhelpful; Chris just said he talked to Jill about everything, and Jill talked about almost nothing, and it ‘worked’ for them, supposedly. So, it seemed all Mia and Ethan had were each other - and maybe Chris, on the rare occasion he chose vulnerability over grinning and bearing it - and to each other they held all the tighter.
Mia opened up more. Part of her hesitation to acknowledge what had happened in Louisiana was simply because she struggled to remember, and choosing to talk about it meant letting those memories resurface. Ethan hadn't realised the depths of the pain he'd been asking Mia to embrace, until one day she had completely froze in the middle of one of their talks, paralysed by fear, unable to speak another word. Afterwards, she hadn't remembered the moment of mental absence at all, and was deeply confused and worried when Ethan promised her that he wasn't making it up.
Therapists told them they both had trauma, but the shrinks couldn't know from what, and “fears of parenting when you had a rough childhood” was a good excuse, but hardly a helpful one, in their case. Mia might always have moments where she froze and could not speak. Ethan might always have nightmares. But they had each other - all of each other, now, with no more secrets between them - and that was what mattered most. Ethan knew they could weather any storm, survive any hardship, so long as they were together. He was eternally grateful that Mia felt the same.
Now, it was almost Mia's birthday, and Ethan was determined to make it one she deserved.
~
Mia rocked back and forth slowly on the patio chair, cradling Rose tightly in her arms. Their daughter looked so much like Ethan, it made Mia smile every time she stared into her perfect little face. Rose blinked up at her - she had Mia's brown eyes - and her tiny lips shifted between smiles and contemplative pursing as she followed a train of thought Mia could never imagine.
Even at her age, Rose wasn't much of a talker. Mia certainly didn't mind; she had her own fair share of silent moments. But it was clear that Rose was a deep thinker, full of imagination behind her bright eyes. Mia longed for the day Rose might let her mother into her brilliant mind, and relished the time she had to watch Rose grow now.
The chirp of birds caught Mia's attention, and her eyes flitted to their backyard, surrounded by trees taller than their house. After the fiasco in Romania, they had been relocated to Iceland - far away from any connections they had to anyone else, and even further away from any connections to the mold - and it was almost always cold. But now it was the middle of Summer, which meant Mia could sit outside in just a light cardigan rather than a fur coat. Rose seemed to like the cold, and was always calmest outside, where she had plenty of space to explore. They were truly lucky to have such a nice place to live, after all they'd been through, and months later it had come to feel more like a home rather than an escape.
The creeking of the back door startled Mia from her reverie, and she glanced over her shoulder, smiling up at Chris.
“How are my girls?” he asked, his voice as warm as the Sun rising through the trees.
“Morning, Chris,” Mia greeted. She freed a hand to pat the second rocking chair beside her. “We're enjoying the weather.”
Chris huffed, shaking his head fondly as he sat down next to Mia.
“I mean it,” she insisted. “It's warmer out today. You can't even see your breath!”
“Just in time, huh?” Chris remarked, grinning at her with a knowing twinkle in his eyes. He held out a small box, wrapped carefully in deep blue paper. “Happy birthday, Mia.”
“Aw, Chris,” Mia cooed, taking the gift from him.
Chris eased Rose out of Mia's grasp gently, so Mia could open the box with both hands. She pulled it apart delicately, appreciating the smoothness of Chris's wrapping skills, while he situated Rose in his massive arms. The box itself was a light rose-gold, and Mia shot Chris a grin at the colour choice.
“Go on, open it,” he said. “It's not just a box.”
“I'm just appreciating all of it.”
The box popped open from a small hinge, revealing a silver chain within. From the chain hung four charms: a teddy bear, a crescent Moon, three stars on even smaller chains as though they were flying away, and a rose in full bloom. Mia lifted it gingerly, noting that the chain was just long enough to be a necklace, but could adjust down to the size of a bracelet as well. She clicked her tongue in surprise, both at the beauty of such a thing, and the thoughtfulness behind the charms that adorned it.
“Chris,” she whispered. “It's lovely. Thank you.”
Chris nodded, staring resolutely down at Rose in a way Mia knew to mean he was shy. She smiled, and leaned over the arms of their chairs to kiss his cheek. Chris smiled slightly, his face reddening just enough to notice beneath the short beard he'd grown out. And Mia wouldn't let him get away with blaming it on the cold this time.
“Anytime,” he muttered, belatedly.
“How did you come up with this?” Mia asked. She began clasping it around her wrist so she could continue to gaze at it. “It's perfect.”
“Don't give me all the credit,” Chris said. “Ethan did most of the work. Honestly, it's more so his gift that he let me give you.” Chris's eyes darted from the bracelet back to Rose. “I'm real shit at this kind of thing. I got lucky with Claire, because she likes the same stuff I do. But I had no idea what to get you. Ethan saved my ass.”
“I would've loved anything you got me, Chris,” she promised. “Thank you.”
He nodded once more.
“So the rose charm is obvious,” Mia began, touching the charm. “For our little bug,” she added, tickling Rose's side and beaming at her twinkling laugh. “What about the others?”
“Well.” Chris shifted so he could lean closer, holding Rose in one arm while the other gestured along Mia's new bracelet. “The stars are Ethan, cause he's the luckiest fucker alive, for many reasons. Or, well, not alive, technically, but it's a lucky-star thing. The Moon is you, because, uh,” he cleared his throat, suddenly looking embarrassed. “Well, my answer is that you're a powerful force, like the Moon on the tide. Ethan's reason was less appropriate.”
“I dread to imagine,” Mia teased. “So that makes you the teddy bear?”
“Oh,” Chris's blush returned, “no, that was supposed to be for one of Rose's stuffed animals. Just to balance it out.”
“Hm,” Mia hummed, eyeing the last charm. “No. I think you're the teddy bear.”
“Okay.”
Mia laughed, and Chris begrudgingly followed suit, shaking his head. Rose smiled up at both of them, unsure of what was so amusing but eager to be included in the shared joy.
“Alright, it's my turn with Rose,” Chris said. “You get inside, Ethan's waiting with his gift for you.”
“If I go in there, and he's wrapped himself up in a bow, he's sleeping on your side of the bed tonight.”
“He would do something like that, wouldn't he?” Chris mused. “I promise that's not it, though. He's got a whole day planned for you two.”
Mia blinked in surprise. She eyed Rose, worried about making Chris take care of her for so long. Chris caught her gaze, and rolled his eyes.
“None of that, I've got her,” he reassured. “Go on.”
Mia kissed him on the cheek once more, gave Rose a peck on her head, and dashed inside.
Ethan was lounging on the loveseat, fully dressed for the day and tapping his foot eagerly. When Mia entered the living room, he beamed at her.
“Ready to go?” he asked cheerfully.
Mia snorted as she approached him.
“Go where?”
Ethan opened his mouth to answer - with a likely witty and unhelpful remark - but Mia slumped onto his lap, kissing him deeply. Ethan's arms wound around her immediately, tucking her against his warm chest. Mia sighed, and pulled away reluctantly.
“Why go anywhere?” she said. “I've got the perfect gift right here,” she added, pointing to Ethan's chest.
Ethan huffed a laugh, and kissed her gently once more.
“Tempting,” he admitted. “But I've got plans. And we have an 11am breakfast reservation.”
“11am breakfast? Do you mean lunch?”
“Not in Reykjavík,” he replied, purposefully butchering the pronunciation.
Mia scoffed, and he kissed her to placate her faux annoyance with him.
Both dressed and ready to leave, they got into their hand-me-down, rickety old truck and drove off.
Ethan gave nothing away of their plans for the day, try as Mia might to pry information from him. Part of her wanted to know so she could be prepared, but another part of her was so excited to be surprised by what Ethan had in store.
~
Ethan's stomach rolled with nerves so much he hardly ate. It was ridiculous to be nervous, and he knew that. After all they'd been through together, all the ways he'd felt terror to his core, it was illogical for this of all things to make him anxious.
He tried to hide it as they went about their day. Mia deserved a fun birthday that wasn't weighed down by Ethan's plotting.
Finally, it was time to drive out to the cliffs for the picnic dinner he'd planned. The Sun was up for far longer than Ethan was used to, and sunset wouldn't come until after 10pm, but around the evening the Sun was caught in gold and honey hues that lit up the waters around the cliffs, and Ethan knew Mia would like the view.
“This is lovely, Ethan,” Mia remarked as she helped Ethan lay down the blanket. “I don't think we've had such a relaxing day in years.”
“Yeah,” Ethan agreed, even as his heart rate spiked again. “I'm glad you're enjoying it.”
They ate their dinner - various finger foods Ethan had packed that morning - in silence, appreciating the tolerable chill and the sounds of nature around them. Mia settled against Ethan's side, and his arms wound around her as if on reflex. He breathed in the scent of her, the lavender of her shampoo and the vanilla of her perfume, and sighed, content. He inhaled and exhaled in the way therapists had tried to drill into him, finding more comfort in the grounding warmth of Mia against him than the actual breathing.
“Mia,” he began quietly.
“Hm?”
“I've got another gift for you.”
Mia paused, expecting Ethan to elaborate further. When he didn't, she straightened, turning to face him.
“Oh? What is it?” she asked, her gentle smile morphing into a smirk. “You've got more plans now that we're all alone?”
Ethan laughed; in his nervousness, escaping to the cliffs for some lovemaking hadn't even occurred to him, though now he was thinking about it. But maybe later.
“Kinda.” He reached into his coat pocket, his hand tightening around the box. “I, uh. I wanted to talk about something.”
Mia raised a brow. There was concern in her eyes, but she kept her expression otherwise relaxed, waiting for Ethan to explain. He sighed. He really loved this woman.
“We've been through some crazy shit, huh?” he began lamely.
Mia snorted. Ethan gave her a small smile.
“But most importantly, through everything, we've done it together,” he continued. “I didn't realise just how much I'd come to rely on you, to love and trust you completely.”
Ethan worked his jaw, suddenly choked up. Mia's eyes softened, and she waited.
“Uh,” he cleared his throat quickly. “You're my best friend, Mia. You're my family. Not to be cheesy, but I think you're my soul mate, if that's even real.”
“Oh Ethan,” Mia cooed. “If I were put off by cheesiness, I never would have married you.”
Ethan laughed, the last of his nerves falling away at the sight of her beautiful smile.
“About that,” he said, shooting her a smirk. “I think we both know we're both different people now than we were when we first met. But somehow, we still fit together perfectly, and that's not something I ever wanna take for granted again.”
He removed the small box from his coat, clutching it tightly in one hand while his other grasped Mia's hand. Mia shifted, curiosity colouring her grin, and waited.
“Mia?” Ethan urged.
“... Yes, Ethan?”
He popped open the box, revealing a simple silver band cradled within the plush padding, a small rose-coloured gem set in the middle.
“Will you marry me? Again?” he asked.
Mia's gaze fitted back and forth between the ring, and Ethan's face, her eyes widening incrementally. Ethan sat there silently, feeling dumber by the second, but then Mia's eyes watered.
“Ethan,” she whispered.
Mia fell into his arms, pressing her face into his neck as sobs racked her whole body. Ethan held her tightly, making sure not to drop the ring, and pressed his lips to her hair. His own eyes began to sting the tighter she clutched him, and his heart swelled with a love greater than he ever thought himself capable of.
“I love you,” Mia babbled against his skin. “I love you so much, Ethan.”
“I love you too, Mia,” he replied. “... But I'm gonna need a yes or no.”
Mia snorted, startling herself from her cries, and lifted her head to meet his eyes. Her mascara was smudged, snot gathered at her nose, and her eyes were tinged with red; Ethan thought she'd never been more beautiful than right now.
“Yes, Ethan,” she said, grinning at him like it was a stupid question. “Always.”
“Awesome.”
Mia giggled again, and kissed him. Her tears dripped onto his chin, and she had to pull away to wipe her nose, but it was Ethan's favourite kiss with her yet.
“I know it's just like your old one,” he said, gesturing with the ring. “But since Rose has that one now, I thought it'd be nice to have a piece of her with you.”
“It's perfect,” Mia reassured. “First Chris with the charm bracelet, and now you with this ring… Fuck,” she gasped, wiping her eyes. “How did I get so lucky? I have the best family in the world.”
“I think for all the shit you've been through you deserve this, and more,” Ethan remarked.
“I was so worried-” Mia began, then cut herself off, chewing her lip.
“Worried about what?” Ethan encouraged gently.
Mia sighed.
“You said we've both changed. And it's true. I was so worried you'd realised you deserved better than to carry all my baggage.” She shrugged. “It's my fault, anyway.”
Ethan shook his head. He had known Mia felt insecure in their relationship ever since Louisiana - it was one of the few things she could be truthful to therapists about - but he hadn't realised how deeply that fear still ran within her. He took her left hand in his own, slid the ring on her finger, and lifted her hand to kiss her knuckles.
“None of that shit was your fault,” he said, “no more than it was my fault. Okay? You gotta stop telling yourself that.”
Mia nodded, but there was still a hesitancy in her eyes that pulled at Ethan's heart.
“And I will always carry you,” he promised. “Just like you carry me. We've both done shit we regret. We both have baggage. But this-” he pressed his thumb over her ring, “-this is me choosing you. All of you.”
Mia gave him a watery smile, and kissed his cheek tenderly.
“I know,” she said. “And I choose all of you, too.”
“Even my moldy bits?” he teased.
Mia laughed, rolling her eyes fondly.
“Even your moldy bits,” she promised. “You're the best husband I could ever ask for.”
“Thank God,” Ethan exhaled.
Laughing heartily, Mia shoved him down on the blanket and settled over him, kissing him deeply. Ethan relaxed beneath her, warmed inside and out despite the chilly air, so ecstatic to have his lover safe and happy in his arms.
Mia's fingers played with the collar of Ethan's shirt, and her kisses grew deeper. She pulled away to breathe, and gazed at him with hooded eyes.
“Think it counts as public indecency if no one else is out here?” Mia asked, her fingers trailing beneath his shirt.
“I'd say it's worth the risk,” Ethan replied, grinning up at her.
Mia hummed, content, and kissed him again, letting her hands wander. Ethan sighed, pleasure and warmth and desire building within him. He held her firmly by her hips and gently rolled them over, pressing down on her and eliciting a groan from them both. Mia nipped his lip, wrapping her legs around his waist, and the rest was for them alone.
~
They made it home before the Sun had fully set, both in equal states of obvious disarray. Chris greeted them with a knowing smile, and informed them that Rose had been asleep for some time, and everything was well. Mia went on her tiptoes to give the big man a kiss on the cheek, and when Ethan attempted to do the same, she shoved him so he'd fall into Chris's arms. She winked at Chris over Ethan's shoulder, flashing her new ring, and made her way to the kitchen to unpack their picnic supplies.
Ethan was quick to follow her, his cheeks dusted pink, and snatched the picnic basket and blanket from her hands.
“Nice try,” he said. “It's still your birthday.”
Mia smiled as she watched him put everything away. Chris made his way to her side, and gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. She smiled up at him and hugged him around the waist with one arm, her other reaching for Ethan as he approached. Ethan embraced them both, and Chris pulled everyone into his arms, completing the circle.
Holding her family in her arms, surrounded by more warmth and love than she could ever have imagined, Mia felt her heart sore to unfathomable heights. No matter what came next, she knew they would handle it together.
Mia spun the ring on her finger gently, and smiled to herself. Nothing could take this happiness from her.