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Artwork by Lademonessa
Sleep slowly retreated and Oliver gradually became aware of his surroundings. He was deliciously warm in his bed with Felicity curled against his side. Even after being home for eighteen years, Oliver continued to be amazed each time he woke warm and safe. He reached out with his other senses. The house was quiet. Oliver figured that they had only another ten minutes before the kids rushed in and begged to be allowed to open their Christmas presents. He felt along his nightstand for his phone. A quick look at the time, had him bolting upright with his heart racing.
"What?" Felicity asked with wide eyed panic.
"What's the matter?" Tommy mumbled into his pillow.
"It's nine o'clock," Oliver said climbing out of the bed.
That piece of information got Tommy’s full attention, "You don't think they'd start opening presents without us?"
"I wouldn't put it past them," Felicity said as she shuffled into their closet.
Oliver's fingers itched from anxiety. He was sure his spouses were right and their children were probably shaking packages under the tree, but the house was too quiet. Even when his children were trying to be quiet they made noise, "I'm going to check on them."
"Ollie," Tommy said as he sat up and stretched. "No one stole our children during the night. They're downstairs being incredibly naughty and we're going to find it incredibly adorable, just as soon as we brush our teeth."
Oliver followed Tommy into the bathroom where Felicity was already brushing her teeth. Five minutes later they open their bedroom door and were greeted by the aroma of coffee.
"God bless, William," Felicity sighed.
"Yeah," Oliver agreed. He felt himself relax once he realized that his eldest was probably keeping his siblings quiet in order to let them sleep in. He was halfway down the stairs when he stopped. He could hear singing coming from behind the closed living room doors. He looked back at Tommy, "That sounds like you."
Felicity's face broke into a huge smile, "I know what they're watching."
Oliver slid open the pocket doors to find all five of his children plus Emma and Tess all curled up on the sofa together underneath a pile of blankets. Prue was on William’s lap and Emma held Nate with Bobby and Becca in between. Their eyes were all glued to the television and Tommy singing, Hallelujah, at Mario's. Six months after the three of them came out, they’d gone to Mario's for karaoke night. When Tommy began to sing, the rowdy crowd had fallen completely silent as if they'd been placed under a trance – just as their children appeared to be under.
Felicity restarted the video.
Oliver closed his eyes and the sound of Tommy singing transported him back to that night twelve years earlier at Mario's. Oliver's promise to sing one song had brought out everyone. No one wanted to miss what could be their only chance to see him sing in public. Paul, Curtis, John, Lyla, Thea, Roy, Donna and Quentin had all joined them for a night out. The evening had been full of laughter and pure silliness. Donna and Quentin had brought the house down with the performance of Sonny and Cher’s, I've Got You Babe. Felicity, Thea, Lyla and Curtis performed Destiny Child’s, Bootylicious. When Mario had called Tommy to the stage towards the end of the night, everyone in the group had been surprised. They all thought they were done performing for the night. It was hard enough getting one timeslot to sing on karaoke night and Tommy and Oliver had already performed, Hey Jude.
Tommy stood on the stage and smiled hesitantly at the crowd. "Hi, I'm Tommy," the crowd laughed which made him grin, "which of course you know. Which also means you probably know what a big deal it is for me to be able to stand in front of all of you, my friends and my family – who are all here tonight." He waved at their table.
"We love you, baby," Donna called out.
Tommy laughed when Donna wolf whistled.
"Being loved is a blessing," his face suddenly turned serious, "and there was a long time when I didn't think I'd ever have it in my life." He cleared his throat and looked at his lovers, "This is for Oliver and Felicity. I love you."
The crowd cheered wildly as the opening chords sounded, but by the time Tommy reached the third line they quieted. When he started the chorus, the crowd had gone completely silent. Like moths to a flame, Oliver and Felicity crossed the bar and wound their way around tables to stand in front of the stage.
Oliver hopped onto the stage before the final hallelujah left Tommy's lips. Once the song was over, Oliver kissed Tommy for everything he was worth and the crowd went crazy. Oliver and Tommy both reached down and pulled Felicity to the stage. She kissed Tommy who dipped her to the delight of the crowd. She then kissed Oliver and the cheering and the applause became deafening. Within minutes, hundreds of videos of Tommy’s speech, performance and their kisses were uploaded to the internet. Within a half hour, the videos had gone viral. They instantly became the topic of conversation on every morning talk show in the country as the world discussed their polyamorous relationship. Opinions ranged from cruel to supportive, but most agreed that the moment captured the sincerity of their love for one another.
Becca turned around on the sofa and held her arms out to Oliver, "Da, made you cry."
Oliver wiped his eyes and then lifted his daughter into his arms, "Yeah, he did." He leaned into Tommy and kissed him.
Becca rubbed Tommy's scruff, "You made mommy cry too."
Tommy kissed his daughter’s hand, "I did." He pulled Felicity into his side and kissed her.
"Is this what had you guys so quiet?" Felicity asked.
William paused the video, "The kids wanted to show Emma the anniversary video. I hope that was okay."
For their tenth anniversary, their friends and family had put together a video of moments from their lives that had been captured over the years. Most were personal videos that their friends and family had taken, but there were some that had been taken from the internet or from interviews they’d given. "We don't mind. Although, I'm sure you’ve bored poor Emma to tears."
Emma smiled, "It's nice to watch the moment that helped William decide to come find you."
Oliver looked at William with surprise, "The song?"
William gave a slight shrug to his shoulders, "I found it on YouTube when I discovered you were my dad. Watching Tommy and seeing how the two of you reacted – I knew that was real. All the other stuff, it didn't matter when I saw the three of you."
Oliver could feel his emotions threatening to overwhelm him. Tommy and Felicity’s love had always been a gift, but to learn that their love was what brought his eldest to find him was too much.
"Come here, sweetheart," Felicity said to Becca and took her from Oliver.
William set Prue down and hopped over the back of the sofa. He hugged Oliver, "I love you, dad. Merry Christmas."
Oliver didn't trust his voice and held his son tighter.
"Come on monkeys," Tommy said to the twins. "Who wants pancakes?" He lifted them both into his arms.
"I want daddy's pancakes," Prue said.
"Gotta say," he kissed Prue's cheek, "that still hurts."
Prue batted her eyes at Tommy and kissed his cheek, "Better?"
"Much," Tommy lowered them to the ground.
"Come on, Robert," Emma held her hand out. "We can set the table."
Becca squirmed to be let down, "I want to put the Christmas music on."
Becca and the twins ran out of the living room with Emma and Bobby following. The sound of their laughter floated through the house.
Oliver patted Williams back, "I love you too, son."
William stepped out of Oliver's arms and wiped his eyes, "Who wants mimosas?"
Tommy and Felicity both raised their hands.
William picked Tess up and cuddled her to his chest, "Let's see if we can find my best girl some Christmas bacon."
"You okay?" Tommy asked once they were alone.
"Yeah, it was just," Oliver’s hand circled in front of his face as he tried to find the words.
"A lot," Felicity offered.
"Yeah," Oliver said as he let out his breath, "a lot." That was a complete understatement, but he didn't have the words for what he was feeling. There were times when his life still felt like a dream and to be loved the way he was still took his breath away. A part of him would never believe he deserved the life he was living.
“What has you smiling like the cat that swallowed the canary?” Oliver asked a smug looking Felicity.
“Emma asked William about coming to find you and he told her,” she said in an excited whisper. “Maybe Wilma will finally break through their impasse and they’ll go on a date.”
“Please tell me you didn’t invite her here for a setup,” Oliver kissed the top of his wife’s head. “He called our dog, his best girl.”
“Of course not, her mom’s out of town and I didn’t want her home alone when she could be with people who care about her.” Felicity smiled and nodded her head towards Tommy, “He totally invited her here as a setup.”
“That is not entirely true,” Tommy said guiltily.
“Please, you’re a total Yenta,” Felicity kissed his cheek. “You’re in love with love.”
“It’s Christmas, everyone should get what they want,” he admitted blushing. “It’s agonizing watching the two of them. You don’t have to watch the way I do. So much awkward flirting.” The children’s laughter drew their attention, "Come on, buddy, you've got work to do." Tommy laced their fingers together, "Our children don't find my pancakes worthy of being their Christmas breakfast."
Oliver smiled, "That's only because I use cookie cutters." He wasn't above bribing his children to prefer his pancakes by making them into shapes. The kids would ask Tommy to use the cookie cutters, but he refused. He informed them that his pancakes only came in circles. Oliver didn't need any more reasons to love Tommy, but he loved him a little more for letting him have pancakes as his special thing with their children.
Tommy let go of Oliver's hand, but Oliver took hold of his wrist. Oliver reach for Felicity too. He placed a soft kiss on each of their lips and they rested their heads together. "Hallelujah," he said reverently.
"Amen," Felicity and Tommy said in a chorus.
They walked into the kitchen hand-in-hand and Oliver asked their family, "Snowflakes or Christmas trees?"
"Fire truck?" Nate asked hopefully.
Oliver winked at Nate as he pulled cookie cutters from the drawer, "Snowflakes, Christmas trees or fire trucks?"