"I never told you any of this," I babble through my tears, hoping Orion can understand me.

"I didn't tell you because I was afraid you'd get scared and run. I was afraid everything was too soon. I was afraid I was going to overwhelm you and you'd panic.

"But I love you Orion. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. That's not the accident talking--I've felt like this for awhile now. I want to have kids with you. I want to grow old with you.

"You always talk about everything I've done for you. How much I've helped you. But you don't understand, you've done that for me. And I never vocalize it because--well, because that's not how our relationship has worked. I've been the strong one because I need to be for you. And I don't like talking about emotions, or admitting them, because they scare me and they're too intense and men aren't supposed to be emotional..."

Orion is looking at me in awe, his perfect mouth a small 'o'.

"But fuck all that. Talking about the joy you bring me shouldn't be a shameful thing. Telling you that you're my world shouldn't make me feel silly."

I close my eyes. "And I need you to know all this because I've been holding it inside too long. I need you to know I need you. I need you to know I can't go through life without you, and if I had to it would really fucking difficult for me without you at my side. I need you to know whatever happens, wherever life takes us, you will always be my top priority, and I will always love you, and I will always protect you, and I'll always be here for you. I don't care if we're not together, and it's two in the morning and you're in the Arctic circle...If you need me I'll run to you."

"Tristan Smith," Orion whispers, "will you marry me?"

I can't reply though. Of course I will. I put my forehead down on the bed, joyful tears mixed with painful tears. Orion strokes my hair, telling me over and over again that he loves me.

~

"Uncle Ori! Uncle Ori! Uncle Ori!"

We had just walked in. I'm admittedly a bit surprised when three small children pounce on Orion. I had to turn around to see it, already making my way into Jake's drawing room. Orion was still in the entrance hallway.

He laughs, nearly falling over. One girl hanging off his neck, a boy around his leg, another clinging to his waist.

"Hey guys!" he greets.

I'm...well, dumbfounded. I never in my wildest dreams pictured three children hanging off Orion.

"Get down," a woman whom I assume is their mother scolds, walking inside with a baby car seat.

Orion laughs as the one boy lets go. The girl still hangs off his neck, the other boy still clinging to his waist. "It's okay Charlotte."

"It might be okay for you," she replies with a laugh, "but it's not okay for me. Children--get down."

They comply. But not before Orion ruffles the boy's hair with a huge grin and then takes the girl under the arms, spinning her in a wild circle while dissolving into laughter. The girl is shrieking and laughing. He puts her down and she scampers off. Orion then goes to the woman, Charlotte, and gives her a peck on the cheek and a hug around the waist.

"Hi Ori," she says, returning the peck to his cheek. "We've missed you."

"And I've missed you--" he says, barely getting the words out before peering into the baby carrier and squealing.

Yes. Squealing. Legit squealing like an adorable little piglet. My jaw nearly drops open as my boyfriend's eyes go wide and he puts a hand to his chest.

"Oooooooh my God, is this the little guy?!"

"Yup! Meet Emmet."

"Ohhhhhhh my Goooood, he's so cute!"

I never thought I would see Orion like this. I am beyond floored. Everything else melts around me, and all I see is my boyfriend getting stupid-happy over a baby.

"I'm sorry I wasn't able to make it for the birth--"

"Oh stop," Charlotte replies with a grin. "Besides, you can make it up to me by changing his poopy diapers today."

"I would love nothing more than being on diaper duty today," Orion says, scrunching up his nose as he coos at the baby, tickling it with his finger.

I think I'm at risk of melting into a puddle of goo on the floor.

Some more kids run past, heading into the basement that's to the left of the front door. Orion has to move his leg so he's not barreled over. He didn't even flinch, like he was expecting it...Like he had done that a hundred times.

Just how often was he around kids?

Charlotte looks at me then and smiles. "Is that Tristan?"

He looks at me and rakes his hands down his face. "Oh, fuck, I'm sorry. Tris, come here."

Tris? He's never called me that before. I'm not complaining, though. Smiling, I walk over.

"Tristan, this is Charlotte, Jake's normal sister."

She laughs.

"Charlotte, this is my boyfriend."

"Nice to meet you," she says, extending her free hand that's not holding the car seat. "I've heard so much about you!"

"Here," I tell her as the diaper bag slips down her shoulder, landing roughly in the crook of her arm, "let me help you."

Laughing again she puts the bag down, and then the carrier. "He really is a sweetheart!"

I can feel myself blush.

"Good job," Orion tells her, devious grin on his face as he jabs my ribs. "It's not easy to make him blush."

I shoot him a glare, but he's not looking at me. Instead he's bent over the carrier, his palms pressed together and stuck between his thighs. "Tristan! Look at this baby! Is this not the cutest baby you've ever seen?!"

My jaw slacks at his behavior once again. I can't help it. Even so, I peer over to look at the baby.

The baby is really adorable. He's chunky with bright blue eyes. He looks young, too, probably not even a year old. I know nothing about babies, but even then I can tell he's fresh.

I look at Charlotte. "How old?"

"Four months."

Orion makes an indistinguishable noise to my right. Was this man seriously the same man who had seduced me into cuming using just his voice and body and all of five quick strokes not even an hour ago? The same man--the only one I had been with, in fact--who could make me have multiple orgasams?

"Want to hold him?" Charlotte asks.

"Of course!" Orion says immediately.

Once again I can hardly believe my eyes. I watch, intrigued, as Orion squats down in front of the car seat. He holds down two buttons on either side of the handle, which makes it recline out of the way. He then deftly unbuckles the straps, and very gently removes the small baby. In a fluid motion he swept the baby into his arms, cradling him.

I wouldn't have known how to do any of that. I don't know the first thing about car seats. And then the way Orion removed the tiny human, this tiny little helpless thing, with such confidence and so swiftly...

I never thought about children. Suddenly, I wanted children. Suddenly, I wanted children with Orion. I swallowed thickly.

He looks at me then, tilting his head to the side. "What?"

I smile a bit and shake my head. "Nothing. Just wondering how often you've taken a baby out of a carrier."

He grins. "I babysit a lot for Jake's family. The three kiddos that attacked me when I first got in? I changed their diapers."

Orion gently shifts baby Emmett in his arms, propping him against his shoulder. He sways a bit, gently patting the baby's back. It earns him a coo, a burp, and some spit up on his shoulder.

Charlotte chuckles and begins to dig through the diaper bag. "Sorry Ori, I fed him before we got in the car...Let me get you a burp cloth..."

Orion glances at his shoulder then shakes his head. "Nah, I'm fine. Remember when Rene had diarrhea all over me?"

Charlotte laughs. "Oh yeah!"

"Come on," Orion coos at the baby and turns away, "let's go see who else is here."

Throughout the party I'm glued to Orion's side. I'm absolutely befuddled the entire time. I watch him play peek-a-boo with a toddler. I watch him play with the three kids that practically tackled him when he walked in the door. I watch him chase the children that nearly bowled him over on their way out the front door when we first arrived, pretending he was a dragon. I watch him feed a toddler in a high chair.

I listen as he makes noises I've never heard him make before. I listen as he makes up stories on the spot for the three older kids. I listen as he tends to the little girl when she gets a scraped knee, putting a band-aid on it and tenderly telling her it's okay. I listen to her squeals afterwards when he gives her ice cream to make her feel better.

There's a spark I've never seen before. There's a lightness to him I've never known. There's a care-free air to him, and it's like the broken, jaded Orion I've known exclusively is just a ghost, an old memory, something from a dream.

And as I watch him toss the little boy, the one who had clung to his waist when we first arrived, into the air, laughing merrily...Well, it just solidifies the fact that I want to spend the rest of my life with him.