A/N: I wrote this months ago and it was published elsewhere. The standard disclaimers apply.
As he slipped softly from sleep to wakefulness, Oliver registered the now familiar feeling of fingertips lightly brushing his face. A slow smile gently curled his lips. No matter how early Oliver woke up, Kyle was always awake first. Sometimes his boyfriend would be gazing at him with that special look that could instantly bring a lump to Oliver's throat and tears to his eyes. Sometimes Kyle's eyes held a different glint. On those occasions a broad grin would spread across his face the instant Oliver's eyes opened and seconds later they would be a wild tangle of limbs and laughter, murmurs and moans.
Then there were mornings like this one. Mornings when the two of them would lay silently, Kyle's fingers softly outlining his lover's face, brushing down his neck, across his chest, pausing to tangle in the soft downy hair there, then brushing lower. The fingers would dip and swirl around the indent of Oliver's navel, then inch lower, briefly tantalizing, before moving upwards again. Mornings when Oliver would eventually reach out to halt the wandering hand and draw his lover into a light embrace. On mornings like these, it was enough to feel Kyle's warm breath against his chest. It was enough for them to be wrapped around each other and for each to feel the reassurance of the other's presence.
This is what happiness feels like. A light snuffling sound emerged from the monitor beside the bed and both men froze as they waited to hear if it would escalate into a plaintive cry. After a few seconds of silence, they relaxed against each other. Soon Sierra would be awake, demanding the attention and care that they loved to give, but for now, it was still their time.
Daddy time. The thought brought a grin to Kyle's lips and when he spoke for the first time, there was lightly suppressed laughter in his voice.
"Daddy."
Spoken just weeks ago, that word had brought a look of wild panic to Oliver's eyes. Hearing it this morning, he responded with a deep, throaty, contented rumble.
"Hmmm?" he brushed his lips across Kyle's temple. "Are you talking about me or you?"
"D'pends on whether her diaper needs to be changed," came the quick, joking retort. "And if the last few mornings are anything to go by, that sound means that we'll be findin' out real soon."
Oliver responded with another deep rumble and pulled Kyle closer still. "Soon. But there's still time for this." A kiss touched Kyle's forehead. "And this." Another brushed his right cheek. "And this," Oliver whispered as he trailed kisses along Kyle's nose, then sunk into the softness of his lips.
Rolling on to his back, Oliver drew Kyle over him. Warmth quickly escalated to heat as lazy kisses became more passionate and hands and lips began to explore with purpose. Kyle was still amazed, sometimes, at how easy it was to ignite Oliver's passion. After years of Oliver resisting what was between them, now it felt as if he was completely tuned into Kyle, just waiting for a signal. It could take as little as a look or a slow, deep kiss. Then it would be as if Kyle had flipped a switch and all the nervous energy that often made Oliver vibrate would suddenly become focused. On him. On them.
Being the focus of that intense yearning made Kyle think of standing outside in a lightning storm with the very air sizzling around him. Raw energy, that was his man.
He pressed his lips against the pulse point in the groove of Oliver's neck and began to nip and suck the skin there.
"Kyle!" He heard, and ignored, the sharp gasp. Oliver might act like he was embarrassed by the love marks Kyle sometimes left on his skin, but Kyle knew different. On more than one occasion he had come across Oliver standing by a window, staring out with a vague smile on his face as his fingers pressed against a patch of reddened skin on his neck.
Kyle chuckled, alternating soothing strokes of his tongue with sharp bites as he felt Oliver's hands move up his body to cup his head and tangle in his hair. Oliver's head came up off the pillow as he strained towards Kyle's touch. He knew that next would come the deep groan that signalled Oliver's complete surrender, and his pleasure.
The sound that actually came next was a sudden high pitched squeal from the baby monitor. Oliver's head dropped back against the pillow and Kyle buried his forehead against Oliver's neck as both men struggled to slow their breathing.
"Oh Sierra," Kyle groaned, "You've got to work on your timing, love."
Oliver chuckled and rolled Kyle off him and back on to the bed. Sucking in then releasing a deep breath, he swung his legs off the bed, spurred on as the thin cries from the monitor became sharper and more distressed.
"I'm coming, baby girl," Oliver called out, grabbing a pair of boxers from the chair and dragging them on as he hurried across the room and out the bedroom door.
Kyle settled back in the bed with his fingers interlaced behind his head. He liked when it was Oliver's turn to take the early morning feedings. A warm feeling would spread through Kyle's chest as he listened to Oliver care for their daughter. His favourite times were those when Oliver clearly forgot that the monitor was still broadcasting and would descend into a level of silliness with his daughter that would have made him flush to a bright red if he knew that anyone else was listening.
"Sierra. Si-er-ra! Why're you crying, baby girl? Daddy's got you! Yes, I have! I've got you sweetie!"
The past three weeks had been amazing. So much had happened since the kidnapping had forced Oliver to confront the possibility that he was Sierra's father. The DNA test results had confirmed what Kyle had somehow known in his bones the first time he laid eyes on the pretty blond baby with the sweet, bowed lips and familiar blue eyes. The knowledge that it was Oliver's baby at risk had made Mitch Lawrence's whole kidnap-jailbreak plot more mind-shatteringly tense.
The tightness in his chest made Kyle realize that he had been unconsciously holding his breath at the thought of how things could have turned out. He rolled his shoulders to relieve the tension that had radiated through his muscles and made a conscious effort to put those dark thoughts out of his mind. Right now, all he wanted to think about were Oliver and Sierra Rose.
"Okay, all clean and dry. Now let's get something in that tummy of yours. We've gotta fatten you up, kid, or Gra'ma Roxy will be calling you Minnow forever!"
Roxy really had been a sweetheart, filling in and helping out as Oliver and Kyle tried to rearrange their lives around their little one. Parenthood was difficult when you had nine months to plan for it. Being thrust into full responsibility for a baby with virtually no warning had been particularly tough. Fortunately, Oliver had accumulated enough vacation time to take a couple of weeks off. Kyle was not so lucky. His residency was as demanding as ever. In fact, he and Oliver still had not had the time to sit down and have a long talk about their future. They were moving forward from day to day, but sooner rather than later they would need to talk through so much.
They had committed to raising Sierra together, leaving their implied commitment to each other unspoken. Soon they would need to talk about formalizing their family unit and what that would mean. This suite at the Angel Square Hotel was fine for now, but eventually they would need more permanent digs.
Then there was Gigi. With DNA proof of paternity and Oliver's spotless record, there was no way she could gain custody of Sierra, but she was far from contented with how things had worked out.
She was Sierra's aunt and he and Oliver had already discussed the importance of having Gigi be an active part of their daughter's life, but she also needed to accept that Oliver was never going to give up even partial custody of the baby to her. Hopefully, over time, everything would be resolved amicably. Hopefully they were not in for a long, drawn out tug-of-war over Sierra Rose. If that's what it came to, though, Kyle knew that he would make darned sure that they wouldn't lose the baby. A few months ago, he could not have imagined what life would bring. Now, there was nothing Kyle wouldn't do to keep this precious new family together.
"Oh, there's a good girl! You like that, don't you? Well, you know what Daddy likes? You! He likes the way you smell. He likes your soft hair. He likes touching your soft skin. There's nothing about you I don't like, Miss Sierra!"
The sound of loud smacking kisses came through the monitor, bringing a smile back to Kyle's lips and wiping the furrows from his brow.
"Well, I take that back. There maybe one thing I don't like. You have a gift for waking up at the wrong time, kiddo! Speaking of which, let's go see what your Papa's up to."
Kyle's eyes moved to the doorway as he pulled himself to a sitting position against the headboard and waited for the two most important people in his life to come through the door.