Adam and Kim were tidying up the house after tucking Makayla into bed. It'd been a long night, and an even longer day. The court case had finally wrapped up today, the judge granting full custody of Makayla to Kim and Adam. It had been nothing short of a pandemonium since then, seeing as the members of their unit had decided to surprise them with a party to celebrate their family becoming one, officially. Kim and Adam had been touched and had fun watching Makayla have a good time playing with the balloons, laughing and happy. Safe, with the family whom she was meant to be with. Now, back home, both of them could feel the day catching up with them. After putting the last of Makayla toys away and locking up, Adam grabbed Kim and tugged her toward his room, both of them needing the closeness and intimacy after the emotionally draining day.
Afterward, they lay in bed together, Adam spooning Kim, his arm wrapped around her waist and her fingers idly tracing a path on his arm. Both of them felt too wired to sleep despite being exhausted. She could feel Adam's breaths on her neck, and she honestly couldn't remember a time when she'd felt so peaceful, so happy, so content. She had her own little family, something she didn't think she'd have after losing the baby. Although she'd adopted Makayla by herself in the beginning, Adam had been there every step of the way after she'd asked him to be Makayla's custodian, and they'd never looked back. He'd had stepped into the role of fatherhood so completely, so naturally, as if he'd been made for it. She remembered how heart wrenching it'd been when they'd had the talk about boundaries that fateful day, and how relieved she'd been when he'd told her later that night that he wasn't going to leave because Makayla was his kid too. She couldn't imagine her life without them.
With these thoughts turning themselves around in her head, she turned around to face Adam, needing to ask him what this all meant to him. If they were going to be acting like an old married couple, she figured it was time they did it in all the ways. His face was soft, sleepy. His hair was unkempt, hanging over his forehead. Her heart thumped loudly in her chest, and realized she was nervous.
"Hey", he murmured, smiling at her. When she didn't reply, he looked at her closely, trying to figure out what was going on.
"You okay?" he asked. Adam didn't think he could be any happier than he'd been all day, and ending the night with the woman of his dreams in his arms was kind of like the cherry on top. But he didn't like the expression on Kim's face right now.
"Adam…", she trailed off, looking unsure.
"Hey. It's me. Talk to me", he said. She took a deep breath and asked the question that had been haunting her.
"What are we doing, Adam? I mean… are we dating?" she asked. He froze, mostly from shock because he'd never expected her to bring this up, and he'd been too scared to broach this topic out of fear of freaking her out, or worse, being rejected yet again. He'd figured they'd eventually get to it. And if they never figured out this complicated thing between them, he'd decided he'd have to learn to be content with how things were, because he loved her and couldn't imagine his life without her. But as the shocked subsided, happiness sneaked in. Because if she'd brought it up, it meant she was ready. He felt… elated. Buoyant, as if he'd float up in the air. Kim, on the other hand, was too quiet, scared she'd asked the wrong question. His face was expressionless, his eyes staring into hers, giving nothing away. Slowly, very slowly, his hand reached out to frame one side of her face.
"Kim…" he started, his face earnest. "You're it for me. I'm never gonna want anyone else. You and Mak, you're both my whole life now. I don't want anyone else. I'm here, in this, forever. With you both. You're my family. My home," he said. His eyes were far from expressionless now, swimming with emotion. He was serious. Adam waited with bated breath, wondering what she'd say now. He'd put it all on the line. He'd felt paralyzed with fear before today, not knowing whether Mak would still be a part of their lives. It'd made him yearn for this even more and had finally hammered home the truth for him: that Kim and Mak were his girls, and that life without them wouldn't really be a life. It was Kim who was frozen now, trying to catch her breath from the weight of his words.
"Adam…" she trailed off, not knowing how to put into words everything she was feeling.
"I—you're my home, too. I can't imagine living this life with anyone but you," she confessed.
"I want you, so much," she said, her voice catching. "You're the only man I've ever truly loved," she whispered. "And it terrifies me."
He stopped breathing for a second. She'd stumped him for the second time in so many minutes tonight. Slowly, he gathered his thoughts, because all he could focus on was "I love you". It was flashing in his brain like a neon sign. He needed her to say it again so he could confirm that he wasn't dreaming.
"It terrifies me too," he said, his voice rough with emotion. "Because I never stopped loving you." They stared at each other, hearts beating wildly in their chests. It felt as time had stopped, and they were the only ones alive. He looked at her for another beat, before leaning in and pressing a soft kiss on her lips.
"I love you," she whispered, smiling. He smiled, feeling a buzz at hearing her say the words. What had he been on earlier, thinking he couldn't imagine being happier than he'd felt all day? Because this… nothing compared to this feeling.