AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you to agingphangirl and inkyhowlter on Tumblr for all their help with this fic, but also specifically for giving me feedback on this epilogue. I was feeling awkward about it for some reason.
Chapter 10: Epilogue
They first met Maya when she was four years old.
The process to get approved as adopters had taken almost a year, and then they'd spent another year waiting for the adoption agency to choose a match for them. They went through a lot of interviews, and a lot of forms, and a lot of training courses, and a lot of analyses by various bureaucrats regarding their fitness to be parents, and a lot of personality assessments to decide which kind of child would be best suited for them.
And then they finally got to meet Maya.
She didn't seem nervous at all that first day, but Dan and Phil were both terrified that the meeting wouldn't go well. What if she didn't like them?
She seemed immediately fascinated by Phil's skin color. "You're so white!" she exclaimed, climbing shamelessly onto his lap and pressing her little hand to his cheek, her face alight with excitement at the contrast of her dark skin against his paleness.
Dan laughed. "Yup. Phil's probably the whitest person you'll ever see." He grinned at his husband.
Phil was watching Maya with wide eyes. "Would it bother you to have a daddy who has white skin?" Clearly he was worried that Maya would prefer a parent who looked more like her, that she wouldn't want to be adopted by people of a different race.
Maya just shrugged. "I like it," she proclaimed. "You look like snow. I like snow."
Phil had smiled at her. "I like snow, too. Do you make snow angels?"
Maya nodded eagerly. "Will it snow today?"
Her small hand was still pressed to Phil's cheek as if she had forgotten the intimate contact. Phil told her sadly, "Not for a couple months yet, I think. But maybe when it does, we could make snow angels together."
She nodded again. "I bet you make really big snow angels."
Dan and Phil both laughed at that. They were like titans compared to this adorably pocket-sized child.
The social worker observing the visit had brought some toys, and Maya played with them a bit. She seemed to prefer the action figures to the dolls, though sometimes she made them interact with each other in little conversations that often also included stuffed animals. Dan thought she'd make a good YouTuber, coming up with her skits and scenes. The stuffed bear seemed to be leading a few of the action figures on some kind of adventure.
At some point, Dan decided to ask the question he'd been most hesitant about. Maya was happily engaged in tying and untying Phil's shoelaces. Dan was pretty sure she was better at it than Phil was. "Maya?" She looked up at him from where she was sitting on the floor. "How would you feel about having two daddies instead of a dad and mum?"
She didn't say anything for a moment, looking deep in thought, then straightened her spine a bit and said solemnly, "That depends."
"What does it depend on?" Dan asked patiently, aware of the social worker listening to their conversation.
Maya held up two fingers. "Two things," she said.
Dan and Phil waited anxiously, uncertain what concerns she might have about being adopted by a gay couple.
"Do you know how to make ponytails?" she asked, face deadly serious.
Dan and Phil both laughed in surprise, and Dan said, "I think we can probably figure it out. Phil wears pigtails sometimes." He turned to grin at Phil, who scowled.
"I only did that once. For a video," Phil explained with a blush, as if Maya cared.
"Whatever you say, Phillipa," Dan teased.
But Maya was gazing raptly into Phil's face. "You wear ponytails too?" she asked in obvious awe.
Phil couldn't help but burst into a wide smile at her reaction. "Not often. But maybe for you I would."
"For me?" Maya asked in the most astonished and reverent voice Dan had ever heard.
Phil's smile softened, and he said quietly, "If it would make you happy."
She giggled and said, "It would. Then you would be like me. And I would be like you. That would be fun."
Dan was desperate to hug her in that moment, but knew that wasn't allowed during an initial visit. "What's the other thing?"
Maya looked confused. "What other thing?"
"You said that having two daddies depended on two things. What's the other thing?"
Her stare was intent and almost businesslike when she asked, "Do you like cartoons?"
Dan and Phil looked at each other, then at Maya. Obviously, they had found their miniature soulmate. Dan told her soberly, "We watch cartoons every morning."
Maya's eyes went wide. "Every morning?"
Dan grinned. "Yup."
"Would I get to watch them with you?"
The idea that she might not be allowed to watch made Dan wonder about the homelife she'd experienced thus far, but he just nodded, not sure he could get words out.
She beamed. "I like daddies better than mommies, anyway. Mommies are mean." And with that statement, she broke Dan's heart. He'd read the description of her family background and knew about the abuse she'd suffered. He ached to give her the kind of life she deserved. He met Phil's eyes, and saw tears threatening there. He reached out to take Phil's hand and gave it a squeeze. They both looked at Maya, and he knew that they'd both already fallen in love.
Dan was in the kitchen when he heard Phil lean out the back door and yell into the garden, "Susan 1, Susan 2, time to come in!"
Dan sighed. "I told you not to call them that, Phil. It's confusing for them."
Maya came running and tackled Phil around the waist. "Dinner time!" she yelled. "I want chicken fingers!"
Phil swept her up into his arms and said, "You always want chicken fingers." Maya just giggled. "Help me prove something to your Da. What's your name?" He tickled her side a little and winked at her in an exaggerated way.
"Susan 1," she replied promptly, then chortled with laughter in Phil's arms.
Dan rolled his eyes, but smiled at the sound. "It's confusing for Abby, anyway," he insisted.
Phil was closing the back door now, as Abby had come running in as well, tail wagging. "What's your name?" Phil asked Abby in a serious voice, as if expecting her to answer him. She just stared up into his face, wondering if maybe this focused attention indicated a treat was coming. Her tail continued to wag hopefully.
"Susan 2!" Maya screamed. She and Phil burst into uncontrollable giggles and Dan just fondly shook his head at their antics. He might try to be the voice of reason around here, but he didn't really try all that hard. It didn't matter that much if Abby also answered to whatever random name Phil decided to call her today. If they called her "Abby" in the park, she would come, and that was all that was really important. He'd let Phil have his fun. As usual.
Phil came into the kitchen still carrying Maya. At six, she was pretty big to carry, but he and Phil were giants and she had a slight build, so it wasn't that hard. She had her legs wrapped around Phil's waist, her arms around his neck, and her little pig-tailed head resting on his chest. Phil held her securely. Precious cargo.
He leaned over to give Dan a peck on the cheek. "Somebody wants chicken fingers," he said, as if Dan hadn't heard their conversation or anticipated their daughter's demand.
"There will be chicken fingers," he allowed, "as long as everyone also eats some broccoli."
Maya frowned. "Raw?" she asked severely. She was a funny kid, all fun and games one minute, then serious business the next. And she was going through a stage where she would only eat vegetables if they were raw.
Dan put a hand to his chest, miming shock that she would even need to ask. "Of course raw!"
Over dinner, they talked about the upcoming trip to Florida. "Will you like spending a few days with Grandma and Grandpa Lester while we're at work?" Phil asked Maya. Vidcon was coming up, and they'd developed a system where the Lesters showed up early and took Maya for the weekend Dan and Phil were at the convention, then the whole family vacationed together afterward. The Lesters enjoyed getting to spend a few days alone with their granddaughter, and Dan and Phil were able to stay in contact with their subscribers without exposing Maya to too much public attention.
They couldn't avoid all attention, of course, but their fans and the media seemed to respect their repeated requests that they be allowed to keep their personal lives private. There would always be those fans who didn't understand boundaries, just as there had always been, but overall things were good.
In bed that night, with Maya sleeping in her bedroom across the hall, Dan and Phil exchanged the deft touches of lovers who have known each other long and well but for whom the heat of that first deep passion has never truly waned. And afterward, they lay in each other's arms and talked in quiet voices about unimportant things, and important things, and all the many sorts of things that married couples share.
And it was really, really good.
Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who has followed this story. I know it got rocky at some points, but I hope the "happily ever after" ending promised by the title has made up for all the angst. :)