Chapter Text
Their lives settle into a routine fairly quickly after Max and Ellie are pronounced healthy and discharged from the hospital.
Keeping her in a separate room allows them to set up a rota for who responds when she cries, with both Grace and Michelle and even Joe keeping baby monitors in their rooms, ready to spring up at the first hint of a wail.
Thanks to the extra hands, Max and Daniel manage to get enough sleep to function most nights and even carve out moments to spend together. Mostly, though, they focus on getting to know their daughter—learning the way she snuffles when waking up, how she blinks at them with a disdain Joe insists mirrors Daniel’s, how big and blue and happy her eyes are, and the contented little sigh she lets out every time she finishes feeding.
On the day Ellie turns eight weeks old, Max sits with her half-asleep in his lap, rocking her gently. The peaceful hum of the apartment—the sizzling bacon on the stove, the quiet chatter from the TV, and the steady whir of the washing machine—is shattered by the doorbell. Ellie startles awake, her lower lip quivering in a clear threat to cry.
“Don’t worry, sweetie, Daddy’s here,” Max coos, lifting her against his shoulder as he gets up to answer the door. “It’s just a doorbell, baby, it won’t hurt you.”
When he opens the door, Max freezes for a moment before his expression hardens. Standing on the doorstep is his father, his posture stiff and his lips pressed into a thin line. His gaze briefly flickers to Ellie, then back to Max, with an unmistakable shadow of disapproval.
“What are you doing here?” Max asks, his voice steady but cold. He shifts Ellie slightly, her tiny face nuzzling into his sweater.
“I’ve come to talk,” his father says, his voice gruff. “I deserve to meet my granddaughter.”
Max laughs bitterly, a sharp sound that cuts through the quiet of the apartment. “You deserve ?”
“You’re my son,” his father counters, his tone softening slightly as if appealing to reason. “I don’t agree with your choices, but she’s my blood—”
“Stop,” Max interrupts, his voice low and cutting. He waves Daniel over, gently handing Ellie to him. Daniel takes her with practiced ease, cradling her close and murmuring soothing words as she squirms.
Max steps forward, his jaw tightening as he stares his father down. “She’s not your blood. She’s mine. And Daniel’s, and his dad loves her more than you ever could, given how you treated me my whole life.”
His father bristles. “Max, I never said I didn’t love you—”
“No,” Max snaps, his voice rising slightly. “You didn’t have to say it. You made it clear every time you called me a disappointment. Every time you spat out the word ‘gay’ like it was something dirty. And now, you think you can just walk in and claim a place in my daughter’s life without even apologizing? Without acknowledging the damage you’ve done?”
There’s a long silence as Jos shifts uncomfortably, his hands clenching and unclenching at his sides.
“I don’t want her growing up around your judgment,” Max continues, his voice steady and firm. “I will never make her feel small or wrong because she isn't the best. She deserves better than that. Better than you.”
His father opens his mouth to argue, but Max holds up a hand to stop him. “If you ever decide to truly accept me and my family— all of me—then maybe we can talk. But until then, don’t come back here. I won’t let you poison this home with your narrow-mindedness.”
Max steps back and closes the door with a decisive click. He takes a deep breath before turning to find Daniel standing nearby, Ellie nestled against his chest. Daniel’s eyes are filled with pride as he smiles at Max.
“Max,” Victoria says from the hallway. “How did he even know the address?”
Max shakes his head. Daniel grins as he steps closer, wrapping his free arm around Max’s waist. “That was really hot,” he whispers, pressing a kiss to Max’s temple. Tugging lightly at the neck of Max’s top, he adds with a smirk, “My strong, handsome, bossy fiancé.”
“You’ve always love when I get bossy,” Max replies, his tone dark and teasing.
Daniel chuckles, leaning in for another kiss, and Max pulls him closer, kissing him until they both forget to breathe.
The way Daniel's touch feels after so long, his kisses all over Max's sensitive chest, the way he worships the swell of his stomach that he is determined to lose, Daniel's body pliant beneath his, his hoarse whispers of, "C'mon, fuck me, want you inside, haven't fucked me in over a year, come on, Max, give it to me."
The way his hips churn, their bodies pressing close and their lips meeting in long, dirty, desperate kisses, hands combing through hair and moans muffled into heated, sweat-glazed skin.
"God, you feel so good--" He's on top of Daniel and they are kissing wildly, sweet and wet and long, and his fingers are between Daniel's legs and Daniel is wet and stretched open.
He slides a finger in just as he bites down on Daniel's shoulder and feels a shiver run through Daniel's body. And then he adds another and Daniel whimpers. It sounds encouraging, so he arches his fingers and presses deeper, higher, and earns another noise. His cock twitches and leaks onto Daniel's abs. "You're so tight," he breathes, turning his mouth against Daniel's throat.
"More," Daniel whines, wrapping his long legs around Max's waist. He adds a third finger and then, when Daniel still protests and rocks up against him, a fourth. "Oh, god, oh--Max--"
He rocks his wrist hard and fast and is sure this time when he finds Daniel's prostate, not so much from the feel as the way Daniel sobs and twitches.
"Oh, shit," Daniel moans.
He loses track of how long he fingers him. He wants more, more of this reaction and more of Daniel's body, it feels like it’s been forever. He nips at Daniel's jaw with his teeth and groans roughly, "Need to fuck you, Daniel– Please.”
Daniel sobs and comes between them without so much as a touch, Max's fingers in him even beyond the knuckle at this point. If he'd managed to get his thumb involved half his fist might have gotten inside. The thought makes his mind explode.
Daniel is still shaking and twitching, belly and chest splattered with come. “Fuck me.” Daniel rasps, pushing his thighs apart.
"Yeah," he moans, kissing Daniel hard enough to make their teeth clack together.
"Do it," Daniel growls.
"Oh my god--"
Daniel's hole is gaping and wet and tight and perfect. Max grabs the lube and coats himself. Daniel twitches and whimpers the whole time, one hand in Max's hair and the other on his hip.
"Fuck, you feel so good, Daniel--"
He can't wait any longer; he lines up their bodies and pushes and sinks inside. He's been on the verge of orgasm so many times tonight that he's almost numb, which is good, because it keeps him from coming as soon as he is balls deep inside his beautiful fiancé.
"Max," Daniel moans, sounding surprised. "Max you're--so, I--"
"Good?"
"Yeah– Give it to me.”
Max watches Daniel's face as he moves, all the way out and back in again. He sneaks a glance at where he's sinking into Daniel and moans, pressing his face to Daniel's bent knee.
There seems to be no call to go slow or be gentle; Daniel's body is open and he's writhing and begging under his breath and Max is certainly not inclined to change their pace.
It does settle after a few minutes into a more forgiving rhythm, nothing but heavy breathing and slick noise and the bed creaking softly around them.
He knows it's not possible for Daniel to come again so soon, but he does imagine what it might be like to feel Daniel spasm and spurt with his cock deep inside.
That thought is more than enough to bring him close, and he bends Daniel's folded knees back toward his torso as his thrusts become erratic.
"Daniel--"
Daniel breathes heavily, "Come inside of me."
"Oh my god, oh, fuck."
He comes so hard that he falls forward, hovering over Daniel's sweat-soaked body as his cock throbs and spurts again and again and again into Daniel's ass. Shaking, he collapses, half on Daniel and half on the bed. "You are incredible," he pants, closing his eyes.
He can't help putting his hand back there, stroking the flesh around Daniel's hole, feeling the soft, friction-heated flesh. He exhales heavily into Daniel's sweaty hair and pushes two fingers inside. Max's come trickles out along with his fingers and he groans as Daniel does, feeling it squish between his fingers and down onto the bed.
Daniel blushes, looking down between them. His hair is going in a dozen different directions and there are bite marks across his right shoulder and he is probably the sexiest thing Max has seen. "God, I love you."
Daniel laughs and slumps back against the pillows. "And I love you.”
Max’s mum insists on making Ellie’s first christmas special, “She can't even hold her head up, mama.”
They’re in Belgium for the first time, it’s cold and the tip of Daniel’s nose gets nice and pink, making Max want to kiss it every two seconds.
On Christmas Eve, they follow Max’s family tradition of opening one present each. Victoria leans forward and insists, “This one!” when it’s time to pick a gift for Max’s mum.
While Daniel snaps pictures of her unwrapping it, Sophie chuckles, peeling back the festive paper. Her face softens when she uncovers a framed photo of Max holding a tiny, sleeping Ellie, Daniel at his side, smiling radiantly. “Oh,” she says softly, running her fingers over the frame. “This is beautiful. Thank you.”
“It was Daniel’s idea,” Max admits with a grin, and his mum gives him a quick kiss on the cheek before turning to hug Daniel.
“It’s a wonderful gift,” she says warmly. Then, settling back into the couch with her hot chocolate, she gazes out the window at the snow softly falling.
Later that night, when the others have retired to their rooms and the house is quiet save for the faint sound of Ellie stirring in her crib upstairs, Max and Daniel remain curled up on the couch. Max rests his head on Daniel’s shoulder, eyes closed in peaceful contentment.
“It’s amazing how much can change in a year,” Max murmurs, snuggling closer. “This time last year, I was scared out of my mind about telling my mum about you, wondering if I’d ever be able to fix things with her. And now… here we are.”
“Are you happy?” Daniel asks suddenly, pulling Max closer with an arm around his shoulders. “I mean, really happy? I know I am—with you, your mum, Ellie, my parents, everything. But I want to know if you are.”
Max lifts his head and kisses Daniel softly. “Happier than I’ve ever been,” he says without hesitation. “Mum’s finally come around, I’m in the home I grew up loving, we live in a beautiful house in Australia, we have Ellie, and I’m marrying you. This is better than I ever dared hope for.”
Daniel beams and leans in to kiss him, only to pause when Ellie’s cries echo faintly from upstairs.
Max chuckles, grabbing Daniel’s shirt to stop him from standing. “It’s mum’s turn tonight. Let her take care of it.” He slides down the couch slightly, pulling Daniel into a slow, sweet kiss, letting his love for him pour into every lingering moment.
“I promise, Daniel,” Max whispers against his lips. “I’m always happy with you. No matter what’s happening, no matter what goes wrong, no matter how scared I might be sometimes. I am always happy with you. I love you.”
"I love you too," Daniel whispers, curling his pinky finger around Max's ring finger, a small but deep promise of the truth in his words. "And as much as I love this, I can't stand to hear her cry. She must be hungry."
Max rolls his eyes at Daniel’s ever-present devotion to their already-spoiled daughter. He swats Daniel’s ass lightly as he walks away, settling back onto the couch, eager to watch Daniel with their baby. He is so proud, so happy, and in awe that this is their life—how everything has changed so completely in such a short amount of time.
Not long ago, Max was terrified in his apartment bathroom, alone in Monte-Carlo, terrified that everything was falling apart. Now, he’s a man who is getting married and has a daughter, with his future ahead of him.
As Daniel gently places Ellie on his chest and kisses Max’s forehead, Max can’t help but smile. This is everything he has ever wanted, even if he hadn’t known it at the time. “Let’s get married next winter,” Max says suddenly, his voice soft but sure. Daniel, without hesitation, leans in to kiss him, letting Ellie’s faint grumbling pass without comment. “I want to wear white.”
Daniel grins wickedly. “I think it’s a little late for that.” Max pushes him off the couch playfully, ignoring Daniel’s exaggerated groans of pain.
“I love you even when you push me off the couch,” Daniel mutters, sitting up with a mischievous grin.
“And I love you even when you call me a slut,” Max teases back, laughing as he watches Ellie give Daniel the same stinky eye.
Daniel laughs too, climbing back onto the couch to join Max and their daughter. He wraps his arm around Max’s shoulders, pulling him close. “You’re perfect, you know that?”
Max smiles, content, as he looks at their little family. “I think we all are.”