3!
when you were dreaming I looked in, I saw everything
I saw fresh new grass, that's growing, it's growing
you've got a big, big heart, it's showing, it's showing
---
"I think Victoria is trying to make her own five-a-side soccer team," Daniel says, a joke to dull the ache in his throat that comes with watching Max settle Linus. "Only boys for the Verstappen's, huh?"
When Max lifts his head to look at Daniel it makes a change from the last few hours of him only having eyes for his newest nephew. The pool of love in them is shallow, close to the surface because he is always so willing to give it away. It's the longing that's deeper.
"It is the boy that decides the sex actually," he says, all deadpan, and of course Max knows that. "Besides, girls can of course play football also."
It always, like, unsettles something in Daniel, almost. To be reminded over and over of all the ways Max is gentle and soft where he could be hard and sharp. Almost anyone else who grew up the way he did, with the man he did would be, but Max is always- Max.
The person Daniel built a home away from home with until it became the place they belonged more than Perth or Belgium.
Victoria is putting the other two kids to bed. It's just him and Max. Linus too of course, but he can keep a secret, so Daniel finds a way to ask for what he's been imagining since Max first sent him a photograph of him cradling a newborn Luka in his arms. Years ago now.
"Does that mean we still stand a chance for a girl?"
He can hear the sharp little intake of Max's breath, watches the way his fingers flex ever so slightly on the soft rolls of Linus's arms right before he turns to settle him into the crib.
Straightening up, he breathes, "Daniel," but then nothing else.
"We'd be in your mum's good books then, right? If we pulled off the first granddaughter and all," Daniel says quickly.
He's nervous. Max told him on the beach right after his father died that he would want whatever life Daniel did, however it looked. At the time it had been more than enough, but now Daniel needs him to want this for himself as well.
"You want a little baby?"
Max turns as he asks it, and the look of disbelief is there still, but also something more. Hope.
"Well I don't know how little they would be if your sperm gets P1 and all, but-"
Daniel doesn't get to finish his sentence, because Max is flinging himself into Daniel's arms saying, "yes, yes, Daniel, that would be lovely, please, yes," all in one big rush. Like this an offer with an expiration date and not like, Daniel's dream, even if he was slow to realise it.
His arms fit around Max's waist as naturally as ever, his face pressing into his hair, and he lets the reality of it sink in.
They're going to be parents.
He thinks, I'm going to be a dad, dad.
It's strange, that with such a big piece missing Daniel's life can still be so full.
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Hey, Owl House fans that are looking for other media to get into now that the show has ended: check out the Nevermoor series by Jessica Townsend!
The series is about a young girl named Morrigan Crow, who is whisked away to the magical city of Nevermoor the night she is supposed to die. Once there, she has to navigate her new home in the whimsical Hotel Deucalion, her education at the prestigious Wundrous Society, and the truth about the mysterious and powerful legacy she belongs to.
The series is categorized as middle grade/~YA, so it's similar in how it can appeal to an all-ages audience. Like The Owl House, it balances lighter moments with darker, more sinister revelations (and they're just getting started!). The author is queer herself and openly expresses her thoughts against + directly confronts bigotry and hatred while also being just an all-around wonderful person.
It contains some classic tropes such as a magical school, found family, and corrupt authority figures, all in unique and fresh ways. There is a diverse cast of characters, including a sapphic couple where one of them works at a magical library (sound familar...? 😉). There are several multi-dimensional antagonists, and they all work to challenge Morrigan and the story in their own unique ways. Also: there's a giant talking cat! Love that.
The series has an interesting magic system + worldbuilding, with tons of lore and history to dig your hands into and theorize if that's what you like. The character development is so fun and interesting as Morrigan and her friends grow up and find their place in the world. The world is so fleshed out that you can easily pick a minor side character or a location that's briefly mentioned, and extrapolate on how and where they fit into the story and themes as a whole.
There are three books out already, out of nine planned books. The fourth book Silverborn comes out in October, so there's plenty of time to get caught up until then! I highly recommend giving it a try.
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