Another Saturday football game came and went without River by his side. Now that Hunter knew about Melodie, he understood why River so frequently rejected his invites. So Hunter tried to make the most of it. Running around was a great way to get his mind off things. 

A few weeks ago, he used the exercise to try to get over his feelings. Now he was trying to keep those same feelings from spinning out of control. Turns out, getting to kiss a man you’ve been obsessed with for months just makes you want to kiss him again. And again. And once more for good luck.

It was a great game, but hours later, Hunter was a bit on edge driving to his friend’s house. It’s tradition for them to drive to the Chang household after the game and Kian always carpooled with him. Kian also found it appropriate to take over the aux during the drive despite his musical taste being very…white. 

Not country music, of course: he was still Canadian. But the hard metal rock music was just one step-down. The music was designed to keep your blood pumping and Hunter felt dialed up for the entire ride.  

Entering Connor and Luke’s place to find children running around, he worried about his ability to handle it. Could he really be patient with a bunch of kids after the week he had?

Little Sanda was the first one to run up to him, hugging his legs tightly between her short stubby arms. With him effectively trapped, she looked up at him, smiling brightly with her little chin pressed to his knees. Hunter’s previous cares melted away as he bent down to wrap Sanda in a proper bear hug.

“Uncle Hunter!” she cheered, giggling when he lifted her high in the air before hugging her again. Her exclamation seemed to get the attention of her siblings and soon, eight more little, Wasian angels were swarming his body. The oldest, Kendra, led the new wave and the rest of her little minions followed. Kian went right ahead as Hunter struggled to get to the living room to meet their parents. The kids seemed to enjoy how Hunter grunted as he struggled to walk. 

“Please! Rescue me! I’m being attacked!”

The kids' laughter and giggles only grew louder but, luckily, someone did come to relieve some of the burden.

“Don’t forget to let Uncle Hunter breathe, guys,” a voice called over the noise, smiling even as his kids groaned in disappointment. “I said breathe. That doesn’t mean you can’t still achieve total domination.”

“Hey, wait. I don’t know if that really helped-“ Hunter began to complain, reaching out with wide eyes to Luke but the man just sent a wave his way, heading back into the living room. Hunter was still reaching out to him when the oldest boy, Von, grabbed his leg and they all went tumbling in a single noisy heap.

Fifteen minutes later, the kids finally got bored of play fighting with ‘giant Uncle Hunter,’ and he shuffled into the living room. His entrance seemed to create a new round of laughter, likely at his expense. 

“I can’t believe you guys just abandoned me like that. I was completely ambushed,” Hunter complained with a smile, rubbing his tired right bicep. Letting two adorable children hang from it seemed like a good idea at the time. He was paying for it now.  

“You weren’t ambushed. Those kids just love being around you too much,” Sean argued, laughing as Layla relaxed into his side.

“I’m a little worried that you’ve cast a spell on them,” Connor joked. “To gain their favour, maybe.”

With a shake of his head, Hunter lowered himself into one of several bean bag chairs the Changs had around their home. They argued that the items worked well with kids and, apparently, with exhausted adults too. 

“Nah, I’m just a natural,” Hunter boasted with an air of lax confidence. Still, he sounded so exhausted that it didn’t seem like a flex to the other adults seated around him. Hunter did love being around kids and the Chang siblings picked up on this, seeking out their uncle any chance that they got. 

Somehow, with all of the surprises and changes Hunter had been grappling with before this visit, a Saturday at Connor’s house was just what he needed. There was something truly comforting about their space. Yes, they had nine kids in one house and yes, once Damien arrived with his wife, Prisha, it felt like there was barely enough oxygen for all of them. But this all seemed to make it feel more cozy.

The homeowners swore up and down that they would get some babysitters for the kids on of these days so they could hang out properly soon, but none of them were in a huge hurry for that to happen. Being in their house felt like home, and what was home without all the family members? Which included three-year-old Romeo.

Luke and Connor’s road to parenthood was anything but normal. Yet, after becoming parents so young, they really set the tone for the rest of their friends. Seeing two people so in love and happy to be in a long-term relationship made you begin to want that too. And now, Hunter and his friends were getting to the age where settling down felt a lot more natural. Having kids was no longer a surprise for people their age. 

They’d all been friends since high school, back when Layla and Sean were just friends and Audrey thought she was straight. Now, Hunter was the only one of his friends that was technically single. Damien got married a year and a half ago, Layla and Sean had been engaged for a couple of years, and Audrey and her girlfriend were going 2 years strong. 

Even Kian, the perpetual bachelor, was boo’ed up with the famous Aaliyah. The object of all Kian’s desires and conversations. Kian was in the midst of one such Aaliyah presentation while Hunter braided the hair of one of the middle Chang children. 

He was very focused on getting the second French braid to match the first on Milo’s head but it was tricky when he kept turning to gasp and react to the story Amani was crafting for her younger siblings. A couple of minutes later, Hunter had finally snapped a small hair tie around the end of the second braid, grazing a gentle hand over Milo’s hair to admire his work.

“Alright, you can go, little man,” he told the lanky child, smiling as he bolted off to play some more. Maybe the way he watched the kids quietly, enjoying the sight of their simple joy left him too open, but Audrey seemed to know the perfect moment to catch him.

“So what’s up with you and your little hubby?”

“What? Hunter has a boyfriend?” Prisha asked, sounding shocked before she turned to her husband and smacked him across the arm. “Why didn’t you tell me, Damien?”

“I don’t have a boyfriend.”

“So what about the bartender?” Sean interjected.

“Bar owner.” 

A chorus of ‘oohs’ rang through the room at Hunter’s clarification. Correcting them really didn’t help his case, but Hunter was too proud of River to let it slide. 

“And we’re not dating. Not really,” Hunter clarified. His friends were silent for a moment. Not accepting the excuse but waiting for more. Hunter could feel the social pressure of it all and, in seconds, he caved. “We’re seeing where things go.”

“So, that’s why he introduced you to his daughter? Because that sounds pretty serious to me.”

Kian’s words only took a few moments to land but when they did, the room exploded. All nine of the poor Chang children watched the adults freak out, reciting how serious that was for single parents and berating Hunter for keeping this huge secret. Just a few days ago, when Kian had called him, Hunter should never have mentioned Melodie. He thought he could just offhandedly talk about River having a kid but of course, he mentioned too much.

“I met her the first time on accident and she happened to like me. It’s not a big deal.”

“Well, you’re grinning like it is one.”

Layla hit the nail on the head. Hunter wiped a hand down his face, rushing to hide his grin. Yes, he was happy that Melodie liked him. And he was even happier to know that in some way, River had trusted him with the most precious thing of all–his child. But Hunter was trying to stamp down that overinflated hope in his chest and his friends would not help him do that if they knew the truth. They fed into delusions much more than they pushed them away. Schooling his features, Hunter tried to appear firm.

“River’s a dad, guys,” he reminded them blankly. “At the end of the day, he has to focus on what’s best for his kid.” 

“Come on! You love kids! You were literally just playing with Milo two seconds ago.” Connor interjected, pointing out his son who was running around with two fresh cornrows going down his head. Their heads turned away from Milo to look at Hunter who winced. His argument was kind of slipping down the drain.

Before he could come up with another excuse, Callie climbed onto his lap. Laughter erupted around him when she asked him to put her hair into a bun. There was no way Hunter was going to change what they thought of his relationship, so he focused on making Callie’s bun as quick and cute as possible. A minute later, as his friends continued to laugh and joke about Callie’s perfect timing, Luke walked over and crouched down in front of him. 

“Maybe this just confirms that River’s the perfect guy for you,” he whispered. Then, with a soft smile, he picked Callie up from Hunter’s lap and walked her back over to the rest of her siblings, a neat bun perched on the back of her head. For a moment, the image of Luke was replaced by one of River, walking Melodie off to bed. Hunter wasn’t sure if River was the perfect guy for him. What he did know is that he missed him and he missed Melodie too. So Hunter intended to fully lean into whatever they were because, at this point–

There is no turning back.