Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The day's events finally hit Nathan, making him feel like he'd just gone another round against Jonah. After dealing with the formalities of resigning as Director of U.N.I.T., the paperwork needed to let Dean visit Fili in the hospital, and making a plan for searching the Bureau's plane with Rosarie, he was ready to go home and sleep. And this time, Avi and Oberon would be waiting for him.

He couldn't help but smile as he turned onto the street where Oberon's- or maybe he should say their house was. As the home got closer, he could see that the front porch light was on, and the lights in the front living room were still lit. He pulls into the driveway and stops beside Oberon's Jeep, putting his car in park and killing the engine.

With the keys in hand, he locks the car and walks to the front door. Oberon had given him the spare key earlier, so he inserted it into the lock, twisting it open before stepping inside. Once he stands in the entranceway, he closes and locks the door, then puts his coat and boots into their designated spots on the organizer against the wall.

He quietly rounds the corner of the short hall and smiles at the sight that greeted him. Oberon was lying on the couch asleep with one arm hanging off, his fingers brushing the floor. His feet hung just off the edge of the armrest while his head was on a plush pillow. Avi was lying on top of his father, sleeping soundly while holding his stuffed kangaroo and koala close to his chest. A blanket was pulled over the two, but it was starting to slide off. Looking at the TV, Nathan saw that the title screen for the Lion King was playing; the two must have fallen asleep during a movie marathon, and the film restarted.

Nathan approaches the sleeping pair and slowly slides his arms under Avi, lifting him off Oberon. The boy mumbled in his sleep, but once Nathan had settled him in his arms, Avi relaxed against his father. A noise from the couch alerts Nathan that Oberon has woken up, and he looks down to see hazy green eyes blinking at him.

"Don' take m'boy again…." Oberon mumbles, tiredly reaching out, not awake enough to process what is happening.

Nathan smiles bittersweet, "it's just me, Oberon, it's Naga."

"Aga?" he yawns, "you… You came back? S'asn't a dream?"

"No, this is real," he promises, "Avi and I came back… But he needs to go to bed, and you do too."

He rubs his eyes, yawing aging, "m'k… m'commin…."

Oberon fumbles around the coffee table for the remote to turn off the TV. He drops the remote on the couch and hauls himself to his feet, yawning while he trails after his husband. He flicks the light switch to turn off the lights, and Nathan guides him up the stairs.

"Which room is Avi's?" Nathan whispers once they reach the second-floor landing.

Oberon rubs his eyes, "this one…."

He brings his boys over to the left hallway and opens the second door, revealing the bedroom he had made for his son. The floors were light, laminated hardwood with a large, fluffy green rug in the center. The walls were painted white with a red accent wall, dark brown trim and matching closet doors. Poppy had helped him paint the opening line of sheet music for Avi's favourite lullaby, Somewhere Over the Rainbow, above the bed.

The furniture was dark brown like the trim and doors, with the bed and nightside tables against the red wall opposite the entrance. The closet was to the left of the bed, and to the right was a large window with a built-in bench. Along the wall where the entrance was, there was a set of green bean bag chairs, a bookcase with a small desk attached to the side of it, and a chest for toys. The room was filled with Avi's things from Concordia, plus some new items Oberon had bought.

Nathan walked over to the bed and strategically pulled the dark red comforter back. He lays Avi on the mattress and removes the blanket before pulling the sheets and comforter over his son. Avi cuddled into the sheets with Roo and Lala held tightly in his arms.

Nathan strokes the boy's hair before giving him a goodnight kiss. He quietly walks to the door where Oberon is waiting, closing it behind them. It looked like his husband had woken up while he put their son to bed, but he could still see the tiredness in those green eyes he missed looking into.

"So… Where's our bed?" Nathan inquiries.

Oberon smiles, "I'd thought you'd never ask…."

"Not tonight, please," he requested as Oberon led him to the other side of the house, "my arm still hurts, and I just want to sleep…."

"I wasn't even thinking about it," he promises.

"... I'm not sure if I believe you or not."

"I swear, it's the truth. That reunion can wait. Tonight, I just want to cuddle with my not-dead husband."

Nathan chuckles as Oberon opens the door to the master bedroom. The floors were the same as the ones in Avi's room, but the walls were painted white with a blue accent wall. The large bed was in the middle of the accent wall, with end tables on both sides. To the right of the bed was a large closet, while on the left was a wide window with a built-in bench. On the other end of the wall with the entrance was the door leading to the ensuite bathroom, and between the two doors was a dresser with shelves framing the rectangular mirror. The furniture was all in matching black-stained wood, and the bed had dark purple, almost black, sheets and pillows.

Nathan could see some of their things from Concordia around the room, like his jewelry box on the dresser, Oberon's guitar leaning against the window seat, and framed pictures of their family.

"I know you didn't have time to get your stuff from the hotel," Oberon says as he walks over to the dresser and opens the second drawer, "so you can borrow my clothes until we go tomorrow."

He produced a set of pyjamas, a purple long-sleeved shirt, and black pants. Nathan takes the offered clothes, and Oberon goes back into the drawer to find something for him to sleep in. Nathan peels off his dirty kevlar and winces as he moves his injured arm.

Oberon paused as he removed his shirt, "are you alright?"

"Yeah, just stretched my arm too far," Nathan says, biting his lip as he pulls the clean shirt over his head.

"Are you bleeding again?" he asks in concern, pulling on his pants.

He shakes his head, "no, it didn't even need stitches… It just hurts."

"If you're sure…" he replies, not entirely convinced. He puts on the tanktop he had found, "you promise it was just a graze?"

"I promise, and if you don't believe me, Angela will also tell you that there wasn't a bullet in my arm," he assures with a smile.

Oberon returns the smile before falling into the bed, moaning in relief into the pillows. Nathan chuckles at his husband's antics, climbing on to lie beside him. He runs his fingers through the layered blond hair, working out a couple of knots he finds.

"I missed you so much, Naga," Oberon mumbles into the pillow.

Nathan hums, "I did too… I thought I was hallucinating when I saw you on the plane…."

He turns his head to smirk at his husband, "then I guess it's a good thing Kavi banned you from making hallucinogenic drugs…."

He rolls his eyes, "he only found out because you took some of them!"

"I thought it was juice! Besides, you're the one who decided to leave it in the fridge!" he argues.

"Because it needed to be kept cold! And I had put a label on it!"

"Oh, that's what that funny emoji meant?"

"Unbelievable…"

“You love me! And you're stuck with me forever!" Oberon sang.

"Can I get a refund?" Nathan deadpanned.

"Nope!" he pops the p, "purchase was final sale! No refunds or exchanges!"

"Well, I suppose there were worse models I could have chosen…" he teased.

He gasps, "blasphemy! And here I thought it was love at first sight!"

"Try love at first saving my ass from a burning building," he rolls his eyes, "I'm so happy you're alive…."

"Me too…" he smiles, "cuddle time?"

Nathan smiled as he nodded. Oberon's face lit up, and he awkwardly maneuvered on the bed to get under the sheets. He pulls out his hearing aids and puts them on their chargers to be ready for the morning. Nathan follows his husband's lead and gets into the bed, putting his glasses on his bedside table. Oberon makes himself comfortable on the pillows and opens his arms. Nathan accepts the invention and burrows into the older man's warmth, laying his head on his husband's chest.

"I never thought I would get to hold you again," Oberon whispers into Nathan's hair, "not until the day I died and joined you two in the afterlife…."

"Well, looks like we cheated death," Nathan jokes, "I guess some higher power decided it wasn't time to break us apart…."

"Amen to that," he agrees, rubbing Nathan's back, "I'm sorry I tried to kill myself… I just wanted to be with you and Avi again…."

"You have nothing to apologize for," he said firmly, "if I had thought I lost you and Avi that night, I would have tried to kill myself too… Do I wish you hadn't tried? Yes, but I will never hate you for that decision, Oberon. You know better than anyone that I don't let people's past define them…."

Oberon held Nathan closer, taking one of his hands with his free one to softly run his thumb over a scar on his husband’s inner wrist. He'll never forget hearing the story behind the matching scars on Nathan’s wrists or how much he had cried, knowing there was a chance he might have never gotten to meet such a wonderful human being.

"I'm glad we both failed at killing ourselves," Oberon says, kissing Nathan's forehead, "can we just stay like this forever?"

"What, like in bed?" Nathan chuckled.

"Yeah, no worries or danger or crazy criminals trying to kill us," he hums, "just you, me, and all the cuddles we could ever need… Avi can join us too."

"I don't think there's a force in the world strong enough to keep him away from us," he jokes, playing with Oberon's earrings, "do you remember, after he was born, how much he hated it when we weren't holding him?"

He groans, "he would cry until one of us picked him up… how something so tiny had so many tears and such strong lungs, I'll never know!"

"Tiny?! Clearly, you weren't the one who gave birth to him, or you would know he wasn't tiny!" he glares.

"I was still there when he was born; you nearly broke my hand!" he reminded him, "he wasn't that big!"

Nathan glares harder.

Oberon gulps, "but what do I know? I didn't carry him for nine months and go through 12 hours of labour like you did!"

Nathan smirks, "it was 18, actually, but good answer… I'm just thankful your family's curse of twins and triplets went to your brother!"

"Careful, if we ever try for another one, it might get us!" he warns, "if you want to try again, that is."

"Right now, I just want to enjoy my time with you and Avi…" he smiles, "but ask me again someday, and we'll see…"

"Yeah… That sounds like a great idea…" he agrees.

The couple went silent as they continued treasuring being together again. They might not know what the future has in store for them, but they defied the odds and found their way back to each other. Life could throw its worse at them, but as long as they were together, Nathan and Oberon would face every challenge that came their way.