Rainier Province, and in the past year, in our capital, Buckman Province.”—Demir was seriously going to lose it if this dragged out any longer, this was his freaking life!—“The court has held that any marriage performed legally in any province must be withheld by the province in which the united persons reside.”
Okay, that’s definitely something, if we want to travel to get married but what about—
“It is further the decision of the high court, in a decision of five to four, with four judges dissenting, that the ability to procure a legal marriage between three persons of any gender shall be extended to all provinces in the great Northern Territory. This is the decision of the court and shall be considered law at 12:01 tonight. I will not be taking questions at this time.”
Demir didn’t immediately register the whoops or the bear hug Brandt wrapped him up in. The first part of a poly marriage performed in Rainier or Buckman being legal in all provinces made sense, but not the last part. Not until Oliver was there hugging them both, laughing and crying, and then it sunk in.
All provinces. ALL provinces.
“Holy shit!” Demir’s body finally jerked into motion, and he clung hard to Brandt and Oliver, so far beyond overjoyed he had no words to describe it. His heart wanted to explode, and he could barely see for the tears leaking from his eyes. Or the bodies of the two men smothering him with their arms, joy and love.
I can marry my men.
“Hey, don’t cry, Little Blue,” Brandt said. He raised Demir’s head with a finger beneath his chin in a familiar way. Demir didn’t realize how hard he’d been sobbing until that moment, and he ached with love for the big alpha holding him tight. Brandt’s icy blue eyes shined with love and joy, and so many lovely emotions that did nothing to quell Demir’s tears.
“I never imagined this would happen,” Demir replied. “I mean, maybe ten or fifteen years from now, but not this soon. We can get married, Big Red.” He flailed behind him for Oliver. “And us too, my soul.”
“Yes, we can.” Oliver kissed them both soundly. “We’ll finally, legally be a family.”
“I am so happy for you guys,” Eriq said from somewhere behind Demir. “I mean it.” Oliver left briefly and Demir turned to see him embracing his eldest son. Eriq, who had first met his sire Brandt at the volatile age of ten, had resisted the idea of Oliver and Brandt being mates for a long time. He’d resisted Demir too, if a bit less vehemently, but over the years, Eriq had become their triad’s greatest champion. He’d stood up to bullies at school, defending their unusual relationship, and Demir had never been prouder of a young man he considered both a son and a brother.
Gaige and Tarius stood together nearby, both smiling, obviously excited for the big news. Taurius had been against Demir’s involvement with a mated pair from the beginning, always second-guessing Demir’s decisions. But he’d also done it out of love, and now he supported them completely. Conversely, Demir had been in Gaige’s life from the beginning, holding one of Oliver’s hands in the delivery room while Brandt held the other. And while sometimes Demir had a hard time thinking of himself as a father to Gaige, he was definitely a father-figure and would defend that boy as fiercely as he’d defend any of his own brothers.
Various phones went off around the room. Demir disentangled himself from Brandt long enough to check his. The first message was from Layne: I’M SO HAPPY FOR YOU GUYS.
The sentiment made Demir’s heart trill with joy. To think that only a few months ago, Layne had truly hated his guts because of the hiccups in Peyton’s recovery, and now they were very much back in a good place. He’d never wanted to disappoint his little brother, but they’d come back to each other. Maybe Demir would never be the perfect hero Layne remembered from his childhood, and that was okay. People changed and grew, and even heroes made mistakes.
Dad and Liam both texted similar messages. Then more poured through from Layne’s friends, the younger generation who often referred to Demir as Dr. D. His colleagues at work sent supportive messages, as well. A handful of coworkers at the clinic silently disapproved of his triad but fuck them. The only approval he’d ever needed had been from his family.