Everyone looked so happy and was smiling, so obviously, he was grinning back at them, despite his confusion.
"Correct me if I'm wrong," Cailen said, still smiling as he turned to Asher. "But this looks like a party."
Asher grinned at him, hooking his fingers in the waistband of his scrubs and pulling him close, wrapping him in his arms again.
"You didn't really think I wouldn't want to celebrate your birthday, did you?" Asher asked, pecking him on the lips.
Cailen could see everyone closing in around them from the corner of his eyes and knew he was about to give out a million and one hugs. Not that he really minded.
Asher winked at him before stepping back and giving space to the people who want to greet him. Not a minute passed and he was being engulfed in a hug with Hazel.
Hazel wished him a more personal 'happy birthday' to which he replied with a kind 'thank you'. Matthew also joined the hug.
"Happy birthday, dude." Matthew said, patting him on the back.
"Thanks." Cailen grinned and moved on to the next person, that person being William.
"Happy birthday, old man!" William grinned, wrapping Cailen up in a tight hug, his long arms easily fitting around him.
"I'm only twenty seven." He mumbled, giving his brother a mock glare before moving onto to the next person.
"Happy birthday, Cailen!" Came two tiny voices from down below.
Cailen turned to see Samuel and Samantha, the youngest twins of Arabella and Charlie, standing at his waist. Cailen bent down to give them each a hug, ruffling up Samuel's hair in the process.
He continued to give out a hug to each person, the action getting tiring but he really didn't mind. He enjoyed it.
After Arabella gave him his last hug, he excused himself to go change into something other than scrubs. They were comfy but he's spent all day in them and he didn't think they were really party clothes.
Cailen was happy Asher had arranged all this with all of his family. He much preferred it over a big party with a bunch of people just looking for an excuse to get drunk or high.
He was also happy that everyone got along.
At first, years ago, Cailen had been scared he'd have to tip-toe around Arabella and Charlie and Eden and Dean, thinking they wouldn't be able to be in the same room together. But as usual, he worried about nothing.
Shortly after he had met up with Arabella again, eventually meeting all the girls properly along with Charlie, Eden and Dean met them as well.
It was a bit awkward at first but eventually, they grew into comfortable conversation, Eden sharing stories about Cailen growing up and it was nice.
Cailen and Asher would often meet up with Arabella and either Charlie or a couple of the girls to catch up.
He would attend Ava's dance recitals and had attended Lexi and Chelly's graduation.
The older of the girls, Lexi and Chelly, had been a bit hesitant at first towards accepting him as a brother, but the younger ones, Ava, Ivy, Samuel and Samantha, had accepted him without a problem.
To Lexi and Chelly, he was more of a friend than a brother at this point, having been too grown up to develop that kind of relationship properly, but they got along well enough. They would go to him and ask for his opinion and advice about a lot of things and it was really nice.
William and Stella would sometimes come with them to the usual meet ups, Stella enjoying conversing with Lexi, and William getting along quite well with Arabella, Ava and Ivy absolutely loving him.
It may be a bit dysfunctional, but it was his family and he was happy to have them.
Cailen made quick work of shucking out of his scrubs, throwing them into the dirty clothes bin, and picking out a nice outfit to wear.
He was just grabbing his shirt when he heard the door open and close behind him. He turned to see Asher standing there with a soft smile on his face as he regarded Cailen.
Cailen smiled back, shuffling over to give him a quick kiss.
"Thank you." He said softly, pecking Asher’s lips again.
"You're welcome."
"I love you." Cailen said.
It was almost automatic now, whenever Asher did something sweet or silly, or anything at all really, Cailen would remind him that he loved him.
"I love you too, Cai," Asher replied, resting his hands on Cailen's waist, his fingers grazing the bare skin of his hips. "So much, you have no idea." Asher continued, kissing Cailen again.
"I think I have a slight idea." He teased because he was pretty sure Asher was the one who had no idea how much he loved him.
"The agency called." Asher said randomly, looking into his eyes intensely.
Asher's deep brown eyes were lit up with a happiness that could only mean one thing.
Excitement bubbled up in Cailen, a smile breaking out over his lips that he couldn't contain if his life depended on it.
"Really?" Cailen asked without Asher having to say anything more.
They had been approved.
They had been approved to adopt a child.
"We have an appointment at the orphanage on Thursday at noon." Asher said, his smile growing with every word.
Cailen couldn't help himself any longer. He jumped at Asher, connecting their lips together and rounding his arms around Asher’s neck.
He couldn't believe it, they had been approved.
They were going to be fathers.
Cailen didn't really think they would be rejected. Unfortunately, it was pretty easy to be approved, but there was always that chance and the familiar doubt in himself that had never really left that had him worrying.
But he didn't have to worry. They had been approved!
"Oh my gosh," Cailen mumbled against Asher's mouth, letting Asher push him back until his knees hit the mattress of their bed.
The couple fell onto the bed, Asher a heavy but welcome weight on top of him, his lips warm against his though it was difficult to kiss him properly with how much each of them were smiling.
"Ash, we're- We're going- to be- dads." Cailen said between kisses.
Asher nodded, pecking Cailen's lips once again.
"I know." Asher agreed, smiling down at him.
The two of them were grinning at each other, their excited breaths the only noise in the room as this knew information sunk in.
Asher's grin softened with every second he regarded his husband, his hand coming up to move the hair that had fallen into Cailen’s cerulean eyes, his fingers gently caressing his cheeks in the process.
"I love you." Asher repeated. "I love you so much it hurts sometimes. I can't think clearly around you, I can't ever stop thinking about you and I can't imagine doing this with anyone else. I love you Cailen Hart-Hale."
Cailen smiled up at Asher, lifting his head to kiss him again. It wasn't anything he hadn't heard before, but he never tire of hearing it.
"And I love you, Asher Hale." He spoke softly. "And I always will-"
"Oi, you know there is a party going on out here in your honor, right?" Came a deep voice from the door.
Cailen didn't have to look to see William's smug smirk.
"Yeah, couldn't you wait till after we leave to have your kinky birthday sex?" Came Noah's Scottish accent. "Or is that part of the kink?" He asked belatedly.
Asher chuckled, dropping his head onto Cailen's neck, his lips gently kissing the skin there.
"We're not-" Asher began, his voice muffled by Cailen's skin but he cut him off.
"If you actually know what we’re doing, then what are you doing here? Don’t tell me you wanna join us?" Cailen asked jokingly, looking over Asher to grin at the boys, seeing that Matthew was there as well.
"Sorry, not really my thing." Noah said, sending Cailen a wink.
"Yeah... and wouldn't that be like... incest?" Matthew asked, looking between William and Cailen.
The two boys shrugged, Cailen looking to Asher, asking him a silent question before telling them.
Asher pushed himself off him, nodding in the process while pulling Cailen to his feet.
"Guys... We kind of have something to tell you." Asher said, looking from Cailen to the three boys standing in the doorway.
The three boys all exchanged curious looks before looking at Cailen and Asher expectantly.
"We've applied to adopt..." Asher began, the three boys' eyes widening in shock.
"And we've been approved." Cailen finished, a grin crossing his lips as Asher held him close to his side.
"What?" Matthew asked, dumbfounded.
"Congrats, guys." Noah said immediately, grinning at the duo.
"Seriously?" William asked.
Cailen nodded, a happy chuckle escaping his lips when William engulfed him in a hug, Noah and Matthew soon following.
The five of them stood like that for a moment, eventually breaking apart with wide grins and murmured congratulations.
It wasn't long before Cailen was being told to throw on a shirt and come join the party, all the boys leaving him to do so.
When Cailen rejoined the party, everyone was mostly just mingling among each other.
Stella and Lexi talking about Lexi's new internship at a fashion studio, William entertaining Ava and Ivy by goofing around with them. Noah and Camille had taken it upon themselves to play with Samantha and Samuel with Charlie close by as he chatted with Dean.
Matthew, Hazel, Asher and Chelly were huddled in a group, chatting and laughing while Eden and Arabella stood in the kitchen preparing something to eat, happily chatting to each other.
Cailen has never been happier in his life, it was kind of surreal.
He sometimes found it hard to believe he went from having no family to having an overly big family.
But found that he wouldn't want to have it any other way and that he couldn't wait to add to it.