Page 19 of The Grumpy Vet (Vet Shop Boys Down Under #3)

Six months later…

Dario

"Still reckon you're the king of best plans?"

Ryde snorts, standing beside me, as he, Linus, and I watch in horror as the roosters scatter in different directions—Cracker takes off towards the drinks table, James leaps onto Mrs. Mangle's lap and starts crowing loudly, while Linus's pride and joy, Cluck Norris, decides now is the perfect moment to flop onto his side in the dust and act completely uninterested.

Oblivious to the fact the three of us are taking a huge step in our relationship today and are about to commence our commitment ceremony.

I pinch the bridge of my nose and curse under my breath, wondering why the roosters were so perfectly behaved the three times we rehearsed this but are acting up now.

"I think I may have to officially give up that title,"

I tell Ryde.

"The crowd might be freaking them out,"

Linus offers, glancing between Ryde and me and the chaos unfolding in his back paddock.

"But you take them to shows all the time," I say.

"Yeah, and they're used to that."

Linus shrugs.

"This is a different setting. I don't know. Either way, we have to do something."

"I agree,"

Ryde says with a determined nod.

"There are three roosters, and there's three of us. Dario, you secure Cracker. I'll get James. And we'll leave Cluck Norris in your capable hands, Linus."

"All right, let's do it,"

I say, clapping my hands, which at the very least seems to wake Cluck Norris up a little, and he gets himself upright.

"And fast. I don't want either of you two getting cold feet and disappearing."

"Ha,"

Linus retorts.

"As if we'd ever let you get away."

Warmth blooms in my chest. Was it silly wanting them to ask me to stay before my contract expired? Maybe a little, yeah. But ever since we talked that time and I told them about my insecurity, they both drop the occasional quip that lets me know they want me here, that this is where I belong. Not too often so that it comes across as heavy-handed or insincere, but just enough to let me know that they care and that they mean it.

The three of us spread out. I take slow, deliberate steps as I inch towards James who's long left Mrs. Mangle's lap and is now pecking at something under where the Johnson family were sitting before they scrambled out of there.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Ryde lunging at Cracker, but he's a fraction too slow, managing only to grab a tail feather. Cracker flaps wildly and escapes with an indignant squawk. At least Fitz and Muir have recovered from laughing, and Muir joins Ryde giving chase as Fitz records the whole thing.

Great. This will be up on TikTok before the ceremony is over.

If we ever get to that part.

I can't see Linus from where I am, but I pray he's having better luck than me before I return to my own situation. James is still wedged under the seat, his dark eyes sharp as I lurch closer and closer. When I'm within grabbing distance, I crouch down and reach out slowly. James glares at me from the shadows as if daring me to even try. The second my fingers brush his feathers, he explodes into a frenzy of flapping wings and squawking, but I manage to grab his legs before he can escape. "Gotcha!"

With the rooster secured, I march him back to the pen. I'm relieved when a few seconds later, Linus and Ryde join me with roosters in their hands, too.

With the birds safely back in their locked pen, we're ready to give this commitment ceremony another go. Yeah, my plan of having roosters make up the wedding procession was a bad one. I can admit it.

I extend my hands towards my soon-to-be life partners.

"Shall we?"

Ryde slips his hand into mine first.

"Let's do it."

Linus gives me his hand, too.

"We'll look back on this and laugh one day."

He's right, we probably will. We head back to the ceremony spot, hand in hand in hand, as the guests return to their seats, the rooster ruckus behind us.

So maybe the ceremony didn't get off to the perfect start. That's okay. Neither did the three of us, really.

Ours isn't a simple love story.

I was secretly in love with Ryde for years. He spent two years pining for Linus. Despite that, the three of us somehow found a way to each other. If Quade hadn't cheated and treated me like shit, I probably would never have come out here for six months, leaving me with my secret feelings for Ryde and his for Linus. So even though we had to go through some shitty stuff, ultimately, the bad led to the good.

And how good is this? I'm about to affirm my love for these two amazing men I get to spend the rest of my life with. Linus with his stoic, grumpy demeanor, who's really a big ol' softie at heart, and Ryde who's sweet and sensitive and an absolute slut in the bedroom.

They each bring so much to my life. I feel loved. Safe. Like I can truly be myself with them. It's the best feeling in the world.

We reach the ceremony spot, and the civil celebrant, Sandy, smiles warmly at us.

"That was certainly a memorable start."

"It was."

I smile back.

"Now let's get this damn thing underway."

Ryde

The actual ceremony goes off without a hitch.

There’s no priest, only a celebrant, and no official paperwork. It's too hot for suits, so we went with our best button-ups and scuffed boots.

Would I have liked a traditional wedding? Probably, yeah. But that's not likely to happen in my lifetime, so I'll happily take this.

We stand together, hands joined, in the afternoon shadow of a twisted old gum tree. The ceremony is simple, the three of us exchanging a few heartfelt words that try to capture the enormity of what we have, what we feel.

I know we all struggled with our vows. Firstly, what sort of vows are appropriate for a commitment ceremony? Secondly, do we create separate vows for the other two or combine them? And thirdly, how do I put into words everything I feel in my heart and that I know Dario and Linus feel in theirs?

It's wild to think that if Dario hadn't shown up a year ago, I would still probably be in my embarrassing spiral of drinking myself stupid around Linus, making a complete idiot of myself, and not progressing things.

Dario was the catalyst for all of this. That's why I'm committing to making him feel like an integral part of it, not some later to the party. Because without him, I doubt the three of us would be standing here, pledging our love, loyalty, and commitment to each other.

I love both men with all my heart. Dario for being the natural leader, the outspoken one, and so fearless. His plans may suck balls and almost always go off the rails, but his heart is so big and pure and always in the right place. I loved him as my best friend, and I love him even more now.

And Linus? What can I say about my big ol' grumpy boss? He still gives me the tingles whenever I look at him. I don't know what attracted me to him when I first arrived in town, but it's always been there. That pull to the man who, for so long, remained hidden and guarded. He's opened up so much to Dario and me, and I love seeing him happy, relaxed, and carefree.

He's taken on so much responsibility in his life, and even though he can shoulder it all on his own, he doesn't have to anymore. Dario and I are right there for him, by his side—and quite often, on our knees—letting him know he's not in this alone. We got him, just like we've all got each other.

"And now you may kiss,"

the celebrant announces with a smile.

Linus and I have been the most nervous about this moment. For him, it's showing affection in front of people. That's just not his thing.

My issue boils down to just one person—my dad.

I'm so lucky to have the best dad in the world. He really is cool with us. He's visited us once, and the three of us went to his place for Christmas, and not once has he said or done anything that makes me think he has a problem with any of this.

But he's also never seen us kiss. The occasional brushing as we pass each other, and Dario sometimes cheekily grabbing our hands—he, of course, has been looking forward to this kiss since Linus proposed—is as far as we've gone in front of him.

But this is the closest thing we're going to get to a wedding, so if he is weirded out in any way, I hope he looks away because there is no force on this planet that's going to stop me from kissing my men.

The three of us lean in, everything going quiet except for the rustle of a few dry leaves. Our lips touch softly, and hands from either side of me gently wrap around my lower back. The moment, although brief, gets seared into my memory. I'll cherish it, this feeling of rightness and love and protection, for the rest of my life.

Behind us, our guests erupt in cheers, and someone—my guess is Wilby—tosses a handful of gum leaves into the air like confetti. They rain down on the three of us, and we're all smiling and happy, revelling in the beauty of this special moment.

The real celebration, however, starts at the Scuttlebutt Pub once everyone walks the few blocks over to it. We've reserved the outdoor courtyard, even though there was no need since pretty much everyone in town was at the wedding.

A local musician is strumming away in the corner as Dario hands me a beer at the bar, while Linus and Oakey are talking with the vet crew.

"Too bad we couldn't convince Linus to do the first dance."

I tap the side of my beer against his.

"We got him to kiss. I count that as victory enough."

Like magnets, our eyes are drawn to him. He looks happy, chatting away with our friends. It was a rough few months after his dad passed. Memories would bubble up. Sometimes he'd get angry. Other times sad. Or guilty. Or regretful.

But through it all, Dario and I were right there with him.

"True. Then again, Linus is a man of surprises. He's the one who proposed. He's the one who insisted on inviting everyone. That's very un-Linus like."

He's definitely been making an effort to be a bit more out there. I think it's because his dad was so antisocial. He wants to learn from his mistakes and not repeat them.

"You look great, by the way,"

I say, taking Dario's hand in mine.

"Not sure if I've gotten the chance to tell you that today."

"It's been a big day."

He rubs his fingers into my palm.

"And thank you. I appreciate it."

Dario ended up reaching his goal weight, but since he's a sucker for the treats at Mrs. Mangle's bakery, he's put a few pounds back on. But the best part? He doesn't mind. Personally, I love him like he is right now—in shape but not hyper jacked—but I'm even more happy that he loves it, too. The words Blug Blug have left his vocabulary. For good, I hope.

From across the crowded bar, Linus catches my eye. He waves us over with a smile, and it sends my heart soaring. I take Dario's hand in mine, and the swoopy feeling only intensifies as we make our way over to him.

I love them both so much. In different ways because they're different people. I was worried that maybe my love for Linus would be stronger because I loved him first, romantically speaking. Or that the opposite might be true, that because Dario and I had been friends for so long, it would overshadow my love for Linus. None of my fears have borne out.

If we're lucky enough to reach the point where we're old and grey and sitting out on the back deck together in our older years, I know I'll be telling them for the millionth time that today was the best day of my life.

Linus

Watching my two guys snake through the crowd fills me with a sense of love so big it threatens to overwhelm me. In the best way possible.

I've always held back, tending to my responsibilities and looking after others before taking care of my own needs. I did it freely and willingly. No one was holding a gun to my head. Sure, there was an expectation I'd take over the clinic from my father, but if I'd said no, what would he have done? But I think that over many years, it eventually weighed me down. Slowly. So slowly that I didn't even notice how guarded and aloof and grumpy I'd become.

I don't want to be that man. I'm determined to learn from my father's mistakes and not push people away. That's why I got down on bended knee and proposed to my guys. That's why I wanted to share this special day with the people I've known my whole life. The town showed up for me in my time of need when my father passed, and I wanted them here to witness this special day.

Part of me also wanted them to see this. See us. What we have may not be conventional or considered normal, but I don't want it to be the subject of vicious gossip. While most people are okay with the three of us, we do get the occasional odd look, and one or two less than nice comments have filtered back to me.

I have no intention of fighting with anyone about this. People are free to think and feel whatever they like. But if they see how we are together, then I'm confident that over time, they'll see that this is just as real and normal as whatever they consider real and normal love to be.

Dario and Ryde reach me, and it takes all my self-restraint not to maul them one after the other. But we're in public. Oakey and all our friends are gathered around us. And besides, that's what tonight is for. We may not have been able to have a 'real wedding,' but I sure as shit intend on having a real wedding night.

"Miss us?"

Dario leans in and whispers into my ear.

"Like you wouldn't believe,"

I growl back, low enough so that only he and Ryde can hear.

The conversation carries on around me, but I don't pay any attention to it. I'm so overwhelmed by this special day, by these two incredible guys, by this amazing thing the three of us have that I never could have imagined for myself.

I don't think I'm going to change that much that I turn into Mr. Socialite, but because of Dario and Ryde, I am changing, opening up a bit more, and becoming less guarded. They make me feel like I have someone on my team, that I don't have to face everything alone. For the first time in my life, I feel looked after and cared for, and I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with them.

Who knows, maybe this grumpy old vet has a shot at not being such a big grump after all.

THE END