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Cassi bustled around her house, getting things organized for spending the day with Nic. She tucked her loose hair behind her ears, the bangles on her wrist tinkling together as she shoved books and cat toys into a bag. Her phone chimed, and she paused to read Nic's message.

Works for me. We can get some supplies for Wayland, too.

Cassi's one cat had been absolutely beside himself when Nic left her house a few mornings ago. Cassi decided that Wayland needed to go for his sleepover sooner rather than later. And maybe a couple of nights at that.

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The last four days were productive in many ways. Caden had remodelled his bedroom and the training room, he had made a large donation to Nic's hospital by way of security equipment from Caden's company, and he had successfully planned a date to finish his bonding with Nero. In-between that, Caden dragged Avery all over Chicago to work on cases for the police, and keep him from irritating Kiki while she did her research with Nero. Last night was no different.

After they had successfully cleared a vampire's nest from the old werewolf territory, Caden made Avery run perimeter checks. It left Avery too tired to argue with Caden, which he thoroughly enjoyed.

Caden looked up from his laptop when Nero spoke to him. He glanced over to see Kimiko was gone, having missed her departure completely. Caden had spent his morning catching up on business after neglecting it for so long.

”Sure, do you want to go out or have something made up here?” Caden sent the last email before shutting his computer down.

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Capital punishment. That's what Avery thought of these last four days and nights. It had been hellish. He barely got sleep these days. Or time with Kimiko, but it was just enough to keep the wolf satisfied.

With the gym out of commission, there hadn't been anything for Avery to do but perimeter checks, and following Caden all over kingdom come. He understood why and welcomed the reprieve of feeling guilty and shame for the body pain and mental exhaustion, but it was starting to catch up to him.

Avery slept dreamlessly, sprawled across Kimiko's bed until he heard a door slam shut and her terribly loud, beautiful voice. Avery buried his head under his pillow.

”Go away, please.”

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Nic’s joking, but he can’t help thinking of getting one of those cat backpacks that would let Wayland peek out a little bubble. His dad is awake to greet him downstairs, handing him a fruity smoothie to substitute for breakfast. “Thanks dad,” He says. It’s still awkward between the two of them, but at least they have a plan to get him out of the mess Ren put himself in. “Cass and I are going shopping, so we’ll be back later.” Nic says before heading to the elevator.

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Nero lifts themselves up off the floor, setting the heavy book on the table. “Hmm, what would you prefer?” They ask, plopping themself in Caden’s lap. “If we stay here, I can stay in your lap, but if we go out I can get dolled up.” They tilt their head as they wait for Caden’s answer. Caden had been so busy between helping the police, punishing Avery, and his own business, that Nero has been missing having moments alone with him outside of sleeping. Although, it’s been great to be back in the nice big bed.

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Kiki shakes her head as she makes her way over to her bed. “Aw, what a ‘gwumpy’ wolf you are.” She says before sitting on the edge of the bed. “I guess we can’t go on a little date then.” With a dramatic flair, she sighs loudly and falls back onto her bed, half laying on the sprawled Avery.

“And after I had made Caden promise not to kidnap you today… how disappointing.” She huffs and starts sitting up to leave the bed.

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Haha, if it's pet friendly, sure. But he doesn't need to be spoiled.

Wayland already got a great deal of extra attention from Nic. He didn't need anything extra. That would simply go to little Wayland's head, and he would be nothing but trouble for Cass.

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”Mmm, you make both sound terribly tempting.” Caden's eyes wandered Nero's body, imagining them dressed in something that showed off their legs.

He pecked Nero on the lips while he ran his hands up and down their back. ”Why don't we stay in? We haven't had the house to ourselves in a while, and if Kiki takes Avery out, that'll just leave you and I to do as we please.”

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Avery grunted when Kimiko flopped onto him, but he made no motion to get up. He laid half buried under the covers until Kimiko started to pull away. Like a viper's strike, Avery snapped his arm out to grab Kimiko by the wrist. He tugged on her, wanting her to lay back down.

”What kind of promise? A verbal one or a pinkie swear?” Avery shifted his head, pulling it out from under the pillow to look at Kimiko. He yawned before rubbing at his eyes.

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Nic climbs into the SUV and starts the drive to Cassi’s place, excitedly thrumming his fingers on the steering wheel. When he finally arrives at her place, he wastes no time jumping out of the vehicle and bounding over to her front door to knock, hiding something he got on his way behind his back.

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Nero beams at Caden, enjoying just how infatuated he is with them and feeling a thrill run up their spine as his hands moved up and down. “Sounds like a plan to me.” They say with a nod before returning his kiss. “I think… we should eat outside and go for a swim afterwards.”

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Kiki laughs, knowing this is exactly what Avery would do and happily lays back down, her head resting against his thighs. “A verbal one - I didn’t want to get my attorney involved with the legal connotations of a pinkie swear.” She turns her head to catch his eyes as he looks at her.

“Somehow, Caden thought we should have some time to ourselves before one of us explodes. Don’t know how he got the idea that we were close to imploding.”

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Mhmm, why am I not surprised? Is this how you are going to be with our human children, too?

Cassiopeia is smiling despite herself. After their talk of children and Cassi's past, she had dreamed that night.

She was walking through the Highlands, purple heather adoring the hills like the stars in the sky. She crested a hill to see a giant willow, standing completely alone. A crow sat below, barely visible within the swaying branches. It called out when it saw Cassi, grabbed a branch from the tree, and circled her three times before dropping the branch.

Cassi had woken with a start, waking Nic along with her. His nature had him caring for her, but Cassi wanted to sleep. In the morning, though, she told him what she had dreamt. The crow, a messenger from the other side, and the willow tree, a symbol of new beginnings and fertility. It had been a blessing from her ancestors, and something Cassi took straight to heart.

Cassi's doorbell rang, pulling her from her thoughts. Wayland instantly bounded over, scratching and meowing until Cassi opened the door. The cat instantly tried crawling up Nic's leg.

”Wayland, honestly. He's going to think I beat you.” Cassi shooed the cat inside before smiling at her boyfriend. ”Good morning, handsome.”

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Caden chuckled and lifted Nero. He set them on their desk and stood. ”What are you going to do when it's time to close the pool for the winter?” he asked, but was completely thrilled with the idea Nero proposed nonetheless.

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”Mmm, verbal promises can be broken,” he declared. With the sleep now cleared from Avery's eyes, he was able to take in Kimiko fully, and smiled. He slid his hand from her wrist into her hand, and pulled it close, wrapping around it like a pillow.

”Pack bond. I may have told him to fuck off once or twice…” Avery's irritability was nothing new. If he didn't get a good workout or a shift every once in a while, the agitation built up until he exploded on the nearest person. Caden had been doing his best to keep Avery busy until the point of exhaustion, but the lack of intimacy with his mate was starting to show.

Avery hadn't had sex with Kimiko since their fight, with good reason, but it didn't mean Avery craved it any less.

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Nic laughs at Wayland’s antics before grinning lopsidedly at his girlfriend. “Good morning mon amour.” He kisses Cassi’s lips briefly before he pulls out what he’s hidden behind his back. “I thought you could start the day with one of those coffee bouquets.”

He pulls out a drink holder that contains a banana and kale smoothie, another small succulent like he had previously gifted to her, a bag of chocolate covered pretzels, and a small pocket book that’s meant to act as an encyclopedia for deciphering dreams. “Only, I got you a smoothie instead of coffee.”

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Nero tilts their head the other direction with a small smirk. “You have a hot tub, don’t you? Or I guess your bathtub could count.” They reach up towards Caden and wrap their arms around his neck. “Although, you could always fly us somewhere warmer.”

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“I think this verbal promise will be upheld unless Caden wants me to break the newly fixed training room again.” Kiki says confidently before rolling towards Avery and the hand he’d taken hostage. “I’m sure there’s better pillows than my hand.” She says, quirking an eyebrow before smiling softly. “I thought we could go to that diner you took me to once, maybe go shout off a cliff again afterwards.” It’s been hard to stay mad at Avery so on one hand, she had been glad Caden had personally seen to wearing the werewolf out but on the other… Well she has newly discovered needs that make her ache to get things back to normal between them.

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Cassiopeia happily kissed Nic back. She was excited to have him to herself today. The last couple of days Cassi had to work to keep herself from losing anymore business. Thankfully, none of her regular clients seemed to be upset with her. She ensured to stock them up well, knowing she would be taking today off.

Cassi watched Nic curiously as he pulled the object he had been hiding out from behind his back. She grinned at the items and happily took the container from him.

”I love this! Thank you.” She reached up and kissed Nic's lips before she walked inside with all of her items. She tucked her pretzels away to savour on a later date, but started to drink her smoothie immediately. Her new plant seemed a little sad to her, and she decided it would go up to her bedroom.

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”Fly us somewhere warm, hmm? And where would my little imp want to go? Costa Rica maybe? Indonesia? Or perhaps Jamaica?” Caden kissed Nero three times before he picked them up and carried them outside.

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Avery shook his head. ”Aside from your stomach or your legs, this will do.” he declared.

Avery opened his eyes at the mention of the diner he liked. ”Can we take the bike?” He hadn't been able to ride since the last time he took Kimiko, and that had been weeks ago now. He missed it, and had wanted to get a few more rides in before the cold set in.

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Nic follows behind Cassi inside, looking her over once before settling on the skin he could see between her skirt and stockings. That little peek makes Nic run a hand through his hair as he tries to focus his attention on something else. “You are absolutely welcome. You look very cute today, by the way.” He says, crouching to pick up Wayland before the cat could start yelling at him in meows.

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Nero’s smile grows with each of Caden’s kisses, finding themself to be a little giddy. “Which one is your favorite?” They ask as they’re carried outdoors. “Or we could just visit all of them - we have quite a bit of time on our hands.” Both of them were practically immortal with only a few situations that could actually kill one or the other. It stands tp reason that the two might just end up traveling everywhere they could ever want.

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Kiki turns her head away from Avery so he can’t see her blush, the mention of him using either of those spots as a pillow sending her mind into a little frenzy of thoughts. When he mentions taking the bike, she’s glad she’s not looking at him anymore - he’d probably pull those damned puppy eyes again. “You know, at some point Sarah is going to stop letting me borrow her gear.” Schooling her expression, she turns her head back and looks at Avery.

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Cassiopeia walked out of the kitchen, sipping her smoothie. She smiled at Nic, glancing down at her outfit and nodded. She felt a strange mix of shyness and confidence from Nic's words.

”Thank you. That's what I was going for.” She tucked her hair behind her ear again, bangles jangling, and gestured at the bags by the door.

”I packed extra clothes to change into if we start building those garden boxes today, though. Plus I packed a bag for Wayland. Some toys and the treats he likes, but we can get you the bigger items from the pet store.”

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”Alright. How about you research each place and you tell me where you'd like to go first. Maybe I can make the arrangements for us this winter.”

Caden grabbed a blanket from the couch on his way outside. He turned on one of the heat lamps before he sat in his usual spot with Nero on his lap. Caden pulled his phone out, and hit the button for the kitchen to have breakfast sent up.

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”True…Does that mean you'll let me buy you your own gear?” Avery kissed her hand before he released it. He rolled over so he was on his side facing her, feeling more awake now. He rested his head on his hand, watching her.

It had quickly become Avery's favourite thing to just watch Kimiko. He wanted to learn more about her to give himself a better understanding of her. That, and he loved her.

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“Well then you masterfully achieved it.” Nic says as he watches her fidget, smiling as he thinks about how cute she is before he turns to look behind him. He faces Cassi again and grins as he steps toward her to wrap his arms around her. “Hmm, and maybe you could leave some clothes at my place now.” He suggests with his hands resting on her hips before kissing her forehead.

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Nero shakes their head with a chuckle, still somehow unused to just how accessible everything is for Caden. When he pulls his phone out, Nero does the same and pulls up their camera with a fun filter to snap a selfie of them. With a happy giggle and a squirm to be comfortable again, they look through some of the other photos of the two of them. Which is basically all the photos in Nero’s phone.

“I can’t help but notice you didn’t answer my question about which one is your favorite.” They say when Caden puts his phone away.

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Kiki moves to mirror Avery’s position, laughing a little bit before raising her eyebrow. “I don’t think I have much of a choice at this point.” She says as she realizes he’s watching her again. With a flushed face, she ends up rolling onto her stomach and throws one of the blankets over herself to hide under. “Stop staring or I’m crawling into a hole.”

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Cassiopeia smiled, shifting her drink to keep it from getting squished between them. "Oh, well if I'm doing that I'm going to need a bigger bag," she announced.

Her eyes shut when Nic kissed her forehead, finding his touch pleasurable even in this simple way. She opened her eyes once more, and beamed up at him.

"Give me another five minutes and then we can go."

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Caden barely had time to make a face when Nero snapped a photo of them. He found most of the photos they took were like that. Nero looking cute with Caden half a step behind them. He didn't mind, though. As long as it made his imp happy.

Caden chuckled when he got called out. He booped Nero on the nose before kissing them. "Because you have a tendency to default to whatever I like. I want you to pick a place. Then we can go to the place I like next time."

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Avery grinned, watching Kimiko hide from him, and finding it completely adorable. He enjoyed how embarrassed or shy she became when all of his attention was on her. It reminded him she was just as new to this as he was.

"I hope it is a large hole or else it will be very squished when I crawl in there with you," Avery said and ran his fingers down the length of the spine, wanting to see what she would do.

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Nic chuckles, kissing her head once more before releasing Cassi. “Go ahead, I’ll keep Wayland company while I wait then.” He says, backing up to go sit on her couch while he waits. The aforementioned cat does not waste any time before jumping into his lap and he scratches the little guys head behind his ears.

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Nero tilts their head back to rest on Caden’s shoulder with a smirk after the nose boop and kiss. “While you might be making a great point,” They say while booping Caden’s nose this time. “I don’t appreciate you calling me out like this.” Something wonderful fills the air and Nero leans their head further to see the staff bringing out breakfast.

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“The hole is to get-” Kiki squeaks and squirms at Avery’s touch. “To get away from you!” She rolls onto her back away from the werewolf. She pops her head out of the blankets to glare at him with a frown. “No boys allowed.” She says and sticks out her tongue.

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Cassiopeia smiled and headed up the stairs, grabbing her new plant along the one. Once she placed the plant, Cassi grabbed a new bag and started to go through her closet , looking for anything she would not necessarily miss.

Once she had a sufficient amount of nice and comfortable clothing, she headed back downstairs, holding something behind her back now. Cassi dropped her bag off at the front door, keeping the item she had hidden tucked in her hand with her drink in the other. She stood in front of Nic and smiled.

”I have something for you, too,” she announced. She felt her face heat up from excitement. She pulled her hand out and presented the item flat on her palm.

A key sat there with a keychain in the outline of a cat. ”It's a house key. To my house. You can come and go when you want or get some cat love if I'm not around,” Cassi explained.

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Caden took Nero's temporary distraction as an opportunity to whisper into their ear. ”I can live with that,” Caden purred.

Caden inhaled the scent of sausage and eggs benedict with hash browns. There was also a side of fruit with fresh whipping cream.

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Avery grinned, her reaction far better than he could have anticipated. However, it turned quickly and Avery frowned.

”Well that's not very fair. What am I supposed to do while you're in the hole?”

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Nic looks at the key in Cassi’s palm and then up at her face as he grins widely. He reached for her hand as if he’s about to take the key from her hand but instead gently pulls Cassi down so her can kiss her lips. After a moment he pulls away, grinning again.

“I can’t believe you would just one-up my gift like that.” He teases with playful tones. “But I love it, thank you.”

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Nero squirms, folding onto themself by the ear Caden whispered. “You are getting dangerously close to making me suggest we take breakfast to our bedroom.” They whisper with a playful glare as they slink lower in his lap. “Now pass me some of the sausage, it smells heavenly.”

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Kiki turns her head to the side and gives Avery a smug look. “You can do boy things.” She says simply with a raised eyebrow. “You and Caden can go on one of your manly missions. Avery style.” She speaks the last two words with her exaggerated gruff Avery voice and terrible American accent.

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Cassi laughed and sat beside Nic. She kissed him back happily before pulling back.

”To be fair, I didn't know you were getting me a gift. Besides, I love my present. It was very thoughtful. Just like you,” Cass said and kissed Nic again.

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”Let them watch,” he said, holding Nero close. It wouldn't be the worst thing his staff had seen him do. Caden used to have quite the parties once upon a time, and his long term staff had seen Caden in many compromising positions.

Caden didn't tease Nero further, though, and handed them some sausages before he helped himself to the eggs benny and hash browns.

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Avery raised his eyebrows in confusion. ”What are boy things?” He rolled over onto his back and stared at Kimiko's ceiling. He laughed when she attempted to copy the American accent and shook his head.

”Je suis amoureux d'une folle,” he said, speaking with a perfect Parisian accent.

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Nic smiles brightly, putting an arm around Cassi as she sits down. “I just started grabbing things that made me think of you.” He says, pulling her in closer to kiss her head. “You’ll have to let me know if the book is any good.” He knows they should start their day at some point, but the moment is nice after barely seeing each other the last few days.

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Nero chuckles, not at all shocked by Caden’s slight voyeurism. “You’re terrible.” They say before greedily eating the sausages. Slowly gaining better table manners, the imp chews and swallows their food before speaking again. “But luckily you’re dating a demon whose morals are also a little askew.”

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Kiki gasps dramatically, pretending to be offended. “I distinctly remember warning you I was a neurotic mess and you said something along the lines of ‘that’s okay’.” Kiki says, reaching over to smack his chest.

“On ne peut pas revenir en arrière.” She states matter-of-factly before adding dismissively, “Also, I dunno - tree house clubs and bugs. Boy stuff.”

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”Of course,” Cassi said with a smile. She kissed Nic once more before she pulled back and stood. ”Lots to do today, mon amour.” She pulled Nic up and walked over to the door.

She pulled on a brown trench coat before grabbing her bags. ”Come along, Wayland. You, too.”

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”I'm certainly okay with that as it makes for more fun.”

Caden finished his meal rather quickly, a combination of hunger and the great taste making him eat faster. He pushed his plate away and leaned back in his seat. He rested a hand on Nero's leg, and watched them.

”Do you want to get married?”

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”I'm not going back on it. Never will,” he said and kissed her forehead before he got up. ”Now, I believe I was promised breakfast at my favourite diner.”

Avery stretched and yawned before he walked into Kimiko's bathroom to shower and get ready for the — hopefully — relaxing day.

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Nic smiles goofily as he lets Cassi pull him to his feet. He helps with the bags, grabbing one before his girlfriend can stop him before Wayland makes his way to join them. “Come on, my son, according to your mother there is lots to do.” He crouches and picks up the cat before the three of them make their way to the SUV and start to load it up. Most of the bags went to the middle seat so they could fit bulkier items in the back.

“So, are we taking Wayland into the store with us or dropping him off at my place first?” He asks, helping Cassi into the front seat before handing Wayland off to her.

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Nero smirks, agreeing that loose morals does make for more fun. When Caden finishes his food, Nero turns more in his lap to watch him back as they finish the last of the sausage. Unfortunately for them, they are mid-bite of the meat when the dragon asks them if they want to get married and they subsequently choke. With a few thumps of their fist to their chest, they manage to swallow before they could asphyxiate.

“Wouldn’t the bond be pretty similar to marriage?” They ask after drinking some water to help. “I haven’t really thought of it otherwise… Or is this you proposing to me?” They ask as they realize this question might not be if Nero wants to get married but rather if Nero wants to marry Caden.

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Kiki’s cheeks and ears warm, of course, but lucky for her, Avery quickly gets up to shower and get ready. She, on the other hand, gets up to go ask Sarah for her riding gear. While she could’ve taken the time to find a cute outfit to wear on what felt like the first date in ages, she figures there’s no point when she’s going to be getting in and out of gear and riding a death machine. As she makes her way towards staff housing, she spots Nero and Caden on the patio sharing what seems like an intimate moment, so she takes the long way around instead.

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Cassi buckled herself in before she took Wayland. He sat in her lap, his head on a swivel as he looked around curiously.

”Either is fine. He is good in the stores. If your dad is home then he should be fine in a new place but if he isn't, we should probably keep him with us,” she said and scratched Wayland’s ears.

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Caden smirked when Nero choked. He hadn't intended on alarming his mate this much with his question, but Caden couldn't deny it was entertaining. He rubbed their back in an effort to help soothe them.

”In a way. The bonding is more intense, a deeper connection. Marriage would essentially be for show, a human tradition,” Caden explained.

He picked up Nero's right hand and played with their fingers. Traditionally, in Scotland, the right ring finger was where the wedding ring sat.

”I want to experience everything with you, be connected to you in every way.” Caden kissed Nero's ring finger before looking up at them. ”But no, this is me asking a question, not proposing.” Caden's eyes danced impishly, a trait he had picked up from Nero.

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Avery took his time in the shower. The cold water initially cut across his skin, making him wince and dance around until his body adjusted and relaxed. Most days Avery started off with a cold shower. He couldn't help it, especially on the days he woke up and Kimiko was pressed up against him.

Avery sighed, knocking the image and feel of Kimiko's body in his hands. That was definitely not helping, cold shower or not. Now Avery understood why Caden and Nero were exceedingly entangled with each other.

After feeling more mentally prepared for the day, Avery finished getting ready. He dressed in his usual black clothing style. Black jeans, a tri-blend black t-shirt, and black boots. He grabbed his wallet and riding bag before reading out to the garage. He hadn't seen Kimiko return yet, and assumed she would just meet him in the garage.

---

Sarah was in the kitchen of staff housing with some other members of Caden's staff, cooking breakfast together. Her blond hair was pulled back into a fierce looking ponytail, with zero flyaways. Everything about Sarah always looked immaculate. She looked up at spotted Kimiko.

Sarah smiled, her green eyes lighting up while the skin in the corners of her eyes crinkled with the signs of a life full of laughter.

“Hey, Kimi, Avery's not here, so I take it you are looking for riding gear?”[/color]

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“To the store with us it is,” Nic says, not wanting to ambush his dad with a cat of he was home. Over the past few days his dad has become a nervous wreck around Cassi and Nic, constantly apologetic and eager to help with even the smallest tasks. Nic knows it’s his guilty conscious, but his dad is pushing himself too much for his liking.

Nic gets on the freeway, needing to go out of downtown Chicago to make it to one of the bigger hardware stores. He reaches across the center console to scratch Wayland behind his ears before resting his hand on Cassi’s thigh. “How have you been? I feel like we barely had a chance to talk the last few days.”

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Nero can feel their ears warm with blush at the attention Caden showers them with. It’s not unusual to receive this kind of focus and touch from him, but the marriage question has caught the imp by surprise. As Caden explains himself, they find that the idea does appeal to them and that it will be another way for the two to announce their companionship.

“Good,” Nero smirks when Caden says it’s not a proposal. “Because this would have been a piss poor way to ask when you and I are such indulgent creatures.” Nero kisses Caden’s jaw before curling more into their mate.

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Kiki smiles sheepishly, blushing a little at how intuitive Sarah could be. “How’d you know?” She asks sarcastically before nodding. “I’m taking him out to breakfast and he practically begged to take the bike… and who am I to refuse those puppy dog eyes?” She exaggerates, but she’s sure Avery would have begged if it came to it.

“I mentioned getting my own gear and he looked like a little kid on Christmas.” She goes on as the two make their way to Sarah’s space. “Do you have any suggestions on where to go?”