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“Don’t, shit, oh, fuck.”
Milena raised an eyebrow, pausing mid-yawn and looking at the door to her apartment. Which was halfway down from her from where she was standing just in front of the elevators. She was grateful that the rest of the apartments in the hall—all three occupied by Lambert’s brothers and their partners—were usually just as loud. The insulation of Kaer Morhen was excellent, so normally it was easy to walk down the hall and not hear anything. However, doors are not walls.
(Gods, maybe she is more tired than she’d thought. Jet lag was very much a reality for her right now. She had the red-eye flight coming back home after a week spent with Marika, Dawid, and her new nephew Stefan. And if her thoughts were this rambling and disjointed, well, all Milena can think is that she’s glad she’s almost home.)
Her loves were acting strangely on the phone yesterday, when she called to let them know she was at the airport. Aiden was acting more evasive than normal, and Lambert seemed to be thinking his words through—very carefully. As she fishes through her bag for her keys, she wonders if her parents or, gods forbid the thought, Marta had done anything. But that wouldn’t explain their behavior. They would tell her immediately, or given that she was a five-hour flight away, they would tell her that the three of them would need to talk when she got back. If not her family, perhaps Aubrey and Triss or Gweld and Serrit? Maybe something happened with them? But then, she would have heard from Eskel or Livi about that.
The sound of her keys jingling faintly was loud enough for the dogs to hear. Bichuwa and Sgian-dubh’s claws were pressing up against the door in the span of a breath. She hadn’t even yet put her key fully in the lock.
“Trobhad!” Lambert’s voice rang out, muffled by the door.
“Illi banni,” Aiden said at the same time.
Sgian-dubh and Bichuwa both got off the door, and Milena knew they were walking about five feet from the door, dark eyes staring intently at it. Milena smiled at the thought. The three of them—herself, Lambert, and Aiden—had been worried how Bluebell would take to two dogs being in her space, and how the two dogs would react to each other. But just like their owners, they seemed to click near instantly.
She quickly goes about unlocking the door and pulls it open, greeted by the sight of her partners standing behind the dogs. Bright smiles were on their faces, pleased to see her back safely. Aiden’s hands were behind his back, and Milena could see a vague shape he was holding on to. Sgian-dubh let out a small woof in greeting, his ears pricked up and alert. Bichuwa has her tongue out in a small blep. Milena couldn’t stop the giggle at the sight. She never can.
Lambert quickly makes his way over to help her bring her suitcase in, setting it to the side while she takes off her shoes. “Good to see the plane ride went fucking well,” he said, looking her up and down as if to see she’s injured.
“Aside from having to take a red-eye, yes,” she agreed, finally starting to relax. The tightness in her shoulders and neck subsided.
“Hello, lovely,” Aiden said, a teasing note to his voice, winking with his bad eye. He didn’t normally wear his eye patch around the apartment, and Milena and Lambert quickly got used to the two different shades of green his eyes were.
“Hello, handsome,” she teased back. Lambert leaned in and gave her a soft, quick kiss. “Hello, love,” she said after he pulled away. “And hello to you two!” Milena’s voice went soft as she greeted her dogs. “How were you all while I was gone? Did Bluebell take run of the apartment again?”
“Well,” Aiden started, “about that–”
“Let’s go sit down,” Lambert interrupted.
The dogs took off first, heading for their beds in the living room. He put his arm around her and they followed, Aiden behind them. Bluebell was curled up into a ball at the corner of the couch, one paw over her eyes. Milena glanced up at Lambert, the odd behavior from their phone call translating into odd behavior in person. Lambert led her to sit next to Bluebell, who lifted her head to see what was going on before going back to sleep. He sat down next to her stiffly. Aiden stood facing them, but on the other side of Lambert. He looked nervous, a small frown on his face.
Milena looked around the room. Perhaps something broke? Like one of her framed pictures of her and Marika on a summer trip, or the one during winter last year when the three of them built a sphinx out of snow. But those pictures were still up on the wall, unbroken. There didn’t seem to be anything missing on the walls or shelves. On the floor were new cat toys, though. Ones that Bluebell wouldn’t have much interest in, like a ball with a bell in it and a banana that had the word “catnip” printed on it in red. Bluebell kept her catnip toys in her bed.
“Did you get a new cat?” Milena asked before she could stop herself.
“How’d you know?” Aiden looked surprised.
“I thought we did a good job at hiding it,” Lambert said, his normal frown on his face.
“Oh, you would think that after all this time you would know I know you better,” Milena said. “The two of you were acting so strange on the phone last night, and Aiden is still standing. With his hands behind him, no less.”
“Ah, cath fach,” Aiden sighed, a fond smile replacing his surprise. “One day, I will learn to keep in mind the sharp wit you carry.”
“Serrit found a kitten behind a bush where she works. She’s fucking allergic, though, and asked if we wanted her. Would’ve said no, but she brought the fucking kit with her. Charmed us immediately,” Lambert explained, leaning back into the couch cushions.
“Well, don’t keep me in suspense!” Milena leant forward, eager to see the latest addition to their little family. The three of them had often talked about getting a friend for Bluebell now that Sgian-dubh and Bichuwa had each other. She just wasn’t expecting that to happen while she was away.
Aiden carefully moved his hands in front of him. A little brown and gray tabby was sitting in his hands patiently, spring green eyes looking at Milena with interest. She couldn’t help the excited squeak she let out, Lambert shaking against her as he tried to keep his laughter from scaring the kit out of Aiden’s hands. Milena held a finger up to the kit’s nose carefully, waiting for the sniff inspection to happen. It had been a while since Bluebell was this small, and Milena had nearly forgotten how adorable it is when a kitten’s tiny tongue comes out and licks you.
“Milena, meet Clove.”