They had it coming

Both him and Amelia was pulled in by the vampyre and the younger wrapped her arms around the vampyre's neck, hugging herself close. Even if Eden didn't show it, she would be able to feel the joy. And that was plenty for at her age. Romeo stole a small kiss from his husband, nuzzling their noses together, he let Eden hold her as he pressed his lips to his ear. "Do I get to call you daddy too?" He whispered teasingly, before pulling away with a bratty smile. After what had been happening over the last few weeks they deserved this moment. All three of them. "Now, Amelia, I think it's time you told pappa what you said to me earlier.
Amelia got a little shy, hiding her face away in the vampyre's shoulder while Romeo rubbed her back a little. She was rightfully so having a lot of emotions spark right now. And it was maybe a bit too much, but she had wanted them to celebrate. "I wanna go feed the duckies," she muttered, turning her head to look at her father with innocent eyes. Romeo chuckled, kissing her head, "she also really wanted to get a little suit for Babbit because she wants him to be just as proper as her pappa," he helped her. Babbit had a small selection of outfits that she frequently changed to match her own wardrobe that day. She nodded, holding the rabbit up to show that he wasn't matching the nice suits that Eden and Romeo were wearing. She learnt a lot by watching alone, and she was a bright kid.

Amelia's face lit up with excitement as Eden gave the green light to feeding the ducks. Her and Romeo had talked about it because of a story that he had read to her. And since then she had wanted to go, but today had to be the day, if you asked her. The compliment made her blush, hiding her face away in his neck as she became shy once more. After being with them she had really started to blossom. Her personality was showing more and more every day, and it was strange to think back to the scared little girl holding a shard of glass to protect herself. But now things were very different. And she had a family now. He could only image her settling in more from now on.
She wanted to walk, holding the rabbit close to her red coat that Romeo had bought her. It was perfect to her, all proper and nice, but she was still able to be a kid in it. Oh, all the fun Romeo already had in dressing them up to match. Of course Eden couldn't avoid being dragged into it as well. The lycan locked his arm with his husband's, pulling himself a little closer, "you felt like you needed a bit of heat," he spoke softly. He was trying. Trying to divide his attention better, and with Amelia in front of them, he wasn't afraid of her running off. No, she sought comfort in the two of them.

Romeo wanted Eden to feel loved. He wanted him to feel just how much he cared while still providing Amelia with protection. As they reached the park, Romeo was a little surprised that the shop wasn't open this time of year. Weren't there many families coming to the parks anymore? Regardless, Amelia barely seemed to notice as she looked out at the body of water that had walking paths around it. A few ducks were swimming around in the water, and she ran closer to the water. Romeo chuckled, kissing his husband's cheek, "then I'll go catch our runaway pup," he spoke tenderly before running after Amelia, grabbing her before she came too close to the water. She giggled as she was lifted up, Romeo spinning her around before telling her that they had to wait a little for pappa to return with some crumbs.
He actually did manage to keep her entertained, surprising himself a little at how well he had actually gotten to know her. He knew her interests and what she found herself curious about. Of course he couldn't answer every question under the sun, but he was willing to do his best to answer the ones that Amelia had. He held her on his hip so she could look out further to see all of the ducks swimming around, nuzzling her cheek against Romeo's shoulder. "Are you happy again, papino?" She asked carefully, but she wanted to comfort him like he comforted her. Of course being a child meant that she didn't understand that concept too much yet, but she was in tune with her instincts at least.
Romeo turned his head, kissing her on top of her hair that still had a high ponytail, though they probably had to brush her hair out again tonight. "Papino sometimes struggle being happy, cara, but I always try to be happy; because you and pappa make me very happy." He knew she wouldn't understand the hardships, but she wasn't stupid either, so he wouldn't lie. Honesty. It had to be a family motto now.

Amelia didn't really understand, but she didn't really have to in this case. As long as she could help him be happy, then there maybe wasn't much more that she could do. Romeo felt the hand on his hip and the kiss on his head, making him close his eyes and sigh in content. It was just those small things, wasn't it? A kiss and a touch. That was truly what made this whole thing come together. Romeo put Amelia down, and she looked to Eden as he presented the bag to her. She giggled, clearly giddy as she took the bag and looked into it, even taking a piece out to taste test it. It was dry but she didn't seem to mind that. Grabbing Eden's hand she pulled him along down to the water.
Romeo just stood for a while and watched them. Seeing the ducks swimming closer as soon as Amelia started to carefully throw crumbs out to them. He moved a little closer, squatting down and looked to his husband. He took a few pictures of them; some with just Amelia feeding the ducks; some with Eden and her; and at least a handful of pictures just of Eden. He looked perfect right now. He always looked perfect, of course, but right now everything just made sense in his head. They still had things to work out, but if they could communicate it would be fine. Of course they were bound to butt heads, but it was just a part of being in a relationship he supposed.
"Pappa, look!" Her eyes widened as a few of the ducks waddled up onto land, moving up closer to her. She giggled happily, trying her best to keep up with feeding them all, but they were starting to overwhelm her a little and she got a worried frown on her brow. Not that she was aware of how to fix this situation.

As she was lifted she felt rather relieved, nodding at Eden's words. She was safe and he was making sure she was safe. At this point the bag was pretty much empty, so she just dumped the rest out on the ground. She watched as the ducks quacked around Eden's feet for a while before retreating. Once they did, Romeo joined them, kissing Amelia's head before wrapping an arm around his husband's hip. He just wanted to be a little close. The question made her nod, "pappa, are you really not afraid of anything?" She asked quite clearly astonished by how calm the vampyre had been. Romeo frowned a little but squeezed Eden's hip gently, "I bet he was afraid of seeing his daughter almost turn into duck food," he took over. Eden didn't have to answer that question, not when things were still this raw in their emotions. "Now, I think we've had plenty of adventure for today," he said softly, nuzzling his nose against his husband's cheek, breathing him in. Amelia nodded in agreement, but she didn't really ever disagree with either of them. She was a pretty easy kid to care for. Perhaps because she was so easy to love? "We can order clothes for Babbit when we come home," he said, not having forgotten what they had promised her earlier. Amelia seemed to like the idea, so the little family soon enough was on their way home.

Eden seemed more at ease and it made Romeo happy. When they started to head home the vampyre excused himself and the lycan scoffed softly, kissing his husband back, lingering for a bit as he seemed to want more. But it would always be like that. Amelia just chuckled, rubbing her cheek where he had pinched her, but it was clear it hadn't hurt. They watched Eden walk off and Romeo sighed as he watched him go. They were in this together, huh? The two lycans then went home, getting warmed by the small heater and looking at outfits for the rabbit on the website where they usually ordered toy clothes from. Amelia seemed to settle on a rather nice vest and bowtie for the stuffed toy that she hugged closer. She had really gotten attached to it, and it was clear that she took great care of it.
When that was fixed, they cuddled up while Romeo and her went over some of her lessons. Nothing extremely hard, but just re-hashing what had already been learnt. The lycan refused to let her lack in any education once they got a hold of a tutor for her. They weren't willing to risk her going to a private school just yet, not before after everything with the Parish estate was solved. Though he knew she would have to learn how to socialize with other kids her age eventually. But for now it was just the three of them, and it would have to make do.

When Eden returned home the two lycans were just snuggled up, Romeo helping her read a few words from a book, but she quickly lost focus. Romeo chuckled, getting up and she took that as a sign that she could run after her father to the kitchen. Her eyes were glued to the untouched bag, her fingers holding onto the kitchen counter with excitement. Romeo felt Eden squeeze his behind, gritting his teeth a little because it felt too good. Though when the hand was removed and he still felt something in his back pocket he was curious. But he wasn't sure if itnwas safe to look at it in front of Amelia. So he waited, helping Eden unpack the other bags, though he was curious too, he hid it a bit better than the younger one.
"What's in the bag?" She then asked, because she was dying to know. "Pappa said it was a secret, so we wait and see what it is," Romeo reminded her and she pouted a little unsatisfied. He went and wrapped his arms around the vampyre from behind, kissing him up his neck to his ear. "It's not like you to use all this money at once," he muttered against his skin, just enjoying his scent. Amelia didn't seem to mind how they displayed their affectionate touches, and that was a good sign. But it was also true that Eden was rather frugal with money. Sure he bought blood and food, but this much was not like him. And even less so all of the gift giving. "I might have a gift for you too later," he spoke hushed into his ear before he let go of Eden to go grab Amelia, lifting her up onto the counter. They could always clean it off before cooking anyways. "Alright, miss Altieri, it seems like pappa will do the cooking - how about we set the table and then you can have some playtime, hm?" Amelia smiled, nodding in agreement and they went on to do just that.

Amelia gave the bag one more look before Romeo just urged her to go play. He made sure that she had about equal amount of play and work, not wanting her to stress too much. Not like he had been at her age. Maybe this was also a way for Romeo to heal the kid within him that still hurt from the trauma he had gone through. When she left, he himself went to go fix a few things in the office, taking out the gift that was wrapped from his back pocket. Biting his lower lip he considered opening it, but he would rather want Eden to see his reaction. So he placed it in the top drawer on his desk, keeping it safe for later when Amelia had been put to bed.
He then went and joined Eden in the kitchen. Seeing the red wine he daringly took a couple of glasses and poured some into them, one for each. Though for Eden's he did add a bit of blood as well. And it was easily hidden for Amelia at least. Handing him the glass with blood added he smiled, touching the two edges together making a small ding sound. "I thought it was only fair that we celebrate a bit as well," he argued, taking a sip of his wine. It was nice, even if it wasn't the most expensive wine, he really liked it. "I haven't opened my present yet .. it's in the office for later when you get your gift as well." He smiled and felt a little genius and perhaps a bit daring as well.

Romeo gladly stood closer to his husband, sipping his wine and just watching him cook. It felt nice, just having a small moment where Amelia entertained herself and the two of them could spend a little time being intimate in another way. Romeo felt like their affection towards each other continued to grow and expand. He really felt happy right now, strange when compared to how depressed he had been earlier. But a lycan was most of the time controlled by their emotions and instincts, so he wasn't that surprised at the turn around.
The vampyre chuckled and Romeo narrowed his eyes at his husband, "did you buy me something naughty, Mr. Altieri?" He could sound almost taken aback, but it was merely a tease. His lips pulled up in a smile, looking to his husband, his free hand moving up to touch the hair that was on the cold one's head. It felt good. Feeling him slowly warm by his touch. It was just something he had really adored about their relationship from the start. The question made him hum, rubbing his neck gently, massaging it a bit, "well, it was originally a Solstice gift," he hummed with a nod. "But I felt like now was perhaps more fitting .. I haven't even wrapped it, so I don't know if it's even technically a gift." Of course it was, but Romeo was also not making it bigger than it had to be. It was just something he had wanted for Eden to see and hopefully it would have the right reaction. "I think you should perhaps make sure that Amelia's isn't too raw; she's still fairly young, and maybe a bit too young to have very rare meat," he spoke to him softly, leaning in to kiss his cheek. "I like mine as raw as my husband," he muttered against his ear, nibbling a bit on his earlobe.

Romeo chuckled under his breath at Eden's words, moving his lips down to his neck, biting it gently, much more of a slight tease. "I'll gladly take my punishment later," he sighed softly against his cold skin that clashed with his warm breath. Nuzzling his nose into his neck he just breathed him in for a short while before he knew he had to go and get Amelia. Releasing the vampyre, albeit a little reluctantly, he took another sip of his wine before placing the glass down on the counter. He went and told Amelia that dinner would be served shortly, so she best be washing her hands before she came to the table. The young lycan obliged and Romeo returned to the kitchen, grabbing a large glass bottle out of the fridge. It was filled with water, and he went and added a little bit of lemon to it, just to give it a nice citrus taste.
Amelia soon enough joined them, letting Romeo inspect her hands and he grinned softly, commending her on how good she was. He placed a kiss on top of her head before she went to sit down. Romeo grabbed a few of the extra sides to help Eden before he moved over to the table. Amelia was still curious as she hadn't seen what was in the bag yet, but her stomach rumbling softly was a tell tale sign of her focus being on somewhere else first. She was very much surprised at the feast of a dinner, looking at all of the choices. She wasn't very fussy with food, which was good because Romeo was plenty for the whole family. Helping her with the steak, he cut it up a bit, as the knife was a bit tricky for her, but she was pretty good with the fork.
Over the dinner they spoke a lot the three of them, Amelia really enjoyed the food and was curious about Romeo's plate as well. The elder lycan showed her the very rare meat, telling her about the benefits of eating it this rare, but only once she got a little older. She was however allowed to have a piece of his and she seemingly found it hard to chew. It made sense as her teeth would grow denser with time and her jaw stronger. He held Eden's hand on top of the table, just letting her see that they were on good terms again, and showing her the unity that was protecting her. That she was indeed their daughter now in every sense of the word. "Papino says that I'm going to have a new teacher soon," she said, looking to Eden with a frown. It was clear she was very attached to Romeo as her tutor, but she would need a proper education now that she was officially their daughter.

Romeo could understand her being weary. They had gained her trust little by little, and so would the tutor have to, but it wouldn't be the end of the world. Besides that, she needed to get used to it once him and Eden launched their firm. It was so close and yet he still wanted it all to run smoothly, both the work aspect and especially the family aspect. While he loved her differently, she still held a small piece of his heart, even if Eden would perhaps be jealous of that phrasing. But it was true. However Romeo didn't think his heart could ever run out of pieces nor size to incorporate both of them. Eden was good at reassuring her, making her understand that it didn't mean that they wouldn't be there to teach her. She looked down, frowning a bit as she played with Babbit's ear clearly thinking things through.
"Pappa and I promise you that we'll still be there to help you, but we'll be teaching you different stuff," Romeo said. She didn't need to think of it as ending, rather it was a slight addition to their already scheduled studying. "We still have to look into some lycan things as well when the time comes .. and you said how you wanted pappa to teach you how to cook more?" Amelia nodded, looking to her parents. Romeo was still surprised to think of how they had ended up in this situation. "Come on now," he said, reaching over with his free hand, pinching her cheek softly, "where's that cute smile of yours?" Her pout slowly turned into a smile that she tried to hide. She couldn't stay upset very long.
"Alright; pappa cooked us dinner, so it is only fair that we clean up," he said and Amelia nodded, adding a small "hmpf," to signal that she agreed. Romeo chuckled softly, leaning in to kiss his husband's cheek gently, "and after that, he has to show us the super secret surprise," he said, nuzzling his nose against the vampyre's cheek, just taking a little time to enjoy the moment. However Amelia had already gotten up by the mention of the secret. Placing Babbit in her chair she went to Romeo, pulling at his arm. "More cleaning, papino, less sitting," she demanded making Romeo chuckle slowly releasing his husband, "as the princess demands!" He let got and got up as he started to clear the table with Amelia's help.

Romeo chiming in with support to Eden's words felt reassuring for the vampyre. Sure, it wouldnt be the same as before, but it definitely wasnt the end, though it seemed that Amelia thought so. Romeo tried to get a smile out of her and she quickly gave in, even if she tried to hide it. It was rather cute. Dinner was over and though it wasnt necessary, then Eden appreciated that Romeo was so insistent on cleaning. It was good to teach Amelia, though it definitely wasnt how the vampyre had been brought up himself. Everything was done by housekeepers when he grew up; Well, they didnt have to eat dinner like this so there was never a mess to clean.
The reminder of the surprise made the vampyre eye the lycan with an excited smile. He didnt mind that Romeo lingered but Amelia's persistence was also endearing. "I'll help." he said, getting up to grab the plates within his reach, even if the two lycan's might object. Cleaning would just go faster with more hands.

Once that was handled, did Eden grab the bag, bringing it to the dinner table and placing down. He took out a small folded paper crate, placing it on the table. There also was a small package that he placed on Amelia's side. When the two lycan's joined, did the vampyre go to get two plates. He asked Amelia to open the crate, and if she did would two rather nice looking cakes sit nicely. "It wouldnt be a celebration without cake." he remarked, though he did not want to eat cake at all. If Amelia was curious about her package, then Eden would let her open it to reveal a carrot of some sort, but it wasnt edible or easy to break. Eden chuckled a little, wondering if she found it silly. "I thought Babbit's hands looked so empty and he must be so hungry watching us eat all the time, so it was only fair to get him a carrot too. One of these days, I'll make him able to hold it all by himself." he promised her, smiling gently at her.

Romeo wanted to object, but he was too busy with handling Amelia to really do so. Besides, it did happen quicker. Afterwards the little lycan practically followed in Eden's heals like a duckling when he carried the bag. She looked with curious eyes, sniffing to see if she could figure out what it was. Romeo chuckled softly, moving over to sit down in the couch, Amelia opting to sit on the floor to be closer to the coffee table. She was given a gift, on that she looked rather surprised at, but the urge made her open it. She did have manners after all. The carrot did make her a little confused which showed on her face, but as the vampyre explained, her face lit up from excitement. "Thank you pappa!" She exclaimed happily, giggling as she showed tha carrot off to Babbit. She had truly grown attached to that stuffed toy.
Romeo however was struggling a little when Eden presented the cakes. Swallowing he didn't want to slip up in front of Amelia but he also didn't know if he could push himself further. While Amelia went on to show Babbit the cake did Romeo follow Eden the kitchen, taking his hand before he took any plates. He looked torn. "I don't know if I can," he just spoke in a hushed tone. The intention had been sweet from Eden's side, but eating a full plate of dinner had been quite enough to stomach. "I don't want to disappoint her either," he admitted, but they both knew what happened if he pushed himself too much. The food would just go right up again, and he didn't want that either.

Romeo nodded, feeling a little overwhelmed by this sudden introduction of cake. It wasn't wrong of him to celebrate like this, as it was good for Amelia to get a positive and healthy relationship with food. But Romeo wasn't there just yet. He wanted to, but he couldn't get pass his mind with that. The kiss and assurance was enough to make him relax. His husband was really looking out for him, wasn't he? Returning the kiss he sighed against his lips. It just felt really good to have that tiny moment of reassurance before they went back and joined Amelia once more.
The little lycan was playing with Babbit, her imagination not hindering her in any way. When her parents returned she looked up with a giant smile on her face as she was asked if the rabbit liked it. "He loves it!" She was clearly so excited and there was cake on top of it? It was better than anything else she had ever experienced. Being their daughter was really a dream come true. They ate the cake, Amelia on the ground, chewing and watching the TV with the rabbit beside her. Romeo cuddled up to Eden, pretending to eat from the cake when Amelia looked, but otherwise let Eden handle it. Life felt perfect.