"You should still be sleeping."
"I was until your third arm started poking me," she teased.
He chuckled softly, then pressed a kiss just below her ear. "I missed this."
Rune turned slightly, meeting his eyes. "Missed what?"
"Being with you," he said simply. "All of it. I wish I had just clung on like a barnacle. Or maybe showed you how emotionally damaged I was to melt your soft heart when you decided to leave. Also, I am never using a condom again. Yesterday night was a revelation."
Her smile softened. "Dangerous talk, Mr Albury. That kind of thinking can lead to an expanding brood."
He gave her a sleepy grin. "And what would you say if I said I kin og like the idea?"
"Let's get through this one first," she said, touching his hand where it rested on her belly.
That sobered him a little. "Fair." He brushed a stray hair from her cheek. "But I meant it. I missed you."
The quiet stretched again, a comfortable, strangely domestic kind of silence that meant everything had changed between them. A few minutes later, Rune sat up abruptly, groaning. "Oh no."
Dorian blinked, immediately alert. "What's wrong?"
"My bladder's decided it's time for its morning exercise," she muttered, swinging her legs over the side.
He moved out of the way with a quickness that made her laugh. "Go. I'll make tea," he said, already reaching for his robe.
"Make it strong," she called over her shoulder as she hurried toward the bathroom. "And maybe bring crackers."
He smiled to himself, watching her go as he ran a hand through his hair and he looked around for his pants. The day felt ordinary in the best possible way.
***
The morning passed in a kind of lazy intimacy. Rune went through her now-familiar routine, running back to the bathroom, clinging to the toilet until her stomach stopped protesting. By the time she returned to the kitchen, pale but steadier, Dorian had laid out her tea and a small plate of crackers.
She sank into a chair, chewing one morosely while he ate toast with his usual calm efficiency. When she finally looked up, he was watching her with that faint, amused smile. "Go get dressed," he said. "Let's go see Gramps and Nana."
Rune raised a brow. "Oh, we're Gramps and Nana now, are we?" He gave a one-shouldered shrug. "It feels... right, if you don’t mind sharing." She didn't comment, but a small smile tugged at her mouth as she went to change.
Eli arrived a little later, cheerful as ever, and the drive to the farm took just under half an hour. The moment they stepped out of the car, a blur of fur and wagging tails descended on them.
Dorian froze like usual, expression caught somewhere between horror and resignation as two dogs tried to climb him. Rune burst out laughing. "The welcome committee is here," she said, calling them off. "This is Fred. He's the friendliest. Come here. It's time you learned how to pet a dog properly."
Fred trotted over to her, tail thumping. Rune knelt, scratching behind his ears. "First, you let him sniff you. Like this. Then, you give him the scratches. He likes this, see?"
Dorian crouched stiffly beside her, reaching out a cautious hand. The dog gave an approving huff, then flopped onto his back, paws in the air.
"Now that," Rune said, smiling, "means you've been accepted."
"I'll alert the press," he muttered, but his hand moved more easily now, rubbing the dog's belly until Fred sighed in contentment.
Nana appeared from the kitchen door, wiping her hands on her apron. She pulled Rune into a hug, then to Rune's surprise, did the same to Dorian.
"Good to see you, Dorian," she said.
"Thank you, Nana," Dorian replied, reverting to formal.
Gramps lingered near the gate, the dogs circling his legs. His eyes were knowing.
Lunch was simple but hearty—a vegetable stew and homemade bread to suit Rune's uneasy stomach, accompanied by a pot roast that she ended up eating more of than she expected. Nana topped it off with a slice of Victoria sponge that they all devoured with gusto. Rune was beginning to realize Dorian was not as fussy about food as she thought.
