Trise and Henriette had paid someone to stock our house so we had enough to last us a week. Maybe less if I truly went all out for my mates, which I already knew I would.
Had I intentionally asked them about their favorite desserts while we dreamed together? Of course, I had. The same with food. It was obvious Aiden was loved by his dads from the number of recipes he could mention his Daddio had made for him over the years just to teach him to love food. Derek saw food as a means to survive, a thing I planned on changing. I wanted both of them to be fed and happy.
I still hadn’t told them, but Alec had messaged me about a house, a house that could be ours if we wanted it. Juno and Remi were interested in the house next to it, and Nix and his mate had already bought the one on the other side of the one Juno and Remi wanted. The rulers were giving it to us as compensation for the trauma Derek and Aiden went through, and Alec had also added that we would keep getting paid each month so neither Derek or Aiden would have to work in the future.
I wanted to work, simple as that, but knowing my mates could do whatever they wanted each day, made me happy. They weren’t broken anymore, not their cores anyway, but trauma couldn’t just be magically healed. They hadn’t had nightmares while we dreamed together, and the same when we napped today. I knew Aiden had nightmares up to his meeting with me if he didn’t take his medication. But Derek hadn’t had a single nightmare since meeting me. But that could change, and I loved knowing they wouldn’t have a job waiting for them each morning if they needed more rest.
I’d accepted the house from Alec, already loving it just by knowing our friends would likely be our neighbors. I was going to tell my mates the news over dinner, then we would look at the pictures Alec had sent me. I hadn’t looked yet, wanting this to be something we shared.
Because I was feeling nostalgic, I made us chicken wraps for dinner. I was cutting the chicken into small pieces before sprinkling some garlic and onion powder over them, followed by pepper and salt. A dash of paprika, too, for a bit of spice. Then I oiled the pan and began grilling the meat, thesongs from the movie making me dance around the kitchen as I prepared the salad.
My mates were whispering and giggling, just bonding as twins should, while I continued to do what I loved while watching the men I loved. It was perfect. Each day should be just like this one if I had any say in it.
My phone buzzed on the table and where I thought Juno’s name would appear, another person just as demanding called.Mom.
I hurried to answer, knowing she would have missed me for three whole years and here I was dancing to cartoon songs and making dinner.
“Mom,” I greeted, feeling oddly choked up.
“My boy,” she whispered in a sob.
Damn, and now I was crying, too.
“Please don’t cry, Mom,” I begged. “I was only asleep, nothing bad happened.”
“I just missed you,” she sniffed. “Your dad is here, too, by the way.”
I laughed, but it sounded broken as tears still fell. “Hi, Dad,” I greeted.
“Hi, Son. You three okay?”
“We are,” I replied, continuing with dinner as I talked to distract myself from the tears.
“And their cores?” Mom asked.
“All healed.”
“We’re so happy to hear that, hon. We can’t wait to meet them both.”
“Weneed to spend the next week getting healthy again, and then we need to see Aiden’s dads, but I know they both want to meet you, so maybe the week after?”
“Fine,” mom sniffed. “It’s not like it’s been years or anything.”
I winced. “Sorry, mom. I keep forgetting how long it’s been for you. I feel like it’s been days.”
“I know. You’re forgiven. Now, what is it with your shared dreams? I spoke with Trise on the phone when you woke up and she said all sorts of confusing things.”
I chuckled. “We were sharing dreams, as simple as that. We could hug and talk, so the years we slept were spent together, in a way.”
Dad’s awe-filled voice spoke over mom, “That’s amazing! And you remember them, too?”
“Every single one,” I confirmed. “Or at least I think so. Kinda hard to know if I’ve forgotten some.”
They both chuckled at that.
“We could stay on the phone for hours with you, but we know what being newly mated is like, so we’ll leave you to it,” mom said, her tone soft.
“Thanks, Mom. I’ll call again tomorrow.”
