They had taken to letting Hopper wander around Adrian's apartment freely when they were home. Sydney was sitting at the table with a fresh cup of coffee while Adrian laid on the sofa with the callistana crawling all over him. She couldn't help smiling at the way he'd come to love their little dragon. Hopper was being extraordinarily playful- disappearing on one side of Adrian's neck, only to reappear on the other side, then coming down to coil around his arm. Adrian's laughter was rich and filled the room. Sydney could live in it. The callistana made a little sound before settling on the moroi's chest and falling asleep.
"Do you think Hopper needs a brother?" Adrian asked.
Sydney choked on her coffee.
"A sister then," he offered.
She stared at her boyfriend. What happened to "I'll take weekend visitations"? Maybe she wasn't the only one going through major changes around here.
"And how do you propose we find this sibling for Hopper?" she inquired with a raised brow as she moved over to crouch where her boys lay. She ran her fingers over the dragon's spiraled body, and Adrian raised his hand up to meet hers. He looked her straight in the eye.
"Who said 'find'?" He grinned. She tried to lift her hand to smack his shoulder, but he only gripped tighter. She settled for trying to frown at him but couldn't keep it together. She sighed and kissed him lightly, smiling against his lips.
Sydney let herself in and found Adrian at his easel with Hopper perched on his shoulder. He didn't notice her come in, or the box she was holding, until the dragon gave a happy squeak. He got up and gave her a quick kiss.
"What's with the box?"
She lifted the lid to reveal a small gray thing with long ears sitting within. Immediately, the callistana slipped down from Adrian's shoulder and crawled into the box. He circled the little thing with tall ears before coming up face to face with it. He cocked his head curiously before rubbing his face against it. He jumped back when it leaned into his caress, but then gave a joyed shriek and cuddled with it.
"Meet Cottontail. Hopper's baby sister."
This time Adrian was stunned and she was grinning.