"Guess what came through the letter box today." Magnus said, though he knew Alec would never guess.
"What?" Asked Alec.
"You didn't even try." Said Magnus.
"Well I don't know. Porn?"
"No! Such a dirty mind." Magnus joked. "This." He handed Alec a yellow letter- the only splash of colour in the room, other than the couple's eyes- it read:
"We hear you are a couple without kids and thought you might want to know about the childcare centre." It went on to talk about a kid named Joshua who was adopted by an infertile couple and then became a doctor because of their help.
"You think we should adopt?" Asked Alec.
"I thought I should ask if you wanted to."
"I always wanted kids when I was little. Then when I realised I was gay, I... I never considered..." Alec trailed off.
"Is that a yes?" Magnus asked.
"Yes!" Alec said just a little too loud before kissing Magnus' almost infuriatingly irresistible lips.
"So you want to adopt a child?" Said the woman running the Child Care centre. The couple nodded, glancing at each other, smiling politely. "Was there anything we should take into account before giving you a recommendation? Age? Gender?"
"Uhmm," Alec said, "We were thinking around 4 or 5?" He looked again at Magnus for confirmation. Magnus nodded.
"Okay..." The woman said, typing it quickly into a computer. "Anything else?"
They told her anything they could think, the conversation continuing very similarly.
"Okay." The woman finally said, "I think we've found you a great match."
"Paisley? This is Magnus and Alec. They're thinking about adopting you." Said the woman, before leading the couple into her bedroom, which was almost completely covered in drawings-princesses, unicorns, fairies, etc- which were almost exclusively pink. Alec gave Magnus a look that said something like, "At least she likes colour like you." Which Magnus returned with a stifled smile.
Paisley was drawing something with a very short pink colouring pencil. She glanced up, revealing her unusual turquoise eyes. She had dark brown hair, almost- but not quite- black and wore a pink tiara she had made of paper. Her face showed no reaction when she saw that the couple consisted of two guys. Man, Alec loved this place.
"Hi, I'm Alec." Said Alec, kneeling down next to her.
"I know, she just said." Said Paisley, which earned a few chuckles from the adults.
"Hey, what're you drawing there?" Magnus said, hoping to start an actual conversation.
"It's a mermaid." The girl said, "She's called Coral."
"That's a lovely name." Said Magnus, "I draw too. I'm actually a designer."
"Really? That sounds so exciting!" She said.
"You lot seem to be getting along swimmingly, so I'll leave you be for a bit." Said the woman.
No sooner had the woman left, her footsteps inaudible down the hall, had the child ripped off her tiara, and lifted her rug to find a hatch in the floor, where a book of ghost stories was hidden."Ugh. I hate the colour pink!" She said. A bewildered Magnus and Alec exchanged confused looks.
"Then why did you tell that woman you do?" Said Alec.
"Because no one wants to meet a kid who's creepy." Paisley said as if she'd said it a hundred times before, because she practically had. She was flicking through the book to find a certain page.
"You're not creepy just because you like creepy things." Magnus said, glancing at Alec for support. Alec shrugged, unsure of what to say.
"Listen, kid, you don't have to lie to get what you want." Alec said, trying to get eye contact. He considered Magnus, absentmindedly smiling as he did so, "In fact, it's better if you tell the truth."
"I like you two." She said after a brief pause. "Can you read me this story?" She held her book out to Magnus, and he accepted, looking at Alec like, "She chose me." The three sat against the side of Paisley's bed, with Magnus in the middle, reading a story about a ghost or a vampire or something. None of them cared, because they were reading it together. They could get used to this.
A/N Damn, if you could see the conversation I just had with my friend about Paisley's name... You'd probably hate me for spoiling the story for you, to be honest. Leave a review to tell me what you think.