"What's in a bag Kisten?" Rubix asked as they got in the apartment.
"The." Edward corrected him.
"That's what I say! What's in a bag?" Rubix repeated. Edward shook his head as he set about making supper.
"Something very special," Kristen said, smiling slightly as she put the cat carrier down. "Do you want to see?"
"Is it for me?" He asked looking up at her.
"Rubix. It belongs to Kristen, don't be rude." Edward said setting out plates as Kristen sat on the floor with the carrier next to Rubix.
Kristen opened the carrier, and the little Egyptian Mau leapt out, tilting it's head to look curiously up at Rubix.
Rubix gasped. "KITTSY!" He said excited as he made to grab for it.
"Rubix." Edward warned making him pause before he touched it. "It's just a baby, you have to be careful." He said. "Pet him gentle."
"Like this," Kristen said, showing Rubix how to pet the kitten gently. "You have to be careful with small animals, okay?"
Rubix pet the kitten twice gently like Kristen showed him before the kitten jumped and started running around the room making Rubix laugh. It ran around the room a few times before it hopped up on the bed, it's claws digging into the blanket.
Kristen laughed as she went over to pick up the cat. "Kindly refrain from destroying the blankets, kitty," she said. She looked over at Rubix. "Do you want to help me come up with a name for him?"
"BABU!" Rubix said jumping up, as if the name where obvious. Edward looked at him and raised an eyebrow.
"Why Babu?" Kristen asked curiously, though when she looked down at the kitten, it certainly didn't look much like a Babu … Whatever a Babu was.
"No." Rubix said as the kitten jumped down and ran around again. "Pazu!"
Kristen turns the syllables over in her mind for a moment, trying to make sense of it. "Oh," she said, thinking she understood. "Puzzle?"
"Pazus!" Rubix said starting to get frustrated.
"Puzzles?" Edward asked.
"Yeah!" Rubix said running to the bed as the cat ran under.
"I think that's an excellent name," Kristen agreed. "Puzzles it is."
Edward came quietly up the stairs having put Rubix to bed after insisting for once that he wanted to sleep in the bed as dadas bed is too crowded.
"He's tuckered out from playing with the cat." He said pulling out his pajamas even though it was only 8:30. They were going to have an early morning tomorrow, since they were expected to be there at 6am.
Puzzles, too, had run out of energy, and was curled up in the corner of the bed. "That's good," Kristen said, looking over at Edward, concerned. "How are you feeling? Do you think you'll be able to sleep?"
"I doubt it." He said with a sigh as he pulled his shirt off and tossed it in the hamper.
"We have a strong case," Kristen reminded him, unbuttoning her blouse. "It's going to be okay."
He went up to her and pulled her into a hug. "I hope so." He whispered, but he couldn't keep the tremble out of his voice.
Kristen held Edward tight, wishing she could do something to make him feel less scared … But she was afraid of losing Rubix too, of letting those harsh uncaring people take him away for good. If that happened… poor Rubix would understand when he was older, maybe, but how could Edward explain not being able to see him anymore? It was impossible.
"I want to adopt him," Kristen said quietly, her voice unwavering. "If you'll let me."
Edward didn't let go of her as she spoke. He sighed as he looked down at her. "Are you sure?" He asked.
"Yes," Kristen said, more certain in that moment than ever before. "I know it's soon, but … I'm sure."
"Okay." He said almost sounding like he was sighing as he said it. "I'll … I'll call my lawyer, let him know what you've decided." He said kissing the top of her head. "How did I get so lucky to find you?" He asked.
"Not lucky," Kristen said, smiling slightly as she looked up at him. "Just incredibly persistent."
"I was not persistent …." Edward said moving away from her and going for his cell phone. "I was just …. Awkward and scared to ask you out." He said.
"In hindsight," Kristen said. "You were adorable."
"In hindsight I was menacing and weird." He said quoting her words from months ago, though not in a mean way.
"You did seem that way at the time," Kristen admitted. "We didn't communicate terribly well back them."
"I'm sorry." Edward said, glancing at the clock. "I really should call my lawyer now though." He said flipping his phone open. The call lasted less than five minutes, and ended with Edward placing his phone down on the side dresser. "Alright … Everything's set up … Your name is next to mine on his custody papers." He said as he finished changing into his pajamas. He climbed into bed next to her and kissed her temple.
"I know I've asked you this before …" Edward said. "But … No matter what happens tomorrow … I'd like it if you moved in with me."
Kristen looked back at Edward nervously. "Edward, I …" She'd been reconsidering his offer for awhile now. She was over here most of the time now anyway, which seemed like it would be a reasonable indicator that they could be happy living together. But it was still a big change. "I like the idea of that but … What happens if we have another fight like that?" Part of the reasons she'd had misgivings before was knowing that she might still need somewhere to retreat to. "And what about Deidre?"
"If we fight again then we separate ourselves until we calm down like grown adults, and then talk it out like we did tonight." Edward said. "As for Deidre, that's entirely up to her. We haven't really done anything with her since we all started dating …" Edward said still feeling a bit odd about that. "Perhaps we could save that discussion until after tomorrow. Ultimately though it would be up to her."
"Well," Kristen admitted. "We did manage to talk through that okay." Though part of that was because she'd been able to walk away so they could both cool down. It could take more effort to do that once they were living together. And figuring out how Deidre was going to fit into all of this could be a challenge, since she was living at Kristen's place. But somehow, she had faith that they would be able to work it out.
Kristen was quiet for a moment, then said: "I think… We can make living together work… But I don't ever want to fight in front of Rubix."
"I don't ever want to fight at all." He said. "But I'm sure it's bound to happen. Let's try to keep it to civil conversation."
"I'd prefer that," Kristen agreed, looking at him intently. "As much as I appreciate the kitten, I really hate fighting with you."
"I'd certainly hope so." He said. "When's your lease up?" He asked.
"At the end of next month," Kristen said, her sense of nervousness growing. Her little sanctuary would be gone. Everything in Edward's apartment seemed to have its own particular place. Where would all of her books go? And where would Deidre stay? She doubted Edward was quite ready for a long-term Deidre invasion … Let alone how they would even explain that to Rubix. But … at the same time, she was excited too. She had been considering the idea, turning it over in her mind, ever since Edward had first proposed it. And didn't she feel inexplicably safer with Edward around anyway? Besides, she would be better able to help take care of Rubix once they were living together.
"Good. Then when I'm off work on Wednesday we can head over, slowly start packing stuff." He said pulling her into his arms and kissing her head. "I love you." He said quietly.
"I love you too," Kristen whispered, snuggling close against him.