"One night when I was on my way home," Bo recalled, "when I noticed a girl stranded with her car on the side of the road. I stopped far away so she couldn't see me through the windshield over my high beams. She had been on her phone, and she hung up, looking at me all confused. I sped up, grabbed her head, and threw her right into her own windshield. She went face first! She was a mess! Vincent cleaned her up perfectly and made her Miss Ambrose, didn't you?" He cackled as he watched Vincent nod while using strips of cloth and warm wax to do Dakota's eyebrows for her, the girl making a face at his story.

"Listen, gore is fun, but it's also really disgusting," Dakota pointed out. "Not to mention, you're leaving trace evidence all over the place. Have you ever thought of maybe trying to make some cleaner kills?" Once Vincent was finished, she got up from the chair and Angela took her place for her turn.

"We can't all be highly trained with a sniper rifle, Kota," Angela giggled. Vincent smiled as he carefully applied the wax under the natural curve of her eyebrows and stole a kiss. His angel gave him a loving smile in return.

"It's not my fault that Daddy was CIA and decided to make sure I started combat training at 7 years old instead of being normal and letting me make my own life choices like going to school for veterinary medicine," Dakota quipped.

"So, let me get this straight, darlin'," Bo chuckled, a twinkle in his eye. "You take no issue with the killing, just the possible mess involved?"

"Do you want to get caught?" she challenged, arching her eyebrow. "You enjoy our little life here, don't you?" She pressed closer, stealing a kiss. "You want to keep it? We need to be smart. Clean kills mean snoopers don't find evidence and Vince's job will be that much easier."

"My Vincent makes beautiful art!" Angela said defensively before turning to her lover. "You have done some exquisite restorations before waxing, babe." She reached up to caress his rough cheek, enjoying the way the bumps and scars tickled her fingers and palms. Vincent rumbled softly at her touch, leaning in to kiss her before quickly finishing her eyebrows. Soon, the front door opened, and Lester came into the kitchen.

"Aw, Vincent, look at you!" Lester said with a smile. "Finally feelin' comfortable in yer own skin? I can only assume our little angel here is t'blame." He winked at Angela, earning some giggles from her. "Are you ready for our out'n'bout, Angie?"

"I'm ready," she giggled before standing on the chair to meet Vincent's height. She wrapped her arms around his take, giving him a nice, slow, deep kiss. "You behave while I'm out." Vincent chuckled softly and helped her down from the chair. She followed Lester out the door to his truck.

"I know she loves animals and taxidermy, but I don't understand how she can be okay with handling all that gross roadkill," Dakota said, making a face.

"I don't understand how your best friend's been able to make my brother so whipped," Bo chuckled, and Vincent lightly punched him in the arm in retaliation. His twin just laughed and rubbed his arm.

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Angela leaned out of the passenger side window as Lester drove, enjoying the warm sun on her face as the rush of air around her. She allowed her mind to wander, trying to imagine a normal life with a blue house and white picket fence. Her expression soon soured as she shook her head. She hated that idea. She wasn't the type of person who ever apologized for what she liked, and a normal cookie-cutter style wasn't something that ever appealed to her. It made her appreciate the life and love she's found. She even loved how uniquely different both of Vincent's brothers were. Something caught her eye.

"Lester, pull over!" she demanded, not even waiting for the truck to come to a complete stop before throwing open the door and jumping out. She rushed to kneel beside the mound she had spotted from the truck. It was the corpse of a cat, her skull partially flattened with one eye bulged out from the socket while still attached. There was dried blood that had seeped from her mouth. By the cat's belly, her lifeless kittens remained. They hadn't been crushed like their mother. They had starved to death without her milk. Her heart ached for them. Then, suddenly, one of the kittens mewled weakly as it moved. She picked up the light gray kitten in her hands. He had white paws and a white muzzle. He looked at her with his beautiful blue eyes as he mewled again.

"You should keep it," Lester suggested as he picked up the dead mother and kittens to put in his truck bed. Angela smiled and kept the kitten nestled safely in the crook of her arm as she got back inside the truck. She pulled the sandwich bag from her purse, then pulled the sandwich inside apart. Taking only the slices of deli turkey that hadn't been touched by the mayonnaise and mustard, she broke them into smaller pieces to feed to the tiny kitten. He purred loudly as he greedily ate the meat, biting her fingertips when she ran out. Despite how painful his tiny teeth were, she giggled.

"You're going to be alright, Cheshire," she cooed affectionately as she booped his tiny nose and giggled again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~oooooooooooooooooooooooo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Angela returned home, she went straight to the kitchen with the kitten still in her arm. Vincent stood waiting for her with a bouquet of white and purple orchids in his hand. The table had been decorated with a lovely white tablecloth. He had prepared a beautiful pork roast with a vegetable medley and jasmine rice. She took a moment, staring in awe between Vincent and the dinner table.

"Aww, baby!" she squealed. "You did all of this for me?"

"I asked Bo to take Dakota out so we can be alone," he added as he nodded, his voice still very gravelly but getting better with use.

"You are amazing!" Angela burst, carefully setting the kitten down before running into Vincent's arms and kissing him passionately. Once they broke the kiss, she took the orchids to place in a vase with water, unable to help the large grin permanently affixed to her face. Vincent found himself smiling back, his heart soaring over seeing her so happy. She soon returned to him, reaching up to gently tangle her fingers in his hair to tug him down into another kiss.

"I love you, Vincent," Angela purred softly. "I need you to know that. The orchids are gorgeous. The fact you put this amazing date together for us is wonderful. You being mine is wonderful. As long as I have you, I feel like my life is complete. I don't think I could ever ask for anything more. I have an incredible partner, two brothers-in-law who like to try and help make my life easier, and a best friend who helps me keep my head on straight. Without you, I'd have nothing. Without a doubt, you are the most important person in my life. As long as I have you, I don't need anything else. I couldn't have a want in this world."

"I love you too, my angel," he replied sincerely as he kissed her sweetly. "I once thought that I would never find someone to share my life or my artwork with. I'd always just be alone with Bo and Lester. No one could ever love a monster like me…"

"You are NOT a monster!" Angela corrected him immediately, a sad and disappointed expression on her face. "You are an artist. You are brilliant, compassionate, and loving. Misunderstood, for sure, but not a monster. Don't ever call yourself that again, do you hear me?" He gently rubbed his hands along her arms to soothe her as he nodded.

"I promise, my angel," he reassured her. She picked the kitten up to show him.

"I brought back a kitten for us to take care of together." She smiled up at him as he took the kitten from her.

"For us?" He smiled fondly at the kitten as he gently tucked him in the crook of his arm.

"For us." Angela giggled softly as she gently tugged him down into another kiss. "Look, you're so good with him already." Vincent smiled wider, feeling like his heart might burst. Life had never been so good for him before.