[scikaiju]

It was already dark by the time she got to the path that lead toward home. Jules stood there remembering all the times she took this road to see Carter, maybe see if she could stay the night for whatever reason. Before they became engaged Jules started to wonder why he never protested when she started to make her way to his room instead of the guest room she used to use before then. In hindsight it wasn't the most subtle way to get him to realize the feeling she had for him at the time. Then again as Xypher once said he was too proper of a Knight.

Taking the path she was soon greeted by the familiar sight of the softly glowing lanterns that illuminated this path at night until the early morning. She smiled as the house came into view and quickened her pace slightly, and briefly holding her side when she started going too fast. Bur she was home now, and at the moment everything felt right in the world. Despite knowing better, part of her couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that Carter wasn't there to greet her. But given what they did that wasn't a realistic expectation. She should have told that to Shae when she had the chance. Well some things were better learned by life experiences than just being told. Going up the steps she opened the door and walked through. Might as well give it a shot, “I'm back.” she called out.

She was slightly surprised when Mason stepped into the hallway, “Welcome home Miss Jules. Am In correct in assuming that task you were asked to preform is over?”

“For better or worse, yes,” she told him. Still she looked up the stairs then into the den, no where to be seen. He was probably out on assignment somewhere.

She was aware Mason was staring at her, and after a moment spoke up, “Is something wrong Miss?”

She graced him with a small smile, “No Mason, everything just fine.” Maybe it was because of his job but he didn't look all that convinced. Should she tell him? It couldn't hurt, “I just got this stupid notion in my head that Carter would be here waiting for me/”

“Oh, that was his original intent,” Mason told her. “But Mr. Eric requested his presence a little while after you left. I believe it was about the number of Horrors he had sealed away since becoming Rook. Mr. Eric felt Carter was ready for a new piece of the Rook legacy. Much like with the armor it is something that has to be earned first.”

“Of course it is,” she said. At this point she was surprised he didn't have to fight anybody to get Mason. “Don't take this the wrong way Mason, but why are you still here? On the days that you're here you're usually gone by now. Not that I'm not happy to see you that is.”

“Of course Miss,” he said with a slight chuckle. “But Carter wasn't sure how long his task was going to last, so he asked if I would greet you in his place in case you returned before he did.”

“After everything that happened today I'm glad somebody did.” They stopped talking when they heard the front door open. She started grinning as a battered and rough looking Carter stood there looking tired, but happy to see her. She walk up to him.

He stepped closer as well, eventually saying, “I'm home.”

“So am I,” she said as she hugged him around the neck, after today she needed to feel his presence against her right now. “You look like hell by the way.” He grunted but hugged her back. Unfortunately squeezing right were that bastard was kicking her earlier. A quick “Ah”, escaped her lips before she could stop it.

He quickly stopped hugging her and looked at her, face full of concern, “Are you all right?”

“I've been better,” she told him, “but I'll be fine.” Giving him a wicked grin she added, “But we might have to wait on a proper welcome home greeting for a couple of days.”

Mason coughed into his hand to get their attention, “I most apologize for one thing.” Carter didn't react but she was slightly confused. “I did promise to have dinner waiting for you when you returned. However I had no idea when either of you would return so I haven't prepared anything.”

“It's fine Mason,” Carter told him.

“Wouldn't be the first time we had to fend for ourselves” she added. A cold sandwich wasn't exactly sounding so ideal at that particular moment. But it was better than nothing.

“That may be,” he said, “however I did phone that cafe the two of you are so fond of. They should be open for a few more hours yet, if you wish to dine there for the evening. And since they knew who the two of you are and what you usually ask for I took the liberty of placing an order for you. It should be ready for you by the time you arrive.”

“Thank you Mason,” Carter said with a small rare smile for the man.

Letting go of Carter she walked over and gave him a quick peck on the cheek, “You're the best Mason.”

He looked slightly embarrassed by the show of affection, “I do try Miss.” She gave a quick wave as the two of them walked out the front door. “Do enjoy your evening.” he called our as they went back down the path.

Walkig the path it wasn't long before she felt Carter reach out and grab her hand and give it a quick squeeze. She looked over at him and saw how content he was at that particular moment. “Just out of curiosity,” she said out of the blue, “how do you feel about teenagers?”

“Teenagers?”, he asked, looking understandably confused. Then he looked down at her stomach, given how many times they been intimate since they been married it was a natural conclusion on his part. Even if he did jump to it from the word teenagers

“No,” she said with a slight grin to put him at ease. “At least not yet. But I had an opportunity to mentor somebody today, a really sweet girl. Obviously it wasn't a permanent thing. But it did get me wondering how you felt, we never really discussed it before.”

“Were you going to at least ask our opinion first if you decided to take the kid under your wing full time?”, Xypher asked. Carter gave him a quick flick.

“I would have at least warned the two of you about her first,” she told the pin. Carter seemed satisfied with her answer and they walked in silence for a bit. After her 'talk' with Vincent she knew she couldn't keep him in the dark any longer. “Carter,” she said to get his attention, “do you remember when I told you I had to figure out some things before I saw you again?”

“After they questioned you about what you knew about Vincent's plan,” he said after thinking about it for a moment. “What about it?”

She hesitated a bit before saying, “I think I'm ready to tell you what I was trying to figure out.”

“You don't have to tell me if you really don't want to,” he told her.

“I want to,” she said as she pulled him closer. “And you deserve to know.” She looked up at him, “Just remember, I came back and asked you to marry me. Then you can tell me what my faux,” she said lifting a word her sister-in-law liked to use when calling Carter 'big brother' and he grinned at her use of it, “father-in-law wanted you to earn today.”

“Of course,” he agreed easily enough. Jules took his arm and gave it a quick squeeze as they walk the path. Now all was right in her world. She was home, the love of her life was next to her, and not a red envelope in sight. Maybe for this one night at least they could just be a some what normal husband and wife. And she better not have just jinx this moment.

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Credit theme – Halestorm – I Am the Fire
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