Keiran didn't even bother trying to hold back a laugh at Millie's astounding ability to name cats, grinning as his wife practically curled herself around the little fluffball in question. Before he could announce that he had other things for her besides the accidental adoption of Narcissa-cat (as Keiran would inevitably call her, if not 'Cissa-cat'), Millie had left the warmth of their bed behind in search of her own packages.
His index finger reached out to rub over the top of Narcissa's head, wondering vaguely how Lucius would take the new arrival. Of course, as the mattress sank, his attention was re-directed to Millie and the little boxes she set before him. He was grinning and reaching for the first one in the line when her words distracted him.
She had to tell him something? His smile broadened. So he was right? At least he was sure, now. She suggested that she was aware of his having figured it out, which sort made him stumble over his thoughts.
“Well, yeah, I thought you were, but that doesn't mean I'm not happy to-” Keiran stopped, open-mouthed. “Um, what? … Four? I-” He shook his head in surprise. He couldn't find any words for a minute, torn between laughing and gaping at her. Instead, he picked up all of the boxes and set them next to Narcissa-cat, then turned to look at her again. Keiran reached out to pick up her hands, feeling both dazed and absurdly excited. “Missie, this is.. this is perfect. I mean, I'll have no idea what I'm doing. But two little Millies running around? I'd love to see that.”
A moment of dread fell over him at the realization that he was so happy in the wake of Aiden's death as well as the fact that Aiden wouldn't be there to see their twins. Keiran pushed it away when he decided that Aiden would be proud just to have his son have kids, regardless of if he ever met them.
His eyes fell to the boxes as Narcissa shifted a bit beside them. He passed her a smile before picking up the first one she had set down. Keiran unwrapped it carefully, having picked up the habit of saving the paper from his mum over the years. He tipped it over and caught the squares that fell into his hand. He flipped them over and stared at the pictures he held in his grasp.
“Millie, is this..?” He asked, looking up to search for her affirmation. He searched back and forth between her eyes and the photos, holding them like they might disappear. Keiran's hand brushed up Millie's arm to weave his fingers into her hair. He leaned over to kiss her, setting the photos to the side before pulling her towards him. “I love you,” he breathed against her lips, fingers brushing over her cheek. “So much.”
In time, he forced himself to pull away, reluctant to reach for the other boxes. She had already given him so much. She probably would say he was being silly, or pass them to him anyway, though, so he picked up the next one, unrolling the paper as he had for the previous. A chain fell into his hand with an emblem of a Saint on the piece attached. He lifted a brow, unsure what Millie was getting at. Surely it meant something important that he just didn't understand.
If the others were like that one, Keiran figured she would want to explain. So he went on opening the last two. The third box held a pair of cufflinks with numbers on each. After looking at them for a time, he realized what it was. A sort of sad smile passed over his face as he set them back into their container to keep them safe.
Their anniversary. He hadn't expected that, though he perhaps should have. They were so much better than he had anticipated through the law and the mess that came along with it. The only problem was how he felt looking back at the day. It wasn't like the ceremony or reception had gone as intended. Keiran, looking back, wished vehemently that it could have been different. Maybe one day, when the world was a little less chaotic, he could suggest they renew their vows and actually go on a sort of honeymoon. They hadn't really had any sort of time they could call a honeymoon. Even on break, things had gone wrong. A laugh almost rose in his chest at the idea of asking his mum to watch their twins down the road when they could go on a trip like that. The idea stuck in his head, and he determined to save it for her birthday. Maybe by that point things would be more normal. Hers came right before his, so it wouldn't be hard to find time to come up with something she'd like. Clearly, they wouldn't be able to go for some time.
The last box held a recording by Celestina Warbeck, and Keiran laughed outright before casting a disbelieving glance at Millie. He had jokingly suggested that she was the greatest singer he'd ever heard, and she had either taken it seriously or was enjoying the idea of teasing him about it. “You're ridiculous.” He laughed, putting it back in the box.
Keiran picked up Narcissa-cat gently, amazed at how small she was in his hands. He imagined it would feel something like this with their kids. Surely it would feel more magical than a cat that followed him home, though.
“Although I wish I could say I planned this little one showing up, I do have something else for you.” He murmured, standing to reach into his bedside table. From the drawer, he pulled a little booklet of things he had made the morning before everything happened with Avery. It was thoroughly embarrassing, and probably not very interesting after Melissa's announcements, but it had seemed appropriate at the time. “I, um, did try actually shopping for things. But in the end I just figured this might be a bit more.. personal. More us.”
They were still working out bits and pieces of their relationship, as well as the small parts of himself that he found along the way, thanks to her having intervened in his life (not that he was complaining at all). But the thing he had realized recently was that they weren't ever going to be normal, in any generic sense of the word. But he didn't think he really wanted to be. In time things would feel right, but not necessarily normal. All he could understand in that moment, looking at his wife as she flicked through the pages he'd made, was that he wasn't sure he would have ended up with anybody else. Even if he had, there was no way, his mind proclaimed, that they would ever be as happy as he was with her. Because regardless of why or how, they were far more put together as a team than separately.