Cameron stretched across her and grabbed the remote to the stereo, putting on an album he linked from his phone that they both liked, and was nice enough background noise to help her calm down. He sighed and cuddled her closer, moving his legs around her and pulling her into his chest. He knew how much she hated plane rides, so he wanted to make it as nice as a trip over after their incident. They were going to a new life.
The pair of pups finally settled down under him, their tails wagging just a small bit as they dozed off. The big pile of fur was complete.
Ava cuddles up against him, her heart beat steadying when the music starts. The music is great but it doesn’t drown out the noises of the plane nearly enough for her taste. “Did I tell you that my brother’s witch of a fiancée is pregnant? Chris is overjoyed and my father is in love with the thought of being a grandfather. I doubt that the baby is actually Chris’s but I don’t want to burst his bubble when he’s this happy. They’re throwing a huge party to celebrate but because of this I have an excuse not to attend and have to pretend like I don’t hate her.” The talking helps keep her mind off of everything. Her family’s soap opera like drama is pretty interesting too. “I think my father is just happy because he can retire and let us take over everything once he gets a grandkid or two.”
Yawning once more, Kreja completely settles down. It’s not long before he drifts off into a peaceful sleep.
Cameron listened to her ramble with a few chuckles. "I dunno, Ava, his wife is quite nice. Remember that time you brought me in to meet your dad, and she was there? She was so nice. I think you might just be jealous, baby. Someone's taking your brother away. And hey, I felt the same way with my sisters' husbands." He rocked with her in his arms, pressing a kiss to her head.
Ava puffs out her cheeks and glares at him. “It’s going to be a scandal when everyone finally realizes that I’m right about her.” There’s no way she’s changing her mind about Mallory. “I feel bad for the kid though. Being born into this family is crazy.” Its not her fault that she doesn’t want to see her brother’s heart get broken, she’s really close with him and would hate to see him get hurt. “It’s different! Chris is too damn nice for his own good. I love him but he’s naive. Your sisters are smart enough to know if their husbands are asses.” She probably is overprotective of her older brother but it’s not something she can help.
Cameron rolled his eyes at her overreaction, shaking his head. "Mallory is just a kind woman. If she's done nothing wrong to Chris, then I'm pretty sure she's not doing anything behind his back. She seemed very infatuated with him when we were there. And we were over a lot. Let your brother live, baby. There's not gonna be a scandal. You're just worried and it's natural," He assured her calmly, smiling down at her puffy cheeks. He pushed on them and made a farty noise.
Ava grumbles a few less than nice things about her sister-in-law, still not convinced. “Chris is a fucking genius but he’s also a huge dumbass when it comes to understanding actual people.” Despite the slight overdramatized the statement is fairly accurate. She rolls her eyes and chuckles when her cheeks are pushed on. “Real mature, Cameron.” She nudges his shoulder, smiling. “I know that I’m overprotective but it’s not just my brother that I’m worried about. There are rules of sorts, right? When my father retired then Chris takes over Lacerta Corp and I take over the less legal business. Then Chris’s kids will take over and then if I had kids they’d take over. Introducing someone from the outside into the family is dangerous. If Mallory finds out about what my father and I do then our entire world can come crumbling down. It’s a very fragile system based off of raising different kids to take over each business.”
Cameron laughed at her comment, grinning as she spoke. "Oh, so introducing me is fine, then. What if your brother feels the same way you do about me, huh? How would you feel?" He asked her gently, basically ignoring the second half of her speech. "You gotta learn how to respect and accept people. Your brother is going to move on, and that's just a fact."
“Yes, introducing you is fine because you already know about all of the dark stuff and you used to do it too. I trust you but everyone else is thinking more along the lines of you not being able to tell because then you’d be screwed as well,” Ava informs him, nodding. She pauses for a moment to consider his words. “I hate it when you’re right.” The thought of having Chris hate Cameron is awful. “In all fairness, I’m perfectly nice to Mallory and I never say anything mean to her face and I act like I don’t hate her around Chris.” That’s about as good as it’s going to get. “It’s still a delicate system whether I dislike her or not.”
"Well, maybe she's used to it, then," Cameron chided after her. Then a wry grin crossed his cheeks at her admitting he was right. In her defense, he was almost sure Chris didn't dislike him. They had shared a couple beers and talked about movies, and it was pretty nice. But hey, the guy might be implementing the same thing Ava is.
"He might be doing the same to me, Ava. That would suck if you found out. It's a delicate system that shouldn't exist because you're too protective of him."
“Chris isn’t capable of disliking anyone.” Ava grins at him, uncurling a little so she can stretch. “I’m pretty sure he doesn’t even know the definition of dislike.” Her brother is like a giant goofy dog who loves everyone. “It’s a system that works. The only person in the world who knows of my dislike is you and I’m positive that you aren’t going to be a tattletale.” Technically Kreja, Rose, and Zore have heard her rant but they aren’t going to tell anyone. “If it makes you feel any better, I dislike her slightly less because I’m going to be getting a niece or nephew to spoil.”
Cameron moved back so she could stretch, stretching a bit himself with a yawn. "I'm sure he doesn't. They're in love, and the system doesn't have to exist, that's all I think. I'm not gonna tell anybody, I don't even have their numbers." He booped her nose gently. "A niece or nephew to spoil is the best thing, think about the positives."
“Even if he did, it wouldn’t matter, Chris thinks you’re great.” Yawning, Ava looks up at him. “Yeah, I’m working on it but thinking positive is easier said than done.” She’s hoping that she’ll actually be on good terms with Mallory by the time the baby arrives. “Having a kid run around is going to be pretty fun. There hasn’t been a kid in the family in forever.” Her nose wrinkles up upon being booped.
Cameron watched her expression changes with amusement, and the way her face moved as she talked. He couldn't be mad at her for too long. He absolutely adored her, and it wasn't her fault that they had to leave early.
"I bet you will be. You can do anything if you set your mind to it." He gave her a kiss on the cheek for an apology for the nose boop.
Ava smiles slightly at the kiss before she tucks her head against his chest. “Don’t give me too much credit. I’m only going to be thinking positive because I want to be around to expirance a cute baby. Chubby baby cheeks are the best.” She’s never really babysat as a teenager so she’s only been around babies and little kids once or twice. Babies kind of scare her and she’s never actual held one before but they’re cute to look at.
Cameron nodded with her and laughed at her chubby baby speech. "Chubby baby cheeks are the best. Cormac used to have the cutest ever. My sisters think he got them from me, which is not true," He defended, even though as a baby he had a nice pair of chubby cheeks and he still sort of does. Though, he had a lot of experience with children, so he'd assist the baby in not getting its cheeks pinched off by her.
Ava laughs and shakes her head. “Cormac definitely got the chubby baby cheeks from you. I’ve seen your baby pictures and you were adorable.” Seeing the pictures had killed her. She couldn’t get over how cute he was as a baby. “What happened to you, huh?” She teases, grinning at him. “Chris was a really cute baby. He had such dark curly hair and the cutest damn dimples.”
Cameron chuckled, only to gasp dramatically at her question. "What happened to me, huh? I grew up and got handsome, that's what happened," He defended himself. "I hated my cheeks, I'm very glad they're not with me anymore." He stuck his tongue out at her. "Like you weren't cute. You were pretty cute yourself."
“Are you sure about that? I don’t think you lost all of those cute cheeks,” Ava teases, poking at his cheeks and grinning. “How would you know? You saw one picture of me and it was blurry as hell.” The foster system was pretty shitty about taking photos. “Although I can’t blame you for automatically think I was cute, I mean just look at me now.” She winks at him.
"Ahhhh I lost all of it I don't care what you saayyy," Cameron said, covering his ears with a grin, only to uncover them to listen to her talk. "I think you're cute anyway. I bet you were so cute, the camera exploded." He hugged her, kissing her cheeks.
Ava laughs as she gently squishes his cheeks to prove her point. “You are a suck up.” With a smile, she happily cuddles up against him. “I’m sure jay we can both agree that our babies are cuter than both of us,” She says, gesturing to where the dogs are sleeping together. It melts her heart seeing them like that.
Cameron frowned at the squish of his cheeks, huffing but hugging her closer. "I don't know what to think, Ava. And yes, our babies are a lot cuter than us." He tilted his head against hers to happily gaze at their dogs. "I love them so much. They're so cute and soft."
“They’re all so sweet. I love seeing Kreja play with the puppies and then use them as pillows.” Ava gazes down at the dogs with an adoring expression. “I want another one. Well, fifty more but I’m not unrealistic,” She chuckles quietly. Having a third dog would be pretty impossible with their current situation but that doesn’t mean that she can dream.
Cameron watched them sleep with a smile on his face. "Fifty, huh? I feel like that's a lot," He reckoned with her, glancing at her once. Her profile and the smile on it made him smile and feel all warm and fuzzy. She was so cute.
“Yeah but it’s not like I’m wanting one hundred and one Dalmatians.” It’s a joke that she couldn’t miss out on. Ava shifts around so that she’s properly facing him. “Dogs are the best. They’re sweet and fuzzy and cute and so snuggly. Kreja and the girls are perfect.” The dogs never fail at making her happy.
Cameron gently took her face in his hands and kissed her gently. "I'm sure you will want one hundred and one of something, dear," He just cooed back to her, his response to her joke, as it was supposed to be. "And they are perfect." He pulled her into a hug.
