Shaking his head as his inner horse snorted from exhaustion, Heian rubbed at his eyes and stifled a yawn. It had been a long day. He hadn't expected things to progress so quickly with his ex wife's court case, but the judge seemed to have been more than happy to expedite things.

"Thank you so much for everything," the prosecutor said as he walked over and shook Heian's hand.

The case had adjourned about an hour ago, but he'd stayed for a while longer because several of the people involved in the case had wanted to speak with Toshi. He only let a few people near the boy, though. Being on the stand earlier was already enough stress, so the only people who were allowed to speak with him were the court-appointed psychiatrist and the prosecutor.

The psychiatrist helped calm the boy down several times throughout the trial and Toshi had come to trust the woman. She was sweet and very well mannered. The prosecutor was also a pretty nice guy and even bought Toshi a small donut from next door on their break from questioning, brightening the boy's day quite a bit.

"Thank you for making yourself available for this case, and for assisting me in finding the correct authorities to begin the adoption process for Toshi," Heian replied as he firmly shook the man's hand.

He still had a while before he could officially adopt the little boy, but he was a very patient man and as long as Toshi was well cared for, he was okay with most decisions regarding him. As it were for the moment, the boy was still permitted to live at his home and there were weekly check-ins with child services, but now that his ex's trial had concluded with a guilty verdict and jail sentence, it was looking like Toshi was one step closer to being his.

They still needed to try his father, but the man was known to be an alcoholic and had agreed to the abandonment, and admitted it during his first round of interrogation. Things were looking up and he was hopeful that it would all turn out well for Toshi.

"Ready to go, bud?" he finally asked once the psychiatrist had finished speaking with him, then turned and held out her card to Heian.

"Please give me a call next week so that I can check up on him," she said curtly but with an honest, professional smile.

Heian took the card and tucked it into his pant's pocket, then nodded respectfully.

"I will call you Monday. Take care of yourselves, Mrs. Mendez and Mr. Barron."

With all the formalities finally done for the day, Heian leaned over and picked up his sleepy son. Papers or not, he considered Toshi his already.

He calmly carried the dozing boy out of the courthouse and to the car before getting him buckled into his car-seat. Once he was sure he was comfortable but also safe, Heian gently closed his door and walked around to the other side, then dropped down into his own seat.

So tired.

He wasn't a huge fan of other people. At least, not for such a long time and while concerning such a stressful situation. Honestly, he felt like Toshi had managed the whole thing better than he, himself, had, but at the same time, the kid had gotten a free donut out of it.

Now I want one.

He began heading home, knowing that he really shouldn't have a bunch of sugar, but when he slowed to a stop at a light, he realized something.

I'm an adult and I have two kids and a cat to feed. Surely Nia deserves a donut for being good and staying with Ranger today, and my sweet kitten also deserves treats. Toshi could also use another one... or two.

Soon, he was carrying a still-sleeping Toshi into a small donut shop that was somehow still open around three in the afternoon. It actually looked like it was about to close so he quickly scooped up the remaining nine donuts and got a black coffee as well to keep himself awake on the drive home.

Once back in the car, he got Toshi settled again, then took a few sips from his drink and finally relaxed a little.

"Alright, back home to my baby girl and kitten," he said quietly as he got them headed that way.

It took a little over an hour and a half, since they lived quite a ways into the countryside, but it was at least an enjoyable drive with minimal traffic.

By the time he got home he was ready to devour the donuts he'd left untouched in the passenger seat beside him. Right as he pulled into his driveway he could sense excitement surge through his bond with his daughter and grinned.

Ignoring the donuts for the time being, Heian got out of his car and stretched for a moment, then turned toward the pasture.

Oh?

He honestly expected Ranger to be in his human form, but when he saw the two approaching, he was a bit surprised.

She's sitting on his cat.

As they got closer, he furrowed his brow and did his best to bite back a grin... and failed miserably.

"Hello, my sweet, dirty loves," he said as he reached forward as Ranger brought Nia closer.

She wanted to go for a ride, Ranger thought to him as Heian lifted his daughter from his back and settled her on his hip, not minding in the least that she was now getting his nice suit dirty.

"Did you have fun with your father while I was gone?" he asked as he reached down with his free hand to pat Ranger's fur.

Nia quickly nodded as her smile widened.

Father took me for a ride but we got dirt kicked on us!

Heian gave a quiet chuckle as he walked to the other side of his car and gently woke Toshi up, then helped him out of his seat. The boy had woken up pretty quickly once he'd realized that they were finally home.

He gladly accepted the box of donuts to hold as Heian locked up the car, then got them all heading toward the house. Of course, he could hear heavy paws following right behind them, and he had no doubt that Ranger's cat wanted some more attention after babysitting all day. Thankfully, he'd gotten pretty good at managing his inner beast over the past month and could now have it out without too much trouble. A few well-placed kicks from Nia and Toshi's horses had helped quite a bit, too.

The donuts were an instant hit, even though it was technically just-barely dinner time. Or really, late lunch time.

She didn't want to eat until you came home but I got her to drink some water.

Heian had torn apart one of the donuts, splitting it between the two kids.

"I'm going to make a quick early dinner, then you guys can have a full donut later for dessert, alright?" he said as he got an immediate nod from Toshi and a grin from Nia.

Yay, another donut for dessert, Ranger thought to him after being handed his own whole one. It vanished in moments.

You know you're going to help me eat most of them, right? Heian thought to him as he got busy making grilled cheese and the kids got situated watching a cartoon while snuggled up to Ranger's big cat.

He honestly wanted to take a picture of them together, but he knew that Nia wasn't a fan of having her picture taken and it would often sour her mood quite a bit, so he just decided to be happy that everyone was happy and leave it at that.

Soon there were six grilled cheese and pickle sandwiches ready. He delivered one to each kid, then split another in half if either of them were still hungry. Nia never really ate a whole lot, but sometimes Toshi had a decent appetite.

He then got the remaining sandwiches and sat down against the couch beside them.

Ranger immediately settled his big fuzzy head in his lap, ignoring the sandwiches as everyone else ate.

You okay, love? he asked as he finished his first sandwich. He felt Ranger's cat nuzzle against his lap, but to his surprise, its eyes were closed.

Did my little girl wear you out?

Ranger took a few moments to respond, but his one-word response had him feeling more warm and fuzzy than Ranger, himself, currently was.

Mine.

Lifting his left hand, Heian began gently running his fingers through Ranger's soft fur as the man rested.

She is. They both are.

Ranger's ears flicked.

You too.

Heian bit back a chuckle.

Oh yes, you've made that clear every single night, love.

He was just about to say something else when he noticed that both of the kids were getting sleepy already.

Want to help me with a bath, then maybe we can enjoy some quiet time together?

Ranger carefully but quickly got to his paws and hurried up the stairs. The kids took note of him even through their sleepy minds and turned in the direction he had gone.

"Toshi, want to go take a nap? I need to give Nia a bath since she got dirty with Ranger, then she'll be in to rest, too," he said since they shared a room during naps.

Toshi had been offered his own, and while he did sleep there at night, whenever they were just lying down to rest, he preferred to use the spare little bed in Nia's room.

"Okay," the boy replied calmly as he got himself up, then went to retrieve Nia's walker nearby.

Toshi helped her up without a single problem, then the two walked over to the stairs. Heian hurried over to them to help, but to his surprise, Toshi was already helping Nia up them one step at a time.

She's... actually walking up the stairs?

Heian made sure that he was right behind them, just in case, but he forced himself not to help. Nia had never been able to ascend the stairs on her own, and just barely managed with his help the few times she'd even wanted to try.

His heart welled with pride as they finally made it to the top. With both kids safe, Heian quickly ran back down and grabbed Nia's walker, then brought it up so that she could walk to the bathroom if she wanted to, instead of being carried. Unsurprisingly, she did, even though it was obvious that the stairs had taken quite a bit of energy out of her.

My daughter is amazing.

To his surprise, Ranger was already in the bathroom, sitting in the tub in a pair of shorts.

Good idea, you're a dirty boy, too.

He really was. The guy had thankfully taken most of the dirt and dust that had been kicked at them. He honestly did, kind of, like the look, though.

We can play outside tomorrow, hubby. Just be good for right now, Ranger replied with a wink as Heian gently helped Nia into the tub, rolling his eyes internally. While Ranger was definitely a pervert, he loved to poke fun back at him for his own hidden desires. His kids would never find out, but he was also a massive pervert when it came to his husband.

Hell, he'd been infatuated with the man the second he'd seen him years ago.

To his surprise, Nia didn't crawl right into Ranger's lap. Nor did she wait for him to help undress.

She's being surprisingly self-sufficient today.

She actually had been getting more and more interested in handling her own situations since Toshi had begun staying with them. He still rarely heard her talk to his thoughts, but somehow, she couldn't stop talking to Toshi's day in and day out.

"Do you want to try doing everything today?" he asked as she finished taking off the clothing she wished to, which was just her shirt and socks.

When Nia nodded and carefully grabbed the bottle of shampoo with shaky hands, Heian nervously lifted a hand toward it. Except, Ranger had beaten him to it and just kept a hand beneath the full bottle so that it wouldn't fall on her if she accidentally dropped it. Which she did, three times. It was all perfectly alright, though, because Ranger caught it easily each time, and Nia kept her focus on her tasks until, one by one, she managed to wash her hair, upper body, feet, and face.

My baby is doing things for herself!

He was so damn proud. Of course, he would always be there to help with anything she would ever need, but to see her choose to try things for herself far more often than usual has made him so unbelievably proud of her.

She's doing very well. You're a fantastic dad, Ranger replied with a smile.

Heian couldn't help but blush slightly at the compliment as he helped his daughter out of the tub once she was finished with what she wanted to do. Ranger dried himself off in an instant, then grabbed her towel and made sure to be ready to catch Nia if she faltered at all, but their little girl was determined and didn't so much as sway until she finished drying herself... then intentionally fell right into Ranger's arms.

Not my arms, hmm?

Pushing aside his teeny tiny bit of jealousy, Heian walked with Ranger as he carried their daughter back to her room. Toshi was already asleep when they stepped inside, so they made sure to be quiet as they helped Nia change out of the wet clothing she hadn't wanted to remove during her bath, then put on some pajamas. Once that was done and she was all tucked in for a good nap, they slipped out the door.

The moment the door was closed Heian grabbed Ranger's hand and tugged him back to their own room. He released the man's hand to shut the door, then turned around... only to be quietly shoved up against the door as Ranger's hot mouth quickly covered his own.

Their bodies were glued to each others' in seconds, and the chill from Ranger's wet shorts sent an eager shiver down his spine. He allowed his husband to kiss him until he was breathless, then smirked and nipped the man's lip.

"As much as I want to get right down to business, my love... You are still a very dirty boy."

His tone of voice, his words, and the starved expression he knew was on his face had Ranger clearly a little confused, but as Heian intentionally looked down at his soaked shorts, then at his dirty upper chest, he seemed to realize what he meant. He really was dirty, since he hadn't bathed at all after Nia had finished.

Instead of simply hurrying to the bathroom so that he could rinse off the dirt before they got too distracted to do so, Ranger took a small step back and grinned mischievously.

"Will my handsome husband help me clean up?" he asked sweetly.

This man...

He knew what he was trying to do.

"You won't say no tonight," Ranger said with a determined look that had Heian holding back a grin of his own.

Sure I won't, love. Just like I haven't said no every other time you've asked since you had hurt yourself by trying to get yourself used to my size far too quickly.

Ranger had tried using some rather large toys before they got married to try and get used to his size, but instead of being careful and going slow, the guy had practically hurt himself to the point of being unable to walk for a short while.

He would humor him, though. Just like he did every time. Ranger tried to get him to top him nearly every time they had any reasonable amount of time to enjoy each other, but thankfully, he never argued when he finally told him no for the evening.

It's just going to end the same way, but I can't deny that I love seeing him try.

It also drove his horse crazy not being allowed to top, but Heian didn't mind it much at all. The only thing he wanted from Ranger was his love. Besides, he was perfectly happy being a bottom. His inner animal could just get over its frustration with a nice long run through the fields.

Shaking his head slowly, Heian gave a quiet chuckle, then leaned forward and nonchalantly scooped his husband up into his arms.

The first time he'd carried his love, the man had thrown a bit of a fit. Now, however, he was more than content to be in his arms. In fact, he didn't hesitate to begin undoing Heian's tie and dress shirt as he was carried into the bathroom, then set down on the counter.

"You're getting faster at that, love," Heian said as Ranger finished unbuttoning his shirt in a flash, then removed his alert necklace and gently set it down on the counter.

The man's clothing wasn't treated nearly as nicely. His fancy suit-jacket was immediately dropped to the floor, but to his surprise, the tie had stayed.

Ranger matched Heian's smirk as he reached back up and grabbed that undone tie, then pulled it closer until Heian was forced to lean forward, making their lips meet for the briefest of moments.

"I'm going to win tonight. You're going to enjoy yourself so much that you'll be begging me for it over and over aga—" Ranger's words were cut off by another kiss. This one, however, was initiated by Heian.

He broke it almost as soon as it had started, but both of them were already panting by that time.

"Rain, I will beg for you every single day of my life, for as long as you'll have me," Heian said honestly, making Ranger's cocky expression dissipate abruptly as a blush began to color his cheeks.

Taking the initiative while his love was caught off-guard, Heian gently undid his hand from his tie, then gifted the item to his love before walking over to get the shower going.

It was no surprise when he felt arms wrap around his waist from behind a few moments later, then begin undoing the belt holding up his pants.

"You've lost more weight," Ranger said, his tone suddenly worried.

Heian couldn't help but be happy with his worry as he settled his hands over his husband's.

"I'll eat more now that the trial is over. I was just a bit too stressed to feed myself properly," he replied as he squeezed those warm hands.

He felt Ranger press his forehead against his back in response, making his smile widen even more.

"I promise I'll be more careful from now on," he added before reaching forward and testing the water.

Perfect.

He was just about to step aside so that Ranger could wash up, but the man clearly had other plans as his hand sank into the front of Heian's open pants and grabbed hold of his length without a single ounce of hesitation.

"Kitten?" he questioned as he looked over his shoulder, trying to see his love.

The other man tucked his head farther, making Heian raise an eyebrow.

"I know that we're just going to get dirty again Rain, but you really do need to rinse that dirt off first," Heian said gently as he grasped the wrist of the hand still situated within his pants, but didn't try to remove it yet.

He did love it whenever his husband touched him in such a way, so it was kind of hard to keep his mind far enough out of the gutter to complete the action he'd intended.

"Shower with me, Heian?" Ranger asked after a few moments of silence.

As he spoke, his fingers were gently massaging Heian's length, making it incredibly hard to keep himself under control.

When he didn't answer for sometime, Ranger nudged him forward the slightest amount.

"You're wasting water, my beautiful husband."

Oh... I don't like wasting water.

Before he could reconsider his decision, Heian was walking into the shower with Ranger right behind him. As soon as he heard the frosted glass door slide closed he headed for the built-in seat he'd had made in the back for Nia recently, and a bit for himself when he was exhausted from a long day of work. The moment he sat down, however, he felt a hand firmly but carefully wrap around his wrist.

"I'll clean off the dirt," Ranger said as he continued to hold his wrist lightly.

If he wanted to pull his hand out of his grasp, he could do so with no effort at all.

Heian swallowed as he looked up, then down when