When Michael's friends left the apartment on the ninth floor, Tristan decided to finally broach his idea for its future with Caleb. He'd liked acting as host, fetching them linens and breakfast and ensuring they were comfortable. His husband had held his tongue as Tristan ran around catering to their needs, reminding himself it was only for a few days.

"I want the second apartment" said Tristan, having gathered his courage from the movie they'd just watched.

Caleb shifted on the couch and turned the man in his arms to face him.

"You're not moving in there, Baby" he said, "Who would feed you? It's better to just stay here with me and the babies."

"I don't want to move there" Tristan explained, "I want to rent it out. I liked playing landlord for Jeff and Anna, and I think I'd like to do it again... making everything nice for guests to come and stay there. Do you think I can? Would the building allow it..?"

In order to facilitate his plans, Caleb had long since joined the board of the residents' association at the Phoenicia. There was little he couldn't do regarding the three properties he owned in the building.

"You'd be able to work from home at least..." Caleb mused, "I don't see any problem with it. If you want it Baby, it's yours. Choosing your own hours may not be a bad thing, no more early starts at the supermarket."

Tristan grimaced.

"Well... I'd still keep working" he said, "It's more of a side project... something to do in my free time."

Between his friends and the kittens, Caleb already felt as though the little of Tristan's free time he got to be a part of was already vastly reduced from what it should have been.

"Two jobs?! Baby, it would be too much. You shouldn't exhaust yourself, you've only just recovered. I'm not sure it's a good idea to take on so many responsibilities all at once."

"You're right..." said Tristan sadly, "I probably couldn't handle it... it was a stupid idea to think I could do everything I wanted... I only would've failed."

Caleb couldn't handle his husband's dejected expression. He wrapped him tighter, the resolve to deter him falling away in an instant.

"You won't fail" he told him, "You'll be amazing in whatever you do. You want two jobs? Fine! We'll make it work. Whatever it takes for your dreams to come true."

Tristan concealed his smile as he burrowed into his husband's embrace.

"Just don't be sad, Baby" Caleb soothed, "You know I can't bear to see you sad."

With the matter of the apartment taken care of, Tristan welcomed his mother-in-law into the penthouse after lunch.

"I'm not sure why RayRay wants us all here. I asked if it was to meet the man he's been seeing but he told me his boyfriend had to work today. Thank you Darling for helping him out, I know you love your big brother very much, even if it's hard to show it at times."

Caleb neither confirmed or denied it. Fraser was a nuisance, but as the years had progressed, he'd found him easier to tolerate than a lot of the other people in his acquaintance.

When the elevator doors opened again that afternoon, there appeared to be a small child attached to his brother's hand.

"Oh!" said Mrs Black, "Hello."

"Mom, Caleb... this is Terrana, Farang's daughter" Fraser explained, "Where's Tristan? I thought he wasn't at work today."

"Outside cleaning up..." said Caleb, he omitted the part about the kittens in case the child was tempted to go and bother him.

Only Tristan had the power to choose who he wanted to introduce the babies to.

As it turned out, a moment later when Tristan came in from the patio, his attitude was a lot more relaxed than his husband's.

"Hello!" he said, smiling brightly at the little girl, "You must be Terrana. My name's Tristan. Has Fraser brought you to come and see the kittens?"

"Kittens?!" she cried, her wide eyes pleading for Fraser to let her go and meet them.

"Go ahead" said Fraser, "I'll be inside if you need me."

"Make sure to listen to whatever Tristan tells you!" Caleb called after them, "Maybe I should go outside in case he needs me..."

"They'll be fine" Fraser assured him, "She's very well behaved. Let her go and have some fun with the cats and then you can meet her properly. Her English is actually better than Farang's."

"And I'm sure her Modeshi is better than yours..." said Caleb, remembering how his brother had butchered the words he'd taught him.

"RayRay will get plenty of practice from the looks of things" noted his mom, "I take it you're getting serious with this one? Don't take a leaf out of your brother's book, there's nothing wrong with taking it slowly."

"Yep. Absolutely" said Fraser, "One step at a time!"

The latest step involved buying the adjoining apartment to Farang's that morning so Fraser could begin his expansion project. He didn't want Terrana to feel too unsettled by moving her away from her neighborhood, so the least he could do was renovate their home to an adequate size. With Terrana and Mrs Warik's rooms at one end of the property and his and Farang's at the other, he felt that everyone would benefit from the new arrangement.

"I'm glad you're keeping your head" said Mrs Black, "There's nothing wrong with a long distance relationship as you get to know one another."

"Long distance..?" puzzled Fraser.

"Well aren't you going back to oversee the office in Cabi?" she asked him, "I thought you were just here to visit Caleb."

"Ah..." said Fraser, "Well there's still a lot to take care of here. Besides, there's the company anniversary coming up and we'll be celebrating in Modesh. I'm sure Cabi can wait a little longer."

Like, forever...

"Fraser's forcing me to attend this year" Caleb complained.

"Oh hush! You know as well as I do, you want to see Tristan all dressed up for the occasion" said Fraser, "Mom, will you be sticking around? There'll be a free bar and your two favorite sons if you want to join us."

"It's not that I'm not proud of you both, but you know I'm not a fan of those things, RayRay. As soon as those executives find out who I am they start trying to find me a comfortable seat and advise me to take care of my health."

"I think Angela's going to be there this time" Fraser offered, "In case that might help to change your mind."

Mrs Black had liked Angela Terice since Caleb's college days. Smart and level-headed, she was adept at keeping her son relatively in line. There was even a time she'd entertained the thought that Caleb would bring her home as a daughter-in-law; she was disappointed to learn that Angela would never be more than his friend. With a personality like Caleb's, she had little hope of finding someone else that might be willing to deal with him.

Learning her youngest was interested in men had come as a surprise, but more so because it was the only similarity he'd ever shared with his brother. 

Out on the patio, Tristan was scolding one of the kittens after it had hissed at Terrana. Caleb's gaze had naturally drifted to him, the corners of his mouth lifting as he watched.

Mrs Black could only hope his happiness would last.

"I'll think about the party" she said, "Will you be bringing your new man along?"

"I will" said Fraser proudly, "We've already made arrangements for Terrana to stay with a friend. It's not easy having to parent, is it Mom?"

"No" said Mrs Black with a sigh, her eyes on Caleb, "It isn't."

There was already a tray of refreshments laid out on the table when Tristan and Terrana came in from playing with the cats.

"Mr Fraser!" cried Terrana, running to tell him the news, "Turkey is my favorite but Mama is number two! Who's your favorite?"

"Your daddy, of course" said Fraser.

"Daddy's not a cat" Terrana explained to him helpfully.

"Then I guess I'll choose Turkey as well, since you like him so much."

"No" said Terrana, "He's my favorite. You have to choose another one."

"What are the other ones again?" Fraser asked Tristan.

"Goose and Duck..." he told him shyly.

"If you can't be bothered to learn the names of your nephews and niece, then I'm not going to bother learning this one's name" Caleb announced as he motioned to Terrana.

"Forgive me" said Fraser, "Goose then."

The little girl pouted.

"But that one that didn't like me..." she said.

"Alright" Fraser patiently relented, "Then the other one."

With the issue of favorite kittens finally settled, Terrana turned her attention to the snacks that Caleb had prepared.

"Not that one" said Caleb, moving the bruschetta out of her reach, "That's Tristan's favorite, you have to choose another one."

Terrana looked over the crudités and made her second choice.

"No carrots either" said Caleb, rotating the plate so the cucumber sticks were facing her, "They're Tristan's favorite too."

"Only one favorite!" Terrana protested.

"Tristan can have as many favorites as he likes!" challenged Caleb, "This is his house."

Mrs Black was suddenly transported back to the days where she was forced to apologize to other parents and children on her son's behalf. Before her eyes, two five year olds were fighting over a veggie platter.

"Husband..." said Tristan, placing a hand on Caleb's arm, "Play nice. Terrana, you can have whatever you want. Shall I help you make a plate?"

Caleb guiltily stepped back from the table.

"Make sure he stays by your brother's side at the anniversary party" Mrs Black told Fraser, "He may be the only thing that stops him offending the executives to the point of corporate mutiny..."

Fraser had no doubt that his brother would be glued to Tristan wherever they went together. It was as though he'd developed a human-shaped inhibitor to curb his bad behavior, and was fortunate that the two were largely inseparable.

"Would you like something to eat, Mrs Black?" asked Tristan politely.

"No thank you, dear" she replied.

Caleb was always on edge when his mother spoke to his husband, worried that Tristan would feel unwelcomed by his family. Mrs Black had begun to sense it.

 "You know, you can call me by my first name if you like?" she offered, "'Mrs Black' sounds too formal."

Tristan nodded, his smile beaming.

"It's Sarah" she said, "You can call me Sarah."

He tried to conceal it, he knew it was ridiculous, but just hearing the name of his former 'friend' was enough to turn him pale. "Ah... Sarah..." he repeated, "Thank you."

Fraser didn't know why his brother-in-law looked so upset, but even he could recognize that something wasn't right.

"Mom... I know theirs isn't the most conventional relationship, but they're married" he said, "Isn't it time to start treating him more like your son-in-law..?"

Caleb was standing silent by his big brother's side.

"Tristan" she said, "Fraser's right. Just call me 'Mom'. I know Caleb would like that too, right Darling?"

"I'll only have one husband in this lifetime" he declared, "There's no one else I'd want to share my family with but him. I hope you'll give him your support..."

"Tristan, my family may well test your mental fortitude, it's certainly tested mine; but if it's your decision to remain by Caleb's side, then I'll do my best to support you... as his husband. Though, I'd always hoped for a wedding for at least one of my boys."

"I want a wedding too... Mom" said Tristan.

Mrs Black smiled. "I'm glad" she told him.

"A wedding?" asked Terrana, "Like the prince and the princess?"

"Like the prince and the prince" Fraser corrected her.

"Then who will wear a pretty dress?" asked Terrana.

"I will" announced Mrs Black, "And you can wear one too if you like. Why don't we have a look at some on my phone? What's your favorite color?"

"Purple!" cried Terrana.

"Oh! Mine t... Blue" said Mrs Black, "Mine's blue."

Having never had a daughter to play dress up with, Mrs Black happily sat on the couch with Terrana and her plate of snacks, as they scrolled through pictures of purple and blue princess dresses.

"You want a wedding, Baby..?" Caleb asked his husband.

"Yeah. Is that okay?" Tristan replied, staring at the floor as he rubbed his thumb over the ring he wore.

"Oh... Oh, Mom!" Fraser called, unsure of what to do.

Tristan and Mrs Black looked up to see Caleb in floods of tears.

"Darling! What's wrong?" cried his mom, rushing to his side.

Caleb's emotions had seemed to explode out of nowhere, his face contorted as the tears ran openly. Fraser sat down next to Terrana, hoping to assure her there was nothing to be afraid of.

"Mom!" wailed Caleb, "I've never been this happy before..!"

Mrs Black could only enlist Tristan's help to calm him. Caleb hugged his husband tightly to his body, as Tristan stroked his broad and shaking shoulders.

"Is he okay?" asked Terrana.

"He'll be fine" said Fraser in reply, "He's just probably tired from missing his naptime."

 Terrana nodded her understanding and continued eating. Naptime was very important.