Ava carefully picks Rose up off of the table and sets her down on her lap. "There we go, baby doll." Now the entire table is open for her game with Zore and she can cuddle properly with Rose. "Come on, Z, you've almost got it! Get that hand, sweetheart!" She scruffs the pup's head playfully before tapping the table again. The skin on her hand is a little pink but the nips don't hurt.
Rose yapped softly as she always did, settling herself down in Ava's lap with a few wags of her tail, plapping her paws a little on her lap before setting her head down. She yawned wide and shut her eyes. Zore jumped up at the scuffing of her head, waving her paws and landing heavily on her paws as she chased after Ava's hand more.
Ava gently strokes Rose's back and head with one hand while she moves her other hand rapidly around the table. Watching Zore chase after her hand is beyond amusing. It never ceases to amaze her just how much energy the puppies have. At this point she's just waiting to see how much longer the puppy will last before she gets tired and needs a nap.
Zore chased the hand and soon randomly flopped asleep on the table. She was one sleepy puppy. Now both pups snored, as Cameron moved down the steps again, holding his shoes. He stood in the doorway, his eyebrows raised a little.
"Everyone's asleep, hmm?" He asked, setting his shoes down near his dad's and hugging Ava around her neck and pressing a kiss to her head.
Ava laughs at Zore's sudden flop. "Poor baby." It seems as though she's successfully worn out both of the puppies. It seems as though she's the only one awake at the moment. That changes when Cameron enters the room.. Glancing over her shoulder, she smiles at him. "You missed all of the fun." Turning her head, she presses a light kiss to his cheek.
Cameron chuckled as the pup rolled over and got herself comfy on the table. "I did, huh? Certainly looks like it." He turned his head to glace at his father.
"Отец, ты должен проснуться. Я отведу тебя в кровать," He said softly to the older man, crossing the kitchen and forking Kreja off of him. Lachlan stirred as his son lifted him up with ease and carried him off.
Ava shifts Rose over in her lap before carefully scooping Zore up and settling her next to her sister. “You two are just so sleepy,” She laughs quietly, loving how sweet and cuddly they are when they’re asleep.
Kreja grumbles in protest when he pulled off of the comfy lap and left on the floor. Standing up, he stretches out and fixes Cameron with a glare.
Cameron fixated the dog in a matching glare. It was really late and he didn't want his dad to be stiff in the morning. He walked away to his room (which was also upstairs) after a few moments of glaring back at the dog.
Zore let herself be scooped and replaced, barking softly in her sleep. Rose's little paws twitched and so did her ears
Ava glances between Cameron and Kreja, rolling her eyes at them glaring at each other. “Boys are dumb,” She whispers to the two sleeping puppies. After securing the pups in the crooks of her arms, she carefully stands up, cradling them on their backs like babies.
Kreja barks defensively at him before turning and searching the house for somewhere else to sleep.
Cameron huffed at her, then at Kreja for being noisy before going upstairs. He set his dad down on the bed and tucked him in, smiling.
"спокойной ночи, отец," He murmured before walking out.
Ava grins at him before turning back to the sleeping puppies. “Come on, sweeties, let’s go figure out where everything is.” Looking around us probably a good idea. She moves through the house, careful not to wake the pups.
Cameron appeared out of his dad's room, which was at the end of the hall in the upstairs floor. He smiled as he watched her mill around. "Our room's right here." He gently grabbed her arm and lead her into the room across from his dad's. "The bathroom's next to this room."
Cameron's old room was a pretty big size with a relatively new bed. There were dressers and a small closet that had their bags in it, but no personality from the older man apart from a couple photographs he put down.
Ava hums quietly as she explores the house. It's interesting to be in the place where Cameron grew up. With a slight smile, she follows him into the bedroom. Her attention immediately turns to the picture. She unfortunately can't get a close look at them with the puppies in her arms so she carefully sets them down on the bed. "Kreja!" She calls out quietly, wanting to keep an eye on him so he doesn't get into trouble. Only a moment later the dog is trotting into the room and leaping onto the bed. "So this is your old room, huh?" She picks up one of the pictures.
Cameron flipped the blinds shut and yawned, stretching out. "Yep, my old room." The pictures seemed to be from when he was just going of to fight for his country. He was a smiling but also a roguishly handsome teenager with smudges of dirt on his broad nose and cheeks, arm in arm with a couple of other friends from his school.
Cameron glanced over and walked up behind her again, setting a hand on her hip. "I was nineteen when that was taken." He chuckled softly. "I lost some of my looks, didn't I?"
Ava smiles at the picture, amused by the smudges of dirt on his face. It's amazing how much someone can change and yet the smile stayed the same. She could recognize that smile anywhere. "You only got handsomer, I promise." After carefully setting the picture back where she had found it she turns to face him, a grin on her face. "I'm really glad that we could come here. It's really nice to see where you grew up." She's going to love staying here if it means that she can get a glimpse into his childhood.
Cameron watched her expression carefully, not looking at the old picture. He smiled a bit bigger, almost matching the one she was just looking at, as she moved to look at him. He put a second hand on her cheek and gently kissed her, stroking her cheek.
"I'm glad you wanted to come with me. Back to Russia. It's nice to see my roots with my new family," He hummed, looking up at the dogs then back down to her.
Ava lightly rests her cheek against his hand, kissing him back. It still surprises her just how much she loves him. That smile on his face just makes her all the more happy to enjoy this moment. “I’m still sorry that our trip was more rushed than planned.” Killing that dude really had messed this up. “The girls are loving the snow but Kreja seems confused. He does love your dad though.” She smiles gently at him. “I love that I could come here with you, especially with the pups.”
The gleam in her eyes showed him she was enjoying herself. She didn't smile all the time, but she did smile in her eyes. Her dark, pretty eyes. He held up her head loyally for her, moving a few strands of hair away. "That's alright, love. I can't stay mad at you forever." He chuckled at the dogs' updates, nodding. "Puppies love snow. And of course he's confused, I don't blame him." He laughed softly, his smile still on his lips. "Plus, dogs naturally love my dad."
The look that he’s giving her right now causes her heart to flutter. No one has ever made her this happy before. Right now, gazing into his eyes, she feels like she couldn’t live without him, not that she would ever want to. She reaches up and presses a soft kiss to his cheek. “Poor boy just doesn’t understand why he’s tail deep in snow instead of lounging on the beach.” Much like herself, Kreja prefers a more tropical scene. “That’s something you must have inherited from him.” Every dog they come across seems to adore him and she thinks that it only adds to his charm.
Cameron tilted his head so she could kiss him better, and he lead her over onto the bed so they could relax and talk like they usually did at the end of the day. It never changed and it never will, as far as Cameron was concerned.
"Poor boy indeed. At least he's in a better place, huh? I think he'll like it once he gets used to it. And maybe we can visit one of the beaches near the Black Sea sometime." He chuckled at her comment, nodding. "Maybe I did."
Ava hums happily before following him over to the bed. She climbs on top of the soft comforter and loosely curls up, shifting around so she’ll be able to face him properly. “I might get all of the dogs booties so we can avoid them getting snow clusters on their paws.” Having to pull chunks of ice and snow out of all of that fur won’t be fun. “Mm, a beach trip would be perfect. Kreja and I would never complain about that.” She slowly relaxes and settles down. “You definitely did. Kreja took to you insanely quickly and liking strangers is rare for him. You know how judgy he is.”
Cameron pulled an arm under her and pulled her close into his chest, curling up around her so she was comfy at the very least. He gazed down at her and laughed at the picture of Kreja wearing booties. "Kreja would definitely complain about booties, but that's a good idea. You and I could go and just enjoy ourselves. I dunno about Kreja," He said jokingly with a grin. Well, it was mostly joking, because Kreja always seemed to get in their way when they tried something new and alone together. "I think Kreja's liking to me changes every so often to what we're trying to do together."
“Kreja would love the booties. He loves to be fashionable,” Ava laughs, snuggling up close to him. “Oh! I could get him a sweater! He definitely wouldn’t be happy then.” Just the thought of Kreja wearing a sweater cracks her up. The crazy dog barely tolerates his collar so booties and a sweater would really piss him off. “He doesn’t stop liking you, he’s just a momma’s boy and doesn’t like you getting any of my attention.” That’s probably her fault. Kreja was raised solely by her and is used to having her full attention, something he rarely gets nowadays. “Maybe we could leave the pups at the house and go to the beach one afternoon, just me and you.”
Cameron laughed with her as he imagined the same. "He would be so pissed off at us, Ava. He'd ignore us for so long." He remembered when she tried dressing him up in little costumes for Halloween. It didn't really end well at all. But the whole event was frustrating but hilarious looking back at it.
"I dunno about that, Ava. I wouldn't blame lack of attention for those times he's interrupted us… you know. It just seems too convenient." He chuckled softly. "But I think an afternoon away would be wonderful. They legit remind me of children, Ava."
“You could make him some of those fancy dog treats that he likes so much and he would forgive us in a second.” Ava’s smile only grows as she pictures the same thing as him. Those Halloween costumes had been adorable but Kreja wouldn’t even wear a clown collar. At least she had managed to get a couple of pictures of him wearing the costumes. In all fairness, he tore them up a few moments after the pictures had been taken. “He doesn’t mean to interrupt us……he just has horrible timing.” To be honest, Kreja probably knew exactly what he was doing. “They basically are children, Cam. Rose and Zore are babies and Kreja is the overly sassy teenager who demands attention.”
"And I did. He was all happy and bouncy again. He loves those things." He laughed, leaning his head against hers as he thought back. He had found a recipe for treats that Kreja liked in an attempt to distract him from certain things, and for rewards.
"No, he knew exactly what he was doing," Cameron voiced her thoughts. "It was horrible timing when he slammed on my door, huh?" He asked her, raising his eyebrows. "I guess you're right. But I think just an afternoon or so away would be nice."
“He loves those things. I could put that pink bunny costume on him with no problem if we bribed him with a couple of those.” She had bought it as a joke and would never put it on him but she could if she wanted to with those treats. “He did not! The poor baby was sick a few of those times, he was utterly miserable and needed to be cared for.” Laughing, she shakes her head in amusement. “Okay, I have no rebuttal for that. He definitely knew what he was doing when he rammed into the door.” That had certainly been an interesting night. “An afternoon away could be great. We can leave the kids alone for a few hours without a disaster, right?”
Cameron laughed and shook his head. "We definitely could've but he would've absolutely hated it. He would've hated it so hard." He knew the dog would, too. "I think we should try it sometime. He's somewhat older so he's slowed down."
"And yes he did! He was not sick or miserable, it was every single time Ava! Even if he was about to collapse because it was so late, he'd still do something to get in the middle of it. Even if we were as quiet as we can be." He sighed and smiled a little at her suggestion. "Yes, I'd love that very much. We can actually enjoy ourselves. And of course a few hours without a disaster. We'll call in a babysitter to help dad."
“I could never do that to him. There’s no doubt that he’d be cute as hell but he would be way too miserable for me to make him suffer like that.” She would love to see Kreja dressed as an adorable pink bunny but he would hold a grudge against her for the rest of his life. “Okay, he knew what he was doing some of the time but he had to be sick at least once. No matter how quiet we are, he knows, he always knows.” It’s insane that Kreja can figure it out and interrupt them like he does. “Don’t sound so confident about the disaster thing. Remember when we went to the farmer’s market and were gone for a couple of hours? We came back to a knocked over potted plant, three decapitated stuffed toys, muddy paw prints on the couch, and a broken vase.”
Cameron laughed softly again and shook his head at the thought of how angry that poor dog would be. But treats and a good walk always solved it, and she didn't seem to understand that. He proceeded to shake his head and bite his lip.
"We've only gotten away with it a couple times, and that's when he was either outside or with someone else. He's doing it deliberately, he doesn't want it to happen." He didn't quite like the dog interrupting like he did for a good reason. "And he'll be with my dad, Ava, it won't be any problem. We're not gonna leave him alone like we did."