Aiden placed a gentle hand on Kira’s back, offering support as she clung to both him and Bryan. She was calm now and had cried as much as she wanted to. She knew it was time to leave, and she could always come back to visit.
With her arms slowly loosening, they helped her to her feet. Aiden steadied her by the waist while Bryan held her hand.
“Are you good?” Bryan asked her, and she nodded.
“Yes, thank you.”
“Okay, let’s go,” he said.
Once inside, Aiden guided her gently to the couch, where she sat down, emotionally exhausted from the amount of emotion she had released. Neither of them rushed her, allowing her space to breathe and get herself back, but they stayed close and sat beside her.
After a few moments, Bryan leaned forward slightly, his voice gentle. “Would you like to watch a movie and some ice cream?” he asked, hoping to bring a small smile to her face and some comfort.
“Yeah,” Kira turned to him, managing a faint smile, her voice soft. “That sounds nice.”
Getting his answer, he disappeared into the kitchen and returned shortly after with three bowls of ice cream. Luckily, there was still ice cream remaining.
“Here,” he uttered, handing her a bowl of her ice cream. “I know you like this flavor too. Well, you like many flavors,” he chuckled, and he handed her a bowl of strawberry and vanilla ice cream.
“Yes, I do,” Kira concurred with a small laugh.
She then took her bowl, offering a grateful smile. “Thanks sweetheart.”
“Anytime.” Bryan responded before handing Aiden his bowl of ice cream.
“Aiden’s got chocolate, of course,” he added. “And I went with pineapple this time.”
As Bryan handed out the ice creams, Aiden stood up and excused himself, heading to the bedroom. He soon returned, arms full of soft blankets.
“Here we go,” he said, draping a warm blanket over Kira’s shoulders and kissing her forehead before settling beside her with Bryan.
They all cuddled up on the couch, covered in blankets. Kira was nestled in the middle with a bowl of ice cream in hand and felt very comfortable and at peace. She felt relaxed and kept rubbing against them, enjoying the feel of them around her.
Aiden and Bryan had their bowls as well. They all started licking their ice cream as Bryan took the remote in hand and paused for a second. “What genre are you in the mood for?” he asked Kira, his tone sweet and calm.
Kira thought about it for a moment before shrugging slightly. “Mmm… Maybe something funny… comedy sounds good right now.”
“It sure does,” Aiden agreed.
Bryan smiled, scrolling through the options. “Comedy it is.”
The movie began playing, and Kira leaned back into the couch, enjoying both the movie and the ice cream. At some point as they all watched the movie together, Aiden went to the kitchen for more snacks like chicken, cookies, and so many more. They all sat quietly and enjoyed the nice time together, eating, laughing, and the comfort they shared.
Even though Kira’s heart was still heavy with grief, at this moment, she felt a small, healing peace. She knew she was going to be fine and wouldn’t rush herself.
It’s grief. It doesn’t need to be rushed.
As the movie came to an end, Kira sighed softly, her mood much lighter than before. She set her empty bowl of ice cream and snack packs on the table, then leaned back against the couch. Aiden, on the other hand, stretched beside her, while Bryan reached for the remote and turned off the TV.
“That was amazing,” Kira murmured, her lips curling into a genuine smile. “It was hilarious. I needed that.”
“We are glad we could make you feel better,” Aiden said with a small grin on his face as he ruffled her hair.
“The part where the man tripped over that stone,” Kira reminisced while laughing softly. “It was priceless. Like, where the hell did he think he was running too?”
“I literally had no idea,” Bryan chuckled, shaking his head. “I really almost lost it!”
“Agreed,” Aiden chimed in and leaned forward. “Also the part with the water balloons… I haven’t seen you laugh that hard in a while, Kira. I literally thought you were going to choke or something.”
“Oh, please.” Kira defended herself while rolling her eyes at him. “I was not going to choke, I just had something to laugh out,” she said, trying to hold back the laugh she was about to burst out.
Meanwhile, Bryan had already beat her to it as he burst out laughing. “Yeah, sure you did. You made us rush to go get water, only to find out you were just laughing and there was absolutely nothing wrong with you.”
“Can’t a girl laugh anymore?” Kira asked them with a glare, her eyes shining from the laughter she was holding in. “You both too,” she immediately accused. “I have never heard you both laugh so hard. So we are all in this together, and I will not be going down alone. Not tonight.”
“Yeah, yeah. Feisty little mate,” Aiden accepted, letting her be.
“Speaking of the night,” Bryan suddenly brought up. “I do hope we did not forget it’s the full moon tonight. When the full moon reaches its peak at midnight, that is when the transformation starts.”
“I completely forgot about that.” Kira said, shifting in her seat and pulling the blanket around her. “I guess with everything that happened today, it slipped my mind.”
“It’s alright, and we are not changing tonight. Tonight is the night where you get to see how the ring works, love,” Aiden told her and rubbed her shoulders.
“That my dear is true. I have been waiting to test it out.” She nodded, smiling as she looked at the ring on her finger and traced it.
“But you know what? Let’s go out to the woods,” she suggested, raising her head up and looking at both of them. The look in her eyes, telling them something.
Bryan and Aiden exchanged looks before Bryan asked,
“Why?”