Ken Davison could not sleep well in strange houses. Throughout his childhood and adolescence, his mother had dragged him from one end of the country to the other, staying nowhere longer than a month or two. So many terrible things had happened to him in so many terrible places that Ken had eventually learned to view each new house not as a new beginning, not with hope for stability and happiness, but with suspicion and quiet dread. Now, he had been freed of his troubled mother and free to stay only where he wished. The past two decades his life were almost as stable as that of a cloistered nun, as meticulously planned as any bomb squad’s procedures for disarming an explosive device, and without any of the turmoil on which his mother had thrived.

In a juxtaposition to most of his life, Ken was reluctant to get dressed and get out of this still strange bed. He still couldn’t believe he and Kyra had found themselves in the position they are in now. Six months ago, they were practically trying to kill one another in the ring. Now, he is laying in her bed with his arm wrapped around her and it was the most at home he had felt since his 19th birthday. If there is a God, he certainly has a warped sense of humor. Still, even at ease, Ken was having trouble sleeping. It wasn’t because he wasn’t comfortable, it was because he didn’t want to leave.

In what reality do I deserve this?’ Ken thinks to himself as he slowly strokes Kyra’s hair. Six in the morning will be there soon and he’s going to have to leave to go see his family in Boston. He was supposed to head up there four days ago but has kept making excuse after excuse to stall. His family told him to “go and be happy” and that’s exactly what he was doing.

“Why’d you stop?”

“I was trying not to wake you up.”

“There are… worse ways to be woken up.”

“We really should do this at my place sometime. I’ve got the room. I’ve got my room. I turned one of the rooms into an office. If you’re cool with it, we could decorate one for Adina.”

“Aw.:”

“That leaves the guest/you’re mad at me room.”

Kyra chuckles and rolls over to face him.

“Thinking ahead, huh?”

“Hopefully not.”

Ken takes a deep breath.

“So… um… I was wondering…”

“Yeah?”

“Do you have Adina on Christmas?”

She sighs and shakes her head.

“I’m letting John have her. Maybe he’ll get off my back if he has her… Why?”

“Well… um… I was wondering… sorry, I said that already. I wanted to know if you maybe wanted to come with me to Boston. You’d have to meet the family, though. I don’t know if it’s too soon for that or not.”

Her eyes widen.

“You want me to.. meet your family? Wow..”

“I mean… yeah. But honestly, I stayed behind on Thanksgiving, so I’m kind of obligated and… well… damnit! I’m sorry. I always get weird with this stuff.”

Ken stops himself and takes another long, deep breath.

“Meeting the family might be a little soon, but I don’t want to be away from you if I don’t have to be. I’m being selfish.”

“Cute? Yes. Selfish?”

She leans in and kisses his nose.

“Not at all. To be completely honest, I don’t wanna be away from you either.”

“You really spoil me. You know that?”

She crinkles her nose and lays back down, a smirk playing over her lips.

“Maybe a little.”

“Maybe. So, when you get everything squared with John, I’ll let my parents know when we’ll be up there. Is that okay?”

“I’ll call him when we get up..”

She yawns.

“And yes, of course that’s okay. I love that you ask, though.”

“Well, last time I checked, there were two of us on this crazy ride. We’ve got to work together and communicate and all that happy horseshit.”

Ken starts stroking Kyra’s hair again as she closes her eyes and relaxes back into the pillow, letting out a soft sigh of contentment.

“Get back to sleep, mama. I’m going to turn off my alarm. Je t’aime. Vous rendez la vie digne d’être vécue.”

Kyra opens her eyes again and turns her head to look at Ken, a curious look on her face.

“What was that?”

“French.”

She rolls her eyes.

“Smartass. Let me rephrase.. What did you say in French?“

Ken’s eyes meet hers as he smiles softly.

“I love you. You make life worth living.”

“Well.. I..”

She pauses for a few moments, allowing his words to sink into her head. A look of disbelief crosses her features as she undoubtedly thought to herself ’how could he love me of all people?’ But those thoughts quickly dissipated as she moved back into his arms, kissing him.

“I don’t know any fancy languages.. But I love you too.”

“Not to ruin the moment, but I don’t either. Google does. I spent all day yesterday memorizing that.”

“That’s literally the sweetest thing.”

“For the sweetest thing. You deserve it.”

Kyra shakes her head. The man sure knows how to lay it on.

“Now who’s spoiling who?”

“I’m still the spoiled one.”

She snuggles into his neck.

“You sound like a pretty lucky guy.”

“I’d like to think we’re both lucky.”

Kyra nods, running her fingertips along his jawline. She couldn’t deny how truly lucky she feels in this moment right now.

“I’ll give you that.”

Ken reaches over and gently locks hands with Kyra.

“You sure about this? I mean, they’re Crystal’s parents, too. Won’t that make it awkward for you? I know it’s going to be awkward for me.”

Kyra takes a moment to contemplate what Ken’s saying, finally squeezing his hand.

“Is this important for you? Does this mean something for you.. Having me there, meeting your family?”

“Of course it is. It’s just a huge step. I held onto a ghost for so long. It’s a little…” Ken pauses for a moment. “Scary, I guess. But, I’m glad I don’t have to face it alone.”

Ken backs away just enough to make sure Kyra can see the smile on his face.

“I know I say it all the time, but thank you, for being there, for loving me, for showing me what it’s like to be happy.”

“It is a huge step. So was meeting my kid, you know? But I’m here, I’m ready and as long as you’ll have me..” She smiles back at him. “Let’s face all our ghosts together. It’ll be great.. Well, I hope.”

Kyra shrugs.

“They could end up hating me for all I know.”

“I somehow doubt that. I’ve gone from seeing them when I can to calling a couple of times a week. Hell, they told me go be happy. They can’t be mad that we are.”

She smiles softly and nods her head.

“In my experience, people can be upset over whatever they want.. Whether it makes sense or not. But.. Well, nevermind.” She chuckles. “I trust you and I wanna do this with you because it’s important to you so..”

“I guess it’s settled then. If things go south, we’re out. I would never put you in a bad situation, not now, not ever.”

“I’ve probably been through worse.. but you’re cute as hell. First time in a long time I actually feel like I don’t gotta fight by myself… And I don’t wanna, either.”

“The good news is we got the fighting with each other out of the way months before we got together.”

Ken reaches under his pillow and pulls out his phone.

“I’m going to shut off my alarm. Adina will probably wake us anyway.”

Kyra yawns again, pulling the blanket up over her shoulder.

“That’s the way it works around here.”

“Wouldn’t have it any other way.” Ken says as he lets out a yawn.

“Hey, Kyra.”

“Yeah?”

“Is this what home feels like?”

Before Kyra can answer, Ken is asleep in her arms. She closes her eyes as she kisses his forehead and lays her head against his.

“Yeah.. I think so..”