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Cole hums softly as he sits under the large oak tree in one of Dorado’s parks. Rosemary, his golden retriever daemon, is halfway on his lap, sleeping soundly as he pets her soft fur. Sombra is resting on his other side, fingers intertwined with his. Her other hand holds her phone, where she’s scrolling through some type of code. Sombra’s daemon, a red fox named Voxel, is curled up at their feet, deep asleep.
The lightness in Cole’s chest that makes him unable to fight a grin. This is just… so wonderful. He never thought he’d get this life, but he has it now, and he knows better than to take it for granted. Every moment spent with the love of his life and their daemons, no matter how small, will be treasured.
“You’re doing that… thing again,” Sombra observes. If Cole didn’t know her so well, he wouldn’t have caught the fondness in her tone.
“What thing?”
Turning away from her phone to look at him, Sombra raises an eyebrow. “The grinning for no reason thing.”
A deep chuckle rumbles in Cole’s chest. “I have plenty of reasons.” It doesn’t need to be said that she’s the main one. Sombra smiles, setting down her phone so she can poke his nose.
“You’re a dork,” she accuses.
“I’m your dork,” he corrects, leaning over to press a kiss to her hairline. She leans into it, even as she rolls her violet eyes.
Rosemary barks softly in her sleep, gently pawing at Cole’s leg. He glances towards his daemon, watching her twitch, whatever dream she’s having clearly exciting her. His hand scratches behind her ear.
Sombra giggles as she observes them. Love is practically radiating off of her, which makes Cole grin even harder. It’s always nice when Sombra lets herself be completely transparent with him, when she lets him see every one of her emotions clearly.
It’s not rare, not like it was at the beginning of their relationship, but he still cherishes it. Cherishes her .
“Shut up,” Sombra mutters, resting her head on his shoulder.
“I didn’t say nothin’!”
“Yeah, but you were thinking something really sappy. I can tell,” she says matter-of-factly.
Cole huffs a laugh, disentangling their fingers so he can wrap his arm around her shoulders. “I’m always thinking something sappy,” he says. Sombra doesn’t dignify that with a response beyond her quiet snort.
Cole can tell she’s getting tired. It hadn’t been a bad day, but it had been a long one, and they’re both worn out. As much as he would like to just curl up next to the love of his life, he also knows that sleeping outside with only a tree as cover isn’t a good idea. So, with a heaving sigh, Cole pulls away from his and Sombra’s embrace. Sombra huffs, reaching out to pull him back.
“Darlin’, we’ve gotta get home,” Cole says. Sombra looks like she wants to object, but also knows he’s right. With a long-suffering exhale, she reaches over to wake her daemon up. “Voxel, despierta, ” she says, gently shaking him. Voxel opens his eyes disdainfully, letting out a snort of discontent at being woken. Sombra laughs. “Oh, come on, Vox, don’t look at me like that!”
As they argue, Cole turns to Rosemary, giving her the same treatment. “Rosie, Sweetheart, you gotta wake up now.” She doesn’t budge, which has him fondly shaking his head. His daemon is always a pain to wake. “C’mon you lug. We’ve gotta go.” After a bit more effort, Rosemary opens her wide, brown eyes.
As soon as she’s conscious, she leaps to her feet and licks Cole’s face. He laughs, ruffling her fur.
“See, why can’t you be more like Rosie?” Sombra demands, arms crossed as she faces Voxel, who continues to glare at her.
“They just like me better,” Cole says. Sombra pointedly ignores him.
“Vox, I’m not above just picking you up.” That gets Voxel to begrudgingly stand and stretch, before trotting over to Sombra and nudging her leg with his nose. She fights off a smile, even as she reaches down and pets him.
Cole reaches out for Sombra's hand, lacing their finger together in a sickeningly domestic gesture that both of them love. And, together, they head home.