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"We should drink some ale before you leave," said Dmitri, helping him load the last of the supplies on the cart. "Rest a bit before you take the road."
Trevor shoved the crate further in and started mentally checking everything. The last thing he wanted was to make another trip to the village in two days because he had forgotten something. "Can't, gotta take the kid home."
"Let Mihaela watch her for a little while longer," his friend argued, leaning against the cart. Dmitri was a strong and burly man, but he'd also built this cart himself after their old wagon got torched by a fire-breathing slyzard. If anyone knew how sturdy the cart was, it was him. "It's good for the small ones to play together, or so I'm told."
"Trust me, I've heard that one several times," said Trevor with a humorous huff, and Dmitri chuckled along. "But I really have to go. We can talk more next time."
Dmitri clasped his shoulder firmly, defeated. "Then I'll go find the wife, see if she'll return your kid without a fight."
"It's not me she has to worry about," Trevor called after him, throwing his shirt on and making a face when it immediately stuck to him with sweat. The day was warm even after last night's rain, only a few scant clouds in the sky. "Sypha could scare a dragon dead when she's pissed."
His friend laughed loudly from down the road, almost halfway to his house. "Name a wife who can't!" Dmitri yelled back.
Somehow it still felt a bit weird when Trevor heard anyone in the village refer to Sypha as his wife. Most folks had apparently accepted and adapted to calling her Adrian's wife as well, and a few could manage to say they were husbands without tripping over themselves or doing the sign of the Cross.
They were not married, of course.
The last priest to oversee this parish had died to the night creatures and the villagers had found it surprisingly good to live without interference from the Church after that.
The last priest to be tasked with this parish had been unceremoniously driven off by a mob with pitchforks and torches. He had shown up just long enough after the battle with Dracula that the locals had already befriended the three of them at that point. The people had heard Sypha tell the stories of their travels, but more importantly of the Church's many, many misdeeds as well.
That Adrian used the castle's lab to produce medicine and that Sypha treated the sick for free were just nice bonuses, of course.
Even if there was a priest out in the world willing to celebrate their marriage before the eyes of God, neither of them wanted that. They liked it better this way, thanks.
Fuck God anyway.
Trevor saw Dmitri walking back after a few minutes with Simona and two of his own kids in tow. The three girls were holding hands and singing loudly, their dresses absolutely disgusting with muddy handprints.
When she spotted him, Simona's smile grew wider. In the late afternoon sun, her hair looked almost like it was on fire and her eyes seemed lighter, somehow. "Papa! We made mud cakes!" she told him excitedly, while also informing most of the village in the process because she couldn't wait until they were closer before speaking.
"That's great, kiddo."
"Aunty said they were really good!"
Trevor knew better than to question that. "You can tell me more on the way home. Say goodbye to your friends."
Simona let go of their hands and the girls waved to each other, all looking like they could keep playing for another several hours. Dmitri's kids, Ana and Sofia, were technically a few years older than her, but they were good friends. That was all that mattered.
"See you in a couple of weeks," Dmitri said as Trevor picked Simona up and sat her down at the front of the cart, then hopped in. The horses neighed loudly, much to her delight.
Trevor got them moving, waving back. "Yeah, see ya," he said. Once they were out of the village he turned to Simona, holding the reins loosely in his hands. "So, mud cakes?"
Her face lit up like the sun itself. "We put flowers on them, pink and blue and orange!" she told him, listing them off on her fingers. There was a lot of dirt under her nails. "And we had tea! Me and Ana and Sofia, and also the dog and the baby!"
"Tea?" asked Trevor, getting a bit concerned. "What was in the tea?"
"Water and leaves, like when Tata and Mama make tea for us," Simona said, shaking her legs and hitting the base of the seat with her boots time and again.
"Did you… drink it?" he asked carefully, unsure if he was planting the idea in her head by doing so.
Simona shook her head dutifully, her hands flat on the seat as she watched her own feet move with childish fascination. That, or the way her boots flaked mud everywhere each time they hit the wood. Probably the latter, actually. "Mama said to not drink the tea, or eat the mud cakes. Or the worms."
Well, that solved one problem. "You didn't give mud cakes or anything else to the baby either, right?"
Another head shake, this time looking at him. "Aunty Miha said the baby only drinks milk," she explained wisely. "Do all babies drink milk?"
Trevor nodded. "That's what babies do. They need it to grow until they can eat other things that are not mud cakes."
"Why?"
That stumped him right off the gate. "Why what, kiddo?"
"Why do babies drink milk?"
"Uh…" started a very lost, very unsure Trevor. This was not his area of expertise, and definitely nowhere near his comfort zone. "Because… babies are too small for… other stuff?" he tried, pulling from memory of what Adrian and Sypha had explained to him.
"Why?"
"Because regular food upsets their bellies?"
"Why?"
Unbeknownst to Trevor, they were now stuck in this cycle. The rest of the way home was a journey through several seemingly unrelated topics, as he answered some questions and dodged many, many others. Whenever Simona asked him something flat out complicated, he directed her to save it for later and ask her other father when they got home. Adrian would be delighted, anyway. Probably.
He left the crates in the cart, simply throwing a tarp over it in case it rained again during the night. Trevor was too tired to carry all of that inside right now. "Come on," he called Simona and she stopped petting the horses to follow him into the kitchen.
They didn't get far. Just as they were walking into the main hallway on the first floor, Sypha spotted them from halfway down the stairs.
"Stop right there," she said and they froze. "Is that…"
Trevor looked back at where they came from. Oops.
"I can't believe you two tracked mud all over the place," said Sypha tiredly, tying her robes tighter. Trevor bravely resisted making any lewd comments in front of the kid. "Again."
"Sorry, Mama," said Simona.
"Sorry, babe," said Trevor.
Sypha sighed deeply, crossing her arms. "Go bathe, now. Both of you," she ordered with a nod towards the main bathroom on the second floor. Then, just as they started walking, "Take the boots off first."
Trevor pulled his own boots off with the ease of practice, then knelt down to help their daughter take off hers. He picked his shoes up, hooking them from inside on the tips of his fingers, and Simona mirrored him with some difficulty due to her smaller, weaker hands.
It was very cute. Sypha didn't even try very hard to hide her amusement as she watched them going up the stairs.
The lights in the bathroom were too bright for Trevor's taste. He would never get used to electricity, thank you very much, and preferred oil lamps whenever possible. Practicality won for the night, though, because he was tired and there was no lamp in sight.
"Go take care of your business while Papa draws a bath, kiddo," he said, already pulling his stinky shirt off and dropping it nearby.
"But I don't need to go," argued Simona, pouting.
"Yeah, you do. Trust me, it's better if you go now."
Simona's pout was very exaggerated and didn't move him an inch. She huffed, making sure he knew just how badly she disagreed, but this was pretty routine for them. After a few moments of Trevor ignoring her, Simona relented and stomped off towards the toilet.
Trevor rolled his eyes and set about preparing the bathtub. All he knew about the system that kept the water warm for a really long time was that it made a low humming noise and that it was embedded into the wooden structure that surrounded the tub. It was a really big, comfortable tub and he… kind of liked it. A lot. Bathing in the nearest river only when his stench had been bad enough to drive off a ghoul… Well, those days were long gone and Trevor didn't miss them at all.
His daughter absolutely loved baths, though.
When Adrian walked into the bathroom a few minutes later, Simona was happily splashing him for what felt like the thousandth time. "Have you finished washing up?" he asked, sitting at the edge of the tub. His shirt wasn't half unbuttoned like it usually was, prompting Trevor to yet again keep his thoughts to himself.
"Not even close," Trevor replied, dragging a hand over his face. His hair kept dripping over his eyes because of bath time antics, but he was used to it. "Would you like Tata to wash your hair?"
Simona stopped her splashing and turned bright, excited eyes to Adrian. "Please, Tata?" she asked, grinning sweetly up at him.
There was no resisting that face. Adrian grabbed the soap and moved to kneel beside the tub, leaning over the edge. "Of course, darling. Sit here," he said and once she was where he wanted her, Adrian started washing her reddish curls. "What happened to your hair? Why is it all tangled, sweetie?"
"I had to pull all the leaves and sticks off first," explained Simona patiently, like this was obvious. Adrian leaned to look her in the eyes, confusion clear on his face, so she elaborated. "We made mud cakes and I touched my hair a lot."
"Mud cakes," he said, turning to Trevor.
"Mud cakes," Trevor agreed, nodding at the pile of dirty clothes over in the corner. Simona's light blue dress looked like it had been trampled by horses or something. "It was a lot worse before."
"I bet…" said Adrian, untangling their daughter's hair with his fingers. It was just like her mother's, unruly and fiery, which was very fitting for both of them. "Sypha had me clean the hallway after the two of you."
Trevor got out of the tub and wrapped himself in a random clean towel, trying not to drip all over the floor. He'd been accused of acting like a wet dog before and he was trying to lose that reputation. "Let me guess, I get laundry duty."
Simona waited until her father was done rinsing the suds off her hair to speak, mostly because Adrian just dumped a bucket of water on her head and it was not easy to talk like that. "I can help, Papa!" she exclaimed, pushing soaked strands of hair away from her eyes.
"Of course you can help, kiddo," Trevor said tiredly. At least the weather was nice and warm, so dunking her in the river when Simona got invariably covered in soap wouldn't be an issue. Well, if it didn't rain, that was. He stopped by the door, holding the towel around his waist one handed. "You're not making dinner, then?"
"I think Sypha wants your help with it," said Adrian, grabbing a flower scented towel for Simona. She didn't seem too inclined to get out of the tub just yet. He sighed. "Simona…"
She looked up at him and pouted. "But Tata," she tried to argue, playing with the bubbles. "Is Papa going to brush my hair?"
Adrian turned to him. "Of course he is, right Trev?"
"First you gotta do as your dad says. Come find me in the kitchen with the brush after you're in your pajamas, kiddo," Trevor told her, keeping his voice gentle but stern. That was usually easier said than done because he had a weak spot for their little gremlin, but he had to try.
Simona sighed deeply, like she was being inconvenienced by all of these rules. "Fine," she grumbled, getting out of the tub and into a fluffy embrace. "Did I tell you about the dog, Tata?"
Trevor left the bathroom before he could be roped into offering his comments about the dog. He would end up agreeing with Simona out loud about having a dog and then he wouldn't hear the end of it. Let her try to convince Adrian on her own. She was smart enough to pull it off.
He entered the kitchen expecting to find Sypha standing by the sink, but instead she was cutting vegetables at the table. "You okay, babe?" asked Trevor, trying not to be overbearing and failing a little.
Sypha smiled up at him. She held out her hands and Trevor obliged, as always. "Just tired. Could you make the stew tonight?" she asked gently. When he flinched reflexively, Sypha squeezed his hands. "You don't have to--"
Right. Fuck. "But I promised I would," Trevor argued against himself.
"It's okay if you can't yet."
She was right, of course. It would be fine if Trevor backed down and tried some other day, but he also couldn't really put it off forever. He had promised her, promised both of his lovers that he would try it at some point, and Trevor was a man of his word.
"Are those for me?" asked Trevor, letting go of her hands to fill the big pot with water and set it on the stove.
"Yeah, got the herbs you mentioned as well," said Sypha. She joined him by the sink, leaning against the counter while Trevor lit the stove the old fashioned, non magical way. "Thought I'd let you cut the meat, though."
Trevor knew what she was doing. It would be easier if he talked through the cooking process, she'd reasoned, and he supposed she might be right but it was still hard. "I haven't really handled beef since… but yeah, probably better if I do it," he agreed, focusing on cutting up the meat into big chunks.
"I've had it a few times but never cooked it myself," said Sypha casually. "Isn't this peasant food?"
"We weren't exactly rich, you know," he scoffed, dumping the meat in the water with some salt. It wasn't a hard recipe and he had already learned to make a few basic things, but… "Sure, we had all of these books and magical artifacts, but all of our coin was spent on maintenance and bribes."
"Because of course there are bribes."
"Old bishop saw us as a cash cow to be milked rather than bugs to be stomped," said Trevor, more tired than bitter at this point. It hurt, it hurt like hell, but his pain no longer felt like it would be soothed by revenge. All he needed was peace and, well, this. "Gotta let that cook for a while before the veggies go in."
Sypha hummed, watching him. "How long?"
Trevor smiled, cleaning his hands before he pulled her closer. "Quite a bit. How was your day?" he asked, tempted to let his hands roam. Maybe it was an excuse to stop talking about his mama's stew, but he really wanted to touch her as well.
"Very good," Sypha whispered, pulling the collar of her robe a bit to the side to show him the love bites coloring her shoulders. She looked smug and satisfied, biting her lip as Trevor pictured it.
That was part of the point of taking Simona with him to the village, after all. "I'm glad you enjoyed yourselves," said Trevor, kissing that clever mouth of hers and brushing his thumb over a bruise at the base of her neck.
Sypha sighed against his lips, wrapping her arms tighter around his waist while she still could. Her hands grasped his shirt and warmed him down to his core. "Been wanting to do that since you got home."
"Why couldn't you?" asked Trevor, smirking. He kept her pressed to his chest, forcing her to crane her neck to look at him.
Sypha narrowed her eyes. "You were sweaty, stinking and muddy."
"Oh, when you put it like that," said Trevor as she pulled away to grab the bowl of chopped vegetables. There would be enough for all of them to eat and then some, something Trevor was still getting used to after so long living on scraps. "Someone had to go out and get us food, plus all the ingredients for the village witch to make potions with."
"I still can't get over being called that in a respectful manner," Sypha mused.
"Papa!" said Simona, barging into the kitchen with two hairbrushes in her hands and her favorite doll hugged tight. She seemed a bit disappointed to find him by the stove. "You are cooking dinner, Papa?"
"Yeah, but I can brush your hair real quick," said Trevor, pulling up a chair by the table and tapping his knee for her to sit. She was light but he still felt it on his joints when she just plopped down with all of her weight like that.
"Need me to take over here for a bit?" asked Adrian, joining them and going straight for the boiling pot. He spared a look to Sypha, who had clearly done all the work she was willing to do for the day and wouldn't lift a finger to help unless absolutely necessary.
She just smiled and handed him a spoon. "You can skim the fat, yes?" Sypha said, turning to Trevor for confirmation.
"Yep. Bones make the broth taste good, too much fat will make you sick," he recited automatically, brushing Simona's hair with ease. For some reason she liked when he did it, ever since she was just a tiny baby of months. Trevor loved doing it. "Mama used to say anything lean takes bacon, but fatty meats need skimming."
Adrian hummed and took over the broth making process, saying "And this is why I prefer baking."
"Can we make a cake tomorrow, Tata? A real cake?" asked Simona, pretending to brush the doll's yarn hair. Trevor highly suspected it was supposed to look like her, but the poor thing was such a mess that he wouldn't ask Adrian about it. She turned to her mother as Sypha pulled up a seat. "We made mud cakes today, just like you taught me to, Mama!"
Well, that explained a lot. Sypha beamed at her, looking like a kid herself. "That's so cool, sweetie! I knew you'd like it. Tell me all about your cakes," she said, expertly saving Adrian from making any baking promises.
Trevor finished brushing her hair, the curls already quite literally springing back as it dried. He kissed the top of her head before lifting Simona from his leg and setting her down on the chair by herself. She was talking excitedly about all of the wonderful things she'd done during the day, too engrossed to care that he had a stew to go back to.
With a kiss to his cheek, Adrian handed him the spoon and went to set the table. He didn't say anything about a dog, neither in favor or against, so Trevor kept his mouth shut about that.
Cooking the old Belmont family stew, or what he recalled of the recipe at least, didn't feel like such a painful trip down memory lane with Simona's high pitched voice keeping Trevor stuck in the present. Sure, he couldn't help but miss his mom, his dad, his little sisters, but hearing his daughter laugh helped a lot.
Simona was jumping on her bed. This was also routine, unfortunately. "But I don't wanna go hunting," she said, pouting again. No amount of exhaustion could beat her stubbornness.
"I thought you liked to hunt with Tata," Trevor retorted, looking out the window. It didn't look like rain, which was good because he needed to do laundry tomorrow, but was also bad, for the exact same reason. "You two can hunt after lunch, how's that?"
"And wash clothes in the morning?"
Trevor closed the window, pulling the curtains shut. Simona would be up early regardless, but he still didn't want the sun to blind her first thing in the morning. Maybe they could move her to another room, since there were dozens of them to choose from, but she seemed to like this one and all of her stuff was here. It was a lot of stuff. "Sure, laundry in the morning, hunting with your Tata after lunch. Deal?"
"Deal!" she said, then immediately yawned loudly.
"Then go to sleep already," said Trevor, rolling his eyes. He waited by the bed until Simona finally flopped down, smiling up at him like she wasn't doing the same thing she did almost every night. "Doll?"
Simona pulled her doll close and nodded. Her eyes were already half lidded, now that she wasn't struggling to stay awake anymore.
"You're set, then. Night, cutie," he said, kissing her forehead.
"Night, Papa," she mumbled back.
Trevor put out the oil lamp on her nightstand, left the room and closed the door, knowing she would be fast asleep by the time he reached his own bedroom. He didn't bother with the candles in the corridor, because magic. Sure, it made life easier, but he was still instinctively unnerved by them lighting up on their own.
Their bedroom was on the other end of the hallway, to keep the kid from hearing any noises. They were careful but kids could be surprisingly sneaky when they were up to no good. The fact that theirs was a dhampir just made that problem even worse. There was a reason why they often juggled who had Simona for the day now.
It should probably make Trevor question having more kids, but it didn't actually bother him all that much.
Adrian was already in bed while Sypha was changing clothes when he walked into the room. She didn't startle, simply smiling at him as she slipped off her robes. "There you are. Grab me that, please?"
"Sure, babe," said Trevor, taking her nightgown from the back of a chair and handing it to her. He took that chance to embrace her from behind, resting his hands over the small bump on Sypha's belly while he kissed her shoulder.
She melted into him. "I need to get dressed for bed," complained Sypha, not pushing him away.
"You don't seem that bothered," Adrian pointed out, apparently too comfortable to move.
"Eventually, yeah," agreed Trevor, thinking idly about how tiny his baby must be. They hadn't even told Simona about her mom being pregnant yet, because Sypha wished to wait a bit longer. Her clothes were too loose-fitting to show anything and they didn't all bathe together very frequently, so their kid probably hadn't noticed anything about the baby. "This reminds me, your daughter was asking about babies today," he started.
"My daughter?" asked both of his partners in unison, with about the same level of annoyance.
"She didn't get that from me, you two are the inquisitive ones," Trevor replied as Sypha finally pushed him off. He only had to change his shirt before bed, and only because it got dirty while he cooked. "Anyway, she asked where babies come from."
"Oh, no," groaned Adrian, flopping back on the bed dramatically.
Sypha stopped midway through tying her nightgown. She was obviously unphased, as always, because she was a Speaker and a heathen. "What did you tell her, Trevor?"
"I told her to ask you, duh," he replied, laying beside Adrian and pulling his lover into his arms. Adrian had lost his shirt since coming to bed, leaving all of the now mostly faded bruises on his chest exposed. He hadn't fed in a few days, so they were still visible hours later.
"Well, that speeds up that conversation," Sypha mused, putting out the lamp on the dresser before joining them. She snuggled against Adrian's other side, immediately tangling her legs with his. "I hope she forgets to ask, for now."
Adrian yawned, happy to be used as a body pillow. "How much do you want to bet Simona is going to ask me that while we're out hunting tomorrow?"
"I don't take losing bets, babe," Trevor told him, kissing his lips to shut him up. "Good luck, though."