Quand le chat n’est pas là

"My boys!" Raphael's mom shouted as she opened the door, dragging Adrien into her arms first and grabbing his face in both hands before kissing his cheeks, leaving huge marks of her lipstick on his naturally tanned skin. She pulled Rapha?l into her arms next before nearly squealing when she saw the car seat next to Adrien's foot.

"Oh, my sweet little baby girl!" she shouted so loud that she woke up Ambre, who moved around and gurgled some unintelligible sounds.

Opale barked by their side as Mrs. Diop leaned over the seat to untie the belt and take the baby in her arms. Their five-month-old girl opened her deep dark eyes and stared at her grandma with a huge smile before letting out a loud burp. She frowned as she looked at Rapha?l and cried for him. He untied Opale's leash so the dog could wander around freely, and he took Ambre from his mom to rock her into calming down.

"Shh, there you go."

Adrien watched his husband soothe their daughter, his heart overflowing with more love than he ever thought possible. To think he had never wanted a baby. Yet, here he was, consumed by his adoration for their kid.

It had been quite an ordeal to explain to the family how the baby was conceived, though nothing fazed Rapha?l's parents. Rapha?l had been more worried than he needed to be. All his parents cared about was their son's joy and that Adrien was fully recovering from the few harsh years he'd gone through. Open marriage or not was not their concern as long as their boys were happy.

Speaking of which, Adrien took out his phone to text Eléanor and let her know they'd arrived safely. Though Adrien and Rapha?l were Ambre's legal parents, with full custody, Adrien held his promise that Eléanor should be present in their daughter's life. She had no legal rights, but Adrien viewed her as the mother of his child and treated her as such, with respect, affection, and as many visiting opportunities as she wanted. He couldn't deny he was still in love with her, but Mallory was still adamant they no longer dated.

The previous year had been rough. Adrien's dad had passed away, and after the catastrophic trip to the hospice to see him, Adrien refused to attend the funeral. He wasn't fully over the way his parents treated him when he'd made the effort to see his father. If Rapha?l hadn't been present to tell them their truth and walk Adrien out of the hospital bedroom, Adrien might have jumped out the window right then and there.

After hearing about the whole disaster, Céleste had refused to attend the burial as well. Extending kindness to those who had nearly destroyed Adrien wasn't an option for her anymore.

Adrien had chosen life and recovery for his own sake, but also for the sake of his husband and their little girl.

Ambre's birth had been difficult as well. Mallory had agreed for Adrien to attend. Thankfully, after the pandemic, the hospitals were a bit more lenient. He'd asked advice from Noah first, since Noah assisted in Charlotte's labor with Yohan also present. But Adrien's heart broke in half when Eléanor began crying while holding Ambre in her arms, saying she wanted to keep her baby and begging Mallory to let her have her child.

Adrien stopped feeling any kind of understanding or compassion for Mallory on that day. If anything, his feelings turned to pure distrust. He'd done everything he could to make Eléanor a part of Ambre's life since then. He gathered her marriage to Mallory had been unstable since the birth, and he made it clear he would always be there for Eléanor if she needed him. He would always love her. He knew that for a fact, though he refused to push that burden upon her.

"Ambre is so cute," Rapha?l's mom, Christine, cooed, bringing Adrien back to the present.

Though he loved his role, Adrien was still adapting to the idea of being a dad. He tried to reassure himself each day that he wasn't his own father, and the cycle of trauma ended with him, now and for all.

Sighing, he leaned into Rapha?l and kissed his neck before whispering loving words in his ear. Adrien took a whiff of his sandalwood scent. Rapha?l gave a tiny smile, and Adrien pulled back to roll the suitcases into the tiny foyer. He took his shoes off and winked at Rapha?l, unlacing his husband's sneakers for him since he was still holding Ambre and couldn't bend over.

"Uh-oh," Rapha?l let out.

Adrien's head whiplashed upward. "What? "

Rapha?l made a face, sniffing the air. "She needs to be changed."

Adrien stood to his feet and took his daughter, who smelled bad for sure. "I'll do it."

He entered the open-floor living area with bleached white walls, and Christine told him to settle Ambre on the couch. Adrien wasn't comfortable with the idea. Even as a girl, Ambre sometimes sprayed pee all over the place, including right in his face, nearly blinding the fuck out of him a couple of times. He wouldn't want her to ruin the dark brown velvet of the couch.

"I think I'll change her upstairs," he offered and held his baby girl tight in his arms. He walked past the dining room to find the stairs, where Rapha?l followed him, dragging one of the suitcases behind him. When they reached the hallway upstairs, Adrien helped himself into the bedroom.

Christine had made the queen bed with a dark green comforter, where Adrien settled Ambre before rifling through his huge diaper bag for a small blue blanket that he flattened before replacing Ambre gently on it. Ambre began crying as if she only now realized her diaper was filled with shit.

Rapha?l went back downstairs after setting both suitcases down. Adrien took a deep breath and started his parental duty of caring for his helpless tiny baby. He groaned when he realized Ambre had diarrhea, and he tried his best to clean her up while refusing to inhale. He was in apnea for a while before his lungs forced him to come back up for air that was fetid enough to make him gag. He stuck out his tongue at her and finished just as the doorbell rang .

Adrien put the clean diaper on Ambre. Masculine voices filled the house, and a child shouted for joy. He put his daughter's pants back on and gave her a warm cuddle as he heard the sounds of footsteps coming up the stairway.

"How has he been?" Florian asked from a distance.

"Really well, actually," Rapha?l replied.

Adrien paused, assuming they were talking about him. He grabbed Ambre in his arms and frowned when Florian asked, "Is he over the breakup?"

"Not completely, but he's been okay."

Adrien sighed. He didn't care much for others discussing his wellbeing behind his back, but he knew they only did so because they cared so much. He supposed Enzo was still downstairs as he only recognized Florian's and Rapha?l's familiar footsteps as they went to Florian's room.

"How are things with your mother?" Rapha?l asked.

"She's going to lose the case and probably owe me money for daring sue my ass in the first place. Not sure what she was thinking, but I warned her she'd lose. No one has compassion for a mother kicking her own teenage son to the street."

"Right." Rapha?l's voice was lower now.

"How are things moving along with the LGBT home for teens?" Florian asked.

"Slowly. We're swamped with Ambre. But we still want to do this."

"Do you need any more of my help?"

"I think we're good for now. We're looking for a place to rent where the teens could stay. "

"Gotcha."

"Things were difficult with Adrien's parents too. That consumed a lot of his energy."

Florian didn't reply right away. Adrien heard him sigh loudly. "I don't know what's up with all those stalkers. Did you hear about Patrick? Enzo told me his ex, Cédric, was bothering him, and Patrick basically had to threaten him to make him stop. Apparently, they haven't heard from the guy, but Patrick's been nervous since then."

Adrien heard Opale give her typical French bulldog snort as if commenting on the subject. That dog followed Rapha?l everywhere like a true stalker too.

"Wow! Okay, let me check on Adrien," Rapha?l said before the door to the bedroom opened. He looked at Adrien, who was still cuddling Ambre against his chest. "Hey, are you good in there?"

Adrien gave a faint grin. "Yep, all done."

***

"Raphael told me you had a friend over and you drove him here?" Christine asked Adrien as her husband, Asim, set two trays of apéritifs on the coffee table.

Rapha?l sent Adrien a quick glance and shifted in his seat uncomfortably as everyone's eyes turned to them. He was the one who had offered to host Chase at their place for a week before driving him to Patrick's house. Brandon's mom wasn't part of the trip this time. Having no family of his own, Chase was visiting for the holidays.

Adrien had bought a car upon Ambre's birth because there was no way to take her places on his motorcycle. The trip with Opale in the vehicle had proven a bit difficult, but they'd managed.

Adrien chuckled low in his throat, amused by his husband's discomfort, and Ambre stirred in his arms, awakened by the movements of his chest before she cooed twice, then settled back to sleep.

Though nothing had happened between Adrien and Chase yet, it was meant to happen eventually. Rapha?l knew that, and he'd accepted it. The chemistry between his husband and Chase was off the charts. After dropping Chase off at Patrick's house today, Adrien confessed to Rapha?l that he wanted to fuck Chase so badly, it had been torture to play it cool during the entire ride—let alone during the week Chase had spent at their place before the drive.

Rapha?l couldn't blame him. Chase was hot, and he was a major flirt too, which didn't help. In just a few days in Paris, he'd somehow managed to find two French women to fuck in some hotel room, during a threesome, no less, and the women had paid for the room too. Even Adrien didn't hold that kind of record. Rapha?l had to admit that made him curious about Chase's prowess in the sack.

He felt himself blush all over his face while Adrien gave the most innocent smile to his mother-in-law.

"He's a friend of Brandon's," he said .

"Oh, the man who played the piano at your wedding?" Asim asked after making sure everyone had a drink. Then he sat next to his wife.

Enzo leaned toward his daughter and gave her a couple of chips to eat. Though the family was learning French sign language, they still hadn't reached fluency. But they tried hard to motion as they talked around him.

Rapha?l and Adrien hadn't been able to hide the truth about their marriage being open once the baby was conceived with Eléanor, but there were things the family didn't need to know. Adrien going back to fucking Noah was one of them. He and Rapha?l planning on fucking Chase was another.

Adrien explained after an uncomfortable pause, "Just didn't want him to pay for a hotel room all week, you know."

Florian's lips twitched in a knowing little smirk, and Rapha?l shifted again, clearing his throat.

Adrien's phone tinged just then. Rapha?l saw from the corner of his eye that it was Noah texting.

NOAH: I hope you have a great Christmas, love.

Adrien gave his daughter to Rapha?l and texted back.

ADRIEN: I will.

NOAH: Things went well with Chase?

ADRIEN: Yes.

NOAH: Did you do it yet?

ADRIEN: No. Not yet .

NOAH: Keep me updated. I love you.

The compersion between those two was phenomenal. Rapha?l had to admit he wasn't there just yet, but he tried.

ADRIEN: Je t'aime aussi .

Adrien lifted his head to see everyone staring at him.

"Everything okay?" Asim asked.

Adrien nodded. "Just a friend texting. I'm sorry. I'll put the phone away."

Florian laughed low in his throat, and Enzo elbowed him in the ribs, his eyes widening in a signal to shush.

"Everyone is good for a chocolate b?che ?" Christine asked. "Adrien, will you help me with the escargots again tomorrow?"

It was a Christmas tradition now. Adrien helped his mother-in-law with the snails every Christmas Eve. He also helped with the chestnut-filled turkey, the smoked-salmon toasts, and the deviled eggs. In the meantime, Rapha?l rested in the living room with the other guys. His mom scolded them all each time, but Adrien didn't mind being the only one helping. This was the most normal family situation he'd ever experienced.

The evening unfolded well, with pommes dauphine potatoes and a roasted chicken for dinner, and Opale whining the entire time to get food. Then everyone went to their respective rooms, and Rapha?l settled on the bed to feed Ambre her bottle of formula .

Adrien's phone beeped, and he beamed a radiant smile, his eyes shining with something wicked.

"What?" Rapha?l asked.

Adrien handed him his phone. A message shone bright against the dark of their bedroom. It was written in English.

CHASE: If I booked a room for Wednesday night, would you be up for some fun?

Rapha?l's eyebrows shot up.

"Told you he was into me." Adrien laughed.

Rapha?l puffed, "That's ‘cause you can read people like open books." He reread the message. "Is the invite just for you?"

"Let me ask. I'm not doing this without you." He typed a reply fast.

ADRIEN: Does the invitation extend to Rapha?l?

The response took a few seconds.

CHASE: Well, of course, corazón ! *kiss emoji*

"Who's gonna take care of Ambre?" Rapha?l asked. "How are we going to explain this to my parents?"

Adrien chuckled. "We'll kindly ask your parents if they'd let us have a date night. No one needs to know the details. "

"Damn!" Rapha?l tried to breathe. He couldn't wait for their night with Adrien and Chase.

CHASE: T.J. said this is my last chance to get you out of my system. *wink emoji*

"Who's T.J.?" Rapha?l asked.

"His boyfriend. He met him at some bar. They're still open to others, but T.J. wants to close the relationship indefinitely when Chase returns to the U.S."

"So they're really serious?"

"Very, yes. T.J. couldn't come here ‘cause he works at some restaurant and has no vacation time."

"Chase just told you all that now?"

Adrien arched one eyebrow. "You know we've been talking online all year. He's helping me improve my English."

"Right. So T.J. knows about tonight?"

"Yes." Adrien shrugged and showed him messages Chase had just sent him. "He's excited for Chase. Apparently, Chase's been talking his ears off about us. This is his last trip without his boyfriend tagging along. He's ready to shack up."

"What does T.J. stand for?" Rapha?l asked.

"Terrence James."

Adrien held out his phone again. "Here, Chase sent me a pic."

Rapha?l stared at the photo of a man in his mid-thirties, with light brown hair falling over his forehead and hazel eyes under long eyelashes, his cheekbones nicely sculpted .

"Damn."

"I know, right?!" Adrien grinned while sending another message.

ADRIEN: We'll be there. Send us the address to the hotel.

He winked at his husband and gave a smile. "Think your parents can watch Ambre on Wednesday?"