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& 𝙽𝚒𝚔𝚘 𝙱𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚝𝚝
Collab post with @Apoalo. ▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅ ▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅ |
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Location ⍋ | 𓃗 Burnett Residence → New Rome Colosseum
Solstice Morning
Colter woke before the sun, not because he’d planned to, but because his body had decided for him, like it always did. Years of ranch work, years of dawn breaking over the Four Sixes, years of getting up before trouble could find him… It all stuck, even here in New Rome where the roosters didn’t crow.
He lay still for a moment, blinking up at the faint, warm shadows on the ceiling. The house hummed with early quiet, that soft, lived-in kind, the kind that smelled like blankets warmed from the night, lemon laundry soap, and the faintest hint of breakfast he hadn’t even cooked yet.
Niko was still asleep, Colter glancing over to him with a soft smile, and the kids… Well, if the gods were kind, they were too.
Colter slid out of bed with the soundless grace of a man who’d learned if he woke a child too early, it could make or break a whole damn day. Jeans went on, shirt pulled over his head, boots laced with practiced speed. He washed up, ran a hand through his hair, and padded out to start the morning.
The kitchen was cool in the dim light, and he cracked open the window to let in the breeze, warm already, smelling like summer dust and the promise of a festival. Birds were already chattering outside, like they had gossip to trade.
“Alright,” he muttered to himself, surveying the quiet house. “Let’s get movin’.”
He started the coffee first, priorities were priorities, then got to work on the chores. A quick sweep through the living room, picking up toys and a stray blanket. Straightened the shoes by the door. Put away the laundry he’d folded last night and forgotten to deal with. Checked the list Niko had left on the counter from yesterday: water plants, feed the animals, remind the kids to bring jackets for the evening event.
He watered the herb pots first, humming low under his breath. Something old, something his mama used to sing while cooking. The leaves shivered as he moved among them, the morning sun just starting to catch on their edges.
Next were the various animals who greeted him like he’d been gone a week instead of a night’s sleep.
“Easy, easy,” he laughed, shuffling bowls and food. “Ain’t nobody starvin’ around here.”
They settled once fed, Howl curling near the back door like a living floor rug.
Colter checked the time. Festival day or not, the kids needed waking soon.
He poured himself a mug of coffee, took one long sip, and exhaled like it revived him.
Then he headed toward the staircase.
“Alright, little tornadoes,” he called up softly, but with a smile curling into his voice, “time to rise an’ shine. Big day ahead.”
No answer. He smirked.
The quiet before the stampede.
He climbed the stairs, careful on the creaky step near the top, and started his morning rounds. A light knock on Elio’s door. A peek inside. The soft, tangled shape of the sleeping boy bundled in blankets.
“C’mon now,” he said more gently, leaning on a doorframe “Sun's already up. Don’t make me come haul ya outta that bed. Y’know I will.”
That got a stir. A groan. A mumbled protest.
“There it is.” He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck.
He liked this. These small moments. This quiet before the rush of the Solstice, before crowds and heat and music and everything the city would become once the sun climbed higher.
And somewhere behind all of it, behind the chores and the kids and the rhythm of the morning…
He wondered if Niko would come downstairs already awake, upset he had woken alone, or sleepy and soft-eyed.
Whoever he was this morning, Colter would take him, with that same quiet steadiness he’d been carrying since he was twelve.
He took another sip of coffee and moved to wake Matteo, voice warm and patient as sunlight crept in through the hallway window.
It was the aroma of a freshly brewed pot of coffee that caused Niko to stir from his sleep. Not jolted awake by getting cannonballed by a child, nor by the soft voice of his husband in his ear, coupled with a gentle hand through his hair to brush the brunette waves from his face.
It was coffee. His first love. Niko would say, "Don't tell Colter", but his husband, of all people, knew coffee had to come first for Niko every morning. It helped Niko put on his "brave face" for the day and not be a complete raging— well, you get the point.
Niko pushed himself up in their bed, inhaling slow and deep as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes with the back of his knuckle before sitting still, taking a listen of the house. Niko didn't have exceptional hearing like his younger brother, Aurelio, but it didn't take much effort to place Colter coming up the stairs. Not just that his voice boomed up into the second story of the house in an attempt to reach their boys, Niko could hear his husband's boots *thump. thump. thump.*'ing up the staircase and down the hall to start the boys on their day.
Forcing himself out of bed, Niko quietly made his way around their room to get dressed. White t-shirt, black jeans, his shearling-lined black denim jacket, and, of course, black lace-up boots. No.. Niko doesn't own anything of color except for a brown bomber jacket he's had since he was a teenager, even if it rarely got worn these days. Niko preferred black for everything.
Niko managed to get himself ready before he could hear Colter exiting Elio's room, heading for Matteo's next. Using his ability to slip through the shadows, Niko slid into their closet one moment, then opened the door of the hallway closet and stepped out from it the next just as his husband had reached their youngest son's room. Niko met Colter's eyes with a small smirk as he closed the distance between them, reaching to turn the knob of Matteo's room, slipping past with a teasing, playful brush of his shoulder across his lover's chest.
"Didn't wake me up.. Rude," he mumbled, leaving the door open as he wandered over to Matteo's bed to wake him. With a gentle hand, Niko brushed through the tar-colored mop on the boy's head, tilting his head and spoke softly.
"Hey you, it's time to wake up."
The boy's face twisted up a moment in disgust at the daylight leaking into his room before he set eyes on his parents, his sleepy, half-open eyes finding the hazel ones staring down at him.
"Do I have to..?" Niko couldn't help but chuckle, nodding. "Yes, Mia Luna, we have to."
Colter heard the soft shift of floorboards behind him before he saw anything, but he didn’t think much of it, not until he opened his mouth to say Matteo’s name and the damn hallway closet door clicked open like it had always been part of the moment.
And there Niko was. Sliding out of the shadow like sin dressed in black denim and bad decision, the good kind, with that small, crooked smirk that always knocked Colter a step sideways.
Colter stopped mid-stride, hand still half-raised towards Matteo’s door as he blinked at the man who absolutely had not been there a second ago. He didn’t jump, he’d learned not to flinch at Niko’s sudden shadowy arrivals years ago, but his heart did that little kick it always did whenever his husband decided to show off in the early morning like it was nothing.
Niko brushed past him with that light shoulder tap that Colter felt all the way to his damn ribs, and the cowboy couldn’t help the laugh that escaped him. Warm, and soft around the edges.
”Morning to you too,” he drawled under his breath, voice still hushed for the kids’ sake. His eyes tracked the line of Niko’s back as the man crossed the room, the black denim, the boots, the easy way he moved like the shadows themselves got out of his way. ”Ain’t my fault the coffee beat me to the punch either, y’know you’d take that pot to prom if you could.”
Not that he blamed the love of his life for that. Colter, too, needed coffee to survive and it was up there with his favorite scents, right behind Niko.
Colter leaned against the doorframe as Niko bent over their boy, watching the scene with a quiet fondness that softened every line in his face. Matteo squinted like the sun itself had strolled in to offend him personally, the kid’s hair sticking up in a wild mess that reminded Colter exactly who his father was.
And then those sleepy eyes landed on Niko. Then on him. And Colter felt something warm settle in his chest, that old, familiar, quiet thing that’d been growing there for years, slow and steady as sunrise.
When Matteo groaned out his little, miserable ‘do I have to’ Colter huffed a laugh against the back of his knuckles, shaking his head as Niko responded. He decided to back his husband up, stepping into the room at last and ruffling the boy’s hair with a calloused hand.
”Fraid so, buddy.” he murmured. ”The whole city’s expectin’ you today. Plus your Papa’ll drag us all out by our ears if we’re late.”
He shot Niko a lopsided grin, that easy, and deep fondness shining right through the sleep still clinging to him.
Truth was, Colter would’ve let Niko sleep all morning if he wanted. He liked watching him rest. Like the quiet rise and fall of his breathing, the softer look he only had in those early hours before the world could get to him.
But seeing him now, awake, smirking, teasing, and slipping between shadows like they were doors made just for him, yeah… Colter wasn’t complainin’. Not when his whole world was standing right there in front of him, coaxing THEIR kid awake with that voice that could’ve talked a god off a ledge if it came down to it.
And just when Matteo was getting coaxed into sitting upright, barely, and with all the enthusiasm of a wet cat, the unmistakable sound of THUNDERING footsteps came barreling down the hall.
Colter didn’t even get a chance to say ‘don’t run in the house’ before Elio launched himself through the doorway like a pint-sized missile. ”Dad! Papa! Look!” Elio skidded on the hardwood, overshot his own momentum, and smacked shoulder-first into Colter’s side like he’d planned it.
Colter grunted, automatically steadying his son with one hand. ”Whoa there, you trying to take me out before breakfast?”
Elio, unfazed and absolutely vibrating with life now that he was fully awake,removed his hands from behind his back. Colter sighed and closed his eyes before looking down to his son. "Please, tell me that this is not another random creature you’ve decided to adopt.”
Elio beamed brightly like a kid who absolutely, one-hundred-percent, did in fact have a creature to adopt. He cupped his hands together and pushed the fuzzy animal up to Colter’s face. Inside his hands sat something small, fuzzy, and definitely breathing. A baby raccoon. A baby raccoon wearing a sticker that said ‘Hello my name is Bandit’. A sticker that looked suspiciously like the ones Elio had in his room.
Colter blinked. ”Elio,” he said slowly, "why is there an infant raccoon in the house?”
Elio puffed his chest. ”Found him under the porch! He likes me.” Then, shooting a glare at his sleepy brother he added, ”unlike SOME PEOPLE who are boring and asleep.”
Colter decided not to remind the boy that he had been sleeping not fifteen minutes prior and instead looked to Niko and then back to his oldest. ”Buddy, you have to stop just randomly picking up wild animals.”
Elio looked affronted. ”But he isn’t wild!” he insisted before he added, with suspicious confidence. ”He told me.”
Colter sighed, shooting another look at Niko with that look that said ‘I’m aware my genes did this and I love you.’ Bandit, the raccoon, then climbed up Elio’s sleeve and perched on his shoulder like a pirate parrot. Elio looked thrilled.
The corner of Niko’s mouth curved up into a small smirk that quickly morphed into a sort of sad half-grin, reaching over to gently scratch the little furball under its chin. "Unfortunately, Mio Sole, his momma is probably searching for him the same way your dad and I would be searching for either of you boys if a big scary alien came and snatched you up from under our porch and took you into their home," he playfully grabbed at Elio's ribs to lightly tickle him.
Niko hoped their son would see the reasoning behind it, almost desperately so. He'd seen what a raccoon could do to a house. Thanks Reli. Something that Niko wasn't exactly too impressed with the thought of having to deal with, though, there was always a compromise.
"If his momma doesn't come back for him over the next few days, we can keep him.. BUT! He will need to remain an outside baby. Your dad can only patch so many holes in this house, and we have too many things in here for him to steal and stash away."
"He can't have my colors! Or my toys. 'D-'Dose are mine."
Niko laughed, nodding as he reached down to throw Matteo's blanket off of him to encourage him out of bed while they talked.
"You are absolutely right, Matteo. Those are yours. But he won't get 'em, so don't worry about it, kay? They're safe."
The five-year-old boy let out a relieved sigh with a dramatic wipe of his forehead, stepping out of bed to start getting dressed in his pre-laid out clothes for the day.
Colter moved back to leaning into the doorway with one shoulder, arms crossed lightly over his chest as he watched the little family scene unfold, Niko sitting on the edge of the bed, the boys crowding around the tiny raccoon kit like it was a sacred relic of the gods.
He couldn’t help the grin tugging slowly at his mouth. That familiar mix of amusement and helpless fondness warmed his chest the way strong coffee would.
”Your papa’s absolutely right,” Colter said with a soft drawl, pushing off the frame and stepping further into the room once again. ”Last thing we need is little Bandit figurin’ out how to jimmy open the pantry. I got enough repairs on my docket without addin’ ‘raccoon jail break’ to the list.”
He watched as Elio frowned and nodded, not pouting but disappointed in the words spoken. He clutched Bandit closer, and Colter knew it was taking everything in the boy not to argue, Colter crouched to eye level and dropped a hand onto his son’s knee.
”Hey,” he said softly, ”if his parents don’t come back for him, we’ll make sure he’s taken care of properly. But every critter’s gotta have a fair chance to get home. Even raccoon babies, and even if they’ve formed a bond with someone else.”
Elio nodded and smiled softly, causing Colter to get that warm feeling again. Colter briefly heard something about Bandit being able to have Dad’s colors though and Colter snorted. ”Yeah, he ain’t getting’ mine either, big man. But nice try.”
He stood again, and pulled Elio into his arms, carrying the boy towards the door. ”Alright cowboys,” he said, “”up and at ‘em. Festival ain’t gonna wait for us to finish arguin’ about woodland creatures.”
That earned him two giggles and a dramatic groan from the seven-year-old in his arms who he put down so he could get ready.
The next hour was the usual whirlwind, breakfast rapidly made, a box home made for Bandit to stay in under the house, teeth brushed, jackets shrugged on, shoes found, mostly, hair combed, barely, Bandit kissed goodbye, leftover breakfast smuggled into his new house, and then the last bit of time spent finding the disappearing sock that Elio always seemed to lose.
But together, Colter and Niko handled it all, wrangling the chaos like professionals and as they stepped outside into the Solstice weather Colter breathed in deeply. The sky was already bright with gold, and in the distance banners could be seen fluttering, the whole of New Rome seemingly humming with festival energy.
”Let’s get movin’,” Colter murmured, sliding a hand to rest at the small of Niko’s back for just a second, a subtle, grounding touch.”Crowds’re gonna be thick as molasses today.”
The final walk toward the city gates was filled with excited chatter from the boys, playing pretend Legionnaire. Colter nodded politely to the Legion members guarding the gate proper and corralled the boys in, his eyes catching his husbands with a spark of happiness.
Every stall and banner caught the two young Burnett’s attention. The closer they got to the center, to the Coliseum, the louder the music and laughter became. Veterans with cups of early-morning wine waved, fauns darted between booths already advertising ‘Solstice specials’, campers ran towards the arena, brandishing wooden gladii.
The heat rose, the air thick with scents of roasted meat, sweet fruit, incense, and sun-warmed stone. By the time the four reached the Coliseum, the place was truly alive with crowds buzzing, vendors yelling, and the arena floor being prepped for the days grand Solstice matches.
Colter adjusted Elio’s collar, then Matteo’s, brushing a bit of straw out of the older one’s hair. ”Yall good?” he asked, crouching again so he could look them both in the eyes. ”Need snacks? Water? Last chance for a bathroom break.”
Two vigorous head shakes were the reply. ‘Nooooooo dad, we wanna see the fights!’ Was the chorus.
Colter laughed, standing and pulling Niko into his side. ”Alright then.” His gaze then moved to Niko, center of his solar system, the anchor to his entire being. ”Are you ready?” Colter asked quietly, kissing the side of his head. The noise of the Coliseum rising around them like thunder. ”Solstice waits for nobody.”
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