[Anteca: Davis’ Home]
"Hmm?" Nina paused as she moved to the kitchen counter where her phone was placed. Her brows rose upon seeing Slater’s number on the screen.
"Third Brother is calling...? At a time like this?" she hummed, placing down the apple she was peeling and wiping her hand on her apron.
Once she answered the call, she said, "Yes, Third Brother?"
"Nina, where are you?" was Slater’s first question.
"I’m... home." Her brows knitted. "Why? Are you back from your vacation?"
"Uh, no. Uh..." Slater cleared his throat. "I just missed you. How are you?"
She smiled upon hearing that, chuckling. Nina put him on speaker mode and placed the phone on the kitchen counter before resuming what she was doing.
"Third Brother, what did you do this time?" she quipped. "If you did something again, I’ll have to remind you that Penny already warned you about her snacks. I don’t know where she hides them and—"
Like usual, Nina went on to mildly nag Slater, immediately assuming he was just calling her for help. It wasn’t like Slater never bothered her over something menial or, whenever he was in the mood, bombarded her phone with unsolicited gossip and selfies.
"I know, I know," Slater sighed. "I’m just wondering how you’ve been?"
Nina smiled and glanced at her phone. She had already finished, so she picked up the phone once more, a plate of peeled and sliced apples in the other hand.
"I’m alright," she said, heading to the family room where her husband was.
"Are you sure?"
"Of course," she hummed. "Is there a reason I shouldn’t be fine?"
Slater paused and shrugged. "Well, just making sure. Is Finn over there?"
"Mhm. We’re going to watch a movie. Third Brother, I’ll just call you tomorrow, alright? Finn just got home, and as a wife, I want to spend time with him first."
"Wait, Nina—"
"Bye-bye." She hung up on him, looking at the phone with a smile.
Not thinking much of it, she shook her head and entered the family room. As soon as she stepped in, her eyes spotted her husband on the couch, choosing which movie they’d watch first.
"Who was that?" Finn, her husband, asked as he turned to her. He instinctively reached out to help her with the plate, placing it on the table before she sat down beside him.
"Third Brother," she shrugged. "He said he misses me."
Finn laughed. "He did?"
"Why?" she teased, leaning her side against him. "You think my brothers don’t miss me?"
"I believe they miss you, but the only time they call is when they need something," he joked, sprawling an arm over her shoulders. "What did he do this time? Is Penny going to kill him?"
"He said that’s not it," she hummed, resting her head on his shoulder. "Let’s not think much about them. Penny and Third Brother always try to kill each other, but they’re both still well and alive."
"Haha. Right."
"What are we going to watch?"
"I’m thinking of this one," Finn pointed at the large television, wiggling his brows at her. "I heard it was nice."
Nina furrowed her brows. "A horror?"
"Mhm." He smiled, knowing his wife was easily scared and always ended up on his lap, squeezing herself into him. Though they’d been married for years, he still liked to tease her like before.
She slapped his chest, her cheeks a little pink. "Goodness."
But just as they were about to start the film, Finn’s phone vibrated against the table.
"Oh, sorry," he winced slightly, giving his wife a look. "I forgot to put it on silent. Give me a second."
As he reached for his phone to silence it so it wouldn’t disturb their time together, Finn paused as soon as he saw the name on the screen.
"What is it, Finn?" Nina asked, watching him turn to her.
Slowly, he leaned back and tilted his phone to show her the name. "It’s First Brother."
"Hmm?" she tilted her head. "Why is First Brother calling you now?"
"I don’t know."
"You should answer it," she urged. "If it’s him, I’m sure it’s important."
Finn nodded. A call from Slater was one thing, but Atlas calling minutes later? That immediately made Finn think Slater hadn’t called for nothing.
Leaning back, he answered the call, phone pressed to his ear. "First Brother, you called."
His brows rose as he listened. Then, very slowly, his eyes moved to Nina. She was looking back at him curiously, head tilted slightly.
"Mhm," Finn hummed. "Alright then."
Then he ended the call.
"What is it?" Nina asked as soon as her husband put the phone down.
But before Finn could answer, the doorbell rang. Both of them perked up, turning toward the entrance of the family room.
"I’ll get it," Finn said, already standing before she could respond.
"Oh, alright...?" Nina blinked, her curiosity deepening. She kept her eyes on the entrance where her husband went. "I wonder what’s going on?"
She pondered it for a second before deciding to follow him. When Nina reached the living area, her steps paused as she saw the people walking into their home.
"Zoren?" she called. "Penny?"
The couple and Finn paused as they turned in her direction.
"What are you doing here?" Nina asked in confusion. "Didn’t you have a flight tonight?"
Penny smiled before skipping over to her. She hooked her arm around Nina’s and turned her around.
"We canceled," Penny grinned. "I thought we should bring the children, but we’re dropping by here first."
"Oh..." Nina let herself get dragged to the kitchen, which wasn’t a surprise since that was Penny’s favorite place.
As they went, Finn and Zoren watched their women walk off before facing each other.
"First Brother called," Finn didn’t beat around the bush. "What’s going on?"
Zoren let out a shallow breath. "I just received the call as well, but from what I heard... Yuri was abducted."
"What?"
"Don’t worry about that," Zoren shook his head. "They’ve got it under control. However, from what I was told, Yuri left a message."
He paused, giving Finn a moment to brace himself. "She said Nina might be in danger... and First Brother wants both of you to stay with us for a while."