Antonio silently hummed along to the songs on his playlist as he skillfully ran his hand through Rosalie’s pretty blonde hair. He moved the separate locks around as he bobbed his head to the beat of his song.

Within a couple of minutes, her hair was neatly done up in double dutch braids. He gazed down at them for a few moments before undoing it all and starting over. He ended up setting his mind to a different style, and by the time he was done, he had her hair messily done up in a boho style.

His gaze snapped up away from her and her hair as he felt a hand rest on his knee. Emmett stared down at him, causing Antonio to instantly take out his earbuds as he gazed up at the brunet.

He had no idea what the burly man had previously said, having been too caught up in his music to notice.

“Huh?” he hesitantly asked, a small blush making its way onto his face as his cheeks burned. His mind was distracted, too focused on the hand that still rested on his knee to think of much else.

Emmett let out a low chuckle at Antonio’s obvious obliviousness.

“I asked if you wanted to play for a bit?” He spoke softly, finding himself momentarily attuned to the younger boy’s fast heartbeat. It was a sound none of them had grown used to yet, but he found himself enjoying the signs of Antonio’s embarrassment.

Antonio’s gaze briefly flickered to the tv, his brows furrowed in confusion as he took in the video game he had paused on the screen.

“What is it?” he asked, gazing back up at Emmett.

He felt the couch dip down on his other side, a small smile gracing his lips as he realized it was Rosalie, who had gotten up from sitting down in front of him. She snuggled up into his side, an action he was steadily growing used to as she seemed to enjoy the warmth his body gave off.

“It’s called ‘Shadow of the Colossus’,” she spoke up next to him as she rested her head against his shoulder. “Emmett has beaten it like twelve times already, but it’s an interesting game nonetheless. You should give it a try, I think you’d like it.”

Antonio gazed at the controller in Emmett’s hand, subconsciously chewing on his lip as he thought it over. After a few seconds, he reached out and took the controller.

“How do you play it?” he asked, slouching down in his spot a bit to get more comfortable.

Emmett moved closer to Antonio, one of his arms resting behind the younger boy’s shoulders on the back of the couch as he pointed to each of the buttons as he explained what they do.

“You’re playing as the boy, whose name is Wander. The goal of the game is to defeat all of the Colossi in order to get help from Dormin, who said they would give Mono back to Wander, which is the dead girl who he brought with him to the temple. I just started playing it again, so you wouldn’t be very far into it. You’re at the part where you have to go find the second Colossus, whose name is Quadratus. It’s a relatively nice game. The pacing is pretty nice and you don’t have to worry about things like side quests, unless you want to get the white tails from the salamanders to gain better grip. You get around the map by riding on Wander’s horse, which is named Argo. Go ahead and give it a try. It’s more entertaining to play than you might think it sounds, I promise.”

~~~

Carmen stood in the doorway toward the back of the family room, her head resting on the doorframe as she lovingly gazed upon her adoptive son.

A small smile graced her lips as she watched him play the video game Emmett had just introduced him to, admiring the light atmosphere the mated pair gave off around Antonio.

Like many others within the house, she had been able to see the bond that was beginning to form between the three of them. Emmett and Rosalie seemed to know they shared Antonio as a mate, but Carmen wasn’t so sure that her son was completely aware of what seemed to be going on around him.

Despite him not knowing, she wasn’t going to spoil it for him. Anton had always been a smart boy, ever since she and Eleazar had first witnessed the boy in his hometown with his biological family.

He was quick and witty, and Carmen couldn’t find herself more proud of him than she currently was. She knew he would figure it out sooner, rather than later. She knew what was approaching, what things he would have to stand a witness to within the coming days.

The forecast said that the snow was going to start sticking within the next two days. That was the discussed time of understanding that the Volturi and their guards would arrive.

As Carmen slipped back out of the room, she found herself muttering a silent prayer for the boy who was just starting to regain his happiness.