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Sage had just focused on on the painting, and was just putting finishing touches up on it when Mari seemed to spawn in behind him. Her hand on his shoulder caused him to nearly jump out of his seat, though judging by the way she chuckled, she hadn't exactly been quiet coming in. Whoops. That happened sometimes, when he focused in. "Mari," he sort of squeaked in complaint. He moved to greet her with a kiss though, and then moved to wash up his brushes and stuff when she mentioned her family was over.
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Mari gave him a sheepish smile after a few moments, watching him start to clear his brushes away before grabbing the few snacks he'd somehow worked absentmindedly though. "I actually think they've been here for a while, you know," she mused lightly, gently bumping his shoulder. "Sooo.... I'm gonna get dinner on and you can be a decent host," she told him as she plopped the dishes on the side tables. She loved her family, and she did feel a bit more comfortable while they were here, but she was a little more than overtired by now - she had to eat then socialise.
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Sage threw Mari a surprised look when she mentioned they'd been here, and he glanced into the kitchen to see her mother at work. "I didn't hear her come in," he sort of mumbled sheepishly, setting the cleaned brushes down to dry and then nodding in response to Maris comments. "Go ahead," he hummed lightly. "I'll be right behind you," he added. He finished tidying things up and out a sheet over the wet paint, so as to keep it safe, before wandering into the kitchen and greeting the rest of the family. There were hugs and kisses and the like, of course, and he'd called the kids down since they'd have been up by then. He did peer over at Mari though, humming a quick "need anything, babe," to her as well.
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Mari smiled softly, peering around the corner when the kids came down. It wasn't uncommon for her family just to make themselves comfortable, and they could probabaly see that she was worrying about things enough to help out where they could, even if it was just watching the house for a while. She shook her head at his question, quickly getting some dinner on. It was nice to have her family around, and she was more than glad they were all okay too... this whole thing had been terrifying, especially for her and the kids - and, well, she wasn't sure how Sage was handling it all. He seemed okay, as far as she could tell.
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Sage had nodded when Mari said she was good to go dinner wise, and plopped down on the floor with the kids. He sort of just kept them entertained while stroking up a conversation with Xander and Anthony, with Maris mother occasionally popping in. Amber had moved to curl up in his lap after a while, so he was honestly pretty comfortable. He did keep an eye on Mari though, in case she needed any help.
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Mari got dinner on fairly quickly, and once everything was in the oven she found her way over towards her mother and brothers... she still found it crazy how much Xander was growing up. He was nearly as tall and Anthony now, and looked quite a bit like him too. It was hard to think he'd ever been a 'little' brother. It was nice having them around. for a bit... she'd needed them. Sage hadn't really spoken much about the incident, and if he did then she'd been too focused on their children to take any of it in. It was nice just to have a normal conversation, though. Soon enough, dinner was all ready and she invited everyone to the table to come settle down.
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Sage had just chatted with the family for a bit, stroking the cat who'd nestled in his lap early on in the evening, belly swollen and kittens ready to drop any day now. He was excited to meet them all. When Mari called everyone over, he scooped the animal up and brought her with, where he slipped her bits and bobs. Shed settled down in his lap, so no one could really see her, but he supposed he did spoil her a little bit. Even so, it was nice to have everyone over. Relax and unwind, laugh a bit.
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Mari made sure everyone was comfortable, and soon enough settled down. She raised a brow when she eventually noticed Sage sneaking Amber some food, but it did brink a smile to her face. Some normalcy, really. She was still worried about everything, but watching the family sit down all together did help her relax. They soon finished up, and she rather quickly got back to cleaning up the whole place, her mother helping her out while brothers played with Silas and Liz.
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Sage had just given Mari a poker face when she raised her brow at him, not one to admit to anything. Well ..nothing that didn't really matter. He would if he needed to, but he'd been doing this for years, and she'd never cared much. It was amusing to think about, really. But once they'd finished, he'd handed the cat off to Xander, who'd also grown quite fond of the animal, and moved to help Mari clean up. The girls had shooed him off after a bit, something about the plates needing to be stacked near her or something. He ld wandered off with a chuckle and hands raised in mock surrender, before plopping down on the couch next to Anthony.
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Mari worked her hand at the plates and kitchen alongside her mother... although, she'd eventually managed to shoo her off too, but not before getting to have a quiet conversation with her about the whole thing. Mari was still scared... it felt like she was overreacting, and she probabaly was, but she hadn't dealt with anything like this in... well, forever, really. It was scary. She hated it, and she didn't know how to talk to Sage about it, especially when he seemed so relaxed about it. The next few hours passed fairly quickly, and she soon got the kids to bed. They did seem a bit antsy, but playing with their Uncles seemed to have calmed them, and they could at least stay in their own beds for tonight. She came back downstairs to say a quick goodbye to her family, just as they were leaving. She kept a small smile across her face until they'd walked out the door, and found her way over to the couch to plop down. She sort of watched Sage, her head cocked. "You didn't get hurt, did you? When they broke in?" She asked quietly. It had been yesterday, but she hadn't even had the mental capacity to wonder if he'd been hurt - not when she was worrying about the children.
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