"I said no."
He always knew this would be an issue between the two of them but they had managed to put it off time and time again until now. His girlfriend of ten months, as nondescript as that term was when you threw in a few thousand years in between, rolled her shoulders back as she straightened to her full height of 5'3. Her feet were planted in a wide stance while her hands were firm on her hips. Those hips under other circumstances would be inviting but her facial features, resembling that of a granite wall, brooked against such temptations.
"I said yes."
He could have sworn he heard her growl and his eyes narrowed in response.
She crossed her arms.
He raised a single brow.
She raised two.
He let loose an impressive string of curses that didn't desist as she smiled slowly.
"Fine," he snapped, "but he sleeps at the foot of the bed away from you…or me for that matter," he added after a moment's thought.
Minako's grin widened at her victory and she bounced towards him, pecking him on the cheek before rushing away to inform Artemis of the new sleeping arrangements, much to Keisuke's annoyance.
…
A week or two later Artemis was enjoying the warm rays of the sun on his back when he found himself being roused to consciousness by soft, caressing strokes. The drowsy haze of a lazy Sunday morning made the moment so tender and he relished it all the more for the rarity of such a moment since that man had walked back into his charge's life.
'I should remember to do something nice for Minako,' he noted to himself as he nuzzled in closer to the warm heat radiating from the figure next to him.
He had almost fallen to sleep once more, when a small clicking sound pulled him back. The caressing hand had frozen above him and he turned and searched bewilderingly for the noise's source only to spy Minako grinning wickedly at the foot of the bed brandishing her camera phone in one hand while making her victory V with the other.
"Wait till the girls see this," she sniggered before dashing out of the room.
Belatedly did Artemis realize, that if Minako had been taking a photo of him at the foot of the bed then physical law prevented her from being the one he was currently snuggled up to. His head snapped sideways like he'd run straight into a brick wall and his mouth opened and closed repeatedly as he stared in disbelief.
"YOU!" he gasped, jumping to his feet.
Keisuke was already wide awake, clutching his treacherous hand to his bare chest as if he were a ten year old girl instead of a grown man. His cheeks were flushed and Artemis could easily imagine his own furry cheeks were tinged with pink. Their eyes made contact and snapped away upon seeing the other; all the while Minako's gleeful cackles could be heard reverberating down the hall.
"She needs to be stopped," Artemis grumbled, knowing that each second they let pass cemented their doom.
Keisuke gave a sharp nod and rose to his feet, his stony façade back in place as he sided with the equally embarrassed feline for the first time.
"I'll immobilize her, you go for the phone," Keisuke ordered.
Artemis slipped to the floor and silently they launched their attack.
;) Hoped you like this short and I swear I'm getting to work on the next chapter for Scout's Wanderings! Much love! -B