A/N: I know you guys hate putting up with my random update schedule; and I'm sorry...
"Do you really think Dad can do this?" Karkat asked the next morning as he was sewing and Kankri was brushing his hair.
"Well, he's going to have to. This is for their own good."
"Dude, you sound like such a parent. Did you ever think that there's a reason why they fight all the time?"
"Don't ask stupid questions, Karkitten; of course I know there's a reason, and I'll bet you that I know more about it than you would."
"And how would you know? Dad can't stand talking about it, and don't think I don't know that you're afraid of Mr. Makara."
"Simple, dear brother; Kurloz told me."
"Now I know you're lying; Kurloz doesn't talk."
"Believe me, kid, he talks. He also yells. Deafeningly. Anyway, a few years ago, he mumbled something about them being mad at each other."
"Well, what are they mad about?"
"He never told me. I always figured it was just something that happened a long time ago. I can only hope it's nothing too extreme."
"If we're trying to keep them from fighting, how does leaving them alone together for a day help?"
"Honestly, I'm just praying it does. It's not really like we can punish them if they don't. They're full-grown men though; hopefully they have some sense of integrity."
"And what about some consideration for us? You told me he made a promise to you that he would go through with this. He's always telling us never to go back on our promises… You don't think he would…do you?"
"He never has before; we can only hope." Karkat suddenly jumped off his bed, bouncing over to his older brother.
"I finished it!" he said excitedly. "I can't believe it!"
"Me neither." Kankri chuckled. "You just bought that thing a couple days ago. Get your bag; you can stuff it when we get to the rec center. Kurloz and Gamzee should be here any—" the doorbell rang downstairs, and both boys twitched. "Speak of the devils; come on, move along."
"Stop rushing me!" Karkat giggled, grabbing his backpack and the bag of polyester stuffing. The two boys ran down the stairs, where they saw Karmene already standing beside the door, watching Gavin irritably. Kurloz and Gamzee stood outside, ready to walk.
"Are your watches set right?" Kankri asked as he pulled on his shoes and jacket.
"Yeah…" his father murmured, pouting a bit.
"Have fun, you guys!" Karkat called as he and Kankri left.
"We'll try…" Gavin huffed, stepping into the Vantas house and closing the door. He stared down into Karmene's silvery eyes, and the neko stared up into his iolite ones. Simultaneously, they both gave a heavy sigh.
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"So, what are we supposed to do all day anyway?" Gavin asked, his long body resting along the couch.
"I don't see what makes you think I know." Karmene chuckled from his seat on Gavin's stomach. The Makara was used to having the neko sit on him; he never took up much space, and as far as he was concerned, Karmene weighed approximately nothing.
"Wanna go to the beach?" The Makara smirked.
"I don't know if you noticed, but it's November." Karmene reminded him, flicking his tail with a huff.
"What's the matter, kitty? You scared you'll catch a chill?"
"Not really; it's just—Wait. Are you suggesting we go in the water?"
"Mama didn't raise no chickens."
"Mama didn't raise no fish either; you know I don't swim very well."
"You beat Connie and Damien in a swim race! No one can beat them!"
"I seem to remember you chasing me during that race."
"Yeah, and you swam pretty damn fast."
"That doesn't count, fool! Plus, I haven't been swimming in years. And besides all that, I doubt you brought any kind of swimsuit."
"You underestimate my preplanning skills, runt." Gavin sat up, smirking at the smaller man. "You go and find a swimsuit or something that fits, and I'll drive, aight?"
"Fine…" Karmene sighed; it's not like he had any better ideas.
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"You look like you're going back to bed, Karamel." A young Makara had told him, lightly pinching the fabric of the large T-shirt the neko boy was wearing. The little boy shrunk back a bit, hugging his tail nervously.
"I-I don't want to show any skin…" he mumbled. Gavin giggled and pulled up the shirt, exposing the plain red swim trunks and Karmene's pudgy light brown stomach.
"Your tummy's all cute though." He teased, poking him. "Chubby kittens are real popular."
"Stop it!" The neko whined, trying to squirm away and yank his shirt back down. "Harvey, no!" The young Makara smiled and picked him up, running over to the pool and stepping down the stairs into the shallow end. He laughed as the neko flailed out of his grip and paddled around like a terrified kitten tossed into a lake.
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"Spacing out, kitty?" Gavin ruffled his hair in the car to wake him up.
"What of it?" he huffed, staring out the window. That had been a long time ago; he had been a kitten who needed to be constantly looked after by someone big and tough. It wasn't like that anymore…He suddenly found himself remembering the break-in and how much pure panic that had overtaken him when he thought his son could be dead. He wiped a stray tear from his cheek… He hoped it wasn't like that anymore…
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"Really?" Gavin asked with a chuckle as his unhappy companion walked out of the changing room. Karmene just huffed; so what if he still had the t-shirt he would wear when he was four? Now that he was older, it actually fit him right, but maybe that was just because he was way too thin now.
"You have something against this shirt or what?" the neko growled, his tail whipping about.
"Nah. Not really. But what are ya now? Like near 40? Shouldn't you have grown out of that insecure crap?"
"I'm not insecure! I choose to do this."
"You're not even wearing swim trunks. Those are khakis."
"Why don't you mind your own business, Makara?" The smaller man hooked his arm around the inflatable ring he'd brought and walked out to the water. Placing one hand in the water, he found that it was predictably freezing. A prolonged swim would probably put them both in the hospital. Then again, health risks never did stop Gavin; the Makara was already in the water, floating along on his back. Karmene paddled toward him, lying on his belly along his float.
"Did you really drag me out here to not swim?" he asked. The Makara avoided his gaze and flicked water in the neko's face, chuckling a bit when he gave a small hiss back.
"I simply remembered why I don't swim much anymore." The tall man smirked. Karmene looked at him suspiciously, the gears in his brain rotating easily; he put a few pieces together and smiled mischievously, cupping his hand and throwing an overly generous splash of water into the Makara's face. He flinched in shock and flailed a bit, coughing.
"What the hell, Vantas?!" he snapped, glaring at him.
"I forgot how handsome you were without all that makeup." The neko smirked, reaching out and wiping some of the smudged makeup off his cheek. He chuckled smugly, but he quickly grew nervous when he noticed the unchanging look of malice in Gavin's eyes. Even though he saw it coming, he yowled in shock when the Makara threw all his weight on top of him, pushing them both under the water.
"That wasn't so bad, I guess…" Karmene said lightly as he hovered a hairdryer over his tail in the public bathroom just shy of an hour later.
"Don't sound so happy." Gavin growled as he wiped the last bit of smeared face-paint off his chin. "You're not off the hook for that little stunt."
"Oh, what; did I trigger the big bad clown?" He didn't have time to move his tail off the bench. "Ouch! Hey, we're not supposed to be hurting each other!" Gavin just smirked and lifted his heavy boot off of the smaller man's tail.
"You were hurting my feelings." He sneered. Karmene rolled his eyes and moved the blow-dryer up to his hair, using his free hand to comb it as well.
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"So, where are we going now?" the neko asked when he and the Makara were back in the car. His street clothes seemed warmer after swimming.
"How should I know? I was thinking we swing by the park."
"I suppose we could. There's nothing to do at the park though. We're not kids anymore; we can't screw about by the playground."
"Heh. Just like a cat: you're not happy unless you're eating, sleeping, or bouncing around." Karmene rolled his eyes, growling softly.
As the Makara's car parked outside the park gate, the neko seemed in a hurry to break out. It might have had something to do with the argument he and Gavin were having.
"You've got some nerve, kitten." The Makara snarled, slamming the driver's side door. Karmene huffed, pouting as he got out as well.
"You just won't own up, Harvey. You've always been like this, and it's such a pain."
"I have not 'always been like this'. And I don't even know what you mean by 'this'. What am I like that bugs you so damn much, huh?"
"Forget it." The neko growled. "You're such a child." Gavin stopped for a moment and simply eyed him, and he wasn't surprised for a second when the smaller man took off running. With a laugh, he followed the quick and lithe man as he zigzagged about, but he wasn't able to catch him before he darted up a tree. The large Makara was never really one for climbing trees, especially when clumsy little cat-boys had been involved.
"Come down from there, you runt!" he shouted up into the branches. People passing probably thought he was yelling at squirrels or something.
"Why don't you make me?" the man in the tree smiled.
Gavin looked up at him skeptically. "You really want me to?"
"I'd love to see you try." Karmene suddenly sounded less bold. Gavin sneered and stepped back, rolling back his shoulders before leaning down and rushing the tree, hitting his shoulder against it. Karmene cried out as the entire tree shook a bit, making him lose his balance and fall back. He might have fallen and cracked his skull if the rough bark of a low branch hadn't hooked into the fabric of his pants. He took the split second of contact to hook his knees tightly around the branch, sighing in relief as he was left dangling upside down.
"Well, look what we have here…" a very smug Makara sniggered as he approached the hanging neko; He smirked at the smaller man, whose eye level was currently at his lower ribcage. "How's it hanging, punk?"
"Shut up, Harvey." Karmene growled, blushing faintly. "J-Just… get me down from here."
"Get you d—" Gavin burst out laughing and leaned on the tree. "You're stuck up there, aren't you?"
"I am not! I-I just…"
"You just got yourself stuck like a little kitten, Vantas."
"Alright, fine; I'm stuck! Just get me down, Makara…W-What are you doing?" A nervous tingle ran through him as Gavin's fingers played with the hem of his shirt.
"Oh, nothing." He mumbled. "Just… trying to remember something." Gavin tugged the smaller man's shirt, letting gravity pull it down to his upper ribcage. He shivered as a short breeze grazed his exposed stomach, and he flinched sharply when Gavin's nails grazed across it after.
"Yep." The Makara sneered. "I definitely remember."
Karmene attempted to push him away as his brain put the pieces together. "No! Don't you d—" His protests were quickly turned into helpless snickers as Gavin curled his fingers lightly into his skin. "Gavin Harvey Makara, if you don't stop, I'll—Ah, no!" The taller man smirked, scribbling his fingers across Karmene's stomach as fast as he could, taking time to goose his hips and letting his hands drift to the neko's ribs. All the while, Karmene was lost in hysteria; he had resigned himself to attempting to stop the torrents of laughter and squeaks; it had become pretty obvious that he wasn't strong enough to move Gavin's hands away himself, and by now, there was no point. Gavin circled one finger around his navel and blew raspberries into his side, earning utterly helpless screeches for mercy and loud laughter. People would chuckle or roll their eyes as they passed them, and one or two kids would probably ask their parents some silly questions; but the Makara didn't see it as much of a reason to stop.
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An eight-year-old Vantas boy was practically screaming with adorable laughter and trying to kick his best friend's fingers away from his feet.
"Say you're sorry!" the 12-year-old Makara shouted; he was kneeling across the backs of Karmene's legs, raking his nails across the neko's socked feet.
"I didn't do it, Harvey! Why won't you believe me?!"
"Connie told me what you did, and then I catch you red-handed after dumping paint on my homework!"
"She's lying! It wasn't my fault; I swear!" Karmene shrieked again as Gavin dug into his toes. The Makara looked down at the little kitten as his tail tapped against his spine again; the smaller boy glanced back at him nervously, his eyes a bit red from laughter-induced tears and his ears fearfully pinned to his head. Gavin sighed; he couldn't stay mad at that face if he tried. Plus, he never knew Karmene to lie to him about things like this. He gave a soft smile and got up, pulling the neko to his feet.
"I'll look into it, Karamel." He agreed, and the kitten's face lit up like Vegas. "But if you're lying…" Karmene shrunk back a bit, and Gavin laughed.
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What had happened to the kitten that had smiled so brightly, and would never lie to him, and would trust him like he was the only one he had? A lot had happened, actually… And the Makara wasn't exactly certain he hadn't caused part of it.
"Gavin. Hey, Gavin. Makara!" Gavin twitched at the sound of someone shouting his name.
"Not now, Connie." He said unconsciously, renewing his attack on Karmene's waist; he suddenly realized what he said and turned to face the older, though shorter, woman. "Connie?"
"H-Help me…" Karmene whined, giggling and wiping tears from his eyes.
"You would beg Connie Peixes for help, runt?"
"I think I've reached that stage of desperation by now, yes."
"You two are still at this kind of thing?" The lady in the pink suit and coat chuckled. "I thought you weren't even friends anymore."
"Nah. Our kids are sick of us fighting, so they have us on some little escapade where we spend 24 hours together without hurting each other."
Connie smirked. "What? You're taking orders from your kids now?"
"It's not like it's a bad idea." Karmene said calmly, rolling his shoulders. "Gavin nearly broke my arm yesterday."
"What are you doing here anyway?" Gavin asked, leaning slightly on Karmene. "I thought you were in Japan."
"I was just there on business. You have something against my coming back?"
"Well, yes, actually; I'm not too thrilled about you being back."
"So how are the kids?" Karmene asked awkwardly, hoping to prevent a fight.
"Oh, you know. Meenah's still rebelling, and Feferi still doesn't like me."
"Hm. And how's your other kid?" Gavin asked with a huff. "Do you even call him at all?"
Connie rolled her eyes. "Are you really still on my back about my divorce?"
"Yes, and I am going to be until you give me a reason that doesn't sound like you being a selfish corporate ass."
"Ugh, look, since you'll clearly get off on hearing me say it; I'll admit: I don't know how Cronus has been lately. I don't know how's he's been since I left. If it wasn't for Feferi keeping contact with him, he could have died or something and I wouldn't know."
"In that case, I know you don't care, but Cronus seems to be putting moves on Karmene's kid."
"You're kidding…Kankri? Wow…"
"You say that like it's a bad thing…" Karmene murmured; he reached out and grabbed Gavin's shirt. "As for you, get me down from here already!"
"He's stuck up there?" Connie asked as Gavin reached up to pull on the branch.
"Just like old times, huh?" The Makara chuckled, and Karmene pouted while Connie smirked. "Might wanna brace yourself, kitten." Gavin pulled his feet off the ground, hooking one arm around the branch. His weight added to Karmene's was far too much, and the limb snapped off the tree. The sudden shake got the neko's clothes free from the bark, but it also shook him clear off the branch itself. He yowled in pain as he hit his shoulder on the ground.
"Funny," Gavin sneered. "I always thought cats landed—"
"You finish that sentence, and I take your head off…"
"But, kitten, we promised the kids—"
"Promises be damned! I'm sick of hearing it! It's not funny, it never has been, and the next person who says it to me will be gut like a fish!" Behind the fury and malice in Karmene's eyes, Gavin saw the tormented little kitten that bigger kids would often push off the swings or monkey bars just so they could say that tired line.
He ruffled the shorter man's hair. "You win this time, runt. I won't be the one you cut up first." Karmene seemed to calm down a little, and Gavin scratched his chin.
"You lovebirds will never change, huh?" Connie grinned, chuckling as she walked away. The two stared at each other curiously before averting their gazes, both trying to hide the red tints on their cheeks.
"Wanna get something to eat?" Karmene murmured.
"Yeah, sure…You wanna drive?"
"Are you kidding?! Between you torturing me for damn near 20 minutes and Connie's mere existence, I'm surprised I have the energy to make this outburst."
Gavin smirked and picked up the smaller man, poking at his sides again. "You're a piece of work, shorty. Always have been." Karmene smacked his hands away from his hips, but let the Makara carry him back to the car.
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"I swear, if I keep eating here, I'm going to gain weight." Karmene murmured as he ate another French fry. He and Gavin were sitting at a table in a restaurant back near Karmene's neighborhood.
"Yeah, Gog help you if you actually reach a healthy weight." Gavin smirked. "What's your problem, kitty? Your kids are both eating right, 'least that's what Karkat tells me, so I know you've been cooking."
The neko shrugged vaguely, slouching in his chair. "I just…I don't get hungry too often anymore."
"Karkat's worried about you, Karamel. If you have some kind of eating disorder, you shouldn't keep it secret."
"I don't have a disorder, okay? Karkat…He just panics sometimes when he worries about people."
"So, then, beanpole, why are you so light?"
"Look, just because I don't binge every time I get ahold of food doesn't mean I have a problem, alright? Now, lay off, Makara." Gavin just rolled his eyes; he would never admit how much he still worried about Karmene. The Vantas had been able to take care of himself for a little over two decades now, and of course he hated being told otherwise.
"Hey…" Karmene murmured, pointing across the restaurant to a man with a large scar across one side of his face. "See that guy?" He chuckled a little when Gavin nodded. "He's the one I scratched for hassling me at work a few months back."
"Huh…" Gavin smirked. "I never pegged you as one for violence, kitten."
"Sometimes I get pissed off; it's not my fault I have emotions."
"You can't go around beating people up, Karamel."
"I remember you beating that one kid up at recess when we were in school."
"He made you cry. Only I can do that without consequence."
"And the other kid?"
"He called me a monster…" Karmene gave a soft, sympathetic smile. When they were kids, Gavin had been extremely sensitive about his height. Even then, he'd towered over everyone else. Only the really brave kids picked on Gavin Harvey, and more often than not, they ended up injured. The few years they actually spent in the same school buildings due to their age difference were spent with Gavin beating the stuffing out of anyone who gave Karmene a hard time. But that was before…well—before that little fight…
"Hey, Makara." A gruff voice called out, and both men looked up. A group of men dressed all in black approached their table. The look on Gavin's face made Karmene very uneasy.
"What do you guys want now?" he asked with a snarl.
The biggest man, still a foot shorter than Gavin, smirked. "What's wrong with your face, Harvey? We almost didn't recognize it."
"Maybe I didn't want you to…" the Makara growled, and the neko wondered why he was lying.
"And why would that be? You got nothing to be worried about with us."
"If I don't have to be worried, why do you keep showing up in my life?"
"That information is classified to the likes of you. We have a code of silence in all our deals."
"I'll do more than silence you if you keep following me."
"Them's fighting words, Harvey; you might want to be careful…"
"I'm never careful…" The Makara subtly nudged Karmene's chair away from the table with his foot before standing up.
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"You're lucky you didn't get us banned from the restaurant." Karmene huffed as he filled a plastic bag with ice in his kitchen.
"It was four against one." Gavin smirked, holding one hand over his bruised eye as he leaned against the sink. "Given my odds, I think I did pretty well."
"Did you really have to get into a fight with them though? Don't you have any self-control?"
"Baby, I have all the self-control. I spent all day with you without breaking your sorry ass in half."
Karmene just rolled his eyes and shoved the bag of ice against Gavin's eye; he quickly grabbed the first aid kit from under the sink and motioned vaguely toward the living room. "Go upstairs and lie down; and take your shirt off so I can get to those cuts."
"Ooh, Karamel wants to see me with my shirt off?"
"I've seen you with your shirt off. Don't flatter yourself, Baby Fat."
The Makara was pretty well shut up. He walked up the stairs and into Karmene's room, flopping down on the neko's large bed.
"You are way too tiny for this bed, Vantas." He chuckled as the smaller man sat beside him, digging through the kit.
"Shirt." The neko reminded him bluntly, and he stuck his tongue out immaturely before taking his shirt off, revealing the cuts made by the knives and switchblades those punks had been carrying. Karmene gave an exasperated sigh as he poured some disinfectant into a cotton ball and dabbed the small wounds, ignoring the large man's slight twitches and growls.
"Who were those guys anyway?" he asked, using two or three bandages to cover each long cut. "They don't fight fair at all."
"They call themselves the Midnight Crew." The Makara sighed. "They say they're a gang, but there are only four of them; and as far as I'm concerned, they ain't that scary."
"That's only because you could fight a busload of angry people blindfolded."
"Would I be blindfolded or the angry people? …Actually, don't answer that; I'd still win." Karmene rolled his eyes and chuckled, closing the first aid kit and moving to sit on Gavin's stomach.
"You'll never change, will you, Makara?" he asked with a soft, sad smile.
"Nope, neither will you, huh, Vantas?"
"Probably not by much. So…If neither of us will change, why did—I guess for lack of a better term—why did we change?" The Makara stared up at him, and he stared back; it wasn't really like they didn't know…
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It had been another day in middle school, except this time, some idiot had gone too far. Karmene had been shoved out of a tree, and other than the mental scar on his patience from hearing that "cats land on their feet" line, his wrist was sprained pretty badly. Gavin had beaten the kid almost as if Karmene had died. It was after that when the neko started thinking. He knew that after this year, Gavin would go to high school and unfortunately leave him to fend for himself. Why was it that the Makara never let him fight his own battles? It wasn't like he couldn't…Did he just think Karmene was too weak? Just because he was smaller and didn't beat the snot out of everyone who looked at him funny didn't mean he was weak. But…It wouldn't surprise him. Gavin was always a bit judgmental of others.
That thought festered in the neko boy's mind whenever he saw the Makara; it was even clouding his better judgment, which had been trying to remind him that he was mentally accusing the best friend he ever had with a pretty groundless theory. Gavin seemed to notice this every so often and attempted to make him smile with no success.
Then came the faithful day at school, the first day since their years as toddlers that someone had called Gavin a monster. Karmene had run over when the Makara had the kid off the ground by his shirt collar.
"Put him down!" he Vantas had shouted, pulling on his friend's coat. "You can't kill him; he isn't worth it!"
"Shut up!" The Makara had snapped; the evidence of pain and unshed tears could be heard in his voice. "I don't need your help!"
"And what's wrong with my help?! I've always been there for you!"
"It isn't your problem, runt!"
"Oh, you can fight all my battles, but I can't help you?!"
"Karmene, get lost!"
"No, Gavin; why can't I help you? Is it because I'm too weak, huh?! Is that what you think about me?"
"Where is all this coming from, cat? You're starting to sound like a crazy thing."
"I'm crazy? I'm crazy?! You beat up anybody who even looks like they're about to piss you off!"
"How can you say all that?!" The Makara had long since released the kid that had insulted him. "I've protected you every chance I could!"
"I can protect myself, Gavin! I'm not a little kid anymore!"
"So why don't you?! Why do you let me protect you if you're so strong?"
"Because you're a giant, towering bully! God only knows what you would do to me!"
Gavin stared at him in disbelief, then snarled. "Is this what you really think then? That I'm some out of control bully? A monster? Think about what you're saying, Vantas…" The neko boy's ears drooped slightly, and he bit back tears as he nodded; the tall boy nodded as well, then roughly grabbed the smaller one by his shirt. "Fine; you can protect yourself, huh?! Prove it!" The Makara had thrown the first punch, only to be caught by Karmene's clawed fingers. The other kids had been speechless as the fight only escalated to the point where both were bleeding, and it took three teachers each to pull them apart.
They didn't speak again for weeks; living in the same large house, they couldn't look at each other without getting into a fistfight. When the Makara left for college, it was like Karmene didn't even care. The ten other orphans living with them were shocked when he announced that he planned to go to an entirely different university.
It couldn't have been clearer… It was over.
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Gavin softly ran his hand through Karmene's hair as the neko man rested his head on his chest. "Kurloz was right…" he murmured. "We are idiots… Whose fault was that again?"
"Mine…" Karmene admitted softly, his voice a bit choked. "I can't believe I let those thoughts cloud my mind. You were my best friend… All I had…"
"So, is this really the part where we both cry and say how sorry we are?"
"I don't cry…"
"Don't you even lie to me, you little brat."
"I…I am sorry though. What happened; it was my fault. I was such an idiot to think that you thought I was weak."
"You're no freaking Hercules, baby…" The Makara smirked when the Vantas gave a low hiss. "But…I guess I'm sorry for snapping. It was pretty obvious you were talking with your anger; I suppose I got a little overemotional too." He softly scratched the neko's ears, chuckling as he flattened them against his head. Karmene looked up at him, nuzzling his chin.
"I kind of missed this…" he murmured.
"Only kind of?" Gavin hugged the Vantas to his torso. "I can hear you purring."
"Shut up…" Karmene was silent for a few minutes while the Makara cycled through television channels. "Hey… Remember that thing I used to ask you to do when I couldn't sleep?"
Gavin looked at him oddly: a combination of amusement and disbelief; he rolled his eyes and sighed. "Just give me some pillows…"
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"Wow, ya'll, it's so late already." Gamzee mused as Kankri fiddled with his house keys.
"We wouldn't be so late if you hadn't made us miss the first bus, Gamzee." Karkat huffed. Kurloz lightly ruffled Karkat's hair, a little grin on his face.
Kankri finally unlocked the door and pushed it open. "Huh…The house is still standing, and I don't see any bloodstains on anything."
"Maybe they aren't here." Karkat shrugged. "It's not like they had to stay home."
Kurloz shook his head, pointing to the couch where his uncle's and the neko boys' father's coats were.
"They're probably watching a movie or something." Gamzee smiled, kicking his shoes off.
"Either way, you have school in the morning, Karkat." Kankri sighed, stretching. "Gamzee, you can sleep in my bed if you want." Karkat nodded and led Gamzee up the stairs.
Kurloz looked at Kankri curiously.
"Hm?" the neko teen murmured, looking up at him; it took a moment for it to click. "Oh, I was going to make up the guest room for you and stay in the other bed there."
Kurloz gave one of his signature silent chuckles and followed him up the stairs. The neko was distracted, pulling things down from the linen closet, but the mime's trained hearing caught a soft sound. He nudged the shorter boy and pointed to his ear. Kankri rolled his eyes a bit at first, but his feline ears twitched as he heard it as well. They walked silently toward the Karmene's bedroom door, and softly pushed it open. Kankri found himself stifling a laugh, and Kurloz smirked.
"Should we wake them up?" The Vantas boy asked as his ears fixed on the soft sound of his father purring; Karmene was fast asleep, clearly in a state rivalling bliss; and Gavin was lying across his back—practically pinning him, having apparently fallen asleep there while flipping through TV channels.
Kurloz only shook his head, lightly tugging Kankri away from the door.
This chapter contains my obligatory tickling scene...Deal with it. I appreciate all your comments and everyone who took the time to read this (officially the longest in this story) chapter.
(Also, as of writing this, I have about 6 hours left to finish a chapter for another story before the New Year. Here's to another sweep, people!)