Reviews :
Snake557 : Thank you! I know, you bet I'm gunna abuse that 'Kitten' nickname. It wouldn't seem right for any of the other couples to use that towards their own women, it obviously fits perfect for Kepa so I'm glad it went over well haha. And, yes! I'm finally done uploading the whole thing to it's own segment on FF. It has 3.7 million words excluding all of my author's notes and story endcaps. Pretty freaking insane if I do say so myself! And yes, although very little is in the works, there IS a 7th story on the horizon. Whoooo knows how long it'll go. As long as I can keep sourcing ideas, keep branching off the couples, keep circling back and keep expanding this ever evolving plot, y'guys are stuck with me haha.
*Chapter 112*
With purpose, Kepa cutely crossed her arms upon entering Lash's and Mara's confectionary all by herself. Having left Gideon outside per his request, so to wait for Novus's arrival, he insisted Kepa welcome herself inside so to not wait up for him. Knowing Novus was due to arriving shortly, Kepa agreed to Gideon's request and sauntered into Lash's cozy, comforting plaza of a confectionary. An easy going, slower Thursday afternoon, Kepa was happy to catch the attention of a few of Lash's employees. They happily greet her, the sight of Kepa and or Gideon making their way behind the bar and into the direction of Lash's office had very quickly become a new normal. Although she never lingered for too long due to having an excess of hair and fur over all the other employees, she hustled to Lash's office in hopes to not ever contaminate anything in the unfortunate event that she were to shed any hair or fur along the way. In the cute scuffle to Lash's office, she came to the wide open gape of said hefty black door, playfully thumped a few knocks and obnoxiously swung inside due to just how comfortable she was around Lash and Mara.
"One hundred bucks says that Gideon comes inside with a manifested cold brew in an attempt to get all your employees to puppy-dog after him," Kepa cued sweetly into Lash's office, though she inhaled a tight breath, scuffed to the flat of her adorable bunny-like feet and felt her pupils tighten at the sight of more bodies being present in the room outside of the typical show of just Lash, Mara and a beloved employee.
"No, I'm not betting shit, that's a losing bet for me, you nuts?" Lash erupted with a hearty laugh, and though Kepa was previously en-route to rapid-fire playing sarcastic notions back to Lash, she stood frozen in tight, anxious dread and caught eyes with the two other beings in the room.
"O-Oh, I'm... I'm sorry to burst in here," Kepa huffed nervously, her tail curled underneath her, and though she attempted to keep it all together, the bend of her tail managed to peak its way between her ankles in a show of anxiousness that was well on its way to being a twinge of social fear; in just barely taking a step back, Mara immediately swiveled in one of Lash's huge office chairs and immediately lit up, upon seeing Kepa's face.
"HEY! You're wearing the shirt I got you," Mara cued excitedly as she stood and easily bubbled Kepa into the sheer mass of warmth and welcome she was, she made adamantly clear that Kepa was wanted.
"Yeah, it's quickly becoming a favorite," Kepa huffed shyly as she gripped the ends of her tighter black t-shirt, looked down to her torso and finally made shy eye contact with the two strangers lazily stood near Lash, behind his desk. One was very clearly one of Lash's brothers, his cute, happy demeanor and vivid gold eyes hooked to Kepa's in a narrow of warm curiosity, though Kepa felt her airways tighten in hot confusion as she locked eyes with the woman next to him. As if Gideon was cloned as a female, this lovely, beautiful woman peered to Kepa in a sting of what seemed to be concealed excitement. Kepa shyly pinned her ears to her skull, sagged in Mara's care and shyly mumbled as her tightly dilated eyes now swiftly stabbed into Lash's eyes, "Am I interrupting?"
"No, no, come in, Kepa, you're always welcome," Lash urged as he waggled his hand as if to be playfully annoyed that she wasn't making herself more present, though it was here did Lash cock an eyebrow, eye Koko and Nox in the swing of their caught glances, he choked a chuckle and now swiftly understood this could be a potentially sticky situation. He wondered if he should allow Koko to take the reigns in introducing herself to Kepa or not, "I was just asking these two how the trip went. Kepa, this is my annoying little brother, Nox and his fiancèe, Koko."
"It's nice to meet you," Kepa huffed shyly, and though she was nervous around new people, humans nonetheless, she reached out to Nox for a handshake and was happy he eagerly stepped forward to shake her hand. In the easy grip and the swathe of happy smiles, Kepa nodded once and met eyes with Nox, a familiar gaze to Lash's, "My name's Kepa."
"Nice to meet you, I'm Nox," Nox stated happily with a loving smile as he sagged back to Koko's side and rested his hand to the middle of her back, he tossed his eyes to her in a sting of curiosity and wondered just how the hell they were going to make it out of this room without erupting into a billion confessions Gideon had been diligently keeping under wraps, and though Koko hovered as if she was in a waking daydream, Nox shot Lash a cheeky side-eye and grinned, "Is that how you describe me to your friends? Annoying?"
"I got other adjectives, that was the kindest one," Lash tightly rattled as he lazily slapped on his reading glasses and continued to pick at paper work haphazardly splayed on his desk.
"Koko, right?" Kepa wondered tenderly as she gingerly outstretched her hand to Koko's, though as the two caught eyes, Kepa huffed a stagger of a silent giggle and eased a wide, curious little smile. The second Koko slowly sunk her bigger hand into Kepa's was the second Kepa allowed a cheekier little grin to sprawl her face, "If you're not somehow related to Gideon then I need to leave and go get my eyes checked."
"I am, I'm his big sister," Koko chimed in a full swathe of confidence, a sting of certainty that nearly had everyone else in the group flinching, just what this meant for Gideon's either approval or disapproval, all three beings were well aware that this was the perfect storm and running away from the inevitable was becoming more and more difficult. Koko huffed a shaky little breath of a giggle as both girls eased out of their handshake, Koko peered hard into Kepa's eyes and was absolutely sure she was dreaming. The raw fact that she was standing in front of the woman Gideon had nothing but nice things to say about, the woman he'd go to war for, the woman he was very successfully keeping hidden from everyone was now right within her reach. An opportunity she knew she wouldn't ever get again, at least shortly, Koko rushed to get to know Kepa in this tiny window now afforded to her, "My little brother says a lot of really lovely things about you. I'm really happy we're finally meeting."
"Yeah, I've been wishing that Gideon would introduce me to his family," Kepa chirped cutely, it was here did her ears ease out of the tight, anxious pin they were in, her tail lifted in a show of rising warmth, her body language finally began to not look so socially awkward. She glanced between Nox and Koko and fiddled her fingers shyly, "You guys enjoy Sugar Rush?"
"Yeah, Sugar Rush was great," Nox played, both beings now had to very quickly saddle themselves in the mindset that they don't visit Sugar Rush nearly as often as they do, let alone palace grounds. Nox shyly rubbed the back of his head and peered into Koko's eyes, "Lots of snow, lots of candy."
"Gideon brought you back some, didn't he?" Koko wondered sweetly, Kepa nodded and grinned in a sag of dreamy delight.
"Yes, he had to stop me from eating it all in one sitting, it's so good," Kepa rushed cutely as she tucked her fists to her chin in delight and shrugged.
Though she wanted to keep indulging about Sugar Rush's glory, she glanced down to Mara's sat figure, stood a bit tighter to Mara's chair and innocently scanned Koko's face and hair as a whole. Nearly a spitting image of Gideon in a feminine form, Koko's hair was a lot wavier and a bit darker, like milk chocolate, where as Gideon's was pure auburn. The darker glint of warm brown in Koko's inquisitive, excited eye contact was contagious, and though Kepa was excited to be meeting one of Gideon's siblings, she did everything she absolutely could to not sniffle the air and understand that there was a shift in honesty. Something about this interaction felt as if they were all sitting atop the very tip of an iceberg, and the sheer, colossal mass underneath them was lurking in the blue, waiting to be revealed. Lash and Nox began to quietly continue on with the conversation they were previously having, which gave Kepa, Koko and Mara an excuse to sag into their own swing of girly conversation.
"Your hair is really pretty," Kepa gently complimented to Koko, to which Koko looked down to her hair, lifted the ringlets that draped off of her chest and dangled just above her waist, she crowned a humbled, wide smile of whole gratitude and gave Kepa a kind look of disbelief.
"Aw, thank you, that's so sweet of you," Koko urged cutely, Kepa long-blinked and couldn't help but stare, the odd sight of having someone directly related to her own brand new boyfriend, right in front of her, was like peeking into a treasure chest and wanting desperately to pry it open to see just what other surprises were in store. Although Kepa was happy about having all these weird, fluttery new feelings, she almost felt confused as to why Koko was giving off the same exact vibe. Koko waggled her finger in Kepa's direction in a lazy fashion and glanced down to Mara with a warm smile, "You live here in Turbotime, right?"
"Yeah, I live right off of Juniper Forest, right on the northern-most beach front," Kepa gestured her hand lazily and bobbed a nod, "I was, uh... A squatter in an abandoned light house, but Gideon fixed it up for me."
"It's GORGEOUS," Mara ogled, Kepa grinned and bobbed an excited nod, "I'm serious, Gideon really got in there and turned the whole thing around. It's beautiful."
"Gideon's incredibly creative," Koko complimented, Kepa nodded continuously and sagged her hands into her pant pockets to show now full comfort as her and Koko held curious gazes and smiles, "You guys are lucky to have each other, he speaks very highly of you."
"He does?" Kepa questioned, and though she had only just met Gideon's big sister, she sagged her ears, took a dainty step closer to Koko and now suddenly felt a huge hug of camaraderie with Koko. The sheer fact that the two immediately got along, the idea that she was well-on board with their tight knit ways, Kepa peered hard into Koko's soul and knew that if anyone in this room knew Gideon extremely well, it was his older sister. Eager for answers, shy about their brand new title as of not even a half an hour ago, Kepa wondered just how much information she could get out of Koko before Gideon showed up, "Like... Like what?"
"Oh, the usual, I guess he was telling Oliver, on vacation, just how intelligent and amazing you were," Koko stated lowly with pride, she gave Kepa a warm smile and so desperately wanted Kepa to feel easiness in her presence, the hopes that these seeds planted would entice Kepa to hopefully encourage Gideon to open up, palace-side, "He also told us a little bit about where you're from and what kind of a gamer you are. Our nephew's swapmate is from Castle Run, as well."
"...Y-You guys have a nephew? With ties to Castle Run?" Kepa eagerly wondered, her ears perked high, it was here did Mara grit her teeth and urgently shake her head at her great aunt Koko, due to being sat low and now behind Kepa's figure; Koko huffed a shaky breath and now knew she couldn't back track, though she pumped the brakes.
"Yeah, I'm... Positive Gideon can fill you in on it," Koko staggered with a cute laugh, to which Kepa sagged in knowing and bobbed a shy nod, though she firmly bookmarked all of these things to pester Gideon about later, "That shirt is VERY Mara-esque, and Mara's right, it does look good on you."
"I know, I'm just dumping my style on the poor girl, she didn't have clothes!" Mara loudly complained as Kepa brought her eyes down to Mara and opened the bubble a bit more, all three girls giggled with each other, "I found her these ADORABLE hoodies with these ear-holes on the hood, so she can poke her ears through!"
"Oh, cute," Koko urged, Kepa grinned, her hefty tail lifted in a gentle wag as she happily shifted on her clawed feet, though just as Kepa was about to carry on, Gideon's deep voice could be heard approaching as he bickered with a few of Lash's employees.
"No, I told you last week that I'm cutting you off," Gideon loudly urged from about a dozen feet outside the doorway.
"Come on, man, I've gone a whole week, just please give me one," Lash's newest employee cutely begged, he was a younger employee, and though he was known for being mischievous and cunning behind the line, he still had a heart of gold and got along well with everyone.
"If I give you one, then I have to give everyone one," Gideon argued, though his raspy voice was low and angry sounding, it was clear he was just being playful due to the way a few other employees began to laugh and goad the situation on.
"Does he have a cold brew?" Mara grunted quietly as she wretched her neck to see outside of the gape of the office door, and once her, Kepa and Koko leaned a bit to get a good view of Gideon, all three girls erupted into laughter at the sight of Gideon holding just that, "Alright, babe. You owe Kepa a hundred dollars."
"Pay up, my guy," Kepa urged sarcastically as she held out her hand, Lash gaped as Nox erupted into laughter.
"I didn't bet on it, if you'd get the fur out of your ears," Lash barked, everyone stifled hard laughter.
"Look, I got a fire-breathing dragon guarding the front door and a fire-breathing girlfriend in your boss's office, y'wanna maybe step off a little?" Gideon firmly barked, the small crowed about him wheezed with laughter as Gideon began to begrudgingly step away, though he jolted, rolled his eyes and began to haphazardly manifest everyone their own frosty, creamy cold brew, "Alright, fine, FINE! Don't say I don't ever do nothin' for yah."
"Thank you, Gideon," Came a resounding swathe of grateful glee as the group happily dispersed, though as Gideon huffed a sarcastic grumble and slowly eased his way into the doorway of Lash's office, he scuffed his bare heels to the cold tiles, peered hard into said office and froze in mild terror that was palpable, the second he caught eyes with his big sister.
"... Fire-breathing girlfriend, eh?" Mara obnoxiously cooed, she waggled her eyebrows and cheekily dart her eyes between Kepa and Gideon, "Y'two gots a wittle secret you'd like to share with the class?"
"That'd make Gideon the cold-brew king," Lash stabbed with a happy laugh, one that Nox couldn't refrain from either.
"...H-Hi, guys," Gideon huffed nervously, he innocently stabbed his eyes into Koko's and almost pleaded with her, and with such a swing of short eye contact, Koko bobbed a secretive little nod and promised she'd do her best to refrain from spilling too much more information, from here on out.
"I'm telling you, you should monetize your manifestation skills, my guy," Lash shook his head and aggressively began to stab numbers into his calculator with the eraser-end of his pencil, "Could start out small, selling your little cold-brews, move up to expensive items, land investments, and then... You'll run away to the dark web and trade kidneys to corrupt gamers on the internet."
"Sounds like a dream," Gideon heaved a long, hard sigh as he sweetly pressed into the room and, in a confident drape he was certain would escape him, his sunny demeanor seemingly shifted the room as he lovingly sagged his bigger arm about the whole of Kepa's shoulders in a lazy side-hug she eagerly welcomed. Gideon sweetly smiled into Kepa's eyes before glancing to Nox, Lash and then Koko, to which he directed his attention to her and eased a cute, sarcastic laugh, "Hey, Koko. Haven't seen you in forever."
"I know, two whole hours," Koko blurt a giggle, "We were just coming to tell Mara and Lash all about the trip, we just dropped our stuff at the arena and figured we'd come down for a treat."
"Like we didn't get enough sugar on vacation," Nox grumbled as he huffed a hard, lazy sigh and sat down on the billowy couch just off to the right, beyond Lash's much larger, professional work desk.
"You can never have enough sugar," Kepa mumbled cutely, Mara erupted into giggling as Koko side-eyed Gideon, bobbed a nod and pointed a lazy waggle of her finger in Kepa's direction.
"I like this chick. Keep her," Koko muttered sweetly, to which Gideon choked a shy little laugh and squeezed Kepa into a bit tighter of a side-hug.
"So, did I hear something about a fire-breathing girlfriend or were you just saying that to my employee to hopefully imply that the fact that Kepa has a higher title above 'friend' to make the fire-breathing sound scarier?" Lash tightly rattled as he continued to hurriedly finish his paperwork, he spoke to Gideon without looking up, "Y'gunna fill Kepa in on this new title of hers or were you going to ask her to be your girlfriend in front of your big sister?"
"I-I was the one who asked him over lunch," Kepa cutely mumbled as she scratched the side of her head and shyly looked down to her feet, everyone perked up and blurt out into happy laughter.
"Aww you guys!" Mara squealed as she clapped, Gideon rolled his eyes and gingerly released Kepa from the little hug he had her in.
"I WAS going to ask, c'mon," Gideon stabbed with a smile he couldn't stifle, Kepa looked up into his eyes with all the love in the world and gently elbowed his ribs.
"It's the only thing she has over you, you're like four hundred feet taller than her, just let her have this," Lash muttered cutely, though Gideon didn't miss a beat.
"We're the same height," Gideon mumbled, though Lash tightly furrowed his eyebrows and peered to Kepa and Gideon over the tops of his reading glasses. Kepa took her cue and immediately stood to her full height, which was nearly exactly Gideon's height; they stood shoulder to shoulder as Mara, Koko and Nox loudly erupted into laughter at the cute and funny sight. Gideon stuck out his neck and gave Lash a wide, meanly sarcastic grin and side-eye, "SEE?"
"Congratulations, you guys," Nox stated happily as the group calmed out of their loud laughter with happy sighs and dregs of chuckling, "That's a nice little surprise to come home to."
"It IS nice, congrats, you guys. He definitely missed you, while we were gone," Koko sweetly assured, Kepa sagged her ears and shyly looked down to her feet as she sagged back to her normal, flat height, the top of her head now came to the center of Gideon's chest.
"Next vacation, y'gotta come with, Kepa," Nox politely assured with a nod, and though Gideon felt his pupils tighten at just how real all of this was suddenly becoming, he was grateful everyone kept things light, "Spring's not for a bit, but, hey. Meet the fam, eat some candy."
"I'd love that," Kepa assured with a nod and a loving smile up into Gideon's eyes, and though the toss of his apprehensive gaze promised side-stepping, she was at least thrilled he nodded and looked receptive to the idea.
"So, what do you guys have planned for the rest of the day?" Koko wondered with zest, though as Gideon and Kepa caught eyes, once more, they had a very silent conversation within the span of a handful of seconds, all ended with Kepa heaving a regretful sigh and a shy little nod to boot.
"Novus and I are gunna give Kepa some flying lessons," Gideon soothed, his voice was happy and serious, serious enough to make clear to the group that this was no laughing or teasing matter, made further clear with the gentlemanly way he rubbed Kepa's upper back as she shyly fiddled her fingers and didn't dare to look up from them.
"She's gunna fly off into the sunset and we'll never see her ever again," Lash mumbled, hoping to break the ice; with success, everyone grinned and Lash's office was filled with happy laughter, once more, "Y'sure y'wanna teach her how to fly? She WAS previously trapped with you, but now you're giving her access to the sky..."
"Do I give you the impression that I hate Gideon, or something?" Kepa argued in a cute, bratty tone, her's and Lash's usual banter.
"I mean, yeah? Domestic bliss is a fallacy and I'm just trying to help you out, chickie, y'better take Gideon's flight lessons and get outta here," Lash stabbed sarcastically, though Mara gaped in full, playful offense and viciously spun to correction in the swivel chair she had been slowly spinning in this whole time.
"Excuse me?" Mara urged, everyone howled with laughter.
"Flight lessons!" Gideon urged over the chaos as he choked a laugh and shook his head, he smiled into Koko's eyes and was certain the grin he sent her way was wider than anything she likely had ever seen, something he was certain would come back to haunt him in the form of other family members now due to catching wind of this entire exchange, "We'll be starting small, but hopefully we'll make progress before it storms."
"Oh, that's right, that nasty storm that's rolling in," Lash muttered, he shook his head in annoyance and scoffed, "It's been so stormy, this time of year. Dunno why."
"Yeah, last winter was so dry and cold, this year it's all humid and wet," Nox grumbled, though Koko eyed Kepa and Gideon as they began to so quietly chitchat with each other whilst Nox, Lash and Mara carried on about the huge storm to come.
Koko narrowed her eyes and kept her sweet gaze to her baby brother and his brand new girlfriend. Happy to be far enough removed from their bubble to be out of their peripheral, though close enough to just barely hear their soft conversing, Koko watched as Gideon's sweet, tender disposition hovered at the ready in Kepa's presence. It was here did Koko truly understand the weight of their romance, the weight of all of Gideon's words, he stood in the presence of a future princess, literal royalty Kepa's aura radiated, it was something that was even a no-brainer to Koko. The way Gideon so tenderly whispered Kepa a notion of reassurance, the way his bigger, careful fingers soothingly stroked a few hairs behind Kepa's bigger cat-ear in a repetitive motion, the adorable way her clawed hands daintily reached for Gideon's cold brew with the willing nudge of the long straw to Kepa's mouth so she could steal a few sips, Koko crossed her arms and felt the urge to swoon. It wasn't until she glanced down to their feet did she notice Kepa's long, lovely tail loosely gripped about Gideon's bigger right ankle did Koko finally look off and understand that the second her and Nox head home was the second she was going to call Tessa and urgently divulge all of her bountiful, exciting finds, the raw idea that Gideon was very bravely showing this brand new side of himself to one of his siblings was something Koko was absolutely positive wasn't easy for him whatsoever.
"Is Novus outside?" Kepa wondered quietly, excitedly, Gideon nodded as Kepa bounced on her feet and hissed a positive notion of excitement.
"Alright, guys, we're gunna head out," Gideon cued with a gentle wave as he caught eyes with everyone, though Lash pointed to Gideon and grunted a noise to halt Gideon and Kepa from leaving.
"Hey, wait, are we still on for tomorrow?" Lash urged excitedly, Gideon furrowed his brow and tossed his eyes to Mara in confusion.
"Rememeber the beach day we planned?" Mara cutely mumbled, Gideon perked up.
"Oh yeah! Weather permitting," Gideon nodded, though as he glanced to Nox and Koko, he felt bravery sweep him, trust he very diligently sagged into his big sister's hands, he shrugged and nervously smiled into Koko's eyes, "Y'guys wanna come? We're just gunna hang at the lighthouse and the beach, maybe grill and stuff."
"That sounds awesome, if you guys will have us," Koko excitedly agreed, she tossed her eyes to Nox in readied happiness, to which he equally nodded with matched fervor, "Yeah! We'll be there."
"Great," Gideon smiled, "I got my phone, we'll be somewhere in the sky."
"Pray for me," Kepa muttered nervously as the two began to sag out of the doorway, though she perked up and gave Koko and Nox a lasting, happy little smile and a wave, "It was nice to meet you guys!"
"You too!" Koko and Nox hurried warmly.
"You'll do great!" Mara called, to which Koko sweetly agreed as Mara cupped her hands over her mouth and called out to them as they vanished from sight, "Text me!"
"... You two are SO fucking lucky," Lash sharply whispered as Koko sagged out of her calm and collected disposition and immediately switched into giddy, clenched-fists and bent over shock she couldn't contain.
"I can't believe we just met Kepa!" Koko silently hissed, Nox sat up a bit straighter as he, too, dropped his collected disposition and traded it for a riled and excited one, similar to what Koko was currently sporting.
"And we get to hang out with them tomorrow, what timeline did we just step into?" Nox huffed with a small chuckle.
"AND they admitted that they're now official?" Mara eyed Lash with a wide grin, "BIG day... HUGE day."
"Holy shit," Koko huffed with a wide grin as she grappled the sides of her head with both of her hands, "I gotta find Tess."
"Y'got Gideon's trust, that's not something to take lightly, that kid does everything to hold his trust and willingness close to the vest," Lash muttered cutely, "Congratulations, welcome to the club."
"Keep your cool, he's flighty," Mara warned with a giggle, Lash rolled his eyes and chuckled.
"And Kepa's not... And SHE'S the one with the wings," Lash complained, and as the group continued to reflect on the rare occurrence that had just taken place, they excitedly began to prepare for tomorrow, equally a lazy day of unimportance mixed with sheer inclusion and earned trust, even if it was due to them simply being in the right place at the right time.
"Your sister is SO sweet," Kepa urged in a drawl of sighing warmth, she pressed out of Lash's confectionary and lit up the second her and Novus caught eyes, "NOVUS!"
"I missed you! Did you eat all your candy?" Novus loudly and excitedly wondered as he cutely bounced on his much bigger feet, his wings and tail flopped, though he eagerly scooped his arm about Kepa's upper body as she lunged into his pillowy mane and chest for a hug.
"No, almost," Kepa giggled as she pulled away and smiled into Novus's big blue eyes, "You have fun in Sugar Rush?"
"Oh yeah, the snow felt AND tasted nice," Novus grinned, he eyed Gideon in cheeky happiness and furrowed his brow, "Wh-what's this I hear about 'sister'?"
"Oh! Koko was inside, I met her," Kepa urged excitedly, though she sagged her ears and now felt the tug of their brand new title begin to make its true weight apparent. Kepa gently crossed her arms, eyed Gideon a bit tighter and watched as he sagged his shoulders and frustratingly looked off, "Gid... I understand you're nervous to indulge on family ties due to your own hardships currently happening, but... When were you going to tell me that you had a nephew?"
"... She said that?" Gideon wondered in a gentle prickle of fear as he peered hard into Kepa's eyes, she bobbed a slow nod of full, irritated knowing, "Yeah, I... I do."
"Are you willing to tell me just how many siblings and nieces and nephews you have now or do you want to awkwardly wait for it to come spilling out tomorrow while we're all on the beach?" Kepa instructed in a stern way, so much so that Novus sagged his ears into a submissive state and nervously eyed Gideon; Gideon furrowed his brow and felt frustration rise.
"It's really not that huge of a deal," Gideon defended, and though Kepa typically would choose this point in the conversation to lay off, she wrinkled her nose in an attempt to not bare her fangs and began to feel as if she had permission to dig her heels in now that her and Gideon were committed to each other.
"Gideon, it IS a big deal. I'm your girlfriend now, I want at least a nugget of information," Kepa urged in a serious tone, and though Gideon held his breath and began to feel fear plague him over the fact that they were well on their way into their first argument as a couple, he stood his ground and felt a wiggle of real weirdness fall between them, "I'm not getting aboard Novus until we figure this out, so either we awkwardly stand in front of Lash's confectionary and come to an agreement, or we can walk and talk. Which one?"
"I'm not about to fight with you, right now," Gideon darkly grumbled, to which Kepa inhaled a stiff breath and was very well aware true colors were en-route to being shown, she knew arguing was no fun, and though she wanted to get to the bottom of this, she desperately did what she could to cater to Gideon's feelings.
"We don't have to fight about it, but you fully agreed to be my boyfriend, and I hope you'd understand just what comes with that title," Kepa rattled gently, Gideon's pensive, frustrated gaze pierced her soul, though he patiently listened to her soothing though stern words, "If that means we walk and have a hard conversation while poor Novus third-wheels behind us, then so be it. I'm happy to be patient with you, but I'd at least like a few of my questions answered so I'm not entirely in the dark lest more of this stuff comes spilling out tomorrow."
"There's nothing left to spill out," Gideon muttered, Novus largely rolled his eyes and looked off, something Kepa caught in her peripheral and thwarted Gideon in an instant. Kepa raised her eyebrows in stern knowing and sharply peered into Gideon's eyes as if to make clear that she knew he wasn't telling the truth, "Fine, fine... FINE. I-I'm just..."
"Scared? Look, I get it, Gideon, I have my own vices, but... I trust you," Kepa urged gently as she gestured to her chest, "I would hope you trust me, too... You've let me in enough to trust me with the title of being yours, officially. I know this is all soon and you're struggling with things beyond me, but please... All I'm asking is for some of my questions answered."
Gideon bobbed a nod, though he looked off in furrowed frustration and huffed a shaky, irritated breath through his nose. The city about them was bustling with life and noise, his eyes scanned his bright surroundings in searching nervousness, though he finally brought his gaze back to Kepa's gentle stare of desperation. He knew she was right, he knew revealing just what siblings he had and just what their dynamic was wouldn't harm anyone, although the lovely honeymoon phases of their next step was something he was eager to prolong well into their relationship, he also knew hard conversations and fights were a part of said grand commitment. Happy to be on this adventure with her, nonetheless, he bobbed a hesitant nod and eyed the sidewalk they'd traverse, for however long it took to give Kepa two or three of the hundred or so closeted skeletons he had to satiate her, for now.
"Yes, ma'am," Gideon mumbled in gentle defeat as he gestured to the sidewalk in mild dread, "Let's walk."
