Song Listened To :
Animal Arithmetic by Jonsi
*Chapter 208*
"...Alright, who are you and what have you done with my uncle Gideon?" Beaux muttered, he furrowed his near-white blonde eyebrows and firmly side-eyed Gideon in a show of cheeky concern.
Gideon softened, collected eyes with his great nephew and donned a look of genuine, sincere confusion. Beaux, Kepa and Gideon hung out in their shared, gorgeous kitchen which connected to the massive common room, dining area and single wall of glass that lead out to their sprawl of a balcony, one of which had a near-perfect view of Orion City from about a dozen miles off. The noontime sun flood their home, the day was glorious and breezy due to half of said wall of glass being sliding doors that could expose said wall in a near-full gape of easy entry onto the huge, round balcony. Stationed at Beaux's and Gideon's kitchen island, both men stood adjacent to one another neck deep in the coded therapy Beaux deployed on Gideon's coding every day, though due to Kepa becoming more and more comfortable with letting her cat-like tendencies be a bit more exposed, she sat on her rear in the middle of the kitchen island. What seemed like just lazy lounging was now something Gideon was reconsidering, due to seeing her slowly come to a full squat of closed legs, as if she was due to pouncing, though Gideon dismissed the idea and figured she was just being peculiar.
"I-I don't know what you mean?" Gideon staggered through a cute laugh, he rubbed the center of his chest, having donned a tight tank and lazy shorts in preparation for his wrecking lessons with his dad, due to the closed-arcade Sunday.
"Your coding is so... Calm," Beaux stated in a whispery notion of wonderment as both men held hands in a lazy grapple, with the back of Beaux's hand rested to the cold counter of the island they stood at.
Though it was something both men had brushed off, they both now subtly caught onto Kepa's demeanor and took note that she wasn't even paying attention to either of them, though instead was fervently fixated on the huge beams and structures that reached high into the hollow spire of Gideon's and Beaux's tower, perched perfectly on palace walls next to Tessa's and Zed's much bigger spire. From day one, Beaux and Gideon always joked with each other that if Kepa were to ever come over, they had bets placed for just how long it'd take before she went full cat-mode and leaped into the sanctuary of the beams, where no one else would be able to access her. In true cat fashion, her adorable ears remained firmly perked, her predatory eyes were entirely hooked to the nearest, lowest beam, and with a gentle little wiggle of her flexible spine, she looked as if she was preparing to take the near-fifteen foot vertical leap, so to traverse the beams. Although Gideon and Beaux were eager for her to follow through with her very visible want, they played dumb and pretended to act as if they had no idea just what she was up to. Both Gideon and Beaux caught eyes in a swing of smiling anticipation, though Gideon carried on with the act of playing dumb and continued on to Beaux with a shy mumble.
"Calm? Like... My anxiety isn't so aggressive today or something?" Gideon pawed, though all at once, both men flinched as Kepa's powerful legs suddenly sent her rocketing upwards to the beam, and with a lithe little land to said beam, with nearly no sound made, they both firmly peered up to her in smiling stun as her pounce upwards made a few papers on the island to lift and flutter to the ground in a frenzy. Gideon beamed in excited surprise and firmly tilted his head back so to observe, her beautiful, long tail dangled as she skillfully remained crouched and patiently looked up and about for the next structural beam to leap to. Gideon jokingly carried on as both men roused into happy laughter, "So, I said it'd take no less than ten minutes for her to start climbing the beams, what was your guess?"
"Thirty," Beaux mumbled with a smile, it was clear he lost the bet. He raised his eyebrows in the swing of their topic and sweetly gifted this win to Gideon with a further bump of reasoning, "To be fair, you know Kepa FAR better than I do. This is blatantly obvious in your coding, right now. I hate to be nosey but uh... Y'guys do any exterior swapping last night?"
"Yeah, we did," Gideon assured shyly with a nod, he firmly looked up again and watched as Kepa's beautiful, exotic figure so effortlessly leaped from the initial beam she arrived to, only to go even higher into the point of the beautiful, white-ceilinged spire. Gideon shook his head and smiled, "We held the swap all night... I haven't slept THAT great in, well... My whole life. I can't recall a better sleep, honestly."
"It shows," Beaux bugged his eyes, his coding remained adamantly gripped to Gideon, and as he slowly worked through the beautiful coils of Gideon's coding, he sweetly side-eyed Gideon, once more, and could see the incredible leap in healing so tediously laid in Gideon's coding. Beaux knew none of this was Gideon's doing, he also knew none of this was something Gideon was even blatantly aware of. He choked a small laugh as Kepa's claws scuffed in yet another leap she took upwards, in which she now reached the highest beam and huffed to a sit with a trill of a purr that faintly echoed against the bounce of the pointed ceiling overhead. Beaux barely glanced up to Kepa's figure, from now nearly thirty feet above them, and returned to Gideon's doughy, innocent gaze "So, you held an exterior swap with Kepa all night long... Were you guys in your lucid state or were you genuinely unconsciously sleeping?"
"Well, for the first hour or two, we were in my lucid state, but then... I can't remember when or how, but consciousness eventually faded and we fell into deep sleep where dreaming doesn't happen," Gideon calmly explained.
"Lemme show you something, close your eyes," Beaux instructed gently, and as Gideon followed his cue, Beaux amped up the visuals gifted to Gideon behind his closed eyelids. Not able to pull up code room details, he did what he could to show Gideon a proper show of his own mainframe. He proverbially took Gideon's hand and lead him on a tour of the thick, hefty coiling of coding around his heart. Beaux did what he could to zoom in and show the structure and health of said strands of hefty coils, he prepared to politely carry on. Although their front door opened, from across their house, they knew it was only Ralph entering due to his text from a few minutes ago stating that he was on his way over. Beaux held the visual still for Gideon and spoke up, "Like... Y'see here? You see those grooves? You remember me showing you what this looked like just yesterday, right?"
"Whoa, yeah," Gideon gently gawked, "Yesterday, it looked mangled, like it had been scraped at with something dull, like worn concrete."
"It's WAY more smoothed over," Beaux eased a chuckle of bewildered surprise as they both opened their eyes, collected with each other for a moment before tossing their curious glances in the direction of the small, high-ceilinged hallway that lead to their front door and front foyer. Ralph lazily moseyed in with Novus's bumbling footsteps in tow. Both groups of two gave each other knowing smiles of greetings, though Beaux continued on to Gideon in muttering, cheeky curiosity, "You DO know that Kepa is the reason your coding is so insanely smoothed over, right? If you dig into the coding responsible for the healing and smoothing, the details of said coding has Kepa's name on it."
"How is that possible?" Gideon wondered as Ralph and Novus moseyed over to the island and silently welcomed themselves into the conversation; Ralph was dressed in a tight tank and lazy sweats as well, it was clear both him and Gideon were prepared for a sweaty wrecking lesson.
"Think of it like opening a shared file on your phone, the details that will be stamped in the coding of it are something similar to, like... Making clear just who opened said file, who adjusted or modified it," Beaux patiently explained as now Ralph, Novus and Gideon peered their curious eyes tight to Beaux's wise aura, "Since you invited Kepa in for an exterior swap, and you trust her, she did good by you and... Without you even knowing, she went in and somehow healed a lot of the fraying of your coding. There's nothing you can do about the coils, but she certainly did a solid amount of healing."
"I didn't know she had healing abilities," Ralph stated warmly, not knowing Kepa was even present, this was something Gideon and Beaux just let slide due to nothing negative being said about Kepa, something Gideon would cut at the quick anyway.
"... Well, she IS a cat," Gideon started, his face began to turn red, he looked off in a mild bout of contemplation before he now nervously began to drag his eyes upwards in search for Kepa's figure. He sourced her and felt his skin plague with goosebumps as their eyes tightly locked from across the upward gap, the green glint of her heightened eyesight flickered with a glare due to the dimmer lighting higher up the spire, and even with the near-thirty or forty foot distance, her ears were largely taut in Gideon's direction, satellite dishes that picked up every single last decibel of his voice. He scoffed a shaky chuckle, shook his head and now properly addressed her, "Y'gunna be embarrassed if I say?"
"I mean, no," Kepa shrugged, her tail flicked up in a swat and back down to her body in a sassy curl, though she looked down to her hands in a shy draw of cuteness as Ralph and Novus firmly looked up in whole surprise.
"...Oh, a true predator," Ralph grunted nervously as he grinned and rubbed the back of his head, "Yeah, I'd be dead meat in Castle Run, I'd be hunted and wouldn't even know it, I had no clue she was even there."
"I didn't either, what does that say about me?" Novus cutely staggered through laughter as him and Kepa exchanged smiles.
"Well, who is EVER just lurking in our spire's banisters?" Beaux, Gideon and Novus erupted into happy laughter, though as Ralph and Kepa caught eyes in a swing, Ralph brought his smiling gaze back to Gideon in full curiosity about what he was due to revealing.
"Cats purr at frequencies that have legitimate healing abilities, and, well... If you marinate in it long enough," Gideon started patiently, to which Beaux's usually still and tamely friendly disposition broadened to a huge grin of rare, cheeky tease.
"Ohh, a night of purring and sneaky code healing," Beaux playfully sneered as him and Kepa caught eyes, she playfully stuck her tongue out at him and flattened her ears in sassy girliness.
"... M'kay, now I'M embarrassed," Gideon muttered as he shyly glanced to his father and Novus whilst rubbing the back of his head.
"Don't be embarrassed, it's sweet," Beaux guffawed as he flagged his hand, "I'm just pulling your leg. Now this smoothed-over coding makes a lot of sense. This really benefited you, you made really huge headway, Kepa. Thank you for aiding me, I'm wondering if you and I should tag-team this code healing."
"You'll be back on top in no time," Ralph assured with a nod, to which Novus suddenly flinched in whole surprise the second Kepa leaped down from her high point and pounced straight onto Novus's spine.
"Don't thank me for everything, Gideon did half of the legwork," Kepa mused with a lilt of sassy tease, as if to make clear that she wasn't the only one utilizing her purring abilities; Gideon's face now turned beet red as he firmly looked off and sucked his bottom lip into his mouth.
"Yeah, that 'will you be embarrassed' question was you fully projecting, my guy," Ralph erupted into happy laughter, to which everyone but Gideon roused into.
"People associate cats with cute and cuddly, kitty-cat like qualities that are usually paired with little girls and frilly dresses and kitten whiskers at tea time," Kepa rattled with a tone of full annoyance as she grunted to a gentle sit right where Novus's saddle would usually lay. She lovingly began to stroke the back of his head, so to tidy the poofy fur of his mane as she tenderly carried on amidst glancing up into Ralph's and Beaux's eyes, "Not to toot my own horn here, but... We're pretty important. Purrs vibrate at a healing frequency, our intuition, and everything that entails for our pineal gland, is unmatched... Not to mention all of our senses are sharper than nearly any other type of creature-gamer Arcade has to offer."
"This is also true for cats outside of the Arcade," Gideon shyly chimed in, he knew the only person in this room with more knowledge about cats, large or small, was Kepa, but still felt the need to adamantly join in on conversation he knew a lot about, even if he was embarrassed.
"Gideon and I had an exterior swap last night because he had a night terror and he tried on all my abilities for size, it's nothing to be ashamed of. Purring isn't sissy, yours were scarily deep and slow, almost like growling," Kepa shrugged and cutely looked up, "Paired with a Game Over winner like you? I don't think anyone would hear deep purring paired with a beast like you and think you to be sissy, or not take you seriously. Is that what you're worried about?"
"A little," Gideon nervously admitted as Ralph, Novus and Beaux kept quiet in Gideon's patient musings, "It's nothing against you... You're right, the stereotype is awkward. Can you see someone like me blatantly purring and being cuddly? Like, sorry guys, no one is going to ever get to experience that but Kepa because..."
"... You're still fragile, you've spent the last two months hyper-focused on what others thought of you, and there were instances where it meant life or death," Beaux sweetly stated, and though the bite in his words were meant to give Gideon a new perspective, he still tread lightly and did what he could to not hurt Gideon's feelings, "Your masculinity is still very much intact, uncle Gideon. I can sense that that's what you're nervous about. You have this terrifying, beastly image you want to uphold, but, honestly uncle Gideon? If we were strangers and you were just out in public purring, like matched with how you look? Ain't no way I'd think you were sissy."
"If anything, that's a good dose of the female gaze, if I'm being real," Kepa muttered as she looked down into her hands, Ralph scoffed a shaky laugh and nodded in agreeing as he rubbed the back of his head.
"I was just gunna say, you wouldn't have to worry about being made fun of... You'd probably have to swat women away with a stick," Ralph and Novus choked out laughter, and though Gideon's face was still red with shyness, he seemed to brighten with everyone's loving encouragement and understanding.
"Being cat-like nearly goes hand-in-hand with the divine feminine, I can see how it'd maybe damage a fragile, masculine ego," Kepa smartly explained as she brushed her white bangs out of her eyes, she sweetly gave Gideon a warm little smile of full assurance and narrowed her gaze for emphasis, "You remember what I told you. That's something you have to don and use to your advantage, humbly. You can't have one without the other, my love."
"Ma'am," Gideon mumbled with a humble nod as he looked down to his and Beaux's conjoined hands, "I'm... I'm not embarrassed, this is just all new to me and I have no clue how to, well... Be."
"It seems like you're reaching stepping stones of being able to genuinely have a clue how to be, uncle Gideon, if you keep all of this up, your coding will be much stronger in no time," Beaux shook his head and grinned, "You won't need me, much longer."
"You're helping," Gideon complained tenderly, as if to make clear Beaux was genuinely still needed.
"It IS true, though... There were instances in the past where I'd fall asleep and Kepa would purr and knead at my mane," Novus sucked in a huge breath and humbly concluded his little statement with a nod and a look across Beaux's and Gideon's sunny home, "Best nap of my entire life."
"I'm pretty great," Kepa snipped with a cute, sassy smile as she closed her eyes and nodded, everyone else burst into laughter at Kepa's playful words. She sagged her shoulders, shook her head and allowed her teasing to turn into smiling humility, "I'm glad it helped... I was hoping my help would remain a secret."
"You don't want credit for helping Gideon?" Beaux wondered softly, almost in sweet tease, though as Gideon raised his eyebrows in curiosity, him and Kepa held eyes in a grip.
"I don't need credit for it, it's enough for me to know that I'm able to help him bounce back," Kepa murmured as she gave Gideon a bittersweet little smile and looked down to her hands, "I'm just lucky to even have the opportunity, really."
"All of us would agree to that," Ralph mumbled warmly as he gave his fourth born a look of pride, "This is your journey, Gid. Don't be embarrassed by it, no one here is going to tease you or think less of you."
"No one would dare," Beaux bugged his eyes and looked down in a swing of nervousness.
"Right, you saw all those racers last night," Kepa flagged her hand with a smile that broadened, to which Gideon finally loosened from his insecurities and stood a little taller.
"Thanks, guys," Gideon humbly mumbled, Ralph bobbed a nod gestured to his chest.
"Got the best of both worlds, y'got a softer approach to healing, and then a bit more of an assertive approach in wrecking," Ralph stated happily, Beaux bobbed a nod in equal agreeing.
"Let off some steam, it'll be good for you," Beaux encouraged, though Gideon now mildly began to feel dread hit his skin.
"...I haven't used my wrecking abilities in weeks, I hardly ever used it in the winner's house," Gideon looked off in aimless thought and tried to recall the last time he even did use wrecking; the instance where he shattered all the mirrors in his bathroom, before Ora scooped him into a hug, was likely one of the last and only times, a time he'd like to erase from his memory, "I-I'm gunna ask you to be patient with me, dad, I'm... Very rusty."
"I'm here to meet you where you are, son, there's nothing wrong with starting small," Ralph's fatherly love began to drown Gideon silly, "You were once an itty-bitty just learning how to wreck, I'm no stranger to any of this."
"You're in good hands, all around, you know this," Beaux warmly murmured, Gideon nodded and sucked in a huge breath with the expansion of his broad chest.
"Guess there's no shame in starting over," Gideon's voice sighed, though it was all trailed in a lilt of mild dread paired with the realization that Kepa would be present for said do-over, however successful or clumsy it'd all be.
