You all should be happy. This is the longest chapter yet, just because I couldn't find a good way to split it. D: OH WELZ. I love you all. This is your birthday present. 8D

Kitty really hoped they didn't do anything indecent. Nathaniel was still healing, after all. She went to go see the remainders of the Glass Palace. They had a crew of imps, foliots, and, surprisingly, commoners and magicians picking apart the mess of glass and iron. Everyone Kitty saw still looked a bit shaken up about the whole Nouda affair, but that was all in the past. She spent a while trying to squeeze some info out of a burly man that seemed to be supervising this, but he was a tough nut to crack. Literally. He looked a bit mentally unstable.

She eventually got bored, and once she got back to the hospital and poked her head in Natty's door, Nathaniel was asleep, cuddling into Bartimaeus's side. Luckily, they were both fully clothed. She nearly cooed at how adorable they were, but Bart's eye cracked open and glared warningly at her. Kitty smiled and waved, then motioned for him to come over there. Bartimaeus scowled and shook his head, pulling Nathaniel closer to his side possessively. Kitty rolled her eyes and made to walk inside and heave him out, but he caught on quickly. Bartimaeus silently pried Nathaniel off of his arm, who let out a whimper and rolled over. Bart then dragged Kitty outside, obviously in a bad mood.

"What do you want? Can't a guy cuddle with his boyfriend in peace?"

Kitty didn't listen. With a squeal, she jumped up and locked her arms around Bartimaeus's neck, forcing him to spin around in a circle with the momentum of her glomp. Bart stumbled around a bit, trying to stay vertical as Kitty babbled on about the utter cuteness radiating off of the very thought of Bartimaeus and Nathaniel cuddling. He winced and tried to shove Kitty off, but that girl was relentless.

"Yes, I know he's adorable, that's one of the reasons I love him. Now can you please stop trying to choke me?"

Kitty let go and took a step back, neatly avoiding Bartimaeus's playful punch to the gut. She beamed at him. "Great job, Barty! I knew you could do it! So, I know you're a djinni and everything, but can you get pregnant? Are you pregnant? Are you getting married? I think—"

Bartimaeus clapped a hand over Kitty's mouth, his left eye twitching. "Kitty, we have been together for thirty minutes. No, I bloody well can't get pregnant, you little punk, and I am not, and we aren't getting married! Oh, and I disagree. You don't think."

Kitty waited until he was done ranting, then ripped his hand off her mouth and started bouncing up and down. "Do you plan on getting married, though? Is that even legal? Nathaniel would love that! Can I arrange your wedding? I promise it'll be so awesome you won't even—"

Once again, Bartimaeus's hand descended on Kitty's mouth. He waited a few minutes while her lips moved under his hand, creating a quiet buzz of words. He took his hand off her face.

"—to do about Nathaniel's hair? The army cut will have to go. And you're immortal, right? Are you going to take Natty-boy to the Fountain of Youth or something? That would be cute, both of you living together for eternity. And what about—"

No, it wasn't safe yet. Bart held Kitty in a headlock, his hand still firmly over her mouth. He dragged her over to where a nurse was bringing lunch to a patient. He grabbed the banana from the tray, freed Kitty's head, and stuffed the banana in her mouth, peel and all.

"Kitty, breathe. That is not in the near future. I'll deal with it once it comes up. Maybe, maybe, I might propose to Natty-boy or something. But until that time, I'd like it if you didn't have a seizure. Thanks. Now I'm off to cuddle with my boyfriend." Bartimaeus stomped off, back to Nathaniel's room. Kitty scowled and spat out the banana, making a face.

"But I just can't wait that long!" she whined sadly. Oh well, at least they were happy at the moment. Kitty suddenly realized that now, she was the only one left single. Hm… "I'm going to call Jakob!" she announced, getting strange looks from passersby.

A week and a half later and Nathaniel was able to walk out of the hospital without any help, only limping slightly. Bartimaeus rushed to his side and wrapped an arm around his waist possessively. Nathaniel blushed and said that he can walk just fine on his own, thanks.

"So? Does that mean I can't touch you?" Bartimaeus asked innocently. He didn't wait for Nathaniel's answer, and simply kissed him. Nathaniel tried to protest and free his mouth so he could yell properly, but soon gave in, going limp in Barty's arms.

"Oy, lovebirds! Hurry up, will you? We're supposed to meet Jakob at the airport in thirty minutes!" Kitty wedged herself in between the couple, hands on hips. Bartimaeus tried futilely to reach around her to Nathaniel, but Kitty was invading his personal space. "Can't you control yourself for five minutes, or do I have to hold your hand the whole way? Come on! You can molest Nathaniel at the airport!" She grabbed said teen by the arm and dragged him toward the impatient taxi she had waved down. Bartimaeus muttered something about pushy, interfering best friends, but he was ignored. Nathaniel just blushed, as usual.

"Where to, Miss?"

"The London airport, please." Kitty shoved Nathaniel off to one side of the taxi, Bartimaeus scowling on her other side. She was bouncing up and down impatiently the whole way there. Twenty-seven minutes, and Kitty shoved some money at the taxi driver, dragging the other two off into the airport. She looked all around, standing on her toes to see over the crowd, muttering to herself. Nathaniel shifted nervously and shuffled over to stand beside Bartimaeus, who grinned triumphantly.

"Why do you look so worried?" he asked, wrapping an arm around Natty's shoulders.

"Well, Kitty really likes this guy, and the last time he saw us together, we were kidnapping him. I don't know what he'll do, now that Kitty doesn't hate us anymore."

It didn't take much longer to locate the paranoid Hyrnek boy, for he was the only one dressed in a low wide-brimmed hat and a high-collared jacket. Kitty shoved her way over to him, and they exchanged a friendly hug. Once Nathaniel and Bartimaeus managed to squeeze up beside them, Kitty had removed Jakob's hat to see his face properly. He still had the ugly black streaks marring his skin, and he still looked paranoid about it, but they paid the markings no mind.

"Jakob, do you remember John Mandrake and Bartimaeus? Well, surprise-surprise, but we're friends now. So no murder, okay?" she said teasingly, her voice only hinting at her stress. Jakob frowned at the boy and djinni, especially Bart's arm slung over Nat's shoulders.

"Of course I remember them. How could I not? They kidnapped me to lure you into their little trap," he muttered bitterly. Kitty winced.

"Yes, well, they're good now. Also, John Mandrake goes by Nathaniel currently. So, I order you to apologize and shake hands." Three pairs of eyes glared at Kitty incredulously. Then, Nathaniel stepped forward and held his hand out, with a stony and resigned face.

"I'm sorry I sent Bartimaeus to kidnap you, Jakob Hyrnek. I was being an idiot."

Jakob eyed him warily, and then shook his hand, squeezing a little tighter than necessary. "I apologize for hitting you in the head while you were kidnapping me." They both winced at the memory, and let go. Nathaniel flexed his fingers painfully.

"Well, I didn't really do anything in this, so I'm sorry Nathaniel was being an idiot." Jakob and Bart shook hands too, and this time, Jakob was left with a nearly-broken hand. Bartimaeus scowled and pulled Nathaniel back to his side again. No one messed with his Nathaniel.

"See? That wasn't so bad!" Kitty said cheerfully. "Come on, Jakob. Let's get your stuff to my house. Do you know where you'll be staying?"

"No. Do you mind if I sleep on your couch until I can find somewhere else?"

"No, of course not! Oh, and Nathaniel and Barty are my neighbors now. Natty got a bit of a reward from the PM for saving London and stuff, and wanted to buy me an actual house—"

"Because your flat was so small and crummy!"

"—but I kept telling him he's a moron. He didn't listen and bought me a house anyway, so I didn't see the point in wasting money." Jakob looked very entertained, to say the least. Kitty waved down another taxi and shoved Jakob's bags in the trunk, and the three boys into the cab in less than a minute. Nathaniel had to sit on Bartimaeus's lap, because there were only three seats, and Bart was complaining about not getting to finish what they started. That poor cab driver.

Once back at Kitty's place, the driver got money shoved in his face and the amusing picture of one scrawny little girl dragging three grown boys by the ears, two of them with duffle bags shoved into their guts. Haha.

"Well, home sweet home!" Kitty declared brightly, nearly kicking in the door. "I'll go make some tea!" She skipped off toward the kitchen, humming.

Jakob glanced at Bartimaeus, rubbing his sore ear. "Is she always like that now?"

"You mean pushy, obnoxious, no respect for personal space, abusive, and sickeningly enthusiastic?"

"Yes."

"Oh, of course."

Bartimaeus shoved Jakob's stuff into some corner, and plopped down on the black leather couch, pulling Nathaniel into his lap. The poor boy squeaked, blushed, and tried to wiggle away. Sadly, Bartimaeus is super strong, so it only took minimal effort to keep Nathaniel in one spot. Jakob felt a bit sorry for him, too.

There were more bonding moments as Kitty came back with the tea, and insisted on giving Jakob a tour. Bartimaeus got bored quickly, and carried Nathaniel on his shoulder outside and over to their own house. He hardly noticed that Natty-boy was trying to punch him in the face and run away. Nathaniel did not want to get molested, thanks.

Bartimaeus opened the door, stepped inside, kicked it shut, and kissed Nathaniel on the forehead. "Is there a reason you're being difficult today?" he asked poutily. "Well, more difficult than usual, at least."

"It's been a week or two. Aren't you feeling a bit tired of Earth?" Nathaniel asked, and managed to get his feet back on the ground, but immediately grabbed Bartimaeus's hand. Bart shrugged.

"Yeah, kind of. But I can wait a few more days…" he mumbled, and pecked at Nathaniel's cheek, who rolled his eyes.

"Bartimaeus, you're going to have to go back sometime. It'll be just a few days, and then I'll summon you again, okay?" The djinni looked uncomfortable. He started playing with Nathaniel's fingers, avoiding his gaze. "Bartimaeus? What's wrong?"

Bart made a face. "How do I know you'll summon me again? Ptolemy told me he'd never leave my side, and then he dismissed me at the wrong moment, and I never saw him alive again. What if you get attacked or something while I'm gone?"

Nathaniel winced. "You're worrying about me again, aren't you? Barty, Kitty is just next door. She can kick anyone's butt. I'll be fine."

Bart sighed and nuzzled into Nathaniel's neck, wrapping his arms around his waist. "Fine. Dismiss me tomorrow. Not tonight. I don't want Jakob killing you on the first day he's here."

Nathaniel smiled and kissed Bartimaeus's temple. "Good. I'm glad you're not being overly dramatic anymore."

"Shut up. I love you. I'm supposed to be paranoid about your health."

Nathaniel laughed. "I love you too. But you're still a hopeless romantic."

"I'm your hopeless romantic."

"Now you're just being sappy."

"I'm your sappy, hopeless romantic."

"Bartimaeus?"

"Yes?"

"Shut up."

"'Kay."

Bartimaeus happily stopped talking, opting to find other ways to occupy his mouth.