Chapter 8: Weekend visitors

Inigo stared at the living room ceiling, and sighed. "Two bedroom, two bath, a good deal, but…" He felt something jump on his stomach, and looked to see Reina cuddled on his stomach. "I got stuck on the couch for the weekend. Dammit…" He sat up and picked the kitten off of his stomach so he could sit up. "You hungry?" He feline stared at him, and meowed. "I'll take that as a yes." He set her on the ground, and went to the kitchen. The clock on the microwave read 6:30 A.M. "Damn, it's early." He opened a large can of kitten food and poured it into two bowls, each with one of the names on it. "Breakfast, time!" The kittens came running to the kitchen, and began eating. He went back to the couch, and turned on the T.V.

He heard footsteps rushing from the hallway, and Haley ran to him. "Did you say it was time for breakfast?"

He chuckled. "I did, but I was talking to the kitties."

Haley looked at them. "Oh…"

He patted the couch. "Sorry about that."

She got on the couch, and watched T.V with him. "Inigo?"

He looked at the girl. "Yeah?"

Haley looked at her feet. "Do you… like Severa?"

Inigo blushed and turned away. "What the hell are you talkin' about? She's a friend, and that's it."

Haley giggled. "I know, but you two seem close."

He scoffed. "Yeah, but last night, I asked-"

"You asked if you could sleep with her while we're here, and she said no within a matter of seconds. That's a rough time, Inigo."

He sweat dropped. "Yeah, I know…"

Haley clasped his hand. "Don't give up, if you keep trying, you'll get her!"

Inigo grinned awkwardly. "I never said I was into her, kid."

"I know, but you can't lie to me. I can tell."

He hung his head down. "Gods… if you're hell bent on matchmaking, why not use your cousin? That'll be easier, right?"

Haley nodded. "I tried that, but she already said no."

Inigo looked into the kitchen, Reina trying to climb onto the counter, and Cosmo sleeping in a corner. "Damn." He got off the couch, and picked up Reina. "Go play with the kid." She ran to the couch, and rubbed against Haley's arm. "And you." He walked to Cosmo. "Hey." Cosmo lazily looked at Inigo and yawned. Inigo patted his head. "Little guy, how come you're sleeping in a corner? You have a bed."

Cosmo stood and tilted his head. "Mrow?"

Inigo chuckled and stood. "Whatever, yo can go sleep in the bathtub for all I care. Oh, yeah." He walked over to the girls on the couch. "Hey, Severa and I were planning on giving the little devils their first bath today. Wanna help us?"

Haley nodded. "I'd love to! Emily probably would as well!"

Inigo ruffled her hair. "Damn, you're adorable, kid."

Haley blushed slightly. "Um… thanks!"

Inigo walked to the hall. "Should I wake 'em?"

Haley giggled. "I have an idea!" She got off the couch. "You go fill a bucket with really cold water, okay?" Inigo watched as she rushed past him, but shrugged and went to do the deed.

Soon, he, Emily, and Haley loomed over Severa's bed. Inigo, who was holding the bucket, gulped. "S-should I really do this?"

Emily nodded. "Go ahead." He took a deep breath and poured it over Severa's head.

She jolted up and shook her head, getting water everywhere, and causing the guests to burst out laughing. "What the hell, Inigo?! I'm freezing!"

He dropped the bucket. "H-hey! It, it…" He pointed to Haley. "It was the kid's idea!"

Severa got off her bed. "Really?"

Haley nodded. "I thought it would be funny."

Severa face palmed. "You have one interesting sense of humor then."

Emily looked at her carefully. "Wow, I never realized how long your hair was, Severa. Does it go to your waist?"

Inigo nodded. "Sadly, I find girls with long hair really attractive, but that just pisses her off."

Severa scoffed. "Of course it does! Makes me think you'll try to go after me or something!"

He sighed. "Whatever, it's time for breakfast, so get your ass in the kitchen."

Severa grabbed him by the collar. "What was that?!"

He removed her hand. "I'm sorry, I thought for a second there was a table for us to eat at in there. I'm the one cooking." Severa stomped past him.

Haley followed her, and Emily walked to the door, but turned to him. "Is she the only woman that does this?"

He sighed and nodded. "And there's something about the way she treats me that I find irresistible. You don't know how much this sucks for me." Emily giggled and left the room.

"It's done!" Shortly after he spoke, Inigo walked out of the kitchen carrying two plates. Both with a stack of pancakes, a few pieces of bacon, and eggs. He set them in front of Emily and Haley. "Hope you like it." He went back in, and returned with two more, one for him, and one for Severa. "I'll be right back with some juice." One more time he went into the kitchen, and returned with four glasses of orange juices.

Haley dug into her pancakes, and giggled. "This is amazing!"

Emily took a bite of one, and nodded. "Wow, I never would've thought you could cook."

Severa did the same, and scoffed. "This is the first I've seen you cook."

Inigo snorted. "That's because by the time I'm awake, you have breakfast ready."

Severa sighed. "Whatever. From now on, you cook, okay?"

He nodded. "Yeah, whatever."

Reina approached the table, a look of intrigue on her face. "Meow?"

She attempted to paw at Haley's plate, but the girl stopped her. "No, Reina, this is people food. Besides, you already ate breakfast." The kitten hung her head down, causing Haley to pet her. "It's okay."

Inigo looked past Haley, and spotted Cosmo. "Reina, go play with your brother." She looked at him, and went over.

Emily chuckled. "They get along well, don't they?"

Severa nodded. "Cosmo can be really shy at times, but he's fine with her."

Soon after Haley put her fork and knife down on her now empty plate. "Done!"

Severa chuckled. "Wow, you eat fast."

Haley giggled. "I know!"

Inigo did the same. "Well, you beat me, impressive."

He stood and retrieved the plates. "What should we do while we wait, kid?"

Haley ran over to the kittens. "What did you have planned for today?"

Inigo put the plates down in the sink, and joined her. "Well, other than bathing them, we were going to go shopping."

Haley beamed. "Shopping?!"

He nodded. "Doesn't seem like that big a deal to me."

Haley sweat dropped. "Um, yeah, you're right."

He ruffled her hair. "You wanted me to buy you something, right?"

She blushed slightly. "Um, yeah…"

He nodded. "Sure thing."

Emily sighed. "Inigo, there's no need to-"

He shook his head. "I'm fine with it. Besides, how could I turn down a little cutie like her?"

Haley smiled. "Thank you, Inigo."

Severa raised a brow. "What's with her?"

Emily giggled. "I think she has a little crush on him."

Severa scoffed. "Really, this oaf? What about Ben?"

Emily scoffed as well. "She's five."

Inigo looked over his shoulder at Severa. "Hey, what time is it?"

She looked at the microwave. "8:00 now."

He stood. "Okay, then, what should we do? We agreed on bathing them at noon."

Severa shrugged. "I guess we're just going to chill."

Inigo yawned. "Okay, then, I'm going back to sleep." He headed to the hall. "I'll be reclaiming my bed for the time being."

Inigo turned in his bed. "Dammit…" He felt something land on his stomach. "Ow…"

He looked up to see Haley sitting on him. "Wake up, Inigo, it's time to go."

He sat up. "So, I missed the bath, huh? That sucks…" He got out of bed and stretched. "Well, I'll be right there, so can you go?"

Haley got off his bed and ran out the door. "We'll be waiting!"

Inigo chuckled and went to his closet. "Well, what should I wear…?"

A short while after, the four of them were walking through the marketplace. Haley ran ahead, looking at various shops, Inigo chasing after her.

Emily and Severa trailed behind. "She seems to be quite fond of him."

Emily turned to Severa. "You mean Inigo?"

Severa nodded. "True, she likes messing with him, it looks like."

Emily looked at them. "They're going really far ahead, should we be worried?"

Severa shook her head. "Inigo knows his way around town, it won't matter if they get lost."

Emily nodded. "Okay, then. Hey, do you have any plans for Christmas? I know it's a month away, but still…"

Severa looked at the sky. "Um… not specifically…" She looked at her friend. "How come?"

Emily giggled. "My parents planned on taking Haley and me on a ski trip, and they said we could invite anyone we want, I was thinking about inviting you two. You could bring more of course, I want to get to know your friends better. I actually have a spa reservation for later this week, wanna come?"

Severa smirked. "I'm fine with that. Can Morgan come too?"

"Your sister? Sure, could she bring her boyfriend too?"

Severa raised a brow. "You wanna take a Taguel to the spa?"

Emily shook her head. "I planned on dumping Inigo with the kids, and he could help."

Severa sweat dropped. "I don't think that'll end well. Maybe Laurent will know what he's doing. Although, if Lucina finds out why we need him, she'll join our little girl's day out, but as a princess, it doesn't matter."

Emily nodded. "Right." She looked ahead of herself to see the other two gone. "Great, they're gone."

Severa scoffed. "Of course. But whatever, like I said, they'll be fine."

Later in the day, Inigo and Severa sit on the couch, watching T.V while the other two played with Cosmo and Reina on the floor.

Emily picked Cosmo up. "Hey." The white kitten flailed, trying to escape, but Emily held on tight. "It's okay, I'm a friend." He began hitting Emily with his paw, a sign to release him immediately, but it only caused her to giggle. "That doesn't hurt me, but if you insist."

She put him down, and he retreated to a corner. Haley and Reina watched as he did. Reina walked over to him, and tilted her head. He lay down and curl up, falling to sleep. Reina turned and went back to the humans.

Haley looked at him. "Do you think he's okay, Reina?" She just sat down, and Haley tilted her head. "Is that a yes or a no?"

Emily patted her cousin's shoulder. "It's getting late, we should get ready for bed."

Haley nodded and stood up. "G'night, Reins, Cosmo!" She ran and hugged them, and then she ran to the two on the couch and did the same. "G'night!" The bid her a good sleep, and they retreated into the hallway.

"Hey."

Inigo looked at Severa. "What is it?"

"Do we have any plans for tomorrow?"

Inigo put a hand on his chin. "Um… No. Well, we'll think of somethin', right?"

Severa stood. "Yeah you're right. I'm gonna turn in too." She stood from the couch, and leaned and hugged him. "Sweet dreams, dude."

He blushed and returned the hug. "Yeah, you too."

I originally intended this to be the entire weekend, but that would make this very long, so I decided to split it In half. What is your opinion on the two moments I had the kittens 'say' something?