Mike and Paulo sat alone underneath the tree that Mike loved so dearly. It represented Sandy, or at least it used to. When Sandy moved away, it slowly became about Lucy. Now, it was about Paulo. Upon reflection on how one plant could mean so many things, Mike came to a new conclusion. It wasn't so much the person, but the feelings associated with said person. Simply put, the tree stood for love, strong and bold and beautiful, and seemingly everlasting. And today was a beautiful spring day, one of the last few before summer rolled around.

While they were just on summer's doorstep, the two boys decided to go sit up there to enjoy the cool weather and lofty breezes. The wind tickled their whiskers as well as the leaves above them, which sounded off a natural chime every time it came through. It had been Mike's idea initially, and he'd worried Paulo wouldn't want to as it wasn't exactly the 'coolest' idea, but he agreed. And so here they sat, Mike cuddled up underneath Paulo's chin. Paulo rubbed his back, soaking in the smooth, velvety short fur of his boyfriend. From the way Mike was purring, he was enjoying it too.

This is when Abbey walked up. He'd decided to take a stroll as well, wanting to get some pictures of spring, the blooming flowers and bright colors. After some time, he wanted some shade, but came across Mike and Paulo spending some quiet time together. He went to walk away, but something rooted him to the spot. They looked so peaceful together… the kind of peace he wanted. Neither of the relaxing boys noticed him yet, so the abyssinian walked up and cleared his throat. "Good afternoon, you two."

Mike opened his eyes and he smiled. Paulo wasn't as pleased as the korat was, but didn't want to bring any negativity to the moment by shooing him away. "Oh, hello Abbey! It's good to see you."

"It's good to see you, too Michael." He smiled back. And he even added, "And you too, Paulo."

It was a surprise to be greeted so warmly by the brown cat, but Paulo grunted a hello in response. Abbey wrung his hands a bit nervously as he wondered how to word his next question. "Do you… mind if I join you?"

Mike's smile grew wider, and Paulo, though he did not smile, found a blush creeping up on his face. "Not at all, are you fine with this, Paulo?"

Paulo stopped rubbing Mike's back and hugged him. "Whatever you want, dude."

Abbey took that as a greenlight and sat down next to them, maybe a bit closer than he normally might. Abbey looked anxious about it, and Mike picked up on it. "Are you okay, Abbey? Do you want a back rub? Paulo is great at it!"

Paulo didn't much like his services being offered so freely, especially since his back rubbing was only for Mike. Not that he wouldn't give anyone else one, he just liked making it special. Abbey on the other hand, while flustered that Paulo would be the one doing it, did find the offer tantalizing. After all the stress of… everything, really, he could use a good back massage. He nodded his head. "That sounds rather nice…"

Paulo grimaced, but it was all for show. He also secretly wanted to prove how good he was to that stuck up nerd, and what better way than with his hands? He let go of Mike, who got up and went to the other side of Abbey so Paulo could better reach him. Abbey pivoted his seating so his back faced the somali, and was now looking at Mike's cute smile. He braced, expecting Paulo to be rough, but what he got almost took his breath away.

Paulo's hands glided over his back, rubbing just the right places. Abbey's stress and frustrations melted away, as though Paulo's hands were wiping him clean of them. Mike kept smiling at his reaction. "Told ya he was good."

"I have to admit." Abbey said softly. "Paulo, you're great at this. Perhaps a masseur would be a good career path for you."

"Yeah, yeah. I've been told that before." The somali said, trying to cover up his pride and satisfaction of getting Abbey to admit he was good at something.

Mike took Abbey's hands in his. "I know your life hasn't been easy, Abbey. But if you ever need someone to talk to, or a hug, or even a back massage, just let us know. You're always welcome!"

"I think I may just take you up on that offer." Abbey replied. Neither one of them let go, they just stared sincerely into each other's eyes.

"Damn, you're soft." Paulo said out loud to his surprise. He would have hit himself on the forehead for being so open if he hadn't been so into giving Abbey his back rub.

"Haha." Abbey laughed softly. "Well, that may be because I accidentally used Janet's fur conditioner this morning."

"Riiiight." Paulo raised an eyebrow. "Accidentally."

"Oh, don't be like that Paulo." Mike scolded. "Remember how we went to the store to pick out my conditioner? We ended up getting women's conditioner too." Paulo said nothing, however the redness on his cheeks spoke volumes.

The three weren't together for too much longer before another visitor came their way. A familiar black and white cat was moseying on up the hill looking for a quiet place to read his book. Upon coming across the trio, he gave no reaction, but did turn away and said "I'll find another tree…"

"Wait!" Mike called out, to the horror of Abbey and Paulo. They didn't agree on many things, but one thing they did have in common was their distrust of Augustus. "Come back! We have room for more here!"

Augustus stopped and wondered if it was a good idea to take him up on his offer. He looked over at all the other trees, all taken by random strangers. At the very least, here he was surrounded by people he knew. And after all, this was still the best tree. He turned back around and said. "Fine."

Mike let go of Abbey's hands (to the other boy's dismay, he was getting used to it) and scooted back a bit. He patted the ground between him and Abbey. "Right here! You can sit here!"

Augustus, doing his best to hide his nervous blush, did as he was told. Abbey scooted back further into Paulo's lap to give him even more room. The somali didn't complain, but had to stop the backrubs. Instead he resolved to place his hands around the brown cat, who didn't object. Once the older teen had his spot, he cracked open his book to find his last spot. Mike scooted closer, right up to his shoulder. "What book is that?"

The black and white cat was acutely aware of how close Mike's face was to his. He could even feel the gray cat's whiskers rubbing up against his. This didn't help his blush, but he kept it together. "War And Peace."

"Oh? Really?" Abbey sat up, but not so much that he would break Paulo's embrace. "I did a book report on that once. It took me forever to get through, but it's such an engaging read!"

"It's pretty much the biggest book in the library." Augustus closed the book to show them how thick it was. "Doesn't get much thicker."

"Neeeerrds." Paulo remarked, to frowns from both of them. This was a mistake, as Mike had even more embarrassing reminders for him.

"You love it when I read to you, though." The korat said. "You fall asleep to my voice every time."

Paulo immediately backed off, his face on fire. Abbey coulda sworn he could feel the heat, too. "N-not every time, dude."

"Anyway, maybe you could read to us." Mike suggested to Augustus, who had gone back to finding his page. "If you want."

Augustus looked up to Mike, whose lips were so close that if even a slight breeze pushed either of them towards the other, they would be kissing. His face became inflamed once more, and he quickly looked away to the other two boys who were cuddling on his other side. Abbey looked as though he were interested in this too. Paulo couldn't care either way. The silent majority had it, and Augustus sighed and shrugged. "Sure, why not."

Mike repositioned himself so he was leaning on Augustus's shoulder. Augustus had now found his place and cleared his throat and began to read. He had a good cadence to his voice. Having read so much, he did not stumble over his words. He pulled them all into the story, to lands beyond, introducing them to all manner of characters.

And so this went on for several minutes, until they were joined by yet another person - Jordan. The white cat could be heard huffing and puffing before he was seen at the top of the hill. He didn't notice the others at first, bending over to take a breather. Short sprints across the basketball court were one thing, but roaming nearly all of Roseville was another. Lucy had left to walk around earlier that day, and her mom had a question for her. It wasn't super important, but all the same Jordan was sent out to fetch her.

Once his breath was regained, he looked up to see the four boys huddled up under the tree. Jordan blinked once, twice, then thrice to see if he was seeing things correctly. No amount of blinking changed the scene before him. Augstus had long stopped reading to watch. It was Mike who spoke. "Jordan, is everything okay? You keep blinking."

"Yeah, I…" He wanted to question what exactly was going on, but figured it was none of his business.

"Why are you so out of breath, man?" Paulo asked. "Aren't you like, a jock or something?"

"Hey, you would be too if you had just run all over town!" Jordan defended.

"What are you looking for?" Abbey asked. "Maybe we can help."

"Not what, who." Jordan said, stepping closer so he could at least stand in the shade. "Speaking of." He looked to Augustus. "You wouldn't have happened to see Lucy, would you? Mom has a question for her."

Augustus's messy hair swayed back and forth as he shook his head. "No, I came straight here after I left the house."

"She might come by, though." Mike said. "You should stay for a bit and cool off."

Jordan liked this idea, and while it might be more prudent to keep up the search, the prospect of shade and some company was too good to pass up. He took a seat in front of Mike, nearly sitting on his lap, but he wanted to make sure he was getting as much shade as possible.

"Anyway, as I was reading…" Augustus said, and he launched back into the story. Jordan closed his eyes and let the cool breeze and warm voice of Augustus flow over him. He didn't even complain when Mike hugged him from behind. If he was being honest, after being neglected by Tiff for so long, it was nice to get some affection.

They all got lost in Augustus's voice again. It was a motley crew sitting in a serene moment. Abbey in Paulo's lap, being hugged by the somalis' strong arms, Augustus reading away with Mike leaning on his shoulder and Jordan in front of him. There was no awkwardness, no shame or embarrassment between the five boys. For once, the drama was hung, and all that existed was a warm spring day to share between them.

However, it wouldn't be long before they were interrupted again by another familiar face. This one belonged to a tan furred cat, who had been on the search much like Jordan had been. But instead of looking for Lucy, he was looking for a cat of another color - orange. No sooner had he reached the top of the hill, he spotted his target sitting among the crowd of boys. "Hi guys!" James said enthusiastically, and with a wave that matched his voice's energy. Unlike Jordan, his cardio was very good from being on the track team, so the hill was no problem.

Paulo went bright red, suspecting James was probably there for him, and of course he suspected right, as the trackstar said, "I was just looking for you, Paulo. What are all you guys up to?"

"Augustus is reading us a story." Mike said.

"I'm just here for a breather…" Jordan said, though it wasn't entirely true anymore, he too was invested in the story. That, and enjoying Mike's hug.

"Ohhhh, mind if I join?" James asked excitedly.

There were no objections, for them it was the more the merrier. "Fine, fine, take a seat." Augustus said hurriedly, beginning to get a little annoyed at all the interruptions. James made a beeline for Paulo, where he leaned forward, putting an arm around his shoulder.

"Is it okay if I sit next to you?" He asked his favorite coworker.

"Sit wherever you want, dude." Paulo said with his face afire, being so close to his crush. James smiled and took that as a yes.

And so Augustus continued on, reading page after page for them all. The boys sat in silence, not daring to breathe a word as he read. It helped that they were all huddled up with each other, hugging and cuddling, leaning on each other. It was peaceful. Anyone who walked by would be jealous of the sight, wanting to join in. Yet they remained undisturbed, which pleased Augustus, who was getting used to the korat leaning on his shoulder. Mike was small and light, and he didn't even feel the weight anymore.

They were joined yet again by a large oreo cat, but he did not break Augustus's concentration as he did so. He'd heard someone reading aloud and thought he'd check things out. It was a surprise to see all these boys being so close. Without a word, he slid in next to Mike to get a closer spot, and to keep within the shade. The little area under the tree was getting crowded with all of them practically sitting on top of each other. They didn't mind, being so intimate with each other felt nice, and after all they'd been through, 'felt nice' was pretty alright.

Of course, they all noticed Matt come in, but said nothing. Mike gave a silent greeting and put his arm around him to show he was welcomed there. Matt graciously accepted his embrace, but leaned back so as not to crush either of the boys. Jordan shifted his position from Mike to Matt, who he was more familiar and comfortable with. Matt beamed and his face went crimson as the white cat made his decision. Jordan was rewarded with an embrace from behind by the larger cat. Now there was something even more comfortable to lean on, and Jordan took advantage of it by settling back into the area between Matt's legs.

On and on Augustus went, not faltering for a moment. The newfound freedom Mike had from when Jordan got up was put to good use, and Mike was now hugging the small black and white cat. Said cat found himself melting into the embrace, and only fueled his confidence as he read. They all agreed to themselves that this felt right. Mike wondered if they should do this more often, set up little meetups to cuddle and read. Paulo wanted the same, but was too embarrassed to mention it. It didn't help that Abbey was now resting his hands on top of the somalis'. Behind him, James was giving him a little backrub of his own.

They sat like this for quite some time, even as the sun began to sag in the sky. Augustus's voice had given out, but nobody had really taken notice. It was nice to just sit in silence with each other, watching another beautiful spring day pass them by. Just when things felt like they might be wrapping up, they were joined by a louder party.

"AIBOU!" A voiced called on its way up the hill. "AIBOOOUUUU!"

Paulo smiled. He knew who this voice belonged to. David's brown head bobbed up and down, followed by the rest of him, as he crested the hill at max speed. They were all shaken out of their trance as the brown lab arrived. "I read you were having a cuddle party! I just HAD to come!"

He dove towards Paulo, which inevitably meant Abbey and James were in the splash zone. Abbey let go of Paulo's hands and stretched out his arms toward David in anticipation of catching him. David hit his mark, squashing Abbey between him and Paulo. The dog didn't care, and gave them both a big hug. He even tried reaching all the way over to James, who unfortunately couldn't squeeze himself against Paulo any closer.

"You read about this?" Abbey asked, somewhat embarrassed and confused about who was writing about their quiet moment at the tree. "Where?"

"Ehh, doesn't matter!" David said, looking up to the sky briefly. "What matters is that I want cuddles too!"

"There's plenty to go around." Matt said with a smile.

"Hmmm…" David let go of Abbey and Paulo and sat up, looking over his possible partners. "I choose… all of you! C'mon and give me a biiiiig hug!" He put his arms out, inviting them all in.

One by one, starting with James, they all got up and hugged David. Even Augustus who found the dog annoying at times joined in. David absolutely lapped it all up, patting their backs. "Aww… thanks guys!" He said with a big blush.

"Anytime, bud." Paulo said with a smile.

David's heart soared with confidence and love. "Okay, now let's bang!"