“Thanks. I completely forgot. So damn much has happened that I didn’t even realize it was tomorrow. And sure, at least you’re tall enough so it won’tquitelook like a nightgown,” Makai teased, and Emil rolled his eyes.
Makai hadn’t bought any spare toothbrushes, so Emil couldn’t brush his teeth and seemed annoyed about that. He knew the value in routines while you were recovering, though, and made a mental note to buy extra stuff just in case it would be needed later.
“I’d offer you mine, but that’s just weird,” Makai said, grinning.
“Thanks for the thought…?” Emil looked cute as hell in Makai’s T-shirt, especially with the pout he had going on.
Makai found Emil the extra pillow and blanket he’d need, and once the couch was set, they left a light on in the living room and went into the bedroom together.
They took the kittens and placed them on Makai’s bed, then sat there with the babies and a very affectionate Mouse, for a while, just chatting.
The kittens were at that shaky bit where their eyes were opened, and they were trying to look around but couldn’t see much at all. Their coloring hadn’t quite solidified yet, and while they could see the faint stripes on the orange ones, there was no telling if they’d stick.
“They’ll look different once they grow a bit and then when the baby fur changes to more adult fur much later,” Emil said as he gently petted the darker orange kitten.
“It’s weird how that thing they do when they’re trying to figure out where they are in relation to everything else reminds me of some insects,” Makai mused.
“Oh yeah, like the weaving thing because they have no balance yet,” Emil agreed and smiled. “These are cuter, though.”
“Definitely take these over bugs any day.”
“You could just ask Doc Donovan to take out the stitches for you. No need to drive to another clinic? Or did they say your back needed to be checked by a human doctor?” Emil settled on the bed, stretched over the foot of it. He looked sleepy already.
“No, just that they can be taken out about now. You know, I might actually call Doc Donovan in the morning, ask if he wants to see the babies and maybe take the stitches out for me.” Makai thought it was a solid idea. He would’ve had to go to Mercer at least to get someone to deal with them. If they hadn’t been on his back, he’d have done it himself.
“Mm-hmm….” Emil hummed, and Makai realized he was about to fall asleep.
“Hey, Emil. You gotta go to the couch. I’ll move the babies, okay?” Makai got off the bed and easily fit all four kittens inside his cupped hands. Then he transferred them into the box while Mouse supervised the ordeal. “There you go, mama. All accounted for.” He gave her some pats and turned to the bed.
Emil was asleep.Great.
Makai thought for a couple of moments, then covered Emil with one of his blankets and left only the lamp on the bedside table on. Then he went into the living area and made himself somewhat comfortable on the couch.
He was much too big and tall to sleep there comfortably, but it wasn’t too bad. He’d rather not wake Emil up.
MAKAI WOKEat some point in the night, when the toilet flushed. Apparently Emil had woken up. He didn’t come to check on Makai, though, which Makai hoped meant that he was half-asleep and went right back to bed.
Makai fell asleep soon after, only to wake up around eight thirty when Mouse patted his face.
“Nnng…. Hungry?” he asked her, and she gave him the feline version of a “duh” expression in response.
Makai got up, fed her, and put the coffee maker on, then walked carefully to the bedroom on his way to the bathroom. There was an Emil-shaped mound under the covers in his bed, and he smiled at the thought of Emil sleeping there. He felt even better when he remembered neither of them had had nightmares. The fact that Emil had seemingly had a nice night’s sleep in Makai’s space seemed amazing and a little flattering.
He really wanted a shower but didn’t want to take one before Emil had woken up, as not to wake him. He knew Emil tried to sleep as much as possible when he managed to get a full night of rest, so he started breakfast and tried to be quiet about it.
Sipping his coffee, he made a pancake batter from scratch—his mom had taught both of her boys to make one, because it wasn’t even hard to do—and added some chocolate chips, because why not? In between flipping the pancakes, he cut up some fruit and wondered if Emil would eat them with his favorite yogurt.
He was about at the end of the batter when quiet shuffling came from the bedroom and a sleep-rumpled Emil appeared.
“Morning.” Makai smiled at him.
“Yeah,” Emil managed, then rubbed his eyes like a little kid and hummed. “Your bed is really comfy.”
“I know,” Makai deadpanned.
“Shit, yeah, sorry about that.” Emil tried his best to look contrite, but he just didn’t seem to have it in him. Either he really wasn’t that sorry, or it was too early in the morning for him.
“It’s fine. I didn’t want to disturb you when I moved the babies. The couch wasn’t that bad. Too short, but otherwise it’s pretty okay.”
