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 Posted: Fri Dec 18, 2020 4:32 pm
Karone had been out for nothing more than a walk and to find something tasty to much one because...well. She deserved it. She hadn’t been expecting to find two adorable dogs who seemed to be lost. And she truly hadn’t expected for the dogs to be the ones that Yu had told her about. Penny and Odie, the address of Yu’s house on the backs of their collar tags.
With careful coaxing she managed to get the dogs to come with her and made her way back to the house that she hadn’t been able to visit for far too long. After Priam had gotten hurt she hadn’t really been able to come over, not that she had asked either but...still. It was good that Yu had such a supportive group of friends…boyfriends.
It was adorable.
With a chuckle, Karone knocked on the front door, an amused smile on her face. Oh, she would give Yu some hell for this. The boy needed some teasing.
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Posted: Fri Dec 18, 2020 6:41 pm
For a moment, Priam just lingered on the couch, until he remembered that he lived there.
Like. More than just a guest. Lived. Partially because Yu and Sterling kept insisting that it was fine, and partially because his house had burned down and he had nowhere else, but it was still strange to think that he was more than a guest.
He pushed himself up with only a little groan; he'd healed far faster than any human should be able to, and it was still difficult to think that he'd actually experienced magic.
...Not that he was complaining. The hardest part now was pretending like he wasn't healing too quickly.
And dealing with the nightmares, but.
He moved to the front door and peered out of the peephole, glad that it wasn't police officers, or his ex, or--who knows. It was just a woman. And--his dogs?
He yanked the door open, heart pounding, and the dogs tugged eagerly to get inside, tail wagging and looking like they were desperate to get to their water bowls.
"What is this?" he asked worriedly, eyes snapping up at her. "--I'm so sorry, did they get out, what happened?"
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Posted: Fri Dec 18, 2020 7:13 pm
Karone grinned and knelt for a moment, unfastening the leashes on the dogs so that they could head inside. “You must be Priam, yeah? I’m Karone, Yu’s…” She hesitated and laughed softly. “Older sister. He’s told me a lot about you. I found these two wandering near the park, and I couldn’t just leave them there...I’ve heard a lot about the horses.”
She looked Priam over and nodded. “How are you feeling? I heard about your fall...I’m glad that I can finally meet you! I’ve wanted to for a while but...it never seemed to be a good time. Is Yu here?” Karone really was hoping that she would get fed out of this. It was a fair trade...right? Find and bring home the dogs and get something good for dinner.
Plus, she finally gets to meet the second boyfriend!
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Posted: Sun Dec 20, 2020 12:36 pm
Priam blinked, positively astounded that Yu had an older sister. He raked his mind for any recollection of conversations that hinted at the name, at mentions of family. A part of his heart dropped a bit simply because he didn't know. He'd talked about Jarvis enough, he knew both of them knew his brother.
But then, he couldn't just say 'I don't think Yu has mentioned you' either, so he forced a quick smile on his face.
"Oh--yes, of course. It's nice to meet you. Thank you so much, I'm so sorry. They've been such trouble recently, I have no idea what's gotten into them..."
They ran past him, racing for their water bowl. Ordinarily, he supposed he might have been a bit more cautious--she was a stranger he didn't know about. But, she called him horses, and so did Yu, so he figured that she couldn't have just guessed that.
"Yu isn't here right now--he and Sterling were actually..."
A trickle of fear spread through him. "--They were out walking them. Would you like to come in and have a seat? I just want to call them and make sure they're okay. I hadn't even heard they got loose..."
So they'd been hit by a car. They'd been mugged. They'd been abducted.
He didn't know what had happened to them, but the paranoia and fear that suddenly gripped him made him certain it was bad. He was practically fumbling to get his phone out of his pocket, like he'd forgotten how to work his fingers.
He was a people pleaser regularly, more so when he was stressed. "Can I get you something to drink?" he asked as he frantically opened his contacts.
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Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2020 6:46 pm
Karone beamed and made her way in the house, sinking onto the couch and stretching. “They’re great dogs, I adore Penny, she’s got the biggest eyes, I could literally just eat her up.” She paused and sighed when he said that Yu wasn’t home...but she wasn’t too surprised by that knowledge.
After all, Priam hadn’t seemed to have known that the dogs were missing, so they weren’t out looking for them. “I’m sure that they’re okay, but yeah, call them. And I’ll take a drink, whatever you have is fine. Where’s Oreo? I want to pet my little motorboat.” She looked around as though hoping that the cat would be easy to find, and after spotting her on the window sill, got up and picked the cat up, cradling her and plopping her back down in her lap as she relaxed back on the couch.
“Much better.”
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Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2020 6:47 pm
Sterling’s head was hanging low as he walked to the front door, holding Yu’s hand in his own, his heart feeling as though it were somewhere around his ankles. They had to let Priam know that they had lost the dogs. Had to let him know that they were going to make flyers, and that Sterling would go out and put them everywhere...had to watch Priam’s face simply crumple and…
His chest felt tight and for a moment, Sterling couldn’t quite breathe. He was trying so hard to keep a brave face on for Yu. Trying so hard to keep acting like they hadn’t royally ******** up...but…
They really, really had. If he hadn’t been so eager for something warm to drink...none of this would have happened.
He looked back at Yu for a moment and forced a smile that reached nowhere near his eyes. “...Let’s get this over with, love.”
Pushing the door open, Sterling too a deep breath. “...Priam? We’re home.”
Most of them, at least.
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Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2020 7:23 pm
He couldn’t breathe, that’s what his brain kept telling him, that he couldn’t -breathe. Even with the air coming in and out, even with Sterling’s hand clasped warmly in his own, the idea of what he had to admit to… Fear… Even knowing it was Priam, there was just…fear. “Priam?” He called, and his voice sounded strange, the emotions tangled at the edges like fingers raking their way through words that should have been brisk and happy to herald their return.
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Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2020 7:46 pm
Oh, thank God, they were both fine.
"I was just about to call you two," he said, too quickly; he had to calm his pounding heart, but that didn't seem like it was something he could accomplish through willpower alone. He walked to the two of them and took one hand each, kissing Sterling's cheek and then Yu's.
"I'm so sorry, did they give you trouble? What happened? --Did the dogs just run off? Yu, your sister--ah, Karone?--brought them back. She's just gotten here, the dogs are still in the kitchen getting water."
Only, with the voices, they had appeared--tails wagging still--and rushed over, lapping at the two newcomers with cold, wet tongues before running back, bumping into each other along the way.
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Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2020 8:51 pm
Karone glanced up and waved at Yu, wiggling all of her fingers as she did so. “Hey little bro. Did you miss me? I found your horses while I was out hunting for some food. They really are big, aren’t they?” Her voice was light and she watched Yu for a moment, concern creeping into her eyes.
He didn’t look good, but...hopefully the knowledge that the dogs were safe would put him at ease...hopefully. If it didn’t. They could talk. She would make sure that he was okay.
“I hope this means you’ll treat me to some garlic chicken! I’ve been wanting it for ages, and I think I should have some kind of reward, not that seeing your wonderful face and finally meeting boyfriend number two wasn’t reward enough!” There was a wistful smile on her face as she watched Priam kiss the both of them, and for a moment...she felt terribly lonely.
One day, Karone decided.
One day she’d find someone who would want to kiss her again like that when she came home.
Maybe.
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Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2020 8:52 pm
Sterling swallowed hard when the dogs ran up, his heart beginning to pound, and after hearing Karone’s words, feeling Priam’s kiss, and the kisses from both Penny and Odie, all he could do was nod. “...They ran off...we...we tried to find them...we...We couldn’t find them…”
His voice grew hoarse and he could already feel the tears beginning to well in his eyes. “...I’m so sorry...it was all my fault…I wanted hot chocolate so badly...I...I’m so sorry...”
Finally he swallowed hard and simply hung his head. “I’m so glad that they’re safe..”
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Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2020 8:58 pm
“Sis…her?” he blinked not comprehending what he heard. There was an alarm creeping up his spine, but it had been so long, it couldn’t be…. He almost missed the slight turn he tended to make into the kisses from Priam. It… Oh…. OH. Karone. “Not… my sister, she’s just…adopted me.” He said flustered. He had to explain his own confused reaction if nothing else. Not that he couldn’t feel his cheeks heating tremendously. Both because he was so…SO GLAD to see the dogs and because …. well, he wasn’t sure but he was blushing and he couldn’t exactly stop. “It’s not his fault!” He said in a rush. “I… I was fine and then I was just, asleep on a BENCH and the last thing I remember is some jerk tapping me on the shoulder. It’s my fault, I was… It wasn’t Sterling at all. I’m so glad they’re safe.”
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Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2020 9:17 pm
"Please don't fight about who should take the blame. It was an accident, I don't blame either of you," Priam said insistently, and raised a hand to stroke each of their cheeks. "I'm glad they're home safe, and I'm glad you're home safe. I'll order a GPS tracker we can put on their collars again if they ever sneak out. It's okay."
It wasn't, not really; he'd have to buy harnesses or something for them too, to make sure they didn't slip out--however they had. It was an accident, he was certain, and the dogs were good dogs, that liked Yu and Sterling and Priam. They wanted to be close.
This was an accident. He had no doubt about that.
Everyone was okay, he could relax. He felt better already, too glad for their safety to be upset about anything else.
He felt much better about not being blindsided that Yu actually had some hidden family, too. He half turned to flash Karone a smile. "Well, as long as she treats you well, she can be whatever you say she is, Yu. Will you stay for dinner, Karone? I can't ask Yu to cook tonight, not after all of this trouble. Unless you want to," he said to Yu, "I can cook something if you want a break. Or just order pizza. You two look so winded, please sit down for a moment--do you need a drink, anything?" he looked between the two newly arrived men, trying to anticipate whatever need they could think of.
They were home, safe, and alive. He wanted to keep them that way--and try to cheer them up a bit, too.
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Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2020 2:31 pm
Karone bit her lip, trying to hide the laughter that was bubbling up at the sight of Yu’s face. He was adorable. “Adopted sister, whatever whatever. The moral of the story is, I adore this guy, and I’m going to give a real quick shovel talk to you, while you’re distracted but...if you hurt my little Yu, I’ll eat you. And yeah, pizza sounds great. I can order it if you two want some time alone together, I know the palace that Sterling likes, I’ll get wings for everyone too, if you want me to.”
She buried her face in Oreo’s fur, smothering her grin.
...She kind of really adored these three. And the two of them were clearly good for Yu. It made her happier than she wanted to admit.
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Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2020 2:32 pm
Sterling rested against Priam’s hand for a moment, letting his eyes close, feeling so weighed down with everything. Sure, he liked Karone and everything...but he kind of just wanted a night with...with Priam and Yu and the dogs but…
Then she mentioned the pizza and that...that did sound good.
He reached up and rubbed his eyes, nodding. “I love you both...I...I’ll get them harness for Christmas if you want to get the GPS tags...also, I think that Yu is coming down with a cold or something, he’s really pale, Priam.” Because he knew Yu wouldn’t say it himself. And Priam was a doctor.
If Yu was sick...there was nobody better to help.
“He should be covered up and kept warm for a little while, I think. I know that the pizza place doesn’t have soup, but I can go and make some, we have the stuff…”
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Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2020 4:15 pm
“I’m fine! I promise!” He tried to assure. He hadn’t exactly loved the last time he’d been convinced to attend a doctor. There was a level of ‘look’ that you got when people saw scars like he had. “I can make the Garlic Chicken, the kitchen will be nice and warm, and then we can all sit down and enjoy it. Promise!” He offered and hold his hands up in surender. “It… pale was just thinking the worst… honest.” The flush was just getting worse. He was so glad no one was scolding him but, god, he just couldn’t let himself be replaced in the kitchen.
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