Heart of Patchwork

Chapter 14: Family Reunion

The next morning, Kitsune woke up to find herself trapped in Chris's arms. He didn't seem to show any indicators that he'd be letting go anytime soon, but she certainly didn't mind. She smiled, nuzzling into his shoulder. It was hard not to be happy at the moment- knowing she was safe and comfortable with the one she loved. She enjoyed every second, not even thinking about moving from her position.

Before too long, Chris had woken up as well- his yawn alerting Kitsune. Upon seeing his girlfriend's shining amber eyes staring down at him, he smiled- lifting his hand up and moving the redhead's hair out of her face. "Good morning, darling. Sleep well?" He asked, sleepiness still being prominent in his deep voice.

"I slept well, thanks." Kitsune smiled. "What about you?" She asked, kissing his forehead. "That's good. I did as well, thank you for asking." Chris responded, still holding on to her.

"That's good. You know, when I first met you, I never took you to be the snuggly type." The redhead remarked, noticing very quickly that light red blush appeared over Chris's face. "I-I most certainly am not..." He muttered, avoiding eye contact.

'Did I just-?' Kitsune thought, realizing the new opportunity she opened up to herself. Smirking, she decided to seize to opportunity. He flirted with her rather often- now it's her turn. "Ohh, yes you are~. This isn't the first time you snuggled in to me." She teased.

Chris huffed, looking away. Kitsune giggled, kissing the top of her head. "God, you're adorable- I love you so much." She remarked. The taller male ruffled her hair, trying to act as though her comments weren't embarrassing him. "I love you too." He responded.

Before Kitsune could say anything else, Chris's phone went off- promoting them both to look over at the nightstand. With a curious hum, Chris reached over and picked the phone up. Kitsune rolled off of him, now just draping her arm over his chest as she examined his reaction to whatever caused the notification. And going off his expression, it didn't seem to be good.

In what felt like an instant, his relaxed smile faltered. He now looked agitated from whatever he was reading. He sighed out of irritation, sighing. "Oh, fucking wonderful..." He bitterly muttered, sarcasm very noticeable in his words.

"What's the matter?" Kitsune asked, feeling slightly concerned. "My family's coming, that's what..." Chris responded, sighing as he ran his hand through his hair. "I don't mind Belle- I have nothing to be afraid of with her. It's the REST of my family that I'm worried about..." He stated.

Kitsune paused, recalling that he mentioned his family not too long ago. He said something about them briefly after she told him about her past and how she got the scar on her neck. "...Chris... If I may ask... W-What was your family like? You mentioned them only once, and from what you said, they sounded... not very good." She questioned.

"To be frank dear, 'not very good' is an understatement. Definitely not what is called the ideal family. When I was a child, I'd be punished for the smallest mistakes- and said punishments were... quite unorthodox, to say the least." He explained.

"...I'm... probably gonna regret asking this, but... What KIND of punishments?" Kitsune asked, albeit rather hesitantly.

"Well... Shoving me into walls, sending me to bed without dinner, hitting me over the head... And the worst one, in my opinion, locking me in a room with snakes." Chris responded, shuddering at the mention of snakes.

Kitsune looked at him, horror filling her eyes. "Th... They... They locked you in a room with WHAT?!" She exclaimed, mortified. "That... That's horrible!! I... You never deserved that! That isn't fair!!"

Chris patted her head, sighing. "You're definitely not wrong- it isn't fair. But sadly, there's not much I can do now. What's done is done." He said.