Explain It Like I'm Tree

Follow Up

Definitely bacon. Lewis was at it in the kitchen. If he hurried, he might catch Lewis before he hid himself away. Arthur wriggled again, trying to get free of his cotton cocoon. After a couple minutes of futile effort, straining and grunting all the while, he was forced to conclude that it was not going very well. Huffing, he lifted his head, ready to yell for help. He caught himself as a different idea crossed his mind. A grin tugged at the corners of his mouth.

A few minutes later, Arthur had managed to wriggle his way out of the garage and into the hallway. He squirmed and wormed his way to the kitchen where Lewis hovered in front of the stove.

"Hey, Lew. Smells good," he remarked.

Lewis turned, nearly dropping the frying pan when he saw Arthur. Arthur kept wiggling toward the kitchen island, panting from the exertion. "Smelled it all the way from the garage. Nice day. How are things?"

Lewis stared down at him. Arthur couldn't read the expression on the skull, so he threw in the sure fire groaner. "Mind giving me a hand up? I misplaced mine."

Lewis set the pan down on the stove and darted out of the room. A door slammed around the corner. Arthur deflated, letting his cheek rest on the kitchen floor. "But... I thought it would be funny."

It was then he heard a string of rather choked gekkering. He lifted his head and caught sight of Mystery on the other side of the kitchen, his snout between his paws. The pup quivered, his tail twitching as he made little explosions of strange noises. After a minute or so, he managed to raise his head, grinning all the way up his snout. "I think... Lewis just... didn't want to spoil the moment. With his laughter. You see."

Arthur took that in for a moment. "Ah." Lewis laughing might turn the room into a real serious Hell's kitchen. "I didn't think that through."

"No. But it was well intended." Mystery trotted over, grabbed a section of sheet between his teeth, and tugged hard. Between his yanking and Arthur's struggles, the sheet finally came off.

Arthur wound the sheet up in a ball and tossed it back down the hall. "I'll put it away later. Too bad Vivi wasn't here."

"She left for work early."

Arthur blinked. "Why didn't she take you—" More bits of reality filtered in. "Right. I have a follow-up with Dr. Noble today." He sighed, sitting at the kitchen island. "Thanks for agreeing to come with me."

"You owe me a romp in the park," Mystery warned, trotting back to his water bowl.

He did indeed owe that to Mystery. He also probably owed Vivi an apology and a calmer conversation, too. He was Right with a capital R, but she also had a lot of very valid points. Even if she was Wrong about the big picture. Capital W. He ground the heel of his palm into his eye. Why did everything have to be so complicated?

A warm hand settled on his shoulder. Arthur flinched before his brain caught up with the input. He glanced up over his shoulder to see Lewis there, the corners of his eyesockets crinkled upward. Lewis flashed a thumbs up and traced a smiley face over the front of his skull with his fingers. Arthur managed a grin back. "Your fault for making breakfast smell so good. I just couldn't wait."

Lewis rolled his eyes and hovered over to the stove, returning with a plate of bacon and fried eggs. Arthur lit up, forking an egg into his mouth before Lewis could set the plate down. "How do you do that?" he groaned, savoring the flavor. He knew this particular trick was as simple as cooking the eggs in leftover bacon grease, but STILL.

Lewis bent down and portioned out a serving into Mystery's bowl. Ever since the move, Mystery had been getting actual food instead of kibble. No one, least of all Lewis, saw the sense in feeding him like a dog now that the Kitsune was out of the bag.