Kiss It Better [MxM]

Your Mom

At dinner, Stephen held Inho's hand under the table while he talked to his friends and squeezed it frequently, accompanied by small secret smiles. He was drinking a lot of wine at Chris' persuasion, and Inho couldn't help but adore this softer version of him.

He was so used to Stephen being perfectly composed. Except for that one time when they'd yelled their way into a relationship, Stephen showed his feelings through actions and tenderness, but he never spoke them. He was a very cautious man, and though his actions were always warm, he maintained a cool careful exterior. Maybe this was Inho's chance to see past it.

After Connor had sighed dramatically at the table for the fourth time, somebody finally noticed he was sad and asked him what was wrong. Inho felt a renewed rush of guilt, especially looking at how Connor's delicate eyelids were puffy and dark. His huge blue eyes were extra vibrant against the redness.

"Oh, I've just been dumped is all," Connor sighed dramatically.

Inho clicked his tongue, annoyed. He'd felt guilty for nothing. It had nothing to do with him after all.

"What?" gasped Luis, "Tell us what happened!"

"That guy back in Abbotsford?" Stephen asked, frowning, "That guy was trash Connor, you can do better."

"Not him," Connor answered, looking for all the world like a tragic angel in a renaissance painting, "I was supposed to have a date tomorrow, but he suddenly became really cold, then got really mean. He said I needed to respect my elders."

"What the hell? How old is the bastard?" Blaire demanded.

"Twenty four," Connor answered with another emphatic sigh, "He said he would kick my ass, and called me a bitch," Connor raised his gaze here and met Inho's eyes with a hard stare.

Inho twitched, Connor was tattling on him. God he fucking hated this kid.

Stephen looked excessively concerned, the alcohol was definitely intensifying his emotions, "That's not okay! Connor," he shook his head, upset. "I don't want you associating with anyone who threatens you with violence like that."

"Yes," Luis patted Connor's back looking worried, "You need to be very careful of abusive partners. Saying he would beat you up...maybe you should contact the police? To document it before it gets out of hand?"

Inho took a long pull on his glass of wine, "Maybe you were running your mouth too much and he snapped?"

Stephen turned a shocked frown on Inho, "He's just a kid Inho, and that's a much older man threatening him. That's never acceptable."

"I'm not a kid, I'm eighteen," Connor added.

"Barely," Stephen replied, then nudged Inho.

Inho shrugged. Stephen was right, Connor was just a bratty teen, and threatening his boyfriend's only blood relative at a dinner party wasn't exactly something he was proud of. He wouldn't normally have even been bothered by Connor's antics. He was just feeling really tense around these people. He could handle Connor alone but this was just...a lot.

Stephen was still watching him, "Yeah I guess you're right," Inho responded begrudgingly, he turned to Connor, "If he says anything else let us know, and we'll help you take care of it."

Stephen nodded and beamed at him, appeased by his answer. Inho smiled Connor, whose face slipped briefly into a sneer before scrunching up with shock. An enormous grey cat suddenly jumped onto Connor's legs.

"Fuck, Your Mom, get away from the table!" Chris shouted.

"What? What's his name?" Connor asked, staring down at the new occupant of his lap. He wore a genuine smile for once instead of his usual smirk, and with his face lit up, Inho had to admit that he was unnecessarily beautiful. He looked a lot like Stephen, but younger and with more delicate coloring. Inho looked away.

"His name's Your Mom," Chris answered, as the big fluffy cat put its front paws onto the table to sniff Connor's plate, "And, he's a filthy thief. Get out of here!" Chris gestured menacingly at the cat.

Your Mom hissed at Chris, and Connor immediately wrapped his arms protectively around the creature, "Leave him alone, I love him," Connor clucked.

The cat immediately settled and began to knead Connor's thighs and purr loudly. It also had blue eyes and aimed a venomous glower at Chris. Connor rested his cheek on the top of Your Mom's head and peered owlishly back at Chris' glare.

Under the weight of dual icy stares, Chris threw up his hands, "Fine, but don't let him put his pee-paws on the tablecloth. It's gross."

Inho was relieved to have Connors focus off him. Across the table, the teen was whispering to the cat, "You're not gross, you're beautiful."

One of the others asked Chris why he had a cat he hated, and the conversation swirled on.

"Do you like his name?" Stephen asked Inho with a loaded look.

"Uhm, yes? It's fine, why?"

"You like naming things."

"Do I?"

"Yes, like Harold. And Jimmy the Hallway Cat. You like whimsical names."

Inho was confused about where this was going, "Yeah, I guess I do." Stephen beamed.

"I named that cat," he told Inho proudly. Still smiling like the sun breaking through heavy clouds, he reached for the wine bottle and noticed it was empty. He stood a little clumsily, "We're out. I'll go get some more."

Tavy caught Inho's eye and nodded after Stephen, silently suggesting he babysit his trip to the kitchen.

"I'll help you," Inho jumped up feeling tired and followed Stephen.

~~

Wiggly Cocker Spaniels, next ep is a SEXY ep, who's ready for it after all this drama huuuuuu. Please vote and comment, and if you're enjoying KIB maybe recommend it to your reader friends, or put it in one of your reading lists? I WOULD BE SO GRATEFUL! <3