QOTD: what's your gas station order?
Declan threw another chip in his mouth and looked over when I kneeled down to put my shoes on. "Where are you going?"
"Caesar's."
"Again?"
"Yeah." I slipped my other shoe on and peered at him over my shoulder. "I'm spending the night so you don't have to leave the door unlocked."
"You've been going over there a lot."
"Uh huh." I stood back up and grabbed my backpack. "Bye~"
"No, no, no. Wait-" He stood up after throwing his bag of chips on the coffee table, "I'll drive you. You shouldn't be walking around at night."
"It's not even dark?"
"Don't care." He grabbed his keys off the table and pushed me out the front door. "Did Morgan not offer to pick you up? Some fucking boyfriend."
I rolled my eyes and climbed into the car. "Caesar did."
"And why didn't you say yes?"
"Because I can walk to their place and be there in fifteen minutes." I stole a glance at him while he stared at the road dully. "And stop trying to scare Morgan, he thinks you're seriously going to kill him."
"Why? It's funny. And I still might, I haven't decided yet."
"No," I complained, "when he avoids you, he avoids me."
"You two shouldn't be making out at school anyways." He reached out and flicked my forehead, making my whine. "You need to be studying at school, not fooling around with your supposed boyfriend."
"He is my boyfriend."
He grunted, showing his dislike. "I'm just saying, if you're only having sex-"
"Please stop."
"-I get it, y'know? I was your age once. Single,
horny, we've all been there-"
"Please."
"-You wanna have sex? Go for it, but Morgan is not the best choice for that. Y'know he's a pervert, right?" He glanced over at me and nodded deeply. "Like- real pervert shit. The shit he's told me blew my mind."
Don't ask, don't ask, don't ask. "...What has he told you?"
"I'm not telling you, you'll get ideas." He waved off and pulled into their apartment complex's parking lot. "And how can you keep coming over here knowing Caesar's here? I'm not a snitch but you're being a little too bold." What-
I whipped my head around to look at him just as I was getting out of the car. "..Are you serious?"
"What? I'm not judging you, I'm sure Morgan made you."
I stared at him for a long minute. "You-? You know I'm dating Caesar too, right? I thought it was kind of implied..?" He stared at me just as long before letting out a heavy sigh. My eyes widened when he opened his car door and went to get out. "What're you doing?"
"I was waiting for you to tell me you were joking." He opened the backseat and grabbed a baseball bat.
"What're you doing?! Why do you have that in the car?!"
"Safety." He answered like it was obvious. "C'mon."
"What- Declan!" I grabbed his arm. "Where are you going?"
"I thought we were going to have dinner?"
"We?"
"Yeah." He shook my arm off and started walking inside. "What's he making?"
I stared at him in disbelief while the baseball bat loosely hung from his fist. He looked nothing but casual the whole elevator ride up, he even nodded at the receptionist.
I couldn't form any words when he knocked on the door and waited patiently, like he wasn't carrying a baseball bat and coming over uninvited. When Caesar opened the door, he looked just as surprised. "Hey?"
"'Sup." Declan greeted. "I heard you're making dinner."
"Yeah." Caesar spoke slowly and let his eyes trail over to me in question.
"Cool, I'm hungry."
Caesar shut the door after we were both inside. I awkwardly took my shoes off and set my bag down while Declan walked into the kitchen. "Um-" I scratched my cheek nervously, "I don't know why he came."
He stared at the baseball bat cautiously. "Why does he..?"
"Sorry.." I cringed.
"It's alright." Caesar ruffled my hair but still looked confused as to why he had a baseball bat. "We bought enough food so it's fine." He joined Declan in the kitchen and started sifting through the many grocery bags on the counter.
"Morgan's sleeping so just don't, like, scream or anything."
"Morgan, huh?" Declan hummed thoughtfully.
Caesar glanced up. "You still looking for him?"
Declan shrugged. "Are you not worried?"
"About..?"
"You tell me."
"Declan." I kicked his foot under the bar table. "Go home."
Caesar raised an eyebrow. "If it's about Morgan, no. If you were serious, you would've talked to him by now." He took out a few vegetables. "You keep glaring at me and you brought a baseball bat, so I'm assuming it's something else though."
Declan's eyes narrowed on him. "How long have we been friends?"
"Ninth grade, I think? Maybe longer."
"Yes, ninth grade. That's like-" He stopped and counted on his fingers, "-I don't know, it's a long fuckin' time though. I know when you got your first girlfriend, lost your virginity, I backed you up when that senior beat the ever living shit out of you-"
"Dude-"
"Remember when your dad beat your ass because we took his alcohol and you told him you forced me to even though it was me?" Declan dropped a hand on my head. "We've been best friends for a while but you can't even fucking tell me you're hooking up with my little brother?"
"Like- what did you think I was gonna do? Tell you to fuck off and leave him alone? I'd rather it be you instead of some fucking creep because I know you'll treat him right, but you seriously couldn't just tell me? I thought we had enough respect for each other for at least that. It's not like I wanted you to get down and beg for my permission."
The silence was deafening.
Though the baseball bat was a bit much, when he put it like that, I felt like shit for not telling him. I never even took into consideration of how long they've been friends and that we were basically going behind his back to hide our relationship. I felt like a bad brother.
"Declan," I wailed and hugged his arm, "I'm sorry."
"Are you crying?" He asked incredulously when my
ears lowered and my tail curled against my leg.
"No!" I hugged his arm tighter. "I'm sorry. I'll make you breakfast everyday, and I'll do your laundry, and I'll stop complaining when you and Pricilla have sex, and-"
Declan pried me off his arm and patted my head, making me look up at him sadly. "I'm not mad at you, stop looking at me like a kicked puppy."
"But-"
"Hush." He patted my head one more time before standing up. "Come with me." He grabbed Caesar by the arm and dragged him into the living room while he looked just as scolded as I did.
I stared at them longingly, not able to hear Declan's harsh whispers, only able to make out Caesar's nods and heavy frown. At some point, Declan looked over at me and pointed. "Turn around." Ears lowering even further, I turned around in my chair like a little kid in time out.
They only talked for a few more minutes before they trailed back into the kitchen. Declan picked his baseball bat and keys up before stopping when something caught his eye. "I'm taking this." He grabbed the random pillow cat from the counter. "Remember what I said, I'll kick your ass if you don't."
"I will."
Declan held his hand out to Caesar and they did some man hug, making my mouth drop as they started acting casually. "You're still coming over on Friday, right?"
Caesar nodded and started walking him over to the door. "Yeah, I already told Hudson."
"Hold this." Declan handed him the baseball bat while he slipped his shoes on.
"You sure you don't want to stay for dinner?"
"Nah," He declined, "Harry will scold me later if I do~ He's greedy, he wants you all to himself." I stared at them in shock, what the fuck. Declan waved at me. "Don't forget to do my laundry."
I blinked when Caesar went back to washing his vegetables like nothing. When he caught my eye, he tilted his head. "What?"
I shook my head and stood up from my chair to round the counter. "What are you making?"
"Beef and broccoli with rice." His eyebrows scrunched. "Morgan said it should be easy but I don't usually cook so I don't how this is gonna go."
He slid a chopping board onto the counter and grabbed a slab of steak. I watched him stare at it for a moment before picking his knife up. "I know you have to keep some fat, right?" He started cutting the fat off. "So I'll just take the big pieces off."
I wasn't a professional or anything, but I'm almost certain you weren't supposed to leave that much on. "Um, maybe you should cut it a little more?"
"Oh, really?" He stared down at the steak before glancing at me. "Are you good at cooking?"
"Maybe? I just eat whatever Declan gives me so I haven't really tried."
"Damn." He mumbled. "I'll just look it up."
It turns out he was supposed to cut off all the fat. I watched him do it, slightly concerned by his cutting technique, and shuffled forward. "Can I help with something?"
"Uh-" He looked around the kitchen aimlessly, "maybe the sauce?"
Cooking didn't turn out to be as hard as I thought, not when I was just following the directions displayed on Caesar's phone. He didn't seem to think the same, considering the mumbled curses he didn't think I heard and frustrated sighs. Though, he was doing just fine.
It helped that he turned on music halfway through while we talked every now and then. I found it cute how immersed he was into getting everything right.
He even bought aprons for this, presenting me the light pink fabric proudly before lowering it on my head. He had to bend down to reach my height, making my breath hitch from how close we suddenly were. "How cute." He patted my ass after tying the strings in a bow.
The apron became useless for me when I gave up trying to help. After the heated sauce had splattered on my hand and burned me, Caesar picked me up and set me on the counter. "Stay." He patted my head before taking the tongs away from me.
"I'm not a dog." I reached out and nudged him with my foot.
"No?" He softly mused. "You're not my puppy?"
As my foot lowered, I felt myself grow flustered, caught off guard from the question. "I didn't say that.."
His lips curled up as he came over and presented me a piece of steak. "Does my puppy want a treat then?" I glanced up at him before slowly parting my lips. He placed the bite sized piece of meat on my tongue and squeezed my chin. "Good boy." I chewed slowly, savoring the meaty taste, and tried to calm my wagging tail.
Sudden curiosity overcame me as I watched him spread more meat on the skillet. "Caesar?"
He hummed in question. "What's up?"
"What did Declan say to you?"
"Oh, that? After I apologized, he said he'd kill us if you ever got hurt or we made you cry. Normal older brother things." He waved off and leaned over to kiss my cheek, making a million butterflies explode in my stomach. "We don't plan to so he doesn't need to worry~" My tail started wagging faster, thumping against the counter noisily even as I held it down.
He chuckled softly and stroked the soft fur, gently nudging my hand away in the process. "Don't do that, you'll hurt yourself." He scratched near the base of my tail, the part not hidden by my shorts, and my ears lowered as I let out a whimper. "Does that feel good?"
I chewed at my lip and nodded bashfully. I was always careful of who I let touch my ears and tail since they were so sensitive, but his touch was gentle and sent a pleasing jolt through my body.
Caesar curled his finger around one of the thick strands. "Your fur is so soft and fluffy." He commented while stroking the strands. "Just like your hair."
My ears slowly raised until they were fully perked up again. I didn't realize how much I was letting myself enjoy his pets until my nose twitched. "-Oh, the steak-"
He jolted back like he'd been burned, "Shit," and hurriedly grabbed the tongs to flip the small pieces of meat over.
"Are they burnt?"
"A little." His lips pursed in an unintentional pout.
"It's okay, I like when it's a little burnt." He glanced over to me and gave me a small, fond smile, like knowing I was just saying that to make him feel better.
Now keeping a closer watch on the steak, he didn't touch me so much. A lingering touch here, a soft brush here, nothing much more than a gentle squeeze on my thigh. I didn't mind as I watched him slowly start to finish, looking pleased with himself.
Feeling curious again, "Have you always been interested in poly relationships?"
He didn't seem to be expecting this question, considering the way he looked over at me, but he still let out thoughtful noise. "Not really. I knew about them of course, but I was never interested in being in one."
"How come?"
"I always thought jealously would be a big problem. Like, whenever I saw poly couples on the internet, that was the first thing I thought of." He poured the sauce I made earlier into the skillet and started to toss it. "I think if it were anyone else, I wouldn't be able to do it but being with you and Morgan is easy. You're both really good at communication and you're pretty open with your feelings."
I let my legs swing slowly. "You never get jealous?"
"I don't think so." He added a few more seasonings and the broccoli. "There's times when you two are together and I miss you both, but I never think you're spending too much together or anything like that. I think it's normal to miss your partner when they're not with you."
It's been lingering in the back of my head, now that we've been together for almost a month, I wondered if they sometimes regret it or felt like I was stealing one of them away. It was a silly thought and I always pushed it away but at times when I couldn't sleep, I couldn't help but let it weigh on my mind. It was relieving to hear that, that wasn't the case.
"Do you ever get jealous? I know Morgan and I see each other more so I've actually been thinking about that."
I quickly shook my head. "I get jealous that you're in the same grade and have classes together." My cheeks puffed out. "But not of each other. Plus, you guys have been together longer."
Caesar frowned and looked over at me. "It doesn't matter if we've been together longer. We've both liked you for a while and like you even more now, now that we're dating." He reached over and pulled at my cheek, making my whine. "Don't say things like that, alright? Just because we've been together longer doesn't mean you're now allowed to feel certain things. If you ever feel jealous, that's fine and normal. It happens, just talk to us about it. If you ever feel like we're leaving you out, then let's talk about it and fix that. Okay?"
I nodded, just so he'd let go, and rubbed at my cheek sulkily. "I was just saying~" I whined. "I promise I don't feel jealous or left out, but if I do I'll tell you guys."
He ruffled my hair. "Good boy."
I missed his touch as soon as he stopped. "How did you guys talk about adding me to your relationship? Wasn't it, like, weird since you've never thought about it?"
"Um, not really." He turned the stove off. "It happened pretty naturally. Your crush was kind of obvious-" I frowned and he laughed, "Not in a bad way~ At first, we talked to each other about not being so touchy in front of you. Whenever we were, you'd stare at us with this cute little pout-"
"Shhh!"
"And we thought it was too cute~ We did kind of tease you a bit though, sorry about that." He brushed off like it was nothing and I nudged him with my foot. "I don't really remember having a clear conversation that we both liked you, it was just a silent agreement. We were having sex once and you got brought up somehow and after that we actually started talking about asking you out."
"So while you two were having perverted thoughts about me, I was panicking that I liked someone in a relationship."
"I wouldn't say perverted, more like sexy." He clicked his tongs together. "And it all worked out~ You have two hotter, older boyfriends-"
"Morgan's younger than me."
He blinked. "-You have one hotter, older boyfriend and Morgan."
I stuffed my hands between the space in my legs and hummed. "I guess it did~" My head tilted. "And shouldn't you wake him up soon?"
He wiped his hands on his apron after washing them. "Yeah, I was about to." I let out a soft noise when he picked me up by the back of my thighs. "Okay, here's the plan- You try waking him up first and if that doesn't work, then I'll try. If that doesn't work either, then you have to pour water on him."
"Me?! Why do I have to?"
"Because he won't kill you." He poked his head into the room and narrowed his eyes at Morgan's sleeping figure. "Alright, target is right there. Go for it." He gently set me on the floor and patted my ass, giving it a nudge towards the bed. "Good luck."
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i took a day off but i did write half of this yesterday 😼 so uh yeah, i hope you liked it
someone messaged me to do a Q&A with the characters and i think it could be cute~ so if you have any questions you want the characters to answer, pls comment ^^ it'll be like a mini chapter and anything is fine <3
maddie <3