Abracadabra pspsps

      ‘Maybe I should buy a treadmill before this idiot’s restless energy destroys my house completely,’ Andrew thinks to himself as he’s watching Neil, in his cat form, attempting to jump on the highest shelf in his office. The room consists of books mainly, filling numerous bookcases. Is Andrew a reading mole? No – he just likes collecting things. Out of hundreds of books there – some of them older, some of them newer – he’s read maybe five, and that was during his academy years.       Neil braces himself for the jump, but Andrew doesn’t believe it’ll be successful. There’s a plastic basin on the cabinet that Neil tries to make the small jump from, and since the familiar’s legs are in it, it’ll screw with his balance. But, he doesn’t seem to be worried about it, so Andrew continues to observe with curiosity.       Just as he predicted, Neil slips, but what happens is way more amusing than what Andrew’s imagination could’ve ever conjured. In Neil’s scuffle to regain his balance, the basin stands up vertically, then covers the familiar, so that he’s trapped inside. The basin’s too large to fall through the gap between the cabinet and the wall, so it’s not Neil’s lucky day. An angry meow resonates from within the basin, and Andrew can’t contain his chuckle any longer. Oh, sweet revenge. Maybe the Fates don’t hate him that much, after all.       “Curiosity killed the cat, haven’t you heard?” Andrew’s teasing words are met with a hiss. “I’m tempted to leave you like this.” He walks up to Neil and taps the plastic, the sounds echoing inside.       Suddenly Andrew feels a tingle go down his spine, meaning that someone is approaching. His muscles tense instinctively, but he relaxes them instantly. The person goes through Andrew’s wards with no problem at all – no surprises here, since the person helped in making them. Soon a knock to the door breaks the silence and a warm energy Andrew knows so well fills the air.       The temptation to leave Neil in the bowl is strong, but Andrew takes mercy on Neil and rescues him from his predicament. It wouldn’t do if he was scared senseless and lost his trust in Andrew.       As soon as Neil’s free, he bolts towards the couch and hides underneath, so that he can still observe the situation. Andrew lets him be because soon enough Neil will see that the newcomer isn’t a threat. Though, Andrew wonders, it’s strange that he hasn’t recognized the person yet.       Because standing at the threshold is no other than Kevin himself, with his appearance as impeccable as always. Andrew can see, though, that the man’s nervous, judging by the way he’s shuffling in place or fiddling with the hem of his shirt. The restless energy reminds Andrew of the first weeks Kevin lived with him.       “Hi,” Kevin says first when he sees Andrew doesn’t plan to start the conversation. “Um.” Andrew nearly rolls his eyes at this. Kevin rendered speechless – that’s something few people get to see. After taking a deep breath, Kevin tries again, “Can I come in?”       “You have keys, you know,” Andrew says deadpan, and Kevin flushes.       “I know, it’s just–” Kevin fumbles with words, “–it didn’t seem appropriate.       This time Andrew rolls his eyes and reaches out to flick the taller man on the forehead. The offended ‘Hey!’ sounds satisfying.       “Idiot,” is all Andrew says before he turns around and goes inside, Kevin following close behind. “Drop the glamor,” he adds, not looking back.       The familiars can disguise themselves as humans, hiding their more animal traits, but it’s tiring for them in the long run. Which is just unnecessary, in Andrew’s opinion.       Before they sit down on the couch to talk, an orange blur shots out from under the bed and goes for Kevin. The poor bastard doesn’t even have a chance of bracing himself ahead of time, so he gets tackled to the ground by Neil, now in his human form. Kevin instinctively tries to push him off, before he registers who it is.       When understanding dawns on him, he chokes out, “Neil?”       The men embrace each other and stay like this for a few minutes – Neil lying on top of Kevin, his face hidden in Kevin’s neck, the taller man’s arms squeezing him tightly. No more words are spoken, but Andrew can hear some sniffles here and there. He doesn’t wish to interrupt, though, so he lets the brothers have their moment. Leaning on the wall, he observes silently instead.       Finally, Kevin sits them up and takes Neil’s face in his hands. “How are you here?” he asks, sounding like he still can’t believe in what he’s seeing.       “I ran,” Neil says simply, and Kevin laughs at that, but it sounds like he’s on the verge of tears.       “You ran,” Kevin repeats and shakes his head. “And Riko?”       Neil purses his lips at the question, and Kevin’s face blanches. “No.”       “Sorry.” Neil squeezes Kevin’s hands, being careful with the left one.       Andrew feels like his heart skipped a beat. Don’t get him wrong – Riko was a bastard who made a lot of people miserable, but thanks to him Kevin and Jean managed to escape the demons’ clutches. Andrew can appreciate it, even though Riko’s motivations weren’t altruistic. His family wanted to take away his familiars – his property – and he didn’t like that, from what Andrew understands, so Riko decided to take them away first.       But most importantly – Kevin was really close to him. They were raised together and created a bond with each other later. Andrew saw first-hand how being apart from Riko nearly shattered Kevin, so he isn’t surprised that the news doesn't sit well with his friend.       “Master caught up to me,” Neil says, rubbing soothing circles on Kevin’s palms. “Riko blocked the exit after me, so I could run.” His voice is only a whisper now, but the words hang in the air heavily.       ‘Well, that’s one asshole less,’ Andrew thinks to himself, but knows better than to say it out loud. Now he’ll need to deal with the aftermath of this information. Yay him.       Andrew feels another tingle up his spine, before there’s a knock at the door. Neil and Kevin startle, both tensing up as if preparing for a fight, but Andrew’s relaxed pose makes them stand down. There's a question in their gazes, but he doesn’t want to ruin the surprise, so he opens the door without a comment.       “Hello, Andrew.” Renee smiles brightly, which relieves some tension from Andrew. How is she doing it? Isn’t it exhausting, being so smiley all the time?        He nods at her greeting, and steps aside to let her in. His eyes go to the black cat trailing behind her, looking around, carefully assessing the surroundings. Then the cat’s body goes rigid and his eyes lock on Neil and Kevin. Silence falls in the room, so heavy that Andrew wonders if others can hear his heart beating. It certainly feels like it.       A timid voice cuts the quiet, so unlike the usual Andrew’s been living with for the past few days, “Jean?”