Reunion, part 2. Past ties
August 24, 2024 at 8:11 AM
The black cat quickly becomes a man, eyes still locked on Neil.
“Neil?” Jean asks quietly.
It’s the first time Andrew sees Jean’s part-cat form. Usually, the man holds rigid control over himself (as Kevin did at first), but it seems that today’s not the day.
Jean runs towards Neil and embraces him so tight that Andrew wonders if the smaller man isn’t being suffocated. A warning ‘Careful’ nearly leaves Andrew’s lips, but he stops himself at the last second. Still, it wouldn’t hurt Jean and Kevin to be more mindful of Neil’s injuries. Although Neil’s mostly okay now, the pain makes itself known sometimes, judging from the small winces and grimaces on his face.
However, he sees that Neil’s still alive when he hugs Jean back as ferociously. Their tails curl together next, so that there’s as much contact between the men as possible, as if they were trying to intertwine their souls. Jean and Neil stay like that then, quietly muttering something in French to each other.
Then, to Andrew’s astonishment and amusement, Jean slaps Neil.
“What were you thinking?” Jean says in English, but his accent sounds heavier now. He glares at Neil, who looks sheepish.
“Sorry?” Neil says and winces at how it comes out.
The string of French words start again, and to Andrew it sounds like Jean’s really pissed about something. After spending some time with Neil, Andrew can’t really blame the guy – he’d offer condolences for putting up with Neil for a few years.
Through it all, Kevin sits next to his brothers, looking unbothered, like it’s a daily occurence. Which, maybe it is. Andrew’s glad that there are people who can tame Neil somehow, and maybe he should ask them for pointers.
Jean, having calmed down, hugs Neil again, this time more gently. He raises his arm a bit, so that Kevin can join, which he gladly does with a look of excitement.
Cuteness overload, so it’s time to leave, Andrew thinks. Staying in the same room with the familiars any longer will result in an allergic reaction.
Andrew makes eye contact with Renee across the room, and goes to the kitchen without a word. This way he’s within an earshot if something happened in the living room. While he prepares the kettle and mugs, he hears the chair scraping on the floor, then a weight settling on it.
Renee doesn’t say anything yet, which Andrew’s thankful for. He needs a few minutes to sort out his thoughts, and the simple routine of preparing tea is helpful here. With mugs ready, he waits for the water to boil, trying to grasp his feelings in the meantime.
Having Kevin here brings back all sorts of memories, pleasant and not so, and the nostalgia puts a vice around his chest. But there’s something else here, which Andrew rather not name because it means acknowledging it. Ignorance is bliss, as the saying goes.
The kettle whistles, and Andrew pours the water into the mugs. The aroma of herbs fills the air, making it a little easier to breathe and calming his mind. He takes a deep breath and tries to unwound his tense muscles, just as Bee showed him once.
Renee smiles and says a quick ‘Thank you’ when Andrew puts her tea in front of her. He joins her at the table with his own mug, and waits for the inevitable questions.
“I’m glad they’re together at last,” Renee starts.
Andrew nods in agreement, and takes a sip of his tea. It’s still too hot, so it burns his tongue, but he forces himself to swallow it.
“How are you with Kevin here?”
Trust Renee to hit the nail right on the head. To be clear, Andrew appreciates it that with him she doesn’t hold anything back.
He shrugs. “Okay.” Because, it really is okay despite his conflicted feelings.
Renee looks at him calmly without saying anything further. The silence is comfortable, where neither of them feel any pressure to fill it. It’s nice, Andrew has to admit.
“You know,” says Renee, “he still cares about you.” The small smile she sends his way makes him feel exposed suddenly. Is he really that obvious?
Andrew doesn’t comment because what’s there to say? That he feels left behind? That Kevin replaced him? Yeah, right.
“Maybe you should talk with him,” Renee continues, unbothered by Andrew’s silence, “before you drown in jealousy.”
Andrew’s quick to shoot back, “I’m not jealous.”
This time it’s Renee who doesn’t comment further and just looks at him softly. It seems that she can see right through his mask, and he berates himself for having such poor control. On the other hand, he’s glad that she’s here to talk reason into him.
Renee circles the rim of her mug with her finger, still looking at Andrew. “Talk to him when you’re ready.” She takes a sip of the tea. “He’s been anxious to approach you.”
Andrew scoffs. Life would be easier without all this touchy-feely stuff. Yikes.
Renee chuckles at his reaction, the sound light and so full of life at the same time. Was Andrew like this at any point in his life? He’ll probably never know.
They continue to talk about lighter topics, with Renee carrying most of the conversation. Andrew lets himself fall into the easy atmosphere, forgetting about his troubles for a moment.
Soon, it’s time for their guests to go. The familiars are reluctant to leave Neil, but the man reassures them that he’ll keep in touch. Besides, it’s not like Kevin doesn’t know how to get to Andrew’s house.
When Kevin’s at the doorstep, he turns around and looks at Andrew, his gaze heavy. He reaches out with his hand and waits for permission to touch. It’s nice to see that some things never die.
Kevin clasps Andrew’s arm. “Don’t be a stranger,” he says, and Andrew squeezes his arm in return. The long look they share seems to pass a simple message: ‘I miss you.’ Or maybe that’s just Andrew’s imagination.
When the door closes, Andrew lets out a sigh. The heaviness inside him grows every time he gets reminded that Kevin has Aaron and Katelyn now, so he no longer needs Andrew. He made peace with the fact, but it still stings sometimes.
“So you and Kevin?” Neil’s voice jerks Andrew back to reality.
He blinks. “Maybe Aaron should’ve checked you for brain damage, too.” Neil just looks at him unconvinced, and Andrew wants to slap his face for it.
But Neil’s question isn’t completely absurd despite Andrew’s reaction. When a witch bonds with a familiar, it creates a connection that brings them closer to each other, whether they like it or not. In most cases, it’s a natural step in any kind of relationship between a witch and a familiar. But of course, the world’s littered with assholes who create the bond by force. Andrew shudders just thinking about it.
The situation with him and Kevin was quite different. When the familiar came to him, his bond was freshly severed, and he really needed someone to latch onto to ease the pain of it. So Andrew volunteered because, again – he’s not a total asshole, okay? And it was a bit of selfishness on his part since he’d always wanted to know what a bond with a familiar feels like.
And it felt really good – like always having someone close to you, bringing comfort. At first, Andrew was quite put off by it because he was so used to being alone mostly.
But all good things come to an end and this one was no exception. Kevin came to him one day, all tensed up, avoiding eye contact. Their bond practically oozed with anxiousness, putting Andrew on edge.
‘Out with it,’ said Andrew, never one to dance around the problem.
Kevin’s hands were clenched into fists, nails digging into his skin, and Andrew stopped himself from reaching out.
‘I–’ Kevin swallowed. ‘I want to end our deal.’
Kevin might have slapped him as well. It’s not that Andrew hadn’t expected that, quite the opposite actually. He’d been waiting for that moment since meeting Kevin, but he’d underestimated how much it’d rattle him.
Andrew didn’t say anything, so Kevin added quietly, ‘I want to stay with Aaron and Katelyn.’ Blush covered Kevin’s cheeks.
In the end, they dissolved the bond, which doesn’t even hurt when you do it properly, but it still left Andrew with emptiness inside. He didn’t say anything to Kevin, though, because what was the point? The man’s happy now, and Andrew won’t ruin it.
Neil’s voice breaks through his gloomy thoughts. “You seem close with each other.”
Andrew nearly groaned. He preferred it when Neil only meowed at him and didn’t pry into his business.
“He was my familiar,” says Andrew in a tone signaling that he doesn’t want to talk about it.
“Oh,” says Neil, and when he opens his mouth to ask another question, Andrew puts his hand on Neil’s mouth.
“No.” Andrew glares at Neil, but the familiar doesn’t cower. It really irks Andrew.
Something licks the inside of his palm, and he recoils.
“Disgusting.” He wipes his hand on Neil’s shirt and tries to ignore the smug look the familiar’s face. And ignore his face in general because it’d do Andrew nothing good otherwise. A pretty face always brings trouble, so he’s learned that he should ignore it.
Right, easy-peasy.
