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Apollo only needed to hear two things to piece together whatever shenanigans Clay was up to in the living room while he fixed up some dinner for the two of them; the quiet, mildly reproachful “mrrb” from Mikeko that signaled she had been picked up, and Clay’s voice quietly starting up the opening notes to a song.
“Blueeee mooon, you saw me standing aloooone.”
Apollo placed the glass cover carefully over the saucepan, lowering the heat to simmer.
“-A dream in my heart, without a loooove of my oooown.”
He really couldn’t resist a quick look out into the living room, smiling softly as he leaned against the doorway so that he wouldn’t draw Clay’s attention and out of the sway he had going with Mikeko in his arms. He noted with amusement that Clay had one of Mikeko’s paws laid delicately in his palm. Despite her initial protests, the cat had her eyes contentedly closed, purring as they spun around in place to the next few lines.
“And suddenly appeared before me, the only one my arms will hold…” He adjusted his hold on Mikeko, holding her closer to him so he could softly sing against her fluffy forehead, punctuating it with a kiss. “I heard someone whisper “please adore me”... And when I looked, the moon had turned to gold!”
Apollo stifled a laugh behind his hand as Mikeko swished her tail insistently, throwing Clay off as she dug her claws into his shoulder. He caught a grumbled, “I see how it is,” as Clay dropped down to his knees. Mikeko primly hopped down to the ground, tail in the air.
However, even with his dance partner’s abandonment, it appeared that Clay wasn’t done. The astronaut, still on his knees, flung himself down on the carpet, raising his voice as he dramatically laid his arms over his eyes. “ Blue moooooooon! Now I'm no longer aloooooone! Without a dream in my heart! Without a love of my ooooown.”
God, his boyfriend was ridiculous. Apollo nearly turned away to head back into the kitchen, but then noticed Clay drumming his fingers against the carpet.
Oh dear.
From the other side of the living room, Keko’s ears pricked up, flattening as she identified her target. Clay twisted so that he could look back at her, humming as he dragged his tapping fingers enticingly back and forth. “Aaaaand there suddenly appeared before me…” He sang coaxingly, Mikeko’s tail flicking down against the carpet as she wiggled in preparation. “The only one my arms-”
Even Apollo was startled by the speed at which Mikeko shot forward, bounding across the living room to capture Clay’s hand. The cat overshot slightly, bodily flinging herself around as she dug her (mercifully recently trimmed) claws into her second human’s arm. Clay yelped, his other hand inelegantly flailing. “Whoa, whoa, whoa!”
Apollo started forward on instinct, though Clay had already reached down to gently prise his arm back by the time he had settled on the floor beside his mildly-punctured boyfriend. Apollo noted with no small amusement that the culprit herself was purring as she nuzzled against Clay’s hand when she had bitten it. Content in the success of her hunt, she nudged her head against his hand once more before rolling back onto her feet and stalking off to patrol under the coffee table. He couldn’t help but smile as he settled back on his legs to watch Clay stare after her. “Need a bandaid?”
The astronaut finally turned to look at him, returning the smile as he mirrored Apollo’s pose. “Nah, ‘tis but a flesh wound.” Clay sighed dramatically, lolling his head back towards the ceiling. “I was asking for it anyways, though if she wanted to dance with me so badly, she could have just asked.”
Apollo quirked an eyebrow up at him. “Just like you asked her before you picked her up to dance earlier?”
Clay’s brow furrowed indignantly as he whipped his head back down to protest, though apparently he was coming up blank because he simply closed his mouth again. Apollo’s smirk only got wider as he tried again with no further results. The astronaut glared at him—the effect lessened given how obviously he was trying to rein in a grin—and flung his arm out, booping Apollo’s nose with his finger. “Objection.”
Apollo snorted and batted his hand away. “That’s not how it works.”
“Okay, fine, Mr. Lawyer. Can I at least sue Mikeko for viciously mauling me?”
“Please, what happened to not even needing a bandage?”
Clay nodded in sorrowful agreement. “No, no, I don’t need one…. As if a bandage could cover the emotional damages that have been inflicted.”
“Yeah, yeah; tell me that again when you’re trying to coax her into your lap again in ten minutes.” Apollo groaned as he stood back up. It was more out of habit than necessity that he smoothed out the edges of his t-shirt, though Clay caught his wrist before he could take even a single step away. Assuming he was asking for help up, Apollo tugged him to his feet, but his ridiculous boyfriend used the momentum to wrap his arms around his waist and burying his face into the crook of Apollo’s neck.
Apollo leaned his cheek against Clay’s fluffy black hair, a slight shiver passing through him as Clay mumbled something and his lips brushed lightly against his neck. However, he didn’t catch a word of what he had actually said. “Hm?”
Clay simply hummed, and Apollo felt him smile as he started up again. “Aaaand then there suddenly appeared before me, the only one my arms will eeever hold.” He squeezed lightly around his waist, pulling Apollo into a sway with him and holding one of his hands out as he had done with Mikeko earlier. The brunette laced their fingers together as Clay sang on softly in his ear, punctuating the line with a kiss on the cheek.
He followed Clay’s lead as the astronaut slowly twirled him around so that they were facing each other, keeping up the same gentle rhythm the whole time. Any other time, Apollo may have teased him about how a sway was just about the only dance that Clay could do, but once Apollo had leaned his forehead against Clay’s, the other man had shot him an adoring smile that completely wiped the words from his mind. Clay laughed, pressing another kiss to his flushed face and humming the closing bars all the while.
He didn’t get to finish before Apollo had stood up on his toes, leaning against Clay’s chest to kiss him fully. Though, given the way that the astronaut smiled into the kiss, he really didn’t mind the interruption.
Apollo found himself content to stay there for who-knows how long, Clay surprising him by being the first to pull back. “Hey Pollo?”
“Mm?” The concerned look met him when he opened his eyes was enough to jolt him back to reality, leading him to twist around to try and see what Clay’s eyes were focused on over his shoulder. “What’s wrong?”
Clay tilted his head, brow furrowed as he breathed in deep. “Is… something burning?”
Crap.
“Crap!”
Apollo nearly stumbled over Clay’s feet as he abruptly pulled away, rushing back to the kitchen to turn off the burner that the pasta sauce was bubbling on top of. Clay, close behind him, grabbed an oven mitt and avoided the cloud of steam that the removal of the cover released. The astronaut grabbed the nearby spatula and stirred experimentally, Apollo cringing as he clearly scraped something off the bottom of the pan. His boyfriend smiled apologetically as he shrugged. “Damage isn’t too bad, just gotta avoid the bottom burn-y bits.”
“Could be worse.” He sighed.
Clay set aside the spatula, ruffling Apollo’s hair as he passed, which earned him an elbow. “So, do I have to take full blame for distracting you from dinner, or can Keko and I split it fifty-fifty?”
Apollo rolled his eyes, putting more into it than he normally would have to make up for the fact that he had taken Clay’s hand in his after elbowing him. “Get the plates, Clay.”
“I’m going to need both hands for that, Pols.”
His reluctance to let go must have shown, because Clay shot him a wink as he turned to get the plates down from the cupboard. Apollo’s face felt hot. Unwilling to lose this game, he once again caught Clay’s hand after he set the plates down and brushed a light kiss against his knuckles.
He couldn’t help but smirk at the results. Exactly as expected, Clay bypassed pink entirely as his face flushed red. The astronaut’s free hand shot up to pull the brim of his not-present visor over his eyes, compromising by running through his hair after a brief flail. Clay gave him a glare that was much too warm as he shot back. “Get the cups, Apollo.”
Apollo snorted, squeezing his hand and feeling warmth fill up his chest as Clay returned the gesture. “Of course, Clay.”