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The 126’s kitchen area was as festive as it could possibly be for the annual holiday party while not being a potential fire hazard. There was garland high up on the cabinets and poinsettias with Stars of David on the vases - Owen’s attempt at honoring both of his son’s holidays - lined up on the snow white table runners. Battery operated lights twinkled in safe corners and every inch of table and counter space was covered in holiday favorites, from brisket and turkey to sugar cookies and rugelach.
Carlos was enjoying the party as much as he could. Halloween had been harder than he’d expected without his dad, and the last big celebration their whole family’d had together had been their rehearsal dinner; he hadn't seen his sisters in person since their wedding. This party felt like an intermediate step, a way to start processing the holidays before he had to face his mother and sisters in the same house where his dad used to lift him up so he could put the star on the top of the tree.
He knew he was being too reserved by how TK had spent the entire party hovering near him. Right now, for instance, he was talking with Nancy a few feet away, but his eyes kept darting over to Carlos, who was standing on his own, leaning against the counter next to the fridge. He tried to smile to reassure him, but it only made his husband frown. “Babe,” he called, “we were just talking about these cookies Paul made. You wanna try one?”
“I’m fine.”
“Are you sure? He did something to the butter, right Nancy?“
“He browned it,” she said sagely, waving a piece of sugar cookie around, “gives it this extra kinda nutty taste.”
“See, doesn’t that sound great? Or these dark chocolate ones that Cap brought? Or how about the brisket, the brisket is amazing.”
“I know, I’ve got some here,” Carlos said, gesturing vaguely at the plate on the counter next to him.
But that only made TK look even more concerned, and a few seconds too late Carlos remembered that TK had been the one to make his plate, so he probably realized Carlos hadn’t eaten anything.
“Hey, what’s that?”
He turned to Mateo on his other side, who was peering at the bottom of the fridge apprehensively. “What’s what?”
“You don’t hear that sound?”
He bent down a little and tilted his head until he could just about make out a sort of high-pitched growling noise. And … was that a hiss?
“Hey, everybody, quiet down!” Carlos ordered, squatting low so he could hear better.
In the sudden quiet that followed, the growl was obvious. Then there was another hiss.
Every pair of eyes in the room snapped to him and TK.
“It’s not Lou!” TK insisted, his voice cracking a bit.
“It can’t be,” Carlos added, trying to sound sure even though he was suddenly second-guessing himself. “We shut and locked the terrarium before we left, we checked our bags when we got here to make sure he didn’t hitch a ride with the food …”
“What the hell else could it be?” Mateo demanded, backing away from the fridge quickly.
“I thought I saw something orange down there earlier,” said Marjan added, “but I thought it was a Cheeto or something, I dunno, I didn’t get a good look.”
They looked at each other wearily before TK sighed. “Fine. Even though it is definitely, one hundred percent not Lou, I’ll take a look.”
“TK, wait -“ Carlos protested, but it was too late. His husband was on his hands and knees and reaching under the fridge.
There was a few tense moments as felt around down around there. Then his eyebrows snapped together and he said, “Huh.”
There was yet another hiss. Then a growl. Then … something else. Something like … a motor?
Carlos frowned. “Is that - is it purring?”
Carefully, TK pulled out his hand. In it was a dusty but distinctly orange kitten.
“Uh … did someone save a cat up a tree and forget to tell us?” Mateo asked, eyeing the rumbling dust-ball dubiously.
Everyone shook their heads.
The little thing, which was only slightly bigger than TK’s hand, rubbed its cheek against TK’s chest then reached out a tiny paw towards Carlos. He reluctantly reached out to rub its head and it closed its eyes in contentment.
“Awww,” Owen cooed walking over to them and reaching out to pet the kitten, “what a sweet little guy.”
The kitten hissed and swiped at Owen, spitting angrily.
“Ow! Or not," he said, nursing his finger. "Guess it just likes you guys."
“I think you’ve been picked, dudes,” Nancy said matter-of-factly.
“You wanted a pet you could pet,” TK pointed out.
“It could already be someone else’s pet.”
“There was a feral cat and her kittens here a couple days ago. They got away before the animal rescue people came,” Captain Vega said. “I bet this little guy got left behind.”
“Please, Carlos?” TK asked, cuddling the kitten under his chin adorably.
He looked into the big, pleading eyes of his husband, then down at the big, hopeful eyes of the kitten and sighed.
“Fine,” he said, pointing seriously at TK, “but you’re responsible for making sure he gets along with Lou.”
“Done!” Then TK’s gaze dropped and his mouth screwed up like he was trying not laugh. “Oh.”
Carlos felt little tiny pinpricks as the kitten kneaded his arm and sighed. How did he always get himself into these things?
*
A few hours later, Carlos was sitting on his couch, cuddling the kitten to his chest as he kneaded his claws into his chest while purring loud enough to vibrate through his shirt. They’d stopped by a pet store on the way home, so their elegant loft now had a cat bed and a cat tree and litter box that he was pretty sure he was going to be in charge of getting the kitten to use, not to mention clean up. At least they'd gotten it mostly confirmed it was a he, at least until they were able to get to the vet.
He was pretty cute though, petting his little head on Carlos’s chin and giving him rough-tongued cat kisses.
“You ready?” TK called from the bedroom.
“Yeah, babe, we’re ready.”
“Okay, here we come.”
TK came out, smiling ear-to-ear, gently holding Lou in front of him. He gingerly knelt down in front of Carlos and held out the lizard. “What do you think, buddy? You like Louis?”
“Sorry, who?”
“Louis the cat. Duh.”
“Or we could name our pet something that isn’t Lou. This one isn’t even a lizard, the alliteration doesn’t make sense anymore.”
“But he likes being a Louis, doesn’t you, sweetie?” TK cooed at the kitten who purred contentedly back. “Louis Three. It’s perfect!”
“We’re going to mix them up so much,” Carlos predicted mournfully as Louis seemed to notice his lizard brother at last, struggling out of Carlos’s hold and making his way down his leg to meet him.
Lou regarded the kitten with what seemed to be negligible interest, although it was hard to tell. Carlos was only sure Lou liked him because he never tried to bite him any more.
Louis walked up to Lou and sniffed around his head delicately. Then his little pink tongue poked out and he tentatively gave Lou two kisses, something Carlos figured had to be pretty uncomfortable, given Louis's scratchy tongue and Lou’s scales.
Then Louis smacked Lou in the face, reared back on his hind legs, fell over and onto the floor, before taking off to hide under the bed.
“Well,” TK said contemplatively, "could’ve gone worse.”
Then he handed Lou over to Carlos and went off to try to persuade Louis out from under the bed.
*
Christmas morning, hours before dawn, Carlos was lying on the couch and gently stroking Lou, who was lying on his chest. Ever since his father died, he’d found spending time with the bearded dragon comforting. It was nice to be with something that didn’t expect anything of him, who didn’t worry that he was up too late or wasn’t talking enough or if he cried. He was pretty sure TK knew, that he had noticed where he’d been on the nights when he’d leave their bed for an hour or so at a time, but he’d never made Carlos admit how much he’d come to rely on their escape artist lizard.
Tonight, however, even Lou hadn’t been quite enough. He and his sisters had done their best to make things joyful for their mother, but he could see the sadness on her face whenever she thought they weren’t looking. And as much as Owen and TK tried to help, he knew it wasn’t any easier for them, this only being their second holiday season without Gwen. It had been exhausting and emotional, and as hard as he tried, lying in the bed next to TK, he couldn’t let it go and sleep. And now, after over two hours with Lou, it didn’t look like he’d be able to sleep at all.
A curious mrrow interrupted his thoughts and he looked down to see a yawning Louis ambling over to him. He stopped at the edge of the couch and looked up at Carlos expectantly.
He picked up the kitten and hesitantly placed him next to Lou. “No fighting,” he instructed sternly. Louis had punched Lou three more times in the week since the holiday party; trying to make them get along was definitely a work in progress.
Louis purred and curled up on his chest, seeming happy to ignore his scaly new brother if it meant getting cuddles, at least for a while.
“Babe?” He looked up from his pets to see a sleepy TK, rubbing his eyes and shuffling slowly out of their room. “You’re still up?”
“Couldn’t sleep,” he replied sheepishly, stroking Louis lightly so he didn’t have to look TK in the eye.
He could practically feel TK biting down the questions he wanted to ask as he stood at the end of the couch. In the end, he only asked one. “What do you need?”
As an answer, Carlos held out his arms.
Gently TK lay down, covering Carlos, nuzzling his head down between Louis and Lou. Lou stepped a little closer to TK’s head, tongue flicking out curiously. Louis raised his head and started sleepily licking at TK’s nose.
“It gets better, right?” Carlos asked, his voice wavering. “The holidays won’t always be like this.”
“I mean, I’m only on my second Hanukkah without Mom, so I don’t really know yet,” TK said, kissing Carlos between the V of his t-shirt. “But we can be there for each other until we figure it out.”
“Always,” Carlos agreed, threading his fingers into TK’s hair.
“And so will Lou and Louis, huh, buddies?
Louis gave a sleepy mrrrrp of agreement before curling back into a ball. Lou’s tongue flicked out again, which seemed like he was agreeing, too, in his own way.
They sat in the quiet for a little while, Carlos petting TK’s hair, TK tracing patterns into Carlos’s stomach, and for the first time since he woke the morning before, he felt the tension drain out of him.
Then TK asked, “So you wanna see Lou in the little Santa hat I got him?”
Carlos let out a surprised laugh. “You know what? I really do.”
