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The house of Cindy's dad was a nice middle ground between her mother's apartment and the Huxley manor - not so small you could barely breath, but not so big that you felt lost in your own bedroom. It was a nice, comfortable middle, helped by the warmth and acceptance her father omitted in everything he did. Ted liked the fact at least one of them got a good parental figure, and he equally liked the fact that her father had no qualms with treating him and his brother like family.
Though right now, he wasn't with the three, working a night shift at the job Ted had never really asked about because he wasn't good with small talk. It was just him, Felix and Cindy, sitting in that order on a plush couch, a baby pink blanket spread across all of their laps. An extra blanket wraps around Felix's shoulders; he never did well with the cold.
The room was dimly lit. The curtains were drawn (though, it wouldn't changed much in terms of darkness, the winter night already pitch black), and a two-foot lamp to the left of the couch gave off a soft, orange glow. The TV that faced the couch, only separated with a coffee table where their empty mugs sat on thrifted coasters, further illuminated the trio with the gentle blue light of the gameshow Felix insisted they watch.
It was reruns of The Weakest Link, the episodes from around the time the twins would have watched when they were small. Though, they didn't have a well enough memory to still remember the answers. Choosing the older seasons wasn't a strategy to win in their own personal game, they truly had no advantage. It just added a nice nostalgia factor.
As the questions were asked, the three would call their own answers to the TV. For the most part, they all got them correct, and would laugh at any comically incorrect answers said - or in Felix and Cindy's case, all of the incorrect answers. Ted reserved his laughter for answers along the lines of people being told to name a body part and answering with a fruit. When Felix and Cindy themselves got the questions wrong, even if they were wrong in different ways, they'd both cry it was actually the show that was wrong. Unless one got it right and the other got it wrong, then it turned into a domestic dispute Ted had to third wheel until the next question gets asked.
"What is a Central European country beginning with A?"
The contestant thought, but the trio was quicker. Felix confidently called out Australia, and was followed shortly after by Cindy answering Arizona and Ted answering Austria. He grinned when he was the only one to get it right - even the contestant blanked completely.
"Australia?" Ted coos teasingly, pressing his face close to Felix's and laughing when he's pushed away. "Aw, don't be a sore loser! Just cause you don't know the difference between Europe and Oceania-"
Felix scoffs at Ted's proud grin, trying to hide the embarrassment at his incorrect answer, "oh, hush, they are extremely similar. It is an easy mistake to make. Cindy didn't even name a country!"
"Hey, don't bring me into this!" she pouts at him, "you didn't even name a real country!"
Felix stops pushing Ted away, and Ted stops pushing his face against Felix's hand. They both turn to stare at her, completely distracted from the question being asked to the next contestant.
"What? Why're you staring at me like that?"
"Darling… you…" Felix was lost for words, shaking his head as both his hands return to his lap. He lands on simply saying "Australia is real."
She snorts, "oh, they got you on it too, I see."
"Cindy… Cindy, what," Ted mutters, leaning forwards to look past Felix and just stare at her. Both twins weren't sure what to say. It wasn't a harmful conspiracy theory, just… baffling.
"Well… have you ever been to Australia?" she asks.
Ted shakes his head, "no, but-"
"Exactly!"
He sighs, already exasperated with this conversation that had barely started, "but- but there is a long, documented history! There are photos dating back centuries!"
"AI generated! Fake news! It's all a government ploy!"
Felix hums, turned away from Ted and his expression of pure confusion, "you know… you do make a good point."
"What."
Felix turns back to Ted, grinning a little, "no, seriously. Cindy is making very good points. You shouldn't be so closed minded, Teddy."
"Thank you! Gosh, someone around here finally understands me!" Cindy grins up at Felix, "you always understand me, sweetheart."
"Of course I do, my dear…" Felix leans in closer to Cindy, presumably to kiss her - Ted pulls him back before he can.
"Oh my god, don't be so disgusting after saying- saying one of the biggest countries in the world isn't real!"
Cindy scoffs and looks back to Ted, and Felix mirrors her facial expression of annoyance, "why can't you just believe women, Ted!"
Felix nods, his eyes closed as if she had just made the most ground-breaking point. "Yes, yes, she is right. Why do you hate women so much, Teddy?"
Oh my god, this was it. This was his breaking point. Ted was finally going to commit a double homicide.
Ted gestures around vaguely, unsure of where to even go from here, "you know I love woman-"
Felix takes Ted's hands in his wrists, stopping his gesturing "oh, really? Then why are you dating two men?" Cindy calls out a vague "yeah!" from behind him.
"One of those men-" Ted pulls his hands out of Felix's grasp, "being Australian!"
"Oh, I had forgotten you had bad taste," Cindy murmurs.
Ted makes a squeaky noise of annoyance, "you dated him too!"
"Yes, but that was before he started pretending to be from a country that does not exist."
"He- I- oh my God-"
Felix is unable to hold back in his laughter, "good God, Teddy, you look like you're about to pop a blood vessel!"
"I! Really am about to!" Ted squeaks through gritted teeth. Felix snorts again.
"Please, Teddy, calm yourself. I was only joking to get a reaction out of you. And, my God, this is…" he gestures to Ted's red face, "all I could have every wanted out of that."
Ted sighs a breath of relief. "I actually hate you," he mumbles, but doesn't move from where he's sitting cuddled up next to his brother - none of them had moved since this whole thing started. He groans in annoyance (at both himself for falling for it, and at Felix for going along with Cindy's ridiculousness), rests his head on Felix's shoulder, and goes back to watching the show. "If that killed me, I would've haunted you, y'know."
"I know. And if you killed me, I would haunt you." Felix chuckles when Ted looks up at him with a slightly confused expression, "oh please, Teddy. I know how you look when you want to murder me. You should really get better at hiding that."