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“Do you have to go, Laz?” Keith’s voice was soft as he spoke, burying his tiny hands in the fur of Ulaz’s arm.
Ulaz paused mid-lick, as he had been in the middle of grooming Keith’s headfur for the evening. He was leaving in the morning on an off-base mission—or as Keith would have said, a ‘top-secret’ one, even though it was anything but that. It was perhaps one of the least dangerous missions he had been assigned to in years.
He was sure that was because of Keith.
“I’m afraid so, cub,” he finally said. “But don’t worry… your father is staying here with you.”
Ulaz glanced over to where Thace was lying on the other side of the bed, scrolling through something on his datapad—perhaps a dossier or a report that needed to be filed for Kolivan. Keith was staring at the datapad with narrowed eyes, and Ulaz was sure the cub was wondering why Thace wasn’t letting him play with it. Thace always let him play with the datapad while he was getting his headfur groomed in the evening before bed. Or at least, that was what happened when Thace was grooming Keith. This was likely because Thace was much more meticulous about his grooming than Ulaz was, so it took far longer. Usually Keith fell asleep before Thace had even finished, lulled by the sound of Thace’s deep purring.
At first glance, it appeared as though Thace was too distracted with his work to notice what was being said. However, when one of his ears turned just so, Ulaz knew that he was listening, even if he wasn’t actively involved in the conversation. Keith was beginning to struggle to keep his eyes open, even though he hadn’t started yawning yet, so it was likely that Thace would ask to take Keith any tick now.
Which meant that Ulaz would soon have to say goodnight and goodbye.
“Will you bring back presents?” Keith asked drowsily.
A deep purr began rumbling in Ulaz’s chest as he began grooming Keith’s headfur again. “Of course I will,” he promised in between licks. “Just be good for your father…”
Keith looked over his shoulder at Ulaz, pouting as he rubbed one of his eyes. “I’m good!”
Thace let out a soft, amused hum at that. The noise startled Keith, and the cub turned in Ulaz’s lap to look at his other father. “Yes, last time you were very well behaved, kitling,” Thace said as he sat up. “Are you done grooming him yet, Laz?”
“Almost,” Ulaz said, as he tried to tuck down a stubborn lock of Keith’s headfur—it was one that was impossible and always stuck up, but he didn’t want to hand Keith over just yet. Especially since he wasn’t going to see the cub for a couple of rotations at least. “He’s got a flyaway here that won’t lie flat…”
Thace sighed, tilting his head as he watched the two of them with the makings of a fond smile. “I’ll fix it in the morning—”
“No! Laz can fix it now!” Keith whined, before Ulaz could offer his own retort—although he had been just as ready to complain. Even in spite of his protests, however, Keith did try to bite back a yawn.
Thace reached out to lightly run his hand over Keith’s soft headfur. At the contact, Keith let out a low gurgling noise that passed for a purr, butting his head into the touch. His eyes were bleary when he looked at Thace, though, as if he were fighting to stay awake.
“You’re tired, kitling… you need sleep.” When he spoke, Thace’s voice was soft. However, the pointed look he directed at Ulaz, and the accompanying slight jerk of his head in Keith’s direction, were not.
Ulaz’s ears shifted back, even as he held the cub closer. “Right… you’re right,” he sighed. “It’s time for bed, Keith…”
Keith shook his head. “Noooo,” he whined, rubbing one of his eyes with a tiny fist. “I wanna stay up—”
“But cubs need sleep…” Thace said patiently as he held out his hands so that Keith could crawl into his arms. “And Laz is leaving in the morning so you have to say goodbye tonight.”
Keith pouted. “Why?”
“Because he’s leaving early,” Thace said. His twitching ears were the only indication of his mounting exasperation.
“Why?”
“Oh, no, no, no…” Thace said as he scooped Keith up into his arms. “We’re not playing the question game again tonight, kitling.”
Keith yawned wide, displaying his blunter-than-average teeth before he snuggled into Thace’s arms, letting out his soft gurgling pseudo-purr again. He looked ready to crash, resting his cheek against Thace’s shoulder as his eyelids began to droop.
“He can’t sleep with us tonight?” Ulaz asked.
Thace shot him an unimpressed look. “No, because then you’re never going to leave.”
Ulaz didn’t even try to offer a retort to that—he knew that Thace was right.
“Now, say goodnight to Laz, kitling,” Thace said, voice going soft again as he butted his nose against Keith’s temple.
Keith was fighting to keep his eyes open so that he could say goodbye properly, and when he spoke, his voice was heavy with sleep. He only managed a soft night, night before he yawned wide. Ulaz dipped his head so that he was eye level with Keith, and the cub leaned forward to butt their foreheads together. Then, a deep purr rumbled in Ulaz’s chest as he ran his nose along Keith’s temple, and the cub responded with a soft gurgle.
“Keep your father on his toes,” Ulaz said teasingly.
Keith tried to stifle his giggles behind his hands as Thace sighed in exasperation.
“As if he doesn’t do that enough already,” Thace muttered under his breath, although there was no sign of annoyance there. Only fondness.
“L’miss you…” Keith said, although his speech was slurring with sleep as he began dozing.
“And I’ll miss you,” Ulaz assured him, reaching out to smooth some of Keith’s headfur back from his face. Only then—along with Thace’s soft purring—did Keith finally settle in and drift off.