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After another long, tiring week of government work, Movie Date Night is just what Ivo needs; a night spent with Aban — his partner, his favourite person, the only person on Earth he trusts — work forgotten, watching whatever they want while cuddled up either on the couch or in bed.
Tonight isn’t like other Movie Date Nights, however. Aban had told him that none of Shadow’s friends could have him over for the night, meaning they’ve had to host it at Aban’s house to watch over him. Ivo doesn’t know why a cat would need to stay at someone’s house for the night, how a cat has friends to have sleepovers with, or why Shadow couldn’t stay at whatever house Farya, Aban’s daughter, is staying at, but he isn’t going to question his partner’s parenting techniques when he himself has no experience caring for children or animals. The thought slipped his mind hours ago anyway.
Aban had insisted they have a night-long movie marathon, watching a series of five movies about a girl who’s being forced to love either an old vampire with the face and body of a “seventeen year old”, or a shirtless werewolf. The werewolf doesn’t seem that bad so far, but Ivo has a weird feeling about him. No one else is a viable option, apparently, nor is ending up with neither. Ivo knows it’s a very popular franchise, but for the life of him, he can’t figure out what’s so appealing, despite how quickly he’s become invested in the love lives of these morons.
He sighs as he sinks further back into the couch cushion. Aban, in turn, cuddles in closer to his side, his head on his chest. Ivo moves his arm to rest across his shoulders and leans down to whisper to him.
“This is atrocious.”
Aban chuckles and turns his head to face him, keeping his eyes on the screen. “You keep saying that, but you’re still watching,” he whispers back.
“I’d be celebrating if I found out that freak of a vampire was leaving to go die.”
Aban nods. “I would have just killed him myself,” he says. “Bring you along to cheer me on.”
Ivo snorts and squeezes his shoulder. He can almost hear Aban’s responding smile.
They’re silent for the remainder of the movie, save for Ivo’s half-formed whispers of commentary and complaint. When the credits roll, Aban grabs the remote and pauses it, turning to face his partner with a bright smile. “What’d you think of that?” he asks, clearly knowing the answer already.
Ivo scoffs and rolls his eyes up toward the ceiling. “God, they’re all such imbeciles!” he cries. He turns his body to face him, who’s now grinning. “What does she see in him?!”
Aban tilts his head to the side. “It’s manipulation paired with a pretty face and body,” he says. “And she’s an easy target for that.”
“She’s an idiot. I’d say I hope she doesn’t procreate with either of them, but with how many ‘films’ there are, I’m sure it’s going to happen.” Ivo slumps further into the couch.
Aban chuckles. “It’s much more disturbing than that,” he says with a low, ominous voice.
Ivo cringes. “Good god…”
A small, black blur enters his peripheral vision, a black cat trotting over with surprisingly heavy steps, swaying side to side. Seeing as Aban only has one cat, this has to be Shadow.
Shadow stomps over to Aban and meows at him, voice high and squeaky. Aban smiles and leans down to pat scratch under its chin, whispering nonsensical, sweet words to the cat. Shadow closes his eyes and leans heavily into his hand for a moment before stumbling back a bit and looking up at Ivo. He stares back. Just as he starts to move his hand close to let him sniff, Shadow turns around and stomps back to the kitchen.
Ivo frowns. “Rude little creature,” he grumbles under his breath.
Aban pats his knee and smiles at him. “She doesn’t hate you,” he tells him with a light chuckle. “She just needs to get used to you being around.”
She?
Ivo just hums instead of saying anything, watching as Shadow walks behind the kitchen island, disappearing from view.
Ivo pauses.
There’s a steaming mug on the kitchen island.
He and Aban haven’t left the couch since before the movie they just finished, and he knows he hasn’t heard any doors opening or closing, any footsteps, and certainly not any kitchen appliances being turned on or used. There’s no way for a hot mug to be on the counter, not unless Ivo had somehow missed all the signs that someone else was, in fact, in the house with them — and that is impossible, even without his hearing aids in and the Badniks keeping lookout for him! He can always sense Aban when he’s near, when anyone is–
Ivo can't help but jolt with an undignified shriek when a dark figure rises silently from behind the kitchen island. Aban immediately shoots to his feet to scan the area, hand hovering where his gun holster would be on his hip. He apparently doesn’t see what Ivo sees, so he looks back at him and follows his line of sight to the kitchen where the figure is still standing, staring back at him, not breaking eye contact once. Aban visibly relaxes at the sight, breathing a heavy sigh of relief as his shoulders slump down. He shakes his hands out a bit before sitting back down.
Seeing that Aban doesn’t see them as a threat, Ivo forces his own body to calm itself down so he can take in the details of the figure.
The first thing he notices is how they’re staring directly at him, unblinking, with wide, dark, sharp eyes. They almost pierce through him. He redirects his focus to take in the rest of them, if only to not feel so pinned by their eyes.
They have quite a young face, but their features are sharp. Their black hair hangs over their shoulders, slightly messy with choppy bangs. They’re short, evident by how Ivo can only see the top half of their faded grey band tee that seems to serve as a pyjama shirt. Their nails are painted, all black except for the middle fingers, which are the same bright red as the streaks in the hair. Their hands are holding Shadow steady, where he lays limp and content over their shoulder.
Ivo knows who that is, even without asking for a name.
That’s Farya.
But what is she doing here?
Aban looks back at him. “Are you alright?” he asks softly. Ivo glances at him to nod before looking back to Farya. Aban turns to her and asks the same question, earning only a quiet, surprisingly deep hum in return.
Farya glances quickly between the two men a few times before settling her gaze on Aban. “Should I… introduce myself? Since we’re all here…”
Aban gives her a soft smile. “If you want to,” he tells her. “You don’t have to stay if you’re not comfortable.”
She nods to herself, then looks over Aban's head to look at Ivo. "My name's Shadow." What. "Nice to meet you."
Ivo’s brain ceases to work for a split second. That’s Shadow. Not the cat, the kid, meaning the cat is Farya… It makes sense now why Aban was asking for someone to care for Shadow for the night. Of course he wouldn’t need to send the cat to have a sleepover, it– she probably only knows her family members and a handful of visitors.
New question, though: why does the cat have a human name, and the human has a cat name? Farya’s a black cat, so a name like Shadow, while cliché and overdone, would fit. It does fit, it did fit–
Not now. He can ask Aban about it later.
Shadow, who Ivo now knows is a human boy, keeps his intense gaze on him. “What do you want me to call you?” He moves his hands to hold his mug, angling his shoulder to keep Farya balanced like it’s second nature to both of them. “I know Baba only uses your first name when you’re not at work, so…” He shrugs with his free shoulder. “Y’know, I don’t know if you’re comfortable with me doing the same,” he explains.
Ivo nods slowly. “Let’s stick with ‘Robotnik’ for now,” he tells him.
Shadow nods.
“I wasn’t expecting to see you until tomorrow.”
Shadow huffs lightly. “Yeah, I wasn’t really planning on being seen until tomorrow,” he mumbles. “I couldn’t sleep so I came out to make a hot chocolate.” He gently moves the mug away from Farya, who has lifted her wobbly head to try and sniff his drink, then nods toward the TV. “I saw the last couple minutes of the movie,” he says. “What team are you on? Vampire or Werewolf?”
Aban immediately straightens in his seat at the question and turns to Ivo with a bright grin. Ivo raises an eyebrow at him. “Excuse me?” he asks flatly, looking between the two staring at him.
Aban clarifies for him. “Do you want her to end up with the vampire or the werewolf?”
“Is this a ‘thing’ in the fandom?” Ivo asks with a grimace.
“Yeah.”
“Very much so.”
Ivo sighs, crosses his arms, and looks up at the ceiling, lightly chewing his lip while feigning deep thought. He can feel both pairs of eyes looking at him expectantly. He taps rhythmically on his upper arm and hums, then hums again to draw it out. Finally, he decides to give them mercy by providing an answer, the one he’s had since seeing both love interests for the first time. He turns to face them both. “She should kill them both.”
Shadow nods solemnly and raises his mug to his lips. “She’s not a prize to be won,” he says gravely before sipping his hot chocolate.
Ivo nods back. “Wise words, child.” Aban huffs a quiet laugh at that and pats his arm. Ivo lets himself relish in the weight and warmth for a second before Shadow responds.
“I’m not a child,” Shadow says with an oddly intimidating snarl. “I’m fourteen in June.”
Ivo waves a hand at him, then wraps his arm around Aban’s shoulders, missing his presence after leaning on each other for the better part of four hours. “Semantics,” he mutters, pulling his partner close. Aban immediately melts into his side and snuggles closer.
Shadow looks between the two of them a few times, lip curling up in disgust. “You two are being gross so I’m going back to bed,” he says flatly as he starts his walk back to his room.
Aban sits up slightly and reaches out to him with a smile, making little grabbing motions with his hand. Shadow detours to walk over to him. He grabs Aban’s hand, and they both squeeze tight.
“I love you, Shads,” Aban says softly with an extra squeeze of his hand.
Shadow shuffles on his feet and clutches his mug a little tighter, cheeks tinted slightly. “Love y’too, Baba,” he mumbles, nearly inaudible. He nods at Ivo, seemingly calling on his confidence again. “See you at breakfast, Robotnik,” he says, leaving before Ivo can give a response, Farya still comfortably slung over his shoulder. He disappears behind his bedroom door, which closes with a quiet click. Ivo blinks and looks at Aban, who’s smiling softly up at him.
“What did you think of Shadow?” Aban asks quietly.
Ivo purses his lips together in thought. “He’s…” He narrows his eyes as he finds the right words. “He’s… not insufferable. Though,” he says slowly, “I may have a slight bias because he’s your kid and not someone else’s.”
Aban grins with a slight flush of his cheeks. “That’s extremely high praise, coming from you.”
“I’m aware,” Ivo shoots back. He glances down the hall, then back at the kitchen to make sure Shadow hasn’t teleported back into the open space since retreating to his room. Once he’s sure the coast is clear, he leans in close to his partner, noses nearly touching. Aban seems to realise he’s about to tell him something serious, so he sits up a little straighter and nods his head. Ivo leans in the slightest bit more. “I feel you should know something, but I’m only telling you because I’m in a good mood, and I know you’ll take this well.”
“Of course.”
Ivo lets out a long sigh and averts his eyes to look toward the hallway again, unable to look at the man through his embarrassment. He lowers his voice to a near-whisper, feeling his cheeks heat up. “I thought Shadow was the cat’s name,” he forces himself to say.
In his periphery, he sees Aban sitting completely still, staring at him in silence. Neither of them moves for a full half minute, until Ivo glances at him. Aban blinks. His lips slowly quirk up into a smile, then a grin, before he barks out the loudest laugh Ivo has ever heard from him. He howls with laughter, trying to muffle it with both hands but failing spectacularly, and falls forward into Ivo’s chest. Ivo sighs loudly and pats his back, harsher than needed as if he could slap the laughter out of him so that the humiliation can be over quicker.
He sits there with his partner shaking against him for almost four minutes. He knows that his confession was funny, he can admit that in the privacy of his own mind, and he’s sure it’s even funnier to the parent of the two he had mixed up, but come on .
Once Aban is finally — mostly — calm, he sits up, hands on Ivo’s shoulders to stabilise himself. He’s still grinning ear to ear and letting out the occasional little noise. “I– How–” He bites his lip to muffle a giggle. “Ivo, how did you come to that conclusion?”
Ivo inwardly curses himself for the warmth that spreads throughout his chest at hearing his first name leave his partner’s lips. He furrows his brows. “It’s not my fault!” he hisses. He lowers his voice again, not wanting to be on the receiving end of a glare from Shadow’s disturbingly intense eyes for waking him up, if Aban isn’t already going to be receiving one for the laughter. “We don’t really talk about family at work, and — full offence to whoever named the kid — he has a cat name and the cat has a human name, so of course I thought the black cat was named Shadow.”
Aban laughs again, but it’s much calmer than his outburst earlier. He wipes his wet eyes on the sleeve of his sweater. “Okay,” he says, “okay, I see where the confusion came from. That’s on me.” He smiles up at Ivo. “For the record, Shadow named both Farya and himself.”
Of course the edgy kid gave himself an edgy name. “Why?”
Aban squeezes his shoulder. “You should ask him tomorrow over breakfast, see if he’ll give you an answer,” he replies. He lets out another giggle and leans into Ivo’s chest again, this time to cuddle him, rather than muffling his laughter. He sighs blissfully. “God, I love you,” he whispers.
Ivo freezes, arm hovering slightly above him where it was about to pull him close again, and Aban shoots back up to look at him with wide eyes, smile wiped from his face. Ivo can feel his face burning at his words.
They’ve never said that they love each other before, not in the four months they’ve been together or any time before. Sure, it’s been implied, through Aban’s latte art, through Ivo’s more gentle touches while they work, but it’s never been said aloud. Ivo, of course, reciprocates his feelings — he wouldn’t be with him if he didn’t — but those three words hold so much weight. He’s just not ready to voice it yet, and he’s not sure when he will be.
“Ivo…?”
Ivo blinks back into his body and looks at his partner. Aban’s brows are creased and his eyes are still wide. His breathing is the slightest bit ragged, clearly panicking. Ivo’s sure his lack of reaction isn’t helping ease his worry.
He huffs and moves Aban’s arms off his shoulders before standing. Aban gasps shakily, but before he can say anything, Ivo points to the spot he was just sitting in.
“Sit there.”
Aban blinks a few times before quickly moving to sit on the cushion. Ivo positions him to his liking, then lays on top of him, hiding his face in his chest and wrapping his arms around his waist. Aban stills before quickly melting with a deep sigh and holding him close. Ivo can’t see his face, but he’s sure he’s got that stupid sparkly-eyed smile on his face.
He nudges Aban’s chin with the top of his head. “Put the next movie on,” he mumbles. “I need to see how much worse their lives get.” His partner chuckles and grabs the remote, putting on the third movie. He drops the remote on the coffee table and makes himself comfortable between Ivo’s body and the couch cushions. He rests a hand on the back of Ivo’s head, lightly dragging his nails against his scalp. Ivo slowly melts in his arms with a contented breath. He listens to Aban’s heartbeat as the movie begins, then promptly starts complaining about what’s happening on screen.