A little family reunion

[PunkPrince]

Kenny groaned and rolled over in bed as he heard someone knocking on his door. "He recognized the voice as his grandmother, who was, as usual, shouting at him in Thai. "Hey! Kathoey! Get out of bed!" She rarely ever spoke in English, at least not to him. Especially not now. His grandmother's house doubled as a foster home, though most of the recent group of children had left. The only one left aside from himself was a seven year old girl named Mabel who, like Kenny and his grandmother, was also of Thai descent. For someone who had never been to Thailand she had managed to pick up the language quite quickly over the four years she had been staying with them. Of course, Kenny had never been to Thailand either, but he had spent his entire life being raised by his grandmother, who had been born there.


He stumbled out of bed, his vision slightly blurred from his lack of glasses. He slipped his glasses on and gazed around his bedroom. It was a complete mess. His various makeup compacts were scattered across his dresser, and the high heels he had worn while out with friends the previous night were lying on the floor. A long black wig was lying next to them, and his grandmother's affectionate teasing rang in his ears. Kathoey. Ladyboy. She had never been bothered by his drag. She had embraced it amazingly for someone as old as she was.


Kenny shoved the clothes on his floor aside and rummaged through his closet for something to wear. He eventually settled on a pair of jeans and a black button up shirt. He shrugged when he looked down at his hands and realized that his fingernails were still painted with the glittery red polish he had put on the night before. He doubted that there was time to take it off now, and besides, he thought it looked nice.


He was supposedly meeting his father and half siblings today. Kenny knew nothing about any of them. His father hadn't been around when he had been born, and he wasn't mentioned around the house. Kenny got the feeling that his grandmother didn't like his father much. The only reasoning she'd given as to why he was being welcomed into their house was "Mali would have wanted it." Surely his father wasn't all bad if his mother had loved him that much?


Kenny had never met his mother either. She had died giving birth to him. He had seen pictures of her, though. She had been a short, thin, pale woman, with dark hair similar to his own. Her eyes had been green though, leaving Kenny to wonder where his dark eyes were from. His grandmother had told him things about her too, how she had loved makeup and all things related to fashion, but his grandmother always seemed so sad when he asked, so as he grew older he simply stopped asking things.


He shuffled out of his bedroom and had to dart out of the way to avoid being slammed into by Mabel, who had been running down the hall. The girl abruptly skidded to a halt and then said in English, "Sumalee told me to tell you that your eggs are ready!" before turning and running back the way she had come. Kenny followed the girl into the kitchen and sat down at his usual place at the table. His grandmother sat a plate of scrambled eggs down in front of him, which he quickly thanked her for.


"Your friends coming over today Kenny?" she asked him, and Kenny raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised by her question. He shrugged. "Tommy probably will. He always does. I was supposed to do my first booked show tonight but I asked to have it moved to tomorrow because...you know." He didn't want his father and siblings to see him doing drag right away. He felt like it might cause trouble. "Lita will probably show up later tonight, we were supposed to go with Tommy and watch Cherie perform. Unless you don't want me to. I can stay here."


He said he could stay, but he really didn't want to. He had been watching his drag mother perform since before she had started teaching him. He liked going out with his friends. Tommy Gunn, whose real name was Haley Porter, was a drag king as well as the first friend Kenny had made watching drag shows. He hadn't known Lita Riot as long, he had only met her a year ago, when she had been picked up by the same drag mother as him. Lita's real name was Cody Rodriguez, though none of them ever actually called her by it, or used male pronouns. It was very rare for any of them to call each other by their given names. When they had first met they had all wound up introducing themselves with their stage names because of the settings, and it had stuck. Kenny was almost always Lucy, even as a skinny boy with glasses, Lita was always Lita--though she had been Lita Winters before Cherie had started teaching her, Tommy was always Tommy, and Cherie was always Cherie. At least to them.


"You can go," the older woman said. "But maybe you should take them with you if they want to go." Kenny sighed. He really didn't want to take his father and stepsiblings to a drag show. It was probably a bad idea. He thought his father had a lot of nerve to come back. Kenny didn't particularly care about meeting him. He had gotten along just fine without him for the past nineteen years, he really didn't need his father now. Upon hearing a knock at the door and watching his grandmother get up to answer it, he sighed. He would try to get along with them at least, if only for the sake of his dead mother.

 

[mikaluvkitties]

They'd had to get up early that day. It had been too early for all three of the children, three hours earlier than they were used to getting up. Otis had had the opposite problem, waking the children up three hours before he would usually be asleep. Needless to say, the ride had been quiet for the most part, and they had only stopped once on the way for gas. Leif had been carefully noting each twist and turn on the road, reading license plates identifying plant life as they passed. Every time they stopped, Leif made sure to give his father a morose look, only giving curt, one-word answers when he was asked what was wrong.


Nich and Kevin spent their drawing pictures on paper (and windows, but what Dad didn't notice wouldn't hurt him, right?) of happy families that still had moms and pets and nice houses. And cookies. They drew a lot of cookies. Kevin and Nich silently appraised each other's work, and Kevin knew that at least he was making sure to make notes to help Nich get even better. Truthfully, he would've preferred to read a book, but Dad didn't let people read book in the car, and seeing how easily motion sickness came to him, Kevin had to admit, however grudgingly, that it was a rule that it was in his best interest to follow.


Leif perked up when he recognized a street from mapquest- they were getting close. He made sure to announce it, too. "About five minutes now." Kevin and Nich straightened up from where they had been crouching over the paper between them, and Kevin looked at Leif owlishly.


"Five minutes?"


"Yep."


Kevin suddenly realized just how not ready to face life he truly was. He'd forgotten in the midst of drawing with Nich that they didn't have pets, or a nice house, and he didn't get to make brownies every week just for fun. It should've been comical, just how hard this hit him.


"Really?"


Their father interrupted, aggravated at the sudden noise, the question of a stated fact, "Yes, Kevin. Now could you please just do something with Nich." Kevin looked down at his lap, a miserable look on his face, visible through the rearview mirror. Otis sighed quietly. He was being too harsh, he knew, but really, now was not the time for Kevin to be paying attention. He didn't need any more reminding that he couldn't take care of them properly. Sometimes, when he knew the kids were all asleep, he would try to contact their mother. She never answered, of course, but that didn't stop him from fantasizing about just how much better life would be if they just had one less kid. He felt guilty for it in the morning, sure- he loved his sons- but sometimes, sometimes it was impossible not to think about it.


"And you're gonna want to turn here," Leif said, bringing his father back to the present in time to make the turn. He mentally berated himself for not paying attention to the road, letting himself get pulled into his thoughts like that. The car grew quieter than it already was, something that anyone would've said was impossible just fifteen minutes ago. The air grew tenser as they pulled up, and Leif began to fidget with his clothing, making sure it looked nice. Well, he'd say it was to make sure he looked nice. Really, he just needed something to do.


Nich was a lot less stealthy with his fidgeting, kicking the back of Leif's chair and doing full body wiggles upon occasion. Kevin just sat staring at his hands, still as possible, thinking Seriously, why do I have nipples? as they pulled up to the house.


"Now remember, kids," Otis said, "Best behavior."


Kevin sighed, looking up at the ceiling of the car, "Yes, dad, we know."


"Okay then, let's just get this over with," Otis said, still coming to terms of just how desperate he was. Everyone piled out of the car, Nich's tattered pirate backpack slung across his chest as he shoved the spiral they'd been doodling in back in- a simple task with how sparse it was- before putting it back on his back, Kevin subtly zipping it up for him.


Leif kept his hands in his pockets, watching his feet as he fell into place next to his brother. Hesitantly, their dad knocked on the door.


When it opened, Kevin took a surprised step back, as if he'd been expecting them fall through a trap door instead.


"Hello," Otis said, smiling weakly while giving a wave of the same quality. Making the best of everyone else's distraction, Nicholas leaned to an angle where he could look into the house, the fascination clear on his face.


He took a look between the old lady and the interior of her house before saying, "Your house doesn't look like an old lady house." The rest of his family turned to stare at him, and even Kevin was horror struck by what his darling, sweet, perfect little brother had just said.

 

[PunkPrince]

Kenny continued poking at his food, eventually pushing the plate back and looking toward Mabel, who was close to finishing her own food. "You can eat my eggs if you want," he said to her. "I'd rather let you have them than throw them out." He stood up, smiling as he watched the girl eagerly dumping his eggs onto her plate. He shuffled slowly about the kitchen and over to the sink to wash his dishes, listening to his grandmother pull open the door. As he did, he noticed something. His fingernails. Still their normal cat claw manicure, but painted with sparky red polish. He must have forgotten to take it off. Great. It was bound to make them more trouble.


He didn't want to meet his father. He didn't need him, or his half siblings. He didn't care. He had all the family he needed already. He was quite happy with his grandmother and Mabel and Cherie and Lita and Tommy, and all the rest of the drag family he had. Sure, it wasn't a nuclear family, more of just a hodge podge, but it had always served him just fine. As long as he didn't have to go through life totally alone, he would be just fine. Without somebody who hadn't bothered with him his entire life.


Sumalee pulled open the door. "Hello Otis," she said, giving him what was very obviously a false smile, but tossing a real one towards his children. "Hello boys." She didn't like the man, she had no idea what her daughter had seen in him, but his kids hadn't done anything. They simply existed. Like Kenny. He hadn't done anything for his father to abandon him. He had never asked to be born to a mother who would die shortly after, along with an absent ghost of a father. But Mali would have wanted her son to know his father.


"Come in," she said, stepping aside. "We can get your things from the car later." She let them to the kitchen. "Have you all eaten breakfast yet?"


Kenny was drying off the plate and placing it off to the side as the group walked in. Mabel had just finished her food and was taking the dish to the sink. She grinned up at the man and boys standing there, bursting into giggles at the youngest boy's comment on their house. "Well, 'cause it's not only old ladies that live here," she informed him. "I live here. And Kenny. He lives here."


Sumalee only laughed at Nich's comment. "She's right, you know," she said when Mabel corrected him. "A lot more kids live here too before they get adopted by somebody. Kenny and Mabel are the only permanent residents, though, at least at the moment."


"My name is Mabel!" Mabel chirped excitedly. "That's Kenny over there." She pointed at him.


Kenny looked up and fixed his glasses. "You shouldn't point at people, Mabel," he said. It was more of a side thought, not something he would normally say. He just wanted to put off talking to his father and half brothers. "Hi," he said, looking over at them. "I'm Kenny."

 

[mikaluvkitties]

Otis's smile grew tighter at the fake smile Sumalee was sending his way, but both Kevin and Leif both smiled back at her, Leif a bit uncomfortable, though he was putting up a valiant effort at trying to hide it, at her obvious distaste for his father. If she didn't like the man, why had she allowed them to stay with her?


Otis was the first to enter, however uncomfortable he felt, once invited inside, with Nicholas hanging to the back, examining everything they passed. "Oh, no, not yet today," Otis said, still as awkward as ever, trying his best to make the best out of it. When his son's comment was brushed away so easily, he let out a breath of relief along with his older sons. Nich was going to argue about how there should still be old lady things lying abut even if there were also kid things lying about- for example: Where were the cats?- but Kevin wrapped an arm around him, surreptitiously choking him for a second before actually only having his arm around him.


The little girl introduced herself, and Nich smiled and waved at her. Then she pointed at Kenny, and the three children turned to face him. Nich was glad to have the knowledge that you weren't supposed to point at others imparted on him, and he shot a glance at Kevin making eye contact, nibbling on his bottom lip with a thoughtful frown. Kevin pointed at people constantly, and he'd never thought it a negative behavior; It was usually just to point out cool tattoos or generally nice looking people- could it really be that bad?


When Nich turned back to Kenny, the first thing he noticed were his fingernails- they were right on level with his eyes, just like all the big bags of yummy, unhealthy cereal dad never bought. They also looked really cool- how did you even get your nails to look like that? It must've been difficult. Maybe he should ask after they introduced themselves. Dad wasn't introducing them yet, though. He seemed to have fallen into a loop, emotions circulating through his face. Maybe he was buffering like you'd see in those really old commercials Kevin liked. Nich thought about introducing them, but really, he was probably the least qualified to introduce them.


After a couple of seconds, Leif let out a barely audible sigh before beginning, pointing towards himself, "I'm Leif." He directed his hand towards his twin, "This is Kevin." He lowered his hand, angling it to Nich's general direction, "The little one's Nicholas, though he goes by Nich." Nich gave a hard, enthusiastic nod, glad that somebody had taken charge, even if it wasn't their dad. Finally, he dropped his hand, turning to face his dad expectantly. "Dad?"


Otis snapped out of his trance, guilt over leaving flooding through him, and said, "I'm Otis." He left the 'Your Father' part unsaid.


Taking the last person introducing themself as a reason to talk, Nich looked over at Kenny, "I like your nails."

 

[PunkPrince]

"There are some eggs left," Sumalee said, beginning to pile some on a few plates for the man and his children before offering them to them. "Would you like some? I would rather they didn't go to waste."


"Sumalee's a good cook!" Mabel commented.


Sumalee smiled at the girl. "Thank you, Mabel," she said. "But I think it's pretty hard to mess up eggs."


"Nice to meet you," Kenny said as the twins introduced themselves. Even though he wasn't interested in having them in his life, they were going to be in it anyway, and he could be civil. No reason to be impolite...for now, at least.


He only nodded when Otis introduced himself. So this was his father. It was...interesting to finally be meeting him. He had spent so long shrouded in mystery that he almost didn't feel real. He'd hardly been mentioned all Kenny's life, and now he was standing in front of them. "It's nice to meet you," he said. As he finished speaking, the little one piped up and made a comment on his nails.


"Thank you," he said with a smile. "I meant to take the polish off, but I was rushed this morning." He wouldn't have tried to take it off ordinarily, he always liked to have something feminine going on with his looks, sometimes varying the intensity of it depending on his mood. "But I like the way it looks."


"I can help bring your stuff in if you want," he offered. "And show you where your rooms are. "The house is usually packed since there's always foster kids coming and going but since Mabel's the only one left it's pretty empty. I can help you unpack too if you need it."

 

[mikaluvkitties]

Otis gave a grateful, if somewhat off put, smile to Sumalee, and nodded, adding, "Yes, that would be amazing. Thank you." Nich gave a nervous giggle at the older woman's remark, deciding that she wasn't half bad and not like the other old ladies he'd met, even if he'd admittedly only ever met a few.


Leif nodded to Kenny, giving an automatic response. "Nice to meet you too." Leif didn't want to be rude, after all, and there was no actual reason for him to dislike his stepbrother, and he hadn't done anything to warrant distrust, though he found himself on edge around him. He was thrown of by this immediate dislike, and he wasn't sure if it was because he actually didn't trust his stepbrother, or because he didn't like the situation and was letting it out through his unwarranted negative impression of his step brother. Both of his brothers seemed as at ease as the circumstances would permit. Considering that they wouldn't know trouble if it slapped them square across the face, however, that didn't exactly say much. Leif realized he would probably be the only one watching for anything, and that he would have to to ensure his family didn't step into an obvious trap.


Then Nich pointed out his fingernails, and Leif foolishly looked, only becoming more secure in the fact that it would be best to keep an eye out, especially if he did that at school. How much more difficult would it be to just exist if people found out he was related to the kid who painted his nails? Kevin looked at the nails as well, and Nich had been right- they looked pretty kick ass. He looked at them while Kenny spoke, frowning a bit when he mentioned he'd been going to get rid of the polish earlier. He quickly replaced it with a grin, however, and looked up to meet Kenny's eyes, saying, "Well, I'm glad you didn't because now I get to see them! I think Nich agrees, right Nich?"


Nich hadn't stopped observing Kenny's nails, looking between them and his own, nodding silently. He wondered if, maybe, later, he'd be willing to show him how to do his nails.


At the offer of help, Nich looked up, smiling. "That'd be great! How many kids usually live here? Are we gonna be sharing rooms?" Nich was shifting from the balls of his feet to the heels, practically bouncing. He really like Kenny's nails, and if Kenny was half as cool as his nails, then they'd get along just fine. And since Nich seemed to think he was cool, Kevin was at ease. Nich had always seemed like a good judge of character- as good as a dog, in fact. Besides, he didn't seem half bad and was taking meeting them pretty well.

 

[PunkPrince]

Sumalee distributed the plates of eggs amongst their guests. The old woman smiled as they chatted about Kenny's nails. As much as she disliked Otis, his boys seemed okay so far, and Kenny was getting along with them. She was relieved to see that no one had made any rude comments on his nails yet. He was often treated so poorly by other people, not that it ever seemed to really phase him. He didn't need that at home too, even if he was used to being able to brush it off.


As they ate, and Sumalee went to the sink to wash the pan, the chatter continued. Kenny gave an appreciative grin at Kevin's compliment. "Thank you," he said. He looked at Nich, who seemed to be almost in a daze, captivated by his fingernails. Kenny hadn't expected them to be so well received. His friends liked them, but outside of that it was an unpredictable reaction. People–usually girls–either loved them or hated them, though the ones who hated them were normally boys. Or adult men. Kenny had always rolled his eyes at it. What business of theirs was it what he chose to do with his fingernails?


When Nich finally did snap out of it and look up again, he seemed to be filled to the brim with questions. "Usually there's at least three other kids," Kenny said. "If not more. You don't have to share rooms though. Not unless you want to." He was glad he wouldn't have to share his own room. His nails were one thing, but he doubted anybody wanted to share his bedroom, the big dragged out mess it always was.


"Should we get to bringing your things in then?" Kenny asked, heading out the door before getting a real answer out of any of them. He wondered where Tommy was. He would probably be happy to help, but Kenny knew that his friend tended to usually just turn up unannounced, and he was sure today would be no different.

 

[mikaluvkitties]

Leif listened to the answers to Nich's questions. He'd asked about something that was actually fairly important, something that was a bit surprising to Leif, though he guessed it would be more surprising if it was his twin. In truth, it was a bit disappointing he wouldn't be forced to share a room with Kevin and Nich. Nostalgia must've already been beginning to set in he reasoned, though he knew it also probably had to do with the fact that his brothers would be getting more privacy- what would they do? It would be harder to check up on them if they weren't all in the same room, easier for them to lie about it, too. Though he guessed that he wouldn't have to deal with them being too loud when he was reading- silver linings, right?


Nich nodded, following closely behind him, not waiting on the rest of his family, Kevin close behind. Leif gave a sigh, quiet enough to avoid being heard by most of the room, before following the others out of the room. Otis reached into his pocket, grasping the cool metal of his keys as he exited out the door. He reached the trunk and slid the key into the slot, turning until he heard the click signaling it was able to open. There were very few boxes in the trunk for the lives of four people. They'd had to sell the computer, and though it was big and clunky, and already in it's last throws of life, the kids had liked it, and it was one of the more regrettable decisions they'd had to make.


They'd only be taking in a few boxes- clothes, a few personal items. Each of the kids had packed a box, maybe two small ones for themselves, while Otis had a plastic bag. He was glad he hadn't waited until that morning to have the kids- it would have delayed them by hours, and everyone would've been much crankier upon their arrival. In all honesty, they probably wouldn't have need that much help from Kenny if not for their need to find out which rooms they would be staying in.


The three automatically reached in and grabbed their items, Nich carefully balancing the two boxes that were oversized in his arms. He looked pitiful as he tried to balance his boxes, but he was all smiles, not nearly as upset with this arrangement as he had thought he would be when he first been told they were going to go live with total strangers.


Nich bounced over to Kenny, the boxes shaking precariously as he went, and asked conspiratorially, "Could you maybe do my nails some time? They look really pretty." His gaze shifted to his nails again- or, at least, tried to. The boxes hid most of his view.

 

[PunkPrince]

Kenny picked up a box from the trunk of the car and upon having read the name printed on the side, started back toward the house. He probably would have made it had he not heard a voice calling to him from across the street. "Lucy!" Instinctively, he didn't look up at first. His father and brothers didn't know about his drag, and though he had planned to tell them, he hadn't planned it so soon. Oh well. If they said anything to him at least he would have a friend around to offer him some sort of help, one who had been family to him much longer than any of these people had. He lifted his head and turned to look at the owner of the voice.


It was Tommy of course, as he had expected. Out of drag his face was feminine, but his style of dress had always been rather tomboyish. Today was no exception. He wore a light blue denim jacket over an oversized white t-shirt, along with a pair of torn up denim skinny jeans. Atop his head was a red and white snapback, most of his dark hair tucked underneath it. "Hi," the skinny king greeted, pulling the hat off to reveal the short, messy hair underneath it. "I would have been here earlier but I didn't feel like doing my hair and it took me forever to find this hat."


"It probably would have taken less time just to comb your hair," Kenny commented. Tommy simply rolled his eyes.


Kenny was about to introduce Nich to his friend, but as he opened his mouth, Nich asked another question, craning his neck to try and look at Kenny's nails again. "I can do your nails sometime if you want," he said with a smile.


"Oh good, maybe she'll finally stop asking to do mine now," Tommy laughed. "I would mess them up after ten minutes and she won't stop bothering me about it. I'm Tommy, by the way. Well, my real name is Haley, but all my friends call me Tommy." When he noticed the small child struggling to hold the boxes, he took the top one. "Here. Let me help. You'll hurt yourself if you drop something."


"Lets get these inside," Kenny said once the last box had been unloaded. He started into the house, Tommy following after him and giving the older boys and Otis a smile as he passed, knowing it was likely that they had heard Kenny introduce him to Nich.


Kenny led the group down the hall and after putting the boxes he carried into the appropriate rooms said, "Nich's room is the last door on the right. These two are yours." He directed the last part toward the twins, talking about the two rooms that they were nearest to. He looked back at Otis, who was standing behind them. "Your room is across from Nich's" he said, stepping off to the side to stand nearer to his friend. As much as he didn't want to admit it, his father's presence intimidated him. "Does anyone need help unpacking?"

 

[mikaluvkitties]

Nich beamed at the prospect of having his nails done nice like Kenny's. He looked up at the girl who had just called his half brother Lucy, intrigued. She was funny. She went by Tommy and he tested it out on his lips as she removed one of the boxes from his arms, wondering why she'd chosen a traditionally masculine name when she was a lady. He wanted to ask why, but he thought that might come off a bit impolite- after all, as Kevin always said when he brought home new people- 'You do you, man, you do you. Let everyone else do themselves and everything will be fine.'


Kevin was, of course, living by his policy, and not asking any questions- especially 'cuz it wasn't even his conversation to get involved in in the first place. That'd be pretty rude, amirite? Leif, however, went still, listening to the conversation, his box fitting perfectly in his hands. His brother couldn't get his nails painted- it would make him a laughing stock, he'd get called a I'm uncultured. His little brother was too young to have to deal with that, didn't have the right defenses up to protect against that kind of bullying. He didn't need to have nail polish define him on his first day. He stayed quiet for the moment, however, simply following the others in, giving a weak smile back to Tommy as he followed Kenny inside.


Otis didn't smile back. He followed behind his children, thinking about how his son had been referred to with feminine pronouns and trying to process what it meant. It wasn't like he was gay- no, impossible. Even thinking about that possibility was hilarious. There was no feasible way his son was gay. He could be. Strayed off the right path without you to guide him, a small part of him whispered, but he swatted it away. Best to be civil for now.


The Lynns followed Kenny and company up the steps, and Kevin began trying to put the pieces together. He'd hung with a lot of the.. less socially accepted groups of people in the past- discreetly, of course, Dad could never know- and he wondered if maybe Kenny belonged to one such group of people- or would they prefer Lucy? Best to wait for them to say anything (if they planned to say anything) than to push the matter before they were ready.


Otis didn't notice his son going over to his son to increase the distance between them. He had always thought it normal for children to gravitate towards their friends- one of the things that had always worried him about Leif and his tendency to seek alone time and not friends.


He smiled to Kenny. "Thank you for showing us to our rooms. If you don't mind, I'll be fine unpacking on my own." With that, he set off to the room Kenny had specified as his for the time being, unpacking as he thought on the matter of his eldest son.


Kevin thought about it for a sec, finally deciding on and voicing his opinion. "I think I'd rather wait to unpack- 'in boxes' is my preferred style of holding my stuff," he added with a smirk.


"Oh, then maybe you can help me," Leif said almost immediately. To anyone else, he would probably sound nonchalant, but to his twin, it would be obvious he wanted to talk. Nich might pick up on it, too, but he seemed in his own world for the moment."


"Oh.Okay," Kevin said, facing his twin, disappointment lacing his voice. He turned back to Kenny(?) and Tommy, giving them a short wave. "Nice meeting you." With that, he followed his twin to his room.


Nich looked around for a second, noticing he was alone with his new brother and his friend, and going from ball to heel once again, the zippers of his backpack jangling as he went, asked as he looked down, the hope in his voice barely hidden, "Well, I'd like some help, if you're willing." In reality, he just wanted to talk to Kenny and Tommy and he was probably being pretty obvious about it.

 

[PunkPrince]

When Otis said that he would unpack on his own and then left, Kenny let out a relieved sigh. Kenny gave a nod to Kevin and Leif as they left, and then looked back at Nich, wondering if he might want some help. The boy rocked back and forth on his feet for a few moments, and then said that he could use some help. He sounded hopeful. Okay, he would help. He did like Nich. He hadn't really been able to form an opinion on his other brothers, but they seemed all right for now. "Sure," Kenny said. "I'd be happy to help you."


He started toward Nich's room, setting down the boxes as he stepped inside. It was a pretty plain place at the moment. "I know it's kind of plain," he said to the boy. "But it's your room, I didn't want to do anything to it you wouldn't like.


Tommy looked over at him, having set his boxes on the ground. "It's so clean," he commented. "I could probably figure out where stuff is in here, unlike somebody else's room."


"You're talking about my room but you couldn't even figure out where a hat was," he said. "Ha ha, I win."


His room was always a bit of a mess. Okay, maybe more than just a bit. He always had makeup compacts strewn across his dresser, and shoes always everywhere. He took pretty good care of his wigs, but they too, were often scattered about his bedroom. The most recent addition to the mess of his bedroom was the fact that there were stray sequins scattered about. He'd tried to vacuum them up, but he always seemed to miss a bunch. He tried to clean it, but it almost always became a mess again. He'd grown used to it, he actually liked the mess by now.


He opened the nearest box and began to pull things out of it. He looked toward his youngest half brother. "Where did you live before this?" he asked, attempting to make conversation. "Did you like it there?" He attempted to refold a shirt as he spoke.

 

[mikaluvkitties]

Nich squealed in delight, hurrying off after his new brother to his new room. His very own room. He couldn't be more excited about it. Before now, he'd always shared a room with his older brothers, and having his own room always held a certain amount of mystique to it. He walked in to the room, and slowed down, mouth slightly open in awe. He vaguely heard Kenny say something about his room being plain, but he was too ecstatic about it's actual existence to care much. He was snapped out of it by Tommy's comment on the cleanliness, and he set down the box, giggling at his brother's response.


Having another brother was almost as exciting as having his own room. He'd always thought having another brother would be awful, but then again, he always thought it would be a baby brother usurping him from his position of baby of the family. He was happy with his position, thank you very much. He'd never expected to get another older brother, and it was great to see Leif get thrown out of the position of oldest.


Then Kenny asked about where they had lived before, and the maelstrom of feelings he'd felt in that building came back. He didn't let it show, though, simply opened a box and started pulling stuff out. "We lived in an apartment. It was eventful, and I had lots of friends there. Kevin had a goat, but we're not supposed to talk about Billy. Lots of strange people came to our apartment with Kevin. They were pretty cool, though they all seemed to have weird names and wouldn't talk about their pasts. There was a shooting a block down from us once- Leif made me hide under the bed and pulled Kevin into a closet. He's a bit weird about control," he prattled.


He thought some more about Billy. Billy had been an amazing goat and had only shared the room with him and his brothers for a week before ending up in the petting zoo across town. He and Kevin visited when they could. He wondered if they'd still be able to visit Billy. Probably not. He gave a small frown, troubled by this realization. Billy had been a great friend, with an agouti coloring and enough of the white tuft on his head to have a mohawk. Not that he ever gave Billy a mohawk while he was in the petting zoo. Officially. He was gonna miss Billy. He was gonna miss him a lot.


However, Billy wasn't here, and he had unpacking to do, so after a few more moments of silence for Billy, he asked something that he'd been wondering about the whole time. "How did you get your nails to have that shape?" Nich asked, still sorting through his stuff.

 

[PunkPrince]

"A goat?" Kenny said, raising an eyebrow at the mention of a pet goat. "I wish I had a goat. Or any pet at all, even. But with all the kids that come through here so often it probably wouldn't be a good idea. Someone's bound to be allergic to it, and then we'd probably have to give the poor thing away."


Overall, Kenny enjoyed helping his grandmother with the children who came and went. He loved Mabel, and was happy that she had stayed so long with them, even if she wasn't officially family. There were rotten ones sometimes though. There had been a redheaded boy who had bitten anybody who had gotten too close to him. Kenny was sure that there was a reason he had done stuff like that, so he tried not to judge the boy too harshly or get too angry with him, but being bitten by him had hurt!


"All my friends have weird names," he said. "Or almost all of them. Weird people are always the most interesting, to be honest. It's kind of sad how they get ignored so much. I think I would have hidden too if anything like that happened around here. I don't blame your brother."


Kenny had never had to hide from a shooter or something like that, but he was always wary of people on the street. Especially if he was in drag. He always tried to stay close to Cherie, if possible. She was a lot stronger and willing to protect them than she looked to be. Out alone? Kenny was too much of an easy target. If not Cherie, he stayed with Kennedy or Eva. Eva was Cherie's drag sister, a transgender woman who had learned her burlesque performance skills under the same mentor as Cherie. Kennedy was her wife, also a performer, and also a trans woman. Eva wasn't as good in fights as Cherie was, but it was best to have an adult around. Kennedy was better. She was tiny, and not physically threatening, but she was the most sharp tongued woman Kenny had ever met. Without an adult, he and his friends stayed in a group, which usually consisted of himself, Lita, Tommy, and their drag cousins–Eva's adoptive children who also did drag–Jupiter, Kyra, and Kasha.


"My nails?" Kenny said. "I just let them grow and then filed them into points. I file them down as they grow back." He shrugged. "I wore fake nails for a while, but now I don't have to anymore. Didn't really help that I was broke and I had to get all my nails from a drugstore and my friends made fun of me."


"We only made fun of your little girl nails because we care about you!" Tommy laughed. Kenny rolled his eyes. Cherie had often teased him too.

 

[mikaluvkitties]

"Well, technically, if Dad asks we've never had a pet. Cost too much to contain and our apartment doesn't- didn't allow pets," Nich said, still smiling though he took a second to fiddle with the sleeves of his shirts, hoping he was getting his point across even though he was trying to be discreet about it. Their reasons for not having pets didn't match up, but it was nice to have something in common with his brother, even if it was as silly as not having pets.


Nich listened to Kenny happily, simply enjoying hearing his discussion as he talked. He liked getting his perspective on things. His explanation for Leif's reaction made sense, he guessed, and at least he understood his brother just a bit more now, right? Or, well, brothers would be the more correct term he guessed. He continued putting his stuff away, thinking about just how weird it was that Kenny was his brother- he was just so cool. Sure, Kevin was cool, but not the same type of cool. He thought on how all of Kenny's friends also had weird names.


"Tommy's not a weird name," Nicholas said absentmindedly, folding clothing items. He continued to pay intention to his conversation. He and Tommy were so comfortable around each other, and he wished he had that with someone his age. He'd never had problems chatting with other kids, but he'd never managed to find a friend that he was close enough that he could just say things like that to. In fact, it was what killed most of his relationships. He didn't understand why he lost friends for speaking his mind- you couldn't tell the truth but you couldn't lie? What was this madness?


It was neat, though, that Kenny had grown his nails out long enough to make them into claws.


Glancing at his nails as he continued to fold his clothes, he added, "That must've taken a lot of work." Granted, of course he would think it must've been hard. He couldn't help but bite his nails whenever possible. To see just how well groomed Kenny's nails were was like seeing an imaginary friend come to life. He'd only ever seen nail polish on the girls in his class, and to see another guy wearing it was awesome.

 

[PunkPrince]

"It was hard to let them grow out," Kenny said. "I used to bite them all the time, but I managed to kick that habit." He folded another shirt, the final box finally empty. "I think that's everything." He pulled himself to his feet and gazed around the room for a moment before stepping over to the mirror that hung on the wall. He ran his hands through his hair a few times, causing the carefully styled quiff he had done only that morning to fall. He ran his hands through his hair a few more times to get it fluffy, though it was no longer standing up, and instead rested across his forehead in a more feminine fashion. That was better. A slight change, but it satisfied him.


His genderfluifity led him to do things like this often. Small–or large– changes to his looks depending on how he felt. He never had any control over the shifts in his gender, and though he hardly mentioned it out loud, his grandmother and his friends always seemed to know when it was bothering him, and often altered the pronouns they used accordingly–though he never asked them to.


"Are you still coming to the show tonight?" He was pulled out of his thoughts by Tommy's question. "Or are you staying here? I know Cherie wanted us to at least come and watch her even if we weren't there for the whole thing. And I think Kennedy's hosting, so Eva and their kids might be there too unless they stayed home to practice for tomorrow. But if you don't want to..." he trailed off.


Kenny sighed. "I want to." He wanted to go to the show, but he knew that if he did go, he'd be obligated to ask his father and half brothers if they wanted to go. Even if he didn't tell them he did drag, they'd be bound to find out once they got there with the way his friends spoke to him. He didn't know how they would react to it, and he wasn't sure if he was ready to find out. "I just don't..." He trailed off before looking back at Nich. "I'll leave you to get settled." In reality, he just wanted to get out of the boy's earshot to talk about the show. He wasn't sure he was ready to explain it yet. He left the room, Tommy following him.


"If you don't want to ask them, I can ask. Or we could wait for Lita to get here and then ask. More people on your side that way," Tommy suggested gently, keeping his voice low. The pair had wandered out into the living room and settled on the couch by this point. Kenny shrugged. "I'll ask when they've finished unpacking, I guess," he answered, not looking forward to it.

 

[mikaluvkitties]

Nicholas frowned, confused about what they were discussing. What show? What didn't he want to do? He was going to ask what he was talking about, but then he left, making Nicholas as he lost himself in his questions, wondering what he could be so troubled by. He sat down on his bed, finally removing his bag from his back, rifling through his backpack. He pulled out some paper, and decided to try a trick Kevin had shown him to organize his thoughts. He pulled out his battered spiral notebook again, taking a pencil and settled down at his desk, beginning to make a table.


Meanwhile, Kevin and Leif had been in the other room arguing in hushed whispers.


"Leif, c'mon, he seems cool," Kevin spat, knowing by now it was futile but unable to secede and not try to show his brother he was wrong.


Leif narrowed his eyes, saying as calmly as he had said all the time, "I'm just saying we don't know him that well, and we should be being more careful." In a lower voice he added, "You saw the girl who's his friend. Do you really want to surround Nich with those type of people?"


Kevin visibly bristled, and Leif knew as soon as he said it he had said the wrong thing.


"Fine," Kevin said, the heat gone from his voice and replaced with a cool disdain. "If that's how you truly feel, I'll go."


"Kevin," Leif tried, "That's not what I-"


"It's exactly what you meant," Kevin said, the fight gone from his voice. "You might wanna start unpacking, bro."


He exited the room, leaving the door strewn open to the unopened boxes in Leif's boxes, not even looking up as he passed Kenny and Tommy. Leif quickly closed the door, quietly, as to not attract attention, scowling at his brother as he left. They both began to unpack.


Finally, Otis sat on his bed, his clothes and personal items already put away, eyes closed and thinking. He had to go out there and face his son like a man. He had to give him a strong male influence to look up to, otherwise he'd never... get better.


Eventually, he stood up and headed to the living room, expecting to have to wait to see his son, jumping when he saw him. Looked like they'd be doing this now. Joy.


Awkwardly he walked over to his son and their... friend... waving. "Hello," he said, smiling and trying to hide how awkward he was feeling on the inside.

 

[PunkPrince]

Kenny looked up when he heard someone enter the living room, and upon realizing it was his father, what little confidence he had left vanished in a heartbeat. He'd wanted to ask Kevin first, honestly. Kevin seemed cool, like he might not judge Kenny too harshly for being interested in the things he was. His nerves only worsened when Otis walked over to him and greeted him. "Hi," Kenny said, trying not so show just how painfully nervous he felt. Probably failing. He didn't want to face his father now. "Finished unpacking?" he asked.


He felt bad for thinking it, but there was a part of him that wished that his father and half brothers had never come back and simply left him as he was. Motherless and without almost any blood family at all. He had long ago passed up the awkward coming out stage with his grandmother, and was not looking forward to having to repeat it again. Perhaps it could be worse. He could be like Lita, who still wasn't out to her father and didn't have any other family to turn to for help and had to sneak in and out of the house at odd hours to go to shows.


He had never sat his grandmother down and told her he was gay. He had struggled to hide the makeup from her–which at that time had only been cheap stuff he had stolen from a drugstore. He had hidden the shoes under his bed until the day she had been shuffling past his open doorway while he had been fixing his hair in the mirror.


She had stopped, looked at him for several seconds with her head tipped slightly to one side and then asked him–in Thai of course–if he was gay. The question had startled him so much that he had dropped the comb and spun to face her, vehemently denying his sexuality over and over again. It hadn't done any good. It turned out she knew about the makeup, about the high heels hidden under his bed, about the one Rupaul CD he owned and had stuffed underneath his mattress in the hopes that she wouldn't stumble upon it while cleaning.


She had told him this, asked him again, and after a few minutes of staring at the floor, he had said yes. And that was okay. She had nodded and shuffled off again, returning a few seconds later to give him a brownie, still warm and fresh from the oven. And that was that. He had grown nervous when he arrived home with a simple black wig, the first of many wigs he would come to own. But she had been okay with that too. And with his friends.


Kenny heard her bustling around in the kitchen as he spoke to his father. Baking something, probably. Surely she would defend him if his father didn't take him so well, wouldn't she?

 

[mikaluvkitties]

Otis nodded, answering robotically, "Yes. I'm sorry I ran off earlier. We.. didn't really get a chance to talk." He listened to the din of the kitchen. It reminded him of when his mother used to cook for him and the rest of his family at home when he was a kid. Before he'd made any of the stupid mistakes that had gotten him here. He really didn't want to think about his childhood right now. He eyed his son's friend- she was a girl, he thought, though her name was Tommy which was odd. She wasn't unattractive, though. He hoped this meant Kenny was straight.


"Would you... mind if I sat with you?" Otis asked, nodding towards the couch. He noticed his son was nervous, and he was glad that at least both of them were uncomfortable with this conversation. But this conversation was important- it was a conversation they had to have, a conversation that would only be more awkward if they waited to have it. He wanted to make up for not being there earlier and the regret he felt shined through his eyes.


There was a knock at his door. Kevin hadn't even finished opening his first box yet. He stood up, angry, expecting to see Leif at the door, and opened it harshly, though not harshly enough to make it possibly break. He stopped in his tracks when he saw a startled Nicholas instead.


"What's up, bro?" he asked, slipping on his usual smirk, pretending nothing was wrong.


"You first," Nich said simply.


Of course he'd seen through his attempt to hide his fight with Leif. With a sigh, he said, "Leif and I just got in a fight." He knew that would only lead to more questions, though, so he added, "Why don't you try to go converse with the other people we'll be living with- Sumalee and Mabel?"


Nich immediately brightened up. "Okay," he said with a smile as he set off to go find Mabel.

 

[PunkPrince]

"Sure," Kenny said when Otis asked if he could sit with them. "If you want." He sat wringing his hands for a moment before looking at his father. "Do you need something?" He noticed that Tommy had said nothing, but was looking at Otis with a tenative curiousity. At least he had a friend here to defend him if anything went awry.


Haley, unlike Kenny, still had both of her parents around. They hadn't been pleased when she had come out, and she wasn't close to either of them. She ignored them for the most part, so much so that she often failed to respond to them calling her. Haley. So few people aside from them used that name anymore. She still used it sometimes of course, when not around his friends, but wasn't particularly attached to it. She was Tommy to everyone. Lucy, Lita, Eva, Kennedy, Kyra, Kasha, Jupiter, Cherie. Even Cherie's family called her Tommy. Her wife, her daughter, her bandmates. It was so rare for them to refer to one another as anything else. Pronouns mixed sometimes, but the name stuck.


Her parents paid her little attention, but she spent most of her nights at home. On the occasion she had to flee, she went to Cherie, or Eva and Kennedy. Lucy sometimes. All of them had fled to another adult's home at one point. Eva and Kennedy's kids had run from bad home lives and been taken in by the two. She really hoped Otis was decent to Lucy. She didn't want her friend to be subjected to the poor home life that so many of them had had.


Mabel had gone off to Kenny's bedroom, her curiousity peaking as it always did about the wigs, the makeup, the clothes, the shoes. She knew what he did with them of course, it didn't bother her. She thought he made a pretty lady. What bothered her was the fact that she wasn't supposed to mess with any of this stuff. It was so pretty. She wanted all of it, but Kenny wouldn't share. He did her makeup sometimes, and let her wear the shoes–mostly the ones he didn't use anymore, but the wigs had always been strictly off limits, as had the clothes he spent time sewing or gluing things to.


Not wanting to be caught, the girl sneaked ever so carefully from the bedroom, closing the door almost all the way, making sure to be very quiet as she did. All she really wanted to do now was go to her room and draw. Or help Sumalee in the kitchen. She was always in the kitchen. She let out a surprised squeak as she bumped into Nich. She hadn't noticed him passing by. "Hi!" she greeted.

 

[mikaluvkitties]

Otis nodded, sitting next to his son, uncomfortable with the idea of sitting between his son and their friend, even if he didn't exactly approve of them. The girl was watching him, he noticed, but he didn't say anything about it. He looked at his son's nails, trying to be discrete about it. He still couldn't believe that his son would paint his nails. His. It wasn't the most unlikely thing that could happen, however, and he shouldn't be this surprised. Honestly, of course he would take up more feminine traits without a strong male figure in his life, right? Maybe him being here now would help. If it didn't, he'd never forgive himself.


"Um, no. I was wondering if you would like to, talk," he said, looking between his son and his hands. He fiddled his hands, unable to look at his son as he waited to see how he would respond.


Nich hadn't seen Mabel and would have passed her if he hadn't bumped into her. He stopped, turning on his heel so he was facing Mabel. He returned her greeting with a bright grin, nearly jumping in ecstasy, "Hi, Mabel! I was actually looking for you! I was wondering if you'd wanna hang out or something? Or just let me tag along. That'd be cool, too." He stopped to look at the door behind Mabel. Maybe it was her room. He zoned out for a second, before snapping back to attention. "Anyways, would that be cool with you?" He wondered what Mabel liked to do for fun. He knew he liked to play pretend or draw even though he sucked. Maybe, he though hopefully, she likes to play with insects and explore. That would be so exciting, especially because then she'd probably know all the best places to look.


He'd always had a thing with insects. Insects were just so cool! They were necessary for the survival of the planet on a major level, but still had to deal with people deciding to kill them or being grossed out. They were just misunderstood. Besides, watching spiders fight to the death was always entertaining.

 

[PunkPrince]

Kenny caught his father looking at his nails. He pretty much failed at being discrete about it. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "For the five minutes we've been in the same room over the course of the day, I think you've looked at my nails like that at least ten times." He shrugged. Ordinarily, he would just laugh at the discomfort he caused those around him. If they were really that bothered, well, that was their problem. Maybe he would have taunted them if he was in a particularly sassy mood. But he wouldn't dare try that now. Normally, the people he did it to were ones he knew he would likely not see again. But his father was going to be staying here, and he figured that maybe it would be best not to do something that might really piss him off.


He noticed that Otis tended to fiddle with his hands a lot. It was something Kenny himself often did, but never really thought about. He wondered about his mother a lot. What she was like, how she sounded. He had hardly ever really thought about his father. Only in passing a couple of times. Otis's absence had never really bothered him. Perhaps it was because Sumalee was his grandmother from his mom's side, and she had raised him. He simply heard things about his mother a lot more, saw pictures of her around the house. It made her absence hurt more.


"We can talk," he said quietly. "If you want." He didn't say much else. He was totally silent for a few seconds as he tried to work up the nerve to speak again. "Um..." He trailed off. "We were going to go out tonight." He motioned to Tommy as he spoke. "To a drag show to watch one of our friends perform and I was wondering if you would want to go? Or Kevin. Or Leif or Nich." He shrugged. "You don't have to. I just figured I could ask."


Mabel grinned as Nich walked over to her. "We can do something if you want. I was just gonna go to my room and draw, but I guess that's kind of boring. But I draw a lot." The girl tipped her head to the side, silent for a moment as she tried to come up with ideas. A small grin spread across her face as she looked back at the boy in front of her.


"We could go outside," she suggested. "And catch bugs, or something. I have a net and a bug box out in the garage. I could go and get it! Follow me!" She bounced off down the hall and out into the garage, taking the net from one of the hooks on the wall and rummaging through a plastic bin in search of the box. "Found it!" she exclaimed triumphantly as she pulled the plastic box from the bin.

 

[mikaluvkitties]

Otis looked back at his own hands, embarrassed that he had let his trouble over his son's nails show so clearly. He continued twiddling with his thumbs. In all honesty, he hadn't expected his son to say yes to him sitting with him, and now that he was here, he forgot what he was going to say. After a couple of seconds of silence, he cleared his throat awkwardly. Thankfully, Kenny began speaking again.


Otis looked up, focusing carefully on what was said, nodding along as Kenny spoke. He thought carefully about what he said next, careful to keep his face neutral, before finally saying, "I'll have to turn you down. Have to do stuff. You can ask Kevin and Leif about it and if one of them is willing to go and take Nich, then it would be perfectly okay." His reason for not going was fairly weak, though he could truly go out and look for a job, though it was probably obvious not going to the show had to do more with his discomfort than actually having to do anything.


Drag. Otis didn't know much about it, though he figured he could research it to try and get more insight into his eldest son, even if he had a fairly bad feeling about it.


"Speaking of which," Otis continued, any semblance of stealth gone, "I still have stuff to do that I forgot about. Should probably go do that. It was good talking to you, Kenny," he said, nodding to his son, then towards Tommy, "Tommy." He then proceeded to take his leave, berating himself for being so stupid as he went back to his room.


Nich lit up when she said she loved to draw, because frankly, drawing was awesome, and when he saw her turn her head to the side, thinking, he looked in awe, wondering what other ideas she could possibly be thinking up. Then she spoke, and he was pretty sure he was in love. He grinned from ear to ear, eyes sparkling.


"That would be awesome!" He followed her as she went down the hallway. "Oh, we could draw the bugs we catch! And name them! Then our bug friends would be with us forever!"


He matched her bouncy pace, a few steps behind her. He followed Mabel outside and into the garage, once again thinking about just how not old lady this house was. Obviously the old lady who lived here was a cool old lady- no, old lady was not the proper term. Elderly woman. Yes, that sounded right. Just the right amount elegance to fit Sumalee.


He watched Mabel as she rummaged through the bin, jumping a bit and clapping his hands together as she revealed the prize they had been looking for. This was gonna be epic.

 

[PunkPrince]

When Otis turned his offer down, Kenny wasn't sure if he was disappointed or relieved. He figured if his father had chosen to go, his reaction might be bad. On the other hand, Kenny didn't want to keep such a big part of his life hidden away, even if it might bother Otis. Perhaps he could share it with his brothers. Kevin, maybe? He seemed okay. He nodded as his father spoke. "Okay," he said. "Maybe another time. There was another show I was planning on going to tomorrow. Maybe you could come to that if you want."


Kenny made no mention of the fact that the second show was the one he had plans to actually be in. He didn't have to know–not yet, at least. If he had to find out, Kenny would rather he found out at the show, where Kenny would be with people he felt safest with. He was still wary of Otis. Not only of his disapproval, but the idea that Otis might get angry enough to hurt him. He couldn't completely rule out that possibility just yet. He watched his father leave the room and stood up to go in search of his half brothers.


He shuffled over to Kevin's room and stopped in front of the doorway before giving it a light knock.


Mabel grinned as Nich agreed to her idea. She handed Nich a second met and scampered cheerily out of the garage and into the grass in search of insects. She collected bugs all the time, but usually had to do it on her own. Sumalee helped sometimes, maybe Kenny every now and again, but Kenny wasn't a very big fan of bugs, and neither were the majority of Mabel's friends.


She made her way over to the side of the house, where Sumalee had planted flowers. She noticed a butterfly sitting on one of the flowers and crept toward it, determined to catch it.

 

[mikaluvkitties]

Kevin looked up from where he was sitting, scowling as he put down the hotel notepad he had been scribbling on angrily. He was pretty positive it was Martie, seeing as no one else would come, see him, right? He'd already sent Nich in some random direction and Otis was more likely to ask Leif to make all the important decisions for the kids. He disentangled himself from the ground carefully, slouching in a way that he knew would have Leif screaming at him because apparently posture mattered, before heading to the door. Kevin got to the door quickly, which didn't really surprise him because, hey, he was using his legs as much as he possibly could. Can't exactly go slow when you're taking steps as big as possible.


"What?" Kevin whisper- yelled as he pulled the door open forcefully, slumping into a more relaxed form when he saw it was just Kenny.


"Oh, hey man, what's up?" he asked, trying to be chill and such as he leaned on the door nonchalantly, which was really hard seeing how the door was a moving object and all. He'd barely begun unpacking, and what he had started unpacking was all trivial. There were some posters on the walls, and some knick-knacks lay sprawled on top of a dresser. Sure, he probably should've put some clothes in the dresser, but there was still time. Besides, wasn't like he had a lot of clothes to unpack anyways.


Nich followed Mabel out of the house, getting a grip on the net. It felt nice, he guessed, but it was different and changed his range. Once he got used to it, he was sure it would be a valuable tool in his bug hunting adventures, but for now, it'd get in the way- kinda like when you had a big growth spurt and such! One of his classmates had had one last year and become a giant, but the element of fear was kinda eliminated when he became a super klutzy person for like a month- he knocked over their class pet Mr. Fisk's tank (Mr. Fisk was still alive, thanks to Nich grabbing the fish and putting it in a water bottle- he'd gotten a star and everything for his quick thinking!), he'd knocked over some flowers- all in all, it was a very messy month.


The challenge would make it fun, though!


He watched Mabel with awe until noticing a grasshopper and carefully sneaking off to stalk it, making sure not to disturb Mabel's butterfly.

 

[PunkPrince]

Kenny shrank back involuntarily when Kevin opened the door and was obviously irritated. He probably had been expecting somebody else, given that he seemed to become more calm once he realized it was Kenny standing there. Hi," Kenny greeted. "Um, I just wanted to ask you something." Tommy had appeared in the hallway and was watching the two curiously. "We," he motioned to his friend. "Were planning on going to a drag show tonight to watch one of our friends preform. I was just wondering if you wanted to come with us. You don't have to come, but I figured maybe I should ask."


He figured that out of his two elder half siblings, Kevin was the one that would probably be more okay with drag, maybe even want to come watch. At the start of the day, he really didn't want to ask any of his family to come. But it was the polite thing to do. And he had promised Cherie that he would go (though she would more than likely be performing at the next days show, hosting usually meant that it was her job to open it), and it had been a while since he had seen the rest of his friends--particularly Jupiter. He did see Lita almost daily, but she didn't often get to go to shows because it usually meant having to sneak from the house.


Mabel's lips pressed together in concentration as she slowly crept up on the pretty bug. She attempted to quickly bring the net down on the creature, but it began to flutter off and left her net empty. She let out a soft squeak and scrambled clumsily after it, stumbled as she attempted to bring her net down on it, but eventually did capture the small bug. She opened her bug box and slowly lifted the net, taking the bug in her hands and depositing it into the plastic box. She stopped to watch him--or maybe it wasn't a him--flutter around before slowly turning to watch Nich.


He was creeping along after some sort of bug she couldn't see. She hoped he caught it. Mabel was happy to have a new friend, at least for now. She'd been friends with lots of foster kids over the years, but they always eventually vanished. Kenny was nice, and she loved him, but sometimes she missed getting to have friends her own age.