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Sorry.

[ It's a quiet, whispered apology. It doesn't sound overly depressed or anything, but there is something very genuinely apologetic in it, despite its low volume. ]

I should have been there.

[ Even though he had reasons to not be there. Worried reasons. So many worried reasons. About how maybe Cat wouldn't need him anymore, now they were gone from that desperate future. So much worry about rejection.

It feels a little silly now he's lying there, realizing that he could just have asked Cat if he needed the comfort. But then again, it's not like Inigo is ever going to assume by default that someone actually needs him. ]

I know it might be a stupid question. [ He quietly continues. ] But was it-- What was the place you come from like? Was there as much life as here, or much less like in that future?

[Cat huffs, equal parts amused and bitter listening to an apology from Inigo of all people.]

Don't be dim, Firefly. Doesn't suit you.

[Well, dim-witted, sure. Maybe. Inigo wasn't what Cat would consider smart, but his job was to be a point of brightness and warmth in his life. At this point, he can't exactly ask for Inigo to be both, when he's appreciating this side of him so much.]

I was letting you off to see less familiar faces a while. Anyway, you're here now, aren't you?

[To make it more of a point, he tucks himself against Inigo's chest and breathes him in. It's an incredibly different experience than it had been before, but it's just as potent a reminder that he's not alone in this.

It's a strange question more than a stupid question, and one that makes Cat hum as if he has to think about it despite how stark his two options were. He doesn't sound as if he's troubled by his answer when he softly gives it.]

Like the city, once. More people, less green...until all the machines they made to make life easier turned around and started killing whoever they got their hands on. Then the monsters. Anyone still alive is holed up in their homes, if they got any sense and a home to go to. The streets are still full of dead bodies and the things that are making them, though. Nothing like how things were there.

[ Inigo is silent. At first just so he can listen to Cat's story, but even once the other finished, he's silent for a moment or two more. Maybe a part of Inigo's brain is lingering on the first part of what Cat said, way before he got into talking about his story. There's something about it that feels-- It feels awkward, almost, like the words are jammed into his brain the wrong way, and now they're stuck and it kind of feels like they hurt, a dull, sad ache.

He decides it's probably easier to not think about them too hard. After all, bringing down the mood now would be completely counterproductive. And thankfully there's a very easy distraction here, steering them away from the apology entirely. ]

I guess there's still very little I know about the place you come from, huh..? [ Sure, he knows quite a few things about Cat. His sister, his life, his general outlook on things that was forged by it all - that much is clear.

But Inigo had never asked much about the world surrounding the person. Maybe he was too worried about prying a little bit too far.

If Cat is practically buried against his chest though, then-- It should be fine to ask, right? It should be good to learn, he thinks. ]

How did the machines turn around in the first place? I must admit I do not know too much about machines, but.. from what I have learned, most machines do not seem capable of thought.

[Against his chest, Inigo will feel and hear another impatient sort of huff, though that's the limit of Cat's dramatics. It's impossible to effectively roll his eyes, and he's too tired for that anyway. Too tired, too, to consider returning the favor when it comes to learning about the other just yet. Surely if someone wanted to talk to someone about something, they would simply do it. There's little reason to think otherwise for now.]

It ain't worth knowing about Krat.

[But Inigo is apparently curious, and he has nothing against telling him. Not that he can tell him much, where the puppet frenzy is concerned.]

Most of them aren't. Hell, even the ones that went screwy aren't real opinionated -- just switched one day from "serve" to "slaughter". Mm, figuring out anything more than that was way above my pay grade.

[ .. huh.

Inigo doesn't blame Cat for not knowing more. The other may blame it on not really caring, or being too busy with other things to figure it out, but Inigo just thinks it sounds like a very complicated matter altogether - likely too difficult for anyone to figure out by themselves, though he thinks Cat is perfectly capable.

(It's kind of a scary matter too, everything suddenly turning against you like that one day. It's a little like what happened when Grima awoke, though in a different way entirely.) ]

It's worth it to me. [ He says, quietly - apparently opting to answer the first part of what Cat says, rather than focusing on the actual part about the machines. ] After all, it's a part of you. I want to know more about you.

[His slapdash, tired answers suddenly feel heavy on him -- heavier than the fact that he's tired in the first place. It isn't quite guilt. He's familiar with that. Something to the left, maybe, he decides as he rubs a small crescent in Inigo's back with a thumb.

Inigo...wants to know more about him. It isn't as unpleasant an idea as it should be.]

...We didn't have puppets where I grew up. No one in my neighborhood could ever afford one. That was all for the bigger and better of Krat... I saw more when I got out and became a Sweeper. Then after the Frenzy started, us Stalkers were the ones expected to deal with the threat head-on, while the rich folk cowered behind. The lucky ones found their way outside the city, if the merchants 'round the borders can be believed.

No wonder you're so brave.

[ That's the thing he says, but Inigo is thinking about so much more. About the way Cat grew up - so differently from him, for one, but Inigo already figured as much. If everything with Grima had never happened back home, he technically would have been one of the rich people.

.. though maybe not the same Cat is talking about. Something aches in Inigo's chest at the idea of those people hiding while others suffer. Despite being part of the royal family, he can't imagine doing that. And he knows that his father - the Exalt himself - would feel the same way. All of them have always been at the front lines of battle, wanting to protect the innocent.

Maybe that's not exactly what Cat was doing either, but it doesn't take away from the compliment Inigo gives him - the one he feels the other deserves.

The words are a little mumbled. Inigo is paying attention, and he is very invested in this conversation, but he also just likes the fact they're so close. So comfortable. He's basking in it as he listens, as he speaks. ]

You were dealing with scary puppets back in Krat.

Tch. That's hardly the worst of it.

[Despite the dismissal, he's clearly pleased with the praise, self-satisfied smirk in place. Apparently he thinks he deserves a treat on top of it, worming around so he can kiss up from Inigo's chin to his lips again.]

They did have right frightful smiles, though.

[ Inigo huffs out an amused sound - to Cat's lips, that is, because they're definitely right in the middle of that kiss as he's letting out that sound. At least it doesn't take away all that much from the quality of the kiss. ]

Oh, so they were scary.

[ He sounds so amused as he's saying it that it's very likely that Inigo isn't even imagining what these puppets could be like. Maybe he's imagining actual puppet-sized puppets.. Maybe that's why the thought is so amusing to him, even though he figures the ones Cat was fighting were bigger. Like actual machines. (Even if the only machine Inigo really knows well is a ballista, but still, it helps with size scaling in his mind.) ]

No one could roam the streets because of the terrifying puppets.. But then the brave masked hero Cat jumped from the shadows, fearlessly clearing out the streets! [ Well.

Cat wasn't necessarily the hero in this story, but Inigo seems to have no trouble with making him that anyway. Maybe just because he wants to. ]

[Inigo is paid right back for that with more kisses both prefaced and interrupted by more little huffs of quiet laughter.]

Coming up with your own bedtime story?

[Something so unbelievable, too. Sitting up with a suppressed groan and a shake of his head to dismiss such a childish idea, Cat starts to readjust so that he can pull Inigo's arms around him like a safety belt and press his back into him. Having a heat source that so fully conformed to his smaller, aching body sure was convenient. He'll allow this to break his habit of sleeping with his back to the wall in case of ambush. Inigo was safer than one, anyway.]

Just don't get too attached to that 'Cat' you've made up. You'll hurt my feelings.

[There's a heavy tease in his tone, even as subdued as it is coming off their recent experience and the late hour.

After reaching to retrieve and wear the sleeping mask -- marked like a silver tabby's face with its paws covering its (and his) eyes -- he'd discarded next to his pillow earlier, before he'd given up on staying alone in this bed, he takes up one of Inigo's hands in his to idly guide up and feel along his body. While things were already so much cozier than the future they'd seen, the touch is generating even more much-appreciated heat.]

Why?

[ Inigo goes along with every single signal Cat is giving here. Holding the other tightly, burying his face into the other's shoulder for even more closeness and comfort, then gently rubbing his hand along Cat to give him a bit more warmth. ]

You don't have to be jealous of him. I like you just as much.

[ It's said casually - lightly - enough that it doesn't give the like a whole lot of weight. Especially when it's said by Inigo, who generally throws around compliments like that as if it's nothing.. Sure, he might mean more by it, but he doesn't want to express as much right now. It's easier to cover it up by making it seem like a compliment he just didn't think all that much about before he said it.

Besides, a moment later he already adds: ]

You can sleep if you want to. I know you must be tired.

[He didn't think he could feel so content recounting anything from his past -- aside from his time with his sister, obviously. Maybe even more than content? Sure, it was a necessity before, and it still felt like he wouldn't have been able to get any peace tonight without Inigo at his side...but it was certainly something he thinks he could get used to just for the sake of it.

What an odd thing to think. Must just be that tired.]

S'alright. [If he sleeps, he sleeps. Talking to Inigo -- listening to his voice -- helps with that somehow, even though Cat is certain he would have once been driven up the wall by it. Shame that Inigo can't appreciate his unique status in Cat's mind.] You should like me more. Imaginary Cat is out there sticking his neck out for no good reason, that dumbass. Meanwhile, I'm over here. Only one of us would warm your bed if he existed, too.

[ There's a slight pause. Not an awkward pause, though that's often the case with Inigo. It'd be a little bit more difficult for him to get awkward in a situation like this in the first place though, with the two of them all curled up together.

No, this is a meaningful pause. An almost dramatic pause, and the smile on Inigo's face creeps up into something teasing for sure. ]

Are you shooting down my ultimate dream of being able to cuddle with two of you at the same time?

[pfft]

Oh, my apologies. Imagine as many of me as you want. [He reaches back to pat Inigo's cheek, affectionate but sleepy, grinning to himself. What a ridiculous boy... But it's unbelievably nice to hear, somehow.] Go on, then. Sweet dreams for you and your gaggle of Cats, Firefly.

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