#Chapter6
It was awesome sauce, and honestly, Ronan was half convinced that he was more excited for it's completion than Luci was.
It didn't come as a shock that the back door was locked up nice and tight. Angel was a real stickler for checking the windows and entrances before he hit the hay. Adam did it too, and he guessed he coulda taken a hint and cared about his own safety and adopted the routine, but ain't nobody got time for that.
But for as uptight as Angel could be, there was one place he couldn't lock up: the cat flap!
Lucien didn't have a cat. Lucien had never had a cat, but the previous tenants must have because the fixture anchored its way into the backdoor.
Although it was a relatively large flap, it wasn't people sized. Not in the slightest. But Ronan was a glass half full kinda guy, and defeat was something he refused to admit to. Took a lot of wiggling. Took a lot of yelping and kicking. Took his ass getting stuck and a panicked squirm, but eventually he broke through to the soft blue tiles of his friend's kitchen, springing up into a victory leap, fists pumping in the air.
/"I'm so amazing,/" he squealed to himself as he eyed up the hole he'd just squeezed through. /"If awesomeness was a superpower, I'd be awesome-man. Oh, actually, Princess-Awesome, cuz why the hell not?/"
The debate was cut short. Spinning around the Bulbasaur themed kitchen, because Lucien was a Little boy with access to grown up money, he blew out a small sigh. The interior was on the small side, but had been furnished to perfection, managing to utilize the space and create a homey ambience that had the kitchen radiating warmth. It was lovely, but it just didn't feel right without Luci, so Ronan decided to change that.
The world was his stage, and after snatching the hand whisk from the appliance drawer to double as his microphone, and throwing in a fabulous twirl, his foot started tapping along to the beat of Taylor Swift's Shake It Off. And then, because his friends deserved the world, and his presence acted as a gift to them, he began to sing along, head bobbing, body shaking.
It had the desired effect. Overhead, there was commotion. A ruckus of feet hitting the ground and voices merging into an inaudible babble. By the time the stampede down the stairs had ended, and the kitchen doorway shrunk beneath a menacing, scowling frame, Ronan had fallen to his knees, struck up his air guitar, and was shaking his head like a punk-rocker as he blazed his way through the chorus.
/"You've got to be kidding me./" Low, husky, and nearing a drawl, Angel Toussaint blew out a sharp breath, shaking his head. /"The hell you doin', boy?/"
In the pale stream of daylight, the man looked terrifying. Broad shoulders acted as a barricade, and along the slopes of his shoulders, the tiniest amount of ink from the God-awful tattoo on his back was just about visible. And the scowl he was sporting? Yup. He almost had Ronan second guessing himself.
Almost.
/"Singing, babes,/" Ronan cooed, throwing his arms up in a grand finale. Lucien's head, a fuzzy mess of bed hair, poked out from around Angel's shoulder, blinking dumbly for a few turns.
/"Hi, Ro,/" Lucien mumbled, ducking under his Daddy's arm and padding into the kitchen. He paused a few steps in. Frowned. Glanced between Angel and Ronan. /"Daddy, am I still asleep?/"
Angel didn't answer. Instead, he pushed forward, body lithe with a deadly swagger, and snatched the whisk from his hands.
/"I was singing, Angel./"
/"Not any more./" The whisk was chucked across the kitchen. It landed in the sink.
/"Nice throw!/"
/"Sit down, Ronan./" Folding his arms over his chest, hands pawing along the thick muscles that layered his arms, Angel grimaced before casting a glance over at Lucien, who was still standing in the middle of the floor. His eyes had slid back shut and he looked as though he'd fallen back asleep upright. /"Lucien, it's cold, puppy. Why don't you go and get changed and I'll fix you some breakfast?/"
Lucien's eyes fluttered open. Glanced down at himself. He, like Angel, was only in a pair of shorts, and after blinking a few times, trying to compute the order, he gave a small nod and turned and left.
/"Can I have some juice, Angel?/" Ronan asked as he took the hand that was offered, hoisting himself to his feet.
/"It ain't even — /" Angel paused, squinting at the clock that nestled on the wall above the oven. /" — Seven yet, boy. Why are you here? Did he do something to you? I will fuck him up./"
It was at that moment that Ronan considered that perhaps he hadn't thought his daily plans out as well as he could have. He'd woken up upset and emotional, and hadn't wanted to be alone. He'd been dimly aware that normal people were usually still in bed or only just starting to wake up, but it had been like a distant humming in the back of his mind. And it was only now that the guilt was starting to kick in.
And it was only now that he began to see the plothole in his plan: Angel was the only person who knew how bad things between him and Adam were. Lucien knew bits, and so did Raven, but through circumstance and his friend's surprisingly loyal nature, Angel had become his shoulder to cry on.
And turning up at the kiss of dawn, it had his spidey-senses going kaboom.
/"No./" The smile he concocted, it was like a mechanical reaction. It slid up as a defence, tugging his lips out of shape. It was foolproof; Angel wasn't a fool. /"I just couldn't sleep and wanted to see what y'all were doing today./"
He didn't buy it. Ronan could tell by the way his eyes drilled into him like dying stars, unblinking, that he didn't buy it. Not a shred. But he was saved from the lecture by a thump overhead. Angel's head turned towards the ceiling, and he listened for half a beat before yawning.
/"Are you hungry?/" Angel asked after placing the glass of juice he'd asked for in front of him. It was the good stuff. He could tell just from the rich scent. No bits. Pure orange. He downed it in a deep gulp and grinned innocently as he shoved it back at Angel for a refill.
/"If you're cooking for me, sure./"
By the time Lucien stumbled back down, dropping down into the seat opposite him, the spitting of eggs filled the air, and a delicious aroma teased at his nose, his tummy gurgling in response.
/"How come you're here so early?/" Lucien asked, accepting the juice from Angel with a sweet grin. It was a simple action, but as it passed between the two, Ronan almost felt like he was introducing. Lucien's eyes had glazed up, and the big guy had paused to reach for him.