The last shimmer of sunlight caught off the metallic back of freight trucks that roared silently across the vast and murky lake. The image was nothing more than a tiny row of insects in the horizon disappearing into the vein of dock warehouses to sleep. It was all completely inconsequential to Koudelka but it was the only thing she could bare to look at. She didn't care for the lavished property around her that spread along this side of Lake Trouville and the sight of boat after boat filled her with contempt as well. She especially hated this gaudy loft with its repulsive architecture that, in her experience, seemed to only attract the rich.
Nothing needed windows so massive, the loft looked like a classroom or some kind of modern church. Though, maybe, it was that she found the idea of a simple mobile home infinitely more appealing these days. It seemed she had Devi to blame for that.
Still, she stood on the gaudy deck of the gaudy patio and watched the gaudy trucks, one by one, crawl into their artificial burrows. She heard the sounds of nature; sounds that were dreadful and uncontrollable. The loud ever-sloshing putrid lake water, the chirps and whines of cicadas and crickets and, as the sun hid away, the rustling of the things that seemed to prowl at night.
Even in an orchestra of noise, she felt like it was silent and too lonely.
Being in love, for all of its thrills and excitement, made every moment away from the person she loved hurt. It wasn't just metaphorical pain but a real sadness and emptiness that caused her to physically ache. Koudelka bitterly scorned that she barely understood her own hormones and body, even her period was this disgusting and partially mysterious thing to her that she had been just too damned ashamed to ask anyone else about. Now she was dealing with this love-feeling and it was nothing like she had anticipated from reading, it made her feel anxious and needy. The books she read said those words, anxious and needy, but feeling them was something completely different.
This whole fishing trip was nothing but a wreck. She spent the entire first day on the dock, having done no actual fishing but, instead, listening to Austin boast about non-accomplishments and his father flashing his assets. If Koudelka heard one more time about how many boats he owned or how he, single-handedly, had the record-highs of fish exports in the greater part of Lavender Hill, she swore she would hop into the river.
It didn't help that Austin was exceedingly annoying with his anemic attempts at romance. Even if she were interested, which she wasn't, there was something about the overwhelming stagnant fish smell of the docks that just made it much more repulsive.
Austin had been adopting this faux-chivalrous attitude that had a strong similarity to the word 'douche'. He would make half-assed, semi-romantic rhetoric; most of which were self-absorbed and contrived. Hell, he spent more time complimenting himself than he did her so it probably wasn't chivalrous at all.
Koudelka also hated the fact that Austin's father seemed to be going out of his way to get them to be alone together but not in a charmingly cute way that she could imagine Devi's dads doing, but more of a weird and gross 'go get her, son' kind of way.
Horrible dread that came upon the evening when Austin gleefully remarked that they would be spending the night alone together in the loft house away from his dad who would be spending it in the main house.
She couldn't shake the horrible discomfort she felt when Austin's father, before leaving to the main house, told them, in a low and lecturous voice, to 'get enough sleep' because they were going to go out bright and early for sight-seeing tomorrow.
'Get enough sleep'. What exactly was he implying? This implication made her shudder just as she heard the sound of the sliding door opening behind her.
Austin always walked with slow and lumbering steps -- like a rhino farmer or something -- making these huge and thunderous bangs of footsteps on the deck.
Koudelka sat on a chair on the deck overlooking the river. She didn't turn to look at Austin when he came out.
"Heeeey." Austin started his non-charming douche charm immediately; following the word with a loud sigh. "Why're you still out here? It's getting cold... and dark."
"I like the cold, it's fine." the sound of crickets made the interval of silence even more awkward as Austin awaited a follow-up.
"Uuuhm. Well, it's dark too and..." he brushed back hair that was far too short to be brushed back. For being a lion, his mane was non-existant. "...I figured maybe you'd want to come inside and... warm up?"
"I literally just said I like the cold, Austin." Koudelka tried her best not to snap into a yell but it was so frustrating that it never seemed like he was listening to her.
"Huh." he paused for a moment as the crickets continued and did a thing that made Koudelka internally scream -- he looked at her in the exact same way that her father did; very judgmental and analytical. It always made her feel like a chunk of meat. "I never noticed how beautiful you look in this light."
The 'light' he mentioned was surrounded by a horde of insects bumping against it.
"We're literally in a swamp right now." Koudelka tried her best to keep her eyes forward and on the river. "It also smells like garbage."
"Then you should come inside!" Austin playfully bumped her shoulder; unaware of how much she reeled. "It doesn't smell in there, bae."
"...I'd rather be out here still, thanks." Koudelka folded her legs and leaned forward a bit in an odd mental attempt to will him away by pretending he didn't exist.
She looked up to the sky, which was almost pitch-black by now, but she could still see the spotty remnants of the Trouville Storm. This would be the worst time for the rain to come -- then she wouldn't have any excuses to stay out here... whatever little she had in the first place.
"Aww, don't be like that, sweetheart." he said and Koudelka cringed. Her eyes were starting to twitch. "I know it must be weird since this is our first time really alone together but I promise I'm here for you."
Koudelka turned and looked at him for a moment with disbelief. She hadn't been oblivious to the question of infidelity, considering all of the rumors floating around about him, so his statement blew her away. At school, they were perfectly content to barely acknowledge each others' existence to the point where them being a couple seemed pointless. It was a title, basically.
So where the hell did this 'I'm here for you' rhetoric come from?
Koudelka inhaled to speak, accumulating all of her thoughts in a possible attempt to immediately break up with him in a moment of strength, but as quickly as it appeared it was already gone. She let out the breath in a sigh and turned back towards the river.
"Is... everything alright?" Austin, with no other seat on the deck to sit on, knelt beside her; his voice taking on a quality that was less calculating and somewhat genuine before slamming his fist down on the deck and letting the old dudebro douchery fly. "It's probably my dad, isn't it?! Trying to intimidate you with all this money we make. All this property!"
Austin gestured cartoonishly. Koudelka would have found all of this funny if she wasn't so uncomfortable with how close he was to her at the moment. It was hilarious though -- this sudden son-victim mentality.
"He expects so damn much of me and he still tries to butt into my life and do everything for me!" Austin shook his head dramatically like he had rehearsed this or had done this routine before. "It's not like I can't take you out to places myself whenever I want! Koudelka... it's like I'm Romeo and you're Julia, you know?"
Koudelka inhaled deeply through her nose and cracked a bitter smile. She knew this was, without a doubt, the most difficult time for her to not be able to laugh.
"Our families just keep trying to butt in and control us. It sucks." Austin groaned loudly and rolled his head around.
"It's uh... Juliet..." Koudelka muttered under her breath.
"Wha? Oh, whatever." Austin raised an eyebrow. "You know what I mean. Life is just so hard for us and... wow, you're really beautiful, you know that?"
"Okay, that's enough!" Koudelka's heart skipped a beat as she spoke her mind before even having a chance to review it. Now she was stuck with her abrasive response and didn't know how to continue it from there. She was blushing, not from shyness or excitement, but from dull rage and frustration.
"Uhhh... what's enough?" Austin responded in a coy and playful voice; reading her blush as something of a victory. "Of us sitting out here? Yeah. Let's go inside and spend some time together. Unless you want to stay out here and go skinny-dipping or something."
Luckily, Austin added to her motivation to continue her train of thought aloud. "No, no, no! That's enough of this. Whatever this is!"
This was a sentence she wanted to say after the second day of them going out but she never really found a reason for it. Maybe she had Devi to thank for this, but either way, she felt like a stressed mess right now.
"I assume that's a... no for skinny-dipping?" Austin said; sounding pouty and dejected.
"I just... don't want to be here. Okay?" Koudelka shut her eyes tightly as she stiffened up in her seat. She wouldn't have been surprised if she broke a bone with how uptight she was being. "Can you ask your dad to take me home or something? Please?"
"Babe, I know you're scared, but it's okay because I'm here." Austin nodded his head triumphantly as if that was the best line he could come up with.
Koudelka looked up at him, noticing his toned and what-should-have-been-desirable lion body, and suddenly realized that nothing about him, not even superficially, appealed to her. Hell, at this point, she was more attracted to that dog-bitch Aria but even that didn't matter because all she wanted right now was Devi.
"Please just ask your dad if he can take me home." Koudelka repeated. She was lucky that dealing with her father was technically leagues worse than this because she would have lost her nerves very soon if not.
"Why? Come ooooon, we're having fun, right?" Austin insisted; attempting to put his arm around Koudelka's shoulder just for her to frantically squirm until he pulled away.
"Please." she repeated once more; breathing heavily from her nose. "Just ask your dad if he can take me home."
Austin, looking rather hurt, started to squint his eyes and put his hand on his chin with an annoying "hmmm". He was analyzing her again and she really didn't want that right now.
"I think I understand." he muttered with a quick nod.
"Excuse me...?" Koudelka meagerly responded; a frown more than obvious on her face at this point.
Austin opened his mouth long before he spoke; perhaps trying to think it over: "It's your period, isn't it?"
Koudelka's mouth slightly fell ajar and her eyes widened in disbelief at this idiot. She had no words.
"You'll feel better in the morning, you know. Just gotta sleep it off." Austin stood up and stretched; looking to be satisfied with his deduction. "Though, you know, I hear masturbation helps with that. Just saying."
He hoped for a laugh or something but Koudelka gave him more than an awkward silence -- it had turned into a dreadful thing; almost felt dangerous. She turned back to the river; her eyes a little flooded but not quite at the point of crying.
"Aaah. You'll feel better in the morning buuuut if it really means so much to you," Austin started to walk back inside; leaving a trail of loud thudding footsteps. "You can go to the main house and ask my dad yourself."
Austin closed the sliding door behind him and Koudelka felt almost violated by that whole encounter.
~~
Somewhere miles away, as the clock hit midnight, Devi sat alone in her living room with tears falling from her cheeks. She fought the gasp of her dry throat; hitching and hugging the little stuffed bear that Koudelka gave her. The only illumination in the living room was her laptop's monitor that was placed precariously on the armrest of the couch.
Devi assumed it was safe to cry in her living room given that it was very late and not even an earthquake could wake her dads up, however, she stiffened up when she heard the creak of their bedroom door opening and lazy footfalls approaching her on the trailer floor.
Frantically, Devi wiped at her eyes and opened a random tab on her computer to make it look like she was preoccupied. The Biology of Turtles, perfect, she was doing her homework -- at least now she had an alibi.
From the darkened hall, Jericho emerged -- clad only in pajama pants and wearing the expression of a still-exhausted man. He tugged at his whiskers as he yawned just to be slightly startled at seeing Devi from his peripheral vision. If Devi wasn't so mortified, she would've thought it funny seeing his cat tail shoot into a stiffened line in reaction.
"Heyyyy, kiddo!" Jericho covered his mouth to hide a half-yawn as he strode towards the couch. "What'cha doing up so late, huh?"
Devi noticed his expression change to a more concerned frown to which she turned away from him. "N-nothing."
There was an interval of silence before Devi continued.
"I was doing my h-homework!" her voice had an awkward croak.
"Mmmkay. I'm surprised you're not watching a horror movie right now." he glanced at the shut-off TV across from her as he neared Devi.
"Please don't sit down..." Devi thought and shut her eyes tightly. "...Pleaaaase."
The impact of his body on the couch was like a meteorite on the shore of Devi's planet. She could only let out a dejected sigh as she knew she had immediately been caught.
"Your eyes are red, honey." Jericho stated as he nurturingly rubbed her back. "And 'The Biology of Turtles' tab there isn't really convincing. What's the matter?"
All Devi wanted to do was scream 'FUCK YOU, DAD!' at him trying to get into her business but there was something about the softness and compassion in his tone and the feeling of his hand rubbing her back that made her feel much better.
"I think I'm in love, dad." Devi sputtered out and collapsed on his lap; loudly sobbing into his knee.
Jericho let out a confused laugh as he patted her head. "That's a good thing, honey. Is it with that Ko... uh... Kody girl?"
"Y-yes!" Devi exclaimed between her sobs as she began to cry even louder which led to Jericho calmly and sweetly shushing her. "Also... it's 'Koudelka', dad..."
"Heyyy, let's not wake Curtis, okay?" he smiled and rubbed Devi's beanie around her ears. "I think that's a good thing, sweetie. 'Koudelka' is a lovely girl. Or at least I think she is. Are you sad that you love her and she's actually a jerk or something?"
"She's not a jerk..." Devi barely audibly moaned; still hitching from her sobbing.
"It's okay. It's okay, take your time." Jericho purred as his tail unconsciously wrapped around her leg.
"...I wish we had hot cocoa." Devi sighed; her crying finally showing signs of withering.
"Is that why you're crying, Dev?"
Devi shook her head 'yes' but answered 'no'.
"I'll tell ya what," Jericho gently lifted Devi's head off of his lap and stood up; walking over to the laundry hamper and putting on a clean white shirt. "I'll drive you down to the store to get some hot cocoa and you can tell me what's bothering you."
"You don't have to do that, dad." Devi sniffled, "I can survive without hot cocoa."
"Yeah, but you don't want to." Jericho snickered as he stretched a bit before walking over to the coat rack and grabbing his favorite coat. "Besides, you mentioning it makes me want some too so it's your fault."
Devi sheepishly hid a smile and slipped on her sneakers without any socks. She rose from the couch and walked over to the coat rack to find her father, Curtis', cartoonishly large gray hoodie that slumped down to her knees.
"...too much?" Devi lifted her arm; watching as the sleeves poured over her hands more than 5 inches.
"It's cute -- it looks like someone used a shrink ray on you and you used to fit in that thing." Jericho said as he fished the car keys out of the little bowl near the front door.
"Haaa. Haaa." Devi clinged to the sweater as Jericho opened the door. Though the Trouville Storm was starting to die out, it was still cold, wet and windy.
They both awkwardly jogged to the car and, for a moment, Devi was amused at how dead their trailer park looked. No one around, all the lights out, she rarely got to see this place when it wasn't littered with people barbecuing outside and kids running around.
~~
There was a long moment of silence between Jericho and Devi as they both waited for the heater to finally stop blowing cold air. Devi curled up in the passenger's seat; fighting the first impulses of exhaustion that were sneaking up on her as Jericho had the radio barely audible while he focused on the road. For a man who loved to listen to such hardcore music, he sure kept it at a low volume.
"It's weird, dad." Devi broke the silence abruptly; almost startling Jericho. "Like... I had months and months to get over Nova before we moved out of Seapoint. I guess I sort of prepared to leave her and... I guess I got over her fast. Does that make me a bad person?"
"Of course not, Dev." Jericho responded with his eyes still intent on the road. "We all deal with things differently. It's like coping with a death, I guess. You could watch a person degrade for years and when they finally die it just doesn't affect you as much. Same goes for a relationship when you know it's ending and you mourn for it before it even happened."
Devi sniffled. "That makes sense." she sighed and bumped the back of her head against the cushioned seat. "But does it make me a bad person if I've already fallen in love? It was so fast."
"Well," Jericho took a breath. "I--"
"Before you get all condescending and overexplain it like you always do," Devi interjected, "I really do love her. Koudelka, that is."
"I know, sweetheart." Jericho nodded. "But this doesn't make you a bad person either. You knew this move was happening for a while and it's not your fault someone else entered your life. I think you've had enough time to really think about all of this so... it's probably not you just filling the void, so they say. Is that why you were crying, dear?"
"Well. No." Devi looked down; feeling immense guilt. "I talked to mom, too."
"Oh." Jericho became silent for a few moments before sighing heavily and putting on his comforting tone again. "And what did she say?"
"I told her this too," Devi explained and then grunted. "I didn't mean to, though. She just kept bugging me about things and... shit."
Devi knew that the subject of her biological mother was a tricky one. Though Curtis was more touchy about it, that didn't mean Jericho didn't have his own sour opinion of the woman. Devi's relationship with her was more of that of an aunt but she was her surrogate mother.
"Well, how did she respond to that?" Jericho managed to maintain his tone but Devi could catch a little... something in his voice.
"I told her that I am in love with Koudelka and I had to explain to her what Koudelka was like and..." Devi could feel that pressure welling up behind her eyes; begging to start sobbing again. "...ugh, she told me I was being immature and that Koudelka was probably just going through a 'phase' or something."
"Hm." Jericho grip tightened on the steering wheel. "Well. It'd be different if she met Koudelka, now wouldn't it?"
"I don't know what you mean," Devi started; her voice taking on a sorrowful and apologetic tone. "But she said that when she was my age, she went through a phase too with experimenting and all this and... uugh... and that it's normal for girls to be lesbians for a minute and then suddenly be straight again."
It had become too much and Devi had begun weeping again. It was irrational, but Devi thought that Jericho may have been getting mad at her.
Before Devi knew it, they were at the parking lot of the general store. Had she really been crying that whole time?
Jericho put the car in park and sighed heavily; turning to face her. "I met Koudelka, you see, and I do think she's pretty crazy about you. I'm pretty good at reading people's body languages and I think she's in love with you for what it's worth."
"You just don't understand, dad..." Devi covered her face with her palms and pulled them back over her beanie. "...I think mom brought up some pretty good points and just... what if we're just too different?"
"Firstly, Devi," Jericho patted her on the head again. "Did your mother mention anything about you going through that phase too?"
Devi swallowed hard; feeling that unwarranted guilt welling up inside of her again. She couldn't even bare to respond and so she only nodded.
"Deborah," Jericho pulled Devi in and hugged her with his free arm. "You are the light of my life, you are the light of your father's life, we both love you no matter what. It doesn't matter if you're going through a phase or not, what matters is going after things you care about. However, your father and I think you're about as gay as we are, so there's that. Don't let your mom work her way into your head like that."
"Mom hates it when you guys say stuff like that." Devi squeaked.
"Well, that's none of her business." Jericho nodded firmly.
"What if Koudelka really is too different, dad?" Devi sighed. "What happens then? I don't want to lose her... I barely even have her yet."
Her words became incomprehensible as she began to cry again.
"Hmm. Sweetie, did your mother ever tell you what me and your dad were like when we were teenagers?"
"...were you guys lame?" Devi wiped her eyes as a small snicker came out.
"Well, your dad was, I was the coolest." Jericho rubbed Devi's shoulder playfully. "But seriously. Curtis was a chubby, family-loving nerd who worked at a bookstore. And, wooo, he loved working for that bookstore. And it's where I met him."
"...so you were both nerds then." Devi continued with her bashing.
"I suppose we were." Jericho sighed and rolled his eyes with a smile. "However! There's a little bit more to this story than just that part."
"I don't want to know about you guys doing gross things."
"No! No, shush and listen, Dev." Jericho laughed and cleared his throat. "My homelife wasn't exactly what you'd call... uh... nice. Needless to say, that's why you've never met any of your feline relatives."
"I thought that was just because they lived far away." Devi said with genuine intrigue.
"Well, no. And Curtis probably doesn't want me telling you this so could you be a pal and not let him know that... you know?"
Devi made the 'zipper-over-the-mouth' gesture and nodded intentively.
"Well, okay, so kids who have bad homelives tend to just be... bad. I'll spare you the details but I wasn't the charming little ball of sunshine I am today." Jericho scratched at his ears. "I was actually quite angry. All the time. 24 hour anger. And I looked the part, too."
"So you were like... a punk or something?" Devi sniffled a bit as her ears drooped.
"Pfft, no, I kicked the crap out of punks." Jericho squinted as he thought about what he just said. "That doesn't give you the right to fight anyone, though."
"That'd be Aria's thing, not mine." Devi muttered.
"I like Aria. She's quite the unstable one, yeah... ANYWAYS, for what it's worth, you could say I was a punk." Jericho relaxed in his seat; leaning his head back and looking up at the general store's 'open 24 hours' sign. "I looked the part, at least."
"Were you... loose?" Devi asked; looking away. "In... that way?"
Jericho's cheeks warmed up as he coughed nervously. "I guess...? But that's not the point! One of my bigger problems was that I was a thief. A really good thief. And me being a cat sure helped me in being one."
"Well... what did you steal then?"
"Literally everything, Devi." Jericho laughed as if it were fond memories flooding back to him. "There was a time when I was able to steal an old TV just by casually walking out of the store with it. If you don't act suspicious, no one will notic-- uhm. Yeah, I mean most of the stuff we'd steal were just things we'd sell for drugs and... wow, there's no way I can tell this story cleanly."
Devi chuckled and rested her face on her arms as she leaned forward. "I don't mind, dad."
"So, yeah, Curtis better not find out." Jericho wagged his finger. "Not a word, missy. He knows about my past but he doesn't want you to know about it. Anyways, so, when looking for places to steal from... I got the bright idea that books were easy to steal."
"Oh man." Devi knowingly giggled.
"So me and a couple of friends of mine go and case the joint out." Jericho said. "You know, they'd go scouting around the area while I went and distracted the cashier with my lovely gift of small talk. And uh... the cashier just happened to be a friendly little chubby rabbit."
"And that was dad, huh?"
"Well, I was getting to that but yeah." Jericho snickered. "The funniest part about that whole thing was that I really liked talking to him. So much so that my friends all left and... I was still there. But it gets worse, Dev."
"How? It sounds kind of sweet so far," Devi puckered her lips a bit as she thought. "In a weird sort of incredibly stupid way."
"Well, me being the charismatic genius I am, stupidly remarked that I was a writer in order to impress this chubby bunny." Jericho blushed a bit; remembering how the conversation went. "And he was impressed."
"But you are a writer, dad."
"Hah, well." Jericho twiddled with his thumbs a bit as he nervously chuckled. "At the time I wasn't. In fact, I had never even considered being a writer. But when I saw how cutely his face lit up, it sort of just... became a sudden calling to me."
"Huh." Devi paused for a moment; sunken in thought. "Okay, so then what happened?"
"He wanted to read some of my stuff and I told him I had to go get it and uh... it'd need to be later on in the month." Jericho stated. "And with that, we set a date... and I went home and started writing... and I never stopped."
"Okay... but what are you getting at, dad?" Devi's ears flopped a little bit. "I mean, that's an adorable story but... what does that have to do with me and Koudelka?"
"Well, surely you've noticed that I listen to metal and punk rock and your dad listens to country and opera." Jericho said and it was enough for Devi to revel in understanding.
"Oooooh." she put a finger to her mouth and lit up. "Oh my god. So you and dad are like... super different, then?"
Jericho nodded and Devi responded with the girliest squeal she had ever done in her life to which she stopped in the middle of it and glared at her dad. "If you ever tell anyone I did that, I will tell Aria to kill you."
"As long as you don't tell Curtis I told you this story." Jericho smiled.
It was funny, after their heartfelt conversation, they had almost forgotten that they had gone out for some hot cocoa.
~~
By the time they had gotten home, Devi was so tired that she could barely keep a decent grip on her cup of hot cocoa. She sat back down on the couch as Jericho put away a couple of groceries that they had picked up afterwards.
Devi took long blinks while moments passed by; balancing her cup on her lap as she held it with both hands. She began to nod off until Jericho finally returned to her; sitting next to her on the couch.
"Hey there, squirt -- you don't wanna spill that." he said as he gingerly retrieved the cup from her grip and placed it on the endtable near him.
"...dad?" Devi yawned as she lifted her feet onto the couch and rested her head on his lap. "You know... I do really like Koudelka a lot."
"I know, dear." Jericho responded patiently as he pushed back the fluff of her hair from her face. "I'm sure Koudelka feels the same way."
Devi smiled and, within seconds, she was asleep.
~~
It had felt like only 5 minutes until there was a gentle yet persistent knocking on what seemed to be their screen door; listening to the net scratching against the wooden door. The sound also alerted Jericho whose grip tightened on her shoulder.
Devi had almost forgotten that she had fallen asleep on the couch with her dad.
The second thing she noticed was the overwhelming scent of coffee. She could hear her other dad, Curtis, letting out a small grunt of confusion as the sound of the chair in the kitchen scraped against the linoleum floor.
His heavy footfalls strode across the kitchen even with his attempts at stepping lightly. As silent as he could, Curtis unlocked and opened the front door.
"Oh my fucking god." Devi groaned with her eyes shutting tightly. "Aria knows she doesn't need to knock on the front door... uuugh..."
"Maybe she's trying to be... not mistaken for a burglar again." Jericho snickered with a bit of delirium creeping in his voice. He leaned forward to see who would be revealed at the door but Devi still couldn't be bothered to open her eyes.
As the door swung open, there was a bone-chilling gust of air that forced Devi to attempt to shield herself by bundling into an even more condensed ball inside of her sweater.
There was a moment of silence but Devi could've sworn she could hear a somewhat meek and dainty voice speaking with her father.
"Oh!" Curtis opened the door further. "Uh... Devi?"
"Whaaaaaaat?" Devi still refused to open her eyes. "Ariaaaaa, just come inside."
As she lied on his lap, Jericho began to shake Devi's shoulder and leaned in a bit towards her... he was probably just being a prick or something.
"Devi?" his gentle voice was so annoying when it was trying to coax her out of sleep. "Uh... Koudelka's here."
Devi had never jumped up from the couch so fast in her life; not even the time when their fire alarm went off back in Seapoint City did she get up so fast.
When she adjusted her eyes, she could see that Jericho wasn't lying. Koudelka was standing at the front porch with a backpack slung over her shoulders looking exhausted and much more messy than she was probably used to. Her expression was miserable and tired but still looking relieved, her hair was a nest of twigs and leaves and it looked like she was scuffed up a bit on her elbows and knees. She was also soaked by the continuous drizzle outside; implying she must have been outside for a while.
"H-hello..." Koudelka's face, though miserable, was still flushed with color as she looked away shyly. "...I apologize for uh... coming by on such short notice and at such an unreasonable hour. I can leave if you want."
Curtis stepped aside as Devi hopped over to the door; looking very happy... confused... and happily confused. "No, no, uh..."
Devi glanced at the clock.
"6:09 in the morning is a perfectly good time to uh..." Devi glanced at Curtis for a moment to see him shrug. "...Koudelka? Are you... okay? You look a little... not primmed enough."
"I'm sorry, Devi..." Koudelka took off her backpack and bearhugged it. It made a wet, sloshing noise that Devi didn't care for. "...I've just been... having a bad few days."
"Oh! Come inside! Com--" Devi looked at Curtis again. "Can she come inside?"
"Of course, of course." Curtis retreated back to the kitchen as Jericho yawned and finally stood up from the couch.
"Yeah, come on in! It's warm in here, I promise." Devi opened the screen door and shepherded Koudelka inside almost impatiently.
The fox was quivering; most likely from the cold but something about her eyes implied fear more than temperature. "T-thank you so much."
Koudelka struggled to find a place to put her wet backpack which ended in Jericho picking it up and taking it to the bathroom for now.
Devi stood in a loss for words as she scanned her girlfriend. She had never seen Koudelka so disheveled. Then, the fact that she had been on that fishing trip with her 'boyfriend' Austin and they were supposed to break up, had dawned on her. She feared that her assumptions about what could have happened were actually true based off of Koudelka's current appearance.
"You're... uh... Kody, you're alright... aren't you?" Devi stumbled over her words as she leaned in a bit; noticing just how much dirt and junk was in her hair.
"N--yeaaah, I'm fine." Koudelka said in an oddly defensive tone.
From behind them, Devi could hear Jericho coming back from the bathroom and patting Curtis on the back.
"Heeyyyy, honey," Jericho started with an awkward tone. "Let's go get some donuts, yeah?"
"Wait wha?" Curtis began; lifting an eyebrow. "I was just about to make breakfas--"
"Doooonuuuuuuts." Jericho patted him on the back a bit harder and not-so-subtly added "I think DEVI would like it if we got DONUTS."
Devi caught on before Curtis did and she stepped forward a bit; nodding profusely. "Yeaaah! Donuts would be... greaat."
Curtis sat there with his eyebrow raised; looking at Devi, then back to Jericho. Curtis, the college professor. Curtis, one of the smartest men both Devi and Jericho knew was so stumped at these obvious hints. So much so, that Jericho ended up having to literally drag Curtis out of the trailer.
Devi waited until she heard their car start before turning back to Koudelka and sighing heavily.
"OKAY!" Devi nearly screamed as she grabbed Koudelka by the arms; immediately beginning to tear up. "WHAT DID THAT FUCK DO TO YOU?!"
"Whoa, Devi... uh..." Koudelka gulped as she was suddenly being shaken by the tiny rabbit. "Actually... nothing..."
"NO, BABE!" Devi started without noticing Koudelka slight smile at that. "YOU NEED TO TELL ME RIGHT NOW!"
"You called me 'babe'." Koudelka giggled a bit. "I haven't even been here for 5 minutes and I already feel so much better."
"EH--huh." Devi was utterly defused at that comment as she let go of Koudelka's arms and folded her own. "...uuhm. You have leaves in your hair, Kody. Are you sure everything's just... peachy keen?"
"Yeah... it's a long story." Koudelka sighed; her knees buckling a bit. "Can I... sit down? Probably on the floor because I'm so wet."
"Oh. Oh me, oh my." Devi stuck her tongue out. "Is it just cuz you saw me?"
"Wha?" Koudelka stiffened up; confused at what was happening. "I don't... get it."
"Never mind, never mind," Devi waved it off as she walked over to the kitchen. "If you say you're fine then... would you like some coffee? I need to know why you just popped out of nowhere, you know. And you look like you're about to pass out."
"That's a lot of questions, Devi." Koudelka said matter-of-factly as she sat on the floor next to the couch.
"Answer theeeem." Devi said as she pulled out two coffee mugs.
"...fine." Koudelka picked at a tear in her jeans. "I'd... like coffee. Also, I didn't sleep last night."
"...why not?"
"Because I uh..." Koudelka sighed as she started to rub her scratched up arms. "...I'll get to that."
"Are you sure he didn't do anything to you?" Devi's concern was growing again. "You're being a little... evasive."
Devi didn't like the silence that followed her question. A long and deafening silence.
"Koudelka... you know..." Devi rubbed her forehead. "...I love you."
"I love you too, Dev." Koudelka added with a complete lack of hesitation. "No, he didn't actually do anything. I wasn't lying about that."
Devi let out an audible sigh of relief as she placed her palm over her heart. "Jeez. You scared the shit out of me. I thought me and my homegirl, Aria, were going to have to go to jail for you."
"I wouldn't want Aria's help either way." Koudelka huffed. "But... blech. Austin was being rather pushy about... that."
"Ew..." Devi groaned.
"I couldn't sleep the entire night because I was afraid he'd do something while I was unconscious." Koudelka cuddled herself on the floor; raising her knees to her chin.
"Is that what was bothering you?" Devi asked as she poured coffee into the two mugs and stirred some creamer in them. "I still find it cute that you pretended to like coffee the first time we really got to talk, by the way."
"I WASN'T PRETENDING, YOU... nitwit." Koudelka looked down. "Whatever."
"Well, whatever that was, it was adorable." Devi nodded her head as she clutched the two cups and approached Koudelka with a smirk. "Also, one second as I get the space heater. You look like you're about to get a cold."
Koudelka hadn't really thought of her shivering being from the cold. It felt more like nervous shivers anyways. She, however, didn't stop Devi who brought in a beast of a machine to warm her up.
"So," Devi sat down next to Koudelka. "As I said before. Was that what was bothering you?"
Koudelka paused for a moment as she took her cup of coffee and momentarily sat it to her right. "No... it wasn't really that. There was... uh... something really terrifying about how little it seemed they thought of me."
"...wait, what?" Devi looked offended for Koudelka.
"Like... something about me being there felt like either a burden or just something they had an ulterior motive for." Koudelka sighed as she took a sip of her coffee. "Oh, that's really good."
"Keep talking!" Devi muttered. "What do you mean...?"
"I don't know." Koudelka tilted her head to the side. "They were both so... condescending the entire time. That and... his dad was super creepy because it kind of felt like he was encouraging that me and Austin just... you know."
"Are you fucking serious?" Devi's frown couldn't have been less apparent.
Koudelka seemed to be scanning the living room; mostly focusing on the big stacks of books littered about. "Devi, what do your dads do for a living?"
"...excuse me?"
"I'm asking you a question now." Koudelka took another sip of her coffee.
"Well, my biological dad, Curtis, is a professor at a university." Devi tapped at her chin. "And my other dad, Jericho, the cat one, is a freelance writer..." she paused for a moment before hastily adding: "...but he gets a lot of jobs!"
"Are they good at what they do?" Koudelka asked; keeping her eyes focused on Devi.
"They're amazing at what they do, that's why we're not poor." Devi looked from left to right suspiciously. "But I'd never tell them that they're good -- don't wanna inflate their dumb egos."
Koudelka giggled a bit. "But you guys live in a trailer. I never thought educated people would live like this."
"Oooh, smug rich girl in the house." Devi bumped her head against Koudelka's shoulders a bit roughly; almost causing the fox to spill her coffee. "It just so happens that this part of Lavender Hill doesn't much like the gaaaays."
To that, Koudelka averted her eyes. "Do you... have a mom?"
Devi took a deep breath. "Yes. But she's not actually my mom... my dads wanted a kid and they used her as a surrogate mother so they could have their own child."
"Oh. They uh..." Koudelka looked uncomfortable. "...used her?"
"No, not like that." Devi laughed. "They were all friends... at some point. And they came to an agreement. I still talk to her sometimes. She's like an aunt to me... so yeah."
"Well. What is she like?" Koudelka smiled a bit. "Because I really like your dads... they're very sweet. She must be sweet too, right?"
"Eh." Devi shrugged. "She's more like the busybody aunt that gets on everyone's nerves. She has a thing against me being a super lesbo, too."
"...really?" Koudelka frowned and looked very disappointed. "What a b-- B-word."
For whatever reason, that caused Devi to smile and she leaned forward and pecked Koudelka on the cheek. "Okay. So how about this mysterious family of yours? I'd imagine I'll never get to meet them on friendly terms."
"You should consider yourself lucky." Koudelka's tone suddenly became rather grim which wiped the smile off of Devi's face. "First there's my mom. The only thing she's good at is drinking wine and talking about her old days of being a movie star. Her movies weren't really all that popular though. They were made here and never really distributed to other parts of the world. Blech. It always gave her a fat head, though."
Devi sat in stunned silence at how casually Koudelka bashed on her mother. She ran through 500 dire-mood-breaking jokes to possibly make but she had to stop herself. For all the rude things she said about her dads, she never really said it with such a cold tone before.
"Ooookay." Devi nervously laughed. "Well, what about your dad?"
Koudelka sat; staring forward with her mug of coffee in her hands. A small frown inched itself upon her face. "My dad is a landlord--"
"He... doesn't own property around here, right?" Devi stated with a bit of humor. "That'd be awkwarrrrrd."
"No, he thinks this side of town is trash." Koudelka sighed. "He's so wrong, he doesn't even know."
"Well gee." Devi rested her head on Koudelka's shoulder. "Is that all there is to him?"
"No. He has a position on the town council or whatever." Koudelka swiped a loose strand of hair from her face. "He also is a board member for... something. He's apparently a big deal in Trouville and every neighboring community."
Devi searched for a subject to change until Koudelka continued without prompting.
"All I know about my dad is that he's... really powerful and he can control a lot of things." Koudelka began to tear up and closed her eyes tightly; fighting it. "The thing that scares me the most is how he's able to just get away with hurting people. We always learn about how if you hurt people, you'll get punished by the law... and he does it a lot and nothing happens to him. It makes me scared that he can just do whatever he wants."
Mascara-stricken tears began to slowly fall out of her tightly closed eyes. "I've always thought... that if I made my dad angry... he could just get rid of me and no one would question it. And now I did something that will make him furious with me, and I have no idea how he's going to take it!"
Now Koudelka was fully sobbing and Devi could do nothing but hold onto her tightly. "I--"
"I couldn't stay there any longer!" Koudelka cut Devi off. "I knew something bad would happen if I stayed with Austin and his dad, so I told them to just drop me off at my house."
"And your dad just.. let you--"
"They wouldn't even hardly listen to me!" Koudelka's voice hitched wildly. "I had to practically beg for them to drop me off. And even during all that, they had to keep bringing up how I was being irrational because I was on my period or something and UUUGH!"
Devi stayed quiet but could feel her face becoming more and more flushed with anger.
"They just... dropped me off in front of my house and drove away. They just seemed so disappointed and mad with me." Koudelka frantically began gesturing now. "And I could only imagine how angry my dad would be at me for ruining this whole 'trip' or whatever, and I just couldn't deal with it! After that entire thing, I could deal with even more bad stuff, so I did a terrible thing and just... came here."
"You... walked all the way here?" Devi's eyes widened. "You live in... the rich neighborhood. That's like a 2 hour walk, Koudelka. And you did that walk in the night?! WHAT ARE YOU, FUCKING STUPID?!"
"I didn't know what else to do!" Koudelka sobbed uncontrollably. "All I knew was that I felt really safe when I was here before... and I just wanted to feel safe again. I'm sorry!"
"I..." Devi took a deep breath. "...I wasn't mad that you came here. I'm actually really excited that you're here. But, I was more just worried about you because you walked here in the middle of the night where anything could've happened to you. Let alone, during a storm!"
"I can... take care of myself."
"I love you, Koudelka, but you probably can't." Devi poked Koudelka's nose with her finger.
"You're... probably right." Koudelka sighed as she buried her face in her hands. "I'm ruining my f-freaking shirt by crying into it."
"Hold on..." Devi scuttled away to grab Koudelka a towel. She unconsciously tossed it towards Koudelka but, being the non-athlete she was, she made a clumsy grab for it and it ended up just plopping over her face. They, however, weren't in much of a mood to laugh at it.
"...I love you, too." Koudelka suddenly added; referring to Devi's previous statement. "I'm sorry for inconveniencing you and your dads, though. I can like... find a restaurant to stay in for now until I figure out what to do."
Devi snickered a bit. "Uh. You can't just sleep at a restaurant, girl."
"...why not?"
"You'd be considered a bum. They don't really... let bums sleep in the restaurants. Especially for free -- even if you can pay them, they wouldn't just let you sleep there." Devi wrapped her arms around Koudelka's shoulders. "You can stay with us, we don't mind. I want you here."
"...are you sure?"
"Well, do you still feel safe here?" Devi could feel herself starting to tear up now. Took her long enough, normally she'd be the first one to cry.
"...yeah. Yeah I really do." Koudelka whimpered as she tried to rub the mascara-tears from her face with her towel. "May I keep crying... and can you keep holding me?"
"Pfft. That's a dumb question, babe." Devi squeezed her tightly; tears now fully soaking her cheeks. "Of course I will."
Austin is not smart... or he's so self-interested that he doesn't care. Austin's father and Koudelka's own parents don't sound too trustworthy either. I did find the contrast between that encounter between Koudelka and him, and the following conversation between Devi and Jericho to be pretty funny, though. Jericho seems super sweet, for that matter.
Austin is not smart... or he's so self-interested that he doesn't care. Austin's father and Koudelka
Jericho is just a fluffly little cat c: but you may be right about Austin and his father >w< They're prooooobably not on the up-and-up ;P Thank you so much for reading, we really appreciate it ! ^^
Jericho is just a fluffly little cat c: but you may be right about Austin and his father >w< They're
That there is a sad drama when you live in a political powerhouse of a family. Status and accolades are everythings and when you are felt slighted and embarrassed they lash out on others and get away with it.
Hope they survive what is to come, but they are so cute in the pic, even if she is sad...
That there is a sad drama when you live in a political powerhouse of a family. Status and accolades
Koudelka is in a bit of an awkward situation with her upbringing, huh. Thank you so much for reading and giving your two-cents on the topic ^^ We appreciate your time and attention!
Koudelka is in a bit of an awkward situation with her upbringing, huh. Thank you so much for reading
And again you both masterfully playing with contrasts. Firtst the gut and nerve wrecking start, where I'd like to kick both father and son in the balls, and then a heart melting middle and ending, that nearly makes me tear up from how sweet it was. Thank you for a good read. ^w^ b <3
And again you both masterfully playing with contrasts. Firtst the gut and nerve wrecking start, wher
These stories are pretty cute and very well written. I had been missing them since the last one that came out over 2 months ago, glad to finally see the continuation.
Anyway, the buildup to Devi and Koudelka getting back together was interesting to follow. We got to see more of Devi's dads and I can see they're definitely as cool as they sounded like at the beginning of the story, nice parenting from them. I just hope Devi doesn't break up with Koudelka because of her doubts, it's obvious they love each other. The ending was also heartwarming and the drawing really illustrates that. Keep up the great work, I always look forward to reading these stories whenever they come out ^^
Just wondering if the next part is going to take as long to produce though. I realize it takes a long time to write all of this and I respect that, just curious ;p
These stories are pretty cute and very well written. I had been missing them since the last one that
and I really appreciate you taking the time and reading our stories! We're glad you like Devi's dads -- and also -- we also hope Devi won't break up with Koudelka *wink wink* We'll be sure to continue this soon!
However, for how long it normally takes... there's really no set time. It just depends on how long it takes for us to complete the picture and the story. Sometimes that could take weeks or a few days ^^
Thank you so much for your comment! GBB ( https://inkbunny.net/GBB ) and I really appreciate you t
Aww, this was quite the heartwarming pair of tails! I'm very glad Devi can be there for Koudelka, and the story from Jericho was all sorts of adorable too!
Aww, this was quite the heartwarming pair of tails! I'm very glad Devi can be there for Koudelka, an
Funily enough, it appears i got used to Koudelka's dad's douchyness, because it's Devi's mom that really rubs me the wrong way this time. Although I can more easily imagine her doing it out of a misguided sense of trying to help than with koudelka's dad, it's still shitty-ish to dismiss your childs emotions like that.
Argh! I need mooooaaaar! Funily enough, it appears i got used to Koudelka's dad's douchyness, becau
We really appreciate that you're engaged, something to consider that you brought up, Devi's biological mother is clearly just misguided in a horrible way, but more frustrating and depression than... well Koudelka's dad, who may or may-not be criminally abusive~ Though all subjective :P Thank you so much for reading though!
We really appreciate that you're engaged, something to consider that you brought up, Devi's biologic
I fucking love this story and can't wait to read more. I may even like it more than the stories about Ketzio and Bunny! Though I do very much like those two. You're just really good at writing adorable, immersive, realistic and engaging romance.
I fucking love this story and can't wait to read more. I may even like it more than the stories abou
