Fraser had a lot to catch up on after Farang dropped him off that morning. Caleb hadn't bothered to inform him of anything; he was still pissed off that he'd never made it home for Tristan's dinner. The first thing to hit Fraser when he came home, was learning he'd become an uncle overnight.

"It's good you came back" said Caleb, "Tristan wants you to watch the babies while we go out."

"I hadn't even noticed my brother-in-law was pregnant" said Fraser, before dropping to a whisper, "Don't tell me you've been kidnapping innocent children just to keep him at home?"

"It's what Tristan's taken to calling the kittens" Caleb explained, "There are three of them staying with their mother out on the terrace. You're responsible for looking after them while we're at the store. Don't you dare let a single one out of your sight." 

"How did they make it all the way up to the penthouse?" asked Fraser, assuming the cats had somehow climbed.

"Elevator" answered Caleb, "We found them last night during the fire."

Despite the curious smell he'd encountered when he entered the building, the fact that there'd been a fire at the Phoenicia was news to Fraser. In learning its severity, and that the tenant downstairs had been forced to find somewhere else to stay, the gears started turning in his head.

Caleb was much too quick to follow in their direction.

"You'd be better off going through his mother" he said; "If she's still in the hospital I can take you to see her once Tristan's finished shopping."

Fraser blushed. His shameful thoughts were becoming too easy to read. But what he hadn't expected was such generosity from his little brother; he'd never wholeheartedly offered his assistance before to anyone but Tristan.

"What do you want in return..?" he asked him suspiciously.

"Simple. Take care of the cats, make yourself available whenever Tristan wants to see you, and give us some privacy for a few nights."

It was reluctantly agreed.

Tristan was crouched outside by the patio table, trying to coax the timid little kittens from their hiding places as he filmed them. His gallery was already filling up with blurry photos and shaky videos of their new found friends. 

"Have you named them yet?" asked Fraser, stepping onto the terrace with his brother.

"Not yet..." said Tristan.

He was worried he'd get too attached if he did. There was no telling when the bubble of playing make-believe would burst, the deeper he fell into the fantasy, the harder his impact with reality would eventually be.

"I'm sure you'll think of something" said Fraser, bending down to introduce himself to the kittens' mother, "I'm happy to watch my nameless little nieces and nephews in any case."

"Baby, let's go. They'll still be here when we get back" said Caleb.

There were a slew of little pet shops dotted across the island, but Caleb headed straight to the biggest and most expensive of them all. Whatever Tristan picked out, he was determined to bring back with them; he was yet to make a dent in the money he'd set aside to lavish on his husband.

Their cart was loaded up with cat food, kitten food, and beds of all shapes and sizes. Tristan had been sitting on something he wanted to say since they got to the car.

"You're buying them a lot..." he said, "does that mean you're planning to keep them..?"

"You want to, don't you?" asked Caleb, deflecting his question as they carried on down the aisle.

"I mean... even if I wasn't here" said Tristan, "Would you keep them?"

Caleb's hand gripped the handle of the shopping cart a little tighter.

"We'll keep them of course. Together. They're joining our family... I have no intention of abandoning them. Our family must always stay together."

Tristan's eyes wavered.

"Why don't you pick out some toys for them?" Caleb suggested with a smile.

Tristan's 'innocent' hypothetical was disconcerting. Caleb had failed to make things clear to him - there was nothing if he wasn't there. It was time to accelerate things before Tristan had the chance to run. Tonight, he would need to make him understand.

First, there was Fraser's problem to deal with.

Once the car was loaded with supplies, they headed back to the Phoenicia. Tristan wasted no time in checking in on the cats, all accounted for and playing happily in the shade. While his husband unpacked, Caleb took his brother aside and talked him through the plan he'd constructed. Pushing the limits of his faltering morals, Fraser agreed all too quickly.

"I'll be back soon, Baby" said Caleb, "We just have a little business to take care of."

They stopped at the mall before heading on to visit Mrs Warik at the hospital with Caleb acting as translator. Speaking much louder than words, the designer goods that Fraser had brought to make her stay more comfortable were gratefully received. The glamorous widow couldn't wait the opportunity to make her friends sick with envy.

"My brother wanted to stop by with some gifts on his way to find a place to stay..." Caleb explained in Modeshi, "There was a fire in our apartment building yesterday evening, and unfortunately my friend only has room for myself and my husband. My poor dear brother has found himself homeless overnight... it's just lucky here was here with you at the hospital when it happened."

It took very little prompting for Mrs Warik to follow the threads Caleb set out for her, and generously offered her own vacant bedroom for Fraser's use. She apologized that the sheets would need to be changed, and couldn't guarantee how clean and tidy she'd left it; but the bed was his for as long as he needed it.

Of course the brothers couldn't dream of imposing, but with all Fraser had done to help the Warik family, their faux refusal was quickly shut down. Just like that, Fraser was given a legitimate reason to stay with Farang.

With Mrs Warik stuck in the hospital, her phone had been passed along to her son. Calling from Fraser's number, she found she was unable to reach Farang directly; instead leaving him a lengthy voicemail to apprise him of the situation. Caleb smiled to himself as he listened in.

"What's she saying..?" Fraser whispered behind his hand.

"You shouldn't have anything to worry about" Caleb replied, "she called you her 'very special guest', and that he's not to touch you again... unless you want him to. I trust you haven't been taking advantage of her son before marriage?"

Fraser rolled his eyes.

Having deposited his brother in Farang's little neighborhood with Mrs Warik's keys, Caleb headed for home in exceptionally high spirits. Arriving back at the Phoenicia, his mood quickly soured; it seemed that Tristan had taken in another couple of strays while he was out.

"Tristan was introducing us to the cats" Tibur explained.

Caleb eyed the two men, alone with his husband; he didn't like it. Some people require friends, he reminded himself. The terrace was strewn with discarded cat toys, the remnants of cardboard scratchers and pieces of cat food littered the paving slabs. In Caleb's commanding presence, Tristan began to notice the extent of the mess they'd made.

"I'll clean up now..." he told Caleb nervously.

"Take your friends inside to cool down" he said, "You'll end up burning if you stay out any longer. I'm guessing you forgot to wear your sunscreen again..?"

Tristan touched a hand to his pink cheeks.

"Oh..."

Caleb clenched his fist, motioning to the door with an understanding nod. He didn't care about the mess. If he was mad about anything, it was that Tibur and Michael had come over, and had failed to keep Tristan out of the midday sun. Were the kittens so interesting that they needed to risk his husband's skin?

Tibur followed Caleb's suggestion and took Tristan inside.

"So you're a father now?" asked Michael, lingering outside to watch Caleb clean up, "I'd never have taken you as a cat person. You don't seem the type to like animals."

"What's not to like about them?" Caleb replied, "They make Tristan happy, they're relatively independent, and if you fail to give them attention they're unlikely to try and burn the place down."

The mocking smile vanished from Michael's lips.

"It was an unfortunate accident" Michael clarified, "It wasn't deemed to be arson."

"And does Tibur know..? What caused that little accident?"

Michael glowered at the man happily teasing the kittens with a jingly little mouse toy. He'd decided to keep Tibur in the dark about his unexpected visitor and her grand romantic gesture. Even looking over the security footage, he couldn't remember who she was. Once the apartment was repaired, he'd only planned to change his doorcode and pretend the whole thing had never happened.

"Sometimes it's better to keep things to ourselves" said Michael, "like how I don't remember seeing your husband at the Phoenicia before he showed up here with no memory. He's very close to Tibur... I worry if I said anything, the two might start asking questions about what your relationship was like before the accident..."

Caleb hadn't given Michael enough credit. He'd always thought him too stupid to cotton on to the fact that he was up to something. It was clear he didn't fully understand the situation, but it was enough to put Caleb on his guard.

"Have you found a place to stay while they fix your apartment?" he asked, "I wouldn't think the student accomodation would be all that accomodating in the long term."

"I looked at hotels but there's nothing close enough that I could keep an eye on... my apartment. Without checking in as much as I can, who's to say what will happen when my back is turned."

The second he'd seen Tibur's shifting gaze he had a feeling he'd wanted to ask a favor of the penthouse residents. There wasn't a chance in hell he was going to let Michael stay with them, especially now that Fraser was otherwise situated.

"I have a second unit in the building" Caleb confessed, "ninth floor, on the other side. I just need a day to move a few things."

"Then I'll have to inopportune Tibur for another night" said Michael.

When the two men returned inside, they found Tibur and Tristan whispering conspiratorially and preparing to make their case. It was just as well they'd got ahead of them.

"Husband" Tristan began, knowing the power of that word, "since the fire, it seems our neighbor doesn't have a place to stay. Tibur was telling me he's reluctant to be far from his apartment... and well, it's difficult for him to stay in the dorms for very long. Since our place is so big..."

Caleb watched him, enraptured. Regardless of his noble but flawed intentions, Tristan was speaking. It wasn't a monosyllabic response, it wasn't an apology... he was really speaking. He was reminded of the day of Tristan's job interview, when he rambled on through every silence. Little by little, he was regaining the strength of his voice.

"There's no need for such generosity" said Michael, cutting him off, "Your husband has already found me a place to stay. I can move in tomorrow, right Caleb?"

Caleb prickled at the interruption.

"It's all sorted, Baby" he told Tristan with a gentle smile.

"Oh... then why doesn't Michael stay on the sofa just for tonight?" Tristan suggested.

Caleb and Michael exchanged a worried glance.

"Fraser isn't fond of strangers" Caleb lied, "I don't think he'd be comfortable with having someone stay over that he doesn't know."

He hadn't planned to tell Tristan that his brother wasn't returning home until much later in the evening.

"Then I guess I can try to get a permit for one more night..." said Tibur.

Tristan thought it sounded reasonable enough. He hadn't expected that Caleb's kindness would be so easily extended to Tibur's friend. Was this what it was to have people really care about one another? It was such an alien concept.

 While Tibur and Tristan reflected on the alternate outcome of their redundant proposition, they failed to notice the creepingly devilish smiles that were painted on Caleb and Michael's faces. Another night to make their attack, and tonight they'd be better prepared.

While Tibur returned to work and Michael went to meet with a contractor, Caleb sat out on the patio, watching Tristan as he played with the kittens in the sunlight. With such a perfect scene to hold his interest, he congratulated himself on how much his efforts had rewarded him. But there was still one reward owing...

As Tristan got on his hands and knees to rescue a ball from beneath the table, Caleb admired the view, his blood reaching boiling point. Everything was where it should be.