Shake it off!

[Mikko Ashby]

"Okay judgy!" Mik scowled at his phone, at the text messages he was exchanging with Lieve. Oh darling judgmental Lieve! Mik couldn't blame him, though; they were both pretty on edge from that whole Cori thing. But now Cori had been found safe (if not entirely sound because who could be after getting kidnapped?!). They were coming over for some reason to meet Rip, but Mik was betting that Lieve only said that to hide his true intentions: to come see this man in his 30s for himself, that Mik was dating.

Honestly! He didn't even know Rip and he'd never seen him! How could he judge based on age alone? Besides, 30 wasn't THAT old. Rip looked damned good for a middle-aged man. (Because to 19 year-old Mik, 30 was pretty middle-aged...) Well anyway if he wasn't flipping his lid, nobody else should be either. Rip wasn't like those creepy older guys preying on young hot men!

He was a huge sweetheart. Mik looked over at him sitting on the bench with his little kitty Star, playing with her and cuddling with her. They checked out the fish earlier when Rip first arrived--though not before Mik had pulled him to a corner and kissed him--and now they had come back to the fluffy kittens. Aunt Shelby, thankfully, was with some people looking to adopt a pair of dogs so she wasn't here to glare. Or to watch Mik wander back to the bench, sit beside Rip and gently nuzzle his cheek against him.

"Cori's coming here to see you!" He slipped an arm around Rip's waist and drew even closer, leaning in for another soft, quick kiss to Rip's cheek. "And our friend Lieve. Everybody's so grateful to you for helping Cori escape, Rip!" Mik grinned at him. Geez. Rip was so handsome... His other hand lifted and slipped over Rip's jaw so that he could nudge his head this way--away from kitty, towards Mikky. "You big handsome heroic man, you," he laughed softly, angling his lips for a deeper kiss.

[Ripper Nightshade]

Kittens were definitely his new favorite thing. Unironically, because he didn't know how to like things any other way. Kittens were soft, cuddly, adorable, and they made Rip smile. Star was such a little scamp. She waved her paws at him and rolled onto her back like she could fight better that way and Rip laughed because she looked like the least dangerous creature in the world.

He smiled when Mik joined him and closed his eyes briefly and made a soft, contented sound when he was nuzzled. Maybe he wasn't so unlike a stray cat, he thought. But it wasn't a bad thing to be when somebody decided to take him in.

Still, his eyes were on Star as she clambered up his thigh and rolled over onto his lap. Her walking skills weren't at their best yet.

"Oh, he's okay," Rip said with relief. He did worry for him but it didn't seem like anybody cared to go after him. And by anybody, he meant Pax. His new... master. He wondered how long he could stay away doing this new "mission" of his before Pax finally yanked on his chain and dragged him back. A part of him wanted to find out, to stretch his independence. Another part of him feared what might happen.

So Cori and their friend Lieve were coming. Rip dangled a finger at Star and she pawed at it. He didn't feel like a hero or anything. But... he did what he could. People were missing Cori; he was the kind of person people missed. Rip still remembered touching his hand. And Cori holding on. And hugging him.

"Oh..." His gaze was turned away from the distraction of the kitten. Mik was grinning. "Is that what I am?" he asked, just as lips met his. He melted into the kiss, lifting a hand to Mik's cheek, stroking a line down his jaw, fingertips landing at his collarbone. The kisses blended seamlessly into one another until he could scarcely breathe. When they parted ways, his nose brushed Mik's and his eyes half opened.

"Maybe I should make it a habit--" he started to say but the bell sound of the door was back and somebody entered the shelter. Rip blinked and looked askance at Mik, before peering over his shoulder, then standing when he recognized Cori.

"You made it!" he said happily. "I knew you would."

Well, knew was a strong term for it. But he'd hoped!

[Mikko Ashby]

"Mmhmm," Mik hummed into the kiss. Rip was a hero. A handsome heroic hunk of a man and nobody was going to convince him otherwise, not even certain judgy long-haired well-meaning friends! In the back of his mind he wondered what Lieve alluded to earlier but most of him was contentedly enjoying the way one kiss lead into another. Mik lost count; he just wanted to bask in the tender moment, of sharing affection with the man his heart decided to skip a beat for.

His own eyes were still closed as Rip nuzzled him like a cuddly little kitten, and his heart swelled with warmth. Ahhhh Rip... Lieve might have teased him about watching rom coms but damnit, this was a total rom com moment! Mik didn't care what anybody said, gay and queer people deserved happy endings too, and he was going to have his! His hand stroked up to Rip's jaw to try and pull him back in again—less talking, more making out!—but somebody entered the shelter and his dastardly plans were foiled.

By Cori. And Lieve.

Mik didn't stand up; he did sort of stare at the incredulous looks on both of his friends' faces. What? So they walked in on him and Rip kissing! They looked like Aunt Shelby looked when she walked in on them, as a matter of fact. "What?" Mik shrugged. "What?" He asked again as Cori kind of horror pointed wordlessly, as if he had no voice left to express his disgust. Finally Mik did get to his feet, frowning, with one hand at Rip's elbow.

"DAD NO!" Cori shouted, as he turned into Lieve in apparent distress and buried his face into Lieve's shoulder.

"Excuse me?" Mik thought that was... out of line. "This man is not your daddy. If he's going to be anyone's daddy, he's going to be mine."

[Ripper Nightshade]

The kitten wriggled against his chest as Rip held her close. Although he had been excited upon seeing Cori, alive and well, he was somewhat confused by the expressions on both Cori's face and on his companion's face. What? He looked over at Mik in askance, as if he would have the answer for him. He didn't; Mik seemed about as confused by their strange reactions as he was. All right, then. It wasn't just him, then.

"He's your dad?" Rip asked. Dad, no? The friend--Lieve--looked at him with even more incredulity.

"Me? No, you are..." But by the way Lieve trailed off, Rip was starting to think he realized how silly that must have sounded. Lieve put an arm around Cori and rubbed his back but he was looking at Rip when he said, "He's too young. I mean, he's old...er. But not old enough to be your dad."

For some reason, Lieve sounded somewhat... disappointed by this? Rip lightly pet Star to make sure she knew everything was okay but he lifted his head as he looked over at Mik again. "Daddy?"

[Mikko Ashby]

"Nobody is anybody's dad," Mik felt the need to assert, because seriously, none of them knew what a dad looked like. Between the four of them, they probably had one real dad—and that was assuming Rip's dad was in his life at some point. Mik knew that Cori never knew his dad, and neither did he; both of their fathers were notably absent throughout their lives. That was sort of their common ground; they understood each other's loss and pain in that regard.

As for Lieve... Well, that was a different story altogether!

Cori still kept clinging to Lieve (aww) but he too studied Rip at some length and also appeared disappointed. "He's not my dad? But we look so much alike..."

Now it was Mik's turn to look at the two of them closely. He frowned. Oh yeah... there was kind of a weird resemblance between them. But Rip wasn't nearly old enough to have a twenty year-old son! He would've had to be... 10? When he had Cori? That was totally not a thing.

At best Rip could be Cori's brother!

"Okay everybody settle down. Rip is not your dad, Cori. Maybe long-lost brother, definitely not father, so cut that out." He curled an arm around Rip's waist, since poor Rip had no more idea about this than Mik did. Poor man, everyone kept coming around to judge him and confuse him! "And you." Mik looked pointedly at Lieve. "You can see that Rip is normal. Hm? Don't think I don't know why you came, you sneaky person." To check out his new man!

[Ripper Nightshade]

All right. Mik's words made sense; Rip couldn't even imagine any of the people standing there being a dad to anybody else. He had no memory of any dad growing up, but! He did actually know Jack's father. Not really in anything more than passing, but... Keith certainly liked him. As much as... Keith liked anybody, anyway.

"You do look alike," said Lieve, looking Rip over. Rip tried not to look at himself but he felt the weight of judgment on him the whole time Lieve looked at him. And he did look, from head to toe. He seemed somewhat confused, perhaps disappointed still...? Rip continued to stroke little Star's fur, not sure what to say to that. Did he and Cori look similar? Possible. Probable, given that Jack as his brother.

"Hm, brother... is very close," Rip finally said, in response to Mik's comment about the long lost brother part.

Mik didn't seem that happy with Lieve and in turn, Lieve didn't seem very happy with Mik. Were they all really friends? Cori seemed scared of them right now, the way he was hiding away against Lieve. Gently, Rip said to Cori, "I am a golem of your brother, so don't be sad."

[Mikko Ashby]

"What's a golem?" Mik and Cori asked at the same time, before Cori seemed to wither like spinach in hot water. His disappointment was palpable and... there was something Mik wasn't quite getting here. From both Cori and Rip. Obviously Rip knew something they didn't—that comment about brother being 'close' was rather cryptic. And Lieve and Cori... They were a whole different level of confusing.

"Hey Lieve. Honey. Baby doll." Mik tried to smile in the least suspicious way possible. "Can I talk to you... like over there? By the cupboards? Cori sweetie, you and Rip play with the kittens, okay? Look, it's that new litter I was telling you about! Rip's gonna tell you all their names. And Lieve and I will um. Prep some milk. For the kittens."

Cori seemed reluctant but Mik saw his eyes light up when he peered into the pen full of kittens. After a moment Cori detached from Lieve and wandered over; Mik was relieved to see him smile at Rip as he reached out to pat Star on the head. "I'm glad you made it out okay Rip," Cori said softly. "I was afraid you'd be stuck there."

Mik eyed Lieve meaningfully before walking over to the cupboards and grabbing a little carton of milk for the kittens' afternoon feeding. First things first—getting to the bottom of this 'dad' business!

[Lieve Averesch]

Lieve would have crossed his damn arms if he wasn't busy holding onto Cori. Instead, he tilted his head and stared Mik down, one hand on his hip. Was he serious right now? Asking what a golem was? Of course he was. Mik was a human. Cori thought he was a human all this time. They didn't know the term. Not the way Lieve did, anyway. But seriously? A golem?! Things were even worse than he thought!

And that smile and that tone and those endearing terms for him weren't doing Mik any favors because Lieve knew he was about to get chewed out. Well, good--because Lieve was going to do some chewing, too!

"Oh yes," Lieve said dryly. "Let's prep some milk for the kittens."

He dropped his hand from Cori's back as Cori disengaged from him to go play with kittens. Suspiciously, he watched that Rip character interact with Cori for a moment, but he seemed mostly harmless. All he was doing was telling Cori that the kitten was called Star and then asking if he wanted to see the others.

Lieve followed Mik, but he kept half an eye out for Cori. He wasn't sure what he expected but it wasn't quite this. But he did cross his arms when it was just himself and Mik.

"A golem, Mik? Really?"

[Mikko Ashby]

Look.

Okay.

Mik didn't ask for things to be weird or for Rip to be in his 30s or for Cori to get kidnapped! He didn't go to church, kneel down in one of the pews and beg god to make his life as weird as possible. So Lieve could cross his arms and give him the disapproving mom eyes all he wanted, Mik wasn't buckling!

Now, if this had been Aunt Shel, he might have been a little cowed.

As it was, he flicked his gaze over at Lieve once he had come over. "I don't even know what a golem is!" Mik plopped the milk into a bowl with a pointed flourish of some kind. Kind of hard to be actually indignant when half of his eye was on Rip and Cori too, and how cute they were playing with the kittens. "It's not like I went on Grindr and advertised for golems only, age 30 and over, preferably with some weird magical friends. I don't even know what's going on! Why did you guys think Rip was Cori's dad, of all things? What does being a golem have to do with it? What—"

Wait a minute.

Wait a goddamn minute. Mik's hand stilled, still squeezing the carton of milk out into the bowl. Rip and Jack. That Jack character. Fairy. Golem. Rip said that Jack was a fairy and he was a golem, and at the time Mik thought he was being clever but... Lieve wasn't even there. No way Lieve was in on the analogy. So that Jack guy...? "Who the hell is Jack then?" Mik muttered to himself, then shook his head. "No. Go back. Golem. What is a golem?"

[Lieve Averesch]

Oh, he didn't know but he was going to find out. And when he learned what a golem was, he was so not going to like it. And he would hopefully stop being all moon-eyed over this Rip guy. And okay, Rip looked nothing like the middle-aged Harley Davidson riding thug that Lieve had been envisioning--nothing like it--but he was still problematic. Looks weren't a thing right now because a golem was just a shape that the creator made.

Lieve shrugged and he started to answer the question as to why they thought perhaps Rip might be Cori's father but Mik veered away from the topic and back to the golem business. It was going to go there anyway so Lieve accepted it and didn't bother trying to steer it back.

Silence for a moment while Lieve raised a brow and watched Mik go still. Jack? Who the hell was Jack? Lieve shrugged again. Like he knew the answer to that question. What did it even have to do with what they were talking about?

"A golem," said Lieve with a flick of his hair over his shoulder, "is a magical construct crafted by a powerful magic user."

Lieve turned his gaze to the pair playing with kittens, critical of every move, every tone he heard in Rip's voice as he talked strays and kittens and how glad he was to see Cori again. There wasn't even a single hint that he wasn't just another human, except for his magic signature. Lieve sensed signatures as energy and Rip's energy was strong but there was a definite dual nature to it that most people didn't have. That was the soul--he had a soul, not all golems did--and the mana of his creator. One pulsed with a gentle warmth like a heartbeat. The other was threaded in a violent streak of possession and need.

"In his case, a very talented magic user in golemology. Usually golems are kind of... stiff and emotionless." There was nothing stiff or emotionless about Rip. He moved like a dancer. He spoke like a singer. He could sort of see the charm but... He let out a soft scoff.

"But you're in luck, he might not be in his 30s. For all you know, he could be 5 years old."

[Mikko Ashby]

Mik took in a deep breath but he didn't know what to do with it. Hold it in? Let it out in a shriek? Lieve was speaking English but the words, they didn't make no sense strung together in that order! Slowly he set the emptied carton down and then brought both of his hands up with the palms meeting, as if he was saying a prayer.

He brought his clasped hands up to his mouth, just barely touching the sides of his fingers with his lips. Mik's gaze was up, staring at the cupboard door just above Lieve's head. "You just made up a whole word, because golemology does not exist in any dictionary I know," he said slowly as he grappled with what was being said to him.

So Rip. Was like a cheap knock-off. Of somebody. (That Jack guy, he assumed.) That was not a thing Mik ever thought he would have to wrap his head around. He'd dated some hot guys, some nice guys, some creeps, some boring ones. He had never, ever had to ask someone what his boyfriend was, only to be told that they were essentially not alive, and only held together by magic like a marionette on invisible strings.

Mik took in another deep breath. "So you're telling me he's basically the street corner realistic knock-off Gucci bag of... of people? Oh good. Great. Now I'm the pedophile, this is a bonus definition of the word lucky that I wasn't aware of!" He swept the carton off into the garbage moodily. "Well. So what? I want to bang a golem who's eight years old but looks thirty, that's my choice. And for an eight year-old he looks real good! So."

Yeah... This wasn't something pure stubbornness could get him through, was it? Mik looked over at the other two; they were fast friends again, it seemed. Cori was laughing as he juggled two scrambling kittens and fell over with them clasped to his chest, but fell onto Rip in a heap. Cute. Innocent.

[Lieve Averesch]

"Of course it doesn't. It's a magic term," Lieve said. "Do you think prystal is in any dictionary you've seen? There's different disciplines of magic. Golemology is obviously the study and creation of golems."

He never thought he would have to explain this. Lieve had done his best to pretend he was human but the people closest to him--like Mik and Cori--knew what he was. It naturally came up after a while, when they realized he didn't have parents, as such, and that his life was quite different than theirs up to a point. Up to the point where Lieve was able to attend school and pretend to be just a regular kid like them.

"Well, he's got a soul so he has memories," Lieve said with a shrug, as if this was common knowledge. "So it's not like he has the mind of a child. Still, I wouldn't date a golem... there's no telling what he could be forced to do to you, no matter how much he likes you."

[Mikko Ashby]

"Golemology." He spoke the word with a measure of disgust. Obviously it was the study and creation of golems, because what other term would one ascribe to the fucking study and creation of golems? If Mik ever thought having a judgmental sass-mouthed dryad as a best friend was weird—and he did, he thought that every day—this truly had no rival in the realm of weird ass fucking shit.

Oh and Rip had a soul and memories. His own? Surely his own if he'd lived some number of years, even if he was five or eight or ten. Mik felt like it said something nasty about him that he was willing to overlook the age gap because Rip looked older than he actually was. Wasn't that literally the thing pedophiles said when they got caught in sting operations? He looks older than his actual age, I'm not the one who's at fault! I was deceived!

"And who, exactly, would force him to do bad things to me against his will?" Now it was Mik's hands on his hips, with a defiant toss of the head. It lacked a little something compared to Lieve's dramatic hair flip; Mik didn't have long hair. But he had the attitude. "He said that creepy abusive ex of his, Keith, was out of the picture." Then, after a slight pause, "Wait a minute, do you think that guy made Rip? Rip said something about this guy called Jack being a fairy and him being a golem when Allie kept confusing him for that Jack guy. Is Rip a copy of Jack, do you think?"

[Lieve Averesch]

"Uh, his creator?" Lieve said, again as if this should have been obvious. Who else would force a golem to do something nasty to somebody? Nobody, because who else could? Creepy abusive ex... Lieve raised a brow again. Really, Mik? He was asking who and then he said it right then and there, answering his own question. After all, did golems date? Probably not.

"Yeah, it's probably him. And he's--"

Lieve shook his head in disbelief.

"Wait, hold up." He put a hand up. "You're telling me... that this Rip golem here told you everything and you just... what did you think he was telling you?! And I don't know if he's a copy of Jack or not, because just him saying it doesn't mean shit if he was told to tell you all that. That's the problem with golems, Mik. They take orders from their creator and if their creator says kill Mik or tell Mik lies, then that's exactly what he's going to do."

[Mikko Ashby]

"How could I know he was telling the truth if I didn't know the thing he was telling me was a factual truth? I can't know things I don't know just because somebody says it while I didn't know... Ooh! You know what I mean!" Mik threw his hands up rather dramatically, startling Cori who asked if they were okay. He plastered that smile back on and nodded emphatically, and Cori went back to playing with kittens with Rip.

"I thought he was making an analogy! Allie kept mixing him up with this Jack guy and he kept insisting he wasn't Jack, and nobody believed him because who among us is an expert in golemology?! So when he said Jack was a fairy and he was a golem, I thought it was his way of highlighting how different they were, not that he was—" Mik paused for a breath. "—telling the truth! But that doesn't matter because now you're saying his creator could've told him to lie so that leaves us exactly nowhere!"

God he needed a drink!

Mik grabbed the milk and downed it. What? Kitten milk wasn't that bad; he knew it was sterile, full of nutrients. He would have preferred a shot of tequila but they didn't feed kittens tequila, thanks. "Anyway. Rip saved Cori from those kidnappers, so in my books he's okay. I mean look at him! He's like a stray! He has nowhere to go, he didn't even have a phone before today! You're telling me he's going to turn around and strangle me to death?"