Chapter 9 – James
Chapter Nine
JAMES
“How did you manage to find the two cutest kitties on the planet?” Hailey asked, bouncing Yarmen and Purrsephone in each arm.
Yarmen yowled his happy yowl, and Purrsephone smacked him in the face with her tail. When Hailey gave her an extra few bounces, her motorboat purr started up, and she climbed up Hailey’s shoulder to rest in the crook of her neck.
It had taken almost two weeks for James to let anyone pick Purrsephone up.
He was worried they wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between her being brave and her paw actually being healed.
At the two-and-a-half-week mark, Hailey had come over for her first visit since going off to college, and she had lifted Purrsephone above her head, which made Purrsephone purr nonstop, and James had given up the fight.
It was now almost exactly a month and a half since they got Purrsephone, which meant she was well and truly healed, and also somewhat acclimated to living with Yarmen.
James and Leon had followed all the instructions, keeping them separate for over a week before slowly introducing their smell to each other and eventually doing short, supervised visits.
They were now allowed to roam the apartment together when Leon was home, but they were kept apart when he was out.
Sometimes, they seemed to really like each other, curling up on the couch together, both of them purring and yowling away.
Other times, Purrsephone would make it her mission to beat Yarmen with her tail until he eventually took a swipe at her.
Right now, they were behaving, which was all James could ask for as he and Leon moved in the final boxes from James’ car.
“Well, I’d say James and Leon are pretty cute, too, so maybe they just attract cuteness,” his mom said from where she was sitting on the couch with Linda, folding towels and organizing James’ books.
Howard had assigned himself the task of building James a desk in the office, and his grunts and occasional curses had served as a soundtrack for the past hour and a half of their move.
“They’re okay, I guess,” Hailey said, sticking her tongue out at Leon as he walked by carrying a heavy looking box.
James allowed himself just a moment to appreciate the view, as sweat glistened on Leon’s lower back and his muscles and tattoos flexed with every step.
He was wearing one of his “It’s a good thing you love me because I have somehow yet again forgotten to do the fucking laundry” crop tops.
James had been pleased when no one, not even Howard, batted an eye at him or his purple belly button piercing.
Leon had worn a full-length shirt when they helped James’ mom move the previous weekend, and, right before everyone arrived today, Leon had asked James to help make sure he had at least one clean shirt available when they moved Linda next weekend.
“No need to give the old folks at Arbor Manor an eyeful,” Leon had said, glancing down at the scythe peeking out over the top of his joggers.
“I’m sure Mom would get a kick out of being the source of dining room gossip before they’ve even fully moved in,” James had joked, which had only made Leon sigh.
As Leon set the heavy box down on the kitchen island, Yarmen began to squirm in Hailey’s arms. He’d been a bit clingier than usual the past few weeks, either due to Purrsephone’s presence or the appearance of boxes and suitcases as James gradually moved in.
It looked like Leon had just brought in the heaviest box, leaving only a few duffel bags and piles of pillows still to be brought in.
He and his mom had agreed that he would bring one pillow for each major holiday because they would look good on Leon’s dark couch.
They were also easy to stuff in vacuum storage bags, which helped ease some of James’ anxiety over coming into Leon’s space and completely taking over.
He’d done his best to keep most of his stuff on his side of the bedroom and closet, only adding a few things here and there to the kitchen, living room, and office.
His plan would have worked, except Leon had figured out what he was doing. He’d insisted on building James a desk in the office and had gone to James’ house and packed five more boxes of James’ stuff, including the heavy one he was currently unloading.
“Why did you bring scuffed-up glasses and chipped mugs?” Hailey asked, walking over to the counter, allowing Yarmen to clamber out of her arms and into Leon’s, effectively disrupting his efforts to unpack the box.
“Because they’re homey, and this is James’ home now, so they belong here, just like he does,” Leon stated matter-of-factly.
James ducked his head but not before catching the sappy looks his mom and Linda were throwing at him.
If Howard had been in the room, he would have made the sappiest face of all.
The three of them had been cheering James and Leon on from the beginning, but as soon as James told them they were moving in together, it had dialed up to a thousand.
Howard had sent them several housewarming presents, including the gorgeous, cat-safe flowers currently on their dresser, and Linda had emailed James an annotated schedule of all Arbor Manor’s family events from now through the end of the year.
After they finished unloading the car, they were going to an evening concert on the lawn, one of the last outdoor events Arbor Manor was hosting before it got too cold.
It turned out Leon was a big fan of the classic rock events the community hosted, and he and Howard had plans to go see a concert across town next month.
Through the multiple moves they were managing, James had gotten closer to Linda, and they now had a standing date every other Thursday to play Hearts.
“Trina should be here any minute with the pizza,” Hailey said, patting Purrsephone’s butt until her purrs took on a staccato rhythm.
“And then you’re going to get Howard to look at your history homework, right?” Leon pressed, an edge of desperation in his voice.
While Leon had easily been able to help with any complicated Calculus problems, and James had volunteered to proofread essays, they were both abysmal at history.
It turned out one of Howard’s hobbies was watching the History Channel, and he was beyond thrilled to offer his expertise to the two college students.
“Once we’re all fueled up, I’m sure we can conquer this Alexander the Great project,” Howard said, finally emerging from the office with a sheen of sweat on his brow.
“Is the desk finished?” James’ mom asked sweetly.
She managed to keep her smile intact even as Howard shook his head. “Like many things in life, good furniture construction takes time. I think I’ll let it breathe for a little bit.”
Leon made eye contact with James over Hailey’s head, and they both nodded, understanding that they would be responsible for actually building the desk tomorrow.
“Best not to rush a good thing,” Linda said, rubbing an affectionate hand down James' mom’s arm before holding out her other hand to Howard.
He bustled across the room, avoiding an empty box James still needed to deconstruct and a half-emptied suitcase. The second his butt touched the couch cushion, Leon was walking over to them, Yarmen tucked against his chest and his phone out and at the ready.
“James, come sit with your mom, and Hailey stand next to Howard,” he said, and James didn’t bother protesting.
After Hailey’s going away party and their conversation about living together, Leon had begun taking a lot more photos, purposefully posing Hailey and Trina together at restaurants, capturing the many stages of their move, as well as cataloging all of James’ and his mom’s favorite parts of their house.
“You and my mom are hellbent on making sure I have more photos for my college graduation collage,” Hailey grumbled, even as she willingly made her way over to stand next to Howard.
Admittedly, Hailey’s high school graduation collage had been a little sparse, given Hailey’s interest in taking photos of food, animals, and Trina, but not of herself.
While James didn’t think that was the only reason Leon had started taking more photos, it probably didn’t hurt to let Hailey think that.
“Do you want me to hold Yarmen?” Linda offered right as Howard said, “You have to be in here too, Leon.”
Leon easily handed over Yarmen and began taking candid shots as James maneuvered himself onto the arm of the couch next to his mom.
“Just turn the camera around and put your big head in the corner,” Hailey said, gesturing at Leon’s phone.
“Or you could lie across us like one of those goalkeepers,” Howard said, flapping his hand at Leon to encourage him to come over to the couch.
“My arms aren’t that long,” Leon complained, but Howard ignored him, trying to get up from his seat to take the phone from Leon, much to Linda and Hailey’s protests.
“I’m so happy for you, sweetie,” his mom whispered, unhelpfully taking the hand James had been using for balance and holding it against her chest.
Yarmen began to yowl and, not to be outdone, Purrsephone began to meow, her voice vibrating as she refused to stop purring.
“I can just edit myself into the photo,” Leon protested.
“Yeah fucking right,” Hailey said as Howard pulled out his own phone, presumably to demonstrate for Leon how to put it in selfie mode.
“I’m happy, too,” James whispered back, ignoring the chaos erupting around them as Yarmen tried to crawl across Howard’s lap to Hailey, and Purrsephone waved her tail, her meows taking on a threatening quality.
James finally managed to get himself settled on the arm of the couch, even with his mom still clutching his hand, right as the door opened, revealing Trina carrying a ridiculous number of pizzas.
“How many did you order?” Linda asked, her voice somehow still wrapped in affection even as she shook her head in disbelief.
“They’re growing children!” Howard protested, and Yarmen yowled his agreement.