Solstice Sisters
twin sisters Sam and Alex Fletcher visit their parents for the Solstice.
Sam sighs against her twin sister's boob. The hand petting over her free ear stops.
"What's wrong, Sammie," Alex asks, voice a quiet rumble from her purr. The twins are calico cats lying in bed together, naked, their mingling coats near-perfect mirror reflections. Sam opens her mouth to answer, hesitates, closes it again, thinks for a moment.
"Can I play with your boobs, Kitkat?" Sam is the only creature on the planet allowed to call Alex anything related to her first name—Katherine—and she exercises that right exclusively for cutesy pet names. It never fails to fill Alex's chest with bubbling warmth.
Alex hums her assent, then shifts her legs apart, allowing Sam to roll over and lay between her thighs. Her purr kicks up when Sam scoots down to nuzzle into the fur of her belly and then reaches up to start kneading at her breasts. With a smirk, Alex goes back to petting Sam's ears. For a few minutes, it's quiet, save for their purring, as they enjoy one another, fur on fur.
"I think maybe we should visit mom and dad for the solstice."
This is news to Alex. Her purr cuts out and her ears perk forward as she scowls.
"Really?"
"I kinda miss them." A pause, hesitation. "A little bit."
Alex smirks. Of the two of them, Sam was always the closer to their parents—Alex was the opinionated one, the one who stuck up for Sam, the one who got in trouble anytime anything happened. They also absolutely would not have accepted the full depths of the relationship between the twins. Alex really can't say she misses them all that much, especially given what she has instead.
Who she has instead.
Growing up, Sam and Alex were inseparable, always closer than anyone thought they should be. Even despite their mother's best efforts, they were always one another's primary companion, the first—and often only—_person they'd go to for anything. Over time, that closeness became _more—_more love, more trust, more _need. They were each other's first everything—first kiss, first naughty dream, first time. It was—difficult, loving one another so completely while still living with their parents, keeping their relationship a secret. Things are better now, clearer and safer and easier, since they've left to attend the same university. Alex found them a surprisingly-nice apartment—clean, with private bathroom and utilities, if small—where they've been living for nearly a year and a half now. It is so freeing to be able to openly love one another here, making a home together in this little apartment.
Alex hums in thought. "We're pretty out of practice at hiding us from them. You sure you wanna go?"
Instead of answering her question, Sam scoots further up her twin's front to pout with her muzzle pressed between Alex's breasts. Alex scritches her ears.
"You good?"
"What if she's still mad?" Sam murmurs into her sister's sternum.
"Just because I quit rugby doesn't mean I can't still lay someone out."
Sam smiles despite her mood.
"Aleeeeeex, you can't tackle mom."
"Oh I absolutely can."
They share a quiet laugh. Sam sobers.
"This sucks."
"A bit."
"I miss them, and the solstice would probably be the best chance we have for civility, but I don't know if I forgive mom yet, and—I don't wanna go days without making love." Sam's ears pin back, eyes wide and shining with tears to give her twin her best Sad Kitty face. With little effort, Alex rolls them over so she's straddling Sam's middle, looking down at her.
"Hey pretty girl." She grins, predatory, when a blush overtakes Sam's face and ears. "How 'bout," she leans down until her muzzle almost touches Sam's, "I make you cum until you can't even move, then we sleep on it?" She boops their noses together. "We've got exams to finish first, then a few free days before we'll have to decide for sure."
Sam gulps. The unmistakable scent of arousal permeates the air.
"I'll take that as a 'yes please'."
Sam manages a nod. Alex smiles, all soft fondness.
"Love you, Sammie."
"Love you, too, Kat."
They share a kiss, gentle and slow. When Alex pulls away, Sam chases, unable to quite catch her. Grinning at her show of eager need, she leans back down to recapture Sam's lips with more passion. Sam's hands find Alex's hips as she squeezes Sam's perky little breasts.
"You like that?" she breathes into Sam's mouth. She gets a hum and another nod. "Good." She lifts her hips and slides down Sam's body, kissing a trail along her muzzle and down her throat, pausing to nuzzle against her pulse point. Further down, she nips at Sam's clavicle, then rubs her cheek across the tops of her breasts, leaving a long scent mark. Sam's purr ramps up.
"Alex." A plea, exultation, praise, admonishment, all at once, all in her breathy moan.
Alex smirks against Sam's breast, hand splaying in her pubic fur, thumb pad ghosting over Sam's clitoral hood. "Want my fingers in you?" Sam nods, emphatic, frantic. "You got it." She trails her middle finger down Sam's labia, then whistles under her breath. "You're soaked already, did I tease you too much?"
Sam shakes her head. "No, I just—you threatened me with a good time, Alex." Sam giggles, shivers at the pressure of Alex's fingertip against her entrance. "I got a little excited a little faster than usual."
"Let's see if we can't get you to cum a little faster than usual, too." Alex slips her middle finger in, slow. She leaves a final kiss on Sam's nipple, then pulls away to continue downwards.
Sam's bellynips get progressively more sensitive the further down, until the lowermost are just as sensitive as her breasts—sensitive enough she's climaxed before just from having them stimulated.
So when Alex trails kisses down Sam's torso, nipple to nipple, it is a promise and a threat. She pauses at each along the way to give it extra attention, each one getting a more enthusiastic kiss, a little more of her rough tongue.
Sam bites her lip to quiet her voice, arching her back. "Aleeeeex, I'm already close."
Alex pauses above the lowest nipple, breath tingling it. "Okay, Sammie." She slips a second finger into Sam's vagina. "Let's finish you up." She reaches up to take Sam's hand in her own, lacing their fingers together. Then she leans in, taking Sam's teat in her mouth, presses her tongue in hard against it. As she crooks her fingers up to press her pads against Sam's g-spot, she thumbs at her clit.
Sam's whole body goes stiff. Biting her lip can do nothing to stifle her cry of exultation, back arching from the bed to press her belly against Alex's smirking muzzle, pussy clenching around Alex's fingers. When she drops back to the bed, she twists, thrashing briefly, before falling still and boneless, releasing her held breath in a long, purring sigh.
Alex grins up at her around her nipple, then pulls away enough to lick her soaked fingers clean, then trails sweet, gentle kisses back up Sam's body, drawing little shivers as she goes. When she reaches Sam's jaw, she nuzzles in against it. "Love you, Sammie,"she breathes into her throat.
"Love you, toooooo, Kitkat." She makes a failed effort to move. "Wanna hug you but I'm too far gone."
"I got you, sweetheart." Alex presses herself bodily atop Sam, chest to chest, and waggles their still-joined hands. "I got you." Their purrs intermingle.
"Kaaaat?" Sam calls, voice muffled by the thick blanket she's piled under against the arm of the couch.
"Saaam?" Alex replies from the kitchen. She puts the finishing touches on their breakfast—bacon, eggs fried in the bacon fat, and toast—by stacking hers into a sandwich with a dash of hot sauce, and dumping about a gallon of syrup over Sam's whole plate.
"I don't wanna do my exam todaaaaaay." Alex chuckles as she imagines the adorable pout on Sam's face as she whines, then she gathers their plates and makes her way to the couch. Setting them on the coffee table that doubles as their dining table, she crouches to peer into the cocoon.
"I know you don't, but I also know how hard you've studied for it. I know you know the content, and you're good at exams. I know you got this." She leans in to press their noses together. "I also know your breakfast is getting cold, so come on out and eat."
"Uuuuuugh." Sam unravels and flops to the side. "Fine." She accepts her plate from Alex.
"You know," Alex begins as she settles next to her. "I don't have anything else to do today." She takes a bite of her sandwich, humming her pleasure at the way the spice of the hot sauce plays with the eggs, the texture differences between the crunchy bacon, soft gooey egg, and crisp toast. Talking around her mouthful, she suggests, "I could walk you there, camp out in the department offices 'til you're finished, so you can find me first thing after you're done."
It's a thing Alex does regularly enough that the professors all recognize her as "Sam's," although she's usually only waiting a few minutes at a time around class changes.
"Won't you be bored?"
"Nah, it's only an hour or two. And I should probably actually study for my own tomorrow."
They share a giggle.
Alex is the first ready, and first to leave their apartment, stepping out to wait with her hands in her hoodie's big pocket. She's just closing the door when the neighbor down the hall leaves her apartment and notices. She's a canine hybrid—coyote and golden retriever—friendly but a little too excitable for Alex.
She perks up and waves, then approaches.
"Door, Deb," Alex warns, pointing to where Deborah's door is left swinging open. The canine pivots, returns to her apartment, and properly closes it up, before rushing back over to Alex.
"Okay okay. Hi!" She looks Alex over real hard. "Sam?" Alex shakes her head. "Shoot! Alex!"
"Got it in two this time."
"I was getting better before it got cold," Deb whines. "You're just gonna have to become one of those types who wears muscle shirts year round."
Alex quirks an eyebrow.
"You're not any bulkier than Sam, but you've got, like, recognizable muscle definition, and it's the only way I can tell you two apart!"
"Eye patches," Alex offers off hand, ears and eyes trained on the door, waiting for Sam.
"Huh?"
"We each have a patch of orange over a different eye." She points to hers. "I'm Alex with an L, my eyepatch is on my left."
"Ohhhhhhh. That's such a good mnemonic!" She repeats to herself, "Alex, left. Alex, left," then her ears pop up. "But wait now every time I see one of you I'm gonna be like 'Hey! Uhhhh'" she lifts both her hands up, thumbs and index digits extended, and looks back and forth between them. "'Alex!'"
They share a laugh.
The door opens and Sam steps out. Deb waves.
"Hi Sam!"
"Hey Deb." Sam goes right for Alex's side, and receives an arm around her waist. Once settled in and purring, she continues, "How are you this morning?"
"Pretty good! It's cold though!" She makes a show of shivering and hugging herself.
"That's why I have a sister to keep me warm," Sam presses in closer to her twin, nuzzles under her chin.
"Oh so is that all I am to you?" Alex teases, making no effort to stop her or pull away. "A heater?"
"You two are something else." Deb shakes her head affectionately.
Here at university, their relationship hardly registers as weird to anyone. "Overly-affectionate twins" isn't nearly as noticeable as the guy who attends every lecture dressed in full Spot The Superdog cosplay, the cadre of jugglers who only choose the worst locations for their practices, or the theatre kids. As long as they aren't fucking in the quad, Alex and Sam are practically safe.
"Do we have to do this?"
The question, muttered by Sam against the car window, causes Alex to huff a quiet laugh as she flicks on the turn signal. The old junker of a car sputters in the darkness as she downshifts it to turn from asphalt onto gravel. The driver sighs, brings the car to a stop, then shifts into park to sit idle in the mouth of the driveway. She turns to her twin sister in the passenger seat, where she's drooped with her face pressed against the window.
Samantha, feeling her sister's eyes, flicks an ear and turns from the window to her.
"Why'd you stop us all the way back here?"
"Because even though it's 1am, I don't trust mom or dad to not still be up waiting for us, and I wanted a couple seconds more of you to myself, Sammie," Alex says, voice all cool and smooth. "And because you've been real quiet the whole trip. You gonna be okay?"
"Aleeeeex," Sam whines, crossing her arms. "I'm fine."
"You don't have to be."
Sam sighs.
"I know." She reaches over to set her hand atop her sister's on the gearshift. "Thanks, sis."
"Mhm." Kat turns her hand over to press the pads of their palms together, lace their fingers. "We get in, we go straight to bed. I'll stick to you as much as I can all weekend so mom can't corner you, just in case."
"This is so stupid!" Same growls out the words. "I can't believe we're sitting here discussing battle plans for how to stupid get through the stupid solstice with our family, why is she like this."
"Fuck if I know, Sammie. But she's not allowed to bully you, ever again, but especially not this weekend. Bad enough we have to hide us from them." She squeezes her twin's hand.
Sam squeezes back.
"Gods, this is gonna suck, huh?"
"Only if we let it. Come here." Alex slides her seat back from the steering wheel and pats her lap.
Sam bites her lip, ears pinning back.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?"
"It's dark, you're in a bad mood, and all we're doing is cuddling. They're probably asleep and if they're not there's nothing to see. Now let me hold you until you feel better."
Sam rolls her eyes, but unbuckles and crawls across to sit in Alex's lap with her back to the window.
"I love you, Sam. She says anything to you, you come find me, okay?" She waits until she feels Sam's nod to continue. "And if you need to leave, you let me know. We'll go. I don't mind, we'll go."
Sam nuzzles into Alex's throat where she has her nose pressed, breathes in the calming scent of her twin. Minutes pass—the engine rumbles in time with their purrs, Alex squeezing Sam against her.
Ahead, the mid-century ranch-style house they used to call home looms, lit only by the stars peeking through the clouds. Alex's last memory of the place is in the rearview, their mom standing impassive on the veranda as they left for university. Behind her, their dad had timidly waved goodbye.
When they make it in, their parents are blessedly asleep. Thankful for the quiet, they prowl hand-in-hand through the living room. It's eerie how much is the same as before, how much is different—same old carpet, same old couch in the same old spot. Same old scents of wood and dust and violets, but without any of Sam or Alex. The framed photos on the wall that "mysteriously" stopped appearing when they reached their senior year, birthdays and graduations and little quiet moments captured and immortalized—
There is one that wasn't up there before. The twins stop and stare.
It's from their graduation day, when ten of their friends hung out in the little den in the basement of a friend's house, six of them crammed onto the couch together. Sam wasn't practically sitting in Alex's lap—she literally was. The photo is cropped in tight to Sam and Alex's faces, pressed together as they laugh at something just out of frame. A bunch of kids delirious on celebration and promise, even Sam was caught up in the joy—but at that point, they had already figured out the "go to the same college" scheme.
They share a look, and Sam squeezes Alex's hand, and they set off down the hall to their bedrooms, then reluctantly pull apart to go their separate ways. They don't make it far. Alex freezes in her doorway, then waves Sam over to show that her bedroom is no longer a bedroom. Apparently, the southwest-facing window held too much promise and has been repurposed into their mother's home office.
Sam's room has also changed, but much less dramatically. Against the bare wall are the pieces of Alex's bed, as well as an old sleeping bag. Alex closes the door behind them.
"Dunno about you, but I don't feel like assembling a bed frame right now." That earns her a giggle from Sam.
"Me neither." She unfolds the sheets and starts making the bed. "Sleep with me?"
Alex answers by taking another corner of the fitted sheet and helping. Once that's done and the topsheet is draped over, a problem presents itself—there isn't a blanket. They both took everything they had when they moved, and apparently that means they don't get a blanket set out for them when they visit.
There isn't a spare in the linen closet, either.
"I could unzip the sleeping bag," Alex suggests.
"Ew, no way, I can smell it from over here."
"Wait seriously? The weird musty smell is the bag?" Alex prowls over to it, sniffs, then gags. It smells like it was soaked in sweat and pondwater then rolled up and abandoned in the garage for years. That's probably not far from what actually happened to it. "Oh hell. That is foul." She kicks it over to the door, then nudges it out into the hall, before closing the door. "Alternate idea: this is a great excuse to cuddle." From the middle of the room, already undressing, Sam perks up.
"Can I be big spoon tonight?"
"Sure." Once nude, Alex holds the sheet up for Sam. "You want the wall, too?"
"Ooh yes please!" Sam hops into the bed and wriggles her way back to the wall. Once settled, she holds her arms out, beckoning her twin. Alex slides into her arms, then presses back against her to gently squish her against the wall. Sam lets out a pleased "Mmmf," and squeezes her around the waist appreciatively.
Barely a minute passes.
"Shit." Alex pulls away and rushes over to their bags. "Can't sleep bare, they might check in or something."
"Oh, heck." Sam sits up, watches. Alex tries not to stare too openly at her chest. "Could I get your tank top?"
"Brought two." After tugging hers on, Alex returns to bed, sure that even if they have an unexpected encounter with their parents in the morning, it won't be obvious that they're bottomless under the sheet.
Then Sam's free paw starts wandering.
First up under her top, which is fair. But then it slips down, further and further until it settles between her thighs.
"Careful," she warns. Sam's fingers card through her pubic fur.
"I'm just getting myself comfy," comes Sam's rebuttal, teasing smile obvious in her voice.
"Yeah well if you aren't careful, I'm gonna 'get you comfy' through the mattress."
Sam stills again, and then the scent of her arousal hits Alex's nose. She huffs out a laugh.
Eighteen-year-old Sam stood on the back porch of her parent's house, watching the rain. She'd been out there long enough that the mug of tea in her hands had gone cold, and now all she really wanted was to find her sister and cuddle to warm up. She turned around and stepped back into the kitchen, ears pricking forward as she just barely picked up Alex's voice from the other room.
"Look, I get you're trying not to take sides in this thing and stay out of it or whatever, but you've gotta see how that's just hurting her more—"
Of course she was sticking up for Sam. She was always sticking up for Sam. It warmed her heart—and maybe other places—how much Alex loved her. That warmth didn't stand much chance against this, though.
Their mom was mad. She'd been mad since the start of the year, when she decided out of nowhere that Sam had to go to medical school. Sam really didn't want to go to medical school.
"I'm sorry, Kitten," their dad's voice says, low and soft.
"Don't touch me! Don't just apologize! You could help fix this! Fuck!"
Blinded by tears, Sam fumbled through the door and into the ice-cold January rain.
Sam wakes up to a bed she hasn't slept in for a year and a half, surrounded by the smell of a house she hasn't been in for a year and a half, cold and alone. Her eyes snap open, claws catching in the sheets she clutches in her panic. Her breaths come in gasps as she scans the room, ears tracking every little sound as she tries to place herself. She's on the verge of—something, crying, or a panic attack—when she finally registers the warmth in the bed under her hand, the scent in the sheet and her fur, the top she's wearing.
Alex is here. She's safe. Only then does her brain catch up to how she got here, when it is.
And then she remembers Alex talking to her, barely—she grabs her phone from the bedside table and notes the time—six minutes ago. Alex woke up first, and checked on her, and promised to make breakfast then come get her out of bed. And then Sam must have dozed off for a few minutes and disoriented herself. She grumbles and flops back down to lie, grumpy and boneless and stewing in her frustration, for another moment. Once she's satisfied her heart's slowed down, she slips from under the sheet and onto her paws.
By the foot of the bed, Alex's bag lies open and spilling clothes onto the carpet. With a long-suffering sigh, she steps around the mess to fetch her own things and get changed, opting for comfort over looks—pajama pants and one of Alex's old hoodies over a t-shirt. On her way out, she tosses last night's pajama tank top back onto the bed and nudges Alex's things back into her bag.
Alex is at the stove, one ear already trained her way, when Sam finds her. Sam approaches, takes a quick look and listen around, then collapses into a hug around Alex's middle.
"You good?" Alex pokes at the sausages in the pan, more an excuse to do something than to actually stir them.
"I just—I woke up and I was alone, and here. But I'm okay now."
"Good. I'm sorry." She gives her twin's arm a couple quick pats. "Uh, Dad's in the garage. Mom's gone—something at work? Iunno, ask Dad."
"Mkay."
"Food'll be a few minutes, if you wanna go talk now. Can use it as an excuse to bail if things go weird."
Sam slips away, but not before getting one last squeeze in.
Greg Fletcher is doing that thing again where he gets stuck in a loop of idle activities.
The orange cat is pacing around the garage, stopping occasionally to shuffle things around on a shelf, cross his arms over his belly, sigh and shake his head, before going right back to pacing. Sometimes, he adds in a little scratch at the shabby tufty fur behind his cheek. Sam watches him move the exact same bin full of string lights back and forth on the shelf—always right back where it started—three times before she announces herself with a quiet cough. He starts, tail straight and fluffed out, white patches over his eyes that give him a permanent appearance of surprise really helping to sell it, then notices her. Hand over his heart, he chuckles.
"Well good mornin', kiddo." She just talked to him on the phone a couple days ago, but hearing him in person is different, nostalgic in a way she wasn't expecting. There's a timbre in his voice that doesn't quite carry through a phone's tinny connection, a rumble, deep and bassy and soft, like a purr. When he smiles at her, she can see the changes the last year and a half have made in him. He looks older, but a little softer—the pinch between his brows that she thought was permanent during high school seems to have worked out. "How was the drive?"
"Hey dad. It was alright."
"Car not giving you trouble?" It was Greg's for nearly twenty years before it became Alex and Sam's during high school, and was around who knows how long before he got it, so it's a bit of a miracle—and a lot of hard work—that the thing still runs.
"Nope. Somehow, it's still going."
"Well that's good. That's good." A pause. He pokes at the bin of lights again. "You uh, found your room alright? Got settled in?" He's left it crooked. Sam wonders how long it'll stay that way.
"Yeah. I slept like a rock."
He chuckles. "Y'know your sister said the same thing. Even now it's like deja vu talkin' with you two." He shakes his head. "But I guess that's on me, askin' you both the same questions, huh?" He notices the bin. "Whoops." Nudges it back to where it was. "That's better." He turns back to her. "It's real good to see you again, Sam. Both of you." He nods like he's working himself up. "And I'm real sorry, too. I didn't know how bad it was for you. But," he sighs. It almost sounds like a growl. "If I had known, I probably would've just kept quiet, let it happen anyway. That wasn't good. I wasn't good. And I'm sorry."
"I know, dad."
"I'm gonna keep tryin' to do better."
"Thanks. Quick hug?" She holds her arms out, bashful.
That pinch between his brows comes back, mixed with something soft and longing, and he nods. He wraps her up and squeezes her tight, lopsided purr rumbling in his chest. "I love ya, kitten."
She squeezes for one more breath before answering. "Love you too, Dad. You still give great hugs."
"Not the best anymore?" He lets her go. She steps back.
"It's hard to compete with my very own twin."
"I sure wouldn't wanna be put up against her." He chuckles.
"Speaking of Alex, she said something about Mom being gone?"
"Oh. Yeah. I thought she had the day off, but." He shrugs. "She went in to work anyways. Something about paperwork."
"Huh. Weird."
"Hey, Sammie," Alex chimes in from the kitchen doorway. "Food's ready."
Sam turns towards her voice. "Thanks, Alex." She turns back to Greg.
"Whelp. Guess you better get goin', no sense missing breakfast."
"Okay, dad."
"And hey," he says, stalling her briefly, "it really is good to see you again. Thank you. I'm gonna try and earn it."
She offers him a smile, then heads to the kitchen and her waiting meal.
Sam was frozen in the living room, silently watching another fight between her sister and mother explode over the kitchen table.
"You know your sister worships you, Katherine." Alex tensed at the use of her first name, had to fight to keep from flinching, from her ears pinning back. "If you said something to her, you could convince her to see reason—"Alex interrupted her, standing so fast from her chair it toppled backwards.
"The fuck do you mean 'see reason'?" Mom tried to admonish her but she just yelled over her. "And shut up! You're delusional! Do you even know what she likes anymore? Seriously, I am asking you. What does Sam like."
When her mother hesitates, mouth open, Alex pounces on it.
"That's what I fucking thought. You've been so up your own ass about her being your perfect little puppet you don't even know she's her own person. Do you have any idea what that did to us? What it's still doing to us?" There was a threat in Mom's posture, like she was just barely holding back a snarl, but Alex was on a roll, arms wide as she gesticulated. "She's had anxiety attacks like every week for the entire year. She's a nervous wreck. We—I stole her acceptance letter for West so you wouldn't know she applied until it was too late for you to do something about it. Hell, I applied for her, she was so scared of you finding out."
She levels her best threatening glare at the woman before her. "Leave Sam the fuck alone and let her find just the tiniest bit of joy in her last few days of high school." She whirls around and stalks for the door, tail lashing behind her.
Her mother, stunned so far, finds her voice just in time to call out to Alex's back. "Addressing your mother like this is exactly the sort of bad influence I knew you would be on her."
Alex doesn't slow down, just flips her middle finger up over her shoulder as she passes through the doorway. If she weren't fighting to avoid crying or mauling the older cat at the table, the affronted noise her mother makes would bring a smile to her muzzle.
The twins eat side by side at their old places at the table. About ten minutes in, Greg pokes his head through the doorway.
"Smells real good. Sausages?"
Through a mouthful of eggs, Alex answers, "Yehh, leff wun fuh yoo." He gives her a little wave and swipes it from the pan.
Sam giggles and shoves at her shoulder. "Don't be gross."
Greg wanders in and out of the kitchen, rummaging through the cupboards, occasionally stopping to scratch at the scruffy fur along his jowls and scribble on a sticky note gripped in his paw. Between his trips, they tease at one another—a stroke of the tail here, a poke of a finger there—containing their giggles as much as they can. Then they clean their dishes, side by side, one washing and one rinsing.
"Ladies, do ya think I could send you on a quick errand?" Greg stands in the doorway, scowling down at the crumpled sticky note clinging for life to the fur on his finger. Sam cuts off the water and dries her hands.
"What sort?" As Sam steps away to talk to him more directly, Alex bumps her hip, then takes over the rinsing.
"Well, I went through everything, and I dunno if I'll have enough flour to get all my baking done. I could use a couple other things, too, if you don't mind making the trip into town."
"Yeah, I think we can handle that." She turns to her twin, already wrapping up the dishes.
"And why don'tcha take my car, and while you're gone I'll give the junker a checkup."
"Mkay."
On their way out the door, Greg flags them down again. "Tossed a blanket on Sam's bed. Sorry about that, forgot we had all the spares packed away."
"Aw thanks, Dad."
"Hope you're a little warmer tonight. You two have fun in town."
While Alex struggles to find a safe spot for the groceries in Greg's car, Sam takes a long, deep breath of snowy winter air.
"Do you think the groceries will be okay if we leave them for a while?"
Alex looks up from her work. "I don't see why not."
"Wanna go for a walk?" Sam holds out her hand, somehow managing to look bashful about it despite their years together.
Alex smiles, warm and gentle. "I'd love to." She closes up the car, then takes Sam's hand. "Anywhere you wanna go in particular?"
"Not really." She swings their joined hands back and forth as they set off. "Anywhere's good if I'm with you."
Alex leans in to nuzzle her, mark her cheek and shoulder.
Stop number one is the local coffee shop, The Stomping Grounds. As they near, Sam drops her arm from around Alex's waist to slip ahead and open the door for her.
"Oh, are we doing this again? Or are you just afraid of being the first one inside?"
As Sam follows, she whines, "I dunno what I'll waaaaaant."
The lioness barista looks up from her work, customer service smile already on her muzzle, then her eyes dilate and ears relax when she spots her newest customers, smile growing a little bigger and a little sweeter. "Come on in, sweethearts, I'll be with you in just a second!"
The twins share a quick look, then shuffle to the counter.
"Alright, what can I get you?"
"Small mocha for me." Alex turns to Sam. "Figured out what you want yet, Sammie?"
Sam hums, eyes darting around the menu until they land on the entry for the peppermint hot cocoa and her pupils fully dilate. She tugs on her sister's sleeve, pointing and mewling, "Aleeeex," drawing a chuckle from both her sister and the barista.
"Guess that answers that. Better make hers a medium." Sam hugs her arm, purring up a storm.
"You got it." The lioness rings them up, then starts on their drinks. "Are you two visiting from out of town? Don't think I've seen you before."
"Oh, uh," Sam looks to Alex, who shrugs. "We've been away for college. We're visiting our parents."
"Ooh, I hope that's going well. Goodness knows family visits can be fraught."
"You can say that again."
The lioness pauses to turn and give Alex a devilish grin, then returns to the drinks. "Ooh, I hope that's going well. Goodness knows family visits can be fraught."
Sam giggles. Alex rolls her eyes, but can't hide the smile on her muzzle. The lioness's tail sways.
"Alright!" She turns with two finished drinks, setting down the smaller of the two first. "One small mocha for Alex," then she fastens the lid to the larger cup, "and one medium peppermint cocoa for Sammy." Keeping her hold on it, she reaches into the display and retrieves a straw made of peppermint bark, popping it through the top. "Plus a sweet treat for a sweet treat," she adds with a wink.
"Ooh! Thanks." Sam takes a sip and moans.
Both Alex and the barista freeze, tails lashing and ears glowing with blush, while Sam starts towards the exit, blissfully unaware.
The barista finds her voice as they near the door, and calls out "You two come back by if you get the chance before you leave again! I'll be here every day!"
They wave. The door closes behind them.
"Okay the barista was definitely flirting with us—"
"She was?"
"—and you didn't help that by moaning like you came."
"Alex you don't get it, it really is that good." She holds it out. "Here, try a sip."
"I don't have your sweet tooth, no way I can handle that concoction."
The library may be the only place that still seems just how they left it. That might reflect more on the timeless power of the public library than anything else, but it feels significant either way.
They spent a lot of time here as kittens and teens, especially once they could drive. It was a quiet, calm place away from home where they could just be. There was comfortable seating, plenty of other people for Alex to practice drawing. There was also a reading nook, hidden away in the back of the second floor, behind a section of the driest historical texts, positioned in a west-facing window that got perfect sunlight for late-afternoon reading—or napping. It felt like a secret just for them—in all their years coming, they had never seen anyone else in that space.
As they wander the stacks, hand in hand, their paws carry them along the well-tread path to their secret nook. The lighting is different in the morning, especially with the clouds and snow outside, dim and almost blue, but when Alex clicks on the lamp, its soft yellow light bathes the couch in an inviting warmth.
Sam eases into her old spot in the corner, then pats right next to her. Alex doesn't need to be asked. She flops down, drops her weight to the side to rest heavily against Sam, who giggles.
"I missed this."
"Which part? The library? The couch? The cuddling?"
"All of it, kinda. The view of the courtyard through the window, the smell of the books, sitting on this couch together."
Alex rests her head on Sam's shoulder, nuzzles against it. "Me, too. The uni library just isn't the same."
"There's no secret make-out couch, for one." Sam pushes Alex until she flops over, then pours herself into her arms, nuzzling everywhere she can get to.
They sigh.
Alex chuckles quietly. Sam makes an inquisitive chirp.
"When we would take a break from reading to cuddle and nap, sometimes I would count the books on that shelf, right over there." She points it out. "It's the same books, same number."
Sam turns, cranes her neck to put her eyes and ears every way she can, then ducks her head back down. Slowly, her hand snakes down Alex's torso. "Y'know what I wanna count, that I bet will be the same number still,too?"
As Sam's hand finds the hem of Alex's hoodie, Alex gives a second look and listen around. "This is dangerous," she purrs. She makes no move to stop Sam.
Sam kisses her, short and sweet. "In all our years coming here, not once have we ever seen or heard or smelled of another person coming over here during the day." She splays her fingers in Alex's belly fur, trailing steadily upwards.
Alex leans up to chase her muzzle. Against Sam's lips she mutters, "I do like it when you take charge." Sam's finger pads, cold as ice, find her first nipple and she shivers.
There's a gasp.
Sam flings herself from atop Alex, onto the couch's opposite arm, nearly missing entirely. Alex curses to herself, surreptitiously tugs her hoodie down as she sits up to behold—
A pair of teenage girls—a striped hyena and an opossum—hand in hand, just emerging from behind the nearest shelf. They look maybe thirteen or fifteen, Alex isn't sure, she's bad at reading ages in cats, let alone other creatures. They're blushing, the hyena's mane standing up, possum's muzzle hanging open and tail gripping their clasped hands.
Alex clears her throat. "Sorry! About that. We, uh, thought we were alone."
Sam is mortified. And then she notices their hands, eyes and ears zeroing in, and her muzzle drops open. Blushing, she reaches for Alex, swatting her shoulder, before finding her hand.
The possum finds her voice first. "W-we're sorry, too, that we, interrupted, I didn't know anyone else ever—" she cuts off before she can finish, mouth snapping shut and hand covering muzzle.
Alex cackles.
She stands, tugs her twin up to stand beside her, and winks at the little lesbians. "We'll leave you to it, then."
Sam can only manage a rapid nod, too busy blushing and cringing and wishing she could disappear to do any more.
On the sidewalk outside, Sam buries her face in her hands and moans. "Maybe it's time to go back to the car?" Her ears haven't lifted from being pinned to the sides of her head since the encounter.
"Yeah, that was—" Alex takes a breath and sighs. "That was a close call."
The rest of the walk they spend in silence. Once inside the relative privacy of their dad's car, Alex leans back in her seat and scrubs at her muzzle.
"Holy shit. If it had been literally anyone but a couple of non-cat baby-lesbians too young to know us, we would be dead."
Sam, with her shoes off and her paws up in the seat, just nods her head against her knees.
"No wonder we were stressed in high school." Alex drops her head forward to bump it against the wheel. "This is exhausting." A bitter laugh and a moment of sulking later, she starts the car.
"They looked sweet though." At Alex's 'mhm' she continues. "The hyena had stars in her eyes. We may be the first adult queers they've met?"
"Hmmmmmm, maybe." Their conversation lulls briefly while she focuses on the road. "Thank fuck neither was a feline. That would have gone so much worse if they had pegged us for sisters."
"Oh goodness you're right. Uuuuuuugh, I don't even want to think about that."
"Thought the lioness at the coffee shop maybe had us, too."
"We've gotten bad at this, huh?"
"Maybe a little out of practice, yeah."
Back home, they spend the afternoon lazing, one or the other occasionally helping Greg in the kitchen.
Alex passes by Sam on her way out, trailing first her hand, then her tail along Sam's arm and shoulder. A few minutes later, she returns with a glass of water. She pauses behind the couch, leans in to rest her muzzle between Sam's ears.
"Why're all your neighbors Big Sister type?"
Sam sputters.
"They're not!" She pulls up the map and points at their little icons. "Goldie and Lolly are normal! Freya's snooty!" Heat blooms in her ears.
"Oh? Let's see then, what about Katt? Quinn? Flo?" Sam curls into herself. "Reneigh? Pashmina?"
"Okay fine," Sam mutters, "There's a lot of Big Sisters in my town! But that's just how it happened!"
"Mmmmhm, sure." Alex kisses the base of her ear.
"They're cool." After a quick glance towards the kitchen, she adds in a smaller voice, "And they remind me of you."
"Awww, Sammie." Alex rubs her cheek along the top of her head. "That's sweet. Sorry I teased you."
"You should be, you meanie. Go help dad with his cookies, as penance."
Alex stretches over the couch to set her glass down on the coffee table, then drops one last kiss on Sam's eartip on her way out.
Sam notices Alex's intense stare, the way she's studying her from the armchair, and perks up.
"Oh, it's been a while since I've seen you doing a pencil sketch."
"Couldn't bring the whole setup, so just brought the sketchbook."
"I like when you do traditional stuff. It's easier to tell how it's going for you." She gestures at her own muzzle as she screws it up in faux-concentration. "You make a lot more faces." When she spots the cover, horror suddenly dawns on her. "Oh, no. That's not The Sketchbook, is it?"
Alex doesn't get her implication, and just quirks a brow.
"With the you know what." Her mind flashes through dozens of depictions of herself, nude, laid bare before Alex and captured at her most vulnerable.
"Ohhhh. No! Gods, no, that one doesn't leave our bedroom, let alone the apartment." As Sam sags with relief, Alex continues, "That one's just for us. This one just has the same cover." Alex flips back to it, regards it. "I'll do something later to differentiate them at a glance."
Sam smiles, then goes back to her game. A few minutes later, in a quiet voice, she adds, "I'm glad you quit rugby."
Alex stops, offers a lopsided smile. "Yeah? Didn't like watching through your fingers?"
"It was awful, Alex, every time anyone came anywhere near you I just knew this was it, you were gonna get hurt and never be able to draw again."
"Aw, Sammie." Alex considers her progress. Her smile softens. "I'm glad, too."
The finished piece is a pencil portrait of Sam, in profile. She's holding her game, but her attention is obviously not on it. Her nearest ear is cocked towards the viewer, and she's smiling into the middle distance, soft and sweet.
"Arright, girls," Greg rumbles as he passes the living room on his way to the door, "I found you a spare blanket and left it on the foot of Sam's bed." He struggles to put on a too-small coat. "I'm headin' out to pick up your mom from work then take her to dinner." He pops his head back through the living room doorway. "Thanks for the idea, Alex."
She waves him off, then freezes. "You've got flour all in your fur still."
"Aw shoot." Greg scrubs a paw across his face again, sending a little cloud into the air, then receives a thumbs up. "It'll probably be midnight or later before we're back, so you two enjoy your quiet time," he adds with a wink, and then he shuffles off through the front door.
Alex holds her paw under the faucet until the water's hot, then stoppers the drain. Drying her hand on her t-shirt, she checks her preparations—candles lit, tub filling, bubbles growing, towels and robes on the rack—then nods her approval. She cuts the water when it's just shy of the fill line, then exits to fetch her twin.
"Sam?" Alex opens their bedroom door, where she finds her sister curled up in a blanket cocoon playing her Switch. She approaches, then lays a hand on her. "Hey, Sammie. Is the purrito helping?" She receives a noncommittal noise. "Well, that's okay. Because I may have conspired to keep our parents out of the house for the entire evening, and I want to pamper you. So," she leans down to press her chest against Sam's back and begins purring soothingly, "how about I unwrap you, then you let me give you a good, long soak in the bath?"
Sam grumbles, but pauses and hands over the game, then wriggles around to help Alex disentangle her.
"There's my pretty kitty."
"Aleeeeeex."
Alex kisses her nose out of spite.
After carefully extracting Sam from the bed, Alex leads her by hand to the bathroom, then stops her when she starts undressing herself. "Let me do it for you," she offers with a wink. Sam blushes, but nods. Alex starts with Sam's tee shirt, gathering the hem then sliding it up her torso, over her head—careful of her ears—and along her raised arms.
"You know I could do this myself, right?"
"Of course you could." Alex kneels then grasps the waistband of both her panties and pajama pants, and slides both off together, down her thighs, past her knees, to her paws. She looks up to encourage Sam to step out of them, then before standing, pauses to press a gentle kiss to her hip. "But I know this has been rough for you—and not just today." She takes Sam's hands. "It's been on your mind for a while, and now we're here and I know it's going better than expected, but there's still so much that could go wrong and I can feel that you're still thinking about it all." She places kisses to the pads of Sam's palms and fingers, one at a time.
"Thank you, Alex." Sam presses forward to wrap her arms around her twin's shoulders.
"Love you, Sammie."
"Love you, too." A moment passes. "It feels a little silly for me to be hugging you when I'm totally naked and you're still fully dressed." Chuckling, they pull away.
"Alright, let me fix that." Alex makes quick work of stripping down.
Soon, they're immersed in the bath, Alex with her back to the edge, Sam in front of her, between her legs and leaning back against her. For a while, no words are shared—none are needed. They just soak together, luxuriating in the heat of the bathwater and one another's bodies, purrs intermingled. Alex draws gentle swirls and meaningless patterns through Sam's belly fur as she pets through it. Sam turns her head to rub her cheeks along the tops of Alex's breasts, marking her.
Clean and dry and warm, they return, naked, to Sam's bed. Sam sprawls out over Alex's lap, and Alex slowly works a brush through her fur, first her back, then her arms and legs, with Sam's contented purr picking up to a loud rumble when Alex helps her turn over.
"Hey, pretty kitty."
"Mmmmm, hi, Alex." She lifts her chin to let Alex get to it and her throat. "Can I brush you when you're done with me?"
Alex splays her hand in the soft cloud of Sam's lower belly fur. "Sure. Or," she slips her hand a little lower, "I could take care of you first."
"Ohhhhohoho, that's tempting, but if we go straight from brushies to pleasing me, I won't be able to move again for a few hours."
"Would that be so bad?"
"Yes!" Sam makes her best attempt at a scowl up at Alex, the effect dampened significantly by her continued purr and her kneading at the bed. "You've been doing so much for me lately. I want to take care of you, too."
Alex leans down to press their muzzles together in a quick kiss, but then Sam chases her when she straightens back up, arms wrapping around her neck and sending them both tumbling back into a pile of purrs and cuddling. Sam pushes up to straddle Alex's middle.
"I love you." She presses in, catches Alex's lips just as she opens them to reply, kisses her deeply, softly. When they break the kiss, she breathes the words out again, "I love you." She tilts her head to the side as she leans back in, past her mouth to nuzzle her, cheek to cheek, "I love you," and up to drag her chin across Alex's brow, "I love you," and down again to butt their foreheads together as Alex's arms tighten around her, "I love you, I love you, I love you."
When she lets up her assault and pulls away, Alex slips a hand down Sam's back and over her butt to trace a finger pad along her pussy. Sam drops her front and presses her ass up with a little moan and shake. Voice rumbling with her purr, Alex whispers, "I love you, too, Sam. So much." She brings her hand around for a better angle, then dips a finger into Sam's vagina. "And I know you want a turn taking care of me." She nuzzles against Sam's cheek, earning her a little trill and giggle. "And you'll get your turn. And once we're out of here and home, I'll make sure you get plenty of turns." Her free hand rubs slowly down Sam's back, earning an even deeper arch.
"Aleeeex."
"But right now, I can tell you're still tense, and I'm here for you. So you just hang on tight."
Sam squeals into the pillow when Alex rubs both her clit and that perfect spot right above the base of her tail, humping into Alex's palm and clamping down on her finger.
"I wish we brought the strap," Alex huffs into her sister's ear, slipping another finger in to join the first, gently crooking them, "so I could have both my hands on you but still be in you."
Sam moans and nods, clenches down on her fingers, hips gyrating.
Alex smirks, rubs her thighs together.
After, they lie together cuddling.
They've each gone a round, and they're slowly working up to another, but for now they're just kissing, languid, hands idly caressing what fur they find as they wander, purring in chorus, bodies pressed together.
Sam snuggles a little further down so she can place a kiss to Alex's sternum. "This feels oddly nostalgic."
"Hmmm?" Alex hums sleepily, still recovering from her recent orgasm.
"I dunno, it's just. We never actually did this, growing up. Lying naked together, basking in the afterglow. We were always sneaking, and stealing what little time we thought we could get. And we were always afraid. We couldn't get caught. It would have been the end of the world for us."
"Mhm." Her hands gently knead at Sam's butt.
"And now, here we are. They don't have that power over us anymore, and I guess I didn't see that before. Now, if they ever find out, what can they do? Kick us out? We would just go home." She sighs, dreamy, like just saying the word home and meaning that little apartment where it's just her and Alex is enough to get her wistful. Alex leans in to kiss the top of her head. "And, yeah, I definitely don't want them to find out. That would still be bad. They would probably, like, disown us, and that would probably break dad's heart. Buuuut," she draws the word out, "in the end I would still have you, we would still have each other. I love you, Kitkat."
"I love you, too, Sammie."
Sam nuzzles her way back up from Alex's chest, leaving a long scent mark from her breast, along her collarbone, and up her throat to her jaw. "Mmmmmmine."
Alex's purr rumbles through her chuckle. "Yours." Then she rolls them over so she's on top, straddling Sam's thigh. "Always." She drags her hands down Sam's front again, earning her an adorable, eager shiver.
It's just as Alex's fingers find their way to Sam's pussy again to begin teasing it that their ears flick towards the outer wall—gravel crunches under tires. That can't be right, it's way too early for their parents to be back. But sure enough, the garage opens and closes, an engine cuts, and the car doors open then shut.
Alex reluctantly pulls away and sits up.
"Remember what you just said about basking and not being afraid?" She slips from the bed, rifles through the nearest bag to her—Sam's—and throws a fistful of what she finds at her twin.
"Oh gods what the heck, why are they back so soon, I'm wet Alex!"
The front door opens, then closes, and Greg lets out a shuddering, grumbly sigh. "Girls, we're back early!"
A moment passes as the twins settle into their places across the room from one another, then there's a tap-tap against the bedroom door, then their mother's voice through the wood, "Sorry we came back early and interrupted whatever party you were throwing with your boyfriends." The door opens, just enough for her to poke her head through and find both of them, Sam in bed with the bedding up to her waist and game in hand, Alex at the desk pretending to read. "Hi girls."
Sam smiles, despite herself. "Hi, Mom."
"No parties," Alex adds with a shrug, flipping her page.
"Our solstice meal will be breakfast tomorrow, so we came back early to get to bed." She ducks back out, the door nearly closing and Sam sagging down with relief, before Helen pokes her head back through and startles Sam a second time. "Is—is that okay?"
"Yeah, Mom, that's okay."
Helen sighs, ears relaxing. She freezes on her breath in, sniffs at the air, then her eyes go wide and her ears pin as she blushes, averting her eyes from Sam. "O-okay. Um, goodnight. Sorry." She ducks back out and flees.
The twins stare. Sam drops her head into her hands.
"My mom just smelled how aroused I was and got weird about iiiiiiit."
With a chuckle, Alex closes the book and then crosses the room and climbs into bed beside her. "She didn't fuss, she didn't yell, hell she was only kinda awkward about it. I'll take it." She pulls Sam tight to her side, purr picking up in her throat.
"If we're doing breakfast, I guess we should probably get to sleep soon, too, huh?"
"Yep." Alex sighs. She reaches for a phone—Sam's—and sets an alarm for a very early wake up.
Sam wakes much more pleasantly on the Solstice, warm and comfy and purring up a storm in Alex's arms. Craning her neck, she's just able to make out the time on her phone screen—she has about five minutes before their alarm chimes. She snuggles closer to her twin, intent on enjoying a few more minutes of cuddling. She tucks her snout under Alex's chin, breathes her in, tries to squeeze herself just that tiny bit closer against her.
Smile on her muzzle and in her voice, Alex grumbles, "Stop wiggling around so much, some of us are trying to enjoy our last couple minutes of sleep before the alarm."
"But if we're both awake, we can enjoy our last couple minutes of cuddling instead." Sam presses her brow up against Alex's chin, marking herself with her scent.
"Mmmmmm, can't argue with that."
They find Greg in the kitchen, leaning heavily on the countertop, sleepily watching the coffee pot percolating. One ear flicks in their direction as they enter, then he lifts his hand in a lazy wave without looking away from the slowly-accumulating coffee. "Morning girls."
Alex offers a, "Hey Dad," at the same time as Sam's "Happy Solstice."
"It sure will be once I get this coffee in me, tell you what, phew. Early mornings get harder every year."
"We don't have to do breakfast."
"Don't have to, but that's what makes it special." He finally turns their way to give them a warm—if sleepy—smile.
Alex leans on the edge of the table. "Mom still in bed?" Sam presses to her side.
"Yep. Told me she'd be right behind me, was snoozin' again before I even made it to the door." He chuckles. The coffee maker sputters through the last of its drippings and he lifts the carafe to fill a pair of mugs. "Either of you want some while I'm pouring? Figured I'd try waking her again with a mug of her favorite."
"That's very sweet of you, Greg," comes Helen's voice from the hall, "but I made it without the bribe this time." The twins' mother, a tortoiseshell cat, hovers in the doorway in her dressing gown, arms and tail wrapped around her slim torso. She turns a hesitant smile to the twins. "Good morning, girls, and Happy Solstice."
The twins' smiles are just as fragile when they reply with a chorused, "Happy Solstice." Sam rests her chin on Alex's shoulder to watch as Helen cautiously enters the room, takes her mug from Greg, then leans into his side. For a moment, the kitchen is quiet save for Greg and Helen's drinking, while the family wakes up.
When Greg finishes, he sets his mug in the sink and turns to the rest of the family. "So, ladies, what do we want for breakfast today?"
A memory passes silently between the twins with a glance. There is one breakfast food the whole family loves above all others, especially Greg's recipe. With widening grins, they start chanting, "Eggy toast! Eggy toast!" Greg joins in on the third repetition, fists banging lightly on the counter, and all three turn to Helen, who's fighting a smile, and rolls her eyes, but joins in on the fifth. As the chant continues, building in volume as it goes, Greg shuffles over to the oven and opens it to reveal he left a dozen slices of bread on the rack to dry overnight. All four cheer.
The routine of helping Greg prepare breakfast for the solstice is an odd comfort for Sam and Alex, made more so by a year and a half of new routine, just the two of them. As they work around one another, both twins find their hands and tails freezing on the way to a casual, intimate touch that they just can't justify in the presence of their parents.
And Helen sits at the table with her coffee and watches, stares at them, drinking in every little thing they do with hungry eyes and a small smile she tries to hide behind her mug.
Breakfast is quiet and startlingly awkward—conversation dies once all the food's on the table, replaced by the clattering of silverware and the occasional hum of approval, eyes and ears turned away from one another.
Helen waits until the twins both have a full mouth to look up, clear her throat, and "So how are your fall classes going?"
"Uh." Sam swallows. "We already finished the semester." Helen's ears pin. "But! They were good. I really liked some of the books I read for my lit class."
Alex turns a teasing grin her way. "And she aced all her exams."
Sam scowls at her. "That's not fair, you did, too!"
Helen smiles, something unfamiliar and sweet. "I'm glad to hear it. I'm proud of you both."
"Oh, uh, thanks Mom."
Greg pushes his nearly-empty plate forward. "Alex, couldja toss me another couple of sausages?" While she does, he pats Helen's shoulder. "Thanks, kitten."
Helen waits until they've finished eating, Greg having taken a second mug of coffee out to watch the snow, to say anything about the ongoing situation. She's washing the dishes, the twins leaning against the counter giggling about a text from their friends, when she sighs. "I'm sorry I missed you all day yesterday."
Alex doesn't look up from Sam's phone. "You avoided us."
"Yeah," Sam nods. "You made up an excuse to spend the whole day away. What's the deal with that?"
Helen blanches. "I—no, I. I'm doing it again, I'm so sorry girls." She pulls her hands from the soapy water, drops the gloves on the countertop, and scrubs at her muzzle. "Visiting the hospital yesterday morning was an excuse, that's true." She takes her bottle-brush tail in hand, smoothing out the fur. "But not to avoid you, I just—I knew things would be awkward, and it would be my own fault, and I didn't know how to fix this—" she gestures, nearly frantic, between herself and the twins, "—all of this, and I didn't want to make things worse, or drive you two away again, and I-I think I panicked, just a little bit."
The twins look from one another to her. Sam puts her phone away. "Just a little bit."
"I really only meant to check in on things, spend an hour or two doing some paperwork, but when I got there, they were understaffed, and there were a lot of patients waiting, and I was there so I got to work, and then the next thing I knew, it was evening and Greg was on his way, and that still doesn't make it okay. I'm sorry."
Alex twirls her finger. "Okay, so, back to that 'fix all of this' thing?"
"Right." Helen pinches her brow, takes a deep breath, then looks up. "I had this whole thing planned out, talked it through with my therapist and everything, and now that I need it it's all vanished. We—your father and I—thought it would be best to do this in the morning, so if we screwed up, you could leave and still have plenty of Solstice left to spend elsewhere."
Sam shrugs at Alex. "Let's hear it, then."
Helen pets her own tail, shrinks inward.
"I was a terrible mother. I was cruel, hurtful, demanding, never satisfied—you get the point. I mistreated both of you. Hurt your hearts, betrayed your trust, failed my duty as your mother. Gods, I was awful. None of the things I said and did to you were okay—" her ears pin as she grimaces, "—the controlling you, the unfair demands, the screaming, making you afraid to ever be here. None of it."
Sam leans harder into Alex's side. Alex uses the excuse of this mess to wrap an arm around her and squeeze.
"I made your last two years of high school a living hell. I had this stupid idea in my head, that if I couldn't force at least one of you into some kind of career, there would be some kind of a bad ending for you both, and I let it consume me. For the first few weeks after you left, it was all I could ever think about. You two were destined for an early grave because I failed to control you enough, didn't hurt you into following the arbitrary steps I had made up to beat that obsession, I don't—" She shivers, sighs, and goes back to wrapping her arms and tail around herself.
"It took a few months of coming home to an empty house before it started to sink in what I had actually done, that there was nothing of you left here, no signs of your last year of high school, that I had driven both of you away, possibly forever. That was not a good solstice." She looks out the window, where their father has wandered from the porch to stand, in boxer shorts and a coat, drinking coffee in the falling snow. "Greg tried. Bless him, he tried. We made it through it, but only barely. All the obsession, the catastrophizing, I turned on myself. I hated myself." She turns back to the twins. "He got me into therapy." With a chuckle, she adds, "And you know how it is with doctors and going to the doctor, so you know what a monumental effort that was."
The twins do know how that is. It wasn't unusual during their early years for Helen to catch a seasonal bug and refuse care until too late.
"It's helped. It's helping. The point is, I'm so sorry. I'm trying to be better, I want to be better, and I really appreciate that you're giving me this second chance. And that you let me talk your ears off nonstop for the past fifteen minutes, let me power through this whole thing so I didn't run out of steam or lose confidence or panic."
Sam smiles against Alex's shoulder. "I'm glad you got help, and you're doing better."
Alex points a threatening finger, claw out, at Helen. "But this apology doesn't magically fix things."
"Buuuuut," Sam continues for her, "It's a good start."
Helen fights back her tears. "Thank you both." She scrubs at her eyes, clears her throat. "Phew, okay. Now that I've torn open all these old wounds, I would understand if you want to leave—it's part of why I wanted to wait for after breakfast, so you could have a little bit of time with your father before all this." She sighs. "But if you're okay staying, I would love the chance to hear more about how college is going, or about your friends. Maybe we could watch a movie, or play some games?"
"You gotta promise not to ask any more awkward questions, though."
"Seriously, fuck, you've been so awkward this whole time."
Greg picks this moment to stumble back in, dusted with snow. "It's real cold out there." He gives a shake as he approaches.
Helen rolls her eyes and brushes snow from his head and ears. "You'll get sick doing that. Snow melts, Greg, and then you get wet."
Alex nudges Sam's side, tosses her head towards their bedroom.
"Maybe while both of you get changed, we'll talk about what we wanna do?"
Helen and Greg look at their current outfits, Helen pinning her ears and tugging her dressing gown tighter as Greg huffs, "What's wrong with what I got on?"
In the relative safety of Sam's bedroom, the twins fall into one another on the bed.
Alex sighs. "That was..."
"A whole lot all at once?"
"Yeah. Explains some things, though."
"Mhm." Sam's nod becomes a nuzzle.
Alex purrs and tugs her closer. Sam's purr joins in.
"This is dangerous, Alex, I've got a bellyful of good food and my sister holding me close, if we don't get up I'm gonna take a nap."
"That wouldn't be so bad, but I get what you mean. When do you wanna leave?"
"I don't think I wanna be here overnight again."
"Mkay. Maybe mid-afternoon?"
"That sounds good. Hang out for a little bit, watch a movie or two, maybe have a late lunch, then go?"
"Better be a late lunch, after how much we all ate for breakfast."
"But it's so yummyyyyyyy."
Alex noses her ear."And you won't be so happy if it gives you a tummyache."
Sam nuzzles in extra-hard, grins against Alex's throat. "I like it when you say cute things like 'tummyache'."
"Only for you, Sammie. I've got a reputation to maintain as the cooler sister."
Sam giggles. "Rude." Then she pushes up and stretches. "Well, let's go check on Mom and Dad."
Alex reaches out to scritch Sam's exposed belly fur.
Only ten minutes into the traditional saccharine-sweet family movie, Sam yawns wide. "This one always makes me sleepy." She leans over to drop her head onto Alex's shoulder, where she's sitting next to her on the couch with a perfectly appropriate space between them.
Greg chuckles. "Take a nap. I will, too, and if we both do it, we can't get in trouble for it."
"The perfect crime." She turns to tuck herself against Alex's side. Alex rolls her eyes, but still wraps an arm around her to hold her close.
Helen watches, like she had in the kitchen, that same soft smile on her muzzle.
Alex looks to her, raises a brow and flicks an ear. "What's with the look?"
"Hm?"
"You're staring."
Helen starts. "Oh. I'm sorry, I—" she sighs. "I've missed you. I hate how much I missed because I was such an ass. I'm trying to fill up on this sweet morning, all of us together, just in case."
Sam, voice slurred from imminent sleep, giggles. "Mom's in trouble."
"Helen," Greg chides playfully, eyes still closed. "Did you say ass in front of the girls?"
Helen rolls her eyes and swats gently at him. "Just go to sleep, you."
Bags packed in the car, the twins return to the veranda and their parents. Sam steps forward and into her mother's arms.
"Thank you," Helen whispers into the fur on the side of Sam's neck, clinging just as tight as she can.
Sam smiles and squeezes a little tighter, then pulls away. "I promise we'll be back to visit again before another year and a half has passed this time."
Helen can only manage a wobbly smile, eyes brimming with tears.
Sam turns to her twin, holds her arm out. "Come here, Alex, and hug Mom, too!" Alex rolls her eyes, but steps forward to wrap one arm around Sam and the other around Helen.
Helen fights back her tears, voice wet. "My kittens. I love you both. Thank you, so much."
Greg, cheeks wet, steps around behind the twins to embrace all three, squishing Sam and Alex between himself and Helen. Nuzzling against every one of them, he blubbers, "My—beautiful—family."
"Greg, you'll get snot in their fur, stop that."
All four laugh.
Sam sighs. "We should probably leave before it starts snowing again."
"Yeah, I don't wanna have to drive in a whiteout."
Greg pulls away in a hurry. "You best get going, then." He offers another tearful smile. "Take care of each other, ladies."
As they drive away, Alex takes one last look in the rearview, at their mom standing on the veranda with her hands clasped over her heart. Beside her, with an arm around her waist, their dad happily waves goodbye.
Deb perks up when she notices them down the hall, waving at them as they near their apartment door. "Oh hey Fletchers!" Deb bounds over, bouncing in place. "Oh oh oh!" Her tail wags so hard her entire butt waves back and forth as she holds up her hands, thumb and index finger extended. She points to Sam. "Alex!" Then she points to Alex. "Sam!" She grins wide, proud.
There's about half a second of dead silence before Alex loses it. Sam glances back and forth, confused, and Deb checks her hands again to make sure that yeah this one's the left.
Between cackles, and gasps for breath, Alex explains the mnemonic she taught Deb before their trip. Sam nods along. "And I'm sorry, Deb, I'm not laughing at you, it's just you're always so enthusiastic, and after the last couple of days, that's a fucking treat. And then you still got it wrong, because I didn't explain well enough it's my left, Deb." She sighs out the last of her mirth.
Sam nuzzles into her. "Big ol' pressure relief?"
"Yeah."
Deb does a little turn, back and forth, to compare, before letting out an "Ohhhhh!" and nodding as she figures it out.
"Soooooo," Sam begins, "where are you headed, Deb?"
Her tail picks up speed again. "I was just on my way to my girlfriends' place for the solstice. Lemme tell you, nothing beats spending the longest night of the year sandwiched between a husky and a bear in full hibernation mode, yowza." She pants for added effect, and Sam giggles. "You two wanna come?—Not to like, fuck, this is not an invitation to an orgy, I just meant like, you can have dinner with us and then camp out on the couch or something, haha sorry."
"You're good, Deb."
"And no, but thanks." Sam bumps her head against Alex's. "I think we're people'd out, and we'll spend the night in."
"Okie dokie."
"Have fun, though."
"Will do!" Deb gives a salute, then heads off. As they watch her go, the twins nuzzle one another.
Purr rumbling in her voice as she pulls her twin close, Alex whispers, "Happy Solstice, Sammie."
Sam squeezes her tight, buries her muzzle in the crook of her shoulder. "Happy Solstice, Kitkat." She sighs. "It's the longest night of the year, and it's gonna be a cold one. We should get inside so I can warm you up."
Alex hasn't even gotten the door closed behind them before Sam has her hand down the front of her trousers and her tongue in her mouth.