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“Okay, I’ll say it – I’m surprised neither of us hit our heads on the ice.”

Upon hearing Gib’s words, Miko couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle.

To be fair, this had been their very first try at ice-skating together – or ice-skating, for that matter. They’d intended to do it a few months earlier, when the cat had visited the four-armed monkey for the first time. They had wandered the streets for a while, searching for a huge industrial unit that was supposed to hold a big rink inside, only to find it permanently closed. The reviews displayed on their mobile phones suggested the place had been closed for years and the whole situation had been a bit of a bummer.

Fortunately, they’d been able to make up for it that afternoon. Miko had been slightly worried that their little expertise on ice-skating would secure a quick trip to their local ER, but they’d got the hang of it pretty fast.

Now, as they walked the streets together, the monkey had an oddly comforting thought. He liked the fact that they had both been slightly worried about an incident that hadn’t happened in the end. It was a reassuring idea, thinking that their mental processed had lined up at some point, even if only for a second. Two parallel lines in their brains.

It wasn’t the first time he’d had that thought lately, either.

“Looks like we’re more agile than we thought,” he replied in the end, a big smile on his face. “Or more easily worried about things. Definitely one of those.”

It was Gib’s turn to chuckle. The lavender-furred cat had been wearing contact lenses for most of the day now, and had reverted to his big round glasses as soon as they’d walked out of the ice rink. Miko thought they looked cute on him. Then again, it wasn’t like there were many things he wouldn’t consider cute when his boyfriend was wearing them.

“Now what?” the cat asked. “I had this idea about drinking something once we got out of the rink, but the weather isn’t helping. And I think I got a bit cold in there.”

“Oh, did the small cat forget to keep himself warm? Poor little kitten…”

Miko’s tease was just an excuse to hug him, of course, which was why Gib didn’t complain when two of those four arms wrapped around his body.

Perhaps it was just the fact that they were at a particular stage in their relationship, or perhaps it was there to stay, but Miko wasn’t willing to lose any chance to initiate physical contact – an idea he was practically sure Gib shared. As he held his boyfriend’s body close to his, noticing the subtle blush on those fuzzy cheeks, Miko thought of something.

“Maybe we can go to my place,” he offered. “We could drink something nice and hot, like coffee or chocolate.”

“Ooooh, I’d like that very much, yes.”

“Plus, I think we’ll find it much easier to warm up there,” the monkey suggested.

“You mean, because you’ve got a lot of blankets back home,” the cat joked.

“Sure. That’s exactly what I mean, yeah.”

“Hmm. Sounds like a plan.”

It didn’t take them long to change their course towards Miko’s house. Only a short walk separated them from the monkey’s place, the promise of something hot to drink and – hopefully – the certainty of even more of that soft, wonderful physical contact.

Gib was right when he’d mentioned the day was cold. In spite of the sun shining high on the sky, the air was crisp and the day had that certain blue, in-between-seasons tone to it. It was a perfect day to stay home.

When they finally arrived at the house, Miko headed for the kitchen while Gib ran for a comfortable spot on the sofa. The monkey didn’t even need to ask about the cat’s preferences regarding the chocolate. He already knew by now that the cat would only accept two big, fully-loaded spoonfuls of cocoa powder. He grabbed the soy milk carton from the fridge and poured some on the cat’s mug.

As he contemplated the two mugs of chocolate turning slowly on the microwave, Miko found himself slipping into the same line of thought. Being on the same wavelength as his boyfriend felt extremely good, like the invisible hands of routine were pushing them together, or like they shared one brain.

The idea remained on the monkey’s mind for an instant and one of the tentacles sprouting from the thick coat of orange fur at his back twitched. Then Miko shook his head.

When the microwave beeped, announcing the end of the heating process, the monkey took the two steamy mugs of hot chocolate and headed to the living room. He was surprised to find no sign of Gib in the room. No sign except for the suspicious heap of blankets lying on the sofa. That definitely wasn’t there when we left, the monkey thought, an amused grin spreading on his face.

“You were right,” called a familiar voice from underneath the soft pile. “It’s much easier to warm up here.”

“You silly cat.”

Miko placed both mugs on a table nearby, next to Gib’s glasses. The monkey knew enough about the language of those who wore glasses to understand that it meant he had permission to snuggle.

He turned slowly to the heap of blankets. The temptation to follow a primal instinct and dive head first into the comfy-looking pile kept growing, but he discarded it in the face of everything that could go wrong. Instead, he chose to approach as stealthily as possible.

Gib let out a surprised yelp when one of the monkey’s hands found his right leg between the blankets – a yelp that became a laugh as another hand grabbed his other ankle. The two of them struggled playfully for a few seconds, becoming a loose knot of arms, fur and cloth on the sofa. Miko’s hand searched for his boyfriend’s hand, then his arm, then his shoulder, until they were finally face to face, their bodies half-buried beneath the warm blankets.

“Well, hello there,” Miko said under his breath as his double pupils found their focus on the cat’s dark eyes. “Didn’t know I’d find such a handsome cat lying on my sofa.”

“Oh, you didn’t?”

“Nah, just kidding. I did have a feeling.”

It’s fun how impulses work sometimes. Miko hadn’t noticed how big of an effort he was making not to kiss Gib right there and right then. Not until he gave into it.

It was like magnets had been pulling their foreheads together, and then they were suddenly kissing, and one of his hands was sliding down his legs while the other was climbing up the cat’s neck and to the back of his head, on its way to one of those fluffy ears. One third hand went for the cat’s soft chest. Gib made a little noise as he wrapped his arms around the monkey’s frame, their limbs entangling as their bodies were pushed against each other.

Perhaps it was the weird liminal space created by the soft, heavy blankets or the thick, hot infatuation building like magma inside Miko, but he felt his brain going to that same space where it’d dabbled a few times during that day.

The idea that they were thinking the same thoughts, the thought that they were having the same ideas. Like their bodies, their brains wanted to fuse together. Soft and warm and comfy just like that wonderful fur pile under the blankets. Playing and pushing and pulling, fusing like two distinct balls of yarn into a beautiful tapestry.

The monkey’s long, prehensile tail wrapped around Gib’s leg and the cat’s whiskers twitched excitedly.

Or perhaps it was actually happening.

Miko felt Gib’s small claws drawing shapes on the fur covering his back as they carefully slid down between the small tentacles, but he could also feel the gentle motion from the cat’s perspective. With eyes closed, the monkey enjoyed the feeling of his four hands exploring Gib’s thighs, ears, arms and chest as if they were moving through his own body. He’d always wondered if his touch felt as nice as he intended it to be, and now he could feel the tender, gentle strokes of his fingers, proving he’d had nothing to worry about.

They kissed once and then twice, until they lost count of how many times they’d kissed. Just one instinct echoed in their heads as they slowly became one – the need to remain like that for as long as they could, to get as close and physical and intimate as possible, fondling each other and being fondled in return.

A sort of pleasant, calming haze filled everything, limbs and tongues and ears and names and fur becoming one thing beneath the blankets, all part of the same being. And when borderlines grew so blurry that there was no telling where monkey started and cat finished – when their hearts beat the same beat and their brains stopped being plural, only one thought broke the heavy, comforting peacefulness beneath the blankets.

Finally.