(Pyre again, because I'm gonna blame him for breaking part of my keyboard  ; ; hopefully the computer place can repair it. He really didn't do it... it was me.) 

They were late. 

It wasn't really a big deal, but at the same time, he'd never been left completely alone since moving in with his two husbands. If Gin was at work or school, then he was with Fen. If Fen had to go to the office or out for something else, he either went with him, or Gin was there to keep an eye on him. 

Of course, he wasn't a kid and he didn't need a babysitter... at least, not for the basics. He could kind-of cook, and his cleaning skills weren't terrible. 

Fen was actually supposed to have been home before Gin left for work, but when he hadn't shown up and his phone wasn't reachable, Pyre had had to force Gin to go before he was late. The guy had argued that it would be fine, but he knew that his boss wasn't the nicest person. 

He eventually got him to go, but that left him standing by himself, alone in Fen's penthouse. 

It's fine. He'll be back soon. He's just running a little late. 

Pyre kept telling himself that as he slowly and methodically cooked himself a box of macaroni and cheese. He also did the dishes as the pasta boiled, then after eating quickly, went about cleaning up Fen's bedroom. 

They'd spent quite a lot more time in it the past couple of days, and it definitely showed. He wasn't the cleanliest of guys, but Gin and Fen tended to toss their stuff the moment they got home.

Thankfully, he'd gotten them a second large hamper, and most of the time, they managed to throw their stuff into it and not on the floor. Most of the time. After dragging the laundry to the laundry room and loading up the bed linens first, he started the washing machine, then turned to look back out over the living room. 

He needed to be doing something, but at the same time, he knew that he'd do something bad if he got out the bleach cleaners. Pursing his lips, he methodically walked into the kitchen and grabbed a couple of small towels. After wetting them briefly in the sink, he began wiping down just about every surface he could reach. 

Thankfully, that took nearly an hour to complete and wore him out quite a bit in the process. By the time he was finished he had a big bin of dirty towels that also needed to be washed. 

Oh wait, I can switch the laundry. 

Glad that he still had stuff to do, Pyre switched over the bed stuff, then got their basic laundry going. He'd do the towels afterwards. Once that was done and he'd flicked the laundry room light off, he was just heading over to sit down for a few short minutes when a familiar chime vibrated his phone on the coffee table. 

The sound made him stop in his tracks as his heartbeat picked up in his chest. He stared at the flashing device until it went quiet, then heard it beep once after finishing recording a voicemail. 

He hadn't talked to her in a long while... ever since he'd met Fen, honestly.

Pyre slowly walked around the edge of the sofa, his movements robotic until he stopped in front of the table, staring down at the darkened cell phone screen. 

Calling his mother, well, his adoptive mother, and being able to spend tiny bits of time with her had literally saved his life many times over... but now, he couldn't find the strength in himself to pick up the phone and check the voicemail. Let alone call her back. 

I don't want to. 

The idea didn't sit well with him, but at the same time, he couldn't argue it. He honestly did not want to return his mother's phone call. 

"Pyre?" 

Blinking out of his daze, Pyre looked up toward the elevator, surprised to see Fen stepping off and heading toward him. 

My husband...

Fen set his briefcase and bag on the table as he passed it, freeing up his arms so that he could pull him into a tight hug as soon as he got close enough. Pyre settled against the man gratefully, needing something to hold him together at that moment. 

"What do you need me to do?" he asked as he began running his fingers through Pyre's messy hair. 

I don't know. Mom called... 

"Oh?" Fen said as he carefully guided Pyre with him to sit down on the couch. 

The guy picked up Pyre's phone as they sat, then waited until he was completely comfortable in his lap before moving the device in front of them and turning on the screen. 

"She did, and there's a voicemail," he said, his tone relaxed and even a tiny bit cheerful. 

He didn't understand, but that was partially because his mind was trying to not go into panic mode. His mom was from his old life, and while she had been a ray of hope within it, now her call just made him anxious. 

"Do you mind if I listen to what she said?" Fen asked as he hugged him a little closer with his right arm. 

Pyre nuzzled his face against Fen's suitcoat as he considered his request. 

I suppose it can't hurt. 

"Okay," he whispered as he reached forward and typed in his password, not minding at all that Fen was still watching. The guy probably already had it memorized by now, but asked because it was the right thing to do. 

He withdrew his hand immediately once it was unlocked, then silently watched as the guy pulled up his call records, then switched it over to voicemail. Each action he did made Pyre more and more nervous, but when Fen finally lifted the phone to his ear to listen to what his mother had wanted to tell him, he couldn't hear anything...

Did he turn the volume way down? 

He probably had, and he'd just been freaking out too much to realize it. When Fen removed the phone from his ear a few moments later and smiled down at him, Pyre tilted his head, curious, but still nervous. 

"What did she say?" 

Fen leaned down and pressed a kiss to his forehead before handing Pyre his phone back. 

"She said that when you didn't answer last time she called, she called your father. They got into it over the phone about some things, so she went there personally with a police officer to check on you, but you weren't there. She's extremely worried and wants you to give her a call back whenever you can." 

I really don't want to...

"She also said that she wouldn't try to ask you to live with her again, since you had already said no several times."

Pyre stared at his phone as he snuggled in a little more against Fen. He knew that he should call her, but what if she just went back to her old ways of trying to get him to move in with her? He loved her for wanting to get him away from his dad, he always had, but he would never ruin her new life with his terrible personality and habits. 

"How about we put her on speaker phone and I can talk if you don't want to? That way she'll at least know you're doing well and you have a handsome and wise husband now?"

He... couldn't think straight. The connection to Pyre's brain had been severed by Fen's abrupt words, making him stare into space for a whole two minutes before it connected again and he turned to straddle the guy's lap while pressing a hand to either side of his face. 

"No take backs on that!" 

Fen leaned his head back against the top of the couch and grinned, his eyes crinkling at the corners just the right amount to make Pyre's heart stumble a little. 

"I'm a no take backs kind of guy, anyway," he said right before Pyre leaned down for a very rough kiss. 

To his surprise, again, Fen didn't try to nudge him away after a few moments. In fact, he tangled one hand in his messy red hair while the other easily found its way to his clothed backside. They honestly got so into it that when his phone rang again, he didn't even realize it. 

The thing went to voicemail again by the time he'd gotten Fen on his back. The guy was a good kisser, especially for someone who had rarely ever kissed anyone in his entire life, but he needed to work on breathing through them. He was bright red and panting hard, his eyes falling closed as he tried to focus on refilling his lungs with oxygen. 

My husband is so fucking hot. 

He was just about to begin exploring more with his hands while Fen focused on catching his breath, but then his stupid phone rang for a third time. 

Groaning in frustration, Pyre grabbed it and flopped down on top of Fen, then hit the accept button for speaker phone before he could stop himself. 

"Hi mom, I'm fine. I left dad's a long time ago and found my future husbands. I'm living with them now, and no, they aren't exploiting me... though I wish they would. Oh right, I'm also a panda. Who would have thought?" 

There was a long stretch of awkward silence on the other end before his mother hesitantly spoke. 

"Th-that's wonderful, sweetie. What are your husband's names?" 

He... was beyond shocked that his mother just replied in such a way. He'd never told her that he was gay, or really anything personal about himself, and while she definitely seemed a little stunned with that huge information dump, she actually took it shockingly well. 

"My name is Fen, and his other husband is currently at work right now. His name is Gin," Fen replied when Pyre just stared at the phone in shock for too long. 

"Oh, why hello there. I hope my son hasn't given you too much trouble," she said, a bit of humor to her words now. 

Fen chuckled as Pyre relaxed against him, not minding that he was taking over the phone call in the least. 

"Oh, he's been quite a handful, but he's also been the best thing that's ever happened to me," he said, making Pyre's eyes widen as he lifted himself up on the guy's chest just enough to look down at him. 

"Oh, that is so wonderful. I told you that people would see how sweet you really are if you would just let them in a little," his mom said, making Pyre scowl at the phone. 

I've told Gin a bunch of times that I'd let him in, but he still won't screw me. 

"Uh, yeah, you're right, mom," he replied as his hand nonchalantly slipped beneath Fen's suit jacket and began feeling up his abs. 

There was a quiet pause for a few moments before his mother spoke again. 

"So, are you going to send me a picture of your husbands or keep them all to yourself?" 

Fen actually gave a quiet laugh at that as he wrapped one arm around Pyre's back and nudged his face with his own before lifting the phone and swiping it over to the camera selfie mode. 

Not being one for photos, Pyre scowled at the screen, but when Fen tilted his head the slightest bit and pressed a kiss to his cheek, he couldn't help but flip his frown into a stupid grin... right at the same time the guy pressed the shutter button for the camera. 

"There we go," Fen mused as he calmly sent the picture to Pyre's mother. 

I... can't even be mad because Fen just kissed me and took a photo of it as proof. I'm going to print that and frame it to hang on his bedroom wall so I can look at it every time I give him a blow job. 

"Oh my gosh! You're going to get his nice suit all wrinkled if you lie on him like that, Pyre," his mother chastised, making Pyre and Fen both glance at each other, then burst out laughing. 

Of all of the things his mom could have replied with after having been sent a picture of Fen kissing him, she'd choose that!

It took them a little bit to settle down, and by that time, Pyre honestly felt pretty good about having called his mom. 

"Hey, did you know that I was a red panda shifter?" he asked her after finally having caught his breath. 

"I didn't, but those are absolutely adorable. I'd love to see a picture of him sometime, too," she said, making Pyre grin without even realizing it. He was also glad that his mom didn't bring up the obvious fact that he was adopted. She just went with whatever he was saying, happy to simply be talking to him. 

"I'm sure I can get you plenty of adorable photos, ma'am," Fen said as they heard something in the background from his mother's end. 

"Oh, that would be absolutely wonderful, Fen. One of my boys just made a huge mess in the kitchen so I'm going to have to go take care of that, but please do call me sometime. Both of you?" she asked, her voice filled with hope. 

Pyre glanced at Fen as he raised an eyebrow at him and grinned. 

"Okay, we'll call you. You can meet my other husband when he's free next time," Pyre said, surprising himself. 

"I can't wait! Thank you so much for getting back with me, sweetheart, and take care you two," she said before they all said their goodbyes and hung up. 

A peaceful silence hung in the air for a short time after the phone was hung up and tossed on the coffee table. 

"Did you eat dinner?" Fen eventually asked, making Pyre blink out of his thoughts as he sat up on Fen's belly. 

"Yeah, I made some mac and cheese. Did you eat?" 

Fen nodded and sat up, making Pyre slide back a little until he was sitting in his lap. 

"My meeting ran really late so I ordered in. There was also a pretty bad storm at the office so most of our equipment was down," he said, making Pyre realize that the storm had probably been the reason why he hadn't been able to call him. 

It was actually getting pretty late now, and Gin wouldn't be home for a while, since he was working until two or so... 

"So... you need a shower before bed?" Pyre asked with a hint of hope to his words. 

He expected Fen to simply laugh off his suggestion and tell him that he'd meet him in the bedroom after he rinsed off, but to his surprise, the guy actually leaned forward and pressed their lips together. It was brief, and definitely not as aggressive as their last bout of kissing, but that was okay. Especially because when Fen got up a moment later after nudging Pyre to his feet, he didn't reply to his words. In fact, he didn't say anything. He just simply headed for his gigantic bathroom while unbuttoning his fancy dress shirt along the way. 

Not being one to ever miss a possible chance to get closer to one of his husbands, Pyre followed. He wanted to just grab the guy's clothing and help him remove it so that they could just get busy right away... if that was Fen's intention, but he held himself back and simply waited. He would make sure that Fen knew he was available if he wanted to try something new together, but he wasn't going to shove himself in the guy's face. 

I feel like I've grown up a little too much. 

A faint chuckle from beyond the doorway ahead of him quickly pulled him out of his thoughts. 

"You're growing up just right, Pyre," came Fen's response from inside. 

He knew that he hadn't been invited inside yet, so he reluctantly leaned his back against the wall right next to the open door and sighed out a tired breath. 

Oh right, I need to go switch the laundry again, then make the bed. 

He was just walking away to do that when he felt a cool hand wrap around his warm wrist. 

After... 

His eyes widened at Fen's simple thought as his heart picked up its pace. 

"A-after works," he replied quietly as he allowed the guy to pull him backwards and into the bathroom...