14 - The Promised Lunch (2)

With his fiancé's urging, Kir did end up sleeping for a while. Ilari sent Kai to wake him up a few minutes past ten, leaving him enough time to take a shower and get dressed without a hurry before they would need to depart. When Kir turned up downstairs, his hair was still dripping wet.

Sanyi and Ilari were sitting at the dining table with cups of tea. Identical frowns appeared on the father-and-son pair as soon as they saw Kir.

"Why didn't you dry your hair?" Ilari asked. "You'll catch a cold!"

Sanyi simply waved his hand. Warmth spread across Kir's scalp and his hair was dry immediately.

"This child," Sanyi said reproachfully. "You need to take better care of yourself."

"Yes," Leo agreed. "Our youngest human isn't a fire elemental, so he can't dry your hair every morning like Sanyi did."

With red ears, Ilari stood up. "Let's go," he said to Kir, before grabbing a bag that rested next to his chair and walking out in a hurry.

Kir seemed dazed as he nodded bashfully. Then, after giving a slightly belated greeting to Sanyi and Leo, he followed his fiancé.

Alair and Kai ran after them.

When everyone was settled in the car (and this time they were going in a family car that was a van), Ilari reached into his bag. He handed a travel mug to Kir and put a big bowl of stew in front of Kai.

Kir raised an eyebrow while Kai dug in eagerly.

"Hot chocolate," Ilari explained. "Alair told me you liked it."

"Thank you," Kir said, and shot the silver cat a grateful look.

"Don't thank us yet," Alair smirked. "You can thank us later when the two of you open your lunch boxes."

Man and tiger both froze, and then Kai asked in a voice shaking with barely concealed excitement, "You…you packed lunch for us…?"

"Naturally," Alair said. "Today's a special treat that Ilari made himself, but from now on, you'll get daily lunch boxes like the rest of the family – that'll be made by the cook, though."

Kir and Kai looked dumbfounded.

Ilari chuckled and Alair swiped Kai's face with his tail.

"You two are part of the family now," the silver cat declared. "Remember, our head is a lion and he's very protective of his own."

Ilari nodded, cleanly shifting the blame. No need to mention that he had been rather worried over Kir and Kai's abysmal eating habits and Kir's slight fever in the morning while the rest of his family had been more amused by his antics. In fact, it had been Kenya's idea to pack a hot beverage for the road. Lunch was a given anyway.

"You'll see exactly how overprotective the family is today evening," Alair informed them gleefully.

"Thank you," Kir said finally, his voice soft but deep. He cradled the mug in his hands as if it was a precious treasure before taking a careful sip. "This is delicious."

"We will be looking forward to our lunch," Kai added. "Thank you!"

Ilari smiled at the duo. "You're welcome."

Soon enough, Kai and Kir were dropped off at the gate of their office building. Ilari watched them until they went in.

Then he asked Alair, "Should we send them a reminder at lunch time?"

The silver cat licked his paw, his blue eyes contemplative. "That might be better. Kai's human is very neglectful when he's absorbed in his work."

Ilari immediately added another note to his list.

Alair regarded his human with steady eyes. "So…what do you think of the human fiancé? Do you like him yet?"

"Isn't it too soon?" Ilari mumbled as he drove off.

For once, the cat let him be.

---

Ilari regretted volunteering to pick up his grandparents from the airport as soon as he was swarmed by three humans and three animals – all of them bigger or heavier than him. His maternal grandparents were plump and cheerful with unusual magical familiars (a dragon and a phoenix), while his paternal grandfather, who had unexpectedly altered his plane-ticket to make them all travel together, was as tall as Sanyi and Ivor and showed no signs of an age-induced stoop. His familiar was a large jaguar that loved cuddling with Ilari, claiming him to be the warmest creature in the family.

So, Ilari walked out of the airport amidst countless curious gazes with a dragon's tail wrapped around his waist, a phoenix perched on his head and a jaguar clinging so close to his legs that walking became a challenge of sorts. The three grandparents followed them closely, with Alair sitting on his grandfather's shoulder and pretending he doesn't know his own human.

Ilari really wished to get to the car as quickly as he could, but he was a kind and considerate young man in the end. As much as he'd have loved to make a dash towards the parking lot to avoid all the unwanted attention, he couldn't leave his grandparents behind.

He heaved a sigh of relief when everyone was seated in the van, ready to drive home.

Just then, his phone buzzed with the reminder to call Kir.

Ilari paused, feeling the inquisitive eyes of his grandparents and their familiars.

Alair came to his rescue (or not) and informed them, "He needs to call the fiancé to remind him to eat. The man doesn't eat for days, sometimes."

Six pairs of appalled eyes turned to Ilari.

The silver-haired young man could only sigh and dial Kir's number.

His call was answered almost immediately.

"Hello?" came Kir's magnetic voice.

"Hi, Alair and Ilari here – just reminding you and Kai to eat your lunch," Ilari said softly. His familiar obediently added a meow.

An amused chuckle sounded on the other side. Then, a gentle, "Thank you."

Ilari smiled involuntarily. "Enjoy your meal, then. Remember, Dad will pick you up in the evening."

"I remember, thank you." A pause. "Have your grandparents arrived without any problems?"

"Yes, we are on our way home now."

"Good. Drive safely." Then Kai's rumbling, "This is delicious! I love Ilari!" sounded in the background. Kir laughed and said, "You've got a new, hungry, tiger-fan now."

Ilari giggled; he could picture Kai's expression. "See you in the evening," he said and hung up.

He resolutely ignored the laughing cat and six pairs of glowing eyes boring into his skull and started the engine.