#erikara

At first, it seems like nothing is there, just rocks. Erik’s got seadweller hearing though and the sound of something over the stone catches his ear. He turns the light that way and there’s a squeak. Erik frowns slightly and scoots closer.

Another squeak, a bit louder and defiant. Erik leans down and comes face to face with a grub. It squeaks at him and hisses. His eyes widen. “Kara,” he hisses. “Come here!”

“Just a second, Erik! They’re almost gone.”

Erik huffs annoyance and extends a finger toward the grub. It hisses again and lunges to bite him. He jerks the hand back and the grub tumbles onto its face. It scrambles up and back to block the hole it’s hiding in. Erik tilts his head and reaches into his bag. They had emergency food just in case they ever needed to hole up. He pulls out one of the dried strips of meat and breaks off a piece. He puts it into his mouth to soften it a bit and then sets it on the ground. Super fucking gross, but maybe the grub would eat it instead of him.

The grub sniffs cautiously and stares at the food. After a long moment, it creeps forward and takes a bit. It chews and swallows and then grabs another bite and darts back into the hole. Erik can hear more squeaking, squeaking from more than one grub. “How even?” he murmurs.

Two little faces reappear to look at the food and Erik stays still so they feel safe to come out. They both creep out and eat and Erik cannot believe that there are two little olive grubs out here in the wild. How did they even get here?

Kara comes back and freezes at the sight. “What the shit?” he asks softly. Erik shrugs and puts a finger to his lips. The grubs are still eating, more interested in the food than hiding. Kara takes a seat and they both just watch the grubs eat.

It doesn’t take long for them to be full. They’re both still very small. Erik puts a hand on the ground and the more curious one comes over to give it a sniff. He brushes a careful finger through the little puff of hair between the nubs of the horns. The grub squeaks, but not angrily. They seem to like it.

The other watches and then comes over to see what this is about.

“Where’d they come from?” Kara scoots around carefully and looks into the hole that Erik points out. He squints and Erik brightens the light a bit. “...It looks like eggshell is in here. Someone tried to hide them. But there’s not a lot of shell. Can two grubs come from one egg?”

Erik shrugs as the grubs sniff his fingers and rings and lick him a little. “I have no idea. Grubs aren’t something I deal with Kara.”

Kara makes a face. “Nobody deals with them but Jades.” He looks down at the grubs who are making happy squeaking noises and crawling over Erik’s hand. “...we have a Jade on board.”

“She didn’t want to be a grub caretaker, Kara.”

“She still probably knows stuff. We can ask her. We can’t just leave them out here.” Kara crosses his arms.

Erik sighs, but he’d already decided to bring them back to the boat. “Fine, fine. Is the coast clear yet?”

Erik huffs. “I am not being a butt. I am not the type of person who comes to the beach. Deal with it. I’m trying to not bring you down.”

Teg digs their toes into the sand. “Drink lots of water, okay?” They’ve got more coverage from the sun but let Kara double check the sunscreen on their face and back of their neck.

Ancha hops up making her little frills on her suit bounce. “We’ll come check on you soon!” She races for the water, laughing the whole way, and squealing at the chill as a wave hits her in the middle. Teg walks after her, much more careful about not getting soaked before they’re ready.

Kara calls after them. “Stay in sight!” He starts to put his own sunscreen on, glancing up at the kids occasionally. Erik looks at him and then closes his book.

“Aren’t you going out too?”

“In a bit. Gotta get covered before I go tug them around in that tube. Also got to make sure you’re not going to pass out.”

Erik grumbles. “Let it go. You know I’m not a beach person.”

Kara turns to him and puts a dab of sunscreen on his cheek. “Still, take the jacket and scarf off if you get too hot and listen to Teg. Drink lots of water. The cooler is full of it.”

Kara tries, but just can’t manage to get his brain to shut off again. He sighs and opens an eye. Erik is still asleep at least. Good. He didn’t sleep enough. The morning of his birthday was the best time to sleep in. Kara yawns and squints at the clock. It’s not too early, thank fuck. He can be awake grumpily without feeling like he’s going to be fucking exhausted at eight pm.

He moves to looking at the window. Light rain is running down the glass in the crack of the curtains and Kara scowls. “That shit better go away.”

Erik rolls over under his arm. “Shhh,” he mumbles and pats clumsily at his face. “Too early.”

Kara smiles and kisses his forehead. “Go back to sleep then. It’s raining so we can’t really do shit for now. Happy birthday by the way.”

“Shush. Don’t remind me that ‘m old.” Erik presses his hand over Kara’s mouth and opens an eye to glare at him. Kara snorts and very nicely does not lick his hand. It’s Erik’s birthday after all.

“You’re not old. Shut the fuck up. Go back to sleep, you fucking moron instead of trying to finger fuck my mouth when you’re barely awake.”

Erik just about knees him in the groin as he kicks his shin. “Get out. If you’re gonna be gross this early you can listen to the birthday person and get outta his damn bed rather than continue to dirty it with your filthy mouth.”

Kara snorts and traps Erik’s foot between his calves. “You like it.”

“Not this early. Go shower or workout or whatever you active fit people do while I try and have some pure dreams.” Erik tugs his foot free.

Kara hums and kisses his wrinkled forehead. “That’s one thing you’re definitely too old for.”

Erik pushes at his shoulder and demands he leave at once. Kara has no choice but to obey. He climbs out of bed and stretches. Erik watches but rolls over to get some more sleep until Kara drags him out of bed for birthday activities. He’ll enjoy sleeping to the rain for now.

He’s woken up again about an hour later to the sound of Kara shutting the closet door. Erik yawns and squints and enjoys the view of his husband wearing nothing but boxer briefs and a sweater. “Nice butt,” Erik tells him and Kara turns around with a smirk.

“You know how to pick ‘em. Get up and get dressed so we can have breakfast.”

Erik groans and grabs a pillow to throw at him. Kara dodges it and sticks his tongue out right back. Having given his last assault Erik has no choice but to get up. He forces himself to sit up and starts combing his wavy hair out of his face. It’ll look terrible until he actually styles it but he can repair something before he has to see it.

Kara comes over once he has pants on and gives him a kiss. “Good morning, beautiful.”

“Flatterer. Go make breakfast…brunch really. It’s after ten.”

“Not like we’re going out for lunch while it’s raining.” Kara shrugs. “I’ll go get started. Hope you’re ready for stuffed french toast.”

Erik holds a hand to his heart. “The heart attack is so worth it on my birthday.”

Laughing Kara heads for the kitchen.

His freshly cleaned and styled and dressed husband comes down in a bit to the whole place smelling of cinnamon and sugar. Erik inhales and comes over to where Kara is frying up the last couple pieces. He has no idea what Kara has planned for today so he’d gone for comfortable over showing off in well fitted lilac sweater to go with Kara’s. He wraps his arms around Kara’s waist and rests his head on his shoulder. “Smells wonderful.”

“You smell good too. Been using the good shampoo?”

Erik snorts. “I ran out yesterday. It’s yours. So, basically you’re a narcissist.”

Kara rolls his eyes and clicks the heat off. “Because I sniff myself and get hard. You’re full of shit. Hand me that plate.” Erik lets go of him to grab the plate that already has french toast on it and pull it closer. “Thank you. All set. We really should eat at the table because I am a five year old who will dribble syrup on the couch if we try to eat there.”

“Not happening. Table it is.” Erik moves to get a cup of coffee as Kara takes the breakfast to the table. It’s getting close to eleven and he already is enjoying himself. A truly beautiful way to start the day.

The rain continues as they eat, but begins to taper off as they rinse the dishes and clean up. Kara wipes off spilled syrup off the table as Erik goes to brush his teeth. When he returns Kara is getting his shoes on. “Time to go out?”

“Yep. Can’t spend the entire day inside. I get too fucking reckless.” Kara looks at him with a grin. Erik sighs but goes to get his shoes. He double checks his hair and then follows Kara out to the car.

Any attempts to find out where they’re going are met with denial and misdirection. Kara is too good at secret keeping when he wants to be. Asshole.

Somehow Erik expected better than to park at the museum. He climbs out and frowns at Kara over the top of the car. “Really?”

“Shut up. You’ll love it.” Kara comes over and tugs lightly at Erik’s scarf. “The special exhibit of Star Trek props and costumes is opening today.”

Erik brightens. “Really?” His tone is much more pleased than before.

Kara grins. “Really. Come on.”

“You better have brought the camera. I am going to take pictures of everything.” Erik grabs his hand and starts for the door.

“Glad you’re excited even though it’s Trek and not Wars.” Kara matches his pace by quickening his steps. Hopefully Erik moves slower inside so they can do more than hold hands.

Erik sighs. “It is disappointing, but cheesy sci-fi is almost as nice as space western.”

Kara snorts and moves forward to pull the door open for them. “You think they’ll let you sit in a captain’s chair if we prove it’s your birthday?”

“Probably not. Thanks for getting my hopes up.” Erik sticks his tongue out at him but then starts looking around. He does enjoy visiting the museum but only the special collection ever changes regularly and it always costs extra. Too bad there was no way to just go to that, but keeping track of who paid for just the exhibit would be hard. His brain is rambling and Kara is already moving to get tickets. Erik moves to join him.

It’s a Saturday so he’s not expecting it to be empty. Still when they enter the hall for the special exhibit there’s a lot of people. Erik takes a deep breath and takes Kara’s hand. He smiles at him. “I want a picture of us posing with something before we leave and I damn well better get my picture by the captain’s chair if I can’t sit on it.”

Kara squeezes his hand. “Of fucking course. Let’s go.”

It’s crowded, but it gives them time to stop and look at each bit of the exhibit and true to Erik’s word they take pictures of loads of it. Kara gets a picture of him mugging in front of the captain’s chair and another saluting by the uniforms. It’s a lot of fun, but as they’re reaching the end it is obvious Erik is reaching the end of his patience.

He walks closer to Kara and his shoulders are hunched and he just seems exhausted. Someone bumps his other side and his teeth click together. Kara wraps an arm around his waist. “I think that’s everything. Want to get some ice cream on the way home?”

“Ice cream and probably cake in the same day? We make Orpheus groan.” Erik smiles at him and Kara leads the way back out the doors. Just being outside makes Erik relax a bit, but Kara knows he won’t be really relaxed until they’re home again. Drive though ice cream then. He walks with Erik to the passenger side door and gives him a kiss before letting him take his seat.

Kara does swing by Dairy Queen on the way home and they both enjoy their particular poison as they drive home. Erik is fond of cookie dough blizzards and Kara enjoys a good dairy bar. They’re both in a good if tired mood as they reach the house.

Any chance of a good mood dies as they see a police car parked in front of their house and the door open. Erik freezes in his chair. Kara throws the car into park and climbs out. “Stay here. I’ll see what’s going on.”

“Wait, Kara!”

But Kara is already heading up to the door. A police officer appears to meet him. They talk for a minute and Kara looks frustrated, but nods and comes back to the car. Erik wrenches the door open and climbs out to talk to him. “What happened? Don’t tell me there was a fire or someone got murdered or!”

Kara holds his hands up and then reaches out to take Erik’s hand. Erik can feel him shaking slightly. Kara takes a deep breath. “Someone broke in. The neighbors called since they knew we were out. They stole our shit.”

Erik feels his heart sink. “How much?” he asks softly.

“Not sure. They’re still checking to make sure no one is waiting in the house to ambush us or some shit.” Kara squeezes his hand. “TV is definitely gone. Speakers and shit too from what I could see at a glance. Furniture was still there and our pictures. I’d guess our laptops are probably gone too.”

“Oh no. All of our work, our pictures that we saved…” Erik’s throat feels tight. He grabs Kara in a hug.

Kara hugs him back tightly. “I’m so sorry. It’s your fucking birthday and this shit just has to happen. Always someone else and now we’re the someone else assholes.” He puts his forehead on Erik’s shoulder. “Sorry.”

Erik feels awful. Their house has been invaded, their stuff stolen, and yet… He pats Kara’s shoulder. “It’s not your fault. It’s not like we left it unlocked it or anythin’. Shit happens Kara and I doubt they knew they were fucking up my birthday. Even then they didn’t ruin it. I still had a good time today. This just…well it sucks shit, but it’s not the end of the world.”

“You’re just trying to shoot sunshine out your ass,” Kara grumbles from his shoulder. Erik smiles a little, but Kara keeps talking. “But it’s kind of working. Haaa, let’s get our stuff from the car. They should let us in soon and we can check the fucking damage.”

Erik nudges his chin with his shoulder so he’ll look up and then gives him a kiss. Kara smiles a little at him, squeezes his waist, and then let’s go to get the keys and the trash from his ice cream. Erik grabs his since it’s not entirely gone and heads for the door. The officer is talking to their partner and both turn to look at him. “You one of the residents?” Erik nods. “Well you’re all clear. You’ll need to file a full report once you know what all is missing. Come down tomorrow to do that.” Erik nods again and they both step out of the way to let him.

Kara is right behind him. Erik stops and looks around the living room. The empty space where the television is supposed to be is an ache, but the fact that he’s pretty sure he left his laptop sitting on the coffee table and it’s no longer there makes his throat tight again. Kara moves over to dump his trash and then crosses his arms. “I’m going to look upstairs. Yell if someone tries to murder you.”

Erik chokes out a snort. “Yeah sure.” He can feel Kara look at him, but he does continue upstairs. Erik sits down slowly on the couch. They had a good day. They’re unharmed. They can replace things. A couple tears still fall down his cheeks. He sniffs and rubs at them. Kara can’t come back to find him crying. He leans forward to set his ice cream down and stands up again. Things can be replaced. He twists his wedding ring on his finger, pinching his skin slightly. Everything will be fine.

He moves to the kitchen. Everything in here seems untouched and he opens the fridge to see if there’s anything special set up for dinner. It doesn’t seem like it so he is free to make whatever he likes for his fucking birthday dinner and everything else can fuck off for a bit. He washes his hands and gets to work.

Kara comes back down to find him cutting open chicken breasts to stuff. He makes sure Erik can hear his steps before he wraps his arms around his waist. “I coulda handled dinner.”

“You made breakfast. Shush and let me work.” Erik is starting to feel better. The routine always helped and Kara as a warm backpack is even better. They stand in silence as Erik works on dinner.

With Kara it’s never meant to last. He sighs into Erik’s ear. “Good thing shit got saved into the cloud or whatever and on Facebook and it’s not all gone. I have backups for work and you do too. Still fucking annoying. Now I have to redownload all that porn.”

Erik snorts so hard he almost chops a finger off. “Kara!”

He can feel Kara smirk. “Kidding. But it does mean we have to retake those nudes.”

“Dammit come here. I’m cutting you up before you make me lose a finger.” Erik turns in his arms to poke the knife at his nose. Kara pulls back but keeps his arms around his waist. The knife gets set back on the counter and Erik pokes him in both cheeks. “Ass.” He’s smiling though.