Page 55 of Fourplay & Fatalities

Zane seemed made to be played with, and even Avi couldn’t resist bullying him just a little. Right now, Avi was looking at Zane like a cat toying with a mouse. Zane was too tipsy to be wary. He either didn’t see or didn’t care about the dark look in Avi’s eyes as he looked Zane over.

His husband lifted a hand, pressing a finger to Avi’s lips. Avi opened his mouth and bit down on it, earning a soft gasp.

Felix turned around to see what was happening, then smirked, shaking his head. There really was no jealousy amongst them.

When Avi relinquished his finger, Zane flicked him, his voice lacking conviction as he said, “Bad murder puppy. No biting.”

Avi made a whiny noise, ruining his apex predator vibe. “You let him bite you.”

Zane placed a hand on Felix’s soft curls, petting him like the pampered cat he was. “And you let him carve you up like a Christmas ham, but you don’t see me coming at you with a kitchen knife.”

“Wow, I can really feel the spirit of Christmas here in the room with us,” Felix deadpanned. “Our children aren’t going to grow up to be malignant deviants or anything.”

“Oh, Lix, that ship has sailed,” Asa said. “No child of ours will ever be normal. Not on my watch.”

“Yeah, we’re raising Mulvaneys. They’re gonna be weird,” Avi agreed.

“They’re also Navarros…” Felix reminded them.

Avi chuckled. “Kitten, that’s not the flex you think it is.”

“My family is normal,” Felix countered, his tone haughty.

“Your family?” Avi said, his voice filled with disbelief. “Please, kitten.”

“How is my family abnormal?” Felix asked, his head swiveling from Asa to Avi.

“Your brother met our brother while playing body part Jeopardy, then blew him next to a corpse,” Asa reminded him.

Avi nodded. “And you told the entire office that I was way too friendly with horses.”

Felix shrugged, expression growing haughty. “That sounds like a Mulvaney problem, not a Navarro one.”

“Oh. Oh. Oh,” Zane said, waving his hands excitedly. “You have a collection of razor-sharp cat claw rings that aren’t just for decoration.”

Felix’s expression grew more and more disgruntled with each reminder, until he looked very much like a cat who’d been left out in the rain.

He gave Zane a hurt look. “You too, Zaney?”

“Sorry, Lix,” Zane said, doing his best to look contrite as he leaned forward to press a kiss to his shoulder.

“Okay, okay,” Felix muttered. “Both our families are weird.”

Once more, the room fell into a comfortable silence, broken only by the soft strains of holiday music in the background and the faint dialogue from the television.

Asa resumed building his tower, glancing at the screen as Frosty trudged into the greenhouse carrying Karen. Avi tilted his head, his brows knitting together.

“Why didn’t Frosty just set Karen down inside the greenhouse and stay out in the snow?” Avi asked, his tone genuinely puzzled. “He could’ve avoided the whole melting thing.”

Zane made a noise of agreement. “Plot hole,” he slurred. “There’s always a plot hole. Like, why didn’t they just close the door behind her?”

Avi nodded, looking almost offended. “Exactly. And why was Karen so fragile she needed Frosty to carry her? She had legs.”

Asa huffed a quiet laugh, shaking his head. “You’re overthinking a children’s cartoon, Avi.”

Avi’s expression remained serious. “It’s a bad plan. You’d think a living snowman would be more strategic.”

Felix shook his head. “You’re the only person I know who could critique Frosty the Snowman like it’s a tactical failure.”