A Fox's Family by Brandon Varnell

pillows on the couch.
Once finished, he stood up and looked at Lilian’s raven-haired
sister. “This is the best I can offer right now. If you want,
though, this weekend, we can go shopping for some furniture. I’m
sure we can find something more comfortable. Maybe a nice futon or
something…”
    Iris
shrugged. “Meh, while I’m used to sleeping on a
comfortable bed, so long as I’m with my Lily-pad, it doesn’t
where I sleep.”
    “Would
you stop calling me that!”
a
discomposed Lilian hissed. “Inari-blessed, it’s like
you’re purposefully trying to embarrass me!”
    “Aw!”
Lilian
suddenly found herself caught within the fierce and overly
affectionate embrace of her sister. “You know it’s never
my intention to embarrass you. You’re just so adorable that I
can’t help but want to give you a cute nickname.”
    The
redhead’s face flushed deeply as Iris rubbed her cheek against
Lilian’s. “W-would you stop holding me like this! And
besides, I can’t sleep with you.”
    “Eh?”
That
stopped Iris in her tracks. She held Lilian at arms’ length,
staring into the other vixen’s eyes, her own wide with shock.
“What do you mean you can’t sleep with me? Why can’t
you?”
    “B-because
I have a mate.”
Lilian
peered over Iris’
shoulder
to look at Kevin, who watched the pair with a raised eyebrow. “I-I
always sleep with Kevin these days, so…”
    “Oh…”
Iris
shuddered. “I…
I
see…
hehehe,
right, I-I guess that makes sense…
he
is your mate, after all…”
    Her
grip on Lilian’s shoulders tightened, prompting the other girl
to squirm.
    “I-Iris,
y-you’re kinda hurting me…”
    “Am
I? Hehehe…
my
bad…
kukuku…”
    As
Kevin stood there, shuddering at the sound of Iris’
laugh,
which was way creepier than Lilian’s, he couldn’t help
but think his life was about to get hectic again.
    ***
    In
the end, Iris had gone to sleep on the couch.
    Kevin
had finally relented on his “don’t enter my mom’s
room”
policy
and allowed Camellia to sleep in it. He had also apologized profusely
to Kirihime for not having anywhere for her to sleep. The
three-tailed kitsune had assured him that she would be fine, and
thanked him for his concern and hospitality. After that, he and
Lilian went back to bed.
    “I’m
really sorry about this,”
Lilian
apologized. She was straddling his body. Her arms on either side of
his head kept her from falling on him, and her hair created a curtain
that trailed across the bed like fiery threads of silk.
    “What
are you apologizing for?”
    “For
all this, for what happened tonight.”
Lilian
didn’t make any grand gestures towards the living room, but
Kevin didn’t need them to know what she was talking about. “I
should have realized my family would find me eventually. While
Kotohime is my maid and bodyguard, she’s still a vassal of the
Pnevma clan. She would have told them my location sooner or later.”
    Kevin
gave Lilian a reassuring smile. “It’s fine. I don’t
really mind meeting your family. Actually, I was kind of hoping that
I would at least get to meet your mom and sister at some point.”
    “Really?”
    “Of
course,”
Kevin
paused, his face scrunching in an amalgamation of amusement and
abashment, “though I would have liked to know they were coming
beforehand. A little warning would have been nice.”
    “Muu.
Don’t look at me like that. I didn’t know they would be
coming.”
    “Right.
Right. Kotohime’s the one who called them over. I know that.”
He
raised his right hand and waved it about in odd, circular gestures.
“I’m not saying it’s your fault or anything, just
that I wish I’d known they were coming.”
Another
pause. Kevin switched topics. “So…
that
girl in the living room is your sister?”
    “Yes.
Iris is my fraternal twin.”
    “Is
this the same Iris that you shared your first kiss with?”
    “Gurk!”
    “Oh,
we shared a lot more than that,