camp triple pine//lawrusso

12. cookies the kitten becomes a man

The next evening, Johnny, Daniel, and Bobby returned from the counselor's fire to find Tommy already in the cabin...being a good, well-balanced father to Cookies the kitten.

"And this is Robbin Young," Tommy said, sweet and innocent as if he was not showing the baby animal glossy pages of scantily-clad women. "Gorgeous, isn't she?" he looked up, no implication that what he was doing was wrong or even embarrassing other than a slight blush. "Oh, hey, guys. What's going on?"

Larusso looked as if he'd just witnessed a crime against humanity (or, rather, the cat).

"Ah, come on, man, really?" Johnny rolled his eyes, scooping up Cookies much to Tommy's disdain. "Don't be gross."

"What?" Tommy replied defensively. "It's not like I'd show him if he were a girl. But Cookies is a boy, soon to be a man. He needs to know about the sexiest women in June of 1981."

"I...I can't believe," Larusso opened and closed his mouth like a dumb fish out of water. "Why would you...of all things..." he marched over the length of the cabin--all of about two feet--to retrieve Cookies from Johnny. He looked up at him, anger unyielding as he met Johnny's eyes despite the fact that Johnny hadn't done anything. "Give me the cat, Johnny."

Johnny scoffed. "He has a name, you know." In Johnny's hands, Cookies mewled and squirmed, louder and more eager at the sight of Daniel.

Larusso's brows furrowed as he huffed. "You and I both know you hate his name, John."

"Oh, oh, oh," Tommy laughed, seeming a little uncomfortable by the tension he stirred up. "Better watch out, he pulled out your legal name. If he goes full 'John Cathleen Lawrence', I'll just go stay in the girls' cabin, you know what I'm sayin', Bobby?"

Bobby, who had sat in the silence for a while probably wondering when exactly he had became a father to three teenaged boys and a cat before getting properly laid, let out an exasperated sigh. "Can you two kids take it outside, please? I would like a moment of peace before bed, just a moment."

Johnny put the kitten down on his bed before looking down at Larusso, recognizing that gleam in his eyes. Hm. Johnny always knew Larusso was smarter than he seemed, but perhaps this was some sort of performance in itself, the smartass bastard. "You wanna take this outside?" he asked, mustering something akin to threatening rather than husky.

"Fine," Larusso nodded, his cheeks heating before turning on his heel and marching out. "Maybe I can let you know while we're out there about how to properly take care of Cookies, we all know he doesn't like you."

Johnny just rolled his eyes at that but followed anyway, slamming the door behind him as he watched Larusso trudge off into the woods behind the cabin. Once Johnny deemed them far enough enveloped in the trees to not be seen, he pulled him by the hair against a tree, giving him about a second to process before his lips were on his.

"Johnny, wait," Daniel muttered, voice small and breathless, and Johnny immediately tensed.

"What?" Johnny asked, perhaps a tad sharp in his anxiety.

"I just wanted to say I was sorry, for saying Cookies doesn't like you," Larusso explained, and Johnny just blinked at him real slow and impatient before giving in and moving close to kiss his neck. "I really think he's starting to warm up to you, it's just--ah~...d-don't show him porn or anything, and you'll already be better than Tommy..."

"I don't give a shit about it," Johnny said hurriedly, because honestly, although Daniel was like a kitten in a way, if he started thinking about an actual kitten, he was going to go soft. "Any of it." he started to suck a mark on Daniel's skin, though soon thought better of it, pulling away before anything could really show. "I'm gonna throw that stupid fucking magazine in the trash."