Cronkri: I won't let you down

Chapter 17: Kankri

The next morning, I woke up to Cronus's soft lips on my forehead. A smile crossed my lips and I opened my eyes slightly to see him, then closed them again.
"Why'd ya close them?"
"So you'll do that again. I'm still asleep."
He probably smiled--I couldn't see him if he did-- and kissed me again, this time on my cheek.
"Hmm... A little to the left."
He kissed my other cheek.
"A little to the right?"
He kissed the corner of my mouth.
I opened my eyes again and sat up, wrapping my arms around him and kissing him sweetly. He smiled and kissed back, his lips finally reaching their destination.
"There we go."
I stared into his eyes for a few moments, then unwrapped myself from around him and threw my legs over the side of the bed, my bare feet hitting the carpet with a soft thud as I stood up. He followed me down the stairs and to the breakfast table for the usual daily meal of cereal and milk. The massive, swing-out window was open to let the warm outside air in, as well as plenty of natural light. The sun was already fairly high in the sky since we woke up so late after our escapades from the night before.

"HEY ASSHOLES!" rang a familiar voice from the back door. Our heads turned to see Karkat standing in the kitchen, wearing only swimtrunks. "Eridan and I are waiting outside if you wanna join us!"
I looked at Cronus and he shrugged as Karkat ran back outside. We peeked out the window to see them chasing each other around with water guns.
"Sounds fun to me. Whaddaya say, Kan?"
I sighed. "Alright, I suppose it would be a fun break from routine."
"Woohoo!" His face lit up as he began running up the stairs to his room. I followed a bit more reluctantly, but still changed into a pair of Cronus's swimtrunks that he had outgrown a little bit. It was admittedly embarrassing to me to go outside wearing only underwear in a sense, but the others were dressed the same way, so I figured it was okay.
As soon as we stepped out onto the hot wooden deck, the boys wasted no time in soaking us with their guns.
"HAHAHAHAH!!! DIE MOTHERFUCKERS!" Karkat called.
I squealed and lifted my arms to shield myself, my eyes squeezed shut. When I looked back to where Cronus had been, the space was empty. Suddenly the air filled with the sounds of terrified shouts and running feet as Karkat and Eridan disappeared around the corner of the house, going around front. Cronus beckoned me down and handed me one of the massive water guns he had nagged from wherever the water guns are kept. He kept the other to himself.
"You go follow behind 'em. I'll go around the other way. If all else fails, pick 'em up and throw 'em in the pool."
Before I could object, he ran quietly after the boys, leaving me alone in the backyard. I decided to follow his instructions and sneak around the other side of the house, keeping close to the side to remain hidden. I could hear them whispering and giggling together as they came around the corner, oblivious to my presence. As soon as I could see them, I pumped the water gun as fast as I could, blindly shooting them.
"CRONUS I FOUND THEM! I NEED BACKUP!" I yelled.
Karkat and Eridan screamed and I did a battle cry as Cronus ran up behind them, drenching them and squirting them in the face.
"Grab your brother!" He instructed, instantly picking up Eridan fireman style and running around to the front. I dropped my gun and looked at Karkat.
"Oh HELL no."
I smirked and grabbed him around the waist like I was going to hug him, then lifted him off the ground and sprinted around to the front yard, ignoring his screams of protest. We got there just in time to see Cronus launching Eridan face first into the pool. I grinned and carried Karkat up the deck, quickly following Cronus actions and throwing my brother in as well. Karkat screamed a string of curse words as he fell in; the water finally drowned out his sound.
Cronus was laughing and slapping his knee as Eridan came back up, his once neatly styled hair now a complete mess. I couldn't help but snicker at that too.
Eridan pouted and crossed his arms. "It's not funny, you guys."
Karkat came up from the water soon after that, using one of the floatation devices to keep his head above water since his feet couldn't touch the bottom. He then continue the string of swears as if they hadn't been interrupted in the first place.
Cronus rolled his eyes. "Hey, you guys started it!"
"WELL WE WEREN'T PLANNING ON THROWING YOU IN THE FUCKING POOL!"
I ran between them and held my arms out. "Both of you calm down," I said, failing to hold back a small laugh.

Just then, If You Wanna Be My Lover by the Spice Girls started playing. I sighed and walked over to the bench, drying my hands on a towel and picking up Karkat's phone.
"Karkat, I think our dad is calling you!"
Karkat jumped out of the pool and snatched his phone out of my hand, hitting the answer button and ending the song. We could only hear half of the conversation.
"Hello? Yeah, it's me. Yeah. No, I don't know where he is. Of course I'm sure, I think I'd tell you if I had suddenly found my missing brother. Oh, you did?" His voice became nervous. "That's... that's great. Okay. Yeah, I'll be right there. Okay. I got it. See ya."
He hung up the phone and grabbed his towel, then started drying off.
Eridan climbed over the side of the pool. "You gotta leave already?"
Karkat nodded. "Dad says I have to get home. He printed missing child posters that he needs my help hanging up. Oh, and the police are starting a state-wide search."
My face fell and a horrible feeling formed in my gut. "He... He's looking for me?"
He nodded again, his expression grim.
I felt like I was gonna puke. Cronus came up next to me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "Does that mean he's gotta relocate?"
Karkat shrugged "I don't fucking know! Figure it out yourselves, I'm leaving!"
He started walking off the deck as he pulled on his overshirt, then left the backyard altogether.
I stared at Cronus with fear and uncertainty. He stared back in concern, his eyebrows furrowed slightly. "We gotta get you inside. It's probably not safe out here."

As we closed the door once we were inside, I could hear the sound of police sirens faintly in the distance.