Karma Is Baby

9: Just A Big, Dumb Idiot

Nikolai sighed dramatically, "what on earth am I going to do?! I'll be so bored!"
Karma smiled, "you could write me letters and complain about your coworkers?"
Nikolai beamed, "that's not a bad idea! Oh, you're so smart!" He ruffled Karma's hair.
Karma giggled as he tried to fix it, "what time are you leaving again?"
"In a few hours or so," he shrugged, "it doesn't matter too much. I'd just like to unpack before I do anything else. I like to give myself some extra time."
Karma nodded, "that makes sense..."
"Yeah," Nikolai sighed, "it's too bad I only got to spend a few days with you..."
"When are you coming back?" Karma asked.
Nikolai smiled, "not for a long time... I'm going to miss you, ya crazy little kid!"
Karma laughed as Nikolai grabbed him and squeezed him tight.
"Is there anything you want before I leave?" Nikolai asked, "I've got a ton of stuff, you're welcome to any of it. ... as long as it's not in the chest. That's super secret stuff. Not even Dos knows what's in there."
Karma's brows came together, "that's ominous... uh, I don't think there's anything I want..."
"You sure?" Nikolai set him down.
"Well... nothing physical, I guess. I had asked Dostoyevsky about something last night but he said he didn't remember. We both thought you might remember."
Nikolai seemed to get nervous, "what is it?..."
Thankfully, Sigma had just left the living room after cleaning up his playing cards off the floor, so Nikolai was spared from embarrassment. Then again, he was rather shameless so he might not have been embarrassed in the first place.
"When did you and Dostoyevsky first kiss?"
Nikolai cracked a smile, "so you want another story?!"
Karma nodded and sat down to listen intently, "yes, please!"
"Only because you're so cute!" Nikolai sat himself down beside him, "okay, let's see... Dos' and my first kiss..." He thought hard for a moment.
"It's actually really dumb..." Nikolai rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "I mean, it was my first time on the lips so... I didn't really mean anything by it, I don't really consider it a real one..."
"Then you can tell me two stories! The 'first first' one and then the 'first real' one!"
Nikolai smiled, he couldn't say no when Karma looked so excited. "Alright, sounds like a plan. So, don't laugh... it is really dumb...
"Dos and I got roped into playing with the younger kids and they insisted we play house. They casted Dos and I as the parents so..."
Karma blinked, "oh, that is not what I imagined."
Nikolai's face grew red, "I only meant to give him a dramatic kiss on the cheek to make the little ones laugh, but then he moved..."
Karma held in his laughter.
"He seemed mortified and immediately pushed me away," Nikolai was nervously rubbing his hands together, "to be honest, that kind of hurt my feelings..."
Karma nodded, "so was that when you realized that you liked him?"
"Sorta?..." he looked around, "I don't know, figuring out feelings has always been complicated and difficult for me... I usually just ignore them, honestly, Ahaha...
"At the time I laughed it off as if I had done it on purpose, no one seemed to mind except Dos, himself... He wouldn't stop staring at me... If I hadn't known any better I might have described his expression as angry... But I think he was just trying to process what had happened..."
Karma nodded again, "okay, next story."
Nikolai rolled his eyes, "so impatient. Alright, let's see, the first time I kissed him for real... I mean, I had kissed him multiple times before this. It was around then that I started to go actually blind in my right eye so my depth perception wasn't very good..."
"So you just kept missing his cheeks?"
"Yeah, uh," he coughed into his fist, "if I hadn't explained how blind I was he probably would have come to hate me... The first time I meant it, I... I even shocked myself. I hurried to brush it off as an accident again and moved on... Dos didn't seem to know the difference and I... My feelings scared me..."
Karma could tell that Nikolai wasn't faking this story. This wasn't an exaggeration, either. He was being emotionally vulnerable with Karma. And Karma felt honored. He smiled, "but it was all worth it, right? Because now you and Dos are-"
"I- I wouldn't say we're really anything..." Nikolai rubbed the back of his neck.
Karma rolled his eyes, "to me, you're basically married. So the next time he gets mad at you for kissing him, tell him you have my permission."
Nikolai laughed and ruffled Karma's hair harshly, "you're the best kid ever!"
"Okay, stop," Karma giggled as he pushed his hands away, "on with the story!"
"Oh- oh- you want-"
"Details. Please."
Nikolai went: 0-0
Karma went: :))))
Nikolai hesitated, "well... oh, alright, but only because you're my favorite!"
"Yes! Privileges!"
Nikolai's laughter melted into a sigh as he collected his thoughts. "Well, it was night already and I was waiting by the back door for Dos to come out. Normally he came back out right after dinner to collect dishes, but it had been a while, so I was starting to worry.
"Eventually the door opened and out stepped Dos. He blinked at me, 'why haven't you gone to bed yet?' 'What? It's not that late.' He paused before mumbling, 'it feels later...'
"'Did you fall asleep?' I asked, meaning to make fun of him for it. He paused for a moment, 'yes...' I was about to laugh at him, but then I noticed something. Right below his right eye was a dark purple bruise.
"'... did someone hit you?' He shook his head, 'no, I fell...' Dos looked ashamed as he walked out of the light and closed the door. 'Let me see it,' I stuck my foot in the door and took hold of his face, forcing it into the light. It looked pretty bad. 'You can't have just hit the floor?'
"'We have a coffee table in the living room... I stood up too fast, got dizzy, then fell...' he flinched as my thumb inched towards his wound. 'I won't touch it,' I reassured him as I moved to see it better. It looked really bad, more like he had fallen down stairs than from his own height. 'How long will it take before it goes away?'
"He shrugged, 'I don't know. The lady put something on it to make it hurt less...' 'Your mom?' I asked. He shook his head, 'she cooks and cleans...' I wasn't too surprised to learn he had a maid of some sort. He had such a big house, it made sense...
"I clicked my tongue, chiding him, 'Dos, you can't make a habit out of this. What if you ruin your pretty face?' He dropped his eyes, muttering an apology. I sighed and closed my eyes, 'and I thought I lived dangerously. You could have poked out your eye! I can't have someone stealing my look!' I laughed, trying to get him to at least smile. He seemed so sad..."
Karma "awwww"d on the inside. Nikolai really hadn't changed much since then. He was always trying to make people smile and forget their sadness and pain...
"He never smiled often, but when he would his whole face would light up... it made him look alive, you know? ... I regret to say that I was almost never successful in making him smile... Anyways, let's continue, shall we? You're here for the good part, haha!"
Karma giggled and Nikolai continued on.
"When he gave me no response I smiled, getting a devious idea, 'I know! Listen, I have a secret power.' His eyes snapped up to meet mine, 'you do?' I nodded, 'yes. I have special healing magic!' He blinked at me and I could tell he wasn't sure if I was telling the truth or not. I pulled my foot out of the door and it closed almost all the way, leaving only a small crevice for the light to shine through.
"He gave me an expectant look, 'are you just messing with me?' I smiled and shook my head, 'of course not! I want to help you, after all!' 'Then... how does it work?...' he sounded hopeful. I was surprised he believed me, but also very excited. 'It wouldn't be any fun if I just told you how it worked.' He wore a worried and complicated expression.
"'What's wrong? You know I would never hurt you! Right?!' He nodded hesitantly, 'not anymore, at least...' 'What?! I'd never!' 'I don't know, you've hurt me before...' I searched his face, 'when?' 'You pushed me on the ground and I was pretty sure you were going to kill me...' 'Kill you?! What?!'
"He flinched as I raised my voice. Then I paused, 'I didn't mean to come off like that... You're more fragile than I thought...' Dos raised his hand and put it around my wrist to push me away. 'Wait! Let me heal you first!' I insisted. He hesitated then nodded, apparently willing to except any help he could get.
"I'm sure I was beaming, 'have you ever had an adult kiss your owies?' He opened his mouth to respond, but then he closed it and nodded, 'when I was really little... but what does that have to do with-' 'What if I told you that I was actually magic?'
"Dos' eyes traveled around my face and figure, 'what...?' 'Anyways, that's enough teasing. I'll help you now.'
"... and then, uh... wow, this is a lot harder to talk about than I thought!"
Karma smiled, "just do your best."
Nikolai smiled sheepishly, "well, uh... I leaned down as I tilted his face up. I- I hesitated a moment when we were really close, before our faces touched. I guess my resolve wavered, but I had moved before I even thought about it...
"I closed my eyes and pressed my lips onto his, careful not to put pressure on the right side of his face. I think I was only there for a second but Dos' hand dropped from my arm. As I pulled away I felt my face heating up several degrees. I remember praying that he couldn't see my face in the low light.
"'There! All better!' I let go and tried to play it off as something much less sincere. He stared at me, 'how is that-' 'Sh-sh-sh! If I tell you, it won't work!'
"'I...' he started to speak but I stopped him. 'Now go inside and rest your pretty little head so it doesn't get any worse!' I turned and started walking away.
"Now, I like to think he didn't take that as any different than the times I had kissed him before... but he's really smart so he might have... noticed the difference..."
Karma smiled, "that's very cute. And I think he noticed."
"Hm? Why do you say that?"
"Because he's right there and the look on his face says so," Karma pointed to the entryway.
Nikolai jolted and made a strangled yelping noise. "Wh- when did-"
Fyodor sighed, "does it even matter..."
Nikolai shut his mouth.
"You two should kiss." Karma stated.
Nikolai gave him an upset look, mouthing, "you can't just say that!"
"Can too!" He mouthed back, "you are leaving."
Fyodor sighed from the doorway and motioned for Nikolai to come over.
The clown gave Karma a look. The kid couldn't tell if he was worried or hopeful.
As Nikolai stood he was struggling with many emotions. What did Fyodor want? Would he actually- no! No, he wouldn't! That was just wishful thinking! He silently approached the doorway.
Fyodor gave Karma a tired smile, "Sigma said he wanted to talk to you."
Karma stood up, "he did?"
Fyodor nodded. Then he reached out and grabbed the collar of Nikolai's cape and pulled him forward.
It took Nikolai a moment to process what was happening. Then his eyes widened and his face got incredibly red.
"Only because you're leaving," Fyodor mumbled before kissing him.
Karma's jaw dropped to the floor. He couldn't tear his eyes away. Was this really happening???
Nikolai's eyes narrowed into slits as he put his arms around Fyodor and lifted him off of his feet.
Fyodor did not seem too happy about it and let go of his hold on Nikolai's collar. But Nikolai wasn't about to let this be over so soon! Of course not! He may never get the chance again!
Nikolai spun around in circles, holding Fyodor as tightly as possible. (Without strangling him and/or breaking his bones, of course)
Nikolai set him down again and took a deep inhale through his nose before pulling his face away with a contented sigh.
Fyodor's brows were pressed together, "I feel like that was unnecessary..."
"Haha! You're so silly! Anyways! I have to go now! Bye!!!" Nikolai dashed out.
Karma blinked a few times before laughing.
Fyodor shook his head with a sigh. Surprisingly, he smiled, "he's just an idiot..."
Karma smiled wide, "but he's our idiot."

[The End :DDDD]