Buzzing Brain, Rumbling Body

“Violet, I’m home.”

Lumi closed the door behind him as softly as he could. He rubbed his drooping eyes, trying to clear the fog occupying his brain. It didn’t do much. In addition, the edges of his vision were still a bit hazy, blurring in and out each moment. The orange fox had hoped that not having to stare at a computer screen anymore would help, but his eyes seemed to be having a hard time clearing up, more so than usual. His brain still felt like it was buzzing and whirring, almost like a machine, when it tried to process anything.

“Hey, Lumi, can you hear me?”

The sudden voice snapped him back to reality, forcing him to look at what was ahead of him. Violet was standing in front of him, a mere inch or two from his face, and she had a concerned look on her face. Well, about as concerned a look as she could make. Her tail was twitching back and forth as she observed him. The black cat continued to stare at him as he rubbed his eyes, trying to keep his mind clear for her.

“I’m sorry, I didn't notice you there, Violet…” said Lumi. “Is there anything you want?”

“Nothing,” Violet responded. “Just wanted to make sure you were oka— shit, now, of all times?”

Violet winced and bent backwards, a loud ‘crack!’ ringing out from her back. She whined again when she heard the sound, but Lumi couldn’t force his body to move out of place and help her. He could only watch in silence as she continued to curse out her back for giving out mid sentence, wincing and grunting in between.

…Need to help Violet, Lumi yawned mid thought. Shouldn’t be this hard to move my arms…

“Sorry about that, Lumi, just had a moment.” Lumi looked up, and Violet seemed to have returned to normal again. “Just have to hope my back doesn’t cramp mid fucking sentence again.”

“...Do you want me to try massaging it…?” Lumi asked.

“Lumi, you look like you’re about to fall asleep standing up, I’m not trusting you with my back.”

“...It’s fine, I can handle it…”

“Lumi.” Violet glared through him. “You’re getting rest. Now.”

“Alright…”

Lumi felt his legs give out under him. Violet caught him, and then proceeded to carry him over to the sofa, gently setting him down across the cushions. His body sank into it and went limp, relaxing into the soft comfort of the plush texture. He could feel his eyes close under the weight that had been pulling them down. She pulled the stray blanket that had been laying around over him, and gave him a quick kiss on the forehead.

“Okay, now get some sleep, alright?” said Violet. “You need it. I’ll handle getting dinner read— Ow —fuck.” 

Lumi opened his eyes, and, from the little he could see, Violet was trying to straighten her back again. She wasn’t making any sound, so he hoped it wasn’t hurting as bad as it was just minutes ago. His eyes were starting to glaze over. After a couple moments, Violet looked back down at him.

“On second thought, I should also lay down for a bit,” she said. “You mind if I stay with you?”

“Of course not…” Lumi said, closing his eyes again.

Violet wasted no time in laying down on the sofa, right on top of Lumi’s stomach, of course. She was putting so much pressure on him that he felt like a rock had been placed on his chest. Her arms slid under his back, and he could feel her claws digging into his dress, pricking at his fur bit by bit. He wrapped his own arms around her in response. Her warm breath was tickling his face, almost as if it was trying to tease him. After a bit, Lumi was able to adjust to all those sensations, and he could feel himself starting to fall asleep.

Then, a loud rumbling came from a direction Lumi couldn’t discern.

Wait, where’s that sound coming from? Lumi thought. No one around here uses gas cars, unless…

Lumi opened his eyes again, just oh so slightly for a little peek. Before he could even make anything out, he felt his ears angle themselves ahead a bit, right in the direction of the sound. Right in Violet’s direction. Almost instantly, Lumi noticed the heavy vibrations of purring that were coming from the space in between his arms, from her. The sensation was coursing throughout his entire body, trying to force him to close his eyes and relax once more. How did he not notice this before?

I forgot how strong of a purrer she is, Lumi thought. Maybe if I asked to sleep beside her more… No, that’d just bother her. I shouldn’t do that.

“You must be happy that I’m home,”

Oh no, I said that aloud, didn’t I?

“Oh, shut up…” Violet responded.

Violet gave Lumi a sleepy kiss on the lips before she buried her head in the crook of his neck, making small sounds of embarrassment. Despite that, she kept purring like an engine, allowing more of the rumbling sensations to flow through his body. Rumble, rumble. Lumi closed his eyes, but he knew that he wouldn’t be allowed to drift off fully as long as Violet was producing those noises. This was better than sleep, anyways. In fact, it was so much better that he was even producing some Tranquilla magic from his relaxation, which he was able to transmit to Violet in hopes of helping her back hurt less.

I really should get dinner ready soon, Lumi thought. But, I think I’d rather listen to Violet purr a little more. I hope she doesn’t mind.