Author's Note: This story is quite long and involves a fair amount of bdsm content, though it stays pretty light for the most part. If you don't care for bondage and/or submission, this is probably not the story for you. There's still plenty of hot sibling action, which I imagine is what most of you are looking for. Enjoy.
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Part One: Nightly Perambulations
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Laine sighed heavily upon waking up. Catria, his little sister, had a seriously bad habit of sleepwalking into his bed at night. She'd be curled up next to him in the morning often enough that he half-expected to see her when he first opened his eyes.
This morning was a Catria morning.
"You're way too old for this shit," Laine grumbled as he climbed out of bed over his oblivious little sister.
He really just didn't know what to do with her sometimes. Cat, as he'd called her since forever, had always kind of lived up to her position as baby of the family. She'd been a daddy's girl of the most shameless variety, and had had no qualms about jumping into bed with their parents anytime there was thunder or she'd had a bad dream or... well, just because sometimes.
She'd grown out of it eventually, much to everyone else's relief. In fact, Cat had become a fairly normal teenager when the time came. Which was to say she'd hardly acknowledged her parents or siblings except when she needed something and spent most of her time barricaded in her room. In her case, Mom and Dad had hardly even given her shit for it. They were just glad to have some privacy again.
And now she was Laine's problem.
He felt a twinge of guilt as he looked down at his slumbering sister. He'd taken their parents' room now that they were gone. For all he knew, Cat was unconsciously looking for them when she wandered into his room at night. Not that he'd done anything wrong, but he couldn't help feeling bad about it anyway. Possibly that was why he'd been so patient with her.
At some point one probably just had to say "cut that the fuck out." And mean it. Laine'd said variations on it many times, usually in his head, but never with enough conviction. Not enough to do anything about it.
"Alright. Come on then."
Laine still talked only to himself as he carefully scooped up Cat in his arms. She was much heavier at eighteen than she'd been at eight, but still waifish enough to be transported without any real strain.
Cat stirred as she was carried regally back to her room. Her arms snaked around her brother's neck, though her eyes remained shut.
"You did it again," Laine said.
"Sorry." Cat's eyes fluttered open. "I didn't mean to."
"I know you didn't mean to. That doesn't stop you doing it."
"Sorry," she repeated. She looked away, her lip pinching slightly between her teeth.
"Don't look so damn pitiful. You can't just keep puppy-dogging your way through life, you know."
A hint of a smile graced Cat's mouth. "S'worked so far."
"Yeah, well... not anymore." Laine nudged open Cat's door, which had been left not quite open enough for him to fit through while carrying her. "I'm gonna start, I dunno, handcuffing you to your bed every night or something."
A small giggle from his sister. "You wouldn't dare."
"No?"
"No. I know you."
Laine let her down onto her mattress. "Maybe I wouldn't have. But lately...." He shook his head. "You've been bad lately. I actually think you're getting worse."
"I'm not! I'm just... it's just...." Cat squirmed uncomfortably. "I think it's 'cause my dreams have been bad. They're not so bad when I wake up in your room. Or at least I don't remember them." She looked up with pleading eyes. "But I swear it's not something I'm doing on purpose. It just kinda happens."
Laine rubbed his face. "Yeah, I get it. And I know you're sleepwalking. Maggie caught you in the hallway once, you were right out of it. Didn't acknowledge her or anything, even when she steered you back to bed."
"I still don't remember that."
"I know." He sighed. "I know." A moment of silence passed. "Do you think you're looking for me when you sleepwalk? Or... you know...."
"I don't know," Cat said in a small voice. "But I think maybe... maybe part of me doesn't know Mom and Dad aren't gonna be there. Like... I'm still looking for them like when I was little." She shrugged. "Maybe."
Laine nodded. "Who knows. Sorry for being such a downer." He patted Cat's knee, then started walking away. "Anyway, it's almost time I would have been up anyway. I'll probably hit the shower unless you need in the bathroom first."
"No, I'm good for a bit. Thanks for...."
Laine paused at the doorway. "Yeah?"
"Just... thanks. That's all."
"Ok."
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Maggie was up and in the kitchen by the time Laine had showered and dressed. The eldest of the three siblings had become a pseudo-mother figure now that they were on their own, though without ever giving up her prerogative to mercilessly tease her little brother and sister when the need arose.
"Guess I shoulda put the coffee on before my shower," Laine said. "Never quite sure when you're gonna be up."
"Usually before you are," Maggie said airily. "Don't worry about it. I kinda like the ritual of it."
"That's kinda weird."
"Yeah, well... deal with it." Maggie set the coffee maker to work, then faced her brother. "Was Cat in your bed again this morning?"
"Yeah."
"Thought so. That's, what, the third time in the past week?"
"Something like that. It all blurs together after a while. Feels like it's been worse recently though."
Maggie sighed. "I don't know what to do with her. I keep hoping she'll grow out of it. So far, not so good."
"Yeah, tell me about it. Talking to her about it doesn't really seem to get anywhere. It's hard to be convincing though. 'Specially when she looks all pitiful and sorry."
"Gotta be firm sometimes, even if it's weird." Maggie shook her head. "I don't like trying to be a parent."
"Yeah. Me either. You're way better at it than me, though. Gonna be a great mother some day. All this warm-up."
Maggie shrugged, but didn't quite cover a smile. "Maybe someday," she agreed. "Not for a while, though. Maybe not ever. Too stressful."
Laine didn't argue. Maggie wavered back and forth on the topic, not that it came up all that often. She had a lot of their mom in her, which swayed his thinking toward her giving in and joining the parent cult sooner or later, and also helped explain why she'd stuck around even now that he and Cat were old enough to look after themselves.
Well, that and none of them really knew what to do with themselves. In some ways, Laine felt, they were all just stuck treading water together, unsure what to do with their lives. Or maybe, from a more positive light, they loved each other and were happy living together a while longer.
Probably, from an outside and objective standpoint, it was a nebulous mix of support and co-dependency, problems and comfort. Neither truly good or bad. Just life.
"I threatened to handcuff her to her bed if she keeps it up," Laine offered conversationally.
"Ha! I'd almost like to see that." Maggie tilted her head back and half-closed her eyes. "I can picture it now. Middle of the night, an awful screeching as Cat drags her bed down the hall behind her to get to big bro."
"You goof. That isn't... oh shit, now I'm picturing it."
"Good, right?" Maggie poured some coffee in two mugs. "Though really, the idea itself has some merit."