Catboy!AU: [title tbd]

[moehakase]

Don squirms as he starts to wake up, feeling too warm and sleepy to want to open his eyes. He's so cozy, surrounded by softness on all sides, that he could just go right back to sleep. The only reason he even knows he's awake is that he'd been dreaming a moment before. He'd been dusting the bookshelves in the apartment, only it hadn't really been the apartment - it had been more like the center, and he'd woken up when he realized that the center had never had bookshelves like that, brimming with big, thick books rich with knowledge, and even if it had, the bookshelves definitely wouldn't have smelt like bacon.

Bacon?

Don had figured the bacon smell was just a part of the dream, but he can still smell it now, which is weird. He shifts and stretches a little more, takes notice of the blankets on top of him and the soft, squishy thing that's nestled in his arms. That's certainly different from what he's used to - is he still dreaming? He lets out a confused mew and opens his eyes enough to take a look at his surroundings.

He's in a room, with a low table a foot or so away from him, and on the other side of the room is an open door. Don's ears prick up - he can hear the sound of a spatula on a frying pan and something sizzling, which must be the bacon. That's right, that was the kitchen, Don thinks, and at last he wakes up enough to remember where he is: Marvelous's house. The home of the human who'd taken him in off the street last night.

Don sits up slowly, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, and looks down to see that he's still in the pajamas he'd borrowed from Marvelous last night after his bath. He'd slept on Marvelous's sofa, and that must be Marvelous in the kitchen cooking breakfast. He'd been a little worried that everything that had happened yesterday had been a dream, and that he'd wake up shivering in a dirty alleyway again, but it looks like that's definitely not the case.

I should go and say good morning to him, Don thinks, but his stomach twists with nervousness. Marvelous had been kind to him yesterday, but what if things are different today? What if he's changed his mind? Don still can't believe that a total stranger would be willing to take him in indefinitely; what if Marvelous has decided that Don is too much of a burden for him after all? Don hugs his pillow and frets over it all for a moment.

But he promised, the other half of Don's mind protests. He promised I could stay with him as long as I want, and he's been so gentle... Don thinks back to last night, how Marvelous had held him while he cried, had let Don curl up with him on the sofa, had stroked Don's hair until he fell asleep. Marvelous wouldn't just turn Don away after all of that, would he?

Don gathers his courage and gets to his feet, still hugging the pillow to his chest. He pads quietly towards the kitchen, the smell of sizzling bacon growing stronger and making his mouth water. He'd had a good meal - the first proper one in months - last night, but after sleeping through the night he's starting to feel hungry again.

"Marvelous?" Don calls, and peers through the kitchen door. Nervous though he is, his ears perk up happily when he sees Marvelous by the stove. "Good morning," he says, giving his tail a cheerful swish.

Comments

[foodispriority]

Subservient. That's the way Don seems when he gets back up. He keeps his eyes on the ground, his body hunched small as if trying to go unnoticed, or be less of a bother. His tail drops - Marvelous can understand that body language easily. He's discouraged, upset. "I-I-I just," Don stammers, his hands fisting into the shirt he's wearing and clinging to it desperately, "don’t know w-what your rules are, or how you like things..."

Before Marvelous can even open his mouth to answer that Don is already gone. "I forgot the juice too," come the panicked words after him as he rushes into the kitchen. Marvelous hears him dashing about, shuffling around. He'd asked where the glasses were before he'd rushed off, but Marvelous hadn't had a chance to answer him then either. He's so jumpy!

Marvelous decides that before Don can run around anymore that he's going to put an end to it. He walks towards the kitchen again, blocking the doorway to keep Don in one place so that they can straighten this whole thing out.

When he looks up, though, Don has his face in his hands and is sobbing. Marvelous can't just stand there and do nothing. It hasn't been twenty-four hours yet but he knows by now that he's pretty safe to offer Don physical contact so he walks over and envelopes Don into his arms.

"You're my guest," Marvelous says, letting Don bury his tear-stained face into his chest. "You didn't even need to help me with breakfast but you asked so I took you up on it! But I wouldn't have minded at all if you hadn't. I was happy to make it for us both." He places a hand on the back of Don's neck and strokes the hair at his nape. "You haven't done anything wrong, and you haven't made any mess! I can barely see where you've been, you're so small and quiet!"

This panicked response from Don indicates to Marvelous that Don has dealt with some pretty unrealistic expectations in regards to behaviour. Perhaps more than just his recent experiences are upsetting him. Marvelous won't probe, though.

"You haven't upset me, or made me angry," he promises. "Please don't be scared. I told you that you were safe here and I meant it." He hugs Don tighter just for good measure, keeping hold of him until his breathing starts to slow again.

[moehakase]

When he starts to cry, Don is certain that Marvelous’s next response will be to yell at him and turn him out of the house, so it’s a complete surprise when instead, he feels Marvelous’s warm arms wrapping gently around him and pulling him close, just as he had the night before.

“You’re my guest,” says Marvelous as Don cries into his shirt. He strokes the back of Don’s neck with one hand, soothing him with his soft touch and kind words. “You haven’t done anything wrong, and you haven’t made any mess!” Don’s face is buried in Marvelous’s chest, but he doesn’t need to look in Marvelous’s eyes to sense the sincerity of his words. “I can barely see where you've been, you're so small and quiet!”

Don sobs softly in Marvelous’s arms, not from panic this time but from being so touched by Marvelous’s care for him. It’s very reminiscent of when the professor had first taken Don to his home, and had reassured him as many times as he’d needed that he didn’t need to be afraid of making a mistake, that he’d never be thrown out or sold. It had taken Don a while to get used to such love and acceptance - it was so different from what he’d been brought up to expect from a human! - but it had been so wonderful once he had. And it seems that Marvelous might be trying to offer him that same kind of care now, though Don can scarcely believe it to be true.

“Please don’t be scared,” Marvelous adds after reassuring Don that he isn’t angry or upset with him. “I told you that you were safe here and I meant it.” He holds Don tighter, and Don clings to his shirt, trying to calm himself enough to reply. Eventually Don’s tears slow, and he’s able to lift his head and peer up at Marvelous.

“Thank you,” he says, blinking back tears. “I really like you, Marvelous, a-and I want to stay with you, you’re so kind. Just...” Don swallows over the painful lump in his throat. “Just p-promise you w-won’t...” he stammers, trying to summon the nerves to ask the thing he’s been most worried about. “Promise you won’t turn me out i-if I displease you?” Don hides his face in Marvelous’s shirt again. “I d-don’t have anywhere else to go, and I can’t go b-back on the street,” he whimpers, trembling as he thinks of the fate that would await him if he found himself once again without a home.

[foodispriority]

Don doesn't stop crying, which isn't surprising given how quickly and suddenly his tears had started, but as Marvelous pulls him close and talks to him his sobs do change in tone from panicked and overwhelmed to something softer and more cathartic. Don's fingers grab tightly onto Marvelous's shirt, and Marvelous can't help but wonder idly if his shirts are going to be subject to a few odd patches of creases on the front from now on because of hands fisted into them. Not that it matters, but he'd hate to think Don in tears and holding on tight for comfort was going to become a regular thing.

"Promise you won’t turn me out if I displease you?" Don asks, and then buries his head again as though too scared to wait for the answer. "I don’t have anywhere else to go, and I can’t go back on the street-"

"I won't," Marvelous promises firmly, stroking a hand down Don's back. "I can't imagine what you could do to displease me, but for your peace of mind let's say it just might happen sometime. Well then we'd talk about it, okay?" Marvelous can't help but treat Don the same way he would treat another human being, he doesn't know any different! The idea that someone would just throw a catperson out because they did something their owner didn't agree with is intolerable.

"We'd talk about it, like... like equals. And we'd find a way to work it out. I wouldn't force you to leave with nowhere to go, but if for whatever reason you didn't want to stay here anymore, or for some reason you couldn't, I wouldn't just throw you out like trash." Marvelous places his hands on Don's cheeks and then tilts his head upwards gently to look him in the eyes. "You're not trash. You're someone with thoughts, and feelings, and a sweet personality, and don't allow anybody to make you believe differently. If you ever want to go I won't stop you - I know you want to stay and that's fine - but I'm not forcing you to stay either, because there are other options and I'd find one for you. We'd find you a new home if you wanted it." Marvelous strokes Don's skin gently with his thumbs. It should probably feel odd to be behaving so tenderly with him this soon, but it doesn't. "But if that day never comes then you're more than welcome to stay with me. I promise."

[moehakase]

Marvelous’s hand strokes slowly up and down the length of Don’s spine, warm through the fabric of the pajamas. “I won’t,” he says in response to Don’s frightened query. “I can't imagine what you could do to displease me, but for your peace of mind let's say it just might happen sometime. Well then we'd talk about it, okay? We’d talk about it like… like equals.”

Don’s ears perk up a little at the sound of that. Most humans don’t think of catpeople as equals at all, he knows more than well enough - many would probably laugh at the very idea! But Marvelous isn’t like most humans, and that he’d even say such a thing is a reason to be hopeful, not to mention how kindly he’s treated Don so far despite their circumstances.

“I wouldn't force you to leave with nowhere to go,” Marvelous continues, “but if for whatever reason you didn't want to stay here anymore, or for some reason you couldn't, I wouldn't just throw you out like trash.” Marvelous slips a hand between them and tilts Don’s chin up with gentle fingers. “You’re not trash,” he says, his expression so sincere it makes Don’s heart flutter. “You're someone with thoughts, and feelings, and a sweet personality, and don't allow anybody to make you believe differently.” His words are so kind as to nearly bring Don to tears again! It’s been so long since anyone said such nice things about him, Don had all but forgotten it was possible.

And Marvelous’s assurances that he’d never leave Don without a home, no matter what happened, are just as wonderful. He even strokes his thumbs gently over Don’s cheeks, wiping away the traces of his tears, and it’s so affectionate that Don feels warm all over. “If that day never comes then you're more than welcome to stay with me. I promise.”

It’s never been easy for Don to read humans’ scents or intentions, but right now he doesn’t feel even the slightest of doubts - Marvelous means every word of what he says. Don feels a smile returning to his face, and his ears flutter a bit as he lets go of Marvelous’s shirt in favor of wrapping his arms around him for a hug. He leans in close and rubs his cheek against Marvelous’s. “Thank you,” he murmurs, hugging Marvelous tightly. His tail swishes happily behind him, and he trembles a little from the relief that’s flooding over him as it starts to sink in that he really won’t ever have to go back to living in the streets. That Marvelous will take care of him, and won’t ever let him end up homeless. “Thank you, Marvelous.” He squeezes Marvelous a little tighter, and lets out a soft chirping mew when he feels Marvelous’s arms slipping around him again. “I don’t think I’ll ever want to leave you, I’m so happy to live with you…” He gives Marvelous’s cheek one last nuzzle before leaning back to look him in the eyes again.

Don wipes at his eyes and sniffles away the last of his tears before doing his best to give Marvelous a smile. “I’ll try not to be scared anymore,” he says, and looking into Marvelous’s sincere face it’s easy to feel like that won’t be a problem. “I might still get worried sometimes, but, I’ll try to remember I can trust you.” He glances back over at the beautiful breakfast Marvelous had laid out on the coffee table, and his stomach rumbles as the delicious scents waft over to them from it. “Um, would you like to eat breakfast now?” he asks, tail swishing from his curiosity over what all the foods will taste like. “I don’t want all the nice food you made to get cold!”