Waking Life
(A "Rubin & Ed" fanfic)
Chapter One: Another Ultimatum.
Bang.
Bang.
Bang.
Rubin groaned in frustration and pulled the covers over his head, silently hoping that his meddlesome mother would get the hint and leave him alone. She had been banging on his door for a solid ten minutes, and showed no signs of letting up or leaving. He growled in anger, rolling over onto his back, and threw his arm across his face. 'Please go away, please go away, please go away.' He thought.
A sudden and blissful silence descended, and Rubin sighed in relief. But then-
"RUBIN OPEN THIS DOOR!" His mother screamed, and Rubin gave a strangled yell of anger.
"Fucking hell! Alright, Mother! Hold your horses!"
He climbed out of bed, fumbling for his glasses, and then stalked to the door, cursing under his breath. "Shit, shit, shit..." He wrenched his door open, staring balefully at his mother. "What?"
Mrs. Farr sailed past him into the apartment, and Rubin sighed in anger. She turned to him, and he felt himself fuming inwardly at the look on her face-one that he had seen far too often. The look of pity mixed with anger. "Rubin, we need to have a talk."
Rubin walked past her, clicking on the radio, and smiled softly as the rich sounds of Mahler filled the apartment. Mrs. Farr frowned, and then walked over to the radio, switching it off. "No music right now. I want you to listen to me!"
"Fine," Rubin grumbled. Mrs. Farr smiled.
"Rubin, you really need to get out of this apartment once in a while and start socializing with people your own age. You can't spend your entire life cooped up in here or sitting down by the pool!"
Rubin groaned. "I left the apartment seven months ago. Remember?"
"Yes, I remember, and why you ever allowed yourself to be kidnapped by that salesman I'll never know. But at least you got out of this place! Ever since though, it's as if you've decided to cut yourself off from the world completely! Sweetie, you can't live like a hermit."
Rubin rolled his eyes. "Yes I can."
"No, you can't."
"Yes I can!"
"Rubin, NO. Look, I'm your mother and I do love you, but this loner business is a bit unhealthy. You need to make friends. I'm putting out an ad for a roommate for you."
Rubin groaned in anger, collapsing onto the couch. "Mother…."
"There is no point in trying to argue with me. You are getting a roommate."
"I don't need a roommate!"
"Yes you do."
"No, I don't!"
"YES YOU DO!"
"NO! I! DON'T!"
"Rubin Farr, you are getting a roommate and that is final! I'm taking the advert out tomorrow."
Her ultimatum delivered, Mrs. Farr left the apartment. Rubin sat on the couch, fuming in anger, then gave a strangled cry and threw a couch pillow across the room. "Fuck, fuck, fuck!"
He didn't need a roommate. He didn't want a roommate. As far as he was concerned, he didn't need anyone.
Except Simon.
Rubin picked up the picture of him holding Simon, smiling. He still remembered the day he had found him. Rubin had been walking around the hotel, not thinking of anything in particular, when he had spotted a small, shivering bundle near the garbage cans. He had gone over, and inside a torn cardboard box was a tiny orange kitten, half frozen with the cold. Rubin had gently picked him up, and the kitten had looked up at him and given a small 'mew.' Rubin took him home, and from that moment on they were inseparable. Simon had become his best friend and confidant, and best of all-he never seemed to mind Rubin's strange quirks. They had truly understood one another.
But then….Rubin mentally shook himself. He did not want to think about that terrible day. He blinked back the tears that were blurring his vision, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand and sniffling loudly. He took a deep breath and gently wiped the dust off the picture frame, placing it reverently back on the table.
A wave of exhaustion suddenly came over him, and he headed into his bedroom, collapsing on the bed with a sigh. He reached for his blankets, pulled them over his head, and was instantly asleep.
