Well...uh...yeah
I'm just going to say it...I'm insane. No, I REALLY mean it this time. I haven't slept properly in DAYS, and the things I've done in those waking hours, you don't even wanna KNOW xD omg...anyways, I figured I'd better make some use of this extra time I've given myself and finish up the damn oneshot I promised sweet, awesome LiqutorLatinae! I actually got bored with my previous idea and just scrapped it for this. It's more of a backstory of how Sora ended up living with Riku in The Stray. Since I put the setting in winter, it counts as Christmas. So MEHMUHMEH!
Disclaimer: ....lolwhut?
Enjoy...I don't think it's very cute or well written...but I have no brain, so you gotta give me props for trying! 8D
The snow fell in a flurry of white and stinging cold, the wind bitter and biting to any exposed flesh that had the misfortune of being in the line of fire. The sky was dark and ominous, clouded over with purple-black clouds, dimming the street lights that struggled to pierce the night.
Lying curled in a snow bank alongside the road, was a prone body. Shivering from the cold, though he looked well covered, a jacket serving as a blanket. Large, chocolate-brown ears twitched, swiveling around at every whistle of wind, every crunch of passing cars. He hurt, and he was starting to get hungry, not able to find shelter for the night.
Another set of headlights rolled over him and blue eyes blinked when they didn't fade, remaining strong. He lifted his head, cat-like ears standing up as there was the sound of a car door opening.
"Oh, you poor little thing. It's freezing out here!" the red-haired girl cooed, taking off her scarf and wrapping it around his chilled ears.
"Kairi! Get back in the damn car!" another redhead snapped from the still running vehicle.
"We can't just leave him, Reno! He's all alone!" the girl named Kairi countered, helping him to his feet. "Just come with us. We'll get you warmed up and maybe something to eat, okay?"
Charmed at the promise of food, he nodded, beginning to purr happily as he climbed into the warm car with the girl, wrapping his tail around her arm when she sat next to him.
These were the good kind of people.
--
So many interesting smells and sounds! He bounced in the seat next to the redheaded people who had picked him up the previous night. They'd let him have some warm milk and yummy food, and he'd even been allowed to snuggle up with the Kairi girl through the rest of the night. Needless to say, he was excited about wherever they were going. Even if they just dumped him back on the street where they'd found him like several before them.
"He's the only person I can think of," Kairi explained as they drove.
Her brother, Reno, sighed. "Are you sure, though? Those two are like…shadows of each other. What if he pulls an Axel and doesn't want anything to do with the little guy?"
Kairi huffed and crossed her arms. "Well, then that's too bad. Because he can't stay with us either."
"Alright…"
--
"You're giving me a WHAT?" Riku sputtered in disbelief, aquamarine eyes wide as he stared at his best friend's little sister and the bundled up boy standing next to her. All the silver-haired teen could make out under the hat and bulky scarf were huge blue eyes and a few strands of deep brown hair the color of rich chocolate.
Kairi placed her gloved hands on her hips. "Don't be so rude, Riku. He's a person too, you know?" She nudged the bundle forward. "And his name is Sora."
Riku took a careful step back. "You're…not seriously just going to show up here and drop him in my lap and leave are you?"
"He has no where else to go. He told us quite clearly at dinner last night that his last owner threw him outside and never came back out to get him. Our house is already full, so we can't keep him with us. And you're always here by yourself. Some company sounds nice, doesn't it?"
As Riku's mouth fell open and closed, Sora pulled off his hat, large cat ears sticking straight up out of his mess of spiky hair. His face was slightly reddened from the cold, but that didn't stop his expression from being bright. He didn't look like a Neko who'd been abused in the past…he looked like a kitten who just wanted attention.
Kairi's sweet tone melted away as she went up to Riku and hissed. "You're going to keep him here…at least for a month. If you still don't want to keep him around, I'll make arrangements with someone else."
"Kairi…you KNOW why I don't want anything to do with this…"
"I don't see it as a good enough excuse, so DEAL." With that, she shoved Sora at the teen and went back out the door, slamming it shut behind her. The sound make the Neko in Riku's arms flinch a bit, ears falling back before they went up again.
"…well hell."
--
Sora purred as he looked around the living room with wide eyes, kicking his feet as they hung off the chair. Without all the winter clothes on, he looked like a typical, scrawny teen boy…well, save for the ears and tail that marked him as something different, and thus, something to reject.
Riku just stood on the other side of the room, leaning against the doorway to the kitchen, staring at the Neko sitting in his home. He didn't know what to do, what to say. He'd sworn that he wouldn't follow after Kairi's set path after what happened to his best friend…but he couldn't help but notice that Sora hardly looked threatening.
Humming, Sora started to kick his legs higher, rubbing his hands over the arms of the chair.
"…"
"Hm mm hmmm!"
"…"
"Nhmm mhh mmmm…"
"…" Riku swore his eye twitched.
"Mmm…"
"…I'm getting something to drink," he announced unnecessarily, turning to walk into the kitchen.
"Can I come too, Master?"
He froze at the call.
Turning slowly back to look over at the innocent looking Neko, Riku found himself fisting his hands. "I'm not. Your master. …don't EVER call me that again."
Sora's ears fell back and he lowered his head submissively, folding his hands in his lap. He curled his furry tail around his ankles and went silent, no more humming, no more purring.
And for some reason...Riku felt bad.
"…I-if you're thirsty, then just come on." He finally grumbled, walking into the kitchen.
Sora immediately perked up, hopping off the chair and nearly skipping after Riku.
Raising an eyebrow, Riku pulled down two cups and filled them with juice, setting one on the table and sipping at the other. He couldn't help but wonder what Sora's old owner was like. If Kairi's story was true, then Sora was obviously abused in the past…but why didn't he act like it?
Sniffing at the cup, Sora finally sat down, pulling it over and looking down into the cup, tail thumping against the chair's legs. "Hmm mm mmm…" oh no…he was humming again…
Riku leaned back against the counter and watched as Sora sipped carefully, though when the silver-head moved, he didn't miss the way those small hands tightened around the cup briefly.
"It's Sora, right?"
Blue eyes moved over to him. "Mhm."
"…is that was your last owner called you?"
Eyes widening, Sora shook his head slowly. "Hm mm. He called me somethin' else. My mommy called me Sora."
"Your…mommy?"
"Yeah. My first master took me when I was little."
Riku set his cup aside and crossed his arms, finding himself interested in learning more about the charge he'd suddenly taken on. "Did you have any brothers or sisters?"
"I…" Sora trailed off, thinking. Or so Riku assumed, though the expression more closely resembled a pout. "…I don't remember."
"Huh…" Riku was about to ask something when his eyes got caught on Sora's hand. There were small, almost unnoticeable scars around his short, pointed claws. It looked like…no. Had someone…ripped off his nails?
"But I remember my mommy. She was always really nice. And warm." The Neko hugged himself with a laugh before going back to his juice.
Shaking his head lightly, Riku dumped the rest of his juice and left the room, unsure whether to be irritated or amused when Sora called after his 'master'.
Sora wiggled off the chair, taking the cup with him and started to walk after Riku when he accidentally spilled most of the juice on the floor. His eyes went wide as saucers as he realized what he'd just done was wrong. Bad. Memories of his previous owner telling him he was bad for spilling, for tripping. Getting in the way. Bad. Bad. Bad. The word echoed in his head as he frantically searched for a towel to clean up the mess before his new master saw.
Riku heard the fumbling in the kitchen and peeked back in to see Sora on his knees, scrubbing at the small puddle of juice on the floor with a rag.
"What happened?"
Sora cringed and jerked his head up to look at Riku with teary eyes. "I'm so sorry, Master, I'm cleaning it up, I swear I didn't mean to!"
"Wha…Sora, it's fine. And I told you to stop calling me 'master'."
Flinching, Sora went back to mopping up the mess, sniffling as quietly as he could, tense and shaking.
So…this was the side of him that was abused and jaded…Riku had to say, he didn't like it one bit. He'd thought Sora was just a faker…or just wanting extra attention, but it seemed the little Neko had his demons. Fear of punishment.
"You're doing it wrong. Like this," Kneeling down to help, Riku took the towel from Sora and started to soak up the mess, trying to ignore how Sora scooted back, arms against his chest as he resumed that submissive pose from before.
Riku sighed heavily and got up to toss the towel in the sink, grabbing onto Sora's arms to help the shaking Neko to his feet. "Stop it, Sora…I'm not going to hit you. But you need to clean up before you go anywhere else in the house."
Sora hung his head, nodding slowly. "Yes, Master," he whispered.
"Enough with the 'master', how many times do I have to tell you?" Riku muttered, leading Sora out of the kitchen and into the bathroom, turning on the sink and sticking the Neko's hands under the faucet.
While he was centered in on washing Sora's hands, Riku didn't notice how the Neko's tail slowly uncurled from around his legs, swishing around behind them.
--
That night at dinner, Sora had perked up again. Not only from the tantalizing smells coming from the pots Riku stirred on the stovetop, but from how much he'd enjoyed the afternoon with his new master. Riku was a bit rough around the edges, but he hadn't once struck Sora or made the Neko sit outside for doing something wrong. He'd just sigh a bit exasperatedly and show Sora how to clean up whatever mess was made.
"Sora…sit down. You're invading my personal bubble."
Sora cocked his head to the side, ears twisting in question. "What's that?"
Riku fought not to laugh. "It's something that means you're too close and I want you to back off."
Pouting, Sora took several steps back, hands clasped in front of him. "Is this good enough, Master?"
"Riku," he automatically corrected.
"..."
"It's fine."
"Okay!" Sora chirped, bouncing on his toes, humming again.
--
Riku's usually quiet meals were no longer, as Sora was a bit of a messy eater, and liked to laugh. A lot. About absolutely nothing. The teen learned fast that Sora was a naturally bright personality, and even through his abuse, he'd retained that plucky outlook on life, finding the good things instead of dwelling on the bad.
And he couldn't help but think that was oddly intuitive for a naïve Neko boy.
--
"It's time for bed, Sora," Riku announced, switching off the TV. The Neko pouted from the other side of the couch, ears going flat.
"Naaw…okay…"
Rolling his eyes, Riku pushed to his feet, ignoring how Sora immediately got up to follow him down the hall to the bathroom. Ignoring how the Neko watched him brush his teeth and hair, how Sora blinked over watching him change into his night clothes. As if the boy were fascinated by whatever he did.
"Alright…I guess I can get you a sleeping bag and pillow until further notice. There's plenty of floor room." Riku mumbled, going to get the required materials to make Sora a bed on the floor. "You know where the bathroom is if you need to use it…wait. You ARE house-trained, right?"
Sora made a face, nodding though his nose was still scrunched. "Uh-huh."
"Okay…well…goodnight then."
Riku slid under the covers on his bed, rolling so his back was to the room and closing his eyes. Meanwhile, Sora just sat on the sleeping bag, pouting and tapping his tail against the floor. He didn't want to sleep on the floor…but it was better than outside…
With a whine, Sora finally crawled around in a circle on his hands and knees, curling up in a small ball on top of the sleeping bag.
He spent the next hour rolling around and trying to get comfortable, unable to sleep. This new house made different sounds than what he was used to. It didn't creak and groan, the smells were so different, there were no loud sounds of traffic outside. It was…silent.
He wasn't used to silence…
Poking his head up over the edge of the bed, Sora stared at the slumbering teen. Biting down on his bottom lip, he finally crawled slowly up onto the mattress, each step hesitant and careful, trying not to disturb his new master. He just…wanted a little bit of comfort in this strange, new place. Even if all he did was curl up on the edge of the bed.
Riku mumbled something and rolled onto his back, blinking open sleepy eyes when he felt the bed shifting. Sora froze completely, heart hammering. Uh oh…what would Riku do..?
"Nuh…fine…but just for tonight…" he grumbled, pulling the covers down.
Disbelief and relief filled Sora as he happily crawled under the warm blankets, snuggling into Riku's side with a sigh. He tensed when Riku placed a hand on his head, but relaxed and even began to purr as all the teen did was stroke the Neko's ears.
"Night, Sora…"
"Goodnight, Master."
Riku grunted at that and rolled back over.
Cuddling up against his back, Sora rubbed his face into Riku's nightshirt, closing his eyes and finally feeling like he could sleep.
Riku was one of the good people.
Happy Early New Years, yo!
-Ramen