Hello! So I'm stressing over some things and writing was my scape route. It's been my goal to write a one-shot and something that didn't get too, well, that didn't get too many hard feelings? I swear I had to put America with England, I find it too nice to have a tsundere and a hero together! The tittle: I blame this tittle on a friend of mine who said that "surpurrises is a wonderful word and I dare you to put that tittle".

Nekotallia/Human-AU: Fantasy, Hurt/Comfort.

Summary: Some meetings change our lives so when Alfred found a kitten he didn't know what he was getting into.

Warnings (for now): Some language (curse words), OOC (probably), Some dubious word playing.

Notes: This time I tried to write how people usually do: "as talking" and 'as thoughts' so I'm not sure if I didn't mess up and left it all confusing. As always, I reviewed it but there probably are some mistakes. About the rating: I wanted something light, but I can't seem to not use curse words, so I'm putting it under T.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia and its characters, this story was purely made for fun.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Hero's life with a cat: changes and surpurrises

'I saw this light before... It isn't any type of light, I've seen something like this before… Where was it… Where… Oh… Right… It was before… When mom was around and my brothers didn't kick me out… But why is THAT light here? Am I dying?'

"Hey! Look who's still alive and awake!"

'What? Who was that? A human? Male? Why? Whys is he petting my head? What is he saying? He's loud… But I feel so safe… It's been so long...'

-x-x-x-

Alfred looked down to the cushioned bed. The small cat was sleeping again, purring. 'How cute!'. He didn't understand anything about cats so he didn't know what kind of cat it was. Most of the fur had a light color but he also had orange color on his face's left side, over his left hind leg and over a great deal of his tail. Those flopped ears were the best part, Alfred knew it.

That day hasn't been the best of his days. He had just broken up with his date, got a verbal warning from his boss. "That damn slavedriver commie". And as soon as he put his feet outside his workplace it started to rain. No umbrella. But that was okay because it made him get a shortcut on the woods, he usually didn't go there – some said it was haunted. He wasn't scared, mind you! There he found a sick and soaked kitten.

"I need to name you", He thought hard. "I think 'Little Hero' will be nice." He pet the cat again, it was so small and weak, how could anyone leave a pup like that? It looked like its been on his own for some time. "I promise you'll be fine!"

-x-x-x-

'So I woke up and saw him, it really was a human. Was that fat? How can humans become so fat?'

The cat got up on trembling paws and located the water to his left. It was inside some strange container, humans were strange. He drank a good deal of it and heard some noises, his folded ears shot around to figure the sound out.

"Hey! Little Hero, you're up! Dude, I'm so happy!"

The human kept talking a little more, but the feline didn't hear it as he was horrified by the name he was being called and all the babbling that human made. When the guy tried to get the cat on his arms, the animal hissed.

"Hey, hey hey! Easy there boy, I'm not gonna hurt you, you know. By the way, my name's Alfred and I hope you like my cozy little place, 'cause you'll be calling it home too! I'm so excited to have company again!". He wasn't used to be alone but things didn't seem to go the way he wanted.

'Home? HERE? With this… this…'

The kitten looked around, there was fast food boxes all over the place, some socks and... Oh God, the human was doing that thing again, around his ears. That feels good. He was purring.

"Heh, you like that right? Who's a good boy? That's it, you are!"

Okay, enough was enough and he had a little surprise for this human. No human would mistreat him or call him as a dog's pup! He stopped purring and was getting ready to attack.

The human wasn't as dumb as he thought because as soon as he hissed, the guy stopped.

"Tired already? Can't blame ya, 've been through a lot." Alfred yawed. "Hell, I've bee through a lot of shit today too, but we'll hang on, eh? Here, let me get you some food, you're still a baby and so small… I feared you'd never wake up."

Alfred didn't know anything about cats, but he was a hero and could totally do it! He may have had to drop from college as he couldn't afford to live alone and pay school with a part time job, but this he would do right.

-x-x-x-

Two days latter the feline was feeling at home. He was strong enough already to walk around and see where he was. 'I need to go home soon. I can't be here, I don't need anyone!'. That wasn't completely true, he was growing fond of the human that took such great care of him, but he was scared of caring for the human too.

Another couple of days latter and he was trying to comfort Alfred, his human. The house was small, near the woods, a little desolated and far from the downtown but it was fine, his human got this house after he had broken up with whoever he was living – all the better, he was a jealous cat anyway. Right now he was really mad with the human's family because like him, Alfred was an outcast and family was supposed to help you. He knew it didn't work like that but he was mad that his human had to go trough it.

His human (wait, why was he calling him his?) had been coming home in a somewhat bad shape, that was worrying. He licked and purred and did whatever he could to lift Alfred' spirits, but in the end both of them slept together on the human's bed (he wasn't found of the messy place, but could endure...for now).

Three more weeks after and he had enough. Alfred had been beaten down really bad a couple of times. Something was wrong and he knew it. No one should touch HIS human, his beloved, fat, loud, lovely and overprotective human. He couldn't stand the smell of blood and something else that he couldn't identify, but knew was bad, so he had a plan set.

When the human got home the next day, he ran to the woods, Alfred hot on his track.

"Little Hero, you need to come back!" Alfred was hurt and cursed a little as pain shock his body. "Please, you can't leave me too!" He was crying and smelled like fresh blood.

His human was crying and he had to do something but he wouldn't stop because as soon as he could, he would make everything better. He would take the human away from distress and make him happy again.

When he heard a loud noise, he knew his trap was effective.

He had a secret: he was a cat, okay, but he could become human. Yes, he was in between those two worlds and understood from both. Even this young he remembers what his mother had once told him: no human should know about what he was. And so hid was what he did. After her death his brothers kicked him out and he took shelter in the woods, for no human could be trusted…

… But he got attached and so he turned into his human form, his ears, tail and cat-like eyes still showing, and went to Alfred. The first thing he would say to the human would be his name. The abomination that he was being called while chased by Alfred was almost enough to make him want to bite the other.

He got him out, and brought him to his hidden home: a small one room old house with a fireplace on the far right, beside it a table and on the far left his nest – a cozy little oval shaped bed made of cloths, pelts and what not that he found, hunt and thought would be nice. Probably it belonged long ago to a human, but now it was his, a cat's home. It wasn't easy to survive alone, he had hard time hunting and that was why he got sick in the first place: too small amount of food.

This last month living with the human he got stronger and, as the human left everyday, he went to practice his hunting skills. He wasn't the best but was sure that this time long he wouldn't starve. The human… Alfred got a small hurt on the side of his head, so as he pushed him inside the house and didn't see anything else to be worried about, he licked it clean.

Alfred used those strange pelts (clothes they called) and the cat wondered if there was any other hurts behind those nasty pieces, he would have to treat them but he was so tired... He didn't even know how to take those off, never saw the human doing so – he would hide most of the times he saw the other, trying to not get attached. He was so small and the human so big and fat, but that was because he didn't eat healthy but now he would! The feline would make sure of that.

He put the human down and tied his hands together, the rope nailed on the wall near the nest, he didn't trust the human to know what was better for himself. Making sure Alfred was comfortable and left some space for the pup, he went to sleep too. He did get ready to have the human inside his house! Made a bigger nest and got wood and some of that strange canned food that he found on the other's home – thanks he was a fast to learn how simple things worked.

Next morning, after getting away from his now warm and comfortable nest (not that he liked sleeping beside Alf-the human! No, that was crazy). He set things up to cook something for his guest/roommate because humans can't eat raw meat. 'I need to learn how to cook'. Since the human couldn't take care of himself – he was always getting home hurt and eating those disgusting things, he couldn't ask for him to make his own food and couldn't be left on his own!

It took a while, but as he was cooking a stew (that thing called television taught him) the human came to. He knew this because of the rustle of his nest's clothes, a whine of pain from the human and a yell as soon as they locked eyes.

The cat wasn't fazed at all, he suspected that Alfred would freak out seeing him. "Just so you know, my name's not 'Little Hero', it's Arthur and I'd appreciate if you'd use it from now on. Second, you're safe here, no one's going to hurt you anymore!"

Excited he jumped into the nest to rub himself on the human, now that they were together, Alfred had to smell like Arthur all over, so others wouldn't annoy him. He was the cat, he had to protect his human!

"Hey! What..." Alfred tried to get Arthur away from him, it was strange, but those expressive green eyes were unmistakable and somehow it all felt rather natural. It didn't let the situation any better and the feline was cunning and started to lick his face. As to be expected, his tongue was like a cats': icky. "Stop it Little…" He corrected himself as soon as he heard a hiss. "… I mean, Arthur… Why- ouch!" His side was hurting, he clung to it.

Seeing the other's discomfort, Arthur got away and as the human was bracing his side, he tried to get off the other's shirt. "Bloody hell, why do you humans use such complicated things?" He himself used a tunic with nothing under – there's no need. His tail flicked around, annoyed with the irritating material.

"Hey! Language! Fuc-OUCH, okay, stop, I'll take it off!" Gosh, how come he's in the middle of such a crazy thing? Was he going to be assaulted by a… kid cat? Cat's child? Cat-man? Whatever it was, it wasn't good, but his side hurt so much that it was starting to be hard to breath. He took the shirt off, letting it pool around his still bound wrists.

Arthur looked horrified at the big black and blue spot beside Alfred' ribcage. Since he never wanted to get attached (what a lie) he never really looked his human's body but humans didn't have fur (whenever he turned human he had almost no fur!) so he knew the skin shouldn't look like that: spotted. Just looking Alfred' face he knew that he was hurting. Those last weeks, whenever the human got home, he had some minor cuts on his arms that were visible to him, but nothing was like what he was seeing now on his thorax and abdomen. Some cuts, scratches and other minor injuries that looked ominous. Now he was sure: he would NEVER let Alfred go. The human needed him, he had to take care of him…

… he got a little too much attached. But what could he do? He was supposed to get attached! He was a pup and needed a family! A real family, not like those tossers that he used to call brothers. He would make the human his family. HIS. He may look like a ten years old human child, but he was smart. He had gotten smart, had to grow up for himself. Alone.

He didn't want to be alone anymore, not after those so short weeks. He… He needed Alfred and he was going to make the human need him! 'I'll never be alone again'.

"It looks bad, but it's nothing serious, no need to cry." Arthur was crying, he didn't know he was crying until Alfred pet him on his favorite spot near his cat-like ears, comforting and making him purr. Tears still staining his face, his expressive green eyes fixed on Alfred' image.

"Ple-please, don't leave me alone again!". He sobbed loud. "I'll take care of you, we can live together..." He clung into Alfred' thorax, which made the human hiss. He let it go a little, he didn't want to hurt him, he wanted to help him heal after all…

Arthur started to lick the now old cuts, his human was hurt and a little voice inside his head said: 'it'll be just like mom…'. No, Alfred wouldn't leave him, right?

Arthur was crying, and licking and whining and it broke Alfred' heart. Sure his tongue also felt strange and he wasn't sure if it was doing way more bad than good but he couldn't stand those tears. "Hey Arthur, why did I find you like that? A pup shouldn't be left alone". He felt the other shiver, getting nearer to him, pasting himself on the other's body, so he did what he could: arranged his arms so that even bound together he as hugging the child.

"I understand… I'll be with you, be your hero...". He rubbed his cheek on the other's head. "… and your family".

With that, louder crying began, both of them giving away all the stress, sadness and hurt they felt.

They were not alone… not anymore.

-x-x-x-

Alfred was feeling around for his glasses, last night they agreed with some "rules" for their "living together in the woods". Basically it was him telling Arthur about what he needed to survive, it was hard to understand how Arthur being… half (?) human didn't know some things such as cook and bath. The bath discussion didn't end well, something like Arthur wanting to lick him clean…

… Fortunately he made him understand that you need warm water and soap, thanks heaven. Well he also got to know why the cat never ate his rations: 'I don't eat those disgusting weird looking things!' and so why he stole food from his cabinets. Alfred had been sure it was the work of aliens, too bad. The last thing he told the cat was to make sure that he needed his glasses and the kitten was not to touch it.

As he found his glasses he touched something that was beside it. It was soft, hard and, as he squeezed it, was kind of humid, was this smell… blood? He put his glasses and took a look at his bound wet hand. Bad idea, he saw blood.

"What the-ARGH!". There was a dead rat beside him! He took a deep breath. He didn't like rats at all and so moved to his right to get away... to find he was basically sitting on others four rats. He did what any mainly man would: yelled like a little girl. "GYA!"

-x-x-x-

Some loud and sad yells picked his attention. "Is it… Alfred?". He hold the bag to his chest and run. 'He's under attack!'. His place was secluded but there was dangers and the human proved unable to take care of himself. As he got home he saw the man trying to get away and kicking the mice he had so hard hunted for him. He cried out: "What are you doing?"

"What am I doing? WHAT AM I DOING?" He was hysterical, he couldn't believe there were dead rats and Arthur was doing nothing about it, wasn't he a damn cat?

Arthur ran to save their lunch, letting the bag down without care, taking the dead bodies in arms and put it on the table. "Why were you doing that? Do you know how hard it was to hunt them down for you? I did it all myself!".

"YOU got me those disgusting shit? Are you fucking kidding me?" He forgot everything about caring for the language he used. Fuck. It. All. He would break free of those ropes and get fucking away. Hissing he let out his frustration.

Arthur's eyes were tearing. "I… I hunt them for you..." he was hiccuping, he couldn't believe how ungrateful Alfred was being. He was going to leave him alone… again… Alone… Because he couldn't hunt better! He knew he had to catch something bigger… He had to prove himself to his family, give them proper gifts. "I'm a good hunter… I still can't hunt big animals for you, bu-but I got some smaller ones and I'm sure you won't be hungry...". He was sobbing. "I… I know that mice don't taste that good but it's meat… Humans need meat...". He was sitting on his knees, bloody hands hiding his tears. He knew he was small and not so strong, but he tried so hard! He got five big mice! He even got bitten once because he went after a nest.

Alfred didn't like the way Arthur looked, he felt hurt and it was his own fault. He knew the kid didn't do that on purpose, to insult or shock him, but the thought of eating a rat was beyond disgusting. Nops, he'd talk with the feline to straight things up. Arthur was only a pup, he had to be the responsible one and patiently teach him.

Arthur still cried, a little softer now, but those hiccups were heart breaking.

"Oh, c'mon man, I didn't want to make you cry… It just… Ya know… Surprised me...". Arthur sniffled but looked up, eyes red from the crying. "Come here, let me pet you".

Being as devastated as Arthur was, he didn't think twice before sitting on Alfred' lap. "You know, humans usually don't eat things like rats. To tell you the truth, we don't really like them...". 'Okay, maybe some have a mouse pet and sometimes we kind of use them as research material, but he doesn't need to know'. "… in fact we say that they are pests.". He was petting Arthur's jaw as best as he could, the purr was a relief, he didn't like to see people crying and… believe it or not… he was fond of Arthur.

A sniffle later and the cat asked: "But so, how does humans get food? I saw that you brought home food everyday, were you hunting? But how come your food always look so… strange?". Oh, his human was doing that again, his ears twitched, his tail was happily moving from one side to the other.

Alfred pondered how to explain it. "We can hunt, if you know how and have the things, but usually we have a job. We work, selling our skills to someone who pay us with money and with money we go to a store to buy what we need, like food." Yup, simple enough.

The cat didn't get why humans complicate such simple things but Alfred was doing something magic with his hands on his head so he didn't care. "Okay, but how do we get the money?"

Alfred was sighing happily, it was strange for him to feel better after Arthur felt consoled but he didn't want to think about it. He was his cat after all. "Well, I have a job, so- OH, WAIT-FUCK!". He shot up, making the cat fall. "Untie me now Arthur, I've missed a day of work already and don't have time for this".

An argument broke and in the end, since the next day was a holiday and after the weekend, Alfred let Arthur have it his way IF he was untied.

With no rope to tie him, Alfred did the first thing he had to: find food (and pee). They settled that they weren't eating the mice, Arthur mourned the loss, burring them since Alfred didn't even let him skin them. Since Alfred now had his bag and could improvise a fishing rod they went to fish all afternoon, eating some fruits and nuts… And the canned tuna Arthur stole from his cupboard.

The next day played itself the same: they were cozy together and it was hard to say if Arthur was Alfred' pet cat or if Alfred was Arthur's pet human. More likely they were family and as such they got along well.

The Sunday was beginning and they hunt a rabbit. Maybe Arthur was too small to catch one, but they tracked them down and made some traps 'So humans can also be smart!' was his comment, to which Alfred waved the kid off.

At night, they were lying down on the nest, fire cracking to keep them warm and bellies full. "Arthur, I need to go back..." he heard a hiss, so he corrected his phrasing "… I mean, we need to go back, we can't stay here forever-ouch! Why in the name of-OUCH! Stop it!".

Arthur's claws were sharp and hurt and he knew it. "You can't! I… You won't go back there! We have food and a home, we can stay here!" He was kind of desolated, why would his human want to go back? Other humans only hurt him! He wouldn't let them hurt his. His… family? Pack? Maybe pack, if so, he had to be the alpha male and protect his underlings. He had the claws, after all.

To stop Arthur, Alfred hold him tightly on his chest, the embrace kind of hurt his injuries but this way the pup couldn't scratch. Too bad he didn't realize before that the cat didn't like it and was bitten near his nipple. "ARG!" Some blood was pooling on the corner of Arthur's mouth, his eyes small slits. 'Okay, that's bad-fuck, it hurts. First… first… first calm him down' Alfred let his hold get lazy, taking one had to pet the feline's ears. It was working, the bite wasn't as strong and soon he let go and sobbed. 'God, I'm no good with kids'.

"Sorry… I'm-so sorry… I don't want you to leave, I didn't mean to hurt, sorry… forgive...". Hiccups sounds were interleaved with licking sounds. The feeling wasn't the best, but the human let Arthur lick his new wounds and kept petting him. "I'm sorry too Arthur. I shouldn't have made you feel… caged? I think… But we really can't live here and when I say we I mean I want you to be with me, you're like family already, kiddo".

They discussed a little bit more and went to sleep. Next day Arthur didn't let the human leave so they were fixing things around: getting what they would bring with them. They agreed to move in another city near those same woods. Alfred would see if he still had the job and resign. He didn't have much money, but with the cat hunting a rabbit or two (he made sure to tell him: NO RATS) he would save some more money. They would get a new cozy place for themselves with everything a human and his cat needed.

As soon as everything was ready, they went to Alfred' place to pick his things up. Cleaning up took a while and he made sure to bath himself and Arthur. It got kind of awkward bathing together, never having done such thing before. They saw the other naked and curious kids made the best (worst) questions and Alfred wasn't good with that. Hitting the bed they slept all night. The next day he would confront his boss and he would need rest to do that.

-x-x-x-

"I see you've blessed us with the honor of your presence today Jones. Can you come to my office now?"

'That's it, today is gonna be the day I'm telling this slavedriver commie off'. Alfred had just gotten inside the building when his boss came to him, strange, but maybe not so seeing as he missed two work days. As he walked to the office he noticed his boss wore one of his disturbing smiles and wrinkled his nose. 'What the...I took a bath, mind you!'

Unfortunately it wasn't any of his disturbing smiles, but one that said I know what's going on and I know how to deal with it kind of shady smile. Inside he sit down and got a little uncomfortable as the guy locked the door. Seeing as the silence left him even more scare-NO, just a bit unnerved, he said the first thing that got into his mind.

"So, Ivan, I've got something to tell ya..." Hands were put on his shoulders and he could feel a body pressed behind his chair. "No calling me 'boss' Jones? That's very impolite, da?". Alfred gulped, okay, maybe that wasn't his best choice of words.

"See..." he forced a small laugh "… It's 'cuz I kind of want to resign...". Those hands locked him down, holding him with strength. 'That's it, today will be the day I become dead meat'. There was a lot of rumors going around the office but all of them involved Ivan killing someone, basically he was the kind of guy you didn't want to mess up with.

Ivan massaged Alfred' shoulders. "There's no need to be tense, da?". He then whispered on his right ear. "I know it all, I can smell him". A shiver run up his spine, whatever the shiver meant was lost to him, another forced laugh. "Haha, what do you mean dude? Smell? Aren't you kinda being, I don't know, freaky? Isn't this like harassment?".

Alfred tried to move his head and look his right but nails- no, more like claws, were hurting his skin. "What the...". His mouth was covered with the other hand and a fluffy tail laid lazily around his neck. "No yelling, da?". As a warning the tail got a little more tight, not enough to hurt, but enough to feel uncomfortable.

"I said that I can smell him, a pup. He marked you all over and now it's so strong that I want to puke". Alfred' hands were sweating cold 'I'm fucked'. "You said you wanted to resign, why?". The tail let go, but kept caressing the neck, claws weren't biting his skin anymore and slowly the hand uncovered his mouth.

It looked like a freak show, he did his best yo just… go along with it. "Arthur doesn't like here and I really don't have a reason to stay". He said before thinking. 'Don't give him too much information, don't piss him off...'. This not being the first time he sees something like that – tail and shit, helped so he didn't panic as much as one would.

"Hm~~ so the pup's name is Arthur? The way he smells is kind wild, where did you find him?". He moved to sit in front of Alfred, on the other side of the desk. His appearance was changed, of course, from his platinum blonde hair there was dark furred ears which ended with his hair color fur. The tail was also dark with a light colored tip, it was swinging around. The smile was still there but didn't feel the same, like something was hidden. It freaked Alfred out.

'Fuck, I shouldn't have given him the name'. But they were going to get away soon anyway so better not piss off and become dead mead, he just had to answer. "I found him sick and took him in, last week I found out he wasn't exactly a cat… as I think you know..." He was really suspicious of his boss. Ivan was like Arthur, but not a "good alike", knowing he was able to rip you off barehanded wasn't what he hoped for when he set foot on the company this morning… talking about coming to the company, he had something to do.

"Listen… boss, I don't want… trouble… I just came to resign, we want to move and we're family, there's no need for…" he finished in his mind '...whatever you do when you get pissed off'.

"Eh? But I don't want you to leave!" His tail was swinging a little more frenetic, as if he was having a really fun time out of this. 'Humans are so fun~'. "So, I suppose you missed two days of work because of him? Well, I must say you look better". He looked hard the human, making him shiver, it was unsettling.

'What should I say? I don't like how he keeps asking about us and damn, feels like I'm in a torture chamber with a bad-ass Russian mafia boss… Maybe those weren't rumors at all...'. He gulped and cleared his throat before speaking. "Yeah… Arthur kind of got pissed with all the shit going on and took me away".

"Eh~? How old is the pup?". His voice was childlike but it had a hidden meaning. More shivers running up someone's spine.

Damn, were the questions never ending? "… He said that as a human child he's around ten years old".

"Hmm~". Now he stood up and went right to Alfred. The boy flicked and tried to get up, only to be pushed down again and be caged on the chair. "So young… Both of you, but he's still a kid and treats you like a pack member. If you found him, he probably wasn't literate to live in society, mostly like he just goes after instinct. That would explain the foul rude smell he leaves on you, that and he must think he's the alpha of the pack...". Ivan seemed to have fun pondering this.

Alfred was uncomfortable, had to find a way out. "This shouldn't really matter to ya, right? I'm resigning anyway, I can't stay in this city! We-". He was cut off as the feline got his face near, whispering into his ear.

"See, Alfred, my little human, I don't want you to leave. I've said that before, da?". His tail hold one of the human's wrist strong enough to hurt. "I want you to become part of my pack and you can even bring the pup. You smell so nice~". His face got down, smelling the other's neck, teeth touching skin, sending shivers of fear on the other's spine. "But I won't press you to the other things I'd like you to become… for now… Just know that we usually find mates inside our pack and the pup is young but soon he'll want a mate. For the first years it'll be very discreet, he'll be more possessive of the pack's things, of you… And when he reaches the age, well, I hope that then you are ready, or it can get bloody... for you." He slightly bit the neck, slowly licking it. "If you're on my pack, I can protect both of you." He got away and put a serious look on his face. "I know you've been having problems Jones and part of it is because there's more on this world than you know. You're a… kind of human that attracts things that you shouldn't get near."

He went to sit down again, folding his hands on the table. As shocked as Alfred was, he had to say something. "I don't see how it's any of your problem." Fuck it if the commie was thinking he would just get along with all that crap.

Ivan' tail flicked lightly again. "Oh, but it is, I care for you, da? I said it, I want both of you on my pack. Afterward we can discuss about your position, for now I only want a big family". He got up again, but this time it was to get him and Alfred some coffee. "I'm going to transfer you to another branch, which I'll be going too". He gave Alfred his coffee. "It's not a question, it's my final decision. No, don't even try to argue, I know you need money to survive and I have… connections that can make your life hell." A whisper was barely heard: "… and we all know that death is not the worst that could happen...".

One of the greatest pleasure of life should be uncovering the truth, even more about the rumors around your boss. The shitty thing is when you do and you're fucked up. "And what if I don't want to?" He was holding tightly the cup. "And what if Arthur doesn't want to? I won't let you hurt him.". 'Be a hero, be a hero' he kept repeating the mantra inside his head.

Ivan took a sip of the coffee. "I said I don't want to hurt you, both of you, it'll be better for him, da?". The room reeked of stress and danger. A very welcoming place to be. Alfred pondered if he was seeing and hearing things when there seemed to be a very ominous aura emanating from his boss and some 'kolkolkol' sounds.

"I can't see how it would." Alfred said without thinking twice, he was never good with holding himself back… Maybe he should have.

"He needs someone to teach him how to behave." His tail was twitching, 'That would be interesting', he always wanted to teach a pack member about things. "And I'd keep both of you safe, the way you are right now, the smell that he puts up? You are dead meat Jones.". He talked like a Russian mafia boss.

"I don't want to live with you…". Yep, he was not scared at all. "… And it'd be… unn… Immoral for me to share a house with my boss". Yup, totally solid argument… If sharing a house was what Ivan wanted, as he thought it was.

"Eh~ you don't really need to live with me, just on the same condo, neighbors and such. A private condominium for the pack is better and I can arrange this. You'd just have to stay inside the marked area and...". He giggled a little, the human didn't like it. "… be scented once in a while. But that's no problem, da? I can lick you guys as much as you need".

That was… freaking disgusting AND disturbing in so many wrong ways… "No, nops, no way in hell! You are NOT going to get that tongue near me OR Arthur." Ivan' eyes flicked with something terrible and that wasn't nice, but he had to be Arthur's hero. 'Dead meat' played over and over inside his mind.

"Hm~ if the problem is licking, I can try to scent you another way, you just need to smell like the pack. With time this will be no longer necessary as often, but at first it's hard for the smell to stick so licking or rubbing oneself are the best ways. Oh! But you can always sleep beside me or with my blankets."

"Ivan dude, no way we're sleeping together!" This was kind of revolting, looked like he didn't really have a say on all this. Why the hell would he want to share a – for God's sake – share a bed with this disturbing… cat-like… murderer... thing?

"So the blankets it'll be. When are you moving? Don't look at me like that. I don't like it… You don't really have a choice, you know my secret!" His ears moved and tail twitched.

"I didn't ask you to tell me! And I don't want to live near you!". The lunatic was… incomprehensible.

"Eh~? Do you want to know what we do when humans find out about us?" He giggled.

-x-x-x-

In the end he got away saying that he had to talk with Arthur about it, but it really looked like Ivan had made his mind up. That night Arthur tried to console the human, but something as really wrong with Alfred, holding himself in a tight ball with this… strange smell all over.

Fortunately Arthur agreed to move in. Well, who wouldn't when a big and strong Russian mafia boss pack alpha came to… recruit you to his pack? There wasn't much of a choice.

They moved to the condo, all the while Arthur kept his cat form, hiding inside Alfred' t-shirt, hugging his thorax. Not intimidated at all.

-x-x-x-

Five months later they were familiarized with their new dynamics. Arthur looked older too, Ivan explained it to be because of what he was: they turned into an adult as fast as a cat in human years would and then remained young for a long time. The now older pup (if he still could be called that) and Alfred got really close and, even if they were in a pack, they didn't have to stick with them all the time. To tell the truth, they were being kept by themselves, looked like a trial period for the pack (though both knew there was no way out).

Ivan could be hard to deal but as they didn't see him all the time their life was more or less like it was before. Fortunately the scenting was being kept to have some of Ivan' things on their house and check rubbing. Arthur didn't like it "smells foul!" but there was nothing to do about it.

"What are you doing Arthur?" Alfred walked to the "human cat". 'I need to find a name for his kind' no matter they must already have a name that he wouldn't ask Ivan for.

Arthur was twitching his ears, his humanoid form still not perfect. Ivan' older sister was a sweet teacher and he was learning how to better look like human. As Alfred got near he heard a very manly yell. "GYA! Arthur! What did I say about hunting rats? Fuck!"

Great, they were going to have to tell Ivan and ask if he had any remedy to parasites. Again. Why did Arthur keep doing that? Was it his rebellious phase already?

The cat's expressive green eyes watched his human. "They were running around, you could get sick so I took them down! We won't eat them...". It was hard to stay annoyed with the cat and his big green eyes. Alfred sighed, it was great that he didn't want to eat rats anymore, but looked like instincts were hard to overcome.

As they got back, Alfred had to wonder: how would their lives play on?

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

A/N: And that's it! I reviewed this some times and hope there's no big mistakes. Maybe some time latter I can try to make a series out of this but for now I don't think so. Thank you for reading and hope you enjoyed a piece of my crazy stressed over mind!