Author's Notes: A late Merry Christmas everybody! And a Happy New Year! I've been meaning to do some writing for a very long time, but life has been keeping me busy and I've been in the company of a rather large writer's block. This one came quite suddenly, originally as an idea of a series of sketches, but since I probably have neither the time nor the skill to actually draw them all out, I figured I better write this story down before I forget the idea. It might be a little rough around the edges, but I hope you will enjoy~
Warnings: suggestions of sexual content of the unconventional persuasion, though I think this might be my first fic that is not rated 'M' :P We'll see.
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy 7 and all its characters, settings, etc., belong to Square Enix, and likewise, everything of Pet Shop of Horrors belong to their creator, Akino Matsuri. This is a fanfiction written purely for fun and no profit is made from it.
A (Late) Christmas Story
December 23
7:00pm
The streets of Midgar shone bright with the joyous colours of Christmas lights. The streets hustled and bustled with people, bundled warmly in their coats and hats and scarves, hurrying to get the last Christmas shopping done before the annual gathering of family and friends. Cid Highwind wandered aimlessly down the festive streets, the tiny, velvet box in his pocket weighing as cold and heavy as lead on his heart. He didn't know why he had suddenly got up and flown all this way to Midgar, or why he bought these earrings. Shera's eyes had shone so brightly when she saw them. She wanted them very much, he could tell, but she would never ask for them. Shera never asked for anything...until three days ago. He had been in a foul mood. Rumours had made their way into his ears that a handsome young man dressed in a flawless, expensive-looking white suit and sporting perfectly coiffed blond hair has been appearing on his doorsteps when he wasn't home. And Shera had been seen inviting him in...to THEIR house...on several occasions. And so he was tinkering away in his rocket-an unavoidable reminder of failed dreams and lost hopes, jutting prominently, mockingly, crookedly, in the landscape of his life-trying to force unwanted thoughts out of his brooding mind, when Shera came looking for him. She had always been so soft-spoken around him, as if he was some fragile thing that would fall apart if she but breath a little bit louder around him, and yet this time, she wasn't acting at all like her usual self. She refused to be cowed by a few loud curses, and a few commands for her to go away and leave him alone. She demanded that he go home. She accused him of always being in this rocket, of never being there when he was needed, and he...said a lot of things that he shouldn't have...that he didn't mean. He told her that he didn't need her, he told her he wanted her out of his life, he told her he would be much better off without her. None of it was true, and he regretted it as soon as he said it, but it was too late. Now he had a pair of earrings in his pocket that he had no one to give to. He had no idea where Shera went, or if he'd have the courage to face her even if he did.
A body reeking of sweat and alcohol suddenly ran into him. Cid hollered a few obligatory curses after the drunken man about watching where he's going, then shook his head and continued on his way, knowing the man was too far gone to take heed anyway. It appears that he had wandered into the raunchier side of town. Just as well. Looks like he'll be spending his Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in cheap bars just like the ones that lined these streets, drinking away his woes with all those other sorry, unkempt bastards bemoaning their misfortunes and mistreatment from the world. A fine prospect indeed.
One storefront caught his eye however-and no wonder. In the midst of flashing neon lights advertising cheap booze and cheap sex and cheap paradise, was an ornate double-door made with finely polished, obviously expensive hardwood. Intricate details with a distinct classical-Wutai flavour were carefully hand-carved upon it, and it was lit by nothing but a pair of Wutai-style lamps. It wasn't just their uniqueness that caught the old captain's eyes-there were all sorts of colourful shops selling all sorts of...colourful..wares in this part of town, you never know what the next store was going to look like. But such an expensive piece of artwork, sticking out like a sore thumb among its neighbours, seemed unlikely to survive long before being stolen or at the very least, ruined by graffiti in this part of town. But what seemed even more out-of-place was the sign over those doors: a large sign that said nothing but "Pet Shop". Considering the part of town he was in, Cid would have concluded that the sign meant something far less innocent that it seemed...except it was written in Wutaian. An odd choice, considering that most people around these parts don't fly around the continents on a regular basis, and so very few knew how to read the Wutai script. But apparently, whatever the shop owner was doing, he was doing it very well, for word-of-mouth it seemed, was all advertisement the shop needed.
Even Cid has heard of this pet shop with its proud, minimalistic Wutaian sign-amidst Shera's absent-minded chatterings. Apparently they've just opened in Midgar barely a month ago, and word of it was already spreading like wildfire. Apparently the owner had an uncanny ability to find the perfect animal for just about anybody. And the number of species the shop had in stock, as the stories went, was beyond human imagination. Tifa and Cloud, Barret and Marlene, and even a few of the Turks were now all happy patrons of the shop. Shera had suggested that they too should go see what this shop was all about some day, and perhaps liven up the house a bit with a cute furry companion, or two. She was busying about in the kitchen when she said that, and he was pouring over his blueprints and answering her with non-committal grunts. They never did go.
Well, he's here now. Might has well. Not like he had anything better to do. Cid took a deep drag from his cigarette, and then climbed up the steps to those heavy red doors.
"Welcome." greeted a smooth, melodious voice. It took several seconds of his gears whirling in his head for Cid to process what he was looking at. The doors may have seemed out-of-place and ornate, but the interior of the shop might well have been from another planet. There were couches, curtains, pillows, chairs and tables everywhere, each of them more finely decorated than the next. And all over them, on them, in them, and underneath them, were animals of all shapes and sizes: cats, dogs, birds, rabbits, hamsters, lizards, monkeys, even a snake or two. And a fox, with way too many tails. And even a raccoon, and a weird, mean-looking goat with paws instead of hoofs. And some other animals whose species the airship captain could not name. And the young man (woman? Man? Woman? Man. ...Probably) who greeted him, was equally exotically decorated, in a colourfully embroidered Wutai costume, the like he'd only seen on the most fussy Wutai ladies in the most flashy parties-on TV.
Seeing the pilot frozen at the door, the young man shaped his lips into a gentle, curt smile, and beaconed: "Please, come in. We would be most happy to help you find your perfect companion. Any pet you like, we have everything from the most ordinary cats and dogs, to exotic species that barely skirt past the regulations, and all that fall between."
Cid took another look at all the meticulously designed chaos around him, took another deep drag from his cigarette, then finally, he blinked and uttered his first compliment in many years: "^%$# ! This is some *^#%&(&$# shop ya have here!"
8:00pm
At first the young man seemed a little surprised at the pilot's choice of words, but he was obviously an old hand at dealing with customers of all kinds. It didn't take him long at all to recover and invite the pilot to chat over some tea (which instantly won him points with Cid. And it was damned fine tea too! Has a very subtle yet relaxing aroma) and sweets (which Cid chewed on in politeness). And before he knew it, Cid was telling this young man-this "Count D", all about his troubles, past and present.
Count D listened patiently, until Cid trailed off his last sentence and sat slumped in his chair. He then sat down his tea gently with his graceful hands, and stood up with a polite bow: "Captain Highwind, I believe I have the perfect pets for you. Please, come with me."
The young shop keeper then pulled aside a heavily embroidered curtain at the back of the shop to reveal a hidden door. Instantly curious, and too grizzled and battle-hardened to fear any funny business that anybody might be up to, Cid got up without a thought and briskly followed Count D into the mysterious rooms beyond.
?:?pm
A pair of garnet eyes looked up at him from a bed of silken pillows. Midnight-black hair drifted in wild directions over the bare, ivory shoulders. On the small of his back rested a dozing demi-god, with hair of molten silver pouring over both their lithe, bare torsos.
"Ya %$#$ &^% #$$^! BASTARD! What sort'a filthy operation ARE ya running here?!"
Ok, maybe the improbable spaciousness of the interior of the pet shop was a little weird, the maze-like hall ways and the walk through them a bit suspiciously long, and maybe all this mystery-making, smoke-and-mirrors act that the Count was doing was a little excessive, but opening a door to reveal a dimly lit room with two beautiful, half-naked young men dozing on a silk-covered bed? And introducing them as "pets"? Cid glared at the Count in disbelieve.
"Captain Highwind, that was a little rude," said the Count, looking slightly offended, yet not at all surprised, "they may look a little different, but they are still a perfectly fine pair of cats."
"CATS?!" Cid looked back at the pair of young men and took a deep breath to let loose another tirade of his colourful language, but then abruptly stopped. Just as the Count had said, before him were not young men, but a pair of cats. The one who had been quietly watching him had luxurious black fur and beautiful red eyes; and the one that was dozing with its head resting on its black companion's back was a magnificent silver, who had just now, cracked open one bright green eye in annoyance at all the commotion.
Not waiting for the pilot to stop gaping in confusion, Count D strode over to the cats and gently stroked them on their soft furry heads.
"I will admit that they have no pedigree to prove a noble nor exotic lineage. We don't know where they came from actually. All we know is that they've been kept for a very long time in the basement lab of a...mad scientist, shall we say. And I admit that there is no doubt that they've been used as experiments, but for what exactly, we're not really sure." a hint of anger surfaced through Count D's finely practiced soft tone, and Cid too, felt a pang of sympathy and outrage for the poor animals. They were very beautiful cats, and there was no denying the intelligence that shone through their eyes.
"And for that reason," Count D continued, "many patrons have rejected them, thinking that whatever was done to them in the lab might make them dangerous. After all, humans fear what they do not know. But in truth, they are perfectly gentle and intelligent pets, see?" The Count picked up the black cat and pushed it into the pilot's arms, "As long as you do not harm them, they will bear no ill will towards you. Much more reasonable than some humans, wouldn't you agree?"
The gruff airship captain stared down at the warm furry ball of black that quietly looked back at him with large, gem-like red eyes, and promptly melted.
"So, err... This 'mad scientist', what happened ta him?"
"He died. Very unfortunate." answered Count D, and had Cid looked up from the black cat in his arms, he would have seen a strange smile on the shop keeper's young face, as if there were some great, secret joke, that only he knows.
"Heh, must'a been karma that caught up to the sorry bastard" said Cid absent-mindedly, now stooping down to offer a hand to the magnificent silver, who sniffed at the work-roughened fingers as if it were a prince being offered the meagre scraps of a peasant, then raised its chin magnanimously to allow the captain to pet him.
"Indeed." agreed the Count, "So, Captain Highwind, will you share your home this Christmas, and all your Christmases hereafter, with our Vincent and Sephiroth?"
"'Vincent' and 'Seph-whatchamacallit'?" Cid guffawed, "What kind'a cat names are these? If it were up ta me, I'd call 'em Spooky..." he pointed at the black, "and Scratchy" he pointed at the silver.
Both cats instantly bristled, and Cid held up a hand in surrender.
"Alright, alright, I was jus' kiddin'. Vincent and...err...Seph-ir-oth it is." he sat Vincent back down on the bed, "Smart lil' buggers, aren't ya?"
The two cats calmed in satisfaction, and proceeded to groom each other.
"So, I guess you want me to take the both of 'em, eh?" asked Cid as he watched them.
The Count nodded, "I'm afraid so. They have specifically requested to not be separated. One would give up being adopted if the other were not adopted to the same house."
Cid raised an eyebrow at the Count, but then quickly dismissed it as harmless eccentricity from the flamboyantly-dressed young man. And the cats do seem to be very close to each other. Not as if he had the heart to separate them anyway.
"Well then," the pilot addressed the two cats, humoring the young shop keeper, "what do ya say? I may not be the shiniest jewel in the crown, heck, I ain't no gem at all. And I may not be able to give ya silk sheets and pillows. But I promise to keep a solid roof over yer heads, and a warm fireplace in the winters, not ta mention more than a few mice in the cupboards for ya ta chase, heh. And I promise ta keep yer bellies full and yer water dishes cleaned and filled. The litter...well...I'll do what I can...jus'...don't go overboard, alright?"
"And do you promise to never abandon them?" the Count interjected.
"Never." said Cid resolutely, his eyes on the cats, yet seeing something much, much farther away, "I won't ever take a bad day out on ya, and will never shout at ya things I don't mean. I'll come home, more often than I been doing, jus' ta spend time with ya. Y'll won't ever be cast aside or tossed away, jus' 'cause of my %#%$ idiot ass."
Amazingly, the two cats kept their intelligent eyes on him all this time, as if they were truely listening-carefully. And when the pilot fell silent, they turned to each other, then turned to the Count, and the shop keeper smiled.
"Your contract is complete. Please love them and protect them for as long as you live. And may you all be happy together forever after."