"Welcome home little guy." I said this with a small smile as I opened up the dog carrier that the pound had given me, letting the little cat boy out. He was extremely nervous, shaking like a leaf as he stayed inside the carrier, but I soon managed to convince him by sitting down a good distance away from him.
"It's alright.. I won't hurt you." I spoke softly, holding out a hand towards him. It took a good ten or fifteen minutes.. But he slowly emerged from the carrier, standing like a person rather than a cat, the toy from the pound clutched tightly to his chest along with the torn blanket. He was eyeing me suspiciously, stepping closer until he was close enough that I could touch him. I didn't though. Instead, I waited for him to feel comfortable to touch me. He was shy, one hand quivering as it slowly went to touch mine. I had my palm up, and when he hesitantly put his hand in mine, I smiled a bit.

"See? I won't hurt you." I still spoke softly, looking to his eyes and staying where I was. "My name's Dave. Ok?"

He nodded slowly and he carefully stepped closer, the hand that was in mine staying where it was. "D-Dabe.." He said this quietly and I couldn't help but smile more. "Not Dabe.. Dave."
He nodded again, repeating my name once more. He got it right this time and I nodded. He smiled a tiny bit, ears pointing up slightly. "Why did you pick me..? Are you a scientist..?" He asked this shyly and I gently ran my thumb over the top of his hand, shaking my head.

"No.. I'm not a scientist."

He gave me a weird look at that, as if I just grew two heads. "Then.. Why did you adopt me..?"

I smiled, voice soft as I explained why I actually adopted him. It took a bit because he didn't seem to know much about normal every day things, but soon I got him to understand.

"But I'm a mutant.. A mistake." He said this with wide eyes, sitting down in front of me. I felt so bad for him.. He must've been treated pretty badly in those animal testing facilities.
"You aren't a mistake. You're just special."
Again.. Another weird look. "Spesal?"
"Yeah. Special. It means you're different in a good way." I wait, giving him time to understand what I said. Once he understands, he smiles a bit more.

"I'm special? You mean it?"

I nod, my smile never fading. God, he was cute. And those eyes.. Jeez. I don't see why other people didn't want him.

"Of course I mean it. I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it."
"But.. Scientists said things wouldn't hurt.." He said this quietly, frowning a bit and pulling his hand away from me. "But it all hurt. It hurt everywhere.."

I want to hug him at that but I didn't, not wanting to scare him. I couldn't see how someone could hurt such a sweet little guy like him. He was like a kid.. How could someone be so heartless?

"You won't hurt me will you..?" He asked this with big eyes, slowly beginning to back away from me, ears glued to his head. He looked so scared.. I wish I could make him feel better.

"Hey.. I won't ever hurt you ok? I promise. I'm going to protect you. That way you never get hurt again." I say this softly, not moving from my spot. The last thing I wanted to do was scare him any more than he already was.

"But why? Why do you want to protect four, one, three?" He asked me this with tears in his eyes and my heart nearly broke. He looked so scared, so broken.. And I wished I knew who the bastard was that did this to him.

"Four, one, three? Is that what they called you?"

He nodded, now back inside the dog carrier and shaking worse than before as he sniffled, tears falling down his cheeks. "The sc-scientist that made me gave me th-that name after my first test.."

"Oh.." I sighed, deciding that I needed to do something. "Well you know.. I think you look more like a John." I said this with a grin, coming up with the name last second.

"A John..? What's a John?" He looked to me with confusion, his shaking calming down quite a bit.

"It's not a thing. It's a name."
"A.. Name..? You mean like four, one, three..?"
I nodded, smiling softly. "Yeah. But four, one, three isn't a very good name for someone as special as you."

"So.. You want me to be called John..?"

I chuckled softly, finding his new expression cute. He wasn't shaking or crying anymore.. And his little eyebrows were knitted in confusion, one ear flicking slightly.

"Yeah. But I don't want you to be called that unless you like the name."
"Unless.. I like it..?" He looked to me with even more interest than ever, slowly crawling out of the carrier. "But aren't you suppose to like my name?"

I shook my head, smiling softly. "It doesn't matter what I think of your name. It's up to you because it's your's."

He smiled at that, coming out and sitting down in front of me once more. "You're really nice Dave.."
"Thanks.. You are too." I couldn't help but smile at his words, glad to hear that he thought I was nice. That was a big deal honestly.. Seeing as he had been made in a lab and tested on most of his life.

"I.. I think I like John.." He said this shyly, slowly coming closer to me.

I simply held my hands out, letting him see my palms. He smiled at that.. And soon enough his little hands were in mine, ears sticking up and a small smile on his face.

"I like that name too." I gently closed my hands around his, his eyes getting big.

"A-are you going to squeeze my h-hands?" He sounded scared and I couldn't help the chuckle that escaped me.

"No. I'm just holding them silly."

"Oh.." He looked down at our hands, ears flicking. "Dave..?"

"Yeah?"
"I'm glad you picked me." He said this with a grin and I couldn't help but smile wide. He was so cute the way he said that.. But.. More than anything, it meant a lot. He was smiling and it was pretty clear now that he liked me.

"I'm glad I picked you too John."