Chapter 14: Another Side
Alex began to stir, his mind slowly waking from its sleep.
The world around him began to appear to his now conscious mind. The soft mattress he rested on, the stillness of the air, the heavy silence, and the touch of someone lying next to him.
The hybrid's mind turned to a full alert as his senses fully grasped the foreign sensation. Tensing his body and sending a cold shiver through the depths of his spine, Alex became aware of the previous night and realized the only logical conclusion, Aeris.
A soft push of air continuously brushed the back of his neck, causing more tremors of ice into his backbone. With a great deal of effort, Alex slunk downward in a vertical motion to slip off the bed at the foot.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Alex looked down at his bed to see Aeris still asleep. His own departure didn't seem to disturb her in the slightest and comparing to where he was originally, he could see what had surprised him. Having apparently rolled over in her sleep, the pink cat had cleared the gap Alex had worked so hard to keep between them. Her hands were held up, bringing them directly up to his back. The only sound in the room was her light breathing, her position being just high enough to reach where his neck was.
Alex's flesh crawled as he remembered the strange sensation of it. Rubbing the spot with a soft touch, he couldn't shake an odd sense of longing.
With a quick shake of his head, the hybrid cleared his senses of it and began stretching out his back. Snaps and cracks sounded off as he bent his muscles, taut due to his awkward sleeping position. After one final move of his neck, relieving a painful crick, Alex moved to exit his room. A single moment spared to look back at Aeris who was still peacefully asleep.
Outside his room, Alex found Leo sitting in the kitchen. Loud, unnecessary slurps could be heard as he ate a bowl of cereal. The hybrid was slightly surprised by it, usually beating the two cats when it came to getting up in the morning. Brushing it off, Alex moved into the kitchen to see to his own needs.
"Morning," Alex greeted, moving toward the coffee maker to find a pitcher had already been made.
"Mopheng," Leo tried saying as a mouth full of milk and cereal bits spilled out onto the table.
Alex merely shook his head as took a drink from his coffee, immediately spitting out the foul liquid.
"Oh God," he said in disgust, "this is cold!" Waiting a moment to swallow this time, Leo nodded toward the microwave clock.
"Well," he replied, "it was made a while ago." Matching his gaze, the small digital clock clearly read ten past twelve.
Alex stared at the clock in shock. The hybrid couldn't remember the last time he had ever slept in that late. Always being an early riser, he wasn't one to sleep more then he was physically required to. What could have possibly caused such a change?
"W-why are you eating cereal this late?" Alex asked, turning to Leo. With just a shrug, he tipped the bowl and drank the remaining milk, finishing with a smack of his lips.
"I would have woken you up, but I figured you must have been having a good sleep or something. Didn't want to ruin it for you."
"Right," Alex muttered, using the microwave to heat up his drink.
"Hey, what happened to your back?" Leo asked, seeing the wound as the hybrid turned.
"Oh yeah," he said, remembering how he acquired it the night before.
"Aeris?" the cat asked.
"Aeris," he nodded.
"Anyway," Leo continued, "I guess you wouldn't know where Aeris went off to either. She never woke up this morning and her room is empty. No note either, that's kind of strange for her."
"Oh," Alex answered, preparing to take a sip from his now hot coffee. "Actually, she's asleep in my room right now."
There was a moment where the gray cat seemed to freeze in time. His limited intellect pausing to process the words he had just received. After a moment had passed, a large grin stretched across his face as he looked at Alex slyly.
"Ohhhh, I see. Surprising, you haven't even been here that long. Figured it would take a while longer for you two to shack up."
Unfortunately, Alex caught on to what the cat was getting at. Suddenly lurching forward, Alex let out a hacking cough as half of his latest sip of coffee was sucked down the wrong tube.
"W-what!" he managed to croak out, his throat feeling like he had just swallowed hot coals.
"What?" Leo asked innocently. "It's not as though I assumed it'd happen... But if it were to happen, I figured that it would at least take longer then the short time we've had you staying here." Alex just stared at Leo, disbelief being the only thing he could show as the silence built.
"Good god Leo," he finally said, shaking his head. "Just... just... COME ON. To immediately assume such a thing, with absolutely zero validity."
"Excuse me?" Leo said, now showing his own disbelief. "You come in here like you are now." He held up two fingers as he said it. "You slept in, obviously exhausted from last night and having such a good time with it. Plus the fact she left scratches on you, a tell-tale sign." Leo's smirk returned as he crossed his arms, giving a know-it-all look. "Not to mention she's still in your bed."
The air in the apartment suddenly grew still, Alex's mindset was shattered in that very instant as Leo laid out his logic. It wasn't because of the outlandish claims he was making either, but because of how much sense it all made. Even more disturbing was Leo's ability to deduce it based on the evidence. Leo, the dull witted feline who once tried using his own invented currency because he was short on cash.
Alex sat down as the room felt like it was spinning. Taking a few deep breaths, he calmed his nerves and tried to explain to Leo the events of the night before.
"Oh," Leo said, beginning to understand, "so it was just a dream and... Ohhh, and because of the thunder... Oh I see..."
"Good," Alex said with a relived sigh. "Haven't you ever seen her react badly to thunder since you've known her?"
"Not really," the gray cat replied. "I never notice. And usually if it happens at night, I'll find out about it in the morning. She gets crabby and likes to hit me harder then usual."
"Hm," Alex muttered, scratching his muzzle. "Well, I guess breakfast is out for me. Might as well move to lunch." He grabbed the phone and began dialing. "Think I'll order a pizza."
"Yeah!" Leo exclaimed. "Pizza sounds great." Alex gave him a strange look.
"Didn't you justeat a bowl of cereal?"
"And?" After rolling his eyes, Alex dialed the number to the local pizza shop.
"I suppose it'll be half anchovies on your side?" he asked, smiling slightly. The stereotype joke brought an annoyed glare from Leo.
"Just the usual meats," he responded. "Ham, sausage, pepperoni."
"Ah, good man." There was a pause as the phone rang several times. A woman finally picked up and greeted him. Ordering a large as to have enough for all three of them, he was surprised to hear that they weren't making deliveries today. "Damn it," he cursed to himself, hanging up the phone. "They won't deliver, I'll have to go pick it up."
"I wanna go too," Leo chimed in. "I really don't want to be alone when Aeris wakes up."
"Fine. Let's go now though, the pizza will be finished by the time we get there." Writing a quick note for Aeris, Alex and Leo both headed out the door.
"Do ya get it?" Leo asked. "It's like Subway, but with anal!" The gray feline laughed joyfully at his latest joke. The pretense once again being about Aeris' mother.
Alex however didn't laugh. A silent, dread filled groan escaped him. Looking at the pizza they had just obtained from the shop, the idea of bashing his head in with it was sounding sweeter and sweeter.
"And you expect me to show sympathy when Aeris beats you..." Alex replied.
"Hey, she does it when I don't do anything too."
"I've yet to see it."
They then started to walk in silence. Their own footsteps being the only sound between them both. Alex's attention was split at the moment, just as it had been on the way over to the pizza shop. His eyes continuously darted to look at Leo, who was either talking about some nonsense the hybrid could easily drown out or looking about the area in a blissful wonderment.
But something just didn't sit right with him. Leo's reaction to hearing about him and Aeris spending the night as they did. The immediate conclusion he had come up with, as well as the reaction to said conclusion. It was all too unreal in Alex's own mind. It was too simple, too friendly. Aeris was after all Leo's greatest friend, sharing a bond with her that he would with no one else.
And it wasn't as though Leo was joking about it either, there was no falsehoods in his accusation, no doubt in his mind. And yet Leo just laughed at the hybrid, busting his chops in a manner that reminded him of how his old friend Jake would react given the situation. Having actually experienced it on one, very emotionally scarring, occasion.
The memory of their conversation in New York came back to him. What Leo had said about himself and Aeris, what Alex had taken from it. Though the feline had explained that there were no romantic feelings between either of them, Alex could see how protective he was of her. Also seeing the acceptance Leo had with the idea that, someday, someone might come that does bring those feelings to light. All Leo seemed to want was for Aeris to be happy because of it.
It made Alex think though. If Leo was so easygoing about the previous misunderstanding, what did that mean for Leo's opinion of the fox-hybrid? Well, Alex learned a long time ago that the best way to find something out was to simply ask.
"Leo..." Alex finally said, earning his attention. "Back at the apartment... when you thought that, well... Aeris and I were..."
"Intimate?"
"Uh, y-yeah... that. You just seemed so... I don't know, okay with it." Looking at him rather oddly, Leo gained a smile..
"What? You think I'd be jealous or something?"
"Well no, not exactly. Maybe betrayed, furious, something more along those lines." Alex let out a heavy sigh. "Being Jake's friend has afforded me many opportunities to see the depths of someone's relationship with someone else. I've seen many cases much like yourself that would turn to a firestorm after the introduction of a possible 'friend' that fulfills the more... physical needs in a relationship. There's always heartbreak... and it quickly turns to anger." Alex laughed lightly at the thought. "Then again, Jake's usual motto in the situation is if the soil isn't being threaded on, then the field is free game." Leo was silent for a moment, giving a look of thought as he remained still.
"It's not so much my decision anyway, it's Aeris'. She is capable of her own choices, and I've told you, I don't think about her like that. And besides, you're a nice guy, you two seems to like and hate some of the same things. Plus the fact she doesn't seem to hit you on a daily basis. And I suppose, when compared to Jake, you're certainly more stable." The gray cat wrapped a friendly hand across his back to the other side of his shoulder. "You're alright in my book."
"Huh," Alex blinked, having not expected such an answer. Acceptance. It was a feeling he wasn't particularly acquainted with. Though it wasn't like he was hoping for Leo's blessing in trying to win over Aeris or that he had any intentions to attempt to bring anything out of their currently sound friendship, but it certainly felt good to know where Leo's thoughts were.
"Oh no... not him." Alex's train of thought was cut off by Leo's moan.
Leo's ears and tail dropped down as he looked far out in front of them. Following his gaze, Alex found what was getting to him.
A distance away, a cop walked down toward them on the same sidewalk. A human with broad shoulders and a great height. Though Alex didn't have much experience with the police of Canada, he was certain they weren't far from the pigs he encountered in the states.
"What's wrong with him?" Alex asked, not seeing anything relatively threatening or foreboding about the man.
"He's a complete asshole," Leo said in a harsh whisper, as though the cop could hear them despite the large distance between them. "Once he attacked me and Aeris because he didn't like the games we had bought at the shop! And this one other time, he shot at us and then arrested me because I left my I.D. back home!"
"Arrested? How did you get out of that?" Leo only gave a shrug, not knowing the answer. Chuckling slightly, Alex looked back at the cop who was almost upon them. "Well don't worry," he said reassuringly. "Just ignore him, and keep moving."
Continuing their walk, the cop didn't seem to pay them any mind as they came closer together. Not missing a step, the cop and Leo crossed paths and kept going. But as he met with Alex, a hard shoulder to shoulder bump caused the hybrid to stumble, dropping the pizza in the process. The cop then stopped in his tracks, turned, and stared directly at the pizza box.
"OH... MY... GAWD," he shouted in a panicked tone.
"Hey, watch it," Alex said in annoyance. The cop kept his eyes glued to the fallen food product.
"What is that!" he again shouted, pointing a finger down at it.
"Uh... our lunch..." Alex replied casually. Leo seemed to show a twinge of fear at the man but Alex was nowhere near intimidated by an oaf in a blue uniform.
"It looks like litter to me," the cop said in a matter-of-fact tone.
"You made me drop it when you bumped into me, sir." The last word came out strained, as though it physically hurt him to say it.
"I'm writing you a ticket all the same." The cop then pulled out a booklet of paper and began writing down on it.
"What!" Alex exclaimed. "Listen officer, I don't know who you think you are b-"
"Officer David Bagge," the cop said, indicating the name tag he wore. "Best of the best in this wonderful city." A smirk appeared on Alex's mouth as he looked at the tag.
"Officer D. Bagge... heh, nice name." Officer Bagge gave the hybrid a stern look, his hand beginning to write at a much faster pace.
"Here," he said, yanking on the ticket paper and handing it to Leo. "Good thing I already know your info."
"What," Leo said in astonishment, seeing his own name written on it rather then Alex's. "But he-"
"Is there a problem cat?" Officer Bagge asked, looking Leo right in the eye.
"N-no."
"Good," he turned to Alex. "Now pick that filth up before I wright you another one."
With a sneer, Alex knelt down to retrieve the fallen pizza. Showing a grin as he watched him, the officer stomped down hard on the hybrid's tail, causing Alex to yelp in pain.
"Heh heh, oops," Bagge said with a laugh. Alex looked up at him, a furious look in his eyes as a growl started forming in the back of his throat. "I should really wright you a ticket for disturbing the peace now too. But I think I'll be a nice guy and leave you with the one. Have a nice day now."
Officer Bagge then walked off, a smug look on his face. But he didn't make it far, a well placed foot hooked his own, yanking his feet out from under him. There was the heavy sense of gravity taking hold as he fell, his eyes coming closer and closer to the ground. Again, his motion was stopped when a certain hybrid quickly moved to the Officer's side and brought a knee straight into his gut. Sputtering out a pained cough, Bagge was pushed in the complete opposite direction, landing on his back with a loud thud.
With the wind knocked out of him, he gasped for breath, trying to fill his emptied lungs. As he tried getting up, Alex pushed his foot down onto his chest, keeping him pressed down to the sidewalk.
"Ya know," Alex said, looking at his fingers with disinterest, "I had a realbad problem with the cops back where I used to live too. They were much like you actually. Nothing but lazy, abusive, pathetic fucks!" Alex's face had changed now, twisted into a look of a crazed fury. The Officer looked into his eyes with horror, seeing an inferno of rage that threatened to engulf him.
"You abuse what little power you think you have! Moving about with a corrupted sense of duty, thinking your little badge makes you some kind of a god... Well, I can easily show you what your so called power really amounts to, what power reallylooks like!" Alex pushed his foot down harder on the cop's chest. His claws had extended, looking like knives on his fingertips as he moved them closer to Bagge's face.
"P-please," he begged, his fear filled eyes now locked onto the claws that were coming ever so closer.
"Now," Alex said, his voice never losing his command, "you are going to leave Leo alone from now on, the same goes for Aeris. Got that?"
"Y-yes," Bagge answered.
"Good. And I swear, if I ever catch even the hint that you are fucking with either of them... I'll find you and make you wish you suffered from horrible, unimaginable pain each and every day rather then what I'm prepared to do to you!" Alex then grabbed the ticket Leo still held, crumpled it up and dropped it on the downed officer. "And pick up your fucking trash!" Then Alex removed his foot. The moment he was able, Officer Bagge got up and bolted off in the opposite direction, fear pushing him faster then he had ever run before in his life. His anger subsiding, Alex bent down and picked up the pizza, checking it to see that it was still fine.
Looking back to his friend, Alex could see Leo petrified. His eyes were as big as dinner plates while his mouth was agape. After a moment of stillness, the gray cat started to laugh hysterically.
"Hahaha, D-Bagge, now I get it."
Aeris stretched out her body in satisfaction. Taking in every joints crack with pleasure as her well rested state made her feel wonderful. As her eyes fully adjusted to her surroundings, there was a momentary sense of surprise as she saw that she wasn't in her own room.
It took only a second for her to remember the night before, the booming thunder, the pounding fear, and the warming comfort. With a simple glance to her side, she saw the empty place beside her, a perfect fit for a certain hybrid. A feeling of disappointment crossed her for a moment.
The pink cat peeked through the door, opening it just a crack to see past. She had to make sure Leo didn't catch her. While she had nothing to really hide, she knew she wouldn't hear the end of it from the gray fool, even if she did beat him to submission to make him stop.
But the apartment was empty, not a single trace of another cat or even a hybrid in sight.
The note on the table caught her eye quickly. It simply explained that the duo had left for lunch, giving her a heads up to not eat if she wanted any. Aeris could immediately tell who wrote it, Leo's hand writing was atrociously obvious. The note itself was well written despite the clear haste and simplicity of it, the penmanship was excellent. Yet another trait of the hybrid that seemed odd given the past he had explained to them.
With Alex in mind, Aeris remembered back to the night before. She wasn't exactly sure why she even did what she did. But for some reason, she did find solace in knowing how close he was, as if to protect her.
She smiled as she thought back to Alex's own reaction to her. How easily flustered and nervous he had become, even before she dozed off it was clear how tensed he had gotten to her presence. A light giggle escaped her as she thought of all the fun she could have with him, how she could tease him even more for her own amusement. Something she never could do with Leo, nor did she want to, but with Alex it sounded quite fun to her.
The front door then opened, the two boys walked in, pizza in hand.
"Pizza's here," Leo said, heading for the fridge to grab a drink.
"Good evening," Aeris said to Alex as he passed. The hybrid stopped in his tracks as he noticed her.
"Oh... um.. Yeah, good, uh, evening," he replied. Quickly shuffling his feet, Alex made his way into the kitchen and reached for plates, turning his back to hide his involuntary frown.
Aeris smiled inwardly, already imagining all of the devious fun she could have.
Later on, as the day slowed down, Alex decided to head out to check their mail. Leo, being the talkative cat he is, used the time to blab about what had occurred during their trip for the pizza.
"So the cop was all like, 'HAHAHA', but Alex was like 'GRRRRR'. But then, Alex went off with a kersmack and bam. So the cop changed to like 'oof' because Alex went all 'RAW' so he then was like 'ahhh' while Alex continued being all 'RAW'." Leo explained what had happened in his usual over energetic manner, flailing his arms about to add to his theatrics.
"Um... okay..." Aeris said, obviously not understanding a thing he had just said.
With an annoyed grunt, Leo explained what had happened again. Only this time, he used real words so Aeris was quick to understand the situation.
"So... he just attacked him?" The idea of Alex getting violent like that seemed sketchy.
"Yeah," Leo nodded, "then the cop just ran off. I think he might have pissed himself too."
"Are you sure you're telling the truth Leo? Or are you just making things up again?"
"I swear, Alex went all psycho on that cop's ass."
Again, the thought just seemed too far-fetched for her liking.
"Well," she concluded, "despite his attitude, that cop was a bit of a pushover. I could see things looking worse then they were for you Leo." The gray cat could still tell he wasn't being fully believed with his story.
"But he-," Leo tried saying, being stopped as Alex walked through the front door, envelops in hand.
"Finally got my last paycheck from that damn shop," the hybrid muttered, flipping through more of the mail. "Hey, it looks like there's one from that Pantsman guy you're friends with."
"Give it here," Aeris said, trying to hank the paper from his grasp. Alex was quicker however, side stepping her and opening the letter himself.
As he looked down at the paper, he took out a small rectangular piece of paper.
"Looks like a check," he muttered, looking at the amount. His eyes widened the moment he laid eyes on it. "Oh my god... That... That's a lot of money..." Aeris snatched the paper from him in his surprised state.
"That's none of your business," Aeris said, the irony not being lost on her about a similar occurrence were the roles between them had been reversed.
"B-but, wow. What's with the cash? I didn't think being a superhero could bring so much in. And why in the world is he sending you guys a check?"
"It's from our job," Aeris answered, tucking the check away in her pocket.
"What job? Since I've been here I haven't seen you work a day."
"Well, we don't do it as much these days. But we do get checks every now and then from it."
"From what?" Alex had no idea what she was referring to and the mystery of it was beginning to drive him crazy. Aeris let out a sigh before turning to Leo.
"Well Leo," she said, "I guess he might as well see it now. He will have to eventually."
With an excited nod, he followed Aeris to the far end of the apartment, where the bedrooms were. There, the stopped at the fourth door. Alex was told that the apartment was to accommodate up to four residents, but he had never seen what the fourth one was being used for.
Aeris opened the door, Alex's jaw immediately slacked as he peered inside.
The room was set up like a large closet, bars ran across the top of the room for hangers to be set. But it was what was on those rails that caught his attention. Costumes, of all shapes sizes and colors. Alex was amazed at the detail and imagination put into them, costumes of many different characters from video games, all slightly modified to fit someone with long ears and a tail.
From Mario's overalls to Master Chief's armor, it was all there. Even appropriate accessories hung on the walls. Link's Master Sword, Samus' arm blaster, even an assortment of guns from the many shooters that dotted the market.
"Wha..." Alex was rendered speechless. Never before had he seen anything like it. Like out of a nerd's wet dream, he could only stare.
"Yeah well..." Aeris explained, looking slightly embarrassed by the collection. "Sco- er... I mean Pantsman, is actually a pretty good photographer. He would have us dress up as a certain character and we would pose for him to get certain shots. Afterward, he'd put them together and make a comic out of it. Sometimes we use our own personal experiences when playing games to help come up with ideas. Occasionally he even gets help from other people we know, but it's usually just us."
"Wow," Alex said, showing a smirk, "I had no idea I was living with celebrities."
"Well, they do get a pretty good amount of views. The money we get from it isn't bad either, it's allowed us to not have to get real jobs."
"Yup it's totally awesome," Leo said with an ecstatic smile. The gray feline took a light saber from a Darth Vader costume, swinging it about gleefully.
Alex looked at both of his friends and couldn't help but smile. They were certainly the most interesting cats he had ever seen.
A/N: Not too bad of a length if I do say so myself.
Few things are going on here as well. A bit of a reference to the VGC animated series there, not much of anything but I think it fit well.
And yes, I did make up a name for the asshole cop just so I could make a crappy joke with it. But how it's spelled is actually another reference. I won't say what it is though, because if you don't know it, you have my sympathies... BUT if you do know it, then many many internets for you. I will say this though. Based on his name, it's obvious he's more of a dog person... (cough)
I also put together my own little idea to a VG cats universe explanation at the end there. Though I think it'd make more sense if you didn't think about it...