FIC: Forever Home - Chapter 89 of 100
Author: Shadowc44
Fandom: Glee
Pairing: Kadam (Kurt Hummel/Adam Crawford)
Rating: R
Spoilers: AU. If you’ve seen Kurt and Adam interact, you’re good.
Summary: Adam is bored, and realizes he needs a companion. He decides to adopt a hybrid human/cat.
Warning: Mention of past abuse (non-sexual) from other canon Glee characters. This fic is not particularly kind to most canon Glee characters.
Length: About 7,000 words this chapter. About 400,000 words so far.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Glee characters in this story; they're owned by Fox. Any non-Glee characters are my own invention.
Chapter 88
CHAPTER 89
Kurt didn’t want to admit it, but he was a little nervous to see Artie again. They used to be friends, sort of, but what would it be like now? Artie would have more of a choice of friends now, so he might not want to hang around with him any more. He mentioned this to Adam as they drove to Gabriel’s house.
“Well, think about it this way. You’ve had some time to make new friends now, but you still want to spend time with him, right?”
He considered it a moment. “I think so. I mean, I do. But what if it’s too confusing for him? What if you’re more relaxed about things than Gabriel, and Artie might get confused about how he’s supposed to behave, and then say or do the wrong thing when they’re in public, then someone will report them and he’ll get in trouble and might -“
“Breathe, darling,” Adam instructed him.
Kurt shut up and tried to concentrate on just breathing, taking air in, and letting it out very slowly, until he was calmer.
Adam glanced over at him briefly before returning his gaze to the road. “Do you feel better now?” he asked.
“Yes and no.” At Adam’s confused look, he added, “Yes, I’m breathing easier, but no, I’m still worried about Artie.”
“Do you really think Gabriel is going to let him get in trouble?”
He realized Adam was right. “No. I’m sure he knows what he’s doing.”
“Right. Now why don’t you take a few minutes to think about what you want to say to Artie when you see him.”
Kurt knew that was a good idea, because he didn’t want to say the wrong thing right from the start. And he had no idea what to say.
Gabriel greeted them at the door, then added, “I’ve already given Artie permission to answer either of you, and talk to either of you, without going through me. And I wanted to check ahead of time, Kurt, and let you know it’s fine with me if you and Artie want to change to your animal forms later.”
Kurt heaved a huge sigh of relief. “Yes, please. Adam, that’s okay, isn’t it?”
“Of course. Gabriel and I can talk while you and Artie are playing, or whatever.”
Gabriel brought them into the living room, where Artie was waiting.
Even though it had only been a little over a month since they’d seen each other, Kurt was surprised to see Artie hadn’t changed at all. He was wearing slightly nicer clothes, but that was it. Somehow, Kurt had been expecting him to look a lot older. Maybe because he felt like he’d grown up, himself, quite a bit since leaving the pet store. Artie had only had a few days to make any real changes.
Gabriel said, “Artie, our guests are here. I’m sure you remember Adam?”
“Uh-huh. Yes, sir. Hi, Mr. Adam,” he recited dutifully, though he only glanced at him before looking at Kurt.
“Hello, Artie. I hope you’re doing well. And you can call me Adam.”
Artie nodded once. “Thanks, Adam.”
Kurt smiled and greeted his friend. “Hi, Artie. You look good. How are you doing?”
“I’m good.” Artie’s shoulders relaxed a bit, and his face smoothed out. “So glad to be out of there, and I really like it here.” He glanced up at Gabriel, and looked worried.
“Why don’t we all sit down?”
Gabriel indicated the sofa, so both Kurt and Adam sat down. Artie was in a spiffy-looking wheelchair that looked much more comfortable than the one at New Directions.
“Can I get anyone anything to drink? Lemonade, soda, coffee, or tea?” he offered.
Kurt looked at Adam, who nodded, and spoke up. “I’d love some lemonade. Kurt?”
“Yes, thank you, lemonade,” he agreed.
Gabriel looked at Artie, who licked his lips. “Yeah, thanks, I’d really like some, too.”
“I’ll be right back. Please go ahead and talk among yourselves.”
Now it was just the three of them. He was pretty sure Adam was waiting for the two of them to talk. Kurt thought he knew a good question to break the ice.
“How do you like your new wheelchair? Can you get around by yourself in it?”
Artie laughed, sounding only a little nervous. “I’m still trying to get used to it, but it’s awesome. This one’s manual, but a lot better than my old one. Gabriel said maybe I should get used to this one first, then we’ll get a power chair.”
“That’s great! And I love the color.”
Artie glanced down, his hand moving to caress the side of the chair. “Most of the ones we saw were black, but this one came with a choice of colors. I liked the metallic green, and they already had it in stock.” He held up his left hand. “I’ve also got gloves now, which make it easier to move it.” He peeled the gloves off and set them in his lap, so he could hold his glass more easily.
Adam spoke up. “I love it! Soon you’ll be able to race up and down the halls at Gabriel’s office!”
Kurt and Artie both gave him astonished looks, and his brow furrowed.
“Maybe that’s not such a hot idea, now that I think about it. But it should be more comfortable, anyway.”
“It is!” Artie agreed. “It’s got a four-inch thick foam seat, which my butt really appreciates. I mean -“ he blushed, then continued, “the other one has very little padding, and I’d get sore after being in it for just a little while. It makes a big difference.”
Gabriel came in, carrying an oddly-shaped tray, that had a cut-out section on one side. It carried four glasses of lemonade. He set it on the coffee table, and handed them each a glass and a napkin, before attaching the tray to Artie’s chair. The cut-out was for his body, so he could easily reach the glass again once he set it down.
Gabriel picked up his own glass and sat in the wing chair between the sofa and Artie’s chair.
“I agree, it’s not a good idea for Artie to go racing around the hallways, at work or here, but maybe when we go to the park, if there aren’t a lot of people or other hybrids or animals to get in the way, he can really test it out. I can jog along next to you with your leash.”
“I can’t wait to go to the park! I haven’t had much chance to be outside, in a long time.”
Adam looked thoughtful. “Maybe we should try that, too, sometime, Kurt. If you want a chance to run a bit outside. As a human or cat.”
Kurt thought that sounded like a great idea. He loved being able to really stretch his legs, but hadn’t had much opportunity to run. He really liked the treadmills at the gym. It was the closest thing to running he’d done since leaving New Directions. There it was only running laps around the fenced-in back yard, but at least it was something.
Gabriel said, “He’ll also need a harness, around his chest. As a cat, I mean. It will be easier for both of you, if you’re not pulling on a collar that’s just around his neck.”
“I’ve seen those, at the pet store,” Kurt clarified. “But I thought they were for big dogs.”
“They have them in different sizes. It’s just so you’ve got the straps around your back and chest, rather than your neck. You’re less likely to get hurt that way,” Gabriel explained. “It might be better for you as a human, too, if you’re running in that form.”
“What about me? Will I need a different kind or collar or leash?” Artie asked. “If I’m being walked in public, as a rabbit, I mean.”
“I don’t think so. You’ll be strapped into the cart, and we can attach a metal ring or something onto the cart, perhaps.”
Artie turned to face Kurt.
“Gabriel showed me your designs for a cart to use when I’m in rabbit form,” Artie mentioned. “I liked them. I think it’s a great idea.”
“Oh, good! I was hoping they might be helpful.” It was a relief to know Artie liked the drawings.
“Maybe,” Gabriel suggested, “the two of you can look at the designs together, and try to figure out what will work best. I can have something made to order.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Artie agreed.
They both drank more lemonade, clearly unsure how to proceed.
“Kurt, why don’t you tell Artie a little about what you’ve been doing since Adam adopted you,” Gabriel suggested. “Maybe it will give him some ideas on how he might want to spend his time.”
“Yeah, that sounds good,” Artie agreed.
“Well, let’s see…Adam’s been trying to help me with my reading. Gabriel figured out I need glasses to read. It made a huge difference,” Kurt sighed.
“I can see how it might.” Artie smiled, and pushed his own glasses back a little further.
“We’ve been singing, and Adam has a piano.”
“Nice!”
“Maybe the two of you can sing a duet sometime?” Adam suggested. “Or maybe you can come over - and Gabriel, too --” he added quickly, “when the Apples are there sometime. Tell Artie about the Apples,” he suggested, off Artie’s puzzled look.
“Oh, yeah!” Kurt grinned at the thought of Adam’s friends…maybe his friends now, too. “They’re a show choir group Adam put together in college, and they still get together and sing sometimes, even though Adam’s not part of the group anymore, because he already graduated,” Kurt explained.
“That’s cool! So you sing with them sometimes?” he asked Kurt.
“Uh-huh. Well, one time I did. That was at Adam’s house. I don’t know who’s hosting the next one, or if they’ll want me there.”
Adam rolled his eyes. “It’s Jessica. What do you think?”
Kurt blushed. “Yeah, I guess she won’t mind.”
“I have a feeling if I don’t bring you, she’s going to send me home to get you,” Adam sighed. He really didn’t sound too unhappy about it.
Kurt told Artie about meeting the members of Adam’s group, and how scared he’d been, until he realized he didn’t need to be.
“They really weren’t upset with me being there. Nobody said anything insulting. They were just curious, and some of them didn’t know much at all about hybrids.”
“Gabriel, I didn’t think to ask your permission for Artie to visit. I’m sorry. You might not think it’s a good idea,” Adam added.
Gabriel shook his head. “No, no, that’s fine. I actually think it’s a good idea, if you want to do it, Artie.”
“Um, it sounds like fun. How many people will there be?”
“About a dozen, give or take,” Adam explained. “There were only seven at the last one.”
“Maybe it will be good for them to meet another hybrid, so Kurt isn’t the only one they know,” Gabriel said thoughtfully. “But you might want to check with them first, because it sounds like it’s as much about old friends getting together, as it is about singing. It can be difficult to bring new people into an established group of friends.”
“True. I don’t think it will be a problem, but I’ll ask. I think they’ll like having another voice, even though neither Artie nor Kurt can officially join the group.”
“I don’t think I’d want to really join a group,” Artie spoke up. “I didn’t really like being part of New Directions. I like to sing, but the way people reacted to us, and the way Mr. Will ran things, it made me really uncomfortable.”
“Me, too,” Kurt agreed.
Adam leaned forward and gazed earnestly at Artie. “Actually, I think you’ll have the best of both worlds. You’ll get to occasionally sing with a group of people, just for fun, and only if you want to. If you don’t know a song, you don’t have to sing. You won’t have to perform in front of a crowd, and there won’t be any of the stress of an actual performance. If you make a mistake or forget the words, it’s no big deal. Some in the group might laugh or tease you about it, but we’ve all done things like that…skipped to the wrong verse, or messed up the choreography, things like that.”
“There’s choreography?” Artie looked worried again. He glanced down at his chair. “I’m not sure I can do that. Mr. Will would just pretty much park me in the chair and the others had to dance around me. It made me really -“ He sighed. “What’s the word?” He looked up at the ceiling as he tried to figure it out.
“Self-conscious?” Kurt suggested.
“Yeah. Too aware of myself, and I’d think everyone was staring at me, because I was literally in the way.”
Adam grinned broadly and slapped his own knee. “Well, guess what? There are people who find a way to dance in a wheelchair, and can move all around the stage. Yes, the other performers have to be aware of where you are, and where you’re supposed to be, so they don’t run into you, and you need to know the same so you don’t run into them. It takes a lot of practice, but it can be done.”
“Really? I always thought it looked like a lot of fun when I see other people dancing,” Artie said wistfully, “but I just figured it was something I’d never be able to do. Maybe this would be a compromise?”
“Let’s look into it,” Gabriel suggested.
“Hey, I wonder if there’s any classes like that at the gym?” Kurt mused aloud. “Or maybe Jerry or Daniel might know someone who can do that, or can teach Artie?”
Gabriel merely raised an eyebrow, and waited for Adam to speak.
“That’s a fantastic idea, Kurt! I’ll call tomorrow and find out.” He explained to Gabriel, “They’re the owners of the gym, and they’re sort of becoming friends. They’re very nice guys, and if they don’t know about wheelchair dancing themselves, they can probably help us find someone who does.”
“Artie and I can talk about maybe joining the same gym,” Gabriel suggested. “It might be good for both of us.” He looked over at Artie and smiled kindly. “I’ll explain more about it later, but Adam found a gym that he and Kurt can go to together. They welcome hybrids and their owners.”
“A gym? But I can’t - I’m not -“ Artie looked helplessly down at his legs, and balled up his fists. “There aren’t many exercises I can really do.”
Gabriel leaned closer and kept his voice cheerful. “Well, let’s try it and see. There are some exercises I’m going to teach you, that will help strengthen your muscles and keep you healthy. Maybe there are other things that might help. I really think at least physical therapy is in order, but maybe…well, we’ll see.” Artie still looked skeptical, so he added, “If you really don’t like it, I won’t insist we go. But let’s give it a try first, okay?”
Artie nodded, but didn’t give a verbal answer.
“They’re really nice guys, Artie,” Kurt stressed. “Nobody’s gonna make fun of you there, or give you a bad time. The staff won’t tolerate it.”
“Really?” Artie sighed, and Kurt could tell he didn’t want to be too negative. But he probably didn’t want to get his hopes up, either.
“It’s true,” Adam spoke up. “They won’t allow bullying of any kind, or anyone deliberately trying to make you uncomfortable. If you don’t mind, I can give them a little background, and it might make it easier for them to figure out the best ways to help you.”
Artie nodded. “Okay.”
Seeing that they were through with their drinks, Gabriel suggested Artie and Kurt change. “If you want to, but don’t feel obligated,” he emphasized.
“Sure. It should be fun,” Kurt agreed.
“Yeah, that would be nice,” Artie said.
Gabriel removed the tray. “Let’s go down to the playroom. I’ve cleared away anything breakable from there.”
<><><><><><><><><><>
Gabriel let Artie lead. He seemed to be wheeling himself along pretty well. They got to a sliding door off the kitchen, and Adam saw a ramp leading down to what he assumed was originally a basement. Artie easily reached down and pressed a rocker switch. It looked like he might be able to reach it in rabbit form, too, because it was low to the ground, but not out of reach of the wheelchair.
“There’s another switch higher up for me or other people,” Gabriel pointed out.
They let Artie get down the ramp first. It wasn’t very steep, but it was pretty long. The area was mostly a long hallway, with a doorway to the right that looked like it led to a laundry room. At the far end of the hallway, after the ramp ended, Adam saw some large shelves on the right side of the hall being used for storage. To the left, Adam could see there was another sliding door, though it was pushed into the doorframe at the moment.
“If you wouldn’t mind taking your shoes off, please, before we get to the playroom,” Gabriel suggested. “You can put them here. There are slippers if you want them, Adam, but Kurt, I don’t think you’ll be in human form for long.”
“Nope,” Kurt agreed.
Adam and Kurt soon had their shoes off. Adam accepted the offer of a pair of slippers, still wrapped. There was a small barrel of them to the right of the doorway. “They’re disposable, and I can get them in bulk,” Gabriel mentioned. “I want to keep the floor as sanitary as possible.”
Considering Artie would spend a lot of his rabbit-time on that floor, Adam thought it made a lot of sense.
Just beyond the barrel were more bookshelves. There weren’t a lot of books there yet, but he had a feeling that would change.
Artie pressed another light switch outside the doorway, and rolled into the playroom. The lights were recessed into the ceiling. They slowly followed behind Artie. He’d parked his wheelchair just to the right of the doorway. The end of the room was just a yard or so behind it. The carpeting was very low pile, presumably stain guarded in some way, medium gray in color. There were three large beanbag chairs, in red, green and yellow. They were the only real spots of color in the room.
Artie was grinning from ear to ear. “I love this room,” he said in a hushed voice. “I want to live down here.”
Gabriel sighed, but it sounded more fond than exasperated.
“We’ve discussed it, and I’d rather keep the playroom and his room separate.”
“This is so cool!” Kurt exclaimed. “It’s huge!”
“It gets better!” Artie crowed, pointing to the far end of the room. They could see a wide doorway in the far wall. “You guys need to check out the bathroom down here!”
Gabriel slid the door open, and flipped on the light switch. He stood aside and let Adam and Kurt check out the room. It took up the length of the entire wall, but was still fairly wide. Directly ahead of them were a couple of sinks. One was on a pedestal, but fairly low to the ground. There was room for a wheelchair to get close. Next to it was a row of shelves, and some drawers underneath that. All were low enough to accommodate Artie’s wheelchair, yet would be accessible by someone standing as well.
“Yes. It was originally designed as a utility sink, but I had it refinished.”
Beneath that sink, pushed against the back of the wall, was a large mat, with a clean litterbox on top of it. One side was very low. He could see shredded newspaper as well as what he presumed was rabbit litter. It didn’t look much different to him than cat litter.
To the left, there was another wide doorway, with the sliding door pushed into the frame. They could see a toilet, and grab bars on the walls to both sides and behind it. This area took up that entire end of the bathroom. Adam judged there would be plenty of room for Artie to transfer off the wheelchair safely.
The entire far right of the room was taken up by a huge shower, which looked like it was made from actual marble. The color was variegated shades of beige, tan and brown, and it was lovely. The floor inclined on all sides, to drain near the showerhead at one end. The rest of the floor was level. There was a bench along two sides of the shower, but there was still room to get a wheelchair inside, where Artie could transfer from the chair to the bench. There were also water jets located at different heights along the wall under the showerhead. There was a panel of buttons a little above the level of the bench, next to the water jets.
“Artie can press the numbered buttons, which correspond to the different jets,” Gabriel explained. “He can have one or all of them on. Pressing the button once turns one on, at low pressure. Increasing the number of presses to the button increases the pressure. Pressing and holding the button for five seconds will turn off the jet.”
“Oh, my God! Adam -“
Kurt was a comical cross of ecstatic and envious, but Adam knew he daren’t laugh.
“Sorry, Kurt, I don’t know if we can renovate either of the bathrooms that much,” he said. “Though if we ever move, I’ll keep it in mind.” He didn’t hide the regret in his own voice. It looked like the most awesome shower he’d ever seen.
They went back into the main room. Adam sat in the green beanbag, and watched as Gabriel helped Artie out of the chair, and onto the floor. Kurt stood off to one side, biting his lip and furrowing his brow, but Artie was soon out of the chair. Gabriel pushed it near the door, next to the red beanbag at the far end, and sat in the yellow one. Despite having long legs, Adam thought it was quite comfortable.
There was now a huge expanse of floor. Adam estimated that the room took up the equivalent of the living room and maybe more than that.
“Does this take up most of the same space as the house?” he wondered aloud.
Gabriel nodded. “With the laundry room, and a sort of workroom, yes. I had originally thought this might be a good guest apartment for my parents, but my mother prefers being on the same level as everything else. My dad thinks it’s nice, but of course, now they’re perfectly fine with Artie, and his friends, using it instead.”
“This is a fantastic idea.” Adam didn’t mention that it was a shame that Artie didn’t literally have the run of the room, since he couldn’t move that well as a rabbit. But maybe once he got a cart set up for him, it would be different. But at least there was nothing hard, except the wheelchair, that he or Kurt could bang into or trip over.
Adam tried to watch both Kurt and Artie change, but he couldn’t even pinpoint who changed first, let alone how it happened. Gabriel lifted the rabbit out of the chair, and set him on the floor, with his legs out behind him. Adam had seen him in that position before, and thought it looked uncomfortable, though it didn’t seem to bother Artie.
The rabbit stayed right where he was, leaning forward a bit to sniff at Kurt. The cat slowly inched forward, tail twitching. Adam hoped he wouldn’t pounce on Artie, even as a playful gesture.
Soon they were rubbing noses, though they both seemed a bit wary. Kurt’s tail was now wrapped around himself. Artie was quivering, probably in fear, Adam thought.
Gabriel sat in the same beanbag he had before, where he and Adam could easily talk.
“I’m sure they’ll be alright,” Gabriel explained, keeping his eyes on the hybrids, “but I just want to be here to supervise. Maybe another time they can play in another room. But until Artie is more mobile, I don’t want him to feel trapped or scared.”
“Kurt won’t hurt him,” Adam protested, hoping that was true. Human Kurt wouldn’t, but he knew a lot less about what went on in kitty Kurt’s mind. Cats were predators after all.
“I didn’t think he would.”
They watched the two animals warily sniffing each other. Kurt’s ears twitched more than Artie’s did, and Kurt had more of a tail to move expressively. Still, Artie’s nose and tail twitched, and he made some sounds that seemed like an inquiry.
“Can they understand each other like this?” Adam whispered.
“Let’s find out.”
Kurt meeped at him, and Artie shook his head. They seemed to be talking at each other more than to each other, and Artie’s entire head drooped. Kurt’s tail was swishing back and forth, a sign of annoyance. Then Kurt butted Artie’s head with his, and the rabbit looked up at him. They were close to the same size, though Artie was a bit smaller. Kurt crouched down with his butt up in the air, his tail slowly lashing.
Artie looked at him warily.
Kurt leaped up into the air and over Artie.
“Not fair,” Adam called out, annoyed that Kurt would be so inconsiderate.
Artie had looked scared for a moment, but now he just looked disappointed.
Kurt lowered his head and slunk back over to Artie, and started grooming his ears, using his tongue. Artie’s body was quivering for a moment, then he relaxed, and let Kurt do his thing.
“They seem to be getting along okay,” Adam observed. He relaxed slightly. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust either of them, but this was a new environment, for both of them. He had no idea how rabbits tried to establish their ownership of a place, or their dominance, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to witness it, either.
Kurt finally stopped his grooming. Adam didn’t really see any difference in Artie’s ears, but he was far enough away that he supposed they looked different to Kurt. Artie nuzzled Kurt’s face for a moment, but didn’t attempt to return the grooming. Adam relaxed further.
Gabriel stood up. Both animals turned their heads towards him and tensed slightly. “I’m just going to get one of Artie’s toys.”
“I happen to have a couple of Kurt’s toys with me,” Adam added. Kurt meeped at him, his voice rising at the end as though it were a question.
“You’ll see in a minute,” he promised, opening the small backpack he’d brought. He was relieved he and Gabriel had discussed this ahead of time. It would be interesting to see if they shared their toys willingly, or each played with their own. Hopefully there would be no misunderstandings of ownership later.
He ignored Roo, for the moment, thinking perhaps getting Kurt high on catnip wasn’t the best idea at the moment. He brought out Harriet, and the bright ping pong ball. When Gabriel came back, Adam showed them to him. He shook his head at the ping pong ball and Adam put it back. Now that he thought about it, while Kurt might enjoy it, Artie might be frustrated that he couldn’t play much with it, even if Kurt let him. He bent down and put a large, plush carrot in front of Artie. Within seconds of Artie biting down on it and holding it with his paws, he realized it had a squeaker inside.
Naturally, Kurt was fascinated with the noise. He meeped a couple of times and looked over at Adam with a pleading expression.
“I suppose you want a squeaky toy, now?” Adam asked in resignation.
Kurt waved his tail back and forth and nodded his head. He blinked slowly a couple of times.
“Sorry,” Gabriel murmured to Adam. “I hope you don’t mind the noise.”
“It’s fine. Looks like I’d better get used to it, anyway.”
Kurt just watched Artie chew on the carrot. Adam was 99% certain he wouldn’t try to take it away from his friend.
“Kurt, do you want Harriet?” he called out.
The kitty was at his feet in a flash, standing up and putting his paws on Adam’s knees. Adam opened his hand, and let Kurt delicately take the mouse in his jaws. He flipped his tail in a jaunty “thanks” and ran back to sit close to Artie. After a moment, he laid down, and started grooming Harriet thoroughly.
Artie stopped playing with the carrot and looked over. His ears came up slightly, then went back down again. He returned to his own toy.
“I need to find some actual activities for Artie,” Gabriel mentioned, keeping a careful eye on the two hybrids. “He can drag himself along on the floor, but it takes a long time, and it doesn’t really seem like fun for him. I really wish he could run and jump and hop around like he’s meant to.”
“I can’t imagine how I’d feel if it were Kurt.”
Gabriel looked at him curiously, and he continued. “I mean, I’m sure I would still have adopted him, but I’d feel so bad for him. I thought about adopting Artie, actually, before I met Kurt. At the time, I thought I really wouldn’t be able to properly care for him. But it makes me think, if something happened to Kurt, I’d do whatever I could to make him comfortable and help him adapt.”
Gabriel nodded. “I’m glad you adopted Kurt. I think the two of you are well-suited to one another. I really enjoy Artie’s company, and I’m also intrigued by the challenge of helping him become more independent. I’m not sure he’s ready to be as independent as Kurt,” he continued, “but it’s a shame that they made him so dependent on others at the store. We’re finding that there are a lot of things that Artie can do on his own, or with the right type of equipment, that he never realized he could do.”
“He already seems more confident than when I saw him last,” Adam watched the animals playing, then lowered his voice. “I hope they can’t hear us, or haven’t been listening.”
“I have a feeling they’re paying more attention to each other than us. I’m glad they’re playing nicely together. I was afraid Kurt might try to dominate Artie, and I don’t want him to be uncomfortable in his own home.”
Adam shook his head. “If anything, I’d say he’s more likely to be protective of him, than try to scare or intimidate him.”
Artie grasped the toy between his paws, and threw it up in the air. He raised himself up as much as he could, and it was clear he intended to catch it in his mouth. The toy sailed right past him, well out of reach. Making grumbling sounds to himself, Artie slowly started to crawl across the carpet to where the toy was, a couple of yards away. Adam and Gabriel waited to see what would happen.
The toy had landed closer to Kurt than Artie. He looked at the carrot curiously, then got up and approached it. He sniffed at it. Artie tensed up, and then tried to move faster.
Kurt merely batted the carrot away, so it landed much closer to Artie. He only had to move a few more inches to get to it.
Adam was pretty sure the vocal exchange that followed were the equivalent of, “thanks” and “you’re welcome.”
“That was a relief,” Gabriel murmured.
“They’re not really playing together,” Adam observed. “I kind of thought they would.”
“Well, I was just thinking about that. I’m not sure how much they can do at the moment. What does Kurt do when he plays with your neighbor’s cat?”
“Misty? Well, they roll around, chase each other through the apartment, jump all over the place, play in Misty’s treehouse thingy… Oh. Stupid. Of course Artie can’t do those things.”
“You’re not stupid,” Gabriel scolded him lightly. “You just haven’t spent a lot of time around Artie yet. Neither have I, really, but I’m learning. I’d love it if he had full mobility and could do all the normal things he should be able to do, and have fun while getting exercise at the same time. He can exercise a bit better when he’s human, actually. But we’ll have to experiment, and see how much he actually can play. He could climb into a treehouse, if it had a ramp instead of stairs, maybe.”
“That sounds like a good idea,” Adam commented. “I’m a little concerned. Kurt isn’t usually this quiet. I mean, he doesn’t stay in one place for very long when he’s a cat, unless he’s taking a nap.”
“It’s nice that he’s pacing himself for Artie. I’m going to look into getting a cart as soon as I can. He and Kurt still need to look at those drawings together.”
“Maybe before we leave, if they’re both ready to change by then.”
Gabriel glanced at his watch. “I didn’t really ask before. How long can you stay? Would you like to stay for dinner? It would be no trouble.”
“Well, we don’t have any specific plans, so thank you. I’m sure it will be okay with Kurt, but I’ll check with him when he changes.”
“I don’t want to wear Artie out, or overwhelm him with too much going on with new people at once, but I figured since he already knows Kurt, it shouldn’t be too upsetting.”
“If he doesn’t like the idea, we’ll just leave, it’s no trouble either way.” Adam was determined to go along with whatever both hybrids wanted, at the moment. Assuming they both wanted the same thing, that is.
“I want to change the subject for a bit,” Gabriel said. He glanced at the two animals on the floor, but they were playing quietly next to each other, acting very companionable. “I wanted to discuss the next meeting of our ‘gardening club’. I was thinking we might be able to have it here, this Sunday.”
“This Sunday? It’s awfully short notice, isn’t it? It’s okay for us, but won’t other people need more time to plan?” He wasn’t sure how many people would be able to make it on such short notice.
“Well, I’ve contacted a couple of people already. Let me explain what I have in mind. Maybe we can divide the phone calls between us.”
Adam agreed. He’d already given some thought to whom he might want to invite to meetings in the future. If they couldn’t make it this time, there was always the next meeting.
<><><><><><><><><><>
After a while, Kurt heard Gabriel call out to Artie, asking if they were ready to change back. He normally would have liked to stay in cat form a few hours longer, but he wanted to see what his friend wanted to do.
Artie seemed tired or frustrated, and changed back to human almost immediately. Kurt looked over at Adam, who nodded at him. He meeped his annoyance, but thought it was probably too quiet for anyone but Artie to hear. He got a small smile in response from his friend. He changed back, and helped Artie get into his wheelchair when Gabriel brought it over.
“Artie, I’ve invited Adam and Kurt to stay for dinner. Is that alright with you?”
The question wasn’t that complicated, but Kurt could easily remember how confusing it was, when he was first adopted, to be asked for his preference in things like that.
“Sure, it’s fine. I mean, I’d like that,” Artie added.
“Kurt? What do you think?”
He supposed Adam was just trying to be polite. “I’d like that, sure.”
“Good. Gabriel suggested you two might want to look at your drawings together. Perhaps you can do that, while I help Gabriel prepare dinner? That is, if you want help,” he asked with a broad smile.
“It will certainly go faster that way,” Gabriel acknowledged. “That sounds like a good idea. You boys can clean up now, or just before dinner, whichever you’d like. Kurt, there’s a guest bathroom just down the hall on the right.”
They made their way slowly back upstairs.
Kurt liked to freshen up after changing, though he didn’t always get to do it. He had his messenger bag with him, and he carried a travel toothbrush and toothpaste in there, as well as a comb, individually wrapped moist towelettes, and a few other things, so he could be comfortable when away from home. He’d already put Harriet in the bag so she wouldn’t get left behind.
Artie shrugged. “I can wait.”
“Me too,” Kurt agreed.
Gabriel spread out the designs on the kitchen table. “As soon as you’re through, we’ll put those away, and Adam can set the table for me. I imagine you’ll both need more time than we will to clean up.”
“Thank you,” Kurt sighed.
He and Artie looked at the designs together, and he pointed out what he saw as the advantages and disadvantages of each. Artie pointed out a couple of things he hadn’t thought about, and they soon agreed on one design, with a couple of modifications. Kurt took a pencil and large eraser out of his bag, and soon had made the changes. Adam and Gabriel came over to take a look.
“That looks very useful,” Gabriel commented. “I think I know someone who can put it together for me.”
“You don’t want me to do it?” Kurt asked, before he thought better of it. It wasn’t his place to offer his services for anything.
Gabriel hesitated only a moment. “It’s not that I don’t think you could do it, Kurt. If Adam is willing to let you try, it’s okay with me. But it seems to me you both have so many other obligations right now, or other projects. I’d hate to see you have your attention so divided that you’re not satisfied with the results of anything.”
That made sense to Kurt, so he nodded.
“I have to agree with Gabriel. But, since it’s your design, I do think we should get it patented, to be on the safe side.”
“I don’t know if it can be patented in Kurt’s name, but I can ask Julia.”
Adam grumbled a bit, but agreed. “I also think perhaps we can take a little bit of time for you to check it out before it’s finalized, and I suppose Artie should be able to try it out, as well, before you pay for it, Gabriel.”
“I was thinking the same thing.”
Kurt was relieved when they were dismissed shortly after that, to get cleaned up for dinner. He left the designs with Gabriel, in case they wanted to change anything else later on. He wasn’t sure how he felt about someone else doing the work. He wanted to do it himself, but Adam and Gabriel were right, he probably would be too distracted by everything else, and he didn’t want Artie to have anything less than the best cart, no matter who made it. He thought Adam was trying to protect him, so whoever built it wouldn’t get credit for the design, and maybe make money by making more carts, but if they could help other disabled hybrids, or animals, why not? He supposed they’d have to talk about it later. He wrote his concern down mentally, and put it in the LATER box he’d stored in the back of his mind.
<><><><><><><><><><>
On their way home later that night, Adam went into more detail about his concerns.
“Don’t forget, tomorrow night we’re going to Lily’s benefit. It might be fun, and just think, you’ll be able to hear first-hand what people think about the dress you made for her.”
“That’s true. Maybe some good comments as well as the bad ones.”
Adam sighed. “Turn that around. Maybe the occasional bad comment, but I think most of them will be good. I don’t know as much about fashion as you, but I do know an absolute sartorial disaster when I see one, and that dress looked beautiful. It also suits Lily very well. So please don’t worry about that. But you’ll need some time to get ready for that, to make sure you’re happy with what you’re wearing and all that.”
Kurt nodded absently, starting to think about wearing the black suit in public for the first time.
Adam said, “I have an errand to run in the afternoon, so I’ll be leaving you alone for perhaps a couple of hours. But I’ll be back in time to get ready.”
“Okay. What do you need to get?”
“It's a surprise.”
“For me?”
“Yes, for you.” Adam sounded so pleased and indulgent at the same time it rather alarmed Kurt.
“You don’t need to get me anything else, Adam, I’m fine, really. I appreciate it, but I don’t need anything.”
“You do need this. Now stop thinking about it, and just be surprised.”
“Okay.”
“That’s Saturday night. On Sunday evening, we’re going back to Gabriel’s for our next ‘gardening’ meeting. I think this one will be better attended than the last, but I have a lot of calls to make and e-mails to send.”
“What am I going to do while you’re doing that?” Kurt complained, already missing Adam though he was right next to him.
“You’ll figure something out. You can work on some clothes for yourself or me, or do more designs for the gym’s logo, or anything else you’ve already said you would do. And I think we need to give Hugo an answer. Perhaps on Monday.”
“Okay. I’ll figure something out.” Kurt realized he really was being given more freedom than the average hybrid.
Next - Chapter 90-A
Fandom: Glee
Pairing: Kadam (Kurt Hummel/Adam Crawford)
Rating: R
Spoilers: AU. If you’ve seen Kurt and Adam interact, you’re good.
Summary: Adam is bored, and realizes he needs a companion. He decides to adopt a hybrid human/cat.
Warning: Mention of past abuse (non-sexual) from other canon Glee characters. This fic is not particularly kind to most canon Glee characters.
Length: About 7,000 words this chapter. About 400,000 words so far.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Glee characters in this story; they're owned by Fox. Any non-Glee characters are my own invention.
Chapter 88
CHAPTER 89
Kurt didn’t want to admit it, but he was a little nervous to see Artie again. They used to be friends, sort of, but what would it be like now? Artie would have more of a choice of friends now, so he might not want to hang around with him any more. He mentioned this to Adam as they drove to Gabriel’s house.
“Well, think about it this way. You’ve had some time to make new friends now, but you still want to spend time with him, right?”
He considered it a moment. “I think so. I mean, I do. But what if it’s too confusing for him? What if you’re more relaxed about things than Gabriel, and Artie might get confused about how he’s supposed to behave, and then say or do the wrong thing when they’re in public, then someone will report them and he’ll get in trouble and might -“
“Breathe, darling,” Adam instructed him.
Kurt shut up and tried to concentrate on just breathing, taking air in, and letting it out very slowly, until he was calmer.
Adam glanced over at him briefly before returning his gaze to the road. “Do you feel better now?” he asked.
“Yes and no.” At Adam’s confused look, he added, “Yes, I’m breathing easier, but no, I’m still worried about Artie.”
“Do you really think Gabriel is going to let him get in trouble?”
He realized Adam was right. “No. I’m sure he knows what he’s doing.”
“Right. Now why don’t you take a few minutes to think about what you want to say to Artie when you see him.”
Kurt knew that was a good idea, because he didn’t want to say the wrong thing right from the start. And he had no idea what to say.
Gabriel greeted them at the door, then added, “I’ve already given Artie permission to answer either of you, and talk to either of you, without going through me. And I wanted to check ahead of time, Kurt, and let you know it’s fine with me if you and Artie want to change to your animal forms later.”
Kurt heaved a huge sigh of relief. “Yes, please. Adam, that’s okay, isn’t it?”
“Of course. Gabriel and I can talk while you and Artie are playing, or whatever.”
Gabriel brought them into the living room, where Artie was waiting.
Even though it had only been a little over a month since they’d seen each other, Kurt was surprised to see Artie hadn’t changed at all. He was wearing slightly nicer clothes, but that was it. Somehow, Kurt had been expecting him to look a lot older. Maybe because he felt like he’d grown up, himself, quite a bit since leaving the pet store. Artie had only had a few days to make any real changes.
Gabriel said, “Artie, our guests are here. I’m sure you remember Adam?”
“Uh-huh. Yes, sir. Hi, Mr. Adam,” he recited dutifully, though he only glanced at him before looking at Kurt.
“Hello, Artie. I hope you’re doing well. And you can call me Adam.”
Artie nodded once. “Thanks, Adam.”
Kurt smiled and greeted his friend. “Hi, Artie. You look good. How are you doing?”
“I’m good.” Artie’s shoulders relaxed a bit, and his face smoothed out. “So glad to be out of there, and I really like it here.” He glanced up at Gabriel, and looked worried.
“Why don’t we all sit down?”
Gabriel indicated the sofa, so both Kurt and Adam sat down. Artie was in a spiffy-looking wheelchair that looked much more comfortable than the one at New Directions.
“Can I get anyone anything to drink? Lemonade, soda, coffee, or tea?” he offered.
Kurt looked at Adam, who nodded, and spoke up. “I’d love some lemonade. Kurt?”
“Yes, thank you, lemonade,” he agreed.
Gabriel looked at Artie, who licked his lips. “Yeah, thanks, I’d really like some, too.”
“I’ll be right back. Please go ahead and talk among yourselves.”
Now it was just the three of them. He was pretty sure Adam was waiting for the two of them to talk. Kurt thought he knew a good question to break the ice.
“How do you like your new wheelchair? Can you get around by yourself in it?”
Artie laughed, sounding only a little nervous. “I’m still trying to get used to it, but it’s awesome. This one’s manual, but a lot better than my old one. Gabriel said maybe I should get used to this one first, then we’ll get a power chair.”
“That’s great! And I love the color.”
Artie glanced down, his hand moving to caress the side of the chair. “Most of the ones we saw were black, but this one came with a choice of colors. I liked the metallic green, and they already had it in stock.” He held up his left hand. “I’ve also got gloves now, which make it easier to move it.” He peeled the gloves off and set them in his lap, so he could hold his glass more easily.
Adam spoke up. “I love it! Soon you’ll be able to race up and down the halls at Gabriel’s office!”
Kurt and Artie both gave him astonished looks, and his brow furrowed.
“Maybe that’s not such a hot idea, now that I think about it. But it should be more comfortable, anyway.”
“It is!” Artie agreed. “It’s got a four-inch thick foam seat, which my butt really appreciates. I mean -“ he blushed, then continued, “the other one has very little padding, and I’d get sore after being in it for just a little while. It makes a big difference.”
Gabriel came in, carrying an oddly-shaped tray, that had a cut-out section on one side. It carried four glasses of lemonade. He set it on the coffee table, and handed them each a glass and a napkin, before attaching the tray to Artie’s chair. The cut-out was for his body, so he could easily reach the glass again once he set it down.
Gabriel picked up his own glass and sat in the wing chair between the sofa and Artie’s chair.
“I agree, it’s not a good idea for Artie to go racing around the hallways, at work or here, but maybe when we go to the park, if there aren’t a lot of people or other hybrids or animals to get in the way, he can really test it out. I can jog along next to you with your leash.”
“I can’t wait to go to the park! I haven’t had much chance to be outside, in a long time.”
Adam looked thoughtful. “Maybe we should try that, too, sometime, Kurt. If you want a chance to run a bit outside. As a human or cat.”
Kurt thought that sounded like a great idea. He loved being able to really stretch his legs, but hadn’t had much opportunity to run. He really liked the treadmills at the gym. It was the closest thing to running he’d done since leaving New Directions. There it was only running laps around the fenced-in back yard, but at least it was something.
Gabriel said, “He’ll also need a harness, around his chest. As a cat, I mean. It will be easier for both of you, if you’re not pulling on a collar that’s just around his neck.”
“I’ve seen those, at the pet store,” Kurt clarified. “But I thought they were for big dogs.”
“They have them in different sizes. It’s just so you’ve got the straps around your back and chest, rather than your neck. You’re less likely to get hurt that way,” Gabriel explained. “It might be better for you as a human, too, if you’re running in that form.”
“What about me? Will I need a different kind or collar or leash?” Artie asked. “If I’m being walked in public, as a rabbit, I mean.”
“I don’t think so. You’ll be strapped into the cart, and we can attach a metal ring or something onto the cart, perhaps.”
Artie turned to face Kurt.
“Gabriel showed me your designs for a cart to use when I’m in rabbit form,” Artie mentioned. “I liked them. I think it’s a great idea.”
“Oh, good! I was hoping they might be helpful.” It was a relief to know Artie liked the drawings.
“Maybe,” Gabriel suggested, “the two of you can look at the designs together, and try to figure out what will work best. I can have something made to order.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Artie agreed.
They both drank more lemonade, clearly unsure how to proceed.
“Kurt, why don’t you tell Artie a little about what you’ve been doing since Adam adopted you,” Gabriel suggested. “Maybe it will give him some ideas on how he might want to spend his time.”
“Yeah, that sounds good,” Artie agreed.
“Well, let’s see…Adam’s been trying to help me with my reading. Gabriel figured out I need glasses to read. It made a huge difference,” Kurt sighed.
“I can see how it might.” Artie smiled, and pushed his own glasses back a little further.
“We’ve been singing, and Adam has a piano.”
“Nice!”
“Maybe the two of you can sing a duet sometime?” Adam suggested. “Or maybe you can come over - and Gabriel, too --” he added quickly, “when the Apples are there sometime. Tell Artie about the Apples,” he suggested, off Artie’s puzzled look.
“Oh, yeah!” Kurt grinned at the thought of Adam’s friends…maybe his friends now, too. “They’re a show choir group Adam put together in college, and they still get together and sing sometimes, even though Adam’s not part of the group anymore, because he already graduated,” Kurt explained.
“That’s cool! So you sing with them sometimes?” he asked Kurt.
“Uh-huh. Well, one time I did. That was at Adam’s house. I don’t know who’s hosting the next one, or if they’ll want me there.”
Adam rolled his eyes. “It’s Jessica. What do you think?”
Kurt blushed. “Yeah, I guess she won’t mind.”
“I have a feeling if I don’t bring you, she’s going to send me home to get you,” Adam sighed. He really didn’t sound too unhappy about it.
Kurt told Artie about meeting the members of Adam’s group, and how scared he’d been, until he realized he didn’t need to be.
“They really weren’t upset with me being there. Nobody said anything insulting. They were just curious, and some of them didn’t know much at all about hybrids.”
“Gabriel, I didn’t think to ask your permission for Artie to visit. I’m sorry. You might not think it’s a good idea,” Adam added.
Gabriel shook his head. “No, no, that’s fine. I actually think it’s a good idea, if you want to do it, Artie.”
“Um, it sounds like fun. How many people will there be?”
“About a dozen, give or take,” Adam explained. “There were only seven at the last one.”
“Maybe it will be good for them to meet another hybrid, so Kurt isn’t the only one they know,” Gabriel said thoughtfully. “But you might want to check with them first, because it sounds like it’s as much about old friends getting together, as it is about singing. It can be difficult to bring new people into an established group of friends.”
“True. I don’t think it will be a problem, but I’ll ask. I think they’ll like having another voice, even though neither Artie nor Kurt can officially join the group.”
“I don’t think I’d want to really join a group,” Artie spoke up. “I didn’t really like being part of New Directions. I like to sing, but the way people reacted to us, and the way Mr. Will ran things, it made me really uncomfortable.”
“Me, too,” Kurt agreed.
Adam leaned forward and gazed earnestly at Artie. “Actually, I think you’ll have the best of both worlds. You’ll get to occasionally sing with a group of people, just for fun, and only if you want to. If you don’t know a song, you don’t have to sing. You won’t have to perform in front of a crowd, and there won’t be any of the stress of an actual performance. If you make a mistake or forget the words, it’s no big deal. Some in the group might laugh or tease you about it, but we’ve all done things like that…skipped to the wrong verse, or messed up the choreography, things like that.”
“There’s choreography?” Artie looked worried again. He glanced down at his chair. “I’m not sure I can do that. Mr. Will would just pretty much park me in the chair and the others had to dance around me. It made me really -“ He sighed. “What’s the word?” He looked up at the ceiling as he tried to figure it out.
“Self-conscious?” Kurt suggested.
“Yeah. Too aware of myself, and I’d think everyone was staring at me, because I was literally in the way.”
Adam grinned broadly and slapped his own knee. “Well, guess what? There are people who find a way to dance in a wheelchair, and can move all around the stage. Yes, the other performers have to be aware of where you are, and where you’re supposed to be, so they don’t run into you, and you need to know the same so you don’t run into them. It takes a lot of practice, but it can be done.”
“Really? I always thought it looked like a lot of fun when I see other people dancing,” Artie said wistfully, “but I just figured it was something I’d never be able to do. Maybe this would be a compromise?”
“Let’s look into it,” Gabriel suggested.
“Hey, I wonder if there’s any classes like that at the gym?” Kurt mused aloud. “Or maybe Jerry or Daniel might know someone who can do that, or can teach Artie?”
Gabriel merely raised an eyebrow, and waited for Adam to speak.
“That’s a fantastic idea, Kurt! I’ll call tomorrow and find out.” He explained to Gabriel, “They’re the owners of the gym, and they’re sort of becoming friends. They’re very nice guys, and if they don’t know about wheelchair dancing themselves, they can probably help us find someone who does.”
“Artie and I can talk about maybe joining the same gym,” Gabriel suggested. “It might be good for both of us.” He looked over at Artie and smiled kindly. “I’ll explain more about it later, but Adam found a gym that he and Kurt can go to together. They welcome hybrids and their owners.”
“A gym? But I can’t - I’m not -“ Artie looked helplessly down at his legs, and balled up his fists. “There aren’t many exercises I can really do.”
Gabriel leaned closer and kept his voice cheerful. “Well, let’s try it and see. There are some exercises I’m going to teach you, that will help strengthen your muscles and keep you healthy. Maybe there are other things that might help. I really think at least physical therapy is in order, but maybe…well, we’ll see.” Artie still looked skeptical, so he added, “If you really don’t like it, I won’t insist we go. But let’s give it a try first, okay?”
Artie nodded, but didn’t give a verbal answer.
“They’re really nice guys, Artie,” Kurt stressed. “Nobody’s gonna make fun of you there, or give you a bad time. The staff won’t tolerate it.”
“Really?” Artie sighed, and Kurt could tell he didn’t want to be too negative. But he probably didn’t want to get his hopes up, either.
“It’s true,” Adam spoke up. “They won’t allow bullying of any kind, or anyone deliberately trying to make you uncomfortable. If you don’t mind, I can give them a little background, and it might make it easier for them to figure out the best ways to help you.”
Artie nodded. “Okay.”
Seeing that they were through with their drinks, Gabriel suggested Artie and Kurt change. “If you want to, but don’t feel obligated,” he emphasized.
“Sure. It should be fun,” Kurt agreed.
“Yeah, that would be nice,” Artie said.
Gabriel removed the tray. “Let’s go down to the playroom. I’ve cleared away anything breakable from there.”
<><><><><><><><><><>
Gabriel let Artie lead. He seemed to be wheeling himself along pretty well. They got to a sliding door off the kitchen, and Adam saw a ramp leading down to what he assumed was originally a basement. Artie easily reached down and pressed a rocker switch. It looked like he might be able to reach it in rabbit form, too, because it was low to the ground, but not out of reach of the wheelchair.
“There’s another switch higher up for me or other people,” Gabriel pointed out.
They let Artie get down the ramp first. It wasn’t very steep, but it was pretty long. The area was mostly a long hallway, with a doorway to the right that looked like it led to a laundry room. At the far end of the hallway, after the ramp ended, Adam saw some large shelves on the right side of the hall being used for storage. To the left, Adam could see there was another sliding door, though it was pushed into the doorframe at the moment.
“If you wouldn’t mind taking your shoes off, please, before we get to the playroom,” Gabriel suggested. “You can put them here. There are slippers if you want them, Adam, but Kurt, I don’t think you’ll be in human form for long.”
“Nope,” Kurt agreed.
Adam and Kurt soon had their shoes off. Adam accepted the offer of a pair of slippers, still wrapped. There was a small barrel of them to the right of the doorway. “They’re disposable, and I can get them in bulk,” Gabriel mentioned. “I want to keep the floor as sanitary as possible.”
Considering Artie would spend a lot of his rabbit-time on that floor, Adam thought it made a lot of sense.
Just beyond the barrel were more bookshelves. There weren’t a lot of books there yet, but he had a feeling that would change.
Artie pressed another light switch outside the doorway, and rolled into the playroom. The lights were recessed into the ceiling. They slowly followed behind Artie. He’d parked his wheelchair just to the right of the doorway. The end of the room was just a yard or so behind it. The carpeting was very low pile, presumably stain guarded in some way, medium gray in color. There were three large beanbag chairs, in red, green and yellow. They were the only real spots of color in the room.
Artie was grinning from ear to ear. “I love this room,” he said in a hushed voice. “I want to live down here.”
Gabriel sighed, but it sounded more fond than exasperated.
“We’ve discussed it, and I’d rather keep the playroom and his room separate.”
“This is so cool!” Kurt exclaimed. “It’s huge!”
“It gets better!” Artie crowed, pointing to the far end of the room. They could see a wide doorway in the far wall. “You guys need to check out the bathroom down here!”
Gabriel slid the door open, and flipped on the light switch. He stood aside and let Adam and Kurt check out the room. It took up the length of the entire wall, but was still fairly wide. Directly ahead of them were a couple of sinks. One was on a pedestal, but fairly low to the ground. There was room for a wheelchair to get close. Next to it was a row of shelves, and some drawers underneath that. All were low enough to accommodate Artie’s wheelchair, yet would be accessible by someone standing as well.
“Yes. It was originally designed as a utility sink, but I had it refinished.”
Beneath that sink, pushed against the back of the wall, was a large mat, with a clean litterbox on top of it. One side was very low. He could see shredded newspaper as well as what he presumed was rabbit litter. It didn’t look much different to him than cat litter.
To the left, there was another wide doorway, with the sliding door pushed into the frame. They could see a toilet, and grab bars on the walls to both sides and behind it. This area took up that entire end of the bathroom. Adam judged there would be plenty of room for Artie to transfer off the wheelchair safely.
The entire far right of the room was taken up by a huge shower, which looked like it was made from actual marble. The color was variegated shades of beige, tan and brown, and it was lovely. The floor inclined on all sides, to drain near the showerhead at one end. The rest of the floor was level. There was a bench along two sides of the shower, but there was still room to get a wheelchair inside, where Artie could transfer from the chair to the bench. There were also water jets located at different heights along the wall under the showerhead. There was a panel of buttons a little above the level of the bench, next to the water jets.
“Artie can press the numbered buttons, which correspond to the different jets,” Gabriel explained. “He can have one or all of them on. Pressing the button once turns one on, at low pressure. Increasing the number of presses to the button increases the pressure. Pressing and holding the button for five seconds will turn off the jet.”
“Oh, my God! Adam -“
Kurt was a comical cross of ecstatic and envious, but Adam knew he daren’t laugh.
“Sorry, Kurt, I don’t know if we can renovate either of the bathrooms that much,” he said. “Though if we ever move, I’ll keep it in mind.” He didn’t hide the regret in his own voice. It looked like the most awesome shower he’d ever seen.
They went back into the main room. Adam sat in the green beanbag, and watched as Gabriel helped Artie out of the chair, and onto the floor. Kurt stood off to one side, biting his lip and furrowing his brow, but Artie was soon out of the chair. Gabriel pushed it near the door, next to the red beanbag at the far end, and sat in the yellow one. Despite having long legs, Adam thought it was quite comfortable.
There was now a huge expanse of floor. Adam estimated that the room took up the equivalent of the living room and maybe more than that.
“Does this take up most of the same space as the house?” he wondered aloud.
Gabriel nodded. “With the laundry room, and a sort of workroom, yes. I had originally thought this might be a good guest apartment for my parents, but my mother prefers being on the same level as everything else. My dad thinks it’s nice, but of course, now they’re perfectly fine with Artie, and his friends, using it instead.”
“This is a fantastic idea.” Adam didn’t mention that it was a shame that Artie didn’t literally have the run of the room, since he couldn’t move that well as a rabbit. But maybe once he got a cart set up for him, it would be different. But at least there was nothing hard, except the wheelchair, that he or Kurt could bang into or trip over.
Adam tried to watch both Kurt and Artie change, but he couldn’t even pinpoint who changed first, let alone how it happened. Gabriel lifted the rabbit out of the chair, and set him on the floor, with his legs out behind him. Adam had seen him in that position before, and thought it looked uncomfortable, though it didn’t seem to bother Artie.
The rabbit stayed right where he was, leaning forward a bit to sniff at Kurt. The cat slowly inched forward, tail twitching. Adam hoped he wouldn’t pounce on Artie, even as a playful gesture.
Soon they were rubbing noses, though they both seemed a bit wary. Kurt’s tail was now wrapped around himself. Artie was quivering, probably in fear, Adam thought.
Gabriel sat in the same beanbag he had before, where he and Adam could easily talk.
“I’m sure they’ll be alright,” Gabriel explained, keeping his eyes on the hybrids, “but I just want to be here to supervise. Maybe another time they can play in another room. But until Artie is more mobile, I don’t want him to feel trapped or scared.”
“Kurt won’t hurt him,” Adam protested, hoping that was true. Human Kurt wouldn’t, but he knew a lot less about what went on in kitty Kurt’s mind. Cats were predators after all.
“I didn’t think he would.”
They watched the two animals warily sniffing each other. Kurt’s ears twitched more than Artie’s did, and Kurt had more of a tail to move expressively. Still, Artie’s nose and tail twitched, and he made some sounds that seemed like an inquiry.
“Can they understand each other like this?” Adam whispered.
“Let’s find out.”
Kurt meeped at him, and Artie shook his head. They seemed to be talking at each other more than to each other, and Artie’s entire head drooped. Kurt’s tail was swishing back and forth, a sign of annoyance. Then Kurt butted Artie’s head with his, and the rabbit looked up at him. They were close to the same size, though Artie was a bit smaller. Kurt crouched down with his butt up in the air, his tail slowly lashing.
Artie looked at him warily.
Kurt leaped up into the air and over Artie.
“Not fair,” Adam called out, annoyed that Kurt would be so inconsiderate.
Artie had looked scared for a moment, but now he just looked disappointed.
Kurt lowered his head and slunk back over to Artie, and started grooming his ears, using his tongue. Artie’s body was quivering for a moment, then he relaxed, and let Kurt do his thing.
“They seem to be getting along okay,” Adam observed. He relaxed slightly. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust either of them, but this was a new environment, for both of them. He had no idea how rabbits tried to establish their ownership of a place, or their dominance, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to witness it, either.
Kurt finally stopped his grooming. Adam didn’t really see any difference in Artie’s ears, but he was far enough away that he supposed they looked different to Kurt. Artie nuzzled Kurt’s face for a moment, but didn’t attempt to return the grooming. Adam relaxed further.
Gabriel stood up. Both animals turned their heads towards him and tensed slightly. “I’m just going to get one of Artie’s toys.”
“I happen to have a couple of Kurt’s toys with me,” Adam added. Kurt meeped at him, his voice rising at the end as though it were a question.
“You’ll see in a minute,” he promised, opening the small backpack he’d brought. He was relieved he and Gabriel had discussed this ahead of time. It would be interesting to see if they shared their toys willingly, or each played with their own. Hopefully there would be no misunderstandings of ownership later.
He ignored Roo, for the moment, thinking perhaps getting Kurt high on catnip wasn’t the best idea at the moment. He brought out Harriet, and the bright ping pong ball. When Gabriel came back, Adam showed them to him. He shook his head at the ping pong ball and Adam put it back. Now that he thought about it, while Kurt might enjoy it, Artie might be frustrated that he couldn’t play much with it, even if Kurt let him. He bent down and put a large, plush carrot in front of Artie. Within seconds of Artie biting down on it and holding it with his paws, he realized it had a squeaker inside.
Naturally, Kurt was fascinated with the noise. He meeped a couple of times and looked over at Adam with a pleading expression.
“I suppose you want a squeaky toy, now?” Adam asked in resignation.
Kurt waved his tail back and forth and nodded his head. He blinked slowly a couple of times.
“Sorry,” Gabriel murmured to Adam. “I hope you don’t mind the noise.”
“It’s fine. Looks like I’d better get used to it, anyway.”
Kurt just watched Artie chew on the carrot. Adam was 99% certain he wouldn’t try to take it away from his friend.
“Kurt, do you want Harriet?” he called out.
The kitty was at his feet in a flash, standing up and putting his paws on Adam’s knees. Adam opened his hand, and let Kurt delicately take the mouse in his jaws. He flipped his tail in a jaunty “thanks” and ran back to sit close to Artie. After a moment, he laid down, and started grooming Harriet thoroughly.
Artie stopped playing with the carrot and looked over. His ears came up slightly, then went back down again. He returned to his own toy.
“I need to find some actual activities for Artie,” Gabriel mentioned, keeping a careful eye on the two hybrids. “He can drag himself along on the floor, but it takes a long time, and it doesn’t really seem like fun for him. I really wish he could run and jump and hop around like he’s meant to.”
“I can’t imagine how I’d feel if it were Kurt.”
Gabriel looked at him curiously, and he continued. “I mean, I’m sure I would still have adopted him, but I’d feel so bad for him. I thought about adopting Artie, actually, before I met Kurt. At the time, I thought I really wouldn’t be able to properly care for him. But it makes me think, if something happened to Kurt, I’d do whatever I could to make him comfortable and help him adapt.”
Gabriel nodded. “I’m glad you adopted Kurt. I think the two of you are well-suited to one another. I really enjoy Artie’s company, and I’m also intrigued by the challenge of helping him become more independent. I’m not sure he’s ready to be as independent as Kurt,” he continued, “but it’s a shame that they made him so dependent on others at the store. We’re finding that there are a lot of things that Artie can do on his own, or with the right type of equipment, that he never realized he could do.”
“He already seems more confident than when I saw him last,” Adam watched the animals playing, then lowered his voice. “I hope they can’t hear us, or haven’t been listening.”
“I have a feeling they’re paying more attention to each other than us. I’m glad they’re playing nicely together. I was afraid Kurt might try to dominate Artie, and I don’t want him to be uncomfortable in his own home.”
Adam shook his head. “If anything, I’d say he’s more likely to be protective of him, than try to scare or intimidate him.”
Artie grasped the toy between his paws, and threw it up in the air. He raised himself up as much as he could, and it was clear he intended to catch it in his mouth. The toy sailed right past him, well out of reach. Making grumbling sounds to himself, Artie slowly started to crawl across the carpet to where the toy was, a couple of yards away. Adam and Gabriel waited to see what would happen.
The toy had landed closer to Kurt than Artie. He looked at the carrot curiously, then got up and approached it. He sniffed at it. Artie tensed up, and then tried to move faster.
Kurt merely batted the carrot away, so it landed much closer to Artie. He only had to move a few more inches to get to it.
Adam was pretty sure the vocal exchange that followed were the equivalent of, “thanks” and “you’re welcome.”
“That was a relief,” Gabriel murmured.
“They’re not really playing together,” Adam observed. “I kind of thought they would.”
“Well, I was just thinking about that. I’m not sure how much they can do at the moment. What does Kurt do when he plays with your neighbor’s cat?”
“Misty? Well, they roll around, chase each other through the apartment, jump all over the place, play in Misty’s treehouse thingy… Oh. Stupid. Of course Artie can’t do those things.”
“You’re not stupid,” Gabriel scolded him lightly. “You just haven’t spent a lot of time around Artie yet. Neither have I, really, but I’m learning. I’d love it if he had full mobility and could do all the normal things he should be able to do, and have fun while getting exercise at the same time. He can exercise a bit better when he’s human, actually. But we’ll have to experiment, and see how much he actually can play. He could climb into a treehouse, if it had a ramp instead of stairs, maybe.”
“That sounds like a good idea,” Adam commented. “I’m a little concerned. Kurt isn’t usually this quiet. I mean, he doesn’t stay in one place for very long when he’s a cat, unless he’s taking a nap.”
“It’s nice that he’s pacing himself for Artie. I’m going to look into getting a cart as soon as I can. He and Kurt still need to look at those drawings together.”
“Maybe before we leave, if they’re both ready to change by then.”
Gabriel glanced at his watch. “I didn’t really ask before. How long can you stay? Would you like to stay for dinner? It would be no trouble.”
“Well, we don’t have any specific plans, so thank you. I’m sure it will be okay with Kurt, but I’ll check with him when he changes.”
“I don’t want to wear Artie out, or overwhelm him with too much going on with new people at once, but I figured since he already knows Kurt, it shouldn’t be too upsetting.”
“If he doesn’t like the idea, we’ll just leave, it’s no trouble either way.” Adam was determined to go along with whatever both hybrids wanted, at the moment. Assuming they both wanted the same thing, that is.
“I want to change the subject for a bit,” Gabriel said. He glanced at the two animals on the floor, but they were playing quietly next to each other, acting very companionable. “I wanted to discuss the next meeting of our ‘gardening club’. I was thinking we might be able to have it here, this Sunday.”
“This Sunday? It’s awfully short notice, isn’t it? It’s okay for us, but won’t other people need more time to plan?” He wasn’t sure how many people would be able to make it on such short notice.
“Well, I’ve contacted a couple of people already. Let me explain what I have in mind. Maybe we can divide the phone calls between us.”
Adam agreed. He’d already given some thought to whom he might want to invite to meetings in the future. If they couldn’t make it this time, there was always the next meeting.
<><><><><><><><><><>
After a while, Kurt heard Gabriel call out to Artie, asking if they were ready to change back. He normally would have liked to stay in cat form a few hours longer, but he wanted to see what his friend wanted to do.
Artie seemed tired or frustrated, and changed back to human almost immediately. Kurt looked over at Adam, who nodded at him. He meeped his annoyance, but thought it was probably too quiet for anyone but Artie to hear. He got a small smile in response from his friend. He changed back, and helped Artie get into his wheelchair when Gabriel brought it over.
“Artie, I’ve invited Adam and Kurt to stay for dinner. Is that alright with you?”
The question wasn’t that complicated, but Kurt could easily remember how confusing it was, when he was first adopted, to be asked for his preference in things like that.
“Sure, it’s fine. I mean, I’d like that,” Artie added.
“Kurt? What do you think?”
He supposed Adam was just trying to be polite. “I’d like that, sure.”
“Good. Gabriel suggested you two might want to look at your drawings together. Perhaps you can do that, while I help Gabriel prepare dinner? That is, if you want help,” he asked with a broad smile.
“It will certainly go faster that way,” Gabriel acknowledged. “That sounds like a good idea. You boys can clean up now, or just before dinner, whichever you’d like. Kurt, there’s a guest bathroom just down the hall on the right.”
They made their way slowly back upstairs.
Kurt liked to freshen up after changing, though he didn’t always get to do it. He had his messenger bag with him, and he carried a travel toothbrush and toothpaste in there, as well as a comb, individually wrapped moist towelettes, and a few other things, so he could be comfortable when away from home. He’d already put Harriet in the bag so she wouldn’t get left behind.
Artie shrugged. “I can wait.”
“Me too,” Kurt agreed.
Gabriel spread out the designs on the kitchen table. “As soon as you’re through, we’ll put those away, and Adam can set the table for me. I imagine you’ll both need more time than we will to clean up.”
“Thank you,” Kurt sighed.
He and Artie looked at the designs together, and he pointed out what he saw as the advantages and disadvantages of each. Artie pointed out a couple of things he hadn’t thought about, and they soon agreed on one design, with a couple of modifications. Kurt took a pencil and large eraser out of his bag, and soon had made the changes. Adam and Gabriel came over to take a look.
“That looks very useful,” Gabriel commented. “I think I know someone who can put it together for me.”
“You don’t want me to do it?” Kurt asked, before he thought better of it. It wasn’t his place to offer his services for anything.
Gabriel hesitated only a moment. “It’s not that I don’t think you could do it, Kurt. If Adam is willing to let you try, it’s okay with me. But it seems to me you both have so many other obligations right now, or other projects. I’d hate to see you have your attention so divided that you’re not satisfied with the results of anything.”
That made sense to Kurt, so he nodded.
“I have to agree with Gabriel. But, since it’s your design, I do think we should get it patented, to be on the safe side.”
“I don’t know if it can be patented in Kurt’s name, but I can ask Julia.”
Adam grumbled a bit, but agreed. “I also think perhaps we can take a little bit of time for you to check it out before it’s finalized, and I suppose Artie should be able to try it out, as well, before you pay for it, Gabriel.”
“I was thinking the same thing.”
Kurt was relieved when they were dismissed shortly after that, to get cleaned up for dinner. He left the designs with Gabriel, in case they wanted to change anything else later on. He wasn’t sure how he felt about someone else doing the work. He wanted to do it himself, but Adam and Gabriel were right, he probably would be too distracted by everything else, and he didn’t want Artie to have anything less than the best cart, no matter who made it. He thought Adam was trying to protect him, so whoever built it wouldn’t get credit for the design, and maybe make money by making more carts, but if they could help other disabled hybrids, or animals, why not? He supposed they’d have to talk about it later. He wrote his concern down mentally, and put it in the LATER box he’d stored in the back of his mind.
<><><><><><><><><><>
On their way home later that night, Adam went into more detail about his concerns.
“Don’t forget, tomorrow night we’re going to Lily’s benefit. It might be fun, and just think, you’ll be able to hear first-hand what people think about the dress you made for her.”
“That’s true. Maybe some good comments as well as the bad ones.”
Adam sighed. “Turn that around. Maybe the occasional bad comment, but I think most of them will be good. I don’t know as much about fashion as you, but I do know an absolute sartorial disaster when I see one, and that dress looked beautiful. It also suits Lily very well. So please don’t worry about that. But you’ll need some time to get ready for that, to make sure you’re happy with what you’re wearing and all that.”
Kurt nodded absently, starting to think about wearing the black suit in public for the first time.
Adam said, “I have an errand to run in the afternoon, so I’ll be leaving you alone for perhaps a couple of hours. But I’ll be back in time to get ready.”
“Okay. What do you need to get?”
“It's a surprise.”
“For me?”
“Yes, for you.” Adam sounded so pleased and indulgent at the same time it rather alarmed Kurt.
“You don’t need to get me anything else, Adam, I’m fine, really. I appreciate it, but I don’t need anything.”
“You do need this. Now stop thinking about it, and just be surprised.”
“Okay.”
“That’s Saturday night. On Sunday evening, we’re going back to Gabriel’s for our next ‘gardening’ meeting. I think this one will be better attended than the last, but I have a lot of calls to make and e-mails to send.”
“What am I going to do while you’re doing that?” Kurt complained, already missing Adam though he was right next to him.
“You’ll figure something out. You can work on some clothes for yourself or me, or do more designs for the gym’s logo, or anything else you’ve already said you would do. And I think we need to give Hugo an answer. Perhaps on Monday.”
“Okay. I’ll figure something out.” Kurt realized he really was being given more freedom than the average hybrid.
Next - Chapter 90-A