Xiang - Knight Rider (mirror universe), Michael x KARR
She didn't hear the mewling, but she did feel a little lump under her workstation. April jumped back and looked under the table. There it was, a small black fuzz ball of a kitten with little white feet and a pink nose and mouth, mewling desperately. It took a few shaky, wary steps toward April, favoring its right front paw.
"Poor kitten," April mumbled, picking up the creature and holding it to her chest. "What's wrong your paw?"
The kitten mewled again, as if asking for help.
For a moment, April considered taking the kitten in, but she quickly remembered she couldn't. Bonnie hated cats, and if she found it (a him), she would make April get rid of him. She would have given him a little home in a cardboard box under her workbench, but the way he was mewling and crying (for what, God alone knew), someone would hear him-and that someone would be Bonnie or Mr. Miles, and neither would appreciate a stray in one of the Foundation's work areas. "What I do you?" April asked quietly, stroking his head with one finger.
The mewling became a sort of purring that April could feel reverberating through the kitten's thin body and into her fingertips. The poor thing was so happy with a little love, love she was willing but unable to provide. God, she couldn't put the poor baby out on the streets to fend for himself; he'd barely last an hour.
April hated admitting it, but she wasn't very popular, so she didn't have many friends at or outside of her work (Bonnie made sure of that) to whom she could turn. There was really only one person she knew and somewhat trusted who would know what to do with an injured kitten. Carefully cradling him to her chest, April left the repair bay to look for him.
-.-.-.-
"Michael, please take care him?" April pleaded, feeling terribly self-conscious about her poor grammar. It would have been easier to sign, but Michael didn't know any ASL-and besides, her hands were full of mewling black kitten.
"No," Michael flatly denied.
The door behind them opened, and KARR, recently transferred to his human shell, stepped inside. He looked up at Michael, smiled and nodded, then grinned at April-and her companion. "Such a cute kitten, April!" he signed, taking the creature from her. The kitten was almost indistinguishable from his dark button down. "Where did you find him?"
"Repair bay," April explained, almost sadly. "Hurt and Bonnie and Mr. Miles real mad if find him." KARR noted her deterioration in grammar, a sign of how upset she was with the idea, as she appealed to Michael again. "Please keep, Michael?"
"Could he keep him, Michael?" KARR cut in, looking and sounding damnably hopeful.
"Who the hell is 'we?'" Michael questioned.
"Well… One of us," KARR softly amended.
"You or KARR," April appealed. "Please, Michael?"
Michael looked at them, April and KARR pleading with him with hopeful blue and green eyes. "God almighty-fine," he conceded. "We'll figure out something."
April smiled and thanked the pair profusely before returning to her work station. KARR continued to hold onto the kitten, stroking his head and back and worrying for the injured animal's paw; Michael just looked irritated with the whole situation. "C'mon," he said sharply, climbing into the front seat of what had, a few weeks ago, been KARR.
"Where are we going, Michael?" KARR asked, sitting in the passenger seat, the kitten still cradled to his chest like precious cargo.
"Taking your little buddy to the vet," Michael answered, turning the keys in the ignition.
KARR murmured his sincerest thanks to Michael, then turned his attention to the purring kitten in his lap. He had no collar, and was too young for one besides, so he was likely a kitten from an alley cat that had somehow wandered onto Foundation grounds. If he was alone, KARR noted, his mother had likely passed, or he'd been abandoned or lost. "Good think April found you, hmm?" he asked softly, rubbing its head with his index finger. "I'm going to name you… Xiang." He lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "It's Chinese for 'lucky.'"
Despite the words being whispered, Michael still heard them. "Oh, God-KARR, don't name it," he groaned.
"Why?" KARR asked quietly.
"Because if you name it, you get attached to it," Michael explained as he pulled of the Foundation property. "You know you can't keep it."
"Wh…Why?" KARR held the kitten close, horrified that Michael suggest he be rid of him.
"You live in one of those repair bays, remember?" the human reminded. "If Barstow or Miles sees that cat, they'll freak."
KARR nodded slowly-of course. April couldn't keep Xiang in a repair bay; why would they let him? "Do you think we could find a nice shelter for him?"
Michael grunted in reply. God, this is what he got for doing April and KARR a fucking favor.
-.-.-.-
A couple hours, a bandaged paw, some vaccines and nearly one hundred dollars later, Michael and KARR were sitting in an exam room talking to a nurse about Xiang's aftercare. Michael was truly disinterested in the whole conversation, but KARR was paying rapt attention. Apparently, he'd forgotten he couldn't keep the damn thing.
"And will you be taking Xiang home with you?" the nurse asked.
Here, Michael perked up and spoke before KARR could even dream of the affirmative. "Can't, I'm afraid."
The nurse paused slightly. "…Oh. You do understand that if you don't take him home, he'll be put in a shelter?"
"Yeah," Michael confirmed. "It's a decent shelter, right?" He shot KARR a sidelong glance, as if asking if knowing that would placate him in lieu of keeping the cat.
"Decent, but it's crowded," the nurse replied, scratching Xiang's ears.
"What will happen to him then?" KARR asked softly.
"If he doesn't get adopted after so many months," she explained, "he'll probably be put down, I'm afraid."
Michael quirked an eyebrow and looked over at the AI. KARR looked legitimately horrified at the idea… then crushed. He stroked the kitten's back, damn near wincing when it purred in response.
Jesus, he looked so miserable, and would probably mope for months. "We have room," Michael told the nurse. "We can take him home." He glanced over at KARR. "How's that?"
KARR sat up straight, very surprised. "But Michael, where will I-"
"I'll keep him at my place," Michael dismissed as the nurse stepped out. "But you clean the litter box-is that clear?"
KARR nodded gratefully. "Of course, Michael. Thank you."
Title: Lucky
Author: TheCrazyAlaskan
Fandom / Setting: Classic Knight Rider, mirror universe
Characters / Pairings: April, Michael x KARR
Rating: T
Genre: General, fluff
Word Count: 1108
Warnings / Notes: Prompt from locoexclaimer .
Summary: Neither Bonnie nor Devon would be happy to find a kitten in the repair bay, so April found herself taking it to the last person she could-Michael.
This idea was too freaking cute to not write it.
April, Michael, KARR © Glen A Larson
"Poor kitten," April mumbled, picking up the creature and holding it to her chest. "What's wrong your paw?"
The kitten mewled again, as if asking for help.
For a moment, April considered taking the kitten in, but she quickly remembered she couldn't. Bonnie hated cats, and if she found it (a him), she would make April get rid of him. She would have given him a little home in a cardboard box under her workbench, but the way he was mewling and crying (for what, God alone knew), someone would hear him-and that someone would be Bonnie or Mr. Miles, and neither would appreciate a stray in one of the Foundation's work areas. "What I do you?" April asked quietly, stroking his head with one finger.
The mewling became a sort of purring that April could feel reverberating through the kitten's thin body and into her fingertips. The poor thing was so happy with a little love, love she was willing but unable to provide. God, she couldn't put the poor baby out on the streets to fend for himself; he'd barely last an hour.
April hated admitting it, but she wasn't very popular, so she didn't have many friends at or outside of her work (Bonnie made sure of that) to whom she could turn. There was really only one person she knew and somewhat trusted who would know what to do with an injured kitten. Carefully cradling him to her chest, April left the repair bay to look for him.
-.-.-.-
"Michael, please take care him?" April pleaded, feeling terribly self-conscious about her poor grammar. It would have been easier to sign, but Michael didn't know any ASL-and besides, her hands were full of mewling black kitten.
"No," Michael flatly denied.
The door behind them opened, and KARR, recently transferred to his human shell, stepped inside. He looked up at Michael, smiled and nodded, then grinned at April-and her companion. "Such a cute kitten, April!" he signed, taking the creature from her. The kitten was almost indistinguishable from his dark button down. "Where did you find him?"
"Repair bay," April explained, almost sadly. "Hurt and Bonnie and Mr. Miles real mad if find him." KARR noted her deterioration in grammar, a sign of how upset she was with the idea, as she appealed to Michael again. "Please keep, Michael?"
"Could he keep him, Michael?" KARR cut in, looking and sounding damnably hopeful.
"Who the hell is 'we?'" Michael questioned.
"Well… One of us," KARR softly amended.
"You or KARR," April appealed. "Please, Michael?"
Michael looked at them, April and KARR pleading with him with hopeful blue and green eyes. "God almighty-fine," he conceded. "We'll figure out something."
April smiled and thanked the pair profusely before returning to her work station. KARR continued to hold onto the kitten, stroking his head and back and worrying for the injured animal's paw; Michael just looked irritated with the whole situation. "C'mon," he said sharply, climbing into the front seat of what had, a few weeks ago, been KARR.
"Where are we going, Michael?" KARR asked, sitting in the passenger seat, the kitten still cradled to his chest like precious cargo.
"Taking your little buddy to the vet," Michael answered, turning the keys in the ignition.
KARR murmured his sincerest thanks to Michael, then turned his attention to the purring kitten in his lap. He had no collar, and was too young for one besides, so he was likely a kitten from an alley cat that had somehow wandered onto Foundation grounds. If he was alone, KARR noted, his mother had likely passed, or he'd been abandoned or lost. "Good think April found you, hmm?" he asked softly, rubbing its head with his index finger. "I'm going to name you… Xiang." He lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "It's Chinese for 'lucky.'"
Despite the words being whispered, Michael still heard them. "Oh, God-KARR, don't name it," he groaned.
"Why?" KARR asked quietly.
"Because if you name it, you get attached to it," Michael explained as he pulled of the Foundation property. "You know you can't keep it."
"Wh…Why?" KARR held the kitten close, horrified that Michael suggest he be rid of him.
"You live in one of those repair bays, remember?" the human reminded. "If Barstow or Miles sees that cat, they'll freak."
KARR nodded slowly-of course. April couldn't keep Xiang in a repair bay; why would they let him? "Do you think we could find a nice shelter for him?"
Michael grunted in reply. God, this is what he got for doing April and KARR a fucking favor.
-.-.-.-
A couple hours, a bandaged paw, some vaccines and nearly one hundred dollars later, Michael and KARR were sitting in an exam room talking to a nurse about Xiang's aftercare. Michael was truly disinterested in the whole conversation, but KARR was paying rapt attention. Apparently, he'd forgotten he couldn't keep the damn thing.
"And will you be taking Xiang home with you?" the nurse asked.
Here, Michael perked up and spoke before KARR could even dream of the affirmative. "Can't, I'm afraid."
The nurse paused slightly. "…Oh. You do understand that if you don't take him home, he'll be put in a shelter?"
"Yeah," Michael confirmed. "It's a decent shelter, right?" He shot KARR a sidelong glance, as if asking if knowing that would placate him in lieu of keeping the cat.
"Decent, but it's crowded," the nurse replied, scratching Xiang's ears.
"What will happen to him then?" KARR asked softly.
"If he doesn't get adopted after so many months," she explained, "he'll probably be put down, I'm afraid."
Michael quirked an eyebrow and looked over at the AI. KARR looked legitimately horrified at the idea… then crushed. He stroked the kitten's back, damn near wincing when it purred in response.
Jesus, he looked so miserable, and would probably mope for months. "We have room," Michael told the nurse. "We can take him home." He glanced over at KARR. "How's that?"
KARR sat up straight, very surprised. "But Michael, where will I-"
"I'll keep him at my place," Michael dismissed as the nurse stepped out. "But you clean the litter box-is that clear?"
KARR nodded gratefully. "Of course, Michael. Thank you."
Title: Lucky
Author: TheCrazyAlaskan
Fandom / Setting: Classic Knight Rider, mirror universe
Characters / Pairings: April, Michael x KARR
Rating: T
Genre: General, fluff
Word Count: 1108
Warnings / Notes: Prompt from locoexclaimer .
Summary: Neither Bonnie nor Devon would be happy to find a kitten in the repair bay, so April found herself taking it to the last person she could-Michael.
This idea was too freaking cute to not write it.
April, Michael, KARR © Glen A Larson