FIC: Forever Home - Chapter 94
Title: Forever Home - Chapter 94 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 4,000 words this chapter.About 426,000 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 93
CHAPTER 94
Daniel was looking at the book, but not really reading it. He was trying, but he thought it was more important to keep an eye on the kids. He mentally erased that word, but he couldn’t help but sometimes look at them like that. Carl wasn’t much younger than him, but he was still a bit child-like in his demeanor sometimes. They got along well, but Daniel still wasn’t sure, after more than seven years of being together, just how much he was supposed to teach him. Carl was fine in public, he knew how to act, didn’t cause trouble, but at home they were closer to friends. Well, more than friends; he wondered, not for the first time, if his parents objected more to him sleeping with Carl than to actually owning a pet.
The four hybrids looked at each other, but no one was sure what to say.
“Artie?” Kurt asked.
The younger boy looked over at him, obviously nervous.
“I’ve already seen how cool this place is,” Kurt continued, “but Donna and Carl haven’t. Do you want to show them the bathroom?”
“Oh, yeah!”
Donna laughed nervously. “That might be a good idea. I, um, kind of need to use…”
“Right, got it!” Artie turned his wheelchair around and headed for the far end of the room. The door was partially open. “Uh, the toilet is to the left, sink straight ahead, shower to the right.”
Carl took a quick peek inside, but moved out of the way to let Donna in. He and Artie went back to where Kurt was waiting.
“It looks nice in there,” Carl said, scratching his head. “I mean, our place isn’t as big as this, it’s just a regular house. But we’ve got a really big back yard. Maybe you guys can come over sometime to play? I mean, you might like it more in your animal forms.”
Kurt nodded. “That would be nice. My dad wouldn’t let me out in the back yard unless he was with me. He was worried I’d run away, or someone would take me or something.”
“I like the grass,” Artie confirmed, “I just can’t move around all that well without this chair. I mean, I don’t have one of these that’s rabbit-sized.”
Carl blinked, and looked a bit nervous as he turned to Daniel. “Daniel, I’m sorry. I should have asked you first. Can Kurt and Artie come over sometime? I was thinking we could run around in the back yard.” He winced as the words left his mouth. “Well, um, you know, hang out in the yard.”
Daniel shrugged. “Fine with me, as long as Adam and Gabriel don’t mind.”
Kurt spoke up confidently. “Adam should be okay with it. And maybe I’ll have -“ He paused, and started again. “I’m going to build a sort of cart for Artie, that will help him get around when he’s a rabbit. He’ll be able to use his front legs to pull himself along. If the design works out like I think, it should work. I’m going to try to get that finished soon.”
He looked anxiously at Artie, who gave him a wry smile in return. “Thanks, Kurt. I know you mean well, and I hope it works. I just don’t want to get my hopes up and have it not work out.”
“What are we talking about?”
None of them had realized Donna was back. They’d been so engrossed in their talk, they hadn’t heard her come out to the main room.
Kurt explained the plan, and Donna was enthusiastic as well. “It really is a great yard. If you get the cart going, Artie might be able to keep up with the rest of us. I think there’ll be room for all of us there.”
“Will Adam and Gabriel and Jerry need to be there?” Kurt asked.
After a moment to think about it, Daniel replied, “Nah, I don’t think so. Gabriel seems really busy, and Adam is, too, with his book. Jerry won’t mind if Donna’s over at my place. We look out for each other’s pets all the time. Let’s call it a play date, and I’ll keep an eye on you guys. They’re welcome if they want to be there, but we’ll probably just hang out on the porch and have some cold drinks while you’re chasing each other or whatever.”
“Fun! Hey, are there any trees there?” Kurt asked.
“What, to climb?” Daniel asked dubiously.
“Yeah!”
Kurt sounded a little too excited.
“A few,” Daniel answered cautiously. “If you get up there, don’t be expecting me to get you down.”
“Oh, I’m not scared of heights. At least, I don’t think I am,” Kurt amended, scrunching up his face. “I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to get down again.”
Carl asked thoughtfully, “Maybe you could just go up a little ways? Then you can come back down again, to make sure you’re okay with that, then climb up higher.”
“That might work,” Daniel mused, “but with four or five of you there, I don’t want to be getting up on any ladders.”
“I promise I’ll get down by myself,” Kurt insisted. “And if I can’t, you can call Adam, and have him come get me.”
Daniel narrowed his eyes, wondering if Kurt was just winding him up.
“I just mean,” Kurt continued innocently, “Adam wouldn’t mind getting me down, I don’t think. But there isn’t really a back yard in our building. Well, there’s a little square with a lawn, and some flower beds, but there aren’t any trees.”
“Tell you what,” Daniel suggested, “why don’t you see if Adam will take you to the park sometime, and let you climb the trees there? Let’s see how he feels about getting you down if he needs to.”
“I’ll ask him.”
“The park sounds great!” Donna said. “Jerry takes me there sometimes, but just as a human, and we walk around. He hasn’t wanted to let me out as a cat, in a place where there are a lot of other people or animals. But we’ve got a nice back yard, with a big fence.”
“He doesn’t worry about you going over the fence?” Artie asked.
“No, he knows I wouldn’t. That is, he told me when we first moved there, I could only go outside if he was around, and if I promised not to ever go over the fence, or try to run outside it if he had the door open.”
“Hm. There’s a back yard here, but I haven’t spent much time there yet,” Artie confessed. “I want to explore it, but I think Gabriel is still trying to get me used to the house.”
“Is he taking you to work with him tomorrow?” Kurt asked.
“Uh-huh. That will be…interesting.”
Daniel knew Carl and Donna liked being at work with him and Jerry, but they were able to spend a fair amount of time with their pets, and at least check in on them fairly often. They also completely trusted each other around their pets, and knew in an emergency, the other could be relied on to take care of either one, or take either or both to the vet. They’d been going to Gabriel for quite a while. Jerry had done most of the research, but he’d shared his top three choices with Daniel. It didn’t take long to narrow them down to the one choice, the only one who seemed to care about the hybrids’ psychological well-being along with their physical health.
Artie cleared his throat. “Hey, you guys want to change, and play, or something?”
“Sure,” Carl agreed. “But I don’t have any of my toys with me. Donna?”
She shook her head. “I don’t, either. But we can find something to do, I’m sure.”
“I don’t have many toys yet,” Artie said, “but I think Gabriel put them in a box in the bathroom, to get them out of the way. But, let’s just talk about this a minute first. I’m a rabbit, Kurt and Donna are cats. No offense, Carl, but dogs kinda make me nervous.”
He inclined his head, and said, “I understand. But don’t worry. I know this is your territory. I’m not gonna try to take over, or hurt you, or the kitties. I’m pretty friendly in my other form.”
“He really is,” Donna agreed. “I’ve known him for years, and he’s always careful not to hurt me.”
Artie inhaled, then slowly let his breath out. “Okay. Um, have any of you met Mandy, Julia’s pet?”
They all shook their heads.
“I’ve met her, ‘cause, uh, Julia and Gabriel are, like, dating or something. She brought Mandy over once so we could meet, and she’s really sweet. She’s a dog, Irish Setter, I think, so she’s kinda big, but friendly enough. She’s just really…I’m not sure shy’s the right word. She’s nervous, especially around guys. I don’t know all the details, but she had an owner who was a real asshole, apparently.” He glanced up at Daniel. “Sorry for my language, but -“
Daniel shrugged. “I don’t care if you swear. And a lot of owners are assholes, so it doesn’t surprise me. Makes me angry, but at least she’s away from that guy now, right?”
“Yeah. She’s okay with me, though, and Gabriel. She might be okay with you, Kurt, ‘cause you’re -“ He seemed to be searching for a word. “Non-threatening. As a human, I mean, and as a cat, too, I guess. But just don’t - I don’t know.” He sighed, clearly frustrated.
Carl shook his head. “No problem. I’m a Golden Retriever, not real aggressive, you know? I’m not gonna do or say anything to upset her. Not deliberately, anyway.”
Kurt agreed. “Me either. I don’t mind meeting new hybrids now, but I remember what it was like when I was at the store. It wasn’t that long ago.”
“Cool.” Artie shifted around a bit in his chair. “Now, if everybody’s ready to change -“
Daniel always found it fascinating when Carl changed, but he’d seen it countless times. He’d seen Donna change quite often, too. He tried to watch both Kurt and Artie, but couldn’t keep his eyes on both. As usual, it happened really fast. He made the mistake of blinking, and it was over.
The animals all seemed a bit wary, but Daniel approved of the way Kurt seemed to be protecting Artie, not allowing the other two to get too close. Artie made an exasperated sound, and Kurt turned to look at him. He meeped, and moved out of the way.
Carl was kind of a big dog, but Daniel knew the others were safe with him.
Since Artie was the only one he’d never seen in his animal form, Carl was very curious about smelling him, which was his main way of identifying whether another animal was safe to approach or not.
Artie was kind of hunched into himself. Not only was he quite a bit smaller, but he couldn’t run away as easily as the two cats could. Kurt hovered nearby, however, and growled low in his throat. Carl looked at him and yapped at him a couple of times. It wasn’t angry, more playful. Daniel was pretty sure it was the equivalent of, “yeah, yeah, settle down.”
Donna also wanted to sniff the bunny, but she was more careful to not make him feel threatened. She approached him slowly, and didn’t get right into his face. Artie leaned forward, probably identifying her as well.
After a couple of minutes, the animals all seemed a little more relaxed.
Carl settled down on the floor, looked at Artie, then tried to turn his head as far as it would go. Daniel wasn’t sure what he was looking at. Carl’s nose very gently nudged Artie.
“Carl? What do you want?”
Carl yipped softly. It looked like he was trying to lift Artie up with his nose.
“If you’re tryin’ to do what I think you are, I’m not sure it’s a good idea,” Daniel warned.
The two cats stood to the side. Each had their head tilted, like a new perspective might help them figure out what Carl wanted.
“Not sure we should do this without Gabriel here.”
Daniel debated a minute, then saw the intercom.
“Hang on, guys, wait a minute.” He saw the intercom was on, and figured Gabriel might leave it on all the time, just for safety.
He cleared his throat. “Uh, Gabriel? Are you there? Can you hear me? It’s Daniel.”
A moment later he heard Gabriel’s voice. “Just a second, let me put this down.” Then it was clearer. “Okay, I’ve got my hands free now. Is everything okay?”
“Yeah. The kids - I mean, the pets just changed, and they want to play. But I think Carl wants to, I dunno, give Artie a ride on his back or something? I thought maybe you should know.”
“Wait, let me come down there - what?” His voice was faint again, then stronger. “Okay, we’re all coming down.”
Daniel rolled his eyes, and smiled at his charges. “Hey, everyone, just chill for a minute.”
The two cats were gently wrestling with each other. Carl nudged the side of Artie’s head with his nose. Despite the dog being much bigger, Artie didn’t seem too worried.
Shortly afterwards, the door opened, and the rest of the humans trooped in.
“Hey, y’all having fun?” Jerry asked, his voice a little too loud for the room.
Daniel winced, and rubbed his ear. “Damn, man. Inside voice.”
Jerry lifted his shoulders in a shrug. “Sorry.”
Gabriel stepped forward. “Artie, did you want to try to ride on Carl’s back?”
Daniel knew hybrid pets understood human voices, and Carl certainly responded to his, but it still seemed a bit odd to expect the animals to all know what was being said.
Artie made some odd noises, and his nose twitched a few times. It looked adorable. Daniel mentally slapped himself for thinking it.
It didn’t seem like Artie was scared.
“Okay. Let me help. I’m going to be right here so you don’t fall off.” Gabriel crouched down and lifted Artie onto Carl’s back.
Daniel wasn’t sure how the rabbit was going to stay in place. There was nothing to hold him there, and he wasn’t sure, if rabbits even had any claws, if they’d do any good to hold onto Carl’s fur.
“I don’t think I have anything here to hold you in place,” Gabriel mused. “Maybe a short bungee cord? I don’t want it tight enough to hurt Carl.” He told Adam where to find one, and the blond returned shortly with one of the stretchy cords.
Adam tried winding it around both rabbit and dog, while Gabriel held Artie in place.
“I don’t think this is going to work. I’m going to be right here, in case you start to slide off,” Gabriel insisted.
Daniel didn’t think it would be that far to fall; it didn’t look like Artie would get hurt too much, even if Carl stood up. But Artie wasn’t his pet; it wasn’t his place to say anything. He just watched in fascination as Carl slowly got to his feet.
Gabriel kept the weight of his hand on Artie’s back, to keep him steady.
“That’s not too tight, is it, Carl?” Gabriel asked.
Carl shook his head and woofed briefly.
“Good.”
Carl started taking very slow steps around the room, like a small pony. Artie swayed a little bit, but didn’t look scared. Gabriel seemed to have a good grip on him.
“That’s so cute,” Lily whispered to Adam.
The two cats were watching in fascination, but neither seemed inclined to interfere. Kurt nudged Donna and meeped at her, then trotted over to the far end of the room, near the bathroom. Donna joined him, and they sat and watched, safely out of the way of any canine or human feet.
Carl walked very slowly. He brought his fluffy tail up, and laid it over Artie’s back, as though to help keep it safe. It actually just rested on Gabriel’s hand instead. Slowly, carefully, Gabriel moved his hand out from under the tail, then put it back. He was supporting Artie, but not putting a lot of weight on Carl’s tail, from what Daniel could see.
They made a slow circuit of the room a couple of times. The humans stayed well back, though Adam was muttering about the lack of a video camera, and Lily was taking pictures with her camera phone.
Artie was pretty well-balanced on Carl’s back, and he was wriggling his nose, so Daniel figured he was pretty happy.
After one more circuit of the room, Carl stopped, and barked once. Gabriel took it as a sign that the ride was over. He unfastened the bungee with one hand, while keeping hold of Artie with the other. He handed the cord to Adam, who left the room with it.
Gabriel lifted Artie from Carl’s back, and bent down to set him on the floor a few feet away from the dog. Carl immediately laid down. Artie dragged himself over to Carl and butted his head against the dog’s side, making happy little sounds. Carl’s tail swept over him protectively again, and the dog turned his head towards Artie and woofed. Daniel knew that one meant, “You’re welcome.”
The cats ran over and started climbing over the dog, obviously wanting their turn. Carl didn’t seem to mind having them both on his back, with Donna in front of Kurt. Adam started to move forward, but Jerry shook his head. “Donna’s done this before with him. They’ll be fine.”
Both cats had their claws out, but they weren’t penetrating the thick fur on Carl’s back. He went a bit faster with them, trotting happily around the room several times before stopping. He sank down to his knees and settled down, and both cats hopped off. Each of them went to one side of Carl’s head and started grooming his ears. Daniel wasn’t sure how he’d take that, but he didn’t try to discourage them.
“Okay, I think that’s enough,” Adam said. “I’d like to get Kurt and Lily home. Did you need more help, Gabriel?”
“No, I can finish up, if Jerry and Daniel will stay a few more minutes.”
They agreed.
“Will you three behave down here while we finish putting things away?” Gabriel asked.
The dog, cat, and rabbit all nodded, and made sounds of assent.
“Remember, the intercom is on if there’s a problem. Just make a loud sound if you need anything.”
Daniel was pleased things had gone so well. He hadn’t anticipated any real trouble, but it was gratifying to know that Carl, as a dog as well as a human, would be protective and careful around Artie.
<><><><><><><><><><>
Kurt wanted to stay in cat form, but Adam had forgotten to bring his carrier. Lily asked if either of them would mind if Kurt sat in her lap, so she could keep him safe.
Adam thought it was a great idea, and Kurt stepped out of Adam’s arms and onto Lily’s lap. He insisted on turning around three times, then settled down and curled into a ball.
Lily put both of her arms around Kurt protectively, keeping him from sliding off if the car went downhill or around a curve.
“That was a nice meeting. Thank you for inviting me.” Lily turned her head to glance at Adam.
“You’re welcome. I had a feeling you’d fit right in.”
“I was glad to meet everyone, owners and hybrids. Though I have to agree with April, Kurt is my favorite.”
Kurt’s ears twitched, meaning he likely wasn’t actually asleep.
She glanced down and scratched behind his ears, somewhat awkwardly, as she didn’t let go of him.
“That’s right, you are.”
They chatted for the rest of the drive home. As soon as Adam got Kurt inside, he set him on the floor and headed to the bathroom. “I’ll be back in a minute, Kurt. We can get you brushed, okay? How does that sound?”
Kurt chirped his approval of that plan.
Soon after, Adam came back to the living room, but didn’t see Kurt. He went into the kitchen and opened the cupboard door that contained Kurt’s food and treats.
“Hey Kurt!” Adam called. No response. He held up a new package of treats, and shook it.
They weren’t particularly noisy, but the cat ran full tilt into the kitchen, skidding a bit on the linoleum. He sat down quickly, pretending it was what he meant to do all along.
Adam hid his grin as best he could.
“Here you go, have some treats. I found some with cheese on the inside.”
Kurt went from sitting on his butt, to standing on his back legs and reaching up as high as he could, before Adam could even rip the package open.
“Hang on, I’ve almost got it.”
Kurt made disgruntled noises low in his throat, waving his paws in the air.
“Yes, I’m sure you could open it quicker, but you’d likely ruin the bag. It seals up again if you - Ah ha!” Adam unzipped the bag and poured a few treats out onto his hand. Leaning down, he held one out for Kurt, who tilted his head up to take it gently from between Adam’s fingers.
He ate it so fast Adam wasn’t sure he’d had time to taste it.
“Slow down, darling, it’s not going anywhere.” He tossed the remaining treats onto the floor in front of Kurt. It looked like he did try to take time to chew them, not just inhale them, so Adam was satisfied. Kurt was, too, if his quiet meeps and growls were anything to go by.
“You’re welcome. That’s it for now.” He put the bag away, and locked the cupboard. Kurt could open it easily as a human, but not as a cat. They had an agreement that Kurt would not take the treats or food out in human form, then gobble them up in cat form. Adam trusted Kurt to hold to that.
“Are you ready for your brushing?” Adam asked, pretty sure he knew the answer already.
Kurt meowed his assent.
“It’s still pretty early, but -“
Kurt let out a series of high-pitched sounds. Adam wasn’t quite sure what he was saying. “Does that mean something like, more time for me to brush you?”
“Mrrrrrrrr.” Kurt rubbed up against Adam’s calf.
“Well, alright then. Come on.”
Adam talked and sang to Kurt as he worked, first getting out the few snarls he found. As heavy as Kurt’s fur was, it didn’t get too tangled. He couldn’t remember if he’d given Kurt a massage the night before, but he didn’t think so. He found the massage tool and Kurt rolled around, like he couldn’t decide where he wanted Adam to start.
“Just stay like that a minute,” Adam suggested. Now that he’d gotten all the loose hairs out of the way, it was easier to run the massage tool through Kurt’s fur. He was careful not to dig too deep, but he knew Kurt would let him know if he was putting too much pressure on his skin. When he’d thoroughly massaged Kurt, he ran his hands over him, massaging with his fingers and palms. Kurt was in ecstasy, trilling loudly.
“Goodness, you’re chatty tonight,” Adam observed. “Okay, there we go. Now, if you don’t mind, I think I’m going to take a shower. If you’re going to stay like that, you can stretch out on the bed now.”
Kurt ran out of the bathroom. When he was ready, Adam stripped out of his clothes and turned the shower on. He was about to step inside, when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye.
“What are you doing, Kurt?”
He seemed to be staring at the water, not Adam.
“Oh, no you don’t. I’ll give you a bath tomorrow if you want, but I just spent an hour and a half getting your fur to lay just right, the way you like it. Do you want to mess it up again?”
Kurt shook his head, and ran out of the room.
Adam took a quick shower, then joined Kurt, who seemed to be taking up more than his half of the bed. Sometimes it seemed like he was larger in cat form than human, though he knew it had to be an optical illusion of some kind.
He thought the cat was sound asleep, but as soon as Adam got under the covers, Kurt rolled over until he was as close as he could get with the covers between them. Adam petted him a few minutes, until the rhythmic movements were lulling them both into sleep.
Next - Chapter 95
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 4,000 words this chapter.About 426,000 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 93
CHAPTER 94
Daniel was looking at the book, but not really reading it. He was trying, but he thought it was more important to keep an eye on the kids. He mentally erased that word, but he couldn’t help but sometimes look at them like that. Carl wasn’t much younger than him, but he was still a bit child-like in his demeanor sometimes. They got along well, but Daniel still wasn’t sure, after more than seven years of being together, just how much he was supposed to teach him. Carl was fine in public, he knew how to act, didn’t cause trouble, but at home they were closer to friends. Well, more than friends; he wondered, not for the first time, if his parents objected more to him sleeping with Carl than to actually owning a pet.
The four hybrids looked at each other, but no one was sure what to say.
“Artie?” Kurt asked.
The younger boy looked over at him, obviously nervous.
“I’ve already seen how cool this place is,” Kurt continued, “but Donna and Carl haven’t. Do you want to show them the bathroom?”
“Oh, yeah!”
Donna laughed nervously. “That might be a good idea. I, um, kind of need to use…”
“Right, got it!” Artie turned his wheelchair around and headed for the far end of the room. The door was partially open. “Uh, the toilet is to the left, sink straight ahead, shower to the right.”
Carl took a quick peek inside, but moved out of the way to let Donna in. He and Artie went back to where Kurt was waiting.
“It looks nice in there,” Carl said, scratching his head. “I mean, our place isn’t as big as this, it’s just a regular house. But we’ve got a really big back yard. Maybe you guys can come over sometime to play? I mean, you might like it more in your animal forms.”
Kurt nodded. “That would be nice. My dad wouldn’t let me out in the back yard unless he was with me. He was worried I’d run away, or someone would take me or something.”
“I like the grass,” Artie confirmed, “I just can’t move around all that well without this chair. I mean, I don’t have one of these that’s rabbit-sized.”
Carl blinked, and looked a bit nervous as he turned to Daniel. “Daniel, I’m sorry. I should have asked you first. Can Kurt and Artie come over sometime? I was thinking we could run around in the back yard.” He winced as the words left his mouth. “Well, um, you know, hang out in the yard.”
Daniel shrugged. “Fine with me, as long as Adam and Gabriel don’t mind.”
Kurt spoke up confidently. “Adam should be okay with it. And maybe I’ll have -“ He paused, and started again. “I’m going to build a sort of cart for Artie, that will help him get around when he’s a rabbit. He’ll be able to use his front legs to pull himself along. If the design works out like I think, it should work. I’m going to try to get that finished soon.”
He looked anxiously at Artie, who gave him a wry smile in return. “Thanks, Kurt. I know you mean well, and I hope it works. I just don’t want to get my hopes up and have it not work out.”
“What are we talking about?”
None of them had realized Donna was back. They’d been so engrossed in their talk, they hadn’t heard her come out to the main room.
Kurt explained the plan, and Donna was enthusiastic as well. “It really is a great yard. If you get the cart going, Artie might be able to keep up with the rest of us. I think there’ll be room for all of us there.”
“Will Adam and Gabriel and Jerry need to be there?” Kurt asked.
After a moment to think about it, Daniel replied, “Nah, I don’t think so. Gabriel seems really busy, and Adam is, too, with his book. Jerry won’t mind if Donna’s over at my place. We look out for each other’s pets all the time. Let’s call it a play date, and I’ll keep an eye on you guys. They’re welcome if they want to be there, but we’ll probably just hang out on the porch and have some cold drinks while you’re chasing each other or whatever.”
“Fun! Hey, are there any trees there?” Kurt asked.
“What, to climb?” Daniel asked dubiously.
“Yeah!”
Kurt sounded a little too excited.
“A few,” Daniel answered cautiously. “If you get up there, don’t be expecting me to get you down.”
“Oh, I’m not scared of heights. At least, I don’t think I am,” Kurt amended, scrunching up his face. “I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to get down again.”
Carl asked thoughtfully, “Maybe you could just go up a little ways? Then you can come back down again, to make sure you’re okay with that, then climb up higher.”
“That might work,” Daniel mused, “but with four or five of you there, I don’t want to be getting up on any ladders.”
“I promise I’ll get down by myself,” Kurt insisted. “And if I can’t, you can call Adam, and have him come get me.”
Daniel narrowed his eyes, wondering if Kurt was just winding him up.
“I just mean,” Kurt continued innocently, “Adam wouldn’t mind getting me down, I don’t think. But there isn’t really a back yard in our building. Well, there’s a little square with a lawn, and some flower beds, but there aren’t any trees.”
“Tell you what,” Daniel suggested, “why don’t you see if Adam will take you to the park sometime, and let you climb the trees there? Let’s see how he feels about getting you down if he needs to.”
“I’ll ask him.”
“The park sounds great!” Donna said. “Jerry takes me there sometimes, but just as a human, and we walk around. He hasn’t wanted to let me out as a cat, in a place where there are a lot of other people or animals. But we’ve got a nice back yard, with a big fence.”
“He doesn’t worry about you going over the fence?” Artie asked.
“No, he knows I wouldn’t. That is, he told me when we first moved there, I could only go outside if he was around, and if I promised not to ever go over the fence, or try to run outside it if he had the door open.”
“Hm. There’s a back yard here, but I haven’t spent much time there yet,” Artie confessed. “I want to explore it, but I think Gabriel is still trying to get me used to the house.”
“Is he taking you to work with him tomorrow?” Kurt asked.
“Uh-huh. That will be…interesting.”
Daniel knew Carl and Donna liked being at work with him and Jerry, but they were able to spend a fair amount of time with their pets, and at least check in on them fairly often. They also completely trusted each other around their pets, and knew in an emergency, the other could be relied on to take care of either one, or take either or both to the vet. They’d been going to Gabriel for quite a while. Jerry had done most of the research, but he’d shared his top three choices with Daniel. It didn’t take long to narrow them down to the one choice, the only one who seemed to care about the hybrids’ psychological well-being along with their physical health.
Artie cleared his throat. “Hey, you guys want to change, and play, or something?”
“Sure,” Carl agreed. “But I don’t have any of my toys with me. Donna?”
She shook her head. “I don’t, either. But we can find something to do, I’m sure.”
“I don’t have many toys yet,” Artie said, “but I think Gabriel put them in a box in the bathroom, to get them out of the way. But, let’s just talk about this a minute first. I’m a rabbit, Kurt and Donna are cats. No offense, Carl, but dogs kinda make me nervous.”
He inclined his head, and said, “I understand. But don’t worry. I know this is your territory. I’m not gonna try to take over, or hurt you, or the kitties. I’m pretty friendly in my other form.”
“He really is,” Donna agreed. “I’ve known him for years, and he’s always careful not to hurt me.”
Artie inhaled, then slowly let his breath out. “Okay. Um, have any of you met Mandy, Julia’s pet?”
They all shook their heads.
“I’ve met her, ‘cause, uh, Julia and Gabriel are, like, dating or something. She brought Mandy over once so we could meet, and she’s really sweet. She’s a dog, Irish Setter, I think, so she’s kinda big, but friendly enough. She’s just really…I’m not sure shy’s the right word. She’s nervous, especially around guys. I don’t know all the details, but she had an owner who was a real asshole, apparently.” He glanced up at Daniel. “Sorry for my language, but -“
Daniel shrugged. “I don’t care if you swear. And a lot of owners are assholes, so it doesn’t surprise me. Makes me angry, but at least she’s away from that guy now, right?”
“Yeah. She’s okay with me, though, and Gabriel. She might be okay with you, Kurt, ‘cause you’re -“ He seemed to be searching for a word. “Non-threatening. As a human, I mean, and as a cat, too, I guess. But just don’t - I don’t know.” He sighed, clearly frustrated.
Carl shook his head. “No problem. I’m a Golden Retriever, not real aggressive, you know? I’m not gonna do or say anything to upset her. Not deliberately, anyway.”
Kurt agreed. “Me either. I don’t mind meeting new hybrids now, but I remember what it was like when I was at the store. It wasn’t that long ago.”
“Cool.” Artie shifted around a bit in his chair. “Now, if everybody’s ready to change -“
Daniel always found it fascinating when Carl changed, but he’d seen it countless times. He’d seen Donna change quite often, too. He tried to watch both Kurt and Artie, but couldn’t keep his eyes on both. As usual, it happened really fast. He made the mistake of blinking, and it was over.
The animals all seemed a bit wary, but Daniel approved of the way Kurt seemed to be protecting Artie, not allowing the other two to get too close. Artie made an exasperated sound, and Kurt turned to look at him. He meeped, and moved out of the way.
Carl was kind of a big dog, but Daniel knew the others were safe with him.
Since Artie was the only one he’d never seen in his animal form, Carl was very curious about smelling him, which was his main way of identifying whether another animal was safe to approach or not.
Artie was kind of hunched into himself. Not only was he quite a bit smaller, but he couldn’t run away as easily as the two cats could. Kurt hovered nearby, however, and growled low in his throat. Carl looked at him and yapped at him a couple of times. It wasn’t angry, more playful. Daniel was pretty sure it was the equivalent of, “yeah, yeah, settle down.”
Donna also wanted to sniff the bunny, but she was more careful to not make him feel threatened. She approached him slowly, and didn’t get right into his face. Artie leaned forward, probably identifying her as well.
After a couple of minutes, the animals all seemed a little more relaxed.
Carl settled down on the floor, looked at Artie, then tried to turn his head as far as it would go. Daniel wasn’t sure what he was looking at. Carl’s nose very gently nudged Artie.
“Carl? What do you want?”
Carl yipped softly. It looked like he was trying to lift Artie up with his nose.
“If you’re tryin’ to do what I think you are, I’m not sure it’s a good idea,” Daniel warned.
The two cats stood to the side. Each had their head tilted, like a new perspective might help them figure out what Carl wanted.
“Not sure we should do this without Gabriel here.”
Daniel debated a minute, then saw the intercom.
“Hang on, guys, wait a minute.” He saw the intercom was on, and figured Gabriel might leave it on all the time, just for safety.
He cleared his throat. “Uh, Gabriel? Are you there? Can you hear me? It’s Daniel.”
A moment later he heard Gabriel’s voice. “Just a second, let me put this down.” Then it was clearer. “Okay, I’ve got my hands free now. Is everything okay?”
“Yeah. The kids - I mean, the pets just changed, and they want to play. But I think Carl wants to, I dunno, give Artie a ride on his back or something? I thought maybe you should know.”
“Wait, let me come down there - what?” His voice was faint again, then stronger. “Okay, we’re all coming down.”
Daniel rolled his eyes, and smiled at his charges. “Hey, everyone, just chill for a minute.”
The two cats were gently wrestling with each other. Carl nudged the side of Artie’s head with his nose. Despite the dog being much bigger, Artie didn’t seem too worried.
Shortly afterwards, the door opened, and the rest of the humans trooped in.
“Hey, y’all having fun?” Jerry asked, his voice a little too loud for the room.
Daniel winced, and rubbed his ear. “Damn, man. Inside voice.”
Jerry lifted his shoulders in a shrug. “Sorry.”
Gabriel stepped forward. “Artie, did you want to try to ride on Carl’s back?”
Daniel knew hybrid pets understood human voices, and Carl certainly responded to his, but it still seemed a bit odd to expect the animals to all know what was being said.
Artie made some odd noises, and his nose twitched a few times. It looked adorable. Daniel mentally slapped himself for thinking it.
It didn’t seem like Artie was scared.
“Okay. Let me help. I’m going to be right here so you don’t fall off.” Gabriel crouched down and lifted Artie onto Carl’s back.
Daniel wasn’t sure how the rabbit was going to stay in place. There was nothing to hold him there, and he wasn’t sure, if rabbits even had any claws, if they’d do any good to hold onto Carl’s fur.
“I don’t think I have anything here to hold you in place,” Gabriel mused. “Maybe a short bungee cord? I don’t want it tight enough to hurt Carl.” He told Adam where to find one, and the blond returned shortly with one of the stretchy cords.
Adam tried winding it around both rabbit and dog, while Gabriel held Artie in place.
“I don’t think this is going to work. I’m going to be right here, in case you start to slide off,” Gabriel insisted.
Daniel didn’t think it would be that far to fall; it didn’t look like Artie would get hurt too much, even if Carl stood up. But Artie wasn’t his pet; it wasn’t his place to say anything. He just watched in fascination as Carl slowly got to his feet.
Gabriel kept the weight of his hand on Artie’s back, to keep him steady.
“That’s not too tight, is it, Carl?” Gabriel asked.
Carl shook his head and woofed briefly.
“Good.”
Carl started taking very slow steps around the room, like a small pony. Artie swayed a little bit, but didn’t look scared. Gabriel seemed to have a good grip on him.
“That’s so cute,” Lily whispered to Adam.
The two cats were watching in fascination, but neither seemed inclined to interfere. Kurt nudged Donna and meeped at her, then trotted over to the far end of the room, near the bathroom. Donna joined him, and they sat and watched, safely out of the way of any canine or human feet.
Carl walked very slowly. He brought his fluffy tail up, and laid it over Artie’s back, as though to help keep it safe. It actually just rested on Gabriel’s hand instead. Slowly, carefully, Gabriel moved his hand out from under the tail, then put it back. He was supporting Artie, but not putting a lot of weight on Carl’s tail, from what Daniel could see.
They made a slow circuit of the room a couple of times. The humans stayed well back, though Adam was muttering about the lack of a video camera, and Lily was taking pictures with her camera phone.
Artie was pretty well-balanced on Carl’s back, and he was wriggling his nose, so Daniel figured he was pretty happy.
After one more circuit of the room, Carl stopped, and barked once. Gabriel took it as a sign that the ride was over. He unfastened the bungee with one hand, while keeping hold of Artie with the other. He handed the cord to Adam, who left the room with it.
Gabriel lifted Artie from Carl’s back, and bent down to set him on the floor a few feet away from the dog. Carl immediately laid down. Artie dragged himself over to Carl and butted his head against the dog’s side, making happy little sounds. Carl’s tail swept over him protectively again, and the dog turned his head towards Artie and woofed. Daniel knew that one meant, “You’re welcome.”
The cats ran over and started climbing over the dog, obviously wanting their turn. Carl didn’t seem to mind having them both on his back, with Donna in front of Kurt. Adam started to move forward, but Jerry shook his head. “Donna’s done this before with him. They’ll be fine.”
Both cats had their claws out, but they weren’t penetrating the thick fur on Carl’s back. He went a bit faster with them, trotting happily around the room several times before stopping. He sank down to his knees and settled down, and both cats hopped off. Each of them went to one side of Carl’s head and started grooming his ears. Daniel wasn’t sure how he’d take that, but he didn’t try to discourage them.
“Okay, I think that’s enough,” Adam said. “I’d like to get Kurt and Lily home. Did you need more help, Gabriel?”
“No, I can finish up, if Jerry and Daniel will stay a few more minutes.”
They agreed.
“Will you three behave down here while we finish putting things away?” Gabriel asked.
The dog, cat, and rabbit all nodded, and made sounds of assent.
“Remember, the intercom is on if there’s a problem. Just make a loud sound if you need anything.”
Daniel was pleased things had gone so well. He hadn’t anticipated any real trouble, but it was gratifying to know that Carl, as a dog as well as a human, would be protective and careful around Artie.
<><><><><><><><><><>
Kurt wanted to stay in cat form, but Adam had forgotten to bring his carrier. Lily asked if either of them would mind if Kurt sat in her lap, so she could keep him safe.
Adam thought it was a great idea, and Kurt stepped out of Adam’s arms and onto Lily’s lap. He insisted on turning around three times, then settled down and curled into a ball.
Lily put both of her arms around Kurt protectively, keeping him from sliding off if the car went downhill or around a curve.
“That was a nice meeting. Thank you for inviting me.” Lily turned her head to glance at Adam.
“You’re welcome. I had a feeling you’d fit right in.”
“I was glad to meet everyone, owners and hybrids. Though I have to agree with April, Kurt is my favorite.”
Kurt’s ears twitched, meaning he likely wasn’t actually asleep.
She glanced down and scratched behind his ears, somewhat awkwardly, as she didn’t let go of him.
“That’s right, you are.”
They chatted for the rest of the drive home. As soon as Adam got Kurt inside, he set him on the floor and headed to the bathroom. “I’ll be back in a minute, Kurt. We can get you brushed, okay? How does that sound?”
Kurt chirped his approval of that plan.
Soon after, Adam came back to the living room, but didn’t see Kurt. He went into the kitchen and opened the cupboard door that contained Kurt’s food and treats.
“Hey Kurt!” Adam called. No response. He held up a new package of treats, and shook it.
They weren’t particularly noisy, but the cat ran full tilt into the kitchen, skidding a bit on the linoleum. He sat down quickly, pretending it was what he meant to do all along.
Adam hid his grin as best he could.
“Here you go, have some treats. I found some with cheese on the inside.”
Kurt went from sitting on his butt, to standing on his back legs and reaching up as high as he could, before Adam could even rip the package open.
“Hang on, I’ve almost got it.”
Kurt made disgruntled noises low in his throat, waving his paws in the air.
“Yes, I’m sure you could open it quicker, but you’d likely ruin the bag. It seals up again if you - Ah ha!” Adam unzipped the bag and poured a few treats out onto his hand. Leaning down, he held one out for Kurt, who tilted his head up to take it gently from between Adam’s fingers.
He ate it so fast Adam wasn’t sure he’d had time to taste it.
“Slow down, darling, it’s not going anywhere.” He tossed the remaining treats onto the floor in front of Kurt. It looked like he did try to take time to chew them, not just inhale them, so Adam was satisfied. Kurt was, too, if his quiet meeps and growls were anything to go by.
“You’re welcome. That’s it for now.” He put the bag away, and locked the cupboard. Kurt could open it easily as a human, but not as a cat. They had an agreement that Kurt would not take the treats or food out in human form, then gobble them up in cat form. Adam trusted Kurt to hold to that.
“Are you ready for your brushing?” Adam asked, pretty sure he knew the answer already.
Kurt meowed his assent.
“It’s still pretty early, but -“
Kurt let out a series of high-pitched sounds. Adam wasn’t quite sure what he was saying. “Does that mean something like, more time for me to brush you?”
“Mrrrrrrrr.” Kurt rubbed up against Adam’s calf.
“Well, alright then. Come on.”
Adam talked and sang to Kurt as he worked, first getting out the few snarls he found. As heavy as Kurt’s fur was, it didn’t get too tangled. He couldn’t remember if he’d given Kurt a massage the night before, but he didn’t think so. He found the massage tool and Kurt rolled around, like he couldn’t decide where he wanted Adam to start.
“Just stay like that a minute,” Adam suggested. Now that he’d gotten all the loose hairs out of the way, it was easier to run the massage tool through Kurt’s fur. He was careful not to dig too deep, but he knew Kurt would let him know if he was putting too much pressure on his skin. When he’d thoroughly massaged Kurt, he ran his hands over him, massaging with his fingers and palms. Kurt was in ecstasy, trilling loudly.
“Goodness, you’re chatty tonight,” Adam observed. “Okay, there we go. Now, if you don’t mind, I think I’m going to take a shower. If you’re going to stay like that, you can stretch out on the bed now.”
Kurt ran out of the bathroom. When he was ready, Adam stripped out of his clothes and turned the shower on. He was about to step inside, when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye.
“What are you doing, Kurt?”
He seemed to be staring at the water, not Adam.
“Oh, no you don’t. I’ll give you a bath tomorrow if you want, but I just spent an hour and a half getting your fur to lay just right, the way you like it. Do you want to mess it up again?”
Kurt shook his head, and ran out of the room.
Adam took a quick shower, then joined Kurt, who seemed to be taking up more than his half of the bed. Sometimes it seemed like he was larger in cat form than human, though he knew it had to be an optical illusion of some kind.
He thought the cat was sound asleep, but as soon as Adam got under the covers, Kurt rolled over until he was as close as he could get with the covers between them. Adam petted him a few minutes, until the rhythmic movements were lulling them both into sleep.
Next - Chapter 95