AU - Forever Home - Chapter 1
Title: Forever Home
Author: Shadowc44
Fandom: Glee
Pairing: Kadam (Kurt Hummel/Adam Crawford)
Rating: R (PG-13 for now)
Spoilers: None. Alternate Universe. 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: Mentions of past abuse (non-sexual) from other canon Glee characters. This fic is not particularly kind to most canon Glee characters.
Length: 3,500 words this chapter. 100 chapters. Completed.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story; they're owned by Fox. Any non-Glee characters are my own invention.
AN: For purposes of this story, hybrids in human form look fully human, but have some personality traits of their hybrid animal. In animal form, they look like a pure cat, dog, bird, etc.
CHAPTER 1
It was only 4:00 in the afternoon, and Adam Crawford was officially bored. He’d never thought he would get to that point. After all, he had plenty of money to buy various techie gadgets, and lots of time to indulge in his hobbies.
The trust fund he’d inherited was most generous, and though the terms specified he live in America, thus ensuring he wouldn’t embarrass his family back in England, that was fine with him. He’d chosen New York. He’d gone to a performing arts college there and had fallen in love with the city. It was a great place to be inspired to write. He mostly wrote short stories and novels, and every now and then a song. He loved music, but not quite as much as he loved the written word.
The problem, he’d concluded, was that he had no one to read his works. He had friends, but they weren’t that interested in his stories, and he didn’t think he was good enough to be published. He could afford to write for his own amusement, but it would be even more amusing to see if someone else could appreciate his sense of humor, or fall in love with the characters the way he did.
Well, he could always to the crossword puzzle while he figured out something more worthwhile to do. He found himself staring at the huge ad on the same page, for New Directions Pet Store.
He was intrigued by the part of the ad that mentioned all their hybrid pets were musically inclined, and sang. He really wanted to hear what their voices would be like. From what he’d seen of other people’s pets, when they were allowed to speak, their voices were normal, though they didn’t usually receive much education, so occasionally their attempts at conversation were quite comical. It had even become an Internet sensation, with people attributing all sorts of stupid and grammatically incorrect speech to pictures of hybrids in their animal form.
His family had never had a pet, but it was common enough to adopt hybrids. Most people used them for sex, though others just wanted a companion, or a playmate for their children. He looked at the faces in the ad, and the brief descriptions, but wasn’t particularly moved by any of them. Rachel seemed like a spoiled little princess, Puck seemed like more trouble than he’d be worth, Santana apparently didn’t want a male owner, and Blaine was praised to the skies, but there must be some reason no one had taken him home yet. He briefly wondered what they looked like in animal form, but it was common practice to show them in human form first.
Still, it might be worth going to the store to check out some of the others. If nothing else, it would be something different to do. The store schedule showed they were open for several more hours. Adam wrote a quick list of pros and cons to owning a hybrid. He’d already ruled out getting a pure animal pet; he wanted someone who could talk to him, as well as listen.
Adam found a parking spot within a block of the store, and snagged it. Better to walk a bit than take a chance that the store didn’t have its own parking area.
He stopped in front of the store and looked at the hybrids in the window. These were usually the ones the owners thought were most likely to be wanted. These were handsome creatures, he had to admit. He looked at the names on the tags they wore.
Yes, there was Rachel, and Blaine, and a couple of others whose pictures he hadn’t seen in the paper. Sam looked promising, but as soon as he saw Adam, he started posing and prancing around, in a manner that was far too sexual for Adam’s tastes. He was likely a cat hybrid, as was Rachel, who took one look at Adam and turned up her nose, looking over at the hybrid next to her. That one was Blaine, and he was also prancing and jumping around, his eyes wide in a begging expression. He executed a rather impressive pirouette, but when he came to a stop he looked so pleased with himself, Adam decided he could do without a showboat. He wasn’t that partial to dogs, either. Finn seemed to be another dog hybrid, though he seemed more interested in staring at Rachel than looking to see who might want to adopt him.
Walking into the store, Adam was immediately greeted by a thin man with curly hair, who greeted him effusively, and was far too ingratiating. He set Adam’s teeth on edge. Luckily, the man -- Will Shuester, he'd said -- was sent to another part of the store to check on some inventory, and Adam was waited on by his wife, the much more pleasant Emma.
“I hope you’ll find just the pet you’re looking for. If you’ll tell me a little about what you want, or don’t want, I’ll try to help you narrow down the choices. Or would you prefer to just browse? You can let me know if you want to spend some time with one or two in particular.”
“I think I’ll browse on my own a bit, thank you.” Adam was already glancing around at the cages towards the back of the store. The front of the store mostly contained collars, food bowls, beds, toys, special food, and all the other paraphernalia people spent money on for their pets. There were even tiny outfits, some very elaborate, that seemed totally redundant for animals that could take human form.
“Um, I did have a couple of questions,” he mentioned, before Emma went back behind the counter. “I assume they’re all housebroken…”
“Oh, absolutely! They’re all very well-trained in that regard. They won’t destroy your furniture, though there are some…” She spared a glance in the window. Adam could see Blaine was running in circles, being careful not to bump into his companions. “There are some who do jump on the furniture, that we just couldn’t break of that habit. Unless you’re looking for a very enthusiastic pet?” she ended hopefully.
Adam smiled at the woman, who was obviously concerned about finding the appropriate homes for the hybrids.
“Er, I think I’d prefer one with a little less energy, perhaps not quite so high-maintenance.”
“I see.” Emma sighed, then plastered a smile on her face again. “If you want to hear any of them sing, or want to see them in their other form, just let me know.”
Adam nodded, and walked towards the cages in the back, firmly ignoring all the colorful items for sale. As far as he was concerned, all his hybrid would need was the requisite collar, a leash, some food, and…maybe a bed. He hadn’t made up his mind yet whether the hybrid would sleep on (or in) his bed, or on the floor, but they should at least be comfortable. He knew they could eat regular food in their human form, but while in animal form, their diet was more restricted. He’d heard of some people who had tried to save money by giving their hybrid regular dog or cat food, and ended up with a very sick animal. Not to mention needing to completely replace the carpet or furniture the unfortunate animal rejected the food onto.
Adam walked between the two rows of cages, and heard several voices singing. Unfortunately, they were singing different songs in different styles, so it was a bit confusing. They all did seem to have pleasant voices, though. Of course, they were also competing with each other for attention, so the volume kept rising as they caught sight of him. He supposed they were all pretty desperate to find a good home and get out of the store.
There was one cage with two hybrids in it; two cats, he supposed, by their behavior. One was Santana, whose picture he’d seen in the ad, and the other was a blond. He tried to read her name on the card around her neck, but she seemed more interested in playing games with Santana, than - oh, dear. They were doing more than playing games, it seemed. Their playful flirting had turned more aggressive.
“Get a room,” he heard someone call.
Emma hurried in, and gasped as the saw Santana starting to remove…ah, Brittany’s… clothes.
Adam blinked, and quickly moved to the next cage.
“Stop that right now, or I’m going to separate you two! That’s for quiet time, you know that!”
Adam presumed that meant after the store was closed for the night.
“And you! Puck, that is very definitely alone-time behavior! Stop it.”
He didn’t think the dog hybrid was going to listen to Emma, as he seemed to focused on the entwined couple next door. Santana had stopped trying to undress Brittany, but they were embracing each other in a way that made him blush, but made Puck even more excited.
No, Adam definitely didn’t want a hyper-sexual pet, male or female. He knew he’d be more likely to enjoy a male pet, but he did like to listen to the females sing.
He passed the cage of a male hybrid who had apparently been lamed in an accident. He appeared to be trying to find a more comfortable position, but he had to move his legs with his hands. Adam felt sorry for the poor chap, but he knew he wouldn’t be the right owner for…Artie. Hopefully he would find a gentle and patient owner, but it was generally much harder for disabled hybrids to find a home. They were not only more expensive to care for, but required more time and attention than most owners wanted to spend.
After a few more hybrids had failed to interest him, Adam was thinking about leaving and either going to another pet store, or rethinking this idea until the next day. He was beginning to think pet ownership might be a bigger responsibility than he had anticipated.
He heard a high, clear, male voice singing softly, but it was immediately drowned out by several other voices. He looked for the singer, and saw in the very last cage, a young male in a form-fitting black shirt and gold pants that clung so tightly to his lower body, they would probably need to be peeled off. Adam cleared his throat and tried to clear his mind of the unbidden thought.
The young man opened his eyes and gasped. Adam had only a brief moment to observe the exquisite face, with high, sharp cheekbones, soft, full lips, and the most gorgeous green - no, gray - no, green?-eyes he’d ever seen. The boy seemed startled. He gasped and changed into cat form. It was so quick, Adam wasn’t sure if it was deliberate, or an involuntary reaction. It was most definitely a defense mechanism, he concluded.
Adam read the tag, and spoke softly to the cat. Its fur was long and thick, and no doubt tangled easily. He absentmindedly thought he would need to get a comb, and perhaps a brush as well, for this one. The fur varied from dark brown, to chestnut, to auburn, and even a golden blond. He was by far the most beautiful cat Adam had ever seen.
Those unusual eyes blinked at him, changing from green to a distinct gray, as the cat slowly backed away from him, ears up, back arched, and tail quivering.
His first instinct was to calm the terrified animal.
“Hello there, Kurt. Don’t be frightened, I’m not going to hurt you.”
Kurt didn’t look convinced.
Adam held out his hand, his fingertips barely poking through the holes in the cage.
Emma came to his side.
“Um, you might not want that one. He's a little…”
“Skittish?” Adam suggested, making quiet cooing noises.
Kurt leaned forward a bit towards the side of the cage Adam was on, but didn’t move any closer.
“I was going to say eccentric,” Emma clarified.
“Oh?” Adam was going to make a joke about all cats being eccentric, but decided it might not be taken the right way.
He heard an odd sound from the cat, which looked like it was sneering at Emma. Kurt sat down, curling his tail carefully around his body, as though he were trying to make himself as small as possible.
“Mm-hm,” she answered, distracted by Kurt’s reaction. “Not only is he even more independent than the average cat hybrid, he’s…different. The others try to intimidate him and scare him, but he does his best to ignore them. Which only makes them try harder to upset him,” she concluded with a sigh.
Adam nodded, but wondered why the others would pick on him. “Is it because he’s smaller than they are, or -“
“It’s hard to say,” Emma hedged. “He doesn’t try to play the way they do. He sings a lot, and they don’t like his voice. Even his speaking voice is higher than normal.”
Adam thought he heard a low murmur of displeasure from Kurt, and glanced at him again. His ears were flattened now, but he was looking at Emma, not Adam. His tail was lashing back and forth.
Emma ignored Kurt’s body language. “He’s even more fastidious than the rest, and is always impeccably groomed, as a cat or a human, so they make fun of him for that. He does love to be brushed,” she admitted, with a smile. “I have to brush him every day or he gets really annoyed. Since I don’t like cleaning up hairballs, it’s easier to brush him.”
Adam hid a smile, It sounded like Kurt knew how to get what he wanted.
“The thing is…” Emma looked up at Adam and held his gaze. “One of the dog hybrids, Dave, was so mean to him, it really scared him. He stayed as a cat for a long time, and even now he rarely takes his human form. So he might not be as well-socialized as we’d prefer. He sings when he’s human, and makes these little purring/humming sounds when he’s a cat, but he almost never speaks as a human.”
“Why not?” Adam couldn’t help but ask.
“I think he doesn’t want all the others making fun of his voice,” she concluded.
“Yo, dude,” Puck called out, “Kurt sounds like a girl, acts like a girl, and he likes guys. He doesn’t like getting dirty, in any sense of the word, and doesn’t like anyone to touch him. Not that anyone wants to,” he laughed.
Adam realized his hands were tightening into fists, and consciously relaxed them.
“Oh?” he asked, keeping his voice level. “And why is that?”
Puck shrugged. “He’s not one of the guys, not really, and not exactly one of the girls. He usually hangs out with them, because they don’t beat him up as much, but he mostly keeps to himself.”
“I can’t imagine why,” Adam said softly. To someone who knew him, that vocal inflection would make them wary, but he knew he would sound normal to the casual listener.
Puck grinned, “Fine with me, man. I don’t want him around. He tries to groom the girl cats, but they don’t really like it. He tried to groom Finn one time, when they were both in animal form, and Finn knocked him across the room.”
Emma spoke up. “Thank you, Puck, that was very helpful.” From the strain in her voice and face, Adam could tell she thought just the opposite.
“Maybe I can show you another cat,” she offered.
“That’s alright, I think I’ve seen them all here.”
Adam realized his fingers were still in the cage, and carefully drew them out.
Kurt whined in protest, and moved forward to bump the top of his head against the cage, where Adam’s hand had been.
Adam looked at him thoughtfully. Those expressive eyes had changed back to a brilliant green.
“I think I’d like to spend a little more time with Kurt here, if that’s alright.”
Emma sighed, and unlocked the cage. She very carefully lifted Kurt out and held him tightly to her chest. “Follow me, please.” She walked to a door at the end of the hall, and hit a large button with her elbow to open the door.
Adam thought he heard Kurt grumbling, but he stayed in Emma’s arms and allowed her to carry him further into the room.
The light was bright enough to see clearly but soft, rather than glaring. The carpet was an industrial type that Adam assumed could be cleaned easily and quickly if necessary. There were two chairs, and a large structure mostly covered with carpet and sisal, that looked like a cross between a jungle gym and a castle. Kurt looked in the direction of that monstrosity and flipped his tail disdainfully. He didn’t deign to look at the toy mice, balls with bells in them, or a tiny stuffed teddy bear that were strewn across the floor.
Emma set Kurt down on the floor. He settled himself comfortably and waited, as though he were the one conducting the interview, not Adam.
Emma pointed out the cameras in the corners of the room, as well as the large window next to the door. “It’s mostly for the pets’ protection, rather than the prospective client,” she explained. “Whenever you’re ready for him to change back to human, just tell him. He can understand what you say.”
“What if he’s not ready to turn back?”
Adam thought it was a reasonable question, but Emma looked as though she’d never heard it before.
“Well, we can force him to turn back, if you want.” She pointed out a water hose, but explained that it could only be turned on from the hallway.
Adam gritted his teeth, but didn’t trust himself to speak.
“Of course, you might not want a pet that’s so uncooperative.” She gave Kurt a very stern look. He yawned, and flicked his tail at her.
Adam bit his tongue to keep from pointing out how much the gesture reminded him of the American gesture for “screw you.”
“You’re not helping your case, you know,” she scolded Kurt, then turned back to Adam. “He’s been with us for several years now, and if anyone seems like they might want to adopt him, he sabotages the interview in some way.” She raised her voice. “I hope I don’t need to remind you, Kurt, that responding the way you did the last time, will result in another bath. As a cat,” she warned.
Kurt growled softly, but it sounded more unhappy than angry.
“I’ll leave you two alone. When you’re ready to leave, press the intercom button here.” She showed him a panel near the door. “Either Will or I will let you out, but Kurt will stay in here.”
“Won’t he run out the door as soon as it’s opened?” Adam inquired, thinking of the behavior of almost every pure cat he’d ever known.
Emma shook her head. “No. There’s a low-voltage force field that’s activated when the door is opened from this side. You won’t even feel it, but if he tries to cross that threshold, he will.”
Adam glanced at Kurt again. His ears were flattened and his eyes were huge. Adam could see him trembling.
“Take as long as you like to get to know him, but don’t take it personally if he doesn’t like you. He hardly likes anyone,” she sighed heavily.
Adam would have liked some time to think through everything he’d learned, but he felt he owed it to Kurt to try to get to know him a bit. It sounded like he’d had a rough life, and maybe he was wary of strangers for good reason.
Before leaving the room, Emma paused. “Oh, by the way, I’m certain he’ll be happier with a male owner than a female, if it’s the right owner,” she concluded, looking directly into Adam’s eyes. “He might be happy enough to be a lap cat for some nice lady, but I don’t think he’d ever be happy if a woman expected anything else other than cuddles and hugs from him.”
He assumed she meant as a human, as well as a cat.
“That’s fine,” he assured her. “I don’t think I’d get along too well with a female pet, especially not if she wanted more than the occasional hug from me.”
Emma nodded, and left the room.
Adam sat in the chair and made himself comfortable. He established eye contact with Kurt, who sat up and twitched his nose. He ears came forward a bit and he was definitely paying attention.
“Well now, Kurt,” Adam began, “Let’s try to get to know one another, shall we?”
Next - Chapter 2
Author: Shadowc44
Fandom: Glee
Pairing: Kadam (Kurt Hummel/Adam Crawford)
Rating: R (PG-13 for now)
Spoilers: None. Alternate Universe. 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: Mentions of past abuse (non-sexual) from other canon Glee characters. This fic is not particularly kind to most canon Glee characters.
Length: 3,500 words this chapter. 100 chapters. Completed.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story; they're owned by Fox. Any non-Glee characters are my own invention.
AN: For purposes of this story, hybrids in human form look fully human, but have some personality traits of their hybrid animal. In animal form, they look like a pure cat, dog, bird, etc.
CHAPTER 1
It was only 4:00 in the afternoon, and Adam Crawford was officially bored. He’d never thought he would get to that point. After all, he had plenty of money to buy various techie gadgets, and lots of time to indulge in his hobbies.
The trust fund he’d inherited was most generous, and though the terms specified he live in America, thus ensuring he wouldn’t embarrass his family back in England, that was fine with him. He’d chosen New York. He’d gone to a performing arts college there and had fallen in love with the city. It was a great place to be inspired to write. He mostly wrote short stories and novels, and every now and then a song. He loved music, but not quite as much as he loved the written word.
The problem, he’d concluded, was that he had no one to read his works. He had friends, but they weren’t that interested in his stories, and he didn’t think he was good enough to be published. He could afford to write for his own amusement, but it would be even more amusing to see if someone else could appreciate his sense of humor, or fall in love with the characters the way he did.
Well, he could always to the crossword puzzle while he figured out something more worthwhile to do. He found himself staring at the huge ad on the same page, for New Directions Pet Store.
He was intrigued by the part of the ad that mentioned all their hybrid pets were musically inclined, and sang. He really wanted to hear what their voices would be like. From what he’d seen of other people’s pets, when they were allowed to speak, their voices were normal, though they didn’t usually receive much education, so occasionally their attempts at conversation were quite comical. It had even become an Internet sensation, with people attributing all sorts of stupid and grammatically incorrect speech to pictures of hybrids in their animal form.
His family had never had a pet, but it was common enough to adopt hybrids. Most people used them for sex, though others just wanted a companion, or a playmate for their children. He looked at the faces in the ad, and the brief descriptions, but wasn’t particularly moved by any of them. Rachel seemed like a spoiled little princess, Puck seemed like more trouble than he’d be worth, Santana apparently didn’t want a male owner, and Blaine was praised to the skies, but there must be some reason no one had taken him home yet. He briefly wondered what they looked like in animal form, but it was common practice to show them in human form first.
Still, it might be worth going to the store to check out some of the others. If nothing else, it would be something different to do. The store schedule showed they were open for several more hours. Adam wrote a quick list of pros and cons to owning a hybrid. He’d already ruled out getting a pure animal pet; he wanted someone who could talk to him, as well as listen.
Adam found a parking spot within a block of the store, and snagged it. Better to walk a bit than take a chance that the store didn’t have its own parking area.
He stopped in front of the store and looked at the hybrids in the window. These were usually the ones the owners thought were most likely to be wanted. These were handsome creatures, he had to admit. He looked at the names on the tags they wore.
Yes, there was Rachel, and Blaine, and a couple of others whose pictures he hadn’t seen in the paper. Sam looked promising, but as soon as he saw Adam, he started posing and prancing around, in a manner that was far too sexual for Adam’s tastes. He was likely a cat hybrid, as was Rachel, who took one look at Adam and turned up her nose, looking over at the hybrid next to her. That one was Blaine, and he was also prancing and jumping around, his eyes wide in a begging expression. He executed a rather impressive pirouette, but when he came to a stop he looked so pleased with himself, Adam decided he could do without a showboat. He wasn’t that partial to dogs, either. Finn seemed to be another dog hybrid, though he seemed more interested in staring at Rachel than looking to see who might want to adopt him.
Walking into the store, Adam was immediately greeted by a thin man with curly hair, who greeted him effusively, and was far too ingratiating. He set Adam’s teeth on edge. Luckily, the man -- Will Shuester, he'd said -- was sent to another part of the store to check on some inventory, and Adam was waited on by his wife, the much more pleasant Emma.
“I hope you’ll find just the pet you’re looking for. If you’ll tell me a little about what you want, or don’t want, I’ll try to help you narrow down the choices. Or would you prefer to just browse? You can let me know if you want to spend some time with one or two in particular.”
“I think I’ll browse on my own a bit, thank you.” Adam was already glancing around at the cages towards the back of the store. The front of the store mostly contained collars, food bowls, beds, toys, special food, and all the other paraphernalia people spent money on for their pets. There were even tiny outfits, some very elaborate, that seemed totally redundant for animals that could take human form.
“Um, I did have a couple of questions,” he mentioned, before Emma went back behind the counter. “I assume they’re all housebroken…”
“Oh, absolutely! They’re all very well-trained in that regard. They won’t destroy your furniture, though there are some…” She spared a glance in the window. Adam could see Blaine was running in circles, being careful not to bump into his companions. “There are some who do jump on the furniture, that we just couldn’t break of that habit. Unless you’re looking for a very enthusiastic pet?” she ended hopefully.
Adam smiled at the woman, who was obviously concerned about finding the appropriate homes for the hybrids.
“Er, I think I’d prefer one with a little less energy, perhaps not quite so high-maintenance.”
“I see.” Emma sighed, then plastered a smile on her face again. “If you want to hear any of them sing, or want to see them in their other form, just let me know.”
Adam nodded, and walked towards the cages in the back, firmly ignoring all the colorful items for sale. As far as he was concerned, all his hybrid would need was the requisite collar, a leash, some food, and…maybe a bed. He hadn’t made up his mind yet whether the hybrid would sleep on (or in) his bed, or on the floor, but they should at least be comfortable. He knew they could eat regular food in their human form, but while in animal form, their diet was more restricted. He’d heard of some people who had tried to save money by giving their hybrid regular dog or cat food, and ended up with a very sick animal. Not to mention needing to completely replace the carpet or furniture the unfortunate animal rejected the food onto.
Adam walked between the two rows of cages, and heard several voices singing. Unfortunately, they were singing different songs in different styles, so it was a bit confusing. They all did seem to have pleasant voices, though. Of course, they were also competing with each other for attention, so the volume kept rising as they caught sight of him. He supposed they were all pretty desperate to find a good home and get out of the store.
There was one cage with two hybrids in it; two cats, he supposed, by their behavior. One was Santana, whose picture he’d seen in the ad, and the other was a blond. He tried to read her name on the card around her neck, but she seemed more interested in playing games with Santana, than - oh, dear. They were doing more than playing games, it seemed. Their playful flirting had turned more aggressive.
“Get a room,” he heard someone call.
Emma hurried in, and gasped as the saw Santana starting to remove…ah, Brittany’s… clothes.
Adam blinked, and quickly moved to the next cage.
“Stop that right now, or I’m going to separate you two! That’s for quiet time, you know that!”
Adam presumed that meant after the store was closed for the night.
“And you! Puck, that is very definitely alone-time behavior! Stop it.”
He didn’t think the dog hybrid was going to listen to Emma, as he seemed to focused on the entwined couple next door. Santana had stopped trying to undress Brittany, but they were embracing each other in a way that made him blush, but made Puck even more excited.
No, Adam definitely didn’t want a hyper-sexual pet, male or female. He knew he’d be more likely to enjoy a male pet, but he did like to listen to the females sing.
He passed the cage of a male hybrid who had apparently been lamed in an accident. He appeared to be trying to find a more comfortable position, but he had to move his legs with his hands. Adam felt sorry for the poor chap, but he knew he wouldn’t be the right owner for…Artie. Hopefully he would find a gentle and patient owner, but it was generally much harder for disabled hybrids to find a home. They were not only more expensive to care for, but required more time and attention than most owners wanted to spend.
After a few more hybrids had failed to interest him, Adam was thinking about leaving and either going to another pet store, or rethinking this idea until the next day. He was beginning to think pet ownership might be a bigger responsibility than he had anticipated.
He heard a high, clear, male voice singing softly, but it was immediately drowned out by several other voices. He looked for the singer, and saw in the very last cage, a young male in a form-fitting black shirt and gold pants that clung so tightly to his lower body, they would probably need to be peeled off. Adam cleared his throat and tried to clear his mind of the unbidden thought.
The young man opened his eyes and gasped. Adam had only a brief moment to observe the exquisite face, with high, sharp cheekbones, soft, full lips, and the most gorgeous green - no, gray - no, green?-eyes he’d ever seen. The boy seemed startled. He gasped and changed into cat form. It was so quick, Adam wasn’t sure if it was deliberate, or an involuntary reaction. It was most definitely a defense mechanism, he concluded.
Adam read the tag, and spoke softly to the cat. Its fur was long and thick, and no doubt tangled easily. He absentmindedly thought he would need to get a comb, and perhaps a brush as well, for this one. The fur varied from dark brown, to chestnut, to auburn, and even a golden blond. He was by far the most beautiful cat Adam had ever seen.
Those unusual eyes blinked at him, changing from green to a distinct gray, as the cat slowly backed away from him, ears up, back arched, and tail quivering.
His first instinct was to calm the terrified animal.
“Hello there, Kurt. Don’t be frightened, I’m not going to hurt you.”
Kurt didn’t look convinced.
Adam held out his hand, his fingertips barely poking through the holes in the cage.
Emma came to his side.
“Um, you might not want that one. He's a little…”
“Skittish?” Adam suggested, making quiet cooing noises.
Kurt leaned forward a bit towards the side of the cage Adam was on, but didn’t move any closer.
“I was going to say eccentric,” Emma clarified.
“Oh?” Adam was going to make a joke about all cats being eccentric, but decided it might not be taken the right way.
He heard an odd sound from the cat, which looked like it was sneering at Emma. Kurt sat down, curling his tail carefully around his body, as though he were trying to make himself as small as possible.
“Mm-hm,” she answered, distracted by Kurt’s reaction. “Not only is he even more independent than the average cat hybrid, he’s…different. The others try to intimidate him and scare him, but he does his best to ignore them. Which only makes them try harder to upset him,” she concluded with a sigh.
Adam nodded, but wondered why the others would pick on him. “Is it because he’s smaller than they are, or -“
“It’s hard to say,” Emma hedged. “He doesn’t try to play the way they do. He sings a lot, and they don’t like his voice. Even his speaking voice is higher than normal.”
Adam thought he heard a low murmur of displeasure from Kurt, and glanced at him again. His ears were flattened now, but he was looking at Emma, not Adam. His tail was lashing back and forth.
Emma ignored Kurt’s body language. “He’s even more fastidious than the rest, and is always impeccably groomed, as a cat or a human, so they make fun of him for that. He does love to be brushed,” she admitted, with a smile. “I have to brush him every day or he gets really annoyed. Since I don’t like cleaning up hairballs, it’s easier to brush him.”
Adam hid a smile, It sounded like Kurt knew how to get what he wanted.
“The thing is…” Emma looked up at Adam and held his gaze. “One of the dog hybrids, Dave, was so mean to him, it really scared him. He stayed as a cat for a long time, and even now he rarely takes his human form. So he might not be as well-socialized as we’d prefer. He sings when he’s human, and makes these little purring/humming sounds when he’s a cat, but he almost never speaks as a human.”
“Why not?” Adam couldn’t help but ask.
“I think he doesn’t want all the others making fun of his voice,” she concluded.
“Yo, dude,” Puck called out, “Kurt sounds like a girl, acts like a girl, and he likes guys. He doesn’t like getting dirty, in any sense of the word, and doesn’t like anyone to touch him. Not that anyone wants to,” he laughed.
Adam realized his hands were tightening into fists, and consciously relaxed them.
“Oh?” he asked, keeping his voice level. “And why is that?”
Puck shrugged. “He’s not one of the guys, not really, and not exactly one of the girls. He usually hangs out with them, because they don’t beat him up as much, but he mostly keeps to himself.”
“I can’t imagine why,” Adam said softly. To someone who knew him, that vocal inflection would make them wary, but he knew he would sound normal to the casual listener.
Puck grinned, “Fine with me, man. I don’t want him around. He tries to groom the girl cats, but they don’t really like it. He tried to groom Finn one time, when they were both in animal form, and Finn knocked him across the room.”
Emma spoke up. “Thank you, Puck, that was very helpful.” From the strain in her voice and face, Adam could tell she thought just the opposite.
“Maybe I can show you another cat,” she offered.
“That’s alright, I think I’ve seen them all here.”
Adam realized his fingers were still in the cage, and carefully drew them out.
Kurt whined in protest, and moved forward to bump the top of his head against the cage, where Adam’s hand had been.
Adam looked at him thoughtfully. Those expressive eyes had changed back to a brilliant green.
“I think I’d like to spend a little more time with Kurt here, if that’s alright.”
Emma sighed, and unlocked the cage. She very carefully lifted Kurt out and held him tightly to her chest. “Follow me, please.” She walked to a door at the end of the hall, and hit a large button with her elbow to open the door.
Adam thought he heard Kurt grumbling, but he stayed in Emma’s arms and allowed her to carry him further into the room.
The light was bright enough to see clearly but soft, rather than glaring. The carpet was an industrial type that Adam assumed could be cleaned easily and quickly if necessary. There were two chairs, and a large structure mostly covered with carpet and sisal, that looked like a cross between a jungle gym and a castle. Kurt looked in the direction of that monstrosity and flipped his tail disdainfully. He didn’t deign to look at the toy mice, balls with bells in them, or a tiny stuffed teddy bear that were strewn across the floor.
Emma set Kurt down on the floor. He settled himself comfortably and waited, as though he were the one conducting the interview, not Adam.
Emma pointed out the cameras in the corners of the room, as well as the large window next to the door. “It’s mostly for the pets’ protection, rather than the prospective client,” she explained. “Whenever you’re ready for him to change back to human, just tell him. He can understand what you say.”
“What if he’s not ready to turn back?”
Adam thought it was a reasonable question, but Emma looked as though she’d never heard it before.
“Well, we can force him to turn back, if you want.” She pointed out a water hose, but explained that it could only be turned on from the hallway.
Adam gritted his teeth, but didn’t trust himself to speak.
“Of course, you might not want a pet that’s so uncooperative.” She gave Kurt a very stern look. He yawned, and flicked his tail at her.
Adam bit his tongue to keep from pointing out how much the gesture reminded him of the American gesture for “screw you.”
“You’re not helping your case, you know,” she scolded Kurt, then turned back to Adam. “He’s been with us for several years now, and if anyone seems like they might want to adopt him, he sabotages the interview in some way.” She raised her voice. “I hope I don’t need to remind you, Kurt, that responding the way you did the last time, will result in another bath. As a cat,” she warned.
Kurt growled softly, but it sounded more unhappy than angry.
“I’ll leave you two alone. When you’re ready to leave, press the intercom button here.” She showed him a panel near the door. “Either Will or I will let you out, but Kurt will stay in here.”
“Won’t he run out the door as soon as it’s opened?” Adam inquired, thinking of the behavior of almost every pure cat he’d ever known.
Emma shook her head. “No. There’s a low-voltage force field that’s activated when the door is opened from this side. You won’t even feel it, but if he tries to cross that threshold, he will.”
Adam glanced at Kurt again. His ears were flattened and his eyes were huge. Adam could see him trembling.
“Take as long as you like to get to know him, but don’t take it personally if he doesn’t like you. He hardly likes anyone,” she sighed heavily.
Adam would have liked some time to think through everything he’d learned, but he felt he owed it to Kurt to try to get to know him a bit. It sounded like he’d had a rough life, and maybe he was wary of strangers for good reason.
Before leaving the room, Emma paused. “Oh, by the way, I’m certain he’ll be happier with a male owner than a female, if it’s the right owner,” she concluded, looking directly into Adam’s eyes. “He might be happy enough to be a lap cat for some nice lady, but I don’t think he’d ever be happy if a woman expected anything else other than cuddles and hugs from him.”
He assumed she meant as a human, as well as a cat.
“That’s fine,” he assured her. “I don’t think I’d get along too well with a female pet, especially not if she wanted more than the occasional hug from me.”
Emma nodded, and left the room.
Adam sat in the chair and made himself comfortable. He established eye contact with Kurt, who sat up and twitched his nose. He ears came forward a bit and he was definitely paying attention.
“Well now, Kurt,” Adam began, “Let’s try to get to know one another, shall we?”
Next - Chapter 2