Original Story- Cat Person-Dog Person 3/6
Title- Cat Person-Dog Person
Rating- PG-13
Genre- slash, romance, angst, drama
Warnings- angst, adult in a relationship with a teen, UNBETAED CONTENT
Summary- Scott is seen as the bad kid of the school, but he's never actually done anything to deserve it. There's one teacher in the whole school who sees past his reputation, Jack Carter, and Scott has fallen completely in love with him. Butthere's one problem: Scott is a cat person, and Jack is a dog person! If they aren't compatable, can they ever be together?
A/N- my first ever long slash piece!
Scott hovered at Jack’s shoulder as the older man set a pot on the stove to boil water. Jack glanced in his direction and Scott blinked at him, then realized that Jack was looking past him, out the window into the back yard.
“It’s getting late,” Jack murmured. “I should bring the dogs inside.”
“They don’t stay out there?” Scott asked.
“Not when the weather is this cold,” Jack explained. “Well, they’ll have to meet Roussi some time, right? Might as well be now.”
“Do you think it’ll be okay?” Scott asked.
“Sure,” Jack replied, shrugging. “They’re not violent dogs. And you said yourself, they’d probably be more afraid of her.” Scott had to admit, it was true. But he didn’t like dogs, especially Jack’s dogs. He didn’t trust them.
“Go get Roussi; I’ll bring the dogs in,” Jack ordered, and Scott complied, a little apprehensive still. He didn’t think the dogs would actually attack Roussi, but still.
‘Cat people and dog people,’ Scott thought. ‘We’re not compatible. The animals won’t be either. I wonder, though. They say people are like their pets. Does that mean that if the dogs don’t like Roussi, things will end up getting even worse between Jack and me?’
Scott stood by the door, holding Roussi against his chest. He stroked her soft fur and kissed the side of her head and she purred. The door opened and the two canines sauntered into the house. They froze as they entered, snuffling, and then the big brown one, Coffee, came over and put her paws on Scott’s legs and sniffed at Roussi.
Roussi growled in the feline fashion, a low sound that seemed like a cross between a moan and a snarl. Coffee, oblivious, whuffled and tried to get closer, upon which Roussi hissed and swiped at the dog with her claws.
A lot of things happened at once then, and happened so fast that Scott hadn’t realized any of them were happening before he was on the floor, stunned.
First, Coffee sprang back with a yelp, bloody claw marks across her nose. She knocked into Jack’s legs, he being nearby to watch.
At the same time, Roussi sprang from Scott’s arms to the counter with such force that it knocked him off balance and he fell backwards.
Honey, who had not participated until then, jumped up at Scott in an attempt to chase the fleeing cat, throwing Scott even more off balance and sending him down.
Scott fell hard, and cracked the back of his head on the floor. Before he could get his breath back, he had the wind knocked out of him again as Jack, having been tripped by Coffee, fell on top of him.
Thus, the next thing Scott realized, he was on his back on the kitchen floor, his head aching where he’d hit the floor and his chest aching where Jack’s skull had collided with his body, his English teacher on top of him, and no animals in sight.
Jack groaned and pushed himself off of Scott, rolling to the side. Scott’s muddled mind briefly registered that Jack had removed his body from Scott’s before Scott had the time to appreciate the feel of it. The teen pushed himself up into a sitting position and rubbed the back of his head.
‘If the animals are anything to go by, we’ll probably end up hating each other.’ Scott thought, gazing up at the ceiling forlornly and blinking back sudden tears. ‘Or at least he’ll hate me; I could never hate Jack.’
“You okay?” Jack asked, his voice surprising Scott from his sullen musings.
“Yeah, I think so,” Scott said. “Hit my head pretty hard, though.” He reached up and touched the back of his head to demonstrate, grinning sheepishly, and was utterly taken aback when Jack reached out and touched his head too, his fingers threaded through Scott’s red-brown hair, still damp from his shower.
“You’ll probably have a bump there,” Jack observed. He removed his hand and sat back, and Scott slowly ran his fingers over that place, trying to engrave the feeling of Jack touching him into his memory.
“I’m sorry,” Jack said suddenly. Scott looked at him in shock. “I didn’t think something like that would happen, the animals not getting along. I figured they’d be wary of each other but get over it. I guess cats and dogs aren’t meant to get along, though.”
“No,” Scott murmured sadly. “I guess they’re not.”
“Come on.” Jack rose and offered his hand to Scott. “Let’s get started on dinner, then.”
“Alright.” Scott obediently followed Jack back to the stove, where the water was boiling nicely. Jack put a handful of pasta into the water and instructed Scott to get out a smaller pot for the sauce. Sauce was easily made, from ground beef already cooked in the fridge, a can of tomato paste, and some herbs.
Scott sat at the table and watched as Jack toasted bread and put butter and garlic salt on it, as he stirred the sauce and drained the pasta when it was done. Jack was smiling.
“You enjoy cooking?” Scott remarked, for small talk.
“Not particularly.” Jack shrugged. “But I live alone. I mostly eat microwavable stuff. It’s a waste to cook food for only one. It’s nice to have someone to eat with and talk with.”
“Of course,” Jack continued, laughing. “I talk to my dogs sometimes, but they never answer. And if they do, it’s only because I’ve been up all night grading papers and need to sleep.”
“Seriously?” Scott asked, giving the older man a sidelong look.
“No, not seriously.” Jack waved the comment away. “Go, sit at the coffee table. That’s where I always eat.”
“I would’ve thought that you’d work in front of the TV, and eat at the table.” Scott commented, flopping onto the squishy couch. He liked the casualness of meals at the coffee table.
“If I worked in front of the TV, I’d never get anything done.” Jack set a bowl of pasta and sauce before Scott, and a plate adorned with garlic bread. “Do you want anything to drink?”
“Do you have any soda?” Scott asked, wanting to eat, but waiting for Jack. He hadn’t eaten much since leaving home, and admittedly, he hadn’t eaten much more before then.
“There’s coke.” Jack replied, holding up a red can.
“That’s fine.” Jack came and set the can before Scott, before leaving to prepare his own food.
“Eat,” he ordered Scott. “I can tell that you’re hungry. And you obviously haven’t eaten much lately. You’ve lost weight, and you weren’t fat to begin with.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Scott mumbled, but, permission given, began eating eagerly. He didn’t think he’d ever tasted anything so good.
Jack set the food down and sat next to Scott. Scott was engrossed in his dinner. He slurped the spaghetti down in record time and used the entire slice of bread to wipe the bowl before stuffing the whole thing into his mouth. He washed it down with the coke, crushed the can between his palms, and sat back with a contented sigh. The whole spectacle took all of ten minutes.
It was only after he’d finished eating that Scott realized Jack was watching him, and hadn’t even touched his food. Scott flushed, stammered, and finally spoke.
“Sorry. I was really hungry. I’ll eat slower next time.” Which implied that he intended to take more meals there, and that wasn’t something he should just assume, but Jack didn’t seem to notice.
“No, go ahead,” Jack said cheerfully, but Scott could tell from his eyes that he’d been thinking of something serious. “I know you must be starving. You can have seconds, if you’d like.”
“Nah, I’m stuffed.” Scott patted his belly contently. Jack was still watching him, and still hadn’t eaten. Scott turned to the other man and waited for him to say what was on his mind.
“Why… What kinds of problems are there at home, Scott?” Jack asked, his brown eyes soft and his eyebrows drawn into an expression of concern. But Scott didn’t want to talk about that.
“It doesn’t matter. I can’t go back anyway,” Scott replied, hoping that would be the end of it.
But of course, he could never be so lucky.
“It does matter,” Jack insisted, reaching out to lay a hand on Scott’s forearm. “You’d rather live in the school gym than at home, so it must be pretty serious.”
“It’s no big deal,” Scott mumbled, not able to look Jack in the eye.
“It is to me,” Jack said, and his words were like a splash of warm water: shocking, but not altogether unpleasant, and they gave Scott a warm feeling.
“Fine,” Scott sighed. “If you want to know so bad.”
“It’s not like my parents ever beat me. They just never cared.” Scott shrugged. “There’d be food around, but they’d never cook it, so I’d just eat when I got hungry. Then at some point they decided that I ate too much, so they started putting locks on the food. And then they’d forget to feed me, so I learned how to pick the locks so I could eat. I used to do things like carry groceries in, or clean, or baby-sit, for some cash, and use it to buy new clothes, food, school supplies. All in all, I don’t think anything they did had a negative effect on me. It taught me how to take care of myself,” Scott concluded with a shrug.
It wasn’t entirely true. That part about not thinking they’d messed him up. Scott knew, it was because of that, because he’d never received any attention, that he was so desperate for it. It was his past neglect that had made him become so captivated with Jack for giving him the consideration he craved. But, best not to tell Jack that.
Even if they were together, he wouldn’t want Jack to know the extent of his obsession.
“Your parents just forgot about you?” Jack seemed aghast, but Scott, who knew no other type of family, shrugged once more and nodded.
“It doesn’t seem to bother you much; why did you leave?” Jack asked sharply.
‘He inferred that from the way I answered. He’s thinking hard even when he’s emotional,’ Scott realized.
“I left… Well, it wasn’t exactly by choice,” Scott explained. This part was hard to say, even for him. Although he’d never known anything else, he knew this wasn’t how family was supposed to be. “My parents had forgotten that I was living there, and one day when I came home they told me I was wasting space and to leave.”
“That’s awful!” Jack exclaimed, staring at Scott with wide eyes.
Scott couldn’t help but say more, point out other injustices that had been done. “The teachers treat me the same way. A waste of space in the classroom. A waste of oxygen on Earth. No one but you ever cared.”
‘Well. That went a little off topic.’
“I’m sorry,” Jack murmured. “No one deserves to be treated that way.”
Scott flushed and looked away. It was good to know he cared, but still, he wished he knew if Jack… cared.
“It’s okay now, though.” The words slipped out without him being aware they were coming.
“Yeah,” Jack nodded. “It is. And I promise it’ll stay that way.”
Scott looked up at Jack with hope shining in his eyes. If Jack had meant what Scott thought he did, it was an invitation to stay, and to rely on Jack, physically and emotionally.
“Does that mean…” Scott trailed off, unable to ask they question for fear he’d misunderstood, but unable to let it go without confirming.
“It means I’m inviting you to stay.” Jack grinned at him, eyes sparkling.
Scott didn’t know what to say to convey his deep gratitude and utter love. “Thank you,” he said finally.
“Of course.” Jack nodded. His words died away, and for a moment, there was silence. Having just started semi-officially living with the one he loved (he hadn’t exactly told him ‘yes’ yet, he was waiting to see how the pet situation panned out), Scott couldn’t bear to have an awkward silence between them in their first moments of cohabitation, and he spoke up.
“Are you going to eat?” Scott reminded Jack, smiling.
“Ah, yes.” Jack picked up the bowl of pasta, which had probably gotten cold by then. “You can watch the TV, if you’re not going to eat any more.”
“Thanks.” Scott picked up the remote and turned it on. It was on a movie channel, and the movie wasn’t one he’d seen before, but it seemed it was one that Jack liked. Scott left the TV on that channel and settled back into the couch.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
A commercial came on during the movie. It had gotten dark outside, and Scott was feeling a bit sleepy, the effects of a full belly and a heater after days with little food sleeping in a building with no electricity during winter. He had, at some point and without his realizing, ended up lying down on the couch, his feet across Jack’s lap, and a blanket over his body.
Jack lifted Scott’s feet up and Scott bent is legs, thinking that Jack was telling him to move, but Jack stood up and let Scott put his feet back where they’d been. Scott looked up at him in askance, wondering if he’d taken up too much room and made Jack decide to move. Jack smiled at him absently and picked up his bowl and cup.
“Give me yours,” he said, and Scott sat up with a groan and handed over the dishes, which Jack then took into the kitchen. Scott remained upright, the blanket wrapped around his shoulders, and pulled his legs onto the couch and crossed them beneath the blanket. He could hear clinking as Jack put them into the dishwasher, and a little beep and rushing water as Jack turned it on.
“Tired?” Jack asked from the kitchen.
“A little,” Scott replied, blinking. His body felt warm and his mind seemed sluggish; he knew he was more than ‘a little’ tired.
“The movie’s almost over,” Jack murmured. “You should sleep after it ends.” Scott made a noncommittal noise like ‘mm.’ He didn’t want to leave Jack’s side.
Jack laughed suddenly, and Scott glanced at the TV. He hadn’t really been paying attention, but it didn’t seem that anything funny had happened. He turned his head back to look at Jack, and found the older man looking off to the side, grinning.
“What is it?” Scott asked. Jack didn’t answer, but motioned for Scott to come over there. His curiosity overpowering his drowsiness, Scott stood and went over to where Jack was standing.
As Scott came up next to Jack, the kitchen tile cold on his bare feet, he felt his belly do that weird flippy thing again. He stood behind Jack’s left shoulder, letting his arm brush against the older man’s back. Jack was wearing a sleeveless white shirt, which showed off his arms and shoulders for Scott’s hungry eyes. Not too muscular, but not weak, either. Like a runner, or a swimmer, maybe. Scott didn’t really know; he didn’t play any sports.
But he knew he liked the way Jack looked. Scott could feel the warmth of Jack’s body through his shirt, and smell the usual vanilla scent. He moved just a bit closer so his nose was just next to Jack’s short, dark brown hair, and breathed in softly. Vanilla shampoo.
Jack shifted a bit, turning towards him, and Scott stepped back, not wanting to be caught doing… whatever it was he was doing.
‘You’re sniffing him. Cataloging what type of shampoo he uses. How stalker-ish is that!’
But Jack was oblivious. “Look,” he whispered, pointing. Scott blinked and looked for the first time at what it was that had made Jack laugh.
In the other room, Coffee was flopped on the floor. Honey jumped over the brown dog, followed quickly by Roussi, who seemed to be chasing the blonde mutt. Hapless Coffee whined as they jumped, unable to keep track of what was going on. She scrambled to her big paws and scampered off after the other pets, only to have Roussi leap over her, followed by Honey scrambling beneath her. Coffee almost slipped in her hurry to change directions and follow after them. Roussi, of course, showed herself as the faster species, leaping over Honey as he tried to pursue her, and then jumping onto Coffee’s back. Little Honey ran up to the larger dog and barked at the cat, while Coffee herself attempted to turn her head around to see the cat, and ended up spinning about as though chasing her tail. Roussi, put off by the movement of her mount, leapt down and began chasing Honey once more.
“They’re playing!” Jack said happily. “I guess they’re getting along after all!”
“Yeah,” Scott murmured, feeling disoriented.
‘If they like each other,’ he thought. ‘If they like each other, does that mean that the species difference doesn’t matter? Could it mean,’ Scott inhaled slowly, the realization hitting him like a ton of bricks and joy and apprehension swelling in his heart. ‘Could it mean that there’s a chance for Jack and I too?”
Jack glanced away from the pets’ antics to smile at him, and Scott felt his heart speed up.
‘I always loved that smile.’
“It’s wonderful isn’t it?” Jack asked. “That they’re getting along.”
“Yeah,” Scott said. “It really is.” He looked over at them, playing again.
‘But that only means that a relationship, any sort of relationship, like a simple friendship, isn’t doomed,’ Scott reminded himself. ‘It doesn’t guarantee that Jack will like me. Just means we could be friends, if I keep my mouth shut and don’t ask for more than I’ll ever get.’
Scott sighed, his hopes and his body collapsing like a deflated balloon. He slumped forward, leaning against Jack’s shoulder.
“You really should go to bed, if you’re that tired,” Jack commented. Scott could feel the rumble of his voice through their bodies and he shivered. “Cold?” Jack asked.
“A bit,” Scott said absently. He still didn’t want to leave Jack. “I want to stay up to watch the end of the movie. Can I?”
“Of course,” Jack said, pushing Scott back a little so that he was forced to take his weight off of Jack. The older man smiled. “You’re old enough now to know your limits for waking up in the morning. Just know that I have to leave at 6, and unless you can get there some other way, you’ll have to be with me.”
“Alright.” Scott went over to the couch and flopped down. Jack sat next to him. Scott remained upright, not daring to lie down for fear of getting too near to Jack.
‘It’s less hopeless than it was before,’ Scott told himself.
‘Yes, but no more so than it was this morning,’ another part of him said.
Scott decided that if he was beginning to think of his mind as two separate people, he must be getting really tired, too tired to think about such complicated things. He turned his attention back to the movie.
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