Chapter Text
Warmth, one unlike they had ever felt before, greeted their slowly waking mind. Soft fabric laid over them, a plush pillow’s lain under their head, the mattress sunk under their weight. This isn't one of the hospital's beds. Their eyes snap open, they glance around themself, taking a second for their eyes to adjust to the thankfully dim light. It's clear this isn’t the hospital, nor any other place they know, their panic quells somewhat though as they realize it’s someone's personal room. Had Agent taken them to his place? Why? Their mind drifted to the moment before they last passed out, did he really care so much about them to bring them to his home even after learning they were an Anomaly. They weren't sure how to feel, it felt good that he had cared about them, but it also felt wrong, so very wrong. He shouldn’t care, no one should.
They don't want to think about that anymore, instead they decide to inspect the room. The most notable thing in the room is the large window covered by a curtain, some dim light leaking through. There was of course the bed they were laid in, it was massive, a much bigger bed then they would expect an animal, let alone one that lives alone, to have. For such a big bed it’s quite plain: grey sheets, a navy blue blanket, and white pillowcases. A wooden end table sat on one side of the bed with nothing on it. The large desk on the opposite side of the room from them caught their eye next, mostly due to the large stacks of papers on it, though there was also a laptop plugged into a wall outlet and a very comfy looking rolling chair to sit on. Neither the wardrobe nor the dresser were particularly notable, other than it being something they never had themselves. The door to the room was next to the desk, inset into white walls.
It felt wrong, this space was something they would never have, It felt like they were intruding.
Their thought ended up cut off as they smelled bitter coffee somewhere else in the home. On the thought of smell they realized that the bed smelt freshly washed.
The door clicked as it was slowly swung open, bright light pouring in, the smell of coffee becoming stronger. Anxiety filled them as Agent was suddenly stood in the doorway, a coffee in hand.
Agent immediately noticed they were awake, “Intern!” they placed the coffee on the desk, “Hold on a second, I made some food for when you woke up!” Then he was gone, running down the hall, presumably to get the food he mentioned.
His voice was weirdly excited given what they remembered from when they were last awake.
Agent ran back into the room holding a large bowl of what smelled like a very delicious soup. They began to drool and as he got close they tried to shift themself up, but that only ended up causing their body to ache at the attempt to move, something that Agent noticed.
“Do you need help eating?”
They glanced away, giving him a small nod, embarrassed that he would need to help them eat.
Agent sat the bowl on the nightstand to help sit them up, then picked it up to bring it to their mouth. The moment they tasted it they desperately tried to get more, they gulped down the soup in moments. It was gone all too quickly, they were still hungry, the taste of food making their body howl for more.
“You want me to get you more?”
They fervently nodded, so Agent went off, taking the bowl to refill it with more soup. How much had he made? Had he made a large portion specifically for them? The thought filled them with warmth, and instead of snuffing it as they would before, they let it encompass them. It was hard to believe they finally had someone they could fully trust.
Agent was back with another bowl, they carefully reached their hands toward it, their energy quickly returning to them as they satisfied the hunger. They drained the bowl of its contents even faster than before.
As they lowered the bowl from their mouth they spoke, voice still distorted, “Thanks…” Agent looked surprised by their sudden speech, “Thank you for being my friend.”
Agent just stood still for a moment, “I’m glad to be,” then his arms were suddenly wrapped around them in a hug.
They dropped the bowl on the nightstand and returned the hug, happy tears building in their eyes. Never would they have thought that they would be accepted for what they were, yet here it was. They relished the warmth, the closeness, the feeling of his fur brushing against theirs, they drank up the showing of affection even more desperately than they had the soup.
After a long moment they both released the other from the hug, Agent had the widest smile they had ever seen on them, Intern felt happier than they ever had before even with the hunger still nipping at the back of their mind.
Thinking of their hunger, “is there more food?”
Agents tail flicked, “yes, and you can have as much as you need,” he moved to grab the bowl again.
Intern stopped them, earning a confused look before they began to slide themself off the bed, nearly falling, their legs not quite ready to hold them up. Agent caught them, helping them hold themselves up. They gave him a sheepish smile, seeing how his worry quickly shifted back into mirth. They grabbed the bowl, as at the least they were able to hold that.
Agent helped them move out the room, they winced as they walked into the much brighter space. It was a common room, a kitchenette was situated off in the corner with a large pot of what must be the soup, A leather couch with a nearby coffee table faced a wall mounted TV, and off towards the left wall they could see another door which they assumed led to the bathroom. The space was smaller than they thought Agents home would be, though the lack of personality wasn't all too surprising, Agent generally seemed fine with whatever they were given.
There were no chairs, no dining table either, did they just eat standing?
“I don't spend much of my time here so there isn't much,” Agent spoke, as if answering their internal question.
Given how clean everything was they could definitely believe he wasn’t home much.
As they got into the kitchen, Intern was good enough to stand on their own, they wobbled a bit as they let go of Agent. They immediately checked out the pot, marvelling how much was in it, enough to feed a family for a day. Their stomach grumbled, instead of filling the bowl though they set it down and picked up the whole pot, opening their jaw fully as they ate straight from it, enjoying the freedom to display the feature they had always been so careful to hide. In just a few seconds the pot was empty and they set it down, their hunger feeling more sated than it ever had been before.
Remembering their surroundings they turned over to Agent who was fluffed up, they gave him a sheepish smile.
Agent quickly smoothed out his fur, “it's good, I already ate my portion. You full now?”
They gave him a nod, with a thankful smile.
Agent started walking back to the bedroom, “I need to sleep now, we both have shifts tonight,” as he reached the door he spoke again, “you coming?”
Intern gave him an unnaturally large grin before following, closing the door as they went through it. Agent just flopped onto the bed, while Intern dove onto it.
They were so happy that they could lay on the super comfy bed. They looked over to Agent to see him already asleep. Had he been watching over him the whole time he was out? Intern put some of the blanket over Agent before crawling under it themself. They shifted a bit to lay right next to Agent before falling asleep themself. This time they willingly let the darkness of unconsciousness take them, feeling safe for the first time in a long time.