Work Text:
Outside, the sun had just set; the tv sat forgotten and blaring out noise. The past few day’s events hit Giles as he flopped backwards onto the dingy couch: not only had his work been rejected yet again and sleeping seemed impossible, but the fact he had aided in a crime kept resurfacing. No, he had committed a crime. A federal crime. Still, Elisa’s signed words of compassion towards the amphibian man repeated over and over in his head like a manta that stung his conscience. The Asset was constantly viewed as a dangerous outsider set on harming society. It reminded Giles of himself. Even his designated, “The Asset”, was horrible but he had no other way to address the mysterious humanoid. “The Creature” only rung as something even worse.
A soft knock at the door caught Giles attention as Elisa walked in, her heels clicking on the wooden floors. With a groan, Giles turned his head towards her but remained sitting. There were little puddles of water and algae trailing behind her steps.
I have to go to work. Elisa signed fluidly before setting a few boiled eggs onto the corner table next to the couch. Can you still watch him tonight?
Giles let out another loud, dramatic groan then sat forwards, resting his elbows on his knees to prop up his face. “Of course, my dear. Just give me a few minutes and I’ll be in there.” He stretched an arm towards the eggs, grabbed one, and began to peel it. “You be safe at work, Elisa. Those sour government men are probably up everyone’s ass trying to find out about our little event.” Now finished with his snack, Giles stood with a short laugh and lazily walked to the cluttered workspace to grab a sketchbook.
Elisa grinned as her hands moved around. I sure hope so. Maybe a sour government woman will be up my ass, too, with any luck. She stepped into the hallway as Giles moved out the door with one hand full of eggs and the other gripping art supplies.
“Ha! Maybe, Elisa, maybe.” Giles shook his head fondly at his best friend’s comments. “Just be careful. I’ll see you in the morning.” He turned and entered into Elisa’s small apartment. The sound of heels rythmatical descending down the hall signaled the other’s exit.
Inside, the apartment was the same level of clutter. The only out of place thing was the various splashes of water sprayed out everywhere and concentrated near the closed bathroom door. Giles followed the water trail to where the Asset was housed. He knocked out of habit- but doubted the knock meant anything to the Asset- before entering. The amphibian humanoid sleepily gazed upwards from the murky bathtub. Algae and other unknown substances swirled around his limbs as he leaned forwards to get a better look at Giles. When the old artist sat in the chair next to the water, the Asset let out a soft, garbled chirp of curiosity before reaching one finned hand towards Giles’ notebook.
Giles chuckled as he flipped to the most recent sketch he had done. It showcased the Asset’s face in half a shadow, but was only comprised of hastily drawn lines that didn’t fully reflect the humanoid’s features. When the Asset pointed to it, Giles softly laughed again. “Yeah, doesn’t look much like you, huh?”
A sudden thought hit him and realized the other might not understand verbal language. Sure, there were definitely people who had spoken around him, but Giles had only ever seen him respond in sign language. Quickly, he repeated his words while signing the same thing, just in case. It was nowhere near as fluid and concise as Elisa’s but it would do for now.
The Asset chirred, then laid a wet hand on the notebook. Giles flinched, scrunching up his face at the now-wet paper, then shook his head with a small smile at the other in the tub. When the Asset lifted his hand from it, the imprint remained. The Asset frantically signed Mine before putting his webbed hands back into the dirty water. His hands disappeared beneath the algae in an almost childlike way, as if the Asset was containing a shy pride at his hand-artwork.
Giles stared at the handprint for a few short moments before asking “May I?” while signing, then picked up the pencil and made drawing gestures over the paper. Briskly, the Asset nodded his head, eyes wide with anticipation and slight confusion. Carefully, Giles traced over the wet portion of the paper before they could fade away. The entire time, the Asset watched the artist’s hand moving slowly around and dragging the pencil.
He flinched ever-so-slightly as Giles in one quick movement flipped the notebook over to show the other individual. The Asset again signed Mine .
“Yours.” Giles set the notebook back down onto his lap, giving the Asset a big smile and a thumbs up. On the paper, the webbed hands were littered with the drying pieces of whatever compound was added to the bathtub.
The amphibian man lurched forwards from the water to set both hands onto the paper this time. Water sloshed around and splattering the floor with more algae. The Asset chirped loudly multiple times, pressing his slick palms against the notebook with enthusiasm.
With a startled sound, the pencil dropped from Giles grip and landed between the Asset’s hands laid flat in front of the two. Unsure of what to do, the Asset picked up the pencil and analyzed it, turning it around between his long fingers. He attempted to emulate how Giles had held it before trying to outlining one of the handprints with shaky lines. When he looked upwards to the older man, Giles let out a sudden, loud laugh.
After a moment of hesitation, Giles lifted his hands to sign and say “Let me help you”, then laid one hand across the Asset’s. Gently, Giles dragged the Asset’s wet hand across the paper to create less shaky lines around his prints. Small droplets of water fell, smearing some of the ink. The Asset had a face of determination, staring intently at their hands moving.
Once the imprint was fully traced, the two sat back to admire their collaboration. After a few brief moments, Giles tore out the page, then stood to lean it against the mirror where the Asset could see. “Artwork should always be hung up. Appreciation, stuff like that.” Giles struggled to fully form the word appreciate as he signed and spoke in unison. The Asset copied the word appreciation with some confusion on his face, but Giles waved his hand dismissively.
Sighing softly, Giles once again returned to the chair next to the bathtub, sleepily rubbing at his eyes. He glanced over to the amphibian humanoid, but the Asset was only staring at the mirror’s reflection and the artwork. After a few minutes of silence Giles began to drift into a light doze, dreaming of bright fish and ocean waves and soft hands.
The first few rays of light filtered through into the bathroom as Giles slowly awoke, his brain attempting to catch up from last night. The fierce feeling of being watched suddenly dawned upon him before Giles shook his head to wake himself up more. He shifted forwards, then alarmingly towards the bathtub in fear that the Asset had ran away while he was accidentally sleeping.
Bright, full eyes locked onto Giles’ immediately, and the Asset was halfway peering over the edge of the bathtub like a curious cat.
A breath of relief left Giles right as Elisa’s front door creaked open. The telltale sign of her heels on wood got closer until the bathroom door swung forwards, and Elisa stood in the doorway. In Elisa’s arms was a large holder containing the Asset’s needed water nutrients that she set onto the sink’s ledge. Good morning, you two . She signed simply, then picked up the handprint artwork with a delighted smile across her face. This is wonderful, Giles.
Giles pointed to the Asset, who was still watching the two from in the water. “Actually,” he said with a tone of pride, “that’s mostly his work. It’s pretty astounding, don’t you think?”
From inside the bathtub, the Asset let out a quiet, bashful chirp.
It’s very wonderful. Elisa turned to the Asset to fully commend him. She returned the artwork to its proper place before addressing Giles. I can watch him now. Go get some rest.
With a brisk wave goodbye, Giles departed to his equally shabby apartment. As he left, a nagging thought in his brain surfaced that insisted he wanted to stay with the Asset. Instead, Giles managed to push it down and opened the door to his cats waiting inside. The two felines began their insistent meows and rubbed against his legs as soon as he entered the room.
Quickly, Giles set out their food bowls, made a sandwich for himself, then turned the tv to a program showcasing beautiful dancers on stage. He sat back into the plush couch with his food, but only got through one bite before he dozed off again. The sandwich fell onto the side of him, ham sliding out onto the furniture.
A loud, sudden thud startled Giles from his brief nap. He whipped his head around to come face to face with the Asset’s fish-like eyes only inches from his. With a shout, Giles stood up abruptly, holding his chest in slight panic. “Oh!” He wheezed out before settling back into the couch. “Oh, you can’t just do that!”
Both the Asset and Giles’ cats flinched at the loud movements. However, the Asset crouched down further, hiding half his face behind the couch so only the top of his head and eyes could be seen peering over the edge. Still staring straight at the other’s face, the Asset reached his arms up and over the couch to sign Okay? with a concerned expression. Or, at least as concerned as an amphibian could look; the emphasis was mainly implied through his golden eyes.
Giles groaned, moving to hold his head. “Yes, yes. I’m okay.” He said while signing something similar.
The Asset chirped then nimbly launched himself over the couch. He sat knee to knee next to the startled Giles. Once he noticed the cheerful sounds playing over the TV, his excited garbles continued at a higher volume. It almost sounded as if he was trying to sing along to the music playing with the extravagant dancers.
At first, Giles tried to contain his laughter; after only half a minute, it burst out of him. The Asset’s rhythmic chirps slowed before regaining its strength. He placed both hands on Giles’ closest leg, playfully shouting into his face. Around the apartment, the cats scrambled to hide from the rarely noisy environment.
“Yeah! You got it!” Giles nodded his head as laughter broke in between words. “You sing wonderfully.” He signed the last part somewhat erratically, struggling to communicate through his enjoyment. Once he was able to control his composure, Giles began singing with The Asset. Their two off-key voices rose noisily, simply enjoying one another’s comfortable presence.
The song trailed off on tv, as did their duet. The Asset didn’t realize right away the music had been replaced with the actress’s speech, but eventually settled down into the couch, still smushed against Giles. He settled back, wiggling into the older looking man, before resuming to stare at the tv. The black and white images were captivating to the amphibian humanoid- his large eyes remained plastered to the screen.
It took a few minutes before Giles noticed a sticky feeling squished against his leg. Something had disgustingly seeped through his thin pants. Immediately, his mind turned to the sandwich he had forgotten. The thought of ham soaking his pants resulted in a visible cringe response while he awkwardly tried to briskly explain to The Asset that he needed to move. The message failed to come across as Giles fumbled his hands around. Instead, the only reply given was another strange chirp without removing attention from the tv.
The Asset let out a soft squawk when Giles reluctantly shoved a hand between where their legs touched. As Giles pulled out the slice of meat, the Asset’s eyes widened, then snatched the prospective food out of his loose grip. It was swallowed in two quick, neat bites. Giles- continually startled by his strange new friend- narrowly managed to pull his fingers back fast enough to avoid being bitten.
Giles felt a soft puff of hot breath on his skin before the Asset suddenly flopped his head down onto the older man’s lap. With long limbs sprawled everywhere, the Asset angled himself back towards the tv, a silly, content face plastered across his foreign features.
“Yeah-” Giles said blankly, feeling a little sorry for himself at his lack of words. “Yeah, okay, that works. I’m just gonna- gonna just-” He draped one arm over the Asset’s midriff hesitantly, then placed the one hand on the other’s head when there was no resistance.
It took a few minutes for him the completely relax, but eventually, the two sat in a comfortable silence to watch the dancers. The Asset fell asleep first, despite his heavy breathing; Giles eventually followed suit. Later, when Elisa returned a few hours later to check on the two, they were still peacefully sleeping with the tv blaring showtunes.