Chapter Text
Mako had been heading home from work near midnight, it was a lot later than what he'd usually prefer but he had a meeting to attend so it wasn't as if he had much of a choice. He was exhausted and had to walk tonight since his bike was out of commission and sitting in the shed. He'd rather fix it himself, so he didn't take it to a repair shop. He just didn't have the time to do it yet since he had little to no free time. It was the busiest week he'd gone through in a long while and it gave little to no time for any hobbies or activities. Luckily it was almost over and he'd have some time off.
On his way home he'd come across an alley he didn't really remember ever crossing before. He must have taken a wrong turn without thinking, Mako rubbed his face and sighed before he turned and started his way back from where he came. Until he heard some strange noises from the alleyway. Against his better judgment he walked to the opening and looked down it to see if he could spot where the noise was coming from.
There wasn't much to see other than some empty soda cans and crumpled trash. The large man really felt like he must be out of it to think he might be hearing or seeing things so late into the night. As he was ready to leave he heard the sounds again, closer this time. There was a scurrying sound like something scrambling around in the darkness and a heavy scraping noise similar to clanging metal. Suddenly there was a loud hiss of steam as a pipe broke and two large orange eyes stared directly at Mako only a few feet away. Whatever it was stood on two legs and looked even bigger than Mako himself. The thing in front of him seemed to be at least a whole foot taller than him, with Mako already at seven feet in height alone.
Just as two large ears twitched and fur stood on end as a large tail rose from the ground- Mako ran for it. He didn't turn around to check and see if anything was actually following him or if it'd just been his tired and stressed mind imagining it. All that he could think of was returning home to safety and shelter.
It didn't take long for Mako to reach his house. The area wasn't too far off from where he lived and with how fast he was running he made it back pretty quickly. He took a few deep breaths and sighed heavily. Did he really just run away from something when he didn't even know if it was just some weird illusion from the fog? For all he knew it was just some guy in a fancy fursuit. Maybe it was for the best that he didn't know what it was and ran for it. When he gained some composure he pulled out his keys and opened his front door. He switched on the lights and shut the door behind him- not really having to worry about it since it locked on its own. Mako set his keys in a glass dish by the door and took his shoes off before he headed towards the kitchen.
He didn't even bother with a late night dinner, feeling too sick now to make himself something to eat. Instead, he drank some water and started to remove his work clothes on his way to his room. After slipping into some pajama shorts and a t-shirt, he set an alarm on his phone before he plugged it up to the charger. He rubbed his neck and settled down into the comfort of his bed. It took him a good hour before he actually managed to rest and even then he could only see strange glowing orbs staring at him in total darkness. He kept the light on as he tried to sleep the rest of the night. It didn't go well for him when he finally woke up in the morning for work.
---
Mako arrived at work 5 minutes late for the meeting he was supposed to attend. It wasn't until he was halfway on his way to work that he realized he didn't have his wallet on him. Usually he was good about remembering just about anything but he was really just too exhausted from the night before.
After a short lecture on his tardiness, he sat at the table. The chair was flimsy and too small for him and he was trying his best not to fall asleep during another incredibly tedious and boring meeting. No one really bothered him that day. He mostly worked in the back room and sorted through boxes until his shift was over and he was allowed to go home. He checked his phone and realized he had a few missed calls.
Mako scratched the top of his head in thought until he recognized the number. It was from his nosy neighbor, Lena. He called the number back and after a few rings she picked up, "Ah! Mako?". He sighed and started his walk home, "Yeah?".
She cleared her throat and gave a nervous laugh, "I tried to get a hold of you earlier but I guess I forgot you had work today, yeah?".
Mako paused shortly when he realized she wasn't saying anything else to him. "What do you want?", He asks. Which came out incredibly grumpy and tired considering that's exactly how he felt. "Oh right! Well the police were at your house, Love! Thought someone tried to break in because there was a loud crash! Scared me and Emily half to death! Turns out that it might have just been a stray animal in your garbage." She explained.
The man stopped and stared blankly for a moment, processing what he'd just been told, "...You serious?".
Lena didn't say anything but Mako knew she nodded when she said, "No joking around on this one! The police looked around and couldn't find anything! Hanzo says he thought he saw a giant rabid dog walking around your house, so I guess that's that! Sorry, Mako!".
He hung up after that without even saying 'bye' or 'thanks for watching the police investigate my house while I was away'... He simply picked up the pace on his way home, so he could get back and check out the damage.
---
Upon arriving home, he found his trash strewn all over his yard and the lid ripped off the garage can. There was no way he'd be in any mood to clean this up right now but he supposed he'd need to get it done before someone calls him in for making the neighborhood look bad. He tried to repress any anger he felt and walked inside his home to take off his work attire and go back outside to clean. It took him a little over an hour before he finally deemed himself finished with the front yard. There was a trail of trash leading to the back of his home and he began picking up as he went along the side of the house. He noticed something off, there was trash in front of the small shed he had in the back. He tilted his head and set the trash to the side before he opened the door. He saw that the lock was chipped and looked like someone had broken it.
He peeked inside and turned the light on next to him. Grabbing a bat next to the door he prepared himself in case there was a person or animal hiding out. If someone got in, they didn't seem to realize the bat was there when they got inside. Mako walked in and looked around. There wasn't any garbage but some of his things were knocked over and the tarp on his bike was hanging off to the side rather than on the bike itself. He approached his bike and examined it carefully, he could tell it seemed like someone was... trying to start his bike? He frowned deeply when he felt he'd have to call the police back and mention that someone didn't just knock over his trash but that someone had also tampered with his bike.
As he thought silently, he heard some rustling in the back of the shed and stood up with his bat held tightly in his large fist.
The pile of tarps and miscellaneous cloth started to move and a huge lump rose up from the fabrics. The tarps moved out of the way of a giant rat face, with those ginormous orange eyes that Mako had seen the night before, appeared. The eyes scanned him and out of fear he backed away and more towards the exit of the shed just before a strange furry hand came up and the creature held out something.
The older man was ready to hit the creepy hand with the bat before he caught a glimpse of his wallet. He furrowed his eyebrows when he looked at the wallet and then looked up to the fluorescent eyes. Was this some sort of trick? Was he just that exhausted he was having some sort of daydream? He didn't make any advances towards retrieving the item from the rat. The monster looked as if it was getting annoyed, its brow became angry looking and it shook the wallet in front of Mako, "This yours or not, Mate? I'm not gonna stand around all day. It's-".
Mako rushed out and shut the door behind him. "Oi!", a voice came from in the shed, the rat sounded like it had run over and hit the door as Mako fled. Mako used his body to keep the shed door shut and pulled out his phone to call the police or someone. Mako's phone made an unlocking sound and the creature spoke out again, this time a lot more frantic.
"Wait, wait, wait! Don't call no one, yeah?", the voice was nervous and cracked at the end. "I'm not gonna hurt ya I swear, I just wanted ta give your wallet back and then I got hungry and-".
He really couldn't believe this... Some monster from an alleyway found his home, raided his garbage and now it's in his bike shed. "I didn't steal nothin! Promise!... Talk to me! you're not gonna call the police again right?... C'mon!", the voice really did sound utterly pitiful. Not only did it sound distressed, it sounded horrible and grated on Mako's nerves like a loud chair on hardwood.
Mako waited quietly for a moment before he spoke, "What are you?". The creature whined at him, "I don't wanna talk about that behind a door, mate. M'names Jamison. Can we uh, go inside? Maybe I can get a glass of water?". A nervous laugh came out of the rat and Mako shook his head. He swayed the bat in his hands before opening up the shed door and looking at the monster that loomed over him. He'd never felt so intimidated before, usually he was the tallest person in any encounter but this was new for him. He glared up at the strange thing, "If you so much as try anything funny-". Mako pulled the bat up to hold it in both of his hands to show he'd be ready to use it if he had to. The orange eyes of Jamison almost flared and he gave a strange crooked smile with his long mouth, "I got ya, mate.".
---
They took the back door to avoid any of Mako's neighbors from seeing Mako walk into his home with a strange shaped human/animal. Knowing them though, they heard Jamison screeching at the top of his lungs and were already suspecting something strange going on in the neighborhood. Once inside, he led the limping creature into the kitchen where he flipped on the lights and made sure that the curtains were all closed. Considering Mako liked what little privacy he had, he kept his curtains closed the majority of the time anyway.
The man was on guard even as he fixed a glass of water for the smelly rat sitting at his kitchen table... or trying to sit at least. Its strange limbs seemed uncomfortable in the seat. Mako wasn't exactly sure how the monster was going to drink the water with how strangely long its face was but- it started licking the water up into its mouth, like any animal would.
After a short while of drinking, Mako cleared his throat loudly and crossed his arms. He kept a reasonable distance from the table, so he wouldn't be within arms reach. The rat gave another nervous, crooked smile that revealed gnarly teeth. It exhaled a deep breath it seemed to have been holding, "Promise ya ain't gonna call anyone?...". Mako thought he'd already reassured that he didn't have any intentions of doing so, unless the thing attacked him but he replied 'yeah' anyway.
Jamison nodded and his clawed hand tapped gently on the glass, clearly he was on edge. As the rat took a moment to think about what he was going to say, it gave Mako time to examine the looks of the rat a bit more.
There was of course the orange eyes and the fur on top of the rat's head seemed almost blonde in contrast with the light grey, almost white fur. Though the rat was also covered in dirt and... oil? Some sort of black substance for sure. Maybe from being in the shed or the alley. From where Mako stood he couldn't get much of a look at anything below the collarbone. The rest was covered up in a torn up hoodie. He did get a glimpse of the legs though and saw that the rat had been missing a leg. He wondered what it was using for the peg leg... where did it even get that?
Mako was pulled from his thoughts when the rat finally said something, "You heard anythin about a missin person?...". The rat looked up at Mako from where he was seated. His eyes almost looked hopeful but Mako merely shook his head. He hadn't heard about anyone going missing lately, not in the area atleast. Jamison's ears lowered, "Shoulda expected that..."
The rat shook its head to get back on track, "Right, you wanted to know about me, yeah?". Jamison repositioned himself in his chair anxiously, "I'm uh... I came from a lab- I mean, I wasn't BORN in a lab. I was-". He was quiet for a split second before asking again, "You really haven't heard nothin?! No one said anythin about people goin missin?!". His actions were scared and almost fuming with anger.
"Nothin. I have no idea what you're talkin about.", Mako spoke matter-of-factly and leaned against his fridge. Jamison snarled and squeezed the cup in his hand, it didn't break but it sure seemed ready to.
If anything he looked more hurt than angry by this point, "I worked at a gas station a few blocks down. I was human once... I swear! My name is Jamison Fawkes, I-". His voice came off as pleading, as if he was asking Mako to atleast try to see him like a person despite the fact that he legitimately looked like a human sized rat.
"I know ya don't have any reason ta keep me here but I... Can I stay?... Please?... I'll tell ya everythin tomorrow or- or now! If that's what ya really want, I'm just-", he scratched at his forehead fearfully, "It's hard...".
Mako couldn't understand a single thing that Jamison was going through or if his claim was even true but at most he was understanding that the rat was stressed and terrified of... whatever it was. "What makes you think I'll trust ya to stay in my home? I don't know what you'll do.", Mako stated.
Jamison stood up quickly, knocking the chair back in the process, "Nothing I swear! I just wanna stay and... maybe... eat? Or just- Maybe not? If you'll just let me sleep here for a bit, I'll be on my way as soon as ya want me gone!".
Did he really have to think about this?... Making this decision should be pretty easy. He should say 'no' to this possible threat and kick the monster out. Instead he came to one solution at least, "You sleep in the shed. I have work tomorrow and I'm not sleepin with ya in my house.". He pointed an almost threatening finger at the rat, "You better answer any questions I have. I won't tell anyone about ya but I won't hesitate to call someone the moment you pose a threat.". Or hit him with the bat...
Just that offer alone was enough to make Jamison light up. He'd have a roof over his head, why would he complain about that?, "Thanks, mate!".
---
Mako did indeed give Jamison something to eat before sending him out back with some blankets and a pillow. Was it really wrong to make Jamison sleep outside? Mako felt it was the smart thing to do for someone he didn't know- especially a large rat.
He had to convince himself not to lock the shed door after he got Jamison settled in. The rat snuggled up in the back of the shed out of sight. You'd have to squint to find him with how easily he blended in. Mako went back into his home and took a quick shower. The entire time he readied himself for bed, he thought about the rat man sleeping in his work shed and with that he had another horrible night of little to no sleep. This time it was practically out of worry of doing the wrong thing rather than out of fear that something was going to haunt him.