Chapter Text
He peeked out from the cube hiding bed the human had provided him. He flinched and hid back into the cube as they passed by. Honestly, the human had provided him with a lot of comforts. He didn’t understand. It had been three days since that and he was still there.
The human had provided so much comfort to him. He rubbed at his face and sighed as he leaned against one of the side walls. He felt so welcomed around them and they were consistently doting and checking on him. They checked the temperature of his current enclosure. They kept assuring him of that. It’s a temporary one until he was able to adjust to the change. That had to have changed after that right?
He slid two fingers into his dead socket as he gnawed on the other hand as he doubted their assurance. But, the human kept feeding him such tasty food and listened when he showed he didn’t like certain foods. The human kept using such a sweet, kind, soft, and warm tone. That tone had brought a sense of care and oddly did a great job nearly convincing him it was the truth. It wonderfully was sounding alluring.
But, how could the human still want anything to do with him? He bit them.
The human slowly approached his tank and crouched down to read the gauge on the thermometer. He peeked just past the circular opening to watch them with his single curious eye. They softly smiled and asked him if he was hungry. He huffed and narrowed his sockets. They laughed lightly and mused, “I suppose you’re always feeling hungry, huh?”
He couldn’t really argue them on this point. He nodded and stuck his head out a little bit more. They gasped and walked off quickly. oh? He blinked and watched them briskly return with a small plate of snackages. He couldn’t quite understand why they were more frantic than usual about his snack. He tried to grind his teeth together, only to have his own phalanges in the way. oh.
“You’re not supposed to eat yourself, buddy,” they told him as they began slowly opening the top of his enclosure. They paused before lifting the lid and setting the rig aside so he wouldn’t feel as though the human was blocking him into a corner. He kept watching them from his hide. It wasn’t that he thought they couldn’t see him; that was obviously not the case. It was the security of the hide that kept him anchored. His good eye kept tracking after their hand as they placed a small saucer of chopped meats down on the bedding. He relaxed and stuck his head out.
“but, i’m a more flavorable option than what i had,” he answered with a knowing grin. Sure, the joke was delayed due to his skull injury, but the reaction was well-earned. Their smile and the sparkle in their eyes showed him that he did a good thing. He saw that their thumb still bore the scabs from his teeth. His light died down as he felt a pang of guilt hit. they haven’t done anything to hurt me. even after that. He made a mad dash to go, inspect it, and hug their hand. They gasped and yanked their hand back. They scrambled to get the lid. He stopped, half-way to his food dish and watched them. He finally realized what was going on and he called out, “lemme look at the damage!” They paused and looked at him, obviously shaken. “i wanna see how bad it looks…”, he continued.
They furrowed their brows and simply let out a partial question, “Wha--”, before they realized what he was talking about. Their eyes darted between him and the lid, as if trying to decide if they should trust him. With a slow, deliberate sigh, they stopped trying to grab the lighted lid and slowly lowered their left hand into the large tank, close to where he was standing. They shook from the adrenaline coursing through their veins. As his tiny, warm bones touched their hand, they flinched and closed their eyes. He knew they were fearful more than him. He chuckled and rubbed along the side of the palm. They cracked an eye open to watch him.
Making sure he was making eye contact, he gave their thumb a kiss and murmured just loud enough for them, “i’m sorry for hurtin’ ya. i’m gonna make it up to ya. just you wait.” He grunted in surprise as his skull was stroked with the injured thumb. He hugged the hand and nuzzled into the thumb. He was trying to fight off his tears as he felt relief.
They used that meek and inviting tone as they approached closer to him, “Would you like me to hold you?” He felt the tears running down his cheeks and his ‘throat’ tighten. He didn’t get it at all. How could they have forgiven him when he bit the hand that feeds him? How could they want him around after his distrust? Why did they continue to care about him?
He rubbed his eyes and whimpered out, “yes!” He felt like an idiot, crying over being offered a hold. He didn’t need to be held before this human. They made him feel comfortable enough to not deny his own needs.
“Well, how about you crawl on up, then,” they gently suggested. He practically collapsed into their palms and curled up. He shook as he tried to fight off the sobs. He couldn’t understand why he was letting them see him this weak, but he knew they wouldn’t ever hurt him. He was safe.
“‘kay!” he called out as he felt them scoop him up. They used both hands to bring him to their shoulder and neck. They held him close and rubbed his spine through the jacket they provided him. Their voice became warmer and soothed him with the assurance that he was okay.
“You’re loved, okay? You belong here, buddy,” they told him. He felt foolish because their kind words only made him cry harder. Why would they love a broken bitty like him? “You’re home here as long as you want to be,” they reiterated the promise they made to him when he was first brought to their home. That was a month ago. His next inhale was deep and wheezy, causing the human to coo and rub his back. He gripped (not onto his socket) but to them. He wanted them to stay and he wanted to be close to them as possible.
“mine,” he grumbled as he nuzzled his snotty face into their shoulder. He didn’t know who he was arguing with, but he knew in his soul this was true. This was his human. He was going to fight tooth and claw to stay. He had waited and gone through so much to come home.