Work Text:
Thursday Mishaps
The plans work well for the first couple of days. The fact that it’s a weekend and nobody was at work sails cleanly over Morse’s head as he enjoys following people around the house and gaining confidence in the garden while Win does the weeding. He’s not had this much friendly company for a long time.
‘How do you know what to do with each plant? They all look the same. Except that one…that one’s red. Oh! And that one is the same grey as Miss Thursday's eyes so…blue! Wait…what’s…oh…OH…I just ate a slug. And I liked it. What’s happening to me?’
Strokes and tummy tickles at nap times are odd at first but soon grow to become rather enjoyable especially once he gets the hang of his vocals and they started working out some form of Morsehog code.
‘This is actually quite comforting. I can see why cats like it. It reminds me of mum stroking my hair when I was sick. Not sure it wouldn’t be weird as a human but…I guess I’m not right now? Wait why did you stop? Biscuit? Yes please.’
Sudden noises hurt his sensitive ears, sending his hedgehog instincts into autopilot and activating sudden, very prickly, Morsehog balls in random places around the house. Sometimes he could talk himself out of his security balls quite quickly but sometimes it took Win or Joan’s gentle tones to coax him out.
“Come on Morse love. It was only the neighbours slamming the door. Come on out.”
‘Are you sure? Alright then but if it was Sam dropping books again I’m biting his toes.’
Things don't go quite so smoothly once the Thursdays started going back to work. They don't seem quite as happy to have Morse following them around anymore and it’s Fred who’s the first one to nearly stand on him in the hallway when a car backfires and activates the security ball.
“Christ! For heaven's sake Morse it’s just a noise. You could at least go in a corner first. Look, now I’ve got a hole in my best socks.”
‘I’m sorry. I don’t mean to, it’s instinct, I can’t stop it. Loud noises hurt my ears and they feel…dangerous. Are you angry with me? Hello? Why won’t you look at me? Where are you going? I said I was sorry.’
Sam is the first to leave Morse outside all night after forgetting to check he was in before locking up. Morse makes as many noises as he can, as loud as he can but nobody hears him.
‘Hello? Hello!? LET ME IN! What was that!? Hide. Hide. Hide. Why does everyone always forget me? Do they get bored of me? Are those eyes?? Hide faster. In the shed? Hey! Rude! Is that a cat? Two cats!? Wait...don't you stalk me! Get away! HELP! Under, under the shed, yuck. I'd like to see you get past the spines under here cat.’
When he’s found huddled under the shed the next morning he shuffles as fast as he can to his quilt and tucks himself away, refusing to allow any touching for the rest of the day.
‘Finally! I’m damp, I’m cold, I’m scared, and your neighbours have cats that want to eat me! The rats in the shed aren’t too friendly either, under was my only choice. You forgot me! I’m still a person you know! Don’t touch me! See these spines? I’ll use them. Ooof. Damn. I can see in the dark, I can eat slugs, I can run fast but hedgehogs cannot, at least not well, climb. I just want my quilt. Hands off! You can put that book there as a step but no touch. No! Serves you right! No hands in my burrow.’
Perhaps the worst moment is when Morse spends the breakfast rush sitting by the backdoor waiting for someone to let him out…but they never do. As it gets later and later he tries increasingly desperately to get someone’s attention but then they’re just…gone. All of them.
‘What do I do? I don’t know what to do. I need to go… Maybe there’s some tissue I can reach?...No. The stairs look too high to climb by myself. Why did they forget me? They keep forgetting me. I’m small but I’m still here. Maybe I don’t matter? Maybe I never mattered? Did they keep me because I’m useful at work? But…a hedgehog isn’t useful, and I don’t know how to not be a hedgehog. I really need to go…oh….oh no…oh they’ll be so cross with me.’
Looking at the mess he’s made with an overwhelming sense of shame, all Morse can think to do is take to the shelter of his burrow, curling into his tightest security ball when Win comes home and makes a dismayed sound in the kitchen.
‘She’s cross with me. I knew it. I tried to hold it.’
“Oh, Morse! I’m so sorry love! I’ll get this cleaned up in no time. Morse? It won’t happen again I promise. Won’t you come out then I can see if you’re alright?”
‘No. It’s all going wrong. I’m safe in my burrow. It’s not safe out there.’
He doesn’t come out of his burrow for anything other than bathroom breaks and sustenance for three days.
Two weeks after 'the incident', Morse is cautiously back to wandering around the house. Trying to avoid busy times in case of any more…incidents.
Unfortunately, one of his morning bathroom runs coincides with Fred leaving for work and the squeak he involuntarily lets out as a shoe clips his side is a mix of shock, pain, and betrayal.
‘You kicked me! Kicked me! Is it so hard to look at where you’re putting your feet!? Are you even trying to fix me while you’re going off to work? Are you planning on just leaving me like this and kicking me around the hall for the foreseeable? Or are you planning on driving me out to the woods and leaving me? That’s what my father threatened to do! I thought you were better! Don't you walk away from me!’
It’s just unfortunate that, as far as they’ve gotten with the Morsehog code, he still couldn’t really speak to them, and they weren’t as happy to speak to him anymore with Fred ignoring his angry clicks and walking out of the door as if nothing had happened.
‘It’s getting very lonely, being a hedgehog.’