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Ogata groaned as he was slowly pulled from the clutches of sleep. The sun was streaming through the blinds onto the bed, warming his skin and bringing him comfort. He stretched out, curling up like a feline in an effort to stay in the sun's rays. He was tempted to call his receptionist and cancel all his appointments for the day. The only thing that held him back was his promise to the strange little alien who lived with him. It would be insistent on their plans. It had been asking for weeks now.
That was the only thing he was willing to get out of bed for. Then again, willing was a strong word. Perhaps a better phrasing would have been: It was the only thing he was forcing himself out of bed for. With a deep breath, he hoisted himself up and wandered into the bathroom.
His beard was growing out, and he didn’t like that. His usual style was fashionable and clean-cut. Right now, he looked like a scraggly mess. Ogata slipped in his prosthetic eye before anything else. The last time he’d gone out, he’d gotten so distracted by Rilis’s antics that he’d completely forgotten it. Needless to say, it had freaked more than one person out.
Then, and only then, did he begin his trim. The brush he used to lather on his shaving cream felt… odd today. The texture was off. Maybe it was just old. He made a mental note to pick up another one on the way home from work. No big deal.
“Oh, is that what that’s used for?” the alien’s voice called from the doorway.
“Mhmm,” was Ogata’s only answer.
He was too busy pulling the blade against the underside of his lip to speak fully. Come to think of it, Rilis had never seen him shave before, had it?
“Mmm, you might not want to use it for your face anymore,” it said.
Ogata’s gaze flicked to the mirror, meeting the other’s gaze. A slow smirk worked its way across the alien’s lips. It was leaning in the doorway, arms folded, and looked far too amused for the man’s liking.
“What did you use it for?” he demanded quietly.
Rilis didn’t answer. Instead, the alien slipped out of the doorway and out of the room entirely. What Ogata did hear was Rilis’s silly, high-pitched laughter. It sounded so proud of itself. Oh. Oh, he didn’t like that . Ogata tried to push the thought out of his mind long enough to finish shaving, then promptly threw the cream brush in the trash. He would for sure be getting a new one later.
He could hear the sound of the microwave as he dressed himself, and then popping. Rilis was most likely making popcorn. It was a new food he’d introduced to the alien, and while it wasn’t it’s favorite flavor, it had taken a liking to the texture. Thankfully, the taller man caught it just before it could make a horrid mistake. Rilis sat at the table, ready to pour milk into a popcorn-filled bowl.
“What are you doing?” he asked, reaching to snatch the other’s wrist before it could let the milk flow into the bowl.
“What? It’s like that cereal stuff you eat in the morning,” it said with a shrug.
“No, it’s not.”
“It’s that same crunchy texture! And some of them are airy like this too. I wanna try it,” it insisted.
Ogata sighed. What a waste of perfectly good popcorn.
“Suit yourself,” he said, releasing it’s wrist.
The alien smiled smugly. It loved getting it’s way. Ogata folded his arms, leaning against the nearest wall to watch the horrors unfold. Rilis poured in the milk, grabbed it’s spoon, and dug into the mess of corn and cow juice. One bite was all it took to make it regret every decision it had ever made. It made a noise of discomfort, slowly looking to the taller man for help.
“Swallow it,” Ogata insisted.
“Mm…”
Rilis pulled the spoon out of it’s mouth painfully slow, sitting there for a long moment as it tried to process the horrid taste and even worse texture in it’s mouth. It was soggy– more soggy than anything else it had eaten on this junk heap of a planet.
“Go on.”
Rilis tried but had to stop when it almost gagged. Before Ogata could speak again, it spit the rotten mixture back into the bowl.
“Why didn’t you stop me?!” it demanded, it’s voice dripping with betrayal.
“I tried,” the man replied with a shrug. “You didn’t listen.”
“Well, you should have tried harder!” Rilis insisted as it shoved the bowl away from itself.
Of all the things it had experienced on Earth, this was the most offensive. It had ruined popcorn for it entirely. For now, anyway. It didn’t want to look at the fluffy, crunchy treat until it could wipe the memory of the taste out of it’s mouth.
“Hurry up and get ready,” Ogata said as he pulled his trench coat on.
“Eugh, that stinky old thing again?” Rilis asked.
It ignored his previous statement.
“This coat is high-fashion, I’ll let you know.”
“It belongs in the garbage.”
“ You belong in the garbage.”
Ogata didn’t mean it, and Rilis knew it. He’d never push the alien out of his house, or away from him. They were far too attached to each other, even if both of them were too stubborn to admit it. The two began a staring match, one wanting the other to get dressed, and the other wanting to be as bratty as possible.
Ogata should have known better. Rilis always won these things. Being an alien had its advantages. He struggled, but ultimately wound up having to shake his head and blink a few times to clear the dryness from his eyes. The alien pulled it’s hand under it’s chin to laugh, leaning back dramatically. Ogata huffed. Rilis laughed harder. It was always a game.
Now that it had gotten to play, it finally stood. Only now would it get dressed for their adventure. Of course, it left the bowl of popcorn slop on the table for the taller man to take care of.
The trip to the dental office was surprisingly uneventful. The man always felt the need to watch over the alien to make sure it didn’t do anything strange when they traveled on public transit. It was far too curious for it’s own good.
He knew he was supposed to teach the “higher being,” as Rilis called itself, all about Earth; doing so in front of random people who could overhear him was something he was still trying to get used to. Once they arrived at the office, he taught Rilis how to scrub it’s hands medical-style, and had it re-dress itself in medical scrubs. If it was going to join him in his appointments, he wanted to make sure it at least looked professional.
Rilis was amused but played along anyway. The dental assistants were more than a little confused. Since when were non-medical staff allowed to join Ogata in his practice? The man had a horrid feeling about it. The more they reacted, the more he realized this was probably a promise he shouldn’t have made.
Too late now.
His first client of the day was led to the examination room, and he looked over the chart. It was a simple tooth extraction that had been scheduled ahead of time. Easy enough. There was no way Rilis could interrupt or interfere with that kind of thing, right?
“Good afternoon, Mr. Williams,” Ogata said as he entered.
Rilis trailed in behind him, hiding their smirk behind their face mask.
“You’re in for a tooth-extraction, correct?”
The man in the chair nodded.
“I am. I’m a little nervous though,” he admitted.
“Nah, don’t worry,” Rilis said, waving it off. “This guy’s the finest dentist in town. He’ll rip that tooth right outa ya!”
“Rilis,” Ogata scolded, shooting the alien a warning glance.
Rilis’s smirk only widened. Poor Mr. Williams shifted uncomfortably. The nervous man looked like he was about ready to run out the door. Ogata gave his shoulder a pat, trying to soothe him.
“Don’t worry. The first thing we’ll do is numb the area. Then, in order to loosen the tooth, we’ll be wiggling it back and forth until it gives away. It’ll be easy to pull it out at that point,” he assured him. “At that point, we’ll make sure it’s clean, put some gauze in there, and you’ll be good to go.”
“Will it hurt?” Mr. Williams asked.
“Horribly,” Rilis replied, mischief in it’s eyes.
“You won't feel anything while we’re doing it, no,” Ogata replied, shooting Rilis another look. “It will be sore afterward, yes. Just be careful what you eat, don’t use any straws, and use over-the-counter pain medication. You’ll be just fine.”
Mr. Williams nodded, trying to relax back in his chair. The way Rilis was looking at him made him feel terribly uncomfortable, but Ogata’s presence was soothing. The needle the dentist pulled out dashed all of the comfort he might have had. The man in the chair squirmed away, trying to run, but Rilis grasped his shirt and pinned him down. The smaller “man” was stronger than Williams had expected. He was far weaker by comparison.
Ogata didn’t appreciate Rilis’s method, but he could admit it was helpful. He leaned in, opened Mr. Williams’s mouth, and tried to make the shot as quick and painless as possible. The man squealed in discomfort but didn’t fight it.
“There,” the dentist muttered. “We’ll give that about 10 minutes, check on your pain tolerance, and then go from there.”
Most people were good with a single dose. He’d seen a few that needed more.
“We’ll let you rest for now.”
Mr. Williams fell limp in his seat. This wasn’t what he’d signed up for. Well, it was , but it was more intense than he realized it would be. He’d assumed they would put him to sleep for such an ordeal. But no, they were about to do this while he was awake. Ogata left the room, soon followed by Rilis.
“What next?” the alien asked.
“Exactly what we told him,” the taller man answered. “We give him a minute, then go in and take out the tooth.”
“That’s kind of boring.”
“That’s the job,” Ogata said with a shrug. “You wanted to see where I worked. Well, here you go.”
“So this is it?” Rilis asked in disappointment.
“What were you expecting?”
“I dunno. Something more intense.”
Honestly, it wasn’t sure what it had been expecting. Just not this. It groaned in annoyance, letting it’s shoulders droop dramatically. Oh well. It just had to make the best of it. Ogata lost himself in the breakroom coffee. He needed to find the strength to get through the day. Normally, he was quite tired whenever he finished due to dealing with all of the other people around him. He was good at it, but it drained his internal battery.
Oddly enough, Rilis tended to help him recharge that battery. There was something about the alien’s energy that got him up and going again. He wanted to tell the other, but he knew Rilis’s smug aura would be too much to handle. Who knew when it would let the subject die?
Speaking of Rilis, where did it go? He’d turned his back for all of a second, and the alien had wandered off. His answer came in the form of a scream from the next room. Ogata dropped his coffee cup, letting it crash against the floor of the break room to rush out into the hallway. There stood Rilis, holding a freshly washed tooth in it’s hands.
“You made it sound like it was gonna be a big deal,” it laughed, waving off the man’s worry. “It came out easy!”
Mr. Williams could be heard sobbing in the examination room. So much for that patient. Ogata rubbed his temples. Williams would never come back again, after this.
After much apologizing and talking the man down to make sure he didn’t sue them, Ogata promised several free visits without Rilis present. It was all he could do to soothe the other before getting him to leave.
“Sylvia,” he called, glancing at the receptionist. “Call all of my other appointments for the day and reschedule them. I think I need to leave early.”
“Aww, come on, it wasn’t that bad!” Rilis protested.
“Let’s just… go home,” Ogata said with a huff.
He wanted to curl back up in bed and forget today ever happened. Internally, he had to admit to himself that Rilis’s antics were actually quite amusing. Externally, he had to scold the other and tell it this wasn’t appropriate.
“Can we get ice cream on the way home?” Rilis asked.
“No.”
“ Whyyyyyy ?” It whined.
“You didn’t earn it.”
“Oh, come on!”
“No.”
“Please?”
“ No .”
“ Pleeeaaaaasseeeeee? ”
Ogata groaned quietly. If he didn’t say yes, this would never end. He glanced at Rilis, and with that one look, the alien knew it had won. It always won. There was that smug look again, and the laugh that had once agitated the man. Now, he found amusement in it. Rilis was a brat, but he wouldn’t have it any other way.