Chapter Text
"Come straight home after work today, okay honey?"
"Of course darling, don't worry about me."
You softly sighed, hand relaxing its hold on the telephone. "Promise?"
"Promise. I love you."
"I love you more."
You've stayed up all night, pacing in the living room, waiting for your husband to return home from work, maybe even call that he was running late.
Softly twisting your wedding ring on your finger, your leg bounces as you tap your foot impatiently. Your six cats are all either asleep or staring at you. They're waiting for him to come home too.
-Knock knock knock-
You immediately spring up from your seat, rushing to the door. It is pouring rain outside, the pitter patter loud against the roof as it grows stronger.
Standing up on your tip toes, you lean into the door and look out the peep hole.
The first thing that leaves your mouth is a mutter of confusion and annoyance. "The hell?..."
A man with long pale blue hair, heterochromatic eyes of blue and grey, and pale skin covered in small stitches stands outside. He wears a cropped black shirt and black pants, and you can't tell if he's wearing any footwear from where he stands.
"Hello?" You ask, raising your voice for him to hear.
He looks at the peephole, batting his long eyelashes at you. He sways his hips subtly, "Hey. Can you let me in? It's cold out."
Your eyebrows furrow. "What? It's the middle of summer!"
The man giggles. "Mm, I run really cold~" He explains in a flirtatious voice.
You sigh in annoyance, pinching the bridge of your nose. "Listen, I'm sure someone else will help you, but I'm too busy to entertain you."
As you lower yourself from the peephole, you hear a disappointed whine sound from the other side of the door. "Aww, but why? I want you (R/I)."
Eyes widened, you look out the peephole again, but the man is already gone.
How did he know my name? Was that just my imagination?
The phone rings. You rush into the living room, picking up the telephone to answer. "(R/I)?"
"Who is this?"
"It's-" *static* "I can't find f-ing Ren anywhere-"
"Ren?!" You ask quickly, hearing the familiar name of your husband. "Is this Eliza?"
"Yeah I just-" *static* "-and I can't find him anywhere. Someone said the f-ing apocalypse broke out and I said 'bitch are you insane?' Listen I'm trying to find him but no one's seen him and-" *static* "Damn it's raining out! But- REN!?"
You clutch the phone tighter. "Eliza? Did you find him?"
"YOUR HUSBAND IS ON THE F-ING ROOF!"
"WHAT? Why the hell would he be up there?!"
"He looks like he's in some trance. REN! HEY, DUDE! YOUR WIFE'S-"
The line cuts out as thunder strikes outside.
-Knock knock knock-
You throw the telephone down and go to the door, looking out the peephole in a rush. It's that annoying man again!
He's looking to the side, hands behind his back as he sways back and forth slowly, hair flowing in the strong winds outside.
"Why are you back!?" you yell through the door.
"It's pouring out, (R/I)! I can't get wet~" He pouts.
"How do you know my name?" you ask him.
"You don't remember me?" He giggles again. "Oh, silly, just let me in. I can't get wet, kitty."
You narrow your eyes at him. It is raining pretty hard out. "Show me your hands."
He raises his brows before lifting his hands lazily. Nothing there to harm you.
I must be stupid.
"Alright, come in. Only for tonight, though. You're out by morning."
Unlocking the door, you open it to let him enter. You see now that he's very tall, even for an average person.
"Thanks kitty." he smiles, tilting his head.
You close and lock the door behind him, eyes glued to his figure as he invites himself into your living room.
"Ah, so many cats. I love cats!" he grins, crouching down to pet one. The cat doesn't hiss or back away, at least that's a good sign.
The phone rings again and you immediately pick it up. "Hello?"
"(R/I) they were right! It's the damn apocalypse, it's insane! I lost sight of Ren too, I have no idea where he is, I just know he ran back downstairs and is acting like a possessed bitch!"
The apocalypse? Your husband acting possessed? And now you have a weird man in your house who knows your name and is calling you 'kitty'.
Sitting down, trying to collect your thoughts, you listen as Eliza runs down flights of stairs. "Listen I'll try to find him, but if I can't, I'm out!"
"No, yeah...I get it, thank you Liz, make sure you take care of yourself." you reply in slight defeat.
"Don't you worry about me! Stay safe, sis, I'll try finding your possessed husband!" The line cuts out as she finishes her sentence.
"Crazy woman." you mutter to yourself as you set the telephone down. Your eyes meet the pair of heterochromatic ones looking back up at you. He has a cat in his lap with two others around him now. At least the furry babies like him.
"You okay, kitty?" he asks mockingly.
"Stop calling me that."
You get up from your seat, heading to the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. You can practically feel his eyes burning into you.
As the pot brews, you look back at the strange man. "Who are you anyways?"
"Mahito. You can call me Mahito. I know you're (R/I), but I don't know who you are either."
"Then how do you know my name? And you said that I forgot about you."
"We met before, you gave me your name, didn't care to ask for mine." he smiles slyly, "It's alright, you're pretty enough to forgive."
Your eyebrows knit in confusion, before you wave your wedding ring into his sight.
He looks at it like it's just a suggestion.
Sighing tiredly, you turn back to watching the coffee brew in its pot.
"How many cats do you have?"
"Six."
"What's your husband's name?"
"Ren."
"How old are you."
"28. You?"
"I don't have an age."
You narrow your eyes at him. He takes another sip of his coffee that he added an excessive amount of sugar and creamer to.
He's been asking you questions like a child and acts mysterious every time you ask him something. It's both annoying and irking you...well, they basically mean the same thing, but you're annoyed like a tired mother and irked like the stranger you are to him and he is to you.
"How old is your husband?"
"35."
"Oo, seven years~ I bet you can't wait for his hair to grey, hehe."
You roll his eyes.
He's so right.
It's almost 1 am. You still haven't gotten a call or heard a word from anyone you know, especially Eliza or Ren.
Mahito has resorted to a cat nap on the couch beside one of your pet cats.
You watch his face peacefully smile at his dream, his hands twitch every few minutes, his chest lift with every steady breath. The moonlight reflects off his pale skin and pale blue hair. He's pretty, you can admit that much, but you aren't interested in him the same way he's interested in you.
Now you're racking your mind trying to figure out where you've seen him while on your third cup of coffee.
We've met. He said we met and he asked for my name, I gave it to him, but I didn't ask for his...well that sounds like my interactions with creepy strangers or anyone who wants to be friends with me.
You conclude that he was probably just a passing stranger on the subway, street, in a coffee shop or perhaps a library. Maybe even in the grocery store. You hope he didn't become attracted to you from that point on, and that he really did come here just for you.
You look at his sleeping body again.
I'll keep my eye on him.
---
Almost four cups of coffee didn't help.
The paranoia of the stranger didn't help.
The worry for your husband. The want to hear from someone you know. The edge of your seat biting at your thighs from how long you sat there, while you waited for the phone to ring. The purr of the cats, the rain, the ache in your back.
Nothing could help to keep you awake like you tried so hard to do.
The sun rose, warm light shining through the window doors of your first floor balcony connected to the living room. You breath in as you sit up, now realizing you're on the couch.
You look around the living room with blurry eyes. "Mahito?" you mutter, suddenly remembering the stranger.
"Here!"
You jump at his enthusiastic voice. He pops up from behind the couch, giggling at your reaction.
"I woke up last night and you were asleep! I put you on the couch instead so you wouldn't wake up sore."
Looking up at him, vision clearing up, skin warm from the sun, you blink the rest of sleep away. "Um, thank you. That was nice."
"Oh, of course. I'm your guest, after all."
Guest. I said I was gonna kick him out by now!
"You should probably get going." you suggest. He nods slowly.
"Yeah, we agreed on that, I guess."
He looks disappointed, his eyes like a sad puppy's.
Sighing, you give in. Why are you giving in?
"You can stay a little longer."
--