Work Text:
Badump. Badump.
The silence rattles in the Intern's brain. It's ironic. They have several hearts beating within their chest (a biological inability to perfectly mimic a real living animal, much to their own disappointment), yet they wish both were still.
As still as the fleshy organ in their hand now, mere inches away from the faux rabbit's open mouth. If they were a little more stealthy, maybe they could've escaped the scrutiny of Secret Agent himself ー even the feline's knack for danger, paired with his sharp mind and keen ears.....
They stared into the Void. The void stared back at them with low ears, narrowed yellow eyes, and a pistol pointed directly at the rabbit.
...No. It would've happened eventually. But so soon, and at this moment? Behind a closet, beheld before a sight of the Intern hunched across cold marble tile? Their mouth frozen agape and bloodied? And so their hands as well, with one still within the dead patient's torso as if to grab as much meat as possible?
Click.
That must be the safety trigger.
Crrrr-
The barrel? He plans to shoot them now?
Oh. Oh, that's not good.
The Intern shuts their mouth, retracting hideous teeth and all back to where they must. They mustn't look a monster. They only wanted to help. The patient was going to harm someone else ー the front desk let an anomaly in, it would've harmed someone else if they hadn't gotten to them.....!!! It had been fine all those other times, nobody had noticed, so why would it happen this time?
The Intern's head bows towards the Agent, arms brought close, and eyes scrunched to brace for what would happen: bullets, several bullets to account for their size, taller and greater than the cat, the cat who would shoot them, their brains strewed across the floor ー
Bang!
The bullet whizzes just to the side of the Intern's head, landing solid impact in the carcass behind them.
He missed? Or a warning shot? He wouldn't do that. So why?ー
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Groannnn...?
The Intern anticipated the gunfire.
They didn't anticipate the gentle hand on their head, tail flicking softly towards them as the Agent nudged his foot under the body, kicking it away.
They also didn't anticipate the new rows of teeth along the insides of the patient's body that they'd see upon cracking their eyelids open and turning around. They were sure they'd already killed it. But if that was the case, then...
The Intern looked up. There was no longer a gun in hand, and hostility on his face was replaced by a lazy "blep" of his tongue.
The Agent was protecting them. But why?
"Mfffbmnuffm?"
Why is the Agent's tail pressed against their mouth still?
"Mmー"
Oh. He's kneeling now, maybe to listen closer? Intern opens their mouth to repeat the question,
only for the Agent's tail to be replaced by his hand, reaching inside and pressing against the ridges where teeth should be, carefully inspecting each little nook.
To the taller's delight, they can feel the feline's fingerpads as he scrutinizes. How cute...
With his other hand, he presses a handkerchief against the minimal bloodstains along the edges of their lips. Thankfully it's only a small amount ー The Intern was meticulous in feasting, so as to wash up quickly if needed for extra work.
Of course he knew that. The Agent's eyes light up smugly in satisfaction, and he places two heavy pats to the Intern's back, a friendly gesture that sends the rabbit reeling from the force.
"Should start heading back that way. Nurse is looking for you, we're short on staff at the front desk."
Huuhhh........??
"Then why are youー"
"The cameras saw you," Agent gestures towards a general direction of one mounted on the wall, "dragging the body. I looped the feed, but you should really wait until it's broken next time."
"Ah."
The Intern fidgets, nails scratching against the fibers of their sleeves.
"So, um..."
If he's known this entire time, then...
"...When did you figure it out? That I'm one of them?"
As if it's the stupidest question he's ever heard, the feline's tail flicks in mock irritation with a sigh.
"Your first week."
"What?"
"You tried too hard to help out and stay distant at the same time, so I counted your fingers whenever you got coffee, and you accidentally added an extra finger on your fourth day. You're good at disposing of bodies. You drink coffee a lot less than the rest of us, so I figured that tied into it. Plus, an average intern would not choose this hospital to further their career, and they wouldn't purposefully avoid the cameras if they were any regular animal."
At this, he holds a hand out for the intern to grasp.
"You're also unreasonably fluffy. Now come on, I'll walk you back."
And so fuzzy hands lock together, with a reassuring squeeze from the feline.
The lagomorph clings on tightly even after they return to the front desk.