Unfamiliar [Duskwood]

2 / Whiskers

[Unknown's POV]

"Hello, M/C," I anxiously greet, hoping I didn't mishear the name.

"Uhm, hi," they respond, turning around to look at me. I hope that they don't see my face.

"So, you're here..." I mutter.

Why did M/C have to come to this motel out of all the ones in the world? I let out a sigh. M/C observes me; they're probably curious.

"Not to sound rude, but what did you want?...I mean, you approached me," M/C asks after a moment of silence.

"Yes, I forgot to mention that. You...are M/C, right?"

M/C nods cautiously. Somehow I doubt them; I better make sure they are indeed M/C.

"And you were talking to Jessica, correct?" I question, trying not to scare them.

"...Yes, why?"

I try my best to think of a way to word it in a way that wouldn't seem weird. "And her name is Jessica...Hawkins?"

M/C slowly nods, gazing at me. I smirk; however, I doubt M/C saw it. "So you are indeed M/C,"

"I said that from the start..." they state, slightly annoyed, "Who are you anyway?"

I hesitate to tell them at first; however, there's no reason not to.

"It- I'm Jake," I reveal. M/C gasps at my claim.

"Really?"

I nod in response, pulling out my phone. I quickly send a text saying 'Hello, M/C. :)' to M/C.

M/C hears the notification and takes their phone, reading the message. They smile, put their phone away, run into my arms and hug me.

I was surprised by M/C's hug but hug them back anyway, feeling my face getting warm.

"So, we're at the same motel?..." M/C questions, letting go of the hug. I wish that hug would've lasted forever.

"Yes, I've been staying here all along," I state.

Quickly, I realize something. "M/C, didn't I tell you not to go to Duskwood?" I recall.

M/C chuckles, looking to the side. "But this isn't Duskwood,"

"Well, it's very close to Duskwood."

"Jake, you shouldn't be in Duskwood either, so why are you picking on me for it?"

"I'm not picking on you. I'm just saying,"

M/C rolls their eyes. "Whatever, I need to book a room now," they state.

"Don't waste your money; there's no need for that," I hesitantly respond.

M/C lays an eye on me. "You do realize I'm not sleeping in the streets, right?"

I laugh at their sudden comment. "Yes- Yes, of course. What I mean is you could stay with me," I clarify. M/C blushes at my statement...I'm not sure if that's good or bad.

"I mean- Sure," they agree, after a while. "I'll pay half the rent then."

I shake my head. "No," I refuse. "You're my guest, you don't have to pay me anything."

"But it feels weird not paying you back in any way."

I think for a moment. I mutter, "You can pay me back with your company, just stay with me..." I hope that didn't sound too weird.

M/C sighs. "Okay,"

I smile, even though I know M/C won't see it. "I'll lead you to my room. Come on," I explain.

We start walking together when M/C gently takes my hand. I flinch from the sudden touch; I guess that must have made M/C think I didn't like that because they let go. However, I take their hand back. I notice M/C blush and smile when I take their hand. Cute.

My room wasn't far away from where we were previously standing, so we reach it in just a few minutes. I let go of M/C's warm hand, unlock the door and open it, letting them enter. "It's a bit of a mess," I point out, turning on a light next to the door meanwhile M/C closes the door.

"It's alright," M/C smiles.

I take off my hood and M/C studies my face. I was expecting that to happen.

After a short while, they realize they've been staring at me for too long and turn their eyes away to look around my place, not wandering far from me. I notice two of my cats, Bean and Maui, trotting towards us to greet us. Bean purrs up against M/C's leg.

"You never said you had a cat, Jake," M/C points out, petting Bean. Maui cautiously walks up to M/C, she was clearly curious by them. M/C gasps when they see my second cat and sit down on the floor, petting the two. "How many do you have?"

"Well, these two are Maui and Bean, I have three more though," I introduce.

"Woah, you have five cats?" M/C squeals, "This is my dreamhouse!"

I chuckle, calling over my other cats, Chaos, Poppy and Rhubarb. Chaos sprints towards M/C immediately; I expected that to happen. Rhubarb slowly investigates and climbs into M/C's lap.

I sit down on the floor next to M/C and my cats. Poppy lies down between me and M/C, who was busy petting all of my cats. I'm glad they're not allergic to cats, that would've been a bad surprise.

"The black shorthair is Chaos, he was a stray for a while until I adopted him. Rhubarb's the brown tabby in your lap, my old neighbour's cat had kittens and Rhubarb was one of them, so my neighbour gave her to me," I explain. M/C attentively listens to me talking about my cats.

"What about this one?" M/C questions, petting my Bengal cat.

"Oh, she's Maui. She's my first cat,"

M/C nods, obviously interested. "And who's this cutie?" they ask, petting my tortoiseshell cat as she softly purrs.

"Her name is Poppy, she's the youngest. She hasn't really met people other than me before so she's a bit shy."

"Oh, alright," M/C responds, "So then this is Bean?" they assume, stroking my Siamese cat. I nod.

"Correct, he's Bean. He just followed me to my motel room when I first came here and refused to leave after that, so I kept him."

M/C giggles. "Jake, what time is it?" they question. I pull out my phone to check the time.

"It's 1:02 AM, why?"

M/C looks surprised. "Already? I should probably go to sleep soon," they state. That's too bad, I don't want them to sleep yet...

"Of course. Follow me," I smile, standing up and offering M/C a hand. They take it and curiously follow me.

I lead them to my room, which was a mess of technology and wires.

"It's a big mess in here, hold on," I embarrassedly realize, letting go of M/C's hand to clear my bed of my hacking equipment. I place it all on my desk and sit on my bed, patting a spot next to me. M/C walks in, my cats following.

"There's only one bed in here, but you can sleep meanwhile I'll get some work done," I smile. M/C sits next to me.

"But what about you, where will you sleep?" they ask, looking a bit worried.

"I don't sleep." I remind, a bit harsher than I intended.

"Well, you should..." M/C mutters.

"Don't worry about it. I'm fine, aren't I?" I comfort.

M/C sighs. "I guess I'll go to sleep then," they state, slipping under the covers. I tuck them in, hope that isn't...too weird.

"Good night," I smile, turning off the lights and walking to my desk to do some work.

"Good night, Jake," they yawn. I kind of love it when they say my name.

I turn my computer on and begin hacking; I hope the sounds of my keyboard don't bother M/C.