Hybrid Discovery [SKZ fanfiction]| Lee Felix and Bang Chan

So, you said money?

She's crying. Crying and smiling at the same time. She muffles her sniffles, but lets the tears run down her cheeks. There's no one here, but it is her habit to stay as silent as possible. She's back at her own home and stalled all her new stuff around her on the floor. Jeon Sora came back earlier and was already asleep in his room. She took a chance to come back home with him being here, but she needed some time alone to process everything that happened the last few days.
They are too nice, her neighbors. Felix and his hybrids. Not only did they buy her her very own things, they took her outside to explore a bit of the city. They played with her and were patient when she had trouble talking. She's still in doubt why she deserves this happiness. She already misses talking to them, but doesn't want them to see her like this. Conflicted with herself, trying to process all the new experiences. It's even better than the first year she was with Jolanda. She can be herself around them, trust them and be comfortable. It's like a curse now she's back home and understands how different her life is compared to theirs. Taste a bit of ambrosia and you'll never want to go back, right?
Jeon Sora was thoughtful enough to dump some cat food in her bowl before going to bed, but she threw it in the trash after trying to eat a few bites. Since when did it taste this vile? Well, of course it would, if she compared it to the mouth watering pancakes Felix baked. Ruined. She was ruined by their kindness.
She left some of her stuff behind with them. Knowing she couldn't hide it if she took it with her. Now she's combing her hair with the gifted comb and tries to make a braid in it like Hyunjin taught her. It's not even close to the beautiful twists he made, but it calms her down a little, having something to do with her hands. Her head shoots up when she thinks she hears some sounds from Jeon Sora's room, but relaxes when there's no movement. She should transform back now. Grabbing her stuff and placing it in her canvas bag to push it under the big cabinet with porcelain plates, she tugs off her shirt and holds it between her teeth. She goes back to her cat form and with the shirt still in her mouth she hides under the cabinet as well. Curling up beside her possessions she tugs the shirt under her and enjoys the warmth of it under her paws. When Jeon Sora goes to work, she can go back to the others. She hopes they're not worried.

As she falls asleep the bedroom door to Jeon Sora's room opens and the man enters the living room as quietly as possible. He halts before the cabinet he saw his cat move under and bends over to pick up the stray item in front of it, not believing what he just witnessed. His grandmother got sick, had to be hospitalized and that alone cost him a lot of money. After that the doctors told him she couldn't go home and had to be transferred to a retirement home. Also costing him a fortune of money. He was neck deep in debt and it didn't help that his local dealer came demanding for money last week. He had to promise the man to cough up a pretty large sum if he valued his life. Jeon Sora had to flee his apartment for some days to try and find a way to make more money, but luck was not on his side. He had paid his neighbor to take care of the damn cat as his gran kept pestering him about taking good care of it. Like he cared! He secretly wished the pest would've died when he came back as he forgot he locked it up in his gran's bedroom, but apparently the cat escaped and found shelter in the weird neighbors home. If only he could get his gran to agree to let the neighbor adopt her stupid cat. It would've been one less thing to worry about.

The next morning the bloody cat was already gone. It probably thought he wouldn't notice. He had dropped the pair of undies in the trash and saw the untouched cat food was there as well. Ungrateful bitch. Of course it would feel too superior to eat the food he served her. Food he paid for and she refused. How many times would she have raided their pantry? His mouth gets stale and he spits in the sink. That filthy thing has been with him for over four years, disguising itself as a mere house cat. Laughing at them for not noticing. He feels his blood boil and in a rage he throws the first object in sight to pieces. His phone rings and he swears when he sees the message.
"You have until the end of the week."
Great. Just fucking great with a capital G. He's done with it. The only place where he had some kind of privacy now infiltrated - taunted- by the presence of the hybrid makes him shiver. He needs to get out.
With a loud slam of the door he locks it and glares at the neighbor's door. She's probably fucking him for his food or something, he thinks. Because he "loves" her so much, thinking back at how smitten the boy sounded when he went over last time. Maybe he let her shag his hybrids or something. Disgusted by the idea he spits on the floor outside of his apartment and rushes downstairs. It's not even eleven in the morning but god he's thirsty for a drink. His legs automatically bring him towards the nearest pub. Saying he's a regular at this place is an understatement. The bartender doesn't even frown when he places himself at the bar and asks for a whisky on the rocks.
'Cash or tab?' the bartender asks.
'Tab.' The usual answer.
He sips on the cold beverage and wishes he could pair it with the good stuff, but his stock is empty. There's only a little bit left in the drawer of his room, but he saves it for when he really needs it. Right now he can suppress his needs by drinking.
After an hour someone sits beside him and asks the bartender for a gin and tonic. The man glances over to him and Sora feels how the man is scanning him.
'Never too early for a good drink, right?' the man smiles at him and Sora gives a weak smile back.
'Like you said,' he replies, holding up his drink to the stranger.
The bartender brings the man his drink and after swirling with his glass he takes a big glug.
'Refreshing. Say, do you have a lighter on you?'
Sora looks up to the man and slowly nods. He pulls out his lighter and hands it to the man who takes out a pack of cigarettes and starts lighting one up. The bartender places an ashtray beside his glass without saying a word. After blowing out his first inhale he hands back the lighter and thanks him.
'Between you and me, smoking on the job gives me the excuse to get a break. I don't even like it that much, but it masks the alcohol.'
Sora follows the hand of the man when he brings the sigaret back to his mouth to take another huff.
'Smoking is allowed, drinking not?' he asks, making the stranger laugh.
'Well duh. I have to be sharp on the job, but sometimes a man needs to blow off steam, right?'
'Tell me about it,' Sora mumbles.
'You get it! Barman, bring me another and give this man whatever he is having right now!' He slaps Sora on his shoulder who wonders how he managed to get on the good side of this fellow. Well, whatever, if it gives him a free drink, he's in.
'So, tell me. What is a fine man like you sulking about this early in the morning?' the stranger asks.
They share their third drink and the man has been rambling about how draining and boring his job is until now. Apparently he works for some research lab called Ficxs. Something about fertility. Sora has seen ads for the company before.
Ficxs, more like fucks he don't give. But he lets the fellow go on and listen only with a half ear.
'If you call "working your ass off to pay the bills sulking", then you're right,' he answers. He tells the stranger he has to pay for his grandmother who is now in a retirement home and the man nods as he hears him out.
'And on top of that, she keeps complaining about her stupid ass cat. It's not even a cat!' maybe it's the alcohol, but he's more loose lipped than normal. The stranger's attention peeks when he mentions the cat and asks him what kind of cat it is.
'I don't know. It's a black cat. I don't even care. It's a filthy hybrid infiltrating my house.'
The stranger plays with his empty glass and smiles hearing his words. He hands Sora a flier from his back pocket. 'You said you could use money?'