Sustenance.

♠︎Chapter 1♠︎

The next morning Amadeus moved through campus, trying to avoid his thoughts. In a moment of desperation he tried to move quickly and ran into Pluto. "Are you ok?" Pluto questioned. "Watch your surroundings." Amadeus retorted. Amadeus stormed off, an angry, muttering, mess. Throughout the day they kept running into each other, Amadeus more and more upset by the hour. The damn clock. Tick, tick, tick. Every second. It drove him mad, unable to think straight or for that matter, think at all.

The final hour, the final tick, he crashed into Pluto once more, sealing him away into today's madness. Pluto and Amadeus scrambled to gather their things, unable to tell what was going on. "What the hell is your problem?!" Amadeus screeched. "My problem? I have done nothing but treat you with kindness the entire day!! You're the one who doesn't watch his damn pace." The arguing reached a halt as their skulls smashed into each other in their attempt to retrieve what they had dropped. Amadeus sighed, quietly mumbling to himself. As Pluto regained his stance, Amadeus reached out a reluctant hand towards him. "...I'm Amadeus. Amadeus Fang." Pluto backed away, still startled. "Why should I take your hand?" He spat at him. "..Coffee's on me?" No doubt, Amadeus was a mess, but Pluto wouldn't refuse a coffee date. "Sure."
So it was, they sat down at a local coffee shop and sure enough, Amadeus used his money (or what little was left of it after rent) to get a drink for himself and Pluto. They sat in a somewhat-secluded area of the coffee shop, away from most people. "I'm sorry about running into you so much." Amadeus said hastily, with a brash tone dripping from his voice. "Is that a real apology or are you pulling my leg?" Pluto joked softly. They both sipped their drinks as the silence consumed them. Well...as much silence as their could be considering the keyboards, florescent lights, and the upbeat pop music they played day in, day out. "Fuck this place. Whaddya say we go to my place and I make dinner. That should serve as a sufficient apology on my part, huh?" Pluto chuckled. Amadeus reluctantly nodded and left his seat. He followed his car...recognizing the neighborhood. Shit. They lived close. As they pulled into the driveway he looked a few houses down towards his own home..it was more just his house. It didn't have any personal connection to him, unless you count arguing with the landlord over raising the rent a personal connection. "What are you staring off into space for? Door's unlocked!" Pluto snapped him out of it. "Door's unlocked? When were you last home?" Amadeus asked with a shockingly concerned tone. "This morning, why?" "Are you stupid? Someone could've broken in." "But they didn't." Amadeus sighed, telling himself there was no point. Pluto was, after all, not the brightest bulb. Wait...fuck!! The lightbulb! He had completely forgotten to buy them. He immediately shook his head and turned to Pluto. "You wouldn't happen to have any extra lightbulbs, right?" Pluto looked confused at the sudden, off-topic question. "Uhm...yes..why?" "Can I borrow one after tonight?" Amadeus queried as he stepped into the house. Upon entering, he kicked off his shoes, eventually setting them neatly by the door. His first observation was the sheer amount of plushies, books, and cat toys scattered throughout his house. "It's a bit of a mess, I know.." Pluto said, nervously setting his car keys on the coffee table. "I haven't cleaned in a couple days, didn't expect a guest, y'know?" Amadeus was completely unfazed, just interested in how or why someone would own so many useless items. "Well..what's for dinner?" Amadeus asked, clearly not paying attention. "How does pasta sound?" Pluto wondered, completely aware of Amadeus' ignorance. Amadeus nodded softly as he explored the house, ignoring locked rooms to respect his privacy. He perked up as Pluto called him down for dinner. He took his seat and immediately noticed an uncertain aura emanating from the kitchen. He swallowed softly as he stepped into the kitchen and took a seat. "Omigosh-! I completely forgot to ask- do you have any dietary restrictions?! I'm so sorry, hun-" Amadeus cut him off. "No. I'll eat whatever." Pluto stopped short. His breath hitched as he exhaled, getting Amadeus a plate. "So..what is for dinner then?" Amadeus asked, his voice dripping with a certain sarcasm to it. "Didn't you ask this question earlier?" Pluto tilted his head as he padded across the kitchen floor to the table. "I want specifics, sweetheart." Amadeus glared, his piercing eyes gave a new meaning to 'white-hot stare'. "Oh..well- uhm- it's orzo.. some kind red sauce..and a couple different meats..y'know- sausages and shrimp-! It reminds me of jambalaya." Pluto's eyebrow pooled slightly with sweat. "Hm..interesting. So..you made gumbo." Amadeus speared a piece of chicken, shoving it into his mouth. "Oh..I- I guess I did, huh?" The pool of sweat above Pluto's eyebrow had now broken past his forehead, to his eyelid. Maybe 20 minutes or so into their dinner, a cat rubbed against Amadeus' leg, pushing its head into him, purring loudly. "Felix!" Pluto gasped, scaring Amadeus. He had a large grin plastered against his face as he giggled. Amadeus turned a bright red, as he realized just how afraid he had become from someone yelling to a cat. "Nothing to be afraid of, he's a sweetie!" Pluto smiled sweetly. "It's not him I'm afraid of.." Amadeus retorted. Eventually, their evening had been cut short, Amadeus practically begging to go watch a movie, more or less to cuddle with Felix. As he curled up onto the couch, he refused to let Pluto touch him in the slightest, shrinking away. "Why are you so afraid of me..?" Pluto looked at him like a kicked puppy. Amadeus groaned, he looked down towards Felix. "It's none of your damn business. Don't fucking touch me." By the time the movie had ended the tension from before had been rebuilt. As Amadeus grabbed his keys to leave, he dropped a note against Pluto's kitchen table. It was a number.