One-Shots of My O.C.'s Lives

Take Shelter

Adam darted between the splatters of rainwater, trying to avoid drowning in the rain but failing. He was soaking wet from top-bottom, his hair and clothes plastered to his skin and his shoes making odd squelching sounds as he ran. He was chilled to the bone, and shivering.

'I gotta find shelter,' was his main thought. He was in the middle of a meadow, so he didn't have very many options. The grass was too wet, there were no rocks, no time to dig, and the trees were too far away for him. There was a road that humans used for their huge vehicles nearby, but that was too dangerous.

'Wait.' He stopped running in his tracks. 'What if I went for a human home?' Sure, the trees were a little closer, but a huge house with a roof and warmth and everything would be even better!

"Well, as long as I survive," Adam decided out loud. He started running again, weaving through the waving grass as it whipped above his head, continuing to drench him as he kept running. He slipped a few times in the mud but kept going, now soaked head to toe
 with wet dirt and water.

'Great,' Adam thought sarcastically as he emerged on to the sidewalk, now fully exposed to the rain. He shivered and hugged himself, continuing to venture for a suitable shelter.

He only made it a few feet when he slipped and fell in an unexpected puddle, sputtering in surprise and flailing in panic. He didn't know how to swim.

"Ch- help!" He choked, hoping there was a nearby borrower. Unfortunately, no one responded, and he kept writhing, trying to crawl away from the surprisingly deep puddle. "Help!" He tried again, still getting no response, even when he then squealed at the top of his lungs.

Something suddenly wrapped around Adam and lifted him up, allowing him to cough up water and gasp in deep breaths of delicious oxygen, shaking with each hacking cough. A few seconds and he collapsed, letting his head rest down as he panted, his breathing starting to even. He was too battered and exhausted to care how he was rescued, and didn't noticed himself being carried somewhere until he heard a door open, along with a greeting meow.

"Gah, shoo," A loud voice grumbled affectionately. Adam opened one eye, his gaze darting around as he started to realize what was going on. He felt his frail body be picked up from its original hold, and he moaned weakly, coughing again.

"Shh... it's ok..." His eyes fluttered open when he felt a gentle weight pin his chest, and he realized the human was checking his pulse. "Alright then... needs warmth..." The human mumbled under his breath to himself, holding Adam to their chest. Adam felt the human sit down as his vision started clearing up, and his heart raced faster as he started trembling.

He meeped in fright when he felt a finger rub his back, and then he relaxed as the numb feeling of being cold started to go away. He shivered and curled up a little, pressing against the human as he heard him take a sharp intake of breath. He swallowed in anxiety, then slowly looked up at his rescuer.

The human had friendly brown eyes with soft-looking brown hair, a casual white tee and grey jeans. He looked nice... but Adam couldn't tell for sure...

At least, until the human's eyes softened in affection when he looked up.

"... are you ok?" he asked quietly. Adam blinked rapidly a few times before swallowing again.

"Er... y... y-yeah," He squeaked timidly. The human smiled.

"That's good..." He murmured, lowering a finger to Adam's chest to make sure his pulse was still ok. Adam cautiously put his hands on the human's finger, taking a sharp breath at how he could feel waves of warmth from the surface of his skin. "Are you ok?" The human fretted, placing another finger on Adam's forehead. Adam managed a wary smile.

"Th-thanks to you," He replied. The human gently pulled his finger away from Adam's hands, grinning in relief.

"Glad I got to you in time," He sighed. "You looked kinda like you were half-dead."

"I felt like it," Adam tiredly joked. He burst into a yawn, stretching in the soft and tilted hand. "I'm definitely exhausted," He added shyly. The human chuckled warmly, coddling the tiny borrower.

"You wanna stay here for the night?" He offered.

"That'd be nice..." Adam said quietly.

"Ok, you can stay," The human soothed, then after a pause he added, "I'm Ty by the way."

"I'm Adam." Adam then yawned and snuggled up against Ty's thorax, making the human smile and chuckle again.

"Ya sleepy?" He gently teased. Adam opened one eye with a timid smile.

"Yeah a little..." He meeped. Ty carried the borrower through a few rooms before walking into the bedroom. He set Adam down on the bed before opening the closet and rummaging through it, pulling out a soft-looking blanket before folding it to a small square.

"Here." Ty set the makeshift mattress down on his end table, then set his hand down on the bed to allow a shivering Adam to scamper into his palm. Ty knelt down and settled Adam under one fold of the blanket, then tucked him in so he'd stay warm.

"Comfy?" He murmured. Adam nodded, peeking his head a little more out from under his makeshift covers.

"Very," He sighed gratefully. "Thank you..." Ty smiled before climbing into his own bed, getting comfy before closing his eyes to go to sleep. He was dozing for an hour, about to fall asleep when feeling something crawl across the covers called him back to being awake. He opened one eye to see a small figure scampering up to the head of the bed, and he realized it was Adam. He watched as the little borrower darted to his chest and pressed cautiously against it, shivering. He didn't move for a few seconds, then moved his hand to where it could cover the borrower, earning a startled squeak that was quickly muffled, and Adam relaxed with a shaky sigh, wriggling deeper under the human's hand. Ty smiled softly before finally falling asleep.