Punk Music and Cupcakes (Oliver X Arthur)

Ch. 4 • Cupcake and Freckles

Two months. Almost eight weeks of making sure Oliver followed rules, scolding Oliver for sneaking in his room at night, trying to get Oliver used to his world. Arthur was a little more than exhausted. But, as much as he'd like to kick Oliver out and continue on with his normal life, the blond had to admit to himself that he was growing accustomed to this. He would not like to admit that he was learning to enjoy the sociopath's presence.

"Oliver Kirkland!" Arthur yelled, crossing his arms and tapping his finger as his patience was wearing thin, his signature scowl on his face now. He heard the scampering of feet, and it wasn't too hard to guess that Oliver had been in the library.

The illiterate male was learning fast. He was eager to know every sound of a single letter and how to string them together when he read aloud. At the beginning, Arthur taught him like he would a child. First showing him a few letters at a time and sounding them out. Next, he would add more until Oliver was decent enough to begin on small words. Arthur made him sit and read children's books out loud as he listened for any mispronunciation, which he would correct. Although Oliver read like a true child would, now his sentences were beginning to flow together as he became more and more familiar with the words. On more than one occasion, Arthur found himself lulled to sleep when he listened to Oliver read. The freckled man's voice was soothing when he read softly, too entranced in the other reality he was in to realize it.

Right now though, Arthur was tense. He had been stressed out all day, so something like this was just an excuse to get him to blow up.

"Yes?" Oliver asked as he made it to the main room, his hands behind his back in a look of innocence. Arthur glared at him, gesturing to the couch with a flourish of his hand. "What is this?"

Oliver peered over his arm before gasping. "Cupcake!" He moved past Arthur to pick up the cat that had been curled up on one of the cushions. Arthur had been cleaning when he seen the white and cream animal and nearly had a heart attack because he hadn't been expecting it.

Furrowing his eyebrows, Arthur cleared his throat to get Oliver's attention from lightly scolding the young cat for being out of his 'room'. Which only had a futon and a few pairs of clothes that Oliver finally managed to buy (with some of Arthur's help since Oliver's new job didn't pay enough for the furnishings). Even though Oliver insisted that his clothing have some form of pink or blue, or both. The freckled male looked up at Arthur with wide eyes before smiling. "I found him on the way home yesterday..." he explained sheepishly.

Arthur sighed and closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose while his other hand settled on his hip, trying to retain from yelling. "Why?" he asked instead, through gritted teeth. Oliver looked at him like he was crazy. "Why? Because he had no home! Look at him, he hadn't eaten in days!"

Now that the blond actually looked at the animal, he did notice that he was scrawny. The cat's ribs could be seen quite easily, and his fur seemed matted in some areas, although it was apparent that Oliver had tried taming it. The cat's eyes looked tired, too, but at the same time relaxed, as if he hadn't had such care in a while.

"...Cupcake, huh?" Arthur asked, seeing the hopeful look Oliver was giving him. The blue eyed male suddenly brightened, trying not to seem too eager. "Yes! He's sweet, and pretty, just like a cupcake! It's fitting, yes?" Oliver giggled, and played with one of Cupcake's paws. Watching the duo, Arthur considered telling Oliver no. After all, it was hard enough to get the other to buy things for himself, let alone a cat. But, Arthur figured it could be worse... He didn't mind cats all that much. They were relaxing and soft. And Cupcake didn't seem like the type of cat to dash around the house randomly.

"You'll need to get a litter box and food." Arthur muttered, scolding himself internally for giving into the other male. Oliver was making him weak. Said male smiled brightly, setting Cupcake back down and throwing his arms around Arthur in a tight hug. "Thank you, Arthur!"