Stray Cat

Chapter Seven

After going to the store, Phil realized how Dan's presence made a usually boring chore enjoyable – Phil wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else in the world but at the Neko's side. Luckily, he didn't have anywhere else to be at the moment.

Over the next few days, they settled into a comfortable routine. They woke up around noon each day, and whoever was awake first would make coffee for them both. They enjoyed cereal for breakfast while watching anime together. Then, Phil started looking for a job. He hadn't had any luck yet and there had been no calls on his resume. Dan offered reassurance while he did chores around the house, and when Phil was too tired or disheartened to look at any more postings, Dan would sometimes take over, checking websites for jobs he thought Phil might like and making a list of them.

Later, they would relax on the sofa with videogames. They had tried other games, but Mario Kart was still Dan's favorite and he was determined to get better than Phil – and he seemed to be getting there. Martyn came over most nights for dinner. Phil hadn't mentioned how tight money was, but his brother seemed to know, and he kept showing up at Phil's door around dinnertime with enough takeout for three.

Phil thanked Martyn silently with his eyes while joking out loud that Martyn was just trying to get in Dan's good graces with pizza. Dan and Martyn were becoming good friends as Martyn entertained him with embarrassing stories from Phil's childhood. Phil would have minded, but whenever Dan laughed the sound filled Phil's chest with warmth.

When Martyn left, they both stayed up late, watching TV until they couldn't keep their eyes open anymore. Phil would go to bed and Dan would curl up on the sofa with a duvet. Phil had realized that the sofa was a bit too short for Dan to stretch out comfortably on it since he was so tall, but when Phil mentioned it Dan said he didn't mind since he'd slept in worse places.

Phil wanted to offer that they share his bed, but he hadn't thought of how to do this yet without alarming Dan, who was still a bit nervous sometimes. He would jump if Phil startled him when he was lost in thought. He would disappear to the bathroom and try to run water to cover up the sound of his crying. When Phil mentioned going to bed early one night, Dan admitted that he was having trouble sleeping because of bad dreams, and he asked Phil to stay up and watch a movie with him.

Phil wanted to make everything better for Dan, but he was learning that only time could do that. Still, he had to wonder if there was something more he could do. He hated the fact that Dan was making him happy, and Phil had nothing to offer Dan in return besides a place to sleep. And how much longer would he have that to offer? Phil had paid his rent. He now had less than a month to earn next month's rent. If he couldn't find a job soon, he would have to ask his parents for rent and die of shame doing it, and his parents would likely offer him his old bedroom at home before they gave him rent money for an expensive apartment in a city where he didn't have a job. Unlike Phil, they were practical people.

If Phil had to move back home, where would Dan go? Would he want to move with Phil? Would his parents let him bring the Neko with him? Phil resolved to get a job soon so that he wouldn't have to face these questions.

Phil spent that morning with his laptop open during breakfast, searching the job listings instead of watching anime or talking to Dan. Dan left him to it, seeming to sense that he was stressed as it had been 5 days since he had worked. Later, Phil moved to the sofa so that he could have the TV playing in the background for noise while he continued applying to jobs for the next few hours. Dan sat silently beside him during this, but eventually he went to the kitchen. Not long later, Phil smelled something that made his stomach growl, so he shut his laptop and investigated.

Dan had made tea and he was removing warm crumpets from the oven. He hadn't noticed Phil in the doorway, and Phil watched as Dan spread strawberry jam over the crumpets, his mouth watering. Dan turned around suddenly, his ears twitching in surprise as he noticed Phil. "Oh!"