Stray Cat

Chapter Eleven

Though he liked the idea of hiding beneath Phil's duvet from the world for the rest of the day, Dan dragged himself out of bed. While Phil got ready for work, Dan made himself presentable by putting on a t-shirt and sweatpants – the pants were uncomfortable because of his heat, and Dan stifled a whimper as he settled onto the sofa beneath a blanket.

Someone knocked on the front door, but before Dan could shift the blanket off his lap and get up, Phil had answered the door. Dan heard him say, "Morning, Mar."

"Hey, Philly." Dan heard them walk to the kitchen, and then Martyn asked, "Where's Dan?"

"I think he's in the living room," Phil responded. Dan wondered if he should tell them that he could hear them. "Thanks for coming over."

"No problem," Martyn said "So, you said he's sick? Does he like need anything? I'm happy to help but I do need to get some things done today... Just letting you know that I can't be a nurse if that's what he needs."

Phil hadn't told Martyn what was wrong with him yet – Dan definitely wasn't going to tell them that he could hear them now. "He should be fine. He's got a fever and he's throwing up, but I just don't want him to be alone in case he passes out and falls down or something."

"Okay. So, he has the flu?" Martyn asked.

"Uh, no, not a flu." There was a pause as Phil thought of how to respond. "He's in heat. Have you heard about that before? It's a thing that Nekos get."

"Oh shit. I have heard of that. But not from a reliable source. Just pornos... Yeah, I don't really know anything about it. I didn't even know that it could make them sick like this. Just horny."

"Yeah, I wouldn't imagine that this is anything like what you saw in porn. He's feeling poorly. I think it's because he's resisting it, fighting the way his body is trying to feel. It doesn't help that this is happening before he has recovered fully from what was done to him before we met – the bruises haven't even fully healed yet. It's all just... really awful. But he should be feeling better in a couple days when this heat is over. Can you come over tomorrow, too?"

"Sure, Phil. What time do you have to go to work today?"

"Oh!" Phil exclaimed, and there was the sound of a chair scraping across the kitchen floor. "I should leave now." There were approaching footsteps and Dan looked up as Phil materialized in the doorway. "There you are. I have to get going. Martyn is in the kitchen setting up his laptop – he'll be here until I get home, so you won't be alone."

"Okay. Have fun at work. Keep an eye out for those flying chocolate oranges."

Phil grinned at him. "Don't worry. I've been practicing my dodge. I won't get hit again. See you later."

"See you." Dan listened to him as he walked away and then left through the front door; he missed him already. A moment later he heard the chain being put across and then Martyn popped his head into the living room.

"Hey, just wanted to say... hi," Martyn gave him a wave while Dan stared at him. So, this was awkward – not that Dan could blame him. "I've got to get some work done. If you need anything, give a shout, or else I'll just see you in a few hours when I take my lunch break."

"Okay," Dan said, exhaling in relief when Martyn left the room and took the awkward tension with him. Wanting a distraction, he turned on the TV and game console. He muted the TV so that he didn't bother Martyn in the kitchen and he started playing Mario Kart. After a few minutes, he was glad that Phil wasn't here to see how awful he was – he felt too lousy to concentrate on the race and he kept getting hit by items. He played until he couldn't focus anymore, stared at the menu for a while, and then dropped the controller.