Stray Cat

Chapter Thirty-Two

Dan quickly settled into life in Rawtenstall – not just in the Lester family home, but in the town as well. Kath swept over the town like a force of nature, quickly spreading the word that a Neko had become a valued member of their family. Apparently, Kath had quite an influence in the town – she ran a book club, a garden club, and she was very active in several charity groups. No one wanted to cross her, so no one questioned Dan's presence as he walked around town. Soon, he even felt at ease going anywhere he wanted, even alone. He was free.

That was in his daily life. His online life was different. He wanted to start a channel, but it felt the same as walking into a new community, and he expected to be chased out of it, like the townsfolk chased the monster away in the movie Frankenstein. In the end, the only reason he decided to film his first video was Phil – not to say that he was being pushy, Phil barely mentioned the video. All Phil did was believe in him. So, Dan positioned himself before a camera in the Lester's guest room, determined not to disappoint Phil. When he showed Phil the footage, he half expected Phil to say it was bad, but Phil insisted that he loved it and helped him to edit the video.

They posted it and kept the laptop open for the whole day, watching as comments sporadically drifted in, mostly people coming from a plug that Phil gave him. Dan was fixated on the negative comments, but Phil kept drawing his attention back to the good ones that he read out loud, and Dan had to admit that there were more positive comments than negative ones. Dan was starting to believe that he could do this.

They went upstairs after a long day, and they settled into bed. Before he fell asleep, Phil said, "I want to film my video tomorrow."

Dan stiffened beside him, but Phil didn't notice. He just hoped that Phil forgot about it by tomorrow.

He didn't. Dan walked into their bedroom after a late breakfast to find Phil sitting on the bed as he was setting up the camera. Phil smiled. "There you are. Are you ready to do this? I am still buzzed with caffeine, and I always like to film when I feel like this. So, are you ready? Could we film now?"

Dan couldn't help but smile at Phil, but his smile wobbled as he prepared to deny Phil – the man who had saved him – the one thing he had ever asked of him. "Listen, Phil..."

Phil stared down at the camera in his hands. "You don't want to be in my video. Why? I thought you liked my videos."

Dan sat beside Phil on the bed. "I love your videos. You know that. I love your videos so much that I don't want to hurt them by appearing in them."

Phil gaped at him as he realized what was wrong. "Dan, I don't care about that."

"I do. You could lose so many subscribers if you reveal that someone like me is in your life."

Phil shook his head. "If someone unsubscribes for that reason, then good. I don't want their views." He grabbed Dan's hand and squeezed. "Please, Dan. What people think about me online is the least of my concerns. I care about you. You're amazing. I want to do this video to show that to people."

Dan nodded. "If you want this that badly, I'll do it. I owe this to you."

"I don't want you to do it because you owe me. I want you to do it because you want to."

"I'm never going to do it for that reason. I'm so scared that this will have consequences for you. I want to make you happy. That's all. I'll do this if it makes you happy."

Phil shook his head. "Not if it makes you unhappy."

Dan laughed because the idea of being unhappy was so ridiculous to him now. Didn't Phil realize how he made him feel? Maybe not, so Dan decided to tell him. "I am happy. Completely. For the first time in my life. Being here with you... do you know what it means to me? You taught me the meaning of the word 'home'. I used to just think that meant a place where people go to sleep at night, but since you brought me into yours I learned that home is so much more: warmth and food and laughter. It's friendship and love and feeling safe – it's everything. All these things rolled into one concept, one feeling that I never want to be without."

Phil squeezed Dan's hand harder. "Then don't you see how silly it is – in the face of all that – to worry about the reaction to a video? I have you and you have me, and nothing outside of that matters. I don't care what people think about me, and the fact that you are part cat is the least interesting thing about you. Once they see what I see, they're going to be crazy about you."

At times like this, Dan still had trouble wrapping his mind around the fact that someone as incredible as Phil cared about him. He asked, "Why do you like me?"

"I'm glad you asked because I've had this answer ready for a while." Phil took a deep breath, as if he planned to be talking for a while. "I like you because you're funny and sweet and clever. I can't stop thinking about you – you're like an earworm, you know, one of those songs that drifts into your head and you keep hearing it over and over again. But I never want to stop hearing this song. I love your laugh and your dimples and the way you talk."

Dan's face flushed while Phil talked, and he looked away. "No one thinks like you, though. The people watching your videos are going to see my ears and think they know everything about me. They're not going to give me a chance to show another side of myself." Dan waved his hands when Phil started to protest. "I'm not trying to back out. I'll do it and I'll probably have fun doing it, but I just don't want you to be surprised when the reaction is bad. I know that the comments on this video are going to be awful."

Phil was shaking his head. "Dan, what can I do to show you that none of this matters?" Phil looked around the room and then gasped when he saw something near his desk.

"What?" Dan asked as Phil got up. He couldn't see what Phil picked up. Phil didn't answer him, and he walked over to the full-length mirror by his closet. Dan got up to stand beside him. "What are you doing?"

"I'm showing you that the tail and ears don't mean anything. They don't define who you are as a person. I know it and the people who see you in this video are going to know it, too." Phil started drawing on his own face while looking in the mirror. Dan stood beside him, his mouth hanging open as he watched Phil in awe. Phil drew cat whiskers on his cheeks and darkened the tip of his nose. Then he turned to face Dan. "What do you think?"

He started to say something sarcastic, taking a dig at how Phil had run the marker too many times across his nose so that the black had started to flake off, but he couldn't do it. The full force of the gesture that Phil was making had hit him, and Dan felt his eyes getting misty and his throat was closing with emotion. He choked out, "I don't know. I... I just... I really love you. So much."

"I really love you so much, too." Phil extended the point of the marker. "Would you like some whiskers, too? Then we can match."

Dan nodded and Phil leaned in to start sketching on his face. It was a strangely intimate feeling.

Phil smiled. Their faces were only a few inches apart. "This is one of my favorite things to do."

"What? Drawing on faces?" The marker was rubbing on the tip of his nose now, and Dan resisted the urge to sneeze and the smell of the marker wasn't helping. "You're a strange person, but I like that about you. Just remind me to never pass out drunk at a party with you."

Phil laughed as he put the cap on the marker. He stepped back to admire his work. "You look cute. So, are you ready to do this?"

Dan nodded, hoping that he didn't look as nervous as he felt. He stayed nervous while they filmed, but filming the video was fun and he tried to relax. Then they watched back some of the footage that they shot, and suddenly everything seemed to be okay.

As Phil was editing, Dan tried to see the video from the perspective of someone who believed that Nekos were sex toys, but he couldn't. No one who saw this video would believe that their relationship was one of sexual slavery.

They acted a bit shy on camera together at first, but it was obvious that there was something else between them, hidden just below the surface. When Dan looked at Phil, he looked like a man seeing the sun for the first time. He also saw the way Phil looked at him. It was a bit subtler, but Phil looked perfectly happy, content, and satisfied, like a man sinking into a warm bath. Both of them looked like they didn't want to be anywhere else in the world. They looked like they belonged together. So, how could someone see this video and believe otherwise?

Suddenly, Dan didn't care anymore if they did.