The Artist's Lament

Reunion

Alex shivered, holding the baby hamster under his shirt. He'd been able to keep it alive by feeding it. He also kept it uncomfortably between his breasts, but he didn't have much choice. Fall was starting to come to a close, meaning winter was on its way to make Alex fight even harder for his own life. Now he had to worry about Raisin's life as well. He went into the internet cafe he frequented and sighed heavily. Sitting at his usual computer, he made a small nest for raisin out of napkins. He went and got a cup of hot water. He set the nest on the lid of the cup and settled Raisin inside. He was starting to grow fur, but it wasn't enough to keep him warm yet. He covered Raisin with another napkin and got to working on an artwork. He had to get it done. It was the only way he would be able to pay for Raisin's food.

A familiar face popped up just above his shoulder and softly tapped on it. Alex flinched heavily and turned around. Raisin perked up a bit and let out a soft squeak. Francis took a step back, holding their hands up. "S-Sorry, man... I... Should've realised you'd be jumpy after... Everything..." They let out a sigh, folding their arms together. "Still can't believe he would do that to someone like you..."

Alex relaxed after realising it was Francis. "N-No... No, it's okay. It's okay... You just... scared me a bit..."

"Sorry about that... Who's this little guy?" Francis leaned down slightly to have a good look at Raisin.

Alex smiled and gently scooped up Raisin into his hand with the nest. "His name is Raisin... I found him when he still didn't have any fur. He was abandoned by his mother." He gently pet him. "He looked like a little raisin... So that's why I named him that..."

Francis couldn't help but smile. "You really care for him, huh?" Alex smiled back at him and nodded. "How long have you had him?"

"A couple days after... He was arrested...." He looked down a bit, biting his lip lightly. "He was cold and shaking... I-I had to get him help..."

Francis sat down next to Alex with a sigh. "I understand if you don't wanna talk about it, but... Why didn't you tell anyone sooner? I mean... If he was hurting you that bad..."

Alex set Raisin back on the warm cup and began wringing his hands a bit. "I... I didn't think... Anything was wrong... I didn't know any better... I mean... Yeah, it hurt and... and I didn't feel very good after, but... He said he loved me... and I thought he was taking care of me. I-I mean... He gave me food and... and a place to stay... I-I thought I owed it to him or something and-"

Francis stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. They could tell he was making up excuses. He was just scared of what Jerry would do to him. Either that or he was really telling the truth. They silently hoped he wasn't that naive. "It's fine, bud... But... I didn't think that... You don't look or sound like..." They weren't entirely sure how to address it.

"I can't afford to go any further." Alex smiled at Francis, gently lifting their hand off him. "I think the press thought it would be more interesting if they put that fact in."

"Well, I don't really care..." They thought for a couple minutes. "So how's the artwork coming along?"

Alex jumped a bit in realisation. "Shit! I need to get this done before they close!" He quickly turned back to his work. "Raisin's almost out of formula and I can't afford to-"

"I'll pay for it. Take your time on this." Francis chuckled slightly. "Is it a resort ad?"

"Yeah. They're paying me a good amount for it." Alex flashed a smile at Francis as they slid closer on their chair. "Enough to feed Raisin for a couple weeks at least." Raisin squeaked in response to his name. "So how's the search for work coming along for you?"

Francis let out a heavy sigh. "Only two responses. Neither of them were any good."

"Porn editing?" Alex's eyes darted all over as he drew. Every detail still had to be perfect.

"Yeah. Guess they're in pretty high demand... Hey. I got a dumb idea." They perked up a bit. "A lot of people could learn from your level of skill... And I could use some work as an editor..."

Alex saved his work and turned to Francis with a brow raised. "What... Are you getting at exactly?"

"Why don't we head to my place? You can get yourself cleaned up and I'll explain everything." Francis was almost positive Alex would decline. He perked up and started to notice how badly he smelled. He nodded quickly and they chuckled. "Okay. We'll head over when you're ready."