Shorties

A month ago, Axel would not have imagined he’d be staring down a scraggly alley cat over scraps of food.

A month ago, Axel had been comfortably installed in a lord’s manor, as a stable hand.  Not the most glamorous of work, but it fed him and put a roof over his head.  Axel should’ve known better than to get comfortable, had been without work before, but it had seemed so promising.

Until the old lord kicked the bucket, and his son sold off all but a handful of horses.  The son was much more economic than his father, and along with the string of horses went the stable hands, except for one man who had been there longer than anyone could remember.  And so Axel found his way back to the city, once again in search of work.

But with winter coming, it was harder to find work, and even harder to find food.  Even a dry place to sleep was scarce, but he’d found one, a narrow alley, clean compared to most, and the cast-offs from the shops on either side.  It was rare to find food in the leavings, let alone anything good, but hunger made even the meanest morsel into a meal.

It was little more than a crust of bread and some salted meat that perhaps wasn’t up to the merchant’s standards, but Axel couldn’t afford to ignore it.  And yet, the little yellow cat was hissing and spitting at him.  As Axel reached for the scraps, it growled and lunged at him.

Axel wasn’t exactly fond of cats to begin with, and he sucked in a breath when its claws swiped his hand.

But he wasn’t mean either.  And a meal to a cat was much smaller than a meal to a person.  He looked over at the cat, still glaring at him with brilliant blue eyes.

“Look, puss.”  He kept his voice low, soothing.  “It’s not a lot, but I’ll give you some.”

The cat eyed him warily, but took a tentative step towards the morsel that Axel held out to it.  Another step, and it stretched its neck out and took the bite from Axel’s fingers, delicately, before dancing away with its prize.

“Yeah.  There you go.”  Axel smiled a little, and nibbled at his own share.  “It’s been a while since I ate with someone.  Too many cutthroats out there, you know?  Can’t trust anyone.”  He nodded.  “But I don’t mind sharing with you.”

The cat cocked its head at him, and let out a plaintive mewl.

Axel chuckled.  “That’s it.  I gotta eat, too, you know?”  The cat stared at him for a minute more, before bounding off.  Axel shook his head.  “Good luck to you, cat.”  He sighed and leaned against the wall, tucking the rest of the scraps into his shirt for later.

The cat was back the next night.

Axel had managed to find some more food that day, and the cat was giving him such a pathetic look that he felt his heart melt a little, and offered it another share of food.  “Look, winter’s going to be rough, buddy.  You should find yourself a nice barn filled with mice before it gets too cold.”  The cat gave a little meow. “You know, that’s my plan, too.  Maybe we could go together.”

The next time Axel saw the cat, he hadn’t eaten for days.

“Sorry, friend, I’ve got nothing.”  The cat disappeared with a flick of its tail.  Axel slumped against the wall, wondering if he would have the energy to scavenge and beg the next day.  Hoping he wouldn’t have to fend anyone off that might want his warm little hidey-hole.

His eyes had slid shut against the night when he was woken by a nudge against his hand.

“Sorry kiddo, I still got nothing,” Axel mumbled, slitting his eyes.  The cat head-butted him again, punctuating it with a loud meow, and Axel glanced down at him.  “Oh!”  He sat up straight, staring at the half-eaten loaf of bread with disbelief.  “Is this for me?”  If it was possible for a cat to roll its eyes, Axel hadn’t known before.  “Shit.  Thanks, puss!”  It wasn’t fresh, by any means, but it was food.  Axel worried at it with his teeth, until he had a mouth full of bread. “You know, we keep meeting, and yet we haven’t been properly introduced.  I’m Axel.”  He held his hand out, and the cat rubbed his face against his fingers.  “Yeah.  Nice to meet you, too.”

When Axel fell asleep that night, the cat curled up next to him.

And in the morning, long after the sun had risen, he woke up to a pair of blue eyes staring at him.

“Axel.”  The voice was young, though hoarse, as if from disuse.  “I came to tell you I’ve found work for you.  But if you’re going to sleep past sunrise,” he said haughtily, “perhaps you don’t deserve it.

Axel stared up at the young man, blinking.  The eyes were familiar, the shade of yellow blond stirring at his memory, but he couldn’t recall anyone with such a sharp gaze.  “I’m sorry?  You are?”

“Roxas.”  He glared down at Axel.  “Not that you ever cared to ask my name.”

Axel collected himself and came to his feet.  “Roxas.”  He rolled the name around in his head, tried to recall the face.  “I apologize.  I didn’t recognize you.”

Roxas pinned him with another hard look, crossing his arms.  He sighed, then, his face softening.  “I guess you wouldn’t.  Well, anyway, come on.”  He stepped towards the mouth of the alley, and turned back, to see Axel’s hesitation.  “Look, there’s an inn that needs a stable hand.  You said you wanted to work in a barn, right?”

Axel followed slowly behind him.  “Hey, I appreciate your help, but I’m sorry, I really don’t know you.”

Roxas paused, turning back again.  Seeing the apprehension on Axel’s face, he huffed a sigh.  “You do.”  He cast about the alley, and, satisfied with what he saw, nodded.  The air around him shimmered, and then Roxas’s form melted away.

Axel gaped at the yellow cat that stood in his place.  Rubbed his eyes, and then turned in a circle, looking for Roxas.  Not wanting to believe what he’d just witnessed, and yet, the derisive blue eyes were an exact match to Roxas’s.

“Tell anyone about me, and I’ll kill you.”  Roxas voice came in a growl a few moments later, spoken with a human mouth.  “Call me ‘puss’ again, and I’ll kill you.”

Axel held his hands out, supplicating.  “No need!  No need!”

Roxas smirked.  “Good.  Now that that’s settled, let’s go.”

Axel followed him, his mind reeling.  “So.  Uh.  Okay, you’re a.  Uh.  Well.”  He gathered his thoughts, and finally blurted, “Why are you helping me?”

Roxas glanced back at him.  “You helped me.”  And then, turning his attention back to picking a path along the cobbled streets, he muttered, “And you said we could go together.”

“Oh.”  This, of all the things he’d encountered that morning, made the most sense to Axel.  “Yeah.  I did.”

“Well then.  Here it is.”  Roxas stopped at the entrance of an inn, a castle-shaped sign hanging above.

When the first snow hit the city, Axel was curled up in a tiny closet of a room that led off of the stables, tucked into bed.  It was warm, and dry, and he had eaten dinner earlier that evening, feeding scraps to the little yellow cat that called the place home, as well.  The cat snuggled close to him, settling his head against Axel’s chest.

Except, Roxas wasn’t always a cat.

And some nights, the winter was blazing hot in Axel’s room, their bodies burning as they met, mouths branding bare skin with kisses.  Roxas, even in his human form, left scratch marks on Axel.

But those ones, Axel found, he didn’t mind.