FIC: To the Changing Moon (3/?)
Apr. 23rd, 2008 02:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
nilchanceTitle: To the Changing Moon (3/?)
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
nilchance
Rating: All Ages
The rest of the day passes quietly, with no sign of life from the man. Cat. Person. Jeff tries to work, but he can't concentrate, his senses tuned too keenly for the steady sound of breathing behind the couch. The man is sleeping back there, squished against the wall. Jeff wants to pry him out, demand answers, but he got beaten up when the man was cat-sized. He can't imagine it now. The guy is nearly 6 feet, though he never stood up straight, and all whipcord muscle. Scrawny or not, the man could take him if he really wanted.
Jeff should call the police. Hell, he should call an ambulance so they can get the kid into a psych ward. Maybe he's just lost, a homeless kid who went off his medication. It's a good, rational explanation, if Jeff forgets the part where the kid was a cat. If he mentally erases the barcode and the track marks.
Maybe that's the smart thing to do, but Jeff can't make himself do it. Whatever happened to the man to leave him so damaged, so alien, it happened recently. It happened in captivity, if the cat's balking at its carrier was any indication. Maybe, and this is Jeff's off-the-grid hacker years talking, but maybe the kid came from someplace within the system. The government, the military, a corporation. The barcode is a marker of their property; if found, return to sender.
He can't do it. The cat burrowed against him for protection, and as screwed up as this is...
He probably shouldn't keep calling the man 'the cat', or 'the man'. For now, Jeff'll call him Cat. Not original, but this whole situation could stand a little more cliche.
Jeff pages through a few more minutes of coding, his mind elsewhere, then closes the file. He's not getting anything done, which means a few sleepless nights before the job is due, but right now he can't focus on it. Instead, he gets ready to do what he hasn't in years: contact Zach to dig into things.
He spent his twenties off-grid, paranoia and arrogance at the wheel instead of sense. Most of the old gang disappeared when Brent got arrested on whatever charges the Feds could invent; like Jeff, they found jobs they could do without selling off their conscience. Only Zach stayed in the game, living out of the back of his van and disrupting whatever he was crusading against that day. It's easier now, with unprotected wifi networks around for Zach to leech off. Which means that Zach is less likely to get nailed for looking into something sensitive, whereas Jeff is easy to find.
Jeff encrypts the message tight, tucks it inside an inane forward his mother sent him last week. He hopes the bouncing cartoon rabbits give Zach something to bitch about. You know anything about a lab that tattoos barcodes on the back of necks? Cat, human. May be government.
The last bit is both warning and enticement. Zach lives on a steady diet of Mulder-esque conspiracy theories and too much marijuana. Of course, Jeff can't exactly point fingers, since he has a cat person in his apartment.
Jeff sends it out, then closes his laptop. As he gets out, Cat's steady sleep-breathing hitches, and he hears a rustling from behind the couch. Cat pokes his head out, green eyes following Jeff's progress towards the kitchen, then goes sliding out from his hiding place. He's flushed, sleep warm, rumpled.
"Pants," Jeff says, and goes to open the fridge. He's still resigning himself to another struggle when he turns around, a can of tuna in hand. The sight of Cat, dressed in the sweatpants and sitting in the doorway, stops him short. Jeff blinks. "Thanks. That's really good."
Cat looks at him through his eyelashes, bored, and firmly pats Jeff's leg.
"I'm opening it." Jeff does, starts to dish some out for Cat to bolt with, then stops. "You want to eat with me at the couch?"
Cat tilts his head, curious, but Jeff can't tell if that sinks in. He takes the can to the couch anyway, and continues dishing it out there. Cat hesitates, then clamors up on the couch next to Jeff. He sits too close, looking awkward until he rests both hands on Jeff's legs and leans in to sniff the food.
"Oof. Easy, baby, I'm getting it." Finished, Jeff holds the plate out, and Cat makes no move to take it. Cat eats from the plate, instead, dipping his head down to devour the tuna. His hands knead Jeff's thigh, idle happy motions. Jeff watches the back of his neck, committing the tattoo to memory.
Finally, Cat sits back, licking his lips. His eyes are liquid dark, and Jeff feels an answering tug of want.
Jesus, no, the kid's too screwed up for that. No.
Cat makes an inquisitive noise in his throat, then butts his head into Jeff's hand. Hesitantly, Jeff lifts his hand and touches the soft tangle of Cat's hair. It twines around his fingers like spider's web, and Cat nudges him again, insistent.
Jeff strokes Cat's hair, trying not to let his fingers catch. The kid needs a shower and a shave, maybe scissors taken to that rat's nest. Jeff shouldn't be touching him, but when he tries to stop, Cat nips his fingers and shoves into his hand again.
Okay, then. Jeff pets his human, his hand falling into a rhythm of long easy strokes. It soothes him, feeling skin under his fingers, the quiet sounds Cat makes.
No. Cat isn't going anywhere.
Author:
nilchanceRating: All Ages
The rest of the day passes quietly, with no sign of life from the man. Cat. Person. Jeff tries to work, but he can't concentrate, his senses tuned too keenly for the steady sound of breathing behind the couch. The man is sleeping back there, squished against the wall. Jeff wants to pry him out, demand answers, but he got beaten up when the man was cat-sized. He can't imagine it now. The guy is nearly 6 feet, though he never stood up straight, and all whipcord muscle. Scrawny or not, the man could take him if he really wanted.
Jeff should call the police. Hell, he should call an ambulance so they can get the kid into a psych ward. Maybe he's just lost, a homeless kid who went off his medication. It's a good, rational explanation, if Jeff forgets the part where the kid was a cat. If he mentally erases the barcode and the track marks.
Maybe that's the smart thing to do, but Jeff can't make himself do it. Whatever happened to the man to leave him so damaged, so alien, it happened recently. It happened in captivity, if the cat's balking at its carrier was any indication. Maybe, and this is Jeff's off-the-grid hacker years talking, but maybe the kid came from someplace within the system. The government, the military, a corporation. The barcode is a marker of their property; if found, return to sender.
He can't do it. The cat burrowed against him for protection, and as screwed up as this is...
He probably shouldn't keep calling the man 'the cat', or 'the man'. For now, Jeff'll call him Cat. Not original, but this whole situation could stand a little more cliche.
Jeff pages through a few more minutes of coding, his mind elsewhere, then closes the file. He's not getting anything done, which means a few sleepless nights before the job is due, but right now he can't focus on it. Instead, he gets ready to do what he hasn't in years: contact Zach to dig into things.
He spent his twenties off-grid, paranoia and arrogance at the wheel instead of sense. Most of the old gang disappeared when Brent got arrested on whatever charges the Feds could invent; like Jeff, they found jobs they could do without selling off their conscience. Only Zach stayed in the game, living out of the back of his van and disrupting whatever he was crusading against that day. It's easier now, with unprotected wifi networks around for Zach to leech off. Which means that Zach is less likely to get nailed for looking into something sensitive, whereas Jeff is easy to find.
Jeff encrypts the message tight, tucks it inside an inane forward his mother sent him last week. He hopes the bouncing cartoon rabbits give Zach something to bitch about. You know anything about a lab that tattoos barcodes on the back of necks? Cat, human. May be government.
The last bit is both warning and enticement. Zach lives on a steady diet of Mulder-esque conspiracy theories and too much marijuana. Of course, Jeff can't exactly point fingers, since he has a cat person in his apartment.
Jeff sends it out, then closes his laptop. As he gets out, Cat's steady sleep-breathing hitches, and he hears a rustling from behind the couch. Cat pokes his head out, green eyes following Jeff's progress towards the kitchen, then goes sliding out from his hiding place. He's flushed, sleep warm, rumpled.
"Pants," Jeff says, and goes to open the fridge. He's still resigning himself to another struggle when he turns around, a can of tuna in hand. The sight of Cat, dressed in the sweatpants and sitting in the doorway, stops him short. Jeff blinks. "Thanks. That's really good."
Cat looks at him through his eyelashes, bored, and firmly pats Jeff's leg.
"I'm opening it." Jeff does, starts to dish some out for Cat to bolt with, then stops. "You want to eat with me at the couch?"
Cat tilts his head, curious, but Jeff can't tell if that sinks in. He takes the can to the couch anyway, and continues dishing it out there. Cat hesitates, then clamors up on the couch next to Jeff. He sits too close, looking awkward until he rests both hands on Jeff's legs and leans in to sniff the food.
"Oof. Easy, baby, I'm getting it." Finished, Jeff holds the plate out, and Cat makes no move to take it. Cat eats from the plate, instead, dipping his head down to devour the tuna. His hands knead Jeff's thigh, idle happy motions. Jeff watches the back of his neck, committing the tattoo to memory.
Finally, Cat sits back, licking his lips. His eyes are liquid dark, and Jeff feels an answering tug of want.
Jesus, no, the kid's too screwed up for that. No.
Cat makes an inquisitive noise in his throat, then butts his head into Jeff's hand. Hesitantly, Jeff lifts his hand and touches the soft tangle of Cat's hair. It twines around his fingers like spider's web, and Cat nudges him again, insistent.
Jeff strokes Cat's hair, trying not to let his fingers catch. The kid needs a shower and a shave, maybe scissors taken to that rat's nest. Jeff shouldn't be touching him, but when he tries to stop, Cat nips his fingers and shoves into his hand again.
Okay, then. Jeff pets his human, his hand falling into a rhythm of long easy strokes. It soothes him, feeling skin under his fingers, the quiet sounds Cat makes.
No. Cat isn't going anywhere.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2008-04-23 07:25 pm (UTC)i love that "cat" has such an attitude and poor jeff is being so sweet and confused
i can not wait for more
no subject
Date: 2008-04-23 07:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-04-23 07:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-04-23 07:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-04-23 07:36 pm (UTC)Love it
no subject
Date: 2008-04-23 07:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-04-24 03:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-04-23 07:52 pm (UTC)I love that Jeff used to be a haker.
no subject
Date: 2008-04-23 07:53 pm (UTC):)
I love the bits of backstory, off the grid living and conspiracies everywhere. Neat!
And, well, of *course* he can't make him go, or give him up. He rescued the kitty and now the man needs him, too.
*cuddles them*
no subject
Date: 2008-04-23 08:14 pm (UTC)As much as I love Cat, I love Jeff's bemused, confused state. He doesn't know what the hell to do with Cat, but he knows what he's not going to do - turn him over to someone who would stamp him as their property and obviously mistreat him.
This story is just sucking me in more and more.
no subject
Date: 2008-04-23 09:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-04-23 09:51 pm (UTC)I am so happy to see this. It sort of counteracts the ridiculousness of some fan boys.
So, here's the thing. Jeff as a hacker? Love.
Love the pop culture references (Mulder-esque. How is Mulder-esque not a word the whole world uses. Because it is totally of the awesome.)
I am not fooled by his gruff exterior. Jeff is a total softie inside.
I look forward to more. Will try to post more coherent feedback as well. Right now am typing in fragments.
no subject
Date: 2008-04-23 09:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-04-23 10:05 pm (UTC)Jeff pets his human
Awesome line!
no subject
Date: 2008-04-23 10:57 pm (UTC)see more crazy cat pics (http://icanhascheezburger.com)
no subject
Date: 2008-04-24 07:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-04-23 10:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-04-23 10:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-04-23 11:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-04-23 11:53 pm (UTC)It twines around his fingers like spider's web, and Cat nudges him again, insistent.
I also REALLY loved the description in the line above.
And Zach is here too! Very cool! I love how you've introduced a bit of history to your Jeff through the mention of Zach! It puts another layer down on an already wonderful new world.
no subject
Date: 2008-04-24 12:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-04-24 01:54 am (UTC)Just loving this.
no subject
Date: 2008-04-24 02:58 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-04-24 03:18 am (UTC)This story is so cute. I can just see Jeff running around all bewildered and "Cat" just looking at him all Cat like!
no subject
Date: 2008-04-24 04:04 am (UTC)Jeff shouldn't be touching him, but when he tries to stop, Cat nips his fingers and shoves into his hand again.
I get that nipped fingers and cat head shoved at me nightly when I'm trying to sleep. I have to hide my hands/arms under the covers to try and get some sleep. Only to have paw on my face still trying to get my attention.
I Love This.
no subject
Date: 2008-04-24 04:36 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-04-24 07:35 am (UTC):D
no subject
Date: 2008-04-26 04:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-04-26 04:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-24 12:05 am (UTC)*pleading eyes* More?
no subject
Date: 2009-01-30 10:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-01 06:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-05-09 09:03 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-16 12:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-09-25 01:43 am (UTC)Have you stopped? Or did you have the sequels posted somewhere else?