Daniel/Emery

[choosetoforget]

It's a very typical weekend for Daniel. He takes a call from his sister, who very recently struck out on her own and moved in with friends, while he makes tea. He keeps Sasha and Zhenzhen from the counters as he tries to tidy up as best he can. He puts on a documentary for a while before deciding to walk down to the shop for ice cream.

He hasn't even changed much. Sure, his hair is in a bun and the vest is decidedly 2015-chic, but he carries himself the same, very unhurried. Confident now. The barge isn't completely forgotten, but if anyone can compartmentalize and push down unwanted feelings, it's Daniel.

He smiles to an elderly neighbor as he opens his door and walks out to the street.

Really, nothing too out of the ordinary.

Comments

[choosetoforget]

"Ow!" he complains, narrowing his eyes at him. He's not actually hurt and he doesn't actually care about the bite, but he does his best to look ferocious.

"Then be a cat. At least cats are soft and furry before they bite!"

[cobbledtogetherenvy]

And so now Envy is a cat. It's a slightly different process than it was, but aside from a few lapses in barge rules, Daniel hardly had a chance to see him shift anyway. He pads with delicate pomposity into Daniel's lap. "Meow." It's not even an attempt at imitating a cat, just Emery's voice (a little higher pitched) speaking dryly.

[choosetoforget]

Daniel wraps his arms around the little cat and holds it close. "Meow," he repeats with a smile. "Are you going to bite me?"

[cobbledtogetherenvy]

"Of course I'm going to bite you." She says it acidly, but also in that slightly too small voice and with the unnatural movements of a cat's jaw, so no matter what it's going to come across as absurd. Far too heavy for the space occupied, the skinny little Emery-cat just sort of... sprawls on Daniel. There's no cat instinct to curl up or make biscuits. It's just a slightly more neutral way to occupy space.

[choosetoforget]

"Will you bite me if I pet you?" he wonders, already toying with the edges of her fur, the soft tufts at the tops of her ears. It's a difficult pull to ignore.

[cobbledtogetherenvy]

"That's not the reason I'm going to bite you." Which is probably as close as Emery is going to come to requesting pets.

[choosetoforget]

He strokes his hand along the cat's fur. There's nothing he's wanted more than this.

"Oh? And why are you going to bite me?"

[cobbledtogetherenvy]

It lacks the warmth of a real cat, but otherwise the illusion is about right. Emery worked on it. "I'll think of a reason." Petting is easier to accept as a cat. He knows what to do with himself in a way they don't in the usual human shaped body. Cats just... Are petted.

[choosetoforget]

Daniel laughs. "Just like a real cat," he remarks, calmed in a way that he hasn't been in a long time. Maybe since arriving. "Did you graduate yourself? I forgot to ask."

[cobbledtogetherenvy]

Emery shifts a little aimlessly. He's more aware of comfort in this body, rather than just the absence of pain. "No, they gave me a warden a little after I talked to you. He was... Fine. Didn't make me talk about my feelings or tell me what I couldn't do."

[choosetoforget]

He can't help but giggle a little. "Do you want to talk about your feelings now?" he asks, fully aware of what the answer probably is. But if he's going to eventually get bitten, he might as well enjoy his teasing now.

[cobbledtogetherenvy]

Emery pretends to bite him immediately, but is a little leery of the teasing and tries to change the subject. "So what do you do all day, anyhow? You know what I was doing. That place is always the same."

[choosetoforget]

He pulls his hand away quickly, but he's just as quick to return to petting.

"Well, it's Saturday, so I have no work. I was going to get ice cream when I found you. I do research for the University, so - at least my hours are rather consistent." He hums a bit. "I go to my workshop, as I said. I watch films. I go out with my friends. I have friends now. People who - don't know anything about my life before I came here, but friends all the same. Hazel was the only one who knew before you - you came here."

[cobbledtogetherenvy]

It's a human life. The kind he finally sort of understands, or at least can allow herself to parse what's worth envying and what doesn't matter. Ice cream doesn't sound bad. Some bits are boring. The interesting parts worth poking. The friends, the sister...

Emery really doesn't understand how to snuggle, not even as a cat. They sort of just put their front feet on Daniel's arm. "Not so bad, then."

[choosetoforget]

"No, not so bad," he agrees, closing his eyes and enjoying the weight, strange as it is, and the soft fur beneath his fingers. "Hazel will want to meet you. She's heard all about you."

[cobbledtogetherenvy]

That surprises him. He did practice being a cat for weeks after all. Envy was always a feral thing on the margins. The humans who knew the real him in any capacity kept it to themselves. "You talked about me?"

[choosetoforget]

His surprise causes Daniel to look down, searching that cat face as he strokes his back. "Of course I did. You're my friend. You're my - well. I've always considered us to be close. You're the one who protected me without any question, without wondering if I was right or not. You gave up your time and - yes, I know, you had nothing better to do - but it still meant something. When you stayed with me. You made me feel safe."

[cobbledtogetherenvy]

"Ugh, did you say stuff like that," Emery says, but their heart isn't in the mock-disgust. He's still rattled by the simple fact of not being a secret. "Of course you did. Sap."

[choosetoforget]

Daniel's laugh is high, a bit of a giggle. "Yes, I said that! I also told my friends about you, but I used the name Emery and told them you were an old friend from long ago."

[cobbledtogetherenvy]

"Mm, well." It had to come up eventually, and Daniel's going to be smug about it. Stupid human. "That's the right name, anyway. Envy was... a job."

[choosetoforget]

"It is?" He's not as smug as he is - surprised, though he really couldn't say why. "That's the name you want? I'm glad I don't have to tell them something different."

[cobbledtogetherenvy]

He doesn't seem to have a choice in the matter. But. She's also not bothered. "It has to be something, and it's not Envy."

[choosetoforget]

He strokes his fingers along his back. "Do you have different - pronouns like Emery did in the breach?" he wonders. "I've learned that's important to know now, too. Almost as important as a name. And I want you to be - you. In every way you can be."

He pauses.

"Like I told you that you could be." He can't resist a little smugness.

[cobbledtogetherenvy]

Daniel is lucky Emery didn't actually give himself claws. The feet that poke him are harmless and soft. If a little too strong for a cat's. But aside from that little show of sullenness, she mostly sounds serious. "I was a girl in the last one, right before I graduated." The cat settles in a bit more on Daniel's lap. "It wasn't any different. I'm not really... any of the genders humans have."

[choosetoforget]

Daniel giggles at the feet. "Then you're who you are. Like I said." He spreads his fingers in their fur. "My friends - well, they talk a lot about you and me. So - when you meet them, don't be surprised."