Chapter Text
"Apparently they are the one that patrols the farm whenever the big guy's asleep or elsewhere. The ones working at the wool barn say that the protector and the big, black, hairy one never work at the same time." The usual work-gossip trio consisting of the goose, sheep, and donkey mutations indulged in a casual talk as they finished up their work for the day.
The sun was setting, peeking just a little over the horizon to dye the grass orange in its flaming light. The breeze was gentle and cool, all of such elements coming together to put together the ideal evening at a countryside farm. K thinks the day would've been alright if he didn't have to listen to the three talk all day long as they cleaned out his barn. Said man laid in a freshly put together stack of hay, hands behind his hand as he gnawed at the hay straw with a growing agitation. He never liked work-related gossip, even before he had to come to this exotic facility.
The goose hybrid shook his head, "All we hear about that guy are just rumors, made-up stories—myths. I'm not believing a thing about this guy until I see him with my very own eyes!" K found himself agreeing with one of his colleagues for once. Not the part where he had to see the protector with his own vision, no, but the part where the person was a myth. Most of the rumors revolving around this mysterious mutt were made up directly on the spot; the most ridiculous one K had heard being that the person wasn't actually a human-animal mutation, but a deity on its own. Seriously, were these people that bored? Surely they had better things to do.
"Meh. You do you, I think that's pretty sick. A feline protector of the farm, never to show themselves and only intervening when necessary." The donkey spoke with a shrug.
Feline? K perked up at that. Quite hypocritical, given that just a moment ago he was thinking to himself that all of this protector talk was stupid and a waste of time.
"Feline?" One of the three voiced K's exact question in the exact tone. "Mhm. One of the people from the lab found a ball of hair that didn't belong to any of the specimen that they know of here, so they ran a simple test and decided it was a feline's. A cat."
K scoffed, finally gaining the trio's attention. All three of his coworkers gave him a look that was somewhere between disapproving and wary. No one liked him (other than A), and he didn't like anyone (again, other than A). He brushed them off, ignoring them as he stood up to leave the barn.
The sun was setting rapidly, the nature within and around the farms matching the pace of the star to prepare for the night. Some prepared to rest, some would prepare to get to work. K sighed as he stretched his muscles that were sore from doing absolutely nothing all day.
The hen could sense someone lingering nearby but didn't mind, simply assuming they were one of the farm workers that were leaving work to rest. The looming presence paused a few feet behind K, silently observing the man and waiting for his next action—or word—alerting K more and more as time passed. The sneaky person or animal didn't do anything but add onto the itching frustration that the trio had sparked back in his barn, provoking K to sharply turn around.
"What? What do you want—" His blue eyes that were flaming with agitation just a moment ago widened, portraying primal fear as his brain analyzed the unfamiliar being standing before him.
The person—no, the very obvious mutation had fluffy ears pointed upright and alert for any possible signals of danger, as were the eyes that were dilated in order to see better in the dark. Their sharp canines poked ever so slightly from between their lips despite their mouth being close shut. K gulped, having to shake his head in order to snap himself back to reality. Despite the unique features, he felt a sense of.. familiarity. As if he had known the person for a while, way before coming to this farm, before being dragged into this animal mutation nightmare.
K stared. Glared, to be precise. Just where had he seen that face before? Those eyes.. The stance.. And that fuckass smirk—
"What the fuck are you doing here?!" K screeched and literally jumped, his brain finally recognizing that face.
The same face, and the same exact smirk that they would make whenever they succesfully frightened K. Whenever they managed to make a teasing comment that ticked him off until lunch break, then slowly crawl back to him by the end of lunch with an apologetic cup of instant coffee. The exact smug expression that would only ever appear on your face whenever you would be with K. "I'm the feline protector as you guys call me." You giggled slightly at the name. "Shut up! Who is 'you guys'?"
His former and present coworker and friend. You stood before him without offering another word at the given moment, not a change in your expression. K couldn't believe it. It was them; the same surgeon that would borderline harass him whenever they got the chance was there—no longer wrapped up in protection measures and blue gowns as he'd always remembered them—and would mend it up by treating him to a fancy meal.
You smiled warmly and waved, only to be cut off by K yanking you towards him by your collar. Honestly, you couldn't blame him; he was alone in this huge farm for over a year now, when all this time you could've helped him. Yet you didn't. Never even hinted that you were on the same domain as him until this very moment.
"You bastard! What do you think you're doing here?! How long have you been here for, and what happened with you? Why did you never tell me you were here? What the fuck are you doing here?!" K bellowed at the top of his lungs, loud enough to probably wake up the little M2 that would always pass out as soon as the sun set without a fail. Anger, frustration, relief, euphoria, you name it—an odd mixture of emotions seeped from K's form. It was mostly the way his eyes twitched and how his breathing was so ragged, but you noticed the slight bit of wavering in his sapphire eyes. The ones that always made the end of your 10 hour operation better.
"Are you done?" You asked once you deemed K was calm enough. In which, he had calmed down significantly after shaking you violently by your collar, but not enough to handle your teasing any time soon.
"No! I'm not done! You sick bastard, you should've kept yourself hidden!" K shouted with resentment and fury no longer detectable from his voice. He quivered gently as his face drooped, panting heavily as the shock wore off of him gradually. You absentmindedly rubbed his lower back and he responded near instantly as his muscles began to melt under your touch. Amusement flickered in the glint of your eyes as his mutated hands slowly let go of your collar that was now slightly torn up.
A breathy chuckle left the opening of your mouth. "Still as fiery as ever, K. And here I was, foolishly revealing myself, worrying that you'd need some company." You bit your tongue after the K lifted his face again just to be gritting his teeth, jaw locked, facial expression visibly tense. That damn tongue of yours.
"i always needed company. Just not yours." K sneered as he began to stomp off, "Don't ever bother showing me your face here again, or I'll—"
You cut him off as you tackled him in the flash of an eye, pushing him to the ground. That was unintentional; you just couldn't help but pounce on a delicious prey walking with his back to you.. These damn animalistic instincts.
You slapped your face whilst climbing to straddle K's lap, reminding that this was the same colleague that you once worked with together at a pediatric ward, evoking both concern and confusion in K's head. "Are you acting like you've gone mad to avoid the consequences? Because it won't change a thing." K tried to say as dully as possible, but failed as concern rose at his expression and tone with the way a bright hand print began to make its presence known on your cheek.
"That wasn't my original intention, but sure, I'll take it." You chuckled, ignoring the lingering pain on your skin. A lopsided grin made its way onto your face to go along with the hand mark as K deadpanned, sighing at your usual tomfoolery. Even despite all of this animal mutation nonsense, you were still you. He could get used to that—hell, learn to appreciate it even, but K would never admit it aloud. Not even in his own mind was he willing to give in to that thought. How could he forgive you so easily after you left him to fend himself alone at such a situation?
Your tail swishes rhythmically as you stare down at K, waiting for him to notice the position you were in. Truly, you didn't mind. But K definitely would, and it was taking him a while to notice it. The way you had him pinned down on the grass fields, your thighs trapping his, and for some reasons, his hands securing you at your hips. You really didn't want to move from the current position, but it was a matter of time until K noticed and would probably have another fit about it. Without any ulterior motives you shifted slightly, your warm body rubbing dangerously close to his crotch. You guessed that was what made K realize something was off.
"What the—?" About time. "Fuck? What are you—hah?" The hen's face turned bright red within a matter of seconds. Way faster than the time he took to notice the intimate position you two held.
With a panicked growl-like cry, K abruptly pushed you off of his body, resulting in you faceplanting into the raw soil. A small pebble or two had gone up your nose, and dirt was in your face. Don't even get started with the numbing pain; your nose began to grow warm before blood began to trickle down from your nose and dripped onto the ground.
K scrambled to stand up, struggling as his hands were unsure of where to be, his eyes wide and unfocused—to put it simply, he was absolutely losing his shit. For the second time today. That had to be a record. You were one of the only people on this planet that could get on his nerves so much and remain alive, and you sure would've been proud to prove yourself of that title once again if it weren't for the pain spreading throughout your face and the blood staining your clothes. K was too busy spluttering on his own to notice you, so you decided to help yourself. With a grunt you pushed yourself back up on your feet, dusting your knees before bringing a hand to feel your nose.
"Not broken." You murmured to yourself unconsciously as you felt your face, checking for any injuries other than a bloodied nose.
K finally came to a halt when he heard your words, abandoning his fit of shame and embarrassment. He winced slightly at the amount of blood you were leaking and began to walk towards you with outstretched hands, ready for examination—but of course, not before he let out a dreadful sigh. He couldn't help it as it was his default reaction and now practically a reflex when it came to being in your presence.