We Don't Have A Cat

Chapter 14

Severine woke up the next morning feeling better than he had in awhile. He realized that his sleep had been dreamless for the first time since last week when Marcus had slept on the floor. He also realized suddenly that he was in his bed and not on the couch which is where he was sure he had fallen asleep last night. He got out of bed and wandered into the living room. Marcus was sitting at the island with a mug of coffee and a mug of hot chocolate. He smiled gratefully and grabbed his mug.

"Morning," he said.

His breath caught when Marcus turned around with a smile, "Morning."

"Did you um...put me in my bed last night?" he inquired.

"Yeah, I was worried if I left you asleep on the couch you would fall off of it," Marcus answered with a laugh.

"I would like to say you're wrong, but I probably would have." He walked behind him and pushed his head lightly.

"Do you want to go out for dinner tonight?" Marcus asked.

His smile faltered slightly, "I'd love to but I have to work and by the time I get done with work I'm normally not up for doing anything but going to bed."

"I understand, maybe we can this weekend. I don't have to work as far as I know," Marcus said.

"Great! I don't either. How about Saturday?" he asked.

"Saturday would be good. It's a date," Marcus responded.

He nodded his head then headed to his room. He hoped he had gotten turned around before Marcus saw how embarrassed he was. A date, an actual date, with his very attractive roommate. He felt almost giddy at the thought. Calm down do you want him to think you're a complete sap? said the little voice in his head but he didn't care. For the first time in a long time, he was genuinely happy.

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He arrived at the job site ten minutes early. They were moving closer to the center of town, although the area only had about four or five residents in it. After the draw last time he had gained some confidence but was still anxious that there would be civilians around this fight. He focused on what he could use around him instead.

From some of the occupied buildings, he could hear music faintly playing. He could amplify that if he got close enough to try and overload Blitz's sense of hearing. He could also use the amplified noise to block the sounds of the fight from the civilians. He also checked the distance from the last occupied building to the abandoned ones thinking he could lead Blitz away from the citizens and back to the shadows.

"You seem to be thinking really hard," Blitz announced.

He startled at the sound of his voice and spun around. He had been so wrapped up in planning that he hadn't heard Blitz arrive. He was leaning against one of the buildings, the lamppost above him flickering on and off as if he were amusing himself.

"I was just planning how I'm going to win," he proposed boldly.

Blitz scoffed and the light above him burst, sending a shower of sparks and glass around him like rain. He rushed him wanting to make his move before Blitz could shatter any other lights. He swung his right arm out hoping to catch Blitz on the jaw but was caught off guard when he ducked and swung up leg out, dislodging his footing and sending him on his backside.

He grunted and got back on his feet looking around for Blitz who wasn't in front of him anymore. He heard maniacal laughter coming from behind him and turned to see Blitz balanced on a power line. He had no clue how he had got up there but knew he had to get him down. He looked around for anything he could use to his advantage and saw a crow flying just behind him. He waited till it was right behind Blitz then amplified the sound of its caw.

Startled by the unusually loud noise Blitz lost his footing on the wire and fell. He sucked in a breath thinking he had overdone it and that Blitz was going to land on his head. Thankfully he was able to do an aerial flip and landed heavily on his feet, stumbling slightly.

"Getting clever I see" Blitz sneered.

Amplifier didn't respond; instead he rushed Blitz again, amplifying the sound of the music from the apartment window and trying to hit him with a right hook again. He had hoped the amplified music would cause him to look towards the sound but it didn't. He still managed to catch him on the jaw though Blitz moved at the same time and the full effect of the punch was lost. He sucked in a breath when he felt a shock on his ribs. Blitz had managed to break one of the power lines without his noticing. He took several steps back breathing hard.

Blitz rushed him this time, not wanting to lose his advantage. He stumbled back staying out of reach of the serpent-like wire but knew he couldn't stay on the defensive forever. The next time Blitz shoved the power line towards him he side stepped then took a quick step forward, grabbing Blitz's wrist and bending it back. Blitz let out a short yelp of pain and dropped the wire, he kneed him in the stomach bringing him to his knees. Not wanting him to be able to recover and get back on his feet, he quickly karate chopped the vagus nerve at the base of the neck. Blitz fell forward unconscious, he caught him and placed him in an empty alley between two of the buildings. Then he surveyed the area to see how much damage had been done, once he saw it wasn't much he left the scene.

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Severine woke Saturday morning feeling giddy. He was still excited from winning the fight Thursday night and that that meant his father would be pleased with him. Then Friday he had spent the day with Marcus getting to know him better and cuddling on the couch some more. Tonight they were going out for dinner together at the little dinner and he couldn't wait. Marcus had said they were going to do other fun things too but hadn't told him what they were.

He went to the kitchen to make breakfast, it had become a habit for them to take turns cooking for each other every other day. He wanted waffles but knew Marcus didn't really care for them so decided just to make some scrambled eggs with cheese. Not long after he finished Marcus came out of his room and into the kitchen.

Marcus sniffed, "Smells good."

"Thanks," he began, "so are you going to tell me what else we are doing today yet?"

Marcus laughed, "Absolutely not. You'll see when we get there."

He stuck his tongue out at him and got up to start doing the dishes.

"I can do those, you cooked," Marcus told him.

"That's okay, we're leaving once you get ready right? Go ahead I can do them, then it won't take as long," he assured him.

Marcus came up behind him and wrapped his arms around him, "Are you excited to spend the day with me?"

He felt his face go red and nodded his head, not trusting his voice to crack from the embarrassment. He felt Marcus's chest rumble with laughter, then he let him go and went to get ready.

It only took Marcus about 15 minutes to get ready but it had felt like an hour for him. He hadn't admitted it to him yet but this was his first real date. He had been on dates before but always with girls he wasn't interested in, mainly they were daughters of his father's friends. He hoped he wasn't acting too excited because he didn't want Marcus to know. He was worried about what he would think of him. He jumped slightly when he heard Marcus come up behind him asking if he was ready.

They headed downstairs, both of them popped their head into the landlady's office telling her to have a good day. She smiled and waved them away. Marcus told him he would drive since he still didn't know where they were going. He agreed but argued that he got to pick the music. Marcus rolled his eyes but didn't argue. Once they got in the car Severine grabbed the AUX cord, he flipped through his playlists until he found the song he was looking for. He covered his mouth with his hand so Marcus wouldn't see him laughing. Pretty soon Milkshake started blaring from the car's speakers. Marcus glared at him then started laughing a moment later, dancing in the driver's seat. He was laughing so hard he had tears now, he wiped them away then chose a different song at random. He leaned back in his seat laughing and singing along to songs as Marcus drove.