Prometheus Boyfriend: Bastian #1 (special preview)

I drop my keys. What did he call me? I must have heard things wrong or been tricked by the wind. He did not just call me lovely.

I make my way home, feeling nervous and excited all at the same time. I’ve not met someone like Miksa before, I’ve never felt such a feeling before. I keep wanting to feel it even if it scares me quite a bit. 

As I’m about to open the door, I hear a small sound behind me. Turning, I see a fluffy black cat come running to me and rubbing up against my ankles. Their purrs are loud and happy, and their fluffy tail twitches in the air. It meows up at me, jumping up and padding their paws against my leg.

“Oh hello.” I pick the cat up and it happily cuddles in my arms. Its purrs somehow get even louder than before and its face squishes in a sort of smug happy expression. “Where did you come from?” I scratch the top of its head and the cat licks my fingers.

“You’re very sweet,” I coo. I then try to set the cat down, but it is having none of it. It clings to my shoulder and meows sadly.

I sigh and keep ahold of it. “Ok fine.” I carry the cat inside with me.

“There you are,” my mother, Coraline, steps out of the dining room. She spots the cat and her eyes go wide for a moment. “What on earth?”

“It came up to me outside. It won’t let me put it down.” I say as the cat snuggles against my neck and whips its tail at my mother.

Coraline frowns for a moment then looks to me. “Go put it in your room,” she sighs. “Dinner is almost ready.”

I kiss the top of her head. “Thanks, Mom. I’ll be just a second.” I take the cat to my room where it happily balls up in the center of my bed. 

I fill up a small bowl with water and set it on the ground. “I’ll bring you some food later. Tomorrow, if you still want to stay, I’ll go to the animal trainers and get some better food for you to eat.”

The cat rolls onto its back, meowing sweetly as they expose their soft belly. 

“Yes, yes.” I pet their belly and their smug expression grows into delight. “You’re a very cute kitty.” I rub under their chin. “But I am very hungry. So just wait on me.”

The cat grumbles and curls up again and starts to sleep.

In the dining room, my parents have set the table and my dad is setting food out. “There he is!” Bram announces brightly. “How was the library today?”

“Slow,” I sigh as I sit down. “But I got a lot done today.”

Coraline kisses my temple as she places my drink before me. “You know you’re allowed to take days off.”

“Yeah, well,” I chuckle. “I just like being there.” And if I had taken today off, I never would have met Miksa in the first place.

“Things will pick up again soon,” Coraline says. “Now that setup is done, everyone will want something to read at night.”

Bram serves dinner, which is my favorite meal, parmesan fried eggplant. My parents technically don’t need to eat, but they will so they can spend time with me. Family dinner is important to them, it is for me too. I love spending time with them.

After dinner, I go back into my room and strip my shirt off. I’m ready for a bath and to go to bed. After long days, my body tends to become a bit sore and achy. I like to look over my skin as well, making sure there are no tears or any stitches that have come loose. I’m getting ready to take my pants off when I hear loud purring from the bed.

I almost forgot the cat was here. It has a smug face again as it watches me and its tail waves back and forth slowly behind it.

“Oh,” I chuckle. “It’s just you.”

The cat makes a chirping sound, as if it is offended.

“I forgot your dish, let me go get it.” I go back to the kitchen where I had a small plate of chopped meat for it. When I come back, the cat jumps off the bed and happily munches away.

I turn back around, finishing taking off my clothes. I then hear loud purring again and the cat is rubbing up against my ankles, letting its soft tail coil around my leg. I chuckle and pick it up, setting it on the bed. 

I then open the window. “If you need to go, you can. I understand if you just wanted a free meal,” I chuckle.

The cat slow blinks its eyes at me and continues to purr.

“I’ll be right back.” I go into the bathroom. 

As the shower heats up, I look at myself in the mirror, trying to put myself in Miksa’s shoes and see what he saw. I’m quite large, very tall with broad shoulders but also still thin. My skin is patchy all over, different colors mingling but sallow and graying in color. My hair is long and white, nowhere near as full and lovely as Miksa’s. My eyes are mismatched green and brown. My face is long, cheeks sharp and my nose is sunken. There’s no way someone like Miksa would see me and feel the same things I felt looking at him.