hellboys cat

I had , had to relearn how to function as a human, as a real person and it was hell. Three meals a day I didn’t have to work for, people not trying to kill me. Granted bathing, real cloths and a bed did make up for a lot. But relearning how to talk to people was the hardest part of all. Red didn’t seem to mind much though seeing how I spent most , as in all, of my early days with him. One of my earliest memories of hanging out with Red was my first shower I took after getting to the headquarters. Red showed me how the shower worked, his was much more high tech than anything I ever remember using. And he gave me a clean shirt to wear. It had taken a long time to get years worth of filth off my body and out of my hair. Funny I had forgotten what the original color was, sort of a coppery color with a little white around the edges. The brush was as much torture as luxury and 3 hours later I was clean and my hair was brushed for the first time in years. The black shirt hit me at my knees and I didn’t have any where to put my knives.
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“Hey Cat, did ya fall asleep on me or what?” Red asked brushing a lock of hair behind my ear.

I grinned “ Nahh, just thinking about the first time I took a shower. You couldn’t believe that sewer kid you had brought back could have been me.”

Red sat back down with a snort, “ Yeah, then you threw your damn razor at me to prove that it was.”

“ Well you have to admit actions are so much easier than words in some situations.” I logically pointed out.

He laughed, “ Dad’s guys didn’t think so, they weren’t gonna bring you along until I said something.”

I snorted “ Ha, they thought I was going to be your pet for a while. Who would have guessed what was under all the filth and bad attitude .”

Red was quiet for a minute, “ I think I had an idea. You were killing monsters when you should have been doin’ kid stuff like….” he trailed off.

I gave him a sardonic smile. “ When I should have been.. What? Going to sleepovers, playing with dolls, being loved by a family perhaps?”

Red just shook his head.

I sighed, “ Look Red, someone had to be the knife in the dark, better me than someone who couldn’t handle it. Besides I would have never met you or the guy’s. I would have led a completely normal life and then where would you be. You needed someone who wasn’t afraid of the dark, it just so happened that I was at the right place at the right time, (to beat a quote to death).”

Red grunted, “All right I’ll take the hint, it was destiny . Happy now?”

“Sure, now do you think you can help me to my room with out ripping all this adhesive off my back?” I asked.

As an answer Red just took off his leather jacket gently draping it over my back, scooped me up and flipped me in to an up right position. Yeah it hurt, but it is defiantly easier than laying in the damn office any longer. Traversing the halls from the med lab to my room took a while since the BPRD was little more than a glorified rat maze of mind boggling proportions.

Red set me down carefully on the carpet in my room, I dropped the jacket as soon as he shut the door. Talk about old memories, I still had the shirt Red gave me way back when, its not like I was gonna out grow the thing. Now it was just sort of grayish and soft as anything man made could be. I pulled the shirt over my head wiggled out of my pants and crawled in to my bed. Red had just turned his back while I changed, he had started that early on when I would just change in front of him, it’s not like I am shy or anything.

“Are you done already,” Red said turning back around.

“Yeah I’m alright now” I said hugging a pillow.

“I guess I’ll let ya get some sleep then Kid. Its been a hell of a day.” he turned to go.

“Red, wait” I rushed

He turned back to look at me.

“ Would you….Would you stay?” Even after all these years I still like to have some one to scare the monsters away. And for the past 7 years Hellboy has been the only thing that can keep the nightmares from coming back.

I grit my teeth and scooted over to make room for him.

Red nodded , “ Let me go tell the nanny’s so they don’t freak out, alright?”

I nodded

There were always guards on Hellboy, on me too for that matter. But from the first time that I realized I didn’t dream when I slept next to Red, the guys had a hell of a time keeping us apart. About 4 months in they finally decided it was easier just to give me my way than to find me in Hellboy’s locked rooms in the morning anyway. These days no one ever gave much thought to us or our sleeping habits. Well maybe Professor Broom, Red’s dad gives it a bit more thought than most, but he doesn’t seem to mind much. Thus with the nanny’s duly informed of the sleeping arrangement for the night, Red took off his shoes and crawled in to bed beside me.

I rolled on to my good side to look at him, he just looked back at me. We never were much for conversation, ’course I had never kissed him before either, but then I never thought he wanted me to.

As I had done so many times since the fist night in the dark, I took his stone hand in mine. I traced his palm and the many finger joints, my hands traveled up his forearm to trace the spiral designs, a work of art really. Red had closed his eyes as he usually did when I preformed this self proclaimed ritual. Perhaps it would have been too intimate if he had watched me. Tonight though after I traced and retraced the lines of his arm I let my hands reach for the bend of his elbow and up to his bicep. I wanted to know more of him. I touched his face and still he kept his eyes shut. Maybe it made me bolder. I edged closer to him and let my hand explore the contours of his face from the soft skin at his temples to the rough areas of chin and cheek. I then traced my fingers very lightly around the base of one of his horns. Red opened his eyes then.

Red doesn’t really like his horns or anyone bringing attention to them. But they had always fascinated me, much like his tail. But his horns, I had never dared touch them until now and it is an interesting thing.

I smiled lazily at him, “You have such pretty eyes Red.”

As expected, he started laughing. (Well at least I’m entertaining.) Red rolled over on to his back still giving the occasional snort of mirth. I moved his arm so I could lay my head on his chest and wrap my arms around him, I had slept like this a lot over the past many years and never realized how close we were.

Red gently draped his left arm over me in a protective hug with his stone hand under his pillow. I sighed and snuggled in to him. One wouldn’t really think it, but he made a damn good pillow.

“Go to sleep little Cat,” he whispered in to my hair. “We’ll keep the monsters away,”.

I fell asleep feeling small, safe and home…