#mostly Spy or Jane uvu

[emotionally-enervated-conagher]

The morning bled into the afternoon, and Dell had yet to leave the motel that day.

(This is so long holy fuck JDJDJW)

His body cramped from remaining mostly inactive, his stomach grumbling, demanding food after Dell had emptied what little he had in his stomach into the toilet bowl that morning.

A part of him wanted to waste away, stay there forever and just disappear. To not face the what the world threw at him. The motel room was his small bubble he wasn’t willing to pop.

Dell knew he couldn’t though. He’d be letting down the few that still cared for him. That, and he made Jane a promise.

So the old mercenary rose from the bed, grunting in pain as his body responded stiffly. He swung his legs off to the side of the bed and rubbed his face with his only hand, peering at the clock on the nightstand through his fingers.

2:14 pm.

Well, better late than never.

He stood and groaned as his joints popped, and he shuffled to the restroom, flicking on the switch, the light flickering to life overhead. Dell gripped the side of the sink with his hand and let out a sigh, bracing himself as he looked at his reflection. He winced at the sight of himself.

He had deep, dark eye bags, eyes bloodshot, his robotic eye glowing dimly. His skin was a shade paler than normal, making his freckles more prominent. In his face alone he could tell he had lost a few pounds from the lack of eating, and his skin was dry from dehydration.

Dell Conagher, what in the hell have you been doing to yourself?

The man just hung his head and sighed, deciding he’d be wearing his goggles and a baseball cap he had stowed away in his truck to hopefully hide his apparent miserable appearance. He side glanced at the shower, cogs turning in his head as he formulated a feeble plan. Shower, put some clean clothes on, and see what food this small town provided….

———

The Texan admittedly felt better with some food in his system as he moseyed on down the sidewalk of the mildly active town. A quick bite to eat at the local diner; coffee and a plate of eggs, bacon, and a bowl of fruit put Dell in a better mood. Still, not enough to return to base, to the people who he made more miserable with his return.

They’ll be fine without me for a few days. Probably won’t even realize ah’m gone.

It wasn’t long before Dell found himself stopped in front of a building, his train of spiraling thoughts interrupted as he stared at the white, chipped paint sign that swung slightly in the cool breeze.

Houston’s Pet Sanctuary

Dell stood there for a bit longer before heading inside.

A bell chimed softly as he entered, and the surprising smell of honey filled his nose. He took in a breath and sighed as he looked around, examining the small store.

It had small shelves of different types of pet supplies for all sorts of animals, organized neatly in categories; Exotic, HouseHold, Livestock, and so on.

Different types of enclosures were also displayed around the store with different kinds of animals. In the store’s window were chicks and ducklings for display to passerby’s. Against one of the shop’s walls was a collection of fish tanks, each tank holding multiple kinds of fish. On the left of Dell were small cubbies, housing a few cats, kittens even.

Dell couldn’t help but observe the cats, a few returning his gaze in observation, curious at the stranger that just entered their home. As Dell stepped closer, he realized one kitten was separated from the others in its own cubby, seeming asleep. He peered at them, pondering why they were separated when he nearly jumped out of his skin as a voice cheerfully addressed him.

“Well hey there, stranger! What can I do for ya today?” A younger woman, seemingly the shopkeeper, asked with a genuinely enthusiastic smile on her face. She looked to be about in her mid 20s, brown curly hair with a simple long sleeved button up, boots overlapping her jeans.

Dell regained his composure and took a moment, quickly gathering his thoughts. Usually he found talking to strangers easy, his southern hospitality to thank for that. But in recent events, like everything else, he struggled to mimic the woman’s enthusiasm.

“Oh, er, not exactly sure. Jus’ window shoppin’.” He forced out with a small grin, motioning towards the cats. “Ah used ta have cats so ah couldn’t help but look at these fellers.”

The woman nodded, seemingly to either not notice or politely ignore Dell’s struggle. “Of course! Our cats here are always lookin’ to meet their forever home! A few of these here were just rescued as strays, but with a quick bath and food in their tummies, they are as affectionate as ever!” She explained, pointing at a few of the cats as she talked. She then pointed to the kitten Dell was observing, her smile softening a bit more.

“This one here was one of those strays. It unfortunately had its front right leg mangled, the poor thang, so we had to amputate it. But the surgery was a success, and they’ve mostly healed up nicely!” The woman then seems to observe Dell himself. “With all do respect, they’re sort of like you, mister. I’m not a huge believer of fate, but even I think that’s more of a coincidence.” She chimed, and Dell looked at her in surprise, his right arm twitching slightly. With his hoodie sleeve folded neatly over his stump, it was obvious he was also lacking a part of his arm.

Dell nearly shook his head, not wanting to even think about encouraging the thought of adopting a kitten, especially now…but he hesitated, turning his gaze back to the kitten.

The feline had awoken from the noise of the conversation and yawned, their large green eyes trained on Dell. It seemed to be around 4 weeks old, it’s white fur speckled with patched of black and orange. A healing surgery scar was seen over the place where its right arm used to be, clean and healthy looking.

‘No, ah can’t take care of a cat right now, not with all this crap goin’ on right now…but it isn’t like animals aren’t allowed on base…plus it’d be nice to have some company…’

The kitten blinked and waddled up to the glass of the cubby, nose twitching. It then licked its nose and let out a soft mew, and Dell felt his heart melt.

He made up his mind right then and there.

———

“You’re jus’ trouble, ya know that?” The man chuckled as he sat on a bench under the shade of a tree, doing his best to keep the kitten in his lap and from skittering off to God knows where. Dell jingled a cat toy above the kitten’s head an the kitten bapped it, suddenly fixated on the thing. He laughed warmly, a grin soft on his face, chest light for once.

Even though Dell knew the feeling was temporary, and he may regret adopting the kitten in the future, he was happy in the moment, the feline was having a time of their life, and that’s all that mattered.

#THIS IS SO LONG BUT I LOVE WRITING IT HEHE #Dell deserves a cat he needs it so bad NDJFJA #emotional support kitten <3 #with this written Dell is open to being interacted with those who seek him hehe #mostly Spy or Jane uvu #also also need named for cat #its a girl! #prob will draw Dell with el gato soon hehe #emotionally xyz mercs #emotionally enervated conagher #coffeetalks #an old debt