Chapter Text
The shop was quaint, a small little place wedged between two huge corporate buildings of glistening blue glass. In all actuality, it was a marvel the place was still there, to begin with. The building was much older than all the surrounding ones, so much so that it had caught Symmetra’s eye. The shop had character.
Wandering into the shop, Symmetra already had her mind made up. She knew exactly what she was looking for, she had done her research. She was nervously excited about this, she had set the day aside to come in and peruse the store. She was finally going to get a pet.
It had come to her attention only recently that her penthouse suite was rather… lonely. Of course, she had designed it herself, every wall and window to her liking, the tiles and backsplash all handpicked. She bought comfortable furniture and tasteful pieces of art and still, she felt that the place was rather… empty. Lacking in life. She had originally considered a roommate, but nixed the idea fairly quickly, the penthouse was built for one. There was only one bedroom and Symmetra had already filled up all the space with all her belongings, a proper roommate wouldn’t be able to fit. And if they could fit, Satya guessed they wouldn’t be able to put up with her ‘different’ tendencies. The idea of someone rejecting her in such a way hurt so much more than the loneliness ever had.
The next thing that came to mind was a pet. First, a dog came to mind, but she came to the conclusion that owning a dog in the city would be cruel. There was no grass immediately surrounding the condo building, and Satya lived on the top floor, taking a dog up and down the elevator for every trip to the bathroom was bound to be a disaster.
The next best thing she could think to get was a cat, but she didn’t entertain the thought for too long, given the horror stories she had heard from her friends, cats knocking over glasses of water or the urns of beloved family members. Simply the idea of a pet causing so much disarray and chaos had Symmetra cringing at the idea. She liked her things whole.
After much research and contemplation, she decided upon a simpler animal. A rodent. Satya had always had an affinity for little animals, cute rabbits, chinchillas, mice and such. It seemed like an easy fit for her life, a cute little animal that would like to play with her, maybe even cuddle if she was lucky. Rodents kept to their cages, and they didn’t create much mess, after her research Symmetra had come to the conclusion that she would get a fancy mouse.
She had seen videos of people training their mice for tricks, and while she loved the idea of owning a ferret or chinchilla, after reading through several online blogs she decided they needed more advanced care than she was capable of giving.
So here she was, walking around the petite pet shop with a big grocery cart loaded with a cage and some fresh wood shavings, some little bits of furniture and food dishes to furnish it. All that was left now was to choose her pet. She was standing in front of the wall of glass boxes, each containing another option.
The owner of the store approached her, an older woman who had crow's feet wrinkles pulling at the corners of her eyes. She was shorter than Satya, thinner too, her lips pressed in a pleased smile, looking almost predatory at the sight of Symmetra’s cart.
“What kind of companion are you looking for? Any creature in particular?” she purred, smiling at Symmetra as she scanned the wall. Satya turned to focus on the stout woman, “I’m hoping to find a fancy mouse, preferably on the younger side.”
The woman looked her up and down, eyes looking almost analytical as they settled on Satya’s prosthetic arm. “We have some fancy mice, but I have another pet I might recommend more. Is this your first pet? Your cart looks rather full of starter items.”
Symmetra furrowed her eyebrows, trying to understand why the shopkeep would try to deter her. The fancy mice were priced higher than most of the other pets in front of her, according to the price plaques at least. She couldn’t help but feel slightly offended by the woman’s lack of faith in her. She pursed her lips, thinking only for a brief moment before she replied, “This will be the first pet I have purchased from this store, yes.”
The woman’s eyes lit up, seeing the opportunity to push a sale. “Well, I can guarantee you that our pets are like no others. Do you happen to live with a partner? A husband maybe?”
Perplexed by the question Satya frowned at the shopkeeper, “I don’t see how that is relevant.”
The older woman smiled, “I mean no ill will towards you, I just happen to have a particular furry companion who you might like. He’s a bit of a ladies' man.”
Confused even more Symmetra decided to go along with it, hoping her faked interest would get this interaction over with. “What do you have in mind?”
The shopkeep grinned, turning around to open one of the glass boxes on the wall, pulling out the creature inside, “Oh you’ll love him, he’s smart, full of attitude. He’s playful, he shouldn’t be too much of a hassle for you, if anything I think he’ll act prim and proper for you.”
The lady turned around cradling a blond ball of fluff close to her chest. Satya took a cautious step forward to get a better look, and the ball unfurled, stretching out in the woman’s palms. “Be good, habibi.” The older lady murmured, words barely registering in Satya’s ears.
The creature looked up at Symmetra, moving around in the lady’s hand until it was comfortably sitting, eyes curious, looking over Symmetra.
“What is it?” she asked, noticing the creature’s apparent lack of limbs as it lost interest in staring at Symmetra and began grooming itself with its one pink paw and arm stub. It stretched out its toes, making it known that it only had one foot and another stub leg. It made the creature endearing, in some sort of odd way.
The lady hummed and gave the creature a pet, pulling back its scraggly-soft fur. “He’s a blond dumbo rat. Can be very loving, a good companion for someone like yourself.”
The rat seemed content with his grooming and went back to watching Satya, as though he was trying to show off for the lady’s sales pitch.
“What happened to his limbs?” Satya asked curiously.
The saleswoman pursed her lips and furrowed her brows, “He came to me like this, I can’t say for certain,” she paused, turning down to look at the ruffed-up fuzzball and she smiled, “But I’m sure he can explain for himself once you two get familiar.”
Satya scrunched her nose in confusion but before she had a chance to question the lady in front of her the lady was holding out her hands in an offering. “Try holding him, Dear, see if he warms up to your liking.”
Cautiously Symmetra accepted the rat, awkwardly scooping him up with two hands and ever so carefully holding him against her chest, stroking his fur with one of her fingers on her human hand. This seemed to satisfy the rat as he settled right up against her breasts and closed his eyes, apparently content.
Symmetra could feel his little heartbeat against her hands and she felt her heart seize. She couldn’t possibly reject such an animal. The little rat was too comfortable to move now.
“I told you he was a ladies' man,” the older woman said with a pleased smile, “If you still want to look at the fancy mice I can put him back, but none of them will be quite as friendly as him.”
Satya weighed the idea over in her mind, “How old is he?” she asked, wondering if this rat was only so tame and relaxed because he was reaching the end of his life.
The older woman smiled once more, “He’s probably around your age dear, if not, a year or two younger.”
Symmetra was once more perplexed. She had done her research, she knew rats had much shorter life spans than her own. Rats lived to be a year or two, it was impossible for a rat to come near Symmetra in age, and rats didn’t live to be twenty-eight. Regardless of the oddity of the woman’s response, Satya nodded to her.
“I think I’d like to purchase him then,” she replied, much to the store owner’s delight.
“Great choice, he’ll be great company. He tends to run his mouth from time to time but he’ll keep you entertained,” the older woman said, taking the rat back into her hands and petting him down. “I’ll miss him.”
Satya didn’t think much of the statement as they headed for the cash register and she paid for all of her new things. The rat was placed in a cardboard carrier and the rest in shopping bags.
She couldn’t help her own excitement as she settled into her car, with the cardboard carrier in the passenger seat, and started her drive home.
***
The moment she entered her apartment she set to work, she opened the top of the cardboard carrier and peered inside, the little creature almost seemed to smile back up at her, eyes wide and pleased. He licked his hand and ruffled his fur, Satya gave him an amused scoff, he really did look like a ladies' man with the way he was doing his hair for her, bathing in her attention.
With newfound excitement, Symmetra placed the carrier down on the kitchen counter and started building his cage. She had gotten a bigger one, with a multitude of fancy coloured tube attachments for the rat to run around in, little playhouses and dishes, small fabric hammocks and a running wheel to boot. She was quite proud of herself as she filled up the water bottle and attached it to the side of the cage, it was just perfect.
At last, she returned her attention to the rat and found him waiting for her, standing on his good foot, his hands gripped on the cardboard box so he could watch her over the edge. He could’ve jumped out and hobbled away, but he seemed content to watch her in the meantime.
She smiled at him and carefully scooped him up into her hands, he walked a small circle around her palms before he settled and put his head down to rest on her thumbs. Satya couldn’t help the small ‘Aw,’ that fell from her lips, and the little creature seemed to smile at the sound.
She gave him a few soft scratches with her human hand before looking him over and checking over his little stub legs. He didn’t seem to be a fan of the check up and he squirmed a little in her grasp, using his arms to try and pry her invasive fingers away, but he settled back in her hands and relaxed as soon as she stopped.
“Aw you poor little thing, maybe we can get you some little bionic limbs, hmm? Something like mine?” The little rat’s ears perked up at that, and he walked a circle around her palm, limping around the hard plastic material of her prosthetic hand, inspecting it. During the distraction she tried to pet his lean belly and was met with the same squirming reaction, so with a sigh, she resigned herself to scratching behind his ears and stroking the fur down his back.
After briefly basking in awe about his tiny size and the softness of his scruffy fur, with a satisfied smile Symmetra placed him back in the cage and let him explore his new home. The rat cautiously stumbled off her hands and explored his new domain, he seemed almost offended when she rescinded her hands and closed the cage, squeaking angrily for a few seconds before becoming distracted with one of the toys placed in his enclosure.
Seeing that he was satisfied with his new home Satya carefully picked up the cage and brought it into her office, it wouldn’t be so lonely anymore completing her work if she had something in the background to keep her entertained.
***
When her work was done for the evening Symmetra closed her laptop and decided to move on with her day. She decided now was a great time to familiarize herself with her new pet. Carefully, once more she lifted the cage and moved it about, this time deciding to take her new pet with her to her room.
The rat seemed to wake up from his nap on one of the hammocks, stretching and extending his pink little toes and fingers, opening his mouth in a cute yawn before moving up into a sitting position and watching her. Once again he ran his hands through his hair, and Symmetra was enamoured.
She opened the cage door and the rat seemed to anticipate what was going to happen. Happily, he tried to push himself up and out of the hammock but failed to anticipate the slight drop to the bottom of the wood-chipped cage and squeaked in alarm. In all honesty, he probably only fell two or three inches but the whole affair was rather adorable. Satya couldn’t help the soft snicker she gave out in reply and the resulting glare she got from the rat.
Regardless she scooped him up into her hands and brought him close to her chest, “Aren’t you just charming,” she crooned, petting along his back as he nuzzled his face against the fabric of her shirt. The rat gave a little sneeze in reply and Satya giggled at the cute sound. “We do need a name for you, hmm? What do you think?”
The rat licked his hands again and cleaned up his fur, pushing it away from his face with his good hand and smoothing out the hairs on his face using his stub arm. Symmetra smiled at his mannerism, “You’re quite the little ladies' man, a tiny prince charming. What do you think of that name, hmm? Prince?”
The rat in her hands buzzed back and forth, wriggling happily in her palms and squeaking his delight. Satya smiled ever wider, “Prince seems like the perfect name. My little prince charming. Oh, aren’t you just a little gentleman, brushing your hair, looking all nice for me,” she mused, petting over his back and scratching behind his ears in reward.
The fuzzball squeaked again quietly, closing his eyes and melting into a contented daze as she pet his fur. Symmetra couldn’t help herself as she smiled down at him and pressed a chaste kiss to the top of his head. Her lips buzzed at the touch, and quickly Satya came to the realization that the little rat had just rubbed his own spit all over his head, in quiet disgust with herself she placed the creature back into his new home and placed some of the recommended food pellets in his bowl.
She gave him one more delicate pet along his back and closed the cage door before running off to get her own dinner together before her favourite period drama came on the TV.
***
After watching her show and putting all of her dirty dishes away in the dishwasher, Satya had gone for a quick workout before coming back and deeming herself ready for bed. She changed into her silk pyjamas and went over to Prince’s cage, gazing inside to see what he was doing. Sure enough, the little creature had made himself a burrow in amongst the wood chips, leaving nothing but a ball of fluff visible.
Careful not to disturb him, Symmetra opened the cage and reached in to pet him, brushing his fur back and smoothing it down. Regardless of her efforts, the rat stirred and stretched, yawning and stretching out his limbs, eyes morphing to a pleased look as he recognized her and leaned into the warmth of her hand, giving her a happy squeak of hello. She scooped him up again and cradled him against her chest, “So happy to see me after only a day, this is a reception I could get used to.”
Prince stood up on her hands, stretching out to sniff at her, nosing around her collarbone and tickling her accidentally with his whiskers. He poked his little tongue out and licked her, making Satya giggle at the feeling. She brought the rat up to her face and looked it in the eyes, peering at the fluffy thing in her hands. Once again without any hesitation the rat stepped forwards and licked her nose, eliciting another squeal from Symmetra. She knew it was childish to behave such a way, to laugh at such matters and make such uncomposed sounds, but she couldn’t help but relish in the fact that there was no one else here to judge her.
She was free to be herself around her new companion, and for that, she was grateful. This was exactly what she needed, a friend.
The rat in her hands squeaked up at her playfully and tried to stand up using her face, playfully sniffing and licking at whatever he could reach before Satya had to lower him and wipe the slobber off her face, laughing even as she did so out of disgust. The rat kept squeaking and chirping to match her laughter and Satya ended up leaning up against her bed to stabilize herself as she fell into a fit of very unladylike laughs, petting and playing with the little rodent that had already wormed his way into her heart.
As she was running out of breath she gently moved him away from her face, bringing him to rest in her lap, petting him and cooing out soft praises; ‘what a little gentleman’, ‘ look at your pretty golden coat’, ‘what a good boy’. She ran her hands through his fur, noticing now that even though he was fairly long in size, he was lean, and she could feel quite a few of the delicate bones beneath his fur, meaning he must’ve been malnourished. The poor creature must have gone through so much.
Composing herself, Symmetra took a deep breath and scooped the rat up into her hands again, “You need to rest my little Prince, today must have been a lot for you. You’ve been so good for me, thank you,” she said, pressing another kiss to his forehead despite herself, before getting up and putting the rat in his pen for the night, going so far as to wish him; ‘goodnight and sweet dreams’.
After successfully wearing herself out, Symmetra curled into her own bed and drifted to sleep with the pleasant feeling of contentment still thrumming through her body..
***
There was a metal clang, something much too loud for the middle of the night, so much so that Satya felt her heart skip a beat as cold fear shot through her veins. Her eyes shot open and immediately her mind spun to action, working a thousand miles a minute. At first, the sound had reminded her of a drawer of cutlery being dropped all the clinks and clangs of fine cut metal. Her eyes were still trying to adjust to the darkness so she reached out her prosthetic arm and cast out a blue light.
She had to do a double take, she had to make sure the figures she was seeing weren’t born from her imagination. A nightmarish heap of bones and limbs sat on the floor in front of her eyes, it wasn’t until the creature moved its hand away from its face that Satya even realized it was a human. She shrieked.
The man put his hand out, eyes wide and obviously panicked as he waved his limbs about and stood up approaching her. That did nothing but make her scream louder, horrified as the man grew closer and larger before he seemed to realize what he was doing and recoiled.
“Holy fuck Shiela, you have a set of iron pipes. Think I might’a blown an ear drum, holy shit lady,” the man hissed, covering up one of his ears with his hand.
Satya's heart was running fast enough to beat a bullet train, she couldn’t comprehend why there was suddenly a naked man standing at the foot of her bed, speaking way too casually for her liking. “What are you doing in my house?!” She shrieked, charging up a photon-blast on her prosthetic hand. “How did you even get in here?”
The man hobbled backwards with his hands up, eyes focussed on the ball of light forming in her hand and aimed at him, “Heh, no need to get ‘murdery’, I just- I’m not,” her hand raised and he jumped backwards, “Put away the death ball! Sweet Jesus Darl! For Christ’s sake, you brought me here!”
Symmetra scoffed at that, “Not a chance, I would never bring home such a… such a disgusting person!” she bit back.
The man seemed offended by that, folding in on himself ever so slightly, his posture deflating. Why on Earth was he sad that she was calling a thief in the night what he was?
“No! Nah- Darl you… you got it all wrong,” the man cowered and wrapped his arms around himself, saving him a sliver of modesty. It was then Satya noticed the lack of his right hand, and the stump that was his left leg, pure coincidence she told herself. “I’m Prince. I’m the rat you fancied buying this evening, I’m ‘your little gentleman’.” His eyes flashed up to hers but only for a second before he averted his gaze to the floor, ‘I didn’t… I didn’t mean to scare you.”
Symmetra couldn’t believe a word he was saying, she resolved herself to the fact that this was just some shitty dream. Some half-assed nightmare formed by her subconscious to spite her happiness. “You’re not real,” she replied coldly.
The man’s eyes flicked up to hers and went wide, “Look Shiela, I know it’s not ideal but it is what it is. I’ll be out of your house by morning if that’s what you see fit.”
Satya ran her good hand across her face, “Yes- Of course, that is what I see fit! I don’t want intruders waking me in the middle of the night. Get out!! Leave! I have no reason to believe a word falling from your mouth- just- be gone!”
For a start, the man actually looked rather scared, there was part of Symmetra curious as to what would drive a man to do such a thing, but first and foremost she wanted him gone. She wanted a moment to think and breathe and really deliberate about what the fuck just happened.
She charged up her photon blast again and the man seemed to catch the hint, leaning away from her. He tore his eyes away from the glowing ball of blue light to make eye contact with her, a frantic and wild look in his eyes. “I- I’m really sorry to ask this of ya, but babe could you… could you give me a pair of slacks and a hand to the elevator I don’t think I can get there on my own I just-”
All of a sudden Satya felt a swell of guilt in her chest. She couldn’t think straight due to the fact she had just been woken up in the middle of the night and the double-amputee/ home invader standing across from her claiming to be her pet rat. Satya huffed, throwing her blanket at him, “Cover yourself! Go- I don’t care how just please leave! Get out of my house!”
The man flinched at her words but took the blanket that was thrown at him, wrapping it around his shoulders and hopping to the door. He turned his head and gave her a final look, a sincere look of hurt written across his face. “I’m sorry Darl, I really didn’t mean ta disappoint, I told Ana I would be good to-”
“Get out!” Satya shrieked again, sparks pricking off her fingertips as the ball of light in her hand became less stable.
The man didn’t need to be asked twice and he quickly disappeared through the doorway. Symmetra didn’t dare move until he heard the sound of the elevator rising and falling through the apartment building, and she breathed a deep sigh of relief. She crawled out of bed and locked all her windows, closing all her doors as she walked through the apartment, a new sense of unease motivating her to be as cautious as possible. She spotted a flash of colour and noted the time on the wall, only five minutes passed midnight. She locked the front door and breathed a deep sigh of relief once more, leaning back against the door and curling into a ball.
The stress of the situation caught up to her all at once and overcome with emotions she just sobbed. She buried her face in her hands, uncaring of the hair that fell into her face as she cried into her hands, her heart working three times as fast as normal. She didn’t feel safe in her own home. The apartment that she had handcrafted exactly to her liking, now it wasn’t safe.
After she had managed to collect herself ever so slightly, she pulled up her tablet and scrolled through the security footage, trying to find evidence of how the man had even gotten into her home in the first place, and yet she couldn’t find anything as to how the man got in, all she saw in the playback footage was the blurry imagery of a man draped in a bed sheet hobbling to the elevator from her door, looking as defeated as anything.
Without giving it a second thought she closed the video and shut off the device, taking a moment to just breathe. To take it all in. Gods, she felt a mess, still under the lingering haze of sleep that made her mind frustratingly slow. Nothing was making sense and all she wanted to do was to crawl back into bed and fall asleep, so that's what she did. She trudged passed the mess of ruined caging in her bedroom and made a quick search for Prince around her room, only for her heart to shatter when she couldn't find her new friend. Wood chips had been scattered around her floor and she didn't have the heart to clean it now.
She made her way into bed, and instead of sleeping peacefully, she stared at the ceiling above her, praying for sleep, until the sunlight broke through the windows of her apartment and she gave up, resigning herself to a new day. A better day.