Chapter Text
Hybrids. The topic was spoken about as a nasty little rumor of a thing, a secret that everyone knew about, gossiped about. Lab rats, human beings bred and experimented on to suit the needs and wants of perverted old men. Sleek and pretty, often adorning fluffy tails and ears, some floppy and others pointed and alert. Canine or Feline, it didn’t matter. Some rarer ones were believed to exist, but they weren’t often talked about. Steve didn’t believe in them at all. Wrinkling his nose and rolling his eyes at Tommy Hagan’s sleazy attempts at sharing his own gross fantasies about the latest hybrid porn he’d rented, cutting it short because even if he didn’t believe in their existence, if they were real, well… they deserved some respect, right? To not be fetishized beyond comprehension. Living, breathing, human on some level.
Well. Steve Harrington was being proved wrong.
Face to face with the biggest doe-eyes he’s ever seen, whatever color within them, dimmed by the dark night sky and pupils are large as can be. Fangs, pearly white and a little crooked and clearly sharp, glistening with spit as the creature hisses at him. Pointy ears jutting from long, curly hair, pinned back and a tail puffed out to look twice as big as it really was. The rest, remarkably human.
A feline hybrid in the flesh. Dressed in tattered clothes and adorning scraped, knobby knees and a twisted ankle as he attempts to scramble away from Steve. In his backyard, looking like he’d scrambled over the fence only to get caught in a fight with a wild rosebush and lose. What the fuck?
It takes a moment for his brain to catch up with what’s happening, it seems, his own eyes wide and frantic before, finally, he remembers that it’s probably a smart idea to do something. What that is, he’s not quite sure, but…
“Hey— hey, man, I’m not gonna hurt you.” he blurts, raising his hands and slowly, as if approaching a wild animal, begins to squat down. He sighs, his brows furrowing. Could he even understand him? “I’m… I’m Steve. You’re uh— you’re in my backyard, and if you… I just want to help, okay?”
The creature— no, the boy in front of him tenses just a little bit as Steve speaks, but he seems to register his words with some sort of recognition, his bottom lip wobbling. He looks to be around Steve’s age, if it’s to be expected that he ages the same way. An adult and far too skinny. God knows how long he’s been on the streets like this. He reaches a hand out, wiggling his fingers in a hesitant offering only to be met with an almost offended look, the boy’s lips curling in a snarled pout, his nose turning upwards.
“Steve.”
Oh. The word, Steve’s name, emits from the hybrid's lips in a forced croak. It sounds almost painful, as if he hasn’t used his voice in a while, his throat raw. He sniffles and oh, Steve can’t help but feel bad for him. He nods.
“I’d like to get that ankle checked out, alright? it hurts, huh?” He croons, low. When he doesn’t get much of an answer, he continues. “And I can cook you something. Some food. Does that sound good?”
That seems to do the trick. The boy tilts his head, curiously, his eyes lighting up just a little before a frown twitches at the corners of his lips. It lasts a second before he shrinks in on himself again.
“What… I don’t…” The boy stammers, his tail curled around himself, bushy as the end flicks nervously. His chest puffs out as if he’s trying to make himself look bigger than he really is, brows furrowed and pinched at the bridge of his nose. It’d be cute if it wasn’t nearly eleven o’clock at night. Steve hasn’t had a break in what feels like forever and this wasn’t what he’d had planned just before heading to bed. “Don’t need your help. How am I supposed to trust you? You’re— you’ll hurt me.”
Steve can’t be too mad at that. It’s a fair assumption, especially seeing that it doesn’t seem like he’s had too good of an experience just *living* lately. He can’t imagine he’d have an easy time trusting anyone if he’d been through half of what he assumes this boy has been through. Still.
“Just for the night. For some food and rest.” Steve offers again. It’s worth a shot, right? “You can leave at any point if you start feeling uncomfortable. I have salmon, and— and you can sleep in a bed. You need to rest your ankle some or it won’t heal properly. I doubt it feels nice to try to walk on. I’m not going to hurt you, sweetheart. I just want to help.”
Another stretch of silence drones on between them, no sound except for the crickets chirping around them. Pointed ears twitch at the sound.
“Do you have a name?”
A name. Something to put to the— fuck, really pretty— face. To put to the doe eyes and pouty pink lips and curls for days. He isn’t sure if he’ll get an answer, but slowly, nimble fingers reach up and finally, Steve notices it. A collar. It’s clearly digging into the boy's skin, too tight with the skin beneath blotchy and irritated. His expression is just as grumpy as before, if not more. Steve frowns, subtle as he leans forward to slowly adjust the round tag hanging from it.
Kas.
“But… n-not…” Kas, though that name doesn’t entirely suit him, speaks up. Steve’s frown only deepens, dropping the tag only to slowly bring his hand up. The hybrid doesn’t move back even if he has the room and the time to and Steve is surprised when he barely flinches as his thumb rubs over a freckled cheek. “I don’t…”
Right. Okay. Steve shakes his head, shushing him, soft. He watches as Kas reluctantly leans into his hand as if aching for the contact, but trembling as if he’s scared to be struck or scolded for it.
“We don’t have to use that name. We can pick a different one, yeah?” He tries, smiling small. “You can pick a different one. Whatever you’d like, sweetheart. You’re okay.”
Kas looks at him with wide eyes, his cheek warm despite the cold air nipping at them and he nods. They’re getting somewhere at least. His gaze darts somewhere behind Steve and right back, his bottom lip jutted in a sweet pout.
“In… food? Inside?”
Oh. Oh!
“Yeah! Yeah, honey.” Steve nods, his smile widening just a bit. Alright. Kas watches him carefully, his head ducking down as he shrinks at Steve’s movements, unsure and nervous, but more open than before about letting him close. It’d be easier to scoop him up, Steve thinks, but he doesn’t want to break that little bit of trust between them by taking away his ability to get away fully— though, he doubts Kas would think twice about using those fangs or the clawlike fingernails to his advantage if he felt unsafe. Instead, he wraps an arm around the hybrid's waist to ease him up onto his feet, cooing when he whines at the pressure on that swollen ankle, long, spindly arms wrapping hastily around Steve’s neck.
It doesn’t take long to get him inside, thankfully, and immediately Steve begins wracking his brain to figure out a game plan. Food first, probably, as promised. Probably a bath once he’s checked his ankle. Get the collar off. And then some new clothes before bed. Kas could probably use some, dressed in nothing, but an all too large shirt and some *shorts* in this weather. Whatever they succeeded in doing tonight, Steve wasn’t getting to bed until late.
He hoists Kas up onto the kitchen counter, chuckling when the hybrid’s face scrunches up, his arms reluctantly sliding from Steve’s shoulders.
“There. Just gonna heat up some dinner, and then… we’ll go from there, huh?” He croons, moving away to fetch his tupperware from earlier that night from the fridge. “Thought you might enjoy a bath? Can wash your hair. It’s pretty. Your hair.”
It’s true. It might be a little tangled at the moment and he swears he might see a few twigs caught in those curls from where he’d likely fallen earlier, but with a little tender love and care, Steve’s sure it’ll rival his own. The compliment earns Steve a tint of pink on those cheeks too, which is a plus.
“I don’t know if, uh— I’m not sure if you like them much. Baths. I know cats typically don’t, so maybe that trait passed on, but maybe it didn’t? You’re part human after all, so…”
Steve rambles on, pressing a few buttons on the microwave before it begins to start, the soft whirring of the mechanism filling the air. Kas rolls his eyes at him, cutting off the rushed words.
“Baths are… fine. Can bathe.”
Right. He doesn’t seem happy exactly, big eyes darting away and his ears flat against his head, but Steve would take it.
“Just Steve?”
His brows furrow at that, confusion written clear over his features. Kas huffs.
“Here. Just… just Steve, here? Nobody else?”
Oh. Steve nods, slow, startled by the beeping of the microwave a moment later. Kas tenses too, frowning, but as Steve snatches open the door to pull the pasta out, he settles, his nose twitching with interest.
“Mhm. It’s just me living here. Sometimes my friends come over, but— not often.” He hums, smiling small. “There’s Robin and Dustin. Sometimes Nancy. But if you don’t want to see them, you don’t have to.”
Kas’ dark tail sways against the cabinets, almost careful and calculated, his lips pursing. He chuffs then, a haughty little sound.
“No. Just… just Steve.”
Alright. That seemed like a good enough idea for now. He could just… call Robin instead. There was no reason to stress Kas out more than necessary and if that meant no visitors, Steve would abide. He nods, stirring around the pasta and ensuring it was hot enough before moving the bowl to the kitchen table and turning his attention back to Kas.
“Just me. That’s okay.” He coos, easing the hybrid off of the counter with a chuckle at the wide eyes and the twitching of his nose seemingly at the smell of the food. He can’t imagine how long it’s been since he’s had a proper meal, if he’s ever even had one like this. Once Kas is settled at the table and grabbing clumsily at his fork, Steve turns to pour him a glass of water. He keeps a close eye though, one amused as he just barely manages to curl those noodles around it, bringing it up to his mouth with a bit of difficulty and getting sauce on his chin. He sets the glass down in front of Kas before sitting next to him, snorting softly. “Is it good?”
That gets a nod from Kas around his mouthful of pasta, his eyes darting back and forth from Steve to the bowl as he scarf’s down the most that he can possibly fit in his mouth at a time like he’s sure it’ll be taken away from him at any given moment.
After a few moments of silence, Kas begins to slow down. He swallows, thick, allowing his fork to drop before reaching for that glass of water with two hands and taking large gulps of it. He’s cute. And when he lets it slide against the table, his lips shiny and wet, he hums.
“Eddie.”
Steve raises his brows. Eddie. His mind filters through the possibilities of who Eddie could be, but he doesn’t get the chance to think about it for long.
“Me. Edward.” The hybrid rolls his eyes at that a bit, his cheeks flushed. “But… Eddie.”
Steve blinks at that before his lips curl upwards, a smile stretching wide across his cheeks. It must come from something or someone, he’s sure, but he wouldn’t prod. Not now.
“Yeah, that uh— that definitely suits you way better than…” He gestures awkwardly to the collar around Eddie’s neck, nodding and forcing a cough to cover the way he trails off. “I like it. It’s cool, man.”
Eddie’s gaze lights up a little, his own smile small and barely noticeable as he turns back to his food and Steve swears he can hear a soft rumble emit from his chest as he does so. Already, Steve could see himself getting used to this. To Eddie, even if he knows it’s a god awful idea.