Chapter Text
“Hello?”
My body jerked as I was woken up by a soft voice in my ear and a heavy weight on my chest.
“Hello?” I repeat, blinking blearily at the source of the voice. I reach out and find a small body that was perched on top of me, and I realise I could feel a thin tail wrapped around my leg. “Who is it?”
“I’m Stevie!” the little body said proudly, and I managed to finally focus on the tiny blond kit that was sitting on me.
“Hi honey, are you okay?” I mumble, rubbing my eyes with my hand to try and wake myself up. The nearby fireplace had simmered down into coals and what appeared to be the light of the sunrise was peeking in through my windows.
“Hungry?” the little blond asked nervously, his ears flicking back and forth. In the soft light, I realised that he was wearing one of my shirts that he must have grabbed from my closet. It was huge on him, swamping his tiny body.
“Oh, you want some breakfast, huh?” I groan softly as I carefully sit up, keeping my hand on his waist so he didn’t fall off. “I can make you breakfast. You like eggs and bacon?”
“What bacon?”
“Oh, ok” I frown slightly, realising that the neko pack probably didn’t get any food at all, let alone good food. “You can try some and see if you like it. Sound okay?”
“Okay!”
I laughed softly at his enthusiasm, standing up and settling the blond boy on my hip. Steve clung to me happily without any reservations, thin arms wrapped around my neck and tail waving back and forth happily.
“Where’s the rest of your pack, hmm?” I hum as I walk into the kitchen area, grabbing eggs, bacon, butter, asparagus and mushrooms from the fridge with one hand. I also grabbed some orange juice and put a small amount in a plastic cup for Steve to hang onto. He tentatively took a sip at the liquid at my insistence, but seemed to enjoy it, cooing happily.
“Sleepin’. Wanna play!”
“We can’t play yet, hun, breakfast first” I said firmly, gently squeezing Steve which made him giggle.
With Steve still perched on my hip, I set about with making breakfast, making do with one hand. I got Steve to help occasionally, getting him to hold some ingredients or asking him to point out where something was.
I even got him to taste the mushrooms and asparagus along with the bacon once they were cooked. He really enjoyed the bacon, and somewhat liked the asparagus. He definitely did not like the mushroom, which was obvious when he took one bite and then spat it out. I had given him a light admonishing at that but let him have more bacon and asparagus instead.
I didn’t have enough eggs and bacon for a group of six, so I figured that cereal, toast and fruit would also have to do. I was just about to suggest that Steve should go and wake up his pack when there was a yell that came from the bedroom. Within seconds, a furious Tony appeared in the kitchen, a blanket wrapped around himself.
“How dare you take him!” he hissed when he saw Steve in my arms.
“Tony, I –“
“No, this is enough! I knew we couldn’t trust you!” Tony yelled, and I was certain that he was about to run at me and try to bite or hurt me before Bucky appeared. He grabbed him by the closest thing he could, which was Tony’s tail, and yanked him back.
“Hey! Relax! She has done so much for us, let her explain” he growled, batting away Tony’s hand when the other boy swung at him.
“Tony, please, he came and found me” I said quickly, setting Steve down on the ground and taking a step back so I wasn’t a threat. “He was helping me make breakfast for everyone, that’s all, I swear.”
There was a moment of tense silence between all of us, apart from the gentle sniffles of a confused Steve who didn’t like his pack fighting. Tony looked at me reluctantly, seemingly calming down after the realisation that I hadn’t stolen Steve away.
“Hun, go to your pack” I murmur softly, gently nudging Steve towards the pair. He did so, toddling closer and reaching up for Tony to pick him up.
“S’okay” he mumbled, hiding his face against Tony’s shoulder when Tony gave in and picked him up. “Mad?”
“No Steve, not mad. Just worried. I’m sorry” Tony mumbled, holding him close, gently rocking him back and forth. “Woke up without you, you gotta wake one of us up when you wander off, okay?”
“Okay.”
I watched them with a soft smile before looking at Bucky. “Hun, we made breakfast, if you wanna wake up Clint and Natasha?”
Bucky nodded and disappeared back into my bedroom, leading out the remaining two nekos. Which was very cute to see because I realised that every single one apart from Tony was now wearing one of my oversized shirts.
“Alright guys, let’s eat!”
….
Food disappeared like the five kits were vacuums. I was content to have some leftover soup from the night before as I watched all of them inhale the food that was on offer. Just like their tastes in clothing, they had their own food preferences, such as Steve hating mushrooms. Clint had a huge affinity for cereal, hoovering up a full box of lucky charms while Natasha preferred the fruits that were on offer. Tony enjoyed the odd combination of bacon and handfuls of blueberries, while Bucky had a taste of everything. Once thing I noticed was that Bucky didn’t eat much at all, leaving the food I had prepared to his pack. I had to encourage Bucky to eat more, plating him more food despite his protests.
“All of you need to eat more, want you guys to stay healthy.”
The four other neko’s didn’t protest, emptying the kitchen table of food, and obliterating the bottle of orange juice that I had brought out for them. I even brought out a pack of chocolate biscuits for them, where Steve managed to get chocolate all over his face.
“C’mon, let’s clean you up” I grabbed a towel and soaked a corner with water before gently pulling Steve closer to me. I cupped his face to hold him still as I cleaned the chocolate off his face, which made him whine and squirm.
“No clean!” Steve pouted, squirming unhappily.
“Yes clean” I corrected him gently. “I think Bucky would agree with me, little boys like you need to be squeaky clean!”
Bucky snorted at that but held Steve when I finally let him go and he ran to the older boy, his face now clean.
The sudden sound of a van driving up startled me. For the briefest of moments, I thought that it was someone who had come for the neko pack that were gathered around my kitchen table. But I shook the thought away, because who knew they were here?
That thought was confirmed when I glanced out my window that looked out at the front of my home and saw a delivery van that was unloading a large box. It must have been my express delivery of the neko’s clothes. It was a large carboard box that came up to my waist, closed up entirely with thick tape.
I was quick to sign for it, getting the young pack to stay hidden in my bedroom as the delivery man helped me bring the large box into the open area of the cottage. I waited till he was gone, the delivery van disappearing down my driveway before I opened up my bedroom door.
“What is it?” Clint asked curiously as the five kits crowded around it, Natasha in particular sniffing at its surface. Her nose wrinkled slightly at what she was smelling, pouting slightly when it didn’t really smell of anything, just cardboard and a fresh, new smell.
“It’s your new clothes, guys” I chuckled, grabbing a set of scissors and using that to split the tape that held the cardboard flaps shut. I carefully opened the box which revealed all the clothes that I had ordered the night before. I didn’t hesitate to start handing out clothes, starting with underwear and socks.
Clint and Bucky helped their respective kits get dressed, everyone discarding the oversized shirts that they had appropriated from my closet, while Tony sorted out the box of clothes into piles.
Soon enough, they were all decked out in new clothes, which made me smile fondly. They looked like proper children now, even though I did have to cut holes into all their pants so their tails could poke through.
“Everyone feel better? Warmer?”
They all nodded in agreement, the younger ones running to clamber all over me, hugging my legs and waist.
“Thank you” Tony said sullenly, huddling deeper into his thick red and gold jumper. “This doesn’t change anything though.”
“Sure” I said agreeably, smiling kindly at him. I knew he’d warm up to me eventually, just like the rest of his pack had.
……
I should’ve known that something would happen, that the other shoe would drop.
I don’t know who had reported me, who had connected the mass delivery of children’s clothes to the five young children I had found hiding in my shed. I just wished that I could have protected them more.
It all happened so quickly. We had woken up, I had fed them and clothed them. After that, there was nothing really to do.
I had found some of my old childhood books and showed them to the neko kits. The older three could read somewhat, Bucky and Tony having had taught themselves while Clint had picked up the basics from his time in the circus. But Steve and Natasha enjoyed the illustrations, the blond boy particularly enjoying when I read to him.
After the pack got tired of looking at books, they had got something like the zoomies, especially the little ones. I was a bit reluctant to let them outside, but they promised to stay close and within the garden. Bucky and Tony had the same worries that I had, that someone would see them or try to take them away, but the cottage simply wasn’t big enough for all of them.
Bundled up in their jackets and beanies, the pack of five small nekos ran around the empty patch behind the cabin that signified the ‘garden’ area. They had all promised to stick within that area, but I wasn’t really sure how much Steve and Natasha really understood that concept, given their age.
Nonetheless, they seemed to have fun. They ran and played and roughhoused with each other, the two older boys tackling each other and rolling around each other. Yells and giggles filled the air, and kits ran around me when they played their own version of tag.
Maybe those yells and activity were what gave us away.
I let them have an hour before I bundled them all back inside, luring them in with promises of hot chocolate and marshmallows. Of course, none of them had ever had a marshmallow, but their curiosity was stronger than the urge to play.
“Did you all have fun, guys?” I asked as I filled up the kettle, turning it on so I would have plenty of hot water for the kit’s drinks. All five were cuddled together on my couch, giggling and whispering to each other. Steve and Natasha were curled up in Bucky’s lap, the brunet boy’s arms wrapped tightly around them, to keep them close. Tony and Clint were curled up on either side of Bucky, teasing the youngest kits by tickling them or ruffling their hair.
“Fun!” Steve cheered, waving a thin hand happily at me as I grabbed six mugs from the cupboard. I was lucky I even had that many mugs.
“Was good” Bucky nodded in agreement, smiling at me. “Thank you. Felt nice to run around without worrying about anything.”
“I’m glad, sweetheart” I smiled in return, turning my back on them as the kettle finished boiling. But the kettle had been my downfall. When it had boiled the water, it created such a noise that it hid the rumble of the two incoming vans that ended up parked in my driveway. But once the kettle settled down, I heard the voices that were coming from the front of the cabin.
My body froze in place, my head whipping around to look at the door. Whatever the voices were, they didn’t sound like they were here for a picnic.
“Kits – go to my bedroom” I say sharply. Bucky and Tony’s ears perk up when they caught the tone in my voice.
“Wha-“
“Go!” I said again in a firm voice, walking quickly over to them. The older pair didn’t hesitate as they grabbed the younger three and ran to the bedroom, closing the door behind them. The door had just closed when there was a firm knocking on the front door, a hard and loud rapping that was a very clear indicator that the knocker meant business.
“Coming!” I called out, murmuring a few comforting words through my bedroom door before I walked quickly over to the front door, peering through the small peephole. “Who is it?”
A group of suited men were standing at my door, and one turned his head so he locked eyes directly with mine through the peephole. “Let us in, Ms Y/n, you know why we’re here.”
“Listen, now is not the best time…”
“We must insist” the man said firmly. My breath hitched when I saw something through the peephole… the man had shifted and revealed a pistol holster that was secured and hidden around his waist. I wasn’t sure if he meant to show that to me, but it definitely registered and sent a message.
“Alright…” I said slowly, reluctantly unbolting the door and opening it. The men swept in without a word, moving past me without a glance. “Hey! Do you have a warrant or something?”
The men didn’t seem to care, roving around my house without a care in the world, looking for something. Or someone.
“I’m serious! You can’t just come in here!” I shouted, trying my hardest to be subtle when I slid to the side, standing in front of my bedroom door.
“We are looking for a group of vagrants that have run away from an orphanage. It has been reported that they are hiding in this dwelling with you” one of the men said sharply, a name badge secured to his suit identifying him as ‘Brock’. “An anonymous source reported to FEEPA that the pack came here last night. That you have even fed and clothed them. Is this correct?”
I blanched slightly at the acronym. FEEPA being the Feline Enhanced Entity Protection Agency, or otherwise known as the people that controlled the Neko population.
“I have no clue what you’re talking about” I mutter, rubbing the back of my neck nervously. “Who’s been telling lies about me? Bet it’s Linda down the road, trying to cause trouble.”
“Y/n, we have footage” Brock said with an annoyed sneer, like he really couldn’t be bothered to be doing this right now. “We know they are here. There is a team waiting outside, we all would prefer that you hand them over without a fight.”
“I am telling you right now. Whoever told you that there is a group of children hiding in this tiny cabin in the middle of nowhere can get stuffed.”
“The pack is here. You ordered five kids worth of clothes to this cabin” Brock raised a mocking eyebrow before his gaze landed on my bedroom door, over my shoulder. In the few moments of tense silence that followed that statement, a soft, child-like sob was heard, muffled by the door.
“Get out of the way, now. You have no claim over these neko children, they need to come with us.”
“There is no way I’m letting you take them” I said firmly, a scowl on my face. “You have done nothing to help them, not really.”
“They will be safe with us” Brock responded, his expression calm against my anger. “Safer than being here with you. That’s why you’re out here, aren’t you? To run away from your own broken home? And your poor daughter?”
“Don’t you dare!” I hissed, eyes narrowing at the suited man. But in my anger, I was distracted. One of the other suited men rushed forward, knocking me out of the way in a half tackle. I fell to the floor with a cry, a sharp pain radiating through my skull from where it had smacked against the floor.
Without me blocking the door, the group of men burst through, moving into the bedroom. Tears formed in my eyes as I heard angry hisses and fearful crying, but I couldn’t move. Pain ran through my body, and when I glanced up, all I saw was the business end of a gun, pointed directly at me.
“No! No!” Tony howled when he was carried out first, held firmly by the back of the neck by Brock. He twisted and squirmed in Brock’s grip, desperate eyes locking on me as he was carried by. “Noooo!”
“Tony!” I cried out weakly, crying even more when the neko children were carried out one by one. Bucky and Clint were next, their ears pinned back to their skulls in anger and frustration. “Bucky!”
Then there were the two kits, Steve and Natasha. Steve may have recovered somewhat from his malnutrition and hypothermia, but he was still tiny and frail. All he did was cry and squirm pitifully in the man’s grasp. But Natasha seemed to have fought back, because the man who was carrying her has deep, bloody scratches on his face and arms. They had procured some sort of muzzle from somewhere and secured to the little girl’s face so her mouth was bound. She must have bit someone.
“No! Please, let them stay!” I sobbed, vainly trying to crawl after them. The last thing I remember before I passed out from my head injury was Steve screaming out a word as he was bundled into one of the vans. A word that would haunt me to my very core for the next 15 years.
“MAMA!”
----- 15 years later -----
“Hey Mama”
I was lost for words.
I couldn’t believe my eyes. When I had heard that knock at my front door, there was no way I could have guessed who would be waiting for me.
He was tall, and handsome, with a fond smile and bright blue eyes. I had to tilt my head back slightly so I could look up at his face, his clothes tight on his bulky, muscular body. I was thinking that he was probably a body builder, until I noticed the cat-like ears that were perked up eagerly, and the thickly-furred tail that swung back and forth in the air.
He was a neko. One that looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t place him.
“I’m sorry, um –“
“She wouldn’t recognise you, you’ve changed too much” a voice chuckled from behind the blond figure, and I peeked around his bulk to see a slim, red headed woman standing a few steps further away.
She was a neko too, but she was nearly a foot and a half shorter than the blond, with dazzling green eyes. She held herself gracefully, her hands resting on her hips as she smiled knowingly at me. I couldn’t place her either.
“I think we’ve all changed” Another voice added. It drew my attention to the three men that were standing a few more steps further past the redhead. The one who had spoken had dark hair that just brushed his shoulders, his grey eyes gleaming as we looked at each other. “It has been 15 years, after all.”
It took a moment before his words registered in my brain, and my jaw dropped as realisation hit me. I knew these nekos, when they were just kids, that fateful stormy night…
“Oh my god…”
“Thereee we go” the redhead giggled, holding her hand out to a neko man with light brown hair, a mischievous smile, and what appeared to be a sort of hearing aid that was hooked around the bases of both furry ears.
“We haven’t changed that much, have we?” the man snorted, the vaguest hint of a lisp in his voice. “I mean, Stevie over there grew like a fucking tree.”
The blond – Stevie, grumbled halfheartedly at the swear, frowning at the brunet.
“Language, Clint.”
“Oh – you guys…” I whisper quietly, my gaze landing on the last man of the group. He didn’t look happy at all, his posture showing complete disinterest unlike the rest of his pack. He had a scowl on his face, directed at the ground, the trees, the driveway… anything but me.
I couldn’t stop myself as I stepped forward, passed Steve and Natasha. I walked across the gravel that lined my driveway, then I found myself running to Tony. I collided with him, my arms wrapping tightly around him.
“Tony! I’m so sorry!”
Tony was stiff in my arms, a startled hiss coming from his clenched teeth. But he didn’t move away, he didn’t push me aside. It felt like he was waiting, for something more from me.
“Tony, I’m so sorry” I repeated again, my voice muffled as my face was hidden against Tony’s shoulder. “I regret so many things, but nothing more than not keeping you and your pack safe.”
“ – You tried” Tony said eventually, a hint of remorse in his voice. “I know you tried.”
“We all do” Natasha added softly, the four other members of the pack moving till they surrounded Tony and I. “We never forgot you.”
“I never forgot you either” I murmured, pulling back to look at them all. “God, you all got so big!”
“It was because of all that food you fed us” Clint joked, which eased some of the tension that filled the air. “Like, seriously, we must have cleaned out your cupboards that morning.”
“Well….” I laughed, reaching out for all of them. They obliged, all of the pack surrounding me and enveloping me in a giant hug. I melted into it, my eyes fluttering closed as I relished in the warmth and strength of the bodies around me.
“How are you..?”
“Does it matter?” Steve asked softly, his large ears twitching slightly as he looked at me. “We’re here now, fifteen years later.”
“But, if you’re free.. or something like that, why come back here?”
“Because we missed you” Bucky said firmly. “We all remember your help, and your pain, when we were taken. We wanted to see you, make sure you were okay.”
“That day haunts my dreams” I admitted, turning around on the spot so I could look at all of them. “Steve, I can see you, small and crying, screaming out to me as you were taken away. Natasha, muzzled. Clint, defeated. Tony, so angry.”
“We’re here now” Steve murmured softly, pulling me carefully into his embrace. “We’re all here. And we are not leaving.”