It's a... Date?
#13 of Xzepher
A flash of light, the sway of the wind.
A knife's metal flashes, a target marked.
Rended skin, crimson blood.
He falls forward, his eyes glazing in death.
"<Your end was always assured...>"
_ _
The controller angrily clattered to the ground as the bull terrier leaned back on the couch, rubbing at his forehead. "Fuck, Xzeph, why do you make me play this shit?"
The black cat beside him giggled and pressed a couple buttons on his own controller, already setting up the next game. "Aww, come on! I know you can get better. You need to keep practicing!"
"If I try to 'practice' anymore, there's gonna be a goddamn hole in the TV."
"Rippeeeeerrrr!" Xzeph turned his head and pouted, putting on a pity show for the dog and showing off the best sad face. "Pleeeeease? Just one more game..."
Ripper took one look at the cat and winced. Fuck, why's he always gotta put on the sad eyes? He thought irritatingly. Despite his inner griping, though, he stooped down and picked up the controller, making Xzeph giggle again and bounce a little. "Alright! One more round!"
"Whatever."
The screen flashed with the word "FIGHT!", and the two were once again mashing the buttons of their controllers as the action flew by on the game. After a minute of having his virtual butt handed to him, Ripper cleared his throat. "So....what, uh, do you say we head to the mall after this?"
the black cat's ear twitched. "Why? Do you need something there?"
"No, I just-goddammit!" The screen flashed once again, signaling the second round. "I was thinking we could get you something..."
Xzeph's brows furrowed a little as he glanced over at the terrier. "Get me what?"
Ripper replied with a shrug. "Some new shirts or something? I know you like that one place, what is it..."
The cat's ears lowered. "Ripper, you're not buying me anything."
"You need some new stuff, Xzeph, your shit's getting ratty."
"Hey!"
"What?" He said back. "I'm not gonna lie to you. You need some more shirts, I can get you them. We can get dinner then or something."
"Ripper."
"I'm not taking no for an answer. Can't have you looking like shit."
The cat frowned for a moment, thinking. "One shirt."
"I said a couple."
"Ripper..."
"I'll drag you over there."
Xzeph sighed in frustration. He never liked it when Ripper tried to buy things for him, and always did whatever he could to get out of going shopping for him. But when it came to the terrier, he might as well be pounding his head against a brick wall. "Ugh...fine."
"Don't get all pouty about it. You'll thank me for this."
"I'm gonna hate it."
The terrier shook his head. "Hate getting new clothes for yourself? You seriously confuse me sometimes, Xzeph..."
The screen flashed a final time, the round over and Ripper's character once again lying in his own pool of virtual blood. Despite the victory, it was Xzeph's turn to let the controller clatter to the floor, still pouting.
"Come on, let's get going." The dog got up and tossed the controller back on the couch. He offered Xzeph a hand, but the feline crossed his arms and huffed in response. Ripper gave him a dirty look, then grabbed him by his arm and picked him up. He hissed in response, but Ripper only lead him along to the door, ignoring his protests. "knock it off and let's go already."
He trotted over to the passenger side of his car and opened the door for him. Xzeph gave him a stink eye in return, but climbed in the vehicle. Shaking his head again, Ripper closed the door, got in the car, and drove themselves to the local mall downtown.
* * *
"I hate this."
"Then try something else on."
"I don't want to buy any new shirts, Ripper!"
"That's why I'm the one paying."
"I never asked you!"
"Don't care. Try it on." He threw another shirt over the top into the dressing room, earning another frustrated mewl inside. "Why do you hate me..."
The terrier merely scoffed, and Xzepher quieted his complaints down to angry mumblings as he put on the shirt. Jesus, what a weird cat...
It was because of Ripper that he had half his wardrobe, but he always made the terrier go through hell and high-water just to get him to go shopping. He just didn't get it; if it was anyone else, they'd practically be fawning all over him, but Xzepher? I might as well be torturing the goddamn cat. Don't even get a fucking 'thank you'...
It was always the same pattern: drag him to the mall, make him try on a few clothes, pick something out, and he'd whine right up until they were out of the store...and then some. Sometimes he even went and forced Ripper to let the cat pay for it himself, which he never understood. It's like he hates getting gifts or something...
He wasn't about to let the black cat get away with it this time, though. Getting an idea, he opened his phone and pressed a button on his speed dial, walking away a little as the cat continued to grumble.
"Yes, sir, how can I-"
"You know the cat that I'm with, right? Xzepher?"
"Not personally, sir."
The dog growled. "Not what I mean, smartass. Look, just access his bank account and lock it down, okay?" "Lock it down? How, exactly?"
"By calling the fucking bank and telling them to do it, that's how!" The dog said a little more intensely. He knew exactly where Xzeph kept his main bank account, in a bank that was owned by his company. It wouldn't take much for him to be able to keep the black cat from spending anything.
"Just get in contact with them and let them know I told you to do so, alright?" "Sir, this is a blatant abuse of corporate power, you can't just-"
"Cut the fucking back talk and do it! Your ass is out on the street otherwise."
Without another word, Ripper hung up the phone, shaking his head. _Goddamn idiot. He trying to get his ass canned?_If there was one thing that Ripper didn't like, it was people questioning his authority. If he wanted something done, it was done, end of story.
And yet, Xzepher was pretty much the opposite of that. He never listened to a thing Ripper told him to do. He always had his own opinion about things, and if anything, he seemed to be even more stubborn than the terrier half the time. I'm wonder if that's the thing that I really like about him or something...
"Ripper, can we just go! I look ugly in these..."
Surprised, he quickly snapped his head over to a grouchy Xzepher wearing a thin designer t-shirt. An ornately designed cross with wings adorned the front, with a bold-lettered "AFFLICTION" arching over it.
The terrier's eye's widened a little at the sight. The shirt fit almost perfectly on the cat, hugging against his slender frame. Xzepher, on the other hand, begged to differ as he tugged on the cloth. "you see? This is too tight on me! Can we please just go?"
The corner of Ripper's mouth gave the tiniest twitch, before he replied. "Alright. Let's go ring that up."
"Finall-wait, what? No! I don't want this."
"To the register, let's go." He grabbed the black cat and whirled him around, ignoring his angry protests as he pushed back against the terrier leading him by the shoulder.
"Ripperrrrr, stop it! I don't want it..."
"You need that shirt, and we need something to eat."
Xzepher only continued to protest, and Ripper couldn't help snorting to himself. Not even a goddamn 'thank you'...
* * *
Amarillo Armadillo...Rockin' Cafe...Blazing Bull Bill's Brunch? What the hell?
Ripper scoffed as he passed the restaurants, each one sounding cornier than the last. He looked back at Xzepher, who was trailing behind with a sour expression and his arms crossed, still wearing the designer t-shirt that Ripper had bought him. He tried switching back to the shirt he had been wearing before, but Ripper wasn't about to have any of it. "Are you gonna keep up with me, or what?"
"No."
He rolled his eyes. "Quit being a bitch, already."
"I'm not being a bitch!"
"Then get your ass over here."
The black cat responded with an angry growl, stalking up next to Ripper. "I can't believe you're making me wear this..."
"You're bitching again."
"I don't like it! Give me back my other shirt!"
"It's back at the car, remember? You look fine in that on anyway."
"Go back and get it! I'll rip this thing apart if you don't." He pulled hard on the collar for effect, but Ripper just snorted at him.
"And go topless to a bunch of people on the street. Because you love showing off your body, don't you?"
"UUUGH!" He threw his paws down to his sides. "You're so thickheaded!"
"Whatever. Here, let's try this place."
They were now standing in front of what looked to be a more oriental restaurant, a sign on the window depicting a cartoonish shark head devouring a plate of sushi pieces.
"You like sushi, right?"
"...Yeah."
He turned to walk in. "Alright, let's go in here"
"No."
He did a double-take and looked back at him. "No? You just said you liked sushi!."
"Yeah, but I don't want to eat sushi."
"Just get in the damn restaurant."
"We go in there, I'm not eating." With that, Xzeph crossed his arms, a stubborn look on his face.
"...Ugh, fuck it, let's just try someplace else!" He said as he stalked away.
"Oooh, there!" Xzeph pointed further down the street. Ripper followed his gaze over to a place with a winking Robin's head plastered on the front of it, the words "Rockin Robin's" proudly displayed beside it.
"What, a burger joint?"
"Yeah!"
He stared at the cat for a moment, then shook his head. "Alright, fine."
* * *
They were now in the overly-decorated restaurant, Xzeph wasting no time to devour his own burger. Ripper faced him from across the table, less interested in his meal and more in how to break the silence hanging in the air. Despite his confident attitude throughout the day, he really had no idea what to do at this point. I mean, fuck, what now? I guess I could talk to him, but about what?....
The silence was making him even more fidgety than his hesitance, however, so he decided to break it with a cough. "So...how's...uh, how's the burger?"
The black cat stopped his chewing and looked up at him. After an awkward silence, he swallowed his food. "Um...Good?"
"Good, that's great."
Xzeph continued to look at him, a blank expression on his face. After a minute, he started to take a bite, before Ripper piped up again.
"How's...it been at home for you?"
He looked back up at him again, one eyebrow cocked questioningly as he set his burger back down. "It's been fine, Ripper."
"Don't get all pissy, I'm just asking."
"Why're you asking?"
"I can't ask how're you doing?"
"You never ask how I'm doing."
"Look, just..." He growled in frustration. "How about your video games, how're you doing on those? That fighter one, whatever we were playing..."
At that, Xzepher perked up, his tail starting to swish excitedly behind him. "Oh! I've been getting soooooo much better at it! Okay, so you know how I was beating you with that Lady Ninja Yae character? Well, she's got a couple different moves that are GREAT for starting a combo. See, what you gotta do is..." The cat continued on in what Ripper swore was an entirely different language, using gamer terminology and other stuff that he couldn't care less about. He cringed as he sat there and tried to follow, the black cat going on and on without hardly taking a breath as he went over every detail about the fighter video game. Jesus, why the hell did I ask him about that...
"I get it, I get it! Fuck, did you even breath during all that?" He sighed and sat back in his chair, rubbing his forehead again. Xzepher stared at the terrier, his tail now drooped and still. "How's...I dunno, how's work going for you?"
"How about your work? You keep asking me all these questions, how about I ask some?" he retorted.
"Work is fine. Let's talk about yours," Ripper replied flatly.
"But you never talk about your work! Or anything about you. Why are you always so secretive?"
The terrier growled in reply. "Because I like to keep my shit to myself. Drop the subject."
"But you get to ask me all these questions? How does that make any sense?"
"Because-"
"Because what? You can't make sense of that! You're just being selfish."
"I'm not being-"
"Yes you are! All you do is push me around to go do or buy things with you, even if I don't want to! Why do you do that? I don't like buying clothes, I don't like going to these stores, but you make me do it anyway. It drives me cr-"
Finally, Ripper slammed his hands on the table and stood up over him. "I'm trying to make you HAPPY, you ungrateful little shit!"
The outburst caught the attention of the patrons around them, as well as the waiters serving. He looked around for a moment and said, "What? This isn't any of your business."
He heard a chair scoot in front of him. Looking back, the seat was empty, and his head snapped over to Xzepher briskly walking away from him, his arms crossed.
"Xzeph! Xzeph, hold on!" He raced out of the restaurant, coming up behind him and putting a paw on his shoulder. "Xzeph, would you just wati a min-"
"No." He shrugged off his paw and started walking faster.
"Goddammit, Xzepher, just lemme expl-"
"I just want to go home..." He replied, a tinge of sadness in his voice.
That made Ripper stop. Here he'd thought that the cat was just being pissy because he raised his voice, but it sounded more like he was hurt. Real nice, Ripper, you dumb fuck.
He was still frustrated at Xzepher's attitude, but the sudden mood change pulled on his heart strings. Regardless of how ungrateful the black cat was, he was still his friend.
"Can we just go to the car? I'm done with today..."
Ripper let out a frustrated sigh, clenching and unclenching his fists. This was NOT how he wanted the day to go. "Yeah, yeah, let's...wait a minute..."
He thought for a minute, then had an idea. "I'll meet you over at the car, just get going."
"Whatever," The cat replied quickly, hurrying off towards the parking lot.
* * *
A little while later, Xzeph was still standing by the car, his arms crossed and his mind tumbling. He had always liked hanging out with the bull terrier, and he knew that the dog was a bit abrasive, but something definitely snapped earlier. Regardless of that, though, Xzeph just wanted to go home. He never wanted to be here in the first place, and things had only gone downhill from there.
Finally, he spotted Ripper, walking across the pavement with something in his hand. Xzeph raised an eyebrow, already unamused by the gesture. If he thinks he's just going to bribe me with someth-...
His suspicious looked dissipated, however, as he recognized what it was. Something that he absolutely loved. "You got me ice cream?"
"Your favorite flavor."
Xzeph gingerly accepted the cone from his hand, a glistening mound of mint ice cream, dotted with chocolate chips on top of a waffle cone. His mouth was already salivating, and he couldn't help but start licking eagerly at it.
"This is great!" He mewled happily. For the second time today, Ripper couldn't help but let a slight twitch on the corner of his mouth give away a smile, but for the most part he remained stoic. After a minute, Xzeph's self-awareness kicked in. He looked back at the bull terrier. "Um... I mean, thanks. I guess."
He shook his head. "Let's just get you home. Don't get any of that stuff on the seats." He walked over and opened the car door for Xzeph, then climbed inside and sped off.
* * *
A short car ride later and they were back at Xzepher's home, standing on his front porch. By now the cone had been reduced to the end piece, which the cat wasted no time in finishing. He licked his lips one last time, savoring the flavor. "That was great!" He couldn't help but say.
Ripper only watched him, his fists clenching and unclenching again as he fought with what he wanted to say. Xzepher watched him too, but after a minute turned towards the house. "Well, goodni-"
Suddenly, he felt a heavy paw on his shoulder. "Xzeph, wait a minute."
The cat slowly turned back to him, watching the terrier warily as he took a deep breath.
"Look, I'm just...I didn't want...I mean..." The canid kept trying to start, but couldn't find the words to continue with. He STILL didn't see what he did wrong, but at the same time he knew he hurt Xzeph. He couldn't leave the night like that.
"I'm sorry, alright? I shouldn'tve yelled. I...I dunno, I was frustrated because I wanted you to have a good time. I fucked that up for you, and I'm sorry about it..."
The paw gripped a little tighter on his shoulder. "All I know is that I don't want to leave the night all shitty like this. I wanted you to have a good time. Any way to still get that?"
The cat watched him for a moment. Then he smiled. "Well, I did like the food that we ate." He looked down at the shirt. "And I guess this fits me okay..." He looked back up at the terrier. "And I got to hang out with a friend. So...no, it wasn't that shitty. But thanks for saying sorry."
Ripper let out a sigh of relief. Thank God... He still didn't understand the cat and his weird problems with shopping or going out, but at least the two of them were still okay. The last thing that Ripper had wanted was for this to be a disaster. With this, though, danger was averted....mostly.
"Well, glad you're okay. I guess I better head out."
"Alright." Suddenly Xzepher wrapped his arms around the terrier's waist in a tight hug, resting his head against the dog's chest. He nuzzled the terrier's muscular pecs, making Ripper tingle a bit as he felt the cat's smooth fur brush against his own. "Thank you."
Ripper couldn't help but blush a little, clearing his throat and giving Xzeph a pat on the shoulder in return. "Um, yeah, sure...I need to go." He gently moved the cat off of him, turning to leave. Before he could, though, he wanted to do something...but could he do it?
He didn't know if Xzeph caught on. He wasn't sure if he'd be open to it. Hell, Ripper wasn't even sure if the cat was interested in him!
...Oh, fuck it already!
"Xzeph."
The cat turned back, only to have heavy paws on his shoulders again, Ripper looking him straight in the eye. Without warning, the terrier leaned in...
...And kissed him on the cheek.
Xzeph jumped a little, startled by the contact. "Um, Ripper? What're you..."
Ripper turned away and stalked over to his car, doing his best to hide the blush radiating off of his muzzle. "Nothing! Just...Just have a good night, alright? Alright, night, bye."
He climbed into his car and fumbled with the keys, slamming his fist on the wheel as he drove away. FUCKING DUMBASS! Shouldn't have done that, GodDAMMIT I'm fucking stupid! Can't imagine what the hell he's thinking right now...
As the terrier quickly sped off, Xzeph was left watching, still standing in front of his door. After a moment, he shook his head. What a weird dog...