Paparino's Piccolo Gattino

Over the course of the next month, things went better for Ash than he could’ve dreamt. True to his word, Andy had taken him to the magistrate’s office to file for emancipation on the grounds of child abuse the minute he felt up to such a task. One of his friends, Matt Good, was the magistrate’s brother and number one right-hand man, so it was pretty easy to get him to listen and see sense. He was appalled when he found out that such a handsome and intelligent young man was being beaten senseless on a daily basis for something which he had no control over and was more than happy to help him.

Adelaide Purdy was subsequently arrested and charged with child abuse and neglect, considering that she didn’t allow him to eat like she should and he was underweight as a result. There were several other charges thrown in, but considering that he was now emancipated and never had to see her again after her trial, he couldn’t have been bothered with remembering the numerous charges placed on her.

The house she’d bought outright upon moving to North Carolina was also placed in his name upon her arrest since, according to the government, he was now classified as an adult. He’d already decided that he was going to sell it, as he wanted nothing to do with his mother, not even the house she’d bought that he no longer lived in. Besides, the money he got from selling the house would be put into his bank account and could be used for other things, whether it be the purchase of a different house later in life, or just to live off of in the meantime. Either way, selling it would be the better way to go for him, and no one could’ve talked him out of it if they’d tried, so they didn’t bother.

And to top that off, the second he’d gotten released from the hospital and his mother was arrested, Andy went to his house with him to collect his things since he was moving out. Now his bedroom there at the band director’s house was all set up just the way he wanted it and he couldn’t have asked for anything more. In fact, Ash didn’t ask for anything more, although his friend and teacher was still far nicer to him than he thought he deserved, but he didn’t try to stop his kindness.

“Hey, Andy,” he said, stepping out of the kitchen when he heard the front door open one evening. It’d been a teacher work-day, so although he got to stay home, the band director had to go to work.

“Hey there, Ash,” Andy answered, smiling tiredly. “Mmm, what’s that I smell?”

“The potato soup my grama taught me how to make before she died,” he answered, wiping his hands on a dish towel.

“Aww. You didn’t have to cook dinner tonight,” he said, wrapping him in a hug. “But it’s definitely appreciated.”

“After all you’ve done for me the past month, it’s the least I can do,” Ash insisted, feeling safe in the older man’s warm embrace.

“I guess that’s one way to look at it,” the band director agreed. “I’m gonna go put my stuff in my room and get changed. Think it’ll be ready by then?”

“It should be,” he answered, nodding.

Returning the nod, Andy headed down the hall to his bedroom so he could start unwinding from what was undoubtedly a long day. He sighed softly as he gave the soup one last stir before dishing it up, somewhat wishing that the older man’s room was their room. Yeah, he had a crush on his teacher, not just because he’d done so much for him, but for many reasons, so sue him.

Unbeknownst to the band director he’d befriended and become the roommate of, Ash thought of him more or less as “Daddy”. It wasn’t because he was a kinky person, although he honestly wouldn’t know if he was or not since he was a virgin, but because he treated him more or less like his own son. He did everything he could for him, honestly going above and beyond what the teen considered his call of duty, and made him feel safe, despite his dominant personality, on top of that. He couldn’t think of a better reason to think of a person as “Mommy” or “Daddy”, depending on their gender, than that.

By the time his roommate walked back into the kitchen, he’d dished up two heaping bowls of the potato soup he’d never felt the urge to make for anyone else before. Hopefully the older man would like the meal, especially considering how much effort he’d put into the endeavor; otherwise, he’d probably cry. Ash quickly took a bite from his own bowl, barely blowing on it so he could focus on the pain brought to his mouth by the excessive heat rather than what Andy’s reaction would be, and whether it’d be positive or negative.

“Unholy shit,” he breathed a few moments later.

Scared he didn’t like it, Ash waited with baited breath to see what else he’d say.

“Whoever taught you to make this was one helluva chef in their own right, Ash,” the band director said, grinning at him. “This is awesome!”

“Th-thanks,” he stuttered, unaccustomed to accepting compliments. If anything, he was accustomed to having insults lobbed at him left and right.

“What’s wrong?” Andy asked curiously, eyeing him from where he sat on the couch.

“It’s nothing. Just not used to compliments,” the teen admitted, blushing.

“Ah, I see. Used to insults Adelaide always threw at you, even if they were undeserved?” he asked.

“How’d you know?” he counted in curiosity.

“Because my ex, the one that abused me, used to throw insults at me every time he opened his mouth,” the older man explained. “It took me a while after I got away from him to be able to accept compliments, especially since I’d never really gotten any before he came along.”

“Mmm, that makes sense,” Ash agreed, nodding as he took another bite of his soup. “I’ve had more insults than compliments over my lifetime, especially from Adelaide.”

“So it wasn’t just her that lobbed them at you.” It was a statement, not a question.

“Sadly, yes. They hurt more than words can say, but then again, I guess I don’t need to with you.”

Shrugging, Andy turned back to the bowl that was sitting on the couch arm next to him, careful not to knock it over and spill the thick, delicious soup. The teen was still amazed that he’d enjoyed his cooking as much as he did, and it gave him the confidence to make dinner again one night when he had to work late or attend a meeting, for whatever reason.

When the food had been eaten, the older man took their dishes to the kitchen and insisted on tackling them and the leftovers still sitting in the pot he’d used on a cool burner on the stove. Ash argued and said that he was perfectly capable of cleaning up the mess he’d made, especially considering that it was obvious he was tired, but he wasn’t having it. He told him that he hadn’t needed to go to the trouble of making dinner in the first place, and that since he had, he didn’t mind doing the dishes while he went to relax for a bit. Seeing no way to argue further, the teen reluctantly agreed and headed to his room to start getting ready for bed.

One of the things that Andy still had yet to figure out about him, and that he hoped he didn’t while their relationship was strictly platonic, was that he enjoyed wearing women’s clothing. He typically wore men’s clothing when others were around, but there were some days where he’d wear a thong or other women’s panties to school, and his pajamas were more often a thong and baby doll than not. He’d kept that secret hidden pretty well so far, and he hoped it stayed that way for a while longer.

After picking out what he wanted to wear to bed that night, which was a black, transparent baby doll with a pink ribbon under what would normally be the bustline that was tied in a bow and had a bit of a lacy design above said ribbon and came with a matching thong, Ash headed to his bathroom down the hall. He always made sure to take his robe with him so he could cover up before going back to his room, thinking that Andy may not like him anymore if he caught him wearing women’s clothing. That, and it didn’t really matter who could possibly catch him; the thought of someone else besides a significant other knowing was just downright embarrassing, so he didn’t want to take any chances.

“Mmmm,” he hummed softly, sinking down into the bubble bath he’d drawn.

It’d been quite a while since he’d been able to relax like this, so he tended to enjoy a bubble bath with the lavender-scented set he’d gotten for Christmas one year. The bubbles made him feel like the child he hadn’t been allowed to be for long enough, but the scent relaxed him into a state that was so sleepy it bordered on exhausted, no matter how wired he was upon drawing the bath.

By the time he was ready to get out, Ash’s fingers and toes were beginning to get pruny from having soaked in the tub longer than he’d thought. If he hadn’t been tired before deciding to take a bubble bath, he definitely was now, as evidenced by the yawn he let out as he rose from the now-lukewarm water. The air was chilly, but a thick, fluffy towel took care of that and he quickly got into his pajamas. Once the thong was tugged up where he preferred it and the baby doll on comfortably, he wrapped his robe around himself and hung his towels up to dry overnight.

“Off to bed, Ash?” Andy asked, about to step into his own room.

“Mmm hmm. Lavender always makes me sleepy,” he answered softly, nodding.

“Well, it’s good for relaxing,” the older man chuckled. “Sleep good and sweet dreams.”

“You, too, Andy,” Ash answered, closing his door behind himself.

Once the wooden portal was closed, he stripped his robe off and hung it on the hook that was hanging on the back. He never bothered sleeping with his door locked, just in case Andy needed to get in his room for something. It wasn’t like the older man abused him as Adelaide had, so he didn’t feel the need to bother since he trusted him so much. With another yawn, he turned back the covers of his bed and crawled in, falling asleep wishing that he had his roommate there beside him.



The next morning, Ash was rudely pulled from one of the best dreams of Andy he’d ever had by his alarm clock blaring the intro to Lies of the Beautiful People by Sixx: A.M. After getting out of Adelaide’s clutches, his life was no longer unholy, so he decided that he might as well not use the song of the same title as his alarm anymore. However, he felt like he was being lied to by what society considered the beautiful people, especially his roommate and teacher, so the new song of choice seemed fitting enough.

Groaning as he left the warm cocoon of his bedding, he tossed his legs over the edge of the bed and slipped his feet into his Hello Kitty slippers. He wrapped his arms around his torso as the chill of the air from the AC attacked his flesh, having forgotten that he’d chosen one of his favorite thong-and-baby doll sets as his pajamas the previous night.

“Ash? You up?” Andy called through his door as he knocked on it.

“Yeah, I’m up,” he answered.

“Might I come in for a sec?” he asked, obviously waiting as patiently as possible.

“Gimme a sec!” the teen answered, not wanting him to see him in his pajamas. He quickly got his robe pulled on and tied around himself, that way he couldn’t see what he was wearing. “What’s up?”

“I just got word that a transformer blew right next to the schools,” the older man said, entering his room when he opened the door. “It was so bad that it took out the next one down the line with it, so both Stanford and Orange are powerless at the moment. Since school hasn’t even started, they’re calling parents and guardians to tell them that school’s been delayed due to this unforeseen complication.”

“They know how long it’s gonna be delayed?” Ash asked curiously.

“Probably no more than two or three hours, but they’re not sure,” he answered, shaking his head. “I was gonna let you know that you might as well just stay home for the day. I have a feeling that it’ll be noon or later before they get everything fixed and the power back on, and by then, it won’t be worth going.”

“What about you? You gonna stay home?”

“They told teachers to stay home till they call and say that school’s in session, so depending on when I get that call, I may or may not go.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “If it’s noon or later when that happens, I’m not even going, and they can suck my left nut if they don’t like it. It’s not worth the time when I’m not really gonna be able to teach much of anything before school ends for the day.”

“Seriously. We’d be better off just sitting there watching movies than trying to actually go over anything you had planned originally,” the teen scoffed.

“Exactly. For now, though, I’m just gonna relax in the living room and see if they call before noon,” Andy told him.

“I think I’ll join you in a few minutes,” Ash agreed, grinning.

Returning the grin, the older man nodded and closed his door behind him as he exited the room, his footsteps getting softer as he headed down the hall. He released a soft sigh of relief as he locked his door so he could get dressed, that being the only time his door was ever locked. Even though he doubted he’d go to school today, he was still changing into one of his typical band tees and a pair of ripped skinny jeans, if only because he didn’t wish to face the embarrassment of Andy knowing he slept in women’s lingerie.

After his clothes were on, he settled for simply brushing and mildly straightening his hair, unlike normal when he’d nearly burn it with his straightener before teasing it into a style similar to Nikki Sixx’s. His makeup was fairly simple, too; merely a swipe of black across his upper lids with silver over that but beneath his brows, as well as swiped in a thin line under his waterline. Said waterline was covered in heavy black liner, and other than that, he decided to all but forego wearing makeup for the day. Ash decided that, while a helluva lot simpler than was his norm, he still looked pretty good.

Now that he felt ready to face the day, he headed down the hall to join his roommate with a grin plastered to his kisser. Since he was gay and emancipated, he kind of wished the older man would take notice of his looks, alongside his personality, and ask him out. He hadn’t felt this way for anybody in a long time, and it was getting harder to hide his true feelings with every passing day. He suppressed a sigh of despair as he sat down on the couch next to Andy, who was slowly eating a bagel as he checked his email. The sight of the older man sitting there in Batman pajama pants with a bit of cream cheese smeared next to his mouth, his eyes glued to the seventeen-inch screen in front of him, was just adorable.

Chuckling softly, Ash reached over and wiped the cream cheese off his cheek, which drew a gasp of surprise from him since he apparently hadn’t realized he was there. He chuckled even louder when he watched him lick the cream cheese off his thumb, taking note of how those sky-blue eyes darkened as he did so. If he hadn’t thought he’d imagined it, he’d have sworn he liked him as more than a student or friend.

However, considering that he’d never once made anything more than a friendly advance, Ash highly doubted Andy liked him as more than that, and sighed softly but wistfully as he rose to get his own breakfast.

Notes