TW: Implications of SA

Hours later, when all the berries were eaten and dinner had been served and picked through well enough for Iris to stop bugging her to take another bite, Iris’ mother watched a show on the TV with Iris, both of them laughing every so often at something silly that happened. It was a telenovela, so there were plenty of funny bits to chuckle at. Iris eventually looked at his mother, and she looked back, still smiling. She tilted her head questioningly.

“Momma, why aren’t you eating much?” Iris asked.

She stared at him and sighed. She picked up the remote on the side table and pressed the volume down button so they could talk comfortably without the sounds of the couple on screen yelling their heads off at one another.

“I just haven’t felt well enough to have an appetite, I suppose..” She replied. 

Iris’ brow furrowed. “Momma, you need to eat, or else you get weaker quicker. Especially after what happened a few days ago, if you don’t eat-”

His mother placed a paw on his mouth, quieting Iris. “Iris…”

Iris paused in their sentence, frowning, and their ears lowered a little.

“Sweetheart, you spend every day, every hour worrying over me. I know you’re worried, but I know my body. I know when I need to eat in order to not strain myself or cause another emergency…” She placed her paw on his cheek. “I know you want to take care of me…but you look so exhausted.”

Iris shook their head, and she shook hers right back, giving him no room to argue. “I want you to let the doctors and me worry about my eating, you have enough on your plate. Please.”

Iris didn’t say anything now. It was true, he spent all day, every day, worrying over her, checking in on her, monitoring her health alone. He was exhausted. But she needed him. If something happened, if her heart failed again, if her blood sugar dropped, if she felt faint and no one was there to catch her, if she…

She pulled them in close, hugging them. “My baby…such a strong boy.” She whispered.

Iris’ eyes narrowed, tears forming before they blinked them back. His mom needed him. He couldn’t mess up, not even once. He couldn’t get lazy and laze around while his mom spent every day fighting to live properly. It wouldn’t be fair. She worked so hard to make sure they’d live healthily and happily, only for her to suffer. She was still so young in Iris’ eyes. She didn’t deserve to have to leave her home for a group home, have to come in for so many hospital visits, and fall out so many times that the hospital was now a second home for her. Why her of all the people in the world? Why did she have to suffer this way? Iris and her had been on their own for years and things weren’t easy and then life had to come back and fuck them over again.

He didn’t know what he’d do if one day he woke up and she was gone too. He didn’t think he’d be able to go on. They’d spent so many nights wide awake, tossing and turning, staring at the blinding white screen of their phone, just in case…just in case a call suddenly came through, an emergency which threatened his ability to see his mother again. It was unbearable. Would they make it in time to her if that happened? They didn’t have a car, and they couldn’t drive well. If there were an emergency, would they have to call Adrien? Would he even make it in time for them to get to the hospital, or even her care home, which was an even longer drive? Would he have to finally tell the others if Adrien couldn’t be there? If Iris even wanted Adrien there or anyone else, for that matter.

These questions plagued Iris’ mind every night when he tried to sleep. Or when they were working. Or when they were eating. Any moment of the day, when their mind needed to be in the moment they were in, they lingered to if their mother was okay. 

“...Mom…” Iris muttered out, tears finally breaking through despite them trying to keep them at bay. It wouldn’t be the first time, and it likely wasn’t the last.

“Oh, honey…” She cooed, rubbing her paws over his head, shushing. “My little floret, you worry too much.”

Iris sniffled, a quiet sob escaping them as they just hugged her. He couldn’t take it, keeping in all their anxieties all the time, acting like they were okay, acting like everything was normal, putting on a happy facade in front of people they wanted so desperately to trust but couldn’t. It all felt hopeless.

“It’ll be alright, I’m sure of it…” His mother assured him, letting him cry onto her shoulder. “It’ll be just fine.”

–

Iris sat on the bus, their eyes red and puffy. They hadn’t cried like that in a while; it was almost amusing how pathetic they’d acted in front of their mother. They felt like a child throwing a tantrum. He was supposed to be there supporting her, and instead, he cried his eyes out and didn’t get anything else done. She was still not eating well and not telling them why.

Iris inhaled deep, their paws seeping through their hair, chasing some sort of relief. They put their forehead against the window of the bus, staring at the outside and partly into their own reflection. They stared at the bags under their eyes, raising a paw to touch them. They really did need some sleep. Good thing they had a few days off to try and recover themself. They hadn’t gotten more than maybe 3 or 4 hours of sleep the past few weeks, and it was certainly starting to show itself for others to see and point out.

Iris slid down in the seat, yawning. Just a few more minutes and they’d be home and into their bed.

-

Iris unlocked the door to their apartment, opening the door and immediately they halted in their steps. They looked down at the shoe rack and there was an extra pair of shoes there. Why was he here…

They closed the door and removed their shoes before walking down the hall, slow, unhurried. Primrose wasn’t immediately running out from anywhere to greet him. They felt their breath stuck in their throat but they walked further nonetheless. As they walked, they heard the clinking of glass. They stepped out of the hall, looking at the living room and there he sat. 

The lion had his legs crossed, Primrose lying beside him as he pet her fur gently and sipped on his drink. Alcohol. Of course.

“I thought you were gonna text me on Sunday…” Iris huffed quietly.

“Where’s your phone?” Adrien asked, ignoring Iris’ statement.

“In my bag,” Iris replied. “...Why?”

“Why aren’t you answering it, then?” Adrien looked up at him now.

Iris raised a brow. “I haven’t gotten any calls.” They opened their bag, taking it out. It wouldn’t turn on, and then the 0% flashed over the screen. “It was dead.”

“Didn’t I tell you this morning to answer your phone quicker? What if there were an emergency at work?”

“I guess you would’ve had to pull someone else in. I went to help at the cafe.”

“You didn’t have work today.”

“I had time, since you decided on a whim to change my schedule. And they needed extra paws and claws. Why are you here?”

Adrien stood up now, Prim’s head lifting as the comfortable paw stopped petting her, disgruntled. He walked up to Iris, looming over him. 

“I’m tired, Adrien. What do you want?” Iris asked again.

Adrien just eyed them, his gaze sharp. Iris was unmoving to it, waiting for some sort of a response, and soon, otherwise, he’d just go lie in bed without a word. Adrien’s paw lifted, coming behind Iris’ head, and tugging lightly on their locs. Iris stayed still; his eyes didn’t leave Adrien’s. Adrien tugged harder now, and a grunt came from Iris as their hair strained. But they kept their head where it was, still not moving. That was what he wanted from them. A sign of submission.

Adrien stared a while longer at them before he lowered his head, his mouth inches from Iris’ neck. His maw opened, his breath hot near Iris’ throat. Iris felt the tips of his teeth on their neck before he pulled back, licking his lips.

“Go take a shower. You smell like burnt toast and hospital food.” Adrien sneered at him. 

Iris didn’t say anything, simply turning to go to the bathroom and undressing so they could shower and let Adrien have his way so they could finally get some sleep.

-

“Mmn…” Iris whined as they stared at the ceiling. The fan’s blades whipped past above them, the fan on its highest setting. Even though it was on that setting, the room was still hot. Iris was sweaty all over, sore, and tired. Adrien sat up, getting off of them and smoothing his hair back as it draped over him, soaked in sweat as well. Iris flinched as Adrien pulled out finally, although quite suddenly, and he sighed, removing the condom. 

Iris lowered their legs, turning their head onto their pillow, huffing heavily, catching their breath. What time was it now? They could barely keep their eyes open during it, but Adrien kept snapping them awake, refusing to let them pass out. Their half-lidded eyes watched as Adrien got off the bed and threw away the condom before putting on his underwear. He drank some water and left the room. It was pitch black in the room, the little light from the window behind Iris seeping over their back. The lights were all off in the apartment besides the bathroom light down the hall, and all Iris could hear was the sound of rushing water from the shower and cars beeping outside. 

Iris curled up his eyes closed and the sound faded into nothing. Their vision became completely dark, and after a while of their mind floating, they started to fall asleep. Their body felt a little weak, their stomach was empty after not eating since that morning, their head was hurting a little now, who knew if it was from the hunger or the multiple times of being woken up, but they’d have to take some medicine in the morning. The last thing they felt was Prim’s little paws crawling on their legs and her small body cuddling up behind their back, and then they were out.

-

When the sun hit Iris’ eyes, they were slow to open them. They felt exceedingly sluggish, their body still weak, probably since they fell asleep on that empty stomach. They sat up in bed, and Adrien wasn’t there. Iris blinked a few times, rubbing his eyes to help clear up his vision before looking around. They got out of bed, looking out into the hall. Adrien was gone. They looked back, walking to the nightstand and turning on their phone as it was now plugged up and fully charged.

They had an unread message from Adrien. They opened it.

Adrien: “Keep your phone charged. I’m not coming back. I’ll text you Sunday, like I’d said I would.”

Iris looked up at the mirror, at how disheveled they looked, a mess with marks all over. The jerk hadn’t even cleaned him up after all that. They threw their phone on the bed and walked to the bathroom to wash up and then finally eat something. The walk took some effort; their backside hurt, and their legs were wobbly still. They walked into the bathroom and stared at the marks again. They were gonna have to cover these up somehow. They drew a bath and when it was ready, they relaxed into it, following it up with a long breath of relief. 

-

Iris sat at the island, munching on a spoonful of cereal. They scrolled through their messages before remembering at some point, something Adrien had mentioned yesterday. He’d said something about clients coming to design their attire for February. They scrolled back to that message but it was vague. They didn’t usually have special attire made for this event by tailors, It was simply the attire already at the bar. What was different this year?

Iris decided to ask, scrolling through their contacts to their coworker, Misty. They texted her.

Iris: “Hey Misty, you awake?”

Misty: “Hey, pup! What’s up?”

Iris: “Adrien told me something about us getting new attire for February. Some clients are coming in to design them? You know anything?”

Misty: “Ooooh, yeah! You weren’t here, but the tl;dr is that they wanted to amp up this year’s event with tailor-made clothes to promote the bar through fashion. According to the bosses, anyway.”

Iris: “Yeah, but why this year? They’ve been fine before.”

Misty: “Well, don’t trust this cause I heard it from Nancy, and you know she’s a gossip, but I heard the main tailor is like, a super famous fashion designer! Which would bring in what?”

Iris: “More clients?”

Misty: “Right! But not just any clients, BIG business fashion experts and stuff! I heard this designer’s work is booked years back, and he takes an eternity to book with cause he’s always designing for big blockbusters and stuff.”

Iris: “Must cost a fortune to afford him then…”

Misty: “Oh, most definitely. I’m so excited to see him, I bet he’s hot and the rest of the clients coming in. All fashionistas are to die for look-wise.”

Iris: “Maybe you’ll find the one then ;)”

Misty: “Fingers crossed!! o3o”

Iris chuckled as they texted Misty. They wondered what tailor-made professional clothing would feel like. Hopefully comfortable, if nothing else. They ate another spoonful and looked down at the floor as Prim walked up and sat, meowing, begging for a bite. Iris stuck their tongue out at her and patted her head before finishing the last spoonful and drinking up the milk. They finally had some peace, a full day of no work and no one to bother them. They were going to enjoy it.

Sunday would roll around annoyingly quick.