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It was an afternoon in early autumn when Rowan found him. He had just dropped Celi off at the vet for a check-up, as she was a fairly old cat and better safe than sorry, when he heard a commotion.
He was always criticized for being too curious, and of course, he went to see what the shouting was. It was coming from an alley, and he saw a scene that turned his stomach.
A middle-aged man walked out, while a small, trembling boy tried to cling to his legs and whimpered.
“P-please, sir, take me with you! I can be good, I can please you, please...!”
An abandoned slave, if Rowan had to guess. It wasn't that unusual. Sometimes they were too damaged to sell, and caring for them would be more expensive than simply letting them die on the streets until winter. Rowan watched as all the boy got was a kick in the arms as the man walked away. Then he saw the trembling figure cowering in a corner and crying.
Well, his friends also always criticized him for being soft-hearted. Not that he'd planned on taking a slave off the streets when he'd woken up that morning, but now that he'd seen it, it seemed kind of wrong to just leave him there. This was only confirmed when he approached and received a puppy dog look from the boy. Damn those big, round, light brown eyes staring at him, Rowan was taking that boy home.
It wasn't difficult to convince the poor soul to follow him to his car. In fact, he seemed so ecstatic about it that Rowan had to forbid him from trying to kiss his feet in the middle of the sidewalk.
He called the vet to let him know he would be a few minutes late picking up Celi before getting in his car and starting the drive home. At least he knew the cat wouldn't mind, since she usually slept all day.
The boy spent the short walk from where they were to Rowan's house surprisingly quiet, but soon came a flood of thanks when he saw that Rowan had taken him home.
He had to ignore everything as he took the boy to the bathroom, as he was in too much of a hurry to deal with it at the moment. He didn't want to be too late picking up Celi, so he was thankful he had clothes laid out for the boy and he had showered reasonably quickly. Rowan was about to leave the house, but he remembered how the poor little one looked hungry, so he grabbed a bag of chips for him. It wasn't the best option, but he didn't have time to cook anything proper, and Rowan was sure the boy wouldn't mind.
“Eat this and wait here until I get back, I won't be long, but don't touch anything.”
He said as he pushed the boy into the guest room with the chips and locked the door, just in case. Yes, he knew it was extremely irresponsible, but he didn't want the boy roaming freely in his house. He didn't exactly seem like an imminent threat, but he couldn't risk leaving a stranger alone in his home. It could be dangerous for both sides, besides which he would have much more time to sort that out later. The empty and slightly dusty guest room really was the best option at the moment.
He got back in the car and soon went to the vet to pick up his cat, who, fortunately, according to the vet, was perfectly healthy. One less problem to deal with, now that he would need to get ownership documentation. It was completely legal to take slaves off the street, but they had to be checked to make sure they were alone due to abandonment and not running away. It was easy to find out. Hospitals, police stations, or slave trading centers had the right equipment to read the chip they all had somewhere behind their necks. All the chips had a tracker and it was possible to access all the necessary documents thanks to that. If the owner had declared abandonment, possession would be transferred to whoever found them, but if it was an escape, they would be returned to the owner. Rowan doubted it was an escape. The boy didn't seem like the type to run away at all.
When he got home, he released Celi, who lay down on the couch with all the laziness that only she had. Rowan went to the room where he had left the boy and opened the door. He didn't seem to have moved an inch from where Rowan left him, the only change being the empty chip bag he held in both hands. Those big eyes widened at him again when the boy saw him, and he quickly got to his knees, practically crawling towards Rowan.
“Oh, you really came back, sir, is this a dream? Will you stay with me? Can I call you master now?”
Rowan was sure he would regret it later, but how could he say no to those eyes?
_________
The streets were cold, dirty, lonely, and everything bad he'd always been told they were. He usually didn't believe or care because he thought he'd never be there, but he was wrong.
The master was strange, and he did a series of medical tests when he bought him, but he never even thought that this could happen. At first he was even strangely affectionate, occasionally letting him near and telling him he had a great purpose.
The truth is that the master's son was sick, and his great purpose was to be a spare part. They didn't even bother to give him a name, since when the test results came out, they took him to the hospital.
It all happened so fast. Only about a month after being purchased, he was already on a hospital stretcher, completely dizzy, before he lost consciousness. Then when he woke up, he felt a dull ache throughout his abdomen. He also felt strangely empty.
But the worst part was when the doctors deemed him "well enough to go home”. The master appeared, told him to get in the car, and started driving. But he didn't stop at home. He stopped on a street he'd never seen before and told him to get out. He obviously tried to beg to stay when he realized he was being left to his own devices, but the master just muttered something about him not even being able to work properly before leaving.
The days he spent on the streets were a living nightmare he didn't want to remember. On the first day he hoped that someone would take him home, but the result was a frustrated night trying to keep warm with only the clothes he had on his back. After that, he stopped truly hoping. He needed to prioritize what was most necessary: food. His stomach protested with every passing minute, but there was no way he could get food. Every now and then someone felt sorry enough for him to throw scraps of something. By the end of the week, some had even considered taking a closer look at him and taking him home, but they gave up as soon as they saw the scars. They were not small and were still reddish. Ugly and disgusting, that's what they told him.
He hadn't had any luck. At least until that man showed up. He seemed intimidating at first, but surprisingly, he took him home. It seemed like a sweet dream. He hadn't even bothered to look at the scars.
He put him in his car, even though it was dirty and shabby, and took him to his own house. That man was an angel, the kindest angel that ever walked the face of the earth. The man left him to take a bath with hot water, and then let him dry himself with a soft towel and gave him new clothes to wear.
He wanted to kneel on the ground like the inferior creature he was and cry with gratitude, but before he could do so, the man, in a confused scene, handed him a packet of chips and left him alone in a room.
He didn't know what to do for a few minutes, but he remembered the man telling him to eat it. It's not like he wasn't hungry. It was actually something he'd been ignoring since morning. When the slave finally decided to eat, he realized that he gave him a whole package of food, not the leftovers, and he knew that because it was still sealed and it was the best thing he'd eaten in weeks. Why was this guy being so nice to him? He wasn't worth all the effort.
It didn't take long for the man to return, and by then he had already worked up the courage to ask what had been weighing on his stomach for some time. He thought he would faint right there when the answer was yes.
_____________
It had been two weeks since Rowan had brought Lou home. She was still getting used to the idea of the new presence in the house, but Lou was so cute that she couldn't see it negatively. She also realized that the boy himself needed to get used to a lot of things.
When Lou told Rowan that they hadn't even given him a name before abandoning him, Rowan nearly went mad with rage, and then had to calm the boy down by explaining that he wasn't mad at him. Damn the soul who didn't want to name her sweet puppy. She, of course, solved the problem by bombarding the boy with suggestions until she found one that seemed to genuinely please him, since he didn't express in words that he didn't like any of the names, but he was terrible at hiding his expression and would frown when he didn't like the suggestion.
Then there were the chores. Lou seemed to think it was his duty to do absolutely every household chore. Rowan just wanted him to rest, eat, and continue being adorable. In the end, they had to come to an agreement where Lou would help with light tasks like washing dishes or folding clothes, because he seemed to almost have a panic attack when he saw Rowan doing that.
The medicines were also new to the boy. When Rowan took him to get the legal papers, he discovered what had really happened to the boy and took him for some medical tests. Lou was in despair because he thought he would be abandoned again and she needed to calm him down and promise that this would not happen.
They ended up leaving with several vitamins and recommendations so that Lou could remain reasonably healthy even though he was missing some organs. The doctor explained that regardless, he wouldn't be able to lead a life that would be considered normal, but it's not as if Rowan wanted to burden Lou.
So little by little, they settled into a comfortable routine. Rowan worked from home and could keep an eye on the boy all day. She would feel guilty if something happened to him while she was away. Lou also seemed to enjoy the attention, enjoying sitting on the floor leaning on her legs while she worked. Then they would eat together, watch some silly movie (he didn't want to overwhelm Lou with anything violent), and sleep. Lou liked to cling to him like a koala bear in his sleep, and Rowan thought it was completely cute.
That day, he had just finished his work and looked at a sleepy Lou almost asleep with his head on her thigh.
“Come on, puppy, let's go to the couch.”
He said, picking Lou up. He was still lighter than he should have been, but he looked better than he had when he arrived, and he would continue to get better. When he sat down, laying him down beside him, Lou yawned. He looked like a lazy cat, almost as if he'd learned that from Celi.
“M-master…”
“Shhh. I know you're tired, Lou, you can sleep.”
He said in his calm tone.
“Master, why don't you touch me?”
“What?”
What kind of question was that? Now Lou had opened his eyes, those big eyes that had captured Rowan's heart with just one look.
“You don't want to touch me because you think I'm ugly? Do you think it's disgusting too?”
He asked, lifting his shirt and revealing the scars on his stomach. Good heavens, this wasn't what he expected for the afternoon.
Rowan grabbed Lou's hands and made him let go of his shirt. Then he leaned over and kissed him on the forehead.
“Lou, you are the most adorable little thing I have ever seen in my entire life.”
Rowan said, cupping the boy's cheeks as he felt them heat up.
“I would never think that of you.”
Lou buried himself in his chest at that. Rowan brought her hands to his back, holding him close.
“So why?”
“I... I can't. I don't like this. Not with you, not with anyone, so don't worry about it."
Lou sniffed, then melted into Rowan's lap.
“Master, can we watch that movie with the dog?”
“Again?”
Lou nodded shyly. Rowan couldn't even resist that image. So what if he'd already memorized every line from the damn movie? Lou looked so happy.