Hermitcraft Stuff I Guess

Mugs (oneshot)

Main Pairing: None
Cw: None
Au: Human!Hermits
Around 1280 words

Well would you look at that. I uploaded a story for once! Yay! It's on the shorter side, but I love it.

There was a strange wailing noise coming from the alleyway. Jevin was on his first neighborhood stroll, but he stopped at the sound. Was he about to enter a damp alley just to satiate his own curiosity? Of course he was. There were all kinds of dangers, but he had to go in. What was the worst that could happen? Getting mugged probably. Alleys are the prime mugging location, so it is always a possibility. The noise could have been a lure so he would get mugged. Maybe he would mug the person who was trying to mug him. Mug them for mugs. Mugged an ugly mug for some mugs.

The thing made itself heard again. He stepped inside and started to pick through garbage. It was revolting. Jevin could almost feel the bacteria crawling on his hands, his stomach lurching slightly. It was better than getting mugged, he supposed. Anything would be better than getting mugged. Mugs.

Was this his life now? Sifting through trash, finding and pocketing a few cool things, but ultimately getting nowhere in his search? It had to have been seconds, maybe even minutes! This was unbearable. He went from piles of old newspapers to grocery bags of old thrift finds, but nothing made the noise.

Jevin was seriously considering quitting after a few minutes, but then he found a box. A very heavy box. That meant there might be cool stuff inside. He could handle feeling filthy for cool stuff. Jevin dragged it out of its original place and opened the top. With a gasp, he fell to his back. Something had jumped out at him. Confusion and concrete hit his head. What was that? Warm. The first thing to describe it was warm. Warm is not something you want while dumpster diving. Especially warm and... wet? Only a little wet, but still wet. Wet on his face.

He peeled his eyes open only to be met with a small cat's head. Not just a head, but a head attached to a body. A living, breathing body. He met a cat while digging through trash.

"Uh, hi there. My name is Jevin. Who are you?" He got a meow in return. That wasn't helpful. The man bent down to check for a collar, but there was no sign of previous ownership, even in the box. "I think I'll keep you... Goobert?" There was a purr, so that was a good sign that he made the right name choice. Cool. Jevin scooped Goobert up. He owns a cat now. A cat from a dinghy, gross alleyway. A cat covered in bacteria. A cute cat. A cute, disgusting cat. Jevin made his first friend in the area.

He walked out onto the sidewalk and turned home. He could figure out his town soon enough, right now it was Goobert time. As Jevin walked, he found out that the cat liked to meow a lot. With every person passing, Goob would make sound. Some people would coo at it, others would completely ignore it, but there was one person who stopped in his tracks.

"I like your cat."

"Oh, thanks. I just found this little guy."

"He's so cute! What's his name?"

"Goobert," Jevin smiled.

"And your name?"

"Jevin."

"Hypno. It's nice to meet you," he spoke with a kind tone, "and your cat."

"Do you wanna hold him?" He got a nod, so Jev handed over Goobert. Hypno graciously accepted with a chuckle and Jevin took the time to check him out. He was a relatively tall man with platinum blond hair. Stubble rested on a soft jawline and his smile was sweet. His eyes were sharp green and he had a black bandana around his neck. What a cool looking guy. Deciding to strike up a conversation, Jevin asked lots of questions about him. They ended up having a really nice time, even if it was for only five minutes.

"I should get going soon, don't wanna keep you for too long. Can I get your number?"

"Oh! Yeah." He took Hypno's phone and plugged in the digits. Hypno shot a text over and smiled. They shared goodbyes and continued with their paths. Jevin felt relieved. Making friends was going to be much easier than he anticipated. "Goob, I think you and I are going to be great for each other."

And they were. Jevin took good care of his cat, and his cat helped ease his worries. He wasn't alone in his apartment and, with the addition of Hypno, he wasn't alone in his new town. Goobert was one of the best decisions he ever made. Jev had gotten all of the formal issues figured out and got Goobert a checkup at the vet, so he officially owned him. The only issue was how not-cat-ready his apartment was. Goobert loved to climb up curtains, claw at his furniture, and knock glasses off of his counter. Much to Jevin's dismay, it eventually pushed off his favourite mug. A colour changing mug that went from blue to green when adding hot water. Mugs like that were always the coolest thing to Jevin, but he could live without a mug for a cat.

Weeks went by and their bond got stronger. The duo would sit around together and watch movies on late nights. Whenever Jevin had snacks, so did Goobert. They were powerful in the friend making business, too. If it weren't for Goobert's cute face and Jevin's totally calm and suave personality, Jev wouldn't have anyone to talk to. He was lucky that Hypno was a big cat fan and loved to listen to stories. His energy was easy to match, and he had lots of friends that took to Jevin and his cat easily. Most of them loved hearing about Goobert's origin story and how mildly scared Jevin was of the alleyway. Jevin didn't think any of them were listening when a friend of Hypno walked up to him in a coffee shop.

"Hey! Jevin, right?" He really wasn't expecting his black coffee brooding time to be interrupted, but he supposed it was better than doom spiraling.

"Yeah, that's me. You're XB?"

"Oh wow! I wasn't really expecting you to remember my name. It takes time for some people." He smiled brightly at Jevin. "I was listening to you talk to Mumbo the other day and I really like your story about your cat. Goobert, I think. Anyways, it's so cool that you rescued him!" Jevin really wasn't expecting that. An almost complete stranger liked him because he was scared to rescue a cat? Normally, people wouldn't go up to him even if they knew him. In an almost ironic way, it was like Goobert rescued him from a complete social void. Neat.

"Well, thanks!"

"Dude, of course. Hell, you inspired me to get my own cat."

"Really?"

"Yeah, it just took that and a very sharp prod in my ass to adopt." He pulled out his phone and swiped to a photo of a black cat with bright green eyes. "I named him Mugs 'cause you made it very clear that you felt like you were gonna get mugged."

"I don't know what to say. That's awesome." Jevin didn't show it, but he was ecstatic. XB offered to have him sit and talk with him and his friend Keralis and he graciously accepted. He could have easily said no and drank alone, but he wanted to leave that mindset behind him. He had friends. He was an adult. Adults hang out with their friends. Friends that they scored from hearing a strange noise in an alleyway. Well, damn. Curiosity didn't kill the cat, it rescued the human.