Some Things Just Can't Be Understood

"Ah, good ol' macaroni and cheese," Professor Maple commented, watching the steam rise from his plate. In truth he didn't like macaroni and cheese that much, but this was not a fancy restaurant and he was lucky to have a place to stay anyway. Besides, he was hungry, although in his eagerness he burned the roof of his mouth trying to eat the too-hot food. Therefore, he had to be patient.

...He hated being patient.

It was a nice place overall, he noted, with daisy-print wallpaper and sky-blue carpeting. The air-conditioner was working just fine, though it was noisy. It wasn't as noisy as the neighbors upstairs though, who were either stomping on the floor constantly or had rap music playing all the time. Still, he had lived in worse conditions.

He wondered if his food was cool enough to eat yet. He took a bite, burned the roof of his mouth again, and decided to wait some more. He gulped down some of his milk instead.

Phoebie came back with her own plate and noticed Maple's difficulties. "Would you like something to drink? Or I can put your food in the freezer to cool it off real quick." She smiled "Or I can make something else if you don't like it" She was very eager to please him, people rarely came to her house or were so friendly to her.

"It's not that I don't like it!" Maple quickly reassured, giving a nervous smile. "It's just too hot to eat right now. Maybe I could eat something while I wait. Do you have any apples or oranges? If not then more milk would be good."

He didn't want to impose on her any more than he already had. One of the main reasons he agreed to stay was to make sure she wasn't having any more problems with her head. She seemed to be doing just fine, but still...

What was he getting so worked up for anyway? People got bumped in the head all the time, and usually they were fine. Lord knows he's had plenty of knocks on the noggin himself. Though he wasn't sure he counted as okay...he knew he didn't count. But that probably had to do with exposure to corruption, not hitting his head one too many times.

He absentmindedly stirred his still-too-hot macaroni with his fork. Or maybe it was ready to eat; He just wasn't ready to eat it.

Pheobie smiled and nodded. She got up and vanished into the kitchen.

She came back a few minutes later with a glass of milk and a bowl of apple and orange slices. "Here you go." She grinned, setting them both in front of Maple. "Can I get you anything else?"

"Nah, this should be good," Maple replied, chugging down some of the milk before moving on to the oranges. They must have been in season, because they tasted just right.

While consuming the last of the juicy fruit he noticed something warm and furry rubbing against his legs. He glanced down to notice the cat, who stared at him like it demanded why it wasn't getting anything.

"Now you just wait furball," Maple growled, selfishly drinking up the rest of the milk. "Wait a minute! How'd you get in here?"

Pheobie blinked and looked under the table. "Why are you here Mr. Kitty?" She asked absently. "You're not supposed to be here. I'm not allowed to have animals in my apartment." she looked up at Maple "Would you like some more milk?"

"No, but I think furball here would like some," commented Maple, as the cat meowed and pawed at his leg. "Seriously though, how'd you get here, furball?"

It gave him an annoyed stare, like the answer should have been obvious.

"I suppose we should put him out afterward. Wouldn't want to get you in trouble," he added absentmindely, as he started on his apple. "I'm guessing you'd get fined or something if the landlord saw him, right?"

"He'd just bitch and moan at me for a month." Pheobie sighed. She fetched a saucer of milk for the cat. "He just doesn't like me. Not a lot of people do. Because I'm different... Sure you don't want more milk?"

"What, because you can make things change colors? That's hardly a reason to bitch and moan," said Maple incredulously. "I've seen a cyborg man who can wield electricity, a bird-winged person who can summon elements, and a pair of fire-breathers whose hearts belong to their bird keeper, among others. Compared to that, hue adjustment is nothing. This place must be calm indeed...though I suppose they don't like the blue in your hair either. Cranky old people don't like that kind of thing, but that's still a stupid..."

The cat meowed, ears back and tail twitching.

"...And go ahead and get some milk for me as well as furball, since apparently I won't be able to shut up otherwise," he finished with a bright but self-mocking smile.

The cat purred.

Pheobie smiled slightly. "Um... C-Can I touch you?" She asked shyly. She tugged at the hem of her shirt in embarrassment. "I want to thank you. Cause you're always making me feel better. I like to hear what you say"

"Eh? Ah, well, I suppose so," Maple replied, caught a bit off-guard. "It's nice to know that someone isn't annoyed by my prattle for once. Perhaps you could make my hair electric green this time? I don't know if that's a color...oh well. Just anything but silver. I see that color too much in my work. Besides, it would make me look old."

He remember his macaroni and cheese, which was probably cold by now. He wondered if he should eat it anyway. Fruits and milk were tasty but not filling.

Pheobie stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, sitting lightly in his lap. "Thank you" She mumbled. "Thank you very much." She rested her head against his chest lightly. "For making me feel better. And for helping me. And for being nice"

"Um, er, ah..." Maple babbled, his face flushing red. He hadn't been prepared for this. It took him a while to get his brain back in order. But once he did, looking down at the girl resting against him, he felt an odd calm come over him.

"Thanks," he finally said quietly.

The cat bounded up to Pheobie's lap, and then jumped onto Maple's head. There it yawned and curled up in his bushy brown hair.

"Stop bothering my head, furball," Maple protested.

He must have not been too uncomfortable though, for soon both he and the cat had fallen asleep.

Pheobie blushed lightly when she realised that Maple had fallen asleep. She had to do some shifting, but she managed to get off of his lap. Then she moved the chair until she could easily lift him on to the couch. She covered him lightly with a blanket.

The cat, having been knocked from Maple's head when Pheopie moved him to the couch, jumped up and laid curled up on his stomach.

Pheobie smiled and left the two of them to clean up dinner. She came back and curled up cat-like in the armchair, where she actually fell asleep. She slept deeply, despite her awkward positioning.

The next morning, Maple woke up by abruptly falling off the couch. It took him a few moments to figure out where he was, why he was tangled up in a blanket, and why there was a cat meowing at him in annoyance. Sunlight was filtering through the dusty blinds. Was it already tomorrow?

Then he noticed Pheobie curled up feline-like on the nearby armchair, and felt himself flush as he remembered the last few moments before he slipped into slumber. The cat left him, jumped on the armchair, and curled up next to her in the same fashion.

It's been awhile since I've been able to really relax around someone, much less fall asleep around them, he thought. I didn't mean to do that. I hope I didn't drool on her or something.

It occured to him that the ship was probably ready by now. It also occured to him, oddly, that he didn't want to leave yet. It didn't occur to him to untangle himself from the blanket while he thought about all this.

Pheobie shifted in her sleep to make room for the cat. She blinked softly, awake suddenly. She sat up with a loud yawn.

"I really need to stop sleeping like that" She grumbled to herself.

She slipped off the chair, noticing Maple after a moment. She blinked at him.

"Did you fall off the couch?" She asked blankly.

"Hmm?" Maple hummed in response, before finally taking full notw of his rather uncomfortable position. "Why yes, apparently I did. I have a bad habit of doing that."

With a little effort he freed himself of the blanket and then sat up properly. The cat watched him lazily, not moving from its curled-up position except for a slight twitching of its tail.

"Anyway, good morning!" Maple belatedly greeted. "...Or good afternoon, maybe? What time is it?"

Pheobie glanced at the clock on her wall. "Its... Um the clock says nine but its an hour slow, so its ten" She smiled. "Let me make you some breakfast"

She hummed happily as she disappeared from sight into her kitchen.

"Some bacon and toast would be fine!" Maple called after her as he got to his feet. He walked over to another chair not occupied by the cat and sat in it. He noted that the chair the cat was in looked more comfortable and probably was. Leave it to a cat to take the best seat in the house.

He thought about combing his hair, but then he realized his grooming supplies were still back at the ship. Oh well. It reminded him that he would probably be leaving soon, which made him slightly melacholy instead of slightly elated like he usually was.

I'll have to remember to come back here wheneverI need a break. If nothing else I need to check up on here every now and then to make sure it stays stable and peaceful.

He yawned, then realized his glasses were missing. They were more for show than anything, being small and slightly purple-tinted, but he didn't want to leave without them either. He got up and started hunting around the couch.

"Kay~" Pheobie's voice chirped from the kitchen.

A few minutes later the sound and smell of sizzling bacon floated put into the living room.

"Hey, is Rye bread alright? I don't eat much else" Pheobie asked, sticking her head out.

"I'm happy just to eating. Rye's fine," Maple replied. The aromas of the kitchen were making him hungry. The cat continued to sleep.

He had just brought out some notes on the previous world he had visited when there was a hard knock on the door.

"You expecting anybody?" the brunette professor called to Pheobie.

Pheobie poked her head out of the kitchen door. "No, Not that I know of" She frowned lightly.

The cat had vanished from sight. Either it was one of pheobie's illusions, or it had hidden itself.

"Could you answer it? I don't want your bacon to burn"

"Sure, pup," Maple replied, walking over and opening the door. Outside was a chubby man in an unflattering brown suit. He only had half a head of black hair, and a tiny little mustache.

"And who are you?" he asked stuffily, eyeing the disheveled Maple up and down. "I am here to speak to Miss Pheobie about her rent."

Must be the landlord guy. Good thing kitty's hiding. Maple thought to himself, before answering. "Miss Pheobie is fixing breakfast at the moment. If you wait, maybe you can have some too."

The man huffed. Maple didn't know if that meant yes, no, or insulted.

"It's Mr. Landlord!" Maple called.

Pheobie cringed at the stove. She flicked the stove off and walked briskly from the kitchen to her bedroom, returning a minute later with a brown envelope. She handed it to the landlord, looking slightly pathetic as she did so.

"Here's this month's rent Mr. Loupner." She mumbled, not quite meeting his eye.

Mr. Loupner snatched up the envelope and peered into his contents. After giving a satisfied huff and turned without a word, shutting the door in their faces.

"A real pleasant fellow, eh?" Maple said, grinning but with his grey-green eyes glaring at the door. "I've met rabid boars who were more friendly."

Appearing out of nowhere, the cat jumped onto Maple's shoulder, and then onto his mess of brown hair. He meowed and pawed at Maple's nose.

"Isn't that right, furball? You sure are good at disappearing. And being annoying."