//------------------------------// // "Welcome home, Sonata" // Story: The Man & The Siren // by Oldtakufanboy //------------------------------// "Sonata, soup's ready whenever you're ready." I announced as I placed the bowl of soup on the table. Sonata grabbed ahold of the remote and shut off the TV before she stood up the blanket falling off of her body as headed towards the table. I pulled out the chair for her and received a kind smile in return as she sat down before the steaming bowl of soup. She stared into it as a bit of drool came out of the corner of her mouth and I couldn't help but chuckle over the sight of the hunger on her face. Sonata looked up at me with a cocked eyebrow. "What's so funny?" she asked. "You look so funny when you’re hungry; there's a little of drool at the corner of your mouth." I explained, tentatively pointing to the corner of her mouth. Sonata blushed and hurriedly wiped the saliva from the corner of her mouth in response. "You didn't see anything." declared Sonata as she glared at me with a flushed face. "See what? Regardless, please enjoy the soup; you need to eat something." I almost ordered of her as I sat down near to her and rested my head on my right hand. Sonata took hold of the spoon and slowly dipped into the soup before sipping it once she’d blew on it to cool it off. Her eyes lit up from the flavor and she began to suck it down as though it would be her last meal. Watching her eat like that was enough proof to me that she hasn't had a decent meal in quite some time. Once she finished gulping down the last bit of soup, she placed her spoon into the empty bowl and gave out a sigh of satisfaction. "Thank you for the soup; it was delicious." she announced before she gave out a loud belch and patted her stomach. "I guess you were pretty hungry. Would you like more?" I asked. "Yes please," replied Sonata as she gave me a smile that made me blush. I gave a courteous nod before standing with her empty bowl in hand and returned to the kitchen counter, the small pot empty. As I went through the pantry, I found my mind wandering back to why Sonata was alone in an alleyway and why her sisters had left her. I had to get her to answer my questions. "Um…Sonata?" I asked, my head remaining in the pantry. "Yes?" she replied. "I was wondering…why were you in the alleyway crying? Where are your sisters? Did they forget about you?" I turned back to the girl as Sonata looked towards the ground. "Adagio…Aria…they left me." My eyes lit up with surprise. "What? Why?" I said as I closed the pantry door and walked up to the chair that I previously sat on. "They…hate me…they say that I am an irritating little sister…we had an argument and they left me." the distraught girl explained as tears began to form in her eyes. "How mean. Some sisters they are." I grumbled bitterly. "They…they left me out in the world...alone; I don't know how to live on my own in this world! Why would my sisters do that to me?" demanded Sonata as she covered her face with her hands and began to sob. "Poor thing. How horrible that Adagio and Aria would do such a thing to their own flesh and blood." I thought. I got up from my seat and placed my hand on her furthest shoulder, making her look back up at me through blurry eyes. "You poor girl. Don't you worry; as long as you're in my care, I will never leave you alone. Never." I announced as I leaned down and gave Sonata a hug. "You're such a kind person…thank you." said Sonata as she sniffled and wrapped her arms tightly around me in reply. "You are very welcome." I said as I hugged her tightly. As I inhaled through my nostrils, I noticed a horrid stink; as if someone had just come out of the sewers. I'm taking a gander that it's Sonata. "Ok, that's enough hugging for now, you need a shower. You smell bad." I said blatantly as Sonata looked at me with surprise. She took a whiff of her jacket and almost gagged from the smell. I noticed her face going a bit green for a second there. "Ugghhh…you're right. Do you mind if I use you’re shower?" Sonata requested as she got up from her seat, wiping away the tears from her face. "Not at all, follow me." I replied as Sonata and I walked towards the hall where I could point to the left where the bathroom door was. "Here you go, this is the bathroom. I'll go get you some clean clothing to wear in the meantime. I hope you don’t mind that they’re my clothes, we’ll go and acquire some clothing for you tomorrow." I said as I opened the bathroom door for Sonata. "Ok. I guess I can deal with that for a while. Oh, I also need new underwear, if you don’t mind." said Sonata as she took off her jacket. "Please, you can keep that to yourself. It makes me uncomfortable." I said as I looked away with a flushed face. I looked back at Sonata who was giving me a funny-looking grin. "You are gonna have to come with me around the lingerie area as well, you know; you’ve got the munnies. I don't." Sonata teased as she nudged me on the shoulder. "Just get in the shower and get yourself cleaned." I requested as I pushed her into the bathroom and shut the door behind her as my face became a lovely shade of crimson. I stood there against the bathroom door, as my face began to sweat with nervousness. "Calm down. Calm down. I hope I don't get any women staring at me, wondering why I'm in some lingerie store. They might say things like, 'that guy's a creep' or 'what a perv. Looking through women's clothing? Disgusting.' I don't want to take that risk. Perhaps also, we can also go to Hot Topic to see if there's any jackets she likes over there. Every once in a while I find something interesting in there." I thought as I walked into my room across from the bathroom. All around my room were posters, a couple of anime collectibles, 80's themed stuff, and a stack of DVDs. I walked over to the closet and opened it to see what would be fitting for Sonata. I flipped through the shirts and could see a lot of rock band shirts like AC/DC, Led Zeppelin and other bands that my original parents let me listened to. I then found a Led Zeppelin shirt that seemed fitting for Sonata to wear. "This should be fine. What do I have for bottoms that’s clean she can wear?” I wondered out loud as I turned to my right to face my dresser. I sat waiting on my bed for another three minutes or so playing on my phone for Sonata to finish up, wearing my own PJs that I’d changed into once I’d put together a clean outfit for the girl across the hall. I then noticed that the sound of rushing water from the bathroom has stopped, leading me to surmise that Sonata had finished her shower. "Looks like she's done." I thought as I hear the bathroom door creaking open a ways. "Um...mister...uh..." began Sonata, not knowing my name. "It's Jack. Jack Backlash." I said to her. "Well, Jack...would you mind if I wear your shower robe till you pick out PJs for me to wear for the night?" asked Sonata. "Sure. Why not, even though I already have your PJs picked out." "And one more thing, is there a toothbrush I can use?" she inquired, sticking her head out the door. I got up from my bed and headed towards the bathroom as Sonata sucked her head back into the backroom again. Before I entered the bathroom or even open the door all the way, I gave it a couple of knocks to be safe in case if she was still naked. "Come in." said Sonata in a sing-song voice. I opened the door and saw Sonata standing in the middle of the bathroom wearing my black shower robe smiling at me. I noticed that the room was a bit steamy. I totally forgot to tell her if she was going to take a hot shower to put on the air conditioning. I stood there looking away from Sonata with a blush across my face. "What's wrong, Jack? Can't look at me wearing a robe? You naughty boy. Do you want a little peek?" said Sonata as she began to tease me by pulling up a little of the lower part of the shower robe. "Don't do that, please." I said as I turned around with sweat coming down my face. "Hehehehe. Just kidding, Jackie. Anyway, could you show me a toothbrush I can use?" asked Sonata in a giggly tone. I turned towards the cabinets on my right and looked inside. I did have a toothbrush that I was gonna use a few weeks later, what with the bristles on my toothbrush starting to look gangly; but because of Sonata being here, I might as well give it to her. "Here you go." I said as I handed over the toothbrush to her, avoiding eye contact. "Thank you." said Sonata as she walked over to the sink beginning to brush her teeth. "I’ll go fetch the clothes I’m lending you for the night. I'll lend you pants and another shirt for tomorrow." I said as I walked over to my room to collect the items then back into the bathroom to hand them over to her. "Thank you yet again." she said after rinsing her mouth. "I'll leave you in here to change." I said as I handed over the clothes and walked out of the bathroom, closing the door behind me. I walked into the living room and sat down on the couch. I turned on the TV and began going through my recording to watch the latest episode of Parasyte; I have to thank Blake for introducing me to this anime. It really reminds me of my most favorite alien flick, John Carpenter’s The Thing. Right as I pressed play, I heard Sonata open the bathroom door and before closing it again behind her. She walked into the living room wearing the PJs I gave her. "These are really quite comfy." she announced as she twirled around twice in a happily manner, her loose hair flinging stray water about in the process. "Hehe. Glad you like them, at least you’re comfortable." I chuckled. "Would...you mind if I sit next to you?" asked Sonata as she rubbed the back of her head. "Sure," I said as I patted the empty spot on the couch. Sonata sat down beside me a few inches away with a flushed face. She then looked towards the TV and was a bit surprised to what I was watching. "Ewwwww. What is this show?" asked Sonata as she looked over to me with a disgusted face. "It's called Parasyte. My friend Blake recommended me this show. I really like it." "Who's the hand? It looks...kinda cute." said Sonata as she formed a little smile on her face. "It's Migi. Migi is an alien that took over Shinichi's right arm." I explained. "Gross! Do you have the first episode on here?" "You want to watch it from the beginning? For real?" I asked with surprise. "For realsies." she replied as she gave me a nod. "Ok," I said as I paused the episode and switched to the first episode. As I pressed play, I turned my head towards Sonata who’d grabbed hold of a couch pillow and hugged it tightly. "I hope this doesn't give her nightmares." I thought with a gulp as the episode started playing. As the episode ended, I turned my head towards Sonata, who sat next to me with shock in her face. Her face reminded me of the OMG cat. I couldn't help, but giggle. "What's so funny?" asked Sonata. "Your face a second ago. You reminded me of the OMG cat on Youtube." I said as I stopped my giggling. "I was...surprised to how good this show is. Can we watch another?" she asked as she gave me the puppy-dog look. "As you wish." I said as I changed it to the next episode. As the commercials came on after the first half of the episode, I fast forward through them till I get to the second half. "Um...Jack. Could you pause the show for a sec? I wanted to ask you about something." said Sonata as I paused to the beginning of the second half of the second episode. "What's up?" I asked as I turned my head towards her. "How old are you?" she asked. "I'm eighteen. Why ask?" I said giving her a cocked eyebrow. "Oh, well...I noticed that your folks aren't here. Do you live alone?" "You are correct. I moved into this apartment seven months ago. My foster parents aren't that far away. I do meet them every once in a while." "Oh...so you were adopted?" "Indeed. They took me in after my real parents passed away. I was ten years old." I said looking away from her. "My gosh...so young." said Sonata as she covered her mouth out of surprise. "I still miss them very much...if they were still alive today, I’m sure they’d be very proud of me." I explained as I fought to hold back a stray tear. I lost the fight. I covered my face and silently wept next to her. How embarrassing. I then felt Sonata resting her head on my shoulder as she pats my back. I turned over to her and began to notice that her arms are wrapping around me in a warm embrace. "It's ok to cry. You lost your family; my family left me without saying goodbye. I feel your pain." said Sonata as she hugged me tighter. I couldn't help, but hug her back as I wrapped my arms around her. She continued hugging me, while softly patting my back. "Thank you, Sonata." I said as I broke the hug and wiped the remaining tears off my face. "Your welcome, Jackie." said Sonata while giving me a soft smile. I smiled back, then turned towards the clock above the TV. It was 10:30 PM. Man, does time fly by so quickly. "Boy oh boy, is it late." I said as I gave out a stretch of my arms. Sonata turned her head towards the clock and then back at me. "You're right. I'm getting sleepy." said Sonata as she yawned. "Since you are here I'll let you sleep on my bed, It's far better than sleeping on the couch." "Are you sure you want me to take your bed?" "I don't mind. Like I said earlier, 'make yourself comfortable'." "Well, ok." said Sonata as she stood up from the couch. "You know where my room is, right?" "I saw it. I know where it is." "Well, goodnight Sonata." I said as I stood up and gave her a hug. "Goodnight, Jackie." said Sonata as she hugged me back. We broke hugs and went our separate ways for the night. As Sonata closed the door, I walked into the hallway and shut off the light. I came back into the living room and entered into the kitchen to turn off the lights before I returned to the living room and turned off the lamp; my entire apartment went dark save for a sliver of light coming from the sliding doors to the outside patio. I usually like to go out there to read or to look around Canterlot. I shoulder rolled onto the couch and as I tried to fall asleep, I let myself listen to the pitter-patter of the rain coming down outside. "Welcome home, Sonata." I mumbled to myself quietly as I shut my eyes and gradually fell to sleep.