#because all she does is disappoint the hungry wolves & give them very little to write about. all lena knows is work & friends & kara

[coffeeshib]

I just know that paparrazis follow Lena all the time, in hopes of ruining her reputation, but all they get is absolutely nothing. Zilch. Every time

paparazzi, trying to get some juicy gossip:

boss: got anything for me yet? any finds.

paparazzi, immediately breaking into tears: there's nothing. there's nothing to say. how is this woman so kind & warm. lena luthor just minds her own business, works quietly, & so oftenly meets up with this blonde friend of hers to buy her food & take her to expensive places.

[sideblogformindtrash]

Cw: pet whump, panic attacks mentioned, nightmares, therapy

The therapist shakes her legs softly, writing something down on her clipboard as June relates to her yet another tale of terrible nightmares. 

She's been great, and patient, and each passing day, he fears will be the moment she tells them that she can no longer help him. 

This room has become too important of a space for him to lose now, safe with the succulent plants all over the shelves, the books, a big window, too high on the building to be visible for anyone outside, but giving them a clear sight of the neighborhood.

"...I'm… not sure if it feels worse that I'm alone when I wake up… or not" he admits.

Feels like he should be able to handle this by now, having been lonely for such a long time, on the darkest of the woods.

On his city apartment, there are no lonely trees to cast monstrous shadows, no wolves barking in the night, no soft cry in the basement. 

He longs for that, as sick as it was, because the sounds of a busy mainstreet, parties and nosy neighbours all sound more agressive and unreal to him. 

"Maybe you should adopt a pet" she suggests lifting her eyes from the clipboard "They are no replacement for human company, but they help with loneliness. If you get a cat or a dog, we can even look into options of getting them trained to help you with your panic attacks"

He toys with the hem of his shirt. Animals are better than people. It 's… true. 

"What if I can't take care of them?" 

Again she smiles, trustingly. She's put so much faith in them, that June is getting scared of disappointed her, like he has everyone else. 

"Well… I think you'll do just fine. Besides… animals make themselves heard. It's a good motivation to get up every morning, caring for a beloved company"

He tries to envision his life with a pet. Maybe yeah, it would be easier to get out of bed if he had a cat meowing at his year at six am because it's hungry. He smiles a little, and when he realizes it, he hides it. 

-

He goes to the shop, if only to tell his therapist that he did. 

It's immediately overwhelming. The strong smell of pet food, clinking toys, extreme colors everywhere. The forest has very little space for bright yellows, strong pinks and dark blues. 

He does his best to ignore that, quickly escaping into the back of the store.

The sight of cages wouldn't be welcomed usually, but .. it's way easier to deal with it when they are filled with cute little animals. 

He goes, one by one, checking cats and dogs and even a rabbit. Yet, he isn't prepared for what he sees in the last cage.

A person. 

Dressed in frilly clothes, with sweet, doe eyes and a collar, and a price tag on the cage. 

Yeah. 

June's heard about it.

These Pets were not a thing, when he was taken. But those were long years, and lots of things can happen

He knew there had been some resistance at first, but with the Pets appearing on tv and celebrities getting them, they started to slowly grow in popularity. 

Enough that when he was rescued, they thought he was one, and he was taken to a shelter, until they found out just how long it had been.

Then… suddenly, he became a much more interesting case, because pet abuse… was becoming normal. But a boy kidnapped by a murderer. 

He gets emails from true crimes fans every other week. 

June walks closer to the cage, and the pet locks eyes with him. He approaches the bars, much like the others, putting his head against the bars to ask for caresses. 

June can't bring themselves to. 

"Will you be my new master?" He giggles. 

It's a very convincing plea and smile.

But June is good at seeing the darkness in people, and this boy has a lot of it, locked behind the sweet eyes. 

He almost wants to tear him open, just to watch it spill. Because as he said… he would be the master. 

"...Ah, these are really popular nowadays" 

June nearly jumps, turning around to see a clerk with their customer service smile. 

He immediately shifts feeling small as scared as if… as if they could just tell what lies inside him, too. 

"...Can I help?" The clerk ends up asking as June tries to recollect. 

"I'm looking for… a… cat… that can… be… therapy pet" he whispers, fighting against his words . He must have sounded so stupid, but the clerk nods, understanding. 

"Well. Cats are hard to train" he gestures to the cage again "You'd better with this guy here… or a dog, I suppose"

June shakes his head. After all of that… he's no fan of dogs. 

"Cat" he repeats again. 

"...We can even call the company. They offer to add in the training for a fee" the clerk says, and June isn't sure if he didn't hear… or didn't care. He keeps going on about it, until June feels .. cornered, overwhelmed, almost panicked. And the pet stares, with doe like eyes. 

-

Next week, he tells their therapist about the new pet. And that he indeed is sleeping better. She seems proud and happy, writing down on her clipboard. 

He doesn't mention what kind of pet that is. June wonders how she would react.