title catnip
pairing Kyungsoo/Junmyeon
rating PG-13
length 2,359
summary Kyungsoo adopts a cat out of loneliness. He keeps him out of love.
a/n Originally written for
chwihae at
sooheaven. Again, fluff just stays with me. Also, first time writing hybrids what's up.
“I’m home!” Kyungsoo says, brushing back the few flakes of snow that dust his bangs as he enters the apartment. Winter struck without warning this year, and Kyungsoo’s suffering the consequences of bad preparation as he tries to shed the layers upon layers of clothing he wore today. “Junmyeon?”
The thing about living with a hybrid at home, is that they’re very unpredictable. At least, that’s what Kyungsoo’s gathered from his years of living with Junmyeon. If there’s one thing Kyungsoo learned, it’s that cats are a very needy type, whining on and on about needing to be petted, or fed, or just generally served hand and foot like pretentious little shits.
Kim Junmyeon is in fact, one of those pretentious little shits.
To be fair, the director of the shelter warned Kyungsoo that this cat was a bit of a handful. Junmyeon was much more innocent and delicate when he first arrived at the shelter, mind and body worn from the years of abandonment, but he started to grow wilder as he grew around the other cats.
A hybrid by the name of Park Chanyeol seemed to be a huge negative influence on the newer cats, much to the director’s, and Kyungsoo’s, dismay.
The first thing Kyungsoo notices as he enters his living room is the fact that the couch is thankfully still in one piece. He ticks that off of his mental list, and continues further into the apartment, bracing himself for any signs of broken furniture or fixtures. Living room, clear. Bathroom, clear. Kitchen, clear. Bedroom… Well let’s just say Kyungsoo has seen worse. In his dreams.
There’s literally feathers floating around everywhere when he opens the door, like a chicken coop housing too much poultry, except Kyungsoo doesn’t own any chickens, and his apartment is definitely not a place Junmyeon can just do whatever he pleases and expect to get off scot free.
“Junmyeon!” Kyungsoo shouts as he tosses his windbreaker onto his bed. Left in the carnage are two unfortunate pillowcases, ripped viciously to sheds with clear claw marks. He puffs his chest out before repeating louder, “Junmyeon! Get over here!” The feathers float gently onto his clock, which is now flashing a bright red 12:00 AM repeatedly. “Ju-”
“I’m here, I’m here,” Junmyeon answers lazily. His voice is coming from inside the room, somewhere. Kyungsoo zones in on a particularly large pile of feathers near his dresser, a pair of black ears sticking out from the mass of white. They twitch as their owner comes to from his obvious nap.
“Junmyeon what the hell is this?” Kyungsoo asks bluntly. If he concentrates hard enough, he can almost hear the nerves snapping inside of his head.
Junmyeon’s grown immune to Kyungsoo’s angry outbursts though, splitting open a careless smile as he tilts his head in innocence. “What’s what?”
This trick doesn’t work so much on Kyungsoo anymore, and he simply breathes in once, nice and deep, and puts on a smile, the smile he uses whenever he needs to deal with unruly customers and adults who are far more adolescent than mature. Junmyeon of course leans more on the adolescent side of the scale.
“Why does my room look like the aftermath of a chicken explosion?”
“That’s gross,” Junmyeon says as he scrunches up his nose.
Kyungsoo deadpans. “I’m serious. I don’t want to keep coming back home to a mess that I have to clean up. It’s tiring.”
“Right, right. I’ll make sure to be clean next time.” Junmyeon replies with disinterest as he wanders out of the room.
He doesn’t keep himself clean for two more weeks.
“Junmyeon!” Kyungsoo cries at the sight of his beautiful tartan curtains torn to shreds. His bank account cries softly in the distance.
Junmyeon is, as always, nowhere to be found. It’s almost like a game of hide and seek for the both of them, except Junmyeon is always playing and Kyungsoo doesn’t like to play games. This is something he tried to drill into Junmyeon’s head when he first arrived at the apartment, but Junmyeon seems gung-ho on trying to convince him it’ll be fun.
After a bit of unnecessary searching and Junmyeon baiting, Kyungsoo finally finds the cat underneath his covers, curled up for one of his long cat naps. A soft purring escapes Junmyeon’s chest and his lips quiver every few seconds. There’s a small pang in Kyungsoo’s heart at the sight, and he recognizes it later as… affection?
When he first visited the shelter, Kyungsoo was desperate to fill the void that loneliness started to leave within him. While he did have companions through work and overseas, it just wasn’t the same as having someone to talk to and be around at home.
Junmyeon seemed like the best choice for him, being someone who personally knew what it felt like to have no one close to you. Through gentle hellos and casual exchanges, a connection sparked between them, and Kyungsoo knew he wasn’t going to feel lonely anymore.
It’s this reason that Kyungsoo always forgives Junmyeon in the end. The reason that he’s able to turn a blind eye to Junmyeon’s antics and still care for him.
“Kyungsoo,” Junmyeon breathes softly.
It catches Kyungsoo off-guard and when he turns back to look at Junmyeon, the cat is smiling in his sleep, a fondness spreading through his face. He looks positively content on Kyungsoo’s bed, with the way he snuggles deeper into the blankets for warmth.
After rubbing Junmyeon’s arm, Kyungsoo pulls the blankets up higher before heading back to decide how to fix the disaster in his living room.
“If you keep hovering over me like this, I won’t be able to cook anything you know,” Kyungsoo notes calmly to the weight clinging to his back.
Junmyeon has a bad habit-on top of many others-of sticking himself to Kyungsoo whenever he’s in the kitchen cooking. At first it was awkward because Kyungsoo wasn’t used to another person in the kitchen with him, and the lack of space made it hard to move around easily. But after a while, he’s gotten used to Junmyeon’s habit and ignores him whenever he sees the cat entering after him.
“How will I know you’re cooking something good?” Junmyeon quips, lips curving upwards as his arms tighten around Kyungsoo’s waist. “I can’t be too sure.”
Kyungsoo sighs as he takes a bowl out from the sink to clean, mulling over the best option of detaching Junmyeon from his back. He doesn’t want to admit it, but he does enjoy Junmyeon’s company, with the way his body emits the special type of warmth that he enjoys, the way Junmyeon purrs against his back.
He enjoys having Junmyeon around, and he knows Junmyeon does as well with him.
“You’ve been with me long enough. You know how I cook.”
Junmyeon nuzzles his nose into Kyungsoo’s shoulder. “Yeah, but I just have to see for myself.” He doesn’t seem to be letting go anytime soon, with the way he rests his chin on Kyungsoo’s collarbone, threatening to make them both fall over.
“Just don’t get your tail in anything,” Kyungsoo warns.
As if on cue, Junmyeon’s tail swishes around happily before it thwacks Kyungsoo’s arm in impatience.
Dinner gets set up without much of a hassle, the only distractions coming from Junmyeon being a few whines about how the food’s not done and when it was going to be finished.
He only detaches from Kyungsoo when he smells the first piece of tuna frying in the pan, and switches to stand only a few inches behind Kyungsoo. He watches Kyungsoo closely, curiously and unblinking, as if it would speed the cooking process up quicker. His tail ends up flicking rapidly because of his concentration, and it brushes against Kyungsoo’s legs a few times.
“Okay I think this is done-” Kyungsoo isn’t able to finish his sentence before Junmyeon is practically barreling into him to get to the food. He’s already picking at the fresh piece of fish with his claws and dropping little bites into his mouth.
Despite Junmyeon’s lack of manners, Kyungsoo watches him eat with adoration as he sets up his own plate. A few approving hums erupt from Junmyeon’s throat and the smile that is plastered all over his face lets Kyungsoo know he’s content.
“Good?” Kyungsoo asks as he sticks a fork into his own piece.
“Very.” Junmyeon licks at the corners of his lips after gobbling a large piece and practically moans with happiness. ”This is amazing.”
“I’d hope so. But next time, let me set up a bowl for you so you don’t have to dig in the pan.”
Junmyeon flashes a lopsided grin as he licks his fingers clean.
Baths are a much easier task.
Junmyeon always perks up whenever he hears the sound of running water, and Kyungsoo can’t even turn off the faucet completely before a flash of skin zips past him and drunk straight into the bathtub. When Junmyeon rises from the water, his hair’s already sticking to his face, and he shakes it out of habit, splashing water everywhere-mostly onto Kyungsoo.
“Do you have to do this every time?” Kyungsoo asks as he attempts to dry himself before Junmyeon splashes him again.
“Yes,” Junmyeon answers happily. “If I’m wet, you have to be wet.”
Kyungsoo can’t argue with that logic, but he isn’t fond with the way it has him drenched in water when clearly, the only person that needs to take a bath is Junmyeon.
“Why do you like the water so much?” Kyungsoo asks. “I thought all cats hate water.”
Junmyeon rises further and the water starts dripping down his pale skin. “Hey, that’s some stereotyping right there. I’ve always loved the water. It’s like my home.” He thinks for a moment. “After yours that is.”
“I’m grateful. I can’t imagine how difficult it would be if you kept screaming every time I tried to give you a bath.”
A sly grin. “Almost as bad as you awkwardly trying to wash me down.”
Kyungsoo blushes at this. He’ll admit, when he first tried washing Junmyeon, he was completely overwhelmed with how much contact it entailed. It didn’t help that every time his hands came into contact with Junmyeon’s skin, the cat kept mewling in pleasure, like he was enjoying the torture it was giving Kyungsoo.
“That was… We don’t walk about that.”
Junmyeon purrs. “Yeah, I’m much happier with how much you’re into it now.”
A bucket of water is poured over Junmyeon at this, and the bathroom fills with the sounds of screaming and laughter as they try to get each other soaked.
Not much cleaning happens afterwards.
“You know I bought you that scratching post for a reason right?”
Junmyeon purses his lips when Kyungsoo looks back at him, a shredded button up in his hands held up in an attempt to guilt him. This time, it seems to work. Junmyeon’s ears bend down slightly, and he actually looks apologetic as he watches Kyungsoo walk over to the edge of the bed.
A sigh brushes past Kyungsoo’s lips. He can’t stay mad at Junmyeon for long, and he’s already dropping the dress shirt onto the mattress, finding a seat next to Junmyeon.
“Look, I’m not mad…” Kyungsoo pauses. “Okay I’m a little mad, but it’s fine. I just can’t have you doing this kind of stuff. It’s really breaking my wallet here.”
Junmyeon stretches out onto the bed as his tail flicks softly against Kyungsoo’s thigh. He looks like he’s actually listening this time, and Kyungsoo’s happy about that.
“I need you to behave when I’m not at home… Actually, when I’m home too.” Kyungsoo starts scratching the spot behind Junmyeon’s ear that he’s learned is Junmyeon’s favorite. Immediately, Junmyeon’s face crinkles up in delight and he starts purring loudly. “I really like you. When I said I wanted to keep you, I really meant it.”
Junmyeon starts rubbing into Kyungsoo’s hand and his head finds comfort in Kyungsoo’s lap, resting in a position that makes it easy for Kyungsoo to scratch him.
“I really thought it would be much easier, but I guess I’ll just have to learn to live with it.”
The black collar wrapped around Junmyeon’s neck tinkle when Kyungsoo taps at it.
“What about you? Has it been easy?”
Junmyeon stops purring. When he sits up, he stares a bit harder into Kyungsoo’s eyes and there’s hints of sadness peeking through. “I miss you. When you’re away.”
“I’m not gone for that long though,” Kyungsoo replies. “It’s just a few hours.”
Junmyeon shakes his head. “It feels much longer. When you come home, you’re tired and you don’t want to talk. So I just try to hold your attention because you’re always quiet.”
Kyungsoo frowns. It’s true. Sometimes he comes home and he’s so exhausted that he’ll just head straight to bed, without a single word. Sometimes his work has him sitting at his desk at home and he’ll just type away, too busy with reports and emails that need replies.
“Have I really, been like that…”
Junmyeon needs attention too. He needs affection. It isn’t fair for him to just be disregarded like that.
Kyungsoo knows this. Or rather, he knows this now. He knows it must be hard for Junmyeon to wait so long for him to come home, only to be ignored by the very person who adopted him, for reasons that are probably outlandish to him.
“I know I’m not the best hybrid in the world,” Junmyeon says quietly. “I don’t want you to leave me. I don’t want to disappoint you.”
“But you don’t,” Kyungsoo says. Carefully, he wraps his arms around Junmyeon, pulling him in close. “I’m the one who should be apologizing. I didn’t realize how much this has been affecting you.”
Junmyeon’s arms come up to wrap around Kyungsoo. “So you’re not going to leave me?”
“Of course not,” Kyungsoo answers. “I’m not leaving you.”
And he won’t, not with how much he’s grown to love Junmyeon, to care for him as the loneliness disappears with each morning.
♔