Fanfiction: Home (oneshot)
Title: Home
Fandom: The GazettE
Pairings: AoixUruha (main), ReitaxRuki, RukaxKai
Rating: PG
Spoilers/Warnings: AU, WAFF, kittens
Disclaimers: I don’t own them, I’m not implying any of this is true. If it was, that means the person doing Aoi's twitter is seriously one hell of a magician.
Summary: Aoi and Uruha are a pair of Persian kittens in Ruki and Reita’s pet shop waiting eagerly to be taken to a new home. However, while Aoi hopes that they get bought together, Uruha knows better. But what will happen when they get separated?
A/N: This fic was inspired by a trip to the pet store where I happened on a pair of kittens that reminded me of my favourite GazettE guitarists, how one was aloof (Uruha) even as the other tried to get him to play (Aoi). Weird explanation aside, I wrote this in a couple of hours and hope it makes someone smile ^^ thanks for reading and comments are love.
***
Uruha was having the greatest dream.
He was having his back stroked as he stretched languorously in front of a roaring fire. He was just close enough to feel the waves of heat tickling the ends of his fur.
But he knew the happiness he felt wasn’t from the pampering he was getting. It was from the fact that he was home, surrounded by a family that loved and spoiled him. He knew that if he opened his eyes he would see the plush leather furniture, the warmly coloured rugs and teak bookcases.
But Uruha didn’t want to open his eyes just yet.
“Not yet,” he purred at the base of his throat as he tucked his nose into the cradle of his paws.
And he would have continued sleeping if it wasn’t for a pair of sharp teeth sinking into the thinnest part of his tail.
It made him jump up with a yowl as he instinctively arched his back and bared his teeth. The baser part of him wanted to jump at his attacker, but since there were only two of them in the small cage, he knew who it was.
“Aoi! What the hell!” Uruha snarled, glaring at the gray kitten opposite him who was trying to look apologetic even as his mouth curled into a whiskery smirk.
“I’m sorry Uru, but you weren’t waking up even though I kept repeatedly pawing at your back,” Aoi said as he calmly wet his paw and used it to flatten down his furry cheeks, puffed up from his thin white collar.
“We have company…”
At those words, Uruha immediately sat up ramrod straight and curled his tail around his body. Stifling a yawn, he mimicked what Aoi was doing and wet his paw to wash behind his ears, knowing that phrase was their codeword for “prospective families”.
“Had a good look at them yet?” Uruha asked as he arched his back in a wave and straightened his whiskers. Aoi nodded as he motioned to the three people standing around the owner of the pet store.
“A little girl and her parents. She seemed to like us, she stuck her finger into the cage and smiled when I shook it,” Aoi said. Uruha rolled his eyes as he craned his neck to get a better look at the family.
“No, not us Aoi, she liked you,” Uruha said disapprovingly as he lay down and waited for the storeowner, who the kittens regarded as Master Ruki, to take them out of their cage. Aoi frowned as he paced back and forth in the cage, stopping only occasionally to pounce on Uruha’s tail.
“Aoi! Stop that!” Uruha snapped as he tucked his tail into his paws.
“Well if you want me to stop, then stop flicking it!” Aoi fired back as he sat back on his haunches. “Besides, we look cute when we play like that, more chance of them buying us to bring home.”
“Again with the us! Aoi,” Uruha admonished the gray kitten with a sound smack of his paw.
“You do realise, most people won’t take both of us. Especially since we are both male. Not many people what two male cats running around the house. We only have a higher chance of getting sold together if you turned out to be a girl.”
Uruha wrinkled his nose as he looked at his friend.
“I still have no idea why Master Reita brought home another male kitten,” Uruha said haughtily as he looked away. Aoi simply rolled his eyes, which he normally did to conceal how hurt he was by Uruha’s cold tone.
But he wasn’t that wounded by Uruha’s attitude, knowing that it stemmed from the blonde deep-seated need to find a home. Uruha had been in the shop longer than Aoi had by a couple of months, and in fact the grey kitten was surprised that he hadn’t been bought yet given how pretty he was.
Uruha’s fur was a lovely blend of blonde and cream that seemed to glow after he had been groomed. Aoi in comparison thought he looked like a gray dust ball the first time he had stared himself in the mirror.
Something Uruha liked to remind Aoi on a daily basis. Although in all honestly, Uruha thought the other cat was pretty cute, especially with the smidgen of white on his nose, not that he would ever tell him.
Despite them being friends, Uruha’s opinion of Aoi had been permanently coloured from the first time they had met, when the gray cat had bounded into his cage and said hello by chomping on his tail.
“Aww nuts, another false alarm,” Uruha sighed as he watched the family walk out of the shop with a pair of guinea pigs. Of all things it had to be guinea pigs, nasty rat like creatures, Uruha thought with a derogatory cat sniff as he fluffed up the fur around his collar.
“It’s okay Uru, I’m sure there is a perfect family out there for us,” Aoi said, trying to sound enthusiastic as he placed a reassuring paw on Uruha’s nose, which made him sneeze.
But Uruha didn’t mind really as he knew that Aoi was trying to cheer him up, to disperse the cloud that hung over the both of them. The truth was, they both knew that every day that passed by without them being sold, was another day closer to them being sent to “the shelter”.
Uruha felt a chill run through his spine at the very thought. They both had been warned about “the shelter”, a place where cats and dogs were sent when they became too old to sell. While it didn’t sound like a terribly bad place, Aoi and Uruha knew that their chances would be narrowed drastically at finding a good home.
“Oh! Here come another family Uru,” Aoi said as he stood on his hind legs as a male couple walked through causing the doorbell to ring its familiar chime.
“Two guys? Most likely they will be wanting a ….dog,” Uruha said with the same disgusted sniff he used when describing the guinea pigs. Aoi cocked his head to the side as he appraised the new customers.
“I don’t know about that Uruha, the shorter guy with the dimples looks more like a cat person to me,” Aoi drew the conclusion as he caught his own tail and gave it a grooming lick.
“Hello and welcome! How may I help you?” Ruki asked from behind the counter. Like Uruha, he was expecting the couple the couple to ask for one of the puppies they kept behind the shop.
“Hi, I’m Kai and this is Ruka,” the shorter brunette introduced himself with a warm handshake. “We are looking for a kitten today.”
“A kitten?” Ruki tried to mask his surprise. While he could picture Kai as a cat person, his towering surly looking partner looked like he ate them for breakfast.
“Well you are in luck, we have a lovely pair of Persian kittens. We just had them vaccinated and they are ready for a home,” Reita said as he popped the latch of the kitten’s cage and gingerly lifted them out.
Uruha knew the drill as Reita placed them on the main shop table that was surrounded by a low border. First he stretched out to let the customer see all of him, then he stalked around before tentatively sniffing the hand that Kai had offered him.
Kai smelt of home cooking to Uruha. Of apple pie and cinnamon and fresh fish, an odd concoction that was comforting nonetheless. Licking Kai’s fingertip in approval, Uruha then pressed himself against the brunette’s forearm.
“Regal little thing isn’t she?” Kai said with a chuckle as he ran his finger up and down Uruha’s chest, causing the blonde kitten to let out a contented purr. Aoi in contrast was a rambunctious ball of energy, bouncing off the corners as he took the opportunity to stretch his legs.
“He, they are both males,” Ruki said as he tried to keep Aoi from doing a death dive off the table. Uruha shot Aoi a look at his antics as if trying to tell him to behave. Aoi sighed inwardly as he calmed down and sidled up to the blonde and stood quietly next to him.
“What a charming pair they make, don’t you think so Ruka?” Kai asked, clearly taken in by both of the kittens.
“Yes Kai, but…they are both male,” Ruka said as he ran his fingers along Aoi’s forehead causing him to lean into the touch. Despite his hard expression, Ruka’s calloused fingertips were gentle as they stroked the length of him.
“When they both grow up, they will tear up our furniture marking their territory,” Ruka said sensibly. Kai sighed as he tickled Aoi knowing that his lover was right.
“Shame, they really do look like they belong together,” Kai commented, laughing when Aoi caught his fingertip with the tip of his claw.
“So, which one will it be then?” Ruki asked as he placed both kittens back in their cage.
“This is it Aoi! I think someone will finally take one of us home,” Uruha said excitedly as he bounced on the balls of his feet. But Uruha stopped when he realised that Aoi didn’t share his sentiment as he just stared forlornly down at the ground, his chin on his chest.
“Aoi?”
“I don’t want either of us to go Uru,” Aoi said sadly. Uruha looked at him in surprise.
“Aoi, surely you knew this day would come,” Uruha said, before being distracted by Reita walking over to the cage.
“This is it!” Uruha said as he stood up straight. His heart pounding in his ribcage, Uruha looked up at the hands reaching into the cage, only to have it crash when it reached for Aoi instead.
Aoi….Aoi was the chosen one this time. Uruha felt disappointment crush his chest like a vice when he realised that he had been passed over.
“Goodbye Aoi, you have a good life okay,” Uruha said quietly as Reita started to lift him out of the cage.
But Uruha let out a gasp of pain as he felt Aoi dig his claws into his shoulders. His head snapped up and his eyes widened at the sight of Aoi looking at him with a look of abject terror on his face.
“I’m….not…leaving you Uru!”
“Aoi! Are you crazy? This is your chance you idiot! To have a home! To have someone to play with you and love you,” Uruha said as he tried to dislodge Aoi’s paws from his flanks.
“No! Don’t you understand Uru, without you….there is no home!” Aoi said as he tried frantically to hang on.
Aoi’s words stunned Uruha so much that he forgot to struggle, just staying still as grey kitten hung on to the other cat’s collar in a death grip.
“Why isn’t he letting go?” Reita said as he tugged at Aoi, but not using enough force to hurt the kitten. But Ruki was just as baffled as he was at the gray kitten’s stubbornness.
“Why don’t you put him back in and see if he calms down,” Ruki suggested as he held the lid of the cage open.
Once he was let go, Aoi ran back to Uruha almost knocking him backwards. Uruha just stared at him as Aoi lovingly nuzzled his whiskers, his breath still sweet with the scent of milk.
“When we are together, we are home Uru,” Aoi said seriously, bumping his head against the blonde. “And it doesn’t matter how many times you scold me for chasing your tail or refuse to play with me. You won’t ever persuade me any different.”
“Aoi,” Uruha said softly as he returned the other cat’s affectionate gesture, licking the soft base of his ears.
“We go as a pair or we don’t go at all, okay?” Aoi said with a determined look in his eye, which was mirrored in Uruha’s expression.
They were both so busy making their pact that they missed the cage opening and a pair of hands grabbing Aoi around the middle before it was too late.
“Aoi!” Uruha shouted as he reached for the other kitten, stretching his full length only to be met by the roof of the cage as it closed on him.
“Aoi!” Uruha cried out again pawing uselessly at the latch as he tried to make it pop open with all his might.
“Uru!” Aoi mewed back as he struggled in Ruki’s grasp, trying to get the man to drop him. He bared his claws and tried to sink his teeth into any available flesh, but was unable to find any given how Ruki was holding him at arms length.
When they tried to put him in the cardboard carry home case, Aoi clung on to the walls with all his might only to have his efforts thwarted as they carefully pried off his claws one by one.
The last thing Aoi heard were Uruha’s piteous mews as they placed the lid on the box, hearing his voice grow fainter and fainter through the air holes.
After that there was only darkness.
***
Uruha was never the same after Aoi left.
Previously the blonde kitten would stand up and pay attention anytime a potential family walked through the door. But now, he just lay there listlessly even as Ruki dangled some yarn to get him to play. The only thing that he even played with now was the catnip scented apple made of yarn that had been Aoi’s favourite toy.
Why didn’t he tell him he would miss him, or that he loved him? Uruha would trade all the happy families in the world for just one more chance to play with him.
He would even let him chew on his tail all he liked if it meant Aoi coming back.
“Reita, I’m worried about our little blondie here,” Ruki said as he took Uruha out of cage and stroked him under the chin. Usually Uruha loved it when someone stroked him there but this time he barely raised his head in response.
“Well the vet did say there was nothing wrong with him,” Reita said peering at the kitten as he scratched the back of his ears. “If I didn’t know better, I would say he was…. depressed.”
“Can cats even get depressed?” Ruki mused as he placed Uruha back in his cage. “But he’s been this way since….”
“Since you took Aoi away from me,” Uruha finished the sentence for Ruki as he placed his head on his paws. Reita sighed as he scratched the back of his head.
“We will have to do something about him. He isn’t going to get sold at this rate. And his temperament is so lovely it would be shame to send him to the RSPCA. I want to be certain he gets a good home,” Reita said clearly troubled.
Ruki chewed his bottom lip as he looked down at Uruha.
“Let me make a call,” Ruki said quietly as went behind the counter and started rummaging through his cards.
***
Another day gone, another day until he was less cute, Uruha thought to himself morosely as he chewed through his breakfast. He mentally prepared himself for another boring 24 hours.
Not realising, that today would be very different.
“Time to go little one,” Ruki said as he lifted the latch on his cage and cradled Uruha in his arms.
Go? Go where? Uruha thought in a panic. He hadn’t been seen by a customer in days, which only would mean one thing.
The shelter.
Uruha felt a cold hand squeeze his little heart as Ruki placed him in the cardboard box and closed the lid.
“No…no! Master Ruki no! I will be good I promise,” Uruha frantically mewed as he scratched at the lid of the box, his claws catching almost painfully on the holes.
“Hey, its okay blondie. Just calm down, you will be taken care of,” Ruki spoke gently, patting the box in lieu of patting the kitten.
But the words were no comfort as Uruha curled into a ball in the corner of the box. He knew where he was being taken, somewhere where he would have no home and no Aoi to comfort him.
His heart sank lower and lower as he felt himself being placed on a seat, recognising the familiar rumble of a car. He continued to lie still even when the car stopped and he felt Ruki carry the box.
When the lid was opened, Uruha was mentally prepared to see the shelter, which in his head he pictured as some kind of prison. Metal cages stacked like bricks on top of each other.
Hence why he was surprise to find that he was in the grooming parlour that the pet shop owners regularly used.
“We need to get you cleaned up before we send you to your new home sweetheart. You are a surprise for your owner so you have to look nice,” Ruki said as he handed Uruha over the groomer.
Uruha felt pure relief seep through his entire being at Ruki’s words, not even registering the fact that he had, in fact, been found a home.
But when the thought finally sank in, he was so happy that he didn’t even resist being put in the bath, which he normally hated. He just stood meekly as he was shampooed and dried, even holding his paws out to get the excess fur clipped.
He did make a face at the bowtie they clipped on him though, which he immediately tried to chew off.
“Thank God Aoi isn’t here to see this. He would laugh his furry butt off,” Uruha thought wryly as they placed him back in the box.
Aoi. Uruha suddenly felt a wave of sadness as he remembered that wherever he was going, Aoi wouldn’t be there.
“Never mind Uruha, even if Aoi is not there, and you will miss him terribly, at least you will be all right,” the blonde kitten gave himself a pep talk as he tried to stand up straight even as the box continued to jiggle.
When the box finally stopped moving and he heard the low murmur of voices, Uruha knew he had arrived at his destination. A few more jostles and then everything went still, and Uruha knew that his moment had come.
“Put your best paw forward Uruha,” he thought to himself as he took a deep breath as he heard the top of the box rustle. When it finally opened, Uruha was blinded for a moment by the bright light before he felt himself being lifted from the box and placed on the floor.
As he blinked so as to allow his eyes to adjust, Uruha looked up at his new owner who was smiling down at him. Uruha kept blinking because he swore he had seen those dimples before.
“Hey…isn’t this…”
But Uruha’s thoughts were interrupted as a gray bolt of lightning shot out from nowhere and hit him squarely in the chest. Uruha felt the wind knocked out of him as he tumbled roly-poly on the carpet, going round and round until his head felt dizzy.
“What the….”
“Uru!”
That voice, that familiar voice finally made Uruha’s vision swim back into focus and he found himself staring at a pair of eyes he knew all to well.
“Aoi?” Uruha said in disbelief. Aoi answered by simply nodding his head, which made the bell around his neck jingle.
“Aoi!” Uruha said happily as he pushed the gray kitten back, so that it was Aoi that was now sprawled on his back as he frantically licked at his face.
“Uru…Uru stop I can’t breathe!” Aoi complained as he tried to get back on his feet.
“I don’t care. You can bite my tail later as punishment,” Uruha said as he kept doing what he had been doing previously.
Nearby, Ruka and Kai were looking on at the scene in amusement.
“Thanks Ru, I knew something wasn’t right when we brought only one of them home,” Kai said as he gave his boyfriend a hug. Ruka gave a half smile as he dropped a kiss on top of Kai’s head.
“I wasn’t sure about it when Ruki called me, but I guess you were right. They do look like they belong together,” Ruka said quietly.
“Enough Uru!” Aoi said as he pushed the blonde kitten backwards and pretended to wipe his face in disgust. But Aoi just couldn't stop smiling at his friend who kept smiling back.
But soon he couldn't stop a chuckle as he noticed the black and white checkered bowtie around Uruha’s neck.
“You look pretty silly with that on Uru,” Aoi said, laughing so hard his whole body shook. Uruha glared at him as he tried to paw the bow off.
“Well I wouldn't talk so much bell boy,” Uruha said sticking his tongue out.
“Come on Uru! I have lots to show you! I already know where they keep the good toys and where they try and hide the food. I’ve already chewed a hole in the food bag,” Aoi said almost proudly.
“Aoi,” Uruha admonished, but only halfheartedly as he bounded after the gray kitten. But before he followed Aoi completely, he made a detour and wound himself around the ankles of his new owners in thanks.
As he ran after Aoi, Uruha was suddenly struck by a feeling in his chest. It was warm and tingly and something he had never felt before. He wanted to share it with Aoi, but decided against it in case he was laughed at.
If he had asked Aoi, the gray kitten would have been happy to identify the feeling, as he was feeling the same way himself.
It was the feeling of finally being home.
~The End~
***
Fandom: The GazettE
Pairings: AoixUruha (main), ReitaxRuki, RukaxKai
Rating: PG
Spoilers/Warnings: AU, WAFF, kittens
Disclaimers: I don’t own them, I’m not implying any of this is true. If it was, that means the person doing Aoi's twitter is seriously one hell of a magician.
Summary: Aoi and Uruha are a pair of Persian kittens in Ruki and Reita’s pet shop waiting eagerly to be taken to a new home. However, while Aoi hopes that they get bought together, Uruha knows better. But what will happen when they get separated?
A/N: This fic was inspired by a trip to the pet store where I happened on a pair of kittens that reminded me of my favourite GazettE guitarists, how one was aloof (Uruha) even as the other tried to get him to play (Aoi). Weird explanation aside, I wrote this in a couple of hours and hope it makes someone smile ^^ thanks for reading and comments are love.
***
Uruha was having the greatest dream.
He was having his back stroked as he stretched languorously in front of a roaring fire. He was just close enough to feel the waves of heat tickling the ends of his fur.
But he knew the happiness he felt wasn’t from the pampering he was getting. It was from the fact that he was home, surrounded by a family that loved and spoiled him. He knew that if he opened his eyes he would see the plush leather furniture, the warmly coloured rugs and teak bookcases.
But Uruha didn’t want to open his eyes just yet.
“Not yet,” he purred at the base of his throat as he tucked his nose into the cradle of his paws.
And he would have continued sleeping if it wasn’t for a pair of sharp teeth sinking into the thinnest part of his tail.
It made him jump up with a yowl as he instinctively arched his back and bared his teeth. The baser part of him wanted to jump at his attacker, but since there were only two of them in the small cage, he knew who it was.
“Aoi! What the hell!” Uruha snarled, glaring at the gray kitten opposite him who was trying to look apologetic even as his mouth curled into a whiskery smirk.
“I’m sorry Uru, but you weren’t waking up even though I kept repeatedly pawing at your back,” Aoi said as he calmly wet his paw and used it to flatten down his furry cheeks, puffed up from his thin white collar.
“We have company…”
At those words, Uruha immediately sat up ramrod straight and curled his tail around his body. Stifling a yawn, he mimicked what Aoi was doing and wet his paw to wash behind his ears, knowing that phrase was their codeword for “prospective families”.
“Had a good look at them yet?” Uruha asked as he arched his back in a wave and straightened his whiskers. Aoi nodded as he motioned to the three people standing around the owner of the pet store.
“A little girl and her parents. She seemed to like us, she stuck her finger into the cage and smiled when I shook it,” Aoi said. Uruha rolled his eyes as he craned his neck to get a better look at the family.
“No, not us Aoi, she liked you,” Uruha said disapprovingly as he lay down and waited for the storeowner, who the kittens regarded as Master Ruki, to take them out of their cage. Aoi frowned as he paced back and forth in the cage, stopping only occasionally to pounce on Uruha’s tail.
“Aoi! Stop that!” Uruha snapped as he tucked his tail into his paws.
“Well if you want me to stop, then stop flicking it!” Aoi fired back as he sat back on his haunches. “Besides, we look cute when we play like that, more chance of them buying us to bring home.”
“Again with the us! Aoi,” Uruha admonished the gray kitten with a sound smack of his paw.
“You do realise, most people won’t take both of us. Especially since we are both male. Not many people what two male cats running around the house. We only have a higher chance of getting sold together if you turned out to be a girl.”
Uruha wrinkled his nose as he looked at his friend.
“I still have no idea why Master Reita brought home another male kitten,” Uruha said haughtily as he looked away. Aoi simply rolled his eyes, which he normally did to conceal how hurt he was by Uruha’s cold tone.
But he wasn’t that wounded by Uruha’s attitude, knowing that it stemmed from the blonde deep-seated need to find a home. Uruha had been in the shop longer than Aoi had by a couple of months, and in fact the grey kitten was surprised that he hadn’t been bought yet given how pretty he was.
Uruha’s fur was a lovely blend of blonde and cream that seemed to glow after he had been groomed. Aoi in comparison thought he looked like a gray dust ball the first time he had stared himself in the mirror.
Something Uruha liked to remind Aoi on a daily basis. Although in all honestly, Uruha thought the other cat was pretty cute, especially with the smidgen of white on his nose, not that he would ever tell him.
Despite them being friends, Uruha’s opinion of Aoi had been permanently coloured from the first time they had met, when the gray cat had bounded into his cage and said hello by chomping on his tail.
“Aww nuts, another false alarm,” Uruha sighed as he watched the family walk out of the shop with a pair of guinea pigs. Of all things it had to be guinea pigs, nasty rat like creatures, Uruha thought with a derogatory cat sniff as he fluffed up the fur around his collar.
“It’s okay Uru, I’m sure there is a perfect family out there for us,” Aoi said, trying to sound enthusiastic as he placed a reassuring paw on Uruha’s nose, which made him sneeze.
But Uruha didn’t mind really as he knew that Aoi was trying to cheer him up, to disperse the cloud that hung over the both of them. The truth was, they both knew that every day that passed by without them being sold, was another day closer to them being sent to “the shelter”.
Uruha felt a chill run through his spine at the very thought. They both had been warned about “the shelter”, a place where cats and dogs were sent when they became too old to sell. While it didn’t sound like a terribly bad place, Aoi and Uruha knew that their chances would be narrowed drastically at finding a good home.
“Oh! Here come another family Uru,” Aoi said as he stood on his hind legs as a male couple walked through causing the doorbell to ring its familiar chime.
“Two guys? Most likely they will be wanting a ….dog,” Uruha said with the same disgusted sniff he used when describing the guinea pigs. Aoi cocked his head to the side as he appraised the new customers.
“I don’t know about that Uruha, the shorter guy with the dimples looks more like a cat person to me,” Aoi drew the conclusion as he caught his own tail and gave it a grooming lick.
“Hello and welcome! How may I help you?” Ruki asked from behind the counter. Like Uruha, he was expecting the couple the couple to ask for one of the puppies they kept behind the shop.
“Hi, I’m Kai and this is Ruka,” the shorter brunette introduced himself with a warm handshake. “We are looking for a kitten today.”
“A kitten?” Ruki tried to mask his surprise. While he could picture Kai as a cat person, his towering surly looking partner looked like he ate them for breakfast.
“Well you are in luck, we have a lovely pair of Persian kittens. We just had them vaccinated and they are ready for a home,” Reita said as he popped the latch of the kitten’s cage and gingerly lifted them out.
Uruha knew the drill as Reita placed them on the main shop table that was surrounded by a low border. First he stretched out to let the customer see all of him, then he stalked around before tentatively sniffing the hand that Kai had offered him.
Kai smelt of home cooking to Uruha. Of apple pie and cinnamon and fresh fish, an odd concoction that was comforting nonetheless. Licking Kai’s fingertip in approval, Uruha then pressed himself against the brunette’s forearm.
“Regal little thing isn’t she?” Kai said with a chuckle as he ran his finger up and down Uruha’s chest, causing the blonde kitten to let out a contented purr. Aoi in contrast was a rambunctious ball of energy, bouncing off the corners as he took the opportunity to stretch his legs.
“He, they are both males,” Ruki said as he tried to keep Aoi from doing a death dive off the table. Uruha shot Aoi a look at his antics as if trying to tell him to behave. Aoi sighed inwardly as he calmed down and sidled up to the blonde and stood quietly next to him.
“What a charming pair they make, don’t you think so Ruka?” Kai asked, clearly taken in by both of the kittens.
“Yes Kai, but…they are both male,” Ruka said as he ran his fingers along Aoi’s forehead causing him to lean into the touch. Despite his hard expression, Ruka’s calloused fingertips were gentle as they stroked the length of him.
“When they both grow up, they will tear up our furniture marking their territory,” Ruka said sensibly. Kai sighed as he tickled Aoi knowing that his lover was right.
“Shame, they really do look like they belong together,” Kai commented, laughing when Aoi caught his fingertip with the tip of his claw.
“So, which one will it be then?” Ruki asked as he placed both kittens back in their cage.
“This is it Aoi! I think someone will finally take one of us home,” Uruha said excitedly as he bounced on the balls of his feet. But Uruha stopped when he realised that Aoi didn’t share his sentiment as he just stared forlornly down at the ground, his chin on his chest.
“Aoi?”
“I don’t want either of us to go Uru,” Aoi said sadly. Uruha looked at him in surprise.
“Aoi, surely you knew this day would come,” Uruha said, before being distracted by Reita walking over to the cage.
“This is it!” Uruha said as he stood up straight. His heart pounding in his ribcage, Uruha looked up at the hands reaching into the cage, only to have it crash when it reached for Aoi instead.
Aoi….Aoi was the chosen one this time. Uruha felt disappointment crush his chest like a vice when he realised that he had been passed over.
“Goodbye Aoi, you have a good life okay,” Uruha said quietly as Reita started to lift him out of the cage.
But Uruha let out a gasp of pain as he felt Aoi dig his claws into his shoulders. His head snapped up and his eyes widened at the sight of Aoi looking at him with a look of abject terror on his face.
“I’m….not…leaving you Uru!”
“Aoi! Are you crazy? This is your chance you idiot! To have a home! To have someone to play with you and love you,” Uruha said as he tried to dislodge Aoi’s paws from his flanks.
“No! Don’t you understand Uru, without you….there is no home!” Aoi said as he tried frantically to hang on.
Aoi’s words stunned Uruha so much that he forgot to struggle, just staying still as grey kitten hung on to the other cat’s collar in a death grip.
“Why isn’t he letting go?” Reita said as he tugged at Aoi, but not using enough force to hurt the kitten. But Ruki was just as baffled as he was at the gray kitten’s stubbornness.
“Why don’t you put him back in and see if he calms down,” Ruki suggested as he held the lid of the cage open.
Once he was let go, Aoi ran back to Uruha almost knocking him backwards. Uruha just stared at him as Aoi lovingly nuzzled his whiskers, his breath still sweet with the scent of milk.
“When we are together, we are home Uru,” Aoi said seriously, bumping his head against the blonde. “And it doesn’t matter how many times you scold me for chasing your tail or refuse to play with me. You won’t ever persuade me any different.”
“Aoi,” Uruha said softly as he returned the other cat’s affectionate gesture, licking the soft base of his ears.
“We go as a pair or we don’t go at all, okay?” Aoi said with a determined look in his eye, which was mirrored in Uruha’s expression.
They were both so busy making their pact that they missed the cage opening and a pair of hands grabbing Aoi around the middle before it was too late.
“Aoi!” Uruha shouted as he reached for the other kitten, stretching his full length only to be met by the roof of the cage as it closed on him.
“Aoi!” Uruha cried out again pawing uselessly at the latch as he tried to make it pop open with all his might.
“Uru!” Aoi mewed back as he struggled in Ruki’s grasp, trying to get the man to drop him. He bared his claws and tried to sink his teeth into any available flesh, but was unable to find any given how Ruki was holding him at arms length.
When they tried to put him in the cardboard carry home case, Aoi clung on to the walls with all his might only to have his efforts thwarted as they carefully pried off his claws one by one.
The last thing Aoi heard were Uruha’s piteous mews as they placed the lid on the box, hearing his voice grow fainter and fainter through the air holes.
After that there was only darkness.
***
Uruha was never the same after Aoi left.
Previously the blonde kitten would stand up and pay attention anytime a potential family walked through the door. But now, he just lay there listlessly even as Ruki dangled some yarn to get him to play. The only thing that he even played with now was the catnip scented apple made of yarn that had been Aoi’s favourite toy.
Why didn’t he tell him he would miss him, or that he loved him? Uruha would trade all the happy families in the world for just one more chance to play with him.
He would even let him chew on his tail all he liked if it meant Aoi coming back.
“Reita, I’m worried about our little blondie here,” Ruki said as he took Uruha out of cage and stroked him under the chin. Usually Uruha loved it when someone stroked him there but this time he barely raised his head in response.
“Well the vet did say there was nothing wrong with him,” Reita said peering at the kitten as he scratched the back of his ears. “If I didn’t know better, I would say he was…. depressed.”
“Can cats even get depressed?” Ruki mused as he placed Uruha back in his cage. “But he’s been this way since….”
“Since you took Aoi away from me,” Uruha finished the sentence for Ruki as he placed his head on his paws. Reita sighed as he scratched the back of his head.
“We will have to do something about him. He isn’t going to get sold at this rate. And his temperament is so lovely it would be shame to send him to the RSPCA. I want to be certain he gets a good home,” Reita said clearly troubled.
Ruki chewed his bottom lip as he looked down at Uruha.
“Let me make a call,” Ruki said quietly as went behind the counter and started rummaging through his cards.
***
Another day gone, another day until he was less cute, Uruha thought to himself morosely as he chewed through his breakfast. He mentally prepared himself for another boring 24 hours.
Not realising, that today would be very different.
“Time to go little one,” Ruki said as he lifted the latch on his cage and cradled Uruha in his arms.
Go? Go where? Uruha thought in a panic. He hadn’t been seen by a customer in days, which only would mean one thing.
The shelter.
Uruha felt a cold hand squeeze his little heart as Ruki placed him in the cardboard box and closed the lid.
“No…no! Master Ruki no! I will be good I promise,” Uruha frantically mewed as he scratched at the lid of the box, his claws catching almost painfully on the holes.
“Hey, its okay blondie. Just calm down, you will be taken care of,” Ruki spoke gently, patting the box in lieu of patting the kitten.
But the words were no comfort as Uruha curled into a ball in the corner of the box. He knew where he was being taken, somewhere where he would have no home and no Aoi to comfort him.
His heart sank lower and lower as he felt himself being placed on a seat, recognising the familiar rumble of a car. He continued to lie still even when the car stopped and he felt Ruki carry the box.
When the lid was opened, Uruha was mentally prepared to see the shelter, which in his head he pictured as some kind of prison. Metal cages stacked like bricks on top of each other.
Hence why he was surprise to find that he was in the grooming parlour that the pet shop owners regularly used.
“We need to get you cleaned up before we send you to your new home sweetheart. You are a surprise for your owner so you have to look nice,” Ruki said as he handed Uruha over the groomer.
Uruha felt pure relief seep through his entire being at Ruki’s words, not even registering the fact that he had, in fact, been found a home.
But when the thought finally sank in, he was so happy that he didn’t even resist being put in the bath, which he normally hated. He just stood meekly as he was shampooed and dried, even holding his paws out to get the excess fur clipped.
He did make a face at the bowtie they clipped on him though, which he immediately tried to chew off.
“Thank God Aoi isn’t here to see this. He would laugh his furry butt off,” Uruha thought wryly as they placed him back in the box.
Aoi. Uruha suddenly felt a wave of sadness as he remembered that wherever he was going, Aoi wouldn’t be there.
“Never mind Uruha, even if Aoi is not there, and you will miss him terribly, at least you will be all right,” the blonde kitten gave himself a pep talk as he tried to stand up straight even as the box continued to jiggle.
When the box finally stopped moving and he heard the low murmur of voices, Uruha knew he had arrived at his destination. A few more jostles and then everything went still, and Uruha knew that his moment had come.
“Put your best paw forward Uruha,” he thought to himself as he took a deep breath as he heard the top of the box rustle. When it finally opened, Uruha was blinded for a moment by the bright light before he felt himself being lifted from the box and placed on the floor.
As he blinked so as to allow his eyes to adjust, Uruha looked up at his new owner who was smiling down at him. Uruha kept blinking because he swore he had seen those dimples before.
“Hey…isn’t this…”
But Uruha’s thoughts were interrupted as a gray bolt of lightning shot out from nowhere and hit him squarely in the chest. Uruha felt the wind knocked out of him as he tumbled roly-poly on the carpet, going round and round until his head felt dizzy.
“What the….”
“Uru!”
That voice, that familiar voice finally made Uruha’s vision swim back into focus and he found himself staring at a pair of eyes he knew all to well.
“Aoi?” Uruha said in disbelief. Aoi answered by simply nodding his head, which made the bell around his neck jingle.
“Aoi!” Uruha said happily as he pushed the gray kitten back, so that it was Aoi that was now sprawled on his back as he frantically licked at his face.
“Uru…Uru stop I can’t breathe!” Aoi complained as he tried to get back on his feet.
“I don’t care. You can bite my tail later as punishment,” Uruha said as he kept doing what he had been doing previously.
Nearby, Ruka and Kai were looking on at the scene in amusement.
“Thanks Ru, I knew something wasn’t right when we brought only one of them home,” Kai said as he gave his boyfriend a hug. Ruka gave a half smile as he dropped a kiss on top of Kai’s head.
“I wasn’t sure about it when Ruki called me, but I guess you were right. They do look like they belong together,” Ruka said quietly.
“Enough Uru!” Aoi said as he pushed the blonde kitten backwards and pretended to wipe his face in disgust. But Aoi just couldn't stop smiling at his friend who kept smiling back.
But soon he couldn't stop a chuckle as he noticed the black and white checkered bowtie around Uruha’s neck.
“You look pretty silly with that on Uru,” Aoi said, laughing so hard his whole body shook. Uruha glared at him as he tried to paw the bow off.
“Well I wouldn't talk so much bell boy,” Uruha said sticking his tongue out.
“Come on Uru! I have lots to show you! I already know where they keep the good toys and where they try and hide the food. I’ve already chewed a hole in the food bag,” Aoi said almost proudly.
“Aoi,” Uruha admonished, but only halfheartedly as he bounded after the gray kitten. But before he followed Aoi completely, he made a detour and wound himself around the ankles of his new owners in thanks.
As he ran after Aoi, Uruha was suddenly struck by a feeling in his chest. It was warm and tingly and something he had never felt before. He wanted to share it with Aoi, but decided against it in case he was laughed at.
If he had asked Aoi, the gray kitten would have been happy to identify the feeling, as he was feeling the same way himself.
It was the feeling of finally being home.
~The End~
***