#346: Fish Cakes
Prompt: #346
Title: Fish Cakes
Pairing: Jongdae/Kyungsoo, squint to see Chanyeol/Baekhyun, mention of Minseok/Luhan
Rating: G
Warnings: kittens
Word count: 4,429 words
Summary: Cats love you when they sleep on your face.
The sky was a marriage of the subtle greys of fading night mixed with the gentle hues of soft reds that was the coming dawn, it was clear of clouds as flocks of birds flew through the air in fluid flicks of their wings and elderly women gathered in the local parks to practice the graceful movements of tai chi. In a shared apartment on the 8th floor of the apartment block next to the supermarket and opposite the park, an alarm beeped shrilly behind a closed door. The occupant of the room remained unmoving at first before a thin arm snuck out and pushed the clock onto the floor, the alarm switching off as the power cord was ripped from the wall socket. The arm retreated and the lump under the blanket let out a masculine groan, mumbling about "free days" and "stupid alarm".
At 1:34pm, the sun high in the sky and families in the midst of their picnics when the lump finally moved from the bed. The young man, looking no older than a teenage boy, sat up with a frown, hair sticking up in random chunks like Cloud's hair from Final Fantasy. A small face with a sharp jawline framed beautifully slanted eyes above an impressive set of high cheekbones, a small nose sat nestled between them and the philtrum lead down to thin lips, corners always upturned to give a mischievous look. Kim Jongdae was just an ordinary boy, fresh out of high school and readying himself for the stress of college life, it was just that he had an unnecessary alarm set on a free day during his summer vacation before he entered college. He dragged himself out of his room and towards the bathroom, lazily shuffling his feet and tugging on a loose t-shirt that was lying around his room.
After a quick shower, Jongdae had came out feeling refreshed and energetic, though the feeling slowly dissipating when he spotted 20 missed calls from his mother, 8 from his father, 3 each from various friends and about 48 calls from Chanyeol with whom he was supposed to be meeting with at 11am for a coffee run with the rest of their friends. Jongdae had been looking forward to meeting up with Joonmyun before the guy left to study in France, or with Minseok before he permanently moved to China to be with his long-time boyfriend, Luhan. Looking at the time, he knew it was too late, he was having his pre-made breakfast (courtesy of his roommates Chanyeol and Baekhyun) at 2 in the afternoon and there was no way the others would have even waited up for him to arrive after Chanyeol had given up on calling him repeatedly. Frustrated, Jongdae made time to call back everyone that had tried to contact him. His mother lectured him, his father just sighed and went back to work, his friends all complained but willing to schedule another meet later in the week (making sure it was in the afternoon when he was definitely awake) and Chanyeol threatened to kick him out of the apartment for a few days.
Having nothing to do, Jongdae looked out the window and smiled at the park scenery just outside. It was the spur of the moment thought that popped into his head that 'I haven't been out in days perhaps some fresh air and a trip to the supermarket can help'. So changing into something more decent than a wrinkled shirt, boxers and mixed-matched piglet socks. He ran a hand through his hair and settled with a cap on his head instead before grabbing his wallet and slipping out of the apartment. Jongdae's fashion wasn't high end like Baekhyun's or street-style like Chanyeol but it was decent enough not to embarrass himself like Yifan does on an almost-daily basis. Jongdae's style was simple: jeans, shirt, jacket in colder weather, sneakers and a cap. He was proud of his own sense of fashion, it was simple and practical not like Baekhyun who spends about 2 hours in front of his mirror styling his hair and drawing on his eyeliner.
Stepping outside, the gentle wind brushed against the wispy strands of hair that peeked from under his cap and Jongdae inhaled a deep breath. His feet turned and lead him towards the right, straight towards the little old lady that sold street food next to the apartments. He knew her well, he would always stop by and buy one portion of every food there because he is a glutton that cannot pass up great tasting food. Ddeokbokki, fried fish balls, sugar biscuits, jjajangmyun... Jongdae scoffed it all down before he even reached the doors to the supermarket around the corner. Today, Jongdae followed routine and approached the lady who had already started piling the food into boxes. Though this time he chose to eat only a small bit of the fried seafood balls before packing the boxes away for dinner. That was the first sign that something was different. The second sign was that he decided to go to the supermarket two streets away instead of his usual one that was around the corner. Jongdae, being the lazy bum he is, found himself wandering past the park, the green grass bright after the moisture from the morning dew had finally sunk into their roots. There was a cry from the direction of the tree line that bordered the park, a soft cry, no louder than a child’s whimper, and Jongdae had dismissed it as the wind. That was, until he heard it again, louder and clearer this time; his foot was poised on the steps of the supermarket, eyes scanning the area when there was shuffle of movement. Out of the shadows of the trees, a little kitten dashed out into the open, limping painfully but still trying to run away like it had hell’s fiends on its tail. They were close enough, a group of 5 boys about 6 years old leered and chased after the little grey fur ball. The kitten yowled, it’s tiny body kicked and pulled between the boys. Jongdae looked down at his food, sighing before stashing it inside the shop, quickly running across the road (expertly dodging the oncoming traffic) and sprinted towards the group head-first. He yelled like a madman, flailing his arms and shaking his head. Surprised, the boys dropped the cat, screaming and crying like little girls as they ran back to their mothers.
“PICK ON SOMEONE YOUR OWN SIZE YOU PUNKS!”
He yelled at their retreating backs, taking a moment to reorientate himself before he looked down at the battered kitten. With gentle hands, he picked up the kitten with a sort of care that he would never have expected from himself. The little fluff ball meowed at him, blinking it’s wide eyes up at him like it has just seen an angel. Jongdae scoffed, he probably is one for saving it from those boys. Cradling the kitten close, he slipped the kitten inside his jacket to keep it warm before making his way back to the supermarket, using the proper crossing this time. He retrieved his food and took a moment to think about what the kitten would like, he looked down at how injured it seemed, curled up and sleeping against his chest like a tiny baby. It hurt his heart seeing it so defenceless, but don’t let his friends hear or he would never be able to step out of his room ever again. Deciding it would be best to keep the kitten a secret for the time being, Jongdae slipped into the medicine aisle, staring blankly at the back of the packets until he found one that was safe for animals. He grabbed some thick bandage rolls and disinfectant, balancing them with his food before going over to the long-life milk aisle and grabbing three stacks of 6-pack kid-sized cartons. Jongdae wanted to cry for his wallet but whenever he looked at the kitten, he wanted to cry over how cute it was, Jongdae is not a mushy person. Quickly dumping his items on the counter, he slapped the money into the cashier’s hand before dashing out with his bags in hand, the other keeping the kitten nestled against his chest.
He power-walked back to the apartment building, noticing that his roommates weren’t home yet so he made a beeline straight for his room and barricading the door in case of unwanted Chanyeol people barging into his room and seeing his little secret. He pulled out an old shoe box, grabbing some soft towels and making a plush little nest for the cat to lay on. He slipped into the joint bathroom of his room and brought back a small tub of warm water. With that, he set out to clean up the kitten. He wiped away the dirt, revealing small cuts on its legs as well as some bruises, judging by how the feline twitched at certain areas of its body. He was sure it didn’t have any broken bones, it would be yowling like Baekhyun did when he fell down the stairs once while trying to put on eyeliner and walk down at the same time. That was not a good memory, Jongdae shook his head and went back to helping the kitten. He dabbed on the antiseptic, watching as the cat flinched back at the sting before resuming its rest. Trying his best to patch the kitten up, Jongdae wrapped it’s cuts and bruises as much as he could, hoping it wouldn’t end up like a mummy at the end of his ministrations. When Jongdae finally pulled away, the little kitten was purring softly in its sleep, bandages wrapped around it's body and limbs. The human sat back, used roll of bandages in his hand and running his fingers through black locks with the other. Why he had decided to even help the poor defenceless kitten was beyond him, a throbbing in his heart at the sight of the little kitten making him sigh and reach to pet it's head gently.
"I think I'll call you... Kyungsoo," Jongdae whispered softly, smiling and nodding, "Kyungsoo the cute kitten, neh?"
There was a shift under his hand, ears twitching slightly as Jongdae lifted his fingers to see wide brown eyes staring up at his face, as if judging and burning it into it's memory. A soft mewl sounded from the fluffy being, trying to move its bandaged legs. Jongdae shook his head, tutting as he picked up and cradled the kitten like a child, a smile on his lips as he held the little thing up to his face. Kyungsoo the kitten continued to stare, it's eyes wide and flicking over his face to map out his features before it mewled again, tiny little ears twitching and its hind legs kicking as it wriggled in his hands. That was when Jongdae noticed the tiny little bump on the underside of the animal, his eyes widening with a grin.
"Ah! You're a boy!"
The kitten mewled again, turning over in his arms, starting to lick his fingers and the skin of his wrist. It took Jongdae almost 2 minutes to figure out that Kyungsoo was probably hungry, the man slapping himself for his stupidity. He grabbed the carton of milk, looking around his room desperately for something to pour it into when his eyes landed on a baby bottle, a prank that his flatmates had decided to pull nine months after the night he had come back to the apartment drunk. They had told him that some girl had left the bottle of milk with him until she finds the courage to hand the baby over, poor Jongdae going into shock as he really believed that he had knocked up some girl that one night he had gotten drunk. Chanyeol gave it away when he snorted and started to crack up, slapping his thigh and doing his signature lopsided grin, looking like a crazy man. Jongdae had no idea why he even kept the damn bottle, perhaps to remember how many pranks he had to do to get back at the other two for doing something to that level. Without another thought, he unscrewed the lid, pouring a carton's worth of plain milk into the bottle before resealing the lid, making sure it wasn't leaking before popping off the cap, holding it up to the kitten's tiny mouth.
"Now be a good boy, Kyungsoo. Open up now..."
Kyungsoo's wide eyes stared intently at his face, a pink tongue darting out to lick over the bead of milk at the tip of the bottle before his front limbs wrapped around the bottle, lips latched onto the nipple and starting to suckle it. Eyes blinking sleepily, the kitten slowly relaxed in his arms, stumpy little tail stilling as he drank the milk, eyes falling closed completely though still sucking eagerly at the tasty drink. Jongdae chuckled softly, eyes fondly watching Kyungsoo like a mother would at her baby, he had never had a pet before and he was glad he would have such a cute kitten to call his own. When the bottle was empty and the kitten limp in his hand, Jongdae gently laid him on the makeshift bed, tucking him in and stroking his soft furry head before pushing the box under his bed to hide the kitten from the prying eyes of his flatmates.
Jongdae fell into routine for the next few days, spending more and more time in his room, even during mealtimes. After going out and blowing his money in the pet store on cat litter, he wanted to spend his time with his new pet, the kitten soon healed and running around his room to explore eagerly. Now that he wasn't injured anymore, Kyungsoo would have his milk from a small dish, little pink tongue darting out and slurping up the white liquid hungrily. Sometimes Jongdae would talk to the cat, the kitten staring at him intently as he ranted about his flatmates or about how college would start in two weeks, eyes flickering as if he understood exactly what Jongdae was saying. On days where Jongdae had to step out, he would leave the milk in the plate and carefully placed the kitten down on the floor, tapping the small nose gently and telling him to behave. Jongdae's research about kitten care had shown that in the absence of their owners, cats tend to get into things and destroy them and he worried about his Wii console that sat on the floor in front of his TV. He was surprised when he came back to his room just has he left it, the kitten now curled up on his pillow comfortably, snoozing in a patch of sunlight that had filtered through the gap in his curtains and onto his pillow.
It was a particularly cold night, Jongdae had let Kyungsoo sleep on his pillow next to his head and used his thicker blanket to cover the tiny being, hoping that the kitten was warm enough. In the middle of the night, Kyungsoo had blinked awake, wide doe eyes staring at the sharp jaw line of the man that is his new owner. He liked the man, he saved him from the mean small humans that were kicking him in the park and then looked after him so he could heal. The kitten liked the name he was given too, Kyungsoo, it was easy on the tongue and it was kind of cute. The only thing that he didn't like was the fact the human treated him like a baby, sure he was a kitten but that didn't mean he was incompetent at surviving alone. With that, Kyungsoo did what most cats did to their owners at night, he climbed onto Jongdae's face and curled up there, tail flicking as he made himself comfortable on the sleeping man's face. When morning came around, the sun rising over the buildings and creating a halo around the curtains, Kyungsoo woke to an empty bed, curled up on Jongdae's pillow where it was still warm yet he hadn't felt the man picking him up, he would have felt it if he did.
Jongdae woke to darkness, something heavy on top of him, almost suffocating him. He tried to get up, pushing on his hands to rise up from wherever he was. Instead his hands were not hands at all, panic rose in him as he stared down at the furry limbs that he was controlling, soft pads and tiny claws on the underside flexed as he tried to move his fingers. It was then he realized he could hear Baekhyun yelling at Chanyeol to get up for their morning run, the kettle going off in the kitchen and the soft purring of Kyungsoo close by. Blinking, Jongdae's eyes refocused and he found himself with better senses, his eyes able to see all the details on what seems to be his blanket. Sniffing curiously, he could smell the noodles being cooked outside his door, the lingering scent of his sweat and the strong musk of Kyungsoo. Speaking of the kitten, Jongdae's head shot up and he tried to call out to the cat, stumbling over his hands -legs?- and bursting out from under the heavy material. Kyungsoo was on his pillow, curled up peacefully as if nothing in the world could hurt him. Jongdae smiled at the image, confused as to why the kitten seemed much bigger than he remembered. He wobbled over to the other, wondering when Kyungsoo got as big as himself, leaning over to gently jab him with a paw. He kept poking the kitten gently until he stirred awake, Kyungsoo turning to stare at him with those cute doe eyes. The kitten spent a good minute or two, sniffing at him curiously, as if he didn't recognize him.
"Kyungsoo? It's me Jongdae. Don't you know me?"
Kyungsoo flinched back, eyes wider than usual and his ears flicked back and forth as if he was trying to decipher why his owner's voice was coming from the other cat. Kyungsoo leaned forward again, opening his mouth and letting out a meow.
"Master...?"
Jongdae stared blankly, since when did he own a talking cat? He was still trying to process it all when the larger-than-he-remembers kitten pounced on him, rolling them both off the bed and onto the floor where Kyungsoo hissed and nudged Jongdae over to his wardrobe where there was a full length mirror built into the door.
"Hey! Hey! What are you doing? How did you get so big? Since when could you talk-- oh..."
Jongdae's voice trailed off, unable to believe his eyes when he saw himself in the mirror. Next to Kyungsoo's small grey body sat a Siamese kitten, not much bigger than Kyungsoo, with a cream-colored body and brown on the tip of its ears, legs, tail and face. Jongdae raised his hand to touch his face, the cat raised its paw, he tilted his head and the cat followed. That was when it hit him like a high speed train, HE was the cat. That explained why he was furry, why Kyungsoo looked much bigger and why he could understand the kitten.
"How...? How did this happen? What am I to do? How do I even change back?" Jongdae panicked, starting to run around. "Kyungsoo what am I going to do?!"
"Calm down. Take deep breaths." Kyungsoo nudged his cheek with his nose, mewing softly. "I remember making a wish that you could be a cat for one day with me."
Jongdae blinked, relaxing as he took in the words. He guessed one day would be alright, they just had to keep out of sight whenever Chanyeol's thundering footsteps bounded in their direction. With a kitten-ish grin, Jongdae nodded, bounding over clumsily to Kyungsoo who yowled when the other crashed into him.
"But first... we need to work on your stability, such a klutz."
Two hours later, Jongdae thought he looked very nice, strutting along like Kyungsoo, sashaying his bottom with his tail raised in the air. The other watched him in amusement, using his paw and hitting Jongdae's head before motioning his head to the window. Apparently Kyungsoo was going to take him to see the city from a cat's point of view. Rubbing his head, the older followed the grey kitten to the window where Kyungsoo stood up on his back legs and hooked his paws onto the latch, effectively unlocking the window and pushing it open. The grey cat slinked onto the ledge, sitting there and waiting for Jongdae to follow before pushing him over to the emergency stairs to the right, nipping at his heels and pawing at his tail to get him to move quicker. They took the stairs down, trying to race each other to see who was the better runner when Kyungsoo stuck out his paw, sending Jongdae snowballing down the stairs. He laughed a cute giggle when he found a dizzy heap at the bottom of the stairs, purposefully stepping on Jongdae's tail when he trotted past to walk up to the old lady at the vendor. Kyungsoo mewled cutely, weaving between her legs and looking up at her with his doe eyes, pressing his front legs to her knee when she bent down with chopped up pieces of fish cake. Jongdae's mouth watered at the smell, bounding up as well only to have his piece snatched by Kyungsoo, who ran off happily with the cake in his mouth.
"H-Hey! That's my piece!"
The old lady chuckled, watching the two kittens dash away, a fond smile in her eyes as she resumed selling the food.
"Well maybe you should feed me these things instead of just milk and canned tuna." Kyungsoo stuck out his tongue, laying down in an alley and ripping into the fish cake hungrily. "Though it's better than living on the streets, I do prefer other food, I'm not a baby."
Jongdae blinked, thinking back to the fact that ever since he had brought the kitten home, it was true that all he fed Kyungsoo was milk and then tuna once he was well enough. He didn't think that the little guy had ended up resenting his cheapness, it was because Jongdae couldn't afford proper cat food and he wasn't sure if human food would be okay for cats to eat. He was about to step closer to Kyungsoo, curl up against him and apologize when shadows fell on the grey kitten who paused and blinked up, piece of fish cake stuck out in the middle of being chewed. It was the same group of boys from the day Jongdae had saved Kyungsoo. They sneered and backed Kyungsoo into a corner, the kitten now whimpering and cowering as they raised their thick-sole sneaker-clad feet. Before they could make contact, Jongdae had hissed from the top of a nearby trash can, using it to level himself with the boy's shoulders before launching himself. Claws extended from his paws and he dug them into fabric and soft flesh, clawing and hissing angrily at the group as they flailed around, trying to make a grab for him. Kyungsoo watched from the corner as the boys retreated, screaming and crying from their wounds, Jongdae letting go and gracefully landing in a heap because he hadn't learnt how to land on four legs yet. Approaching his owner, Kyungsoo used his nose to nudge Jongdae's gently, feeling panic start to rise when there was no response.
"M-Master? Master?! No, Master... Wake up!" Kyungsoo bit on his ear, tugging softly, eyes starting to tear up slightly. "Master... You can't leave like this..."
The grey kitten started to lick at Jongdae's soft fur, mewing and curling up next to him. He was about to close his eyes when there was a twitch of his ear, then a shudder running through him. Kyungsoo sat up, teary eyes watching as Jongdae took in a shaky breath, eyes opening to reveal those bright brown orbs he had grown to love. With a choked laugh, Kyungsoo tackled the other, yowling and mewing in happiness, glad that his master was okay, he even let Jongdae have the last piece of fish cake from before.
They spent the rest of the day running in the undergrowth of the park, catching butterflies and chasing fish in the fountain. Jongdae had fun, he laughed and played with Kyungsoo to his heart's content, happy that he was able to spend time with and communicate properly with his kitten even though most of the time it was more of Kyungsoo picking on Jongdae's lack of grace. More often he had found himself face planting into the grass or copping a mouthful of some plant. Kyungsoo would laugh at him, sparking Jongdae's anger to start running once again. When they had taken the emergency stairs back up to Jongdae's room, the cream coloured fluff ball fell down tiredly on his bed, curling up on the mattress while Kyungsoo circled around him and laid on the pillow. Jongdae turned his face to look over at the grey kitten, smiling gently and reaching out a paw to place on Kyungsoo's.
"Thank you for today Kyungsoo. Tomorrow..." Jongdae yawned softly, " Tomorrow I'll take you out so you can pick your own food okay?"
"No... Thank YOU for saving me... Master. I'll hold you to that promise~"
Kyungsoo gave him a bright smile, purring contently as he nuzzled Jongdae's nose with his, their tails intertwining as the older's eyes slowly closed from exhaustion. When the sun rose the next morning, Jongdae was back to his normal human self and Kyungsoo was sitting on his face, waiting to go out and get more fish cakes once again. As Jongdae pulled on his clothes after his shower (he still had twigs and leaves in his hair), he hummed softly, turning to face Kyungsoo on the bed.
"It would be nice if one day you could become a real person like me." He ruffled his hair slightly to give it volume, "Then I'll take you out to eat whatever you want and show you around the rest of the city."
With that he picked up the kitten and placed him in his pocket, the cute fuzz ball peeping out from his mode of transportation before mewing, watching as Jongdae made his way outside to the little old lady at the food vendor.
Author's note: I loved the prompt! Thank you for whoever came up with it, I had a blast writing this~ I hope that you like it just as much as I had fun writing!
Title: Fish Cakes
Pairing: Jongdae/Kyungsoo, squint to see Chanyeol/Baekhyun, mention of Minseok/Luhan
Rating: G
Warnings: kittens
Word count: 4,429 words
Summary: Cats love you when they sleep on your face.
The sky was a marriage of the subtle greys of fading night mixed with the gentle hues of soft reds that was the coming dawn, it was clear of clouds as flocks of birds flew through the air in fluid flicks of their wings and elderly women gathered in the local parks to practice the graceful movements of tai chi. In a shared apartment on the 8th floor of the apartment block next to the supermarket and opposite the park, an alarm beeped shrilly behind a closed door. The occupant of the room remained unmoving at first before a thin arm snuck out and pushed the clock onto the floor, the alarm switching off as the power cord was ripped from the wall socket. The arm retreated and the lump under the blanket let out a masculine groan, mumbling about "free days" and "stupid alarm".
At 1:34pm, the sun high in the sky and families in the midst of their picnics when the lump finally moved from the bed. The young man, looking no older than a teenage boy, sat up with a frown, hair sticking up in random chunks like Cloud's hair from Final Fantasy. A small face with a sharp jawline framed beautifully slanted eyes above an impressive set of high cheekbones, a small nose sat nestled between them and the philtrum lead down to thin lips, corners always upturned to give a mischievous look. Kim Jongdae was just an ordinary boy, fresh out of high school and readying himself for the stress of college life, it was just that he had an unnecessary alarm set on a free day during his summer vacation before he entered college. He dragged himself out of his room and towards the bathroom, lazily shuffling his feet and tugging on a loose t-shirt that was lying around his room.
After a quick shower, Jongdae had came out feeling refreshed and energetic, though the feeling slowly dissipating when he spotted 20 missed calls from his mother, 8 from his father, 3 each from various friends and about 48 calls from Chanyeol with whom he was supposed to be meeting with at 11am for a coffee run with the rest of their friends. Jongdae had been looking forward to meeting up with Joonmyun before the guy left to study in France, or with Minseok before he permanently moved to China to be with his long-time boyfriend, Luhan. Looking at the time, he knew it was too late, he was having his pre-made breakfast (courtesy of his roommates Chanyeol and Baekhyun) at 2 in the afternoon and there was no way the others would have even waited up for him to arrive after Chanyeol had given up on calling him repeatedly. Frustrated, Jongdae made time to call back everyone that had tried to contact him. His mother lectured him, his father just sighed and went back to work, his friends all complained but willing to schedule another meet later in the week (making sure it was in the afternoon when he was definitely awake) and Chanyeol threatened to kick him out of the apartment for a few days.
Having nothing to do, Jongdae looked out the window and smiled at the park scenery just outside. It was the spur of the moment thought that popped into his head that 'I haven't been out in days perhaps some fresh air and a trip to the supermarket can help'. So changing into something more decent than a wrinkled shirt, boxers and mixed-matched piglet socks. He ran a hand through his hair and settled with a cap on his head instead before grabbing his wallet and slipping out of the apartment. Jongdae's fashion wasn't high end like Baekhyun's or street-style like Chanyeol but it was decent enough not to embarrass himself like Yifan does on an almost-daily basis. Jongdae's style was simple: jeans, shirt, jacket in colder weather, sneakers and a cap. He was proud of his own sense of fashion, it was simple and practical not like Baekhyun who spends about 2 hours in front of his mirror styling his hair and drawing on his eyeliner.
Stepping outside, the gentle wind brushed against the wispy strands of hair that peeked from under his cap and Jongdae inhaled a deep breath. His feet turned and lead him towards the right, straight towards the little old lady that sold street food next to the apartments. He knew her well, he would always stop by and buy one portion of every food there because he is a glutton that cannot pass up great tasting food. Ddeokbokki, fried fish balls, sugar biscuits, jjajangmyun... Jongdae scoffed it all down before he even reached the doors to the supermarket around the corner. Today, Jongdae followed routine and approached the lady who had already started piling the food into boxes. Though this time he chose to eat only a small bit of the fried seafood balls before packing the boxes away for dinner. That was the first sign that something was different. The second sign was that he decided to go to the supermarket two streets away instead of his usual one that was around the corner. Jongdae, being the lazy bum he is, found himself wandering past the park, the green grass bright after the moisture from the morning dew had finally sunk into their roots. There was a cry from the direction of the tree line that bordered the park, a soft cry, no louder than a child’s whimper, and Jongdae had dismissed it as the wind. That was, until he heard it again, louder and clearer this time; his foot was poised on the steps of the supermarket, eyes scanning the area when there was shuffle of movement. Out of the shadows of the trees, a little kitten dashed out into the open, limping painfully but still trying to run away like it had hell’s fiends on its tail. They were close enough, a group of 5 boys about 6 years old leered and chased after the little grey fur ball. The kitten yowled, it’s tiny body kicked and pulled between the boys. Jongdae looked down at his food, sighing before stashing it inside the shop, quickly running across the road (expertly dodging the oncoming traffic) and sprinted towards the group head-first. He yelled like a madman, flailing his arms and shaking his head. Surprised, the boys dropped the cat, screaming and crying like little girls as they ran back to their mothers.
“PICK ON SOMEONE YOUR OWN SIZE YOU PUNKS!”
He yelled at their retreating backs, taking a moment to reorientate himself before he looked down at the battered kitten. With gentle hands, he picked up the kitten with a sort of care that he would never have expected from himself. The little fluff ball meowed at him, blinking it’s wide eyes up at him like it has just seen an angel. Jongdae scoffed, he probably is one for saving it from those boys. Cradling the kitten close, he slipped the kitten inside his jacket to keep it warm before making his way back to the supermarket, using the proper crossing this time. He retrieved his food and took a moment to think about what the kitten would like, he looked down at how injured it seemed, curled up and sleeping against his chest like a tiny baby. It hurt his heart seeing it so defenceless, but don’t let his friends hear or he would never be able to step out of his room ever again. Deciding it would be best to keep the kitten a secret for the time being, Jongdae slipped into the medicine aisle, staring blankly at the back of the packets until he found one that was safe for animals. He grabbed some thick bandage rolls and disinfectant, balancing them with his food before going over to the long-life milk aisle and grabbing three stacks of 6-pack kid-sized cartons. Jongdae wanted to cry for his wallet but whenever he looked at the kitten, he wanted to cry over how cute it was, Jongdae is not a mushy person. Quickly dumping his items on the counter, he slapped the money into the cashier’s hand before dashing out with his bags in hand, the other keeping the kitten nestled against his chest.
He power-walked back to the apartment building, noticing that his roommates weren’t home yet so he made a beeline straight for his room and barricading the door in case of unwanted Chanyeol people barging into his room and seeing his little secret. He pulled out an old shoe box, grabbing some soft towels and making a plush little nest for the cat to lay on. He slipped into the joint bathroom of his room and brought back a small tub of warm water. With that, he set out to clean up the kitten. He wiped away the dirt, revealing small cuts on its legs as well as some bruises, judging by how the feline twitched at certain areas of its body. He was sure it didn’t have any broken bones, it would be yowling like Baekhyun did when he fell down the stairs once while trying to put on eyeliner and walk down at the same time. That was not a good memory, Jongdae shook his head and went back to helping the kitten. He dabbed on the antiseptic, watching as the cat flinched back at the sting before resuming its rest. Trying his best to patch the kitten up, Jongdae wrapped it’s cuts and bruises as much as he could, hoping it wouldn’t end up like a mummy at the end of his ministrations. When Jongdae finally pulled away, the little kitten was purring softly in its sleep, bandages wrapped around it's body and limbs. The human sat back, used roll of bandages in his hand and running his fingers through black locks with the other. Why he had decided to even help the poor defenceless kitten was beyond him, a throbbing in his heart at the sight of the little kitten making him sigh and reach to pet it's head gently.
"I think I'll call you... Kyungsoo," Jongdae whispered softly, smiling and nodding, "Kyungsoo the cute kitten, neh?"
There was a shift under his hand, ears twitching slightly as Jongdae lifted his fingers to see wide brown eyes staring up at his face, as if judging and burning it into it's memory. A soft mewl sounded from the fluffy being, trying to move its bandaged legs. Jongdae shook his head, tutting as he picked up and cradled the kitten like a child, a smile on his lips as he held the little thing up to his face. Kyungsoo the kitten continued to stare, it's eyes wide and flicking over his face to map out his features before it mewled again, tiny little ears twitching and its hind legs kicking as it wriggled in his hands. That was when Jongdae noticed the tiny little bump on the underside of the animal, his eyes widening with a grin.
"Ah! You're a boy!"
The kitten mewled again, turning over in his arms, starting to lick his fingers and the skin of his wrist. It took Jongdae almost 2 minutes to figure out that Kyungsoo was probably hungry, the man slapping himself for his stupidity. He grabbed the carton of milk, looking around his room desperately for something to pour it into when his eyes landed on a baby bottle, a prank that his flatmates had decided to pull nine months after the night he had come back to the apartment drunk. They had told him that some girl had left the bottle of milk with him until she finds the courage to hand the baby over, poor Jongdae going into shock as he really believed that he had knocked up some girl that one night he had gotten drunk. Chanyeol gave it away when he snorted and started to crack up, slapping his thigh and doing his signature lopsided grin, looking like a crazy man. Jongdae had no idea why he even kept the damn bottle, perhaps to remember how many pranks he had to do to get back at the other two for doing something to that level. Without another thought, he unscrewed the lid, pouring a carton's worth of plain milk into the bottle before resealing the lid, making sure it wasn't leaking before popping off the cap, holding it up to the kitten's tiny mouth.
"Now be a good boy, Kyungsoo. Open up now..."
Kyungsoo's wide eyes stared intently at his face, a pink tongue darting out to lick over the bead of milk at the tip of the bottle before his front limbs wrapped around the bottle, lips latched onto the nipple and starting to suckle it. Eyes blinking sleepily, the kitten slowly relaxed in his arms, stumpy little tail stilling as he drank the milk, eyes falling closed completely though still sucking eagerly at the tasty drink. Jongdae chuckled softly, eyes fondly watching Kyungsoo like a mother would at her baby, he had never had a pet before and he was glad he would have such a cute kitten to call his own. When the bottle was empty and the kitten limp in his hand, Jongdae gently laid him on the makeshift bed, tucking him in and stroking his soft furry head before pushing the box under his bed to hide the kitten from the prying eyes of his flatmates.
Jongdae fell into routine for the next few days, spending more and more time in his room, even during mealtimes. After going out and blowing his money in the pet store on cat litter, he wanted to spend his time with his new pet, the kitten soon healed and running around his room to explore eagerly. Now that he wasn't injured anymore, Kyungsoo would have his milk from a small dish, little pink tongue darting out and slurping up the white liquid hungrily. Sometimes Jongdae would talk to the cat, the kitten staring at him intently as he ranted about his flatmates or about how college would start in two weeks, eyes flickering as if he understood exactly what Jongdae was saying. On days where Jongdae had to step out, he would leave the milk in the plate and carefully placed the kitten down on the floor, tapping the small nose gently and telling him to behave. Jongdae's research about kitten care had shown that in the absence of their owners, cats tend to get into things and destroy them and he worried about his Wii console that sat on the floor in front of his TV. He was surprised when he came back to his room just has he left it, the kitten now curled up on his pillow comfortably, snoozing in a patch of sunlight that had filtered through the gap in his curtains and onto his pillow.
It was a particularly cold night, Jongdae had let Kyungsoo sleep on his pillow next to his head and used his thicker blanket to cover the tiny being, hoping that the kitten was warm enough. In the middle of the night, Kyungsoo had blinked awake, wide doe eyes staring at the sharp jaw line of the man that is his new owner. He liked the man, he saved him from the mean small humans that were kicking him in the park and then looked after him so he could heal. The kitten liked the name he was given too, Kyungsoo, it was easy on the tongue and it was kind of cute. The only thing that he didn't like was the fact the human treated him like a baby, sure he was a kitten but that didn't mean he was incompetent at surviving alone. With that, Kyungsoo did what most cats did to their owners at night, he climbed onto Jongdae's face and curled up there, tail flicking as he made himself comfortable on the sleeping man's face. When morning came around, the sun rising over the buildings and creating a halo around the curtains, Kyungsoo woke to an empty bed, curled up on Jongdae's pillow where it was still warm yet he hadn't felt the man picking him up, he would have felt it if he did.
Jongdae woke to darkness, something heavy on top of him, almost suffocating him. He tried to get up, pushing on his hands to rise up from wherever he was. Instead his hands were not hands at all, panic rose in him as he stared down at the furry limbs that he was controlling, soft pads and tiny claws on the underside flexed as he tried to move his fingers. It was then he realized he could hear Baekhyun yelling at Chanyeol to get up for their morning run, the kettle going off in the kitchen and the soft purring of Kyungsoo close by. Blinking, Jongdae's eyes refocused and he found himself with better senses, his eyes able to see all the details on what seems to be his blanket. Sniffing curiously, he could smell the noodles being cooked outside his door, the lingering scent of his sweat and the strong musk of Kyungsoo. Speaking of the kitten, Jongdae's head shot up and he tried to call out to the cat, stumbling over his hands -legs?- and bursting out from under the heavy material. Kyungsoo was on his pillow, curled up peacefully as if nothing in the world could hurt him. Jongdae smiled at the image, confused as to why the kitten seemed much bigger than he remembered. He wobbled over to the other, wondering when Kyungsoo got as big as himself, leaning over to gently jab him with a paw. He kept poking the kitten gently until he stirred awake, Kyungsoo turning to stare at him with those cute doe eyes. The kitten spent a good minute or two, sniffing at him curiously, as if he didn't recognize him.
"Kyungsoo? It's me Jongdae. Don't you know me?"
Kyungsoo flinched back, eyes wider than usual and his ears flicked back and forth as if he was trying to decipher why his owner's voice was coming from the other cat. Kyungsoo leaned forward again, opening his mouth and letting out a meow.
"Master...?"
Jongdae stared blankly, since when did he own a talking cat? He was still trying to process it all when the larger-than-he-remembers kitten pounced on him, rolling them both off the bed and onto the floor where Kyungsoo hissed and nudged Jongdae over to his wardrobe where there was a full length mirror built into the door.
"Hey! Hey! What are you doing? How did you get so big? Since when could you talk-- oh..."
Jongdae's voice trailed off, unable to believe his eyes when he saw himself in the mirror. Next to Kyungsoo's small grey body sat a Siamese kitten, not much bigger than Kyungsoo, with a cream-colored body and brown on the tip of its ears, legs, tail and face. Jongdae raised his hand to touch his face, the cat raised its paw, he tilted his head and the cat followed. That was when it hit him like a high speed train, HE was the cat. That explained why he was furry, why Kyungsoo looked much bigger and why he could understand the kitten.
"How...? How did this happen? What am I to do? How do I even change back?" Jongdae panicked, starting to run around. "Kyungsoo what am I going to do?!"
"Calm down. Take deep breaths." Kyungsoo nudged his cheek with his nose, mewing softly. "I remember making a wish that you could be a cat for one day with me."
Jongdae blinked, relaxing as he took in the words. He guessed one day would be alright, they just had to keep out of sight whenever Chanyeol's thundering footsteps bounded in their direction. With a kitten-ish grin, Jongdae nodded, bounding over clumsily to Kyungsoo who yowled when the other crashed into him.
"But first... we need to work on your stability, such a klutz."
Two hours later, Jongdae thought he looked very nice, strutting along like Kyungsoo, sashaying his bottom with his tail raised in the air. The other watched him in amusement, using his paw and hitting Jongdae's head before motioning his head to the window. Apparently Kyungsoo was going to take him to see the city from a cat's point of view. Rubbing his head, the older followed the grey kitten to the window where Kyungsoo stood up on his back legs and hooked his paws onto the latch, effectively unlocking the window and pushing it open. The grey cat slinked onto the ledge, sitting there and waiting for Jongdae to follow before pushing him over to the emergency stairs to the right, nipping at his heels and pawing at his tail to get him to move quicker. They took the stairs down, trying to race each other to see who was the better runner when Kyungsoo stuck out his paw, sending Jongdae snowballing down the stairs. He laughed a cute giggle when he found a dizzy heap at the bottom of the stairs, purposefully stepping on Jongdae's tail when he trotted past to walk up to the old lady at the vendor. Kyungsoo mewled cutely, weaving between her legs and looking up at her with his doe eyes, pressing his front legs to her knee when she bent down with chopped up pieces of fish cake. Jongdae's mouth watered at the smell, bounding up as well only to have his piece snatched by Kyungsoo, who ran off happily with the cake in his mouth.
"H-Hey! That's my piece!"
The old lady chuckled, watching the two kittens dash away, a fond smile in her eyes as she resumed selling the food.
"Well maybe you should feed me these things instead of just milk and canned tuna." Kyungsoo stuck out his tongue, laying down in an alley and ripping into the fish cake hungrily. "Though it's better than living on the streets, I do prefer other food, I'm not a baby."
Jongdae blinked, thinking back to the fact that ever since he had brought the kitten home, it was true that all he fed Kyungsoo was milk and then tuna once he was well enough. He didn't think that the little guy had ended up resenting his cheapness, it was because Jongdae couldn't afford proper cat food and he wasn't sure if human food would be okay for cats to eat. He was about to step closer to Kyungsoo, curl up against him and apologize when shadows fell on the grey kitten who paused and blinked up, piece of fish cake stuck out in the middle of being chewed. It was the same group of boys from the day Jongdae had saved Kyungsoo. They sneered and backed Kyungsoo into a corner, the kitten now whimpering and cowering as they raised their thick-sole sneaker-clad feet. Before they could make contact, Jongdae had hissed from the top of a nearby trash can, using it to level himself with the boy's shoulders before launching himself. Claws extended from his paws and he dug them into fabric and soft flesh, clawing and hissing angrily at the group as they flailed around, trying to make a grab for him. Kyungsoo watched from the corner as the boys retreated, screaming and crying from their wounds, Jongdae letting go and gracefully landing in a heap because he hadn't learnt how to land on four legs yet. Approaching his owner, Kyungsoo used his nose to nudge Jongdae's gently, feeling panic start to rise when there was no response.
"M-Master? Master?! No, Master... Wake up!" Kyungsoo bit on his ear, tugging softly, eyes starting to tear up slightly. "Master... You can't leave like this..."
The grey kitten started to lick at Jongdae's soft fur, mewing and curling up next to him. He was about to close his eyes when there was a twitch of his ear, then a shudder running through him. Kyungsoo sat up, teary eyes watching as Jongdae took in a shaky breath, eyes opening to reveal those bright brown orbs he had grown to love. With a choked laugh, Kyungsoo tackled the other, yowling and mewing in happiness, glad that his master was okay, he even let Jongdae have the last piece of fish cake from before.
They spent the rest of the day running in the undergrowth of the park, catching butterflies and chasing fish in the fountain. Jongdae had fun, he laughed and played with Kyungsoo to his heart's content, happy that he was able to spend time with and communicate properly with his kitten even though most of the time it was more of Kyungsoo picking on Jongdae's lack of grace. More often he had found himself face planting into the grass or copping a mouthful of some plant. Kyungsoo would laugh at him, sparking Jongdae's anger to start running once again. When they had taken the emergency stairs back up to Jongdae's room, the cream coloured fluff ball fell down tiredly on his bed, curling up on the mattress while Kyungsoo circled around him and laid on the pillow. Jongdae turned his face to look over at the grey kitten, smiling gently and reaching out a paw to place on Kyungsoo's.
"Thank you for today Kyungsoo. Tomorrow..." Jongdae yawned softly, " Tomorrow I'll take you out so you can pick your own food okay?"
"No... Thank YOU for saving me... Master. I'll hold you to that promise~"
Kyungsoo gave him a bright smile, purring contently as he nuzzled Jongdae's nose with his, their tails intertwining as the older's eyes slowly closed from exhaustion. When the sun rose the next morning, Jongdae was back to his normal human self and Kyungsoo was sitting on his face, waiting to go out and get more fish cakes once again. As Jongdae pulled on his clothes after his shower (he still had twigs and leaves in his hair), he hummed softly, turning to face Kyungsoo on the bed.
"It would be nice if one day you could become a real person like me." He ruffled his hair slightly to give it volume, "Then I'll take you out to eat whatever you want and show you around the rest of the city."
With that he picked up the kitten and placed him in his pocket, the cute fuzz ball peeping out from his mode of transportation before mewing, watching as Jongdae made his way outside to the little old lady at the food vendor.
Author's note: I loved the prompt! Thank you for whoever came up with it, I had a blast writing this~ I hope that you like it just as much as I had fun writing!