Work Text:
“Furi-chan! Have you seen my socks?!” The brunette calls out to his partner in the living room, one who’s playing with his pet cat.
“Isn’t it in the dryer? I remember Kaelix taking them yesterday when he’s doing laundry” Freo replies, his attention still on the furry kitty who’s frantically chasing after the fluffy end of the cat wand, trying and biting it like it just offended her. Freo couldn’t help but chuckle at her.
“Found it!” He could hear Seible call out from their shared room, running out while trying to put on his kitty print socks and even nearly slipping before he managed to catch himself. “Oh god I’m going to be late!”
“That’s on you for forgetting the time” Freo mumbled, but the promoter didn’t catch it. He stood up from where he was sitting before swiftly moving towards the taller man, giving him a small peck on his cheek. “Be careful at work today”
“Hai~” The brunette sang, happy to receive a sweet treat before work today. He would give him another kiss back if he wasn’t racing against the clock. He left a “See you at dinner Furi-chan~!” before slamming the door shut, leaving the boy alone in the apartment with his cat.
“Alright…” Freo mumbled, “I guess I should start on my work too today”
He felt something soft and smooth rub against his legs, ‘Mreow~’ she looked up at him, wanting more play time and attention from her owner.
“Not now, Gatita” He replied, softer than his normal tone, “I need to finish this by tomorrow… Maybe later, hm?”
Seeing how her tactic did not work, she decided to mind her own business instead, earning another chuckle from Freo. Cats, he thought to himself.
It’s another typical Wednesday morning for the group, aside from Freo, the others have all gone out to work. He remembered Kaelix mentioning he’s helping a friend modelling for his own designed outfits for an upcoming competition, Zeal had went out to pick up some newly stocked wine for the livehouse recommended to him by one of their senpais, and Seible had a meeting with one of their clients. Freo stretched his body, his job is more simple, just finished making an outfit designed for one of his clients, and he gets to do it indoors, quite comfortable if you ask him. He gently kicks the door to his and Seible’s shared workspace open, ignoring the contrast between his and the promoter’s working area as he walks past their table. At the corner of his eyes, he spotted a familiar kitty USB sitting nicely on top of the brunette’s table, one that wasn’t supposed to appear, at least not now.
‘Oh this Swablue…’ He sighs, ‘You forgot your stuff again…’
He looked down at the USB in his hand, he recalls it being quite important to the meeting as it contains a lot of information for the clients to look at. Without it would be quite a hassle indeed… ‘Maybe I can send it over to him…’ He looks over to Gatita — who is minding her own business, licking herself clean in the corner of the living room — when an idea appears in his head.
Well… it would be a lot faster and easier this way… but also would be troublesome at the same time
“Gatita” he calls, letting the cat elegantly walk towards him when she realised her owner is looking at her with a weird look. “Mind if you help me with something?”
‘…Mew?’
Meanwhile, as Seible arrived at the designated cafe he was supposed to meet his clients, it didn’t take him long to realize that he forgot to bring the most important thing to this meeting.
‘Huh…’
‘…WHERE IS MY USB?!’
He started to panic as he ruffled through his bags of files, yet nothing.
‘OH NO NO NO, NOT NOW!’
He searched through every tiny pockets it could possibly fall into and even checked his own pockets just in case, but still, nothing!
‘DID I LEFT IT AT HOME? OH GOD—’
‘Mew~’
Seible looked down at the table he’s at, surprised to find a small cat was hiding underneath the shades just in front of him, those big bright colored eyes that reminded him of the sunrise were staring up at him. He didn’t know why, but it sorta calmed him down from his distress when he saw the little creature.
Seible tilted his head, the cat followed suit.
He meowed at it, and the kitty responded back with a meow of its own. The promoter lifted his hand in front of it, urging it to come forward to him — which it did, and even sniffed his hand before smoothly jumping on his lap.
“Oh, you’re quite friendly~” Seible tried to pat its head, but it parried his hand like a pro by blocking it with his front legs. “Ah, maybe not so friendly,” he laughed.
It was then he noticed something around its neck, not a collar like any cat would have, but something else… Is that my USB? The moment he took the item off the cat, it leapt away out into the public where it disappeared among the crowd before Seible could even react to the confusing situation. Not that the promoter even managed to catch on to what fully happened — and even if he did, his client had already arrived at his table, so he had no choice but to throw that weird situation to the back of his head till he finally got back home to his lovers.
“I’m telling you it’s real!” Seible pouted, careful not to hit the plates too hard. “It happened right in front of me!”
“Right Seible, a cat delivered your USB to you, you’re not fooling me this time!” Kaelix laughed, seemingly not believing his story one bit.
“Is the cat Gatita?” Zeal followed up with a teased tone, “She’s the only one that can grab your USB and even run to you to the cafe”
“I don’t know! I think it’s a different cat though… the colors don’t look quite the same to me..” Seible sighs, gently playing with the food on his plate.
Freo quietly sat beside the brunette as he munched on the dinner prepared by their bouncer, silently listening to the trio rambling about their day and eventually slowly forgetting the funny incident Seible encountered that day…
‘Interesting’
₍ ^. .^ ₎ Ⳋ
‘This is so boring….’
Kaelix sighed to himself, the smile on his face remained unchanging as the cameras flash through his eyes, capturing the beauty of his face and the outfit that he promised to help his friend promote. As much as he loves to help out anyone in need, he desperately needed rest, especially after smiling like this the whole day that even he himself felt his smile was strained. Despite that, no one in the studio noticed.
“Alright, that’s a good shot! Let’s take an hour lunch break everyone!” The cameraman shouts out, satisfied with the pictures it seems.
He waved to those about to head out for lunch with his usual smile as he walked to his own personal changing room prepared for him, planning to take a rest when—
‘Mew~’
“Eh?” He looked at the vanity set just in front of the entrance, a cat sat in front of the big round mirror, greeting him. “A… kitty?”
‘Mew’ It leapt down from the table, instead choosing to hop onto the couch and lay there.
The bouncer closed the door to the room, looking at the cat while sitting down on the couch. He carefully observed its tiny body — his teal green-like fur has been brushed thoroughly that it made him look super fluffy, how it’s obediently sitting down like it has been trained before. “Where did you come from, hm?” He chuckled, raising his hand to pet its head.
“You look abit to clean to be a stray, did a crew bring their pet in today?” He mumbled to himself, but who is he to deny a furry company right? Especially for a cute kitty, it would be cruel to refuse such kindness from a cat. His smile widened when the cat leaned into his touch, it reminded him of a certain designer at home.
Growl~~
The cat looked up at him like it’s judging him for the sudden sound coming out of his stomach, to which he only laughed in awkwardness.
“Don’t look at me like that! I haven’t had lunch yet!”
‘Mew’
It turned its head towards the vanity making the boy follow its lead, it was then he only noticed there was a bento box wrapped in a small blanket on top of the table, one that he was sure wasn't there when he changed that morning.
“When did that get there?” He walked towards it, untangling the knot on the blanket to reveal the box hiding beneath it. He plucked down the note laid on top of the flat surface of the box, his smile suddenly softened as he read through the words written.
You forgot your lunch box again
He chuckled, he would recognize this handwriting anywhere, only one person in their group would possess such an elegant handwriting after all… However…
Did Freo came?
He was sure he didn’t see the designer walking around, and no one came to tell him his boyfriend had come to visit either. Even so, why wouldn’t he tell him he came too? He whipped out his phone to give the designer a very quick call, sadly it only rang out for a minute before turning into voice mail. The boy sighed, he couldn’t hide his disappointment. What am I thinking? Freo is busy, he probably decided to just drop his lunch box and left without saying anything. He’s already happy he made an effort to deliver his lunch for him — but still, he did wish he said hi though…
‘Mew~’ He snapped out of his thoughts when the cat suddenly climbed onto him, softly licking his cheek as a sign of comfort.
“Was that supposed to be a kiss?”
‘Mew’
He giggled, “I’ll take that as a yes. Thank you kind kitty~ Come let’s eat lunch together!” He carried the cat with one hand while taking his lunch box on the other before placing it on the couch where it laid beside Kaelix as he ate his lunch, silently listening to him complaining and even whining about his work as a model, but the kitty remained there, accompanying him.
Yet, by the time he finished his meal, the cat had somehow gone out the door without him noticing.
“Aw… where did it go?” He pouted,
“Wait! Aw man, I didn’t even get to take a picture!”
₍ ^. .^ ₎ Ⳋ
It was a typical Monday evening, where their usual livehouse business will be closed for the week to allow the only four workers to have a break for a full day. Usually, they would decide to chill within the comfort of their home, after all it is their only break day after an entire week. However — tragically — Freo’s client decided to meet up with him today, so the poor designer went out early in the morning to talk to his client. As much as he hated it, it’s his job as a freelance designer.
The remaining three decided to share his part of the chores around the house to ease his workload for the day, one of them being … shopping duty.
“Mmm, I kinda don’t feel like going outside today~” Seible whined, pulling Kaelix’s hands closer around his shoulder, urging the younger boy to hug him — which he gladly did so. “Anyone else wanna take it?”
“Uhm, I don’t mind-” The white-haired boy raised his hand.
Zeal, however, put his hand down for him. “You already did it last week, Kaelix. It’s alright, I’ll do it for this week”
“Eh~?” Seible smirked, “Try not to bring home too much wine Gin-chan~ Last time you went hectic with it”
“Hey, there was a huge discount on perfectly good wine! It was a one time occurrence” Zeal argued, to which the brunette giggled in response within Kaelix’s arms. “I’ll head out now then, it’ll be late if I go any later”
“Stay safe Jii-chan~” “Buy some caramel latte home for me Gin-chan! Thanks!”
He pulls the doorknob behind, where their noises disappear as it closes with a click. He checked everything he needed for the short trip, bags to carry the items and to save money on buying plastic bags, his wallet where his money and cards are in, his phone and…
‘Mreow’
“Hm?” He looked down near his feet, where a cat sat near him. Weird, he thought as he chuckled at how the kitty is looking up at him. “How did you get in here little guy?”
‘Mew~’
“Hm, I didn’t know Gatita had a friend” He bent down, gently tickling its chin, earning an adorable purr from the kitty. Its unique green fur stood out from any other cats he has seen before, pairing with its red faded purple like pupils, it may be the prettiest feline he has met in his life. Gatita has made one fine friend, he mumbled to himself. “Freo might not be happy though”
‘Mew’ As the human before him was distracted in his own thoughts, it took the chance to jump and climbed up to his shoulder, sitting there, content as it cleaned its paws on him. ‘Mreow~’
“Oh? You want to follow me shopping huh?” He patted its head carefully, to which it leaned into his touch. “Alright, let’s go then”
As much as it is a first experience for a cat to travel on his shoulders to the mall, gaining stares from passersby and even children pointing at him and the cat as they walked. It felt quite nice, the cat was surprisingly calm the entire way, like it knew Zeal. It was weird, but he had a feeling that he knew this cat somewhere. Though he was sure he’d never seen such a unique cat anywhere, he would know — he may be a grandpa but he is young enough to remember, mind you.
The feeling only grew stronger when he was buying groceries for his boys. The kitty would run off somewhere before coming back with items he was supposed to grab later, smaller and lighter items such as Seible’s caramel latte to Kaelix’s skin care products to even his own usual coffee brand he usually drinks from, like it already knew he would want it. It was also quite obedient, only silently watching him doing his shopping, only occasionally hiding around him when people insisted on patting it.
He could tell the tiny kitty did not like it in the slightest.
He breathed out a sigh of relief when the kids finally left him alone after seeing how the cat is intentionally avoiding them, saying how it’s not fun. Well, it isn’t much fun for the cat either.
“Alright, they’re gone, come on out kitty” He gently spoke, knowing the cat can hear him despite how soft it is. “Do you want me to carry you?”
The kitty stared at him and without warning, leapt into his arms, choosing a comfortable position before snuggling in his arm. It’s an adorable sight to see indeed, a tall handsome young man carrying a tiny kitty with just one hand while pushing the cart with his free one. Kaelix and Seible are going to be jealous if they knew, he chuckled.
“Ah right, Freo mentioned how there’s new beans in stock today… Shall we go buy one kitty?” He looked down at the feline, who waved its tail in agreement as it looked back at him with shine in its eyes.
“You agree too, hm~?” A chuckle, “You know, I kind of want to make him try microwave coffee… Maybe he’ll like it if he doesn’t know the process…”
‘…’
The sudden scratch of the kitty’s sharp paws was something Zeal did not expect.
On the way home, the two — Or rather, Zeal. The cat only settled on his shoulders for a free piggy back ride — slowly walked home, enjoying the warmth of the evening sun as they strolled past blocks of buildings. The kitty was so quiet to the point that Zeal did not notice when the cat had disappeared as he reached the livehouse.
Aww… I was hoping to show the two his new friend, he thought. Alas, fates are cruel it seems.
“Zeal?”
“Hm?” He turned around to the familiar voice, “Ah, Freo, welcome back”
“Tadaima… Did you go shopping?” He stared at the bags the taller one was holding, looking a bit apologetic. “Sorry, this client was a bit fussier than usual..”
“No worries, I don’t mind doing it for you” He placed a gentle kiss on the man’s forehead, “Besides, you’ve been busier this month”
“Yea…I guess so”
“By the way, did you see a kitty on the way back?”
“A kitty?” Freo looked up at him, “I mean… There’re a lot of stray cats in our area”
“Yeah, but have you seen a more unique one? Like… a cat with your hair color”
The shorter blinked – once, twice. His eyes still staring like he’s talking nonsense, “No, I don’t believe so… why so sudden?”
“Ah, it’s a long story… Let's talk about it with the other two” Zeal chuckled.
As if on cue, the door to their apartment opened from the inside, revealing a very happy promoter popping his head outside, lighting up even more when he saw his two partners. “Gin-chan! Furi-chan! You’re back~ Come in, K-chan made dinner~!”
₍ ^. .^ ₎ Ⳋ
“What?! You saw the cat too?!” Kaelix banged the table, abit too loud than Freo would’ve liked before he pushed his plate further away from the male, avoiding him from accidentally hitting it. “Where did it go? Ueee, I didn’t get the chance to take a picture last time…”
“Wait, K-chan you saw the kitty too? It’s the same cat that took my USB!”
The boy turned to Seible, “Ehhh? How did it come into our house?”
“Hmmm,” Zeal turned to Freo’s cat who’s sitting beside its owner, “Is it a friend of Gatita perhaps?”
‘Mreow’ A deadpanned-like voice came out of the feline. ‘As if I would get close to a boy’, was what Freo could hear out of her.
“I think the cat you guys met was a stray… Gatita is quite wary of strays” He took a bite off his plate, seemingly not surprised by their encounter despite how mysterious it is. “Maybe… it just wanted to hang out with you guys”
Seible stared at the designer, “It still doesn’t make much sense though…”
“Well, you guys could wait and see if it’ll come again. It might come back”
“FuriFuri’s right! I’m gonna snap a photo if it comes back again~” Kaelix smiled widely, “I want to show Freo too, you haven’t seen the cat right?”
“I would like to take a photo of such a cute cat too~” Seible chimed, while their bartender nodded.
If they weren’t so busy chatting with each other, they would’ve noticed how their dearest designer was secretly smirking – not the mocking kind, no. Far from it, he found his partners stupidly adorable by how obvious things are, yet they’re still oblivious to it…
He chuckled quietly, softly combing through Gatita’s smooth fur as he stared back at the trio. Perhaps it’s better this way anyways.
₍ ^. .^ ₎ Ⳋ
A soft knock can be heard from the outside of the small room, but the owner can still hear it either way as he shouted “Come in” without much hesitation.
“Shu-senpai”
The sorcerer turned around, “Ah, Freo! Nice to see you again, need something?”
“I’m just helping Seible return this backup controller you borrowed him” He waved the item in his hand, setting down Gatita so she could roam freely, knowing that the man in front of him wouldn’t mind it at all.
He happily placed his equipment down, “Thanks. Also, how was the potion? Any feedback… or perhaps anything interesting to share~?”
Freo stared at nothing in particular, remembering all the moments he had experienced when turned to a certain animal that the trio – till this day – is still waiting for, knowing very well that it will not appear anymore, much to his delight. Truthfully, it had been just a curious thought – wondering if it’s possible he could communicate with his pet cat, that’s all – when his senpai had kindly offered a little potion that would allow him to turn into one for merely three times, it’s as simple as that. Though sad to say, while he did not use it on Gatita at all, at least he made his partners happy with those funny encounters.
He smiled down at Gatita purring below his feet, “It was… interesting to be able to turn into a cat… a good one I’ll say”
“Oh~?” The older titled his head, “Did your cat said anything funny?”
“Well, no… but..” He raised his hand to his lips, trying to hide his smirk thinking of his partners.“I did get to see three idiots figuring out something they should’ve noticed long ago at least”
Shu tilted his head even further, trying to understand what his kouhai was trying to say, but Freo only puffed quietly.
“Say,” Freo voiced,
“Is it okay if I have more of that potion?”