Chapter Text
The next thing Rui knew it was morning. He got up and yawned, only to realize that Tsukasa had left the bed… which made him kind of sad, he wanted to be close to him for longer… where was he, anyway? It was Saturday, so he shouldn’t be at school…
Rui decided to hop down from the bed and head downstairs. Since Tsukasa didn’t have a door, he didn’t have to worry about getting out of his room.
As Rui walked into the kitchen, he saw Tsukasa, making breakfast for Saki and Toya, who were presumably still asleep.
“Ah! There you are, I was just about to come and wake you up!”
Rui was disappointed when he heard that. Being gently nudged awake by Tsukasa himself?? Well, not all dreams come true, perhaps…
“Hmm… I can’t just keep on referring to you as ‘he’. I should come up with a name for you…”
Rui looked up at Tsukasa, confusingly.
“Well… you do remind me of a certain someone… so I may take some inspo from that… how does Ruru sound?”
Ruru. That was the cheesiest name Rui had ever heard. But he loved it… Tsukasa was such a lovable dork that the name Ruru sounded cute to him—when Tsukasa referred to him by it.
Rui nodded his head, as an attempt to communicate with him, which caused Tsukasa to awe at him again yet look at him confusingly.
“You are one smart cat.. that is the second time you looked like you’ve tried to communicate with me…”
Suddenly both Tsukasa and Rui heard footsteps from upstairs. Toya must have woken up.
“Toya, good morning!! I made breakfast for you, Saki and I, pancakes!!”
Toya looked at the stack of pancakes that was just out of Rui’s sight. Toya looked like he wanted to take a few, but it also looked like something was stopping him…
“Ah… I should probably head back. Before my dad gets worried. It’s a wonder that he allowed me to stay over at your place, so if I’m even a minute late I might have that privilege revoked from me forever.”
“Awe… I see… Do you want to at least take some for the road?”
Toya looked back. Now that Tsukasa mentioned that, that idea did sound good…
“Of course. Do you mind if I take some extra for Akito as well??”
Tsukasa laughed. “Of course, of course! No need to be formal with me, we are basically family after all, little brother!”
Toya awkwardly laughed as he took a few pancakes and left while Tsukasa bid him farewell.
Rui could tell that Tsukasa cared for Toya deeply… oh, what a great older brother he is!!
“And remember, me and Saki are always here if you need anything!!” Tsukasa said as he shut the door.
Tsukasa walked back into the kitchen, and remembered he had to feed Rui breakfast.
“Ah, right! I almost forgot, you need breakfast, I should get that done before Saki wakes up so I don’t forget… what would Ruru like…” Tsukasa said as he scavenged the fridge.
“Hmm… I am kind of short on leftovers right now, and I doubt you would eat something like pancakes, so do you just want more of that chicken tonkotsu?”
Rui’s eyes immediately lit up when he said that, which made Tsukasa laugh.
“Looks like that’s a yes! As expected of a star like me, I made Ruru fall in love with my cooking!”
Tsukasa placed the plate full of chicken down on the floor as another set of footsteps could be heard from upstairs. It looks like Saki just woke up.
“Ah, Saki, good morning! I made us breakfast, pancakes!” Tsukasa said proudly, showing off the table display he put so much effort into.
Saki laughed at his brother's pride. “Thank you SO much, big brother! You’re the best!!”
“Oh, but I am far from the best! This is simply the bare minimum for a sister like you, now go ahead and eat!”
Saki and Tsukasa laughed at their playful talk as Saki pulled up a chair and began serving herself.
“By the way, where is Toya? And your cat?”
In between chews, Tsukasa told her, “Toya had to leave early because of his dad, meanwhile the cat is eating over there! I named him Ruru by the way!!”
Saki looked over to see Rui eating the chicken in one corner of the kitchen.
“Ruru huh… sounds like Rui!! I mean, the cat does look a lot like Rui so it’s understandable!!” Saki tried her best to sound as polite as possible—Ruru was probably the cheesiest name she had ever heard. But, it was her brother, and she didn’t want to upset him this early in the morning so she didn’t say anything.
Eventually the two of them finished their breakfast and cleaned up the kitchen. Tsukasa picked Rui up and brought him back up to his room.
“Alright.. I didn’t really have anything planned for today, so I thought me and you could spend time together while I come up with ideas for future shows!” Tsukasa said to Rui.
An entire day? With Tsukasa? Right before Rui would go back to being human again? Could this day get any better??
Rui purred softly as he waited for Tsukasa to finish getting ready. As soon as he finished, Tsukasa came back to his room, pulled up a chair to his desk and opened his sketchbook.
“Eh? Oh…” Rui thought. He thought Tsukasa was going to brainstorm in bed with him, so he could curl right up next to him and…
WHAT was Rui thinking? “Why am I acting like this? Did the potion affect my emotions as well?” Rui trailed off.
Whatever. What Rui wanted to do at that moment was get Tsukasa’s attention again. He leaped from the bed, walked over to Tsukasa’s desk and leapt right in front of Tsukasa’s sketchbook, laying himself down right in the center of it and holding his head out, waiting for Tsukasa.
Tsukasa laughed softly then said with an annoyed tone “Ruru, I know you want attention right now but I’m busy so you’ll have to wait!”
Rui looked at Tsukasa despairingly as he was shooed away. He didn’t want to spend his final hours in this form doing nothing! Then Rui paced back and forth in Tsukasa’s room, coming up with a plan to get at least a LITTLE bit of his attention.
Then, rather than jumping on his desk, Rui jumped right onto Tsukasa’s lap and curled himself up.
“Ruru, how many times do I have to—“
Then, Tsukasa pulled out to see Rui resting ever so peacefully on his lap. He laughed softly. “Well, I suppose this is alright…” he said with the same gentle, nurturing tone as before. Rui loved this part of Tsukasa—well, he admired every part of Tsukasa of course but this part made him feel especially safe.
Just then, Tsukasa reached out his hand to stroke Rui’s soft fur once more.
THIS was even better than before! Tired, Rui began softly purring again as he drifted asleep.
Next thing Rui knew, it was late afternoon. He was still on Tsukasa’s lap. Has he been sitting here, brainstorming ideas this entire time? He really has a strong passion, huh…
Rui mewed as he looked up, trying to get Tsukasa’s attention. Tsukasa looked back down at him.
“Ah, so you’re finally awake! Perfect timing, I just finished…”
Rui mewed happily as he lifted his head up into Tsukasa’s hand, signaling for him to pet it. He laughed softly.
“Do you think you want to come with us? I was just about to meet up with my friend, Nene, to discuss the stunt she will be helping me with!”
Ah. Nene. She’s probably going to be SO MAD at Rui. Still, he didn’t want to leave Tsukasa’s side for the time being, so he nodded to show his agreement.
“Strange cat…” Tsukasa thought to himself. It was almost as if he understood every word he was saying!
Tsukasa picked Rui up and left the house, to head over to the nearby park where he and Nene wouldl be meeting.
As the two reached the park, Tsukasa waved over to Nene to signal for her to come over.
As Nene began running over, she caught sight of the familiar purple cat…
—-
Nene was speechless for the first few moments. She looked down at Rui in annoyance. She IMMEDIATELY knew what happened to him, considering the fact that she had basically grown up with him.
“Oh my GOD WHAT did he get himself into this time?” Nene thought to herself. She didn’t want to sound like a weird person though, talking to random people's cats, so she stayed silent.
“What’s the matter, Nene? This is Ruru! He looks a lot like Rui, don’t you think?”
Oh my god was he THAT oblivious? Honestly knowing Rui he probably sent a few signals to Tsukasa to show him that he was actually Rui. But no, Tsukasa completely missed those hints! On top of that, WHAT kind of name was Ruru?
“Ruru is probably the cheesiest sounding name I’ve ever heard… I hope you soon realize how dumb you are right now.”
“Eh?! WHAT is that supposed to mean?? Are you just jealous of how elegant a name like Ruru is?” Tsukasa said with pride.
“Whatever, whatever, let’s just get this over with…”
—-
So Nene DID catch on. Oh goodness, she was going to kill him as soon as he was human again…
Rui tried to set his attention to something else, as the two practiced the stunts for the upcoming show… Rui watched in awe as the two of them perfectly performed each stunt Rui had assigned them. It wasn’t 100% effort, no—it was 12,000% effort! He could tell the amount of time and energy the two of them have been working together to achieve this, and it made him happy…
Finally, after an hour or so the two of them were exhausted. They agreed that what they did for the day was enough, so they bid their farewells and headed back home.
“I can’t believe it’s dinner time already, huh… I really don’t feel like making dinner tonight, and since Saki will be out with Ichika and the others, would you want to buy something from a food stand?” Tsukasa told him.
Rui mewed happily to show his approval.
“Alright! Here… does Salmon sound good to you?”
Salmon? Well, that WAS better than vegetables so sure…
The two of them walked up to a food stand as Tsukasa asked for one order of Salmon and one order of Takoyaki.
Tsukasa carefully carried the food while also having Rui in his arms to make sure he didn’t drop any of the food nor to drop Rui.
They found a bench in the middle of another park nearby, and sat down as they ate their food while watching the sun go down.
It really was an amazing experience for Rui… being able to watch the sun set with Tsukasa himself… although Tsukasa didn’t know it. Rui cherished this moment while it lasted. As they finished up their food and just as the sun set, Tsukasa picked Rui up once more to take him back home.
He probably had a little under an hour left as a cat, so he should probably make the most of it…
Eventually the two got home, and were greeted by Saki, who had just got back as well a few minutes ago.
“Ah, hello, big brother! Oh! That’s where Ruru went… hi Ruru!” Saki said to Rui as she pet him for the last time.
“Saki, Wonderlands x Showtime’s upcoming performance is in a few days… do you think you can show up?”
As Saki and Tsukasa started talking about that, Rui's mind drifted off topic. “These past few days have been really fun, it’s a shame they have to end…” Rui thought to himself. Then again he really wanted to be human again. He can’t stay a cat forever, of course—how else would he be able to win Tsukasa’s heart? Wait, what did he—
“Well, it is getting late and I am pretty tired so I should go to bed early…” Tsukasa said to Saki, interrupting Rui’s train of thought.
Tsukasa carried Rui back up to his room, and left his room once more to change after giving Rui a rub under his chin, which made Rui purr even more.
Rui lay on the bed as Tsukasa got ready in the bathroom. All of a sudden Rui felt a weird tingling sensation… the same sensation he felt yesterday afternoon.. the potion must be wearing off!!
—
As soon as Tsukasa was ready he entered his room to go to bed only to find… Rui Kamishiro? Laying on his bed?
“Rui… WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU DOING HERE? HOW DID YOU GET INTO MY HOUSE?!?” Tsukasa immediately shouted, in shock. “More importantly, where is Ruru?”
“Oh Tsukasa, how have you not realized..?”
Tsukasa looked at Rui shocked, but confused.
“I AM Ruru!”
Tsukasa stared at Rui for a few more seconds before realizing.
“WHATTTTTTTTT????????”
“Allow me to explain!” Rui said, trying to comfort the shocked star.
“And then, since a piece of cat fur accidentally got into the potion, it turned me into a cat rather than boosting my stamina…” Rui said, hoping that Tsukasa would calm down.
He did calm down a bit, but he was still confused about the whole situation.
“Wait, so you heard… everything I said? Even the thing Toya said when he said that I talk about you a lot?” Tsukasa could feel his face turn red.
Rui laughed gently. “I didn’t mind… in fact, I find it cute that you talk about me a lot! I really did enjoy the attention I got. Maybe I should be a cat more often!! You should do it with me too, sometime!”
“NO! Honestly, where do you get these ideas from??” Tsukasa said with a hint of annoyance.
Rui could tell Tsukasa was distressed at that moment. On a whim, trying to make him feel better, he blurted out “Tsukasa, I love you!”
Wait a minute. WHAT?? WHAT DID RUI JUST SAY???
“Huh..?” Rui watched as Tsukasa’s face flushed a bright red again. Rui, trying to explain, got up from the bed to walk over to Tsukasa, only to fall.
Right.
He hadn’t properly walked for a while, that might take some getting used to…
Tsukasa’s realization suddenly kicked in. He helped Rui up and off of the ground, finally coming to terms with his feelings.
“I… I love you too, Rui…” Tsukasa said as he pulled Rui in for a hug.
Rui could feel himself blush. The person he had feelings for liked him back?? This was the happiest he had ever been. Rui melted into Tsukasa’s warm embrace and began… purring??
Tsukasa felt this, and pulled away from the hug.
“What was that just now?” He asked.
“Ah, well, that must be a side effect that hasn’t gone away fully… I’m sorry…” Rui said as he hid his face from Tsukasa. He couldn’t help but feel a little bit embarrassed from that.
All of a sudden Rui felt Tsukasa's hand on his cheek as Tsukasa tried to get Rui’s attention. Both hands cupping Rui’s face, he said “Rui… I don’t care about what you are or what you do. I just want you to know that there’s no need to feel embarrassed around me—I’ll still love you no matter what.” Tsukasa said gently as Rui’s face began turning red again.
Rui had never been so moved before. And just when he thought he wouldn’t be able to love Tsukasa even more. He pulled Tsukasa in and kissed him on the cheek, which made him even more flustered.
“You missed.” Rui heard Tsukasa say.
“Huh..?”
Next thing Rui knew, Tsukasa grabbed Rui, and kissed him straight on the lips.
“Ah…”
Rui was shocked for the first few seconds. Then he allowed himself to play along with it, melting into Tsukasa’s touch and purring softly.
The kiss lasted for a few seconds until the two eventually pulled away from each other. Both of their faces were very much bright red. Tsukasa smiled at Rui.
“If anything, this side effect of yours makes you even cuter… as if that wasn’t possible.”
Rui felt his stomach twist into knots. God, how he loved that blonde haired boy.
As the two finally realized their feelings for each other, along with it came the realization that Rui was in Tsukasa’s room in the middle of the night. How was he supposed to get home? Rui’s expression shifted.
“Well, I should be heading back now…” Rui said, disappointingly.
“WAIT!” Tsukasa blurted out, suddenly. Rui turned around, confused.
“I was thinking… do you want to stay over tonight? You can sleep with me, if you want…” Tsukasa said, sheepishly.
Rui, regaining his normal, sly personality, said “wow… is this the same world future star who claims that he is afraid of nothing?” Rui said, teasingly.
“Hey… do you want this or not?” Tsukasa said.
“Of course, of course, my star…” Rui said, which only made Tsukasa turn red again (he was just starting to recover from the kiss earlier).
“Don’t say that so casually…” Was all that Tsukasa managed to say.
After that the two of them walked over to Tsukasa’s bed, while Rui gestured for him.
“After you, my star.”
Tsukasa, just now starting to regain his over-the-top personality, began tearing up.
“Uhn… I CAN'T BELIEVE SOMEONE AS AMAZING AS YOU IS ACTUALLY IN LOVE WITH ME!!!” Tsukasa said, hugging Rui. Rui laughed. No matter what Tsukasa acted like, or how he was feeling, he was still the same loveable person as before. He then got into bed, shortly followed by Rui afterwards.
The two of them stared at each other enduringly for what felt like hours. Tsukasa then finally got the courage to say “your hair looks so soft… do you mind if I run my fingers through it?” He said impulsively.
Eh?? Rui flushed. He never thought Tsukasa would actually say that. Nonetheless, he accepted Tsukasa’s offer as he held his arms out, signaling for Rui to come closer. He then did, resting his head right in the crook of Tsukasa’s neck as he began gently running his fingers through his hair, which made Rui purr even more deeply. Tsukasa laughed, which made Rui feel even more flushed. Yes, Tsukasa did tell him that there was nothing he needed to be embarrassed about, but he still couldn’t help but be a LITTLE bit embarrassed—especially considering the fact that Tsukasa himself found it cute. Still, he trusted him, so he didn’t stop.
Rui’s realization then began to kick in.
Tsukasa loved him back. The guy he had found himself falling in love with reciprocated his feelings. And Tsukasa was the most PERFECT man to be with. Who knows what future awaits them, or how they will face it. No matter what, both Rui and Tsukasa knew that they would face whatever the future held together.
“I love you so much, my director… sweet dreams..” said Tsukasa, half asleep.
“I love you too, my star…” said Rui, in the same state as Tsukasa. The two of them stayed like this until they ended up falling asleep in each other’s arms.