Chapter Text
Meng Yao came to the Nies’ home two days later with his work laptop and a few documents he’d taken from the office. The three of them had agreed to trying out a daytime cat-sitting arrangement first, to see if Meng Yao felt comfortable with the cats and the house. Nie Mingjue was at work, but Huaisang tore open the door again, at the first ring, and pulled Meng Yao inside for an immediate house tour.
Nie Huaisang had dragged him through the house to show off the various rooms. It was a big house, with several guest bedrooms, space for studies, a large garden with a small guest house at the very end. Meng Yao got the impression that the Nie household had once meant to contain a large family, three generations living in one building, with aunts and uncles being welcome to remain. It seemed that early deaths and diverging career paths had emptied it out. While it was bigger than anything Meng Yao could ever hope to achieve on his own, it wasn’t what he’d expect from the president of a successful company. It certainly wasn’t anywhere near Jin Guangshan’s modern mansion, which Meng Yao had seen parts of on his fifteenth birthday.
It was old money, the kind where the value lay in the quality, and not in a layer of gold. It suited Nie Mingjue, who seemed practical above all else. The most obviously expensive acquisition in the household lay in ancient art pieces, ink paintings that must be at least two centuries old and a collection of weapons or armour pieces. Both the Nie brothers’ special interests, respectively.
That, and of course the ridiculous amount of cat toys. It seemed that nearly every room had fancy looking cat beds, or climbing spots drilled to the wall. Unlike with the artifacts, Meng Yao had no idea how expensive any of those were, but he couldn’t imagine that he’d ever blow anywhere nearly as much on Hensheng, even if he could. Surely cardboard and climbing around a bookshelf were enough enrichment?
Eventually Nie Huaisang remembered that he had social obligations that he was nearly late for, and let go of his guest.In a flash he was out and waving Meng Yao goodbye without so much as making him promise not to steal anything. It was odd, staying in a place like this, so Meng Yao quickly made his way back to the kitchen, where he set up his laptop and got to work.
Unlike his desk at work, the surroundings were nice. Nie Mingjue had shown him how to use the coffee maker last time he was there, providing him with a drink much nicer than the bitter watery stuff they had at the office. The large glass doors leading into the garden provided him with natural light and a nice view. The lack of noise or obnoxious chatter from his colleagues was a bonus as well.
About two hours into remotely fixing other people’s messes Hensheng hopped onto the tabletop, meowing once and then lying down right next to the keyboard, thankfully without making an attempt to step on it. Meng Yao looked up from the screen, smiling slightly at the cat.
“You’d be a better coworker than half of these morons,” he told him. Hensheng didn’t reply, but when Meng Yao started petting his head he purred and flicked his tail.
Afterwards work was a little easier. Nothing actually improved, but having a purring cat there to pet when he was starting to lose his patience did help Meng Yao avoid stressing out too much. He got up occasionally to refill his drink, change the kitten mats, and collect the mail.
When it was afternoon and Meng Yao was done with work he looked through the cabinets, and was pleased to find ingredients for one of his mother’s fried fish recipes. The least he could do for was repay his hosts for their generosity with a meal before he left. He set to work quickly in the unfamiliar kitchen, chopping up the vegetables and cooking rice as well as his mother’s favourite sauce. Baxia hopped onto the counter as soon as he started, and remained unnervingly close. Luckily she didn’t beg for food scraps, as Meng Yao wasn’t sure he could defend himself against such a beast of a cat.
The food was done and left on the side for when the Nie brothers returned. Meng Yao was ready to leave when Nie Mingjue and Nie Huaisang appeared together.
“Da-ge, look, he cooked for us!” Nie Huaisang cried out once he saw the dishes Meng Yao had set out.
“I can see that,” Nie Mingjue said with a grateful sigh. He set out bowls for three, and beckoned Meng Yao over. Meng Yao had planned to leave once they were back, but…What’s the harm in spending a bit more time here?
All three sat together in the kitchen, and Meng Yao quietly ate while enjoying the brothers’ talking. He’d not actually shared a proper meal with anyone for years, not in the sense that he was eating at someone’s house and he was part of their company.
“This is so delicious,” Nie Huaisang complimented, helping himself to more of the fish. “How can you be so nice and so good at cooking? Da-ge, we should keep him! You never make anything like this.”
Nie Mingjue rolled his eyes but didn’t disagree about the quality of Meng Yao’s food.
“You just don’t appreciate my cooking,” he muttered, returning his attention to his own bowl.
Meng Yao couldn’t help but smile.
*
The biggest perk of growing closer to the Nie brothers and having access to their house over the coming weeks was getting to use the amenities. They had a large oven with consistent temperature, the garden was relaxing, their coffee maker was divine, and Nie Mingjue had insisted that Meng Yao could have full access to their washing machines, rather than use the laundromat in Meng Yao’s building. They even had a small guest house on the property, part of the extended family living arrangements that never came to fruition.
Best of all was the bathroom with the tub, along with Nie Huaisaing’s collection of bath salts and soaps.
“I collect them cause I like the scent,” Nie Huaisang told Meng Yao at one point. “But I don’t even like taking long baths. They’ll be wasted if you don’t use them. So do!”
Meng Yao sank into the hot water, letting out a sigh of relief as he felt his tense muscles unwind after the workday. He couldn’t remember when he’d last had access to a bathtub, and he’d forgotten how nice it was to just sit back and enjoy the heat. Nie Mingjue wasn’t supposed to be home from a business trip until late in the evening, and Meng Yao planned to make the most of the bath while he was alone. He closed his eyes, enjoying the scent of pears, when he heard the door click.
Meng Yao looked up, to see…
...Nobody.
It didn’t open by much, and as his eyes travelled down the gap he could see why. Baxia wandered into the bathroom as if she owned the place (which, he supposed, she did). Meng Yao warily observed Baxia approach the bathtub, hop onto the edge, and then stare down at him from her perch. She blinked once, meeting his eye, and before Meng Yao could protest she jumped in with a splash.
Shrieking in panic, Meng Yao scrambled to try and fish her out, but Baxia was already soaked, making herself comfortable and evading any attempt to grab her. Instead of letting the human rescue her, Baxia paddled around contentedly for a bit and then stood on his lap, with all her weight on Meng Yao’s legs. She growled in displeasure when he tried to budge her, and settled further down onto him.
“What the hell?” he whispered, staring at the soggy lump in his lap.
Baxia just blinked and rumbled deep in her chest, content to sit in the water with him.
Meng Yao sighed and leaned back in the water, trying to relax again. He couldn’t really move his legs with the weight of such a massive cat on him.
He figured he would wait until she got bored and left.
She did not.
His legs were starting to feel somewhat numb with her weight on his thighs, the constant threat of claws ever present. Meng Yao was just wondering whether Baxia would get sick if she swallowed some of the foamy bubbles, when he heard steps in the hallway.
“Meng Yao? Are you in there?”
Shit, Nie Mingjue was home earlier than expected.
“Ah. Yes, I’m in the bath. Sorry, your cat joined me,” Meng Yao called back, laughing nervously.
There was a pause, and he could picture Nie Mingjue’s confused expression.
“Did Baxia decide to take a bath?” he asked, voice strained in embarrassment. “She does that, I’m sorry, I should have warned you to lock the door.”
Meng Yao glanced down at Baxia, who looked utterly unmoved by her owner’s voice, despite normally running up to greet him when he returned home.
“I’ll keep it in mind. Only…” he closed his eyes and sighed. “How do I get her to leave? She threatens me with claws and I can’t really get her out.”
There was another pause.
“Do you want some help?”
With no other choice Meng Yao voiced his agreement.
Nie Mingjue walked in, briefly glancing towards his soaked cat peeking out from over the edge of the tub, before turning to the small shelf in the corner. Meng Yao raised his arms to cover his chest on instinct, before dropping them back into the water. Despite having nothing but two faint scars under his chest for years he still couldn’t quite shake the habit of trying to preserve his modesty when in any state of undress. Instead he watched as Nie Mingjue grabbed a large fluffy towel and then stepped up to the tub, averting his eyes.
“Sorry about this,” he said, and quickly reached in with the towel draped over his arms. Baxia had no time to react or sink her claws in, just meowing in protest as Nie Mingjue dragged her from the water, dripping and fur plastered to her body, making her look somewhat smaller than normal. He quickly wrapped her up and carried her to the counter to start rubbing her dry.
“I thought that cats hate water,” Meng Yao said as he watched Nie Mingjue try to get Baxia closer to a state of “damp animal” than “soaked mop”. He pulled his legs close to his body, relieved at the ability to move them again.
“Maine Coons like it,” Nie Mingjue replied. “Uh… I’ll take her away now.”
Meng Yao watched Nie Mingjue leave with the grumpy looking cat in his arms and pull the door shut. He sighed, and rested his reddened face against his scratched up knees. The cats were a never ending bag of surprise.
*
Somehow it had only taken Nie Huaisang a total of six weeks to talk Nie Mingjue into offering Meng Yao the run of the guest house at a good renting rate, and even less to convince Meng Yao that he needed to move out of his own apartment.
“Think of it, you still live in a good part of town, you get to see the cats, and you get to use the garden as well!” Nie Huaisang had said when Meng Yao had mulled over the new renting agreement the Nie brothers had presented him. “Besides, don’t you want to see me more often?”
It didn’t feel purely altruistic to Meng Yao, who had quickly realised that Nie Huaisang could be exceptionally clingy with his friends, and had no qualms about manipulating situations to give him an excuse to stick to someone he liked. Besides, Meng Yao’s mere presence acted as a buffer against Nie Mingjue’s brotherly disapproval of Nie Huaisang’s general behaviour. But it still meant that the young man felt some attachment to him, and Meng Yao couldn’t help but be charmed by the way Nie Huaisang treated him like an older brother. Regardless of how much of a spoiled brat he could be.
He still worked in the spacious kitchen most of the time, given that he was the only one who could take his work home, to make sure the kittens didn’t use their new ability to wander around to cause havoc. If Baxia and Hensheng carrying them around was a problem, then the little flock of fluffy clouds finding their own legs was really something…
The habit of working in the kitchen was so ingrained, that Meng Yao still took his work over to the main house even if someone else was present. He sat at the table, smaller than the rarely used dining hall but still enough for a small family, rubbing his temples with his fingers. Work was nothing but a never ending chain of people messing up crucial things out of pure negligence, only to pile the resulting mess onto Meng Yao. Despite how hard he worked, and how much he tried to get ahead, he was still seen as the one to do the grunt work and put out fires he didn’t start.
Nie Mingjue glanced up from where he was busy preparing food for the kittens, though Meng Yao had made sure not to make a sound. He wouldn’t dare complain about his position out loud, but Nie Mingjue was perceptive enough to piece together how exhausting and ungratifying the job was over the weeks.
Right now he was staring at Meng Yao, bowls of cat food in front of him as all four kittens crawled up his legs like he was a living cat tree. They mewled in distress as if they were starving. Loudly.
“You know,” Nie Mingjue started as he picked up the bowls of cat food and shuffled towards the spot in the corner where the cats ate. None of the kittens saw fit to let go of him. “There is an opening in my company. You should apply.”
Meng Yao felt his heart squeeze painfully at that.
“I couldn’t accept your help in getting a position without merit of my own.”
Nie Mingjue shook his head and set the bowls down, and the kittens detached themselves immediately to rush to their food.
“I could just tell you which positions you’d be suited for. They match your qualifications and your work ethic, so it’s just a matter of you applying. I’m not usually involved in new hires anyway.”
Meng Yao watched him as Nie Mingjue returned his attention to the cats, curling his hands around the hem of his shirt nervously.
They didn’t talk about work very much, all things considered, but he knew for a fact that Qinghe Corps would be a good company for him. However, that would also mean abandoning a position in a company that was connected to the Jin family. In fact, it would mean working for someone who was Jin Guangshang’s rival in some aspects. Meng Yao might be able to rise higher much quicker than he was right now, but would his father wish to acknowledge someone who was a direct competitor? Would he see it as an affront to the family, or would he appreciate Meng Yao’s hard work and be more likely to notice him there?
“I will think about it,” he said quietly. “It’s kind of you to think of me for such a thing. Thank you for letting me know.”
Nie Mingjue looked up briefly, pleased, and Meng Yao tried not to read anything into the way the man seemed to genuinely admire him.
*
It didn’t take an overly observant person to notice how different the Nie brothers were in their work ethic. Where Nie Huaisang was overly relaxed and avoided any responsibility he could sidestep, Nie Mingjue barely ever found time to do something other than work. Even when it wasn’t the company he took care of, there was a DIY project around the house, and Meng Yao felt that even with his hobbies the man didn’t truly relax.
So it came as a surprise when Meng Yao walked through the garden towards the former guest house, only to spot Nie Mingjue idly sitting on a stone bench, doing nothing at all for once.
“We’re having a movie night,” he said, looking slightly past Meng Yao. “Join us.”
Having friendly people so close by that he didn’t have to book a socialising commute into his calendar was novel for Meng Yao. It was… nice.
Movie night meant two large bowls of popcorn (one of which was hogged entirely by Nie Huaisang) and a few beers along with a silly action comedy. Nie Huaisang had his own armchair to sprawl out on, leaving Meng Yao to sit on the couch with Nie Mingjue, just inches away from the other man. It was a little strange, to be pulled into such a familiar situation with people who really ought to be strangers to him. But Nie Huaisang’s constant chatter over the movie, and Nie Mingjue’s occasional snort of suppressed laughter put Meng Yao at ease, so he enjoyed the movie, the cats playing on the floor, and the popcorn that they’d wedged between both their thighs.
It became a near weekly occurrence very quickly. Usually it would be Nie Huaisang to pull Meng Yao along to it, while Nie Mingjue set up the movie and snacks. Meng Yao was still unsure about whether or not he was permitted to invite himself along, but every time there would be three drinks already, and Nie Mingjue started setting out the beer he knew Meng Yao liked best. It was nice, especially with Nie Mingjue at such a close proximity and so relaxed.
One afternoon Meng Yao was lying on his own bed, a book in hand and the other idly petting Hensheng, who decided to nap next to him. There was a knock at the front door, and he immediately knew it must be Nie Mingjue. While Nie Huaisang had no qualms about texting Meng Yao, even if he was just one room away, the older Nie brother always came to speak in person if he was at home.
Meng Yao set down his book and walked down to the door quickly, opening it with a smile. Nie Mingjue perked up when he saw him, though he was scowling slightly.
“Are you doing anything?” he asked, shifting where he stood and looking down at Meng Yao.
“Nothing important. Why?”
“Do you want to watch a movie? Huaisang is away tonight, we can try something more mature. A thriller, or horror movie if you want,” Nie Mingjue said quickly.
Meng Yao smiled at that, well aware of Nie Huaisang’s dislike of tense movies that didn’t have some element of comedy to soften the blow. He’d not expected to be asked tonight, ever since the first time Nie Mingjue had never been the one to invite him along.
“Sure.” Never let it be said that he was afraid of a little blood and dismemberment.
Nie Mingjue visibly relaxed at that. They made their way through the garden and to the living room, where snacks were set up as always, though this time there was wine, instead of beer. Albeit in the usual pint glasses, rather than fancier wine cups Meng Yao knew for sure were on one of the top shelves.
It was just the two of them, so there was no need to share the couch again. But Meng Yao was used to his spot so he took it as Nie Mingjue looked through his DVD collection and set up a murder mystery for them to watch. He was pleased when Nie Mingjue sat down by his side, remote in hand, and Meng Yao quickly poured them both wine. The bottle was slightly dusty, and definitely a nicer one than anything Meng Yao would have bought himself. Neither of the Nie brothers drank wine normally, so it must have been in the cupboard for quite some while.
The movie started, and it was easy to become engrossed in the plot. Without Nie Huaisang there, the room was silent save for the TV. There was nothing besides following along with it to distract Meng Yao from the warmth radiating from Nie Mingjue, his thigh just inches away from Meng Yao’s. It was definitely not just the movie that had his body taut with a pleasant kind of tension, noticing each miniscule shift from the men beside him.
About twenty minutes into the movie Nie Mingjue shifted again, his arm now on the back of the couch, right behind Meng Yao. It wasn’t a smooth move, but it also wasn’t unexpected. He could feel Nie Mingjue tense up and then relax as Meng Yao leaned back further, the back of his neck brushing against Nie Mingjue’s sleeve.
It was… exciting. The most mundane sort of exciting, but still more than Meng Yao usually got in his life.
He could feel Nie Mingjue shift again, body leaning towards him, and Meng Yao looked away from the screen, breaking any pretense of plausible deniability by meeting Nie Mingjue’s eye.
They looked at each other for a moment, neither daring to be the first to actually say anything. Meng Yao’s heart was hammering.
Nie Mingjue broke the silence, murmuring quietly, “is this-”
He was interrupted by a loud pathetic meowl coming from the kitchen.
Both of them tensed up, recognizing the distressed call of one of the kittens.
“Shit,” Nie Mingjue let out, quickly pausing the movie and rushing towards the kitchen. Meng Yao only took a moment to curse at the heavens before following behind.
Once in the kitchen, he couldn’t even be mad at the potential false alarm, as it most definitely wasn’t one.
Hensheng was sitting on the counter, tail flicking nervously, two of the cats (Robin and Puffin) sitting on one of the cat beds. Baxia, meanwhile, was standing in front of the fridge, meowing loudly and trying to get her paw into the small gap between the wall and the fridge. The pathetic answering meowl of one of her kittens came from behind the fridge.
The two men stood silent for a moment, staring at the scene, before Nie Mingjue cursed again. He moved Baxia aside, who let herself be maneuvered with an angry hiss. Pressing his face against the wall Nie Mingjue tried to peek into the darkness behind the fridge, clearly struggling to even align his eyes with the gap.
Meng Yao fished his phone out of his pocket, turned on the flashlight function and stepped closer to try and assist.
“I can’t see anything,” Nie Mingjue cursed quietly. “I think it’s deeper in there.”
Meng Yao sighed and handed the phone over.
“Here, hold this.”
He quickly climbed onto the counter space next to the fridge, and did his best to press his face close to the gap behind it. The fridge stood in the corner of the kitchen, with two walls at one side and at its back, so of course it was just their luck that the kitten was in the harder to reach location. With Nie Mingjue holding the phone over his head, Meng Yao could indeed see the glint of cat eyes in the dark, and hear the fearful meowl right below him.
“I don’t think I can get it,” Meng Yao said, turning to Nie Mingjue who let out a huff. “My arm won’t even fit into the gap. Is this fridge movable?”
Nie Mingjue snorted.
“It took two men to bring it in when we got this one.”
That Meng Yao wouldn’t be much help in this was left unsaid. He knew well enough that he wasn’t built for lifting heavy furniture, especially something as massive as this kitchen appliance.
Instead they opted for Meng Yao being the one to try and grab the cat, while Nie Mingjue did his best to get the fridge out of its corner. That was easier said than done, of course. While the fridge was rarely really full, it still wasn’t meant to be moved by just one person. There wasn’t really anything to hold on to, Nie Mingjue’s hands slipping on the metal surface without any real purchase. They had to shove one corner at a time, hoping that the sudden jostling wouldn’t scare the kitten into running, or even worse, get it squished.
Nie Mingjue huffed, his face red with effort as he heaved the fridge out of its spot, inch by inch, until Meng Yao could lie flat on the kitchen counter and reach all the way into the resulting gap. He couldn’t really look at what he was doing, with his shoulder blocking his view, but after some fumbling his fingers barely brushed over fur. With some effort his hand closed around the kitten’s scruff, and he managed to pull the poor thing free.
Magpie meowled pathetically when she was finally free, wiggling sadly with her dark grey and white patched fur covered in dust. She didn’t look injured, and when Meng Yao set her down Baxia immediately went to groom her.
“How’d she even get in there?” Meng Yao complained, watching as Nie Mingjue caught his breath before carefully setting to shove the fridge back into position.
“Cats get everywhere. Especially the little ones who don’t know how to get back out.”
Meng Yao tore his eyes from the sight of Nie Mingjue’s muscles straining with his task, and instead looked at the cats.
Nie Huaisang’s little flock of birds was all there, of course, except…
“Where is Goose?” Meng Yao asked, trying to find the cat that looked the most like Hensheng, but acted just like Baxia.
Nie Mingjue looked up, saw that one of the kittens was still missing, and frowned.
“Where’s Goose?” he asked Baxia, as if she would tell him.
She meowed, flicking her tail, still busy making sure the returned kitten was fine.
The two men looked at each other for a moment, before splitting apart to go look for the cat.
Meng Yao felt silly calling out for Goose, but he really would rather make sure the kitten was fine. Perhaps he wasn’t stuck anywhere, like his sibling had been, but he doubted that the cats could manage to stay out of trouble at this point.
It didn’t take long for Nie Mingjue to call him over from where Meng Yao was searching the guest rooms. Apparently Goose was in the rarely used dining room, and when Meng Yao entered to see Nie Mingjue kneeling by the fireplace, he resigned himself to being right about the trouble.
“He’s sitting on a brick,” Nie Mingjue said, gesturing with the flashlight he’d gotten for the search. Meng Yao stuck his head into the fireplace and looked up. Rough bricks covered with a faint layer of soot ran up as far as the flashlight would go, up to a grate roughly four feet off the ground. The bricks were just wide enough for a very determined cat to climb up, and indeed, a small kitten was sitting all the way up, meowing pathetically.
They tried to lure the kitten with words, with treats, with threats even, but it seemed that Goose lacked the confidence to actually come back down.
The shaft was narrow, too much so for Nie Mingjue to have any chance of pushing his body past the actual fireplace, leaving Meng Yao with no real choice. Pushing down any wave of claustrophobia Meng Yao squeezed his way into the shaft, coughing at the rain of dust and ash that greeted him as he disturbed the brick surface.
He blinked, eyes tearing up and barely making out Goose now that his own body was blocking the light. At least the cat was in reach. And of course, the reward for his rescue mission ended up being very sharp claws sinking into his hand.
Cursing, Meng Yao emerged from the fireplace, tracking dirt all over the floor and letting Goose go the second he was free.
The rest of the cats had followed, seemingly aware of the rescue attempt, and Meng Yao sat down on the floor, coughing faintly. Nie Mingjue joined him, handing him a clean handkerchief to try and clean his face a little.
“I feel like a Victorian chimney sweep,” Meng Yao grumbled.
“You look like one,” agreed Nie Mingjue, and coughed apologetically when Meng Yao squinted at him.
They sat side by side, watching the cats start to play together, as if nothing had happened, tracking ash and dust all over the carpet.
“You know what I’m thinking?” Nie Mingjue asked, shoulders slumping forward in defeated exhaustion.
“What, that we need to neutered?” Meng Yao replied, trying not to gag at the taste of ash on his lips.
“That too. No, I was thinking...we should go out sometime. Properly. Somewhere with just the two of us. ”
Meng Yao’s brain short-circuited.
“Just the...on a date?” You shouldn’t be surprised you idiot, you were ready to kiss him on the couch earlier.
“Only if you want to!” Nie Mingjue gruffly added, hands raised. He started to get up, but Meng Yao grabbed his wrist to keep him seated.
How is this man real?
“You’re ridiculous,” said Meng Yao. “Of course I want to.”
Nie Mingjue set his jaw, looking like he was trying hard not to break out into a full grin as he gently picked a cobweb out of Meng Yao’s hair. Meng Yao, covered in chimney filth and cat scratches, felt happier than if he’d been dressed in a designer suit at a gala.
“Then there’s just one thing left to figure out.”
“And what is that?” Nie Mingjue asked, smiling.
“How much do we need to bribe Huaisang to watch the cats for a single evening?”