Chapter Text
"How did you talk me into this again, Riley?"
"Because you care about me and only want to see me happy."
Chase and Riley had been sitting on their black cushioned sofa in the middle of their small living room one lazy Sunday afternoon. They originally had no plans to do anything eventful, no saving the world unless they were called, no doing homework, nothing that didn't involve laying together on the sofa and watching movies all day. Riley would end up falling asleep on Chase's chest and if a snoring Riley would let him, Chase would try to play Grand Theft Auto V on his Xbox.
It's happened before, and it'll probably happen again.
But those lazy Sunday plans were tossed out the window when Moana popped by their apartment. She needed someone to watch over Tabitha as she was headed to an antiques convention out of town for the night. And before Chase could open his mouth to answer, Riley quickly accepted the responsibility of being Tabitha's parents for the night.
Riley and Chase.
Cat parents.
When Moana dropped Tabitha off at their apartment, she left a full list of instructions. Who to call if she got sick. What happens if she doesn't go to the bathroom. The exact measurements of food and water she's supposed to get at specific times during the day. Chase's head began to pound at the vast amount of instructions on the pad of paper. Thankfully Riley was paying attention, because Chase barely got a wave in when Moana finally left.
"You know Rubik's a dog, right?" Chase asked Riley the moment the door shut behind Moana.
Riley had Tabitha cradled gently in his arms when he turned back to look at Chase. "Obviously. Why?"
Shaking his head, Chase dumped the pad of paper on the coffee table. "Because you volunteered us for cat-sitting. Have you ever owned a cat?" Because Chase certainly hasn't. Back home he was never allowed to have pets where he lived. The apartments he and his mother bounced around to never allowed pets. The only pet Chase ever had was a goldfish named Bubbles, and he didn't need a litter box.
"Matt had a cat. Got a second one last year." Riley shrugged his shoulders as Tabitha mewed in his arms. The delicate looking feline looked to be quite content in her resting place, and Chase was frustrated enough to feel a twinge of jealousy towards that cat.
That cat was taking all of Riley's time and attention. When Riley should really be paying attention to Chase. You know, his handsome, charming boyfriend from New Zealand.
The buzz of a phone on the coffee table caught Chase's attention and he looked down to see who was calling. As Kendall's name lit up on his screen, brown eyes nearly rolled into the back of Chase's skull. "Oh Kendall! Such a pleasure to hear your voice!" Chase answered in his usual cheeky manner, this definitely caught Riley's attention from the doorway to the kitchen.
Setting Tabitha down on the floor, Riley leaned up against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest as he watched Chase on the phone.
"What? You're calling my phone and asking to speak with Riley?" Chase looked over at Riley by the end of his sentence, eyes still rolling in clear annoyance. Crooking his index finger, Chase silently beckoned Riley to come over next to him.
As Riley planted himself onto the sofa, Chase handed over his phone to his boyfriend. "Somebody's dying to speak to you, love."
Furrowing dark blonde eyebrows together, Riley placed Chase's phone against his ear.
As Riley sat on the phone with Kendall, Chase looked down to find Tabitha perched up on the coffee table. If only Riley hadn't volunteered to watch over Tabitha, they could've spent the rest of the day doing absolutely nothing. Aside from all of the dirty things Chase had planned in his mind for later, one that didn't involve having a cat hanging around their apartment. But now they were stuck with Tabitha, and Chase wasn't even fond of cats. But Moana was his friend, and he couldn't just call her and say take the cat back, and the pram too.
With Chase distracted by Tabitha, he hadn't heard Riley trying to get his attention.
"Chase?"
Shaking his head, he turned towards Riley. He was no longer on the phone and he had a look of apprehension on his face. "Yes, love?"
"Please don't get mad but," Riley swallowed. "Kendall just asked me to cover Shelby's closing shift. She got really sick and had to leave. She caught that stomach bug that's been going around."
Chase shuddered, that left only himself and Riley as the only members of the team who hadn't caught that stomach bug yet. It started with Koda somehow, ended up traveling to Tyler and the universe could probably guess how Shelby caught it.
"So you're trying to tell me--" Chase began and Riley immediately closed his eyes just waiting for Chase's reaction to the sudden turn of events. "You're trying to tell me I'm stuck watching this cat."
Riley was hesitant, but eventually he nodded his head.
Though Chase was silent, Riley kept looking at that face he loved waking up to every single morning to see if he was upset or not.
But nothing ever came from it.
Instead Chase sighed and waved Riley along. "Fine, it's not like Shelby planned this whole bit. And if she did, I will have my revenge."
A wide grin popped up on Riley's face as he leaned forward to capture Chase's lips with his own. "I promise, I'll make it up to you somehow."
Making a beeline for their room to change, Riley looked back at the brunette with the grin still plastered on his face. "Yes, Chase. I know exactly what you're thinking about."
All Chase had to do was let out a deep laugh to let Riley know he heard him.
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Out of breath and keys crashing to the ground, Riley groaned as he bent forward to pick up the fallen keys. That was just his luck, staying a little later at the cafe than usual, and dropping his keys multiple times on the way back to the apartment. When he finally jammed the keys into the slot and twisted his wrist around, he pushed the door open with his hip and pulled the keys back out.
As the door quickly closed behind him, Riley rounded the corner to their living room half expecting to see Chase up and having a glaring contest with Tabitha, but found the living room to be empty.
Not only was the living room empty, but the television was off, the radio wasn't even turned on either. And Chase loved sitting around with the radio on, just so he could sing along to almost every song that came on and annoy anybody within a 20 mile radius.
Riley continued looking around when he didn't see any signs of Tabitha either. He checked the kitchen only to find that her food bowl was sitting in the sink with food residue stuck to the sides. That was a good sign, Chase had remembered to feed her while Riley was at work.
Shaking his head, Riley came to the conclusion that Chase was in their bedroom. He wasn't anywhere else in the apartment, and if he'd gone out, he would've let Riley know with a call or text. And while double checking his phone to make sure nothing was there, he opened the door to their bedroom to a sight he never expected to see.
Chase was in there, definitely. The television had been on, blasting a college rugby game to the point that Riley had to quickly turn it down. Riley smiled when he saw Chase sprawled out on their bed, fast asleep.
But what really tugged on his heart was Tabitha, who was perched atop of Chase, curled up and asleep on his chest.
And here Riley thought Chase had harbored feelings of total disgust and dislike towards Moana's cat when in reality, he held a soft spot for her.
It was only when Chase let out an abrupt snore that Riley pulled out his phone. "He'll kill me for this later but it'll definitely be worth it." The snap of his camera alerted Tabitha to another presence in the room and she looked up at Riley.
Walking over and gently picking the cat up in his arms once again, Riley whispered. "Come on, maybe we should give Chase time to rest." Shifting Tabitha to one arm, Riley used the other to gently pull the blanket up to Chase's chest. "Love you, Chase." He whispered as he began to walk away but Chase's sleepy reply stopped him.
"Love you too, Riley."
It was the first time he actually heard Chase say I love you, aside from all the times he called Riley love.
Maybe letting Tabitha stay with them for the night wasn't such a bad idea after all.