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"Look at it, Daichi," he says, kneeling down in the alleyway. He tilts his umbrella forward to shield the small creature from the rain, not minding how he gets wet in the process. "We can't just leave it here."
"It's not a kitten," he points out. "It'll be fine on its own." But still, he can't deny how his heart twinges at the sight of the bedraggled cat in the rain, crying at them. Suga was the one who had heard it first—stopping dead in the middle of the road, and refusing to continue on their walk to the convenience store until he located the source of the sound. Daichi steps closer so that his umbrella is shielding Suga, too, though the action means his shoulder grows damp from exposure to the rain.
Suga's umbrella follows the cat as it paces back and forth before them. He reaches out and the cat rears onto its hind legs to bump its cheek against Suga's fingers, purring so loudly that its whole body shakes. Daichi can hear it even over the steady patter of the rain. "It's so friendly," he says. "Way too friendly to be a street cat."
Daichi's more of a dog person, but he's really a Suga person, first and foremost. Suga looks up at him with pleading eyes and Daichi sighs. "My parents won't let us own a cat," he says.
"Mine neither," Suga says. He bites his lip thoughtfully, and then his eyes brighten. "I have an idea. Daichi, can you pick it up?"
Daichi has to stop himself from backing up. "What? No way, it's going to scratch me."
"I bet it won't. Would you?" Suga coos at the cat, his fingers scratching behind the cat's ears. Its whole body leans into the affection. "Look at that, there's no way it'd scratch you."
"If you're so sure of that, then why don't you pick it up?" Daichi challenges.
Suga's grinning when he looks up. "Daichi, are you scared? It's okay to be scared."
"It's perfectly reasonable to be worried!" he snaps. "Besides, it might have fleas."
"Oh. That's true." Suga gets up, tucking his umbrella back into the crook of his shoulder, and takes a few steps towards the mouth of the alley. He clicks at the cat and grins when it follows after him, still crying. "We should give it a name," he says.
Daichi trails after Suga too, bringing up the rear with the cat between them. "What's a good name for a cat?" he says as the three of them make their way down the hill. "Ponta?"
"That's for dogs," Suga says. "Hmm. Tama?"
"Everyone names their cat that," Daichi points out. "See, this is proof. Neither of us should ever own a pet."
Suga laughs, the cat dancing around his feet as he walks.
They finally reach Ukai's store at the bottom of the hill, and Suga pokes his head in. "Ukai!" he calls, "We need to ask you for a favor."
Ukai looks up from his magazine, already unimpressed. He looks at Suga, wet from the rain even though he has an umbrella and with a hopeful smile on his face, then at Daichi's resigned expression, and then down at the cat. "No," he says.
"I'll handle all of its costs," Suga says. "I'll take care of its food and litter and everything, and it can help you keep pests away. It's normal to have a store cat, isn't it?"
Ukai gives Suga a long look. Suga has his best puppy-eyed expression on, the one that makes Daichi cave every time, though Ukai seems to have a bit more resistance. Daichi sighs, and places his hand on Suga's shoulder. "I'll help too," he says. "You know our word is good."
"Just until we graduate," Suga adds, his eyes lighting up as if the idea has just occurred to him. "We'll take care of it after that if you don't want it anymore. Please."
Ukai's gaze wanders down, to where the cat is rubbing itself against the magazine racks. "Oi," he says. "At least dry it off first before it gets water all over everything. And we'll have to take it to the vet, to make sure it's healthy."
Suga straightens up, his face suffused with delight. "So it can stay?"
"Just until you graduate, all right?" Ukai says, getting to his feet with a groan. "What's its name?"
"Uh," Daichi says. "We couldn't come up with a good one."
"Tama," Suga says, pointedly ignoring Daichi when he raises an eyebrow at him.
"Kinda boring," Ukai says with a shrug, "but it's your cat, I guess. One of my friends is a vet, so let me call him up and we'll bring it over there."
"What are we going to do with it after we graduate?" Daichi whispers as they all bundle into Ukai's car. (The cat let Suga pick it up and even began purring once it was in his arms; Daichi tries not to be jealous.)
"Tama can stay in our apartment with us," Suga says.
Daichi's mouth hangs open for a few moments before he regains enough presence of mind to close it. He brought up the idea a few months ago, his tone light in case the seriousness of the proposal would scare Suga off. He didn't expect Suga to even remember.
Suga's eyes cut over to his. They're pressed close together in the back of Ukai's car, and it feels closer still from the dense humidity in the air. "Of course I want to live with you," he murmurs, so only Daichi can hear. "I want to be with you for as long as you'll let me."
Daichi looks down at the cat, half-asleep in Suga's arms despite the rumbling of the car in motion. "Okay," he says, his voice breaking on the word. He swallows, then reaches out to rest a hand between Tama's ears. "Let's do that."