Work Text:
The sunlight streams in through the gaps between the curtains, leaving warm streaks of light across the room. Jeno stirs awake, the skin on his arm tingling where the light touches. Beside him, Renjun sleeps soundly, chest rising and falling to every deep breath.
“Renjun,” Jeno calls lowly, turning on his side to spoon his boyfriend. Renjun’s brown hair glows caramel in the light. Jeno runs his fingers through them tenderly.
“Renjunie,” he calls again, softer, kissing the exposed skin of Renjun’s shoulder, slowly, slowly, up to his neck. He caresses the smooth, baby-soft skin of Renjun’s naked thighs, butterfly fingers dancing their way between his legs. Renjun stirs, smiling sleepily, forgiving legs parting for Jeno to slip his hand through.
“Ren?” Jeno’s hands slide up and down the inside of Renjun’s thighs. His hand grazes against the tender warmth between, and Renjun curls satisfyingly. He leans back against Jeno’s bare chest and sighs.
“Ren?” Jeno keeps kissing along the side of Renjun’s neck, his hand making its way to Renjun’s tummy, drawing faint loops and waves across the smooth surface.
Renjun’s insides flutter.
In a second, Jeno pushes up and hovers above Renjun, diving down to kiss his lips as Renjun easily loops his arms around Jeno’s neck. First, Jeno kisses him slowly. Pecking his lips lightly, harder and deeper with each one. Heat swirls between them, growing impatience makes Renjun part his lips, take in Jeno’s mouth completely.
“Renjun…” Jeno says again, breathlessly against his lover’s lips. He pushes closer until they’re touching in every way, the previous night’s high rushing into him once more.
Chest to chest, lips to lips, Renjun’s toes brush along the length of Jeno’s legs as gives in to the gentle rocking of his hips. Pressing closer, closer.
“Jeno…” Renjun breathes out, arching his back as the sheer friction of skin on skin sets his senses alight.
Jeno’s hands roam over Renjun’s thighs, squeezing the tender, kiss-marked skin gently and relishing in the delicious hiss that escapes Renjun’s lips. Hands travelling back up to Renjun’s waist, Jeno grips his thin frame tight, pressing him down against the mattress before rubbing up against his –
“Ren?”
Renjun lets out a choked whine, a pitched hum squeezed out from whatever rationality is left within him as Jeno rubs against him, rocking their bodies together in a maddeningly slow but sweet pace.
“I think…” Jeno starts, pausing to kiss the underside of Renjun’s jaw.
Renjun’s legs close around Jeno’s waist, eyes screwing shut, “uh huh?”
“I think,” Jeno’s grip on Renjun’s waist slackens, hands moving on to rub soothing circles onto Renjun’s tummy with his thumbs, “I want to have a baby –“
Renjun freezes, eyes shooting open. It takes him no less than a second to push Jeno away, carnal high crashing down as he practically jumps away, yanking the sheets down with him as he topples onto the ground.
He rises from the tangled mess of sheets, hair fluffy as it falls over his eyes, “Jeno – what?”
Jeno blinks dumbly – unsure of what to say next, how to word whatever he says next, and how to best prepare for Renjun’s reaction to whatever he’s going to say next. Judging by his reaction already, when Jeno hasn’t even completed his sentence, Jeno should choose wisely.
“Jeno, are you being serious?” Renjun lets out a baffled laugh, and without waiting for Jeno to answer, “we’re barely out of college, we just moved into this apartment – we don’t even have stable jobs yet – how’re we going to have a kid, I mean, I love you but, a baby now before we’ve gotten married –” his fingers cringe as his face contorts. He looks up, “PLEASE, tell me you were joking.” He collapses over the edge of the bed, his hysterical spiral ends.
“I… uh… I meant a kitten?” Jeno starts awkwardly watching Renjun relax then flare up in anger almost immediately, “I – uh – why would think I meant an actual baby –“
“WHY WOULD YOU –“ Renjun pulls at his hair and groans, “– couldn’t you have worded that better?”
“I was getting to it!”
“Get to it faster!” Renjun yanks his legs free from the sheets and tugs on a pair of sweats (Jeno’s, judging by the really loose fit), “we can’t have a cat, babe,” he appeals with much less frustration, “we can’t afford one.”
“But they basically take care of themselves!”
“And your allergies?” Renjun reminds him, rounding the bed.
Jeno shifts along, keeping a close watch. His heart quickening. He glances at the closet door, “all good – with medication!”
“And what about the landlord?” Renjun stops in front of the closet and looks back over his shoulder, “no pets allowed, remember?”
Jeno, growing frantic, bounds off the bed, “it’s okay, they don’t have to know,” he leans against the closet door and smiles sweetly, “besides, they don’t even inspect regularly!”
Renjun frowns, opens his mouth to speak only to catch the beads of sweat gathered on Jeno’s brow. He looks between the closet door and Jeno. The taller male’s smile brightens, deceptively so, faltering for a split second –
“Jeno,” Renjun’s frown deepens, ” what did you do?”
“Nothing, why would you think I did anything because I certainly did not do anything suspicious I can’t believe you’re accusing me of –“
Meow.
Jeno winces, head knocking against the door, “how could you betray me, my angel –“
Renjun pushes Jeno aside and throws the door open, gasping sharply when he looks down to see a small, grey kitten bundled up in what looked like his favourite red hoodie. It meowls again, buries its tiny pink nose into the hoodie.
And Renjun sees red.
“I can’t believe you went behind my back and got a cat!”
“It’s a kitty!” Jeno reaches out for Renjun’s hands, “and you should’ve seen it, babe, it was so wet and cold and abandoned, Ren, I couldn’t leave him!”
“No,” Renjun smacks Jeno’s hands away, “no – what if it’s sick or unvaccinated, we need to talk about these things – pets are a big deal!”
“Of course, I agree,” Jeno’s expression straightens as he sits down on the corner of the bed, “we can talk now.”
Renjun massages his temples, sighs, “this is not the sort of pillow talk I thought we’d be having last night.”
The kitten tumbles out of the closet, hoodie and all, and lands near Renjun’s feet. He stares down at it, unimpressed by the way it gnaws at the sleeve caught on its claws.
“How long?”
Jeno mumbles, “a week…”
“A WEEK?”
“I was waiting for the right time!”
Renjun snorts and crosses his arms, “and you picked now?”
Jeno cocks his head and makes a face, eyes darting from Renjun to elsewhere, “well, you know we just –“
“No,” Renjun snatches his shirt off the ground and throws it on, feet getting caught on the hoodie, “you can deal with this,” he says gruffly, dumping the kitten in Jeno’s arms, “and by that I mean get rid of it before I get home tonight.”
Jeno grumbles, “knew I should’ve asked you last night when all you could say was yes, Jeno –“
“JENO!”
-
Renjun returns home later that evening to a strangely quiet apartment. He squints around – the apartment appears undisturbed since he left. The blinds are still rolled up, and there’s no trace of Jeno’s Nintendo controls, which would usually be left lying around on days he spends alone at home.
Shrugging off his bag, Renjun scowls. There’s no sign of his overgrown pup of a boyfriend who would usually be scampering to the door by now, asking for kisses.
He rolls down the blinds and flicks on the lights, frowning deeper at the suspicious, closed door of their bedroom.
“I’m sorry angel, but you have to hide again, just for a while. Don’t worry, Ren doesn’t hate you, he just hasn’t gotten to know you yet,” comes Jeno’s hushed voice from the other side.
Renjun hears the shuffle of feet, the closet door opening, and he burst in.
“Jeno –“
“Oh my God!” Jeno throws a hoodie over the kitten– the same one from the morning, only now all scratched. Renjun supposes it belongs to the cat now.
“Jeno, I saw that,” Renjun folds his arms over his chest, “I thought I told you to get rid of it, ASAP.”
“Hey – first of all, it is a him –“
“Oh great, you checked –“
“Second of all,” Jeno uncovers the kitten and pouts, “look at him, I can’t just get rid of him,” he air-quotes, “he needs a loving home to go to!”
Renjun crouches down on his knees and cups Jeno’s face, “I know,” he says, lightly pecking Jeno’s pout, “but we can’t keep him here any longer either, neither of us have the time nor the money –“
“Cats basically take care of themselves, and I’ll give up my weekly ice-cream crepes –“
Renjun sighs, leaning against Jeno’s chest as the latter leans back, loosely wrapping his arms around Renjun’s waist.
“Please, Ren?”
“The landlord –“
“I’ll keep him hidden –“
“It’ll make a mess –“
“I’ll potty-train him!”
“I don’t even like cats –“
Jeno pushes Renjun back by the shoulders and frowns, “now you’re just being mean.”
Giggling, Renjun inches closer to press a kiss to Jeno’s lips, watching his frown, literally, turn upside down. He strokes Jeno’s cheeks as a defeated sigh builds in his chest. Looking between the cat and Jeno’s shining, downturned eyes, Renjun wishes he had more willpower against his puppy-eyed boyfriend.
“Fine – one week,” he says, holding up a stern finger to match an equally stern – he tries – expression, “it can stay for one week, and if there’s no trouble –“
Jeno pulls him into a bone-crushing hug before he can even finish.
“Thank you, Ren,” he picks up the kitten and pulls it close to his chest, nuzzles his cheek against its fur, “you’ll grow to love him I know it!”
-
The kitten – Angel or baby, as referred to by Jeno – surprisingly causes no obvious trouble. Renjun deems it as not obvious because he’s pretty sure a stray cat has to make some sort of mess, but Jeno is just quick to cover it before Renjun sees. Which doesn’t really bother Renjun anyway – this is Jeno’s responsibility, and as long as the rules he’s set out are followed, the cat can stay.
(“No cat in the kitchen, no cat on the tables, no cat on the bed, no cat business anywhere in the house, and no cat near my succulents!
“I think your cacti will do more harm than –“
“No cat near my succulents!”)
Renjun wouldn’t admit it just yet, but he starts to find the kitten rather… cute. Well, it’s Jeno who’s cute – all goofy smiles and starry eyes when the kitten falls asleep on his lap. Or when he’s lying on his back, pew-pewing away on his phone, and the kitten will climb onto his chest to watch Jeno slash down pixel foes.
He wouldn’t admit it just yet, but he likes the idea that if this all goes well, the kitten will be theirs.
-
The feeling wears off pretty quickly.
It’s the fourth day of the trial and Renjun, to say the least, has had a pretty rough day. The impending semester exams have started to wear him down, and an unfortunate encounter with a particularly racist old woman at work had left a sour, bile-like taste in his mouth.
All he wanted to do so badly was fall into his boyfriend’s warm embrace, climb into bed and cuddle under the covers – maybe something more if Jeno was up for it.
Unlocking the door to the apartment, Renjun gasps. There’s a trail of wet paw prints leading out from the kitchen and onto the carpet, stained areas dark and crusty from the hours they’ve been left out to dry.
“No… no,” Ren tosses his bag onto the couch, searching the house, “Jeno!”
He looks high and low for the tiny culprit, sheer annoyance bunching up his brows. Following the trail back to the kitchen, he finds a bowl of near-empty cornflakes tipped over on its side. Milk drips down the tablecloth onto a puddle on the floor.
He stumbles out to the living again, peeking under the couch, flipping over the cushions, pulling out the desk chair and even checking the hamper in search of the rampant kitty.
Renjun storms into their bedroom to find it empty. Checking under the bed, he hisses sharply hitting his head hard on the frame on his way up. Pressure builds behind his eyes as he rubs his head. Exhaustion weighing down on his shoulders.
He’s just about to lay down when he smells it before he sees it – a foul, pungent odour wafting up from the bed. He looks closer to find feint dark smudges on the covers. Streaks of brown tinged the yellow running from one side of the bed to the other.
Renjun closes his eyes and breathes out.
Then he hears it. A soft meowl coming from the other side of the bed.
The small offender was curled up on the Moomin plush that Jeno had gave Renjun when he had first asked him out – to tempt him, Jeno claims. When looking closer, Renjun finds a deep gash straight down the middle of Moomin’s chest, the kittens unclipped nails caught painfully on the loose threads.
It sees Renjun and cries.
So Renjun kindly untangles its claws, fetches his facial wipes from the bedside drawer and cleans its dirty paws.
Shortly after, the door lock clicks open.
“Oh no…” Jeno breathes out, slowly taking in the mess. He peeks into the kitchen, finds the bowl of cereal he’d accidentally forgotten to leave in the sink before he left, now spilled onto the floor. He stops by the laundry, wincing at the sight of the litter tray all trodden and trampled. Smeared and smudged.
“Ren…?” he calls softly, stepping into bedroom.
Renjun weakly raises his hand from the other side of the bed. Jeno rushes to his side.
“I…” Jeno notes the stains on the comforter, the gash in Renjun’s treasured plush, “I’m so sorry… I didn’t think – I was called to work so suddenly I had to leave – he was sleeping – “
Renjun’s cheeks swell. The kitten sleeps away in his lap.
“I know, babe,” he says quietly, “you got busy…”
Jeno doesn’t say anything. He sinks to embrace Renjun, mumbling another apology into his shoulder.
“This baby,” Renjun starts, softly stroking the kittens cheeks, “needs attention and care… we can barely care for ourselves,” he presses a kiss to Jeno’s forehead, “went to the grocery store today… and got us chocolate milk instead of regular milk because it was on sale.”
Jeno laughs lowly, drawing circles on Renjun’s knee.
“See what I mean – we – maybe if the kitty was older… trained…”
“I know…”
Renjun turns fully to face Jeno, pulling him into an awkward, loose hug so as not to disturb the sleeping kitten.
“We’ll take him to a shelter tomorrow.”
Jeno takes a minute, clamping his mouth shut, then nods.
-
After a night of googling the best shelters around town, Renjun and Jeno took Angel to a local shelter first thing the next morning. Renjun would never admit it, but it was hard saying goodbye to the little fella. It wasn’t his fault, for anything, and it certainly wasn’t Jeno and Renjun’s either. Call it simply the wrong time.
And although going back to an apartment where it was just the two of them should’ve felt normal, it didn’t. It was only a couple of days, and yet Angel’s missing presence was felt everywhere. Jeno took the brunt of it all – tossing away the litter tray, tipping out the last of the cat food in the impromptu Tupperware food bowl, cleaning off Renjun’s red hoodie that Angel’s fur seemed to have permanently embedded in. A permanent pout settled on his lips, refusing to budge. Renjun would find it adorable if he didn’t feel so terrible.
“I feel like the bad guy,” he says, leaning against the sink, hands submerged into a bubble bath of a week’s worth of dishes, grease, and dish soap.
“What do you mean?” Jeno doesn’t look up from cutting the carrots into tiny shreds – a meagre attempt at making Shin-ramyun somewhat healthy.
“I made you get rid of him… I set up these stupid rules because I’m a control freak –“
“Hey –“
“I am!”
Jeno stops chopping to move over to his boyfriend, encircling his arms around Renjun’s waist. He kisses the space where Renjun’s neck and shoulder meet. His giggle spot.
“Don’t put yourself down like that,” Jeno says sternly as Renjun’s small giggles come to a stop. “I wasn’t thinking clearly either, about how hard it would actually be to take care of.”
Renjun shakes his head but turns around to throw his soapy hands over Jeno’s shoulder and pull him down for a sweet kiss.
“Besides,” Jeno says when they break apart, nose to nose, lips just barely on lips, “I need all the time I have to love you.”
“Oh, really?” Renjun asks with cheek.
Jeno answers him by kissing him full on the mouth again, hands coming down to rest on Renjun’s hips. He kisses him slow and sweet, giggles and smiles filling in the spaces. It feels silly and bubbly.
Renjun breaks away with a loud smack, “wait,” he quickly rinses off his hands. “Now,” he dries his hands on his pants before looping them back around Jeno’s neck, pulling him closer, “where were we?”
Jeno grips the underside of Renjun’s thighs and hoists him up, legs wrapping around his waist. Renjun laughs, leaning down for a kiss as Jeno carries him away to their bedroom.
-
The next morning, when the midday sun rays finally manage to stir Jeno awake, Renjun is gone.
It’s not as dramatic as it sounds – Jeno easily rules it off as him being called to work or at a class. He rolls out of bed with the comforter wrapped around him, unwilling to let go of his toasty cocoon. He trudges to the kitchen to find their unfinished ramen still on the stove top.
Ditching the carrots and whatever rubbish they were supposed to incorporate into their meal last night, Jeno turns the knob and watches the gas blaze to life. His sodium-packed breakfast, a-go.
It isn’t long after he’s ate and showered (okay, it’s a while after – Jeno went back to bed for a good hour), that the apartment door clicks open and Renjun comes shuffling in. From their room, Jeno can hear the rustle of bags and the trudging of Renjun’s feet.
“Here, Ren, let me –“ Jeno does a double take, jaw falling open like it’s been unhinged.
Renjun smiles up at him weakly, dumping the Animal Kingdom bags by the door. He kicks the door shut and brings and hauls the carrier bag with him inside.
“Ren, is that –“
His questioned is answered before he finishes. The bag slowly swings to its side to reveal a mesh window, and inside, a smoky-grey cat with the most wonderful, golden eyes Jeno’s ever seen.
“He’s a domestic Shorthair, so he’s not very big, but he’s fully grown!” Renjun sets the carrier down and starts to unzip, “he used to belong to a very loving family who couldn’t keep him anymore,” the cat jumps into Renjun’s arms, he brings it closer, “so he’s fully trained, likes to roam a lot so very independent, and so, uh, I thought… why not?”
Jeno flings himself at Renjun, picking him up and twirling him around. He kisses the top of his head as he sets him back down, then turns to the cat.
“Hi, kitty.”
“King Kyong – his name is King Kyong. Do you want to hold him?”
Jeno nods excitedly, taking the cat into his arms like a baby. He meowls, swiping at Jeno’s nose.
“Kyong,” Jeno repeats, nuzzling his nose against its fur.
Kyong starts to wriggle out of Jeno’s hold, finally jumping off and back into the confines of the carrier.
“I think he’ll take some time to get used to us…” Renjun says, smiling down at their new baby.
Facing his boyfriend, Jeno grins stupidly, lovingly. He wraps his arms around Renjun’s middle in a tight hug, “you didn’t have to.”
Renjun rolls his eyes, “I didn’t do it for you…”
Jeno hums, kissing his cheek, “sure.”
“I’m serious, this is for us.”
Closing his eyes, Jeno rests his cheek on Renjun’s shoulder as they watch Kyong stick his head out of the bag and look around his new home.
“Our little family,” Jeno whispers as Kyong jumps out with a sudden itch to explore.
Renjun leans his head against Jeno’s, finds his hands, gives them a squeeze.
-
(“Oh, babe, you really went all out, didn’t you? A litter box… a bed… a blanket… toys…”
“If we’re doing this, we need to do it perfectly, Jeno!”
“…. A tiny jacket?”
“Winter is coming! We all need to prepare!”)