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Chapter Text

"Sylvain, you can't just buy someone a cat."

This was not the first protest Ingrid had voiced to Sylvain's latest venture nor did he fool himself into believing it would be the last. If their roles were reversed, Sylvain would have given up long before they had gotten to the point of driving to pick up said cat.

"But Ingrid," Sylvain whined in the way that was reserved specifically for conversations with his best friend, "I killed his plant."

"You'll be lucky if he doesn't kill you."

This conversation was the perfect demonstration of the differences between Sylvain and the rest of the population. The rest of the population would be deterred the truth and terror of this statement. The rest of the population would not resort to such a drastic apology for such an unapproachable man. The rest of the population would not have such a persisting affinity for someone with whom their only relationship is passing elevator conversations and apartment-sitting.

As evidenced, the latter has been going fantastic.

At eighteen, the first possible moment he could, Sylvain moved out of his parents house and into what was possibly the cheapest, smallest, most depressing studio apartment in the entirety of Faergus. He didn't mind - anything was better than where he came from. His blind joy at being free led him to stay in this apartment for the better part of the next four years before his friends could no longer stand to leave him there. When Dimitri's neighbor moved out, it was unanimously decided for him that Sylvain would take the empty spot.

As fate would have it, this decision led to his first meeting with Felix. Felix was Dimitri's other neighbor. He was utterly attractive, utterly intriguing and utterly unapproachable. Standoffish isn't a strong enough word to describe Felix, but that has not stopped Sylvain from worming a toe of himself past Felix's barriers.

A toe was only as far as Sylvain had gotten, however. They could hold a conversation and did favors typical of a neighbor relationship, but Felix had stayed firmly out of arms reach from any other advances. Not that Sylvain hadn't tried with casual offers of "come in for a drink" when they ride the elevator together on weekend evenings or "we could spar" upon discovering Felix's interest in fencing. That was the length to which Sylvain was willing to go for Felix. He was willing to think back to high school and engage in something as entirely Gautier as fencing for the man. He was honestly a hopeless cause by this point.

It was because Sylvain was so hopeless that disaster struck. Being estranged, Sylvain was the only of the three to stay behind for the holidays which also left him the optimal person for Felix to ask to water his "bonsai." Calling it just a regular bonsai - without the quotation marks - was a bit of a stretch given that it was being grown from a seedling and had been making slow, glacial progress. Maybe Sylvain could blame the tree for the disaster - it was just not growing quick enough to withstand the strain of having a framed photograph dropped on it. Maybe he could blame Felix's decorating for the mishap. Felix didn't have to hang the only photo in his apartment so close to his tree's table. He also didn't have to have such a small, trip-prone rug next to said tree. But it was the combination of all these things that caused Sylvain to trip over the evil rug and knock into the demonic picture, dropping it onto the poor innocent tree and crushing it. Honestly, could you really blame Sylvain?

Felix did. Even though he hid his emotions with a practiced deft, Sylvain could see the small, broken glint of his eyes when Sylvain inevitably had to tell him.

Ingrid knew this backstory as well as anyone - she had to listen to more than one night of drunken mourning of a relationship that never existed - but she for the life of her did not understand how a cat was a good replacement for a tree. Something about a suspicion of the man being a closet cat person and needing companionship. The events of the past two years being neighbors and maintaining barely a friendship filled with pining culminated when Sylvain found a post on Mercedes' Facebook.

Mercedes was the only reason Sylvain still used Facebook as the poor girl had yet to realize everyone she knows had moved social media platforms. She clings to hers religiously to share information about her most important passions. Among these, and the reason why Sylvain was convinced she was his guardian angel, was her volunteer work at the animal shelter and the picture she shared of a small litter of kittens. Born premature and parentless, the kittens were just now of age and health where they could be taken from the shelter and given real homes and Sylvain had one perfect home in mind.

Felix had yet to learn that he was the perfect home for a kitten but he would soon if Sylvain had anything to say about it.

"Do you think he'd like a boy or a girl cat?" Sylvain asked as the duo came closer and closer to their destination. He only received a groan in response. He grinned at her, "Girl it is."

----

It was two hours later, Sylvain taking an inordinately long amount of time picking out the perfect accessories to go with his present, that Ingrid dropped Sylvain off and sped away to avoid the incoming nuclear explosion she was sure was fast approaching when Felix found out a living creature had been purchased for him. This left Sylvain to figure out a way to get up the stairs with the kitten, carrier, litter box, food, toys, everything.The small kitten let out a sound at the sudden end to the shaking that had been its companion throughout the drive. It was a small, grey thing with more fur than body mass. It's yellow-green eyes shone with more curiousity than fear. Sylvain thought she was perfect.

Arms full of kitten paraphernalia, Sylvain mounted the stairs with an off-kilter gait, praying to the goddess that he could at least manage not to drop the carrier. This was the first moment in which Sylvain pondered the idea that he might have bitten off more than he could chew.

The second came as he passed Felix's door. Except he didn't so much as pass it as stumble over the man walking out of it.

'Don't drop the cat, don't drop the cat.' He repeated in that moment as he worked to regain his balance. He did not, in fact, drop the cat. Pretty much everything else however, went tumbling from his arms.

"What are you doing?" Came Felix's sardonic voice from behind him. He turned, opened his mouth, and nothing came out.

Let the record show that Sylvain is a charmer. Even around potential dates and bed-partners, Sylvain was not one of those people who became a stuttering mess. Except, apparently, in this case, as his entire face decided now was the perfect time to camouflage with his hair. "Um... She's for you." He managed inelloquently, gesturing towards the cage with his free hand.

Felix stared at him, brows furrowed, mouth slightly turned down.

His brain was yelling at him, reminding him of all the mistakes he had made leading him to this point. Why had he bought Felix a kitten? Why did he think this was a good idea? This was the end of any relationship they could ever have. Felix was never going to talk to him again and he was going to have to tell Ingrid she was right. Again!

"Well, bring it inside." Felix finally snapped and bent to pick up some of the fallen items Sylvain had brought with him. The man's eyes widened but he wasted no time in rushing inside, Felix behind him with the rest of the cat items. He shut the door behind him, sealing the fates of all three parties. Sylvain set the carrier down on Felix's table and the other joined him quickly to analyze his new friend.

As Felix watched the kitten, Sylvain watched him, his soft eyelashes emphasizing his gaze, his plush lips curled into a focused pout. He was still frowning but Sylvain could see happiness in those eyes. Make no mistake, Felix was not the type to do anything he didn't want. The moment he had told Sylvain to bring the cat inside, she had become Felix's cat.

Sylvain watched as Felix's long fingers reached to open the cage and he stepped back, letting the kitten tentatively leave its enclosure to explore the apartment. Sylvain smiled at them both before moving to one of the bags he had brought, pulling out one of the toys he had purchased for Felix. He dangled it in front of the kitten and laughed as she reached out to bat at it. Felix watched from beside them with his arms crossed over his chest.

Sylvain eventually felt the need to break the silence and so spoke up for the first time since they had entered the apartment. "Have you ever had a cat before?"

"No." Felix responded simply, seeming to tack on at the end with an afterthought, "Have you?"

"Kind of." Sylvain said, drawing his eyes from the cat to stare at Felix instead. "We had a horse barn next to our house and my parents kept cats to deal with the mice. They had me feed them and stuff."

"I see." Felix said. He took a step closer to the duo, close enough that Sylvain could feel the heat from his body and had to force himself not to lean into it. He reached out and ran a feather light hand across the kitten's fur. Her purring escalated and she butted her head into his hand when he reached the end to encourage him to repeat the cycle. Both were staring at the kitten when Felix continued, "Guess you'll have to help me then."

Sylvain's eyes widened at this. Felix had given him an "in." A fantastic, totally abusable in. He recovered quickly, reverting back into his casual persona, "Of course, whenever you need."

"How about dinner, tomorrow? You can give me some pointers." Felix still wasn't looking at him and so missed the wide, lopsided grin that crossed his face.

"It's a date." Sylvain, responded, confidence brimming with the success of the interaction.

The two remained in companionable silence for a bit longer as they watched the new kitten become acquainted with its surroundings. Eventually though, Sylvain knew he needed to leave. Felix escorted him to the door, where Sylvain turned to have a few final moments with his crush before leaving. "I'll pick you up tomorrow? 6?"

Felix rolled his eyes, they were neighbors after all, but before even giving Sylvain the chance to respond, leaned forward onto his toes to press his lips to Sylvain's cheek. It was only the ghost of a momentary kiss before Felix pulled back but it was made all the better by his sheepish change afterwards. Felix refused to meet Sylvain's eyes as he mumbled, "Thanks. For the cat."

Sylvain beamed, looking for all the world like a superhero saving the day. He certainly felt like it with his appreciative love interesting standing before him. "Anything for you, sweetheart."

Even Felix shutting the door in his face couldn't ruin Sylvain's mood. He had a date tomorrow. With Felix.

It was official, Sylvain loved cats.

Chapter Text

Sylvain has made up his mind: he is never listening to Ingrid again. Why should he when she advised against the greatest decision he has ever made?

Sylvain’s phone buzzed again, and he snatched it up with embarrassing speed. It was the kitten: laying on her back, paws covering her face in a sleepy manner. This was the third picture Felix had sent to Sylvain this evening – his first day of being a cat owner. It was frankly the most interaction the two had ever had even though Felix never sent any text accompaniment with his photos and most of Sylvain’s attempts at conversation were answered briefly or not at all until the next appropriately adorable cat photo.

😻 whats her name Sylvain texted in response.

Cat Came Felix’s response several minutes later – a much more acceptable period of time that Sylvain allowed between messages.

As evidenced by his immediate response of u cant just name her cat

This response came much quicker, being less deadpan and more malicious intent as far as Sylvain was concerned. Mr. Cat

SHES A GIRL Sylvain typed in a mock-indignant response. No follow-up from Felix.

Sylvain couldn’t help but smile at Felix even if he was so stubborn to continue this apathetic charade. Sylvain had been the recipient of the pictures. He knew Felix adored his new pet. Honestly, Sylvain adored her too. He had spent far too long at the shelter with Ingrid and Mercedes, looking at every kitten, petting them, playing with them. None were quite as special as Mr. Cat – really Felix? – though and so she became the obvious choice. Sylvian had formed a quick bond with her and was glad Felix had asked for his help with her for more reasons than just his affinity for the owner. He just liked having her around. Maybe that made him a bit of a cat person too.

Felix reminded him a bit of a cat.

Maybe that was why Sylvain had managed to so accurately peg him as a cat person. Both were aloof and deemed to allow companions only when they wanted to. They valued comfort and their own space. They were warriors, a guise that hid how sweet they actually were on the inside.

Yep. Felix was a cat. And if the image of Felix in a cat costume didn’t do something for Sylvain. Or maybe it was just the image of Felix in general.

Felix. He had a date with Felix tomorrow. It might as well be a miracle! What should he wear? Where did Felix want to go? What would Felix want to talk about?

Sylvain paused mid-step towards his living room. What was he thinking? This is what school girls asked. He had been on hundreds of dates with so many people. Why was he so worried about this? Calm down.

But honestly, he didn’t have an answer to any of the questions he posed. This caused him to get nervous all over again. Guess it would be best to just do something about it. He pulled out his phone again as he took a seat on the couch and brough Felix’s name back up on his messages. where did u want to go for dinner He turned on the television as he waited for Felix’s answer. The Batchelor was on, being recorded so that he could watch it with Dorothea. He changed the channel – she would never forgive him for letting himself get spoiled before they could find time to watch together. Not that he would ever willingly seek out the show without Dorothea dragging him by the hand.

Okay, that was a complete lie. Sylvain loved The Batchelor.

Regardless, Sylvain allowed himself to be sucked into whatever inconsequential show he landed on until he felt his eyes became heavy. At that point, he dragged himself from the comfort of his couch and towards his bedroom for the night.

It wouldn’t be until Sylvain was at work the next day that Felix would text him back, giving the name of a nearby burger joint that had the (mis)fortune of being not-quite a sports bar but not quite a nice family restaurant. It wouldn’t be until Sylvain was off for the day that he would be able to see the response and that left him with little time to prepare himself for the evening.

It was fairly embarrassing how flustered Sylvain was as he managed to escape his job with no little amount of grace lost, get home and stumble through his front door. He needed something to wear. He had been unable to decide without the location and now everything seem too not-right to wear to see Felix. Shirts were pulled from his closet, held up against the mirror and tossed aside and deemed as unacceptable. All the while the clock was ticking.

When it became too late to continue the cycle any longer, Sylvain decided on a blue shirt and his favorite pair of dark jeans – the one that really highlighted his lower half. No better time to show off, he encouraged himself as he moved to the bathroom to style his hair in his signature I-tried-but-not-too-hard style.

All too soon – or maybe even not soon enough – it hit six and it was time to pick up Felix. At least it was a short trip. Sylvain even took a second to ponder his knock – could he get any more desperate. He settled on three, firm but not demanding. Felix’s voice came through the door in response, “It’s open.”

As much of an invitation as Sylvain could expect, he turned the knob and pushed the door open to see what was better than anything he could have asked for out of this night. Felix was settled cross-legged on the floor, a long, feathered toy held suspended from his hand. The kitten stood on her hind legs in front of him, reaching to attack the toy just out of her reach. When he came in, Felix moved to finish their game, casting the toy aside and standing, brushing the cat hair off his black-on-black outfit as he did so. He looked good.

“You didn’t have to stop.” Sylvain said by way of greeting even as the kitten moved over to rub against his legs. He bent down to scratch at her ears.

“It’ll be fine.” Felix responded as he grabbed his keys from a nearby table. “Let’s go.”

Sylvain gave one last pet to the cat and stood. “Bye, kitten.” He said as he moved through the door. Felix rolled his eyes at him.

Free of the kitten’s spell, Sylvain took the lead in guiding both feet and conversation towards the restaurant. It was close enough to walk which Sylvain was grateful for. The sight of the sunbeams bouncing off Felix’s skin and hair was something Sylvain was glad to have preserved in his memory.

“So, Mr. Cat?” Sylvain broached as the restaurant came into sight.

A slight smirk crossed Felix’s face, “Do you have a problem with that?”

“Yes!” Sylvain said, playing up a charming exasperation with a side of huffy. Felix chuckled at him, so it was an obvious win.

Felix sighed and said, as if it should have been obvious, “I didn’t name her Mr. Cat.”

Sylvain smiled brightly, immune to Felix’s near-venom, “So what did you name her?” Felix muttered something indecipherable, his cheeks evolving to a bright red. If possible, it made Sylvain’s smile widen even further. “Sorry, what was that?” He teased.

“Her name is Valkyrie.” Felix spat out as he crossed his arms over his chest. The entire movement was fueled by too much embarrassment for Sylvain to view it as anything but cute.

“I like it. Why did you choose it?”

Another sigh from Felix as he gripped the sleeve of his shirt and pulled it upwards, revealing a long but thankfully small and shallow cat scratch. “She’s a warrior.” Felix muttered though Sylvain imagined he was proud to have such a fighter of a cat. It matched his sword collection.

And then they were at the restaurant and things became a bustle of taking a seat, evaluating the menu and ordering. It was some time before Sylvain had the chance to reengage in a meaningful discussion. He wanted desperately to learn more about Felix.

And learn he did. They discussed the minute things like preferences and schedules. They discussed cat care methods and necessities. Then they went on to deeper but more worldly topics as they grew in comfort – things like current events or impressions of the politics currently enveloping Fodlan. The conversation was unstressed but not unending. Gaps of silence overtook then but for the life of him, Sylvain could not say it was bothersome though he knew it would be with anyone else. It seemed they had no need to talk constantly when both were okay with just the other’s presence. The one thing Sylvain did have trouble with, however, was getting Felix to speak about his personal life. Sylvain learned early on that family and past experiences were a pretty sensitive topic for Felix. No matter how much Sylvain managed to get him to open up throughout the evening, that part of Felix remained closed.

And then, all too quickly, the check came. Sylvain made sure to grab it before Felix could even register that it had arrived and shooed the waiter off with his credit card. Felix glared at him but Sylvain only smiled in response.

“Thanks for you help,” Felix told Sylvain on their way home. “With the cat.”

Sylvain shrugged, “I don’t know how much help I actually was but I do what I can.”

“It was helpful.” Felix said, a bit strained. A bit like he was talking about more than just the cat.

But then again, this was about more than just the cat for Sylvain too, wasn’t it.

They reached Felix’s door first, and Felix turned to put his back against it, hand on doorknob facing Sylvain to bid him farewell. They stood in silence for a second, watching each other, until Sylvain broke it. “I had fun tonight.”

Felix grunted in response. Eloquent. It mattered little to Sylvain though, who leaned in, lips brushing past Felix’s ear and moving to meet his li-

“What are you doing?” Felix asked, jerking away from Sylvain. His brow was furrowed and Sylvain really needed to decide quickly if that was anger or confusion there.

“I-“

He didn’t even know what he was going to say so it was probably for the best that Felix cut him off, a deadpanned, “You didn’t really think this was a date did you?”

Well that was shocking, but Sylvain needed to get this situation back under control. Cool, collected, he leaned against the wall, “I said it was, didn’t I?” He teased back.

“I thought that was just your personality.” Felix crossed his arms but his brow neutralized and his stance remained non-confrontational otherwise.

It gave Sylvain the confidence to grin, “So you didn’t want it to be a date?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You kind of did.”

“Well, I didn’t mean it.” Felix huffed out, looking away from Sylvain in protest. His cheeks were coloring again. Just slightly. Not enough to really notice unless you were watching closely. Sylvain however was always watching Felix closely.

“Hm…” He hummed as he held his chin, finger tapping his cheek in a mock-thinking imitation. Dramatically, he drew his hand away, raising that same finger into the air as if to say to Felix ‘ah ha.’ “Well then I guess you’ll just have to make it up to me then.”

The frown was back but by now Sylvain could tell that there was more to that frown than unhappiness. “What are you talking about?”

“Are you free on Friday?” Sylvain asked.

“Why?” A suspicious Felix asked.

“Go on a date with me. A real date.”

A moment’s pause and then, “Fine.”

Sylvain blinked. Did Felix just agree? That easily? Not that he was complaining. No, he would never complain about more time with Felix. There was just something about him – his complexity, his dismissive behavior, his persona – that drew Sylvain to him. He turned the charm up to the max, “Great, I’ll see you then.”

Felix rolled his eyes, turned to the door, opened it, looked back and paused, looking at Sylvain. And Sylvain didn’t even think about it. He leaned in and placed a purposefully chaste kiss to Felix’s cheek. “Goodnight, Fe.” He hummed against the skin there and turned, walking down the hallway. He didn’t look back but he knew Felix was still watching him. He threw a lazy wave over his shoulder and called, “Send me some more pics of Valkyrie, ‘kay?”

The door slammed shut behind Felix in response.

Chapter Text

Now, he knows he says this a lot, but this really wasn't Sylvain's fault but Felix was coming home in less than an hour when everything went to hell.

It had been the day after their third date (second, Felix insisted) when Felix had learned that his job needed him to visit a client halfway across Faergus. This meant an overnight trip which left Sylvain to enthusiastically insist upon watching Valkyrie after Felix's hesitant request that the other male do so.

It was only one night. All Sylvain had to do was feed her and maybe scoop some litter. It would be fine.

And fine it was, until time became increasingly closer to Felix's return and Sylvain's ideas of a grand reunion became more extravagant and more drastic.

Of those elaborate fairytales that Sylvain was determined to make a reality, Sylvain settled on what was likely the most realistic one. This led him to Felix's kitchen where he intended to make the two of them lunch.

There was no food that impressed a date quite like the Gautier Family Specialty Pasta and though Sylvain had long abandoned much of his heritage, this recipe was just a bit too good to give up. The kitchen was soon in full pasta mode, all sorts of preparations covering every free inch of Felix's kitchen. Impressive did not mean easy.

He had just set the water to boil when he heard a miniature explosion from behind him. He turned to see Felix's workpapers, previously stacked neatly on his kitchen table, scattered about the room in disarray. The cause of the mess, Valkyrie too was splayed across the floor, her balance impeeded from attempting to scale a mountain of papers as tall as she.

For a moment, all Sylvain could do was stare at the mess before him. He didn't even know how to clean this. Did Felix have some sort of order for these papers? A couple of them seemed to have slid under the refrigerator. How was he going to get those out? So lost in thought, Sylvain did not immediately realize that Valkyrie had yet to get up from the floor. Panic overtook him. Was she okay?

He rushed to check on her, being far less careful than he should have been. His caused Valkyrie, the big faker, to view his reaching hand not as a gauge of health but as a new playtoy to replace the papers and she reached out to swat at Sylvain's hand. Even though he claws were still developing, the angle happened to be just so that red blossomed immediately from three long lines tracing Sylvain's thumb, reaching towards his wrist. Gravity quickly took hold of a bad situation to make it worse, drawing the blood from the scratch and causing it to fall onto the papers below.

Felix was right, Valkyrie was a warrior but she and Sylvain were on different sides of the battle.

"Fuck," Sylvain hissed as Valkyrie stood and pranced away, ignorant to the mayhem she had caused. It hurt but then again, cat scratches always are unnaturally unpleasant. He needed to clean up.

Moving to the bathroom, Sylvain set about repairing himself. He was no stranger to the motions, applying pressure to stop the bleed. That said, the blood just didn't seem to want to stop, slowing but still present. Sylvain couldn't get anymore blood in the apartment so he had to wait until it was staunched enough to be covered with a bandaid. That said, he had a hell of a time finding one of the right size and shape for the scratch. For someone with a giant sword collection, Felix's first aid kit didn't reflect his obsession.

Sylvain's bad luck didn't end there, however. Of course not, that would be too generous of the goddess. Sylvain left the bathroom and his eyes fell on the kitten, sitting on Felix's couch, body heaving. It was as if in slow motion as the cat lurched once, twice, and threw up on the couch. Sylvain grimaced. Those were definitely some pasta ingredients. When had she even had the time to eat them? It didn't matter, Sylvain needed paper towels. And fabric cleaner. "What did I ever do to you?" Sylvain asked the kitten as he went to find the needed items.

Waste collected and disposed of, Sylvain was rummaging through cabinets searching for something to put on it when he heard a sound. A sound like...

The pasta water was boiling over.

Like lightning, Sylvain was at the stove, turning off the heat in an attempt to get things under control. Despite his speed, however, he had only just reached the stove when the door opened.

Felix was home.

"Uhhh, hi..." Sylvain managed as he watched Felix's eyes roam the stain, the water, the papers, the messy kitchen and the cat, sitting on the floor licking herself. The brat. Felix didn't say anything.

"I, um... I was going to make lunch and then..." How do you even explain what happened then?

But Felix smirked at Sylvain's flustered countenance. "Want to get takeout?"

"Goddess yes." And Felix laughed at him. Then Sylvain laughed at himself.

Felix strode the last few steps from the living room to the kitchen with Valkyrie hopping in his heels. He stood before Sylvain and, hesitantly, he held his arms out. Sylvain, with much less uncertainty, enveloped Felix's entire frame in a hug. "Welcome home, Fe." He said against the top of Felix's head, pressing his lips to the crown. Valkyrie wove between their feet, her purring audible.

Felix hid his smile in Sylvain's shoulder.