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“Come on, get down from there,” A loud crash followed by Ougai Mori’s agitated voice gave Yukichi Fukuzawa pause from his reading. The noise came from the doctor’s office, but based on the time he should have been finished with patients for the day. Fukuzawa marked his page, waiting to see if the noise was an isolated incident.
He heard Mori plead from the other room. “I’m trying to get work done. Do you really think it’s cute to sit in my lap and beg for attention? There was another thump, and the sound of glass breaking. “Destruction for destruction’s sake is not optimal under any circumstances.”
His tone was different from the sing-song or pleading voice he typically used to address Elise, and from what Fukuzawa knew of Mori’s young familiar, she would never climb into his lap of her own volition. With a sigh he closed his book and set it down, not bothering to equip his sword as he doubted Mori was in any sort of real danger. If there was actually something untoward happening with Elise, that could be resolved without resorting to violence.
Fukuzawa crept quietly towards Mori’s open office door and peered inside the room. At first glance, he saw neither an assailant nor Elise. While he knew that Mori could control Elise’s corporeal form, he didn’t think the other man knew he was outside, so there was no reason to believe the girl was the cause of the ruckus. Curiosity got the better of him and Fukuzawa inched closer until he could see Mori sitting in his desk chair, a spilled mug of coffee on the floor and a cat perched in his lap.
The cat rubbed his head against Mori’s hand, and Fukuzawa felt a pang of jealousy when he pushed the cat to the floor. He didn’t want Mori to know he was there, so he resisted the urge to call the cat and instead simply watched as the other man stood up to clean the spilled coffee and the cat immediately jumped into his chair, making itself comfortable.
“I don’t even like cats. You’re lucky I had my fill of animal vivisection in medical school,” Mori admonished when he returned to find his seat occupied by the nonplussed feline. Fukuzawa’s stomach turned at Mori’s remark and he instinctively reached for his sword, regretting his decision to leave it behind. The other man nudged the cat from the chair and sat down; undeterred, the cat leapt onto his desk and settled in front of his computer keyboard.
Mori sighed again, this time groaning with defeat. “And I thought Elise-chan was stubborn.” He rolled backwards in his chair and started petting the cat on its head, scratching its ears as it purred loudly.
Fukuzawa watched Mori lavish attention on the cat in his lap, his long fingers stroking its short black fur. The cat’s paws kneaded his lab coat, and Mori’s annoyed expression softened. “It is rather convenient to have scalpels on your fingers, isn’t it?” The corner of his mouth turned up and Fukuzawa couldn’t help but grin at the scene before him.
Despite cats’ selfish nature, giving in to their demands and petting them was so rewarding and soothing to the soul that Fukuzawa felt a sense of peace just watching Mori use two fingers to scratch underneath the cat’s chin. As much as he wanted to trade places with Mori, for the moment he felt oddly satisfied watching the doctor and the cat enjoy each other’s company.
—
Mori was never partial to cats; this was one of several strays that the upstairs tenants in the building fed, so they came and went as they pleased. Elise played with them from time to time but as far as he was concerned, they were a nuisance, especially when he was trying to work.
The cat had knocked his phone and then his coffee off of the table, and when he got up to get a rag to clean the floor he caught a glimpse of Fukuzawa standing just outside the door. His first instinct was to call the other man and tell him to take care of the cat, but instead he decided it was high time to see if his stoic bodyguard was capable of jealousy. Mori threatened the cat to keep Fukuzawa’s attention, then began to lavish attention on it. The privacy screen installed on his monitor was reflective at the right angle, something he installed specifically to keep an eye over his shoulder before Natsume-sensei sent Fukuzawa to be his bodyguard.
As the cat settled further into his lap, butting its head against Mori’s hand, he noted the cat’s claws catch in his polyester lab coat. When he scolded the animal, he realized he was talking to a cat in the very same way Fukuzawa did and smirked at his behavior. Mori peered up at his monitor, swallowing his surprise at the image reflected on screen. His bodyguard’s expression was one Mori had never seen before, and he couldn’t tear his eyes away. Fukuzawa’s usual serious frown had morphed into a genuine smile spreading across his entire face, from the white teeth peeking out between his upturned lips to his warm, sparkling gray eyes with soft crinkles at their edges.
While watching Fukuzawa, Mori started to pet the cat with renewed fervor. Eliciting jealousy was no longer his goal; his new modus operandi was to keep the other man smiling. “My goodness, you certainly are well behaved now that you’re getting what you want, aren’t you?” he said aloud to the cat while thinking to himself, Perhaps this is why Fukuzawa-dono is so impassive. Does he have any idea how captivating, how disarming his smile is? It was a rare and lovely sight, and Mori quickly committed every part of it to memory.
Neither man could know whether Mori was lost in the moment and pet the cat in a displeasing way, or the animal simply had enough attention for the time being. It jumped down from Mori’s lap and made a beeline to the door. Fukuzawa stepped into the doorway, leaning down to offer the cat a dried sardine, and Mori met his gaze once the cat was busy chewing on its treat.
“Oh, Fukuzawa-dono. Did you come to save me from my attacker? I’m afraid you’re a bit too late, he’s already had his way with me,” Mori said, gesturing at the black cat hair stuck to his white lab coat. “I suppose it’s a good thing this one is due for the laundry.”
“I was on my way to the restroom when I heard you talking to someone and found this poor little guy running away from your attention. I didn’t even think you liked cats.” Fukuzawa lied while he used both hands to scratch the cat behind its ears.
“We’re all full of surprises, Fukuzawa-dono. I’m sure there’s a side of you that you haven’t shown me yet as well.” The other man’s smile was like a virus in his brain, conjuring images of other blissful expressions Fukuzawa was capable of. He grinned at Fukuzawa, hoping to be graced by another smile in return, but his bodyguard maintained his normal indomitable countenance.
“I imagine you have work to finish, Mori-sensei, so I’ll leave you be. If you’re assaulted by another cat, feel free to call for help before it’s too late.” Fukuzawa disappeared from the doorway and Mori half-heartedly went back to his work. He found himself unable to keep his thoughts on patient reports when he was completely smitten by Fukuzawa’s smile, already working on several strategies to see that and much more in the future.