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“Yo, Kai, I’m digging the new look this morning,” Akali says, as Kai’Sa hands her her morning coffee. For a moment, Kai’Sa can’t tell if Akali is serious or not with the shit-eating grin she has plastered across her face.
“What new look?” Kai’Sa asks, confused, taking a sip from her own mug. All she did was throw on a bra and a shirt when she woke up, so it’s not like she’s wearing anything fancy or out of the usual.
Akali takes a sip of her coffee before pointing down at Kai’Sa’s legs with a raised eyebrow. “Have you looked in the mirror, dude? Your pants are absolutely covered in fur. It looks like you killed someone's cat.”
Kai’Sa pauses and looks down, only to realize Akali’s right. Tufts of off-cream fur practically stick out like a street sign on her black leggings, and there’s… actually quite a lot of it, now that she looks at it. Ahri’s tail must have left a lot of hair behind when it kept weaving its way around her legs the night before.
“Oh,” Kai’Sa says. “I didn’t notice.”
Akali gives her a knowing look, and Kai’Sa swears her grin only gets bigger. “Of course you didn’t—you put blinders on when it comes to Ahri.”
“I do not. I just didn’t check the mirror before I went downst—”
As if sensing she was spoken of, Ahri makes her way into the kitchen with a smile.
“Good morning, ladies!”
“Mornin’, boss.” Akali sends Ahri a small wave from the counter. “Good timing, we were just talking about you.”
Ahri’s ears perk up, and she turns towards Akali with a curious glance. “Oh? Good things only, I hope?”
Akali nods. “Oh, definitely. I was simply admiring the new product line you had Kai’Sa model this morning.”
“New product line?” Ahri turns and looks Kai’Sa up and down before her gaze falls on her pants and she laughs. “Oh my god, Kai, I’m so sorry.”
Kai’Sa shrugs as she hands Ahri her coffee. “It’s nothing a lint roller can’t fix.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” Ahri’s tail curls around Kai’Sa’s hip for a brief moment as she gratefully takes the offered mug. “It looks like I really did a number on those leggings.”
“A lint roller barely puts a dent in it,” Akali grumbles. “I’m still finding hair in the blanket you borrowed from me a year ago.”
Ahri raises an eyebrow. “Really? Even now?”
“I found another one yesterday night,” Akali confirms. “They never end. Just as soon as you think you’ve found the last of ‘em another one shows up.”
“Sorry,” Ahri says, but the way she looks at Akali over the rim of her cup clearly says that she isn’t. She turns towards Kai’Sa, this time actually apologetic. “I’ll try to brush my tail more. I must have forgotten the past few days.”
“I can remind you, if you want?” Kai’Sa offers.
Ahri smiles, and her fangs peek out slightly from behind her lips. “That’d be great. Maybe you could even help a little?” And then Ahri turns on the puppy dog eyes, and if Kai’Sa had even thought about saying no before (she hadn’t), then she’d stand no chance now. “There’s some spots that are just so hard to reach on my own.”
“Of course. I’d be happy to.”
“Can you guys wait 30 more minutes before being disgustingly sappy?” Akali groans. “I’m trying to enjoy my coffee in our shared kitchen, and I’d at least like the caffeine to kick in first before you contaminate it with your cooties.”
Kai’Sa raises an eyebrow. “You and Evelynn made out on the counter the other day. I think we’re fine.”
“You mean you saw that? I thought we stopped before you walked in.” Akali instantly backpedals and clears her throat. “I—uh. Fair point. Carry on then.”
Ahri laughs.
There’s something strangely intimate about listening to Ahri purr. She doesn’t do it often, usually instead showing her approval with a smile or a peck on the cheek or a swish of her tail in the air, but when she does, she’s loud.
It’s almost reminiscent of one of Evelynn’s cars in a way, a low, vibrating hum that makes its way under your skin down to your bones—or like the drums on one of those work and study lofi playlists, slow, steady, constant. There’s something about it that just always makes Kai’Sa want to sink a little deeper into her seat, and she can’t get enough of it.
“I should have asked you to help out sooner,” Ahri says, stopping for a brief moment when Kai’Sa pauses to clean off the brush and throw the excess hair in the trash. “This is so much easier than trying to do it all myself.”
“Why didn’t you?” Kai’Sa asks, and she can’t help but smile a little bit when she returns to work and Ahri starts purring again almost immediately after the brush returns to her tail.
“I dunno—it always felt a little weird, I guess? Most people don’t really need to worry about their girlfriend shedding all over them.” Ahri shrugs. Kai’Sa cant see her face from where she’s seated behind her, but she would bet money that Ahri is doing that little pouty thing she always does when she’s embarrassed. “It sounds a little silly, now that I say it.”
“It’s not silly,” Kai’Sa says. She pauses to empty out the brush again into the nearby trash can. “You have a right to be nervous. God knows I was worried about getting into a relationship considering the third wheel that comes along with me wherever I go.”
“I’m not worried about that. I like you the way you are, third wheel and all,” Ahri says, firm and leaving no room for argument.
“I could say the same to you. I’m not worried about your shedding, or the claws, or the ears—or anything else about you, for that matter. I knew what I was signing up for.” Kai’Sa brings a hand up to scratch behind the fur at the bottoms of Ahri’s ears, and Ahri practically melts into her touch, leaning her head back and closing her eyes. “They’re a part of who you are, and I knew that wasn’t going to change.”
“If you’re sure it’s not a bother,” Ahri says, cracking her eyes open after a brief moment of silence, ears pointing forward, inquisitive, vulnerable.
“Never a bother,” Kai’Sa assures her, meeting her gaze head on with a smile. “It’s always an honor to serve her royal highness.”
Ahri clicks her tongue, sitting up with a smile. “Well then get back to work, because that trash can isn’t full yet.”
“Of course.” Kai’Sa chuckles. “As milady wishes.”
It’s always easy to tell which side of the bed is Ahri’s by the fur that clings to the sheets. (Most of the time they end up tangled in each other’s arms somewhere in the middle of it anyways, but they always at least try to start on their own side of the bed.)
Kai’Sa probably washes the sheets around three times a week. They always come out clean—warm and smelling of those fake fruit and flower scents that’s so prevalent in most detergents—but still there’s always some stray hairs that linger on the left side.
Ahri doesn’t seem to mind, so Kai’Sa doesn’t either. She accommodates. It’s just hair—and it’s not like Ahri’s dirty. She’s entirely meticulous about the way she looks, and the shampoo she uses reminds Kai’Sa of peach cobbler and strawberry pie.
The one she had used to use smelled of coconuts, but it was quickly switched after they started dating. Kai’Sa can’t say she doesn’t appreciate it, the way Ahri accommodates her back, as if thanking Kai’Sa for her patience.
Kai’Sa blurts out once in a late-night anxious babble that she finds it relaxing when Ahri purrs. It doesn’t take long for Ahri to make it a routine whenever Kai’Sa is nervous about something, wordlessly pulling Kai’Sa’s head down into her neck and purring.
When Kai’Sa mentions that she likes tea on occasion instead of coffee, a supply of her favorite blends magically appears a few days later next to the bags of Evelynn’s overly-expensive coffee beans.
Ahri might be a little unusual, yes, but Kai’Sa thinks she might just be perfect, in the way she isn’t afraid to meet her step-for-step, tit-for-tat, play-for-play. It’s a constant dance, a tango of give and take and Kai’Sa thinks she might just keep going until her feet fall off or her heart stops—whichever comes first.
Kai’Sa is broken out of her thoughts when Ahri shifts.
“Why’re you up?” Ahri asks, mumbling as she reaches over. “It’s late.”
Ahri’s hand eventually finds what it’s looking for, wrapping around one of Kai’Sa’s and giving it a squeeze.
“Woke up and couldn’t fall back asleep,” Kai’Sa answers with a whisper.
“Oh,” Ahri says, still groggy and not fully awake, ears droopy and tail limp under the blankets. “Nightmare?”
“No,” Kai’Sa replies, giving Ahri’s hand a reassuring squeeze back. “Not tonight.”
“Mmkay,” Ahri replies, and a few moments after she says it Kai’Sa hears a small, soft rumble, something more akin to a housecat than a car’s engine. “Anything I can do?”
“Nothing more than what you already are,” Kai’Sa says, and she can’t help but instinctively push her head closer to Ahri’s chest, feeling the vibrations run through her ear.
“I’mma go back to sleep then.” Ahri lets go of Kai’Sa’s hand before scooting just a little bit closer. “Love you.”
“Love you too, Ahri.”
Kai’Sa doesn’t think she’s ever meant any words more.