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When Chifuyu was 10 and all alone in the world, he met his best friend. Out in the rain, feeling real sorry for himself, he heard the cry of a small animal in even more need than himself.
Peering over the edge of a cardboard box, he saw him for the first time; soaked to the bone and with big green eyes, looking at Chifuyu like he was the little kitten’s last hope. Maybe they both were, to each other. He took the kitten home, of course, shielding it from the rain under his jacket, feeling the little thing purr against his tummy.
He barged in through his front door and ignored his parents’ shocked expressions. Chifuyu stood there for a moment, shuffling his little feet, before opening his jacket and showing off the friend he just picked up. Maybe they saw the look on his face or maybe they were relieved that their son finally made a friend. Whichever reason they had, Chifuyu’s mother immediately sprung up to get a towel as his dad promised, with a smile, to visit the nearest pet store as soon as the little kitten was dried up and settled in.
Ever since that day, Chifuyu didn’t have to spend his afternoons after school alone anymore. Now, when he came home, Peke J was there, napping on his bed and tilting his little head to the side as Chifuyu complained about the mean kids in school.
Peke J doesn’t judge him, of course, even when his parents do and insist it’s just a phase he’s going through. It’s mean, because it’s not a phase. It’s not a phase when he covers his walls in posters of British punk bands whose lyrics he can’t quite understand. It’s not a phase when he bleaches his hair and it’s definitely not a phase when he gets up an hour earlier to make sure his hair is in the perfect shape.
So sure, maybe he’s being rebellious, but it’s not a phase. He yells that to them, too, before slamming his bedroom door shut. His parents don’t understand and the stupid kids at school don’t understand. The only thing those idiots understand are Chifuyu’s fists when he beats them up for looking at him the wrong way.
Chifuyu throws himself onto his bed, screaming into his pillow, when he feels the familiar purr next to him. When he lifts his head, Peke J is there, staring at him with those big eyes and softly meowing. He feels the anger at his parents and their judgement slowly fade away. He reaches out an arm to pull his best friend against him, rubbing his face in the soft, black fur.
They stay like that for a long time, and after they get up, Peke J looks at him from his perch on the bathtub as Chifuyu angrily pierces his own ear, scowling in the mirror. Peke J doesn’t judge, because his little cat only knows love, and that is enough for Chifuyu to stomach the pain and rebel against the world more.
It’s fine, like this, hiding away from that harsh world with his best friend next to him. His ear is throbbing, but pierced, and Chifuyu flops down on his bed again. He grabs his MP3-player to put in one earbud, placing the other on the bed. With a smile, he watches as his little cat curls up around it. He uses one hand to scroll through his phone, reading along to the translations of a song he wants to understand better, and with the other, gently pets Peke J.
When his mother sees the earring the next morning, she looks like she’s about to explode and ground him for the rest of his life. At that moment, his cat decides to jump up on the table and rolls over on his back. Not even the wrath of his mother can withstand a cat showing its belly. She pets Peke J with a small smile, and afterwards, takes Chifuyu into the bathroom to disinfect the piercing. She promises they’ll buy a new one together for when it’s healed.
For his first year of middle school, Chifuyu spends a long time in front of the mirror again and hypes himself up - telling Peke J of his plans for the year and how he’ll let no one get in his way. He looks around, even though he’s sure he’s alone, when he tells his best friend, “no one fucks with Matsuno Chifuyu this year, Peke J, you’ll see!” He feels his chest swell up with pride after saying his first real curse word. After giving his little cat a kiss on the head, he is off to school.
He had made somewhat of a name for himself, thankfully, fighting his way through the last year of grade school, so Chifuyu is grateful to find no one opposing him throughout the first week of middle school. The kids following him around aren’t exactly friends, of course, but they are great informants, because the moment they catch air of someone failing the first grade and posing a threat to Chifuyu’s reign of the school, they let him know immediately.
The threat in question is not exactly what Chifuyu pictured. As he slams open the door to the classroom, he’s greeted with some nerd carrying the name Baji Keisuke. He’s real confused for a moment, but after the confirmation that that’s definitely the right guy, he decides to hang around after school another day to find out more about this Baji Keisuke.
When he comes home, he tells Peke J of the strange poindexter who managed to fail a grade in middle school, and under his cat's purring encouragement, Chifuyu decides to give the glasses-wearing idiot a fair chance.
The next day, Chifuyu finds out that it’s possible to have more than one friend.
School is more fun than it used to be, even if some of his extracurricular activities are a bit tiring without his new friend there. He’s looking forward to spending the rest of the day on his bed, cuddling with his little friend, but opens the door to an empty room. Checking Peke J’s cat tree in the living room, he finds it empty as well.
With a sigh, he makes his way over to the fifth floor of his apartment building, climbing into the window like he’s been told all the strays around the neighborhood do. “Hey," he casually greets the boy on the bed, currently playing with Peke J.
“Hey,” Baji grins back, flicking Peke J’s ear lightly to get the cat to attack his hand. “We have a front door, you know?”
Chifuyu shrugs, going over to sit on the bed next to his newest friend. When he does, Peke J stops his assault to climb into his lap, putting his front paws on Chifuyu’s shoulders to bump their noses together. “Hey, little buddy,” he coos at his cat, “running off on me now, are we?”
“Wait, this is your cat?” The other boy says, eyes wide. “I thought he looked taken care of for a stray… I didn’t think…”
“No, yeah, he’s mine.” He picks up the cat, rubbing their faces against each other. “When you told me about the strays the other day, I had a suspicion where he’s been sneaking off to every now and again.”
Baji hums at that. “Glad I didn’t follow through on my plans to kidnap him, then. He’s the cutest one to come around, I swear.”
Chifuyu looks up at his friend, letting Peke J. climb onto his shoulder more to purr against him. “He’s the best," he smiles. “I’m glad you two get along.”
“Get along?” Baji grins, leaning forward to pick the black cat up from Chifuyu’s shoulders to snuggle with Peke J. “He’s my son, I love him.”
“He’s my son first, you weirdo.” It’s cute, watching the black cat curl his tail around Baji’s arm, purring loudly. “But maybe… We can share him.”
“Definitely!” The other boy smiles, touching his nose to Peke J’s like Chifuyu just did. “That just means we gotta hang out more, so he doesn’t have to choose!”
Peke J is the best cat in the world, no doubt about it, but surrounded by strays on Baji’s bed, with Peke J purring on the other boy’s lap, Chifuyu finds there may be more room in his heart than he ever thought possible, for both cats and boys with long, black hair alike.
Peke J is still his best friend, of course, because he spends hours upon hours curled up with the little cat, reading his favorite manga and telling Peke J about his favorite scenes. It’s just that, now, sometimes, another boy joins them on the floor, reading along over Chifuyu’s shoulder and commenting on the slightly exaggerated romance depicted on the pages.
Peke J is still his best friend, but maybe, Baji Keisuke can be as well, because they’re always together now. It’s easy, living in the same apartment building, to walk to school together and then walk back home together, too.
It’s funny, because Peke J is Chifuyu’s best friend, but the little cat becomes almost as enamored by the other boy as Chifuyu is. At first, the black cat was content staying at home during school hours, but now, they find him waiting for his two humans by the school gates.
The first time it happened, Chifuyu got upset with his parents for letting Peke J out without supervision, but after the fifth time, seeing that the cat was more than capable of safely making his way over to school, both Chifuyu and Baji are more than happy to find him there.
There are whispers around the neighborhood, about the boys who walk home from school every day with a little, black cat walking between them, meowing along like the animal is also part of their animated conversations.
Baji struggles with school a lot, and while Chifuyu’s grades are definitely not as bad, he finds himself lacking in the tutoring department. To make up for that, on the day of the biggest test in their final year of middle school, (one he already passed, but his friend has to re-take) he comes up with the perfect plan to help Baji finally ace his results.
It’s something he really shouldn’t do, but facing a lot of trouble is definitely worth it if it means helping out his second best friend. So, before school that morning, Chifuyu makes sure to leave all of his books at home to make room for a small cat in his backpack.
Since he stopped wearing his hair in its signature pompadour, a lot of his rebellion seemed to slide off his shoulders as well. He’s not sure when it happened, but between nights talking on the stairs with Peke J curled up at their feet, and watching Baji lift the little cat up like Simba in the Lion King while pressing little kisses to Peke J’s pink nose, Chifuyu is a lot less angry at the world these days.
Some rebellion still flares, though, and it’s good to feel like a delinquent again, when he carries his backpack and Peke J inside, rushing over to the classroom before the test is about to begin. He finds Baji standing there, nervously smoothing a hand over his slicked back hair, and for a moment, a strange fluttery feeling threatens to bubble up Chifuyu’s throat.
Reminded by the squirming against his back, he pushes it down quickly and makes his way over to his friend. Baji doesn’t even notice him at first, eyes focused on the book he’s holding, until Chifuyu is next to him and bumping their shoulders together.
“Hey.”
Baji slowly looks up from his book and smiles a little. “You look awfully chipper, considering I’m about to die after this.”
“No need to be a baby,” Chifuyu smiles back, carefully removing his backpack and pressing it against his chest. “You have ten minutes left, right?” At his friend’s nod, he continues, “c’mon, follow me into the bathroom.”
He ignores the flush to his friend’s face, and definitely ignores the double-meaning behind what he just said, pushing past Baji to walk into the boy’s bathrooms.
“Lock the door,” he tells his friend once they’re inside a stall. Once he does, Chifuyu closes the toilet seat to put his backpack down. “I know you’re nervous, and that made us nervous, too, so we wanted to wish you good luck.”
“We?” Baji looks more confused than he usually does during a Japanese test, so Chifuyu grins at him and zips open his backpack. Peke J immediately pokes his little head out, looking around the stall, and when green eyes land on Baji, meows softly and props himself up on his hind paws, a signal that the little cat wants up.
Chifuyu leans back against the stall’s walls, watching Baji pick up Peke J and press the cat against his chest, burying his face into the soft fur just like Chifuyu does on bad days. “Thank you,” his friend says, “I needed this.”
Peke J keeps purring away, swatting his tail around and trying to bump his head against Baji’s face. “I know,” Chifuyu says, crossing his arms. He tries his best to stay focused on his cat, arguably the cutest thing in the room, but still finds himself getting lost in Baji’s soft smile. “Peke J is a good luck charm, so I thought you might want to see him.”
“I did,” Baji says, looking up a little more, but still pressing Peke J against him. “And you, uh, too, by the way. It’s nice. Didn’t think you’d drop by on your day off.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Chifuyu waves it away, feeling his face flush again, “I wouldn’t have, but Peke J kept insisting, you see…” He reaches out to pat the cat on the head, trying to ignore how close it brings his fingers to Baji’s cheek. “Something about you needing to pass this test and wanting to make sure you were feeling okay… I don’t know, he’s talking crazy sometimes.”
Baji laughs a little at that, gently lowering Peke J down into his backpack. “Ya gotta get it through his head that cats can’t come into the school. What if he got caught, huh?”
“That’s a risk Peke J was more than willing to take.” He zips the backpack up again. “He told me himself. I had no choice after that.”
His friend doesn’t exactly ace the test, but it’s a passable grade and one they celebrate together over a shared container of yakisoba while Baji gushes over Peke J and how seeing the cat definitely helped him out big time. The other boy is blushing all throughout his expression of gratitude, but Chifuyu decides it’s because they got the spicy kind of yakisoba that day.
High school is both a nightmare and a dream. A nightmare because the classes get harder and so does Baji’s complaining, but a dream because they’re in the same class and get to spend a lot more time together.
Middle school required some cramming, but high school is unforgiving. Nights usually spent over yakisoba are now spent hunched over the table, Peke J lying in between their books and occasionally swatting at the pens they put down.
It’s a nice distraction from math, watching Peke J swatting at the pen Baji is holding in front of his little cat’s face. The real distraction is definitely not the soft smile on his friend’s face as he keeps pulling back the pen, watching the cat chase after it.
His mother pulls him out of it, coming into the kitchen. “You boys better wrap it up soon, it’s getting late.”
“Math is torture, mom. Torture doesn’t have an end time,” Chifuyu says, pointing at his books. “If someone stopped getting distracted, we’d be done by now.”
“He’s just too cute!” Baji whines, finally letting Peke J get the pen and watching the cat chase it when it falls to the floor. “I can’t help it.”
Chifuyu can’t help either, of course, getting distracted. “We’ll finish up soon, mom, I promise.”
“Okay.” His mother shakes her head with a smile, walking over to press a kiss to Chifuyu’s forehead and then doing the same to Baji. “Tell your mother I said hi, yes, sweetheart? I’ll be coming over for tea again soon.”
“She’s working an overnight shift, but I’ll be sure to tell her tomorrow when I get back from school, Matsuno-san,” Baji smiles, ducking his head a little at the kiss.
Chifuyu’s mother pauses in the doorway, looking back with a small frown. “Why don’t you stay over, then? I’m sure you won’t make yourself a decent breakfast in the morning…”
“That’s really not-”
“Shut it,” his mother interrupts, shooting Chifuyu a glare. “I’m not letting Keisuke go to school without a proper breakfast.”
Baji just shrugs, looking at Chifuyu with a lopsided grin, and really, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. “Not like I get a say in this anyway,” he says, sticking his tongue out at his mom. “I swear, you love Baji more than you love me.”
“Nonsense,” his mother smiles easily. “It has nothing to do with love. I just think Keisuke would be a better son than you.”
“Shut up!” Chifuyu groans, kicking his laughing friend under the table. “He would not! He sets cars on fire, you know!”
“Do not!”
“Do, too!”
“Alright, you two,” his mother laughs softly, “I’m heading to bed.” She looks over her shoulder one last time, “door open, and he sleeps on the floor, Chifuyu. Got that?”
“Mom!”
Across from him, Baji just laughs, leaning sideways to pick Peke J up, setting the cat back on the table. Chifuyu pointedly ignores the red flush to his friend’s face, and more than that, ignores his own blush creeping up, too. “I’m sorry, she’s insane,” he sighs.
“Must run in the family, then," Baji grins, before squeezing Peke J against him. “Not you, though, my perfect little boy. My beautiful son. You’re not insane. You love me, you’re the least insane one here.”
Chifuyu doesn’t let himself ponder the qualifications for insanity by Baji’s standards, and he definitely doesn’t come to the conclusion that he isn’t insane, then, either. “Let the cat go and finish your stupid homework. I’m getting tired.”
They struggle through their homework until midnight. Peke J decides it's time for bed then, plopping his little body down on Chifuyu’s books and staring up at him with big, green eyes. In silent agreement, Baji snaps his books shut and gets up, reaching over to pull Peke J. under his arm.
Without a word, Chifuyu follows them into the hallway, pausing to grab a spare futon from the closet and watches, with a small smile, as Baji carries Peke J around like a sack of potatoes. “He should be handled with care, you know,” he grins.
“Hush. Don’t wake your parents up.” Baji looks back over his shoulder and grins, before walking into Chifuyu’s bedroom.
Peke J is with them again as they stand shoulder to shoulder brushing their teeth. The little cat is staring up from his place on the edge of the bathtub, purring without being pet. In the mirror, Chifuyu shyly watches Baji and when he’s caught staring, his friend flashes him a toothy smile, foam at the corners of his mouth. “You’re so gross,” Chifuyu chuckles, bumping into the other boy’s shoulder, “get out of here, so you can change while I finish up.”
It’s not like they don’t change together in the same room for gym class, but it’s different, thinking about changing around each other in Chifuyu’s bedroom. To his relief, Baji seems to agree, picking Peke J up again and making his way out to the bedroom.
Chifuyu takes a moment longer to stare at himself in the mirror, trying to calm down. It’s no big deal, because he’s had sleepovers with Hakkai and Takemichi, and it’s no big deal, because Baji is sleeping on the futon, on the floor, and really, it’s no big deal because friends have sleepovers.
He’s about to push open the door to his bedroom, when he hears Baji’s soft voice, “you’re so lucky, Peke. So lucky. You get to sleep here every day and cuddle with Chifuyu, while I’m all alone in my own bed. You’re lucky you’re so cute, or I’d be jealous, little demon. Yes. Sweet boy, sweetest cat with the sweetest human, huh?”
He does push open the door then, smiling a little strained at his friend. “Hi!” It’s a wonderful entrance, really, and the best one Chifuyu can manage under these circumstances.
Baji and Peke J both look up, and even the cat looks a bit judgemental. “You okay?” his friend asks, and really, why is Chifuyu getting flustered all of a sudden, seeing the other boy sitting on his bed in borrowed sweatpants and shirt?
“See you’ve found my wardrobe.”
“It’s literally right there,” Baji frowns, “are you sure you’re okay?”
“Let’s sleep. Let go of my son.” Chifuyu plops down onto his bed, kicking at Baji with his feet. “Gimme.”
Baji grabs Peke J, holding the floppy and pliant cat up to his chest. “He’s mine, too. I want him for the night.”
“No way!”
“Yes way!”
They glare at each other for a long moment, before Chifuyu grins. “Lie down, put him down, and see who he chooses, then.”
“Fine!” Baji puts Peke J down again, walking over to turn off the lights and gets on the futon, all the while still glaring at Chifuyu. “If this is how you wanna find out that our son loves me more, so be it.”
“You’re delusional.” Chifuyu gets under his covers, too, turning on his bedside lamp so he can keep glaring at Baji. “I was his dad first, he loves me more.”
And true to his word, Peke J immediately curls up at his feet once Chifuyu settles down. From the floor, Baji whines, “no fair! My mom always makes me kick out the cats at night, I never get to sleep with them.”
“Sounds like a you problem.”
“Chifuyu!” He whines again, before sitting up with a grin. “Lemme get up there.”
“My mom will kill us.” Chifuyu rolls his eyes. “Don’t be a baby.”
Baji scoots over on his knees, placing his chin on the edge of the mattress. “Please? I just wanna know what it’s like to fall asleep with a cat at my feet.”
“No. Suffer on the floor.” Chifuyu turns off the light and rolls over, putting his back to Baji. “Sleep.”
It would be the end of it, were Baji reasonable. Instead, Chifuyu barely has any chance to respond as he is rudely shoved against the wall to make room for his friend. “Get out of my fucking-”
“Hush, Chifuyu, your parents are sleeping,” Baji grins, “we’ll set an alarm before your mom wakes up, and I’ll get to cuddle with Peke J. Win-win.”
“I see no wins for me, actually,” he sighs, letting Baji wiggle around to get comfortable. “Can you please shut up, now?”
“Sure,” Baji whispers.
Peace returns, with Peke J curled up at their feet. Peace leaves when Peke J gets up after a few minutes, walking over both of them to settle against Chifuyu’s stomach, between him and the wall.
“Why’d he leave?” Baji whispers again, “my feet... I need the boy.”
“Shut up,” Chifuyu whispers back, curling an arm around Peke J. “He’s decided. I wanna sleep. Be normal.”
“No!” his friend whispers back again, and to Chifuyu’s horror, not his absolute delight, Baji slings an arm around him to bury his hand in Peke J's fur, too. “I’m sleeping while cuddling a cat if it’s the last thing I do. You shut up and go to sleep!”
It’s a little uncomfortable because of the angle, his stubborn friend determined to keep a hand on Peke J, causing his elbow to press sharply into Chifuyu’s hip, but maybe it’s a bit nice, too. Feeling the cat purr against his stomach and feeling the rise and fall of Baji’s chest against his back.
They keep up the pretense of the futon for every sleepover after that, but Baji never spends a night on the floor.
It’s nice having different friends, but Chifuyu’s favorite spot is still with his two best friends. Whether that’s on the floor, watching Peke J chase around a bug, or on the bed, reading manga, or at the kitchen table struggling through homework… It doesn’t matter, as long as it’s the three of them.
Currently, they’re on the bed together, shoulder to shoulder, with Peke J curled up between them. Previous activity forgotten, Chifuyu is currently complaining loudly about Takemichi and Hinata and their absolute determination to make their relationship as awkward for everyone around them as it is for them, too.
“I swear,” he shakes his head, “she tries to take his hand, and what does Takemitchy do? Slap it away because he thought it was a leaf brushing against it. He is the stupidest idiot I know.”
Baji is just nodding along as Chifuyu continues his little rant, “I don’t know how a guy like that manages to get a girlfriend, but someone like, I don’t know, you, are still single.” He sits up a bit then, leaning on an elbow to glare at his friend. “You’re gorgeous and you know how to talk to people. Takemitchy’s never heard of toner and struggles through every word around his own girlfriend. How does that make sense?!”
His friend shrugs, smiling a little. “Not a lotta guys openly out, y’know, makes dating tricky.”
“Excuse me?!” Chifuyu gapes down at his friend, and when the other boy flicks his earring with a soft laugh, swats his hand away. “What?”
“What?” Baji echoes, pushing himself up on his elbows too, to look at him with a raised eyebrow. “They’re not. What do you want me to say here?”
“You’re fucking gay?” Maybe it comes across a little harsh, but damn it, Chifuyu is having a crisis. Not his best friend coming out like this, all casual, after he himself has been struggling to come to terms with his own sexuality. He can’t help himself nearly yelling, “When were you gonna tell me that?!”
Baji looks a bit panicked, sitting up more straight and turning to look down at him. “Are you… Is that a problem?”
“No!” Chifuyu shoots up, too, grabbing his friend’s shoulders. “No, no, not- No! It’s fine. I’m just surprised.”
The other boy grins. “You’re surprised? After I’ve been gushing over several boys to you for years?”
He waves his arms around, nearly slapping his friend in the process. Again, very intelligently, he yells, “what?!” and then, trying to sound a bit more composed, “I thought you were heterosexually complimenting them! Like a straight guy! Very comfortable with his sexuality!”
“You’re fucking kidding me, right?” Baji looks like he’s choking back laughter. “Chifuyu…”
“I need to process this.” Chifuyu lies down again to stare up at the ceiling, reaching a hand down to thread his fingers through Peke J's fur. “My whole life has been a lie, Baji.”
“Please.” His friend joins him on the bed again. “You’re being dramatic. I’m sorry if it’s too much to wrap your stupid little straight head around.”
“Gross.” He sticks his tongue out for emphasis. “I’m… Definitely not into girls, either.”
“Obviously,” Baji says, reaching down his own hand to place it over Chifuyu’s, where he’s still petting Peke J. “Just wanted to hear you say it.”
“Right,” Chifuyu replies, turning his head to the wall to hide his blush. “That doesn’t mean I’m into you.” He turns his hand over to intertwine their fingers.
“Obviously,” his friend echoes, bringing their hands up to press a kiss against the back of Chifuyu’s hand. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”
“Good.”
“Yeah.”
“Perfect.”
“Agreed.” Baji laughs. They turn their heads towards each other at the same time, and Chifuyu’s breath gets caught in his throat when he sees the soft look in the other boy’s eyes. “Chifuyu…”
“Can I kiss you?” He blurts out before courage has the chance to leave him. “I lied. I’m sorry. I’m super into you. I really wanna kiss you.”
His friend’s eyes widen a moment, before he’s nodding, meeting Chifuyu halfway. They nearly squish Peke J between them, who jumps away with an angry meow. Baji’s hands come up to the sides of his face, Chifuyu’s own hands clutching at the other boy’s shirt as they press their lips together.
Their first kiss isn’t exactly the way Chifuyu expected it to be, years of romance manga corrupting his brain, but it’s still better than he ever dreamed possible. “I heard you the other day, you know?” He smiles against Baji’s lips, “calling me the sweetest human.”
“You are,” Baji smiles back, pressing another peck to Chifuyu’s lips. “You really are.”
He kisses the other boy again, smiles still wide on both of their faces. “I lied, again, earlier.” Another kiss. “I’m not super into you… I… I think I’m in love with you.”
It earns him a laugh from his friend and another kiss. “You think you’re in love with me?” Baji grins, “lame. I know I’m in love with you.”
“Shut up.” Chifuyu laughs, pressing their lips together in another short peck. “Don’t one-up me.”
“Say it, then.”
“I’m in love with you.”
They kiss again after that, and after some time, Peke J comes to lie above their heads, purring contently and swishing his tail against the tops of their heads.
It’s nice that Chifuyu doesn’t have to separate the titles of his best friends anymore. Just like before he met Baji, Peke J is still his best friend, because Baji is his boyfriend now.
“Call me Keisuke!” His boyfriend demands with a laugh, after months of Chifuyu still calling him Baji. He lets his stupid boyfriend pin him to the bed, hands above his head as they both giggle.
“Never!”
“Say it!” the other boy demands again. Chifuyu is nearly shrieking with laughter at that point, especially when he catches his cat from the corner of his bed looking at them with a tired expression. “Please!” His boyfriend is nearly crying, wheezing above him on the bed. “Stop being stupid!”
“I’m not being stupid!” Chifuyu chokes out, feeling a little dizzy from laughing this much, and maybe a little dizzy, too, from the way he’s being held down by the other boy. “We’re not at that point yet, Baji, please! We’re not married.”
“Fucking christ!” He’s sobbing, entire body shaking with laughter. “Chifuyu!”
“No!” He leans up, straining a bit to kiss his boyfriend. “Never. Propose first, then we can talk first names.”
Baji lets himself be kissed with tears streaming down his face, still laughing. “We’re still in our last year of high school, you maniac.”
“Guess I won’t be calling you Keisuke for a long time then, Baji,” Chifuyu giggles, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend’s shoulders when he lowers himself.
“You just said it,” Baji hums, leaning in to press kisses along Chifuyu’s cheeks and jaw, “c’mon. One time.”
He giggles again, turning his face to the side to look at Peke J. “What do you think, Peke? Does your other dad deserve it?”
At the mention of his name, Peke J mewls, gets up to stretch, and makes his way over to them, pressing his little nose against Baji’s cheek.
“I see...” Chifuyu pretends to ponder on it for a moment, bringing up his hand to tap his fingers against his chin. Baji whines again, and while that’s definitely cute, Peke J’s judgement is not something to be ignored. “I thought about it. It was a really hard decision.”
“Yeah?”
“It wasn’t easy,” Chifuyu smiles, running his fingers through the long, black hair of the boy he is most definitely very crazy about, “but I’m willing to let you make a dishonest man of me, because I love you, Keisuke.”
“Yeah?” Keisuke smiles, kissing him a little longer. “I love you, too, Matsuno.”
They make it through the rest of high school together like that. In between kisses, they find the time to do homework, see their friends and most importantly, they spend a lot of time together with Peke J too. The little cat is always there, whether they’re at Keisuke’s or Chifuyu’s.
Of course, at Keisuke’s, Peke J gets his own cat tree, too. Though it’s his, the gentle, black cat lets all the strays on it, and from his boyfriend’s bed, Chifuyu spends a long time watching his best friend cuddle around with the other cats. The older ones, Peke J keeps warm with his own fur, and the kittens, he happily raises, swatting at them when they step out of line.
It’s like their own little family, Chifuyu thinks when he’s tucked under Keisuke’s blankets, holding his boyfriend against his chest. Somewhere along the line, they’ve started ignoring their mothers’ scolding for sharing a bed and they’ve started ignoring Keisuke’s mother when she tells them to kick the strays out at night.
It’s not like it matters, because Peke J. drags a few kittens in to sleep at their feet and his mother cuddles with one of them the next day, and over the breakfast table, Chifuyu’s father winks at them while his mother is going off again about irresponsible teenage boys, so he knows they’re easily forgiven for their antics.
It’s a very big family, actually, when he thinks about it. Because sometimes, when they drag the strays off to Chifuyu’s bedroom, his father barges in to demand Keisuke come with him, right now, so he has someone to talk to while he makes dinner. And it’s an even bigger family when his mother comes in later, picking up a few stray kittens and telling Chifuyu to bring Peke J along so they can all watch a movie together. Sometimes Keisuke’s mother joins them, too, and she curls up in the armchair with cats on her lap. On those days, his boyfriend sits on the floor by his mother, so she can run her fingers through her son’s hair.
He teases him, of course, with a soft smile, when Keisuke’s mother braids her son’s hair and Chifuyu gets to untangle it again, later, between his sheets. But his boyfriend teases him right back when Keisuke’s mother puts pigtails in Chifuyu’s hair on other nights, when they spend time at her home, and then coos over her second son like he’s the cutest thing she’s ever seen.
The week before they leave for university together, Chifuyu is watching Keisuke’s mother cuddle with Peke J on the couch, cooing at the little cat on her lap. He knows, then, and even though it’s the hardest thing he’s ever had to do, he decides that it would be selfish to bring Peke J. along to their shitty, tiny apartment halfway across the country.
She cries when they tell her to watch over Peke J in their absence, and Chifuyu cries with her, a little heartbroken over leaving his best friend behind, but finds peace in knowing the little cat is capable of giving so much love to the woman, she won’t ever get the chance to miss her two other boys as they spend the next 4 years away from home.
They still visit when they can, of course, and every time they do, they find Peke J sleeping on the couch or sleeping on his cat tree. A little fatter than they’ve left him, but content and happy, keeping Keisuke’s mother company. Each goodbye is tear-filled, even when they promise they’ll be back next month.
Keisuke is the only one of them able to keep it dry when they say goodbye, but in their 3rd year of university, Chifuyu’s dad wraps Keisuke up in a hug before they leave and murmurs into his long hair, “I’ll see you soon, son.” On the way back home, the other boy does sniffle into his shoulder, as Chifuyu holds him and presses kisses against his temple.
His mother is a bit disappointed when he tells her the news, scolding him for not using his education to its fullest potential, but she softens a bit when it turns out Keisuke is putting his business degree to good use.
It’s a rundown pet shop, but the apartment above it has a rooftop terrace that the stray cats from around the neighborhood can get up on, and Peke J only moves to follow the sun when the shadows of the day move positions, too.
And sure, having a literature degree doesn’t help with running a shop, but they do gather up quite a few regular customers who come in to pet the shop mascot and talk books with Chifuyu. Keisuke is usually grumbling from the back when he spends a long time talking to the old ladies about their newest, favorite novel, but his boyfriend always passes him with a smile after that, carrying around heavy boxes of pet food.
Their friends pass by, too, of course. They don’t tolerate Chifuyu rambling on about books and they’re definitely not interested in hearing Keisuke talk about the best way to keep a hamster, but they do play with the pets and sometimes, take Peke J in their arms and smile down at the best cat in the world.
As the years pass them by, and the shop’s interior has seen many different colors, Chifuyu can no longer ignore the greying of his cat’s little face. Keisuke notices, too, of course. He carries Peke J up the stairs most days, and sets him down on the couch. They buy wet food for him to make sure his teeth don’t have to work overtime, and they get more plush cat beds around their home, so their little friend can always find a soft spot to watch his humans from.
When Peke J starts bringing more kittens inside, they know it’s time. They’ve discussed it before, when the legalisation was still fresh and hot on the news, but never felt the need to act on it right away. But with Peke J struggling to get up on the couch and getting tired after grooming the kittens, Chifuyu asks Keisuke one night.
It’s not a grand gesture, but it’s perfect in their way. Peke J is on Keisuke’s lap, purring as his boyfriend gently pats the old cat. With all three of them illuminated by candle light, they make plans for a small wedding so Peke J can be there to accompany them as they take the next step in their life together. Three weeks after they say “I do”, they are forced to watch their best friend take his last.
It had been a lifetime spent together with the best friend Chifuyu would ever have. It takes a long time before he feels fully ready to face another lifetime without Peke J there.
After a month without the little black cat sleeping at their feet, Chifuyu finds that, maybe, he’s not alone after all.
He hears the memory of his best friend’s gentle purr echoing around their home when the kittens that were raised by Peke J find their way onto the couch, cuddling with Keisuke and himself.
When Keisuke kisses him awake in the morning, his long hair tickling Chifuyu’s neck, he finds the same warmth Peke J once radiated, rubbing his whiskers along his cheeks when he used to sleep past his alarm in high school.
Chifuyu warms his feet on a tiny strip of sunlight one afternoon and feels that Peke J is there with him, soaking up the last warmth of autumn.
It’s not the same, because there is never the same love twice, but eventually, a little kitten finds their terrace, soaked by the rain. Chifuyu makes sure to burn a candle next to the picture of Peke J that night, cradling the kitten in his arms. Keisuke holds him close, and they stand there for a long time, looking into the green eyes that bore witness to their life together.
After that, Chifuyu feels less sad whenever he thinks of his best friend, because when the little kitten wakes him up in the morning, he knows that Peke J is there, too, looking on with pride as the small cat he sent their way carries on loving Peke J’s humans for him.