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There are cats out near the shrine Takemichi has noticed. Sometimes, if they’re gathered in the evening instead of their usual nighttime gatherings, he likes to arrive early and sit by the stairs to watch some of them frolic around without a care in the world. They’re cute things. And he’ll just sit and watch, occasionally tilting his head back to look up at the slowly shifting clouds as he waits for others to arrive. He’s not sure when he started up this habit of his — sitting and waiting and watching.
But it is nice.
To simply feel the few, hardy bits of grass beneath his hand that break through the stone and pavement. Toman is… a lot he’s come to realize, but it’s made him appreciate the small things more as odd as that may sound.
There’s a quiet mew from his left and he perks up at the sight of one of the small black cats — a kitten this time he’s sure — slowly padding up to him with no worry in the world.
“Hey there lil guy,” he can hear his own excitement in his voice as he reaches out a hand slowly. The fur is soft against his skin and he can feel his lips tugging wide, it almost hurts with how hard he’s smiling.
Its whiskers tickle at the skin of his fingers as it sniffs curiously. He thinks Chifuyu would love all the cats — Takemichi has caught him taking pictures of strays now that they hangout together. Maybe, the next time they have a meeting in the afternoon he should invite the other boy to come with him early just to see if the cat will be milling about? They tend to make a run for it when everyone marches in around the same time.
He feels a weight settle on him. It’s a familiar feeling, the hair on the back of his neck rising, and the cat only distracts him briefly when on wobbly paws it climbs first onto his thigh, and then into his lap like it belongs there. It reminds him of a certain someone.
Falling asleep wherever he pleases.
“You make yourself comfy then, bud.” he huffs, amused. “It’s pretty cold now.”
He slowly lifts his head.
Mikey is watching him from just a few steps down. Hands in his pockets, shoulders slumped. He blinks slow, almost sleepy before his gaze trickles down from Takemichi’s face to the purring kitten in his lap. His head cocks to the side.
It reminds Taekmichi terribly of another cat.
“Who’s your new friend Takemitchy?” he says his lip twitching minutely. “Looks comfy.”
It’s like Mikey never blinks. He fiddles with the extra fabric of his pants as he gives the commander his full attention, careful not to dislodge the purring kitten from his lap as he sits up straight. Now, with his hands pressed against the cool stone beneath him he watches confused as Mikey’s gaze trails back up from his torso to his chest all the way back up to his face.
Takemichi is uncomfortably aware of his body in the moment. Of the way, sweat prickles at his neck and winds its way down the valley of his spine. Mikey still hasn’t blinked. He smiles, a wobbly thing, he still isn’t sure how to hold himself around Mikey. “Mikey,” he greets and tries to stifle a laugh as the kitten kneads at his belly. He can see something shuffling in Mikey’s pockets as if he’s flexing his fingers. “He’s really friendly! Do you want to try and pet him? Ah - though you might have to go slow this is the first time one’s —”
He blinks going still at the feeling of fingers sinking into his hair. A soft drag of nails against his scalp almost — almost as if Mikey is petting him .
“Uh, Mikey, the cats down there.”
“I know.”
“I thought you wanted to pet him?”
“Nah, I have a better idea.”
“Eh?”
Within one moment and the next Mikey is no longer standing above him but using one of his thighs as a pillow. Takemichi stares dumbfounded. There’s going to be a meeting soon. How can he — settle down for a nap like this?
“Takemitchy,” His back goes ramrod straight, his hand hovering over the kitten as Mikey looks up at him through half-lidded eyes. “Don’t move.” and then almost as an afterthought and not one of the oddest things a person could say, “You can play with my hair just don’t mess it up.”
What. What does that even mean?
Takemichi’s brain goes blank.
He doesn’t expect Mikey to reach for the hand petting the kitten to instead guide it to his own head but he gets the distinct feeling he should have. It spills over his thigh and into his lap, stark against the black of his pants. Only when Takemichi slowly sifted his fingers through the strands, crown to base, did the hand wrapped around his wrist fall away.
It’s soft. Far softer than he thought it’d be. When he looks up from his petting — is he petting Mikey? Is this what this is? He’s going to die of a stress-induced heart attack. — Mikey is still looking up at him, eyes dark and fathomless before he blinks almost deliberately slow.
His thoughts screech to a halt.
There’s something about cats and blinking isn’t there?
“Takemitchy, aren’t you going to blink back?” There’s a small dip to his mouth as the words come out.
It feels oddly like a test.
He can feel his skin heat up as Mikey looks up at him. His fingers fidget, twirling a strand of blond hair around his finger before he lets it fall free. He swallows an odd heaviness in his chest as he flicks his own gaze to meet Mikey’s eyes head-on.
He breathes in long and unsteady before he lets it out in time with the way he blinks back deliberately.
Mikey’s mouth quirks up — softer. His entire countenance relaxes as he shifts onto his side, face pressing close — too close, Takemichi can feel his heart jump to his throat — to his side before his words come out in a murmur, sleepy. “Wake me when the guys get here.”
He sits there with a kitten in his lap and Mikey’s head resting on his thigh before he looks up at the sky in open confusion on what the hell he’s supposed to do now.
There’s something Takemichi has noticed. Particularly when Mikey seems to drag him out of his home at the drop of his hat presuming that Takemichi will do as he pleases. Which. He does after several fruitless attempts at trying to say no but lately, when it’s just the two of them — Mikey has… an odd habit of pulling him into fights.
Or rather, pulling him along late at night to watch Mikey get into fights. He never starts them, not really, it’s always someone issuing a challenge against him and Mikey isn’t one to turn down such a thing Takemichi has learned.
This though, is new.
And by this he means Mikey smiling at him under the light of a street lamp, his eyes crinkling in amusement as he motions Takemichi closer. There’s a foot pressed to a man’s — he thinks he might have mentioned his name was Goro? — chest, heel digging in. “Doesn’t he look funny Takemitchy?”
He looks down at Goro and watches as Mikey essentially uses his chest like a stepping stone and his mind echoes with the low groan of pain that escapes Goro’s chest, his face has been beaten to hell. Takemichi hopes he has some kind of dental insurance. He looks back up when there’s movement, but finds it’s only Mikey stretching his arms above his head like a languid cat stretching out before it prepares to find a place to nap.
Beyond him is a collection of more groaning, busted up bodies. He’s so focused on wincing at all the lost teeth that he nearly misses what comes out of Mikey’s mouth.
“W-what?”
Mikey grins all teeth. His tone is light and airy as if he isn’t using some poor sops body as the floor. “Did you enjoy the show, Takemitchy? I doubt they’ll skulk around your place anymore, but if they do let me know.”
“What,” around his place? He blinks taken aback, his voice going high. “Why did you bring me out here?”
“Ah,” says Mikey as if he’s reached some conclusion. Not a moment after Mikey is in his space close enough that Takemichi can feel his breath. “You didn’t notice them did you?” His head tilts up as if he’s considering something before he’s looking back to Takemichi. “Guess the better answer is to keep you with me then.”
Mikey’s dark, empty gaze sweeps over him considering. It has him holding himself very still. Mikey smiles, a tiny twitch to his mouth before he slings an arm around his shoulder and tugs him away from the pile of injured men. “You won’t mind, will you, Takemitchy. Let’s get ramen by your place — I’ll walk you to school in the morning.”
There’s a lump in his throat.
“Won’t - Mikey won’t you be tired doing that in the morning?’
Mikey brightens up as if just waiting for the question. “Ah, you’re right. I’ll just stay over then.”
That’s. That’s not at all what he meant. He sighs wanting to reach up to massage away the growing headache. He’s tired so he’ll let it slide this once. “...fine. Just this once.” He has a terrible feeling it’s going to happen again.
“I feel like I’ve adopted a stray,” Takemichi says, flopping against the edge of Chifuyu’s bed.
His friend perks up as he always does when an animal is brought up, but particularly for cats. “Oh, you did huh? Does it just come to your house or something?”
Takemichi tilts his head back. “No I mean — Mikey’s kind of made himself at home in my house.”
Literally, actually. He’s been over a lot more, strong-arming Takemichi into letting him sleep over on random days and occasionally inviting himself over for dinner. Which… that part is kind of nice. Takemichi hasn’t really had a meal with another person in a while and — Mikey isn’t exactly odd company. He’s just. Taken over his house in a way.
Coming and going as he pleases; very much like a stray cat.
Just the other day he caught Mikey sleeping by the open window enjoying the sun.
His brows furrow as he thought about it. “Does he do this with everyone else?”
Chifuyu’s lips have pressed into a thin line and he very slowly eases away from him as if scared to touch him. He sets the shojo manga he was reading down to the side. “Just so I’m getting the full picture,” he says. “What exactly do you mean by that?”
Oh, so then does Mikey do something different with every house he takes over? Odd but Takemichi wouldn’t put it past him. He huffs a sigh. “It’s not a lot. I mean, sometimes he just lays in my bed or steals my shirts to use as pillows, or if I’m working on something, like math or whatever he’ll whine until I pay him attention. But he only wants a little and then he tells me to get back to work? I don’t know — that’s normal right? He does something like that with you too, yeah?”
He’s still new to Toman and everything. He’s pretty sure he’s got a lot to learn still, especially about the eccentricity that is Mikey.
Chifuyu looks at him oddly. “Uh, no.”
“Really? You know, lately he’s been leaving some of his hair ties at my house and been making me do his hair when he wakes up. I know Draken helps him, this really isn’t something he does?”
“Not at all,” Chifuyu says slowly, and he’s got that look on his face. The one Takemichi has come to learn means the gears in his head are turning at an achingly slow pace. “Does he - I mean does he do anything else?”
His head bobs in a nod. “He tends to flop over me whenever we hang out, even around Draken. Like, last week we were looking at magazines and he pretty much used my back as a bed to look at bikes over my shoulder.”
And honestly, Takemichi had thought the person he was the touchiest with was Draken but even this is pretty different from that when he thinks back on how Mikey interacts with his oldest friend and himself. It’s to be expected. Maybe he should ask Draken instead if Mikey sprawls out on all his things? Takemichi has gotten a little tired of Mikey covering his desk with his body to whine about how bored he is while he does his best to do his homework. Or when they go to the store to buy snacks and Takemichi has deadweight on his back as he buys whatever Mikey dictates.
It’s not that much of a hassle. He’s mainly just curious if Mikey does this with anyone else. He’d feel more at ease with it, because right now he’s pretty sure Mikey’s behavior is a very specific way of messing with him and Takemichi still hasn’t figured out what the end goal is.
Chifuyu is quiet for a moment. “There’s hair on your sweater.”
He reaches over and plucks it free from the fabric and Takemichi groans at the stray strand of hair the exact color of Mikey’s own.
“Seriously?”
“... I have a lint roller if you want,” Chifuyu offers. “It’ll probably be helpful.”
Takemichi buries his head into his knees.
Takemichi looks down at the snacks piled into his arms and in his cupboard: dorayaki packets, umaibo, toppo sticks and more. He sighs, grabbing one of the dorayaki packets and two drinks from his fridge before he heads up the stairs to his room.
He doesn’t mind all the new snacks honestly, especially now because there are several people to share them with, but he’s not sure he’s really used to a whole section of his cupboard being used to store them yet.
Nudging his door open he’s met with the sight of Mikey spread out on his bed, pillow propped under his chin as he looks through the manga he stole off of Takemichi’s shelf. He smiles — soft and easy, the one he keeps only for friends and Takemichi feels heat spread up from his neck.
He clears his throat handing over the packet. “There’s only a couple left so I’ll have to buy more soon.”
Mikey hums in acknowledgment before his free hand wraps around Takemichi’s wrist and pulls him into the bed beside him. The heat spreads even further when Mikey leans forward, eyes droopy, sleepy even as he presses their foreheads together. “Thanks, Mitchy. You don’t have to pull out the futon every time I come over — there’s enough room on the bed for us both.”
“I—that—”
Mikey rolls his eyes taking a bite out of his dorayaki all the while he manhandles the both of them like nothing. They’re nose to nose, the blanket being tucked under their chins. “See? This is better isn’t it?”
He swallows. His heart beats so hard it tries to escape his ribcage. The urge to scold him for eating food on his bed has long gone as his brain filled up with static. “It’s - it’s warm,” is what he manages.
Mikey rests their foreheads together once more. “Then let’s just do this tonight.”
And Takemichi can’t even manage to get his mouth to work. He’s not sure he’d really say no, either.