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Steph was walking along the street next to their house when they saw a cat on the side of the road. They walked over, reaching a hand out. "Here kitty," the cat sniffed their hand and then allowed Steph to pet it. The cat was a brown fluffy cat with dirty white tufts of hair under its belly and muddy white paws. Steph softly talks to the cat, "what a pretty kitty... I'm sorry that I don't have any food for you..."
The pretty green eyes gaze back at Steph, "miaowwww"
'So cute,' Steph thinks. They sit on the dry concrete next to the kitty, allowing the cat to climb into their lap. Such a sweet cat.
"Do you have a name pretty kitty?" The kitty looks up at Steph and mewls as if it understood them. Steph notices a purple ribbon that was previously hidden by the brown fluffy fur on the small cat. Oh? It didn't appear to have any contact information, as if this ribbon was just recently tied. Looking closely, pushing the soft fur out of the way, Steph noticed a name prettily written on the ribbon, 'Whiskers.
Steph fought a giggle. The name did suit the cat though.
Just then the cat- Fluffy's demeanor changed and it suddenly launched itself at Steph. Steph's mind went black.
Steph woke up sitting up on the ground.
'What was i.... ah- the kitty.. jumped at me? and now I'm..?' Steph tried to figure out what had happened but ended up trying to stand up to look for said cat which presumably caused Steph's confusion.
Steph got up and began looking around, They didn't know how they didn't realize it before but they seemed to be much shorter than usual. Everything seemed so much taller. maybe Steph had hit their head hard than they expected. At least that's what they brushed it off as. They tried to settle their self and when everything remained the same, they sat down putting a paw to their head.
Paw?
Steph faints once again.
Once Steph comes to and realizes they are definitely in the cat's body, they decide to go see if the cat possibly switched their bodies.
Steph began walking down the road when they noticed a tall dark-haired man approaching. He walked up to Steph and then squatted so he could pet their soft fur. He seemed to be around college age, and he was extremely handsome.
He began speaking to Steph, asking if they were ready to come home with him. Saying that he finally had the space to take Steph- or Whiskers in. 'He must've been feeding this cat,' Steph realized.
The pretty man slowly reached to pick up the kitty and Steph let him, perhaps because of how handsome he is.
"Let's go home and meet your new family," he exclaimed cutely. Steph nuzzled into his arms, he was warm.
"This is Uvogin, this is Machi, this is...." he continued to introduce Steph to all of his many cats. He was definitely a cat person... Steph may have found him strange if he wasn't so attractive.
The man pointed to himself and stated, "And I'm Chrollo Lucilfer," he finished with a, "make yourself at home, Whiskers," and vanished to go pour lunch into each of the cat's food bowls.
Steph approached the food bowl labeled 'Whiskers'. 'He must've bought this in advance' Steph thought. They looked up at Chrollo and meowed. Chrollo smiled gently at them. Then had an idea... 'I wonder if Chrollo would understand me if I talked to him normally'
"Hi," Chrollo jumped and looked around. 'So he can hear me...'
"Hellooooo," Steph repeated. Chrollo looked down, "Whiskers??"
"Miaow"
"Whiskers, did you talk just now??"
Steph contemplated whether or not to mess with the dark-haired man. Deciding to just go ahead and introduce themself to Chrollo.
Steph explained their situation to Chrollo, who was looking at Steph bewildered, not over the initial shock, wide-eyed since Steph first said hi to him. "...then I woke up on the street and that's when you found me," Steph finished.
For some reason, Chrollo felt a sense of duty, as if he needs to protect Steph. He allowed Steph to live at home with him while he and Steph tried to figure out a way to turn them back into a human. He would leave for classes at his university in the mornings and come back in the afternoon with any books he thought may be of help.
Nothing was of any help. But as the weeks passed, Chrollo became more and more attached to the cat, to Steph. He found himself slacking off his research. He didn't want them to leave just yet...
One night, sometime after the man had taken Steph in, Steph jumped on Chrollos face while he was sleeping, waking him from his slumber. "I found something, I found something!" Steph chanted, tails swishing side to side. Chrollo smiled at Steph, 'so cute,' he thought, 'I can only wonder how cute they'd be once they turned back...' this thought had him gain the motivation to help once again. Sure, he didn't want Steph to leave, but to see how cute they were as a human? He was now excited. Chrollo pat Steph's head, which resulted in a soft purr from the kitty. Steph had become increasingly more cat-like as time went on. They didn't much mind being a cat.
After allowing Chrollo to stroke their fur for a few long moments, Steph flipped his head back towards Chrollo and motioned for him to follow. Chrollo rubbed his eyes before hopping out of bed and following the fluffy cat.
Steph showed Chrollo what they had found. A flyer? Chrollo looked at the colorful piece of paper that Steph had pointed at with their furry paws.
"Hisoka's Magic Emporium"
A few days later they both arrived back home after visiting the self-identified magician. "That man was strange," Steph said after walking through the front door.
"Indeed"
Hisoka prescribed Steph a vial of liquid that supposedly would turn Steph back into a human after so many days of taking it.
"Okay so, you must take 5mL this once a day for two weeks," Chrollo reminded Steph, who meowed in response. Chrollo smiled fondly at the cat, he wondered if they would stick around afterward. He was thinking they wouldn't. I mean, Steph surely had a home to go to, but they had made no implications that they were excited to back to it. Chrollo cleared his throat.
"After this is all over... after you turn back into a human, you're always welcome to stay with me- if you need it I mean, or well if you just want to stay that would be okay too," Chrollo stuttered, tips of his ears flushed red, "What I mean is there's no rush for you to leave if you don't want to, there's always a place for you here."
Steph didn't say anything, instead strutting up to his feet and rubbing their head on his leg.
One week after taking the prescribed liquid daily Steph began to feel strange, it wasn't bad, they just felt off. Steph wondered if this meant it was working, they honestly assumed it was just a scam, and they really wouldn't have cared too much if it didn't work out... for Steph, already drawn in by Chrollo's attractiveness, had grown to be attached to the tall man. He told Steph of his many adventures, and told them about his love for fish but how he could never own any due to the fact he had so many cats.
Chrollo told Steph of his love for old books, which he collected. He had a bookshelf in the living room but in his bedroom was his private bookcase. It was pretty. It's where he kept all his antique books and novels. Chrollo had shown Steph all his favorites. Steph smiled fondly at the memory.
Chrollo sat next to Steph on the couch, bringing them back to the present. Steph crawled into his lap. Chrollo never seemed to mind, despite knowing the truth about Steph's form.
Over the next few days, the strange feeling Steph felt grew more and more. Once it was time for the last dose, they both hesitated. Honestly, they didn't have high hopes, they only tried the shady magician bc they didn't know where else to go- after all it was an unheard-of predicament that Steph found themself in.
Chrollo told Steph that he'd support them even if it didn't work and that he'd do everything he could to help afterward. Steph thanked him and then tilted their head up, allowing Chrollo to pour the liquid down their throat. After Steph swallowed, they squeezed their eyes shut waiting for something, anything to happen. Chrollo held his breath. A few minutes went by and.... nothing.
Nothing was happening, Steph looked at the ground and Chrollo sighed. They'd have to both do some more research on other methods and pray to find another hope. Chrollo picked Steph up and set them on the counter, "It's alright, we didn't have high hopes anyways... what would you like for dinner?"
After dinner, Chrollo fed the cats and then urged Steph into the bathroom to give them a quick bath. If Steph was a human they'd be blushing as Chrollo wet their soft fur and scrubbed them of any dirt that had accumulated over the last few days. Once he finished with the cat's bath, Chrollo took a shower and they climbed into bed. Chrollo wished Steph goodnight and they both fell asleep. For the first time in weeks, since Steph become a cat, Steph slept all through the night.
They dreamt of Chrollo. They dreamt of Chrollo and human Steph holding hands and walking across the clouds, Steph thought it was a bit silly but the smile on Chrollo's face brought a matching one on their own. The world suddenly turned black and Steph turned back into a cat and began to fall.
Chrollo reached out but didn't catch them. Steph saw his outreached hand in the clouds above them, they closed their eyes bracing for impact- but nothing came. Instead, they were filled with warmth, opening their eyes they saw Chrollo embracing them. Steph's human form had been restored, minus the tail and ears, and Chrollo hugged them until they gently touched the ground.
Then, Steph woke up to the rays of the early morning sun piercing through the windows of Chrollo's bedroom. They yawned, stretching out on Chrollo's bed. It was a bit chilly this morning, Steph thought to themself. They sat up, getting reading to walk to the kitchen in hopes of finding a snack they could open themself, when they looked down they saw... Legs? Steph jumped back, cursing when they slam their head on the wall.
They rubbed the spot they hit, before going on to smooth down the top of their head, but then they felt furry tufts perched onto the top of their head. Steph groaned, all this noise called Chrollo to stir next to them. It wasn't until Chrollo was rubbing his eyes until Steph realized- they weren't wearing any clothes. Chrollo began to peek out his eyes from under his lashes when Steph squealed and bolted as fast as they could to the bathroom, almost tripping on the black short-haired kitty, Shizuku.
Steph went to sit on the ground but was immediately greeted by the sight of a tail. This caused Steph to look in the mirror to check what else stayed. Steph's eyes seemed slightly cat-like, brown fluffy ears remained on top of their head, a soft brown tail coming out of their lower back, nails way long and pointed, and lastly teeth way sharper than normal and a tongue much rougher than normal.
Chrollo, worried, opened the door to the bathroom, and Steph, who in their panic forgot to lock the door, allowed Chrollo to burst into the room frantically, "are you oka-," he stopped.
Chrollo turned pink, cursed, and shut the door. It was silent for a moment. Seemingly minutes later Chrollo apologized profusely, acting Steph if they needed anything, "some clothes would be nice...?"
Chrollo had given Steph some of his old clothes, and when Steph got dressed and (bashfully) presented themself to Chrollo, he thought he was going to faint. He almost squealed, Chrollo thought Steph was the cutest in the whole world, genuinely. He was so overwhelmed and after an awkward few moments, he composed himself to the best of his ability and asked about the remaining ears and tail.
They mutually decided that Steph should stay a while longer, not because they wanted to stay together or anything, not because Chrollo thought having a kitty person to come home to would be the cutest thing ever, but because they definitely were going to try and research how to "fix" Steph... definitely.
It's been a few weeks since Steph's transition back into a (mostly) human. Not much has changed in Chrollo and Steph's relationship. Except, Chrollo allowed Steph to take the bed as he slept on the couch, and every night when he thought Steph was asleep he would walk into the bedroom and kiss Steph on the forehead, whispering something along the lines of, "sweet dreams," before going back to his makeshift bed on the couch. Today, however, felt different, it felt special. At least that's what Steph thought. They checked the calendar when they woke up this morning and saw the date.
April 3rd.
It's Steph's birthday, and they don't know that Chrollo knows this. Steph continues their day as normal. When they wake up from their afternoon cat nap, a part of Steph's routine that they've yet to change, they walk into the living room to see decor strung up across the room, flowers petals decorating the tabletop, and the floor. A path laid out for them. Chrollo was putting the final touches on Steph's cake when he looked up and beamed at them.
The cake was gorgeous, decorated perfectly in Steph's favor, Chrollo seemed to remember everything Steph had told him. He must have remembered their favorite cake, favorite color, favorite flower.... everything was perfect. Everything was just how Steph liked it.
Steph stood back, mouth open slightly agape at the sight, 'I could kiss him right now,' Steph thought. And honestly, Steph would marry this man if he popped the question today.
Chrollo began lighting the candles before looking up at Steph, "you're so beautiful," he starts, "one of my only wishes is for you to be happy, as you've brightened up my life so much by just being in it. And I wouldn't want anything but the same for you. I'm glad we found each other that day."
He pauses, looking nervous, "I love you,"
"Happy birthday Steph"