Work Text:
Aone is a lap cat.
You know the moment you meet him, even though you can’t point out what had given it away.
It surely isn’t the way he keeps his voice to himself and uses his glares as a way of talking. Or the way he overestimated the weight of the door or underestimated his own strength and ripped your office door out of its handles on his first day.
He’d been the talk of the town for a whole month.
-
“Aone-san,” you called out at the end of the morning briefing. “Do you have a minute?”
He nods and follows you out and up the stairs into your office on the first level.
You wonder what he thinks of you, in your nice business suit with the air-conditioned office. If he looks down on you like some of the other workers do because you’re one if not the youngest building designers in the company. You don’t think he does, but he’s hard to read.
“I’ve noticed you are very diligent in your work.” You explain to him. “And this part is very difficult to master. I’d love it if you could double-check the work, especially if you end up working on a different part. I don’t want to call anyone lazy, but I’ve been told that we’ve consistently had trouble keeping up with the plan for these structures and I want everything to be okay. I-”
“It’s okay.” As always, the deep timbre of his voice surprises you. You wish he’d talk more often.
“Great. I’ll be here all day. And tomorrow too and the day after that as well. So you can come in whenever to let me know, okay?”
He nods, having used up all his words already. He leaves you shortly after, but not after an awkward pause where you try not to babble and he stares intently at the little pink bows adorning your stilettos.
-
You’re in the middle of unpacking your lunch Bento when there’s a knock on the door.
“Come in!”
Aone’s face is smeared with dirt. His clothes are stained too, but his hands are clean as they offer you a piece of paper.
You take it and inspect it. He’s made a checklist for the area you mentioned. Your heart lurches at this careful work.
“Thank you!” You doubt your smile can express even half of your gratitude.
His ears are red. He’s probably gotten a sunburn from working outside all morning.
“Do you…” You hesitate. “Do you want to share lunch? It’s cooler in here and I wouldn’t mind.”
He looks at the pretty but uncomfortable chairs in front of your desk and back to his dirty, stained clothes.
“Don’t mind it.” You rush to say. “Please, sit. I will go and get something to drink from the machine outside.”
“Let me.” He says and you freeze, spellbound by his voice - again.
-
Soon you find yourself spilling your thoughts over eggrolls, rice and two cans of sparkling water.
You babble when you get nervous and he sure as hell makes you nervous.
“It’s so nice to have someone with me when I eat.” You tell him when he gets up, no doubt to leave for his work again. “I mean, I can eat alone, no problem, I do that at home too. I mean I have a kitten there, but he’s the quiet type. It just gets a little lonely around lunch when I have to work by myself all the time anyway. You probably don’t have that problem, because you’re so many workers all working together all day and then you have lunch break together too, but if you want to cool down for a bit, feel free to come up here for Lunch Break.”
“Thank you.” He interrupts your babbling, bowing so abruptly you’re left speechless - a rare occurence.
“Oh no, I have to thank you.” Now you’re bowing too and it’s only your colleague passing by that saves the two of you from bowing in turn until one gives up.
-
Kenji curls up on your lap that night as you tell him of your day.
He’d been a stray, a tiny ball of fur and teeth, only slowly learning that you did not mean any harm. He’s not the best listener, occasionally digging his claws into your thighs as he either disagrees with you or does not care about your opinion. But he’s yours and you’d be even lonelier without him.
-
You don’t see Aone for another week. Well, you spot him during morning briefings, a quiet presence at the back of the room, but you don’t come across him other than that until it’s Monday and you only find out that you’ve left your Lunch at home when it’s time to unpack it.
It’s pouring outside and you’re dressed for sunshine to the point that not even a borrowed umbrella will keep you warm or dry during the trek down to the Konbini and back again.
But going hungry is even worse.
You run into Aone right at the entrance, raindrops creating little patterns in the dirt on his face.
He holds a can of sparkling water in one hand and a Bento Box in his other.
“Oh, Aone. Hello!” You smile up at him. “Are you taking your Lunch inside? Do you want to come up to my Office? I’ve turned my heater on, actually, because I run cold easily.”
He looks down at the Umbrella in your hand.
“Oh, I forgot my Lunch at home. I’ll just run down to the Konbini and get some, but feel free to go up and get warm.”
His eyes travel down to your feet, where your painted nails peek out of a new pair of high-heeled sandals.
“What do you need?” He asks. “I am already wet.”
“Oh, I can’t.” He hands you the sparkling water. You take it, too surprised to refuse it. He takes your umbrella and hands you his Lunch.
“What do you need?” He repeats again. There’s something in his voice, at least that’s what it must be, that makes you open your mouth and answer.
He nods and turns to leave, leaving you behind with his Lunch and his drink.
-
There’s a blanket resting on one of the chairs. Aone is the only one who uses it, and drapes it over the chair to make sure he doesn’t get it dirty.
Aone is a lap cat. He wants to be asked, he wants to be offered. He does not ask himself.
You get his phone number so you can text him every day, letting him know what you’ll be taking for Lunch. He never stands up an invitation.
So you invite him to walk to the train station with you. He holds your umbrella, nodding along as you talk about your day.
“Where do you live, Aone-san?” You ask, nibbling on the inside of your cheek as you debate if that question is too forward. You don’t even know his first name yet, even though you long to.
You almost miss his answer, too absorbed in the sound of his voice. He does not live far from you.
“Are you taking the train as well? We could sit together.” His face changes into something that looks like disappointment.
“But we don’t have to!” You try to mend whatever mess you’ve just created.
“I have practice.”
“Practice?”
“Volleyball.”
“Ooooh! Can I come watch?”
The faintest blush covers his cheeks at your question. You’ve never seen it before, but you could get addicted to that sight.
“They would think you are my girlfriend.”
“I wouldn’t mind that.” Your face burns as you realize what you’ve just divulged.
“I don’t mean- I wouldn’t ever pressure- You don’t have to feel-”
Aone interrupts your blabbering, but not with words. He stretches out his incredibly long arm, offers his hand to you in a wordless answer.
You take it, your heart beating so loud you fear he can hear it.
-
Aone is a lap cat.
Just like Kenji he craves your touch, your presence, being near you whenever he can.
But quite unlike Kenji, he does not mind when you roll over in your sleep and kick your leg into his shins. He does not dig his fingernails into your skin - and if he does, he does it lovingly.
He’s as much a quiet presence in your home as your cat, making lazy Sunday Mornings so much sweeter.