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Ai awoke from his slumber to a quiet mewling and continuous, soft shushing noises. It was difficult to make anything substantial out in the darkness of the room except for a glint of red reflected in a sliver of moonlight from the window. It must be Rin coming back but… from where exactly? Shifting to gain a better vantage point, Ai paused upon hearing another quiet cry.
"Shhhhh sweetie, stop squirming! We don't want to wake Ai," came hurried whispers from the bundle of sopping clothing in the entranceway. A particularly loud crack of thunder renewed the terrified squeaks.
Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Ai sat up and turned on the light next to the bed. "Rin? What are you doing?"
Rin seemed to freeze, a look of horrified guilt etched across his face. "N-nothing. I uh…went out for a run when it s-started to rain too bad s-so… I came back early," he stuttered, struggling with something shoved inside his jacket.
Raising an eyebrow, Ai gave the other man a pointed look, glancing at the squirming bulge in front of his chest.
The redhead sighed, realizing he couldn't explain this away easily. He reached inside his coat and pulled out a soaking wet kitten, shivering from the cold. Rin pressed the kitten back to his chest in an attempt to calm the vulnerable creature, making cooing noises at the frightened animal. "I… I take care of a stray cat nearby and with the storm and everything I just couldn't leave him by himself and…so I uh took him here," Rin mumbled, a rosy blush gracing his features.
Ai couldn't help it. He melted. The sight of the menacing great white shark blushing with a stray kitten in his arms was too much for the duckling to handle. He slid out of bed to grab some towels, wrapping the fluffball up in one and handing the rest to his dripping boyfriend.
Rin kissed his forehead as thanks. "You aren't…mad, are you?" Rin hedged hesitantly.
Ai just giggled as the kitten licked his bangs. "How could I be mad? You're both too adorable; I could never hold a grudge."
Rin went crimson, mumbling something about Ai's eyes having to be bad to think he was cute. Ai ignored him and nuzzled the kitten. "What's his name?"
"Uhh, he doesn't have one."
Ai looked personally offended at this. "How could you not have named him yet?" He picked up the kitten to examine his sleek black fur. "Mmmm, how about midnight since that's when you brought him home?" offered Ai, snuggling the kitten under his chin.
Rin wandered over, encircling his smaller boyfriend and Midnight in a loose embrace. "It's perfect," he sighed, kissing the other's temple.
"We have to hide him, though. You know pets are forbidden," Ai reminded him gently. "We can always keep him at the abandoned place and visit him every day. Maybe take him in during bad weather and in winter?" he pondered.
Rin nodded. "That could work. He does seem to love the outdoors," he added, scratching the cat under his chin.
"Soooo… I guess we have a cat now," Nitori stated, joy lighting up his face.
Laughing, Rin ruffled his hair. "I guess we do."