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As he blinked the remnants of sleep from his eyes, the first thing that Seiji registered when he gradually awoke was how oddly warm his body was, the fleeting kiss of the sunlight on his skin competing to be the only source of heat to ward away autumn's chill, for once. The remaining competitors, he soon learned, was the comforting, familiar weight of Shuuichi's limbs tangled with his own underneath the messy duvet, along with several tiny, suspiciously-round things that made themselves home in the nook and cranny of their bodies, snuggling into their intimate cuddle pile as if they had been personally invited to join.
If this was any other situation, Seiji would gladly ignore them to return to his dream's blissful embrace, letting the happily ever after showcased in his subconscious whisk him away from whatever real-world crisis that awaited him today. Sharing the same bed with Shuuichi meant that it was a day off as the Matoba clan's head for him, and even his strict, self-imposed discipline would cave each time this rarity came, all just for a taste of experiencing a well-rested sleep and waking up long after the sun had risen with his beloved safely tucked in his arms.
But alas, Seiji couldn't always win at anything he wanted, and the pack of those lumpy, awkwardly-bony stuff made it their job to remind him of it, some of them in various states of meowing at the top of their lungs, purring with the force of a diesel engine, and, unfortunately, tracking what he was sure as poop all over their fresh, white sheets.
Shuuichi, proving to be his soulmate in every sense of the word, groaned out the same exact thought as Seiji, voice groggy and exasperated as he asked, "Are those the kittens? How'd they even get in here?"
Reluctantly, Seiji cracked his visible eye open, immediately spotting the mother of those heathens lounging by the door, sitting upright and licking one paw as if she was proud of her achievement. The wall clock hanging above the open door continued to tick away, revealing the reason for the unlawful ambush in its silence: an hour had passed away since their usual breakfast time, and accidental negligence, in the kittens' books, was deemed punishable to warrant such a violent arrest. He already felt a migraine waiting to ruin his appetite as he replied, "It's their mother. She's tall enough to reach the door's handle, and we didn't lock our room last night. At this rate, we might have to cat-proof your whole apartment."
"They already ruined my couch, and now we have to put gates all over my doors, too?" Shuuichi whined, and in his distress, he dislodged one of the 1-month old calico kitten perched lazily on his right arm, as said limb was moved so abruptly to pinch the bridge of his nose, a sad attempt to release some stress hormone for this dire moment. Only then, after said kitten angrily stomped up to his chest, did his boyfriend notice the faint, brown trail that it left on his pristine sheets, his face losing all its color as he cried out, "Oh no! They're staining my sheets with poop!"
Whatever reassurance that Seiji was ready to half-heartedly spit to calm Shuuichi's hysteria vanished when a single, white paw was shoved into his open mouth. He froze, resisting the urge to gag when innocent, sky blue eyes blinked owlishly at him, and all of his fears about the germs it carried between their pink toe beans died along with the meek meow that followed. Carefully, with one hand, he plucked the paw out, repositioning the black-and-white tuxedo kitten to lay on his bare chest. Only then did he allow himself to play with the little feline, sensing all of his snark seeping out once he felt its rumble above his heart, his next words for Shuuichi coming out softer than he intended. "I'll pay for everything and set them all up myself, so don't worry."
When the quietness stretched for too long, Seiji reluctantly tore his focus away from the tuxedo kitten melting into his fingers, and he was met with a signature Natori Shuuichi look that was reserved specifically for him, complete with crinkles decorating the corner of his eyes and the fond, yet exasperated smile now painted on his handsome face. Like this, sharing the same bed, pressed skin-to-skin, witnessing such genuine warmth breaking his typical, charming act, it was hard for Seiji to remember to breathe, to settle the fluttering of his heart when the realization struck him, just like it first did, that this was real, and that he got to share a life with Shuuichi after half a decade spent privately admiring him from the other side.
"That's not my point, Seiji," Shuuichi reluctantly offered, and there was that kindness he dispensed so easily without ever noticing, gentle and mindful for those that he cherished. The guilt clouding his carmine irises nearly wiped away the affection dazzling in them, and yet they still persisted, establishing that his next words came from a good intention, as painful as it was to hear. "Both of our responsibilities demand long working hours from us, and we can't leave them with our shiki since even kittens are apparently sensitive to spirits. Plus, you know that finding a maid willing to keep shut about my popularity and exorcist job, especially one willing to cat-sit as well, wouldn't be as simple as how my family had hired Sumi-san ages ago."
Assessing risks and making crucial choices, even when half-asleep or in worse condition, was expected from a Matoba clan's successor. But, what should come with practiced ease for Seiji was especially harder to do this morning, now that he had to combat both the cozy, purring ball of warmth snuggled on his chest and Shuuichi himself. It almost seemed like his boyfriend was even plotting against him, shooting down each half-formed thought that already took a millenia to coalesce every time he stroked his long, slim fingers through his black locks, tenderly combing away knots and, in turn, turning Seiji into putty like he was doing with the sleepy tuxedo kitten.
That's not fair, Seiji wanted to claim, and by the time that his arsenal was filled with suggestions, all of them was brushed away with a single look from Shuuichi, as if he had became a mind-reading psychic overnight and could read him like an open book in this exact moment. Unfortunately, Shuuichi was right to level him with such intensity; delegating a Matoba staff to watch over the kittens in his apartment or bringing the whole litter back to the compound spelled disaster everywhere, and so, Seiji sighed for the second time today and begrudgingly asked, "What are you trying to say here, Shuuichi-san?"
They both knew where this talk was going to, and Seiji's heart sank more so because of the remorse dimming Shuuichi's glow, that the reason that honest smile faltered was because his boyfriend felt bad knowing that he might hurt him because of what he would say. Still, Shuuichi gathered his resolve to break the bad news, saying, "We should probably drop them off at the animal shelter like we were supposed to, back when we had found the mother and her litter."
It shouldn't break Seiji, after all that he had gone through to survive this far in life, when both exorcists and youkai alike were determined to tear apart anything good that could ever happen to him. Nothing that he truly wanted could ever be his, he knew that all too well, and yet— just a taste of his wants within his reach was as sweet as ecstasy, awakening a desperate, hungry side of him that made him human, still. Just like how Seiji couldn't fathom to live without Shuuichi, now that they built this fragile, domestic life in the stolen moments unfolding at his apartment, he couldn't imagine letting go of these adorable, lovely kittens, and his heart has never felt so full, that there could be two separate entities planting flowers to bloom there.
From within the bird's nest that was Shuuichi's hair emerged two, itty bitty ears, and the blow from Seiji's devastation was at least diverted long enough by the cheeky, orange kitten that deemed his boyfriend's hair its perfect cat bed. Seiji, too, reached one hand forward, careful not to knock the tuxedo cat off of his chest as he tucked Shuuichi's bangs away from his eyes, his fingers then drifting up to scratch the orange kitten on its tiny head. The lump lodged in his throat didn't feel as constricting when he regretfully admitted, "You're right, none of this isn't going to work in the long run. We've just been lucky enough that Nanase-san was willing to reroute our work requests, but she can't do that forever. I just—"
"I know. You want to keep them don't you?" Shuuichi whispered, and it was difficult for Seiji to hold himself back, to not throw his arms around those reliable shoulders and hide in the crook of his neck, salvaging the remnants of his composure while he tried, fruitlessly, to swallow his grief and let those kittens who had stolen his heart be lovingly cared by folks who could, ones whose lives were free from burdens that only he and his boyfriend grasped. Shuuichi's smile was more of a grimace, with the sadness weighing it down, and in hopes to soothe his anguish, he wondered, "I know that you always loved cats, but it's rare for you to get this attached to something. What's with the change of heart?"
You, Seiji wanted to spit out the truth, to break open his ribcage and pull his heart from its safety, letting this morning's vulnerability guide him in explaining that this was no longer the same heart as it was before Shuuichi waltzed back into his life and decided that he wanted to stay, to make them defy the odds and work. It was never enough, now that Seiji learned sides of Shuuichi that no one else could— like how he drooled while sleeping and would vehemently deny it when caught red-handed in the morning, or how he enjoyed washing his long, black hair as much as he was down to ravish him until the moon's reign was shifted back to the sun.
The thing was, no matter how much his family tried to tamp down any of his worldly, unnecessary needs and wants, Seiji felt it double underneath his flimsy restraints. He has always been a greedy person, not just for the sake of his clan, and one kiss was all it took for Shuuichi to unlock those desires that always lingered, but never left, unleashing their longing and gladly receiving them in his arms.
Now, after the axis of his world was tilted askew, Seiji wanted to see what eye color that all of the kittens' would develop just as much as he wished to see how retirement would fit itself for Shuuichi, for them both together. For once, he stopped himself from tucking his true intentions in between the lines for Shuuichi to read, and so Seiji let his sleep-muddled mind do the talking, croaking out the truth as he cupped his boyfriend's face. "I just wanted all of us to grow old together. Is that too much to ask?"
There was a sharp hitch in Shuuichi's breath, and if Seiji didn't know him any better, he would have confused the glassiness in his eyes as a trick of light. But, just like how no one else knew that Japan's sought-after actor had secretly shed a tear from how close they were in failing to save this litter of kittens from a gruesome end at a youkai's hands, Seiji was the only one privy enough to see how delicate Shuuichi's heart could be. This brief, ephemeral scene, where Shuuichi tried to blink away tears after hearing the closest I love you that Seiji would ever say to him— they were his alone to cherish, including the next words that he said, half-choked on an amused laugh. "Here I thought that I'd never live to see the day that you'll be affectionate with me, and all that I needed to do was overwhelm you with cats?"
Forget about squeezing his sorrows out with a long hug in Shuuichi's arm; Seiji was ready to suffocate him with a pillow. Scoffing, he forcefully pulled himself away, shrugging the duvet off and plucking the three kittens before making his grand escape. But, before Seiji could even step one foot out of the bed, Shuuichi latched onto his free arm, gently holding him in place. There was rustling from behind him followed by slender, but strong arms circling Seiji's naked waist, and the next thing he knew, Shuuichi was peppering butterfly kisses all over the expanse of his shoulder blades, missing no inch of skin from his loving touch.
"I'm sorry. I was just joking," Shuuichi carefully whispered, the puff of his warm breath on the back of Seiji's neck raising the hair there. He could feel Shuuichi settling his chin on top of one of his shoulders, and just like that, Seiji melted for him without question; there truly was no need for an apology when Shuuichi unknowingly has Seiji wrapped around his fingers. Then, because Shuuichi knew the way to Seiji's heart, he added, "How about we clean this mess first, I'll make breakfast, and then we'll talk about what we can do? I promise I'll cook you those fluffy pancakes and make them extra sweet for you, how about that?"
This time, it was Seiji's turn to laugh, and he nearly dislodged the three, impossibly-active kittens nestled in his left arm with the force of it, all of them protesting on top of their lungs for their long-awaited breakfast, too. Like this, basked in the sheer glow of sunlight as it streamed from between the open curtain, Shuuichi's bare apartment has never been more livelier and lived-in, and Seiji longed for this happiness to last forever, as fleeting as it was.
"And you'll let me use as much whip cream as I want?" Seiji bargained, knowing full-well that Shuuichi would say yes for any of his whims as long as they made him smile.
"Yes, and the chocolate syrup and sprinkles as well," Shuuichi chuckled, the noise sending pleasant chills down Seiji's spine when they echoed so close to his ears. Finally, Shuuichi let them go, stepping out of the bed first before turning around, extending a hand to Seiji and smiling as he called out, "Are you coming?"
Naturally, Seiji's hand fit perfectly into Shuuichi's like the matching puzzle pieces they always had been, and together, their day unfolded into yet a wonderfully chaotic one. Breakfast was made an hour after the bed and each kittens' legs were scrubbed squeaky clean from dried poop. Even then, one side of Seiji's plate was stacked with his diabetes-inducing pancakes while the other was filled with Shuuichi's, which was only drenched in a decent amount of maple syrup, and Seiji has to swiftly master the art of feeding his boyfriend without spilling syrup everywhere while Shuuichi's body became the kittens' playmat, all three of those heathens charged up and pouncing all over his naked skin to catch the lizard youkai crawling unsuccessfully for cover.
Just like the challenge they dealt with once they started dating, Seiji was sure that they, too, could make a home with these rambunctious cats and make it work— he was sure of it.
