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Jisung was supposed to be Minho's owner, but right now he almost felt like a cat himself—watching the door and waiting patiently for Minho to return home. It was kind of lonely, and Jisung stared longingly at their bedroom where all their pet play accessories were kept in the walk in closet. Not yet, he reminded himself. He had to wait for his boyfriend. He tried to calm down by lighting some candles and reading, but he was too keyed up thinking about their dinner plans. Jisung was going to take his kitty out for a nice meal, then come home and cuddle all night. If Minho wasn't too sleepy, maybe they'd even play with some toys.
The sound of the door unlocking made Jisung perk up in his seat. He realized he looked kind of desperate just watching the door like that, but Minho didn't comment on it. Instead, Minho pushed Jisung forward on the couch and settled in behind him, wrapping his limbs around like an octopus and giving Jisung a shoulder massage. It felt nice to be pampered, but Jisung couldn't let himself get too comfortable. He had a job to do today.
The room was quiet except for the sound of the candles' wooden wicks popping. "How was your day, baby?" Jisung asked.
Minho shrugged and yawned a little. "Ok, just tired. One of my coworkers called out so I had to cover the intermediate ballet class."
Jisung pulled a disgusted face that made Minho snort. "Teenagers are monsters," Jisung said. "I'm tired after a ten second interaction with them, so I don't know how you do a whole class."
"The little kids classes are my specialty. And teenagers are like big kids." Minho was definitely the more responsible partner in their relationship, but he had a youthful spirit that children seemed to vibe with. Jisung had seen him run the kiddie classes many times, and it always melted him with cuteness.
Jisung groaned as Minho dug his thumbs deeper into a knot on his shoulder. As a grad student, Jisung was constantly hunched over a laptop that messed up his neck. Minho knew just how to alleviate his pain—maybe it came from being a dancer who was used to sore muscles. (Jisung secretly thought he just liked getting to grope him, too.)
It was almost physically painful to pull himself off the couch, but Jisung wanted to get on with the kink scene they'd negotiated. He tugged Minho towards the bedroom to get started. Instantly, Minho got a wild look in his eye, understanding Jisung's eagerness to begin without needing to be told. They just got each other like that.
They faced each other cross-legged on the mattress. A few of their pet play essentials lay in the space between them. “Give me your hands. Oh, sorry, your cute paws,” Jisung corrected himself with a chuckle. Minho rolled his eyes but obediently held up his hands anyway.
Jisung carefully peeled nail stickers off an almost-empty sheet. The stickers were simple black triangles, but Minho insisted that they helped him get into his cat headspace. When he looked down at them, he felt like he had claws. Jisung handled Minho with care, cradling each finger as he applied the sticker. A gentle kiss followed each application, and Minho giggled at the ticklish sensation.
“There, all ten are done! Can you show me your claws?” Minho held up his hands like a cat paw, showing off his pretty nails. “Good job, baby,” Jisung cooed.
“You want to get scratched?” Minho asked faux-threateningly.
Jisung just laughed and patted him on the head. “I look forward to it. Ready for your ears?”
Minho hummed and nodded eagerly. “Yes. Gimmie.”
Minho had a collection of kitty ears. Most of them were semi-realistic headbands of different colors and sizes, with matching tails for when he lounged around the house and wanted to feel like a real cat. When they went out in public, however, Minho had one pair he loved the most—a set of noise cancelling headphones with cat ears on top. He said they blocked out sound that tended to overstimulate him, letting him sink into a safe headspace without having to mask his reactions to noisy environments. The headphones were a light blue color, with drawings of orange cats on the ear cups. Jisung thought he looked so adorable with his fluffy bangs peeking out from under the top band.
Minho ducked his neck down, presenting his head eagerly. But Jisung must’ve been moving too slow because Minho soon looked up with a glare. “Ok, ok! I’m just adjusting the size, geez,” Jisung reprimanded him gently. Minho was so cute when he was impatient. Finally, Jisung settled the headphones over his boyfriend’s ears. He gave him some sloppy forehead kisses as a reward for waiting, which Minho squirmed away from.
Jisung booped his nose. “You’re almost ready. Why don’t you go pick out your collar, baby?”
Minho stared at him with wide glassy eyes, thinking. “You pick,” he said in a tiny voice, nudging Jisung’s shoulder with a curled fist—a soft paw.
“Oh, Kitty doesn’t want to make decisions today, I see.” Jisung riffled through the jewelry drawer in their closet, plucking out a light blue collar.
Minho smiled and swatted Jisung playfully. “You always pick that one when we go out.”
“You know I like it when things match! Speaking of—” Jisung pulled out a powder blue sweater for Minho to wear. It was an oversized knit cardigan that buttoned up the front, matching the whole ensemble with an orange cat pin decorating the front pocket. Jisung helped Minho get dressed, with some gentle tummy scratches once the cardian was all buttoned up.
They walked down the street hand-in-hand. Minho swung their arms and squeezed his boyfriend’s hand to stim. Jisung squeezed back. Usually, it was Jisung who struggled to hide his neurodivergent quirks (his lemon-zest, as Minho called it), but he could see that Minho was letting his guard down today.
Minho gasped when they stopped in front of his favorite restaurant. “Sushi!” His eyes got all round and shiny like he was inhaling some catnip.
“Does my pretty kitty want sushi?”
Minho narrowed his eyes and hissed.
“Oooh, a scary kitten.”
They settled in on the same side of the booth with Minho safely tucked against the wall. Minho wiggled in his seat, excited to eat. Jisung gently readjusted the headphones over Minho’s ears, cupping his face afterwards and stroking his cheeks with his thumbs. Minho smiled and nuzzled into the touch.
“I’ll order for you, ok, Min? I’ll get all your favorite treats. All you have to do is sit pretty.” Minho giggled. An excited kitty punch landed on Jisung’s arm. “Uh uh, none of that. Put your claws away.” Minho curled his fists tighter to hide his nail stickers.
While they waited for food, Jisung kept his pet occupied with some small fidget toys. He let Minho choose his favorite first, then took another for himself so he could play alongside him. Each time Minho popped the buttons in and out on his toy, he repeated the word “pop” quietly. It was giving Jisung extreme cuteness aggression. But he reigned it in for the sake of maintaining his Owner persona.
Soon enough the waiter rounded the corner with a big plate of sushi. Minho stared at it like a cat honing in on its prey. Before Jisung could stop him, the kitty swiped a piece of sushi with his chopsticks and chomped down on it. He smiled a closed-mouth cat smile and started clapping at the delicious taste.
It was becoming clear that Minho was sinking deep into headspace. Jisung could just tell—from the glazed over look in his eye to the way he was hardly making a peep. Jisung hadn’t prepared for a nonverbal scene partner today, but they’d done enough kittenspace scenes that he knew how to handle it.
“I expected a big cat today. But it looks like I got a cute kitten instead. Is that right baby?” Minho chirped out a tiny meow. “I’ll take that as a yes. Baby, can you talk like a human right now?” Minho thought about it a little, before shaking his head. “Thank you for telling me. Can you show me your sign right now?”
Minho held up an ‘ok’ sign, indicating that he was good to continue. Jisung gave him a scratch under the chin. “Good kitty. I want to check your other signs just to be sure you remember. Can you show me ‘slow down?’” This time, Minho held up two fingers like a peace sign. “You’re doing so well. Show me the sign for ‘stop.’” Five fingers went up.
They had tried out other nonverbal signals in the past, until one bad scene where Minho needed to stop but couldn’t remember his sign. Instead he just put his whole hand up, and Jisung luckily understood what he was trying to say and ended the scene. Since the hand worked for them that time, they just kept using it. So, now five fingers meant stop.
Minho had such a cute happy face as he ate that Jisung wanted to buy him tasty snacks forever. His kitten looked longingly at him and held out the chopsticks. Jisung laughed and took over his feeding. One piece at a time, Jisung fed his pet pieces of his favorite sushi. And each time, Minho squirmed happily in his seat.
“Is Kitten doing a little dance?” Jisung asked. Minho meowed and swayed more. “A little happy dance?” Minho opened his mouth expectantly for another piece.
“Stop and drink a little first. I don’t want you to get a tummy ache eating too fast.”
“Nyanggg,” Minho whined grumpily. He reached for another bite of food, only to be intercepted by Jisung handing him his Calpico.
“Just take two sips, Min. One, two—there you go. Good boy.” Minho took two big gulps, apparently thirstier than he thought. He opened his mouth again for a treat as soon as he swallowed. “So impatient,” Jisung said fondly and fed him another.
Minho looked at the now empty plate sadly. He meowed and tugged his boyfriend’s sleeve. Jisung petted his head to calm him and flagged down the waiter. It seemed like Minho’s brain was full of cotton, because he didn’t react to hearing Jisung order him a dessert. He kept on whining and scratching at Jisung’s arm, until a pudding cup was set on the table right in front of him. When he finally saw the treat, the kitten jumped straight up and dug his claws into his own thighs.
“Do you want me to feed you again, or eat it by yourself like a big cat?”
Minho immediately grabbed the spoon himself. Jisung just watched as his pet took tiny bites of the pudding. Each time, Minho shook his head cutely or danced in his seat like he couldn’t contain his happiness.
“Is your pudding yummy?”
Minho practically vibrated out of his seat. “Pudding, pudding, pudding,” he repeated—the first words he’d spoken in a while. Jisung would keep an eye on it, but that didn’t necessarily mean he was coming out of kittenspace. Sometimes even kitten Minho repeated words back as a way to regulate his excitement.
When he finished his treat, Minho showed off the empty pudding cup to his owner. He held it up proudly, proving that he’d eaten every last bite. “Good kitten, Min,” Jisung said and petted his chin. “You ate so well today.”
Maybe he ate a little too well, because Minho’s eyes were already drooping. Yeah, it was definitely nap time.
Back at home, Minho launched himself onto the bed and curled up. The cat ear headphones got jostled, but he was too out of it to notice. Jisung even had to follow behind and take off his sneakers for him. Under his shoes, Minho’s black socks had little pink paw pads on the bottom. Jisung screamed internally from the cute surprise. He pinched Minho’s socked foot playfully, causing the kitten to yowl and pull his leg in closer.
“Aw, I’m sorry kitty, your toe beans are just too cute. You didn’t tell me you were wearing your paw socks.”
Jisung settled in behind Minho on the mattress and pulled him back against his chest. “I’m gonna take off your ears, ok kitty? Just so you can get comfy.” Minho peeped out a reluctant meow. Ever so carefully, Jisung cupped his hand under Minho’s head to support him as he slid the headphones off. Afterwards, he set him down on a pillow with a kiss to the back of his neck.
“Mmm, night night.” Minho mumbled sleepily.
“Night, kitten.”
Jisung removed each nail sticker as Minho drifted off peacefully. Tomorrow, they would go back to being just boyfriends. But for now—while he still had the privilege of coddling Minho like a good owner should—he would help his pet sink safely into dreamland. Jisung rubbed his tummy until Minho’s purring turned into soft snores.