Work Text:
Kenma was perfectly content with staying at his and Shoyou’s apartment and just playing video games. But Shoyou, apparently, was not. The small ginger had dragged Kenma, silently screaming and kicking, to a nearby pet shop.
A pet shop? Kenma thought, confused as he and his boyfriend walked in. Why a pet shop?
As soon as they walked in, Hinata immediately abandoned Kozume, sprinting off in the opposite direction. Kenma sighed, stuffing his hands into his pockets to fish out his headphones. Once he untangled the damn things, he put one into his ears. Kenma looked around the store, and he began to slowly walk towards the tropical fish; their colors had caught his eye. The fish swam all together, the ones he was looking at at least. They were swimming in packs of sort, moving around as if they were one. It was oddly mesmerizing. Kozume finally dragged his eyes away from the fish when he heard footsteps running towards him.
“Kenma, Kenma! You have to see this adorable bird!” Shoyou yelled excitedly, grabbing Kenma’s arm and yanking him towards the loudest section of the store. Birds screeched as Hinata excitedly pulled Kenma to the cage of a green parrot.
“Hi, Ivy!” Shoyou said loudly, waving at the bird.
“Hi, Ivy,” the bird mimicked back, fluffing it’s wings.
“Kenma! She’s so cool!! We should buy her!”
“Shou, no.. that’s too much work for us. We have school practically every day, and our jobs. We wouldn’t have time for her.”
“But Kenma..” Shoyou whined, pouting.
“But Kenma..” the bird cooed back.
“No, Shoyou,” Kozume replied softly, crossing his arms. “We won’t have time.”
Hinata grumbled under his breath something that Kenma didn’t quite catch as he began walking back to the fish. On the way, he spotted the snake cages. He instead walked to those. Kozume looked into the cage of a garden snake, his eyes following its body as it slithered slyly through the cage. The snake’s scales gleamed slightly in the light illuminating it’s cage. He slowly walked away, looking around the store for his redheaded partner. Walking more towards the front of the store, Kenma finally spotted Shoyou. He was holding something and petting it. As he got closer, he saw that Hinata was holding a mottled guinea pig, cooing at it as he did so.
“Found a new friend?” Kozume asked, taking out his headphone and putting it into his pockets.
“Yes. This is Sunny.”
“You named him?”
“Her.”
“Her. You named her?” Kenma asked, raising her eyebrows.
“Yes. We’ve formed a bond now, and I need her,” Shoyou stated, in all seriousness.
“Shoyou, we can’t,” Kozume mumbled, running his hand through his hair exasperatedly. Hinata pouted again, frowning and placing the guinea pig back into her cage.
“Is there anything here you’d want to get?” He mumbled.
“I don’t think so. We should just go, Shou.”
“Fine.”
Kenma walked calmly towards the door, Shoyou stomping behind him. Just as they were about to leave, something caught his eye. He stopped dead in his tracks, Hinata complaining and asking him why he stopped so suddenly. A cat. He saw a lone cat in a cage, grooming itself. Kozume began to walk over immediately. The tag on the cage claimed that the cat was female, and her name was Cleopatra. She was an average sized cat, mostly white with splashes of dark brown mottles on her side and head, her tail mottled as well.
“Excuse me,” Kenma said, attracting the attention of a nearby employee.
“Yes? How can I help you?” the employee, a girl in her late twenties, asked.
“This cat is up for adoption, yes?”
“Yes, Cleo here is.”
“I’d like to take her,” Kenma replied, taking the application form. “I fill this out?”
“That’s wonderful! Cleo would be a great cat for you, I’m sure. And yes, you fill out that form.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re getting a cat but not a bird?” Shoyou asked, excited but also disappointed.
“Yes, we can both cuddle with Cleo, Shou. Plus, she’s more independent, and by the looks of it, she doesn’t shed much.”
Yeah, you’re right, I guess,” Hinata mumbled. “At least we’re getting a pet!”
Kozume nodded in agreement, filling out the papers. “Can you go get some cat food, litter, a litter box, and maybe some things to keep it smelling nice, Shoyou?”
Hinata jumped up and began running around to get the supplies Kenma requested. Kenma turned the papers in to the employee, then began petting Cleopatra through the cage. She was purring loudly, already seemingly fond of her soon-to-be owner. After another ten or so minutes, the original employee came out with a cardboard cat carrier box.
“Alright, your request to adopt Cleopatra has been approved, and you can take her home when you’re ready. She has all of her shots and is up to date, and she is also microchipped, so if she ever gets loose, just give the local shelter a call, and they’ll let you know if they’ve got her, okay?”
“Alright,” Kenma replied quietly, watching as the employee carefully put Cleo into the box. He picked up the box, carrying it to the checkout lane. Hinata came a few moments later with all the indoor cat essentials. Kenma then purchased everything, waving goodbye to the employee and thanking her for her assistance.
Cleo was quiet as she was placed in the car beside all of the new cat items.
“I hope she likes her new home,” Kenma murmured, starting the car. “She seemed to like me, so hopefully she’ll like our home.”
Shoyou leaned over, gently kissing Kozume’s cheek. “I’m sure she’ll love it, Kenma.”
“Thanks,” the older of the two murmured, beginning to drive to their apartment. The ride felt longer than it really was. Kenma spent all of it worrying that Cleo hated him, and would hate his and Shoyou’s home, or she would run away. When he finally pulled into the parking lot and stepped out of the car, Kozume took a deep breath, then grabbed Cleo and the food, walking up the stairs to unlock the door as Hinata grabbed the litter and scent beads. When he walked in, he set down the supplies, then walked over to Kenma, who sat in front of the couch on the ground, Cleo’s box directly in front of him. Shoyou plopped beside him.
“Open her up.”
“Alright,” Kenma mumbled, slowly opening Cleo’s cage and picking her up. She was soft and warm. Her eyes were wide as she looked around the apartment, squirming slightly in Kozume’s arms. He let her go, allowing her to look around the apartment. She seemed to find it very interesting, leaving the two boyfriends on their own to explore the apartment.
Shoyou wrapped his arms around Kenma, kissing his head. “See? She likes it here, Kenma. You don’t need to worry.” A few moments later, Cleo walked into the living room, meowing loudly. She stalked up to Kenma, stepping up into his lap and suddenly rubbing her face on his. Hinata grinned at the shocked Kenma beside him.
“I think she just proved my point, Kenma.”
Kenma smiled, gently petting Cleopatra from her head to her back. “Yeah, I guess so.”