Work Text:
“...”
“...”
“... What are you planning?”
“... Mrroww.”
From his seat at the nearby table, Hirano rolls his eyes at seeing his boyfriend seriously engaged in a staring contest with their new cat. Crouching as low to the ground as he can for it, even. “Akki, stop glaring at Fig Stew. He just got here, and he hasn’t done anything.”
The fluffy orange cat diverts his attention to Hirano, walking up to him and affectionately rubbing himself against the pilot’s legs. It earns the furry angel some scritches from Hirano, as well as a pout and more intense glaring from Kagiura.
“It plans to steal your attention…” Kagiura mumbles, hugging his knees and managing to somehow make himself look small. His whining draws Fig Stew’s big, brown eyes back to him. “Why did you name him ‘Fig Stew’? Now he has an unfair advantage. Even his name is cute…”
“I didn’t name him, Miyano did. Said it reminded him of something in a game.” Hirano leans down and picks Fig Stew up, clicking his tongue when he notices the orange fur covering his black work pants. They’ll need to buy lint rollers. “Stop being a baby, Akki. He’s very affectionate, I’m sure he’ll like you too.”
Kagiura’s pout only gets more pronounced as he looks at that little orange menace eagerly rubbing his face under Hirano’s chin. “I doubt it.”
*****
It turns out, Hirano was more than right about their new fur baby. He’s a little ball of affection, following either of them around the house and asking for pets and attention from both of them. The overgrown baby that is his boyfriend still occasionally glares at Fig Stew when he perches on Hirano’s lap for a bit too long, but he also easily gives the cat treats when it meows at him.
When it’s time for him to go on another flight, Hirano feels a little uneasy about leaving Kagiura alone with Fig Stew. He has no doubt that the cat will be well-cared for, Kagiura would never treat a little animal badly, and Fig Stew has proven to be an angel who wouldn’t destroy their stuff, but… well. It’s just him overthinking a bit.
So Hirano goes on his flights, focuses on his work, and a week passes before he can go home and crash for a few hours.
“I’m home!” Hirano calls when he opens the door. There’s no response, which makes him frown; Kagiura’s shoes are there, and he knows he doesn’t have a training session or a game today. Carefully, he changes to slippers and walks further in.
The blond gets his answer when he sees Kagiura’s long legs hanging off the arm of the sofa, likely deep into a mid-afternoon nap. With a fond snort, Hirano walks closer. He’s still wondering where little Fig Stew is, but well…
Ah, guess he also gets that answer rather fast.
Just as he suspected, Kagiura is sleeping soundly on the couch, looking adorable and his soft snores echoed by much fainter ones. On the man’s chest, Fig Stew is curled up in his own nap, cradled securely in place by one of the athlete’s big hands. Sometimes, Fig Stew’s tail will uncurl from its position on top of Kagiura’s arm and gently stroke along it before curling up again.
Battling a very sudden bout of cuteness aggression, Hirano takes out his phone and snaps a picture of the two as silently as he can. He sends it to their shared group chat with Sasaki and Miyano, getting almost-instant replies.
Miyano:
-... no… MOE… (つ﹏<)･ﾟ｡
-Hirano-senpai… Hirano-senpai please send more…
🥕:
-congrats, you have a “cat and puppy” pair now
AkkiU・ᴥ・U🐾:
-Shut up guys I’m trying to sleep
🥕:
-it’s 3pm
AkkiU・ᴥ・U🐾:
-And? ૮ – ﻌ–ა
Looking up, Hirano sees that his boyfriend is indeed awake now and yawning, probably as a result of the vibrating notifications. A little disoriented, Kagiura looks around the living room until he finally spots his love. Pouting, he extends his arms asking for a hug.
“You don’t have enough affection with Fig Stew on top of you?” Hirano asks in amusement, stepping close and bending over to give the sleepy man a hug and a kiss.
“Fig Stew isn’t Taiga-san. I want Taiga-san,” Kagiura petulantly grumbles, wrapping his arms loosely around Hirano’s neck and not letting him get away. The commotion wakes the little orange cat up, and he proceeds to lick happily at Hirano’s face for exactly 3 seconds and then turns around and curls himself into a ball in the space between Kagiura’s neck and shoulder.
At first, Hirano thinks nothing of it. However, it seems the week he spent away presented some crucial bonding time between Kagiura and Fig Stew. Now the kitty follows the taller man everywhere. To the shower, the kitchen, even to the door when he’s about to leave for practice. While the basketball player is away, Fig Stew proceeds to alternate between spending some time with Hirano and whining at the front door until Kagiura returns.
And then there’s Kagiura, who has practically become a cat dad. When Fig Stew allows it, Kagiura carries the little one as if he’s a baby. They nap together, the man takes care of most of the feeding times. He’d probably take care of the litter box by himself too if Hirano didn’t insist on at least that being a fifty-fifty chore when they’re both home.
It’s not like Hirano is starved for love; Kagiura has not stopped being clingy and affectionate and pulling his puppy eyes whenever he wants kisses. But… Hirano still finds himself lightly glaring at Fig Stew one morning.
The little one jumped on their bed and woke both of them up. Or, more accurately, he wakes Kagiura up by licking his face and the whining from his boyfriend wakes Hirano up in turn. To the sight of Kagiura smiling wide and patting Fig Stew’s little head.
The cuteness is incredible, but Hirano really can’t help just staring with a frown on his face.
Kagiura gives him a knowing look, and carefully places Fig Stew between them before leaning in to kiss Hirano even if they’re both sleepy and haven’t brushed their teeth. “If you don’t let me be jealous of Fig Stew, you don’t get to do that either.”
Embarrassed, Hirano leans forward to bite at Kagiura’s neck in revenge for him being a little shit. It makes him yelp, and Fig Stew looks between them with his big, adorable dumb eyes only to settle down to keep napping.
“Don’t bite! Let me tell you a secret, Taiga-san,” Kagiura whispers, as if telling him a very, extremely important one. “Fig Stew was exactly the same with me when you left on that flight. He just whined and cried on the door and occasionally came to play and cuddle with me. You'll bond with him more when I leave for that game in two days.”
It’s adorable, it really is. Hirano kind of wants to bite him again for being so cute and thinking the blond is sad about Fig Stew’s favorite dad. However, instead he looks away from those earnest green eyes and mumbles. “... It’s not about Fig Stew.”
Confusion makes itself home in Kagiura’s face, before it slowly morphs to brilliant delight. “Taiga-san… are you jea-?”
“Fucking shut up,” Hirano grumbles as he slams a pillow on Kagiura’s face. He turns around to avoid showing his bright red face any longer. The sound of rustling reaches his burning ears, and he feels Kagiura wrap an arm around him to hug him close.
“You know I love you so, so much, right? With my entire soul.” Kagiura presses kisses to his neck. There’s no intent to take things further, just… genuine affection.
Really, what is Hirano meant to do with such a loving boyfriend? Stay mad or jealous?
Sighing, Hirano turns around to see Kagiura’s big puppy eyes in full blast. Behind his shoulder, Fig Stew is also looking at him with his own brand of big, adorable kitty eyes. With a chuckle, Hirano leans in to kiss Kagiura at the same time as he pets Fig Stew. “You’re such a sap. I love you too.”
A happy smile and a matching joyful “mrrowww” are his reward. That day, all three of them stay in bed in a cuddle pile until lunch.
(In the afternoon, Kagiura sends a pic of a sleeping, drooling Hirano with Fig Stew’s tail in his mouth to the group chat.
Me:
-2 hearts and I’m putting my finger in too.
Miya-kun📚:
-*User has reacted to this message with “💛”*
Sasaki-san🥐:
-*User has reacted to this message with “🧡”*
Me:
-*User has sent 2 pictures*
-He bit me ૮ ◞ ﻌ ◟ ა
Taiga💕✨:
-all of you are dead
Most of them survive. It just takes for Miyano to use Fig Stew as an adorable shield on the pair’s next visit to the apartment, and for Sasaki to do the same with Kagiura.)