Chapter Text
“Do you hear that?” Haruka whipped his head around to look at him all of sudden, with an urgent look on his face, as if to ask, ‘were you the one making that meowing sound?’
He’s very very cute, Hayato has to admit. It’s been a week since he’d embarrassingly yelled his confession at the other boy, but Hayato can still feel the pure, bubbling excitement and adoration coursing through his veins whenever he even glances at Haruka.
Haruka and his gorgeous mismatched eyes of beaded silver and gold. Haruka and his soft bicoloured hair that sways in the autumn wind, and is getting slightly long, bangs slightly in the way of his eyes - not that it matters, Hayato’s always going to be the one to sweep it out of Haruka’s face for him. Haruka and his determined smile, the one that shows his cute fangs. Haruka and his other, more shy and flustered smile. The one that still shows his fangs, but it's more private. Meant for Hayato’s eyes only.
His Haruka. And when he thinks about it that way, all the struggle and unknown rejections were so worth it, because at the end of the day, he’s the lucky bastard that gets to think of Haruka as his.
“Yes, I do hear it, Haruka-kun. Though I thought you had been the one meowing, since you’re the only one here that’s like a kitten!”
“Am not!” His face all pink, brows furrowed, and cherry lips pouted. How irresistible.
He seems to have had enough of Hayato’s jest, as he turns away from him, ears and eyes on full alert, when he registers another small meow, and hurries his way over to it.
“My, it is a kitten!” Hayato says over Haruka’s crouching figure. His two hands holding up a tiny grey and white kitten, its eyes squinting as it uses its full strength to cry out loud and its whole body shaking with the force of it.
“It’s tiny…” the boy below whispers out in awe, his thumb gently stroking the poor thing’s face, “what- what do we do?”
“Well, I don’t see its mother around anywhere, nor do I see any of its siblings,”
“It’s all alone…” Hayato’s heart throbs at the mention as he crouches down to meet Haruka at eye level.
“What do you want to do Haruka-kun?”
“Let’s take it to the vet.” Haruka stands and awkwardly hides the small thing in his jacket, as if to shield its furry body from the autumn cold and motions for Hayato to follow, which he obviously does.
----
“She’s around 5 weeks old, and she’s got a few fleas, but no ringworms or anything like that. Give her a good wash and she’ll be all good to go!” The vet had smiled kindly at the two of them as she returned the kitten into Haruka’s hands, wrapped snugly in a handkerchief.
“What about food? What should I give her?” the boy asked urgently.
“Wet food and water mostly, she’s not ready for dry food just yet, wait another 3 weeks I’d say. Is that all good?”
“Yes, thank you,” Hayato had replied as he guided Haruka out of the clinic and onto the street.
“S’rry Hayato… I know you wanted to go see that movie, but I think we might have to make it a home date today…” Haruka looked up at him, anxious and apologetic, as if Hayato could ever get mad at him.
“Your place is fine by me Haruka-kun, as long as you’re with me, that’s all that matters darling,”
“-you! Stop!” Once again his Haruka blushed, taking off with the kitten in the direction of his house. However, not before he looked back at Hayato, face still tinged with pink, as if to ask, ‘are you coming?’, and who would Hayato be to say no?
—-
Hayato takes it all back. This greedy kitten is taking all of his boyfriend's time!
It’s only been 5 whole days since this kitten barged its tiny body into his Haruka’s life, and yet every morning, as Hayato goes to pick his beloved up to go to school, Haruka spends 5 minutes, cooing at the kitten as it claws and plays with the hem of his pants, instead of using those 5 minutes to get shy at the idea of Hayato picking him up to go to school together like he used to.
And every afternoon! Of course, Haruka invites him over after school, and obviously Hayato agrees, but when he gets there, it’s all about the kitten. How tiny but strong she is. How she ate all of her food today, how she seems to be growing. When before, it was the two of them watching movies on Hayato’s laptop as Haruka tentatively rests his head on his shoulder, or drinking the different kinds of tea that Hayato brewed as long-winded conversations turned into something gentle and intimate, Haruka subconsciously playing with the other’s fingers as he talks about this and that. Hayato wants his boyfriend back!
But then again, the kitten brings a new side of Haruka that he rarely ever sees. A hesitant and gentle hand that strokes the small of her head, the endearing, awe-stricken smile that Haruka gives Hayato whenever the kitten toddles its way onto Haruka’s lap. The ‘look Hayato, she’s walking! So slow, hahaha!’ a laugh so heavenly it makes Hayato reel from adoration.
So, okay… maybe Hayato takes it back. The kitten does bring some good.
But today’s Haruka looked a little more pensive.
“I found someone to take her in.” Haruka says with a flick of a ribbon, as the kitten chases after it. “I asked around and Ito-san said that he’d take her. Y’know, he said he was feeling a bit lonely and that he was looking for a pet." another flick, and the kitten flies at it, as if dancing, "I’m taking her to him tomorrow.”
“Haruka-kun,” Hayato sets the novel he’d been ‘fake-reading’ down, sitting up to gaze at the other boy’s expression.
“I mean, I couldn’t really keep her, y’know… I can barely take care of myself, how could I take care of a cat on top of that? It just- it just wouldn’t be fair to her right?” Haruka whispered as he smiled wryly at the kitten, eyes glistening with something forlorn.
“Oh, Haruka–” Hayato’s arms had automatically wrapped themselves around the other’s smaller body and a warmth that felt so right had settled into his bones as Haruka had dropped his head onto the junction of Hayato’s neck and gazed up at him.
“I think I’ve made the right choice. I’m really glad. She’s found someone that’ll be her family, at least she’ll have something better than I did y’know?” Absent-mindedly, Haruka traced circles onto Hayato’s clothed back as Hayato’s heart writhed to find any comforting words, anything to alleviate the tenseness of his beloved’s face. “I’m glad.”
“I’m glad too.” Hayato replied back, grinning slightly, “but I think I’ll miss her and I think she’ll miss you most of all,”
Haruka takes a moment, but he returns the smile nonetheless, gazing up at Hayato with resolution. His eyes crinkle into crescents beautifully, as Hayato’s heart blooms again after successfully restoring the other’s sparkle. “Yeah, I’ll miss her too.”
—-
“Good thing Ito-san had already had a cat beforehand, he knew everything,” Hayato muses out. Dropping off the kitten was not much fanfare as far as Hayato’s concerned, besides the absolutely besotted look on Ito-san’s face when he saw the tiny thing’s face.
“Mhm,” Haruka voices out, his pace slower as he eats the ohagi that Ito-san had graciously given them beforehand and Hayato feels a warm hand wrap around his and pull him back, “Here,”
Haruka holds up another of the red-bean sweet, motioning for Hayato and of course, Hayato wasn’t gonna say no to his Haruka so he ducks his head to take a bite from Haruka’s hand.
“I guess Ito-san still had some left over from Ohigan.” Hayato finishes savouring the sweetness to hold Haruka’s still-warm hand.
“Ohigan?”
“Autumnal equinox. Some families make ohagi and go visit their ancestors’ or loved one’s graves.” Haruka gripped Hayato’s hand a little tighter.
“Ito-san must’ve…”
“Ohigan must be a lonely time for him,”
Suddenly, Hayato feels the known chill of autumn, but he doesn’t get to feel its poetic loneliness as Haruka lifts their joined hands to shove into the pocket of his pants.
“Good thing Ito-san has the kitten now,” Haruka mumbles out, his ears and neck red as he faces away from Hayato, trying to hide. “-and good thing I have you, I guess…”
“Yes, good thing I have someone that’ll warm my hand now,” Hayato pulls a grin, he knows will piss off the other boy, as the other sputters out denials, cheeks now fully red with an awfully endearing look that Hayato just can’t resist so he does the only thing his body is rendering him able to do. With a soft kiss to his Haruka’s cheek, and pride for the smaller boy's growth welling in his chest, threatening to overflow, he whispers, “I love you, Haruka-kun,”
Hayato’s done at least one thing right he finds, as the other boy is fully red now just like the autumn leaves adorning all of the trees and Haruka out of spite (?) kisses his mouth this time. The sweetness of the ohagi now shared between the two of them, a subdued sort of saccharine taste that Hayato finds might haunt him every time he looks at an ohagi from then on, but all the more precious when he wonders if Haruka might be there to let him taste it again every autumn from now on.
Haruka flutters open his marble-like eyes to gaze into Hayato’s own red one, with a characteristic and defiant shyness and furrowed brows, before realising something and laughing softly. He laughs like a wind chime, the sound of it one that Hayato is luckily hearing more of nowadays.
“It’s sweet.”