Work Text:
Fenris was lying on the couch, his feet up on an armrest and his mind very much absorbed in a book when Anders returned home. Fenris didn't look up at him as Anders kicked off his shoes and then proceeded to pull off his hoodie. His phone clattered to the ground as he did so, and he hissed a curse under his breath, but he'd dropped it enough times already and he didn't think it could really get any more damaged so he ignored it until his hoodie was on the counter and then he bent down, his hair tousled in every direction, to scoop up his phone. He looked over at Fenris, who appeared to be very comfortable in his tank top and sweatpants, as opposed to his own red polo shirt and khaki slacks and matching lopsided name tag. "I can't believe I had to work today and you didn't," he said.
"I knew you'd start bitching as soon as you walked in the door," said Fenris without looking up.
Anders wrinkled his nose and opened the fridge. He was contemplating whether or not to heat up some leftover Chinese when he heard a muffled sound coming from the cupboard under the sink. He watched, perplexed, and the sound continued until finally he closed the fridge and opened the cupboard and that's when something orange and furry dashed out and ran down the hall at top speed.
Thoroughly confused by this turn of events, Anders looked up at Fenris, who was still reading. "Why was Pounce under the sink?"
"He put himself there."
"What?"
"He sits there and paws the cupboard until it opens and then goes in there. He's done it a few times." Fenris turned the page.
"How come I've never seen him do that?" Anders was quiet for a moment, then said, "Are you sure you didn't put him in there?"
"Me?"
"Yes, you." Anders narrowed his eyes a bit. "You put him in there, didn't you? You wanted to teach me a lesson for... something... so you put my cat under the sink."
Fenris was finally looking over at Anders now, and he snorted. "Yep, you got me," he deadpanned. "I put your cat under the sink. Definitely." He went back to his book.
"I can't believe you would do that," said Anders. "How would you like it if someone shoved you under the sink and shut the door? What has Pounce ever done to you, anyway?" He continued to rant and rave as he walked down the hallway to catch up with his cat, where his tone promptly changed to a much more syrupy one. "Are you alright, Ser Pounce-a-lot? Did that big meanie Fenris shut you under the sink? He is a big meanie, isn't he? He didn't work today so I'm going to have a bigger paycheck and he's sooo jealous, yes he is! Yes he is! Ohhh do you like that under your chin? Just like that? That's what I thought!"
Fenris shook his head and went back to reading, tuning out his roommate's sickeningly sweet baby talk. He was just getting back into his story again when Anders suddenly arrived and dumped Pounce on top of him. The cat bailed immediately, jumping onto the floor and leaving the room, but Fenris would have no such luck with Anders, who asked "Are you going to stop hogging the couch?"
Fenris grumbled but reluctantly moved himself so Anders could have his half of the couch. Anders grabbed the remote and then sat down, still in his work uniform, turned on the TV and began browsing Netflix. "You should apologize to Pounce," he said after a minute.
"Should I?" Fenris said flatly.
"Yes! I think you hurt his feelings! That's why he didn't want to stay with you when I put him on you just now! Cats can be very sensitive, you know, and..." his sentence was interrupted by a strange noise coming from the kitchen. He and Fenris both glanced over to see Ser Pounce-a-lot pawing at the cupboard under the sink. After a few seconds the cat successfully managed to open the cupboard and then he slipped inside, the cupboard door closing gently behind him.
Fenris looked over at Anders. "You were saying?"
But Anders had his hands up to his mouth and his eyes were wide and shining. "My cat is so smart," he whispered.
Fenris rolled his eyes.