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Chaos was normal in the animal hospital. As such, today was a normal day. The head nurse and nurse were both jogging back and forth to help each other out despite their hands being full with things like herbs to maple syrup: the psychologist was off sick today, looking greener than usual, so they had less help than they normally would. Animals of all shapes and sizes were rushing in one by one due to a recent anomaly attack that had happened nearby and the poor secretary couldn’t keep up. Although, even during such a dire situation, the intern was just chugging coffee. (Much to the secretary’s dismay.) On the other hand, the secret agent ‘Kuro’ wielded his gun, looking out for any anomalies that may have had the guts to sneak in.
The secretary sighed, pushing his glasses up from where they slid down his blue nose during the chaos. “I wish we could have a day off…” He muttered to no one in particular, leaning against the front desk while trying to ignore the groans and gunshots from down the hallway. The secretary watched Intern as they tried to lick the last drop of coffee from the mug with their abnormally long tongue.
“Ya… I’d have no where to go though.” The secretary clicked his tongue. This freaking intern barely does anything - why are they agreeing!?… He supposed they were right though; their circumstance was pitiable.
“I forgot about that, I’m sorry… Dr Harlow just found you on the street, right?” He watched as they nodded as if it were nothing. His eyes drifted toward their grey, coffee stained hoodie. “I’d offer for you to stay with me but I don’t have a spare bed. Though, you are welcome to come for breakfast whenever.” He walked over to the coffee machine and began to brew some more. The permanent smile on their face made the secretary feel a little bad.
Suddenly, Kuro came bursting in through the receptionist door. “Intern, what are you doing in here!? We could use your help, y’know!?” The cats’ voice was raised, clearly a little stressed out: more patients kept on coming in. Intern just stared, looking from the coffee machine to the desperate eyes of the black cat. The secretary made a little gesture to signal they should probably go, so they eventually did. (Not without giving the machine one last yearning look.)
Both animals rushed through the hallway to where the medical rooms were but not without Kuro feeling that feeling he always got. That feeling of a presence behind him, watching him. He tensed - only slightly - and tried to ignore it. He didn’t want to lose any more of his sanity to the lanky, cheshire cat monster that tormented the staff: his paranoia was bad enough. Intern seemed to notice him tensing and they tilted their head at him as they both reached the door. He dismissed it. “I’m fine. Come on, there’s a critical patient and the nurse needs your—“ He quickly cut himself off to swivel on his heel. Paranoia does help sometimes: an anomaly was approaching. His pistol aimed at its forehead with a practised ease and he fired, watching as its deer body fell to the ground. Its mouth was agape and showed every sharp tooth as green blood oozed out of its head and into its mouth. “Anyway," He continued. "She needs your help.” He kept a firm grip on his gun. Intern stared in awe despite their expression being unchanging and nodded eagerly. The violence didn’t seem to phase them. “Okay! I'm on it!” “Good.” He pat their back and left to go sniff out more anomalies, leaving the secretary or someone else to clean up his mess.
Intern helped out the nurse by gathering ointments and a medkit for the patient. “Thank you, sweetheart.” They smiled at that (even though it was hard to tell) and their fluffy bunny tail wagged happily. As the patient calmly recovered, she pet their head and chuckled as she did so. Intern always thought the nurse was very kind in an almost motherly way. “Kuro was right about you, Intern.” She said with a fond smile on her face as she briskly walked to room 5.
”Me?” They asked whilst following close behind, suddenly curious. What had the agent been saying about them? Usually he treated them like they were… well, an intern; someone who is incapable and new to everything. That wasn’t all true when it came to them! Could Kuro actually see potential in them?
“Yes,” The nurse spoke as she took a DNA sample of the patient. “He said, ‘despite them being picked off the street, I guess they’re not all bad. They can be useful when they wanna be.’ He’s a bit tsundere, heh, so take it as a compliment.” Huh… they suddenly felt really good about themselves.
“That’s really nice of him…!” Their tail wagged involuntarily as they left to gather cough syrup. Their grin was wider than usual.
After an hour or two, their shift was finally over. All the patients had been treated and all the anomalies were disposed of and they were free to go home. Unless they get an emergancy call, of course. Intern was behind the desk again with the secretary and head nurse; they were preparing to lock up and leave. The secret agent snuck in sneakily and his sudden presence made the secretary flinch. “Ah! Geez! You must stop doing that, Kuro…” The cat only snickered in response.
“What’re we talking about?” Kuro asked as his tail lazily swung back and forth.
“Intern. They’ve still got nowhere to go… they’ve been sleeping in the hospital rooms.” The head nurse said with her usual caring yet authoritative tone. The agent’s tail stopped its swaying. His head turned to look at the ever-smiling intern, watching their beady eyes blink innocently. His expression hardened a little.
”They’ll come with me.”
He spoke impulsively. The room was silent for a beat until the bunny spoke up.
”Really!? Thank you, Kuro!!” They sounded happy; it was sweet. The head nurse and secretary exchanged knowing glances but Kuro just ignored that: they could gossip all they wanted, he was just doing his job.
”Yes. Come on.” He was suddenly very pushy, taking their hood and lightly pulling them to the door. He had a small bag in his other hand so he used his body to push the door open.
”Ookay, we leave them in your hands, agent! Goodnight!” The secretary called out before immediately going to gossiping with the head nurse.
The black cat led the white bunny outside to his sleek, matching black car. Although, you could hardly call Intern white - they looked more beige. But don’t fret the details! Intern did not complain about being dragged around: they were a little intimidated but mostly very, very pleased. “Wow… a car.” Intern said, staring at it and their reflection. “So shiny.” ”…Yup.” He said, raising a brow. The agent opened the door for them and then closed it behind them like a true gentleman. Then, he walked around the front of the car to get into the drivers seat, carelessly putting his bag by his feet. “You ready?” He asked while turning the engine on. Their fluffy fur took up a lot of their side of the car and it always made them seem bigger than they probably actually were. Kuro always felt kind of bad seeing the dirt and stains on their fur. The intern nodded and their eyes crinkled which took him out of his thoughts. “‘Kay.” He put his seatbelt on and drove out of the hospital parking lot.
It was quiet and the intern seemed to enjoy that. Anytime Kuro looked over at them to check on them, they were either staring out the window or looking at him. It didn’t really freak him out, nothing did. He knew Intern was curious and pitiable. Despite their long tongue and unending smile, their face was kinda cute. …No—! Bad kitty! Focus on the road! He gripped the steering wheel a bit tighter.
“Are you okay?” The question was sudden. Tsk, they noticed. Of course they did.
“I’m fine. Just exhausted.” He muttered. His hands reached toward a button and he turned the radio on as if he were trying to mute anymore questions. But they were talking about the anomaly attack that happened recently. Kuro felt himself tense again. He immediately shut it off. He saw the bunny tilt their head in the corner of his eyes and he realised that was pretty out of character. “Uh, sorry. I didn’t tell you.” His ear twitched. “I was involved in that. A group of ‘em destroyed my apartment. Ate the furniture, broke the mirrors, slashed the walls-… you get it. So… I’ve been movin’ between hotels. That’s alright, right?” He looked almost nervous if you looked too hard.
“That’s okay.” He heard them say. Oh.
”You sure?” He wasn’t sure why he was asking: it’s probably the most home-esque place Intern will ever be. He didn’t even know if the bunny knew what a hotel was. They just nodded, happy to be there.
After a little drive, they made it to the hotel. Kuro helped the intern get out of the car and he walked in with them following close behind. They seemed a little nervous; understandably so. Kuro booked a room for them for two nights and as he took the room key and put it in his bag, the dog at the counter apologised for something that he chose not to listen to: he didn’t care much if it was a missing towel again or something trivial like that, plus he was too tired now that he was in the lobby to even care.
But oh boy, he should’ve listened.
Intern maintained a safe yet closed distance to Kuro as they went up the stairs to their rooms. “Thank you again.” They said. Kuro turned his head to glance at their usual, somewhat eerie smile and then looked forward again, maintaining a straight posture. ”Don’t mention it.” He muttered. Being thanked was apart of his job so he often brushed off a ‘thanks’ like it was nothing, although this wasn’t in the job description so it felt different somehow. It made him feel warm. Intern put their hands into the pockets of their grey and stained hoodie. Neither felt like making pointless small talk: that’s just how they were. Put two introverts in a situation and this is what you get.
Soon enough, they made it to their room. Room 23. Intern stood close by as Kuro reached into his bag for their room key. “Here.” Kuro spoke to no one in particular as he took the key and entered their bedroom for tonight. Kuro was halfway into the room when he suddenly stopped walking, making Intern accidentally slam into him - thankfully, it wasn’t enough to make the bunny fall to the floor. They tilted their head and looked to where Kuro was blankly staring. Oh. There was only one bed.
“Uh.” He began, only to be cut off.
”It’s okay!”
Kuro’s head snapped to Intern. Their carefree nature was always so surprising…
“You sure? I can just go get another—“ But Intern’s insistent shaking head took him off guard. It seemed Intern was the only one who could catch Kuro off guard and he didn’t like that. “…If you say so.”
They must’ve sensed his confusion and mistook it for discomfort: they quickly protested against their previous actions.
”Are you fine with that…? I uhhh, can make you extra coffee if it helps! Anything you want.” Kuro just chuckled at that, watching as their long tongue licked their lips at the thought of coffee. ”It’s fine. I don’t mind…” He felt his cheeks flush a bit and he quickly changed the topic. “I’m going to shower. Um, make yourself at home, yeah? Don’t break anything.” He watched them nod and he gave a small nod back of acknowledgment. This was fine. Right?
After Intern heard the door’s lock click, they immediately went into Kuro’s bag. They were curious, okay!? Kuro was too mysterious for his own good. They placed the small bag onto the table on the opposite side of the bed and began their search. Though, to their disappointment, there was nothing special - it had his wallet, clothes, (his hygiene stuff was missing, he probably took it out of the bag without them seeing) and his phone. Hmph…
Feeling defeated from a lack of clues to Kuro’s character, they flopped onto the double bed. The sound of water running and splashing onto the floor was pretty loud in the silence of their room and they almost began counting the seconds. They were bored. And now that they thought about it, water was pretty good white noise… or should it be blue noise? Or… teal…?
~~~~~
About 40 minutes later, Kuro came out of the bathroom. It was late and he was all ready for bed in his tuna pajamas. He assumed Intern would want to shower too (considering the state of them) yet he didn’t expect to see them passed out on the bed - he knew they were lazy but this was too much! They couldn’t even entertain themselves for a while?! When he first came out, his instincts flared: he thought Intern was badly injured, bleeding out on the bed. He almost ran to them and shook their shoulders but thankfully he saw them breathing calmly. Whoops! Kuro clearly didn’t know serenity.
Now, he had to decide what to do about them. He could either wake them up and express his concern for their hygiene, (or, somewhat lack thereof) or allow them to be lazy as always and sleep in such a strange position. Side note, how does someone even sleep with a grin on their face and their limbs stretched out? He stared at the bunny for a while and mentally battled himself on this. Although, eventually, the cat decided on waking them up. “Intern. Hey.” He spoke softly for someone with such a dangerous lifestyle. Placing a hand on their shoulder, he gently shook them awake anyway: he decided his voice might scare them awake or something.
He watched as they slowly awoke from their slumber, blinking harshly at the bright, yellowed lights. “So you are alive. Good.” He stared at them rubbing their eyes for a moment. “You should probably shower… no offence.” He quickly left his side to search his bag for spare clothes. “Here.” He handed them a black shirt that was probably going to be way too small on them - Kuro was slender while Intern was big and fluffy.
“Thank you!” They took the shirt gratefully and headed off to the shower with a noticeably slouched posture from, he assumed, exhaustion. What a strange one, able to stay wholesome even after being interrupted from sleep. Kuro would just be grumpy.
He heard the shower turn on and he messaged the hospital’s group-chat to let the others know they arrived safely and to wish them a good night. He texted for a while and barely noticed time passing except for when he wondered if Intern was okay. He checked his phone clock after snapping out of it. It was getting really late, no wonder his eyes felt so dry all of a sudden. But he didn’t want to sleep without Intern sleeping first. And speak of the devil, they came out of the bathroom partially dry. “Ah, much better.” He praised lightly. They smiled wider than usual and he caught their bunny tail wagging quickly behind them. A small purr-like chuckle left him.
The shirt was definitely too small on them but it looked… cute. Their fluff was emphasised (especially now they were clean) and their figure was clearer now: a little chubby (but he didn’t mind that). “You uh, ready to sleep?” He asked, glancing behind him at the singular double bed. ”Yeah!” Intern sounded too excited, he thought. Both animals got into the bed and Intern immediately laid down. Kuro on the other hand stayed sat up to look out at the luminous moonlight lighting up the bedroom. Strangely, he had a sense that this would be one of the most peaceful nights of his life. The scenery relaxed him although it wouldn’t last long of course, not with Kuro - he felt eyes on him for a while but he was uncertain if it was the bunny silently staring or just his constant paranoia. He didn’t really want to know, honestly. Curiosity killed the cat after all. Staring up at the ceiling, he bit the black nail polish around the skin of his blunt thumbnail. This was a habit he often tried not to indulge in yet he couldn’t help it in a dark room. He also didn’t realise how tense he was until suddenly he felt soft ears tickle his cheekbones, making him brutally aware of everything touching him.
It startled him slightly but Intern had only become conscious of his paranoia and tried to comfort him or something by placing their head on his shoulder. Although, he wouldn’t put it past them if they just wanted a second pillow or something and settled for a strong shoulder. “Are you okay?” He felt it was necessary to ask and make sure. That was his job, after all. When he felt a tired nod he relaxed his shoulders a bit. This wasn’t bad. His whole schtick was that he provided safety to others so surely this was no different: Intern had clearly been through a lot, the least he could do was allow them to cling to him for tonight. They were sweet when they were all sleepy anyway.
The secret agent felt the intern’s soft cheek nuzzle his shoulder which made him feel simultaneously dizzy and mushy, especially with their delicate (and now dried) fur from their ears tickling his cheek like a nighttime breeze. This wasn’t good: this was unprofessional! Yet, he refused to move. He kept telling himself that this was for Intern’s sake, that they needed this tonight - he worried they may have a heart attack from chugging so much coffee, too. Totally not to partially and selfishly keep this feeling he hadn’t felt before this virtuous idiot. Totally. …Damn it, this really wasn’t like him; aren’t cats supposed to be cold and wily?
His long nails found their head and twirled hypnotising spirals into the fur behind their ears. They seemed to like that; the agent’s once sharp and perilous eyes now could only soften sweetly. Intern let out a small noise of contentment, becoming clingy as they threw their leg over his and tried to get as close as humanly (animally?) possible to him. He was just helping them sleep, that’s all this was. “Shhh.” Kuro shushed Intern comfortingly into the ear that was still touching his cheek. They nudged him gently. Kuro couldn’t discern whether or not he was comforting himself or the bunny right now. He was just glad they were so comfortable. Agents - secret or not - had a duty to protect people.
He felt so warm, like the sun was exploding inside of his very body. Kuro bit his lip and decided not to think about why. Intern was just a newbie after all. He closed his eyes and soon after heard the telltale sound of someone sleeping: relaxed breathing and snores. The snoring was pretty loud but didn’t really care, it was cute anyway. He reprimanded himself yet buried his face just above their forehead and stayed there, placing a sweet kiss on them. Kuro caught a whiff of his shampoo mingled with their natural scent: coffee and something he couldn’t name and didn’t care to. Fuck. His ears twitched and his tail acted on its own, wrapping securely around their thigh and stroking slowly. He could still see perfectly well in his mind that foolish smile on their face that stubbornly stayed even as they slept. Too sweet. And kind of scary.
He was slowly soothed further just from their smell and presence and feel of their finally clean fur. Kuro had never seen the intern so peaceful before. Sure, they were always carefree and wholesome but they never looked quite so… tranquil. He noticed that they seemed to subconsciously seek the safety that he always provided at the hospital despite him being pretty harsh on them. That made him feel a sense of pride. But he wouldn’t dare verbalise that: he was still the humble and cool-headed secret agent of the animal hospital after all.
Soon enough, Kuro too began drifting in and out of consciousness, fighting his urges to sleep. While, yeah, he wanted to sleep well to do his best at work the next morning, his selfish desires to hold onto this moment of peace with someone he’d never imagined he’d ever have it with were stronger. It was just so… perfect. That’s the only way he could describe it. The two were an unusual yet perfect pair and he wouldn’t have it any other way. He listened to their calm breathing for a while longer, watching them, and as he did he eventually succumbed to the inevitable pull of sleep. Just before, the cat had one final thought: maybe he’d have to book this hotel more often.