SECRET SANTA - Merry Christmas samikitty
Title: Be Careful What You Wish For
Recipient: samikitty
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: None
Genre: Fluff, Humor
Summary: It all started because Jaejoong wanted a cat
Author's Note: Written for samikitty for the Starcandy Secret Santa 2012 Event ^^
Prompt: On a cold December morning, Changmin discovers that he's developed the ability to turn invisible... or into a cat.
"Changmin~ I want a cat!"
Changmin looked up at his roommate with an eyebrow quirked so high up it disappeared behind his fringe.
"A what?"
"A cat," Jaejoong replied back happily.
"What? Why a cat all of a sudden?"
"Well, you know our new neighbour who just moved in next door to us recently, Junsu? He showed me his cats yesterday and he has seven - seven - cats and they're all so cute and adorable it makes me want one too!"
Changmin sighed and leant back against the couch.
"You're telling me that you want a cat just because you think our new neighbour's cats are cute? Really now hyung?"
"Well I've sort of always wanted one …"
Changmin scoffed.
"No."
Jaejoong blinked.
"Excuse me?"
"No. We are not getting a cat. You might think it's cute today but tomorrow or the day after you're going to think it's ugly or just get bored of it. And anyway, where are you going to find time to look after it between work and study?"
"But-"
"No but's hyung, you are not getting one, end of story."
Jaejoong frowned, a pout forming on his lips but Changmin didn't relent, focusing his attention back to the book in his hand. They both paid the rent for the apartment so no matter how much Jaejoong wanted one, he would still need to get Changmin's 'permission' first.
"I wish I could get a cat," he mumbled just loud enough for the younger man to hear whilst looking in the corner where their Christmas tree was set up.
Changmin rolled his eyes.
"I hope you realize you just ruined your wish hyung. Everyone knows that you don't say your wishes out loud. They either won't come true or something bad will happen if they do."
Jaejoong huffed and sent a death glare over Changmin's way before stomping out of the living room and into the kitchen, intent on taking his temper out by cooking up a feast, just like he always did.
Changmin sighed before flipping the page of his book.
Little did he know just how right he was.
The following morning, Changmin woke up to a sudden breeze in the room and he frowned because he was pretty sure he had closed the window last night before climbing into bed.
Frowning, he attempted to bury himself further under his duvet. Attempting being the word.
Something felt wrong and Changmin unwillingly cracked an eye open. His vision was still foggy with sleep but he noticed at once that the bed felt and looked somewhat larger, as did his surroundings.
Changmin blinked, and then blinked again. He knew his eyesight wasn't perfect (hence the reading glasses sitting on the bedside table) but damn, he didn't realize his eyes were that bad that it made it seem like he was looking through a magnifying glass at everything all of a sudden.
Slowly, Changmin tried to sit up but his body felt all weird and he went to reach a hand out to stable himself only to pause halfway as he stared at his arm. Well, at the place where his arm was supposed to be. Changmin sucked in a breath, shut his eyes, counted to ten, released his breath and then opened his eyes again. Nope, it was still there.
Where there should be an arm, in its place was a small furry paw.
A paw.
Changmin screamed.
Or at least he tried to. Because what came out of his mouth instead was a small pathetic meow.
What.the.hell.
Changmin scrunched his eyes shut again and took yet another breath, holding it in until twenty seconds this time before letting it out. This must be a dream he thought to himself. Yes, a dream, that would explain why he was seeing things. He was still in the middle of a totally weird dream. Now all he had to do was wake up from it.
But when he opened his eyes again, that thought was immediately crushed when his gaze landed once again on … his paw?
Slowly, ever so slowly Changmin tried to sit up again and immediately found himself losing balance, his upper body toppling sideways. On natural instinct, Changmin twisted and planted both hands out in front of him and was greeted with the sight of two matching furry paws.
His eyes travelled up the length of his arms - or was it his front legs? - where the paws were attached to and he heard himself letting out another meow instead of a scream.
This is crazy, completely utterly crazy he thought to himself. Sliding his gaze over the rest of his body covered in fur, Changmin couldn't help but let out a whimper. This can't be real can it?
Looking around at his surroundings which looked so familiar and yet so different, Changmin paused when he spotted the mirror on top his set of drawers.
Attempting to stand up, Changmin found his balance slightly off even though he was on all four legs, but his body's natural instinct helped him and Changmin felt something swishing behind him. Glancing behind him, he saw a small furry tail waving back at him.
Taking small careful steps, Changmin somehow managed to stumble two times before reaching the edge of the bed which suddenly seemed so high up from the ground. Surprisingly, Changmin found he wasn't afraid of the height. Readying himself, Changmin jumped, once again relying on natural instinct and landed safely and soundlessly onto the floor.
He padded across to the set of drawers and - not giving himself time to think - crouched low and then jumped, claws coming out to grip the edge of the top before hauling himself up and over.
It was only a few steps away but Changmin still hesitated, knowing that once he looked into the mirror, it would only confirm his suspicions. Making his way over slowly, Changmin peered almost shyly into the mirror.
When greeted with a tiny furry face, Changmin let out a meow, tumbling back a few steps until he almost toppled over the edge, but with fast reflexes that he knew he shouldn't have, his body twisted and then he was safe and upright again.
Taking a deep breath, Changmin steadied himself as he peered into the mirror once again. This time he didn’t back away and instead tilted his head to the side, watching as the reflection in the mirror repeated the action.
Shit. He's turned into a cat.
"This is just unbelievable," Jaejoong said for the umpteenth time since they'd both calmed down enough to sit down in the living room without freaking out all over again.
Jaejoong had entered Changmin's room half an hour ago, intent on berating his roommate for sleeping in again. Then he'd frozen in his spot at the doorway when he found the room empty save for a small tiny kitten staring at its reflection in the mirror.
Changmin had then turned around, gave a meow of surprise before launching himself into Jaejoong's arms with a cry of the older man's name.
It was round about then that they both started freaking out, Jaejoong at hearing his name coming from a kitten's mouth, and Changmin at the fact that he could still somehow talk when in cat form.
"Will you just shut up hyung," Changmin growled out, but it just made Jaejoong giggle because really, when hearing it from a kitten who was trying to scrunch up his face in annoyance, the effect just wasn't the same.
"I told you to be careful when wishing things out loud, now look what you've done. They've punished you by turning me into a cat. Seriously, why am I the one who got turned into a cat. I'm not one who wanted a cat to begin with," Changmin grumbled out.
Jaejoong only waggled a finger at Changmin with another giggle.
"It's karma Minnie~ karma for not letting me get a cat, so now you have to suffer!"
Changmin let out a meow of frustration.
"So what do we do now?"
"Umm ... try and find out how to turn you back into a human?" Jaejoong suggested.
"Obviously. So ... any ideas?"
"Well like I said, it's karma. So maybe you're getting punished today for it and tomorrow you'll be human again."
"Do you really think it's going to be that easy?"
"Maybe? Hmm … I wonder what type of breed you are. Maybe I should ask Junsu, I'll bet he'll know …"
Changmin meowed in frustration again. Wasn't Jaejoong concerned at all that his best friend was currently in the form of a cat?
The rest of the day sort of passed in a blur where Changmin either spent his time thinking of the how to turn himself back into a human, or just moving around in the apartment, trying to get used to being in such a tiny body with extremely good reflexes.
Jaejoong would keep reminding him that it was karma, and then tell him not to worry about it so much because by tomorrow, he would be back to normal again. Trust Jaejoong to think so care freely about a situation as serious as this …
Jaejoong woke up the following morning with Changmin's tail tickling his nose.
Looking up blearily, he met Changmin's steady gaze on him.
"Well good morning Changminnie," he greeted, reaching a hand up to pull Changmin in for a cuddle only to have the latter bat a paw at him.
Jaejoong frowned.
"Changmin?"
"Hyung," Changmin said in a serious tone.
"What is it?"
Changmin resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
"Can you not see? I'm still a cat."
Jaejoong blinked, and then blinked again.
"Oh … ohhh yeah umm … right …"
Changmin tried to facepalm but forgot he was a cat and ended up hitting himself on the chin.
"Yes anyway hurry up and get dressed. You're going shopping."
"Umm ... what?"
"So let me get this straight, you woke me up at eight on a Saturday morning just so I can go and buy you kitty litter?" Jaejoong said as he pulled on a pair of jeans.
"Yes," Changmin replied as if that was the most normal thing to request for.
"But ... but can't you just-"
"No hyung I just told you, I obviously can't use the toilet unless you want to risk me falling in and you having to call a plumber to pull me out. I absolutely refuse to pee in the shower again because that was just wrong on so many levels - there's a reason why there's a toilet you know - and I also refuse to do my 'business' out in the open again."
Well when you put it that way, there really wasn't any room left to argue.
Jaejoong sighed and finished pulling on a shirt before grabbing his keys, phone and wallet off the bedside table.
Forty-five minutes later, Jaejoong came back with a bag of kitty litter in one hand and a pink litter tray to go with it in the other. When he'd finished pouring some of the kitty litter into the tray he called out to Changmin, who was lying in a patch of sunlight in the living room.
Changmin yawned and slowly made his way over, stopping in front of the tray and taking a sniff before scrunching his nose up in disgust.
"What is this hyung? It's horrible!"
Jaejoong just gave him a blank look.
"Uhh kitty litter?"
"Let me guess, you either just picked the first one off the shelf or you chose the cheapest option available?"
"Cheapest option," Jaejoong replied without a pause.
"Cheapest option," Changmin repeated with a look on his face that pretty much said 'are you for real?'
"Don't look at me like that, it's not like I know the difference between what's good and what's bad," Jaejoong said with a shrug of his shoulders.
And here you were telling me you wanted a cat yesterday Changmin thought with a sigh.
"Well I do and I don't like this," he said out loud instead. "So you're going to go back to the store again but this time you're taking me with you so I can choose the right one and you won't have to waste money again by buying the wrong one."
At the store …
"You do realize you're making us look like complete weirdos making me lift you up to sniff each and every type of kitty litter they have here," Jaejoong whispered while keeping his head lowered in embarrassment.
"They'll think you're the weirdo not me," Changmin replied before sniffing at yet another brand.
After Changmin had made a nonchalant comment about how he'd never been here before when they entered the store, they realized that nobody could hear Changmin speak. Well they could, but it would only sound like a cat meowing. That being said, meant that Changmin could talk to Jaejoong any time and nobody would freak out, but Jaejoong had to be careful when talking to Changmin in case people thought he was a crazy catlady or something.
"Hmm … this one will do," Changmin finally decided, nudging at one of the plastic containers on the shelf.
Jaejoong gaped at the selected brand.
"Out of all the brands you could have chosen, you decide on the most expensive one?"
Changmin just let out a chuckle which sounded like a contented meow to the rest of the people in the store.
Jaejoong sighed, grabbing the kitty litter off the shelf and was about to head in the direction of the counter when Changmin stopped him.
"Wait."
"What now?" he whispered.
"We need to buy food too. Since I'm a cat now, I need to eat cat food, and as much as I love your cooking, I don't think my cat stomach will be able to handle it very well if I continue eating it."
"Are you telling me I need to let you sniff every brand of food they have here too?"
"Maybe."
In the end, they went home with the kitty litter and five different brands of food - the most expensive ones of course - because Changmin couldn't choose, saying it was hard to pick for real which was the best until he tasted it.
On the fourth day of his turning into a cat, Jaejoong had surprised him with a cat bed because the older man had overheard Changmin nonchalantly mumbling that he was getting cat fur all over his 'human' bed. Even though the cat bed was much, much smaller than his everyday bed, Changmin found he much preferred sleeping in it.
Even though Jaejoong had been laughing at him and complaining at all the work he had to do for the younger man, he'd actually been quite caring, attending to Changmin's every wishes and concerns. Changmin had a feeling he was starting to feel guilty for Changmin being in the state he was in right now.
One week later, Changmin was still in the form of a cat but he was slowly getting used to the ways of living as a cat. Sure, the kitty litter and food took him a bit to get used to but after the first few days, Changmin had pretty much adapted to the lifestyle.
His days pretty much consisted of waking up, stretching, eating, napping in a patch of sunlight, relaxing, eating again, relaxing, sleeping etc. Thankfully it was the Christmas vacation so he didn't need to think of some eligible reason as to why he couldn't attend college or his part time job at the cafe shop on campus.
Sometimes he would curl up in Jaejoong's lap and the let older man pet him while they watched reruns on TV. Junsu had come over to visit unexpectedly during one of these instances and had immediately started cooing over Changmin - who was against it until Junsu surprised him with some kitty treats that he probably kept in his pockets all the time.
Junsu revealed that Changmin was a Maine Coon, a domestic long-haired cat breed known for its large bone structure, its intelligence and gentle personality. It seemed quite fitting that Changmin would turn into this breed seeing as he had rather long limbs in human form and his hair was often referred to as an untameable mane according to Jaejoong. Oh and his intelligence was something to account for too.
To save any questions Junsu would ask in the future when Changmin would be human again and not a cat, Jaejoong made up some story about looking after his cousin's cat while he went on a short vacation overseas. Junsu bought the story easily and offered to give any advice or tips on looking after cats if Jaejoong needed it.
Needless to say, they saw a lot more of Junsu after that visit. After all, he was what they called a catlady these days.
Two nights before Christmas Eve found Changmin huddled up in his cat bed, ears flattened until they almost touched his skull. There was a huge storm going on outside and he could just see a flash of lightning every few minutes.
It wasn't like Changmin was afraid of storms, no of course not - he just didn't like the sound of the thunder that liked to strike at different intervals of time.
After jumping up in shock from a really loud crack of thunder that illuminated the whole room for a good five seconds, Changmin decided he didn't care what Jaejoong would think of him as he made his way towards the older man's bedroom.
The door was slightly ajar - thankfully - allowing him to slip in silently. He jumped up onto the bed and landed quietly on the duvet, wincing when a low rumble sounded across the sky.
A flash of lightning, accompanied by another loud crack of thunder, had Changmin letting out a loud meow as he buried his head under the rumples of the duvet, tail curled tightly around himself.
The bed shifted as Jaejoong rolled over at hearing the noise.
"Changmin? Is that you?"
Changmin whimpered in response.
"What's wrong? Are you okay?" Jaejoong tried to flick on the light switch but no light came on. After trying a few more times, Jaejoong realized there was no power. So instead he reached around in the darkness, trying to locate where his friend was.
When his hand brushed against Changmin's tail, Changmin twitched before making his way into Jaejoong's outstretched arms. He curled himself against Jaejoong's chest, body shuddering the whole time.
"That's right, you don't like storms," Jaejoong whispered as a small rumble had Changmin tensing up.
"Shut up," Changmin mumbled against Jaejoong's chest.
Jaejoong just chuckled as he settled them more comfortably in bed.
"You want to stay here for the night?" Jaejoong asked after a few minutes of silence, save for the rumbling outside of the apartment.
"Yes please," Changmin replied, glad that Jaejoong wasn't laughing at him.
Normally if there was a storm, he would put his headphones on and turn the music on full blast to block out the sound of thunder. But as a cat, he couldn't really do that.
As it was, Changmin just cuddled up against Jaejoong under the duvet, focusing on the steady beat of Jaejoong's heart that seemed to drown out the rumbles of thunder.
When he woke up the following morning, a sense of warmth and safety seemed to surround him and he meowed in contentment as he tried to snuggle further into the warm embrace.
There was a chuckle and Changmin heard himself whimpering in protest as he was being tugged away from the warmth.
"Stopping rubbing against me, it tickles," he heard Jaejoong say from somewhere above him.
Blinking his eyes a bit to clear away the sleep, Changmin tilted his head up to see Jaejoong looking down at him with a smile.
"Good morning," Jaejoong greeted as he brushed the back of his hand against Changmin's cheek making his whiskers twitch.
For some reason, Changmin felt himself going all warm and fuzzy in the chest and he was sure that behind all the fur he was blushing, but for what reason he didn't know.
"G-good morning," he replied back, ducking down to look anywhere but into Jaejoong's eyes. His gaze landed on Jaejoong's chest and it was then he realized that Jaejoong was naked under the covers save for a pair of boxers.
He'd forgotten that his roommate liked to sleep half naked.
"Sleep well?" Jaejoong asked as he rolled over onto his back, bringing Changmin with him to place on his chest.
"Yeah I did," Changmin mumbled. "Umm ... thanks for letting me sleep with you last night."
"You're welcome."
It was silent for a few moments before Jaejoong spoke up again.
"You hungry yet?"
Changmin shook his head.
"Need to go to the toilet?"
Again Changmin shook his head.
Jaejoong grinned.
"Good because I'm still tired so if you don't mind, I'm going to cuddle you and go back to sleep for another few hours or so."
Changmin grinned in return as Jaejoong rolled them over and pulled him snug against his chest.
"Nope, not at all."
It was eleven in the morning of Christmas Eve when Jaejoong walked through the door with a wriggling bundle of something under an arm.
Changmin looked up from where he was curled up in the corner of the couch.
"Where have you bee- what is that?" he asked, watching at Jaejoong walked over to stand in the middle of the living room.
The older man smiled and unwrapped the bundle before setting it down on the floor.
"What -"
"I decided to add a new member to the family," Jaejoong declared watching as the tiny Scottish Fold kitten made its way over to Changmin's cat bed (Changmin had conned Jaejoong into buying him another one to put in the living room) in the corner, sniffing it for a few seconds before meowing happily and curling itself up on it.
"I introduce to you, Leo!" Jaejoong said as he glanced lovingly at the kitten before walking over to the couch opposite Changmin and falling down on it, stretching his legs out along it.
A surge of jealousy bubbled up inside Changmin at the thought of Jaejoong's attention being given to another cat besides himself.
"I was just over at Junsu's and he said that he was thinking of giving away some of his cats because he hasn't been spending enough time with them lately and some of his cats are very demanding. So then I sort of offered -"
Changmin blocked out the rest of what the older man was going to say. With a growl, he jumped off from the couch and pounced, claws reaching out ready to sink into Jaejoong's chest when a gust of wind suddenly swept across the room accompanied with a cloud of smoke.
When the room cleared, Changmin found himself sprawled atop Jaejoong who was looking at him in surprise. Changmin blinked and looked down to find himself staring at a pair of hands instead of a pair of furry paws. He lowered his gaze even further and found himself staring at his human form again, not a small furry body.
He was about to yell out in happiness when he realized something else.
He was naked.
Letting out a very unmanly squeal, Changmin sat back on his knees and grabbed the closest pillow to cover his lower regions with.
"Umm …"
Jaejoong grinned.
"You're human again."
Changmin opened his mouth, about to reply with a snarky comment when a small meow had the two men turning as one to look at the kitten. Realization seemed to dawn on them at the same time as they turned back to look at each other.
"You think-"
"-the solution to-"
"-changing you back into a human-"
"-was to just get a cat?"
They looked at one another in silence for a few seconds before bursting into laughter.
Changmin couldn't believe it was just that simple to solve a problem that had been plaguing his mind somewhat for the past few weeks. Bringing his hands up to cover his mouth from laughing too much, Changmin didn't realize the pillow had slid off his lap and onto the floor until he felt Jaejoong's gaze on him.
"So …" Jaejoong started as he eyed his friend up and down with an appreciating look.
Changmin yelped and tried to pick up the pillow while attempting to stand up at the same time. Unfortunately, after being in the body of a cat for the past few weeks, he wasn't quite used to his slow reflexes in his human body; his limbs were a bit slow to react and he suddenly found himself flailing before landing flush against Jaejoong's body, their faces only inches apart.
Clearing his throat, Changmin put his hands on either side of Jaejoong's head and tried to push himself up. But Jaejoong prevented the action by tightening his arms that were wrapped around Changmin's waist when he'd secured them around the younger man to prevent him from falling before.
Changmin quirked an eyebrow at the older man when he refused to budge.
"Hyung, in case you haven't noticed, I'm naked, it's cold and I want to go put some clothes on before my butt freezes."
Jaejoong grinned and slid his hands down and before Changmin realized what he was doing, Jaejoong grabbed two handfuls of his behind and squeezed, hard.
Changmin cried out in surprise, tumbling off the couch and pulling a laughing Jaejoong down with him. They landed with Changmin on his back and Jaejoong half sprawled on top of him.
"Hyung, what the hell?!"
Jaejoong leant in close as he trailed a hand over the curve of Changmin's ass.
"Keeping your butt warm," he replied with another firm squeeze.
Changmin should have expected it, but he didn't think Jaejoong was going to try the same thing twice in a row. As it was, he let out another cry but was really too shocked to do anything else.
"You should have seen the look of jealousy on your face before when you saw Leo," Jaejoong said as he slid his hand around to rest on Changmin's hipbone.
Changmin just looked at the older man with his mouth hanging open.
"You don't realize it Minnie, but you pretty much wear your emotions on your sleeve. All I have to do is look at you to know what you're feeling. That day when you woke up next to me and saw me half naked, you were embarrassed weren't you? Don't think I haven't seen you checking me out whenever I come out of the shower or when I'm getting undressed. You think I don't notice you peeking from behind the door that just so happens to be slightly ajar, but I do notice Minnie. You like me don't you?"
Changmin felt himself freeze at the last question - like a deer caught in headlights. Had he been that obvious? He really couldn't remember when he had started developing feelings for the older man. It might have been around the time when Jaejoong had asked Changmin out of all people to rent a place with him to save on living costs, or it might have been when Jaejoong had drunkenly kissed him on the cheek in the taxi that one time when Changmin had to pick him up from a bar. He had received a phone call from Yunho that Jaejoong might have misjudged his drinking abilities by declaring he could drink three soju bottles within ten minutes.
"See what I mean?" Jaejoong asked breaking Changmin out of his thoughts. "You're thinking about when you started liking me aren't you? I can see it in your eyes."
Changmin just continued to gape at his roommate, having no idea that the latter was that good at reading thoughts.
Pressing his body closer to Changmin's, Jaejoong smiled.
"I have another wish," he said.
At that, Changmin shook his head free of thoughts, and glared at Jaejoong in warning.
Jaejoong chuckled and shook his head.
"Actually it's more like a request rather than a wish."
Changmin tilted his head in question.
"Be my boyfriend?"
Changmin swallowed and stared hard at Jaejoong, unsure if the older man was being serious or not. It didn't help that the hand on his hip was proving to be rather distracting as Jaejoong traced random patterns on his skin.
"Umm …" he said, breath hitching when Jaejoong leant closer to press light kisses along his neck.
When Changmin made no move to push him away, Jaejoong smiled and kissed up higher along his jaw until he reached the corner of his lips.
"Yes? No? Maybe?" Jaejoong asked, his lips brushing against Changmin's skin with every word.
Changmin shivered.
"Yes," he mumbled in response and lifted a hand up to place around the back of Jaejoong's neck before tugging him in for a kiss.
Jaejoong smiled into the kiss and pressed himself closer to Changmin if that was possible, running his hands up and down Changmin's sides and enjoying the tiny moans of pleasure Changmin made in between their kisses.
Just when things were about to go up a level, such as Changmin ripping Jaejoong's clothes off and ravishing him silly, a tiny meow sounded from beside them causing both men to break apart in surprise (and also breathe in some much needed oxygen).
Leo was looking at them with his big round eyes and Changmin couldn't resist but reach out a hand to pet it.
"I think he's hungry," Jaejoong said as he too reached out to scratch the cat under its chin.
Leo tilted his head up and made a small purring noise at their ministrations.
Changmin chuckled.
"How about I go and quickly feed Leo now while you go and get naked in bed and wait for me?"
Jaejoong turned his head to see a small blush forming on Changmin's cheeks as those words left his mouth. But like he said before, it was just so easy to see what Changmin was thinking or feeling. Even though Changmin was feeling slightly embarrassed at what he'd just said, he'd meant it.
"Sounds like a plan," Jaejoong replied and with that he got up and slowly made his way towards the bedroom.
"Don't take too long," he called out, making sure Changmin could still see him as he tugged his shirt up and over his head before throwing it to the floor in the hallway.
Changmin cursed, quickly getting to his feet and striding towards the kitchen, not caring that he was as naked as the day he was born.
Looking down at Leo who was trailing along innocently beside him, Changmin couldn't help but smile. He grabbed the box of cat food from the cupboard and poured some into a bowl before placing it down on the floor.
"I owe you one," Changmin whispered as he bent down to scratch Leo behind the ear.
Leo just looked up at him and tilted his head to the side.
Changmin just smiled and nudged at the cat to eat before standing up and making his way to the bedroom to spend some quality time with his 'new boyfriend'.
-End-
Recipient: samikitty
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: None
Genre: Fluff, Humor
Summary: It all started because Jaejoong wanted a cat
Author's Note: Written for samikitty for the Starcandy Secret Santa 2012 Event ^^
Prompt: On a cold December morning, Changmin discovers that he's developed the ability to turn invisible... or into a cat.
"Changmin~ I want a cat!"
Changmin looked up at his roommate with an eyebrow quirked so high up it disappeared behind his fringe.
"A what?"
"A cat," Jaejoong replied back happily.
"What? Why a cat all of a sudden?"
"Well, you know our new neighbour who just moved in next door to us recently, Junsu? He showed me his cats yesterday and he has seven - seven - cats and they're all so cute and adorable it makes me want one too!"
Changmin sighed and leant back against the couch.
"You're telling me that you want a cat just because you think our new neighbour's cats are cute? Really now hyung?"
"Well I've sort of always wanted one …"
Changmin scoffed.
"No."
Jaejoong blinked.
"Excuse me?"
"No. We are not getting a cat. You might think it's cute today but tomorrow or the day after you're going to think it's ugly or just get bored of it. And anyway, where are you going to find time to look after it between work and study?"
"But-"
"No but's hyung, you are not getting one, end of story."
Jaejoong frowned, a pout forming on his lips but Changmin didn't relent, focusing his attention back to the book in his hand. They both paid the rent for the apartment so no matter how much Jaejoong wanted one, he would still need to get Changmin's 'permission' first.
"I wish I could get a cat," he mumbled just loud enough for the younger man to hear whilst looking in the corner where their Christmas tree was set up.
Changmin rolled his eyes.
"I hope you realize you just ruined your wish hyung. Everyone knows that you don't say your wishes out loud. They either won't come true or something bad will happen if they do."
Jaejoong huffed and sent a death glare over Changmin's way before stomping out of the living room and into the kitchen, intent on taking his temper out by cooking up a feast, just like he always did.
Changmin sighed before flipping the page of his book.
Little did he know just how right he was.
The following morning, Changmin woke up to a sudden breeze in the room and he frowned because he was pretty sure he had closed the window last night before climbing into bed.
Frowning, he attempted to bury himself further under his duvet. Attempting being the word.
Something felt wrong and Changmin unwillingly cracked an eye open. His vision was still foggy with sleep but he noticed at once that the bed felt and looked somewhat larger, as did his surroundings.
Changmin blinked, and then blinked again. He knew his eyesight wasn't perfect (hence the reading glasses sitting on the bedside table) but damn, he didn't realize his eyes were that bad that it made it seem like he was looking through a magnifying glass at everything all of a sudden.
Slowly, Changmin tried to sit up but his body felt all weird and he went to reach a hand out to stable himself only to pause halfway as he stared at his arm. Well, at the place where his arm was supposed to be. Changmin sucked in a breath, shut his eyes, counted to ten, released his breath and then opened his eyes again. Nope, it was still there.
Where there should be an arm, in its place was a small furry paw.
A paw.
Changmin screamed.
Or at least he tried to. Because what came out of his mouth instead was a small pathetic meow.
What.the.hell.
Changmin scrunched his eyes shut again and took yet another breath, holding it in until twenty seconds this time before letting it out. This must be a dream he thought to himself. Yes, a dream, that would explain why he was seeing things. He was still in the middle of a totally weird dream. Now all he had to do was wake up from it.
But when he opened his eyes again, that thought was immediately crushed when his gaze landed once again on … his paw?
Slowly, ever so slowly Changmin tried to sit up again and immediately found himself losing balance, his upper body toppling sideways. On natural instinct, Changmin twisted and planted both hands out in front of him and was greeted with the sight of two matching furry paws.
His eyes travelled up the length of his arms - or was it his front legs? - where the paws were attached to and he heard himself letting out another meow instead of a scream.
This is crazy, completely utterly crazy he thought to himself. Sliding his gaze over the rest of his body covered in fur, Changmin couldn't help but let out a whimper. This can't be real can it?
Looking around at his surroundings which looked so familiar and yet so different, Changmin paused when he spotted the mirror on top his set of drawers.
Attempting to stand up, Changmin found his balance slightly off even though he was on all four legs, but his body's natural instinct helped him and Changmin felt something swishing behind him. Glancing behind him, he saw a small furry tail waving back at him.
Taking small careful steps, Changmin somehow managed to stumble two times before reaching the edge of the bed which suddenly seemed so high up from the ground. Surprisingly, Changmin found he wasn't afraid of the height. Readying himself, Changmin jumped, once again relying on natural instinct and landed safely and soundlessly onto the floor.
He padded across to the set of drawers and - not giving himself time to think - crouched low and then jumped, claws coming out to grip the edge of the top before hauling himself up and over.
It was only a few steps away but Changmin still hesitated, knowing that once he looked into the mirror, it would only confirm his suspicions. Making his way over slowly, Changmin peered almost shyly into the mirror.
When greeted with a tiny furry face, Changmin let out a meow, tumbling back a few steps until he almost toppled over the edge, but with fast reflexes that he knew he shouldn't have, his body twisted and then he was safe and upright again.
Taking a deep breath, Changmin steadied himself as he peered into the mirror once again. This time he didn’t back away and instead tilted his head to the side, watching as the reflection in the mirror repeated the action.
Shit. He's turned into a cat.
"This is just unbelievable," Jaejoong said for the umpteenth time since they'd both calmed down enough to sit down in the living room without freaking out all over again.
Jaejoong had entered Changmin's room half an hour ago, intent on berating his roommate for sleeping in again. Then he'd frozen in his spot at the doorway when he found the room empty save for a small tiny kitten staring at its reflection in the mirror.
Changmin had then turned around, gave a meow of surprise before launching himself into Jaejoong's arms with a cry of the older man's name.
It was round about then that they both started freaking out, Jaejoong at hearing his name coming from a kitten's mouth, and Changmin at the fact that he could still somehow talk when in cat form.
"Will you just shut up hyung," Changmin growled out, but it just made Jaejoong giggle because really, when hearing it from a kitten who was trying to scrunch up his face in annoyance, the effect just wasn't the same.
"I told you to be careful when wishing things out loud, now look what you've done. They've punished you by turning me into a cat. Seriously, why am I the one who got turned into a cat. I'm not one who wanted a cat to begin with," Changmin grumbled out.
Jaejoong only waggled a finger at Changmin with another giggle.
"It's karma Minnie~ karma for not letting me get a cat, so now you have to suffer!"
Changmin let out a meow of frustration.
"So what do we do now?"
"Umm ... try and find out how to turn you back into a human?" Jaejoong suggested.
"Obviously. So ... any ideas?"
"Well like I said, it's karma. So maybe you're getting punished today for it and tomorrow you'll be human again."
"Do you really think it's going to be that easy?"
"Maybe? Hmm … I wonder what type of breed you are. Maybe I should ask Junsu, I'll bet he'll know …"
Changmin meowed in frustration again. Wasn't Jaejoong concerned at all that his best friend was currently in the form of a cat?
The rest of the day sort of passed in a blur where Changmin either spent his time thinking of the how to turn himself back into a human, or just moving around in the apartment, trying to get used to being in such a tiny body with extremely good reflexes.
Jaejoong would keep reminding him that it was karma, and then tell him not to worry about it so much because by tomorrow, he would be back to normal again. Trust Jaejoong to think so care freely about a situation as serious as this …
Jaejoong woke up the following morning with Changmin's tail tickling his nose.
Looking up blearily, he met Changmin's steady gaze on him.
"Well good morning Changminnie," he greeted, reaching a hand up to pull Changmin in for a cuddle only to have the latter bat a paw at him.
Jaejoong frowned.
"Changmin?"
"Hyung," Changmin said in a serious tone.
"What is it?"
Changmin resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
"Can you not see? I'm still a cat."
Jaejoong blinked, and then blinked again.
"Oh … ohhh yeah umm … right …"
Changmin tried to facepalm but forgot he was a cat and ended up hitting himself on the chin.
"Yes anyway hurry up and get dressed. You're going shopping."
"Umm ... what?"
"So let me get this straight, you woke me up at eight on a Saturday morning just so I can go and buy you kitty litter?" Jaejoong said as he pulled on a pair of jeans.
"Yes," Changmin replied as if that was the most normal thing to request for.
"But ... but can't you just-"
"No hyung I just told you, I obviously can't use the toilet unless you want to risk me falling in and you having to call a plumber to pull me out. I absolutely refuse to pee in the shower again because that was just wrong on so many levels - there's a reason why there's a toilet you know - and I also refuse to do my 'business' out in the open again."
Well when you put it that way, there really wasn't any room left to argue.
Jaejoong sighed and finished pulling on a shirt before grabbing his keys, phone and wallet off the bedside table.
Forty-five minutes later, Jaejoong came back with a bag of kitty litter in one hand and a pink litter tray to go with it in the other. When he'd finished pouring some of the kitty litter into the tray he called out to Changmin, who was lying in a patch of sunlight in the living room.
Changmin yawned and slowly made his way over, stopping in front of the tray and taking a sniff before scrunching his nose up in disgust.
"What is this hyung? It's horrible!"
Jaejoong just gave him a blank look.
"Uhh kitty litter?"
"Let me guess, you either just picked the first one off the shelf or you chose the cheapest option available?"
"Cheapest option," Jaejoong replied without a pause.
"Cheapest option," Changmin repeated with a look on his face that pretty much said 'are you for real?'
"Don't look at me like that, it's not like I know the difference between what's good and what's bad," Jaejoong said with a shrug of his shoulders.
And here you were telling me you wanted a cat yesterday Changmin thought with a sigh.
"Well I do and I don't like this," he said out loud instead. "So you're going to go back to the store again but this time you're taking me with you so I can choose the right one and you won't have to waste money again by buying the wrong one."
At the store …
"You do realize you're making us look like complete weirdos making me lift you up to sniff each and every type of kitty litter they have here," Jaejoong whispered while keeping his head lowered in embarrassment.
"They'll think you're the weirdo not me," Changmin replied before sniffing at yet another brand.
After Changmin had made a nonchalant comment about how he'd never been here before when they entered the store, they realized that nobody could hear Changmin speak. Well they could, but it would only sound like a cat meowing. That being said, meant that Changmin could talk to Jaejoong any time and nobody would freak out, but Jaejoong had to be careful when talking to Changmin in case people thought he was a crazy catlady or something.
"Hmm … this one will do," Changmin finally decided, nudging at one of the plastic containers on the shelf.
Jaejoong gaped at the selected brand.
"Out of all the brands you could have chosen, you decide on the most expensive one?"
Changmin just let out a chuckle which sounded like a contented meow to the rest of the people in the store.
Jaejoong sighed, grabbing the kitty litter off the shelf and was about to head in the direction of the counter when Changmin stopped him.
"Wait."
"What now?" he whispered.
"We need to buy food too. Since I'm a cat now, I need to eat cat food, and as much as I love your cooking, I don't think my cat stomach will be able to handle it very well if I continue eating it."
"Are you telling me I need to let you sniff every brand of food they have here too?"
"Maybe."
In the end, they went home with the kitty litter and five different brands of food - the most expensive ones of course - because Changmin couldn't choose, saying it was hard to pick for real which was the best until he tasted it.
On the fourth day of his turning into a cat, Jaejoong had surprised him with a cat bed because the older man had overheard Changmin nonchalantly mumbling that he was getting cat fur all over his 'human' bed. Even though the cat bed was much, much smaller than his everyday bed, Changmin found he much preferred sleeping in it.
Even though Jaejoong had been laughing at him and complaining at all the work he had to do for the younger man, he'd actually been quite caring, attending to Changmin's every wishes and concerns. Changmin had a feeling he was starting to feel guilty for Changmin being in the state he was in right now.
One week later, Changmin was still in the form of a cat but he was slowly getting used to the ways of living as a cat. Sure, the kitty litter and food took him a bit to get used to but after the first few days, Changmin had pretty much adapted to the lifestyle.
His days pretty much consisted of waking up, stretching, eating, napping in a patch of sunlight, relaxing, eating again, relaxing, sleeping etc. Thankfully it was the Christmas vacation so he didn't need to think of some eligible reason as to why he couldn't attend college or his part time job at the cafe shop on campus.
Sometimes he would curl up in Jaejoong's lap and the let older man pet him while they watched reruns on TV. Junsu had come over to visit unexpectedly during one of these instances and had immediately started cooing over Changmin - who was against it until Junsu surprised him with some kitty treats that he probably kept in his pockets all the time.
Junsu revealed that Changmin was a Maine Coon, a domestic long-haired cat breed known for its large bone structure, its intelligence and gentle personality. It seemed quite fitting that Changmin would turn into this breed seeing as he had rather long limbs in human form and his hair was often referred to as an untameable mane according to Jaejoong. Oh and his intelligence was something to account for too.
To save any questions Junsu would ask in the future when Changmin would be human again and not a cat, Jaejoong made up some story about looking after his cousin's cat while he went on a short vacation overseas. Junsu bought the story easily and offered to give any advice or tips on looking after cats if Jaejoong needed it.
Needless to say, they saw a lot more of Junsu after that visit. After all, he was what they called a catlady these days.
Two nights before Christmas Eve found Changmin huddled up in his cat bed, ears flattened until they almost touched his skull. There was a huge storm going on outside and he could just see a flash of lightning every few minutes.
It wasn't like Changmin was afraid of storms, no of course not - he just didn't like the sound of the thunder that liked to strike at different intervals of time.
After jumping up in shock from a really loud crack of thunder that illuminated the whole room for a good five seconds, Changmin decided he didn't care what Jaejoong would think of him as he made his way towards the older man's bedroom.
The door was slightly ajar - thankfully - allowing him to slip in silently. He jumped up onto the bed and landed quietly on the duvet, wincing when a low rumble sounded across the sky.
A flash of lightning, accompanied by another loud crack of thunder, had Changmin letting out a loud meow as he buried his head under the rumples of the duvet, tail curled tightly around himself.
The bed shifted as Jaejoong rolled over at hearing the noise.
"Changmin? Is that you?"
Changmin whimpered in response.
"What's wrong? Are you okay?" Jaejoong tried to flick on the light switch but no light came on. After trying a few more times, Jaejoong realized there was no power. So instead he reached around in the darkness, trying to locate where his friend was.
When his hand brushed against Changmin's tail, Changmin twitched before making his way into Jaejoong's outstretched arms. He curled himself against Jaejoong's chest, body shuddering the whole time.
"That's right, you don't like storms," Jaejoong whispered as a small rumble had Changmin tensing up.
"Shut up," Changmin mumbled against Jaejoong's chest.
Jaejoong just chuckled as he settled them more comfortably in bed.
"You want to stay here for the night?" Jaejoong asked after a few minutes of silence, save for the rumbling outside of the apartment.
"Yes please," Changmin replied, glad that Jaejoong wasn't laughing at him.
Normally if there was a storm, he would put his headphones on and turn the music on full blast to block out the sound of thunder. But as a cat, he couldn't really do that.
As it was, Changmin just cuddled up against Jaejoong under the duvet, focusing on the steady beat of Jaejoong's heart that seemed to drown out the rumbles of thunder.
When he woke up the following morning, a sense of warmth and safety seemed to surround him and he meowed in contentment as he tried to snuggle further into the warm embrace.
There was a chuckle and Changmin heard himself whimpering in protest as he was being tugged away from the warmth.
"Stopping rubbing against me, it tickles," he heard Jaejoong say from somewhere above him.
Blinking his eyes a bit to clear away the sleep, Changmin tilted his head up to see Jaejoong looking down at him with a smile.
"Good morning," Jaejoong greeted as he brushed the back of his hand against Changmin's cheek making his whiskers twitch.
For some reason, Changmin felt himself going all warm and fuzzy in the chest and he was sure that behind all the fur he was blushing, but for what reason he didn't know.
"G-good morning," he replied back, ducking down to look anywhere but into Jaejoong's eyes. His gaze landed on Jaejoong's chest and it was then he realized that Jaejoong was naked under the covers save for a pair of boxers.
He'd forgotten that his roommate liked to sleep half naked.
"Sleep well?" Jaejoong asked as he rolled over onto his back, bringing Changmin with him to place on his chest.
"Yeah I did," Changmin mumbled. "Umm ... thanks for letting me sleep with you last night."
"You're welcome."
It was silent for a few moments before Jaejoong spoke up again.
"You hungry yet?"
Changmin shook his head.
"Need to go to the toilet?"
Again Changmin shook his head.
Jaejoong grinned.
"Good because I'm still tired so if you don't mind, I'm going to cuddle you and go back to sleep for another few hours or so."
Changmin grinned in return as Jaejoong rolled them over and pulled him snug against his chest.
"Nope, not at all."
It was eleven in the morning of Christmas Eve when Jaejoong walked through the door with a wriggling bundle of something under an arm.
Changmin looked up from where he was curled up in the corner of the couch.
"Where have you bee- what is that?" he asked, watching at Jaejoong walked over to stand in the middle of the living room.
The older man smiled and unwrapped the bundle before setting it down on the floor.
"What -"
"I decided to add a new member to the family," Jaejoong declared watching as the tiny Scottish Fold kitten made its way over to Changmin's cat bed (Changmin had conned Jaejoong into buying him another one to put in the living room) in the corner, sniffing it for a few seconds before meowing happily and curling itself up on it.
"I introduce to you, Leo!" Jaejoong said as he glanced lovingly at the kitten before walking over to the couch opposite Changmin and falling down on it, stretching his legs out along it.
A surge of jealousy bubbled up inside Changmin at the thought of Jaejoong's attention being given to another cat besides himself.
"I was just over at Junsu's and he said that he was thinking of giving away some of his cats because he hasn't been spending enough time with them lately and some of his cats are very demanding. So then I sort of offered -"
Changmin blocked out the rest of what the older man was going to say. With a growl, he jumped off from the couch and pounced, claws reaching out ready to sink into Jaejoong's chest when a gust of wind suddenly swept across the room accompanied with a cloud of smoke.
When the room cleared, Changmin found himself sprawled atop Jaejoong who was looking at him in surprise. Changmin blinked and looked down to find himself staring at a pair of hands instead of a pair of furry paws. He lowered his gaze even further and found himself staring at his human form again, not a small furry body.
He was about to yell out in happiness when he realized something else.
He was naked.
Letting out a very unmanly squeal, Changmin sat back on his knees and grabbed the closest pillow to cover his lower regions with.
"Umm …"
Jaejoong grinned.
"You're human again."
Changmin opened his mouth, about to reply with a snarky comment when a small meow had the two men turning as one to look at the kitten. Realization seemed to dawn on them at the same time as they turned back to look at each other.
"You think-"
"-the solution to-"
"-changing you back into a human-"
"-was to just get a cat?"
They looked at one another in silence for a few seconds before bursting into laughter.
Changmin couldn't believe it was just that simple to solve a problem that had been plaguing his mind somewhat for the past few weeks. Bringing his hands up to cover his mouth from laughing too much, Changmin didn't realize the pillow had slid off his lap and onto the floor until he felt Jaejoong's gaze on him.
"So …" Jaejoong started as he eyed his friend up and down with an appreciating look.
Changmin yelped and tried to pick up the pillow while attempting to stand up at the same time. Unfortunately, after being in the body of a cat for the past few weeks, he wasn't quite used to his slow reflexes in his human body; his limbs were a bit slow to react and he suddenly found himself flailing before landing flush against Jaejoong's body, their faces only inches apart.
Clearing his throat, Changmin put his hands on either side of Jaejoong's head and tried to push himself up. But Jaejoong prevented the action by tightening his arms that were wrapped around Changmin's waist when he'd secured them around the younger man to prevent him from falling before.
Changmin quirked an eyebrow at the older man when he refused to budge.
"Hyung, in case you haven't noticed, I'm naked, it's cold and I want to go put some clothes on before my butt freezes."
Jaejoong grinned and slid his hands down and before Changmin realized what he was doing, Jaejoong grabbed two handfuls of his behind and squeezed, hard.
Changmin cried out in surprise, tumbling off the couch and pulling a laughing Jaejoong down with him. They landed with Changmin on his back and Jaejoong half sprawled on top of him.
"Hyung, what the hell?!"
Jaejoong leant in close as he trailed a hand over the curve of Changmin's ass.
"Keeping your butt warm," he replied with another firm squeeze.
Changmin should have expected it, but he didn't think Jaejoong was going to try the same thing twice in a row. As it was, he let out another cry but was really too shocked to do anything else.
"You should have seen the look of jealousy on your face before when you saw Leo," Jaejoong said as he slid his hand around to rest on Changmin's hipbone.
Changmin just looked at the older man with his mouth hanging open.
"You don't realize it Minnie, but you pretty much wear your emotions on your sleeve. All I have to do is look at you to know what you're feeling. That day when you woke up next to me and saw me half naked, you were embarrassed weren't you? Don't think I haven't seen you checking me out whenever I come out of the shower or when I'm getting undressed. You think I don't notice you peeking from behind the door that just so happens to be slightly ajar, but I do notice Minnie. You like me don't you?"
Changmin felt himself freeze at the last question - like a deer caught in headlights. Had he been that obvious? He really couldn't remember when he had started developing feelings for the older man. It might have been around the time when Jaejoong had asked Changmin out of all people to rent a place with him to save on living costs, or it might have been when Jaejoong had drunkenly kissed him on the cheek in the taxi that one time when Changmin had to pick him up from a bar. He had received a phone call from Yunho that Jaejoong might have misjudged his drinking abilities by declaring he could drink three soju bottles within ten minutes.
"See what I mean?" Jaejoong asked breaking Changmin out of his thoughts. "You're thinking about when you started liking me aren't you? I can see it in your eyes."
Changmin just continued to gape at his roommate, having no idea that the latter was that good at reading thoughts.
Pressing his body closer to Changmin's, Jaejoong smiled.
"I have another wish," he said.
At that, Changmin shook his head free of thoughts, and glared at Jaejoong in warning.
Jaejoong chuckled and shook his head.
"Actually it's more like a request rather than a wish."
Changmin tilted his head in question.
"Be my boyfriend?"
Changmin swallowed and stared hard at Jaejoong, unsure if the older man was being serious or not. It didn't help that the hand on his hip was proving to be rather distracting as Jaejoong traced random patterns on his skin.
"Umm …" he said, breath hitching when Jaejoong leant closer to press light kisses along his neck.
When Changmin made no move to push him away, Jaejoong smiled and kissed up higher along his jaw until he reached the corner of his lips.
"Yes? No? Maybe?" Jaejoong asked, his lips brushing against Changmin's skin with every word.
Changmin shivered.
"Yes," he mumbled in response and lifted a hand up to place around the back of Jaejoong's neck before tugging him in for a kiss.
Jaejoong smiled into the kiss and pressed himself closer to Changmin if that was possible, running his hands up and down Changmin's sides and enjoying the tiny moans of pleasure Changmin made in between their kisses.
Just when things were about to go up a level, such as Changmin ripping Jaejoong's clothes off and ravishing him silly, a tiny meow sounded from beside them causing both men to break apart in surprise (and also breathe in some much needed oxygen).
Leo was looking at them with his big round eyes and Changmin couldn't resist but reach out a hand to pet it.
"I think he's hungry," Jaejoong said as he too reached out to scratch the cat under its chin.
Leo tilted his head up and made a small purring noise at their ministrations.
Changmin chuckled.
"How about I go and quickly feed Leo now while you go and get naked in bed and wait for me?"
Jaejoong turned his head to see a small blush forming on Changmin's cheeks as those words left his mouth. But like he said before, it was just so easy to see what Changmin was thinking or feeling. Even though Changmin was feeling slightly embarrassed at what he'd just said, he'd meant it.
"Sounds like a plan," Jaejoong replied and with that he got up and slowly made his way towards the bedroom.
"Don't take too long," he called out, making sure Changmin could still see him as he tugged his shirt up and over his head before throwing it to the floor in the hallway.
Changmin cursed, quickly getting to his feet and striding towards the kitchen, not caring that he was as naked as the day he was born.
Looking down at Leo who was trailing along innocently beside him, Changmin couldn't help but smile. He grabbed the box of cat food from the cupboard and poured some into a bowl before placing it down on the floor.
"I owe you one," Changmin whispered as he bent down to scratch Leo behind the ear.
Leo just looked up at him and tilted his head to the side.
Changmin just smiled and nudged at the cat to eat before standing up and making his way to the bedroom to spend some quality time with his 'new boyfriend'.
-End-