LuKai Catboys
Title: untitled
Pairing: Luhan/Kai
Rating: PG13ish
Genre: romance, fluff
Length: ~4,000
Summary/Warnings: Catboy AU; Lu Han meets an alley cat who transitions to house-life easily. (It bounces around and doesn't really fit the summary, yet.)
It was a good time for a mid-morning nap, and the sunbeam pushing strong and warm through the bedroom window was the perfect place for it. Grabbing the back of his shirt, Lu Han dragged it up his body and over his head, letting it drop to join his other various discarded clothing on his way to the bed he shared with his human.
A shadow passed over his face, cooling him enough to rouse his curiosity. It wasn't supposed to get cloudy for the rest of the week. He opened his eyes crossly, ready to take down any dumb bird that had decided the power lines outside his window were a great perch.
It wasn't a bird.
It wasn't clouds.
A cat-long, sleek, and nearly golden in the sun-sat on the roof of the apartment building next door. He tilted his head back, eyes closed, simply enjoying the sun.
Lu Han's sun.
He slunk down the bed and crouched, staring in blatant wonder, if not plain curiosity, at the handsome cat.
A female cat bounded out of the stairs from the inside of the building and blinked fast in the bright light. She held up a hand and smiled when she saw the boy. Ears alert, she tread carefully and wrapped her arms around him from behind, pulling him back to kiss his forehead. He grinned in return, running his hands through her hair and kissing her on the mouth.
Lu Han's biting curiosity was soothed when the duo began shedding clothing. He never knew any feral cats, but he had heard of their uncouth ways and had no interest in them. A housecat's life sounded much more appealing, in his humble opinion, largely due to the free shelter and full belly of food and companionship without having to beg for it like a pathetic dog. He also enjoyed being clean and having an actual bed.
Not that all dogs were pathetic, but their I'll-die-without-you-if-you-if-you-leave-my-sight philosophy of life was plain pitiful. A cat knew when their human left and returned and, depending on energy level, greeted them or let the human search for a session of after-work-or-school snuggling.
Regardless, houselife pleased Lu Han. He loved his apartment. He loved his human. Maybe he was a wee bit curious about life outside, off the invisible leash all housepets lived with, but there was no way he was going to just up and leave the safety of his own home.
Except he did.
Just once.
Nearly a week after the first sighting of the dark alley cat, followed by numerous other sightings-that tom really got around-Lu Han shoved open a window and climbed onto the fire escape. A dumb bird chirped curiously at him, eyeing the twitching ears and wide eyes with an innocence that Lu Han delighted in maiming, leaving the peggy legs clutching the thin wire and the body somewhere among the dust and dirt of the alley below.
Getting down was as easy as following the fire escape. He kicked the latch holding the ladder up and rode it down to a jarring halt that shook him off to fall lightly on the gravel.
The sky he could see between the building was a light grey. It would probably rain during the night.
But Lu Han lived indoors, so he never had to worry. Another plus to being a house cat.
His alley was a dead end. Lu Han walked out to the street and looked left, towards the park, and right, towards downtown, and decided the park sounds nicer. A nap in the grass would be divine.
He met a few familiar faces and plays until they all nearly pass out from happy exhaustion. The nap was short-lived when the pink-haired kitten pokes his cheek and asks when his human was coming.
Whoops. He has to get home.
Lu Han wriggled out from the pile of sweaty, sleepy bodies, bowed a hasty good-bye, and jogged back towards home.
Only things weren't looking as familiar as they used to.
Things weren't smelling right, either.
It felt like home was nearby, but it didn't, at the same time.
His ears trembled and flicked as he slowed to a worried shuffle. Did all of these buildings always look so similar?
The alley up ahead looked familiar. Lu Han remembered the manhole in the middle of the street across from it. He peered around the corner and stopped.
This wasn't his alley. Everything was different. He'd never been back here before. There were more dumpsters and piles of trash bags overflowing with junk and rancid mysteries Lu Han didn't care to investigate. It was overwhelming.
A voice like velvet crooned from the shadows. "Oh, no, is the pretty kitten lost?"
"Y-Yes, actually. . ."
The handsome alley cat whom Lu Han tried to avoid slid down the dumpster to land lightly on his feet, tail high, tip curved lazily to the ground. Lu Han felt his own droop to twitch agitatedly at his ankles, uncertainty making him edgy. "I can help you out, but what can you possibly give me in return? I'm a businessman, you know."
Lu Han's ears flattened to either side of his hair, sticking out like little airplane wings as he frowned. His tail bristled and thrashed along his calves, coiling and uncoiling like a dying snake.
Lightning broke across the sky, followed by a boom of thunder that had both cats jumping. Lu Han nearly laughed at the comical wide-eyed expression and bushy tail of the other cat, but they were both streaking to the brick alcove of one of the buildings when another clap of thunder shook the air and was chased by a torrential downpour as the clouds opened.
"Afraid of a little rain?" Lu Han teased, nonchalantly stroking his tail in a masked effort to smooth the bottlebrush appearance. He almost laughed again at the sulky No. but bit his lip instead.
Another flash of lightning and roar of thunder, and the poor cat's ears were flattened so far to his hair he simply looked human except for the tail curling around his ankles as he crouched in the corner, arms wrapped around his knees and a low purr barely rumbling in his throat.
Lu Han frowned, pausing his tail grooming. "Hey. . . are you okay?"
A quick head shake. "I don't like thunder." A healthy dislike, Lu Han thought, but the confident-tom-turned-trembling-kitten obviously had deeper reasons for his fear, probably the trembling ground and air that physically shook at every clash of thunder. Completely understandable. When Lu Han was a kitten, he would sit in the middle of the hall where there were no windows with his hands over his ears.
He brushed away some of the dirt and gravel from the ground and sat with his back against the wall opposite the alley cat. "C'mere." He smiled, opening his arms. "I won't tell anyone."
The embarrassed flush across the cat's cheeks was worth the discomfort of his butt flattening on the concrete. Carefully, as if unsure of Lu Han meant the invitation or not, the alley cat slunk the short distance into his arms but melted in the embrace quickly. He tucked his face into Lu Han's neck and sighed.
"What's your name?" Lu Han spoke over their purrs as he stroked the silky hair tickling his cheek.
"Jongin."
"I'm Lu Han."
They saw a lot of each other after that evening in the rain. Jongin guided Lu Han back home-he had been two blocks off; all of the buildings were built around the same time and looked the same-but promised he'd be around. Lu Han's human was worried sick and all-out panicking when he climbed back up the fire escape and changed into clean clothes. A round of snuggling and many kisses later, the human was calm enough to reprimand Lu Han while the cat rolled and twisted on the sofa, playing with his tail and thinking about the attractive alley cat afraid of thunder.
The whole week was stormy, and Jongin came to Lu Han's window just before the rain started and left soon after the rain stopped. They lazed around the apartment, cleared the cupboards of snacks, and watched mindless television. When the thunder was particularly loud, they built a fort of cushions and blankets in the very middle of the hall, farthest from any window, and curled into one another and drowning out the storm with the thunder of their purring duet.
On the last day of the storm, Lu Han shook Jongin awake some hours after the rain stopped. His human would be home early, a promise of take-out and a movie, but Lu Han didn't feel particularly rushed to kick the kitten out. He was easy to wake, but the trick was keeping him awake. Even when the sun broke through the grimy-looking clouds and beamed directly on his face, Jongin simply scrunched up his face and turned away. Lu Han sucked his bottom lip between his teeth.
Jongin was beautiful in the shadows and darkness, practically a shadow himself with the grace in which he moved and closeness he craved, but he was breathtaking in the sunlight. His tanned skin looked more like honey, and, as Lu Han dragged his tongue up the column of Jongin's neck, he tasted quite sweet as well.
"Hyung. . ." Jongin whined and brought his hands up, groping along Lu Han until he found the bony shoulders and pushed feebly. Sleepiness pulled him under again, however, and his hands fell limply down Lu Han's back.
"You have to wake up, Jongin," Lu Han sang.
The alley cat finally stretched his legs between Lu Han's knees, pushing his butt and shoulders into the bed to arch his spine with a loud snap that cut through the sleep like being poked with a needle. Jongin's eyes flew open, and his shoulders tensed, tail poofed twice its normal size.
Lu Han clapped gleefully and fell sideways at the cat's shocked expression, quickly followed by a cross frown and then an embarrassed flush he tried to hide behind his hands. Jongin sat up and turned his back to Lu Han, brushing over his tail with his fingers to flatten the fur and ignoring the house cat's snorting giggles. "It wasn't even funny," Jongin grumbled.
"To you, maybe," Lu Han breathlessly replied. He wiped his eyes, chuckling at the glisten of tears on his fingertips. "You just looked so shocked. It was adorable." He crawled up behind Jongin and nestled his chin on the alley cat's shoulder, right by his neck. "You're adorable. You know that, right?"
Jongin flushed pink again and pointedly looked away.
Lu Han purred against Jongin's back, locking his fingers together over the cat's belly while being ignored. The sound of a key in the front door cut off the purrs and tail soothing. Jongin's ears flattened and rose, twitching nervously.
"Outside!" Lu Han hissed. He pushed Jongin to his knees, and the duo scrambled down the bed to the window. Lu Han threw it open and stood anxiously just within sight of the door. His human was bending over to remove his shoes. Jongin crouched on the windowsill and leaned over, catching Lu Han's ear with a kiss.
"See you later," he whispered. Grabbing the top of the window frame, he hauled himself up and scaled the stairs to the rooftop. Lu Han watched his shadow run across the opposite building and pulled the window shut, leaving it unlocked.
The house cat flounced out of the bedroom to greet his human with a clingy hug and questions about his day.
After that week of storms, Jongin came and went sporadically. Whenever it rained, however, even a drizzle, he'd appear at the window. Sometimes, Lu Han locked it, just to be mean, and Jongin would get thoroughly drenched before the house cat could be bothered to let him in.
A soft rain washed away the haze of heat on summer afternoon. Lu Han sprawled across the bed, dozing to the drizzly lullaby, when he heard a familiar tap tap tap. His lips quirked up before he could school his expression back to neutrality of sleep. The knocking ceased, and an incessant clawing began, followed by a low, mournful yowl that probably woke up every cat on the block.
Jongin looked woefully at him, taking advantage of the rain to look thoroughly sad and miserable.
The house cat pushed himself onto his elbows and arched his spine in a stretch that had his whole body trembling.
Jongin continued to scratch the glass more persistently.
It was all a game. They both knew Lu Han would take pity on him and let him in, try to force him into the bath, coax him into the bath by joining him, and then both ending up wrapped in fluffy towels and crawling under the thick comforter in nothing but damp skin and fur.
"Lu Haaaaaaaan," Jongin drawled, dragging his nails down the window.
"You're annoying!" Lu Han laughed and unlatched the window. He pushed it out, letting Jongin grab the frame and shimmy around it until he climbed inside and pulled it shut behind him. He shivered in the cool, dry air. The housecat took his wrists and pulled the sleeves over his hands, tugging until Jongin tucked his elbows in and bowed, allowing Lu Han to drag the soaked sweater off. It hung limply from his fingers and would probably shrink. Lu Han didn't have many clothes that fit Jongin, but the alley cat didn't seem to mind being naked.
When Jongin was stripped down to his briefs, Lu Han traced his jaw, tipping the chin teasingly and crooking the finger, telling the cat to follow him.
He pushed Jongin into the shower to rinse off the cold alley grime that still clung to him, holding the door closed while the cat thrashed and screeched at the wet. Silence finally fell except for the shower water bouncing off the tiles. When Lu Han cautiously peered inside, Jongin hunched in the corner beneath the showerhead, tail curled around his ankles, ears flattened, eyes slanted and heated. A low whine was Lu Han's only warning before the cat lunged at him.
Lu Han grabbed his arms, pivoted, and pushed Jongin into the waiting bathtub with a splash. He managed to catch himself before falling in, unfortunately, so Lu Han had to prepare for his soggy wrath.
He smiled. "I'll wash your hair."
Jongin was so easy.
It took a bit more coaxing to get him to settle into the bath, but once he was in and slipped down to his chin in the bubbles, he was more than happy to let Lu Han do all the work of scrubbing and washing-carefully avoiding the alert ears atop Jongin's sopping hair but offering a few well-placed scratches-while the alley cat cupped bubbles in his hands and blew them all over the bathroom.
The water turned greyish from the dust and ick of wherever Jongin had been. Lu Han drained the tub and refilled it and dropped his own clothes into the wicker hamper to sit behind Jongin and simply soak until the water cooled.
Next to getting Jongin into the bath, getting him out was marginally easier. Lu Han resorted to a lot of kisses and sweet words, getting out first and holding out a towel for Jongin to walk into, then Lu Han would dry him off and throw a smaller towel over his ears, dry himself off, and finally lead a usually sleep-numbed Jongin to the bedroom.
They'd usually fall right asleep, but sometimes one or the other felt frisky after cool sheets shocked their system awake. Then they'd have to bathe, again, and tumble together to the sofa to sleep. Sometimes, they only made it to the living room floor, but Lu Han had prepped the apartment with numerous cushions and blankets and pillows, so they could have slept on the kitchen counter and still been totally comfortable.
Some hours later, Lu Han's bladder woke him. He pushed aside the blanket Jongin had draped over them both but was prevented from standing by a hand darting out and grabbing him. "Jongin, I'm just going to the bathroom."
"'s cold."
"I'll be right back."
"Like I've never heard that before"
Lu Han's heart broke a little. A sleepy Jongin would slip and reveal little bits and pieces of his life that Lu Han carefully filed away for future reference, in case the alley cat ever decided to really open up. "What if you came with me? I won't leave your sight."
Jongin wrapped himself tighter around Lu Han. "But it's cold."
"So bring the blankets. I really gotta pee."
Jongin groaned and shuffled behind him to the bathroom, keeping a hold on his wrist, but, rather than waiting in the doorway, he kept shuffling to the bathub, gathering all of the towels and dropping them in before climbing in on top of them and pulling his knees up so his head didn't hang over the end. He made a very comfortable looking nest, splashes of dark navy and chocolate brown in the stark white bathroom.
Lu Han washed his hands, one ear cocked towards Jongin while observing him in the mirror.
Goodness, his hair was a mess. He quickly flattened it back to a less frazzled state and turned to Jongin, whose eyes were closed.
"Are you sleeping in the bathtub?"
"I'm checking my eyelids for light leaks."
"Come back to bed."
"Too cold to move."
"You said that before."
Jongin whined and snuggled deeper into his tub-nest. "The sofa's cold, now." He opened his eyes and lifted his arms, opening his cocoon of warmth in invitation. Lu Han was tempted to stand where he was and let all of Jongin's precious heat escape, but he looked all too comfortable, and another nap sounded good, so he climbed on top of Jongin. A bit of shuffling and scooting, and they were tangled together, tucked into one another swaddled in blankets.
"I left the light on."
"You don't pay the bills; it's fine." They pulled the blankets over their heads, blocking out the light and trapping themselves in darkness with only one another for company.
Lu Han's human returned to find his pet pinned to the sofa, a duet of deep vibrato filled the apartment as they curled their tongues languidly along one another. Lu Han peeked when he felt like he should grace his human with a greeting and disentangled himself from the darker cat just enough to lift his head and smile. "Welcome back."
"Hyung, did you happen to leave a cat at my house?"
The reply was intoned in a long yawn. "No, why?"
"There's a strange cat making out on the sofa with Lu Han."
"Hot."
"Freaky. Does Kibum invite strangers into your house?"
"Used to. He adopted one, though, and seems quite content to be a mother."
". . . But he's a boy."
"He will fuck you up if you so much as look at his Taeminnie wrong."
"What should I do?"
"Is it an issue?"
Obviously, he was not going to receive any sympathy or wise words. They chatted for a short while longer before hanging up. He didn't even notice the purrs from the sofa were closer until he turned and noticed Lu Han leaning over the counter, smiling warmly. The part-time alley cat was attached to his back, arms wound around Lu Han's middle. His purrs alone filled the kitchen, feeling like the bass of a rock concert.
Lu Han smiled wider. "Can I keep him?"
"Lu Han. . ."
The white cat looked over his shoulder for backup. "Jongin, quick! Do something cute!"
Jongin peeked up through his bangs, not expecting the attention and blinking fast; he quickly tucked his face back into Lu Han's neck. "I dunno. . ." The purrs stuttered a bit until Lu Han's joined in. He watched his human's face as he cycled through suitable reactions-anger, distrust, worry-ultimately melting into one of blatant adoration.
A lost battle on his part.
Lu Han didn't wait for verbal consent before spinning in the darker cat's embrace and kissing him.
A quick nap before a mid-morning bath sounded perfect, which was why Lu Han closed the door to the steamy bathroom and padded to the bedroom. He sprawled across the unmade sheets still on the mattress and closed his eyes.
Soon enough, his slumber was disturbed by a dip in the bed and a curious coo. "Hyung?" Pat pat. "Hyung." Patpatpat. "Are you sleeping? Play with me."
"Yes, and no."
Jongin straddled Lu Han's thighs and ran his palms up the house cat's back, rubbing circles with the heels of his palms on either side of his spine and working down again. He reached up to Lu Han's shoulders and lowered himself to lie on top of the cat, purrs resonating deep in his chest. The house cat ignored him until he began to move his hips, building up a steady rhythm.
Kid obviously ignored the 'no' part of 'Yes, and no.'
The fact that he was being dry humped by a kitten didn't even cross Lu Han's mind, though. With each press of Jongin's hips, Lu Han's groin ground into the mattress. Soon enough, his crotch was reacting, and his pants were uncomfortably tight. There was a desperate need for friction, contact, touching, pawing, and petting, and Jongin was the beautiful all-in-one solution with warm hands and strong hips that drove Lu Han's self-control right out the open window.
Lu Han gripped the sheets so tight he felt his fingernail digging into his palms. His tail was trapped beneath Jongin's chest, but it tensed and twitched with even the subtlest fluttering of his hair, blown by Jongin's quickening breath. He tried to hide his sensitive neck, but his brain and body were at odds: One shied away from the fervent touches while the other begged to be stripped down and touched everywhere at once, for new sensitive areas to be discovered and exploited and memorised.
Jongin burrowed his face into Lu Han's shoulder, breathing out Lu Han's name. His lips traced the straining tendon in Lu Han's neck, teeth nibbling at the carotid and making his pulse jump.
There weren't even words. Coherency was a forgotten luxury. Everything was clipped gasps and drawn-out moans that rose and dipped in pitch with each rock and pull
The pace increased, a sure sign coiling in their loins that release was eminent. Jongin's teeth suddenly cut through the thin fabric of Lu Han's shirt, biting into his nape. The white cat jerked and shuddered, muscles spasming as his orgasm pulsed through his body like wave after wave breaking on the beach.
He finally relaxed, dazed and pliant, slowly coming around to feel the deep, affectionate and sated purrs resonating in his back from where Jongin was lying atop him. "Jongin, you're heavy. . ." And while Lu Han felt warm and perfectly content beneath the cat, he also felt uncomfortably wet and kind of sticky and started to itch for that bath he drew.
Jongin evidently felt the same, or he just wanted Lu Han naked. It was hard to tell. Lu Han shook his hair off his face and looked over his shoulder. Jongin sat on his thighs, shirt absent, which wasn't surprising, and leaned back down to caress Lu Han's cheek with his lips. "Lift your hips."
Lu Han dipped his back, pushed his knees into the blankets, and arched his tailbone. He may or may not have purposely ground his butt against Jongin's groin. Again, it was hard to tell. The end result was the same: Lu Han's pants and underwear were thrown against one wall, and he was jostled up on Jongin's hips against another wall.
The bathwater went cold long before either of them got there.
Pairing: Luhan/Kai
Rating: PG13ish
Genre: romance, fluff
Length: ~4,000
Summary/Warnings: Catboy AU; Lu Han meets an alley cat who transitions to house-life easily. (It bounces around and doesn't really fit the summary, yet.)
It was a good time for a mid-morning nap, and the sunbeam pushing strong and warm through the bedroom window was the perfect place for it. Grabbing the back of his shirt, Lu Han dragged it up his body and over his head, letting it drop to join his other various discarded clothing on his way to the bed he shared with his human.
A shadow passed over his face, cooling him enough to rouse his curiosity. It wasn't supposed to get cloudy for the rest of the week. He opened his eyes crossly, ready to take down any dumb bird that had decided the power lines outside his window were a great perch.
It wasn't a bird.
It wasn't clouds.
A cat-long, sleek, and nearly golden in the sun-sat on the roof of the apartment building next door. He tilted his head back, eyes closed, simply enjoying the sun.
Lu Han's sun.
He slunk down the bed and crouched, staring in blatant wonder, if not plain curiosity, at the handsome cat.
A female cat bounded out of the stairs from the inside of the building and blinked fast in the bright light. She held up a hand and smiled when she saw the boy. Ears alert, she tread carefully and wrapped her arms around him from behind, pulling him back to kiss his forehead. He grinned in return, running his hands through her hair and kissing her on the mouth.
Lu Han's biting curiosity was soothed when the duo began shedding clothing. He never knew any feral cats, but he had heard of their uncouth ways and had no interest in them. A housecat's life sounded much more appealing, in his humble opinion, largely due to the free shelter and full belly of food and companionship without having to beg for it like a pathetic dog. He also enjoyed being clean and having an actual bed.
Not that all dogs were pathetic, but their I'll-die-without-you-if-you-if-you-leave-my-sight philosophy of life was plain pitiful. A cat knew when their human left and returned and, depending on energy level, greeted them or let the human search for a session of after-work-or-school snuggling.
Regardless, houselife pleased Lu Han. He loved his apartment. He loved his human. Maybe he was a wee bit curious about life outside, off the invisible leash all housepets lived with, but there was no way he was going to just up and leave the safety of his own home.
Except he did.
Just once.
Nearly a week after the first sighting of the dark alley cat, followed by numerous other sightings-that tom really got around-Lu Han shoved open a window and climbed onto the fire escape. A dumb bird chirped curiously at him, eyeing the twitching ears and wide eyes with an innocence that Lu Han delighted in maiming, leaving the peggy legs clutching the thin wire and the body somewhere among the dust and dirt of the alley below.
Getting down was as easy as following the fire escape. He kicked the latch holding the ladder up and rode it down to a jarring halt that shook him off to fall lightly on the gravel.
The sky he could see between the building was a light grey. It would probably rain during the night.
But Lu Han lived indoors, so he never had to worry. Another plus to being a house cat.
His alley was a dead end. Lu Han walked out to the street and looked left, towards the park, and right, towards downtown, and decided the park sounds nicer. A nap in the grass would be divine.
He met a few familiar faces and plays until they all nearly pass out from happy exhaustion. The nap was short-lived when the pink-haired kitten pokes his cheek and asks when his human was coming.
Whoops. He has to get home.
Lu Han wriggled out from the pile of sweaty, sleepy bodies, bowed a hasty good-bye, and jogged back towards home.
Only things weren't looking as familiar as they used to.
Things weren't smelling right, either.
It felt like home was nearby, but it didn't, at the same time.
His ears trembled and flicked as he slowed to a worried shuffle. Did all of these buildings always look so similar?
The alley up ahead looked familiar. Lu Han remembered the manhole in the middle of the street across from it. He peered around the corner and stopped.
This wasn't his alley. Everything was different. He'd never been back here before. There were more dumpsters and piles of trash bags overflowing with junk and rancid mysteries Lu Han didn't care to investigate. It was overwhelming.
A voice like velvet crooned from the shadows. "Oh, no, is the pretty kitten lost?"
"Y-Yes, actually. . ."
The handsome alley cat whom Lu Han tried to avoid slid down the dumpster to land lightly on his feet, tail high, tip curved lazily to the ground. Lu Han felt his own droop to twitch agitatedly at his ankles, uncertainty making him edgy. "I can help you out, but what can you possibly give me in return? I'm a businessman, you know."
Lu Han's ears flattened to either side of his hair, sticking out like little airplane wings as he frowned. His tail bristled and thrashed along his calves, coiling and uncoiling like a dying snake.
Lightning broke across the sky, followed by a boom of thunder that had both cats jumping. Lu Han nearly laughed at the comical wide-eyed expression and bushy tail of the other cat, but they were both streaking to the brick alcove of one of the buildings when another clap of thunder shook the air and was chased by a torrential downpour as the clouds opened.
"Afraid of a little rain?" Lu Han teased, nonchalantly stroking his tail in a masked effort to smooth the bottlebrush appearance. He almost laughed again at the sulky No. but bit his lip instead.
Another flash of lightning and roar of thunder, and the poor cat's ears were flattened so far to his hair he simply looked human except for the tail curling around his ankles as he crouched in the corner, arms wrapped around his knees and a low purr barely rumbling in his throat.
Lu Han frowned, pausing his tail grooming. "Hey. . . are you okay?"
A quick head shake. "I don't like thunder." A healthy dislike, Lu Han thought, but the confident-tom-turned-trembling-kitten obviously had deeper reasons for his fear, probably the trembling ground and air that physically shook at every clash of thunder. Completely understandable. When Lu Han was a kitten, he would sit in the middle of the hall where there were no windows with his hands over his ears.
He brushed away some of the dirt and gravel from the ground and sat with his back against the wall opposite the alley cat. "C'mere." He smiled, opening his arms. "I won't tell anyone."
The embarrassed flush across the cat's cheeks was worth the discomfort of his butt flattening on the concrete. Carefully, as if unsure of Lu Han meant the invitation or not, the alley cat slunk the short distance into his arms but melted in the embrace quickly. He tucked his face into Lu Han's neck and sighed.
"What's your name?" Lu Han spoke over their purrs as he stroked the silky hair tickling his cheek.
"Jongin."
"I'm Lu Han."
They saw a lot of each other after that evening in the rain. Jongin guided Lu Han back home-he had been two blocks off; all of the buildings were built around the same time and looked the same-but promised he'd be around. Lu Han's human was worried sick and all-out panicking when he climbed back up the fire escape and changed into clean clothes. A round of snuggling and many kisses later, the human was calm enough to reprimand Lu Han while the cat rolled and twisted on the sofa, playing with his tail and thinking about the attractive alley cat afraid of thunder.
The whole week was stormy, and Jongin came to Lu Han's window just before the rain started and left soon after the rain stopped. They lazed around the apartment, cleared the cupboards of snacks, and watched mindless television. When the thunder was particularly loud, they built a fort of cushions and blankets in the very middle of the hall, farthest from any window, and curled into one another and drowning out the storm with the thunder of their purring duet.
On the last day of the storm, Lu Han shook Jongin awake some hours after the rain stopped. His human would be home early, a promise of take-out and a movie, but Lu Han didn't feel particularly rushed to kick the kitten out. He was easy to wake, but the trick was keeping him awake. Even when the sun broke through the grimy-looking clouds and beamed directly on his face, Jongin simply scrunched up his face and turned away. Lu Han sucked his bottom lip between his teeth.
Jongin was beautiful in the shadows and darkness, practically a shadow himself with the grace in which he moved and closeness he craved, but he was breathtaking in the sunlight. His tanned skin looked more like honey, and, as Lu Han dragged his tongue up the column of Jongin's neck, he tasted quite sweet as well.
"Hyung. . ." Jongin whined and brought his hands up, groping along Lu Han until he found the bony shoulders and pushed feebly. Sleepiness pulled him under again, however, and his hands fell limply down Lu Han's back.
"You have to wake up, Jongin," Lu Han sang.
The alley cat finally stretched his legs between Lu Han's knees, pushing his butt and shoulders into the bed to arch his spine with a loud snap that cut through the sleep like being poked with a needle. Jongin's eyes flew open, and his shoulders tensed, tail poofed twice its normal size.
Lu Han clapped gleefully and fell sideways at the cat's shocked expression, quickly followed by a cross frown and then an embarrassed flush he tried to hide behind his hands. Jongin sat up and turned his back to Lu Han, brushing over his tail with his fingers to flatten the fur and ignoring the house cat's snorting giggles. "It wasn't even funny," Jongin grumbled.
"To you, maybe," Lu Han breathlessly replied. He wiped his eyes, chuckling at the glisten of tears on his fingertips. "You just looked so shocked. It was adorable." He crawled up behind Jongin and nestled his chin on the alley cat's shoulder, right by his neck. "You're adorable. You know that, right?"
Jongin flushed pink again and pointedly looked away.
Lu Han purred against Jongin's back, locking his fingers together over the cat's belly while being ignored. The sound of a key in the front door cut off the purrs and tail soothing. Jongin's ears flattened and rose, twitching nervously.
"Outside!" Lu Han hissed. He pushed Jongin to his knees, and the duo scrambled down the bed to the window. Lu Han threw it open and stood anxiously just within sight of the door. His human was bending over to remove his shoes. Jongin crouched on the windowsill and leaned over, catching Lu Han's ear with a kiss.
"See you later," he whispered. Grabbing the top of the window frame, he hauled himself up and scaled the stairs to the rooftop. Lu Han watched his shadow run across the opposite building and pulled the window shut, leaving it unlocked.
The house cat flounced out of the bedroom to greet his human with a clingy hug and questions about his day.
After that week of storms, Jongin came and went sporadically. Whenever it rained, however, even a drizzle, he'd appear at the window. Sometimes, Lu Han locked it, just to be mean, and Jongin would get thoroughly drenched before the house cat could be bothered to let him in.
A soft rain washed away the haze of heat on summer afternoon. Lu Han sprawled across the bed, dozing to the drizzly lullaby, when he heard a familiar tap tap tap. His lips quirked up before he could school his expression back to neutrality of sleep. The knocking ceased, and an incessant clawing began, followed by a low, mournful yowl that probably woke up every cat on the block.
Jongin looked woefully at him, taking advantage of the rain to look thoroughly sad and miserable.
The house cat pushed himself onto his elbows and arched his spine in a stretch that had his whole body trembling.
Jongin continued to scratch the glass more persistently.
It was all a game. They both knew Lu Han would take pity on him and let him in, try to force him into the bath, coax him into the bath by joining him, and then both ending up wrapped in fluffy towels and crawling under the thick comforter in nothing but damp skin and fur.
"Lu Haaaaaaaan," Jongin drawled, dragging his nails down the window.
"You're annoying!" Lu Han laughed and unlatched the window. He pushed it out, letting Jongin grab the frame and shimmy around it until he climbed inside and pulled it shut behind him. He shivered in the cool, dry air. The housecat took his wrists and pulled the sleeves over his hands, tugging until Jongin tucked his elbows in and bowed, allowing Lu Han to drag the soaked sweater off. It hung limply from his fingers and would probably shrink. Lu Han didn't have many clothes that fit Jongin, but the alley cat didn't seem to mind being naked.
When Jongin was stripped down to his briefs, Lu Han traced his jaw, tipping the chin teasingly and crooking the finger, telling the cat to follow him.
He pushed Jongin into the shower to rinse off the cold alley grime that still clung to him, holding the door closed while the cat thrashed and screeched at the wet. Silence finally fell except for the shower water bouncing off the tiles. When Lu Han cautiously peered inside, Jongin hunched in the corner beneath the showerhead, tail curled around his ankles, ears flattened, eyes slanted and heated. A low whine was Lu Han's only warning before the cat lunged at him.
Lu Han grabbed his arms, pivoted, and pushed Jongin into the waiting bathtub with a splash. He managed to catch himself before falling in, unfortunately, so Lu Han had to prepare for his soggy wrath.
He smiled. "I'll wash your hair."
Jongin was so easy.
It took a bit more coaxing to get him to settle into the bath, but once he was in and slipped down to his chin in the bubbles, he was more than happy to let Lu Han do all the work of scrubbing and washing-carefully avoiding the alert ears atop Jongin's sopping hair but offering a few well-placed scratches-while the alley cat cupped bubbles in his hands and blew them all over the bathroom.
The water turned greyish from the dust and ick of wherever Jongin had been. Lu Han drained the tub and refilled it and dropped his own clothes into the wicker hamper to sit behind Jongin and simply soak until the water cooled.
Next to getting Jongin into the bath, getting him out was marginally easier. Lu Han resorted to a lot of kisses and sweet words, getting out first and holding out a towel for Jongin to walk into, then Lu Han would dry him off and throw a smaller towel over his ears, dry himself off, and finally lead a usually sleep-numbed Jongin to the bedroom.
They'd usually fall right asleep, but sometimes one or the other felt frisky after cool sheets shocked their system awake. Then they'd have to bathe, again, and tumble together to the sofa to sleep. Sometimes, they only made it to the living room floor, but Lu Han had prepped the apartment with numerous cushions and blankets and pillows, so they could have slept on the kitchen counter and still been totally comfortable.
Some hours later, Lu Han's bladder woke him. He pushed aside the blanket Jongin had draped over them both but was prevented from standing by a hand darting out and grabbing him. "Jongin, I'm just going to the bathroom."
"'s cold."
"I'll be right back."
"Like I've never heard that before"
Lu Han's heart broke a little. A sleepy Jongin would slip and reveal little bits and pieces of his life that Lu Han carefully filed away for future reference, in case the alley cat ever decided to really open up. "What if you came with me? I won't leave your sight."
Jongin wrapped himself tighter around Lu Han. "But it's cold."
"So bring the blankets. I really gotta pee."
Jongin groaned and shuffled behind him to the bathroom, keeping a hold on his wrist, but, rather than waiting in the doorway, he kept shuffling to the bathub, gathering all of the towels and dropping them in before climbing in on top of them and pulling his knees up so his head didn't hang over the end. He made a very comfortable looking nest, splashes of dark navy and chocolate brown in the stark white bathroom.
Lu Han washed his hands, one ear cocked towards Jongin while observing him in the mirror.
Goodness, his hair was a mess. He quickly flattened it back to a less frazzled state and turned to Jongin, whose eyes were closed.
"Are you sleeping in the bathtub?"
"I'm checking my eyelids for light leaks."
"Come back to bed."
"Too cold to move."
"You said that before."
Jongin whined and snuggled deeper into his tub-nest. "The sofa's cold, now." He opened his eyes and lifted his arms, opening his cocoon of warmth in invitation. Lu Han was tempted to stand where he was and let all of Jongin's precious heat escape, but he looked all too comfortable, and another nap sounded good, so he climbed on top of Jongin. A bit of shuffling and scooting, and they were tangled together, tucked into one another swaddled in blankets.
"I left the light on."
"You don't pay the bills; it's fine." They pulled the blankets over their heads, blocking out the light and trapping themselves in darkness with only one another for company.
Lu Han's human returned to find his pet pinned to the sofa, a duet of deep vibrato filled the apartment as they curled their tongues languidly along one another. Lu Han peeked when he felt like he should grace his human with a greeting and disentangled himself from the darker cat just enough to lift his head and smile. "Welcome back."
"Hyung, did you happen to leave a cat at my house?"
The reply was intoned in a long yawn. "No, why?"
"There's a strange cat making out on the sofa with Lu Han."
"Hot."
"Freaky. Does Kibum invite strangers into your house?"
"Used to. He adopted one, though, and seems quite content to be a mother."
". . . But he's a boy."
"He will fuck you up if you so much as look at his Taeminnie wrong."
"What should I do?"
"Is it an issue?"
Obviously, he was not going to receive any sympathy or wise words. They chatted for a short while longer before hanging up. He didn't even notice the purrs from the sofa were closer until he turned and noticed Lu Han leaning over the counter, smiling warmly. The part-time alley cat was attached to his back, arms wound around Lu Han's middle. His purrs alone filled the kitchen, feeling like the bass of a rock concert.
Lu Han smiled wider. "Can I keep him?"
"Lu Han. . ."
The white cat looked over his shoulder for backup. "Jongin, quick! Do something cute!"
Jongin peeked up through his bangs, not expecting the attention and blinking fast; he quickly tucked his face back into Lu Han's neck. "I dunno. . ." The purrs stuttered a bit until Lu Han's joined in. He watched his human's face as he cycled through suitable reactions-anger, distrust, worry-ultimately melting into one of blatant adoration.
A lost battle on his part.
Lu Han didn't wait for verbal consent before spinning in the darker cat's embrace and kissing him.
A quick nap before a mid-morning bath sounded perfect, which was why Lu Han closed the door to the steamy bathroom and padded to the bedroom. He sprawled across the unmade sheets still on the mattress and closed his eyes.
Soon enough, his slumber was disturbed by a dip in the bed and a curious coo. "Hyung?" Pat pat. "Hyung." Patpatpat. "Are you sleeping? Play with me."
"Yes, and no."
Jongin straddled Lu Han's thighs and ran his palms up the house cat's back, rubbing circles with the heels of his palms on either side of his spine and working down again. He reached up to Lu Han's shoulders and lowered himself to lie on top of the cat, purrs resonating deep in his chest. The house cat ignored him until he began to move his hips, building up a steady rhythm.
Kid obviously ignored the 'no' part of 'Yes, and no.'
The fact that he was being dry humped by a kitten didn't even cross Lu Han's mind, though. With each press of Jongin's hips, Lu Han's groin ground into the mattress. Soon enough, his crotch was reacting, and his pants were uncomfortably tight. There was a desperate need for friction, contact, touching, pawing, and petting, and Jongin was the beautiful all-in-one solution with warm hands and strong hips that drove Lu Han's self-control right out the open window.
Lu Han gripped the sheets so tight he felt his fingernail digging into his palms. His tail was trapped beneath Jongin's chest, but it tensed and twitched with even the subtlest fluttering of his hair, blown by Jongin's quickening breath. He tried to hide his sensitive neck, but his brain and body were at odds: One shied away from the fervent touches while the other begged to be stripped down and touched everywhere at once, for new sensitive areas to be discovered and exploited and memorised.
Jongin burrowed his face into Lu Han's shoulder, breathing out Lu Han's name. His lips traced the straining tendon in Lu Han's neck, teeth nibbling at the carotid and making his pulse jump.
There weren't even words. Coherency was a forgotten luxury. Everything was clipped gasps and drawn-out moans that rose and dipped in pitch with each rock and pull
The pace increased, a sure sign coiling in their loins that release was eminent. Jongin's teeth suddenly cut through the thin fabric of Lu Han's shirt, biting into his nape. The white cat jerked and shuddered, muscles spasming as his orgasm pulsed through his body like wave after wave breaking on the beach.
He finally relaxed, dazed and pliant, slowly coming around to feel the deep, affectionate and sated purrs resonating in his back from where Jongin was lying atop him. "Jongin, you're heavy. . ." And while Lu Han felt warm and perfectly content beneath the cat, he also felt uncomfortably wet and kind of sticky and started to itch for that bath he drew.
Jongin evidently felt the same, or he just wanted Lu Han naked. It was hard to tell. Lu Han shook his hair off his face and looked over his shoulder. Jongin sat on his thighs, shirt absent, which wasn't surprising, and leaned back down to caress Lu Han's cheek with his lips. "Lift your hips."
Lu Han dipped his back, pushed his knees into the blankets, and arched his tailbone. He may or may not have purposely ground his butt against Jongin's groin. Again, it was hard to tell. The end result was the same: Lu Han's pants and underwear were thrown against one wall, and he was jostled up on Jongin's hips against another wall.
The bathwater went cold long before either of them got there.