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matsu1ninoTitle: Playtime
Pairing: Matsumiya
Genre: Fluff
Disclaimer: Plot is mine, Arashi is not. Unfortunately.
Summary: Jun wondered if it was worth asking why Nino had turned up to his apartment with two kittens.
Author's Note: I couldn't just post angst tonight. Happy Birthday Jun!
The last thing Jun was expecting to see when he opened the door was Nino standing there holding a carrier box and a bag full of cat toys.
“Do I even want to know?” Jun asked.
“Probably not,” Nino replied with a smirk as he invited himself into the other man’s apartment. He walked through to the living room and placed the carrier down before opening the door.
Two kittens tumbled out onto the carpet. Their eyes were wide and their tails erect as they scanned their new environment. Before long they scrambled to their paws and darted off to check out every nook and cranny of the room. When Nino turned back, he saw Jun staring at him with an eyebrow raised in question.
“What?”
“I thought you didn’t like cats,” Jun remarked, looking to the two kittens still running around his living room.
“They aren’t mine, they’re Aiba’s,” Nino told him. “He needed someone to look after them for the day and you know how hard it is to say no to him.”
Jun couldn’t really argue there, having many times experienced the challenge of denying something Aiba asked for, but it didn’t help him understand his current situation any better. “That doesn’t explain why you brought them here.”
Nino shrugged. “I knew you and I both had the day off, so I thought I’d drop by for a visit.”
“It didn’t cross your mind to ask first?”
Nino shrugged again, clearly well past the point of listening as he began to rummage through the collection of cat toys. He tossed a few across the room and scoffed in amusement when the kittens scurried after them. Jun suppressed a sigh and let the argument die there. Annoyed as he was to have Nino turn up on his doorstep without warning looking to pass off the responsibility of Aiba’s pets to him, he knew there was not much point in objecting. They were here now and from the looks of how relaxed Nino already was with kitten toys strewn about on the floor around him, they had no intention of leaving any time soon. Jun wandered over to his bandmate and knelt down beside him.
“Since when does Aiba even have cats?” he asked while examining a small mouse. A bell within rattled when he picked it up.
Aiba owned quite a few pets; all the members knew this. He had two dogs, an Akita that lived with his parents and a Labrador-cross which spent most of its time in the wide courtyard of his apartment. He also kept a scarlet macaw and his living room was home to a large saltwater aquarium filled with an assortment of colourful fish. At his family home in Chiba, he had even more pets including several chickens, a couple of rabbits, a hedgehog and a peacock. There was no denying Aiba’s blatant love for all animals but this was the first Jun had heard of him owning cats.
“He just got them apparently,” said Nino. “He was worried about leaving them alone and had no one else to look after them today, so he asked if I could do it.” His gaze was fixed on the two kittens who had evidently grown bored of the inanimate toys and were now tackling one another.
Looking at them, Jun doubted them were from the same litter. One was a little bit bigger, with black fur and a small patch of white on its chest like a paint splatter. The other was a tiny silver tabby. With the way its dark markings contrasted against the light grey of the rest of its pelt, Jun thought it somewhat resembled a tiger, albeit a very small one. He watched as the black kitten crouched behind the leg of the coffee table, its eyes pinned on the piece of string Nino was teasingly jerking over the carpet in front of it. The end of its tail twitched as it watched the string’s movement. Then it sprung forward.
Distracted by the black kitten, Jun was taken by surprise when something sharp dug into his hand. The tiger-striped kitten had decided his ring was more exciting than any of the toys and pounced on Jun’s hand, playfully biting while its small but sharp claws pierced his skin. Jun yelped in surprise and yanked his hand away, glaring down at the kitten now purring loudly.
“Pest,” he growled at it.
Uncaring towards his feelings, the kitten clambered up onto his lap, stretching out a paw to try and reach his hand again. Jun frowned and picked the cat up. It purred contently while it gnawed on the skin between his thumb and index finger. A quiet snicker sounded from behind him. Jun sent a glare back over his shoulder at Nino, who was laughing. He turned back to the kitten as it began to squirm in his grasp, pawing at his hand and letting out tiny mewls.
Putting it back down on the ground, it was only a matter of seconds before it attacked his hand again. Jun sighed. It was going to be a long day.
---
It was almost noon. An hour had passed since Nino arrived with Aiba’s new kittens and there was no doubt in Jun’s mind that it was the longest hour he’d ever experienced. The cats were nothing but trouble in fur coats. They seemed to think the apartment was now theirs and made themselves completely at home. They climbed on everything they could find, including the two members. Much like their owner, their energy knew no bounds. No matter how much they ran around, chasing toys or each other, they never seemed to tire themselves out. Just watching them was exhausting.
Jun was at his wits end with the mess they were causing. They sharpened their claws on every piece of furniture they could find and were not afraid to chew on just about anything. It made Jun wonder if they were teething or something, or if being destructive was simply in their nature. It wouldn’t surprise him if Aiba let them behaviour like this at home, but he would not tolerate it. He did his best to shoo them away whenever they started scratching.
After twenty minutes of repeatedly doing so, he was certain the kittens were toying with him. They quickly caught on to the fact that Jun would yell at them and try to chase them away whenever they scratched something to mark their new territory. Apparently, they thought of it as a fun game. Jun did not share the sentiment. It devastated him seeing his sleek, expensive furniture covered in cat scratches and bite marks. Fur had been shed all over the place, decorating the carpet and sofa with strands of black and grey. Nino was hardly being of any help. For most of the last hour, he’d lain on the floor doing absolutely nothing other than laugh at his fellow bandmate and the two nightmares terrorizing him. Like the cats, he seemed to find amusement in Jun’s frantic struggles to keep his apartment in one piece. Jun had already reminded him that these cats were his responsibility and, when that didn’t have any effect, made a mental note to make both him and Aiba pay for whatever damages the kittens caused.
After an hour, Jun had given up. He saw no point in trying to stop them anymore when it was obvious his efforts only appeared to encourage them. Sitting back against the couch, he shut his eyes and willed time to go faster.
“What are their names?” he asked with a sighed, paying no mind to the tiny paw that tapped at his ring curiously.
An hour ago, he would have pulled his hand away from the kitten but now he didn’t bother. His ring was secure around his finger and he already knew neither of the cats could remove it. With the number of scratches already marring his hand as well, he knew it wasn’t really worth the trouble of taking away the cat’s new favourite shiny toy.
“I didn’t ask,” Nino told him.
Jun frowned. He found it hard to believe Aiba would have really asked him to look after his cats and not disclose every little detail about them, no matter how trivial. Their names would certainly have been close to the top of that long list of information.
Jun’s thoughts were interrupted when he felt something tug his hair. When he turned his head, a light weight landed on his shoulder, followed by a familiar prickle. He let out a pained hiss and reached up to remove the cat from where it stood gripping the base of his neck with its claws to retain its balance. Jun felt his hair being pulled when he lifted the cat off. The black kitten had been walking along the back of the couch and decided to chew Jun’s hair before jumping on him. Jun glared at it, wincing at the sting radiating from where its claws had dug in. His hand was sore from being pounced on so many times but being scratched on the shoulder was far worse he realised. The kitten’s ears went back as though knowing it was about to be scolded for what it had done. Jun was more than ready to do just that when the red band around its neck caught his attention. Ignoring its meows, Jun held the cat in his lap and twisted the collar around to read the tag. He blinked in surprise at the name written there.
“What does it say?” Nino asked him, not lifting his head from his arm even at seeing the odd expression that had formed on the younger’s face.
Jun glanced at him. “Shoko.”
“It’s a girl?” Nino tipped his head to the side.
There was a pause following his query before another arguably more important detail sunk in. The two of them exchanged a confused glance before turning to the silver tabby that was preening itself nearby. It donned a blue collar. Both members were wondering the same thing.
Nino dragged himself up and crawled over to the other kitten slowly, grabbing it before it could run off. It struggled for a moment before falling limp in his hands as he turned the tag on its collar.
“Arashi,” he read aloud, a smirk quirking onto his lips.
Jun wasn’t sure whether to be amused or concerned by the names Aiba had given his cats. Arashi was hardly a surprise; both he and Nino had witnessed enough occasions where Aiba suggested naming something after their group to know it was his go-to name for most things. Shoko was far more of a shocking choice. Jun couldn’t help wondering where Aiba’s logic behind naming the black kitten that came from, whether the animal’s behavioural traits and personality reminded him of their friend or if there was a different reason for it. Honestly speaking, Jun thought they were probably better off not knowing the answer.
---
“Dammit!”
Jun tried not to smile at Nino’s frustrated cry overlapping the death music coming from the television as his character died for the fourth time in the last fifteen minutes. It was probably the worst Jun had ever seen him perform in any game. Granted, it wasn’t his fault; anyone was bound to play terribly with a kitten chewing on their Wii remote cable and walking in front of the TV screen in the middle of the game’s most crucial moments.
While looking after Aiba’s cats was certainly eventful and time-consuming, both members decided there were other things they had to do with their day off. Jun was revising for his upcoming drama while Nino was busy making use of the younger’s all-inclusive home entertainment system. They were doing their best to multitask. Keeping the kittens preoccupied so they didn’t cause further destruction was something Nino was involuntarily accomplishing, with at least one of them finding almost as much interest in his games as he did.
Nino whined when the restart menu appeared yet again. He futilely attempted to drive the annoyingly persistent kitten away but gained little confidence when the tiger-striped cat padded away, knowing it had done the same thing after his last three deaths. Arashi-chan was only interested in the game when Nino’s controller was flailing around so temptingly or when his attention was solely focused on the television, prompting the little kitten to sit in front of the screen so he would instead be forced to look at it instead.
“You do realise he’s going to keep doing it,” Jun spoke up.
Instead of selecting a new game, Nino flopped backwards onto the floor. He groaned at Jun’s discouraging words. He was already well aware of that himself but that didn’t mean he wanted to hear it.
“Can’t you do something about it?” he wailed, stretching his head back to look at the younger. Jun didn’t look up from his script.
“I could.”
“Will you?”
“Nope.”
Nino pouted. It was not the answer he was hoping to hear. His gaze moved to the black figure lying on top of the couch behind Jun. Shoko had her eyes closed and was purring softly amidst her blissful siesta. It wasn’t fair, Nino thought as he turned back to the other kitten still very much awake. He glared at Arashi-chan, who looked to be waiting for him to resume his game so that he might be able to intervene again.
“Will you at least play a game with me?” asked Nino.
Jun lifted his gaze and gestured to his script as if to say he was busy. Nino’s lips were still pursed a pout while his eyes were begging. His head lowered slowly in defeat, a common strategy he used to persuade others. He hunched his shoulders and fiddled with the strap of the Wii remote. Jun sighed at how low his fellow member was willing to sink just to get what he wanted, but he could not deny the effectiveness of such tactics.
Putting his script to the side, he rose to his feet and walked over, taking hold of the second controller. Nino didn’t even look at him when he lifted his head, instead turning his attention immediately back to the television, hurt façade dropped. It annoyed Jun to know he didn’t even need to look before assuming he was successful.
“One game,” said Jun, keeping his voice firm to make sure Nino knew he meant it. “Then I need to go back to revising.”
“You worry too much, J,” Nino teased.
“Not all of us can memorise a script in a week,” Jun pointed out sharply. He watched as a proud smile found its way onto Nino’s face. Seeing it made him all the more determined to beat the cocky brat in the game.
The new game soon commenced. The battle was fierce and ruthless on both sides. There was no guilt involved in shooting at one another or knocking each other off the platform, disregarding the option of using more complicated combos in favour of spamming one move repeatedly until the other became fed-up. Jun used his foot to shove Arashi-chan away from the TV a few times while on other occasions he gave the kitten a helpful nudge in Nino’s direction. Nino was less than thrilled by his use of such underhanded methods.
It was a close game, one that lasted far longer than any of the previous four games Nino played, but in the end it was he who took the title of winner and reclaimed his pride as top gamer. Jun figured he shouldn’t have been all that surprised by Nino’s victory. He knew firsthand how difficult it was to defeat him when it came to games. One needed both luck on their side and for Nino to be having a bad day to stand a chance of winning against him.
“One more!” Nino begged, smiling now that he’d redeemed himself even with Arashi-chan’s attempted distraction. Said kitten was standing in front of the TV, rearing up on his hind legs to paw at the images flickering on the screen.
Jun shook his head. “I said one, Nino.”
He made sure to deliberately avoid looking at the other man when he stood up, not wanting to fall for another manipulative expression he might decide to concoct. Jun walked back over to the couch but froze when he went to pick up his script.
“Oi!”
Shoko sleepily blinked up at him from where she lay sprawled out over his script. Her jaws parted wide in a yawn before she curled up again, completely content to remain in her new sleeping spot.
---
Jun tried his best to focus on what he was cooking and not whatever mayhem was sure to be taking place in his living room with Nino and the kittens. A part of him couldn’t believe he’d left them alone when they were bound to cause trouble. He actually wondered who was worse: Nino or the cats. It was hard to say, really. All he knew for certain was that leaving three cunning little monsters together was guaranteed to come back to bite him, literally most likely.
He needed to leave, however. Nino had been complaining for who knows how long about being hungry, claiming that Jun was acting cruel and letting him starve. While Jun was admittedly somewhat tempted to let that overdramatic claim become a reality, he also knew he would never get away with it and that the only way to shut Nino up without doing so permanently would be to feed him. The kittens, too, had been meowing quite a lot within the last hour, making Jun wonder if they too were looking to be fed. They’d already snuck into the kitchen once or twice since he started preparing lunch. They would curl around his feet for a while in the hopes he would take pity on them before leaping onto the bench to try and steal some scraps. They would each jump up at intervals, with one being a decoy to distract Jun while the other crept over from the opposite direction.
Clever as their tactics were, they were never successful, at least not entirely. Jun would always catch and scold them, right before giving them something anyway, weak to their tiny mewling that tugged at his heartstrings. He would then banish them to the living room or yell for Nino to come get them away from him.
Unlike what he had to make Nino and himself for lunch, there wasn’t much that he had to offer the cats. There was a small amount of milk in his fridge which he’d already used up giving to them the last time they crept into the kitchen. He considered feeding them some of the mince he was using to make hamburgers for Nino, but he didn’t know if they were old enough to eat raw meat or if they were even allowed to eat it at all. Jun doubted Nino would know and even if he did, he’d probably disagree to giving them any due to not liking the idea of any of his food going to the kittens.
It was undoubtedly a question for Aiba but said man wasn’t around to ask. Jun didn’t want to poison his friend’s cats, no matter how frustrated they made him, so he decided to hold off on feeding them anything else until he knew for sure that it was safe. He fleetingly wondered if Aiba had packed food along with the rest of the toys and supplies he’d given Nino. Jun would have to have a look later, though he sincerely hoped there would be some. He wasn’t sure what he would do otherwise.
Cooking for the remainder of the time was surprisingly easy and trouble-free. There were no further interruptions from the cats and no crashes or concerning noises coming from the living room that may indicate chaos. Jun was able to finish up with his and Nino’s meals, complete with nice presentation. Something about that bothered him. It seemed too quiet, too easy. His mind began to race with a million different thoughts of everything that could have gone wrong while he was busy in the kitchen. He tried hard to keep his worries under control and the countless scenarios in his head in perspective. Still, he felt an uneasy. Leaving the prepared food on the bench, Jun headed back out to tell Nino lunch was ready. The sight that greeted him when he entered the living room was far from what he was expecting.
Nino was on all fours, assuming the same attack position as the cats were. The kittens were spread out, with one on the top of the couch while the other was hiding behind it. Giving what sounded an awful lot like a growl of sorts, Nino launched himself at Arashi-chan who was behind the couch. He dove onto his belly with an arm outstretched to try and catch him in time. He missed completely. Shoko had stalked along the top of the sofa and was now reaching down at him. Nino rolled over and raised a hand. The kitten began to swipe her paw at him, to which he mimicked her movement. When he sprung up without warning and threw himself onto the couch, she leapt high into the air in surprise and slipped off the back of the sofa, landing with a soft thud. Nino laughed while making some remark about her being like Sho-chan after all.
Jun could hardly believe what he was seeing. It was like watching three cats playing together in his living room. He knew he’d been feeling as though he were babysitting more than just Aiba’s pets today, but he honestly didn’t expect to witness such a peculiar yet endearing scene. There was something undeniably cute about the way Nino was acting and just like a small pet that touched the hearts of their owners the first time they showed that adorably playful side of themselves, Jun felt his own heart being warmed watching Nino play about with the two kittens like he was one of them.
“And you said you weren’t a cat person,” Jun remarked. He leant against the doorframe with his arms folded and a humoured expression painted across his features.
Nino turned, wide-eyed, to see Jun standing there for the first time. A pretty blush spread out over his cheeks and turned his ears red even as he climbed to his feet and straightened himself up, doing his best to pretend like nothing had happened.
---
Jun winced at the sting of antiseptic against his wounds. A soft hiss of pain escaped him despite the way he bit down hard on his tongue to keep from making a sound.
Nino rolled his eyes. “It’s not that bad.”
He tossed aside the bloodied cotton ball he’d been using and soaked another with antiseptic before continuing to dab at the scratch on Jun’s bicep. It had stopped bleeding a short while ago but while he had done his best to clean the wound completely before disinfecting it, Jun’s sudden jerking and flinching was risking opening it again.
“Easy for you to say,” Jun muttered, wincing again when Nino pressed down a little too hard on the tender spot of skin. He was cursing Aiba’s name in his head right now, along with his cats’.
He was beginning to see why the man had dubbed the little black cat ‘Shoko’. She had jumped into his arms and fallen asleep, purring loudly and showing probably more affection than Jun was used to receiving from both cats and Sho combined. Things had been going well. The two of them were enjoying a pleasant cuddling session in the aftermath of their meals, that is until a loud bang sounded from across the hall and ruined everything. Jun couldn’t exactly say he was used to loud, sudden noises coming from his neighbours’ apartments but it did happen from time to time, usually when they had company or were moving furniture around. While the noise on this occasion caused him to jolt slightly, the small kitten in his arms had been more than a little startled. She jumped at the noise, frantic and terrified. Her ears fell flat against her head and her fur fluffed up to make her look twice her size.
As she scrambled up in a panic, one of her back claws snagged in Jun’s arm and tore. A fragment of nail was left sticking out of the deep scratch now running along his upper arm. It was a pain that caused him to swear, and had Nino running over to his side in an instant.
Nino finally finished cleaning away all the blood from around the wound. Now that it was cleaned properly, they were able to see just how deep the nail pierced. In spite of what he said before, Nino had to admit it looked quite bad. The bleeding may have stopped but the wound was still raw and the surrounding skin was taking on a purplish tinge, almost like a bruise was forming.
“You really do have bad luck with animals,” he commented, to which Jun didn’t reply. There was no scorn or sarcasm to his remark, just an honest sympathy. He held a clean sterile gauze to the scratch while he used his teeth to tear off the back of a bandage.
“All better now, Jun-pon?” Nino asked once he was finished dressing the wound, his voice taking on a sugary sweet tone.
“Still hurts like hell,” Jun grumbled.
Nino frowned and took hold of his hand, remembering all the other scratches the younger had acquired throughout the day. Ignoring the weird looks sent his way, he lifted the back of Jun’s hand to his lips and gently kissed each wound before leaning forward. Jun reflexively recoiled. Nino tried not to laugh as he deliberately leant in as though going for his lips, before turning away at the last moment to kiss his shoulder instead where he knew another scratch was present. He drew back slowly, kissing the most recent wound along the way before meeting Jun’s gaze.
“How about now?”
Jun looked rather dazed but as the shock wore off, a shy smile formed on his lips. “Better.”
---
A golden glow filled Jun’s apartment as the evening twilight blended the colours of day and night and poured down through the wide windows. The rays of light scattered throughout the room, bathing the two still figures on the floor.
Nino sighed softly to himself as he lay on his side, his softened gaze fixed on the precious sight beside him. The kittens were finally asleep. A day of playing around, being chased, toying with the television and stealing food from the human’s plates had left the two little balls of energy completely tuckered out. Nino had to admit that he preferred them this way as opposed to when they were awake, but it wasn’t necessarily the cats that had drawn his interest and they weren’t the only ones who were exhausted. Jun was asleep too. On his back, he had one arm outstretched with Shoko lying half flopped over it while his other was holding Arashi-chan, who was curled up on his chest. It was a sight Nino was sure he would never get the chance to see again. Witnessing a sleeping Jun was rare enough as it was, let alone one curled up with two baby animals.
The sun was setting and their day together was drawing to a close. It was a thought that made him sad. When Aiba first approached him and begged him to look after his new kittens for the day, bribing him with a fortnight of paid lunches to make sure he agreed, Nino thought he was going to absolutely hate it. He wasn’t good with cats and had no idea how to look after them. There was no way he was going to let them in his apartment either. He could already imagine them getting tangled in his controllers, chewing his games and tearing apart his favourite shirts. That was when he remembered Jun also had the day off. Having a second person around to help him deal with the kittens, better yet someone who the animals would likely torment, was certainly an appealing incentive. He couldn’t imagine Jun reacting well to the responsibility of Aiba’s cats and the damage they were sure to cause though.
Luckily for Nino, he knew the younger would never be able to turn him away if he turned up and showed he was truly out of his depth and outnumbered. It worked perfectly. The day ended up being far more enjoyable than he was expecting. The kittens were frustrating and troublesome but they also had their charming moments, he was willing to admit. Spending time with Jun outside of work was a bonus as well. Today had given him the chance to see many different sides to Jun, all of which he adored. The strangely sweet and innocent side of him on display now was certainly one Nino hoped to see more of in the future. He made a mental note to thank Aiba later.
Cats weren’t Nino’s favourite. He’d never thought they were that cute and always accepted something was missing inside of him to make him feel that way. Looking at his best friend’s two kittens sound asleep while tucked up against Jun though, Nino couldn’t help but smile. Perhaps his opinion could be changed after all.
Pairing: Matsumiya
Genre: Fluff
Disclaimer: Plot is mine, Arashi is not. Unfortunately.
Summary: Jun wondered if it was worth asking why Nino had turned up to his apartment with two kittens.
Author's Note: I couldn't just post angst tonight. Happy Birthday Jun!
The last thing Jun was expecting to see when he opened the door was Nino standing there holding a carrier box and a bag full of cat toys.
“Do I even want to know?” Jun asked.
“Probably not,” Nino replied with a smirk as he invited himself into the other man’s apartment. He walked through to the living room and placed the carrier down before opening the door.
Two kittens tumbled out onto the carpet. Their eyes were wide and their tails erect as they scanned their new environment. Before long they scrambled to their paws and darted off to check out every nook and cranny of the room. When Nino turned back, he saw Jun staring at him with an eyebrow raised in question.
“What?”
“I thought you didn’t like cats,” Jun remarked, looking to the two kittens still running around his living room.
“They aren’t mine, they’re Aiba’s,” Nino told him. “He needed someone to look after them for the day and you know how hard it is to say no to him.”
Jun couldn’t really argue there, having many times experienced the challenge of denying something Aiba asked for, but it didn’t help him understand his current situation any better. “That doesn’t explain why you brought them here.”
Nino shrugged. “I knew you and I both had the day off, so I thought I’d drop by for a visit.”
“It didn’t cross your mind to ask first?”
Nino shrugged again, clearly well past the point of listening as he began to rummage through the collection of cat toys. He tossed a few across the room and scoffed in amusement when the kittens scurried after them. Jun suppressed a sigh and let the argument die there. Annoyed as he was to have Nino turn up on his doorstep without warning looking to pass off the responsibility of Aiba’s pets to him, he knew there was not much point in objecting. They were here now and from the looks of how relaxed Nino already was with kitten toys strewn about on the floor around him, they had no intention of leaving any time soon. Jun wandered over to his bandmate and knelt down beside him.
“Since when does Aiba even have cats?” he asked while examining a small mouse. A bell within rattled when he picked it up.
Aiba owned quite a few pets; all the members knew this. He had two dogs, an Akita that lived with his parents and a Labrador-cross which spent most of its time in the wide courtyard of his apartment. He also kept a scarlet macaw and his living room was home to a large saltwater aquarium filled with an assortment of colourful fish. At his family home in Chiba, he had even more pets including several chickens, a couple of rabbits, a hedgehog and a peacock. There was no denying Aiba’s blatant love for all animals but this was the first Jun had heard of him owning cats.
“He just got them apparently,” said Nino. “He was worried about leaving them alone and had no one else to look after them today, so he asked if I could do it.” His gaze was fixed on the two kittens who had evidently grown bored of the inanimate toys and were now tackling one another.
Looking at them, Jun doubted them were from the same litter. One was a little bit bigger, with black fur and a small patch of white on its chest like a paint splatter. The other was a tiny silver tabby. With the way its dark markings contrasted against the light grey of the rest of its pelt, Jun thought it somewhat resembled a tiger, albeit a very small one. He watched as the black kitten crouched behind the leg of the coffee table, its eyes pinned on the piece of string Nino was teasingly jerking over the carpet in front of it. The end of its tail twitched as it watched the string’s movement. Then it sprung forward.
Distracted by the black kitten, Jun was taken by surprise when something sharp dug into his hand. The tiger-striped kitten had decided his ring was more exciting than any of the toys and pounced on Jun’s hand, playfully biting while its small but sharp claws pierced his skin. Jun yelped in surprise and yanked his hand away, glaring down at the kitten now purring loudly.
“Pest,” he growled at it.
Uncaring towards his feelings, the kitten clambered up onto his lap, stretching out a paw to try and reach his hand again. Jun frowned and picked the cat up. It purred contently while it gnawed on the skin between his thumb and index finger. A quiet snicker sounded from behind him. Jun sent a glare back over his shoulder at Nino, who was laughing. He turned back to the kitten as it began to squirm in his grasp, pawing at his hand and letting out tiny mewls.
Putting it back down on the ground, it was only a matter of seconds before it attacked his hand again. Jun sighed. It was going to be a long day.
---
It was almost noon. An hour had passed since Nino arrived with Aiba’s new kittens and there was no doubt in Jun’s mind that it was the longest hour he’d ever experienced. The cats were nothing but trouble in fur coats. They seemed to think the apartment was now theirs and made themselves completely at home. They climbed on everything they could find, including the two members. Much like their owner, their energy knew no bounds. No matter how much they ran around, chasing toys or each other, they never seemed to tire themselves out. Just watching them was exhausting.
Jun was at his wits end with the mess they were causing. They sharpened their claws on every piece of furniture they could find and were not afraid to chew on just about anything. It made Jun wonder if they were teething or something, or if being destructive was simply in their nature. It wouldn’t surprise him if Aiba let them behaviour like this at home, but he would not tolerate it. He did his best to shoo them away whenever they started scratching.
After twenty minutes of repeatedly doing so, he was certain the kittens were toying with him. They quickly caught on to the fact that Jun would yell at them and try to chase them away whenever they scratched something to mark their new territory. Apparently, they thought of it as a fun game. Jun did not share the sentiment. It devastated him seeing his sleek, expensive furniture covered in cat scratches and bite marks. Fur had been shed all over the place, decorating the carpet and sofa with strands of black and grey. Nino was hardly being of any help. For most of the last hour, he’d lain on the floor doing absolutely nothing other than laugh at his fellow bandmate and the two nightmares terrorizing him. Like the cats, he seemed to find amusement in Jun’s frantic struggles to keep his apartment in one piece. Jun had already reminded him that these cats were his responsibility and, when that didn’t have any effect, made a mental note to make both him and Aiba pay for whatever damages the kittens caused.
After an hour, Jun had given up. He saw no point in trying to stop them anymore when it was obvious his efforts only appeared to encourage them. Sitting back against the couch, he shut his eyes and willed time to go faster.
“What are their names?” he asked with a sighed, paying no mind to the tiny paw that tapped at his ring curiously.
An hour ago, he would have pulled his hand away from the kitten but now he didn’t bother. His ring was secure around his finger and he already knew neither of the cats could remove it. With the number of scratches already marring his hand as well, he knew it wasn’t really worth the trouble of taking away the cat’s new favourite shiny toy.
“I didn’t ask,” Nino told him.
Jun frowned. He found it hard to believe Aiba would have really asked him to look after his cats and not disclose every little detail about them, no matter how trivial. Their names would certainly have been close to the top of that long list of information.
Jun’s thoughts were interrupted when he felt something tug his hair. When he turned his head, a light weight landed on his shoulder, followed by a familiar prickle. He let out a pained hiss and reached up to remove the cat from where it stood gripping the base of his neck with its claws to retain its balance. Jun felt his hair being pulled when he lifted the cat off. The black kitten had been walking along the back of the couch and decided to chew Jun’s hair before jumping on him. Jun glared at it, wincing at the sting radiating from where its claws had dug in. His hand was sore from being pounced on so many times but being scratched on the shoulder was far worse he realised. The kitten’s ears went back as though knowing it was about to be scolded for what it had done. Jun was more than ready to do just that when the red band around its neck caught his attention. Ignoring its meows, Jun held the cat in his lap and twisted the collar around to read the tag. He blinked in surprise at the name written there.
“What does it say?” Nino asked him, not lifting his head from his arm even at seeing the odd expression that had formed on the younger’s face.
Jun glanced at him. “Shoko.”
“It’s a girl?” Nino tipped his head to the side.
There was a pause following his query before another arguably more important detail sunk in. The two of them exchanged a confused glance before turning to the silver tabby that was preening itself nearby. It donned a blue collar. Both members were wondering the same thing.
Nino dragged himself up and crawled over to the other kitten slowly, grabbing it before it could run off. It struggled for a moment before falling limp in his hands as he turned the tag on its collar.
“Arashi,” he read aloud, a smirk quirking onto his lips.
Jun wasn’t sure whether to be amused or concerned by the names Aiba had given his cats. Arashi was hardly a surprise; both he and Nino had witnessed enough occasions where Aiba suggested naming something after their group to know it was his go-to name for most things. Shoko was far more of a shocking choice. Jun couldn’t help wondering where Aiba’s logic behind naming the black kitten that came from, whether the animal’s behavioural traits and personality reminded him of their friend or if there was a different reason for it. Honestly speaking, Jun thought they were probably better off not knowing the answer.
---
“Dammit!”
Jun tried not to smile at Nino’s frustrated cry overlapping the death music coming from the television as his character died for the fourth time in the last fifteen minutes. It was probably the worst Jun had ever seen him perform in any game. Granted, it wasn’t his fault; anyone was bound to play terribly with a kitten chewing on their Wii remote cable and walking in front of the TV screen in the middle of the game’s most crucial moments.
While looking after Aiba’s cats was certainly eventful and time-consuming, both members decided there were other things they had to do with their day off. Jun was revising for his upcoming drama while Nino was busy making use of the younger’s all-inclusive home entertainment system. They were doing their best to multitask. Keeping the kittens preoccupied so they didn’t cause further destruction was something Nino was involuntarily accomplishing, with at least one of them finding almost as much interest in his games as he did.
Nino whined when the restart menu appeared yet again. He futilely attempted to drive the annoyingly persistent kitten away but gained little confidence when the tiger-striped cat padded away, knowing it had done the same thing after his last three deaths. Arashi-chan was only interested in the game when Nino’s controller was flailing around so temptingly or when his attention was solely focused on the television, prompting the little kitten to sit in front of the screen so he would instead be forced to look at it instead.
“You do realise he’s going to keep doing it,” Jun spoke up.
Instead of selecting a new game, Nino flopped backwards onto the floor. He groaned at Jun’s discouraging words. He was already well aware of that himself but that didn’t mean he wanted to hear it.
“Can’t you do something about it?” he wailed, stretching his head back to look at the younger. Jun didn’t look up from his script.
“I could.”
“Will you?”
“Nope.”
Nino pouted. It was not the answer he was hoping to hear. His gaze moved to the black figure lying on top of the couch behind Jun. Shoko had her eyes closed and was purring softly amidst her blissful siesta. It wasn’t fair, Nino thought as he turned back to the other kitten still very much awake. He glared at Arashi-chan, who looked to be waiting for him to resume his game so that he might be able to intervene again.
“Will you at least play a game with me?” asked Nino.
Jun lifted his gaze and gestured to his script as if to say he was busy. Nino’s lips were still pursed a pout while his eyes were begging. His head lowered slowly in defeat, a common strategy he used to persuade others. He hunched his shoulders and fiddled with the strap of the Wii remote. Jun sighed at how low his fellow member was willing to sink just to get what he wanted, but he could not deny the effectiveness of such tactics.
Putting his script to the side, he rose to his feet and walked over, taking hold of the second controller. Nino didn’t even look at him when he lifted his head, instead turning his attention immediately back to the television, hurt façade dropped. It annoyed Jun to know he didn’t even need to look before assuming he was successful.
“One game,” said Jun, keeping his voice firm to make sure Nino knew he meant it. “Then I need to go back to revising.”
“You worry too much, J,” Nino teased.
“Not all of us can memorise a script in a week,” Jun pointed out sharply. He watched as a proud smile found its way onto Nino’s face. Seeing it made him all the more determined to beat the cocky brat in the game.
The new game soon commenced. The battle was fierce and ruthless on both sides. There was no guilt involved in shooting at one another or knocking each other off the platform, disregarding the option of using more complicated combos in favour of spamming one move repeatedly until the other became fed-up. Jun used his foot to shove Arashi-chan away from the TV a few times while on other occasions he gave the kitten a helpful nudge in Nino’s direction. Nino was less than thrilled by his use of such underhanded methods.
It was a close game, one that lasted far longer than any of the previous four games Nino played, but in the end it was he who took the title of winner and reclaimed his pride as top gamer. Jun figured he shouldn’t have been all that surprised by Nino’s victory. He knew firsthand how difficult it was to defeat him when it came to games. One needed both luck on their side and for Nino to be having a bad day to stand a chance of winning against him.
“One more!” Nino begged, smiling now that he’d redeemed himself even with Arashi-chan’s attempted distraction. Said kitten was standing in front of the TV, rearing up on his hind legs to paw at the images flickering on the screen.
Jun shook his head. “I said one, Nino.”
He made sure to deliberately avoid looking at the other man when he stood up, not wanting to fall for another manipulative expression he might decide to concoct. Jun walked back over to the couch but froze when he went to pick up his script.
“Oi!”
Shoko sleepily blinked up at him from where she lay sprawled out over his script. Her jaws parted wide in a yawn before she curled up again, completely content to remain in her new sleeping spot.
---
Jun tried his best to focus on what he was cooking and not whatever mayhem was sure to be taking place in his living room with Nino and the kittens. A part of him couldn’t believe he’d left them alone when they were bound to cause trouble. He actually wondered who was worse: Nino or the cats. It was hard to say, really. All he knew for certain was that leaving three cunning little monsters together was guaranteed to come back to bite him, literally most likely.
He needed to leave, however. Nino had been complaining for who knows how long about being hungry, claiming that Jun was acting cruel and letting him starve. While Jun was admittedly somewhat tempted to let that overdramatic claim become a reality, he also knew he would never get away with it and that the only way to shut Nino up without doing so permanently would be to feed him. The kittens, too, had been meowing quite a lot within the last hour, making Jun wonder if they too were looking to be fed. They’d already snuck into the kitchen once or twice since he started preparing lunch. They would curl around his feet for a while in the hopes he would take pity on them before leaping onto the bench to try and steal some scraps. They would each jump up at intervals, with one being a decoy to distract Jun while the other crept over from the opposite direction.
Clever as their tactics were, they were never successful, at least not entirely. Jun would always catch and scold them, right before giving them something anyway, weak to their tiny mewling that tugged at his heartstrings. He would then banish them to the living room or yell for Nino to come get them away from him.
Unlike what he had to make Nino and himself for lunch, there wasn’t much that he had to offer the cats. There was a small amount of milk in his fridge which he’d already used up giving to them the last time they crept into the kitchen. He considered feeding them some of the mince he was using to make hamburgers for Nino, but he didn’t know if they were old enough to eat raw meat or if they were even allowed to eat it at all. Jun doubted Nino would know and even if he did, he’d probably disagree to giving them any due to not liking the idea of any of his food going to the kittens.
It was undoubtedly a question for Aiba but said man wasn’t around to ask. Jun didn’t want to poison his friend’s cats, no matter how frustrated they made him, so he decided to hold off on feeding them anything else until he knew for sure that it was safe. He fleetingly wondered if Aiba had packed food along with the rest of the toys and supplies he’d given Nino. Jun would have to have a look later, though he sincerely hoped there would be some. He wasn’t sure what he would do otherwise.
Cooking for the remainder of the time was surprisingly easy and trouble-free. There were no further interruptions from the cats and no crashes or concerning noises coming from the living room that may indicate chaos. Jun was able to finish up with his and Nino’s meals, complete with nice presentation. Something about that bothered him. It seemed too quiet, too easy. His mind began to race with a million different thoughts of everything that could have gone wrong while he was busy in the kitchen. He tried hard to keep his worries under control and the countless scenarios in his head in perspective. Still, he felt an uneasy. Leaving the prepared food on the bench, Jun headed back out to tell Nino lunch was ready. The sight that greeted him when he entered the living room was far from what he was expecting.
Nino was on all fours, assuming the same attack position as the cats were. The kittens were spread out, with one on the top of the couch while the other was hiding behind it. Giving what sounded an awful lot like a growl of sorts, Nino launched himself at Arashi-chan who was behind the couch. He dove onto his belly with an arm outstretched to try and catch him in time. He missed completely. Shoko had stalked along the top of the sofa and was now reaching down at him. Nino rolled over and raised a hand. The kitten began to swipe her paw at him, to which he mimicked her movement. When he sprung up without warning and threw himself onto the couch, she leapt high into the air in surprise and slipped off the back of the sofa, landing with a soft thud. Nino laughed while making some remark about her being like Sho-chan after all.
Jun could hardly believe what he was seeing. It was like watching three cats playing together in his living room. He knew he’d been feeling as though he were babysitting more than just Aiba’s pets today, but he honestly didn’t expect to witness such a peculiar yet endearing scene. There was something undeniably cute about the way Nino was acting and just like a small pet that touched the hearts of their owners the first time they showed that adorably playful side of themselves, Jun felt his own heart being warmed watching Nino play about with the two kittens like he was one of them.
“And you said you weren’t a cat person,” Jun remarked. He leant against the doorframe with his arms folded and a humoured expression painted across his features.
Nino turned, wide-eyed, to see Jun standing there for the first time. A pretty blush spread out over his cheeks and turned his ears red even as he climbed to his feet and straightened himself up, doing his best to pretend like nothing had happened.
---
Jun winced at the sting of antiseptic against his wounds. A soft hiss of pain escaped him despite the way he bit down hard on his tongue to keep from making a sound.
Nino rolled his eyes. “It’s not that bad.”
He tossed aside the bloodied cotton ball he’d been using and soaked another with antiseptic before continuing to dab at the scratch on Jun’s bicep. It had stopped bleeding a short while ago but while he had done his best to clean the wound completely before disinfecting it, Jun’s sudden jerking and flinching was risking opening it again.
“Easy for you to say,” Jun muttered, wincing again when Nino pressed down a little too hard on the tender spot of skin. He was cursing Aiba’s name in his head right now, along with his cats’.
He was beginning to see why the man had dubbed the little black cat ‘Shoko’. She had jumped into his arms and fallen asleep, purring loudly and showing probably more affection than Jun was used to receiving from both cats and Sho combined. Things had been going well. The two of them were enjoying a pleasant cuddling session in the aftermath of their meals, that is until a loud bang sounded from across the hall and ruined everything. Jun couldn’t exactly say he was used to loud, sudden noises coming from his neighbours’ apartments but it did happen from time to time, usually when they had company or were moving furniture around. While the noise on this occasion caused him to jolt slightly, the small kitten in his arms had been more than a little startled. She jumped at the noise, frantic and terrified. Her ears fell flat against her head and her fur fluffed up to make her look twice her size.
As she scrambled up in a panic, one of her back claws snagged in Jun’s arm and tore. A fragment of nail was left sticking out of the deep scratch now running along his upper arm. It was a pain that caused him to swear, and had Nino running over to his side in an instant.
Nino finally finished cleaning away all the blood from around the wound. Now that it was cleaned properly, they were able to see just how deep the nail pierced. In spite of what he said before, Nino had to admit it looked quite bad. The bleeding may have stopped but the wound was still raw and the surrounding skin was taking on a purplish tinge, almost like a bruise was forming.
“You really do have bad luck with animals,” he commented, to which Jun didn’t reply. There was no scorn or sarcasm to his remark, just an honest sympathy. He held a clean sterile gauze to the scratch while he used his teeth to tear off the back of a bandage.
“All better now, Jun-pon?” Nino asked once he was finished dressing the wound, his voice taking on a sugary sweet tone.
“Still hurts like hell,” Jun grumbled.
Nino frowned and took hold of his hand, remembering all the other scratches the younger had acquired throughout the day. Ignoring the weird looks sent his way, he lifted the back of Jun’s hand to his lips and gently kissed each wound before leaning forward. Jun reflexively recoiled. Nino tried not to laugh as he deliberately leant in as though going for his lips, before turning away at the last moment to kiss his shoulder instead where he knew another scratch was present. He drew back slowly, kissing the most recent wound along the way before meeting Jun’s gaze.
“How about now?”
Jun looked rather dazed but as the shock wore off, a shy smile formed on his lips. “Better.”
---
A golden glow filled Jun’s apartment as the evening twilight blended the colours of day and night and poured down through the wide windows. The rays of light scattered throughout the room, bathing the two still figures on the floor.
Nino sighed softly to himself as he lay on his side, his softened gaze fixed on the precious sight beside him. The kittens were finally asleep. A day of playing around, being chased, toying with the television and stealing food from the human’s plates had left the two little balls of energy completely tuckered out. Nino had to admit that he preferred them this way as opposed to when they were awake, but it wasn’t necessarily the cats that had drawn his interest and they weren’t the only ones who were exhausted. Jun was asleep too. On his back, he had one arm outstretched with Shoko lying half flopped over it while his other was holding Arashi-chan, who was curled up on his chest. It was a sight Nino was sure he would never get the chance to see again. Witnessing a sleeping Jun was rare enough as it was, let alone one curled up with two baby animals.
The sun was setting and their day together was drawing to a close. It was a thought that made him sad. When Aiba first approached him and begged him to look after his new kittens for the day, bribing him with a fortnight of paid lunches to make sure he agreed, Nino thought he was going to absolutely hate it. He wasn’t good with cats and had no idea how to look after them. There was no way he was going to let them in his apartment either. He could already imagine them getting tangled in his controllers, chewing his games and tearing apart his favourite shirts. That was when he remembered Jun also had the day off. Having a second person around to help him deal with the kittens, better yet someone who the animals would likely torment, was certainly an appealing incentive. He couldn’t imagine Jun reacting well to the responsibility of Aiba’s cats and the damage they were sure to cause though.
Luckily for Nino, he knew the younger would never be able to turn him away if he turned up and showed he was truly out of his depth and outnumbered. It worked perfectly. The day ended up being far more enjoyable than he was expecting. The kittens were frustrating and troublesome but they also had their charming moments, he was willing to admit. Spending time with Jun outside of work was a bonus as well. Today had given him the chance to see many different sides to Jun, all of which he adored. The strangely sweet and innocent side of him on display now was certainly one Nino hoped to see more of in the future. He made a mental note to thank Aiba later.
Cats weren’t Nino’s favourite. He’d never thought they were that cute and always accepted something was missing inside of him to make him feel that way. Looking at his best friend’s two kittens sound asleep while tucked up against Jun though, Nino couldn’t help but smile. Perhaps his opinion could be changed after all.
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Date: 2017-08-30 11:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-08-30 03:39 pm (UTC)the way you describe the cats playing and their behaviours r so detailed! well you are exposed to them every single say so im not that surprised but it's still super amazing how you can describe every single thing :O
Them playing wii reminds me of us playing wii with the cats XD but no offense aiba your cats sounds worse..
Shoko-cat is literally sho-chan female cat version XD poor jun... but omg the scene of nino playing with the cats 💛 it's just so so so adorabbbleeeee
And of course you hurt jun more on his bday XD ah well he's bound to get cat scratches and one maybe accidental deep one especially if shoko is there... hehehe nino kissing his wounds r justtttt 💜💛
Awwww that last scene of jun sleeping with the kitties is so precious 💜 I can imagine nino would feel all fluttery inside after seeing that. And i love how u used nino's actual quote in the last part XD "something was missing inside of him" cause that's so true.
Thank you for this super fluffy giant oneshot and happy bday to jun 💜