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DD huffed and pushed his glasses up further onto his nose so that they weren’t sliding down as much. He hunched over his computer and tried to ignore the cramp that was developing in his neck. He just had to finish this article and then send it over to the editing team and he could go home for the night. He paused on what he thought could be the last sentence and stretched, groaning as he didn’t have much room to do even that in his small cubicle.One day, he swore, he would write the perfect article and get out of this place.But for now, it was all he had.He typed one last concluding sentence with a tap of his paws and saved the document, quickly attaching it to an email and sending it off to the editing apartment. He logged out of his computer, put it into sleep mode, and climbed out of his tiny office into freedom.He pulled his jacket on over his regular white button down because the weather in Meow York was taking a turn for the worse, windy but not too cold yet. He slung his messenger bag full of work he needed to do at home over his shoulder, grabbing a fresh cup of hot coffee on the way out the doors. He swiped his card to clock out and then he was free.DD stepped onto the sidewalk into the bustling foot traffic of Meow York Seoul, a metropolis where cultures met and animals thrived. Businesses of every kind filled the streets and you didn’t have to walk far for anything from delicious food to expensive apartments to coffee shops and libraries. It was the perfect place to get a job as a nameless reporter and a not so nameless superhero.DD smiled to himself and turned into an alleyway, ducking behind a dumpster. Yeah, it wasn’t the most glamorous place but he didn’t have that many options.He plopped his bag on the ground and pulled open his shirt to stare down at the suit he had worn underneath.It was homemade.DD was an intern at a newspaper for fish sake! He was living off of scraps of wet food and the free coffee that was supplied in the break room. He had salvaged scraps of cloth from hand-me-downs and thrift stores all of which he had lovingly stitched together until he had arrived at this final masterpiece.The outfit was mostly black with his odd stitching sticking out here and there. The sweatpants were also black and tailored to accommodate his huge tail with a hole through the back. DD pulled his homemade hood up over his head, and the hand-stitched fabric ears settled perfectly over his own. The final touch was a black mask across his eyes, replacing his glasses that were folded carefully into their travelling case.And DD wasn’t DD anymore.He was Moggie Man.Fishy? Yeah.DD didn’t care. He slung his messenger bag over his shoulder and took a moment to stretch his muscles. No point in tearing anything by being over-zealous. Once he was sufficiently warmed up though, he crouched and with one giant leap, cleared the building he was next to and took him all the way to the roof.He took a moment to look out over Meow York Seoul, surveying the skyline and admiring the way the setting sun painted the sky a brilliant orange. He sighed happily because no matter how many cramped hours he spent in his too small cubicle, churning out article after article of mundane news, this was his true life.Now, before he headed back to his equally cramped, falling-apart-because-it-was-cheap-as-hell apartment, DD just had to get some photos of the elusive Moggie Man for the Editor-in-Chief and maybe his next paycheck would be more than a couple hundred claws.DD pulled his phone out of his bag and swiped it open. He grabbed a selfie first on all, but that was just for himself. Then it was time to make money. *~* Across the city, also eager for nightfall, was another type of reporter who loved his job a lot more than DD loved his, but didn’t know it.Lulu scampered down the front steps of his own, relatively nice apartment, and glanced over his shoulder to make sure Lala was coming. She had spent hours making sure her white fur was flawlessly styled, and Lulu honestly didn’t know why. They were just headed to a rink-dink dive bar to check out their burgers. It was the next item up on his food review blog and he was very excited.“Can you be any slower?” he asked as Lala trotted down the stairs to catch up.“Can you be any more impatient?” she shot back. “Look, I’m a goddess. The world deserves to see me at my best.” She fluffed her fur up and flicked her tail in his face. “Just because you’re a slob doesn’t mean I have to be.”Lulu rolled his eyes and tucked his apartment keys into the pocket of his jacket as he followed her down the sidewalk in the direction of the restaurant bar.“I’m not being impatient,” he said. “I just want to beat the dinner crowd. There’s nothing worse than getting stuck at the sitting area of a restaurant and having to wait for the food even longer than normal.”“You should have made reservations,” Lala said, the bracelets on her wrist jangling loudly, calling attention to her exactly like she wanted. “It’s the easiest way to eat out. You, of all cats, should know this by now.”“I want to get the authentic experience,” Lulu said, sneezing as a cloud of her perfume drifted passed his nose. “Like the everyday cat. You know? I want my blog to be authentic, and that means showing up to restaurants completely unprepared, uninformed, and ready to eat whatever they put down in front of you.”Lala rolled her eyes. “You’re weird.”Lulu grinned. “And yet we’re still roommates.”“I think I’m paying for the apartment actually,” Lala said. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and tapped in her password. “I’m going to Tweet this, ask my followers what they think. Oh! The lighting is so good here!”She paused in the middle of the sidewalk and held her phone up for a quick selfie. She paused for a moment longer, mumbling to herself as she typed a caption, and then posted the image.“I hope you didn't mention where we're going,” Lulu said, using the time to catch up and pass her. He needed all the chances he could get, as his stubby legs weren't the best for walking. “Because whenever you do that, your so-called fans flood the place and I can’t get any actual work done.”Lala just flipped her hair. “That’s what I have to put up with when I’m an influencer,” she said. “Life’s hard.”“Let’s just get to the restaurant as fast as possible,” Lulu said. “And order burgers! I can’t wait!”The walk to the bar wasn’t that far actually. They were in Meow York Seoul. You could get anywhere fast in Meow York Seoul. And luckily, when they got there, there wasn’t a huge crowd outside the hole-in-the-wall restaurant. Which meant they were able to get in with little trouble. Which meant that they were escorted to their seats and given menus in a prompt time frame.“Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!” Lulu said, sipping on the soda he had ordered while he scanned up and down the menu. “I want to order it all!”Lala just rolled her eyes and checked her hair in the camera of her phone. “Just choose one,” she said. “You know what happens when you order too much.”Lulu glowered at her over the top of his menu. “That was one time!”“Just choose something and keep it simple,” Lala said.Lulu hemmed and hawed over the menu for several minutes, sending the waiter away a couple times as he needed more and more time. He finished his whole glass of soda and got a refill before finally deciding on which burger he got. Of course, it was one of the most over-the-top, gaudy, extra dishes the restaurant had.A double-decker pepper jack monster of a thing, the picture of the Spice Mongrel made it look like it was as tall as the glass of soda sitting next to it. The bun was topped with toasted cheese crisps, and a whole handful of vegetables also came on the side for toppings—tomatoes, lettuce, pickles, and even spinach. The burger patties themselves were topped with pepper jack cheese, jalapenos, and a whole list of spices that Lulu didn’t recognize.“That one!” he pointed out proudly when the waiter circled back around again.“Alright,” the black tom said. “And what side would you like with that?”Lulu was practically drooling over the menu. “The onion rings!” he finally decided on.The tom, looking absolutely bored with his job, ears pressed back with a headband and bags barely concealed under his eyes. He dutifully scribbled down the order and looked to Lala, not even phased when she was batting her eyes at him like the most love-struck angel.“And for you?”“I'll have the Cheese Wonder Dream,” Lala said, tapping a paw against the option she wanted. “With a side of fries. Could I have honey mustard to dip those in please?”“Of course,” the tom said, writing down her order. “Let me go get that for you.”He took their menus and their order back to the kitchen, disappearing through a pair of swinging doors. They got a brief glimpse of a bustling kitchen staffed with a crowd of animals before the doors seeing shut. Lulu got a single whiff of coming food and that was it.“Oh!!” he said, bracing his paws on the table and almost bouncing in his seat. “Do you think if I slipped the waiter twenty claws, he'd bring our food out faster?”Lala was too busy checking the notifications of her newest post to even look up at him. “What happened to the authentic experience?”Lulu scoffed. “Don't judge me. I am getting the authentic experience.”And on the other side of the restaurant, hunched over the well-lit bar and nursing her third straight whiskey on the rocks, was another cat looking for an authentic experience, just in a very different sense. She cut an imposing figure, that's for sure, with a heavy black trench coat and an equally black cowboy style hat. Her grey mottled fur was sleek and styled despite the bar she was sitting at. She downed the rest of her drink in one go and rattled the leftover ice cubes at the bar tender.“Another.”“Miss TT, no disrespect, but shouldn’t you get some real hydration?” the calico tom behind the counter asked.TT looked up and shot him a glare, rattling her glass a bit more insistently. “I have ice cubes, don’t I?” she said. “Just refill my glass and take my money, Gerry. I pay my therapist to care about me, not you.”“That would be a comfort to me,” Gerry said, taking her glass and topping it off and even adding a few new ice cubes. “If I knew you were going to see a therapist. Honestly, how have you been? I’ve seen you here way to often lately. Where’s Beau?”TT clenched her paw into a fist and snatched her glass back, downing it all in one go before slamming it down on the counter. She glared across the bar, daring Gerry to say something else. He swallowed and busied himself with wiping down a used glass. He wordlessly refilled her glass, not even adding ice cubes this time.“Oh,” he said. “She’s . . . ?”“Gone,” TT said dryly, nursing her next glass slower than the other ones. She dropped her head to the bar and sighed. “She’s gone, Gerry. Moved on. Said I couldn’t separate my work life from my love life.” She looked up at Gerry and wiped a tear from her eye. “Do you think it was because I handcuffed myself to the bed? Or when I accidentally brought the blocks of evidence cocaine home and put them in our underwear drawer?”“I think,” Gerry said. “That it was when you forgot your anniversary for the third time and she came in here and slapped you for drinking alone on such a night.”TT sighed and slumped against the bar. “I don’t know where I went wrong. I thought being a detective meant helping people not . . . . being alone all the time.” She looked up at Gerry, unshed tears still flooding her eyes. “I don’t want to be alone, Gerry!”Gerry sighed and leaned on the counter across from here. “Here’s the deal, sweetheart,” he said. “Being a detective doesn’t mean you have to be alone all the time. You just take the worst possible cases. I mean, drug dealers? Human trafficking rings? You choose the most dangerous cases and then are surprised when things go south. Maybe you should chose something small, bust a few shoplifters, help an old queen across the street, slow down.”TT took a long sip from her drink, distracted by a waiter that pushed his way out of the double doors into the kitchen, holding a tray that carried two burgers, a side of fries, and a side of onion rings. She was suddenly hungry, the alcohol catching up with her. She would have to eat something eventually and even though her brain knew that emotional eating was bad for her, those burgers looked too damn good. She tossed back the rest of her drink and pushed herself off of the bar.“I’m gonna go get some food,” she told Gerry.“Yeah, that sounds smart,” Gerry said, taking her glass and dumping out the leftover ice cubes. “Go eat your feelings.”“Hey, shut up,” TT said, jabbing a finger at him as she stumbled out of the bar area towards the main eatery. “Beau loved it when I ate. She was a good cook.”Gerry just rolled his eyes. “Go order a burger. Get better. Find a new girl.”TT flipped him off without thinking and stumbled off to find an open table. She was only a little tipsy as the alcohol was still working its way through her system but she wanted to get food in her stomach before she started throwing up nothing. That was the worst.She ended up collapsing in a booth since there were no open tables. A waiter got her a menu and a glass of water which she turned up her nose as. She flipped open the menu and ordered the first thing she looked at, some double decker burger with bacon on it with a side of fries. The waiter seemed grateful for such an easy order and whisked the menu away.With nothing to do but wait and not wanting to cry over the pictures of Beau she had set as her lock screen and background, TT slumped in her seat and watched the people move around her. The detective side of her was able to catalogue the world around her, reading the people and catching snippets of their conversations without being overwhelmed. It was a skill she had developed over several years, and it was hard to turn off, even when she was drunk.There was two cats across the restaurant that sounded like they were on a date. A tom that was currently trying to swallow an entire rack of salmon whole and sounding like he was choking on most of it. Three queens who were dressed like they were on a hen and gossiping about their husbands. Two cats right behind her that were drooling over their food.“Ooohh!! It looks so good!” one of the cats was saying, a chubby tom with stubby legs. “Lala, are you seeing this?”The queen he was eating with was beautiful with flowing white fur and a phone in her paw as she snapped pictures of her food. “I’m seeing it alright,” she said. “And my followers are going to love it even more.”TT groaned at the young kids and their social media. She rolled her eyes and wished she hadn’t abandoned her drink at the bar.The tom, whose name she hadn’t caught yet, had taken a bite of his burger now and was moaning over how good it was, speaking with his mouth full and urging his dining companion, Lala, to eat her own food. He was a messy eater, slurping and chomping his food and causing an overall annoyance being directly behind TT.“Lulu, slow down,” Lala said, finally taking an equally huge bite of her own burger.“I can’t!” Lulu said, speaking around a mouthful of meat and bread. “I wish this place wasn’t so expensive! I would eat here so often. The burgers really are the best in the world!”Expensive was right. TT usually stuck to the bar where she could flirt to get half of her drinks. But tonight was different. She needed expensive food to drown her sorrows. As if prompted by the thought, the waiter appeared with her plate of food and she was finally able to dig in. As she chewed and swallowed though, she couldn’t help but agree with Lulu.The food really was amazing. *~* In a much more expensive restaurant in another part of town, two other cats were having dinner although they were much more sophisticated than Lulu, Lala, and TT combined. The restaurant they were eating at was black-tie with well-groomed waiters and a very quiet, serious atmosphere. Soft classical music played in the background and instead of an open dining area, private booths were bought by the affluent customers.And two such customers were taking their seats now, both dressed in handsome suits with proper jackets and vests and ties. Fur combed and styled and whiskers trimmed neatly.“Dr. Coco,” the orange tom said, pulling out the chair for his companion to allow him to sit. “I’m so glad you could join me this evening.”“It is my pleasure, Momo,” Coco said with a purr, sweeping his luxurious tail out of his way as he took the proffered seat. He unfolded his napkin, flapped it once, and tucked it into his shirt collar. “I’m glad you had an open evening.”“I always have an open evening for you,” Momo said, taking his own seat. He smiled across the table at the handsome white tom. “You should know that by now.”A waiter slipped into their booth, and Momo tapped the wine list with whichever bottle and year he chose. He didn’t have to look at the prices. They were nothing to him. They didn’t even bother looking at the menus either. Both of them had been here many times, and they both knew what they wanted to order.“Production is going well,” Coco said, propping his chin in his hand. “The next products should be out soon enough.”“You know that’s not why I asked you here,” Momo said.The waiter returned and filled their glasses with the chosen wine. He took their usual order as well, typing it into a keypad that sent in directly to the kitchen. He left the bottle in a bucket of ice for the wine, so they could sip from it at leisure and then left them to their privacy again. Once the door to their booth was closed again, Momo and Coco continued their conversation.“You’re getting bolder,” Coco said, giving Momo a sultry look. His tail swished under the table, accidentally brushing against Momo’s paws. “I remember when you used to be scared of seen in public with me.”“Because I fund your scientific research,” Momo said. He loosened his tie so that it wasn’t as tight around his throat. “What would the tabloids think if I were—”“Funding something else?” Coco asked with a smirk. He took a sip of his wine, being careful to keep it out of his fur. “Come on, the public isn’t that stupid. They have to know something by now. Or at least be gossiping about it.” “Oh, there are rumors alright,” Momo said, taking a drink of his own wine. He sighed. “Do you care?”“About what people say?” Coco said. He shrugged. “They’re going to talk anyway. I don’t care to stop them. I streamline ways to ingest catnip. They can’t expect me to be all that private about the rest of my life. And you’re a wealthy business cat. I’m sure no one expects you to keep it straight.”Momo sighed. “They expect an heir to my company,” he said. “Someone to take over when I get too old.”“We can adopt,” Coco said. “Come on. Biology is really a moot point here. And I’m a scientist.” He seemed to pick up on Momo’s reluctance and quickly added, “We don’t have to rush anything though. We don’t have to do anything you’re not ready for.”Momo reached across the table and clasped Coco’s paw in his own. They stared at each other for a long moment, neither saying anything, just getting lost in each other’s eyes.“I am ready for anything though,” Momo finally said. “I don’t want to hold back anymore.”“Then don’t,” Coco said.In a moment, he was across the table, paws wrapped in Momo’s shirt and dragging him into a rough kiss. His twitched his tail out of the way, making sure he didn’t tip the wine glasses over. He didn’t want to make that big of a mess and his fur stained too easily. Momo pulled him forward and off the table and they ended up against the wall, a bit breathless. Their suits were suddenly too hot in the small booth, and Momo loosened his tie a bit more. Coco’s blue eyes smoldered with a sort of mischief that Momo never saw in the meetings and office buildings he worked in all day.It was thrilling.They were still pressed together when the door slid open and the waiter walked back in with their food. He didn’t comment though, just set their plates down on the table and slipped back out the door without even making eye contact.Coco pulled back for a moment, more for Momo’s sake than anything. “Is he gonna say—”“I’ll slip him an extra hundred claws,” Momo said, tugging Coco back so they were chest to chest. “I don’t really care anymore.”The restaurant was made to be discreet for the upper class such as themselves. For the money that Momo was paying to be here, no one would be saying anything. That was the whole point of the booths. It was private and classy and had a reputation for being used for business transactions and meetings such as the one they were having now.Coco didn’t mind the contact. He swept his tail up and around their legs, tucking them together so that they couldn’t move without tripping. “We’ll figure out if you care in the morning,” he said. “Food?”Momo wasn’t letting him go though. “Forget it,” he said. “Dinner was an excuse. I just wanted to see you.”Coco was purring again, almost a rough growl as he pinned his beneficiary to the wall of the booth. “I love how you can just throw money away like that,” he said. “You’re so rich.”“Come on,” Momo said, tugging Coco towards the door, leaving their wine, jackets, and food. He could replace it all within hours anywhere so it didn’t matter. All that mattered was Coco. “Let’s go home. I don’t want to be here anymore.”Coco raised an eyebrow but let himself be pulled along. “Your place?” he said teasingly. “Sir, you spoil me.”“A Doctor such as yourself deserves so much more,” Momo said.Coco just smirked and squeezed Momo’s paw a bit tighter, playfully, as they walked out of the restaurant. “You already give me too much.”They climbed into Momo’s usual limousine still paw in paw, and the door had barely shut and the driver barely pulled out into traffic before they had their paws all over each other again. Coco wasn’t an idiot though. He knew that Momo will probably have changed his mind in the morning. Not about Coco and their relationship, but about being public.Did it hurt? Not really. Coco was used to it. He was a scientist. He was used to being unsuccessful in most things. Besides, Momo would send him a check for his research work the next week anyway, and that’s how Coco knew they were still in love, not matter how taboo the public thought they were.Dr. Coco and Chairman Momo.Coco grinned mostly to himself as he flipped on top and pinned Momo to the seat. The orange tom didn’t look so put together now, eyes twinkling in the lights of the city at night, just as breathless as Coco was.An unlikely pair. *~* In yet another side of town, another cat was working a much different job and not earning nearly enough money or getting enough love. She wasn’t a wealthy business cat or a scientist or a food blogger or a detective or even an influencer. She worked a simple job in her personal yarn store, doing small commissions to make ends meet within her normal sales.Chuchu was just finished cleaning up her shop after a busy day of being open.She had to sweep all the floors, reorganize the skeins of yarn, and count the cash in the register. Then, after a quick dinner, she would spend a couple hours working on the heavy winter blankets that were her main source of income. At least she could watch TV while she knitted. She had done this for so long that she could literally do it with her eyes closed.Her small shop, the Ball and Yarn, was one of the few arts and crafts stores in Meow York Seoul which is probably how it was still open. She got a decent amount of customers, mostly grandmother-ly types who were so sweet and grateful for a place to still get yarn.Chuchu also had a couple knitting classes for younger kittens who wanted to learn but that only had a couple people interested.Her main source of income were the commissions she put together. Blankets mostly but also hats and scarves and bags and gloves. If it could be knitted, then she had made it before.Chuchu finished sweeping the main floor of her shop and locked the doors, turning the open sign off and then returning the broom to its designated closet. She retreated upstairs, where she had converted the space above the shop into a small living space. There was her bedroom, a small kitchen, and equally small living room, and a bathroom. Everything simple that she needed to live.She set a kettle on the stove to heat water for tea and then made herself a quick dinner, just tuna salad sandwich and a glass of milk which she finished quickly. By then, the water was hot enough and she made herself a cut of green tea, sweetening it with a bit of honey before cuddling up on her couch, pulling her current knitting project onto her lap and starting on the next row.She turned on music, some folksy stuff that reminded her of home. Her family had been very understanding when she had explained that the small-town life wasn’t for her and that she wanted to move to the city. Still, that didn’t stop her from getting homesick. Now, she closed her eyes as she knitted, enjoying the quiet at the end of a day of hard work.She sipped her tea until it had long gone cold and even then, she finished it off. She got to a good stopping point in her project and set it aside. With luck, she could have it finished by tomorrow and set out to its owner too. And then she could start on the next one.She carried her mug back to the kitchen and rolled up her sleeves to do the few dishes that were in the sink. She stared out the small window as she scrubbed, smiling as the crescent moon was so bright.Hardly ever were the stars bright enough to be seen with all of the bright lights of Meow York Seoul. Still, the moon was always there, smiling down at her. Constant and reassuring.Chuchu paused in her scrubbing and squinted, spotting the strange figure on the top of the building directly across from hers. She couldn’t pick out any details. Even the moon wasn’t bright enough for that, but as she watched, awestruck and very confused, the figure moved across the building, into the light of a neon sign.He was a burly tom.Chuchu guessed.She still couldn’t make out that much.They wore black clothing and a mask over their nose, and while she could tell they were long furred with a luscious mane and tail, their identity was firmly hidden.“Oh my,” she said to herself. “Superheroes?” It was the first option that came to mind and honestly, she couldn’t think of any other reasons a cat would be dressed in such a way, standing on top of a building at night, acting very mysterious indeed.Chuchu smiled as she watched the strange figure crouch and then jump off to the next building in one huge bound. And then the next building. And the next. And then they were out of sight, gone as fast as they had appeared.That was the marvel of Meow York Seoul. The wonder that she couldn’t get in a small town.Anyone could be anything.It was beautiful.That’s how Chuchu knew she belonged here, among the sea of felines, being whatever she wanted to be.Just like her knitting, threads of fate intertwined in so many different ways, paths of such different cats crossing and mixing. There weren’t such tight-bound cliques like from her hometown. Instead, anyone could be friends with anyone, no matter their background. It was beautiful, and Chuchu was right there, smack dab in the middle of it.How lucky.She didn’t know just how lucky she was going to be.
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“Oh fish,” Lulu groaned when he woke up the next morning still as full as he had been last night. He sprawled out on his couch, unable to move, a paw resting on his bloated stomach. “I can’t believe I ate that much.”“And you finished my fries too,” Lala called from down the hall where she was combing the tangles out of tail after such a long night.Lulu groaned even louder. “Don’t remind me. That makes me feel even worse.”“Did your readers like it?” Lala asked, walking out of the bathroom and into the kitchen. She poured herself a cup of coffee and leaned against the counter, not looking even remotely as sick as Lulu was even though she had eaten basically the same amount.“I don't even know,” Lulu said. “I haven't made a post yet. I fell asleep as soon as we got home. Plus, you need to send me your pictures, so I can do both burgers and not just mine.”“I'll do it later,” Lala said, pulling out her phone and continuing to sip on her coffee. “Wanna go out for brunch? We haven’t been to our usual coffee and crepes place in a while. I’m craving it. Plus, I need the steps on my Fitbit.”“Of course!” Lulu said, hopping to his feet immediately. “Let me get changed!”“We’re walking!” Lala called after him as he hurried to his bedroom. “So wear something cute. I’m tweeting about this to my followers.”“Everything I wear is cute!” Lulu yelled back but he did spend extra time choosing a floral shirt and stylish jeans. He made sure his wallet and phone were in his pocket before hurrying back out to the kitchen.Lala was already ready, a scarf wrapped around her neck and sunglasses perched on top of her head. She looked him up and down critically before nodding in approval. “Good,” she said, dumping her coffee into a to-go cup and slinging her bag over her shoulder.Since Lala had the directions and map on her phone, they spent most of the walk meandering up and down random streets while she checked her notifications and got distracted by almost every reply to her posts. She stopped for several selfies, having to get versions with and without Lulu in them so she would have the options on what she wanted to post later. Lulu endured it all, because he was the same way with his food blog and he was very excited to eat crepes. Lala was right, they hadn’t been to their usual spot in several weeks. Plus her phone took the best food pics and she helped him a lot. When they finally arrived, Lulu decided that it was definitely worth the walk.It was a retro style eatery with a black and white checkered tile floor and a jukebox in the corner that took quarters in return for song requests. The long glass counter showed off griddles where the crepes were made-to-order. Next to that was a small nook filled with coffee-making machinery, syrups, toppings, and tins of coffee grounds.It was all like a second home to Lulu and Lala since they had eaten here hundreds of times before, all in various states of put together. Celebrating Lala hitting ten thousand followers on YouTube. Recovering from hangovers after a night of clubbing. Mourning the loss of an ex-significant other. The workers had seen them both at their best and their worst.“Good morning!” the cat behind the counter greeted, folding her paws neatly over her apron. Her name tag read Vic. “Would you like menus to look at?”Behind her was a huge chalkboard with all of the options written out in neat handwriting. But now that she had asked, she gestured to the small pile of paper printed ones that sat on the counter in front of her.“If you would like to order drinks and then sit and look, you can do that too,” she offered.“Yes, I’d like a tall Americano with caramel syrup,” Lala said, tucking her to-go mug into her bag. She scooped up one of the paper menus and already had her nose buried in it.“I’ll have a hot cocoa with whipped cream and chocolate chips please,” Lulu said, taking a menu of his own.“Take a seat wherever you’d like and I’ll get those drinks started for you,” Vic said.Lala and Lulu chose a window table so they could look out into the street and also because the lighting was the best from their experience. It only took a couple minutes for Vic to come over with their drinks and a pad of paper to take their orders. Lulu chose the cream cheese and berry crepe, something sweet to go along with his cocoa. Lala got a savory type with bits of sausage, onion, and pepper and a side of salsa. They then sat back to wait as the cooks got to work.“I forgot how much I missed this place,” Lala said, already typing away on her phone.“It’s like a home away from home,” Lulu added, taking in a huge breath through his nose just to smell the crepes cooking and the coffee behind the counter. “And I like it.”“I was talking to my followers,” Lala said, flipping her phone around to show him the tweet she was in the middle of writing.Lulu only rolled his eyes but didn’t take too much offense. “Gee, thanks.”It didn’t take that long before Vic was walking over with two plates of their food, asking if they needed anything else, and then leaving them to enjoy their food. Lulu snapped a few pictures including both his crepes and coffee and let Lala take some too, because her phone camera was better. Once he was sure he had what he needed, he dug in with vigor.Fish! It was the best thing he had ever tasted!!!Of course, Lulu thought that about most stuff he ate, but all food really was that delicious!! He chowed down, occasionally sneaking bites from Lala’s plate as well since she was very busy tweeting to all her followers. Once their plates were clean, Vic collected their dishes and Lulu paid, leaving the tip at the table. They were only half done with their drinks but they could easily take those to go.Lala snapped one more selfie with her drink and a wink. The sunlight from the window really brought out her blue eyes. With social media stuff taken care of, they walked back out into the street, already talking about the next place that they could go for Lulu’s blog.“I just want a lazy Saturday,” Lala said, stretching her paws over her head. “We should just go back to the apartment and nap the entire day.”“But it’s such a nice day,” Lulu said. “Don’t you want to get some good selfies?”Before Lala could even answer the question, there was a blur of gray off to their left as a young tom darted past them, snatching Lala’s phone right out of her paws. He was darting away with a crazy laugh before Lulu could even react.“My phone!” Lala screamed. “He stole my phone! Someone stop him!”“I have stubby legs!!” Lulu cried. He would never be able to catch such a lithe tom all by himself. “I have eighty thousand Twitter followers!” Lala cried, throwing her paws in the air. “And one hundred thousand Instagram followers! I just passed ten thousand tweets! Someone catch that thief! He’s got my most prized possession!!”There was another flash of gray and black as another cat sprinted pasted them on their other side. Their black trench coat billowed out behind them as they gave chase, using one paw to keep their hat on their head.“Don’t you worry, Miss,” they yelled, and Lala and Lulu now realized that ‘they’ were a she. “I’ve got him!”The new cat was athletic and strong, but the tom had gotten a head start. She was fast though, probably faster, and it would only take her a couple minutes to catch the thief. Lala and Lulu clung to each other, watching the suspenseful chase with silent awe until both the thief and the new cat turned a corner and were out of sight. *~* TT knew she had to catch the thief. This was the exact sort of small stuff that Gerry had been talking about last night. And yeah, it was a little odd that she recognized both of the cats from last night at the bar, but she couldn’t think about that right now.She focused only on the tom and his whipping gray tail and the phone clutched in his left paw. If she could catch him, somehow, she thought, this would fix everything in her life. Somehow, it would make it all better.The thief turned a corner into an alleyway and TT mentally cheered.She knew Meow York Seoul like the back of her paw and this alleyway led to a dead end. The poor tom probably didn’t know that know. She had him now! Once he was trapped, she could get the phone back and handcuff the perp. Then, with a quick call to the station, she would be back on her feet again! In the victory corner just like before!When she rounded the corner though, her stomach dropped as she watched the tom kick off the brick wall and vault up onto the brick partition that was the supposed dead end of the alley. He did it all with the ease of an alley cat who had done such a thing before, flicking his tail to keep his balance but not looking out of place at all.He paused at the top of the wall and looked down at TT. He must’ve noticed her look of apprehension because he smirked and stuck out his tongue.“Sucks to be you, you old hag!” he said, waving the phone triumphantly over his head. “Go back to your desk work!”TT was about to chew him up like a stick of fish gum, her tail poofing up to twice its size before she could calm herself. She hissed at him before composing herself enough.“Asshole!” she spat. “Don’t think you can get away with this!”The tom only laughed. “Sorry, sweet cheeks, but I think I just did!”Before TT could make a move or another retort, a flash of black fell from the top of the building, tackling the tom right off his perch. The newcomer, because TT immediately catalogued the ears and tail of the new cat, and the thief crashed to the ground, rolling over each other hissing and spitting before the cat in black managed to get on top and pin the tom. The newcomer’s tail was puffed up to a huge flag, and TT could barely make sense of him for a moment.He was huge. A hulking tom with long, flowing fur and a black mask covering the top half of his face and keeping his identity hidden. Still, TT had never seen a cat as big as him before.With one paw braced in the middle of the thief’s back, keeping his face down on the concrete, he pried the phone out of his grip and looked up, for the first time meeting TT’s shocked gaze.“Here,” he said, holding out the phone to her.TT didn’t know what to make of him. Some sort of vigilante? A new type of officer that she hadn’t been informed of yet? A random do-good citizen?“It’s fine,” the tom said. “I only hunt the bad guys.”TT hesitated for a moment longer and then edged closer, plucking the phone out of his paw and watching as the tom pulled the thief’s paws behind his back and secure them with his own sweatshirt. TT stupidly offered her handcuffs to him wordlessly, not sure what the protocol was for this type of situation. The huge tom made sure the criminal wouldn’t be able to get away before stepping off of him, brushing down the front of his odd uniform.“Who are you?” TT finally thought to ask as he moved to jump away from the scene of arrest.The tom looked back at her, a bit surprised, like he hadn’t been expecting the question. “They call me Moggie Man,” he said after a beat. He saluted her. “Thank you for your service, officer. I think we’ll see each other around.”Before TT could say anything else, he was jumping away, the huge bound taking him to the top of the building and then out of sight. Just in time too, because the victims—Lulu and Lala. TT finally remembered their names from the bar—appeared around the corner, gasping at the scene of the handcuffed thief and the phone in TT’s paw.“Oh, officer!” Lala exclaimed, throwing herself directly into TT’s arms. “You’ve saved the day!”“Woah, easy, miss,” TT said, catching the near-hysterical white cat. “You should be more careful. These streets can be trouble.” TT expected her to take her phone back and leave, but she remained firmly in her arms, staring up at her with blue eyes that could have held the world for all TT cared.“I don’t know how to thank you, officer!” Lala all but purred. “My entire life is one this phone.” She cradled the device close to her chest.“Just stay safe in the future,” TT said, suddenly very self-conscious of where she should put her paws. On Lala’s shoulders? Her arms? Her lower back was definitely off limits, but TT suddenly had the urge to hold paws with the energetic young cat. She quickly shook off the feeling. “Alright?”“Of course!” Lala said, finally standing on her own two paws again. “Oh!” She dug a pen out of her bag and grabbed TT’s paw before she could protest. She scribbled something quickly on the center pad and then pulled away with a wink. “My number. Come on, Lulu, let’s go home. I think I need a cup of tea after that.”TT could only watch stupidly as Lala hooked arms with the shorter tiger-striped tom Lulu and they exited the alley without another word. Lulu glanced over his shoulder at her one last time and mouthed thank you, but that was it. They were gone.TT stared down at the phone number that had been written on her paw.Had she?? Had she just gotten a girl’s number? By rescuing her phone?Damn, maybe Gerry was right. Maybe doing this small stuff was totally worth it.TT made a mental note to text Lala later that day. Maybe they could go out for coffee. She tried not to get too excited. Perhaps it really was just a thank-you gesture. Maybe Lala had meant nothing by it. But at the same time, as TT hauled the thief to his paws and started marching him towards the nearest station, maybe it had meant something more.Maybe it had definitely meant something more. *~* DD watched all of the goings on from his perch several buildings away, wanting to make sure the criminal didn’t escape for a second time. The officer seemed competent enough though. She had almost captured the tom all on her own. DD had only stepped in at the very last possible second. She didn’t seem like a normal police officer, but DD didn’t know that much about the justice system other than Good Guys good and Bad Guys bad.DD didn’t really care at the moment though.He was brimming with excitement, and as soon as he knew the criminal was well-taken care of, he leaned away from the edge of the building and collapsed against one of the AC units.He had done it!He had stopped a crime!A thievery at that too!He laughed out loud and clapped his paws a couple times before pulling himself together. Serious. He had to be serious. He was a proper superhero now and that meant being serious. The officer would go and tell all her friends that a masked tom had come to her rescue and helped her stop a criminal and that he was to be trusted.DD imagined stopping even more crime, waving to all the officers as he tied up the Bad Guys for them to pick up and take to proper jail. He would be known as Moggie Man! And he would be practically famous! People would come to him for help and he would be able to help them.DD shook his head to clear his thoughts. He had to focus!He jumped across the gaps to a couple buildings over, where he had left his laptop hooked up to a small generator and a series of cameras. He had invested in the crude set up the same day that he had finished his costume. It was worth it though, as DD plopped down and pulled it into his lap, flipping over to the camera feed to check what pictures he had managed to capture.There were several particularly good ones. One of him tackling the thief. It was blurred around the edges but with a little editing, it could be fixed easily. There were a couple other blurry ones that were completely unsalvageable, but that wasn't too devastating. There were several, completely clear candid shots of DD standing on rooftops or just posting accidentally against the sky or a backdrop. They were perfect options for a front page story.DD saved them all carefully, labeling them so he could find them again without too much trouble. He would approach his Editor-in-Chief about the story later.Hopefully, the officer he had helped would spread the story enough for the need of an article, and DD would be there to pick up the work without complaint, supplying even photos in order to sell copies of the Paw Print Pages, the newspaper where he worked. And then he would become the regular writer for any superhero stories, he would earn more than enough money for a better apartment, he would finally be able to help the world in more ways than one.His phone chimed in his pocket, and he pulled it out wondering what the notification was since not that many people texted him. In fact, zero people texted him. At all. DD did not have that many contacts saved in his phone.But it wasn’t a text message or a missed phone call or anything like that.It was a result to a search flag that he had figured out how to put onto his phone. It was nothing fancy, but whenever people were talking about superheroes in Meow York Seoul, he would get a notification. DD had never gotten a notification until now.It was a tweet, and as DD squinted at the profile picture, he realized that it was the white cat who had gotten her phone stolen.Except. The tweet wasn’t about him.“There really are real life superheroes in Meow York Seoul,” the tweet read, the handle @lalaluscious. Underneath the words was a hurriedly snapped picture of the officer DD had helped surrounded in a halo of pink heart emojis.DD hit the follow button anyway. The action wouldn’t be suspicious since the cat, Lala, seemed to be a huge social media personality already. Besides, she seemed cute and fun, her content was harmless enough.He packed up all his supplies, making sure both his set up system and his laptop were tucked safely into their bags so they couldn’t be broken. He would collect all of his cameras and move them to a different part of the city. If he were lucky, he could get a couple more good shots of himself to go along with his imaginary article.He smiled to himself.Things were finally starting to come together. *~* Lulu watched as Lala finished setting up her recording cameras and took her usual spot in front of her bookshelf, where she did all her YouTube videos. She had a cup of tea nearby, just to look more authentic, but it was mint, her favorite kind. She took a moment to fix her fur, using the camera as a mirror, and then hit record.“Hey, what's up, Kitkats? It’s Storytime!” she said, smiling enthusiastically at the camera and giving all of her viewers a friendly wave. “You're never going to believe what happened to me today. I got robbed and was saved by a lesbian cop? Not clickbait!!”Lulu rolled his eyes and waved to get her attention. Normally, he didn't mind being in the apartment when she recorded things for her YouTube channel but he had a feeling that this video was going to be different. He made their agreed signal of “I'm heading out. Text me when you're done.” She couldn't acknowledge him but he knew the message had gotten across.Lulu grabbed his wallet and his phone, already googling new eateries that were opening up in his area. He was craving something sweet, he decided, like an afternoon snack. He narrowed his search down a bit and found what looked like it was going to be a good choice.It was a pastry shop that had just opened up in a newly renovated area of the city. In fact, there were several new businesses all on the same area. After Lulu got something to eat, he could walk around and explore for a bit to give Lala some extra recording time. Plus, having multiple food reviews in the queue for his blog was always good. With everything that he was getting done, he could afford to take a few days off if he wanted.Perfect plans.
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Coco woke up before Momo which wasn’t out of the normal. It also wasn’t a bad thing. Coco could use the few minutes to admire the bed, the apartment, and the tom that he had fallen asleep next to before having to start his day.The apartment was lavish and expensive. Coco could tell that from a single glance. The space was all stainless steel, granite, and streamlined designs. It all looked untouchable but also unlived in. Nothing like Coco’s lab which was trashed and messy, not so much to ruin his experiments, but Coco liked having everything where he could see it.Momo’s apartment was nothing like that.Neither was his bed.The set-up of the whole apartment was a little odd, even Coco would admit that. The bed sat in the main area of the living room, the centerpiece, situated next to a long row of windows that meant that any morning sun streamed in and across the blankets. It made the spot perfect for sunbathing. But at the same time, it felt open and exposed. It was like the rest of the apartment had been built around the bed. Yes, there was a small sitting area surrounding a TV where guests could gather to watch movies. There were short hallways leading to bathrooms and office areas and storage areas. Coco had yet to explore every area the apartment had to offer.The kitchen was a small area directly to the right of the door, set apart by marble pillars and classy metal bars. It kept the area open but half hidden from view.The bed was very much the centerpiece and pride of the space. Large, in charge. The four poster masterpiece draped in silvery grey and shrouded in the same mysteriousness that surrounded Momo himself.The king-sized mattress was a mound of blankets and pillows, almost too much but at the same time, the perfect amount. They hid anyone who was laying down, and even now, huddled halfway under the blankets for himself, Coco could barely make out his bedmate, just catching glimpses of orange fur here and there.With a purr, Coco pushed his way through the blankets until he finally found who he was looking for. He burrowed in closer until he was wrapped around Momo, curling their tails together and grooming him gently across the cheek. He knew it would take a lot more than that to wake him up, so Coco wasn’t too worried.In fact, waking up in such a quiet home was strange for Coco. He was used to the chaos of a big family. Momo seemed perfectly okay with the quiet though, and Coco wasn’t one to disagree. Once he was sure that Momo was still comfortably asleep and not waking up any time soon, Coco pushed his way to the edge of the bed and threw back the blankets.The apartment wasn’t cold, so Coco didn’t bother grabbing his discarded clothes that were scattered across the floor around the bed. Clad only in his paw-print boxers, Coco padded to the kitchen and set about trying to figure out how to make the coffee machine work.He yawned as he worked, scratching out the tangles that had wound up in his fur overnight. He wondered if he could get to shower this time before Momo rushed him out.Coco had had it worse.He eventually did figure out the coffee machine and brewed a fresh pot, finding the coffee mugs in their usual cupboard and the cream and sugar in their regular spots. He set everything on a fancy silver tray he found tucked in an odd corner of the kitchen, fancying himself sort of like a maid as he readied the treat of coffee in bed.Once the coffee finished brewing, Coco set it on a ceramic coaster, placing it carefully in the center of the tray so that there was no danger of it tipping. With the containers of sugar and thick cream placed off to the side and the twin mugs on the other, Coco picked up the entire affair and carried it back to the bed.Momo was still buried deep within the blankets and he didn’t even rouse when Coco set the tray down on the side table.Coco only smiled at the hunched form of the tom he had spent the night with. He clicked his tongue and started purring. He nudged Momo lightly, crawling back onto the mattress and bracing himself over Momo.“Hey,” he whispered, purring a bit louder in an effort to wake him up. “I made coffee.”He knew Momo wasn’t a big morning cat, but it was far from morning as they had slept in for a while. Momo surely couldn’t be grouchy this late in the afternoon. He twitched his tail excitedly.“Hey,” he said a little bit louder. “You should wake up. I made coffee.”Momo just groaned and rolled onto his back, bracing his paws against Coco's shoulders and trying to weakly push him off. He wasn't very successful, and he was still mostly asleep.“Five more minutes,” he said. “You always wake up way too early.”“It's one thirteen,” Coco said. “In the afternoon. Come one, don't you have meetings and such? You can't sleep all day.”Momo finished his roll and buried his face into his pillows. “I always cancel all my meetings whenever I eat dinner with you,” he mumbled. “And I can sleep all day. I've done it before and I'll do it again.”Coco purred but didn't indulge him. Instead, he pushed himself off of Momo and rolled back to his side of the bed. Now within reach of the coffee tray, he scooped his desired amount of sugar and cream into one of his mugs and poured himself a cup of the strong, dark liquid. He pushed himself out of bed, taking the mug with him as he walked across the room to the wall of floor-to-ceiling bay windows that looked out over the entirety of Meow York Seoul.With it being the late afternoon, everyone else in the city seemed to have started their day and work for a while, bustling around, filling the streets and sidewalks. They looked small fro Coco's vantage point, like ants in the dirt. Coco pressed one of his paws against the glass and took a sip of his coffee. He then glanced cheekily over his shoulder to see if his posing had been noticed by Momo yet.He was still face down in the pillows, practically snoring and not at all paying attention to Coco.Coco huffed and took another sip of his coffee, brooding particularly hard and swishing his tail back and forth. He fluffed up his fur against the cold that was seeping through the glass. Coco could sit for maybe half an hour while sipping his coffee and waiting for Momo to wake up, but he couldn’t still for much longer. As a scientist, he wasn’t used to sitting still for any length of time.He glanced over his shoulder again at where the mound of blankets that was Momo still very much existed. Coco smiled to himself and took another sip of his coffee.Of course, spending the whole day lazing away in bed wasn’t bad either, especially if it was next to Momo. Coco purred at the thought, the tip of his tail is twitching.He knew, from experience, that if he pounced back into bed right now, that Momo would not only wake up, but would be particularly grouchy and would pay, order food, and do absolutely anything that Coco wanted in an effort to get back to his blankets. Coco smirked. If his experiments weren’t going so well at the moment, he would do just that.“Hey, babe,” Coco said, watching the orange ears twitch in interest.Coco leaned back against the glass, stretching himself across the window, splaying himself out in a very dramatic fashion even though his long fur was still an absolute mess from bed.“Babe,” Coco tried again. “Hey, babe, look at me.” Maybe even the boxers were too much. Coco twitched his tail and smoothed back the fur on the top of his head because it was always the messiest there. He took another drink of coffee and did his best to look seductive.“Hey, babe,” he said. “Hey, babe. Babe. Hey. Hey.”Momo barely even groaned and only rolled over so his back was to Coco, settling back beneath the blankets into a very long nap that would probably last most of the day. Coco finished off the last of his coffee and sauntered back to the bed, returning it to its spot on the tray.Maybe Coco would take that shower after all. Momo wouldn’t object to him using the shower after all. It wasn’t often the Coco had the luxury of such a nice water pressure or shampoo. And now that he was thinking about it, Coco was pretty sure that Momo had an expensive brand of conditioner too. If Momo was going to sleep the whole day away, Coco wasn’t one to stop him.With a swish of his tail, Coco turned away from the bed and headed down one of the side hallways, easily finding the huge marble room that functioned as a bathroom. He fiddled with the knobs and got the temperature where he wanted it to be. Unsurprisingly, the bathroom was stripped of anything that made it functional besides a container of soap next to the sink, and even then, there wasn’t even a hand towel.Coco found everything he would need in the drawers beneath the sink though, finding plenty of huge fluffy towels and expensive-looking bottles of soap, shampoo, and conditioner. With everything finally ready, Coco stripped and stepped beneath the heavenly stream of hot water.Did he usually use the chemical showers of his lab? Yes.Was he ever going to admit that? Not to Momo, who would probably spend thousands updating the lab building if he knew just how much time Coco spent there.Coco liked his workspace as it was and didn’t need any businessman getting his paws all over it, even if that businessman was Momo, thank you very much. It was Coco’s home away from home, and he liked the bustling messiness of it. It was perfect and functional just the way it was, and Coco was fine with that.As he soaped up all his fur, he vaguely wondered if Momo had a hair dryer, or if he would be crawling back into bed still wet. Coco almost laughed at that thought, imagining Momo’s reaction to his fancy sheets coming in contact with water. The stuffy old cat could use some variety in his life. Coco began rinsing out his fur.“Your fur clogs up the drain,” a gruff, sleep-filled voice said. “And I always have to call the plumber after you shower.”Coco wiped the water out of his eyes and peaked through the glass door of the shower stall to see Momo leaning in the doorway of the bathroom. He was holding a cup of coffee, black Coco noticed, and he was smiling.“You love me,” Coco said, dunking his head back under the water jets in a way that he knew made his fur plaster against his skin in a way that made him look half-starved.Momo snorted. “You’re lucky I do.”Coco just smirked at him through the clouded glass. “Just get in here, you idiot.”Momo obliged. *~* Lulu was having a marvelous time out by himself. Not that Lala wasn’t fun to hang out with, but without her, Lulu could go anywhere he wanted and order anything he wanted without having to worry if her followers would like it or not. Which meant sandwiches that fell apart when you took the first bite, coffee that didn’t come with adorable art, and ice cream cones that you had to eat fast before they melted.Lulu loved all of these and he was really only able to get them when Lala stayed home.And it was always hard to convince her to go to a new restaurant, especially a place like a bakery. All of the items had to look perfect and if they weren’t, then it was a disaster. It was a risk, and with Lala’s online presence, she just couldn’t risk it.At least, that’s what she said.Maybe she just liked all the places they already ate at. In any case, Lulu got to be extra exploratory when Lala was filming a video and he got to go out by himself.Which is why he was headed to a newer part of town that had been rebuilt recently and was still being rebuilt. Lulu passed by plenty of construction sites on his walk over and he made sure to keep the dust out of his fur. No point in showing up a mess, especially when his followers were looking to him for the greatest and latest in food.When Lulu walked through the front doors of the new pastry shop, he was immediately impressed. Of course, the atmosphere of a restaurant was important, and the moment Lulu walked through the glass double doors, he felt like he had walked into another world.The space was decorated with pale browns and greens and blues, like a summer cottage. The glass case that held all the items for sale stretched the entire length of the far wall and was stuffed to the brim with sweet and savory and everything in between. Lulu was drooling just looking at it all.He chose something that would look good on camera which meant a triple decker slice of cake with pink frosting and slices of strawberries shingled between the layers. And a simple cup of coffee. Lulu carried his order over to one of the seats by the window, making sure to snap a dozen different pictures before scooping up his fork and digging in.The frosting was light and fluffy and the strawberries were cold but not frozen. The cake itself was moist and dense but not overwhelming at all. It was sweet but not overly, and in between sips of coffee, it was the perfect snack. Lulu would say just that whenever he got around to making a post about it on his blog.He happened to be in the middle of a bite when he looked out the window and across the street just in time to see a beautiful, long furred cat open the door to her shop and sweep a pile of dust out into the street.She wore a plain white apron over a pair of jean shorts and a button up blouse with the sleeves rolled up. A stray breeze caught her tail and whipped her fur into her face, making her fumble a bit with her broom and almost get knocked completely over. The next moment, though, she recovered her balance and was ducking back inside her store.Lulu shoveled the rest of his cake into his mouth, downed the rest of his coffee, and ran out the door before he could double this what he was doing. He didn’t even check to see what the store was selling before he burst through the doors and into the store within three seconds.The beautiful cat was already behind the counter again, combing her paws through her fur in an effort to get it under control. She stopped immediately when Lulu entered.“Hello!” she greeted cheerfully. “Welcome to the Ball and Yarn. Is there anything that you're looking for in particular?”Lulu took in the stacks of yarn, the shelves of fabric, and the hangers filled with needles and thread and knew immediately that he was out of his element. And he didn't know what to say to this beautiful cat standing in front of him. He stupidly pointed to the most prominent pile of blue yarn.“Um, I'd like three if those,” he said, even though he had no idea what he would do with the stuff.The cat perked up though, looking excited about his purchase. “Of course!” she said. “Is there anything else? Any projects you’re working on?”Lulu didn’t have any reply to that so he stupidly grabbed the three balls of yarn and plopped them on the counter. “A scarf,” he blurted because that was the only item he could think of that was made of yarn. “Yeah, I’m just learning.”“That’s amazing!” the cat said, beaming at him as she scanned the items quickly. “You know I offer classes? They’re aren’t tons of people who attend so you wouldn’t be overwhelmed or anything. If you’re interested, of course.”“I am,” Lulu said because he wasn’t sure what else to say. “I’d love to, I mean! Attend the classes.”“Perfect,” the cat said with an even bigger smile. She bagged up what Lulu would be buying and then pulled a small card out from under the register, offering it to him. “My name is Chuchu. Here’s my card. You can either call the number or just stop by the store again to get hours for the next class.”“Thank you,” Lulu said, accepting it and sticking it in his pocket before he could lose it. He would cherish it forever. “Thank you, Chuchu.”The name felt small in his mouth but adorable at the same time. He wanted to say it again but that would just sound awkward. Saying it twice in a row. Chuchu. He could say it in his brain though. He could say it as many times as he wanted.“Of course,” Chuchu said with that same, customer service smile. “You’re always welcome.”Lulu passed over his card to pay and grabbed the bag that Chuchu had put all his stuff in, just so that he could help out a little. He didn’t like standing still without doing anything for too long. But that meant that Chuchu was done all too quickly and he had no excuse to stick around unless he wanted to wander around the shop and buy everything that he had no idea how to use.“Thank you,” Lulu said, accepting the bag and stepping awkwardly back from the counter. “I’ll . . . I guess I’ll see you in the classes.”Chuchu gave him a wave and a final smile. “I’ll be happy to see you too,” she said. “Have a great rest of your day.”And Lulu didn’t really have any other excuse to linger by the register so he gave her an awkward wave and backed out of the store. He turned and hurried down the street, already kicking himself for being the most awkward cat in the city. He would talk to Lala and get some pointers from her since she seemed to be able to at least act normal around whatever cat she happened to be crushing on at any given moment.Lulu looked down at the plastic bag he was carrying.So apparently he would be learning how to knit.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“We should totally go on a double date!” Lala declared the moment she knew that Lulu had gotten the number of an attractive female cat. “TT and I have been texting tons and she would totally be up for it, I promise.”“Would she?” Lulu asked. He had barely met the police cat and even then, it was only for a couple minutes, and even he knew that TT didn’t seem much like a loud, double-date kind of cat.Lala nodded sagely. “She definitely did,” she said, tearing open the package of the face mask she planned on wearing. “We’ve been talking so much and she’s really the sweetest. We could go to a burger place. Oh! Pasta! How romantic is spaghetti?”Lulu frowned. “I don’t think so.”Lala was already typing into her phone, smirking. “I’m going to ask all of my followers,” she said. “Then, they’ll give me suggestions, and hopefully I’ll trend! You know they are constantly shipping me with one celeb or another. They’ll go crazy.”Lulu just rolled his eyes, because he had told Lala about Chuchu thirty minutes ago and she still hadn’t given him any advice on how to ask her out. The only thing she had done was tweet about it, laugh for ten minutes, and then insist that they all have a double date.Which wasn’t helpful.“I haven’t even asked her out!” he tried, hoping to get her attention with that. “You shouldn’t start planning a date until I’ve asked her out!”“Then you’d better get going,” Lala said with a giggle, tapping away at her phone. “Because I’ll be making reservations by tonight.”Lulu rolled his eyes and looked down at the business card in his paws. Chuchu’s number was printed on it. Well, the number of Chuchu’s store. Lulu still hadn’t figured out if it was hers or something else. He felt awkward calling a business number to ask someone on a date. Business number said formal, date said super casual.“I need help, Lala, and you aren’t taking things seriously!” he said.“Oh, I’m taking things seriously alright,” she said, staring at her phone as her fingers moved at hyper speed. “Did you know that Twitter has polls now?”Lulu sighed and decided that he wasn’t going to get any help from Lala. Maybe he should do a Twitter poll of his own. His followers would respond. But as a food blog, would they even care about his personal life? As far as Lulu was concerned, they were all following him for his food reviews and nothing else. It wouldn’t hurt to try though.He opened his own Twitter app and created the poll, typing in the options and then posting before he could over think. Hopefully Chuchu wouldn’t see it of course. She couldn’t possibly recognize him from his online presence though. Lulu was known more for his writing and not for his adorable face. Not like Lala.Lulu tucked his phone back into his pocket, nothing else he could do now but wait. ~~ Lala on the other hand, was having much less difficulty getting any sort of date. In fact, she had already contacted the expensive hotel/restaurant recommended by her followers.It would be a private party room. Lala had bought her way into the affair, having to pay a significant amount just to get her and TT’s names on the list. But it was totally worth it. Not only did the dinner come with twelve different courses, but there would be live entertainment, socialization before and after, and plenty of chances to rub elbows with some of the most powerful cats in Meow York Seoul. To Lala, everything was worth it.Her followers were going to lose their minds.She was already giggling at all the tweets and comments she would be getting and the videos she could make. She wondered if TT had any social media and if she could tag her in anything.Now that would make her followers go crazy.Right now though, Lala was having a bit of a problem getting TT on board with the whole eating-out-at-a-super-fancy-restaurant-in-public. She wanted a quiet night at home with a couple drinks between them and maybe a TV show.Lala was still trying to convince her that a first date should be special and should be over the top. Lala was still trying to convince TT to let her spoil her. Because that’s how relationships worked, right? Lala wanted to shower TT in gifts and hold her paw in public.TT wanted to cuddle at home and watch movies over glasses of wine.Lala had her work cut out for herself alright.At least, after tonight, maybe Lala could get TT used to being out and about. Speaking of which! Lala had to find a dress for herself, one that was stylish and cute and in season. And she would have to find one for TT too, because, honestly, Lala didn’t trust anything that was in her closet. The detective probably wore trench coats all the time for all Lala knew.Find dresses, finish up the reservations, plan a bit of activity afterwards for her and TT to bond over.If everything went well, then perhaps they would spend some time together alone at time the end of the night after all. Lala certainly wouldn’t object to it. *~* “I need you looking presentable,” Momo said, straightening the tie he had fixed around his neck. “Which means actually changing out of your lab coat and into something that impresses my colleagues.”“I don’t get it,” Coco said. “If everyone knows I’m a scientist, why does it matter if I look like a scientist or not? In fact, wouldn’t it help if I looked more like a scientist?”“It helps when you look as professionally as possible,” Momo said.They were in the fitting rooms for one of the most expensive tailors in the entire city, getting their suits fixed so that they would be the peak of fashion. It was important that they dressed well for the event, since other investors would be reviewing their product and deciding if it was worth their time and money.Momo socializing with other, equally powerful business cats that were heads of businesses that that ran in Meow York Seoul. It would be a chance to make powerful connections with cats that would otherwise turn up their noses at talking with him. Momo was young, but he wasn’t so stupid that he didn’t recognize a lucrative chance when it presented itself like this to him.Coco was definitely more eye candy. Yes, he and the other scientists were there to present their work and their slideshows in an effort to impress the cats like Momo, but he needed to be pretty while he was waiting for his turn. If the other business cats were anything like Momo, then they liked having something nice to look at.As it was, Coco was dressed in the finest suit money could buy, black cotton that breathed easy and folded to his body. Instead of a tie, he had opted for a bow tie. “Personal flare” he called it. Momo didn’t care as long as it came off at the end of the night. Coco did look particularly uncomfortable though. His usual lab coat and sweatpants exchanged for the fancier, much less comfortable clothes.“You look so good though,” Momo said. “Come on. Do it for me?”Coco grimaced and tugged at the collar of his shirt. “I do a lot for you,” he said. “And this is one of the more drastic things. Every time I have to put on a suit, I always have to ask myself—how much do I love this man?”Momo smiled at his reflection and fixed his cufflinks. He then looked past himself to where he could see Coco reflected in the background. “And the answer is a lot, right?”Coco smirked at him. “I’m in a suit, aren’t I?”“Yes, you are,” Momo said, turning away from the mirror to face him. “Honestly, thank you for putting up with these events. I know you don’t like things like this and it means a lot to me.”“Of course,” Coco said, stepped forward and offering his arm to Momo. “Shall we? I bet the rest of the party is waiting.”Momo accepted his offer and linked their arms together. “I don’t think everyone is waiting on us,” he said as they walked out of the dressing room. They would ride the elevator down to the lobby of the expensive department building where they would be met by a limousine that would drive them to said party.Coco only grinned at him. “Well, they should be.”The limousine was stocked with a bottle of champagne that they shared, clinking their glasses and toasting a night that would be lucrative and well spent. Plus, it was always good to show up to a party at least a little buzzed, just to get the action going a little early. As it was, Momo and Coco walked through the doors into the private party room hanging onto each other’s arms, laughing to themselves at a joke that probably made no sense.They grabbed flutes of champagne off a server’s tray immediately though, toasting to a good night for a second time before moving to mingle with the crowd.It was like being surrounded by pretty models and stars. Every cat was dressed in the latest fashion--backless dresses and crisp suits, full ball gowns and tuxedos. Gold and silver flashed on ears and necks and fingers, catching and throwing the light, sometimes almost blinding in the flash of the occasional photographer.Momo and Coco mingled with their groups, talking about grants and money and experiments and breakthroughs. Despite claiming to be uncomfortable, Coco had multiple lengthy discussions with other scientists that were attending while Momo conversed within his own circle about business and products and advertisements.After the first few minutes, once everyone had had a chance to grab a drink, the servers swapped out their flutes for trays of appetizers. Delicate slices of fish and balls of rice and small cucumber sandwiches with the crusts cut off circulated the crowd of cats. Coco and Momo snacked idly, listening to other presentations now rather than talking about their own.A particularly enthusiastic white cat on the other side of the room briefly caught their attention as she snapped a very obvious selfie with her date and loudly declared that salmon that was being served was “so last season” and that “shrimp is totally in right now. Retweet!”“Can you believe it?” Coco asked, tapping on Momo’s arm to get his attention and nodding at the couple. “I wonder which company they represent.”“I don’t think they represent anyone,” Momo said honestly. He didn’t recognize the cats at all and he also knew that anyone with enough money could pay their way into the event.“Come on,” Coco said, tugging Momo in the direction of a balcony that was out of the way and wasn’t currently being used. “I could use some fresh air.”Most of the presentations were already over, and Momo had talked to all the cats he needed too. Plus, Coco had already put up with so much already and Momo could step away for a few minutes for some peace and quiet. He let himself be pulled along, and Coco pushed through the glass double doors and out into the fresh air, closing them behind him.The night sky was surprisingly clear, which meant that it was a bit chilly. Their suit jackets were warm enough though, so it wasn’t too big of a problem.Momo leaned on the railing and looked out over the garden of the fine hotel that was hosting the event. The lawns were obviously well-kept to the point that there were still a couple bushes flowering among the trees planted at the base of the hotel, despite the fact that pollution covered most of the city. Momo took a chance to appreciate it because honestly? He didn’t have enough flowers in his life.The moment was interrupted by the metallic snap of a lighter.Momo glanced over his shoulder to see Coco holding a roll of catnip. He raised his eyebrows. “Really?”“What?” Coco said, lighting the end and taking an initial puff. The cherry end glowed bright red in the dark of the evening. “You thought I actually needed to come out for fresh air?”“Just give it here,” Momo said, holding out his paw.Coco smirked but handed it over without an argument. “Don’t choke.”Momo took a small puff and passed the catnip back, breathing out the smoke into the sky.Coco took another puff for himself and leaned against the railing next to Momo. “Do you like it?” he asked. “It’s a new strain my lab is working on. Supposed to be really good.”Momo nodded, taking another puff. “So far so good,” he said.Coco laughed and shifted so that they were shoulder to shoulder. He pulled out his phone and checked his notifications, setting it aside when there was nothing notable. He took another puff from the catnip blunt and stared up at the night sky above them.“You remember when we first met?” he asked. Momo thought about it. “Wasn’t that in college?” he asked.“I was the TA for your chemistry lab, you ass,” Coco said. “If it hadn’t been for me, you would have failed all of your experiments.”Momo laughed. “Yeah, you were really helpful all the time. And all those lab reports?”Coco shoved Momo’s arm and took another puff. “I was doing all of your work on top of mine. It was hell.”“Yeah, but you were also doing me,” Momo said. “Which made it basically heaven.”Coco rolled his eyes. “I wouldn’t say the singular, one-night stand we had was ‘doing you,’” he said. “But call it whatever you want. I never expected you to be the one to fund my lab for these experiments.” He held the catnip blunt up to the sky, toasting it.“That was hilarious,” Momo said. “You should have seen your face when I walked into the boardroom the day of that meeting.”Coco scoffed. “You caught me off guard that was all.”“Is it ‘off guard’ if we hooked up in the janitor’s closet after the meeting?”Coco snorted. “I guess not.”They fell silent then, passing the catnip between them and taking small, modest puffs. The cherry tip flashed in the night, the sun sinking further and further until it was completely out of sight. Coco and Momo leaned against each other. They didn’t hold paws but instead waited for the time to pass and the party inside to die down.“Is it almost time?” Momo asked once the blunt had almost burned down to a stub.Coco checked his phone. “Actually, yeah.” He tossed the last of the catnip to the ground and glanced over the railing. “It always looks a lot farther down than it actually is.”“You always get scared at this part,” Momo said, shrugging off his jacket pulling a length of rope out of the potted plant that was only on the balcony.“Not scared,” Coco said, taking off his own jacket and grabbing the harness that Momo offered. He pulled it on over his vest. “I always land on my feet, but every experiment has a risk of failing when performed, no matter how reliable it is.”Momo smirked, strapping on his own harness and turning his back to the railing. “I love it when you talk science to me.”“Then let’s get back to your apartment fast,” Coco said, turning around to face the party that was still going on inside the building.They grabbed paws and fell backward over the railing together. *~* “Are you having fun?” Lala asked TT, hanging off her girlfriend’s arm. “Be honest. Because we can totally leave if you’re not having fun.”“I am having fun,” TT insisted.She looked stunning in her backless dress, Lala would be the first to admit that. She had guessed the size perfectly, and the fabric clung to TT like a shimmering, gorgeous second skin. She had even put on the golden studs and necklace that Lala had brought, and the color contrasted with her fur and drew the eye in. She was elegant and untouchable, and Lala was absolutely over the moon that she was her date.“I’m just no used to such large social gatherings,” TT said, nervously fidgeting with Lala’s paws.“You’re doing great,” Lala said, giving her an encouraging smile. “Everyone has loved you so far. And the food has been amazing.” She snagged another octopus roll of a passing tray and popped it into her mouth.“That’s the thing,” TT said, declining what the wait staff offered her the tray. “This seems like a meeting for business cats and their product managers, not just any cat off the street. Are you sure we’re allowed to be here?”Lala scoffed and waved a dismissive paw. “Of course we are,” she said. “I bought us a place on the list, so it’s totally fine. Besides, parties are a lot more fun when you aren’t supposed to be there. It makes me feel like a secret spy or something!”“I guess that makes sense,” she said.“Look, after the last dish is served, I promise we can go back to your place and just watch a movie,” Lala promised. “You coming out means a lot to me, and I want to make it up to you.”TT just smiled and tugged her a little closer. “I need to make sure your phone doesn’t get stolen again,” she said teasingly. “Honestly, who knows what sort of trouble you’d get up to if I weren’t around?” Lala giggled at that. “It doesn’t matter what happens to me as long as I have a big, strong detective to watch my back.”With a blast, the banquet table on the other side of the room suddenly exploded, setting all the table cloths in the immediately vicinity on fire.“Get down!” TT said, shoving Lala to the floor and throwing herself on top of her without a second thought.Other cats were screaming, and security was already rushing in to see what the problem was. The room was in chaos in seconds, and the fire blazed higher and hotter with every heartbeat. Chairs were shoved over. Tables too. Food and drinks were spilled across the floor and handbags and top hats were abandoned in the haste to get out the front doors.“What’s going on?” Lala asked, unable to see anything over TT.“I don’t know,” TT said, glancing over her shoulder to see if it was safe to get up. “But I need to get you to safety.”She scanned the room, locating the several exits that guests were taking in order to get away from the inferno. Each was backed up with the foot traffic and would take a while to get through. Several balconies were available on this floor though, and while TT didn’t have any sort of climbing or rappelling gear, a stray table cloth could always do the trick.She grabbed the nearest one, yanking it free and sending the glassware and food crashing to the flood. She grabbed Lala next, linking their paws, and making a mad dash for the nearest window. TT was endlessly grateful that the dress she was wearing had a slit all the way up the thigh. It allowed for the mobility that should would need for this next part.“Here!” TT said, choosing a random window and smashing it open with an elbow. She tied one end of the table cloth to a nearby pillar and tossed the rest out of the window. She checked to make sure it held and then looked out into the open space.It was a long way down. The table cloth made it only part of the way. Once they got to the end . . . TT didn’t really have a plan for that. She was used to making things up on the go. But usually, she was the only one at risk. Now, she had another cat to look after.And Lala didn’t look that sure about climbing out a window.“Can you climb to safety?” TT asked, taking Lala by the shoulders and looking deep into her eyes. Their blue depths swirled with the light of the blazing fire, and TT’s stomach would have flipped if the situation wasn’t so dire.“Uh, yeah! I mean . . . I think I can,” Lala said as if coming back to herself suddenly. “I mean, yes, I can! But you’ll be right behind me, won’t you?”TT nodded. “Of course,” she said.Lala nodded firmly and then hitched up the skirt of her dress, swinging a leg over the frame and scrambling down the table cloth. TT watched her go, her heart fluttering in her chest in a mixture of pride, love, and nervousness.Goddamn, Beau hated it when TT brought her work home. How was Lala going to react when TT brought her works on dates? Yikes, they would definitely be having a conversation after this.TT didn’t have time to overthink that though. She turned back to the blazing room and scanned for anyone else that needed help or perhaps the one who had set the fire.But no, most of the guests had made their way out of the doors, still in a panic, while body guards rushed around trying to help their clients. No one was trying to stop the fire, and it had spread to more and more tables. In several more minutes, it would probably take over the entire room.TT swallowed and hitched up her dress. With no one else that needed to be rescued and not much time to gather clues, her only choice of action was to follow Lala out the window.It was probably a decision for the better. As she swung out the window and down several feet, the fire must’ve found the punch bowls of alcohol because there was a sudden blast of heat and an explosion that shattered all the windows outwards. TT had no other choice.She let go of the cloth and dropped, grabbing Lala on the way down and twisting midair to shelter her from the rain of glass. Yeah, there was definitely something wrong with bringing her work on the first date, and as they hit the top branches of the trees in the yard, crashing their way to the ground and ripping the dresses that Lala had spent so much time picking out, TT knew she was never going to hear the end of this. *~* “Oh, fish,” Lulu said as he dropped as stitch for the fifteenth time since the class started. His entire knitting project was a mess so far because he had dropped so many stitches.“It’s okay,” Chuchu said, leaning alongside him and helping him position his paws correctly. “You’re doing great.”“Am I?” Lulu asked because he really felt like he wasn’t doing good at all.Chuchu just nodded and laughed a little. “Look,” she said. “You’re a lot better than a lot of the beginners that come to the knitting classes. And you can always get better.”“I guess,” Lulu said, looking down at his very rough work. For some reason, he remembered Chuchu saying that most of the people who attended her classes were kittens forced to go by their parents. He wasn’t sure if that was supposed to make him feel good or not.He worked for a couple more minutes and managed not to drop a single stitch this time. His knitting was particularly tight by the end of it though, so it wasn’t completely perfect.“Hey, Chuchu,” Lulu said. His cheeks felt like they were absolutely on fire and he wished he had a mirror so he could see just how ridiculous he looked. “Would you . . . uh, want to go get coffee or something? Outside of knitting class I mean?”Chuchu looked surprised for a moment, like he had caught her off guard, but then she smiled and nodded. “Sure,” she said. “I’d be happy to do that.”Lulu wanted to sink into the floor with a sigh of relief. Instead, he worked his needle into his next stitch and did his best to keep it loose enough without dropping it completely this time. He had progress. Now, he just had to give her his phone number and he would be golden.Gosh! When did asking someone on a date become so hard?!At least he wasn’t stuck in a burning building. Now, that would be something to be nervous about. *~* DD caught sight of explosion from several buildings away and quickly tugged on his mask.He knew, though, that even if he showed up as quickly as he could, he would find nothing. At least, nothing besides the fire. It had been almost two years now, and he still hadn’t been able to get his paws on the villain that hit big business events like these.It was always the same too. The event looked like it was going to go off without a hitch until an explosion would go off, sending everyone screaming and running for their lives. Except no one would get hurt.Whoever this villain was, they didn’t hurt people. The donations meant for all the scientists and researchers would be stolen though, and any stray wallets or purses left laying around would be gone as well. And no matter how closely DD watched the internet, no huge amounts of cash every showed up with in the city limits or even outside of it.The villain could launder money and they could do it well.DD gritted his teeth and took off towards the most recent explosion. He knew there would be nothing waiting for him except a burnt out room when he arrived, and he hated the game of chase this whole ordeal had become.He would catch the cat responsible if it was the last thing he did.He vowed it.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“I am so sorry about last night!” TT said, calling to the apartment that she knew wasn’t completely empty.She had woken up in the empty bed though, the sheets and blankets around her already going cold. The shower on her apartment had been running though, which was a relief. It meant she hadn’t been completely abandoned.Yet.Unless Lala had meant to get up earlier and meant to leave before TT woke up and meant to sneak out without TT knowing and had just got caught in the shower. TT swallowed and tried not to think about it like that. She tossed off the blankets and swung her feet over the side of the bed, wincing as her muscles protested.Sure, she was used to the exercise of chasing bad guys and running away from danger, but not falling out of a window and crashing through three layers of trees and bushes. She had patches of fur missing, the odd scrape here and there, and sore muscles as a memory to that stunt. TT couldn’t imagine what Lala was feeling right now, if she felt this sore.She pushed herself to her feet anyway, stretching with a groan of pain and then heading to the bathroom, hoping to complete the apology. She would keep a respectful distance for now and hope that Lala wasn’t too angry at her. Perhaps this was something that could be fixed over breakfast?Lala was just stepping out of the shower though, a towel already wrapped around her waist. She still blinked in surprise when she saw TT.“Oh,” she said. “I didn’t know you were up. I hope you don’t mind that I used your shower. The water pressure is a-maze-ing! I also may have posted a selfie in it just to tease all of my followers. They are going to flip once they realize that I’m not in my own apartment.”TT swallowed hard but still kept a respectful distance. At least Lala didn’t seem angry. In fact, she seemed perfectly fine with everything.“I wanted to apologize,” TT said because that seemed like the best place to start after everything. “For what happened last night. My work gets crazy and I didn’t mean for it to get involved in our first date and the night was ruined—”“Are you kidding?!” Lala said, stepping in front of the mirror to drag a comb through her fur while it was still wet. “I had a blast! You don’t mind if I make a video on it, right? Oh! Do I have to censor information? Is it top secret police stuff?!”TT didn’t know what to say. “Um? Video?” she managed.Lala nodded. “Yeah, a Youtube video. For my channel. My followers would love it. I don’t have to though. If I can’t talk about it. I totally understand.” She set the comb down with a snap and gave TT a mischievous smile. “With you being a badass police officer and all.”“A detective,” TT corrected. “I mean, I’m a detective, not an officer.”Lala just flapped a paw at her. “Whatever, it’s totally hot. I love it.”“I love you!” TT blurted without thinking and suddenly her cheeks were burning. She very quickly backpedaled. She had already ruined too many relationships by moving too fast and she didn’t want this one to be a repeat of her mistakes. “I’m sorry! It’s way too early to be saying that! I didn’t mean it!”“It’s fine!” Lala immediately assured with a noncommittal shrug. She then smiled. “I mean, I love you too! And if you want, we could totally tease my followers with a selfie! They would go bonkers if they knew I was seeing someone.”“You really want that?” TT said, not believing her for a moment.Lala nodded and grabbed her phone off the bathroom counter. She sheepishly held it up to TT. “Selfie?” she said. “I can show my followers immediately. Make it official?”TT almost laughed. “Is that what the kids are doing these days?” she asked. “Sure, I’ll take a selfie. For your followers.”Lala smiled and fluffed up her fur, getting herself ready for the camera. “I mean, I think it’s for me too,” she said. “And you totally wouldn’t judge me if it ends up as my lock screen or my background, would you?”TT smiled and shook her head, because she totally didn't mind that at all. Instead, she stepped up next to Lala, draping herself across her brand new girlfriend's shoulders so that she was within the frame of the phone camera. Lala held it up so that it was above their heads, getting the downward angle like a pro. Not that TT understood phone angles like that.Lala fidgeted a moment, trying to find a spot where they both fit into the phone without looking squished or awkward. No matter what she did, though, she couldn't seem to find an angle that she was satisfied with.“Here,” TT said, scooping the phone out of her grasp.With her significantly longer arms, she was able to hold the phone far enough away to get them both. She pulled Lala a bit closer, giving the camera a wide smile and giving Lala a moment to prepare herself too before hitting the shutter. She made sure to hit it several times, just to get enough options to choose from before pulling away and handing the phone back to Lala.“Do those work?” she asked, smiling more to herself as Lala looked over the photos with a fierce flush that showed even though her fur.“Yeah,” she squeaked, clutching the phone to her chest. “Thank you!”“Anytime,” TT said. She turned to the sink and grabbed a washcloth, dunking it under a stream of water, and then scrubbing her face clean.“Do you have a busy day today?” Lala asked, stepping aside to give her room as they both finished cleaning up.TT took a moment to think about it, trying to think if she had work or a case or chores around the apartment that needed to be done. Nothing came to mind though, which was a nice thought. Since she was so sore from last night, spending a day just lounging around the house would give her the perfect time to heal and recover.“I don’t think so,” she said. “Why? You have something planned?”Lala grinned and grabbed her from behind, wrapping her paws around her middle and burying her face in her fur.“Mmmm,” she said with a purr. “How about we just go back to bed? I don’t want to do anything for a long, long time.”TT smiled but Lala wasn’t looking at her face. “Of course we can just go back to bed,” she said. “Whatever you want, dear.”Lala didn’t pull her face out of TT’s fur but she did let out a small squeak and started to tug TT back in the direction of the bed. TT let herself be pulled in that direction. In fact, the thought of crawling back into bed and cuddling up with Lala made her purr.“Easy, easy,” she said as she almost tripped over Lala’s paws as they shuffled along.They tumbled onto the mattress together, flailing a bit when they tangled up with each other. They were both too busy purring to care about getting a mouthful of the other’s hair, and they burrowed under the blankets to fall asleep in each other’s arms. *~* “So?” Momo asked, stripping off his suit and folding it neatly to be hung in his closet at a later date. He was exhausted, after spending the whole night out of his apartment, but the thought of retiring to his bed in a couple moments kept him going. “How much was the haul?”Coco was flipping through the different stacks of bills that they had managed to swipe from the party-goers last night. He was still half-dressed in his own suit, only taking the time to undo a couple buttons before getting distracted by their new riches. He was a lot less tired than Momo was, having been wired on caffeine and other things for several hours now.“Enough to set the lab for several months,” he said. “Or buy some of that equipment I was looking at.”“You were looking at equipment?” Momo said. If Coco wanted something, he could easily buy it for him. While they did have a fun time with their heists and scandals, at the end of the day, Momo was still his beneficiary. And Momo’s pocketbook was not shallow.Coco just winked at him. “Yeah, I was.”Momo rolled his eyes.“Do you think anyone saw us?” he asked, undoing and pulling off his belt.Coco shook his head. “If you’re talking about Moggie Man, then no. My scanners didn’t pick up anything in the immediate vicinity. If he did show up, he was way too late and we were long gone.” He held the stack of money up to his nose and took a deep whiff, sighing in exaggerated pleasure.“Would you be serious for a moment?” Momo said, balling up a sock and throwing it at Coco. “You aren’t taking things serious.”Coco tossed the stack of money aside, sending it scattering across the table top. He shrugged off his suit jacket, undoing the buttons of his dress shirt underneath with ease. He tossed these aside just as he did with the money, shimmying out of his shoes, socks, and dress pants next. He shook out his fur, ruining its perfect style that had been done for the party. In a moment, he was back to his usual self and not the done-up version for the party.“I take things plenty seriously,” he said. “I know that Moggie isn’t a threat to us so why worry? He’s just a cat in a suit that always arrives late and doesn’t know his left paw from his right paw.” Coco laughed. “He couldn’t get out of a paper bag if he got lost inside of it.”Momo wrinkled his nose. “Getting cocky like that is the best way to get caught, you know.”“It’s not getting cocky if it’s all true,” Coco said, going back to counting his piles of money gleefully. “Moggie couldn’t catch me in a million years if I have all my paws tied together and my tail chopped off. He could hunt me for years and never catch sight of a single hair.”Momo just rolled his eyes. “Now you’re just bragging,” he said.“Not bragging if it’s true,” Coco said, pressing a wad of money to his cheek and smirking at Momo. “Come on, since when were you worried about the cops?”“Fuck the cops,” Momo said, folding his pants and placing them neatly next to the rest of his suit. He stretched luxuriously and made his way over to the bed. “But Moggie isn’t the cops. You know that. He’s never been the cops.”“He’s something else and he’s something dangerous, I know,” Coco said with a roll of his eyes. “You’ve told me a million times.”“And I’ll tell you a million more if you don’t listen.” Momo climbed under the blankets, sighing in relief as he was finally able to take his weight off his feet.Coco tossed the money aside and sauntered over to the bed, climbing from the foot all the way up to the head so that he was leaning over Momo who just buried his head under the pillows and ignored him. Coco nosed him, snuggling himself under Momo’s chin and then collapsing on top of the tom who grunted under the weight.“Get off of me. It’s too hot to cuddle,” Momo said, pushing at Coco’s shoulders.Coco was too big and too heavy, and as he went limp, there wasn’t much of a chance of Momo being able to move him. There was a moment of struggling before Momo gave up and let himself be cuddled.“Come on,” Coco said. “We haven’t done this is a while.”Momo swatted at his wandering paws and tried to roll over unsuccessfully. Coco took the message though and let himself slide off of him, so that they were laying side-by-side. He wrapped his paws around Momo though, tugging him close and hiding his face in Momo’s shoulders. Momo huffed like he was annoyed but didn’t try to get away this time.“Don’t be angry,” Coco said. “Not after such a good haul.”“I just don’t understand why we do it all the time,” Momo mumbled, sounding more tired than anything. Not like he wanted to argue but more like he was too exhausted to filter his words. “I have plenty of money.”“We don’t just do it for the money, babe,” Coco said. “We do it for fun, the adventure. You know I like the adrenaline rush of it.”Momo didn't answer, and Coco let the silence between them stretch. He figured Momo just needed time to think until one minute turned into two that turned into five and then Coco began to worry that he had said something wrong and that Momo was now mad at him.“Babe?” he asked, wondering if he should keep his paws to himself.But Momo let out a soft snore, and Coco relaxed.Just asleep. That made sense. Parties like the one they had been at were exhausting and draining, especially for the business-cat. Coco should have known better than to try to have such a deep conversation when all Momo really wanted to do was pass out.Coco smiled and pulled himself closer, snuggling close to Momo even though they would probably end up apart due to body heat at some point in the night. He wasn’t underneath the blankets even though Momo was and that would probably help a little. Coco glanced back at the pile of money that was on the table and smiled to himself, snuggling a bit tighter against Momo.And like that, he fell asleep. ~*~ “Parker! Get your furry ass in here immediately!”DD winced and gathered up his papers, making sure he had all his appropriate drafts and his laptop and the pictures that he was supposed to submit today. They hadn’t turned out the way he had wanted. At least, none of the close ups had. There were a couple silhouettes that had been clear enough that could be used, but they were dull and lacked the action that Jonah was looking for.“Parker!” Jonah yelled again, sounding even angrier this time.“Coming!” DD called.He was sore from jumping all over the city trying to find the thieves from last night. He had stayed out far later than he usually did and ended up grabbing take out to eat at home. He had fallen asleep on his couch with his face in the Styrofoam container and woke up late for work. Which was why he was so flustered and behind schedule now. Jonah was going to skin him alive ten different ways.He burst into Jonah’s office slightly out of breath and more than a little frazzled. He wished he could be more composed but it was what it was.“Sir,” he said politely, nodding to the tabby tom who was scowling at him from behind the desk.“You wanna tell me why the pictures you promised to go along with your article are shit?” Jonah asked, slapping a paw down on the pile of prints he had in front of him.DD winced. “The camera wasn’t calibrated right,” he said. Because that was the truth. Plus, when he was scouring the alleyways for the thieves and scum of the streets, it wasn’t like he could stop and make sure he was getting his best angle. “Plus, I was shooting at night. The conditions were rough and—”“I don’t want excuses, Parker,” Jonah said with a scowl. “I want pictures! To go with the articles! That’s what I was promised!”“I know!” DD said. “And I can get more. Better ones! If you give me another week, I’m sure I’ll be able to get more and they’ll be loads better than what you have there.”Jonah just sighed. “I gave you this article as a risk,” he said. “As an intern, I can’t trust your work to be as good as my regular writers. If you want a spot on the front page, son, you have to earn it.”“I know!” DD said again. “I’m doing my best, I swear—”“I need more than your best,” Jonah said, cutting him off. “Get good, son, or get off the writing committee. I’m sure plenty of other cats wants your position just as bad.”DD swallowed hard and hung his head. “I understand, sir,” he said because it was never a good idea to argue with the head editor. He would get better pictures next time and that would be it. “I promise I’ll do better next time.”“See that you do,” Jonah said, scraping all the papers into a pile and then dumping them into a folder that he tucked quickly into a drawer. Out of sight and out of mind apparently. DD tried not to take it too personally. “For now,” Jonah went on. “Felix will be taking over most of your articles.”DD opened his mouth to protest, but Jonah continued on, cutting him off.“It’ll take some pressure off you and let you focus on the articles about this Moggie Man,” Jonah said, his lips curling a bit in what DD could only interpret as disgust. “Get me a decent article and some decent pictures, and then you can go back to your regular articles. Understand?”DD nodded, clutching his papers tight. Having his work criticized so easily was a little disheartening but at least he still had the Moggie Man articles. That was the main goal here. He could set up cameras again and this time he would get all the settings right and get pictures that would make Jonah proud. Not that DD wanted to take all the articles from Felix but he needed to make rent just like any other cat. And being Moggie Man certainly didn’t pay well.“Of course, sir,” he said. “I won’t let you down, sir.”“Well then, get to it,” Jonah said, waving a paw at him and turning to his computer to begin typing at some email or another.“Yes, sir!” DD said and left before he could get yelled even more.If Jonah wanted pictures, then DD wouldn’t spend the rest of the day in the office. He would head back to his small cubical and collect everything he would need and then take to the rooftops as Moggie Man. Maybe DD would use the pictures as an excuse to get a few days off of work, and if he made Jonah wait a bit, then he might get paid extra for the pictures.A little bit shameless but DD needed to make rent.DD shoved everything into his messenger bag, only being half-careful not to fold the papers. His laptop went in next, followed by a couple assignment folders he had for the few articles he had left. He had a separate bag for his camera equipment and slung both bags over his shoulder.And who knew? Maybe while DD was out, he would run into real crime and end up getting some real action shots.