Archive of Our Own

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The dampness of the air was thick and suffocating, a storm was rolling over the city as it bustled with people scrambling to get home from their nine to five jobs. The rumbles of the distant thunder were almost entirely muted over the sound of people impatiently honking their horns as they inched through traffic. It was times like this that Takashi Shirogane debated whether the frustration of traffic or the misery of the oncoming rainstorm were more difficult to deal with.

Deciding which was worse wouldn’t matter much anyway, as he had subconsciously made his choice hours ago. He was currently on his bike, gently coasting past the car heavy roads. The coat of his suit blew behind him and his messenger bag gently bounced against his hip, heavy with his work laptop and folders full of papers.

With a quick flick to his handle brakes, he stopped at the crosswalk. By now the clouds had moved over his head, blotting out the sun and making everyone aware of the impending storm. Shiro glanced at the street signs above him as a few heavy drops hit his head, he wasn’t far from home now, a mile at most. The question was whether or not he wanted to deal with soaking his clothes as there was now no hope of getting home before the rainstorm kicked into high gear.

He groaned and stepped off the bike, a slight tingle in his legs from the motion of them changing from biking to walking. As the mob of cars crawled past the crosswalk Shiro shuffled through the pockets of his bag, eventually wrapping his hand around a small umbrella, hidden at the bottom due to a lack of use most days. He flinched at another large, cold drop smacking his thin hair before he was able to shield himself from further assault from the rain.

By the time the crosswalk allowed him to pass the sound of the rain tapping against his umbrella was louder than the rest of the city around him. With the handles of his bike in one hand and his umbrella in the other, he took off in a light jog, cursing slightly at the uncomfortable feeling of running in his work shoes. Lightning began to flash in the sky with accompanying rumbles of thunder. Shiro tried to ignore the headache that was starting to form from the abundance of noise. He counted down each building he passed as motivation to continue home in between focusing on avoiding the forming puddles in the dips between the sidewalk and asphalt and keeping his bike upright as he rolled it beside him.

He let out heavy breaths and slowed his pace as he reached his street, the familiar apartment complex within sight. He stopped for a moment to pull his water bottle from the holder attached to his bike and take a long swig of the lukewarm water after pulling the nozzle out with his teeth. He lazily continued to walk as he drank before hearing a squeak over the sound the pouring rain. He stopped and glanced back at his bike, assuming that it was the source of the noise. He rolled the wheels a little further, eyeing the gears and other components as he did so. Another squeak hit his ears but it didn’t come from any part of the bike mechanisms.

He took another look around his environment for the source, eyes falling to the entrance of the alleyway between his apartment building and the neighboring building. Among the piles of garbage bags from inconsiderate tenants was a cardboard box. It was crumbled and half disintegrated from the downpour of rain. From inside it, another squeak came.

Shiro leaned his bike against the wall of the building and approached the box, slowly crouching down to peer inside. The squeaking noise had actually been a distressed mewl, the source of which was a small brown kitten. Its long fur was matted against its body from the rain. It was curled up and shivering underneath one of the flaps of the box, a flap that was clearly not helping to keep the feline dry. Shiro felt his gasp catch in his throat as he frowned at the small creature. He had always adored cats and would have owned one himself already if the apartment building he was in actually allowed them.

He stuck his hand into the box, keeping his movements slow and gentle in an attempt not to startle the poor thing. The kitten cried louder and tried to back up further into the corner of the box, recoiling further when a stray drop of water hit its paw. Shiro shushed the little one softly, his large hand picking up the balled up kitten easily. It mewed more but gradually quieted its protest as it hung limply on Shiro’s hands. Shiro adjusted the umbrella handle in the crook of his shoulder before moving the dirty, wet, cat to the inside of his jacket.

“See, this isn’t so bad…” he cooed the kitten as he got to his feet and grabbed his bike, cradling the cat inside his coat.

Shiro shuffled his things around and managed to lock his bike just outside the building with only one hand, keeping the other one cupped around the small kitten and trying to keep him from squirming. Shiro winced slightly as he finally felt the pricks against his skin of the kittens' nails drilling into his shirt. He fished his keys from his bag and stepped into the building, glancing around for other people as he shook the droplets from his umbrella. The kitten squirmed its head until it could see where it was, wet ears flicking every couple of seconds. Shiro hurried up the narrow stairs to his own apartment, hoping that no one passed him and noticed the cat.  He felt like a smuggler by bringing this tiny kitten inside.

He stepped inside and gently placed the kitten on the carpet. The kitten mewed and stayed on the floor, waiting for a moment to try and stand up on its shaking legs. Shiro stepped past the small creature and dropped his things by the door as he closed it. He sat on his couch and untied his shoes as he looked over the kitten. Its damp fur was heavy with dirt, obscuring whatever color it really was. It was thin and shaking, but it didn’t look like it was used to living as a stray. Was this little guy abandoned? The thought made Shiro’s heart sink as he rose from the couch. The kitten mewled and squirmed slightly to follow, stumbling over the uneven surface of the carpet.

“Don’t worry I’m not leaving…” Shiro chuckled softly, only being a few feet away at the kitchen counter. The apartment he called home was really only big enough so that he didn’t feel cramped. He could have rented a larger one, or even buy a home at this point without being financially unstable but he never really needed the extra space. So he remained content where he was, simply saving his money in preparation of the unexpected. The kitten shuffled its way onto the tiled kitchen floor and bounded up to his side before promptly backing up and rolling away as Shiro almost stepped on him.

“Careful…” Shiro kept his eyes on the kitten as he moved along beside the counter to reach the cupboard containing his plates, he already had a can of tuna in hand. The cat cocked its head to the side and stared blankly at the can. It was difficult to tell if this was a silent plea for the food inside or a look of complete confusion.

As the kitten stared and squeaked at him, Shiro grabbed another dish and a gallon of milk from the fridge. He set the dishes of milk and tuna at his feet and stepped aside, allowing the kitten to investigate them. Its nose bumped the edge of the milk bowl as it stepped closer, letting out another mew before stretching its neck over the bowl and taking a drink. Ripples lined the edge of the bowl as the repetitive smacks of the kitten’s tongue against its lips filled the room.

Shiro slowly sank down to the floor and watched it indulge in the meal it was given. He crossed his legs and leaned against the cabinet, eyes finally tearing away from the cat to the speckled muddy paw prints scattering the white floor. A twinge of horror squirmed into Shiro’s mind as he reluctantly opened his jacket, both it and the shirt underneath had a large damp spot, pitch black from the dirt rubbing off from the kitten’s fur. He sighed and got up, going into his bedroom just a few steps down a narrow hallway from the kitchen.

He cast the dirty clothes towards his laundry basket, discarding his pants as well since the wet cuffs were uncomfortable to stay in. He ran his fingers through the black fringe resting between his eyes as he pulled open his dresser drawers for some clean clothes. As he slipped on a pair of basketball shorts another mew came from the doorway.

Once again the kitten was staring at him, more filthy prints trailing the floor. Shiro let out a sigh at the thought of needing to scrub all of that out before moving slowly to pick up the kitten. It mewled in protest but didn’t squirm too much as he was carried into the bathroom.

He placed it down in the shallow bathtub and turned on the water, fussing with the knobs until he had comfortably warm water to fill the tub with. The kitten cried out and backed away from the slowly approaching puddle of water, looking up at Shiro for help. Shiro sat on the floor and propped his elbows on the edge of the tub.

“Sorry buddy, but you need a bath before I let you run loose again.” The mews grew into quiet whines as the water rose past the kitten’s paws and it accepted its fate.

Shiro reached up and grabbed a towel from the towel rack. He set it aside and poured a small dollop of shampoo into his hand. The kitten mewled loudly in protest when Shiro began rubbing the shampoo into its fur. As the water turned murky with dirt and shampoo, Shiro carefully trailed his fingers through the dirty kitten, being especially cautious about letting the soap into its eyes.

He switched the water from the faucet to the shower head and briefly stood up to pull it down, holding it close to the kitten’s fur to wash out the shampoo. The kitten whined at the unwanted water but stayed limp in Shiro’s other hand as the soap bubbles fell from its fur. Satisfied with the cleaning, Shiro pulled the kitten out of the tub and quickly bundled it in the soft towel. It squirmed from the towel in order to shake off the water and sneezed as Shiro continued to dry him off. Shiro held back a laugh at the adorable noise before lifting it up to the counter and plugging in his hairdryer.

The kitten shook again, spattering his chest with droplets of quickly chilling water as the hair dryer turned on and blasted it with hot air. The kitten leaned into the heat and purred softly as the water quickly dried off the fur. When Shiro finally put the hairdryer down the kitten’s fur was fluffy and unruly, the dirt no longer masking the warm caramel color and darker brown stripes along its sides and cheeks.

“See? Now you’re all warm and clean…” Shiro set it back down on the floor after reopening the bathroom door and went to work cleaning the floor. He scrubbed at the hardwood, tile, and even backtracked to the carpet, not content to let a single speck tarnish the hard work he did to keep this place clean during what little free time he had.

As he scanned the carpet for any remaining dirt stain the kitten trotted up to him, its mew carrying a happy tone to it. It slid under the arm supporting his weight while he leaned close to the carpet and head-butted his chest, purring and nuzzling directly into Shiro’s melting heart.  He looked down at the affectionate kitten and finally took the opportunity to pet it, his large fingers caressing multiple sides of its tiny head at once.

The fur was warm and extremely soft under his touch now that it was clean, it was now a bit more smoothed out since the kitten seemed to have groomed itself after being left to its own devices. The kitten relished in the warm hand stroking its head and hunched back, sitting patiently until Shiro stood back up. It was nearly nine pm now. Having already eaten an early dinner with his co-workers, the last thing to do was go to sleep.

Shiro picked up the kitten and cradled it in the crook of his arm as he wandered back to his bedroom. The kitten let out no mews of protest and simply relaxed as Shiro carried it. Shiro shut the door to his room to lessen the chance of the kitten escaping or damaging something and slowly set it on his bed. The kitten struggled in the same way it did on the carpet, having trouble accounting for the ground sinking underneath its weight. Its steps were hesitant as it slowly made its way up the dark velvet comforter to inspect the nearby nightstand.

Once the kitten had moved to the far right side of the bed he slowly climbed into bed. The kitten froze as the blankets underneath it shifted, rose, and fell back down as Shiro slipped into his usual spot. He glanced at the nightstand, the book resting beside his alarm clock was tempting to continue but he eventually decided against it. The last few hours had been a touch hectic and his Saturday morning most likely would be as well. It was better if he took the extra hours to try and sleep. The kitten mewed again and Shiro gently shushed it in return.

“How about you lay down, okay?” the kitten didn’t resist to the light pressure Shiro put on its back as it fell over beside him. The kitten stretched and yawned as it laid on the bed before finally curling up beside Shiro’s arm, resting its chin in its soft front paws. Shiro smiled at the sight, his heart warm with a joy that he didn’t feel often. Even if it was just a stray cat it was nice to have the presence of another. Shiro slowly moved his arm away so he wouldn’t crush the small thing during the night and his closed his eyes, the faint purring beside him lulling him into a peaceful slumber.

The cloudless sky brightened more with every passing minute, the sun little more than a pink gradient on the edge of the horizon. The air outside was humid from last night’s heavy rain but held a slight nipping chill. The fog tracing along the ground dissipated as more light flooded the city and the noise of people starting their day began, though it was fainter than most since Saturdays were synonymous with late starts.

Shiro let out a soft groan, his chest feeling heavy and overheated as he dragged himself back into the waking world. He reached out without opening his eyes to flick off his alarm long before it would actually go off. It served more as an emergency wake up call rather than anything he needed to get up the morning. Shiro had always been an early riser and usually used this as a chance to run in the mornings when things were still quiet and minimal in terms of traffic.

As he opened his eyes to what little light was in the room he finally registered the feeling of warm skin and breath against his own chest. He reached to rest his hand on whatever was on him and was met with a head of thin, fluffy hair. Something furry briefly brushed against the side of his fingers and he finally looked down at what the mystery item was.

A man, appearing no younger than twenty was curled up in his bed, his head and torso laying across Shiro’s broad chest. Brown hair adorned caramel skin with a pair of pointed ears camouflaged in the hair. In Shiro’s still half asleep daze he examined one of the soft ears. It twitched between his fingers, like it was real, and seemed to go all the way...into his scalp…

The fingers fussing with his ear was enough to wake the other man with a tired, irritated grumble. He swatted the hand away lightly and sat up, a long brown tail sweeping its way across the bed. It was then Shiro finally woke up enough to process his situation. There was a strange man, with cat ears and a tail, sleeping in his bed.

He let out a yelp and backed against the headboard of his bed, the man screaming in return from the noise and scrambling backward. His legs were quickly tangled in Shiro’s bedding and he soon fell right over the edge, hitting the floor with a loud thud that most likely woke up his downstairs neighbor.

It was then Shiro was given an unnecessary reminder the man was also completely naked.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The first case was centuries ago, supposedly a pregnant woman had been cursed by a jealous witch so that others would see her as a beast rather than a person. The curse did not carry to the child, but rather mutated. Instead of only being seen as a beast they were a beast and a person.

Because the mother had already been shunned by society no one knew of the child’s fate. She grew up in solitude and slowly learned to blend with others, whether they be human or animal. Her ability to change her form seamlessly allowed her to blend but never to belong. In time, poor souls were lead astray both human and animal, and in the span of a few decades, the quiet village had a secret tribe of creatures living in their shadows. They were too animalistic to be human and too intelligent to be animals. They resorted to the term beast people as that is what others would choose to see them as.

Over the years rumors spread and these beast people became the cause of various, seemingly unrelated, urban legends. The few who know have been sworn to secrecy or simply used for breeding and killed in the case of those with animosity towards humans. Small scattered clans gathered in dense forests and uninhabited plains, often splitting further if they became too large to avoid suspicion. One leaving a clan would almost be seen as a positive revelation in the greater scheme of things, at least, that’s what Lance would tell himself nowadays.

After nearly seventeen years being told to stay away from humans, his curiosity overwhelmed him as he left his hiding place and trekked out to the hiking trail several miles away from where he called home. His human form was scratched and dirty by the time he reached the man-made paths, if his other form weren’t so small and uncoordinated he would have used that one so he would stop getting nicked and scratched by stray branches and thorny bushes.

His form changed in the blink of an eye, his body shrinking and becoming obscured by thick brown fur. He crawled out into the open with a proud mew and crouched down to examine the trail. His paw gave the flattened dirt a quick bat to ensure it wasn’t booby-trapped before stepping onto it. He trailed his small feet along the strange striped indents that littered the path, they looked like tracks. There must have been humans nearby.

He walked courageously down the trail, mewing occasionally to try and catch a human’s attention. He wasn’t scared, he could take a human if he needed to, right? His ears perked as he could hear a conversation echo through the forest. He began scampering faster down the trail, any fear about the dangerous rumors he heard about humans were squashed under his eagerness to finally see one. His meow was loud and choppy as he rounded a corner and saw three humans sitting on a nearby log.

“Dad look!” the young girl said, being the first to notice him. The older man and another boy beside her turned to look at Lance as he froze up slightly. Now that he was here he actually had no idea what to do. Would they follow if he left? Would they try to kidnap him? Kill him??

“Don’t touch it, Katie. It’s a wild animal here, same as anything.” the father warned. The younger man adjusted his glasses as he stared at Lance.

“What’s a kitten doing out here anyway?”

Lance swallowed his fear and stepped closer, he had come this far and refused to back out now. He was too stubborn even for himself sometimes.

The girl named Katie watched him intensely as he came closer, amber eyes locked on the small furball approaching them. She quickly reached for the bag resting on the ground by her feet and pulled a small device out. The ‘click’ noise it made caused Lance’s fur to puff slightly and the girl giggled.

“Hey, you want some little guy?” the younger man pulled a piece of ham from his sandwich and bent over to hold it closer to Lance. Lance walked up hesitantly but sat in front of him to sniff the meat. It wasn’t like anything his clan had hunted before, the urge to try it was more powerful than his concern that it may be harmful. Although to be fair, his concerns for his health was never that large to begin with.

He stretched his neck to reach the meat but it was pulled a bit higher from his reach.

“Matt, don’t tease it.” the girl complained.

“Just watch...let's see if he can get it.” Matt smirked at his sister and held the ham piece steady. Lance stayed silent as he focused, unblinking, on the meat. He crouched further into the dirt, moving slowly as he read the human’s movements. He suddenly leaped into the air, reaching out to grab the meat with his claws and teeth. The sudden jump caused Matt to drop the ham and Lance dropped to the ground with his prize locked in his jaw.

“Holy shit!” the girl exclaimed as Lance indulged in the new taste. It was difficult to chew through but indescribably delicious.

“You get that, Pidge?” Matt asked as he leaned over to look at her phone.

“Yeah, in slow-mo too.” she replayed the video as Lance finished tearing at the meat. He mewed in thanks before flinching slightly as the girl reached a hand towards him. She delicately pet his head with her thumb and he purred in response. It reminded him of when his mother would groom him. Speaking of, maybe it would be best if he left. He’d seen enough for now.

“Can we keep it, dad?” Katie asked as she moved to scratch the kitten’s chin.

“Best to leave it here. Its mother is probably nearby anyway.” the man stood up and slung his bag over his shoulders. “Ready to keep going?”

“Sure!” the girl pulled away from Lance and stood with her brother. “See ya, little kitty.” Matt waved as they continued on their hike. Lance mewed back before deciding to turn away and find his way back to the clan.

Despite the vicious scolding he was given when his parents found out about this, Lance was not deterred from visiting humans. He would always find people who would want to pet him and offer him food. He even picked up on a few tricks he could do to win their attention. Having their eyes trapped in his adorable gaze and sounds of praise filling his ears was refreshing and somewhat addicting. He’d never gotten this amount of individual attention before and it was comforting to know someone would notice him if he just squeaked cutely enough.

His clan began to slowly realize that Lance would not stop himself from visiting humans. Keeping an eye on him or trying to force him to stay away only led to fights and Lance’s stubborn nature getting the best of them. Because of this, Lance was deemed too large a risk to be kept in the clan. His mother pleaded with their leader as he was still just a kit. Her pleas caught the attention of their leader. Lance was allowed to stay but not without a compromise.

The other clan members, including his siblings, avoided being in presence. Even his best friend Hunk had begun to find excuses to avoid him out of fear that one day he would reveal too much to a human and compromise their clan. What little affection Lance enjoyed from his kin was ripped away and at nineteen he left the clan with no intention of returning.

The first few nights were the most difficult. He managed to hunt down food as he made his way out of the forest along the path. After emerging from the dense trees, he walked what seemed like an endless stretch of road.

After three days the dirt beneath him turned to asphalt and buildings towered over even the tallest tree from his forest. His ears pinned against his head as the world around him became louder, over some sounds his meows did not even carry. As the sun dipped lower in the sky his stepped into a narrow alley to rest and clean himself. He stepped carefully over the dirty, broken glass scattering the ground and whined. The city led to very barren hunting grounds, as if he was any good at hunting in his small feline form anyway.

A banging noise came from the rusted dumpster behind him in response to his noise. His ears perked up at a series of fast squeaks, a large rat squirmed out from the gap between the dumpster and the wall, it’s body appearing too fat to have squeezed into the narrow opening in the first place. Lance narrowed his eyes, the rat wasn’t much smaller than him but that did not matter. He was the predator and it was the prey. His steps were silent as he crouched down, eyes staying trained on the rat. A shrill squeak filled the alley as Lance pounced on the small creature.

Black clouded his vision as he crashed into something large and furry that blocked his path. A hiss came from the obstacle and the rat cried out in pain under its claws. As the rat’s fur was stained with its own blood Lance stumbled back and regained his senses. Standing before him was a lean black cat, it’s fiery red eyes glared at Lance as it pinned the struggling rat. It hissed lowly before turning away from Lance, its teeth biting into the rat’s neck.

“Hey! That was my kill!” Lance growled back, despite the cat being so much larger than him he stood his ground.

The cat dropped the rat as its struggling stopped, taking a moment to lick the blood from his lips before reluctantly addressing Lance. “You were too slow. You wouldn’t have caught it anyway...:”

Lance puffed his chest angrily. “Who do you think you are?”

“Keith..?” the cat responded, not entirely understanding his question.

Lance returned the confused look. “Wh...I don’t- just give me my food!!”

Keith gave him an unimpressed look. “It’s my kill. Go get your own.” he picked up the rat and turned to leave. Lance lept after him with a snarl.

“Get back here!!” Lance shrieked in anger.

Keith’s back leg stretched out and kicked him away before he left the alley and ran down the street. Lance let out a pitiful whine when Keith was out of his sight. He resorted to curling up beside the same dumpster where he lost his dinner, too small and weak to jump inside it and scavenge for more food. He curled his tail tighter around his body and let out a soft cry into his matted fur.

“Oh my goodness, look…” a soft voice made Lance’s ear twitch. When he opened his eyes it was completely dark, two tall figures looming over him.

“Allura we should go. It could be dangerous.”

“Look at it. The poor thing needs help.” Lance looked up tiredly as a woman crouched before him and extended her hand.

“Don’t be afraid little one…” Lance brushed his nose against her fingers, nuzzling against her warm digits. His small body shivered in the cold night air as he stood up and moved closer to her, drawn in by her sweet smell and comforting smile.

“Darling you’re going to ruin your sweater. It’s been sitting in garbage all day.” the taller man next to her said as she removed her outer layer of clothing, gently wrapping it around the small kitten. Lance let out a small mew of worry as he was bundled in the soft wool sweater and carefully pulled into Allura’s arms.

“It will wash out…” she sighed and stood up, goosebumps already pricking her bare arms. The man sighed and gave a sympathetic look to Lance as he soaked in the warmth of the sweater.

“Alright...let’s just hurry to the car.” he removed his long coat and draped it over Allura’s shoulders. “Here, saving an animal does not give you an excuse to be cold.”

“Thank you, Lotor…” Allura smiled up at him and leaned her head into his shoulder as they continued to his car. Lance purred at the warmth and allowed himself to be carried away. Lotor dropped his hand from his girlfriend’s waist as they reached the car, opening the passenger door for her and circling back to the other door.

Lance peered around the interior of the car. The whole atmosphere was alien to him but he was too tired to worry about where he was being taken. What he wasn’t too tired to worry about was when the cabin he was in suddenly started roaring and vibrating. He started to meow to voice his distress and his cries were met with Allura’s soft, slender, fingers rubbing his head. She hushed him gently and held him close as Lotor drove off. The bumps and turns left Lance disoriented and a bit dizzy. He continued to voice his complaints until Allura took him out of the car.

“Quite the chatty one isn’t he…” Lotor commented as he led them inside.

Allura giggled as Lance mewed in response. “Thank you for letting me take him in, darling.” she smiled and stretched upward to deliver a quick peck to his chin.

“Just wash him before you let him loose.” Lotor nudged his shoes off with his heel and switched on a nearby light switch. Lance squinted at the sudden intrusion of light before his vision adjusted and he looked around.

The house was spacious and clean, only a few out of place things indicated that anyone lived here. His time to examine the ground floor was abruptly cut short as Allura carried her dirty bundle of fur up a nearby staircase, her steps fluid and slow so as not to jostle the kitten around too much. She turned on the ball of her feet once she reached the top and immediately turned into a pristine white bathroom. She felt a twinge of guilt that she would need to dirty it but Lotor was plenty forgiving towards her so the hesitance was short lived.

Lance squirmed as he was finally put down and the human moved to sit at the edge of the tub. He jumped as the room was suddenly filled with the sound of running water and Allura fussed with the dials to get an ideal temperature for the small kitten. As Lance hesitantly stepped out of the bundle she picked up her sweater with a sigh of dismay, only being able to silently pray that the streaks and pawprints of dirt wouldn’t stain. She set it aside and swiftly picked up the kitten again.

“Don’t go wandering off little one. You still need a bath.” Lance coked his head to the side at the mention of a bath. He could only assume she meant grooming but that didn’t require wa-ahhhh!

Lance cried out and squirmed as he was placed in the water. He leaped to escape it but the walls of the tub were too tall and slick for him to do much but flail in the shallow warm pool. Allura shushed him and held him still, using her other hand to grab and open the bottle of shampoo resting in the corner. Lance continued to mewl but gradually stopped moving around, the feeling of his fur moving freely around in the water was not a pleasant one. He tried to shy away from her other hand as she lathered his fur with soap. Allura pulled him closer to the still running tap and used her hand to reduce the force of the water, letting it fall onto Lance in small drops and gradually wash out the dirt and soap. Lance’s whining remained consistent as he shut his eyes to keep the water from falling into them.

After what felt like an eternity he was lifted from the tub and onto a waiting towel. Lance shivered as cool air from a vent chilled the water on his skin and Allura pulled up the drain on the tub. She slid off the edge of the tub and onto the floor, pulling the soft towel around him and rubbing the water off his fur. Lance sneezed softly and tried to shake the droplets off his short whiskers as he was picked up yet again and brought back downstairs.

He shook again once he was placed on the hardwood floor just outside the kitchen and the damp towel stopped weighing him down. Lotor joined Allura in the kitchen and gave her a passing kiss as she went to look through the pantry to find something for their tiny guest.

Lance sat immediately and began to lick at his matted and disheveled fur, smoothing it out and pushing away the remaining water. Despite the importance of regaining his fluffy appearance, he kept his eyes trained on Allura. Her feet shifted impatiently as she raided Lotor’s kitchen, finally finding the bag of dry cat food she had been hunting for. She poured a small portion into a tiny snack bowl, filling another bowl with water before setting them both on the floor.

Allura crouched down and pat the floor in an attempt to entice him into the kitchen. “Come here little kitten.”

Lance moved slowly back onto all fours after debating whether or not stopping his grooming session would be a good idea. He batted at the sudden change in flooring before trusting the kitchen tile enough to step on it to sniff the offered food. Allura scooted back to give him space as he took one of the small pellets between his teeth. He took a hesitant bite down on it before it broke and a few small pieces made it to his tongue. The taste was strange and honestly very dull but food was food and he was starving. Allura smiled as he indulged in the dry food and Lotor leaned against the marble countertop.

“Kova isn’t going to like you giving this little thing his food,” he commented over the crunching sound of Lance indulging himself in the mediocre morsels.

“Well, Kova will have to share tonight. He won’t stay here long.”

“I’ll do my best to keep him away from the kitten. He’s not very welcoming to other cats.”

Allura smiled and stood up to peck his cheek. “Admit it, you want to keep him.” Lotor covered her smug smirk with another kiss as his arms coiled around her slim waist.

“He’s cute, I’ll admit, but I’d rather he stayed with you. Kova is a bit of a killer…”

Allura nodded before jumping at feeling fur rub across her ankle. Lance stood beside her, headbutting her shin in thanks for the meal and purring softly. Allura giggled at the sight and moved out of Lotor’s embrace to bend down and pet him.

“It’s getting late. We should find a safe place to put him.”

“Our bed should do nicely.”

“Allura-”

“Pleeeease…” Allura whined as she picked up the kitten. Lance joined in on the whining and Lotor’s shoulders sank in defeat.

“Alright…”

-----------

Lance settled on the small square of a folded up blanket he was placed on, Allura’s fingers still moving gently through his fur.

“We should give him a name. How about...Nova!” She beamed proudly at the idea for her and her boyfriend’s cats to have rhyming names. Lance cocked his head and grunted in disapproval.

“I don’t think he’s fond of it.” Lotor mused as tied his hair up for the night.

“Hm...Pike?”

“Let’s just wait until morning, darling…” Lotor slipped into the space beside her and kissed her temple, settling down with the smaller woman in his arms.

Lance blinked as his eyes adjusted, darkness overtaking the room as the bedside lamp was shut off. He huffed and ran his paw over his head where Allura had been scratching to smooth out his fur. He returned to his grooming as time slipped away for a while, his mind wandering to the possibility of actually staying with this woman. As nice as it would be to have someone's attention the idea was a touch...constricting. He wouldn’t be able to use his other form at all, at least not for anything meaningful. Other than that it would be the same form in the same place with the same, already taken, roommate.

He was pulled from his thoughts by a rattling of the bedroom door handle, a hoarse meow coming from the other side. Lance sat still, tense and unsure of his safety, especially when the handle flicked down just enough for the door to fall open. A large thin cat with dark, mangy fur crept into the room, meowing again as it approached the bed.

It spotted Lance and began to walk more slowly, letting out a warning hiss. Lance’s fur puffed up with fear. He moved back to put some distance between himself and the other cat but the cat continued to watch him, tail flicking back and forth. Lance scrambled away as the other cat crouched down to pounce.

It jumped onto the bed just as Lance clumsily fell off. He pulled his feet out from his own tangled mess of fluff and righted himself just as the cat hissed again. He sprinted for the door, praying that having the bed to itself would be enough to satisfy it. Unfortunately for Lance, cats don’t tend to be associated with good luck.

The cat took a flying leap off the bed and right after Lance. Lance lost his footing as he tried to get down to the ground floor, his front paws slipping off the edge of the wood steps. He crashed onto the floor, the slick wood making it difficult to get back onto his feet. The other cat sprang from the steps, ready to pounce!

While Lance’s mind fogged over with fear his instincts took over and he changed to his human form. The cat scrambled back at the sudden transformation, it’s back still hunched but it was no longer making an effort to attack. Lance gave the cat a smug smirk as he got to his feet.

“Now don’t mind me. I’ll just be going now…” he took slow wide strides around the cat to get past it. The cat remained docile as Lance stepped past only to reach up and latch its claws into Lance’s tail just as he was getting out of its range.

Lotor cracked an eye open as he heard a pained cry from downstairs. Fear rang in his chest as he saw the open door and no trace of either cat in the room. He slipped out of Allura’s arms and crept out of the room, dreading the worst for the small kitten.

“Owowowow! Why?!” Lance whined, clutching his tail while the cat simply sat back down where it was. Lance gave the cat one last glare before turning on his heel and making his way to the kitchen. “Well fine, since you’re gonna be like that, I’ll just take your food! And you know what? I don’t even need that much…” Lance’s smug look jumped to a frightened one as he heard someone else descending the stairs.

Lotor narrowed his eyes at Kova as he came across him. No blood...yet. He raised an eyebrow as he saw the dim light of the refrigerator, doing his best to step quietly while an unknown figure rustled through his fridge. “Hey!”

Lance flinched as he was piling any food that looked good into his arms, a box of leftovers falling onto the floor. Lance threw the fridge door shut, the lack of light not even making Lotor slow down as he launched after the intruder. Lance’s feet slapped loudly against the floor as Lotor chased after him, just barely keeping enough distance so the man didn't snag his tail. The lack of lights on in the house made it difficult to see who had just raided his kitchen but Lotor was determined to catch the thief despite the horrific realization that the only thing he could discern about the intruder is that this was a fully naked man.

Lance nearly smashed into the front door as he struggled to adjust the pile of food in his arms to open it. Just as he was opening the door, Lance yelped and ducked out of the way of Lotor, who had taken a swing at him. The door fell lazily open as a small breeze of cool night air pushed it open further. Lance barreled past Lotor and ran out into the night, leaving the man disoriented and livid that he got away.

Lance made it a few blocks before he settled down between a pair of trees at a local park. Looking over the plastic containers, bags, and jars he grabbed. He tore into one of the bags greedily and purred at the crunchy treats inside. He had a king's ransom of human food and before Lotor caught him no one had any idea. Well, if he couldn’t hunt animals...maybe something like this could work.

-----------

“Oh my gosh! Look at the kitty!”

“I suppose it is traditionally cute.”

Lance beamed and mewed with delight up at the two girls. He trotted to their feet and nuzzled the darker skinned girls open toes peeking out of her sandals. “That’s it! Ina, we’re taking him home!” The girl picked up Lance and held him up with a prideful grin. “We’ll call him Cerberus!”

“Cerberus was a dog but, alright.” Ina shrugged, her neutral expression hardly faltering. Lance purred and relaxed in the loud girl’s hold. No one would suspect him when the girls woke up the next morning with no cat in their apartment and no food in their fridge.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

A startled yell woke Lance from his sleep, shit what time was it?! He wasn't supposed to fall asleep! He yelped back in surprise, the first thing he saw being a large man with black hair staring in shock directly at him. Lance scrambled back until suddenly there wasn’t any soft bedding underneath his hands. He fell backward and before he knew exactly where he was, his head smacked the wood floor with a loud bang. The sound echoed in the room as Lance whined pitifully and tried to feel around for a bleeding slit down the center of his skull. Thankfully he didn't feel blood as the man on the bed crawled to the edge to check on him. Right...that guy was his latest unknowing donator to his personal food drive.

Shiro awkwardly placed the crumbled blanket over the part of the man's nude torso that was still partly hanging off the bed and waited for him to stop weakly crying in pain to speak.

“Are...you alright..?” a stupid question to ask at the moment, but a necessary one considering that it was hard to tell if there had been a cracking noise along with that initial bang. Lance sat up and stared at the human above. As attractive as he was he had just gotten caught on one of his raids. In his human form no less!

“Uh…” Lance scrambled to his feet and turned to run, the rush of blood pooling in his head making him dizzy. As he tried to make his way to the bedroom door he slipped on a discarded shirt and crashed back onto the floor face first. Shiro winced slightly at the impact as Lance remained on the floor. “I think I’m dying…” he whined, ears drooping against his hair.

Seeing a lack of blood splatters on the floor, Shiro contained his natural instinct to give this stranger sympathy. There was a larger issue after all.

“What were you doing in my bed?” he voice was stern and cut through the air like a sharp blade. Lance wasn't entirely sure if it was frightening or arousing.

“Hey, you’re the one that let me in remember?” Lance casually scratched at one of his ears as he sat up, drawing Shiro’s eyes to them. His stern look dropped to one of confusion and disbelief.

“No… no no no there is no way this is possible.” Lance smirked slightly and meowed as confirmation.

Shiro slowly rose from the bed, taking gradual steps towards the nude creature sprawled out on his floor. He tugged one of the violet sheets off the bed and draped it over him to cover his shame again, the cat seeming unfazed by his state undress.

“So you’re the kitten from last night. I wish I could say I’ve seen weirder…” Shiro squatted in front of Lance as he sat up, keeping his movements slow to keep from falling over yet again. As he got a closer look at the human’s handsome face his calm and collected facade started to break.

“Y-yup! That's me! But, I’m sure you have a lot of human things to get to, so I’m just gonna go.” Lance’s voiced nervously raised in pitch with every word and moved to get to his feet. “So yeah maybe just forget all this happened and I'll be on my-!” Shiro gently grabbed his arm and lowered him back down to his knees, using his other hand to more thoroughly cover him with the sheet.

“Hold on a second. You took two really hard falls. Let me see if you’re hurt.” Lance bit back a nervous whine as Shiro’s large hands encompassed his head, checking under every strand of hair for blood or bumps. Lance winced when he fingers ghosted a sore spot on the back of his head and the man pulled back immediately.

“I’ll get an ice pack…” he got to his feet and padded out into the hallway. Lance sat dumbfounded by the human's behavior as he took a moment to glance around the small room.

The furniture and decoration were minimalistic. Nothing on the walls and standard black wooden furniture. The only thing unkempt was the bed and the few clothes that Shiro had thrown in the direction of the hamper and missed. The only thing he could have slipped on yet he did. Idiot…

Shiro returned with a blue object wrapped in a black hand towel. Lance let out a startled yelp when he felt the ice pack touch his head, the sudden sting of cold pulling him from his thoughts. Goosebumps raced up his body as his tail tensed and he turned around to glare at Shiro.

“What the heck man! That’s cold!”

“It’ll help with the swelling, hold still.” Shiro placed the ice pack against his head again despite Lance whining in protest. Lance took the ice pack from him after another minute and continued to hold it. Despite the initial chill, it did make his head feel better.

Shiro got up and opened the drawers of his dresser, pulling out a t-shirt and tossing it to the cat boy on the floor.

“Here, it’s pretty big but it’s comfy.” He turned back around and dug to the depths of the next drawer for a pair of shorts that wouldn’t drop from the cat’s skinny hips. Lance cocked his head at the shirt, needing to glance at Shiro and line up the shirt accordingly before trying to squirm into it. He tugged it over his head and blindly jabbed his arm around the side of the shirt in an attempt to find the sleeve. He mewed in annoyance before finally squirming his arms out of the shirt sleeve

Shiro bit back a giggle before offering the shorts as well. He quickly turned away after Lance took the shorts as he dropped the sheets from his body and pulled them on, once again using Shiro as an example of how to wear these things correctly. The feeling of fabric weighing down his body was not something he was accustomed to but the clothes were comfortable. The shorts hung low in order to make room for his tail but even then they were hardly visible under the oversized shirt. Shiro let out a sigh in relief that the cat man was no longer naked.

“Are you hungry? I can make you some breakfast.” Shiro said to fill the awkward silence settling in the room. Lance’s ears perked up at the idea of food. Shiro smiled at that. “Can I take that as a ‘yes’?”

Lance followed Shiro out into the kitchen and living room area, looking around at things he had been unable to see the previous night. His tail swayed slowly as he looked over a bookshelf against the wall, adorned with small knick-knacks and picture frames. There were two photos displayed on the shelf. One was of Shiro with another human with bright orange hair. He seemed familiar but he couldn’t exactly place where. Had he mooched off of this human as well?

The other photo was very picturesque. A long dark cat, stepping gracefully across a thin metal bar, it faced a vibrant sunset that peeked through gaps in the tall city buildings. The dark abyss of its wild fur caught no light and its face wasn’t visible in the photo. Why did this one feel familiar as well? He shrugged to himself, he was probably just getting homesick again.

“Hey” he jumped as Shiro brushed his hand against his shoulder. “Are you okay? You spaced out for a minute there…” Lance tore his eyes from the photos and looked back to Shiro.

“Sorry...who are they?” he cocked his head curiously.

“Oh, well that’s my friend Matt. That picture is from one of our office parties last year.” his finger gestured to the orange human before moving to the other photo.  “This one I took a few weeks ago. Do you know this little guy or something?” Shiro laughed at the thought.

“Mmh...I don’t think so,” Lance answered sincerely “It’s a beautiful image though…”

Shiro smiled, “Thanks, I thought so too. I needed something to put in that frame and it seemed like the perfect choice. He’s kind of a natural model.”

Lance hummed in agreement. “Who is he?”

“A stray...I found him on my balcony one night and offered him food. He’s been coming back ever since. He’s even memorized my schedule so he shows up when I’m actually home. Speaking of food though, let me get you something.” Shiro turned back towards the kitchen, opening up the cupboards to weigh his options on what to eat. “Do you want some of that tuna again? You seemed to like it.”

“It’s good but...not really filling in this form.” Lance wandered back to his side; it felt strange having someone cook for him when they knew he was more than just an innocent ball of fluff.

“Right...in that case I’ll make some pancakes.”

Lance cocked his head in curiosity and took a seat at the table while Shiro got to work. His tail swished between the chair legs in curiosity, letting out a small “mrr?” when Shiro pulled out a carton of milk.

Shiro glanced back at him at the noise and smiled. “Do you want to help? You can stir the batter.” Lance got back to his feet and watched curiously, ears twitching as Shiro filled the bowl with flour, eggs, and sugar. Shiro set the whisk in Lance’s hand and stepped aside so he could approach the counter. “Just stir it until it’s all mixed.”

Lance’s tail swished behind him as he made a few awkward stirs along the edge of the bowl. “Like this?”

Shiro smiled warmly. “You can go a little faster than that.” Lance nodded and gradually increased his speed.

Shiro turned to another section of countertop, a box of plump strawberries next to the cutting board. “So, do you have a name?” he asked.

“It’s Lance...you?”

“Takashi but...most people call me Shiro.”

“Shiro…” Lance hummed to himself. A peaceful silence settled over the kitchen as Shiro began chopping the fruit. The sound of the knife striking the cutting board and the whisk scraping the sides of the glass bowl merged into a steady rhythm that Shiro let himself relish in.

“Myah!” Lance yelped and stepped back from the bowl.

“Are you okay?” Shiro set the knife down and turned to him. Lance met his eyes, his entire face sprayed with flour. He let out an ashamed whine and dropped his ears, assuming he did something wrong. Shiro chuckled and grabbed a rag, briefly spraying it with water. “Yeah, that happens sometimes…”

He offered the rag to him only for Lance to lick his own hand and rub it across his face. He continued until he felt all the powder had been removed and returned to the bowl. He tensed and squeaked when the cold rag touched his jaw and briefly rubbed across his face. “You missed a spot,” Shiro smirked at him.

Lance’s cheeks flushed as he rubbed at the wet spot from the rag. “That was was cold, you jerk.”

Shiro chuckled and went back to the cutting board. “Sorry, but your own tongue isn’t as accurate as you think.”

“It works just fine, thank you!” Lance puffed his chest as he went back to stirring the batter. Shiro set the cut fruit into a small dish and placed it on the table when he went through about half the box.

“How’s it coming over there?”

“Dunno, what do you think?” Lance stepped back to show him the mixed batter. Shiro took a few stirs to check it before smiling at Lance.

“Looks great. I’ll have them ready in no time.” Lance cocked his head and watched Shiro pour the batter into the preheated pan on the stove. He jumped at the sizzling noise but continued to peer over Shiro’s shoulders as the batter cooked, staring in awe when Shiro flipped it to reveal the golden brown underside. Shiro set the fresh pancake on a nearby plate and promptly started another one.

Lance sniffed the gradually growing stack, purring at the warm steam that floated off them. Shiro shooed him away from the plate as he went to pick it up. He set it at the center of the table, along with the strawberries, a bottle of syrup, and two glasses of milk. “Alright, dig in.” Shiro smiled and scooped the first few off the stack and onto his own plate.

Lance copied his motions, making his own plate look nearly identical to Shiros. He fumbled with the silverware in his hands, His slim fingers nearly dropping them on the floor as he oriented them the way Shiro was holding his. He’d never eaten using something other than his hands and mouth. His motions remained stiff and hesitant as his eyes constantly shifted between Shiro and his own plate. He managed to get the fluffy slice of pancake to his mouth without dropping it and internally sighed in relief as he savored the new taste.

He hummed in delight at the sweet flavor before looking back to Shiro as he picked up his glass. “Is it good?” Shiro asked with a warm smile.

Lance nodded as he continued to chew and reached out to copy Shiro’s motions again, lifting the glass to his lips. Shiro had to force himself not to laugh as Lance tipped the glass, sticking his tongue out to lap up the milk inside. Shiro set the glass down before he choked at the sight, nearly laughing as Lance whined in annoyance, his cheeks squished against the rim of the glass.

“Maybe a straw would be easier for you.” Shiro covered his mouth, not wanting to be rude to the genuinely struggling cat man. Lance’s ears dropped in frustration as he set the glass back down.

As Shiro got up to get the straw he noticed a small silhouette behind the balcony door curtain. He smiled and opened up one of the cupboards, grabbing a can of tuna. “Sorry, I’ll be right back Lance. I have to take care of this.”

Lance quirked his ear curiously as Shiro opened the sliding glass door and slipped under the thin curtains to the outside world. He felt a chill as he stepped into the cool, damp, morning air, rolling the door back until it was almost shut. He looked down at the eager pair of orange eyes staring up at him and chuckled as he sat down, keeping his movements slow as the thin black cat sat patiently in front of him.

“Morning buddy…” He offered his free hand to the cat and it nuzzled his digits after a moment of hesitant sniffing. Shiro twitched his fingers and scratched at the thick mop of fluffy fur on the cat’s head and neck. He pulled the tab from the can, and with it the entire lid, before placing it in front of the cat.

Lance got up from his seat and peered out through the curtain. A twinge of jealousy stirred in him as Shiro gave the cat small, quick pets to its back as it ate. Actually, that cat looked familiar…

The black cat looked up from its food, fiery eyes meeting Lance’s curious blue ones. No, it couldn’t be…

The cat huffed and returned to its food and Lance couldn’t have mistaken who it was if he tried.

KEITH.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Shiro’s heart pulsed in his ears as his eyes settled on the dark ceiling light hanging above him. His skin was clammy with sweat under his unkempt sheets, legs tangled in the fabric from his distressed tossing not moments ago. Shallow pants escaped his lips as he tried to calm down, hand settling over his chest. As if that would deter the unknown threat his mind was so fearful of. He let out an exhausted sigh and sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. His eyes fell to the dim red light of his alarm clock. 2:35 am. Dammit.

Shiro hung his head in his hand and dragged himself to his feet. The air in the room felt too thin and uncomfortably warm for him to stay inside. His arms braced the walls of the narrow hallway as he padded out of the room. The dark, lifeless, living room was nothing more than an abstract image as he made his way to the balcony door. The moonlight shining through it beckoned him as if the stream of silvery light was a pathway hanging above an endless abyss. The only way he could go.

The sliding glass door and screen made hardly a sound as he took in a deep breath. The brisk night air refreshed his lungs as he stepped out onto the small wooden balcony, shutting the screen door behind him. He tucked his arms into his chest as he leaned on the thin metal railing, a faint breeze tousling his hair as he tried to clear his head. The sound of his breaths mingled with the crickets in the grass below him and the tight feeling in his chest gradually dispersed.

A creak on the wood panels grabbed his attention as his eyes fell to the other side of the balcony. A thin black cat squirmed its way between the railing bars. Its motions were slow and graceful as it sat down and licked at its front paw. Shiro held his breath and simply watched the stray as it cleaned itself. He didn't make a single movement for fear that the floor or railing would creak and startle it.

The cat moved on to clean its back leg, stretching out so the rough tongue would catch every speck of dirt. It opened its eyes for a brief moment, pupil trailing across the wood panels. When its eye caught Shiro’s large feet, it jerked up into a straight sitting position, wide fiery eyes trained on Shiro’s figure. Shiro smiled in return and slowly crouched down. His joints cracked softly as he lowered himself to one knee and outstretched his hand. His movements were extremely slow and the cat watched every one of them, its body tense and unmoving.

“It's okay little guy…” Shiro whispered, twitching his fingers in order to try and entice it. After a quiet second, the cat jumped onto the balcony railing and launched out into the night. The loud bang of the cat landing on the lid of the dumpster below caused Shiro to check if it was okay. He just barely saw a black blur run across the lifeless parking lot and into the darkness. Shiro let out a disheartened sigh and stood back up. The goosebumps that trailed his bare arms made the thought of his bed enticing enough that he may be able to sleep again. He turned on his heel and stepped back inside.

Two days later Shiro was wide awake by the time sunlight peeked over the horizon. The scent of coffee filling the small kitchen as he shuffled around the apartment. A small shadow reflected on the sunlit curtain as he packed his work bag and he stopped. He angled himself to peer between the curtains and saw the same black cat from the other night, settling itself down onto the balcony.

Shiro’s footsteps were silent as he crept back to the kitchen and fished a small can of tuna from the cupboard. He popped the tab open and threw the lid in the trash, lowering himself to his knees as he approached the door. He slid the door open at a snail's pace, just wide enough for him to shimmy his hand through to the outside world. The cat craned its head to watch him as he stretched his forearm out the doorway and softly placed the can on the floor.

“There you go...you must be hungry…” The cat narrowed its eyes at the can before leaping off the balcony again. Shiro couldn’t help but feel a bit crestfallen as he shut the door, leaving the can behind in case he came back.

By the time Shiro returned home from work, the can was completely empty, with not a single scrap of food left inside.

Another three days passed until the cat returned again. Shiro went through the same actions, feeling ridiculous as the cat watched him squirm his arm out the screen door with a judging glint in its eyes. Shiro kept his movements slow as he pulled back and shut the door, staying crouched on the ground to watch what the cat would do next.

The cat crept forward with hesitant steps and sniffed the edge of the can. It crouched down and began to eat, although occasionally side eying Shiro, as if suspicious. Shiro smiled back at the cat, trying to make himself appear as non-threatening as possible. The cat licked the can clean and looked back up at Shiro. It gave a barely audible mew before leaving yet again. Shiro smiled warmly as he collected the can from the balcony. Did that little guy thank him?

-----------

Shiro sighed as he shuffled up the apartment stairs, plastic grocery bags weighing down his arms as he awkwardly shuffled his things around to find his apartment key.

“Mrow!” Shiro looked up and smiled at the pair of paws pressed against the screen door.

“You sensed that I bought more, didn’t you.” he chuckled softly and set the bags down on the coffee table, grabbing a new can of tuna from one of the bags. He popped the lid off and set it out on the balcony for the eager cat, stepping over him to sit outside with him.

He sighed and checked his phone while the cat ate. He stared blankly at the string of messages so long that the notification didn’t preview them and simply told him the number of unread messages from that particular number. He was secretly grateful for that as he swept the notification to the side and turned off his phone again. He was too tired to face everything just yet.

He looked back to the cat as it licked its lips and dismissed the now empty can. Shiro held his hand out again to see just how much trust he had earned. The cat crept towards him with slow, hesitant steps. Shiro nearly flinched as he felt its nose faintly tap his fingers as the cat sniffed them. Shiro slowly turned his hand to reach out and pets its head. Just as his fingers brushed the soft, silky fur, the cat backed away. It leapt onto the balcony railing and looked out towards the dipping sun as he decided where to jump off. Shiro held up his phone again and managed to snap a candid photo among several others that were nothing more than a black blur as the cat left.

-----------

“Takashi...look I wanted to do this in person but since you didn’t pick up I’m kind of forced to say it here. You’ve been pouring a lot of time into your work lately. I understand why but, it’s gotten to a point where that’s all you do. You’ve always

said

how important I am to you but you really haven’t shown it. I can’t keep sitting here and waiting for you to remember I exist. I’ve been giving you a choice for weeks and this is what you decided on. What I’m trying to say is...don’t text me anymore, hell don’t even call back when you hear this. We’re done. Have a nice life, Shiro.” The coldness in his voice still haunted him. With the amount of malice Adam had laced every word with, he shouldn’t have expected to be able to sleep.

Shiro sauntered to the balcony, his body swaying with fatigue to the point where if he leaned anymore to one side he’d fall right over the side of the railing. For a brief moment that didn’t sound like a bad thing.

He sunk to the floor, forehead resting on his knees as hot tears burned his cheeks. His hands kept a tight grip on his hair and his throat felt constricted, unable to push anything in or out. His senses all went numb, aside from the hollow feeling of loss in his chest. He had so many regrets, so many things he wanted to apologize for. But Adam thought of that, and he wanted none of it. Even if Shiro could formulate his thoughts and apologize he was already blocked, cut off from the same person who had brightened his life for so long.

He choked out a sob into the fabric of his sweatpants, forcing himself to make as little noise as possible as if it would help shove back the tidal wave of emotions flooding into every crack of his broken body.  “Merw…”

Shiro looked up, eyesight blurred from the tears still hanging in his eyes. Despite the impairment, the moonlight caught those familiar fiery eyes as the same black cat joined him on the balcony. Shiro sniffled and rubbed the tears onto his forearm, despite the fact that more came to fill the gap in seconds. “Sorry little guy...I didn’t bring any food out with me…”

He rested his head on his knees again, exhaustion still weighing him down. Shiro tensed when he felt the soft fur grace his fist as it clutched the fabric of his pants.  He looked back to the cat as it very gently headbutted his knuckles before meeting his eyes as if looking for a reaction.

Shiro’s quivering lips failed to hold back a smile as he relaxed his fingers and very slowly reached out to pet him. This time the cat allowed it, albeit with tense body language as Shiro’s fingers trailed down its spine. After a few more strokes, the cat began arching its body into his hand, a low rumble audible in its throat.

The oppressive fog in Shiro’s head cleared as the cat purred and almost eagerly accepted the pets, not making a single motion to pull away. Eventually, Shiro sat up and set his hand down on the wood planks beneath him. “I’m so stupid...It’s not like I couldn’t have seen this coming…” Shiro sighed and leaned against the side of the building. The cat sat patiently for a few more minutes before Shiro finally moved to stand up.

“Thank you...that helped a lot… Don’t go yet, I haven’t forgotten why you’re here.” Shiro took a single wide step over the cat and back inside. He left the door wide open in the event the cat wanted to come inside. When Shiro returned from the kitchen the cat was still waiting outside, having not appeared to make any attempt to investigate the inside of the apartment. Shiro set the can down beside him and waited for him to finish as per their unspoken agreement. As the can was licked clean Shiro made another attempt to pet him and the cat allowed it, despite its fur puffing up in surprise. After Shiro pulled away, the cat promptly left but not without turning back and giving another soft meow. Shiro took it to mean a reassuring gesture, a reminder that everything would be okay.

-----------

Lance hissed  quietly as he looked out at the balcony. Shiro was still petting the other cat as it finished indulging in its can of tuna. He stalked towards the other cat, tail twitching in irritation. He crouched down and dug his claws into the carpet, eyes trained on his unsuspecting rival currently stealing all of Shiro’s attention.

After another moment he pounced, switching to his feline form midair as he launched out of the collar of his borrowed shirt. Unfortunately, he only saw the screen door after he jumped.

Shiro snapped his attention behind him when Lance hit the screen with a loud bang. He bounced back from the screen and fell back inside the shirt, squirming around violently as he tried to orient himself. Shiro opened the screen and pulled open the shirt collar, pulling back when Lance transformed again, his head through the collar but his arms not in the sleeves. His ears were pulled back and his tail was swiping around wildly.

“Lance, are you okay? What happened?”

“What happened?! That guy stole all my kills, that’s what happened!”

“Wh-you know this cat?” Shiro raised an eyebrow and looked back to the black cat still on the porch. He was starting to tense up.

“Cat nothing! He’s a beast person like me. Quit the act Keith, I know it’s you!”

“Keith..?” The cat backed away as Shiro slowly reached for him before suddenly sprinting off the balcony.

“Yeah, you better run!” Lance stood up and watched him leave. After shaking his fist for a good minute, he huffed in annoyance and leaned on the balcony railing. “That jerk...he had food all along. Why’d he have to take mine?”

“Lance…” Lance glanced down at Shiro, still sitting on the floor of the balcony, and quirked an eyebrow at how red his face was. “Can you please put your shorts back on?”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Shiro watched in amusement as the gears turned in Lance’s head, his tongue stuck out in concentration as he pressed every button on the tv remote to see what it would do. Lance had seen these devices before but had never really gotten the chance to investigate them. He played with the volume and channel settings before accidentally hitting the power button. His ears drooped as the screen went dark and let out a confused whine. “Shiro, I think I broke it…”

Shiro couldn’t help but laugh and reach over to press the button again. Lance’s eyes lit up in amazement when the screen came back to life and he continued to play with the remote. “Lance, I never got around to asking you but..” Lance hummed and turned his attention to Shiro. “What were you doing out there, in that alley?”

“Well uh…” Lance bit his lip, he couldn’t just tell Shiro he was going use him for food. He nervously fiddled with the remote as he tried to think of an excuse.

Shiro watched his darting eyes and twitching fingers before sighing and gently placing a hand on his shoulder, taking his silence as a suitable answer. “I’m sorry...you don’t have to tell me if it’s too personal.” Lance nodded quietly and let the weight temporarily fall from his shoulders.

Shiro sighed, trying not to worry over what Lance had gone through. He moved his hand a bit lower on his arm and pulled him into a half hug. A soft rumbling purr came from Lance's throat as he pressed against Shiro’s warm body. Shiro had learned quickly that Lance was very affectionate. He was more than happy to offer a hug or two for the poor thing. Shiro’s lips pressed into a tight line as he weighed his options. Lance was an animal but he couldn’t turn him over to a shelter, and he was definitely not human enough to be put in the care of someone else. Shiro was the only one that knew about him which in turn made him responsible for his well being. “Lance…” he felt Lance’s soft ears brush against his chin as they perked up.

“Yeah?”

“Lance, look at me.” Lance reluctantly pulled away from the embrace and looked him in the eyes. His slightly slit pupils meeting Shiro’s dull eyes. “Clearly you don’t have anywhere else to go so…” Shiro took a moment to breathe. “Would you like to stay here? With me?”

Lance’s heart jumped into his throat as he briefly lost his ability to speak. Shiro raised an eyebrow when he didn’t respond and a small mew came from his throat. Shiro bit back a laugh as Lance finally figured out how to use his mouth correctly. “I-I...you’d really let me stay??” Shiro only offered him a warm smile and a nod. Lance beamed back, a faint blush on his cheeks as he lunged at Shiro and nuzzled his head under the man’s chin. “Thank you, Shiro!”

Shiro chuckled lightly and pat his back, eliciting more purrs from his throat. “It’s no problem. It would be nice to have a roommate.” Lance settled into contentment in Shiro’s lap, the warmth lulling him into a gentle nap.

-----------

When Lance woke up he was weighed down with soft blankets, the sounds of Shiro’s feet padding around the room making his ears twitch. He opened his eyes and let a small mewl escaped his throat as he yawned. The noise drew Shiro’s attention as he fussed with the buttons of his shirt. “Sorry, did I wake you up?”

Lance gave a dismissive shake of his head and rolled over to get comfortable. “What are you doing..?” he mumbled, grogginess still in his voice.

“Oh, I have to go to work soon.”

“This early??” Lance whined. Shiro had told him before that he would have to leave the apartment most days but he didn’t understand much about Shiro’s job outside of that.

Shiro chuckled softly and pet the small head poking out from under the comforter. “Yes, this early...every day…” Shiro sighed and grabbed his work bag. “I’ll leave you some breakfast when you’re ready to get up. Stay out of trouble, okay?” Lance hummed in response and buried his face deeper in the pillow.

Shiro smiled softly and gently shut the bedroom door as he left. Lance’s sensitive ears listened to Shiro make his coffee and shuffle around until the main apartment door shut and he was now left to his own devices. Another hour passed before Lance finally pulled himself from the bed. He opened the door and arched his back as he stretched before padding into the kitchen.

He was greeted with a dry bowl of cereal and a note that pointed to the fridge where Shiro had placed a glass of milk in the fridge. He crouched in front of the bowl and sniffed the flakes of grains before dipping fully into the bowl to eat, the spoon beside it completely discarded. The dry flakes were harsh going down his throat but the sugary taste was borderline addicting. The bowl was licked clean within minutes before he drew his attention to the nearby fridge. The glass of milk was right on the bottom shelf, the glass wide enough to let him drink straight from it without attempting the human way of doing it. Lance smiled at the gesture and changed to his cat form to climb in and take a drink. He took a few laps before leaving the fridge, too uncomfortable with the cold to take time to finish it at the moment.

“Mrrw?”

Lance's fur puffed at the noise. It came from the balcony. He padded to the balcony curtain and peeked out. Just as he suspected, Keith was right there, his front paws tucked under his chest as he sat and watched out over the parking lot. Lance hissed under his breath and stalked up to the window, eyes tracing his frame with a jealous glare.

He stalked past the balcony door and swatted at it in an attempt to startle the other cat before he jumped onto the couch. As his paw reached for the remote a loud bang made his fur stand up. Running purely on instinct, he leapt off the couch and sprinted two circles around the kitchen table to get away from whatever made that noise. He looked back to the balcony and saw Keith’s paw still resting on the screen door, a smug look on his face.

Lance hissed again, puffing his fur in a futile attempt to somehow look big enough that he could take on the much larger cat. Keith rolled his eyes and turned back to ignore him. Lance stayed tense and puffed up as he moved back to the couch, occasionally shifting his eyes back to Keith’s until the cat stood up and leapt off the balcony.

Lance puffed his chest with pride and pressed the power button the remote to watch television. The screen kept the small cat completely entranced as he channel surfed. At first, he was intrigued, but it didn’t take long for daytime tv to be too boring for his attention span, or too confusing to bother trying to retain it. He sunk into a dazed trance, unwilling to move but also being incredibly bored. He wasn’t even entirely sure he had been blinking until the sound of the door unlocking drew his attention.

By now his small body had sunk in between the couch cushion, leaving only his perked ears as Shiro slipped inside and kicked his shoes off by the door. “Lance? I’m back.” Shiro jumped slightly when Lance lept from the couch with an eager mew. He circled Shiro’s feet, nuzzling and falling over against his legs. Shiro chuckled and crouched down. “You missed me, huh?”

“mmh...so booored!”

Shiro pet his small head with a sigh. “Yeah, there’s not a lot to do here. But, I think I might have a way to fix it.” It was then that Lance noticed the heavy plastic bags hanging from Shiro’s strong arms. Shiro let the bags fall from his arms once Lance as out of the way and begins to unpack one while the kitten squirmed into another.

Lance batted at the edge of the bag as he crawled inside. He was quickly greeted by an odd little creature. It was a small blue lump, only about twice the length of the kitten’s small paw. It had two tiny black beads stitched to it’s front and several long pieces of thick thread sticking out of it, four in the front and a very long piece in the back. It was a strange being that Lance had never seen but every instinct he had told him to fight it.

Shiro looked up at the loud rustling sounds as Lance leapt into the bag and started batting at something. He chuckled and gently moved to pick him up, the cat revealing the simplistic, blue mouse toy now trapped in his jaws. “Like the new toy, huh?”

“Tmhy?” Lance let out a whine as the toy dropped from his mouth from him attempting to talk.

Shiro chuckled and set him down, picking up the mouse toy with his other hand. “Yeah, a toy. I thought you could have some fun with these while I’m gone.” Shiro tossed the toy a small distance away as Lance stared it down. The kitten leapt off and pounced on the toy, rolling across the floor and sinking his little teeth into the fake prey. Shiro chuckled and began unwrapping more toys. Little plush animals, balls with bells rattling around inside, and tiny, fluffy pom poms all being piled into a small basket and neatly placed by the tv.

Shiro smiled as he lost himself watching Lance playing around on the floor, finally getting up to make dinner. As he looked over what he had, he turned to peek out the balcony window for any evidence of Keith. He frowned in dismay at the tuna can, half eaten at best.

-----------

The next few days Shiro was home a bit earlier, much to Lance’s delight. He happily trotted around Shiro’s feet, a toy jingling around in his mouth as Shiro peered out the balcony curtains, frowning softly when he saw a distinct lack of a small furry beggar outside. The can he left out yesterday wasn’t even touched and was beginning to gather flies. Where was he? “Lance, did Keith come by before I came back?”

“Keef?” Lance spit out the plastic ball he’d been kicking and gnawing at. “I haven’t seen him since the first day you left for work.”

“Something isn’t right, he’s shown up almost every night for the last few months. But this is five days in a row I haven’t seen him.” Shiro sighed and went to put a fresh can outside just in case.

“Rude, he probably just thinks he’s too cool for this place or something,” Lance complained as he batted at the ball again.

“I don’t know what kind of history you two have but I’m worried about him. Maybe you just need to give him another chance…” Shiro’s voice was heavy with distress. Lance kept himself from making another comment. Shiro was clearly upset and he was upset that Shiro was upset, even if it was over Keith. Shiro took a seat on the couch to relax, Lance joining him and nuzzling his hand. He scooped the kitten into his large hands and set him on his chest, taking advantage of the proven therapy that was stroking the soft fuzz of his tiny head.

“Lance, did you want to come run an errand with me before dinner?”

“An errand? Like, outside?” Shiro nodded as Lance perked his ears, beaming before abruptly transforming in Shiro’s lap. “Why didn’t you ask sooner!? Let’s go, let’s go!”

Shiro forced his eyes to not trail downward and smiled at his excitement. “Well, let me up and I’ll get you some clothes to borrow…” Lance churred and moved off him, eagerly squirming while he waited for Shiro to return from the bedroom.

He reached up and snatched the pair of old jeans and oversized t-shirt when Shiro returned. He managed to squirm into the clothes himself this time, despite nearly falling over when it came to the jeans.

“Can you feed your tail into one of the pant legs?”

“Mmr?”

“It’s just...better if you hide your tail and ears,” Shiro muttered, grabbing a winter hat from his coat stand and placing it on his head, shielding the ears from sight. Lance shrugged and fed his tail into his right pant leg before pulling the jeans up the rest of the way. Shiro smiled softly and led him out after making sure his odd features were hidden.

Lance’s ears stayed up in attention under the hat. The change in scenery that was the simple hallway of the apartment building separating the individual flats. Shiro gently tugged him forward and led him out to the parking lot where his car still sat in his designated spot. Lance took in a deep breath as he took in the evening air. The crisp breeze was refreshing on his face, he hadn’t realized it had been quite a few days since he really spent time outside. The look of wonder on his face came to a screeching halt when he realized Shiro as tugging him towards the car.

“Something wrong Lance?”

“Mhh, I don’t like these things.” Lance walked in small tense steps around the front of the car, clearly ready to sprint at any moment.

“It won’t bite, Lance. Come on, it’s much faster than walking there.”

Lance let out an indignant whine but crawled into the passenger seat when Shiro opened the door for him. He shifted uncomfortably in the seat, trying not to hurt his own tail, as Shiro took his spot in the driver's seat and reached over to pull a strap over Lance’s tight chest. “Just calm down, buddy…” Shiro reached up into the hat Lance wore and scratched at his ears, a bit of the tenseness leaking out of Lance as he started the car.

Lance gripped the seat the entire ride, letting out small distressed chirps but otherwise holding together just fine, He sighed in relief and slumped against the dashboard when the car finally shut off. He moved to get up but whined at the strap keeping him in place. “Shiro! Get it off!”

“Hold still…” Shiro unlocked the seatbelt before getting out. Lance managed to open the door on his own and stepped out with a cautious and curious look around. The streets were bustling with humans, most rushing to get home as the sun began to dip lower. Lance’s eyes followed every person that passed, content to just let Shiro drag him along while his attention was preoccupied. He steps were uncoordinated, nearly stepping on his own feet as Shiro pulled him up to a large building.

“We need to get you your own clothes, I don’t have a lot that fits you,” Shiro explained, he could already see the back of Lance’s borrowed jeans beginning to slip.

“My own clothes??” Lance cocked his head.

Shiro nodded, “People buy their clothes at stores like this. If you’re going to stay with me, you should have your own things.” Lance hummed in thought, he liked wearing Shiro’s clothes. He had such a nice scent and it rubbed off so easily onto his clothing. On the other hand, the looseness was very uncomfortable at times.

“Hm! Okay, let’s go!” Lance bounced on his toes and took wide strides towards the store.

“Lance, wait you’re going t-” bang! Lance stepped back and whined, covering his nose that was now throbbing in pain. “Lance, it’s a glass door.” Shiro held back a snicker as he opened it and ushered him inside.

“That hurt…” Lance whined, “Why would you build a door then make it invisible so you can’t tell when it’s shut?”

Shiro sighed and pat his head, still biting back a laugh. “I don’t know, buddy. I really don’t”
 
-----------

“You doing alright in there Lance?” Shiro asked, leaning against the wall of the changing room as he surveyed the area for anything else Lance might like. Currently, their shopping cart was piled with approved and rejected clothing, mostly in whites and blues. There were a few pairs of jeans, clearance sneakers, and sleepwear that were thankfully reasonably priced.

“I’m fine! This is just...so cozy…” Lance hummed as he buried himself in the large sky blue hoodie. He purred and nuzzled into the soft fibers, looking at himself in the mirror. Yeah, this did look pretty cute.

“Well if you want it, toss it here. I think we have enough for now.”

Lance stripped the clothing off and stuck his arm out to give Shiro the hoodie. “Oh! This too.” Lance held out a pair of questionably short shorts after pulling them off. Shiro let out a shocked sputter as he took them. The word ‘juicy’ was written in big, bold, pink letters across the back of the shorts. He must’ve grabbed them from the women’s section. “You sure, Lance?”

“Yeah! Cool design on the back, right?” Shiro didn’t know whether to laugh or let himself keel over right then and there. He forgot that Lance couldn’t read, much less know the context for such words.

“Just...put your other clothes back on. I’ll go pay for these.” Shiro turned the cart towards the checkout counter, thankfully it was within eyesight of the changing room just in case Lance needed help. He ignored the questioning look from the cashier and fished around in his wallet for his card.

Lance looked himself over to make sure he had hidden everything he needed to. He hiked the jeans up a bit further and poked his head out of the changing room. He fully stepped out once he saw where Shiro was, his eyes trailing over to the storefront windows as he approached him. A particular person caught his eye as they strolled past the window. Long black hair tucked under a dirty red beanie, a plaid overshirt and ripped up black jeans. Lance narrowed his eyes, something was off about this guy.

He walked past Shiro and towards the windows, stopping once the man noticed him and stopped to look back. He appeared visibly uncomfortable before letting out a muted hiss. Then it clicked, Lance would know that look anywhere. Shiro had been worrying like hell and here he was like it was completely normal. Like he hadn’t been stressing Shiro out by being a completely inconsiderate asshole!

Lance ran to the front doors and threw them open with a loud bang. “Lance, Where are you going?” Shiro asked, not receiving a response from the cat as he took off down the sidewalk.

“Keith, you bastard!” At the yell, Keith looked back before immediately turning on his heel and bolting away, swerving past people to try and get a sizable distance between him and Lance.

“Lance, wait!” Shiro ran out of the store in hopes of catching him before he was hurt or caught. He bit his lip slightly in worry as he looked down the street. There was no sign of him at all.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Lance’s feet pounded across the pavement, keeping his eyes trained on Keith and only Keith. He only barely managed to not knock several people over as he weaved down the sidewalk, the buildings surrounding him becoming nothing but a blur. Keith did everything he could to lose the other cat but even with every corner he turned or every obstacle he tried to create, Lance’s scent was still near.

He took a hairpin turn into an alleyway before hearing something splash into a puddle behind him. His wallet had fallen out of his back pocket! He scrambled to grab it, too focused on snagging his belongings to notice Lance catch up to him. He pounced on Keith, throwing him to the floor before he could even reach it.  Both of them swatted at each other as they panted with exhaustion, Lance’s legs turning to jelly the moment he wasn’t using them. Keith growled and tried to push him away while Lance’s hands pinned his chest. “Do you...have ANY idea how much of a dick you’ve been the last few days?!”

“You hit the window first! Is that really a reason to chase me down?!” Keith snarled and continued trying to push him away.

“Why haven’t you visited Shiro?”

Keith’s arms slaked a bit at the question. “What?”

“You heard me, mullet!”

“Get off!” Keith yowled and managed to push Lance off with an extra rough shove.

“Answer the question!” Lance hissed as he flipped onto all fours, the tip of his tail flicking wildly.

“I don’t know. Maybe because you ratted me out to a human!” Keith growled and got to his feet, doing a brief check over his wallet to see if anything fell out.

“He already knew we existed. It’s not like telling him about you is that big of a deal.”

“Yes, it is! You don’t know what humans are capable of and since I feel like surviving another day, I can’t go back there.” Keith turned on his heel to leave, a low hiss tangled in his voice.

“Fine! Be that way, you stubborn jerk!” Lance huffed and turned to walk the opposite way. Unfortunately, one look at the unfamiliar buildings and a very distinct lack of Shiro created a glaring problem.

As Keith stormed down the alleyway with loud, angry footsteps, he began to ponder a possibility of heading out for a new city. The thought was short lived as he was pulled back into reality by a sudden yank on his arm. “Wait, Keith!” Lance whined, clinging to Keith’s forearm with his tail between his legs.

Keith let out an extremely annoyed huff. “What! What the fuck could you possibly want?”

Lance only returned a sheepish look. “I uh...I don’t know where I am…” It wasn’t clear what kind of noise Keith made in response, all of it coming out as an odd sputter of frustration.

“That isn’t my problem. At least try to go home before you come crying to me.” Lance glared but his retort was cut off with a high pitched shriek. Something had rattled the nearby dumpster and startled him, his grip on Keith’s arm only getting tighter. Keith groaned and rubbed his temples before turning to face Lance. “Fine, follow me and I’ll take you back to Shiro’s.” Lance staying quiet as he nodded was enough of a thank you.

Keith roughly pulled his arm away from Lance and continued to stomp down the alleyway. He knew his way back well enough from here so at least they weren’t both lost. Lance trembled a little as he stayed close to Keith. The landscape around only growing more disheveled and unkempt as they walked. As the sun was blotted out by the horizon, the world around them was completely silent. Not a single car or human passed them by as Lance's eyes adjusted to the dark. Most of the lamp posts barely flickered or didn't come on at all.

Eventually, Keith stopped in front of a long chain link fence. He bent back a loose corner and glanced around before his disappeared, transforming and letting his clothes fall to the dirty ground. “Pick those up and toss them over the fence,” Keith said as his slim body slipped under the barrier. Lance complied, chucking the pile of clothing over the barrier with a questioning look. Keith took the satchel in his jaw and started to push the clothing into it while he ushered for Lance to join him.

Lance transformed as well, squeaking and squirming as he slipped out of the clothes. His smaller size let him crawl under the fence without incident. Keith approached to help pull his clothes through but a rumbling sound nearby made Keith freeze. “Leave them”

Lance whined. “What?”

Keith huffed and pulled him away. “Someone’s coming. We need to go.” Keith dragged the satchel behind him and trotted off towards the structure behind him. It was a building, or at least it probably used to be one. Most of its bricks had crumbled into a pile at the base of the black, charred structure. What remained was dusty, weathered, and unstable.

Keith leapt onto the pile of rubble, making another graceful jump to the exposed third floor of the condemned and burned building. Lance followed his path, slipping in a few places on the precarious bricks and just barely making the jump. He dug his claws into the rotting wood and hauled himself up before looking around. “What is this place?” Lance shook the dirt from his fur and followed him inside. The dusty floor was littered with paw prints and footprints. It was clear Keith came here often.

“I live here. If I have to take you back to Shiro, I get to eat and take a nap first.” Lance's whine of protest cut off when a particularly strong draft made him shiver.

“You live here? This place looks ready to fall apart!”

“It's quiet...I prefer it really…”

Lance frowned and followed Keith in silence into the one room with all four walls intact. On the splintered floor was a pile of clothes and a half-emptied grocery bag slumped against the wood. Keith set the satchel down and pawed open the plastic bag, taking a few scattered bites at the stale, picked at, food inside. “You can have some if you want. It might be a while before we leave.”

Lance tensed at the way Keith barely choked it down. “No thanks…” He wandered the room with a frown, everything from the cold night winds to the layers of dust in the air caused him discomfort. He didn't understand how this could even be described as a living condition. “You know, I'm sure Shiro would take you in…”

Keith's ears pulled back but he didn't react otherwise. “Lance, I told you. I can't see Shiro anymore. It's better if he just forgets about me.”

Lance puffed up in irritation, “It's better living like this?! Have you ever been inside his place?!”

Keith growled and shushed him, speaking in a sharp whisper. “You're just begging for a human to kill you! Why do you think you don't just see beast people walking down the street without hiding anything? Humans hate us, why are you so stupid to just trust them?!”

“Shiro isn't like that!! You're just being stubborn!” Lance hissed and arched his back.

Keith narrowed his eyes and stood up, towering over the small cat. “I can't take that chance. I can't stop you from flaunting yourself but I won't feel sorry when you get caught and skinned.” Keith spoke grimly, not a single word he spoke held any regret. The two of them stayed put, tense and hissing. Their claws dug into the creaking wood, eyes unblinking and burning with rage on both ends. Keith finally broke the standoff, glancing towards the shattered window as the soft rumble of a car engine caught his ear.

“What? Nothing else to say Mul-!” Lance let out a muffled and slightly disgusted whine as Keith jammed a paw in his mouth.

“Shut up!” He whispered. “For two seconds just shut up.” Keith slunk over to the window and peered outside, narrowing his eyes at the small black car pulling up by the fence.

“Lance!”

Lance straightened up and scampered to join Keith at the window. He jumped to the window sill and looked out at the figure that called his name.

“Are you trying to get us caught?!” Keith hissed, flabbergasted at this cat's inability to listen to basic warnings.

“Yes, I am!” Lance responded matter of factly as he jumped down. “Shiro's out there!”

“Wait, Lance!” Keith growled in frustration as Lance ran out of the room before reluctantly following him.

Shiro frowned as he picked up his seemingly abandoned clothes. It didn't make much sense for Lance to strip them off. Did he have to transform? Had he been chased? He bit his lip nervously and looked around for the small cat again. “Lance!” Shiro called out again, desperation beginning to seep into his voice. His shoulders tensed at a scurrying noise from beyond the fence beside him. He backed up a bit closer to his car, his eyes darting around in the darkness.

Lance squirmed under the fence and meowed loudly, causing Shiro to jump and look back toward where he found the clothes. Lance’s caramel fur caught the light of Shiro’s headlights as he ran to him, transforming in the process. He pushed himself to his feet and leapt towards the man. “Shiro!!” Lance slung his arms around his shoulders, slamming his body into his broad chest. Shiro grunted and wheezed as he stumbled back against his car, the clothes he had been holding being discarded as he wrapped his arms around Lance.

“Lance, I'm so glad you're okay…” Shiro sighed in relief as Lance purred in his ear. After a moment, Shiro pushed away, his smile dipping into a stern frown. “You shouldn't run off like that, especially when you don't know the area at all. What got into you?” Shiro rubbed his ear to reassure that he wasn't

that

mad but kept his scolding tone.

“I'm sorry, I was actually…” Lance peered back, Keith had slipped out from under the fence, silently watching them, concerned and perplexed. Lance gave him a sly smirk before turning on his heel and lunging back to the cat. Keith yowled and hissed as Lance got a grip on his torso and hauled him up to chest level. “...following this guy.”

Despite the flailing, hissing cat, Shiro beamed and approached them. “Keith! You found him!” Keith froze and looked up at Shiro, he couldn't bring himself to bite Lance into letting go and run off again. “Hey, buddy…” Shiro gently rubbed his cheek with his thumb. “I was getting worried about you.” Keith frowned slightly, guilt beginning swirl in his gut. He stopped squirming and kicking, allowing Lance to adjust and hold him more comfortably. “What were you two doing here?” Shiro asked, picking the clothes back up off the ground.

“Keith was going to bring me back home since I got lost. He just wanted to stop at...home first.” Lance frowned, watching Shiro's eyes go from the burned down building, the Keith, to Lance, and back again. Keith looked away in shame, his life wasn’t one to envy and he knew that all too well but he still wasn’t asking for pity. “Shiro, do you think...maybe we can bring him with us?” Lance drooped his ears to give Shiro his best begging face even though he knew he wouldn't need it.

Shiro hummed and bent down to be eye level with Keith. “What do you say, Keith? Want to stay with us?” Keith let out an awkward whine and tried to avoid looking him in the eye. “Will you at least come for dinner?” Shiro cocked his head. Keith's ears perked as much as he tried to will them not to.

“Ohhhh, I think he's interested.” Lance teased with a wide smirk.

“Lance, hand him to me. Your new clothes are in the car if you want to get dressed.” Shiro said as he rested the other clothes over his shoulder. Lance nodded and traded off the cat as he bounced over to the car and crawled into the back seat. “Keith...I know you're like Lance...I can't say exactly why you've avoided me but...you're safe with me. I know you can't be sure, and I understand that. But you got me through a very hard time back when I met you. You helped me, so let me help you…” Shiro simply held him, Keith didn't make a single noise.

After a moment, Keith reached up and hooked his claws into the shirt resting on his shoulder. He tugged it forward until his slim body was covered by the fabric. “Mh? You want it?” Shiro adjusted his grip on Keith so he could grab hold of the shirt, gradually slipping it onto the cat’s body until his tiny head was coming out of the collar. Shiro yelped slightly as Keith suddenly transformed, dropping him but managing to kneel closer to the ground before he did. He stared in awe the head of thick, wild hair poking out of the shirt. Keith sat on the ground, pale skin glowing in the light of Shiro's headlights and beautiful violet eyes staring up at him.

Without a word, Shiro smiled and offered the pants as well as Keith pulled his arms through the sleeves. Keith stood up shyly, putting on the jeans and letting Shiro usher him to the car. “Thank you, Keith…” Shiro muttered as he opened the passenger door for him.

Lance righted himself in the backseat after pulling on his new pants, grinning when he noticed Keith. Keith stayed tense and quiet in the passenger seat, aside from a nervous “mrrw” when the car engine roared.

Shiro was quick to set a gentle hand on his shoulder. “It's okay...Lance hates it too.” Said cat was trying to cover his ears, curled up in a ball. “It's not far, don't worry…”

-----------

Shiro parked the car at the apartment complex and quickly pulled the boys inside before anyone could spot them. Keith had yet to speak a word throughout the entire car ride. When the apartment door opened Lance sighed dramatically and flopped onto the couch, Shiro set the clothing bags down on the coffee table and Keith simply stood there, tense and unsure of what to do next.

“It’ll take me a minute to cook something up. Feel free to sit down and relax Keith…” Shiro flashed a smile and rolled his sleeves up as he stepped into the kitchen. Keith slowly settled onto the couch, remaining stiff and awkward as he surveyed the apartment.

“So, you forget how to talk or something?” Lance craned his neck as he shifted closer to Keith.

“Lance, be nice. He’s nervous…”

Keith pouted slightly and batted at Lance when he further invaded his personal space. “Ow! Hey!”

“Lance, stop it. If you’re that bored why don’t you wash up and come help me.” Shiro said with an exasperated huff. Lance sighed and shifted away to stop pestering the other cat. Keith kept his focus on Shiro as he worked at the kitchen counter, purring softly at the smell their dinner was filling the room with.

“Come sit down guys. It’s almost done.” Lance perked his ears and trotted over to the kitchen table, Keith trailing behind and sitting down on the opposite side of the table. Shiro approached the table, two plates loaded up with seasoned chicken and a variety of cut-up vegetables. Lance grinned ravenously and picked up his silverware. “Like this, right Shiro?” he asked as Shiro briefly turned to grab his own plate.

“Yeah, you got it buddy.” he smiled, proud that Lance was catching on to using utensils so quickly. He gave an impressed hum when Keith picked them up without hesitation. “So Keith, are you more accustomed to living as a human?” Keith looked up, shrugging awkwardly and giving a small nod.

Lance hummed in delight when he managed to get a piece of food into his mouth without dropping it. “Shiro, this is so good!”

“Well chew it first at least.” Shiro chuckled softly and side-eyed Keith while he ate his own food. Keith cut a nearly microscopic bite from the rest of the chicken breast. He hesitated actually bringing it to his lips before quickly sticking it in and chewing. He sat still for a moment before a small chur rose up in his throat. Lance nearly choked when he heard such a soft and cheerful noise come from the isolated and hostile cat. He cut a much bigger piece and shoved it in his mouth, unsure whether to savor the taste or satisfy the aches in his stomach. Shiro smiled fondly as he watched Keith engulf every scrap on his plate.

Lance let a cocky smirk spread onto his face. “See, told you this was a good idea.”  Keith looked up and tried to manage a glare but his purring wasn’t doing it much justice.

“So you like it huh?” Shiro smiled softly.

Keith swallowed his food before finally opening his mouth to speak. “Yeah...it’s really good. Thanks, Shiro…” Keith returned the smile, small and shy as he started to open up.

“You seem to know this area pretty well. How long have you lived out here?” Shiro asked as he continued to eat.

“All my life really...scavenging isn’t that hard when humans throw out their own food so much.”

“Yeah, well, this is a bit better than garbage isn’t it?”

“Yeah, better than a lot of the stuff I buy too. I barely remembered what a hot meal tastes like…”

“Buy? You buy your own food?” Shiro raised an eyebrow.

“Most of the time. There’s this music store that asked if I wanted to work for them. The pay isn’t much but I’m getting sick less often now that I buy my food, and all the tuna I got from you...”

Shiro frowned softly, another cat hybrid struggling to survive. The idea that both of them were living on the streets broke his heart. “I’m glad I could do something to help…”

The room fell into a comfortable silence again after that. Eventually, the empty plates were cleared from the table and set in the sink to be cleaned later. Keith stood up and sighed, “This was...really nice of you Shiro but I should probably go. I don’t wanna overstay or anything…” Keith was crestfallen to leave but he didn’t belong here. He understood that and was just grateful that the universe cut him slack for one night.

Lance stood up abruptly as Keith moved to head for the door. “No, no, nonononono. No way. No.” Lance grabbed a heavy blanket off the side of the couch and flung it on top of the other man. Keith yelped and ended up falling to the floor from the sudden weight thrown at him. Lance was quick to grab the cord sticking out of the blanket and plug it into a nearby wall socket like he had seen Shiro do the other day.

“Lance, what-!” Keith tried to squirm free of the blanket but found his urge to do so quickly dwindle as the blanket got warmer. After a moment he felt large arms wrap around his middle and pick him up, setting him down on the couch. “It’s called an electric blanket,” Shiro explained as he set him down.

Lance sat down next to him and smirked. “It’s good, right?” Keith only managed a hum of agreement.

“Keith, you’re more than welcomed to stay. Give me a minute and we can put on a movie before bed.” Shiro left the room and soon returned, his stuffy work clothes switched out for his sleepwear. An old stretched out black t-shirt and gray sweatpants. He motioned for Lance to scootch over, sitting down on the couch when Lance lifted himself up onto the armrest. Keith was taking up the rest of the seat, curled up in a bundle with only the top of his head sticking out.

As Shiro scrolled through their movie options, Lance transformed again, crawling into Shiro’s lap with a mew. Shiro smiled down at him and only semi-reluctantly gave up one of his hands to pet him for the next several hours. Keith looked up at them before whining tiredly and squirming a bit closer. Shiro let the purring heated burrito cling to his arm as both of them took up space in his lap, a small kitten on one thigh and a soft head of black hair on the other, essentially pinning him to the couch. Shiro sighed softly but smiled contently as he settled into his cozy fate for the night.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

It was hot, too hot. Keith’s body tensed with discomfort, his eyes watering from the billowing smoke pouring out in front of him. The smell burned his nose and the light hurt his eyes, but in that moment he couldn’t pull them away. It was hard to say if it was the smoke that hurt his lungs or the scream he was holding back just at the edge of his throat. His urge to shriek remained restrained as his throat tightened further. Tears breached his eyes as he continued to sit there.

Embers flickered beside him as he waited, still no sign of life from the sight before him that his young mind still refused to fully process. His ears twitched at the sound of approaching sirens and he crawled off of his scraped knees and onto his feet. As the large flashing truck stopped beside him, he backed away, his body still trembling even as he tried to look threatening.

“A kid..? Hey, are you alright?” a man started to approach him. Keith attempted a hiss but it only came through as a choked whimper. The man was discouraged from chasing him when the little boy ran, it was more important to deal with the fire at the moment.

-----------

This was arguably what heaven felt like. Lance purred as he lay bundled under the thick blankets draped over Shiro’s large bed. Shiro’s warm breath hit the top of his head in soft puffs as he slept beside him. Shiro’s heavy arm was on top of the bedding and draped over Lance’s thin frame. The fact that Shiro was a serious cuddler in his sleep was the cherry on top of this arrangement.

Keith was still passed out on the couch, in his heated blanket burrito, the movie having ended a long time ago. Shiro had attempted to move both Keith’s head and Lance’s tiny body off of him to go to bed but woke the latter up in the process. Lance jumped at the chance to sleep in Shiro’s bed again because this was a whole new level of comfortable sleep.

Lance’s sensitive ear twitched when a mumbling noise came from the living room. He didn’t make much of an effort to sit up in attention but still swiveled his ear to try and hear it more clearly. It sounded tired but distressed, whines slipping out in between the words he couldn’t discern. He jumped slightly when a loud bang followed and he finally slipped out from under Shiro’s arm. The man was out like a light and didn’t stir an inch as Lance left the room to investigate.

When he got back to the living room the heated blanket was on the floor, moving around violently as Keith tried to tear his way out. He must’ve fallen off the couch in his sleep. Lance ran up as Keith was starting to let out distressed yowls and pulled off the blanket. Keith’s hair was disheveled and suspending in the air from all the static. His eyes were dilated and wildly looking around, and his breaths were short and uneven.

“Keith? Hey, are you okay?” Lance gently took hold of his trembling shoulders. Keith’s wild eyes finally stilled and settled on Lance’s worried expression, tears stinging the corner of his eyes. His rapid, shallow pants quieted down as he planted himself back in the waking world.

“L-Lance..?” he quickly brought an arm over his eyes, feigning a headache of some kind while he tried to keep the tears from bursting out and going down his face. Lance gently pulled Keith closer as his ears quivered.

“You sure you’re okay? You didn’t land on something wrong, did you?”

Keith kept his shoulders tense, not entirely comfortable with the contact. “I...guess I just fell off…”

“Bad dream?” Just as Keith’s shoulders were about to slump and relax, they tensed even more, the tip of his tail flicking rapidly. Lance gave him a knowing frown. “I heard you mumbling something before you fell off.”

“I, I uh…” his ears fell into his hair, his eyes trying to evaluate if he can make it to the door without Lance stopping him again.

“Come here…” Lance sighed and hoised the other man back up onto the couch. “So, what’s on your mind?”

“What..?”

“Look, I’m not good at this but I’m trying to help. So tell me what’s up.” Keith curled his body in on itself as he chewed at his lip. Lance frowned and rested a hand on his knee. “Listen, when I left my clan in the forest, I was completely alone. It’s why I cling to Shiro so much. He wanted to help me and now I wanna help you. I get it, you’re this cool lone cat type but how long are you going to be a stubborn jerk and ignore me?”

“I…” Keith frowned and sunk to avoid his gaze. “It’s complicated…”

“Hey, I can stay up. I got all day to sleep tomorrow.”

“Lance...” Keith huffed and ran his fingers through his tangled hair. “I...I wasn’t born into a clan. I didn’t grow up with a single beast person in my life. And even the people I did grow up with they…” Keith bit his lip to suppress a whimper.

Lance frowned and gently pulled Keith into his side. “You know...we could be your clan?” Lance offered, quirking an eyebrow at Keith’s dazed expression before tensing in shock when his head fell onto the crook of his neck and a hoarse rumble came from his throat.

“You’re really...warm…” Keith muttered without thinking, eyelashes tickling Lance’s skin slightly as they fluttered closed again.

“Thanks..? What’s gotten into you?" Keith stilled against the other cat, not making a single noise in response.

After another minute Lance attempted to slip out from under his weight and return to Shiro’s soft bed. As he rose to his feet, he bit back a small yelp. Keith’s claws were lightly buried in his arm. “Stay…” it sounded more like a threat than a request so Lance sat back down. He laid down on the soft but significantly less comfortable couch, Keith settling on top of him. Lance blushed softly as Keith softly kneaded his chest and awkwardly wrapped his arms around him, having no other place to rest them on the thin couch.

-----------

“Lance…” Lance whined as something nudged him, his body cracking with aches with every inch he moved. “Lance, what are you doing out here?” Shiro asked as Lance as he sat up and rubbed at his eyes. He was still on the couch, the electric blanket still bunched up on the floor.

“Oh, Keith he…” Lance yawned, “he was having trouble sleeping. Where is he anyway?” Shiro frowned slightly in response. Lance noticed this and sat up straighter with a whine. “Really? Again??”

“He wasn’t in the apartment when I got up,” Shiro replied.

Lance huffed and flopped back down on the couch. “That jerk…”

“It’s his choice, Lance. I just hope he’ll be okay out there…” Lance hummed in agreement and got off the couch for breakfast.

Shiro was home today, which meant he got to spend most of his day reading, pinned to his seat by Lance. Eventually, he managed to nudge the cat off to do some chores. Lance huffed and boredly wandered out to the balcony, stretching out on the wood. He watched the world below him before something hit the dumpster below with a loud bang. A second later the wood creaked as Keith grabbed the edge of the balcony and hauled himself up onto the platform.

“Keith!” Lance beamed before trying to reel his excitement back in. He couldn’t be

that

excited to see Keith of all people. Keith swung his legs over the balcony, a dirty backpack with a broken strap slung over his shoulder, as Lance tried to retain her dignity. “What are you doing back?”

“Oh, well, you wanted me to stay. I just thought I’d grab my things first…” Keith said, awkwardly tense with worry that he was no longer wanted.

Lance failed to contain the small purr that vibrated through his tiny body. “Jerk, you could’ve said that before you bailed.” Lance slipped back inside and somewhat eagerly ushered Keith to follow.

Shiro looked up from his desk when he heard shuffling in the other room and Lance whispering too softly to make out what he was saying. He justified what was actually a well-deserved break from his work to check and see what he was up to.

When he peered into the living room clothes were haphazardly strewn around the room, no sign of Lance at all. Shiro huffed, slightly annoyed that Lance didn’t keep his clothes neat when he transformed before he realized something was off. These weren’t the clothes he had been wearing today, in fact, they weren’t Lance’s clothes at all. They were his clothes, dirty and with a lingering, unfamiliar odor. “Lance?” Shiro called as he bent down to pick up the shirt laying in front of the couch.

“Myah!” Lance chirped, popping his head up from between the couch cushions, in sync with Keith on the opposite side. Shiro jumped back, startled, before smiling at the two cats wedged in the crevices of the couch.

“Keith! You’re back!” Shiro beamed as Keith squirmed out of the gap and Shiro promptly picked him up. Keith churred and pressed his paws firmly against his chest, very lightly nuzzling his chin.

“Shiro, he wants to stay this time!” Lance chimed in as he managed to crawl out.

“Keith, that’s wonderful. You’re more than welcome, but…” Shiro glanced down at the two dirty paw print smears now on his shirt. “We should take care of something before you get comfortable.

Lance perked his ears up curiously, a sly grin crossing his face as he watched Shiro carry Keith into the bathroom. Lance couldn’t help but cruelly laugh as he heard the water turn on in the bathroom, followed by a loud feline shriek.

Shiro grabbed the soaking wet cat as he tried to leap over his shoulder and kept him still as he grabbed the soap. Keith whined and continued to squirm as Shiro scrubbed the dirt and garbage stench out of his fur. Lance watched with quiet amusement from the doorway as Shiro eventually pulled the soaked, defeated, and grumpy looking wad of fur out of the tub and onto a towel. Keith grumbled and shook out the water before Shiro wrapped him up burrito style in a towel, picking him up as he straightened his back. “You still wanna stay?” Shiro asked gently as he held him like a baby, only getting a small headbutt under his chin as a reluctant yes. “Well Lance, looks like we have another roommate.”

Lance mewed in delight and trotted back from the door to let Shiro through. “Lance, can you set out the plates for dinner? I need to find Keith some clothes.”

Lance nodded enthusiastically, taking a tank top and shorts from his neatly stacked pile of clothes in his jaws before slipping back out of the room. Shiro shut the door and set Keith on his bed before turning to his dresser. Keith oriented the towel to cover himself before transforming. “I brought my own clothes you know…”

“Considering what you came in smelling like, those will need a wash too. Just borrow my stuff again, it’s no problem.” Shiro said, throwing him a t-shirt. As Keith tugged it on past his damp hair, a thought came to Shiro’s mind. “Keith, did you really leave without telling us just so you could pack up your things and come back?”

Keith tensed slightly. “What do you mean?”

Shiro shrugged, “Just seems strange that you would purposely sneak out instead of just telling us you would be back. So why did you really leave last night Keith?”

Keith drooped his ears and grumbled. “I...I didn’t want to come back at first. I had a lot to think over and I didn’t want Lance pestering me about it.”

Shiro sighed and sat beside him, a pair of sweatpants in hand for him. “Keith, we both worry about you. You’re capable, we knew you wouldn’t die if you stayed out there. But you can do better than just survive, right?” Keith only gave a quiet “mrr” in response. “So what made you change your mind?” Shiro asked, looking over his tangled hair before standing up again.

“Has Lance told you about clans?” Keith asked, pulling the clothing on.

“I heard him mention it before. That’s your word for family right?”

Keith shook his head, “Not exactly, it includes your family most of the time but it’s the people you live with, that provide for and protect you.”

Shiro grabbed a hairbrush off his nightstand. “Oh? Sounds like the three of us could be a clan.”

“That’s exactly what Lance said! That...that’s what made me reconsider… I never had a proper clan to turn to…”

Shiro sat back down and gently ran the brush through his tangled black locks. “So Lance changed your mind, mh? You know, you and Lance have a lot more potential to be friends than you think.” Keith tried to make a defiant pout but the brush running through his hair was making him purr. “You two are going to be on your own pretty often. At least try breaking the ice with him, okay?” Shiro lightly patted his shoulder and stood up once Keith’s hair was smoothed out. Keith nodded silently, an uncomfortable heat flash creeping up his body as he stood up and followed Shiro back out to the kitchen.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Shiro was starting to get used to this, falling asleep and waking up to the sound of rhythmic purring against his chest. Most would raise an eyebrow at Lance’s nightly need for platonic cuddling but a man as touch-starved and sweet as Shiro found it difficult, if not impossible, to refuse his adorable advances.

Lance was in his human form, balled up tight against Shiro’s chest with as much of the bedding as he could get his hands on smothering him in warmth. Shiro’s bed was big but not quite big enough for three full-sized people unless they got much closer than Keith seemed comfortable with. For that reason, Keith opted to stay at the foot of the bed in his cat form on top of the covers, despite Lance’s protests that Shiro was the best pillow in the universe.

Shiro held back a tired grunt to keep from waking Lance and rolled onto his back. It only registered that there was weight on his side when it fell off of him with a yelp. Keith squirmed around on his back before he managed to right himself, nearly falling off the bed entirely.

Shiro blinked before smirking at him. “Decided to join us after all, hm?”

Keith’s fur puffed and he looked away shyly. “It was colder last night than I thought…”

Shiro smiled and scratched under his chin to make him perk his head back up. “Yeah, I have been told I’m a bit of an oven. You don’t have to be so shy, Keith.” Keith purred softly, kneading his paws into the sheets as he settled his head in Shiro’s cupped hand. Lance broke the tranquil silence a few minutes later, half asleep and whining as he dug his nails into Shiro’s shirt. He knew what was coming and did not like it.

“What’s your deal?” Keith asked, cocking his head.

Shiro chuckled softly, “I have work soon.”

Lance whined louder and tried to squirm on top of Shiro to pin him. Shiro simply motioned for Keith to move out of the way before rolling over to crush Lance under him instead. Lance squirmed under his weight, gasping for air over dramatically. Shiro smirked and sat up only to drag Lance up with him, his claws still locked in Shiro’s shirt. “Noooo!” Lance protested as Shiro gently plucked the claws free from his shirt and let Lance flop back onto the bed.

“Lance, you’re being ridiculous,” Keith rolled his eyes from his spot at the end of the bed. “Humans need jobs, he can’t be here all the time.”

“Speaking of, you mentioned having a job too, right Keith?”

“My next shift is tomorrow,” Keith scratched at the back of his ear.

Shiro stretched before he stood up from the bed. “In that case, you two play nice while I’m gone. Lance, make sure you show Keith the ropes, okay?” Lance dropped his pout and purred with a proud smile, laying down and spreading out on the bed now that he had more of the space to himself. Soon enough, Shiro was out the door, both cats still lazing around in bed.

“Hey, Keith?”

“Mh?” Keith rubbed his eye with his paw.

“You’ve kinda blended in with humans, right?”

“Yeah..?”

“So, do you know how to cook?”

Keith shrugged but changed to his human form. “I can try.”

Lance flashed a grin and sat up, “Good enough for me!”

Keith smiled and swung his legs over the side of the bed, picking through the basket for fresh clothes at his feet. Some of his clothes were still stained and tattered but they smelled sweet and felt soft. He couldn’t help but purr softly as he pulled the shirt over his head.

He followed Lance back to the kitchen once he was dressed, picking through the cabinets to see what was available. Keith joined him, quickly fishing some eggs and sausage out of the fridge and set them on the counter. “What about this?”

Lance gave a curious “ooh” as he picked up an egg and went to bite it like an apple.

“Lance wait!” Keith just barely stopped him before his teeth pierced the shelf. “You need to cook those first.”

“You do??”

Keith took the egg from him and sighed, “Of course you do…” Keith opened the lower cabinets and pulled out a frying pan.

“What about these?” Lance asked, pointing to the package of sausage.

“Oh yeah, those are fine.”

Lance grinned and plucked a sausage from the package, nibbling on it while he watched Keith mess with the dials on the stove. “So, we need to make it hot, right?”

“Right,” Keith clicked one of the dials sideways and a bright red circle began to glow on the dark stovetop.

“Did you do it?”

Keith hummed and placed his hand on the glowing red circle. “Nope, still cold. I don’t think we’re doing this right…” Keith turned the dial back and sighed.

“Oh! What about this thing? I saw Shiro use it the other day and it makes stuff hot crazy fast.” Lance pointed to the microwave sitting on the counter.

“That could work I guess. Get a plate.”

Lance snagged a plate from the cabinet and set it in the microwave, Keith placing two eggs on top before shutting the door. “So you just press a button, right?”

“Yeah, maybe...this one?” Lance pressed one of the buttons and the microwave hummed to life with sixty seconds on the timer.

Keith coked his head as the two eggs began spinning, “You sure this works?”

“Trust me, dude,” Lance reassured him as they continued to watch. Forty seconds in, two loud pops came from the weird heat box, causing Lance to scream and Keith to spontaneously jump away into his cat form, both of their tails puffed up in fear. Keith approached cautiously, pushing open the microwave with his paws to reveal the hot, slimy, egg fluids and pieces of shell coating the entire interior.

Lance cringed at the mess, “On second thought, maybe I can just find some more of that cereal stuff…”

They eventually got to enjoy their cold sausage and dry cereal. Lance took responsibility for cleaning up the microwave, praying Shiro wouldn’t notice it or the yolk-drenched wads of paper towel in the garbage. “So, what do you usually do around here, besides ruin the microwave.” Keith snickered as tried to smooth out his fur.

“Hey! You’re supposed to be the cooking expert,” Lance pouted before turning to his toy corner at the back of the living room. “Well, as a matter of fact, I don’t break things all day. I have this!” Lance walked over to his basket of toys and tossed a toy into the air before quickly transforming and jumping up to bat at it. The toy jingled as it bounced across the floor, landing near the table where Keith was still sitting.

Keith raised an eyebrow and hopped down to the floor, sniffing at the lump of fabric. "What is it?"

"Just hit it. It's fun!" Keith narrowed his eyes and nudged it a little with his paw. “C’mon you can do better than that,” Lance whined.

“This is so stupid…”

“What, are you scared?” Lance taunted before immediately being smacked in the face by the toy Keith managed to check across the room. Keith smirked, his tail swishing across the floor playfully. Lance returned the look and hit the toy back, sliding it across the coffee table and back to Keith who bounced it back across the carpet. Lance kicked it up into the air as it returned to him, Keith, in turn, pouncing and spiking it back to him. The toy hit the floor and Lance pounced before promptly losing his balance and flopping over onto the floor.

Keith laughed as Lance regained himself. “How are you so good at this?”

“I’m just good at catching prey. Better than you at least.” Keith smirked as he strutted up to Lance.

Lance narrowed his eyes in return, “Oh yeah? We’ll see about that…” Keith hummed in confusion as Lance lept up onto the coffee table and pulled a small metal object out of the basket resting beside him. “Try this on for size, Keith.”

Out of nowhere, a red dot appeared at Keith’s feet, making him perk in attention. He shifted his feet as he watched the strange new target. His tail flicked widely before he abruptly pounced. Before he landed, the dot moved at an incredible speed a few feet away. Keith made a hairpin turn the moment he hit the ground, running towards the dot again. He raised his paw to strike it, only for it to disappear again.

Keith growled and found it sitting low on the wall after a few seconds. It moved higher as he approached so Keith took a quick leap onto the couch before jumping out to bat at it. He smacked the wall with a thud, which is when he finally heard Lance holding back laughter behind him. He looked back over to question him before his eyes dilated seeing the dot on Lance’s small furry chest. This was no longer in the realm of a friendly challenge, he needed to catch that fucking dot.

Lance barely had time to react before the cat twice his size leapt over the coffee table and crashed directly into him. He yelped as they tumbled off the small table, kicking his tiny legs as they rolled around in a discombobulated pile of fur. Keith gave him a playful swat and sat up, pinning Lance by his chest. He felt heat uncomfortably crawling up his body as Lance squirmed and shoved him off.

“Jeez, Keith, I was just messing with you…” he shook out his matted fur as he stood up.

Keith jumped onto the couch to avoid looking at him directly. “Sorry, I…” he lost his train of thought as he walked over a throw blanket that was carelessly draped over the couch. He kneaded at the soft fabric, resisting the urge to roll over and purr at the texture.

“Oh yeah, that one is really cozy.” Lance jumped up to join him, nuzzling into the fibers before abruptly sitting up. “Hey, I just got an idea.”

-----------
    Shiro let out a weary groan as he climbed the stairs to his apartment, his stirring migraine so bad that he couldn’t drive home with the radio on. He fumbled with his keys before stumbling inside. The first thing he noticed was his couch, stripped of its cushions to reveal the unidentifiable food crumbs and spare change that had sunk to the bottom. “Lance? Keith?” Shiro called as he nearly tripped over a basket left in the middle of the room. That basket used to carry his spare blankets and now it sat empty.
“In here, Shiro!” Lance called from the bedroom. Shiro raised an eyebrow and peered into the bedroom, tired and annoyed from his long workday. He stood silent in shock as he looked over the bed. Every single, solitary cushion and piece of fabric from the entire flat was piled onto the mattress. The couch cushions were propped against the headboard in a semicircle, the blankets piled up in the middle with the softest one draped over the cold leather couch cushions. Lance and Keith were curled up in the middle, purring and shifting to find the most comfortable angle. The large comforter from Shiro’s bed was laying over top of them. Shiro could only stare in shock as words escaped him. Lance perked his ears and sat up to greet him. “Hi, Shiro!” Keith hummed and cracked an eye open, offering a tired wave.

“What…did you guys build a nest?” Shiro asked in disbelief.

Lance beamed adorably and flopped back into the soft fabric. “It’s so cozy! Can we keep it like this?”

Shiro sighed and tried to keep from immediately telling him no and breaking his little heart. “Well…it makes the space left to sleep a lot smaller…” Lance frowned and pulled himself out of the nest, tugging Shiro towards it. Shiro let him fall into the cushions besides Keith, now noticing that a few of his clothes and towels had made it in here as well.

Lance crawled back on and laid down on his chest, “It’s not that bad,” he beamed sweetly and sunk into his chest.

Shiro sighed plucked the bathmat out of the pile. “Just for tonight, then you need to put the couch cushions back…” Lance whined into Shiro’s shirt in retaliation.

“I’ll clean it up tomorrow…” Keith murmured as he nestled closer to them. “’s nice though…”

Shiro hummed in agreement and sunk deeper into the nest, he’d just order a pizza when he woke up. If he woke up.

-----------
    Shiro effortlessly slipped out of bed the next morning, an odd abnormality in the pattern of having to pry Lance off his arm as the first part of his morning routine. Maybe the extra bedding helped him sleep better, both cats were still out like a light. As he buttoned his shirt, he heard a weary groan come from the blankets. Keith shifted from his place buried in the comforter, revealing his flushed, miserable-looking face.
Shiro frowned and approached the bed. “Keith? Everything okay buddy?” Shiro leaned over the mountain of cushions and gently pinched his ear between his thumb and forefinger before moving the hand to his forehead. Both were noticeably hot to the touch. He quickly checked Lance as well, who was still fast asleep. He almost thought touching him any longer would leave burn marks. “Aw man, are you guys sick?” Shiro gave them both a sympathetic frown and Keith only let out a tiny muffled whine.

Shiro finished getting dressed and gathered some things from the bathroom while his coffee brewed. He doused two hand towels in cold water and piled cups and pill bottles into his arms. He set the towels over both of their foreheads and set everything else on the nightstand. “Take one of those when you’re more awake, make sure Lance does too. If you’re feeling queasy, go to the bathroom just in case. I’ll get off work as soon as I can to check up on you guys.” Keith whined but Shiro shushed him gently. “I know, I’m sorry but I can’t call off work today bud-“ Shiro stopped when he realized, Keith had work today too! “Right…do you want me to go to your work and let them know?”

Keith nodded weakly, he had told Shiro before about the music store he worked at so he knew where it was, he could stop in before he got to the office.

“Just leave it to me, you get some rest and take care of each other…” Shiro felt his heart crunch in the vice of Keith’s whine as he reluctantly left the room and promptly gathered his things to leave so he could make the detour and still get to work on time.

He input the store into his GPS after struggling to spell the name correctly, he could’ve sworn the name was Marmorites but apparently not, before pulling out of the parking lot. Thankfully it wasn’t too far off his usual commute, about two miles off from where Keith used to be staying, actually. He chest sank as he thought about it, who knows how long Keith had been living like that. That building had been fenced off and collapsing for as long as he could remember. Keith, all alone in the dead of winter with nothing but his own body heat and a pile of food salvaged from the trash. He gripped the steering wheel harder, stewing quietly in rage as he had no one to direct his anger at for Keith’s past misfortune.

He abruptly hit the brakes as he nearly missed the next turn and disregarded his train of thought in favor of looking for the store on the right side of the road. He parked right in front, hesitating at the parking meter before deciding not to pay, he wouldn’t be in there long.

Shiro stepped into the store as the door moving jostled the bell above him with a surprisingly loud jingle. The lights inside were dim, letting the sun outside provide most of the light in the front of the store. Boxes of CDs and old records lined the dull brick wall with not a single sign of life around as Shiro approached the empty check-out counter.

“I’m sorry, but we don’t officially open until nine.”

Shiro jumped slightly as he looked up, an older, taller man approaching him from what was most likely a stock room on the far end of the store. “Oh, I didn’t come in to buy.” Shiro tacked an awkward laugh onto the end of that, that sounded kind of rude now that he thought about it.

“Oh?” The man eyed him as he approached, nudging his thin braid off his shoulder and back behind his head, covered by a company logo hat.

“It’s about Keith, he works here, right?”

“I have an employee who goes by that, yes…” the man seemed suspicious of him.

“Well, he doesn’t have a phone but he’s sick today so I thought I’d come let you know that he can’t make it in for work.”

The man briefly looked over at the calendar beside the cash register and hummed in understanding. “How do you know him, exactly, mister…” the man hinted for his name.

“Oh, call me Shiro. Keith’s my roommate, actually.”

The man raised an eyebrow before offering a hand to shake. “Kolivan. And thank you for letting me know. He knows his own schedule, so I’ll speak with him once he’s recovered.” Shiro took the offered hand despite still feeling uneasy in Kolivan’s stoic presence. “Make sure he’s well taken care of in the meantime.”

Shiro let the hand go after a firm shake and turned to leave. “I will, our other roommate is still at home with him, actually. Even if he has a fever too, they can at least look after each other.” Shiro chuckled.

The man seemed to relax more at that. “Good, that should be enough.”

Shiro raised an eyebrow at the odd comment as he shuffled further towards the door. “Okay, well, that was all. Thanks for understanding, uh, Kolivan. Bye!” Shiro still felt his eyes on him after he left the store. He got into his car with a bit more haste than before and merged back into the morning traffic, sighing in relief once he felt out of view. He wasn’t necessarily intimidated by Kolivan but somehow that was one of the weirdest interactions he’d ever had with another person, barring some of his conversations with Lance, of course.

-----------
    Keith curled up tighter, the twisting feeling deep in his gut barely subsiding from the pressure he was putting on it. He felt hot and itchy, his skin crawling with irritation from the blankets and sleepwear clinging to his body. It was a familiar feeling and dreaded it, he could only hope Kolivan remembered his cycle and gave him an extra shift later.
He heard Lance whine as he stirred, swaying a little as he sat up. “Keith…I don’t…fuck I feel weird…” Lance sighed and tugged as his loose tank top to circulate some air under his clothes. The movement fanned an odd scent into Keith’s nose. It was musty but held a twinge of sweetness. The pungent odor was appalling but alluring, like a gas station.

Keith craned his head towards Lance, inhaling his scent only to feel irritation spike in his skin. Lance seemed to feel the same and kicked the blankets off them both with a whine, curling up against the side of the nest. Keith sat up, staring at him with a dazed look. “You out of it too?” Lance asked, voice slightly muffled as he buried himself in a pillow.

“Lance…” Lance jumped at Keith’s husky voice, his warm breath making his ear flick. Keith nuzzled his face against the back of Lance’s neck, causing him to squirm from his long hair tickling him. Keith sat up again and pulled Lance from the pillow, rolling him upright to face him.

Lance’s breath grew heavy as he drank in Keith’s scent overpowering his nose. He reached up and fingered a strand of his hair before locking it in a tight grip and yanking him down. Their lips met, crooked and barely actually touching. They quickly corrected into a sloppy open-mouthed kiss, groans falling out with their breaths before Keith finally wrenched himself away, lips wet and cheeks burning.

Lance stared up at him with a glazed-over look, heart hammering in his chest. “I…I think I’m in heat…”

“No shit, idiot…”