Lonely Kitten

6

Jisung was truly stunned at how murky the water in the sink had turned, while on the other hand, it revealed the beautiful light-grey shade of Minho's fur. After rinsing off the soap, Jisung bundled the cat into the towel he had warmed on the heater and carried him to the living room, where he picked up his phone to call Chan. "Hey hyung", the rapper greeted, "Actually, it's a boy." – "A what? Sung, what did you do?"- "The cat, hyung. Oh, by the way, I decided to adopt it and have no idea how to litter-train it", Jisung giggled, rubbing Minho's fur through the towel to get him to dry faster. "Gosh, you're a mess. Sungie, you can't even take care of yourself. What did you get yourself into?", Chan sighed. There was no way his dongsaeng could raise a cat on his own.

The hybrid's ears perked up in curiosity. He wanted to learn as much about the guy that had taken him in as possible. Jisung sat down on the couch with the little bundle in his lap, stating: "We all grow with the challenges life throws at us, hyung." – "You suddenly sound so responsible for your twenty-one years of living", the Aussie chuckled. 'Oh, he's younger than me', Minho realized, giving a surprised meow. Smiling down at the hybrid, Jisung agreed: "Of course, I'm responsible, hyung. Afterall I'm a single dad now."

Minho's eyes widened, the rapper referring to himself as dad brought up the hybrid's headspace but he couldn't slip right now. He needed to stay big, so he could learn more about Jisung. Soon the call ended and Minho became aware of one thing especially. Now that Jisung wasn't talking anymore, he heard the rain pattering against the windows and the thunder still boomed threateningly outside. The rapper carefully untangled Minho from the towel, smiling that his fur was only slightly damp. Sadly, that also meant that he now stopped holding the cat and went about preparing some cat food before grabbing himself a bite to eat. He was pretty hungry after missing lunch due to their vet visit but still a bit worried about the hybrids upset tummy. Minho himself already felt better, not a hundred percent but he'd probably be fine if he made sure to eat slowly. He wasn't really used to eating cat food though and longingly glanced at Jisung's bowl of ramen. The rapper sat on the couch and turned on a random drama to watch while eating, which the hybrid was truly grateful for as it distracted him from the noise outside.

Having eaten a few bites, Minho wanted to get back to his new friend. At least he considered him a friend. He tried to jump back onto the couch next to Jisung but failed his first try. Before he could try again, the rapper had already scooped him up and placed him onto one of the couch cushions, cooing: "You need to be careful with that sprained paw of yours. No jumping." His worried expression made Minho feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It's been a while since somebody cared about him. Despite being placed onto a cushion that was pretty comfy, the hybrid got up and limped over to lie right next to Jisung, resting his head on the rapper's thigh. The younger smiled down at him humming: "Your silver fur has gotten so shiny after your bath, you certainly are a little prince." Heaving a deep breath, Minho relaxed further into Jisung's side but sadly, the rapper had finished his ramen and had to get up. "You sit tight, while I go and take a shower", Jisung instructed, placing his bowl into the sink before turning off the TV.

While the rapper left to take a shower, Minho was left entirely alone without anything to distract himself from the raging storm right outside their windows. It almost stressed him enough to make him slip into his headspace but the hybrid managed to resist, for now at least. Jisung had told him not to jump but how else was he going to get off the couch? Hopping off the couch, Minho let out a pained meow upon impact and limped towards the bathroom. Hearing the shower running inside, he curled up in front of the door and tried to focus on the steadily running water instead of the rumbling thunder.

The longer he lay there, the more he lost his grip on his headspace and although he didn't slip entirely, he couldn't stop the sad little meows. Turning the shower off for a moment, Jisung heard the cat cry out in front of the door and hurried to finish up. The rapper quickly dried himself off and slipped on a t-shirt and some comfortable sweatpants, throwing the finished wash load into the dryer. He opened the door and felt his heart break, spotting his new companion curled up into a small, furry ball. "Aww, did you miss me?", he cooed, picking the hybrid up, "I thought I had told you to sit tight, your paw is not going to heal if you keep running around on it."

Jisung carried the cat to his room and placed it on his bed, smiling: "You're more than welcome to sleep here on the bed with me. It's cozy and we can cuddle." Minho's heart pounded excitedly at that and he curiously limped around the bed, smelling the sheets and rubbing his face into them. Getting comfortable on the bed too, Jisung pulled out his phone and scrolled through social media before snapping a picture of his cat to send to Chan and Changbin. "We need to show my hyungs how pretty you look after your bath", he hummed, glancing at the hybrid still exploring his bed. A loud boom was heard outside, startling Minho who stumbled back towards Jisung, pressing into his side. The rapper felt him tremble and cooed: "You don't like storms, hm? Don't worry, I don't like them either. Let's play some music to distract ourselves." Instead of putting in his earphones like he did close to every night, Jisung played his night-time playlist over speakers and closed his eyes, a faint smile on his lips when Minho cuddled into his side.

While Jisung easily felt sleepy, having barely slept the previous night, Minho was too stressed to sleep. Sure, he felt safer than he had outside behind those trashcans but there was still a storm raging outside. He also did feel a bit guilty because his timid whimpers kept the younger from getting the sleep he needed but he failed to suppress them. "Still scared, little prince?", Jisung cooed sympathetically, running a hand through Minho's fur, "Aww, you feel so soft and fluffy." He gently pulled the cat onto his chest, stroking him to calm him down. The hybrid slowly relaxed, listening to the younger's heartbeat, purring quietly.

They continued to lay together for a while, till the dryer beeped in the bathroom. Shifting the cat off him, Jisung announced: "I'll go take the clothes out and get your blanket. You stay here, no following me. I'll be right back. Don't walk around on your injured paw." Minho gave a shy meow and looked after the rapper longingly. He wanted to follow him, just so he wouldn't have to wait here alone but he also wanted behave and follow the boy's instructions and his blanket sounded like a fair reward. Jisung was surprised when he pulled the blanket from the dryer. Sure, he was aware that it was pretty small but it was only now that the crusted dirt was gone that he realized it was a baby blanket. A fluffy, mint-colored one at that with small black paw-prints. It was surely fitting and considering his cat had seemed attached to it, maybe his previous owner had bought it and had abandoned the cat along with it.

Jisung took his time inspecting the blanket. He found a small tag on it, his eyes lighting up when he realized there was something scribbled on it: 'MINHO'. Figuring it was either the cat's name or the owner's name, the rapper took the blanket to his bedroom and hummed: "Kitten, is your name 'Minho'?" *meow* "I'm just going to assume, it is. Looks like we have a name for you now", Jisung smiled, placing the blanket on his bed, only to have the hybrid climb on it right away. Minho nuzzled his face into the soft material, breathing in the fresh scent. Considering it came straight from the dryer, it was still pretty warm and addictingly cuddly.

The hybrid purred loudly as he rubbed his face into his blanket, making Jisung smile. The rapper was glad he had taken the blanket along earlier, despite it having looked rough. Minho struggled a bit as he kneaded the blanket with his paws, only to find his left one hurting. "Watch your paw, Min", the younger sighed, stroking the cat's back, "Let's sleep now. I'll leave the music on, you have your blanket and you have me. No need to be scared." While Jisung drifted off quickly, Minho was too occupied with his baby blanket. It felt so nice after being washed for the first time in forever.

Before he knew it, the rapper was asleep and Minho awake on his own. He still felt scared and being reunited with his blanket, he strongly felt the need to slip. Figuring Jisung wouldn't notice as he was asleep and probably not familiar enough with cat behavior to notice even if he was awake, the hybrid gave into his littlespace. Comforting himself the only way he knew, Minho started to suckle on the soft material of his blanket and slowly purred himself to sleep.