Lonely Kitten

7

Jisung woke up the next morning, finding the slender grey cat tangled in the baby blanket, some of the fabric still in its mouth. "Huh, you should've really eaten more for dinner", he hummed quietly, running his fingers through Minho's fur to wake him. He didn't want to leave his new pet alone so early on and was determined to convince his hyungs to let him bring Minho along to the studio but for that, the cat had to eat something first, especially if he had been so hungry that he ate his blanket.

Minho woke up to someone caressing his fur and sleepily blinked up at the boy who had taken him in. The next thing he realized was the blanket in his mouth, quickly pulling away as he was out of his headspace now. Petting Minho's head, Jisung smiled: "Let's have breakfast, so I can take you to the studio again. Wouldn't want you to be lonely." Purring, the hybrid got up and was about to jump off the bed to follow Jisung to the kitchen but the rapper was quick to pick him up, reminding: "You need to be careful with your injury. You can't just jump off of things, Min." Despite being convinced he was well capable of jumping, Minho loved the younger babying him and getting all worried. He also loved it when the rapper carried him around and for the first time, he was glad he had sprained his paw.

In the kitchen, Jisung opened another can of cat food, which the hybrid eyed in distaste, before pouring himself a bowl of cereal. While he ate, he texted his friends that he'd be bringing Minho along. Feeling a bit hungry, the hybrid did force down a few bites of his food before limping towards the table and rubbing his head against Jisung's leg. Maybe the rapper would give him his left-over cereal milk. "Hey", the younger smiled, looking up from his phone, "You done already? You barely ate anything, Min." He quickly finished his cereal and drank the milk, which Minho commented with a sad meow. Had he been in his human form, he'd given the other a big, fat pout.

The hybrid limped along, following Jisung as he got ready and pulled out a cardboard box. Folding the cat's blanket, he placed it into the box, along with a small, clean bowl, so he'd at least be able to give his pet some water while they were out. When Jisung turned away to pack his own bag, Minho hopped into the box, whining when he landed on his paw. Curling up on his blanket, he decided to just stay there, for which the rapper was more than grateful because this way he could easily carry the cat to their studio.

Pushing the door open with his shoulder, Jisung stepped into their studio and greeted: "Good morning, hyungs. Meet Minho!" - "Wow, he looks a lot better than yesterday. Morning, Sungie", Changbin smiled, watching his dongsaeng place the box onto the couch at the back of the small room. "Yeah, he really does", Chan agreed, walking over to take a closer look at the cat, "So you found yourself a roommate now? How are you handling it, having to take care of someone?" - "Okay, I guess", Jisung shrugged, placing his backpack down as well, "Just a bit worried because he keeps trying to walk on his injured paw and he barely eats although he looks so skinny already. I fed him dinner but he only had a few bites and later that night he was trying to eat his blanket, so he must have been really hungry but when I gave him breakfast, he again, barely ate any of it." Guiding the younger to his seat at the desk, Chan sighed: "Don't stress too much about it. Maybe Minho's just not used to having his food served in a bowl. Afterall, he was a stray. Give him a few weeks to get used to it and if it doesn't get better, you can take him to the vet again for another check-up."

As the trio got to work, Minho decided to take another nap. He felt comfortable in the box with his blanket and he could hear Jisung's voice close-by, making him feel safe. It was impressive what effect the younger already had on him despite only having met a day ago. To Minho it almost felt as though they had a special bond. He had only heard about that once when his mother told him that some hybrids have mates, who were like pre-destined partners, and Minho truly hoped if mates existed, Jisung would be his. The rapper had taken him in without hesitation. He hadn't even left his blanket behind despite not knowing it was the only thing the hybrid had left. Minho just knew, the younger was a good person at heart and before he knew it, he had gotten more attached to the rapper than he ever wanted to attach himself again.

3racha soon took a break and Changbin was on his way to get them coffee, peaking into the box on his way out and stating: "Sung, you should feed your cat, it's eating the blanket again." Worriedly rushing over, Jisung found Minho asleep with some of the fabric in his mouth. The hybrid was asleep but unbeknownst to the humans around him, he had slipped. "According to the internet, whatever he's doing there doesn't have anything to do with hunger", Chan muttered, scanning over an online article on cat behavior, so he could help his dongsaeng, "It's a behavior, primarily observed in kittens, called 'suckling', I think that's similar to giving a baby a pacifier but I don't know why he's doing it. Maybe the vet was wrong about estimating he's already grown, or he just never outgrew that habit. As I understand it, it's a form of comfort." - "So, he's not hungry?", Jisung questioned, petting the hybrid's head. The Aussie shrugged, watching the cat wake up and nuzzle into Jisung's hand. Since they were taking a break anyway, the youngest rapper picked Minho up and sat back down in his seat with the cat in his lap. Still regressed, the hybrid started to play with the other's hand, lightly chewing on it.

They soon continued their work but Jisung kept Minho in his lap, where the hybrid felt more than comfortable and although, Jisung absentmindedly moved his hand to play with the cat, Minho wanted more attention than that, soon starting to bite the other's hand just a bit harder than before. Not hard enough to cause him any harm but to ensure the rapper noticed him. Chan considered asking Jisung to put his pet back into the box because he kept getting distracted but then the Aussie decided to let him be. It was the first time the younger practiced taking care of someone else, so he wouldn't interfere.

He really enjoyed watching his dongsaeng drown his new pet with love, especially when they decided to get some fried chicken for lunch. Jisung fed Minho as well, making sure to remove all the bones and seasoned skin before cutting it into bite-sized pieces and this time Minho ate everything the younger gave him. It tasted so much better than the cat food even with the seasoning removed and he saw with how much love the rapper prepared his food in the small bowl he had brought, the hybrid couldn't help but feel touched. Jisung's own nerves eased a little, watching the slender cat eat an impressive amount. He almost forgot to eat something himself, too focused on Minho devouring his chicken.