Soudam Week Summer 2019

Subtly Obvious

Summary:

Kazuichi works as a waiter at a pet cafe where Gundham, a young and very lonely veterinarian, begins to visit very frequently.

Day 5 of the Soudam Week
Prompt: Body-Swap | Alternate Universe | Coffee/Flower/etc. Shop

AO3 version: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19665808 (Originally posted 19.07.19)

***

Another day had passed and Gundham could proudly proclaim that it had been a successful one. He and his subordinates had helped and assisted many hellish beasts on their way to reclaim their health and vitality, and they would continue their mission for every new day to come.

Gundham was a healer of beasts – or as mortals called him, a veterinarian – and despite the still young age of his mortal form, he was already highly accomplished at his art and he was praised for his dark skills of taming and healing even the most hellish of beasts. He had worked hard for many years to fulfil his dream and after many hardships and struggles he had finally managed to open his own veterinarian clinic. It was not huge by far, it was in fact quite small with only a few mortals under his employment – which were all hand-picked by himself for their skills – yet he could not be any more joyful about his current life. He had his loyal customers who entrusted him with the care of their beloved companions, whom he could help with his skills and he had his own hellish beasts who shared his path in life with him, which was all he could ever wish for within his life.

As long as Gundham had his small veterinarian clinic where he could dedicate his mortal existence to healing animals in need and had his own hellish beasts awaiting him at his private realm, he was content with his current life.

The travel back to his own private realm was not far. To his luck his apartment was not far from his clinic and could easily be done by foot, which made it easily possible for him to spend his longer breaks at his home. He had to admit as much as he respected his subordinates, he did not particularly enjoy spending his time with social interactions outside of their work relation. While he could spend his whole mortal time within the presence of hellish beasts, there were only a few mortals whom he could tolerate for longer periods of time before he began feeling uncomfortable. Much to his mild shame he never had been very skilled in social interactions and often ended up either being overwhelmed or not knowing that to say. It was especially hard whenever he had to interact with mortals he had never met. Yet he did in fact have some allies with whom he enjoyed spending his free time with, even if he was not entirely sure how he had managed to become their allies.

Upon arriving at his private realm, Gundham was instantly greeted by his many hellish beasts who had been eagerly awaiting his return. Their many joyous reactions filled him with immense joy as well as he greeted them all and joined them within the realm for the remainder of the day. The hours had moved on as he cared for his many hellish beasts and spend his evening in relaxation. He had played with his dark minions, fed them, had them join him during his own meal and then he had played with them some more until exhaustion began to slowly overtake his earthly form. Deciding that it was time for him to rest for the darkest of hours, he went into his sleeping quarters and after washing himself and getting changed, he got comfortable in his bed.

Despite the darkness Gundham could still see most of his surrounding within his quarters. It was silent around him as many of his hellish beasts also went to rest. He saw his two cats snuggled up together on top of his dresser, his two dogs cuddling inside of their basket at the other end of the room, and his hamsters getting comfortable together in their nest.