Shin Soukoku Fluff

cats :3

Akutagawa was coming home late from work. Again. This was quite normal since he was never able to finish things when they were supposed to be done. He wasn't great at working quietly, the smallest things would irritate him. He loved working from home instead because Atsushi would never annoy him, and even if he tried, he couldn't do it. He was too cute.

He was just arriving at their apartment complex, and it was raining outside hard. He really didn't mind the rain as long as he could dry off once he got inside. He couldn't wait to just relax for the rest of the night and see Atsushi. 

He didn't need to wait for much longer because he was already outside. Crouched over on the sidewalk. In the pouring rain. Akutagawa approached him, confused. "Atsushi?" he called. The jinko turned to look at him with wide, worried eyes. "Ryuu! You're home! I was out getting the mail and look!" he pointed in between the pavement and a bush and if he was looking correctly, there was a small animal curled up in a tight, matted ball.

He couldn't really tell what it was from how dirty and wet it looked. "Oh god, Atsushi what is that?" he scrunched up his nose, slightly grossed out. Atsushi's mouth gaped open at how rude he was being. "It's a kitten, Ryuu! It's just a baby. It's probably going to die, we can't just leave it like this!"

It was easier to determine now that he said it was a cat. It was really small, black, and skinny. It's mother was probably a stray and it wandered off. Akutagawa put his hand on Atsushi's shoulder. "I'm guessing you want to take it inside?"

Atsushi nodded, reaching out for it. It made a tiny mew as he scooped it into his hands. "It's shivering."

"Well it has been in the rain for god knows how long. Come on. We'll clean it up." he reassured, starting to walk upstairs with Atsushi. 

They arrived in their apartment, the kitten still meowing over and over, clearly in distress. Atsushi shushed it every time, like a loving caretaker. He was so protective of this thing already and he only just found it.

It was small enough to fit into the sink, so Akutagawa ran it some warm water and got some soap from the bathroom cabinet. Atsushi came into the room with the kitten, smiling a bit. "Thanks for letting me take it in." he beamed as he gently set it into the water.

Akutagawa watched as he carefully handled the poor thing, looking into its fur to check for any bugs or ticks. "Ah yeah, it's got a few, can you get the tweezers for me?" 

He complied, and got them from underneath the sink, handing them to Atsushi. He was so focused and determined to help this little thing, it was so adorable. "It's like you're a parent." he commented.

"Well I do love cats. Maybe it's because of my tiger." he laughed, managing to get one tick off of it's fur. "You okay with them?"

"With cats? I find them to be quite nice animals, yes. If I were to have an animal in the house, I would like it to be quiet and compassionate. That's why I like them." it started meowing again when Atsushi got deeper into it's fur. 

"I just think they're cute," he scratched it's head, as a sign that it was going to be okay.

"You're cuter."

"Oh shush." he spat, flustered. Akutagawa smirked at his blush as he continued to work at the kitten's tangled fur. He flicked all of the bugs into the garbage can and started to pour soap onto the little thing. Once he started scrubbing it in however, he stopped in horror.

"Shit, did we check if it's safe for animals? Is that label even a thing?" he panicked, hands flying to check the bottle. Akutagawa rolled his eyes. "It's non-toxic. Isn't that enough? I'm no expert, but I don't think it's going to kill it." 

Atsushi took a breath and collected himself. "Okay. Okay. It's fine. I'm sure it'll be fine." he got back to helping the cat and seemingly enjoying himself.

"Ryuu, do we have any food we could give it?" he asks. He thought about it. "I'm not sure. Probably not, but I can give it some water and uncooked meat if that would work. I can go shopping for it tomorrow-"

"Oh don't worry about it, I'll go. And yeah, that sounds great."

Akutagawa ruffled Atsushi's hair lovingly, and headed to the kitchen to get the food ready. He had never really thought about keeping a pet in the house, even if this wasn't forever, it was still a big responsibility. But they could handle it if they both pitched in. And knowing Atsushi, he would get attached and insist they keep it. He smiled to himself thinking of him begging to let it stay in. He wouldn't argue, anything to make him happy. And having an animal in the house really wouldn't be so bad.

He chopped up a few pieces of meat from the fridge and poured a bowl of water just before Atsushi came back in with the tiny kitten in his arms. "I think it's a boy. So... can we name it?"

Oh boy.

"Already attached?"

"Well yes! I can't help it! He was so lonely and cold and helping him just made me realize I love him!"

"That sounds like how you fell in love with me."

"Well then it makes sense." Atsushi pouted and put the kitten down on the counter next to the food and water. He immediately went for the food and ate it so quickly like it was nothing.

"He looks like you eating tea on rice." Akutagawa teased immediately getting an elbow to the shoulder. "Watch it."

He only took a few laps of water before relaxing and just staring blankly at the both of them. He had really big yellow eyes, kind of like Atsushi's. "He is cute." Ryuu admitted, petting his head. Surprisingly, it didn't fight back and just enjoyed Akutagawa's hand scratching hit fur. He was still a little wet, but would dry as time passed.

Atsushi yawned, giving him pets himself. "Can he sleep with us tonight?"

Akutagawa scoffed. "A flea and tick infested animal? You sure?"

"I cleaned him thoroughly! I promise, there wasn't a single bug left! So please?" he gave those big, fake puppy eyes which Akutagawa could only obey.

"Okay. But if I see or feel any bugs crawling on me tonight, he's out."

Atsushi picked up the kitten and gasped. "You monster!" he said dramatically, making his way to the bedroom. Akutagawa just laughed and joined him, setting the little guy right in the middle.

They both got changed into drier clothes and finally settled down. This definitely wasn't how he expected the night to go, but as long as Atsushi was satisfied, he was too. And the little kitten seemed to be too. When the two held each other getting ready to go to bed, he just joined them and got back into his little ball.

"He's like a tiny jinko." Akutagawa whispered. 

"We are not naming him Jinko."

"That's what I used to call you."

"Exactly."

"It's cute. Like you."

"Shuddup."