Just Like Snow

Chapter Nine

  Soraru sighed and collapsed onto the couch as soon as they got home, exhausted once again. "Ah, another tiring day... And here I thought my weekend was going to be nice and relaxing."

"I thought today was pretty fun. Don't you think so too, Soraru-san?" MafuMafu inquired as he sat down next to the blue-haired male.

"Could've been worse, I suppose," Soraru responded with a shrug.

MafuMafu pouted slightly. "That doesn't sound like you had a good time."

"No, no, it's not like I had a bad time, it's just that I think I'm not really used to doing lots of things on the weekend anymore," Soraru stated. "I mean, most of the time I just sit in the house all day without doing much, so going from that to actually doing stuff all day for both days is pretty tiring."

MafuMafu hummed thoughtfully. "Why don't you ever do anything, Soraru-san? There seems to be lots of fun stuff to do out there."

Soraru shrugged again. "Never feel like it, I guess. Really, the only reason I went out at all this weekend was because we needed to get things for you."

"So, I inconvenienced you again, huh?" MafuMafu muttered quietly, staring down at the ground.

Soraru looked at him confusedly. "Inconvenienced...? What? No, you haven't inconvenienced me at all really."

"Eh?" MafuMafu turned his gaze to Soraru and blinked.

"My friends are always telling me I need to get out more, so those outings were probably a good thing. Plus, having you around is a nice break from my usual routine. Just don't worry about things like that anymore, okay?" Soraru stated before ruffling MafuMafu's hair playfully.

MafuMafu's eyes widened at this, and he seemed too surprised to speak for a moment. Soraru was about to ask what was wrong, when suddenly MafuMafu grinned.

"You pet me! Soraru-san pet me!" MafuMafu exclaimed happily.

That's right, he's a cat, so petting him is probably a big deal to him, Soraru thought as he looked at MafuMafu's beaming face. Soraru smiled softly. Heh, that's kind of cute actually. He looks so happy.

"No one's ever pet me before. No one..." MafuMafu trailed off. He was still smiling, but tears were forming in his eyes.

Without warning, MafuMafu tackled Soraru in a hug, causing the blue-haired male to let out an exclamation of surprise.

"What are you-"

"I'm so happy. I'm so very, very happy," MafuMafu's voice came out in a mumble since his face was currently buried in Soraru's shirt.

Soraru stared down at him for a few seconds, before chuckling and returning the embrace. MafuMafu seemed so helpless in that moment, his shoulders shaking slightly as he clung tightly to Soraru as if he were the white-haired male's lifeline. So, no one's ever pet him before, huh? Soraru thought to himself with a small frown. Just what kind of person let you on my doorstep, MafuMafu? After a few minutes, MafuMafu pulled away enough to look up at Soraru. His red eyes were still glistening with tears, but he seemed genuinely happy.

"What's with you and looking pitiful? Seriously, it's like you do this on purpose," Soraru said jokingly.

MafuMafu laughed a bit sheepishly at this. "I'm not doing it on purpose, I swear!"

"Alright, then," Soraru smiled faintly and began to gently stroke MafuMafu's hair.

It was soft to the touch, just like the fur of a cat. This seemed a little odd that human (or, at least, "human appearing") hair could have the same kind of feeling as a cat's, but Soraru supposed that this was just one of the traits that transferred over between the white-haired male's forms. Even now it was strange thinking the person before him was also a cat, but somehow Soraru had grown used to all the strangeness in the short time since MafuMafu's arrival. MafuMafu made a soft, sort of humming sound and closed his eyes, reveling in the feeling of the first tender touch he'd ever received. Was this what he had been missing out on all this time? If it was, then MafuMafu envied those who always had this kind of treatment. What lucky souls they were. But now, MafuMafu thought that maybe he was the truly lucky one. His mind returned to the question he had that morning about mutual affection, and for once MafuMafu thought he might've had a vague idea on an answer. Though, sitting here like this was making him feel drowsy, and soon MafuMafu fell asleep, using Soraru's chest as a pillow.

"Oh, geez, I didn't think he'd actually fall asleep like that," Soraru muttered while looking down at MafuMafu.

The white-haired male looked so peaceful, there was no way he could move MafuMafu and risk waking him up. So, left with no other option, Soraru sat there on the couch and continued to stroke MafuMafu's hair, until he too finally drifted off to sleep.

A/N: This is kind of a short chapter, sorry about that :/ School starts for me in two days, and I've still got summer assignments to finish up. Aaaahhhh I need more timeeeee >^<