From A-Z, and Everything in Between

Opposites Attract

Soraru was a dog person. Dogs were unrelentingly affectionate and enthusiastic about everything they do. They were warm and open, and wanted nothing but love from people. Just like a certain white-haired male he knew. Mafumafu was a cat person. Cats were a little aloof but caring once someone bonded with them. They were reserved and gentle, only giving love to those they really trusted. Just like a certain dark-haired male he knew.

  It was widely agreed that Soraru and Mafumafu got along well. Despite their work in the animal shelter being pretty different, they were often seen together whenever they could get the time. Soraru had been working at the shelter for a few years now. He was in charge of dealing with most of the adoption papers, and he oversaw the operations of the shelter. Although he was supposed to observe all areas of the shelter, he spent a majority of his time in the dog section. Meanwhile, Mafumafu was a volunteer who had joined the shelter's employees around two months ago. As a volunteer, he didn't get paid for what he did, but he worked just as diligently as if he did. Mafumafu was often allowed to take jobs in the cat section of the shelter because of his constant enthusiasm.

  The other employees noticed how well Mafumafu and Soraru clicked with each other immediately. On Mafumafu's first day, he had gone up to Soraru to ask what his job was. The amount of excitement on his face as he waited for his task of the day surprised Soraru, and the dark-haired male had given him a somewhat distracted answer. It was funny to see the usually focused Soraru thrown off guard by a bubbly new volunteer. And from there, the two only got closer.

      "Good morning, Soraru-san!" Mafumafu greeted as the dark-haired male walked through the door.

      "Morning. How are things going over here?" Soraru responded.

      "Everything's great. It seems like Uratan and I will be the only ones looking after the cats today since Amatsuki-kun's sick, but I know we can handle it," Mafumafu answered with a smile.

  Soraru looked around a bit. He wasn't entirely familiar with the cat section of the shelter, but he had been coming here a little more frequently since Mafumafu started working here. He had convinced himself that this was just to make sure the new volunteer didn't mess anything up, but everyone else seemed to have other ideas as to the reason for his visits.

      "Well, everything looks to be in order right now. If you and Urata-san need another person to help out today, I'll send someone over from the dog section, alright?" Soraru said.

      "I told you, we can handle it," Mafumafu said.

  Soraru smiled slightly. "I'm sure you can. All I'm saying is if things get out of hand, don't hesitate to ask for help."

  He gave the albino an encouraging pat on the head. Mafumafu beamed with joy.

      "You have a lot of work to do, so you'd better get started," Soraru said.

  Mafumafu nodded and hurried off to go take care of the cats. Soraru shook his head and smiled again. How could that guy be so energetic all the time? Soraru started to head back to the dog section of the shelter. Even though he had his own priorities right now, he couldn't help worrying about Mafumafu a little bit. The shelter wasn't that big, but it wasn't necessarily small either. To only have two people taking care of an entire section was a little overwhelming. Soraru made a mental note to check on them later during break time and continued on with his day.

  Mafumafu giggled as one of the kittens tried to climb onto his lap. He gently picked it up and showered it with affection, which caused a few of the other kittens to meow in complaint. Mafumafu laughed again.

      "Don't worry, I'll be here all day. Everyone will get their turn," Mafumafu said.

  Just then, he heard a knock on the doorway that led into where the kittens were kept. Mafumafu turned his head to look over at the doorway. Standing there was his friend Urata, who gave him a smile.