Guardian

1

"Did you get into another fight? Clumsy kitty..."

Namjoon purred as Jimin patted his head, letting the male sweep him into his arms. Yes, his ears were a little tattered, and he had to limp his way into Jimin's open yard, but he didn't mind. As long as Jimin stayed right where he was, there was no problem. He butted his head under Jimin's chin and continued to purr, enjoying the warmth as Jimin carried him inside.

As always, Jimin's house was decorated simply-- mostly the same yellow blanket bought a dozen times over. There was one over the couch, on the floor, draped off the bed, bunched up beneath the table... Namjoon didn't mind. It was somewhere to play, and Jimin loved when he played, ducking under blankets and pouncing after moving parts.

He just loved making Jimin happy.

But today a cloud had passed over the sun, and Jimin didn't seem in the mood. Namjoon cuddled up with him and received a patient hand in his fur, but Jimin spent more time staring at the book in his hand, sighing and flipping back and forth between the same pages. Namjoon perched in his lap and did his best to read the book (yes, he had gone to school-- his parents had conditions for letting him traipse around the neighborhood as a four-legged-sass-machine) but the way Jimin flipped the pages made it hard to focus on one or two lines. Clearly the book wasn't the problem.

Finally Jimin set the book down, groaned, and rested his head on the table. "Should I?" he asked Namjoon.

Namjoon meowed. There was no way Jimin expected an actual answer, but he seemed to relax as he ran his hands through Namjoon's fur. Namjoon butted his head against his fingers and squirmed out of his arms, twining around his legs instead.

"I know," Jimin sighed. "It's just frustrating. I'd much rather stay in bed tonight."

Namjoon sat down, tilting his head and staring up at Jimin. Was Jimin going out somewhere?

"I just, Yoongi seems like a nice guy but he makes me uncomfortable!" Jimin cried, standing up and starting to pace the kitchen. "All of them do, really, but it's also just video games, right? I'm not antisocial-- I'm talking to a cat, I'm the definition of antisocial!" he crouched down, groaning and putting his head between his knees. "This is so stupid..."

Namjoon watched him carefully, then approached him, ducking his head and batting at Jimin's bangs with one paw. Jimin chuckled, but his voice broke, and to Namjoon's alarm he began to cry.

"It's just a game night," he said. "It's just a game night, it's just a fucking game night, what is wrong with me?"

Namjoon meowed and pressed his head against Jimin's. Jimin sat down hard and Namjoon moved quickly between his legs, arching his back against Jimin's chest and meowing again when Jimin made no move to hold him.

"I'm s-sorry," Jimin said, coughing. "I'm s-sorry... it's just a stupid game night, I need to get over it..."

Namjoon gave up on meowing and hissed, startling Jimin. Jimin stared down at him, bemused, as he sat and draped his tail over Jimin's thigh, staring straight at the only human in the whole wide world he could feasibly call his friend.

Because a game night was not 'just' anything, and this was Jimin's third breakdown that week. Whatever was going on outside of the house was not as simple as Jimin made it out to be.

"I'm sorry," Jimin mumbled.

Namjoon meowed. The lack of human words was annoying, but he had dealt with it for years and he would deal with it now. He reached up and batted at Jimin's bangs again, and Jimin let out a wet laugh.

"Thanks, kitty."

Namjoon turned and walked to a blanket, curling up and turning to look at Jimin. Jimin hesitated, then crawled over, lying down beside him. Namjoon curled up against Jimin's chest, purring, and Jimin chuckled, running a hand through his fur.

"How do you always know?" he asked softly.

Namjoon didn't answer.

And he didn't wish he could.

Because he knew if he were human, Jimin would never have approached him in the first place. 

*blasts Panic! At The Disco's version of Into The Unknown*

into the unKNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWN--

I think I'm addicted to writing at this point. 75+ pages of editing, this chapter, a whole separate idea, realizing that I need a second part to a story that's already 150 pages long... this life is a roller coaster, but I've really come to love it. 

I think.