Guardian

2

Namjoon's plan was simple: follow Jimin and see what was going on. If Jimin saw him there would be no problem-- Jimin knew him as a stray cat. And if someone was hurting Jimin Namjoon could attack them while Jimin's back was turned.

So he sat quietly outside the door the next morning and waited for Jimin to leave.

When Jimin did so, he was clearly in a hurry, his hair still sticking up and his hoodie not quite pulled down all the way. Namjoon started to move in front of him, then stopped, remembering his plan. He couldn't reveal himself so soon or Jimin would notice he was being followed. Still, he cringed as he watched Jimin walk away from the house so clearly unprepared for the day.

The breakdowns were taking a lot out of him.

Namjoon padded along behind Jimin, pausing only once to duck into the shrubbery when Jimin turned to greet another cat by the side of the road. He made it all the way to the college campus Jimin attended before he had to stop and sit down, watching Jimin enter the building and wondering if he would be thrown out.

No matter. He could wait.

It took Jimin hours to come back out, and when he did he walked quickly, head down, followed by a short man with fluffy black hair. Namjoon moved forward to intercept them and felt a jolt of alarm as a second man joined them, popping up between them and draping himself over their shoulders with a wide grin.

Jimin looked ready to die, but both men seemed oblivious.

Namjoon meowed, and Jimin looked up, ducking out from under the man's arm with a relieved smile. Namjoon felt a surge of pride as the man jogged over to him instead, leaving the other two watching in confusion.

"Hi, kitty!" Jimin said breathlessly, crouching in front of Namjoon and reaching out to pat his head. "How'd you find me?"

Namjoon meowed again, butting his head against Jimin's palm and purring. Jimin chuckled, setting his books down and sweeping Namjoon into his arms. Namjoon was startled but let it pass-- Jimin was clearly desperate for an excuse to avoid the other two men.

"I didn't know you had a cat!" someone cried. "Awww, he's so cute!"

Namjoon turned to look as Jimin held him closer, standing up. "How'd you know it's a he?" Jimin asked suspiciously.

It was one of the men-- the smiling one. The shorter man also had a smile on his face, but it was different, softer.

"Oh, it's just part of my power set," the smiler said carelessly, waving a hand in the air. "What's his name?"

"He's... uh..." Jimin looked at Namjoon, brows furrowed. "I just call him kitty. He's kind of the neighborhood cat..."

"He seems friendly," the short one said, stretching out a hand toward Namjoon. Namjoon leaned toward it, giving it a quick sniff, then let the short man pat his forehead. He didn't smell dangerous at all, and when he felt Jimin relaxing another surge of pride rushed through him.

"Is this why you're against the game nights?" the short man asked. "He seems to really like you-- are you in charge of feeding him, or something?"

"Uh... not really," Jimin said. Namjoon spotted his sheepish smile and moved to butt his head against his face, nuzzling him. "He's just really nice to me, I guess? Everyone else says its just how he is."

The short man nodded, frowning.

"Well, you could always bring him," the smiler said, "I don't think anyone in our group is allergic to cats."

"I guess..." Jimin wavered, looking down at Namjoon. Namjoon turned his head and jumped down, twining himself carefully around Jimin's ankles. "If... if your host is okay with it. I guess I could go."

Namjoon looked up in time to see a genuine grin spread across the short man's face. "Thank you," the short man said, shoving his hands in his pockets. "You won't regret it, I promise."

"I hope so," Jimin said. "See you later, then?"

"See you later," the short man said. The smiler was already racing in the other direction, yelling something at the top of his lungs that Namjoon didn't bother to make out, too focused on Jimin and the conflicting expressions on his face. He wished he could tell Jimin it was okay to say no, that he didn't have to go anywhere he didn't want to.

But he didn't.

Instead, he followed Jimin home, pacing right by his side and wondering if he ever behaved like a human. He was about to meet other humans, after all. And if they realized he wasn't a cat, he couldn't bet on their sensitivity to his situation to keep them from giving him away.

The last thing Jimin needed was to find out that the cat he had taken such good care of was really a human. 

***

How's your 2020 going so far? 

I was going to write this update yesterday, but I had just finished a heavy editing phase and I realized (just in time, thankfully) that I was on the verge of burnout. I showered, brushed my teeth, cleaned up my work areas, and went to bed a little earlier instead. I feel much better today! I hope you're all remembering to take care of yourselves as well, especially if you're a creator of some sort. It's too easy to get excited and forget to eat... -/////-

I purple you! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!