myungsoo just wants to play outside.

it's been a week since the end of summer. the weather's finally turning cooler, with mother nature trading in the sweltering heat of summer for slightly chilly yet still bearable breezes during this period of seasonal change. leaves on trees and shrubs are slowly losing its ever lovely green hue only to turn into a series of warm yellows and captivating oranges over time; eventually, they'll all become a cluster of mesmerising red - a clear indication that autumn has finally arrived.

it's 11 in the morning on a breezy Saturday. the day couldn't be any lovelier, not when sungyeol has a weekend all for himself which he can finally enjoy within the comfort of his own home instead of having to scuttle all over the city from morning through noon, in an attempt to run endless errands for the sake of his job. 

sungyeol decides he'll spend his free weekend doing a little autumn cleaning (because spring cleaning's done in spring and it's autumn now so, autumn cleaning, get it? hahaha- ok bye) and tidy his home. it's been a while since he's done so anyway, and the accumulating mess was (finally) beginning to get on his nerves.

while sungyeol begins cleaning his home, myungsoo lays quietly by the glass door to the back garden, watching his best friend pace up and down as the latter busies himself with various chores.

that means sungyeol can't play with myungsoo, leaving the poor feline bored beyond belief as he observes the other do his thing. myungsoo turns to look at the patch of green littered with bits of yellows and reds beyond the panel of glass; how he wishes to be out there instead of being made to remain indoors with absolutely nothing to do.

sungyeol had made himself clear that the furball was not allowed to be out in the back garden for fear the autumn winds would cause the smaller creature to catch a cold. there was no one to look out for myungsoo either, since the other would be busy with his work. myungsoo, on the other hand, insisted he could withstand the cold and would be careful enough to not fall sick while playing on his own, after all "it's only the back garden! i'm not running off to some creepy forest at some unknown place in the middle of winter or something!"

sungyeol still doesn't grant him permission to play in the garden, and myungsoo pouts bitterly at the other before turning away in childish anger.

the feline hears a snort followed by a laugh from the taller as he gives one last look in myungsoo's direction before going to prepare for his war with the chores. myungsoo slumps on the floor in disappointment, pout growing wider.

the back garden decorated in all (natural) things fall is the last thing he sees before falling asleep to the sound of sungyeol vacuuming the floor.

when myungsoo returns from dreamland later that afternoon he finds himself engulfed in a heat that's mild but more than enough to be considered too hot for autumn. he clearly remembers laying beside the entrance to the garden which would have been one of the cooler spots within the house. instead, the furball is now beside the indoor heater with the heat level set on medium. as if he isn't warm enough already, he finds a blanket draped over his entire body. the heat quickly becomes too uncomfortable for his liking, and the now annoyed feline struggles to get his petite body out of the useless heap of cloth! before he dies of a heatstroke.

(it's actually not that bad.)

it's only after he successfully frees himself from the blanket that he realises the house is unusually silent. it's missing the voice of its owner occasionally sending random thoughts from his brain out through his mouth like a bullet train that never ends, and in other times belting out tunes from way back when without giving a single in the world.

myungsoo doesn't admit the sudden emptiness scares him; the cat with goldfish memory has that worry of being left alone completely out of his mind once his eyes focus on the garden all neat and tidy, locking his target on the pile of fallen leaves situated in between the two tall trees.

the furball trots his way across the living room stealthily, stopping at the garden entrance to make sure the coast is clear before sliding the glass door open as quietly as he can. one more quick check of his surroundings - just in case - and he determines it's safe to go.

a grin full of mischief (with a hint of success) grows as wide as it can be on the cat's otherwise innocent-looking face. myungsoo takes one, two steps back before he sends himself flying across the breadth of the garden, landing face first right into the pile of leaves sungyeol gathered.

the impact of the cat-rocket results in a firework explosion of red, orange and yellow foliage flying into the air before floating back to the ground graciously - a sight that would resemble an autumn snow, if such a thing would even exist. myungsoo remains head first buried into the now smaller pile of leaves, eyes closed and the blinding grin never once leaving his cute cat face.

the furball begins rolling around the heap, flattening the pile of leaves like his body's a rolling pin stretching out a ball of dough. he couldn't be any happier than this very moment; the combination of gleeful meows and contented purrs complemented by the crisp rustling of leaves a clear indication of this. myungsoo plays extremely well by himself - one moment he's prancing from leaf to leaf like he's playing hopscotch, the next he's running around aimlessly feeling the wind through his whiskers. the energetic feline climbs up one of the trees after a few failed attempts and jumps from branch to branch; he makes more leaves fall from the tree before gathering them into a pile that's about the size of himself, only to launch himself into said pile making a mess all over again. then the cycle repeats itself over and over, the cat not paying a single heed to the ever growing mess he's making. myungsoo's not going to waste even the tiniest fraction of a second on anything else but enjoying his freedom in the outdoors, even if it's just in their back garden.

it's by the 13th-or-so pile of leaves he's made for himself within the hour that the feline decides he's had his fill of fun for the day. he's stopped torturing the poor trees of losing any more of their precious leaves against their will by the fifth round, finding just as much joy in simply gathering the already fallen ones into a small hill, climbing up onto one of the branches and diving into the pile below before repeating the process.

myungsoo lies on top of the leafbed starfish-style. he lets out a big, wide yawn before being attacked by shivers down his fluffy body. maybe he should've listened to sungyeol's words. hmm... oh well.

the feline doesn't leave his spot; instead he simply drowns in the tranquility, the only sounds heard being the rustling of leaves as the cat attempts to bunch up as many of the fallen foliage as he can to form a makeshift blanket to cover himself. a few quick paw movements and he's satisfied with his handiwork, releasing a deep sigh to relax as the growing fatigue from playing a little too hard takes over his mind.

off to dreamland he goes for the second time that day.

sungyeol returns home after a much needed walk in the park just down the road from his home. it's almost 5.30, he'll have to get started on preparing dinner soon if he wants to be able to eat by 7 without having to rush and risk burning his dinner like he'd done so the previous week.

as he quietly shuts the door behind him, the taller notices that everything is still where he'd left them before he headed out after his 'autumn' cleaning. all except his back garden, now in utter disarray. 

fallen leaves sungyeol figures are from the two trees are scattered all over the grass patch, despite clearly recalling having tidied them up neatly into a pile before leaving. he's pretty sure that the inanimate heap doesn't have the ability to produce leaves around it, much less shape itself into the odd form it is now. everything the taller saw screamed myungsoo.

sungyeol isn't even the least bit surprised at his discovery. he knew his best friend wouldn't be able to just sit still and obey his words, simply because it's in his nature to, well, be with nature. 

seeing how the uneven mini mountain of leaves has a cat's head sticking out from one side and a slim furry tail curled within itself on the other end, the sight before him only serves to prove his judgement correct.

sungyeol's eyebrows raise in doubt and slight disbelief, a smirk forming on his lips as he tries to suppress the snicker-slash-giggle bubbling in him. he mentally salutes his feline best friend for being able to even fall asleep in such a place and position, and especially in such a weather. gaze never once leaving the slumbering slab of rock cat, sungyeol shakes his head in amusement as he retreats indoors to begin his second war of the day, this time with his dinner ingredients.

the aroma of curry permeates the entire house as sungyeol scoops a serving of the appetising creation onto his plate. he's managed to finish cooking his dinner within the expected time and everything looks good, smells good; hopefully it tastes good too.

resisting the temptation to spoil himself and have a spoonful right then and there, sungyeol sets the plate onto the dining table with a lid over it before making his way to the back garden. 

the taller is greeted by a breeze chillier than the ones in the day, and his eyes immediately land on the sleeping feline. sungyeol notices a slight tremble throughout his best friend's body. as he looks up to see rose-tinted clouds gently float by, a tiny leaf detaches itself from one of the branches above. the taller observes the little piece of red dance left and right as it gradually makes its descent, softly landing right on a still-fast-asleep myungsoo's kitten nose. sungyeol manages to witness the cat's features scrunch up in growing irritation, pink nose twitching once, twice, before sneezing the pesky leaf off his face, disintegrating his makeshift blanket in the process and essentially sneezing himself awake.

(sungyeol figures he might have a thing for watching his furball when the latter's on a trip to dreamland.)

the sneeze has the feline rising into a sitting position before flopping forward on his tummy. large cat eyes widen in startlement, blinking abstractedly before letting out a yawn and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. he gets a grasp of his surroundings soon after; his heart sinks when he looks up and notices his frowning best friend standing in front of him. the furball's ears lower in guilt; it's obvious he's been caught for not listening to sungyeol's words. glassy eyes locks gazes with the latter's seemingly fierce ones, trying its best to read the other's thoughts and possible actions to come.

myungsoo is taken aback when the other drops the fake frown and simply flashes a bright smile, lowering himself to reach his pet's level. sungyeol doesn't reprimand myungsoo for disobeying him - how could he after seeing his ever so fluffy kitty best friend looking back at him with such glassy and pleading eyes, ears folded and whiskers pointing down (even though the feline himself probably doesn't realise he's even doing that) in the most adorable way ever?

the pair break their eye contact when another sneeze attacks myungsoo. sungyeol ruffles the feline's head, grabbing the furball into his arms and heads back into the house without a word, he has one hand hugging the other's body close to his own to try and keep him warm, the other pulling calming from myungsoo's head down his back as the human says in a reprimanding yet teasing tone, "you're definitely going to regret not listening to my words later." sungyeol gets three more cat sneezes in reply.

myungsoo comes down with a serious cold the next day. sungyeol rubs it in his face with an "i told you so." the sick feline regrets his actions immediately at the remark. he spends the next seven days confined indoors by sungyeol's orders, battling the flu bug with constant naps and yucky medication which sungyeol explains is "for your own good, especially since you didn't bother taking my words seriously."

despite having to go through the neverending drowsiness and suffering, myungsoo finds himself drowning in endless cuddles and snuggles with his best friend as he walks down the road to recovery.

maybe disobeying his owner and falling sick isn't so bad after all.

a/n: i at writing, especially forewords. if you've made it through to the end of this piece of , congrats! it's optional but do leave me a comment on your thoughts on your way out, i'd appreciate it a lot. ^^