By some of luck Tao stumbled upon a cat boy on his way back to his house one day, who looked up at him with watery, bulbous eyes while he implored for food.

“Aww,” Tao cooed—he always found the cat-like creatures to be rather cute, plus he was too far gone to stop himself at that point—and scratched behind the creature’s ear in an endearing manner. The cat boy wasn’t shy; he leaned into Tao’s touch without any sign of hesitance. “Do you want some?” Tao asked, taking out some of the fish from the takeout he had been meaning to eat once he’d arrived home (but for a cat boy as cute as the one in front of him at that moment, Tao was sort of willing to give everything up).

“What’s your name, mister? I’m Chen.”

Chen ate the fish right from his hand. His moist pink tongue at Tao’s palm and shamelessly coated it with saliva before Chen pulled back, looking at Tao with an expression of anticipation in a silent plea for more fish. “You little…” Tao scoffed, but he complied nonetheless. “I’m Tao.” After Chen looked somewhat content Tao reached up to ruffle the creature’s fluffy, brown hair. He bid his goodbye and continued his way back home.

Since that one incident he began seeing the cat boy a lot more often. He bought some milk from the convenient store and of course, some fish after he left work, to which he fed to Chen every chance he stumbled upon him. That of course made Tao realised that he could even tell the difference between any other cat’s mewl and Chen’s, hence he had no problem guessing where the creature would be at any given time. Every time Tao ventured his way down the familiar streets where his house resided at the very far end of it, he found himself expecting Chen to jump out anytime soon. Tao occasionally invited him over to his house and Chen would fall asleep on the couch, but when Tao woke up the next day the cat boy was nowhere to be found.

Tao was surprised one day to see Chen sleeping by his doorstep, tired from work and a plastic with milk in his hand. Chen was so small that if he curled up just enough Tao would have missed him and stepped on him by accident on the welcoming mat positioned directly in front of his door. He looked so peaceful with his eyes closed, chest heaving, and breaths even. Because Tao didn’t have the heart to wake the cute thing up, he reached down and carried the creature into his house, laying him down on the comfortable sofa.

Chen stirred a bit, causing Tao to stop from moving. He didn’t want to wake the cat boy, but then his eyes fluttered open as he woke up from his enjoyable slumber. At the sight of Tao in front of him Chen gasped and leaned forward, wrapping his arms around the taller male’s neck. “Master, you’re back!” he exclaimed.

“Master?” Tao repeated in an incredulous tone while putting a reluctant hand on the small of the latter’s back. “Chen, I’m not your master.”

But then Chen pushed him back and straddled his waist, rendering him speechless. “But I want you to be!” Chen bounced. His crotch was inching dangerously closer and close to Tao’s in an alarming distance.

“Chen,” Tao called. Scandalised, he put his hands on the latter’s shoulders to push him away. “Chen, get off—”

“Not unless you say it!” Chen demanded in glee, seemingly mistaking Tao’s shocked expression as one of pain as his bounced on the male’s lap became more eager with every passing second Tao wasn’t agreeing. “Say it, Tao!”

“Alright!” The man surrendered, sighing in relief when Chen stopped bouncing. “But before I do, are you sure you want me to be?”

The cat boy nodded. “You take good care of me even when I’m not your pet,” he smiled from ear to ear before showing off his sharp talons. “You don’t have a choice. If you disagree, I’ll hurt you. From this day on, you are my master.”

And that was how Chen became his pet. It was inevitable.

Despite his bossy attitude, Chen was annoyingly adorable and Tao had to resist every urge he had to pinch the creature’s cheeks, because the petulant thing had once explained that “it hurts very much and I don’t like getting hurt.” However, Tao discovered soon that Chen loved being scratched behind his ear. It made him stop whatever he was doing to lean in to his touch, yearning for more. In other words, Chen became complete goo when touched there, so Tao liked to take advantage of it sometimes when Chen threw a tantrum about the littlest of things and decided to run in a ridiculous speed around the house with the intention of breaking some of his things.

As time passed and word had gotten around Tao’s office that he’d gotten himself a cat boy. The ‘hot news’ had even reached Kris, who was practically on the other side of the office and almost never talked to Tao unless they walked in on each other in the break room. All the same, Kris had walked in on Tao making himself a cup of coffee that day and had flashed him a good-natured smile before speaking up. “I heard you found yourself a cat boy, Huang.”

“Uh, yeah,” Tao nodded, taking some time to process the fact that Kris himself had his own. He was sure that it was some sort of rumour or something going around in the office once upon a time, and no one’s actually bothered to confirm it. Now though, it seemed the rumour was true. “I did, Wu.”

“Can your cat boy can hang out with mine?” Kris leaned against the small table Tao was sitting on. “Lu Han’s lonely when I’m working, and I’m sure yours is too. What’s his name?”

Chen and Lu Han got along together pretty well. At one point Tao had to leave Chen to be taken care of Kris, who had agreed without hesitance, because he had to go meet a close relative of his who lived a long way away and he was certain Chen didn’t like being stuck in a car not being able to move about much space for more than an hour. Tao returned two days later, in front of Kris’ white villa to pick Chen up.

“I haven’t seen Lu so happy in a long time,” Kris grinned as they waited at the front porch of his house for their respective pets.

“Tao!” Chen skipped into the scene along with a slightly taller cat boy with fluffy blond hair, who had a black leather collar around his neck in sharp contrast to his pale skin. Tao grinned at the cat boy while he tried to still an animated Chen in his arms, the cat boy having had thrown himself onto his master once he was about an arm’s length away from him.

“You must be Lu Han,” Tao reached over to tousle Lu Han’s soft hair. Chen giggled into his neck.

Kris beckoned his pet over and wrapped an arm around his bony shoulders, pulling him closer. “Thanks for this,” he said, watching Chen’s tail wag as it peeked its way out of his shirt.

“I should be thanking you,” Tao responded, patting Chen’s back. His pet got the idea and squirmed down, turning to face Kris.

“You’re welcome,” Chen stated suddenly, emitting a laugh from both Lu Han and Kris. “I’ll see you next time Lu Han!”

On their way back the cat boy wouldn’t stop talking about his time with Kris’ pet while Tao was away, explaining with profound enthusiasm how he got to “do more cat things with Lu Han than he ever got to with Tao.” Tao felt oddly left out and insignificant, but he shrugged it off.

And then one day, as persuaded by Kris, Tao bought a collar for the pretty boy as Kris insisted that Lu Han himself had his own collar. He didn’t see why Kris thought it was a good idea—cats don’t usually wear collars, do they? The custom made collar he bought was of brown leather, with a metal tag and Chen’s name engraved on its front side while Tao’s name as well as his personal phone number was engraved at the back, in case Chen ran away at some point and got lost in the process.

When he showed the new gift to him for approval, Chen had bounced giddily in his seat on the sofa. “Put it on! Master, put it on for me!” Chen squealed, and Tao had to calm him down before doing as he was told.

For some reason when the collar was finally on, Tao looked at Chen and expected to see the grin he had before that widen, but to his fear Chen looked so scared as he began thrashing around in his place on Tao’s lap. “What’s wrong? Is it too tight?” Tao asked, panicking. Chen shook his head frantically. His flailing became more reckless, so Tao grabbed hold of the creature’s wrists. “Chen, tell me what’s wrong.” He tried to scratch behind the creature’s ear, but Chen pulled back before he could do so.

To Tao’s disappointment Chen shook his head again, but this time he broke free from his master’s grasp and ran to the bed. He built a fort on the bed using the pillows and slept there, leaving Tao to sleep on the couch and wake up with a sore back, only to find that the cat boy was gone. He left the door unlocked when he went for work that day—Chen was bound to come back sooner or later—and he was grateful to see the cat boy sitting on the couch with a cup of milk in his hands while he watched the TV when he’d returned, but since then Chen became very…rude.

…okay, ‘rude’ wasn’t really the word for it. If anything, Chen became colder and even more demanding. Tao was used to coming home to a sweet and exultant Chen greeting him with a loud and jovial “Welcome back, master!” or something, so of course he was crestfallen when Chen ignored him and continued to watch the television in silence instead.

Tao frowned. He took a tentative seat beside the pouting cat boy, who hadn’t even spared a single glance at his owner throughout the whole day, even up to that moment. When Chen didn’t show any sign of not wanting Tao to be sitting next to him, Tao willed himself to lean back on the sofa. Much to his relief, the cat boy was still wearing the collar, and Tao allowed his pet to take a brief sip of the milk before he reached over gingerly to hook two fingers on the collar.

“Do you want me to take it off?” Tao asked. “You know I won’t force you to use it.”

Then there was pain—in an effort to push his master away, Chen had scratched the former. Tao stared at Chen in disbelief when he pulled his now bleeding hand away reflexively. “Don’t touch me!” Chen bellowed. He slammed the now empty cup on top of the coffee table and ran into the bedroom, entering a ready-made pillow fort on the bed. “Don’t come near me! Bad master!” He shouted, voice muffled.

It was ironic. As far as Tao knew, Chen was angry at him for putting the collar on him, but that didn’t make sense. When he looked back at it, Tao had done so because Chen wanted him to, not because it was forced upon him. In addition, the cat boy made no attempt whatsoever at removing the collar despite his obvious hatred of it being on. The opportunity even presented itself on a silver platter by Tao, and yet Chen refused to let him get rid of the collar.

Still trying to let the occurrence sink in, Tao could just watch as Chen fluffed up some pillows before laying his head on one of them. From the way his shoulders moved, he’d heaved a sigh, making Tao relax a bit. Perhaps Chen just needed a few more days to adjust to the new setting.

Looks like I have to sleep on the couch again tonight.

“Maybe he just doesn’t like the collar,” Kris suggested the following morning, once Tao finished telling him about what happened the night before. He travelled to the other side of the office just to see him.

Tao rolled his eyes. “Gee, I haven’t thought of that one before,” he deadpanned, earning a hit on the shoulder. “I offered to take it off for him but he didn’t want me to. Plus, you were the one who suggested the idea.”

When he woke up Chen was still inside his fort as he snored away peacefully, and didn’t move an inch even after Tao got up to take a shower. Tao noted to buy some more milk on the way home. “Was Lu han like this when you got him the collar?”

Kris shook his head in dismay. “He was okay about it. Maybe I should bring Lu Han over and we’ll see if Chen will confides him what’s wrong. They’re like, what, best friends now right?”

“Maybe,” Tao repeated, not quite answering his colleague’s question.

Kris came over later that week, Lu Han and Chen sitting side by side on the couch while they talked in hushed whispers. Chen had lightened up at his presence—Tao was grateful for that. He thought he wouldn’t be able to see the creature smile anymore since the incident. After convincing Lu Han that he’d be alright, Kris had come into the kitchen to assist Tao in preparing dinner.

Well, not exactly. Tao was standing by the stove while Kris sat, his ankles crossed under the dining table. “Nice place you have here,” Kris commented. “I like Chen’s collar. It brings out his eyes.”

“Uh, thanks?” Tao quirked an eyebrow.

The other male laughed haughtily. “Lu likes it too. As for Chen I’m not too sure,” his smile dropped. He watched as Tao opened the fridge to pull out a few ingredients.

“Here’s the weird thing,” Tao stopped in his ministrations to look at him. “He was happy. He wanted me to put it on. But when I did, he got scared he just ran away. Yesterday I asked him if he liked it and he said I was the worst master ever and locked himself in my room the rest of the day. I’m tired of sleeping on the couch.”

“Tao-Tao!” Lu Han’s angelic voice rang into the room as the said cat boy skipped inside the kitchen and smiled, eyes wide, at Tao. “Chen says he wants some milk.” Tao gestured to the refrigerator in response.

Kris scowled. This seemed to pique his interest as he sat up straight in his chair “Hmm? Why didn’t he just ask for it himself?” He had lowered his voice, confusion evident in his face. Lu Han shrugged innocently, moving over to the fridge and taking out the carton of milk and some glasses from the cupboard.

Once dinner ended Kris tried to play around with Chen and Lu Han to see if he could try to get something out from Tao’s cat boy. He’d even complimented the cat boy’s collar, and to Tao’s surprise Chen had nodded along as he giggled, “Yes, yes, I know! It’s very pretty, right? Tao bought it for me!”

As soon as Lu Han and his owner left that night for bedtime, Chen was back to his serious demeanour.

Tao tried to approach him. “Chen, did you enjoy your time with Lu Han today?” He watched the creature’s hair bob in a subtle nod, but Tao was disheartened that his pet wouldn’t face him.

His pet.

“Chen,” Tao called out again, sternly this time. “We need to talk.”

For the first time in a while Chen faced Tao with a small smile which quickly disappeared when he opened his mouth. “No we don’t,” the cat boy said firmly. “Go away.”

“Chen, I’m serious. If you—”

The creature drew his eyebrows together. “I don’t want to, go away! I hate you!”

At that point, Tao had enough.

“You know what,” he sighed in defeat. Chen’s refusal to cooperate was arousing the suppressed anger within him, all the pent-up rage he’d pushed aside ever since—whatever appropriate name it could be called. Chen had been the one to suggest ownership, he had also been the one to ask Tao to put the collar on, and Tao wasn’t going to have his pet be like this. He stood up and spun on his heels out of the living room.

“Fine,” Tao said over his shoulder, secretly startled at how calm he sounded.

The last thing he heard before leaving his house and shutting the door closed behind him was a confused and terrified, “Master…?”

It was something Tao had been thinking about in a long time. Yes, Chen had been upset with him the past few days because of Tao’s ‘incompetence’ as a master, and they weren’t on the same speaking terms as they were before. But the fact that Chen stayed, made no move to leave his master at all, indicated that the boy needed a master despite how vocal his complaints were, right?

So Tao decided that if he threatened to leave, Chen would be more cooperative, perhaps?

In hindsight, sure, it was stupid that Tao left his own house. Then again, it was better than to drag Chen out, because although he was a stray Tao knew that Chen couldn’t handle the outside world. He thought back on the day he’d first found the cat boy, how he was so thin back then and had bruises marring almost every patch of skin, even under the ragged shirt he wore at that time. Sometimes he’d see scratches on them, as though Chen had just gotten into a catfight.

Chen just needed more time, Tao told himself, but it’s been weeks. He pondered on the fact as he sat on the bench at the park, comparing his relationship with his pet to Kris and Lu Han.

No doubt, Kris and Lu Han’s life together was filled with rainbows and content. Which was what Tao and Chen were before this incident came to be, and Tao was more than glad to admit that he missed Chen—the Chen he met, the Chen he picked up from the streets, who smiled at him every day while still maintaining a sarcastic attitude. Tao missed him.

This lead Tao to stand up after sitting there for ten more minutes. He hadn’t a clue how long it had been since he’d left his place but he just wanted to get back to his pet right then, and when he started making his way back to his house, he hoped Chen didn’t run out to look for him.

Apparently Chen had been too afraid to do so. When Tao came back, it was to a tuft of chocolate locks that had thrown itself onto his chest while Tao was thrown into a flurry of different mixed emotions. Tao’s head hit the linoleum floor hard as Chen mumbled incoherent and indecipherable words into his shirt and wetting it with his tears in the process.

Tao rubbed the back of his head and winced in pain, but Chen pulled back and straddled his hips, tail wagging nervously. “I’m sorry!” He squeaked, tears dry. “I’m…I’m so glad you came back, I thought you left me forever to die, I’m sorry I was a bad pet—I’m sorry! I’ll be good, please don’t punish me!”

And everything made sense then. The boy was shaking now, and though his head still hurt, Tao looked at Chen inquisitively. “Punish?” Tao repeated. Chen did say punish, right? He didn’t just imagine it?

“Yes! I mean, no!” Chen shook his head. “I promise I’ll be good, I’ll be better, I’ll let you take my collar off if you want to! Just don’t hurt me, I don’t want to get hurt!” Chen dove back down to press the side of his face against Tao’s chest, snuggling. “I’m sorry…” his voice cracked.

Slowly, Tao sat up and put his hands on Chen’s head to pull him back. He stared into the creature’s glossy eyes that sparkled with imploration as he comprehended the cat boy’s words, taking a moment to let his head process the words properly. If he was correct, the way Chen was reacting at that moment, probably had something to do with his previous owner.

“Please don’t hurt me,” Chen cried. Tao didn’t have the heart to let go, because Chen was holding him like a lost child and Tao was suddenly weighed with an air of responsibility. “Just take off my collar, please, I don’t want to get hurt anymore. I’ll be good.” The cat boy reached up and wiped his tears away with the back of his hand before leaning back to reveal his neck, his collar. He was obediently asking for Tao to remove it for him.

“Chen, no,” Tao enclosed his arms around the creature’s waist. “I’m not taking your collar off unless you really want me to.” Chen looked surprised by this as his jaw fell open to reveal his sharp canines. Tao remained calm. “But if you don’t mind me asking, why did you cry? When I put it on for you?”

The tears came flooding back in less than a second; Chen buried his nose into Tao’s neck. Tao’s heart sunk deep into his stomach in pity as he listened to Chen trying to explain the reason behind his crying. “My…my old master used to put me on a leash, and, and he’d keep pulling it really hard until I choked even though I behaved, and I just got scared that time that I just—”

“I understand,” Tao ran his fingers through Chen’s brown hair in an attempt to soothe the creature, letting his hand brush against his nape, which appeared to have calmed him down. Chen began breathing evenly into his collarbone. “I’m sorry too, Chen.” Tao said, and the said male nodded, wrapping his arms around his owner’s neck.

Tao was just revealed to a completely different side of Chen, and as he laid the boy next to him on the bed, he hoped for the best that the following day would be different and he could understand Chen more than he had at that moment.

a/n: this was unbetaed and unedited so im sorry for any grammatical mistakes/errors i promise i'll edit this soon enough!! but even more sorry for the abrupt/lame ending on the bright side im updating crybaby! comments are loveeddd!! i hope you enjoyed this Mhtbleach <3