Taemin hunched his shoulders, trying to burrow his face deeper into his scarf to hide from the biting wind as he trudged home.  Snow was just around the corner, he could feel it in his bones. The streets were dark and empty at that time of night and a flickering street lamp guided him back to the basement apartment he called home.  This was the worst night of the week for Taemin, an evening class followed by a late shift at the convenience store meant he got home when most people were fast asleep in their beds. Of course, he had class the following day so the best he could manage was a nap before he had to be awake and moving.  

     Stupid job, stupid class; stupid life.  

     He kicked a bottle on the sidewalk, hearing it clink off the side of the building followed by a yowl that was jarring it was so loud and out of place.  He froze, . He peered down the dark alleyway, squinting against the dark and two yellow eyes seemed to glow back at him.  

     .

     Taemin wasn’t exactly an animal person anyway, but hitting a cat with a beer bottle definitely didn’t put him in the animals good graces.  “Sorry?” He whispered, not sure what the etiquette was for possibly assaulting an animal. “It was an accident, my dude.” 

     The cat blinked at him, staring him down.  Taemin shifted, uncomfortable with the whole encounter so he avoided it and continued on down the road to his apartment.  

     He fumbled with the lock, stepping inside and frowning.  It didn’t feel any warming in his apartment than it did outside.  “ing hell,” He muttered, kicking off his shoes and dashing into his kitchenette to see the window was open.  

     Again.  

     He’d told the landlord at least 12 times now but he still hadn’t fixed the damn latch.  Taemin growled to himself, rubbing at his hands and hopping from foot to foot as if he could will the small apartment to warm up faster.  He put on the kettle, making some tea and bundling up in a blanket before flopping on his bed and turning on the tv show he’d been marathoning, letting the computer autoplay the next episodes until he fell into a doze.  

~~~

     He woke to the sound of crashing and he jolted out of bed, blinking in confusion.  His laptop was in bed beside him, the battery dead, and his phone blinked with unread notifications on the floor beside him.  He almost thought he’d imagined the sound but he usually slept like the dead, he didn’t wake up to strange noises. Taemin had long ago accepted that he’d be the first to die in a horror movie due to not waking up until the serial killer was putting a knife to his throat, maybe not even then.  

     He heard another sound, rustling noises coming from the other room, and his sleepy brain tried to weigh the pros and cons of staying in bed.  If someone was here to kill him, they were already in the house and he wasn’t exactly a fighter so… he might as well get a few more minutes of sleep before his number was called.  If someone was there to rob him… well they’d be disappointed for one, but maybe they’d leave him alone if he stayed in bed. Or maybe he was being stupid and should just get up and see what’s going on.  It was probably just a mouse or something. His building wasn’t exactly high class.  

     He rolled off his mattress, shivering at the chill in the air, and padded softly out into the kitchenette to see what the racket was.  The goddamn window was open again. It wasn’t big enough for a person to squeeze through, even a small one, so his irrational fears of serial killers and robbers was… irrational.  The window banged against the frame, rattling from the wind and Taemin cursed his landlord once again. He latched the window, willing it to stay closed and turned to go back to bed when a brush of… something... against his leg made him jump, an embarrassing noise falling from his lips. 

     It was dark and he was tired and something just touched him!  He’d talked himself down too soon, it was definitely not irrational to assume you are in a horror movie.  Until the ‘thing’ brushed up against him again, lantern-yellow eyes looking up at him and a rumble of a purr coming out of it.  

     . 

     There was a cat in his apartment.  

     He didn’t own a cat.   

     Those eyes were familiar however… he fumbled for the kitchen light, bright and assaulting to his sleepy eyeballs, but his suspicions were confirmed.  The feral cat from the alleyway was now sitting on his kitchen floor.  

     “What the am I supposed to do with you?” He muttered.  It was the middle of the night, he couldn’t call-- , who did you even call?  Animal control? Yeah… that sounded right. Normally, he wouldn’t have too many qualms about throwing the thing back in the alley where it belonged, but the snow was coming down hard and it was freezing and he wasn’t totally heartless.  If this thing was willing to break into his apartment due to the weather well… he could respect that. Or maybe he was just way too tired to deal with this right now. “Look,” He said to the cat, trying to make his voice sound firm and authoritative.  “This isn’t permanent. You can’t live here.” 

     The cat blinked at him before it began meticulously grooming its paw, ignoring him and his words.  Taemin sighed and shuffled over to his fridge. He found an old takeout container with some tough looking chicken nuggets and he shrugged, plopping it on the floor, putting a bowl of water beside it.  “I’m going back to bed, if you in my apartment you’re dead,” He tried again to sound firm but he sounded weak even to his own ears. The cat gnawed on the chicken nuggets, ignoring him once again and Taemin shook his head, turned off the light and shuffled back to his bedroom and dropped down onto his mattress.  What a weird day.

~~~

     When he woke in the light of morning he noticed three very new things.  

     One: he felt very warm.  

     Two: the warmth was concentrated directly on his chest like a heating pad.  

     Three: the heating pad was vibrating.

     He cracked an eye open, coming face to face with the mystery alley cat, purring happily on his chest.  “Right…” Taemin muttered. The cat. The cat had broken into his house last night, that was a thing that had happened not just a confused anxiety dream.  The cat blinked his eyes open, watching Taemin but it made no attempt to move, continuing its rumbling purr.  

     “Uhhh… can you like… move?” Taemin asked.  “I have to pee.” 

     The cat didn’t move. 

     Taemin sighed, this is why he didn’t have a pet.  He could barely keep himself alive most days so he definitely shouldn’t be responsible for a helpless animal.  But more importantly, cats were kind of . Like this cat who wouldn’t let him out of bed. Taemin finally just lifted the animal, setting it beside him so he could slip out of the bed, the cat immediately settling back down where Taemin just was, monopolizing the warm spot.  Taemin rolled his eyes.    

     He stumbled to the bathroom, cursing at the pile of cat on the floor.  Was this his life now? Logically, he knew he hadn’t really given the cat any other options but… that wasn’t the point now was it?  “You are a guest here!” Taemin called out to him. “Guests shouldn’t on the floor, it’s rude!” 

     Taemin cleaned it up, grumbling to himself the whole time, and headed back to the kitchen to make some coffee.  He wasn’t going to make it through this day without copious amounts of caffeine. He ignored the chicken nugget crumbs on the floor, puttering around until he had coffee and some slightly burnt toast before heading back to his room.  The cat hadn’t moved and seemed quite content to lay around in bed all day. Part of Taemin was totally okay with that however, a larger part of him thought ‘fleas’ and wrinkled his nose. The cat had lived outside for god-knows how long, at the very least he had gross alley germs all over him.  Taemin didn’t want to get tetanus or something. He’d have to wash his sheets.  

     He fed a bit of his crust to the cat, the thing purring in contentment as Taemin finished off his breakfast.  “Maybe you aren’t so bad,” Taemin muttered as the cat rubbed its cheek against the back of his hand, begging to be petted.  He really needed to get ready for his class however, he couldn’t very well leave the cat in his apartment and with the dumping of snow they’d gotten overnight, it felt cruel to put the thing back outside.  He sighed to himself, deciding to skip his class, an easy enough decision to make since his professor was kind of a , and he’d… take care of the cat. Whatever that meant.  

     He dropped a few things into Google and surprisingly, searching “what to do when a feral cat breaks into your apartment’ led him to some helpful websites and the adress to the nearest vets office which was only a few blocks away.  He could handle this. He was an adult. It was fine. 

~~~

     It was not fine.  He’d pretty much burrito wrapped the cat in an old sweater of his before attempting to walk to the vets office.  It had almost worked too… until he’d actually gone outside and it was freezing and the cat started fighting him tooth and nail…. Yeah he definitely didn’t burrito wrap the cat well enough.  If he worked for Taco Bell he would’ve already been fired.  

     He somehow kept the cat within his clutches, half jogging down the sidewalk until he found the small little office with animal decals all over the door.  He scurried in, the cat leaping from his arms just as the door shut behind them. The cat glared at him in betrayal before turning its back on him, tail high in the air as it began sniffing at everything in the room.  

     “Sir?  Can I help you?” The assistance asked, a frown pulling at his face.  Taemin had a hunch that most people didn’t walk into a vets office like he just did.  

     “I--- uhh,” Taemin had no idea how to even explain this.  “It’s not my cat?” 

     “Okay?” 

     “It-- I don’t know, it broke into my apartment?  Google said to bring it to a vet?” Taemin knew he sounded like an idiot but he didn’t know how to stop.

     The man behind the desk, his nametag reading “Kim Kibum” only frowned deeper.  “So it’s a stray?”

     “Yes!” 

     “Alright, take a seat please,” Kibum nodded to the empty chair beside the cat and turned back to his computer.  Taemin did as he was told, plopping down in a chair to wait for further instructions.  

     All in all he was quite proud of himself.  There had been an incident (ie a cat in his apartment), he’d taken care of it (ie kept it alive for roughly 4 hours and then brought it to the vet) and now an adult (ie not Taemin) was going to handle things from there.  

     “Sir?  Can you fill out these forms?” Kibum held out a clipboard and a pen.  

     .  

     “Umm… sure?  Like I said, it’s a stray so I don’t know much.” 

     “Please just fill out any information you can,” he said with a tight lipped smile.    

     Taemin did as he was told, filling out his contact information and leaving just about everything else blank.  He tapped the pen against the clipboard, nervous energy running through him as he waited. What was he even doing here?  Couldn’t he just… drop it off? They should have a drive through or something for things like this.   

     “This way,” Kibum said, taking the clipboard away from him and waiting rather impatiently for Taemin to gather up the cat that was still wandering the waiting room before leading him back to a nondescript exam room.  He set the cat on the exam table, the animal immediately jumping down to sniff around the room. Taemin took a seat, watching the cat do its thing while he waited for the vet to join them. He’d never had a pet before, what even happened at vet appointments?  Did he have to do anything?  

     There was a soft knock at the door before a man in green scrubs popped his head in.  He had white blond hair and flashes of silver piercings all through his ears. More importantly, he had the softest smile and the prettiest eyes Taemin had ever seen.  “Hi there, I’m Dr. Kim.” He stepped into the room, mindful of the cat so it didn’t escape before shutting the door.  

     … Taemin wasn’t used to being in such close proximity to ridiculously hot people.  He felt equal parts attracted and assaulted. Honestly, how dare Dr. Kim be so hot? And without warning him first? That should be illegal or something. 

     “Hi,” Taemin managed to croak out, a beat too late for comfortable conversation.  

     “So this is a stray?” Dr. Kim pressed, crouching down and offering out a hand to the cat, letting the animal sniff him.  

     “Yeah he umm… broke into my apartment last night?”  

     Dr. Kim chuckled, “Is that so?” 

     “Yeah it’s a feral cat, i’ve seen it in the alley before.  Managed to knock open the window and let himself in,” Taemin explained, trying to focus on the facts and not on Dr. Kim’s stupid face.

     “All right, well we can check for a chip, see if he has an owner.  We also check with the animal shelters in the area, see if anyone has been looking for him,” Dr. Kim assured him.  “Now you,” He said, turning to the cat. “Let’s see how you’re doing.” He scooped up the cat without hesitation, setting it gently on the exam table and started poking and prodding at the cat.  The cat squirmed and meowed pitifully but it wasn’t aggressive. That was good, right? 

     Taemin zoned out a bit, pointedly ignoring the hot vet as he studied the ceiling tiles as the cat was weighed and tested for an assortment of issues.  

     “Well,” Dr. Kim said, bringing the cat back into the exam room.  “Would you like the good news first? Or the bad?” 

     “Umm… good?” Taemin asked, sitting up straighter in his chair.  

     “Well, all in all he’s a very healthy cat.  He’s a bit on the thin side but that’s to be expected for a street cat really.  He’s friendly as can be so he isn’t a feral cat, he was lost or abandoned most likely.” Dr. Kim gave the cat a good scratch behind the ears, the cat pressing up against his hand in response.  

     “And the bad news?” Taemin asked.  

     “He isn’t chipped,” Dr. Kim said.  “Which is never a good sign when we are trying to find the owner.  He also has a mild case of fleas and ear mites. Neither of those things are serious conditions and are easily treated,” Dr. Kim assured him.  “The really bad news is… well the shelters are full. And our standard policy is to wait at least 2 weeks before adopting out a stray. We will post up fliers and the shelter will advertise as well but… this little guy needs somewhere to live until they can squeeze him in at the shelter or until he can be adopted out,” Dr. Kim turned his eyes onto Taemin, soft and open and pleading and Taemin didn’t know how to say no to that.

     “I can--” He found himself saying.  He could what? He’d fed the cat ing chicken nuggets, he was not a responsible adult!  He could not be the sole carer for another life! 

     “Are you sure?” Dr. Kim asked but his lips began turning up in such a sweet smile that suddenly Taemin was nodding his head.  

     “I’ve never had a cat before though,” He admitted.  What the was he doing? He didn’t want a cat! He didn’t even know if his landlord would let him have a pet!  He was so so so stupid. One smile for a hot vet and suddenly he was a pile of compliant goo, agreeing to take on this homeless animal despite being the least qualified person on the planet.  Dr. Kim better not do anything ridiculous like initiate physical contact or something… Taemin would probably agree to run an orphanage in Sudan or some other equally selfless and noble thing.  

     Dr. Kim’s smile widened.  “We can help you get set up with everything you need.  We pair up with the local shelters frequently and since you would technically be fostering the cat, they will pay for the expenses and everything.  And you never know, maybe you’ll find yourself a cat person and decide to give him a permanent home.” 

     Taemin didn’t know about all of that but Dr. Kim was smiling again and Taemin couldn’t help to mirror one in response.  God… he was a hopeless sap, wasn’t he?  

     That’s how Taemin found himself stumbling home that afternoon, a cardboard cat carrier box in one hand and shopping bags stuffed full of cat paraphernalia in the other.  Despite the weird turn of events, Taemin smiled the whole way home, the memory of Dr. Kim’s chocolate brown eyes creased into a smile was burned into Taemin’s brain and nothing, not even a cat squatting in his apartment could shake that image.          

~~~

     Taemin managed to wait 3 whole days before he was back in the vet's office.  He tried to convince himself that it was necessary, the cat’s ear mites were really not getting better and he was scratching himself until he bled.  He tried to tell himself he was being a good temporary pet caretaker… but it was weak even in his own ears. He hadn’t been able to get the thought of the vet out of his head… his warm demeanor and welcoming smile.  It was like a personified hug and Taemin was touch-starved, everything in him longed for it. Or maybe he’d let this stupid cat live in his apartment so he’d look good in dr. Kim’s eyes and he really wanted that to pan out in his favor.  

     So he got dressed up in his tightest jeans and attempted… something… with his hair before he packed the cat up in its box, bribing him with treats to get him to go in it.  The walk to the vets office was both too long-- Taemin’s nerves were all over the place-- and suddenly too short when he realized he was standing in front of the door and he was so not ready for this.  Taemin didn’t date, not really. He was busy and lazy and keeping up with someone else’s life was too much work. Sure, he wasn’t like… some 25 year old or anything, but he wasn’t actively looking to find someone.  So what was so special about Dr. Kim? What about him was drawing Taemin to him like moth to a flame? 

     He felt eyes on him and realized he’d been standing outside the door for far too long which definitely made him look crazy as .  Great. 

     He pushed inside, his smile tense and dopy.  “Hi, I’m Taemin. I was in earlier this week?” 

     “The stray, I remember,” Kibum, raised an eyebrow, clearly waiting for Taemin to continue.  

     “I-- does Dr. Kim have some time today?  His ear mites aren’t getting better,” Taemin said, realizing in that moment he should have just called first.  Schedule an appointment. That’s how this was supposed to happen.  

     “Take a seat,” Kibum said, a knowing smile pulling at his lips that made Taemin flush.  He dropped into a chair, setting the cat down beside him and pulled out his phone to look busy while he waited when in reality he was scrolling through a chat thread for his favorite video game and desperately trying to forget why he was here.  

     “Mr. Lee?” Kibum said, opening the door the lead to the exam rooms.  Taemin popped up, scooping up the cat and following obediently. “You’ll be in exam room 3,” Kibum told him, opening the door.  “Dr. Kim will be in shortly.” 

     “Thanks,” Taemin squeaked.  He pulled the cat out of his carrier box, giving him a little head scratch before letting him wander around the room.  His fur really did look terrible. Like he had mange or something. He didn’t wait long before Dr. Kim poked his head in with a smile and Taemin choked on his own tongue.  How was he somehow more handsome than before? His scrubs were baby blue today and it made him look so soft and cuddly.   

     “Hi there,” Dr. Kim said, crouching down to scoop up the cat and place him on the exam table.  “What seems to be the problem today?”

     “I-- well his ear mites seem to really be bothering him?” 

     “I see,” Dr. Kim murmured.  “Does he have a name yet?” 

     “I’ve been calling him Andy.” Taemin answered.

     “Andy?”

     “Yeah it’s short for--” Taemin paused, his cheeks flushing slightly.  Dr. Kim’s eyes flickered up, waiting for him to finish. 

     “It’s short for Anderson Pooper,” Taemin admitted, a wave of dread washing over him.  All this work to see his crush and he just uttered a poop joke.  

     No wonder he was single. 

     Dr. Kim threw back his head and laughed, “Oh that’s a good one.  Well Andy, let’s do a skin scrape and see how you’re progressing.”  Taemin’s embarrassment warmed into affection in his belly. He liked making Dr. Kim laugh; he liked that Dr. Kim didn’t think the stupid name Taemin gave the cat was childish or ridiculous.  Or maybe he still did but he still thought it was funny and that was good enough for Taemin. Dr. Kim took a skin sample, disappearing from the room for a few minutes and Taemin was left to his own devices.  

     When he returned, Taemin was sitting cross legged on the floor, Andy curled up in his lap and purring away.  Dr. Kim smiled again, so soft and genuine it made something deep in Taemin ache. “He seems to really like you,” Dr. Kim said.  “Have you considered adopting him?” 

     Taemin shrugged, “I-- I’ve never had a cat before.  I don’t really know what I'm doing.” 

     “That wasn’t really my question,” Dr. Kim responded.  “Now, I know his skin looks bad right now but the medicine is working.  His skin test came back much improved from before. It will take awhile before he’ll stop scratching and even longer for his fur to grow back properly but I promise you, he’s feeling better already.” 

     “Oh good,” Taemin smiled down at the sleep cat in his lap, giving him a soft little scratch under his chin.    

     “Is there anything else you’re concerned about?” Dr. Kim asked him.

     “Uhhh…” Taemin floundered, feeling pinned by Dr. Kim’s stare.  He had lots of things he was concerned about, a few of them even had to do with the cat, but it was hard to think straight when the hottest person he’d ever seen was giving him undivided attention.

     Dr. Kim chuckled and grabbed a business card off of the desk, scribbling on the back of it.  “I don’t want you to have to keep paying an exam fee for every little thing, okay? If it’s not an emergency, please call the office or--” He handed the card to Taemin.  “My cell phone number. Call, text; whatever.” 

     Taemin blinked at him stupidly.  He’d seen a o recently that started like this… it would be nice if this ended the same way.  

     But then Dr. Kim’s cheeks flushed ever so slightly, the softest cherry blossom pink, and Taemin’s mind was suddenly out of the gutter and right back into fluffy rainbow territory.  He sputtered, knowing he should respond but his brain had short circuited. Dr. Kim let out that adorable little laugh, like he knew exactly why Taemin was acting so stupid and found it endearing rather than ridiculous.  “You should consider adopting him,” Dr. Kim said, changing the subject. “You both seem rather smitten with each other.”

     Taemin tried to peel his mind away from the word ‘smitten’ and stay present in the conversation.  

     “I-- I don’t even know if my building allows pets,” He admitted.

     Dr. Kim laughed at that, “Have you been hiding him this whole time?” 

     “I mean… yeah?” 

     “I’m sure you could figure something out… if you want to keep him that is.” 

     “I’ll think about it,” Taemin mumbled, knowing deep in his bones that he would adopt a million cats if it gave him an excuse to visit Dr. Kim.  If that phone number was anything to go by, Andy was Taemin’s ticket to getting laid. Also, he did kind of like the cat. It was nice, having someone, something, waiting for him to get home.  He felt needed and Andy would crawl up in his lap whenever Taemin sat down and just purr and purr and it was just… really nice.  

     Dr. Kim gave him that soft smile again, leading him up to the front desk to get squared away and Taemin felt like he was walking on clouds the rest of the day.  

~~~

     Taemin had planned on playing it cool, waiting a few days, maybe sending Dr. Kim an adorable picture of Andy as a follow up and opening up the conversation.  He’d even drafted up his opening line and everything. Except nothing ever went according to plan.  

     Taemin, in his infinite wisdom, had come home from the vets office, spent the day playing video games and ignoring his homework and suddenly it was 1am and he was hungry.  He’d grabbed a carton of chocolate ice cream and it had just thawed enough to be perfect when he heard a crash coming from the bathroom. He ran over to find toilet paper confetti all over the room and everything that had once been on the counter was now strewn across the floor. 

     “You little !” Taemin grumbled as Andy dashed out of the bathroom.  He grumbled to himself as he picked up the soap and shampoo bottles, cursing again to find his deodorant container was cracked down the side.  He attempted to scoop up the shredded toilet paper, dumping it in the trash can, but it was an ineffective method. He’d have to get the actual broom, a rarely used item in his house, and clean properly.  Fantastic.  

     It was on his way to the kitchen to retrieve said broom that he caught Andy with his face in the abandoned carton of ice cream. 

     “,” Taemin said, dread seeping into his heart.  He may not know much about pets but even he knew chocolate was bad for cats.  He dashed over, snatching up the carton and feeling like he might actually cry.  Andy had eaten… a lot. A LOT; a lot.  

     , , .  

     “What do I do?” He cried, but the cat was completely unphased, pawing at the carton in his hand.  It was in the midst of sheer panic that he grabbed his phone and rather than googling “what to do when my cat eats an entire pint of chocolate ice cream” he hit the call button next to Dr. Kim’s name. 

     The phone rang and rang for an eternity before a groggy “Hello?” can through the line.

     “Dr. Kim?  Andy ate chocolate and I’m freaking the out!” Taemin all but screamed into the phone. 

     “What?” 

     “Andy!  Chocolate!” 

     “Who is this?” 

     “-- sorry.  It’s Taemin? Lee Taemin?”

     “Lee Taemin, It’s 2am,” Dr. Kim said, sounding more and more confused. 

     “I’m sorry!” 

     “Slow down.  Andy ate chocolate?” 

     “Yes!  A lot of it!” 

     “Do you have hydrogen peroxide?” 

     “I don’t even know what that is!” Taemin shrieked.  “What do I do? Please, please help me!” 

     “Text me your address,” Dr. Kim said. 

     “I-- okay,” Taemin saw a flicker of hope in the midst of his panic.  He punched the address into a message, sending it to Dr. Kim. “Okay, done.” 

     “I’ll be there in 10 minutes,” Dr. Kim said simply before the line went dead.  

     “Okay,” Taemin said to himself, dropping his phone on the sofa.  “It’ll be okay. Dr. Kim is on his way.” Wait… Dr. Kim was on his way?  He’d definitely seen a o that started like this… but this was sooooo not the time to be thinking about that.  

     Taemin went to find Andy, scooping up the cat and cuddling him against his chest.  As if he could snuggle away his own fear. Andy was not a fan of being held so tightly though, wiggling away and strutting off into the bedroom like nothing had happened.  

     Taemin didn’t really know what to do with himself, waiting rather impatiently for Dr. Kim to arrive and pointedly not thinking about the fact that Dr. Kim was coming to his house in the middle of the night but also not thinking about the fact that he’d probably just killed his cat that he’d had all of 4 days and-- the knock on the door broke him out of his downward spiraling thoughts.  He wrenched it open to see Dr. Kim, wearing grey sleep pants and a puffy coat, a chunky pair of glasses perched on his nose. His hair was pulled up into a little ponytail at the very top of his head, keeping his bangs off of his forehead while he slept. If Taemin weren’t still on the verge of a panic attack, he would have taken a moment to appreciate how ing adorable Dr. Kim looked.  

     “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” Taemin said, all but grabbing Dr. Kim’s arm and dragging him inside.  

     “Hi?  Umm… so tell me what happened,” Dr. Kim said, setting down his bag and stripping off his coat to reveal a thin tee shirt that clung to his skin in all the right ways.  

     “I-- he ate like an entire pint of ice cream!  Chocolate ice cream,” Taemin said. “He made a ing mess in the bathroom and I forgot the ice cream was sitting out when I went to clean it up and I--” 

     “Hey,” Dr. Kim said in that soft, soothing tone of his.  “It’ll be okay.” 

     “Will it?” Taemin asked, the fear must have shown clearly in his eyes because Dr. Kim reached out, rubbing his hand against Taemin’s arm in a soothing gesture.  

     “Yes, it will.  Now show me where he is,” Dr. Kim encouraged him gently.  

     “Yeah,” Taemin nodded.  He felt like there was a war inside of him, panic and fear and guilt all swirling around with elation that the object of his affections was here and smiling at him and touching him.  It was confusing and disorienting. He led the way back into his bedroom, kicking himself for letting Dr. Kim in without cleaning, his bed sheets rumpled and clothes strewn around the room.  He’d been a little too preoccupied with panic to think about cleaning before Dr. Kim arrived. In the center of the bed, Andy was curled up in a ball, not quite sleeping.  

     “Okay, let’s take him into the bathroom.  I’m going to induce vomiting, try and get it all out of his system before it can do him any harm.  So let’s make sure he spews somewhere that will be easy to clean,” Dr. Kim said, going back and grabbing his bag as Taemin gathered up the cat.  And just like that, he found himself shut up in his tiny little bathroom with Dr. Kim. Taemin sat on the toilet seat, trying to stay out of the way while Dr. Kim syringe fed Andy liquid out of a brown bottle before sitting back. 

     “That’s it?” Taemin asked, unsure. 

     “That’s it,” Dr. Kim smiled.  “Now we wait.” 

     “What if it’s too late?” 

     Dr. Kim smiled, “Don’t you trust me?” 

     Taemin tried not to blush, “Of course I do, Dr. Kim.”

     “Jonghyun,” he corrected.

     “Hmm?” 

     “If you’re going to call me at 2am, we should at least be close enough for you to call me by my name,” Jonghyun said, a playful smile on his lips. 

     “… I am really sorry?” Taemin looked down at his feet.  “I panicked.” 

     “It’s alright,” Jonghyun assured him.  “Being a first-time pet owner is really overwhelming.  You did the right thing.”

     “I could have just googled it,” Taemin said, more to himself than Jonghyun.

     “Yeah, you could have,” Jonghyun chuckled.  “But then you wouldn’t have gotten to see me in all my sleepy pajama glory.”  He waved a hand, gesturing from head to toe with an embarrassed little smile.

     “That’s true,” Taemin smiled.  “Worth it.” 

     Jonghyun’s cheeks were that lovely shade of pink again but he looked pleased.  “Do you think the next time you invite me over it can be for a non-cat related emergency?”  Jonghyun asked, his smile was tinged with anticipation and nerves and his voice so soft and careful and Taemin wanted to kiss the hesitation off of his lips.  As if Jonghyun had anything to be nervous about.  

     And that was the exact moment that the hydrogen peroxide did its thing, Andy puking up brown muck on the floor between them.  

     “,” Taemin muttered.  What a goddamn -block. He changed his mind, the cat was definitely going to the shelter.  

     They watched in grossed out silence as the cat puked until he dry heaved onto the bathroom floor, his stomach finally settling and he began grooming himself as if nothing had happened.  

     “Well… I think he’s about done,” Jonghyun said, “Just keep an eye on him for the next day or two, make sure he’s eating regularly and not acting weird - restless or shaky.”

     Taemin nodded, “Thank you?  Do I-- owe you anything?” 

     Jonghyun shook his head, “No, middle of the night house calls are free.” 

     Taemin bit his lip.  “Sorry, the cat puke is really killing the mood here but-- it.  Will you go out with me?” 

     Jonghyun’s smile was so adorable and sweet, “I’d love to.” 

     “Awesome,” Taemin smiled.  “I should um… really clean this up,” He gestured to the puke on the floor. 

     Jonghyun laughed, “You’re so bad at this.”

     Taemin tried not to pout, “Yeah well… you already said yes to dating me.  No take backs!” 

     Jonghyun chuckled, “I wouldn’t dream of it.  I should really get home and get some sleep but… call me tomorrow?  Or rather… later today? At a reasonable hour for humans to be awake?” 

     Taemin nodded, “I can do that.” 

     “Good night, Taemin,” Jonghyun said from the doorway, looking so soft and snuggly in his pajamas and his adorable glasses and his ridiculously cute hair.  Taemin just wanted to bask in the light of his warmth forever.  

     Instead he settled for a dopey smile and a little wave, taking in the moment until he heard the front door close.  And just like that… the moment was over and Taemin was sitting alone in his bathroom in the middle of the night surrounded by cat puke.  

     Despite it all, Taemin smiled.  He had a date with the hot vet. Somehow, despite his own stupidity and literal cat puke, he’d still managed to land a date with the hottest person he’d ever met.  

     Andy wandered into the bathroom, giving Taemin a little head bump as he purred.

     “Thanks, my dude,” Taemin smiled.  “You just got me a date so… I guess you can stay a little longer.”