The next morning there was a knock at Donghae’s door, right on 8am. Even though he knew it was Hyukjae, Donghae was still surprised to him standing there, in his doorway.

Maybe it was because he looked so different today. He wasn’t in his usual work uniform and his hair was styled differently. He just looked so casual and laid back.

It’s a good look for him. Donghae thought.

Or maybe he was still in shock over the fact that despite only meeting the man just a few days before, Donghae was somehow willing to let him in to his house, and leave him there unattended with all of his stuff.

But perhaps what surprised Donghae the most was the amount of stuff that Hyukjae had brought with him. He had three shopping bags overflowing with treats and toys, and other assorted cat paraphernalia that the bags could barely contain. Was all of that really necessary?

Donghae slowly drifted out of thought and back into consciousness when he heard Hyukjae saying his name.

“Donghae… Donghae!”

Donghae blinked and his focus snapped to the man in front of him, still standing in his doorway.

“Earth to Donghae ... Are you in there?” Hyukjae said, voice laden with concern.

“Huh? Oh! Yeah. Sorry.” Donghae answered sheepishly. “I was just thinking.”

“About what?”

“Umm, about why you needed to bring so much stuff with you?” Donghae replied quickly. “Are you closing up shop or something?” He moved aside to let Hyukjae into his apartment and took one of the bags from him to lighten his load.

“No, it’s all for training purposes.” Hyukjae said nonchalantly “And I thought I could just stockpile what I need at your place so I don’t have to keep bringing it with me.”  As he moved to the kitchen to put his bags down.

Donghae looked doubtfully at the bag he was carrying. What just was Hyukjae planning on teaching his cat to do?  Cook him breakfast? Actually that would be great… Donghae thought as a small smile crept across his face.

“You are doing that thing where you space out again Donghae.” Hyukjae interrupted, eyes narrowing in the younger man’s direction.

“Ah, sorry, I get distracted easily.” Donghae chuckled.

“Ahuh.” He paused. “Maybe you need more sleep.”

“Oh! Hyukjae! That reminds me.” Donghae exclaimed. “What happened last night? How’d I end up in my bed?”

Suddenly the bag of cat treats that Hyukjae was holding became very interesting.

“Well” he began “It took me a moment to realise that you had actually fallen asleep.” He put down the treats and looked at Donghae, a bit more confident.

“I tried shaking you and talking to you but that didn’t work, you were so out of it, I didn’t think a herd of elephants could wake you up!”

Now it was Donghae’s turn to be embarrassed “I must have been more tired than I thought.”

“So anyway, I didn’t want to leave you there in case you hurt your back sleeping in such a position.”

Hyukjae blushed and cleared his throat before continuing.

“So I uh… I kinda put you over my back… and uh, somewhat dragged you to your room.” He stared at the tiles again, refusing to meet Donghae’s eyes.  

“After I put you to bed…” He paused again. “You…um,” He looked as if he was about to say something more but he then decided against it.

 “No… I came back out here coz I was going to go home, but I noticed that there was still mess everywhere so I cleaned it up a bit.” He finished awkwardly.

“Oh and I played with Patches for a while and then I went home” he added as an afterthought, rubbing his left forearm with his other hand.

Donghae glanced at Hyukjae’s arms and saw the scratch marks from Patches’ little claws. Well I guess he is telling the truth then.

“Ah. Well thank you again Hyukjae, I guess I owe you even more now.” Donghae smiled.

The older man laughed “Should I be keeping score, because at this rate you are going to owe me quite a lot!”

Donghae laughed too, “Maybe it’s a good idea.”

Donghae then looked at the clock on the wall, realising it was now half past eight he ran past Hyukjae and into his bedroom to get ready for work.

“, I’m going to be late again! I told my noona that I’d definitely be there by this time. Dammit.”

A few moments later he breezed back out into the kitchen still buttoning up his shirt. His pants were up, but his belt wasn’t buckled, so the top of his underwear and his navel were left exposed.

Hyukjae who was unpacking the bags he brought at the time, turned to look at Donghae, not realising he was still getting dressed. As quickly as he had turned around, Hyukjae whipped back to face the other way again, his cheeks burning scarlet at the sight of Donghae’s current state.  

“You ok?” Donghae asked, now fastening his belt.

“Yeah, umm, just giving you some privacy” Hyukjae choked out.

“Well its ok now, I’m dressed.” Donghae said as he slipped his bare feet into his shoes.

Hyukjae didn’t turn back to face him, but instead busied himself with the bags once again.

“Ok, well I better finish unpacking these bags and then start working with Patches..."

Donghae looked puzzled. Why didn’t Hyukjae look at him when he spoke? Had he done something wrong?

He brushed those thoughts off as he grabbed his script. His director would kill him if he was late again.

“I’m off Hyukjae, you better look after Patches. And I expect to see some drastic changes when I come home ok? Otherwise I’ll fire you.” Donghae said teasingly.

As Donghae was heading out the door, he heard Hyukjae say his name.

“Ah, Donghae. Umm. Have a good day.” The man smiled in his direction.

“Thank you, I will… I hope.” Donghae replied “See ya later.”

Then he was gone.

____

On his way to work Donghae thought about the last words that Hyukjae had said to him, and the pink blush that decorated his cheeks as he said them. Donghae found himself smiling slightly.

What has gotten into me? First I think he looks good and now I’m getting sappy at the thought of his smile. I have to get him out of my head!

____

Donghae’s day went well. Despite being late he was in a good mood. He got most of his shoots right and the director was pleased by his enthusiasm.

“The day off did you some good I see Donghae.” The director greeted him after the final scene for the day. “Good work, I hope you can keep it up.”

“Thank you sir.” Donghae bowed. “I will do my best. But my day off was more interesting than I thought it would be. I guess I feel more inspired now.”  

“Well that’s good to hear, I hope your inspiration sticks around.” The director winked as he turned to leave.

“Me too sir, me too.” Donghae whispered more to himself than the director.

Dammit. He’s in my head again. Donghae thought, frowning as he headed to his car.

____

When Donghae arrived home Hyukjae greeted him in the kitchen offering him a cup of freshly brewed coffee and a warm smile.

“How was your day?” Hyukjae asked.

"Actually it went really well. I'm starting to think that having you around is doing me some good. You're like a lucky charm!" Donghae grinned back.

Hyukjae looked stunned. That was a very forward comment to make from someone he'd only just met, but hearing it still pleased him all the same.

"Well i guess we'll be seeing more of each other then." Hyukjae replied, but he immediately regretted it.

To avoid the awkwardness that would have followed Hyukjae's comment, Donghae quickly changed the subject.

"How was your day? Did you teach Patches much? Remember, your place here depends on this."

"Oh! Well firstly i fixed your cushions!" Hyukjae grinned as he walked to the lounge to show Donghae his handiwork.

"They look great! Thank you Hyukjae"

"No worries, it didn't take me long at all." The other man replied sheepishly. "After that i spent some time teaching your cat how to stay in his bed and use his scratching post rather than using your lounge. Come! I'll show you!" Now leading Donghae over to where Patches was curled up in his bed.

Donghae knelt down and rubbed his cat under it's chin with his index finger.

"Hi Patches. How was your day, i hope you didn't cause my friend too much trouble."

Patches just purred in response.

Hyukjae then bent over and picked up the kitten from its bed and gently put it down in front of its scratching post.

"Ok Patches, now it's time to show Donghae what you learnt today!"

Hyukjae then patted the top of the scratching post with his hand and immediately Patches lept up on to the first platform, then deftly up on to the top one.

"Wow!" Donghae exlaimed "That was cool! Well done!" Clapping his hands a few times.

"That's not all" Hyukjae said slyly.

"Patches" Hyukjae called sharply to get the kittens attention. He then scratched his fingers up and down the post of the platform the cat was sitting on.

Patches leapt down on to the floor, turned and pounced at the pole, dragging his small paws down the pole in a similar fashion that Hyukjae had done.

Donghae was amazed that his cat, who was an absolute terror the day before was now doing exactly what Hyukjae wanted.

"What Patches is doing now is important because it helps to blunt his claws, and will stop him scratching at your furniture."

"Ahh that's good then." Donghae replied now looking at Hyukjae and nodding earnestly.

"And there's one more thing isn't there Patches" Hyukjae contiuned, poking the kitten who had ceased scratching the post and was now himself.

Patches nearly fell over from the man's poke because it put him off balance, he scrambled to his feet quickly and looked up at Hyukjae, awaiting orders.

"Bed!" Hyukjae said and pointed at the cat's bed, just a few feet away.

Patches ran over to his bed and curled up again, looking quite pleased with himself.

"Good boy Patches!" Hyukjae praised as he pulled a treat out of his pocket. The kitten snatched up the treat instantly and then curled tighter into himself.

"He must be tired." Donghae cooed quitely.

"Yeah well we did a lot today for such a small kitten so I don't blame him."

Donghae reached out and his sleeping companion's head, tweaking it's ears with his finger. "I think we should let him be then."

Hyukjae just hummed in agreement.

A moment later Donghae laughed. “I guess this means I can’t fire you now.”

Hyukjae just smiled in response “I guess not.”

____

Not long afterwards Hyukjae decided it was time he went home. He didn’t want to intrude on Donghae any longer.

“I’ll see you tomorrow morning?” Donghae asked, trying to sound nonchalant but he couldn’t quite hide the eagerness in his voice.

“Yeah I’ll be here. I’ll try to be a bit earlier tomorrow so I don’t make you late for filming.” Hyukjae nodded.

“Ok, well then. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Donghae waved as Hyukjae walked down the hallway and into the apartment’s elevator.

Once Hyukjae had left Donghae went back inside and collapsed on his lounge. Why do I feel so empty all of a sudden? He had to go home sometime. It’s not like it’s the end of the world. Geez.

Feeling restless Donghae picked up his script and started to revise for tomorrow’s shoot. When that didn’t dispel his uneasiness he decided it was time he went to bed.

As Donghae was lying in bed, eyes starting to droop, Hyukjae re-entered his head. Donghae found himself thinking of his pink cheeks and his bashful smile.

He fell asleep in no time, dreaming of his cat-sitter.

____

Hi all! Sorry it took so long for this chapter, but i had a lot of work to do this week. ;A;

But i hope its length makes up for it. This chapter is nearly twice the size of the last one so yeah...

oooh! Donghae is slowly starting to realise that he has feelings for Hyukjae, but is still completely oblivious to Hyuk's feelings for him. >.<

And Yay! Patches is a good little kitten now! Good work Hyukjae! Put your pet shop skills to good use! kekeke

Anyway guys, i'm not sure when the next chapter will be out... maybe in the next few days. It depends on how much i want to write. ^^

But until then, please comment and anticipate as always.

And lastly!

Song Rec!

This one is by a seemingly little known k-pop artist with Seulong from 2AM.

I really like the song, but i'm not even sure why. Go give it a listen anyway and tell me what you think!

It's called "How We Feel" by Clazzi

Here's a link if you want to check it out. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvwO-nuAthE