There’s an easy peace after Kris’ less than mature handling of his Kai feelings. He can’t blame it on his hormones, being too old for that sort of thing, and he also can’t blame it on being lonely. At work, he’s always around people, good looking people, in fact. Kris just doesn’t really care much for them in that way.

He would have never figured his type is “alien” though.

Despite this new troubling revelation, he goes to work as usual and stays until he’s the last one in the lab. He figures that if he exhausts his body to the point where it’ll only crave sleep, he won’t have to worry about popping a whenever Kai rubs against him.

He stumbles through his front door a little after two in the morning, and he hates himself a little bit for it. Working late isn’t too smart when he has to be up early for work. God, he needs a vacation. Very, very far from here. The moon is probably beautiful at this time of year.

A bell jingles.

Kris flicks on the light and there’s Kai, thankfully still wearing his pants. He meows, and it sounds a little unsure, but he looks painfully young half hidden by the shadows of the apartment. He’s an alien thing, that much is true, but sometimes he looks more human than Kris is comfortable with and it drives Kris crazy because he thought he would be over this already. Kai is humanish. Kai is catish. He can be both.

“Hey there,” he says as he steps out of his shoes. Maybe Kai has forgotten he had his face in Kris’ crotch this morning. Lord knows it’ll take Kris a while to not feel like curling up in shame whenever he thinks about that. That was not his smoothest moment.

Kai takes a small step forward, his bell jingling again, and Kris pauses. Kai stares at him with his big human eyes and his ears are tipped forward, alert, and yes, Kris has been reading up on cat mannerisms because what else is he supposed to do with his time on the subway? Ears forward means interested. Ears back means threatened, afraid, or aggressive.

Kai is interested in him and he’s not afraid. At least, he doesn’t seem to be afraid. He takes another step forward, larger this time, and another until he’s close enough to sniff curiously at the front of Kris’ jacket.

Kris swallows. Okay, he can do this. They can go back to being “normal,” as normal as a scientist and his pet catboy are anyway.. They don’t have to do anything overtly ual. Again, Kai is his pet. Really, that’s all there is to it. Kris can ignore his feelings for a little longer and remember what happened the last time he ignored Kai. His living room cannot handle another wave of destruction.

Taking a deep breath, Kris raises his hand.

Kai watches him, ears flickering. Now he’s curious, maybe a little unsure. He’s waiting to see what Kris will do next, his little canine teeth poking out of his mouth.

Kris’ hand lands on Kai’s head, right near his ears. The one closest to his hand flickers, he’s probably grazed it by mistake, and then Kai steps a little closer and Kris can feel his nose through his clothes.

“Kai,” says Kris, softly taking one of Kai’s ears between his fingers. “You’re... okay, right? Are you hungry?”

Kai meows, as if he expects Kris to understand him, and presses his body closer, now sniffing at Kris’ neck. He does this innocently, or so Kris thinks, and he’s behaving like those house cats in the videos Kris had pulled up at work. He’s welcoming Kris home in his own way. It’s cute.

Kris lets Kai sniff him a little bit more, but then his legs start to ache and he remembers he’s been on his feet all day. “Alright,” says Kris, dropping his hand from Kai’s ear. “That’s enough of that. We’re eating and then going straight to bed. No funny business, okay?”

He doesn’t know why he talks so much. It helps him a little, he thinks. He knows Kai can’t, or won’t, answer back but he still tries to meow, as if replying, and it helps to ease Kris’ uneasiness.

Kai follows him into the kitchen, jingling all the way. He eats whatever Kris serves him and then tries to snatch a few pieces of chicken from Kris’ plate.

“Ugh here,” says Kris, holding up the largest piece of meat between his chopsticks.

Kai sniffs at the chopsticks and then pulls the meat from the middle with his front teeth. After he’s eaten and tried to Kris’ plate for the fifth time, Kris sends him to bed.

Kai doesn’t really understand the whole “you sleep in a different bed than me” thing. He meows pathetically when Kris goes in for a ten minute shower and then pushes his way inside when Kris opens the door. And that’s when Kris gets a whiff of his pet.

He makes a face, “You stink, Kai. How the hell am I going to wash you, though?”

Kai leans over the bathtub and watches as the water swirls down the drain. He tries to reach for it, his claws catching the little suds left over from Kris’ shower, but when it’s all gone, he meows and rests his head on the side of the tub.

On one hand, Kris isn’t really up for manually scrubbing Kai. On the other, Kai is starting to smell rather rank and it seems a little inhumane to let him sit in his own filth.

“I’m going to hate myself in the morning,” Kris tells his tub. He then reaches for Kai’s collar, not wanting to get it wet, and Kai flinches away from him, growling. He bares his teeth, ears flat in his hair and okay, okay, he’s agitated. He doesn’t want Kris to take his collar off.

“Okay,” says Kris, holding his hands up. “You can keep it on.”

Somehow, Kris manages to get Kai completely . It isn’t too hard and Kris keeps his eyes on Kai’s, refusing to look anywhere near his taut little belly or his muscular thighs. Confusion mars Kai’s face and he meows, fidgeting under Kris’ hands and Kris feels a little bad when he lifts Kai up and puts him into the tub.

Kai’s ears droop to the side and he meows again, softer and now scared, but he doesn’t start to thrash around until Kris opens the spigot and all hell breaks loose. Kris manages to keep his hands on Kai through the splashing and the meowing, through the scratches Kai raises on Kris’ arms and the way he can’t stop trying to run out of the tub.

“You’re getting clean!” Kris shouts over the water and then Kai throws himself at Kris, arms around his shoulders. He’s whimpering and shivering, meowing low in his throat, and trying to hide his face in Kris’ neck. He’s scared.

“It’s okay,” says Kris and he leans over to plug the tub so the water doesn’t drain. He turns off the spigot and dips his hand in. The water is warm, a little cooler than room temperature. “The water’s nice, I promise.” Kris pulls of his sweats and decides to keep his underwear on (for obvious reasons). Laying a hand on Kai’s back, he steps into the tub and slowly sits down in it. “See?” He wets his hand and drips a little water down Kai’s back. “It’s good, right?”

Slowly, Kai picks his head up. His ears are still tucked back into his hair and his eyes look too big on his face, but he slowly takes his arms from around Kris. He looks at the water all around them with trepidation and when he sits up a little, now noticing he’s in Kris’ lap, he flinches away from the sound his tail makes when it raises to the surface.

“Water,” says Kris. He plays with it a little, letting his hand glide in and out so Kai can see it’s harmless. “Water. It’ll help me get you clean.”

Then he pulls over the bar of soap. It distracts Kai from the water and before Kris can chastise him for it, he’s already given the bar of soap a good . His ears flatten and he meows, face scrunched up in distaste. “And that’s why we don’t do that,” says Kris, starting to scrub at Kai’s arm. Kai looks like he wants to the suds off his arm but he grimaces, the taste of soap still stuck in his mouth.

Washing Kai isn’t so bad. The scrubbing motion calms him and he starts to purr, his eyes half closing. Washing Kai’s hair provokes a few hissing protests, he really doesn’t like water near his ears under any circumstance, but washing Kai’s neck is easy. He abruptly turns in Kris’ lap, his wet back against Kris’ chest, and Kris tries not to think too much as he washes Kai’s belly. His skin is soft and warm, warmer than the water and Kris’ own human body, and Kris loses himself in Kai’s purring. He hardly even notices when Kai spreads his legs.

He does notice when his soap fingers touch Kai’s half hard .

“ual anatomy is about the same,” Kris mutters, pulling his hand away.

Kai makes a sound that’s halfway between a whimper and a meow, his belly trembling under Kris’ eyes. He likes touch, all kinds of touch. Even the kind of touch Kris isn’t too comfortable giving him yet.

“Kai?”

Kai meows and curls his hand around Kris’ wrist. He’s trying to pull Kris’ hand back between his legs but Kris holds himself back.

“Hold on for a bit. Kai,” says Kris. “Can you say your name? Can you say ‘Kai’? Kai.”

Kai watches Kris’ mouth, his mouth half open. “K--”

Kris perks up. “That’s it. Come on, just a little more. Kai.” He touches Kai’s belly with the side of his hand. “That’s your name. Kai.”

Kai swallows noisily. “K-Kai?” He drops Kris’ hand and points to himself with a claw.

Kris smiles for the first time in weeks. “Yes. Kai. Kris.” He points to himself.

Kai pauses with his mouth open, “Kai?”

“You’ll say Kris one day,” says Kris, gently pushing at Kai to lean forward so he can wash his back. It’s mind numbing work and Kai starts to purr again, head tipped forward. When Kris brushes against Kai’s lower back, Kai abruptly moans, pushing himself back onto Kris’ hand and Kris stops. He takes a deep breath. He thinks about what Chanyeol’s toes look like in the summertime, especially his oddly shaped pink toe. He thinks about that one time in university when a girl giving him head choked a little and spit up on his .

Anything is better than Kai’s distracting tail and his distracting little noises and how solid his body feels under Kris’ hand.

Kai reaches for him, claws first, when Kris stands up and out of the tub. He makes to follow Kris but Kris catches him with a giant towel and starts drying him up. Kai meows, face scrunched up again, but he relaxes when Kris pats down the water droplets on his chest and back.

Kris helps Kai back into his shorts and then he changes out of his own wet underwear, looking for a warm pair. When the two of them are dry and more than a little sleepy, Kris retires to his room.

Kai follows him. Kris thinks about what he will do if there’s a repeat of what happened this morning, but this morning seems so long ago. He doesn’t complain when Kai curls up to him under the covers, seeking to fit his face between Kris’ head and his shoulder. If anything, tired Kris gives him more access, stretching and letting Kai press himself closer. His hushed meows tickle Kris’ ears and Kris smooths a slow hand down Kai’s back.

Kris thinks Kai is finally going to sleep when he feels a cool tongue at the underside of his chin.

“Uhh,” Kris groans. “What was that for?” Was that a cat kiss?

“Kai?” Kai whispers back, his nose pressed against the large vein in Kris’ neck.

Kris takes a deep breath. “Nevermind. Just go to sleep.”

THANK YOU FOR READING MY STORY!!!!! NEXT TIME >>>> SOMEONE GOES INTO HEAT >//////< OH NO WHAT WILL KRIS DO?????