It's been ten days!
Who do you like better?[[note: lines in italics are inner thoughts or monologue of the character]]
Ten days! Ten days I’ve been waiting like a good little kitten. Chanyeol thought to himself as he paced around the short space between the front door and the living room. Ten days I haven’t seen even a hair of him! Okay… I’ve seen his hair… On the floor… It’s easy to find…. But I want it to be attached to something! Like his head! This time, he was more than just shouting in his head and he knew it. He was yelling and making sounds that he was sure his neighbors could hear. Good. Let them hear. He childishly thought as he continued to make those godforsaken noises. It was something he did on purpose just to get some attention - and admittedly, he found that one particular wide-eyed face poking through the front door amusing. Now that guy would never disappoint, unlike his useless owner.
Soon enough, Chanyeol could hear the frantic sound of a key being jammed into the keyhole and wriggled around as if in panic- which only served as a fuel, making him yell more, whine more, and make a bunch of annoying sounds to make the person behind the door even more frantic. Each day of these ten days he hoped, wished that it would be the person he had been patiently, loyally waiting for and each day he was disappointed when a dwarf-sized human with incredibly huge eyes stumbled through his front door.
"I’m here! I’m here!" he nervously muttered as he carefully placed his key inside his pocket, and picked Chanyeol up with his tiny hands. Hmph…. Good thing he had the decency to wipe his hands before picking me up. He mused as he watched him wipe his hands down his dark denim jeans, only shutting up the moment he felt the man’s tiny hands wrap under his two front paws, one of which he used to pat that wide-eyed brat on the nose as a gruff way of saying, thanks for coming here my loyal minion.
Chanyeol never liked being manhandled like this. Never. But this time he gave this human the exception because the one human he usually allowed to carry him was currently missing and he was desperate for some company. Cats need company, affection and love! Everyone knows this! He complained in cat, making strange sounds to Kyungsoo in forms of ‘nyah’s’ or elongated ‘meows’, tears starting to stream down his brown eyes. So why hasn’t he come home? I swear… If he doesn’t come home tonight I will make sure all the precious weird scented thingies he puts on his face will be marked! It was a feeble attempt to scold, to complain and to mutter and he knew that humans were way too stupid to understand his language but it didn’t hurt to try.
"Yes, yes…. We’ll scold him together when he comes back… I promise." Well… That’s what Kyungsoo thought this amusing orange and white striped cat was saying. He was in the middle of doing his laundry and was about to prepare to go out and meet someone when this cat started to make a ruckus. Just. Like. Every. Single. Afternoon. Since. That. Guy. Left. He couldn’t help but think to himself, annoyed and frustrated. Maybe this cat was the reason why his tall neighbor never really seemed to have any friends, he mused to himself as he shook his shoes off and started making his way inside to survey the new damage this cat had brought to his neighbor’s furniture. Everyday, there was a new one and everyday his pity for his neighbor decreased because really… He deserved it for heartlessly leaving this handsome cat behind to go on a business trip. Okay… Maybe it wasn’t his fault but still! His life was being disrupted.
—-Just like his thoughts were now because just before he was able to go in and see the full damage, he heard a loud sound on the front door and jumped. ‘Oh my god! Is it a burglar? Did I forget to lock the door? Oh god, oh god, oh god, I’m scared to look and find out…’ Kyungsoo frantically thought as he all but strangled Chanyeol with how tight he was holding him. Now that was uncalled for so Chanyeol wriggled out and bit Kyungsoo’s hand. It was hard enough to leave a lingering pinch on his skin but not hard enough to draw blood…. Yet.
Kyungsoo yelped and turned around and what he saw was worse than a burglar (he was exaggerating of course but that’s what it felt like to him). Kyungsoo forced his opened mouth to close, swallowing the lump that had formed in his suddenly dry-as-the-sahara throat as he tried to put moisture back in it. “I knew it!" a voice shouted and Chanyeol leaned towards the side so he could get a look at where that low and yet somehow high-pitched, emotional voice was coming from. What he saw was far from what he expected. It was another human but not someone he knew or was familiar with. He was slit-eyed compared to this human taking care of him. Well, not even his owner could match up to the roundness of Kyungsoo’s eyes but the equally dwarf-sized man was even more slit-eyed compared to his master. The look on the man spelled danger and somehow, he knew that his anger was directed on their neighbor. Soon enough, the man was inside Chanyeol’s house (yes, he claimed this house as his own since Kris had been gone for far too long that he had lost his right to call it his own) and was already walking towards Kyungsoo with the fierceness that could rival that of his owner’s metal whistling thing that shouted whenever he boiled water.
"Wha- Baekhyun…" Kyungsoo guiltily muttered, his expression betraying him by fully exhibiting the flurry of his emotions . Now this is interesting…. Wha- Baekhyun is the name of this human…? Well… Since this is entertaining…. I’ll watch this for a little bit. Chanyeol mischievously thought to himself as he sat down, placing his paws neatly in front of him, his brown, almond, intelligent eyes watching every little movement from the scene that was unfolding in front of him. “You..” Wha-Baekhyun started, his voice low and menacing as he went over to Kyungsoo. “You promised! You said you were done feeding that little…. cat," he finally exploded, a slight whine lacing its way around his silly little outburst full of obvious bitterness and disgust when he spat out the word ‘cat’. “It’s Chanyeol…” Kyungsoo muttered, knowing full well that he was only making matters worse for himself. Geez! Really… this guy should lighten up a bit. Chanyeol thought to himself as his ears perked up at the sound of his name, lifting a paw up to casually wash it. It was mostly just a facade, really. Cats are vain creatures. They always knew when they were being talked about but they never made a big deal out of it because they were ‘cool’, but there was just something about the tone of Wha-Baekhyun’s voice and the way he looked at him that made his fur stand up on the back of his neck.
“You’re putting that… that Chanyeol…your neighbor’s cat first before me…Byun Baekhyun.. your boyfriend… again when you promised that you were done feeding him and everything.” Wha-Baek…No, Byun Baekhyun emphasized. “But Baekhyun…he’s just a cat…” Kyungsoo muttered, trying his best to make Baekhyun realize that he was being a little unreasonable acting this way. “Yes. He’s just a cat and you chose him over me.” Baekhyun quickly retaliated, and Chanyeol just couldn’t bear it anymore. Something about Baekhyun’s sensitive and emotion-filled voice pricked on his insides, making him want to yowl in impatience. But somehow… on pure instinct alone, he knew that doing that would not be enough. I’m done playing bystander. He told himself, neatly picking himself up on all fours and easily padding over to Kyungsoo. He sat down just beside him and put a gentle paw against Kyungsoo’s shin. Both of their attentions turned to him, Kyungsoo’s round eyes getting rounder as he saw Chanyeol lock eyes with him and giving him that cute cat smile he usually reserved for his owner. Then, he meowed cutely- VERY cutely, just so he can push Byun Baekhyun’s buttons a little bit more.
All of that only made Kyungsoo melt and gush, failing to sense the murderous intent Baekhyun was throwing at Chanyeol. Kyungsoo picked Chanyeol up and cradled him in his arms, his eyes soft as he looked deep into Chanyeol’s almond ones. Chanyeol let his head fall to the side, locking eyes with Baekhyun and smiled even wider, murting his soft evil laugh as if he were taunting him. The change in Baekhyun’s face was just impossible to capture as it was much too wide and much too fast to fully understand. Well, almost impossible to capture because Chanyeol saw and Chanyeol knew. Cats were good that way.
He saw the quick change in his tiny eyes: from annoyance to surprise, to disbelief and then to anger. Chanyeol could almost see the veins pop in his temple. Wow… THAT was easy. Look at him. Jealous over a cute little majestic cat like me! He amusedly half-murted, half-purred again as he felt Kyungsoo’s finger pet him under his chin. That was it for Baekhyun. It was as clear as the light of day that this damned cat was challenging him! Baekhyun took a few steps closer and Kyungsoo backed away, his hands slightly clinging onto the medium-sized ball of fur. “…Who do you like better… me or him?” He quietly asked Kyungsoo, his eyes deadly as he cornered Kyungsoo up against the wall, Baekhyun’s arm trapping him perfectly in that tiny little corner. Kyungsoo couldn’t avoid his eyes. It was too intense and too full of his honest emotions to ignore. Suddenly, he felt heat rise up his neck, all the way to his cheeks and ears as he muttered incoherently an answer that only Chanyeol could hear.
Which was probably the reason why if Kyungsoo wasn’t holding on to him so tightly like he was doing now, he would’ve easily jumped out of his hands and leave them both to their silly little argument. Except, for the first time ever, Kyungsoo’s grip on him felt like iron cages and no matter how much he struggled, Chanyeol just couldn’t find a way to jump out of his arms without hurting himself, or Kyungsoo.
“I didn’t get that…” Baekhyun pressed on. His presence was even more terrifying and Kyungsoo was silently, simultaneously wishing that Baekhyun was back to his shouting-slash-whining stage and that he could magically find a hole somewhere and crawl in there to hide. Baekhyun could see tears rise up to Kyungsoo’s eyes, his face redder than he had ever seen and somehow, he couldn’t help but just hold his breath waiting for Kyungsoo’s answer to be clear. What would Baekhyun do if he chose that annoying little furball in his arms? Well, he knew that other than his heart would break into tiny little unrecoverable pieces… His pride would break too. Baekhyun’s inner turmoil was soon abated when he heard Kyungsoo’s whispered answer. ‘Wait… Did I just hear him right?’ Baekhyun thought to himself as he felt his heart race and he could faintly hear the rushing of his blood through his ears. “…Uhm… come again..?” He quietly asked, wishing upon all the stars out there in the universe that what he heard was right.
“You… I like you… more than anything…”
And… There it was! Baekhyun’s face, which was previously heavy (and quite ugly if you asked Chanyeol) with jealousy and rage, lit up like he was the sun himself. He grinned, almost blinding Kyungsoo with how radiant he suddenly was before pressing his lips against Kyungsoo’s soft and moist ones. Kyungsoo was rooted on the spot. He was definitely not expecting this, and suddenly, all he wanted to do was to punch Baekhyun on the gut for making him feel so many things in the span of a few minutes, driving him crazy all because of a stupid cat. But, much like all those other times- and something he would never ever admit to anyone; sometimes, not even to himself- he melted, responding to Baekhyun’s belated kiss with eager soft ones of his own. Kyungsoo could never admit that he was slightly glad that Baekhyun was jealous, even if it was only because of a cat. He liked puppies better anyway… and he had his own little puppy right here. The thought made Kyungsoo smile a little, and to Baekhyun’s delight, the result was him pressing more tiny, eager, sweet kisses against his lips.
And this clearly made Chanyeol feel sick, like he had a furball stuck in his throat making him gag.
At first, he was amused at the little fight that went on between them and it was clear to Chanyeol that they both loved each other but to see this up close and personal- right below them and smacked dab in the middle of them was definitely not in his itinerary. After a few very long seconds, he yowled as loudly as he could, shaking this awkward couple out of the trance they were apparently in. YAH! You two need your own private place! Don’t kiss and make up in someone else’s house! He attempted to scold them in murts and nyas.
Kyungsoo, who was already flushed to the max, was shaken to his core and he gently pushed Baekhyun’s shoulder, making him back away. Baekhyun did not appreciate the push until Kyungsoo took a step closer and pressed a light, soft little peck on his lips. “I’m sorry… And later… please..? I’m only going to take care of him until the owner gets here and he will get here soon…really soon… I promise.” Kyungsoo quickly explained, finally letting Chanyeol hop off and run away from them before he gets even more affected with the incredibly cheesy, gooey, greasy atmosphere these two were creating. Baekhyun grumbled a little bit, wanting nothing more than to bombard him with more complaints and annoying little whines; but much like all those other times- something he would never ever admit to Kyungsoo because it would definitely give him such an advantage- he relented. Baekhyun never had it in him to go against this big eyed little penguin anyway. His own little big eyed penguin.
Chanyeol waited and waited for his owner until he couldn’t wait anymore. Well! I think I’ve waited long enough, don’t you think? He told himself as he stood up and stretched all of his four legs. He made do with his cat promise (because what was a cat without his virtue?) and started going through his master’s facial creams.
As it would happen, that night was the night that Kris would come home after a long time travelling. He was tired and was more than ready to snuggle with his long missed little tabby cat only to find him lying down, stomach up to the ceiling, rolling around and whimpering. He immediately dropped all of his things and ran to him, worried. “Chanyeol! Chanyeol…. Are you okay? What’s wrong?" He frantically whispered to only God-knows-who. “Kyungsoo never said anything about you being sick…” He muttered to himself as he looked around his room for any sign of what the problem might be. And there, at the corner of the room, he saw a bottle open. He carried the groaning Chanyeol in his arms and ran to it to see that it was his brand new, 100%, organic shea butter lotion, already half empty. And what else could he do but suspect? With much care, he gently slipped his fingers underneath Chanyeol’s jaw, tilting it up to see how there were some traces of it smeared around his mouth. “Chanyeol! Did you eat my lotion? You shouldn’t eat things like these!" He gently scolded him, his brow furrowed in the middle, almost forming a perfectly straight line, frowning as thoughts of food poisoning entered his mind. Chanyeol weakly looked up at his long missed master and sighed, him just below his chin because it was the closest part of his face he could reach. You shouldn’t shout… At least not at me. This is your doing… Chanyeol weakly retorted in soft huffs, groaning because his tummy felt weird. It almost made Kris want to sob in even more worry and frustration. He immediately took his phone out, almost dropping it when his hands shook from anxiety, and called the only friend he could call during times like this: “Zhang Yixing……" he said, his voice cracking.
"….Oh…. What time is it? Are you back? What’s wrong?" A groggy voice answered. Kris immediately felt guilt when he heard the sleepiness in his friend’s voice, but this was an emergency. He simply had no other choice! “I just got back. Yixing… It’s Chanyeol… You know I would never ask for a favor like this but….Chanyeol…He’s…" He trailed off, unable to think of anything coherent to say without his voice breaking. For the first time in his life, Kris didn’t know what to say. He was speechless. “Wait…” He heard Yixing mutter, only to hear silence on the other end of the phone. “Yixing…?" Kris tried to call out, worried that his long time friend had dozed off again. His worries were soon eased when he heard rustling on the background. At first it was just the sound of fabric rubbing against other fabric and some low incomprehensible grumbling, then it turned to the sound of soft feet padding against wooden floors and some jingling of keys. Kris finally stopped listening when he heard the sound of a car door being opened and closed as he heard his car engine come to life. “I’m on my way there." His young friend said before dropping the call.
It was during times like these that Kris would feel pampered and spoiled. He had very few friends but they were all real and precious to him. They were the only ones that stuck. He would’ve been happier about it if Chanyeol weren’t in the state he was currently in, with his body weak; almost lifeless in his arms. His hands moved mechanically, petting him gently on top of his head, all the way to the back of his neck, hoping that it would somehow help ease whatever pain he must be feeling. With weak limbs, Chanyeol swiped at Kris playfully, letting his paw land in the middle of his chest, just above his heart. It’s because you were late, idiot. It’s punishment… Chanyeol weakly chided with soft ‘murts’ and ‘nyahs’.
After a few heavy heartbeats and soft mutterings of ‘it’s going to be okay, you’re going to be fine….’, a man with heavily disheveled hair came bursting through the door. “Aiyah… Wufan. Why did you just leave your door wide open like that…? What if a burglar comes in?" Chanyeol looked up weakly to try to see who the person was, only to be greeted with the innocent looking face of his healer (and equally the same person who pushes strange metallic thingies with strange liquid in him that hurt like crazy). “What happened?" Yixing murmured, his expression filled with worry and concern at the sight of the limp body in Kris’ arms. He gently took Chanyeol from Kris’ gentle, big hands and placed him in his lap for examination. “I’m not sure… I think he ate my body lotion…What do we do? Do what you can…. Even surgery if you need to!” Kris said, his voice as low as a hum, almost a whisper. He couldn’t bear seeing his pet cat like this. He had been gone for a long time attending a seminar he didn’t even plan to attend. He was only forced to go last minute because of his senior bailing out on it. “Mmm… I see… Don’t rush me… And don’t get any ideas about surgery… Surgery is dangerous.” His friend scolded. He kept his voice soft as he examined the little cat, his soft hands poking and pushing his stomach all around to see if there were any problems.
Normally, Zhang Yixing had the tendency to blank out or space out during social gatherings and what nots but when it comes to his work, he’s one of the best veterinarians out there in the country. His expression would change and his demeanor, so professional, Kris couldn’t help but wonder how a person could transform in such a way in just a short matter of time. But it was this side of him that Kris was eternally grateful for. He was glad he finally had friends he could trust during times like these.
After a series of prodding and Chanyeol meowing in discomfort and annoyance, Yixing gave the little squirmy cat back to Kris with a huff. “What is it? Is he dying? What can I do? What do we do?!” was Kris’ immediate, panicky response as he cradled Chanyeol like he’s the most precious being in the whole world. Wait, he was the most precious being in the whole world to Kris. This little orange and white kitty had been with this giant size of a man since his college days. He remembered finding Chanyeol on the sidewalk as he wandered around alone, looking for a place to stay- having been kicked out of his father’s house for reasons he had kept to himself. He didn’t have any direction in life then and had almost given up hope until he saw those almond shaped eyes looking expectantly at him. It was then that Kris knew that he had to go on. He had to succeed and provide a life, not just for himself but for Chanyeol as well. It was from then on that Kris had worked harder than a horse. Whenever he would feel sad or frustrated, one look at the tabby cat would give him enough courage to push himself beyond his limit, and in the blink of an eye - or more like a span of five years, he was now one of the most successful and sought out lawyer in the industry. Through thick and thin, Chanyeol was by his side and just the thought of losing him drove Kris crazy.
Yixing’s voice cut through the inner turmoil that was Kris Wu, and what he said brought relief to every single, worried, bone in his body. “Kris… Calm down. He just ate too much. Shea butter, if it’s 100% organic- and I’m pretty sure it is, knowing you- isn’t toxic. He’s just… really really full. He ate too much.” Yixing told him as he flopped down on top of Kris’ couch, closing his eyes as if he was trying to muster as much patience as he needed to get through this ridiculous debacle. “Of course I’m not saying that he’s allowed to eat things like those… But you really gotta chill out, man. You can’t keep calling me in the middle of the night, panicking because he’s rolling around in his sleep or because he had a nightmare. I’m letting this slide because he literally ate your body lotion but really… chill. You sounded like he had a heart attack or a or something. Although it’s probably totally your fault that he ate your body lotion. You really should learn from this…..” Now all of these were said with a soft voice that only got softer with each second that passed. And as much as Kris knew that he should actually listen to whatever Yixing was saying, he just couldn’t help but just bask in the relief that flooded his veins, filling his mind and plugging his ears with nothing but gratefulness and serenity. All he could do was mutter soft “Thank you”s as he hugged Chanyeol tightly against his chest.
After a few cringe worthy seconds (which felt more like hours to Kris), a soft snore filled the air. The master and pet turned to look at the tired veterinarian, lying peacefully on his living room couch, fast asleep. Chanyeol then wriggled out of Kris’ hold, slapping Kris on the face with his tail and turning his face around to look at him straight in the eyes. Hmph! You should be happy that’s all you get for leaving me for days… He told him in cat before heavily treading off to the bedroom, his hips swaying gracefully as he walked. Kris sat there, stunned as this was the first time Chanyeol had ever chastised him in this manner before hanging his head and rubbing the back of his neck, laughing. He stood up and stretched, got a woolen blanket and tucked Yixing under it before he heard an angry yowl from inside his bedroom, making him smile once more. “Alright, alright… I’m on my way.” Kris called out to him, laughing. He swore, sometimes, he couldn’t help but feel like his cat acted more human than most animals he had met.
Well… At least this turned out to be an interesting night, don’t you think?
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[[note: salfjiww! It’s finally done! Although… this came out far from what I orignially intended. I was planning on writing an extremely fluffy, krisyeol fantasy fanfic but I ended up focusing more on the baeksoo characters. I’m not sure how I liked the ending of the fic though… Anyway, comments and suggestions are very much appreciated since this is my first fic! Thank you!
Thank you to my two bffs that was forced to endure my tireless questions and cries for hep :D and for also being my beta ^^ you know who you are!]]
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