Pairing: Seho 

Word Count: 3,945

Description: Joonmyun brings home an overly attached kitten 

 

A Kitten's Best Friend 

 

            “Holy crap what is that thing?” Luhan shrieked and jumped onto the couch.  Joonmyun had just walked into their apartment followed by something small on the ground. 

            “Luhan, no!” Joonmyun shouted. 

            Luhan was using his telekenesis powers and the small striped kitten was now levitating in the air.  Its eyes were wide and it was whining and shrieking.  Its small legs were moving around and it was flailing its tail wildly. 

            “It’s a kitten, Luhan!” Joonmyun reached up and grabbed the kitten from the air and held it in his arms. 

            “Why did you bring home a pet?” Luhan looked at it with narrowed eyes, “Who is that?”

            “What do you mean who is it?  It’s not a person,” Joonmyun was petting the small trembling kitten. 

            “We go to Exotic Academy, home to people with powers or who can perform magic.  Do you seriously think that’s a real kitten?  Here give it to me.  I’ll just drop it into my cauldron and----“

            “You are not dropping anything in any cauldron,” Joonmyun yelled.  He could feel the kitten’s hair stick up and Luhan glared at the small thing when he heard a hiss. 

            “You can’t trust that thing, Joonmyun!” Luhan pointed an accusing finger at it, “It hissed at me!  That evil…just let me get my hands on it!” Luhan pounced but missed his target when a cold splash of water hit his face. 

            Joonmyun laughed as he lowered his hand, “Just leave it Luhan.”

           

            “Have any of you guys seen Sehun lately?” Chanyeol closed the door to their apartment and threw himself on top of Kyungsoo who was sitting on the couch.  He flinched when rocks fell on top of his body but refused to move.  The rocks eventually turned into dust. 

            Baekhyun, who was in the kitchen, stuck his head out, “He’s been hiding out in his room lately working on some kind of spell.”

            “That kid’s actually doing his homework?” Kyungsoo asked amusedly. 

            “He stole my potions book.  I don’t think he’s actually doing his own homework,” Jongdae came out of his room.  

 

            “I don’t want to say I exactly side with Luhan on this but maybe he’s right,” Minseok was eying the small silver and black striped kitten (he thought maybe it was a tabby cat) as it clung onto Joonmyun. 

            “Where did you say you found it?”

            “Um,” Joonmyun looked at the kitten, “It kind of followed me home?”

            Minseok’s eyes widened, “Joonmyun!  Isn’t that a bit weird?  Think about it. This kitten hasn’t left you since it followed you here.  How about if it’s some kind of spy?”

            “You’re being ridiculous, hyung.  It just doesn’t like being left alone,” Joonmyun reasoned. 

            “I understand why it wouldn’t want to be near Luhan,” Minseok looked over to Luhan who was still glaring at the small thing, “But it only lets me pet it for a second before running back to you.”

            “He likes me,” Joonmyun smiled as he pet the kitten.  The kitten immediately started purring loudly. 

            “A he?” Minseok asked.

            “Well yeah, you wanna see?” Joonmyun picked up the kitten but Luhan and Minseok both furiously shook their heads. 

            Luhan put a hand on Joonmyun like he was going to explain something to a child, “Joonmyun, this little devil spawn in your lap tried to sneak into the bathroom while you were showering.  Is that what normal cats do?” up until this point Luhan’s voice was normal but then he shouted, “No!  It’s because this thing isn’t a cat!”

            Minseok and Luhan could see doubt in Joonmyun’s eyes.  But then the kitten nudged his hand with his tiny head and Joonmyun was caught up in the kitten’s spell yet again.  

 

            “This is getting insane!” Jongin exclaimed as he threw another plate into the sink, “Where is Sehun?”

            Kyungsoo growled as he moved a pile of laundry from the floor to walk over to the couch, “It’s his week to do the laundry and he conveniently disappears.”

            “Come to think of it have you seen Sehun anywhere?” Jongdae was walking closely behind Kyungsoo so he wouldn’t fall on anything. 

            “I haven’t seen him for a week,” Jongin stopped to think, “How come we didn’t even notice that?  Has anyone seen him at all this week?”

            Everyone stopped to ponder.

            “His bedroom’s always closed, so I assumed---ah!” Kyungsoo was trying to walk towards Sehun’s room but tripped over a table that was covered in clothes.  Jongin immediately teleported to Kyungsoo’s side to help him up, but ended up slipping as well. 

            “Can’t we just look up a spell to clean all this stuff up?” Chanyeol moved his hands for emphasis but wound up burning half of the laundry on the floor with his fire power. 

            “When I get my hands on that kid I’m going to kill him,” Baekhyun moved a pile of clothes taller than himself to the side so he could go to the center of the room where Chanyeol and Jongdae were.  The room was jam-packed with clothes and trash and just everything disgusting and it was starting to smell too. 

            “You don’t think he ran away do you?” Kyungsoo asked.  He gave up on the attempt at reaching Sehun’s room and was back in the center of the room where it was fairly cleaner compared to everywhere else in their apartment.    

            “Like he’d ever run away and leave his precious Joonmyun,” Chanyeol scoffed as he put his elbow on Kyungsoo’s head.  He didn’t even flinch when rocks pelted his face. 

            Suddenly light flooded the whole room as light lit up above Baekhyun’s head, “Do you guys realize that Joonmyun’s been bringing a kitten to class?”

            “A kitten with black and silver stripes,” Chanyeol caught on to what Baekhyun was saying.

 

            “Look you have to stay here okay,” Joonmyun bent down to look at his kitten directly in the eyes.  He pointed at its nose.  He didn’t know if Luhan and Minseok were finally getting to him but he was starting to realize that this kitten was overly attached to him.  Most cats were independent and didn’t feel much attachment to their owners as long as they were well fed, but this cat acted like a dog.  He would purr whenever he saw Joonmyun and immediately cling to him.  He would rub against Joonmyun’s legs as if marking him.  He would follow Joonmyun everywhere and hiss at anyone who got close to Joonmyun. 

            The kitten looked up at Joonmyun with large eyes. 

            “I’m going to school so just stay here and,” Joonmyun bent down to pick up a mouse toy, “play with this while I’m gone.” 

            The kitten only rubbed himself against Joonmyun’s legs. 

            “Joonmyun we’re leaving,” Minseok opened the front door and Joonmyun looked towards him and grabbed his backpack. 

 

            “Finally you didn’t bring that thing with you,” Luhan said as he joined Joonmyun at their regular lunch table. 

            “It’s not a thing,” Joonmyun argued, “I call him----“ Joonmyun stopped when he heard soft meows coming from his bag. 

            “Oh no,” Luhan lunged at the bag but Joonmyun stopped him with a splash to his face. 

            Joonmyun opened his bag and his kitten immediately jumped into his hands. 

            “I told you not to follow me to school,” Joonmyun scolded it but a to his finger was the only reply as the kitten wrapped his tail around his hand in happiness. 

            Luhan was eying it with a death glare. 

            “You need to get rid of it Joonmyun.  I swear---“

            “What do you swear?” Yixing sat down at their bench right next to Joonmyun. 

            The kitten stopped hissing at Luhan as he turned his head to this newcomer. 

            Yixing put an arm around Joonmyun, “We still need a new member for our team.  Have you been looking?” 

            Joonmyun was head of one team of Exotic Academy’s intramural teams for the Elemental games which was a kind of sport. 

            “No,” Joonmyun smiled shyly at his co-captain. 

            “The next game is this Sunday and we need a new ----ow!” Yixing looked down to see the small kitten biting down on his hand.  He held up his hand and there was blood drawing from the bite marks, “Joonmyun what?”  He shook his head and the cut immediately healed.

            “Sorry it’s my kitten.”

            “Since when did you get a pet?”

            Joonmyun eyed him weirdly, “You live in the same apartment as me!  You sleep in the same room as me!  How did you not know?”  

            Yixing shrugged, “It’s sports season.  I’ve been overworked lately.”  He was about to pet the kitten when Luhan pulled him to his side of the table, “Yixing I’m telling you this thing is a devil.”

            “Luhan let’s not jump to,” Yixing eyed the kitten who was glaring at him with yellow eyes, “Joonmyun…I think for once Luhan might be right.”

            “Yixing, not you too,” Joonmyun looked at the kitten.  His hair was up and his teeth were bared at Luhan and Yixing. 

            “Okay maybe….”

            The kitten gave a yelp as it was hit with a small flame on the tip of its tail.

            Joonmyun got up, “Holy crap!  Chanyeol!” He didn’t have to turn around to know that it was Chanyeol who did that to the kitten. 

            He was now storming over to them, Baekhyun hot on his heels. 

            “You’ve got a whole lot of nerve, Sehun!” Chanyeol pointed at the kitten. 

            “Do you know what the apartment looks like?” Baekhyun shouted at the kitten.  Joonmyun looked a hell of a lot confused as the kitten curled up into a ball and snuggled into him, trying to hide in his shirt. 

            “Don’t you even try to hide; we know that’s you, you conniving little brat!” Chanyeol went to grab the kitten but was stopped when he saw a ball of water in front of his face. 

            “Don’t. Touch. Him,” Joonmyun stood up.  The cat was clinging to his shirt by its claws. 

            “This isn’t about you,” Chanyeol stiffened.  His whole body was covered in flames as he looked his enemy in the eyes. 

            Luhan immediately stood beside Joonmyun while Baekhyun stood opposite Luhan.  Yixing got up uncertainly and stood by Joonmyun’s other side.

            “Well this is my kitten,” Joonmyun said it more like a question.  He was beginning to believe this wasn’t a real kitten. 

            “It’s not a kitten,” Kyungsoo appeared at Chanyeol’s other side, putting a hand on Chanyeol’s arm to calm him down.  Kyungsoo was the only one who could touch Chanyeol when he was on fire. He could absorb Chanyeol’s heat.  Jongin appeared right beside Kyungsoo with a poof. 

            “That’s not fair,” Joonmyun said as he eyed the four boys.

            “We’re not here to fight,” Chanyeol eyed the kitten, “But we are craving some cat right now.  Sehun, you turn back this instant!”

            Minseok and Jongdae who were just entering the cafeteria immediately went to their respective groups. 

            “What’s going on?” Minseok began once he reached the large group.

            “That kitten isn’t a cat. It’s our friend Sehun and he has a hell of a punishment once he turns back.”

            Joonmyun unhooked the kitten from his shirt by grabbing it by the back of his neck.  He looked at it with sad eyes.  He could see something like guilt in the kitten’s eyes staring back at him. 

            “Sehun?” Joonmyun asked the kitten.  The kitten looked down at the ground, “Jeez, why would you do something like this?”   

            “Give him here,” Chanyeol reached out his hand, palm up. 

            “We’ll treat him really well,” Baekhyun smiled. 

            Kyungsoo rolled his eyes and Jongin hit Kyungsoo in the back with a smile. 

            “I ing told you Joonmyun,” Luhan whispered into Joonmyun’s ear. 

            Joonmyun brought the kitten up to his face so he could speak to it again, “Sehun, when you turn back you have some explaining to do, you got that?”  He scratched the top of the kitten’s head affectionately and the kitten let out another purr. 

            “I leave him in your hands,” Joonmyun put the kitten in Chanyeol’s hands.  Chanyeol quickly closed his hand around the kitten making the kitten scream and scratch Chanyeol’s hand. 

            “Hey, don’t do that!” Joonmyun had his hands around Chanyeol’s hand but immediately withdrew them because of the heat. 

            “Don’t worry, Joonmyun.  I’ll make sure he doesn’t hurt Sehun,” Kyungsoo said reassuringly.  If there was one person that Joonmyun could trust in that group it was Kyungsoo and maybe Jongdae (but only because he had this weird intimate but behind closed doors relationship with Minseok). 

            “At least not too much,” Jongin put his arm around Kyungsoo and with a poof the two were gone. 

 

            “Sehun, you better come back this instant!” Chanyeol yelled into the apartment as he searched frantically for the kitten.  He’d let go of the kitten as soon as they entered the apartment because of the kitten’s sharp claws digging into his skin.  And now Sehun was running around in this pig-sty.  It would take years to find a small kitten in this mess of an apartment.

            “I swear Sehun---“ Kyungsoo stopped as he hit his palm on the ground, making laundry and trash fly up into the air.  The floor of their apartment was covered with hard rocks.  They could hear a small yelp from Sehun’s room and they all ran towards it.  

            “I thought I saw him run under the bed!” Jongin pointed under the bed.  Baekhyun shone a light under the bed as they all tried to find the kitten. 

            “I see him!” Jongdae yelled in excitement.  Everyone flinched when a small burst of electricity hit the mirror in the room, making sparks fly everywhere. 

            “Come here, Sehun,” Jongin held out a hand under the bed. 

            The kitten backed up into the farthest corner under the bed as it eyed all the hands edging towards him.

            “Come here kitty kitty,” Jongdae cooed.

            “We won’t hurt you, Sehun,” Kyungsoo grinned.

            “Much,” Jongin added.

            “Just come here.  We’re your friends,” Baekhyun claimed.

            “You’re in so much trouble!” Chanyeol’s hand momentarily lit up under the bed and the kitten screamed in terror. 

            “Chanyeol!” Kyungsoo exclaimed as he grabbed Chanyeol’s hand before he could kill their friend. 

            “Sorry,” Chanyeol’s hand retreated and he stood up. 

            “I got him!” Jongdae exclaimed as his hands grabbed around the small kitten.  Everyone withdrew from the bed.  They all stared at him.

            “Turn back Sehun.”

            “The game is over Sehun.  You had your fun acting as peeping tom.”

            “This isn’t funny anymore.  Our apartment is a mess.”

            “I can’t even breathe in here.”

            “You need to take responsibility!”

            They all peered at the kitten in Jongdae’s hands, who looked at all of them with wide yellow eyes. 

            “Hey guys…do you really think this is Sehun?”

            “It has to be,” Chanyeol grabbed the kitten who quickly tried to scramble out of his hands, “Who else could it be?  I mean come on, this guy’s been practically living with Joonmyun.  And we know how much Sehun loves that guy.”  Chanyeol’s hair ignited at the mention of Joonmyun before the flame died down because of Kyungsoo’s touch. 

            “Sehun?” Kyungsoo peered at him. 

            The kitten nodded his head. 

            “Why aren’t you turning back?” Jongin peered at Sehun from over Kyungsoo’s shoulders.

            The kitten looked at him with hopeless eyes. 

            “Um…guys I don’t think he knows how to turn back,” Jongdae answered for Sehun. 

           

            Minseok opened the door and a smile formed on his face, “Jongdae!”

            Jongdae was about to say something but stopped when a shriek erupted from behind Minseok and they both turned around to see Luhan jumping onto the couch with a horrified look on his face, “What is it doing here?  Why did you bring him back?”

            “Is Yixing here?”

            “Luhan why are you screaming like a girl?” Joonmyun came out of his room and stopped when he heard the involuntary purr that came from Sehun. 

            “Is that? Why did you bring him here?  Does that mean he isn’t Sehun?” Joonmyun asked hopefully.

            “No it’s Sehun alright,” Jongdae moved into the room, “He just doesn’t know how to turn himself back.”  Jongdae dropped the kitten onto the ground and Luhan jumped onto another couch. 

            Sehun ran to Joonmyun who quickly picked him up out of habit.  Loud purring was heard through the room. 

            “We were thinking maybe Yixing could help us change him back,” Jongdae quickly explained.

            “Oh I can help with that,” Luhan jumped from the couch and made grabby hands at the kitten in Joonmyun’s hands.  Sehun was so focused on the hand petting him that he didn’t even hiss. 

            “First we need a large cauldron, boiling water, frog legs and a horse tail….kimchi and maybe some ---“

            “No we aren’t going to boil our classmate and get arrested,” Minseok pushed Luhan back onto the couch as he made his way through the apartment to Yixing’s room. 

            He came out a second later followed by Yixing, “I can’t turn him back.  I heal injuries.”

            “I know,” Jongdae began as he quickly grabbed Sehun back into his hands.  He flinched as the kitten clawed at him, not liking the change of holders. 

            Yixing quickly healed the cut. 

            “I was hoping one of your hippie friends could change him back.  Or maybe even an animal talker?” 

           

            “So the only way is Luhan’s way?” Jongdae asked shocked as Yixing came back from calling his friend.

            “I told you!” Luhan yelled from his bedroom, “But no one ever believes me.”  He was tugging a cauldron out of his room with ingredients flying around his head.  He put the cauldron in the middle of the room. 

            “So we need to get the water to boiling temperature.  Scalding,” Luhan grinned evilly at Sehun. 

            Joonmyun could feel the kitten shaking in his hands (Jongdae had given Sehun back to him).  He put his palm on the cauldron and it quickly filled up with water.  Sehun looked up at him with wide accusing eyes. 

            Joonmyun mouthed sorry and continued petting the trembling kitten. 

            “Not scalding,” Luhan put his hand into the cauldron, “Jongdae help us out.”

            Lightning came from the ceiling and struck the pot.  It took only a few seconds to bubble. 

            “How are we going to get the frog legs and horse tail?” Yixing asked as he peered over the cauldron. 

            “No problem,” Luhan snapped his fingers and the ingredients fell into the pot, “I don’t have kimchi though.”

            Minseok rolled his eyes as he went to the fridge and took out a bowl of kimchi and threw it into the pot. 

            “It’s ready!” Luhan sniffed it and wrinkled his nose, “It doesn’t exactly smell aromatic.”

            “Are you sure this is going to work?” Joonmyun eyed Yixing. 

            “He’s not going to boil and die in that pot will he?” he turned to Luhan. 

            Sehun was starting to panic.  His eyes were wide, his hair was on end.  He was struggling against Joonmyun’s grip on him.  This was the first time Joonmyun saw Sehun so panicked and he was tempted to let the kitten go so he could run away but he knew he couldn’t. 

            “How about if this isn’t Sehun?” Joonmyun looked to Jongdae. 

            “It’s him.  We’re sure,” Jongdae said confidently.  Minseok went over to him and squeezed his arm gently, “At least we’re pretty sure.”

            “Pretty sure?  How about if it’s not him and we wind up killing a kitten.  A poor innocent kitten?” Joonmyun asked.  He was holding onto the kitten so tight he thought he would squeeze it to death but the kitten was still fighting against him. 

            “We won’t know unless we try,” Luhan said softly.  He patted Joonmyun on the shoulder.  His eyes were honest and understanding. 

            “If we don’t do this, we might never get Sehun back,” Yixing said, “And I’m pretty sure we ran out of our supply of kimchi.”

            “You’re right,” Joonmyun nodded his head, “That’s the worst of our problems,” he said sarcastically.  He eyed the kitten.  He could see it was scared to death but he also saw something else.  He realized with absolute certainty that this kitten was indeed Sehun.  It’s not like he knew Sehun well.  They were in different groups (enemy groups) after all but he could tell there was something distinctly human in this cat.  He’d grown to love this kitten over the last few days.  The same kitten who he’d spent almost every waking moment with was his own classmate. 

            Joonmyun was reluctant to give this kitten up because he wasn’t close with the actual Sehun.  He looked at it and kissed the kitten on its nose.  The kitten involuntarily purred again and nuzzled against Joonmyun’s face. 

            It would seem like an intimate moment right? That’s why Joonmyun decided to throw the kitten into the boiling cauldron while it was happily purring. 

            The kitten hit the cauldron with a splash and screamed in pain. 

            Everyone stood around the cauldron watching for something to happen.  The kitten was writhing in the water; the fur was falling off as it was being cooked alive.

            “Omigod!  We’re murdering him!” Joonmyun yelled.

            “.  . !” Luhan had his hands gripped on the edges of the cauldron, “Was it ox tail or horse tail.”

            “Sehun!” Jongdae yelled, “Did I just kill my friend?” Jongdae was grabbing onto Minseok’s shoulders in worry.  Minseok looked on in horror as the kitten dropped to the bottom of the cauldron.

            “Omigod.  Omigod,” Joonmyun was going absolutely crazy. 

            “I think I’m going to throw up,” Yixing was grabbing Joonmyun by the shoulders as he tried to rest. 

            Suddenly there was a flash of light and the cauldron stopped boiling.  All of the water, the kimchi and other ingredients all flew out of the cauldron looking like how they did before they were put into the boiling water. 

            Sehun stood up in the cauldron.  His eyes met Joonmyun’s and he gave an involuntary purr. 

            Jongdae gave a bright smile as he leaned forward and threw his arms around Sehun.  He pulled back in disgust, “You smell and you’re covered in goo.”  He looked Sehun up and down.  Sehun was stark …and he had cat ears and a tail. 

            Luhan laughed, “You’re a catboy!”

            Sehun hissed and then covered his mouth. 

            Joonmyun chuckled, “You’re kind of cute.” Joonmyun grabbed his tail and Sehun on reflex wrapped it around Joonmyun’s arm. 

            “You’re also completely ,” Minseok added as he peered at Sehun in the cauldron. 

            “Completely,” Luhan emphasized as he mirrored Minseok’s actions. 

            “Omigod,” Sehun turned red as he tried to cover his private parts.  His ears were flat against his head in embarrassment. 

            Joonmyun laughed as he tried helping Sehun out of the cauldron, “Sehun we still need to talk.”

            “I don’t want to talk,” Sehun’s hands had left his bottom half to cover his face.  Strangely the only thing he didn’t want was to face Joonmyun right now. 

            He didn’t mind people staring at him down there or gawking at why he had cat ears and a tail.  He wanted to get away from Joonmyun as fast as possible.  And that’s why he ran out of the apartment stark .

            “Sehun!  At least put on some clothes!” Joonmyun raced out of the apartment after him. 

            “So he’s a catboy now?” Jongdae turned to Yixing and Luhan.  Minseok shrugged and turned to the both of them too.

            “Nah.  The ears and tail will disappear eventually.  I don’t know when.  It could be a few hours.  Maybe a few days.  Or years.  It depends,” Yixing shrugged.   

            “So does anyone want dinner?” Luhan asked. 

            Minseok turned to him with a raised eyebrow, “Are you thinking about the---“

            “Frog legs and horse tail?  Yes.”

            “NO!” all three voices shouted at him in unison. 

            

Story Tidbit: Characters don't really say "hyung" to each other here.  Everyone calls each other by their first names.  The only time "hyung" is used is when someone is being respectful or affectionate.