By the end of the first week, Tao started to feel more at home in the house and around the other cats. He slept where he wanted, dozed where he wanted, was chatty in the mornings, helpful throughout the afternoon, a bum in the early evening, and hyper the rest of the night.

Jongdae praised him for his quick transition, though the way Tao understood it, between Jongdae and himself only Kai had come to the shelter, and Kai was apparently still as moody  this day as he was the day he’d first arrived. Tao avoided him on principle, not because the cat was mean, but because he never quite knew what to make of Kai’s acid replies or his cynical discussion topics about ownership and the lives of cats in general. The topic frankly depressed Tao, and he’d rather not think much about it. 

The funny thing about Kai though was how normal he seemed most days. Sipping his tea in the mornings, lounging on the patio throughout the day (when he wasn’t passed out on his own bed), he might have been any other middle aged cat dawdling around through life. He looked so young and carefree, until you looked into his eyes. Or until he opened his mouth. 

“So tell me, kitten. Did you spend a lot of time ironing your master's shirts? Because I have a few of mine that could do with some darning--”

Smack! Came Kyungsoo's hand across the back of Kai's head. The tiny cat exited as quickly and as casually as he'd entered, deaf to Kai's howling, and Tao escaped fast as he could. It was always like this with Kai, and no amount of sympathy Tao unknowingly mustered for the cat made him actually want to stay in his presence for very long.

Tao was much happier outdoors playing around with Baekhyun in the garden. Baekhyun was equally as small as Kyungsoo, but what he lacked in size and stamina he made up for in energy, especially when he was outside. He almost never came inside except at mealtimes and sometimes to sleep at night if the weather was bad. Otherwise he was elbow and knee deep in his plants or dozing on a hammock Joonmyun had kindly donated to the house.

The garden itself was a wonder, Tao learned, when he first ventured out on a tour with Baekhyun.

“Plum tree, peach tree, orange tree, lemon bush, that twig there will hopefully grow apricots one day,” Baekhyun explained. “But here! Here is the feast of feasts!”

It was a wonder there was any place left for grass with the way Baekhyun lined up the vegetable and herb garden wherever the yard wasn't covered in shade. With all the sprouts and plants, it was enough to make the house pretty much self-sustainable for produce at least. And of course, the herb garden was Baekhyun's pride and glory. 

“My precious lemongrass!” Baekhyun cooed. He squatted on the ground to observe the stalks, hands brushing through the tall grass lovingly. 

Since the night of Tao's arrival, Baekhyun still steadfastly refused to believe that bugs were a problem, and absolutely refused to spray for them. Once Jongdae had ascertained that his reluctance didn't come from any aversion to the use of natural chemicals itself though, Tao caught him out there the next day sneaking a few sprays at the plants. Jongdae had winked when caught, gone on with his task, and so Tao didn't bother telling.  Baekhyun was happier a few days later, and that's all that mattered.

“I could stay out here all the time for the rest of my life!” Baekhyun cried, one day. He was laying down on his back, eyes closed, in the space between rows of herbs. After half an hour of teaching Tao some little tricks of the trade, he invited the kitten to take a rest as well. With both of them covered in dirt and sweat, Tao happily sunk to the ground as well. A waft of mint (just one kind of at least half a dozen planted varieties) teased his nostrils.

“I don't know about all the time, but it's really nice out here,” Tao agreed.

Baekhyun chuckled at little. “You're young. Your life's still before you. Me? I like the easy living. Like now.”

Baekhyun was twenty six, Jongdae had told him. “And don't ask him about his past unless you want to spend the next several hours listening to him boast about his 'great love'.  Former great love,” he'd emphasized.

Tao still didn't have the guts to ask about it. He figured on a safer question to start with. “How long have you lived here then?”

Baekhyun mused, eyes still closed. “Nearly six years? I came a few months after Minseok and Luhan, I think. So, I was just a year older than you are now when I moved in.” 

Six years. Tao could barely contemplate it. Six years ago he was half his height, and the only thing he'd had to worry about was romping about the estate and trying not to get into too much trouble (that anyone found out about). Six years from now, however... He realized he'd probably still be living in this place, just as devoted to gardening as Baekhyun was now, and probably tutoring some new 'kitten' on the ways of the world, whatever those were. He still wasn't even sure what cats were supposed to be in life, other than pets, and that definition - once so easy to consider - had started becoming fuzzier the more he learned from his new roommates. The fact that all of them had lived out their entire growing years in animal clinics or adoption agency compounds blew a fuse in Tao's mind. And they weren't any less mind-blown that Tao's childhood had been the opposite.

In a way, Tao's worldview had both exploded and shrunk, and he wasn't sure how much more of it he wanted to explore.

“I started learning gardening when I was eighteen,” Baekhyun continued to talk.

“Did you learn it at the agency?”

“The agency?” Baekhyun scoffed with a little laugh. “Of course not. Those places don't teach you anything worth knowing. No, it was at my first home. They had a small garden, lots of pretty plants. It was my first great love who taught me how to treat them, grow and nurture them. Ohh, those wonderful times in the garden...”

Tao accidentally let loose the flood gates. 

“... oh the herbs! The flowers! The vines we grew together!”

Tao did some mental math. Baekhyun was eighteen when he must have been adopted out, and twenty when he came to the shelter. That left only two years in between...

Tao opened his eyes when heard the other choke out a small sob. He sat up on his elbows to glance at Baekhyun. No tears, but Baekhyun seemed caught in the place between delight over his memories, and whatever place he was at now. 

“Gosh, those were the days...” Baekhyun sighed. Then he sat up, abruptly, smile back in place as he looked at Tao. “Shall we go prune the other vegetable garden now?” Tao nodded. “Okay, good! Oh, careful. Watch out where you step. You almost crushed the Valerian flowers there... Ah, okay. Come on now.”

Tao stepped guardedly through the rows of plants, big and small, suddenly realizing that for a cat's herb garden there was something obviously missing.

“Baekhyun, don't you grow any catnip?”

“Huh? Catnip? Oh...” Baekhyun turned and halted, scratching his head worryingly. “I don't anymore... Some of the... cats, uh, don't really like it.”

“How can they not like it?” Tao remembered distinctly his master telling him that no cat, real or hybrid, could resist its effects, like perfume for the soul. He was only allowed it for special occasions, and on those days he felt like heaven!

“They just, don't like how it effects them, you know... out of body experience... out of their control. I don't know really know why,” he concluded quickly, and Tao let the subject drop. 

For dinner that night they had guests, not an entirely rare occurance, as Tao was beginning to learn. Earlier in the week Yixing had come by, thankfully without his dispirited son Sehun, and Tao was praised and fawned over by him while the rest of the cats gushed about how nice he was to have around. Tao had taken some serious effort into charming the housemates, all of whom, except for Kai, had fallen at his feet. 

Tonight though it was Joonmyun who visited. He'd been around often enough throughout the week, citing loneliness as his main reason. But Tao noticed that he made himself rather handy about the place, fixing small things or bringing them food. Once he even managed to obtain a five minute private interview with Kai. The cat came out later on looking a little less stressed. They found out the reason over the dinner table.

“Have you told them, Kai?” Joonmyun posed in the middle of the meal. Minseok and Luhan had taken their food to their room, so that just left Baekhyun, Kyungsoo, Kai, Jongdae and Tao around to entertain their guest. 

Kai paused, fork halfway to his mouth and looked around embarrassed. “No.”

“Oh? How come?”

“Slipped my mind.”

Joonmyun tutted disappointed. “Oh come now, Kai. Won't hurt to tell everyone now. What's to be shy about?”

Baekhyun suddenly clattered his utensils down onto the tabletop. He gasped loudly. “Ohhh! You're not...! You two! Are you? Oh my God, are you moving out? Does that mean I can have my own bedroom now?”

Kyungsoo also dropped his fork with a loud clank onto the floor.

“What, Baekhyun? No!” Kai roared. “Why does your brain always turn that way, huh?” 

“What? How can you blame me for that? You being so secretive and all...”

“Blame that head of yours! Always making conclusions...” Kai's words muttered off into near silence though his lips still grumbled something incoherent.

Jongdae drummed his fingers against the table, semi-patiently. “So, what is it?” he asked.

Kai looked up to a table with all eyes on him. Finally he spoke. “Joonmyun... uhm... he found me a job.”

A chorus of cheers went up, all enthusiastic. Tao raised his eyebrows slightly, not having realized cats could even join in the workforce. It suddenly made him nervous. With his young age, would he be expected to contribute somehow? No one else in the house did though.

“Good job, Joonmyun!” Baekhyun cheered. “So what'll it be, Kai? Flipping burgers at that joint down the street?”

Kai scoffed. “No, I won't be flipping burgers!”

“It's an office job,” Joonmyun explained. 

Again Kai scoffed, but he looked less put off than he sounded. “Sort of an office job. Front desk job, answering phones and stuff. Just basic level stuff.”

“Do you have to wear a suit?” Kyungsoo asked.

“Why, will you iron my shirts if I do?”

“Just. Asking,” Kyungsoo quipped. 

The news that Kai would be working now, half days from morning until afternoon at a small publications office for local community news fliers, unsettled Tao more than he first realized. He cornered Joonmyun later that evening as the man was beginning to leave.

“Tao? What is it?” 

“Can I talk to you about... something?”

Joonmyun smiled in his typical reassuring way, patted Tao on the shoulder, and said, “Sure. Why don't you walk with me?”

They were two houses away from the shelter, and still two houses from Joonmyun's home when Tao finally spoke again. “Joonmyun, do I have to work for my keep? Like Kai?”

Joonmyun laughed lightly. “What makes you think that? Didn't Yixing tell you not to worry about anything when you came here?”

“He did. I'm just... wondering?”

“Feeling a bit useless now?” 

“A bit.”

“Well don't feel that way. You're a cat. It should have been somebody else's responsibility, and you, my friend, are lucky that your master planned for your well-being after his death.”

It was the first Tao had heard of this. “He did?”

“Of course. He and Yixing were old friends. That's why he came and got you, otherwise you'd have been sent to an agency.” Joonmyun immediately stopped when Tao did, blistering at the words. Agency. “Hey now, calm down. Look if you ever do get restless and want to do something temporary like Kai, then come to me or Yixing. Otherwise, relax and enjoy yourself. It's not an easy life, but it's a lot nicer than some.”

“How come Kai wants to work?”

“Because he doesn't like the illusion of being indebted to somebody,” Joonmyun said simply. They'd arrived at the edge of the sidewalk leading up to Joonmyun's front door and Tao hung his head. 

“Okay then. I'll let you know.”

“Don't fret about anything, Tao. The cats like you a lot, I can tell. They'll help you. They probably can more than some humans anyway. You've come to a good place.”

Tao nodded. “Thank you.”

“Good. Alright, can you walk back four houses all by yourself or should I go back with you and then I'll be scared to walk home alone again, and we can repeat this all night?”

They laughed, and Tao assured him he could get back plenty fine. 

“Watch out for dogs!” Joonmyun called, still laughing.

“They should watch out for me!” Tao hollered back.

Baekhyun slept out again, Kai noticed when he woke up the first morning he was to start work. 'Out' meant he probably passed out outside in the grass again, or at least in his hammock. It happened often, and Kai was totally fine with that. The less people who disturbed him during those first crucial waking moments (which sometimes dragged on for hours), the happier Kai was. This morning, however, he slammed off his alarm instead of Baekhyun's head, and realized sadly, resolutely, that he was going to have to get used to this. Work meant schedule, and schedule meant waking up regularly and on time. 

Twenty minutes later he was dressed in a nice button up shirt and a new pair of slacks baggy enough to conceal his whitish-blond tail. Kai took a moment to look at himself in the full length mirror behind the door, an accessory Baekhyun had insisted they needed. He grimaced and made a face at himself, frowning, then smiling, then frowning again. How did one make a pleasant expression anymore? He couldn't remember, but once he'd coaxed himself into a normal looking face, he was mostly satisfied with his appearance. If you just ignored his cat ears, he might could pass for human. Most hybrids could. It was the thing humans simultaneously loved and feared. 

He met the kitten at the bottom of the stairs, his hand on the front door to go out. Tao didn't speak to him. Now that Kai thought about it, Tao never initiated a conversation with him first. Possibly he was too gruff with the kitten, but it's not like he had time to really care about that. He was actually a little sad the kitten had stopped reacting to all his attempts to rile him up. 

“Morning, Tao,” he said stiffly. The cat blinked at him, pausing with the door cracked open a few inches. “Soo... what's for breakfast?” 

Kai wondered if his 'pleasant' expression had already worn off. By the look on Tao's face, it must have. 

“Jongdae made oatmeal...”

“Fantastic. I hate oatmeal.”

Neither one moved, and that included himself, Kai realized suddenly. He had actually paused to talk to Tao. Surely there must be something wrong with him now, and it had nothing to do with his dislike for oatmeal.

“You ate it two days ago,” Tao insisted.

“Yeah, I hated it then too. Are you going out?”

“Just to water some flowers.”

“Oh. Well, I'm going to eat now.”

“Okay...”

Kai moved on before the kitten could make him feel any more awkward. It was probably the first time Kai hadn't said a mean thing to him, and that left a weird taste in his mouth, weirder still than the taste of halfway charred oatmeal left over in the bottom of the pan. How come Kyungsoo couldn't cook on the first day he started work?

Tao was still out front when he started down the sidewalk. The office was only a four block trek, part of the reason why it was so desirable for Kai. He pulled out a beanie from his back pocket and pulled it over his head. 

“Why are you wearing that when it's not really cold outside?” Tao asked. He stood up from where he'd been crouched over a patch of flowers next to the bushes that lined their yard. As soon as he spoke though, Kai could see his brain working fast. “Ohh” Tao said, without waiting for an answer. He put both hands to his cat ears, when he realized Kai had just concealed his own. 

“It... might be cold in the office I'm going to work in,” Kai lied. 

“Got it. I got it,” Tao said. “Uhm, have a good day?”

“Is that what you used to say to your master when he left each day?” Kai taunted. He didn't even know why he said the words.

“No...”

“No?”

“No, because... he didn't go to work.”

“Oh.” Retired, old. That's right, Kai thought. The man was rich and retired. He wouldn't need to work, not like Kai needed to. He decided to forgo this grand farewell and get back on track on the road to work.

Except he didn't make it far. 

He heard the sound of small beasts before he saw them. His ears were quick to pick up things like that. So too was his nose, and the stench that suddenly filled his nostrils filled him like a gallon of gas of fear. He lurched on the spot, debating whether he could run away fast enough or if he should turn on the dot and make a break for the safety of the house.

“Kai?” he heard. “Kai, what's wrong?”

He was paralyzed, knowing at any minute he could be mauled but his feet wouldn't move. At the very last second, he darted behind Tao's taller form, a hand catching Tao around the stomach as he swung behind him. It was a brilliant solution, to let Tao take the brunt of the attack. But it wasn't, because the kitten was just a kitten and how could it take such a thing and live to tell the tale? 

“Kai, what's the matter? Why are you... hiding behind me?”

Tao remained clueless until the yapping of small dogs assaulted his ears, and he looked down to see three little poodles running across the lawn at him, two brown and one white.

“Puppies!” Tao cried.

From behind him Kai screamed and ducked in fright. Tao tried to move, but Kai had him pinned by the pull on his ankles. He kicked one of the hands away, and using his one freed foot as leverage squatted down in time for the puppies to reach him. The barked and yipped and his hands, their connected leashes trailing across the grass behind them. Tao had barely the opportunity to pet each one and elbow the terrified Kai behind him before a pair of feet crossed his visage and he looked up.

Sehun peered down at him, with a smirk that looked almost disappointed.

Tao swallowed his dislike and made no move to get up. Both knees sunk into the grass anyway, and the puppies slobbered all over him. Kai still quivered behind him. “Are these your dogs?” he asked coldly.

“Yeah sorry the leash slipped out of my hands.” 

There was that tone again, that look that made Tao believe Sehun was just playing a game with him, with them. 

“Jerk. You did that on purpose!” came Kai's roar. 

Sehun sniggered. “Is it my fault they're so strong they yanked the leash out of my hands? The scent of cats or something. It's worse even than catnip probably is to you.”

Kai drew a loud breath, and since Sehun hadn't done it yet, Tao stood up to his full height - silently gleeful that he had just the advantage over Sehun in this area - then he bent down to retrieve the puppies' leash himself. “Cute dogs. Shame they're too fierce for you to handle.” He offered the rope handle to Sehun, and the other had no choice but to take it back. He turned in place, and with one hand behind his back, he slyly maneuvered Kai to move around with him until Kai was on the street side of the yard, and Tao blocked the ferocious puppies. Kai got the hint and quickly made his leave. 

Without him there, Tao suddenly felt very alone, even if the dogs still assembled at his feet and one of them laid down completely on his foot. 

“I didn't think you'd be a dog person. Aren't most cats terrified of them?”

“So that's why you brought them over?” Tao questioned.

Sehun shrugged. “I had something to do over here and I figured I might as walk them while I was out.”

Tao narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “I grew up with dogs bigger than this. Why are you here?”

“House stuff.”

“House stuff?”

“Yes.” He refused to elaborate. “Can I put the dogs in the back yard? Or would you like me to take them in through the house?”

Tao thought about it for a moment. He knew Baekhyun was out back in the garden, and that he might take offense to small animals running through his plants, but then again there were four cats indoors and Tao had no idea how any of them might react to dogs. If they were anything like Kai, then not too well. He decided Baekhyun was the best match for the animals.

“Sure. Backyard. We can see how well Baekhyun puts up with them.”

3,678 words

Waah, this was another fun chapter to write! More of Baekhyun, more of Kai (Kai, mianhae!), a little twist on the poodles, and the world of this kitty!au just gets a little deeper with every passing section.

Question to my readers. What made you decide to read this? Was it the kitty!Exo, the way this Au was presented, Taohun, or any of the other ships in particular? I want to know! Also, which characters are your favorite so far. Keep in mind, I have one or two left to name or introduce. 

See you next time!

<3 Rosie