Schwick.

Junmyeon flips past another drama on his TV, the taste of the bibimbap from dinner still sitting warmly on his tongue.

Schwick. Schwick schwick.

He finds himself back at the beginning of the channel menu and settles on some cheesy romcom he's probably seen before in the midst of his midnight insomnia, and the remote clinks when he sets it down purposefully on the coffee table.

Schwick schwick. Schwick schwick schwick. Schwick schwick.

Out of the corner of his eye, Junmyeon sees a flicker of movement, but he stares at the TV as the main protagonist confesses his love in the middle of the pouring rain. His hands are clenched into fists and he relaxes them slowly, fingers aching as they uncurl.

Schwick schwick.

Another flicker of movement, light fur tickling as it brushes across Junmyeon's bare calf.

Schw-ick.

"Is that really necessary?"

The cat on the ground just stares at him with hooded eyes, claws extended as he rips out another section of carpet slowly, deliberately.

He keeps Junmyeon's gaze the entire time.

ing brat.

Junmyeon pushes himself off the couch, ignoring the way the cat bats at his ankle lazily as he passes.

"Where are you going?"

Sehun isn't whining, face impassive as always, but there's a slight twitch downwards in his mouth, and Junmyeon feels victorious.

"To bed. I have a meeting with a client early tomorrow."

Something strange happens on Sehun's face, lips pursing as his ears flatten on top of his head, but then he shrugs and rolls onto his back.

"Okay."

The unemotional response would have thrown Junmyeon before, but he knows that Sehun is being difficult on purpose, and the best way to deal with a difficult Sehun is to ignore the fact that he's being difficult.

"Then I'll see you in the morning."

"Probably not."

Junmyeon doesn't react, just walks into the bedroom and shuts the door behind him with a soft snick.

--

Had you told Junmyeon 6 months ago that he would be the owner of a pale haired, long limbed, emotionally stunted cat, he probably would have patted you on the shoulder and quietly suggested you go see a professional.

As it stood now, less than 4 months after the hypothetical you told Junmyeon about his hypothetical cat, there is a real life, pale haired, long limbed, emotionally stunted cat living in Junmyeon's apartment. He'd found out about the adoption programme through a friend of a friend of Chanyeol's (somehow Chanyeol knows literally everyone; Junmyeon wouldn't be surprised to learn that Chanyeol knew someone who knew the President of The United States, honestly) and Junmyeon's always been a bleeding heart.

What he hadn't counted on, however, was the fact that his new cat was not the timid, quiet, tiny kitten that he had been expecting; Sehun was almost fully grown, with a tongue sharper than his claws and an unbreakable habit of ripping all of Junmyeon's favorite pieces of furniture to shreds. Added to the fact that he was seemingly startled by everything and had somehow made enemies with the only other cat in the neighborhood (Junmyeon's suggestion that they have a playdate was met with a glare so icy he felt his blood run cold), and Sehun was more than a handful. If Junmyeon wasn't so determined to prove that he could take care of someone other than himself, he probably would have given up on the cat.

(There's also the fact that Sehun's bleary eyed ruffled sleep face makes Junmyeon's heart stutter step in his chest, and he aches to touch the cat, even when Sehun is in one of his moods; Junmyeon's gotten claws to the hands more often than he can count, but it doesn't stop him from reaching out for Sehun when the cat hisses at him after the microwave beeps and nearly sends the cat through the window, time and time and time again.)

--

"No."

"Sehun-"

"No."

Junmyeon leans against the door, arms crossed over his chest, and narrows his eyes at Sehun. The cat glares back with red, puffy eyes, the skin around his nose swollen and blotchy.

"You don't have a choice."

"You're not taking me to the ing vet."

Sehun sniffles, nose twitching as he wipes it on the sleeve of his too big sweater, and it's so cute Junmyeon almost smiles.

Almost.

"Well I'm sure as hell not just going to leave you alone when you're obviously sick."

"It's just allergies."

It's the same argument they have every time Sehun gets sick (which is surprisingly often; Junmyeon worries about him, and always makes sure to include plenty of fish and chicken in Sehun's diet), and Junmyeon doesn't have the patience for it today. The office is in chaos, gearing up for the new summer rush of releases, and Junmyeon needs to be there to keep Kyungsoo from killing everyone, not arguing with his stubborn cat.

In a practiced, fluid movement, Junmyeon pushes off the wall and curls his hand around the back of Sehun's neck, pulling at the skin and squeezing it between his fingers.

Sehun goes limp almost instantly, ears and tail both dropping, and Junmyeon squeezes again for good measure before letting go, fingertips lingering on the soft fur at Sehun's hairline.

"Cats don't have allergies."

Sehun glares at him, but it's half hearted at best, and Junmyeon just smiles pleasantly at him before he shoves his hands into the small of Sehun's back and pushes him almost bodily out the door.

Junmyeon is small, but he's got muscle and Sehun is still reeling from the grip on his neck, so it's easy enough to get him in the front seat of the car, strap the belt across Sehun's waist, and drop a kiss to the top of the cat's head, right in between his ears.

He's so busy getting himself settled that he doesn't notice the contemplative gaze Sehun shoots at him from his seat, or the quick way Sehun looks away when Junmyeon glances back at him.

--

"Good morning."

"I'm going to kill him."

Junmyeon looks up from his coffee to find his assistant clutching shredded forms in his hands, jaw twitching where his teeth are pressed together.

"…okay."

Junmyeon is more than used to Kyungsoo's rage, and even his eccentric mood swings, but usually Kyungsoo explains the situation before threatening to kill someone.

"Baekhyun. I'm going to kill him."

Baekhyun is Kyungsoo's cat, has been for as long as Junmyeon has known him, and Kyungsoo seems to be upset with him more often than not (read: always). Junmyeon doesn't understand their relationship, and isn't quite sure that he wants to.

"It's not even 8am, what could he have possibly done?"

Kyungsoo laughs, and it's so not amused that Junmyeon feels himself cringe away from the sound. His assistant launches into a wildly gesturing story involving Baekhyun and one of their most promising author's new manuscript, and Junmyeon knows he should be freaking out probably but really, it's not even 8am, and Junmyeon had spent all of last night trying to coax a terrified Sehun out from under the bed, where he'd hidden as soon as the first spark of lightning had lit up the apartment, so he's not in the right state of mind for Kyungsoo's antics.

He sips his coffee and hums where appropriate as he checks his email and the stack of mail on his desk, and he slowly becomes aware of Kyungsoo no longer talking.

"You're not even listening to me, are you?"

Junmyeon grins sheepishly, flashing crooked teeth at his assistant, and Kyungsoo throws his hands up in frustration, stomping out of the office muttering about misbehaved cats and absentminded bosses.

--

"Why do you always smell weird when you come home?"

Junmyeon looks up from where he's sitting at the kitchen island, one of his chopsticks hanging out of his mouth as he snacks on leftover fried rice and goes over the stats from this month's releases on his iPad.

"What?"

"You smell weird when you come home from work. Why?"

"I don't know? I didn't think I smelled any differently."

Sehun frowns at him, kicking at the legs of Junmyeon's stool as he leans over and steals a bite of Junmyeon's rice. Junmyeon waves him off, and Sehun steals another bite, just to be a about it.

"You do. Usually you smell like your girly body soap-"

("It's not girly, it's just floral!")

"And when you come home you smell like other people. I don't like it. Why do you smell like that?"

Junmyeon just blinks at Sehun, who then moves in to rest his chin on Junmyeon's shoulder, nuzzling his face against the curve of Junmyeon's neck. His breath tickles, and Junmyeon absently pets at Sehun's hair. Sehun mumbles something against his skin, but Junmyeon can't understand him.

"What?"

"You shouldn't smell like other people."

It's sweet, and so completely un-Sehun that Junmyeon smiles, curls his hand around Sehun's waist, at the bare skin where his shirt pulls up.

Sehun's been with him for almost a full year, and he's not always the most affectionate; it's nice for Junmyeon to be reminded that he's wanted, even if Sehun is still a brat about it.

"I'll try not to be around other people anymore."

Junmyeon just laughs when Sehun glares and shoves at him, butting his head against Junmyeon's shoulder and nearly knocking him off the chair. There's a light color painted across his face, and Junmyeon wonders if cats can get embarrassed.

"Don't make fun of me."

"I'm not, I promise."

"You'd better not be."