#more than souyo usually possesses me

[aibyoutachi]

(once again feel free to ignore me didjsns i will just force you to Think of them) souji and yosuke comparing hand sizes 😙

i ignored your prompt a little but i hope you're satisfied with this extremely awful sappy comic, my inbox knows no rest because of you (thank you for the brainworms)

[ohlookashinysquirrel]

Introducing Vasha

Today has not been a particularly good day, and I felt the need for some Souyo and cats. Just one of the many ways Vasha could have ended up with them.

“Nyyyyaaaaa!”

As Yosuke looked down at the small, shivering bundle tucked into his half-zipped jacket, he realised that he was in trouble. Not because his shirt was absolutely soaked and Souji had just done laundry the night before, and not because she (at least, he thought she was, well, a she) had snagged his uniform pants with a claw when he was pulling her out of the gutter, and he was going to have to hope that it didn’t turn into a hole. Nor was it because he’d forgotten to pick up the miso and paper towels his boyfriend had reminded him via text - twice - to bring home.

No, Yosuke was in trouble because, since day one - since they’d moved to Tokyo, since they’d gotten out of the dorms, since they’d gotten their own place and were slowly saving up to find a better one - he’d been adamant that they would not get any pets. Not yet. It wasn’t because he didn’t like cats (it would be a cat, there’s no way they’d ever get a pet that wasn’t a cat, not with his boyfriend being Souji Seta, cat-lover extraordinaire, the boy who could sense a cat from six blocks away in the dark). It wasn’t because he was always a little bit jealous at the fact that cats made Souji’s face light up in the way that they did. (He was, of course, oblivious to the smile that lit Souji’s face each time he looked at Yosuke - but then, it was mutual, so his ignorance could be forgiven.)

It was because pets were a legitimate responsibility, and two college kids - now one college kid (Souji was in law school) and one very junior Junes shift manager - could not guarantee that they’d be able to take care of an animal should an emergency arise. Food wasn’t the problem, nor was the litter box - Souji was tidy, had always been tidy (Yosuke had no idea how he managed to put up with the brunette’s clothes whirlwind every evening). The problem was potential vet bills. What if the fuzzball got sick? What if it ate something it shouldn’t? What if it fell out of a window? He didn’t care what they said about cats landing on their feet - anything falling from a tenth-story window would be in serious trouble.

Still. He looked down at the cat (kitten? She was really small, and he really didn’t know enough about cats to be able to tell); she was curled up against his side, and he could feel how warm she was - warmer than she was in the gutter, at least, which is good - and he could feel her purring, and… Well. I did just get a raise, and Souji did just get confirmation that his scholarship will last through the end of school. We’ve got some money tucked away. While thoughts of a nice beach vacation with Souji flitted through his head (he still wasn’t ready for the word honeymoon, but it was certainly in the back of his mind) he looked back down at his new, black-and-white friend. Her eyes were closed, and he could actually see her whole body shaking with the force of her purrs.

She should probably eat something. And she needs to see a vet… but what am I going to tell Souji? After all, they’d just had a conversation, not two weeks ago, where Yosuke had put his foot down yet again, and Souji had sighed and nodded and agreed that even if it sucked, Yosuke was right. And yet, here he was. With a kitten.

I guess I could take her to a shelter? The thought was not a comforting one - you couldn’t be dating Souji (or have been dating Souji for six years now) without knowing that shelters weren’t the best places for animals, not in Tokyo, especially not for half-starved kittens.

I don’t know if I can find a no-kill shelter around here, and even if I did, the chance that they’d have space is almost nonex-

“Yosuke!” The shout pulled him out of his reverie - the kitten was oblivious, between the sound of the rain and the cars rushing by - and he realised with a start that it was at least two hours after the end of his shift, and other than stopping at the store, Yosuke was never one to get home late. He was saved from wondering whether Souji had noticed his lateness by his boyfriend’s pounding footsteps as the silver-haired young man came running towards him, umbrella in hand, rain-drenched hair plastered to his forehead (the bowl cut had morphed into something sexier and messier, but was still short). He was wearing his study clothes, but the brunette barely had a chance for this to register before Souji was in front of him, arms thrown hastily around Yosuke’s shoulders to pull him into a tight, trembling hug.

“Partner! What happened, are you okay?”

The quiver in his boyfriend’s voice made Yosuke close his eyes, tightening his hands on the back of Souji’s shirt. While he wouldn’t say exactly that Souji was a worrier, everyone still remembered that fateful November back in high school, and nobody remembered it more than Souji. A pang of guilt struck the brunette’s heart.

I should have texted him. Who cares if he teases me about having said no two weeks ago? A beach vacation suddenly didn’t seem nearly as attractive as the thought of Souji sitting on their new (actually it was used, but it was like new, and had been a great deal) couch, smiling down at a purring, black-and-white fluffball as it lay in his lap. With Yosuke snuggled up against the silver-haired young man’s side, of course.

He looked up, shaking his head as he opened his mouth to explain, but before he could get the words out the kitten - who, to be fair, was currently squished between Souji’s bony hip and Yosuke’s not-particularly-robust stomach - squirmed and let out another loud “Nyyaaa!”

The look of confusion on Souji’s face almost made up for the last hour-and-a-half of uncertainty the brunette had gone through. As his boyfriend looked down - and then around - to see where the sound had come from, Yosuke gave a sheepish grin and unzipped his jacket. He had to admit, the look of sheer amazement that crossed Souji’s face at the moment that the kitten’s head popped up was pretty great; it only strengthened his resolve as he reached into his coat to lift her out, placing her into Souji’s (still confused, but also delighted) arms.

“I know I said we’d get one some day, so… I guess this is ‘some day’.”

“How- what- but where- but… I thought… last week-” Souji couldn’t tear his eyes away from the kitten (who immediately buried her face in the crook of his arm, and Yosuke was pretty sure the whole block could hear her purring) and with a wry smile, Yosuke tried to dust the cat hair out of the lining of his jacket with an absent minded realisation that this was his life now. Cat hair. Everywhere.

“Ehhhh, well… I was on my way home from work, and I heard her crying in the gutter… and it’s been raining pretty hard, and she really looks like she needs to eat, and I know that shelters around here aren’t really that great, and I just got that raise, and we’ve got some money saved up, and we were lucky enough to get into an apartment that allows pets, and-” Realising belatedly that Souji was probably the last person who needed convincing, Yosuke bit his lip, trailing off.

At this, Souji finally did look up, and the brunette was struck speechless by the relieved expression on his face. “As long as you’re okay, although we’ll need to get you home and into the bath, you’re so wet.” A pause, and then his voice softened into the gentle tone that always made Yosuke’s toes curl. “Trust my partner to come to the rescue like that. I’m sure she’s grateful - I know I am. But are you sure-?”

“I’m sure.” The feeling of pride that swept over him at Souji’s words - he’d always gone goofy every time his partner (especially back when he’d been the team’s Leader) had praised him - made him straighten up, squaring his shoulders. “I’m off work tomorrow, so let’s take her to the vet. Didn’t you say there was one nearby that had discounts for folks who adopted strays?”

“Mhm.” Souji carefully adjusted the purring bundle in his arms so that he could wrap his spare arm around Yosuke’s waist, having already handed the brunette the umbrella. “We’ll get Vasha checked out, get her shots, see when we can get her fixed.” It was a bit crowded under the umbrella, with two men and a kitten, but they were all three relatively slim and Yosuke really didn’t mind his boyfriend’s arm around his waist, or head on his shoulder - especially not with the happy tone in Souji’s voice, or the possessive way he slipped his hand into Yosuke’s hip pocket (ostensibly to hold on and keep them from being separated.)

No, a happy, grateful Souji was an affectionate Souji (even more so than usual) and while that hadn’t been a deciding factor in keeping the kitten, well…I’m certainly not going to complain.

It was as he thought this that his boyfriend’s words struck him, and he looked up. “Wait, what? Vasha? You already named her?”

Souji had the grace to blush at this, looking away for a moment. “Er, yeah. I kinda picked out the name a while back, when you first told me we could get one some day, and-”

Yosuke couldn’t help laughing. “Oh, man, you are such a cat nerd, partner.” The look he gave Souji, however, was one of unabashed fondness, and Souji - still blushing - wrinkled his nose at the brunette in the way that Yosuke adored (and would never have admitted out loud, keeping the fact back in his mind next to the word honeymoon, which was getting more and more impatient.)

“I love you, too, partner.” Souji’s words were warm, and they made Yosuke’s shoulders prickle in that happy, happy way, and the brunette chuckled as he steered them down a side street with a 24-hour store where they could pick up a few odds-and-ends to tide Vasha over for the night until they could get to a real pet store the next day.

It wasn’t until brunette and kitten were both bathed (and the kitten was curled up on Souji’s lap and the brunette was curled up against Souji’s side) that Yosuke remembered the miso and paper towels he’d never picked up. Souji just smiled, however - the fingers lightly stroking the brunette’s neck never stopped, nor did the hand that was petting the kitten in his lap - and said that Yosuke had an excuse, after all, and they could always pick them up tomorrow with the cat food.

It was, all-in-all, a good night.