#in other news i pet this cat that was LOVING the scritches

[tskumoyuuma]

my barber: oh u got some red spots on the back of ur neck! maybe theyr mosquito bites?

me, knowing full well that theyr pimples iv been picking at: ahaha yea they must be

[anyamaris]

Purrfect Company

Word Count- 6726

Pairing- Boss!Lee Know x Employee!F!Reader

Trope/AU- Coworkers to lovers AU

Summary- Working at a cat cafe has a variety of perks, though you’re not sure if your crush on the handsome shop owner, Minho, counts as one.  Despite it being the holidays, you have no one to spend it with so you’ve volunteered to take the shift at the cafe on Christmas eve. A power outage and a surprise visit from your seemingly rigid employer has you discovering things you might never have known otherwise.  Maybe Minho has a warmer, softer side than you’d realized.  

Warnings-Vulgar language, sexual language, unprotected sex, forbidden relationship dynamic (boss x employee), lots of pussy (ha!), MINORS DNI 18+ ONLY

This is one of my two entries in our 16 Days of Smutmas 2023 Collab! Check out the other writers as well!!!!

A/N: Firstly, definitely an enormous thanks to @kwanisms for this collab, listening to me flail my way through it AND creating the BEAUTIFUL BANNER HEADER-ISNT IT GORGEOUS? ISNT SHE AMAZING?

A huge huge huge thank you to @sanjoongie for helping me through the many hurdles of writing this and reading snippets to ease my anxiety. It means more to me than you'll ever know. @millennial-fangirl as well for reading part of my smut and giving me helpful criticism, I love it so much!

Thank you to everyone who listens to me whine about everything always, I love you all.

Tags- @cultofdionysusnet @ksmutsociety @wooyoungmybelovedhusband @yoonguurt @shinestarhwaa @stardragongalaxy @kpop-stories-21 @starlitmark@millennial-fangirl @ericssmile @wooahaeproductions@changbinslovelylegs @yeosxxx @millennial-fangirl @starillusion13 @duchesskaren @minki-moo

A huge thank you to @saradika and @cafekitsune for the amazing banners, without you creating them our work wouldn't look so beautiful!

“Goodnight! Happy Holidays!” You wave, closing and locking the door behind the sweet couple who had come in last minute to pick out a cat for their daughter.  You can’t help but smile at the thought of the beautiful kitty who will get to wake up with a new family to love and accept her. 

Turning, you smile at the few cats left in the living room/play area the owner had set up for them.  The three left were napping, one on  the couch and the two others curled up together on a cat tree.  Humming happily, you turn to finish the few closing duties you have left.  You’d closed down the cafe area after the couple had gone in to play with the cats and now you just had to make sure the till was put in the safe.  You planned on spending some time with the last few cats before you made your way home for the evening.

It was Christmas Eve and as you turn to look out the window once more, you frown at the heavy snow coming down.  “Figures, going to be hell going home,” you breathe out as you lock the safe, then the office door.  You stretch and yawn, taking off your apron to hang as you make your way into the kitty area. 

 “Peanut, are you comfy?” you ask the lone orange tabby curled up on the sofa.  Minho, the owner of the cafe, had furnished this area nicely for the comfort of the cats and the people who came to play with and possibly adopt them.  If you took away the cafe portion, this could be the cozy living room in the home of any family.  

Peanut peeks an eye out at you from under his tail to let out a soft trill as you sit beside him, running a hand over his velvety fur.  “Merry Christmas to you, too.  I wish I could take you home with me but I’m afraid I can’t have pets at my tiny apartment.” He purrs softly, leaning into your hand as you scritch his ear.  He gets up and stretches then immediately climbs into your lap, curling up and making you beam proudly.  You’ve always gotten along well with most of the cats here, and it always brought you joy to have them accept you.  

Letting yourself relax, you close your eyes as you pet your comfy companion.  The soft overhead christmas music lulls you into a half sleep and you don’t even realize you’ve drifted off until something draws you back to consciousness.  Blinking yourself awake, you freeze as you suddenly hear a rattling noise from the other room, as if someone is trying at the doorknob.  Peanut perks his ears up and lets out a soft growl at the disturbance, but you soothe him quietly as you lift him from your lap, placing him down so you can go to see what the noise is.  

You’d accepted the shift for Christmas Eve without hesitation because everyone else had plans.  You had only a studio apartment and the prospect of take out at home, so you’d volunteered so no one else had to work.  Minho had entrusted you with the closing duties, and now here you were, faced with a possible break in.  

Your heart pounding in your chest, you creep into the hallway leading to the back employee area, as well as the door to the back of the building.  It feels as if your chest is going to explode from fear and anxiety as you watch the door creak open with wide eyes.  Your thoughts on the cats you are there to protect, you reach out and grab the nearby broom handle, holding it out as you yell, “Stop, or you’ll regret it!” 

The figure opening the door stops, their arms laden with something but you don’t process much else than a harsh sigh, then the lights are being flicked on.  “Really, what are you going to do with that? Sweep me to death?” The male voice greets you and it takes you a brief moment before you realize the voice and face belong to your boss, the owner of this cafe.   

Lee Minho.

Letting out a relieved sigh, you fall against the wall and clutch your chest.  “I wasn’t aware that you’d be here this late, did something go wrong with closing?” Minho asks, then his eyes widen.  “Are the cats alright?” His severe frown as he shoots a look behind you has you immediately responding.  “No, no everything is fine, I just checked on them a moment ago and was going to head home.”  you tell him, rubbing your eyes.

His eyes meet yours again and his eyebrows furrow.  “At one in the morning?” he asks and you just blink at him.  “Excuse me?”  shaking your head, “No…I didn’t-”  you turn around to dash back into the cat room, grabbing your phone.  “Shit.” you say and you hear a soft laugh behind you.  “Lose track of time?” He asks, coming in behind you and setting down the bags he had been holding.  Peanut immediately runs to him, purring around his legs as the other two sleepy cats peek out to see what’s going on.  

“I closed a little after 9pm, and everything was done.  I sat down to pet Peanut and I guess I just….” you shrug, frowning.  “I’m sorry, I promise I did everything for closing before I nodded off.  Don’t worry, I will mark my time slip as off at 9pm.”  you tell him, embarrassed, cheeks heating from having fallen asleep in your workplace.  

“Nonsense, you were keeping the cats company on Christmas Eve.  Peanut needed company, right buddy?” he asks, kneeling down to scratch his ears.  You smile softly, noticing how much your boss seemed to go from the gruff, teasing, sarcastic man to this warm, caring soul when faced with feline company.  Relaxing a bit, you remember your last part of the evening. 

“Sylvie was adopted at the last minute, the couple said that they will let us know if their daughter changes her name when she gets her.  Sylvie really loved them, they were here for a while with her before they took her home. They were very pleased.” you smile, watching Minho look up at you, his eyes widening in excitement as you speak.  You have to stop your heart from thumping as he beams happily at the news.  He was far too handsome for your health.  

You definitely didn’t have a crush on your boss, definitely not.  

“I’m so glad, she deserves a little girl to play with.  How old is the daughter?” he asks, his eyes sparkling.  “Twelve. They said that’s all she wants for a gift is a kitty to love.  So I’m hoping it’s a good fit.”  He smiles and nods, looking back down at Peanut, who is now sniffing at the bags he’d brought.  “You’re stuck with me, pal.  You, Luke and Leia. Christmas with Uncle Lino.” he coos at him, looking over at the pair napping.  You can’t help but smile at the names of the two, one of Minho’s friends having named them when he stopped by.

Blinking at yourself just lingering and ogling your boss, you shake yourself out of it. “I’ll get out of your way.” you say, glancing at your phone again, finally noticing the missed messages.  Frowning, you open a text from your neighbor.  “It’s pretty nasty out-” you hear before your mind is processing the text sent hours ago.  “Well, damn.” you mutter at your phone.

‘Hey-just fyi, power is out in the building. You might want to find somewhere else to stay if you have one!’  it reads and you just deflate from the news.

 Of all things, especially on Christmas Eve when everyone was out of town or busy, you think.

“What’s wrong?” you hear from beside you, Minho’s voice concerned.  Rubbing a hand over your face, you look out the window at the heavy snowfall.  “I guess my building’s power is out.” Looking over at him, you can only smile and shrug, then lean down to pet Peanut as he winds around both of your legs.  “Going to be a terrible Christmas Eve alone with no electricity, huh bud?” you whisper to him.

“Don’t be ridiculous. Help me put this stuff away and then you can come upstairs and sleep on the couch.” When you open your mouth to protest he just turns his back and starts unloading the bags.  “If you don’t feel comfortable, you can sleep down here with Peanut.  Either way, there’s no point in going back to a place with no power.  Unless you have someone who you can go to?” he asks, tossing you a look over his shoulder.  Shaking your head, you glance one last time out the large window at the cold, white sheet obscuring any view and just sigh.  

“If it’s really alright, I’ll take you up on it.  I’ll stay.” 

After helping put away the cat food and litter he’d brought in, you smile as he takes another bag of toys and opens each, letting Peanut sniff at them.  Luke and Leia are finally stirring, peeking out to see what’s going on.  You can’t help but smile as they just yawn and curl back around each other.  Lucky kitties, you think.  Am I jealous of the cats? You ask yourself, suppressing a small laugh. 

Minho stands, noticing your look and he clears his throat.  “Come on, I bet you haven't even eaten anything since before your shift started.” He says harshly, but when you look over at him, he’s smiling softly.  “I-” you start, then wince, shaking your head.  “Are you spying on me?” you ask him with a laugh and he just stares at you for a moment, then nods once.  “Of course I am.” 

You can’t help but chuckle at his deadpan expression as he turns to go to the door leading upstairs.  “I hadn’t thought to ask but…what’s upstairs?” Without looking back, he starts up the stairs leaving you to follow behind.  “I live up here, leave the door cracked, please.  The cats like to come upstairs if they get bored down here.” he says and you smile as he leads you into a big open space apartment.  

“Oh wow….I had no idea you actually lived here.” You say, looking around.  He smiles as he turns on some lights and takes off his shoes, and you do the same. You make sure to leave the upstairs door cracked as well, noticing his approving nod.  “Mmm…I bought it years ago, when I first moved here.  The downstairs was being leased out to a bakery.  Once they left when their lease was up…” he just shrugs, shooting you a look over his shoulder as he makes his way into the living area.  

“Wow, what made you want to turn it into a cat cafe?” You ask him as he gestures for you to sit.  “Make yourself at home.  Do you want something to drink?” he asks, heading into the kitchen.  “Sure, whatever you have is fine.” He hums as he goes into the fridge, pulling out some water bottles.  “I’ll make some tea.” He says, turning on the electric kettle, then he comes to sit next to you, handing you the water.  “Thank you.” you say and he smiles, leaning back to look around.

“It’s not a very … interesting story.” he finally answers, his lip twitching.  “You’re likely to think I’m weird.”  he says, eyes darting over to you.  Twisting off the cap to drink, you recap it as you set it down and try not to grin.  “And if I already do?” You say, surprising yourself at your boldness.  Before you can regret your remark, he throws his head back, letting out a laugh and it makes you smile as he looks back at you with a smile to echo your own.  “Well, then I have nothing to worry about.” He quips and you blush, looking away.  

He really was far too attractive and here you were with him, alone, on Christmas Eve.  Ignoring the pleasant warmth in your stomach, as well as the fluttering, you turn your attention back to his words as he answers.

“When I moved here, I really missed my cats back home.” he is saying, smiling as Peanut slips through the opening of the door.  “I have three at my parents house.” he says, watching the big orange cat wander off to explore.  “Aww, I bet that was really tough.” you respond, frowning, remembering your own cats you left behind to move here.  He just nods, continuing.  “Well, one day I found two kittens outside in a box, and I couldn’t leave them.  So I brought them home.  Then another followed me home a few weeks later after I fed it.  The next thing I know, I had seven cats and a space downstairs to lease out.” 

“Wow! Seven cats?” you exclaim, blinking in disbelief at him.  “And counting.” He laughs, shaking his head.  “I couldn’t leave them out in the streets.  I was trying to figure out how to keep gathering all these stray cats and figure out how to rehome them, all while trying to work.” You just look around, taking in the apartment.  While it was spacious for more than one person, you couldn’t imagine having seven plus cats roaming around without the downstairs.

“So you just thought, ‘Oh I'll open a cat cafe’?” you can’t help but smile at him.  He shrugs, tilting his head as he hums softly.  “Pretty much.  I had some help from friends and family, thankfully.” His gaze feels suddenly intimate for some reason as you relax into the conversation, his deep brown eyes warm and soft.  Finding yourself leaning towards him more as you listen, you both are startled when the kettle starts to beep and he clears his throat, standing to go to the kitchen.

“Actually….” he stops halfway there, looking out at the fat snowflakes falling down, then turning to look at you.  “Would you like some hot chocolate?” he asks and you smile at him, nodding happily.  “That sounds amazing actually.”  You lean your head on your hand, watching over the back of the couch as he busies himself in the kitchen, inhaling blissfully as the scent of chocolate slowly permeates the open space.  

Your earlier embarrassment has faded into almost happiness at falling asleep with Peanut, grateful that you’re not in a cold, lonely apartment tonight.  The scent of the cocoa mixed with the euphoria of having an actual conversation with Minho has you in an odd headspace.  In the months you’ve worked for him, you can’t remember having many conversations with him.  He was always on the go, in and out of the shop, most of his time being spent with the cats. 

That’s what started this silly crush, you think. 

Watching him talk to the cats, cooing at them, playing with them when he had any free time.  Admiring the way all of the felines would flock to him, noticing him immediately when he came in bearing food and treats, as well as a variety of toys and new furniture for their temporary living space.  

The way he checked in on all of the cats that got adopted, treating them like each one was his child.  How he cared for them, expression lighting up when he comes through the door to see the beautiful furry creatures; playing, fed and happy.  He truly was dedicated to their well being and watching it over the months you’ve spent working for him, it had definitely interested you in finding out who he truly was.  

You can’t lie to yourself as you listen to him hum a soft tune, smiling as he turns to mix the drink in a saucepan. It was pointless to deny that that simple crush on a handsome man was turning into a little bit more. 

Not that you’d expect anything from it, of course.  He was your boss, you were his employee. That’s not even accounting for his own personal feelings.  You didn’t have any illusions about anything happening, but you just couldn’t deny it any longer.  You’d just keep it to yourself, enjoying that sense of being young and silly, pining over the unobtainable.  Sometimes that’s all you need, just something to look forward to, for yourself. 

“Are you alright?” you hear him say, snapping you out of your thoughts as he walks over, carrying two steaming mugs.  “It’s hot, be careful.” he says, an almost worried look on his face as he hands you one of the drinks.  You can’t help but smile and blush at his concern, feeling suddenly like you’re getting an inside view of what the cats must feel like under his care.  

He raises an eyebrow at you as he blows on his own drink, sipping at it carefully.  “I’m fine, just ….” you look down at the cocoa, the smell making you feel more nostalgic for the holidays than you’ve felt for a long time.  “Just?” he asks, frowning as he blinks at you with those beautiful eyes.  Letting out a sigh, you take a tentative sip, your eyes widening at the flavor.  “Wow…this is…amazing!” you say, taking another sip of the warm, rich beverage.  His eyes light up at your words and he smiles proudly.  “It’s homemade, not the powder, it’s quite different from the packets you get.” He tells you and you nod, savoring each sip.  “Well, it’s delicious.  I don’t think I’ve had cocoa in ages, let alone something this good….ever.” His eyes crinkle at the sides as he looks down and you swear you can see him blush a bit.  You might have to compliment him more if he was going to react like this, you think.  

“It’s fairly easy, I just happened to have the ingredients.  I thought for Christmas Eve it was a bit more festive.” he says, and you nod as you watch him talk.  “Speaking of….” he says, brow furrowing suddenly, “Why did you decide to work tonight?” He asks, settling back as he turns to you, his gaze curious.  

You hum as you raise a shoulder to shrug, “I don’t have family in the area, and we don’t really celebrate together much, as everyone gets really busy this time of year. All the friends I have here all had plans, and honestly, it’s really just another day to me most of the time.  I figured I’d give everyone else the night to spend with people since they all seem more interested in that.”  His hum and pursed lips as he nods has you suddenly realizing he’s alone as well.  

“What about you? You mentioned your parents and cats at home, why are you here?”  you ask and he smiles, rocking his head back and forth as he thinks.  “This year, I decided to send my parents on a vacation since they’ve worked so long and hard all their lives.  I gave them the gift early and they are currently on a beach somewhere nice and warm.  As they should be.” he says, smiling softly. 

 Your heart thumps at his expression, your throat closing at how very caring he was for the people he loved.  Suddenly, you feel overwhelmed with some feeling you can’t define, almost as if the idea of being loved that much made you feel happy and extremely lonely all at once. You almost laugh as tears spring to your eyes and he blanches, looking shocked.  

“Hey, are you alright?” he asks as you wipe at a stray tear and you let out a soft chuckle at your foolish emotions.  “Oh yes, sorry.  Just thinking of how proud they must be of you, to have raised such a caring, lovely son.” Your words take him off guard and he looks down into his drink, blinking rapidly.  “I don’t know if I’d say all that…” he says, his cheeks flushing red.  You bite your lip, having to look away from how adorable he looks being shy.  

“Really, I don’t know many people who think like you do.  How you are with the cats as well as your family…” you shake your head.  “Most people tend to think of the holidays as a time for getting things, I’ve found.”  He hums softly, the silence between you slightly tense but far from awkward as you both enjoy your drinks.  “I’ve been meaning to ask…” he says, clearing his throat as he sets down his mug on the coffee table.  “Hm?” you say, curious.  “I thought you’d be spending the holiday with someone special.  I figured you’d have someone waiting for you at home.” He says, studying you.  “Someone special?” you ask, then realize what he’s asking. 

“Ah…no, I don’t have anyone.  I broke up with my last boyfriend shortly after starting work here.” you gesture around you. “Ah yes, that’s why I thought….” he trails off, looking away. “I noticed a man coming in when you started so I just figured.” He shrugs and you sigh, frowning as you set your mug next to his.  “No, we broke up…he…it’s a stupid story.” you laugh without any amusement, waving it off.  “Oh?” he says, leaning forward a bit.  “If you don’t want to-” You shake your head, making a sour face.  “Long story short, I found out I wasn’t his only girlfriend.  So, I broke it off.”  

The look on his face has you bursting into laughter.  The sheer disgust is so adorably cute, his lip curling as he lets out a ridiculous noise of revulsion that you just can’t help but snort as you giggle loudly.  It only seems to encourage him as he repeats the noise, adding, “Is he stupid?”  You just nod as you wipe your eyes, this time the tears are from your laughter and you can feel your stomach hurting from it.  “Yes, that was my thought, honestly.” you tell him, his sudden smile bringing butterflies to dance in the pit of your stomach. 

“He must be, I wouldn’t-” he stops, shaking his head.  “Any man like that isn’t worth your time.  Better off without him!” he says, throwing his hand up into the air.  You laugh again and this time he joins you, the shared moment has you relaxing back into the cushions as you turn to settle more comfortably on the couch, facing him fully. 

“Yeah, definitely.” you sigh, “Still lonely around this time of year though.” His smile slips and you decide to not ruin the mood.  “What about you? I didn’t even know you lived up here, I thought you’d have some big house with a wife somewhere.” you say and he winces, looking away.  “No, it’s been a while since I’ve dated.  Between the cats and running the cafe, I’ve kept myself from being too lonely.  I have everything I need right here.” he says, eyeing you.  “Besides, being alone doesn’t always mean being lonely,” he says, giving you a look. 

“That’s entirely true.  I do enjoy my time to myself, plus it’s easy to just crush on someone to keep myself from thinking too much about a relationship.  Sometimes it’s better to live in my own head and create my own narrative than to deal with another person.” you say with a smirk and he raises his eyebrows in response.  “A crush?” he asks and you freeze, realizing you’ve likely said too much.  “Sure, why not? Everyone has crushes throughout their lives.” you say nonchalantly, shrugging a shoulder.  

“Who’s this crush?” He asks teasingly, but you swear his eyes darken a bit, almost dangerously.  Swallowing, your cheeks heat up as you look away.  “Nobody it would ever work with, so it’s not really important.”  you respond and sneak a peek at him.  He’s studying you intently, not smiling and the room is suddenly oddly tense.  “Don’t tell me it’s some idol-” he starts but you wave your hand, laughing softly.  “No, nothing like that. I mean, of course I have those as well but that’s not what I meant.”  

“What about you? Or is raising kitten children your only passion?” You tease and he raises an eyebrow, smirking.  “Hm…” he hums, “Strangely enough, my answer is much like yours.  Nothing that would ever work.” It’s your turn to be curious, leaning forward towards him.  “Why wouldn’t it?” you ask him, wondering what would stop this man from pursuing anyone lucky enough to catch his interest.  His lip twitches and he suddenly leans forward with a sly grin.  “It’s one of those taboo things.” he says cryptically, his wicked grin drawing your attention.  “Taboo?” you say, scooching forward and widening your eyes dramatically.  “Well now that sounds interesting.  What’s so forbidden about this person?” you ask softly, trying not to grin.  You’d never seen or heard of him being involved, that’s why you assumed he must be married, or voluntarily single.   

“Well, aren’t you the gossip.” he shoots back and you laugh.  “I mean, yes.  Just wondering what would keep a man like you from doing anything he wanted.”   His eyes widen as his eyes flick down to your lips, then back up and he clears his throat.  “A man like me?” he asks, and you can feel the tension again building at the softness of his voice, the nearness of him.  You take a moment to collect your thoughts, not wanting to sound ridiculous.  

“You’re successful from what I know, of course I don’t know everything about you. Just from the outside looking in.  You’re handsome, caring, you have your own place, run a business. You’re funny, you make amazing hot chocolate-” You stop at his look, at how his adam's apple dips as he swallows thickly.  “Do you plan on pursuing your interest…your…crush?” He asks you in a whisper and your cheeks flush, heating up at the very idea.  What he’s asking...how easy it would be to just lean a bit more forward….

“No…I can’t.” you shake your head, looking down.  “Why not?” he asks softly, and your whole body feels like it’s vibrating from his nearness.  “It would be unprofessional and I doubt he’d even look at me like that.” you say without thinking.  His eyebrows raise then draw together at the comment, confusion on his face for a moment as you feel embarrassment wash over you. 

“But the only guy-” he says, shock registering on his face.  “He’s married!” he gasps and you blink at him as you realize he’s thinking of your other male coworker.  “No! Oh my god, do you think I’m that horrible?” you ask, stunned.  “Of course it’s not him it’s y-” your words catch in your throat as you stop yourself too late, his goading making you thoughtless.  “Forget about it, it’s nothing, really.” you say, turning to stand, to go somewhere-anywhere but here.  

Before you can though, he’s grabbing your arm, tugging you back down, his eyes large, dark and serious as he pulls you towards him.  “Me?” he asks, and there is no way you can read the look on his face.  Your stomach bottoms out as you realize just how badly you just fucked up.  Here you were, in your boss’s apartment, with nowhere to go and a snow storm outside.  

You were going to lose your job, you just knew it.  You know how inappropriate it is to-

“Is it me?” he asks, this time a bit more forcefully, his words snapped out.  Slumping back, you close your eyes and sigh out softly, unwilling to look at him.  “I know it’s not right, you're my boss.  it’s unprofessional and I-” 

“You’re fired.” he says harshly.

Despite knowing it was coming, your eyes snap open to protest just in time for him to close the distance between you; any words that were about to leave your lips dissipates as he slips a hand behind your neck, pulling your mouth into his. Your body stiffens for the briefest of seconds before you’re wrapping your arms around his neck, combing your fingers into his hair as his tongue slips along the seam of your lips.  You shiver at the growl that escapes from deep in his throat when your tongues meet, his arm sliding around your back to yank you closer to him.  

Giving in completely to the moment, you shift with him as he guides you into his lap. Pure instinct takes over as you move together, his fingers prying at your clothing, yours threading through his hair.  As your thighs settle on either side of his and you press down into his lap, he moans into your mouth.  You gasp between kisses as his hand settles on your lower back, pressing you down against his stiff length through your clothing.  

“I want you.” He purrs out as his mouth parts from yours, looking up at you with those rich, lustrous eyes.  You can barely catch your breath as you take in his gorgeous swollen lips, parted as he gazes up at you with desire.  “You can have me,” you declare, your body almost humming for him and without another thought, his hands are traveling up your back, his hips lifting as you grind against him.  “Take me, Minho~” you utter, tugging at his hair.  “Fucking christ-” he hisses, burying his face into your neck.  

As his lips brush the skin of your neck, you tilt your head for him, rocking your hips against his hardness.  You should be ashamed at how your panties are already soaked from his touch but you can’t feel anything but need, pure carnal lust for him right now. 

 Consequences be damned, the way you needed him was the only thing on your mind.  

“Take this off.” You manage to say as you shudder under his mouth.  It takes him a moment to register that you’re tugging on his shirt and his tongue darts out to lick your neck where he was kissing before he leans back and helps you remove the garment, his hands immediately yanking your shirt over your head as well.  

Tossing it to the side, he takes a moment to lean back and admire you, his dark gaze hungry as he runs his hands up your sides.  “Fucking gorgeous, just like I always imagined you would be.” Your breath catches at his words, at the look in his eyes for you.  He leans forward to press his face between the valley of your breasts and you let out a long moan.  “Smell so fucking good, too.”

 Everything he’s doing is causing you to clench like crazy, small mewling noises escaping from your throat as his hands work at the clasp of your bra.  “Minho-” you shiver as you feel him free you from it, sliding the straps down your arms.  “God, keep saying my name.” He groans, his cock twitching against you as he pulls your bra down to reveal your bare tits.  

“So beautiful,” he whispers as his lips close around your nipple.  Your fingers dig into his scalp, your other hand gripping his shoulder as he sucks harshly at the sensitive bud.  “Please…” you whimper as his hands slip up to cup the flesh of your breasts, kneading them as he lets your nipple go with a popping sound, immediately moving to the other to do the same.  Your breathing is ragged as you reach between you to tug at the button of his pants.  

“Not here.” he rasps out, then he’s sliding you off his lap, standing you both up.  Before you can protest, his hands are around your waist, his mouth back on yours, his tongue urgently seeking your own.  You return your hands to the front of his jeans, unbuttoning, then unzipping as he backs you up towards the hallway.  

“Door-” he says between kisses as you are pushed against it.  He reaches behind you to twist the knob and then he’s walking you into the room, the back of your knees hitting the bed.  He stops as you slide your hand into his now open pants, slipping your palm along him through his boxers.  He lets out a low groan as you touch him, his hands cupping your ass before he’s shoving your pants down as well.  

“Tell me you want this-” he gasps out as his hands run over your bare skin, his lips tracing your collarbone.  “I do, more than anything-” you respond, tugging off his remaining clothing as well.  “I need to make sure, I don’t want to make you feel pressured-” he says as he pulls you close, brushing his lips against yours.  “I swear, Minho, there’s nothing I want more than this.” You tell him as he pauses to study your eyes, the concern ebbing away as he watches you, his fingers skimming your lower back.  

“I’ve been dying to hear you say that to me.” he whispers, and the urgency seems to fade as he leans in to kiss you deeply.  For a moment you both stand there lips connected, your arms around his neck, his hands roaming your back.  Then his hands cup your bare ass, yanking you firmly against his stiff cock as he moans your name.  You pull him down with you onto the bed, your mouth never leaving his as he settles between your legs, the underside of his cock pressing along your wet core.  

He growls softly as he moves his hips against you, and you arch your back as the length of him parts your folds.  Breath hitching as the ridge of his head brushes against your clit, you look up into his half lidded eyes as his lips part.  “Tell me again.” he whispers, his hand dropping down to clutch behind your thigh and raise it around his hip.  “Tell me you want me.” he hums as he watches your eyes roll back from the ache of clenching around nothing.  

You reach up to comb your fingers through his hair, digging your nails into his shoulder as he rolls his hips again.  “I need you so much-Minho-please I want you so fucking much-” you manage to gasp out.  His eyes darken as he reaches down between you, pulling back to cup you, his fingers sliding through your drenched lips to part them.  “For me?” he asks, his voice low as he dips down to brush his lips to yours.  He swallows your moan with a kiss as he pushes his finger into you, tasting your panting as you tighten around it.  “All for you-” you cry as his tongue plunges into your mouth.  

He deepens the kiss as he pulls his finger from you, suppressing any protests.  Any dismay at the loss is replaced with pleasure as he guides the tip against your slit, slipping along your folds, teasing at your clit.  There are no thoughts in your mind, only overwhelming need as he rubs his head along you, finally, finally giving in to your wordless pleas as he presses it against your tight hole.  As he thrusts forward suddenly, he breaks the kiss with a cry of his own, your walls giving as he stretches you.  

“Minho….. Minho-,” his name echoes through the room to mix with his moans as he draws back to snap his hips forward again.  “So fucking….tight!” he bites out, his breathing heavy as he drops his head into your neck, his hot breath tickling your skin.  As he starts to plunge in and out of you, your legs wrap around his waist as you tilt your hips for him.  

Your nails run down his back as he fucks you, making his motions stutter as he moans loudly for you.  “So good, oh fuck-Minho!” your cries have him propping himself up to look down at your face.  “Yeah?” he asks, his nose wrinkling as he puts more force behind his thrusts.  “Yeah? Like that?” he asks and you have to clutch his hair as your body jerks, your tits shaking the harder he moves.  “Yes! YES! I - LOVE IT-” you scream, words devolving into loud, animalistic moans.   

“Your-cunt- is so-fucking-divine-” he gasps out, each word punctuated by his cock delving deep and hard into you.  You can feel the familiar tight burning sensation building deep within you as your legs shake, as he slips a hand under your back, as he lunges forward to wrap his lips around your nipple to suck and nip at it.  The friction of his pelvis rubbing against your clit, and his mouth on you has your entire being vibrating and you start wailing his name over and over as you begin to clench.  

“OH FUCK-” his voice grates out as he releases your nipple, his breath hitching as your climax hits you like a boulder, blindly intense as you arch beneath him.  “Fuck fuck fuck I can’t-” he cries out as his hips falter, his pace becoming erratic.  “COME!” you scream out desperately, clinging to him as you shudder and his mouth crashes into yours as he lets go, bursting in a hot flood deep within you.  Your kiss is frenzied, crying wordlessly into each other as you come together.  His thrusts slow, lazily emptying himself into you finally as he gasps with every clench of your pussy around him.  

As you finally come down, he collapses onto you, nuzzling his face into your now sweaty neck, his chest pressing firmly against yours.  You can feel the fast beat of his heart as he places small kisses along your damp skin, along your collarbone and you slowly comb your fingers through the strands of his hair.  “Fuck.” he whispers, kissing his way up to your lips, his own fingers smoothing back your hair.  “Fuck.” you echo and he smiles softly, drawing back to study your eyes.  You can only smile dreamily at him, completely exhausted from the entire experience.  

He slowly rolls you both on your sides, facing one another as he pets your hair, placing kisses to your lips.  “I…” he starts, gasping as you clench around him again and he laughs softly.  Then his face registers a sudden shock as you adjust and he slips out of you.  Your thighs are damp from your combined releases and he blinks rapidly, worry on his features.  “Oh fucking hell-I didn’t even think about-” he cups your face but you shake your head, silencing him.  “I’m on the pill.  Sorry, I ….wasn’t even thinking about that.” he relaxes slightly, pressing his forehead to yours as he closes his eyes.  

“Don’t be sorry, this wasn’t exactly what I expected to happen.” he murmurs, his gaze studying your face.  “Unexpected but not unwanted.” you reassure him, reaching up to tuck his hair behind his ear.  You can’t help but blush as he smiles at you softly, pulling you closer to him to hold onto you.  “I’m glad I wasn’t the only one…” he whispers against your mouth as he kisses you again.  

He rolls onto his back, pulling you with him to settle your head on his chest, playing with your hair as you wrap around him.  The silence settles around you as you savor the moment with him, both of you just touching and kissing each other, exploring one another deep into the night.  

Finally as exhaustion begins to overwhelm you, you look up at him with sleepy eyes and he smiles down at you.  “Tomorrow…we can talk about everything.” You nod against him and then suddenly you remember, snapping your head up.  

“You fired me!”

His laughter makes you frown, and he just kisses your nose.  “Just for now, kitten.  Don’t worry.”  

The cat cafe is humming with excitement, and it’s just another day that you get to watch families take home the much deserving animals to become their family.  Peanut keeps you company, of course.  He was now a permanent fixture at the cafe as Minho had decided to keep him.  As the day winds down and you lock the door, you feel the familiar arms of your boss wrap around you from behind, placing a kiss on your neck.  

“Lee Minho! How dare you do that with an employee!” You berate him, unable to stop yourself from laughing as he spins you around.  “Ah yes, I forgot.  I’m horrible.” he purrs out, touching his forehead to yours.  

“You’re fired.  Now kiss me.”

[genshin-obsessed]

Could I request Neuvilette and his s/o playing with cats?

「✧」 the second I saw this request, i knew exactly what I was gonna have in it lmao and that's rare nowadays i hope you like it <;333

Adorable

"Aren't you the cutest little baby? Yes, you are! Yes, you are! Oh, look at your fuzzy little baby face, I just wanna squish it, and smooch it, and give you all the scritches in the world-"

"I really don't think the cat can you understand you, my love." Neuvillette said as he stood to the side, watching you fawn over the new kitten you'd just adopted.

"But look at her face, Neuvie! It's just the most adorable thing in the world!" You squealed as you held out the little kitten to him. Neuvillette stood there for a moment, before relenting and walking over, crouching down beside you. You pushed the kitten towards his face, watching as his cyan eyes fell upon the fuzzball.

"Well, I wouldn't say the most adorable thing in the world, but she's definitely a close second." He said as his gloved hand reached out to gently pet the kitten, that just let out a small meow. You quickly handed over the kitten, watching as Neuvillette panicked for a moment before gingerly taking the animal in his large hands.

"Well, I simply disagree." You said as you looked down, petting the top of the kitten's head with your finger. Neuvillette's eyes landed on your face and softened as he smiled a little. Of course, you would disagree. You didn't understand just how adorable you were in his eyes.

"I see why you're a lover of cats. They're cute and... calming." He said as he continued to pet the small kitten. It wasn't long before a couple other joined, meowing and pawing at you two for some attention as well. "Oh, they come in groups-" Neuvillette was interrupted as he fell from his crouched position as one of your larger cats jumped on him. He was careful to protect the small kitten before laughing a little.

"Are you ok?" You giggled as you helped him up a little, watching as he happily obliged to the other cat. "You're a magnet!"

"Well, I suppose I do have some time to spare." And that short break he had from work quickly turned into two hours of playing with the cats.

[lttl3babybug]

okay sorry for another question but … how do you feel about ford… as a caregiver.. for someone who pet regresses .. perchance -🐈

I also feel strongly about it. And PLEASEEEE do NOT be sorry. I very much love requests (even if there’s like 9 others in my inbox, I WILL get to them I swear) please feel free to send them away. Or even your own thunks that i might be able to elaborate on 😔🫶 I also don’t believe I’ve ever wrote petre content before, so congrats on being the first!

Cg!Stanford Pines, Petre!Reader Headcanons!

🪬Ford is very fascinated with the idea pet regression and pet dreaming

🪬Same as he was with agere but this is different, this is something new.

🪬He is definitely willing to be involved in your regression, taking mental notes of your behaviours when you’re sort of falling between headspace’s

🪬Let’s you sit by him while he works, occasionally reaching down at petting you to hear your soft purrs/whines

🪬He’s also very happy to play with you, throwing balls/Sticks or pointing a laser pointer round the room while you scramble to get it

🪬He finds it all very entertaining to watch and as long as you’re happy he’s happy to help

🪬He will huff and roll his eyes if you plonk yourself in his lap while he’s relaxing but in reality loves the vibrations of your purring on him

🪬EAR SCRITCHES

🪬he’s seen it work on dogs and cats before so why not you 🤷

🪬If you respond well that is his GO TO form of praise

“Good pet” Ford hums, running his fingers through your hair and gently scratching behind your ear while you were sprawled out on his lap

🪬Treats. Treats. Treats.

🪬Carries a little baggy of human safe pet treats in his inner coat pocket to give you

🪬They’re just cookies he’s either made or those Scooby snack cookies you can get in the store so it’s not as suspicious if others see

🪬But he loves giving you treats

🪬He’s also a sucker for watching you sit in sun puddles

🪬Ford WILL melt if you do the head tilt and make a small hum of confusion

🪬Bap

🪬Bap bap bap

🪬He baps back

🪬Course he’s very confused at first because you’ve just placed your paw on his face and nudged him with your head as if expecting something

🪬Eventually he gets it and it becomes fun game!

[arcade-chaos]

Eldritch Scritches

Everyone say ty daycare friend pickup for this drabble

First person POV, eldritchy mer moon x reader, a tiny bit of 'last day on earth' before 'the sacrifice' but its not for long and theres nothing too scary beyond Moon shenanigans. Very silly and indulgent, enjoy!

You quite literally signed up for this. The village was sad to see you go, but you had offered yourself up and no one could think of anything to say to convince you. Everyone knew this needed to be done, you were the only barrier between the things beyond and your home. 

Those who were rich enough left you all behind, desperately hoping to outrace the end of time itself, but this was your home and you were willing to do whatever you needed to stop it from coming to an end. 

The town wished you the best of luck, treasures and sweet treats to make what they assumed would be your last day as lovely as possible. When the sun set you set off towards the beach and the endless dock, the wood worn but surprisingly unrotted by the tide. The ocean grew quieter the further you walked out, it took a moment to realize the stars were blinking down at you. You would show them no fear, even if your heart was racing. 

When you reached the end you merely waited, glancing around for a toothy maw or an echoing voice. Instead the first thing you noticed was how black the ocean was, swelling not like a wave but as a mound. A spill of inky blackness pushed up through the water, little starry lights on its body winking and flickering as two larger ones opened. One red, one white. 

“Mortal.” The world whispered, no other sounds daring to cover the ancient voice. “What do you have to offer me?”

Tales of escaping death flicker through your mind, of Scheherazade and her many stories, of trading souls of crows and deer to quell death's hunger, even Sisyphus's tricks (even if they did bite him in the end). All of those ideas escaped your brain as your mouth opened. 

“I could give you some scritches.” The coil of blacky ink stopped moving for only the briefest flicker, the cool rush of air that slipped off his coils stilling. 

“What.” It asked, quiet and disbelieving. Your hands came up to where his probably-eyes shimmered, grabbing at the frigid air. 

“Y’know. Scratches. Pets.” With that he began to shift again, the eyes coming closer down, zeroed in on you alone. A god looking down at an ant. 

“You think me a pet?”

“Afraid you’d like it?” An ant with hubris apparently. The air hummed as it thought, the fabric of space itself splitting as rows of teeth shimmered in the moonlight. 

“You have one of your ‘hours’ to convince me this is a worthy sacrifice.” You have half a mind to make up some lie and say you can’t possibly touch him from here, but he coils again before you can think, the cold air that had been rushing your hair back suddenly turning as he shrinks down in on himself. His new form is more humanoid, with tendrils of that inky blackness instead of legs and a mouth far too wide. He grins, eyes red as the devil as his long arms come to rest on the dock. You don’t let him have the satisfaction of whatever line he's thinking up, instead you sit down on the worn wood and pat your lap. 

Like calling a cat.

An ancient terrifying kitty who only wants food and prey. 

Just like a cat actually. 

His grin waivers for a moment before shooting back up, the night sky warping behind him as he moves too fast to hover over you. Even when making himself small he still needed to be bigger than you. Go figure. 

“Hurry hurry.” He crackles, his head tilting at an unnatural angle. 

“Eager.” Your hand meets his jaw as you stretch up, feeling the way the flesh ripples under your touch. Like petting a waterbed, surprisingly not as chilly as the wind he had been pushing around, that was a boon. He stayed quiet as your fingertips rubbed careful circles, glad you cut your nails prior lest he think you were trying to harm him (you doubted he would let you anyhow). 

It took a moment to register what you were hearing, the chilling silence had been put away in favor of the normal sounds of night. The waves lapping at the beach far behind, the crickets even further, and the strangely comforting sound droning out of the body in front of you. 

Oh gods he was purring. 

His eyes that had slowly begun to shut opened to frown as you tried to suppress a smile, your other hand moving to cup his face. He shuddered beneath the little touches, leaning more and more of his weight into you until he literally fell into your lap. You snorted at the sudden intrusion, moving a hand instead up to his head to smooth it back. His hands clawed at the wood on either side of your legs, the purrs vibrating through your knees and legs. 

His head was devoid of hair, instead topped with another tentacle. Little wobbly yellowish spots occasionally opened to peer at your face, forcing you to stroke his head with single digits unless you wanted to poke one of them out and ruin any chance you had at saving the world. 

If they had told you it was this easy you might’ve actually let someone else do it instead.

Eventually your hands went back down onto the wood, the feeling of something not giving under you was both grounding and strange. The ancient one let out a louder rumble, then a louder one before popping up, glaring at you with the heat of a thousand volcanic vents. 

“Why have you stopped, mortal.” He hissed, getting as close to your face as he dared. 

“It’s been an hour, I figured I’d see if I’ve convinced you.” You were trying not to sound too cheeky, but he huffed and turned away anyways. 

“You have done… Well.” His grin grew again, one of his hands coming up to grip your leg. “However, that was not enough to put me to sleep for even a year. This token was hardly worth the day’s end. You have until tomorrow, then I will eat the whole world.” 

“I’ll see you tomorrow then.” You tugged away, dusting the splinters of wood off your legs as he watched. “Oh,” You turned, smiling as he straightened up a little under your eyes “They never told me your name.” His eyes tilted up at the question, his little tendril hat flickering about. 

“You will call me Moon.” 

“See you tomorrow then, Moon.” And with that you headed back towards the little town you called home. 

Days and, more importantly, nights passed like this for a long while. It seemed that Moon’s hunger wasn’t only for the world, but also for any form of affection he could get. Most nights he would rest his head in your lap and purr, clawing at the wooden safety of the dock. One night you decided to start bringing a blanket and were delighted when he started kneading it like biscuit dough. 

Little cat indeed. 

Sometimes you two would talk while you sat, he didn’t have a lot of experiences to talk about, but he seemed to like listening to you talk about your day. The goings on in your life, the shock of the town that he hadn’t eaten you or their world yet, what kind of treats you made for dinner. 

When you brought him a little pie he looked over the moon (ha), the cherry filling dripping down his hands would’ve looked a lot more terrifying if his ‘hat’ wasn’t wagging at 90 miles per hour. You made him wash the sticky mess before cuddling, and as a token for cleanliness you let him drag you into his lap. The vibrations from his mouth into the nape of your neck was ticklish, but not terrible enough that you regretted it. The little spines down his back curling into your fingers as though they were trying to snatch you up and hold you there forever. 

That was the first night you lost count of the time, staying almost two hours before you realized your mistake. 

“I don’t suppose you’ll let that count towards tomorrow?” Moon’s face scrunched more than you thought possible, making you giggle as you waved off the idea. “Guess not.”

The nights only seemed to grow longer from there, either by your own hand or by his (you suspected some nights he warped time to move just a little slower, but there was never any proof beyond his sly little grin and wiggling tendrils). 

“You fell asleep during our time little mortal.” He purred, his hand cupping your face as you tried your best to stay awake enough to hear. “You’ll owe me more time tomorrow.” You were too sleepy to argue (despite the fact he definitely knocked you over so you’d be laying down), nuzzling back into the blanket for five more minutes that stretched on for a bit longer than they should’ve. 

One night he was more riled up than you had ever seen, the ocean rolling as his tendrils kicked them up. He didn’t even straighten up when you called out to him, instead he seemed to pout even more.

“What’s wrong nighty?” Moon huffed, pulling you to the edge of the dock instead so he could keep kicking up the ocean (though notably the bubble around you two stayed calm). 

“The mortals have made a terrible treachery against me! After I have been so kind as to allow them into my waters!!” Ah yes, another hour in favor of him letting boats leave the harbor to look for more people. Your hands rubbed over his tendril hat, squeezing it back as it wrapped around your wrist. 

“Oh dear, what did they do this time.” Moon hissed, his fingers digging into the back of your shirt as he looked at you with an intensity that made your heart skip. 

“They have made noises at me.” Your brain fizzled out for a second before the giggles kicked in, Moon whining in indignation as he buried his face into your tummy. 

“Horrible! Cruel! Laughing at my pains! They make loud honkings at me like geese! After I was so kind!” 

“Aww poor baby, how could they honk at such a powerful thing?” 

“Terrible, laughing at my pain! You agree with their honkings!” 

“C’mon now, I’m sure they were just trying to get you out of the way. Maybe they were thanking you for not taking out your wrath on them?” Moon huffed, rubbing his face against your shirt. 

“A horrible offering. You owe me double for their treachery. 

“Alright, alright. Just for tonight.” 

It never was. 

[adrianasunderworld]

So you know how it's known across the fandom that Yuu's love for Grim (and favouritism) is stronger than any potential romantic love and one of my favourite tropes is having Grim getting in the way of the boys' courting because of Yuu's motherly instincts for the little baby.

Imagine that but Miss Yuu and the villainous sidekicks in the House of Mouse!AU because of course her Disney Princess-ness is so strong that she not only has her own animal sidekick but also the animal sidekicks of the villains. Like, the overblot gang try to visit her at her job in the club only to find her already occupied.

Riddle comes in to find her having a pleasant tea party with the King of Hearts and the White Rabbit and feels too shy to say anything

Leona is visibly ticked to find his pillow herbivore in a hyena cuddle pile, with Yuu giving them all head pats (especially when Shenzi, Banzai and Ed give him smug looks when Yuu's not watching)

Azul can do nothing but stare when he finds Yuu's attention is slowly focused on giving Flotsam and Jetsam head scritches as they purr all self-satisfied like the little sea cats they are

Jamil is completely irked to see Iago hogging all of Yuu's time by letting her pet his feathers as he brags about himself

Both Vil and Malleus have come on separate occasions to find either Queen Grimhilde's crow or Diablo preening at Yuu's attention

The one time Idia leaves his room and comes to the club with Ortho so that he can play a new mobile game with Yuu, only to find her sitting in the corner with Pain and Panic all snuggled up on either side of her (and Grim on her lap, of course), as the three of them watch Kimi No Na Wa on the imps' tablet.

I just find find it neat how the sidekicks (both heroic and villainous) have all basically claimed Yuu as theirs as well. I've always loved the whole found family aspect of when a character is dating or gets gets adopted by a powerful character, all of the underlings instantly welcome them, shower them with love and are probably even more protective of them than the other main character (it happens quite a lot in manga, manhwa and in a lot of fanfics I read)

This is adorable, but also the image of Pain and Panic basically being iPad babies makes so much sense.

Hades brought Cerberus once, and Miss Yuu giving him a treat was all it took for him to be a good puppy. There is always a bird, good or evil, perched on her shoulder. Lucifer likes to curl up at her feet when she sits down somewhere. Yuu is basically and unofficial Disney princess now, so that means all the animals love her. But Grim will always be her baby.

[xxgoblin-dumplingxx]

any crumbs for tim in the ai verse? or new developments for jason with secret! reader??

hope youre doing well!

When crying was over and Jason had put down hot drinks and something to eat- a trick he'd picked up from Alfred. Your uncle was still reluctant to let you go. Petting your hand and fussing.

"That really is an ugly cat," he said fondly, watching you cradle your beloved orange terror Elmer like a baby.

"It's the inside that counts-"

"He's an asshole to everyone but her," Jason said, kissing the top of your head before taking his own seat on your other side. "And maybe my equally asshole-ish little brother."

"Damian bought his love with treats and compliments," you say fairly, struggling to clear your throat. 'Elmer is very vain."

Your uncle smiled a little. Pointedly not looking at the elephant in the room. He didn't want to talk about your scars or how you got them. He didn't want to talk about your voice. And for that, Jason was grateful.

And more grateful that he'd been able to talk to him before. To warn him. And to tell him what happened when you went home.

"You always did like the misfits," he hummed.

"Oh yeah?" Jason asked, smirking.

"Three-legged baby tigers, Zebras, foxes with an identity crisis... lizards, snakes... no fear. I never saw her meet an animal she didn't like. Or have an Animal not like her... Remember the Elephants when we were taking pictures on the nature preserve?"

"That was fun, the babies just liked to lay in my lap and get head scritches."

"The matriarch practically adopted her because she spent so much time playing with the babies," he explained. "Pulled her out of the road once-"

"By my ponytail with her trunk. She was a sweet old lady. And she liked watermelon."

"So why didn't you work in a zoo?" Jason asked.

You half shrug, "I guess I could have but. I like working with pets. And I can- or at least I could take trips to see other animals."

"We'll find a way to smuggle you out of the country," your uncle snorted. "Laurel won't be paying attention forever. You're not a business she's trying to take over."

[winniethewife]

Like we're right back at the start (Jake Lockley X Reader)

A/n: I felt it was unfair that both the other Moonboys and Layla get a Holiday fic from my series but Jake didn’t so here’s something For Him. Featuring everyone’s Favorite Cat OC Viejita! (Courtesy to @guruan for the art and the cat) It’s undeniably real will return in the new-year!

Words: 848

She sat on the bed in the flat she shared with Jake, Marc and Steven. She looks across the cluttered apartment. It was home, they had recently decorated the place for the holidays, they had celebrated Hanukah at the beginning of the month, and now it was Christmas Eve, she was really hoping for a Christmas miracle, to have her boy’s back for Christmas. The string lights carefully hung on bookshelves made the small flat feel just that much more cheery. She was waiting for one of her boy’s to walk through the door after a mission, they’d been away for a couple days. she looks at the small pile of presents in the corner. Just as she was about to get up A small dark Hairless cat jumped into her lap.

“Viejita! What is it mi pequeña reina? Hm? You need some Mami cuddles huh?” She looks at the cat giving a her a rub on her head. The cat looks at her lovingly. She was wearing an adorable jumper, blue with snowflakes, keeping her hairless body warm in these colder days.

“Merw!” Viejita head butts her hand as she starts to purr.

“I know, I know. It’s so hard being a kitty. All the love and attention you get, Its just too much.” She coos at the kitten who meows back in turn. They sit like this for a while before the door opens as a familiar face with a Page boy cap comes in.

“Ah, look it’s mis bellas damas…Papi’s home!” Jake laughs as he walks over to them, giving Viejita a scritch on the head and a kiss for his girlfriend. “Hola Mami…looking good…” He murmurs flirtatiously.

“Mmm…you too Papi…” She looks into his eyes, she reaches up to his face, running her thumb along his cheek. “Merry Christmas eve baby.”

“Oh yeah, that’s today isn’t it? I got home just in time.” Jake grins. Viejita Starts Meowing at Jake. He had gotten distracted by his lover, and had stopped petting her, a criminal offence. “Oh I’m so sorry your highness, please forgive me for the error in my ways.” Jake says with a laugh before picking up Viejita and holding her to his chest.

“I think she missed her Papi, like I did.” She stands up next to him and kisses his cheek. “I gotta get Dinner started okay?”

“Okay Mami, Te amo.” Jake smiles at her and as she walks by he reaches to grab her hip, squeezing her softly.

~

After dinner, Shes standing at the window, watching as the snow falls. She can hear the small snores of the cat on the bed behind her and the water running as Jake does the dishes. She leans on the wall, she swears the whole world seems brighter at this time of year, even though its darker and colder. Her ears prick up as she hears the water shut off, a moment later and she feels Jake’s strong arms wrapped around her, his face nuzzled in her neck, he places a soft kiss there as his hands caresses her sides. He had Changed out of his normal Button up and Slacks for some comfortable dark sweatpants and a Jumper that matched Viejita's, A dark blue with Snowflakes, A Hanukah present from a few weeks ago.

“I’m glad you made it home in time for Christmas. I know you don’t really celebrate…” She leans into his embrace.

“Hermosa, It’s important to you, so it’s important to me. Maldito pájaro estúpido, I’ll be here for you when you need me.” Jake’s voice in her ear is soft and comforting, Words that almost no one else would use to describe him. They stand together enjoying the moment. Watching the snow fall. Jake makes a sound as he remembers something, and he pulls away for a moment

“espera aquí.” He mutters before grabbing something out of his jacket. She looks over her shoulder as she watches him come back over to her a small silver box in hand. “I didn’t exactly…know what to get you, the others they got you stuff and wrapped it up all nice, but…I just remembered when we were gone and…Well you keep singing all those songs and I…Just open it.” Jake tries, but he’s not a man of many words, she smiles as she turns to take the box from him and opens it up to find a bundle of Mistletoe.

“Jake…its perfect.” She smiles as she looks at the small bundle of leaves, it was an unusually sweet thing for Jake to do. He takes the bundle and holds it over their heads.

“Mistletoe kisses eh?” He smirks at her, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. Now this, this was very on brand for him. She laughs as she wraps her arms around his neck, closing the distance between them to kiss him. Her soft lips moving against his as he snakes his free hand around her waist. He hums softly into the kiss. This was what he needed to find.

I needed Christmas to find my way back here to you

~

Translations:

mi pequeña reina: My little queen

mis bellas damas: my beautiful ladies

Maldito pájaro estúpido: Damn the stupid bird

espera aquí: wait here

Masterlist

[peaches2217]

TW: Pet Loss (this is a mostly optimistic post! Still tagging just to be safe.)

We’ve reached the one-week mark since Lucy’s passing. On my next day off, I’m wanting to go to the next town over and get some fake flowers or decorations of some sort and arrange them around her urn. A little memorial for my little girl!

I think we’re starting to settle into our new normal. Peter still paces and yowls at night, and he’s needier than ever, so I’ve been giving him ample love and treats. We’ll get there! We’re both helping each other heal, I think.

(I realize now that this looks like I’m grabbing him by the scruff. He was rolling on his cat tower and I was scritching him beneath and around his chin as he did so. He doesn’t like being scruffed or held so rest assured I rarely do either without provocation!)

Binx, on the other hand… well—

Moments after this picture was taken, he started doing the Litter Burying Dance on the table. This bastard’s so overjoyed she’s gone that he literally danced on her grave. I know they didn’t get along, but dear God, that’s rude, man. 😂

He’s been extra clingy as well, and I think it’s a combination of no longer having to compete with Lucy for my attention (Lucy was my little shadow and insisted on always being in my lap), and realizing that I’m upset. Binx hates everything and everyone but me so he’s already quite cuddly with me, but whenever I’m sick or especially depressed, he always seems to cling even closer. He’s the sort of cat that will flop over on me and purr as soon as I start crying. He didn’t like Lucy, but he loves me, and he knows I’m hurting, and so he’s seeing me through.

God, I’m so grateful for my boys.

Bonus video of Binx valiantly defending our humble home! Good job, buddy 💗

[spiralinghours]

“Into the White” (Part 3/?)

Fandom: Saw franchise

Rating: 18+ to be safe idk idk

Characters/Pairings: Mark Hoffman, Eleanor Bonneville, Brad (Brad Ryan), Ryan (Ryan Brad), Lawrence Gordon, Brad x Ryan (always always implied), Hoffman x Eleanor (but in a weird, twisted, not super serious way)

Tags/Warnings: weight gain/fat fetishism, super general mentions of violence and blood, subtle (or not so much) growing Stockholm Syndrome

Summary: Ryan’s getting antsy. Dr. Gordon’s getting too close to some secrets. Mark’s getting fatter. What else is new?

Author’s notes: If this feels like half of it is missing, I had more written but I’m posting this part first. It felt too long.

New Jersey, 2008… One month later.

It was weird seeing items that he used to casually pass almost daily. Items that once hung in John’s warehouses against washed out tiles and surfaces that threatened tetanus or other infections from just glaring too long.

While most of those items were in Eleanor’s possession (though stashed away in some storage unit/loft situation she had come into) there were some unassuming pieces that blended in with her apartment décor. Mark hadn’t yet gotten used to seeing them, especially against jarringly inconspicuous antique animal figurines with pink-accented flourishes. Cutesy bunnies and fawns lined the shelves, interwoven with old cream doilies and prints of stuff like lipstick tubes and women in curlers. And then smack-dab in the middle of it all would be a syringe from the nerve gas house game, or a prong from one of the few reverse bear traps made.

Mark didn’t particularly like that.

But the aesthetic of it all perfectly summarized what kind of captor—caretaker?—he was dealing with.

Eleanor was a dazzling, cherry-gloss package of animal print, clove cigarettes, hot pink pleather, and Love Lace body spray. But intertwined were hints of dark fantasies, blood-stained hands, giggling torture with rusted knives, and the borderline erotic power trip sought through soft dominance.

That’s what it was, because something in the way she tended to him was eerie and demanding… yet… doting. Again, soft dominance, as Mark had rolled the phrase around in his inattentive mind.

Emphasis on the soft part.

It didn’t seem realistic to get that big in, what, just about a month? He had to be overemphasizing it in his mind. But after some time, the black hooded raincoat Mark was so apt to wearing—something so normal and routine in his wardrobe—was suddenly too tight. And not just tight in the way it was after he had been sluggishly laying low in the darkness of the bathroom with barbecue chicken pizzas to keep him company. Then? The fabric was nearing skintight around his waist and lower belly, but it was able to stay zipped up.

But now, trying it on for the first time since he had been—well, kidnapped seemed wrong to say—saved, not only could the zipper not budge upwards past the low curved of his stomach, but Mark couldn’t even clasp the edges of the coat together without sucking in hard. Even in doing that, his gut remained unmoving and in the way.

He held his breath in so heavily that he broke a sweat, and yet it looked as if he had barely even sniffed. He exhaled, paunch bouncing into place in a sort of taunting way.

This took place in front of a full-length mirror on the back of the bedroom door. As Mark rubbed a finger over the fabric denting over his navel, a curious observation, Eleanor bounded up behind him, small, pale hands sprouting from behind him in the reflection and scritching the sides of his stomach like she was petting a cat.

“Are we finally going to get you new clothes today?” she beamed, all sugar in her tone.

“Yes, I guess so,” Mark begrudgingly agreed, “but what am I going to wear in the meantime? The clothes you gave me aren’t giving me a lot of coverage anymore.”

Eleanor slipped around him like a snake on a tree. “Too bad,” she giggled.

——

The boys sat waiting on flimsy green seats on the patio of the coffee shop. Dr. Gordon never met with them on home turf, for everyone’s benefit.

Ryan felt particularly twitchy and unsettled, bouncing his leg and etching some paint off of the weathered table. The source was twofold: 1) Wondering why after a silent month they were finally hearing from Gordon—like, what had prompted that? And 2) wondering if Brad had fucked up in some way that had dug them deeper into the hole. It wasn’t on purpose that Brad sometimes forgot what information wasn’t for the public—for their civilian, student lives. He was the type to leave eggs frying on the stove AND wet clothes in a stopped washer AND forget about both at the same time to do something else. Ryan could understand that—probably should have pushed for attention-stabilizing medication, in fact—but it didn’t make him any less anxious.

“On time, as always,” an overly-proper voice announced itself, hovering from a standing position. “You two, not me, of course. Thank you for meeting up today.”

“Yeah, so what’s up?” Ryan pushed forward, teeth grinding eagerly.

“Can I get you two anything to drink first?” Dr. Gordon went on, suspiciously relaxed.

Was it suspicious? Ryan couldn’t be sure.

“Well, if you’re getting something—” Brad piped up, hoping he could get the doctor to at least cover his chocolate-strawberry frappe.

“No, we’re fine,” Ryan interrupted, still trying to drive to business. “What did you wanna talk about? Do we need to help set up another… you know…” It was all bullshit. The last person they helped capture or set up a “game” for was Hoffman. But Ryan had to throw that out, play a little stupid himself to seem calm and unattached. Plausible deniability and such.

“I’m still gonna order a frappe,” Brad grumbled to himself.

“No, no games,” Gordon smiled, confident and toothy and unnecessarily handsome, as usual. “But this is relevant. The city has started demolishing a lot of John’s properties—the abandoned ones in his name. They have recently marked the house with the bathroom for demolition.”

“What?!” Ryan nearly squeaked. “I haven’t heard of this.”

“Well you wouldn’t have to hear about it. The posts were on the front door and windows. But you boys would know that, right? Since you watch over that spot for me.”

“Right, right…” was Ryan’s desperate, autopilot answer.

“So, as you can imagine, we need to do something about that gap-toothed rat in the bathroom.”

“He’s dead, no worries!” Brad blurted, ready to cover his ass with a pre-loaded response.

“Of course he’s dead,” Gordon reiterated in a lowered tone, patience waning.

Brad had skipped some steps in his thoughts—tripped over certain scattered memory files—forgetting that Dr. Gordon wasn’t in on the “super secret” giving pizza to Hoffman thing.

“I need you all to dispose of what’s left—traps, tools, blood stains, but the rat mostly,” Gordon continued. “Cover the tracks. Can’t have city construction finding anything odd.”

“Well if people already think Hoffman is dead—“

Ryan stamped down on Brad’s foot, a sort of scolding for saying the name out loud, in public.

“If people think he’s gone, and already know that’s a Kramer property, then what difference does it make that anyone finds, um, his body there?” Brad lowered his voice further. “Wouldn’t people assume that he, like, I dunno, trapped himself and killed himself because he went crazy? Or something like that?”

“There’s always a possibility that they could trace it back to more unknown accomplices,” Gordon informed. “And it’s not unreasonable, knowing what people know about Amanda and Mark’s connections to John, that it could be assumed accomplices are just game survivors.”

Brad and Ryan stared in uncomfortable unison, frigid tension tightening their bodies and merging them closer together, shoulder-to-shoulder (a weird, bonded trauma response from being attached together by a circle saw).

“Tell me I’m wrong,” Gordon goaded, all smiles and sips of his over-creamed cold brew. Always such the diva with his roaming blue eyes and his sharp, designer suits. “Take care of it asap. I can’t afford the time to do it myself.”

Ryan rolled his eyes off to the side. Of course the doctor couldn’t be bothered… Not with his ongoing child custody battle, long lunch periods lost to white wine, and the nights he probably spent bending over (or bent under) some intern, sad-fucking them and pretending they were… someone else.

“We’ll get on that right away,” Ryan nodded, feeling the sickly sweat gathering around his neck.

Fuck.

[blindmagdalena]

Homelander unapologetically doing this shit after seeing the cat you've been fostering do the same to you and actually working because you immediately react to it with awws and squeals and kisses on the head:

He won't go as far as k-wording the cat, but you know damn well he'll find a way to square up on meow meow if he has to 😭 As soon as you leave the room, he bends down, eye-to-eye with the feline on the table and growling "Don't fucking push your luck.", only for you to come back to your man sulking when the cat just rolls over on its side like it wasn't threatened by the devil himself.

Asking him what's wrong is as effective as talking to a brick wall, so best thing you can do is give your man some sugar 🤷🏻‍♀️

lowkey losing my mind over "square up on the meow meow." i LOVE Homelander having beef with the most INNOCUOUS things, whether they be pets, babies, or literal stuffed animals. anything that takes away attention from him is the e n e m y.

he headbutts your shoulder a LITTLE too hard because he's annoyed about the cat doing the same thing on your other side. you jostle and laugh, "Baby, are you jealous?" he scoffs a sharp "No," but proceeds to sulk, leaving you to lavish him in attention. you gradually ease his prickly mood with scritches and lots of kisses. you're tempted to make a joke about how much alike he and your new foster are, but you're sure that wouldn't help matters.

[panie-wanie-dean-bean]

It’s been a few hours since you hunkered down with Bo in your new, super fucking comfy, bed. He doesn’t have energy to do much but you both worked together to get his head in your lap so you could pet him. You’ve learned a fair bit about Bo from the few hours you’ve spent together, he’s part dog and doesn’t find anything weird about that. He loves ear scritches, chin scritches and apparently tummy rubs but he’s afraid he’ll get sick if you do that right now. He loves you already and has told you that he would both kill and die for you multiple times now, which like, you could do without but hey, cult, what did you expect?

Nick left a while ago and ever since you’ve heard muffled talking from a room or two over. It started out fine, but over time more voices came in and now it sounds like they’re all bickering “Are you ok?” You look down at Bo who’s now giving you the most worried puppy eyes you’ve ever seen, god he’s cute. You tell him you’re fine, just a little curious about what’s going on in the other room “Mmm, curious people’s heart rates don’t go up like that” Oh, what? You guess he is a dog, still you’re a little sorry he can hear your heartbeat, with how many anxiety attacks you’ve had today alone you can only imagine how annoying it’ll be for him to stay with you

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make it worse” Shit, ok, deep breathe in…and out. You tell him he did nothing wrong, you’re just naturally anxious “Oh, ok…maybe I could help with that? Some people in town have service dogs or cats, maybe I could be your anxiety dog” He doesn’t have much energy to put into his voice but you can tell from his tail he likes the idea. The thought warms your heart, he cares about you so much already and just wants to be helpful in any way possible. You make sure to tell him how good of a boy he is for wanting to help which gets his tail wagging even harder

You’re not left with much time to gush over your new puppy as you hear the bickering turn to shouting in the other room “...It’s ok you know, I’ve survived this long without you. Just…promise you’ll be back?” You promise and start to get up “Wait…before you go you have to pay the toll” You’re a little worried about what the toll could be before he points to his forehead, oh, cutie. You lean down and give his forehead a few quick kisses which seem to do the trick. You tell him one more time you’ll be right back before rushing towards the noise

It isn’t hard to track them all down, half a dozen guys or so yelling at each other is pretty hard to miss. It’s difficult to hear what any individual is saying but from what you can gather they’re talking about your harem? Seriously? Your dog is on deaths fucking door and they’re worried about that? You want to be mad but you can feel yourself start to shake. They’re all yelling so loud, you don’t want to yell back but it would be the only way to grab their attention, it’s so loud, it’s so much, too much, far too much, you need to get out, why can’t you move, why can’t you breathe, please just “Stop!”

The noise stops, you can breathe again. What just…that voice was yours wasn’t it? It came out of your mouth but it sounded…off? You look up expecting all of them to be looking at you but they’re still looking at each other. You look a little more closely but, no, no that can’t be right. They all look…frozen? Like someone hit pause on these real actual people. The world feels like it’s tilting before you realize that’s you, you’re falling, everything is falling and it’s all…going…black

You feel warm, the kind of warm you only feel from your favorite blanket on a cold winter morning, but you don’t feel anything on your skin. You open your eyes to find you’re in…space??? It doesn’t look like real space, more like that galaxy aesthetic that was popular a few years back. Wait, 2016 was seven years ago…man you feel old “Fitting, you are much older than you think” …Who the fuck was that? It sounded like you, but that voice was too loud, too clear to be your own “Oh, but is, in a sense”

You look around to see where the voice might be coming from but it’s just more space, it’d be really pretty if you weren’t on the verge of another freak out “Well that won’t do. Here, allow me” As you breathe in more of that warmth floods your mind and body, you’re surprised you don’t feel more tired. As you start to get your bearings the stars around you start to move, golden and silver flecks of light converge on a single point and morph into a giant…Labrador? Yeah, no, that’s a big ass dog made of starlight

What the fuck is your life today?

“Hello, it is nice to finally meet you face to face” …Right, and they are? “You, well, technically I’m your father, or mother. Gender means little when you are a god” …You must have really hit your head “Do not be silly, you are here because I could finally reach you after using your powers for the first time. Which, might I say, went very well for what you were trying to accomplish. Freezing time is no simple feat, though I’m afraid you do not have enough energy to do so for very long. Hence the passing out”

Freezing time…you actually froze time? “For a short while, yes” Is it still frozen? “No, but time is different here than out there. Wouldn’t want your harem getting even more up in arms” They’re not!-...You don’t know what you’re going to do about them. But more importantly, who are they? And where the fuck are you? “I have gone by many names but those in the town call me your grace” But, they’ve been calling you your grace “You are me taken new form, it is to be expected. As for where we are, we are within dream itself. It is my realm so long as I am barred from the mortal plane”

…You’re sorry, you can freeze time??? “Of course you can, your powers are limited only by your followers and your imagination. If you believe you can do something you can, simple as” You wouldn’t call any of this simple, but sure, whatever. What was that bit about them being your dad? “Your father never consummated with your mother, she went through a ritual that allowed me to put a piece of myself in her, thus allowing your birth” …Did she know about that? “Mm, not entirely, no” …Cool, so cool and awesome. You tell them they can fuck off for not letting you feel angry about this

“Excuse me? I don’t think that’s any way to talk to your parent” They’re not your parent, a parent raises and loves and nurtures you, you only have a mom as far as you’re concerned “Ah yes, the woman who stole you away from learning your powers at a young age and away from your main power source, I’m sure that did well for you” They will not talk about your mom like that “Oh I think I shall. Tell me, did this mother of yours ever brace you for this? Or she leave you naïve so you could freak the fuck out once you learned the truth?”

Your mom raised you alone in a world she was convinced was after her, she did her fuckin best “And her best was this?” They gesture towards you and even through their blanket of calm you can feel your blood start to boil “I think we’re done here, I’ll leave you be tonight but after that we’re going to be seeing each other every time you fall asleep. Goodbye, little one”

Your eyes snap open to see two brown ones staring back “You’re awake! Oh thank…well, you I guess” Ian’s necklace bumps your chin before he gets up from the…couch? They must have moved you here. You sit up slowly but your head feels fine, you’re a little tired but alright over all, the fuck was that weird dream about “Are you alright your grace? That was a pretty nasty fall” Barry’s voice almost sounds like he’s teasing you but his face is still that creepy slight smile

You tell them you’re fine, just tired from today. You give your thanks to whoever moved you to the couch, he doesn’t pipe up but you see Jack’s smile grow wider “So, about your harem-” You cut Jean off, the only person in your harem right now is Bo, moving on “Wha-the mutt? Your grace you can’t be serious-” Moving. On. You sigh before getting up and walking back to your bedroom, all of them stay stock still, clearly trying not to anger you any further as you return to your room

You can’t help but smile when you see Bo’s tail start to wag as he sees you “You’re back, are you ok? Why were you gone so long? None of them hurt you, did they?” You sit down and tell him yes, it’s complicated, and no before moving back so his head in your lap. You can feel that tomorrow will probably be even crazier than today, but tonight you are relaxing with your new dog and that’s all that matters. It’s not long before Bo’s nuzzling does you in for the night, all the events of today finally catching up with you as you let yourself slip into a deep sleep

[keldae]

Cute, shippy starters: 46) “Hey, have you seen the..? *Oh.*”

Devi loved cats, for the most part. Having grown up in the Lower City, stray cats had been all over the place; and most of them, after some obligatory introductory hissing, seemed to tolerate the little half-Elf thief well enough. Some had even learned that, if they were friendly enough, Devi might share her food scraps with them while she waited for her next mark. It hadn't been uncommon for Devi to have a cat curled up beside her while she had sat on a roof ledge, or prowling around her legs while she'd scoped out a new target. Her father would never have let her keep one for a pet, but she enjoyed giving scritches and pets where she could to the stray animals. 

And then there was Tara.

Devi supposed her first mistake had been referring to Tara as “Gale's tressym” – she'd immediately gotten hissed at for that. She hadn't made the same mistake again, but Tara seemed to not ever forget a grudge. Even after Devi had come home with Gale to Waterdeep, Tara had regarded the thief with aloof suspicion. She was incredibly different from the normal cats Devi had grown used to, and even with regular usage of a potion to let her speak with animals, the two regularly butted heads.

She knew it caused Gale distress, that the woman he loved and the tressym he adored seemed to be permanently at odds. “Was she like this with Mystra too?” she had asked one day, watching Tara fly in pursuit of a hapless pigeon.

Gale had snorted. “Given how Mystra and I ended, and the sixth sense that animals have about such things, I like to think Tara would have tried to claw her eyes out if they'd ever met.” He'd smiled and given Devi a kiss on the temple. “I'm sure she'll warm up to you eventually. She's just… cautious with new people.”

That had been well over a tenday ago, and Devi still wasn't sure how long ‘eventually’ was supposed to last. 

She sat in her favourite chair in Gale's tower, idly plucking at the strings on her violin. Gale himself was out today – he'd been summoned to some sort of meeting with another wizard, and the tone of the invitation had made it clear that Devi wasn't invited. Honestly, Gale had been more offended at the entire matter than she'd been. She'd sent him on his way with a kiss and a promise that she wouldn't find any mischief in his absence. And so far, she'd been good to her word, reading one of his many books and coming up with a new melody to play on the violin.

She sighed, looking out the window for a moment, then winced as her stomach lurched threateningly. Apparently whatever stomach flu she had somehow picked up (that Gale had dodged. Lucky bastard of a wizard.) was still not fully out of her system. And that had been the other reason Gale had been reluctant to go to this meeting with his colleague – he was worried about her, after the last four days of her waking up sick and struggling to keep anything she ate down.

Maybe it was the coffee he had introduced her to. Devi wrinkled her nose in thought. That was something she had never been introduced to as a poor Baldurian thief – perhaps the rich, stimulant brew was the cause of her–

Her eyes went wide, and she barely had time to set her violin on the table and grab an empty pail before her stomach violently rejected the two pieces of toasted bread and the banana she'd eaten less than an hour ago.

Wincing as her stomach eventually stopped revolting, she spat into the bucket, then shakily stood up, intent on finding water to rinse her mouth out before disposing of the vomited meal. “Fucking hells,” she mumbled, scowling down at her stomach. “Are you done yet?”

“Tsk, tsk,” said a voice behind Devi, one that made her jump. “Mr. Dekarios will not be pleased to learn that you're still ill.” With a flutter of her wings, Tara jumped up onto the table, regarding Devi with a stern look. “Had I thumbs, I would make you drink some tea.”

“Gale's been trying with the tea,” Devi said, finding a carafe of water in the kitchen and swishing a mouthful around to get the taste of bile out of her mouth. She spat into the bucket, still feeling Tara's eyes on her. “I think it helps a little bit?”

Tara lowly growled, then jumped to the counter. “Here,” she said, standing up on her hind legs to paw at a rack of herbs. “Mr. Dekarios keeps ginger up in this rack, and that should help with human – or half-Elf – nausea.”

“... Thank you.” Devi approached the counter, reaching around the fluffy head and wings to grab the large ginger root. Finding where Gale kept his kitchen knives, she carefully cut off a thin slice of the ginger, then put it in her mouth, wrinkling her nose at the strong taste. “Please work,” she mumbled as she put the rest of the root away, then moved to clean off the knife. She knew how particular Gale was with his knives.

Tara sat on the counter, tail swishing as she watched the thief clean and return the knife to its block. “I know you haven't been sleeping either,” the tressym said, “what with constantly waking up sick the last few nights. Go lie down.”

Devi frowned at the idea of taking orders from the winged cat. “I'm honestly all right,” she started to say. “I don't feel–”

She blinked as a paw batted at her arm. “You clearly are not all right,” Tara scolded. “And I'll not have Mr. Dekarios fretting over if you're getting enough rest while you’re so obviously ill. He's made it quite clear that he cares a great deal about you.” The tressym shifted her weight, then jumped onto Devi’s shoulders, making her stagger with a little grunt at the weight of a heavy winged cat perching on her. “To bed with you, Deviali.”

“It’s Devi,” the thief muttered. “What about if I just sit and read or–”

Tara growled threateningly.

Devi sighed, admitting defeat. “Fine, I’m going.” She wouldn’t ever admit it to Tara, but she was tired, after four mornings of waking up sick before the time that she and Gale normally got up. And it was impossible to quietly vomit, as she’d figured out the hard way – Gale was always at her side within a minute of her lunging out of bed, holding her hair back and looking at her with open concern in his eyes. “What do you care about me?” the half-Elf asked the tressym as she started making her way to the bedroom, with a longing glance at her violin. “You don’t seem to like me as it is.”

Seemingly noticing which way Devi’s eyes went, Tara lightly smacked the side of her face with her paw to make her focus on going to bed. “My opinions are moot. Mr. Dekarios adores you, which means that it becomes my duty to look after you like I do him. I’ve looked after that wizard since he was a boy – I’m not about to fly off because he picked you.” She settled across the back of Devi’s neck, like an oversized, winged scarf. “And if I don’t look after you, then it becomes the dog’s job to tend to you, and he is not a suitable caretaker.”

“Scratch is perfectly fine,” Devi protested, obligated to defend what she had come to think of as ‘her’ dog since the day he’d shown up in camp. “And he doesn’t try to nursemaid me or anything–”

“My point exactly. You’re obviously ill, and dogs, while loyal, do not understand taking care of two-legged creatures with no self-preservation instincts.” 

“... I have perfectly fine self-preservation instincts,” Devi grumbled as she entered the bedroom and sat down on her side of the bed.

“That’s not the impression I got from hearing Mr. Dekarios’ stories about you during your little adventure,” Tara disagreed. She hopped down from Devi’s shoulders, then settled on the thief’s lap, giving her a pointed look. “If I have to make you lie down…”

Devi thought about arguing with the cat, then saw Tara warningly flex her front paws, revealing sharp claws under her fur, and thought better of it. “I can’t believe I just lost an argument with you,” she complained, laying down and curling up on her side.

Tara’s tail twitched in an almost smug manner. “Please feel free to ask Mr. Dekarios why he doesn’t pick fights with me anymore.” She climbed up onto Devi’s hip and started kneading the half-Elf through her trousers. “Ugh, you’re far too thin still. Is Mr. Dekarios not feeding you sufficiently?”

“If Gale could feed me himself, he would,” Devi muttered. “It’s hard to eat when everything he makes, no matter how good, keeps coming back up.”

“If you wake up sick again tomorrow,” Tara mused, “I’m going to have to tell him to fetch a cleric or visit an apothecary. Then again, perhaps he’ll bring something home tonight for you to feel better.” She jumped down to the mattress and, to Devi’s surprise, curled up against the thief’s stomach. “You are not to move from this bed until Mr. Dekarios returns home this evening, and you do not want to know what the consequences will be if you disobey me. Are we understood?”

“I’m being bullied into taking a nap by a tressym,” Devi groused, and promptly got batted by one of Tara’s wings. “Ow!”

“Somebody has to ensure that you rest and recover, if you’re not going to look after yourself.” Tara’s vivid eyes met Devi’s without blinking. “Now, I will allow you to offer scratches to my ears, just this once. Do not get used to it.”

Devi eyed the tressym for a moment, then slowly reached to slowly pet the top of Tara’s head, rubbing behind her ears. She was quickly rewarded with the low rumble of a pleased purr, vibrating against her stomach. Despite the half-Elf’s reluctance to take a nap, the feeling of curling up in bed with a large cat – or tressym – snuggled up against her upset stomach did feel very soothing. She sighed, then let her eyes drift closed, and felt Tara’s purring grow a little louder, as though the tressym approved. “You’re still the worst,” she muttered.

“Likewise, Deviali,” Tara smugly said, her purring never stopping. “Go to sleep.”

“It’s Devi,” the thief grumbled, even if part of her knew that the tressym would always use her despised full name, until the day Devi married Gale and took his last name for her own. Then it would probably become “Mrs. Dekarios”.

That actually has a nice ring to it, she thought as she felt herself slowly drift away into sleep, lulled by the sounds of Tara's purring.

—

Gale frowned slightly as he entered his tower, expecting to be greeted on his return home. The only lifeform to welcome him was Scratch, curled up by the fireplace; the dog looked up and thumped his tail against the floor, tongue lolling out of his mouth happily. “Where’s Devi, hmm?” the wizard asked, kneeling to give the dog a scratch behind the ears.

Scratch wuffed, then set his head back down on his front paws. “Upstairs,” he said – Gale, once again, was grateful for the spell that let him speak with animals. “She’s been upstairs with Tara all day.”

That got a small wince from Gale – he almost wondered if there had been bloodshed in his home during his absence. “Good boy, Scratch,” he said, standing back up and making his way through the tower. It was suspiciously quiet in his residence: no Tara trotting or flying up to see him with a meow of greeting, no sounds of Devi playing her violin, no pretty half-Elf emerging from a doorway with a smile on her face to see her betrothed. He sighed, wondering if Devi and Tara had managed to kill each other while he’d been stuck all day with his wizarding colleagues. “Devi?” he lowly called out. “Tara?”

No sign of Tara anywhere – perhaps she was out hunting pigeons again. But Devi should have been here. Gale poked his head into the common room, then into his study – no sign of his favourite thief in either room, besides the violin resting on a table beside the window. Perhaps the bedroom, then? Gods knew that she hadn’t been resting well, with waking up sick every morning the past few days. He could only pray that the potions in his satchel, purchased from the apothecary only an hour ago, would cure whatever was wrong with her. He approached the bedroom door, only slightly ajar, and gently pushed it open. “Have you seen –” he started to say as he looked in – a second later, he went silent, his eyes softening. “Oh.”

On the bed, Tara looked up from where she was curled against a sleeping Devi, the tip of her tail swishing before her nose. “Not a word from you about this compromising position,” she quietly said, ears tilting back slightly. “It was the only way to make sure she rested. She was ill again this afternoon while you were gone.”

“Again?” Gale frowned worriedly as he sat on the edge of the bed; Tara stood up and stretched, then climbed up onto his shoulders, curling up around his neck and purring away. “Thank you for looking after her, Tara – I know you disapprove of her, but I love her.”

“I know you do. And it is good to see you happy with her, Mr. Dekarios.” Tara carefully adjusted her wings so she wouldn’t hit Gale in the back of the head with the large appendages. “She’s slept the last two hours after being ill again. You did stop at an apothecary for something to cure her, yes?”

“I did – and I’ve been assured that the potions I bought should fix anything.” The wizard carefully leaned down to Devi’s face, pressing gentle kisses over her forehead, her eyes, her cheek. “Hello, my love,” he murmured as Devi started to stir. “Did you sleep well?”

Devi’s eyes slowly opened as she looked up at Gale; her lips pulled up in a smile once she recognized him. “Hey, you,” she quietly said, reaching up to kiss him. “Welcome home.”

Gale smiled fondly as he returned Devi’s kiss, stroking his hand through her long hair. “And it feels the most like home when you’re here to grace it with your presence,” he softly chuckled. “Are you feeling better? Tara mentioned you were ill again.”

“Traitor,” Devi muttered, frowning up at the smug tressym, before slowly sitting up. “I… think I’m all right? At least for–” She froze, eyes widening as her hand settled on her stomach. “... Shit.”

Instinct had Gale stand up and get the hell out of Devi’s way, a second before she was on her feet and fleeing to the water closet. He frowned, worry becoming full-fledged anxiety as he started fishing around in his satchel for a potion. “Tara, can you stay with her for another minute while I get her some water?”

Tara was off his shoulders and flying after Devi almost before he’d finished speaking. “Do hurry, Mr. Dekarios,” she called back. “I am not an expert on half-Elves, but something is certainly wrong.”

[cruesuffix]

Look ngl as high as I am right now,,,, give me some headcanons how Mick would be with His cat or Pets as a whole

hi high anon (lol)! hope you’re having fun over there! love talking about mick and his little cats so i will totally indulge you here

welcome to: mick the cat dad (and or other pets ofc)

- now we know mick is a pretty chill guy and loves cats, so he’d be an excellent cat dad.

- he’d constantly be giving the little kitty little pets, little scritches, just constantly being affectionate with his little cat friend.

- he’s very consistent and almost has a complete routine set when it comes to taking care of his cat. like he knows exactly when to feed it, when to change out the litter box, when it’s time to get a checkup. he cares so much about the little guy, he wants to be sure he knows what he’s doing.

- loves playing with the cat, he’s got like fifty toys because he’s a bit overindulgent. i think his cats would be entirely spoiled because… how can he ever say no to something so cute?? he’s probably the type to just carry it around with him (at least if the cat lets him, that is). he’d carry it around and like hold it up to the ceiling to look at it or something.

- if it hides around in the house he’d probably get really worried it got outside somehow. he just starts running around looking for it, like really panicking. then, when it just comes out of nowhere (let’s be real it probably squeezed itself into a cupboard or something, mick nearly jumps and scolds it (like a child lol) and then just scoops it up into his arms and hugs it like it just got back from some crazy journey.

- omg halloweens would be spent with him trying to put a little bat costume on his cat!! especially cute if he himself is going as a vampire.

- also… he’s definitely gifting his cats new toys on christmas… probably splurging on a new cat tree.

- he’s just overall a loving and affectionate cat dad, he’d treat his cats like they were actual children and it would be so cute to witness imo

- now if he had a different pet… like a dog… that would be hilarious imo

- like i know he most likely isn’t a dog person, but maybe he could get one of those small ones like vince has! perfect miniature sized dog for a little guy like him. at first he doesn’t even want to get one. like, he’s firmly in the “dad that didn’t want a dog” territory. somehow he finds himself with one. how exactly? who knows, he has one now! he’s just as prepared to house a dog as he is a cat, he just doesn’t know if he has the energy to keep up with a dog. it’s hard work at first. he’s good at feeding it, playing around with it… but now he has to think about washing the dog more frequently, and taking it out on walks.

- he’d probably try and get some advice from the rest of the band, seeing as almost all of them have dogs (depending on what era you want imagine this is).

- slowly he gets used to taking care of his little puppy pal. mick would talk to this dog like it was an actual human. like just randomly turning to the dog and talking to it like it could actually respond to him.

- he’d have a tough time getting it potty trained, and sometimes he isn’t fast enough to let it outside to piss or whatever so sometimes he has to clean up it’s messes (which he does so while very clearly talking to it: “i guess someone needs to hurry up and learn to wait a bit longer to be let out when they need to take a shit!”)

- mick eventually grows to love the little guy. he’ll never truly admit it, but you’d know when you see him let his little puppy sneak a bite of his food. he grows fond of it and ends up realizing he made a great choice by adopting that dog.

ok, so this is it! personally i love thinking about mick and cats… but now i wanna think about him and a little dog he starts off not really wanting and ending up adoring (isn’t this just robins nikkimick pet play au?? KIDDING!!). this was so fun to write, i hope you enjoy these!!

[arccanine]

I'm realizing I really don't even think to post about the things going on in my life anymore. But I want to share the joy of Pepper with anyone who will listen, and express some of that love that soon won't have anywhere to go anymore.

Last year, for my birthday, we adopted the kindest soul of a ferret I've ever met, Pepper.

Earlier that year, we'd had to put our last ferret, Mishka, to sleep, which was devastating not only to us, but to our remaining ferret, Cinnamon, who had always had a cagemate to play with. She was incredibly depressed being alone, refusing to eat more than the bare minimum and spending so much time curled up asleep in the bed they used to share.

It took us a while to feel ready to "replace" him in our lives. But after six months or so, our hearts were healing, and our remaining girl was still so lonely, so we began to keep our eyes open. We'd half-jokingly look at ferrets in towns 6 hours away right before some long trips, debating whether or not we wanted to break our 2 ferret limit to pick up a bonded pair, since that seemed to be the only option available nearby no matter where we looked.

And then one day, there was a single ferret listed only a few blocks away from our home.

She was 3 years old, raised by a teen girl who no longer had the time for her now that she had A Boyfriend (no hate btw, I think it's a funny and dumb reason, but I'm honestly so grateful to any owner who realizes they're not giving their animal the care they deserve). While Cinnamon and Pepper were interested in each other, Pepper was raised alone with cats and dogs and didn't properly "speak ferret", leading to a lot of miscommunications with body language. We also slowly realized she likely has neural crest disorder (sometimes also called "Waardenburg Syndrome", but that term is really just reserved for humans) — a product of the rampant ferret inbreeding problem with big box sellers like Marshall's. Which essentially meant she was a little bit slower, a lot sleepier, and had some difficulty reading body language, but she was otherwise a healthy and incredibly affectionate ferret.

I remember being doubtful and not ready to get invested in a new animal if she wasn't going to be a good fit with Cinnamon. I actually remember a few times talking to Taran and wondering if we should consider finding her a better home, since it seemed like they were really struggling to connect.

But sure enough, Cinnamon and Pepper grew to love and understand each other despite the not-perfect communication — starting with sleeping together, cuddling, grooming each other, and finally figuring out how to properly play fight (something Pepper was incredibly excited to learn, if not too much so lol). Cinnamon put on some weight again, and Pepper began to open up and show off her silly side.

After a month or two, they were perfect little buddies. She became a part of our little family and our outings — a required member for our weekend restocks at the pet store, park visits, or whatever outdoor events were happening around town. The daily wake-up scritches where she would throw her whole body against your hand, rubbing her face into your fingers and against the soft blankets to help her rub the sleepiness away. The play routine, watching her discover the joy of being bowled down the hall and running back for more, loving chasing you, being chased, climbing tubes, getting into places she shouldn't be, or searching for her next sugar fix (which we wouldn't actually give her, but that sure didn't stop her from trying).

But this all came to a halt last week, when Pepper woke up shivering and wouldn't stop, mouth covered in painful-looking ulcers. We immediately rushed her to the emergency vet. We remained hopeful through the week — we'd caught it early, she was healthy (if not a little pudgy) to help buffer the loss of appetite, and she was receiving medicine to help her fight any possible infections or stomach ulcers. We got her in for bloodwork on Wednesday and let them keep her a few nights to help give her around the clock care while we waited for the results.

It seems like she very suddenly suffered from what we can now only assume is kidney failure. We remained hopeful that this was just the start of a new period of her life where we'd have to give her a little more daily care or maybe some medication, but after they ran another bloodtest, we found out that despite the constant care, nothing had improved, and her prognosis was suddenly much more grave. We learned all of this on Friday afternoon, and decided to take her home with painkillers to help keep her comfortable and loved before we were ready to let her go.

It hasn't even been a year since we got her. And we love her so damn much. It's like I wish everybody else loved her as much as we did, so I could at least feel like she's being mourned properly when we'll finally have to put her to rest.

I wanted to dress her up for the halloween market again, I wanted to watch her bound through the forest to sniff and dig at some more of that dirt, I wanted to take her to the park some more and let some more kids meet an animal they've never seen before — letting her charm them by being a little animal that loves their gentle touches. Her squinty little eyes, the way her ears flatten back as she accepts your kiss on her head, the way she chittered like a little bird when she was happy or excited and running around, the way she rubbed her face and whole body on our fake grass, the way she gently licked at Taran's nose while he held her even now as she's slowly dying.

I don't know what else to say other than I just wanted more time. More of what we already had. That it hurts so much that I was expecting more, that she was completely fine the night before, and that I was wrapped up in the monotony of the day to day that I didn't realize it would be our last good night together.

It feels so cruel that some ferrets can live for 8-10 years, and that some barely scrape 4 just because the companies pumping them out don't give a shit about their quality of life. But we've done absolutely everything we could, she went into it as healthily as she could, and we can be at peace knowing it's just her time now. There's nothing else to do now other than keeping her comfortable, saying goodbye to our favorite places and favorite people, and reflecting on all of the joy she brought us in such a short amount of time.

Love you, Pepperoni. Thank you for everything.

[bloodyentrails]

List 5 things that make you happy, then put this in the askbox for the last 10 people who reblogged something from you! get to know your mutuals and followers (ó ꒳ ò✿)

the cat luxuriating with me and drifting in and out of sleep whilst i do a spot of crochet is so dear to me. the other one explaining to me in great detail how much he loves his scritches. i love how much they both think, well, you're here now, there should be pets. and then there are pets. that is exactly how it should be.

making fandom friends and having little blorbo thoughts and swapping those and all those feelings, i love that so much.

being out and about in the city and just soaking up the vibes of people who enjoy themselves. i get so much second-hand enjoyment out of other people's happiness.

planning crafting adventures. creating something is so great, i want everyone to experience it.

making food. always excited to try new foods and learning how to make them happen.