#the other half was him stealthily finding out relationship status haha

[hsj-scenarios]

Happy belated birthday to mod-m!!! And also happy birthday inoo!!! If it's okay can I request a fluff Au with inoo as a pet shop owner and (Y/N) is trying to adopt a cat?

Title: ImprintingPairing/Relationship: Inoo Kei x ReaderRating: GWarnings: cuteness overload, a boy who is more cat than boyGenre: Purrrfectly fluffy sweetnessType: Oneshot

Summary: You want a new pet, but how will you figure out what pet  you should get? It’s a good thing there’s someone else who can help you!

You’d been on the fence for months about whether to get a pet or not, and even once you’d decided that your apartment would be far less lonely with an animal living with you, you still hadn’t really decided what kind of pet you should get.

You’d arranged your schedule to get off work early today, keeping the whole ‘pet hunt’ a secret from everyone to ward of naysayers and ne'er-do-wells who would give you all of the advice and, likely, criticism of your decision.

You work too much to take care of a pet.

Pets just tie you down, you can’t travel if you want to.

They cost a lot of money, especially if they get sick, are you prepared for that?

Having a pet is a huge responsibility.

I don’t think you’re ready for that kind of responsibility.

Well, they’d all said that last one when you’d moved out and after almost a year of living on your own outside of your home and dorms–having graduated and begun work in your field. You’d prove them wrong with this situation as well. 

Better to ask for forgiveness than permission. That’s a saying right?

To avoid running into people you knew you went to the pet shop away from  your house, not too far, but far enough that you didn’t expect to run into anyone at all from your neighborhood or family. You’d also researched and found out that this particular shop only offered rescues for adoption, something that made you really happy to consider. Saving an animals life would be a reward in itself, not to mention the fun you were going to have.

You walked in, the door making the cutest little bell sound, you looked up to see that the shop still used a real bell just like they did before technology screwed it all up.

You walked through the front of the store, surprised it was as big as it was since from the outside it looked considerably smaller. Winding your way to the back where the signs directed you to the animals you suddenly found yourself falling to the ground.

A heavy weight had ran into you from the side, knocking the wind out of you as you landed firmly on your behind, sprawled out on the carpet. You were glad you had on blue jeans instead of a dress or you’d be really embarrassed.

Not that this wasn’t embarrassing at any rate, and then there was a guy standing there, and he was…well, you tilted your head, trying to figure out what he was…he was…beautiful? But…not in the traditional sense, because his hair was long and shaggy and in his eyes, and he was panting, his hand held out to you as he was saying some words over and over again. He was...a cat?

He had cat ears on and…cat paws on his hands…which tickled the palm of your hand as you allowed him to help you back up. You glanced at the rest of him, mostly covered with an apron with the shop’s logo on it, but couldn’t help but notice the tail that was peeking out from behind him. 

Who is this guy?

You finally gathered yourself enough to understand that he was apologizing over and over again, trying to explain what had happened. He was talking so fast you could barely get what he was saying–something about a kitten he was playing hide and seek with. You glanced around the area, not seeing a kitten. Well, besides the human one standing before you.

You reached over, lightly touching his forearm to get his attention, speaking softly over top of him, “It’s okay, really, I’m fine, please, I am really okay.”

He hummed, his eyes drifting over you, the gaze taking an inventory in case there were any injuries you weren’t mentioning, and despite knowing what he was doing, there was a level of intimacy in his look that made you take your hand off his arm and step back.

He blinked when he made eye contact with you, a wide, happy smile making his face light up and then he turned around heading down the aisle to the back, calling loudly, “Tama-chan! Come out and apologize for knocking the pretty lady down!”

Pretty, huh?

Probably just buttering me up so I don’t sue or something stupid like that.

You watched him as he moved out of your view, not sure what to think of his behavior but shaking your head and heading toward the back. You approached the cages, all of the animals in a flurry of excitement and seeking your attention. One dog howled softly, and then another one, and before long there were three puppies howling in the cutest little sound you’d ever heard.

“You’ve started a howl-nya,” a voice whispered in your ear, causing you jump, your hair brushing forward from his breath as he laughed, shifting to get around you to approach the puppies cages.

“Hey, hey, you calm down,” his voice was so soft and soothing, and you blinked, surprised when all three of the puppies not only stopped howling, but each of them sat down instantly, eyes fixated on the man as he moved closer to them.

He reached into a pocket in his apron and pulled something out, a treat you guessed, and gave one to each of the puppies. Satisfied they all turned away happily, trotting off into the play yard.

“Were you considering a puppy?” The guy turned to speak to you, his eyes holding your own.

“I…um…well, I haven’t actually decided what kind of pet to get, to be honest,” you murmured, your eyes drifting over to the cages that held some lizards, and others with mice, and then to the cages that must have the kittens, though you couldn’t see any in there.

Your eyes shifted back to the guy, glancing down at his name tag to find his name was “Kei” and then looking back up to his face, only to find him staring intently at you, his gaze focused and intense.

“What’s your favorite color?” 

“Ah…” you were confused, not sure why he would ask such a question but it seemed harmless enough, “…blue.”

He nodded like that’d solved some kind of problem, then asked, “What side of the bed do you sleep on?”

Now, that’s a really strange question, and you wavered on telling him anything else, but he had an aura about him that just screamed ‘trust me’–though you were positive that was a trait even serial killers had–still your mouth opened of its own accord, “Right.”

“Of course,” he nodded his head, drawing his hand up under his chin, rubbing it as if in deep thought, “Book or movie?”

“Book.”

“How much sugar in your coffee?”

“Two cubes…”

“I see, I see, very interesting,” he hummed like the two of you were sharing his thought process, his hand reaching up to his hair for a moment, and you could have sworn he pawed at it like a cat would do, “House or apartment, and how many animals and or humans live there?”

“Apartment, and just myself…”

“Any chance of anyone living there in the future, at all?”

“No, not even remotely,” you admitted, rather sadly because, really there was not even a single hope of a relationship for you these days. You’d pretty much given up on the whole dating scene…most guys only interested in one thing, and even the ones who might be into a relationship felt very shallow and self-absorbed.

“Excellent,” he smiled broadly, rolling back and forth on the balls of his feet, “ one more question!”

You nodded as he spoke, “Music or sports?”

“Music.”

“I thought as much,” his voice was sing-song like as he mused, his eyes alight with an emotion you weren’t too sure of, and then suddenly he cried out, “TAMA-CHAN! I’ve spotted you now-nya!” and he darted down the aisle away from you.

You just shook your head as he disappeared, glancing over to the animals, deciding that it really came down to two animals, either a dog or a cat. You watched the puppies playing happily in the yard, and then walked to where the cats were supposed to be, not seeing any in the large crates. You frowned, not sure you wanted the choice to be made just because they didn’t have any cats for adoption today. 

“Someone else needs to apologize to you-nya!” 

You turned to see Kei walking toward you, his voice so sweet and precious, and your breath caught in your throat because if there was anything cuter in the universe of cute than what you were looking at right now, you’d sell your soul to see it. Cause there’s no way it was possible.

No way.

He was holding some fluffy furry ball of kitten, and he was rubbing it on his face, and his expression was nothing but sheer joy and delight, and it was like watching two of the most beautiful creatures ever be beautiful together. 

A kitten hugging a kitten.

“This is Tama-chan and she would like to sincerely apologize for knocking you down earlier,” he stepped forward, instantly pushing the kitten into your hands.

Your eyes were wide as you lifted the tiny fur-ball up, the kitten not remotely concerned, limp and waiting for you to move. You looked back to Kei who just gestured for you to hold the kitten like everyone had some natural instinct on how to actually do that.

“Here,” he whispered, moving around behind you, reaching forward to move the arm that wasn’t under the kitten’s belly to rest across your chest, then he took the hand with the kitten in it and moved it against your chest, helping you curl your hands around the kitten’s body. 

He was so close, his body pressed up against yours and you felt chills run up your spine, you could smell a heady mixture of the woods and spices, and you shuddered involuntarily when his hand drifted down your arm after you had the kitten settled on your chest. He moved around, his smile wide as he took in the image of you and the kitten, nodding his head, his voice laced with absolution when he spoke, “She’s yours.”

“I-I…wh–what?!”

“She definitely wants to be yours,” he spoke in a tone that seemed edged in certainty, and you couldn’t help your response.

“I don’t…I haven’t…I mean, how do you know…”

“Shhh-nya,” he smiled, stepping closely, his finger extending to point to the kitten’s ears, causing you to actually look down at the kitten in your arms finally. She was curled into a tiny ball there, purring contentedly, “She has her ears like that because she feels safe, her tail is wrapped like that because she feels comfortable, the way she’s got her nose nuzzled into you is because she senses your spirit is the same as hers, and the way she’s rolled to her side showing you her tummy means that she trusts that you will take good care of her.”

“Tama-chan is only eight weeks old, her family were lost, and she is still a tiny baby, but many people have come to visit her, but none of them were her human…but you,” he took a deep breath, his eyes soft and full of emotion, “you’re definitely her human.”

You wanted to protest, wanted to tell him he was positively insane because what was he? 

The cat whisperer? 

But something in your heart stopped you, because his words didn’t feel false. They seemed to resonate somewhere inside of you, and your hands instinctively pulled the kitten closer to you, a tiny mewl coming from her as she lifted her tiny head and blinked sleepily at you.

“She said she wants to go home with you,” he grinned, leaning closely to whisper in the kitten’s ear, “You’ll need to convince her Tama-chan.”

It was like the kitten impossibly understood him, as she shifted, lifting her head up and you had no idea what she was going to do but she moved close to your face, and then like a moment from a movie or book you’d been consumed with–the world stood still. 

The kitten, you could have sworn she was smiling, and she leaned her head forward, slowly nuzzling her nose and face against your chin, the soft texture tickling in a good way and that was it.

“I want her.”

He laughed brightly, “Of course you do–she’s imprinted on you.”

You couldn’t be bothered to understand what he meant by that, but  you knew with every fiber of your being that this kitten was meant to be yours, there was no question within you. 

“Imprinting is when an animal senses that you belong together, there’s a tie that binds your hearts together, it’s uncontrollable, and instant…and that’s what you have with Tama-chan. An imprint-nya.”

He led you to a room to the side that had a sign that said “Get to know me!” and left you there to spend some time with Tama-chan while he gathered the necessities you would need since you honestly had no idea.

You didn’t know how much time had passed, as you whispered to Tama-chan and cuddled and she leaned into you. So caught up in the tiny kitten, you were startled when you glanced to the door, finding Kei standing there leaning against the edge, legs and arms crossed, smiling brightly, “You two are precious and beautiful, this is a great happiness.”

You blushed, because you weren’t sure anyone had called you beautiful since you were, like, seven, and the fact remained that even if it was the cat he was referring to, you’d still take the compliment.

He led you to the front, going over all of the instructions carefully, and you settled the bill. Honestly, you’d spent almost six hours in this shop and you knew he would be closing soon but for some reason you were really having a very hard time leaving. You couldn’t understand why, but every time you considered it your chest hurt.

Maybe I’m nervous about being alone with the kitten.

You finally forced yourself to make the first step toward the door, the entire time your body rebelling against the movement. He helped carry all of the products out to your car, the kitten secured in a blue kitten carrier, curled up contentedly for the ride home.

“This,” he held his hand forward, “…this is my contact info.”

You pulled the card from his fingers, shivering when your hands touched, glancing down at it, a phone number hand written in the space below the shop’s logo.

“It’s my cell phone, so if you….you have any troubles, you can call me and I’ll help you with anything.”

Ah, of course, such a professional.

“I will certainly call if Tama-chan and I run into any issues,” you smiled, tucking the card in  your pocket, holding your hands close to keep them from shaking.

“Yes, if you and Tama-chan have issues, or in fact, you could call if you just…well, needed anything.”

Your eyebrow rose up slowly, the blush that was creeping up his neck and cheeks bright, and you gulped because that sounded a lot like something other than professional to you.

Suddenly, he was so close to you, his eyes bold and fixed on your own, and you blinked rapidly as he spoke, his voice layered in feelings, “I wonder…if it’s possible for humans to imprint on humans?”

His eyes were wide and so preciously innocent, and you had never seen an emotion so pure in your entire life. You felt a warmth spread throughout your entire being, smiling as you spoke, “I hope so.”

There was a passing of truth without words, and it went without saying that you would be calling him, soon, and he seemed to understand that as he grabbed your hand, pulling it up between you to place a soft, gentle kiss upon the top of it. Your heart beat wildly as you stared at him, his mouth twisting into a cute smile as he spoke softly.

“Until then-nya.”