Chapter Text
~Monday~
Today was grocery day for Ike Eveland. At exactly ten in the morning, he was dressed and ready to head out, keys and wallet in his pocket. He came out of his apartment, whistling to himself a random tune he had stuck in his head for the past couple days. Closing the door to his apartment building, he saw a small, white kitty looking right at him. Intrigued, he crouched down next to it and pet its head. “Hey there, little one.” He didn’t waste much time and got back up, walking to the nearest grocery store.
Cats wandering the streets was a normal thing in this area, and so he didn’t pay much mind to it. He bought his groceries, two full bags on hand, and walked back home. He didn’t realise the small kitty was following him the whole time, his mind on other things, such as the novel he was working on, and the meal he would be preparing for his lunch. No one really paid attention to the kitty either as it made its way up the emergency stairs outside of the building, going up to the emergency door from Ike’s apartment’s and sitting down.
Ike spent the whole day away from that door, however, and never saw the cat sitting down there; the door was in his bedroom, but Ike ended up falling asleep at his desk that evening. The fluffy white ball never once moewed to call out to him, never once scratched at the door or walls, and never once did anything to make its presence known whatsoever.
~Tuesday~
In the middle of the afternoon, Ike noticed the sun shining through the window, and decided to take a break by going out for a walk in the nearby park. He put his pen down, turned off his computer, dressed up a bit better and went out. The moment he set foot outside of the building, the kitty was back.
“Hey again, little one.” Ike greeted it, crouching in front of it. The cat moewed softly at him, nuzzling his legs. “You’re so cute.” The novelist couldn’t help but coo at this baby. He never was much of a cat person, usually preferring dogs to cats, but this cat was drawing him in, and he couldn’t understand why. Getting back up with a smile, he started walking in the direction of the park, the kitty following him happily. Truth be told, Ike was quite confused at how much the kitty followed him, but he was happy about it, enjoying the company.
At the park, he bought a sandwich from an outside vendor, and sat on a bench. Seeing the cat following him, he shared pieces of ham with it, the fluffy pet purring at the gesture. Ike found himself chatting with it. “You’re enjoying yourself, I hope?” The cat moewed softly, making Ike chuckle. “Well, you do seem to like me a lot, which is very surprising. To be honest with you, buddy, cats never really like me. You’re one of the very first to enjoy my company. I wonder why...” At those words, the kitty moewed again, jumping on Ike’s lap - as if it understood what he said.
“You definitely are full of surprises.” He chuckled again, loving the small actions coming from the small pet. “You really, really are tiny, aren’t you? And so skinny as well... Are you getting enough to eat? You don’t even seem to have an owner...” Ike was growing more worried as he got to observe the small kitty from a closer view. “Maybe I should take you to a vet, to get you checked up?” The kitty suddenly jumped down, hissing as if, once again, it understood Ike’s words. “Okay, okay... Sorry. No vet, got it.”
The cat walked up to him again, carefully. “I promise,” Ike said, patting his lap, “I won’t take you to the vet.” It finally jumped back on his lap, laying down and purring, looking up at Ike. “You have such pretty eyes, buddy. Very uncommon for a cat, but very pretty regardless. It goes so well with your white fur.” The kitty moewed again, showing its appreciation.
Ike ended up spending hours in that park, sitting on the bench and talking to the kitty. He talked about himself, and his struggles in life, he overshared probably a bit too much, but didn’t think too much of it, as it was only a kitty - it’s not like it could understand what he was saying, right?
~Wednesday~
Ike woke up and almost had a heart attack when he saw the now familiar white kitty outside the emergency door. “What are you doing here, buddy?” Ike asked, half awake as he walked to the door and looked at the small pet through the glass, wearing only his boxers, and not seeing much as he wasn’t wearing his glasses yet. The kitty simply stared back at him, calmly.
Ike left the room after blindly putting his glasses on his nose and went into his kitchen, looking through his leftovers for something to give the kitty. He found some leftover steak, cut it into very small pieces, and went back into his room. He opened the door and placed the small plate on the floor for the kitty. “Here, eat up, buddy.” He sat down and watched the kitty eat the food hungrily. “You really have nowhere else to go, do you?” The cat looked up and moewed after swallowing the piece of meat it was chewing on, making Ike hum in understanding. “You’re an outcast as well, huh?”
Silence took over as Ike pondered to himself. Should he take the kitty in? Would he be able to care for it properly? He was hardly able to care for himself already...
The kitty quickly finished its food, and pet Ike with its paw, worriedly looking up at him. “Sorry, buddy. Was the food okay? It was only a cheap steak... I may be a novelist, I don’t have the money to buy expensive meat. Which is why I’m scared to take you in... I’m sorry, I don’t think I’d be a good owner. You should find someone else, buddy...”
Ike had never felt this sad in his life, pushing away the small cat, who looked just as sad upon hearing Ike’s words. It backed away a little, looking down, and sat on the edge of the emergency stairs. Ike swore he saw tears shining in the kitty’s eyes.
~Thursday~
The white fluff ball had spent the previous day sitting on the emergency stairs, not once leaving its spot. And that morning, Ike woke up to the kitty still there, looking as miserable as ever. It just refused to leave. Ike’s heart ached like it never did before, and he couldn’t stop himself from opening the door and picking it up, bringing it inside. “You can’t look at me like that... Making me feel bad for leaving you outside... You’re cruel, buddy, you know that?”
Tears were actually rolling on Ike’s cheeks as he felt ever so ashamed of leaving the poor kitty outside, and the kitty itself started to lick his tears away, purring and nuzzling its face into his neck. Ike sniffled and brought it to the kitchen, setting it down on the kitchen table. “You’re such an innocent creature. I don’t even know how to care for a cat. I don’t have much food left, and I know you can’t just eat anything.”
The cat just moewed in response, and Ike felt awful for not understanding what it meant - not that anyone could have understood this either. He rummaged through his shelves and fridge, trying to figure out what he could give it to eat. “Well, you seem smart enough to know what you can and cannot eat, so if I try to give you anything you can’t eat, just push it away, yeah?” The cat moewed, showing its understanding - that’s at least how Ike interpreted it.
Ike took a cucumber out, setting it on the table mindlessly. Action that was followed by a loud hissing sound and a crash. Turning around, Ike found the small cat on the floor with the cucumber, hissing at it as if it was the most terrifying thing in the world. Ike deadpanned. “Of course you’re scared of cucumber. You’re a cat. Sorry, buddy.” He crouched down to retrieve the cucumber, hiding it behind his back before picking the cat up, petting its fur back into place. “Here, all good. You’re fine, it won’t do anything to you, I promise.”
He set the cat back on the table before putting the cucumber back into the fridge. “I know you aren’t a rabbit, but how do you feel about lettuce? That’s basically all I have left in there...” The cat moewed in response, and Ike took the lettuce out, setting it on a plate and cutting it in smaller bits for the kitty. It started to eat, not seeming to mind the lettuce one bit. Ike prepared toast for himself, with caviar paste on it.
He was about to take a bite out of one of the toast when the kitty approached his plate, sniffing the caviar on one of the toast. “I don’t know if you can eat that, buddy. But if you think you can, then you can lick it. I don’t mind you trying it out.” And the kitty did just that. It licked the caviar paste carefully, purring immediately and licking some more. “I see you like it, huh? Enjoy, I guess.” He chuckled as they finished eating together.
~Friday~
Ike had decided on keeping the kitty with him. On this day, he decided to take some time off from his writing activities to get better acquainted with the kitty. “You do seem way smarter than most kitties. Moew once when the answer to my question is yes, twice if it’s a no. Do you think you can do that for me?”
“Moew.” Ike smiled, happy to see the kitty was understanding him so well. He petted its head, scratching behind its ear gently.
“Are you a female? Sorry, I don’t wanna go and look in between your legs, buddy.”
“Moew, moew.”
“You’re a male, then?”
The kitty hesitated there. “Moew, m-moew?” It almost sounded like a question.
“Are you kitties using pronouns as well? Are you a non-binary cat, then?”
“Moew.”
“They/them?”
“Moew, moew...?”
“He/them?”
“Moew.”
“Wow. I didn’t know cats had pronouns culture as well! This is interesting!” Ike was getting more and more into this whole question game. This cat was a very curious one as well, and he needed to get to know them! And the way the kitty seemed to put intonations and hesitations into his answers as well, it made Ike needing more explanations. “I’m still wondering why you were all alone and following me, though... Do you have an owner?”
“Moew, moew.”
“Did you have an owner?”
“Moew...?”
“Why the questioning tone? Ah, this is complicated...” Ike was scratching his head, trying to figure things out, trying to form questions the kitty could answer with yes or no, but it was oh so complicated.
The cat seemed to have sensed Ike’s struggles, as they moved to lay on his lap, purring softly, as if trying to comfort him. Ike petted their head as a thanks gesture, humming sadly. “I truly wish you were a human, buddy. Things would be so much easier...”
~Saturday~
Ike woke up, expecting his new friend to be sleeping next to him. Opening his eyes, he looked to the side, but saw nothing. He sat up straight, in an instant, suddenly wide awake. “Buddy?”, he called out, worried out of his mind. Where had they gone? Were they alright? He got out of bed, wearing only black boxers and a white t-shirt, and started walking around his small apartment, calling out to them. “Hey, buddy? This isn’t funny, please. Where are you hiding?”
Passing by his bathroom, he stopped. The door was closed, yet he never closes that door fully unless he’s inside. He tried to open it, only to find it locked. “Huh? Now that’s beyond weird.”
A loud crash suddenly came from the inside of the bathroom, which definitely made hair on the back of his neck stand up with a shiver. “What the hell? Who’s in there? Open that door right now!” He didn’t expect any reaction to his demand, so he definitely was startled by the sound of the door unlocking. “Oh. Huh. Thanks? I’m coming in.” Why did he sound so strange? He was in his own goddamn apartment, for Christ’s sake!
He opened the door, slowly, peaking his head inside. A small whimper was heard from inside, making him even more worried. Who was in there? What was happening? His eyes finally fell on a humanoid form in his bathtub, hidden behind one of his blue towels. Looking at the person’s face, his gaze crossed a pink and purple heterochromatic one. Confusion spread onto his face further, as the person turned out to have white cat ears peaking out of their purple hair.
Ike walked up to them slowly, seeing how scared they looked. “Hi?”, he greeted hesitantly. A purring sound came from the person in his bathtub, taking him off guard. Ike was starting to get an idea of what was happening, but surely it couldn’t actually be real. He was probably dreaming, right?
“Hi...”, the cat-like person replied in a very soft voice. They sounded terrified, yet their voice was still one of the most soothing sounds Ike had ever heard. “I...” they hesitated to talk more, but finally decided they didn’t have anything to lose anyway and kept on going, saying the words Ike feared to hear and acknowledge: “I’m the cat you took in...”
The novelist stood there, dumbfounded. There was no way this was really happening. This wasn’t fiction. This kind of things didn’t exist in real life, now, did it? He couldn’t help but think back to that one novel he read years ago about a cat turning into a human with cat ears and a tail, and having cat-like manners. And... Wait. Were they naked under that towel? Was that why they hid? Oh god...
Before he could say anything, the catboy talked again: “This is why I could understand you so well when you talked to me. It was because I wasn’t fully a cat. And I stuck to your side until you took me in because you seemed like a trustworthy person, and I thought you’d be able to take in the truth about me. I wanted to change into my human form and get dressed and presentable to explain this all to you, but you woke up earlier than I expected, and now we are in this awkward situation.”
Ike actually found himself needing to sit down, taking a seat on the toilet, his hands on his lap, trying to calm his racing heart down, and think rationally. “No way...”, was all he could mutter before fully taking his head into his own hands and groaning, a headache forming.
The person in his bathtub suddenly got up and out of the tub, walking to him and crouching down, placing his hands over the novelist’s. “I know it’s a lot to take in, Ike... I’m sorry. There was really no easy way for me to tell you about this.” Ike didn’t move, didn’t say anything. He felt comfort from the other’s touch, and he listened intently to each and every single one of the words uttered. “My name’s Uki, and as you guessed, I’m a catboy. I can’t live by myself, I need an owner, and I’ve been searching for one for so long... Ever since my previous owner died, weeks and weeks ago.
I do not need much, just a bit of attention, food, and a place to sleep. I promise to not become a bother. I’ll just be a perfect house cat, and let you work on your novels in peace. I won’t even beg for food, and just take what you give me. I just... I just need an owner, someone to keep me safe. Please, Ike?”
The poor novelist was at a loss for words. “You.. Uki.” He looked up at them, his eyes wide open in disbelief. “You don’t have to promise all that. It’s alright. It will definitely take me some used to, but I won’t just let you be by yourself. I want us to get to know each other, grow closer. I won’t treat you just as a cat, because you’re also human. We’ll learn together, yeah?”
Without thinking about it, he reached a hand to stroke the other behind his left ear, making the catboy purr and close his eyes. Ike’s mouth fell open in surprise, but he didn’t stop. “Do you like this?” The cat hummed in response, making the other smile warmly. This was nice.
Maybe Ike could get used to this...
~Sunday~
It was a Sunday like any other for Ike Eveland. Except, now, he would spend it with his new found companion. Sitting on the couch, his portable computer on his lap and a cup of tea in hands, he was working on his latest work, a small white cat draped around his neck.
As to not take too much space while Ike worked, Uki transformed back into his cat form, sleeping peacefully. The whole morning went by in comfortable silence, with only the sound of the calm LoFi music playing, the soft snoring from Uki, and the typing of Ike’s fingers on the keyboard filling the room.
His new book would be finished in no time, he knew it. These new events unfolding in his life have given him so much more motivation for working hard. Now, he felt the need to make this kitty proud. He felt the need to work hard to be able to provide for Uki, and be able to give them everything they may ever wish to have in the future.
When they decided he had written enough for the day, Uki got down from his shoulder and Ike stretched with his usual squeaky sound. Uki ran on all four, on his little white fluffy legs, into the bathroom to change, putting on a pair of boxers and one of Ike’s oversized t-shirt. Coming back out, he found Ike already busy in the kitchen, making food for them both.
Uki walked back to him with a hum. “It smells so good! What are you cooking?” They wrapped their arms around Ike’s waist, as if they had been a couple for years. This all felt domestic in so many ways, yet it felt like the most natural thing ever for the both of them.
Yes, Ike could definitely get used to this. He already was.