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After a long, mind-numbing day at work, two things could improve Kaeya’s mood: a nice glass of wine with friends, and playing or cuddling with his lovely Ollie. He’d adopted the golden shepherd a year ago, and while it was a lot of work at first, figuring out a schedule and training an excitable young dog, the responsibility and routine it forced him into had helped a lot with rebuilding his self-esteem after his complicated family history.
As he opened the lock to his flat, he couldn’t wait to see his big brown eyes staring up at him, waiting for pets. Like he did almost every time Kaeya came home, even if he’d just been gone half an hour for grocery shopping.
But that day, Ollie wasn’t waiting behind the door, and Kaeya couldn’t hear the sound of his claws on the laminated floor. Kaeya tried calling his name while taking off his shoes, but was only met with silence. This could only mean one thing, considering the nice weather from that day: Ollie was napping in a sunny spot.
Slowly making his way to the living room, Kaeya was met with an adorable sight: Ollie stretched out in the sun. On closer look, there was also an orange cat half lying on his belly, almost perfectly camouflaged with how similar their fur was.
The only problem was that Kaeya didn’t have a cat.
Where was this one coming from, and how did it get in, considering they were on the second floor?
All these questions were still less important than the adorable sight before him. Kaeya fished his phone from his back pocket and snapped way too many photos. He then made his way to the kitchen to get started on dinner. There would be ample time later to worry about where the cat came from; no use disturbing their sleep.
—
Kaeya was assembling his signature skewers when he felt a cold and wet snout on his hips, where his shirt had slightly rolled up. The sudden feeling made him jump. Good thing he’d just finished the skewer he had in his hands, or it would have ended up planted in his palm.
Ollie was sitting down next to him, looking up, waiting.
“Up from your nap?”
Ollie’s tail was wagging excitedly, which Kaeya had learned meant he needed to “play”. Kaeya looked back at his skewers. He had made quite a lot already; he could cook them later to eat, and assemble the rest the next day for dinner.
Ollie stayed perfectly still while Kaeya busied himself with putting everything away, only the sound of his tail thumping on the floor betraying his underlying energy.
Going back to the living room to fetch Ollie’s tug toy, Kaeya noticed a lack of cat, and his slightly ajar window. This explained how the cat got in; he’d forgotten to properly close it this morning. Which was pretty careless, it was only the second floor: if a burglar had decided to come in, it would have been a piece of cake. Good thing his unwanted visitor had only been a cat.
—
On Saturdays, Kaeya took Ollie on long walks in the park, staying there for almost an hour. It was Ollie’s favourite time of the week, if his tail wagging excitedly as soon as Kaeya woke up was to be trusted. Kaeya walked him three to four times a day during weekdays, but it was always a quick affair. On Saturdays, Kaeya brought his toys and would play fetch, tug of war, and overall just let him run around in the dog park. And despite his excitement, Ollie was always well behaved: never tugging when he was on his leash, and always coming back when Kaeya called him.
But that day on the way to the park, Ollie suddenly started running off, surprising Kaeya. It was so unusual that he hadn’t been prepared to stand his ground and ended up being pulled along. Once the surprise faded, Kaeya tried to rein him in, but Ollie kept tugging, his tail wagging excitedly.
“What’s gotten into you?”
Kaeya looked up to where Ollie was heading, and quickly understood his strange behaviour. Not too far, a big orange cat was also on a walk, one he’d seen a few days ago in his living room. The cat spotted Ollie and looked happy, walking toward them at a leisurely pace.
His surprise gone, Kaeya took the time to assess the situation. The orange cat was being walked by a man, a gorgeous one at that, with pale blonde hair at shoulder-length, messy bangs and done in a half-up-do. His clear blue eyes were full of worry, which Kaeya didn’t understand until he realized how it looked to the man.
A dog he didn’t know was almost charging his cat.
Kaeya didn’t have time to try to diffuse the situation; the two finally reached each other and started playing.
“Sorry about Ollie”, Kaeya started, figuring a late reassurance was better than none. “He’s energetic, but he’s harmless.”
“It’s fine,” the stranger started, and his soft voice could have had Kaeya swooning if he wasn’t keeping himself in check. “Sir Pouncelot usually avoids dogs he doesn’t know… No idea what got into him.”
Kaeya chuckled, amused by both the cat’s name and the man’s assumption. His reaction had the man frowning, but if Kaeya was as good at reading people as he thought he was, it was partly out of embarrassment.
“Yes, it’s a strange name for a cat, but my little sister insisted.”
“That’s not what amused me”, Kaeya decided the gorgeous stranger deserved a white lie to spare him the embarrassment. “It’s just that Sir Pouncelot may have a secret life you don’t know about.”
“The mysterious act is charming, but as a pet owner, I think you can agree the worry would overpower anything with that statement.”
Kaeya’s heart skipped a bit. He hadn’t been meaning to flirt -and probably wouldn’t have been able to, since he always lost his composure when he genuinely tried to-. But knowing the stranger found him charming? That did something to him.
“Sorry, sorry. It’s just that I found your cat a few days ago in my living room, cuddling with Ollie, so they kind of know each other. Here, look.”
Kaeya fished his phone from his back pocket and showed the man the pictures he took of the two cuddling. Sir Pouncelot was easily recognizable thanks to his collar.
“How did he end up in your living room?”
“Don’t worry, I didn’t catnap him,” he joked with a wink, though the man seemed unimpressed. “I’d left a window open that day. I didn’t mean to, so I was surprised when I got home to find a cat cuddling with Ollie, especially since I live on the second floor.”
The man looked deep in thought for a few seconds.
“He always asks to be on the balcony when I’m home painting… Do you by any chance live in Favonius Hall?”
Kaeya had guessed they lived close by, if they both walked their pet in the same park, but he wouldn’t have imagined living in the same apartment building. Mostly because he would definitely remember the man if they had crossed paths before.
“I do… You think he went from balcony to balcony?”
“I saw him do that before,” the man answered, looking more relaxed now that the mystery was solved. “I didn’t think he would get inside any apartment since he’s… wary of humans. But if you weren’t home, this explains everything.”
“Well, I’m glad he did. It looks like Ollie made a great friend.”
Kaeya looked down at his feet, where Ollie and Sir Poucelot were still playfully pouncing on each other. He then looked back at the man, who was softly smiling down at the two. Maybe he could make a friend, too?
“By the way, I’m Kaeya.”
The man looked up, his soft smile now directed at him.
“Albedo.”
—
Kaeya had been in the middle of a wonderful dream when something heavy fell on his stomach, brutally waking him up. Looking down, he could see a vaguely cat-shaped form sitting on him.
“Sir Pouncelot, it’s…” Kaeya looked at the clock on his nightstand, cursing the green numbers. “7 am… On a Saturday… It’s way too early.”
“That’s your fault for getting him used to treats before work,” a voice mumbled next to him.
Kaeya turned to lie on his side, not minding the indignant noises Sir Pouncelot let out, and grabbed the body next to him, burying his nose in soft blond hair.
“You’re being so mean to me Albedo.”
Albedo turned in his arms to face Kaeya.
“If you make me pancakes for breakfast, I’ll be nicer.”
Kaeya let out a dramatic sigh.
“You drive a hard bargain, but anything for you.”
Albedo smiled and thanked him with a small peck on the corner of his lips -the most Kaeya would get until they both brushed their teeth. He’d learned the hard way how much Albedo hated morning breath kisses.
Not liking to be ignored, Sir Pouncelot let out a loud mew while walking all over them. The commotion woke Ollie up, who tried to get Kaeya’s attention by nudging his face with his damp snout.
“Guess we won’t be able to sleep in today,” Albedo murmured while sitting up.
Kaeya stayed in the bed a bit longer, taking in the sight of Albedo waking up, his dishevelled hair, his unfocused eyes, the long, deep stretch he always took before getting up. Some days, he couldn’t believe he got to meet and fall in love with someone as wonderful as him, and that he loved him back, too.
Ollie nudged him some more, tickling him, and he finally sat up, looking at the two pets that allowed them to meet.
“Maybe we can have an extra-long walk in the park. It’s supposed to be a nice day, I can pack a picnic, and you could bring your sketchbook.”
Ollie and Sir Pouncelot deserved the extra time in nature for their matchmaking.