Fukutomi wasn't going to deny it to himself:
He had done this completely just to get Arakita to come over.
.
"Look at her go, Fuku-chan! she's got spunk!"
The teen exclaimed, his eyes, head and shoulders following the petite feline that was rolling on the floor.
Arakita was usually in a foul mood. So much that his face had frozen in an annoyed expression.
But when the topic of 'cats' drops, he can turn this giddy?
Fukutomi took a mental note of this conclusion, leaning back and eying the boy playing with the pet.
.
When his cousin had mentioned she was going on holidays and needed someone to look after her halve-year old cat,
Fukutomi immediately thought of how Arakita would love it.
Without thinking, he had volunteered...
.
It were little things like this where Fukutomi just couldn't control himself.
Especially when it came to Arakita.
Seeing a happy Arakita was definitely best...
.
"What's her name, anyways?" Arakita asked, holding the little thing up and studying her fur intently.
"My cousin decided to first watch how her character develops before naming her, to pick a fitting name."
Arakita rolled his eyes. Sure sounded like what a family member of Fuku-chan's would do.
"…." Fukutomi leaned over, studying the cat together with Arakita, considering.
'Ow shit, no' Arakita thought. Fuku-chan wasn't thinking of naming her, was he?
Up until now, anything Fuku-chan had named were horrendously lame names.
Who calls their fucking turtle 'turtle'?
And then there was Fuku-chan's Giant bike, 'Gian'
And the Bianchi Arakita stole/got from him, 'Bian'….
Surely, he'd come up with something stupid like 'Cat' or something…..
But no:
"Kita."
"….You're an idiot." araKITA got the link after a moment.
Fukutomi had actually surpassed his unrealistically lame expectations.
He looked all proud of himself too, definitely going to name her that.
He'd discuss it with his cousin too, no doubt.
What a nerd….
.
Usually, cats aren't all that keen on loud people.
So like that, Arakita was shunned by many of them, growing rather desperate for their attention.
In a tsundere matter, of course.
But an active youngster like the blonde animal had no message to that and played with him to both their hearts' content.
"A bit like you..." Arakita mused.
"hmn?"
"Nothing, really."
But yeah, considering human company, Fuku-chan was really an exception.
Just like the cat he was playing with, the tall blond didn't care for other people's opinion and liked Arakita as he well pleased.
Arakita never vocalized it, but he was really glad Fuku-chan was his ally.
He was really a good guy.
Always staying true to himself and doing what he thinks is right.
Standing tall, firm and proud.
Fuku-chan really is like a big my-pace cat...
.
Fukutomi just so happened to have caught the same train of thought, as he looked over the boy and the tiny feline.
Arakita was bad at sitting seiza, so he sat cross-legged on the floor.
His right knee moved up and down rhythmically whenever the kitten did something he thought was cute.
'Arakita really is like a wild pup' He thought to himself.
Wanting to be free, careless, but with a lot of enthusiasm.
Arakita acted different towards the rest, aswell. Snarling and yelling rude comments.
Really like a guard dog, listening only to one person: Fukutomi.
And maybe it was some kind of resemblance to a miserable puppy look
that had gotten Fukutomi to decide on introducing Arakita to 'the world of cycling', back when they had just met.
His world...
He had to admit that contact with Arakita was more similar to taking care of a pet then them actually being friends.
It wasn't that Arakita wasn't independent...
Fukutomi just couldn't help but to dot over him.
He really did like him...
.
"Cats are great. I want one too..." the black haired ex-delinquent muttered.
"Is that so? I'd prefer a dog." Fukutomi replied, making conversation as awkward as he usually does.
"It's cuz we got a dog that we can't have a cat. So lame."
Fukutomi knew that wasn't true, though. Arakita absolutely loved their Papillion, Aki.
He wouldn't want to trade his dog for anything in the world.
But the boy was never honest about things like that.
.
Fukutomi caught himself thinking 'I don't need a pet, I already have a dog'
That was a bit embarrassing.
Arakita was a person. And surely, he'd get angry if Fuku would treat him as anything else.
"...paw." he spoke without thinking, defying what he had only just concluded, and held his hand out.
"huh?" Arakita took it, out of pure automatism.
"...amazing." Fukutomi replied, intrigued.
"What the hell?"
"Nothing really..." Fukutomi repeated the words Arakita had used earlier.
Arakita looked utterly confused at the other before he was once more distracted by the kitten,
pouncing his leg while chasing a fly she had spied on.
.
'It would be great if every day was like this…' passed Fukutomi's mind.
It was nothing special or anything.
But sharing space like this, both of them content, were one of the small things Fukutomi enjoyed in life.
It was truly a pity that the kitten was only staying for 3 days…..
.
"Maybe I should get a cat…"He mused out loud, on a whim, staring at the ceiling.
He had no idea what he had signed up for by saying that, though.
Arakita leaped at him, face close.
"If you do that, I'm moving in!" he exclaimed, without thinking.
His eyes were sparkling with anticipation. Just how much did he like cats?
They stared at each other for a while, turning a few shades redder as they realized their approximate closeness and the meaning of those words.
Arakita dripped off as fast as he had come over.
"m'bad…" He muttered as an apology, turning off and pawing at his own face to stop it from blushing.
.
A bit dazed, Fukutomi blinked a few times. Then, a rare smile showed on his face.
"I'd like that…"
BONUS PICTURES WITH SHINKAI
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