New story! Woo! Jingle is based off a real kitty :)

I had never been into this store before, always passing by on my daily stroll but never thinking to stop in, not until today. There was a sign in the window that almost had me running, sprinting down the street in my rush. What if there were none left? What if they had sold out but forgotten to take the sign down? Then my dreams would be crushed… and I'd have to take a side trip to the pound on my way home. As it was, I had to at least attempt. So I went inside, taking in the vastness of it all while following the many signs that pointed straight to a pen, occupied by just one little tabby kitten, who was staring up at me with big, clear blue eyes.

There was a very bored looking woman standing guard over the only leftover from the mad rush that surely ensued after they had placed the "free kittens" signs on the walls. She barely seemed to notice me, even as I picked up the tiny cat and stroked it, feeling its tremulous purrs rumble through me. It wasn't until I had cleared my throat and silently gestured I was taking him that she noticed, giving me a broad smile and waving me away, clearly glad to be rid of her burden. Upset by her disregard for this miniscule creature's life, I stalked towards the cat toy section, stroking the kitten methodically and deciding instantly to name him Jingle.

I picked up the first toy I saw, which ended up being a mouse tied to a string, and set Jingle down, playing with him by pulling it out of his reach as soon as it appeared he had caught it. I couldn't help but laugh at the disappointment he had on his face the second I took it away for good, putting it back on the shelf and scooping him up. Realizing I needed food, I meandered on, turning the corner lightly, only run smack into another person and end up on the ground with an "Oof!". When I opened my eyes again, it was in panic. Was Jingle okay? The relief was immediate when I saw him curled up in the crook of my arm, eyes wide with terror, but uninjured.

Convinced my new pet was fine, I looked over at the person I had collided with and said, "I'm sorry… sir."

"No, no… please forgive me. I should have been watching where I was going," he answered, his voice soft and timid, tinged with a Japanese accent. Quickly, he bowed, before gathering up the bag of dog food I had caused him to throw and a tiny, white thing that could have been a cat if it wasn't barking at Jingle.

The man had nice eyes, I thought, calming and dark, framed by black hair and a young, rounded face. But he seemed a little strung up, tense in a permanent way that no amount of relaxation could ever fix. But, unexpectedly, he stood and hurried away without giving me a chance to say anything else, so I decided to just let the experience go and walk back home where the rest of my "family" awaited me, hungry. After buying the food, I headed home, fed my cats, and laid in my backyard, staring up at the blue sky lazily, sleeping my way through another afternoon.

I woke up to the sun setting on the horizon, slipping away and telling me that it was time to get to work. I had the nightshift at a local restaurant, where I worked as a waiter, serving up all kinds of food for all kinds of people, and, though I was often late from oversleeping, I was always the employee of the month. I was good at serving, and even got large tips from time to time, which was why my boss didn't fire me on the spot. I was still useful to him; a few, slick words from me had our customers in a good mood. A good, HUNGRY mood. Which was exactly what made Boss happy. And if he was happy… well, the rest of us were, too.

I roused myself off the ground and went to my room to put on my serving clothes. As I checked myself in the mirror, I grimaced at my name tag that said "Hello, my name is Heracles!" in cheery, bright pink letters. Half of my name had been chewed off. With a sigh, I started to attempt to come up with an excuse for that while hopping into my car and heading to the restaurant.

I made it just on time, assuming the position behind the podium as I waited for some customers to come in and trying to keep my eyes open. I couldn't afford to fall asleep on the job again if I wanted to keep it. And with my clan of cats at home… well, I had to do something to keep them from devouring me and each other out of hunger. Just as I began dozing off a little, there was a loud "smack" of someone slamming down menus right in my face. I jolted upwards, alerted, and turned to see my higher up coworker, Lovino, staring at me with his typical scowl. As his arms crossed, I knew I had done something to anger him, but before I could figure out what it was, he started growling at me.

"Pay attention for once in your life! We have customers, damn it, and I expect you to actually DO something for once!"

I stared lazily as he walked away, making wild, infuriated gestures with his arms. Not really understanding why he was always so wound up, I finally registered the reason he had been yelling at me in the first place and turned back to find a lobby full of hungry people, looking back at me with a wide variety of facial expression, though most of them just seemed confused and hungry. Eyes widening, I got to work as I had been commanded, seating people and taking their orders as fast as I could manage without dropping something and endangering myself to Lovi's wrath.

As I was bringing out the last tray full of food, I noticed that we seemed to be a little shorthanded today. The only server's here were me, Matthew, and Tino. Usually, there were seven of us; the three here, Arthur (who was always cranky), Antonio (who everyone was sure was having some sort of affair with Lovi), Feliciano (Lovi's twin brother who was addicted to pasta), and Sadiq (who hated my guts). After I finished my last food delivery, I decided to ask Tino where everyone was, since he was the easiest to talk to.

"Was today a day off for everyone or something?" I muttered curiously as we wiped off tables.

He looked over at me, his brown eyes troubled as he finished resetting the condiments for the next set of guests. "No, I heard that they're all sick at home. Some sort of flu is going around now, and I'm really worried! What if it's really bad? What if someone dies? What if I bring it home and get Peter or Berwald sick?"

As calmly as I could, I told him, "That won't happen. You're strong, so I'm sure you'll all be fine."

He relaxed a little, sending me a vibrant smile. "Thank you, Herac…" That was when he noticed that half my name had been eaten. With a giggle, he started to point it out, until we both heard the loud, thudding footsteps of Lovino stalking towards us and, quickly, we both got back to work.

After cleaning, I went back to the front to stand behind the podium and wait. I didn't see the man sitting there until he cleared his throat uncomfortably and came over to where I was and muttered quietly, "One, please."

Startled, I looked up into two weirdly familiar pools of dark brown. I recognized him instantly and couldn't help but say, "I've met you…"

His eyebrows furrowed and he opened his mouth, probably to say that I was mistaken, but then the recognition flashed across his face. "Oh, yes, at the pet store. I'm very sorry about that… Mr. Herac. I wasn't paying enough attention to my surroundings!" Just as he was about to bow or something again, I put a hand up and waved off his concern.

"Table for one, then." I grabbed a menu and led him to a secluded table, which seemed to make him less tense. "I'm Heracles and I'll be your waiter today," I told him, watching with amusement as his eyes flashed to my emaciated tag and back to my face hurriedly. "Can I get you something to drink tonight?"

Though I hadn't even been attempting to make my words sound sexy, he blushed a bright pink and looked away shyly, his dark hair falling over his eyes as he mumbled, "I would like tea, please."

Amused by his bashfulness for no apparent reason, I said, "I'll be right back with that," and walked off, returning with his drink moments later. "Have you decided what you'd like to eat, sir, or should I wait a few more minutes?"

My voice surprised him out of some form of reverie and he flinched as I set the tea down in front of him. "U-uhm… a few more minutes… please…" Again, he flushed and hid his face, never making eye contact with me.

I gave him a nod and a slow smile, though he may not have seen it, before going and seating some other person that had shown up in the meantime. Even while asking this woman what she wanted, my mind was on the shy Japanese man sitting in the booth across the building, and it took a few times of her repeating her order to get me back in line. As I walked to the kitchen to place her request, Lovino pulled me aside, arms crossed again, glaring at me.

"Sadiq just showed up, so you can have a break now. Give him your tables and don't sleep through your god damn second shift again!" he snarled.

He seemed more cranky than usual, which, I suspected, had something to do with the absence of his lover. Lovi was always in a better mood when Antonio showed up for work. Just as I began thinking about love and the effects it had on people, I turned and ran smack into the hairy chest of Sadiq, who was, as usual, wearing a mask over his eyes and an aggravatingly cocky smile.

"Tables?" he demanded, holding out his hands for the orders. "C'mon, Karpusi, we don't have all night! How many tables did you get done today? Two? Well, I'm going to do twice as many!"

I stifled a sigh, handing him the orders and telling him my table numbers. Just as I was getting to the last one, I realized that this was the one where the Japanese man was, and froze with the number "ten" halfway out of my mouth. There was no way I was letting this man frighten him into never coming back here. "One, three, four, seven," I repeated, hoping he hadn't heard me stumble over the last table.

"And ten?" he asked rudely, destroying my hopes.

I shook my head, the whale spout spoink at the top bouncing around as I did. "No, that's someone else's…" I lied. "Tino's. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a nap to take…" With that, I left Sadiq to think he was better than me, returning to the table ten, where the man was sitting, sipping his tea in a calm manner.

"Are you ready now, sir?" I asked politely, expecting him to jump again.

He met my expectations and, in total surprise, even made complete eye contact with me, giving me a perfect view of his handsome face as he took in my proximity nervously. "Y-yes, I have…"

I wrote down his order in my notepad before meeting his gaze again and asking, "I know this seems weird, but I'd really like to know your name, if you wouldn't mind?"

Stunned, he blanched for a moment before answering, "Kiku."

Kiku. I liked the way it sounded. "Well, Kiku, come over some time," I suggested, sliding the supposed "order" page over to him with my address on it before scribbling down the actual request and walking away.

As I placed the order, Sadiq came over to me, huffing in anger. "What are you doing? You're on break, remember?"

There were no words to describe the pleasure I took out of telling him, "Sorry, but you forgot a table."