Cat Lover
By, pinoykengumi7
Disclaimer:I don't own Prince of Tennis or its characters.
Rating: T
Pairing: Niou Masaharu x Yagyuu Hiroshi
Genre: Romance
Summary: Even though Niou was the figurative cat up the tree that needed saving, Yagyuu knew he was the one who needed saving from the crazy feeling called love.
--Duckii Mustang
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If anyone asked, Yagyuu would say that he was a cat person. He didn't fit the 'tough guy but really a softie inside who loves cats' stereotype, but he loved cats all the same. The way they kept themselves clean and the way they moved around sleekly with such elegant gracefulness appealed to the gentlemanly side of him. Despite their selfish nature, if one treated them with tender loving care long enough, they would begin to warm up to their owner.
But recently he had sighted many lost and bewildered cats stuck in various trees, and he couldn't help himself but play the hero role and save them like a knight in shining armour saves the damsel in distress.
And today happened to be one of those days where a distressed cat had found its way up a tree and didn't know how to get down. Its soft mewling noises caught Yagyuu's attention when he was making his way across the school grounds to get to the library.
Yagyuu put his books down slowly, sizing up the tree and checking whether the branches looked sturdy enough to withstand his weight. It probably would, but he didn't feel like testing his luck today. And besides, he didn't really have the confidence that he could get up to that first branch in his school uniform. He looked upwards wistfully towards the distressed source of the soft mewling noises, exciting the cat-saving hero in him even more, but to no avail. If only he could get another cat to go up there and guide it on its way down. He needed someone more confident and skilled in their ability to climb trees.
A cat-like person…
"Yo, Yagyuu."
"Ah, Niou-kun." A ray of sunlight reflected off the lens of Yagyuu's glasses, giving him a slightly scheming appearance. "Can you do me a favour?"
Niou raised an eyebrow quizzically before settling for a lazy smile. "Sure, but it'll cost you… and I don't mean with money either."
Yagyuu coughed lightly and turned his head to the side to hide the blush that was faintly colouring his cheeks. It's for the cat, it's for the cat, it's for the cat, it's only for the sake of the cat…
"Okay."
Niou's smile grew wider and Yagyuu could swear that cat ears and whiskers had appeared on his face. "Well, now that that's settled, what is this favour of yours?"
"C-Cat…"
"Cat got your tongue?"
Yagyuu frowned and regained his composure. "No, there's a cat stuck up in the tree and I would like your help in assisting it on its way down."
"Just that?"Niou scowled. "And here I thought it would be something more important."
"Saving cats is important!! Just wait until you're stranded on the branches of a tree without knowing how to get down."
"Yes, yes, as if that will ever happen to me," Niou confidently shouted down. "And I've got the cat—oomph!"
"Niou-kun?"
No response, except for the leaves rustling and a few twigs falling down as a result of the disturbance.
"Niou-kun?!"
CRACKKK!!!
"Uh, Niou-kun, was that a branch—"
"WATCH OUT, YAGYUU." Yagyuu stepped aside just in time to avoid being hit by a falling branch.
"I guess it was."
"And it was the one which I needed to get back down as well," Niou mournfully said. "That means I'm—"
"—stranded on the branches of a tree without knowing how to get down?" Yagyuu heard a snort and smiled smugly.
"This isn't a joking matter, Yagyuu!! Do something, help me!"
Even without being told, Yagyuu had already made up his mind to do something. After all, Niou resembled any other selfish, stubborn cat up in the tree that he felt so inclined to save. Yagyuu drew in a deep breath, exhaled, and then started climbing. He'd have to be careful in his approach. Niou had broken off a few footholds which meant that he'd have to stretch further, but that also posed as a risk of his pants accidentally ri—
RIPPP!!
What was he saying? Oh yes, a risk of his pants accidentally ripping. Yagyuu groaned and prayed to the gods that there wasn't anyone beneath him. That was definitely the seam of the seat of his school pants that had given way. And to think that this morning I ironed these pants so nicely until there was a nice, prominent crease down each pant leg. He sighed heavily and then continued up the tree until he was on the branch below the trickster's.
It just took one look for Yagyuu to realise that the proximity between himself and Niou was so close that if he just tilted his head up a fraction and then leaned a little forward, they would be kissing.
Ignoring the fact that they were several metres off the ground, stuck up in a tree without knowing how to get down, the odds of saving the cat that was stuck in the tree weren't looking so good since they couldn't get down, and he had a rip in the seat of his pants, Yagyuu swallowed and did just that.
It took a few moments for Niou to finally register what had happened.
"Y-Yagyuu?"
"Shh." The bespectacled boy reached up with his hand to draw Niou's face closer for another kiss.
"Nn… Yagyuu, the cat got away…"
"That's okay. I'll be making sure that this one won't."
—
Yagyuu couldn't really remember how he and Niou had gotten out of the tree. They had kissed, and then kissed some more, and after that it was just a blurry haze as to what had happened.
"By the way, Yagyuu, those kitten-patterned boxers you have on today, they look pretty nice." Niou smirked before continuing. "Care to show them to me in more detail later?"
Yagyuu just grunted before replying, "Watch what you say, because I'm giving you a piggyback home now."
"You wouldn't do that, would you, Mister Gentleman-who-saves-cats?"
Niou's breath was warm to his ear and Yagyuu couldn't help but shiver and ask himself why on Earth he was carrying Niou on his back. Oh yes, that was right. Niou had managed to sprain his ankle somewhere between the time he was up in the tree and now.
Yagyuu shook his head and smiled almost resignedly, knowing that he wouldn't be saving cats any more, since he had his own to take care of now. In fact, he might be the one who needed to be saved from the crazy feeling that was rapidly creeping up on him. The crazy feeling called love.
END.
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