Disclaimer: Diamond no Ace belongs to Terajima Yuuji.
give it time 02 – rainy days
Tanba yawns, shifts around until he's comfortable.
The house is dark, quiet. From his sprawl on the couch, Tanba watches as Chris paces the width of the garden door, over and over. The other cat pauses every now and then to glance outside, scrunching his nose at the steady patter of raindrops on the glass.
After a while, Chris pads towards him, settling at the foot of the couch. Tanba eyes him sleepily, blinking when the other cat reaches up to bat at his tail. When that doesn't get him much of a response, Chris stretches up on his hind legs to meow in Tanba's face, bumping their noses together.
Usually, Tanba would jump at the invitation to play, but they've just finished eating, and the only thing he's feeling up to at the moment is a nap.
So he blinks again, and doesn't move.
After a few more fruitless attempts, Chris wanders off, feet padding softly against the floor. Tanba hears him scratch at the glass doors, making quiet sounds of disgruntlement. Tanba half-listens, half-dozes, letting his lethargy take over as he drifts off.
Suddenly, the quiet becomes ominous, almost predatory. It prickles at his nerves just enough to drag him awake, and he lifts his head, scanning the area.
It's still raining outside, but Chris is nowhere to be seen; close by, there is the telltale sign of measured breathing.
Fur bristling, he turns just as Chris leaps, lithe and graceful—
And lands right on top of him.
Tanba yowls, startled. The struggle is brief, all soft paws and retracted claws—before they're tumbling off the edge of the couch, still tangled in each other.
Twisting in midair, Tanba reorients himself, landing on his feet. Some distance away, Chris rolls upright, and pauses. His shoulders tense, back arching and head lowered, as he tries to gauge Tanba's reaction.
But his tail stands rigid, his eyes wide in anticipation, and Tanba just can't bring himself to be irritated over the lost nap.
Instead he drops into a crouch, and lunges.
Chris springs away from him, practically bouncing with glee.
(Tanba catches up to him as they round a corner; he drags his claws against the floor, pushes across the last bit of space between them, and sends them both rolling into the kitchen)