Feline Prowess
Chapter Four: Home
A/N: Guys, I can't thank you enough for all your kindness! Your reviews have been one of the highlights of my year so far! Thank you~! And I apologizes I can't reply to reviews! But to answer the question in the last chapter, it was a Pirates of the Caribbean quote. Anyway, here's the next chappy~
One small cat changes coming home to empty house to coming home.
-Pam Brown
As much as Law didn't want to, he knew it was time to do some grocery shopping. He glanced at the clock hanging on the wall and then to the window across the room. It was almost 2:30 and it looked like it was about to start raining again. He sighed, getting to his feet as he gave a lazy yawn. He never really knew what to do with himself when it was his day off. Most of the time he just buried himself in a book or went for an occasional walk in the park. But the weather lately had been terrible, and he hadn't been in the reading mood.
Today he had stared at Mugiwara for the most part, watching the cat bat around an old sock that had somehow gotten lost under the couch. It kept him amused, especially when the cat would suddenly stop, look around, and then sprint into another room for absolutely no reason before sprinting back and tackling the sock.
Mugiwara lifted his head as he noticed the human head for the kitchen, tilting his head in curiosity while he followed Law. The human pocketed a cell phone and clipped a small pager onto the edge of his pants. Checking to make sure Mugiwara's water bowl was filled, Law turned to the cat as he grabbed his keys. "I have to run to the store to grab more food. I'll be back soon."
Mugiwara gave a meow and headed for the living room, no doubt to sleep on the couch. Law exited the house and locked the front door, pocketing the keys as he began to walk down the sidewalk. He glanced at the sky before giving a scowl, he forgot to bring an umbrella. 'That's fine,' he thought. The store wasn't too far away, only a seven minute walk at a leisurely pace, and it didn't look like it was going to pour, only drizzle.
He put his hands into the pockets of the yellow and black hoodie he now wore as his mind began to drift to things he had to do during the upcoming week. If the twentieth was indeed in four days, then he would have to attend the party Sachi was throwing for no particular reason other than "I feel like the twentieth is a good party day!"
The twenty third he had bills to pay and the twenty fourth was the anniversary of his family's death. He'd need to buy some panther lilies, forget-me-nots, and red azaleas. Those were their favorite flowers; the lilies for his mother, the forget-me-nots for his sister, and the red azaleas for his father. His brows furrowed lightly and the corner of lips began to pull down into a small frown. 'Has it really been sixteen years…?'
A car honking its horn brought him out of his thoughts, and he was surprised to see he had already made it to the store. Entering the large building, he immediately grabbed a hand cart and brought up his mental list.
Milk, coffee, rice, broccoli, and chicken.
"I guess I better get some meat for Mugiwara-ya," he mused, a small smile twitching at his lips as he remembered how excited the cat had been to get such a meal. He walked around the store, gather the items and setting them in his basket. As he passed the pet isle he stopped and contemplated about going down it and picking up a special something for Mugiwara.
He decided to go for it.
He stood before the cat section and let his eyes wander over the various toys that lined the shelves. Bells, feathers, stuffed toys, balls, and catnip filled his vision and he wondered which one would entertain Mugiwara the most. He decided to pick the feathered ball that had a bell inside it. Silently he hoped the cat would like it.
He went to a checkout lane and paid for his items as an employee loaded them into a paper bag. After saying his thanks, he grabbed the bag and exited the store. Just as he thought, it was raining lightly. He gave a shrug and put his hood on as he walked through the wet weather. He glanced down back at the items in his bag, his gray eyes catching sight of the cat toy he just bought. He really hoped Mugiwara would like it.
Then a thought struck him: he was actually getting nervous over the fact that the toy might not be to the cat's liking. Why was he suddenly to eager to please the little ball of fur? Was this how all pet owners felt, hoping to please their pets with toys and treats and attention? He told himself he just wanted the cat to like the toy because he wanted to watch it bat something around that wasn't his sock.
'Tch, you're turning soft over a cat,' he thought. 'Kidd was right, I'm a marshmallow for cats.' Not that he'd ever admit that out loud. No, he'd rather die before admitting that to the redhead. The idea of pelting Kidd with hundreds of colorful marshmallows using a slingshot suddenly popped into his mind, causing him to smirk. Now there was something he wouldn't mind trying sometime–
Beep beep beep beep
He stopped dead in his tracks and moved the groceries into one arm as he glanced at his pager's screen. His eyes widened slightly before he burst into a sprint towards his house. "Shit," he cursed, running as fast as his legs would allow. Emergency heart valve surgery. He didn't get many of those, but he knew time was of the essence if they were calling him in for the job on his day off. He was, after all, one of the best surgeons in the city; especially when it came to hearts. His house came into sight and he pulled out his keys hurriedly. Unlocking the door, he threw it open and hastily put all the cold items in the fridge.
Wasting not a moment more, he locked the door as he exited and ran to the side of the house where he kept his bike. Getting on, he peddled with quickly as his pager went off one more time.
He got to the hospital in five minutes.
Ten hours.
The valve operation had taken seven hours because of complications and another patient needing his expert hands had been wheeled in not five minutes after. He gave a tired sigh as he ran his hand through his dark blue hair. He was exhausted but he had a feeling he wouldn't be falling asleep until 3 or 4 a.m. He had his insomnia to thank for that. He glanced at the clock. 1:02. He exited the hospital as a yawn escaped him, getting on his bike and cycling at a leisurely pace. He wasn't in any hurry, it wasn't like anyone was waiting at the house for him.
His eyes widened.
No, that wasn't true. Mugiwara was waiting for him. He gave another curse when he realized he hadn't had the chance to feed the cat when he was paged earlier. He cycled faster and hopped off his bike when he reached his house. Parking his bike back on the side of the house, he quickly made his way for the front door and fumbled with his keys as he tried to feel which one was for his house. Finding it, he entered the dark kitchen and flicked the light on.
There, before him, sat Mugiwara looking up at him with – what Law swore was – concern. The cat instantly got to its feet and meowed, getting on its hind legs and resting the front ones on Law's leg. It meowed again and again, and reached a paw up towards the surgeon. The human instantly knelt down and pet Mugiwara who gave quiet purrs. Still, the cat seemed concerned and Law felt like he needed to give the small animal an answer for his actions earlier.
"Sorry," he began. "The hospital needed me to perform some surgery." The cat seemed satisfied with this answer, blinking in understanding. "I bet you're pretty hungry," the surgeon added, taking the cat into his arms. He was careful not to touch the precious straw hat that still rested on Mugiwara's back, and in return the cat seemed thankful for that. The purrs grew louder at the loving act of being picked up. "I got you some more meat to–"
Purrmeow!
He let out a chuckle, expecting that reaction. "I still have to cook it, though. Think you can wait a bit?" The cat – and this time Law knew he wasn't seeing things – gave a pout but nodded anyway. As Law went to bring out the meat, Mugiwara made his way onto the shoulder of the surgeon, its tail once again draped around the back of the male's neck.
While Law cooked the meat, Mugiwara would let out the occasional meow. He would also steal glances at the surgeon's face, staring for long periods of time until Law would look over and Mugiwara would suddenly look back at the meat. Mugiwara would even rub his little nose and furry head against Law's cheek.
The surgeon couldn't help but feel his heart melt at the action, and he raised his hand to pet the little ball of fur that was slowly stealing his heart.
A/N: Now, I know you guys are wondering when the actual LawLu will be coming in. Well don't worry! Law's feelings for little Mugiwara will become more apparent in chapter six! And sorry this chapter ended rather…oddly. I don't know, I feel like it could have been better but wasn't quite sure what to put. Sorry if there's minor grammar errors too, I always seem to manage to miss a few when overlooking a chapter. Again, thank you all for your kind reviews! Hope this is living up to all your expectations! ^^
Oh, and a quick question: I'm thinking about writing a story that's based on One Piece Pirate Warriors 2. Do you think I should go for it? It'll be Luffy, Whitebeard, Ace, Marco, and Law centric mostly. Of course, it'll also be about the Straw Hat Pirates. But what do you guys think? Please let me know!
Your shy ice elemental,
~»roo the psycho«