"What do you mean it's not breathing?!" Rin shouted, and Makoto ignored him in favor of taking action. He picked up a little hand towel, carefully rubbing the kitten back and forth to encourage breathing. After a couple seconds of this, he held the kitten close to his ear, listening for a little squeak. When he didn't get one, he reached for his suction bulb.

Rin watched on anxiously, his hands curled into fists on his knees. He was about to witness a kitten dying in his house, oh my god, a little, defenseless kitten is going to die because it couldn't fucking start breathing-

Makoto opened the kitten's mouth with the bulb and suctioned some of the mucous out that could have possibly been blocking the airway, and after still not hearing the squeak of life, he rubbed it again.

The kitten let out the loudest meow he had ever heard from a newborn.

Rin let out a shuddery breath he hadn't realized he was holding in, and Makoto crumpled with a sigh of relief, carefully placing the crying kitten next to Ichigo's belly, and Ichigo licked the kitten affectionately, and once again gave Makoto a grateful lick to his hand.

"Thank you," Rin sniffled, and Makoto looked over to see him wiping at his eyes, obviously frazzled about the close call they had with the newest addition. "Thank you, Makoto. Thank you so much."

Makoto gave Rin a gentle smile, and he scooted closer to the other, giving him a comforting hug.

"It's alright, Rin," he said, rubbing up and down the redhead's back, "It's okay."

Rin sniffled, squeezing back tightly, peeking over the other's shoulders to see Ichigo laying on her side while five new little kittens nestled against her belly. Rin felt another wave of relief wash over him, and he sighed, resting most of his weight against Makoto.

-xxx-

"So um…About earlier," Makoto began, carefully accepting the glass of tea from Rin.

After hugging for a while, and being sure that Ichigo had given birth to every kitten in her litter, Makoto had decided that it would be best to leave Ichigo alone for a little bit, and they made their way to the kitchen where Rin had made tea.

Rin flushed, sitting across from Makoto.

"Yeah…Earlier." He replied, awkwardly clearing his throat, "Um…Do you…Do you like me?"

"Um, well…" Makoto chuckled, scratching his cheek, "Yeah, I do. I'm assuming since you kissed me that you like me, too?"

"…Well, yeah," Rin said quietly, "I, uh. I've liked you for a while now." Rin paused to laugh, "I'm sorry I just kissed you in my dark bedroom while my cat was in labor. I guess I could have planned that better."

"N-No, it's alright! I-I mean, I was planning on asking you out after Ichigo had the kittens anyway…So…I guess this worked out for the best, huh?" Makoto gave Rin a gentle smile.

"I guess…Uh…Does this mean you're my…b-boyfriend now?" Rin blushed, and silently berated himself for stumbling over the word. "I-I mean, unless you don't want to be!"

"No, no, I want to be!" Makoto said, a little louder than necessary, "I…I want to be your boyfriend, Rin."

Rin promptly smacked his head on the table because Makoto was too. Fucking. Cute.

-xxx-

"Hey, Rinrin, what's up?"

"Guess who's 5'10", has red hair, shark teeth, and is now the boyfriend of Makoto Tachibana?" Rin boasted, and he pulled his phone away from his ear when Gou screamed.

"Ohmigod, Rin tell me everything immediately," she shrieked, "What happened?! What did you say? What did he say? Give me the whole story!"

"Uh, well," Rin brought the phone back to his ear, rolling over on his bed, "Ichigo gave birth the other day-"

"What?! And you didn't tell me?! God, onii-chan, you suck at communication!"

"Oh my God, Gou, it literally just happened yesterday. It was a frazzling event."

"Why, what happened?"

"The last kitten had troubles breathing when it first came out into the world," Rin explained, looking over to the pile of kittens in the corner of his room, "Makoto had to help it out."

"Aww, well I'm glad it's okay!" Rin could almost hear her pout, "But you have to send me pictures, okay? As soon as we get off the phone!"

"Yeah yeah," Rin waved his hand, "So back to Makoto…"

"Yeah, so what happened? Did you guys do it?"

"Oh my god, Gou, we did not. Will you let me tell the god damn story, or no?"

"Okay, I'm sorry, this is just really exciting!" Gou giggled, "Okay, okay. Go ahead."

"Alright, so what happened was…"

-xxx-

"Haru!" Makoto called into his apartment, "Haru, I need your help!"

Makoto dashed towards Haru's room, Kabocha following him at a quick trot, meowing. When he looked inside Haru's room, the boy was not there, so he closed the door and promptly opened the door to the bathroom.

"Do you mind?" Haru asked, giving Makoto a dirty look, "I'm trying to take a bath."

"Haru, I need your help! Rin and I are going on our first date and I don't know what I'm gonna wear!"

"…Really, Makoto?"

"Please, Haru, will you help me?"

"Ugh, fine, hang on."

After Haru got out of his bath, the two of them went to Makoto's room to pick out an outfit. Haru decided on a blue cardigan with a white v-neck shirt underneath and dark jeans.

"You look great," Haru complimented, albeit half-heartedly, and Makoto grinned sheepishly.

"Thank you so much, Haru-chan," Makoto replied, and Haru frowned.

"I'm going back to my bath. Have fun." He muttered, and left Makoto's room to return to his bath.

"Ahh, Kabocha, I'm so nervous," Makoto confided in the cat after Haru left, and Kabocha flopped onto his back on Makoto's bed. "This is going to be mine and Rin's first official date since we became boyfriends. We're boyfriends, now, too." He paused, staring into Kabocha's eyes, "I have no idea why I'm telling the cat all this." Makoto sighed, rubbing his eyes. "Whatever, whatever."

It had been a couple weeks since Ichigo had given birth, and a couple weeks since Makoto and Rin had become boyfriends. As soon as the 'magic' began, it promptly ended, both Makoto and Rin becoming swamped in school work. They texted when they could, even tried to see each other on the balcony, but the time apart had left them both antsy. With things calming down, Rin had suggested they go on a date (although when he mentioned it, he mumbled and stuttered and stumbled over his words, then when Makoto asked him to repeat himself because he didn't understand, Rin had yelled and Makoto started laughing because Rin is such a baby). They decided to go check out the aquarium (which Makoto intentionally kept secret from Haru) and maybe go out for dinner afterwards. Rin insisted on paying for the aquarium tickets, so Makoto was going to pay for dinner.

Makoto didn't know why he was so nervous. It was just him and Rin, and it wasn't like they haven't gone out alone before.

There was a knock at the door, and Makoto squeaked, hurrying to grab his cellphone and wallet. He bid farewell to Kabocha and dashed to the front door.

He opened it and his 'hello' got caught in his throat. Rin was wearing a slouchy black beanie, a white v-neck under a red plaid shirt, and jeans, and he looked really good. Rin flushed, scratching his head.

"What? Do I look dumb?" he asked, and Makoto laughed, shaking his head.

"No, no! Not at all! You look really good, Rin." Rin blushed, turning the color of his shirt, smiling.

"Thanks. You look good, too." Makoto smiled. "Now c'mon, let's get going."

-xxx-

The aquarium was relatively quiet that day, so the two of them took their time looking at all the different tanks. They took some photos with their phones, Rin sneaking a couple pictures of Makoto gazing in awe at the fish when he wasn't looking to send to Gou, and Makoto managing to snag a couple pictures of Rin grinning at the sharks.

"This was a lot of fun, Rin," Makoto said, looking up into a vast tank filled with small tropical fish, "It was really nice to get out and do something with you."

They turned to look from the tank to each other, and Makoto gave him a gentle smile. Rin blushed, glancing around quickly before leaning in to press their lips together softly.

"Yeah," Rin agreed softly, "I really missed you these past couple days."

"I missed you too," Makoto whispered, his cheeks heating pleasantly as he smiled giddily. Rin paused, suddenly finding the tank more interesting to look at than Makoto.

"Um, hey," Rin began quietly, "Maybe…Maybe before dinner, would you wanna um…stop by my place?"

Makoto blanched.

It was an innocent invitation, but it held so much potential. Rin could be inviting him back to his house to relax after having a nice date at the aquarium before they had dinner. Or, Rin could be inviting him back to his house to have sex.

It was really hard to tell.

Makoto managed to garble out an 'okay', his hands tightly gripping his knees.

-xxx-

"Hey, I just remembered you haven't seen the kittens in a while! C'mon, they're really cute," Rin smiled, quickly kicking off his sneakers and urging Makoto to hurry up. Makoto laughed and hurriedly slipped his shoes off, taking Rin's outstretched hand and let the other lead him to the bedroom.

Rin gingerly opened the door and tugged Makoto inside, the two of them carefully kneeling beside the litter.

Ichigo had laid back down from sitting up slightly at hearing the door open, her eyes closing as her purrs picked back up. The kittens were a squirmy bunch, tiny mewls coming from their mouths as they tried to explore their surroundings to the best of their abilities, considering the fact that their hearing and seeing was still underdeveloped.

"Ah," Makoto breathed, "They've grown up so much!"

"I know, right?" Rin grinned proudly, "They're still so tiny, though. Luckily they get sleepy at night and I don't have to hear them meow throughout the night."

"Wow," Makoto sighed, "Wow, they're so cute, Rin."

"Yeah, they are," Rin replied quietly, reaching over to scratch Ichigo behind her ears. "I'm gonna go get something to drink. Want anything?"

"No, I'm alright, thank you." Makoto declined politely, still watching the kittens. "I'll meet you in the other room."

Rin nodded, stood up and left, leaving Makoto alone with Ichigo and her kittens. Makoto pulled out his phone and took a bunch of pictures. He paused when he saw Ichigo regarding him with half-lidded eyes, and Makoto suddenly felt like he was being harshly judged by Rin's cat.

"Okay. Bye, Ichigo." He murmured, giving the black cat a quick pet before exiting the bedroom and going to find Rin in the living room.

"Hey," Rin patted the spot next to him on the couch with a grin, "Come sit next to me."

"O-Okay." Makoto stuttered, slowly making his way over to the couch and sitting down next to Rin. His posture was ramrod straight, his hands clutching his pants.

"Oi, you alright?" Rin asked with a chuckle, "I'm not gonna attack you or anything."

"I-I'm fine!" Makoto blurted out, blushing, and Rin laughed, taking Makoto's hand in his.

"Hey, lay back on the couch," Rin ordered, and Makoto tensed, causing Rin to laugh even harder, "Oh my god, Mako, I just want to cuddle. What is wrong with you?"

"N-Nothing is wrong with me!" Makoto cried, allowing Rin to push him back onto the couch and lay on top of him. Rin sighed contentedly, nuzzling his head against Makoto's neck.

"If you say so," Rin mumbled, smiling when Makoto's arms wrapped around him and pulled him closer.

"You never really struck me as the cuddling type, Rin," Makoto murmured, and Rin growled.

"If you keep talking, I won't be the cuddling type anymore." Makoto laughed, nuzzling his nose against Rin's hair. "See, this is nice, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Makoto replied, and Rin smiled, closing his eyes. "It's really nice."

After a long, comfortable pause, Rin spoke up again.

"Hey," he said, hushed, "Um. Maybe, since we have some time before dinner…we could…"

"We could what?" Makoto asked, and he sounded half-asleep. Rin laughed quietly, pushing himself up so he could look at the other's face. Makoto's eyes fluttered open to look at Rin as well, giving him a tired, lopsided grin. Rin smiled back.

"We could…maybe…um." Rin laughed nervously, "You know."

"You know…?" Makoto questioned, his head tilting. Rin's smile faltered, and he made a desperate noise in the back of his throat.

"Oh my god," he muttered, "We could make out. We should make out." He blurted, feeling his cheeks heat up. Makoto looked at him with wide, surprised eyes, and then burst out laughing, covering his mouth. "Oh, my god, Makoto, you little shit," Rin hid his own face behind his hands in embarrassment.

"Hey," Makoto choked out, his hands resting on Rin's hips. Rin peeked at him through his fingers. "Hey. It's okay. You just took me by surprise, is all." Rin felt him rub soothing circles through his jeans, and he nearly whimpered when Makoto bit his bottom lip. "Kiss me?" he asked, and Rin breathed harshly into his hands, before leaning down to fulfill Makoto's request.

Makoto's phone went off.

"Ignore it," Rin commanded, and Makoto groaned.

"As much as I'd like to," Makoto gave Rin a sympathetic smile, "It might be something important. We can continue this when I'm off the phone, yeah?" Rin grumbled, but allowed Makoto to reach into his pocket and pull out his phone.

"Haru?" he asked when he answered, "What's up?"

"Makoto," Haru began on the other line, sounding rather angry, "I'm gonna need Rin to get off your lap. Immediately."

"What-?" Makoto started, looking behind Rin to see Haru through the entrance to the balcony, giving Makoto a cold glare. "Haru-!"

"What?" Rin asked, turning around to see Haru. He growled, getting off of Makoto's lap to grab the curtains hanging over the door. He gave Haru a mean grin, waving before closing the curtains so he couldn't look inside the apartment anymore.

"Makoto," Haru said through gritted teeth, "If Rin makes you do anything you don't want to-"

"He would never!" Makoto yelped, "I asked him to kiss me!" Makoto made a noise of protest when Rin snatched the phone out of his hand.

"Oi," Rin began, "Haru. Don't worry about it. I…I really like Makoto. I'm not gonna do anything he doesn't want to. I'll take care of him."

"You better," Haru mumbled on the other line, "Or you'll regret it."

"I'm sure I will." Rin chuckled, "See you later, you loser."

"Bye, asshole." Rin huffed, flipping Makoto's phone shut.

"C'mon," Rin mumbled, sitting back down on Makoto's lap, appreciating the way Makoto's hands with straight to his hips to steady him, "Let's kiss s'more."

"Okay," Makoto said breathlessly, one of his hands moving from Rin's hip to the back of his head as they kissed again.


EVERYTHING IS OKAY the cat is okay Makoto is okay Rin is okay I am okay WE ARE ALL OKAY

Actually we probably are not okay because eternal summer just premiered yesterday, BUT THAT'S OKAY

ALSO WAIT CAN WE TALK ABOUT SOMETHING REAL QUICK? So a few days I was browsing Tumblr, and LOOK WHAT CAME ON MY DASHBOARD 31. media. tumblr 3fd880a906052d3145bb955de1f82745/tumblr_n7zy7slJaZ1s5iu6bo1_

like srsly I nearly screamed because IT'S MAKOTO AND RIN AND A BLACK CAT AND A WHITE CAT WITH BROWN MARKINGS? WHAT ARE THE CHANCES? I just...I JUST...Like, what if it's fanart for this fanfic? I DON'T KNOW AND I DON'T KNOW HOW TO CONTACT THE ARTIST TO ASK and even if I did I would be too shy to contact them anyway (u_u);

Oh, ANOTHER thing I wanted to ask! I was thinking about making a couple drabble things based off this AU! Would you guys like that? It'll probably be posted as a separate from this story. WOULD THAT BE COOL? I might just do it anyway, because I kinda want to. :D

Umm...I think that's all! YOU GUYS ARE SO VERY SWEET AND I LOVED EVERY SINGLE REVIEW I RECEIVED YOU ARE ALL PRECIOUS BABY CHILDREN AND I GIVE YOU ALL KISSES ON DA FOREHEAD *mwuah*

Um, the next chapter might be the last one?! I'M NOT ENTIRELY SURE, SO DON'T QUOTE ME ON THAT. BUT. UM. YEAH. THAT'S ALL. GOODBYE. I HOPE YOU ENJOYED.