Fleeting Inspiration
by Anna Sartin
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Chapter 43: Behold the Cuteness of the Shu-kitty!
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"Do you remember how we wound up on the floor?" Shuichi asked later. They'd began their coupling on the couch, but somehow during the process they'd wound up on the floor surrounded by the books and magazines Tatsuha had piled everywhere.
"Not really," the blond responded, stroking his boyfriend's fluffy head with one hand and petting Mr. Fuzzy with the other. "But something's digging into my back..." He sat up and reached behind himself to remove the intrusive object. It was Four Gay Elves.
How did it get there? Shuichi wondered, as his boyfriend's face contorted into an expression of pure rage and he threw the book across the room. "Are you okay?" the singer asked.
"I need a shower."
"Me too. Let's take one together!"
"I'm not in the mood."
Shuichi staring longingly as Eiri got to his feet and stalked out of the room. His lover's bare ass seemed to wave good-bye to him until it was out of sight. He turned around and glared at the loathsome object that had instantly soured his boyfriend's mood. "You are SO dead!"
. . .
"You taped it to the CEILING?"
"Yes! Now it won't follow you or turn up in any weird places!" Shuichi crossed arms and grinned with satisfaction.
"How did you get it UP there?" Eiri asked, toweling his hair dry as he stared up at where the book was being held up with duct tape.
"I borrowed a ladder and some duct tape from the maintenance guy downstairs."
"I'm going to laugh if it falls on your head."
A knock at the door distracted Shuichi before he could reply and he went to answer it. It was Ryuichi, carrying a large pile of stuffed animals.
"Sakuma-san! Come in!"
He did so, and Eiri decided to escape to his study before he got caught up in the insanity that always seemed to follow the childlike 33 year-old around. Mr. Fuzzy followed him out of the room.
Tatsuha, forgetting that he was supposed to be hiding, flew into the room and tackled the pop star to the ground, sending the pile of stuffed animals flying everywhere. "My honey, I missed you soooo much!" he cooed, squeezing the life (and oxygen) out of the older man.
"I don't think he can breathe," Shuichi told him, wondering when the teenager had gotten back and how he'd gotten back into the apartment without him noticing. Maybe he came back when I went to get the ladder...
"Oh, sorry!" Tatsuha laughed, letting go. "I missed you!"
"I missed Tatsuha, too," Ryuichi said, grabbing a blue rabbit from the pile on the floor. "And Kumagoro brought you a present! See?"
Tatsuha hands started shaking as he took the stuffed animal. Ryuichi was giving him something! They'd been together for a while now but his boyfriend/lover/honey/god had never given him anything before. He stared at the man in worshipful awe. "For... me?" he breathed.
"Yes."
Ryuichi is giving me a present!
"His name is Kurosaki and he's Kumagoro's friend," the singer explained.
"What about all these?" Shuichi asked as he picked up the rest of the stray plushies and piled them on a chair.
"They're all Kumagoro's friends too, but Kurosaki is special."
"How come?" the younger singer asked.
"Because he's for Tatsuha, silly!"
Shuichi laughed. "Uh... right. So how was your trip?" he asked, noticing the pile of drool that Tatsuha was currently depositing all over the floor. He began wiping it up while Ryuichi rattled on about the "awesome time" he'd had with Tohma and Noriko. Tatsuha clutched "Kurosaki" tightly to his chest as he fawned/drooled over his God like the lovesick, star-struck teenager he was. After a while Shuichi gave up on wiping the puddle at the young monk's feet and went to get a mop instead.
"Tatsuha? Tatsuha?"
"Huh?" was his less-than-intelligent reply when he suddenly realized that his God was talking to him.
"Where's Mr. Fuzzy?"
Tatsuha looked around for the kitten. Where is that mean little shit?
Ryuichi's eyes began to water. "You didn't lose him, did you?"
"No, of course not! He's around here somewhere..."
"Mr. Fuuuuuzzyyyy!" the singer called, and the kitten came running into the room. "Mr. Fuzzy! There you are!" Ryuichi laughed, picking the kitten up. It bit him. Tatsuha turned red with rage, prepared to pry the demon cat off his honey and kick it out the window for tearing his god's sacred flesh; but Ryuichi only laughed and hugged him. "You're so cute and fuzzy!"
More like mean and vicious... Tatsuha thought, wondering where his honey had picked up the demonic little creature.
Eiri, meanwhile, had come out of his study to find out what had caused the kitten to suddenly jump off his lap and take off like a bat out of hell. The author had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach as he watched Ryuichi perch the little gray furball on his shoulder. "Were you good for Tatsu-kun?" the singer asked, petting the kitten fondly. Eiri's heart sank.
The pop star had come to take the kitten away.
He opened his mouth to protest, but closed it quickly before he made a fool of himself. What could he say, after all? The cat wasn't his, and he wasn't about to admit being attached to it. "I'm not attached," he told himself as he headed back to the study. "I don't give a damn about that idiot or his cat. I don't care!"
. . .
"Yuki?" Shuichi called, knocking on the door of his study after Tatsuha and Ryuichi were gone. He'd seen the crushed look on his lover's face when he saw Ryuichi with Mr. Fuzzy. "Yuki?"
No answer.
"Yuki, please come out."
"Go away."
"I know you're going to miss Mr. Fuzzy, but-"
"I don't give a fuck about that moron's cat!"
"We can get kitten of our own. A nicer one! We can go to the pet shop and-"
"I don't want another kitten, I told you that! Just leave me the hell alone!"
The singer closed his eyes and leaned against the door, sighing sadly. Instead of spending the day together getting ready to move, they were going to spend it with a closed door between them.
Not if I can help it... Shuichi decided, dashing off with renewed determination. He had an idea.
. . .
When Eiri stepped out of his study sometime later, he found Shuichi sitting outside the door dressed in a cat costume. The pink-haired boy smiled sweetly, trying to look as cute as possible. "Meow!"
"What are you doing, you idiot?" the blond asked, trying to steel himself against the cuteness.
"I'm a cat!" Shuichi explained. "Yuki wanted a cat, so I'm giving him one! See?" He pointed to the nametag he'd tied around his neck. It read "For Yuki".
"I never said I wanted a cat," Eiri replied stubbornly, even as he felt his heart swell with emotion. Shuichi never stopped finding new ways of letting him know how much he was loved. And he loved him for it. His eyes began to water.
"Aw, but I'm a very good cat!" Shuichi said. "I'll sleep in your lap and purr in your ear and lick your face. And if you want I can even bite you!"
At the mention of "licks" and "bites" Eiri felt his nether regions awaken. Why did the boy have to be so damned cute? The sight of his little lover in that ridiculous get-up was actually starting to excite him. Oh, the hell with it...
"All right Shu-neko," he said, picking Shuichi up and carrying him to the bedroom. "Let's see what you've got!"
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End chapter forty-three
Author's notes: About Smokey aka "Mr. Fuzzy"
For those who would like to know, "Mr. Fuzzy" is/was based on a kitten who recently came into my life named Smokey. He was completely gray with a fluffy tail and, like Mr. Fuzzy, loved to bite things. We met the day I started writing chapter 31 "A Hostage Situation" and I based Ryuichi's cat after him. He originally belonged to my neighbors, who were planning on dropping him off at a shelter the day they moved out. I took him to keep that from happening and he continued to fill me with kitty inspiration for Mr. Fuzzy's personality. He fell ill while I was working on chapter 33 but recovered, only to fall ill again during the time I was writing chapter 36. He was unable to sit or stand up, and he was hospitalize so the vet could find out what was wrong with him. He tested positive for FIV (the feline version of AIDS) and X-rays revealed a cancerous growth in his lungs. On the day I posted chapter 36 "Dojinshi Contention" Smokey died. He was around 4 or 5 months old. What are the changes of adopting a kitten with FIV and cancer? What could a four month-old baby possibly do to deserve to suffer like that? I have no answer, but Smokey will be remembered and will live on as "Mr. Fuzzy" in Fleeting Inspiration.
For those asking about when this fic will end, I plan to end it on Shuichi's 20th birthday. Many have also asked why the chapters are so short. Quite simply, it's so that I can update more frequently and don't spend too long trying to "perfect" one chapter. One of my old Pokémon fics "The Dark Side of Innocence" was on hiatus for years because of my "perfection issues." Also, for those curious about the strange title of this chapter, it's from an avatar I made.