Taking care of a living animal was a big responsibility that should be thought out thoroughly. It shouldn't be rushed into, and there were a lot of variables to consider – especially if you had a roommate, who in turn had a big, dumb animal of his own. After all, Antoinette was about as well-trained as her owner, which was to say not very. It didn't help that Haruhi liked to plan things out ahead of time and wasn't someone who appreciated reckless spontaneity.

So why the hell did she suggest keeping the cat at her shared apartment? Perhaps it was the way that the girl she didn't even know was so honestly… saddened by the whole thing. Haruhi liked to think she was strong and didn't let others' emotions sway her, but Tamaki's puppy dog eyes had been successful far too many times for her to truly believe that anymore.

It didn't help that the girl was so stupidly adorable. Tall, much taller than she was, but it didn't seem to stop her from dressing like… that. All pink bows and white lace, so oddly young and adorable, even if it should be overwhelmingly saccharine. She could only focus on the tremble of her dew-glossed lower lip and the long eyelashes that hid behind her sunglasses. Fuck, she was gay for those sorts of girls. Innocent and sweet.

However, the answer definitely wasn't to take in a cat! She didn't have the first clue of how to deal with a kitten, especially one who was sick. The vet gave her and the girl some advice, of course, but she certainly wasn't an expert. At least there was google, right? Still, she couldn't get over the girl's quiet shushes and coos as the kitten mewled, holding it so gently.

The worst thing was that, after the vet visit was over with and the girl – people just call me Kyo – was about twenty thousand yen out of pocket, she took her to the apartment she shared with her idiot friend. A stranger. Not only that, but she ended up falling asleep before Kyo left, the girl so enamoured with the little kitten – what do you think of calling her Noir? – that she just let her keep playing with the cat until all too late at night. In her bedroom.

She groaned, realising what a gay dumbass she was. A good sign, however, was the soft snores that seemed to emanate from the small pile of blankets and pillows on the floor. Noir had sat herself on top of the little nest rather happily, but the noises were definitely human.

That was when her eyes strayed to the dress that was hung over the back of her desk chair, and her face instantly flushed. Of course, Kyo would never be able to sleep in that dress, but still. She didn't expect that, even if she was just even more pissed at herself for not even thinking about it for a second. Like she apparently didn't think a single thing through the previous day.

Noir leaped off the bundle of blankets, the bell on her new collar tinkling lightly, and it seemed Kyo was awake now. Not only that, but Haruhi was just staring at her like a creep. She decided to scoop the cat up in her arms, at least appearing to look preoccupied with something else, but another surprise was piled on top of the large pile already forming on her shoulders.

Kyo sat up, the blankets pooling at their waist, and Haruhi was stunned. Now she looked, she could see the blonde wig carefully laid out on her desk, and Kyo's was black and cropped short. Not only that, but there was something… distinctly masculine about their torso. Completely flat, the barest hint of their ribcage through their skin, and she couldn't stop staring.

All Kyo seemed to do was blink slowly, lazily, obviously still half asleep. It didn't seem to clink, rubbing the sleep from their eyes and yawning. Haruhi couldn't take her eyes off them, surprised speechless, and when Kyo's eyes met her own it all seemed to connect in their mind.

They gasped, pulling the blanket up to their chin, their eyes wide and terrified. Like Haruhi was in some way a threat.

"I…" They started but didn't finish. After all, Haruhi didn't know what to say, and she was basically a bystander to this. She wasn't the half-naked one in this situation, "I should… go get dressed. Excuse me."

They pushed themselves up from the floor, about to snatch the dress up once more when the next contrived, awful coincidence burst through the door, warbling her name at the top of his lungs and carrying a tray of breakfast. Tamaki stopped dead, however, when confronted with Kyo in their underwear, hair mussed, and turned an almost comedic shade of red. Of all days for him not to have the morning shift, why this one?!

"Oh! Uh, sorry! I didn't know Haruhi had someone in bed- Over! I mean over!" Tamaki babbled, arms waving dramatically, "I'm just her roommate! Nothing going on between us, dude. I mean, we used to go out but that didn't work out… I'm nothing to worry about though! I've got a girlfriend!"

When he finally stopped talking, leaving the room in awkward silence, Haruhi was ready to strangle him. Normal people don't spill like that to total strangers, although Tamaki never handled embarrassment well. At all. Kyo seemed incredibly embarrassed as well, a flush forming on their face that could rival Tamaki's, although that was probably partially due to how pale they were…

"Tamaki, thanks for making breakfast, but can you…" She made a vague shooing gesture with her hand, and Tamaki instantly nodded in understanding, all but sprinting out of her room and slamming the door behind him. She let out a sigh, turning away from Kyo so they could pull the dress on once more without a stranger staring at their nearly-naked body, "Sorry about him. When he gets nervous, he just keeps talking. In fact, he never seems to shut up, if I'm honest."

"Oh, it's… It's fine," Kyo answered almost breathlessly, sounding a little flustered, "I'm clothed now, so you don't have to keep looking away. Thank you for that, anyway… Sorry, this is awkward, and I'm just running my mouth now too – maybe it's contagious."

She chuckled, turning to look at Kyo once more and giving them a smirk. Noir also seemed to have had enough of her company, as she jumped off her lap to go pester her actual owner.

"So… Considering we have a cat together, can I ask your full name? Pronouns?" She inquired, hoping that she looked the slightest bit encouraging and open, not wanting to scare them off. After all, if she had to look after the cat, she'd rather know a little more about this person.

"Kyoya. Kyoya Ootori," They began, shoulders tense and curling in on themselves a little more, "You don't have to pretend you didn't see… Didn't notice I'm a boy. Man."

"A body's just a body," She shrugged, cutting him off before he could work himself up anymore, "You can't tell from that, especially as that wasn't really your choice. I mean, my dad presents as a girl more often than not, but he still likes masculine pronouns? So, you do you."

Kyoya scooped the cat up, holding her close to his chest. Not like a toy, not how Tamaki would pick Antoinette up as he baby talked her, but it also had the same sort of energy as a child hugging a stuffed toy in search of comfort. Their lips brushed the cat's soft, black fur as they thought on what she said, turning it over in their mind.

"I just go for the masculine," He stated after a moment or two, his tone brusque and almost as if he was trying to convince himself. Still, she'd go along with it if that's what he was most comfortable with – far be it for her to comment, "So, uh. Your ex-boyfriend lives with you, huh?"

"You aren't that great at small talk, are you?" She teased, "It's not as awkward as it sounds, honestly. He's a good guy. I love him as a friend, but I don't think I was in love with him, you know?"

Kyoya nodded, perching on the edge of the desk. A silence fell between them like a blanket of snow, soft yet cold, and Haruhi wasn't sure what to say. She could see that Kyoya was thinking, too stuck in his head to really talk to her, and she wondered if he was always like that. Was he an introvert, or was it the odd situation they'd managed to stumble into? Not that it mattered either way, but he seemed different to how he was yesterday.

"Your roommate saw me, and I don't have any other clothes," He groaned all of a sudden, face hiding in Noel's fur. She furrowed her brows, trying to think why that would be an issue, but almost slapped herself when she realised what he meant. The dress. He was self-conscious about dressing that way in front of a relative stranger who knew he was biologically male.

"Well, Tamaki wouldn't care," She tried to assure, gaze following him as he wondered around the room, seeming to scan and catalogue every inch as he pulled the wig back on his head, "He's a good guy, I promise. He wouldn't be a jerk about that stuff…"

It seemed to fall on deaf ears, however, as next thing she knew the odd boy opened the window, climbing out onto the old, rickety fire escape. She just gaped after him for a moment, too shocked to say anything as that poofy skirt was squeezed through the gap in the window.

"Are you crazy?!" She demanded, rushing towards the window, "That thing's rusted through, you're gonna fall! Just use the door like a normal person!"

He kept climbing down, ignoring her for the moment. She had to admire how dexterous he was, climbing down those thin ladders without tripping or tearing the elaborate dress. It was quick, too; like he was afraid to be caught, which she supposed made sense. It barely took any time before his feet were back on the ground, and he was smirking up to her.

"I do this all the time," He called up to her, waving before he turned his back, disappearing out into the main street. Not for the first time that day, a single thought was on her mind.

What the hell did I get myself into?