Scratch

Chapter 12:

Company Cats

Kenma collapsed on his couch with a loud groan, completely unsurprised when cats start to pile on top of him. Though there was nothing specifically going on in his life, he was utterly exhausted. He had a lot more work, considering the holiday season, to get the video games completely finished and double checked. Kuroo had insisted on dragging him everywhere, to see a movie, or play card games, go ice skating; something different every single time. Not to mention that Kenma was still struggling to find loving homes for the kittens. Shouyou had finally taken the one he chose, leaving three to find a home. Kenma would have definitely taken one, except for the fact he already had four cats - and they were already a handful on their own. But really, what was one more cat if there were 4 already?

Rubbing his temples with his fingers, he attempted to shove Clyde off of his stomach. Clyde grudgingly obeyed, but eventually curled on his side. Life had been very stressful, and very, very weird.

Every day, coming home from work, Kenma expected to be cornered by Kageyama again, but it never happened. In fact, he wasn't even sure he had ever seen or heard Kageyama at all. He pondered this for a few moment, before being distracted by the mauling of a hungry cat.

"Okay, okay, Lynn," Kenma answered, "I'm getting your food, hold on."

He pushed himself up, pushing the cats off him lightly. He dragged his feet to the floor, and completed the cat food routine. (He probably could do it blindfolded: open a can, knock it down, pour dry food, and put everything back. It really wasn't that difficult.) Although he did hate the smell of cat food. Yuck. Don't even get him started on if some of the food got on his hand… He shuddered thinking about it, but didn't forget to separately give the unnamed kittens their special kitten food.

Deciding he was hungry himself, he boiled a pot of water and made macaroni and cheese. Everyone thought he wasn't good at cooking, but Kenma knew it was because he actually didn't cook: he was too lazy to make anything that took more than fifteen minutes. He was the type of person that would eat while waiting for his food to finish cooking.

Ten minutes later of tedious waiting, he scooped the finish product into a big bowl, and grabbed a fork. He sat down at his mini dining room table, and unlocked his phone, opening the trivia app that had gotten extremely popular. Kenma snorted when he noticed that Kuroo had lost, once again. He quickly started a new game, taking bites of his meal every question or so.

Kenma's ears perked at a thump and a meow, followed by a chorus of meows. He grumbled and looked up to see that one of his cats had made their way onto the table top. Rolling his eyes, Kenma pushed Colin off the table, "Who said you could have my mac and cheese?"

Colin looked back up at his owner with defeated eyes, very obviously pouting. Kenma smiled, the one reserved only for his cats, and stood up to follow the train of cats into the kitchen. He cleaned and put his dishes away, and made his way to his bedroom, careful not to step on any cat tails that were leading him further into his apartment.

"Is this what you guys wanted?" Kenma teased, opening his bedroom door. He smiled affectionately when Sugar and her three kittens raced out of the room, eager to play with their adult companions. It was adorable seeing Clyde being attacked by all three kittens, dramatically falling to the ground. Kenma decided that Clyde indeed was the dad, considering all of his cats were indoor cats. It was obvious how the kittens gravitated to him instead of Colin or even Lynn.

Looking down at the group of cats, Kenma nearly squealed at how cute his babies were. Well, he corrected himself, Clyde and Colin would want to be called handsome, of course.

He made a quick (and unusual) decision, and sat down on the ground cross legged, opening his arms. Unsurprisingly, the cats all bounded into his lap, and he closed his eyes and snuggled the ball of fluff the animals made. He inhaled the smell of cat hair, and his body relaxed instantly. People would say the smell of cats wasn't pleasant, but even if it wasn't, it was a comfortable smell for Kenma. A smell that reminded him of comfort and the idea of a home, not just a place to live.

His apartment was carefully put together, everything in a certain place, for the maximum amount of comfort. The cat hair that covered his bed, couch, and blankets was comforting. The differently colored video games, strewn around the TV area reminded him he was in a stable job. The different types of meows (angry; annoyed; hungry; whiny; sad; lonely) all added to the pleasant sound that was Kenma's apartment. The faithful hum of appliances kept him grounded, if he needed a blanket, he had a closet full of them. Every part of his apartment worked together to keep Kenma at ease and he considered it his home.

Of course, the apartment could never be his home without someone or something living there as well. A home is somewhere warm and comforting, waiting with open arms. It's not lonely, and it's definitely no place for dark thoughts. The home is where the heart is, and Kenma's heart is here, right now.

He briefly wondered why he didn't sit on the ground more, as he ran a hand through Lynn's fur. He vaguely recalled that there was a specific reason for it. Stretching with one arm, he pat each of his cats as a sign that he was done petting for now, and started to get up. When Kenma stood up the rest of the way, he watched as cat hair flew everywhere: into the air, stuck on his jeans, coating his shirt, and getting in his mouth. Suddenly, he remembered why exactly he didn't sit on the ground.

Kenma decided he didn't like feeling helpless. Before, he was pretty much just waiting for someone to come out of thin air and take one of his kittens. Now… he was feeling pretty desperate. He needs to find the final three kittens good homes, and quickly.

Steeling himself, he continued his search. Which, as of right now, consisted of Kenma bringing the three kittens in a basket to work. Honestly, it helped that he was one of the higher-ups of the company, so he didn't get very many weird looks from the office. Only curious ones, or even 'aww' looks, but none that were hostile, thankfully.

"Hello, Kenma," a voice called out and he looked up to see Aone. Kenma waves slightly, as much as he can while holding a basket of kittens. He walked closer to his secretary so he wouldn't have to talk loudly. Unsure if he was treading on thin nice or not, Aone commented carefully, "It's unusual to see you here so early on a Friday."

"You're right," Kenma nodded. He knew that he hardly got to work before 11am on Fridays, and it was 9am at the moment. "Unusual times call for unusual measures."

Aone quirked his non-existent eyebrows, obviously curious. A pitiful whine, and several meows filled the air. "Might those… creatures, have something to do with unusual times?"

"These creatures," Kenma laughed, "Need a good home. I would take them, but I can't."

"That's too… bad…" Aone trailed off, eyes trained on the basket. The meows were getting louder and more playful, and he was entranced. Kenma smiled softly, and shuffled the basket to put it on the desk.

"Would you like to see?"

"Yes, I definitely would!" Aone announced, giddy. He opened the top of the basket, and gasped. Kenma would never get the sound of Aone gasping and giggling out of his head ever again, it was unbearably adorable. Kind of weird, but still adorable.

"Can I… can I pet them?" he asked carefully, tentatively reaching a hand out. When Kenma nodded, he pet one of the kittens gently, reveling in the loud purrs.

Smiling as well, Kenma said, "Cute, aren't they?"

"They're adorable…" he whispered, eyes wide in adoration. Aone pet each kitten gently, but equally, and squealed when they climbed out of the box and playfully attacked him. He giggled continuously, cuddling and petting the three kittens climbing on him.

"They really like you," Kenma mused. Honestly, he didn't know why people thought his secretary was scary, he was really just a big teddy bear. Once, when he asked why Aone seemed so sad, he had answered that no one wanted to sit next to him on the bus.

A door clanged open, followed by a muffled cuss word, whispered apology and a swift closing of the door. Kenma looked up to see one of his interns. The college aged boy made his way to the secretary desk and to where Aone was currently being attacked by kittens. He looked down curiously, and looked back up at Kenma, eyebrow quirked.

"Don't worry about it, Yamaguchi," Kenma explained quietly, still watching the cats. "What do you need?"

"Oh! Ah, um well…" Yamaguchi chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. Glancing down again at the kittens, Kenma didn't miss the flash of affection in his intern's eyes. He looked back up and opened his mouth to say something, but frowned. "Uh, actually, I forgot. I'm really sorry. I can - um, I can go back and ask…"

"No need," he dismissed easily. "Do you like cats, Yamaguchi?"

"Oh!" His eyes lit up, and Kenma knew he was hooked. "I love cats, but I love all animals too! Down on the intern floor, the whole lot of us love animals! Although, I think the only animals Tsukki likes are extinct, but… yeah! Your company is full of animal lovers!"

"Really," Kenma chuckled and bent to pick up a kitten off Aone. He gently pet the kitten he held in his arms, and walked to Yamaguchi. "Here, hold him for a little bit."

"W-what, no, I can't!" He spluttered in protest. "He's your beautiful pet and I'm only an intern, you can't trust me with your pet! I might hurt him!"

"Yamaguchi."

The intern stopped fidgeting, and looked up at his boss. Kenma smiled at him, and pushed the dark brown kitten into his arms. Yamaguchi melted immediately, petting and cooing affectionately at the newly acquired cat.

"He's not mine," he explained quietly. Aone was getting up, holding a kitten in each of his muscular arms. He sat back in the secretary's chair, and let the kittens onto the desk. Kenma smiled, and continued, "My cat had kittens, and I'm trying to find good homes for them."

Yamaguchi looked up suddenly, his hair flying everywhere. He glanced at Kenma, searching his boss' eyes for something. Pausing, he licked his lips, but finally broke the silence, "You are the CEO, right?"

"Of course I am."

"I have an idea for the idea box," Yamaguchi explained with a smile.

"We don't have a - " Kenma started, but was cut off by his intern laughing.

"Let's have a company kitten."

At Yamaguchi's proposal, all three kittens meowed, like they were waiting for the idea of the century. Kenma looked around, confused, but understanding visibly blossomed on his face.

"I accept your idea," he paused, "But who would keep the kitten? And where?"

"I'll keep this precious baby boy right here," Yamaguchi gestured to the kitten he was holding, a smile threatening to tear his face. "Everyone on the intern floor will definitely pitch in and help out, no doubt about it," he explained excitedly, before pausing and laughing. "I bet Tsukki will even take care of her, too."

"Thank you," Kenma sighed in relief. "One down, two to go."

"Actually… Kenma?" Yamaguchi called, and gestured to Aone. He was sitting in his chair, completely content and thinking about something, before finally paying attention to the conversation. "I think you have more than one down."

"Oh, yes," Aone cleared his throat, "I would like to adopt these two twins, if that's okay."

"That's…" Kenma faltered, "More than okay. Thank you, both of you."

"You're welcome!" Yamaguchi replied cheerfully, and turned to leave. Over his shoulder, he waved and called, "You better come visit us!" before walking out of the room, a smile on his face.

"Yeah, sure..." he trailed off, watching as Yamaguchi cooed to his newest cat. He turned to Aone who was still playing with his twin kittens. Smiling to himself, he had to admit that sometimes, the world wasn't too terrible a place. He made his way to his desk and sat down, grabbing a pen and writing on a sticky note.

Reminder: make an idea box.