Author's note: After fighting for more than a year, my youngest cat Dagda lost the fight last night. She's been a fighter this entire time and I had so much hope she would pull through again, but even though she fought until the end, her body gave out on her. I lost her and losing a pet shouldn't hurt this time, but it does. You would think I had grown used to it after losing our previous dog, but nope, this hurts even worse.

So in honour of my sweet Dagda, I wrote this oneshot. It might not be amazing, but I wanted to do something for her when I couldn't be there in the end. Dagda, you will never be forgotten, sweetheart. You will forever be my sweet baby.

Give your hugs lots of pets and tell them you love them, guys. You never know when it might be the last time.

I don't know if I'll manage to update my stories this week. There might be some updates, I'm not sure yet, sorry guys

Warnings: Sasuke's pov; Alternate universe; established slash; heartbreak; death of a pet; time skips

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto owns it.

It feels weird to say that I hope you like this, considering what it is, but ... I just needed to write this for the cat who has been my support for nearly fourteen years.

Forever in My Heart

When Sasuke got the two kittens – two sisters – one of them was a lanky calico cat with paws and ears too big for her body. Her sister was smaller, grey and brown striped, considered the runt of the litter. Both sisters had been rejected by their mum and the owner of the cats had been looking for a new home for the two sisters.

The sibling cats ended up at the Uchiha home after Sasuke's mother heard about the woman's predicament. Sasuke had never admitted it aloud, but he had always loved cats and to have two cats of his own, even if he had had to wait until his eighteen to get them, was amazing. The names he gave them made eyebrows raise and elicited some laughter, but he didn't care because he thought the names fitted them well. The calico cat who gradually grew into her oversized limbs and ears was called Neko, because why not? He had called her that on an impulse when he had been trying out names and she had reacted to it, zooming back to him.

So Neko it was then.

Her smaller, grey striped sister gained the name Dagda because Sasuke had been into reading Celtic mythology when the two kittens arrived and it fitted her. Dagda and Neko, the two newest additions to the Uchiha household. They quickly wrapped everyone around their fluffy paws, especially Sasuke's best friend and boyfriend, Naruto, who enjoyed playing with them whenever he visited their home.

As the years went by, Neko fully grew into her gangly limbs and oversized ears, though her initial shyness would take many more years to abate. Dagda meanwhile was a little bit of a glutton, fond of snacks and lazing around underneath the bushes in the garden. Dagda especially really bonded with Sasuke, often resting her head and body against his arm when he worked on his laptop or was writing notes. Neko was more fond of sitting next to him whenever he ended up watching television on the couch. She still kept a distance between them, but he was allowed to pet her after a while which was progress!

And so the years went by with Neko and Dagda joining all the big milestones in Sasuke's life: graduating from secondary school; getting into his university of choice; graduating with his bachelor degree and then two years later his master degree as well. They were there when he moved out of the parental home and into his own apartment, the one he now shared with Naruto. They made it their territory all too quickly and would be there every evening to greet Sasuke when he came home, deigning Naruto a simple greet if they felt like it.

Living with his best friend turned boyfriend and his two cats, Sasuke didn't think life couldn't get any better.

He hadn't expected it to grow worse either.

But it did.

The diagnosis felt like a sudden smack to the face, leaving him breathless for a while. Dagda had been having more accidents in the apartment, not always reaching the litterbox on time. She had started drinking a lot more, which combined with the accidents had prompted Sasuke and Naruto to seek out a vet. A new vet had opened her practice near where they lived, making it very easy to reach there with just minimal stress for Dagda as she was carried there in a large carrier bag.

The vet – a friendly woman called Konan – examined Dagda thoroughly and drew blood, promising to let them know immediately when she received the results. It could be diabetes she had warned, but it could also be a bladder infection; common in elder cats. Twelve years wasn't exactly young anymore after all, even though Sasuke would consider his cats as kittens their entire lives.

He hoped it would be a bladder infection. It wouldn't be fun, of course, but it would be easily treatable and that was the best case scenario.

His hopes weren't answered.

Diabetes.

Yes, Dagda had always been a bit on the pudgy side, but she had always exercised a lot, save for her lazy moments in the sun. The diagnosis didn't lie, though. She had diabetes.

"It's still in the early stage, so if we start treating her with insulin now, she'll be fine," Konan assured Sasuke and Naruto before she started demonstrating how to fill the syringe and at which angle to keep the needle before inserting it into Dagda's skin.

Sasuke thought it would be doable.

Dagda thought otherwise. Five frustrating evenings later with a stressed Dagda hiding underneath the bed and a concerned Sasuke trying to coax her from underneath it, it was time to go back to the vet and seek out another solution.

Diet food specifically for diabetic cats was the next solution.

It wasn't a good one, Konan warned them, because not every cat could become stable with just food alone, but it was worth a try.

Naruto helped Sasuke scourge the internet for diet food that looked appetising enough for Dagda to try and orders were placed. The first evening Dagda ate her new food, both Naruto and Sasuke held their breaths collectively, gripping each other's hand.

Naruto laughed quietly when Dagda started eating enthusiastically from the food and threw his arms around Sasuke's neck, kissing him soundly. "Told you, she would like the food!"

"Yes, yes, I'm just glad she's eating," Sasuke said and sighed relieved.

They couldn't afford to have her sugar value go even higher, but the diet food at least was a hit! One obstacle down!

The diet food only ended up working for a couple of months. With each new visit, Sasuke saw to his dread the sugar value rising higher and higher until Konan sighed and stepped away from the examination table. Dagda was hiding her face in Sasuke's stomach, not too fond of the ear pricks she had to undergo in order to test her sugar value.

"The food isn't doing much anymore," Konan remarked.

Sasuke remained quiet, because what could he say to that? He had seen the number on the display as well and it was becoming too high even with the diet food and the exercise.

"I don't want to scare you, but if you don't start trying insulin again, she might not have much longer," she said softly.

Sasuke took a deep breath, staring down into light green eyes while he caressed Dagda's soft head. "All right, let's give this insulin another try, hm?" he smiled, ignoring how wavering it felt.

This time the insulin had to succeed. He didn't want to imagine the alternative.

Naruto helped him looking up tricks that he could use in order to acclimatise Dagda to her insulin shots. Inject her when she's eating, that would serve as enough distraction. In order to do so, though, he needed to get right next to her while she was eating without making her apprehensive.

So started a week of taking small steps. First Sasuke would just slowly sit down next to Dagda while she was eating. When he could do that a couple of times without her running away, he upped the ante and started grabbing a bit of her skin to get her used to that sensation. Another two days later saw him carefully pressing the needle with the cap still on against her skin.

When he could do all that without her running away or startling, he tried injecting her for the first time in the morning during her breakfast. His heart was pounding when he approached her and slowly sat down on his haunches next to her. She briefly looked up at him before going back to eating. He grabbed a bit of her skin, lifting it away from her body, and sank the needle into the skin. Quickly he pushed down on the plunger until the insulin was completely injected and then carefully removed the needle, releasing her skin.

Breathing shakily, his legs nearly the consistency of rubber, he rose up again – and Dagda just kept eating.

Silently he backtracked out of the room, clutching the needle in his hand.

Naruto looked up from his own breakfast when Sasuke walked into to the kitchen. "And?" he asked, wide-eyed.

Sasuke couldn't stop the excited grin from spreading across his face and quickly went over to him, kissing him squarely on his mouth. "We did it! I managed to give her insulin!"

"Holy shit, you did it!" Naruto laughed and kissed him again. "See! I told you the steps would work! Good job!"

Handling needles wasn't exactly something Sasuke was fond of, but if this kept Dagda as long as possible with him … He would do everything, including working with needles.

The insulin was supposed to make everything better.

Nearly a year into using it, however, Dagda was starting to have issues with eating, often only eating a little bit before walking away. Without a decent amount of food in her stomach, she couldn't get insulin and so Sasuke found himself at the vet quicker than he had anticipated, as their next check-up had been schedule for the next month only.

"Could it be stress?" he asked worriedly as Konan took Dagda's vitals. "The neighbour's dog basically barks a lot every day and they have started renovating below us."

"Could be," Konan hummed. "Try one of those humidifiers with scents that are meant to relax cats. That could help."

Except it didn't. A couple of weeks later, the actual verdict fell: a very loose tooth and an abscess in her mouth.

"I didn't even know her tooth was that bad," Sasuke said horrified as he watched Konan extract the entire fang completely.

"Hm, a diabetic cat can have a lot of issues with their mouth," she murmured, placing the fan on a tissue. "Let's see if the sedation is now in full effect so that I can check the rest of her mouth."

The abscess was removed and sent for testing to the lab.

"Just as a precaution," Konan reassured him when he stared apprehensively at the small jar. "I don't think it's cancer, but I want to know for sure."

It wasn't cancer, just an abscess.

An abscess which slowly grew back. An abscess which was followed by a sudden hypo, which scared the absolute shit out of Sasuke, especially when Dagda started having seizures right on the examination table. They managed to get her stable and she was allowed to go back home with the advice to lower her insulin intake just to be on the safe side, seeing as she had lost some weight.

For a couple of weeks everything went relatively okay. Dagda got her voracious appetite back, even returning to her old habit of stealing her sister's dinner if she had the chance. She started begging for treats again, became a lot more vocal and her spinning turned to the volume of a motor, so loudly could she deliver her happiness.

Seeing her so happy made Sasuke happy –

Which was why it came like a stomp to the stomach when Dagda turned listless one morning again.

"Has she thrown up again?" Naruto asked worriedly, recalling the couple of times she had thrown up the week before.

Her abscess was bothering her again and Sasuke had been planning to make a new vet appointment for it.

"Yeah, this morning, though she did eat a bit," Sasuke muttered, eyeing Dagda worriedly.

She laid in her usual corner in the kitchen, but she barely moved or reacted, not even when he placed some treats in front of her.

When he picked her up and discovered she had accidentally peed on herself, he made a call to the vet immediately. An appointment was made for the following day –

But they didn't make it to the following day. In the afternoon Dagda's condition deteriorated even further and it was with a lump in his throat that Sasuke forced himself to speak on the phone with the vet again, asking if they had an open spot.

They hadn't, but he could come with Dagda regardless and they would look after her.

Wound up with nerves, Sasuke brought Dagda in her buggy to the vet, managing to explain what had happened without breaking down too audibly.

Another hypo was the result when they drew blood.

"Leave her with us, we'll take care of her and once we know something, we'll call you," Konan's assistant, Yahiko, reassured him.

Sasuke left with a huge lump in his throat and only the lower half of the buggy to home; the upper half having remained with Dagda.

The call a few hours later didn't make it any easier.

"It's a bit touch and go," Konan admitted on the phone. "Every time we get her sugar value up, it suddenly dips again and we're back to starting over. She does want to eat and she tries to move around, but she'll have to stay the night here. I'm not comfortable moving her when she's this instable."

"No, right, of course, thanks for letting me know," Sasuke rasped out.

Long after they had hung up, his ears rang and he didn't realise how long he had been standing there, staring at nothing, until Naruto wrapped his arms around his waist from behind.

"Don't panic just yet. She's a tough one," Naruto murmured. "She's a fighter. Let Konan do her magic again."

"Yeah, yeah, she's a fighter," Sasuke told himself and went to pet Neko, hoping she hadn't taken notice yet that her sister was missing.

"It'll be fine," he told himself as he laid down next to Neko, petting her fluffy back. "She'll be okay."

If only he could convince himself.

The call the next morning shattered every bit of hope he had clung onto the entire night.

Dagda hadn't made it. Her sugar values had kept dropping and rising; she had kept fighting as hard as she usually did, but this time … This time her body had finally given out on her.

Sasuke would be able to return home with her but it wasn't at all in the condition he had wanted her to be in. No longer would she spin like a heavy motor. No longer would she beg for treats or try to steal her sister's food. No longer would she look up at him with her huge light green eyes before bunting his head with his. No longer would he feel her fluffy body curl up next to his, her head lying against his arm which she would occasionally lift up to kiss his nose.

No longer would she lounge around in her corner of the kitchen. No longer would she whine about having to wear an antiflea collar.

No longer would she tip-tap around their home, eating kibbles in the middle of the night.

No longer would he be able to pick her up and cuddle her, feel her pressing herself against him, showing her trust in him.

No longer would he be able to kiss her small forehead and tell her he loved her. He hadn't been able to be there for her last moments and now she was gone. She had gone still, unmoving, but still so soft, so sweet, cradled within his lap as he talked himself into placing her into her box with her blanket so that they could bury her underneath her favourite tree.

She was gone, had gone over the rainbow.

And in doing so, had taken a part of him that he would never get back, leaving a Dagda shaped hole that would never be filled again.

She was gone and so was a part of him.

The End

AN2: In memory of Dagda (15th of August 2010 - 9th of July 2024)

I miss you like crazy already, Dagda, and it's barely been a day. You have fun there over the rainbow and one day we will see each other again. Until that day arrives, please watch out for me, your sister and Bixby.

Until we see each other again, my sweet baby.

Cuddles

Melissa