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cat shouta wanted kittens.
mating season came and went so many times already. shouta could tell. he hears the female strays outside get increasingly loud and noisy every few months, yelling at him from outside the safety and comfort of his home. he had seen quite a number of his neighbours plump up and appearing with new litters of adorable kittens.
he wanted his own kittens too. he tried telling hizashi this but the human doesn’t seem to get it. he carried around his little kitty plushie as much as possible, showing it to hizashi in hopes to communicate wanting an actual kitten. to his disappointment, he got more toys instead and hizahsi was only confused to why his mood seemed to worsen with more gifts.
one day, hizashi came home with a tiny little bundle and set it down right by him. curious, shouta got up to investigate, nosing into the blanket only to jump back in surprise at the high pitched wail that greeted him. he looked over at hizashi with wide eyes, fur on end and tail puffed up, thoroughly spooked, but the man only looked amused and gestured him closer.
with what was probably too much caution, shouta crept closer, peeking from around hizashi, using his human as a shield just in case and laid his eyes on a kitten.
hizashi brought home a kitten.
the little thing was a tortoiseshell, it's fur a mess of colours. it was bigger than a newborn, perhaps a few weeks old. shouta blinked and the baby blinked back before opening its mouth and letting out an impressive MEW! shouta startled at how loud the tiny thing was and hizashi laughed at him again.
his human said something about grabbing a bottle and got up, leaving shouta alone with the feisty kitten who started wiggling out of the blanket burrito. shouta watched as the baby freed itself from its prison and stood before him. it let out another loud meow. shouta only stared, unsure of what was being demanded of him.
letting out a huff, the baby stumbled forward on unsteady little feet, marching straight between shouta’s front legs and straight into the soft of his belly. shouta froze, peering down at tiny paws kneading into him, wincing slightly at the sharp claws. carefully, he stood up, evoking an angry wail from the kitten that made him hurry to sit back down, this time curling around the little fluff. he nudge the baby to snuggle into him and curled his big fluffy tail around it to keep it as warm as possible.
hizashi returned with a bottle of milk to the sight of shouta staring with a certain awe in his wide eyes at what appeared to be the kitten drowning in his long fluffy fur, fast asleep with stuttery little purrs rumbling from its tiny body. his heart just about grew twice its size.
the following days, shouta took to taking care of the kit almost naturally. as though he was made to parent the kitten. hizashi could are how gentle shouta was with baby, how attentive and patient the older cat was. it truly was wholesome.
then, another human came bringing a carrier. from it, emerged an older tortoiseshell with an uncanny resemblance to the kitten he had been caring for. the cat had a bandage and splint wrapped around one of its paws.
oh… they already had a mama. he did his best not to let his tail droop in disappointment at needing to return the kitten back to their parent. he was very proud of himself, despite very hesitantly, scruffing the baby and padding ahead to set the baby by the fluffy tortie’s feet. he feels himself untense just a little as he watches the mother cat lean down to greet the loud little furball.
it happened a few more times after that; ‘fostering kittens’ hizashi called it, and shouta loved it so very much.
not two kittens shouta looked after were ever the same. some were much younger, only a few days old and so impossibly small. others were a little bigger and more coordinated to initiate play and bring upon havoc. many of the kittens were feral, having been abandoned or forced to survive in harsh conditions at such a young age. they hissed and spat and bit and it broke shouta’s heart to imagine what those babies went through.
he was always patient, it didn’t matter if these babies weren’t his. for whatever length of time, he was their mama and he would be the best mama while their time together lasts.
he took his time building trust with the wary kits. he didn’t take it to heart when they growled and hissed at him as if he would attack them. he let them hit him, let them communicate the only way they knew how when he took things a little too quickly and scared them.
he never minded how long it took, because eventually, slowly but surely, their walls would crumble and shouta would end up with a happy little baby- content on cuddling with him, letting him bathe them soothingly and exist in his presence without a trace of fear and everything became worth it.
then, after they were all better, they would leave, adopted by new families that would love and care for them.
and shouta would be alone again.
until hizashi found the next kitten that needed some love and took them in to do it all over again.
it hurt a bit, getting the kittens taken away but shouta knew it just meant they were wanted elsewhere and that they wouldn’t be left alone again. he was always proud that he played a part in rehabilitating the kits, that they’ve grown healthy enough to leave the nest and find families of their own.
it was strange, how fostering healed a part of his heart and made his yearning for his own grow at the same time.
one day, hizashi came home with another little swaddle.
“what should we name him, sho?” hizashi asked conversationally even though shouta couldn’t reply. the black car only stared at his human, confused.
name him? the kittens usually either already had names or would remain nameless before they met their forever home and family-
oh. oh.
was this baby his?
he looked up hopefully to hizashi who was already looking at them with the softest look in his eyes.
“he’s yours, shouta.”
shouta’s? shouta’s kitten? his kitten?
shouta looks down to the little bundle of fur set down by his feet in disbelief. he nudge the little baby with his nose, eliciting a loud squeak as the baby wiggled blindly to find the source of warmth. hizashi was rambling something about caring for the kitten and feeding it with a bottle but shouta couldn’t hear him, all his attention transfixed on the small kit.
the little male kitten apparently- shouta had a son!- was so small that his eyes and ears had not even opened yet. the baby let out a big yawn wiggled over to him, snuggling deeper into his fluff and shouta felt his heart melt.
oh… he loves this baby so much. he hunkered down and snuggled the little green kitten closer with his front paws, hugging him close. he was so happy. his heart was so full.
he would be the best parent ever!