Work Text:
By the third time he’s rushing to grab a napkin, pressing the square against a bit of blood that leaks out, Shu decides he needs a break.
Needle and thread lay abandoned at his workstation as he wraps his third mishap in a band-aid, eyebrows drawn together in apparent exasperation - there was no reason for his hands to betray him in such a manner.
And yet, they did. Pricking himself three times in an hour is ridiculous. Crumpling the small bits of paper left from the band-aid in one hand, his foot harshly comes down on the pedal to the trash. The lid smacks loudly against the wall, causing his shoulders to tense before dumping the remains inside the can.
He needs to calm down, to unwind in some way that doesn't involve fabric and frills.
Ever graceful, he dumps his weight down upon the couch, fingers plucking his phone from his pocket. Two taps wake the screen, his thumb sliding the unprotected lock screen away. He shifts through his apps, barely registering the information on the screen, mindlessly opening his contacts with no real intention of talking to anyone - he’s not even sure who would answer at this hour. His finger pauses on Mika’s contact. If he called, he would surely pick up.
His heart twists a little as he recalls Mika seeing him off at the airport, very clearly trying to hold his head up strong - he really has grown , Shu thinks fondly, even if the tears he held back that day were still as obvious to Shu as ever.
Shu decides to leave him be, instead opening his search engine.
Good cafes near me. Good pastries near me. Dining near me.
He shifts through the search results, pausing when he comes across images of a cozy looking cafe, walls lined with books and the occasional piece of abstract art. He wonders if they’re made by local artists. There’s some sleeping cats in the background of the pictures as well, and after finally clicking the website link he discovers that it is, in fact, a cat cafe. He’s never been to one himself, never even thought about going - but he’s heard stories from Kagehira’s outings with Narukami and the younger Sakuma. Supposedly very cozy. After flicking through a few more pictures, he makes up his mind and pulls up the map, finding the closest metro station and how to get there.
It isn’t too far away, only about a 20 minute ride by train. With that knowledge neatly stored away, Shu rises from the couch to get ready. On his way out the door, he pauses to glance over at Mademoiselle, contemplating if it would be wise to leave her or not. The crowds shouldn’t be too bad as of now, so he shouldn’t feel too bad about that, and frankly, he doesn’t want to risk her getting dirty or breaking on the way.
He steps through the door, leaving her behind as he heads to the station down the street.
Shu is studying a piece of art hung on the wall of the cafe when he feels the tell-tale brush of a cat against his legs. When he looks down, he’s greeted by the small shape of a black kitten excitedly weaving circles around both of Shu’s legs, nuzzling against his ankles on occasion.
Shu moves back a little, carefully stepping around the cat to crouch down to its level. The first thing he notices about the cat's face is a pair of striking mismatched eyes. They’re lovely shades, nostalgic even, Van Gogh’s yellow and Chagall Vermeer’s Blue. He’s always been fond of them, being such intense and interesting colors.
He extends a hand, the cat sniffing around before rubbing it’s chin and cheeks against him. He can hear the cat excitedly purring away, too.
So cute.
He smiles at the cat before returning to the table in the corner, slowly picking away at the pastry he ordered, continuing to glance around at his surroundings. Maybe this place could be somewhere he chooses to study at, when not at home, or on campus. It’s cozy and quiet enough.
The cats might be a distraction, occasionally, but he’s pretty confident in his ability to focus.
Not too long after he sits down, he notices the black cat wandering up to him again, meowing repeatedly for his attention. One of the employees towards the front of the cafe looks up at the sound and smiles when she notices the cat making it’s way over. Shu gives an awkward smile back, and then glances back down to the cat that has now made a bed for itself on his shoes.
At first, he’s a bit hesitant, but the cat makes no move to scratch at them, so it should be fine.
“He seems to really like you! This is the first time I’ve ever seen him so affectionate.”
The employee has joined them over in the corner, standing a few feet away to respect both Shu’s and the cat’s space.
“Usually, he just runs and hides when people come into the cafe. He’s only really friendly with the employee who brought him in, too,” Shu nods, still watching the cat nap.
“Oh, he’s not aggressive, though. Just shy.” She adds as an afterthought. Shu nods again and then clears his throat.
“Has he been named?”
“Not yet,” she frowns, “see, all of our cats are adoptable, and the person who brought him in wanted to give that right to whoever adopts him...we kind of just give him silly nicknames here and there instead.”
“I see.”
The conversation awkwardly trails off there, leaving both of them just watching the cat.
“Well, I’ll let you get back to your food. Please let me know if you need anything, though!”
“Thank you.”
Shu is already looking at his schedule, picking an opportune time to shop for supplies for the cat.
It’s Friday night, one of the days that Mika and Shu had agreed upon for weekly calls and check-ins. They’ve been on the phone for a while already, the majority of it taken up by the sound of Shu’s sewing machine, or the occasional banter between them.
He has been growing tired though, hence his more lax position Shu takes on his couch, chin in one hand while he holds his phone in the other.
Confusion spreads across Mika’s face when Shu’s phone is suddenly headbutted out of his hands.
“Oshi-san? Are ya okay?”
He’s even more confused when Shu is replaced by a cat. Arashi side eyes the phone from her seat next to Mika, dropping all subtlety when she also sees the cat.
“Since when did you have a cat?” She calls out, head popping up in the space next to Mika’s. The cat just meows back.
“...it’s a recent development,” Shu responds, picking his phone back up and holding it away from prying paws. The feline just starts whining in response, climbing into Shu’s lap so he also fits into frame.
Mika and the cat have a short staring contest, where Mika looks like he’s about to say something potentially rude - but whatever train of thought he had previously is lost as he suddenly gasps and presses his face closer to his front camera, squinting at the cat instead.
“Oshi-san, don’tcha think he kinda looks like me?”
Shu looks almost offended.
“No, of course not.”
Mika shakes his head, pointing at the screen. Calling on Arashi for back up.
“Do ya see it Naru-chan? He’s got my eyes!”
Arashi bumps Mika out of frame, staring decisively at the cat for a few moments before bursting into laughter.
“Narukami, there’s nothing to laugh about!” Shu scowls, lifting the cat off his lap.
He rises from the couch, carrying the phone with him to the kitchen. At this point, he’s just aimlessly wandering his apartment to shake off the bit of embarrassment he’s felt. He props his phone up with his pop socket - a gift from Kagehira, it has some random emoji printed onto it.
“It’s a little funny,” she responds, taking her own phone out and going back to where she was sitting before. Off camera Shu can hear Arashi quietly singing a taunt to herself, “Oshi-san picked a cat that reminds him of his Mika-chan~.”
Shu briefly contemplates hanging up. Mika puffs his cheeks, trying not to laugh at the expression on Shu’s face. The cat jumps up onto the counter and sits directly in front of the phone, again.
He seems just as curious about Mika as Mika is about the cat, honestly.
“Have ya named him yet?” Mika’s voice pipes up from the other side.
Shu picks the cat up into his arms, cradling it to his chest.
“I intended to, but I’ve been stumped. I have no clue what to name him.”
“Crow!”
Shu hums non-committedly.
“Hmm…” Mika chews on the inside of his lip, and Shu resists the urge to tell him not to.
“Madonee the 2nd?”
“Kagehira…”
“Arson.”
Shu isn’t sure who the voice belongs to at first, until Ritsu walks through the background, presumably to go into another room.
“Absolutely not!”
“Velvet?” Mika scratches the side of his cheek, still thinking. Shu opens his mouth to reject the suggestion, but pauses. He looks down at the cat, now asleep in his arms.
“Velvet…”
Mika perks up in response.
“I suppose we can name him that,” Shu smiles, scratching the top of his head. Mismatched eyes slowly blink open and Velvet yawns.
‘...he really does look like Kagehira.’