Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Just a few drops of this and…”

Rui was in his makeshift lab, finishing up a potion that supposedly boosted the stamina of whoever tried it. He was going to give it to Tsukasa the following day, seeing as the role he was playing in Wonderlands x Showtime’s upcoming performance was strenuous and required lots of stunts to pull off.

“AHA! Done! Now I just need to finish writing the instructions for how to make it, just in case I want to make it again in the future…”

Rui scavenged his desk for a pen, and began jotting down the final steps.

However, as Rui placed his pen down to take a break from writing, his right hand hit the potion and—BAM!

Rui accidentally knocked the potion over, spilling it all over his left hand and forearm.

OH NO.

Not only did he have to make this potion all over again, but since this potion worked if poured over skin, he was going to face the side effects of it rather than Tsukasa!

“This shouldn’t be a big deal…” Rui thought, trying to comfort himself. “It shouldn’t take that long to remake it since I now know what to do, and it might even be helpful for me and my role as well!!”

Just as Rui thought that, he began feeling a weird tingling sensation throughout his entire body as the serum began setting in. That's weird, it shouldn’t be doing that… if anything the side effects setting in was supposed to feel relaxing to whoever tried it!

All of a sudden Rui’s vision became blurry. He blacked out, flopping onto his bed then passing out.

The next thing Rui remembered after that was waking up, feeling…dazed. How long has it been? Judging by the fact that it was still light outside, he was probably knocked out for an hour or so. Rui got up to remake the potion for Tsukasa again but his room seemed… different…

“Eh? I never remembered my room being this big…” Rui thought to himself.

He tried getting off of the bed, which was now a relatively high distance up for himself, yet he managed to land himself on all fours with no damage. Weird…

Rui looked down at his feet to investigate even further this strange occurrence to find… paws?

Eh? What HAD happened to Rui?

Rui frantically began running to the mirror in his room, only to see a small, fluffy, purple cat with blue highlights standing in the reflection.

“What.”

”WHAT.”

How had this potion managed to turn Rui into a cat?

Still in shock, Rui tried backtracking his thoughts to think of a possible reason as to WHY his potion turned him into this. Then he remembered.

On his way home from school that day, Rui ran into a cat that could NOT leave him alone. He stopped to pet the cat for a bit, as the cat was rubbing himself all over Rui. And since Rui wanted to get the potion done as soon as he got home, he didn't think twice about washing his hands. A strand of the cat's fur must have gotten into the potion on accident, which explained Rui’s sudden transformation.

Rui stared at himself in the mirror for a few moments. Setting aside the situation he was in, Rui couldn't help but find himself to be a LITTLE bit cute… he's always had a soft spot for cats, and the fact that he was temporarily one made him awe.

“Ah. Right.” Rui thought to himself. He needed to find out how long this potion would last. Luckily, he only spilt around half of the contents of the beaker on his hand, so the effect should wear off by tomorrow night.

But one problem arose.

Seeing as Rui hadn't eaten in over 12 hours, and considering the fact that the transformation took a lot of his energy, Rui was hungry. REALLY hungry. He can't go into the kitchen to get something either, all of the food was stored in cupboards/the fridge, which would be hard to access considering the fact that Rui now had paws.

Unfortunately, Rui’s parents were out of town for a few days, and Nene would be spending the night at Ichika’s since their vocal practices went on later than usual. “Hmm… What about Mizuki?”

Right. Mizuki lives somewhat far away, walking over to their house would be too energy consuming. And Emu was out of the equation, for the same exact reason. There was only one person left…

“Tsukasa should be leaving rehearsals by now, maybe I can run into him on his way home!!” Rui thought.

Rui managed to get out of his house by leaping through a window that was cracked open, and began walking over to the usual route Tsukasa used to get home.

—

“Alright, I think that's enough practice for today!” Tsukasa said to himself. Emu and the others weren't with him, since it wasn't a day they HAD to show up to rehearsal. Tsukasa just wanted to perfect a few stunts for their upcoming performance, especially since they had been troubling him for some time now… luckily, spending a few hours practicing made him feel a LOT better about it!

Tsukasa began walking home. As he walked home, he thought of Rui… He acted differently earlier that day, as if he was happy to be around him… Was he just trying to persuade him to try another one of his inventions again? Well, Tsukasa didn't really mind the extra attention, setting aside the fact that it made him feel… weird…

Tsukasa’s thought process was suddenly interrupted when he heard a mewing noise nearby. Hm… Tsukasa decided to look for the source of this noise.

After further investigation Tsukasa noticed that the mewing was coming from a small, fluffy cat… wait a minute, did it have purple fur?!

Tsukasa picked the cat up to inspect it more. It stared at Tsukasa with its golden eyes. Tsukasa couldn't help but coo at it–that was one of the cutest cats he had ever seen! He didn't know why, but this cat looked similar to a certain someone…

“Hello there! Are you lost? Do you happen to have a home??” Tsukasa said as he placed the cat down, kneeling to pet it.

—

Rui couldn't help but feel embarrassed by the fact that he had just been picked up by Tsukasa. Not only that but his kind, gentle demeanor was so… comforting!!

“Hm… do you happen to have a microchip? Maybe I should take you to the shelter to get you scanned..” Tsukasa said.

Oh NO. The last thing Rui could have wanted was to end up in an animal shelter. He had already gotten himself into enough trouble as is today!!

Rui looked up at Tsukasa with a stern look, trying to make him not take Rui to the shelter, only for Tsukasa to awe even more.

“Oh my GOODNESS YOU ARE. SO. CUTE AUUUFHHGHHHHH” Tsukasa said as he burst into tears of joy. Well, that definitely was Tsukasa…

Rui looked down. Communication with Tsukasa– or anyone for that matter–was useless. As long as he was stuck as a cat, nobody would be able to take him seriously.

“Hm… on second thought it is rather late… The shelter is probably closed. I’ll rely on you to find your way home!” Tsukasa said as he began walking away.

Oh no… Tsukasa is his ONLY option! Rui began thinking quickly for ideas on how to make Tsukasa take him home, when he suddenly came up with an idea.

Rui decided to take advantage of his awe factor and ran up to Tsukasa, running himself in between Tsukasa’s legs. Tsukasa stopped once more to awe at him again.

“Hehe… you sure love attention!! Could it be that you’re trying to tell me something??”

Tsukasa picked Rui up once more to investigate him again. After inspecting him again, Tsukasa realized how HUNGRY Rui looked!!

“Oh my goodness, you must be starving!! You poor thing… Well, my parents probably wouldn’t mind, and my siblings will definitely love you, so you can stay at my place for a few days!!”

PERFECT!! Rui had managed to get himself into Tsukasa’s home! Now, he just had to hope that they didn’t feed him any veggies…

“Alright, come here!” Tsukasa said, interrupting Rui’s thought process. Next thing he knew, he was being carried by Tsukasa, in his arms, home.

“EH?” Rui was once again embarrassed to be held by Tsukasa. Every so often Tsukasa would look down at him to make sure he was ok, giving him the most… loving, caring look!! He didn’t know why but it made Rui feel uneasy… in a good way, of course!! He’s never seen this side of Tsukasa before… he’s only ever known the confident, proud Tsukasa who was hard working to achieve anything—but this gentle side of Tsukasa was just as amazing. No matter what Tsukasa was like, Rui would still love him the same no matter what. Wait a minute… did Rui just say love?!

“Ah, I should probably tell you!! Tonight is the official Tenma movie night! Every few months or so me, my sister and my brother Toya will watch a movie with snacks at my house. Don’t worry, I’m sure they won’t mind!! If anything, they would LOVE your presence tonight, ESPECIALLY Saki.”

Rui smiled to himself. He found it cute that Tsukasa was telling him all these things, even though for all that Tsukasa knows he’s just talking to a cat.

Eventually the two made it to the Tenma household. Toya was sitting on the couch, drinking tea while Saki prepared snacks.

“We’re home!”

“Ah, welcome home, big brother!! Wait—did you just say we??”

“Yes! Well about that…”

Saki then came over to Tsukasa to finally see the small, fluffy cat in his arms. Saki’s face IMMEDIATELY lit up as soon as she saw the cat.

“I ran into it on my way home, and it just wouldn’t leave me alone… it looked hungry, and I figured that the animal shelter was closed so I decided to take it home. He’s adorable, isn’t he?? You guys don’t mind if he stays for movie night, right?” Tsukasa said as he joined in on Saki’s cooing.

“OF COURSE!! THAT IS THE CUTEST CAT I HAVE EVER SEEN HE’S GOING TO MAKE MOVIE NIGHT EVEN MORE FUN THAN IT ALREADY IS”

Toya watched the two fawning over the cat, beaming at their enthusiasm. One thing that has never changed between the two was their undying optimism.

When the two of them finally settled down, Tsukasa said to Toya, “He DOES look a lot like Rui, doesn’t he? I mean, the odd colors and the eyes… his personality too, even!!”

Toya took a sip from his cup of tea. “You really care about Rui a lot, huh… that’s a good thing, him and your other cast members definitely bring out the best in you! Not to mention you always talk about him a lot whenever I am over… it’s great that you have found someone to trust!”

Tsukasa’s face then began turning red. “Ah, is that so? Um… don’t say that so loud, it’s embarrassing..!” Tsukasa said, flustered.

Toya gently laughed. “Of course, of course, I’m sorry!”

Meanwhile Rui was about to be put into cardiac arrest.

“Tsukasa… talks about me a lot?? With his siblings? Why was he so flushed when Toya said that?! Is this the so-called proud world future star that I see every day?” Rui thought to himself. He was still in Tsukasa’s arms, which only made the situation worse.

“ANYWAYS, I should get to feeding you, you still look like you’re starving! Here, let me see what I have in the fridge for you…” Tsukasa said, finally setting down Rui.

Tsuaksa walked over to the fridge and opened it, scavenging through the inside to see what to feed Rui.

“Ah, of course! You can have some of the leftover Chicken tonkotsu we had last night!” Tsukasa said, pulling a small box out of his fridge and moving the contents of it onto a plate for Rui to eat.

“I made it myself, so enjoy!!”

Rui walked over to the plate that was set on the ground for him and tried some of the chicken. It was some of the best food he had EVER eaten.

Rui managed to down the entire thing in under one minute as Tsukasa watched, amused.

“Wow, you really were hungry!! Or maybe you just really like my cooking… as expected of a world future star like me!!” Tsukasa said to himself, proudly.

Rui giggled. THERE was the Tsukasa he was so used to seeing. The Tsukasa that made Rui fall in love… platonically, of course!! These new found feelings he harbored for Tsukasa were perfectly normal, right? Almost every other group of friends felt this way towards each other, most certainly!!

After a while and constant attention from both Saki and Tsukasa the group was finally ready. Toya got out blankets and such, while Saki placed the snacks on the table. Meanwhile, Tsukasa went looking for the movie they will be watching.

“Ah, here it is! Spirited Away!” He said, proudly after finding the movie on a streaming site.

“Yay! I’ve been waiting for a while for this, this is one of my favorite Ghibli movies!!” Saki chimed in.

The three of them then gathered on the couch to begin watching as Rui watched. However, after some time they never started. Tsukasa then looked over to Rui.

“Well, aren’t you going to join us?”

Rui looked shocked. “They wanted me up there? I thought they just wanted me for company!!”

“But… being so close to Tsukasa… I don’t know if I can handle that!” Rui thought to himself.

Tsukasa waited for the cat to walk over.

“Come on… don’t make me pick you up!!”

If Rui were human at that point in time his face would have gone completely red. Being held in Tsukasa’s arms AGAIN?? That’s too much!

Then, just as if he was ordered to do so he walked over to where the trio was and leaped onto the couch, right onto the lap of whoever was in the middle—which just so happened to be Tsukasa.

After that the movie started, and Saki ended up being the first to pet him. Of course, the attention from Saki and Toya was enjoyable, but the attention from Tsukasa felt… different… Rui felt his heart skip a beat whenever Tsukasa reached his hand over to stroke Rui’s soft, fluffy fur. He was so gentle… Rui wondered if he was ever like this with people. He found himself wanting Tsukasa to hug him while he ran his fingers through Rui’s silky hair… wait a minute, WHAT was Rui thinking?! He tried brushing this aside, and focusing on the movie instead.

Eventually, Saki fell asleep, and Toya found himself dozing off as well. Soon enough it was just him and Tsukasa left, which obviously made Tsukasa give him even more attention than before.

“Oh my goodness..” Rui thought to himself. He was trying hard to not show his happiness visibly. But he eventually gave in, and started purring for the first time. He couldn’t help it anymore, it was embarrassing but it felt so good.

Tsukasa looked down at the cat lovingly.
“You purr so softly, just as I thought you couldn’t get any more cuter…”

Rui wanted this moment to last forever. Him, on Tsuaksa’s lap, as Tsukasa loved him ever so caringly. Rui purred even more deeply.

Unfortunately, the movie eventually came to an end, and Tsukasa got up to wake up the others and walk them to their rooms. The entire time he was gone Rui lay on the couch, bored and sad that Tsukasa left him. Once or twice when he crossed by the couch he tried mewing to get Tsukasa’s attention, but it was no use. He really is determined to take care of his siblings, huh… Rui admired Tsukasa for that.

Finally, when both Saki and Toya were asleep in their rooms, Tsukasa came back for Rui.

“You look sleepy… would you perhaps like to sleep with me tonight?” Tsukasa said to Rui.

Eh? Sleep? With Tsukasa? Just when Rui thought this day couldn’t get any more chaotic…

“Alright. Let’s go.” Tsukasa said, as he once again scooped up Rui in his arms.

As Tsukasa carried Rui up to his makeshift room, Rui couldn’t help but feel happy. He could definitely get used to Tsukasa carrying him like this.

Tsukasa gently placed Rui on his bed while he got ready for bed himself.

As Tsukasa left for the bathroom to change/brush his teeth, Rui looked around Tsukasa’s room while perched on his bed. His room certainly smelled and looked nice, nothing less expected than his star.

When Tsukasa was done with his bedtime routine he came back to his room, and turned his lamp on.

“Now, I normally brainstorm ideas for future shows before going to bed, but since tonight was so long I’ll just go straight to bed…” Tsukasa said to himself as he crawled under his covers.

Rui decided to sleep on the opposite corner of where Tsukasa was, just to make sure he wasn’t even more of an emotional wreck than he was at that moment. But after a while Rui began to feel lonely and cold…

Tsukasa was already fast asleep, so Rui decided to crawl up to him and curl up right near Tsukasa’s chest. Almost automatically Tsukasa placed his hand on Rui, almost as if to comfort him. As the two cuddled, Rui began purring until he eventually drifted into sleep. His first time asleep as a cat… he thought it would be more humiliating but if he was being honest he loved this, ESPECIALLY considering the amount of attention he got from Tsukasa in just a few hours (although the situation itself and all the attention he got made him feel a bit embarrassed sometimes). Who knew what would happen tomorrow?

Chapter Text

The next thing Rui knew it was morning. He got up and yawned, only to realize that Tsukasa had left the bed… which made him kind of sad, he wanted to be close to him for longer… where was he, anyway? It was Saturday, so he shouldn’t be at school…

Rui decided to hop down from the bed and head downstairs. Since Tsukasa didn’t have a door, he didn’t have to worry about getting out of his room.

As Rui walked into the kitchen, he saw Tsukasa, making breakfast for Saki and Toya, who were presumably still asleep.

“Ah! There you are, I was just about to come and wake you up!”

Rui was disappointed when he heard that. Being gently nudged awake by Tsukasa himself?? Well, not all dreams come true, perhaps…

“Hmm… I can’t just keep on referring to you as ‘he’. I should come up with a name for you…”

Rui looked up at Tsukasa, confusingly.

“Well… you do remind me of a certain someone… so I may take some inspo from that… how does Ruru sound?”

Ruru. That was the cheesiest name Rui had ever heard. But he loved it… Tsukasa was such a lovable dork that the name Ruru sounded cute to him—when Tsukasa referred to him by it.

Rui nodded his head, as an attempt to communicate with him, which caused Tsukasa to awe at him again yet look at him confusingly.

“You are one smart cat.. that is the second time you looked like you’ve tried to communicate with me…”

Suddenly both Tsukasa and Rui heard footsteps from upstairs. Toya must have woken up.

“Toya, good morning!! I made breakfast for you, Saki and I, pancakes!!”

Toya looked at the stack of pancakes that was just out of Rui’s sight. Toya looked like he wanted to take a few, but it also looked like something was stopping him…

“Ah… I should probably head back. Before my dad gets worried. It’s a wonder that he allowed me to stay over at your place, so if I’m even a minute late I might have that privilege revoked from me forever.”

“Awe… I see… Do you want to at least take some for the road?”

Toya looked back. Now that Tsukasa mentioned that, that idea did sound good…

“Of course. Do you mind if I take some extra for Akito as well??”

Tsukasa laughed. “Of course, of course! No need to be formal with me, we are basically family after all, little brother!”

Toya awkwardly laughed as he took a few pancakes and left while Tsukasa bid him farewell.

Rui could tell that Tsukasa cared for Toya deeply… oh, what a great older brother he is!!

“And remember, me and Saki are always here if you need anything!!” Tsukasa said as he shut the door.

Tsukasa walked back into the kitchen, and remembered he had to feed Rui breakfast.

“Ah, right! I almost forgot, you need breakfast, I should get that done before Saki wakes up so I don’t forget… what would Ruru like…” Tsukasa said as he scavenged the fridge.

“Hmm… I am kind of short on leftovers right now, and I doubt you would eat something like pancakes, so do you just want more of that chicken tonkotsu?”

Rui’s eyes immediately lit up when he said that, which made Tsukasa laugh.

“Looks like that’s a yes! As expected of a star like me, I made Ruru fall in love with my cooking!”

Tsukasa placed the plate full of chicken down on the floor as another set of footsteps could be heard from upstairs. It looks like Saki just woke up.

“Ah, Saki, good morning! I made us breakfast, pancakes!” Tsukasa said proudly, showing off the table display he put so much effort into.

Saki laughed at his brother's pride. “Thank you SO much, big brother! You’re the best!!”

“Oh, but I am far from the best! This is simply the bare minimum for a sister like you, now go ahead and eat!”

Saki and Tsukasa laughed at their playful talk as Saki pulled up a chair and began serving herself.

“By the way, where is Toya? And your cat?”

In between chews, Tsukasa told her, “Toya had to leave early because of his dad, meanwhile the cat is eating over there! I named him Ruru by the way!!”

Saki looked over to see Rui eating the chicken in one corner of the kitchen.

“Ruru huh… sounds like Rui!! I mean, the cat does look a lot like Rui so it’s understandable!!” Saki tried her best to sound as polite as possible—Ruru was probably the cheesiest name she had ever heard. But, it was her brother, and she didn’t want to upset him this early in the morning so she didn’t say anything.

Eventually the two of them finished their breakfast and cleaned up the kitchen. Tsukasa picked Rui up and brought him back up to his room.

“Alright.. I didn’t really have anything planned for today, so I thought me and you could spend time together while I come up with ideas for future shows!” Tsukasa said to Rui.

An entire day? With Tsukasa? Right before Rui would go back to being human again? Could this day get any better??

Rui purred softly as he waited for Tsukasa to finish getting ready. As soon as he finished, Tsukasa came back to his room, pulled up a chair to his desk and opened his sketchbook.

“Eh? Oh…” Rui thought. He thought Tsukasa was going to brainstorm in bed with him, so he could curl right up next to him and…

WHAT was Rui thinking? “Why am I acting like this? Did the potion affect my emotions as well?” Rui trailed off.

Whatever. What Rui wanted to do at that moment was get Tsukasa’s attention again. He leaped from the bed, walked over to Tsukasa’s desk and leapt right in front of Tsukasa’s sketchbook, laying himself down right in the center of it and holding his head out, waiting for Tsukasa.

Tsukasa laughed softly then said with an annoyed tone “Ruru, I know you want attention right now but I’m busy so you’ll have to wait!”

Rui looked at Tsukasa despairingly as he was shooed away. He didn’t want to spend his final hours in this form doing nothing! Then Rui paced back and forth in Tsukasa’s room, coming up with a plan to get at least a LITTLE bit of his attention.

Then, rather than jumping on his desk, Rui jumped right onto Tsukasa’s lap and curled himself up.

“Ruru, how many times do I have to—“

Then, Tsukasa pulled out to see Rui resting ever so peacefully on his lap. He laughed softly. “Well, I suppose this is alright…” he said with the same gentle, nurturing tone as before. Rui loved this part of Tsukasa—well, he admired every part of Tsukasa of course but this part made him feel especially safe.

Just then, Tsukasa reached out his hand to stroke Rui’s soft fur once more.

THIS was even better than before! Tired, Rui began softly purring again as he drifted asleep.

Next thing Rui knew, it was late afternoon. He was still on Tsukasa’s lap. Has he been sitting here, brainstorming ideas this entire time? He really has a strong passion, huh…

Rui mewed as he looked up, trying to get Tsukasa’s attention. Tsukasa looked back down at him.

“Ah, so you’re finally awake! Perfect timing, I just finished…”

Rui mewed happily as he lifted his head up into Tsukasa’s hand, signaling for him to pet it. He laughed softly.

“Do you think you want to come with us? I was just about to meet up with my friend, Nene, to discuss the stunt she will be helping me with!”

Ah. Nene. She’s probably going to be SO MAD at Rui. Still, he didn’t want to leave Tsukasa’s side for the time being, so he nodded to show his agreement.

“Strange cat…” Tsukasa thought to himself. It was almost as if he understood every word he was saying!

Tsukasa picked Rui up and left the house, to head over to the nearby park where he and Nene wouldl be meeting.

As the two reached the park, Tsukasa waved over to Nene to signal for her to come over.

As Nene began running over, she caught sight of the familiar purple cat…

—-

Nene was speechless for the first few moments. She looked down at Rui in annoyance. She IMMEDIATELY knew what happened to him, considering the fact that she had basically grown up with him.

“Oh my GOD WHAT did he get himself into this time?” Nene thought to herself. She didn’t want to sound like a weird person though, talking to random people's cats, so she stayed silent.

“What’s the matter, Nene? This is Ruru! He looks a lot like Rui, don’t you think?”

Oh my god was he THAT oblivious? Honestly knowing Rui he probably sent a few signals to Tsukasa to show him that he was actually Rui. But no, Tsukasa completely missed those hints! On top of that, WHAT kind of name was Ruru?

“Ruru is probably the cheesiest sounding name I’ve ever heard… I hope you soon realize how dumb you are right now.”

“Eh?! WHAT is that supposed to mean?? Are you just jealous of how elegant a name like Ruru is?” Tsukasa said with pride.

“Whatever, whatever, let’s just get this over with…”

—-

So Nene DID catch on. Oh goodness, she was going to kill him as soon as he was human again…

Rui tried to set his attention to something else, as the two practiced the stunts for the upcoming show… Rui watched in awe as the two of them perfectly performed each stunt Rui had assigned them. It wasn’t 100% effort, no—it was 12,000% effort! He could tell the amount of time and energy the two of them have been working together to achieve this, and it made him happy…

Finally, after an hour or so the two of them were exhausted. They agreed that what they did for the day was enough, so they bid their farewells and headed back home.

“I can’t believe it’s dinner time already, huh… I really don’t feel like making dinner tonight, and since Saki will be out with Ichika and the others, would you want to buy something from a food stand?” Tsukasa told him.

Rui mewed happily to show his approval.

“Alright! Here… does Salmon sound good to you?”

Salmon? Well, that WAS better than vegetables so sure…

The two of them walked up to a food stand as Tsukasa asked for one order of Salmon and one order of Takoyaki.

Tsukasa carefully carried the food while also having Rui in his arms to make sure he didn’t drop any of the food nor to drop Rui.

They found a bench in the middle of another park nearby, and sat down as they ate their food while watching the sun go down.

It really was an amazing experience for Rui… being able to watch the sun set with Tsukasa himself… although Tsukasa didn’t know it. Rui cherished this moment while it lasted. As they finished up their food and just as the sun set, Tsukasa picked Rui up once more to take him back home.

He probably had a little under an hour left as a cat, so he should probably make the most of it…

Eventually the two got home, and were greeted by Saki, who had just got back as well a few minutes ago.

“Ah, hello, big brother! Oh! That’s where Ruru went… hi Ruru!” Saki said to Rui as she pet him for the last time.

“Saki, Wonderlands x Showtime’s upcoming performance is in a few days… do you think you can show up?”

As Saki and Tsukasa started talking about that, Rui's mind drifted off topic. “These past few days have been really fun, it’s a shame they have to end…” Rui thought to himself. Then again he really wanted to be human again. He can’t stay a cat forever, of course—how else would he be able to win Tsukasa’s heart? Wait, what did he—

“Well, it is getting late and I am pretty tired so I should go to bed early…” Tsukasa said to Saki, interrupting Rui’s train of thought.

Tsukasa carried Rui back up to his room, and left his room once more to change after giving Rui a rub under his chin, which made Rui purr even more.

Rui lay on the bed as Tsukasa got ready in the bathroom. All of a sudden Rui felt a weird tingling sensation… the same sensation he felt yesterday afternoon.. the potion must be wearing off!!

—

As soon as Tsukasa was ready he entered his room to go to bed only to find… Rui Kamishiro? Laying on his bed?

“Rui… WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU DOING HERE? HOW DID YOU GET INTO MY HOUSE?!?” Tsukasa immediately shouted, in shock. “More importantly, where is Ruru?”

“Oh Tsukasa, how have you not realized..?”

Tsukasa looked at Rui shocked, but confused.

“I AM Ruru!”

Tsukasa stared at Rui for a few more seconds before realizing.

“WHATTTTTTTTT????????”

“Allow me to explain!” Rui said, trying to comfort the shocked star.

“And then, since a piece of cat fur accidentally got into the potion, it turned me into a cat rather than boosting my stamina…” Rui said, hoping that Tsukasa would calm down.

He did calm down a bit, but he was still confused about the whole situation.

“Wait, so you heard… everything I said? Even the thing Toya said when he said that I talk about you a lot?” Tsukasa could feel his face turn red.

Rui laughed gently. “I didn’t mind… in fact, I find it cute that you talk about me a lot! I really did enjoy the attention I got. Maybe I should be a cat more often!! You should do it with me too, sometime!”

“NO! Honestly, where do you get these ideas from??” Tsukasa said with a hint of annoyance.

Rui could tell Tsukasa was distressed at that moment. On a whim, trying to make him feel better, he blurted out “Tsukasa, I love you!”

Wait a minute. WHAT?? WHAT DID RUI JUST SAY???

“Huh..?” Rui watched as Tsukasa’s face flushed a bright red again. Rui, trying to explain, got up from the bed to walk over to Tsukasa, only to fall.

Right.

He hadn’t properly walked for a while, that might take some getting used to…

Tsukasa’s realization suddenly kicked in. He helped Rui up and off of the ground, finally coming to terms with his feelings.

“I… I love you too, Rui…” Tsukasa said as he pulled Rui in for a hug.

Rui could feel himself blush. The person he had feelings for liked him back?? This was the happiest he had ever been. Rui melted into Tsukasa’s warm embrace and began… purring??

Tsukasa felt this, and pulled away from the hug.

“What was that just now?” He asked.

“Ah, well, that must be a side effect that hasn’t gone away fully… I’m sorry…” Rui said as he hid his face from Tsukasa. He couldn’t help but feel a little bit embarrassed from that.

All of a sudden Rui felt Tsukasa's hand on his cheek as Tsukasa tried to get Rui’s attention. Both hands cupping Rui’s face, he said “Rui… I don’t care about what you are or what you do. I just want you to know that there’s no need to feel embarrassed around me—I’ll still love you no matter what.” Tsukasa said gently as Rui’s face began turning red again.

Rui had never been so moved before. And just when he thought he wouldn’t be able to love Tsukasa even more. He pulled Tsukasa in and kissed him on the cheek, which made him even more flustered.

“You missed.” Rui heard Tsukasa say.

“Huh..?”

Next thing Rui knew, Tsukasa grabbed Rui, and kissed him straight on the lips.

“Ah…”

Rui was shocked for the first few seconds. Then he allowed himself to play along with it, melting into Tsukasa’s touch and purring softly.

The kiss lasted for a few seconds until the two eventually pulled away from each other. Both of their faces were very much bright red. Tsukasa smiled at Rui.

“If anything, this side effect of yours makes you even cuter… as if that wasn’t possible.”

Rui felt his stomach twist into knots. God, how he loved that blonde haired boy.

As the two finally realized their feelings for each other, along with it came the realization that Rui was in Tsukasa’s room in the middle of the night. How was he supposed to get home? Rui’s expression shifted.

“Well, I should be heading back now…” Rui said, disappointingly.

“WAIT!” Tsukasa blurted out, suddenly. Rui turned around, confused.

“I was thinking… do you want to stay over tonight? You can sleep with me, if you want…” Tsukasa said, sheepishly.

Rui, regaining his normal, sly personality, said “wow… is this the same world future star who claims that he is afraid of nothing?” Rui said, teasingly.

“Hey… do you want this or not?” Tsukasa said.

“Of course, of course, my star…” Rui said, which only made Tsukasa turn red again (he was just starting to recover from the kiss earlier).

“Don’t say that so casually…” Was all that Tsukasa managed to say.

After that the two of them walked over to Tsukasa’s bed, while Rui gestured for him.

“After you, my star.”

Tsukasa, just now starting to regain his over-the-top personality, began tearing up.

“Uhn… I CAN'T BELIEVE SOMEONE AS AMAZING AS YOU IS ACTUALLY IN LOVE WITH ME!!!” Tsukasa said, hugging Rui. Rui laughed. No matter what Tsukasa acted like, or how he was feeling, he was still the same loveable person as before. He then got into bed, shortly followed by Rui afterwards.

The two of them stared at each other enduringly for what felt like hours. Tsukasa then finally got the courage to say “your hair looks so soft… do you mind if I run my fingers through it?” He said impulsively.

Eh?? Rui flushed. He never thought Tsukasa would actually say that. Nonetheless, he accepted Tsukasa’s offer as he held his arms out, signaling for Rui to come closer. He then did, resting his head right in the crook of Tsukasa’s neck as he began gently running his fingers through his hair, which made Rui purr even more deeply. Tsukasa laughed, which made Rui feel even more flushed. Yes, Tsukasa did tell him that there was nothing he needed to be embarrassed about, but he still couldn’t help but be a LITTLE bit embarrassed—especially considering the fact that Tsukasa himself found it cute. Still, he trusted him, so he didn’t stop.

Rui’s realization then began to kick in.

Tsukasa loved him back. The guy he had found himself falling in love with reciprocated his feelings. And Tsukasa was the most PERFECT man to be with. Who knows what future awaits them, or how they will face it. No matter what, both Rui and Tsukasa knew that they would face whatever the future held together.

“I love you so much, my director… sweet dreams..” said Tsukasa, half asleep.

“I love you too, my star…” said Rui, in the same state as Tsukasa. The two of them stayed like this until they ended up falling asleep in each other’s arms.