Chapter Text
The car finally pulled up to Chuuya’s complex. Not many other people lived in the same building as Chuuya, mainly because they couldn’t afford the rent. Even though all the buildings were in Port Mafia territory, the residents still had to pay.
“Thanks for dropping us off, Ane-san.” Chuuya said once he’d managed to get himself and the cat out of the car.
“No problem, lad. Make sure not to have too much fun with him the first few days.” Kouyou said before rolling up the window and driving away. Chuuya wanted to snap back at her, but she was already gone before he could muster up a reply.
He wasn’t some monster that was gonna bang this hybrid before he even got used to his new living accommodations.
Chuuya glanced over at the cat. “Um. So, let’s go inside. My place is pretty big, so you can have your own room.” He saw the way the cat’s ears tilted in his direction once he mentioned the rooms.
Again, Chuuya gave a light tug on the leash so the cat knew to follow him. He knew that most of his clothes wouldn’t fit his new pet, but he was pretty sure he had some oversized hoodies he could lend before he actually went shopping. He wasn’t too sure about pants, though.
Despite being an apartment, his place was pretty big. It had a balcony, a bathroom, living room, kitchen, three bedrooms (one was used for a gym), and an office for work.
Once the door was closed and Chuuya took off his shoes- while the hybrid just stood there since he wasn’t wearing shoes- he dropped the leash. “Make yourself comfortable. I’ll be back in a second with some clothes.”
He made his way to his room, leaving the hybrid completely alone. While he was doing a favor and getting the cat some coverage, this was also a test. A test to see if he could handle being in Port Mafia territory. If Chuuya could trust him.
If his cat escaped, Chuuya would have no choice but to kill him. He could give information about Chuuya’s whereabouts, and he really didn’t want to have to deal with raids every other day.
He finally found one of his hoodies that he assumed would fit the brunette. He desperately searched for some pants, too, but they were all too small. Guess his cat wouldn’t be wearing bottoms until Chuuya went shopping.
“Since you’re so freakishly tall, barely any of my clothes will fit you, so this is the best I can-” Chuuya started talking before he even actually left the room. His voice was cut off when he saw what the cat was doing.
He’d pressed himself into the corner. His ears were pinned to his head and his tail was flicking fast and hard. He was eyeing Chuuya warily, watching his every move.
“...do.” He decided to at least finish his sentence before clearing his throat. “Uh, here.” He tossed the hoodie across the room, deciding it was probably best to give the cat some space. The brunette’s shoulders raised and he watched the hoodie drop in front of him, the thud making his ears perk up.
“That’s for you.” Chuuya clarified, in case the hybrid didn’t understand. “So you’ll be covered. And warm. I couldn’t find any pants though, so I’ll need to go shopping for clothes at some point. Put it on.”
He did not put it on. He stared at it for a couple more seconds, before returning his gaze to Chuuya. His ears were back against his head, nearly hidden in the brown curls.
“Wow. Untrustworthy, much?” Chuuya asked, putting a hand on his hip. “I literally just saved you from some probably rich asshole that will use you unfairly, I’m letting you have your own room, and I’m giving you clothes. The least you can do is put on the hoodie.”
Despite Chuuya saying everything he’s so far done, the cat didn’t look appreciative. Instead, it started to growl.
It started to growl. At Chuuya.
Didn’t this cat want Chuuya to buy him? Why was he suddenly acting like he had absolutely no choice in the matter?
Well…he sort of didn’t.
But still! He looked at Chuuya, asking for help, and now he was treating Chuuya like an enemy.
He really doesn’t like cats. Why couldn’t this pretty bastard just be a dog instead? Then at least he might listen to Chuuya and do what he was asked.
Chuuya sighed, moving so his hands were stuffed into his pockets. “Fine, you can stay in that weird underwear. But can I at least know your name?”
The cat stopped growling, but now he was glaring at Chuuya. His tail was still flailing wildly. Did that mean he was angry? He knew that cat’s tails showed their emotions, but he never bothered to research. Mainly because he never imagined he’d ever take care of a cat; much less a hybrid.
“Come on, it’s just your name. It’ll make things a hell of a lot easier; since I won’t need to call you ‘cat’.”
Silence filled the apartment for a good two minutes. Both parties were staring each other down, not one willing to give up. Chuuya let out another long sigh.
“Fine, don’t talk to me, whatever. I need a drink.” He stormed off into the kitchen, basically raiding into his wine cabinet. He was grumbling the entire time.
“Stupid fucking…making me buy a cat…not even…” He didn’t even know what he was saying at this point. He just needed to get his frustrations out before he accidentally did something to that cat he might regret.
As he was pouring the wine into a cup, he finally registered something about the cat that he really should have noticed sooner.
He was covered in scars. At least, his arms and neck were. Why didn’t they cover those up at the auction? It was probably some stupid reason like: they didn’t want to trick people into buying ‘damaged goods’. He’d heard those words used for scarred hybrids before.
Maybe the cat was anxious because of his scars? It made sense; whenever Chuuya got a pretty bad injury he liked to cover it up until it was gone. If he helped the cat cover his scars, would that gain some trust between them? It was worth a shot.
Chuuya set the wine bottle down; he could get drunk later. As he made his way to the bathroom, he took a quick glance to see if the brunette had put on the hoodie; or at least moved. He hadn’t, and he was still watching Chuuya.
He really wanted to tell the cat that if he put on the hoodie it would cover his scars, but if he really didn’t want to wear it, Chuuya didn’t want to force it on him. That would give the opposite effect that he wanted.
Now that he thought about it, the hybrid probably didn’t want to wear the hoodie because it was Chuuya’s, and he didn’t trust him enough yet.
His bathroom, just like every other room in the house, was spotless. Chuuya was sort of a neat freak, and he hated when his place was a mess. He opened up the mirror cabinet where he kept all his health things.
Bandaids probably wouldn’t be much help, as his scars seemed old. They didn’t look like they hurt either, since the cat never touched them or moved his arms in a way that showed discomfort. Maybe he could just wrap them in some gauze? He grabbed the roll, and gave a low hum when he saw it he wasn’t running low just yet. That was good.
He turned off the bathroom lights and went back to the living room. Walking over to the cat, he crouched down so they were at eye level. The cat’s eyes weren’t contracted like they were in the car; they looked normal again.
Chuuya slowly reached for his hoodie, careful in case the cat decided to suddenly attack him. Once his fingers grabbed the fabric, he slid it behind him. He then showed off the hand holding the gauze. “I got you some bandages. You got lots of scars on your arms and neck. Do you wanna cover them up?”
He watched as the hybrid’s ears slowly rose, as did his brows. Was Chuuya right? Did he just feel vulnerable because of the scars?
“I don’t have to do them for you. If you know how, you can wrap them the way you like.” Chuuya placed the bandages on the ground and rolled them over to the brunette. He stared at them for a moment, before glaring at Chuuya.
Again, it was like he could read the cat’s thoughts. Turn around. Don’t look at me. He was saying. Chuuya stood up.
“I’ll be in the kitchen. I’ll be back in a few minutes, so that should give you some time.” He didn’t wait for any confirmation, since he assumed he wouldn’t be given any. He needed to cover up his wine and put it away. And probably make some food, too. It was getting close to when Chuuya normally made dinner.
He wasn’t really worried about whether his new pet could eat the stuff Chuuya made. Hybrids didn’t need special diets- they could eat food just like normal humans. Still, maybe Chuuya should start with some sort of fish meal? Or was that too silly? Chuuya had gone shopping for fish earlier that morning, so he sort of had to. He didn’t want his fridge to start stinking up.
Once he put his wine away, he opened up the fridge and took out the fish in his drawer. It was a mackerel, and its flesh looked like it’d taste really good if he seasoned it right.
Maybe I shouldn’t do something super fancy with it. Maybe I could just grill it and put it with some rice? Yeah, that should be fine.
Despite what some people in the Mafia say, Chuuya’s a damn good cook. Sure, he grew up on the streets, but once he had access to the internet and a good cookbook, he picked it up pretty fast. It wasn’t like he could do anything else; he was living on his own.
Well, he supposed he wasn’t living on his own anymore, but he didn’t think his new housemate would help with the cooking.
Even though he was probably trained to do that, he was a cat. Cat hybrids were known for being little shits and not actually doing what was asked of them. That was why almost every cat owner had harsh forms of discipline. Chuuya didn’t want to do that. Even if he was in the mafia, animal abuse of any kind wasn’t something he was alright with.
He would give the cat a week or two to get used to his new home. Then, Chuuya would ask him to start helping around. He’d start small, with just cleaning up every once in a while, or doing the laundry. He didn’t go to that auction looking for a slave; he just went because Kouyou forced him to.
And now he had to take care of a cat that wouldn’t even talk to him.
Once he’d grilled the fish and cooked some rice, he brought out two plates to dish out on. He naturally assumed the cat would have a small stomach. He probably wasn’t being fed well at whatever shithole he was being kept in before the auction, so Chuuya cut the fish into thirds, sliding two onto his own plate, and the last one onto the other. He put some rice on and got two pairs of chopsticks.
For The Tainted Sorrow was very helpful when he needed to carry multiple things at once. He kept the hybrid’s plate in his hands, but his own meal was levitating behind him. He entered the living room again, and saw the cat had actually put on the bandages. His arms and neck were skillfully covered in the gauze.
At least he didn’t look as naked anymore. But he did still look cautious.
It made a little sense, since Chuuya was basically showing him ‘Yeah, I can manipulate gravity, so you shouldn’t mess with me’. He didn’t mean to send that message, but it wasn’t like he could do much about it now.
“I made some food. This is for you.” Chuuya set the plate down on the coffee table, still not wanting to get too close. The cat deserved a little space as he got used to the place. “I can eat in the kitchen if it’ll make you more comfortable or something.”
His cat stared at the plate, almost as if he was expecting it to bite him. Just how untrustworthy could somebody be?
Stupid cats.
“I’ll be in the kitchen.” Chuuya decided. He was getting upset again, and if things kept going this way while he was trying to enjoy a meal, he might snap. “If you need water, let me know and I’ll grab you some.”
He lowered his own plate with Tainted until he could hold it in his own hands. He gave the hybrid a shrug before turning around and returning back to the kitchen.
It was just the first day. Surely his pet would warm up to him over time. And if he didn’t…
Well, he might have to use discipline. Sometimes it’s the only way to get others to listen to you. No way around it.