Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Grumpy didn’t like pet shops. He’d take one look at pet stores and immediately book it in the other direction.

Dr. Yehuda said it was a reflex born from trauma. After all, he’d gone through twenty-six masters before meeting his mom. It was to be expected, kind of like how Oliver sometimes panicked and tried to hide whatever he was eating if someone entered the room. Or how Boss kept trying to hide how much he cared for the others because he’d grown up surrounded by people who considered such things a show of weakness. Or Bang sometimes not being able to taste anything on days after her memories kept her up all night.

Or something like that.

This flight reflex of his had come up once more while he was walking around a mall with some friends. They’d been enjoying a day off, and per a suggestion from Nancy, they’d decided to roam the place and see what the newest trends were.

They’d passed by all number of places—designer stores with shoes and handbags costing a year’s worth of Grumpy’s allowance, souvenir shops and plushie stores, a couple of candy shops, a food court. Then Jocelyn had pointed out the pet shop eagerly, and both Lawrence and Nancy had followed.

Grumpy wasn’t going to speak up. What was he supposed to say? “Sorry, I don’t like pet shops because I used to live in one”? Hell no. Better to keep quiet and suck it up.

“Aww! They’re so cute…Jo, look at this one’s little ears! It’s so fluffy!” Nancy squealed, her nose against the window. A bunny blinked back at her curiously, its siblings trying to shove themselves forward to see the viewers as well. “Miharu, Lawrence, aren’t they cute?”

“They are,” Lawrence agreed. “My cousin has a rabbit. They’re pretty chill.”

“Let’s go inside!” Jocelyn suggested. “We probably can’t buy anything, but they’ve got even more cute animals and I want to see more of them!” The others agreed, and as the group entered the store, Grumpy reluctantly followed, because it would be weird if he didn’t.

He shivered slightly as he walked in, and pulled his hoodie fighter around himself. The strange smell that always seemed to linger in places with a multitude of animals instantly hit his nose, and he cringed. The pastel wallpaper, the fluorescent lights, the cold cages filled with puppies and kittens and birds…

Logically, he knew it wasn’t the same place he’d spent half his life in. That store was a town away from Blossom City. This one seemed to be a lot less chaotic then the one he’d been in, too. But pet stores were all fundamentally the same at their cores: places with many animals waiting to find a home.

Grumpy pretended he couldn’t understand the meows of the questioning kitten Nancy was cooing at. Please take me home. I’ll be a good kitty.

“Hey Miharu, you have pets, right?” Jocelyn asked as Nancy fawned over the animals, Lawrence not far behind. “I always see you posting animals on your WeCat.” Grumpy nodded. “How many do you have? I don’t think I’ve ever asked.”

“Um…” He had to think. What was the least suspicious answer? “I think my mom’s adopted…” me “five or six cats, but there’s definitely more. She always puts out food for the local strays. I think there’s a pug living in the yard.” He privately wondered how Boss Mo, CEO of a well-off company, would react to being called the lapcat of his artist-fashion designer mom. Probably with a huff of annoyance but no denial, because it wasn’t an entirely untrue statement.

“Wow! That’s a lot, dude.” Lawrence laughed and dodged a cart filled with birdseed in the aisle. “How do you keep track?”

Half of them pretended to be humans and didn't even live there. “They all look really different. They have different personalities too. It’s not too bad.” Unless everyone decided to come over for dinner and a movie night.

“Where do you even get that many cats?” Nancy wondered as she gently scratched the chin of a white cat that reminded Grumpy of Doll through the metal bars of its cage.

At least she asked an easy question this time. Why was this turning into an interrogation session about family pets, anyways?

“There’s a shelter near my house,” Grumpy replied. “My mom’s boyfriend volunteers there, and he always comes home with cats.” Like him. And Bangs. Honestly, the house might as well be a mini animal shelter of its own, with how many animals came home with Oliver on a regular basis.

A pair of tabbies meowed, and Grumpy turned away, biting his lip. While no one would mind a few extra cats, he didn’t exactly have money to take any home today. Not if he wanted to buy a birthday gift for his mom later in the week.

The whole store was still giving him the heebie-jeebies anyways. He couldn’t wait to get out, hyperaware of every sound made. Probably because he still had the hearing of a cat, even if his ears had been hidden away.

“Awww, they’re so cute! Guys, look, look!” Jocelyn suddenly exclaimed, and Grumpy looked over to see Jocelyn crouched next to a cage, a few kittens inside. Lawrence and Nancy were already there, peering in at the meowing kitties. Moving closer on shaky legs, he saw there were three of them, huddled together and doing their best to look cute.

They reminded Grumpy of himself and his siblings, not long ago.

“That one on the right has such pretty color splotches!” Nancy exclaimed.

“Nah, the one on the left’s got that eyepatch, it’s definitely the coolest,” Lawrence claimed. “Like a little pirate.”

“Arrrrrgh, matey, or whatever?” Jocelyn snickered. “Well, I like the one right in the middle. Look at her big round eyes! She’s even purring. Hey, how about you, Miharu? Which one do you like best?”

Grumpy’s eyes lingered briefly on the trio, but then his eyes wandered to the next cage over. Inside was a small gray kitty, with a strange arrangement of spots that looked a bit as if someone had let a young toddler take a brush and wave it around in the general direction of the thing. It meowed weakly, but otherwise stayed in a little ball, clearly knowing the group wasn’t here for it.

It was all alone, unlike many of the other cages that had two or three animals each in them.

Grumpy walked closer, and then passed his friends to look at the tag on the cage. The last of a litter, the runt, who had been there for five months at time of writing. He’d been initially adopted with a few others, but returned for unknown reasons. Someone else had adopted him as a birthday gift, but returned him the next day not long after.

People didn’t want used cats. They never did. Especially ones that didn’t have interesting markings, unlike Grumpy, whose eyebrows had been half the reason he kept getting adopted by various people.

He looked at the small thing, and made his decision.

“This one,” he said. “I’m going to buy this one.”

“What?!”

“Huh?!”

“But weren’t you saving for your mom’s birthday?!”

“She’ll understand,” he said, and under the questioning gazes of his friends, headed for the counter at the front of the store.

“Are you sure?” the clerk asked when Grumpy showed her the kitten, whose ears had perked up slightly with the commotion outside its cage. “We have many other kittens here. This one’s going to need quite a bit of care.”

“I’m sure,” Grumpy stated firmly.

“Miharu,” Nancy started.

“I’ve already decided.”

“This isn’t like you, making spontaneous decisions. You good, man?” Lawrence asked.

“I’m fine. I’m going to take this one home with me,” Grumpy said, and the clerk reluctantly obliged, setting the kitten inside a carrier while Grumpy pulled out his wallet.

“We have supplies, if you’d like? And there’s a refund policy—” the clerk started, but Grumpy waved her off as he took hold of the carrier.

“There’s no need. My family already has several cats. Thanks for the assistance,” he said. The kitten meowed inside the carrier. Who are you? He didn’t answer, he couldn’t just yet.

He couldn’t get out of the petstore fast enough, his friends following him with concerned looks.

“I’m gonna head home. I shouldn’t carry him around if I’m wandering around a mall,” Grumpy said once the pet store was finally out of sight. “I’ll see you guys later.”

“...If you’re sure,” Jocelyn said nervously. “Just...text us if anything comes up?”

Grumpy nodded, and then finally, finally, he could get out of that place, out into the open street. The group had come by bus, and luckily, he didn’t have to wait long at the bus stop for one to arrive. He only realized how tense he was and that his hands were shaking slightly when he finally sat down.

He exhaled and took a moment to breathe before leaning over to peek inside the carrier.

“You good, buddy?” he whispered. The kitten meowed back inquisitively. “Don’t worry. I’m taking you somewhere real nice. I think you’ll like it there. Oh, I should text the others…hopefully Mom’s home…”

He pulled out his phone, and sent a quick text saying he was on his way home, before slipping it back into his pocket.

“Cloud Road”, the driver’s voice called out, and Grumpy checked he had his things, before disembarking onto the familiar street. From there, it was only a short walk to the house. He could see Bangs stretched out on the windowsill and Nana-chan up on the roof, where she’d recently taken to hanging out. He waved at them both, before letting himself into the house.

It seemed no one else was home at the moment besides Bangs and Nana, so Grumpy made his way to the living room and set the carrier down on the floor. Bangs hopped off the windowsill and transformed back into a human to investigate properly.

“What do you have there, Grumps?” she asked, bending down to look inside. “Oh my gosh, it’s a kitten! Oh, you are so cute!”

Grumpy stood back and let her unlatch the carrier.The kitten meowed and cautiously approached the hand offered to it, and Bangs giggled when its nose touched her palm.

“What’s the name, Grumps?” she asked.

“None that I know of, ask him yourself,” Grumpy replied. “I picked him up at the mall.”

Bangs paused. “A petstore?”

“Yeah.”

“So that’s why you’re home early. Huh.” She leaned down, and transformed into her cat form, to the urprise of the kitten who jumped back into the carrier. “Oops! Sorry! Hey, I won’t hurt you, meow~!”

Grumpy settled on the couch, letting himself transform as well, and watched as Bangs slowly coaxed the kitten out and led him to where the food bowls were. This one might or might not be a human-cat, but it didn’t matter to Grumpy.

He knew what it was like to be left alone, shivering in a cold metal cage in the middle of a noisy pet store. And he knew that that kitten needed a home, just as much as he’d once had.

His mom would understand. He knew she would. She never turned an animal away, no matter the type.

But he was still going to avoid pet stores.

Chapter Text

Grumpy listened, curled up on the couch in cat form as his mom and Oliver told the cats about Lynn and Jingle.

“--and so, that’s the gist of it,” Oliver finished. “That’s some serious devotion, walking so far just to find someone.”

“We all know you’d do it yourself if you had to,” Bangs rolled her eyes. “Don’t pretend you wouldn’t.”

“Of course I would,” Oliver agreed readily. “You probably would, too.”

Bangs sniffed. “Yeah, but I’d be smart about it and take a plane. Or a train. Or a taxi.”

“Awww, you guys are the best,” Mom said as she wiped her eyes. “I don’t think I could live without you either.”

“All of us?” Grumpy asked. Mom patted his head and nodded, and Grumpy instinctively purred, though the human part of him wanted to curl up into a small ball and a flush rose to his cheeks. The moment was broken when Mo yawned, stretching out his arms above his head in a way that was rather catlike but took up much more space in his human form.

“Well if that’s all, I’m going to bed,” he announced. “Whoever needs a ride, get in the car. I’m leaving in five minutes.”

“Alright, alright, I’m going,” Bangs grumbled, reaching behind the couch for his handbag. “What a buzzkill.”

“For what?” Mo questioned. “It’s late, and I’m heading home so I can change. If I’m headed that way, people might as well come along. There’s only two actual beds here, anyways.”

“You did just kill the mood,” the person whose house only had two actual beds pointed out. Mo pretended he had done no such thing, and from there everyone dispersed, either to find a place to curl up for the night or hitch a ride with Mo.

—-

Grumpy watched everyone leave, before curling up on the couch and falling asleep.

—-

The nice couple had bought him two months ago. They were kind enough, he supposed. They weren’t rich, by any means, but they had a nice apartment and office jobs—which meant he was home alone quite a bit. He had plenty of food, water, and toys, although he wasn't exactly a fan of the name they’d picked for him.

The cat next door had thought it was hilarious, when he'd first introduced himself through the screened-off balcony.

“Little Dumpling? Hahahaha, that’s so funny!” she’d laughed. “Mine’s Claudine. Hahahaha, your owners must be hilarious! Hahaha—”

Little Dumpling hadn’t bothered to even try and stop her, the other cat’s laughs echoing through his mind for days afterwards. He simply resigned himself to batting at the stuffed mouse one of his owners had just brought home the day before.

Claudine had been tolerable. And Little Dumpling didn’t mind the loneliness. At night, his owners came home and let him snuggle up with them as they ate takeout on the living room floor in front of the television, and at night he slept with them in their bed. Of course, when he woke up at the crack of dawn, they were long gone and off to work.

But it was alright. He was loved. He had a family, even if they had to work so much.

And then the phone call came.

Little Dumpling watched as his owners packed the few things in the apartment into boxes. The books that were never read, the fake plants that tried to brighten the room, the pictures of his owners from their college days. The living room rug, the pillows on the bed, the many sets of work outfits. Until all that was left was Little Dumpling and the things that were bought for him.

HIs owners put him into a crate. During the drive, the man focused on the road while his wife whispered to Little Dumpling about her husband’s new job and her chance at an increased salary, of a home in the big city where they could have children and see their families for the holidays and not work every day, but at a cost.

The cost of having to give Little Dumpling back to the pet shop.

The woman was in tears when they handed him over. The man turned away, not even wanting to look back at the kitten’s face, the large eyebrows making him look even sadder than usual.

The cage was just as he’d left it. Cold and empty.

He fell asleep curled in a ball, a lonely kitten with no family and no home.

—

“Grumpy? Grumpy! Oh, good, you’re awake.”

“Oliver, give him some space.”

His Mom’s voice broke through the foggy haze in his mind. “Hey, Grumpy, are you okay?”

Grumpy blinked, seeing Oliver and his Mom both kneeling next to the couch, looking worried. He looked down, and realized he’d turned back into his human form sometime during the night.

“I—I’m fine, is…something the matter?” he asked. His voice was raspy, and his throat was very dry.

“No, no, everything’s fine,” his Mom replied. “Well, actually…you were crying.”

Grumpy reached up and found that his cheeks were still wet.

Oh.

“I’m fine, just…just a bad dream.” he said, quickly wiping at his cheeks. Oliver offered him some water, which he took gratefully and quickly gulped down.

“Come sleep with me,” his Mom told him as he finished drinking. “It’s cold out here in the living room.”

Grumpy nodded, and soon, he was fast asleep in a pile of soft blankets with Oliver on one side and his Mom on the other.

Chapter Text

Grumpy had agreed to help his mom with her pop-up at their local mall’s Artist Weekend. Which he didn’t mind! He didn’t have anything else he needed to do that day, and it was a nice change of pace. And he was being super helpful!

For the most part, he just sorted through boxes and got his mom whatever the customers wanted. Sunday Shop would make a nice profit from the day’s work with how many people came to buy, she’d said, and Grumpy had agreed seeing as almost all of their boxes were empty.

His mom had decided to leave early, so she could go home and prepare more boxes of products for the next day. Grumpy had told her that he wuld stay behind and close up the stall.

It was only an extra hour of work. He didn’t mind at all, with the nice music from the indie artist next door on one side and the vibrant colors of the painter to the other to entertain him. There weren’t many customers left, but most of them had been very nice to him. Except…

“I’m allergic to cats,” the woman continued on, as if Grumpy hadn’t said anything at all. “I can’t even be near them for more than a minute.”

Grumpy wondered if he should tell her he was, in fact, a cat. But he was a dutiful worker, and so he plastered on a polite smile.

“There’s no need to worry about an allergy to cats with Sunday Shop’s cat plushies,” he told the woman. “The material is all cotton. No cats were harmed in the making.”

“I should hope not! I would hate to support a company that harms animals,” the woman sniffed.

Grumpy hoped she wouldn’t sneeze. Then he’d have to disinfect everything on the table. Again, because earlier that day Gray’s soda had overflowed after a little too much shaking. At least the man had had the heart to look apologetic and buy the still-wet pillows.

Luckily she didn’t sneeze, and to Grumpy’s relief the woman stopped talking. He was finally able to ring her up and send her on her way, and he did so quickly. He sank against the wall as she strode away, and took a deep breath, a memory coming to him.

His newest owner was a young man who’d just finished college, or so he told the cashier at the counter.

“He’s going to be a birthday gift for my girlfriend,” he said. “A joint graduation-birthday gift. She loves cute things, and he’d be perfect for her. Our new apartment even allows pets. He reminds me of my sister’s cat, honestly.”

The kitten’s tail waved a little. The man thought he was cute! He’d done something right. He hoped the man’s girlfriend was nice. She sounded like someone who was nice.

The clerk rang him up, and put the kitten inside a store carrier, along with a few basic necessities, and then the man took the entire thing to his car. The kitten was in the front seat, by the man’s shoes, but he didn’t mind that he couldn’t see the view. He was cute! He had a new home! He couldn’t wait.

Light rock came from the radio far above his head, the man humming along to some song the kitten didn’t recognize. Though that was to be expected, considering the pet store had a specific set of songs they played over the radio and his previous owners had preferred television shows to pure music. The man seemed to enjoy the genre however, and so the kitten tried to listen well so if they were ever played at home he would know them. He wanted to be a good kitten for his new owners, and surely that meant knowing the things that they liked. Right? He’d known the shows his last owners had liked to watch–the news, a trivia game show, and travel documentaries. The kitten had listened to all of them with his owners. This man seemed to like listening to music, so the kitten would learn the songs and could listen to them with his new owners.

The car finally stopped after what felt like forever to the excited kitten. In reality it was only around fifteen minutes judging by how many songs had played, but the kitten didn’t care. It was almost his time to shine, and impress the man’s girlfriend. He quickly groomed down the fur on his front paws and hoped the tufts of fur on his head were lying flat.

The man got out of the car, and came around to pick up the carrier. The kitten watched through the bars as the view of a brick-walled apartment filled his field of vision. It was a modest place, but the kitten didn’t mind. As long as he had some toys and a nice window, he’d be fine.

And then he saw her. A pretty young woman, coming towards the man. The kitten thought she looked very nice in her jean jacket and light pink dress. Her long dark hair was tied back in a neat ponytail, and as she came closer, the kitten could see she had on a pair of star-shaped earrings.

“Selena!” The man called excitedly.

“That was a quick trip. You made it sound like you’d be longer,” the woman said. “What do you have there?”

“Your birthday gift, of course! And graduation, to celebrate the end of a long four years,” The man raised the kitten’s carrier. “I know you love cute things, so…”

“You got me a…” The woman bent down to look inside, and the kitten tried to make himself look as cute as possible. Big eyes like his brother, a cute meow like his sister–

The woman’s face fell.

“A…cat, oh, he’s a darling…” she sighed. “But…Jeremy…I’m allergic…”
The carrier was lowered slightly. “Oh no…I didn’t realize…Selena, I”m so sorry, I didn’t realize…”

The woman straightened up, and came closer to her boyfriend, though she steered clear of the carrier and the kitten’s viewpoint. “It’s alright, honey. I know you meant well, but–”

“I can return him. I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize–I’ll get you something else instead, another cute plushie for your collection–”

The kitten’s ear dropped, and he barely registered anything else the couple was saying. He only realized what was happening when his carrier was opened and he was put back into the familiar display cage once more, the sound of the man explaining what had happened to the clerk in the background

He hadn’t even gotten a name before he’d been sent back.

The kitten curled up in the cold cage, alone once again.

“--Grumps? Hey, hello, you there?” Bang’s voice brought him out of the memory, and Grumpy blinked as the Sunday Shop pop-up stall came back into focus. “Event’s over for the day, are we going to that cafe or not?”

“Huh? Oh, right.” Grumpy said as he pushed himself off the wall. “Yeah, we can go.”

“Good. I’ve already cleaned up, so get your stuff and let’s go,” Bang said impatiently. “Mo said that this cafe has a cat corner and it’s been Luna-approved. I want to check it out and see how nice the cats are.”

“Are you a cat critic now?” Grumpy asked as he put away his apron.

Bang scoffed. “Of course!”

“That was a joke…” Grumpy muttered as he started to look for the cashbox, but Bang held it up.

“C’mon, let’s just go already!” Bang said, and Grumpy followed her as she led the way out.