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SATURDAY, MORNING
7:04 AM
"meddy? where are you??" subspace calls from the kitchen, haphazardly throwing things he pulled out from medkit's refrigerator into a pan on an unlit stove.
he gets no response, and he frowns. it's already been a few minutes!
subspace abandons his cooking post, throwing off the apron he was wearing and walking towards the end of their shared kitchen. he places his hands on his hips, looking like an angry housewife who was fucking done with her lame husband's antics. his tail flicks in an annoyed manner.
he calls out for medkit again, all screechy, before groaning and exiting the kitchen fully. he walks a bit more into the doctor's living room, foot tapping furiously on the wooden floor.
"hellloooo? meddy, since when did you get deaf?!?! if you don't come here this instant, you're going to be in big trouble!!"
subspace waits for a moment, hoping to see medkit rush down the hall. it had worked the first few times, because the scientist would threaten to sting him if he didn't show himself, the stinger on his tail forever glinting dangerously, promising electrifying pain. this had lead to medkit trying to avoid being stung as much as possible, sometimes acting uncharacteristically. however, there still had not been any reply or signs of movement from the other end of the house.
"medkit? oi, medkit! weewoo weewoo weewoo..!" subspace calls out while he walks down the corridor, trying to play it off as a joke to entice medkit into coming out of whatever hiding spot he thinks will work. it never works. and it never will.
he's slightly nervous now, the hairs at the end of his tail bristling.
his feet lead him to their now shared bedroom, after subspace had made himself at home. he opens the door to the bedroom slowly.
almost immediately, his gaze lands on something, or rather an organism, that is not supposed to be there. there is a cat perched on the bedside table. a fucking cat. he blinks in surprise, tail standing up straight from alertness.
"gah?! meddy!! why is there a random cat in here? did you leave the fucking window open?"
subspace wants to chew medkit out so fucking badly.
the cat is busy rotating in circles as if trying to inspect itself, or maybe it's trying to bite its tail. subspace tilts his head in confusion at the behaviour. it doesn't move off the table, yet is somehow nimble enough to rotate without falling off the edge.
annoyed, subspace walks in to check the windows. there's currently light snowfall, but there's a thick layer of it already carpeting the ground. it must have been a snowstorm last night, then. that could be the reason why the cat had decided to take refuge in here in the first place.
he frowns and his eye narrows. he tightly closes the curtains shut. fuck the sun. he wants to sit in the room and brood and blow up medkit in his head for suddenly disappearing. subspace sighs and checks the closet. nothing. just clothes. medkit could only fit in there when all the items inside are removed, after all. he checks below the bed. nothing, but there are small dust bunnies. he'd have to clean it later. he yanks the blanket off the bed, just in case, but there's still no sign of medkit.
"this is all your fault, meddy! now there's a cat in here and you're avoiding me!!" he grumbles.
subspace spins on his heel, turning around to storm outside the bedroom to search the rest of the house but stops in his tracks when he catches the cat giving him a dead side–eye. what??
he realises the cat only has one eye, and it's not from birth. subspace falters and approaches it slowly.
"uum, hi, kitty.. i don't bite! i'm really nice, i promise!"
the cat continues to stare. its tail thumps against the wooden table in some sort of frustration, and subspace can understand the feeling somewhat. he takes a deep breath (as much as his rotting lungs can hold) and sits next to it on the edge of the bed.
"i know you don't wanna be in here, i wasn't expecting guests either!! once meddy comes back, you should claw at his face for him getting you stuck here!"
the cat tilts its head as if it understands. it lifts a paw up to groom its fur a few times before setting it down again. why does it look so.. full of itself? is that even a thing? subspace pauses, captivated. eyeing him lazily, the cat shifts from sitting down to curling up as a loaf.
throwing his worries out the window, subspace lets delight wash over his features. perhaps the cat will understand that too and realise he's friendly despite appearances?
the scientist coos at it, tentatively reaching a claw to stroke the cat's back. he quickly looks at the door and then back to the cat, as if he was going to get caught by someone.. or medkit.
"hi… little kitty… do you wanna come sit on the bed? it's more comfy than the table!!"
he attempts at communication, to see if he'll get somewhere. a hypothesis.. mainly to prove that subspace isn't just imagining things. for all he knows, the cat could be very emotionally intelligent!
the cat slowly blinks and stands up, stretching its feet. it gracefully jumps onto the bed where it sits down on its behind, staring up at subspace. it looks a little smug.. how??
subspace however can barely suppress a squeal at the cuteness. it had been a long time since any animal ever approached him, ever since the rot spread. the cat is so fluffy and well–groomed too, a pretty cream colour with long ears. it's on the slender side but he can still make out the pouch on the cat's stomach. his claws flex instinctually, wanting to tackle the cat with how much adorableness it was emitting.
all subspace wants to do is grab the cat to place it on his lap and smush his face against it, but the cat doesn't know him and will definitely scratch him! it looks like it has an attitude too, like it's the one tolerating subspace and not the other way around.
"soo.. uumm…" he pauses.
the scientist reaches to stroke behind the kitty's ears. it seems hesitant at first, but eventually leans in to the touch.
"you're so cute!!! i think you may be someone else's cat but you're in my house now so i'm gonna keep you!!"
it looks at him unimpressed. he giggles and scoots closer.
"well, it's not actually my house on paper!! but i'm here so often i might as well co–own it!! …don't tell him that though!"
"i wonder how you got in here, anyway! the window wasn't open.. unless… medkit snuck you inside??" he glances at the curtains, absentmindedly enjoying the soft sensation of the cat's fur.
the cat's tail swishes behind it, daring him to go on. the scientist stares back at it. he does, claw trailing back up to scratch underneath the cat's chin. it keens.
"ooh, maybe you were freezing outside?? and meddy saw?"
it presses its face closer to subspace's now still palm, seemingly amused.
"meddy's kinda like the grinch, you know!! he acts all constipated and hard to get but he's so kind!! even i wouldn't have noticed you in the snow!"
why does it look like the cat is smirking..? subspace makes a noise of excitement and gently pinches one of its ears. he rolls it between his fingers.
"but meddy.. he's very caring too! and a hypocrite!! he hates being a doctor but he always nurses me back to health! i have my own little nurse to take care of me, isn't that soo romantic??"
subspace looks expectantly at the cat. it stares at him, its throat beginning to rumble and vibrate.
"o–oh!! you're purring…"
he trails off, giddy, and inches his face closer to the cat. breathing slowly but heavily, subspace presses his cheek against the cat's forehead. it scrunches its face from the rotting flesh smell. but the cat ultimately doesn't move, as if it is already used to it.
"we're going to get along soo well!! i'm gonna take you out on picnics and sleep with you in bed and give you baths!!"
the cat shifts into laying on its side. the scientist scratches behind its nape, and it leans back, asking for more. he obliges with a hoarse giggle. subspace's eye scans its body and he notices its.. balls.
"you're a boy!! we're both boys!!"
he says like an idiot. the kitty rolls its eye, but subspace thankfully doesn't notice. he lays on his own side and mirrors the cat's position. breakfast and medkit had been completely forgotten in his mind, too occupied with the prospect of adopting (stealing) such a cute cat.
subspace reaches a hand out to caress the cat's belly slowly. it startles, letting out a whine. its head moves around, avoiding eye contact with subspace. he reels his claw back.
"wh— what's wrong?! you're still purring.. you're okay, right??" his crystal spins nervously. "plus.. you're just so… soft.. too..."
subspace moves closer until he's breathing down the cat's neck again. his hands start wandering everywhere to pet the fur, bunching it up slightly, enveloping his pink–stained claws with sheer fluffiness. the cat strains the muscles in its neck to look away, shy.
subspace starts purring too, and his tail wraps around the cat to push it closer. the stinger is curled inwards to protect the cat from being stung. he feels so comfortable and floaty, and he never wants to come down ever again. he should have gotten a cat much earlier. is this how hyperlaser feels like everyday?
despite the cat only having one eye, the pupil is dilated, making it look like a boba eye, due to the affection it was receiving. it places a paw on subspace's cheek. he exhales suddenly, causing its ears to twitch.
the scientist tugs the paw off him and gently massages the paw pads.
"oh my gods!!" he snaps back into reality, eye sparkling. "you have such soft toe beans!! i could just eat you up..!! for breakfast! and you're really squishy, too!!"
subspace raises the paw to look at the underside of it, the paw pads are pink and clean. his wide grin goes lopsided, and he's vibrating so much from excitement, borderline feverish. it's taking everything in him not to pick up the cat and twirl it around the room.
the cat looks at him in disbelief like 'really? you're purring more than me?'. still, it trills, surprising itself and subspace, and they both look at each other.
"y–yes?? what do you need?" subspace asks, completely unfamiliar with cat noises.
the paw is still being held. he's talking to it like a demon now, and not an animal. if someone (medkit) catches him like this, he'd be so embarrassed. the great subspace t.mine cozying up to a cat and trying to communicate with it… he'll never be able to live it down. he'd get bullied by medkit forever.
like a normal cat and not a weirdo like subspace, it doesn't reply with another noise. it nuzzles closer to the scientist and flops its head down, looking like it's preparing to take a long nap. he had heard that cats sleep more than half the day, but, still!
"eh?? kitty! hey, kitty!"
the cat smacks its tail on subspace's thigh, but doesn't open its eye.
"ow, hey!" he drops the paw and grabs the tail to hold it still. "listen, you can't sleep here yet!! i still haven't found medkit, that stupid little traitor, and if he comes back when we're both sleeping on his bed, he's gonna get really mad!!"
the cat ignores him, but it does give subspace a half–lidded stare in.. condescendence?
the cat lets out a long, drawn–out meow.
"what?? you think it's safe?"
the cat's tail tries to wriggle free from subspace's grasp to no avail.
"uum… if you say so..! you're a cat with better senses than me, so if he's at the front door, you'll wake me up, right?? or hide yourself?"
the scientist swears the cat gives a little nod, but it still looks like it knows something he doesn't. he places its tail back down.
he breathes out a long sigh, surrendering to the narrative. he is going to fall asleep with the kitty in his arms. "okayy.. fine.. since you're so cute!" he pinches the cat's cheek, cooing again like a mother bird, his tongue peeking out between rows of jagged, sharp teeth.
apprehensively, he opens his arms out for a hug, and is genuinely surprised when the cat recognises his intention, burying itself into his body. the scientist lets himself go limp, maximising contact between exoskeleton and fluff as much as possible.
subspace's tail twitches like mad from cuteness aggression, and he goes rigid when he feels the cat press its tail against his, hard, trapping it underneath and stopping it from moving. his cheeks heat up, sheepish.
the cat lazily opens its only eye again to look at him, gauging a reaction.
"i— um— i—" subspace says dumbly. his maw opens and closes a few times. he whines, acting more like a feline than the actual cream–coloured one in his arms.
the cat bonks its head against subspace's chin, probably accidentally, but it spooked him regardless. his cheeks feel very, very, warm now. since when did he get flustered so easily, at his age and status?!
"l–let's just go to sleep, okay little kitty??" he stammers, rubbing a claw up and down the cat's back in an attempt to self–soothe and not for the cat's own pleasure.
the cat agrees by closing its eye, getting more comfortable to doze off. subspace follows suit, gaze lingering on the cat for a few moments before his eye slips shut as well, sleep overtaking him.
subspace is woken up by a long tail poking him in the thigh and something very big and demon–like trapped in his embrace. his face scrunches up, and he feels a hand wipe the drool that had been gathering at the corner of his mouth.
his eye flies open, and he jumps, even more shocked to see medkit, the bane of his existence of this morning, looking at him with teal–tinted cheeks, trying his absolute hardest to hide a smile.
"what the fuck—?!" subspace squirms, until medkit digs his own claws into his waist and he yelps.
"meddy, what—" he cuts his own self off. since when did medkit have claws?!
medkit ignores him, finding a loose strand of thread on their shared blanket very interesting suddenly.
subspace blinks rapidly, and tries to process the situation. okay. first things first, the cat is gone. it had either gotten kicked out of the house, or is now wandering somewhere within it. at some point during his nap, medkit had exchanged places with the cat and they had been cuddling in a blanket together. medkit has also somehow gained or developed claws.
his eye trails down to the appendage now wrapped around his thigh. it's cream–coloured and long and looks nothing like a short fluffy deer tail. oh. fuck.
his heart thumps weirdly against his uneven ribcage. is he in a fever–induced dream or is he that anxious?? there's no way. there's no way the love of his life had been the cat he was playing with earlier!
his worst fears are confirmed when he notices a set of long, cream–coloured cat ears twitching on medkit's head from his peripheral, nestled between his two teal antlers. with effort, he brings a claw to push medkit's face back into looking at him. they lock gazes, both silent for a few moments.
everything from earlier in the morning hits him like a tidal wave. he had ranted about medkit to medkit. and the doctor, who somehow had transformed into a cat, listened to every word he said and played along. indulged him. medkit had let subspace squeal and dote over him in his cat form, and he probably relished every moment of it. fucking bastard.
warmth pools in his cheeks and his crystal pulses in embarrassment. subspace breaks first, and he pouts. medkit lets out a breathy chuckle.
"what the hell is happening, meddy?!"
medkit winces from the loud volume. he places a hand against the other's maw. the scientist briefly registers the sensation of medkit's apparent and real paw pads against his face. he looks blankly at him. subspace's curiosity and demand for answers outweighs his urge to lick the paw pads, so he holds himself back.
medkit, as eloquent as he is, finds himself saying nothing. subspace yanks his claw from underneath medkit's body and tugs harshly on one of his cat ears. a pained whine slips out from the medic, and his tail unwinds itself from his thigh to slap him in the stomach.
it doesn't hurt. it's a little cute, even.
somehow, subspace guesses, some cat hormones (or pheromones? he can't tell) are making him more clingy, because medkit tries to press himself further into him, rubbing his cheeks and the sides of his neck all over subspace. their horns bump against each other.
oh, subspace thinks. meddy's marking me. he feels his heart flutter, heat swirling in his gut.
a beat passes, and then, after being satisfied with scenting subspace enough— medkit says shakily, "surprise..?"
subspace nearly pushes him off the bed for that.