Cat Ears

Originally shared on Sims Amino on August 1, 2016

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At last, the long awaited return of a post dedicated to Haru & Alex! ...Okay, maybe I was the only one wanting this post, but I hope you all enjoy it anyway. This occurs the night following the events of the last part. And you probably know the drill by now: snack, comfy chair, and some spare time.

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Haru's P.O.V.

I walk into my room, tired after the day's events.

"What is even going on in this town?" I mutter, making my way to the computer.

Sitting in the chair, I wiggle the mouse and the screen blazes to life. I squint in the sudden brightness. Waiting for my eyes to adjust to the screen, I stifle a yawn.

Once I'm able to see again, I pull up the internet and go to the local teen forum. The forum is run by the school so that the students can put in ideas on how to improve the school or voice their opinions on current events. It's typically used for the latter though.

I don't have to scroll far before one thread created a week ago catches my eye. I click on the thread titled 'Approached by creepy guy.'

The thread pops up and I notice the original poster is a girl I remember always hanging around the music class. I read through her post:

'I really love this town. It's such a great place to live. But there's something that has really been bugging me recently. The other day, I was leaving the school after guitar practice and I noticed a guy leaning against the flag pole. I'd never seen him before, so I knew he didn't go to the school. He was watching me. At first, I told myself "Knock it off, idiot. Of course he isn't staring at you," but next thing I knew, he'd called out to me. Tried to get me to go to his place. When I refused, he grabbed my wrist and my guitar bag, so I screamed and I saw Mr. & Mrs. Goth come out of their house across the way. Mr. Goth started yelling at the guy and the guy ran off. I've never been so scared. Has this happened to any of you guys?'

I lean back in the chair, lost in thought. What would've happened to that girl if Alex's parents hadn't come out of their house? What would've happened to Lilliana if Licht hadn't been in the area?

I scroll down and scan through numerous replies from other girls saying similar things. A few happened right around the school, while the majority, like Lilliana, took place nowhere near the school. There are a few replies from teachers stating that they would be keeping an eye out for this kind of behavior around school and that the police had been notified to be watching around town for this.

I tap my chin. "So this has become a common occurrence over the past week. Something is definitely not right."

I can feel my eyelids getting heavy, so I turn the screen off and head to bed. The room is sweltering, so I forego the blanket and just lay on top. My eyes are on the door even as my lids get heavier and heavier.

"Alex, you're not sleepy yet?" I sigh, falling into sleep's warm embrace.

~•*°*•*°*•~

My eyes flutter open. The first thing I notice is the bed across the room. Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I glance behind me and realize I'm sitting on the leather loveseat against the window. The sky outside is still dark, so I know I can't have been asleep too long.

"Ugh, was I sleepwalking?" I sigh and run a hand through my hair. "Guess I shouldn't have read that forum thread right before going to bed. Mom always says she can tell when I'm stressed because I sleepwalk."

I hear the creak of the door opening and glance up to see someone walk in and close the door behind him.

"So you finally decided you were tired," I say, a grin spreading across my face. He jumps a little and my grin gets bigger.

He whips around and suddenly he's flying across the room towards me. Now it's my turn to jump and I'm startled as he tackles me against the loveseat.

"Whoa!" I can't help but gasp, the wind knocked out of me. He wraps his arms tightly around my neck. "Hey, what brought this on all of a sudden, Alex?"

"I mean, not that I don't like you hugging me." I pat him gently on the back. "In fact, it's a nice change of pace. Usually I'm the one being touchy feely, so it's a little exciting seeing you like this."

It isn't just his actions that I find exciting. He's wearing only a baggy white shirt and some boxers. Unusual for him when he doesn't like to go around without pants on.

He's murmuring something, so I lean in closer to hear what he's saying. Then I realize he isn't murmuring at all.

He's purring.

I carefully push him back and he places his knee on my thigh, looking down at me. His red eyes glitter from the moonlight filtering through the window behind me. His lips are curled in a mischievous smirk.

And that's when I notice them.

The cat ears.

"...Why do you have those?" I ask.

He runs his fingers through my hair. "I don't know what you're talking about. I've always had these~" His voice is teasing and seductive.

He flips onto his back and lays his head in my lap. His feet are propped against the back of the loveseat and his eyes are locked on mine.

"Do you not...like my ears?" His expression changes to one of sadness.

"No! I never said that! I think they look good on you!" I say it before I can stop myself, and I'm not even sure what is going on anymore.

His expression turns impish and his mouth forms a cat-like smile. "Oh I know you think so. I can tell. I can tell exactly how you feel." He tilts his head to his left and bites his lower lip, giving me half-lidded eyes.

Crap. My cheeks heat up at what he is implying and I look away.

He snickers and pulls himself up to the opposite end of the loveseat. He turns around and places his legs across my lap.

"Your lap makes a nice pillow, but I think it's much more comfy like this right now. For the both of us," he says, his voice low and seductive. He stretches lazily, his eyes trained on my face.

I run my hand through my hair, the heat subsiding somewhat. "Are you feeling okay? You're not acting like your usual self."

He waves his hand in the air, dismissing the idea. "I'm perfectly fine. I don't know what you mean. I'm just the same as usual."

"I've always been this way. You just haven't seen this side of me." He tilts his head to the side. "Isn't it an interesting new side to see~?"

I stare at him and he stares right back. His lips curl in a mischievous smile. I lean back, watching him warily. He leans forward, eyeing me like a lion on the prowl.

He crawls back towards me on his hands and knees, slowly, making a big show of it. How he doesn't slip off the loveseat, I haven't the slightest clue.

He plops down completely in my lap this time. "Actually, I think this is much more comfy~" He shifts a little and smirks at my sudden intake of breath as the heat returns.

He presses his forehead against mine. Our breath mingles together and I'm getting the strong urge to kiss him. He seems to sense this, and tilts his head to the side again, his eyes sparkling in the moonlight.

He starts humming a little tune and ever so gently caresses my bottom lip with his thumb.

"What a naughty boy you are~" Alex purrs, his warm breath tickling my ear. "You're always teasing me. Now it's my turn to tease you~"

I dart in to kiss him, but instead he quickly whips around and I end up kissing the back of his neck instead.

"Ah, ah, ah~! That's not how teasing works," he chuckles. "You gotta build up to that."

He slides off my lap and I sigh in frustration. "I think I understand how you feel now when I tease you all the time. Though this isn't exactly the same kind of teasing."

Alex taps his chin with his pinky. "No, I suppose not, but this is so much more fun~!"

He threads his fingers through mine and uses his other hand to draw an invisible circle on my knee. The sensation sends a shiver through me and I jerk a little. He pauses briefly, and I can practically hear the smile in his voice.

"My, my. Are you ticklish there, Haru~?"

I grit my teeth and look away. "Nope. Not in the slightest."

"Really~?" He continues drawing circles.

Unable to stand it any longer, I grab him under the armpits, lift him up, and slide to the other side of the loveseat.

"Hey! Let go! I'M supposed to be teasing YOU." He whines, puffing out his cheeks like a chipmunk.

"I can't. I won't let go. You're too cute." I wrap my arms around his waist, refusing to let go even as he struggles.

"No fair~" he says, finally sitting still.

I lay back on the loveseat, and he rolls onto his stomach. I wrap my arm around him.

"Can we just...stay like this?" I ask in the silence. "No teasing, just snuggling."

"Mmm...I'd much rather be teasing, but...I guess we could stay like this. For now." He says, laying his head against my chest.

I stare up at the ceiling for a few more seconds before I flip over on top of him.

"I thought we were gonna snuggle~" he purrs.

"We did. I never said for how long."

I place my hand on his thigh as I lean towards his lips, aiming for the kiss he's been keeping from me.

"So impatient~" he snickers, weaving his fingers through my hair.

"Impatience is my middle name," I murmur, our lips a fraction of an inch apart.

"Well, maybe you should change it."

He leans his head back and brings it forward quickly, headbutting me square in the forehead with a loud crack.

I don't feel the pain but my vision immediately goes blurry and I feel myself fall back.

"Tsk, tsk. I told you, I was the one doing the teasing," I hear him say, his voice muffled as I lose consciousness.

This no longer feels like Alex anymore. Not MY Alex anyway. Alex wouldn't have headbutted me, not on purpose anyway. The last time he headbutted me was an accident because he was sleeping.

I can just barely lift my head. "Who...are you?"

He looks over at me and winks.

"Why, I'm Alex of course. Though you happen to be sleeping, so I'm likely not the one you know~"

Then I pass out.

~•*°*•*°*•~

I jerk awake on my bed. Panting, I stare at my ceiling, trying to bring my mind back to reality. I close my eyes and sigh.

"What even was that?" I ask the empty room.

I sit up and rub my hand against the back of my neck.

"Ugh, I'm all sweaty." I fan myself with my pajama top. "Is it from this summer heat or that dream?"

My mind flashes back to the dream and I feel my ears heat up. "Definitely the summer heat."

I glance at the clock sitting on the computer desk and realize I've only been asleep for about ten minutes.

"Felt like forever," I mutter, rubbing my eyes. The creak of the door makes me go silent.

"H-Haru? You're still awake?"

I close my eyes in relief. That's the voice I know. "Sort of."

I stand up and walk around the side of the bed. "I briefly fell asleep, but then I had this weird dr--"

My voice trails off.

The cat ears.

He's wearing. The cat ears.

Alex's face is redder than Yusuke's hair.

"I-I'm not wearing these because I want to!" He stammers, wringing his hands and avoiding my gaze. "L-Lilliana said I'd look cute in them and she said you'd like them, s-s-so she made me wear them...!!"

He squeezes his eyes shut tight and I can practically feel the embarrassment rolling off him in waves.

I remain quiet a moment longer before I take a step forward. He glances up through his bangs shyly, and that's all I need before I rapidly close the distance between us. I grab him by the wrist and pull him to me.

His eyes are wide with surprise, his earlier embarrassment momentarily forgotten. I press my lips to his, groaning happily at finally being able to kiss him after Dream Alex had teased me so much.

I pull back briefly to look at him. His eyes are half-lidded and he's breathing heavily. I stroke his cheek.

"Lilliana was right," I murmur. "You look super cute in them."

I place my hand on his neck and gently tilt his head back, capturing his lips again. He completely closes his eyes as he places his hand on my arm, clinging to me.

I slowly walk him backwards until he hits the bed. When he reaches it, he collapses on top of it, and I follow him, our lips not separating for a second.

I place my hand over his, lacing our fingers together.

This is the Alex I want.

My Alex.

He doesn't have to go out of his way to tease me.

He already does so unintentionally.

~•*°*•*°*•~

Lilliana leans in, listening.

"Lilliana was right," she hears Haru murmur. "You look super cute in them."

"Ha! I told him~" she says. "No one can resist the cat ears."

She giggles and skips back to her room.

~•*°*•*°*•~

Lilliana, you shouldn't be engaging in these activities.

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