friend
a thrilling conclusion for kit!
Brian walks up to Dan, who is watching Kit nap in a pile of blankets and pillows pulled from around the office. It’s almost the time they usually call it a day, but with Arin and Ross in their current state, that’s a bit hard to do. Dan looks at the older, grinning from ear to ear. “Look at ‘em, they’re adorable. Like a pillow dragon!”
Brian sighs. “I found the answer. For getting them apart.”
“Shit, really?” Dan smiles, although a bit of disappointment tinges his excitement. “What do we have to do?”
“Well, I’d texted Holly to let her know that Ross was in a bit of an issue, and I explained what had happened. She had me check back in the engineering room where we found them and turns out those glass shards were from a potion bottle, one of hers. Untested, unknown, and she’s betting Ross stole it to prank Arin and didn’t count on getting caught in the backsplash. I’m heading over to their place now to grab the antidote.” He looks at Dan, a serious look on his face. “Can you watch them while I do that?”
“Of course! I’m obviously the best people sitter ever. Plus, I doubt he’ll wake up, they’ve been out since I found that laser pointer.”
Brian nods, grabbing his keys. “Alright, okay. I’ll be back in twenty minutes. Don’t fuck anything up.”
With that, he’s gone, leaving Dan alone with Kit. He exhales, sitting in Brian’s chair and watching the cat sleep. “I’m definitely gonna miss you, dude, you’re kinda fun to have around… and you’re super adorable, and—shit, I miss Arin and all, but… you’re still kinda him…”
He doesn’t notice the fusion’s eyes open, too lost in his rambling thoughts. He doesn’t notice them get up, slinking over to nudge their head under his hand. “Dan?”
Dan jolts out of his contemplation, looking down at the hybrid and stroking their hair as they seem to want him to. “Sorry I woke you, Kit.”
“Miss?”
“Oh, you heard that… yeah, I’m gonna miss you.”
“Not leave.”
“Brian found a way to get you to come apart, bring Ross and Arin back…”
“No. Not leave. Kit stay. Kit here.”
Dan sighs, scratching their ears. “You gotta, buddy, I’m sorry.”
“No.” Kit pulls away from the scratches, a look akin to disgust crossing their features. “No. Kit stay. Kit stay always.”
“Kit, we need Arin and Ross—”
“No!” They stand up, fur poofed up and making them seem bigger than they really are. “Arin, Ross, me! Same! Kit!”
“Just rel—”
Kit bares his teeth and growls at Dan, pupils reduced to feral slits. “No!”
The taller man gets up, trying to pull Kit into a hug, but the cat just shoves him away. “Kit, please, I’m sorry—”
“Dan hate!” They’re crying, tears soaking into the soft fur around their eyes. They don’t just look angry, they look hurt. “Why?! Why Dan hate? Thought like!!”
“I-I do like you, Kit, I do!”
“No! Liar! Only like parts!” They scrub at their face, trying to stem the flow of tears.
“That’s not true!” Dan steps forwards again, only to be met with a clawed hand swiping at his face and dragging down his cheek, leaving angry red scratches behind. The shock of being hit has him stumbling back, clutching his face and staring at Kit with wide eyes.
The hybrid realizes what they’ve just done, eyes as wide as Dan’s, if not wider. There’s a difference in the two eyes now, more than the color, like…
Like two different people are staring at him from within.
“I-I’m so sorry…” The hybrid chokes the apology out, before turning and running from the room with their tail literally between their legs.
Dan stands in shock for a moment before grabbing his phone. He’s barely aware of the trickle of blood down his cheek, of the sound of a door slamming somewhere in the building. Could have been a closet door, or maybe the main door, who knows? He slowly dials a number, holding the phone to his ear.
“Hello? Dan? Don’t need to be so impatient, I got the antidote from Holly.” Brian seems tired, likely from dealing with a tall fluffy three-year-old and Kit all day.
“Doesn’t matter.”
“What do you mean, it doesn’t matter? Of course it matters. You know we need Arin and Ross apart.”
“They’re gone.”
The line is silent for too long. “What?”
“They’re gone…. I… I mentioned coming apart and they freaked out… Kit slapped me and scratched my face and they just fucking ran, Brian… I don’t know if they’re even still in the building…”
“Okay… okay.” Brian audibly takes a breath, pushing down his own feelings about this. “We can find him. I’m sure there aren’t many cat fusions running around the city.”
“I’m sorry, Bri, I shouldn’t have—”
“You had no way of knowing they’d react like that, so don’t beat yourself up. Start checking the office, he might still be there. I’ll drive around the area and see if I can’t find him out here.”
“What if… what if someone else finds them first, and they get sent to the pound or some lab or…” Dan trails off, starting to be overcome by his fear that he’s going to be the reason they never see Arin and Ross again, as Kit or apart.
“Don’t think like that, Danny. We’ll find them. And then we’ll get our boys back. Get looking, I’ll start looking too.”
“Okay.” Dan hangs up, staring at the floor for awhile before finally convincing himself to stand and start his search.
Searching the office yields no sign of the cat, and Dan hasn’t heard anything from Brian about finding him outside. Worst case scenarios of Kit being used as a sick science experiment flash through his mind, up until he hears soft crying as he passes by Arin’s office.
The one place he’d forgotten to check.
Pulling out his phone to text Brian takes only a second, and then he’s pushing the door open gently. Fabric ruffles around, and at first glance, no one is in there. Dan sighs, thinking he’s been tricked, until he sees two eyes shining at him from under the desk. Quietly, he pushes the door shut, sitting against it. “Hey, Kit… I see you there… come over here if you want, I promise not to do anything.”
A veritable eternity passes before the cat pulls himself out of the cramped hiding spot, laying across Dan’s lap as hiccups wrack their lean body.
Dan’s fingers curl in their soft fur, scratching gently along their shoulder. “I’m sorry I scared you. I didn’t mean to… but I do care about you… I just miss Arin and Ross… and I’m gonna miss you too, ‘cause we need them back…”
Kit sniffles, sitting up to hug Dan and bury their face in his shoulder. “Didn’… didn’t mean hurt… just… scared…”
“What are you scared of, little buddy?”
They shrug, shaking their head. “Scared… cause love you. Don’ wanna go…”
Dan smiles a bit, softly kissing their head. “I love you too, Kit, don’t get me wrong. But I love Arin and Ross too, they’re my best friends.”
“Kit… Kit best friend?”
“You’re my best friend too, Kit. Always.”
They smile at him, starting to purr as Dan scratches their back. “Kit come back?”
“What do you mean?”
“Kit… Kit need… break. But… come back? Later?” They look up at Dan, tilting their head ever so slightly.
“If Arin and Ross are up for it, absolutely. I’d love to have you back to visit.”
They seem satisfied with this and nod, tail lazily flicking through the air. A soft knock sounds from behind them, and Dan scoots the two of them away from the door. Brian comes in with a small green bottle in his hand, breathing a sigh of relief as he sees the two. Kit looks at the bottle, then at Brian and Dan.
“Kit ready.”
“You sure, buddy?” Dan is sad to see them go already, but he knows this needs to happen.
“Yeah.” They reach up to Brian, pulling him into a hug too. “Grumpy. But nice.”
Brian chuckles, kneeling by them and pulling the stopper from the bottle. “Holly said to just pour it on them, it’ll break them apart.”
Kit nods, giving a tiny wave to Dan, even though they haven’t moved from his lap. The concoction is poured into Kit’s hair, soaking in and smelling of fresh pie. They grin and move to hug Dan again, and he hugs back as a glow overtakes them.
Then, he’s hugging Arin, with Ross squished between them. Ross is still clothed the same as when they fused, but Arin’s shirtless now. Thank god he’s still wearing his shorts. Well, Brian and Ross are thanking God. Especially Ross, given his current position.
Arin looks up at Brian, a half-amused smile crossing his face. “’Hewwo?’ Seriously? You taught us to say ‘hewwo’?”
Ross snickers. “I wish he’d taught us more than that.”
Arin swats Ross’ shoulder, shoving him out of the hug so he can cuddle against Dan. “I can’t believe you tricked me like that, Ross. I should have known nibs don’t snap.”
The younger shrugs with a big grin on his face. “But you fell for it anyway! And you can’t tell me that wasn’t fun.”
“…Okay, maybe I can’t. But you’re still an asshole.”
“I accept that title.”
Brian rolls his eyes, guiding Ross out. “Your wife is pissed about you taking her potions for pranks, you might want to go deal with that before she hexes your dick off.”
Dan chuckles, turning back to face Arin, who has a sly grin. “So, you love Kit?”
The older man stammers, face going bright red, as the other just laughs and presses a gentle kiss to his lips. “You think I care? I was in that body with Ross, and he was in the whole loving thing too. Not a big deal.”
“You… you sure? I don’t want you to feel like I’d be cheating on you… with you… by telling him that.”
Arin rolls his eyes. “Platonic love is a thing, Avidan. A great thing.”
“Oh yeah. I forgot.”
“You’re an idiot.”
“Yeah, well, you love me anyway, Hanson. Now kiss me again, I’ve been missing your smooches all day.” Dan grins, puckering up exaggeratedly.
Arin just shoves his face playfully before kissing him.
