I know I should be writing on my WIPs. But I just wanted to do something fluff... ish. It didn't turn out the way I intended but I liked it nonetheless. котенок is the masculinum of ''kitten'', I believe. And yes, this is slash but no citrus stuff.

Enjoy!

котенок

''What are you doing?''

The typing ceased for a brief moment, leaving room for the tense silence that hovered around them, before picking up again as if it had never paused at all.

''Looking for a job'' was the deadpan reply of the man by the laptop.

Rei looked incredulous for a moment. Standing in the doorway, he scratched his arm in a feeble attempt to compose himself, though in vain. His thoughts were erratic at best, every nerve and muscle vibrating in a unified tension. The broad shoulders of his room mate looked relaxed, casual even; as if it had been any other Sunday.

''Why?'' was the best thing Rei could come up with.

Boris' fingers froze over the keyboard, like thin spiderlegs above the shiny buttons. He heaved a sigh that was only half as tired as it was annoyed and when he turned around, his face was more bored than Rei had expected. He'd been assuming there would be snarling, spitting, even some snappy insults mumbled under the Russian's breath. Instead the man looked strangely composed, almost as if Rei had imagined their previous fight. The glare he recieved did indeed look like it was meant for a lunatic.

''Because according to you I'm a - and I quote'' he put his fingers up to make the appropriate quotation marks ''''A good-for nothing, lazy dickface'' and that I should ''get'' my ''thumb out of'' my ''ass and try to do something productive for a change''''

Rei just looked at him, his jaw muscles abnormally slack for a moment.

''I - I said that?''

Boris nodded slowly, like he was talking to somone suffering severe brain damage.

''Well, no, you called me a lan yeung. But I gather the meaning is the same.''

Rei frowned.

''Where'd you..?''

''I googled for Cantonese swearwords and insults the very first time you threw a bitch fit.''

''Oh.''

Boris noded.

''It's actually proven to be pretty useful information.''

Rei bit his lip. He was not pleased with the way things were progressing. He guessed it shouldn't feel weird when his boyfrined wasn't filled with all the fury of mankind for a change, but it was in fact very, very, very weird.

''... is it too much of a stretch to suppose you've been replaced with an impostor?'' Rei touched his forehead. ''Maybe I have a fever and I'm just hallucinating all of this. Am I hallucinating this?''

Boris mumbled something under his breath, but turned around much like a person not trying to instigate a fight would.

''I must be hallucinating.'' Rei spent the next few minutes poking a nearby lamp, trying to determine whether it felt real or not.

After a moment or so, seeing his movements reflected in the screen, Boris turned around again.

''What are you doing?''

Rei poked the lamp some more. It did feel real, but then again, if he was indeed hallucinating, how would he be able to tell the difference? Glaring suspiciously at the lamp one final time, Rei walked over to the couch.

''What jobs are you looking for?''

''Anything at all, really.'' Boris turned back to the screen. ''I'm not very qualified so... not a lot of choices.''

Rei looked at him. Boris chose to ignore him for some reason. Standing there in silence until his legs started to cramp, Rei came to a realization. With almost no sound at all, he leant over the backrest and closed his arms around the larger man; Boris didn't have the courtesy to hide his surprised little jolt, and when he looked at his partner it was with the uttermost confusion.

''Rei, what's -''

''I love you.'' he simply said.

Boris opened his mouth to respond, but came to no satisfying reply.

''Oh'' would suffice, he decided, as it was the most intelligent response he could muster for the moment. ''Alright.''

''Alright?'' Rei pinched his ear. ''You sure you're not a doppelgänger?''

Boris rolled his eyes and closed down the laptop, crossing his arms as he fxied the other with a glare. When Rei steadied himself against the backrest with his hands, glaring right back, he started to feel the semblance of normalcy.

''I'm trying to be productive for a change and you're not very helpful.''

Rei sighed. Against his better judgment, his conscience was starting to get the better of him.

''I am sorry I called you a dickhead.''

''Dickface.''

''Dickface. I'm sorry I called you a dickface.''

They kept eye contact, but it was not as unpleasant as Rei had expected.

''You're strangely... non-dickfacy about all this.'' He added as an afterthought.

Boris scoffed, shaking his head as if amused by all of this. Rei couldn't help but feel like he was being ridiculed.

''I'm trying to be nice here''

''Yes, yes, exactly'' Rei nodded, biting his cheek, eyeing the man much like he eyed strangers that walked just an inch too close to him on the subway. ''You're being too nice. I thought you were going to hurl some furniture out the window and instead I find you sitting here, actually... doing what I told you to do.''

Boris arched a brow.

''You're not a very good boyfriend, you know.'' he drawled, sounding anything but annoyed and it was starting to unnerve Rei.

''Boris. You're... weirding me out.''

There was a smirk.

''Of course I am, котенок.'' at the sight of Rei's glare, he reached out and grabbed a hold of his collar, the smirk getting wider. ''You'd prefer me to smash some furniture?''

Rei huffed, but to his annoyance he felt the previous belligerence diminish. Maybe that was Boris' tactic all along. Maybe he just wanted to mess with Rei's head, as revenge for their earlier fight. Maybe he was just overthinking all of it and should really be happy that Boris had actually listened to him for a change, like a normal, mature, adult human being. But Boris wasn't any of those things, so why he was showing such good nature now Rei could not possibly imagine. At the same tme he felt incredibly guilty because maybe Boris just was trying to be nice for a change, for their sake, and here he was being all bitter about it.

Noticing his partner was zoning off into his little head of worries, Boris let out a sigh he'd let out many times, being much too familiar with this situation. It seemed whatever he did Rei always pondered it until his brain curled into itself. It was kind of sad, really; Boris really was just trying to be nice.

''You know'' he said, dragging the other down to the couch where he uncharacteristically clumsily fell onto the other man. ''If I would work I'd have less time to be around.''

Rei pouted stubbornly.

''You're trying to guilt trip me, aren't you?''

Boris snorted. Rei was about to say something when the Russian reached out and ruffled his hair, mitigating his urge for spitting nasty remarks. Rei sent him a glare, but only recieved a grin in return. It was one of the nice ones, he noted. The ones that made him all stupid inside.

''I love you'' Rei said again. ''Did you know that?''

Boris rolled his eyes.

''Yes, you told me like, five minutes ago.''

Rei laid his head down on his chest, fiddling with a string on Boris' shirt.

''I hate this shirt.'' he said, a small speck of hostility still within him. It really was his favourite. Actually, if he recalled correctly, it was a gift he bought for the Russian's birthday once, a billion fights and arguments ago. Boris said nothing, just snuck his arms around the other, breathing out a heavy sigh that felt warm against Rei's scalp.

They said nothing more and the silence that had lurked in the corners was suddenly not too unpleasant as it'd been at first. Boris heard the breath of Rei getting slower and deeper; Rei was drifting closer and closer off to sleep. Wondering what one wore to an interview and where he'd put his nice shoes, Boris paid him little attention. Maybe he could force Rei to buy him a tie in the morning. He wasn't sure if a tie was required clothing for job interviews, but they seemed to wear them on TV and, being the man that he was, the TV was the best guide he had when it came to the workings of the human world.

Rei snuggled into his chin, yawning, not yet asleep but not quite awake.

''котенок?'' Boris mumbled, his jaw awkwardly hindered by Rei's head.

''Mmnm...'' Rei replied, only paying him partial attention. ''Mmnyour nice shoes're in the broom closet.''

Boris wanted to ask what they were doing there of all places, but assumed it was dumb of him to expect any helpful answer. Fights wore Rei out most of the time, and working the shifts he did it was a feat of its own that the man was still awake. Boris had no real conception of what time it was, but supposed it was a good a time as any to go to sleep. Collecting all of the Chinese man into his arms and at the same time fighting his way out of the couch - not an easy thing to do, as Rei was awfully heavy for being so slender, though most of it was probably muscle - he stumbled clumsily into the tiny, tiny bedroom. Not too carefully, he threw the other man on the bed and spent a good half hour trying to undress him and put him in his sleeping-shirt. After a lot of effort, Boris was finally in bed as well, being too lazy to bother taking off his right sock.

Rei instinctively crawled up to him, muttering nonsensical things into his chest, almost fully consumed by sleep now. Boris simply placed one arm around him, blowing away a few strands of Rei's hair which were tickling his nose.

''Nnmm... night'' the dark haired man mumbled, digging his face further into Boris' chest. ''Dickhead'' he added with a muffled snort.

''Goodnight.'' he said, closing his eyes, not feeling especially tired, instead enjoying the moment and its own pleasant simplicity. ''Dickface.''

''Sorry. Night, dickface.''

Boris scoffed in tired amusement.

''Good night, Rei.''