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Bam had a problem.
Admittedly, compared to the kinds of problems Bam usually had to deal with when climbing, most people would probably consider this one insignificant, but Bam couldn't ignore it. Battling Regulars and Rankers was one thing; this was something else entirely, something he couldn't solve with a fight.
Ever since they'd arrived on this floor, it was impossible to get Khun alone, not with his newfound shadow.
The culprit was sitting across from him in Khun's lighthouse, watching him with an unblinking gaze. Bam stared back. All the while, Khun continued typing on the main console, somehow oblivious to the tension surrounding him.
"Mrrp," the culprit chirped. Without looking away from his screen, Khun reached out a hand, allowing the culprit to rub its cheeks against his fingers. Khun's hand shifted to scratch at the creature's dark fur, even as he turned his head to look over at Bam.
Quickly, Bam straightened up where he sat, his gaze snapping fully to Khun. Khun's mouth twitched with a smile.
"She's just a cat, Bam." Khun's gaze flicked to the cat for a moment, his hand running over her fur. "No need for such a glare."
"I wasn't glaring," Bam protested.
Khun snorted. "Sure." A ping sounded on his pocket, drawing his eyes away from Bam again. "Isu says dinner's ready." He typed something else into his lighthouse with his free hand, then waved away the screens. When he pulled his hand away from the cat to stretch his arms over his head, she let out a high-pitched complaint, getting to her feet and padding on dainty black paws over to his lap. Before Khun could stand, the cat flopped over shamelessly onto his thighs. Khun only laughed.
Bam wasn't entirely certain that the little monster wasn't part of the floor test, or some kind of scheme to infiltrate their team. He wouldn't normally be so paranoid, but the cat had practically glued herself to Khun's side as soon as they arrived on the floor. Rather than shoo her away or capture her or do anything that suggested Khun was suspicious of her at all, he had tolerated the cat trotting at his heels with the sort of patience he reserved for Bam or occasionally Ran, under extenuating circumstances. There was no reason for Khun to let some random cat follow him around, much less treat her with affection the way Khun had over the past week.
As if in response to Bam's thoughts, Khun slipped a hand under the cat and lifted her, easily supporting the tiny body with one arm. He stood, raising his brows at Bam. "You coming?"
"Right!" Bam shook off his suspicious thoughts and stood. Apart from the way Khun acted around the cat, he'd been behaving perfectly normal, and Khun wasn't the type to fall for any sort of scheme. It was ridiculous of Bam to be so skeptical of such a small creature, yet there he was, staring her down like she was about to transform into a massive monster and eat Khun whole.
Khun stepped out of his lighthouse and Bam followed. As he did so, he brushed against Khun's arm, and the cat hissed.
"Don't you start with that," Khun scolded her, no real edge to his voice.
That was the problem. Ever since the cat started following Khun, Bam had been unable to even touch his boyfriend without finding himself on the wrong end of her teeth or claws, and with no real harm done to Bam, Khun didn't bother with much more than a scolding. In fact, Bam had caught his lips curling up with amusement more than once.
After the difficult series of tests they'd had the past few floors, Bam couldn't begrudge him this. He let Khun stay a few strides ahead of him, remaining wholly out of reach of the little monster's claws.
When they reached the dining room, Bam spotted Isu hiding his smile behind a hand, but none of their teammates commented on Khun's fuzzy companion. They'd all learned their lesson at the start of the week, when Hatz made a snide remark and ended up with his swords frozen in a cluster of shinsu ice. Bam could at least be grateful that it wasn't Endorsi who Khun butted heads with, as Hatz had backed down with the right words from Isu, and Khun eventually thawed out the ice. If it had been Endorsi, Bam knew they wouldn't have been able to be in the same room for the rest of the week.
As they sat, it was obvious that Khun was ignoring their teammates' sideways looks, sprawling onto one of the chairs and letting the cat melt out of his arms and onto his lap. Bam took his own seat, keeping one eye on Khun and the cat as he ate.
Throughout the meal, a small, furry black head kept poking above the edge of the table, nudged gently away by Khun's free hand each time. No matter how many times the cat persisted in trying to steal Khun's food, no irritation crossed his face. When he finished eating, he picked the cat up in one arm and stood, offering Bam a swift smile before he made his way out of the room.
The moment Khun crossed the threshold, it was like a spell had been broken, and Bam could finally return his gaze to his own meal. He'd been so focused on watching Khun's interactions with the cat that he'd neglected his own food.
From across the table, he spotted Isu giving him a knowing look with a grin on his face. Bam's cheeks flushed, and he quickly tucked into his meal.
The bedroom was quiet when Bam entered, lit only by the dim evening light through the window. He stepped past the threshold, and two sets of slitted eyes opened to watch him cross the room toward the bed. The cat was curled into Khun's chest, staring unwaveringly at Bam.
"Migraine?" Bam whispered, shutting the door behind him to block the light from the hallway.
Khun made a low humming sound in his throat. "Just a small one," he muttered.
"Did you take any medication for it?" Bam asked as he approached. When Khun shook his head, Bam reached into Khun's lighthouse to fetch his medication, pouring out a pill and holding it out towards him. Khun took it, swallowing it dry.
"Thank you," Khun told him, his eyes falling shut again.
Bam moved to join him on the bed, but as he scooted closer, he heard a quiet hiss. "Khun," he complained.
"That wasn't me," Khun replied, a tiny smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.
Despite the fact that Khun's eyes were closed, Bam fixed him with an exasperated look. "Obviously." He scooted closer, pulling his hand out of the way when the cat tried to swipe at him. "Khun, we haven't cuddled in a week."
Khun snickered, one of his hands coming up to scratch the cat's head. "We've gone without for much longer," he teased, even as his other hand reached into his lighthouse. He tossed a paper pouch toward Bam, who caught it easily.
The moment Bam breathed in, the smell hit him. "Cat treats?" he blurted. "When did you pick up cat treats?"
"Do you want to ask me questions, or do you want to cuddle?" Khun challenged him, his smile widening. "Try offering her one."
Bam wasn't sure how well that would work, given how the cat had been treating him all week, but it was worth a try if it meant he might actually be able to hold Khun that night. He fished out one of the treats, holding it toward the cat on the tips of his fingers.
For several seconds, she simply stared at his hand. He held his breath as she uncurled, stretching her head toward him and sniffing at his offering. Eventually, she took it from his hand, crunching into it and shedding crumbs onto the bed, which she quickly chased down to eat as well. Once she was done, she nibbled at his fingers, but the sensation was far different from the warning bites she'd given him whenever he got too close to Khun.
"Okay," Bam whispered. "Let's try this again." He put the treats away in Khun's lighthouse.
Khun's eyes cracked open again, and he slipped his hand under the cat to pick her up. She let out a protesting meow, but he simply laughed, setting her at his back. Though she made a little grumbling sound, she settled again at Khun's back. Once that was done, Khun looked at Bam, his smile softening. "Come here."
Bam laid beside him, and Khun wrapped an arm around his waist, pulling him close. To Bam's relief, despite hearing another rumbling growl, he felt no pain in the arm he tossed over Khun in return.
"Khun?" he asked, tucking his head into Khun's shoulder. Khun made a soft, inquisitive hum, and Bam took that as an invitation to continue. "Are you ever going to tell me where the cat came from?"
Khun let out a quiet laugh. "Go to sleep, Bam."
"You'll have to tell me eventually."
"We'll see about that."