Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was pouring hard outside, without any intentions of stopping anytime soon. Pest usually enjoyed the rain and the moisture but even this was too much for the beetle staying under one of the several overhangs. As they were planning how to get back to Infected as quickly as possible, their thinking was interrupted by sudden loud noises coming from an alleyway.

Pest knew it wasn't a good idea to go into an alleyway all by himself, especially at night during the rain, but these noises weren't like any other. They were meows of a kitten. Usually the bug would've just turned a blind eye and head to his destination but this time was different.

Infected had an affect on Pest, which was making him slightly more open to opportunities. Pest wasn't too fond when it first started happening but they grew used to it. If their attempt to shove away the chance doesn't work then they would just go with whatever happens. Although this time, he was making the choice to approach the crying kitten.

The thief knew about Infected's old cat, Poptart, and rumors from the other passengers on the regretevator that Unpleasant had eaten said cat. He also knew that Infected was devastated by the sudden disappearance of his cat, considering how much he cared about Poptart. What Pest was hoping for is Infected would be happy from two things. A semi-replacement for the missing cat and that Pest finally got him a gift after a while of dating.

The white haired insect started heading towards the crying, assuming it'll get them closer to finding the feline. The meowing got louder and louder, signaling Pest was getting closer by the second. The meows reached the loudest they could and all that was left to do is actually locate the cat. The six eyed creature began searching around the area before they stumbled upon a cardboard box.

There it was, a small light grey kitten crying it's little heart out. Pest's first plan of action was to just simply pick up the box and bring it to the apartment but the more they thought, the more they thought it was better to calm the kitten first. However, this would be an issue as Pest was terrible with caring for animals, especially baby ones.

The kitten payed no mind to the beetle hovering over it, all it wanted was food and shelter. Pest slowly bent down to get more closer to the box. Both of them were completely soaked at this point but all Pest wanted to do is get this cat to Infected somehow.

The thief's first try was placing his arm inside the box. The cat's cries softened as it was confused by the new presence of something in the box. He knew somewhat what to do since his lover had dumped all sorts of information about cats to them.

Pest inched their hand closer to the kitty's face to try and get it to sniff him. The cat ignored this attempt and continued crying. He was irritated at this but just tried again. This time, their attempt was to pet the cat.

As they moved their hand closer and closer to the kitten's head they began softly speaking, "I don't bite unless you do. Be quiet and you can home with me." The cat allowed the thief to pet it without problems, it seemed to calm it down a little actually. Pest was relieved it turned out successfully and continued petting the cat.

They stayed like that for a while until Pest wanted to try something else out. He remembered Infected saying a way to pick up cats without being scratched. Grabbing them by the scruff. They began petting the kit on its back and attempted to grab it by the scruff. The tiny animal jumped out of fear and began softly meowing again. The now grouchy insect sighed and began the petting process again.

He was tired of this process and slowly started putting his other arm in the box. The cat was startled but didn't cry out. They began caressing the soft grey fur of the kit with both hands. It began to purr, a good sign that the cat was happy. Pest tried again to pick up the cat, this time not by the scruff but by its body. He started slowly but he eventually cupped the small feline now burying in his chest. He groaned at the affection but he now had it calmed down.

He continued patting, waiting for the cat to get situated in his arms. While petting they noticed that it felt rather fragile and thin. So thin they could slightly feel its bones. The poor thing hasn't been fed in a while. Pest grabbed the box and started getting up slowly.

"What am I supposed to do with you now?" he said looking directly at the purring kitty. The cat meowed happily in response and continued purring. Pest sighed and began walking away from the alleyway, cat and box in hand.

They walked into a nearby pet store, still opened shockingly. "Welcome! The store will be closing in 30 minutes so please be by the register at least 5 minutes before closing, if you need any recommendations please ask away!" the rather giddy cashier spoke. Pest brushed them off and headed to the cat section, searching for food.

They were completely confused on all the selections of food but just grabbed what seemed the most promising. They waited till everyone in the store was distracted and then shoved two cans of food into his pocket. The sneaky insect began walking through a couple more isles of the cat section as to not look suspicious and then headed out the door. "Come back soon! Your cat is so cute!" the cashier said while waving Pest goodbye. "Thanks." the thief muttered while not even being bothered to look back.

Pest headed out to a secluded area of the city that gave protection from the rain. He placed down the box and placed the grey kitten inside. The bug reached in their pocket and took out one of the two cans and began opening it up. They placed it inside the box and the feline quickly ran over and began digging in. Pest took this as an opportunity to check on his phone.

Five notifications from "Infected ❤️"

H4III!! wh4T r U D01Nggg:3

1 r3All7 m155 u :( teXt M3 b4ck :(

R U ok?! 1tz rain1ng rll7 B4dL7

4NZWEr M3!!!!!!

1 t0lD u to chaRg3 ur ph0nE >:(

Pest checked the time, 9:37pm, Infected's last message was 5 minutes ago.

I was busy with something, sorry

1TZ OKI!!!!! T3LL ME N3XT T1ME!!!!

Sorry, I love you

I LUV UU 2!!! 1 MI55ED UUU

,I'm not coming to the apartment today

I'm going back to what I was doing, bye

4ww man :( See u S00n!

Pest shoved his phone in his pocket and glanced over at the box. The majority of the food was gone but it didn't stop the kitten from still digging in. "You're really eating everything in there," Pest started feeling bad for the thing, he didn't even know how long it's been out in the open for. The rain started calming down. He waited for the cat to completely be done with the can before taking it out the box.

He lifted the box up and started walking in the direction of the subway. Once he arrived, he waited for the train to pass by. They hopped on and sat down on one of the seats, placing the box on their lap. The beetle awaited patiently for their stop. He wasn't able to do much as the box limited most of his movement.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, Pest was at his stop. They picked up the box and headed out the door. The pair walked down the station for a while until they reached the secret pathway with all of Pest's belongings. He placed the cardboard down on his bed and closed off the entrance to the pathway so that the kitten couldn't wonder off in his absence.

He knew it was a bad idea to let the kit run around while they were busy but they didn't care anymore. All of their machines in there were easy to rebuild anyways. It wouldn't cause much harm letting it roam. Pest's idea was to go to DrRETRO in the morning and do a check up before finally he could finally give it to Infected.

The thief changed out of their soggy clothes, drying off their hair with a nearby towel. The kitten looked at them right in the eyes. The beetle sighed again, shaking his head, before starting to dry off the kitten with the same towel. After Pest was done it began nuzzling into his stomach.

He picked up his phone and dialed DrRETRO about coming to see her. They sat there patiently waiting to hear her pick up.

"Mreoww?" (Is there something wrong?) "No, well yes, it's not dealing with her though."

"Meow meow?" (What's it about then?)

"I need to do a check up with you tomorrow morning,"

"Mew? Meow meow purrr? Mreoww meow," (For Infected? Is his condition worse? You can visit me right now if it's that,)

"No it's not Infected, it's um. I need to do a check up on a cat."

"Meoww?" (For a cat?)

"I'll explain tomorrow, so can I do the check up?"

"Maow purr merow," (Yeah just tell me before you're coming in,)

"Thank you."

"Mew!" (No problem!)

Just like that he was one step closer to finally giving out his gift. The short white haired beetle sent quick goodnight messages to their boyfriend and began getting ready to slumber.

While attempting to fall asleep, they suddenly felt something shuffling around them. The small feline was snuggling up to Pest. He began petting the cat's back once more. The purr's continued for the rest of the night until Pest was finally sound asleep.

Chapter Text

When Pest woke up the following day he immediately checked his surroundings for any presence of the kitten. To his shock, the small animal was still snuggled up next to him. They sighed in relief and wasted a couple more minutes there, just cuddling with the furry friend. They eventually got up and began getting ready to visit the doctor, or vet in this case. Before leaving, Pest shoved the other can in his pocket just incase his new companion got hungry.

The bug picked up the cat from the bed and began telling DrRETRO he was on his way. They opened up the entrance again, now waiting in the subway station. While waiting he decided to call his partner.

"Hi In-"

"H@1 B4be!! h0W r u?"

"I'm fine, are you holding up well? Sorry I couldn't make it to the apartment yesterday,"

"n0no 1t'5 oK! r u C0m1Ng today?"

"Yeah, I'm staying for longer to make up for yesterday,"

"okie d0kie, r U 4t da sUbwa7??"

"I need to see DrRETRO for something,"

"iz Sh3 ask1nG abt me aG41n? t3ll h3R 1'm ok iF she 1z -_-"

"No, it's for something else, I have to go now. Bye I love you."

"Luv U 2 b4iiii ^_^"

The train was approaching slowly until it finally stopped. Pest hopped aboard and sat on the nearest seat, placing the cat in his lap. The kitten began napping, as it would be most likely a while before the pair reached their stop.

After around twenty minutes had passed, the beetle was finally at their destination. They began nudging the cat but to no avail it didn't wake up. He raised the sleeping creature in his arms and walked out into the subway, waiting for the regretevator. They zoned out for quite a while before hearing a familiar ding, the elevator was here.

Pest entered immediately, luckily no one else was in there to bother them about the random animal in their arms. He had to wait once more, something he was very tired of doing but it just meant he was almost ready to give his present to his lover. The small kit awoke amongst the waiting, perfect timing as Pest had reached his destination, the gumball machine.

"Mew merow meow?" (So what do you need to check on with this cat?) the floating cat said, moving towards Pest. "I need to see if there's anything wrong, I got them yesterday," the bug spoke handing over the grey feline to the doctor. DrRETRO began examining the small thing before beginning to speak again, "Purr meow meow meoww?" (They didn't give you the medical history?)

The bug looked away, slightly embarrassed to admit he took in the cat out of his own will. "I, uh, I found it on the street," they paused before continuing their sentence, "I wanted to get Infected something to cheer them up," The doctor giggled at their hopeless romantic of a friend, "Mew mreow? Meow meow," (So Infected doesn't know? I'll make sure not to bring it up when if I see him,)

"I don't think that'll be an issue if there's not something wrong, I should be able to give the cat to him today," Pest replied. "Meow purr, meoww." (Well let's see about that, you can hang around if you want sugar.) Pest nodded and roamed around the area for a while.

The thief came up with another idea while waiting. "Where's your cardboard and paper?" the now enthusiastic insect questioned. "Mew, hiss." the feline using it's head to point. (Over there, don't waste too much.)

Pest headed over to where his friend said the supplies were. He found a box lying on the floor, the perfect size he needed. The thief's plan was to make something to place the cat in, as it would make the gift more meaningful since he put lots of effort into it. They grabbed the paper and nearby pencils and pens. The paper was supposed to be on the outside since it was going to be the cover.

He began drawing a multitude of things Infected liked and enjoyed, including some cats here and there. As he finished up his outside drawings, he poked holes into the box to allow the feline to breathe while inside. The four eyed bug's eyes landed on some nearby tape on DrRETRO's desk and grabbed it to secure the cover. He copied the holes he had placed on the box onto the papers.

They were almost done with their idea, they just needed one more paper to complete it. Pest began writing a love letter about Infected to place inside. While doing this, they got another idea to get their boyfriend some flowers. Pest went to go check up on his friend and his cat as he had spent a while making the present.

"How's it going?" Pest chimed into his companion rambling to herself. "Merrow purr mew mew," (I finished a little bit ago but you were busy with your thing,) He felt a little bad for keeping her waiting but just brushed it off as she didn't seem to mind. "So, is it healthy? And I need other info about it too," "Meow meow maow, merrow miau meow mreow," (She's healthy for the most part just malnourished, feed her good and she should be the normal weight of a four week old kitten,)

The white haired beetle sighed in relief at the revelation that the cat wasn't injured or had any other health problems. "Thank you doctor for all your help." DrRETRO handed Pest their cat and began speaking, "meow! miau purr." (No problem! Come back if you need more help.) They nodded once more, both saying their goodbyes as they grabbed the kitten and the box.

Pest waited for the regretevator which didn't take long surprisingly. His next stop was to get some flowers. They waited for a certain floor they were familiar with, one with several flowers spread along the grass. They had arrived at the floor they needed, happy home party. He stepped out and wandered around the area looking for a certain shrub filled with rubiginosas.

Once found, the beetle laid down the cat and began carefully plucking out around fifteen of the roses. They gathered them up and headed inside the home looking for something to cut and tie them up with. To Pest's shock, the kitten began following him as he started walking. Pest slowed down their pace to let the baby feline catch up. They picked up the kit with their free hand to help her up the stairs.

The insect placed her down as he had found exactly what he needed. He found ribbon next to the couch and scissors above the television. Pest sat down on the stairs and began trimming the bottom parts of the stems. When they felt like the stems were snipped enough they worked on bundling the roses together with the ribbon.

Pest simply just grabbed the ribbon and wrapped it around the huddle of flowers, tying it as tightly as possible. He knew it would be better if they had some paper to wrap the bouquet in but they were limited in what they could do. He placed his flowers into the box while he used his other hand to reach for the cat.

For the final time, they waited for the regretevator to show up. When it arrived, a familiar figure walked out. PartyNoob. Pest quickly panicked as he knew Poob and Infected were friends. "Don't tell Infected." Pest muttered with his gifts in hand. Poob stared for a moment before replying, "okie!" walking off from the conversation.

Pest exhaled and walked into the elevator without any other issues. The bug rearranged the things in his hand, swapping the places of the roses and the cat. He covered the box right before inserting his ticket, his destination being Infected's apartment.

Chapter Text

Just like that, Pest was finally in his happy place, his lover's apartment. They walked just a few inches into the apartment before a voice called out, "P3st 1z tH@t U?" The beetle breathed deeply before responding as he knew there was no turning back now, "Yes it's me," Pest quickly heard the chair being pushed back as Infected was now walking towards him. They also headed farther in the apartment, waiting to meet the sickly boy eagerly heading this way.

Finally, they were eye to eye with each other. The skater quickly pulled the other into a warm embrace. "wutz 4ll d4T 1n Ur hanDs (o_O)" Infected question as soon as the two of them pulled away from the hug. "It's um, gifts for you," the now blushing beetle stated, handing over the bouquet. The sickly was rather ecstatic receiving the roses. "4ww U d1dn'T h4ve 2 ^_^" Infected said delightfully. He gave Pest a quick peck on the cheek to show his gratitude.

When returning his face to the flowers, he suddenly sneezed. Pest had completely forgot about their lover's allergies. "n0w wUts 1n th3 B0x?" the giddy brunette asked, wiping off their nose. The beetle fumbled their words before responding, "Let's to go your couch for this," Infected nodded and grabbed his partner's hand, leading them to their couch. Infected placed the flowers down while Pest placed the box in between the pair nervously as he did not know how the other would react.

Infected opened up the box carefully, admiring the drawings on it before opening it completely, he would be beyond shocked when seeing what was inside. A tiny light grey cat popped out, staring curiously at this brand new face in front of her. The kitten meowed as the sickly boy stared in silence. Pest became even more nervous at their boyfriend's lack of a reaction, however this fear quickly went away.

"0H M7 GOD!! U GOT M3 A K1TTEN!!" Infected exclaimed, quickly reaching out to grab her. The kit slowly began purring as the brunette was now petting and rubbing her everywhere. He nuzzled his face against the cat before remarking on its appearance, "1t l00kz liek 4 m1N1 P0pT@rt!" The skater pulled away from the cat's face, cradling her in his arms before looking up at his lover who gave him the cat.

He smiled gleefully and giggled before assuring Pest of his worries, "Th4nK U s0 muCh, 1 LUv U," The insect smiled back before responding, "I love you too honey," Infected pushed away the box and pulled Pest into a long and passionate kiss. The white haired boy pulled away before announcing something, "Don't be so reckless with the box yet, there's still something in it," The ill boy laughed before chiming in, "Wut 3lzE c0Uld u h4V3 g0TT3n me?" "You have check for yourself," Pest slyly responded.

Infected reached over to the box and grabbed the paper filled with words from the inside. He read through the entire letter carefully. The brunette began tearing up out of happiness. "Are you okay? Did I write something bad?" Pest asked now worried for his teary eyed boyfriend. "N0no, iT'5 jUSt, W3ll, th1z 1s tH3 B3st Th1nG 4N7one h@z D0n3 4 me," Infected sniffled. He slowly pet the cat in his arms in an attempt to calm himself down as to not ruin the moment.

Pest reached over, pulling the crying boy into his chest. They began kissing all over Infected's head, running their fingers throughout the boy's hair. Infected smiled while wiping away their tears. He placed the kitten in the middle of the two, still petting the small feline. The pair stayed like that for a while until the sickly looked up at the beetle comforting them.

The boy leaned in for a kiss and Pest gave it to him. They kissed for a while before Infected pulled away as the mandibles began hurting his cheeks. "S0 wUt R We n4m1NG it? 1 wuz tH1nk1NG sm0K3," the now calmed down boy asked. Pest wondered for a moment before answering, "好," (Suki) "Wut d03s d4T M34n? (＠_＠)" The bug glanced at their partner and then at the cat before replying again, "It means love or loved, I think it suits her,"

"1 li3k 5uk1 b3TTer th@n sm0Ke," Infected shrugged. "I liked what you picked more," Pest added on. The two began playfully arguing about what named was better before the thief settled it. "She's your cat after all so I guess what whatever you say goes," Pest speaking the words the other was waiting to hear. "Y47 ^_^" the sickly boy cheered.

Infected picked up the cat, putting her face to face with him before declaring, "H41 suK1 (＾▽＾)" Suki meowed at Infected's antics as he began nuzzling her again. The ill boy looked at the bug in awe before pecking them on the lips. "Th4nk U 4 3V3r7TH1ng," Pest pulled their partner into a warm cuddle. The three stayed in that huddle for what seemed like forever.

Suki eventually drifted off and Pest and Infected began chatting again. "So where are you gonna put her? I don't think it's a good idea to leave her out in the open when Unpleasant's around," Pest asked worriedly. "pR0LL7 juzt g0nn4 U53 p0PtaRt's 0LD 5Tuff," Infected paused before finishing his sentence, "th4t FR34K m@De P0PtarT run4W47 o(TヘTo)" The beetle felt like bringing up the rumor but he didn't want to hurt his boyfriend's feelings so they shoved all of their thoughts on the matter aside.

"1'm G0NNa pUT 3ver7th1ng 1n M7 room JUzt 5T4y H3re," the sick boy said, getting up and collecting the roses and the box with the letter still inside. "Take this." Pest spoke, taking out the can of food from their pocket. Infected placed the food inside of the box and headed off, returning back for the kitten. He picked Suki up carefully, placing her on his bed for the moment. The skater opened up the can and placed it on the bed for when the cat awoke and started heading out.

The brunette came back and pressed himself against the bug's fuzzy body, soaking in his warmth. Pest began running his fingers through the boy's hair once again. The pair both basked in the tenderness of the moment, appreciating every single second they were together.

Chapter Text

"I'm sorry I have to go now honey," Pest said, hugging the infected boy clinging onto him. "N00oooOO! u D0n't H4V3 2 :(" Infected pleaded out. Pest kissed his lover's head all over before talking, "I do, I'm sorry I'll come back as soon as possible," "ur l34v1NG m3 4nd the K1d 4L0ne :(" the sickly boy cried out.

"Fine I'll stay for a couple more minutes."

"Y4YY77!!!"