Ryuji gives Morgana a bath

"For real?!"

Ryuji couldn't believe his best bud would set him up like this. It had started as a simple favor. Akira had asked if Ryuji could mind LeBlanc for the night while he went out for a "special errand". Dumb as he was, even the blonde punk was able to realize that this meant his guy had a lady friend. He hadn't been able to figure out who it was just yet, but he was eagerly waiting for Akira to spill the beans.

What he didn't know was that looking after the cafe also meant looking after Morgana. And today was Morgana's scheduled bath day.

"Sorry," Akira replied, checking his watch, having just explained to Ryuji outside of LeBlanc what he'd need to do. "It kinda slipped my mind."

"Dude, that's kind of a big thing to just forget," Ryuji grumbled, kicking a few pebbles in front of the shop. "You know he doesn't like me. That furball probably won't let me anywhere near him. And if he does, it'll only be to scratch my face up."

Akira's phone buzzed. He looked down at the text he received and replied quickly. "I'm sure it'll be fine," he said, almost absentmindedly. Ryuji sighed.

"Why do you need someone to look after the cafe at night, anyway? Ain't the place closed?" He asked.

"Apparently there've been suspicious people around lately," Akira answered, putting his phone away. "Don't wanna take any chances."

"Whatever. You owe me big time, though." He roughly rubbed a hand through his hair, already trying to think of ways to make the time go faster tonight. Akira simply nodded. "Get a move on, man. You're gonna miss your train."

Ryuji gave Akira a fist bump before the dark-haired teen hurried off to the subway. After he was out of view, Ryuji let his head fall in premature sorrow, looking up at the cafe.

"Whoever this girl is, she better be worth it."

--

Morgana couldn't remember how long he'd been staring out the attic's window. Time didn't really seem like a natural construct at this point. He couldn't remember the last time he'd eaten or drank. It was almost like everything was empty...

The cat was jolted from his reverie when he heard footsteps coming up the stairs. He hadn't even heard the front door opening?

Ryuji threw his bag on the floor next to Akira's table as soon as he reached the top, stretching his arms over his head and groaning. His eyes locked onto Morgana's, who was still sitting on the windowsill.

"Oh. Hey." Morgana's words were short, but not stinging. He remembered that Akira had said something about Ryuji coming over today. To help with... oh yeah. That's right.

"That's a warm welcome," Ryuji muttered, pushing his bag under the table with his foot. "So why do you need a bath anyway? I thought you could clean yourself."

"The shower's broken," Morgana muttered dejectedly. "And I can't really wash myself in a bath with these paws. My tongue can only do so--"

"Alright, stop right there," Ryuji groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I don't wanna hear any more. Let's just get this over with."

Morgana's ears folded back slightly. "We can use the tub in the bathroom," he mumbled, hopping off the windowsill and heading back downstairs.Ryuji scratched the back of his head as he watched the cat pad away. Something felt... off. Where were the insults? He'd expected at least one 'Oh, Skull! You're pathetic.' or 'Ryuji, you're an idiot, you know that?' by now.

"Hey. Are we gonna do this or what?" Morgana's voice echoed from the bathroom, snapping Ryuji out of his stupor.

"Yeah, yeah," he grumbled, pulling his shirt up and over his head and discarding it, all the while making his way toward the bathroom.

Morgana was already sitting in the bathtub, facing away from the door. He turned around when he heard the footsteps... and saw a nearly naked Ryuji walking in. He blanched at the sight. "Wh-what do you think you're doing?!"

"Calm down, cat! I don't like this anymore than you do, but I'm not gonna get my clothes all wet for your sake," Ryuji answered matter-of-factly. Morgana wilted a little.

"You better not try any funny business," he muttered under his breath. Thankfully for him, Ryuji at least had the decency to keep his underwear on, sitting on the bath stool behind him and pouring some water and shampoo on the feline. Morgana let out a small, soft sigh. Ryuji's brow creased.

"Aren't cats supposed to hate water?"

"Shut up."

Soon the room was filled with bubbles, Morgana himself buried underneath a mountain of them. Ryuji would dare say the little devil looked cute... if he didn't have such a strained relationship with him. It was weird. Of the Phantom Thieves, even Futaba and Yusuke seemed to get along better than the rebel punk and the mysterious cat. Ever since they'd first met, they'd been at odds at each other.

Ryuji shook his head, trying to clear his head of downer thoughts. Besides, this was almost nice. Almost. "Man, Akira better be having the time of his life tonight," he off-handedly commented. But there it was again; a slight fold to Morgana's ears.

"Y-yeah..." Was that sniffling Ryuji heard? He shrugged and reached forward, hesitating only for a second before grabbing hold of Morgana to work the shampoo fully into his fur.

"H-hey! Watch your--!" Morgana cut himself off witha bit of a gasp. While he had expected Ryuji's touch to be brutal and relentless, the way his fingers worked into his fur actually felt... quite good! "W... whoa..."

"Surprised?" Ryuji asked with a hint of pride in his voice, continuing to work his magic touch over the small feline. Now Morgana knew how it felt for Akira whenever his teacher came over! "My mom sometimes gets these bad kinks in her shoulders. So I've learned how to give a mean massage." He felt Morgana shiver under his touch... and was that purring he heard? How it seemed the tables had turned! Now Ryuji was the boastful one, and Morgana was...

The word "useless" crossed Ryuji's mind, if only for a moment; and he immediately felt a pang of guilt in his chest. Silence hung in the air, only interrupted with the slow drip of water, or the sound of human hands running through soapy fur. Heck, the cat was practically trusting him with his life in this moment. This was definitely foreign territory as far as either of them were concerned.

Ryuji looked down at his temporary companion. "Hey, Mona--" He stopped as Morgana looked back up at him, the cat somehow unaware that his own eyes were filled with tears. The blonde teen withdrew his hands from the cat in an instant. "Oh, shit, sorry. You okay? Dude, tell me if I'm being too rough, or something..."

Morgana simply blinked, and raised a paw to his face... only then finding the new wetness there. "Oh. Uh, that wasn't it. Or, at least..." His voice trailed off as he obviously tried to think of some sort of excuse.

"Man, you've been acting pretty weird tonight." Ryuji picked up a bucket of warm water and slowly poured it over the cat, washing away the lather and the tears. "Like, more weird than usual."

"Can we change the subject?" Morgana hastily said, looking down and away, the water clinging to his fur and making him look even more pathetic than usual. There was none of the usual venom or wit in his voice. Ryuji didn't like that. It was as if he was a completely different being. As if his heart had been--

"Oh shit," Ryuji blurted out, everything connecting in an instant. "It's Ann, isn't it."

Morgana gasped. "H-how'd an idiot like you figure it out?" This was the last thing the cat expected!

"Come on, I'm not THAT stupid!" Ryuji groaned. "Just because I can't figure out how a weird second world works doesn't mean I can't put two and two together every now and again. And dude, you're never good at hiding when you're feeling down."

Morgana could do nothing to hide his embarrassment. "It... was last week. Akira had invited someone over for Valentine's Day. At first I was really happy for him, but... then I saw who it was..." He shook his head as if doing so would make him forget the whole thing. "That doesn't matter! Akira told me not to tell anyone. He's gonna kill me now!"

This was too rich! The human girl the cat had been pining over for so long, going out with his caretaker? Part of Ryuji couldn't wait to tell everyone and unleash Akira's wrath. He'd get revenge on all those times Morgana talked down on him, called him pathetic, and... and there was the other part. The part that felt sorry for him.

Morgana's sigh broke the silence. "I took too long. Maybe if I'd found out how to turn human before..." He trailed off. "...Who am I kidding? She wouldn't have loved me even if I was human. They looked so happy together. I'd just get in the way, like usual."

Getting in the way... it was exactly how Ryuji felt with the whole track team debacle. It felt all too similar; the teen couldn't help but empathize. "Dude, Mona..."

Morgana scoffed. "The Phantom Thieves are gone, Ryuji. You don't have to call me that anymore."

"Oh, come on," Ryuji rolled his eyes. "You know I never call you by your real name. It's Mona or nothing from me."

"You idiot."

At that, Ryuji let himself crack a grin. It was good to hear a little bit of that biting personality. Maybe there was still hope.

"Just look at me," Morgana exhaled shakily. "I'm stuck as a cat. My best friend's dating the girl that I..." He couldn't bring himself to even finish that sentence. "...and now I'm being bathed by a guy who hates me."

"Whoa," Ryuji butted in. "You don't seriously think I hate you, do you, man?"

Morgana's paws shook against the floor of the tub. "You have every right to!" He blurted out. "I've called you all those names. I insult you all the time! I treat you like dirt!"

"Yeah, there's no denying you can be a bit of an asshole..." Ryuji noted, scratching his face with a finger. It was oddly cathartic to hear Morgana admitting all of these things.

"The truth is, even when I say all those things... I think it's because... I'm just jealous." This caused Ryuji to look down at Morgana with wide eyes. Was he hearing this correctly?

"Jealous... of me?"

"...Yeah," Morgana admitted. "Even though you're not the brightest human... you're still a human. Which is more than can be said for me."

"Well, humans aren't all they're cracked up to be," Ryuji grunted. "Hell, I wish I were a cat sometimes. You have it easy."

"E-easy?!" Morgana cried out. "I'm treated like a pet among humans! And with other cats... I mean, I can't even understand them half the time! I have the brain of a human and the body of a cat... I'm nothing but a freak."

Yikes. Morgana was really tearing into himself this time around. Ryuji knew that now more than ever, what the cat needed was someone he could rely on. Could he really provide that to him?

"Hey," he said, gently putting a hand on the top of Morgana's head. "You're a Phantom Thief. Or, were, I guess. The point is, we're all freaks." This was good! Things were going well! "You just happen to be a bit more freaky than the rest of us!" And there went all the progress made.

"Thanks a lot," Morgana muttered, shaking his head to get Ryuji to take his hand off him.

"Gah, sorry, I'm just trying to..." Ryuji knew what he could say, what he should say. But there was the fear of being judged for it. He looked down at the depressed furball. No... he was his friend. And right now, he needed this. "Look... All my life, the only thing I was good at was running. I freakin' loved it. When that was taken away from me, I thought everything was over. I had nothing, man. But now I've got a group of kickass friends, and hell! We even saved the effing world! So, what I guess I'm trying to say is... you've gotta keep going. It hurts now, and it feels like the end, but..." He trailed off, trying to figure out the best words to complete his scattered thoughts, but they kept eluding his grasp. "Dammit. I'm no good at this sentimental shit. Why's this gotta be so awkward?"

"Probably because you're in your skivvies." The off-hand reply from Morgana left his mouth before he could even think about it. Ryuji stared at him for a moment... then burst into laughter. There was the Morgana that had been missing. Watching the human laugh led the cat to let out a small one of his own.

"Oh, what? You want me to just take em off, then?"

"Ew, gross! Don't even think about it!"

"Why would you care? You're naked all the time anyway!"

"That's completely different! I'm covered in fur!" The tone of the room had brightened. Morgana could still feel the all too recent and deep pain, but at least Ryuji was helping quell it for the time being. Ryuji... against all odds, he was the one to help him through this despairing time. He could feel their bond deepening. He took a deep breath. "I haven't said this nearly enough, and I don't know if I'll ever say it again, but... thanks, Ryuji."

Ryuji couldn't help but blush at the sudden affection the cat was showing him. "Aw, don't mention it. And don't worry about Akira. I won't tell anyone anything." Not wanting to let the moment grow too weird, he quickly grabbed a hold of Morgana's now clean body with both hands, eliciting a sudden meow from the little furry guy. "So, what'd I do to make you purr, again?" He asked, massaging his fingers into his small form. "You know, like a cat?"

Morgana squirmed in his grasp. "S-stop it, Ryuji! That tickles! I-I'm sensitive aroun-- m-meowwww..."

"Hah, there it is!"

Maybe giving the cat a bath wasn't all that bad. Heck, Ryuji thought he might even volunteer the next time around.