It all started with a simple phone call from his sister one day. Lawrence had been sitting outside on the porch with Mimi sitting next to him giving him a disapproving look as he twirled a chestnut curl around his finger. He was staring up at the clouds, clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth when the phone suddenly rang inside the house. Tipping his head back he watched his mother pick up the phone and shout 'Merry' after she said hello into the phone. His sister was on the other line and his mother was obviously excited to hear from her. It had been nearly a month since her last phone call and six months since she left home. Glancing over at Mimi, he started to look back up at the clouds, closing his eyes and as soon as he started to daze out his mother called him, breaking him out of thoughts like the phone call had done moments ago.

"Lawrence come in here and stop daydreaming. Your sister wants to talk to you."

"I told you to get your head out of the clouds," the caramel colored cat warned him, her tail whipping around angrily when Lawrence flicked her in the ear before he went inside to go get the phone from his mother.

"What took you so long, Lawrence? Were you daydreaming again?" Merry asked, laughing softly when she heard her brother.

"Possibly," he explained. "So how are things?"

"They're great. I moved into a new apartment. This one is a bit bigger then my last one and I only have one roommate this time!"

"Same job?"

"Yes. I'm still working at the bakery."

"That's good," he told her with another sigh. He didn't want to sound jealous but in all honesty he was. She was able to live her own life and explore the world outside their family which was what he desperately wanted to do but he couldn't until he was eighteen and that wasn't for at least two more years.

Lawrence was the youngest child of six and only boy born to his magic using parents. They were all gifted with the use of magic and technically witches and warlocks but most modern people using magic preferred to ignore those terms because of the negative followings those words constantly carried with them. His parents, on the other hand, were very old school about everything and still used those terms even though most people didn't use those words anymore. His parents thought shying away from those words simply because non-magic users had turned them into something negative was foolish but he didn't agree with this.

For most of his life- no. That was incorrect. For all of his life Lawrence lived with his sisters and parents in a modest sized home far away from any city/village/town/etc. Most magic users mingled and lived with people who were not blessed with the skills of magic. However, some still thought that the two groups of people should live separate which was what his family thought and this was why his parents had raised him and his siblings in such a secluded place. Lawrence was raised living a quiet, rather boring life away from people and it was never what he wanted. He could not leave until he was eighteen though. It was when a witch or warlock [and also a non-magic user] finally reached the age of so-called maturity. Until then, however, he had to stay at home, continue to learn magic, and be sheltered from the world because this was what his parents thought was right. He thought it was foolish for two groups of people to remain separated from each other. It wasn't like being around non-magic users stunted their magic abilities but he wouldn't exactly know if this was the case or not since he had still lived at home but that didn't matter.

"You sound so happy for me," his sister teased on the other end of the phone while Lawrence just shrugged even if she couldn't see it. "Don't worry little brother. The next two years will fly by before you know it," she told him and somehow Lawrence doubted this was true. For the next week or so he spent most of his time in his own little world, dreaming about what it would be like to leave and one day he snapped, deciding he would leave home. Waiting for his eighteenth birthday to come around was not possible. If he had to do that he was going to go insane.

"Where do you think your going?" Mimi asked the night Lawrence decided he was going to leave home.

"Somewhere. I'm not quite sure yet," the male answered, his tone quiet and calm like it usually was. "Would you like to come along?"

"I'm not going anywhere and neither are you," Mimi said, watching his small figure through narrowed eyes. Like Lawrence Mimi had been the runt of her litter but what she lacked in size she made up for in attitude. "Your parents-"

"-aren't going to know," he explained to Mimi, dark brown eyes flickering over to the cat who looked like she wanted to scratch his eyes out.

"How are you so sure I won't tell them?"

"… because you're my cat. Not theirs."

Every witch was granted their own cat at a young age. Mimi had been given to him when he turned six and despite how critical she was of him there was a bond there. It was because of this he knew she'd never rat him out. His cat did have his best interest at heart but when push came to shove all she wanted was for him to be happy and she knew that staying at home was not going to make him happy at all.

"I'm coming with you then."

"I know," Lawrence told her, "I expected you to come all along."

~*~

The nearest city was only a day or two away but that was to close for comfort for Lawrence. He wanted to put as much distance as he could between himself and his family. Mimi and him traveled for at least a week before Lawrence decided that he wanted to stay in the city they had recently come across. It was a bustling city but not nearly as active as some of the bigger cities in their country. The streets were cleaned though and that was a relief. Some places didn't seem to take care of their streets or anything for that matter.

"I don't like this place. There are too many people," Mimi whispered, aware of all the stares people were giving her and Lawrence due to the fact that he was walking around with a small cat sitting on top of his shoulder.

"It is a city, Mimi. What did you expect?" he told his cat with a small smile, fully aware that no one regular human could understand Mimi so it seemed as if he was just talking to himself. Patting the caramel colored feline on the head, his eyes flickered up towards the streetlight which flashed red. Sighing, he patiently waited for it to change, walking across the street once it flashed green, the male blinking when he felt Mimi tense on his shoulder. Glancing up at her, his eyes widened slightly when she suddenly darted off his shoulder and ran back the way they had come. When he turned around he saw why Mimi had ran back into the road. A small tuxedo kitten had somehow stumbled into the road while everyone was crossing the street. Eyes flickering towards the light he, himself, tensed when it turned red once again and when he saw a truck coming towards Mimi and the kitten she had picked up by the scruff of the neck but at the last second she got out of the way just in time.

Lawrence had to pinch himself before he finally realized he needed to cross back over to the other side of the street. Going as fast as he could without wanting to get run over he made it in a few seconds, crouching down next to Mimi who looked more then annoyed as she plopped the kitten on the ground. "If we had stayed home this wouldn't of happened."

"No one forced you to save the kitten," Lawrence commented in a soft tone as he scooped up the kitten, Mimi hopping onto his shoulder with a loud sigh, the cat refusing to comment on what the male had said. About to start walking to Mimi, Lawrence blinked when he heard someone shout 'stop' and he did just that, blinking again as he watched a male only two or three years older then him run towards him. He appeared to be maybe an inch or two taller then Lawrence [which wasn't say much considering he was barely of average height] with soft looking blonde hair and his study of the male was cut short when he suddenly felt the kitten jump out of his hands and then run up to the male.

"Thanks for saving my cat. I looked away for a second and then she was gone but you grabbed her and thanks for that! I wouldn't of been able to get to her in time."

"Excuse me I'm the one who saved her!" Mimi hissed softly, expecting the male to understand her because she could sense that he was a magic user like Lawrence.

"I know. I saw you save her but it would be weird if I thanked a cat," the male explained, oblivious to the stares he was getting for talking to the cat… which was the exact thing he told himself he wouldn't do.

Sighing, Lawrence noticed the stares unlike the other male and decided it was best to end the conversation. "Why don't we take the conversation somewhere less public… like a café or something?"

"There's one up the street. We can talk there and I'll buy you whatever you like. My treat for saving my cat," he said, nodding over at Mimi which was his way of actually thanking her instead of Lawrence.

The walk to the coffee house was short but Lawrence expected as much. Following the male inside who had introduced himself as Ethan on the way to the coffee house, he found a seat with Mimi and Belle [the kitten] sitting on his lap. His back was turned towards the counter so no would see the cats because chances were they didn't allow cats in this café. Though what café did allow cats? Shifting, he glanced over his shoulder just in time to see Ethan walking towards the table he had chosen, the slightly older male carrying two coffee's and a muffin for him. "Thank you," Lawrence said quietly, nibbling on the muffin as he held out his hand to Mimi because she quite obviously wanted some.

"No problem but it is the least I can do."

Smiling faintly, Lawrence and Ethan talked about everything and nothing. It was just simple conversation. Nothing deep but when he came onto the subject of where he lived in the city Lawrence sighed. He wondered if he should answer or not. "I don't live here actually. I'm just visiting for awhile."

"Oh. Where are you staying?" Ethan inquired.

"Most likely a homeless shelter," Mimi commented in a dry tone, hissing softly when Lawrence pinched the tip of her tail. "Well it's true."

"You can stay with us! Ethan has plenty of room," Belle piped up, the kitten looking rather sheepish when Ethan gave her a look.

"That's all right. Mimi and I will find somewhere to stay-"

"No Belle is right. I have plenty of room so you can stay with us for a days until you find something more permanent."

"Are you sure?" Lawrence asked, tilting his head to the side as he gazed at Ethan curiously. He was being awfully nice and they didn't even know each other. The short conversation didn't even mean they were acquaintances so why was he offering? Maybe he was just a really nice person. That might be all there was to it. However, should he be so trusting?

"Yes!" Belle piped up again while Ethan smiled and nodded in agreement.

"Okay… so when can we move in?"

~*~

He 'moved' in as soon as they were done with their coffee and it wasn't a very long process since all Lawrence had taken with him was a small bag packed with one change of clothes and some other things that barely took up any room in his bag. The apartment was small and Ethan explained it was one room but there was a couch he could sleep on and that was fine for Lawrence. He didn't expect to be sleeping in his bed and that would be rather rude considering Ethan was being rather nice to him. "How old are you?" Lawrence asked as he took a seat on the couch while Ethan ran around the apartment attempting to clean up the best he could.

"Eighteen. Why?"

"Just wondering," Lawrence murmured. "Have you lived here long?"

"Well I grew up in the city but have only lived here for a few months."

"Your parents must be considered more modern witches."

"What makes you say that?"

"You grew up in a city with non magic users," the younger of the males explained.

"I take it your parents are one of those traditional ones that believe witches and non-magic users shouldn't mix?"

"Yeah. I grew up about two days away from the nearest city."

"I thought it was a nice, quiet upbringing," Mimi interrupted, stretching as she hopped up onto the arm of the couch and curled up into a tight ball.

"I had five sisters. It was never quiet."

"I'm an only child so I can't relate," Ethan said to the male sitting on his couch with a sigh, "but I feel sorry for you."

"Most people do when they find that out about me," Lawrence said, blinking when Ethan laughed. He had a nice laugh and hearing it almost brought a smile to his face. Nodding when Ethan explained that he was going to make some lunch he waited in the living room with a snoozing Mimi and hyper Belle, the male wondering if he should go join Ethan in the kitchen. He was getting sick of waiting in here with nothing to do but bothering him when he was in the middle of making lunch was a rude thing to do.

"Looks good," he commented once Ethan finally exited the kitchen while carrying a tray of sandwiches which was the exact moment Mimi decided to wake up.

"Thanks but it's just sandwiches. Anyone could make them."

"Not me," Ethan confessed with sigh. "I always manage to screw up the simplest things."

"I'm sure that's far from the truth. You shouldn't be so hard on yourself."

Lawrence was a bit surprised by his response but he reminded himself that Ethan didn't know him so he had yet to realize how much of a screw up he really was. However, for a split second it make him happy that someone didn't think he was a fuck up. He always managed to screw things up in his life and his parents had often told him so. Whenever he went to perform a magic skill it always backfired or something as simple as cooking a meal somehow always went wrong. Though a tiny, tiny part of him thought that not being a very strong magic user and a bad cook was no reason to think you were a screw up but as soon as he thought of the other reasons this part of him was silenced.

He really did self loathe too much. It was a horrible quality to have but he had been doing it for so long that he didn't exactly know how to not self loathe as foolish as that sounded. After he was finished with his sandwich he started to get up and head towards the kitchen so he could put his plate in the sink but Ethan stopped him at the last second, telling him that he would go ahead and wash the dishes. Blinking, he nodded and then sat down, glancing over at the two cats who were sound asleep but that wasn't surprising. Mimi usually fell asleep after meals.

The rest of the day was spent with them talking on the couch. They talked exactly like they had in the coffee house and eventually Mimi became sick of the chattering between the two and had to go into another room while Belle slept on. That night Lawrence thanked Ethan once again as he brought him some blankets. However, while he was getting comfy on the couch Ethan stopped him and gestured towards his bedroom.

"Do you want to take my bed? I was think that it's rather rude of me to let you sleep on the couch when you are my guest."

"The couch is fine, really."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"… but the bed is-"

"Why don't both of your morons sleep in the bed?" Mimi grumbled as she waltzed into the room, jumping onto the couch as she glared at Lawrence and then Ethan. "… and if anything happens keep it down. I got enough of hearing Lawrence's parents having sex and don't fancy hearing it here."

"Mimi!" Lawrence cried, the male feeling his face heat up because of her words while Ethan stared at her with a rather dumbfounded look on his face. "Ignore her. She doesn't know the meaning of obnoxious."

"…. yeah. Well goodnight," Ethan muttered, Lawrence sighing as he quickly retreated to his room.

It was at times like this he wished he couldn't understand his cat.

~*~

Lawrence ended up staying with Ethan for nearly two weeks. In that time the two managed to become closer and ignore Mimi's constant comments but in reality she was simply teasing the two because that was the way she was. Eventually, though, he managed to find a tiny, cheap place that was only a two minute walk from Ethan's apartment building. Lawrence as happy to have his own place but he didn't know if he wanted to move out. Him and Ethan had become really close but Ethan hadn't offered to let him stay here permanently when he learned he had found an apartment. Instead he said congratulations and then went into the kitchen to make breakfast.

The caramel colored cat watched Ethan with narrowed eyes. In her opinion Ethan was being a moron and he quite obviously felt the same way Lawrence did but he failed to show any hint of emotion when Lawrence announced he was leaving which was something stupid he had done. He should be telling him how he felt and not saying he was leaving but Mimi knew that Lawrence was just doing what he thought was best because this situation was never intended to be permanent. Still in her mind they both being idiots and it they weren't going to do anything about it then it appeared she would have to… though she didn't know exactly what she could do given the fact that she was only a cat.

"Are you really going to let him go?" Mimi asked as she walked into the kitchen that morning, glaring at Ethan as the male stared at her with a confused expression on his face.

"Mimi what are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the fact that you didn't say a damn thing when Lawrence said he was leaving."

"I congratulated him-"

"Fuck congratulating him! He cared for you and I can tell you feel the same for him so why are you letting him go without saying anything?"

"Mimi, you don't know what your talking about."

"Yes I do. I may just be a cat in your eyes but I have more intelligence and common sense then the both of you put together."

"Mimi I think you should go back into the living room-"

"Will you just open your ears and listen to me for a second?"

"Go, Mimi."

"Fine. If I have to scratch out your eyes then so be it," Mimi hissed, not hesitating for a moment as she ran towards Ethan and bit his leg. Smirking as she pulled away and he let out yelp, she didn't really react when Lawrence came into the room and stared at her with wide eyes because she had done what she wanted to do or at least pushed the two idiots in the right direction.

"Mimi why did you bite Ethan?! That was rude-"

"He was being an idiot so I wanted to bite some sense into him."

"The expression is knock some sense into someone, Mimi," Lawrence told her with a frown, wonder what the hell was up with his cat. While Mimi might be mean she had never acted out in such a way. She was usually only stuck to verbal abuse so there must've been a big reason to make Mimi behave in such a way.

"He cares about you and you care about him yet he says nothing to stop you from leaving and you insist on leaving in the first place," Mimi grumbled. "You humans are so stupid with this beating around the bush crap. Never would you see a cat behaving in such a way. If we feel something we act on it and don't pussyfoot around while pretending those feelings aren't there."

Lawrence wasn't quite sure what to say after Mimi left the room in a huff, the younger male staring at Ethan as he sighed. She had a point but Ethan still wasn't saying anything. He just had this light blush on his face and was averting his gaze to towards the floor. That's it. It was quite obvious that even if he felt the same way he wasn't going to do anything about it. If anything was going to happen he was going to have to start it and he did this by walking up to Ethan and kissing him firmly on the lips.

At first nothing happened but when he was about to pull away Ethan grabbed him and then kissed him- hard. It was borderline violent and desperate but he responded eagerly which ended up with him being pushed against the counter, the two eventually parting because they needed to breathe.

"Mimi was right," Ethan said.

"She was right but I don't think now is the time to be focusing on Mimi. There are… other things to focus on," Lawrence murmured as he leaned up to kiss him again and Ethan couldn't help but agree wholeheartedly with Lawrence.

They did have more important things to focus on for the moment.