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Winter and story by  winterwight
Zataan and art by Yours Truly

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“It’s time to wake up, sleepy!” Ko announced cheerfully.

The kitsune opened the curtains in the same manner of parents in every universe to let the daylight in upon his ward.

“It’s still early, Unka. Just a bit longer,” Zataan griped, rolling in his bed and wrapping his blanket over his head.

“It’s after noon, Z-Kitty.”

After a moment with no response, Ko grabbed the edge of the green covers and whipped them away, leaving Zataan defenseless against the light. The fat Cheshire groaned and covered his eyes with his forearm. Despite his thick natural insulation, he shivered as his body was exposed.

“It’s cold Unka! Give it back,” he whined.

Ko chuckled in response. “It wouldn’t be cold if you wore those pajamas I got for you.”

“Pajamas are lame, Unka,” Zataan protested, “and you had them embroidered with ‘Z-Kitty’ on the back.”

Ko ignored his ward’s complaints and pulled out a set of clothes for the Cheshire. Although his time spent caring for the hefty cat had added some muscular tone to him, the pants he lifted still dwarfed his waist.

Seeing his argument not working, Zataan continued, “Z-Kitty is a baby name. It’s embarrassing! I couldn’t live it down if someone saw me wearing it.”

“Well that’s too bad because you’ll always be my Z-Kitty and you’re going to get a set just like it every year,” Ko told him, laying the clothes out on the bare bed.

“I hate you Unka Ko,” Zataan pouted.

“And I love you, Z-Kitty,” came the response with an added kiss on the forehead. “Now get dressed. I thought you were excited to visit the Emerald City this year.”
Zataan finally bolted upright, his large eyes going even wider than usual.

“You really meant it Unka Ko? We’re really going to see it?”

Ko chuckled, crossing his arms. “We will if you ever get out of bed and eat your breakfast.”

The striped cat quickly busied himself with kicking his thick legs into his latest pair of pants while Ko stood sipping tea by the window thinking about the future. It was already so different. He could ‘remember’ what things were changing the longer he stayed with Zataan. Little butterfly effects of the troubles Zataan caused in the original timeline were disappearing. In truth, the entire matter was rather underwhelming from the kitsune’s point of view. Only the Cheshire himself was really undergoing any real changes. The smug and muscular cat was slowly morphing into a completely different person.

Zataan’s smile would be softer, more playful than mischievous. Somewhere along the way the nasty scar over his eye was lost in time and he started laughing more than he ever had. He was also growing quite fat. He had outgrown the weight from his first few years but after that, the persistently generous meals with his Unka Ko were having a greater and more definite effect. He grew barrel-chested before getting an outright gut that was barely contained in his suits. Of course, the future’s Zataan was also starting to wear those sharp outfits less and less in favor of more casual outfits, squeezing his meaty body into trousers and plain shirts when not lounging in his undergarments at home.

Ko spent more and more time pondering that future Zataan. He enjoyed imagining that Cheshire grinning at the sight of him. Would Zataan have him the same way he did before he jumped back in time? True, it had been only one seemingly meaningless night with a man he had planned to eliminate, but now that the future was changing, Ko wondered if that future Zataan would say his name in that same seductive manner. He would not be called Winter, though.

‘Ko,’ Zataan might call him, having outgrown the need for a guardian and needing something else.

“Unka Ko!”

The kitsune blinked, snapping from his reverie and attending to the Zataan of the present who appeared to be having trouble with buckling his belt.

“What is it, Z-Kitty?”

The still young Zataan gestured to his belt and threw his arms to his sides in defeat. Ko smiled softly as he pulled the clasp shut, pinching the teenager’s large belly. The ‘memory’ of the future Zataan grew just a little rounder.

“Looks like you need new clothes again,” he chuckled. “The tailor promised he’d be done with your newest pair today, but I’ll tell him to make another a size up. After all we’re going on vacation! Nobody diets on vacation.”