Vaughn had had a hell of a day. He had had to deal with way too many people needing him to do the impossible. People who had clearly watched way too much sci-fi and didn't understand that when a scientists tells you something will take a certain amount of time, they're not saying that to be an asshole. They're saying it because science.
So he was weary and tired of people as he made his way home, soothed by the album he had on in his car, humming along. Yes. That was good. He hadn't seen Ash for a day or two, and went through phases of missing him terribly and then kind of- admitting to himself that it was foolhardy to do so. It wasn't as though the cat was going to be a permanent part of Vaughn's life.
His apartment smelt of Chinese food before Vaughn was even a few steps up. Not that he was complaining. He liked Chinese food. Who didn't? And that also probably meant that Ash was here. He faltered again when he heard the voice from upstairs. The nickname said cat friend, the voice didn't. Although Vaughn thought he probably shouldn't be too shocked, Ash could probably change into any number of forms.
He continued on his way up, completely and utterly unprepared for the figure sitting on his sofa. There was a rush of a sound that was possibly a gasp or just a squeak of surprise, and Vaughn's eyes widened comically. He stared, backing himself up a pace to lean against his wall for support.
It wasn't that it was a horrible surprise. It was just a surprise. Okay, it was maybe even a nice surprise. Ash - human Ash - was really, really fucking cute. If Vaughn was blushing then he was just going to pass it off as shock. Ash was really fucking cute, and he'd slept in Vaughn's bed.
Almost a full minute had elapsed since the question had been posed to him, and Vaughn really needed to answer. "I- this...is this your normal form?" he rasped, swallowing. "Or is this- um. I didn't expect you to look-" a vague gesture of his hand gave away none of his actual opinion on Mao's aesthetic. "Um. I'm not mad, no. Surprised. You're hungry-" he commented, since there was an abundance of food and some of it was already in the mouth of his guest. "Sorry. Surprised."