Adorable.
“Yes, of course we can keep him. But what happens when you go back to college?”
“Um...” Aster let go of my sleeve to run a hand through his hair. “Hadn’t thought that far ahead.”
“Let’s just get him sorted for now,” Tane said. “He needs a few things from the store, yeah?”
“Yeah, I’ll go get them,” Aster said, quickly. “Just give me the keys, bro, I’ll pay for what I take.”
“Don’t be an idiot, it’s your family business too.” I nodded at the hook on the wall where I’d hung the keys. “Go ahead and don’t pay for anything, just note what you took. I think we have kitten milk as well as food, and the litter trays are next to the litter.”
Tane passed me the kitten. “I’ll do dinner.”
Both of them bustled off.
All of a sudden, I was alone in the room with a strange kitten.
The kitten regarded me with suspicion, as if I were the interloper. I figured I should introduce myself.
“Hi. I’m Dillon.”
The kitten yawned, tiny little needle teeth on display.
Something in me melted. It was just so small and fuzzy... I lifted it to my cheek and rubbed against the downy-soft fur on its back.
It made a noise that might have been the start of a purr and relaxed in my hand.
I sat down on the couch and let the kitten rest on my chest, where it promptly curled up and went back to sleep.
I couldn’t do anything but gaze at it, utterly taken with the tiny ball of fluff.
Aster returned after a while and grinned when he saw us together on the couch.
“That’s the cutest thing ever, hold on...” he pulled out his phone and snapped a picture of me and the kitten. “I think I got everything, where should I put the litter box?”
“Um, bathroom?” I said, mind racing.
It’d be easiest to clean up in the bathroom if the kitten made a mess. I had no idea about how old the kitten was or how easy it’d be to toilet train him, but bathroom was the best option, right?
“That’s what I thought. I’ll get it set up. Apparently if you put them right on it after they’ve eaten they get the idea.” Aster went out again, from the next room, I heard rustling noises.
On my chest the kitten made a tiny ‘meep’ sound and stretched, blinking its eyes slowly as it woke up. It peered up at me, less suspicious this time but perhaps surprised.
“Good morning.” I used a single finger to rub down its back and it shivered once and hopped down onto the seat of the couch. I watched it wander around.
Aster came back in and grinned, holding a shiny new cat bowl and a pouch of kitten food. “How’s he doing?”
Just then the kitten leapt off the couch and onto the floor. I lunged to try and catch him but I was too slow.
It seemed like far too high a jump for such a tiny thing but he didn’t seem fazed, and trotted towards Aster with a demanding ‘Meep!’
“He knows that’s for him.” I shook my head. “Amazing, have you named him yet?”
Aster shook his head. “Nope, but I thought maybe something festive like Ginger or Holly or something.”
“Holly’s cute, then he’d match your name,” I said.
Tane came in with trays of hot soup and toasted garlic bread. “What about Nutmeg?”
