LEAF WOKEup to a cold nose pressing to his arm. Grace kept waking them up to feed her kitty friend. They’d used alarms at first, but then Grace had picked up on what they were doing and organically woke them up when the kitten wanted food.
The kitten—Dev hadn’t come up with a name yet—slept in a cozy dog bed with a heating pad under it, curled up against Grace’s neck.
Leaf patted her and slid out of bed as quietly and carefully as he could. Dev and Seth were both asleep, and gratitude toward Grace and her intelligence rushed through Leaf.
The cat meowed as soon as Grace stepped back onto the dog bed, and Leaf smiled. He picked the tiny thing up and went to the kitchen for the formula and feeding.
The other dogs came to see what was going on, which meant it was going to be morning soon. They didn’t wake up for the middle-of-the-night feedings anymore; they’d gotten used to the routine by now.
Leaf let them out and fed, burped, and helped the kitten go potty. It was a pretty little thing and would no doubt grow into a handsome cat if it stayed healthy.
Because it was almost six, Leaf went to the bathroom and picked up a soft hand towel. Then he put it into a large glass bowl and sat the kitten on top of the towel. “You’ll stay there while I make breakfast, okay?” He petted the fuzzy orange head with his index finger and placed the bowl enough to the side that the bacon grease wouldn’t land on the poor little one.
When Seth had work, he usually woke up at 6:00 a.m. sharp. They’d realized quickly that Dev woke up much later, but now with the kitten, he got up whenever he was needed.
Leaf had his first therapy session at eleven, so he needed to make sure Dev was up and on kitten duty before he left.
He put the coffee on and was scrambling eggs when Seth walked into the kitchen. He wasn’t fully awake yet—another side effect of the nightly feeding times was that Seth didn’t sleep as well as usual.
Leaf opened his arms, and Seth walked into them, murmuring something about mornings and work.
“There’s coffee in a bit. If you go take a shower, you might just wake up before breakfast is ready,” Leaf quietly said into Seth’s hair and held him close.
Seth grunted and sighed, then blearily looked around. “Where’s Dev’s baby?”
“In the bowl.” Leaf pointed to the counter by the fridge.
“In the… what?” Seth blinked, turned to look, and laughed. He went to the bowl and gently petted the now-sleeping kitten. “You poor thing. We need to get you one of those bags they carry Chihuahuas in or something….” He sighed and folded the extra bit of the towel over the kitten for extra warmth. “A bowl…. Well, at least it’s a nice one.”
“Go shower, sweetheart,” Leaf said, shooing him out of the kitchen.
TWENTY MINUTESlater he had breakfast plated, and Grace slept next to the cat in the extra doggie bed they’d brought into the kitchen. The other dogs weren’t far either, both guarding Dev’s new baby.
Leaf had just poured coffee into two mugs when Seth reappeared, this time clothed and mostly put together. “Come, sit.” Leaf put a plate in front of Seth’s usual seat and poured him some juice.
“You have your first therapy session today, right?” Seth asked as he buttered his toast.
“Yeah,” Leaf grunted. He still wasn’t sure about it.
“Maybe Dev and I should come up with a reward for you for going?” Seth smirked, and Leaf had to laugh.
“Sure, if you want to. It’s just….” He put his fork down for a moment to think about it. “I mean, it’s something I have to do for myself, you know? At least try. So getting rewarded for it would feel weird. Not that I don’t like the type of rewards you were thinking about.”
Seth reached over the table and squeezed his fingers. “You’ll do fine. It won’t be easy, but you’re a strong man, Leaf.”
“Thank you.”
The toilet flushed upstairs, and they continued eating while waiting for Dev. Soon he came down the steps, adorably looking a little like Bambi with his shaky morning legs.
“Sit down. I’ll get you breakfast,” Leaf said, getting up and kissing Dev’s cheek in passing.
“Are you keeping an eye on the baby, Grace?” Dev asked when he noticed the orange ball of fluff resting against her neck again. Grace wagged her tail but didn’t move so she wouldn’t disrupt the kitten’s nap. “You’re such a good girl, yes you are,” Dev cooed.
“Good morning to you too,” Seth said, aiming for a dry tone but landing somewhere near amused instead.
Dev glanced at Seth, seemed to realize Seth hadn’t done anything to his hair yet, and affectionately mussed it before giving Seth a kiss. “Better?” Dev asked cheekily as he sat next to Seth and accepted the plate Leaf handed to him.
Seth nodded. “Much.” He didn’t do a thing to his hair, though, and for the rest of their breakfast moment, their straightlaced professor sat there with his hair going every which way.
