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Billy was freaking out.
He and Steve had recently moved in together, both going to school in Chicago and all, when Steve had come home with the smallest kitten Billy had ever seen.
“What the hell is that?” Billy asked, staring at the tiny orange bundle in Steve’s hands.
“It’s a kitten. A girl one I think,” Steve said, grinning at him.
“And it’s in our apartment because???”
“Because it’s pouring outside and she was sitting on the steps meowing and I mean, look at her!” Steve gushed, holding the kitten closed to Billy’s face.
The kitten, stared at Billy with wide green eyes and promptly hissed in his face.
“Come on, Billy, it’ll be good practice. I mean, the ladies love a guy who’s good with kids,” Steve said, punching Billy’s arm good naturedly.
Right. Because Billy definitely cared what ladies were looking for when it came to finding a guy. Sure, Billy liked chicks, but he was a little too preoccupied with his stupid crush on his stupid roommate.
Needless to say Billy, and Toffee (the ridiculous name Steve had given the kitten) did not get on very well.
So when Steve left the two of them alone to make a run to the store, Billy had been a little nervous. And apparently his nerves were justified because he’d lost the fucking kitten.
One minute she’d been chilling by her food dish, doing a swell job of getting her food all caked into her fur since her method of eating thus far was to shove her whole face into the bowl, and the next she was gone.
Which is how Billy found himself tearing around the apartment, looking high and low for Toffee, desperate to find her before Steve got back and kicked his ass to the curb for losing his precious little kitten.
Of course, since the universe was out to get him, the door opened a second later to reveal a cheerful looking Steve, whistling some jingle from a commercial as he came in and set the groceries in the kitchen. And now Billy was full on panicking because how did he tell Steve that he lost the kitten?
“Hey man, everything go okay?” Steve asked, unaware of the turmoil going on in Billy’s head.
Come on Hargrove, you can do this. Tell him calmly and rationally that you accidentally misplaced the kitten. You’ve got this.
“I lost our baby!”
Okay…not his best choice of words. Clearly his brain had short circuited.
Steve blinked at him.
“You…what?”
Billy sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
“I lost Toffee. She was by the dish and then she was gone and I’ve looked everywhere and I can’t find her and-
Steve held up his hand, cutting off Billy’s rambling and making his way to the living room calmly.
“She’s hiding behind the sofa,” he called over his shoulder, like it was common knowledge as he reached under the couch and pulled out Toffee who, aside from being covered in dust bunnies, appeared totally fine.
“How the hell did you know that?” Billy demanded.
Steve shrugged.
“She does it all the time. She likes to nap under there,” he explained.
Billy breathed a sigh of relief, letting out a soft “thank fuck” as he sank onto the couch, vaguely aware of the couch dipping as Steve sat next to him, cuddling the little monster.
“So…our baby huh?” Steve asked, a light blush on his cheeks.
Billy grunted, reaching out a tentative hand to scratch under Toffee’s chin, surprised when she lapped at his fingers instead of scratching him like she usually did.
“I think she likes you,” Steve said, smiling shyly.
Billy searched Steve’s face, knowing within a split second that Steve wasn’t talking about the kitten.
Yeah…I think I like her too.”