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“Opposites attract” was Sebastian’s favourite way to describe his and Kurt’s relationship.
Sebastian was sour, Kurt was sweet. He was an extrovert, Kurt was an introvert. He was a pessimist, Kurt was an optimist.
Sebastian was a dog person, while Kurt was a huge cat person.
Whenever they visited Rachel and Finn, Kurt would cuddle with their cat, Cody, from the moment they arrived until they left. If they went to a house party, Kurt would sit on the floor with the cat while Sebastian socialised (he wouldn’t go to the party if the hosts didn’t have a cat).
After they had moved into the same apartment, Kurt had spent the first few months dropping hints about the two of them getting a cat together. Sebastian had pretended to be oblivious to the clues, until one night, Kurt came home from work distressed.
“Bas, you’ll never guess what happened,” he exclaimed.
“What happened, babe?”
“You know our neighbours? They’re moving.”
“Oh no,” Sebastian replied sarcastically. They had never bonded with their neighbours, only exchanging a few polite words if they ran into each other in the halls.
“The new apartment they’re moving to doesn’t allow pets.”
“Oh no,” Sebastian repeated, sitting up straight. He could see where this was going.
“And you know, they just have the cutest cat-“
“Kurt-“
“It would be such a shame to see her go to someone else when I know we could be the best cat dads to the little girl.”
“Do you even know the cat’s name?”
“Yes,” Kurt said haughtily. “Mittens.”
“And do you know our neighbours’ names?”
“Uh, I think the guy is called John?”
Sebastian sighed. “A cat is a big commitment.”
“I know, but I really think we can be the best dads for her.”
Sebastian took Kurt’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I’ve never told you this, but I’m not a huge fan of cats.”
Kurt gasped softly. “Bas.”
“I know you love them, and I love you, so… maybe we can try cat-sitting Mittens to see how it goes?”
A grin took over Kurt’s face. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” he exclaimed and tackled his boyfriend in a huge hug.
As their neighbours packed up their belongings, Kurt and Sebastian looked after their cat. Mittens was an adorable black and white cat, just a few years old but very big.
“This cat is huge,” Sebastian said, keeping his distance from the pet. “I thought they were meant to be small and fit in teacups.”
“I think it’s her breed. But I love her.” Kurt chuckled and held her close to his chest. “Bas! Listen to her purr!”
Sebastian gave his boyfriend a soft smile. He adored how cute Kurt looked, but he couldn’t bring himself to feel anything for the cat. “I’ve got some work to do. I’ll be back soon.” He kissed the top of Kurt’s head and went into their bedroom.
All too soon, Kurt’s afternoon with Mittens came to an end. Their neighbours collected their cat and Kurt told them he would have to talk to his boyfriend before giving them an answer about keeping her.
“Bas,” Kurt said as they laid in bed that night. He was using his sweet voice, the one that always worked on Sebastian. “Our lovely neighbours wanted to know our final decision about Mittens.”
Sebastian sighed softly and wrapped an arm around Kurt. “You seemed to really bond with her.”
“You didn’t. If you really don’t want her, Bas, it’s okay.”
“She’s cute. And she makes you happy. I’m sure she’ll grow on me and I’ll love her.”
“So, that’s a…”
Sebastian kissed his boyfriend’s cheek. “Yes, it’s a yes.”
“Oh my God!” Kurt squealed.
For the first few weeks, Sebastian managed to avoid being alone with the small creature. He’d feed her when Kurt couldn’t and change her litter tray, but majority of the time, Sebastian would sit beside his boyfriend while Mittens curled up in Kurt’s lap (Sebastian couldn’t help but feel jealous; Kurt’s lap used to be his spot).
One day, however, Kurt had to stay at work longer than usual, leaving Sebastian and Mittens alone together. Sebastian would usually do some chores while he waited for Kurt to come home, but their apartment was spotless, so he sat on the couch and watched TV.
From across the room, Mittens lifted her head up and looked at Sebastian curiously. She stretched and made her way over to the couch, jumping to the empty spot beside Sebastian.
“Oh, no, no, no,” Sebastian said when he noticed her presence. “Look, I’m flattered, but I’m not here to cuddle you. I do that to my boyfriend. Just go back to your bed and sleep, alright?”
Mittens didn’t even blink. She stared at him for a few more seconds before hesitantly placing a paw on his thigh.
“No,” Sebastian gently removed her paw, “I’m not a cat person.”
Mittens let out a small meow and put her paw back on his leg.
“Listen here; I don’t have a problem with you personally. You’re very cute, but I don’t want to be friends. You stay out of my way, and I’ll stay out of yours. I’ll even give you the armchair as a peace offering.” Sebastian pointed a finger at Mittens’ face to make himself clear.
Mittens lifted two paws into the air and trapped Sebastian’s finger. After a few small sniffs, she gave it a gentle lick.
“Oh my God, you’re the most precious thing in the world,” Sebastian whispered.
Kurt comes home a few hours later to find Mittens curled up in his sleeping boyfriend’s lap. Kurt smirked to himself. “Right, totally not a cat person.” He swiftly took a picture of the scene before him and then went into the kitchen to begin cooking.
Not too long later, Sebastian woke up. He heard Kurt in the kitchen and sighed in relief when Mittens jumped from his lap to the floor. Kurt couldn’t know that Sebastian had fallen in love with the cat; Sebastian was too petty to admit he had been wrong about being a cat person.
“Evening, babe,” Sebastian called out.
Kurt poked his head into the living room and smiled affectionately at his boyfriend. “Hey, honey. Did you have a nice nap?”
“Yeah. I missed you though. Come here.”
Kurt joined Sebastian on the couch and giggled when his boyfriend slid into his lap. “You really did miss me.” Kurt ran his fingers through Sebastian’s hair. “Did anything nice happen while I was gone? Did you spend time with Mittens?”
“Oh, y’know, we just kept to ourselves. She slept, I watched TV.”
“Mm.” Kurt rolled his eyes fondly. If Sebastian was going to pretend like nothing had happened, Kurt would just go along with it.
Though, he did have that adorable picture of the two of them together on his phone…
“Bas!” Kurt called. It had been almost 2 months since he had caught Sebastian and Mittens asleep together, and Sebastian was still denying his affection for the cat. On a few occasions, Kurt had seen his boyfriend secretly stroking her and giving her treats while showering her with complimentary nicknames. Since Sebastian was still refusing to admit to Kurt that he liked Mittens, Kurt had to try and get it out of him.
Sebastian came into the dining room and looked at Kurt curiously. Mittens was sitting on the table, laying on the pile of washing that hadn’t been put away yet. “What’s up?” he asked.
“How’s this for our Christmas card?” Kurt pointed to the computer screen.
Sebastian sat in his lap to get a closer look. The card was a picture of Sebastian fast asleep with Mittens in his lap, a Santa hat was photoshopped onto both of them. “I-It looks so real,” Sebastian said.
“It is real, dummy. I came home one day and found you like this, but you denied anything happening.”
“I just never thought of myself as a cat person but… she’s alright, I guess.” Sebastian rested his head on Kurt’s shoulder. The picture was cute. “Who are you sending these to?”
“Everyone we know.” Kurt smirked. “Oh, and I got us a blanket with it printed on. Why didn’t you just admit you like her?”
“We kind of have our own thing going on. We had a silent agreement that if we keep it behind your back, I’ll give her extra treats and she’ll keep my chair warm.”
“So you’re just really petty and didn’t want to tell me you like cats?”
“Basically, yeah.” Sebastian pecked Kurt’s lips. “But at least the three of us can be a family now. And next year, we can all get a picture together.”