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“Good morning sunshine.”
Levi opens his eyes to a sight he’s still not used to. Erwin looks down at him, propped up on his one arm. The sunlight shining through the window makes his messy hair glow golden and his bright blue eyes shimmer.
After blinking a few times for his eyes to wake up, Levi takes in the full view. His husband always looks handsome but there is something about the just woke up look that holds an unmatched raw beauty. One he will never grow tired of seeing every morning.
It’s been over three years since a mutual friend introduced them to each other at a party, and when Erwin learned Levi worked as a personal trainer, he immediately tried to schedule a session with him. “To get back in shape after my accident.” That’s what he claimed. And Levi’s answer had been “You’re lucky because I only take good looking clients.”
From the start, it was clear they were incredibly attracted to each other and it only took a couple of training sessions before Erwin finally asked Levi out for dinner. Now, about three years later, they are married and get to start every day together. Sometimes it feels too good to be true.
It’s a sunday and since there is no need to rush, Levi decides they can afford to stay in bed for a little longer and rolls over, pushing Erwin back onto the mattress to lay comfortably on top of his chiseled body - Levi makes sure it stays that way.
After another half an hour of lazing around, they get up and get dressed to start their usual weekend routine. Levi starts brewing himself some tea and turns on the coffee maker for Erwin, while his husband goes out to the bakery across the street to get their breakfast.
They settle down at their table and enjoy their freshly baked bread rolls and pastries, sipping on their preferred beverages. When they finish everything and are both full and satisfied, Erwin always likes to read the newspaper and Levi uses the time to mindlessly scroll through his social media. Erwin will occasionally share something he just read in the paper or Levi may show him a funny post, but other than that they don’t talk much the whole time. It’s just the two of them, enjoying the quiet company - what more could they ever need?
“Levi, come look at this.” Levi takes the page of the newspaper that Erwin holds out for him.
“The local animal shelter is looking for people to adopt some kittens.”
He finds the section and reads through it and indeed, the shelter is trying to find people who can adopt some kittens who were dropped off at their door. There is a black and white photo printed next to the ad showing some tiny cats. He doesn’t know how that would concern them though. He looks back up at Erwin and raises a brow.
“And?”
“I’ve always wanted a kitten but dad was allergic so I wasn’t allowed to have one as a child.”
Levi doesn’t like where this is going. Erwin and him never talked about getting any pets and while he wasn’t technically against animals in the house, they meant more dirt and hair everywhere. Keeping the house up to his standard of clean would become a nightmare. Just the thought makes his skin crawl.
“I don’t know Win, that’s kind of a big decision that we shouldn’t just make in five minutes.”
“But look at them, they are so small and it’s not their fault they were born to someone who didn’t want them.”
Damn.
His husband always knew exactly what to say to get him to agree to something. A skill that was very useful in his line of work but Levi hates when he uses it on him. He hates it - but he also can’t be mad about it either.
When Erwin Smith wants something, he usually gets it.
And Levi knows he can’t deny his husband a wish, not when he looks at him like this with his sparkling blue puppy eyes. Fucking manipulator.
“Fine. We can go look at them but we won’t decide anything until we have a longer conversation about it.”
Erwin gives him the biggest smile of victory. “Thank you, love.”
***
Visiting the local animal shelter is not how Levi planned to spend his peaceful Sunday, but that's exactly where they are. A young woman with ginger hair greets them at the door and introduces herself as Petra. After learning Levi and Erwin came to see the kittens, she excitedly leads them to a small room.
“Thank you so much for considering adoption. These five little furballs and their mother were left in a box on our doorstep. I can’t believe anyone would do something like that, especially with the little ones being so young. They could have frozen to death outside!”
“That’s such a cruel thing to do”, Erwin replies as they reach the room the kittens are kept in.
“There we are, feel free to go in and meet them. There are 5 kittens in total, all healthy and 8 weeks old now. They deserve to grow up in loving families and not here at the shelter. I’m positive we can find a home for them though, besides you two I already got 2 calls from people responding to the ad. They will hopefully come to visit soon.”
Erwin doesn’t wait for Petra to finish and is already crouching in the middle of the room. Levi looks around the room and is surprised to see the kittens all having different fur colours. Two of them are cuddled up next to their mother on a cat bed and another two are tumbling around the room.
He briefly wonders where the fifth one is, when he notices his husband is already being approached by a red and white kitten that seems to be the most curious and confident of the siblings. It sniffs on Erwin’s offered hand and starts rubbing its tiny head against it.
“She seems to like you, they don’t usually trust people this fast.” Petra sounds surprised but that’s because she hasn’t met Erwin yet. Levi is sure he somehow found a way to make the cat trust him, he’s just good at that.
Very slowly, Erwin scoops the kitten up into his hand and the sight of his husband gently holding this small creature makes Levi’s heart grow for some reason. The tiny cat fits perfectly into Erwin’s big hand, looking at him with big round eyes.
“And I love her as well.” Erwin moves the cat in front of his face to let her boop her head on his nose. It’s the cutest thing Levi has ever seen. He knew Erwin loves animals but he never thought he would be like that around them.
Levi just watches them for a while, when he notices a kitten sitting in the corner of the room. It’s mostly black with a few white spots - that must be the missing kitten he didn’t see earlier. While the other siblings are all busy exploring the room or befriending Erwin, this one seems to be a bit more shy.
Petra notices Levi looking at the black kitten and provides some info. “He was actually the smallest of the litter. Took him a bit longer to start wandering around, and he’s still a bit shy.”
Looking at the small kitten, Levi sees something of himself in him - as dumb as it sounds. They both shared having had a rough start in life. He has always been the smallest, always had to fend for himself. That little cat deserves a good home more than any of the others. Maybe the idea of having to do a little more cleaning doesn’t sound that bad…
“I want him.” Levi surprises himself by bursting this out like that but he won’t take it back.
“But I was just befriending this little girl here.” The red and white kitten is now climbing on Erwin’s shoulder. It’s obvious that he won’t leave without her.
Levi turns to Petra. “We can just take both, right?”
“Yes, that's actually perfect. We always prefer it when siblings can find a home together. It’s so much better for the kitten’s development when they have someone to play and socialize with”, she explains. Levi turns to look back at his husband only to find him laughing.
“What’s so funny about that?”
“Nothing, it’s just - this morning you didn’t want any cat and now you want two.” He continues to chuckle and Levi supposes he’s right, even though it’s also entirely his husband’s fault. He probably planned all this to go exactly like it is, to switch it around and make Levi be the one who wants to get a cat. And the worst thing about that is - it’s working.
Petra interrupts them. “Well, you still have time to decide. The kitties are still a bit too young to be separated from their mother. We don’t allow adoptions under 12 weeks so it will be at least 4 more weeks until you can take them home, if that’s what you decide to do.”
“Ah, that’s fine.” Levi can tell Erwin is a bit disappointed, he probably thought they would be able to take them home right away. Carefully, he picks up the cat from his shoulder and places her back on the floor.
“We don’t even have any stuff at home for them anyway”, Levi reminds him because in all his eagerness, Erwin seems to have forgotten that small detail.
They tell Petra that they’ll be back in 4 weeks to get the kittens and she has them put down their contact info on a form before they leave. Saying goodbye to the cats is unusually hard for Erwin, it’s clear he already fell deeply in love with “his” kitten and Levi isn’t sure if he should be jealous or not.
***
Over the next week, Levi can’t stop thinking about the cats, especially the small black one. He never thought of himself as a soft person but he supposes there are always new things one can learn about themselves. Maybe this is what parents feel when they see their child for the first time and the parental instincts just kick in. Thinking of himself as a cat-mom makes him cringe though.
Erwin and him talked about the cats multiple times after visiting the shelter but it was already decided on both parts that they would go back to adopt them and take them home. There was no need for a discussion.
There is another topic they do have to discuss, which Erwin brings up over dinner.
“We haven’t talked about names yet. How about we each name one.”
When there isn’t an immediate reply from Levi, Erwin continues “I think I will name my kitty ‘Artemis’ after the Greek goddess of wildlife. That seems like a fine name for a young feline huntress.” Of course Erwin would pick something like this, he must have thought a lot about it earlier. Hopefully, the cat won’t live up to her name.
“Can’t I just call it cat?”, Levi asks him as he puts more of the casserole they are having on his plate.
“Come on love, the poor thing deserves an actual name.”
“It can't understand our language anyway so why does it matter?” He never understood why people make such a big deal out of it, and he is notoriously bad with anything that requires creativity.
“Please.” Levi looks up into Erwin’s eyes and immediately knows he lost because his husband is looking at him with these fucking bright blue puppy eyes that Levi could never say no to.
“Fine.”
"How about you just name him after something you like?"
If Erwin insists, Levi will give him what he wants. “Mop.”
Erwin frowns at him. “Mop? Levi you can’t just call our cat Mop! ”
“Why not. Didn’t you just tell me to pick something I like? I like cleaning. I really love a good mop.” To be honest, part of him only chose the name to annoy Erwin but now that he thinks about it, it does sound kind of cute, in a weird way.
He knows he won when Erwin just looks at him for a moment and then sighs.
“Alright. Artemis and Mop it is.”
They are officially cat-parents-to-be.
***
Four weeks after visiting the shelter for the first time, Levi and Erwin find themselves in a pet store shopping for all the supplies they need to take their kittens home tomorrow.
After arguing over which type of litter box to get they pick out some scratch posts and a cat tree that will match their living room style and not look too out of place. Erwin grabs way too many cat treats and is about to grab another pack when Levi steps in.
“Oi Erwin! That’s enough!”
“But I want to spoil our babies.”
“You are taking this too far. We don’t want them to become fat!”
While Levi loves seeing his husband be so excited over something, he tends to go too far and over the years, Levi learned when it’s better to stop him. They put the bag of treats back on the shelf.
***
Equipped with their brand new cat crates, they show up at the shelter to greet Petra and the cats. The red one, Artemis, comes running up to Erwin immediately to rub her head against his hand and purr loudly. She seems to remember him from their last visit and Erwin has no trouble picking her up and placing her into a crate.
The black one, Mop, seems to still be very shy. Petra tells them he doesn’t like being held and made a bit of a scene at the vet when all of them got their shots.
“Let me try.” Levi walks up to him but keeps a distance, gets on his knees and holds his hand out for Mop. Very slowly, the kitten walks over to him and sniffs his hand before booping it with his nose and meowing quietly. Levi carefully moves his hand to scoop him up, which Mop allows without protest.
“Wow, looks like you two were made for each other.”
After placing Mop in his crate, which he doesn’t like as much, Petra takes them to the back office to sign the adoption paperwork and pay the small rehoming fee. Erwin insists on paying a higher amount as a donation to the shelter and thanks Petra for her amazing work. She thanks them profusely and chuckles at the names of the cats they put down on the forms.
Before they know it, the cat’s are stowed safely on the back seats of their car and are on their way to their new home.
***
“Welcome to your new home!”, Erwin exclaims excitedly, opening the crates in their living room. Artemis immediately jumps out and runs around the room, discovering the new place.
Erwin smirks at him. “Did you know red cats are said to be more mischievous?”
“Oh fantastic. Now I gotta look after two devils in this house. You two are truly made for each other.”
“But you love your devils.”
“Unfortunately, I do.” He grabs Erwin by his collar and pulls him down for a kiss that turns out to be longer than he expected. Erwin’s lips are just too soft and perfect, and the way he lightly bites Levi’s bottom lip makes him melt against Erwin’s chest.
When they part, Levi notices Mop is still sitting in the crate. He squats down next to the crate and holds his hand out for Mop again while Erwin goes to get some food for the cats.
“Hey buddy, It’s okay. You can come out.” Eventually, he gets him to leave the crate and explore the room with his sister. He will probably just need a little more time to settle in and get used to the new environment.
***
About a week after the cats moved in, Levi has been making some progress with Mop. He’s become a lot more confident, even though he still doesn’t like to cuddle like Artemis does. Levi thinks that’s fine, as it took him a long time to be comfortable with affection as well.
They are sitting on the sofa like most evenings, watching a new show. Artemis is resting on Erwin's lap, purring loudly as he lazily scratches her chin. It’s an adorable sight, but having to share Erwin’s love and affection is still new to him.
“Hey big guy, can I get some attention as well or what?”
Erwin smiles at him. “Ah, sorry. I didn’t mean to neglect my other kitten.”
That comment earns Erwin a punch to the shoulder but when Levi curls up on his side, he still switches to scratching Levi’s undercut the way he loves it. How could Levi stay mad at his husband like that?
“Just don't expect me to purr for you."
***
Levi lives by the principle of no regrets. Whatever you do, just don’t regret the choices you make. So far, his life has had a lot of ups and downs but he always stuck to this idea.
However, since becoming a cat parent, there have been a few moments when he comes close to breaking his own philosophy.
The first one happens on a quiet weekend. Levi is busy doing laundry while Erwin is out meeting a friend, when he hears a loud crashing noise. Alarmed, he sprints towards the origin of the sound and finds Artemis sitting on the kitchen counter - and one of his fancy teacups on the floor. Shattered into a million pieces. Why did they want cats again?
“You little devil shit!”, he curses while grabbing a broom to clean up the mess. After sweeping, vacuuming and mopping the kitchen he deems it safe and free from shards that could harm the kitten’s tiny paws.
Artemis is still sitting on the counter, having watched Levi clean up her mess. He wants to yell at her again, but she’s looking at him with big innocent eyes that make him forget his anger immediately. It’s almost scary how much she is just like her father in that regard.
The second moment happens at night, when Levi and Erwin wake up from a weird loud noise. They get up to investigate and find Mop sitting in the hallway with a disgusting pile of mushy vomit in front of him. The second the smell hits, Levi has to gag. He’s sensitive to smell and it’s vile. He read that it was normal for cats to throw up sometimes but he didn’t think it would be this bad. Maybe they shouldn’t have cats in the house.
“I’ll handle it and clean up, you go back to bed.” Erwin kisses him on the forehead, knowing how much Levi must be affected by the smell. The best husband Levi could ever wish for.
He gets out a quick “I love you” before disappearing back into the bedroom and lighting a scent candle before crawling under the sheets.
The worst one is the third moment, when Levi almost loses his cool when he gets home after an exhausting day at work only to find a mess in their apartment.
There is flour everywhere.
everywhere.
It’s like an explosion happened, only that the explosion came in the form of tiny paw prints. For a moment, Levi is convinced he’s dreaming. This can’t be real, it’s just a nightmare.
It is real. Someone must have left the flour container out on the counter because said container is now lying empty on the kitchen floor and Artemis is rolling in a mountain of flour and jumping around to spread it everywhere. Of course it was her, that feral little bitch.
Erwin better prepare for the scolding of his life when he gets home. It was him who left out the flour but of course it was Levi who had to deal with this mess now.
Tracing the paw prints through the living room, there are more heading towards the bedroom. Mop is dozing on their bed, his fur more white than black now. How did these little turds even manage to get so much flour on the bedsheets?
“You have got to be fucking kidding me!”, he can't help but yell. “Did your sister put you up to this? I thought you’d be better than that, I’m very disappointed in you.” Mop just lifts his head and looks at him with half closed eyes.
To prevent himself from having a complete meltdown over the mess, Levi starts to clean up the kitchen first, where most of the mayhem happened. Erwin Smith is going to be in so much trouble when he gets home. HE wanted those gremlins in the house and it’s HIS fault they made a mess. Leaving it for his husband to clean seems worse though, Levi needs it gone. Immediately. Maybe he also needs the cats to be gone. Maybe adopting them was a bad decision after all.
When he’s done cleaning up the kitchen and living room, he moves to the bedroom and kicks Mop off the bed to strip the sheets.
With the sheets put straight into the washing machine, Levi tries to get the flour out of Mop’s fur next, but the cat won’t let him get close and even hisses at him. Suddenly, he feels bad for yelling earlier. It’s not the cat’s fault, they don’t know better.
“Oi Mop, stop moping already. I didn’t mean to yell at you okay? Papa is sorry.”
Mop looks at him and lets out a long meow. Sometimes it feels like they DO understand what he’s saying. After a few minutes, Mop allows him to brush the flour out of his fur. Holding the small kitten, Levi admits to himself that he wouldn’t ever give his babies away again.
***
It takes a few months but it eventually happens.
They are lounging on the sofa again watching a movie. Levi is curled up on Erwin’s side and Artemis is sleeping on his lap when they suddenly feel a movement. Levi turns his head to see Mop has jumped up on the couch and is now settling down pressed to Levi’s leg. He almost can’t believe it as Mop never showed any interest in cuddling before.
All Levi can feel in that moment is pure love, and a glance at Erwin tells him his husband feels the same. They share a look of genuine happiness before leaning in to share a kiss as well.
Their little family is all together, quietly keeping each other company.
What greater joy could there be?