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“How’d you ever find him?”
The kitten’s meow was so tiny, and the noise Arron replied with it was even tinier. Jerrold stopped, mid-sip of his coffee, and his assistant stifled a giggle behind their fist.
“Aww, he’s so cute,” Arron continued to gush, and tiny little Joven gently patted his tiny paw against Arron’s finger. “Oh, my God.”
“If you’re willing to listen to the story,” Jerrold drawled, but he was smiling, and his assistant sat down next to him on the floor, cross-legged, just in time for Paco to waddle close to them. They smiled at the fat cat, and helped him into their lap, and they froze at the sound of a clicking phone camera.
“Sorry,” Arron smiled at them, blushing sheepishly, and they wondered how this Dorito shoulder-to-waist ratio of a hunk-Avengers member-kind of man could look so… sheepish. Tiny. It was weird. “Uh, Sir Jerrold? How did you find Joven again?”
The man laughed, and shook his head.
“I was in the UP Diliman main library. Looking for some stuff on Gregorio del Pilar. I had been walking around the shelves, looking for just whatever, really, when I heard it—”
Joven meowed, tiny and soft, and Arron bit his lip and pressed the kitten to his cheek.
“Like that?” he asked, slightly wild, and Jerrold’s assistant snickered when Paco answered with an alarmingly loud meow. “Paco agrees,” Arron continued, like Paco hadn’t given them a mini heart attack, and Joven squirmed in Arron’s hold.
“Yeah, sort of. It was kinda gurgly, and tinier.”
Arron made a slight choked noise, and Jerrold look at him with mild concern, but continued anyway. His assistant handed Arron a glass of water, but the actor immediately put it down to cup little Joven in his hands. The tiny white kitten fit in them like water in a bowl.
(Both Jerrold and his assistant were suddenly silently grateful Arron had the place booked to keep away the Paps. God knows what social media could do with the tiny noises Arron was making right now.)
“… Anyway. Joven was hiding under a triangle of books. One of the books had tipped over so there was this small space underneath it, and there he was, stuck inside. Meowing like there was no tomorrow.”
“And there kind of wasn’t a tomorrow for him.” His assistant chimed in, “He was really scrawny, right? Tiny and had acute malnutrition. He probably never had drunk from his mother.”
“Ohh, my gosh.” Arron breathed, and Joven squirmed against his cheek, and meowed again. “Can I feed him so he gets better? And bigger?”
“He’s actually okay now.” Jerrold said, swirling his tumbler. “He just literally will not grow any bigger. The vet said so.”
“Aw, not even with the right amount of food?” Arron pulled Joven away from his face to look him in the eye. The kitten stared back at him, and then meowed again. “OhmygodIlovehim.”
“I think he loves you too.” Jerrold’s assistant said, “He’s not actively trying to run away from you right now.”
Arron looked delighted.
“Actually, I think it’s because Paco is in the vicinity, and so is—” Jerrold stopped mid-speech when suddenly Tunying walked on the table in front of him, and ran his tail under Jerrold’s nose. “… I love you too, Tunying.” He drawled, but he was half-smiling.
“Sir, I don’t think Sir Arron is listening,” his assistant chuckled, “And, really, are you seriously going to burst his bubble when he looks that happy?”
The two looked at each other, and back at Arron who had very nearly literal stars in his eyes as he hugged Joven close again, and to his delight, the kitten began to climb his shoulders, and rubbed his tiny little head against the light stubble Arron had on his chin.
“And anyway, sir, Joven seems to like him. You know Joven only likes you and me.” Tunying meowed his signature ‘MOW’ of a meow (that, really, was more of a bark than a meow) and Paco replied with a slower, equally loud one. “And, of course,” They laughed, “Tunying and Paco.”
“Yeah, well.” Jerrold pursed his lips, and looked at Arron, who was now putting every tiny movement Joven made on IG. “… I guess he’ll do. You can put him on the VIP list.”
“Awesome.” You nodded absently with a nod, and Jerrold patted them on the shoulder. “You just have to make sure that—”
“Wait. Where’s Joven?” Arron asked, and the two of them looked back at the confused actor. “I could swear he was just here a minute ago…”
“Isn’t that a mystery.” Jerrold didn’t sound worried at all, the bastard. “Well. I’ve got things to do. You can take care of things.” He nodded at his assistant, who was already silently pleading him with their eyes to not go, but he simply gave them a thumbs-up, and stood up, stretching lightly while Rusca threaded infinity-loops around his ankles affectionately. “Enjoy your stay, Arron. Don’t worry about Joven. You’ll find him sooner or later.”
Arron looked a little deflated, as Jerrold gave the both of them a friendly wave, and stepped out. Rusca approached Arron, eyes inquisitive, already with a toy in his mouth, and Arron gave him a smile.
“Yeah, sure,” he chuckled, “I’ll play with you.” He cast a glance at Jerrold’s assistant, who gave him a crooked smile.
“Don’t mind me,” they said, “Just here for photodocumentation.”
Arron stayed to get to know all the cats. He especially liked Paco and Rusca, but he couldn’t exactly bond well with Tunying. The old cat was busy looking for something—probably Joven, Arron and Jerrold’s assistant reasoned, and it wasn’t long until it was time for Arron to go.
“Thanks for this afternoon,” he smiled at them, and shook their hand. “Just tag my IG when you upload the picture.”
“No problem.” They nodded, and he turned to leave, slinging his bag on his shoulder. Just as his back turned to them, they saw it—
Joven, peeking out of the back of Arron’s jacket.
They gasped.
“S-Sir Arron!”
“Hm?”
Joven meowed again, for the first time in a few hours, and Arron looked like he almost literally melted.
“Oh my God is he in my jacket?”
“… Yes, he is.” They dazedly replied, and gingerly the lifted the little kitten out before Arron practically whirled around to take him again and cuddle him.
“Oh, my god. You were in my jacket the whole time. You were warming up, weren’t you?” he cooed, and Joven meowed, tiny and sweet, and his smile widened. “Oh, god. Look at him, can’t I bring him home, just for tonight? I want to feed him.”
“No adoption policy,” Jerrold’s assistant reminded him mildly, and Arron deflated. “Oh, but don’t worry. You can always come back for him; he’ll be right here waiting for you!”
The actor lit up again, and he nodded, handing Joven to them gently, like a single wrong movement would snap the kitten in half.
(In hindsight, the assumption wasn’t completely unfounded.)
“I will,” he promised. “See you all again real soon!”
They gave him a wave, waving Joven’s tiny little paw, and when Arron had closed the door, they breathed a sigh of both relief and tiredness.
“Wow,” they said, looking at Joven, who looked back up at them with wide eyes. “You know, I’m starting to think Sir Jerrold’s a little scary.”
Joven cocked his head, and they smiled at the kitten. They gave him a small peck on his head.
“When he says he has marketing strategies, he has, literally marketing strategies.” They shook their head, and returned Joven to Paco and Tunying’s side, the latter having his tail swishing impatiently until Joven was sandwiched between him and Paco.
“Damn, Sir Jerrold. Damn.”