Work Text:
I swear my manager’s trying to kill me. A 19 year old Sebastian thought to himself as he trudged up the stairs to his apartment floor. Recently he got a job working in a warehouse that paid so much better than his job at the movie theater and was a lot more flexible with his schedule for college… yet with it he’s basically been doing a lot more physical labor then he’s ever done before to the point his arms feel like they were about to fall off and his back was aching from bending over so much.
Curtis must never know about the back pain… he’ll laugh and say “I told you so” like an annoying little prick… Sebastian couldn’t help but scowl, already hearing the joking tone Sam’s older brother would use and picturing the teasing grin on the older man’s face. Really didn’t help that Sebastian had laughed at Curtis just a few months ago and called the tattooed man “an old man” when Curtis mentioned his own back pain at being 25 years old already. The older man however just shrugged it off at the time and said “Hey man, you’ll be feeling the same thing in a few years. Trust me.”
It also sucked that the elevator to his apartment was down for maintenance… so Sebastian’s sore muscles were not getting a break from going up three flights of stairs to the small apartment he shared with his girlfriend. All in all, Sebastian was just looking forward to just collapsing onto either the couch of their small living room, or onto their shared bed and curling up next to Sam and not moving for the rest of the night.
If I’m lucky… she might be in the mood for a movie or two while we cuddle. Almost immediately after the thought he could already picture how he would be leaning up against his shorter girlfriend while the movie was playing, could already hear her laugh and how she would call him a clingy house cat before letting him practically nap on her lap. Just the thought alone was enough to give Sebastian the extra boost of energy needed to finish his climb up the stairs and hurry his way down the hallway to apartment 416, only pausing outside the door as he heard Sam’s laughter from the otherside. With a small smile making its way onto his face, Sebastian immediately went to unlock the door.
“I’m home!” He called out the moment he stepped through the threshold into the small apartment, happy to finally be able to relax and spend time with his childhood best friend turned lover… only to be caught completely off guard upon seeing said lover laying on the ground of the living room with a string in one hand and a small, black and white kitten playing with it.
What?
“Oh! Hey Seb, welcome home!” Sam grinned, her golden brown eyes practically sparkling with pure joy when looking up at him, before turning her full attention back to the tiny little ball of fluff that was pouncing pitifully onto the string she was wiggling around on the ground. Her feet up behind her kicking in the air with a relaxed joy as she giggled a little from the kitten’s antics.
“Uh Sam…. what the fuck?” Sebastian asked, his face scrunching up in confusion as he stared at the tiny kitten who was absolutely not in the apartment earlier that morning. While he had nothing against cats… a heads up really would have been nice. Especially since he had no idea if the apartment even allowed pets in it…
“... Shit, did I forget to text you about this?” Sam asked, almost looking guilty as she brushed her recently dyed blue hair behind her pierced ear. At her question Sebastian did pull out his flip phone to check for a text message, yet found nothing. When she basically had confirmation that she hadn’t sent a text, Sam could only give a little hesitant smile and hold up a hand gesturing to the kitten. “Well uh… Surprise! Hehe…”
As soon as the kitten noticed Sam’s hand being held out towards it, the little thing began licking at her fingers before nipping at them with sharp little teeth as its tiny little paws held onto the hand that was only a little bit larger than it was.
“... Yeah, real big surprise…” Sebastian muttered, the pain in his muscles making itself known again and the fatigue from his job suddenly hitting him hard enough that he just wanted to go pass out in bed at the moment.
“Are… you okay?” Sam asked, pushing herself up into a sitting position on the ground and carefully trying to pull her hand away from the playful kitten. “You’re… not mad about this right?”
“No, god no I’m not mad. Work was just exhausting… and honestly… I’m more surprised you didn’t pick up a kitten sooner.” Sebastian sighed, sluggishly lifting a hand and rubbing at one of his shoulders. “... Still would have been nice to at least have a heads up though. You know if the apartment manager’s going to be okay with this?”
At his question Sam looked a little surprised, before a hesitant look crossed her face as she picked the little fluff ball up and a nervous smile crossed her face while holding the tiny kitten close to her chest.
“I… may have just brought the kitten in without checking first.” Sam confessed, causing Sebastian to let out an exasperated sigh. He genuinely felt too tired to deal with this, yet Sam held out a hand as if to stop him from speaking as she continued. “But! In my defence, I found this little guy in the alleyway next to our building covered in spaghetti sauce and just couldn’t leave him alone like that!”
Looking at the puppy eyed pout Sam was giving him, as well as the wide eyed adorable look of the little black and white kitten in her hold… Sebastian knew it was a losing battle to say no to either of them. Especially with how tired he was…
“I’m going to go to bed… we’ll figure out the pet situation tomorrow before classes start.” Sebastian sighed, slumping a little as he was so excited to just have a quiet, relaxing moment with his girlfriend. But now with a tiny, energetic kitten that he knew would absolutely take up all of her attention, Sebastian had to basically throw that plan out the window. He did, however, feel bad from the sad look on Sam’s face as he made his way to the bedroom.
She probably expected me to play with the kitten as well… Sebastian thought to himself as he collapsed face first into the bed. Not even bothering to change out of his work clothes from how exhausted he was. The brief thought that he should maybe at least take a shower crossed his mind for all of a second before he slowly drifted into a light sleep for a while.
Soon enough… Sebastian found himself quickly waking up to the feeling of something small laying on his chest and something rough licking at his chin. Blue-green eyes snapped open almost immediately before glancing down to see the tiny loaf shape of the little black and white kitten licking at his chin and purring up a storm on his chest. A quick glance over to the side and the young man found Sam laying in bed next to him, her golden brown eyes closed as she softly snored away next to him and looking completely at ease.
Guess I slept for a while then… Sebastian concluded, before putting his full attention back onto the tiny little ball of fluff that had woken him up.
The little thing was… admittedly very adorable looking, and it seemed to weigh less than a single pound as it made itself into a loaf on his chest.
You know… I guess I really can’t be mad at this little guy. Sebastian thought to himself as he slowly raised a hand and began petting at the tiny little kitten on his chest. The soft fur had a downy like quality in its softness and Sebastian couldn’t stop the smile that crossed his face while petting the little thing… till it let out a high pitched squeaky sounding meow and he immediately felt like he needed to take the little guy out of the room so as to not wake his girlfriend up.
Picking the little kitten up with one hand, and practically scrambling off the bed in an almost blind panic, Sebastian soon found himself out in the small living room area of the apartment with the tiny little kitten letting out another squeaky sounding mewl in his hand. The room itself was illuminated by the light of the full moon shining through the window at just the right angle as it was perfectly lined up between two other buildings right across from them. A sight that was a nice backdrop for many of Sam’s portfolio photos since they moved in. With a sigh, Sebastian soon sat himself down on the carpeted floor with his legs in a good old fashioned criss-cross style as he set the kitten down on the ground.
“Alright you fluffy little meatball… if you’re gonna be staying here we gotta lay down the ground rules.” The college student practically whispered, his blue green eyes looking down into the bright yellow of the potato shaped kitten. It let out a tiny little squeak and Sebastian immediately took that as an “Okay” to continue. “So rule one, no waking both Sam and I up late at night, unless it’s an emergency. I know you’re like… maybe a couple months old and barely know how time works but I’m sure you know how important sleep is, yeah?”
The kitten just blinked slowly, before attempting to nibble at the finger Sebastian had pointed at it… and the college student tried to hold back a little laugh at it.
“You little stinker.” Sebastian quietly snickered. “Don’t try fighting me so soon on just the first rule. I got a couple more you need to hear first you little burnt marshmallow.”
And yet the kitten didn’t stop “fighting” Sebastian as it kept pawing, nibbling and attempting to pounce on Sebastian’s hands each time he tried to list out another rule. Then again it probably didn’t help that he was wiggling his fingers and actively playing with the little guy as well. His previous reservations and concerns about the kitten had completely melted away, and his earlier exhaustion was at least managed due to the few hours of sleep he did manage to get… and in all honesty he was just enjoying watching something so small, and barely aware of itself just playing around.
Maybe we can hold off on checking in with the apartment manager for a while… The thought had just barely crossed Sebastian’s mind, before he was suddenly made aware of the sound of something clicking and a camera’s flash brightening up the living room for a split second. Practically snapping his head towards the source, Sebastian saw Sam standing in the small hallway that held the doors to both the bathroom and the bedroom on opposite ends. Her face was partially illuminated by her cell phone as she giggled a little.
“Oh sorry, don’t mind me. Go back to giving our little house guest the ground rules Seb.” With the phone raised up in an attempt to hide the obvious playful grin on the young woman’s face, Sebastian could practically feel his cheeks going flushed as he realized she had to have been up since he left their shared bedroom.
“… well now I don’t want to.” Sebastian huffed, turning his face away from Sam’s direction and crossing his arms. All while barely able to hold back the urge to keep playing with the kitten as it attempted to pounce on his foot in order to keep its little game going.
There was a soft sigh on Sam’s end, and he heard as she slowly made her way over and sat herself down next to him. Made more evident by the kitten practically scampering over towards the dyed haired college student as she coaxed it over, and picked it up if the little mewing was anything to go by.
“I’m sorry… I really thought I sent you a text about this.” Sebastian glanced towards Sam, noting how she carefully held the little kitten to her chest and that she was gently petting the tiny thing. He also vaguely noted how she seemed to once again steal one of his band shirts with how low it hung on her frame. “When you went to bed I checked my own phone… and well turns out I did type it, but somehow forgot to hit send. I also know that even if this was an impulse decision to take this little baby in… I still should have run it by you first.”
Well now I’m feeling bad… Sebastian thought to himself, noting how honestly guilty his girlfriend looked over her choice and lack of communication… and his own lack of communication as he left her to simmer in her guilt just to go to sleep. Genuinely… he hated seeing Sam blame herself for making a little mistake, or even for things she had no control over… even as children he hated to see his best friend beating herself down over nothing.
“I’m not mad Sam.” Sebastian sighed, watching his best friend turn her full attention towards him. “I just had a really exhausting day of work and didn’t feel like having a long talk… I just… needed some time to rest is all.”
Sam sighed in relief, a small smile graced her face and Sebastian could almost swear the light from the moon made her golden brown eyes almost look like gemstones. “Truce?”
Sebastian’s eyes glanced down at the single hand she held out towards him, the other still holding the kitten to her chest as it seemed to be slowly falling asleep in her hold… when an idea hit the aspiring engineer as a small smirk crossed his face.
“Truce.” He agreed and slowly reached out, looking like he was going to grab Sam’s hand to shake it… only to instead lash both of his arms out and practically pull her into a tight hug, getting a surprised squeak out of the aspiring photographer and pulling her down with him to the floor so they were both practically laying down flat on it with a laugh as he tightened his hold on her.
“Sebastian!” Sam laughed as she tried to wiggle her way out of her boyfriend’s hold. “Come on! Let me go, you dork!”
“Oh? Going back on our truce now huh?” Sebastian snickered, mischief very clear in his teal eyes as he watched Sam slowly give up trying to get out of the tight hug he had her in.
“You could have at least waited for me to put the kitten down first. Or till we got back into bed.” She pouted, glancing down to the kitten that seemed to just be readjusting itself so it could go back to sleep.
“Nah, the opportunity was there and who am I to refuse it~!” Sebastian grinned before nuzzling up against Sam’s exposed neck for a bit before giving it a quick little nip, immediately getting a high pitched squeak out of her as her face was definitely as red as a tomato by now.
“Seeeb! Stop! It’s like two in the morning, the neighbors are probably trying to sleep!”
“Fiiine” Sebastian sighed, instead just resting his head on Sam’s shoulder but still holding her tightly against his own chest. Not long after she seemed to also relax and even seemed to reach over to try and wrap her legs around with his own while nuzzling her own face against the top of his head.
The two stayed like that for a little while, feeling completely comfortable practically tangled up together even on the carpeted floor… at least until the kitten decided it wasn’t comfortable in its spot anymore and crawled its way out of Sam’s hold and onto the carpeted ground, where it toddled along for a bit.
“You know… I was originally gonna ask you for name ideas when you got home.” Sam spoke, her now freed hand reaching up to brush some of Sebastian’s curly black hair out of his face. “I mean… even if we end up not keeping the little guy. Gotta have something to call him, you know.”
Sebastian hummed a little in thought, only briefly glancing over to the general area where the kitten decided to lay itself down and seemed to find a new spot to nap in the direct moonlight.
“He looks like a Meatball to me.” Sebastian stated, only to get a mock offended gasp from Sam and a playful push from her as well.
“He does not!”
“Hey, you said he was covered in pasta sauce. I think it’s only fitting to name him something related to that. Plus he’s just a little ball of meat and fluff anyways.”
“We are not calling that cute little bean Meatball.”
….
They did in fact end up calling the kitten Meatball, mostly due to Sam not having any name ideas that stuck and Sebastian just claiming how well it fit the little black and white kitten. The couple had also forgotten to check with their apartment manager about having pets in their unit over the next three months. During those three months Meatball grew up to be a very, very fluffy cat… and an attention hog as he seemed to love being held like a baby by both Sam and Sebastian, and even would jump onto their bed often just to snuggle in between the two for extra attention. While the couple did adore their little fur ball… they eventually found out that they were not allowed to have pets in the apartment and would have to give their fur baby up if they wanted to keep living in their unit. It was heartbreaking for the both of them as they would have to find a new home for their clingy little cat…
Thankfully Sebastian’s mother, Isadora, pulled through for the couple, offering to take their attention hog of a cat off their hands and still allowing them to visit the little one often. Though it was more evident that Isadora was more excited to just have someone else staying with her again as she’d been feeling lonely living on her own now that her children had all grown up and moved out. Meatball himself seemed to also take to the larger space immediately and seemed to get comfortable very quickly in his new home, even without the young couple that originally adopted him being around everyday. Though whenever Sam and Sebastian would come to visit Isadora, Meatball was always not far behind and already demanding to be picked up for cuddles by either one of the couple as well as extra little treats for every visit, though it was a bit obvious to everyone that the cat seemed to favor Sebastian the most, even with Sam trying to bribe him with extra treats to get the cat to let her hold him more… to the point Meatball had gotten to be a little chunky underneath his long, soft fur.
Though… a little over a year later when Sebastian was falsely accused of murder and sentenced to death, Meatball seemed to immediately pick up something was wrong when Sebastian stopped appearing. The cat seemed to get upset, constantly waiting by the door when Sam would slowly visit and not accepting any extra treats… sometimes even skipping eating all together just to wait for someone who wasn’t going to come back through that door. It honestly broke both Sam and Isadora’s hearts even more on that front… though things did seem to get a little better when Sam eventually gave birth to Sebastian and her daughter, Isabella or rather Izzy, as Meatball seemed to cheer up and practically stick to the child like glue… especially as Sam had moved back in with Isadora after Izzy’s birth. Izzy had quickly filled Sebastian’s spot as Meatball’s favorite human, even going so far as to jump into her crib and curl up next to her as the little girl slept. Sam could only take photos, and silently cry over how much she wished Sebastian could see this… if only she knew what really became of the man she loved.
As life moved on on the surface during that first year without Sebastian though the pain still remained for those left behind… At the same time, down in the depths of the Hadal Blacksite, Sebastian suffered through a whole different kind of pain… one that changed every physical part of his own being.
It had only been three months since he had the… honor of being randomly selected from the expendables that were working in the Blacksite to participate in an experiment that the scientists were cooking up. One to give human beings fully functioning gills, while retaining the ability to still breath air. Though seeing as it was still in the developmental stages it was… evident that there were going to be many… many side effects. Not that Sebastian was aware of it from the first injection they gave him…
Now however it was painfully clear to him… Over the last three months his normally tanned skin had taken a dark grey hue, and had slowly changed into scales in a horribly itchy and uncomfortable process. His eyes became much more sensitive to light and to his own horror had become nothing more than glowing seas of a bluish green tint with no sign of a visible pupil… and those were only the less painful changes.
Currently he was laying on his pitiful excuse of a bed in his prison cell of a room, curled up as much as he could and shuddering with tears from the pain of the most recent mutation his body had recently gone through. His legs, which had slowly been losing their strength and coordination for the past month, had practically melted and fused together into a long snake-like tail… but to make matters worse he could still feel as new bones slowly formed along the length of the new appendage as it slowly grew… and how his own organs seemed to be shifting as well with his new development.
Why hasn’t it stopped yet?! Sebastian all but screamed in his mind, a clawed hand covering his mouth as the urge to vomit lingered in the back of his throat as he swore he could feel his stomach actually moving lower from his torso down somewhere in the tail’s length. Even just thinking about it made the urge all the more stronger as he dug the claws of his other hand into the flat, almost wooden plank that dared to call itself a mattress. The light from the lure that sprouted from his head weeks ago was flickering in time with the pain he felt as every little change slowly crawled its way through him.
Please just make it stop! Sebastian mentally pleaded, screwing his eyes shut to block out the light he naturally produced and could only whimper as his left elbow brushed against the strange… painful bump that had developed there recently.
“Lunchtime Z-13!” the guard outside his room called, but Sebastian was in no state to answer, nor to properly move. Even as the food tray was slid in through the door slot on the ground, Sebastian couldn’t move a single muscle… nor did he feel like he could stomach anything right now.
I want to go home… The mutated man thought to himself, as more tears trailed down his face. Thoughts of the little apartment he shared with Sam danced through his mind, small and cramped as it was for the two of them… that was a place filled with joy and laughter between him and the woman he loved. The smell of strawberries lingered in his memories and the distant warmth of his body curling up with Sam’s own left him longing for that familiar comfort once again. Then thoughts of his childhood home followed, from the smell of his mother’s home cooking, to the loud music his sister would play as she danced and practiced a routine she dreamed of performing live and on the ice for thousands to see while the scolding voice of his older brother would follow it, claiming he just wanted to rest after months of studying… even the thoughts of Sam’s older brother coming in for a visit and telling some god awful jokes were things Sebastian tried to cling to in order to try and disassociate himself from the horrors going on with his body.
Something did however snap him completely out of his thoughts as a strange noise hit his… fins… though what shocked him more was feeling something touching the end of his tail. Snapping his head immediately in the direction and almost instantly regretting the action as it made his already displaced stomach feel like it did a flip… Sebastian could only blink at the sight of a strange… literal sea bunny the size of a small cat scuttled around on eight legs and was using its fluffy head and feather-like antenna to poke at his tail, as if it was trying to figure out what it was bumping into.
What… the actual hell? Ignoring the pain in his whole body for the moment, Sebastian slowly forced his arms to carefully drag himself closer to the edge of his “bed” and carefully lower himself to the ground to get a better look at the curious little creature… that somehow stumbled its way into his cell. As soon as he did this however, the little rabbit-like creature immediately scuttled up to him and gave his face a bit of a headbutt, before beginning to hop around as if it was excited about something.
“What… the hell?” Sebastian rasped, blinking in confusion as he watched the creature for a little bit before carefully reaching out and trying to grab at the white and purple creature. The minute his carapace-covered hand made contact with the sea bunny however, the little thing seemed to immediately nuzzle up against his hand, seemingly completely ignorant of the sharp claws he had as it made its weird little noises. The little creature was… actually really soft and surprisingly had fur… to the point for a second Sebastian was immediately reminded of Meatball in terms of the texture.
For that one brief moment, Sebastian was reminded of home… and he wanted more.
“Hey… come here little guy.” The mutated man coaxed, reaching over with his other arm and managing to grab the bunny-like creature and bring it up closer. The little thing didn’t even squirm in his hold and even seemed to get excited if its increased noises were any indicator. Pulling himself back onto his bed as carefully as possible, while still holding the creature, Sebastian found himself holding it to his chest like a teddy bear and closed his eyes.
For just a bit, Sebastian was able to convince himself he was just… visiting his mothers house, where everything was fine and he was just picking up the fluffy black and white cat and snuggling up with the attention seeking little guy. Even the slightest little headbutt from the Sea Bunny made Sebastian think of Meatball and how the cat would bury his head into Sebastian’s chest whenever he would hold the little fluff ball… And for that moment, Sebastian was able to feel the slightest bit happy.
Until he felt his tail wiggle a little, and it snapped him back to reality. It wasn’t the beloved family cat he was holding… and it wasn’t any room of his mothers house he was in… no he was still in this underwater hell of his. Still stuck in this nightmare he has yet to wake up from. Sebastian growled a little in his frustration, but immediately tensed up at how animalistic it sounded to his ears… no his fins. He was barely human anymore… but even with this realization, Sebastian also slowly realized that the pain in his tail had finally subsided…
Looking down to the sea bunny in his arms, he watched as it’s little rounded head tilted slightly. As if it was confused why Sebastian had stopped snuggling into it and why it wasn’t getting the continued attention it seemed to be looking for.
“... Thanks for trying, little guy…” The mutated man sighed, feeling the fins on his head lower in his disappointment as he slowly lowered the bunny creature back to the metallic floors. “Dunno how you got in here… or why you’d want a freak like me to give you any attention… but thanks.”
The sea bunny made a noise, tilting its head again clearly not understanding anything… but seemed to realize it wasn’t going to get any more pets for now. It made another one of its strange noises before scuttling away, and Sebastian finally noticed the open vent in the corner of his cell, as the little thing slipped through it.
This wouldn’t be the only time he’d ever encounter the Deep Sea Bunnies, as the little creatures seemed to wander around from time to time and sometimes slip into his cell…
They became one of the only joys Sebastian ever had while in the Hadal Blacksite, as each time he was able to even hold one, either from them sneaking into his cell or by finishing up his work early and finding them on the way back, he could pretend for just a moment he was holding onto the same little cat Sam had impulsively brought home one day.
Even as the years went on and eventually Sebastian caused a breakout of all the entities in the Blacksite… the mutated man still found himself picking up the little sea bunnies and cuddling up with them every so often whenever he found them somewhere during one of his supply runs. Not to mention they seemed to be little hoarders, so they were a huge boon to the Saboteur in gathering materials, and sometimes random files for him to plan his escape.
While they were adorable little helpers… Sebastian never really thought more about them then how they could just help in his escape efforts, or just how well they made for a good stress relief to just pet and play with.
….
It was still hard for Sebastian to believe that he was not only finally back on the surface… but also now living with his family again. Almost 11 years trapped under water in a testing facility… and it shocked him just how much everything has changed on the surface. Though… the most shocking part was actually getting to see and know his daughter. He knew Sam had been pregnant when he got arrested… Hell, they had a long discussion about it a month before and were preparing to welcome their little girl into the world during that time… but actually seeing her now it really hit Sebastian just how much he’s missed out on being trapped in that nightmare facility for so long.
He and Sam had only just got permission from Deluge Labs for Sebastian to finally go home with her… and yet it wasn’t his mothers house, nor the apartment he remembered… but an actual home with two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a much larger space then the tiny little apartment they originally shared a decade ago. He… almost felt like he didn’t belong in such a place, but Izzy had all but dragged him by the hand into the warm little house and was determined to give him a tour of the whole place. All while Sam had laughed, and tried to tell Izzy to go easy on her father.
The minute they entered the house though, Sebastian was surprised to see a small orange cat sitting atop of a dining room table and chewing on a paper floral centerpiece.
“Aaaahhh! Porkchop no! Bad kitty!” Izzy screamed and practically dashed into the dinning area to shoo the trouble making feline off the table, the sight almost made Sebastian want to laugh. “You little stinker! Why do you keep doing this? They’re not even real flowers either…”
“The Little Chomper’s at it again I see?” Sam snickered somewhere behind Sebastian as she slipped into the house.
“So this is a normal occurrence?” Sebastian muttered, glancing off towards the orange tabby cat, who had just jumped down onto the hard wooden floor and was attempting to lick at its paw and pretend it wasn’t trying to be naughty.
“You should see when she’s trying to do homework.” Sam smirked a little. “Porkchop decides to be a little extra annoying and bats at her pencil, but she also sometimes will bite at Izzy’s hand to get some attention.”
“Ugh! I worked hard to make these flowers too!” Izzy pouted, looking over the punctured holes in the paper petals, before turning and picking up the offending feline. “You couldn’t have waited to be naughty until after dad got home? I really wanted to show these off!”
The orange cat just slowly blinked, looking almost proud of itself in the little girl's hold as Izzy slowly went from holding the little cat up to eye level, to hugging the little fuzz ball to her chest and petting it with a huff.
“So this is the dining room… it normally looks a bit nicer but someone had to go and ruin my little surprise.” Izzy sighed, gesturing to the ruined paper flowers… and Sebastian couldn’t help but laugh a little.
“Well I can still say I am surprised by something.” He smirked a little, slithering a little further into the dinning space and bending over a lot to get a better view of the cat in his daughter’s hold. As he lowered himself into view of the cat he watched its yellowish-green eyes contract while looking at him, and its orange fur bristled slightly… Funny how a cat is more scared of my appearance than my own family.
Holding out a curled finger, Sebastian waited for the little cat to sniff it in greeting and making sure to keep his claws pointed away from the tiny animal. Almost immediately Porkchop began sniffing at it… and not long after attempted to bite at his finger a little, though his hard carapace made it so the cats needle-like teeth wouldn’t do anything to actually harm him.
“Porkchop! Be nice!” Izzy scolded.
“It’s fine.” Sebastian brushed off, carefully moving his hand and gently petting the orange feline’s head with a single finger… and almost immediately getting a low rumbling purr from the little thing. “Honestly it makes me think of when Meatball was just a kitten. He liked to bite my fingers then as well.”
“Meatball also liked to dig his claws in while biting.” Sam pipped up, shuffling along to the other side of their daughter and kneeling down to also give a few pets to the cat. “Porkchop usually just likes to bite people as a greeting.”
“Oh, so she’s like this with everyone then? Not just me?” Sebastian laughed, even as the little cat tried to nip at his finger a little more.
“Oh trust me, people have left our home with a few new holes in them from the Little Chomper deciding to bite at them.” Sam snickered, and barely flinched when the cat in question turned around to bite at her hand as well.
Despite her parents looking happy about the situation… Izzy still looked a little down. Her hand made surprise was ruined, and she was hoping for Porkchop to be a little less… well Porkchop long enough to try and get her dad settled in. However seeing as her dad was actually enjoying the little trouble making cat’s antics, a new idea came to Izzy’s mind.
“You wanna hold her?” Izzy asked, adjusting her hold on Porkchop and offering the little orange cat up to her much larger, mutated dad. His three eyes widened a little in surprise and he almost reflexively refused, but with the wide eyed and hopeful look on his little girl’s face… All Sebastian could do was sigh and try to carefully take the little trouble maker from Izzy’s hold without hurting the cat, or his daughter with his claws.
Once the cat was in his hold however… a distant nostalgia immediately made itself known to him. Though Porkchop was nowhere near as fluffy as Meatball had been, and was clearly a full sized cat… Holding the little thing up to his chest reminded him of the day Sam first brought little Meatball home. In relative size, compared to Sebastian’s own larger one… Porkchop practically felt like a little kitten in his arms then a full sized cat.
I… I guess the sea bunnies never really had the right shape or feel…
“Seb?” Sam’s concerned voice snapped Sebastian out of his own mind long enough to notice the looks of concern on both Sam and Izzy’s faces… and the fact he felt a couple tears on his own scaled cheeks. “Are you…”
“Sorry… I just… I guess I just really missed this.” Sebastian confessed, gently gliding his fingers over the cat’s soft fur. Sam soon gave him an almost mournful smile and slowly reached out to pat at one of his arms… his third one that just happened to be close enough for her to reach.
“Take your time… We’ve got plenty of time for you to catch up.” Sam smiled… and honestly to Sebastian it was just as beautiful as he remembered it.
“Thank you…” Sebastian smiled a little, feeling more relaxed in the new home he found himself in. Even to the point he could snort a little as he decided to ask a question he knew would get a funny reaction out of Sam. “So… Who came up with the name “Porkchop” for an orange cat?”
And just as he though, Sam let out a long, tired groan as she rubbed at her forehead while Izzy giggled a little.
“I thought the name fit cuz she makes so much noise when she eats food! So I decided to name her that!” Izzy proudly declared, a smug little look on her face that was so similar to Sam’s own… but with a bit of his own smile mixed in.
“I swear… the two of you have the worst naming skills in this family.” At Sam’s comment, Sebastian could only offer a mock gasp which was surprisingly joined in by the young almost 11 year old girl.
It soon devolved into a joking argument over what names Sam thought would work, versus what names would actually stick… and honestly for the first time in that very moment.
Sebastian felt like he was finally home.