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Theo got a cat.
Liam still can't believe it, if he's being honest, but Theo said the cat was sleeping in his truck.
That he can believe.
Theo had a dog in his truck once.
Just passed out in the tailgate while Theo was parked in the preserve for his perimeter runs.
So, when he gets a text that is solely a picture of what appears to be a black kitten laying over Theo's shoulder while he's in his apartment, Liam shouldn't have been surprised.
But…
Theo didn't take the dog home with him, he took him to Deaton.
So, Liam is surprised.
Theo kept the cat.
Theo is attached to the cat.
And the cat… the cat does not like Liam at all.
"If that cat trips me one more time," grumbles Liam as he catches falls onto the couch, glaring at the black kitten as it cleans its foot. "Why did you decide to keep her anyway? I thought you said you'd never have a pet."
"She needed someone. When I found her in my truck, I could see her ribs. She's just a kitten," explains Theo as he clicks his tongue and gets a meow from the brat cat. "Deaton says a lot of kittens get separated from their moms after a while, that or they're just left outside by owners who can't handle them anymore. He recognized her, said he knows who her mom's owners are too. But when he called about it, the owners told him that they didn't know how she got out, but they didn't want her as they'd sold the other kittens already. So, she's my Bask now."
"I get that, but seriously, she hates me," grumbles Liam with a sigh as he starts to understand how Theo ended up with a cat.
"She doesn't hate you, Liam," snorts Theo as Bask comes running over to the couch and jumps onto the step stool that Liam made for her as a surprise when he found out that she was officially adopted. "You just aren't here that much. She's picky."
"You know that's not true," grumbles Liam as Theo chuckles while Bask climbs up into his lap. "Even Derek doesn't get anything more than a hiss, and he's in here almost every day after you two do your perimeter runs! The only other person Bask likes, aside from you, is Alec!"
"Well, maybe it's just because we're the ones who feed her? I don't know. But she doesn't hate you, Liam. She smells happy when she sees you," says Theo as he attempts to reassure Liam while also petting Bask as she settles in his lap and purrs brightly.
"Whatever, eventually she'll like me enough to stop trying to trip me," huffs Liam as he lays his head back against the couch and closes his eyes, arms crossing over his chest. "I'm napping here, don't let me ignore my alarm when it goes off, I have to help out Deaton at the office tonight."
"I won't let you ignore your alarm, promise," replies Theo with a chuckle as he reaches out and pats Liam's arm. "But Bask trips me all the time, so you're out of your mind if you think she's going to stop tripping you."
"Great," sighs Liam as he relaxes further into the couch, head tilting to the right while he takes a deep breath.
It's maybe an hour later when Liam is woke up by Theo shaking his shoulder as his alarm blares in his ear. He doesn't even have much time to think once his eyes find his phone because he's about to be late.
"I'll see you later, Babe," says Liam in a rush as he presses a kiss to Theo's cheek and takes off out the door while shoving his phone into his back pocket.
He makes it all the way out to his car, pulling out of the apartment complex parking lot, when he realizes that he just called Theo his Babe.
They're still in a fairly new relationship, like literally they've been on three dates, and it's been almost a month since he and Theo asked each other out. And, of course, it happened in the pouring rain after a fight with a supernatural chaos creature.
But Liam hasn't called him any sort of pet name yet.
Theo has taken to calling him his Darling, but Liam hadn't decided on anything aside from Babe. So, he wasn't saying anything other than Theo's name.
"Focus, dammit. You're going to be late," mutters Liam before he steps on it, rushing to the clinic because if he's late again, Deaton said he was going to have to clean all of the kennels and refill the food and water bowls by himself instead of working with Nolan to do it.
Liam manages to get to the Clinic with five minutes to spare, and he jogs inside as soon as he gets out of the car, keyring swinging on his finger, just to make sure Deaton sees that he made it on time.
"Oh, look what we have here. You know how to be on time," says Deaton with a half-grin as Liam steps inside. "There's a surgery that we have to do in fifteen, so go help Nolan prep."
"On it," says Liam with a sigh as he walks to the back while Deaton types something onto the computer.
As he steps into the hall, Liam pulls out his phone to text Theo that he'd made it only to freeze mid-step at the new picture on his lock-screen.
Bask is curled up on his chest joining his nap, her body pressing back against his crossed arms.
Maybe Theo was right, she doesn't hate him… At least not as much as she hates Derek.
He quickly pulls up his messages with Theo.
Liam: Made it on time.
Liam: Also, thanks for the new lock-screen… I love it.
He pockets his phone with a grin, and he quickly gets to work.