Chapter Text
A FAMILY PET
CHAPTER 1: THE KITTEN
Another day was beginning at the Barba—Benson household. Breakfast, as always, was marked by the morning rush.
The sound of the coffee maker, bacon sizzling in the pan, and Emma’s babbling filled the air.
Liv hurriedly served breakfast while Rafael helped with the baby, who was giggling and making adorable “Da-da” sounds—the lawyer’s downfall ever since his daughter had started talking.
Soon, the footsteps of Noah and Alec were heard; from their room, they had already planned their move.
“Good morning, Mom, Dad... Emma,” Noah greeted all at once.
“Good morning, sweetheart,” Liv replied, handing him a glass of orange juice.
“Son,” Rafael answered, still holding Emma in his arms as she played with his tie.
“Mommy!” Alec hugged his mom’s legs, never letting go of his smile.
As soon as Liv sat down at the table, Alec and Noah exchanged a subtle nod.
A gesture that didn’t go unnoticed by Liv and Rafael, who knew their kids well. They pretended not to see anything and continued sipping their coffee.
Noah seized the moment and cleared his throat to speak, wearing a serious expression. “Mom, Dad, Christmas is coming soon... and Alec and I would like to share the same gift.”
Rafael already knew how this was going to go.
“We would like...” Alec continued.
“The answer is no, kids!” “But Dad, you didn’t let me present my arguments,” Alec ran to the living room to grab his backpack and pulled out two drawings.
Both drawings showed an orange kitten.
He handed one drawing to Liv and the other to Rafael.
“Yes, Mom, we know a dog isn’t possible, but what about a kitten?” Noah jumped in right away.
Liv couldn’t help but smile at the sweet drawing from her son.
“I don’t know, Emma is still very little and a kitten...” Liv said softly, trying to be understanding of her children’s words and gestures.
“Nope! There will be no dogs or cats in this house,” Rafael finished firmly, gripping his coffee mug.
Alec lowered his gaze. Noah whispered, “At least we tried, Alec.”
Liv looked over at Rafael, who maintained a firm expression.
Inside, he felt a knot in his stomach at not being able to fulfill his kids’ wishes.
Time showed no mercy, and as they left the house, Liv took Noah to school and Emma to Lucy’s mom for care, then headed to the station.
Meanwhile, Rafael was in charge of taking Alec to preschool.
From the moment Rafael buckled Alec into the car seat, he knew the ride wouldn’t be easy. The boy frowned and crossed his arms. Barba tried to soothe his son with gentle touches, but Alec squirmed away.
“Mijo.”
The drive was even worse. Rafael only watched him through the rearview mirror. Usually talkative, Alec remained silent.
The quiet weighed heavily, especially in the boy’s green eyes.
Sensing this, Barba tried playing music— a song that had been his own musical torment for months, but he knew his son loved it.
He put on “Peaches” from Mario Bros and started doing the voices. The first time didn’t work, but by the second playthrough, Alec joined in and began singing.
When they got out of the car and Alec said goodbye before heading into school, he was back to his usual self, barely wanting to part from his dad.
Rafael felt it in his son’s hug; he didn’t seem quite as full of energy as usual.
He watched him walk away through the doorway, carrying his little red backpack and dinosaur lunchbox.
Rafael sighed, about to turn away, when the little boy shouted from afar,
“Daddy!”—waving his tiny hand goodbye.
Barba smiled.
He couldn’t tell anyone why he was so against the idea of any four-legged pet in the house. He took a deep breath. Maybe he could find a solution.
Later, like every Friday, Lucy took the Barba-Benson kids to the park.
Although Noah no longer enjoyed himself the same way as his younger brother, he liked being able to help Lucy and their parents.
Soon, a noise distracted Alec and Noah from their game of hide-and-seek.
“Alec!” Noah shouted as he saw his brother running and crawling under the bushes.
He followed him, footsteps crunching on the leaves.
The little boy crawled through the grass, not minding the small branches scratching his knees.
“Alec, stop playing like that,” his voice carried a hint of worry.
“Look, Noah—help him!”
Soon the older boy joined in, letting himself be dragged under the grass.
The silence was broken by a soft meow.
It was a gray tabby kitten with black stripes and a pink nose, its paw was hurt.
Noah managed to free the kitten, much to Alec’s delight.
The kitten seemed alone and without an owner.
“Can we take him, Noah...?” Alec pleaded with his eyes.
Noah frowned. “Mom and Dad will be angry, especially Dad.”
Alec lowered his gaze, holding the kitten in his arms.
The kitten meowed again, and neither boy could resist.
They hid the kitten inside Noah’s jacket until they got home.
When Rafael and Liv got home from work, they started setting the table for dinner while the kids were still out.
There was a rhythm in their movements until Liv broke the silence.
“Rafa, I think having a dog isn’t such a bad idea. The kids are responsible, and a little company wouldn’t hurt.”
“Liv, no.”
“Why not, Rafa? It could be a small dog.”
“Liv, no big dogs, no small dogs.”
“Don’t you trust the kids?”
“Liv...” he looked at her intently.
There was a silence.
He clenched his fists and whispered,
“I’m allergic to cat and dog hair.”
“Oh... I see,” Olivia said, surprised.
Rafael felt exposed, but more than that, he felt he couldn’t give his children the joy of having their long-awaited pet.
Meanwhile, in their room, Noah and Alec kept their big secret: the kitten hidden inside a Nike shoebox.