𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𐔌՞. .՞𐦯

The lights were low. The apartment quiet.

You were already curled up on the couch, blanket thrown over your legs, the TV playing some mindless comfort show you barely paid attention to. Silas had finally come out of the bathroom, towel-drying his hair, hoodie sleeves pushed up to his elbows as he dropped beside you with a soft exhale.

“He asleep?” you asked, voice quiet like you were talking about a human child.

Silas grinned as he sat. “For now. He made a nest in my laundry hamper. I didn’t question it.”

You snorted and leaned into his side. “Good. Maybe we’ll actually sleep tonight.”

That was hopeful.

Fifteen minutes later — just as your eyelids started getting heavy — a sudden crash echoed from the hallway.

You both shot up.

“…That wasn’t the hamper,” Silas said slowly.

You scrambled out from under the blanket as a blur of chocolate-brown fluff zoomed past the living room, tail puffed out like a duster, green eyes wide like he’d seen a ghost. Or his reflection.

“Bubbles!” you hissed.

Silas ran a hand down his face. “There goes peaceful parenting.”

You both found him perched on top of the kitchen counter like a gremlin, licking his paw like nothing had happened — next to a tipped-over cup and the scattered remains of a houseplant you forgot you even owned.

“Buddy,” Silas said gently, stepping closer, “you’re gonna give me a heart attack.”

Bubbles meowed. Loudly. Rudely.

You tried to scoop him up — but he launched off the counter mid-pickup, did a front flip in midair, and darted directly back to the couch, where he proceeded to curl into a ball like he was the victim.

Silas stood there blinking. “I think he’s gaslighting us.”

You stared at your ruined plant. “We’re not ready for real kids.”

“I was feeling confident,” he muttered.

Still — you both made your way back to the couch. Silas sank down beside Bubbles, who now curled between your legs like he hadn’t just caused chaos. Silas tugged the blanket over you both, leaned in, and looked down at the purring ball of fluff nestled in his lap.

“You’re lucky you’re cute,” he whispered to him.

Bubbles blinked up at him. Meowed once. Then immediately fell asleep.

You exhaled, finally letting your body relax again, head falling to Silas’s shoulder.

“He’s gonna be a menace, huh?”

Silas kissed your forehead, voice soft. “Yeah. But he’s ours.”