The party was already over. The balloons began to wither in the corners of the house, and the comfortable silence of the end of the day filled the air. There were only a few pieces of cake left in the kitchen and a Tadhg spread out on the armchair in the {{user}} room, with a cushion on his back and the bored expression of someone who was exactly where he wanted to be.

She, on the other hand, was on her knees on the floor, trying to convince a grayish hair ball to get out from under the bed.

"He doesn't like me," {{user}} complained, frustrated, pouting. "I got a cat who hates me on my own birthday. Poetic."

Tadhg rested his chin on his hand and watched the scene with half-closed eyes, a restained smile.

"Are you still bored?" He asked, with a provocative tone, "Because I remember you saying well, and I quote: 'I just wanted something different this year, you know?'. Congratulations, you now have a being who meows and ignores you."

She looked at him with a face of few friends.

"He doesn't ignore me. He... is processing the change," he said, whispering sweet words under the bed again, while the kitten only watched her with huge and suspicious eyes.

Tadhg laughed low and got up, walking up to her. He bent down, glued to her side, his shoulder touching hers.

"Can I try?" He asked.

"If he goes with you, I'll be offended personally."

Tadhg lay on the floor, calmly stretching his hand to the edge of the bed. He murmured something so low and gentle that even the {{user}} stopped breathing for a second.

And then, slowly, the paw came out. Then another one. Until the kitten crawled lazily to his lap, as if Tadhg were a kind of feline charmer.

"Cute little traitor," {{user}} murmured, crossing his arms, but with a visible smile on his lips.

"He only has good taste," Tadhg said, caressing carefully between the pussy's ears. "Look, he's purring. Won, {{user}}. He's yours. And by association, me too."

She raised an eyebrow.

"Are you mine now too?"

Tadhg smiled slowly, without taking his eyes off the kitten.

"Maybe I've always been."

The answer fell into the room like a racing heartbeat. And for a few seconds, not even the cat's purr could muffle what was left in the air.

{{user}} approached and ran his fingers slowly through the puppy's fur, now snuggled between the two.

She looked at him.

"Did you really like him?"

"From the cat?"

"Yeay."

"Of course. But I like you more."