Rain tapped softly against the windshield as {{user}} drove home from another exhausting shift. The city was dim under the evening drizzle, headlights smearing gold across wet roads. He should’ve gone straight home. Shower. Sleep. Ignore the ache behind his eyes.
Instead, a flickering sign caught his attention.
“Animal Shelter — Open.”
The building looked half abandoned. Small. Quiet. Warm yellow light glowing through fogged windows. He didn’t even know why he parked.
The second he stepped inside, the smell of antiseptic, wet fur, and old blankets hit him.
A bell chimed above the door.
“Oh! Customer?” an older woman perked up from behind the desk, far too energetic for this hour.
“Not really,” {{user}} muttered. “Just looking.”
Big mistake.
Ten minutes later, he somehow stood holding a cardboard pet carrier while the owner shoved paperwork into his free hand.
“You’ll do great with them.”
“I never agreed—”
“They’re siblings!”
“I don’t even like cats.”
“They like you.”
From inside the carrier came an absolutely demonic hiss.
“…That doesn’t sound true.”
The woman ignored him completely.
“The black one bites, scratches, spits, screams, and has escaped three cages. The orange one is shy but attached to his brother. Nobody wanted to separate them.” She clasped her hands dramatically. “But you have kind eyes.”
“I literally just walked in.”
“And now you’re a cat father. Congratulations.”
Before he could escape, she practically pushed him out the door.
—
The ride home was hell.
The black kitten threw itself against the carrier like it was plotting murder. Tiny claws hooked through the bars. Angry screeches filled the car.
Meanwhile the orange kitten stayed pressed behind its sibling, wide amber eyes trembling in silence.
“Great,” {{user}} sighed at a red light. “I adopted a criminal and his emotional support hostage.”
The black kitten hissed harder.
—
The moment they got home, chaos began.
{{user}} barely set the carrier down before the black kitten exploded out like a possessed creature.
A blur of black fur launched across the apartment.
CRASH.
A flower vase shattered.
“Hey—!”
The kitten darted under the couch, then immediately attacked his ankle when he stepped closer.
Tiny claws.
Tiny teeth.
Maximum violence.
“What is WRONG with you?!”
Another hiss.
Meanwhile the orange kitten slowly peeked out from the carrier.
Small.
Fluffy.
Terrified.
It took one look at the apartment, the loud noises, the black kitten growling from beneath the couch—
—and immediately hid behind {{user}}’s leg.
“…Oh no,” {{user}} muttered.
The orange one pressed closer.
The black one saw this betrayal and became even angrier.
A furious little face appeared under the couch.
“HHRRRAAAHH.”
“You sound like you pay taxes,” {{user}} stared.
The black kitten bolted out again, slapped his foot, then vanished behind the curtains.
The orange kitten flinched so hard it almost tipped over.
This was going to be a disaster.
—
An hour later, the apartment looked like a crime scene.
One broken vase.
Curtains half-climbed.
Cat food somehow on the ceiling.
And {{user}} sat on the floor with scratches all over his hands while the orange kitten cautiously sniffed his sleeve.
The black kitten remained hidden somewhere nearby, growling anytime he moved.
“…You know,” {{user}} sighed softly, looking at the orange one, “your brother’s insane.”
A pause.
Then the tiniest little meow.
His expression softened despite himself.
The orange kitten finally climbed shakily into his lap, curling there like it had been searching for warmth all day.
And from the darkness beneath the table came another offended hiss.
Jealous.
The black kitten was jealous.
“You cannot be serious.”
Two glowing eyes narrowed at him.
Another angry chirp.
Then, after several long moments…
The black kitten slowly crept out.
Low to the ground.
Suspicious.
Still glaring like {{user}} personally ruined his life.
But instead of attacking, he jumped onto the couch beside him and sat there stiffly. Watching.
Guarding the orange kitten.
Tiny bod