#hope ur bday is lovely noodle <33

[calicostorms]

Happy bday noodle!

A small ficlet about Angel bringing a kitten home and David gradually growing fond of it for your birthday! Much love @angelnoodlesoup

"We are not keeping it."

"Come on, just look at her face! How can you say no, Davey?" Angel whines, face pleading.

"We are not keeping it."

"Come on, just look at her face! How can you say no, Davey?" Angel whines, face pleading.

"Easily," he replies, staring at the little tabby kitten in their arms. David isn't a cat person, he's never owned a cat. They don't even have any equipment for owning a cat, let alone a kitten.

His partner pouts, holding the kitten close to their chest. "Don't listen to him," they say to the cat, "we'll keep you, don't let his big macho alpha stuff scare you."

The kitten mews pathetically as if in answer, little kitten claws digging into their sweater while they pet between her ears.

"One night," he relents finally with a deep frown. "Then we take her to a shelter tomorrow. If she throws up on the carpet it's going to be your responsibility."

Angel just grins, eyes already shining while they hold the kitten close. It'd be very cute if they weren't trying to convince him that owning a kitten of all things would be a good idea.

-

David wakes up with a little ball of fur curled up between them, cold nose pressed to his shoulder. Of course, he thinks.

The kitten is so small against him that he barely feels it, so he doesn't bother moving it while he reads through the news on his phone before getting up for work. It's not like he cares whether he disturbs her but she's just laying on his shoulder. It's fine.

He shifts in preparation to get up and the little kitten mews in protest, tiny claws digging into his worn sleep shirt.

"I'm going to work," he says, feeling stupid for talking to a cat of all things. "You have to move now."

As if in reply she stares up at him with big, plaintive looking eyes, and he sighs in annoyance.

"You can follow me to the kitchen if you want, but I'm leaving after breakfast. You can't cling to my shirt all day."

The kitten opens her mouth in a near-soundless, pathetic meow that makes the alpha roll his eyes. "Drama queen. It's not the end of the world."

Finally, he carefully shifts the kitten off his shoulder. Her body feels tiny in his hands, fragile and shaking ever so slightly as he prys her away from his chest to set her down on the blankets.

David sits up, watching the tiny kitten stare at him for several moments before she waddles awkwardly over to the edge of the bed and wiggles carefully before throwing herself off the edge of the bed and landing with a hard thunk.

He grimaces at the noise and quietly kneels on the ground to check the kitten over.

"That was a stupid decision."

The kitten stares up at him as he gets up and pads into their kitchen, hearing the kitten skid across the wood flooring while she follows at his heels as he walks, attempting to catch the soft fleece of his pants.

Once he stops, she actually catches it in her little paws and bats at it. He can feel the fabric shift against his leg and smiles slightly, endeared despite himself.

She chases after him as he makes breakfast, skidding over the floors in overexcitement and bumping against his legs any time he stands still. It's annoying as hell, having to walk over the fumbling kitten while he attempts to actually make food, but she doesn't seem deterred by his attempts to gently nudge her away with his feet.

He even gets his toes bitten for the trouble.

Ugh.

She gets under his feet endlessly while he's getting ready for work, jumping up to mess with his pants as he unfolds them and chewing with the laces of his boots while he's putting them on. The little kitten even tries to lay down on top of his shoes after he puts them on, which prompts a long suffering sigh of annoyance.

The alpha carefully pries her tiny paws away from his laces and picks her up to place her down on the ground beside them.

"Please don't puke on my couch," he says tiredly, watching the tabby as he opens the front door to leave. "I'll see you, little menace, tonight."

He hears a muffled meow through the door as he leaves, and a tiny paw sticks out from beneath it in a way that makes him stifle a smile of amusement.

-

By the time David comes home, he's received more comments about the kitten than about their actual job.

He's also received copious amounts of pictures of the kitten sprawled out on the couch or sleeping on top of Angel, which he has enjoyed, though he probably would deny it if someone pressed him.

The second he steps inside again he hears the kitten scampering across their wooden flooring, little paws unable to get a good grip. As he takes his boots off he watches the little tabby skid across their living room floor to finally arrive at his side and paw at his pants leg.

"Don't put holes in my work pants, little menace," he scolds, nudging their paws until they aren't attached to his pants leg anymore.

His expression softens as he spots his mate, pulling them in for a brief kiss. "Hi, Angel," David says quietly, trying very hard to ignore the kitten pitifully mewling at their feet.

They laugh, kissing him again before pulling away to pick up the kitten and kiss her on the forehead. "How was work?" They ask.

David just groans.

"How do you think? Of course the entire pack somehow knows about the kitten and is making a huge fuss. I'm sure you wouldn't know anything about that."

Bright eyes twinkle mischievously, a smile pulling the edges of their lips. "Of course not, Davey," they reply, "I'm completely innocent."

They're lying– Asher already admitted they texted a photo of the kitten to most of the pack, but he doesn't mind. If he did, he wouldn't be dating them.

"You're so far from innocent you could be in a different universe," he replies skeptically, but cups the back of their neck to guide them into a soft kiss regardless.

Unfortunately, it doesn't last long. It's derailed by a tiny, upset meow that makes Angel smile against his lips before pulling away. "She probably wants to be fed," Angel admits ruefully.

While he makes dinner, the kitten eats (loudly) and meows at him as if he's personally wronged her. He watches Angel play with her on the floor, quietly amused by watching the kitten paw at them. They can't keep the kitten, but it is cute.

He looks away, determined to remain strong.

Later, on the couch cuddling together with the kitten quietly napping on his thigh, he admits that he's enjoying having the kitten around. She's a menace and a pain in his ass, but when she's purring like a motor and passed out on his leg it's hard to mind so much.

Angel is playing some video game so he carefully strokes the kitten's tabby fur while stifling a fond smile.

She really is cute. Cuter than Aggro was when Milo first got them too, with her little button nose and wonky whiskers.

Angel leans their cheek on his shoulder with a grin that's so smug he already knows what's about to come out of their mouth.

"So we can keep the kitten?"

He groans, frustrated, but doesn't cease his gentle petting over the kitten's forehead. After their long pause he sighs heavily in defeat, kissing their temple.

"Yes, Angel. We can keep her."

He already knows that the little menace will become a welcome fixture in their afternoon cuddles on the couch and a completely spoiled brat.