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maimaily · 1 day ago

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the lads boys as kittens. 🍎 ‧₊˚ caleb

summary: You were living in your new apartment now, a free space for yourself, but maybe it was too free. You weren't quite used to the silence and loneliness of it, so you decided to welcome a little one to your home. After considering many options, a cat seemed adequate: clean, independent, wouldn't take much of your time like a dog… right?

characters: kitty!caleb (other characters will be posted separately), mc as reader.

a/n: no one has pointed this out yet, but I feel it's my responsibility to clarify: the animals mentioned in this writing play a FICTIONAL role. Wild animals shouldn't be domesticated, and their captivity must be respected. Don't take this as an incentive to adopt exotic animals. Proofread but if there's any mistake please let me know! (eng isn't my first language).

xavier 🢒 rafayel 🢒 zayne 🢒 sylus

Caleb — Serval How did he get to live with you?

You didn't understand. Your mind couldn't even process a thought, a single moment of malicious intent towards the purest beings in this world. After taking a look at your surroundings, you finally grasped the extent of wealth a single person could accumulate through corruption and greed. In this case, a protocore dealer who owned a dangerous amount of altered protocores in his possession, ones that he clearly didn't know how to use or store, had finally been caught, not without a brutal fight against the wanderers that got summoned by the metaflux levels in the area.

However, the broken vases and the ruined expensive furniture weren't your concern. Not even the infamous dealer, who was squirming and crying out in pain due to a fractured arm. No.

His precious sand-like fur was bathed in blood. His breathing was uneven, labored, and pained. A marvelous serval cat stared at you with clouded eyes, tugging every string of your concerned heart. His right paw, once long and slender, full of strength and agility, was now completely broken to the point you had to look away.

You saw when the animal, after being brutally kicked by the monster that was being handcuffed behind you, stayed motionless under the heavy flow of bullets over him as the hunters attacked the wanderers. The rest of the exotic animals in the house that this criminal owned as pets were safe, and soon authorities would proceed to their rescue, but this little one, would anyone care enough to save his life before time ran out? Before it was too late and you lived to regret it, he was already in your arms, on his way to the closest medical attention.

This story was familiar to you already: rescuing a hurt kitty, crying internally after seeing the bill, and doing everything in your power to help it. But now the conditions were different. His broken paw was beyond salvation, so his only hope of using it again was with a prosthesis, which cost a couple of extra zeros more than you could afford. Yet you managed to request an advance on your check, getting out of the emergency quickly.

But now, with a disabled wildcat unable to return to its habitat, who would take care of it? You tried everything: adoption ads, asking your colleagues, looking for centers that had space or could take care of him… but nothing, the answer was always the same: people offering absurd amounts of money, which you took as a red flag, or refusal due to “too much responsibility and expense.”

In such a situation… There is no choice but to take responsibility. After all, where four cats eat, five can eat too, don't you think?

Counter climber. He doesn't even have to jump that much; stretching his front paws on top of every surface is enough to have him glued to your side. You're cooking? He's silently watching in this position; eating? He stands with his paws on your lap to inspect your meal; late for work? You don't need to guess: that warm breathing on your face is the diligent Caleb standing on the edge of the bed as your alarm!

The energy is tired of him. It's impressive how much Caleb has learned to use his prosthesis in such a short time, recovering almost full control of his slender body under your care. But what's even more incredible is how his energy levels seem to be endless! He's always doing something: walking around, running on Sylus's wheel, chasing bugs, or playing with the multiple toys Rafayel always leaves scattered on the floor (and doesn't like to share).

Gadget gremlin, no one is safe in this house. The automatic vacuum cleaner that Xavier hates with his life is Caleb's favorite ride around the flat; he climbs on it as soon as he sees it active, and you swear you can almost see his smile when he does. Ah, don't use the scanner with him around; the second you look away, he'll SOMEHOW print himself... and you won't know what to do with the 34 copies of his paws that were supposed to be reports. You should also consider gluing your clock to the table, he has knocked it over many times already... And you swear that if he blows another light bulb by playing with the switches, you'll sell the photos of his paws to buy a new one.

He comes with a built-in speaker. No cat has ever sounded more canine to you. It's not a gentle "meow" here and there; those are full "WAN" when he demands attention. And god forbid you pet someone else in front of him, you'll have him right in your ear begging for affection. Please buy Xavier some earplugs before he commits a crime. Please.

With Rafayel and Xavier, he has founded what you call the "puddle of feline gloom". No you? No motivation, then. Days get boring without you scratching his chin! :( Or cuddling, napping, or just without following you around... not even mischief is appealing if you're not there to react in the moment. So the three cats go into a boneless state in the living room, basking or just limp until sleep gets the better of them.

You don't know where he learnt it, but he makes your bed. It happened one time you left in a hurry for an appointment and didn't have time to make your bed. Your surprise at finding the pillows arranged in a lopsided attempt was remarkable. The covers were pulled up, slightly crooked, but with earnest work! He's a sweetheart, and he knows your routine. Don't worry about the details.

You haven't even touched your suitcase yet when Caleb, the master of guilt-tripping, has all of your clothes sprawled on the floor like emotional landmines. This guy has the cleverness to make you feel even worse for leaving (even if it's just for three days) by sabotaging your attempts at simply packing. Afterwards, he'll curl up with his head hid under his paws, all mighty and heartbroken... but will never let you go before some goodbye kisses.

His favorite place to make biscuits is also your chest! No, Xavier isn't happy with that, and no, Caleb does NOT care a single bit. He purposely does when Xavier is around if he can, but if he's not, the affection is the same: gentle licking on your cheeks and kneading on your soft tissue, cuddling right after he's done on top of you. Don't forget to give him head pats or he'll meow up a storm until you do! :(

The first days after bringing home Caleb couldn't be considered "easy". The vets warned you from the start that it would take time for him to recover and regain mobility after his paw was amputated. The mere word "amputation" brought to your chest an uneasy feeling of guilt, thoughts of "I could have prevented this if I had caught that man sooner," or "Perhaps if I had more money, I could have sought better treatment," tormented your mind in moments of emotional vulnerability.

But the real torment started when you took him home. You didn't like to say it out loud, but you felt like giving up at least a couple of times, not because you weren't willing to help him, but because you weren't sure you were capable of healing his wounded trust towards the world. He hissed at anything that came near him, whether it was you, one of the boys, or even toys you used in the hope of befriending him. What broke your heart was that he wasn't even aggressive; he never bit or scratched you, just looked for safe spaces to hide and recover.

So you changed your strategy. Approaching him resulted in hissing and hiding, which led you to try the contrary, giving him space. You still talked to him, fed him, and allowed him to be alone as long as he needed. Eventually, it worked. You remembered the day he finally stepped out of his hiding spot: the blue light of the TV enlightened your sleepy expression as you dozed off on the sofa, covered in a warm blanket, completely relaxed. It wasn't until you sensed something that you opened your eyes; his little face and big ears were right in front of you, observing your features turn soft as you let your guard down.

Maybe he ran away the instant you opened your eyes, but he had never been so close before, much less willingly, so smiling couldn't be helped. It progressed like that. Each night after going to bed, he would enter your room and look at you with curious eyes, then he'd sniff you a little and run back to his bed. Not long after, he'd allow you to pet him a while, and then he'd go out when he saw the rest of the kitties playing around, intrigued by their squeaky toys, and one day, you woke up to him cuddled up by your side.

He becoming so clingy and talkative was not what you expected, tho... but you couldn't say you hated it. He was so loving and funny that being around him always cheered you up; bad days could be easily forgotten after seeing him try to convince Zayne to play (big kitty club probably), chasing Rafayel all over the place, and... well, him fighting with Xavier wasn't that fun, "sharing" was not in ther vocabullary. But even so! He was your little friend, your cuddle bug, your company during late-night meals, and a mischievous darling whom you couldn't get really mad at when he pulled those big, round eyes full of innocence you adored.

But now that you were packing for another work trip, seeing all your clothes out of your luggage and him munching on your shoes grumpily, growling as if they were the culprit of you going away, you could only sigh in annoyance. "Caleb, stop! We've talked about this!"

You tried to take the shoe away from him, but he only bit down harder, pulling it toward him as you pulled on it, giving up to not hurt him. "Come on, it'll be a three-day trip, I'll be back in no time, don't get like this..." You caressed his back, soothing him. He meowed back, bumping his head against you and nuzzling you, meowing even more as he sat between your legs.

"I know, I know. You don't like it, neither do I!" You sat down on the bed and carried him in your arms, kissing him. "Just a couple of days and I'll take you out to play, don't be mad. You'll be fine." His tail and ears dropped as he curled up in your arms, making you kiss him a little more.

The past few days, as if he sensed you were preparing for the trip, you felt like he was trying to do anything to make you stay. He picked up all of Rafayel's toys and put them all together in the corner of the living room, didn't steal Xavier's blanket, didn't wake you up before your alarm went off, and spent more time with you, if that's even possible.

Just to be clear, the small bird he offered you one day was also a friendly gesture. Please don't panic like that again. The little birdie was alive! This time.

Unfortunately for him, none of that was enough to prevent the inevitable. You had to leave, even if only for a few days; there was no other option.

"How's everything going? Did the mission go well?"

"Yes! I just have to finish up some paperwork before going back." You answered Tara, who videocalled you to chat a little. "Is everything alright with the boys?"

Tara was at your place to feed and check on them. "All good, don't worry. One of them knocked over a flowerpot, but I don't know who... I cleaned it up. Ah, and Xavier has been meowing around his plate for a while now. Should I feed him more food?"

"Absolutely not. He's on a diet, he knows it," you joked, and saw a little ear flick near the camera. "Who's there?"

"Ah! Someone has been eager to say hi!" Tara moved her hand, and a pair of beautiful, round eyes peeked from the bottom. "Wah!" With loud meows, the leopard-like cat stared at your image with excitement, getting so close to the camera that you could barely see him.

"Hello to you too, Cay!" The cute tone of your voice made him bump against the phone, making you and Tara laugh with tenderness.

Video-calling turned out to be Caleb's favorite thing to do when you were away; just hearing your voice was enough to get him in a good mood, easing the lonely feeling in his heart. There is always a way to make distances disappear, it seems, but your little Cay would always wait for the day your warm hands petted him with tender love one more time.

YAAYYY I FINISHED IT !! I thought I'd never be able to write the final part of this series, but it's been so much fun that I just had to keep researching and drawing inspiration. Thank u so, so, so much to everyone who followed the series. I'm so happy so many people liked it, I didn't expect it haha. Thank you for all the comments, likes, and reblogs! Also, thank you to all the people who started following me!

I have some other projects in mind, like a fem!lads series, so if anyone is interested, they're welcomed to stay!

tag list ! @animegamerfox, @princessofenkanomiya, @aethercoreria, @thatweirdomidas

Dividers made by: @uzmacchiato, @v6que and @haecunt