Page 15

Kai felt an immediate gnawing sensation, deep in his gut, a pain that only ever surfaced when he thought about Nicholas.

No, no, not today, not right now. He clicked his phone off harshly, shoving it into the pocket of his hoodie.

Atticus was laughing to himself as he messed with a toy that lit up and whirled around at the press of a button.

He looked so happy, and watching him relaxed something in Kai.

He couldn’t deal with Nicholas right now, didn’t want to deal with Nicholas or the way thinking about his ex always turned him into such a mood killer.

“Get that one too,” he said, voice soft as he stepped closer. He hoped Atticus didn’t hear the hint of anxiety hidden in the words.

They continued on like that, adding more and more cat toys to their little collection, before finally moving on to the end of the aisle. There was one last thing they needed.

“Hmmm.” Atticus put a hand to his chin, tapping his full lower lip, indecision coating his features. “I don’t like these options.”

Kai stared at him. “What do you mean ? There are literally dozens to choose from.” He waved a hand toward all of the collars displayed on the wall. Atticus narrowed his eyes.

“But none of them feel like her .”

Kai glanced back toward the selection, eyes searching. Surely they could settle on one of the collars. He reached out, snatching up a solid black one. The material felt cheap in his hands. Kai put it back, studying the sparkly pink one next to it. No, that wasn’t right either…

He sighed. “I hate that you’re right.”

Atticus grinned, bumping against Kai’s side. “But I am right, eh?”

Kai scowled. “I’ll look at the online options later.”

“Great!” Atticus clapped his hands together before grabbing their cart and pushing it toward the registers. “Let’s go, I’ve gotta get her to her appointment. And you’ve got a stream, right?”

“Yeah.” Kai followed close at the other man’s side as they moved through the store. As the last of their items were rung up, he pulled out his card, swiping it before Atticus could catch on.

“No!” Atticus pushed Kai away from the card terminal, but it was too late. Kai slipped his wallet back into his pocket with a smirk.

“You’re paying for the vet appointment,” he said. The cashier glanced back and forth between them, a bored stare on her face. “It’s only fair.”

“But she’s my cat,” Atticus said, looking away to snatch up some of their bags. Kai felt something sink inside himself at the words. He turned away, picking up the pet carrier and beds, schooling his features into something close to neutral.

“I found her with you,” he said, voice steadier than he felt. “I helped get her cleaned up. I feel a little responsible for her.”

He could feel Atticus' eyes boring a hole into the side of his head as they exited the store. They were silent until they reached the car. Atticus popped the trunk and began loading stuff in, a small smile on his face.

“What?” Kai finally broke, his insides twisting at that little smirk now focused on him.

“Okay.” Atticus nodded. “She can be your cat too.”

It was silly, the way Kai’s spirits lifted at the words.

Of course she couldn’t be his cat too. They didn’t live together.

This wasn’t a co-parenting situation. She was Atticus' cat, and Kai was just Atticus' friend. But still, something about the idea of them doing this together made Kai’s pulse speed up.

“Maybe just for the week,” he mumbled, earning a laugh from the other man as he slammed the trunk closed. Atticus still wore that smug little smile as they pulled out of the parking lot and headed home.

Atticus had just set the pet carrier down on his porch to dig for his keys when the front door opened.

“Hey, thanks!” He grinned at Kai, feeling a little flustered as he picked up the carrier and entered his own home. It was still strange, having someone else there. Not to mention the fact that Kai looked kind of adorable as he helped Atticus with the items he’d acquired from the vet.

“How’d it go?” Kai asked as Atticus set the carrier on the living room floor.

The moment he opened it, the kitten flew out, dashing across the room and skidding on the hardwood floor as she tried to keep from smacking into the wall.

She failed, crashing in a mess of limbs and fur, only to bounce back up and disappear down the hallway.

“No chip!” Atticus couldn’t keep the excitement out of his voice. Kai offered up a smile of his own, genuine cheer lighting up his amber eyes.

“She has an ear infection.” Atticus placed some paperwork and a small prescription bag on the kitchen counter. “Everything else looked good though. Still waiting on the results from some bloodwork, but the vet said not to worry.”

“Did you give them a name for her?” Kai smirked as he asked the question, leaning back casually against the counter as Atticus studied the antibiotic the vet had prescribed. Not that he could focus on the instructions. Not when Kai looked like that .

He’d clearly made an effort to look nice for his stream that he’d done while Atticus had been gone.

Hair pulled back into a bun that was artfully messy, showing off the many piercings that studded his left ear, the gold jewelry glinting under the kitchen lights.

A few strands of pink-tipped hair framed his face, screaming for Atticus to reach out and run his fingers through them.

The white t-shirt Kai wore was several sizes too big, showing off his sharp collarbones.

The long lines of his neck were emphasized by the plain black choker he wore.

Atticus was staring, and Kai was still waiting for an answer to his question. He looked away, his face burning. “I told them she doesn’t have a name yet, so they just put mine down for now.”

“We have to name her, Attie!” Laughter colored Kai’s words, sending sparks down Atticus' spine. It took everything in him not to reach out, not to pull Kai close and feel that laughter rumble against his own chest.

“Well,” Atticus finally said, turning away to put the medicine in the refrigerator. “Put on another show and see if any of the names fit her.”

“Does she have to be named after an anime character?” Kai’s voice came from further away. Atticus turned to see he’d moved to the couch, was sitting down, curling his legs up under himself.

“Yep,” Atticus said. “That’s how me and Sammie always picked pet names when we were kids. Had a dog named Luffy and a hamster named Goku.”

Atticus almost tripped over the kitten as she ran back into the room.

Kai snorted a small laugh at him again, eyes trailing the tattoos along his arm, gaze searing along Atticus' skin, before turning his attention to his phone. Atticus plopped down at the other end of the couch, watching as his new pet finally began to chill out. She padded around the room softly, rubbing against the furniture, sniffing at the new bed he’d placed in the corner.

Her wide, golden eyes turned toward them often, as though she were making sure they were both still there.

“How’d your stream go?” Atticus asked. Kai chuckled, still focused on his phone.

“It went great.” His words came across as playful, and Atticus' heart beat harder when Kai’s eyes crinkled at the corners. “They’re all speculating about whose house I’m at. The fan server is going wild right now.”

Atticus' brow furrowed as he made himself more comfortable, pulling his legs up onto the couch and stretching out. Kai glared as Atticus tried to plop his feet into his lap, pushing them away as Atticus cackled.

“They can tell you’re not at home?” he asked. Kai nodded.

“They notice everything,” he said. “The shippers are having a field day right now.”

Kai’s grin as he scrolled through comments on his phone was somewhat evil, and Atticus loved it.

“They talk about stuff like that? Your personal life?”

“Yeah,” Kai said as he typed something. Atticus scrunched his nose up.

“That’s a little weird, right?”

Kai shrugged. “I think it’s funny. The ones rooting for me and Ori are losing their minds right now because someone brought up the mysterious, voice-only guy from a stream a couple months ago.” He finally looked up from his phone, brows raised as he glanced at Atticus.

That had been him. Atticus had played on a few of Kai’s streams a couple months prior, when they’d both been heavily invested in a new fantasy MMO.

Dozens of hours spent playing together, until Atticus had started picking up more bartending shifts at Sammie’s brewery to pad his wallet during the off season.

He’d been voice only on the streams, identity kept anonymous because Kai had thought it would be fun to see people speculate.

Atticus' pulse quickened as Kai looked at him.

“What are they saying about me?”

The kitten jumped into Kai’s lap, startling him. The mischievous look on his face softened into something sweeter as she curled up on his thighs.

“Some people think I had the best chemistry with the mysterious voice, so I must be at his place.”

Kai was too distracted by the ball of fur begging for his attention. He didn’t see Atticus look away at the words, didn’t see the flash of something smug on his face.

Because he agreed. He and Kai did have chemistry. Why was Kai the only person who couldn’t seem to see that?

He kicked Kai in the hip softly, a lopsided grin tilting his lips up. “Are you going to tell them it’s me?”

Kai leveled a dry stare at him. “No. The chat would go nuts and it would only feed your ego.”

“Aw, come on!” Atticus begged. “It’ll be like a Cinderella story! I was one of them, once upon a time. A lowly viewer who only knew you through a screen. And look at me now! It’ll give them hope!”

Kai chuckled, looking back at his phone as he mindlessly ran a hand through the kitten’s fur. “Hope for what?”

“That they can have the Kai Reid, the famous NotYourKitten, puking in their bathroom one day!”

It was Kai’s turn to launch a kick. His foot smacked into Atticus' thigh, and Atticus resolutely ignored the fire the contact sent through him.

They fell into silence, Kai still scrolling through his server. Atticus pulled out his own phone, opening up the camera and waiting for the right moment. Kai smiled at something on his screen, and Atticus stealthily snapped a picture. He opened his message app, typing quickly before hitting send.

Kai’s phone pinged.

Atticus: Attachment

Atticus: How cute : D

A pink blush flooded Kai’s cheeks. Atticus grinned as he looked at the picture again on his own phone. Kai, his face so relaxed and gentle, lit by the glow of his phone. A soft smile as his hand scratched at the kitten’s head and she leaned up into the touch.

“Why are you texting me when we’re in the same room?” Kai’s words were bored and unamused, but the flush on his cheeks spoke to something else. Something more. Atticus felt his heart swell a bit inside his chest. He shrugged.

“Just wanted to.” That was partially true. What he didn’t say was that sometimes it was easier, saying things with a screen to hide behind. Even with the other person right there in the room. Because saying it out loud felt too real, and he knew Kai. Knew how skittish he was.

But Kai stared at screens all day, reading comments from others with a blank face or an eye roll. Maybe Atticus could be a little truthful, hidden behind a screen. Being together so much made him feel more bold, made him want to take chances.

Kai looked at him, gaze quizzical, cheeks still slightly pink. Atticus felt the weight of his stare fully. It made him feel like he was falling apart, like he couldn’t hold his too big feelings inside much longer.

The doorbell rang, breaking the staring contest they’d been having. Atticus frowned in confusion as Kai got up. The kitten flopped out of his lap, still sleepy as she curled up in the spot he’d just left behind.

“I don’t cook,” Kai said sheepishly. “So I ordered us something.” He left the room, left Atticus sitting on the couch, still a little lost in his own thoughts.

He knew Kai thought he was a flirt. Everyone thought he was a flirt, because, well, he was .

So that made it safe, right? Safe to do things like send the text he’d just sent.

He was just being his normal self, no harm no foul.

He could be flirty while they were together for the week.

Maybe it would get some of it out of his system, make it a little easier to just be Kai’s friend.

Conversation was easy as they ate. They talked a little more about Kai’s stream, about Atticus' upcoming game, the season opener. He threw out a few more names for the kitten, each one of them shot down by Kai for one reason or another, none of them quite fitting her personality.

It wasn’t long after they ate and cleaned up before Atticus could feel sleep beckoning.

They said their goodnights, going off to their separate rooms. Atticus was just slipping under his blanket when his phone chimed from where it sat on his nightstand.

Sleep tugged at him, made his eyelids feel heavy as he grabbed the device and unlocked the screen.

Kai: Attachment

Kai: Cute

It was a picture of Atticus, apparently taken as he’d been washing their dishes. He was smiling, maybe even laughing at something Kai had said. His eyes were closed, expression cheerful as he leaned forward over the sink, the sleeves of his sweatshirt shoved up to his elbows. He looked happy.

Atticus smiled, focusing more on the message Kai had sent after with the picture.

He knew it was just the other man teasing him for the text he’d sent earlier.

Atticus couldn’t help it, though, couldn’t stop the spark it lit in his chest. Couldn’t stop the smallest sliver of hope that swelled as he nodded off to sleep.