#catleb

Ref

"You're the one who insisted we play kitty cards after hours. Why am I the one they cursed?" Reaching up, Caleb fiddles with the tan cat ears poking from the top of his head. The twitch away from his touch, moving with a mind of their own.

"It's probably because you kept making me lose. The kitties pitied me. I guess they wanted to give me a helping hand with my revenge."

Harmless, adorable, and just inconvenient enough to annoy him. Cursing Caleb with cat ears and a tail was the universe's perfect gift of karma. You didn't even have to lift a finger.

"Pfft." Snorting, Caleb flicks his tail in your direction. The furry tip lightly grazes the underside of your nose, tickling your soft skin.

"How did I make you lose? Do you know how many times I watched you swipe an extra card out of the deck when it was my turn? Besides, those kitties only felt bad for you because they can't tell when you're crying crocodile tears."

His tail swishes back and forth in your face, tickling you all over. Out of all the ways those kitties could have punished him, this wasn't that bad. Seeing the way your eyes lit up when you first caught sight of his fluffy ears had already made it worth it. Pestering you with his tail whenever you tease him was just a small bonus.

"Hmph." After a few attempts, nearly moving faster than you can keep up with, you manage to catch Caleb's wriggling tail in both of your hands. You study the dark brown lines circling around the nub.

"Still, I wonder why the kitties made you a leopard," you muse aloud, brushing his fur. Leopards were adaptable, powerful, territorial, all traits you associate with Caleb. But there was one thing bugging you.

"Leopards don't mate for life."

"Huh?"

"Leopards don't mate for life," you repeat, clutching his tail tighter now. It's no longer trying to squirm out of your grasp, laying docile in your palms.

"Leopards only mate during heat. Then they stick to theirself until their next heat. They're solitary and never settle down." The longer you go on, the more you pout.

"So why are you a leopard, Caleb?"

"... Really? That's the thing about leopards that you singled out?" Sighing through his nose, takes your cheek between his finger and thumb. He jostles your cheek, jiggling your face affectionately.

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