ouuugghhhh Kitty Nik and Kitty Ghost 🥺 well ofc. They love him mhmhmhm

Over the years, Price has learned there’s no point in fighting it.

He’s lived with Nikolai for long enough. Long enough to know what it means when the Russian’s ears flick and his tail hooks around his waist in passing. Or when he nuzzles himself in close. John knows no amount of showering will ever wash the subtle Nik smell he carries. It all means you’re mine, Captain.

He thought he’d adjusted to that. Learned to tolerate Nik draping himself across the couch like a lion on a sun-baked rock, half of him always resting against Price’s thigh, purring so deep it made him vibrate. Learned to accept that, on bad days, the man’s tail would curl protectively over his knee until his breathing evened out.

Then Ghost came along... And suddenly Price had two of them.

He doesn’t even really know why, not that he'd understands, just that after one rough mission he woke up between them.

They’ve developed a system now. If Price’s ribs ache, if he's gone without sleeping, if his head hurts, if his muscles are sore, Ghost and Nik pick up on it immediately, and within minutes Price has two enormous, territorial cats closing in on him from opposite sides.

He’ll try to protest. “I can handle myself.”

Nik just hums. “Da. Of course.”

Ghost typically stays quiet, a silent wall of muscle and warmth that Price can't fight.

They herd him to the sofa, always the same way, Nik with a coaxing hand on the back of his neck like he's being scruffed, Ghost guiding from behind. When they finally have him seated, Ghost kneels to unlace his boots while Nik brings a blanket, muttering some gentle scolding under his breath.

By the time Price can form another complaint, he’s flat on his back, covered in furred limbs and purring bodies. Nik’s tail loops over his thighs; Ghost’s flicks lazily against his ankle.

“You two are ridiculous,” he grumbles.

Nik snorts. “And you are stubborn.”

Ghost answers with a low, approving growl.

Price sighs, but his fingers move, scratching behind Ghost’s ear, smoothing the rough fur at Nik’s jaw. Both cats melt, two giants turned to puddles of contentment. The combined purr vibrates through his ribs.

He closes his eyes, half-asleep, caught between them.

Somewhere in the haze, he realizes this is why he’s always been good with Simon. Because he’d had Nik for so long, Nik who'd been a fighter, are hissing and clawed thing when they'd met, now coaxed into domesticity. It was easier with Simon, so yeah, John will give Nik some credit..

Outside the room, Soap passes by and pauses at the door, hearing the steady chorus of purrs inside.

kitty ghost has officially took over my brain I repeat, kitty ghost has officially plagued my mind-

Day 4

"How come you're still here?"