#mccat

What in the fuck? Jesse paused, a scowl crossing his features as he listened hard. Did he just hear something meow? His gaze flickered to the alley he had paused by, taking a couple of steps back as he listened for anything that wasn't the hiss of the rain against the concrete. 

Mew

There it was again! He definitely wasn't imagining it. Something kept him there as his eyes scanned the darkness of the alley. The thing sounded absolutely tiny and shaky. Maybe if it hadn't been pouring rain and cold as a polar bears ass he would have kept moving and reminded himself that an outlaw could absolutely not take in any sort of animal. But as it was part of him wanted to at least find the damn cat that was making such a pitiful noise at him. 

Mew

There, huddled under a discarded scrap of newspaper against the edge of a dumpster. A tiny scrap of fur was huddled staring up at him with big eyes and shaking like a goddamned leaf in the cold. It was obviously soaked to the bone and Jesse paused for a long moment as the kitten watched him pitifully. Shit, those big eyes were going to kill him if he didn't do something. 

Jesse ran a hand down his face, frustrated with himself and his lack of resolve, before he approached the tiny animal carefully. The kitten shrunk back with another pitiful noise and Jesses heart ached a little bit. The poor thing was terrified and cold, and completely skin and bones. He reached out with a steady hand, letting the kitten sniff him before he scooped the thing up in his hand. The kitten didn't protest to being tucked into his jacket, not at all. Instead it huddled, shaking, against the heat of his chest as Jesse pulled his hat down over his face once more and headed back to his motel room. Just for one night, that was it, then he would drop the kitten at some shelter where it would be taken care of properly. 

~~~

The outlaw ended up making a quick stop at some shitty convenience store to pick up some tuna to feed the damn thing for the night before he finally reached his room and he could shed his sodden serape and hat. He dumped the tuna onto the rickety table before kicking off his boots and going to the bathroom to get the thing at least a bit more clean and towel it off. The kitten was still huddled into the crook of his arm trembling, its face pushed into his elbow as if it could become part of his arm. 

Jesse finally set the kitten down on the counter in the small bathroom, taking a good look at his companion for the evening as he filled the sink with a little bit of warm water. It looked dark brown, or grey, he wasn't sure. It was covered in dirt though. And Jesse set the kitten in his hand once more before dipping it into the warm water to get it clean before he did anything else. The kitten cried in indignance to be dunked into the water, tiny needle-claws digging into Jesses hand as the animal squirmed. 

"I know bud, you ain't gonna be cleanin' all this grime off yourself though, you'll make yourself sick." Jesse huffed, scowling as he grabbed one of the washcloths to start rubbing the dirt out of the kittens fur. The little thing kept crying until he had revealed the bright orange under all the grime and lifted it from its bath. 

From there he toted the kitten back out the main room, humming and pleased with himself as he set it on the table to towel it off properly and make sure it was properly getting warmed up. The kitten started purring happily as Jesse rubbed it down with a hand towel somewhat vigorously to get it all dried off, and it made him smile slightly as tiny claws pricked at his skin again. The kitten was just kneading, but it was cute. Dammit Jesse knew that he would have to drop the kitten off somewhere, so he quickly sobered himself as he set the kitten on its feet on the table and tried to figure out a way to feed it so it wouldn't eat itself sick. It was skin and bones, and Jesse was making himself a bit sad wondering when the kittens last meal had been or where its mother was. 

The outlaw quickly dismissed the thoughts as he opened the can of tuna. His solution was to make a small bowl for his newfound friend by cutting the bottom off of a styrafoam cup and pouring some of the tuna in there. The kitten immediately stuck its face into the tuna eagerly when it was set down, and Jesse couldn't help but chuckle slightly as he set the rest of the can aside after putting the op of the can back on haphazardly. 

It took a whole before the kitten decided he was finished eating. Jesse had been watching him the whole time, and by the time he was done the little thing had dried completely. With the dryness came the fact that Jesse had apparently picked up a tiny ball of fluff. The kitten licked the last traces of tuna from its paws and muzzle before it waddled over to Jesse and nudged itself up against the cowboys arm. 

"Trust me, you don't wanna do that." Jesse muttered, sighing as he lifted a hand to run a couple of fingers over the top of his guests fuzzy head, right between the ears. The kitten was too damn cute, and Jesse had to keep reminding himself that it was temporary. He was not keeping it.

"I ain't keepin' you." He persisted sternly, as if the kitten could understand what he was saying. But as the little thing climbed his arm to tuck itself into the crook of the cowboys arm once more, Jesse couldn't help but soften. How could he resist when there was a tiny purring ball of fuzz curled up in his arm? And curled up was right. The kitten had made itself into a ball, tucking its nose under its tail and promptly going to sleep right there tucked against Jesse. God, he was finding it incredibly hard to keep his resolve when his little rescue case was so cute. 

He sat back in his chair with a sigh, looking around the motel room and chewing on his lip. The least he could do was sleep on it. He needed some sleep either way, he didn't know how long it would be before he had police tracking him down again. So he figured rest was good for as long as he had peace. Maybe he would head home next... Or to the town he used to consider home. It was much warmer, somewhere he could lay low for a bit. or maybe he'd move on to Mexico again for a while. That was always a viable option. He knew plenty of spanish so he could easily get by. 

The outlaw hadn't realized that he had zoned out until he nearly leaned back too far in his chair, jostling himself and his guest as all four feet of the chair hit the floor again. He hummed a bit, thinking as he moved to run his fingers over the soft ball of fuzz wedged against his arm. 

Not long after deciding somewhere warm was his next stop, he decided to turn in. His companion would probably be sharing the bed with him for the night, as he didn't have the heart to leave the little thing on the floor. He blamed his softness on the fact that the room wasn't warm enough for the little thing to not be shaking and mewing again. He had to sleep of course, and he wouldn't be able to if his guest wouldn't shut up.

He plopped the kitten down on one of the pillows before changing into some fully dry and more comfortable clothes. He ended up turning the lights out and sliding into the opposite side of the bed so the kitten had a whole pillow to itself. Imagine his surprise when, not long after he settled in, he heard purring approaching his ear and his own pillow dipping slightly. The tiny ball of heat soon found a place just under his jaw, head resting against his throat and tiny paws tucked against the side of his neck.

Jesse resigned himself to his position for the night, because there was no way he was moving. 

The gunslinger had never been a big fan of cats. Dogs? Sure, dogs were great and all, shitty as hell when they were wild, but domestic ones were nice enough. But cats were assholes from what he could tell anyways. He reall hadn't ever been attached to any of them, and was pretty sure they all hated him. 

So of course the little orange scrap he had picked up hunkered down against his neck for the rest of the night. Jesse didn't fall asleep immediately, instead wondering if the little animal was going to stay there the rest of the night until he fell asleep himself. 

~~~

The next morning Jesse woke to a purring scrap of orange stuck happily to his chest. He let out a low sigh as he glared up at the ceiling. What the hell was he doing? Not only had he gone the cliche route of saving the helpless animal from certain death but he was entertaining the idea of keeping the damned thing around. 

Jesse ran a hand over his face before plucking his guest from his shirt and sitting up with a huff. The kitten wriggled in his hand until he held it up to look at it with a grumble. 

"If I keep you 'round 're you gonna be gettin' into trouble?" Jesse grumbled at the kitten as it watched him with large yellow eyes. Of course it was, cats got into fights with other cats, and if he was toting a cat around he would have to keep his companion fed as well. And as much as Jesse hated to admit it, he was no millionaire. 

"Who am I kiddin'? I'm talkin' to a damn cat in a motel room, I could probably use the company." Jesse huffed, running his free hand over his face and through his hair. Either that or he was too damn tired to be doing anything, let alone making a choice that would literally stick with him. 

He examined his new companion before letting out a heavy sigh. How could he turn the tiny ball of fluff in to a shelter when the cat was giving him such an open, innocent look. That was what it looked like at least. 

"Fine. But if you get me caught or in trouble, you're goin' to the closest shelter I can find, y'hear me?" He finally gave in with a sigh, frustrated with himself as much as he was frustrated with the cat.