Page 52 of Tell No Tales
"I'm not arguing," Klaus said. "It's gorgeous." Balance had given Vadim's hair more luster and shine. It was also far softer than Klaus had thought it would be. He wanted to twine his fingers through it again and pull Vadim down to kiss him, but that didn't seem fair after all the horrible things he'd said while he was angry.
Once the kitten was finished eating, Vadim pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped at the kitten's face until it was clean. Its eyes were a bright blue beneath the yellow pus.
"See? Good as new."
"How?" Klaus asked.
"You did this." Vadim tipped the kitten over and stared at its bottom and pointed out the two round naked bits beneath its business end. "He wanted to live for you."
Vadim didn't say "with you." He said, "for you." That was a new level of devotion Klaus had never experienced. He couldn't believe his luck. He picked the kitten up and cradled him against his chest.
"He'll need a name," Vadim said.
Klaus blinked. "Renald." Yes, it was crass but symbolic. Vadim had raised the kitten from the dead, the same way Niall had shoved Renald's soul back into his body.
"That'll be confusing when we get back to Aquarion."
"I've never had a cat to call my own." Klaus couldn't believe the tiny kitten was warm, breathing, and healthy again. He couldn't stop petting his tiny body and soft fur. "What do you even name them?"
"Something catty." Vadim was no help. "Or pirate related? Ship's cats usually have pirate names, like Spiky, or One-eyed Joe."
"He's got both eyes." Klaus smirked. "Resurrected Whiskers?"
"I wouldn't say that overly loud, with the way most feel about necromancy."
"Meowarrg!"
"What even is that?"
The kitten mewled, sounding a lot like his name. "See? He likes it!"
"Did you just combine "arg" with "meow" and decide to name him that?" Vadim's bemused frown was worth it.
"I did."
"I'm going to call him Captain Whiskers." Vadim leaned over and patted the kitten's head.
Klaus met his gaze and realized he was close enough to kiss. He wanted a kiss, but Vadim pulled back.
"Do you want me to sleep in the hold, or is it all right if I come back to the sail bed after I change into pajamas?"
"You can sleep in here," Klaus conceded. He stroked his hand over the kitten's soft fur. Captain Whiskermeow licked his finger, and then playfully rolled on his side and clawed at him with both front paws.
In Vadim's absence, a whirlwind of emotion blindsided Klaus. He clasped the kitten to his chest. A few more tears dotted his gray fur, but who knew where those came from because Klaus felt like he had been wrung dry by the events of the day.
He glanced down, and the tiny kitten was staring up at him. Klaus didn't know if animals could feel love, but if that look in the kitten's eyes wasn't love, it was something just as innocent and pure.
"Thank you," he whispered. "Thank you for coming back for me."
"He'll need a litter box," Vadim said when he returned. "And not in here, for fuck's sake."
"Hannah said they would put one in the head," Klaus said. "He's too small to get there on his own."
"Here." Vadim reached down and Klaus put the kitten in his gloved hand. "I'll take him."
Klaus packed his book back in his trunk and had tucked himself into bed on the mattress by the time Vadim had returned.
"Hannah was well pleased," Vadim said. "They still want a kitten of their own, but they might wait until Hearthstone. This one may not get along with his siblings."
