Nolan woke up slowly, the fog of sleep shading over his eyes. He could feel a familiar tickle down at his fingers that was slowly bringing him back to the surface of consciousness and the voices around him were becoming clearer. He could hear a female laughing, talking in a rushed tone full of happiness that was making him sick quickly.

"Techi?"

"Nolee!"

He felt his stomach crush inwards and groaned, folding upwards and then collapsing back down. He could see Techi's smiling face, see the nurse behind him who was smiling twice as brightly, and then sat up in the bed. The woman made her way over and clasped her small white hands together with a grin.

"What a cute little kitty you have, sir. He brought you in last night and wouldn't stop licking your neck. It was positively adorable," she giggled, waltzing out of the room with her sunny aura and leaving Nolan alone with his pet.

"You scared me, you know that? I thought you were dead!" Techi scolded, frowning slightly in mock disapproval. "You were really heavy too. You squished me." Techi leaned down and licked Nolan's lips softly. His ears drooped slightly and his cute little frown turned into a deep grimace as he bowed his head and curled his nails into Nolan's stomach.

"I thought you weren't going to come back. I thought you had run away." Nolan held the kitten's face in his hands, smiling warmly as his fingers were bathed in a fresh cascade of saltwater. "I thought I'd lost you."

"I only wanted to hide and scare you, but I got lost. I didn't know how to get back to the apartment. There were so many buildings and none of them looked alike. I couldn't find you. I didn't want to leave." Techi sniffled and rubbed at his nose. "I couldn't find where to bring you either. This place said they would help… they said someone called or something." Techi's limbs drifted downward like they were sliding off his body and he gave Nolan a pleading look. "I'm really sorry, Nolee. Did I make you have an attack? Was it my fault?"

"Yeah, you little runt. Don't run off on me like that again. I'm too old to chase you around. I practically had a heart attack," Nolan laughed, taking Techi's head into his arm and holding it close. "If you run away, I get sad. You have to stay with me."

"Okay, I won't leave anymore," Techi mumbled, tone subdued, and Nolan kissed his head hard, holding the small body against him just to make sure it didn't take off again.

"And I promise I won't toss you back out onto the street."

Techi looked up and smiled gratefully, nails retracting as he giggled quietly and let his tail flick around behind him. His ears stayed flat, but the tips curved up in play.

"Are we going home now? The lady said we could go home as soon as you woke up."

Nolan nodded, taking a moment to scratch behind Techi's ears gently before trying to get up.

"Nolan! Positively horrible, I swear! Collapsed on a couch in the middle of the ghetto on a ragged, moth infested coach put out for garbage! Oh, if the press got their hands on any sort of pictures, we're sure to be doomed to looking like corporate roaches!" Amelia sobbed, rushing into the room and clasping her hands over her eyes in despair. "It's all the cat's fault! I'm telling you, just put it back out onto the streets!"

Techi hissed and began to make a guttural growling noise as his nails slowly sank further into Nolan's chest and his ear flattened and concaved in. Amelia glared at the cat and frowned, crossing her arms.

"Not true, Amelia. Techi is the one that found me and brought me here. If he hadn't, I would have stayed on the coach much longer than just an hour. Besides, what part of it is Techi's fault? He's a good little kitten," Nolan said sweetly with a smile, petting the tense cat's head softly. Techi purred, but kept a death gaze pinned on Amelia.

"Just get rid of it! It's a wild thing, and horrible and wild thing. You wouldn't keep a whale in your house, would you?" Amelia shrieked. Nolan paused, his hand resting in between Techi's linear ears, and glanced at Amelia.

"Heavens no! Whales are much too big to fit in my condo. Besides, they're not as cute as kittens are. And I bet their eyes don't glow like little nightlights at night when it's dark." Nolan rubbed his nose against Techi's cheek, causing the kitty to blush bright red and return the gesture. Amelia planted her forehead into her hand and sighed, then halted abruptly and stare at Nolan in shock and horror combined.

"Nolan! Are you sleeping with your cat?" she gasped loudly, lowering her voice and looking around before closing the door, approaching the bed, and repeating the question in a much softer tone. Nolan looked at Techi, who had curled his body around and pricked up his hair in a sign of warning, and shook his head. Amelia took a moment to sigh in relief.

"He sleeps with me."

--

Nolan cleaned up the glasses from the party and groaned, rubbing the back of his neck and making his way into the bedroom. Techi was already there waiting for him, his long V-neck shirt drooping low enough to Nolan could see the lightly fuzzed chest, the scoop around his nape sliding off one of his slim shoulders and down to his elbow. He left it there and watched Nolan dress with interest though his face remained rather blank and expressionless.

"You were so good today. You even smiled at Amelia. I can't believe it," Nolan cooed, slipping into his pajamas and turning to Techi with a triumphant smile. Techi's mask shattered and he grinned happily, going on his knees and jumping slightly.

"I did. I did that, Nolee!" he shrieked in glee, his tongue flicking out to swipe over his top lip. Nolan smiled. "Nolee… do I get a treat for being good?" he asked cautiously, slipping his bottom back onto his ankles and tilting his head to the side.

Nolan, with a smirk, turned out the light and slipped into bed, pulling the covers up around them and bringing in his kitten close. Techi tucked his small, curled hands into Nolan's chest and began to purr.

"About that. I was thinking we make it routine for you to get a treat once every night."

Techi, his purring intensifying, extracted his claws and planted them into Nolan's arms as the older man rolled over and tugged the blankets over their heads.