Miu didn't know what to expect when she came home; she never did. Not when she lived with Yonaga Angie, a renowned space cadet. It certainly wasn't ever boring, and she was even getting better at guessing what she'd be coming home to! But she certainly hadn't been prepared to ever come home to…

"Miu Miu!" Angie called, as though she wasn't about to be in trouble. "Welcome home! Say hi to our new baby!"

Angie held up a small bundle of fluff; the tiniest fucking thing Miu had ever seen. A tiny orange striped tabby kitten was tucked into Angie's palms, squirming and mewling. Angie held the kitten out expectantly to Miu, as if she was supposed to take it.

"Angie," Miu growled. "What the fuck is that?"

Her girlfriend looked down at the little kitten and back up to Miu. "It's a kitten, babe." Ah. Of course. As though that answered all of her questions.

"Yes, Ange," Miu pinched the bridge of her nose, sensing the impending argument, "I can see that. I'm wondering what the fuck the little pest is doing in our house?"

"He's our new son, Miu!"

"... Ange. Put him back."

Angie gasped in shock, placing the tiny creature in her lap and covering its ears; as though it could hear OR understand either of them. She scowled at Miu, indignantly.

"How could you say such a thing!"

"Angie, we can't have pets! The landlady will be fucking pissed if she finds out and-"

And her girlfriend smirked at her, defiant. In that special sort of way that made Miu's heart beat a little quicker and her blood burn a little hotter. She was way too weak to her girlfriend… never properly able to fight back.

"Well, I guess we'd better get good at hiding a baby boy!"

And that was how the two of them adopted Banjo.

Angie had bothered her for days, begging for Miu to name him.

"Why the fuck can't you just name him?" Miu protested and grumbled. "You're the one who brought the little bastard here!"

"But Miuuuu!" Angie whined, dragging out Miu's name. "You're way better at naming than I am! I'll just call him something weird or stupid! I can't be trusted with such a large responsibility. Nope; has to be you. Sorry baby, I don't make the rules."

"Fucking… Okay."

And Miu named him after one of her favorite video game characters growing up. Angie didn't get the reference immediately and just commented on how she loved banjo music, getting a tag for the little blue collar made immediately.

It took a good, long while for Miu to bond with Banjo. Or even like the little flea bag in general, really.

Miu hadn't ever had pets growing up; her parents considered animals to be pests and Miu's only companions were her tamagotchi or her little robots she built. So having a real life animal in her apartment was challenging. Especially when the little fucker was obsessed with chewing on every. Damn. Thing.

"Ange!" she called out, having found another set of headphones chewed to shit. "The little bastard ate my headphones again! You owe me a new pair!"

"It's Miu's fault for not putting her things away properly!" came a teasing voice from the kitchen.

She glared at the tiny creature sitting at her feet.

"You're lucky your mom loves you cause if it were up to me, your ass would be on the street," Miu growled out, ignoring the way her heart swelled as the little orange menace rubbed himself against her ankles. "No, you're not cute. Knock it off."

He grew quickly and he… was a lot bigger than Miu thought he was gonna be. High energy and nocturnal, Miu's already shitty sleeping pattern was dragged to hell.

"Ange," Miu groaned, seeing the time was 3 in the morning. "Get the little bastard."

Banjo had been meowling at the balcony door for several minutes now, and Angie wasn't getting up to go let him in. Her girlfriend was fast asleep, almost looking dead.

"Fine, I'll fucking do it."

And she went and let the little monster in, once again ignoring the way his little head knocked against her ankles. Ignoring the happy little purrs as the cat settled himself at the foot of their bed.

Angie came home one day to an unexpected sight.

Miu was curled up on the couch, watching some kid show or another. Banjo laid across her lap, purring loudly as Miu stroked his ears absentmindedly. It was the cutest thing Angie had ever seen in her life, and was content to snap a candid shot of it.

After some time, Miu and Banjo were almost inseparable. As though Miu was the one who brought the little feline home and not Angie. Banjo was easily found trailing behind Miu, acting like her shadow.

Himeko liked to joke around that Miu had gotten herself a dedicated familiar, and Miu didn't hate the idea. It was almost like those magical girl anime shows she would watch, which made her more excited about having a cat than Angie had seen. The three of them became their own little family, dodging the landlady and spending evenings all wrapped up together on the couch as cartoons played - Miu was a huge fan of the new She-ra.

After some time, they found Banjo was a lot more chill than when he was younger. Before they knew it, years had gone by with the fluffy orange baby. He was there when Angie and Iruma decided they were going to get married. There when they talked about having children and getting a bigger place. He was right there the whole time as they moved out and bought a decent house with a lovely yard.

He was super protective of Angie throughout the first pregnancy. He never left her side, leaving Miu's shadow for the first time in years. He nestled against her growing belly and meowed as he felt kicks. He was even more protective of Miu during the second pregnancy, when it was her turn.

Soon, their house filled with giggling laughter, Banjo learned to avoid grubby hands tugging at his tail. He loved them a lot, but there were too many of them and most of them weren't content with sitting still and petting. He spent most of his days dodging children and mulling about in Miu's workshop - off limits to curious boys and girls.

Miu knew their boy was getting older… she didn't want to admit it, and would brush off anyone's comments about it. She wasn't going to be able to deal with it… Angie was better at dealing with that sort of shit.

Banjo was getting slower… less responsive. Still purred just as loud, but the little fucker was almost twenty now. Angie had brought him in when they were only twenty years old… just figuring out the world and each other. He'd been there for everything; and they'd been with him up until the final moments…

Miu sobbed and wailed like a baby on the drive home from the vet. Angie fought to keep it together, knowing the children were also terribly upset. Banjo had been around their entire lives, after all. Angie consoled her wife as she best knew how… but she knew. She hadn't been prepared for Miu to bond so strongly to that cat and for him to become such a solid part of their lives that they'd built together… But he had.

It was almost fate as, several weeks later, Miu heard something shifting around in her garage. She'd somehow gotten used to the silence without Banjo's purring, as much as it broke her heart. So… hearing shuffling noises was unexpected and unsettling.

She rounded a corner before finding… a kitten. A dark, almost brown, orange color. A dirty, scruffy little thing that had gotten in through the slightly opened garage door.

Tears welled in her eyes as she gathered the tiny bundle swiftly in her arms as she raced through the doors to the house. She ran straight to Angie, bumbling and not making any sense.

Angie saw the tiny creature and Miu's tear streaked cheeks. She smiled and gathered their newest child into her arms. He was given a bath and Angie promised him and Miu that they'd purchase a new collar for him, with the name "Kazoo" inscribed.