AN: I just got my first kitten ever! It's sooooooo cute and my dog, Mia, treats him like he's her baby! Can you guess what I named him? Malik! XD he's even got a little goatee thing! Though, it's just a grey mark on his chin…actually, now that I think about it, he looks more like Al Mualim… But Malik's a cooler name for a cat since it means King and cats have a reputation for ruling the house. My parents don't know about him yet so I really wish he'd stop meowing so loudly all the time which just makes me think Malik is a perfect name for him even more for some reason but ANYWAY! Since my dog is in this fic via Kadar's girlfriend, I thought it only fair to throw my little Mal-mal in as well. :D

Altaïr was acting strangely today. This morning he claimed to be sick (even though it was obvious he was faking) and refused to get out of bed. When Malik called him on his lunch break, partly to see if he was actually sick and if he was feeling any better and partly to see if he wanted to go get something to eat since he was obviously not sick, there was no answer. The older man shrugged it off and figured the lazy ass was probably asleep or playing video games, as if he didn't get enough of those at work. He called him again when Malik got off and still no answer. When he got home, the living room and kitchen area was dark and didn't look to have any evidence of Altaïr ever even being there. The man would always leave the TV on or a mess of food in the kitchen. Of course, now Malik was worried. The lack of mess in the kitchen meant that Altaïr probably hadn't eaten all day. Maybe he really was sick?

"Altaïr, I'm home!" he called. A muffled curse sounded in their bedroom. "Altaïr?" Malik called again, heading in that direction, "I tried to call you earlier. Why didn't you…answer." Malik deadpanned when he saw the chaos that was once their room. Dirty dishes and several bags of chips were scattered across the floor. The bed was in shambles from being used and abused in some mysterious way (and given Altaïr's maturity level, it was probably due to him jumping on the bed while Malik was away). The TV in their room was on with Dragon Age: Origins paused on the screen and more than one can of Red Bull sitting on top of it. But none of that, none of it compared to the little ball of black fuzz staring at him with bright green eyes from Altaïr's lap.

"Uh…surprise?" Altaïr tried as he carefully watched Malik's face for any indication of how the man would react.

"What the hell is that?" he said, sounding more surprised than angry but definitely sounding a little angry.

"A…cat?"

"I know it's a fucking cat, you dumbass. What's it doing in our house?"

"Oh, Malik! You shoulda seen him! He was just sitting outside of our apartment last night, all alone and skinny and cold and shivering and, and, and! Can we keep him, Malik? Pleeeeease?" Altaïr begged, bouncing slightly from his place of the floor, his Red-Bull-binge-of-celebration-for-apparently-fooling-Malik becoming very obvious.

"Are you kidding me? Are we even aloud to have pets here?" Malik half yelled.

"But! But! But!"

"No!"

"But Maaaaalik! We bonded! What if the landlord says we can? Can we keep him then? I promise I'll take care of him!"

"Altaïr," Malik said in a warning tone. It didn't really do anything except cause Altaïr to give him the biggest puppy-dog eyes he'd ever seen, "D-don't do that." The younger man could practically smell the weakening will of his lover and held the kitten up. Its big green eyes blinked at the older man and it meowed a tiny noise. That was like explosives on Malik's wall of resolve. He took the kitten from Altaïr and held it for a moment before it started to purr, "Fine." He said with a sigh and watched Altaïr's face light up, "Only if the landlord says yes." He added sternly.

"Yay!" Altaïr cheered and gave Malik a bear hug, jumping up and down.

"No more energy drinks for you. And clean up this mess! Good lord, it looks like a hurricane swept through here."

Altaïr laughed and hopped to it. At least he wasn't going to complain about cleaning for a day or two. Though, Malik knew better than to honestly expect his lover to stay true to his word and actually clean up after the cat. He would end up being the one to empty the litter box and pour the smelly food into its bowls and let's not forget the shedding. Dear god the shedding! Malik groaned, "Does it even have a name?"

"Yusuf." Altaïr chirped.

"That's a weird name for a cat." Malik commented.

"Well, I figured everyone else in this house has an Arabic name. Why not the cat too?" he smiled.

Malik huffed a laugh and sat on the bed with the kitten in his lap so that he could pat it. Yusuf purred and leaned his head into the affectionate touches. Altaïr sat beside Malik, leaning against his boyfriend while he scratched his new kitten under the chin. "You know," Malik began, "We probably shouldn't get too attached. The landlord might say no."

"Then I'll just send him to live with Uncle Ezio and Uncle Leo, now won't I Yus-y." Altaïr said, shortening 'Yusuf' to an affectionate nick-name.

"Wait, they knew about this?" Malik asked.

"Uh…" Altaïr said intelligently, realizing he had just thrown his friends under the bus.

"They're so dead, tomorrow."