He was supposedly babysitting Alyx, but he ended up with another addition to The Freemans household and his life.
Time to give this little lass a chance to grow.
“Thanks for letting me join you, Ross big bro!”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m the only one who got free time there.”
Alyx laughed out loud while ignoring the grumbling ace as they walked on the sidewalk, both of them munching hotdogs. One of the racer’s arms occupied with a small brown paper bag filled with some things Barney had told them to buy in the nearest grocery store.
Today was supposed to be Ross’ free time until Mr Vance came and told him to babysit this feral teenage racer for him, which he regretfully accept. As the result, he became Alyx’s “big brother” for a day. Although it’s not a bad experience for him to be called a big brother, it still irked him to the point he’ll glare at her to stop dragging him to every food store they’d encountered during their walk.
This kid is a money drainer for sure, he thought, green eyes staring at the racer’s seemingly innocent face.
At this point, his wallet is in danger.
He groaned in irritation for god-knows-how-much now.
It took him a few seconds to realize that Alyx was no longer following him. Instead, she was staring at an alleyway before walking inside, ignoring Ross’ warning calls.
Oh, you’ve got to be- oh sonovabitch! He grumbled once again, turned around and chased the racer down there too, only to see her kneeling near a pile of planks and metal pieces. “ALYX, WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!?”
The racer turned around and shushed him down, earning a small confused look from him. “Don’t be too noisy or they’ll hurt themselves.”
“Wait, what do you mean-”
Then he heard it. A small meow noises came from under the pile.
Alyx risking herself to rescue a damn kitten.
God fucking damn it...
“Out. Now.”
Before Alyx managed to let out a protest, Ross took the paper bag out of the racer’s arm and put them aside. He then yanked out his bomber jacket and used them as a layer of protection to move the pile bit by bit. She stunned to see the ace’s actions but then decided to help him out by removing the stray planks.
It took them about an hour for him to move all of the rubbles out, save for a small cardboard box right on the bottom of it. The racer then picked the box out and took a few steps away from the scene before lowering it, enough for him to see the content.
There the kitten was, he could see its small short jet-black fur has some brown patches around its head and near its tail area. Its body was trembling from the cold air around them, so he carefully picked up its body before layering the box properly with his jacket and put it down again, tucking it like a burrito. As he picked him out, he noticed one of its eyes is missing.
This lil fella looks just like me… He frowned, fingers petting the kitten’s head gently. I wonder how harsh life treated this fragile thing...
“Ross big bro, you’re one softie-”
“Shut the fuck up and let’s take a detour to a vet.” He took the cardboard box from the racer’s hand, his head motioning at the paper bag laying down the dirty ground. “You’re taking care of your usual duty, I’m handling this one.”
“Don’t worry, Mr Freeman. The kitten is surprisingly okay for a stray, although she’s a bit malnourished.”
Ross’ tense expression finally relaxed upon hearing the vet’s verdict, quietly let out a huff of relief. Beside him, Alyx’s face brightened. “Can we see it- I mean her?” She asked with a slightly excited tone, her feet did her usual happy tippy-taps.
The vet nodded and went inside the examination room before she came back with a pet carrier. Behind the bars, he could see the little kitten snoozing peacefully, curling herself up inside his jacket. “I’m sorry, I think she took a liking on it. I can’t seem to separate her from your jacket.”
He stared at the cage before looking up at the vet once more. “How much for the medical bill and chip plant?”
His response earned a surprised yelp from Alyx and a small smile from the vet. “Ross big bro, you want to adopt her?!” He scoffed but nodded slightly.
“I wanted to give her another chance to live.” His eyes focused back at the kitten, his gaze softened as he slowly took the carrier from the vet and propped it on his lap, his hand unconsciously stroking it affectionately. “She reminds me of my old self somehow. Maybe the missing eye? Or maybe the fact that she was found by someone when she’s on her lowest?”
The vet lightly chuckled. “Well, let’s go working with all the needed paperwork, shall we?”
(...Thank God he didn’t spot her recording the whole thing, she’ll definitely send this to Dean big bro for additional pocket money.)
“Finally, where the hell were you bo- what is that?”
Ross quickly registered Barney’s surprised expression when he and Alyx walk into the living room, holding the pet carrier on one hand and a big plastic bag of kitten’s food and formula on the other. The rest of the house members also joined into looking, Antoine and Joshua’s eyes were sparkling with delight, while Wayne, Dean, and John’s expressions were indescribable. “Okay, you fuckers better be quiet or you’ll wake up Mindy.” He walked through them and slowly put the carrier down on the carpeted floor, opened it up to let the little fella explore. Sure enough, Mindy walked out of her carrier while trying to…drag his jacket out too? Joshua helped her pull the rest of his jacket out and Mindy immediately lay down on it, purring while kneading on the faux fur part.
Fuck, this is too much sweetness in my life. He clenched his chest.
“Where did you find this cute adorable kitty?” Antoine took out his phone and snapped a bunch of Mindy’s pic while Joshua closely observing the kitten, both of them trying not to disturb her.
The ace gestured at Alyx’s direction. “She found her while we’re on our way home.”
John gave her a thumbs up, as in his way to say nice job.
Dean cleared his throat. “Should I give you one of those parental talks about you need to be a responsible young man to take care of a pet-”
“No need, the doc’s been giving me some talk about how to take care of Mindy regularly and her own phone number if I need something.” He pulled out a small notebook labelled [Mindy’s Important Stuff] and a set of numbers with “Dr Gilbert Viveca” below it. “If I need help, I’ll reach to one of you guys.”
“Nice, you’re a dad now!” Dean laughed before pausing himself, eyes widening and he’s now grinning. “And now Wayne’s not the only DILF around.”
“I AM NOT-” Wayne immediately shut his mouth as soon as Ross glared at him with an intent to kill. “I mean- I’m not a fucking DILF and you know it.”
Although the rowdy condition of the house, Mindy still sleeping peacefully on his jacket.
Ross unconsciously let a small smile on his face again.
From all of the decision he’d made, this one is the best one yet.
