«𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐡𝐰𝐚 𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐬»

𝕁𝕦𝕓𝕖𝕝𝕚𝕒𝕟 𝕩 𝕄𝕒𝕩 (𝟚)

She walked through the gardens as she followed the cat-like sound trying to search for the source of the noise.

As neared the peculiar sound, she spot a black blur in the corner of her eye. She looked to the tall green hedges surrounding the garden and on top of one, sat a little black kitten.

Jubelian gasped in awe and her eyes lit up. She had always been fond of cats and this one was extremely adorable. She slowly walked towards it, trying to be gentle. The cat observed her with its striking green eyes.

Approaching the cat, she reached out her hand to pet it, she wanted to show the cat that she wasn't going to harm it. The cat leaned into her touch and purred softly. Jubelian couldn't help but already become fond of this cat. She, carefully, picked up the cat and took it inside with her.

Luckily, the cat also seemed to like Jubelian as well. It didn't take long for the pair to become inseparable.

The cat like to follow her everywhere, wanting to be petted. Jubelian loved to feed the cat and play with her whenever she could. At first, she tried to hide the cat but eventually she was found out. Thankfully, her father, Regis, permitted the cat to stay.

This particular day, Jubelian was trying to brush the cat's fur with a brush. She sat on her bed as she hummer softly. She didn't realise when the door opened and somebody came in. She looked up for a second before going back to brushing her cats hair.

The somebody, however, was very unhappy. She barely acknowledged his presence. She didn't even greet him. As usual, Max came to visit her. Unfortunately, he had recently been swamped with loads of work to do.

Finally, he had gotten the majority of the work finished and was finally able to see Jubelian. What Max didn't expect was the appearance of somebody new. The cat seemed startled by him and she got up from Jubelian's lap and sprinted off, out the door that was opened.

Jubelian tried to run after her cat but when she looked into the hallway, the cat had already escaped. She sighed and looked over to Max, who had an annoyed scowl on his face. He seemed to be deep in thought.

"Max?"

She said to him. He jumped back in surprise, Max didn't see her walk up to him. Jubelian smiled and hugged him, shocking him once again. Once she let go, his frown was replaced with a small smile.

"Is that cat yours?"

Max asked, he felt threatened by this new character. He watched her as she smiled widely at the mention of her new friend.

"Yea! Isn't she cute?" She asked while she dragged him to sit down at the soft couch in her room. Max was unsure of how to respond so he just nodded in agreement. Her mood seemed to be happy as they started to converse about their week.

They were ecstatic to finally see each other to be able to talk. Recently, they had been sending each other letters as it was difficult to see each other in person.

Soon, purring was heard near the window. When Jubelian looked to see where the sound was from. She saw her precious cat sitting in the window sill. A place where she also liked to relax. Jubelian practically jumped up as she was overjoyed to see her cat again. She quickly hurried over to the window and scooped the cat up in her arms.

On the other hand, Max's mood only dropped again as he was being deprived of the love that he wanted from Jubelian.

She sat down next to him with the cat in her lap. Max only glared at the cat as he felt neglected without Jubelian. She started talking to Max about her new pet, without realising that Max wasn't listening; he was much too focused on intimidating the innocent cat.

"Don't you think so?"

She asked him but Max was too deep in thought.

"Max?"BJubelian called out his name yet he didn't respond. She set the cat down and grabbed hold of his hand, which caused him to snap out of his trance.

"H-huh?"

She had caught Max off guard and he realised that she was now looking at him.

"Max what's wrong?" She asked with a concerned look. He could see that Jubelian was worried about him, Max felt the heat rise to his cheeks.

"Nothing.."

He mumbled as he avoided her serious gaze. She knew he was lying, it wasn't hard to figure it out. Jubelian gave him a look and she then realised something.

"Max.. are you pouting?" She asked while her eyebrows raised.

"W-what? No!"

He exclaimed and his continuous blabbering gave him away. Jubelian laughed and when Max heard her laugh, he was sure that time stopped. In that moment, he could see her expression clearly. Her bright eyes. Her wide smile. Her laughter that escaped her mouth. All of it was so alluring.

Max couldn't help but stare at the beauty that sat next to him. When she eventually stopped, Jubelian asked again what was wrong.

"That cat.." He started as he tried to put his frustration into words.

"Hm? What about the cat?"

"It's annoying."

Max stated which surprised Jubelian. She didn't expect her pet to be the reason of Max's annoyance.

"What? How is she annoying?" She asked as she was confused to why Max didn't like her cat.

"I don't like it. It's taking you away from me."

He said while looking at her. Jubelian's eyes widened, she didn't expect for Max to respond like this. In all honesty, it made her heart rate speed up. Max's words sounded so serious but it only made Jubelian laugh even more. It startled Max when she bursted into laughter, once again.

"W-what! Why are you laughing?!"

Max exclaimed as he was upset that she laughed when he was being sincere. Max, quickly, hugged her and he buried his face in her neck while his arms wrapped around her back and waist. He didn't want her to see his blushing face.

Jubelian's laughter died down and she started playing with his hair. It was always so soft despite the way it looked. Still, she thought it looked pretty.

"Max, you know, no one compares to you." She said and Max's grip around her tightened as he lifted his face to look at hers.

"And.. as much as I love my cat, I'll always love you the most."

Jubelian finished and suddenly her lips were caught on another pair of lips. Her face heated up and Max continued to kiss her. When they parted, he smiled at her - which Jubelian was sure that this smile was the cutest one she's seen yet.

"I love you more."

Max told her and once again it started a war of who loves each other more.

"No! I love you more!"

"Do not.

"Do too."

"Do not."

"Do too! Wait! Look it's my kitty." Jubelian declared and she was about to get up when a pair of strong arms trapped her.

"No, I'm not letting you go to that damn cat."

He said as he sent glares to the cat. Jubelian just sighed and decided to stay with him. She thought it was adorable that Max thought of a cat as a rival.

Jubelian really did love cats.