The Runt of the Litter

Chapter 3

"I'm on my lunch break right now, how is everything there? Are you being good?" He asked.

"Yeah, I've been such a good boy," I said. "I explored the house and now I'm just watching cartoons."

"Make sure you eat lunch, princess," Frank reminded me.

"I will when my tummy gets hungry," I said, smiling at the little pet name. "When are you getting home, Frankie?"

"Not for a few more hours so you're gonna have to entertain yourself until I get back, okay?" Frank asked.

I didn't say anything as I pouted. I didn't want Frank to be gone that long.

"Answer me, sweetheart," he said.

"Okay, Frankie," I sighed. "I just miss you is all."

"I know, Kitten, I miss you too," he said. "Why don't you check your dating sight?"

I opened his laptop that was sitting on the coffee table and went to my account.

"No messages," I mumbled sadly. "No one wants the runt."

"Sweetheart, they don't even know you're a neko, they won't know you're the runt," Frank said. "All they see is a beautiful, beautiful boy who deserves all the love in the world."

I giggled, blushing softly.

"Thank you, Frankie," I said softly.

"Of course, Princess," he said

I smiled, looking up at the ceiling. I love hearing him call me princess.

"I have to go," he said quietly, he sounded a little upset.

"Oh," I mumbled. "When will you be home again?"

"At about four," Frank said. "Make sure you eat, Beautiful, i'll see you later."

"Bye bye," I said sadly.

We hung up and I sighed as I looked at Lola.

"I miss him," I said. "He's so sweet."

I gave Lola a kiss and smiled.

"Don't you just love it here?" I asked. "It's so much nicer than my old apartment and I'm sure it's nicer than the warehouse where you were stored."

I got up and went to the kitchen. I smiled happily when I found a plate of fish sticks in the fridge with apple and orange slices. I took the fruit off the plate to heat the fish up before going back to the couch.

When I was done, I curled up under a blanket, turning down the tv volume slightly. I closed my eyes as I slowly fell asleep on the nice soft couch.

"Hey, Kitten," someone whispered.

I woke up, seeing Frank kneeling beside me. He scratched my ear gently and I purred.

"Hello, Beautiful," he said, still using that soft, calming voice. "Did you have a nice nap?"

I nodded softly and he smiled, kissing my cheek.

"I got you a treat," he said.

I sat up and Frank moved to sit beside me.

"Okay, first of all I got you some sippy cups, I thought you might like that better," he said.

"Have you been learning about how to properly care for kittens?" I asked with a small giggled.

"Yeah, I've never had a kitten before," Frank said. "I'm used to older, matured nekos, not little kittens. I just wanna make sure you're comfortable."

I smiled, resting my head on his shoulder.

"And here is your treat, I got you a little cupcake from the bakery down the street from where I work," he said.

Frank grabbed a small bakery box and I smiled when I saw the cupcake topped with a swirl of pink frosting and sprinkles.

"Thank you!" I cheered, kissing his cheek.

"I'm gonna go get changed," Frank said.

I nodded, eating my cupcake happily. He came back a little while later in just a t-shirt and shorts.

"So, Gee, now that you've adjusted to staying here I think it's time we go over the rules," he said.

I pouted, feeling a bit of frosting above my lip. Frank chuckled, grabbing a napkin to wipe it off.

"There's not a lot, only a couple," he said. "Your bedtime is at ten thirty and nap time is after lunch. No leaving the house alone unless I give you permission, I don't want anything happening to you. No sweets unless I tell you otherwise, I don't want you having a sugar rush or getting a tummy ache. I think that's just about it, just listen to what I tell you to do."

I smiled softly and nodded, finishing my cupcake.

"And if you're good then you get treats like sweets or a later bedtime," he said and I smiled excitedly. "But if you're bad you get punished by time out or an early bedtime."

"Do all your nekos get so many rules and punishments and stuff?" I asked.

"Not usually," he said. "But you're a kitten so you need more structure."

"I'll be a big neko in four years!" I said proudly.

"Yes you will," he said, petting me head.

I purred, nuzzling against him.

"And when I'm a big neko I get to do big boy things but right now I can only do little kitten things," I said.

"That's okay, in just four years you can do big neko things," he said.

"Wanna watch cartoons with me, Frankie?" I asked.

He nodded and I smiled happily, curling up in his lap. The two of us watched cartoons quietly. His fingers ran through my hair, scratching my ear occasionally.

There was suddenly a ping from his laptop, which I had left open after checking my messages. Frank grabbed it and I gasped when I saw I actually had a message on my dating profile.

"Look here, you've already gotten a message," Frank said.

He opened it up and I saw it was from a guy named Dallon. From his profile picture, he looked very pretty.

"Do you wanna accept?" Frank asked.

I blushed shyly, burying my face into the crook of his neck.

"I've never been on a date before," I said. "I've never had a boyfriend before either."

"Well, there's a first time for everything," he said. "You don't have to but he seems like a nice guy."

"Okay," I said.

Frank sent a message back for me because I was too nervous to do it myself.

"Alright, looks like you're going on your first date tomorrow," he said.

I bit my lip, feeling the butterfly of nerves in my stomach.