"Dad!" Luke jolted awake, scrambling around at the sound of his daughter's voice. He almost fell off the couch, turning to look at her standing in the doorway. He searched for any immediate danger: fire, flood, burglar. But there was nothing.
Except a cat. Ruby was holding a cat. She had this eager and hopeful glint in her eyes as she looked at Luke expectantly. Luke knew what she was going to ask him even before she could ask.
"No." He said, narrowing his eyes at the cat. "Absolutely not."
"Oh, come on!" Ruby burrowed her face into the cat's fur. Luke could hear it purring even from the couch. "He's so cute!"
This was true. The cat was actually adorable. It had black and white fur and big green eyes. It looked completely content in Ruby's arms. It didn't even fidget when she gave it a little squeeze. Luke saw that he was losing this battle. The cat was gonna end up staying somehow whether he still refused or not.
"You're cleaning up after him." Luke said, getting to his feet and stretching his arms over his head. Ruby squealed and ran to give him a big hug, still holding the cat.
"I already named him." She announced, bouncing back a small distance. She held the cat up to Luke's face. "Dad, meet Hermes."
"That's a terrible name." Luke laughed, reaching out to scratch underneath the cat's chin.
"It is not!" Ruby pulled the cat to her chest, looking at her dad with utter betrayal. "He loves it."
"He's a cat. They literally don't care about anything." Luke ruffled up Ruby's hair as he passed by her. "But whatever. He'll probably get bullied by the neighborhood cats. Best way to learn how to fend for himself, I guess."
"It's a great name!" Ruby yelled at his back as he walked into the kitchen.
"Whatever you say, Ruby Bug."