Dolph stirs with a faint groan, kicking out towards the other side of the bed. "Broski. Broski. Zack?" He grumbles and squints an eye open, looking next to him to find the bed empty. Cool. He moans and mutters curses, untangling himself from the sheets that had curled around his legs in the middle of the night and stumbles into a cheerfully lit hallway, hesitating outside of the living room as he peeks in, finding the tree gleaming merrily although he himself had turned it off for the night only a couple of hours earlier.
Zack is settled on the couch, looking comfortable and purely at ease in a tank top and boxers, the newest kitten he'd decided to adopt laying sprawled out on his arm, looking up with wide, watchful eyes. Dolph can hear the older cats wandering around, their nails on the hard wood floor easy to track, but Zack pays them no mind. "... since it's the holidays here, and we really go all out with it, that's what you have to adjust to," he tells the kitten solemnly. "The two other cats, they'll come around, you just have to give them time. It'll work out. And the loud blond that wears way too much pink? He already likes you, I can tell, he just has a weird way of showing it sometimes." He boops the kitten's nose and laughs when she clings to his arms in response, Zack jokingly lifting her up and putting her back down. "When you get a little bigger, that could almost be a decent enough work out."
He sprawls his fingers over her belly, watching as she settles back down, still staring at him intensely. "I think you'll like it here. We'll take good care of you, you'll have food and toys, and other cats around. It doesn't sound so terrible, right?" The kitten clearly has no idea what he's saying, settling further into his arms and closing her eyes as her busy day catches up with her. Zack smiles as he looks up, spotting Dolph hovering in the doorway. "Hey, bro, come on in, what are you doing out there in the dark?"
Dolph sighs and makes his way slowly over to Zack, careful not to jostle the kitten as he sits down next to him. "Rough night?"
"Hmm, kind of," Zack says. "She was, like, bouncing all over the bed so I brought her out here so you could sleep awhile longer. Guess I ended up waking you anyway. Sorry, bro."
Dolph shrugs tiredly, resting his head on Zack's shoulder. "It was too quiet and still, that's all," he murmurs. Until the draft, they'd been used to traveling together, sharing hotel rooms, making do with whatever sized beds were available, but now, the only time they get to sleep next to each other is when they're at home, which is somewhat rare, so Zack isn't too surprised Dolph is so observant of the lack of him in their own bed.
"Sorry," he says again, stroking Dolph's jaw and drawing his face up for a slow, lazy kiss. "Next time I'll let the kitty wake you up."
Dolph rolls his eyes at him and turns to look at the tree for a bit longer. "You're really good with them," he offers after a few moments.
Zack looks down at him, shifting so he can lift his hand, slowly carding his fingers through Dolph's hair. "Yeah? Thanks, bro. I wasn't sure if I would be, but I really do enjoy watching them grow and learning more about their personalities and stuff." He grins as the kitten stirs, stretches out, her upper paws pressed against Zack's forearm while her back paws snag in Dolph's tank top.
He huffs and gingerly frees her before she wakes up, before catching Zack's eye. "I wear too much pink, huh?"
Zack laughs quietly. "Oh come on, bro, you've been wearing something with pink in it since we brought her home. It seemed as easy a way to describe you as anything else."
Dolph rolls his eyes. "You've been wearing purple for just as long." He pauses, a strange thought coming to him as he glances down at the cat still lounging between them. "Do you think cats can see pink?"
Zack blinks hard at him, lips twitching upwards. "I have no idea, bro. How is it that we're just now thinking about this sort of thing?" Dolph shrugs and Zack chuckles. "Here, I dunno about you, but I could really use some sleep." He gently eases the kitten into Dolph's hands and stands. "Let's go to bed and, if we still remember that question by morning, we'll have to look it up."
Dolph smirks. "Alright." He stands very carefully, very slowly, and once he's fully upright, Zack grins at him, cups his face and lightly kisses him, Dolph exhaling against his lips. "What was that for?" he mumbles.
"For being really good with my cats too," Zack tells him, eyes gleaming in the soft glow of the Christmas tree.
Dolph stares down at the kitten before shrugging. "I guess they make it easy," he muses, lips twitching up into a smile as he carries the kitten back to the bedroom, Zack following close behind once he's shut everything off once again.