Prompt: Kaden finds a stray kitten

Dick - 31
Jason - 28
Kaden - 6

Dick and Kaden walked down the busy sidewalks of Gotham city on their way home from the park. Dick had the day off today, but alas, Jason did not. His 'work' demanded his presence and had since taken up most of the day. So today, Dick and Kaden decided to have some fun; they had breakfast sandwiches at the cafe around the block then spent the day at the park, grabbing lunch from the local pizzeria, stopped for Ice Cream, then went to the movies and now they were headed home.

"Today was fun, papa! I wish daddy could be here though," Kaden said softly. Dick flashed the boy a smile and then knelt down beside him, placing a kiss atop the boy's head.

"Aw, don't worry little wing; daddy will join us next time, okay?" Dick said sweetly, ruffling Kaden's hair. Kaden smiled brightly and held his arms out to his papa who lifted him up and placed him on his shoulder.

"Okay papa. You promise?" Kaden asked. Dick chuckled in amusement as he made his way around the corner; their building was at the other end of the block.

"Yeah, promise," Dick replied, glancing up at the boy. As they made their way toward the apartment, Kaden spotted a tiny black kitten with white paws scrounging around an alleyway. He bounced excitedly on his papa's shoulders and pointed toward the kitten.

"Papa! Papa, look! A kitten!" Kaden chortled. Dick looked toward the alleyway and gingerly placed Kaden down on the ground. He knelt down and held his hand out to it and called it over. The kitten padded out of the alley and instantly took a liking to Dick, pushing her head into his palm. Dick chuckled in amusement as he patted her and Kaden giggled, kneeling down beside his papa and patting her too.

"Can we keep her?" Kaden asked. Dick glanced over at Kaden and raised an eyebrow, then turning his attention back to the kitten. He thought about it for a moment, examined the tiny cat; she didn't have a collar, and she looked well groomed so it seemed likely she belonged to someone. On the other hand, there were no posters up declaring her lost either. Recently abandoned perhaps? Or recently lost.

Dick picked the little kitten up and grabbed Kaden's hand in his, smiling down at the boy.

"For a little while. I'm pretty sure she belongs to someone, but we won't let her stay out on the streets," Dick said to him. Kaden cheered happily at that and from there, the two of them made their way home.

When they got home, Dick set the kitten down on the floor and she made herself at home. Dick kicked off his shoes and shucked off his jacket right onto the floor before padding into the kitchen.

"Dick, when id we get a cat?" Jason called from the living room. Dick turned and padded toward the living room as Kaden whipped past him. Dick chuckled in amusement to see Jason sprawled out on the couch with the kitten lying on his chest and curled into a ball while Kaden patted her.

"We found in her an alleyway on the way home. Didn't want to leave her out on the streets," Dick explained, sitting down in an arm chair. Jason glanced over at Kaden and then at Dick and sighed, scratching the cat's ears.

"Well I guess she can stay for a while. But I'm sure someone's looking for her," Jason said smoothly. The kitten purred and rubbed her head against his hand, then crawled up under his chin. Jason frowned and huffed in annoyance. "Yeah, personal space, cat," Jason mumbled. Dick snickered in amusement and Kaden gingerly picked up the kitten and placed her on the floor where she stretched out before making herself comfortable underneath the coffee table.

"It'll take good care of you!" Kaden said cheerily, crawling under the table on his stomach to pat the kitten. Dick and Jason smiled at the boy as he played with the kitten.

"Don't get too attached, champ. She might belong to someone, in which case we'll have to give her back," Jason said smoothly. Kaden's smile faded and he gave a wordless nod in reply.

._._._._.

A few days passed by and Dick and Jason couldn't find anything out about the kitten. It seemed as if she was indeed a stray. Kaden and the cat, which they'd named "Mittens", seemed to be getting along quite well, too.

"Mittens!" Kaden called from the opposite side of the living room. He had a little cat teaser wand with a mouse on the end of it that they'd bought for the cat, and was waving it on the floor. Mittens was crouched under the coffee table, watching that mouse carefully. She raised prepared to pounce, and Kaden giggled. Mittens lurched out from under the table and pawed at the stuffed mouse as Kaden dangled it up in the air above her. Kaden laughed as the kitten jumped up in the air after the mouse. But playtime was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"I got it!" Dick called from the kitchen. He made his way out, patting Kaden's head as he passed and flashed the boy a smile. He answered the door and there he found a young woman, in hid mid twenties with brown hair and blue eyes.

"Hello. I heard you found a kitten recently?" the woman asked with tears in her eyes. Kaden picked Mittens up and made his way to the door. The woman smiled brightly and gasped when she saw the kitten.

"Aw, Oreo!" she called happily. The little kitten meowed and jumped from Kaden's arms and raced toward the woman, purring happily as she patted her. "Thank you so much! I live next door, but I've been away for the last few days to visit with my mother in the hospital. I couldn't find anyone to watch her and she's all I had left of my last cat, Mittens-"

"It was no problem," Dick interrupted with a warm smile on his face. The woman smiled back and dried her eyes, holding out her hand in greeting.

"My name's Melissa," she said with a giggle as the kitten climbed out of her arms and up onto her shoulder, rubbing up against her face.

"Dick," Dick replied with a chuckle of amusement, shaking her hand. Melissa gently grabbed the kitten and tucked her in one arm, scratching her ears. She turned to a rather disappointed looking Kaden and asked "is he your son?"

"Yeah, he's mine and Dickie's," Jason called from across the room, padding over in naught but a pair of dorm pants, his hair still dripping from the shower. Melissa blushed a bit and was silent as she not-so-subtly checked him out. She cleared her throat and patted Kaden's head.

"I see you've been taking good care of Oreo for me. You can come by and visit her anytime!" Kaden smiled brightly as he scratched the cat's ears and handed her the cat toy he'd been using to play with the kitten.

"Okay! Bye bye, Oreo" Kaden said cheerily. Melissa smiled and made her way down the hall to her own apartment, giving a glance back and a wave goodbye. Kaden sighed and retreated inside to sit on the couch with his head hung low.

Dick and Jason exchanged a look and joined the boy on the couch, sitting on either side of him. Jason wrapped an arm around the boy's shoulders.

"Sorry buddy, but we knew this was a possibility," Jason said smoothly. Kaden looked up at his father and simply nodded. Dick sighed and kissed the boy's head, rubbing his back soothingly.

"Tell you what, Little Wing; maybe when you're a bit older, daddy and I will think about getting you your own pet," Dick said, sharing a look with Jason. Kaden's face lit up as if it were Christmas Morning as he looked back and forth between his parents.

"Really?! Can we get a puppy?!" Kaden asked excitedly, jumping up on the couch. Jason chuckled in amusement and Dick gently pushed the boy back onto the couch.

"Sure, but don't jump on the couch," Dick replied amusedly.

"And keep your grades up. Gotta prove you're responsible, okay?" Jason put in. Kaden cheered happily, throwing his little arms in the air as he raced for his bedroom.

"Yay! Alright daddy, I will, I promise! I'm gonna go study right now!"