A few days had passed since Petey and Li'l Petey moved in with Dog Man, and to say things were *chaotic* would be an understatement.

Petey woke up every morning to the sound of Dog Man's tail thumping loudly against the wall. The mutt was an *early riser*, which meant Li'l Petey was, too. And once the kitten was awake, he was *awake*.

"PAPA, WAKE UP!" Li'l Petey shouted one morning, leaping onto Petey's bed with the force of a tiny wrecking ball.

Petey let out a groggy groan, burying his face into the pillow. "Five more minutes, kid..."

"BUT DOG MAN MADE PANCAKES!"

At that, Petey peeked out from under the blanket. "Wait... *he* can cook?"

As if on cue, Dog Man burst into the room, a spatula in his mouth and an apron tied around his waist that said *"Kiss the Cook"* (which Petey was *absolutely not* going to do).

"Ugh, fine, I'm up, I'm up," Petey grumbled, rolling out of bed.

---

Breakfast was... interesting.

Dog Man's pancakes were shaped like bones, and somehow, they *actually* tasted good. Petey had been suspicious at first, but after one bite, he had to admit—*they were fluffy as heck.*

Li'l Petey, of course, was making a mess. Syrup dripped from his whiskers as he stuffed his face with pancakes. "Papa, isn't this the best breakfast *ever?*"

Petey smirked. "Eh. It's decent."

Dog Man beamed proudly.

As they ate, Li'l Petey suddenly gasped. "OH! We should have a *family game night!*"

Petey almost choked on his coffee. "A *what?*"

"A game night! We can play board games and have snacks and have so much fun together!" Li'l Petey said, bouncing excitedly.

Dog Man barked in agreement, his tail wagging so hard the table shook.

Petey narrowed his eyes. "Listen, kid, I don't do 'game nights.'"

Li'l Petey's ears drooped. His big, shiny eyes locked onto Petey with the saddest look imaginable. "But... but we're a *family* now..."

Petey groaned. *He's using the eyes. How is he already this powerful?*

"...Fine. One game. But *no funny business,*" he grumbled.

"YAAAY!"

Dog Man cheered and ran off to grab the board games while Li'l Petey bounced happily in his chair.

Petey sighed, sipping his coffee. "I have a bad feeling about this."

-——————-Game Night Gone Wrong (or Right?)——————

It started off *fine*. Dog Man pulled out *Meow-opoly* (which Petey insisted was a *better* version than the dog one). They played, they laughed—Petey even started to enjoy himself.

And then, disaster struck.

"PAPA, YOU LANDED ON MY PROPERTY! YOU GOTTA PAY ME!" Li'l Petey squealed.

Petey scowled. "Kid, I am *not* paying you *five hundred dollars* for landing on 'Kitten Kingdom.'"

"But that's the *rules!*"

Dog Man barked in agreement.

Petey crossed his arms. "This game is *rigged.*"

"You're just mad 'cause I'm winning!"

Petey *was* mad. But not because he was losing—no, he was mad because his *own kid* had scammed him out of all his in-game money with the cutest, most innocent face ever.

Dog Man, meanwhile, had somehow flipped the entire board over by accident with his tail, sending game pieces flying everywhere.

"Welp," Petey said, standing up. "Game night's over. Time for bed."

Li'l Petey pouted. "Awww, but we were having fun!"

Petey ruffled his son's fur. "Yeah, yeah, don't push it, kid."

Dog Man whined, picking up the scattered pieces with his mouth.

Petey rolled his eyes. "Fine, *you* can clean up."

As Li'l Petey yawned and stretched, Petey scooped him up, carrying him toward his room. "Alright, bedtime, furball."

Li'l Petey purred sleepily, nuzzling into Petey's chest. "I love you, Papa..."

Petey's heart clenched. He still wasn't used to hearing that.

"...Yeah, yeah. Love you too, kid," he murmured, tucking him into bed.

As he turned off the light, he saw Dog Man standing in the hallway, wagging his tail softly.

Petey crossed his arms. "What?"

Dog Man just tilted his head and gave him a warm, happy look.

Petey sighed. "...Fine. I *guess* this family thing isn't so bad."

Dog Man wagged his tail faster.

"But if you ever lick my face again, I'm moving *out.*"

Dog Man barked in laughter as Petey walked off to his own room.

And despite himself, for the first time in a long time... Petey felt like he was *home.*

---