The Pawrents

Jaz and Princess Saoirse

 In tense and awkward moments, Kenji's auto-response was to make light of the situation by joking about it. Life is too short to stress over things. Like in this moment, when his kitten was accused of impregnating another then being demanded upon to take full responsibility, his brain was itching to poke fun at the absurdity of it all. Pakasal na ba natin mga pusa natin para siguradong may sustento ang mga magiging kuting nila? He wanted to quip. For him it was funny but he knew it was better to shut his mouth because the beautiful man in front of him, who for sure was the Omega that his Kuya Mavs was talking about, gave the vibe of a ticking time bomb.

His beautiful Omega neighbor was still bawling his eyes out.

"Sir Jaz, tahan na po," said the scared Beta Officer, who was desperately trying to pacify the Omega by gently patting his back.

"ANONG TAHAN?!" Both the Beta Officer and Kenji recoiled from the loud outburst. "I-TAHAN MO MUKHA MO!" Jaz angrily pointed again at Kuro. "That! That horny cat of yours... got my Princess Saoirse pregnant!" He stooped down and tried to separate the two kittens but his pregnant cat ran away from him. Kuro excitedly followed the dainty female kitten inside the condo.

"Tignan niyo! Ayaw na sumama sa akin!" Jaz loudly sniffled, his lips trembled and eyes bloodshot. He looked so heartbroken and Kenji took pity on him. He unconsciously released his calming pheromones.

"Did you just release your scent to calm me?" The Omega asked him in an angry tone.

Strong scent of chocolate with a hint of mint hung in the air. "Ah. Yes, that was me?" Unsure how to answer back. The Omega's mood and scent was starting to scare Kenji.

"I don't need your pheromones! Anong gagawin ko diyan sa chocolate scent mo, aber?" Jaz leered at him "Tapos mint pa. Pfft. Amoy toothpaste," he whispered the last sentence but audible enough to be heard.

Damn. Mav wasn't joking when he said this Omega was cranky. New discovery today, he also had an unfiltered mouth to boot. As an Alpha, he had always taken pride in his pheromones. His scent was a sweet treat for kids and they like getting his attention. Omegas found the strong sweet scent to be a stress reliever. Elders found him like a comforting cup of minty cocoa. His thoughts this afternoon of befriending the Omega vanished. Kenji took a deep breath and bit his lip, holding himself back.

"Oh, eto. Eto ang proof na siya ang nakabuntis kay Princess Saoirse ko!" Jaz shoved his phone at Kenji's face together with a doctor's report of his kitten's condition. On the phone were two CCTV clips that showed Kuro sneakily going in and out of a condo unit while the oblivious Omega was exiting and entering it. Date stamps were the exact days that Kuro got out of the condo.

"Hindi mo nakita si Kuro nag labas-masok sa condo unit mo?" Kenji curiously asked.

"Eh, ikaw? Hindi mo nakita nakawala yang pusa mo sa unit mo?" Jaz defensively answered.

"I didn't mean to sound...," Kenji tried to clarify.

"Then you shouldn't have asked." Jaz snapped back.

Kenji gritted his teeth as his well of patience was drying up but he chose to ignore the snarky reply. "That's definitely Kuro. When you say take responsibility, do you mean you want us to help pay for Saoirse's check ups, prenatal care...whatever she needs?"

"We don't need that! I can pay for those things."

"Then what do you need us to do then?"

"Your cat needs to take care of Saoirse!" Jaz huffed and crossed him arms in his chest.

"Take care, how?" Kenji looked at him puzzledly because female cats when pregnant don't exactly need a male cat to take care of them. They are independent by nature. It might be even more dangerous to have a male cat around when the female gives birth, Kenji thought to himself. They tend to get jealous and territorial over the mother and possibly hurt the new born kittens. A human taking care of Saoirse would be more practical.

"Aba, your cat needs to be beside Saoirse all the time. Siya ang tatay ng magiging mga kuting nila!"

"All... the time? Gusto mo sila mag live-in?" His jokester side slipped out and he fought the urge to laugh.

"Sir..." The Omega stopped trying to recall his neighbor's name but realized he never got it. "Pregnancy is not a laughing matter, Sir. In less than two months, Saoirse will give birth to a litter! She needs to be taken cared of!"

"I'm Kenjiro Suson. You can call me Kenji. May I know what to call you?"

"I don't know what good it will do knowing each other's names." The Omega coldly replied.

Kenji's eyebrows shot up from the rude response. He had enough trying to play nice. "If you want us to take responsibility for your cat's condition, then I assume we are going to see each other more often than we want to." He deadpan replied, copying the cold behavior of the Omega. "It's fine if you don't want me to know your name. Tawagin na lang kitang Sir Mataray."

Jaz's eyes flared up and he gasped. "Ako, mataray? Hindi naman ako magiging ganito kung hindi nabuntis ng pusa mo ang Princess Saoirse ko, Mr. Toothpaste." He intentionally said the moniker louder.

"At least ang scent ko malinis."

The Omega gasped louder. "Are you implying mine is not?!" An overripe sour peach scent bursted around.

Kenji shrugged. Their petty exchanges were immature, yes, but he didn't care anymore. He disliked conflicts but he hated rude people even more. He would rather be petty and teach this Omega a lesson not to mess with this Alpha.

"Sir Kenji. Sir Jaz..." muttered the frightened and all but forgotten Beta Security who got in between them. "Wala pong patutunguhan kung mag-aaway po kayo. Pag-usapan niyo na lang po ito nang mahinahon. Para sa ikabubuti ng mga pusa niyo."

Both Kenji and Jaz did not answer and looked at the opposite direction to avoid each other's gaze. Kenji's phone alarmed. It was 8:00 PM, time to prep quickly to be on time for his night sideline work.

"I have to go. I have work. Can we discuss this tomorrow?"

Jaz's slitted eyes looked at Kenji. "How do I know you won't run away?"

"Tatakbo? Bakit naman kita tatakbuhan? Kailangan ko lang magtrabaho."

The doubting Omega looked hard at Kenji. "Okay, Mr. Toothpaste. I'll let you go."

"Thank you, Sir Mataray," Kenji sarcastically answered.

Jaz raised a finger and slowly wagged while he spoke. "On the condition that you give me your cat tonight. Kailangan niyang bantayan si Saoirse. Also, to make sure you return tomorrow."

Ang lala ng trust issues ng taong ito, Kenji thought. He didn't like the idea of surrendering Kuro but thinking about it, doing so might be best for everyone. At the very least, Kuro would be safe for the night and not be alone.

"That's fine with me."

"Okay. Good. I expect you to be at my front door at 8:00 AM sharp tomorrow."

That was way too early for Kenji. Based on his schedule recently, at eight in the morning he would still be in his dreamland dozing off coming from a tiring night work. Yet, he did not dare contradict as it would only prolong the conversation. "Got it, Sir Mataray. Ayusin ko lang gamit ni Kuro before I hand him over to you." He mockingly saluted the Omega like a soldier.

After fixing up and surrendering Kuro, he quickly hopped into the elevator to escape his neighbor's dagger stares and litany of threats of what would happen if he didn't show up in the morning.

Kuya Mavs was right. Their neighbor was indeed handsome, heck he was beautiful, but he was unbearably cranky. It also somehow irritated him that the Omega's scent was peach, just about ruining his favorite fruit. Now, the fruit and its scent will remind him of this cranky neighbor.

"Oh!" He stopped walking. He forgot to get a contact number or messenger profile of his neighbor for communication. Then again, at least for tonight, he won't be bombarded with messages of impossible demands. Kenji resumed walking out the building. It's going to be a long day tomorrow, he already felt it.