It will die in usersub, but I just need to brag for a moment.

This is Dresden. He has a goatee, and we named him Dresden because the wife was reading The Dresden Files and she just got to the part with goatee Dresden when we got the cats.

The wife and I rescued him and his girlfriend two years ago. He was three and she was two. They had a rough go of things, brought up in a hoarder house, rescued by a local kitty rescue, sent to a box at PetCo. Adopted by a family with several small kids and dogs that tormented them, sent back to the box.

We got them after that though, but the emotional damage was done. They're good cats, they've never intentionally clawed or bitten us. We give them the best kitty lives we can. Premium food, water fountains (plural) with filtered water, tons of toys, multiple cat trees. Regular vet visits even though they hate it. Always a perfect bill of health, even their teeth.

This is River, the girlfriend. Her tortietude is...maximum.

I love the fuzzy little assholes. I really do. They've always been really...aloof though. We can only pet them on their terms, and their terms always means it's an uncomfortable stretch to do so. We're never allowed to hold them, and snuggles are outright unthinkable.

So for two years we just sort of cohabitated. Living off the occasional pet and watching them chase a ball up and down the hallway.

A solid pet-owning life, if not a little depressing due to lack of any lap time. Two years of being ignored.

But then...

This moment melted me. He's not ON me, but after two years of being ignored he laid down next to me.

Dresden has always been more drawn to me than my wife. I know his body language, his routines, all of it. He's my little soul-cat.

And now...now he's one step closer to accepting me.

Stupid fuzzy asshole. Making me love him all the more.