I Unintentionally Became Her Kitten

Chapter 117: Her Sleepiness

Alisha finally rolled over in her sleep and I sat up, looking for signs of her waking. She was squinting and blinking at the sunlight coming in from the window before she fully sat upright with a huff.

“What time is it?” she asked urgently.

“Alisha,” I said as she went to feel for her phone along the top of the head board and frowned when she didn’t immediately find it, and frowned more as her hand followed the still plugged in cord to the loose end.

“Where’s–?” then she stopped, going very still. “What happened?” she asked me.

“You didn’t wake up,” I told her. “Despite my best efforts.”

She finally noticed the plastic tubing running into her arm, the IV long finished by now, but I wouldn’t be yanking out the needle.

She slowly laid back down. “Is that why my body hurts?” she asked.

“The doctor said you wouldn’t feel great when you woke up,” I reassured her.

She nodded. “I see… but I need to handle a meeting with the Costellos today, and then schedule a meeting with the Santos and Kovals. I have to be present otherwise–”

I put a hand on hers. “Tye has it handled. He has your business phone, you don’t have to worry about any of that.”

“I can’t put that on him,” she said, the stress leaking into her voice way more openly than she usually allowed.

“Right now it’s even worse to put it on yourself,” I reassured her. “He will reach out if its too much. But your doctor told both of us that you need to avoid work entirely for a week. Tye’s delegating to Matteo, too. He’s not alone. I imagine the less critical stuff is getting delegated to other captains as well.”

“He’s delegating?” Alisha asked in horror.

My hand squeezed hers briefly. “It’s going to be okay, Alisha,” I reassured her. “He wouldn’t do something he believed would hurt you or the family.”

“Of course not but– people are monsters, especially in this business. Do you see my point?”

Another hand squeeze. “You grew up in similar circles to him. He knows there are very bad people in the business. Right now, though. You need to rest and hydrate.”

“Kitten,” she protested, an edge of actual anger creeping into her voice. “I can’t just not…” she made a hand gesture indicating the things she needed to do.

“You can and you will. It’s not negotiable.”

She stared at me. “You’re getting ballsy,” she stated.

I held back an angry retort, tempted to let loose on her, but instead I took a deep breath. “This time you didn’t wake up when your alarm went off. What about next time? What if you pass out in the middle of a business meeting, or worse, a gunfight? What then?”

The house hummed, anxious to fill in silence.

Alisha continued to process things slowly. 

“I’m your partner, Alisha,” I told her. “I can't sit back and let you get hurt, even if it's by your own doing. So no, I’m not going to just let you run right back to work until you can’t anymore. Is that clear?”

“... Kitten–”

“Is it clear?” I repeated.

She inhaled slowly. “Yes, Kitten,” she agreed.

I relaxed a little. I had anticipated more pushback than this. “Tye has the business side handled,” I repeated from earlier. “And he did take your business phone to maintain appearances. You don't need to worry about any of that for the next week.”

She nodded. 

Her silence worried me but I gave her her personal phone from the back of the bed. “I'll get you something to eat and drink,” I told her and slid off the bed to go downstairs.

She relaxed on the bed a bit, going through her personal phone already. I got her some tea and a yogurt, hoping her stomach could handle that baseline. If we had ingredients for it, I would’ve preferred a smoothie. But naturally, Alisha only had a few things that she ate everyday.

I climbed back up the stairs to find her uneasily pacing in front of the large windows.

“Alisha,” I chided gently. 

She didn’t turn to look at me.

“Come sit down at least, just eat and drink something. It’s important.”

She hesitated, but finally decided to and sat on her couch, looking disheveled.

“I know this is hard,” I told her. “But you need to rest and let your body heal.”

“I know,” she agreed. She accepted the yogurt but mainly stirred it around unenticingly. 

I leaned against her, not too much since she wasn’t supposed to be supporting me right now, but enough to remind her I was here.

She took a spoonful of yogurt, moving it around in her mouth briefly before swallowing it.

Then she put the container down and rubbed at that spot on her brow.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“I’m just… insecure.”

“In-insecure?” I managed in way more disbelief than I should’ve expressed. “Sorry. It’s just…”

“It’s okay, I understand.” She patted my hair soothingly before going back into her thinking pose. “It’s like… if I’m not Ms Takeno of the underworld then who am I? What am I supposed to do for a week if I can’t fill that time with work?”

“You’re Alisha,” I told her as if that was at all meaningful. “You’re my partner. You’re my love.”

“Yes, but who is Alisha when she’s not connected to Ms Takeno?”

“I think that’s what you’re going to find out this week,” I said.

I picked up her yogurt and scooped some more up before offering it to her.

She let me spoon feed her.

After a few more minutes of quiet existing together, she let her head lean against mine and her breathing deepened. She was asleep again.

I wasn’t sure she had any idea how worried she had made me.

AN: I do apologize for the delay. There is always chaos. I will also be out of the country for the next couple weeks and I'm trying to avoid bringing my laptop. So IDK how much writing I will get done but fret not, I will be back soon enough.