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Alex could recall the time he spent as an intern at Amazotech and how close Ivo kept him to his side once he learned how similar the two of them were. Ivo had made numerous comments about how Alex reminded him of himself over the years, and while Alex wasn't sure how true that was, it did earn him a promotion in the end to become Ivo's assistant. He learned a lot from it, and not just the stuff he needed to know either. He learned a lot about who Ivo was as a person. He saw a side to him no one else did. He saw the side of him that Ivo chose to hide from the media. It made him feel kind of special in a sense. He had the chance to see Ivo at his best and at his worst, but there were some memories he held onto more than others, such as how Ivo behaved when it came to cats. He was so kind to them, much kinder than he was to people. Alex had never cared much for cats, but then he found one that made him understand the love Ivo had for such creatures. He found Slayer.
Alex had never found much of a desire to have a pet before unless one counted the animals he would often experiment on, but there was no love in how he treated them. In fact, some of the tests he ran on the animals would land him in serious hot water with several animal rights organizations, but that was neither here nor there. He was a man of science, and if the lives of a few animals were the price he had to pay to further his work, then he was willing to make that sacrifice. He saw no use for animals outside of science, but on the other hand, he never saw much of a use for love either, and here he was with a man who made him want to tear out his own hair that he wouldn't trade for anything in the world, so perhaps there was an animal out there somewhere that would make him feel the same way that Slade did.
It was late when Alex made the decision to head out for a walk alone. It was a rare event, as Alex had never been one who cared much for the outdoors, but Slade had to work late, and he needed some fresh air, so he decided to take a walk. Ivo had always warned him how dangerous the city could be at night, but Alex wasn't scared, not when he had a taser in his pocket and an assassin who would appear out of nowhere the moment he was threatened. It was kind of unbelievable at times, but Alex knew he couldn't say much when he considered his own stalkerish tendencies, so he decided to just enjoy his walk. It was nice out. It had rained over the weekend, so it was still wet out, but it was still nice overall. Alex breathed in the fresh air but quickly regretted his decision when he passed by an alleyway. Metropolis certainly didn't have the freshest air out there, but it was at least better than the stale air in the apartment, or at least it had been. Alex was rather quick to walk past that alleyway as quickly as he could, or at least until he heard a noise from inside of it.
Alex was a smart man, smarter than most in the world, but he was also a curious individual, so when he heard this unusual noise, he hesitated, and then he turned around and walked back towards the alleyway. He didn't see anyone around, nor did he see anything that could have made such a noise, but as he turned around to leave, there came the noise again, and louder this time. Alex followed this noise deeper into the alleyway, and there, behind old crates, was the source of the noise. There behind the crates was a white cat that looked like it had been sent through hell and back. It lacked one of its eyes, and it was covered in wounds. Its fur was matted and stained, but it was the fresher wounds that caught Alex's attention. It was clear the cat was in pain and scared. Alex wasn't sure what came over him. It could have been the similarities the cat held to Slade or some sudden weird sense of remorse, but he felt the need to help or, more so, steal him for himself due to the similarities.
Alex looked down at the cat for a moment before he moved down onto its level, much like he had seen Ivo do with cats. He could tell based on how the cat moved away from him and how its hair stood on end that it was scared. The cat seemed almost feral in nature. He was so much like Slade. He was made for him. Alex was certain of it. Alex extended a hand towards the cat. He was slow with his movements. He let him sniff him, but the second he was close enough, Alex snatched him up and ran. He could tell based on how the cat clawed at his arms and bit him that it didn't like this. The noises that came from the cat were also a solid indicator of this, but once Alex returned to his apartment, none of that mattered. He set to work to tend to the cat's wounds, and he locked him in his office. It would take some time for him to adjust to his new home, but some creatures just need to feel a bit of that tough love. It took a while for the cat to warm up to Alex, much like it took Slade a while, but as Alex showered him with love and fed him, the creature started to become almost fond of his presence. Alex was a quiet individual who also liked his space. It made sense why cats would like him, but Alex never cared about that; all he cared about was if Slayer liked him. He rather liked the name he chose. Slade, on the other hand, did not. He didn't see his vision.
The issues between Slade and Slayer started from the moment the two of them met, or well, from the moment Slade saw the scratch and bite marks that cat had left on Alex's arms. He knew Alex had always had a soft spot when it came to animals with white hair, but this cat was a bit too much. Alex claimed he was too much like him, but Slade found the cat to be a bastard; the more attached the cat became to Alex, the more he hated him. He acted like Alex was his, and he wasn't. He slept on Alex's lap while he worked. Alex shared food from his plate with him. He even got him a catnip toy in the shape of a sword. Slade took that last bit as an insult. Slade didn't like to claim that he was jealous over the cat, but he had enough issues with him that when he found a cat that reminded him of Alex, he didn't hesitate to take him in. He thought that maybe Alex would understand then how it felt to be replaced.
There was a small part of Alex that assumed that Slade’s disdain for Slayer would die back once he found his own cat, but this was far from the case. In fact, the addition of a new cat, which Slade had named Little Alex, had caused even more issues. Slade had assumed Little Alex was a kitten when he first found him. He was much smaller than most cats, and there were two reasons for this: his breed and the fact he had dwarfism, which made him exceptionally small. Slade was rather protective of Little Alex due to what he deemed to be similarities to his human counterpart, but it was clear the smaller cat could have cared less about that fact. Little Alex took an immediate interest in Slayer and soon dominated him, and Slayer took it much like how his human counterpart rolled over the moment he thought Alex would fuck him too. It was ridiculous but true. Slade and Slayer were one and the same, and whether for better or for worse, that's how it was.
Alex should have known that the issues between Slade and Slayer would come to a head sooner or later, and they did, but not when it came to Alex; rather, they came to a head when it came to little Alex. It had been a hard week for Slade, and all he wanted was to spend some time with his precious kitten and man he loved. Alex was in the shower, so he took the opportunity to shower Little Alex with love and affection. It was perfect, and then it ended as Slayer hissed, clawed, and snatched Little Alex away from Slade as if he were some kind of predator. Alex wouldn't have assumed that Slade would take such an action as hard as he did, but the screams he heard said otherwise. He rushed to finish his shower as soon as he could before he headed out to Slade, who was in the middle of a catfight with an actual cat.
“Slade, what the hell is the matter with you?” Alex asked in absolute disbelief as he stood there and watched the man he loved argue with a literal animal, shaking his head a bit as he let out a tired sigh. “You're screaming at a literal cat.”
“He stole Little Alex out of my arms!” Slade argued in his own defense, glaring down at the cat as he continued, who hissed at him in return. “He's an evil-ass cat that needs to be put down.”
“He's a cat, Slade. He's a cat with attachment issues. You can't be serious.” Alex responded as he continued to watch the two of them, letting out another sigh before he led the assassin off to the bedroom. “Come on.. Leave them alone.”
Alex was rather quick to lead Slade off to the bedroom as Slayer remained in the other room with Little Alex. He sometimes wondered if he should have introduced them slowly, like Ivo sometimes did with cats. He claimed that it helped avoid such aggressive interactions, but Alex had no idea whether or not that would work on a cat and a human. He hadn't needed to do that with Slayer and Little Alex. The two of them bonded from the second Little Alex arrived. The two of them were inseparable, much like Slade was when it came to him, or at least that's what Alex would like to believe. No one could blame Slayer for his behavior when Slade was no better.
“He's a cat, Slade.” Alex responded as he rested in bed with the assassin, taking notice of the look of frustration he carried over the whole situation. “He's a cat.”
“You don't understand.” Slade sighed as he tried to defend his actions once more, running his hands over his face before he continued. “Little Alex is the sweetest kitten out there.”
“Sweet..” Alex scoffed, like the mere idea that a smaller cat could be so innocent was the stupidest idea he had ever heard, shaking his head a bit before he continued. “Maybe to you, maybe.”
“What's that supposed to mean?” Slade asked as he turned to face Alex, resting his head on his hand as he confronted the comment head-on. “Little Alex—”
“Is an asshole. You know how he reacts whenever I come home? He runs over excitedly, and the second he sees I'm not you, he turns around and walks off because screw me, am I right?” Alex remarked with a sense of irritation, taking notice of the smile that spread across Slade’s face over this little detail. “You seem amused.”
“Kind of.” Slade remarked as he rolled back onto his back, not missing how Alex rolled his eyes in response to this. “Oh, come on..”
Unlike Slade and Slayer, who shared a hostile relationship with one another full of disdain, Alex and Little Alex's relationship was one of indifference. Little Alex could care less about Alex's existence, and while Alex had no issues with the small cat, he knew he was nothing more than the spare human when it came to how he was viewed. It was kind of hypocritical in a sense, as that's how Alex viewed most people. He could care less about those that existed around him. Hell, he even went out of his way to avoid their neighbors, so he couldn't blame Little Alex too much.
It was kind of ironic how the two of them took in cats that reminded them of one another and how they chose to react to their feline counterpart, but in the end it kind of made sense. Alex continued on with life and let Little Alex live his. Slade, on the other hand, matched the energy that was shown to him, which seemed to unsettle Slayer a lot. It was ridiculous but effective. Slade called it alpha behavior.