Girlfriend!

Rebecca had a girlfriend! For the first time in over two god***n years, she had an honest-to-goodness romantic partner. It just happened one night. The words slipped through her lips in a whisper: “I like you, Nessa.” It was the first time Rebecca brought actual feelings into what they were doing, and that tiny crack opened everything else up, leaving them talking late into the night. Nessa looked her right in the eyes and asked if Rebecca was really ready for what she was proposing. She even mentioned Agnes, which was uncomfortable, but fair. Nessa did not just forget why she was called over to the apartment that first night.

She was ready, and when she promised that to Nessa, the other girl wrapped her in her arms for a long, tender kiss. Eventually, Rebecca would admit that Agnes helped her get to the point where she could move forward. The exes shared a friendly night where Rebecca was there for Agnes as a friend, and in return, she received the support of her friend to move forward with her life. Rebecca did not “owe” Agnes anything, nor did she need permission, but she needed closure, and maybe sharing that night as friends was enough for her to look kindly on the past and step toward a different future.

Life was actually coming together. She often viewed her life divided between the realms of social, romantic, and career, and for the first time since her return to the States, she was firing on all cylinders. Socially, she was reconnecting with so many old friends and making new ones: Gina, Maya, Serena, and Juliette were all regular parts of her life, and most importantly, Agnes was really back. They texted, they would make occasional plans, and somehow things felt less awkward each time they saw one another.

Romantically, making the healthy decision to commit to Nessa and allow herself to be happy again was huge. They were no longer ending every night in her bed, but they were still seeing each other consistently, and somehow the Scot was not driving the New York native insane. They were still early in their actual relationship, having been an “item” for only a few weeks, but it felt uncomplicated. The girls could talk or sit in silence and be content. Nessa even confessed her one big secret to her new girlfriend, and Rebecca was pleased to feel like someone’s confidante.

She was even taking positive steps in her career. Classes were going well, new videos were getting a lot of love, and she was finally writing again. It was not perfect, but she was finally falling into a groove.

The last text Nessa had sent Rebecca on this particular afternoon was confirmation that her team’s editor was willing to handle some of her new videos, incorporating visual concepts she wanted to test out. One benefit of dating within the ViewTube community was that the squad from Nessa’s channel were taking a shine to her and helping her out, like she had an editor-in-law.

It was good news to balance out the obvious truth: if Nessa was helping with editing, there was a chance the lovers would not be seeing each other that night. Rebecca held on to hope, but in the meantime, she was confident enough with where they stood that she could take the afternoon to herself to jot down lines and ideas into her notebook.

The apartment was filled with mellow instrumental pieces so Rebecca could focus on the words in her head. She was back in her own little world until a new instrument broke the spell her pen had over her.

A tune played on a violin piped up from her phone, signaling a call from Agnes. She smiled; the butterflies she would have once felt were quiet, but she was happy to hear that melody nonetheless. Picking up the device, she replied, ”Guid day thaur, Aggie. What's up?”

She was surviving. That was really the most that Agnes could say about her life at the moment, she was surviving. It wasn’t that her life was bad, but more that she was trying to figure out how to live her life which had taken a drastic turn. With River gone the apartment seemed so empty and unimportant. It physically hurt sometimes to be there which was why she took her vacation in a hotel. Sadly, she couldn’t live the rest of her life in that hotel and needed to eventually return. When she did, there were moments where the pangs in her heart were almost overwhelming but for as stressful as it was, Agnes forced herself to do it – she needed to reclaim her life.

Piece by piece she did. Agnes lived in the apartment, she cleaned up where she could and started to make a routine of it. However despite the sadness that was attached with the place she wasn’t going to allow herself to wallow. She worked, she practiced her music, and she forced herself to go out with the few friends that she had in the city, Rebecca included. Of all the things that had occurred since she came here, joining the New York Philharmonic was on top, but befriending her ex-girlfriend was a close second.

Agnes thought it would be weird at first. To hear about Rebecca’s relationship with Nessa and the fact that she moved on, but she was all the more glad for it. it actually helped her to move on, to know that Rebecca was happy in her own life. With this knowledge, it afforded the young woman a chance to try to fix her own life. She and Rebecca were just friends, that was all, and if there was anything she could do to salvage her current relationship then now was the time.

Agnes started off with text messages at first. Simple messages that she didn’t expect a response to where she asked where they were and how the weather was going. For the most part they went unanswered but Agnes was persistent. She wasn’t annoying with her messages, just once every several days to check up on her former fiancée. In the beginning it was maddening to not hear from her but one day, after leaving a text just stating that she hoped she was safe she finally got a response:

k.

It wasn’t much but beggars wouldn’t be choosers. So Agnes took that as a positive sign, a sign that communications were still open and that her fiancée was actually still alive (the opposite of that thought unnerved her a little bit), and at least it was a place to start. However with her relationship not in the best of circumstances, Agnes still had to keep herself busy. She found little projects to keep her occupied and, surprisingly, found herself leaning on Rebecca more often than she would have thought. Thankfully they were both mature young ladies and able to start to successful transition into this new form of life.

In a warm day in March, Agnes found herself finishing up some necessary shopping. Just a few supplies and groceries for the apartment. She was having the strangest hankering for hummus these days and found that she was going through it far quicker than she probably should have. After all, can you really just have hummus for lunch and dinner for three days straight? Most would say “no” but Agnes was willing to give into her desires for the time being.

Dressed in just a pair of curve-hugging jeans and pink top with a daisy embossed on it, the young woman made her way to her car, a neon green Volkswagen Beetle. Few people in New York drove, most things were only a train or a taxi drive away so why bother to deal with all the traffic. But her time spent in the traveling orchestra had demanded that Agnes learn to drive. Many times there would not be enough room on the tour buses so individual cars were needed. Her skills as a driver only picked up over time and, upon moving to New York, realized that it was okay to get behind the wheel every now and again.

Balancing her paper bags in her arms, Agnes opened her car door and proceeded to place her stuff in the back seat when a sudden sound drew her attention. Agnes jumped and looked for the source, finding in her passenger seat the last thing she ever would have expected – a cat. It was a pretty cat with gray-bluish fur that tilted her head as she looked at Agnes and meowed again. Agnes, bewildered by the sight, looked and found that her passenger side mirror was lowered. Not enough for someone to reach in and unlock her door but apparently just enough for a cat to squeeze in.

She sighed. Agnes attempted to remove the cat herself, really. And though the cat wasn’t confrontational, she did leap and bound around Agnes’ attempts to grab her. The most mystifying was that she wouldn’t leave the car! No matter what Agnes tried, the cat was persistent and firmly stayed in the vehicle. Finally, without any other options, she called the only other person she knew of that dealt with catches regularly.

When Becca answered, Agnes breathed a sigh of relief.

”Oh my god, thank god you're home,’ Agnes said a little exasperated. ”I have a problem. Um, hold on, I’ll show you…” She turned her phone around and got a good picture of the cat before she sent it off to Rebecca before she got back on the phone with her. ”How do I remove this?”

The moment Rebecca answered the phone, Agnes replied, seemingly in a panic. The tone in her voice quickly prompted the concerned ex-girlfriend to stand up from her desk chair and cross her arms nervously. ”Aggie, ye okay?”

Agnes did let her know there was a “problem” to show Rebecca, but her technology-averse friend struggled for a moment to get a handle of the phone to take a picture in a way that could shed light on the issue. Anxiously, Rebecca wondered what was on fire or what had fallen down a gutter…

And the camera revealed a cat. A Russian Blue, from the looks of it. A kitten really, sitting patiently in the seat of Agnes’s car, and she was being charged with figuring out how to “remove this.”

Rebecca rolled her eyes and groaned, feeling the panic and anxiety expel from her body when she realized there was no real emergency at hand. Agnes likely called Rebecca for her feline expertise, but she called the wrong friend if she wanted to abandon the poor kitten and go on with her day.

”Ugh, really, Agnes?” Rebecca sighed and gathered her thoughts on the best way to handle the issue. ”First hin' is first; yoo're nae leavin' 'at kitten out thaur oan its ain. It is a wee hin' an' we ur makin' sure it stays safe.” The kitten might be a stray, or just a lost pet looking for its owner and seeking shelter in the relative safety of Agnes’s car.

There were steps they could take; Domino escaped the apartment once and Rebecca did as much research as she could about where to reach out and how to communicate within her community. ”Listen... gie in yer car. Gang back tae yer place. Ah'll meit ye thaur an' we can figure thes it,” she instructed, already grabbing her coat and keys so she could head out the door.

Okay so maybe it wasn’t a crazy emergency that Agnes had called Rebecca with but it was still a problem that needed to be rectified. Other than Domino, Agnes didn’t have a great deal of experience with cats. Aside from her ex’s sweet and loving feline, the only others that she had experience with were those who lived in the alleys and chased rats when she was homeless. They weren’t the most friendly of creatures as they had a mentality of looking out for only themselves, pouncing their prey, and hissing whenever someone they were unfamiliar with crept too close. This was especially true for Agnes considering her mutation and the insects that would follow her around.

Therefore it as safe to say that the violinist had no idea what to do with the kitten that had found itself in her car. Whenever she had reached in to get it, the cat would purr but quickly bolt in another direction, climbing under the seats of her car, into nooks and crannies that she didn’t know existed, and yet would not vacate her car by any means. To be honest she didn’t understand the kittens mentality.

Thankfully Rebecca had been home. Rebecca knew about cats and so Agnes was sure she would have some advice for getting the feline out of her car. However, when she called and the conversation that followed, it quickly became apparent that Agnes would be outnumbered. She sighed. First she was admonished for even considering living the little cat behind and then instructed to drive home with the cat in tow. Perfect.

She rolled her eyes. ”Fine. But hurry.”

She hung up the call before Rebecca could shoot any more attitude at her. Slipping it into her back pocket, Agnes stood outside the car and stared at the wide-eyed feline that had found itself back on her passenger seat, almost as if she had overheard the call. To make matters worse was that she didn’t even see the cat climb into the seat. How…did it do that? Shaking the thought off she narrowed her eyes at the cat and pointed firmly at her.

”Don’t get comfortable, missy,” she informed her as she resigned herself to her task. Climbing into her car and slamming the door closed, she slipped the keys in turned on the ignition. Before she started off, she shared another glance with the kitten before she started on her journey home.

---

When she had arrived at her apartment, Rebecca still wasn’t there. Knowing that she had ice cream in her bags she didn’t want to just sit in the car and let it all melt. As her eyes drifted to the passenger seat, she noted that the kitten had mysterious vanished. Maybe the motion of the driving scared her and she was now under the seat? Agnes clicked her tongue cautiously but upon realizing that it wouldn’t show she gave up. Instead she opened the windows on her car a crack and proceeded to climb out and gather her groceries. She wasn’t going to let ice cream go to waste over this little feline.

With her large paper bags in hand, Agnes made the ascension to her apartment. Carefully balancing everything she managed to unlock her door. After pushing it open with her toe, she stepped in and immediately set her bags on her couch. With a deep breath, and that task done, Agnes breathed a sigh of relief. She knew that she would have to go down and wait by her car to make sure that the kitten was okay.

Turning to her phone, Agnes went to check if she had any missed calls before heading down, but after that task had been completed, she jumped at the terrible visage that sat on the arm of her sofa – it was the kitten. Staring at it, dumbfounded, Agnes saw that one of the bags of her groceries was tipped over, the one nearest the armrest where the kitten sat. As she stared at it, dumbfounded, the kitten tilted her head and mewed softly before purring and digging her claws into the fabric of her sofa.

”W-What just happened?” Agnes asked no one in particular. Shaking her head, she sighed as she pulled out her cell and snapped another picture of the kitten, this time settling in comfortable on her sofa and closing her tiny eyes. Picture taken, she swiped and sent it off to Rebecca with another plain message:

I don’t know what happened…

Rebecca did her best to comply with Agnes’s last request to hurry, but foot traffic on New York sidewalks was a nightmare. Their apartments were surprisingly close, (which would surely be a fact River would hate to hear,) so there was no point in dealing with the hassle that was driving in New York City.

She walked with a sense of urgency until she caught the scent of a Mediterranean food stand. Rebecca’s favorite quality about a big city like New York was the diversity of food options. Pretty much any culture had made it to the metropolis and they all established at least one good restaurant and several food stands. Her priorities shifted slightly, prompting her to wait in line and pick herself up a gyro. Helping Agnes was going to be hungry work, and Rebecca had not grabbed food since breakfast. After she placed her order, she paused, and added a second order for another gyro as an apology for her self-imposed delay.

Rebecca spotted Agnes’s car parked and peeked inside, but was greeted by an empty cabin. There was no cat anywhere she could see, so either the kitten had escaped Agnes, (or at least she hoped it was an escape and not an intentional release,) or it tagged along up to the apartment.

On the way up the stairs, Rebecca’s phone buzzed in her pocket. Not only was she given a status update on the mystery kitten, she even earned a picture. It was probably frustrating for Agnes dealing with this stray making herself at home, but Rebecca was excited to insert herself into the situation, probably making it more annoying.

When she finally made it to Agnes’s floor, the door to the apartment was still cracked open, so Rebecca tucked the small brown bag with their food under one arm and slowly opened the door further with the other. She cautiously peeked inside, assuming Agnes would know, with Rebecca coming over, to be dressed for her company, (which meant a very different thing these days than it once did.) ”Ello?”

Scanning the room, Rebecca saw her ex, as well as her adorable Russian Blue stray. Picking up on the details of the scene, she noticed the grocery bags, including one that one tipped, with the contents spilled across the couch leading to the foot of the kitten.

Smirking, Rebecca walked in and explained, ”Ye brooght up yer messages an' somehaw did nae notice th' stowaway nuzzled next tae yer veggies, an' noo she is claimin' yer cooch as 'er ain. That is whit happened,” she finished smugly, answering the question Agnes had texted her moments earlier.

The violinist was dumbfounded. Staring at the gray-blue kitten that nestled comfortably on the arm of her sofa, she found herself unable to truly process what it was that had happened. She didn’t see the tipped over bag of groceries in order to make that connection that the little beast had been a stowaway in her bags. Rather she figured it was some sort of black magic or sorcery that had conjured the devilish little thing into being. She continued to eye it warily, having sent her text to Rebecca with hopes that it would help get the redhead Scot here just a tad bit faster.

It wasn’t that Agnes hated cats, but more except for Domino, she didn’t have a lot of experience. She had never really had her own pets except for the insects that lived in her body and they weren’t exactly the most cuddly of creatures. That was why, as Agnes stared at the crafty little creature, that she found herself at a loss. What does one even do in this situation? Call animal control? She couldn’t just pick her up and abandon her outside as Rebecca would probably have her head. But if all her options were taken away from her, what was left?

The one thing that Agnes really hoped that she wasn’t going to have to contend with was Rebecca trying to convince her to keep the little stray. As much as Agnes cared for animals, she certainly didn’t have the time to care for one. The season was deep in rehearsals and she was going to find herself with absolutely little to no time. With River gone, as tragic as that thought was, it meant that no one was around to care for the little beasty and that would only make her feel all the more guilty.

>> ”Ello?”

Shaken from her musings by the familiar voice, Agnes turned to face the entranceway to see her ex pushing the door open and stepping inside. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that mass of red hair framing her friends face – and then caught a strong whiff of Mediterranean food. She narrowed her eyes at her ex as the thought popped into her mind – she stopped for food? Rebecca had stopped for food when Agnes had clearly been in duress? Oh, this was definitely going to be brought up later!

>> ”Ye brooght up yer messages an' somehaw did nae notice th' stowaway nuzzled next tae yer veggies, an' noo she is claimin' yer cooch as 'er ain. That is whit happened,”

It definitely seemed like the most likely scenario but Agnes still believed that there was some kind of dark magic at play here. Still, she didn’t state these thoughts but rather kept them to herself. Why make herself sound crazier that she probably already did? She sighed as she cross her arms over her chest and walked around the couch to get closer to Rebecca, eyeing the kitten as she sleepily folded her paws under her body and became a fluff loaf. Agnes sighed and turned to the redhead.

”Well thank you for surmising the chain of events Ms. C.S.I.,” Agnes said with a breath. Her hands unfolded as they slipped into the back pockets of her pants. ”But how do I get her out of here? Trail of food, pillow case, or do I just move now?”

Rebecca quickly made her way over to the kitten, enamored with its beautiful fur coat and voice as it chirped more than meowed. Of course she loved her own cat, but Rebecca had a soft spot for cats in general, especially the young kittens like the one Agnes found herself “burdened” by. She gently moved the bags on the couch just enough to give her a spot to sit and pat her own lap. On cue, the kitten hopped onto Rebecca and curled up on the offered spot so she could scratch the top of its head and appreciate the softness of its fur.

While Rebecca was acclimating herself to her new fuzzy friend, Agnes was slipping her hands into her back pockets and planning ways to get rid of her intruder. ”Aggie. She main hae owners.” Despite having no idea what the kitten’s gender was, she found herself calling it a she. It was an odd instinct since her cat was a boy, but that did not stop her. Hopefully she was not misgendering the poor thing. ”If she doesnae, she shoods.” The poor thing did not want to be a street cat, clearly, so she would do all she could to facilitate a home for the little beast.

Looking to ease the tension of her ex-girlfriend, Rebecca reached into her brown bag and pulled out her share of the haul of Mediterranean food. ”Haur, eat up an' calm doon.” She could already feel the accusatory eyes of Agnes wondering why Rebecca stopped for food when the plan was to come to the apartment right away. ”Ah stopped fur quick food coz Ah hud nae hud lunch when ye called in panic mode.” It was worth reminding Agnes that, despite her protests, Rebecca was there to help.

Grabbing the foil-wrapped treat for herself, she peeled back the foil to take a bite of her gyro. The hot lamb was coated in tzatziki sauce and buried in onion and tomato, and satisfied the craving that had been nagging her since her walk over to the apartment. ”Ah’m in a group online, sae ance Ah finish thes, Ah'll check if anyone's reported thes wee one missin'.”

Glancing around the apartment, she took in the scenery. It was not Rebecca’s first time over at this point, but it was still odd being in the space when she knew she was probably the last person River might want there. Agnes’s fiancée was still on the road, but her presence lingered in the apartment. It was homey, with some music-themed decorations, given the nature of the two women living there. River was still in some of the photos in the apartment, though Becca was sure there were more that were hidden away to make Agnes’s time alone there easier. The décor was a little nicer than what Rebecca had at her place, she was willing to admit, and she would compliment River for that if the woman ever returned to New York.

While Rebecca was lost in her thoughts, a small piece of lamb fell from her gyro and onto her lap. She let out a small, ”Aww,” when the meat landed on the fabric of her jeans, but followed it up with a more enthusiastic, ”Aww!” when the kitten started nibbling on the free meat.

Rebecca had already fed the kitten and was now bonding with it. There was a troubling, distinct chance she might leave Agnes’s apartment with a new cat if she did not find another solution.

Agnes didn’t understand why she had such an aversion to the little kitten being in her apartment. Maybe it was because of the unexpectedness of it. Maybe because deep down she didn’t want to have the responsibility of caring for another creature. Or maybe because she knew, somehow, Rebecca Grey was going to make her keep the little animal. After all, that seemed to be Rebecca’s general plan ever since she called her – she wasn’t going to allow the little kitten to be abandoned. She hoped against hope that what her ex suggested, that the kitten already has owners, was true. If not, well, then she needed to steel her resolve against the wide, mismatched eyes of the Scot as she was bound to be targeted for pet adoption.

No. She would repeat that over and over to herself in the back of mind; just, no.

After taking a breath, Agnes advanced on her friend as she sat down and patted her lap. Immediately the kitten responded, purring as she climbed into the redhead’s lap and promptly submitted herself to the petting and scratches she received. Agnes rolled her eyes as the manipulative feline. How many times did she call her back in the car and how many times did she stubbornly remain rooted in spot with no intention of leaving? With a firm shake of her head, Agnes crossed her arms and plopped down on the sofa next to her ex, crossing her legs.

Rebecca offered her a brown bag, apparently on her journey here she had taken a detour through the Greek islands. The scent of onions and tzatziki sauce wafted throughout her entire apartment, permeating into the walls, sure to be there as a ghostly reminder of meals passed for at least the next several days. She should be made but the truth was that she had yet to eat and Rebecca always had the best taste in food. So, begrudgingly, the violinist took the brown paper bag from her friend’s hand and set it upon her own lap.

”Well…fine…” she said. She couldn’t really muster any sustained anger towards the redhead and just peeled open the brown bag. Inside was second gyro, similar to the one that Rebecca herself had just started to dig into. ”I guess I forgive you.” Really Rebecca had nothing to be forgiven for but it felt like the thing to say.

Pulling away the aluminum foil, Agnes sighed heavily, practically salivating at the scent of the gyro that wafted into her nose. Rebecca was commenting that she was part of a group online, which apparently kept track of missing pets. A glance at the little Russian Blue sitting in Rebecca’s lap easily suggested that the pure breed must have already belonged to someone. However, how they would track the person was another story.

The silence was a little awkward between them. Agnes didn’t know why. Rebecca had been over to her apartment before but they had been more in short spurts. Mainly just to see the apartment or to help Agnes move some furniture around. Other than that, there really wasn’t any pure casual stay over. It had always been done with a plan and intent – this was not planned and the intent she couldn’t figure. The violinist wasn’t expecting to have two guests in her home today and, for whatever reason, she was feeling a little self-conscious – despite how stunning her apartment was. Maybe there was some deep rooted guilt there because this was a home that River had spent time decorating herself and here she was, sharing the view with her ex, and ex that she had kissed while being engaged to River. If ever there was a time for guilt, this was it.

Her musings didn’t last long though when an ”Awww.” fell from Rebecca’s lips, followed quickly by another, more endearing one. Looking over, she watched as the little kitten bounded over and started to devour a piece of the meat that fell from her ex’s gyro. Evidently the little feline was hungry. If she had been living on the streets this whole time then, yeah, that made sense. Still, to Agnes the little kitten seemed almost too clean to be a stray. How freshly was she abandoned?

Agnes took a second, shifting in her seat as she turned to survey the both of them. Rebecca lips were upturned into a beautiful and content smile as she watched the kitten chew on her newfound meal. It was a lovely sight, one that was remeniescent of that short time that Agnes and Rebecca had lived together. Many times she had watched Domino, Rebecca’s own cat, act the same way. Hunting his owner’s lap for a free meal whenever possible (Rebecca tended to drop food onto her attire at the most random of times). It was enough of a thought to bring a small smile to the violinist’s lips.

Between bites of her own gyro, she sighed as she started to relax in her seat. ”You two look made for one another. Maybe Domino can use a sister?” Oh, she was a clever one…

Agnes tried to act tough and standoffish about Rebecca’s detour to grab food, but she succumbed to the redhead’s bribe of pita stuffed with meat, as the gift-giver knew she would. It always paid to know the orders of the people close to you, and Rebecca had a good food memory. Gyro for Agnes, and Greek Salad with extra feta for Nessa. While all the date night dinners with Nessa were enjoyable, it was refreshing to eat a meat dish alongside another omnivore. Nessa was not the vegetarian to judge her eating habits, and likewise, Rebecca accepted Nessa’s choice, but it still took time to process having a girlfriend that would not steal bites from her meals. She remembered her mother’s confusion when she told her about how her girlfriend, by choice, would go without meat. It was a foreign concept in the Grey home.

The moment of watching a kitten nibble at her lost food was heart-warming, but Agnes apparently saw it as an opening. The easiest answer was to roll her eyes. ”Th' idea soonds lovely, except mah apartment only allows one pet per occupant. Try again, hun.” Agnes was plotting, but Rebecca could not understand why: they would find a home for the kitten, and it would take no longer than a day or two. Or a week. Two weeks, tops.

Once a sizeable chunk was missing from her gyro, Becca put her food down on the end table, wrapping it in its own foil to prevent the nameless kitten from scavenging. Rebecca took out her phone to look for the group page where she might find notices for missing animals. It was always depressing to see the notifications pop up on her timeline because she could do little to help in most cases, but now she could scroll with conviction, hoping to reunite someone with their pet.

With Becca occupied by her phone and no longer at risk of dropping food, the kitten realized the pickings were slim if it wanted affection or food from its current host. In an attempt to change its fortune and explore its new space, (comprised mostly of couch and legs,) the kitten took wobbly steps over Becca’s leg and hopped into Agnes’s lap. Looking up at the black haired woman, it extended its neck and propped its head upward so it could look up to her with big, longing eyes, chirping an affectionate petition for petting or more food. Either option would appease the couch’s new owner.

It was really a Hail Mary attempt when Agnes commented that Domino could use a sister. She had tried to weasel the thought into Rebecca’s head, using her already lonely cat in an attempt to give him company. However she was met with the stone-wall of logic when Rebecca reminded her that her apartment only allows single pets and nothing more. Sadly, for as small as the kitten was, she would eventually be found out and they would be back at square one again. Oh well, so goes the best laid plans, as people tend to say.

Sitting at the end of her couch and turning her hungry attention to the pita that she had been presented with, Agnes took another satisfying bite and sighed. It really was good and possessed everything that she loved to have in a pita. It was unfair that Rebecca knew her food habits well enough to be able to bribe her like this, but it was fitting, in a way, since Agnes knew plenty of Rebecca’s likes and dislikes. It was a talent that she had displayed when she went to her apartment that one night to watch ViewTube videos. It was just a testament to how much the two knew about each other and it was a fact that was simply not going to change, no matter how many years and relationships got between that. And that was fine.

With a sigh, Agnes returned to her meal in silence, trying to think of what else they could do for the poor kitten. Rebecca was the natural choice to take her in if she didn’t have a home, but other than that, she was running empty on ideas. Her only other consisted of an animal shelter but Agnes was fairly certain that she would get an earful from Rebecca if she even so much as mentioned it. It was understandable but what other possible solution was there? It wasn’t as if the kitten could stay he—

The suddenly weight on her lap shook her from her thoughts. Looking down she spied the steel-blue feline with the wide eyes staring up at her. With a tilt of its head it set off the cutest and most adorable sound – a chirp for attention. Food, petting, it didn’t matter what the little feline wanted, Agnes was filled with a sudden need to reach down and pet it. But no, that was what the little beast wanted! It wanted her defenses to be down! It wanted to seduce her with its cuteness in over to take over her life and her home. No, she wasn’t going to submit.

With a grumble, Agnes attempted to ignore the kitten as she turned to see if Rebecca was having any luck with her phone and the “circle” she belonged to. However her ex was oddly quiet (a rare occurrence, really) and Agnes was left to defend herself against the onslaught of adorable that buffeted her from her lap. It was then that was worst and most disarming of all sounds reached her ears – it was purring.

Feeling herself deflate, Agnes cautioned a look down to see the kitten staring up at her with her eyes half closed in comfort. She purred like a sawmill, flexing her tiny paws and claws into Agnes’ pant leg before settling down and continuing to purr softly. Even Agnes could feel her heart melting at the display and, begrudgingly, dropped her hand down to softly pet the kitten’s head. God damn this manipulative bastard.

With a sigh and a shake of her head, Agnes finished chewing on her mouthful of gyro as she scratched being the kitten’s ears, much how she used to do years ago when she and Rebecca were living together. While she did this, she paused and looked over to see Rebecca staring at her, an impish smirk pulling on the Scot’s freckled face. Before she could say anything, Agnes lifted one finger towards her to stop whatever she was going to say.

”You say one word, Rebecca Grey, and...” she vaguely threatened. She couldn’t think of a proper threat to add on and simply let the silence speak for itself. She took another bite of her gyro, pet the kitten, and took a calming breath. She was trapped and she could only hope that her ex had found whomever this kitten belongs to. Catching her eye again, she nodded to the redhead’s phone. ”Any luck?”

Rebecca was disappointed to realize she was having little success with her group. There were several dogs that have run off from home, and even more cats, but none of the Russian Blue variety. Siamese, a Bengal, three Tabbies. No sign of their new friend yet, but she kept scrolling, trying to hold onto hope.

To keep her spirits up, Becca stole glances toward the interaction between woman and beast that was happening to her right. The nameless kitten was doing its utmost to garner love and sympathy from Agnes, who was clearly making an effort to resist the adorable ploy. The chirping was a precious hallmark of a kitten who was still too young to meow correctly, and would have been enough to wear down the heart of a cat-lover like Becca, but for the stubborn hold out, there was the heavy artillery: purring.

It was the most calming cat sound, and in her opinion, the most associated with petting. She could have sworn she could feel the vibrations of the kitten’s purring through Agnes’s leg and the couch. It was hard for Becca not to put down her phone and pet the poor thing herself, but she would rather watch what happened next.

The kitten found its perfect spot on Agnes’s lap and curled up into a tiny ball of purring fluff. Even Agnes was not made of stone, it turned out, as she submitted to the kitten’s will and rewarded its efforts with head petting.

By the time her fingertips were scratching behind the delicate ears of her lapcat, Agnes realized Rebecca had given up all pretense of continuing her search through the group. She had scrolled back through over a month of missing pets, and their new friend was nowhere to be found. (She wished she could name the poor thing, at least temporarily, without Agnes throwing a fit about getting attached.)

A slender finger stopped the grinning redhead from saying something clever, even if the threat that followed was incomplete and completely toothless. Becca considered that a victory.

She needed a victory to counterbalance her defeat. ”Nae luck. Either th' wee hin' has nae owner ur... weel, 'er owner isnae lookin'.” Rebecca felt a pit in her stomach at the latter thought; the idea that someone would abandon a tiny, helpless kitten was sickening. Maybe she could just hope that, if there was an owner, they had not come across the page yet.

However, if they did, it would be good for them to have some sign that their pet was safe and sound. Becca got out of her social media and switched to her phone’s camera. While in vertical mode to best catch the kitten (and Agnes) in the shot, she gave fair warning with a quick, ”Smile!” before taking the picture.
She returned to the group page and started uploading the picture while she typed a caption within the sight of Agnes.

IF YOU ARE MISSING THIS LITTLE CUTIE (THE BLUISH-GREY ONE, NOT THE BLACK HAIRED ONE,) PLEASE MESSAGE ME.

Proud of herself, she added other details underneath like the bread of the kitten, the size, and the area she was discovered originally.

”Ah can brin' th' picture tae local shelters an' vets tomorrow in case th' owner comes lookin'. In th' meantime...” Now the difficult part: how to explain to Agnes that she wanted to hold off on bringing the kitten to a shelter right away in case the owner reached out in the next day or two…

>> ”Nae luck. Either th' wee hin' has nae owner ur... weel, 'er owner isnae lookin'.”

Agnes sighed when she heard the response from her ex. That was not the answer that she wanted. She was hoping that this wouldn’t be a long ordeal. As sweet as the kitten was (dammit, its evilness was already seeping into her brain!!), Agnes didn’t want this to be an extended stay. She wanted to make sure that kitten got to its home, or any good home, so that it could get the proper care. Staying here, in her mind, was simply not an option. She had experience taking care of Domino but that was for an ridiculously short time and he was full grown when she jumped in. A new kitten, from scratch, and by herself? The prospect frightened Agnes down to her core.

It may have seemed a bit like she was overreacting, but Agnes actually stressed out in the few seconds where the possibility that the kitten would be staying with her popped into her head. She didn’t want that to be an option because there were so many variables; the most concerning being her particular mutation. Her insects, well, they didn’t take well to change. When Agnes had moved in with Rebecca, it took time and effort to ensure that the poor cat wouldn’t be devoured in her sleep. But now that she was living alone, her relationship possibly in shambles, and her mentality not the safest, Agnes didn’t even want to think about what could happen to the sweet little kitten.

But those were thoughts and anxieties that she knew she shouldn’t be having. They hadn’t reached that point, yet. So far they were still looking and trying to think of what to do with the kitten and how to find her home. However, with Rebecca’s pet-tracking people a bust, what options were left for them?

>> ”Smile!”

Agnes turned, paused suddenly as she realized that there was a camera directly in her face. To make matters worse, just as she heard the click of the picture being taken, she realized that she had been chewing on a particularly large wad of pita and meat. She imagined that she looked like a chipmunk trying to store acorns in her elongated cheek. She tried to chew faster, squeaking between her mouthfuls as she quickly set her pita down and futilely reached across the sofa to snag the phone from her ex’s hand. But it was too late, before she could even get close, she saw the message had been posted.

God dammit! She never took a good picture.

Her eyes narrowed into threatening slits as she peered at her ex-lover, the intent of all the bodily harm right there as she continued to chew and swallow the last bit of the meal in her mouth. She needed to make sure to stop taking such large bites in the future, specifically for occasions like that. And, to add to that, looking down to her lap, the kitten was still fast asleep, apparently unfazed by Agnes’ earlier, sudden movement. Dammit twice!

”I swear to god, Rebecca, you are the worst,” she grumbled.

She knew that her ex meant well and, really, Agnes wasn’t mad at her, but she could pretend for the time being. Shaking her head she sighed as she left her pita aside and continued to pet the contented kitten on her lap. It was here that Rebecca revealed the next phase of her plan, to check out shelter’s and vets. It was a sound plan, but there was one problem – Rebecca was doing it tomorrow. As in, not today. As in the kitten was not going to be leaving her by the time she was done with her gyro. Still, there was some vague hope as she finished Rebecca’s sentence with a…

”…meantime you’ll make room for it in a shoebox and hide it from your landlord, correct?” Agnes said. She wanted to sound threatening, but really it came off as pathetic plea that had been dipped in a candy shell of begging. Such was her life.

Sneaking a picture of Agnes was enough to earn Rebecca the honorable title of “The Worst,” which she would accept proudly. Admittedly, with food causing her cheeks to puff out, Agnes was the more unfortunate subject of the two in the photograph, with the nameless kitten looking fluffy and lovable and not chipmunk-cheeked.

As Becca typed away on her phone, she tried thinking of the best way to ease Agnes into the proposal she was about to make. Given the denial in Agnes’s suggestion, this was not going to be easy. ”Ah cannae afford tae be breakin' rules, an' thes wee hin' deserves mair space than a sheen box.” It was a kitten after all, not a cricket.

Sighing, she put her phone on her lap and looked at Agnes, shamelessly wanting to use her pleading mismatched stare to her advantage. ”Aggie… It is only temporary. An' it's a cat, nae a dug. They're law maintenance. Ah can gang out an' brin' back some stuff tae help.” If it was best for the kitten, she would leverage herself as help to make the situation easier.

Glancing at the spot on Agnes’s chest where she knew one of her hives resided, Becca had an idea of what other concern might be on her ex-girlfriend’s mind. When they moved in together, it took a while before she was convinced her insects would not cause Domino harm, so now, with a strange new intruder, she might be faced with similar worries. ”Yer bugs… Okay.” It was time to be solution focused, even if she could already see the inherent flaws in her next idea.

”Whit if… Ah stay haur tonecht. Ah can sleep oan th' cooch an' ye can sleep in yer room wi' th' duir closed. 'En yer bugs bide in thaur wi' ye, an' uir fuzzae friend has someain tae watch it fur it.” Even if sleeping in the living room was not the most logical way to look out for the cat, it was important Becca made it clear where she intended to sleep if she did stay over and why. If Agnes accepted the plan, Becca would then have to give a similar explanation to Nessa, so she needed her reasoning to be solid.

”Sae hoo about it? We can watch a movie an' hang it an' Ah'll crash it here tae help shoolder th' burden.” Becca held her phone back up, showing Agnes the picture that was about to be posted on the internet of her hording gyro in her mouth for the long winter. ”If ye say yes, Ah’ll lit ye tak’ a new picture.” She was not cruel, though letting Agnes get out of being in the picture was non-negotiable; not with the clever tagline she had already come up with.

Agnes was in no way liking where any of this was going. It was her intention to hopefully pawn the sweet little kitten off on her ex so that she could return to her day guilt free. However it would seem that that wasn’t in the cards for her. As much as she wanted for Rebecca to just take this responsibility from her, it was apparently not going to happen. It was a valiant effort, of course, but Rebecca wasn’t stupid – and she had an answer for everything. That alone was pretty infuriating.

She must have looked pretty pathetic at the idea of having to care for the little kitten by herself because that seemed to spur something in the redhead. As Agnes sat there, dejected, trying to plan her life around this new addition, she was surprised when Rebecca sighed and offered her some further help. Obviously having the experience of owning a cat already, Rebecca volunteered to go out and grab some supplies for the ex-runaway so that she could at least provide a comforting home to the little fur ball that snoozed on her lap.

That was a place to start, Agnes guessed. She still wasn’t comfortable being alone with the kitten. It was one thing to pay attention to it while she was awake and to pet and feed it, but overnight was another story. If Agnes’ guard were down, her insects could take the new entry into the house as a threat. The last thing she wanted was to wake up and find tiny bloodied bones and a few patches of fur. Morbid, yes, AND entirely possible.

A heavy sigh came from her lips. Almost as if to prove her earlier fears, a low warning buzz began to emit from her chest due to her already heightened stress levels. This was not going to be fun.

>> ”Yer bugs…Okay.”

Agnes nodded. Rebecca knew her too well. With her biggest fear now out in the open, she took another breath to quell the bugs in her chest. When the buzzing had died down, she looked up to see that a thought seemed to cross Rebecca’s mind. Judging from the look in her eyes it didn’t seem like it would be all that favorable. Agnes could only wonder what it was. Thankfully she wouldn’t leave her in the dark for too long.

She paused. She soaked in what Rebecca had said. And for a moment Agnes felt a small blush form on her cheeks. It probably would have been missed unless someone was looking directly at her when she felt it. However, after a few seconds, it began to pass. She needed to get over this, to get over any weirdness that she could possibly feel from being along with her ex. They were just friends now! They had proved that they could actually make it as friends! Didn’t friends stay over in situations like this?

She took a few seconds of silence before she finally cautioned to voice an answer. Gently she tucked her lips in to moistened them before she started with her reply, one that was low and seemed to almost be unsure. However she couldn’t really change her mind once she started talking.

It helped that Rebecca was at least offering her a chance to change the picture that she posted. If she couldn’t control everything, she could at least control that. Like, Jesus, she looked like a squirrel running off with a mouth filled with golf balls. What was with that?

A calming breath and the young woman nodded, feigning confidence but, really, was entirely unsure what to think about this whole arrangement. But, in the end, she needed help as every other option seemed to be denied to her.

””O-Okay…” she said with a small voice. It only lasted for that one word, though, as she managed to regain her confidence to respond more completely. ”I mean, sure. So long as I’m not ruining any plans for you. If the kitten has to stay here, I would rather there be someone who can keep an eye on her.”

It almost escaped from her lips but Agnes nearly cracked a joke about Rebecca just wanting to sneak a peek at her pajams after so much time but that was ENTIRELY inappropriate. That was not the life they had and certainly not something that was on the table tonight. No, Rebecca was here in a friendly and helpful capacity and she wasn’t going to taint that.

Agnes’s hesitance came through audibly and visually, and if Becca knew anyone who could handle the kitten off the top of her head, she would not ask the task of her ex. Nessa had roommates, one of whom was terribly allergic to cats, and quite frankly, she was still in the early stages of friendship with Serena and Jules. They were great friends, but she did not feel comfortable as of yet springing a huge favor like this on them.

On the other hand, Agnes was someone she did feel comfortable with, and as terrible as it was, she knew she could get her to do it. Agnes was not cold-hearted, and she was not blind to the logic Becca could present. Becca was also not blind to the other woman’s concerns, and made an effort to be sensitive to her desire not to wake up to a partially digested kitten in her bedroom. It did not hurt that she could sweeten the pot by offering her assistance and her company for the evening.

…The early evening. Watching movies and stuff. Before retiring to her couch.

It was safe to say, Agnes was not the only one feeling the slightest bit of heat rise up to her cheeks. It was simultaneously a totally innocent and wildly dangerous idea. They had clear boundaries, including a door physically in between them, and a noble reason for sharing a space. Hell, there were exes in New York that comfortably lived together without things getting weird.

But they would still be just a door away from one another. The last evening they spent in the same space overnight was the apartment they shared. Were they ready to take a step like this in their friendship? To sleep in the same apartment without sleeping in the same bed or sleeping together?

They were. She was certain; both women had moved on and were working on dealing with the lingering feelings that might remain. They were adults, and Agnes was willing to give the plan a chance, even if there was a twinge of doubt in her voice. ”Stoatin! Noo hauld up 'at cute wee bugger sae Ah can gie a guid shot,” she instructed with a grin, holding her camera back up for a second chance at a better shot.

---

Rebecca ended up being gone for a little over an hour, but her time away made the trip well worth it. It took several trips back up the Agnes’s apartment, but she brought in a litter box, cat litter, cat food, bowls for food and water, and a toy or two. Maybe it was a bit of overkill, but she did not see the harm in a squeaky mouse for the kitten to play with, and a toy on a string in case she wanted to play with the creature herself.

Finally content with how she was able to set up a small space for the kitten in the corner of the kitchen area, Becca sighed and plopped herself on Agnes’s couch to relax for a moment. ”Okay! Ah’m ready tae catsit th' heel it ay thes. Aaaand,” she started, grabbing a small bluray package from her last bag, ”Ah brooght 'at new Disney movie! Interested?” It was a great way to ease into a casual, fun night: a Disney movie about an island girl on an adventure with Maui, the over-the-top demigod, all set to an amazing soundtrack.

Totally nothing like their date nights back at the old apartment. Nope. Not at all, thanks to the benefit of selective memory!