For Agnes, it was probably one of the longest hours that she could think of. After she had agreed to let Rebecca stay in the night, so that she could help, Agnes was soon caught in a whirlwind of movement; a whirlwind that ended with her, sitting on her couch, and a freshly awakening kitten staring at her for more attention. Or food. She tossed a piece of her gyro at the little beast and instantly in devoured it, a happy purr vibrating on her lap now. For as cute as the kitten was, there was trepidation as to what the night was going to hold for her, not just concerning the kitten but with the second body that would now be occupying her space.

With a grown and shake of her head, Agnes remained quiet for several minutes before she just cursed, ”Balls!” She looked down and found the kitten tilting her head, staring at her while she licked her chops. Agnes rolled her eyes as she pet the soft head. ”Sorry.”

The rest of the time actually went by fairly quickly. That was a surprise for Agnes who, honestly, felt a little concerned that she would end up sitting in this same spot forever before the kitten was far too comfortable. However, as she looked at her clock to see how long Rebecca had been gone (fifteen goddamn minutes) she was surprised to look back and see that the kitten was now on the floor, walking away, and heading towards her bedroom with a defiant little wag of its tail.

She didn’t even feel her leave! Worse, though, visions of her trails to get the cat out of her car danced in her head. If the kitten got into her room, there was no telling if she ever be able to get it out again. Quickly she bounded to her feet, uttering “Nononononono!” over and over again as she moved passed the kitten, grabbed the door knob and slammed the door closed. With a breath of relief, she looked back to see the kitten was now sitting on her haunches, looking up at her with a tilted head. An innocent “mew” was offered as she stared at her before licking her paws.

Agnes narrowed her eyes. She just wanted Rebecca to hurt up. The rest of her time alone with the kitten would play out in a similar fashion. She walk away to do something and, upon glancing back would find that the kitten had dematerialized in one part of her apartment to cause mayhem in another. At least twice she caught her on her bookshelf, trying to knock off the little knick-knacks that would be there, and, just as soon as Agnes would manage to shoo her away, would find her creeping on the counter, dangerously close to her stove.

Overall, by the time that Rebecca got back, Agnes was exhausted. Not only did the kitten give her a run for her money, but just before the redhead’s return, the kitten had climbed onto her armchair and was now curled up like a perfectly innocent little she-devil. She shook her head as Rebecca fawned over how cute and patient the little angel was. She had tried to explain everything that happened in her absence, and that the kitten was the devil incarnate, but Rebecca merely laughed it off as innocent cat fun.

Annoying. What kind of world was it where a kitten’s word (a kitten who can’t even TALK by the way) is taken over her own? But, now that Rebecca was back, at least she would get some help caring for the little monster.

Sitting on her couch, a sigh on her lips, she shared a soft smile with Rebecca after she had finished setting everything up for the hellion. She flopped onto the couch next to her and brought up a blu-ray package for her to view. Agnes began to feel a little better. She had heard about this movie and instantly thought it would be a good one. She was glad that she was going to get to see it now.

And, like Rebecca, she didn’t fully remember the times she had had with the redhead during similar “date nights” – or the events that usually followed. It was enough to make her ears red with embarrassed, but that was only if she had remembered. Right now, she didn’t.

She grinned at Rebecca and nodded. ”Sounds like exactly what I need tonight. Pop it in.”

Agnes filled Becca in on the cat-related “incidents” she had missed while out running animal errands. The veteran cat owner was quick to shrug off the “almost accidents” by explaining that the kitten was adjusting to its surroundings, testing its environment. It was normal behavior, and generally cats managed to avoid doing major damage to a house. She was not going to say it was entirely possible for a knick-knack or two to get knocked over, because she was trying to remove reasons for Agnes to have issue with her temporary housemate. If anything, she would take an opportunity before she slept to get objects onto higher shelves out of the kitten’s reach.

The idea of the Disney movie was well received, much to Becca’s relief. She had not necessarily forgotten their old date nights; rather, she was avoiding the thought of them entirely, because this was something new. This was a movie night with one of her best friends, and would be nothing like the nights where they would curl up together under a blanket until the movie reached its end and they would escalate from cuddling to kissing to hastily pulling away clothes on the way to the bedroom.

Nope. Agnes had more than one place to sit in her living room, so they had space to spread out. Friendly. Movie.

Following Agnes’s go-ahead, Becca popped the Blu-ray into the disk tray of the television mounted on the wall. While the movie loaded up, she retreated to the kitchen where she could pop the last of her purchased items, a bag of popcorn, into the microwave. While it turned on the spinning turntable within, Becca glanced down near her feet to see the nameless kitten munching gratefully on the treats she had left out in a bowl for it. She was glad to keep the poor thing off the streets for at least one more night.

After a long series of pops began sparsely and moved into a rapid-fire awakening, Rebecca emerged with a large plastic bowl filled with fluffy white popcorn. ”Hope yoo're in th' muid fur a snack!” she announced, grabbing a spot on the couch across from the television. There was another seat perpendicular to her, so Agnes could easily sit there and they could pass off the bowl if necessary.

While the movie was starting, Becca glanced over at her friend and curiosity got the better of her. ”Sae hoo hae ye bin? Rehearsin'? Mebbe readin'? Keepin' busy wi' phain calls, perhaps?” ‘Specifically phone calls with your fiancée who ran off,’ was the subtext of the question.

It was not going to be weird. Agnes had to keep reminding herself of that fact as she lounged on her couch, legs crossed, sitting comfortable in her jeans and a t-shirt. She was in for the night so, normally, she would have descended to just wearing high-cut shorts and a tank top, but considering the company, it probably wasn’t the best of ideas. Instead Agnes chose to wear the clothes she would wear if she were actually entertaining someone in her home; which is all this was. Rebecca was a friend and Agnes was wearing her “friends” outfit. This was not going to be weird.

Agnes slowly started to relax more when she watched Rebecca stand to put the disc into her blu-ray player and then wandered into her kitchen to start preparing their movie snacks. As Agnes sought a more comfortable position (tucking her legs under her as she leaned against the arm of her loveseat), she found herself beginning to feel just a tiny bit nervous about the evening. There were still clearly some issues that both girls were having but Agnes was really only aware of her own. As much as she adored Rebecca’s friendship, she had to wonder if the pair of them were going to be able to pull this off without putting each other in compromising position.

That praise alone put several kinds of thoughts into Agnes head, the kind of thoughts that you don’t have with people who are “just friends”. However, as quickly as they popped in, she shoved them out. She was stronger than this, she knew that she was. They were both grown adults and they could handle being in the same room together and not have to “be” together. That was what adults responsible and mature adults did all the time, right?

As Rebecca returned, Agnes found her resolve returning as she shared a friendly smile with the redhead. She plopped onto the adorning sofa that was aimed directly at the television. When Rebecca had asked if she were in the mood for a snack, Agnes nodded her head grateful as she reached over, taking the plastic bowl from her friends hand so she could scoop out a handful and hand it back. Nestling inside her hand and against her flat stomach, the violinist kept her eyes up and towards the movie.

The screen turn blue and then the melodious sounds of the Disney logo began to play. From there it began to cycle through the coming attractions. Usually they would have just fast forwarded through this but before Agnes could even conceive of reaching for the remote, she was stopped when Rebecca asked how she had been doing. Rehearsing…reading…phone calls? That seemed like an oddly specific question and it didn’t really occur to Agnes directly off the bat what her ex was referring to. Instead she just shrugged as she kept her eyes on the screen.

”Oh, the usual,” she said. ”Rehearsals have me pretty busy. But about a week ago I got to meet with this nice kid, a teen, who was making a documentary about mutants mingling with humans. Got to do an interview and everything,” she said with a slightly smug smirk. However, how smug could she be when Rebecca herself was an internet star? ”Other than that, not much. I tried reading Harry Potter again but, you know, I can’t get passed the first book. I just wanna punch Harry for being a smug prick.” She sighed. ”And…I guess I’ve used the phone? I think I finally scared off that telemarketer that was calling every night at eight. I just answered the phone, left if off the hook, and played by violin really badly until he hung up.” she snickered at that. ”Should make him think twice.” She shrugged but finally glanced to Rebecca. ”How’s, um, how’s Nessa? Good I hope?”

Becca had to work up the nerve to ask about River, even if it was done in the most indirect way she could think to use. In a way, it could be very inappropriate to be the sounding board for Agnes as she dealt with relationship struggles with her fiancée. On the other hand, Becca knew this had to be a challenge for Agnes, and she was unsure if her friend had anyone else to talk about the situation with. Stewing on the topic alone sounded like an unhealthy way to handle things in the eyes of a girl who was starting to understand the value of communication and transparency.

Unfortunately, the way Becca asked about River was too vague, as it turned out, and Agnes did not pick up on the subtle inquiry. She shrugged it off as a failure for the intended purpose, but accepted she could now at least chat with Agnes a bit about how things had been. She laughed at Agnes’s frustrations toward Harry Potter; a Ravenclaw like her probably would find Potter annoying. (How she put up with a Gryffindor like Becca, the world may never know.)

And of course, Agnes asked about Nessa, which was only fair. Since that situation was less precarious than the River one, she could come right out and ask it. ”It's guid! Things wi' Nessa ur still kinda new, but... it's bin guid.” Things with her new girlfriend really were good! They gelled, they could relate to one another as creators, and Nessa was always so accommodating. The relationship was starting as well as she could have hoped, but for some reason, she did not want to talk about it around Agnes.

Probably no bad sign there.

Instead, she thought back to the kid with the documentary, which sounded oddly familiar? ”'At documentary kid, is his nam Leo? Ah know one ay mah students is daein' a project loch 'at.” After her AMA, Leo mentioned the pet project he was working on, and she was excited to see it, especially if Agnes was going to make a guest appearance.

Before Agnes could give a full answer, the grandmother in the movie’s voice began sharing the ancient tale of Maui stealing the Heart of Tafiti, and Becca’s eyes lit up. ”Och, nevermin', it's startin'!” Yes, she had seen the movie before, but that did not mean she was any less excited; a good Disney movie could capture her attention ten times over. And for better or worse, she always loved sharing her love of Disney movies with Agnes.

Agnes wasn’t by any means stupid, it was more that she was just oblivious to the more subtle things. Even though anyone may have been able to interpret the Scot’s meaning concerning her question as to “talking on the phone” it didn’t really occur to the violinist that she was asking how things were going with River. Truth was that it was probably a good thing that that was not her first thought as the last thing she wanted to talk about was River; it was never a safe topic these days.

River was one of those topics that Agnes just wasn’t sure about. She wanted to believe that her lover would find her way back to her, but she just wasn’t able to fully believe that. As much as she wanted to hold onto hope, the truth was that River was making it virtually impossible to make it happen. She was stubborn and she had every right to be.

Her mind shifting far away from anything that had to do with River, she instead took the opportunity to inquire after Rebecca’s own love life. It was a bit difficult to hear about it at first but, slowly, she was finding herself able to listen and not feel jealous or upset by any of it. Part of her wanted to be mad at the redhead. How come she got to move on to a good relationship while her own withered away piece by piece with every passing day? Such thoughts never lasted long, however, as time and again Agnes found herself unable to blame anything on the redhead. It was just an odd circumstance, a circumstance that they both were going to have to live with.

She nodded her head, smiling a bit when Rebecca admitted that everything was good with Nessa. She wasn’t going to press the redhead for details because those were things that she just didn’t need to know about. Instead she was content with just knowing that Rebecca was happy. She gave the other woman a grin as she popped a few pieces of popcorn into her mouth and chewed on them.

”That’s good to hear,” she said gently, and left it at that.

However, as Agnes started to turn her attention back to the movie (the previews were still rolling), Rebecca stopped her and brought back a point that Agnes had revealed earlier – she had done an interview. From the sound of it, Rebecca seemingly knew the student who was doing the documentary. The coincidence of it made Agnes tilt her head, smirking. Leo clearly got around. With a giggle on her lips she confirmed that’s who she had spoken with.

”Yup. Leo was his name. Nice kid,” Agnes said witth a contemplative sigh. ”Maybe a little naie—“ she was cut off when Rebecca shushed her for the beginning of the movie. Quieted, Agnes smirked as she turned back to face the screen. She was eager to see what journey Disney would take the two of them on tonight.

Moana was a wonderful movie, and a great way to make the night reminiscent of their old Disney nights. Becca already knew the songs, but she was trying not to be obnoxious. Occasionally, she could not help herself and she would start singing along with one of the songs before apologizing, only to do it again in the next song, or sometimes later in the current song. (She had to stop because how else would Agnes learn the words to sing along if they ever watched this again?) The popcorn bowl was passed between their couches, but occasionally it would be held where they could both just reach in for it, leading to the occasional meeting of fingers. It was the perfect throwback night; all that was missing was for the girls to be sharing the same couch, curled up together.

Those thoughts were coming into Rebecca’s head the longer they went into the movie. For the first half of the film, their new cat friend found a spot between Becca and her armrest where it could curl up into a fuzzball for maximum petting. Around the time Moana and Maui descended into the land of monsters, the kitten needed a change of scenery, or perhaps a different hand to gain attention from, so it hopped over and rested alongside Agnes. Becca was glad the kitten was starting to warm up to its host, but jealous of the cuddling taking place without her. Jealous of Agnes’s time with the kitten, and maybe even the kitten’s proximity to Agnes.

The movie reached its conclusion, and Becca spent a few minutes gushing about the performances, as well as the soundtrack written by her favorite Broadway composer. She wanted to keep her mind off of heavy topics, which also meant she tucked away the urge she had earlier to ask about River. They were having such a nice night, it seemed silly to put the mood of the room at risk by asking about a fiancée that could even be an ex-fiancée at this point.

Becca saw her phone buzz on the other cushion of her couch. It was Nessa, logically. Maybe one of her friends was reaching out, but it was starting to get late, and she knew Nessa would want to check in and make sure all was well with the kitten. She would answer… soon. But for the moment, she chose instead to reach over to Agnes’s couch where the kitten was resting so she could scratch behind its ears. ”Ah know we arenae keepin' it, but it still feels weird nae havin' a nam fur thes wee one.”

Despite how her day began, Agnes was actually having a pretty fun time now. As the kitten devoured the scheduled meal that Rebecca had provided her with, the two old friend (ex-lovers…stop it, Agnes) sat around a television and popped in a wholesome move for old-times sake. It felt so natural, almost as if there wasn’t a stumbling block of at least two years between the last time they had done this and now. Agnes was comfortable, she was enjoying herself, and she had good company, really that was all she needed in this world.

Relaxed back in her seat, legs propped up on the couch, she found herself getting rather swept up in the performance on screen. The songs were catching and amazing, (even if Rebecca kept intervening with her own voice) and the storyline and visuals were absolutely stunning. Agnes found herself in awe of what she was watching, giggling at the most appropriate places and getting teary eyed at the sad ones. At one point, when Moana and Maui dove into a huge volcano, Agnes caught movement out of the corner of her eye – the beast was awakened.

Her gaze drifted as she watched the little kitten licking her chops and climb up to join Rebecca on the couch and curl up next to her. Rebecca paid heed to the little beast with a tendering petting. It was a cute to watch but Agnes also felt something akin to a small flare of jealousy in her chest. She didn’t know why, it wasn’t like Agnes wanted to be petted or anything, but it seemed more like she was jealous of the closeness. The kitten was a stray and just stumbled into her home and already she was getting all the praise and love for Rebecca. Agnes in no way connected any metaphorical line between herself and Rebecca and the fact that she felt like a stray who stumbled upon Rebecca’s path.

Nope. None what so ever.

With her eyes back on the movie, Agnes returned her attention. She reached out, taking popcorn from the shared vessel that Rebecca had brought. As she dug inside, she felt her fingers brush against something and, for a second, was confused. But, without looking, she realized that it was Rebecca’s hand. It was that realization that stirred a blush to appear on Agnes’ cheeks. She apologized, lightly, playing it off as a funny accident and recoiled her hand, plucking one or two pieces from the top of the bowl and returned her hand to her side.

Sadly that wouldn’t be the only time that happened. As they watched the movie, Agnes found herself accidentally bumping into Rebecca’s hand again and again. It was to the point where the two of them just felt awkward bringing attention to it and just ignored it as best they could. But Agnes could still feel the heat forming behind her ears. The reminder of those events that used to follow such things, of them lying, curled up against one another (Agnes liked being the big spoon…for obvious reasons…) on the couch, of the playful touching and the teasing kisses just to be obnoxious during the best parts of their movies. Agnes could feel her pulse quicken but she forced herself out of it. It helped that, during one of these trips down the memory brothel that the movement of the tiny cat caught her attention again.

The kitten paused, looked up at her, and purred furiously before butting her head against Agnes’ hip. The ex-runaway narrowed her eyes at the tiny beast before she finally just sighed and started to pet it. The kitten, victorious, climbed onto Agnes’ lap and contentedly purred as she stroked the beast between her ears – never had she felt so defeated. But at least it was pulling her out of such inappropriate thoughts.

Turning her attention back to the screen, Agnes resumed view, free of such thoughts and instead split her attention between the film and the demanding kitten.

By the time that they had reached the end of the film, Agnes was all smiles, having essentially forgotten everything she had just been thinking about. She had been thoroughly distracted and she had really enjoyed herself. Rebecca immediately went onto a fangirl tirade, commenting on the voice actors, the music, the storytelling mechanics, all of which Agnes agreed with. It was a good film and exactly what she needed tonight.

After the silence started to descend, she looked over to see Rebecca reaching over and scratching the innocent kitten behind her ear. It purred in response and nestled deeper into Agnes’ lap. She rolled her eyes. Rebecca then lamented that, even though they weren’t keep her, it was weird not giving her a name. Agnes shook her head, sighing at the little manipulator as she continued to pet the unconscious cat.

”Well maybe we can give her a temporary name. Um…Devil Spawn? Hell Beast? The-Executioner-of-Agnes’-Mental-Stability? Honestly I think any one of those will look good on a collar,” she mused, only half kidding.

Becca could not remember meeting a cat she did not fall at least the tiniest bit in love with, but she might have had a particular weakness for strays. Those poor kittens who grew up alone, with no one to love them, had a special place in her heart. They were always the most affectionate, and once she earned their trust, they appreciated all the love she had to give. It was comforting to return home after a long day and curl up with a former stray, watching a movie and playing with her hair.

Fur. Petting. Petting their fur.

Okay, so maybe she had a little Agnes on the brain. Given the way they were spending their evening, it was natural to have nostalgic thoughts. Dating Agnes was a major part in her life, and ignoring it was going to be impossible. Maybe she had to find a way to interact with Agnes like any other friend, while accepting there would always be occasional memories that would resurface.

She was not going to forget the way Agnes would sit near the window in their living room playing her violin, filling their apartment with music. Occasionally, she would find herself daydreaming about Agnes stepping out of the bathroom in a towel so she could approach her from behind and get her shirt wet hugging her, inhaling the scent of her shampoo. When she woke up next to Nessa, there might even be mornings before she opened her eyes when she forgot which body was laying next to her, if only for a moment.

Maybe she had to learn to live with those memories and those ghosts of their past, and have the self-control to leave them in the past. This would be a challenge, but she had to do it.

ANYWAY.

The cat. The kitten. The stray. Becca had proposed giving a name to the poor thing so she could mentally stop calling it the cat, the kitten, and the stray. It felt rude for a creature to just be called what they were. It would have also felt rude to name the cat anything Agnes was suggesting; she could make a big show of it, but she was clearly growing a begrudging resentment for the little beastie. It had been minutes since the last time she saw Agnes take a break from petting.

”Kinda small tae be a Heel Beest. if yoo're gonnae make 'er some kin' ay demon, at leest make it one wi' a nam. Loch…” she thought back to the demons most people would know, ”Hecate? Ur Gorgon? Ur… Ooo! Hoo abit Lilith?”

Pleased with herself, Becca scratched under the Lilith’s chin. ”Ye loch ‘at, Lily?”

It was hard to keep Rebecca out of her brain. She loved River, at least she thought she still did despite everything, however she was finding that the more time she spent with Rebecca, the more she found herself thinking back on old times. Old times that were still nestled deeply in her heart, that allowed her to think back on happier times, times where she smiled and laughed and didn’t have to feel guilty about her life choices. Most would ask Agnes if it were really love that she felt for River and not just her desperation to hold onto a crumbling relationship.

That was ridiculous.

Still, while sitting on her love seat, her legs crossed and her back against the armrest, Agnes couldn’t help the stray look that she passed over to the freckle-nosed redhead. It was all too eerily familiar and too comfortable at the same time. Should one feel this comfortable when around an old lover? Was that telling of something else that she didn’t even want to consider?

Shaking the thoughts from her head, Agnes tried to refocus on the evening and not let it get ruined over stupid things that she shouldn’t even be considering. There was no use thinking about the past right now, it wasn’t worth the heartache. The past was nice to remember but it wasn’t the state of being that she needed to live in constantly – no matter how good it used to be.

So good. Agnes still couldn’t get herself to not think about the redhead. Though the movie was over and they were just chatting now, she was still finding herself becoming distracted from some rather inappropriate thoughts. Thoughts the depicted the comely young redhead doing a rather silly striptease to the Hercules song, “I Won’t Say I’m In Love”. It was still a favored memory of Agnes’, one that, she wasn’t ashamed to say, she found herself thinking about at some rather intimate moments with River.

Ahem.

Thankfully Rebecca pulled her back from those thoughts (sadly at the good part) when she commented that the kitten required a name. Agnes wasn’t too keen on the idea because it meant that a longer stay would surely follow but she was tired of fighting the point. The kitten was already here and it would make it easier to yell at the little fiend when it attempted to break something of hers’.

So…she offered suggestions. Though she was only half-joking, she didn’t actually think that those names should be for the kitten. However, Rebecca, in her unflappable manner, rolled with the thoughts that Agnes had and offered suggestions that stuck with that central theme. Each sounded okay on their own but when Rebecca had mentioned “Lilth”, the ex-runaway could feel the sleepy purr coming from the little kitten on her lap.

Dammit. The cat liked the name. She snorted a bit to herself and just sighed to accept her fate. Rebecca, pleased with her choice of name, reached over and started to stroke the little beast under her chin, even going so far as to already shorten her given name.

”Great,” she chuckled. ”You’ve turned the hellish name she deserves into something cutesy.” Though she said this, she didn’t offer alternatives – it was clear that both Agnes and kitten were pleased with this name. A small yawn rolled out from the violinist’s lips as she continued absentmindedly petting her “temporary” pet. She turned to Rebecca and gave her a soft smile. Despite the beginnings of today, she was glad the way things turned out, even if they made her blush a little. Awkwardly she cleared her throat. ”You know you really don’t have to stay if you don’t want to. But, if you do, there are some linens in the hall closet you can use for the couch. And you…” she turned to the sleepy kitten. ”…you cause any trouble and locking you on the fire escape.”

She was only half kidding when she pointed her finger at Lilith’s face. As her response, the kitten placed a paw on Agnes’ finger and started to licked as she cautioned to open only one eye.

Lilith responded positively to the name Rebecca had granted to her, which warmed her pet friendly heart. There was a debate to be had about how much pets understood the people who took care of them, but Becca had faith that cats were smarter than some people gave them credit for. Lilith was a great example: in less than a day, she had gone from living on the streets to winning over the heart of a skeptic like Agnes (whether she wanted to admit it or not,) and now had a cozy apartment to sleep in for the night.

Agnes was less pleased with how quickly Becca bastardized a demon name into an adorable pet name, but she clearly appreciated the name as well. They were sharing a quiet, pleasant moment of petting Lilith and winding down the evening when Agnes broke the temporary silence with a yawn. (She always had a cute yawn.) She tried giving Becca an out for the evening, but the guest shook her head. ”Nae, Ah’m a woman of mah word.” She was directed to a nearby linen closet where she could gather herself some sheets and blankets, as well as a fluffy pillow her neck would surely thank her for.

While Becca was gathering her essentials for the night, wondering why she had the nagging feeling she forgot something, Agnes was doing her part to threaten Lilith with the fire escape as her own personal time out. Pouting, she rolled her eyes and appreciated the kitten’s response, taking the pointed finger with her paw and giving it a lick. ”Oh, Aggie,” she said with a sigh, before turning her attention to the sleepy kitten. ”Dornt ye worry, Lily. Momma's only jokin'. Yoo'll be stayin' it haur wi' me sae Ah hae a cuddle buddy.” That was well-received, with Lilith purring like a motor.

Becca was laying a sheet over the cushions of the couch when she finally figured out what was missing from her nighttime setup. ”Ah shoot,” she said, pouting at herself. ”Ah forgot pajamas while Ah was it earlier.” She had been so occupied getting things to prepare for Lilith that dressing properly for sleep was a lower priority.

Sighing as she felt resigned to her night, she shrugged her shoulders. ”Whatever, Ah shoods be able tae sleep in jeans fur one nicht.” In truth, Becca probably was not thinking about the necessity of sleep clothes because the last time she shared an apartment with Agnes, they had long since reached the point where pants were not a bedtime requirement. She should have known better, but her mind was in all the wrong places that day.

Rebecca seemed insistent on staying. Truth be told, Agnes was glad for it. The last thing that she wanted was to have to deal with the kitten alone, especially (at this was hard to admit) since she was starting to grow fond of her company. She was sure that Rebecca picked up on it but, thankfully, said nothing. The last thing that Agnes needed was teasing that she was becoming a pet owner. The teasing would never stop. Still, despite the risk of being teased, Rebecca would be a good second to have over tonight. Even if it was for only one night, it would help Agnes to feel a little more comfortable with another life living in her home.

Now, if only she wouldn’t be contradicted in front of the little beast. She narrowed her eyes, playfully of course, at her ex as the redhead informed Lilith that she was only kidding in terms of her punishment. What really got her goat was when Rebecca had called her the kitten’s mother. Her eyes narrowed more – she would pay her back for that remark. Her internal struggle of not wanting a pet and wanting to care for the wayward soul was tough enough as it was, she didn’t need more fuel added to that fire.

Quietly she smirked as she shared a look with the redhead and then proceeded to stick her tongue out at her. With her resolute vow to stay the night, Agnes directed her to the linen closet where she could gather her belongings for the night. Agnes stayed in silence, gently petting the kitten still and only looking up when Rebecca returned with her sheets and new fluffy pillow in tow.

As the redhead started to make up the bed, Agnes strangely found her eyes drifting back to the young Scot. When making a bed, there does involve a lot of bending over and tucking sheets into the crevices of the couch for optimal sleeping. As much as she didn’t want to, time and again Agnes found her eyes straying over to her ex. Thoughts wanted to punch though, old habits of sneaking up to the redhead which always results in a quick dash to the bedroom, tickled her gray matter. But she had to be focused. With a steady breath she ignored those thoughts but had found that in her attempts to help herself, Lilith had awoken and grown tired of the comforting petting. Clearly she wanted to romp now.

Agnes smirked, thankful for the distraction as the kitten decided to practice her pounce and capture skills by diving at a corner of the sheets that had gotten loose. Lilith batted and pulled at the corners, undoing the sheet every time Rebecca managed to fix it. Another snort and she shook her head as she stood up, placing her hands on her hips. She was about to help her ex (thankfully having forgotten her earlier discomfort) but stopped when Rebecca grumbled with an ”Ah shoot.”.

She crossed her arms over her chest as she joined Rebecca at her side. She explained that she had forgotten her pajamas earlier and resigned herself to having to sleep in her jeans. Now, while jeans could be comfortable, they weren’t the best for sleeping; Agnes had firsthand knowledge of that from traveling with the orchestra across country. She shook her head as she placed her hand on Rebecca’s bare arm.

”No, no, don’t be silly,” Agnes said with a smile in her eyes. ”I’m sure I have something you can wear for sleep. Just give me a moment.”

Lilith, having turned back to conquering the edge of the bedsheet, mewed and flailed around wildly as she became entangled. Agnes smirked, knowing the kitten wasn’t in any real danger, and stepped away to head to her bedroom. Once there, Agnes disappeared around the corner and the sound of her opening drawers could be heard. She tucked her hair behind her ear as she fished through the various bits of clothing, looking for something comfortable for her friend. Really she didn’t have what would be called pajamas except for those silk ones she bought when she lived in the hotel. However, it was too warm tonight to even consider them. She sighed and kept digging.

For a brief moment she consider something of River’s but her fiancée had taken her most comfortable clothing away with her (almost as if she knew this would happen and she did it out of spite.). Sadly the only thing that Agnes could find of River’s was a lacey black and red negligee that she wore during their last anniversary. She gulped, thinking about that item and the various, fun aspects that came with it. A blush then reddened her cheeks further as the image of Rebecca wearing it popped into her head. She shook it off as he closed the drawer, instead checking her closet. She definitely needed to not think about such things.

After being gone another moment or two, Agnes finally stepped out from her bedroom, a friendly smile on her lips as she carried a loose, faded pink heather top with a lady bug printed on it and her only pair of flannel pajama bottoms. It was a comfortable set, one that Agnes had worn many times after a long day and a long soak in her lavender and honey scented tub. It carried on them a familiar scent, one that Rebecca would know all too well, and one that Agnes was oblivious as to problem with handing it over.

”Here,” she said with a soft smile. ”That should keep you from having to sleep in the nude.” She beamed…instantly remembered what she just said…and blushed so hard she almost burst into flames. A nervous laugh and a shrug followed. ”S-Sorry. Bad timing.”

If Rebecca had to sleep in her jeans, it would not be a first for the girl, whether it was a night where she fell asleep at her laptop or crashing unexpectedly at a colleague’s flat at Oxford. This was kind of like those nights, where Rebecca changed her plans at the last minute for one reason or another to remain where she was, but her old colleagues did not give her butterflies. Knowing how close they would be all night, the feeling of fluttering was noticeable.

Thankfully, Agnes was kind enough to look for something Rebecca could wear out of her wardrobe. It was not uncommon for the girls to occasionally swap clothes when the need called for it back in their day; Agnes was definitely the thinner of the two, but their builds were close enough to be comfortable in some of the same clothes. While the hostess ducked away into her room, Becca was doing her best to tuck a sheet around the seat cushions, leaving her with a sheet and a warm blanket to cover herself with.

A curious Lilith apparently had a different goal, choosing to paw at the free corner of Becca’s bedsheet. Becca wanted to be annoyed as the kitten tried to undo her attempts at sheet tucking, but it was hard to be upset when Lilith when she now got to watch a confused kitten as her tossing and grabbing resulted in an unexpected kitty burrito.

Becca was giggling by the time Agnes returned with pajamas she was pretty sure the musician had for years. A ladybug top and loose flannel pajama pants; if it was not an old outfit, then Agnes’s tastes in sleepwear had not changed much. The outfit was handed her the outfit alongside a comment that made both of them laugh nervously. In an attempt to lighten the mood, she replied, ”Sae there’s a guid time fur nudity, then?” Of course there was. Seconds after a bedroom door slammed behind them but before Agnes’s body was thrown on her bed to be—

bzzz! bzzz!

From the nearby couch, Becca’s phone was buzzing. At this time of the night, she could guess who was texting her, and the thought of Nessa broke her trance.

Covering her mouth, she chuckled nervously, speaking through her fingers. ”Sorry, Ah’m feelin’ silly. It’s getting’ late.” It was probably for the best for the girls to retreat for their corners for the evening so Becca could focus on clearing her head. Holding up the clothes, she smiled. ”Thenks again.”

There was a pause while Rebecca looked at Agnes, who was in turn looking at her. To break the silence, she mumbled, ”Sae, Ah shoods probably gie changed.” Glancing over to Agnes’s bedroom, she added, ”Ye can gang tae bed, Ah hink Ah’m guid haur.” Her bed was made, the kitten’s needs were taken care of, and her girlfriend was waiting for a response.

”If ye need me, ye know whaur Ah'll be,” she joked. Once Agnes was on her way back to her room, Becca turned her back to her and started removing her shirt to change into her wardrobe for the evening.

Once she was in infinitely more comfortable pants, Becca hopped into the impromptu bed she made for herself so she could finally check her phone.

Hope the kitty is feeling at home. I’m jealous

Of the kitty. I’m really missing you tonight, hun. Sleep well.

What was wrong with Rebecca? She sent a cute little status update to Nessa, but her heart was not in it.

It was too busy thinking about how, after all this time, the scent on those pajamas was still the same. Her head was filled with thoughts of lavender and honey and the past and Agnes resting only a room away...

The blush on Agnes’ cheeks could have probably set her whole face on fire. She really didn’t mean for what she said to be taken the wrong way but she was so comfortable with the redhead that it was impossible to not slip back into old habits. Saying such things when they were together was pretty commonplace but that wasn’t the case anymore. They weren’t together, they each had separate lives and separate lovers in those lives. Despite how well things have been going between them, saying something like that was clearly still full of potential pitfalls.

Rebecca tried to roll with her comment with a remark of her own but that only seemed to cause the awkwardness to bloom bigger. Agnes chewed on her bottom lip as Rebecca tried to avert her eyes. Clearly this was dangerous territory and it was best that they moved on passed it as quickly as possible.

The redhead tried to pass off her retort as a result of her being silly during the late hour. Agnes nodded in agreement. ”Oh, yeah, no worries. I’m pretty beat too.” Agnes shared a soft smile with Rebecca.

The two of them stood in a somewhat tense awkwardness. It had been awhile since they shared a space overnight and the overwhelming urge to kiss the redhead on the cheek or even hug her was poking pretty deep into her brain. Again, it wasn’t appropriate so she didn’t do either of those, and instead just took a step back. Space, she just needed to increase the space between them. Rebecca seemed to take this hint as she said she should probably head off to bed and Agnes sighed in relief.

”Yeah, of course,” she said as she turned around. Rebecca started to shoo her off to bed and Agnes smirked back over her shoulder. ”Sleep well. And don’t let the little hellion destroy my stuff.”

Agnes fully turned and started to head back to her bedroom. Just as she stepped in through the door, she started to close it. When she turned around, through the crack in the door she spied pale, freckled splendor of Rebecca’s skin as she lifted her shirt off her lithe frame. Agnes gulped. She was ashamed to admit that she wanted to keep looking but that was so inappropriate. Soundlessly she closed the door and took a deep breath. She was fine.

Alone in her bedroom, Agnes took a shaky breath. Sitting on the edge of her bed, she couldn’t help her eyes slipping back door, the very thin door that separated herself from Rebecca. It was still so strange to imagine that stretched out on her couch was her ex, a person whom she hadn’t had such thoughts on for several years. And yet, right now, she almost wished that the door was nonexistent – along with the ring on her finger. She gulped and shook her head. She should focus on getting to bed.

It was only a few short moments later that Agnes had changed attire and was now dressed comfortable in boy short panties of rich purple and an oversized top that hung off one shoulder. It was a warm evening so she was dressed for comfort, despite the guest on the other side of her door. However, just as she climbed into bed and reached for her nightstand, a silent curse left her lips.

Her phone was still out in the living room. It was habit for Agnes to have it next to her when she slept, just in case she needed to use it as a distraction on sleepless nights. She bite her lip, looking between her bed and the door. Maybe she should just try one night without it? She didn’t want to disturb Rebecca or cat. While it seemed like she should have given it a shot, in the end, Agnes caved. It was an addiction, okay? She needed her phone – even if half the time she didn’t know how to use the cursed thing.

With silent footfalls she stepped to her door and very carefully began to pull it open. It was soundless as it pulled open. Peeking her head outside, she stared into the darkness and spied the still form of Rebecca lying, stretched out on the couch. Closing the door behind her to keep the kitten from getting into her room, Agnes crept across the floor on silent footfalls. She couldn’t see Rebecca’s face in the dark but she wasn’t moving. She had to be asleep, right?

Her eyes straining, she spotted a glint of plastic and glass on the table – her phone. With a gulp, she crept over, her back to Rebecca as she bent over to snatch up her phone. Her addiction safe in hand, Agnes straightened up and headed back for her bedroom, tucking a few strands of hair behind her ear. Just as she opened the door to sleep inside, she stopped and looked back out towards the sofa. Under her breath she whispered a soft ”Good night…” to the unseen form of her ex and stepped inside her room.

She’d feel better once the sun rose.