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I somewhat stumble into the flat, trying not to look as exhausted as I feel. After a week of final exams, I just need a break. I make my way into the room that Simon and I share, shed my schoolbag, jacket, and trainers, and flop onto the bed. Or, rather, I attempt to flop onto the bed. I feel a sharp pain across my cheek and let out a yelp as I fall backwards onto the floor. I jump back up to my feet and dust myself off. A ragged bundle of brown fur fluffs up at me and hisses. Just as I’m coming up with the perfect spell for the situation, Simon wanders into the room. Clearly, he had just come from the shower. Glistening and wearing only a towel tied loosely about his waist, I think Crowley, how is anyone allowed to look that good? I forget about the cat entirely for a brief moment, until I notice the beast visibly calm at the sight of him.
“Hey love! How was uni?” he asks brightly. I swallow as he bends down to rummage through a drawer for some clothes and shake my head slightly to refocus on the matter at hand.
“Why the fuck is there a cat in my bed?”
“Our bed,” he corrects me with a grin. We had only been living together a couple of weeks since Bunce moved to America with her fiancé. “and isn’t she the cutest!” His smile is now comically wide. I swear, he’ll be the death of me. He reaches down a hand to pet the still bristling feline. She immediately calms and butts her head into his waiting palm with a happy purr.
“That doesn’t explain why this animal is in our flat.” I snarl, glaring at the cat.
“She’s not an anim—well I guess she is…but just look at her! She’s soo sweet!” My boyfriend picks the cat up and dangles her in front of me by the arms like that scene Lion King. Before I can make a witty remark, the cat hisses and takes another swipe at my nose. I’m a bit surprised, but react in time to dodge before the claws make contact.
“That animal has got. To. Go.” I scowl.
“You haven’t tried to get to know her yet” Simon pouts, his lower lip jutting out as he pulls the cat in close, cradling her against his bare chest. The cat nuzzles against him, looking all too innocent.
“I think I know her well enough” I snap, gesturing to the scratches on my cheek. I push past Simon and the cat, who he’s still cradling like an infant, and storm into the living room. I lay down on the couch to try to relax, but I’m still to agitated to fall asleep.
A few moments later after putting on some clothes, my boyfriend makes his way over to the couch. He crouches down next to my head. I start to turn to face him but he says, “No, hold still”. I hear the crinkle of paper are he gently puts a band aide on my cheek to cover the scratches. He puts a gently kiss over the band-aide, and stands up. He lifts my feet up and puts them in his lap as he sits down on the couch. He starts giving me a gentle foot rub, and I look up at him. His wings and tail are drooping a little.
“What is it, love?” I murmur, sitting up to get closer to him.
He chews on his lip before saying, “I know you’ve been stressed with exams and all, and I’m sorry that I surprised you, but does— does Ebb really have to go?”
“Who?”
“Ebb.” He says, pointing at the brown cat that had just meandered into the room. My heart melts at both the name he’s chosen for her and how sad he seems at the thought of her leaving. I place a soft kiss on his forehead. “I know she scratched you—I’m sorry she did. I don’t want to see you hurt. Ever.” he frowns “But it just—it gets so lonely all day. I know you’re working hard at uni, and I’m so proud of you, but since Pen moved to America…” he trails off seemingly searching for words. My heart is an absolute puddle at this point. When had I gotten so soft? You’ve always been soft when it comes to him, you numpty.
I wrap him in my arms and rest my chin on his head “I guess…” I murmur grudgingly into his curls, “…the cat can stay.” He jumps up, shit-eating grin back in place.
“Thankyouthankyouthankyou!” he cheers. He’s so happy that his tail is wagging violently, knocking the remote off the coffee table. Then, Ebb rubs herself against his ankles, grabbing his attention. Simon bends down, scoops up Ebb, and dances around the flat with her. She flips her ears back, but allows it. “You’re going to live here Ebb! I’m gonna play with you, and feed you, and you’ll to sleep in our bed every night!”
I close my eyes and groan. Simon hears me and walks over to the couch. “Here, you’re going to have to get to know her.” He declares as he dumps her on my lap. My eyes widen and I flinch as the cat lands claws first on my right leg. Ebb has immediately hisses at me and jumps down, but Simon scoops her back up and turns her so they’re looking eye-to-eye.
“No, no, no Ebby, you need to be nice to Baz!” she growls and flips her ears back. Simon leans in close to her and whispers, “I know he seems like a prick.”
“I can hear you, you know”
Simon ignores me and goes on, “but he’s a big sweetie and I love him very much. Please Ebby?” the cat snorts, jumps down, and leaves the room. Simon frowns slightly, and plops himself back down next to me. I wrap my arm around his shoulders and he leans into me.
“Let’s watch some telly, yeah?”
“Yeah” he says, snuggling in closer.
After a while, I wake up. We had both fallen asleep to Worst Cooks in America (I’ve told Simon many times we could make a killing if we signed him up) , and feel something wiggle on my lap. At first I think it’s Simon, but I look down to see Ebb’s yellow eyes blinking up at me. She flips her ears back. I reach a tentative hand down towards her. She glares at it apprehensively. I stay still. That must have been the right thing to do, because after a few moments she sniffs it. Then, she rubs her cheek against my palm. I blink at her in surprise, and then pat her head gently. After a minute or two, she starts to purr. I gently stroke her, and the tension melts.
"You're not so bad, are you?" I whisper. She huffs at me as if to say, "Well, obviously." She burrows further into my lap, and I pat her until she falls asleep. I follow soon after. That is, until I'm woken by my shouting boyfriend.
“Holy shit! What the fuck is that smell?” is the first thing Simon says as he wakes up.
I blink slowly, and sniff the air hesitantly. Aleister Crowly it smells like— “Simon, you did pick up a litter box, right?” I feel my boyfriend stiffen, and groan. “You’re cleaning it up, Snow.”
“That’s fair” He gets up to take care of the mess, and Ebb jumps onto my lap. I chuckle and scratch her behind the ears.
“Don’t worry, we’ll get you all sorted out.” I murmur to the cat, “You’re going to be with us for a long time, Ebb.”