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bang-and-a-blintz · 4 years

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Through the Darkness

CHAPTER FIVE - THEM GATORS

Fandom: Dracula (2020)

Relationship: Dracula/Roxana(OFC)

Rating: Mature

Warnings: None

Word Count: 2,993

The moon had an eerie glow as it casted its light through the drapery of hanging moss and onto the murky waters of the swamp below. It was a heavily hot and humid evening, sweat dripped steadily down her back as Roxana watched the scene before her with disinterest.

Despite the shine of the moon, it was still difficult to see, but what she heard was unmistakable. Garbled shouts along with the occasional high-pitched shriek countered the spine-chilling sounds of crunching bones and tearing flesh. They didn’t last long. Once the screams subsided, the only noises that remained were the occasional splash of water and something akin to a branch snapping every so often.

She could almost hear a distant yet familiar voice rattle off in her head. “Them gators’ll eat up anything you throw em. Meat, muscle, and bones! You name it!”

Suddenly she felt a change in the atmosphere and looked over to see the dark figure of a certain vampire standing on the other side of the dock. Dull thuds from his footsteps echoed around them as he slowly made his way over to stand by her side. For a moment they watched in silence as the alligators had a go at the victims in the bayou.

“You’re not supposed to be here.” She murmured and looked over. He tilted his head down at the blood-filled waters with a small snarl and then set his eyes on her; they were filling with inky black tendrils and glowing the darkest red. In an instant, he was gripping her tightly, his talons digging into the back of her neck, and bending her head to a harsh angle that gave him full access to her jugular.

Dracula flashed her a deadly smile, “On the contrary, my dear, I can do anything I want.”

His descent was swift; she felt the sharp fangs sink into her throat and let her eyes roll back. Sagging into his hold, she felt the darkness open its arms to drink her in.

Roxana woke with a gasp and shot straight up in her bed.

Looking around frantically, she struggled to pinpoint her surroundings and then Fifolet meowed from across the room, jarring her back to reality. She was home and in her room. Safe.

Her next course of action was feeling up and down her neck to make sure the dream was truly just a figment of her imagination. It remained wound-free. She exhaled loudly and collapsed back against her sheets.

The light of the morning sun cut across her room like a lance. Dim shadows danced along the ceiling as her fan spun on and on. It creaked slightly as it bounced back and forth, barely hanging onto its hinges, but all Roxana could hear was the thumping of her own heart.

Just a dream. She sighed and rubbed her eyes. The sounds of the world awake and hustling outside her window gave her just enough motivation to swing her legs over the edge of the bed. The persistence and volume of the cat’s cries grew in earnest as it followed Roxana to the kitchen, positively demanding to be fed and let back outside. When she opened the door, it happily darted underneath the neighbor's house and wouldn’t be seen again until the evening.

There was a slight chill, but the skies were clear and the sun would soon warm up the city enough to make it a pleasant day. She walked back to her room to grab her phone and check the time, it was a still bit early but she didn’t mind. It was then noticed a text notification. The number was unknown but the text below read, in all caps; UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN accompanied by a vampire emoji.

Roxana blinked and put the phone back down. Apparently not all the events of the previous night were a dream.

With another long sigh, she went to the kitchen and started her morning routine. Coffee first, then shower, and then off to run errands.

As she closed and locked up her front door, Roxana took a deep breath of fresh air and smiled. All thoughts of the fanged menace were pushed far from her mind and would be addressed another day. She threw on her sunglasses and strode off towards the streetcar.

——

Dracula loved sunrises. After missing thousands of them, he tried to make a daily effort to watch. He enjoyed spending time memorizing the way the sun would paint the sky with fire before melting down into a sea of pastel purples, pinks, and oranges until the bold blues wiped the other colors and clouds from view. It was especially invigorating after a nice meal.

He dropped the still-warm body to the ground and smacked his lips, bringing his hand up to wipe a smidge of blood from the corner of his mouth. A finely aged thirty-something man who was five years sober and treated his body like a temple. Slightly tangy, but not as bad as Dracula had expected. Almost like a healthy smoothie.

As they say, breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

The blood pooled a little around the body, sinking into the wooden floorboards, and the apartment began to creak and moan. Dracula rolled his eyes, “Yes, another one, get over it. You lot should have enough souls to get a real party going in here, so cheer up, hm?”

A window shudder snapped close to his left and a couple of doors slammed rather loudly down the hall. He could hear chains faintly rattling in the far bedroom but paid no mind.

“As always, you’ll find no pity from me.” He addressed the room and the house gave one last protest in the form of a teacup flying by his head, shattering against the wall. Dracula raised a brow but remained unmoved. “Bloody haunted houses.”

He pulled out his cell phone and dialed his servant’s number while walking to the other side of the apartment. Renfield answered on the first ring, “Good morning, my lord.”

“I need you to dispose of a body.”

“Oh, al-already?”

Dracula glanced back at the face-down corpse sprawled out by the couch.

“Why, have something more important to do?” He turned back to the window that peered out over Jackson Square. Watching all the artists begin to set up their carts and tables and tricks and instruments and anything they could to make some sort of salvageable living. “I will say, this one was a tad bit messy. He was a fighter.”

“I think he taught jiu-jitsu by the lakefront, sir.”

“Ah, that’s it. Was just on the tip of my tongue.” Dracula liked the rush of tapping the veins of a martial artist. It tasted of perseverance, power, and control; maybe a slight hint of unadulterated anger towards someone...Dracula licked his lips in thought, oh there it is, the man was mad about his ex. Well that’s disappointingly anti-climactic, he mused.

The count’s attention was drawn to a familiar figure now weaving through the maze of workshops below. Roxana Van Helsing. He watched as she made her rounds through the throngs of artists and palm readers and tarot card fortune-tellers; all the while smiling so brightly and greeting various people as she made her way towards the river. It seemed that she knew nearly every regular who set up shop in the square. She hugged some of the tarot card and palm readers, waved at the painters as they hung their work on the wrought iron fence, and she even blew a kiss to a man painted black and gold and stood like a statue, but didn’t miss a beat as he caught the flying smooch and sent her a wink in return.

“How interesting...” He murmured, not able to take his eyes off of the woman floating around cheerfully below. After all the pleasantries, she crossed the street and set off towards the French Market.

“My lord?”

He momentarily forgot he was still on the phone. “Nothing. Get over here and take care of this. The flies are starting to gather.”

“But the council - “

“Toss the body in the river or burn it, I don’t care.” Dracula snapped; the council, for lack of a better term, and their pesky rules were starting to grate on his nerves. “Just make sure to stake the poor bastard. The last thing I need right now is Keres pestering me about some monster waking up in the Bahamas or wherever.”

With a not-so-discreet sigh, Renfield acquiesced, “Of course, sir.”

“Be quick about it.” Dracula clicked the end call button and shoved his phone in his pant pocket. Turning on his heel, the count swept out of the apartment and headed the same direction he saw her walking.

It didn’t take long for Dracula to find Roxana purchasing a coffee from one of the stands in the market. He slid into the shadows easily and watched from a distance while she meandered around, chatting with people here and there, looking over all the paintings, sculptures, jewelry, and clothing that were handmade by locals. Her smile was a beam of light that never seemed to fade. It was always there, he noticed curiously, from a large grin to a little smirk, her lips were quirked at all times. Was it genuine? He couldn’t fathom the notion of someone being that happy. Especially mortals. They always complained about something.

Roxana wound herself around the last few stands, exited to the street, and made her way down towards Esplanade. Still maintaining discretion, he followed her along the broken sidewalks all the way into the Marigny, an adorably idiosyncratic suburb just to the east of the quarter.

There was a small church nestled in between some houses with large white picnic tables and canopy pop-ups set up out front. Each table was covered with large catering trays and enormous cooking pots, about six or seven people stood behind it putting on gloves and aprons, and there was a line that went on around the block. Leaning back against a tree, Dracula tilted his head as he observed her embrace what looked to be the woman in charge and then put on the proffered apron and gloves. Roxana took over one of the stations and started to dish out plates of red beans and rice.

One by one, she asked them how their day was and would give them a bowl, wishing them well. Everyone was friendly to each other; those in need were visibly grateful and those supplying were simply content to help in any way they could.

A strange sight for the old vampire, it had been a good long while since he had seen such compassion.

Dracula wasn’t sure how long he watched Roxana, but once the crowd started to dwindle down to the last few homeless folk in search of a warm meal, the sun had already begun its descent into the afternoon.

The volunteers packed up the tables and dishes and trash into a few truck beds before giving out another round of hugs and bidding one another farewell. Roxana waited for the last truck to leave until she put on her light jacket and turned to make her own departure. He figured that was about as good a moment as any to make an appearance and was instantly by her side.

“Fancy seeing you here - “ Dracula began but before he could finish she let out a shriek and jumped nearly a foot in the air. Instinctively, he held out a hand to make sure she didn’t tumble over, but to his surprise, Roxana turned and delivered a solid punch to his chest. Not that it hurt by any means, but the shock of the assault made him take a step back and slacken his jaw in offense.

“Jesus fucking Christ, you can’t do that!” She gripped her chest, frantically trying to control her now racing heart. “Where the hell did you even come from?”

She glared up at him and the ferocity of it made him laugh so she sent another punch to his arm, which made him laugh even harder. He took another step back, dodging more of her blows, and raised his hands in defense. “It was totally worth it, you should’ve seen your face.”

Roxana groaned and ceased fire, “Have you been following me all day?”

The faux-innocence that Dracula's face displayed spoke volumes.

She continued down the sidewalk back towards the quarter, but after a few steps she realized he hadn’t moved. So she turned back with a hand on her hip, “Well? Don’t be shy now, if you’re going to be my shadow then might as well get over here.”

His long legs were quick to shorten the distance between them and matched her pace as they began to walk side by side.

They were quiet for a few blocks, the sounds of cars cruising by, birds chirping around, and dogs barking off in the distance easily filled the void. Dracula noticed she kept stealing glances his way, subtly - he’d give her that - but nonetheless it made him smirk. “I can see there is something you’re just dying to say.”

Roxana hopped over a large crack in the sidewalk before looking back up at him, “How are you here? I mean, in the sunlight, isn’t that supposed to...you know?”

She drew the side of a thumb across her throat mimicking certain death and he grinned.

“Yes, well, it turns out that was just a funny little myth too.” Dracula shrugged casually. She noticed his dark sunglasses, loosely coiffed hair, and easy little smile and decided that he looked entirely too content in the daytime. It was a strange sight to behold a vampire sauntering around under the bright sun. The horror!

“Wait a second.” Roxana stopped in her tracks causing him to slow as well and pivot back in question. Her brow furrowed and he could practically see the wheels spinning in her head. “You mean this is a recent discovery?”

Dracula narrowed his gaze suspiciously, not knowing where she was going with this, “In comparison to how long I was unaware? Yes.”

“Did you ever check?”

“Check what?”

“You know, to see if it would actually burn you.” A large cicada buzzed and crackled as it flew by. “Like maybe sticking a pinkie finger out in the light? Test the waters?”

The nerve in his jaw ticked as Dracula clenched his teeth and stared at her for a moment, unreadable behind the Ray Bans he wore.

“No, huh?” Rocana burst out laughing, “So you spent, what, four hundred years without any sort of proof that you would become a batty barbecue?”

“You’re enjoying this.” His arms were crossed over his chest now and he boasted a very unimpressed glare.

“You just shaved off ten years of my life with that stunt back there, payback is justified.”

“I could take off quite a few more years than that, my dear.” He said while stepping closer, but his bark lacked its normal bite.

She patted his arm, “Oh lighten up, cher, I’m just messing around.”

Despite the irritation that she brought out of him, Dracula found that he didn’t mind their banter, it was refreshing to be around someone who challenged him again. He still didn’t care for what she pointed out; he felt ridiculous enough about the whole ordeal and needn’t a reminder of his foolish mistakes.

“Anyways,” They continued walking, “While I have you, I’d like to know more about this whole soirée coming up, what exactly is that all about?”

“Well, I’m afraid I don’t know too terribly much, this is sort of my initiation into the council.” He said with slight disgust towards the idea. As if the mere thought of him having to go through a trial just to be part of something was beyond absurd. “Before you ask - because I know you will - the council is the organization that deals with maintaining the city’s supernatural and mortal order.”

“There must be a lot of supernatural folk for a council to have been formed.”

“Oh you have no idea!” He laughed as her eyebrows shot up. “A lot more than even I was aware of before moving here, that’s for sure.”

“All vampires?’

“No, not all, but quite a few of us.”

“Are there werewolves?”

“Why, do you prefer dogs? I thought you were one of those crazy cat ladies.” He smirked as she pushed his arm. “No, no wolves down here, it’s far too hot for those beasts. I have heard of a swamp creature, but have not seen one yet myself. Sounds exciting though.”

“Oh, really?” Roxana's mouth turned into a frown as she looked down in concern, almost muttering to herself. “I should probably warn Memaw. Oh who am I kidding, she has her voodoo for protection, she won’t listen to me.”

“I’m sorry - your what?”

They came to a stop at a traffic light and waited to cross the street. Roxana forgot he was there for a moment and her head shot up, giggling a little at his confusion, “‘Memaw’? Means ‘grandmother’. It doesn’t matter. Hey, I’m starving, want to grab some food with me? There’s a great spot just around the corner.”

At the mention of eating, Dracula looked down at her neck and licked his lips, damn did it look appetizing. It was a good thing he was wearing sunglasses and she couldn’t see the hunger that darkened his eyes. “Roxana, my dear, I would be delighted.”

Taglist:

@festering-queen @vissidarte213 @moony691 @torntaltos

#through the darkness #dracula bbc #dracula x ofc #somehow i accidentally deleted the whole thing?#my bad #now it's up again whoooo!#i don't know how to tumblr i feel old #i decided i don't like how i ended this chapter oh well i'll attempt to make the next one better #cause that's all you can do amirite #ALRIGHT ONWARD

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savrenim · 6 years

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I keep almost opening tumblr to write a Big Long Post About My Life Because Goddamnit This Place Used To Be My Diary Until Suddenly I Got Involved In The H*milton Fandom And A Whole Bunch Of Strangers Started Following Me, and then, like. suddenly got more self-conscious. as well as better at dealing with stuff in my life so I haven’t really felt the need to vent, when did I become a semi-responsible semi-functional adult. but you know what? what the hell. there are things that I actually vaguely do want to vent about because dear gods has my life Been Ridiculous of late.

I am approximately 3/4 the person that I used to be? which is a dramatic way of stating that I used to be about 200lbs, I didn’t actually know because in theory I’ve aggressively avoided scales since high school because I used to have pretty bad anorexia and then orthorexia and binge eating then, it got better after I decided I don’t care about anything physical and just cut off all thoughts about anything like that and refused to acknowledge anything more than following the rule of eating three meals a day, but in practice I go to the doctor yearly and can access my medical records online and every once in a while can check with a friend and being steady over the last year or two meant that I was about 200lbs.

I was 153lbs the last time I checked, and I’ve been checking weekly just to make sure that I Don’t Keep Drastically Losing Weight, because this has all been since March. not even the beginning of March, the second half of March. I almost definitely lost thirty pounds in a month, a month and a half. and then have at least been losing weight more slowly after that? it has been fucking insane and I hated every second of it, wheeeee. (what happened in March was I got sick with the flu, couldn’t eat for a week, lost a fair bit of weight from that, and then my appetite/taste buds solidly shifted after only eating lentil soup back to super healthy vegetarian rice and beans and what-not that I’d been eating at the beginning of the school year, instead of take-out type deal, and I was actually getting sleep and going to more Tai Chi and every other week my car was breaking down so I was walking places a bunch and sudden lots of exercise + change in diet + not as stressed as first semester and getting sleep actually is a fairly healthy way to lose weight?)

but boooooy did it freak me out when I suddenly fit into jeans from the start of college that I had kept thinking I’d never fit into them again because Holy Fuck All Of My I’m Starving And Am Going To Die instincts kicked in and all of my actual close friends are online friends which meant besides one comment from a Tai Chi instructor directly after I’d been out for three weeks from slowly recovering from the flu (which actually was the nicest way anyone has ever commented on my weight, it was an “oh you’ve lost weight” “yeah I had the flu pretty bad, that’s where I’ve been for three weeks, couldn’t eat for a week and have been slowly getting back to solid meals” “oh yeah that really sucks, happened to a friend of mine last year, I think there are still pictures it’s scary” instead of a well you look good response, Thomas P is great and I love him) but absolutely no one was commenting and it made me feel like I was going crazy and I had no idea how much I weighed so how much I should be freaking out and no data even to compare that against, which was why I eventually broke and got a scale so that I could at least have datapoints and figure out when I was steady again because gods I just wanted to be steady

and, like, that was one of the literal worst parts of losing weight in high school, it was ballooning from 100lbs to 200lbs and all the not-so-subtle judgement from my mother when I came back various breaks during college and the number of times I had to threaten not to come back at all if she so much as commented on my weight so she found other ways of commenting about “why are you skipping aikido tonight, you only have so many times to go to the studio before you’re back east,” and, like, the constant fight of her either deciding to pay for my food or that she wouldn’t pay for any of it because I ate too much of it, and then, like. after having lost so much weight needing to get new bras and honestly some new clothes despite the fact that I haven’t bought fitted clothes since the very start of college because I’ve just been so fucking afraid of my weight ballooning again and not being able to fit into anything, considering I don’t really have money to drop on a new wardrobe as I get everything as cheap as possible or hand-me-down anyways and then wheeee that brought up all the shitty memories from high school where my mother refused to get me a new uniform when I weighed too much for my old one so I spent a year squeezing into skirts that left imprints on my waist and wearing long sweaters to cover the fact that I couldn’t zip them up, and, like. suddenly losing weight also triggered the fear of am I going to gain it all back then more and be stuck with a wardrobe that even though it was designed loose in the first place, still won’t fit me, which is ridiculous because I’m steadying out and it’s not like my diet or patterns are going to change again, just. gods have these past few months brought up a fair bit of past trauma and I a little bit wish more people had reached out to me and responded but I bugged the right people and they hella listened and made sure enough that old instincts and old fears didn’t get involved and, like. I like this body? I’m more flexible and my balance is a bit better and I can punch differently but just as well and I need to get used to groundfighting and throws with it but lack of mass is made up for in other ways. gods I love Tai Chi and it is the one thing that has kept me sane through all of this because no matter what my body looks like the thing that’s been most important to me is that physically, I’m dangerous, and that’s not about weight. that’s about strength, that’s about training, I’m in that studio now eight hours a week because that is the maximum number of classes they have for adults and I can practice on my own and just. the one time that I feel fiercely okay and goddamn happy about the fact that I have a physical form is knowing that if someone messes with me, I can defend myself, and proving it to myself over and over and over.

but yeah that’s been going on.

then there are the kittens can you tell how much my life has been made better by the kittens, I love these kittens so much, the story behind the kittens is that I saw a cat meowing outside, thought it was a stray kitten because of how small and starving it looked but knocked on doors to see if it belonged to any of my neighbors before I just took it to a vet type deal, and it belonged to the woman behind the first door I knocked on, who asked me why, do you want her, which I thought was weird, then said woman shouted at me from her window as I was taking out trash that seriously, this cat just had three kittens, she needed money and to get rid of them, was I interested in buying any of them off her, I was just going to get Talvus and then it was a combo of “she gave me the kitten at 4 weeks which then I couldn’t get him to eat anything because he hadn’t been weaned yet and kittens can’t be separated from the rest of their litter until 12 or 13 weeks or they don’t socialize correctly” that just. waaaasn’t good. as well as the other two kittens were adorable and I’d named them and it seemed for a little while like my girlfriend might be able to take one so I went “listen just give me all three at 8 weeks once they’re weaned and I’ll take it from there”

and I’m so fucking glad I did this

she was keeping all three of them in a cage most of the time, they weren’t using her litter box because she was barely cleaning it so she was surprised to hear they weren’t peeing all over my house, I’m actually taking them to get vaccinated and spayed/neutered which I can only afford because the Friends of Animals program exists but also, holy fuck have I been spending a lot of my savings between kittens and needing to drive everyone everywhere so a whole bunch of tolls and gas money to my fiance staying with me for a bit but that both meant buying more expensive groceries than I usually do because she eats meat as well as a whole bunch of errands to run and little things that add up (and then she got strep and just. it was a nightmare.)

right my car has been breaking down too, that’s been exciting, thank you my grandfather for dying and leaving enough inheritance-wise that I have been able to afford getting a different used car despite wheee leaking money left and right this summer but fixing up this one consistently because if I don’t I’m even More Fucked despite it not being worth it has legitimately burned through a solid quarter of my savings. like. I don’t have the right to say that I’m worried about money because I do still have some savings and a stipend coming in each month from research that pays for food and groceries so it’s not like it’s gotten tight so much as I have had to just deal with savings exist because sometimes emergencies come up and you Gotta Spend Them and hopefully I’ll save more next year and having a car that doesn’t break down every other month is going to help

considering the old car is in now perfect working condition I’m giving it to a friend of mine for $300 with the stipulation that if it breaks down at all over the next year I will refund them any of that $300 that they don’t make selling it to a junkyard because I didn’t want to waste a perfectly fine working car and my friends are even more poor than me I just. also am hemorrhaging money left and right and gods maybe that will help.

my fiance and I figured out that we’re probably never going to live together. from a combination of we have very, very different schedules to she needs so much structure in her life that slowly wears away at my spoons to not even give it to her but to re-arrange my own schedule and contribute to the logistics of her making it happen for herself, like, I can sit at the table in my apartment and work for eight hours on research and pause because there’s food in my kitchen to grab a thing to eat, she needed to go to a coffee shop every morning to be able to concentrate because if it wasn’t going out with a goal of doing something and being somewhere she wouldn’t be able to concentrate and it would mess up the entire day, which, like. wasn’t terrible because I usually walk for coffee anyways and can work anywhere but having that be a Necessary Logistic that I Have To Push For In The Morning Because God Help Anyone Who Tries To Wake The Sleeping Dragon (even though said sleeping dragon prefers to be on schedules where she wakes up at 6:30am, unlike my usual 10:00am, and we tried to compromise for 8:30am but guess who was the one who was always up first because I actually listen to my alarm and then dear gods is it stressful to wake people up)

(as well as this is not all her, it is also me, like. I need everything to be perfectly organized in terms of logistics so if someone hasn’t eaten yet it will bug me so I will ping them every half an hour of “you’ve forgotten to eat lunch, can we make lunch happen for you,” or there is a very specific state of clean that I need the apartment to be, or I’m incredibly antisocial at times, I can’t deal with someone touching me or fall asleep next to them if I’m stressed or if it’s hot so spent a couple of nights on the couch, as well as I’m picky about exactly the way the chores get done so needed to do all of them, the tl;dr is I think I have discovered my ideal living situation is living alone, at least most of the time and maybe having a house to visit on weekends, because I love her and love to spend time with her but also need a lot of space and long periods of quiet to do the work that I need to get done)

which, like

absolutely none of this is detrimental to our actual plans for our relationship, considering our actual plans are “we both are very busy people, she actually does have a group of people that she lives with very very well and that actively work well into her schedule, I have my kittens and my math and my facetime and my weekends with people, and the basis of our relationship is the commitment and the external alliance and the face that we present the world as well as the fun of getting to be gay and go on cute dates every once in a while, it’s not that we live well or lifestyle well together, it’s that we powercouple well together, so pick and choose the things that work and keep those.” which also works really well for she’s thinking of raising kids and I’m probably going to bounce around location-wise in post doc positions for a while before I find somewhere I might be able to settle with tenure, and, like. that’s not a good environment to raise kids in.

(we’re poly. we’re so poly. can you tell how poly we are. it’s one of the things that solidly makes us work, because we don’t have to force the other one to be everything, she’s found someone that she solidly likes that we’re calling prospective duckling papa, I also solidly like this person, so. kids might actually be a thing on the actual horizon, although probably not in the house that I’m spending most of my time, so that’s interesting. and terrifying. and expensive. and hopefully at least five years away.)

and then also I...finally had a conversation with a friend that I’ve been meaning to have for a while? that I really hope and I really think I did get across the whole “I care about our friendship the way that society mostly expects people to care about and be committed to romantic relationships, which is almost why it’s weird to just call you a friend which is why we are having this conversation, not because I Am In Romantic Love With You Again” of basically just “considering I’ve been thinking about and mapping out the actual relationships in my life and the ones that are steady and that are going to stick around, you know that I love you, right, and that you’re one of the ones that I really really want to stick around” and, like

gods do I love this person so much. and just....the role they have played in my life over the years? the way that I can talk to them and the things that I can talk to them about and share with them and math and physics and stories and DnD stories because gods do I rant about that to anyone who will listen and they get it pretty bad, oops, but they put up with it. and just the sum of who they are to me right now? is one of the most important people in my life. and I get so self-conscious of “but do I mean anything back to you at all, of course no one cares about me and this is Entirely One Sided but that’s okay I’ve always been the person who was going to jump in front of the bullet because I go more intense than other people” but, like. besides the friends that actively know that they are surrogate siblings to me. There’s my fiance, that I trust actually loves me as much as I love her, because we are very gay and we talk about it all the time. There’s another friend that is actually one of the few people that I’m physically comfortable with because both (a) he is as asexual as me so I can actually make out or cuddle with him while knowing that there is zero interest in sex happening in the encounter, and (b) has spent years slowly setting boundaries and slowly negotiating comfort levels together and has been an amazing friend and fantastic part of my life in other ways and, like, so yeah, I love him, and he’s well aware of that, and he loves me, and I’m not self-conscious about that, but, just.

there is this part of me that always goes “nope you don’t matter to people” or at least the people that matter to me unless I have Lots Of Data to back it up and you know what I have fucking data to back this one up and this person explicitly told me that they care about me too

and it bothers me to love a person a bunch and then go “but oh gods I need to be so careful and delicate about saying it because what if They Get The Wrong Message and I don’t want to make things awkward on their end” which also is complete bullshit because this person has heard me talk about how I think and feel about things for years so if anyone is going to actually know that I’m not lying or sidestepping the truth in what I mean when I say I love them it’s going to be them but just. I guess time to build up the confidence that it is okay to directly express how much I care about this person the way that I have gotten comfortable expressing the way I care about other people in my inner circle because at least now I have their word that they know, they’re okay with it, they care about me right back too type deal

and that is all the drama that has been going on in my life

#my life #weight loss for tw #shitty family for tw #past eating disorder mention for tw #come listen to me rant about my relationships and sort-of problems if you want #none of those problems are related to the weight loss by the way #that's a separate problem #woot woot #you know what #fox tag #because why not actually throw something in there associated with the person that it was originally made for instead of the in-joke #that the pictures of foxes became #gods it feels good to actually vent

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sour--strawberries · 6 years

Text

Meow Cafe, part 12

fandom: Stony (Steve x Tony)

universe: Figaro universe, cat cafe!au - Tony works as a barista in a cat cafe and Steve is totally smitten by him and Tony’s overly fluffy cat, Figaro

summary: The big opening of the new Meow Cafe is finally happening!

length: 5 791 words

warnings: this fic belongs to Figaro universe, not focused on tickling, but has some from time to time (some this time)

a/n: FINAL CHAPTER IS HERE! I hope you like it and look at the end for a special surprise! if you enjoyed this series, remember to like, reblog and send me your final thoughts, would love to hear how you liked this love and cat story!

———–

Meow Cafe, part 12

(part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8, part 9, part 10, part 11)

The work on new Meow Cafe was going smoothly and after another month it was fully furnished and equipped, sparkling new and clean, ready to accept cats and customers. Yet, the final and hardest test remained the one that would define everything.

"He is coming! He is coming!" Janet jumped away from the window, almost entangling herself in the curtains in the process. "The inspector is coming!!" she shrilled, cheeks becoming flushed from the nervous atmosphere.

"Calm down, Jan," Bruce advised, standing behind the bar, next to Pepper who was sipping some coffee.

"What if he won't like the cafe?! What if we did something wrong?! We will have to start all over again!!" Janet panicked further, skipping to Bruce and flailing arms in panic.

"He will like it, we did everything fine---"

"AND WHAT IF WE DIDN'T?!" Janet roared, grabbing Bruce by the collar and almost dragging him out from the bar area. Before Pepper had to intervene, there was a gentle sound of a bell ringing, indicating that someone pushed the door open. The inspector arrived.

"Hi!" Janet immediately let go of Bruce and turned around, her angry scowl turning into a welcoming smile. The girl needed only one second to change her mood dramatically. There was probably some medical term for that, but it wasn't important. "Welcome to Meow Cafe!"

The inspector seemed unfazed. He put his nose up and sniffed, still smelling some of the paint. Tony and Steve walked behind the inspector and smiled nervously at the crew gathered near the bar area.

"Glad you could find time for us," Pepper smiled, greeting their guest. "Janet will show you around," she said, needing to find the over-energetic girl some task, or she might kill them all.

"Of course!" Janet nodded enthusiastically, and the tour started.

The inspector took his time and went meticulously through every inch of Meow Cafe. The new furniture was met with approval, soft and inviting both for cats and humans. The big window had a nice warm spot where the sun was shining, perfect for naps. The new cat shelves were great, placed all over the cafe, with some tunnels between them for double the fun, all in nice, pastel, bright colors and with soft carpet on the top for double kitty comfort. The inspector tested the cat door leading to the cat room, full of cat beds and bowls and more shelves, and a comfy, old couch near the wall, Bruce found on a yard sale. The best was left for last. The playground. It had to be tested to accommodate all kitty needs and shapes and weights and ages, and the inspector examined every toy and shelf and cushion and every scratch pole. It took long, nervous minutes and everyone was getting anxious, trying to hold it in and not rush anything. In the end, the inspector came back to the bar area, looking as mysterious as when the tour started.

"Can I interest you in something to drink?" Janet asked friendly, hoping that it will earn them some additional points.

One, slowly drank, bowl of milk later, the inspector looked around the new cafe and sat his fluffy butt down on the floor. The moment was prolonging and Figaro licked around his mouth, getting the last drops of milk. Immediately, everyone looked to Tony, who had been sitting on the couch with Steve, waiting for translation.

Tony, trying to not choke on his own laughter, knowing how serious everyone was treating the situation, smiled and spread his arms. "He likes it!" he announced.

The Meow Cafe's crew cheered and Figaro closed his eyes in content. Yes, he could imagine his cat friends being comfortable in this new place.

***

"Hi! Welcome! So glad you could come!"

Steve was leaning against the bar and he couldn't keep the smile out of his face. Finally, the day came and it was the grand opening of the new Meow Cafe. Tomorrow, the cafe would be open for all customers while this was the opening for friends and family and people who adopted the cafe's pupils. Steve saw Pepper talking to the older couple, a marriage that had adopted his favorite Little Eye, Blondie and Crazeh, and chatting with the girl with blue eyes and dark bangs, one that gave a home to Shandi. Near the playground and watching the cats inside were three girls plus Janet, excitedly cooing over the cats and commenting how cute they were. Steve didn't know their names, but guessed that the chubby one with long, wavy hair in the middle was the one who adopted Cow, on her right was a girl with asymmetric hair in an unusual rusty orange color, Ariel's owner, and at the left was the one with long blond hair, tied in a bun, and by the hair, Steve made a connection that it was Rapunzel (whose real name still remained unknown), the one who adopted Tsuki. On one of the couches, was Sam and Rhodey, talking to a burly blond, who, as it turned out was neither William or Thud, but Thor, Gizmo's rightful owner, who had brought his brother along, a lanky dark-haired man, staying away from everyone and preferring to put his all attention on the cat in his lap. Steve focused on the cat for a bit. It was a striped tabby with white socks, looking suspiciously similar to Crazeh, although smaller and more muscular, enjoying a long petting session. The new cafe was much bigger than the previous one and could host up to fifteen cats instead of six. Currently, in the cafe was a lucky thirteen of cats. And Steve had to learn the names of all of them.

"That's Cajetan," someone said and Steve looked at Natasha who appeared out of nowhere. As the person who adopted Oliver, she was also invited to the first opening. "He is almost two years old, Bruce says that he is one of the youngest cats here."

Steve nodded and smiled. He could imagine that Bruce was excited as Tony was with all the new cats, but while Tony tend to blab a lot and change from one cat to the other, making it hard to keep track and memorize, Bruce had to be a better source of information.

"Tuma," Natasha pointed up at the cat shelves, where a beautiful tortoiseshell girl was looking down at everyone with her yellow-green eyes. "Pi Shu," on a shelf just below Tuma was another cat, this one resembling Cow a little bit, also black and white and green-eyed, looking at everyone suspiciously, "watch out for her, she gives love bites."

Steve laughed, not at all bothered by kitty love bites. Maybe in the past he did consider it a problem, but not anymore.

"Oh, and there is Zeus," Natasha smiled at the lean cat, a mix of calico and Siamese with unusually bright blue eyes sprinting between their legs to get to the cat's room. "Chased by Little Girl," she laughed, when a grayish-white blur followed Zeus, as both cats were playing with each other. "And there is my favorite, Clawson," Natasha's voice softened and she pointed at the window sill, where stretched out was a big, orange cat, the senior of the group, reaching almost fifteen years old, as finding homes for senior cats was still an important mission for Meow Cafe. Steve saw a resemblance to Oliver and it became clear why this particular cat became Nat's favorite. Maybe if things turn out well, Oliver will get a brother.

"Hey, you almost got them all," Steve looked at his friend, grateful for the short introduction.

"Yeah, almost," Natasha leaned out a little bit, seeing Clint, sitting on the floor and dangling a mouse on a stick in front of two cats, a honey striped cat, and an orange tabby. Izzy and Menina. Izzy was a four years old boy and Menina was an older lady, almost fourteen, but was as playful and energetic as the three times younger Izzy. Clint was laughing and looked perfectly happy, observing cats attempt to get the mice, and sometimes letting them nibble on the toy.

Steve counted the cats they saw so far. Two in the cat's room, six in the cafe area. That meant, that five more were somewhere around. His eyes went to the playground and he saw a small black cat, happily napping on one of the pillows.

"That's Kashi, right?" Steve asked Natasha, trying to remember some of the cats on his own. From what Tony told him, Kashi was a very shy kitty lady and preferred to stay in the playground area, approaching everyone with caution.

"Yeah, it is," Natasha confirmed, and laughed at a gray cat, walking back and forth through one of the tunnels, looking very happy, until the calico one with bright yellow eyes decided to make a surprise and jump on the tunnel, temporarily cutting off the entrance, until the cat wiggled out backwards, to the amusement of the three girls observing the cats. Poor Fezzick, attacked by Lina. Seemed that the younger cats had no respect for their older colleagues. Speaking of younger cats, on numerous fluffy pillows and gently pawing a toy mouse was Amber, gray and with golden eyes, the baby of the cat group, reaching one year. "I think that Celia is also in the playground---"

"Do you need anything?"

"We are good, Bruce," Natasha smiled at her unofficially second boyfriend. Bruce's hair seemed even curlier than usual, as he was rushing in the bar area, pouring coffee after coffee for all of their guests. Even his glasses seemed steamed.

"BRUCE!" Janet roared, appearing suddenly in the bar area, and leaning in to see how the coffee making was going, an empty tray propped against her hip, almost falling to the ground. Immediately, Bruce started to slap her away gently, because Pepper didn't approve of jumping against the sparkly new bar and chipping the paint off. "Our guests need coffee!"

"And we need more cake!" Tony yelled, waltzing past the small group, swiftly collecting empty coffee cups left on the tables. The coffee place was becoming more crowded, as more people who adopted the cats over the two years of Meow Cafe existence were showing up. Pepper basically stood by the door and greeted the new groups, guiding them briefly over the cafe before resuming her position.

"Hi, handsome!"

Steve yelped, and jumped up a little bit, when someone, undoubtedly Tony, while circling and collecting plates and cups, playfully slapped his ass. He only saw Tony's grin as his barista walked away to bus some tables.

"Then you two should come here and help me," Bruce replied through clenched teeth in a deep voice, keeping a low profile, unlike his colleges. Steve had to admit, that the seemingly harmless brunet seemed a lot more threatening out of sudden.

"You have help!" Jan exclaimed, stacking the coffee cups on a tray. "We left you with the new guy!"

New guy? Steve sipped his coffee, looking more alert. Tony didn't tell him that the person who was supposed to fill in for him started the job.

"NEW GUY! Move it!" Jan yelled, almost jumping over the bar and again, but being held back by Bruce.

"I am coming, I am coming!"

The door leading to the kitchen opened, and Steve's eyes widened when he saw a familiar figure with about dozen plates with neatly cut pieces of carrot cake.

"Bucky?!" Steve exclaimed, or would have, if he didn't have a mouthful of coffee and the liquid spilled from his mouth and trickled down his chin. Luckily, Natasha was alert and pressed a napkin to his mouth before any coffee could reach his shirt, but Steve still heard Tony's pearly laughter somewhere in the distance. For being such a neat person in general, Steve was a huge spiller.

"As for a place that's supposed to be relaxing, you guys are awfully nervous," Bucky grumbled, making his way out of the bar, sporting a Meow Cafe apron worn over black jeans and buttoned shirt, "hi Nat, Steve. Have some cake," Bucky smiled cheekily and slid two plates over the bar. Once again it was up to Natasha to save the moment and catch both plates, as Steve was still too stunned to move.

"Less chit chat more work!" Janet urged, putting some cups of coffee on the empty place on the tray. "Our guests are waiting for coffee! You need to step up your game if you want to work here, you have some big shoes to fill in! Well, metaphorically big shoes, because Tony has tiny feet---"

Steve saw Bucky quickening his pace, clearly escaping from chattering Janet, who followed him closely, talking his ears off. Bucky working at a cat cafe. That was something Steve didn't expect. Clearly, Bucky's fondness for cats ran deeper than Steve thought…

"Let's go and sit," Natasha gently bumped shoulders with Steve's and pushed two plates with cakes into his hands, as she took their coffee. They went to the couch, the same one where Sam, Rhodey and Thor were sitting on, leaving Bruce on coffee duty and giving him some off time. Steve glanced at the back, and saw Tony making his way into the bar area, and taking out clean coffee cups out of the washing machine. Seemed that he won't be able to spend any time with Tony today… After all, it was the opening, a big day for everybody.

When Steve and Natasha made it to the couch, Bucky was serving the last pieces of cake, the very last one going to Sam.

"Saved you the biggest one, doll," he winked at his boyfriend and Sam beamed a proud smile.

"You managed to lose Janet?" Natasha asked with a teasing grin, sitting in the big armchair.

"She stopped to play with Cajetan and talk to that weird, sad kid," Bucky explained.

"That weird kid happens to be my brother," Thor sent Bucky an intimidating look, which lost a lot of threatening power, as the guy stuffed his mouth with carrot cake and had some icing around his lips.

"He is weird," Bucky repeated, totally unfazed.

"I think he is interesting," Natasha smiled, peaking at the man with the small cat in his lap.

"You guys don't seem alike," Steve put in his comment. It was obvious that siblings didn't always resemble each other, but at least they had similarities. Thor, was big and muscled and had a seemingly sunny personality. His brother was smaller in posture, pale and had black hair, and didn't seek company and clearly didn't feel well surrounded by people.

"He is my stepbrother," Thor explained in a small voice, still sounding a bit wounded and sending hurt looks towards Bucky.

"You really shouldn't be the one to judge people! Remember how we met? I gave you five dollars because I thought you were living on the street!" Sam laughed, putting his fork into the carrot cake and taking a bite.

"What?!" everyone exclaimed, as Bucky froze in silent panic.

"You told me you bumped into Sam on a street!" Steve accused Bucky. Another hidden secret. His friend was asking for a long talk.

"You need to tell us!" Natasha smiled wide and evil, crossing her legs for a more comfortable position.

"I am glad to know I wasn't the first one to think he was a homeless guy," Rhodey laughed.

"Believe me, you were not the first one," Steve shook his head. It happened more often than he would like to admit to, but well, that was his best friend.

"There is nothing to tell---" Bucky tried to cut the topic off, but Sam already started.

"I saw him at the subway station. He was sitting on the floor and playing guitar, so I stopped and gave him five dollars to buy himself something warm to eat. And then he used the same five dollars to buy me a coffee--"

"That's basically what I told you!" Bucky explained himself, feeling Steve's angry look.

"You left some parts out," Steve muttered, "and I told you to stop doing that!" he hissed, meaning Bucky's habit of playing guitar in the middle of the city. Bucky claimed that he was entertaining, for Steve, he was asking for trouble. "You will get yourself beaten up one day! Don't walk away when I am talking to you!" Steve kept yelling, as Bucky trotted to serve more coffee, moving his mouth to Steve's words and making faces, mocking him.

"--- and now he has a decent job! My parents keep asking about him and I can finally introduce him!" Sam finished the story, seemingly oblivious to Bucky and Steve's confrontation.

"Guys, better enjoy that carrot cake, we ran out!" Tony called, walking to his group of friends, and collecting the plates and cups he could. "But the honey cake finally cooled down!" he added quickly, noticing Thor's sad puppy look. That guy could eat.

"You started making honey cake again?!" Rhodey called, almost jumping out of his seat. "Dibs on a piece!" he raised his hand up and waved frantically.

"Of course, you will get some, honey bear."

"Oh, so here is the party for all cat people!" someone yelled out.

"Behave," came a deeper and mellow voice.

"Hey, guys! Over here!" Sam raised his hand and waved to the two people standing in the doorway.

It was T'Challa and a friend. They walked to the group, T'Challa in long, broad steps, straight as a board, the other one moved softer, as if almost dancing to some disco music, which wasn't a wrong association as his shirt had a mix logos of old music bands.

"You all know T'Challa already," Rhodey introduced his work colleagues and T'Challa nodded to the group, "and this is Peter," he pointed to the other guy.

"Sup!" Peter clicked his tongue and made a finger gun at the group. He was blond and had some curly hair on top of his head and a light stubble. He was wearing a bomber jacket and jeans, and his style was clearly inspired by the 80s. A total opposite of T'Challa, who was wearing an all black suit, and looked refined and polished. Peter had some rough charm to himself.

"Hi! How is Ramzes?" someone asked, and Steve would focus on that, curious to hear how T'Challa was doing with the loud senior cat, if it wasn't for a whisper next to him.

"Wow, they are hot," Tony gaped at both men, the tray almost slipping out of his hands. What made him grip it back, was Steve's judging look, but what really sent panic down his spine, was the way Rhodey glared at him. Seemed that Tony still didn't learn. "… Hot in here!" Tony corrected himself, closing and opening his mouth in brief panic. "Who wants iced coffee?!" he called into the air, walking away with the tray, cups and plates clinking gently.

Steve should be offended. Yet, at this point, he only smiled to himself and shook his head at his boyfriend's behavior.

"Don't worry," Rhodey said and Steve looked at him, as Rhodey picked up some of the plates Tony left behind, "I know when that idiot is really in love," he stood up, and went to put the plates away.

Steve kept smiling and looked at the piece of carrot cake he was handed earlier, feeling something warm inside. He focused on that and started eating, listening to his friends talking.

***

"Sit down!"

"But---"

"You were standing for the whole day! Sit down!"

"But we need---"

"SIT. DOWN!!"

Pepper raised her hands up in a desperate gesture. Not having any other choice, she plopped down on the couch, obediently staying where her crew had pointed her to. "Here. I am sitting, happy?"

"Yes," Janet beamed, as Bucky and Bruce were cleaning the cafe, joined by Sam, Rhodey and Steve. "We will handle it, you rest!" Janet decided, walking away with Natasha to collect plates and cups from the tables. Clint and Tony were nowhere to be seen, but that probably meant that they were back in the cats' room, refilling the bowls with food and water and cleaning the litter boxes for the night.

The cafe was emptying, their guests already had left and cats were nestling for a night of sleep. Tomorrow would be a new day and cafe would function normally, ready to serve more guests and look for homes for the new cats.

"Did you count the cats?!" Pepper turned around from her place on the couch, when Tony and Clint walked out from the bar area.

"Six!" Tony called back, "seven more to find!"

"I am on it!" Clint took the job and walked to the playground area, ready to play 'spot the cat'.

"Before we turn the bar off, does anyone want something?! Coffee, tea?!" Bruce called and collected some orders, while the rest was cleaning. It didn't take long to clean with so many helpers, and soon the cafe became spotless again, ready for tomorrow.

"Thanks, guys. You all did a great job today," Pepper smiled gratefully as her crew and friends sat around her and the group enjoyed a last cup of coffee, mugs handed out by Clint and Janet.

"Milady, your coffee," Clint said charmingly, offering Natasha a cup of black and strong coffee. "As black and bitter as your soul, just the way you like it," he added with a cheerful grin and Natasha cooed a thank you, taking the cup and gesturing towards Bruce to join them.

Steve held his latte and Tony's double espresso and looked around for his boyfriend. He saw him at the other end of the cafe, alone and standing in front of the colorful wall. Steve made his way there, not recalling such colorful wall being in the cafe. Soon, it all made sense. He joined Tony and smiled at the black wall with photos all cats that had ever been adopted from Meow Cafe, in their forever homes, each photo signed by the owner in a colorful marker. Cow, Ariel, Tsuki, Crazeh… They were all there, including some cats Steve didn't have an occasion to meet. There were also current cats's photos on the wall, ready for adoption and looking for their humans. Steve remembered Meow Cafe guests crowding in this spot earlier, but didn't know why. It was a great memento and a tribute.

"That's incredible," Steve smiled, looking at Tony with love. "You helped all those cats, you know that? You helped them find a home," he said and he couldn't possibly love Tony anymore.

"I had some help," Tony answered and turned to Steve, smiling and a bit teary eyed. Thinking about his former pupils, always made him emotional. The mood changed drastically when he noticed what Steve was holding. "Is that a latte?!" he gasped out in horror, looking at the cup.

"Um… Yeah, but don't worry, it is for me, I have an espresso for you---"

"You have been drinking lattes the whole evening?!"

"Yes?"

"The hell--- BRUCE!!" Tony called, leaning out from behind Steve and looking at his group of friends, "you have been serving Steve lattes?! Regular or soy milk?! REGULAR OR SOY?!"

Bruce didn't answer. The way he curled between Natasha and Clint was an answer in itself. Hey, it was a busy night. He forgot. Bucky tsked and shook his head. It wasn't a secret that Steve was lactose intolerant, yet, sometimes it seemed that Steve was the one who forgot most often.

"Oh God," Tony whined, hiding face in his hands and after a while glaring at Steve through his fingers. "You are so not sleeping in my bed tonight!"

Steve couldn't help it. Tony looked so indignant and mad, he had to put the coffee on the nearby table, as he started to shake with silent laughter and it was hard to keep the cups steadily in his hands.

"I am serious!" Tony shrilled, pointing an accusing finger at Steve and not understanding what was so amusing about this situation, "last time you had milk, Fig was terrified! It was like an all-night artillery shooting!"

Steve did the only thing he could in this situation. He hugged wriggling Tony close and kept laughing until his hotheaded boyfriend ended his tantrum.

***

It was a week after the opening of the Meow Cafe and everything was going smoothly. Bucky got the job, and happily served coffee and took care of the cats, under Janet's watchful eye, whose enthusiasm and passion earned her the main barista title, that previously belonged to Tony. Sam finally introduced his parents to Bucky, inviting them to the Meow Cafe one evening. Bruce, Natasha and Clint could be seen more often together, becoming more open about their relationship. Even Rhodey finally bought an apartment in New York and could regularly meet with Pepper and Tony, without taking their friends' couch for the night. But most importantly, new cats were bonding with new people and had chances to find their forever homes. Soon, Meow Cafe had the first adoption and it was Peter, the guy T'Challa brought for the opening, who was the first one to adopt a cat and Cajetan found his forever home. And Tony and Steve kept working and being in a relationship and loved each other and possibly couldn't be happier.

Everything was just fine.

Just. Fine.

Fine.

Fine?

It was wrong.

Something was horribly, horribly wrong.

"Ah… Ah!! Hah!!"

"Meow!!"

"Tony…"

"Nghhh… No, don't--- AH!"

"MEOW!!"

It was wrong, wrong, wrong. His human was crying and it sounded like if he was in pain and he didn't know why. He needed to help him. Figaro started to frantically scratch on the locked door, needing to get inside. He needed to protect his friend.

"HAH! Ah ah ah!!"

"MEEEOOOW!!!"

"Tony!!"

"Yghhhh OKAY FINE!"

The door suddenly opened, and before Figaro could slide inside and attack with sharp claws whoever was hurting his friend, he was hoisted up and carried away, pressed to bare, human skin. Figaro blinked at that and saw the room moving and instead of being in the corridor, he suddenly found himself in the bathroom.

"Fiiiiig," Tony whined, locking the door and putting the cat down. Figaro immediately brushed around his human's legs, relieved to see that he was fine, although the lack of clothing and raised body temperature was a bit alarming.

"Yeah, yeah, I love you too, but Fig!" Tony snapped his fingers and crouched down to get to a more or less the same eye level as his cat, "focus now! Remember the talk we had?"

Figaro sat his fluffy butt down, looking at his human. They had many talks. He should be more specific. Humans were so unreasonable sometimes.

"The first one?" Tony emphasized. "The very first one? Come on, I know you can remember."

The first one…

Ooohh…

Figaro remembered. It was a long time ago. A very long time ago, when his hind paw was hurting and everything, including his human, seemed a lot bigger and scarier.

"We are here! This is where you live now!"

He looked around, seeing an unknown, big place. It was big, but also warm. He liked warm.

"This is where you will eat. Here I will put a litter box for you. And here is where we will sleep!"

His bright eyes followed, trying to take everything in. It seemed like a lot, but he would handle it.

"Oh, but first thing first…"

The human sat down and kept him on his lap. It was warm and soft, and he suddenly felt very sleepy.

"Listen," the human said, and stroked a single finger along his head and he closed his eyes in content. That felt nice. "I promise to keep you healthy, well fed and safe, and when the time comes, I will help you move on as quickly and painlessly as possible," the human said, sounding serious and he opened his eyes, feeling that it was an important moment, "in return, you will do your stuff into the litter box, won't wake me up at nights and allow me to get laid when I bring someone home, okay?"

A tiny meow. Not quite an agreement, as he didn't understand most of the words, but it seemed important to his human.

"Okay," human smiled, and scratched behind his ears. Nice. "You need a name…" human said, looking at him with a thoughtful face. "Can't think without music. Gimme a sec," human continued and slid the kitten gently off his lap, walking away. He didn't move away, when some loud noise filled the apartment and he curled in himself, eyes widening up in fear.

"Ooops, sorry!" human amended, making the noise quieter. It was a sound he never heard before. It was like screaming, but there was some pattern to it.

"You okay, buddy?" human asked sympathetically and sat back on the couch, taking him back in his lap. He continued to curl, alerted by the sound. Somehow it reminded him of his time outside, but it was different. He was safe now.

"My mom used to listen to this all the time," human said, closing his eyes and stroking a gentle hand along his back, remembering. It had to be a fond memory and he felt the happy vibes the person was giving.

"Meow," he said quietly, reminding of his presence.

"Hm? You like it too?" that's not exactly what the meow stand for, but he would train the human with time to better understand him. "Okay, so… How about Figaro? Do you like it as a name?"

"Meow!"

The human smiled and he felt he made something good happen. "Then it is settled. This will be your new name. Figaro!"

During the years, Figaro tried to keep most of the promises. Yet, he felt scolded and lowered his beautiful head in shame.

"I knew you can remember."

Hmm, so get laid mean mating. A cat learns something new every day. He interrupted his humans mating. At least he knew it wasn't pain and could calm down.

"Okay, we will do it like this," Tony decided and Figaro saw bare feet walking away. Tony opened the closet under the sink where he kept the clean towels and put some out, for Figaro to squeeze in if he would decide to, and poured some water into the sink, in case if the cat got thirsty. Not the best conditions, but it would do for a while and he saw Figaro licking off droplets of water from the sink numerous times already, so it shouldn't be that bad.

"I will let you out soon, okay?" Tony said, petting his cat's head and walking to the door. Figaro closed his eyes, giving his human a permission to leave. Quietly, Tony slid out and closed the door. Figaro looked around the spacious bathroom and decided to nap for the time being. He walked to the closet and threw out with his paw some more of the towels and squeezed inside, curling into a little ball in the tight space. Purrfect.

***

It was so warm and nice. He was cuddled into a warm person and there was a hand scrubbing his head. He was practically melting.

Tony purred playfully at the morning affection, letting the other man know, that he was slowly wakening up. The scrubbing stopped for a moment and then continued with tender care.

"Good morning," Steve whispered, pressing lips to brunet's curly hair.

"Morning," Tony answered, stretching his legs and sinking back into Steve, not bothering to open his eyes. It was just too sweet to move and he could still feel the afterglow from the long, hot night they had.

"I have to get up," Steve said, moving his fingers to stroke along Tony's nape.

"No, you don't," Tony argued, not keen on letting his personal heater go.

"Yes, I do," Steve argued back and smiled, gently moving away and pressing kisses into Tony's face and tickling his ribs and sides gently when the stubborn brunet still didn't want to let go. Giggling and breathless, Tony dropped back into the bed and stayed entangled in the covers, smiling sweet and in love, getting the same smile back from the blond.

"I will get some lunch for us on way back," Steve promised, leaning down and kissing his boyfriend. Never enough of kisses. "And you can stay in bed and cuddle with Figaro now."

Tony scrunched his nose. Seeing that Steve mentioned him… Why their cat wasn't in bed with them? Figaro should be already between them and taking up space, instead they had a nice morning and woke up cuddled to each other---

Oh, son of a---

Steve almost fell off the bed, alarmed by the loud wheeze and the way Tony rushed out, bare feet running on the wooden floor. He heard him stopping in the corridor and opening the door loudly, almost ripping it out of the hinges.

"FIGARO!!" Tony called in real panic, as if spending half of the night in a closed bathroom, would scar his cat horribly. Figaro calmly peaked out his head from among the towels, happily sleeping in warmth and peace. Humans had to be always so loud.

"FIG, I AM SO SORRY!" Tony scrambled to his cat and took him out from among the towels and hugged close to his chest, cradling him in his arms. "MY POOR BABY!"

"Is Fig okay?!" Steve called from the bedroom, feeling alarmed by the cries, but also knowing that Tony could be overdramatic sometimes.

"NO THANKS TO YOU!" Tony yelled, deeply offended. "YOU MADE ME LOCK MY BABY AWAAAY!"

Steve raised his eyes to the ceiling. Drama, drama, drama. He would have to buy a package of bacon and a box of donuts on his way home to placate both Figaro and Tony.

So, this was what his life became…

He wouldn't trade it for the world.

And with that thought he went to the kitchen to prepare a breakfast for all of them, smiling on his way.

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thank you for loving this series and thank you to my friends and readers for letting me borrow their cats! look below for a surprise!

Meow Cafe Cats

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