Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Amélie groaned when she woke up to a yellow sticky note in front of her eyes. She was a deep sleeper, so her ever-busy girlfriend had resorted to leaving her notes when she stopped in to make food or drop something off. Notes she seemed to enjoy leaving stuck to Amélie much to her annoyance. Glancing at the clock she realized it was still early evening, and judging by the wet tracks by the door, Emily must’ve just left. She failed to stifle a yawn as she sat up and glanced down at the note.

"This little kitty just arrived at the clinic but we had no vacant cages, and we can’t put it with someone else until her tests come back, so I'm taking it home for the weekend. I've gone to get some supplies. Back soon. Love you!"

This was odd for a few reasons. First, Emily was never a cat-person, she preferred dogs, large ones, and the only reason she didn’t have any was because Amé begged her not to. Her anxiety and migraines were bad enough without a loud slobbery mountain of fur bulldozing everything in the apartment, not to mention, Amélie was terribly allergic to dogs. Second, Emily had never brought anything home before, not even to foster. She showed Amé pictures of new arrivals and baby animals almost daily when she got home, but she had never brought any back. 

The apartment complex was, at least in writing, a pet-free building, but the rule had never been strictly enforced. A few people had pets, and had for some time. Emily had, perhaps, never allowed one into her own apartment because she had decided on the rule herself, so she couldn’t break her own rules could she?

Third, she had never asked her girlfriend about bringing a cat into the apartment. Emily was a person who never did anything before making sure Amé was comfortable with it. It was one of the many many things that Amélie loved about her, how considerate and kind she was. So why would she leave a cat in a crate and a note? 

Amélie slowly sat up, setting the note aside and turning her attention to the crate. There was no movement and no noise coming from it, so the cat was either asleep or petrified. It made Amé curious. 

She never said I couldn’t take a peek…

She tried to be as silent as possible as she slipped off of the couch and onto the carpet, moving slowly as she reached for the latch on the crate and unhooked it. No sounds from inside. Not even a hiss. 

Once the door was open Amélie sat back, in case the cat bolted, or was aggressive. She wanted to see it, but she would do so on the cat’s terms, no matter how long it took. She was a patient woman, and she could wait. She had been reading before falling asleep, so she simply picked up the book from the end-table and her reading glasses, getting comfortable to wait as she slid the thin-framed glasses onto her nose to pick up where she left off. 

Reading was one of her favorite pastimes now that she didn’t dance. She enjoyed teaching twice a week, but she didn’t dance as a career anymore. Not after everything that had happened. She couldn’t even go to the store without being flagged down by someone wanting to talk to her about her ex husband, or to take her photo. She rarely left the apartment anymore, so reading was a healthy pastime. 

She had just begun to get into the book again when she finally heard something coming from the crate. It was, at first, just a soft scrabbling of claws, then soft panting. Amélie could see the shape of the cat moving about, and she remained still to avoid spooking it. She didn’t want to scare it into remaining in the crate. She watched it moving about for a few minutes, before she let her eyes drop back to the book and she continued to read, feigning disinterest as best she could. 

According to her watch she read for another hour before she got more results.

“ Mew?”

It was so soft that Amélie took a moment to realize that the cat had made a sound. It sounded… uncertain, and frightened. She looked up from her book, and froze.

The cat had stuck its head out of the crate and was in the process of stepping out, one paw already on the carpet and the other still hovering as the feline stared at her warily. 

The first thing Amé noticed was that she was clearly feral, every muscle taught and prepared to bolt if need be. The second thing she noticed was the condition of its fur, which was tangled, matted and dirty beyond belief. 

When Amélie slowly shifted to kneel the cat began to make low, uneasy growling sounds, pressing itself as close to the floor as it could. Amélie set her book down and slowly slid a hand towards the cat, accompanying the motion with a slow blink before leaving her hand about a foot and a half from the growling feline. She then turned her attention back to her book, watching the cat from the corner of her eye.

The slow blink definitely helped, and the growls quieted once she stopped moving and the cat stared up at her with big blue eyes. The cat was visibly trembling, but at least it wasn’t growling anymore. 

Once the cat realized that Amélie wasn’t going to move closer and that her hand was being offered to it, the cat slowly unfroze and tentatively took a step forward. Amélie felt her heart clench as the cat finally stepped fully out of the carrier and she got a proper look at the terrible condition it was in. The poor thing had clearly not been able to take care of itself in a long time. Its fur was matted and tangled from head to tail, and so dirty that there was no telling what type of cat it was. 

The cat stretched as far forward as it could without falling over, and it tentatively sniffed at Amélie’s offered hand. When Amélie didn’t move or try to grab it, the cat noticeably relaxed enough to sit and look around, taking in the apartment while keeping an eye on the human sitting so close to it. Its posture was stiff, probably from a combination of anxiety and its poor physical condition, and it looked very uncomfortable, but it still seemed curious. 

“Are you hungry?” Amélie murmured softly, speaking low and gently to avoid scaring the poor cat. It turned its head back toward her when she started speaking, blinking at her. It seemed to be studying her with those big blue eyes. She wasn’t really expecting an answer. But to her surprise, the feline seemed to deliberately move its head in a way that seemed like a nod.

“ D’accord, let’s see what we have for you, hmm?” Amélie smiled gently and got up slowly as the cat watched her, and her heart just about burst when she glanced back on her way into the kitchen, and she found that the stray was following her quietly while still looking around. Amélie didn’t even care that it was leaving little muddy pawprints on the carpet, she could clean those later. All she cared about at present was getting this poor thing some proper food.

The fridge yielded a few options, thanks to leftovers and uncooked ingredients. There was a small bowl of what she believed to be beef liver. She could vaguely remember Emily wanting to cook and eat it with her after-workout smoothie, something about being very good for brain and liver health, she hadn’t been paying very close attention. There was some bacon that hadn’t gotten eaten that morning, and some chicken that was set aside for chicken caesar salad that evening. 

“Would you like to choose, little one?” she asked over her shoulder, and she took the soft meow as agreement. She pulled each option out of the fridge and set the containers on the floor, moving to sit a few feet back so the cat would be comfortable to approach. 

After a moment the cat padded over to the containers, sniffing each one and seeming to mull the decision over in its little furry head before it sat down and softly nudged the dish of liver with one paw, giving Amélie a soft trill. 

“Would you like it raw?” Amé inquired as she took the other two containers and covered them back up, setting them back into the fridge. The cat blinked up at her and moved its head from side to side in a “ no” motion. 

“Very well, I will cook it for you.” 

The cat seemed content, and it padded slowly around the kitchen while Amelie prepared the food for it, moving slowly and somewhat stiffly and letting its tail drag on the floor behind it, still looking pretty miserable. It clearly needed a thorough bathing, and probably to have the worst of the matted fur removed, if it would even allow Amé to touch it. Something to take care of once it had eaten. 

“Here you are.” She murmured, setting the dish down, and the cat padded back to her, sniffing at the cut up pieces of cooked liver before settling down and beginning to eat, slowly at first, but quickly inhaling the rest of the pieces as soon as it finished the first mouthful. It was clearly ravenous, probably underweight even if its fur made it look well-fed. 

Once it had finished the meal, it sat back and licked its chops, looking up at Amé as she took the dish and set it in the sink to rinse it later. It looked noticeably happier now, but the fur and dirt were clearly still causing it a lot of discomfort. It was very unlikely that the poor thing would be able to sleep or even lie down comfortably until it was clean. 

“Would…. You like me to give you a bath?” 

The cat tensed visibly, and Amé swiftly put her hands up in a placating manner. “I won’t force you to, I just want you to be able to move and lie down without those matts pulling at you. It hurts, no?” She kept her voice gentle, praying that her offer hadn’t just made the cat afraid of her. 

The cat blinked slowly, then it nodded again, looking torn between not trusting Amé and wanting the tangles out.

“I will go run you a warm bath, and if you want me to stop just let me know, oui? ” 

The cat followed her, a lot more closely now as Amélie made her way to the bathroom, flipping the light on and kneeling next to the bathtub to start running the water. She was used to lukewarm baths, anything warmer made her skin feel like it was burning. She was willing to put herself through some discomfort, however, to make sure the cat didn’t get too cold. Once she was confident that the temperature was perfect she stood up to fetch a large towel and her shampoo. It was mild enough to use, she couldn’t handle anything that was strong-smelling or powerful, it irritated her senses, but it would be perfect for the cat’s condition. 

The cat was standing on its back feet, front paws resting on the edge of the tub and watching the water slowly rise, the very tip of its tail twitching. It looked to be contemplating trying to clamber in, but unsure of whether or not it would be able to. 

“Want some help?”

Another nod, accompanied by a soft trill.

Amé was already in love with that sound. 

The cat let Amélie gently lift it up and set it in the bath, and it sat down, looking at the water and patting at it with one paw as Amé cupped some of the water in her hands and began to wet the fur on its head and shoulders. The cat barely even seemed to notice until she grabbed the shampoo. It looked up from the water and made a soft noise of apprehension at the sight of the bottle, shifting away from Amé to the far side of the tub.

Amélie sighed, there was no way to lie about how unpleasant this would be.

“I’m sorry, pétit, I have to do this. I promise I will try to pull your fur as little as possible, but this will hurt.”

The cat made another soft mewl of distress, hunching its shoulders, but it slowly shuffled back into Amé’s reach, ears flat against its head as it looked away and squeezed its eyes shut.

“I am going to start now, alright?” 

A tiny whimper.

Amé squirted some of the shampoo into her hands and got to work. The cat’s muscles tightened every time she touched, and the matts made every movement a struggle. They were even worse than Amélie thought, and she quickly realised she should have dealt with those first, before bathing the poor cat. 

“I’m so sorry, little one, I’m sorry…” She murmured, as the cat whimpered in pain. It seemed to have resigned itself, though, resting its head on the rim of the tub tiredly and making no attempt to move. Its pained noises were softer, it had to be so exhausted. 

It took an agonizingly long time to work out the least problematic matts, and a liberal amount of Amélie’s expensive hair conditioner to get out as many tangles as possible. Once she realized the conditioner would help, things got a lot easier. The cat still made pained noises, but the tangles started to come out with less fuss.The water was a murky brown now, and Amélie could now see the cat’s true patterns emerging out of the filth it had been living in for gods knew how long. 

“Alright, that’s the worst of it. I am going to run some new water to get the last of it off, then I will remove the worst of the tangles with some clippers.” She said softly as she pulled the plug and the cat made a tiny mrrr in reply, making no effort to move. The filthy water swirled down the drain and the cat began to shiver as the water level dropped. 

The moment the water had completely drained Amélie saw how truly thin the cat was. It was skin and bone, hidden under thick fur. 

“Oh, pétit… ” she said softly, her voice trembling. The cat trilled again and cracked one eye open to look at her as she began to run another fresh bathful of water, then let it drop shut again as Amélie gently rinsed the last of the dirt from its fur and drained the remaining water.

“Let’s get you out of there, little one.” 

The cat was completely limp as Amélie lifted it out of the bathtub and set it on the towel, only responding with small whimpers as she dried it off as painlessly as possible, avoiding the remaining tangled areas she would need to take care of next. The cat was at its limit, and it couldn’t even sit up now, it was so tired. 

“Time to get rid of those terrible matts, oui ?” 

The cat let Amélie carry it back into the sitting room and lay it on a soft blanket, unmoving and exhausted while she grabbed a brush and some scissors. Most of the tangles had come out with the help of the hair conditioner, but there were still a handful that Amé now needed to remove before giving the cat a proper brushing. The cat didn’t fight her, letting her carefully snip away at unsalvageable fur. It took far less time than the bath had, and the cat seemed relieved that it was over, slowly lifting its head as Amélie disposed of all of the clumps of tangled brown fur that had been snipped away. 

“Now for something I know you will like. Brush time.” Amélie crooned as she knelt again, brush in hand, and the cat let its head drop onto its paws, eyelids drooping as Amélie began to run the brush through its soft and now thankfully tangle-free fur. It was a chocolate brown, and once it was completely dry its pattern would be visible. It was a beautiful cat, patterned or not. The cat soon relaxed onto its side, and Amélie almost cried when she heard the faint, faltering purr emanating from the poor cat’s chest as it received what may very well have been the first ever brushing in its life. Once she was finished, Amé set the brush and scissors aside and carefully gathered the clean, purring pile of brown fur into her arms, moving to lie back down on the couch. The cat opened its eyes again, and once it had gotten its bearings it sniffed at Amélie’s face, then settled down against her chest, tucking its paws under it and nestling its head under her chin as it purred louder. 

“That feels so much better, oui? ” Amélie murmured as she gently ran her fingers  through the cat’s clean, damp fur, feeling it arch into the touch as best it could. She heard it trill softly, and she tried her best not to cry as it huddled as close to her as it possibly could, leeching off her body heat until it was completely dry. It seemed that the cat had decided Amélie was a good person and meant no harm, and now it couldn’t get enough of her. 

Amélie had never had a pet before. Her parents had forbidden it, and she hadn’t had the time until she retired from performing and active duty. She had never even thought about getting a pet. Now that there was a purring loaf of brown fur cuddled onto her chest, the desire to have a pet came crashing back over her in full force, and she softly hugged the cat against her, grabbing the blanket off the floor to drape over the two of them before hugging the cat again.

After a few minutes, Amélie grabbed her book and began to read again as the cat continued to contentedly purr against her chest, and she let herself be drawn back into the story. She quickly decided that reading with a cat was one of her new favorite pastimes. The cat seemed to be enjoying it as much as Amélie was, and had fallen asleep. 

Amélie read contentedly in silence until her girlfriend got home, laden down with bags and a bit out of breath. Amélie looked up from her book as Emily set her armful of  pet supplies on the kitchen table and stretched, groaning. 

“Sorry I’m late, couldn’t find what I was looking for in three stores, had to head back to the clinic to grab some good cat food and…”

The redhead trailed off when she noticed the open crate, and she began to look around with an expression of increasing concern on her face.

“Amé?... Where’s the cat?” She inquired, apprehension clear in her voice as she quickly checked under the table, then walked very quickly into the sitting room to keep looking. 

Amélie was content to let her search, knowing that she would eventually figure out what had happened. She returned to her book, smirking, and listened to Emily pretend that she wasn't panicking as she checked under everything in the sitting room, muttering to herself. 

Eventually, after checking every room in the apartment, she returned to the sitting room. Her expression went from worry to shock, then to annoyance when she saw the fluffy mass on Amélie’s chest.

“You couldn’t tell me you have her?” She grumbled, crossing her arms and pouting at the taller woman as Amélie chuckled. “That was mean, darling.”

That got her a raised eyebrow. “So is leaving sticky notes on my forehead, chérie. ”

Emily pouted for a moment longer, then sighed, “That’s fair.”

She sat down next to the couch, watching the cat sleep. “How did you get her clean without losing a finger? She hates being touched.” she asked, her expression soft as she leaned her head on Amélie’s shoulder. “She bit three people at the clinic when we tried to wash her this afternoon. How’d you do it?” 

Amélie put her book down and returned to gently stroking the cat’s now-dry fur, smiling softly. “She let me wash her because I let her set the pace, and I suppose the bowl of liver pieces I gave her helped.”

“You fed her my post-workout snack?” 

“ Oui, She picked it herself.”

Emily looked both exasperated and amused as Amélie scritched behind the cat’s ears, and the sleepy feline made a soft noise before lifting her head and yawning. When she saw Emily she froze, before her ears flattened against her head and she let out a low growl.

“Perfect, you remember me.” Emily sighed, as the she-cat grumbled at her angrily, shuffling back until she was pressed against the back of the couch and flattening herself against Amé’s shoulder. 

“Guess she hates me then. I kind of earned that though, to be fair.” Emily sighed, looking a bit defeated.

“I am keeping her.”

Emily gave Amé a look of surprise, “I’m sorry, what? You’ve had her for less than a day.”

Amélie rested a hand on the cat’s fluffed up fur, and it trilled happily at the touch, looking up at her for a long moment, then slowly settling down and glaring at Emily in silence. “ Oui , She is sweet, gentle, and she needs a safe place, and she seems to trust me. I’m going to keep her if she allows me to.” Amélie murmured, giving the cat another gentle ear scritch that got her purring softly again, bright blue eyes drooping shut. 

“As long as she isn’t allowed on the bed, I have no protests.” Emily sighed, sounding exasperated but amused as she leaned a little bit harder on her girlfriend’s arm for a moment. Amélie hummed in reply, continuing to gently scritch behind the contented cat’s ears.

After a quick once-over of what was left in the fridge, Emily made up an alternate snack for herself, still complaining dramatically about the terrible betrayal that was Amé feeding the liver to their new cat. Amé rolled her eyes, smiling as the cat looked at the redhead with a very smug expression only cats seemed capable of. Emily only managed a half-hearted glare at the feline as she turned, meal finished and announced that she would be showering, then heading to bed as she had a headache and wanted to be rested enough to actually enjoy her day off tomorrow. Amélie offered no protest as the redhead disappeared into the bathroom, still mostly focused on the purring loaf of fur in her arms.

When Emily emerged from the bathroom, towelling her hair off and wearing much more comfortable pajamas, Amélie had vanished. Emily already knew she had been betrayed a second time before she even made it to their bedroom. Sure enough, Amélie was already fast asleep with her arms snugly wrapped around a suspiciously purring lump under the sheets. When Emily lifted the corner of the blanket to investigate, she was met with a look that clearly said “What are you gonna do about it?” as the purring cat curled her tail around Amélie’s wrist and kneaded the front of her nightshirt with her small paws. There was no getting her out of that bed now, and doing so would probably have more consequences than benefits. Emily sighed, before she padded around to her side of the bed and slid under the covers as carefully as she could to avoid waking her sleeping lover. 

When her attempts to cuddle up to Amélie’s back led to a hiss and a swipe she muttered exasperatedly, “Oh for god’s sake you little demon let me spoon my girlfriend. I’m not trying to steal her.” as she tried again to wrap her arm around Amélie’s waist. The cat glared at the offending arm and made a few more less-than-pleased noises, but seemed to accept that she would need to share the raven-haired woman, and simply got as comfortable as she could without touching Emily, save for repeatedly smacking her arm with her tail until the redhead fell asleep.

Chapter Text

Emily woke up the next morning alone, much to her surprise. Amé was a cuddler, and she almost never got up before the redhead did, to maximize the amount of snuggles she could get. Somehow, though, the bed was empty on her side, and Emily could hear the television in the sitting room just beginning to play the opening jingle for one of Amélie’s favorite cooking shows.

After dragging herself out of bed, slouching into the bathroom, brushing her teeth, taming her bed-hair, and washing her face with cold water to wake herself up properly, she padded into the sitting room. Amélie was sitting on the sofa and watching one of her morning shows, though her attention was divided equally between watching her show and playing with her new cat’s paws. The brown lump of fur was sitting on Amé’s lap similarly to how a toddler would, on her rump with her legs stuck straight out as she lapped up the attention she was being given. As Emily made her way to the kitchen to get herself some coffee, she heard a soft clip clip sound and glanced over curiously. 

Amé was trimming the cat’s nails. Trimming a bloody feral’s overgrown nails with no sign of realizing how badly that could go. 

“Amé be careful, she’s still a feral, she doesn’t like people messing with her paws.” 

Her warning fell on deaf ears as her girlfriend gently squished the pad of her pet’s right front paw, extending her much-too-long claws and snipping them to a less painful length. The cat was looking from her to the television, bright blue eyes half-lidded as she purred. There was no explanation for her docile behavior, when she had exploded violently at the clinic each time they had to interact with her. Yet here she was, letting Amélie play with her paws and doing absolutely nothing to suggest she was angry or frightened. 

“How in the hell did you manage to get on that thing’s good side so fast?” She mumbled into her cup as she sat down, ignoring the frosty blue glare fired at her the moment she did so. Amélie shrugged, trimming another claw back to a comfortable length before replying. 

“She was confused and frightened. She was being handled roughly all day in a sterile environment where no one spoke to her at all.  You jabbed her with needles, tried to groom her without realizing it was hurting her. She associates you with pain.” She didn’t sound accusatory, just sad. The cat’s purring faltered a bit, and she let out a soft mew, stretching her already manicured left paw up to softly pat at the raven-haired woman’s chin and cheek as she continued. “When she stepped out of the crate last night I never once forced her to do anything. I let her take in her surroundings, and I let her get a bit more comfortable before I did anything. I asked her if she wanted food, and I let her choose what she wanted to eat. When she finished I asked her if she would like me to try to bathe her. I even asked if I could help her get into the bath. I waited until I got her approval before I did anything, so she had no reason to see me as a threat. Even when the tangles in her fur pulled and hurt she didn’t attack me, because she knew what she was getting into.”

Emily sighed and leaned back against the sofa, letting her head drop against the backrest. “It’s a cat, love. It’s not a person, and it doesn’t think far enough to give approval. Just a feral cat you've somehow charmed into compliance.”

Before she even finished speaking she could hear the angry growls next to her, but she just rolled her eyes. It was possessive, that was all. A behaviour Amé would need to nip in the bud as soon as possible. 

“She isn’t stupid, ma belle . She’s more than just a feral cat. Disrespecting her will only lead to problems, and I think you know that.” 

It was true, at least somewhat. Cats weren’t intelligent enough to interpret words, but they could interpret body language and tone of voice. 

“You’re right, mostly.” She conceded, letting out a happy sigh when Amélie leaned over to plant a kiss on her temple. She leaned into the touch for a moment, enjoying it, before she sat back up and took another sip of her coffee. The cat had quieted down, but was pointedly refusing to look at her. 

“Could you grab the little trimmer from your bag, there is fur between petit’s beans, I want to trim it.”

Emily glanced down at the paw Amé was holding, taking note that yes, there were tufts of fur between the pads of the cat's toes that needed snipping. She sighed, before she set her coffee down and pushed herself up from the sofa, padding over to the duffel bag sitting against the wall by the door. It took a few minutes of rummaging around, but she found the fur trimmers at the very bottom of the bag, where all small things seemed to find their way. She wordlessly handed them to her girlfriend and sat back down, watching apprehensively as the dark-haired woman began to gently separate the long-furred cat’s toe beans to properly trim the overgrown fur. The moment she did, Emily reflexively let out a soft hiss between her teeth at the sight of inflamed skin between the cat’s toes that was a clear sign of infection.

“Oh, that looks unpleasant. Let me see if I have anything to take care of that inflammation.” Emily murmured, getting an approving nod from the love of her life before it was back to the supply bag for her, fetching a small bottle and some cotton puffs from the bag as Amé continued to snip away. The cat stared at the bottle suspiciously, before eyeing Emily with even more distrust as she opened the bottle. Her nose wrinkled and she made a disgusted noise as Emily pressed one of the cotton balls against the mouth of the bottle, quickly tipping it just long enough to get some of the antibacterial ointment inside onto it. 

“I’m not gonna poke you with needles or hold you down I promise, I just need to put this on your feet. It’ll make your feet feel less icky.” Emily said, trying her best to sound gentle and not frustrated that she had to speak like this cat was smart. The cat blinked, still staring at her distrustfully, before she reluctantly let the redhead take hold of her freshly trimmed left paw and spread her toes, keeping a razor sharp eye on Emily’s every move. To the cat’s credit, she allowed Emily to treat her with minimal fuss, only grumbling if Emily lingered too long. Amé trimmed more of the fur away from between her toes as needed, and Emily was able to finish treating her with a lot less issues than at the clinic. 

“Alright, I’m done, you can relax now.” Emily said as she tucked the ointment and trimmers way again, and when she looked back at the cat she already seemed to be completely relaxed, and she was purring again. She sighed, before she pushed herself up to go and make breakfast. Amé remained on the couch, contentedly playing with the cat’s now well-groomed paws and giving her the occasional chin scritch. 

Breakfast was usually Emily’s meal to cook, which she had no complaints about. Amélie usually cooked supper, and neither of them were particularly consistent about eating lunch. Emily was just too busy and Amé just forgot. She had never eaten lunch during her career in ballet, was too busy getting literally shot at during her career in active duty, and had just never picked the meal back up again afterwards. She lived a relatively relaxed lifestyle now, the only time she left the building was for a jog around the nearby park, or when she let Emily drag her out on a date or to go shopping and spoil her despite Amé’s protests that she didn’t need spoiling. She was far from a recluse, she happily visited and interacted with the other residents in the building and had many friends. She just didn’t like leaving the only place she truly felt completely safe. 

“Here you go lovely.” She handed Amélie her plate and sat down, glancing down at the cat as she moved out of the way and sat on the arm of the sofa. She was looking at the plates in their laps, but did not move to try and snatch anything. Amélie thanked her girlfriend with another gentle kiss on the cheek, and they talked while eating about their plans for the week, the gossip floating around the building, Amé’s already grand plans for a cat tree and things to pamper her new pet with. When she offered the cat a piece of bacon and the cat sniffed it, Emily didn’t have the heart to stop her. She was enjoying herself, and one piece of bacon couldn’t hurt. 

The cat sniffed the offered scrap, blinked, then looked at Amélie with a soft, inquisitive mew. As if she were making sure that it was being offered. Amélie smiled and murmured, “It’s for you, petit . Take it.” and the cat trilled in response before she delicately took the offered treat and crunched on it happily, purring like a motor and licking her chops when she finished it. She didn’t beg for more, oddly, instead turning her eyes to the television and watching it intently. 

Amélie finished eating and got up, taking her plate to the kitchen with the cat on her heels trilling the entire time. Emily sighed and continued eating as Amé washed her dishes and put them away, trying to ignore how much attention this cat was hogging all to herself. She did , however, make a mental note that the cat was still struggling to walk, her hindquarters listing to the side every so often and throwing her off balance until Amélie scooped her up and placed her on the counter. The cat stretched, then looked over at Emily with an expression that almost looked smug.

I am not jealous of the cat. I am NOT jealous of the cat. 

“I think I will go swim, do you want to join me?” Amélie’s voice brought Emily out of her head and she finished the last bites of her food so she could clean up and follow her lover to the pool. Amé disappeared into the bedroom as Emily scrubbed the residual grease off of her plate and rinsed out her glass, leaving them to dry on the countertop. She could dry them, but the sound of the pool sounded far more alluring than the thought of taking the time to dry off dishes. 

The pool had been something of a group effort. Most of the occupants had voiced their approval of the plans and some had contributed to the costs of construction. The pool was a place to exercise and socialize, and the added hot tub was an added bonus. Amélie loved having the opportunity to talk and relax. 

Unfortunately, it seemed the cat already had separation anxiety, and before the pair had made it even halfway to the elevator the wailing started. 

“Oh for fuck’s sake, she’s going to be ripping the carpet apart next.” Emily groaned as her girlfriend turned and briskly walked back to their door, opening it slightly. The moment she did the cat thrust its paws through and forced its way out with a determined growl. 

“Grab her before she bolts!”

Moments later, the cat had planted its little furry butt next to Amélie, glaring daggers at the redhead. 

“I… do you want to come with us, petit ?” Amélie inquired, and the cat let out a trill in response, getting up and circling her ankles. She was clearly very willing to follow, but the wobble and unsteady gait Emily could see from down the hall screamed exhaustion, and that the cat wouldn’t make it very far. 

“Put her back inside, she’s too tired to tear up the door, or even scream much more.”

Emily pressed the down button on the elevator, and when she turned back Amélie had set her bag down and helped her pet scramble into it and get comfortable.

“For god’s sake Amé she isn’t a child. She can wait a few hours for us to get back. She’ll probably sleep until then anyway.”

Amélie didn’t seem to hear her as she made her way back to the elevator, cooing and fussing over the little brown head poking out of her bag. She did look rather cute, looking very happy to be brought along and taking in her surroundings with big curious blue eyes. 

“She can sleep at the pool, I will set up a chair for her if she needs it. We may as well introduce her to people, you know everyone loves to see the other little ones in the complex.” Amélie replied, her eyes only briefly leaving her pet to step into the elevator, before she returned to scratching behind her ears and talking to her gently.

“Alright, but don’t get mad when she attacks someone. Just because she likes you doesn’t mean she will like anyone else.”

There were plenty of people using the pool, which was normal. Many people who lived in the complex were either older or could not work, and the pool was also their means of socializing with others. 

Amélie made her way to her usual spot and set her things down, letting the cat hop out of the bag and stretch, much to the delight of the nearest handful of people. 

“Oh my god Amélie did you get a cat! She’s gorgeous!”

Amélie smiled at Mei as she scurried over, crouching next to the lounge chair and hold out a hand. Mei was a researcher and climatologist who worked on and off whenever she was able. From what Amélie had heard and been told, Mei had been a part of a team who had been in a serious accident during their experiments with cryostasis. Mei was the only survivor, and as a result she had a hard time getting back into the field without suffering from flashbacks or panic attacks. But despite all she had been through, she was still a gentle and bright individual who  loved to help people however she could.

The cat looked at her inquisitively, then she lifted one paw and placed it in the palm of Mei’s hand, much to her delight.

“Oh my goodness, such a polite little lady, she’s so cute!” Mei exclaimed as she gently shook the cat’s paw and smiled brightly. The cat trilled in reply, looking very pleased with herself as Mei stood and she began to make small talk with Emily. 

When Amélie took off her robe and began to walk over to the pool the cat mewled and hopped down from the lounge chair, wobbling after her and only stopping once Amélie had gotten into the water. This seemed to upset her, but she remained silent, only conveying her distress with a lashing tail and fidgeting paws as she wobbled back and forth along the pool edge.

Amélie gave her a scritch under the chin, then she began to swim laps, pausing each time she returned to get a headbutt and kiss the top of her cat’s head. The cat seemed to be alright with this, waiting for Amélie to get back to the wall each time and softly trilling each time she got her forehead kiss.

When Amélie paused to talk to another tenant, Genji Shimada, the younger of two brothers who lived together and were good friends, the cat began to softly mewl again, shifting on her paws anxiously. 

When her calls yielded no response, Amélie a little too far away to hear, the cat took matters into her own paws.

Amélie had been happily conversing with the younger brother, the older one, Hanzo, approaching to join in the conversation, when his gaze drifted behind the former dancer and widened. 

“Is that a cat in the pool?”

Amélie turned as he waded quickly past her, and she almost choked on air when she saw her cat in the Hanzo’s arms, drenched and still trying to kitty-paddle her way over to her human.

“Oh petit you’re soaked! Did you fall in?”

The cat whimpered and kept paddling in the air for a moment longer, before she looked up at Hanzo with a soft mewl.

“She seems to have separation anxiety, but she is very good with strangers, I see. No claws at all.” The older brother said gently, as he waded back over and set the cat into Amélie’s arms, where the cat wrapped her paws around her neck and clung on for dear life.

“You must be cold now, poor thing, let’s go sit in the hot tub for a bit, hm?”

The cat made a noise of confusion, but she didn’t protest when she was carried to the stairs and to the corner where the hot tub sat. 

When Amélie began to get in, still holding her cat close to her, the cat made another noise, which seemed to get it noticed by the other occupants. The hot tub was truly only hot in name. The water, while warmer than lukewarm, was actually nowhere near hot. Some residents were intolerant of extreme temperatures, and thus the water was kept at a comfortable temperature for everyone while remaining inclusive to everyone. It was for this reason that the small feline seemed perfectly comfortable once Amélie sat down, keeping her pet on her lap so she was partially submerged in the water. The cat sat and curled her tail around her paws, her eyes drifting to the other people in the hot tub as they noticed her and promptly began to scoot their way over to see her.

Reinhardt Willhelm and Ana Amari were two of the older residents of the building, and parental figures to many of the residents. They didn’t have any pets of their own, but their door was always open during the day for any wandering animals to come visit. The cat blinked at the older couple, head cocked to one side as she sniffed at them and then looked up at Amélie with an inquisitive meow.

“Good morning Ana, Reinhardt. This is…. Hmm. I haven’t named her yet, but this is my cat. She wanted to swim, apparently, so I need to warm her up a bit.” Amélie greeted them with a smile, as Reinhardt held out a hand to the small feline. He was a bear of a man, but the cat showed no fear and sniffed him, before she butted her head against his hand and began to purr loudly. 

“Emily told us about a feral she brought home, surely this isn’t the one she was talking about.” Ana commented, as the cat let Reinhardt gently smoosh her face, clearly in love with the small feline. The cat seemed happy to accept his affection, eyes shut as she purred like a lawnmower. “She said this one was essentially a chainsaw with legs, and shredded several of her coworkers before being brought home for everyone’s safety.”

“The very same one. She just needed a gentler touch and for her boundaries to be respected. She’s actually quite friendly.” Amélie replied, letting herself relax into the warm water and tipping her head back. The cat eventually turned and stretched up on her hind legs, putting her paws on Amélie’s shoulders and nestling into her. The feline was purring so hard that Amélie could feel it vibrating from her chest, so she had to be quite happy. 

“She certainly seems to be smitten with you, Amélie. She’s very cute.” Ana remarked, as Amélie gently flipped the cat over to cradle her like a newborn. The cat made no protest, stretching her hind legs as much as she was able. Her limbs shook, though, and her legs didn’t stretch out as far as they should have. Her wet fur only made it clearer that she was still very much malnourished, though the cat didn’t seem to be in any distress now. The cat relaxed again and reached up with her front paws to play with Amélie’s hair, the purring returning full force. She was weak, but happy. Amélie worried, how couldn’t she, with how much the cat seemed to struggle, but seeing the cat act playful and happy made her concern ease.

The cat spent the rest of the afternoon napping in Amélie’s arms, only waking up when her owner finally got out of the water and wrapped her in a soft towel. The cat just purred and let herself be carried back to the apartment. 

Once she had been set down and unbundled from the towel she shook herself and stumbled off towards the sitting room, a distinct wobble in her step. Emily disappeared into the kitchen and began to open a can of cat food. 

“Mind giving her this? She’ll probably just bite me if I try.” She said, shooting the cat a look as her little head poked around the corner at the sound of the can opening. The glare was returned with double the intensity, before the cat wobbled into the kitchen and wound her body around Amélie’s leg, looking up at her with a soft trilling sound. Amélie sighed, then she nodded. 

“You will need to accept my girlfriend, petit , even if you do not like it. Please try to at least get along, please?”

The cat’s ears flattened against her head for a moment before she looked away with a grumble. She still followed Amélie though, and she arched into her touch when the ravenette gently ran her hand over her back. She certainly didn’t like the idea of coexisting with Emily, but she wasn’t showing any signs of rejecting Amélie either. She ate quickly at first, only slowing down after she had finished half the food, following Amélie once she had cleaned the bowl completely. She looked tired  but determined, the wobble in her step not stopping her but rather frustrating her. She followed her human until Amélie padded into the bathroom, and closed the door enough to keep the cat out. The feline let out a confused sound and looked up at Amélie through the crack in the door, pleading to be let in.

“I’m sorry, petit , but I think you’ve had enough fun with water for today. I’ll just shower then be right out, alright? Go and rest and I’ll join you soon.”

The cat grumbled, but she slowly got back up and began to wobble back towards the sitting room, dragging her tail behind her. 

Emily had gotten comfortable on the couch and didn’t look at the feline when she returned to the sitting room. She was flipping through the channels on the television with a bored look on her face, leaning her head on her hand. Her eyes only briefly left the screen when the brown cat wobbled up to the sofa, and tried to jump up. She failed, but kept on trying to pull herself up. Emily’s eyes drifted back to the screen, only to snap back when the cat fell awkwardly on her side and let out a sound of pain, before getting up to try again to scale the couch.

“Take it easy, you’re going to hurt yourself.” She scolded, but she only got a glare in return, so she sighed and put the remote down. 

“Here, let me help.” 

The cat’s ears flattened against her head, and she made a noise of protest as Emily reached for her. 

“Let me help, Amé wants us to at least tolerate one another, okay?”

She slipped her hands under the cat’s thin body and lifted, and she deposited her on the other side of the sofa where she sat looking at Emily with an odd expression. Almost grateful, if a cat was capable of expressing gratitude. The cat then yawned, stretched, and curled up to sleep.

When Amélie emerged from the bedroom she crooned and lifted the cat up, sitting down herself with the sleepy feline on her lap. The cat rolled onto her back and purred, letting Amélie pet her stomach. 

“I see you two are starting to get along, finally.” she teased, and Emily grumbled but eventually started laughing at Amélie’s continual teasing.

“She let me pick her up for a few seconds at least.”

The cat blinked at her with her big blue eyes, but just swished her fluffy tail instead of hissing. Another improvement.

“See? If you are nice to her, she is nice to you.” Amélie said, smiling when the cat began to reach up to pat at her chin and neck with her front paws before she stretched and nestled her head into the crook of Amélie’s elbow. The sound of purring still filled the room as both women relaxed and enjoyed a few movies late into the evening with their new family member purring all throughout.

Chapter Text

“ Petit , you know I cannot take you with me.” Amélie murmured as she lifted her cat out of her luggage again and set her on the bed next to her. The brown feline mewled in protest as she was removed from her spot on Amélie’s folded up clothes, but she reluctantly sat down and watched as Emily hurried into the room with a shopping bag.

“Here, I got your favorite shampoo and body wash while I was out, so you definitely won’t run out.” She said a little breathlessly, “And I dropped by the clinic and got the harness you wanted. She can come to the airport to see you off.”

Amélie definitely looked delighted when she saw the harness, and she stopped packing in order to take it out of the packaging and begin putting it on her pet. The cat didn’t seem to understand what the harness was, but she let Amélie lift her paws one at a time to slip the harness under her and tighten the straps and buckles until it was sitting comfortably on her. 

“You look so cute in blue, my little one! Look at how pretty you are!” Amélie cooed as the cat turned her head about trying to see what had just been put on her, trying to sniff at the durable blue material and the little cape attached to the back. She seemed fascinated by the design on the back, a blue lightning bolt that covered most of it. Once she seemed satisfied with her observations she carefully jumped down from the bed and began to move about the room, pausing only to rub against Amélie, then Emily’s legs as she went. 

“Hello muffin, how are you doing?” Emily greeted her with a small smile, as she set the accompanying lead on the bed and resumed helping her girlfriend pack.

“I’m so glad she finally warmed up to you, it will make my trip less stressful now that I can leave her with you, instead of having to worry about how she will handle a flight.”

Amélie zipped her suitcase shut and put it on the floor before she knelt and began to moosh the cat’s face with both hands. The feline had gained a comforting amount of weight in the month and a half since she was taken into their home, and she was able to walk much more easily and normally. Emily had started to try giving the cat some physical therapy a week after the cat first let her hold her, and the cat had taken to it remarkably well. With determination and persistence and a lot of back leg stretches the cat had rejuvenated a lot of her withering muscles and could run and jump and swim like a champ. Her fur had grown back in after Amélie’s attempt at grooming, and it was clean and long and lovingly brushed daily by both women at least once. They sometimes brushed her several times in one day, which made sense when the cat’s fur was so damn beautiful and soft.

“She’s going to love the walk to the tube. I think I’ll also take her back to the clinic for a checkup now that she’s doing so much better.” Emily said as the cat began to bat one of her light-up ball toys around the bedroom, going under the bed to retrieve it and chasing it back out the other side. The poor feline had had very little interest in the toys Amélie had gotten her for the first few weeks, but as she regained her health and her energy she began to bat them around, then finally chase them at breakneck speed all over the apartment. It was a good thing she was putting her energy into play, and a wonder that none of their furniture had been damaged while the cat had lived here, though they had almost tripped over her at least a dozen times thus far.

“Well, we have about two hours before the flight leaves, shall we go?” Amélie called from the door, and her cat emerged from under the bed at the sound of her voice, bounding off down the hall with a few dust bunnies sticking to her fur. Emily could only roll her eyes as she grabbed the lead off the bed and followed, retrieving her coat from the hook by the door and slipping her shoes on. The cat sat by the door and watched them with calm blue eyes, curling her tail around her paws and chirping when Amélie took the lead and clipped one end to the back of her harness. 

“We are going for a walk, Petit, and you are allowed to come with us this time!” Amélie explained, and the cat looked up at her then at the door, then got up and began pawing at it impatiently.

“I told you the harness would be perfect.” Amélie said smugly as Emily opened the door and the cat thrust itself out into the hall with a trill of happiness. Emily returned the smile as she locked the door behind her and replied, “I never disagreed with you, Love, I just warned you she may not take to it as quickly as you had hoped.”

The cat had run to the limit of the lead and sat down, watching as the girls made their way towards her at a slower pace as they spoke. Once they had caught up the long-furred feline kept pace, staying at Amélie’s ankles and occasionally rubbing against her leg when she slowed down enough. Her tail was raised into a curly question mark as she walked, rather than dragging like it used to. Now that she was properly being brushed and groomed she was keeping her very fluffy tail out of the dust, which both women appreciated.

It was a cool but pleasant morning, and the foot traffic was sparse as the girls made their way towards the train, only stopping here and there to make sure their pet was keeping up, and to let the occasional person pat her. She definitely drew eyes with her rich brown fur color and swirling lighter brown pattern, as well as her big round blue eyes. She seemed happy to accept the pats from everyone who asked, but she remained close to Amélie with her tail wound around her ankle until they began walking again.

“She seems to be enjoying the walk, it’s a nice change of scenery after being cooped up in the apartments for so long.” Amélie said with a chuckle when the cat began to jump up onto benches or low walls, still keeping pace as they walked. Nearby a woman pointed at their cat and giggled, her grin almost ear to ear and her sharp fangs glistening in the morning sunlight. Her partner grunted, but he was also smiling a big, tooth filled smile at the sight of a small cat in a cute little harness.

The cat had quickly taken to roaming the entire apartment complex once she was in better health, and she had begun to visit some residents who kept their doors open. Reinhardt was always delighted to see the little brown feline and would spend hours on the sofa cuddling with her while Ana was out shopping or visiting her daughter. The Shimadas always let her in to play with their three ferrets once she proved she wasn’t going to hurt them, and Mei often enjoyed baking while being supervised by her new feline friend. The cat had even managed to worm her way into the usually dark and often avoided apartment of one Gabriel Reyes, and from that day onward the girls always knew when she had been at his place thanks to the adorable, perfectly fitting outfits or fancy collars she would return in. He had been a fashion designer in his prime, and now he appeared to have a new fixation on smaller, cuter things. He never asked for payment but often asked if the cat would be visiting again soon with visible hope in his eyes.

At the station the cat drew even closer to the girls, but otherwise seemed unbothered by the noise and the amount of people. She seemed a bit less willing to stop for pats, though, and she began to pull on the lead with her mouth to hurry the girls onto the tube. The train was packed, so Amélie scooped up her cat and held her with one arm and the overhead railing with the other, crooning to her furry friend and kissing her forehead while the cat leaned up into the kisses and purred like a chainsaw. She even peered over at Emily and tried to smack her playfully a few times, which got her a smile and a giggle whenever one of her clumsy paw-strikes landed. Despite the noise and the amount of people crammed into one place, the petit feline seemed fairly calm with the exception of hissing at a man who bumped into Amélie in his rush to get out at his stop. Luckily Emily was able to catch the paw that shot out to clap the man on the back of his head, returning the glower she got as a result as the cat watched the blonde haired man shuffling rapidly away with murder in her eyes. 

“You should have let her slap him, I wanted to see his face when he turned and saw her winding up to smack him again. He deserved it.” Amélie said with a laugh as the cat pulled them along the street, holding onto the lead tightly so she would not wrench it out of her hand by mistake. 

“And if he decided to hit her back? She’s tiny , Amélie, one punch from him could kill her or cripple her for life. She may think she’s indestructible but she is the exact opposite.” Emily explained, and she scooped up the impatient ball of fur as they neared the airport. The cat grumbled, but she allowed herself to be carried like a baby, grabbing onto her fluffy tail and beginning to groom it as she was carried. The airport was even louder, and Emily held onto the cat a little tighter, just in case. The feline just purred, kneading the air with her front paws and occasionally trying to playfully smack Emily’s hair and chin. 

“Alright, let’s find terminal 6.” 

The airport had gotten much, much bigger in the last few years. Not everyone had two functional legs, or even had legs at all, so accommodations had been added year by year until everyone could get to their terminals without issues. It was still mostly humans, but it had become commonplace to see the aqueducts being used, or a lamia child trying their best so slither the opposite direction on a conveyor belt before being snatched by a parent. It was nice to see that humanity was able to accept and welcome nonhumans into their everyday, and were willing to make accommodations for them.

Amélie put her suitcase down and turned to take her cat into her arms, hugging her as tightly as she dared and kissing her on the nose. “I’ll only be gone for a week, little one, so behave while I am gone? Treat Emily nicely and don’t bite her too hard.” she cooed as she buried her face into the feline’s fur, listening to her purring like a lawnmower.

“We’ll be fine, Amé, go on, before you miss your plane.” Emily teased, slowly prying the cat out of her girlfriend’s arms and giving her a kiss before waving as Amélie made her way into customs.

Amélie always went back to her birth-town for a week every year, to visit her late husband’s grave and see her parents. Emily usually joined her unless the clinic really needed her, or she had prior obligations. Seeing as their pet wasn’t as healthy as she should be, neither woman wanted to risk bringing their cat on a plane when it could be detrimental. That was the reason she was staying behind, definitely. Amélie didn’t need to know.

“Alright, come on fluffy, let’s go get you sorted.” 

The cat had been watching Amélie go, and she looked up at Emily with a look that was remarkably similar to a puzzled expression. Emily rolled her eyes but she had promised not to ignore the cat’s “looks”, so she explained. 

“Amélie goes back home every year, it’s normal. Since you aren’t well enough to go, I’m going to stay here with you. She’s getting on a plane and flying out to Annecy.”

The cat blinked slowly, then made a soft noise and turned to follow Emily out of the airport.

Am I going crazy or did she actually understand all that?

Emily brushed the thought to the back of her mind and led the way back out of the airport and back to the tube. She seemed noticeably less friendly now, huddling closer to Emily’s legs rather than allow people to pet her. She seemed stressed, so the redhead scooped her up and held her for the walk and the ride on the train. The feline began to knead the front of her coat and got comfortable, occasionally smacking Emily in the face with her fluffy tail. Emily just chuckled as she batted the tail away with her free hand.

“Have fun while you can, we’re going to the clinic now, and you had better behave yourself this time.” 

The cat’s ears instantly went back and she glared up at the redhead with a look similar to betrayal. She didn’t stop kneading, though, so the betrayal of her trust didn’t seem to be earth-shattering. 

The purring had started up again by the time Emily arrived at the veterinary clinic, stepping through the automatic doors and waving hello to the girl at the front desk.

“Morning , Anna! How are your girls doing?” Emily greeted her with a smile, which became a smirk as she continued, “Your girlfriends, Anna. I meant your girlfriends.”

The woman paused in the process of using her arms to press her boobs together and looked a bit disappointed at being robbed of a joke, before replying, “They’re doing great!

Emily rolled her eyes, still smiling, before she carried her cat past the still talking woman and into the back of the clinic. “You can tell me about your sexcapades later, Anna, I just need to get some blood from this little one before I have to go for my Magical.” 

That made Anna instantly switch from storyteller to concerned best friend. “Wait, wasn’t your last Magical last year? You know it’s dangerous to take those stupid evaluations this often, they mess with the balance of magic you have! Why don’t you tell them to shove off for once?”

Emily waved her off as she went to head into the back of the clinic. “You know I have to go. If I don’t they’re just going to cart me off to sanctuary and then Amé will find out about everything. Then I’ll probably have to contend with her fighting her ass off to get me out, then her being ,ad at me and I would rather not have that.”

Anna still looked angry, but she sat back down after Emily’s explanation, though she still kept grumpling to herself as she resumed typing on her computer.

The cat sat on the table as Emily began to look her over and make sure she was regaining weight at a good pace. The cat was definitely doing a lot better than she was, having gained a couple of pounds and looking more alert and energetic. 

“Well you look much better, at least. You should only need to gain a few more pounds then you should be right as rain. You’re eating well, getting more exercise and getting brushed daily, so you look amazing.” Emily mumbled to herself, looking at the bloodwork sheet with one hand and playing with the feline with the other. The cat pinned her hand to the table and laid down on it, giving Emily her full attention with big blue eyes fixed on her face.

“But I still have no idea how you recovered so fast. You were dying when I brought you home. You exhibited symptoms of advanced kidney disease, you weighed almost nothing, and you were completely lethargic as long as nobody tried to touch you.. How did you recover at all, nevermind so fast?”

The cat blinked at her and made a trilling sound, tilting her head to one side as if she were just as confused as Emily. Then she sat up and slowly padded over to the computer in the room. It was off, and the cat sat down in front of the keyboard, looking over at Emily before beginning to paw at the keys more and more insistently. 

“That’s not a toy, baby, stop that.” Emily responded, quickly lifting the cat away from the computer. This was definitely not what the cat wanted and she made her displeasure known by squirming and mewling in protest. 

“Enough, we’ve got all the info we need for now, let’s head out. One more stop before we get to go home. You had an awful time, so now it’s my turn. That way it’s fair, right?” Emily replied to the protests, and she hiked the squirming cat over her shoulder as she wiped down the table with her free hand and made sure the computer was undamaged before making her way out of the clinic. Anna was still storytelling as she passed, and Emily couldn’t help but smile. It would definitely be a good story to have repeated to her later. 

Every year Emily had to do this, and every year she hated it. She hated having to prove she was still able to control herself, that she was a normal member of society, and that she would not kill everyone around her. She would much prefer to forget about her childhood and forget that she was essentially a weapon. 

The feline seemed to sense Emily’s apprehension as she stood in front of a large, ominous black building with no windows. She wiggled backwards in the redhead’s arms and looked at her face with her big blue eyes brimming with curiosity and what almost looked like concern, and she made a soft meowing sound.

“It’s ok, pet. They won’t even care about you. It’s me they’ll be watching. You just sit and look pretty and I’ll only be there for about fifteen minutes.”

The cat blinked slowly, then seemed to understand and settled against Emily’s chest as she made her way inside. The inside of the building was almost as dark, with only dim orange lights on either side of the halls and equally dark walls and carpets. It was a supervillain building if there ever was one. The cat seemed to pick up on the oppressive atmosphere instantly and she shrunk into Emily’s arms and began to grumble and look around distrustfully. Emily couldn’t fault her for it, this was an awful place with awful memories for her and she wanted to be out as soon as possible. She thoughtlessly hugged her pet closer to her as she walked, taking as much comfort as she could before the trial. 

The elevator took them down, very very far down, further than any normal elevator would or should. The doors opened to yet another dark hallway that ended in a large steel blast door that was singed and had deep claw marks in it.

“Alright baby, just stay calm and sit where I tell you to, ok?” Emily said gently as she approached the door, “Things are gonna get a bit scary for us, you more than me probably, but the people inside won’t be happy if you bolt so please please just sit where I put you ok?”

The cat somehow seemed to grasp the importance of Emily’s words, and she stopped squirming and stayed very still. Emily knocked on the steel door and waited. The door slowly unlatched and opened, revealing a large chamber with several men sitting at the back and over a dozen more in what could only be described as special forces gear. 

“Welcome back, miss Walsch, you are right on time, as usual.” Came a droning voice from the seated men, “Just set your things and your… pet… in the usual place and we can begin your evaluation.”

Emily didn’t reply, she just nodded and carried her bag and her cat down before she made her way to the center of the room and sat down. The feline watched silently, only bristling a little when one of the armed guards made their way over to Emily’s bag and stood guard. 

“I trust you have been keeping yourself under control, Miss Walsch? We’d hate to have any… accidents concerning your unnatural situation.” One the observing men sneered, and Emily’s shoulders hunched. 

“Of course there haven’t been any accidents, I wasn’t just taught how to destroy, I was also taught discipline. All of you know this, so please stop constantly reminding me that you can have me shipped off to sanctuary with the snap of your fingers.” Emily responded flatly, though her voice was shaking slightly. The feline’s ears went back and she looked up at the guard, then back as Emily lifted her hands and seemed to focus. 

A small, crackling ball of flame materialized between her hands, and she exhaled, willing herself to relax her neck and shoulders as the seated men began to direct her to light several unlit torches in the room. She did so with a tired look on her face and without moving, simply guiding the small ball of fire around to light each one as directed. Her pet shrunk away as the flame passed by, ears pinned back and eyes wide as she watched the ball of warmth move. Her fur was on end and she looked like she was ready to fight or flee. 

“Very good, now you know what you need to do now, the capsule is to your left.”

Emily’s shoulders sagged and she nodded silently, before she pushed herself to her feet and slowly made her way over to another pair of armed guards who were holding a large ornate glass cylinder vertically with the sturdy steel handles on either side. The vessel was empty but the top was open. Emily sighed and raised her hands again, allowing tendrils of flame to escape from her fingertips and snake into the vessel, slowly but surely filling it up until it snapped shut and she backed away. 

“That will be all, Miss Walsch. We will see you in a year to repeat your evaluation.”

Emily was panting, her hands shaking as she turned to her possessions and made her way over to them. The small feline shrunk away for a moment, but she allowed herself to be picked up and carried back out of the room, to the elevator, and out into the street. Emily was trembling and stumbling, struggling to keep a steady pace as she boarded the tube and sat down heavily. 

The cat mewed quietly and turned around to sit facing Emily on her lap, stretching up to sniff at her face and gently lick the tip of her nose, but the redhead didn’t react. She looked like she was going to pass out. She didn’t move until the train stopped, and she silently carried the cat back to the apartment, took the elevator instead of the stairs, and fumbled with the keys for a good thirty seconds before she managed to unlock the door.

She didn’t so much walk in as she did collapse to her knees in the entryway, closing the door with a kick before she flopped over onto the floor with a groan and curled up into a ball. She was shaking and sweating and she was pale as her cat tumbled to the floor next to her and turned to check on her with increasingly loud sounds of fear and distress. Emily wasn’t moving, eyes closed and body relaxed, but she was breathing normally.The cat paced around her body and cried until Emily groaned again and forced her eyes open. 

“It’s ok pet, I’m fine. Just need to rest a bit.” She mumbled, watching as the brown feline ran off into the bedroom and returned dragging the bottle of water from her bedside table. She dropped it in front of the redhead then darted off again, this time to the bathroom. Emily heard the sound of several things clattering to the floor before the cat returned, this time with the bottle of painkillers she kept in the medicine cabinet. The cat paused briefly to nose at her face before she ran out of sight and Emily heard her jump and grab onto the door handle and hang there until the door clicked open. Emily drifted off again as she listened to the sound of the cat legging it down the hall, meowing loudly as she went.

“Emily, are you awake?” 

Emily mumbled in reply and slowly forced her eyes open. Reinhardt was sitting across from her in her sitting room, and she could hear someone moving around in the kitchen, probably his wife. This was confirmed when Ana came into Emily’s field of view and knelt, brushing her hair out of her eyes with a worried expression.

“Your cat burst into our apartment screaming bloody murder and wouldn’t calm down until we followed her back here. It’s a good thing you two trained her to help you, who knows how long you would have been on that floor.”

Emily was barely listening, instead looking down at the ball of brown fur cuddled against her chest. The cat was watching her face with an odd expression, something close to relief. It didn’t bother her as much as it would have if she weren’t already used to the feline’s odd expressions, but it did click something in the back of her head.

“I’m alright now, thank you both for taking care of me. I think I just overexerted myself and must have been sick without realizing it.” She said as she slowly sat up, keeping the cat in her arms and hugging her to her chest. The feline began purring and kneading Emily’s sweater, bumping her head into her chin. 

“I’ll just finish up in the kitchen then. I threw together something for you so you don’t have to cook for a few days. That should give you time to rest and recover without having to worry about feeding yourself.” Ana called from the kitchen, and Emily vocalized her gratitude before she focussed on her cat and accepting the cuddles and attempts at grooming the cat was offering. Reinhardt got up and wished Emily a speedy recovery before he shuffled into the kitchen, and soon after the older couple left, and Emily was alone with her thoughts.

“I have to be going crazy. I have to be There’s no way…”

…

Unless there was.

…

Emily slowly set the feline down and got up, unsteadily making her way over to the table and opening her laptop. She had a feeling about what was going to happen, but her doubt was still holding her back from believing it fully. 

Surely she isn’t…

She lifted the cat onto the table and the feline turned to look at her with a puzzled expression as she sat and gestured to the laptop.

“Go on. You were trying to tell me something at the clinic, right? Except I didn’t realize. Go on, tell me what you are.”

The cat blinked, then turned to look at the laptop, sitting open with a blank note document pulled up. She moved to sit in front of it and looked back at Emily as though asking for permission. Emily nodded and gestured to the keyboard again, now completely invested in whatever the feline wanted to do.

The cat lifted one paw and hesitated, bright blue eyes darting all over the keys as though searching for something, before she began to slowly and determinedly press keys. Emily watched the screen, holding her breath as, instead of nonsense, actual words began to appear on the document. Words that formed a complete, logical sentence.

I A-M N-O-T A C-A-T.

Emily’s hands were shaking again, this time from shock. The cat looked back at her with a mew and Emily shook her head.

“No, keep going. What are you? How did you end up as a cat? How long? What’s your name?”

The cat nodded, then turned back to the computer and resumed typing.

I A-M H-U-M-A-N

I A-M C-U-R-S-E-D

V-E-R-Y L-O-N-G T-I-M-E

…

M-Y N-A-M-E I-S L-E

The cat hesitated, then finished.

L-E-N-A.

Emily took a deep breath, then looked at the cat, who was looking back at her expectantly.

“...Lena?”

The cat almost looked startled at hearing her own name, before her face crumpled under the weight of emotion and she ran into Emily’s arms with a whimper, burying her head into her chest as though she were crying.

“It’s ok… I’ve got you Lena, we’re going to figure this out, ok? It’s been a while since you heard your name huh? I’ll make sure to say it more often, and I’m going to help you, I promise.”