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Karlie woke from her nap slowly.
The first few times she'd blinked open her eyes to the white of Taylor's furniture (or the white of Taylor's cat's fur, that one memorable time that Olivia had decided to take a nap with her - right on her face) had been disorienting. By now she knew Taylor's apartment as well as her own. Maybe better, she thought sometimes. It was easier to meet at Taylor's place than her own. Sure, there were usually photographers outside, but Taylor had to deal with them every single time she so much as put a toe outside her front door. Karlie felt like being the one to take the photographic fall sometimes was only fair.
She pushed herself up on her hands, blinking around the room. The overhead light was off and when she followed the line of her own legs down to where her feet were unusually warm she saw Meredith curled up on top of the thin blanket she'd drawn up around her moments before she'd succumbed to exhaustion. It was a testament to how much Taylor and she enjoyed just spending time together, she thought, that they'd rather have each other around and asleep than not around at all.
Or maybe it was a testament to how exhausted they were about seventy percent of their lives.
Taylor was sat on the love seat by herself, legs folded and her tablet in her lap. She had that half-wistful, half-worried look on her face that usually meant she'd gotten too far inside her own head.
"Hey," Karlie said and then cleared her throat when her voice came out scratchy.
Taylor looked up and smiled at her.
"Hey yourself. Did you have a good nap?" she asked.
Karlie nodded, hid a big yawn behind a hand and then pulled her legs and the blanket to herself, much to Meredith's displeasure. Giving the cat a chagrinned smile, Karlie pulled the blanket up around her shoulders. She always got cold easily just after waking up. Plus, she was comfortable and toasty underneath the blanket and not about to give that up.
"Yeah, thanks," Karlie said. "What're you doing?"
Taylor looked down at the tablet as if she needed to check herself what she was doing, and-- was that a blush on her cheeks? Karlie felt her brows wrinkle and her mouth pull into an amused smile. Was Taylor looking up pictures of hot people? Stalking an ex on the gossip sites? Shopping for sex toys?
"Looking at rescue kittens," Taylor mumbled.
Well. That was a possibility too, of course.
"Oh? You want another one?" Karlie asked. Taylor shrugged in that way that meant 'yes, but'.
"Kinda," Taylor said. "Just don't want to turn into the crazy, always-alone cat lady before I've even turned thirty, you know?"
Karlie hummed and nodded and then got up and made her way over to sit down next to Taylor, putting her head on her shoulder and looking down at the screen. Taylor had pulled up the information on a tiny grey-brown tabby with big green eyes, quite unlike Meredith and Olivia.
"Well, for one, you're just twenty-five. I think you're good for a few more years," Karlie said. She could practically hear Taylor roll her eyes, even if she didn't say anything.
"Plus, you're not going to be always-alone," she added.
"You can't know that," Taylor said.
"Well, if it's up to me, you won't be," Karlie said.
"But it's not up to you. You can't make someone like me," Taylor said. She affectionately jostled Karlie's head on her shoulder a little.
"That's for you to decide, I suppose," Karlie said and took a deep breath. "And besides, I never said anything about anyone else."
Taylor stayed silent - and motionless - for a few heartbeats, before switching over to a second tab in her browser and a second tabby. This one ginger, with bright blue eyes.
"How about this one then?" Taylor asked, sneaking a hand over to come to rest on Karlie's thigh.