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There was a cat in Winged Victory’s stable.
And she was not happy about it.
“Shoo. Go on, get. Get out of here,” Greg grumbled, poking at the creature with a broom. All he got was a hiss in response. He had half a mind to hiss back. It was raining and it was cold and all he wanted to do was head back inside to curl up next to his boyfriend in front of a movie but no. Winged Victory had to get all worked up, loud enough the two men could hear it from the house, and it was Greg’s turn to check on her. And now this little bugger was making his life difficult.
Except the bugger wasn’t really a bugger. It seemed scared. And unhappy. And miserable. Actually, the more Greg looked at it, the worse he felt about trying to chase it off.
“Hey, little guy.” Greg dropped his tone a bit as he got down his knees, much to Winged Victory’s dismay. She just wanted that thing out of here. Greg mentally told her that he was the one suffering here, not her. He’d run outside in the rain and now he had stable gunk all over the knees of his sweatpants. But he wasn’t really thinking about that right now. Reaching out tenderly, he prompted the animal to sniff his hand. That was what you did with dogs, right? Cats had to be the same. “See, lookie here. I’m not that scary, am I?”
The cat made a face at him, apparently not liking that. Greg sighed. It seemed this would be a more violent rescue, it seemed.
Winged Victory seemed happy about it at least. The creature was out of her stable. She didn’t care in the slightest that Greg’s forearms were scratched up or that he’d spend the night trying to get clean instead of spending it doing any number of more enjoyable things. But, he was sure Sir Justin would chew him out if he left a cat out in the rain. Well, not chew him out perse. Sir Justin wasn’t the yelling type. He would definitely give Greg one of those disappointed looks though, the kind that was infinitely worse than getting yelled at. And Greg did not like being on the receiving end of those.
The cat seemed to get the idea that Greg wasn’t going to hurt her when he shoved her down his shirt to protect her from the rain. His chest got clawed up a bit but she stopped struggling by the time he reached the door. It was then he realized how cold she was. He could feel her whole body shivering, the poor thing. And it wasn’t like she was a kitten or a particularly small cat. She must’ve been out there for awhile.
Sir Justin was shirtless when he came in, save for a simple bathrobe thrown over his shoulders. It wasn’t anything sexual, at least Greg didn’t think it was, but any potential for it to become so ended the moment the other man’s eyes fell on Greg, soaked and awkwardly clutching a lump in his gut. He raised an eyebrow. “You are bleeding.”
“It wasn’t your horse, doll. She’s an angel.” Lie. Winged Victory was a demon in disguise. He loved her like a daughter but that didn’t change the fact she wasn’t the definition of perfect like Sir Justin claimed she was. Not that he’d tell her that. “I found this little gal in her stable. This was what was spooking her.”
Greg shifted a bit, letting the cat slip out of his shirt and into his hands, and held her up awkwardly like an offering. Sir Justin’s face immediately lit up at the sight of her. He tried to wipe the look off his face the moment he realized he was doing it but a smile kept tugging at his lips and the light still danced in his eyes. Greg felt a surge of warmth in his chest as he passed the cat off to Sir Justin, watching his boyfriend cradle the cat like a baby. He was pretty sure that wasn’t how you were supposed to hold a cat but the cat wasn’t complaining so he wasn’t either.
“What are you doing here?” Sir Justin cooed softly as the creature blinked up at him with big, green eyes. “Do you not have a home?”
“I didn’t see any tags.” Greg reached over to run his hand between the cat’s shoulder blades. “I don’t feel a microchip either but we should probably check to be sure.”
“I guess you are staying here for a bit,” Sir Justin told the cat. Greg didn’t protest. Winged Victory might be upset about it but she wouldn’t dare fight Sir Justin on something like this. And besides, she hated mice more than cats. Maybe the cat would be able to lend a hand. Or paw.
Greg ran his hand up from her back to her ears to give them a scratch. “Welcome to the ranch, little lady.”
The cat blinked up at him owlishly and suddenly Greg understood how Sir Justin could get attached to these things so quickly. They were so… soft. And fragile. Yet, they were beautiful at the same time. What strange creatures. She’d fit right in.
And then she was vomiting all over the both of them and the moment was ruined.
“Why is she throwing up so much?”
“I don’t know. Maybe she got into some rat poison?”
“Do you keep rat poison on your property?”
“No, but we’re not the only ranch around here, doll.”
Sir Justin was sitting in the bathtub, dressed in Greg’s rattiest clothes, clutching a cat to his chest, and looking absolutely miserable. The cat in his arms was looking a lot worse, though at least she’d stopped shivering. She just kept gagging though and Greg didn’t know why.
“You don’t have to keep holding her, you know,” Greg told his partner, crossing his arms to lean on the edge of the tub.
“Yes, I do.”
“No, you don’t.”
“What if she falls asleep and drowns in her own vomit?”
Greg sighed. He was supposed to be the theatrical one, not Sir Justin. “Doll, she’s not going to fall asleep and drown in her own vomit. She already coughed up whatever grub was in her, to begin with, and she’s not stupid. She knows better than to fall asleep when she can’t breathe.”
“Courtney told me babies sometimes suffocate because they flip themselves over and cannot return to a position they can breathe in. And adult humans can drown in only an inch of water. And-”
“You need to stop listening to Courney,” Greg grumbled, shifting so he was sitting flat on the tile floor instead of standing on his knees. He sensed he was going to be here for awhile. “All she does is fuel your anxiety. Do you have anxiety?”
“I do not know what that is. Should I?”
“Probably but that’s not what I’m worried about right now.” Greg glanced down at the cat. It was hard to not be repulsed by her at the moment. In the bathroom light, he could see how matted her fur was and how unwell she looked. But, even if she wasn’t particularly cute or pretty, he couldn’t help but feel something when he looked at her.
“She is weak,” Sir Justin told him softly, eyes watching the cat as she shifted in his arms. Gently, he set her down on the floor of the bathtub so she could stand. “It is my duty to protect the weak and helpless. That includes cats.”
Greg let out a long breath and got to his feet. “I’ll get some pillows.”
Sir Justin looked faintly surprised. “You do not have to stay with me.”
“Nonsense,” Greg insisted. “I brought the lil bugger in, I’m riding this one out.”
“Gregory Saunders and… Bugger? The veterinarian is ready to see you.”
The receptionist paused at the cat’s name. Sir Justin made a face. Quietly, he whispered, “I still think we should have named her something more elegant.”
“What? Like Winged Victory?”
“Maybe.”
“Doll, I love you but you aren’t good at naming things.”
“Because Bugger is so much better?”
“She’s a Bugger. What can I say?”
Greg scooped up the cat carrier as the receptionist’s eyes roamed the room. Or, rather, Greg scooped up the small dog crate. It was an old one, back from when his childhood dog was crate training and needed the smaller space. Pretty big for Bugger but it did the job.
“And who are you?” the receptionist asked, clearly not expecting for two men to respond to her call.
“I’m Greg Saunders. This is Bugger.” Greg slapped the side of the crate gently before gesturing to Sir Justin. “This is my, uh, buddy Justin.”
“We are roommates,” Sir Justin responded, falling into the familiar story easily. “I wanted to see how the cat was faring.”
The response seemed to satisfy the receptionist. She beckoned for the pair to follow. “Right this way then. The doctor will be right with you.”
Greg wasn’t a big fan of this part of visiting doctors. They just stuck you in some room and told you to wait. What kind of power move was that? It didn’t make any sense. Everyone was on a schedule, seemed like a waste of time. And a room.
Sir Justin seemed nervous. Greg wasn’t sure if it was from the medical facility or worry for the cat sitting in the crate next to them. Maybe a mix of both. With his free hand, he clasped his partner’s hand gently. Sir Justin grabbed it reflexively and let Greg’s thumb trace comforting patterns over the back of his hand.
He always thought Sir Justin was a dog guy, even if the only thing he had to go off of was how he interacted with his horse. After that night spent hunting down cats in Gotham, Greg had just assumed he was good with animals. That still may be the case but any time a cat was around, Sir Justin started showing a side of himself Greg had never seen before. It was kind of sweet, actually, if a bit annoying. More the former than the latter.
“Sorry for the wait,” the doctor apologized when he came in. Greg wanted to roll his eyes. Sure, he knew better than to disrespect doctors but really? Were they really sorry for the wait? He didn’t think they were.
“Do not fret,” Sir Justin told him with a smile, polite as ever. “Better late than never.”
The doctor laughed. Greg thought it was a big superficial but maybe he was just in a bad mood. He shouldn’t be so quick to judge. Trying to put on a friendlier face, he turned the crate around to show the veterinarian the cat inside. “So, um, this is Bugger. We found her in the stable a couple nights ago.”
“Stable?”
“I have a horse,” Sir Justin explained. The vet didn’t probe for details, taking bugger out of the crate to give her a good look over. He ran his hands through her fur, tilted her head to look at her face, and got out all kinds of equipment that Greg hadn’t seen since he was a kid and still went to the pediatrician regularly.
“What’s the verdict, doc?” Greg asked when the silence stretched a bit too long.
The doctor’s frown deepened and retracted his stethoscope. “I’d like a bit more time to be sure but I think Bugger here has a hole in her heart.”
Sir Justin looked alarmed but Greg wasn’t quite ready to jump to conclusions yet. “But she’s vomiting? I didn’t think heart conditions could cause that.”
“They can but that’s not why she’s vomiting.”
“Then why is she?” Greg pressed.
“Oh, I thought she was obvious. She has worms too.”
Greg reeled back, taking his hands off the table even though he knew it wouldn’t do anything. Both he and Sir Justin had already spent a good deal of time handling the cat. Not touching her now wouldn’t do a thing.
Sir Justin looked even more alarmed than he had before. “What does that mean?”
“Just like it sounds,” Greg responded, trying to contain his reaction. “She’s got parasites in her. And we might’ve gotten them from touching her.”
“Nothing some over the counter medication can’t fix,” the doctor responded, “but I’d recommend being careful from here on out. I’m surprised you didn’t know sooner.”
“I’m used to dogs,” Greg admitted, gesturing at the dog crate, “and we always took good care of them. The only sign I ever knew was when they get their rears down on the ground and start scooting.”
The vet made an amused sound and made a motion like he was going to show Greg how to check for the right signs but Sir Justin interrupted him. “So the main concern is her heart?”
The doctor nodded. “Like I said, I’d like to check her out for a bit longer but yes, I’m fairly certain that’s what’s wrong with her. Overnight, if that’s alright with you.”
Sir Justin looked like he wanted to argue but Greg agreed easily. It was what was best for Bugger, even if she probably wouldn’t like it much. Besides, some irrational part of him was urging him to get home as fast as possible to shower and take some worm medication. He didn’t know how contagious the parasite was and realistically, he probably hadn’t actually contracted it but a squeamish side of him he didn’t know existed was whispering in his ear and he was powerless to resist it.
Near powerless, that is. He kept his composure for Sir Justin’s sake. And Bugger’s, he supposed. He didn’t want to scare her any more than necessary.
They were able to buy the worm medication right from the front desk. Greg handled that while Sir Justin said goodbye to Bugger with a bit more fanfare than Greg thought was necessary. The cat had no idea what Sir Justin was telling her yet the knight seemed insistent on explaining everything to her. He was spending too much time with Winged Victory, Greg thought. At least she was a magic horse. She knew when she was being spoken to and what people were telling her. Bugger didn’t. She was just a cat. But Greg didn’t say anything as they left. He thought it might be a bit mean to.
And besides, he was figuring out yet another thing Sir Justin liked about this century. Like any good partner, he’d be there to support and encourage him through it all. Even if Sir Justin’s irrationality through the whole thing was bound to drive him up the wall sooner or later.
It turned out Bugger’s name was actually Merida. Sir Justin liked the name better but upon learning it’s origin, Bugger remained Bugger.
Sir Justin spent the evening googling what it meant for a cat to have a hole in its heart. Greg got an earful of questions, most of which he couldn’t answer, so he got out his laptop to do his own research. Google was not very helpful. Neither was Reddit but those guys rarely were when it came to medical advice.
When they returned to the vet the next day, the vet confirmed that yes, Bugger had a hole in her heart. He also told them that Greg was wrong about Bugger not being microchipped. She was and, once they handed Bugger back off to Greg and Sir Justin, they were free to contact them and discuss future treatment and potentially returning the cat to her rightful owners.
Greg could tell Sir Justin had mixed feelings about it but neither man said anything. They knew what the right thing to do was. Once they got home and got Bugger all squared away, they called the number.
It rang four times before someone picked it up. A teenager, by the sound of it.
“Hello?” the kid asked, sounding a bit tentative. Appropriately, Greg thought. Why was a kid answering the phone? Greg’s parents never let him answer the phone as a kid. What were this kids’ parents thinking? Unless it was the kid’s cell. They didn’t have those when Greg was a kid. Greg had just assumed it was a landline but, hey, they were in a new age now. Kids had phones now.
“We’re calling about, uh, Merida,” Sir Justin said into the phone, glancing at the paper with the details from the microchip. “We found a cat and she-”
“Mooooom!” the kid yelled, thankfully turning his head away from the phone so the two on the other end wouldn’t get an earful of noise. Greg couldn’t help but feel a little relieved an adult was coming. Sure, he was good with kids- great even- but something just made him uncomfortable about a kid talking with a pair of grown men over the phone. “Someone’s calling about Merida! They found her!”
There was some commotion on the other end of the line as the phone was passed over. A woman, presumably the boy’s mother, shooed him away before addressing her callers. “I’m going to skip the pleasantries here. You found the cat, you took it to the vet to see if there was a microchip, there was but you also found out about it’s heart problems, and now you want someone to help pay for the expenses.”
“Um…” That was pretty close, even if a few details were inaccurate. That didn’t really matter though. She was right. Had this happened before? That wasn’t really something he could ask. Or was it?
“We found your cat,” Sir Justin said, taking the lead. “I- We thought maybe you would want her back. We do not know if she has much time left so if you wanted to try to save her or say goodbye-”
“I’m going to stop you right there,” the woman on the other line interrupted. “I got that cat three years ago. Threw her out after a few months when the vet told us she had heart problems. We’re not wealthy. My kids just wanted a pet. I didn’t want to deal with the expenses or the crying then and I don’t want to now.”
“But-” Sir Justin cut himself off, anger enveloping his face. “She is a living thing!”
“And?”
“And-”
“Hey,” Greg interrupted, putting a hand on Sir Justin’s shoulder. “Maybe you should step out for a moment? Take a walk? Call Courtney? Just take a few minutes to make sure you don’t say something you don’t mean.”
Sir Justin looked unhappy but it was clear he was trying to put a lid on his rage. “I will behave. But I do not want to listen to this woman’s excuses for leaving a sick creature to die.”
“And I don’t want to give them,” the woman answered, sounding irritated, “so if we’re done here-”
“Wait.” Greg didn’t want to talk to this person either but his soft spot for children was urging him to say something. He knew he’d be awake all night thinking about it if he didn’t. “Your kids.”
“What about them?”
“The boy who answered the phone, he sounded excited. Happy to hear the cat was okay. What are you going to tell him?”
There was a pause. She was thinking. “The truth, I suppose. I’m sure you two have a pretty low opinion of me but I’m not total garbage. I’ll tell him the cat’s sick and she’s got a new family taking care of her.”
“Woah, we never agreed to-”
Sir Justin stepped on his foot. Greg shut his mouth.
“Okay. Alright. Yeah, tell your kid we’ll take care of her.”
The call ended and Greg closed his eyes, not really wanting to see the expression on Sir Justin’s face right now. He was a compassionate man and he loved that about him but he had the feeling that this moment of compassion would only leave him hurt.
Greg realized he’d never seen Sir Justin cry.
He’d seen Greg cry. A lot. Movies, mostly. Why were the writers always killing the dogs? They didn’t deserve it. It got him every time. Sir Justin had gotten worried the first couple times but by this point, he could see it coming from a mile away. He always told Greg not to watch movies with dogs in them. The dogs always died. Greg never believed it and he’d spend the night staring at the TV screen with tears dripping down his face.
It wasn't just dogs though. From an outsider’s perspective, Greg imagined people would expect Sir Justin to be the more emotional of the pair. He was always so expressive. He just had such a strong sense of morality and empathy. If he saw something that upset him, he’d say something. Greg would too but they were sensitive to different things. Sir Justin tended to just go for the more obvious things. People getting hurt, voices getting oppressed… Cats. Cats, apparently, was a big one.
Greg always had a soft spot for the small stuff, the little things that were so strangely human. That was probably why he cried over dogs so much. The writers always did a big show of showing the bond between man and dog that it always hit him right in that soft spot of his heart. Especially when there were kids involved. Kids always got him crying too. When a boy lost his favorite toy, when a girl dropped her ice cream cone, when a kid lost their balloon- He remembered what it was like to be a kid. He held those memories close to his heart. Even the embarrassing stuff. Seeing a kid go through something that would’ve upset him as a kid always made his throat tighten in a way he didn’t love.
But he never held back any tears that wanted to fall. He’d cry in front of others. Sometimes it was silent, sometimes it was loud and messy. Greg didn’t care. No one would fault him for it. Crying was human and that was beautiful.
He didn’t think Sir Justin’s crying was beautiful. No, Sir Justin’s crying just made his heart twist in his chest.
With the doctor’s advice, they decided not to go through with any treatment for Bugger’s heart. They’d scrape the pennies together if they had to but what good would it do? Bugger would just be confused and hurting and upset and no one wanted to subject her to that. She had a home and not much time left to enjoy it. They’d make the most of it for her.
The worms cleared up and they let Bugger climb all over the house. Her claws left little holes up and down the couch and practically every blanket they owned. Sir Justin never scolded her. Greg never threw her outside. When she tried climbing into their bed, they didn’t kick her out. Even when she kept trying to suffocate them in the middle of the night.
She wasn’t very interested in cat toys or towers but she loved wet food and cat grass. Sir Justin spoiled her and always made a show of it. Greg didn’t think Sir Justin had the acting skills but somehow he always managed to convince Bugger that treats were something special and rare even though he’d always end up giving them to her regardless. It was a trick parents used with kids. Greg was surprised Sir Justin knew it.
She wandered around outside a bit. Winged Victory still got scared of her but she learned to tolerate her. When she was gone, Greg could tell the horse missed her little friend.
Euthanasia was the most humane approach, they decided. Bugger kept stumbling. She wouldn’t eat, not even human food. And she always looked like she was in pain. It was a difficult conversation but there wasn’t much argument. It was the right choice. Bugger deserved better than struggling with this quality of life just because Greg and Sir Justin would be sad to see her go.
That first night without her was hard. Sir Justin had a bit of a delayed reaction. At first, there was just numbness. Then maybe denial. And then there was crying.
Greg stayed with him the whole night. What else would he do? Sir Justin needed a shoulder to hide his sobs in. A few tears escaped his own eyes but it was like a trickle compared to the ocean. It made him feel kind of useless.
“She’s in a better place now, doll,” Greg told him softly, shifting a bit so his arms were wrapped around his partner more securely, once the waterworks died down a bit.
Sir Justin rolled over so he was curled up beside Greg instead of practically laying on top of him. “I know. It still hurts though.”
“Yeah. It does.”
“I did not know one could care so deeply for an animal.”
“Your best friend is-”
“-a horse. I know. I realized that after I said it. But it is different.”
“Yeah. It is.”
“I do not think I have the words to explain it.”
“That’s okay. You don’t need to. I think I understand.”
It was hard but they bounced back. Normal life had to resume.
They ate their meals. They went on missions. Sir Justin cleaned his armor. Greg upgraded his guns. They watched movies at home and in theaters. They showered Winged Victory with affection and a newfound gratitude. They helped Speedy and Courney out with some kind of online rivalry. They let Green Arrow crash at the farm when Canary went off world so he wouldn’t feel too lonely without her.
And slowly, the nights became easier and the pain faded from their chests.
But that didn’t mean it wasn’t there or that people didn’t noticed.
“Are you alright, man?” the Ray asked halfway through a mid-morning coffee at the Watchtower cafeteria.
Greg shrugged half-heartedly. “Just thinking about Sir Justin.”
“Miss him?”
Yeah but that wasn’t exactly what was on his mind. “I think he really likes cats.”
“Oh.” The Ray looked suddenly uncomfortable. “Um, is that like… code for something?”
“What? No.” Greg stared at him, mildly horrified. “I was talking about the animal.”
“Oh.”
“Get your mind out of the gutter, pal.” Greg was immensely grateful Sir Justin wasn’t here to hear that. He’d be even more horrified than Greg. Hell, he was glad none of his usual friends were here. Oliver would laugh, Pat and Lee would get all weird, and he’d probably have an uncomfortable conversation inbound with- Actually, Courney and Roy probably knew about that already. They weren’t kids anymore. Not really.
“Sorry. I just- cats? Sir Justin doesn’t really seem like an animal person.”
“He has a horse.”
“Winged Victory doesn’t count. She’s basically a person. But a cat?”
“Surprised me too. Brings out this whole other side of him.”
Greg told him about Bugger. About the fretful worry and about the gentle affection. And about the tears. Maybe it wasn’t his place but once the words started falling out of his mouth, he couldn’t stop.
The Ray didn’t judge. He was a good friend. He just listened intently and nodded. And when Greg was done, he offered some pretty damn good advice.
“So are you going to get him a cat?”
“What?” Greg’s head snapped up, not having realized his gaze drifted so far off his friend. He wasn’t sure if he heard him right.
“I mean, you guys have the room and it sounded like you like having a pet around,” Ray ventured, looking a bit confused by Greg’s reaction. “Have you not thought about it?”
Greg paused for a moment. He had, of course, but it was always a fleeting thought. “We knew Bugger would be temporary. I don’t know if we have time to take care of a cat, with all our League duties and all.”
“Dude. It’s a cat. Not a kid. Cats are fine if you leave them alone. They know how to take care of themselves. And!” the Ray interrupted himself before Greg could. “And, you have plenty of people you can ask to look after it if both you and Sir Justin are offworld.”
That was true. He knew Speedy and Stargirl would be thrilled to be asked. And S.T.R.I.P.E., the Crimson Avenger, and Oliver definitely could use the company. The Ray too. And if worse came to worse, he could always hunt down-
An idea struck him. A grin spread across his face, barely hidden by his bandana. He clapped Ray on the shoulder. “Hey, thanks man.”
“You’re welcome…?” the Ray trailed off as he watched Greg take off toward the teleporter. “Have fun?”
Greg was beyond thrilled to kiss all the nights of hunting down cats on Gothams’ streets goodbye when he finally found the one with a key on her collar.
“What do you want?” Catwoman asked, sighing as she boredly leaned against her doorframe. Greg held up Isis like an offering. She stared at him a moment before taking the cat off his hands but still didn’t seem all that much in a chatty mood.
“Hey, that’s no way to treat a guest,” Greg joked. She raised an eyebrow at him. He coughed awkwardly into the back of his hand. “I need help. With, uh, a cat related thing. And you’re the only one I know who owns a cat.”
She looked faintly surprised, betraying emotion for the first time that night. “Really? You know no one who owns a cat?”
“Not to my knowledge,” Greg responded, putting his hands on his hips. “So are you going to help me or not?”
Catwoman sighed and leaned away from the doorway. “Fine. What is it?”
“Okay, so I’ve been thinking…”
If nothing else, there were two things Greg knew about relationships.
One was not to get a tattoo of your partner’s name. Even if you were married or thought you were going to be together forever or whatever, it was a bad move.
The other was not to surprise your partner with a pet.
Greg was sure Sir Justin wouldn’t mind, he’d probably be pretty happy, but it was the principle of the thing that pushed him to ask, not to mention the whole process would be a lot more fun if his boyfriend was involved.
“You can just buy cats?” Sir Justin questioned after Greg gave his whole spiel. It was nothing impressive, just a summary of the crash course Catwoman had given him on pet adoption, but Greg was realizing maybe he started a bit too far ahead. Afterall, pretty much everyone Sir Justin knew was a superhero and superheroes didn’t tend to be pet owners. Who would’ve told him these things?
“Uh-huh.” Greg’s mind scrambled for the list Catwoman gave him. “There are shelters and breeders and families- lots of options, doll. If you want to, that is. It’s been awhile since Bugger and I, y’know… Anytime we run into a cat, you seem really happy. I thought you’d like to pick one of your own.”
The look on Sir Justin’s face told him everything he needed to know.
They involved Courtney, of course. They weren’t really expecting her to invite Roy but it was a welcome surprise.
“I’ve got a buddy who volunteers at an animal shelter and my old roommate’s cat had a litter recently,” Roy told them one day when Courtney sat the group down in the cafeteria one afternoon for some cat talk. “So, uh, yeah. I’ve got cat hookups if you need ‘em.”
Sir Justin and Greg exchanged a glance, silently sharing their surprise. Was it really that easy?
Courtney snorted. “I’m going to edit a picture of you holding your jacket open like a drug dealer but instead of drugs it’s just a bunch of cats.”
Roy laughed hard and abruptly, slapping the table in the process. “I love that. And perfect teaser for the fans if Sir Justin and Vig let us film it. The internet could always use more cat videos.”
“You can find videos of cats online?” Sir Justin questioned with such pure excitement etched on his face that Greg’s heart flipped in his chest at the sight of it. Courney punched him in the arm, snapping him out of it.
“Vig!” she scolded. “It’s your job to show him these things!”
“I’m not the tech-savvy one here,” Greg responded good-naturedly. “It’s your job to show both of us these things.”
“You’re right. I’ve failed my sacred duty,” Courtney answered dramatically. She pulled out her phone and slid it across the table in front of Sir Justin. “That just means we have a lot to make up for. Have you ever seen Keyboard Cat? That seems like a good place to start.”
Greg saw Roy subtly pull out his own phone to record the whole thing. Silently, he promised himself he’d get his hands on a copy of the footage before the day was over but for now, he was more than content watching Sir Justin react to the wonder that was cat YouTube.
“What up Speedy Nation! I’m here with a couple of characters you may recognize from @itsthestaff’s tiktoks: the Vigilante and the Shining Knight! They’ve been talking about getting a cat for awhile now and today’s the day they’re finally doing it! Oh, Stargirl’s here too. You can find her footage of what we’re doing today over on her TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube channel.”
Greg didn’t really understand these video introductions. He knew Roy had a social media presence that rivaled Courtney’s but he’d only seen him record those short videos, never anything for his YouTube channel. Sir Justin seemed a bit put off by Roy talking to himself in the front seat of the car but Greg just shook his head and decided to let it go before he thought about it too hard.
“You two excited?” Courntey asked, twisting around from the passenger seat as Roy kept chattering away to turn to the boys in the back seat. Sir Justin nodded, not bothering to grace her question with a verbal response. It was fairly obvious how he felt about this.
“I gotta admit, I’m kind of nervous,” Greg answered truthfully, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. “I’ve only had a couple of cats but never a kitten. And I’ve only had a puppy once. This is going to be a new one for me.”
Sir Justin slid his hand into his. “We shall face this new experience together, love.”
“You two are so sappy,” Roy commented before Greg could return his partner’s smile. Sir Justin merely responded with a look a bit too cheeky to be genuine. Roy opened his mouth to say something but was quickly distracted by movement outside. “Oh hey, the other family’s leaving. We’re up.”
“Give us a rundown of what to do?” Greg requested as he popped the car door open and stepped out, Sir Justin shuffling after him.
“You three just pick a cat. I’ll talk to the mother’s owners. Unless you have questions but that’s what all the emails have been for.”
Greg was not sad to see those go. He must’ve spent more time checking his email the past month than he had his entire life. And that was including back when he was still taking acting and music gigs.
Greg didn’t really know what he’d been expecting. Roy had told him that the people they were getting the cat from were just a suburban family whose pet had gotten pregnant thanks to one of the neighborhood toms. Still, it was strange to just wander into someone’s house. Or rather, their yard. He’d been to Pat’s house a handful of times, sure, but that was Pat. This was a stranger. He didn’t know if it was that or just the fact that he didn’t see houses like this much anymore.
Any uneasiness faded when they saw the kittens.
Sir Justin gasped. Or maybe it was Greg. He couldn’t tell. He just knew he was a lot more excited than he thought he’d be.
There was a pen set up in the corner of the yard. Inside, there were half a dozen little lumps of fur tumbling around. Greg found he couldn’t tear his eyes off them. Someone opened the gate, letting Greg and Sir Justin inside, but he didn’t see who. His entire world was inside this pen right now.
Sir Justin sat down slowly and the cats began trying to climb him, just like all that time ago when they’d visited Gotham and Sir Justin got the chance to play with cats for the first time. Greg couldn’t hide the softness in his eyes as he watched Sir Justin’s face light up and scoop up the tiny creatures in his strong hands. He knew Courtney was filming him right now but he couldn’t find it in himself to care.
Greg sat down beside him but the cats didn’t seem very interested in him. One or two tried clawing up his knees and giving his fingers a sniff before turning their attention back to Sir Justin. Greg had no idea why they liked him so much. He really didn’t mind but damn was he curious. Maybe they could just tell how much Sir Justin liked them. Greg wouldn’t put it past them. Dogs may be smart but cats were clever in a way he could never understand.
But, as magnetic as Sir Justin was, he wasn’t doing anything particularly interesting and the kittens soon grew bored and resumed their usual antics. All except one. There was this tiny scrap of black fur that wouldn’t leave him alone. And judging from Sir Justin’s reaction to him, Greg got the feeling they wouldn’t be leaving without him.
“You like this one?” Greg asked, reaching over to scratch the little guy under the chin. He let out a loud squeak in response, getting a chuckle out of the cowboy. “What a fierce little critter you are.”
“I like that.”
“Like what?”
“Critter,” Sir Justin repeated, picking up the cat so he was more at eye level. Not tearing his eyes from the cat, he explained, “I think it would be a good name for him.”
“Really?” Greg was kind of surprised. He expected Sir Justin to have some stronger feelings about the cat’s name. If he’d known he’d be so quick to pick, he’d have said something better. Not that Critter was a bad choice. It was just very in the moment. But maybe that was what Sir Justin wanted. “You can name him whatever you want.”
“And I am choosing to name him Critter,” Sir Justin replied, shooting Greg a quick half-smile. “Bugger was named in a fleeting moment. I think it is only fair that Critter was named in the same manner.”
“I’d probably say thoughtless, not fleeting, but I can’t really argue with you on this one, doll,” Greg responded as Sir Justin gently passed the cat over to him. Greg hesitated for a moment, nervous at the idea of having such a fragile creature sitting in his hands, but the cat didn’t struggle or complain and Greg quickly found the weight in his palms oddly comforting. As Sir Justin had, he brought the cat up to eye level and emerald green met deep black. “You wanna come home with us, Critter?”
Critter responded by reaching out with a paw and trying to claw Greg’s bandana. Greg and Sir Justin exchanged a grin. Critter would be a good fit for them.