Chapter Text
“Foggy, where in the world did you find that thing?”
Foggy looks absolutely affronted. “Matt, don’t call this beautiful creature a ‘thing’! She has feelings, you know.”
“It’s a cat, not a person,” Matt sighs, his patience already being tested this early in the morning. A Saturday morning, no less.
“She’s a special cat, though,” Foggy argues, securing the disgruntled cat in question tightly in his arms. She doesn’t do much to help her case when she growls in the back of her throat, low and threatening.
Matt raises a skeptical eyebrow. “Like I said, where did you find it--her?”
Foggy runs a hand through his hair, and his voice becomes more solemn. “Outside of my apartment. Some asshole left this little ray of sunshine in a cardboard box with a note that listed all of her shots.”
Matt can clearly sense the affection that Foggy already feels for this animal. Foggy tends to quickly become attached when he sees little babies and animals; He’s always been one to feel empathy for the underdog, and this mangy little cat is no exception. “Foggy, I don’t know if your should keep this cat. We’re both pretty tight on money, and--”
“Oh, I’m not keeping her, buddy. You are!” Foggy replies brightly.
“What?” Matt sputters. “What makes you think that I’m equipped to take care of a cat? Or that I would even want a cat?”
Foggy scratches his feline friend behind her ears and cheerfully explains, “Everybody loves cats! And more importantly, your apartment is much bigger and safer for a cat than mine is. She needs space to roam, Matty!”
Matt shakes his head stubbornly. “No way, Foggy. This isn’t a good idea.”
“Oh come on, Matt. Please?” Foggy implores.
Imagining him standing there with a fluffy little animal strikes some type of domestic chord deep within Matt, because he sighs deeply and says, “Fine…what does she look like?”
Foggy grins and replies happily, “Oh, she’s absolutely hideous. She’s got these big orange eyes that make her look like some kind of scary Halloween cat, and her fur is all matted. She has a lot of potential, though. She’s got this cute little underbite, and her fur’s black, so she’s kind of got the whole dark and mysterious thing going for her. She kind of reminded me of you a little bit, to be honest.”
Matt can’t really help the warm and fuzzy feeling that spreads through him at Foggy’s description, all the while ignoring the fact that Foggy just compared him to a scruffy cat. “Could I…do you think I could try holding her?” Matt asks uncertainly. He’d never had any pets while his dad was alive, let alone at the orphanage, so he hasn’t exactly had much experience with handling animals.
“Yeah, sure,” Foggy says kindly, and then he’s gently placing the cat into Matt’s arms.
Despite both men’s best efforts at being as careful with her as possible, the cat doesn’t take too kindly at being manhandled. She lets out an angry hiss, which doesn’t instill much confidence in Matt.
Once Matt’s got her completely secured in his arms, she slowly but steadily calms down, to the point where she’ll only give the occasional half-heated growl if Matt shifts or pets her in the wrong place.
She doesn’t seem completely comfortable yet, but at least she leans into Matt’s touch when he scratches her behind her ears. He internally counts it as a success; he’ll take it where he can get it.
“We’re going to have to give her a name eventually,” Matt comments, rubbing two fingers underneath her chin.
Foggy clicks his tongue. “Well, duh. I’ve already started a mental list of names.”
He begins counting off names on his fingers: “So I was thinking maybe Death Eater, Soul Destroyer, or The Menace?”
Matt gives a startled laugh, which makes the cat hiss again. “Foggy, those are terrible names for a cat.”
“Hey, I’m not done yet!” Foggy exclaims, pretending to be insulted. “What about Señorita Meow?” he asks with a playful grin.
“I can’t tell if that’s better or worse than the first three,” Matt replies dryly.
“Fine, you jerk,” Foggy sighs. “Clearly you don’t appreciate my creative genius, so…what if we named her Angel? It’s a simple name, but it would be really funny because of your whole ‘Devil of Hell’s Kitchen’ thing going on."
“So…it would kind of be like an inside joke?” Matt asks, his smile growing wider.
“Exactly!” Foggy agrees, excited that Matt is finally agreeing with him on something.
“Yeah, Foggy. I like that name.” Matt agrees softly, running his thumb slowly down the bridge of Angel’s nose.
“That’s awesome!” Foggy steps forward and presses a light kiss against Matt. Then he leans down and pecks a kiss onto the cat’s head, eliciting a surprised chirping noise from her. “This is going to be so great, Matty. I basically come over here every day, so we can divide cat care-taking responsibilities. It’s like we’re adopting a baby together, only it’s gonna be ten times easier!”
“Yeah, but I’m pretty sure babies aren’t this grumpy, though. I don’t know how long it’s going to take before this cat likes me.”
“She’ll warm up to you once she gets to know you. You just have to be patient,” Foggy promises. He looks down at his watch. “Well, I’ve gotta meet my mom for lunch in an hour, but as soon as I’m done I’ll come back and we can go shopping for cat stuff. She’s going to need food, and a litter box, and a collar, probably--oh, and we can get her one of those special cat beds and a scratching post!”
Matt grins at his enthusiasm. “Foggy, we’re not running a five-star hotel for cats here. I think she’ll be just fine without a cat bed.”
Foggy shrugs. “Whatever. We can discuss it again later. I’ve gotta run for now, though.” He quickly kisses Matt on the cheek, and heads for the door, yelling, “I love you two! Don’t get into too much trouble while I’m away!”
And then he’s gone, already descending the staircase, and Matt is left alone with this grumpy cat with an underbite who doesn’t really care for him all that much.
Angel huffs out a breath, and for one crazy minute, Matt becomes unreasonably insecure when he wonders if this angry little cat misses Foggy already. Then he reminds himself that this is a cat we’re talking about here, and he snaps out of it.
“What am I going to do with you until Foggy comes back?” Matt asks, and oh god, he’s already starting to become one of those crazy cat ladies who talk their pets like they’re people.
Angel stares up at him, blinks slowly, and lets out a tiny little “Mraoow” in response.