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Felix was starting to wonder if cat sitting was really this elaborate or if Annette was just pulling his leg. Twenty minutes into her explanation and she was still going over her calico’s morning routine. All he could do at this point was nod along and try not to notice the way the cat eyes his ponytail with murderous intent from across the room.
“-And then around noon I like to take Clover onto the balcony with me while I do some work on my laptop. She really likes to hear the traffic and the birds and she can hear both really well from up here! Just make sure to put her harness and leash on before going out or else she might get some funny ideas.”
“Has she escaped before?” Felix asked with a raised brow.
“Well, no, but I don’t want to give her the chance! Anyways - her afternoons are usually pretty simple, she really likes to nap in this little sunspot that’s on my bed so that should keep her busy for a few hours. Then for dinner just give her another scoop of her fry food and the other half of the wet food can you opened in the morning,” It was like Annette didn’t even have to breathe to explain her cat’s schedule. For someone whose head always seemed to be in a jumble she was surprisingly on point when it came to her cat. It didn’t exactly surprise Felix; he knew how much she loved her feline. Every time they went out together she needed to show him the newest “best photo” of Clover. To be fair, they were all adorable.
“You can take her on a quick walk around the building after her dinner and then she’s all set! She may bother you at night every now and again but she’s usually quiet. Do you have any questions?”
“No. You were pretty thorough. I’m impressed.” He commended with a small smile.
Annette beamed. “I try to be! Clover is very fickle with her schedule but I know you’ll take care of her just fine! I wouldn’t trust anyone else with my cat.” Annette beamed, turning to give him a peck on the cheek before standing up from the couch. “I don’t know anyone who’s more of a perfectionist than you, so keeping to Clover’s schedule should be a piece of cake for you.”
“As if taking care of a cat would be hard. What time is your flight?”
“It’s at three.”
“Annette…it’s already 1:30.”
Annette’s mouth fell open into a small ‘o’ as her gaze darted to the small clock on her coffee table. “Dang it! I bet Mercedes is already waiting for me at the airport! Come on, come on, you need to drive me!”
———
Three days into Annette’s trip to Brigid with Mercedes and Petra and Felix had realized that taking care of Clover wasn’t as easy as he initially promised his girlfriend it would be. As soon as he arrived back at Annette’s apartment to care for Clover, the cat was already taking her afternoon nap. Simple. Easy. Nice. So Felix went to the gym to get his daily sets in. When he came to the apartment, however, the whole place was a mess.
At least when Annette left a mess in her home it was organized chaos; what Clover did was pure, unadultured chaos. Picture frames and glasses were knocked to the floor, floor mats were moved halfway across the room, and there were dirty paw prints all over the kitchen counter from a potted houseplant. At least the poor plant wasn’t shredded to pieces. Apparently Clover didn’t accept late dinners, even though Felix was five minutes late at the most.
The next day, Felix made sure to give Clover her breakfast on the dot before going through her tedious morning routine of brushing her fur, playing with cat toys, and giving her enrichment via her snuffle mat. The moment he went to sit down and finish some work, Clover attacked, following through on what was an obviously concocted coup against his hair, immediately gripping his ponytail in her tiny little teeth and not letting go for anything. It was the closest Felix had gotten to tearing up in quite some time.
Today, on the third day, Clover went through her snuffle mat with unusual speed, and was now howling for attention. Unfortunately, Felix was on a facetime with Annette at the moment, who could hear every pitiful cry.
Felix winced as another loud “mrrrow” came from the calico. Annette also blinked at the sound, seemingly torn between concern and annoyance. “She found all her treats within the first two minutes? She’s never done that before, usually it takes her forever.”
Felix sighed, rubbing the back of his head and feeling the sore spot that was still there. “Well, she did it today. I think she’s still punishing me for accidentally interrupting her nap that first night.” He felt guilty for how bad he was at this. Annette wasn’t lying when she called him a perfectionist. He tried to do everything perfectly and he worked until he could achieve the absolute best. It was why he was undefeated in his fencing league. But somehow, Clover’s care eluded him. He wished it didn’t, Annette deserved to enjoy her vacation without worry. Some boyfriend he was.
“Aw, poor Felix,” Annette cooed with a sympathetic grin. “I’m sorry about this, maybe I should have enrolled her in a kennel. I just thought Clover would prefer a sitter, but I guess she’s just not a people-pet.”
“I doubt she would like a kennel more than this. At least she gets to be at home if I’m taking care of her. You’re great at taking care of Clover, I’m just not.” He grumbled, eying the cat carefully when he saw the feline a little too close to his head for comfort.
“Well, I’ll be back in two more days and then you won’t need to cat sit again for a long, long time, sweetie.”
Clover hopped onto his chest and peered directly into Felix’s phone with a pathetic meow. “And I miss my favorite cat in the whole world! I’ll be back soon, Clover, I promise!” She baby talked to her cat.
The cute moment was ruined when Clover went in for the strike, turning around and making a grab for Felix’s bangs. Classic.
———
The day Annette came home couldn’t have come soon enough. Adorned with battle scars and fatigued from the long fight, Felix opened the door and braced himself as Annette tackled him into a tight hug. “Oooh, I missed you so much! How are these last few days? You weren’t lying in your updates about Clover right? Did she really give you all these scratches? How’s your head? Are you sure you aren’t mad?”
Felix’s head reeled as he pulled away slightly from the hug. “Relax, I can handle a few scratches from a house cat,” He reassured her, wrapping an arm around her waist after she shut the door behind her and her luggage. “She settled down just like I said sometime in the fourth day. Dunno what chilled her out but I’m not going to question it,”
“Well, I won’t either. I’m just really glad you two finally got along! Where is she now?”
As if on queue, Clover pranced around the corner with her tail curled in welcome, immediately wrapping herself around Annette’s legs and purring. Delighted, she bent down and gave her cat some proper attention. Felix smiled slightly at how much Annette loved her pet. This was worth it if it meant giving his girlfriend some peace of mind on her trip.
“She looks so happy! You did great, Fe.” Annette chimed as she straightened up and gave Felix a kiss on the cheek.
He hummed and returned her kiss with one of his own. “I did what I could. Clover didn’t make it easy but I’ll be more prepared next time.”
“Well…”
Felix’s attention pricked at that. Whenever she trailed off like that he knew her mind was at hard work. “‘Well’? ‘Well’ what?”
“Mercedes and I actually invited Petra to visit Faerghus in a few months. We were thinking of…going on a…road trip?”
Felix blinked and took a deep breath before sighing. “Well…” he began mimicking Annette. “If you do, I’ll be here to cat sit Clover.” Was this experience a nightmare? Yes. Without question. But Annette deserved to spend some time with her friends and if that meant enduring her demon cat then Felix would gladly weather a storm of a thousand scratches for her.
His girlfriend laughed and poked his cheek playfully. “I was hoping you would say that. Hopefully you’ll have enough time to heal up your pride before we leave.”
Scoffing, he rolled his eyes. “My pride is not hurt. But. Yes, give me at least a few months. Just know that you owe me. A song about my endeavors might suffice.”
Annette giggled to hide her embarrassment. “I’ll think about it. Maybe.”