Work Text:
The first thing that she felt was the gust of air on her skin. She finally clocked out of work, her brain begging her for a break of any kind. She would’ve usually taken the bus, but she knew how packed it would get at this hour of the day, so she slowly started making her way home by foot, even though walks weren’t really her forte.
It was a really sunny day outside, one that could’ve been perfect to hang out by the beach with her partner or just relax in the park while talking mindlessly to her lover as they prepared the spot they usually took in the grass to have a picnic. Unfortunately, it was already evening, and the sun was already sinking behind the buildings of the city, casting long shadows on the sidewalk. It wasn’t unusual for Lilavati to have these walks, however, it was needed sometimes, after all, working in a company with Nimeesha Devdas as the boss (and her potential mother-in-law) wasn’t something everybody could handle.
It was then, when she was walking past a small alleyway, that she saw it: a flash of white in the sea of blackened trash, wide yellow eyes staring back at her red ones.
In the city she lived in, finding strays wasn’t something unheard of, a big city is bound to have a lot of shitty people who feel entitled to have a pet, and then, when said animal behaved like one, they abandoned it on the street, unable to look at their poor attempt to care for a creature that was not made to be a plushie. Lilavati never liked those people.
She knew, however, that even with this good mindset of never mistreating a pet, she could never take care of one, for a long period of time. It wasn't easy for her to just take a small animal, whose responsibility would’ve been all on her shoulders and then continue to live through that responsibility for more than a decade until they died. She didn’t want the poor thing to suffer because of her. So when the little furball in the dumpster and her locked eyes, she didn’t think much of it. That was, until she stopped to cross the road and wait for the green light: there she felt something nudging, softly, her work pants.
She didn’t think much of it, the hubbub of the outside world was dulled to a muted hum through her earphones, so she thought it was someone’s foot grazing her, but the movement was repeated and unhurried. The nudge was prolonged, almost like someone, or something, was actually leaning on her.
That’s when she discovered that it wasn’t a person, or an object, no, it was a white kitten. By the looks of it, the little thing wasn’t more than half a year old and when it looked up, back at her, those same yellow eyes that she saw in the dumpster were staring right back at her.
Now, that was new.
Just when she was about to move to do something about this kitten, the traffic lights must’ve turned green since the crowd of people started to move.
Lilavati wasn’t a bad person, she never was, but this was something that annoyed her more than concerned her. She sighed as she looked around and then took the kitten in her arms and brought it to a safe spot, where the little thing wouldn’t have had anyone walk over it or harm it.
The next thing she knew, she’s running to the other side of the road and walking back home, with no cat attaching itself to her leg.
Surprisingly, after a week the kitten was back, this time however, the pet placed itself right in front of the door of the building Lilavati worked in. The first thing she thought was that she was probably mistaken, after all, she doubted that the same cat as the one of the week beforehand learned where she worked and now was following her everywhere. It just didn’t sound like something that would happen in the real world. To her surprise, however, the same yellow eyes locked with hers and she knew this white cat, sitting in front of the door of the building she was working in, surrounded by people trying to pet it, was the same exact one that followed her all the way to the traffic lights one week ago.
She ignored it.
She was supposed to go back home anyway, Aishwarya was waiting for her and if she came home too late, the poor woman would’ve started to worry about her whereabouts.
“Hey… Babe?” Lilavati and Aishwarya were laying down on the couch, the taller woman acting as a weighted blanket while she was comfortably reading a book which was resting on Lilavati’s chest. It was the weekend, the only two days in which the two women could relax together and enjoy each other’s presence. Aishwarya only hummed in response, looking up at her lover. Lilavati felt her heart flutter for a split second, before she reached out for the woman’s head and started to caress her curly and soft hair. She was really beautiful.
“What do you do when a stray cat follows you around? Like… How do you get rid of the cat?”
Aishwarya’s eyebrows knitted in confusion as the corners of her lips slowly turned up, forming a little, teasing, smile.
“Do you have a stray cat following you around?”
Lilavati coughed a couple of times, embarrassed.
“Well. Maybe.”
Aishwarya's smile widened, a snort slipping out as she covered her mouth with her hand.
“Right, maybe, well in that case there’s not much to do. The cat distribution system assigned you that cat, so you might as well take it home.”
“But–” “But?”
Lilavati pouted, her fingers flowing through her girlfriend’s hair still. She felt a smile waiting to crack her offended expression.
“What if I don’t want it?”
Aishwarya hummed again, tilting her head to the side and letting her cheek lean on the abdomen of her girlfriend.
“Mh… Maybe bring it to an animal shelter then.”
Her eyelids closed right in that instant, Lilavati’s digits now massaging her scalp. Funnily enough, her girlfriend looked more like a cat than the stray on the street did. If she could purr, she would probably be doing that right now.
“I… I don’t know. Some animal shelters don’t really treat strays as well as they claim to do…”
Lilavati’s other hand snaked up to Aishwarya’s back, holding her as close as she possibly could, leaning down to press her nose in her girlfriend’s hair and inhaling deeply. Right after pecking her on the top of her head, she let go of her, continuing to play with some white strands of hair scattered in the sea of dark brown.
“You are annoying when you want to be.”
Lilavati squeaked out an offended noise, making Aishwarya chuckle.
“What? I’m right, you say how I am too hyperactive, but your mental trips are worse I think.”
“They’re not mental trips.”
“What are they then?”
The smaller woman scoffed, tilting her head sideways in mock offense as she looked at the windows present in the living room of their apartment. It was raining heavily. Lilavati wondered if the kitten was alright, maybe somewhere safe and that sheltered the little white fur ball from the heavy rain.
Lilavati opened her mouth just to close it again, multiple times.
“If I did bring it home, would you…”
As she trailed off, her eyes wandered down to her girlfriend and discovered that the latter was already looking at her with a fond gaze, patiently waiting for her to finish her question. However, the question never found an end, Lilavati losing her words as soon as she looked at Aishwarya. The scent of her girlfriend’s shampoo was enveloping them softly, and the warmth of their two bodies made the woman in her hold almost melt.
“I wouldn’t be opposed to it.”
When Aishwarya’s words arrived in Lilavati's ears, the latter’s lungs deflated as she breathed a quiet sigh of relief. She didn't know she was holding her breath until now.
“Right.”
She breathed out, leaving her head to drop down onto the pillow she was leaning on.
There it was again. Right in front of the door, waiting.
Lilavati only sighed and put her hands on her hips, analysing the situation in front of her. The cat looked at her, almost hopeful, if she didn’t know better.
Finally, after thinking about it, she crouched down and reached out with a hand to the white kitten, who smelled her fingers and then pushed its head against them, eagerly. That was enough for her to reach out and snatch the cat from the ground. She expected the little thing to at least put up a fight, however, it did nothing but purr louder, cuddling up to her happily as she stood still, on the sidewalk. Everyone around her was continuing to live their life, walking around her. To her though, the time stopped for a couple of seconds, leaving her to inspect at the fur ball in her hold. The cat was extremely similar to Aishwarya, in the way it behaved and nuzzled against her.
Yeah, she was bringing this little thing with her home.
“‘M home!”
She closed the door behind herself when she said that, taking off her shoes.
“Finally! Did you take the long way home again– oh!”
Aishwarya interrupted herself when she noticed in her girlfriend’s hold there was a white kitten, currently snoring away while Lilavati continued to slip her work bag off herself.
“You weren’t joking!” Her girlfriend exclaimed, excitedly, as she stepped closer to look at the cat curiously.
“Ya, I wasn’t! I told you, this little thing was running around following me on the street, I was afraid it would get stepped on at some point, or– Hell! Run over even!”
Aishwarya only giggled at the concern of her partner, reaching out with her hand and caressing her head. Lilavati’s bravado dropped immediately then, her cheeks taking on a slightly rosy hue.
“You did good then. Give the baby to me, I’ll make sure to find it somewhere warm to sleep and I’ll call a vet.”
“Isn’t the vet closed now?”
“Not yet!”
Aishwarya quickly took the cat in her hold, receiving a small trill from it, while Lilavati finished putting down her work stuff.
Washing the cat wasn’t an impossible task per se, but it was definitely challenging. Lilavati got a couple of scratches and a lot of angry hissing, but at the end of it, the kitten’s white fur was finally back to its original splendor.
She sat down on one of the chairs they had on their small terrace, with a bundle of towels in her hold. Only the cat’s head was free from the fabric. Not that it mattered since its eyelids were now drooping. The little thing was probably tired after fighting against the water for so long.
“Did it calm down?”
Aishwarya’s voice snapped Lilavati out of her thoughts, making her tilt her head to the side to look at her girlfriend joining her on one of the chairs. Lilavati only hummed, nodding as she went back to look at the setting sun on the horizon. Not much later, Aishwarya’s head leaned against her shoulder, making her tilt her own head and rest on her girlfriend’s.
“Well, congratulations on the baby.”
Lilavati scoffed, amused at the statement of her partner. However, her smile quickly faded, leaving a small frown to take its place.
“I don’t… know if I’ll be able to take care of it properly.”
Her words were almost whispered as she nuzzled her cheek against Aishwarya’s head. The latter hummed back.
“Why? You’re doing it right now.”
“I– You know what I mean, Riri.”
“Hey.”
Aishwarya raised her head, making the other woman raise hers as well. Her hands cupped Lilavati’s face.
“You’re not alone.”
“I know.”
“Then what are you worried about?”
Lilavati’s mouth opened, but nothing came out. Aishwarya waited patiently, her thumbs caressing her girlfriend’s cheeks.
“I am not good at taking care of things for a long time, Riri.”
“What am I then? A chair?”
Lilavati’s lips formed a little, bitter, smile.
“No! No, don’t–” before Aishwarya could finish her phrase, Lilavati interrupted her saying: “No, you’re not, but I am.”
Her girlfriend visibly cringed at the joke, making the smaller woman chuckle.
“I am serious, you goofball.”
“No, no you’re not a chair, beloved.” Lilavati concluded. Aishwarya nodded, satisfied with the response.
There were some moments of silence before Lilavati said something else.
“I am fundamentally afraid.”
“Of what?”
“Of losing those I love around me. You know…” Her eyes dropped to the kitten in her hold, “I’ve lost a lot in my life. The mere thought of having to take care of something or someone for a long period of time scares me.”
“And yet,” Aishwarya’s hand was back to cupping one of her cheeks, “here we are. You have a girlfriend and now a little kitten. Maybe it’s time to work on what you fear.”
“I am. Albeit slowly.”
“Then I don’t see the problem.”
Lilavati nuzzled Aishwarya’s hand.
“I’m still scared. Scared that one day I’ll lose you, and I know that if I do, I won’t be able to love the same.”
Silence enveloped them, Lilavati’s words hanging heavily in the air.
“I–” Aishwarya’s hand suddenly retracted and the smaller woman missed its warmth immediately right after, her eyes landing on the watery ones of her girlfriend.
“Oh- No, no, Riri–”
“It’s okay! It’s okay.”
The taller woman tried to reassure her lover, but to no avail, since she was now standing up, the bundle of towels still in her hold as she crouched in front of Aishwarya.
“I am sorry.”
“It’s– No, it is a valid fear, the one you told me, I just didn’t think it would hit me this hard.”
Lilavati smiled bitterly, standing up and then, one of her hands caressed the back of Aishwarya’s head, pushing the taller woman’s lips against her own.
Lilavati wouldn’t usually wake up first. She never does since she goes to sleep late at night, proclaiming herself to be a night owl more than an early bird.
But she couldn’t breathe.
No, really, she couldn’t breathe.
Her eyes opened wide, meeting only darkness and she was about to panic when her hands reached for her face and felt fur?
She carefully lifted whatever was resting on her face, only to discover that it was the cat, who apparently decided to use her face as its pillow. The kitten chirped, its eyes barely opened and stretching in its new owner’s hold.
Her cat wasn’t the only one who made it difficult to breathe, however, as she spotted Aishwarya sleeping on her chest, cheek pressed comfortably against her as she snored silently through the sunrise.
A smile curled Lilavati’s lips, carefully letting go of the cat and seeing it cuddling up next to her neck.She looked up at the ceiling, studying the little particles of dust floating illuminated by the dawn light, feeling her eyelids droop, more and more until slumber took her back into its embrace, warm and surrounded by love.