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“Larissa?” you called out as you shut the door to your apartment behind you, dropping your keys onto a table in the hall and kicking off your shoes.
You were home a bit earlier than you’d said you would be — you had postponed some errands until next week, eager instead to get home to your girlfriend, who was staying with you for the weekend.
Larissa had texted you earlier in the afternoon that she’d gotten into town and had let herself into your apartment with her spare key, but your greeting was met with silence, so you wandered around in search of her.
The kitchen was empty, and so was the living room. Larissa’s laptop was on the coffee table, open to her screensaver, and you approached the sofa — jumping when you saw a cat curled up on the cushions.
So either Larissa, who was still nowhere to be found, had decided to surprise you by getting you a cat, or you’d left the patio door open that morning by mistake. Knowing yourself, it had probably been the latter.
You knelt down beside the sofa, watching the cat sleep for a moment. It was a beautiful cat, with long, snowy white fur, a round face, a pink nose. It appeared to be sleeping deeply, its whiskers twitching as it dreamed, and you couldn’t help but reach out and gently stroke its fur.
“Hi there, little one…”
The cat slowly began to stir, stretching out its front legs, its paws, yawning widely, teeth clicking as it did so. Its eyelids fluttered a bit, then opened, the brightest blue you’d ever seen in a cat meeting your gaze — then widening almost comically as the cat startled fully awake.
Its fur bristled and it shrunk away from your hand, which you quickly retracted.
“I’m sorry for startling you,” you whispered, shifting back on your heel a bit so that you weren’t so close anymore, gently offering your hand for the cat to sniff. It stared at your fingers, seemingly perplexed, its gaze darting between your hand and your face.
There was something strangely human about the cat’s expression, and something eerily familiar as well, though you shook off the feeling. It reminded you of Larissa in some ways, though that was probably just because it had blue eyes, and because Larissa had been on your mind when you’d found the cat.
“It’s okay… where’d you come from?” you asked, as if you expected an answer, waiting patiently for the cat to decide on its next move, wondering if it would let you cuddle it or if it would go running to wherever it came from. “Did I leave a door open?”
The cat shook its head and– the cat shook its head? Your brows knit together in confusion — it was as if the cat could understand you, the way its gaze was penetrating your own.
“Can you understand me? Of course you can’t, that’s silly…”
The cat had an almost remorseful look on its face, and slowly pushed its head against the back of your hand — something which you took advantage of immediately by scratching behind its ears, pleased when its eyes went half-lidded and it started to purr.
Then it stood, almost reluctantly, pulling out of your grasp and hopping down onto the floor. It stretched once, pawing at the rug as its back arched, and then, quite suddenly, your girlfriend was standing in the place where the cat had just been moments ago.
You were so shocked that you fell backwards onto your butt, your heart racing like a hummingbird.
Larissa stood before you, looking, for the first time since you’d met her, truly nervous and a little embarrassed. Her cheeks were tinged pink and she seemed to want to look anywhere but you as she smoothed a hand over her hair to get rid of nonexistent flyaways.
Silence stretched between the two of you, ringing in your ears.
“Rissa…?” You finally managed to find your voice, pushing yourself to your feet and taking a tentative step towards your girlfriend, who seemed to be silently begging the floor to open up and swallow her whole. You wrapped an arm around her waist, slowly pulling her in towards you, giving her an out. “Is this okay?”
Larissa nodded sheepishly and you reached up to straighten her collar, your fingers brushing against her delicate collarbone in the process.
“So you’re a… shapeshifter?” You knew that she worked at Nevermore and that she must be some sort of outcast, but she’d never mentioned it before and you didn’t want to pry, wanting her to tell you when she felt comfortable doing so.
“I am, yes,” Larissa replied quietly. “I’m sorry that you had to find out like this.” Her voice and expression were both subdued and guarded, as if she was expecting the worst, and it broke your heart.
“I figured you’d tell me when you were ready… I guess the cat’s out of the bag now.” Your attempt at humor managed to draw an incredulous look and a suppressed snort from the blonde, whose cheeks darkened a shade.
“That’s an awful joke,” she murmured, though her lips twitched at the outer corners.
You grinned. “I know.” Larissa still seemed embarrassed and you cupped her cheek, rubbing your thumb over it as if willing the redness to go down. “Why a cat?”
Larissa shrugged, biting the inside of her cheek as she seemed to deliberate. “It’s something I used to do to soothe myself as a child and I suppose it stuck… it’s a comfortable form to be in, I was tired after the drive down here…”
You couldn’t help but smile at her attempt to justify herself. “You know I don’t care, right? I just wasn’t expecting to come home to find a cat on my sofa, is all.”
Larissa released a breath, finally allowing herself to relax a bit in your arms. “Thank you.”
“I’ve actually been thinking of adopting a cat and–”
Larissa’s nose wrinkled in mock-disgust. “I’m not a pet,” she huffed, and you giggled.
“But you make such a good cat, you’re so soft.”
“You can’t be serious…”
You pressed your lips to Larissa’s, humming softly, her hands coming up to cradle the back of your neck. “I’m not,” you mumbled with a smile. “I love you just the way you are.”
“And I love you,” she mumbled back, before deepening the kiss.