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"Cindy, I do not think this is entirely necessary," Felix comments, his eyes squeezed shut on the demand of Cindy, letting her guide him through her dad's apartment.
"It so is!" she continues to insist, a foot in front of Felix, rather inconsiderate of the fact Felix continuously bumped into furniture and doorframes.
"I am not one for surprises," Felix says plainly.
"C'mon, don't be a killjoy!" Cindy pulls him through a final doorway and lets go of his hand. "You can open your eyes now anyway!"
Felix does as instructed, desperate to get this whole ordeal over with.
In front of Felix, sat on Cindy's bed, is a little brown kitten.
"Oh… my," is all Felix could think to whisper. Any words get stuck in his throat as he looks to Cindy, then to the kitten again, who had flopped onto its back and revealed the light brown fur of its stomach.
"And this is yours, yes?" Felix asks reluctantly. He internally prayed that the answer would be no, that Cindy knew of his hatred for cats and this was all one elaborate April Fool's prank that came a week too late.
"Yes!" Cindy grinned, somehow oblivious to the way Felix deflated as his last shred of hope is ripped from him. "His name is Gravy!"
Felix's face contorted in disgust. Gravy. What a dreadful name. He was never particularly fond of the food, the colour always threw off his appetite, and now he was met with a creature named after the least appealing aspect of it.
Instead of verbalising these thoughts, because Felix had enough sense to know berating the new pet would upset his dear girlfriend, he grits his teeth into something that resembled a smile if you squinted.
"He is… very… cute," the words sounded forced, because they were. Felix turns to Cindy to avoid looking at the mud-stained cat.
"You're not a good liar," Cindy pouts.
Felix sighs, his smile dropping at the first acknowledgment it was fake.
"My love, I am not much of a cat person."
"Well, you have to adapt pretty damn quick," Cindy says, very matter-of-factly. "You are not going to be neglecting your son!"
"Neglecting my son?" Felix repeats back, his expression a mix between confusion and annoyance. "He's your cat! Are you really expecting me to take care of this… creature?"
"Not entirely! But you should, like, take him out on the weekend," Cindy pauses before she adds a frantic, "or whatever dads do!"
"Cindy. It is a cat."
"Well, at least try to like him! He already loves you!"
Cindy scoops Gravy up into her arms and then takes a step towards Felix to bring the two closer together. At the immediate sight of Felix, the cat hisses, batting an angry paw towards him before Felix could even think about petting him.
"Oh," Cindy frowns, taking a step back. She smiles up to Felix, a hopeful look on her face, "it's okay! He'll learn to love you!"
"Just as I will learn to love it," Felix mutters under his breath, his hand pulled to his chest as if it was scratched – Gravy couldn't even reach him, but he acted wounded all the same.