Void
(Read on ao3)
(Part 1 - King Fluffkins & Sir Fat Cat McCatterson)
Andrew had not planned it. He had only wanted to grab ice cream from the grocery store. And cat food, because he was already there anyway, and it was always good to buy a new pack before they needed it because Sir and King Red and Black would turn into whining demons if they weren’t fed on time. He’d been through that once and he didn’t want it to happen a second time. But when he had sat down in the driver’s seat of his car, he heard a mewl. It was the most pathetic sound he had ever had the misfortune of hearing but for some reason he still grabbed a can of cat food and got out of the Maserati again to investigate the sound. Neil’s influence was making him soft.
The sound came from a narrow alley right next to the grocery store, but he couldn’t spot anything that could be the source of it. Aside from the garbage bags piled on one side the alley seemed to be empty. Then he heard another mewl that definitely came from the alley, whatever creature was making it could only be a few feet away from him.
Andrew imitated the sounds he had heard Neil make whenever he wanted their cats’ attention.
It worked. There was a bit of rustling among the garbage bags and another mewl. He tried some of the clicking sounds again and the rustling continued until he could see two orbs reflecting the streetlights. Andrew crouched down to make himself as small and non-threatening as possible without getting his clothes dirty and continued coaxing.
It took another minute until he could tell the black kitten apart from the darkness in the alley. It looked one missed meal away from death by starvation and half of one of its ears was missing. The side of Andrew’s mouth tugged up a bit. They most likely weren’t related but both the black fur and the mangled ear reminded him of a certain other menace that was already living with them.
He opened the can of cat food, careful not to make any unnecessarily loud noises, and slowly pushed it towards the kitten.
The kitten took a few hesitant steps towards the can and when Andrew didn’t move, it began to eat, pausing every other bite to make sure no one would take the food away again.
Andrew decided then and there to kill Neil Josten for making him take a stray cat home without even being there himself.
When the can was completely empty and licked clean Andrew slowly moved his hand towards the kitten for it to smell. He was surprised but pleased when the kitten pressed its head into his hand after only a cursory sniff, seemingly approving of his scent wholeheartedly. He gently brushed his thumb over its head and was rewarded when it started purring almost immediately.
“You like that?”
The cat continued purring.
Andrew was already trying to decide whether it would be better to scoop the kitten up and carry it to the car or to continue coaxing it until it followed him on its own when the kitten stepped closer to him and made a feeble attempt to jump onto his thigh.
“Idiot kitten,” he scolded but kept his voice gentle. “You’re too small and weak for that. Here, let me help you.”
He gently scooped the kitten up with one hand. When he noticed how its black fur seemed to swallow up his hand like a void, a hint of a smile tugged at his lips.
“I’ll call you Void,” he decided then and there. Not because he already cared for the kitten but because he wouldn’t want another animal to suffer a name Nicky and Neil had chosen and Black II just didn’t have the right ring to it.
The kitten had stopped purring when he had picked it up, probably startled by the sudden loss of ground under its feet, but when he nestled it against his chest it started again after a few seconds. Satisfied that the kitten wouldn’t try to jump back down, Andrew got up as slowly as he could and leisurely walked back to the Maserati.
Throughout the ten minute drive to the apartment, the kitten – Void, he reminded himself, it wouldn’t do to call it anything else than that, not even in his head, or Neil might want to name it after all – was surprisingly calm, apparently content to just lie in Andrew’s lap. It reminded him of another certain stray the universe had brought into his life several years ago, with the noticeable difference that it had taken him and Andrew much longer until they were both comfortable with that level of physical closeness.
When they reached the apartment complex, Void had fallen asleep and protested with another mewl when Andrew picked it up.
“I know,” Andrew muttered. “You can sleep again soon.”
Red and Black greeted Andrew with demanding meows and satisfied purrs as soon as he stepped into the apartment and it didn’t take them long to notice Void cradled in his arm. That led to louder meows and Black trying to climb his leg with little to no success. The meows also brought Neil to the hallway.
“Why don’t you-” Neil’s voice cut off as he noticed Void. “Oh.” He took the bag of groceries from Andrew and with some coaxing managed to get the two nuisances to follow him as well.
Free to walk again, Andrew brought Void into the living room and set it down on the floor so it could explore the space.
“Sir and King are locked up in the kitchen,” Neil said quietly as he joined Andrew just a few seconds later. He laid down on the floor a few feet away from Void so he wouldn’t scare it.
“Hello, little one,” Neil cooed. Andrew hated that he found it even the least bit adorable. “Do you have a name?”
“Void,” Andrew said and sat down on the floor as well so the two of them and Void were forming a triangle.
Neil smiled softly at him but fortunately didn’t say anything but, “Fitting.”
It took a few minutes but then Void hesitantly started walking around and cautiously exploring the room.
“You haven’t taken her to the vet, yet, have you?” Neil asked when Void had reached one of his hands and pushed its head into it.
Andrew shook his head. “I’ll go tomorrow.”
