1 Heart of Heartland
Written for Zexal Rare Pair Week
Day 1. First Meeting | Home | Yearning
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh! ZeXal
Ship: Cattobingushipping | Cathy/Yuma
Rating: G
Word Count: 1,472
Tags: Bittersweet Fluff, Established Relationship
Home is where the heart is, where family and love flourished, Cathy thought and so, deemed it important that her boyfriend came home and met everyone that was important to her. And, of course, being Yuma, he was more than happy to agree.
He had always worried that Cathy had been the lonely type, especially at home, so he was overjoyed when Cathy asked him to meet her loved ones - of which she had many so he better be ready to learn names and faces. Yuma really looked forward to it, practically counting down the seconds between when Cathy had asked him and when she had set the date: the next coming Saturday, at around six o’clock, just before total nightfall.
Yuma had visited her house before and it left an impression on him. Not necessarily a good impression. He recalled it as dark and scary, as being a very empty house despite all its opulence. He was really looking forward to amending this dreary impression that he had of Cathy’s home.
He walked himself to her place and arrived at six o’clock sharp. Again. He really wanted to make a good impression as he was assuming that he was going to be meeting her mother and father, though she didn’t expressly name them but Yuma blushed at the idea of his girlfriend calling her parents mama and papa. Maybe that was why. He could all too easily imagine mommy and daddy’s girl Cathy, it would explain why she had been happy as a loner for so long, she had a good family life.
But that was his assumption.
He walked up those steps to her front door and they were oddly steep. He felt a cold breeze on his arms, maybe he should have brought a jacket. It was fine, he would have his sister pick him up later after dinner, Yuma thought to himself as he mustered the courage to knock on Cathy’s door.
Or he was going to and then he noticed that bronze knocker, in the shape of a lion with a ring in its mouth. It was actually a lot of fun to bang and clang on the door using it. Yuma chuckled to himself as he rapped on the door over and over with the knocker before finally - finally - he heard Cathy’s voice on the other side of the door.
“Coming!” she yelled out.
Yuma snickered. Maybe for all the opulent facades, Cathy didn’t have any staff at her house. That was good actually. Yuma didn’t want to use up all his good impressions just yet, he had bad luck like that. He could all too easily imagine himself making friends with the maids and then promptly faceplanting when he actually met Cathy’s parents.
The door opened in front of him and Cathy peeked around the edge demurely. She looked genuinely giddy underneath her glasses, basking in the shadows of her darkened house. Yuma felt a shiver down his spine and the door opened more. He only saw pinpricks of light inside, held up by fancy chandeliers like torches.
“I’m so glad you're on time, I was worried I would have to delay dinner and everyone gets so antsy when they’re not eating on time.” Cathy said.
“Oh, uh, good. I’m hungry, too.” Yuma replied.
Cathy brought him inside and held onto him tightly. She snuggled into his side, so very happy he was here and making this milestone in their relationship. She nuzzled against his face and shoulders, making his heart race. Cathy was so affectionate and it never failed to spark a big smile on Yuma’s face.
He was escorted through the utter maze of the inside of Cathy’s house. He found it odd that none of the lights were on but he tried not to think too weird of it. Maybe poor eyesight ran in the family and one of her parents had it worse off than her? Yuma didn’t want to be rude and bring it up too early. He was trying to get better about holding his tongue, thinking things through…
But he really didn’t know what to think of where he and Cathy had ended up inside her home. They were in the dining hall but rather than it being packed with parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, so on and so forth, her loved ones were…. Well, they were cats. Cats and kittens and Yuma was surprised there weren’t lions, tigers, or leopards either.
He could see every breed of cat in this room, he could swear. Some fat and fluffy, some skinny and hairless. Moggies and purebreds alike. And they were all eating from the prettiest, fanciest enamel bowls which were as fancy as porcelain china in hues of delicate blues and whites.
“I’ll bring you dinner soon, Yuma.” Cathy said as she, like a gentlewoman, seated Yuma at head of the table and pecked his cheek.
Yuma sat nervously, the chair behind him had a massive back, like a throne. He watched all the cats - all but hundreds of them - hiss and purr and eat, licking their food and themselves and each other. Though it was dim, their eyes were lit up and glinting, mostly in greens or yellows. Yuma didn’t feel hungry with the stench of fishy cat foods in the air but Cathy was happy.
She had a skip in her step as she went to the kitchen and then returned with a meal both for herself and for Yuma. It was plated up on fine, silver crockery, thank goodness. It was even so clean that Yuma could see his reflection in the surface but it distorted his proportions, especially so with steak and gravy and vegetables obscuring.
“No need to say grace, dig in, Yuma, it always makes me so happy to see you eat well.” Cathy purred.
“Er, thank you.” Yuma replied but now he had a new problem in not knowing his salad fork from his regular forks and what were those tiny forks too?
He hesitated and Cathy noticed. Her happy smile becoming downcast, “You think its all very weird, don’t you?” she lamented and she was already choking down tears. “I really thought you were different.”
“No, no, its not that.” Yuma panicked. “I just. Don’t know which knives and forks to use.”
“Even before that…” Cathy murmured. A cat drew in closer to her and mewled curiously at her. She scratched underneath its chin and it closed its eyes, purring. Cathy smiled a bittersweet smile. “You think its weird that my loved ones are all cats?”
“No, no, not at all!” Yuma insisted, he banged his hands on the table, causing a clatter that made the cats hiss and sputter. “I think it suits you! You have a lot of love in your heart for your cats and I think its really… cute…”
Yuma half-calmed down, becoming more embarrassed by breaking the comfortable volume of quietness of the dining hall than by his outburst itself. He knew his words were coming from a place of good intentions and Cathy recognised that, she batted her eyelashes demurely.
“You wanted to meet my mother and father tonight, I… I wanted you to as well but my parents were busy again.” Cathy mumbled. She started to shiver as she clenched her eyes tight, trying to ward off building tears. “H-Honestly, my parents, they never… they never do anything for me. I feel more like their pet than their daughter.”
“I’m really sorry to hear that…” Yuma murmured. “You deserve better than that. I love you, Cathy, I really do.”
He reached out and placed his hand atop Cathy’s. Cathy looked up at him and her tears mellowed out, she wanted to cry but not out of anger or grief but gratitude.
“Thank you, Yuma, I love you, too.” Cathy confessed softly.
The cat she had been petting headbutted its head against Yuma’s knuckles, rubbing its cheeks on him. Cathy giggled soapily, cheering up at such a small gesture from one of her darling felines.
“What’s um… what’s this cat’s name?” Yuma asked.
“Duke, his sweet spot is under his chin and he likes to think he owns everything in this house. Including you now as well, nya-ha-ha.” Cathy replied. “And that one is Duchess, over there is Pantomime and Clown. He’s called Clown because he never fails to make us laugh when she does something silly, whereas Pantomime is very serious… Oh, and that’s Bella and Luna and…”
Yuma listened with hearts in his eyes as Cathy regaled all the names and even breeds or quirks of the all but hundred or so cats in her house. She spoke with love and passion and Yuma happily listened to her endlessly as he met all her loved ones whom she lived in her home with.
