#para 10

Madison’s steps were slow as she walked back to Route 6. She felt weird about the whole thing; like the fact that she and Tootsie had never really clicked made her a bad trainer somehow. But just like not all people got along, not all Pokemon and people did, either, and she needed to stop beating herself up over that.

At the time, Tootsie had been exactly what she’d needed -- a second Pokemon who could beat Marley Rose’s stupid grass type if she had a rematch. And he hadn’t given Madison much choice but to catch him, either, what with his whole swooping down and trying to steal Crush thing. 

Madison watched him flying just ahead of her, as if he thought it was just another day of training -- but that’s all they seemed to do together, was be serious and train. Her other Pokemon played, and showed her affection. Sure, Tootsie did what she said now, but he didn’t seem to like it very much. It was like he was her slave more than he was her friend and teammate, and that made Madison feel icky all over.

Stopping back at the spot where she had found him in the first place, Madison stopped and held out her arm, motioning him over to land on it so she could explain what was happening to him. He obeyed, because he did that now that Santana had helped her show him who was boss, but he didn’t nuzzle her or even really reciprocate when she petted his head affectionately.

“Listen, buddy... I really appreciate all the hard work you’ve done on my team, but I think you’d be happier going back home, don’t you?” the brunette asked, biting her lip and looking at him expectantly. But he was just an owl Pokemon, one who didn’t really seem to get her the way the rest of her team did. Madison pursed her lips, wondering how she could make him see what she meant, just as the shadow of another bird Pokemon crossed over head.

“Like him, Tootsie! Don’t you want to be like him?” she asked. She held out the Pokeball he was usually in, shaking her head no. “You don’t need to come back to me anymore, Tootsie. You’re allowed to go back where you came from, and hang out with your Hoothoot friends, and maybe meet a cute lady Hoothoot, and... can’t you understand goodbye?” Madison begged, afraid that this Pokemon that didn’t even like her much was going to end up following her home after all.

But Tootsie finally seemed to get it -- after her prodding, he headbutted her gently (probably the most affectionate thing he’d ever done), then kicked the ball out of her hands with his talons and took flight.

Madison stood there, watching him fly further and further away until he was nothing but a tiny speck in the distance, waving at him as he went. The trainer told herself that she’d miss him so she felt less guilty about it, but really she’d kind of just captured him for her own gain and kept him in captivity for a few weeks, trying and trying to make their bond work when it just didn’t.

Pulling out another of her Pokeballs, she let Crush out instead, hugging her Squirtle to her chest before setting him down to waddle at her feet. “Well, who knows, Crush? Maybe someday he’ll be back to try and steal you again!”

Their weekend away had been fabulous (aside from Blaine getting lost, of course), filled with shopping, and lots of lovemaking - sometimes slow and sweet, at other times frantic but always leaving them both satiated and cuddling into one another beneath the luxurious sheets of the hotel bed.

As always, Tuesday evening came far too fast, and Kurt was dreading tomorrow at work for the simple fact that it meant time away from Blaine. It was probably ridiculous, this level of dependency, but he couldn't help it. It helped that Blaine seemed to feel the same way, too.

Even now, as he sat in his car outside Blaine's (soon-to-be-former) apartment, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel, Kurt looked out the window and wondered what was taking Blaine so long. What could he possibly need to get that wasn't already at Kurt's apartment?

A mischievous smile curled the corners of Kurt's lips as he remembered staying there when he'd been chased out by that horrifying spider and how they'd ended up playing with ice cubes...Kurt vividly recalled how Blaine's skin glistened wetly and broke out in gooseflesh and how, after trailing an ice cube around Blaine's nipples, coaxing them to hardness with the cold, Kurt followed the same pattern with his tongue, the warmth of his mouth making Blaine arch and thread his fingers into Kurt's hair and oh god, the sounds that were pulled from his throat....

Kurt shifted impatiently in his seat, staring out the window as if he could make Blaine appear by the force of his gaze. Surely Blaine still had ice cubes in the freezer. And it was still so humid, despite the hour.

Making up his mind quickly, Kurt flung open the car door and headed to Blaine's apartment. If Blaine was going to take that long, Kurt was going to make sure it was for a very good reason.

*

Blaine couldn't deny feeling a bit guilty as he told Kurt that he would just pick up a few things and be back immediately but that feeling disappeared immediately when he stepped through the door and was greeted by the black beauty that peeked around the corner as soon as he opened the door. He had sighed in relief when he saw that his spare key was on its usual place, a clear sign that Julie had left already. Blaine still didn't know if it had been a good idea to trust the woman with feeding his cat but in the end it had been his only real option.

The cat started purring as soon as he saw him and Blaine got down on his knees as soon as the door was closed behind him and the cat bumped into him. "Hey there, beautiful. Did you miss me?" Her fur looked a little bit shinier than it had last week when Blaine had adopted the stray from the street behind the hotel and the small animal seemed to be grateful for the haute cuisine because she tried to bump his nose and snuggle against his neck, using Blaine's thighs to find some balance which eventually made Blaine lay down to make it easier for her. The cat rolled on her back on his chest and Blaine closed his eyes for a brief moment. "I missed you too, sweet girl. I promise I'll be all yours tomorrow."

*

Kurt froze, his hand on the doorknob, eyes widening as he heard Blaine’s voice from inside the apartment.  Surely he’d misheard, because it sounded to Kurt like Blaine was talking to someone, and not just someone, but someone of the female persuasion, and more importantly, someone Blaine seemed to have quite the affection for.

Kurt’s first, traitorous thought was Julie.  But that was ridiculous.  And impossible.  No way would Blaine have Julie stashed in his apartment for secret rendezvous.

But then again...

Blaine had been making frequent trips to his apartment, even when it seemed as though he had no real reason to.  And spending increasingly longer amounts of time there.   Without Kurt.

But no...

Blaine would never.  The way in which he trusted Kurt, the love he professed which was so evidently true meant that there was no way Blaine would ever, ever cheat on Kurt.

So who was he talking to?  And why hadn’t he told Kurt about her?

His hand turned the knob before he’d even realized what he was doing.  “Blaine?  Honey?”

It wasn’t Julie.

It was so much worse than that.

On the floor, Blaine was cuddling with a ball of black fur.  A cat.

Kurt stopped dead in his tracks, unable to stop his jaw from dropping as he stared at them in horror.  “What is that?  And what is it doing here?”

*

Blaine didn't hear anyone entering the apartment and when Kurt stood in his hallway it was already too late. He scrambled to his feet, careful not to hurt the cat that looked more than miffed about the sudden disruption. Staring from the animal back tohis boyfriend Blaine was trying to find the right words to explain but he failed miserably.

In the meantime the cat bumped into his thighs before she sat down to stare at him. For a short moment Blaine had to hold back laughter because his little girl seemed more confused than ever but the moment was gone quickly as Kurt still stared at him in disbelief.

Cats were a difficult topic and Blaine had been well aware that he had to be careful with this ever since he had brought home his little friend. He had thought he'd take his time with this but here he was and 'Oh, look, I found a cat in my apartment' probably wouldn't do it. Although, maybe it was worth a try. Blaine scrunched up his nose and ducked a little, trying a small smile. "I… just found a cat in my apartment?"

The cat wasn't really helping. She had decided to stroll over to Kurt and sneak around his boots and Blaine was surprised by a blush that warmed his cheeks when he realized that cat hair on Kurt's boots wouldn't make things easier right now. He sighed and dropped his head. "Kurt, this is Bella. I have a cat."

*

The whole situation would have been comical had it not been for the fact that there was a cat curling herself around Kurt's legs, shedding her awful black hair all over his white pants.

But Blaine was looking at him with that face, and Kurt felt his resolve start to crumble. It was obvious how much Blaine loved this stupid creature, even if Kurt couldn't understand. And looking back now, some of their conversations made a lot more sense.

Part of him still wished he could deny Blaine this cat ("I'm sorry, sweetie, but my apartment doesn't allow pets") and an even bigger part of Kurt wished that Blaine had felt comfortable telling him about her in the first place.

The cat looked up at Kurt, haughty expression firmly in place as she uttered a soft mew. He swore he could hear the sarcasm in that meow, as if she was rubbing it in that Blaine loved her and, as such, Kurt would just have to accept her as part of the family, whether he liked it or not.

Sighing, Kurt took a step backwards, brushing ineffectually at his pants before he raised his eyes to meet Blaine's gaze and cocked his head, a smile tugging the corner of his mouth. "Did you say her name was Bella?"

*

The one thing Blaine wanted more than anything was to make Kurt happy. And, well… Right now Kurt didn't look happy at all. The cat couldn't care less and played out her charms that for some reason seemed to be fruitless.

"Yes, Bella." Blaine shrugged and while he still felt miserable he couldn't help the smirk while he rolled his eyes. "She's staring. A lot."

When he felt too awkward standing so far away from Kurt in the middle of the hallway Blaine finally crossed the room and brushed his fingers against his boyfriend's hand before he picked up the cat to nuzzle against her fur. She started to purr immediately even when she seemed to be far more interested in the stranger right now. "I found her behind the restaurant and she was so thin and so poor and so beautiful, so dignified in her misery."

He let that sink in, not really bothering how dramatic it probably sounded. This was important. Throwing an animal like her out was inhuman, it would, in fact, dehumanize them both and what then? "Please don't make me give her away. I'm her only family and she's a family person."

*

Kurt couldn’t help but roll his eyes, reaching out his hand to pull them both closer.  The cat bumped her head against Kurt’s chin, and stared at him mournfully.  Stupid animal knowing just how to look at him.

“I hate cats,” he muttered under his breath, pushing her away gently to get to Blaine’s lips.  Kurt kissed him softly for a brief moment, lamenting that they wouldn’t be playing with ice cubes any time soon.  Drawing back, Kurt let his gaze drop to the cat, who was indeed staring, and then back up to Blaine’s eyes.  “This will certainly put a damper on our love life, if she’s going to stare like that.” Kurt stepped back and looked at Blaine with the cat in his arms, their cat now, he supposed with a soft sigh.  “Alright.  Let’s get everything we need and get back home.  Thankfully I have an excellent vacuum cleaner.”