Who: Fitz Proudfoot & Alex Vasquez What: A shopping trip turns extra adorable When: Saturday, August 17, middayish (backdated) Where: San Diego Night Market Warnings: Fluff, just pure cuteness, kittenssssssss
"We should stop at Izzy's for ice cream on the way home," Alex told Fitz, swinging their joined hands happily between them. "I'm in the mood for that chocolate chile one with the lager in it. " He smiled up at him, his eyes crinkling invisibly behind his sunglasses. "Caramel and balsamic swirl for you?"
He led the way down the bustling street, easing them between a gaggle of teenage girls at the newsstand who'd stopped to giggle over the Quodpot magazines and a family with what looked like sixth-grade triplets loaded up with cauldrons filled with school supplies. "Wow," he remarked. "It must be almost time for school to start again. Where did the summer go?"
"You're making it sound like I've gotten predictable," he said with a mock pout. Though it was hard to deny that the flavour was currently at the top of his favourites even as adventurous as he was with food. "But stopping for ice cream is definitely a great idea though."
Thankfully with Alex leading they easily stepped past even if it was still something of a crush at the market. "Time's just flying away! I mean, another week—give or take—and I'll have called San Diego home for a month," he responded. It was strange that that much time had already passed. Then again work was keeping him busy enough during the day now, and a whole lot more than the gift shop had at Brightstar. Plus he'd also finally started seeing a therapist like he'd said he would even if those visits were only every two weeks. "Maybe it's a sign I should look at holding that housewarming party I keep mentioning, hmm?"
Predictably, Alex lit up at the idea of a party. "Definitely! Let's start planning immediately. Do you want to see if Malachi could do the food? We could do it botanas style, just small plates. That would be easy if people are coming and going, and then all the prep could be in advance and we wouldn't have to worry about it on the day. Would you want your family and friends from Snowcap to be able to come? We should give them plenty of notice so they can make it down. And then you'll have some of your coworkers, and the band, and we'll invite your neighbors so we can meet them properly. I could invite some of my teammates from Cadabra -- they hear me talking about you so much, I'd love for them to actually meet you. And what about drinks, should we--" He stopped there, grinning abashedly up at Fitz, and turned onto a quieter street, his fingers still twined with Fitz's. "Sorry. Too much? What do you want to do?"
Fitz had to bite down on his lip to keep from laughing but it was clear to anyone looking that he wasn't the least bit bothered by the ramble, or the fact that Alex with his infinite power when it came to planning had managed to more or less already have an outline for the party. "I love it when you get carried away like that, baby," he replied, as he affectionately squeezing his hand a little. "I actually think it's a pretty good idea though—going for something botanas style that is. Takes the pressure off a little in trying to prep a whole lot of food. And we can ask Malachi but if he's busy we'll figure something out. Yeah, I'd want them to come. Though with Laura being pregnant at the moment I'm not so sure she and Ethan will be travelling much but we can still send an invite. Also I know I have more than enough space and all but... I don't want to have the place too crowded."
Leaning over he pressed a kiss to Alex's cheek. "Though that's something we can worry about later, okay? Meanwhile, I still need to find some decor or something so the place doesn't actually look so empty. Though it's definitely looking better than it did at the end of my first week."
"Yes! I want to show you this great thrift store we didn't get to the last time. Sometimes you can find some incredible old furniture and rugs there. And we'll go to the herbologists' and see if we can grow your succulent garden." Alex beamed up at Fitz. "Anyway, I'm sure Laura can still come down here -- my boss was pregnant last year and she was popping out to New York for meetings every other week practically until she was in labor. Women are incredibly tough. But if she's not feeling up to the party, we can always go up north and visit."
"Okay, that sounds great. Which reminds me, I definitely need to look at getting beds for the guest rooms—a double in both should probably be enough yeah? Though I'm still not thanking Kent for starting that—he'd be way too smug about it—but they do brighten the apartment up." Fitz smiled and nodded. "Okay, you're probably right, and Laura is pretty tough. I'll send them an invite still but yeah we could..."
Alex bumped his shoulder against Fitz's arm, leaning into his side. "We can definitely go looking for beds. You want to-- oh, hey, Bianca!"
They were passing by the animal shelter on the corner, and his newest bandmate had just stepped out onto the sidewalk in her uniform shirt, a banner draped over her arm. Bianca looked up and smiled. "Hi, Alex and Fitz. Guess what?"
"Hey," Fitz greeted, smiling over at Bianca. "What?"
Bianca tapped the banner with her wand and it stretched itself out and floated neatly into place on the building's front, the strings winding themselves around the nails over the windows, proclaiming in colorful letters: KITTEN ADOPTION DAY!
"We've got kittens ready to leave their mother," she told them, and beckoned toward the door. "You should come and see them. They're pretty cute."
"Aww," Alex said, and grinned up at Fitz. "I'm not really looking for a pet. Are you? I've never had one and I'm not sure I'd know what to do with it if I did. But we have a minute. Do you want to stop in and look at the kittens, sweetheart?"
"You know if it was actually possible, and you had the space, you would absolutely get a baby unicorn," he teased. Fitz gave a shrug. "Not exactly? With the new job, and me still kind of settling in and all, throwing a pet into the mix so soon might not work out so good— even if having a pet around would make the apartment feel that bit less empty. That said... I wouldn't mind stopping in and taking a look anyway. Can never pass up an opportunity to see baby creatures, and kittens totally still count."
Alex laughed and followed Bianca back inside, tugging Fitz along in his wake as they skirted the desk and went straight through, past the magically-muffled barking of dogs and crups and the soft hooting of owls from the back hall, past the row of glass cases where snakes and fire salamanders basked on heated rocks, past the cat room with a row of cats and kneazles on perches of various heights observing them through the window, right into the helpfully-labeled Kitten Room.
"Ohhhh," Alex said at the sight of the six little bundles of fluff tumbling over each other, and melted right down to his knees as the kittens trotted over to investigate. Two climbed up onto his knees, one batted at his sleeve as he reached down, two more pounced at Fitz's shoelaces, and there was a chorus of tiny, squeaky mews from every direction. Alex could not abide this level of adorableness, and he expressed the growth of his heart by three sizes by screwing up his face and pressing his hands to his chest. "Oh my god, Fitz…"
Bianca laughed, settling in on the floor to rub the lounging mother cat's ears as she purred contentedly. "Are you sure you don't want a kitten? You look like you want a kitten."
Fitz shook his head, even as he smiled, and let himself be lead towards where the kittens were. They were absolutely adorable, and as he was leaning down to give a scritch to one that was being entertained by his shoelaces he heard Alex. Looking over at his boyfriend he somehow knew, or at least had a good feeling, that they weren’t going to be leaving the shelter empty-handed.
“Oh, this is nothing. You should’ve seen how he was when he met one of the new unicorn foals when he visited over Easter,” he commented, smiling fondly at the memory. That had been a really great visit. “I thought he was going to melt into a puddle.”
“I don’t know... I mean, I wouldn’t mind having one. It’s just since I’ll probably be travelling a lot it doesn’t feel right getting one and leaving it home alone y’know?” He finally responded. Though looking over at Alex who was playing with a couple of the kittens—an utterly adorable sight—he wasn’t sure he’d have the heart to actually say no if his boyfriend suddenly turned those big eyes of his on him. “But if someone was maybe willing to watch it when I’m gone. Well...”
Alex was too busy watching the boldest of the kittens bat at his finger as he moved it to look back at Fitz. "It could stay with me. We could have shared custody. Oh my god, how can anything be this tiny and perfect? Can I hold it, B?"
"Sure," Bianca told him, and Alex scooped up the kitten in both hands, cradling it carefully as he brought it close to his face, and the two of them looked at each other for a long moment. The kitten meowed with surprising strength and tried to pat his nose, and Alex cooed back at it, which made Bianca smile. "She likes you," she said. "I think she'd like to come home with you."
"Ohhh, she's a little girl? Of course you are, you're gorgeous," Alex told the kitten, who was now making a valiant attempt at climbing up his arm with her tiny, needle-sharp claws. "But I'm not set up for a cat, and I don't actually know how to take care of one, and she would miss her mom…" Even as he was saying that, though, he was petting the kitten gently, watching her explore his sleeve with the mistiest expression that had been seen on his face since the unicorns.
“Yeah, we could.” Fitz tried not to laugh at how he was pretty much ignored in favour of the kittens. Oh, he knew it didn’t mean anything, and the kittens were pretty distracting. Thinking about it he didn’t think he’d mind doing some sort of shared custody thing. Chances were he wouldn’t be away for long periods of time but he would definitely feel better knowing the kitten wasn’t actually alone. Besides, he wasn’t so sure Alex would be wanting to part with it if he said they shouldn’t.
“Well, it’s not too much effort to get an area of your apartment, and mine, set up for a kitten. And I’m sure I can help you learn how to look after one,” he said, even as he reached down to gently pick up the one who’d been entranced by his shoelaces. “Besides I’m pretty sure you can’t say no to its cute little face, and I’d find it impossible to say no to you when you’re looking like that.” Fitz was given the kitten little scratches and trying to stop it from clambering up his chest.
“I mean, I wouldn’t say no, querido, but it’s up to you since you’d be looking after it when I’m away.”
"Cats are easy," Bianca added helpfully from the floor where she was scratching behind the mama cat's ears. "Kittens are a little bit of work, but they grow up fast, and you'd be great with one, Alex. Or two. We actually recommend that people adopt two kittens at once if possible, because they'll keep each other occupied and don't need so much attention."
Alex looked back at her, and then up at Fitz, his hopeful smile growing as the kitten managed to clamber up to his shoulder with a tiny mew of triumph. "What do you think?" he asked his boyfriend, and scooped up another kitten to cuddle close to his chest. "Two?"
Fitz would, if asked, definitely agree with Bianca that Alex would be wonderful with one or two kittens — maybe a little too loving sometimes but great with them nonetheless.
He was still mentally assessing the logistics of it and weighing it up with both of their work commitments when he looked at his boyfriend who was looking up at him with such a hopeful smile, and he wasn't sure he could actually say no and mean it. Crouching down to Alex's level, mindful of the kitten that was still in the crook of his arm, and gingerly reached out to give a little scritch behind the ears to the kitten perched on Alex's shoulders. "You know I can't say no when you look at me like that, querido," he pointed out, as he gently set the kitten he'd been holding back onto the floor. "But I think we can manage two kittens even if tonight's plan didn't at all entail getting pets. So which two should we take home with us, baby?"
That smile grew into a delighted beam; clutching a kitten close to his body in each hand so as not to drop them, Alex leaned up and kissed Fitz once. "It's my secret weapon," he told him, laughing a little, and pulled back so he could ease the squirming, squeaking kittens to the floor. "I don't know. How do you choose? We should get ones who are friends." He reached out a finger to his little calico friend, who pounced at it and then jumped away, apparently scared by her own ferocity. Alex chuckled, unable to resist doing it again. "I love this one. B, what do you think?"
"They're all good kittens," she answered unhelpfully, scratching under the mother cat's chin. "You can't go wrong. That one likes Fitz." She gestured to the kitten Fitz was still carrying. "Do you like him, Fitz?"
Fitz laughed. "That I can readily believe." He shrugged at the question but nodded at the answer Alex gave himself. It would definitely make things a lot easier, especially when it came to moving them between apartments, if they got kittens that at least seemed to get along even if they had wildly different personalities. "I think you have to get that one for sure," he chuckled as he watched the tiny calico kitten trying to stalk its 'prey'.
Looking down at the kitten that was still in his arms he thought about it for a moment. It didn't appear to be nearly as adventurous as his sister but it probably could be if it wanted to, and honestly if it wasn't he didn't mind the more easy going nature that the tiny ball of fluff was currently exhibiting. "He is pretty adorable and easy going. That or he's just trying to take advantage and get more scratches," he replied. "What do you think, querido? Brother and sister duo seems pretty alright to me."
"Aww," Alex said, and reached out to touch the little paw of the kitten that was lounging in the crook of Fitz's arm, watching his littermates tumble over each other on the floor. "He's so chill. I love him." He stood up and stepped in close, wrapping an arm around Fitz's waist. "We didn't come looking for kittens today," he said into his chest. "We haven't even talked about it. Should we really? I mean, I think we're going to, but -- this is really okay with you, right?"
Fitz rested his head against Alex's, and nodded slightly. It really was sudden, and they'd never really talked about getting pets together before. Maybe it was rushing things a little without actually talking it through and hashing out details of what they needed to do and everything but... it felt right. Plus the pair of them were far probably far from being ready to actually move in together, and sure there would be times when he wasn't home but when he was the apartment admittedly did feel kind of empty. So while the little furball in his arms might not be able to actually talk back or anything he would at least make the apartment feel a little less lonely. "I know we haven't, and it's kind of a big deal thing too but—" he paused, smiling warmly at Alex. "—I want to. I love my apartment but it does feel kind of empty sometimes y'know, and it'd be nice having some company, even if this little guy can't carry a conversation, for when you're not there. Besides I'm not entirely sure this guy will let me hand him back to his mama if I tried putting him down."
Alex leaned up to kiss him again for a long moment, while Bianca considerately looked away, and when he broke away he was beaming again. "I love you so much," he told him. "So I guess we're doing this. Come here, baby," he crooned to the calico kitten, crouching down with open hands, and scooping her up when she came trotting over to investigate. "Okay, B, we're in for these two babies. Set us up with everything we need."
It was a rash decision, which he was trying to do a lot less of when it came to his love life, but it felt right. Especially when he and Fitz left the shelter with a big bag of kitten supplies, food, litter, and their two mewing kittens in a newly-purchased carrier. He smiled up at his boyfriend, bumping his shoulder against Fitz's arm since he didn't have a hand free to hold. "We should talk about names. What are you thinking?"
Fitz savoured the kiss, and while he wasn't beaming as much as Alex there was a warm loving smile on his face. "Love you too," he responded. "I guess we are."
Spur of the moment decisions were something he was awfully familiar with though thankfully this one didn't have any of his usual escapist tendencies about it. Fitz bumped back a little since his own hands weren't exactly free either. "That is definitely an important part of this whole process," he chuckled. "I don't know. I've actually never had a pet before. I mean, I've named creatures that I studied or rescued even if we weren't supposed to and I still had to refer to them as a tag number in reports. Kittens are a slightly different story even if they are just creatures, albeit rather small ones for the time being. Hmm, maybe some kind of well known brother and sister? Since they're siblings after all."
Alex peeked into the carrier, considering. "I'm only coming up with Luke and Leia," he offered. "Isn't it weird giving pets people names, though? Everyone at school who had a cat named them things like Fluffy or Mittens or Nacho." He grinned up at Fitz. "What do you think about Nacho?"
Fitz couldn't help the chuckle-snort that escaped. "Well, all I could think of was Apollo and Artemis, or Helios and Selene, but they don't seem very cat-like. But yeah, I guess so? Probably depends on if you actually know someone with that name I suppose." He shook his head in amusement. "It's unique enough that's for sure. Though y'know for us I'd say Taco would be even more appropriate. After all you delivered on your promise of the best fish tacos in the Confederation that first weekend I visited here."
There was another chuckle that quickly devolved into giggling. Fitz had to stop walking for a moment to calm down, and waved a dismissive hand when Alex asked if he was okay. "Sorry. I was just thinking about that weekend and how if we did use it as inspiration for naming the kittens that one of them would probably end up being named Pancake. And I just kind of lost it at the idea of the kittens being Taco and Pancake."
Alex put his head back and laughed, to the accompaniment of a chorus of curious meows from the carrier. "That seems a little mean," he said, once he could talk again. "Flat as a pancake… I don't want to give the little girl body issues." He grinned over at Fitz. "Maybe we should wait a while and see what their personalities are before we make any choices. What if we name baby girl Spike or Killer and she turns out to be the sweetest thing? That would be awkward for everybody." He lifted the carrier to look the kittens in the eye. "What do you think, Thing One and Thing Two?"
"Ok fair, even if I wasn't trying to be mean." Fitz nodded in agreement with Alex's suggestion. "Yeah, okay, that'd probably be for the best if we want to give them good names. Well, everyone loves irony, right?" he suggested, grinning.
Fitz shook his head, biting down on an amused smile, as his boyfriend talked to the kittens. "Okay while I agree we should wait on properly naming them. Is calling them Thing One and Thing Two really any better in the meantime, baby?" he asked. "We could just go with pet names or something until we think of good names for them? I mean, like kitty or sweetheart — something like that."
Alex grinned back at him. "Okay, but no calling them 'meu querido'." He made a passable attempt at the Portuguese pronunciation, in his opinion, though he wasn't sure a Brazilian would have agreed. "That one's mine."
He turned, pausing in the street for a moment to let a harried-looking group of middle-aged witches cross in front of them, and pressed himself up on his tiptoes to kiss Fitz's cheek. "Thank you," he said into his ear. "This was a good impulse, right? Not a really stupid one?"
Fitz couldn't help but laugh as Alex claimed the pet name he often used for his boyfriend. He leaned over and returned the favour by kissing Alex's cheek. "That one is all yours, querido, and you're welcome," he responded. "Definitely a good impulse. A stupid one would've been deciding to take the whole litter home with us. Speaking of... my place or yours for their first night?"
"Yours, definitely," Alex told him decidedly. "I think mine needs some kitten-proofing before we let these babies go exploring. I've got so much stuff around, and for once your minimalism seems like a good thing. Less chance for our little ones to cause too much chaos."
Fitz raised an eyebrow but only held the look for all of a second before grinning. "Okay, fair point though. Might want to start with your keyboard, or at least proofing it against any potential kitten chaos." Leaning over he couldn't help himself, and kissed Alex's cheek one last time before they continued on their way. "I'm not sure what your plans are for tomorrow but you're definitely welcome to stay the night, querido. In fact I would be very very happy if you did — as would our little ones be too I'm sure.
Alex grinned up at Fitz. If they both hadn't been encumbered with kittens and supplies he would've taken his boyfriend's hand, but as it was, his smile had to suffice. "I thought you'd never ask, baby."