InsaneJournal

Dottie was due to come over later that night, and the weather was still clear and comfortable enough that she'd said she didn't mind walking. (Duncan would have picked her up or arranged something else entirely if the weather hadn't been cooperative.) He had dinner already prepared and it would go in the oven well in time for Dottie's arrival, but until then, he was enjoying an almost-autumn day out on the small balcony outside his small apartment.

Sometimes he brought Skye out here with him- on a leash, which was tethered inside- but for now he was alone. Which made the almost impossibly small mew he heard even more surprising. There was no one else outside that he could see, and though there was always a little bit of ambient noise from the rest of the nearby town, animal sounds were usually limited to the occasional yappy dog.

And then it was there again. Pitiful, woeful, mew.

Duncan was on his feet in an instant, leaning out over the rail of the balcony and scanning the ground below for the source of the sound. When he found it, he was more than a little amazed that he had- the little black ball of fluff was so small it might have been mistaken for nothing more than a discarded bit of trash.

Swearing under his breath, Duncan took off down the stairs- he hadn't even put on his shoes- and toward the small kitten. He moved slower once he was on the ground, not wanting to startle the poor thing unnecessarily, but- mercifully- it didn't shy away from him, even as he approached in a careful crouch. At least, it didn't until he made a quick grab for its scruff- with profuse apologies aloud, though these seemed to do little to placate the now hissing and spitting and clawing ball of fluff.

Undeterred, Duncan tucked the cat against his shirt and wrapped the bottom hem of said shirt up around the kitten, taking the steps back up to his apartment more slowly.

~~



Skye wasn't pleased. But she'd been relegated to the closed-off bedroom ever since Duncan had brought the kitten inside, and though the small cat had seemed to have mostly gotten its ire out after a bath and a small can of food, Skye's wailing had been more or less ever-present. But since Duncan had no idea what state of health the kitten was in- other than malnourished- he wouldn't dare let the two come into contact just yet.

~~

A quick text over to Dottie.

→ Have to run up to Springfield. Unexpected errand, I'll explain later.
→ Should still be home well in time to meet you as planned. ❤️

~~

The emergency vet wasn't usually something Duncan preferred to choose, but neither did he want to totally upend Skye's world for very long. So he brought the kitten in for a checkup, more than willing to pay the extra fee for the convenience of not having an appointment.

Health cleared, pending a few overnight tests, Duncan made one last stop to pick up a collar and tag for the little one. Her tortoiseshell coloring had come out after the bath, and he'd decided on calling her Maple.

~~



Maple didn't seem to mind the collar. The tag, bell, and other object hanging from it hardly bothered her at all, and didn't stop her from running around the living room with gleeful kitten abandon. For his part, Duncan was lying on his back in the middle of the floor, an arm behind his head as he tried to keep an eye on the tortie-colored blur.

--

Dottie’s day had been largely spent between pages of drawing notebooks and piles of supplies. Coming up with new design ideas didn’t happen every day, but she was inspired by some mixture of the memory of a rainy day and the texture of flower petals. The hours had passed quickly, though they’d been productive enough to satisfy her.

She had seen Duncan’s text about running up to Springfield, but hadn’t thought much of it. He would explain later, as he said. She did not need him to elaborate in that moment, especially seeing as he promised it wouldn’t change their plans. A timer on her phone had brought her out of her haze of creativity, letting her know that it was time to wrap up work for the day and move on to her evening plans.

Though she was responsible for a fashion empire of sorts, Dottie did not think much of it as she had gotten ready. Her high-waisted shorts and cropped shirt covered in a cat print were not groundbreaking or surprising for her personality. Comfortable shoes for walking had been slipped on, and she’d pushed some oversized sunglasses over her eyes before heading out for the evening. The walk from her house to Duncan’s apartment had become a familiar one, and she liked walking those streets. It gave her time to breathe in the fresh air, and sometimes she even had a few rather brilliant ideas on those walks.

The end result of seeing Duncan (and Skye) was always well worth the walk. Even though it had only been a few months, it felt like they had known one another much longer. It was natural, that when she got to his door, she pulled the keys out of her purse and let herself in without so much as a knock.

She spotted Duncan first, stretched out on the living room floor, a bright smile tugging at her pink-painted lips. It wasn’t a terribly unusual sight, so she didn’t think much of it as she greeted, “Hi! I--ohmygod.” As she’d begun to speak, she noticed a small, fluffy blur that was accompanied by a gently tinkling bell. Her hands immediately clutched over her heart, a sound that wasn’t quite human emitting from her lips, “Is that a kitten? Duncan!” Her wristlet dropped to the nearest solid surface - a nearby table - and she dropped gingerly to her knees almost immediately in the hopes that it would entice the kitten to come closer.

--

He'd been expecting her there, of course, so Duncan didn't startle when he heard the door open- though he did (of course) glance in that direction to confirm it was Dottie. Mostly because he just liked to look at her. (Nothing wrong with that, right?)

It didn't surprise him in the least that she noticed the new addition right away- even with as quickly as Maple was zooming about the room, now all cleaned up and with a belly full of food, there was nothing wrong in that little kitten's world.

"It was a resident of the bushes outside, but- lo and behold- it turned out to be a kitten, after all." He gave a little laugh, shifting up to a (slow) sitting position. "She's a scrawny little thing, but she's certainly got energy. Surprise?"

--

“I love her,” Dottie replied instantly. It took no time for her to decide this fact, or to make extra room in her heart for that love. It happened in the space of a breath. Even though Duncan was now sitting up, Dottie lowered herself, her knees folded beneath her to make her as small as possible as she leaned forward, “Is she why you went out of town earlier?”

The kitten seemed interested, bouncing just a little closer. As the kitten made her somewhat wobbly approach, Dottie tried to contain her excitement so that she would not frighten the poor thing away from her. She reached out her hands slowly, letting the kitten sniff at her fingertips until she decided to attempt gnawing on one of them. Dottie took that as a good sign. Gingerly, she scooped up the tiny creature and brought her closer, cuddling her to her chest, “Hello, there. I’m Dottie.” The kitten immediately began to purr.

--

"I do, too. I took her up to the emergency vet, just to check things over. She'll have to be in closed-door quarantine overnight until her tests are formally cleared, but the vet said she looked fine other than being underweight. And I know how to fix that."

Duncan gave a little laugh as Dottie was finally able to scoop Maple up into a cuddle. "She's got a motor on her." He could hear the purring even from where he sat, so it would have been even stronger for Dottie.

He watched the two of them for a moment, then ran his fingers through his hair and offered, "She's got a name, already. It just seemed to fit, so I got the tag for her. If you want to see."

Of course, he could have just told Dottie the name, but he wanted her to see Maple's tag for herself. Because while one side did have the kitten's name on it, the other side bore a very different inscription.

--

She was relieved to know that Duncan had already gotten a vet to look over the kitten. It didn’t really surprise her, considering how well he took care of Skye. Still, some people might have waited, or he could have been unwilling to take on another cat without much heavier consideration, “I’m glad that she sounds perfectly healthy. We’ll get plenty of food in her belly.”

Dottie had cradled the kitten right under her chin, pressed to her chest as her fingers diligently worked to give gently scritches around the kitten’s ears. The pronouncement that she had already been named brought a broad smile to Dottie’s lips. She did - in fact - wish to see the name that he’d chosen, so she carefully lifted the kitten higher and grasped the tag in her fingers.

“Oh, Maple!” she crooned the name even as the kitten mewed at her, “That’s a wonderful name.” She felt more words on the back - what seemed to be more than a phone number - and flipped the tag over. She had wondered, for a moment, if perhaps Maple was a shortened version of a more grandiose name, but instead, the inscription read: Will you marry my new dad?

Marriage was something they’d spoken of before, if somewhat casually. Every time, she’d been met with the same calming knowledge that she would marry Duncan without question if he asked her. Now, he was asking. Dottie was not the kind of person to sink into hysterics, and the question did not come as any great shock to her. She noticed then, just behind the tag, a ring had been hung from the same clasp. The band was set with brightly colored stones, and the main setting had subtle cat ears that brought a brilliant smile to her lips. Gently, she unhooked the ring from the clasp.

“Miss Maple, would you excuse me a moment?” She placed the kitten on the ground, ring clasped in her fingers just a moment before she slid it onto the ring finger of her left hand. It settled there beautifully, and she felt her heart skip a beat.

“Duncan Kane, I think I would have married you the night we met if you’d asked me,” she smiled, thinking of that night they’d snuck into the kitchen at the hotel to make pudding, “But I’m glad that we’ve had a hundred other adventures since then that just prove to me how right that decision would be. So yes! I will marry you.” The distance between them wasn’t far, and it took only a brief shift to close it. Dottie did so enthusiastically, pressing a - perhaps belated - kiss to his lips.

--

Duncan had known, after previous conversations with Dottie, that marriage would be in their someday-future. And that knowledge was calming and secure. But something about today had just felt… right. Timely. Appropriate.

He'd never seriously thought of marriage at all, before Dottie. He knew, too, that's she'd been engaged once before, under much… quicker circumstances than these last several months. But he hoped this would be a better outcome for them both, in the end.

(And maybe it was cheating, in a way, to ask the question via such an adorably small creature as Maple. But Duncan didn't regret it.)

He watched her with some trepidation as she read the tag over and removed the ring, but then she'd put the ring on her left hand and Duncan felt his breath catch in his chest.

So yes! I will marry you.

A brilliant smile came to his features, only to be quickly brought into a kiss, instead. Duncan reached for Dottie's waist, pulling her closer as they kissed. He ended up tugging her somewhat into his lap, but Duncan was far from complaining. Even when he had to breathe, he kept his forehead pressed to hers, offering a brief, "Good. Good," before kissing her again.

--

Despite the fact that she had been engaged (briefly) previously, it hadn't felt like this. That decision had been rushed and heady at the time, but it had dissolved just as quickly as it had begun. Dottie was prone to feeling things so passionately that she made split second decisions, heart on her sleeve.

This time, with Duncan, she knew it was right. That certainty was bone deep. Taking things slower with him had been a deliberate decision. Though the temptation had always been there to throw herself in with abandon, she had done so in a different way. She had allowed herself to get to know every little thing about him that she could, and give the same of herself in return. She had been unfiltered, and he had accepted every quirk and nuance without ever suggesting she should fit herself into a mold.

As he pulled her closer, she settled easily against him. A happy sort of flutter had erupted in her heart, seeming to make it skip and tumble. As he said, it was good. It was a decision that felt, to the Luna part of her, as logical as it was joyous. Duncan loved her in the way that she knew she deserved - wholly and unapologetically. She wanted to spend the rest of her life watching that love grow.

She let those kisses linger on for several more moments, intoxicated by the happiness that radiated between them. Even when she leaned back just a little, she remained where he'd tugged her into his lap, a grin making its way back to her lips, "The ring is perfect. I love the colors."

--

He kept an arm loosely around her waist, just holding her enough to be secure in their position there on the floor. (Maple had returned to her kitten exploring, and her collar still gave tinkling jingles as she jumped and pounced around.)

"They're all… very deliberate choices. The colors, I mean," Duncan offered. "I mean, I know you like lots of color, anyway, but I wanted the ones on your ring- what I hoped would be your ring-" (and now was) "-to be… meaningful."

He gently picked up her left hand and pressed a kiss to her knuckles, then went on to explain, "The pink tourmaline in the center is for cherry blossoms." From the first place they'd admitted to being in love, in the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens. On outward from the center on both sides were four smaller stones, mirroring the order. "Emerald is for May, when we first said I love you. Tanzanite is for December, when we first met on Instagram- and in real life, I suppose, since it was still technically the thirty-first when we started making that pudding at the gala. Amethyst is for February, when we went to Vegas and you asked if we could be awesomely weird together together. And, well, the peridot is for your birthday and going to Disney World and realizing for certain that I wanted you and me to be for forever." There was a faint flush to his cheeks, as if perhaps saying it all aloud made it all seem like just slightly too much.

--

It did not shock her that the colors had been chosen purposefully. She recognized some of the stones - particularly peridot and emerald - but did not immediately place their significance. Her fingers gently curled around his as he picked up her hand, brushing that kiss to her knuckles.

Her smile seemed to brighten with each and every stone revelation. As he explained them, she realized that they were in connection with birthstones, even though they didn’t necessarily mimic their own birthdays. They signified the months in which important steps had been taken in their relationship, and she couldn’t think of any better way to memorialize those moments in their lives than to highlight them in something she would carry with her each and every day.

“They’re perfect,” she assured him, “I love that they stand for something...that they’re not just there for the sake of beauty. Don’t get me wrong. You know I have a deep appreciation for beautiful things, but every time I look at this ring I’ll think of when we met, when we took a chance on each other, when we fell in love, and every first moment of our forever.” She smiled so broadly that her cheeks ached, but her heart felt full, “I think keeping on the theme will be essential. The wedding band should be set in whichever stone associated with the month we marry.”

--

Duncan relaxed a bit with Dottie's reassurance, and he pressed a brief kiss to her lips- mostly just because he could. He was going to marry her, and now they knew that for certain. No matter when it was, their forever was set in nine colorful gemstones around her finger.

"I can agree with that theme," Duncan nodded after a moment's consideration. "I don't even mind matching my wedding band to yours, with that same gemstone- whichever one it ends up being." He certainly had no problem with color, after all- he was quite literally covered in it- so no matter which month they chose, he'd wear it with delighted joy.

--

Though she was filled with whimsy and good-nature, Dottie would not have considered herself an expert at romance until her relationship with Duncan. Perhaps giving herself that title now wasn't even entirely accurate, but she definitely knew the key to their romance. It was one filled with love, affection, laughter, and a deep respect (and adoration) for their respective quirks. Staying this close to him was exactly what she wanted in that moment. She could not have abided by any distance.

His willingness to match his ring to hers brought a brilliant smile to her lips. She considered a moment before suggesting, "If I'm not mistaken, October's stone is an opal. I quite like opals. They contain so many colors, which I think suits us better than any single colored stone ever could."

--

"Multi-colored anything would definitely suit us," Duncan agreed, easily. "I'd be honored to wear opals with you, Dottie." He paused a moment, then asked, "Did you mean this Oct-oh!"

His question had been cut off in a moment of surprise, but then little Maple emerged over the top of Duncan's shoulder, having apparently clawed her way up his back to this new perch.

--

She was pleased that he agreed opals would be a good option for them, though Maple cut off his next inquiry with her return atop his shoulder. She was purring, and reached a paw out even as she balanced on his shoulder in an attempt to bat at Dottie gently.

A grin settled onto her lips as she reached out and scratched Maple’s chin, her purr growing louder. Though he’d only asked half of the question, Dottie went on as though he’d been able to finish, “Unless you have a preference or reason on why we should wait...I would be very happy to marry you this October.”

--

Duncan could hear Maple's purr so close to his own ear, and the feel of it reverberated into his shoulder. After that initial moment of shock, the bite of her claws through his shirt was inconsequential, in the end.

"This October it is, then," Duncan replied, easily. He had no reason why they should wait, after all. "We can't raise our new daughter in a broken home, after all," he added, playfully.

--

October, truth be told, was mere weeks rather than months away, but Dottie was fairly confident that they could pull together a wedding that they were happy with in that amount of time. She could have happily skipped down to the courthouse with him that very afternoon and knew she would never experience a moment of regret.

“She’ll adjust quickly to having siblings,” Dottie predicted with a smile, though that thought did give her pause for a moment as she asked, “I know she’s done reasonably well on play dates with Pudding, but how do you think Skye will do with other cats permanently in her residence?” Of course, marriage meant that at least by October they would be fully moved in together, wherever that might be.

--

It was a legitimate question, and- admittedly, Duncan had avoided adopting another cat for all this time out of hesitation over how Skye would deal with such an addition. But Maple had more or less shown up on his doorstep, and he couldn't imagine now turning her away (even to another equally suited home).

"I think she'll adjust, with time." Duncan wanted to be hopeful, at least, even if it took a bit to get to where they all wanted to be. It would likely help, too, if Skye had more room to work through that adjustment- because, though Dottie and Pudding would have been more than welcome to move in, Duncan couldn't imagine that they'd want to squeeze into his one bedroom apartment.

--

“We’ll make certain to give her a lot of individual attention,” Dottie promised, knowing that sometimes easing the jealousy or insecurities of the first cat of the family was essential to creating a peaceful household. Pudding at least already had socialization with her sister’s cat, and she seemed to adore Skye.

“We can try to ease them in without it being too shocking. I don’t know what your thoughts are on what home will look like for us, but I’m open to discussing it.” Though she enjoyed visiting his apartment, living there would be difficult with two people and three cats. Beside that point, having a space for her to work was important, and she had not yet considered being parted from her sisters.

--

"Which shouldn't really be a hardship, anyway." Skye was already quite spoiled.

Though they hadn't specifically discussed moving in together- wherever or whenever that might be- Duncan didn't really mind the delay in making that decision. It wasn't as though their separate living places had kept them from one another when they'd wanted to be together.

"I mean, I'd like for home to be somewhere together. Which isn't to say that it needs to happen right away or even before October. Just… as a general idea of future things."

--

Dottie gave a small shrug of her shoulders, “Together, certainly, at least by the time we marry. I just...wasn’t entirely certain what your feelings would be on living in the shared house like I do now.”

She paused a moment, and though it had not been announced otherwise, she added, “Abby and Leo will potentially move, either before or after the babies arrive. They are not in an urgent rush, but they’ve expressed an interest in acquiring a nearby-but-separate home.”

This, somehow, was easier for Dottie to accept than the thought of Tessa moving. It wasn’t that she loved Abby (and Leo) any less, of course. It was simply that during their college years, they had grown accustomed to separate living arrangements with Abby elsewhere for college and career whereas Dottie and Tessa had always shared a living space, even in adulthood, “I hear that living apart from your siblings is part of growing up, but I haven’t fully experienced that yet.”

--

"I like your house," Duncan offered, with a bit of a smile. "I grew up in a big house," which, even if Dottie had never seen it, she may have already come to that conclusion. "But it wasn't a… lively one, like you have. So when I moved out, I wanted something as far opposite that as I could find."

As he spoke, Maple- seemingly now discontent with her shoulder perch- started to make her way down his front, picking her way slowly… and, after a moment, losing her claw-grip and tumbling into his lap. She gave a little mew of discontent, and Duncan reached down and lifted her up so she could climb around between his lap and Dottie's.

"But I wouldn't mind living with you and your sisters and their guys." Even if, as it sounded, at least two of those would be moving out, sooner rather than later. "So long as they don't mind me, anyway." Which Duncan didn't really think they would, but still. "So long as you don't ask me to live with Mo again, we can live with whatever other sibling you choose."

--

“I don’t think that they would have a problem with you moving in with us, but I can broach the topic, just to be certain,” she offered with a grin, though she assured him, “I won’t ask you to live with Mo. I think she’s quite content with Cerys and Hannah in their warehouse as it is.” She knew that their relationship wasn’t the same as what hers was with her own sisters. The Kane siblings did watch out for one another, though she had gathered their relationship was healthier now than it had been in years past.

“The house is big enough that we can all have our own space comfortably, even with shared living spaces. I think that’s why it still works for us, even with the personal changes that have transpired,” she mused. Theo did not live with them, and had instead recently purchased a house elsewhere. Dottie had a theory that Tessa would eventually move in with Theo and Zoe Maxine, though she did not know what such a timeline for that might be. If Abby and Leo did move as well, eventually that large house would dwindle in the number of occupants.

--

"I appreciate that," Duncan nodded once. "The last thing I need is for two-thirds of the Darlings to be vexed with me for... invading their space." Or whatever they wanted to call it.

He gave a faint smile, then leaned forward to steal another kiss. "More room for more cats." It was... mostly a joke.

--

“They won’t be vexed with you. My asking is mostly a formality. I anticipate them to be happy,” she smiled confidently as Maple pounced from her lap to Duncan’s thigh. Her sisters would know how thrilled Dottie was over this step in her relationship with Duncan. Their shared living situation, she thought, would be anticipated.

The kiss was accepted with a grin, “The more cats the merrier.” Dottie didn’t know how much space they would eventually have all to themselves, but as it was now...there was still plenty of room for their current feline companions, including little Maple.