"Hey there, cutie."
April had fallen asleep on the couch in the attendings' lounge while waiting on Arizona to finish up with her surgery, feet propped up on the coffee table and slouched down low. Drifting off hadn't been intentional but she had been called in early in the morning for surgery and now the exhaustion had finally kicked in.
"Wake up, sleepyhead." Arizona plopped down onto the couch next to her, hearing the redhead's stomach grumble. She placed a hand on April's stomach, giving her a little shake.
"Mm," April groaned out, waking up with a few sleepy blinks. "Hi."
"Hi," the blonde answered back with a giggle.
"What time is it?" She asked, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hands.
"Half-past seven. Are you ready to go eat? Because your stomach is making plenty of noise." Arizona asked, giving a little poke at the other's flat stomach that had been roaring only a few moments ago. Despite the squirm, a little more noise came from the stomach in agreement.
April nodded. "Apparently," she remarked. "Sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep."
"Don't worry about it, babe." Arizona leaned over, sealing a sweet kiss on top of her girlfriend's lips. "Besides, you looked cute there anyway. Good enough to eat." She added with a playful wink.
"Dirty," A shake of her head followed the words before she stood up, stretching out her arms overhead and waking herself up a little more. "Let's go get food, please, before my body decides that it wants to make any more embarrassing noises." She requested.
Hooking elbows together, the two women walked side by side from the lounge out to Arizona's car. She usually drove between the two of them after some teasing about April's lack of driving skills – no matter how the redhead protested about the fact that she was just a careful driver and she had a clean driving record to prove it. Things were always a little faster with the blonde behind the wheel, too.
Keeping it casual for the night, they headed to a quick Mexican restaurant to satisfy the rumbling in their stomachs. It was one of their favorites for a quick bite to eat – good salsa, and even better enchiladas. And, of course, delicious margaritas. They each ordered one with dinner.
"So, how did your surgery end up going?" April asked as she sipped at the last of her margarita, a little more awake after a full meal than she had been before.
"Good," Arizona answered with a bright smile. "Baby Martin is doing really well now. All signs point to full recovery."
"That's great," she smiled. "And the mom is doing well too?"
"Uh huh," she answered with a nod.
"You know, I've been thinking about the whole mom thing lately…" April started, taking a deep breath.
Arizona froze for a moment. Although they had a good and healthy relationship together, the point of kids had always been one area where they disagreed and didn't know how to just find the middle ground on. Working with so many kids and seeing so many coffins that were far too small, kids were the last thing that she thought about having in her womb – or the womb of her girlfriend. But she knew the same couldn't be said for April. She'd always seen herself as a mom, she knew that. It was something that they usually avoided talking about for the sake of keeping things good and happy between the two of them. They had only been living together for a few weeks, taking things slow.
"What do you mean?" The blonde asked, chewing at her lower lip briefly.
"Well, the other day, I was just driving over to Sam's Club and I passed that Petsmart and I got curious and went inside," April began, a smile breaking across her face. "And I saw the cutest little kitten named Kixx. Two x's, I don't know why. Anyway, not the point. He just, like, tried to lunge at me through the glass. Headfirst, right into. But he was so cute. It was like he was meant to go home with me and he just knew it."
A smile delightfully pulled across Arizona's features. "April Kepner, is this you saying that you want to become a mom to a cat with me?"
"That is exactly what I'm saying." She answered, red curls bouncing with the eager nod of her head.
"I would love nothing more than to adopt a cute little kitten with you," Arizona answered, beaming.
"Then it's time to get the check. Because we're going to Petsmart on the way home."
Unable to hide any of the joy that radiated through her features, April quickly sat straight and waved over the waitress so that they could get the check and get out of there as soon as possible. She hadn't been sure how she would react – while the redhead loved just about every animal in the planet, she knew that some people were much pickier when it came to choosing between cats and dogs.
The waitress comes over after a moment and they decide to pay cash just to get out of there a little faster than usual, arms wrapped around each other's wait to get back to the car and drive over. They practically bounded like a pair of giggly schoolgirls, on their way to do something naughty.
"Do you remember what kind of cat it was?" Arizona asked, placing her hand on April's thigh and going it a little squeeze before rubbing it up and down excitedly.
"Uh, I think it was a tabby. I don't know. I was focused on how adorable he was, mostly." She shrugged.
"You're adorable." She patted her thigh, shaking her head.
It didn't take long for the two of them to pull into the Petsmart parking lot. Even if it was a little impulsive, at least for Arizona, she thought that it would be easier than having a dog. An indoor cat could more or less take care of itself during the day, for stretches at a time, while they were at work. Dogs couldn't quite do it as well, with needing to go outside. This would be good for them.
Hands were tightly held together by the time they were out of the car and walking up to the entrance of the store. It was a little late in the day to be going through with this, sure, but there was no time like the present – and it did help that they both had the day off tomorrow.
"C'mere, it's this way." April tugged her girlfriend along toward the back of the store.
Arizona followed along eagerly as the redhead guided her to the section of the store where about a dozen cats were held in kennels, colorful signs displaying their names and a few other details about themselves decorating it to try and make it seem a little less depressing. She watched with amusement as her girlfriend gravitated toward one in particular on the left.
"This must be little Kixx, huh?" The blonde cooed. It was a small tabby cat, six months old, according to the paper displayed. All of the shots and vaccinations were up to date, and apparently, he came with the promise of all the cuddles that anyone could possibly want.
"Yeah, that's him." April grinned, glancing back at her girlfriend for a moment, placing a finger on the glass.
"You have wonderful taste in felines." She grinned.
"Arizona, I love you, and I'm so glad that you didn't take that opportunity to make a pussy joke." The redhead shook her head, leaning over and placing a quick peck on her cheek.
"Next time." She answered back, laughing when April rolled her eyes.
While April went to talk to one of the workers about getting Kixx out and adopting him, Arizona wandered around the pet store slightly, grabbing a cart from the front so she could start gathering some supplies. Litter, a little box, a few little toys, a bed – even if she was pretty sure that knowing her girlfriend, the little critter was going to be right up on the bed with them.
By the time that she had made her rounds and found her girlfriend again, the little kitten was already held in April's arms, butting its head against head chin and rubbing against her.
"I see you've already made yourself acquainted." Arizona grinned, reaching out to pet the cat.
"Mmhm," April hummed cheerily in agreement. "Kixx, say hi to your other mommy." She cooed.
"Hi there, cutie," the blonde cooed as she scratched under the cat's chin.
"Kixx Kepner–Robbins or Kixx Robbins–Kepner?" She asked, nuzzling the cat with her nose.
"Hmm…" Arizona pressed her lips together in thought. "Kixx Robner? Kixx Kepbins? No – that's too many K's." She shook her head. "It doesn't matter. Robbins–Kepner breaks up the Ks a little better."
The kitten let out a loud meow and both of them couldn't help but let out the same, high-pitched noise. "Aww." It was easy to please when it came to cute little animals.
"Is all of the paperwork done?" Arizona asked, eyebrows raising.
"Mmhm," April answered with a nod. "Do we have everything we need?" She asked, leaning over the cart to look through the different items that her girlfriend had already picked out for their new little kitten. "Oh, this is so cute," she commented, picking up one of the toys and jingling it in front of the cat. It swung a paw out at it, chasing it without hesitation. "Oh! And he likes it already!"
"I think so," she answered with a nod of her head, already beaming as she watched Kixx batt so simply at the toy. "Let's go check out and we'll take our cute little son home." She ran her hand over his head before tucking some hair behind the redhead's ear.
They headed to the checkout so they could pay for all of the supplies that they would need for the cat, and April couldn't take her attention off of the little kitten, letting Arizona handle everything else. She had been enamored with the little guy when she had first seen him and that hadn't stopped or been watered down any. And now her girlfriend was just as filled with joy by him. That was exactly what she had hoped would happen. Maybe they weren't ready for a baby yet, but this would be perfect and exciting.
The drive home goes by quickly with Kixx sitting on April's lap the entire time, or at least held in her hands when he squirmed and moved around, fascinated by the scenery that flew by even though it was dark outside by now.
"Alright little guy, this is your new home." The redhead announced when they stepped inside.
Arizona followed them in, carrying the cat bed. "Where should I put this down?"
"Well, they told me that the best thing to do when integrating a cat is to make a safe room for them. It's all about giving them the quiet and safety that they need while becoming familiar with our home. I was thinking maybe that could be our bedroom? I don't want to have to lock him out for the night. We can shut the door and I don't think we have anything breakable. We'll just have to remember to shut the door to the bathroom." April explained, rambling on excitedly with a grin.
"That works for me," the blonde answered with a nod. "I'll put it down in there. Is he going to sleep in there or is he sleeping on the bed with us?" She asked, walking down to their room. The redhead followed her in.
"Uh, I don't know. Whatever he's comfortable with, I guess." She answered with a shrug of her shoulders, kissing Kixx on the top of the head before setting him down on their bed.
Both of them watched as he sniffed around on the covers before hopping down, slowly walking around the carpet floored and stretching out. He nosed along the carpet slowly, making his way over to the baseboard and following it around the length of the room. Even though it was so simple, they still managed to be completely enamored by the action.
"Let's get the rest of the stuff from the car," Arizona suggested after a moment, giving her girlfriend a little tug.
It doesn't take long for them to get everything moved back inside of the house and set up.
By the time that they were done with it, both of them plopping down on the end of the bed, April leaning into the blonde and Arizona wrapping her arm around her shoulders, smiling like two kids with ice cream. It was a nice little addition to their life.
"Oh, look at that!" April squealed, pointing at the kitten.
Kixx had already worn himself out for the day, falling asleep in the middle of the floor with all of his legs pointed upward. Both of them burst out into laughter, holding onto one another tightly, turning inward to try and quiet down their laughter so that they didn't wake him up and ruin. Arizona quickly pulled her phone out of her pocket, snapping a quick picture.
"He's so cute," the redhead squealed, admiring the photo.
"But not nearly as cute as you are," Arizona disagreed, getting a quick kiss from the other.
April snorted and shook her head, leaning in for another kiss. She tucked blonde hair behind the other's ear, an adoring smile filling up the curve of her lips as she looked at her girlfriend. Even if the kitten was adorable, she loved her girlfriend more than anything else in the world.
"I guess it's time for the two of us to go to bed, too." Arizona murmured, eyebrows raising.
Both of them get up to change into a pair of pajamas, careful to keep quiet so that they didn't wake up Kixx. It seemed like he was more than capable of sleeping through just about anything, as neither of them was subtle.
"C'mere, cutie." The blonde murmured to her as they crawled into bed together, an arm slipping around April's waist and pulling her in closer. Her nose nuzzled against the back of the other's neck, still able to smell the shampoo from the shower that she had taken this morning. She did love being this close to her girlfriend. Nothing made her quite as happy as this did.
"You're so comfortable." April complimented, placing one of her hands on top of Arizona's hand. "I love you so much." She murmured quietly, eyes falling shut and making herself comfortable.
"I love you too, kitten," Arizona said with a smile.
"I don't think that you're going to be able to call me that anymore." She commented, a little bit of laughter slipping through her lips. Of course, she had loved the nickname the first time it came out. Now, well, it's still adorable but it didn't quite fit as well.
Before the blonde could reply, they both felt as Kixx jumped up onto the bed to join them, completely ignore the nice bed that Arizona had picked out for him. That was just how it went with pets, it seemed.
"Yeah, maybe you're right about that," the blonde laughed.
Kixx walked up on top of Arizona, pushing himself down between the two of them. Each of them cooperated without making any fuss, separating so they could fit the little one between the two of them. Blue eyes met hazels, both slightly wrinkled from the huge smile that had grown across their expressions.
"I'll find something else." The blonde promised.
"Take your time," April laughed, stretching her neck forward just enough to place a kiss on her lips.
"Goodnight, doll." Arizona murmured.
"Yeah, we're going to have to work on that." More laughter slipped out, shutting her eyes for the night. "Goodnight."