Follow up to B99fangirlnextdoor's from Ao3 "Diamy (Amy x Rosa) drabbles" chapter 24. Great writer, really recommend you read her stories.
"You're kidding, right?"
Rosa's voice breaks through the silence. It's completely flat, as is her face, as if she's expecting Amy to grin mischievously and say 'Yeah, of course I am'. Instead, Amy shakes her head and the kitten mewls in her arms.
"I swear, that's his name!"
"You're expecting me to believe that someone named their cat 'Cuddles'?" Amy nods, completely serious and shifts the small animal onto one arm so she can take out the papers the vet had given her.
"See? It's in his chip. He's supposed to be in a shelter, someone dropped him off last week. The vet called and they told her that they hadn't even noticed that he was gone." Amy pouts and Rosa wonders if it's because the people that run the shelter are incompetent and that makes her upset, or because the shelter is so overcrowded that the staff hadn't even noticed and that makes her upset. Either way, Upset Amy is not Happy Amy and Rosa wants her girlfriend to be happy.
"Ok, whatever. Let's go home and we'll google what we can give him for supper." And then she goes to the front desk and proceeds to pay for the visit.
Amy's adoring smile when she returns to her side is totally worth it the fifty bucks she had previously promised she wouldn't spend.
When they get home, Rosa goes to the kitchen to start preparing their dinner. And by preparing she means getting the takeout they've just bought and set in on plates. Amy disappears into their room, most likely to get changed out of her work clothes and give the kitten a bath. God, that thing stinks something fierce.
"Bad news, Rosa, we can't give him a bath yet." Rosa turns and levels her girlfriend with a look, eyebrow twitch and all. "I know, but he needs to have his claws trimmed so we don't get scratched all over, we need to comb him so there's no tangles and the shower doesn't get clogged with all the loose fur and we need to buy cat shampoo, Ours will hurt his skin. And it also says that it'll help if he's tired or he has a toy to play with so he's distracted." As she talks she skims through the page she has loaded on her phone, Cuddles tucked against her hip. He mewls at her.
"Ok, we'll go to the pet store tomorrow, but we're getting that ketchup off right now."
Rosa finishes setting the plates on the table and then grabs a dishrag, wets it and then approaches her girlfriend. She carefully works the dried ketchup off of Cuddles' fur, checking that he's calm every once in a while to make sure he's not going to scratch her.
"We have to buy caps too."
"Caps?" asks Rosa as she works. Amy pockets her phone so she can shift the kitten and give the other woman a better angle.
"Yeah, tiny sheaths that you glue to his claws so he doesn't go scratching at everything. You trim his claws, put the caps and you forget about it for about four to eight weeks." She pauses, inspecting Rosa's works. The white fur still has a reddish tint to it, but until they get some shampoo it'll have to do. "One of my brothers has a cat. It used to scratch all the furniture and his girlfriend told him to declaw her." Rosa makes a disgusted face. "Yeah, he made that face too, so he tried the caps: they're safe and comfortable for them, it doesn't prevent them from moving or anything and they fall on their own as the claws grow. It's actually pretty funny, it looks like they got a manicure." Amy giggles and Rosa can't help but think that her girlfriend is adorable.
"Ok, then we'll get those things. Nothing flashy, though." She warns, one finger pointing at Amy's nose. When she goes cross-eyes, Rosa boops her. They both laugh and Amy leans in to steal a kiss. "C'mon, let's eat. Have you looked up what he can eat? We could give him some canned tuna." Rosa goes to the fridge and gets the water pitcher.
"Sounds good. Tony told me that he gives Arare tuna when he's out of kibble and cans. He told me that it's good to mix dry and wet food so their diet is more interesting and they're not always eating the same, you know?"
As soon as Rosa sets the pitcher on the table, she has an armful of cat as Amy sets Cuddles into her arms and goes to the pantry to get a couple of cans of tuna. With practiced moves, she opens both and lets the oil flow into a little plastic bottle. When they had moved in together they had agreed that they would never throw the oil or anything that could pollute (even more) the water down the drain, so they put it all into bottles and take it to a special store that takes care of it.
As soon as the smell reaches him, Cuddles' gaze is glued on Amy as she puts the tuna into a plate and carefully breaks down the biggest chunks. Once done, she sets it on the floor, next to the table and Rosa let's Cuddles onto the floor too. The little fur ball speeds towards the plate and practically face plants in his eagerness to eat. With twin amused smiles, Rosa and Amy sit at the table and start eating, doing that cute, couple-y thing, eating off each other's plates and feeding each other, Rosa had sworn she'd never do.
Amy is destroying her badassery. She can't find it in herself to care.
Ten minutes into their meal, Cuddles jumps to her lap and curls into a tight, little, purring ball. Amy coos and Rosa is already picking the colors for the claw caps, food bow and bed they're going to buy tomorrow right after work.
BONUS:
"Ames, that one's too small, he'll outgrow it in six months."
"You sure? The vet said he wouldn't grow much more."
"True. But he'll be more comfortable in a bigger bed."
"Ok, then. And what about this collar, do you like it?"
"Sure, but grab that thinner one. If he doesn't grow this one will be too chunky."
"What about the caps?"
"Blue, red, green, black. None of those with sparkles."
"Can we get pink, purple and orange too?"
"Fine with me."
"Do we put a bell on him or a tag with his name?"
"Tag, the bell will drive the three of us crazy. We'll get our numbers on the back in case he ever manages to leave the apartment."
"Perfect."
"If he has the caps he won't need a scratching post, right?"
"Right." Pause. "Did we get a litter box? He needs a litter box and the sand too. There's this fancy sand that turns into a paste with urine so you don't have to change the entire box. It's a bit more expensive but it's cheaper in the long run."
"Ok, litter box and fancy litter sand. Do we get him canned food? Like, all week kibble and on Fridays he gets a can?"
"Sounds good. He needs treats too. We should get the automatic feeder, we're away all day and I don't want to leave him a full bowl at the start of the day. You saw him last night, he's a glutton."
"Let's see if we can afford it first. The damn cat is gonna leave us without a penny."
"Maybe, but he's so cute!"
"Yeah… I took a picture of you two sleeping this morning, he looked like he was smiling."
"Aw, that's adora– wait, you did what?"