Sam had never really been an animal person. He didn't mind them, but he never really saw himself as being a pet owner, mainly because he figured that, in his line of work, he'd never have the opportunity or the time to take care of a pet. So, imagine his surprise, when the first thing that he sees when he opens the door to his one-bedroom upstate apartment is not just the archangel that had been sharing his bed for the past several months, but said archangel cuddling what appeared to be a little ball of black and white fluff.
"Gabriel..." Sam started slowly, noting the air of sheer happiness that surrounded his lover. "What the hell is that thing that you're holding?" He eased the door closed behind him and let his satchel slide down to the floor by the kitchen island.
"A-hem..." Gabriel cleared his throat, his gaze cutting to the discarded satchel. Sam rolled his eyes but plucked the bag from the floor and made a dramatic showing of placing it on the hook by the door where 'it was supposed to go'. Sometimes he felt like he was married to the damn angel rather than just sharing an apartment with him.
"This," he held out the squirming ball of adorableness, "is Lucy...fur. Get it?" Gabriel's grin was so wide, Sam was certain that he'd split his face in two if he tried to smile any wider.
"Yeah, I get it, but what is it DOING here?"
"Well, she's mine. I adopted her on my way home." He said it in such a matter-of-fact-way that Sam's mouth just dropped open.
"Jesus, Gabe, you went out to get milk, not pick up a damn pet!"
Gabriel wasn't deterred by his boyfriend's surly attitude. He merely pulled little Lucy to his chest and rubbed his cheek against the top of her head. "Don't listen to mister grumpy-pants, Lucy. He'll come around."
"Get rid of it, Gabe. We don't have time to take care of some cat."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Sam regretted ever thinking them up. The look of pure disappointment and hurt showing on Gabriel's face was enough to break his heart into a thousand little pieces. The quivering lower lip and watering puppy-dog eyes were the icing on the cake. Could that man just cry on cue all the time?
"Ugh..." He ran both large hands down his face in exhasperation. "Fine. But you're taking care of it."
"Her," Gabriel corrected nonchalantly.
"Her, then. I'm not going to have any part in this because I didn't want the damn thing in the first place."
"But...kiddo, look." He held Lucy out so she was dangling, Lion King style, before the younger male. She reached out a paw and batted at a strand of his long, dark brown hair, coercing a small smile from the corner of his lips. One that was quickly erased, but not completely unnoticed by Gabriel.
"Mmhm. Come on, Lucy, lets go make you a bed out of some of Sammy's favorite shirts."
"H-Hey! Gabe!" Sam shouted in protest, but alas, it was in vain, for Gabriel's laughter was all that was left in the room.
~~TBC~~