Moonshadow
By Torina Archelda
A fic to make the lovely WhiteCotton smile. : )
Moonshadow
Severus awoke to a warm, wet sensation on his cheek and the sound of the shower running. It took him a moment to realize the inconsistency of the two conclusions, and he opened his eyes, frowning slightly. His eyes went wide as he looked down and saw the offender looking up at him calmly with bright green eyes.
"Meow?"
Severus stared at it in shock for a moment before picking the kitten up and quickly setting it on the floor. "Harry?" he said tightly, knowing his voice would carry into the bathroom. Meanwhile he was having a staring contest with the kitten, and apparently losing. It continued to stare up at him, unblinking, its wide, innocent eyes alight with curiosity. Severus' gaze never faltered, but his irritation increased by the second.
The feline was saved from an early death by strangulation when Harry poked his head out of the bathroom, drying his hair with a towel and grinning at Severus for all he was worth. "So I see you found her," he said, still smiling.
Severus' irritation increased tenfold. "Harry," he repeated, alternating his gaze between his lover and the kitten, "is there a particular reason for my awakening to this… monstrosity in our bed, or do you just enjoy raising my blood pressure?"
Harry's grin never faltered. "Her name's Moonshadow," he replied, running his fingers through his hair in a ridiculous attempt at taming the mess. "Do you like her?"
"This is ludicrous," Severus snapped, ignoring Harry's question altogether. "Come out here where I can see you. I refuse to continue speaking to your disembodied skull."
Harry's grin simply widened, and he ducked behind the door a moment before reemerging- with the towel wrapped around his waist. Severus floundered for words.
"You cannot be serious," he said at last. "What on earth do you need that thing for? Take it off this instant."
Harry frowned, scooping up the kitten and sitting down on their bed, holding it in his lap. "I'm not going to walk around naked in front of Moonshadow," he replied, turning his gaze away from Severus for a moment and directing his attention at the creature sitting in his lap. "Hey there, girl," he cooed, petting her fur and smiling.
Severus' eye twitched. "Harry," he said through gritted teeth, "you have yet to explain the presence of an animal in our bedroom."
"Hagrid found her in his latest shipment of kneazles. When he found out she wasn't magical, he didn't know what to do with her. So I told him we'd take her in. Didn't I, Moonshadow?" Harry questioned the cat, a silly grin on his face.
Severus started rubbing his temples. "You mean to tell me that you've offered to take ownership of the creature?"
Harry looked up at him, practically beaming. "Yep! Isn' t she cute?" And with that, he dumped a startled-looking Moonshadow into Severus' lap.
"Well," Severus admitted grudgingly, picking up the kitten and fighting back a smile as she purred and rubbed her face against the palm of his hand, "perhaps she is at that."