While working on my other FFXIII story I happened to see a picture that was so adorable it inspired me to write this. Thanks to Rueme on Deviantart for letting me use the very pic that helped me write this. Hopefully it came out the way I wanted it to. I think it did but I would love to see what you all think so enough of my chit chat. Enjoy!
Hope walked down the street on his way home from school. It was his last year and he was looking forward to getting out and starting his life on his own. He turned a corner and continued down the street until he stood outside his home. It was grand, but only because his father worked in the Sanctum. Sure, he wasn't really high up, but being in the lowest section still made them quiet wealthy. He sighed and entered, expecting the house to be empty as always. Another side effect of his father working where he does, he has long hours in the office or in meetings. He climbed the stairs and opened the door to his room, throwing his bag aside and plopping in the chair at his desk. He glanced at his laptop but didn't open it. He had a paper to write but he was reluctant to start. A noise outside caught his attention and he stood to look out the window.
Just as he pushed the curtains aside, he saw a cat dart out of the bushes across the street. The cat risked a run across the street and jumped into a bush outside his house. Hope sat back down, contemplating if he should help the cat or not. As it ran, he could tell its foreleg was injured. He looked at his laptop again and then stood. He left his room, went down the stairs, and out the door. He slowly walked over to the side of his house and carefully crouched down near the bush he saw the cat hide in. He reached out a hand and grasped some leaves. He pushed them aside to come face to face with intelligent ice blue eyes staring straight back at him. He froze momentarily, feeling as if the cat knew what he was trying to do. It moved slightly forward and then paused.
"Come here kitty. I won't hurt you. Come here," he called to the cat. Its ears swiveled in his direction and then returned to its previous direction. The cat lithely jumped from the bush and made its way over to Hope mostly on its belly. Its sharp gaze was constantly looking out for danger. Hope remained still when the cat finally stopped by him. He put out a hand and let it sniff it. The look in its eyes was still untrustworthy but it did not run. Hope hesitantly flipped his hand over and moved to pet its head. The ears went down to lie flat on its head but he continued. Once his hand met soft fur, the cat relaxed. He rubbed down the back of its head and across the back. He started back at the head and repeated.
As he petted the cat he noticed that its fur must be some color he had not seen before on an animal but he couldn't tell. The dirt in the fur obscured any color. He looked down and took note of the way it held its paw off the floor. He could see slight red under on the leathery pads. Despite its now ragged appearance, Hope knew it would be a beautiful cat once he nursed it back to health. He stopped petting the cat and moved to scoop it into his arms. It resisted somewhat but after making sure it wouldn't scratch him, he picked it off the ground and held it close to his body. Its tail flicked back in forth in what Hope thought looked like irritation but he wrote it off. Careful not to hurt the paw, he tucked the cat in his arms and set off for his house. He entered and shut the door with his foot.
"You know, I don't know if dad will let me keep you but I hope he does. I've always wanted a cat. I guess I'll do the best I can for you and then let you go. No one I know likes cats," he began to explain. He didn't feel weird for talking to the cat. It was better than silence or talking to himself. It was a companion he looked forward to having and he saw it in this cat. The minute he began to talk, the cat looked up at him with a searching gaze. The ears swiveled again and he felt the tail swish once or twice.
"Let's get you cleaned up ok?" he told the cat. Its eyes seemed to tell him that it agreed. He climbed the steps and turned left. Across from his father's study was the bathroom and further down the hall was his father's room. He pushed the bathroom door open with his back and then turned to the bathtub. He glanced down at the cat who was still not struggling. He hooked the door with his foot and pushed it closed then set the cat on the checkered tile. It stayed where he put it, only curling its tail around its feet.
"It's not that I don't trust you but I've never really washed an animal before, especially a cat. I didn't know if you would run and I don't look forward to getting scratched but this has to get done either way," he said as he pushed aside the curtain and began testing the water. He figured it would be best somewhere between warm and cold so that it wasn't too hot but not too cold. When the water was running, he turned back to get the cat but it was gone. He was confused slightly until he spotted it perched on the toilet top. It cocked its head at him before swiftly hopping across to the rim of the bath and then into the tub. He was surprised at its behavior but was glad it liked water. In fact, it ran straight for the faucet and ran under the water, passing through a couple times and then returning to Hope. It glanced at the selection of soaps before reaching out with its uninjured paw and lightly patting a bottle.
"You are pretty smart. I wonder if someone owned you and now you're lost. In that case I can't keep you. Maybe I'll keep you safe until I find your owner," he told the cat as he poured some soap in his hand. The cat watched him silently as he talked only swishing its tail when he mentioned an owner. By now, the cat was semi clean and Hope could see that oddly, its fur was a color he had not seen on an animal before. He shrugged and began washing the cat as softly as he could. It reacted to his touch easily so that he could reach every part of it. Its attitude seemed to reflect its necessity that it wanted to be clean so it allowed him to wash it. As Hope scrubbed the fur with his fingers and palm, he could feel the muscle in the cat's body. It wasn't a big cat but it had a lithe body built for agility and speed. By this point he deemed the cat a girl. When he came to the paw he was extra careful. She only flinched once when he touched the injury but otherwise did nothing. He could see that the sensitive pad on the paw had a cut that was now all cleaned out.
"You are one tame cat. I've seen cats that go crazy when they have to be washed or they cry really loud. You just seem to sit and let me wash you," he commented. She looked up at him before getting up and walking back to pass under the water a few times. When she returned to sit in front of Hope she was all clean and rinsed off. Hope now saw exactly what color the fur was. He couldn't help but think it reminded him of a strawberry smoothie. It was pink but the color was soft and he wondered how soft the fur would feel once he dried it seeing as the fur was already on the soft side when it was dirty. He reached to shut off the water.
"Ok, I'm going to get a towel. Stay there," he said. He stood and grabbed his towel off the rack, knowing his dad wouldn't want his towel to be used for such a thing. He returned to see the cat resting her forepaws on the edge of the tub as if waiting to be picked up. Hope briefly wondered how he would do this and came up with a method. He draped the towel over the toilet and then picked her up. He set her on the towel and then picked up the edges to dry her fur. That way the floor didn't get wet. He rubbed the towel fast but gently across the body so that the fur stuck up. He laughed and the cat shot him a glare.
"I'll fix it don't worry," he told her. Her ears went back slightly and she looked away. When he was done, he picked her back up and set her on the floor. He hung the towel over the shower pole and then opened the door. She glanced at him before walking out the door with a quick pace and then headed for the stairs. He followed her down and then into the kitchen where she circled the legs of the table.
"Are you hungry?" he asked her. She replied with a low but demanding meow. He chuckled.
"That's the first thing you've said since you got here. Did you know that?" he told her, digging in the cabinets for a can of chicken. He opened the can and put some in a small bowl.
"Here you go," he said as he set the bowl down. As soon as it touched the floor, she came darting out from under the table and attacked the chicken. In seconds it was gone and she sat looking at him and waiting for more. He debated giving her the whole thing. He shrugged and put the rest in the bowl, hoping she would finish it. She did, and once she was done she sat and began cleaning herself. He put the bowl in the sink and then checked the time. His dad should be on break now. He grabbed the house phone and dialed his number.
"Hello?" his dad answered on the second ring.
"Hey dad, just wanted to ask you something..." he replied.
"What is it Hope?" his dad responded.
"Um, well, I found an injured cat on the way home and wondered if we could keep her. You know I've always wanted a cat and…" he trailed off, uncertain where this would go. He heard a sigh on the other side of the line.
"Will you take full responsibility of her?" his dad questioned.
"Yes, of course. You won't have to do anything," he answered happily.
"Ok then, you can keep her, but she better not ruin our furniture and if you want her to remain an indoor cat you have to go get a litter box," he warned.
"I will. I'll go to the store now and get supplies," he said earnestly.
"Ok then, see you at seven. Bye," his dad said.
"See you," Hope replied. He hung up and put the phone down.
"Yes, I get to keep you! You will have to stay in my room when I leave just in case. Wouldn't want you getting into anything," he said as he bent to pick her up. He took her to the room and set her on his bed where she padded to his pillow and flopped lazily on the pillow. He raised an eyebrow.
"Ok then, you get comfortable and I'll be right back," he said, grabbing some money from his savings drawer and shutting the door when he left. He locked the house and then ran down the street to the nearest store. Luckily, he met Lebreau while he was shopping. She was his babysitter back when he was younger but now she was a family friend. She offered him a ride home which he gladly accepted seeing as he could not carry all that he bought on his own. She helped him carry everything inside and then comically wiped sweat off her brow.
"Wow, cat litter is heavy. Hey, why do you need all this stuff anyway? I can't imagine Bartholomew letting you have a cat," she said.
"Well, he did. I found her on the way home. She was injured but now she's all cleaned up and it's not bugging her anymore. Want to see her?" he asked. She eyed the excited boy and then nodded. He grabbed her hand then towed her up to his room. He pushed open the door to see the pink cat curled under his covers in a way that was strangely human.
"Awww, how cute, is she trained or something? I never saw a cat do that," she said as she sat on his bed to get a closer look.
"Yeah, she does really cool things like that sometimes. She's so smart and pretty. Look at the color of her fur," he replied.
"Wow, its pink but like, how should I say it, strawberry pink," she tried to explain. He laughed.
"Yeah the color reminded me of a strawberry smoothie," he confessed. She giggled and reached out to softly pet the cat's head. The cat stretched but otherwise remained asleep.
"Well, I'm glad you finally have a cat Hope. What are you going to name her?" she asked. He thought about it for a moment before replying.
"I think I'll name her Éclair. Her color reminds me of sweets and things," he said.
"I think that's a good name. Well I have to get going. Say hi to your dad for me," she said, ruffling his hair as she left. He smoothed it down and nodded.
"See ya," he replied. He smiled at Éclair and then sat in front of his laptop again. Cat or no cat he had to get his work done now. He opened his laptop and was surprised to see it was already on. He remembered turning it off the last time he used it. To top it off, it was on a page about the Sanctum. It explained about the Fal'Cie and the L'Cie that where created from them. Hope always found that interesting but had not done a search on it for some time now. He shrugged, writing it off to forgetfulness, and closed the page. Then he began typing up his finals paper. Halfway through his work Éclair jumped up on his desk and stepped across the keyboard.
"Hey, what are you doing?" he asked. She gave him a hard stare and then hopped off the desk. He watched as she walked over to his door and then waited for him to follow. He got up and followed her down the stairs and stood at the front door. She scratched it, paced back and forth, and then looked up at him.
"Oh, hold on," he said, understanding what she wanted. He went into the kitchen where he set all the cat products around the table. He hefted the cat litter and cat box into the small room that connected to the living room. They always kept the door leading outside locked so he was sure she couldn't get out. He dumped a good amount of litter in the box and then went back for the scooper so he could smooth it out. He set the scooper aside and then backed up to view his handy work. He pushed the litter into a corner and set the scooper next to it then moved the litter box against the locked door so it was out of view of the living room. His dad wouldn't want it showing to any guests. He turned to call for Éclair but she was already walking into the small room. She eyed the box distastefully and waved her tail in slight irritation.
"What? You can't go back outside now. I don't want you to get hurt," he told her. She gave him what he believed to be her signature glare before walking over to the litter box. She stepped in and then looked back at him.
"Ok, I get the hint," he said, leaving her to her business. She came out not too long later after a good amount of litter shifting. He was just putting away the food when she sauntered into the kitchen. He continued to put all the supplies where they needed to go in the house and then returned to his work. Éclair silently followed everywhere he went and watched him calculatingly with her ice blue eyes. After his paper was all typed out and printed, he put it in his bag, removed his shoes, and lied out on the bed. Éclair jumped up and curled up away from him and against the wall.
"Are you mad at me for making you use the litter box, because I'm sorry if that's it. After all, you are a cat and its way better than letting you lose outside again," he told her. Really, he was just afraid she would run away. He was already accustomed to her being around. She ignored him and lied down. He sighed and looked up at the ceiling. Soon, sleep took over him. He awoke to the door closing an hour later. He sat up quickly and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He looked for Éclair but she was gone.
"Dammit," he muttered. He pushed off the bed and went down to greet his dad.
"Hey you," his dad said as he entered the living room. He was currently taking off his shoes and removing his suit.
"Hey dad how was work?" he asked.
"The usual, except the higher ups are panicking over something that happened with the Fal'Cie. I don't know what exactly but we both know some experiment escaped right?" his dad joked.
"Probably," Hope replied.
"So, where is the cat you found? I want to see her," he asked his son.
"She's around here somewhere. I dozed off and I guess she's exploring," he replied.
"Cats do love to explore. It's best that she does so she feels right at home. What did you decide to call her?" he questioned.
"Éclair," he replied with slight embarrassment. His dad raised an eyebrow and then smiled.
"You know, that was your favorite dessert when you were little," he said.
"It was?" Hope said.
"Yep, Nora always gave them to you and I warned her not to spoil you," he said with a halfhearted laugh. The thought of Hope's mom hurt them both to this day. At that moment, Éclair finally showed herself and jumped up on the top of the couch.