A/N so I have had some requests for a kelena story without any smut so, here it is! I hope you like it :) thanks to mysticfun for her kind words even though the story is a little too "cute" for her :P
After many weeks of begging and complaining, Katherine finally agreed to go to the shelter with Elena. They had been sitting on the couch in the living room, watching The Fox and the Hound, Elena's movie of choice.
"Please, Katherine? You know I've always wanted a pet, but my parents never let Jeremy or me have one!" Elena complained, a pout forming on her perfect lips.
"Elena please, not this again," Katherine groaned, pressing mute on the remote control.
"Come on, don't tell me you wouldn't love to have something to take care of together. Something that was just ours?" Elena asked with an innocent look on her face.
Katherine stopped for a moment to think, making the mistake of looking into Elena's big brown eyes, the ones she just couldn't say no to. Katherine knew how stubborn Elena could be when she wanted something. She let out a massive sigh.
"Okay.. We can go look. But I'm not promising anything," Katherine told Elena as the girl threw her arms around her in excitement.
Elena took Katherine's face in her hands. "You will not regret this, I promise" Elena said, giving Katherine a quick kiss on her lips.
"This one is so adorable, Katherine. Just look at her!" Elena cried excitedly. She was holding a small black cat in her arms.
"Seriously, a black cat?" Katherine asked incredulously.
"Do you see someone you like better?" Elena questioned her.
Katherine looked around the room. Animals just weren't her thing. She had owned a horse once, back when she was human though she didn't like to talk about it.
"I like… that one," Katherine announced, pointing to a large tabby perched top of the cabinets. "She looks like she is in charge, like she can take care of herself."
Just then, one of the shelter volunteers, Lisa came into the room with a smile on her face. She gestured to the black cat. "I see you've met Min Lee!"
"Min Lee?" Katherine groaned at the awful name. She glared at Elena who gave her a look, warning her to be nice.
"She came to us about a year ago," Lisa said.
"But she looks so young!" Elena half whispered as she stroked the cat's ears.
"Well the thing is, she had babies very young. She was about six months old when she got pregnant so that's why she's so tiny," Lisa confided. This got Katherine's attention.
"She got pretty sick after she had her babies, and all of them were adopted but she wasn't. No one really wants a damaged cat," Lisa sighed as if recalling the cat's story was causing her great physical pain.
In that moment, Katherine couldn't help but think about her own past. She remembered the day she realized she was pregnant and she thought of how her child was taken from her without ever getting a chance to hold her and tell her that she was loved. How she was kicked out of her home, and shunned by everyone she knew. Katherine had endured a lot of pain and suffering, and she couldn't help but feel some kind of strange connection to the little cat in Elena's arms.
Katherine reached out to stroke the cat's back and she started to purr loudly.
"I think she likes you," Elena giggled.
After a few moments of quiet thought Katherine said, "Maybe, I could learn to like her too…"
Katherine turned to look into Elena's eyes, and after exchanging a meaningful glance that only she could decipher, Elena happily announced, "We'll take her!"
Once home, Elena started to unpack all the essentials needed to take care of their new cat starting with the cat food. Katherine snuck up behind Elena, putting her arms around her waist from behind, loving the way they fit together perfectly
"Katherine," Elena warned quietly with a smile on her lips. Katherine kissed the back of Elena's neck quickly, then released her, letting her finish what she was doing. Elena prepared the food while the cat impatiently meowed at her.
"Hold on just a second, I'm working on it!" Elena said to the cat.
She placed the food and water dishes onto the floor and the cat started to eat hungrily. After a few minutes, the food was all gone and the cat made its way to the living room where Elena was sitting on the floor, getting all the toys ready.
"Who knew such a tiny cat could eat so much?" Katherine asked after looking at the empty food dish. "We should have named her Piglet," she suggested affectionately.
"What are we going to name her?" Elena asked as the cat sat on the floor in front of her, licking her paws.
"Let's name her Katherine," Katherine teased giving Elena a big smile. "Because she's the most beautiful cat in the world," Katherine said as she gave the cat a kiss on the top of her head.
Elena laughed. "There will only ever be one Katherine for me," she said, tenderly brushing her hand against Katherine's arm.
"How about Pavlina?" Katherine suggested after a few moments. Elena had a confused look on her face so Katherine explained. "It's Bulgarian; it means little."
Elena turned to look at Katherine and saw that she was looking off into the distance, probably in a different world right now. Elena knew Katherine was reminded of her human life, and she desperately wanted to comfort her in some way, but there was really nothing she could say. Katherine preferred not to talk about her past, and Elena was okay with that.
"I think that's perfect," Elena half whispered. They sat in silence for a little while, enjoying each other's company, until Pavlina became restless.
Katherine stood up and walked over to the couch falling onto the cushions, exhausted from the day. She watched from the couch as Elena threw a spongey ball into the air and Pavlina happily chased after it. She picked it up in her mouth and proudly trotted back over to Elena, showing her what a good girl she was. Elena looked up at Katherine and said, "She's like a puppy, she plays fetch!" There was a twinkle in Elena's eye as she looked down lovingly at Pavlina and Katherine knew she had made the right choice in saying yes to Elena. After a while Pavlina ran back to the kitchen to get something to drink, and Elena joined Katherine on the couch, putting her arm around her.
"Thank you," Elena whispered softly in Katherine's ear. Katherine turned her head so they were face to face, and she pressed her forehead to Elena's, closing her eyes. Elena leaned in to press her lips against Katherine's, unable to hold back any longer. It was soft and sweet, gentle and kind, but full of promises made and kept. A reminder of the future they would get to have together, always. Elena wrapped her arms around Katherine's neck as the kiss grew heated and more urgent.
"Meowwww," Pavlina interrupted noisily.
"We… are…busy…" Katherine breathed between kisses, her fingers tangled in Elena's hair.
But Pavlina was stubborn, just like her mothers. She jumped into Katherine's lap, briefly readjusting herself and then putting her head down to fall asleep.
"Aw, she loves you" Elena said softly, looking down at the cat in Katherine's lap. "And so do I."
"I love you too," Katherine said as she gave Elena one final kiss. Elena leaned her head on Katherine's shoulder and closed her eyes. I am so lucky, Katherine thought to herself as she shut her eyes and fell asleep listening to the sound of Elena's steady heartbeat.