The Lucky Cat Cafe…
"That's on the nose for cat cafes." Juniper commented, glancing over her shoulder to Megan. "Isn't it?"
Her girlfriend wore an amused smirk. "Are you an expert on all things cat cafe, hmmm?"
The look in her amber-brown eyes caused a blush to form on the dancer's face. "Uhh… Hey, I've never been to a cat cafe! But I'm pretty sure they're not literally called cat cafes." Juniper wasn't someone who liked arguing over petty things like names of cafes, but there was something amusing about these silly conversations with her girlfriend. "Are they?"
"Well, I've only been to this cafe, at least in the city." Megan traced the palm of her hand, the sensation was relaxing, letting Juniper release a breath she didn't know she was holding. "The owner's really nice, I'm friends with her nephew, I've told you about him a couple times."
Oh, right, Hiro. She hadn't met the robotics genius in person, but from what she heard from Megan, he sounded like someone with a good head on his shoulder, but also a workaholic. Sometimes Megan dropped by for a surprise visit because he had to run off from their hangouts early for a project or study group, one of the reasons why Juniper was glad she was taking online classes that were easy to manage.
"Well, you'll like the inside." Megan snapped her out of her monologue and was gently tugging Juniper along. "Much warmer than outside, trust me."
A sharp wind coldly going past, sent a shiver down both their spines. "I hope so." Juniper mumbled as they entered the cafe.
The cafe was warm and cozy, things Juniper imagined a typical cafe would be like. However, she honestly expected the place to be crawling with cats that people would have to fight over the tables for, but she just saw a plump calico sunbathing by the window. "Most of the cats I see here are pets people bring here." Megan explained, noticing the look of confusion on the dancer's face as she tried scanning the cafe for more felines. "If we stay around the lunch rush, there'll be plenty of cats."
Juniper glanced at the clock, it was a quarter till twelve. "Nice cats, right?"
"Yeah, why do you ask?" Megan's smiling expression was replaced with a look of concern. It warmed her heart to see the care in her girlfriend's eyes over a small worry.
"I've… never really interacted with cats, Mama told me they can be really mean so I should be careful." She explained, then smiled as she thought of something to lighten the mood. "The cat in Tom and Jerry is mean."
Megan immediately snorted, which turned into laughter, a beautiful laugh that was like birds singing on a spring morning. "Oh my gosh, June!"
"Am I wrong though?"
"Well if the cat's mean, then so's the mouse!" The way she said it was in a light giggly voice, making it hard for Juniper to take her seriously. "What?"
Juniper was also starting to giggle, seeing the overly dramatic look on the reporter's face. "Nothing i-it's just you look really cute when you're giggling."
The laughter turned into a blush as a small squeak went up Megan's throat. Juniper always said stuff like that that turned her into a blushing mess. "Let's just sit down so I don't melt from embarrassment…" Why did she say that out loud?!
Another giggle from her girlfriend, and they were suddenly sitting by one of the window booths, close enough to the counter where the wafting scent of fresh pastries and coffee was a little stronger than it was when they walked in.
"So, did your friend introduce you to this place?" Juniper raised an eyebrow, trying to make some small talk as both of them scanned their menus.
Megan shook her head. "Nah, my dad was an old friend of his aunt, so they introduced us." She blushed a little at the memory of Hiro's aunt's nosy nature, no wonder Cass was friends with her dad, who was just as nosy.
"Oh." Her girlfriend blinked. "That was after you moved, right? Must've been nice getting a new friend so quickly."
I guess you could put it like that. Megan tended to be a social butterfly, but Hiro had been the friend that had caught her attention, maybe because of their parents' old history, or maybe because she just thought he was neat. "I hope I can introduce you to him one of these days, you'd get along great!"
"Ha-ha, yeah, sure we would." Juniper thought otherwise, it was weird, she used to love meeting new people in the crowd when she and her mama performed. It never got old seeing the star-struck look in people's eyes.
But then again, they had never stayed in one place to really notice the look of admiration turn into betrayal when people realized they had stolen their hearts and their wallets, one thing Juniper had to reluctantly thank Big Hero 6 for, was making her realize how empty that attention made her feel in the end.
…Hey, she did a lot of self-reflection activities in prison, give her a break.
"That doesn't have to be until you're comfortable with it." Megan always picked up when she was slowly drifting into an unhappy daydream, and her gentle grip on her hand helped her snap back into reality. "I'm just happy to be with you right now."
Juniper smiled, the worrisome thoughts leaving her mind as she just focused on the reporter's warm and kind expression, and took a deep breath. "Thanks." It felt tranquil, sitting in the slightly catless cat cafe holding Megan's hand, the aroma of coffee in the air, it felt like one of those cheesy date scenes in movies, but this was better than any generic protagonist romance from those silly rom-coms she and Megan made fun of together on their indoor dates.
"Meow!" Something soft brushed against her leg, Juniper yelped in surprise, a little startled by the sudden contact.
Megan chuckled at her reaction. "Calm down, that's just Mochi, he couldn't even hurt a fly!"
"Flies are harmless creatures, I'm not." She protested.
"You wouldn't hurt a curious cat." The reporter bent down to scoop up the plump calico. "See? I think he's just wondering who's this amazing and beautiful girl I'm sitting next to."
Despite the flaring blush, she got a good look at the cat. Mochi, like the desert he was named after (fitting for a cat in a cat cafe) looked to be as sweet as one. He was staring at her with curious grey eyes, his small paws pressed against the table. Juniper reached her arm over, cautious about giving him a pet, anticipating the razor blades nature thought was a good idea to give all felines to spring out and attack.
Mochi just brushed his head against her hand, and oh he was so soft-
Softer than the fabric of any blanket she owned, Juniper couldn't help the delightful squeal as she got the chance to pet the adorable calico, fawning as he let her scratch his cute little ears too. There was a rumbling purr from Mochi, as he soaked up the attention like a sponge. Juniper only knew this cat for five minutes but she would take over the city for him if he asked, maybe she'd name a district after Megan… She'd like that.
Across the table, Megan herself was just slowly losing her mind at how cute her girlfriend looked while petting Mochi. She was just so adorable, how dare Juniper do that to her poor romantic heart, she was going to die from cuteness at this rate…
"Are you good over there?" Juniper's honeyed voice hummed at her.
"Yeah, all fine!" Megan chuckled, but her face betrayed the blushing mess that was her face.
Juniper caught onto that like how a moth was drawn to a hungry flame. "Oh? I didn't know that Super Sleuth Megan Cruz's weakness was cats." She spoke in that flirtatious tone that sent chills down her spine. "Maybe I'll get myself a pair of cat ears, I'd make a very good kitten, wouldn't I?"
The mental image was killing her, her girlfriend was going to murder her with feelings and they hadn't even ordered yet! "Please, no."
"Nyah~"
"STOP-"
Juniper's warm laughter made all the embarrassment worth it. "Okay, okay." She giggled. "Besides, I prefer my girlfriend alive, can't have that if she's melted into a puddle of feelings."
Megan just buried her face into Mochi's soft fur, at least she could hide some of those puddle-feelings into the calico's pelt.
That was when Cass had come around to take their order, Juniper had reacted with shyness, but the bubbly personality of the cafe owner had calmed her nerves as they both ordered muffins and a glass of milk.
Mochi had decided to hop onto her girlfriend's lap, and Megan was gushing internally as the calico was curled into a small ball. It was just so cute, seeing Juniper at peace as she gently patted Mochi's fur. Megan liked seeing the happy look on her face, it made her feel bubbly feelings inside.
Their order then came, and Mochi left to go back to sunbathing, leaving them alone with their food. "Oh wow, you weren't kidding." Juniper had stars in her eyes after the first bite of blueberry muffin. "That was so good-"
"I know, right? The baking here is like magic." She smiled. "If magic was real."
"Aw, don't say that." Juniper protested, looking at Megan with her cocoa brown eyes. "Being with you is like the most magical experience of my life."
If Megan had a nickel every time she blushed at this date, she'd have enough to go swimming at this rate. "June-!"
"No seriously, you're amazing and I'm happy to have you in my life." She rambled on, a feeling of love in every word. Juniper may have been teasing her earlier, but the kindness in her words were genuine and sweet. "I love you."
"Aww, I love you too." Megan chuckled. "But must you always go super sappy on our dates?"
"Someone has to be the overly romantic one in this relationship-" They both giggled, cheesy romance or not, being with each other was enough.
At least they got to pet a cat in the cat cafe, but Megan was never going to hear the end of the roller coaster of feelings Juniper did to her heart on this date.
But it was totally worth it anyway.
AN: Okay I'll admit I was inspired to write this fic bc I drew these two dorks but with that nyah meme comic, I couldn't help it, it was just so cute!
I will collect any squeals in the inbox below. I like writing my rarepair gfs, writing one-shots isn't my forte, but if it puts more fics of these two into the world, it's worth it.
Thank you so much for reading and have a 'cat'-tastic day!