GinSherry Week 2022

Alright, new stories! So, I'm a member on the Discord server "Ghost Ship- GinSherry" and it's GinSherry week from today (Monday) through Sunday! The way it was setup is that each day of the week has different prompt options that we can pick and choose from. I will be submitting all of my entries for the week in one compilation just to keep them easy to find. Beyond that, there are no limits for how we may present them. Some people are doing fanart, but my talents lie in writing, so that's what I'll be submitting and I'm super stoked for all of the new content!

Monday: pining, proposal/wedding, sharing clothes, AU
Tuesday: green, date, sleeping, APTX
Wednesday: jealousy, selfie, rain, hug
Thursday: family, beach, first meeting, confession
Friday: intimate, dream/nightmare, reunion, call/text
Saturday: dancing, heartache, kimono, kiss
Sunday: festival, hurt/comfort, banter, sick day, cosplay, cooking

Prompt Chosen: Pining
Summary: Gin adopts a cat.


Prompt: Pining

"Mrranh!"

Gin already had his gun out and was turning to meet the threat before he fully registered the sound and saw the source of the sound was an orange tabby cat staring up at him with expectant blue eyes.

Except he was in his apartment.

And he didn't own a cat.

He glared at the cat, as if it had broken into his home by itself, and he removed the safety on his gun before doing a careful sweep of his apartment to search for intruders and inspect the door and windows for forced entry. It took him a while because he was thorough, but he saw no evidence of invasion except for the cat which left him puzzled as he returned to the living room where the cat had found a patch of sun and was now grooming itself. It couldn't have been in his apartment long or he would have noticed sooner. Had it really slipped through the doorway just behind him when he came home? He supposed it was possible; he'd had a rough late night and the cat was small, so it could have escaped his observation. Shameful. Clever of the cat though. It snuck into a warmer human dwelling over sleeping outside in the freezing cold.

"Cat, you can't stay here," he said, and at the sound of his voice, the cat stopped grooming and looked up. Then it made a chirpy sound and rushed him with its tail raised then rubbed its cheek and body against his leg.

Gin scowled. "No, I don't care how cute you are. You're not staying and that's final."

()()()()()

"I didn't know you had gotten a cat, Aniki," Vodka said when he saw the tiny orange cat in the arms of a very grumpy-looking Gin.

"I didn't. It invaded my apartment last night so I'm taking it to the vet to see if it has a microchip so I don't have to worry about someone looking for it," Gin said as he slid into passenger side of Vodka's car.

Vodka didn't say a word but glanced curiously at his partner and the cat as he drove to a nearby vet. If Gin wanted to just get rid of the cat, he could dump it at a shelter if he wanted to take it somewhere as opposed to just turning it back outside, yet he was specifically taking it to a vet to find out if it had a microchip. Vodka didn't need to be brilliant like Gin to guess his true intentions. The cat seemed content with its situation though; it was curled up in a ball on Gin's lap. Occasionally, Vodka noticed Gin petting it gently with a somber expression on his face, and he wondered if Gin also thought the cat reminded him of Sherry a little.

Upon reaching the vet clinic, Vodka hung back while Gin checked in, presumably using a fake name, and because there were no other clients, they didn't have to wait long for the vet tech to come for the orange tabby. To their mutual surprise, the cat was so completely against the idea of being parted from Gin that it dug all four sets of claws into Gin's arm when the vet tech tried to take the cat from him, and they had to come back with a towel to wrap around the unexpectedly violent kitty.

Even Gin looked shocked by the ordeal once the tech left after directing them to their designated waiting room. "I didn't do anything for that cat except unknowingly house him for the night," Gin muttered as he took off his coat and pushed back the sleeve of his turtleneck to examine the damage.

The scratches weren't deep, but there were red and present. Gin moved over to the sink to wash the new injuries while Vodka chuckled with a rueful shake of his head. "Spicy little kitten, eh Aniki? Wonder if it's just a redhead thing for you."

The words were out of his mouth before he could stop himself and he watched with terror as Gin's whole body stiffened. Shit, he was dead, he was dead, he was so dead! It'd been less than a day since Sherry had escaped them at the hotel last night. Gin was already sensitive about any mention of her since she betrayed the Organization, but especially so soon after-!

"Seems that way," Gin said with a shrug and bringing Vodka's mental beratement to an abrupt halt while Gin continued cleaning his arm. Vodka resolved to keep quiet for the rest of the visit before he said something else stupid.

Gin had long since dried his arm and replaced his coat by the time the vet tech and the vet arrived with the unhappy tabby, but as soon as he was set on the center table and the towel removed, he jumped straight for Gin's crossed arms and flattened against him, claws out clinging for dear life.

"Well, sir, she may be a feisty one, but at least she loves her daddy," the vet said.

Gin looked up sharply. "She?"

"Yep, she's a girl and pretty young too. My best estimate is one year old, maybe less than that. We did a basic physical in the back and gave her some flea and parasite medications per your request at the front desk. She's not fixed yet and we don't know if she's received any vaccines, so moving forward…"

Vodka stopped listening as his attention shifted to Gin. His posture was straight and alert; he was taking in every detail, and he was once again petting the kitten who had relaxed her death grip and was even purring loud enough for Vodka to hear without getting close. If there had been any doubt in his mind of Gin adopting the cat before, there wasn't any now.

()()()()()

Seeing Sherry at the Haido City Hotel had not helped. In fact, it had done the opposite of what he'd hoped which was that finding her and killing her for abandoning the Organization (abandoning him)would make the black hole in his chest finally close up. He could lie to everyone else and pass off his fury being for escape, but he couldn't lie to himself. Even after all the time spent apart… after all the brooding and stewing in his own hurt feelings and the revenge fantasies he'd concocted to make her pay for her betrayal… when he found himself directly confronted with her living body, his own heart betrayed him instead. He was happy to see her, but not to murder her. He hadn't been able to even though she'd been utterly defenseless against him with no way to fight back and her only escape being back into the wine room where she would be a prisoner. It was some small comfort that Vodka hadn't picked up on the oddity of his nonfatal shooting; Vermouth would have noticed at once and commented on it.

It just felt like insult to injury when he found the clever, feisty, blue-eyed orange girl tabby cat in his home the morning following that harrowing night.

But now…

"I'm home," Gin called as he entered his apartment.

Quick little footsteps pattered from his bedroom at a clip and an orange tabby cat came straight at him with her tail raised. She stopped in front of him and meowed loudly as she nearly tripped him walking around his legs as he exchanged his shoes for slippers.

Despite that, Gin couldn't help smiling a little. "Yes, yes, you demanding little queen, I know what you want. Come here."

He caught her around the waist and lifted her up to hold her against his chest, and she immediately started purring and headbutting his chin. He conceded to her demands and started scratching the back of her ears just the way she liked.

"Guess what, Yuki? I got you a special treat on my way home. You want to know what it is? It's tuna. Oh ho, you know that word, huh?" Gin chuckled when Yuki perked up at once. "Let's go to the kitchen so I can give you your tuna."

She didn't wait but immediately jumped out of his arms and raced to the kitchen so that she could then meow her complaints at him being so slow. In many weirdly specific ways, Yuki reminded him of Sherry, but she also helped make the black hole in his chest where his heart lay feel less powerful and all-consuming.