o - o - o - o - o
The ringing of her alarm clock abruptly woke Madeline up. She yawned and got out of bed to open the curtains of her window.
As Madeline expected, the sun was rising. It was 7 A.M. and the sky was bathed in swathes of bronze, orange and yellow.
She performed her regular morning routines and made preparations to leave the park: throwing away trash, dumping out the holding tanks, filling up the freshwater tanks, etc.
It took two hours before Madeline got on the road. It would take 45 minutes more until she got to Alfred's home. Kumarie was snoozing away, while her other nonhuman friends found various ways to occupy themselves.
When she found the address where Alfred's home was located, Madeline was taken aback. Alfred's home was a lot grander than she had expected: a huge house with two chimneys, a gated entryway, and a beautiful front yard. If this was the outside, she could only imagine what the inside looked like.
Madeline left her friends in the parked RV as she made her way to Alfred's front door. The gate had been open, so she supposed Alfred was already awake. She rang the doorbell and waited for a response.
Less than a minute later, Madeline heard the sound of footsteps pounding towards the door. She had the foresight to step away just in time before Alfred slammed the door open.
"Maddie! You're finally here! We are going to have the best time today!"
Alfred was wearing a white hoodie, with a curious design on it: a green blob wearing glasses and sporting a cheeky smile. The blob resembled the Japanese rice cake, aka "mochi". Aside from his oddly charming hoodie, Alfred wore simple sweatpants and a pair of slippers.
Grinning from ear to ear as he escorted her to his living room, Alfred walked with a spring in his step. Madeline was surprised Alfred had already given her a nickname, but she didn't really mind. From behind him, Madeline noticed several things about Alfred's house.
The interior was cozy. She wondered if Alfred enjoyed collecting antiques like her father once had. Old rugs, paintings, and even a grandfather clock decorated Alfred's abode.
Lost in thought as she was, Madeline failed to notice when Alfred and her arrived at his living room. She was brought back to reality with a question from Alfred.
"Hey Maddie, did you eat breakfast? If not, do you want some leftover muffins? Or maybe something to drink?"
Hurriedly, Madeline rejected Alfred's offer.
"Oh no, you really don't have to! I already ate…"
Alfred would not take no for an answer.
"Are you sure? You seem a little spaced out."
Embarrassed, Madeline conceded. She asked Alfred if he could make something for her with maple. Alfred had an odd expression on his face as he heard her say "maple". He shook his head and left the room to go make coffee.
With nothing else to do until Alfred returned, Madeline fell back into her observations. Not long after however, she could feel something rubbing against her legs. Looking down, Madeline was greeted with the sight of a cat.
From its white and fluffy fur, she surmised it to be a ragamuffin cat. The long fur around its neck was dark, and it had thin semicircle markings under its eyes.
The unnamed cat purred as it continued to rub its head against her legs. Madeline pet its head and felt any residual stress she harbored disappear.
By the time Alfred came back, the cat had made itself home on Madeline's lap. Alfred didn't seem surprised.
"I see you've met Bucky! He's a real friendly cat, kinda like me, hehe!"
"Bucky? As in, Bucky Barnes? Captain America's best friend?"
"The one and only! Every hero needs a partner!"
Alfred placed a mug down on the table between him and Madeline.
"One maple latte, for the lovely lady!"
She made sure to place Bucky safely on the floor before she grabbed the coffee mug. Madeline took a hesitant sip and let out a contented sigh.
"Wow...a little cinnamon or maybe gingerbread and this would be perfect."
"Really? I thought it was odd you asked for maple, but you must really like sweets?"
Madeline nodded as she took another sip of her mug.
"So what else do you like? You play any sports, or got any hobbies?"
"Oh, well...I like reading books. Biographies, history, fantasy, action, adventure...That's probably why I also like reading manga and watching anime. I used to play hockey and lacrosse in high school too."
After her brief explanation, Madeline awkwardly attempted to hide her face behind her mug. Alfred reached over and gently pushed her arm down. He looked amused.
"Hey, don't be shy. I like anime and manga too! I love talking about it with one of my buddies from work. He's the one who gave me this hoodie!"
"Work? That's right. You know I'm a photographer, but what's your job, Alfred?"
"Hm, I guess you can say I work in foreign affairs? Basically, I meet with a bunch of officials from other countries and we discuss a lot of topics together. It's not as important as ambassador, or minister, stuff like that, which is probably why you don't really hear about my job."
"Oh! That's really cool, Alfred!"
Now it was Alfred's turn to look sheepish. The two of them continued to talk until they ran out of coffee. While Alfred was getting refills, Bucky wandered back into the living room. He was playing with a ball that was as big as he was. Madeline had fun rolling the ball around and seeing Bucky chase after it.
Alfred returned with the coffee. As he and Madeline watched Bucky, they chatted about their birthdays, video games, and other topics that interested them.
They went out for lunch to a pizza restaurant Madeline had yet to visit. When they finished their food, they returned to Alfred's for a movie marathon (horror movies are apparently very bad for Alfred's health).
Madeline decided to stay the night at Alfred's. She remembered to grab Kumarie from her RV before going to sleep.
Younger Alfred continued to frequent her dreams. Madeline had asked Alfred if he had any pictures from when he was a kid, but he had none on hand. It was unfortunate, but she'd have to hope that Alfred had friends or family who kept photos of him.
The following morning, Madeline exchanged phone numbers with Alfred. She said her goodbyes and left, promising him she'd be back in a few weeks for Halloween.
There's no canon name for America cat, so I chose Bucky. Other options included Hero, Snoopy, and Mickey. America cat's breed is also not confirmed, so I decided it would be a ragamuffin cat. Ragamuffins are known to be affectionate, friendly, and gentle. Maine coons are also gentle, but are more independent and intelligent.