Chapter 1 – Present Day

Summary – Chad just wanted to go to Ben's graduation party. He didn't need to get sidetracked by an Enchantress that felt like teaching him a lesson. Even exhibiting the utmost respect, he still got transformed into a cat with one goal – learn how to accept love and the spell would be broken.

Well, that should be easy-peasy, everyone loved cats, right? Right, so Chad just needed to get some cat-appreciation and bam, the spell would be broken and this would all be a funny story he and Audrey could laugh about in the future.

Except maybe things take a bit longer than expected. Which is less than ideal.

Also known as: That time Chad got transformed into a cat and somehow, that wasn't the most important part of the story.

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Present Day

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Chad's life was a compounding accumulation of catastrophes.

It wasn't enough that the girl he had been trying to woo went a little crazy and tried to take over the kingdom in a bid to win back her ex-boyfriend, or enough that she'd very publicly dumped him after that, when he hadn't known they were dating. Of course, he'd been hoping they were, because Audrey was his everything, but he hadn't even known until it was over, which just went to prove how especially stupid he was.

It wasn't enough that he'd run out of that too-small, too-cramped closet like an absolute coward, making himself look like more of a dipshit in front of Ben (Ben, who had seen him at his worst for years, so what did that matter?) and Mal and Jay and a host of other attractive people that would also probably hate Chad. No, that wasn't enough.

In addition to all that, Ben had to go and send a pity invite for Chad to stay at Auradon Castle for the last half of summer so they could 'have one last hurrah before parting ways for the next year' – which was the epitome of rubbing salt in the wound because Chad knew none of them wanted him there and yet he had to go or forever look like a royal jerk.

That was what had him sneaking out of his grandfather's strict clutches (a long running game between the two of them), walking to Auradon Castle on foot from the bus station because if he tried to hire a car, his grandfather would bribe the driver to take him straight back to Sardinia. And as lovely as that sounded, Chad would rather fulfill his obligations as Ben's comedic relief than stare at another one of his proposals and listen to his grandfather list all the things he had 'gotten wrong'. The first thing he had gotten wrong was trying to reach beyond his intellectual means. The second was looking like his mother.

The third was Audrey, and no more needed to be said of that because they both knew what had gone wrong there.

"You seem unhappy."

Chad jumped at the sudden voice instead of replying with his guttural reaction of 'please, no', turning in time to find a haggard old woman hovering just off the wooded path that led to Ben's castle. She would be easy to mistake for an Isle resident were it not for the fact that she was definitely too close to the castle for that, and also Chad had definitely read the story of Ben's parents about a hundred times, and he knew how this song and dance went.

"If you're an enchantress, could you please, um- not do that?" Chad asked, cutting straight to the point. He was tired. His feet hurt from the few miles he had walked and his shoulder ached from the weight of his bag and he would overall rather get the polite niceties over with at the graduation party Ben was hosting and then lay low in his assigned guest bedroom as soon as possible rather than deal with any of this.

The old woman grinned, and then in a flash of light – boom, there was beautiful enchantress, the light radiating off her so brilliant it almost hurt Chad's eyes.

To be honest, he had actually been hoping he was wrong.

"You're tired," she said, her voice shifting from a low rasp to something ethereal and lovely.

Chad didn't know what to say. She hadn't made any demands of him yet. She was going to, and he'd probably fail them, because that was the story of his life.

He shifted uncomfortably. "I've been walking for a while," he said. "Not that I'm complaining-"

"Why didn't you call Jay?" she cut in like a true creeper, the words making so little sense that Chad was left flabbergasted. "To pick you up from the bus station?"

This… felt like a trap.

"Because he wouldn't do that?" Chad tried. "Jay doesn't like me."

"Jay likes you." She seemed certain about this in a serene kind of way.

Since Chad had been raised with the healthy understanding that enchantresses were likely always right, he decided to agree with her.

"Okay," he said. "He likes me, but like, not enough to pick me up from the bus station."

The guy probably enjoyed having Chad around for a laugh – but he was likely busy hanging out with his actual friends. He didn't have time to cater to a prince who should be able to drive himself anyway.

Fun fact – while Chad could drive, he wasn't allowed to do so legally, since his grandfather barred him from taking any driving exams. It was another point of contention between them, but ultimately it came down to Chad being too stupid to be allowed that kind of freedom. He got around it by hiring cars like a rich person, and so far that masquerade worked. Honestly, when was the last time his dad had driven anywhere?

When was the last time he'd left the kingdom?

The enchantress hummed. It was not a comforting sound. "I don't think that's correct."

"Then I shall bow to your expertise," Chad said, feeling a cool sweat build on the back of his neck. "Honestly, if there's some lesson here you're trying to get me to learn, I'll figure it out. I'm not that smart, but if you explain it, I promise I'll try-"

"Why don't you like Ben?" she interrupted, her lovely glowing hair curling around her in a sort of muted taunt.

Chad's immediate response was 'I like Ben', but he got a feeling that if he disagreed with the Enchantress too much, he was going to get cursed somehow.

"...it's complicated," he settled on, because he didn't know how to put into words how small Ben made him feel sometimes just by existing. How Chad had tried to be everything the other prince was and his grandfather still hadn't liked him. How Chad had tried to do his best to fight for Audrey's hand and she still hadn't given him the time of day. How Ben could toss someone like Audrey aside and then give Chad a surprised look when that seemed to hurt him.

She hummed again. "I don't think that's true."

"Okay." Chad's anxiety was building. "It isn't complicated. It's straightforward. I'm petty and dumb, I guess. That's why I don't like him."

"That's the second time you've dismissed your intellect," the enchantress noted. "Why don't you think you're smart?"

"Because… I'm not?" She had to know that. Chad studied and studied in school and still somehow always came up short, even when he felt like he knew all the answers. The same happened in his private studies with the tutors his grandfather hired. "I might be good at some things, but-"

"I think," she began, and this sounded sort of definite – a certainty that made Chad's stomach fill with ice. "That you need to see how wrong you are to know that I am right."

"I think you're right," Chad pressed somewhat desperately.

Should he call someone? Who would he call, exactly, Jane?

"You don't." She was smiling though, like this didn't offend her. "But you will, in time."

And then she waved her wand, and the world around Chad filled with a brilliant light before it just as suddenly faded away.

-:-:-:-:-:-

The first thing Chad noticed when he woke up was that the grass seemed… bigger. It was there, right in front of his eyes, meaning that he was lying sprawled on the ground except it didn't hurt?

It normally hurt when he was collapsed, but this felt fine. Natural, even.

He moved to push himself up and that was when everything felt wrong. His limbs were shorter, and he was very low to the ground. There was a soft sort of material cascading down his back which he eventually recognized as his shirt, except it was really big now, or-

He was really small. He was small, and he wasn't human because he had fur. He had fur and there was a tail, he could feel it, and when he tried to make some sort of verbal protest a frickin' meow spilled from his throat.

When he looked up, the Enchantress seemed pleased beyond all reason.

"There," she said, stooping low to pet the top of his cat head. He was a cat. He was a cat. "Now I think you'll have a chance to see what I see." She crouched down next to him, as though to level with him somehow, even though she seemed to tower over him like a giant. "You'll be pleased to know this curse has no time limit," she explained brightly. "And to break it, you only have to do one thing: accept love."

Accept love? What did that mean?

But she was already standing up, moving away as though she was about to disappear into nothingness.

"You'll thank me for this, Chadwick," she assured him in that musical, lilting tone. "Once you learn how to accept love, you will see how wonderful life can be."

Before Chad could get so much as a meow in edgewise, the Enchantress was gone, leaving Chad with some unfathomable self-help nonsense to get him back to his princely body. He didn't know he could miss thumbs and yet, here he was.

And he'd thought things couldn't get worse.

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Chad didn't panic.

Or, he did panic, he just tried to be productive about it. Such was the way of Chadwick James, prince of Sardinia. When there was no reasonable order of operations to follow in the wake of chaos, he found it was best to enforce his own to make things seem more reasonable. Step one, climb out of the remnants of his clothes. Step two, add the compounding anxiety of being naked but also not naked onto the other overall panic of being a dumb cat. Step three, find a way to open his bag, shove his clothes into it (he couldn't just leave them there, what if someone found them and thought he went streaking?). Step four, use that anxiety, panic, and frustration to find a well of strength his small cat body probably shouldn't have to tug his bag off of the path and hide it safely in some bushes.

There was no way he was going to be able to pull that to the castle. And even if he somehow did, no one in their right mind would make the logical conclusion that the bag somehow belonged to the cat dragging it, so his stuff would likely get confiscated and he would get thrown out of the castle and this was a nightmare.

Proactive. He needed to be proactive. The Enchantress said he needed to 'accept love' to turn back, which should be easy. After all, he loved himself. Prince Chadwick James was known for his narcissism. He just needed to channel some of that persona here. What was not to like about himself? He was attractive and he dressed pretty well. He didn't do well in school, but he was charming.

Well, not charming enough to really have friends, but enough that people seemed okay to talk to him.

And he was a prince. That was definitely worth loving. Most people weren't that. He was going to be a king someday, and… woe to his people, because he was so very stupid. His grandfather kept trying to talk him into deferring the throne to a distant relative so Sardinia could 'stand a chance', but Chad kept hoping he would get better.

And he might. He was very stubborn. He studied a lot. Eventually, that would reflect in his test scores. He had managed to get into college after all, he could only improve there, right?

Right.

Chad waited a moment to see if his predicament would change, if the swirl of the Enchantress's magic would consume him once more and return him to his princely form, but nothing happened.

Okay, so maybe self-love wasn't what she'd met, which was fine. Chad could get someone else to love him. He was a cat, people liked those. There wouldn't be so many videos of them on the internet if they weren't at least a little bit popular.

For lack of anything else to do, Chad set back off down the path, making a note of where his bag was before moving on.

Walking with four legs was an experience he tried not to think about too much, and he maintained that pleasant sort of obliviousness until he got close to Ben's castle.

The bright side of frequently sneaking in and out of places was that it gifted Chad with information, like back garden gates that were hidden behind overgrown bushes so nobody bothered checking them, which meant Chad could sneak into the back gardens without getting shooed out like the cat he very much was.

If Chad knew Ben, and he did – at least, he knew how the guy threw parties – this secluded shindig would be taking place in the rearmost ballroom, spilling out onto the back terrace where young royals and probably VKs could mingle. Chad wasn't entirely sure what he was looking for until he caught Audrey wandering the garden alone, gaze fixed to the phone in her hand.

That was perfect. Audrey might not be in love with Chad, but she definitely loved him. Like, platonically. At least a little bit, he was pretty sure. He just needed to get her to see that it was him and then she'd raise a fuss and get Fairy Godmother and everything would be fine. This was great. Outstanding, even. And he hadn't even been cursed for an hour.

Talking didn't translate so well to his cat vocal cords, so his greeting came out as a warbled meow that seemed to catch her off guard, the princess blinking up from her phone in time to see Chad trotting up to her.

This was great, they were so going to laugh about this later.

"What?" she said, narrowing his eyes at him. "Go away. Shoo."

Yeah, no – he couldn't do that. He needed her to see past his stray cat exterior and into the loveable doofus that always carried her purse. She liked that guy, and it was with that knowledge that Chad tried to brush against her legs. That was a cat thing, right? She was wearing her pink ankle boots, even, the ones he had gotten her.

"Stop that," she hissed, stepping away from him. "Get out of here, you filthy mutt."

Um- no, Audrey. It was Chad. Chad.

Maybe he should write something in the dirt? He was a cat now, not incompetent. He could get her to believe him.

"How did you even get in here, anyway?" Audrey continued, glaring at their surroundings. "The castle's supposed to have better protection than that. Guards?!" She raised her voice just as Chad was contemplating etching something into the ground, immediately setting him on edge. "Guards! A little help over here?!"

Oh- no. Nope. That was enough to send Chad rocketing into the underbrush, feet almost moving faster than his mind could perceive.

Okay, so maybe that had been a stupid plan. He knew Audrey didn't really like animals. Or the outdoors. What had he been thinking, approaching her as a cat? He wasn't even a purebred, as far as he knew. That was something she probably cared about.

He couldn't panic. The enchantress said he had to get someone to love him – that didn't necessarily mean Audrey. He was a cat, for Light's sake. Someone would love him on those grounds alone. He just needed to… reevaluate, was all. Find a new target.

As if on cue, Chad heard the sound of muted sniffles emanating from a reclusive section of the garden, and when he nosed his way into the small, cordoned-off area, he found one of those new VKs.

He was the big guy – the blond one? Chad hadn't caught his name, though he seemed to smile all the time. He was one of the pirates, Uma's crew, and for some reason he had found himself a secluded corner so he could cry into his hands.

Why he was sad, Chad did not know. The guy had two very good-looking friends – scratch that, the guy had friends – and he didn't seem all that bad looking. He was well liked enough to rank an invitation to this party, so what was his deal?

Whatever, it didn't matter. This was an opportunity. Normally, Chad would stay away from dudes (after everything that had happened, it seemed like the wisest move), but this guy seemed like a soft touch, despite being from the Isle. Chad just needed to go in there and work his kitty moves. Do a little whimsical forest animal cuddling, get some pets and the guy would fall in love with him. It couldn't take that long – maybe two days at most? People seemed to really like their pets – there was no way Chad couldn't at least obtain pet status. He had at least that much skill.

So it was only with a mild sort of trepidation that he cut into the clearing, climbing up onto the stone bench the VK had parked himself on before taking the plunge and stepping into blond dude's lap.

It was not a place he wanted to be, exactly, but some sacrifices had to be made for the sake of undoing curses. That was just the way of things.

Immediately, blond guy got out of his hunched-over position to stare down at Chad, fresh tear tracks streaming down his face. Without knowing what else to do, Chad winged it, shifting his weight onto his back paws (legs?) and stretching upwards so he could put his hands (front paws? Ugh) onto the guy's chest. Like, a steadying measure.

Blond guy sort of stared at him in bafflement. And then, seeming to not know what else to do, he started petting a hand down Chad's back. All of Chad's back.

Fortunately, the feeling translated to what would be his lower back on his human body, so it wasn't like the guy was groping him accidentally, so Chad just- tried to suffer through that, a little.

It was weird.

"Hey," blond guy sniffed, rubbing at his cheeks with his free hand. "You're a um- kitty, right? Hey, kitty."

Oh hey, he was adorable. Of course he would be charming, why would Ben hang out with non-charming people?

"Are you lost too?" the blond asked. The arm that wasn't petting Chad reached around him, which was all the warning he got before he found himself lifted up and curled against blond guy's chest. "I'm um… supposed to be at a party right now, but I don't think I belong there."

Honestly, Chad could relate. Though he couldn't say as much, he managed a low rumble (that almost scared the shizz out of himself) before it transitioned into a purr. He was purring. At least blond guy seemed to appreciate it.

"Does that mean you like me?" blond guy asked, petting Chad's head. It was an entirely foreign sensation, but Chad allowed himself to nuzzle into it. The point of this was to win blond guy over anyway. Two days, tops. Then Chad could pretend he got lost on the way to the castle and everything would be fine. "Awww, I like you too, kitty."

The blond let out a watery laugh, seeming almost relieved.

"My name's Gil," the blond said, hunching down so he could nuzzle his cheek against Chad's head. It was a weird sensation, because he was so big and Chad was so small and also, Chad couldn't remember the last time he'd had this much physical contact with someone outside of Swords and Shields, but overall it was sort of nice. Chad decided he liked it, and that was what he focused on, aside from the fact that this was Uma's second mate, the one everyone talked about. "Do you have a name?"

Chad shook his head on reflex before he remembered he was a cat, and cats couldn't understand humans.

Gil did not seem perturbed by this though, perhaps because he was as blissfully stupid as Chad. "Okay," he murmured, brows furrowing in thought. "Then can I give you one? Like…" he trailed off, biting at his lower lip in consideration. "Shadow? Yeah, I can call you Shadow, because you're black and you came from the shadows."

It wasn't the most horrible name in the world, at least. It was good enough for Chad, certainly, so he allowed himself to purr some more, nudging into Gil's hand.

"Great." Gil let out another relieved laugh. "This is awesome. Uma was right, I really did make a new friend after all."

That was all the warning Chad got before Gil shifted to his feet, the ground seeming so much further than before.

"Come on," Gil chirped, tone slowly but surely filling with excitement. "I can show you my room. Harry said I was supposed to stay at the party but Uma said I could go if I needed to, and Uma's the captain, so…" He started walking back towards the castle, and what Chad got from that was that Gil had also managed to score a sleepover invitation from Ben, something not extended to all of those that had been invited to the graduation party. At least, that had been the idea Chad had gotten. It would have been too many people underfoot otherwise.

But Gil had been special enough to invite over. Or maybe he just didn't have any other place to stay, because he was from the Isle.

Chad kept his eyes fixed on their surroundings, but Gil took the most roundabout path back to the castle, avoiding people entirely until he ducked into one of the side doors for servants. He didn't even blink when he pushed into what had to be a secret passageway, using the private stairs until he was in the royal guest quarters. As in, the guest quarters for royalty. The guest quarters that were located extremely close to the actual royal family sleeping quarters, which meant Gil wasn't just a friend, he was treasured.

Chad lost a moment dwelling on how very unfair that was until Gil pushed into one of the smaller family suites, bypassing the sitting room and lounging area altogether to go to one of the side bedrooms.

"I'm sharing this suite with Uma and Harry," Gil explained as he turned the light on for what must have been his bedroom. Chad tensed at the mention of Uma's name, but forced himself to relax, because he was a cat and not-Chad, and not-Chad's didn't care about who was resting in what suite. "They um… share their own room, of course, because they're- you know, but this is all mine!" He gestured around the expansive space, which seemed to be very untouched. "It's um… super fancy," he admitted, scratching behind Chad's ears. "I'm sort of afraid to sleep on the bed."

He seemed sort of afraid to touch anything, because the entire area looked like it had come straight from a magazine, meaning his personal effects must be stashed out of sight somewhere.

"But look!" he continued brightly, carrying Chad over towards a long couch. It was positioned in front of a large, flat screen tv hanging up on the wall. "I've got my own television!" He flopped down on the couch, letting Chad splay across his torso. It was sort of nice. Again, not something he would ever do as a human, but still nice. In cat-terms. "I don't know how to use it, but Mal said we could watch movies and stuff on here." He grabbed up the remote that had been resting on the couch, holding it up for Chad's inspection. "We're supposed to be able to control it with this. Cool, huh?"

Despite the fact that he didn't know how to work the television in any capacity, Gil seemed pleased enough with the mere knowledge that he could. It was that sort of easy contentment that made Chad like him, had him giving into the impulse to help the blond. He reached out with one paw and nudged the power button pointedly, until Gil looked at it again in wonder.

"Do you want me to hit that?" he asked, staring at the remote. "I mean, it couldn't hurt…"

He pressed it, and immediately the tv came to life, making Gil's face light up in wonder.

"Hey, it worked!" he cheered, pumping the remote up and down in a sort of silent victory. "Do you know how I change what's on it?"

That was how cat-Chad came to teach the VK how to use the remote, nudging at the corresponding buttons that answered his questions until Gil had an arm wrapped lazily around him while he changed channels, landing on a cheerful kind of musical.

"They all look so happy," Gil noted, seeming breathless, and they spent the next few hours watching that, Gil scratching him while Chad did his best to get in some cat cuddles so he could be loved, darn it.

At least he'd gotten to see a movie. His grandfather didn't like television that much. He said it would rot Chad's brains out, and he didn't have that much to begin with.

"I like happy endings," Gil whispered conversationally when they reached the cheerful finale. "All the people dancing and singing together, celebrating a brighter future – that's really cool." He dropped his head low so he could kiss the top of Chad's head again, which seemed to be a thing Gil appreciated doing for whatever reason. It was also super nice. "…they don't tell you what happens past the happy ending," he whispered. "How no one gives you a map, so you're just- lost. It's awful. I hate it."

Aw, man. Aw geez, Chad had nothing for this guy but contented purring, but that seemed to be enough for Gil, who was happy to dote on Chad as a distraction. Happy to, you know, shower him with love. Love that Chad graciously accepted.

Come on, Enchantress, where was the magic undo? Chad wanted his thumbs back.

Heck, he'd even commiserate with Gil for helping him, but also Chad felt sort of lost too so… maybe they could be friends? Chad thought he might like that. Gil would probably agree to it, if any of Chad's friend points carried over from his cat form, and hopefully his past actions wouldn't count too much against Chad. Hopefully.

"Thanks, Shadow," Gil whispered, soaking up Chad's purrs. "You're a good listener. I'm really glad I found you."

That made two of them.

If Gil was going to continue talking they'd never know, because in the next moment they heard someone enter the suite's sitting room.

"Gil?" Uma's voice called, making Chad freeze in place. "Are you in here?"

"Oh no," Gil whispered, setting Chad on the ground. "You've got to hide. I don't know if I'm allowed to have you in here but you're my friend-" Chad didn't wait for the blond to keep talking before he darted across the room, hiding under Gil's large bed, and it wasn't until he had been safely concealed that Gil spoke up. "In here, Uma!" he called, rising to his feet and hopefully brushing off any cat hair.

There were a few seconds before the bedroom door opened, and not one, but two people came inside.

"Gilly," the boy voice said – likely, Harry, the pirate that had laughed at Chad before, when he'd been terrified out of his mind. To be fair, he'd been afraid of a closet. Who in their right mind was afraid of closets besides Chad? "Did something happen?"

"Nope," Gil chirped, nice and bright. "I um… just didn't want to be there anymore, so I came back here!"

"And no one said anything to you," Uma pressed, her tone carefully detached. "About who your father was."

"Nope!" It was so cheerful and forced even Chad didn't believe it, and he didn't know Gil all that well. "Guys, honestly – I'm great. I just- I got all partied out. And hey-" He must have been gesturing to the remote, because his next words were, "I figured out how to work the tv!"

There was a pause. "That's great, Gil," Uma eventually said. "Want to watch something together?"

"Sure!" That, at least, seemed like genuine excitement, Gil's unease melting away into open affection. "Let's do it with the big tv out there, though," he declared, and it took Chad a few seconds to realize that was for his benefit, the blond giving him a chance to not be cramped under the bed for the rest of the evening. "After we get changed out of these clothes?"

Harry sighed. "Now you're speaking my language," he grumbled. "Captain?"

"That plan works with me," Uma allowed, though her tone still seemed to be guarded. "And Gil, you know that we're always here for you, right? For anything. We're crew."

"…I know, Uma," Gil said, his voice carefully reserved.

Uma released a low hum, but let the matter drop. "Okay, then everyone get changed out of your stuffy clothes. We've got some leftover party food with our names on it."

"That's a plan I can get behind," Harry said, and a few seconds later the door closed once more, leaving Gil alone in the room.

Chad waited for the blond to cross to him and wasn't disappointed when he saw Gil peak below his bed, his brows furrowed. "Hey, Shadow," he whispered, reaching a hand out. Chad went towards it gladly, nuzzling into it. "I've got to go hang out with the others, but you can stay in here as long as you're quiet. I'll um- leave the bathroom door open for you so you can get water."

Where this logic came from, Chad did not know, though maybe the blond thought he could work sinks as well as remotes.

Which was true, but Gil shouldn't assume that.

"I'll sneak down to the kitchen and get you something to eat later," he promised. "Until then, I'll leave my tv on mute for you and you can sleep or… or do whatever you want just…" He swallowed, looking unsure. "Please don't leave," he asked, tone so palpably vulnerable that Chad ached, because it was a sentiment he echoed all the time, as little as he mentioned it. "Uma and Harry say they'll always be there for me, but it's not true. They've got each other, and I've got…" He trailed off in thought, scratching the top of Chad's head. "Well, I've got you. That's something."

It definitely wasn't nothing.

Chad knew that sometimes you had to hold onto the little victories to make life manageable. Maybe that was why Gil was eager to hold onto Shadow the cat, but for whatever reason, he would likely come to love Chad, soon.

It was only a matter of time.

"Okay," Gil said. "I've got to get changed but um… welcome home?"

Chad purred his response, even if he didn't necessarily agree with it. His home was in Sardinia, even if it didn't particularly feel like one.

Still, this would be a nice enough vacation.

"Cool." Gil grinned, taking that for the confirmation it was. "This is- this will be good."

Chad hoped, for both of their sakes, that he was correct.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Chad spent his evening listening to Gil and the others watch movies through the bedroom door, savoring the sounds of easy friendship. It seemed like they'd known each other a long time because they were comfortable together, and the thought of it made Chad ache with curiosity. He wondered what it was like, to have people in your life who knew you that well, knew your faults as well as your benefits and wanted to stay around anyway. Sometimes, he'd pretend he was on the couch with them, being let in on their private jokes.

It hurt, a little, to hear how comfortable they were with each other, something Chad knew would have never been shared with him, but he pushed past that selfish thought to appreciate what was being offered in that moment.

If Uma and Harry were a couple, they didn't go out of the way to rub it in Gil's face. It was a kindness they didn't necessarily have to extend, but they did so anyway out of deference to Gil. By the time they were winding down for the night, Gil seemed closer to his usual bubbly self, if a little sleepy. He bid them goodnight before walking back into his room, brightening up when he caught sight of Chad lingering near the door.

He wasted no time scooping Chad up, cuddling him against his broad chest as he walked towards the bed. He must have forgotten about his promise for food, but Chad was fine. He was used to skipping a couple of meals here and there, sometimes in a row – it wasn't the end of the world.

The bed was gigantic (and soft, not like the straw-filled thing he had back home – his grandfather downgrading him every time he failed in the hope that it would motivate Chad to do better, and it did, he just couldn't seem to improve) but Chad ended up curled on Gil's chest, his cat ear pressed against the pirate's soft t-shirt so Chad could hear the comforting pound of his heart. He didn't even mind when Gil settled a giant hand on his back. Like everything else, it was strange- but a comfort. He may as well hold onto that.

"Goodnight, Shadow," Gil whispered as he dimmed the lights with a remote on the nightstand. "I'm very glad we're friends."

Chad did his best to purr in response, nuzzling against Gil so he'd feel extra loved, and perhaps in turn, would come to love Chad.

Night one down, and he was already well on his way.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Endnotes:

Do not ask me how the idea for this story came to be, because I honestly don't know. It grazed against my consciousness in the semi-coherent state of waking up from a nap and refused to leave. So now we have this. This masterpiece that I had to share with you guys, because it is madness and I love it.

This story explores time jumps, so while all the present-day stuff will be with Chad-the-cat, it will also jump back in time to follow Chad-the-human making his way through the world, giving further context to the rest of the story. Some chapters will stick in one time period over the other, but most chapters will feature a bit of both, leaning more towards past interactions because that is when Chad actually gets to talk ;D

This story will consist of 13 chapters of story content, and one chapter of deleted scenes. Chapter 12, the epilogue (chapter 13) and the deleted scenes will all be uploaded at the same time.

I update once a week, generally on Sundays, but because things have been so crazy lately, I decided to make an effort to update twice a week. So there will be one update on Sunday and one update on Wednesday/Thursday for now. At least, I will try for this. There will always be an update on Sunday, though :D

Story notes:

Look, I promise, I promise, I do have Audrey-friendly stories lined up in the future. It's just for these first dozen or so stories she made a really convenient and easy antagonist to use, which is why she is filling that roll yet again. But it will happen. If I can have a semi-nice Duke, I can have a nice Audrey. It can be done.

The last name James comes from the Rogers and Hammerstein musical 'Cinderella'. I decided the Charming thing was more of a nickname.

Sardinia is what I call Cinderellasburg because Cinderellasburg is stupid.

Until next time :)