27. Flower Shop

It's not a bad shop, Chrom reflects as he looks over the store front. It might be little more than a shed in a park, but the owner carefully arranges the wares, making certain there's a cascade of bouquets and potted plants to draw the eye. There's an odd vibrancy to these flowers as well, showing the owner must have something of a green thumb. Or even a small spark of magic… Though his professors and superiors at the office would likely scoff at such a notion.

But the effect of the shop is undeniable, and Chrom can't help but be happy he volunteered to be the field worker today.

And, underneath the shelves, he can see why he's been called over. It's little more than a shiver of fur and a soft mewl, but he's able to pick it out all the same.

"You must be Chrom?" Comes a voice from the shop. The same one he heard over the telephone. He finds the speaker, half obscured behind a basketful of lilies.

"Yeah. Miss Robin, I take it?"

"Just Robin is fine. Thanks for coming over on such short notice. I just… Didn't know exactly what to do about them." She steps out from behind the bucket of flowers. Chrom notices there's still a few pale petals stuck to equally pale hair. She absent mindedly brushes them out of her bangs, as she kneels down and points underneath the stands.

"Careful!" He warns her. "Don't want you getting clawed up."

"I know. But… Like I said, she seems really friendly." Robin says… And gets backed up by something that sounds a lot like an agreeing purr, from underneath the flowers.

The 'she' in question is a smokey and grey tabby cat, who blinks up at them both with bright green eyes. She shifts a little from where she lays, causing a few startled mewls to break out from the little bundles of fur nestled up against her.

"…Three kittens, just like you said." He counts again to make sure, and scans the space under the stands to make sure there aren't any wanderers. Finding none, he looks back to the mother cat, who gives him a steady but still peaceful blink.

"You're right, she IS calm. No bolting, hissing, or anything like that." He sighs, shaking his head. "If she's that easy going, she must've been someone's pet, once."

"Maybe that's why she came to the shop." Robin muses. "It's the only thing in this part of the park, that looks like a house."

"Could be." Chrom allows. He sets a box down next to him, making certain it's been lined with towels. "Can I ask you to be a look out, in case she decides she DOES want to bolt?"

At Robin's nod, he pulls on a pair of heavy work gloves… Albeit, also a pair of mismatched ones, grey and blue. But as long as they work on wrangling kittens, he doesn't care too much. He still worries he'll get a handful of claws or biting teeth for his trouble… And for a split second the mother shrinks away from him, ears pinned back.

But the next, he closes his hands around one of the kittens, and pulls out an orange ball of fluff with little more than a startled "mrf?"

"Easy does it, Miss." He mutters. Some of the workers call the new mothers 'momma cat' or the like. Chrom privately admits that he's just a little more formal with the titles. And it seems to work, as the mother cat edges towards the opening… And then gives the box an appraising look before hoping in, dragging one of her other kittens with her.

He blinks for a moment, before turning back to the last kitten. Only to find Robin already kneeling in the dirt, and scooping the kitten into her hands. It gives a confused mumble, before she places it gently in the box.

"Miss Robin… You DID call me here to do a job." He can't help but point out, feeling a little amused and a little exasperated.

"True. But I think you still have a bit more to do, before the job is finished. I'm just trying to hurry along to the important part." At his confused blink, she adds. "You know, on what sort of home these cats are going to?"

"Ah…" He lowers his eyes at that. "…About that. We… Actually have our foster homes all booked up right now. We can take them back to the shelter, but space is a bit-"

"W-well, what if they stay here?" Robin counters. "Couldn't I sign on to be a foster home? I know that's sudden but… I just want them to be safe."

Chrom glances between her and the kittens. And he notices that Robin has already tugged the box closer to herself.

"I… Suppose so." Chrom allows. "Though I'd need to stop by to see them. Make sure they're staying healthy, check them for parasites or illness or… Well, you get the idea."

"I've got no objections to that." Robin tells him, while fussing over the kittens and their mother. The gray tabby leans into Robin's hand, giving a contented purr. "It'd be nice, to have an expert around. Especially if he's…"

For a moment, she gives Chrom a sidelong glance, and he wonders at the color in her cheeks. The next moment she ducks her head, focusing on the kittens.

"W-well. Point is, feel free to stop by whenever you want."

-o-o-o-

Robin can't help but notice that Chrom manages to squeeze a visit to her flower shop almost every day, from then on. At first, she's convinced there's something she's doing wrong, and Chrom is doing his best to run damage control. But each time, he tells her that they're doing well… And is surprisingly happy about it, every time he meets her eyes.

It helps that the kittens are always purring when he picks them up. Probably because he usually gives them some form of cat food, getting them used to his hands.

For someone who towers over her, he's remarkably gentle with them as well. And the way they nuzzle at him with whiskery noses always gets a smile out of him. The mother cat has also taken to him, and somedays when she seems ready for a nap, is ready to deposit her kittens directly at his feet.

"Looks like you've won over one of the ladies." Robin teases him, as Chrom juggles two of the kittens. She holds onto the other, coaxing a purr out of it. Chrom ducks his head, looking oddly self conscious… But also focused on checking over and feeding the kittens.

"She seems to trust you a lot." Robin tells him.

"Thanks. I… Don't know if we'll have any space soon, unfortunately." Chrom tells her, flushing a little.

"Does that… Mean that you'll keep coming over to check on them? Because I don't mind holding onto them; I've actually sold more flowers, because everyone talks about the new store cats." She chuckles at the memory; some of her regulars have become even more frequent, and there's been a few strangers asking about 'the store with the cats.' Either way, it's been good for business and socializing the cats.

"Good. And… I don't mind that I keep coming over. I-if you don't mind." He murmurs, and she doesn't miss the hopeful look he gives her.

"Not at all. In fact… I… Rather like seeing you. A-and the kittens also like you, too!"

"Got the appeal of the kids, huh? Sounds like we've got the start of a…" He trails off, shaking his head. "S-sorry. Saying it's like a family is a little too… Too familiar."

Robin bumps her shoulder against him, showing that she doesn't mind.

"Well; we'll have a lot of time to get to know each other, from the sounds of it." And she doesn't mind that idea at all. Neither does the family of cats, with how they all gather around them, and purr away.