"Please, Nyssa."
Nyssa tears her eyes away from Sara's hopeful smile to stare at the wall of the alleyway. The thin black cat purrs, completely content in Sara's arms as she sits criss cross on the ground.
Of course she would pick up a stray when they were supposed to be making their escape. She brushes the water from her forehead. The summer rain drips down the buildings, covering them in a fine mist and giving them a break from the heat of the city, Rio de Janeiro.
"Sara, we can't. The mission is complete and we need to leave before the authorities find the body!"
"Oh, relax," Sara says, an easy smile on her lips, but the bounce in her leg and the lip between her teeth tells Nyssa she's still nervous. "You know no one is gonna be here until eight, and it's not even midnight."
Nyssa crosses her arms from where she stands. "That doesn't change the fact that our flight is in two hours. We can't just take her with us to Nanda Parbat."
"Why not? There are other cats there. We'll just get a carrier and I can fake the paperwork while we're at the airport. Please babe, we can't just leave her here - look at how thin she is!" Sara insists, holding up the cat, with her hands around its middle. "She'll die!"
The cat meows at Sara for disturbing her. Sara set her down on her lap. Once she's encased in her jacket the cat quickly settles back into Sara's arms, but rather than falling asleep, she stares up at Nyssa. Sara looks up at Nyssa with her best puppy dog pout and watery blue eyes.
Nyssa almost rolls her eyes at Sara's antics. She glares at the wall instead, looking anywhere but Sara's pout. "And what if she has worms or some kind of disease?"
"I'll buy some flea medication at the bodega across from our hotel and take her to the vet when we get home."
Nyssa sighs; this is clearly not a battle she could win. She crouches down to where Sara is sitting and tentatively holds her hand out to the cat. The cat leans forward and sniffs her fingers, then rubs her face against Nyssa's hand.
Sara smiles at her. She knows she's won.
"I suppose we cannot leave her to the mercy of the streets," Nyssa says, as she rubs the cat's ears.
"Yes!" Sara cheers. "Thank you."
"But," Nyssa adds, "she will be your responsibility, and her food and other necessities will come out of your paycheck."
"But she can stay with us?" Sara says, a little bit smug.
"Yes, my Beloved. She is yours," Nyssa says and the smile Sara gives her makes it all worth it.
A few weeks later, Sara returns from training, expecting to find Nyssa in her usual spot, curled up in a chair by the window, reading. Instead, she finds her in the middle of the room, surrounded by wooden pieces covered in carpet, intensely studying a set of instructions.
"What's all this?" Sara asks, slowly walking around some of the pieces towards their bed.
"Zaira keeps scratching the furniture. I thought it was only fair that we give her something she could scratch instead of just scolding her all the time," Nyssa says, not looking up from the instructions and turning them over to read the other side.
"You bought her a scratching post?" Sara askes slightly bemused at Nyssa's actions. "I thought I was the one who was supposed to buy her something and fix the furniture or, and I quote, 'you're both sleeping on the couch'."
"Considering you have been busy preparing for the Polyakov mission, and her annoying need to sleep in our bed, I thought I'd give her one of her own," Nyssa says, like it is the most obvious thing in the world as she begins to assemble the post.
Sara finds Zaira lounging in the middle of their bed and leans over to reach her. She runs a finger under Zaira's chin and behind her ears, earning a soft purr from her cat. Sara smiles and whispers. "See, Zaira, Mama loves you too."
"I simply wish to be able to sleep without a mound of fur hissing at me every time I try to touch you," Nyssa replies, having overheard Sara's words. Despite Zaira's clear preference for her, Sara knows she doesn't hate Nyssa, both of them just don't like to share.
Sara chuckles and picks up Zaira, admiring the fact that she has gained a few pounds and is more active than when Sara first found her. Zaira settles in her arms as Sara walks over to her armoire.
"She is quite the mood killer," Sara says, pulling out an old t-shirt and walking over to Nyssa. The small post was almost complete as Nyssa screws the bed in place on the top of the post.
"Wanna see if she likes it?" Sara asks as she put the shirt on the bed before placing Zaira down.
Nyssa tugs at Sara's hips, pulling her down into her lap. She wraps her arms around Sara, who leans against her. Together they watch Zaira explore her new bed in silence, the only sound was the rain against the windows, the candlelights' warm glow flickering around the room.
"Thank you," Sara says.
"For you, my little bird, I would give the world."
Sara turns around and Nyssa straightens her legs as Sara straddles her waist. She cups Nyssa's face, staring intently into her eyes.
"I don't want the world. I just want you," she says, leaning in to kiss her, pushing her urgency and affection into her lips.
Nyssa moves under her and Sara stood up, pulling Nyssa towards the now free bed.