"Alright cat, it's time," Rey said. She and Finn had quickly set up everything from the litter box to the scratching post. Finn had made sure that Rey had everything in order before he fled her apartment, not wanting to stay when she unleashed the kraken, as he had so eloquently put it.
Rey had set down the cat carrier with Ben inside in the living room first. She had closed the door to her bedroom and blocked off most of the second bedroom (which doubled as her office). She left the guest bathroom open, though, since she had placed the litterbox inside the bathtub.
She leaned down and opened the door of the carrier, swinging it wide and holding her breath.
A beat passed. And then another one. There had been no noise from the carrier since she set it down in her apartment. Now she wondered if the cat had somehow magically escaped.
She waited another moment. No movement. No sound.
Loosing patience and feeling concerned, Rey went down to her knees and peered inside the carrier.
He was in there alright. Pressed into the far back corner and staring at her untrustingly.
"You can come out," she told him, feeling confused.
He didn't even blink. He just kept staring at her and not moving. If she was honest, it was kind of freaking her out.
"Have it your way, then," she huffed. Rey got back on her feet and walked away from the carrier. She would just wait for him to come out on his own.
She bustled around her apartment for a minute, making sure everything was settled before retreating to the couch. She collapsed into it and pulled out her phone, checking and replying to her work emails. She glanced to the carrier every so often, but there was never any movement.
Eventually Rey pulled out a book and began reading. A couple hours into her story, she finally saw a shift in her peripheral vision.
She glanced up just in time to see Ben poking his head out of the carrier. He kept his head low as he slowly surveyed his surroundings. Rey watched him intently. He hesitantly brought one paw out and placed it on the carpet.
Rey must have moved in some way because one moment he was slowly and deliberately making his way out from the carrier and the next his head turned, he spotted her, and then he bolted out of the carrier and straight under the loveseat adjacent to her.
Rey sighed. This was not going to be easy.
Rey didn't see Ben for quite some time.
"Honestly, the only reason I know I even have a cat is because food goes missing and the litterbox needs cleaning," she confessed to Finn over the phone a few days later. "He must come out when I'm asleep because I've hardly even left the house."
Rey worked from home. She enjoyed her job because it paid exceptionally well and sometimes allowed her to travel abroad for business meetings. The only downside being that she rarely was able to step foot outside during the workweek since she was glued to her computer and on conference calls nearly three times a day.
"At least he hasn't suffocated you in your sleep," Finn supplied helpfully. "Yet."
"Ha ha," Rey drawled sarcastically.
The pair exchanged a few more words before Rey finally hung up. Sighing, she lounged back on her couch and closed her eyes.
She must have dozed off because she was jolted awake by a loud clanging sound.
Her eyes darted to the source of the noise and landed on Ben. He was frozen over his food dish. It looked like he had accidentally turned it over trying to reach the last bits of food left in the bowl.
"Hey," Rey greeted softly.
His gaze flicked over to her and he watched, still stuck in place, as she rose to her feet. Moving as slow as possible, Rey approached him and bent to retrieve his food bowl.
"I'll get you some more," she whispered to him. His eyes were trained on her, still unblinking.
She went to the pantry and grabbed some food. Adding it to the bowl, she came back and placed the food dish in front of him.
He continued to stare at her. She stared back, willing him with every fiber of her being to accept her offering. Eventually he turned his head and looked to the food bowl. Rey held her breath as she watched him sniff the contents, and then expelled it as he opened his mouth and began to eat.
Feeling a surge of triumph, Rey forgot herself and happily leaned down to pet the top of his head.
He was on her in an instant.
"Yeah, I think this time I'm gonna need stiches," Rey muttered into the receiver of her phone. She pursed her lips as her admission was met with a great howl of laughter.
"Prick," she mumbled at the pair of eyes glaring up at her from under the couch.
"Need a ride to the hospital?" Finn's voice came back to her. He was still a bit breathless from laughing at her.
"Yeah, if you don't mind," Rey said. She looked down at her hand. She had stopped the bleeding, at least. After a moment's thought, she confessed, "I do want to change his name."
"To what?" Finn asked, sounding happy and intrigued. She could hear the jingle of his keys as he snatched him, followed by the sound of his apartment door slamming.
She looked back in the direction of the couch and caught eyes with the cat. "Kylo. Kylo Ren." Rey finally said, a little cat tilted his head, seemingly intrigued.
Author's Note: Thank you again to all who have been enjoying this strange little story! I am having way too much fun with it!