It was after midnight when they finally got back. Cat was still asleep, and Jade was ready to join her. She carried Cat into the elevator and up to the tiny 2-room apartment that she called home. It seemed even tinier now that she was sharing the space with another being. She laid Cat down onto the bed and tucked her under the covers, all without managing to wake her. She got into some pajamas and turned to get into bed herself, but hesitated. It felt weird to share a bed with someone she'd only just met. She'd have to look for doggirl beds on Craigslist later. Tonight, she'd settle for sleeping on the couch. It wasn't very comfortable, but she was so exhausted that she fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
Jade didn't wake up on the couch. She woke up on the floor, in a nest of pillows and bedsheets. At first she assumed this was a weirdly mundane dream, but after blinking a few times she woke up a bit more. She wondered if she'd simply fallen off the couch and dragged the blankets with her, but that wasn't right either. The nest had been constructed with stuff from the bedroom too, pilfered from the linen closet. The mystery was solved when Jade tried to roll over and found her path blocked by a warm body. Thin little arms had been wrapped around her, clinging to her, preventing any chance of escape. Jade would have facepalmed if she'd been able to move her arms.
"Cat."
"Daddy! You're awake!"
Jade was squeezed even tighter. Behind her she could hear the sound of Cat's tail whapping against the side of the couch.
"Cat. Why am I on the floor?"
Cat spoke at a million miles an hour as she tried to explain herself, forgetting to breathe the entire time.
"Okay! So, I woke up and you were gone and I got really scared, so I went to go look for you and you were sleeping on the couch for some reason, so I tried to climb in and sleep with you, but you fell out of the bed and I got really scared again cause I thought you'd died, but you weren't dead you were just really sleepy, so I tried to lift you back on the couch but you were too heavy so instead I took all the bedding from the other room and made a bed on the floor and here we are."
The quiet, meek girl from before was nowhere to be seen; replaced by this loud and overly-excitable doppleganger. Jade was glad Cat was now comfortable enough to come out of her shell, but she wished she'd had some kind of advanced warning of just how hyperactive this puppy really was. Now that she knew how she'd ended up on the floor, she asked the more important question.
"Okay but, why did you decide to sleep here too?"
The floodgates opened once more.
"Oh, because allll the other doggirls used to talk about sleeping with their daddies. They seemed weirdly obsessed with it, like they would say "No daddy would EVER sleep with you." which I thought was really strange cause it's just sleeping? Like I don't understand how you can be good at sleeping with someone because-"
Jade cut her off.
"CAT! Here's what I want you to do: forget everything those girls ever said to you."
"Okay daddy!"
"Great. Now get off me, I gotta get ready for work."
Cat relaxed her vicelike grip and Jade was able to assess the damage done to the room. Bedding had been spread out all across the floor and into the kitchenette. That would have to be washed. Cat's clothes were covered in desert soil and grime, so they should be washed too. Although they were so ragged and threadbare that she really just needed new clothes entirely. Jade cleared away the mess and opened up the fridge to make some breakfast, only to realise yet another problem. She was vegetarian, but Cat would need meat. She was sure most of the stuff she had wouldn't be *poisonous* to doggirls, but it certainly wouldn't be healthy in the long term. Ugh. It was barely 9am and Jade already had a headache. With a long and heavy sigh, she checked her account balance on her phone. $86.43. That would have to last until the end of the month, which was just over a week away. That would be fine on her own, but not so easy now that Cat was in the picture. She'd have to make do.
"Alright Cat, get up.
We're going shopping."
Despite skipping breakfast, Cat was full of boundless energy. Jade was not. She'd run out of coffee ages ago, and there was no way she could afford Starbucks on this budget. She needed to get food, get clothes, and then get back home so she could start work. As they walked through the streets, Cat stared around at the buildings like she'd never seen a skyscraper before. With every store they passed, Cat would have the same excited response:
"Is it that one, daddy?"
After the 12th time, Jade snapped.
"No! And stop calling me 'daddy', I told you.
I'm a girl. 'Daddy' is used for boys."
Cat's mood turned on a dime, and she looked more upset than ever. Her lip quivered, like she was about to cry.
"S-so… you don't want to be my daddy anymore."
Jade performed her 100th facepalm of the last 24 hours.
"Ugh. That's not what I mean. I'm just saying, if you keep calling me 'daddy' in public, people are gonna think it's a weird sex thing."
"A weird what thing?"
"Nevermind. Just, call me something else."
Cat tilted her head to the side.
"Like what?"
"Well, the correct version of what you're trying to say would be 'mommy', but that's still weird. In fact, that's weirder than 'daddy' for some reason. Anyway, here's a radical idea: call me by name. Jade."
That answer didn't seem satisfactory. Cat still looked upset, pouting up a storm.
"S-so… you don't want me to call you 'daddy' ever again..?"
Jade was tempted to just say 'yes', but she knew that would break the poor pups heart. She would also probably start crying in the middle of the street, and Jade was far too tired to deal with that.
"Look. When we're at home, you can call me whatever you like.
But when we're in public, please just call me 'Jade'. Is that okay?"
Cat jumped up into the air, tail wagging intensely.
"Okay daddy!
I mean, okay 'Jade' :3"
She attempted a wink but couldn't quite do it, instead just making the left half her face weirdly spasm. That made Jade laugh. After walking a few more blocks, they reached the discount supermarket. Hopefully the meat here wouldn't be *too* expired. As they were about to go, an attendant suddenly stopped them.
"Excuse me, ma'am.
You're gonna need to put a leash on that thing."
At first, Jade was simply confused. Then, when she realised what was being asked of her, she was outraged.
"No, excuse ME? That thing is more than capable of walking around a store without needing a chain tied to her neck."
"Are you sure about that?"
The man gestured to the side, and Jade turned. Cat, in the few seconds they'd been talking, had gotten bored and was now peering down into a storm drain, putting her face right up to the grate.
"Okay, well, she's a bad example. Most doggirls would be fine."
The attendant wasn't impressed.
"Uh huh. I'm sorry ma'am, I don't make the rules."
Jade rolled her eyes and took a long, pained exhale.
"UGGGGHHHHHHHHOOokay Cat! We're getting you a goddamn collar!"
Cat looked up from the drain, a clump of wet mud now stuck to the tip of her nose.
"Omg yayyy!"
Finding a pet store in downtown LA was pretty easy. But finding a pet store that wasn't some godawful boutique that only sold diamond-studded gucci collars was surprisingly hard. They eventually found one, far from the city centre, in one of the few "mom 'n' pop" stores left standing. It was cheap enough, though still not as cheap as Jade would have liked. She found a shelf full of collars and grabbed one at random, a dull strip of black leather that came with a short nylon leash. She paid the $5.50 and tossed the collar to Cat, instructing her to put it on.
"Ummm… can you put it on me?"
"Cat, it's not that hard. It doesn't even have a buckle, you just clip it on and-"
"N-no, I know how to do it…"
"Then why do you need me to put it on?"
Cat tugged on Jade's sleeve, bringing her powerwalk to a stop.
"It's just… back in the pound… I always used to dream about the day my new daddy-
I mean-"
The gears in her brain turned for a second.
"-when my new owner would come to rescue me. And when they did, they'd put a special collar around my neck and that would mean I was their puppy forever and ever…"
Her eyes were once again wet with tears. Jade liked to pretend she was some icy-hearted badass with no emotions, but this kind of thing got her going very easily. If she had to look at this poor girl staring up at her with literal puppy-dog-eyes any longer, she'd start crying herself. She took the collar and lead Cat over to the only private spot she could find; an alley next to the store. It didn't seem like the best place for such a 'special' moment, but it was all they had. Without even being asked, Cat kneeled in front of her as Jade unwrapped the packaging. She wasn't exactly sure what to say in a situation like this, so she just made something up.
"Alright Cat, I now pronounce you… um… my puppy. For now and forever."
She wrapped the cheap leather around Cat's neck and clipped it shut. That definitely could have gone better. There was no way Cat had dreamt of being collared by a sleep-deprived lesbian in a dark, stinking alley. Surely she'd expected something more. Cat's eyes welled up and tears began streaming down her cheeks. At first, Jade was worried this had been disappointing to her. She knelt down to comfort her, only for Cat to launch into a hug and begin sobbing.
"Tththis is the bestest day of my entire life…"
Jade hugged back, running her hands through Cat's silky velvet hair, cooing softly. As she tried her best to comfort her, Jade felt something shift deep inside her. She suddenly realized just how important she could be to this girl; just how profoundly her actions now could affect Cat's life. When she'd initially decided to visit the pound free one of the doggirls, it had been a rather throwaway gesture. She'd let the girl run free, feel better about herself for an afternoon, then forget it ever happened. Even after she'd invited Cat to stay, in the back of her mind it was still a temporary thing. Cat would stay with her for a month, then Jade would find somewhere else for her to stay. That wasn't possible anymore. Cat was a part of her life now, and would be for the foreseeable future. Jade wasn't entirely sure how to feel about that.
As much as she wanted to keep thinking on this whilst letting Cat sob, they were still in the middle of an alley right now. She gave Cat's head one last pat before reluctantly standing up and dragging Cat with her.
"Wanna go get some breakfast?"
Cat dried her eyes with her sleeve and nodded, jumping up with a sudden burst of hungry energy.
Even though Jade was sure that most places didn't have the same archaic rules as the discount supermarket, Cat insisted that Jade hold her leash the entire time. Cat would deliberately stop sometimes, in the middle of the street, just so Jade would tug on the leash as she walked ahead, prompting Cat to giggle and come running back to her side. This slowed them both down considerably, but eventually they reached their destination. As the entered the diner, Cat's silliness faded and she became quite cautious and reserved. Like she wasn't supposed to be in here, even though they could see other doggirls sitting with the owners all across the restaurant. They found an empty booth and sat down.
"Alright Cat, what do you wanna order?"
"Ummm, b-but… this is human food?"
"What? No, there's no such thing as 'human' food. It's just food."
Cat was still hesitant.
"But… the men at the pound said I'm not allowed to have human food..."
Jade sighed.
"Who are you gonna listen to? Those mean guys at the pound, or your new d-"
It took a few attempts to actually say the word. She couldn't make her tongue form the right sounds. When she finally got it out, her voice was far quieter than before.
"…or your new daddy?"
Cat giggled and kicked her feet under the table.
"I'll listen to you, da-, um, Jadey!"
"Good. Now order something, I'm starving."
Cat stared at the menu, a vacant look in her eyes.
"Ummm… I don't know what any of this stuff actually is…"
"Ugh fine, I'll order you something."
Jade wasn't much more qualified to pick from this particular menu. She'd been a vegetarian for as long as she could remember, solely because her dad hated vegetarians and she hated him. So she didn't really know what to order from this meat-filled menu, and just tried to pick the heartiest sounding meals. For herself, she ordered a croissant and the biggest cup of coffee they were legally allowed to sell. The food arrived, with Cat's order requiring two different waitresses to ferry it over. Jade may have gone overboard a little: on one of the plates was a comically large steak nestled in a bed of fries, another contained an enormous pile of sausages and eggs, and finally there was some sort of waffle sandwich with bacon and syrup as filling. Cat was dumbfounded, staring at the food like it was priceless treasure.
"...am I really allowed to eat this?"
"Yes. How many times do I have to tell you?"
Cat struggled with the knife and fork, cutting a tiny sliver of sausage and cautiously lifting it up to her mouth. She bit down and her eyes shot wide open. It looked like an almost religious experience, like she'd never had real food before. There was a good chance she hadn't. She immediately began devouring the rest of the plate, eager to sample each new dish. Jade worried that it would be too much for her to finish, but she was very happy to be proven wrong. Lord knows this girl could stand to gain some weight. It took her just half an hour to finish her plate, licking it clean in the aftermath. One of the waitresses came back.
"Wow, you were really hungry, huh~"
She talked down to Cat in the semi-condescending tone that a lot of people used for doggirls. Jade would absolutely hate it if someone talked to her like that, but Cat seemed to love it, nodding happily and wagging her tail.
"Ain't she cute? Anyway, that'll be $53.99, hon."
Jade nearly spit out her coffee. She'd been so focused on getting Cat a decent meal that she hadn't even noticed at the price. Fifty goddamn dollars. She briefly considered dining and dashing, but she couldn't risk that. Not in LA, and definitely not with Cat. She let out a long, pained exhale before swiping her card and getting up.
"Where are we going now, Jadey?"
"To go find the cheapest clothes possible. Come on."
This trip had originally meant to take 2 hours max, but they'd long since passed that and bought none of the stuff they'd intended to buy. The sugary syrup had given Cat a burst of energy that she was detirmined to expel, practically sprinting across LA. Now Jade was one being pulled along by the leash, forced to jog or else get knocked off her feet. They reached the nearest Goodwill and, after Jade caught her breath, they began their hunt. Luckily Cat was absolutely tiny, barely 5ft, so Jade was able to pick from the much cheaper kids section. None of these clothes were very fashionable, but she tried to at least pick stuff that would fit Cat's "vibe". Basically, if it was something Jade would never want to wear in a million years, she picked it out for Cat.
"Alright, do you wanna try these on?"
Cat, who had been busy playing hide-and-seek between the clothes rack, peaked out with a pair of pants draped across her shoulders.
"Wait, all these clothes are for me?"
"Oh my fucking god. Yes! Who else would they be for?"
"And I get to try them on?"
"Yes."
"Omg yay!"
Cat crawled out from under the rack, stood up, then began taking off her top right there in the middle of the store. Jade frantically grabbed hold of her before she started flashing the old ladies in the aisle over. She took hold of Cat's wrists and lead into the changing rooms before she could remove any more clothing. With the curtain spread safely behind them, she let go and Cat immediately resumed undressing. Jade instinctively turned her head to face the wall. It was a silly impulse. If she and Cat were gonna be living together permanently, it would only be a matter of time before she saw her naked. It would make sense to get over with early, to lessen future awkwardness, but Jade still felt weird about it. She could hear Cat awkwardly trying to wriggle into her new clothes, then felt a tug at her sleeve.
"Look, look! It fits!"
Jade turned. Sure enough, the clothes fit. The blouse was bright pink with a sparkly decal ironed onto the front; a kitten playing with a ball of yarn, above which was written "Caturday" in squiggly cursive. Below that she wore cotton bootyshorts in a darker shade of pink. On a child they would be loose fitting, but on her they were skin tight. Cat twirled around to show them off, giggling as she turned. Then, without warning, she began getting undressed once more, causing to Jade to whip her head to the side and squeeze her eyes shut. When she opened them, Cat was leaning against the wall in front of her, topless.
"Hey, why do you keep turning away? Is something wrong?"
Jade covered her vision with a hand, trying to block Cat's chest from view.
"Nothing is wrong, I just don't wanna see you naked."
"Why not..?"
Cat's mood once again took a nosedive, and her voice gained a hint of dejection.
"I-is something wrong with me?"
"No, nothing's wrong with you, it's just-"
Jade had no idea how to explain. She wasn't about to bring out the birds and bees in this Goodwill changing room. She'd have to dedicate an entire weekend to that discussion. Cat still didn't understand.
"Th-then why do you keep looking aw-?"
"FINE! I'll watch you get changed! Go! Take it off!"
"Yay!"
Cat's mood was flipped on its head yet again, and she was back to bubbly obliviousness. Jade tried to just stare at Cat's head the entire time, keep her eyes locked firmly in place, but that didn't last long. Her gaze wandered down and stayed there. Cat's chest was flat, almost boyish, with pink nipples poking out from tiny A-cup buds. She was skinny, but thankfully not as malnourished as Jade had feared. She also had no bodyhair whatsoever, which was unusual for a doggirl. There was no way they'd be allowed razors in the pound, so she must be naturally hairless. Cat pulled down her shorts and Jade's eyes shot back up. She didn't need to see *that* just yet. Instead she took a moment to study Cat's face. There was nothing boyish about that. Even without makeup she was almost divinely feminine. Her features were rather more angular than Jade's, more pronounced, yet never harsh. She had a sort of "classic hollywood" beauty, like all those noir starlets from the 1930s. She'd have to try putting makeup on her one day. Style her up like Ingrid Bergman. Cat would surely love that, Jade thought. The vision made her smile.
There were quite a few more outfits to try, and it took a while for Cat to wiggle into each new outfit. Jade didn't really care how they looked, she only needed to know if they fit. Instead, Jade was focused on the bigger picture. She was mesmerised by Cat's movements, as sporadic as they were. There was something almost graceful to them. The way her long, red hair danced between her shoulders, perfectly half-draped every time. This girl had spent her entire life in dog prison then spent an hour lying in the desert, yet her hair somehow looked better than Jade's ever had. Her ears perfectly matched the colour, too, something not many doggirls could boast about. When she turned at the right angle, Jade could see fluffy white tufts of fur inside. It was well and truly adorable. Jade had found Cat adorable since they first met, but only in the way you'd call a baby animal 'adorable'. Now, having a good chance to stare at her, that wasn't the word she'd use. Cat was beautiful. Beautiful like a human, not like an animal. Jade tried to banish the thought, but it was stuck there. When Cat turned again to show off the latest outfit, Jade didn't even glance down, she just muttered a generic "looks good". All of the outfits had looked amazing, anyway; she had that annoying body shape that somehow made everything look great, no matter the style. Jade kept staring. Cat smiled, and for some reason that sent Jade over the edge. Something about the way she involuntarily squeezed her eyes shut whenever she grinned. The cheeky little "heehee" she let out under her breath. The way her tiny puppydog teeth poked out from her upper lip. It was perfect. She was perfect. This was bad.
"Look! This one fits too! Isn't this-"
Jade got up, shaking herself out of her stupor. She needed to get out of this changing room.
"Great, perfect, we'll buy em all, okay let's go, come on."
Cat was confused but oblivious as usual, trotting behind as Jade powerwalked to the cashier. The whole bundle came out to $15, which was an objectively great deal, but still felt like a lot of money. As they walked to their final locale, Jade tried her hardest not to stare at Cat any more. She knew it was bad to feel like this. Humans weren't supposed to be into doggirls. It just wasn't done. Legally it was a grey area, but socially it was black and white. They were pets, and nothing more. Even when both parties were consenting adults, it was still considered weird and sinful. Of course, it was still pretty common behind closed doors. Those other doggirls at the pound had known full well why rich "daddies" would want to adopt them. But those rich guys could afford the reputation hit. They could keep it quiet, hire lawyers if they had to. Jade could not. She had to banish the idea that she and Cat could ever be more than owner and pet.
"Umm, where are we going?"
"We're going to the-"
Jade looked around. She'd been so focused on *not* thinking about Cat that she'd walked the complete wrong way. She tried to play it off as if she knew what she was doing, taking a wide U-turn and heading back where they came. It was late in the afternoon now. So much for getting any work done today. Rush hour was fast approaching, and the streets were getting busier. Jade couldn't afford to lose Cat in the crowd, but she also couldn't have a long-ass leash tripping people up left and right. So she grabbed Cat's hand, making her giggle like a southern belle. It felt so tiny in Jade's palm, almost like a doll. Instead of staring, she focused all her attention into that hand. Gently stroking back and forth with her thumb. Feeling the steady pulse that seemed to quicken whenever Jade spoke. She wondered what Cat's true feelings about her were. She acted all lovey-dovey, but was that just because Jade was her meal-ticket? That's what Jade would do, if she were in the same position. But Cat was not Jade, that was clear. She didn't seem capable of thinking that far ahead. That could only mean one thing. Jade sighed, but it was much more wistful than usual.
"Is something wrong, Jadey?"
"Nah. Just tired. Let's go home after this, okay?"
"Okay~"
They found another discount supermarket and began hunting for the cheapest junk they could find. Jade bought herself the essentials (coffee, bread, pasta, eggs) and spent the rest on Cat. She didn't have the heart to feed her expired meat, so she shilled out for decent-looking, brand-name stuff. Jade could survive on stale cereal and tapwater, but Cat didn't deserve that. She was so thin already. Jade wished she could afford to spoil her, to get her whatever she wanted. Make up for all the years she lost to the pound. Instead, all she could do was try and keep her fed. After her regular pilgrimage to the clearance aisle, they got to the checkout. $9.13. Jade checked her account on the way out. She had just under $3 to her name. The sun was setting. Jade looked over at Cat. Just a few minutes ago she'd been full of energy from all the syrup she'd eaten this morning, but now the sugar crash had hit. She looked exhausted, completely dead on her feet. Jade was much the same. She checked a map on her phone, and it told her they were 19 miles from home. She took a long, weary exhale, then grabbed Cat's hand once more.
"Fuck this. We're taking the bus."
Cat tried to summon another burst of excitement, but it came out all limp and slow.
"Yayyyyyyyy I've never been on a bus before."
Jade was much less enthusiastic about LA's public transport, but she was looking forward to sitting down. They'd been walking the entire day, and she'd run miles across a desert yesterday. Her feet were killing her. After a few minutes of waiting, an empty bus arrived and they began to board. Cat got to ride for free since she was with her owner, one of the only perks to being a doggirl. Even still, Jade could just barely afford the ticket. She checked her account again and it now read $0.03. Never a good sight. At least they were set until the end of the month.
They took their seats and Cat tried her darnedest to stay awake, but she barely lasted a minute. She nodded off and was about to fall into the aisle, so Jade grabbed her and pulled her in. She rested her head on Jade's shoulder and shut her eyes. Jade tried to stare out the window, she could still see Cat in the reflection. Eventually she just gave in and stared down at Cat's face, neatly tucking the loose red strands behind her ears. She really was beautiful. The flat blue lighting of the bus made everyone else look worn-down and ugly, but Cat was still perfect. Like a sleeping cherub, plucked out of heaven. Her breathing started to deepen as she drifted further into well-deserved rest. But before she dropped off, she spoke once more.
"Thank you for the fun day out, daddy…"
Her eyes opened as she realised her mistake.
"Oh no I'm sorry… I didn't mean to call you-"
Jade took hold of her and cradled Cat's head against her breast, softly shushing as she ran careful fingers through her hair.
"I changed my mind, Cat.
You can call me daddy whenever you like, okay?"
Cat made a quiet chirp of appreciation and nuzzled her head into Jade's shoulder, before her arms went limp and she fell into dreams.
- Thanks for reading chapter 2 of my fic. if you'd like to leave any comments or feedback, please do it on the ao3 version ( /works/49906456) as i'm unlikely to see it here. Peace!
