Purrchance to dream - Part 5 (Patreon)

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Companion prose written by my wonderful co-writer Calico! Enjoy!

***

“Huh,” Nina says. 

The two women exchange a glance that puts Crowley’s teeth on edge. 

“He likes you,” Maggie says, and takes a sip of her coffee. 

Crowley makes a face. 

The cat starts kneading his lap with both paws. It’s not unpleasant. 

Nina raises her eyebrows. “She’s not wrong,” she says. “Haven’t seen him take a shine to anyone else.”

“Took a day and half for him to even accept a drink from me,” Maggie says. “Even then, he didn’t seem satisfied until we came up with this arrangement.” 

Crowley looks in the direction indicated. The teacup by her foot has roses on it and a shining gilt handle. “Which is…?”

“Raw full-fat Jersey milk,” Nina says, rolling her eyes. At least she has the grace to look faintly embarrassed. “Only got it in for the microbiome crowd,” she adds. “But he picked it out of a line-up and now won’t touch anything else.”

“Little aristocrat,” Maggie says, far too fondly for Crowley’s liking.

Crowley can suddenly see it all too clearly: the two of them making a game of it, the line-up of various receptacles and milks set out for the cat’s pernickety appraisal. He imagines Nina’s eye-rolling undercut with a smirk, Maggie putting on a show of obsequiousness to this fussy feline. The shared joke of it all, between the two of them; the fawning, bordering on role-play. 

The fussy feline duly calling their bluff.

He realises he’s clenching his teeth. Which is all to do with the cat and nothing to do with wishing a hearty sod off to every other almost-couple in existence, obviously. 

“Well he’s certainly taken a shine to you,” Maggie says. 

Crowley’s had enough. He gives the warm, purring loaf on his thighs a decisive push. 

The cat topples over the edge of his lap and seems to change shape several times before it bounces off the floor, an arch of offended fluff. It makes a fierce noise in its chest, more reverberation than true growl but the hairs on Crowley’s arms stand on end.

“Oh, now,” says Maggie, reproach vying with amusement. 

Nina snorts.

Crowley rubs his arms, feeling an unaccountable heat in his face, clears his throat. “What?! ‘S not my cat. ‘S your cat now.”

“It’s not our cat,” Nina retorts. 

Maggie’s attention zeroes in on Nina, and a faint smile plays at the corner of her mouth. 

“You’re the one he’s taken a shine to,” Nina’s saying, apparently oblivious to the extra attention. “Or had, at least.”

All eyes turn to the cat, who has stopped reverberating but still has Crowley fixed with an accusative glare. 

“Tough,” Crowley says, brushing off his thighs to rid them of the after-imprint of that warm, contented pressure. 

Nina narrows her eyes at him. “Aw, come on,” she says. “You should take him. He can’t stay here - he’ll drink us out of overpriced milk in no time!”

“He might even be good for you,” Maggie says, and it’s the innocence with which she says it that clues Crowley in that this is a set-up. 

These bloody women and their telepathy! Plotting against him, right under his nose! 

“Nonono,” Crowley says, jumping to his feet. 

The cat - who had slunk closer again as Maggie spoke to brush back up against Crowley’s ankle - skitters away from the sudden movement, before turning back and glowering at Crowley with renewed ferocity. 

“You’ve gone and upset him now,” Nina says, still sounding more amused than anything. “Seriously - come on. Why not? Solidarity between strays?”

Crowley levels his very best glare at her. “I am not,” he says, picking each word out in steel, “a stray.” 

“Sure,” Nina agrees. Far too easily. 

“Of course not,” Maggie says, hot on her heels. 

“Mrrrp?” says the cat. 

Crowley makes a disgusted noise and shakes his head. “No, no, nope, no way,” he declares, and swirls his finger around in the air to include all three of them in his accusation. “You can back off, the lot of you! I am a lone ranger! I do not want a cat, I do not need a cat, I do not owe any allegiance to a cat—In fact I personally do not want to see this cat ever again.”