#☆ love is space and time measured with the heart / henry x veritas / enkosmios ☆

[barxlupin]

@enkosmios - continued from ask.

Busted. Oh, well, it's not like Henry wasn't planning to not show Veritas the kitten, he just wanted to give it a bath beforehand. Might as well be introductions first, bath later.

"Bit of both, I guess? It's a stray, but I've been feeding it for the past few weeks. Usually it hangs around the spaceport and is pretty independent, but the forecast says it's going to rain today and I didn't have the heart to leave it outside..."

Meanwhile, the kitten's head pops completely out of Henry's shirt, sniffing curiously. It's not too small, perhaps about three-month-old or so, and completely black, except for a light dusting of white fur on its chest. It starts purring like a jet engine when the space sailor coax it out to drape over his forearm, scratching behing its ear.

"Not sure if it's a boy or a girl, people at the station have been calling it Pluto."

[barxlupin]

Henry chuckles softly at Veritas' words "No wonder I was immediately smitten then~" he hums, kissing the professor's temple.

Pluto, bless his little feline heart (Henry is almost certain the cat's a boy as well), keeps being a good kitty even as Veritas starts gently but thoroughly cleaning him; if anything, judging by the way he keeps purring, he seems to be enjoying the process immensely.

"Not that I know, it's always been just him when I was around, and I haven't heard any other regular visitor nor employee mention other strays." Henry ponder thoughfully. Perhaps the cat was lost or left behing by a traveller...?

Once Pluto is all clean, Henry is ready to wrap him into a towel as soon as Veritas lifts him out of the water. The cat, now turned into a little 'purrito' (awww), happily snuggles against the sailor's chest, still purring, and Henry feels his heart melt at the sight.

"Feels better after a nice bath, doesn't it? Good kitty, clean little kitty~" Henry coos as he gently rubs the cat's fur dry "Should we blow-dry him too? I remember reading somewhere that young cats can't regulate their body temperature..."

Pluto doesn't seem bothered by the sound of water running. The feline keeps purring away in Henry's arms, further soothed by the sailor scratching behind its ear.

"I'm sure it won't be too harmful if it's only once. I reckon this little rascal will be happy just being clean and warm."

For someone claiming to only plan for the cat to stay temporarily, Veritas is taking it pretty seriously. Henry can't help a warm smile at that. Typical of his dear Veritas, putting his all into caring for someone. He'll make sure to give him a big hug once both their hands are free.

"Here goes nothing..." Henry holds his breath as he carefully hands Pluto to Veritas. The cat doesn't protest at being passed into another set of hands, which is a good thing. Even more surprising, once lowered into the warm water, the feline lifts its paws and starts swimming, meowing happily.

"Well, I'll be damned..." the sailor chuckles, watching the kitten paddle away, booping the rubber ducky as if trying to get it to play.

[barxlupin]

Pluto doesn't seem bothered by the sound of water running. The feline keeps purring away in Henry's arms, further soothed by the sailor scratching behind its ear.

"I'm sure it won't be too harmful if it's only once. I reckon this little rascal will be happy just being clean and warm."

For someone claiming to only plan for the cat to stay temporarily, Veritas is taking it pretty seriously. Henry can't help a warm smile at that. Typical of his dear Veritas, putting his all into caring for someone. He'll make sure to give him a big hug once both their hands are free.

"Here goes nothing..." Henry holds his breath as he carefully hands Pluto to Veritas. The cat doesn't protest at being passed into another set of hands, which is a good thing. Even more surprising, once lowered into the warm water, the feline lifts its paws and starts swimming, meowing happily.

"Well, I'll be damned..." the sailor chuckles, watching the kitten paddle away, booping the rubber ducky as if trying to get it to play.

"Thank you, dear." Henry smiles gratefully at his beloved. Even if they weren't able to keep it in the end, just knowing the kitten would have a cozy place to stay at for a while reassured him immensely.

Maybe he'll ask around the spaceport and see if anyone would be able to adopt Pluto full-time...

Meanwhile, far from shy, the cat gives a cursory sniff to Veritas' offered hand before rubbing its head against it, purring even louder. It's cleary a sociable feline, or at least not afraid of strangers, perhaps as the result of growing up in a busy station.

"Of course, I can look after Pluto while you're at work, I shouldn't have to go on any trip for a few weeks." Henry nods as he follows Veritas to the bathroom, laughing softly as the cat starts playing with the end of his braid "I don't think your plants are gonna be in any danger either, apparently Pluto had a bad experience with a few cacti and avoids anything that looks even remotely green."

[barxlupin]

"Thank you, dear." Henry smiles gratefully at his beloved. Even if they weren't able to keep it in the end, just knowing the kitten would have a cozy place to stay at for a while reassured him immensely.

Maybe he'll ask around the spaceport and see if anyone would be able to adopt Pluto full-time...

Meanwhile, far from shy, the cat gives a cursory sniff to Veritas' offered hand before rubbing its head against it, purring even louder. It's cleary a sociable feline, or at least not afraid of strangers, perhaps as the result of growing up in a busy station.

"Of course, I can look after Pluto while you're at work, I shouldn't have to go on any trip for a few weeks." Henry nods as he follows Veritas to the bathroom, laughing softly as the cat starts playing with the end of his braid "I don't think your plants are gonna be in any danger either, apparently Pluto had a bad experience with a few cacti and avoids anything that looks even remotely green."

@enkosmios - continued from ask.

Busted. Oh, well, it's not like Henry wasn't planning to not show Veritas the kitten, he just wanted to give it a bath beforehand. Might as well be introductions first, bath later.

"Bit of both, I guess? It's a stray, but I've been feeding it for the past few weeks. Usually it hangs around the spaceport and is pretty independent, but the forecast says it's going to rain today and I didn't have the heart to leave it outside..."

Meanwhile, the kitten's head pops completely out of Henry's shirt, sniffing curiously. It's not too small, perhaps about three-month-old or so, and completely black, except for a light dusting of white fur on its chest. It starts purring like a jet engine when the space sailor coax it out to drape over his forearm, scratching behing its ear.

"Not sure if it's a boy or a girl, people at the station have been calling it Pluto."