#also Finneas really IS a catboy huh.

[chayscribbles-archive]

FINNPETRA FLUFF FEBRUARY ❃ DAY 14: THE CAT

i’m writing a little fluffy prompt piece set around my wip muddy roads & foxgloves every day for the month of february. see all FinnPetra Fluff February posts here!

POV: Petra.

setting: they’ve been dating and living together for a while by now. (slightly unrelated sidenote: i like to believe that by this time Val has found some artist friends to move in with, to give their sister and her boyfriend some privacy.)

synopsis: Petra and Finneas welcome a new member into the family.

words: 910

Petra eyed the items laid out on the living floor at the foot of the plant stand. A spray bottle filled with diluted lemon juice. A bowl of rocks she had collected from the park. A piece of wire mesh. Some hooks, nails, and a hammer.

Satisfied with her haul, she rolled up her sleeves. Time to get to work.

No sooner had she bent down to pick up the spray bottle did a small, fuzzy figure zip right under her arm and pounce onto the plant stand.

“No!” she cried, scrambling to seize the tiny white and grey kitten before it could wreak havoc on her plants. With the squirming bundle of fur firmly in her hands, she yelled, “Finneas! You were supposed to keep him distracted!”

Finneas appeared in the doorway and quickly crossed the room to gingerly take the kitten out of Petra’s hands. “Hey, the sneaky bastard got away,” he defended. “He’s too fast for me.”

He carried the kitten to the couch and sprawled himself across it, setting the kitten on his stomach as he dangled his legs over the side of the armrest. The restless kitten soon stilled under Finneas’ hand as he gently scratched it behind the ears and contentedly closed it’s green eyes.

Petra couldn’t help but smile at the sight. After learning an older woman on their block had a cat who had recently given birth to a litter of kittens and was giving them away, Petra had been a little apprehensive at the idea of bringing one of them home—she had never taken care of an animal in her life and had no idea how to do so—but to her relief, the energetic little thing seemed to be getting along strangely well with Finneas.

Now, her biggest concern was making sure her plants were safe from its mischievous paws.

She picked up one of her pricklier cacti and placed it closest to the edge, hoping the spines would deter the cat from going any further down the shelf. “We still need to pick out a name,” she pointed out, scanning the rows of pots for another cactus to use in her first line of defense.

“We could always call him Sneaky Bastard,” Finneas suggested.

“We are not calling him that,” Petra retorted.

“But it fits.” He ran a hand down the kitten’s back as it began to paw at Finneas’ nose. “I mean, we could always name him something boring, like Charlie or Leo—”

Petra’s gaze fell on her plant stand. “Or,” she began slowly, a little smile spreading across her face, “we could stay on brand and name him after a plant.”

Finneas snorted. “You’re so predictable,” he told her. “Of course you’d—”

He cut his sentence short as the kitten nearly jumped right off him, and managed to catch it at the last minute. Holding it in place against his chest with one hand, he produced a small leaf at the tip of his finger with his powers and dangled it in front of the kitten’s face. 

“What plant names do you have in mind?” he asked.

Petra giggled as the cat curiously pawed at the leaf. Tearing her eyes away from the adorable sight, she scanned the rows of plants for ideas. “Uh, Sansevieria is kinda cute. Or... Aglaonema. Coleus. Dieffenbachia.”

Finneas cocked his head sideways to give her a bewildered look. “When you said ‘plant name’, I was hoping you'd say something I can pronounce, like Ivy or… or some other plant with a simple name.”

“I don’t know what else you expected from me,” she said with a smirk. Another plant caught her eye. “Oh! Philodendron Birkin!”

“Philo… what?” Finneas echoed.

“This guy,” Petra said, pointing to a plant with thin white stripes on its wide, pointed leaves.

“That’s such a long name for such a tiny cat.”

“I think it’s pretty.”

“It’s a mouthful!”

The kitten made another swipe at the leaf, and Finneas yanked back his hand just in time to avoid having it ripped right off his finger.

“That’s safe, right?” Petra asked, eyeing the leaf. “Like, he won’t get sick if he eats it?”

“It’s a magical healing leaf, Petra. Of course it’s safe,” Finneas reassured her. “I’ve had barn cats nibble on this stuff when they got injured all the time.”

“Aw, you healed injured barn cats?” Petra exclaimed, making her way over to the couch and perching herself on the armrest above Finneas’ head. She affectionately tousled his hair. “As if you couldn’t be any cuter.”

Finneas blushed, much to Petra’s amusement. “Psh. Shut up. Anyways, what if I just shorten it to Phil?”

“Phil?” Petra scoffed. “That’s a weird name for a cat.”

“And you think Philo… Philod—”

“Philodendron Birkin.”

“—is a normal name for a cat?” Finneas exclaimed. Turning to the kitten, he asked, “Do you want to have such a long name?”

The kitten merely hissed in response.

“Okay, we could compromise,” Petra conceded. “How does Philo sound?”

Addressing the cat again, Finneas said, “How does Philo sound?”

This time, the kitten managed to grab onto the leaf on Finneas’ finger with a triumphant squeak. 

Petra laughed, watching fondly as Finneas pinched the leaf off his finger to allow the cat to gnaw on it. She reached over Finneas’ shoulder to give little Philo a tentative pat on the head. Philo paused his nibbling to affectionately lick Petra’s hand.

She grinned. “I think he likes it.”

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