#gale has a dubious acceptance of his shifter ability but john helps him be at least a bit more comfortable

[avonne-writes]

@mirrsd Gale was touched by the gift and probably a little shy about it at first. I think John wanted to see him try it out immediately but Gale felt self-conscious, thinking he shouldn't act too cat-like. He shifted and climbed in just to appease John but he climbed out immediately after. That made John unsure if it had been the right idea to make this side table, but some time later, he found kitty Gale curled up inside it, and he knew he did well.

Regarding John's coping methods, I haven't thought about it in detail. Maybe not necessarily coping methods, just things he wouldn’t have done before the war. Showering in scalding hot water, wanting to do the dishes because it means he’s putting his hands in hot water, avoiding a certain street because the fence reminds him of barbed wire, making up excuses to avoid going out if it snows.

John would try to show Gale that it's okay to act in a way that's different from how people usually behave if it makes Gale feel better. It harms no one and it won't make John love him any less.

Kitty Gale and his box

I mentioned previously that Gale has an empty box that he curls up in sometimes when he's home alone. He keeps this a secret from John, and John never catches him, but he finds the secret box one day.

It's clear what it's used for, because there's a layer of white fur on the inside. John thinks it's endearing and he decides to tease Gale a bit about it during dinner that day.

But it doesn't go the way he hoped. Gale blanches when he realizes that John discovered his secret, and he has a near-panic attack. John jumps to comfort him, but Gale tries to get away from him until John manages to catch him and convince him to talk about it.

Gale's main problem is that he knows that curling up in a box is very cat-like behaviour. He is part cat, but if he acts too much like one and faces this fact, he feels like a freak. So, he tried not to use boxes at all, but they feel so calming and safe that he began to cope with his PTSD this way.

Now that Bucky found his secret, he thinks he can’t do it ever again without looking like a dumb animal. It breaks Bucky's heart. He pulls Gale into a hug and tells him about some of his own coping methods that he kept from Gale.

And maybe, for Gale’s next birthday, his gift is a small, handmade wooden piece of furniture with a hole on the side through which a cat can easily climb inside.