#kindof a rushed ending but yknow what there was an attempt lol

[jtl07]

Stray cat, first apartment, new adult

last one! i think the biggest takeaway from these "challenge" prompts is that i need to read more genres wow

also: anon, my apologies, i realized belatedly that the cat was supposed to be a stray but by the time i'd checked again, this had gotten a bit away from me. i hope it's still okay! (also everyone thank @littledata for the name inspiration lol)

When Beatrice had been making all the preparations for her new - her first - apartment, what she hadn't counted on was the quiet. It's not perfectly silent - she can hear the thankfully muffled sounds of what seems to be a party next door - but it's quiet enough that it throws her off balance. Not because of the quiet itself: quiet was a familiar guest in her life, a space held for it always. But she hadn't quite realized how much different the quiet would feel, now.

It's different, she knows, different from the cold silence she'd lived with as a child. But it's different still from the warmth she'd had with her grandparents these past few years: reading with her grandfather at opposite corners of his study, kneading dough side by side with her grandmother, walking through the garden with the both of them under the stars.

She knows that they're just a phone call away, knows that she'll be with them again just next week for dinner. Beatrice closes her eyes and presses a hand to her chest. Knows that she'll be okay. Breathes through it. Breathes again.

Hears a soft jingle.

Beatrice straightens, blinks - stands from her sofa when the sound comes again. Follows it to the kitchen.

Blinks again when she finds herself face to face with a cat sitting on the counter.

"Hello, sir," Beatrice murmurs, glancing around to see the window with the loose latch above the sink now fully open (scratches out the mental note she'd made to repair it).

The cat greets her just as gently, rubbing his cheek against Beatrice's palm when she slowly reaches toward it. She can't help but smile at his friendliness. "Pleased to make your acquaintance," she says, petting along his back.

She catches sight of a collar around his neck and hanging from it is a bell and a name tag: "Jean-Clawde Van Damn," she reads aloud. She raises an eyebrow and shakes her head, can't help but laugh as well. "Your owner has quite the sense of humor."

A knock at her front door has Beatrice murmuring her leave to accept a surprise food delivery care of her grandparents. But when she calls them and goes to the kitchen to introduce them to Jean-Clawde, she finds the kitchen empty.

**

He comes back though, to Beatrice's delight, always through the kitchen window. She finds his presence a welcome one, especially on days when all her trying - to make friends, to experience new things, to remember that things don't have to be perfect - has her tired and makes the quiet too loud; it helps to have a bit of comfort in the form of a furry friend.

The next time Beatrice is at the grocery - which in itself is also new, wheeling the cart by herself, balancing her budget by herself - she finds herself lingering in the pet aisle, eyeing snacks and toys alike. Wonders what Jean-Clawde would like.

The next time he visits, Beatrice is ready: she writes a note to Jean-Clawde's owner explaining his visits, asks for permission to feed him and any preferences and/or restrictions he might have. She tucks it into his collar for his return home.

It takes a couple days for Jean-Clawde to come back and when he does, it's with a folded up sticky note tucked into his collar - yellow with what looks like a drawing of a duck in the corner, accompanied by an enthusiastic granting of permission - JC eats anything but it's okay to kick him out if he's too much! - and a pun that has Beatrice chuckling, has her searching her own brain for one to send in return.

It's only polite, Beatrice thinks to herself, smiling as she tucks another note into Jean-Clawde's collar for him to send back to his intriguing owner.

**

"I'm sorry, sir, but I'm afraid I must answer the door," Beatrice murmurs, trying her best to ignore Jean-Clawde's whining mewls as she lifts him from her lap. She frowns a bit at him in concern as she stands. He'd arrived in the morning earlier than usual and, contrary to his usual behavior, had stayed near Beatrice for almost the entire day.

I'll add it to today's note, Beatrice thinks as she opens the door at another set of frantic knocks.

"I apologize for the wait -" "Hi sorry -"

It's not often that Beatrice is stunned to silence - well, not ever, in fact. It's something new indeed to be gobsmacked by a beautiful woman standing at her front door.

The woman shakes herself, sticks out her hand and grins. "Hi, I'm Ava, I live next door. I'm sorry I never got the chance to introduce myself."

"Pleasure to meet you," Beatrice murmurs, honest and stunned as she takes her hand.

"I know this is pretty sudden and uh well see I'm looking for my cat, he kinda wanders around, he's a free soul yknow? I dunno if you've seen him - he's gray with green eyes, has a little bell -"

Beatrice glances over her shoulder. "Do you mean Mr. Van Damn?" Opens the door wider so Ava has a view of the sofa and its current occupant.

Ava sighs the sigh of an exhausted cat-mother. "Jean-Clawde Van Damn, you're in a world of trouble, buddy. We're gonna be late for your doctor's appointment." She gives Beatrice an apologetic look. "I think he saw the cat carrier this morning."

"I see," Beatrice says, then, without thinking, "It sounds like he's not the most patient of patients."

Ava whips around from where she'd been trying to coax the cat from the sofa, stares at Beatrice with her mouth agape. "It's you!"

Beatrice blinks in surprise. Remembers the tucked notes sent back and forth via Jean-Clawde's collar. "'Tis I," she says shyly. Starts to slide her hands into her pockets only to bring them out to quickly catch Jean-Clawde when he jumps off the sofa and into her arms.

"I'm glad we finally met in person," Ava says, grinning and bouncing on her toes. "Never thought you were right next door though, would've asked you out for coffee weeks ago." Ava stops, eyes wide as she gestures wildly. "I mean, only if you're interested, I know we like, don't really know each other -"

"Ava." Beatrice waits until Ava stops and takes a breath. Beatrice bites her lip, lets herself try: "Coffee sounds great. Purr-fect, even."

The laugh she gets in response eases every bit of tension in Beatrice's body. "Well, are you doing anything now? Looks like this guy is uh pretty attached to you," Ava says, gesturing to how Jean-Clawde's nestled in her arms. "Not exactly dinner and a movie but hey."

Beatrice chuckles as Jean-Clawde nuzzles her cheek. "I'd be happy to," she says, following Ava and her heart into something new.