Thanks sm for the feedback on my last post!! I'm defo going to get round to the specific requests and have taken on board the other things mentioned. Thanks again; now enjoy this fluffy Tara oneshot <3
"Tara!" I yell down the phone.
"Woah, what's up?" she asks nervously, and I can just imagine her distancing the phone from her ear in surprise.
"Get to our dorm, right now." I command and hang up before she can say no. I've probably left her in a panic but if my calculations are correct (I know her time table off by heart), she should be making her way back here from her last lesson of the day anyway. I'm just innocently speeding her up.
The door flies open in less than a minute. Tara stands in the doorway, red in the face. She sighs ruefully.
"Did... did you run all the way here?"
"What do you think?" she frowns, "I thought you were in trouble!"
"I am!" I insist, wringing my hands together.
Tara chucks her backpack on the floor and I let her get her breath back. "This better be worth it." she mutters.
I smile. "I promise it is."
Tara looks embarrassed that I heard her.
"Meow."
Tara and I look at each other. I press my lips together because the bewilderment on her face is just too funny. She blinks at me.
"What was that?"
"Meow!"
I watch her eyes trail down my body to the cardboard box that has been in my lap this whole time.
"You didn't..." she says, her tone of voice sceptical and somewhat annoyed.
"I didn't! He was all alone on the side of the road! I couldn't just leave him there!"
Tara takes a cautious step forward, then two, and then she opens the box up to reveal a chubby tabby kitten. The kitten looks up with big, shiny, green eyes. She picks him up.
"Oh my gosh. Aren't you the cutest thing?" she tells the cat, who purrs in response. She takes a seat next to me and the cat looks sooo relaxed (way more relaxed than it did with me for some reason).
"So you're not mad?" I ask carefully, giving the kitten a little stroke on its furry head.
"No," she smiles, "I'll forgive you for almost giving me a heart attack."
"That's good. So... can we keep him?"
Tara nods enthusiastically. "We'll have to keep it a secret, I'm not sure pets are allowed. But... aw, who couldn't love this adorable little face?"
I swear this cat smiles at her, and I won't lie, I'm a bit jealous of how good my girlfriend is with animals. But hey, we can raise him together. I'm sure he'll warm up to me with time. Hopefully.
"Have you thought of a name?" Tara looks at me, positively beaming.
"I thought you could choose."
She kisses my cheek before studying the cat again. "Terry." she concludes after a moment's consideration.
"Terry the tabby?"
"Terry the tabby!" she smiles proudly. "Aw, I love this little guy already!"
I tut quietly, "Look you five months to say you love me, look you five minutes to say you love a random street cat."
Tara laughs, "Are you jealous?"
"What? No. I'm merely pointing something out."
She giggles again, "You'll both have to compete for my attention now."
"Hey!" I boop the cat on its adorable pink nose, "I was here first, mister!"
Tara passes the cat to me and luckily, he doesn't stir. He settles into the soft fabric of my dress and sleepily closes his eyes.
"What are you doing?" I ask as she heads towards the door.
"Priya across the hall has a secret cat, I'll ask to borrow a carrier."
"Why?" I tilt my head to one side.
"So we can take him shopping with us. We need to get him a litter box, a bed, some food..."
"Oh, yeah, of course," I nod, although I was admittedly kind of blinded by the cuteness and forgot about the work it takes to look after a cat. "Sure. Be quick!"
"I will, love," she waves goodbye to me - and Terry - before disappearing down the hall.