"But Mum! May's here!"
"So? Take her along. Or she can stay and wait till you come back"
"Yeah, I can stay and wait, Gwen" May said slyly. I shot her an annoyed look. I knew what she was implying and I didn't like it one bit.
It was two days after my birthday and my mother, dearest as she was, had decided that it was time for me to go back to the animal shelter. This meant spending time with Dev, and as okay as I was beginning to feel about that, it also meant that May would be snidely hinting at me the whole time. She had made it clear, in no uncertain terms, that she thought Mr. Moron and I had a thing for each other, and just wait and see, Gwen. I would wait and see, alright, but only to watch him burn and boil in my oil of hate. She didn't understand. I couldn't, and I wouldn't, like Mr. Moron. Even if my life depended on it. The only way I'd ever like him if he was the last edible thing on this planet.
Okay that got weird quick.
"Come on" I grouched at her and she smiled sweetly at me. I jammed my glasses onto my nose and looked at the door mournfully. She snorted beside me.
"It's not that bad."
"It's not. But you are"
"Oh shut up, you love me"
"Donut. Just donut"
She grinned and flounced out, leaving me to grumble in her wake. As I shut the door, I couldn't help thinking of how peaceful it was when I'd told her I hated him and she'd agreed. Well that time's long gone, stupid fudging-
"Are you just going to stand there scowling at the door, or are you coming, Weasley?" I rolled my eyes at him. Yep, right on cue, Devon Whitfield, strutting down the side walk like it was a ramp. When I mentioned this, he stopped, made a mock thinking face, and then proceeded to sashay down the sidewalk and off to the animal center.
"I...don't...know...you..."I said, gasping between laughter. May was similarly incapacitated. And that is how we showed up at the animal shelter, scaring Mariam out of her wits with one stupid thing person trying to walk a ramp, and two others drowning in tears of laughter.
"This is May" I hiccupped. Mr. Moron exaggeratedly shook his head and gestured wildly to her. We giggled (although I hate that, but for lack of better word) and Mariam smiled nervously.
"I hope she can work with us today?" Mariam sighed
"Yes, I suppose she can"
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"Destiel will be canon. You just wait"
"It will not be canon because Die is canon"
"I think it's more canon than canon" I said snorting. Yes, we were arguing about Supernatural. Again. But it was an inexhaustible source of interest. Sue us.
"I have to agree with May on that one. Die is canon. Sorry, Gwen" Dev said making a face. I scowled at him. Sure, take her side. Idiot.
"Fine" I said harrumphing, bending to fill Milo's bowl "But Destiel is subtext" I whispered to him. He woofed at me, wagging his tail. Dev raised an eyebrow.
"See? He likes you. And you like him." he said, grinning down at me. I rolled my eyes at him, but didn't protest. What? I didn't like all the dogs. Just Milo. And Lady. And Casper. And Hunter, Dasher, Pongo, Penny, Po-
"Gwen's a right old softy, she's just surly and mean all the time to cover it up" May teased, cutting through my mini mind-rant. I scowled at her "Am not"
"Are too"
"I am not a softy Mayella Parks and if I have to cut you to prove it, I will"
"You won't cut me" she chuckled
"Maybe not" I admitted "But I will stuff dog food down your front" and with that I was chasing her round the kennels. Okay, I was acting like a child, but she was being impertinent! I, personally, think she deserves dog-food down her blouse. May shrieked with laughter and the dogs joined in. Soon their barks echoed through the room and we had to stop and quieten them down. I used this opportunity to quietly let some of dry food cascade into her top. "Gwen!"
"Sorry not sorry" I laughed and she stepped out of the room, intending to clean the mess I made up. She glared at me as she left and Devon laughed. I grinned up at him and we cleaned up, going over the bowls one last time before packing the food away.
"Cats now?" he asked, dusting his fingers off. I nodded eagerly, earning a chuckle from him, and we closed the door behind us. Kitty kitty kitty.
It had been a while since I'd seen her. She was growing fast, but was still playful (when she wasn't trying to claw my eyes out). It ripped my poor heart out each time I had to leave her, but I knew I would always see her again. Or that's what I'd thought.
"No. No this can't be happening" I ran to her empty cage. Where the card that held her kitten details used to be, was a sign with the words 'Adopted'. I just stood there in shock. Sure, I knew she was a shelter cat and that eventually, some day, someone would adopt her, but no one had shown even the remotest of interest before. I'd constantly checked with Mariam, too, to check if she was up for adoption, and the answer was always no. My eyes filled with tears.
"Gwen? Wha-Oh." He came to a standstill beside me as I stared numbly at her empty cage. "Hey. You okay?"
I nodded and turned away. He wouldn't see me cry. I discreetly wiped them away and turned back, smiling brightly "Let's fill the food bowls. They must be hungry" he nodded cautiously and then placed a hand on my shoulder. It was oddly comforting. Before he could do anything else, however, May turned the corner.
"Gwen?" she looked from me to him and back. Dev quickly dropped his hand and gestured to the empty cage. When May reached it, her confused expression quickly morphed into one of sympathy. She held her arms out and I mutely stepped into them.
"I'm sorry" she whispered into my hair, tracing soothing circles on my back. I nodded into her back and mumbled a jumbled 'It's okay' and pulled away.
"It's okay" I said more clearly.
The rest of our visit was more or less quiet. Still reeling from the loss, I barely participated in conversation, even when Tumblr came up. They joked cautiously around me and did little things to make me feel better. It seemed slightly out of character for Mr. Moron, to be smiling at me, or brushing my arm, or helping me with a particularly heavy sack of food, but I welcomed it all the same. Somehow in my grief, I found comfort in his presence and, while this confused and angered some part of me, it also felt right and whole. The confusion and anger could wait.
After we were done cleaning up and feeding, Mariam let us off, nodding at me sympathetically when I asked her about kitty. Our exit was significantly quieter than our entry, kitty in mind.
"How about ice cream?" May suggested and I nodded. I definitely needed a pick-me-up.
"Now what was that about Die again, Weasley?" Dev joked, bumping my shoulder with mine. This drove kitty from my mind temporarily as I glared up at him.
"Die is canon, but Destiel will be!" I growled. May shook her head beside me and I glared at her "What?"
"Dean and pie is a lifelong ship, Dean would never cheat on pie! And Destiel in which way?" Dev continued.
"I don't know. Romantically?"
"I think it would stay platonic" May said thoughtfully. I raised an eyebrow
"Why do you say that?"
"Well, ripped off Tumblr but...family to Dean is everything. His romantic relationships don't last and they don't matter to him as much as Sam does, or Charlie did-"
"Does. Charlie does. She'll come back, you just wait." Dev butted in. When we both glared at him (although we privately agreed) he gestured for May to continue.
"Fine, as much as Charlie does, so Cass being family to him would matter more than if Cass were a romantic interest." I considered this viewpoint. I paused. That was true.
"Well?" Dev questioned, noting my extended silence.
"Okay. Fine. Destiel platonically" I said begrudgingly. There goes my fantasies of Cass baking Dean pie. And pizza man stuff after that. May grinned at the look on my face and nudged me.
"Hey. Cass matters more to Dean that way"
"I suppose..."
"She'll never admit it. That's Gwen for you." Devon chuckled and May nodded enthusiastically.
"You both suck" I mumbled and then was saved their response by the timely arrival of the ice cream shop. Well not really, but kind of. It's all perspective-
"I sense digression. Let's just go eat" May chuckled and pushed the door open.
"I smell something nasty. We better go Kelsey" my eyes narrowed as Cynthia wrinkled her nose at me. I was so not in the mood for this. Before I could lunge and rip her fake blonde hair out of her fake blonde head, May chipped in "Yeah leave, your doctor finally called with your colonoscopy results. Good news - they found your head." She chirped brightly, but her eyes were glaring daggers. My eyes widened. Damn.
Dev was looking at May like she'd grown another head and his eyes slid to Cynthia, who'd switched her glare from me to May. "Okay, come on, let's get you out of here" he said quietly, trying to steer May away but she just snapped her head at him and glared. That shut down that operation pretty quick. Cynthia shot her one last glare and then flounced off, her sycophantic friend behind her. They paused when they got to Mr. Moron and she unashamedly flirted with him. I rolled my eyes and moved on. Bitch. May watched them interestedly and then tapped my shoulder. I turned to see him coming back, brushing Cynthia's crawling hands off of him. I raised an eyebrow as he avoided my gaze, choosing to stare at May like she was cray cray. Which she was. Undoubtedly
"What?" May asked innocently as we stared at her "Do you want ice cream or are you going to keep staring?"
"Um... yeah" Dev muttered nervously, awkwardly sliding away from her. Like nothing had happened, she calmly ordered our ice cream and proceeded to wait.
"She's scary" Dev whispered to me. His brown eyes had widened to the size of plates. I nodded. I was shocked too. Yes, I knew May could be pretty...sassy when she wanted to be, but most usually she was harmless.
"Can you guys stop now?"
"Yeah sure"
"No problem"
"None"
"Yeah" we muttered hurriedly, concentrating on ice cream. I glanced at him and we grinned.
After ice cream and walking five feet away from my best friend, home was on the horizon. We briefly saw Cynthia and Kelsey at the park, before they scuttled away at the sight of May. This cheered me up immensely, and I chattered about Destiel and Die until we reached the driveway.
"Well, see you Devon. It was a pleasure spending the day with you" May said, cracking a smile. He grinned at her.
"Pleasure was all mine" I rolled my eyes
"Yeah yeah yeah, bye Mr. Moron" I said hooking my arm through May's, intending to frog-march her home and question her about this beatific blow-up of hers, but Dev smoothly stepped in between us, catching my arm.
"Actually, I'd like to talk to you for a sec, would that be okay?" he asked and May, who looked like Christmas had come early, nodded and winked at me. My face burned like the setting sun and I glared at her behind his back. "Gwen?"
"Yeah?"
"Unless May's your keeper, I'm assuming you have to answer too?"
"Oh shut up" I said, but nodded. He smiled at me and gestured to his place.
"Come inside, I'll give you the cake while we're at it"
"It's two days old!" I protested, but followed him anyway. What was this about?
He unlocked the door and led me up to his room. Okay, now I was nervous. What if he...? No that's stupid. I blushed furiously at the thoughts running through my head. Stupid May. This was her fault. Fortunately, he didn't notice and I arranged my face into a neutral expression as he turned back to me. He looked nervous and messed up his hair, glancing at me. We stood in silence.
"So..." I said breaking it. This was nerve-wracking.
"Gwen, I'm sorry." He blurted. I looked at him, surprised.
"What?" My heart hammered in my chest. Is this is happening? Is this is really happening?
"About your birthday and the cake" Oh. Disappointment filled me...but also relief. Okay. That I could deal with.
"I got you something. I...I hope you like it" he said nervously, and turned to the closet before I could answer. He fiddled with the door for a second and then brought out something covered in cloth. It was large and bulky and scuffling noises emerged from it. I looked at it apprehensively. Is this another prank?
"I'm being genuine, I swear" he said, noting my expression. I nodded and then whipped off the blanket in one swift motion. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. A cage...a...cat cage. No, he's joking...right? I looked at him, shocked, as he opened the door.
"Oh Dev" I breathed as kitty yawned tiredly at me and blinked, before mewing and stumbling towards me on her little kitten legs. She nuzzled up against me and I stroked her, still shocked. Then, as if on command, I put her down and moved towards him, dazed. "You did this for me?" my voice came out muffled. He nodded, looking at me warily.
"Oh thank you"
And then I was hugging him like I hadn't in a long time. What did it matter that he left me alone, here, to fend for myself? What did it matter that he hadn't been there for me for so long? He was here now, and that's what mattered. I buried my nose in his chest and hugged him tight. "Gwen" he whispered into my hair, running his fingers through it and hugging me back. Everything is okay. Everything is alright.
Gwen...
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A/N: Whoo *exhales* So that's finally written. Ship Hippo has set sail, I repeat, Ship Hippo has set sail.
Time for sleep, me. I hope you guys enjoyed this - vote if you did, it means the world to me!
Also, huge thanks to my new readers, you guys are awesome. Thank you for giving this story a chance, and I promise it will not disappoint you.
xxx
Sage