Chapter Text
„Got any coffee?“ Eugene peeked over Gavus‘ shoulders as Gavus was popping a few slices of sourdough into the toaster.
„Just tea.“ Gavus sighed.
„Which sorts?“
„Earl Grey. Ginger-Elderflower. Camomile."
„Just the sorts I would expect from someone like you. I guess I‘ll take an Earl Grey then.“
Begrudgingly Gavus filled his electric kettle with water and set it to boil.
„Wow... most people around here boil their water in the microwave. How nice to see somebody actually using a kettle.“ Eugene commented. „Got milk for the tea?“
Gavus groaned and retrieved a pack of oat milk from the fridge, to set it down ever so slightly more assertively than need be in front of Eugene, who had taken a seat across from him at his kitchen counter in the meantime.
Eugene mustered the carton. „Oat milk? You‘re a vegan? Good for you, good for you.“
„I just like the taste of oat milk more than dairy. Stop assuming things about people.“ Gavus grumbled, feeling the slight headache from last night returning to his temples.
He slammed a plate with the toasted sourdough, topped with some avocado mashed up with garlic onto the counter and sat down opposite from Eugene.
Eugene helped himself to one of the slices. Not like Gavus had offered, but he had stopped expecting any form of manners from his „guest“.
„After you are done with this, please leave.“ he muttered with a hostile glare towards Eugene.
Eugene smirked - oh how he hated this smirk by now. „And here I thought we had an agreement. That I‘ll stay with you until we had some fun with each other.“
„That‘s non-consensual coercion. Want me to call the cops on you?“ Gavus answered, increasingly annoyed.
Eugene laughed heartily as he gobbled up the slice of sourdough and reached for the next one. „No need, no need. I‘m just messing with you. Let me finish my tea and I‘ll be on my wa-„ their quarrel was interrupted by a faint mewling coming from the ground behind Eugene.
The little black cat stood behind him, now desperately pawing at Eugene‘s legs.
„What‘s up, little one?“ Gavus asked tenderly and knelt down. The kitten turned its head towards him and lowered its ears, while slowly taking a few careful steps back.
It still did not like Gavus at all, it seemed.
Eugene also slipped down from the bar stool and knelt next to Gavus, extending his hand. The little cat came closer, still wary of Gavus and carefully sniffed Eugene‘s hand. After a few sniffs, it closed its eyes and bumped its head against Eugene‘s wrist.
What did this guy have that he didn‘t? Was he some kind of cat whisperer?
The kitten turned around and took a few steps in the direction of the kitty corner, then turned around again and looked at Eugene expectantly.
„I believe it wants you to follow it.“
Eugene stood up. „Her. She‘s a girl, you know?“
Of course Gavus knew that. That was one of the first things they had checked, while still at the airport, during the preliminary examination to determine whether the cats were fit to be transported to the veterinary center.
The black one was a girl, the white one a little boy cat.
But they did make it a habit to only refer to the animals they kept in the clinic as „it“ and only gave them code numbers if they did not already have names, to avoid getting too attached to the animals.
“Whatever you say.“ Gavus commented curtly, as he too stood up and followed Eugene.
The black cat led Eugene to the transport box of the white kitten and pawed the entrance with another desperate whine.
Eugene peered into the box, then turned around hastily: „Gavus! Something is not right with the white cat!“
Gavus knelt beside him and indeed, the white cat was lying on its side, breathing heavily.
„What… I just checked on them earlier this morning when I brought them their food. He still seemed okay then!“ He reached out to retrieve the white cat, only to be met with a ferocious hiss from the side. Of course the black cat disapproved of him touching her little friend.
„It‘s all right, little furball.“ Eugene said softly while picking up the black cat and resting her against his shoulder. „He is here to help. If anyone can help your pal, it‘s him.“ She stopped struggling and stared intently in Gavus‘ direction.
But could Gavus really help him? It was weird - but not unheard of - that a cat which had passed a basic examination just one day earlier exhibited such a quick deterioration of health. Gavus had some deeper knowledge about animal medicine than the average person, but in the end he was just a veterinary technician, not a doctor.
He checked the little white kitten to the best of his knowledge. The kitten was still awake and breathing, in a state which allowed an emergency transport to a more specialized facility.
Gavus jumped up and grabbed his mobile phone. Morgan‘s number was on speed dial, but it wasn‘t unusual that Gavus was waiting several minutes for her to pick up. He put the ringing on speaker and took the mobile with him to the bathroom, to quickly brush his teeth. Something he had neglected last night, so he thought it wise to use the time until Morgan picked up.
His toothbrush was wet.
„EUGENE!“ he rushed out of the bathroom in frustration to confront his guest. „Did you use my toothbrush!?“
Eugene looked at him in surprise first, then bit his lower lip. „Uh, well. I mean, I came here to lick the roof of your mouth and maybe suck your dick too, so using your toothbrush seemed… not so bad?“
„UGH, I SWEAR!“ Gavus stomped back to the bathroom and contemplated dropping his ex-toothbrush into the trash, but then placed it back into the empty cup. Fortunately he liked to plan ahead and had a few packs of spare toothbrushes at all times.
Morgan still did not answer the phone while he brushed his teeth, but finally picked up as he was washing his face.
„Morgan, I have an emergency. The white kitten collapsed and seems to be in pain. It doesn‘t look like any of the common symptoms we know of cats. Can you have a look at him?“
„Shit, so it did carry something? That’s bad. I hope it didn‘t spread while they were on the loose. Bring it to the Covet Falls facility. I will meet you there.“ She paused, briefly. „What about the other one? Is it showing symptoms?“
„No, she seems fine so far. Very spunky, big appetite.“
„Then do me a favor and only bring the sick one for now. All backup places are over capacity, we can only take in emergency cases. But keep an eye on the other one, and inform me immediately if it also starts showing symptoms. See you.“ She disconnected.
Leaving the black cat at home but having an eye on it while he was bringing the white one to Covet Falls? How did she imagine this to work? He was just one person and the few friends he had were either busy or out of country, so how could he…
…he sighed.
There was an obvious option.
And he hated the option.
When Gavus exited the bathroom, Eugene sat on his couch with the black cat still against his chest, her head on his shoulder.
„I‘m going to transfer the white one to one of the clinics for emergency care. Can you have an eye on the black cat until then? If her condition shows any signs of deterioration please let me know immediately.“
Eugene rubbed his chin on the black cat‘s head. „Sure. Guess there’s no helping it, huh? Gimme your phone number.“
Gavus sighed internally. Eugene was the last person he wanted to have his number, but in this case there was a good reason for it. He would just need to block him after.
Gavus took out his phone from the pockets of his jogging pants, opened the number sharing dialogue and held the phone towards Eugene, expecting him to touch the top with his own phone, prompting the wireless exchange of numbers.
Eugene did nothing of the sort. He pulled back the sleeve of his black turtle neck which covered his wrist and touched the top of Gavus‘ phone with his smart watch.
With a beep, a number flashed on Gavus‘ display, prompting him to accept or decline adding it to his address book. The preceding country code was not the local one, and neither one he was familiar with.
For the fraction of a second Gavus felt tempted to press the decline button, but the life of an animal was at stake. His love for animals was stronger than his loathing of the irritating person who was returning to cuddle with the black cat on his couch now.
This allowed him to quickly grab the transport crate with the white cat and exit the apartment without being assaulted by a black kitty demon.
The drive through the morning traffic was not the smoothest one, with traffic jams and other impediments slowing them down considerably.
Gavus earnestly considered bypassing the congested roads via the designated bus lane, despite his misgivings about breaking rules. But a life was at stake. Not that most authorities were too amenable when it was about an animal‘s life.
Just as he was about to swerve to the right to enter the lane, the cars in front of him started moving again, allowing him to continue the drive in his properly lawful lane.
The Covet Falls veterinary center was located on the other side of the town near a verdant forest.
Gavus used the visitor‘s parking lot and rushed into the center, transport crate in hand. He was escorted to the treatment room where Morgan already waited for him.
After he had placed the transport crate on the large metal table in the center of the room, Gavus routinely went to wash and disinfect his hands to do his job as Morgan‘s assistant.
The little cat shivered weakly in his hands and offered no resistance whatsoever when he removed him from the crate.
Morgan started with the usual: checking for external injuries, checking the teeth, gums and eyelids and lastly, taking the cat‘s temperature.
„Wow, that‘s a high fever if I‘ve ever seen one…“ she muttered once she got the reading of the thermometer. „Did it eat this morning?“
„A bit at least.“ Gavus regretted that he wanted to give the cats some privacy and did not observe them for the full duration of their breakfast.
„I‘ll give it an infusion nevertheless to keep its hydration levels up, because I will need to draw blood.“
Gavus located the necessary equipment for a subcutaneous infusion and measured the amount of saline solution Morgan asked him for, then proceeded to prepare everything for drawing blood to be analyzed at the lab.
The kitten did not resist. Neither the infusion, nor having a patch of his tiny front leg shaved and letting enough blood for a thorough analysis.
Gavus felt so bad for the little one, who was just submitting to his fate right now.
„Okay, you can return it to the crate.“ Morgan said as she was carrying the vials of blood over to a side table, washing her hands and then filling out some forms to go to the lab with the blood. „We‘ll keep it here in isolation for a few days until we get the lab results.“
„Alright…“ Gavus mumbled, as he gave the kitten a careful rub over his forehead and then returned him to his crate, to carry it to the quarantine ward. „I‘ll visit you in a bit. Okay?“ he said with a soft voice while he transferred the kitten to one of the stationary isolation boxes. The kitten weakly pressed his forehead against Gavus‘ hand and then curled up into a little ball.
Gavus spent the rest of the day assisting Morgan with various examinations of her cases, which had been transferred to Covet Falls. He was vaguely familiar with the layout of the facility, as field work brought Morgan and him to the center occasionally.
As he was having a brief lunch break on the border of the nearby forest, reminiscence crept up on him.
Covet Falls was also the first veterinary center he applied at, after finishing his degree as a veterinary technician. Rejected, like many applications he sent out after. Most rejections came only with the politically correct standard reasonings, but one facility was rather blunt in telling him that his appearance would not sit well with the customers of the clinic - pet owners who needed to have their animals treated. They were most likely referring to the tattoos on his face, which could not be hidden as easily behind his clothes like the ones on his arms. Despite him having no criminal record whatsoever, people were quick to associate a tattoo in the face with Gavus not having his life in order one way or another.
The only place which had given him a chance was the municipal veterinary center. Morgan had not cared for how he looked. She only cared for someone to work diligently, and that he did ever since. For giving him this chance, he always felt indebted to Morgan, as a boss and as a mentor.
He took a bite of his sandwich. Maybe he should bring something for Eugene, once he returned from work in the evening.
„Have you eaten?“ he messaged the number which had been added to his contacts this morning.
It didn‘t take long for a typing indicator to appear.
- „Nope, been watching the kitty all day.“
- „I’ll bring something when I return from work. Anything you wish to have?“
- „Is „you“ an option?“ came a message before a sticker, showing a stylized cat with a sleazy face was added. Then another message: „Anything is fine, really. You choose.“
Gavus sighed and took two more very frustrated bites to finish his sandwich. That guy was really a handful and he wasn‘t sure for how much longer he could take his bad jokes.
After he finished an uneventful afternoon of work, Gavus visited the isolation ward to see the little white kitten one last time before he left Covet Falls for the day. He was still dozing weakly, but turned his ears when he heard Gavus come close to his cage. „Hey little buddy…“ Gavus said with a soft voice. The kitten let out a cooing sound and turned his head to weakly look at Gavus. „You will have to stay here for tonight. But I will come visit you again tomorrow. And the day after. As long as it takes for you to be healthy again.“ The kitten slowly blinked, then lowered his head again to continue his sleep.
Morgan had asked Gavus to return the van to the municipal veterinary center to not unnecessarily crowd the parking lot at Covet Falls. After he had parked it at its usual spot at the rear parking lot of the municipal veterinary center, he took his usual bus home but exited one stop earlier. There were two things he wanted to procure.
When Gavus entered his apartment the little black cat eagerly stormed towards him, only to realize that he did not bring her mate back and subsequently laying her ears flat and running back towards the kitty corner.
„Welcome back.“ he heard Eugene‘s annoyingly snarling voice coming from his couch. „How‘s the little one?“
„Not good, I fear. He is infected with… something that we cannot determine. His blood is being analyzed at the lab right now. Tomorrow we will know more.“
„Oh shit…“ Eugene looked sincerely crestfallen.
„What about the black one? Did she show any anomalies over the day?“ Gavus asked, as he placed a cardboard box on the kitchen counter and then went to put a brown paper bag near his couch.
„She was fit as a fiddle the whole day.“ Eugene moved near the kitchen counter, eyeing the cardboard box.
„Open it.“ Gavus smiled. „I brought an assortment of bagels. Choose whichever you want.“
Eugene beamed while he went on to open the lid of the cardboard box. „You should smile more often. It suits you far better than your usual grumpy face.“
Didn’t take Eugene long to get Gavus back into a bad mood. Gavus rolled his eyes and took a plate and two glasses from his kitchen shelf. „Well who‘s fault is it that I am grumpy? Anything you want to drink?“
„Water is fine.“ Eugene mumbled as he was busy assessing the bagel selection.
He ended up choosing what Gavus had anticipated him to choose. A sesame bagel with cream cheese, lox and red onions, and a pepper-crusted bagel with sliced roastbeef and horseradish-mayonnaise sauce. Which left the Parmesan-crusted bagel with avocado and scrambled egg, as well as the „everything bagel“ with herb cream cheese, tomato, salad, egg and some cress.
Eugene looked at Gavus, as he sat down and handed Eugene the one plate he brought, as well as a glass of water.
„You‘re not eating with me?“ he pouted while he put his bagels on the plate and proceeded to take a hearty bite of the lox one.
„I had lunch at work.“ Gavus replied and took a sip of his own glass of water.
„Don‘t you want to sit down, eat and talk about your day with someone after a full day of work?“ Eugene continued asking, a slight disappointment weighing in his voice.
Did Gavus want that?
He had lived alone ever since he graduated from college. His last relationship was also during college and they had never gone as far as living together.
He was used to do what little socializing he needed at work and by occasionally meeting his friends Hal and Flora. At home he was used to peace, order and cleanliness. A feeling which had been crassly disrupted by yesterday‘s events.
„No. And especially not with you.“ he summed up his thoughts and stood up from the table to signal his unwillingness to continue the conversation any further.
„Ouch…“ Eugene laughed. „I get it, I guess.“
While Eugene continued his meal, Gavus retrieved his watering can and filled it with water from the kitchen faucet.
„What‘cha doin‘?“ came the - by now painfully familiar - voice from behind.
So much for „I get it“, Gavus thought to himself, as he exhaled sharply. „Watering the plants.“ he answered curtly and proceeded to give the potted plants in the apartment a bit of water each.
Then he refilled the watering can, aware that he was being eyed with great interest by Eugene who had finished his dinner by now.
Hence it did not come as a surprise that him, moving his movable bookshelf aside to reveal a big industrial metal door, was met with an excited „WHOA!“ by his annoying houseguest.
And of course, said houseguest had to follow him outside onto his balcony where the rest of his plants were located.
„This is amazing!“ Eugene yelped as he stepped out onto the wooden laths which made up the floor of the balcony and took in the sights.
Indeed, it was one of the things Gavus particularly liked about this apartment, which was part of a refurbished industry complex. The balcony was vast and almost spanned across the entire outer walls of his apartment on the 5th floor of the complex.
With time he had placed more and more raised plant beds there, filled with bee-friendly flowers, vegetables and fruit.
„You have strawberries!“ Eugene chirped. „Can I try one?“
„Knock yourself out.“ Gavus mumbled, as he made sure that each plant got exactly the amount of water it needed. The wisteria over a metal pergola, some meters away from the door to his apartment, had almost lost all its blooms now, so he made a mental note to prune it on the coming weekend.
„Gavus this is incredible!“ his thoughts were rudely interrupted by Eugene. „You have a proper paradise out here!“
„Well, you can stay outside for the night then, if you like it so much.“ Gavus smirked and walked to the door, having finished the watering of the plants.
Eugene hurried back in through the metal door with him and watched with great interest how Gavus locked the door and then slid over the book shelf which ran on a metal rail.
Gavus was sure that Eugene had been prompted to engage in some kind of conversation with him now and he wanted to avoid that at all costs. „I‘ll go take a shower.“ was the best way to get out of a conversation he could come up with. And he needed a shower anyway.
On the way to the bathroom, he detected the brown paper bag he had also brought home earlier. „The contents of this bag are for the cat.“ With this he was off to his well-deserved shower.
The warm water felt like a purifying rain as it poured down on him from the shower head. Yesterday‘s exhaustion and the annoyance occupying his bathroom had prevented him from taking his usual evening shower. And the morning had not been any less stressful, so in the end he had just quickly washed himself at the sink before he had rushed to Covet Falls.
His whole body ached, he realized now, as the warm water loosened muscles he had not realized he had been straining.
As he was reaching out to grab the bottle of shampoo he saw it.
A single, black, wavy hair stuck to the wet shower wall.
That… guy. This unbelievable guy! It felt like Eugene‘s whole existence was there to annoy Gavus.
He decided that he would try and find a pet sitter as soon as possible, so he could get Eugene out of his life for good.
When he exited the bathroom, freshly showered, teeth brushed (with the fresh toothbrush) and clad in a freshly washed set of pajamas, his apartment seemed unusually calm, much to his pleasant surprise.
He had been expecting Eugene and the cat to be engaged in a rowdy game of catching the mouse toy which was attached via a string to a rod. One of the toys he had bought for the cats today.
A faint sigh, followed by a rustling sound led him to check out his couch where he found Eugene, cat toy in hand, sound asleep. On his chest the little black cat, dozing but not yet sleeping.
As much as Gavus wanted to get rid of Eugene, leaving him to get a cold seemed unnecessarily cruel, so he retrieved a blanket and headed back to the couch.
The little black cat hissed at him, as he approached Eugene and jumped down to the floor, as if to prepare for an attack.
„Shh, it‘s all right. I just want to tuck him in.“ Gavus whispered as he spread the blanket over Eugene. The kitten hesitated, then jumped back onto the couch and curled up between Eugene‘s legs.
„See, the bad man isn‘t all that bad.“ Gavus thought to himself, as he took the steps to his bedroom and dropped onto his bed.
Tomorrow he would ask Eugene to leave, he thought as he was slowly drifting off to sleep.