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Purr-omises

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He's sitting hunched over in the booth, fingers fidgeting and scratching nervously at the table, long leg jiggling so hard it occasionally knocks against the underside of the table. He's long and lean with a hint of gangly that hasn't yet been entirely grown out of, his dark hair a crazy tangle of curls and cowlicks. He's pretty much exactly how he described himself, but no facepaint. In fact, he keeps ducking his head as if he's not used to his pale face being exposed to the public.

Ducking down a little behind the condiment dispensers, she keeps herself out of his line of sight just a little longer, tiptoeing closer until she's right behind him. Voice a playful whisper, she says, "The fur-some purr-edator silently stalks her purr-ey--EEE!"

The rest of her monologue is replaced by a surprised squeal as he bolts to his feet in surprise, whirls to face her, then breaks into the widest smile ever before throwing his arms out, shouting a delighted "Chica!" and scooping her up into a tight hug. When he starts spinning her in a circle, arms tightening just a bit to keep his hold on her, she starts giggling.

"You make terrible prey!" Nepeta tells him through her giggles. "If I were really a mighty lioness, you'd be lunch."

Gamzee's laughter fills his chest and vibrates pleasantly against her cheek. "My wicked kitty-sister, you are a mothereffin' miracle, you feel me?"

When he finally lets go of her, she gives him a confused look and he grins sheepishly, rubbing at the back of his neck. "Uh, the manager said I can't be all up in swearin' around the ankle-nibblers or she'd call th' cops on my delinquent ass."

Nepeta giggles again and plops into the booth across from him. When Gamzee had mentioned he would be visiting her town to see a concert, she had pounced on the chance to see her online friend and occasional RP-buddy. (And possibly sorta maybe kinda boyfriend? EEEEE!)

Sliding back into his side of the booth, Gamzee grins at her and runs a hand through his thick hair. She rests her elbows on the table and leans forward with her chin in her hands.

"So...Peta, baby, I gotta ask," he says slowly, looking a little nervous. "How old are you up in bein' here, for real?"

Surprised by the question, Nepeta straightens, hands falling to the table. Gamzee's hands are next to hers and his long fingers gently brush against her pinkies. "Um..." she mutters, drawing out the sound as if it will allow her to permanently delay the inevitable. When he meets her eyes, patient and unjudging, she ducks her head with a blush staining her cheeks. "Maybe not as old as I sa--suggested?"

Gamzee lightly takes her left hand in his right and reaches over to lift her chin with his left hand. "An' how off from reality is that suggestion bein', Peta?"

"I'm...almost...fifteen," she whispers, eyes prickling warningly. She sniffs.

A pained look crosses Gamzee's face and she feels a few tears roll down her eyelashes to plop on her cheeks. They cut a path through her inexpertly-applied blush and threaten to make her mascara run. She had watched hours worth of YouTube videos trying to learn how to put on makeup, to make herself look older, more mature, so maybe he wouldn't ask. Sniffling again, eyes fixed on the table between them, she almost doesn't hear Gamzee's heavy sigh.

His hand is under her chin again, tilting her face up as he leans in. Her heart flutters with hope before sinking as he places a soft, chaste kiss on the tip of her nose. Leaning his forehead against hers, he whispers, "Oh babygirl, you know I could be bein' in all kinds of motherfuckin' trouble just meetin' you like this. I'm eighteen, Chica. Shit, I could get in trouble just bein' all up in done gettin' our flirt on when we're roleplayin'. You understand?"

"I'm sorry," Nepeta whispers, voice choked with tears.

The hand still holding hers tightens just a bit and he mutters, more to himself than to her, "Could be gettin' me in all kinds of trouble, Chica." His thumb gently wipes a stray tear from her cheek and he lifts his head to kiss the top of her head. She's so glad she left her kitty ear hat at home, because it's right where the nose would've been and she can actually feel his lips pressing her hair against her scalp and they linger.

Gamzee sighs again and leans back just enough to look at her, his hand dropping to hold her other hand and he gives her a little smile as he squeezes them both. "You be all up in knowin', right, Peta? We got our understandin' on, here? A motherfucker like me could get the fuzz all up on my ass if anyone found out I'd been all messin' around with the sweetest little jailbait catgirl on the internet."

Sadly, Nepeta nods, turning her head to wipe at her face with her shoulder. Maybe Gamzee wasn't really her sorta-maybe-kinda boyfriend, so he can't really be breaking up with her, but she still doesn't want to let go of his hands. "I know."

"Two years?" Gamzee asks softly, half talking to himself again. "Maybe two and a half? Seventeen's all bein' legal in some states."

Nepeta stares at him, eyes widening as her breath catches. She doesn't dare hope but she wants to, oh she wants to.

Lifting her hands from the table, Gamzee holds them between them and leans in. "Could you be all waitin' for me, my kitty-sister? I won't ask you to be all up in promisin' me anything, a lot can be changing in--"

"Yes!" Nepeta yelps, bouncing in her seat. "I'll wait, I'll wait, I'll wait, Gamzee, purr-leez."

Gamzee shushes her, eyes darting across the almost-empty restaurant, but he's trying not to laugh. He looks happy and relieved, and maybe a little determined.

"But I don't think I could purr-omise not to flirt when we're RPing," she adds quietly, blushing. "The mighty huntress loves her big shaggy mountain goat."

Gamzee stares at her for a moment, then grins so wide she wonders if she could count his teeth. Still holding them up, he leans over her hands and kisses the back of her fingers, making her blush and giggle. "Motherfuckin' miracles, Peta."

--~ ^_^ ~--

Gamzee buys her a chocolate frozen yogurt cone and a choco-vanilla swirl for himself and they leave the restaurant to take a walk. He's never been there before, so Nepeta acts as a tour-guide, pointing out things like the game shop and the art supply store and the shrubby area of an abandoned lot where she once found a litter of kittens. They became Miss Nyako, Sergeant Tibbs, and Suppi. She told him how she had stalked the area for the rest of the day until the mother came back, because she didn't want the mamacat to come back and find her babies stolen. Nepeta had named her Shampoo.

When there is no one around, Gamzee will brush his hand against hers and lightly curl a pinky against her thumb. When they reach the empty park, he slides the palm of his hand against hers and interlocks their fingers. Nepeta thinks the way her short, slender fingers fit between the long length of his is perfect.

They race to the swings, hands still joined, and only let go so they can grip the cool metal chains as they compete to swing faster, higher. Gamzee with his longer legs wins easily, but there's no way for anyone to really lose when they're having so much fun. Laughing, he stops pumping his legs and lets his momentum run out, then twists in the swing until the chain is wound up around itself. Nepeta drops her heels to the ground to slow herself and then quickly twists her own swing.

Grinning at each other, they lift their legs at the same time and spin in place. Gamzee whoops excitedly while Nepeta giggles and watches the landscape blur past.

Gamzee carefully stands up, wobbling for just a moment before he finds his balance, and tilts his head toward a nearby bench in invitation. Nodding, Nepeta jumps to her feet and promptly stumbles against him, her head feeling wobbly with dizziness. With a kind laugh, Gamzee steadies her with a strong arm against her back, his fingers gently digging into the side of her ribcage. It almost tickles and she presses against him to keep from squirming.

He leads her to the bench and they sit down, his arm around her shoulders and her leaning against his chest. She can hear his heartbeat as it thumps against her ear and cheek, and her belly feels like the most perfect kind of tight and tingly. Nepeta feels him shift slightly and Gamzee leans down to kiss the top of her head.

"You think we can be makin' this miracle happen, Peta-baby?" he murmurs, hot breath ruffling through her hair and making her skin tingle.

"I purr-omise," she tells him with as much conviction as she can fit into her voice.

She thinks she hears his breath catch, but it's so brief she thinks maybe she imagined it. Gamzee's arm tightens around her and he presses his lips to her hair again, breathing deeply, breathing her in. Sighing contentedly, she wraps an arm around his waist. His clown shirt is riding up a little on that side and her fingers find the hem of it, idly slipping under it to touch the soft skin of his hip, bumping against the waistband of his boxers.

Gamzee shivers and rubs his cheek against her hair. "Gonna get me all up in bein' in so much motherfuckin' trouble, Chica."

It's the same thing he's been saying since he found out how old she is so she doesn't think anything of it. Not until she shifts her arm and accidentally brushes against a bulge that wasn't there before. She gasps softly, face flushing.

That's his--He is--Oh wow. She's not stupid, she knows what it is, and why it's like that, but...she's never been so close to one before. It makes the tight, tingly feeling in her stomach blossom into a delicious warmth that spills down to pool between her legs. She wants, and she kind of knows what she wants, but she's fuzzy on the details and there's a sliver of cold, uncertain fear lurking along her spine.

Hand trembling ever so slightly, she moves to cup the growing tent of his polka-dotted pants. Gamzee inhales sharply, arm tightening around her. Then he groans and places his own hand over hers, fingers curling around her hand and gently pulling it away. His pinky brushing over the inside of her wrist sends a shiver through her.

"Your heart's all bein' in the right motherfuckin' place, Chica, but I'm not up in gettin' in that kind of trouble." He chuckles and kisses her hair again. "Besides, these are bein' the only motherfuckin' pair of pants I brought and I don't want to be all up in gettin' my mess on in 'em, you feel me?"

Disappointment tinged with embarrassment floods through her, crashing up against relief. She straightens and tilts her head up to look at him. "Can I at least have a kiss be-fur you leave?" she asks softly.

Gamzee meets her eyes and she could swear she sees her own want mirrored in him. He glances around, but the park is empty and there are enough trees to hide them from view in most directions. Looking back down at her, Gamzee smiles and cups her cheek. "Peta you better believe we can be all gettin' our kiss on up in here."

Giving a squeal of excitement, Nepeta leans up to awkwardly brush their lips together. The angle is completely wrong and she won't be able to stay in that position for very long, but the feel of Gamzee's lips against hers is...miraculous.

Chuckling, Gamzee turns toward her, arm moving down to wrap around her middle and pull her close. His hand on her cheek holds her steady as he shifts his face and oh it's suddenly perfect. Nepeta reaches up to grip the front of his shirt, both for balance and because she needs to hold onto him. The arm around her urges her closer and she finds herself climbing onto his lap, wrapping her arms over his shoulders and around his neck. She can feel the bulge in his pants against her inner thigh and it makes her want, just so much. But she can wait, she can wait, she can wait, because she promised.

Gamzee's hand falls to the small of her back, his pinky just brushing the top of the curve of her ass and a soft moan escapes his throat to tumble dizzily into the hot, wet slide of their mouths. His tongue slides over her lower lip, leaving her trembling, and his hand is suddenly gripping her chin gently as he pulls back. He's panting, but she's out of breath as well.

"Peta-baby, we gotta be stoppin'."

"I don't want to," she protests without any real conviction. She knows they have to stop, she knows and she's going to but she doesn't want to.

Gamzee grins and leans in to brush a kiss over her cheekbone. "And that's makin' a motherfucker feel all kinds of warm and fuzzy inside, but also kinda like I'm all bein' a pedo-creeper and that ain't cool, you hear?"

Nodding reluctantly, Nepeta sits back on his thighs and lets her hands fall to his chest. "I know," she sighs, then meets his eyes through her lashes. "But that doesn't meow-n I have to like it."

Chuckling, Gamzee leans in and gives her lips a quick peck. "I'm not really all up in likin' it either, Chica, but it's the way it's gotta be bein'."

Nepeta sighs and nods again. "I know. I guess we should purr-obably go back."

Gamzee drops his hand from her face to rummage through his pocket before pulling out a phone. "Whoa, shit. Yeah, this motherfucker better be gettin' back if I want to get my face on before the motherfuckin' concert starts."

So Nepeta reluctantly climbs off of him and Gamzee takes her hand as he gets to his feet, their fingers sliding together perfectly, and they start back. Gamzee lets go of her hand as soon as they're in an area where people might see, but her skin remembers the feel of his skin so it's kind of okay. They don't talk much, but every time she looks up at him, Gamzee's smiling at her, so that's kind of okay too.

They part ways about a block from the restaurant where they met. Gamzee turns to face her and takes both her hands in his and smiles like she's the best thing ever and calls her a miracle. No one's ever called her a miracle before, not even her mom. Her mom loves her, she knows, and calls her "Kitten," but this is different. Gamzee calls her a miracle like she's his miracle, like she's his own personal miracle that proves that all the miracles he believes in exist. Gamzee calls her a miracle like there's no greater thing a person could be and he's awed by her. It makes her heart flutter and she feels warm all over and part of her wants to jump into his arms and run away with him.

Instead she smiles sadly as he kisses the top of her head and squeezes her hands, and she whispers her promise again. "I'll wait for you, Gamzee."

He lifts one of her hands to his lips and smiles as he kisses her fingers. "I'll wait for you too, Peta."