Vulquinn One-shots

Cat-Sitting

"Q, there has to be someone, ANYONE that isn't me to watch them." Sal has himself backed into a corner and has his eyes glued on the three cats that weave about Q's feet as he walks through his house to make sure he has everything he needs for his mini trip to LA for a day trip.

"Well, I don't trust anyone else to be frank. Joe is a dog person with two kids to handle and Murr has a function for his book release." He wheels his suitcase next to the front door and gives Sal a gentle kiss on his forehead.

"So my phobia of cats is just nothing to you?" Sal tenses up as Benjamin cat rubs against his feet. He wanted so badly to let out scream but he didn't want to startle the cats and risk getting attacked by them. He didn't want to scare Q either, but that was a lesser priority at that moment.

"We all have to face our fears at some point Sally boy. You guys put tarantulas all over me, so consider this partial revenge for that." Q pops his flat cap on his head and begins to head out. "You know where everything is, if anything happens feel free to call me. I gotta get going now, love." One last kiss and Q was out the door. Sal stood there staring at the door and fooled himself thinking that Q would walk back in and tell him that it was all a joke. But after a few minutes had passed, reality sunk in and he turned his head to see all the cats lounging about the room.

"This is going to be a dreadful twenty four hours..." Sal tip toes around the sleeping cats and makes his way to the sofa. He sees Chessie sleeping on the left side of the couch and makes it a point to sleep on the complete opposite end of the sofa. He brings out his laptop, plopping it on his lap, and swinging it open to work on some things for the show and mapping out his calendar for the month accordingly. As he types away, he can hear the quiet purrs of the felines and the patters of their paws on the floor. Sal grew paranoid and would constantly look about the room to locate them and make sure they kept an ample distance away from him. He looks over to Chessie sleeping on the couch and sighs. "Do you do anything but sleep?" Chessies eyes open hearing Sal's voice and it made Sal jump a bit.

After working for a while, Sal roamed about the house touching things up here and there. Dusting a figurine here and there, straightening out a picture, washing and putting away some dishes, helping Q out with some of his laundry. He became a little more comfortable with the cats being around and didn't jump so bad whenever they would brush up against his leg. As he was in the washroom piling in another load of laundry, Benjamin hopped atop the machine somehow and sat there quietly watching as Sal did his thing. Sal met eyes with the cat and smiled a bit.

"Hey buddy, doing okay?" He said softly. He experimentally put his hand up to Benjamin's face, he sniffed it and licked a knuckle with his sandpaper tongue, then rubbed his head against the hand being offered. Sal took it a step further and began petting the black cat, he felt the vibrations of Benjamin purring as he continued to scratch behind his ears. "Don't ever tell Brian this: I think you guys are an okay bunch of cats." Sal picked up the basket full of clean laundry and left the room.

When dinner rolled around, Sal fed the hungry cats after being bombarded by a chorus of "meows" of hunger from them. Q had warned him that they would do that, but he had never imagined it being so annoying and overwhelming. He sat quietly at the dinner table eating some take-out he ordered and watched carefully as all the cats ate among him. He never thought in his plentiful years of walking the earth and being deathly terrified of cats that he would ever be sitting and eating among three of them. He then sort of understood why Q enjoyed their company.

The rest of the night was spent on the couch, all three cats cuddled in close to Sal. He felt overwhelmed by the warmth and neediness of the cats, but it felt comforting and he enjoyed it. Who needs a blanket or sweatpants when you have three cats warming your legs, purring away.

"Hey guys, let go to sleep. It's getting late and I want things to be perfect for Brian when he comes home." He switches the TV off, and on cue all the cats disperse off of Sal as though they understood completely what he was saying. With how much Q talked to the cats, it didn't really surprise him that they could understand him. They all make their way upstairs and into the bedroom, Sal crawls under the sheets and gets comfy. The cats aren't far behind, jumping up onto the bed and curling up against various parts of Sal. After a while of carefully tossing and turning and playing tetris with the cats, they all eventually found their comfort and fell fast asleep.

Little did Sal know, Q managed to catch an early flight home and was going to surprise Sal with his premature arrival. He had bought flowers on his way home and was a little nervous to go home. He was nervous because he wasn't sure if Sal was gonna be dead because of the cats or if the cats were going to be dead because of Sal. Either way, all he hoped for was everyone he loved in one piece when he stepped through the door. To his delight, he found the house very still and quiet.

"He must still be sleeping..." Q says out loud. His eyes scan over the living room expecting the trio of cats to be lounging about, but none of them were to be found. His heart began to race as he swiftly made his way upstairs. When he walked into his room, he almost thought he was dreaming. There was Sal fast asleep cuddling Brooklyn, Chessie cuddled up against his back, and Benjamin cat laying next to his head. Q felt his heart well with a pool of absolute adoration. He walked to the side of the bed and gently placed his hand on Sal's shoulder to wake him.

"I see you got comfy real quick, huh babe?" Sal's eyes slowly opened to see his boyfriend standing over him.

"You're home? I thought you weren't supposed to be home until later?" Q began to snicker. He could see right through his whole facade; Sal had grown soft to his cats and there's no denying it now. Sal raised a brow when Q was laughing, but then he heard Benjamin meow behind his head. His eyes went wide and he fell out of the bed at Q's feet.

"Don't play Sal! I know you like my cats!" Q helped pick him up off of the floor and Sal looked over to Benjamin.

"You said this was going to be a secret!" Benjamin had no response, just a slow blink of his green eyes.

"Looks like the cat's out of the bag." Q jokes and kisses Sal on top of his head. Sal groans but can't help but smirk at the same time. Maybe he had grown a special love for the cat's, but he'll still never admit it out loud.