CATEGORY: Fluff
FEATURING: Married!Joshler
TRIGGER WARNINGS: Absolutely none :3
PROMPT: Josh brings home a stray cat one day on the way home from work, much to Tyler's dismay.
WORD COUNT: Approximately 2,380

"Ty, I'm home!" a voice called as the front door slammed. Tyler was always happy to hear that slam--even if his husband always made a ruckus when he got back from work, it was still pleasing to his ears, because it meant Josh was home.

Today, in particular, it was a welcome sound, because Josh was almost fifteen minutes late coming home. Tyler had started to grow worried, and he was relieved now that his husband was finally back.

"Coming!" Tyler typed up the last sentence on his laptop. He worked from home, writing for an online magazine. He saved the document and went into the kitchen to give his husband a welcome home kiss, as per usual.

However, Josh was not alone. Tyler was surprised to see that Josh had a large, scruffy cat in his arms.

It was almost a funny sight--Josh still in his work uniform, a button-up shirt and tie with dress pants, and the cat in his arms. Josh was clean and orderly, while the cat was dirty and messy. It had striped brown fur with a white belly, and greenish-yellow eyes. It was large, but skinny, and it hissed when it saw Tyler.

"What...on Earth...is that?"

Josh rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. "It's a cat."

"I meant, why is it here?" Tyler crossed his arms. The cat seemed just as annoyed with Tyler as Tyler was with the cat.

"It's not an it, it's a he. I was walking home from work and I saw him outside of the Taco Bell, eating a burrito off of the ground. It was meant to be, Tyler! He loves Taco Bell just as much as we do!"

"So, you just went over and picked him up?"

"I bought a burrito and lured him over," Josh admitted. "I couldn't help it! He just looked so skinny and hungry. So I fed him, and he let me pet him and pick him up. I couldn't leave him out there by himself, with nobody to look after him, so I brought him home."

Tyler sighed. "You know we can't keep it, Josh. If it let you touch it, it probably belongs to someone else."

Josh held the cat close to his chest. "I guess we should look for his owner, then."

And so, Tyler spent his evening searching the internet and newspaper for 'lost cat' posters. He found lots of them, but not one of them looked like that cat Josh had found. After almost three hours of searching, Tyler finally sighed and closed his laptop. Picking up his phone, he called every veterinarian's office in Columbus, but none of them could report a missing cat matching the description of the stray.

After finally finishing his call with the last vet's office, Tyler put his phone back in his pocket. Clearly, if the cat had an owner, they weren't looking for it.

He headed out of the office and into the living room. Josh was sitting on the floor with the cat in his lap. Tyler had heard him bathing the cat in the kitchen about an hour ago; the upset meows and hisses were impossible not to hear. Now, the cat looked much cleaner, and Josh must have brushed its fur, because it looked smooth and soft.

The cat was batting at a piece of string that Josh was holding up in the air. Though the sight of the cat annoyed Tyler, the broad smile on Josh's face made his heart soften. He loved his husband, even though he wasn't as big of a cat person as he was.

Josh looked up at Tyler. "Did you find anything?"

Sitting on the floor next to Josh, but at a safe distance from the cat, Tyler shook his head. "I looked online and in the newspaper, and I called every veterinarian in Columbus. Nobody's reporting a missing cat that looks like this one."

Josh beamed. "Does that mean we get to keep him?"

Tyler was unsure what to say. He didn't want to keep the cat, but he knew that even if he didn't like it, he'd feel awful if he dumped it at a rescue or a shelter. Additionally, Josh seemed to have fallen in love with it; losing it might break his heart. Still, Tyler wasn't ready to agree to anything just yet. "We both have the day off tomorrow," he said instead. "We can take it to the vet and see if they can find a microchip."

---  ---  ---  ---  ---

The next morning, Tyler rolled over in bed, coming face to face with...the cat.

Sighing, he sat up, not wanting to push the cat out of the way, lest he get scratched. Josh was sleeping peacefully in his usual spot, with the cat sleeping between his and Tyler's pillows. Sleepily, Josh blinked open his eyes to see the cat, and Tyler saw a smile spread across his face. "Good morning, Jim."

"Jim?"

"Spooky Jim!" Josh picked up the cat and placed it in his lap, a bright smile on his face. "Jim for short!"

Tyler groaned and got out of bed. "Please don't name it. You'll get attached."

"Too late, we've already bonded." Josh nuzzled his nose against the cat's, and Tyler rolled his eyes.

After showing, Tyler got dressed and headed out into the kitchen. Josh was also dressed, eating a plate of scrambled eggs at the table. The cat was on the floor, eating from its own plate of eggs.

Tyler decided not to comment on the cat's diet. "Did you make any for me?" Josh nodded, pointing with his fork to the frying pan on the stove, which had a serving of scrambled eggs in it. Tyler ate his breakfast straight out of the frying pan, so he wouldn't have to wash an extra dish later.

Once everyone had eaten, Josh brought out a cat carrier from the living room. When Tyler raised a brow, Josh just shrugged. "I borrowed it from the lady across the street." He picked up the cat, who had finished eating, and put it in the carrier. "Let's get going."

It was a short drive to the vet's office. Normally, Tyler and Josh walked most places, to save money. However, Jim was rather heavy for a skinny cat, so Josh suggested they drive instead, so that they wouldn't have to lug him the whole way there and back.

Josh talked to the man at the front desk, while Tyler sat in the waiting room with the cat carrier in the chair next to him. The cat's ears were flattened, and it looked very upset. Even though he didn't like the cat, Tyler felt a stab of sympathy for it.

Once Josh had gotten an appointment in for the cat, he went over and sat with Tyler, lacing one hand with his husband's and stroking the cat through the carrier with the other. Tyler had to admire the way Josh treated the cat: he was very gentle and kind with it.

An assistant entered the waiting room and glanced at her chart, reading the name out loud. "...Spooky Jim?"

Josh carefully picked up the cat carrier and stood. "That's us."

The nurse led Tyler, Josh, and the cat into a waiting room with a metal table and two chairs. "Have a seat. The doctor will be in shortly." He nodded to both men, then left.

Josh set the cat carrier on the table, and resumed soothing and reassuring the cat through the metal barrier. "It's okay, Spooky, it's alright." Tyler took a seat in one of the chairs.

After about fifteen minutes had passed, someone who must have been the doctor came in. She had blonde hair pulled into a ponytail, and clear blue eyes. She wore a white lab coat and a smile on her face. "Hello, my name is Dr. Jenna Black."

Josh held out his hand, and she shook it. "I'm Joshua Joseph-Dun, and this is my husband Tyler." Tyler stood and shook Dr. Black's hand. Her nails were painted blue, and Tyler noted that if she cared that they were a married gay couple, she didn't show it.

"So, this is Spooky Jim?" Dr. Black leaned down to look at the cat through the carrier, and gave him a little wave.

"That's right," Josh confirmed.

Dr. Black nodded. "And you found him?"

"Yeah. I was on the way home from work and I saw him outside of a Taco Bell. I fed him a burrito, and he let me pet him and pick him up."

Dr. Black opened the cat carrier and coaxed the cat out with a treat from the counter behind her. She lightly petted his head. "I'll have to check him over. You two can wait in the waiting room, and when I'm done with him, I'll bring him out and talk to you about his condition, okay?"

Josh nodded and gave the cat a few reassuring ear scratches before heading out of the room with Tyler. The pair went back into the waiting room and sat together, holding hands.

"So," Josh said, leaning against Tyler's shoulder. "Can we keep him?"

"I don't know, Josh," Tyler sighed.

"Please?" Josh looked into his husband's face, and gave him puppy dog eyes. When Tyler didn't respond, Josh widened his eyes even further, pouting his lips. "Come on, what's a gay couple without a cat?"

Tyler had to admit he had a point. "Alright, fine!" He put up his hands in an 'I surrender' gesture. "Fine, we can keep him."

"Yay!!" Josh cheered.

The door to the waiting room opened, and Dr. Black came in, with the cat carrier in her arms. She gave the carrier over to Josh. "I'd say he's about a year or two old. No microchip, though. And he's awfully skinny. I'd suggest putting him on a weight-gain diet for a while." As Dr. Black talked with Josh about the food the cat would need, Tyler crossed his arms and looked at the feline, which narrowed its eyes at him. The man wondered if they'd ever get along.

A few days after the vet trip, Josh got Jim officially licensed as a Joseph-Dun cat. He went on a cat shopping spree, buying the basics--cat food, a bed, food and water dishes, cat litter, and a litterbox--as well as some other things--a collar, toys, catnip, and treats--that could qualify only as extras.

As time went on, Jim grew used to living with the Joseph-Duns. He and Josh bonded quickly, with Jim content to sit in Josh's lap most of the time, and play with the toys Josh brought for him. Josh was elated when, after almost two weeks, he was even able to coax the cat into purring.

Tyler, however, did not share this bond with Jim. He still wasn't a cat person, and he seemed to only see the faults Jim made--clawing the couch, getting cat litter all over the bathroom floor, distracting him from what he was doing. While Josh was at work, Tyler stayed in the office, working on his writing or surfing the web, while Spooky Jim would keep to himself in the living room until Josh returned. 

A few months passed, until one day, Josh announced that he had to go on a business trip. "This will be really great for us, Tyler," he promised his husband one night, as they cuddled in bed. "If it goes well, I might get a promotion, and then I'll be able to bring home more money for our family."

And so, even though Tyler wished he didn't have to, Josh went on his week-long business trip. And Tyler was left alone with Jim.

For the first two days, Tyler and Jim avoided one another as much as possible. They only saw one another when Tyler fed Jim in the morning and evening, and when they would pass by one another in the house.

On the third day, Tyler was in the office, finishing up an article for work. Once he'd saved the document, he closed his laptop and went into the bedroom. He was tired, and wanted to lay down and take a nap.

However, Spooky Jim was there, sitting on Josh's pillow. When he saw Tyler enter the room, he lifted his head up and mewed, but then seemed to realize that Tyler wasn't Josh, and he lowered his head again, curling up and ignoring Tyler.

Tyler realized that Jim must be missing Josh just as much as he was. He felt a small stab of sympathy for the cat, and sat on his side of the bed, just looking at him.

After a few minutes, Jim opened his eyes from his nap and looked back at Tyler. For the first time in their relationship, Jim's eyes weren't narrowed, and Tyler wasn't frowning at him. Cautiously, the cat sat up and stretched.

Almost warily, Tyler reached out his hand to Jim. The brown tabby gave Tyler's hand a careful sniff, and then rubbed his head against his hand.

Surprised, Tyler scratched behind Jim's ears, and was rewarded with more head rubs. Perhaps the cat wasn't so bad after all.

When the week was over, Josh finally arrived home, a smile on his face as he threw open the front door. "Ty, I'm home! I got the promotion!" He waited for his husband to appear from the office as he always did, and for Jim to appear from the living room, but no one showed up. Confused, Josh walked through the house, not finding Tyler or the cat.

Upon entering the bedroom, however, Josh was surprised to see Tyler laying there, asleep, with Spooky Jim curled up next to his stomach, also sleeping. A small smile made its way over Josh's lips, and he laid down on the bed next to them, cuddling up close and closing his eyes.

His family was getting along at last.