[ side by side 002: ] you and me together we'll be

[littlspecificty]

The news that Arthur had made a friend on his very first day at a new pre-school was something Allison had not been expecting even while she had hoped he would manage to befriend someone. Needless to say at her kitten informing her that such a thing had happened, she couldn't have been happier. His father, upon getting home, had been much the same

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[littlspecificty]

Arthur's size, combined with his shyness (and, Allison suspected, his being a black cat - it wasn't as common as being a tabby or Calico but it wasn't viewed with the same kind of admiration Siamese or Persian or Bengal cats seemed to naturally garner more often than not), had always seemed to make him the odd kitten out at school. Allison had seen it herself; other kittens in groups or paired off while her son was left by himself, usually holding his tail and messing with the tip in an attempt to distract himself, ears drooped and eyes downcast.

It broke her heart as much as she saw it broke his. Neither could understand it; she knew he could be grumpy and stubborn at times but he was also very sweet and smart and thoughtful. She might have been biased because he was her kitten but she knew he had traits that should have made him interesting to other kittens.

She just hoped he would come into contact with those that were someday.

And with this little Gregory, he seems to have finally found someone else that sees what the black kitten has to offer naturally with the kind of personality he has. He seems to have finally found a real friend.

Moving her free hand to rubbing along Arthur's back, she nodded, "I don't see why not. Arthur knows he's suppose to pay attention in class so if it's a distraction then, yes, it should stop for that reason. Otherwise, they are just displaying genuine affection for one another. I agree it'll most likely stop when they're older but until then... They honestly don't understand why it is considered "inappropriate". And I don't think they should be made to feel bad for that."

[triedinception]

The principal nodded, clearly unhappy with how exactly the conversation had gone but not willing to push the two women, who agreed with each other, further.

"All right," she said, standing. "Thank you for coming, both of you; I'm sorry we had to pull you out of work. I'll go talk to their teacher, and then both boys are welcome to return to class once I've sorted that out." She inclined her head again, asking them to wait, before she exited the room.

Elizabeth exhaled heavily, and Eames looked up at his mother. "Am I in trouble?" he asked softly, and she shook her head, purring. "No baby, you're not in trouble. If the teacher tells you and Arthur to stop when you should be paying attention, you do that, okay? But it's okay otherwise."

And at that, she looked over to Allison and smiled tiredly. "Heck of a way to finally meet you...."

Eames was squirming now, saying something about wanting to say hi to Arthur, orange tail lashing about.

[littlspecificty]

After the principal had left the room, Arthur finally removed his face from Allison's neck, ears flicking and twitching about, finally turning to look over at Eames, one tiny hand waving at the tabby kitten.

Allison smiled back at the other woman, just as tired, "Took the words right out of my mouth."

"But while you're here I don't suppose it would be out of place for me to ask how you feel about our boys having a play-date outside of school?"

[triedinception]

Elizabeth let Eames slide out of her lap to skitter over to the other boy, his little orange ears poking out of his tuft of brown hair and tail swishing excitedly, a wide smile on his chubby cheeks. "We're not in trouble, Arthur," he whispered conspiratorially.

Elizabeth watched her son with a fond smile and then turned that smile onto Allison. "Not out of place at all. I've been meaning to stay and contact you but I've been busy, so I haven't had the time. I think it would be wonderful for them both. Get some of Gregory's extra energy out," she said lightly.

[littlspecificty]

Allison felt herself grinned as she let her own kitten slide down to the floor to be with his friend, Arthur already giggling and whispering back, "Nope!"

They then moved under Allison's chair, whispering and giggling together and making soft noises that continued to signal how happy they were (which in turn, caused Allison to laugh softly).

Fixing her jacket collar and finally letting her tail uncurl, swishing lazily over the side of her chair, "I haven't had much time, either, but I do believe it would be good for both of them considering how close they are already. And Arthur doesn't have anyone his own age at home to play with."

(At least not yet; her and Victor were planning to give him a sibling or two after "making it official" and getting married.)

[triedinception]

Indeed, both kittens were pleased, and Eames made this known when he attempted to purr, the rumbling 'broken' sound that had startled Arthur their first day.

Elizabeth watched them with a fond smile, and then looked to Allison again. "Yes, it'll be good for Eames to get out with his friend. He's taken to Arthur quite well." She didn't say that it would be good because Sammy and Will had found their own friends in the class; and that it was good because Eames' father was dead and this way maybe he would get more support from just her and his siblings.

The slight droop of her ears may have given away her thoughts though. She shook them off.

"I haven't introduced myself, I apologize. I'm Elizabeth," she offered a hand.

[littlspecificty]

Allison had noticed the droop (her own kitten busy trying to manage his own purr and not having much better luck than Eames, who was giggling at the various sounds the black kitten was making in his attempts) and was about to ask if the other woman was okay when she felt familiar tiny paws on her tail and she jumped slightly, giving a little indignant growl as she turned to see that her son had indeed grabbed the tip of her tail, unable to resist the temptation with it swishing right there in front of him.

Practically hissing, "Arthur Timothy Morgan! You do not grab my tail in public!" But the two kittens under her chair just giggled, knowing there wasn't anything wrong with a kit wanting to grab their parent's tail. It was only natural.

Thus why Allison rolled her eyes and sighed tiredly, turning back to the other woman with her tail now in her lap, a hand brush at the tip her other hand finally taking the offered one, "Allison." Laughing a little, "I think it would be a great idea to let them get together and use up all that energy. Possibly give us a chance to rest."

[triedinception]

Elizabeth watched Allison with a little smile, amused at the young mother. When Allison turned and shook her hand she subdued the grin a little.

"It would be wonderful. Maybe Gregory would actually go down for naptime," she teased, and it was followed by an indignant huff from the kitten in question.

[littlspecificty]

There was another giggle in response to that huff, Allison grinning a little herself, "I have the opposite problem with mine. It's getting him back up again that's hard."

There was a tiny whisper of "I like sleeping" that Allison was sure she could picture the face being made while saying it. She shook her head, still smiling, a spotted ear flicking, "Maybe he'll be able to convince yours to like it more, too."

[triedinception]

That was followed by an "only if I can nap with Arthur and Sammy and Will!" Elizabeth shook her head again, covering a small smile with her hand - though her expression remained somewhat subdued.

"Maybe! Maybe they'll both find a good balance. I'm happy that Arthur is getting along with him - it sounds like his previous experiences weren't that memorable."

[littlspecificty]

There was another attempted purr at that with Allison softly responding, her expression much more somber, "He hasn't had many experiences with anyone he would consider a "friend". And... many of his school experiences are memorable in a way both of us would prefer not to dwell on."

She gives a sad smile and shrugging, "That's why I was so happy to see him enjoying school for once."

[triedinception]

Even though the women couldn't see clearly under the chair, Eames response to that had been to nudge Arthur's tail with his, smiling wide.

Elizabeth's expression softening, "I can't imagine... I mean, I was made fun of in school for being a white cat, but I know I probably didn't have it as hard as he has." There was something, still, of a social stigma for black cats. Something that was held over from the earlier days, when black cats were thought to be witches.

"I'm pleased he's enjoying the school, then. Will and Sammy have spoken about him as well. They like him well enough too."

[littlspecificty]

Arthur was grinning, too, but blushing so he hid his face in that way small children do, ears and tail twitching (equal parts happy and embarrassed).

Above them, his mother nodded, smiling a little more, "I think he just needed to meet the right kind of kittens; those that could look past his size or shyness or fur color... But then the Halloween season doesn't really do black cats any favors. Victor, his father, has told me of how even to this day he'll get odd looks from other cats around that time in particular. It's really quite ridiculous but then he's also gotten free pumpkins for being a black cat so..." She shrugged, a bit at a loss because there wasn't much one could do about those old stereotypes other than to just make the best of any given situation while simply being themselves (as Victor had told her before Arthur started going to school here; Arthur just needed to be himself and kittens would eventually warm up to him and give him a chance sooner or later).

[triedinception]

"Oh, it's absolutely terrible. The persistence of it doesn't help - in things like social media, or advertisements. Have you ever noticed in a commercial, the person who is 'bad' is always a black cat?" She clucked her tongue. "It's horrid."

And then, slightly abashed, "But I guess you would know that. I work as a social worker, so I see a lot of subtle discrimination, starting from the parents down. And I studied commercial media, back when I was in college..."

[littlspecificty]

The tip of her tail was flicking a little in her lap as she nodded, "No, I see it even in the things I edit. As a copy editor I'm only suppose to be correcting the formatting of the text... but sometimes I can't help but read it and personal prejudices just seem to jump out at you."

Allison then felt her leg jerk slightly as her kitten's tail brushed against the back of it; she made a slight face at that but was trying not to laugh at his giggles coming from underneath her chair. He knew how ticklish she could be and, like any kitten, couldn't resist trying to attract the attention of their parent when they were around.

She gives a shrug, subtly moving her legs, "So, after a day of that, picking him up and hearing how much fun he had with your children at school really is a highlight for me. Also gives me hope that the persistence of such views will eventually lessen."