(no subject)
I saw this picture and thought, "Oh, hey, that is totally Steve's cat from this 'verse, isn't it?" So, you know. ficlet-thing. *hands*
"Steve. What."
Danny's tired. He's spent the entire day dealing with his so-called crew and paperwork and his crew, and now there's Steve. Steve and a -
"It's a kitten," Steve says, like he's so very sorry to hear that Danny's brain is in the shop. "They grow up to be cats."
"Really." He's tired, Danny reminds himself. Too tired to be annoyed at Steve, who is letting the tiny ball of fluff and claws and teeth climb all over the furniture. "I didn't realize."
Steve looks up from the kitten to smile at him, all soft and fond as if he thinks that's going to make Danny forget that he's also an asshole.
"Where did you find her?" Danny asks, even though he knows the asking is a mistake on his part, that it implies he's taking an interest in the kitten beyond wondering how long it's going to take Steve to find her a home. One that isn't Danny's. "And also, no, we're not keeping her." Danny's been lucky that Grace never had a puppy or kitten "follow her home" or whatever excuse Steve is going to go with.
"I found her when I went for my run this morning," Steve says. He's watching the kitten tackling the small mountain of throw pillows in her way. "She was digging around the trash behind the coffee shop."
Danny stares at Steve because he knows the guy. It's been years since Steve was in the Navy, but he hasn't been able to shake the habit of old routines like his morning run, even if the sun's not out yet. He knows Steve's route passes by the coffee shop in town, and of course, of course Steve is the kind of guy who'd hear strange sounds coming from a dark alley and investigate. It's like he's never seen a horror movie, or really, any movie ever.
"You." Danny doesn't really know what to say here. Bell Cove is hardly rife with crime, but still. Dark alley. Strange noises. "You're kind of an idiot, aren't you?" he asks, even though he knows the answer.
Steve rolls his eyes, like Danny's being ridiculous, and then coos at the kitten as she finally makes it over the pillows and tumbles into his lap, letting out a surprised little mew. "Hey, Starbuck," he murmurs, scratching her between her ears and oh, Christ, he's gone and named her.
"No." Danny's trying for a stern tone of voice because first of all, naming the kitten after a coffee chain is a horrible idea, and secondly, naming the kitten at all is an even worse idea.
Steve picks the kitten up in his giant hands and holds her up to Danny. "She could be your ship cat," he says, smiling like he thinks he's won. "You know, keep the rats away and everything."
"Okay, one," Danny says, holding up a finger to illustrate his point. "There are no rats on my ship." There aren't. "And two," Danny holds up a second finger and backs away from Steve and the damn kitten when Steve unfolds himself from the couch and starts towards him, kitten held out. Trying to get Danny to pet her, let her get her tiny little kitten claws into his heart. "You can't name her after a coffee chain just because you found her behind a coffee shop, okay?"
"I didn't, actually," Steve says, lying through his teeth. "She's uh. Kind of feisty."
Danny tilts his head to the side. Thinks about it for a moment, gaze dropping to the kitten in Steve's hand. The kitten he found behind a coffee shop, and knowing how Steve's mind works. "Oh, God," he says, when realization hits. "You named her after a television character?"
Steve mumbles something and busies himself scratching the kitten's ears, his own going red. "Shut up."
Danny laughs, can't hold it in because Steve has a thing for a television character from a science fiction show, and is exactly the kind of dork who'd name a kitten after said character. "Oh my God," he says, "Kono's never going to let you live this down."
Steve looks up at him at that, a hopeful little smile playing on his lips. Like he was never really sure Danny would let him keep the damn kitten even though Steve's obviously in love with the fuzzball.
Danny sighs and looks down at the kitten. It's looking back, tiny furry face tipped up, and admits defeat. She's probably going to grow up to be a holy terror, if what he's been told about cats holds true, but he knows there's no way he can tell Steve no on this and mean it.
"Starbuck," he says, shaking his head. “You're such a dork.”
Steve dumps Starbuck in Danny's arms, and smiles like he's fine with that, and, yes. Okay. Danny is too.
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