Character Name: Juniper

Word spread around campus pretty quickly about the cosplay cat cafe event that the Pink Lady Cafe was holding at the end of the week. And by the day before, it was all anyone in the city could seemingly talk about. And once hearing that male volunteers were gonna be the servers at the event, every girl in the city seemingly was going.

"I don't know Naomi, I like cats and all but you know crowds aren't my thing."

I was on the phone with Naomi on my walk home from class. We did this all the time, to keep each other safe from the creeps on the streets of Chicago.

"I know, but the cafe won't be completely full! And we're taking reservations, to keep the amount of people inside reasonable. You know how girls get sometimes."

I snorted. "Oh yeah, big time." I passed one of the flyers for the event, rolling my eyes to myself. "Any hint on who the servers are?"

"Can't; K's looking over my shoulder with a lovely death glare. You know how she is."

I let out another laugh. "Oh yeah, say hi to her for me. She still owes me that cake recipe."

"She says she'll get it to you next time you come in. Sure you don't want a reservation for tomorrow?"

I heard rustling on her end and the sound of a button as much more sound filled my ear.

"Heya kiddo!" K's chipper voice greeted me. "You coming in tomorrow?"

"I wasn't particularly planning on it... why?"

"Well, I've got a space at twelve thirty that's free- we could put you in one of the back sun rooms, if you want?"

"And it wouldn't be an issue?"

"Of course not! We've got those rooms for others like you who wanna enjoy the cafe without all the noise. It won't be a problem."

I smiled, unlocking the mansion and kicking my shoes off once inside. "Okay then, I'll come at twelve thirty."

"Perfect! Naomi'll be working the front desk at that time while the normal girl goes on her lunch so it should be fine."

"Oops- my breaks over! I gotta go." Naomi sighed, taking her phone off speaker. "But hey, I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay Naomi, I'll see you tomorrow."

I sighed, hanging up the phone and walking into the kitchen, not a soul in sight. Normally at least one of the boys would be home by now, but all of them were working late so it was just me tonight. The mansion did get a little lonely on days like this. Normally, James would be home first, and after a bit of cuddling we'd get dinner started for everyone. But when Matthew worked late James usually stayed with him like tonight.

I took out a cup of instant mac n cheese from the cupboard, prepping and cooking it like I needed. If James were here, I know he'd give me shit for eating so little, but what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him. With a lightly full tummy I went to bed, missing my husband greatly.

~

"They didn't eat."

James held the discarded mac n cheese cup in his hands with a frown as Erik brought the last box into the dinning room. "Here are the gifts for tomorrow's event- are we sure they'll work like we want them?"

Sam walked in, hands stuffed in his pockets as he eyed up the boxes, Damien right behind him. "What're those?" Sam pointed at the boxes.

"Lemme show you!" Matthew took one of the items and fascened it to him.

Damien smiled. "They look so real! Woah!"

Sam groaned. "We're using them the whole day?"

James sighed in annoyance. "Yes Sam; you knew this when we volunteered initially."

Matthew laughed. "You're just a chicken, Sam."

"No, I just look ridiculous." Sam pouted, poking at the "gifts'' he was wearing.

"You look fine Sam." Erik rolled his eyes, ruffling his younger brother's hair.

James watched the two brothers argue as he turned his attention back to the empty mac n cheese cup.

We'll have to talk about this later.

He tossed the cup back in the trash, taking a seat at the dining table as his other brother's continued to argue.

Hopefully tomorrow will go fast enough.

~

The boys were already gone by the time I got up this morning, stomach growling as I ignored its protests. The smell of breakfast filled the loneliness just a bit with warmth as I took one of James's shirts and pulled it on before heading downstairs. But even the smell of food made me unwilling to eat. Going into the dining room, a small note and plate of food waited for me. I picked up the note, scanning over it for a moment.

"Try and eat something tasty today- hopefully breakfast helps with that. I love you. ~ James"

What a gentleman. I had gotten up early today, so I had a fair bit of time to myself before having to head to the Pink Lady Cafe. I could go back to sleep, but the bed was lonely without James.

"Maybe I can get some cleaning done then."

I stayed in James's shirt most of the day, only getting "properly" dressed right before I had to go. The hoodie and leggings were nice and loose, perfect for cats and for me. And boy, was it a great thing I had a reservation.

"Holy cow..."

The stand-by line wrapped around the building like it was Disney World as I stepped through them for the significantly shorter reservation line. I gripped my hands tightly together as the amount of chatter got louder and louder the closer I got to the front desk.

"Hi Naomi." I gave her a small wave as she returned it with a smile.

"Hey! The rooms' all ready for you, you just gotta pick your server!"

I tilted my head. "I get to pick?"

"Oh yeah! Each server's got one of the rooms in their little portion of the cafe." Naomi handed me a list of very cringy names. "They picked these themselves."

"Obviously. U-Um, Mr. Gold is fine, Naomi." I passed her back the paper as she motioned over K.

"Heya kid, who'd you pick?" K put her hand on my shoulder.

"M-Mr. Gold." I was starting to clam up, there was so much noise around me.

"Oh, you're gonna love him. Here, let's go." K escorted me to the front left room, stepping up the few stairs first and unlocking the door for me. "There's some older cats in here for you to chill out with, I'll let Mr. Gold know you're here!"

I gave her a nod, sliding into the booth as a white and black cat gingerly stepped onto my lap, laying down on my legs.

"Hello there."

I snapped out of my cat-induced haze and looked up as my husband entered the quiet room.

"You're... wearing cat ears."

Wow, brilliant observation, me. Really, such a charmer. The cat ears on James's head matched the tail at his waist as he clutched a menu to his chest, face red in embarrassment.

"W-What're you doing here?"

James rubbed the back of his neck, avoiding eye contact a bit. "I was gonna ask you the same thing. My brothers and I are the volunteer servers for this event, and the company's making a sizable donation to the contributing animal shelters after."

"That's really nice of you."

James gave me a more serious look. "But seriously, how'd you get in? The standby lines are worse than a theme park."

"Naomi and K wanted me to come, so they opened up a quiet room for me."

James gave me a small smile, handing me a menu. "Well miss, today I am not James but Mr. Gold, top tomcat of the cafe. Anything catching your eye?"

I gave him a chuckle, looking over the thankfully small menu. "Gimme a second to look everything over?"

James nodded. "Of course, miss."

I watched as he stepped back out into the main cafe, immediately swarmed by female guests. With a shake of his head, he held up his hand, the glint of his black silver wedding band reflecting off the cafe lights. It made me smile, knowing he was still wearing it right now. I turned back to the menu, stomach growling at the amount of food options. I pushed down the thought, turning to the drinks instead as the cat on my lap gave off a biiiiiiig stretch. After a while, James stepped back into the room, setting a glass of water in front of me.

"Have you found anything you'd like this afternoon?"

"The warm amber tea sounds good; what's all in the blend?"

James grinned, ready to fill me with information. "The Warm Amber tea's a purrfect black and honeybush tea blend with soft hints of chocolate, vanilla, and cinnamon."

Okay, that sounded pretty okay. I think I could stomach that.

"I'll have that then."

James scribbled it down. "Anything else?"

I shook my head. "Just the tea."

James gave me a soft look. "Love, are you sure?"

"I'm sure- I'm not particularly hun-"

My growling stomach cut me off as I looked away from James in embarrassment. I heard the ruffle of fabric before a weight sat down next to me. A cold hand snaked its way under my chin, bringing my gaze back to James.

"Love..." He paused, as if trying to find the right thing to say. "I know that... healing has been hard for you. And I know you'll make progress when you're ready, but I'm not sure how else I can support you. Even if it's just a small sandwich, I..."

He didn't need to finish, I knew what he was gonna say. "I know James, but for right now I wanna try the drink and see how it goes, okay?"

James put his forehead to mine in an affectionate gesture. "Alright. I'll bring you the tea."

He got up reluctantly, stepping out of the room and heading into the kitchen as I let out a sigh. I knew he worried about me, and I knew eating a small sandwich would rest his worries that were no doubt turning his hair gray, but I didn't think I or my stomach could've handled it at that point. I looked out the window, watching my husband do his "job" to the greatest possible length. I never expected him to be one to lean into the "tomcat" role, but like everything else he did it well. The cat next to me hopped up onto the table, watching my husband with me as if it was the most entertaining thing in the world.

James soon made his way back to me though, a large mug of tea perched on a silver tray with a small cookie next to it. James put the tea down first, adding the small cookie as he spoke.

"I know you said you weren't hungry, but they had these back there and I knew they were your favorite."

Always thinking of me, my lovely husband James. I took the small cookie from him, setting it next to my cup. "Thanks Ja- I mean, Mr. Gold."

James gave me a smirk as I took a sip of the tea, my body filled with a warmth that reached my bones in a way that I hadn't felt in a while.

"Delicious. This might be my new favorite- I'll have to snag the recipe from K after the event ends."

"Is there anything else that'd you like?"

I pouted. "For my amazing husband to join me, though I know he's busy fending off fan girls."

James returned my pout. "If only- I got my break right before you came in, so no can do."

"Boo." I stood up slowly, wrapping my arms around him in a rare public display of affection for me.

"You're doing a good job, and I'm very proud of you. Thank you for thinking of me." I nuzzled into his chest as I felt his arms pull me close.

He reached for my hand, pulling it up to his lips and kissing my knuckles, then the matching wedding ring to his, warm gaze keeping mine the entire time.

"Thank you for choosing me to serve you today... perhaps this is something we can partake in later." He gave me a wink before picking his tray back up and backing away.

"If you need me, ring the bell and I'll come right over."

Bell? What bell? Sure enough when I looked back down at my table, a small bell sat with a gold string attached as James slipped back into the main part of the cafe.I looked back up to watch him go, catching his curious warm amber gaze one last time before he went right back to being Mr. Gold, the tomcat. But I think I liked James Anderson, my husband, even more.