Mikayla ๐Ÿ’œ๐Ÿดโ€โ˜ ๏ธ

@mysterybees.bsky.social

Several tupperware containers full of OFMD content ๐Ÿดโ€โ˜ ๏ธ | NSFW | 30s, she/her ๐Ÿณ๏ธโ€๐ŸŒˆ https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pamplemousse/pseuds/mysterybees

Lindie asked if Ed and Stede have a cat in this fic to accompany the little kitty chirp on the audio, and while it's never made it out of my fic drafts, the modern Ed who lives in my brain does indeed have a ginger cat named Calamity Jane. here's a little snip of her from an abandoned draft:

In the late evening, Ed returns home. 

Calamity Jane meets him as he rattles through the front door, yowling with abandon at the indignity of being left alone for so long. She tries to trip him as he kicks off his boots, weaving between his legs as he wrestles out of his coat and drops his keys in the bowl by the door. She plants her front paws against his leg and kneads into his jeans with just the slightest hint of claw until Ed reaches down and scoops her under the stomach, tucking her under his arm and carrying her into the kitchen like a football.

โ€œAlright, Cammie Jay,โ€ he says, feeling the thrum of her purr under his palm. โ€œGood day, huh? You barf up anything weird while I was gone?โ€

Calamity Jane meows at him with more attitude than Ed feels he deserves.

Ed doesnโ€™t much like pets, as a rule, but Janey doesnโ€™t really count. Heโ€™s pretty sure sheโ€™s a person trapped inside the body of a ginger tabby, though every time heโ€™s asked she just blinks at him, then turns around to give him a good view of her asshole. Theyโ€™ve got an understanding. 

He deposits the cat on the counter along with the bag of ramen, then grabs his ice pack from the freezer and a seltzer from the fridge. He scoops the cat back up under his arm, grabs his dinner, and heads for the couch. 

Jane is wriggling by the time he reaches the living room, desperate for freedom. Ed spills her onto the sofa, then drops down into the worn cushions with a great sigh that pulls all the way up from the bottom of his belly. 

Long fucking day. When had a few hours at the studio and a couple errands turned into a long day? The ramen steams when he pries the lid off the plastic container. Ed breathes it in, salty and rich and fucking delicious. He sets it on his stomach, savoring the heat that begins to banish the early spring chill. 

He drags his laptop over from the other end of the sofa, boots it up with the intention of pulling up some video or another, something mindless to fill the quiet while he eats. Instead, Ed finds himself typing โ€œstede bonnet new yorkโ€ into the search bar. 

Heโ€™s just curious. Thatโ€™s all.

A photo of Stede appears at the top of the search. Itโ€™sโ€ฆfine. Itโ€™s a headshot, something from some company website or another. Heโ€™s wearing a gray-blue suit jacket, white button down, navy tie. Edโ€™s met the guy twice, and it doesnโ€™t look at all like the sort of thing Stede would wear. Thereโ€™s a pat smile on his face, not bright enough to reach his eyes. His hair is combed neatly back from his brow. 

Ed follows the photo to the website, reads the bland biography that doesnโ€™t tell him anything he couldnโ€™t have guessedโ€”son of the owner, started working for the company after finishing his degree, yada yada. He clicks around until he finds an unsmiling photo of Charles Bonnet; in addition to inheriting his fatherโ€™s business, Stede seems to have inherited his nose. 

Ed fishes the spoon out of the bag and eats a few distracted bites. Calamity Jane bats at the empty plastic bag; Ed balls it up and shoves it under his thigh.

The company site is eye-wateringly boring. The rest of the search results are no more illuminating. A few articles from various business rags, the most recent published just a few days ago, announcing the new leadership of Bonnet & Allamby Group. Attached to the article is a photo of a stone-faced Stede and Mary, flanked on either side by their fathers. Jesus. At least Edโ€™s shitty dad had the decency to drink himself into an early grave, instead of whatever the hell this bunch has going on.

He clicks back to the picture of Stede. The smile in the photo isnโ€™t big enough for his dimple to make an appearance. It barely looks like him at all; if Ed passed this man on the street, he doubts he would even recognize him. 

The cat chooses that moment to step daintily over his hands and drape herself across the keyboard, stretching out with her long belly exposed. She stares up at him and meows, blinking with exaggerated innocence.

Ed scoffs. โ€œOh, sorry. Did you need something?โ€ He gives her a scritch under the chin. Jane leans into it for a moment, rubbing against his fingers with a small chrrp, then turns her head, bites his thumb, and scrambles out of his lap to race across the room.

Ed swears, barely managing to rescue his ramen before it spills all over his laptop. โ€œDickhead,โ€ he mutters toward whatever bit of furniture sheโ€™s disappeared under.

The upset caused him to accidentally close out of the tab featuring Stede and his odd, dull-eyed smile, and Ed nearly, very nearly, reopens it. He shakes his head, rolling his eyes at himself as he snaps the laptop shut and tosses it back to the other end of the couch.

He digs his phone out of his pocket, connects it to his speakers, and lets Marvin Gaye fill the quiet of his apartment as the rain peters out into a mist beyond his windows.
Kninjaknitter ๐ŸŽค๐Ÿดโ€โ˜ ๏ธ๐Ÿณ๏ธโ€๐ŸŒˆ reading your lovely stories out loud@kninjaknitter.bsky.social ยท 2mo ago

Podfic with special guest cat noise: on.soundcloud.com/LALreFdGl9HM...