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eddie with a cat,
eddie learning how to be the one who cares instead of the one cared for, trusting his hands and his heart to be gentle,
he volunteers at an animal shelter as soon as his allergy results come through and falls in love with their oldest, grouchiest stray
EDDIE AND BEV FOSTERING CATS IN THEIR NEW APARTMENT
the first time a cat comes to greet eddie at the door after work he forgets about taking off his shoes completely and sits down right there on the tile to pet her for about half an hour. he is LOVED! and he's learning to trust himself to be good at loving
at one point eddie & bev remember helping mike when one of his barn cats had kittens while his parents were out, the three of them wide-eyed with wonder, and as soon as they hear he's on his way to the east coast they're spamming his phone with requests to visit
the problem is, as soon as mike moves in—temporarily, they claim, though with every day it's harder to imagine him leaving—bev's already dubious practicality is overruled by eddie & mike's tendency to look at a shelter cat in need of fostering and fall in love at first sight
(this is about when eddie covertly begins taking pre-vet night & online classes to boost his biology minor for veterinary school)
it's about eddie seeing a small creature in need of support and feeling an instinctive need to care for them, and then being able to step back and recognize that that instinct is uncomplicatedly good. that what sonia felt wasn't right or natural; that she didn't poison his love
AND it's about bev finding something similar!!! having a relationship w cats who are straightforward in their affection, who don't bite or scratch unless clearly provoked, who she can count on to react in ways that make sense to her. who will love her without strings attached
and!!! it's about mike finding a home that he can leave and return to as he pleases!!! like a cat!!! with people waiting for him who are always happy to see him, with shared memories of their childhoods and new ones being made every day
mike is like [leaves new york to visit bill] [returns with three more cats he found along the way]
