I Like What We Are

Tonight, Maggie was staying in Edmund’s apartment.

It wasn’t very big; it had been the nicest apartment he could reasonably afford when he first moved into the city.

He’d been considering moving to a bigger  place, lately. Now that he had a high-paying job aiding shipwrights with  their work— Blacksmiths were in high demand wherever ships were built,  and Maggie had overheard people saying that Edmund’s work was some of  the best they’d ever seen!

Good strong work led to safe sturdy boats….

‘What do you think of this one?’ Edmund’s  voice interrupted Maggie’s thoughts as he held up a newspaper ad for  Maggie to look at. ‘It has two bedrooms.’

‘Edmund—‘ Maggie cut off with a sigh, her ears folding back. ‘I’ve told you before, I’m happy with how I live.‘

‘Oh I uh— I-I know,’ Edmund stammered, his face darkening in a blush as he averted his gaze. ‘You wouldn’t have to stay with me. You could still go from friend-to-friend. But you  could leave your things there…. And maybe… if you had a permanent  address to give the government they would, uh… leave you alone?’

Maggie’s whiskers twitched in amusement  as Edmund tried to justify himself. He was giving her every reason he  could think of, except the reason she knew he wanted most.

She leant forward, pressing her nose to  his cheek in a kiss and purring into his ear, ‘I know you mean well,  Edmund. And don’t think I don’t appreciate what you’re trying to do….  But be honest with me.’

Edmund’s hand took hers, giving it a firm  squeeze as he took in a trembling breath. ‘I… I love you, Maggie. I  want to look after you.’

‘I know,’ Maggie acknowledged, resting  her head on his shoulder and letting out a contented sigh. ‘I love you  too. But I’m not a kid anymore. Nobody needs to look after me. Even  Eulogy knows that.’

‘Does he, really?’ Edmund asked with humour.

‘If he thought I wasn’t able to handle myself he wouldn’t let me go out on jobs,’ Maggie pointed out. ‘And he would have chased you out of the city by now.’

A chuckle escaped Edmund, and he licked his lip before nervously biting it. ‘Yeah. He scares me a little bit. So does Doll.’

‘Doll has a big heart,’ Maggie defended.

‘Yeah. They showed it to me, once,’  Edmund raised his brow high, flicking his head to emphasise his concern.  ‘I’m pretty sure hearts are supposed to remain inside your chest. Not be kept in jars.’

‘They’ve been through a lot.’

‘I’ll say.’

Maggie sat up so she could give Edmund a friendly punch. ‘Be nice!’

‘I am!’ Edmund laughed. ‘I promise.’

‘Good!’ Maggie grinned wide, and climbed  into Edmund’s lap so she could point a finger at his nose. ‘Because  Eulogy and Doll are very important to me. As important as you are! And  if you didn’t get along I would be very sad.’

Edmund tried to hide his grin, but it  forced its way to his face regardless of his efforts as he wrapped his  arms around Maggie and buried his face into her chest. ‘I love you,’ he  told her again.

‘I love you too,’ Maggie echoed, resting  her head atop his and letting a low, loving rumble fill her body. She  played with the ends of his hair as she purred until, finally, she sat  up straighter and took his cheeks in her hands. ‘I’m sorry our lives  can’t be like we hoped when we were little. Everything’s so different  now to what we used to plan. I feel like it’s my fault for leaving  without you. But I— I just…. I don’t know why I did. I’m sorry.’

‘Maggie…. It’s okay,’ Edmund reassured, his eyes sparkling. ‘I like what we are.’

Maggie leant forward, pressing their foreheads together lovingly. ‘So do I.’