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Visiting the Bartons (for @![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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Honestly, Kate figured that flying with a pony would have been way harder than it turned out to be. But between Matt's first class charm put to full power and everyone at the airport being captivated by Frodo? Despite of how their trip to Ohio had started at an ungodly early hour, it also seemed to be the beginning of one of the most pleasant of adventures.
It was a short flight, one in which Kate shamelessly claimed Matt's shoulder as her own personal pillow. Obviously, they were on first class, but domestic flight seats were definitely not as roomy as international were. But it was comfortable enough for Kate to still feel pretty refreshed once they made it back down to land. In Ohio, a car with a trailer to carry Frodo was already waiting, taking him for a drive that took at least another hours before they made it to Clint's farm.
On their way, Kate described Matt everything that she saw. The crops, so tall they would probably be completely lost in them if they decided to make their way through them byt feet. A land full of greens on all kinds of shades. Horses grazing afar, sheep with their growing lambs. The sun was bright and Kate could tell it would become even warmer as hours passed.
She was so excited to finally see Clint and his family again.
The green land was interrupted by a path of dirth that lead to Clint's house, a three-stories home of that looked like something straight out of the fantasies of anyone who might have ever dreamed about living in the countryside. As they approeached, Kate leaned over Matt to see better through his window, spotting the tractor and Clint's van in the distance. The ducks near the pond.. You could tell this was a family home, as on their way to the house there was toys scattered all around. Bikes, footballs, dolls and a swing made with a tire.
Finally, by the house, Kate spotted Laura. She was filling some buckets of water with a hose, looking in their direction as she held a hand over her eyes, shielded the sun off her face. Squinting now, she held her hand well above her head to wave in their directon as the car and trailer finally reached the house.
With a heavy step that clearly said it all about how she had a start just as early as the one they had, Laura aproached the car as it came to a stop, Kate almost instantly hopping off. Running towards the older woman, they captured each other in a tight hug as they shared words about how glad they were to see each other again.
While the driver got out and quietly greeted Laura, he headed back to take care of the trailer. Still holding Kate by the shoulders, Laura went straight to their other guest. "You must be Matt."
It was a short flight, one in which Kate shamelessly claimed Matt's shoulder as her own personal pillow. Obviously, they were on first class, but domestic flight seats were definitely not as roomy as international were. But it was comfortable enough for Kate to still feel pretty refreshed once they made it back down to land. In Ohio, a car with a trailer to carry Frodo was already waiting, taking him for a drive that took at least another hours before they made it to Clint's farm.
On their way, Kate described Matt everything that she saw. The crops, so tall they would probably be completely lost in them if they decided to make their way through them byt feet. A land full of greens on all kinds of shades. Horses grazing afar, sheep with their growing lambs. The sun was bright and Kate could tell it would become even warmer as hours passed.
She was so excited to finally see Clint and his family again.
The green land was interrupted by a path of dirth that lead to Clint's house, a three-stories home of that looked like something straight out of the fantasies of anyone who might have ever dreamed about living in the countryside. As they approeached, Kate leaned over Matt to see better through his window, spotting the tractor and Clint's van in the distance. The ducks near the pond.. You could tell this was a family home, as on their way to the house there was toys scattered all around. Bikes, footballs, dolls and a swing made with a tire.
Finally, by the house, Kate spotted Laura. She was filling some buckets of water with a hose, looking in their direction as she held a hand over her eyes, shielded the sun off her face. Squinting now, she held her hand well above her head to wave in their directon as the car and trailer finally reached the house.
With a heavy step that clearly said it all about how she had a start just as early as the one they had, Laura aproached the car as it came to a stop, Kate almost instantly hopping off. Running towards the older woman, they captured each other in a tight hug as they shared words about how glad they were to see each other again.
While the driver got out and quietly greeted Laura, he headed back to take care of the trailer. Still holding Kate by the shoulders, Laura went straight to their other guest. "You must be Matt."
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A slight chuckle escaped him as the calico in his arms doted her attention on him. He ruffled her fur gently with his fingers. "I think it comes naturally to her. She's a real sweetheart. She'll try and guilt you into carrying her everywhere with you, including the bathroom, so I can't wait to tell Matt about his new codependent best friend. Shall we?" He headed for the office door, holding the kitten with just one arm. Since they had the babies with them Clint felt comfortable leaving the door open so the mom cat could come and go as she pleased. The babies were just a little too young to be given that much free rein.
They headed back to the kitchen, where Matt and Laura were now both wearing aprons and were busy working on the early dinner meal. It was a rustic farmhouse meal of chicken cutlets, roasted potatoes, and a tomato and corn salad. Perfect for the summer. Seeing the chicken on the counter, the little ginger cat tried to vault himself out of Kate's arms and onto the meal prep with a mighty for him meow. The calico in Clint's arms simply gave large eyes and purred to guilt them into a treat. Clint sighed. "There are two kinds of people in the world..."
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"Hey, it might be grounding to Matt. You know, stick to one lady from now on?" Oh, God. She felt bad jumping into the train of 'messing around with Matt's dating reputation', but it was served on a silver plater! "Yeah, sounds good." The ginger, Kate could already tell would be a handful. He was curious, trying to climb onto her shoulder and meowing as Kate attempted to hold him down. A little fighter, no doubt about it.
It shouldn't have been a surprise, the fact that it was the little guy who interrupted the moment. Because walking in to find Matt in an apron and making himself part of the family already? Kate smiled at the warm sensation that spread on her chest.
Before that little devil attempted to do a kamikaze jump to reach the chicken, that is...
"Humm, Matt? I think there's someone you need to meet." Specially if that meant putting some distance between these kittens and that chicken.
Taking the calico from Clint, Kate approached Matt with both kittens. "Hey," she said softly as they both meowed, clearly eager to explore more of the world. Even better, if that meant getting treats in the process.
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Matt sensed a cat attempting to get at the chicken and he instinctively reached a hand out to hover over the pieces before Laura quickly moved them and laid a parchment paper over until they were ready to eat. He excused himself and went over to Kate when she called, and he could detect two little balls of fluff in her arms. One was a bit more squirmy but not out of fear or discomfort, he simply seemed curious to know everything that was going on. The other one was more docile but still focused on him and Kate.
"Hey." He reached out a finger to lightly pet one of the kittens and then the other. "It looks like you've made some new friends. Hope the donkeys don't get jealous."
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The calico, already purring, started licking his fingers while the ginger tested if climbing up onto Matt's wrist was a good plan.
"Do you think you can guess which one is the red boy?"
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"What did I tell you, Kate? Single brain-cells just understand one another," Clint joked as he walked past them, giving Matt's shoulder a pat. "Enjoy your first foray into parenthood, pal. They don't sleep when you should and they're gonna want to follow you everywhere. Everywhere."
"Yeah, but they grow out of that, right? ... right?" Clint didn't answer him, he just moved away chuckling. Matt gave a little sigh, pulling the ginger cat down from his attempt to scale his shoulder and sit on his head. The cat let him hold him for now, but there was a feisty look that said nothing could keep him down for long. Even wonderful cuddles. "You're gonna help me get them settled into the apartment later, right?" he asked Kate hopefully.
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There was something truly sweet about the thought of Matt delving into feline parenthood, as nervous as he seemed to be following Clint's joke. Was Matt feeling the same kind of butterflies in his stomach as Kate did at the thought? She was well aware that this would be nothing like rearinga human child, but...
Maybe. Just maybe, nurturing a little living and demanding thing like a pair of loving kittens would be something like tiny, kitten sized training wheels?
"Huh? Oh, yeah, obviously," Kate agreed without hesitation. She hadn't visited Matt yet at the apartment since he moved in, so it would be sweet to see him moving around, to check how he had settled in, too. And the kittens? It would be adorable. "Did you set up the pen?" They had bought one exactly like the one Kate had brought for Marshall after Matt brought the duck home.
Leaning against his arm, she reached over to pet the ginger boy. "This one's so full of energy, but the little girl is so chill and cuddly. Did you notice how soft she is?"
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He'd even done his research and realized he could actually prepare meals for the kittens in the kitchen. That had delighted him to no end, though he also had some frozen raw meals for them too for nights when he wasn't able to let them feast on the meals he prepared.
He tickled under the calico's chin and smiled as he heard her yawn. She lazily kneaded a little paw against Kate's shirt. "She does seem like an absolute sweetheart. She must have taken after her Mama and Laura." He gave the woman who'd been his defender against Clint and Kate's teasing a grin. "It does feel more like hair than fur. What a little angel you are," he crooned at the kitten. The ginger cuddled near his shoulder, not to be outdone, batted at the side of Matt's face. "And you... are the handful my dad said I deserved someday."
Laura laughed at that. "When you're ready to put them down for a nap, Kate you can show him the rest of the farm before dinner. Introduce him to all the family."
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She knew Matt's beliefs, even his way of life, it was all about sacrifice. But the tenderness in which he spoke to those kittens? How he had clearly looked forward to this moment?
Kate had hope.
With a chuckle, she rested her chin on his bicep as she watched the pair, not even noticing the familiarity in which she acted around Matt. The Bartons were well aware that Kate was never shy about a hug, neither were they. But Laura turned to Clint, her raised eyebrow speaking for itself as they noticed how easily Kate practically cuddled Matt as they petted the kittens.
"Yeah, that's a good point. There's so much I need to show you," Kate agreed.
Nate, how had returned from introducing Frodo to the farm and was eager for a glass of juice, was quick to jump in. "Can I feed the cats? I wanna feed the cats!"
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Matt meanwhile smiled and leaned against Kate, only moving when Nate raced over to them. "Sure buddy, you can help," Matt agreed. "You'll have to show Kate and I what they eat though, and Kate can lead us back to where they stay."
"I can do that!" Nate agreed, racing over to get the cat food. It wasn't the fancy organic raw diet that Matt was going to put them on, but it was a perfectly serviceable wet cat food. "C'mon, this way!" Nate took the cans and a spoon and led them to the office where the cats slept and ate. The little ginger once again tried to leap to follow the food, with Matt having to work quickly to keep him held. "Stop trying to jump to your death!"
Clint snorted, calling after their retreating backs the following old commercial quote, "You, all right? I learned it from watching you!" Anyone who understood that reference was likely his age, but he didn't care.
Matt just barely remembered there were children around, raising his hand and about to raise his middle finger towards Clint but instead quickly rubbing the back of his head instead.
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"So, your dad cursed you with the knowledge that you'll have a little Murdock that will drive you nuts?" She asked before kissing the top of the head of the fuzzball she carried. At least, Matt was blessed with a chill one. "You think that's something every parent does? I mean, so did my mom."
Eleanor had made it very clear that one day, once she is well into adulthood and far from making a young and rash decision, if Kate chooses to give her grandchildren she will remember every crazy thing she's done as a child. Eleanor had teased her, saying she'll get to relax as a grandma, spoil her grandchildren while karma kicks Kate in the ass.
It was a bittersweet thought now. Not that she was in a rush to become a mother, she thought as she adjusted the little bundle in her arms.
Kate glanced at Matt and thought about everything he'd done, how their friends had helped protect Eleanor. Would her mom still be in her life if she ever formed a family of her own.
"What does every parent do?" Asked Nate as momma cat met them halfway towards the office were their empty bowls waited for each feline. The white cat with orange markings meowed loudly as she headbutted Nate on his legs, calm but affectionate, patient with the awareness that soon she would be fed.
"Uh, they love you very much and make sure you have a pony of your own," Kate was quick to point out.
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He laughed a little as Nate nodded, accepting Kate's answer. He leaned down to pet the mother cat, explaining, "We just call her Mama." After a few strokes of her head Nate led them into the office, with Matt closing the door behind them. He barely managed to hold the ginger cat while Nate scooped out the food into the bowls, figuring it'd be easier for the child if the little kitten wasn't all up in his business. Mama patiently waited, purring her approval. Once all the food was in the bowls, Matt gently set the cat down and watched him scamper directly to eat. Standing back up, he gave his lower back a small knead with one hand while holding his other to hi-five Nate. "Good job, buddy."
"Tell Spider-Man I'm a great cat sitter if he ever needs one," Nate said solemnly as he shook Matt's hand, then ran out of the room to get his juice.
"He's a cute kid," Matt said affectionately to Kate. The whole family was adorable, he could understand how they'd so easily wormed their way into her heart. "Shall we let the cats eat while you show me around?"