(Backdated to about the start of the Fall semester)

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"It's hot..." the young man groaned as he flopped onto the steps just outside his dorm building, having just pulled his shirt off so he could cool off a bit better in the shade. Cliff wasn't shy about his body, and frankly didn't care much who stopped to chide or admire him for it. Which, busy as move-in week had been so far, was currently no one. Probably because they all had much more sense than he did and decided it was way too hot for this level of outdoor activity.

He was just used to it, given that he never let up on training over the summer. Or ever, really.

So wanting to make the most out of his time before the start of another semester, he decided to spend today moving the rest of his things in.

"Smart," he said out loud as he now questioned that decision. "Except for the part about not taking the weather into account. That was...not too smart." He heaved another sigh and leaned back in an effort to relax a bit more, propping himself up with his elbows as he leaned back and more or less just sprawled onto the steps. His mind wandered some and very naturally landed on Abby.

The wrenching in his chest was, by now, a familiar feeling, but it had dulled (very slightly) over the summer. Time and space helped, but he'd be lying if he said he had completely accepted things as they were. He still thought of her often, and they still texted all the time, but the feelings were still there. Knowing how she felt about him...

He dropped his head back at the thought, frustration again taking hold as he waffled between just telling her or just leaving things as they were. They were fine over texts, but in person would be a different story...


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She had taken a break while moving all her stuff into her shared dorm apartment. It was obnoxiously hot and a break was definitely needed, her new roommate went off to get them some water, something Abby much appreciated. She seemed like a nice girl so Abby was rather pleased that this year’s roommate raffle wasn’t a total loss. Now, if only the rest of her life was the same. The young woman was rather lost in her own thoughts, so much so that it took quite a bit longer to realize there was someone, or more like something, rummaging in one of the canvas totes she had.

“Hey!” She stood and reached for the furry creature that popped out of the bag only to nearly choke when she saw a huge cat now sporting one of her tanktops as a cape. “Here, kitty kitty,” Abby started to beckon to the cat but cursed under her breath when the feline took off running, “Get back here!” She shouted and gave chase, waving down her new roommate as she passed the other woman. “Be right back,” She explained while chasing the cat.

It wasn’t until the cat practically climbed up the back of a familiar figure that she came to a halt, not quite panting but definitely out of breath. “Cliff,” Abby called out cautiously. She knew that things were not exactly ‘normal’ right now but they were still friends… That was the whole point of drawing that metaphorical line afterall. “Could you hold on to the thing for a moment.”


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It wasn’t Mel’s fault! He was just curious. The bag smelled nice, and there wasn’t like there was any danger. So what if he got a bit too nosy, it wasn’t like he was going to do any harm! Why did the lady have to chase him! She was so angry! So very angry! She had to be.

So he ran. He ran and ran and ran until he saw Cliff, at which point the large savannah didn’t even hesitate to climb, or more like just step up, onto the young man’s shoulders. The top that was wrapped around his neck trailing down behind the human. “I didn’t do it,” He muttered dejectedly even as the female came barreling around the corner. “Oh no, she is scary.”


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Mel was not a small cat, but luckily he was at least used to the Muavian stepping and climbing all over him that it hardly bothered him anymore. Most of the time it led to a really interesting (read: stupid but insanely amusing) story, and Cliff had come to love hearing of the Mauvian's misadventures.

Of course, if said misadventures brought someone chasing after him, that was an entirely different story.

"With the evidence hanging off of you?" he said, chiding him gently as he reached over and worked the piece of clothing free from around his neck. Even from a distance he knew who to expect, and as Abby slowed to a stop he raised a hand in greeting.

"No need to hold him, he'll stay on his own," he said, reaching over to give Mel a reassuring pet between the ears. "Here, though," Cliff offered her the tanktop she was likely chasing down, finding his tongue tied by the awkward uncertainty he felt considering what happened the last time they were together. "Sorry, he's not a bad cat, I promise. Just curious, and gets into things he shouldn't be without realizing it."

Glancing at the Mauvian in his periphery, he sighed and gestured for her to follow him inside.

"C'mon, there's some food and drinks inside. Take it as my apology for the tank?"

Hopefully she could still read into his expressions and tell that there was more to him asking her to come inside than just the drinks.


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Abby narrowed her eyes at the cat, absolutely not believing Cliff that the feline would ‘stay’ if told to. It wasn’t like it was a dog or anything. However, by the time she approached to take the stolen tank top back she had spotted a telltale little star neatly blending with the golden fur of the creature. “Ah…yes. I see.” She had not expected a guardian here let alone one that was pretty much acting as a fur scarf for Cliff. “I would still appreciate it if he kept out of my clothes.” While the request was said to her friend it definitely was directed at the cat.

“I,” She hesitated on taking Cliff up on his offer. Both because she had left her new roommate behind to guard the stuff and because she didn’t want to face her own emotions just yet. It didn’t matter that it had been quite some time. It was just different talking to Cliff face to face. It was so much harder, like his abs. His toned, tanned, sculpted abs.

Abby glanced away, clearing her throat, before nodding. “Sure. Just for a little bit though since I had to leave my new roommate behind to chase the furry gremlin.” She hadn’t just been ogling shirtless Cliff. Absolutely had not been doing anything of the sort. “Here, I’ll take the cat so you can put on your shirt. I’m betting the AC is blasting inside.”


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“Not my fault her bag smelled strange,” The cat muttered even as he eyed the woman. His only contribution to the conversation was to stick his tongue out at her when she told him to leave her s**t alone. Then maybe her bag shouldn’t smell like a dog! Like seriously? Was she one of those chicks like on tv that carried around these little yappers in their bags or something? Except the ‘dog’ had smelled different then the little ones that had chased Mel before. And it wasn’t all that strong on the inside, mostly on the outside. So he had been curious. Sue him…. Why was that a phrase anyway? It wasn’t like someone could sue Mel anyway. He was a cat! Could someone sue Cliff tho? Should Mel be more careful about what he did? Would it affect the senshi in any way? Outside of the conversations and the people who occasionally chased after Mel that is?

The guardian harrumphed and slipped off of Cliff’s shoulders before the female could even reach out to him. He could walk, thank you very much! It wasn’t like he was an invalid or anything. Besides he could move faster than either of the two bipedal humans could, proving just this by darting off around the building and out of sight. “Meet you at the tree,” his voice carried back around the corner even as the guardian gallopped around the building until he reached the required tree.

Several hops and a few new claw marks in the bark, the guardian cat was quite literally sitting pretty on a branch that had a perfect, if only cat viable, jump into a dorm room apartment. He was waiting for Cliff to open the window so he could make the leap into the space. A real acrobatic show if Mel did say so himself.


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Cliff snorted at Mel's defensiveness. "Strange or no, you can't just dig into people's things like that," he said, reaching over to give him a little scritch around his neck. Chiding as his tone was, the gesture was most certainly affectionate. He looked back at Abby then, and gave another apologetic little smile.

"Sorry. I'll try to keep him out of your stuff." It was, unfortunately, the best that he could do considering Mel had a mind of his own—so to speak, anyway. Mel was many things, but sharp-witted was not one of them.

He watched the Mauvian hop away, at which point he slipped into his shirt and led the way inside. It wasn't lost on him the way Abby had been looking at him, though he had forced himself to push that aside. They did have to talk, awkward as he felt it was going to be, but there was still a sense of his relief mixed in with surprise when she agreed to come in. So he led the way inside, gesturing toward the wide open door not far into the building and letting her walk in ahead of him before following her inside.

"Pizza," he said, pointing at the box sitting on the kitchen counter, "and drinks are in the fridge." He quickly closed the door behind him before going over and getting the window open for Mel and repeating the information for him as well.

"I'm still getting settled," he went on, this time looking at Abby as he gestured about the work-in-progress dorm space. There were boxes all over the place, but the living room was at least finished—a modest sofa, coffee table, and TV. "But make yourself at home."


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She was inordinately nervous as she followed Cliff inside. It didn’t make any sense but that also didn’t quell the jitters she felt. Nor did it help her come to any conclusions about anything. Abby mentally went over the various things they needed to talk about only to gape as she entered Cliff’s ‘room’. “Please tell me you’ve got at least one roommate?” She asked incredulously as she eyed the space. It wasn’t a room, it was practically a palace compared to her dorm.

A small kitchenette, the living space, a bathroom…. His own bathroom! That left the last door for the bedroom and unless it was a bunkbed situation she could not really imagine it being a shared space. “You have a single room? A full dorm space all to yourself? Lucky,” She expressed her shock and envy even as she made her way over towards the kitchenette to poke around. “I’ve got a standard setup where I’m sharing the room with someone. No kitchen, no private bathroom. Nothing. Bubkiss.” Abby turned to eye Cliff, mostly joking as she leaned against the counterspace, “God, jocks really do get the perks don’t they. Who did you sleep with, I mean bribe, to get this space? Comeooooon… You can tell me…. I won’t tell… Promise!” She tried to get the answer from him, trying to gloss over the ‘sleep with’ comment with the quick ‘correction’ even as the mental image of him shirtless haunted her. A small, jealous, part of her hoping she too could pull off such fancy digs as the space he got assigned.


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Mel happily took the open window as the signal and made the jump with only a little scrambling at the window sill to get his rear end fully inside. Once there he didn’t even hesitate, although the ‘pizza’ comment did sound good, he plopped himself right on the couch, remote between his paws.

Even as his ears twitched, taking in the female’s awe at the sweet digs they had, Mel was more focused on working the electronic device delicately. Soon he had The Mentalist playing and became absolutely absorbed in the antics of Patrick Jane and the California Bureau of Investigation.


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Cliff looked pretty smug as he watched it dawn on her that he had a private dorm for the year. "It was luck," he said, rolling his eyes at the bribery accusation as he moved to the sink in the kitchen to wash his hands. It was true enough, though he didn't have to volunteer that he knew someone, who knew someone, who knew someone that could help him out. He had an edge, that was all. The fact that the guy who had it before him wound up withdrawing was where the luck came into play.

The teen slid into a dining chair and grabbed himself a paper plate at the same time he grabbed a slice, unceremoniously shoving it into his mouth and devouring the better part of half of it with a single bite. "Mm," he tried to start speaking around the food, but decided against it. He chewed and swallowed, then washed it down with a swig of water before nodding to her.

"Sorry. Uh, well. I'm sure you're familiar with 'em," he said, tilted his head in Mel's direction. "He helped me not too long ago and basically lives with me now." He paused, thoughtfully. "Or...well. He's always welcome to stay is probably more accurate. Goes by Mel."


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Abby glanced over at the cat in surprise, her mind trying to wrap her mind around the concept that the feline who was shocked over the arrest of the criminal in his show had the brain power to hack into the college’s system. There was just no way the guardian had enough mental facilities to turn on a light switch let alone do some serious technological work. It was at that point that the rest of what Cliff said connected and the young woman realized her friend meant that the cat was his roommate, not some clandestine computer genius who somehow wrangled the room placement for the soccer player.

“Ah,” she nodded absently. “I guess he should be useful. Guardians are said to have powers that can come in handy.” Abby turned her gaze back at Cliff and reminded him about the ‘no pets’ rule that all dorm residents had. Outside of ADA required animals the closest any pet a student staying on campus could have was a pet rock. “Just don’t get caught, its removal from the dorms until you graduate otherwise.” It was a harsh rule but she did sort of understand why. It just would make the guardian’s presence that much more dangerous. He didn’t strike Abby as subtle, that was for sure.

After a moment of silence, Abby cleared her throat and nervously asked, “So are we still set for our study sessions once classes start?” After the wedding and the almost kiss she wasn’t entirely sure he wanted her around. She wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to be around… if only to keep her emotions under control. But it also hurt to think about their past just fading away because she couldn’t separate reality from some stupid RomCom type fantasy. Besides, it wasn’t like she had thoughts about Cliff that way. They were just friends.

She just hoped he thought the same and wasn’t about to kick her to the metaphorical curb.


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Cliff looked over at the guardian that was currently engrossed in his show. "They do, yeah," he said, fighting back a snort. Mel was well-meaning, and a good cat all things considered. He just...uh. Well. Cliff lowered his tone to a whisper as he said, "He needs reminders about what he can do sometimes, but he definitely can do them."

He flinched when the cat made a noise, reacting to something that was happening on screen, clearly feeling guilty that he made the comment at all. Even if it had been an honest one, and not said to make fun of the little guy.

Thankfully her question was a good distraction that kept him from focusing too hard on that, and he nodded. "Yeah, definitely," he replied, sounding halfway between surprised and confused that she'd ask at all. Whatever happened at the wedding, as much as it hurt for him to brush it all under a proverbial rug, it didn't mean he was willing to just throw the towel in on their friendship.

He could get over feelings, if he had to.

"Why? You getting sick of helping me?" he asked, smiling, clearly joking.


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The relief that flooded her gave her pause. Yes, she was glad he was ok with them continuing their study sessions but she was also glad that she would continue to see him, that they were going to continue to spend quite a bit of time together. Time spent talking, studying, working together for a singular goal. Sitting together at a table with books and paper spread out around them. “No, no, of course not,” Abby quickly assured him before pausing to take a breath. “Afterall you need all the help you can get when it comes to your course work anyway,” She hid her embarrassment behind snark even as she smiled at him, easing any sting behind the joke.

After a moment she pushed off against the counter and shrugged, “I’ve got to get back to moving in. I did leave my roommate behind to chase after your little roommate.” Her eyes shot over towards the cat before looking back at Cliff before spinning around to fish around in his fridge for two bottles of water. “For payment of your furry friend’s pilfering," She insisted as she held up the two bottles. At least this way she could offer them as a peace offering to her roommate, forgetting that the other female had just returned with drinks before Abby took off after the cat. “I’ll text you once I get settled into my room. The sooner we start on classwork the better.”

They were really back to normal.

They were still friends.

She just needed to ignore the thoughts that still lingered in her mind.