It's been a hot minute, huh?
Well, their first date. Sorry I missed pride month :/

Enjoy!

"So, how does this work?" Beast Boy follows closely behind Danny as they work their way around the streets of Jump City. Danny glances over his shoulder to look at Beast Boy every few steps. Maybe it was the excitement of going to a café for the first time, but his heart races as they get closer.

"Well, we eat in a café section, and then we go play with the cats."

"Can I turn into a cat for that?" Danny snorted.

"You can't bring your own cat. We'd be kicked out."

"But I'm my own cat. Why would you be kicked out too?"

Danny's steps falter. "I mean, we're in this together. So either you're my cat or I'm your guy." His cheeks heat up as he speaks. He looks back at Beast Boy again, who seems a little surprised. Not in a bad way.

"Of course you're my guy; only Love Doctor in the area I trust."

Danny laughs.

The café is small and run by a petite woman with graying streaks in her hair. She explains the rules of the café enthusiastically.

"So the cats don't get hurt with spills or eat something they shouldn't, you cannot bring the food into the play pen," she says. Her hands wave around when she talks, letting Danny see the paw print tattoo on her wrist. "We charge for the food and a flat fee for going into the play pen. Some of the cats respond to their names. You can see their information on the stand over there." Danny and Beast Boy lean over to see a post with index cards for each cat, as well as names on the wall.

"What's with all the names?" Beast Boy asks. The woman beams.

"When a cat gets adopted, we put their name on the wall so it's like they're still a part of the JC Kittens Café family." She claps her hands together. "Now, may I lead you to the menu cards?"

The boys looks over the booklet attached to the counter.

"That soy latte looks so good," Beast Boy says to himself. Danny looks at the picture and reads the caption.

"BB, that's the almond frappe. The soy latte is this one."

"Okay, but that one looks good too. What do you want to get?"

Danny squints and traces his finger over the laminated pages. "I don't know. But, since you want both drink maybe I order one and you order the other so we can taste it?" Beast Boy nods and first bumps Danny.

"You're so smart, my dude." They make their order and read over the cats while they wait. "Wow, look at all these names on the wall. This is a good place." Danny skims over the cat cards.

"One of these cats is named Ska. Responds to his name, too." Danny reads over his information. "Is Fuzzy's dad. And Fuzzy is… oh man, you have to look at this Fuzzy's adorable." Beast Boy cranes his neck from where he's crouching and rests his head on Danny's shoulder to look.

"Fuzzy looks like a dust bunny." Danny playfully slaps his shoulder.

"Don't be mean to poor Fuzzy! She's done nothing wrong!" He looks at her picture more closely. "She does look like a dust bunny, though. I can't unsee it."

"Bee-Bee?" A barista rings out. Beast Boy stands up and hits Danny's head with his shoulder.

"Ow!"

"I'm so sorry! You okay dude?"

"Yeah, just go get the drinks. And a chocolate chip cookie. Then I'll forgive you."

"On it!"

They decide on a window seat and sit across from each other. The place mats have paw prints all over them, and the cups have a silhouette of a cat with its tail curving to form the outline of a heart. They split the cookie and set it between them. Danny takes a sip from the latte and shudders at the sharp taste of soy. Beast Boy takes a small bit of the almond frappe but pauses upon seeing Danny.

"This one's really good. Wanna switch? I know soy can be a bit of an acquired taste."

"Yeah, thanks." Danny grabs the straw and relaxes as the drink hits his taste buds. "This is amazing."

"I know, right?" Beast Boy shrugs as he tastes the soy latte. "Okay, I can see why you don't like it, but it tastes fine to me. That frappe is amazing, though."

"We can share it. Just pass it back and forth."

"Then I have more to drink than you. It's fine, really. Next time we'll both get that one." Danny holds the frappe close to himself.

"Good. I didn't actually want to share." Beast Boy smiles and shakes his head. He eats a bite of the cookie. "How is it?"

"I don't wanna hurt your feelings, but it's almost as good as yours." Danny grabs his own half. His eyes widen as he digs in.

"No, it's better than mine, don't lie. Is this legal? Is anything allowed to be this good?"

"That's what I think about your cookies." Danny rubs his neck.

"That's sweet. Now, hurry up and finish so we can pet the cats." They put the napkins in the trash and place the empty cups in the "please recycle" container.

"Okay, wash your hands before going in so you don't get any chocolate or nuts on the cats," the owner says. They follow the instructions and go in.

A ball of fur runs towards them and starts meowing loudly. Danny crouches down to rub its snout.

"I think this is Fuzzy. Hey kitty, we were just talking about you," Danny coos. Fuzzy just meows louder, a repetitive chirping sound. "Real chatterbox, huh."

Beast Boy sits down on the floor and reaches towards Fuzzy, who sniffs his gloves and presses the top of her head against his palm.

"She's a real people person. Well, people cat." Beast Boy glances around the room. "Oh, there's her dad. I think. Looks like the picture, anyway."

"You mean Ska? Ska the cat?"

The cat's head whips to face them with wide blue eyes.

"Yeah, that's Ska." Danny gently nudges Fuzzy until she's close to her dad. She meows loudly at him and he jumps down to groom her. "That's adorable."

Ska hacks up a fur ball.

"Slightly less adorable."

Beast Boy goes to the toy box and takes out a squeaking mouse. A white cat with brown and black spots bites it immediately and takes the mouse to a corner of the room. Danny scoots over until he's next to Beast Boy. He lays his head on Beast Boy's shoulder and sighs contently. Beast Boy rests his own head on Danny's, looking at all the cats in the room. Most are napping.

Fuzzy eventually crawls on back over and sits between them, looking at the toy box. Danny scratches her behind the ears. He reaches in the toy box and took out a pole with feathers on the end hanging by a string. He waves it in front of Fuzzy until she gains interest in the feathers bouncing around her face. She bats at it with her paws, jumps up, and even tries just screaming at it. Beast Boy laughs behind his hand.

Danny gently places the feather end on Fuzzy's nose. She moves her head near instantly in an effort to catch it but Danny passes the wand to Beast Boy.

"She's adorable."

"Yeah dude, look at her go." Beast Boy lowers the wand so the feather was on the floor. Fuzzy pounces on it immediately and turns to her father to show him her victory.

Ska lazily opens a single eye and closes it again. It's clear he's not asleep though. His ears twitch at movements and he shifts every so often whenever Fuzzy runs around to keep a better eye on his kitten.

Danny goes to pet Fuzzy yet felt a glove instead of soft, fluffy fur. He looks down in confusion.

"Oh! Sorry, didn't realize you were already petting her." Danny hesitates to take back his hand, though. Beast Boy stops stroking Fuzzy's fur but doesn't retract his hand.

"I mean, if you want, go ahead. I think I'm spoiling her right now. There's ten other cats here."

They sit in silence for a little, trying to see where exactly all the other cats are. Fuzzy looks between them and headbutts their palms, meowing as if to say hey, pay attention to me!

Danny scratches her behind the ears absentmindedly and smiles when she starts purring. Beast Boy tries to lure other cats to come play with them.

One black cat with a scar over its right eye prances over and lays down in front of Beast Boy. It snuggles close and purrs at the company.

"Aw, it likes you a lot," Danny says. He pats Fuzzy one last time before shooing her away. She loudly resists but gives up eventually, jumping on her father. Ska startles slightly before making space for her. She hides in the expanses on his fur and the two purr at each other. Danny nestles his head in the space between Beast Boy's shoulder and neck. "This is really nice."

"I know. These cats are so chill. Except for Fuzzy, but she's good too."

"Mhm," Danny agrees. "I like this place."

"I'll remember that."

Soon enough, the owner pokes her head in. "Everything okay?"

"The cats are absolutely adorable. I never want to leave," Danny jokes.

"Bud will be so mad if he hears that." Danny slowly registers the comment.

"Oh, Bud! We need to buy stuff for him. I guess we do have to leave after all. Let's finish paying."

Fuzzy sits up to look at them.

"Bye Fuzzy!" Beast Boy says. As they pay, he turns to Danny. "We can come back whenever. Buy an almond frappe, play with the cats. I'd pay."

"That's sweet." Danny looks at the street names and holds Beast Boy's hand to not lose him in the afternoon crowd. "Uh… if I remember right, I think PetHaven is… down that street. Let's go."

"Do I get to turn into a cat now?"

"Maybe!"

PetHaven is bigger than Danny expects: a corner of the store has pets available, including a sleepy ferret in its tube puzzle. They wave at it before walking to the cat care section.

"Okay, so… bed, bowls, food… litter box. Should cats be brushed?"

"I think so." Beast Boy walks down the aisle. "A scratching post, too. Uh… toys. Definitely toys."

"This is complicated."

"We can do it! You have the brains, my dude, and I have the quality testing part of the job." Beast Boy squeezes Danny's hand. Danny smiles.

Then it registers.

We're still holding hands. I never actually let go. He glances down. Is it too late to let go?

Danny shakes his head.

No, we'll need both hands to get all the stuff.

Danny wriggles his hand out of Beast Boy's grip and picks up a box of cat food. He misses the way Beast Boy frowns in confusion before picking up another bag of cat food and looking at the ingredients.

"Uh… this one says it's the leading brand," Beast Boy says. He looks at the ingredients. "But these look like chemical names? Can cats eat chemicals?"

"This one says it's organic," Danny mumbles. "Maybe we should go with this one?" Beast Boy peeks over to see the box.

"Isn't that too much sugar?"

"Oh, damn; you're right. Okay, one of these but with less sugar… Can you look at the beds while I try to find good food?"

"Sure thing, dude." Beast Boy walks to the next aisle and looks at the beds. He rubs his gloves over the fabrics and makes pensive hums as he inspects each item. Finally, he smiles. "I think a found a keeper."

"Bring it over! I think I found something decent, too." Beast Boy presents the bed. "Oh, that's nice. I like the pattern, too. Uh, I found this." Danny holds the bag with two arms as if it were a baby. "It's organic, low-sugar, high in nutrients, no preservatives… sounds good, right?"

"Yeah. Okay, so, now we get bowls, litter stuff, a brush. Toys! That too. But our hands are already full."

"I think we might actually need a cart."

"Bud's gonna be thrilled about this."

"I sure hope so. Considering I got other cats' scent all over me right now." Danny grabs a shopping cart, one of those small ones with a pole on top so you can't take it out from the store and puts the bag of food and the bed in it. "Bowls…"

"Whiskers are super sensitive, so get one with low sides." Beast Boy rubs his cheeks. "It's a little painful when they rub against something."

"Thanks. You can get the toys and brush in the meantime, right?"

"Sure. Anything for you. And Bud. Both of you."

"You're the best, BB." Danny takes the cart and pulls it along behind him as he looks through the bowls, trying to visualize if they would be comfortable or not for Bud. He finally finds a set that looks good enough. He trails back over to where Beast Boy is trying out different brushes on his face, grimacing at some and humming in pleasant surprise at others. He picks one and turns around, startling once he sees Danny. "I'm guessing that's a good brush?"

"Yeah. I found a little box with the sand stuff too." Beast Boy gestures to the packages tucked under his arm. "Scratching post and toys?"

"Scratching post and toys," Danny confirms. They pull the cart together and squint up at the scratching post. "Nothing too fancy. My wallet's not that deep."

"How about this one?" Beast Boy gestures to a relatively small one. "It even has a top you can twist to store toys."

"That sounds perfect." They place it in the cart and leave it behind to get a closer look at the toys. Danny picks up a few boxes. "Uh… so, I think maybe just a handful, like… a squeaky mouse, that thing we used with Fuzzy, and… oh! Look at that, that's adorable." Danny points at a stuffed fish. It's decorated to look like a fish skeleton is painted on top— a cartoon one with a smile, even— and the box notes the fish makes a clicking sound when pressed on. "We have to get this."

"Add it to the cart, then. I'll get this for Bud while we're at it." Beast Boy reaches for a laser pointer.

"I think we're good now, right? Well, for now." They take it to the cashier and grab the plastic bags. "Thanks for helping me out today," Danny says. "I really appreciate it."

"Thanks for asking me out to the cat café," Beast Boy says. "I had fun. You?"

"Definitely one of the best days I've had in a while." Danny glances up at the sky. "Hm… Wanna stop for a bite or something?"

"Icy Delights! I love the tofu ice cream. We did say we'd go back sometime, after all."

Danny bumps shoulders with Beast Boy.

"Alright. I pay this time." They take a left at the corner and continue walking until the reach the parlor. The line isn't long at all and they take their ice creams to go. "So," Danny says while he tries to eat from the little ice cream cup without spilling, "thoughts on today's adventure?"

"Best adventure ever, and I've been to space."

"You've been to space? Hang on, hang on, I have to hear this." Danny faces Beast Boy. "I don't care how long it takes. You can come to the apartment. I need to know more about space."

"You like space? Dude! If I had known I would've tried my space-themed pick-up lines." Danny rolls his eyes playfully.

"Please do not bring something like pick-up lines into a conversation about space. Still, let's just sit down and you can tell me all about it." Beast Boy nods and opens his communicator.

"Hey, BB to Tower; Danny and I are going to keep chatting so I'll be back later. Over."

"Got it, over," Robin's voice cracks to life.

"I'll tell you guys when I'm on my way. Beast Boy signing off." Beast Boy tucks his communicator into his pocket. "So; space?"

Cat cafes have livestream cams, sometimes, and you can just see the cats existing. Mostly just sleeping. Y'know. Cats.