100 Lifetimes - 32. Cheesecake
Cheesecake was a guinea pig.
He lived with his owner in a big apartment. Cheesecake had his own rooms: his cage was spacious and huge, with more than enough space for him to run around or play in. The golden carpet beneath his feet was very soft, and there were lots of cubbies for him to snuggle in and sleep.
Everything was perfect, and Cheesecake was very happy… except for one thing.
He was a little lonely.
Alright, sure, he wasn’t completely alone. His brother Biscotti and his sister Creampuff were around, but honestly, Cheesecake didn’t really get along with them. Biscotti just liked to eat and nuzzle, and Creampuff was a bully who was fast to snarl and bite. Neither of them were exactly the best company.
If only there were another guinea pig he could get along with, Cheesecake thought, laying haplessly in a little straw nest. The straw got caught in Cheesecake’s golden fur, but who cared if he looked a little messy. It wasn’t like Biscotti or Creampuff cared. Maybe his owner would, but that just gave her an excuse to cuddle him in her hands and brush the straw out. So whatever. Cheesecake could look messy. It was fine.
-
It was not fine.
“Hi, babies!” Cheesecake’s owner said, grinning. “I have a new friend for you!”
She had a transport carrier in her hands, and when she opened up the hatch, she pulled out the most beautiful guinea pig Cheesecake had ever seen. His fur was long and dark black, even longer than Creampuff’s, and he had the most imperious, regal look on his face. Cheesecake’s owner placed him down on Cheesecake’s side. In the cage next door, Biscotti and Creampuff chittered. Biscotti came closer, curious, while Creampuff bared her teeth and snarled.
“Meet Oreo! Get along with him, Cheesecake!” Cheesecake’s owner beamed and patted his little head, brushing a little bit of the straw off of him in the process.
That was how Cheesecake realized he was still completely covered in straw, his short golden fur all a mess. Meanwhile, right in front of him was this beautiful and pristinely-groomed guinea pig, who surely thought Cheesecake must be the most disgusting slob ever. Cheesecake wanted to curl up and die.
After being placed in the cage, Oreo turned his head, looking around his surroundings with a critical eye. When he set his gaze on Cheesecake, Cheesecake froze, horribly aware of the straw sticking out of his fur. Oreo blinked, unreadable, and pattered his way closer to Cheesecake. Cheesecake watched him, trembling. He didn’t know what to expect. Was Oreo like Biscotti, who liked nuzzling? Or was he like Creampuff, who shoved and bit?
In the end, Oreo was neither. He stood next to Cheesecake and reached his little head out to pluck a piece of straw out of Cheesecake’s fur.
He was grooming Cheesecake.
!!!! Cheesecake’s heartbeat tripled in speed. Oreo kept grooming Cheesecake as nonchalantly as if he’d done it a million times before. It was so intimate, so friendly. His little heart thumping, Cheesecake took a small step closer. He hesitantly leaned forward toward Oreo, and when Oreo didn’t respond, bumped his head in a quick nuzzle.
Oreo let him. In fact, Oreo nuzzled back.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Cheesecake thought, his body vibrating with so much happiness he nearly made the whole floor shake.
-
OMGG, look at my babies, they’re so cute!!!! Adrey sent.
Attached was a picture of two guinea pigs, one with short gold fur and one with long black fur, cuddling together in a little nook filled with straw, their little bodies forming a heart shape.
(Thirty-second of my entries to my self-inflicted challenge, 100 Lifetimes.)