Work Text:
Theo woke up at dawn with his face on his desk in the printer's shop. This wasn't unusual as, of late, he'd gotten into the habit of working far later than he really should. What was unusual was the fact that his face was covered in fur, he was now much shorter, and he had no thumbs.
It was, he thought sleepily, an atrocious start to a Tuesday morning.
He needed to open up the shop.
Well. Nothing else for it, he'd just have to continue as best he could. In his sleep-deprived brain, this was the most logical conclusion. Theo hopped down from the desk, somehow managing to land on his now four legs, and looked over at the front door which needed to be unlocked.
On the floor around him were his clothes in a heap, as though they'd fallen off his form when he'd somehow shrunk to his current form in his sleep. Using his paws and teeth, Theo pulled the key from his pocket with a grunt, held it in his mouth, and waddled over to the front door.
The keyhole was very high up. Hm. Theo turned back to his desk where his stool was sat. It would be easy if he still had hands and good arm strength, but now all he had were paws and little legs he didn't fully know how to use. Theo waddled back to the desk, almost tripping over his own paws, and used all his strength to nudge the stool along the floor.
The stool made a horrendous grating noise as it scraped across the floorboard, but eventually Theo did get it over to the door feeling even more tired than when he'd started. He clambered up the stool with the key in his mouth, little back legs wobbling as his front paws forced upwards in the climb of his life, and made it to the top panting and exhausted.
Awkwardly, Theo titled his head and placed it in the keyhole, turning it just so to open it. The door clicked open and he sighed in relief, slumping in the stool.
At least one job (opening up the shop) was done for the day. Outside, the dawn sky was turning into a shade of blue close to her eyes. He'd just close his eyes for a little bit… For a little while…
Theo woke up to the sound of someone shouting and a broom being jabbed in his face. He yelped and jumped, skittering off the stool and onto the ground in an undignified heap.
"Out!"
Theo scrambled for the now wide open door and scurried outside, looking back to see the other printers apprentices investigating the shop in confusion where his clothes lay.
He supposed he couldn't have gotten much work done without his hands anyway, but it was a bit of a bother to be kicked out in the early morning. It was just about now that everyone in Bloomsbury was on the way to work and the streets were packed. Theo huddled to the side and made his way through until he made it to the end of Chancery Lane and sat behind a flower pot.
He looked down at his paws, seeing them clearly now in the bright daylight, which identified him as a brown tabby cat, and finally the panic began to set in as he realised it wasn't just an atrocious morning, it could be an atrocious rest of his life if he didn't turn back any time soon.
Surely the universe wouldn't let him suffer for long.
How was he supposed to work if he didn't have thumbs?
One day, two days. He cursed the universe the entire time.
The stray cats of Bloomsbury wouldn't talk to him, in fact, they gave him a wide birth as though wary of his existence. But he was able to watch and follow where they went for food, water, and he learned how they moved. He lived off those little scraps, hunkered down in the cold beside his little flower pot, and listened to the conversations of passers by.
On the third day, he heard something interesting.
"Everyone's saying there's going to be an air balloon in the sky today," one woman said to a friend. "That park not too far from here. One of those proper society events, you know? Damn shame we'll never see it!"
An air balloon?
"Nevermind that. Have you read the latest Whistledown? I can't get enough of it. Which family do you think will have a scandal this season?"
"Oh, the Bridgertons for sure!"
"I'd put money on the Cowpers, meself. Always sounds like a right piece of work when she brings that girl up…"
Theo sat up from his perch on the floor beside the flower pot and looked up at the clear blue sky. Usually at this time of day, he'd be buried in work. He'd never seen an air balloon before. And, as a cat, he wouldn't have to pay for entry.
He ignored the voice in the voice in the back of his head which dared mention his curiosity and the vain hope that he'd get to see her there, instead of idly staring at blue where he could find it. He ignored it, just like how he ignored the hunger pangs in his stomach as he walked onwards.
The park was crowded. It was a dizzying amount of colour and activity from one moment to the next. He ducked behind a tent and strolled along side the crowd, following the crowd along the collection of tents, as big as buildings in a circle, and an air balloon at the centre of it all on display.
He wasn't even sure where to look and felt himself getting dizzy just watching the sheer amount of fabric twirling along the grass like spinning teacups.
"Penelope? Come now, Eloise," a young lady said, traipsing across the path as though it had mortally offended her.
Theo's head snapped up so quickly he heard his neck crack.
There she was, in a blue dress of the sort she'd always favoured, hair pinned back, and gloved hands just out of his reach. He followed, into the reeds beside the lake, just for a chance at a closer glimpse of her.
Miss Bridgerton looked well which he was relieved to see because one couldn't say the same for him. Even by cat standards, his condition was… Best not to think about it.
Her friend looked odd, though maybe Theo's taste in women's dresses wasn't entirely relevant or up-to-date with the styles of the day. That being said, he thought the sleeves were much too big to fit through any reasonable door.
His legs ached. Maybe the walk had been too much for him after all having not eaten much at all the past few days, but it had been worth it. Theo lay in the reeds and did his best to keep his eyes open, as much as they wanted to close and go to rest in the calm sunshine. He had to keep moving with them moments later as it seemed the air balloon was almost ready to take to the skies.
He was actually looking forward to seeing an air balloon.
Which is, obviously, why he wasn't shocked when the air balloon decided against doing its job properly. Of course the universe couldn't be so kind to give him this one good thing. The balloon came lose from its ropes, wrenching forward towards the ground and lake rather than the skies above.
It just so happened that, among others, Miss Bridgerton was in its path.
Copying the stray cats he'd seen, Theo leapt from the reeds, throwing himself forward until he landed on Miss Bridgerton's skirts, sank his teeth onto the back of them, and yanked her backwards.
Miss Eloise Bridgerton fell to the grass with a high pitched yelp, toppling backwards, landing on her backside, and dragging her friend with the ridiculous sleeves onto the ground like a domino.
At least she wasn't squished by a balloon. Even if her dress was stained by grass and mud.
Speaking of her dress, Theo dropped the piece of fabric he'd snatched in his mouth and watched it fall to the ground where the wind blew it closer to the lake. Ah. He'd completely torn her dress.
Miss Bridgerton's friend shrieked and scrambled up from the floor, yelling about a feral cat. In his opinion, her sharp yelling made her sound more like one than he did, but he supposed he wasn't in the best position to judge and he did feel bad for tearing Miss Bridgerton's dress.
Miss Bridgerton pushed herself up from the floor, wincing as she went, then looked at him with utter confusion. Her eyes trailed to the piece of fabric that was until recently once part of her obviously expensive dress then turned back to him with a raised eyebrow.
"Cressida," Miss Bridgerton said to her friend, "I think a cat just tried to rescue me."
"It probably has rabies, Eloise!"
Theo couldn't help but roll his eyes at that, which Miss Bridgerton caught. She smiled like a Cheshire cat as she knelt down on the grass, uncaring for the fabric of her dress, and ushered him closer with gentle cooing.
"Come here, little guy," Miss Bridgerton said, hand outstretched. "Aren't you adorable? You must be hungry. Let me take you home."
This was mortifying. He was a man, not a cat, and going to her home was hardly appropriate, especially since they had agreed not to meet again. It wouldn't be right.
"Poor thing," she said, putting her gloved hand on his head and scratching behind his ear, "Come here, darling."
Theo caved like a house of cards, falling into her hands and crumbling, without resistance. She pulled him into his arms and carried him into a carriage where her mother was waiting.
"Eloise," Lady Bridgerton said, eyeing him warily. "What is that?"
"My new friend," Miss Bridgerton said, holding him close to her heart. "He's practically a miniature, fluffy Galahad, Mama. You should have seen him trying to pull me away from the balloon."
Lady Bridgerton looked at him with a bemused expression, which Theo met with a tired blink. For some reason, the lady softened with a sigh.
"You'll have to get him cleaned up, Eloise, and look after him properly," she said.
"Of course," Miss Bridgerton said, gently stroking his spine. "You'll behave, won't you, darling?"
Miss Bridgerton's footman took one look at him in the lady's arms and ran to get a bath ready. Theo rested his head on Miss Bridgerton's arm and swished his tail, nervous but relieved he'd finally get a bath after so long.
He looked around at the rest of her family, who were mostly neutral apart from one of her brothers she called Anthony, who said cats made him sneeze.
Miss Bridgerton carried him and walked to the bathroom where he could hear the water running. It was easier to focus on that than the splendour around him—the house that explained so much about her, emanating warmth from every angle, smelling of freshly baked bread and tea and blending perfectly with the smell of books and ink from her fingertips stroking his spine.
Gently, she placed him on the floor and told him to be good.
She walked away.
Theo looked up.
The footman, John, picked up a sponge and scowled at him. Theo, understandably, reacted by taking one step back. The footman followed. Theo yelped, jumped, and with a howl he was running as fast as he could from the sponge-wielding footman, who was chasing him maniacally through the corridors.
He followed Eloise's scent to a door on the first floor and scratched his claws at it desperately, as the doorman was only a few steps away, red in the face and panting and the scowl on his face was deeper than ever.
Eloise opened the door.
"What on earth—"
Theo leapt into her arms. He realised, then, that Eloise had removed her gloves and torn dress for a more simple day dress, and he would have been embarrassed if he wasn't still scared of the sponge.
Eloise gave him a bath and brushed him. She cooed and called him a "poor thing" with each bramble she removed from his fur and had someone fetch him food when his stomach started to growl.
He started to doze off.
And then she took him into her room. He was wide awake.
He didn't know where to look first. Maybe the chandelier with its pearls hanging and glowing candles, the telescope and globe next to her bed, as though she was always looking elsewhere, awake or dreaming, at something much bigger, and the large mirror in which he looked much smaller and fluffier than ever before.
She caught him staring at his reflection and pat his head. "That's you, darling. You're so fluffy."
He glared at his reflection, which at least made her laugh.
She placed him gently on his bed, which was far softer than his own and the sheets were so high quality he felt bad for getting cat fur on them, but from there he could see her bedside table more clearly. Stacked at her bedside were the books he'd given her.
"Do you like books too?" she asked.
He set down his pride and let out a loud meow, which delighted her, and before he knew it they were on the window seat. Sat on her lap, Theo could read the pages for himself as she flipped through the pages of one of the books he'd given her last year. She muttered the words out-loud and flicked through the pages a little too quickly, because she'd clearly read them so many times already.
"A friend got me this one," she whispered, as they came to the end. "And the others over there too. Sometimes, I think…"
She trailed off, leaving the sentence and thoughts unfinished in the air. He leaned up, nudging her cheek with his nose.
Eloise smiled sadly, then looked out the window. She said, "It's getting late. We should probably sleep. Aren't you tired?"
She picked him up and put him back on the bed, then turned around and started taking off her dress. Theo buried his head under the blankets and screamed internally.
Eloise returned a moment later, in a nightgown, her hair tied back in a blue ribbon, and got into bed. She found him beneath the blanket, laughed at him, and asked, "How are you going to sleep like that? You'll suffocate. Come here, darling."
He went as limp as a wet towel as she picked him up and laid him on the bed next to her. She placed a hand on his back and stroked his spine.
"I should get you a collar," she muttered.
He shook his head.
"No? But what if you get lost again?" Eloise frowned. After a moment, an idea came to her and she pulled the blue ribbon from her hair. "Hold still."
Eloise tied the blue ribbon around his throat into a bow.
"There," she said. "You're in blue. You're a Bridgerton too now."
He scooted closer and pressed his forehead against hers. She closed her eyes and went to sleep.
Theo didn't fall asleep at all. In fact, he felt far too aware of the situation and a little mortified he'd found himself in it, and guilty because he didn't want to leave it even on pain of death.
He laid as still as possible until the sun rose and Eloise began to shift.
"Good morning, darling," she muttered.
Eloise yawned, then sleepily kissed his nose.
Theo saw stars in front of his eyes. No, really. The world around him started to glitter and shine brighter than a hundred chandeliers and his body began to grow. His body contorted, paws growing into hands, claws retracting, fluffy cat fur disappearing into skin, but the blue ribbon remained around his neck.
When the star shine disappeared and Theo was lying there on the bed, he looked up, met Eloise's wide eyes, and said, "Good morning… Darling?"
Eloise slapped her hands on her eyes and scrambled out of the bed, catching her foot on the sheets and tumbling down onto the rug with a thump.
"Theo?!" she shouted, fingers over her eyes parting enough for her to see his face. "What on earth… How? What?"
Theo looked at his hands, wiggled his thumbs, looked down between his legs, and sighed in utter relief.
"I can explain?" he said. "No. Wait. Actually, I can't. I have no idea what happened to me. I woke up as a cat a few days ago and now here I am. I'm… very sorry for the bother."
Theo cleared his throat, then grabbed a pillow from the bed and placed it over his nether regions which, while he was grateful to have back, would rather not put on display.
Eloise slowly lowered her hands from her eyes, which were darting quickly over his form, and said, "You can't be leaving."
"Miss Bridgerton, I don't think it would be appropriate for me to stay."
Eloise stood up from the floor and approached slowly, like he was still a stray, and poked her nail on the blue ribbon still around his neck.
"You're a Bridgerton too now," she told him. "So you have to stay."
"Well," he said, blushing deeply. "I'm not going to argue with that."