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Ivy meets Nina
Freckle stood outside the grand home of the Pepper’s. The mansion stood tall and proud, snowy walls with tall windows and large oak doors stood before him. Freckle fixed his bowtie, trying to look as professional as possible. He had worn his usual green pants and suit jacket, since according to Ivy “they matched his eyes.” Speaking of Ivy, the gray short furred cat stood next to him, her long thin wiry tail swishing with excitement. She was wearing a yellow sundress with matching heels and a matching hat adorned with flowers.
“You ready Freckle?” Ivy’s chipper voice broke through his thoughts.
“...Uh yeah. I’m ready.” He smiled at her, his tail twitched as his anxiety bore down on him. This was it, he would meet Ivy’s parents and if everything went according to plan… he could ask for their blessing, and hopefully marry her.
“Great! Come on.” Ivy led him up the marble steps, her heels hitting the floor each time with a clack. He followed albeit less enthusiastically behind her. His blood ran cold as the door opened, only to reveal a silver furred butler.
“Welcome back Ms. Pepper.” He bowed, holding the door open for the both of them.
“Hello Damien.” Ivy beamed. “Where’s Mother and Father?” She asked as she dragged Freckle along behind her.
“Your father is in his study, your mother is with your sisters in the garden miss.” Damien answered as he shut the door behind them.
“What time is lunch?” Ivy asked as she fished a pocket watch out of Freckle’s coat.
“At 12:30 Miss Pepper.” Damien answered. “Would you like me to notify your father of your guest?”
“Yes please.” Ivy nodded, “This is Fr- Calvin and he will be having lunch with me right?”
“That is correct.” Freckle straightened his posture trying to make himself look more confident than how he felt. As Damien vanished Freckle turned to Ivy. “That’s like twenty minutes. What are we going to do while we wait for lunch…?”
“Come on.” Ivy gripped his paw in hers. “Damien said that mother is in the garden with Rose and Willow. Anyway, Willow is the younger sister, she's six. Rose is ten.” Ivy looked at him. “Got it?”
“Yeah I think so…” Freckle blinked as Ivy led him back outside into the gardens. Rose bushes surrounded him, and snaking ivy grew along the wall like snakes. A small stream cut through the garden leading to a pond with a snowy white pavilion under a willow tree. Even from across the garden Freckle could see a pale cat sitting in the Pavilion. She had a long fluffy tail with a few ginger spots across her snout and long black hair, she also had large yellow eyes just like Ivy. Next to her sat two more girls, the seemingly older one had gray fur with white spots and yellow eyes, while the younger had dark gray fur and blue eyes.
“Mama!” Ivy beamed running up the stairs to the pavilion while Freckle trailed behind. “Willow! Rose! It's great to see you again!” Ivy hugged her mother and sisters respectively.
“Ivy. Hello darling.” Her mother smiled, she had a soft quiet voice. She moved gracefully as she hugged her daughter. “And who’s your friend?” She asked, her yellow gaze landing on Freckle.
“Mama. This is Calvin, Calvin this is my mother.” Ivy introduced Freckle to her mother.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you Ms. Pepper.” Freckle smiled politely.
“Calvin hm?” The snowy cat hummed. “I’m Charlotte, Ivy’s mother as you know. It’s a pleasure to meet you Calvin. Upon what business are you here?” She raised a brow as she stirred her tea with a silver spoon.
“Oh- Uh…” Freckle stuttered over his words.
“It was my idea!” Ivy jumped in to save him. “Kill two birds with one stone you know? You all get to meet Calvin, and he gets to asked Father for his blessing.” Ivy sped over the last part of the sentence.
“Blessing?” Charlotte raised a brow, sitting up straighter. “How curious. How about you and I discuss this Ivy?” She turned to Freckle. “Could you watch Willow and Rose while we chat?” Freckle nodded, despite being phrased like a question he could tell that it was an order.
“I would love to, after all I get to meet more of the Pepper family.” Freckle watched as Ivy vanished with her mother, the duo walking along the garden leaving him with the kittens. Rose immediately dragged Freckle over to a small table.
“Play with us.” She demanded, her stance was similar to Ivy whenever she demanded something of anyone at the speakeasy.
“Oh… you want me to-”
“Play with us!” The girl screamed, stomping her foot.
“Ah! Right yeah sure.” Freckle sat down in one of the tiny chairs.
“So you are Rose?” Freckle smiled at the fiery kitten as she dressed him up in one of Charlotte's sun hats. Like Ivy, Rose clearly took no for an answer, she even had Ivy’s signature glare. He started to regret giving into the girl’s antics as Willow wrapped him in a fluffy shawl. Similar to the one he could see Mitzi wearing around the Lackadaisy sometimes.
“Yep! And that’s Willow.” Rose pointed at the younger kitten while Willow poured imaginary tea into the broken china set.
“Now. I’m going to be the Queen, Willow you are the princess, and Calvin is the King.” Rose commanded as she strung pearl necklaces around her neck. Placing a flower crown on everyone's head. “And the Queen is having a tea party.”
“But I wanted to be the Queen.” Willow protested, pouting as he tail swished in annoyance.
“I’m the oldest. So I am the Queen.” Rose hissed, stomping her foot. “And I want a tea party.”
“Uh… How about you both are queens?” Freckle offered before this became an all out argument. “Just from different kingdoms. And you are having a tea party to discuss… queen things.”
“...Fine.” Rose sniffed. “You can be queen Willow… but only because I said so!” She added. Freckle played along as the girls did their thing. However when Ivy and her mother returned they were met with an interesting sight, Freckle was wrapped in random items of clothing holding a teacup in hand as Rose gave a toast.
“You look ridiculous.” Ivy burst into giggles as she liberated him from her two sisters.
“I noticed.” Freckle smiled at her, as he stripped off the unmatching clothing.
Freckle stood by Ivy as they got ready for dinner. “Father. Meet Calvin. Calvin, this is my father.” Ivy smiled, as she stood between the two men. Ivy’s father was a dark gray cat with sharp blue eyes, he didn't have a particularly bulky build and was more on the slender side. He wore a baby blue vest, with darker blue pants and black glossy shoes.
“Greetings Calvin. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” The cat smiled. “I’m Reuben Pepper.” He had a soft smile, similar to Ivy but less energetic and more tired.
“It’s good to meet you Mr. Pepper.” Freckle smiled politely.
“Oh nonsense you may call me Ruby.” Ruby chuckled, waving a paw. “Now please sit down. We can discuss as we eat. No point in standing and chatting as the food gets cold.” Freckle sat down next to Ivy. Ruby gave him a good vibe, he seemed friendly enough. “So how did you meet my daughter?” Ruby asked as he cut up his steak, his eyes never leaving Freckle as he slowly ate his food. His long thin wiry tail coiled like a snake.
“We met at the Little Daisy.” Ivy cut in, “I decided to talk to him first.” She was clearly more eager to prattle on about how they met than Freckle was. Something Ruby most definitely noticed by the small smile that formed on his face as he watched the duo.
“Ivy. If you please let Calvin get a word in.” Ruby chuckled at his daughter's antics, as he drank some water, his tail flicking side to side.
“Sorry Father.” Ivy shoved a piece of bread into her mouth.
“So… I assume you are not here just because you two are friends.” Ruby looked at Freckle, “Am I right?”
“Oh… well…” Freckle gulped. “I wanted to ask for your blessing…” He took a deep breath as he felt Ivy interlock her fingers with his. “I have liked Ivy for a while now… no… I love Ivy. And I would like to marry her and I would like your blessing so I can do that.” Freckle sat awkwardly in his chair, twiddling his thumbs.
“Well… from what I’ve seen and what Ivy has told me… you are a good match up. Considering you can keep up with Ivy.” Ruby nodded. “I give you my blessing.”
“O-Oh…” Freckle blinked, he hadn't expected Ruby to relent so quickly, he had even made a whole speech and list just in case he had to convince him.
“Surprised?” Ruby chuckled. “Ivy has told me you're her only partner to not get attacked by Viktor. So I say you're a good match if even that hard head approves.”
“Thank you…” Freckle blinked, turning to Ivy. “I… I guess we are getting married.” The rest of the dinner went by rather smoothly other than Ivy whispering into his ear.
“You're really good with kittens, you know?” Ivy grinned at him, looking at him through her lashes. “I think you’ll make a great father for our kittens.” It took all of Freckle’s self control to not hide his face in his paws out of embarrassment. Ivy smiled, noticing that he was flustered.
“W-What kittens…” Freckle mumbled as he drank his water.
“The ones we’ll have soon hopefully.” Ivy remarked, making Freckle almost choke on his water. “I mean… you said it yourself… we are getting married.” She teased, looking at him with a sly smile.
“Ivy please.” Freckle whispered as he tried to regain his composure. “I’m not trying to embarrass myself in front of your family.” He tried to act as normal as possible, the only giveaway of his increasing state of flusteredness being his tail that whipped side to side.
Freckle meets Ruby (Ivy's dad)
Tw: None :>
Freckle's tail twitched with anxiety as he stood outside his home. He had smoothed out his fur, and worn his mother's favorite suit jacket. It took all of his energy to flatten his bristling fur, in the corner of his eye he could see his silver furred cousin Rocky from the bushes. The cat offered him one of his signature manic grins of support. Now don't get him wrong. He loved his mother... but he was also mortified that she would be unapproved of his girlfriend. Ivy. Ivy stood tall next to him, her beautiful gray fur glowing silver in the moonlight. She wore a loose pastel green layered dress that went down to below her knees, with a matching green cloche hat. Her long thin wiry tail intertwined with his soothingly, as she fixed her hair.
"Honey, are you alright?" Her sweet voice cutting through his worrisome thoughts. "You know I can always meet your mother some other time right?" Her piercing yellow stare looking into his eyes. "If your worried-"
"N-No." Freckle shook his head, his ear twitching. "I can do this. It's okay." Swallowing a lump in his throat he knocked on the door. The few seconds waiting for his mother to open the door felt like crawling through hell itself. As each second ticked by he could feel his skin prickle and fur bristle, fear clawing its way up his neck.
"Calvin?" His mother opened the door, her hair tied back into a tight bun as she smoothened out her skirt. Her small ginger stature sent shivers up his spine. "Who's that you got with you?" She narrowed her eyes, fixing her glasses as she looked Ivy up and down. "You better not be getting hanky panky with her Calvin." (I don't know 1920's slang :'<) Nina's tail swished.
"What? No Mother." Freckle shook his head, "I- I uh... I'm courting her? Yeah... I wanted you to meet her Mother." He fiddled with his paws, his anxiety eating him alive as his mother inspected Ivy. Earlier both he and Rocky had briefed Ivy on how to act and talk around his mother. Well actually Freckle did most of the briefing while Rocky screamed poetry about how to avoid angering "the wrath and fury that is the woman of ginger fur and short stature." Whatever that meant.
"What's your name?" Nina asked as she finally let the couple inside. Her brilliant yellow eyes analyzed Ivy and her son as they walked in. Nina had to admit, the girl seemed like a sweet one. Large yellow eyes and soft gray fur, the young cat held herself up with an air of upper class, her thin and wiry body graceful and stunning.
"My name is Ivy. Ivy Pepper. Mrs. McMurray." Ivy smiled as she stepped inside, holding her purse in her hand as she smiled. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you Ma'am."
"Hmph." Nina frowned. "Would you like some tea Ms. Pepper?" Nina asked as she poured three cups of tea.
"Yes Ma'am." Ivy smiled, sitting down next to Freckle.
"How did you meet my son Ivy?" Nina asked as she sipped her tea. Her eyes were cold as she analyzed every one of Ivy's moves as if to find a single blunder.
"W-We met at a cafe." Freckle offered, twisting their meeting into a less… scandalous version of events.
"Did she start courting you?" Nina asked wryly, her tail lashing.
"N-No." Freckle shook his head. "I approached her first..." That was a blatant lie, but alas if they wanted this to work they had to. "She was... uh... drinking tea... and she looked like a nice young woman so I asked to speak to her for a bit."
"Hmph." Nina narrowed her eyes. "I suppose you do seem like a nice young lady Ms.Pepper." Nina closed her eyes as she sipped her tea. “What does your family do for work?” (I dont actually know what he works as so I’ll just pretend he's also a mine owner)
“My father owns a quarry, a little out of Kansas City, currently I’m going to college.” Ivy prattled off, her happy chipper voice polite as usual. “Anything else Ma’am?”
“I suppose. I shall consider this arrangement then.” Nina hummed, “Now Ms. Pepper, if you could wait outside for a moment I must discuss it with my son.”
“Yes Ma’am.” Ivy smiled, her heels clacking against the floor as she left the room. Freckle almost cried at the sight of Ivy’s slender tail vanishing behind the door, leaving him to answer his mother’s questions.
“So what do you think, Mother?” Freckle asked as he wrung his tail in his paws. Worried thoughts ran through his head; What if Ivy was too straightforward? What if her manners were off? What if his mother didn't like her? However his worried thoughts were interrupted by his mother’s booming voice.
“Stop messing with your tail Calvin. You'll ruin your fur.” Nina finished sipping her tea. “I suppose the girl is soft spoken. A good woman for you Calvin.” Nina folded her hands in her lap.
“You like her?” Freckle’s ears pricked in excitement.
“Now wait there Calvin.” Nina raised a paw, “I do quite like this young lady, however I do not know if she is the right fit for you.” Upon the sight of Freckles' dejectedness, Nina rubbed her temple. “However, I will give her time, Calvin.” She looked at her son. “And if she proves to be fit, I give you my blessing.” It took all of Freckles' self control to not jump for joy.
“Thank you Mother.” Freckle beamed, his tail swishing side to side in excitement.
“Yes. Yes Calvin.” Nina waved a hand, “Have you met her papa yet?”
“Errrrr… yep. He’s a little busy but I managed to speak with him over the phone.” Freckle lied with a smile, praying to the heavens that his mother wouldn't catch that lie.
“Good. Remember no hanky panky until after marriage.” Nina waved a finger at her son. “Understood? I want no such godless behavior under my roof.”
“Yes Mother.” Freckle smiled, scurrying out of the room, practically quivering with excitement to tell Rocky and Ivy the news. Nina sat down in her chair chuckling.
“That’s a good one Calvin.” She wiped her hands on her apron watching as Freckle ran over to the car where Ivy was waiting for him.
“Goodbye Mrs. McMurray.” Ivy called out curtseying to the older cat from outside as she entered the vehicle. “So how did I do?” Ivy asked once Rocky managed to drive the car a few blocks away from the house. “Did I pass?”
“She approves!” Freckle beamed.
A request I got from ao3 :>
Freckle shoved his hand into his pocket, he could feel the velvet box brush up against the pads of his paws. His anxiety was spiked at an all time high, today was the day he was going to propose to Ivy. That's what he had said for the past for the week, despite Rocky's constant efforts to boost morale. Hell even Viktor tried to give him tips on how to propose. Even then Freckle was mortified to propose, its not like he didn't want to. He did. He really wanted Ivy to be his wife. Freckle's tail twitched as he felt Ivy interlace her hand with his. Her presence next to him only heightening his anxiety.
"I love the night sky." Ivy smiled softly at him. "Look at all the stars Freckle!" Freckle let out a shaky breath, it was now or never. He had recited his speech for hours, asking Rocky for advice an action he immediately regretted, as Rocky started listing off poetry for Freckle to put in his proposal.
"Hey Ivy." Freckle took a deep breath. "I want to ask you something." Ivy looked over at Freckle, confusion in her yellow gaze.
"What is it Freckle?" Her voice melted his heart.
"I wanted- I wanted to ask you something." Freckle took a deep breath as he got down on one knee, taking the velvet box out of his pocket. "Ivy, I have known you for four years, and those have been the best years of my life." He tried to keep his voice steady. "And I love you with all my heart, and I wanted to ask you if you would marry-"
"YES!" Freckle fell over as Ivy threw himself at him, her arms wrapping around his neck as she pressed kisses all over his face. "I would love to marry you." She purred, kissing him.
"Oh okay." Freckle mumbled, "I had another speech planned."
"I can't wait to be your wife!" Ivy smiled.
"Mhm." Freckle nodded, holding Ivy close to him as he smoothly placed the ring on her finger. He dropped it five times trying to get in on her finger. "I love you." Freckle murmured, with a spur of confidence pressing a quick kiss to Ivy's cheek.
"I love you too!" Ivy purred, kissing him as she held his face in her hands. Freckle's fur fluffed up as he got more flustered.
"Congratulations Freckle. You finally pulled it off." Rocky popped out of the bushes.
"WHAT THE-" Freckle jumped as Rocky patted his back. "Where did you come from?"
"Well. I was just watching your proposal, to make sure you wen't through with it this time." Rocky grinned. "So when's the wedding?"
Relationship Headcannons~
Ivy takes most of the first's in the relationship since Freckle is pretty shy
However gain enough courage and Freckle will do spontaneous romantic things
Ivy loves picking out couple outfits for both herself and Freckle
Most dates they end up going to the park or just hanging around the Speakeasy (Viktor glares intensify)
The dates tend to be pretty chill until Rocky decides to provide ambience
When they go out for the bootlegging business Freckle tends to keep an eye on Ivy
If in a gunfight he tends to push Ivy behind him
he protec~ he attack~ but most importantly he floofy
Ivy is more PDA than Freckle however he will indulge on all affection given by Ivy
Freckle sometimes likes picking flowers for Ivy and leaving them somewhere she'll find them
Ivy has all the flowers Freckle has ever given her pressed in a book in her dorm
Freckle gets flustered easily and Ivy enjoys flustering him
Freckle gets embarrassed whenever he goes berserk and Ivy sees it
Basically the has darkside x loves them anyway trope
When going out or on a date they will usually end up wearing matching clothes
Freckle likes playing with Ivy's tail
Ivy likes brushing out Freckle's fur and tracing the stripes and patterns
Dancing is uh... a struggle
First time they danced Freckle fell over
Ivy teaches Freckle how to dance
Ivy tends to whack Rocky whenever he teases them about being a couple
Freckle just gets really flustered and hides his face in his paws
When just chilling their tails will intertwine
Freckle and Ivy will sometimes just chill in the car and cuddle while Rocky does Rocky shenanigans
Ivy gets jealous pretty easily but she has healthy coping strats and just tells whoever is flirting off (its easy in the Lackadaisy because Viktor is always watching from the bar)
Freckle does also get jealous but his stems from believing that he is inadequate as a partner due to his no experience in the subject
Ivy is quick to pick up on this tho and reassures Freckle that he's doing great
Over all 10/10 couple
Very fluff
I love them so much
TW: None- just fluff
Ivy fixed her hat as she waited for Freckle by the Little Daisy Cafe, her sundress was a soft green with darker green embroidery. The cat broke into a smile upon spotting her boyfriend. The ginger tabby looking as anxious as ever as he fiddled with his paws. He wore a dark green waistcoat with a matching bowtie and soft green pants.
"Freckle!" Ivy smiled as she stood up, practically bouncing over to him, her heels clacking against the tiled floor.
"H-Hello." Freckle mumbled out, his tail whipping behind him as he spotted Ivy.
"You ready for our date?" Ivy smiled as she gripped his arm.
"Yeah." Freckle nodded with a soft smile, his tail flicking side to side betraying his excitement.
"Good." Ivy pressed a quick kiss to his cheek, making his tail bristle as he grew flustered. "Come on!"
"O-Okay." Freckle followed after her as Ivy dragged him off to a nearby park. The smaller short furred cat sitting down on the grass as she patted the space next to her for Freckle, her thin and wiry tail flicking.
"Here." Ivy handed him a wrapped sandwich. "I made sure they arn't from the drain this time." Ivy smiled as she took a bite of her own sandwich her tail intertwining with Freckle's.
"Thank you." Freckle smiled as he leaned against Ivy while eating his sandwich. "Did you make them yourself?" He asked looking over at the chipper girl.
"Yep!" Ivy grinned, "You like them?"
"Yeah." Freckle nodded with a shy smile. "It's very good." His ear flicked idly as he spoke.
"Glad you like it." Ivy smiled as she finished off her sandwich, her head resting on Freckle's shoulder. Freckle looked down at her flustered as he fiddled with his sandwich, tearing off a corner of the bread. "Your cute when your flustered." Ivy mused as she played with Freckle's tail, her paws batting at the fluffy ginger appendage.
"Oh- Thank you." Freckle smiled, "You- You are also cute." He mumbled out, looking away as his face grew hot. Ivy giggled at his words, sitting up straight and looking into his eyes with a smile.
"Thank you." Ivy purred before pecking his cheek. Once again causing Freckle to melt into a puddle of embarrassment and shyness. The ginger tabby hiding his face in his paws, as he tried to regain his lost composure. Ivy let out a soft purr at the sight as she ran her paw through his fur, caressing his cheek. Freckle nearly died inside from the overload of embarrassment, however despite that he couldn't help but let out soft purrs as Ivy brushed his fur. Aside from a few dirty glances from a few "old ones" as Ivy called them the day was uneventful and uninterrupted. "Here." Ivy placed a flower behind Freckle's ear.
"Oh- Um, Thank you." Freckle looked around, deciding to just take the chance. Freckle plucked a daisy and before he chickened out placed it behind Ivy's ear. "That's for you." Freckle said as he grew more flustered. "It makes you look pretty- not that you weren't already pretty- it's just makes- um- " Freckle decided to shut up as he hid his face in his paws.
"Aw." Ivy purred as she nuzzled close to Freckle. "Don't worry, I think it looks nice." She smiled as she subconsciously touched the daisy, leaning against Freckle as they watched the ducks swim by in the lake.