A Conflict of Duty and Heart

The Apartment

Constance kept her eyes trained on the road ahead as she drove back to her apartment. As she pulled to a stop at a red light she allowed herself to steal a glance at her passenger seat. Capper's hands firmly gripped the sides of his seat, an almost queasy expression on his face. Constance recalled how confused he had looked when she'd lead him to her car mere minutes ago when they'd left the cafe. If she didn't know better she'd have assumed this was his first encounter with a car.

"Are you alright?" Constance asked, genuinely concerned.

"I'm fine," Capper replied shakily, "On an unrelated note how much farther is this place anyway?"

"Not far, we're just a few minutes away."

"Oh thank Celestia." Capper breathed with relief.

Constance raised an eyebrow at the unfamiliar phrase but quickly turned her attention back to the road as the traffic light turned green. She hummed softly to herself as the hotel her apartment was located a top of came into view. She pulled up in front of the building and parked her car before unbuckling her seatbelt.

"We're here," Constance announced as she opened her door.

Capper practically launched himself out of his seat as he scrambled out of the vehicle. Constance shot him a concerned look as she handed her keys off to a waiting valet.

"Are you sure you're alright? You look a little shaken up." Constance inquired.

"I'm fine, really," Capper insisted unconvincingly, "just a little motion sick ya know?"

Constance eyed Capper's hunched over form warily as he gasped for air. She waited for a moment as he struggled to regain his composure. After a moment Capper rose to his feet and straightened his jacket.

"You live in a hotel?" Capper asked, audibly confused as he took in his surroundings.

"I technically live on top of the hotel." Constance corrected him.

Constance guided Capper towards the elevator leading to the top floor. As the doors closed behind them Constance took note of the fact that Capper had positioned himself in the corner opposite of her. Presumably so he could keep an eye on her in case she pulled any funny business. The elevator dinged signalling that it had reached their destination. Constance walked up to her front door, pulled out her house key, and began to fiddle with the lock.

She opened the door held it open so her "guest" could enter behind her. Capper let out a whistle in amazement as he stared wide eyed at his surroundings.

"Nice diggs," he remarked, his eyes scanning the sleekly decorated interior.

Constance's whiskers twitched with amusement as she watched the alley cat take in his surroundings. Her home was rather upscale, it was a penthouse apartment after all. She'd gotten so used to her surroundings that she'd almost forgotten how luxurious it all was. She glanced around the room allowing herself to take it all in as if she were looking at it for the first time.

The main floor was home to the living room, kitchen, and dining room. With the exception of the kitchen the floor was made up of warmly colored oakwood. On the left sat the living room. The living room boasted three, black couches decorated with red throw pillows. The couches formed a semicircle around a glass coffee table sitting atop a rectangular, white rug. The open end of the semicircle faced a
stone wall fireplace above which rested a large, flat screen tv.

To the right was the kitchen of which the most noticable feature was the polished, black, granite countertops. The floor was laid with white tile. The kitchen was fitted with all of the standard appliances; sink, oven, microwave, dishwasher, fridge, everything one would need for a functioning kitchen. The counters were arranged in a U shape, the open end of which faced a kitchen island. Tucked under the lip of the island were three bar stools.

Just beyond the kitchen sat the dining room table. An oval shaped table made from darkly stained wood. Surrounding the table was a matching set of chairs with red cushions on the seats. There was enough space for roughly eight cats to sit comfortably around the table. If Constance was being entirely honest she rarely used the table and she often found herself eating at the kitchen island. Something about eating at the table alone felt painfully isolating.

One of Constance's favorite aspects of her home was the wall opposite of the front door. The wall was entirely composed of one large, way windows that offered a breath taking view of the city and allowed sunlight to illuminate the good majority of the room. The view was amazing during the day but even more so at night.

Constance's attention shifted back to Capper who was curiously peering through the aforementioned windows at the streets below. His whiskers quivered with awe and excitement.

"When you said your place was nice I didn't know you meant it was this nice." Capper remarked.

"Would you have believed me if I had?"

"Well no but...." Capper's voice trailed off as he looked back at Constance. "Perhaps that offer of yours is more viable than I initially thought."

"So you're considering it then?"

"Well I definitely am now." Capper admitted, "Perhaps we should go over those 'conditions' you mentioned earlier."

"Oh it's quite simple really," Constance began, "Firstly, if you're going to be staying here you're going to have to get a job. I'm happy to help you out for the time being but you have to make a bit of effort towards helping yourself. Secondly, don't let anyone in here without my permission. I'm not exactly comfortable with the idea of strangers waltzing around my home."

"That sounds reasonable so far."

"Thirdly, there is a pool on the second floor, you are welcome to use it at any time but the rooms up there are off limits."

"Am I allowed to ask why?"

"My bedroom and home office are up there, I don't think it's that outrageous for me to want those places to remain private." Constance stated.

Capper nodded understandingly.

"So, do we have a deal?" Constance inquired.

Capper's brow furrowed as he carefully contemplated her offer. Connie could practically see the gears in his head turning. After a moment the tom turned his attention back to her.

"Moving in with someone I just met isn't the smartest thing I could do." Capper admitted , " But I don't see an opportunity like this coming my way again." He paused, carefully weighing his options. After a brief moment the orange cat smirked and tilted his head slightly.

"Miss Lorraine, I believe we have ourselves a deal." Capper said as he offered Constance his hand.

*********

Hello, I'm alive. Sorry for the lengthy absence. I've been kinda busy with my personal life and I dropped out of the mlp fandom for a moment. But I'm back now and I intend to start posting more chapters much more frequently.

Part of the delay was caused by some new canon information that was released in the ice comics that pretty much derailed the entire latter half of my plot. After a bit of reworking I think I've finally managed to get things back on track.

Thank you to everyone who's stuck around! I love you guys and I'll see you next chapter! ❤️