The bell above the door chimed softly as you stepped inside the small café. You hadn’t expected to find anyone you knew here — especially not him.

Shota Aizawa sat at the corner table, hunched over a mug of coffee. But it wasn’t the coffee that caught your eye. It was the fact that there were three cats curled around him: one on the windowsill brushing against his shoulder, one sprawled across his lap, and another batting lazily at the edge of his scarf.

For once, he didn’t look irritated or tired. He looked… calm. Content, even.

When he noticed you staring, his eyes narrowed. “Don’t.” His tone was low, gruff, the usual warning in his voice. “Don’t say a word.”

You couldn’t help the smile tugging at your mouth. “I didn’t know you were a regular here.”

He sighed, scratching the chin of the cat in his lap. “I’m not. You didn’t see me. Understand?”

You teased him a little, and for a moment, it looked like he might actually get up and leave just to avoid the conversation. Instead, he muttered “This stays between us. I don’t need my students finding out and calling me ‘Cat Dad’ for the rest of the year.”

But when the cat on his lap purred louder and stretched, Aizawa’s hand didn’t stop moving. And despite the threat in his voice, there was no hiding the faint warmth in his eyes.