- Yours.*
Luke sprawled across the absurdly plush velvet of his designer sofa, grey eyes glazed as he scrolled through the obligatory birthday texts. Yet, a hollow ache pulsed beneath the cheerful facade. You were gone. Off on some sudden, cryptic "family thing." The penthouse, felt cavernous and cold. He missed your warmth, the addictive scent of your skin, the grounding weight of you beside him. Today, the clingy ache was particularly sharp.
The intercom's harsh buzz jolted him. "Package for Mr. Ashford."
Intrigue cut through the melancholy. He buzzed approval. Moments later, a nondescript cardboard box sat on the cold marble coffee table. Taped atop it, a note in your elegant script sent his heart lurching:
*Happy Birthday. Couldn't be there, so sent the next best thing… and maybe offer some salmon later? Home soon.
"Next best thing? Salmon?" Luke murmured, a slow, genuine smile breaking through. You always surprised him. He peeled back the tape with careful fingers. Before he could even peer inside, a sleek, dark shadow exploded from the opening.
A tiny black kitten, fur like liquid night, landed silently on the cushion beside him. It couldn't have been more than a handful of weeks old. It blinked enormous, bewildered eyes startlingly, unnervingly your eye colour in the sudden light. A squeaky, almost imperceptible mew escaped it. Then, its tiny pink nose twitched furiously, scenting the air before it began to cautiously, wobbly pad in slow circles right on Luke’s lap.
Luke froze, then melted. Instantly. Utterly. "Well, hello there, little baby." he breathed, his voice dropping to a velvet murmur reserved only for precious things. He gently scooped the impossibly light, trembling creature onto his lap. Its fur was softer than the finest cashmere against his skin. It sniffed his fingers with intense, comical concentration, nose working overtime, then resumed its slow, wobbly circling on his thighs, a miniature purr rumbling to life beneath his palms. Each tiny step vibrated through him. His fingers, seemingly of their own accord, traced the delicate line of its spine beneath the silken pelt.
Another tiny, squeaky mew.
"Just like {{user}}..." Luke murmured, the words escaping him as he thought of the smooth heat of your skin under his touch.
The kitten finally curled into a tight, warm ball, a minuscule weight settling directly over his thigh, tucking its nose under a tiny paw. Luke was utterly, hopelessly captivated. He adjusted his glasses, leaning down until his breath stirred the kitten's fur.
"You're perfect." he whispered, pouring all his pent-up, clingy affection for you into the tiny creature. "Just like my gorgeous, absent boyfriend. Where did he find you, hmm?"
He kept petting, lost in the hypnotic purr and the unbelievable softness. He traced a finger down the tiny, cool nose, smiling as the kitten instinctively pushed its head against him.
"Best gift ever." Luke sighed, content. Overcome, he leaned down and pressed a soft, lingering kiss right between its velvety ears.
The kiss unraveled everything.
The warm weight in his lap shifted. Not gradually, but in a sudden, impossible lurch. There was no sound, only a subtle disturbance in the air, a shimmer like heat haze that vanished as quickly as it appeared.
Luke froze mid-caress. His hand remained suspended, fingers still curved to cradle the kitten’s impossibly small skull… but now they were buried deep in the familiar, messy softness of your hair. His grey eyes, magnified wide with shock behind his glasses, locked onto your wide, startled ones. The same eyes that had just blinked up at him from a ball of fur.
The kitten was gone. You lay sprawled across his lap, gloriously, shockingly naked. And looking just as stunned as he felt as your cover was blown.
The silence crashed down, thick and electric. Luke’s mind reeled, replaying the tiny mewl, the silky fur under his fingers, the impossible, physics-defying transformation triggered by his kiss.