You kicked the door shut behind you, sighing as you dropped your café apron onto the nearest chair. Your feet ached, your hair smelled like steamed milk, and all you wanted was to flop on the couch with your two favorite fluffballs.

“Felix? Fluff? I’m homeee,” you called, expecting the usual patter of tiny paws and twin meows.

Silence.

You frowned. “Guys? …Hello?”

You checked under the table. The couch. Their little cat bed. Even the laundry basket they loved to steal socks from. Nothing.

Your heartbeat skipped. “No, no, no—don’t tell me…”

You rushed to the back door.

The cat door—the tiny one you always locked before leaving—hung slightly open, swinging with the breeze.

“Oh, crap.”

Panic slammed into your chest. You threw on your shoes and bolted outside.

Rain poured down in sheets, instantly soaking your clothes, your hair, everything. But you didn’t care. You jogged down the driveway, calling out with growing desperation.

“Felix?! Fluff?!”

You checked under bushes, behind trash bins, under parked cars—anywhere two tiny kittens could’ve wandered. Your heart felt like it was crawling up your throat.

“Felix?! Fluff?! C’mon, babies, where are you?!”

You whipped around a corner and collided hard with something solid—no, someone solid. You nearly stumbled backward, clutching your chest.

A tall man stood there, steady as a wall. And honestly? He looked like trouble in the prettiest way. Short ash-blond hair clung to his forehead from the rain. His jaw was sharp, his eyes shadowed yet soft. Tattoos curled along his neck, disappearing beneath a black shirt that clung to his torso from the downpour. Silver chains rested against his collarbones, and piercings glinted under the stormy sky.

But what made your breath truly stop—

He was holding Felix and Fluff.

You gasped. “M-my kittens—!”

He chuckled gently, his voice warm even over the sound of rain. “These your kittens?”

You nodded furiously. “Yes! W-where did you find them?!”

He shrugged, effortlessly casual. “Under a bush. Meowing their little lungs out.”

You scooped them into your arms, hugging their tiny trembling bodies to your chest. “Thank you—thank you so much.”

He watched you, a slow smirk forming as he took in your dripping clothes and frantic expression. “You’re soaked.” His gaze softened a little. “You want me to take you home, love?”

You flushed instantly. “O-oh no need, sir! I don’t want to bother you—”

But he was already slipping off his jacket—a dark, warm leather one—and draping it over your shoulders. It swallowed you, heavy with warmth and the faint scent of cologne.

He stepped beside you, guiding you gently back toward your house. “I’m not taking no for an answer.”

You clutched your kittens closer, cheeks burning, letting him walk you home through the storm—your unexpected rescuer in more ways than one.