Kiss of Fate

HotGuy

Now I was in a bit of a predicament. I was still fully dressed as Cute Guy, wings and all, and HotGuy was sound asleep on my sofa, completely unaware of his surroundings. To make matters even more interesting, both of my cats-Maui and Pearl-had somehow decided that HotGuy was their new favorite pillow. They were nestled up against him, purring softly, clearly having claimed him as part of their morning routine.

I stood there for a moment, trying to figure out my next move. I couldn't exactly wake him up like this, fully suited and ready to dive into hero work, especially not after telling him to take a break. Plus, the cats looked way too content to disturb them. But at the same time, I needed to figure out how to change back into my normal clothes without raising suspicion-or worse, revealing who I really was.

Carefully, I tiptoed toward the bedroom, hoping to at least slip out of my hero gear and into something more casual. But just as I took a step, HotGuy stirred, shifting slightly as Maui stretched across his chest. I froze, waiting to see if he'd wake up. When he didn't, I breathed a quiet sigh of relief and continued toward the room.

Once inside, I quickly peeled off my outfit, my heart racing as I tried to change before HotGuy woke up. The last thing I needed was for him to catch me mid-transformation. After swapping my gear for something comfortable-just some casual jeans and a hoodie-I summoned a quick spell to hide the wings.

I peeked out from the doorframe to check on him. Still asleep, thankfully. But with the way the sunlight was starting to creep in through the curtains, I knew it wouldn't be long before he woke up. Maybe I could just play it off like I found him there and didn't think much of it.

I made my way back to the living room, trying to act casual as I busied myself with the kettle in the kitchen, hoping that when he woke up, the sight of tea would distract him from any lingering questions about how he ended up on my couch.

After spending four hours mindlessly scrolling through my phone, I had already fed both of my cats twice and run out of things to keep myself busy. By now, HotGuy was still snoozing away on my couch, completely oblivious to the world-and to the fact that I was growing more and more annoyed with him hogging the space.

I sighed, glaring over at him as he lay there, blissfully unaware, my cats curled up contently beside him. Seriously? How could someone sleep this long? I'd given him the benefit of the doubt for a while, but this was getting ridiculous.

Finally, I'd had enough. Grabbing a nearby pillow, I marched over to the couch and smacked him on the shoulder with it-not too hard, but enough to get his attention.

"Hey, rise and shine, HotGuy!" I said, trying to keep my tone light but failing to hide the irritation. "You've been out for hours. Some of us actually have things to do today, y'know."

He groaned, blinking blearily as he stirred awake, clearly still half-asleep. Pearl meowed in protest as she lazily shifted her spot beside him, while Maui shot me a look that said, Really?

"Ow... what the-?" HotGuy mumbled, rubbing his eyes and looking around, clearly disoriented. It took him a second to register where he was. "Wait, where am I?" He asked, blinking as he shifted, only to get hit in the face with Pearl's paw, her meow of annoyance making it clear she wasn't pleased with the disruption. Before he had actually fully woken up. I was quick to sit down in a chair and pretend like I was reading

"Grian?" he asked, squinting at me, still half-asleep.

I didn't even glance up from my book, casually sipping my tea. "Cute Guy dropped you off on my patio," I said flatly, turning another page like this was the most normal thing in the world.

He blinked, clearly confused. "Wait... what? Cute Guy?"

"Yeah," I replied, still not looking up from my book. "You were asleep on the roof, and he figured you needed a place to crash. So here you are."