A Whole Bunch of Loki's

For Life

Your cat was a weird one.

He wouldn't chase a laser pointer and didn't care to try and catch toys on a string, instead he'd stare lazily at the felt fish or set of feathers at the end of the pole.

He was picky about his food, not liking anything that came from a typical cat packet that could be picked up from a quick supermarket trip, instead he had to have the best, most expensive branded food that you could get your hands on, or he would just steal meat from your plate when you weren't looking.

It seemed as though he was constantly assessing the world, scanning everything with his strange coloured eyes that one moment seemed blue, the next seemed green and at times was an alluring mixture of the two with added gold flecks for show.

He was strange, but gorgeous, fluffy, pure black and yours.

Rather than going outside, he would prefer to snuggle on your lap and get some pets while you read a book, sometimes even aloud to him as a means of comfort. Though he had still managed to start something of a rivalry with the golden retriever next door, despite rarely stepping a foot into the garden.

He seemed to enjoy hearing your voice as you gently went through the story, sometimes even whispering gently if you were cuddled up in bed as to not disturb the serene atmosphere.

You loved your unusual cat, which is why your heart shattered the day you returned from work to find that he was missing.

You searched high and low in the house and ventured outside in the hopes that he was simply hiding somewhere, blending perfectly into the shadows in corners or keeping somewhere secure in the unfamiliarity of your street until you found him, but he never turned up.

Once night had officially taken over and you'd walked blocks away from your house, you gave up the hopes of finding him and returned home to make up some missing posters to put up in the morning, which proved difficult due to the tears that stung your eyes.

Sleep didn't come that night, instead you tossed and turned in worry over where your precious cat had gotten to, if he was okay and fended off the mental images of the worst results.

Days passed slowly and no results came from your posters, it was hard to focus on work and your hunger had ebbed away to the point where you had to remind yourself to eat more out of necessity and less out of want.

By the time a week had come around, you had lost all hope in finding him and convinced yourself that it was time to move on and try to get past this sadness, especially now that you had run out of pet homes to call in the hopes that someone had taken him in.

That was easier said than done, but you couldn't spend every evening out searching for him.

If he was still alive and well out there and wanted to, he would return home on his own accord.

One week turned to two, which then became three and by the time the fourth rolled around you were ready to accept that he had gone for good.

Though it was difficult, you put all your focus back into work and recreational activities during free hours to keep your mind distracted from the cat-sized void that now filled your house.

One evening, you were rifling through your cupboards and happened upon the cat food you hadn't spared a glance towards for at least a week and a half after no longer putting a bowl full out at night in the hopes of coaxing him back.

Pulling out the fancy gold packets, you stared at the label before letting out a long sigh and coming to a sudden but still difficult decision.

The next half an hour was spent gathering all the items you had bought for him over the years and bagging them up, then you searched online to see if any of the adoption homes were still open and would be for another hour and a half.

You took ten minutes to go over what you were doing, finally thinking through your decision before coming to the conclusion that it was for the best, it would give you closure and the cats at the home a treat.

Once you had steeled yourself, you got up, pulled on your coat and grabbed the bag to venture back out into the cold for the twenty minute walk.

It was strangely therapeutic, the quiet walk to the home and back, passing over the donation to the worker who accepted it all with a wide smile and words of praise or sympathy after you explained the situation.

The walk home made you feel a little lighter and you finally felt like you could ring in the new year with closure.

Instead of curling up with your cat, you made yourself a buffet fit for a king and excessive amounts of hot drinks to last through the day as you snuggled into the corner of your couch and watched movie after movie before falling into a food coma by late evening.

You groggily roused awake to the sound of the doorbell ringing, the starting menu to The Lost Boys looping as it waited for you to pick your option.

A quick glance at the clock revealed it to be nearing ten o'clock, meaning you had been asleep for around an hour and ten minutes and boy, did you feel like you'd been hit by a ton of bricks.

The doorbell rang again and you let out a low groan, getting up while untangling yourself from the blanket you had been snuggled up in.

"Okay, I'm coming!" You yelled, stumbling to the door.

You'd cursed yourself for not checking your phone before heading to the hallway, perhaps someone had messaged you about a sudden visit and you had missed it, missing the chance to be better prepared for a guest or guests.

Grabbing the key front the hook by the door, you fumble to get it into the lock and then struggle to turn it the right way, not feeling the lock give until you took the key out then reinserted it and tried again.

Finally, it clicked open and you swung the door open to be greeted by a completely unfamiliar face.

He was tall, man was he tall, and quite handsome.

His dark hair blended well into the night sky and accentuated his pale skin and high cheekbones.

This man was made of marble and the essence of Scar.

Tall, chiselled and just a little shifty looking in his gorgeous eyes.

For a moment, you found yourself staring up at him with mouth agape while he stared back down at your dishevelled figure, his lips eventually twitching to the side into a smirk of amusement.

"Good evening," he said in a delicious voice.

Your cheeks suddenly flushed as you snapped back to reality, realising that you must look a total mess before this deity of a man.

"Uh, h-hi, hello, good evening to you too," you rambled, straightening yourself. "Can I help you?"

"Well, yes and no," he chuckled, nodding slowly.

"Okay? Uh, what's up?"

"It's regarding your missing cat," he smiled, holding up one of your weather-worn posters.

"Oh!" You smiled, eyes brightening as you perked up, "you found my cat?"

"Not quite."

Your smile slipped and frowned at him, "You haven't found my cat?"

"It's less that I found your cat and more that I am your cat."