Chapter Text
Rain was coming down hard against the grimy windows of Emily's london flat. She blinked hard to clear the weariness out of her eyes, she had been staring at the screen for... what? Four hours.
"Shit" she said out loud, realizing just how long it had been since she had gotten up and walked around, or even had a glass of water.
As she rubbed her eyes a fluffy shape walked in front of her laptop, Whiskers, her playful cat perched on the desk and started to bat lightly at the laptop. Emily leaned back in the chair and closed her eyes, she was just going to rest them, just for a second...
The feeling of water blowing on her face caused her to jolt awake, she looked around in a panic, the window was open and her cat was nowhere to be seen around the bedroom.
She got up out of the chair and started to search the small flat "Whiskers!?" she called; Whiskers was an indoor cat, completely clueless about the city outside and the dangers that were lurking around every corner.
"Shit" she said, throwing on a coat and sprinting down the stairs, the cool air was biting at her face and she pulled her coat a little tighter.
"Whiskers?" she said in a hushed tone, it was the middle of the night, she didn't want to be rude and shout this late.
The streets were deserted, shrouded in a pre-dawn mist. Emily, armed with just a torch and the thudding of her panic stricken heart, she started gently calling her cats name.
Her hopelessness was replaced with relief when she heard a tiny mewing sound from a nearby garden, she spotted Whiskers perched precariously on a fence post. She looked around, there was no way to get to Whiskers without trampling around on someone else's property.
"Need a hand?" a voice said from nearby, she jumped a little and then looked around.
There was a man silhouetted by the lamp posts dotted around the area; before Emily could even answer, she watched the stranger jump up onto the fence posts and entice Whiskers to jump into his arms. He carefully came down from the fence post and handed a slightly started cat to Emily.
As Emily held Whiskers, a peculiar feeling washed over her, this man was just a stranger but she felt a strange sense of familiarity, as if their paths had crossed before.
"Do I know you?" She asked
"I don't think so, I live just around the bend. Perhaps you've seen me around?"
"Maybe" she said "Thanks for the help"
"Of course, do you need a hand walking back?"
She agreed, and the pair talked a little bit as they walked back to her apartment door, he shared bits and pieces about himself, he had recently moved from Coventry, his hobby was photography.
At her door, their conversation dwindled and he smiled at her. "Take care of the little adventurer" he said, reaching over and giving Whiskers a pat on his little head, he handed Emily a card "And perhaps..." he said with a playful glint in his eyes. "You should get some rest as well, exams can wait."
"I never got your name"
"Liam Blackwood's the name" he said with a smile "It's on the card I gave you, How about we get together for a cup some time?"
"Sure, I'd like that" Emily said