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Windows boarded, electronics taken home or covered in trash bags, items susceptible to water damage put up on high up shelves, knick knacks stored away, all power cords unplugged, weight plates and dumbbells put on anything that could potentially fly away, furniture from the lobby moved to the other side of the wall, and a clean bill of health from the previous week's roof inspection were just a few of the things Bonde and the rest of Hybrid had done to prepare the gym for the impending hurricane. All that was really left was herding Cleo into the car and flipping the breaker.
Bonde surveyed the inside of the building for a moment, looking for his gray cat in her usual nesting spots, hands on his hips. When she was nowhere to be seen, he walked up to Dan who was dropping the last 25lb plate onto the air track in the corner of the room. “Looks like everything is done. Have you seen Cleo?”
“Yeah, she's right.. oh,” Dan’s head swiveled on his shoulders, “Uhm, she was right at the end of the trampoline, I guess she walked off.”
Both men turned in circles, whistling and clapping. When the noise failed to bring the cat to them, they made a lap around the gym floor together, each getting more confused as they continued along the edge of the room. Where could she have disappeared to? Literally everything was put away..
“Cleo, baby, come here. It's time to go.” There was an uneasy edge to Bonde’s tone. After fifteen minutes of making rounds and peeking into any space big enough for a cat, the tabby was still nowhere to be found.
As the two were standing in the middle of the large room scratching their heads, both of their phones chirped from an incoming text. It was Bonde’s mom updating them in their group chat that the hurricane was set to make landfall in an hour.
Suddenly, the interior of the building was a flurry of movement, the likes of which resembling a Scooby Doo episode. In and out of every door multiple times the two men went. Dan lifted Bonde into a platform more than once to check on spaces higher up. On their hands and knees the pair checked under piles of foam mats and rollers. Dan checked in front of the building. Behind the building. Under Bonde’s car. Bonde then checked in front of the building, behind the building, under his car.
Bathrooms empty. Front lobby empty. Office empty. Storage room empty.
Bonde was getting well and truly nervous. He's not one to put things off until the last minute but safety checking 10k square feet had taken a lot longer than planned and they were running out of time before the curfew would be in place. He wanted to be home now.
“Cleo!” To anyone else, that shout would have sounded angry but Dan knew that shout was from full blown anxiety.
Blessedly, there was a faint answering, “Mrrup?” from the direction of the office. Bonde quickly looked to Dan to make sure he wasn't the only one that heard it and when Dan nodded, confirming he had too, they booked it to the closed door.
Bonde tore open the door and flipped on the overhead light. A bare office, besides Bonde’s desk and chair, stared back at them.
“Cleo?” The blond repeated dubiously for the doorway, Dan looking over his shoulder.
“Mrrrrp.” The reply definitely came from the deserted space.
“Where the fuck..?” Dan pressed harder against his friend’s back as he tried to look further into the apparently feline haunted office.
And then Bonde saw it. His discarded sweater piled up in the office chair and under it one cat paw peeking out. In their frantic searching, the tiny foot had been completely missed by both during their swift glances into the room. Relief flooded Bonde’s body, his shoulders relaxed and the crease between his eyebrows smoothed out.
“Jesus Christ, girl,” Bonde ripped away the sweater and slung it over his shoulder, snatching up the sleepy cat. Cleo gave no protest at being picked up so abruptly.
“Don't scare me like that, you fuckin’-” but Bonde’s sentence ended in a sigh as he pressed kiss after kiss to the top of her fuzzy head, hugging his baby to his chest as tightly as he could without hurting her. Bonde felt like he could breathe again now that she was in his arms and contentedly purring.
Walking back out of the office, Bonde had Dan flip the main breaker and lock the gym doors, refusing to put Cleo back down now that he had her. Together Bonde and his baby rode home in the passenger seat, happily enjoying each other’s company and kisses.