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Scar loved his job. Hearing the symphony of meows and barks when clocking in is music to his ears. It was a bit lonely since his supervisor and friend, Gem, wasn’t working today. The Hermitopia Pet Rescue was rather quiet today so he went to check on his favorite kitten, Queen Jelly herself. She was one of the older cats and she was really shy around new people so she hadn’t been adopted yet.
However, around Scar, Jelly was a completely different cat. When the brunette came over to let her out for a bit she immediately jumped into his arms, making a nest against his warm chest.
“Aww hi you silly cat! Somebody’s happy to me,” he muttered under his breath. Scratching her neck, she rolled over and began purring.
“Also, for the record, you shouldn’t have to handle this on your own. I’m a pretty good shot, you know,”
Blushing at the previous night's chat with Cuteguy, he buried his face in Jelly’s fur.
“Is anyone here?” A voice called from outside the room.
“Shoot, sorry about that! Coming-“
He tried to put Jelly back in her cage but she clung tightly to the man and refused to go back in. Sighing to himself, he scooped her up and made his way to the front desk.
“I hope you’re not allergic to cats, Jelly here just can’t get enough of me I guess!” Turning his gaze he recognized one of the two people standing before him. Pearl was one of their volunteers who helped walk many of the dogs. When Gem wasn’t busy gay panicking over the girl, they had many discussions of the latest Star Wars show, much to Gem’s dismay. He had tried so many times to wingman, but it seemed like Gem was a hopeless cause.
“Hey Pearl, how’s Gem~” he grinned mischievously as she avoided eye contact.
“She’s staying with me at the moment, but she’s fine! Everything’s fine, why wouldn’t it be!” Pearl’s face reddened by the minute and he could tell that something interesting had happened.
“Nevermind all that, I’m just dropping by to take Tilly out for a walk. This is my little brother, Grian. He absolutely adores cats and was looking into adopting a third cat.” She smiled and turned to her brother, proud of herself for changing the subject.
“Hey, nice to meet you!” Scar wore a big grin on his face as he was always happy to meet a fellow cat-lover.
“You as well! My sister has been raving about this place so I figured I’d finally check it out.”
Pearl nudged her brother towards Scar and the pair walked off to the cat room, while Pearl went over to the dogs.
“Don’t think this conversation is over!” He called off to Pearl as she covered her ears.
“I hope my sister hasn’t said anything embarrassing about me, if she has I’m going to murder her,” he said while glaring daggers in the direction his sister went.
“All good things, my friend! I’ve probably heard more things about Maui and Pearl! Where do you work?”
“I just work at our local coffee shop. It’s only part time while I finish grad school though,” the blonde man paused and observed the curious look on the man’s face.
“Ooh what do you study?” Scar smiled brightly down at the man.
“I’m hoping to be an architect, but we’ll see. The job market is not looking too great at the moment,” he sighed, “What about you though?”
“I work here full time, but by night,” he paused for dramatic effect, “I am a massive Star Wars fan.”
“No way! My sister loves the franchise! She’s made me watch it so many times so I know most of the story by now.” Grian smiled at the energetic man. Scar’s eyes widened with excitement when discovering that he too, had watched the saga.
“Mr. Grian, you’d better grab a chair, because boy do I have some theories to tell you about.” He gestured to a chair and Grian sat down, trying to hold in a laugh at the pure joy in the man’s voice that someone wanted to hear about his interests. Scar then spent the next 45 minutes explaining to him all of the hidden easter eggs throughout the franchise and the fun details in the newest show.
Eventually, after a long rant, the pair found themselves in a comfortable silence before Scar decided to break it. Jelly was getting restless and he went over to grab a toy. By now he knew Jelly’s favorite so grabbing it he placed it in Grian’s lap.
“Here, she loves this toy!”
Jelly cautiously approached the new stranger and slowly came over to Grian. Once she noticed the toy she immediately pounced on it and the shorter man had to use all of his strength to get it away from her.
“How is she so strong?” Grian said through uneven breaths.
“She gets it from me,” he winked and smiled at the man.
Grian couldn’t help but crack a smile at the ridiculous man’s antics. Scar was rather buff and he was not too bad to look at. Tied back in a ponytail, his messy hair framed his face ever so perfectly. He spent maybe a little too long staring, because Scar cleared his throat, causing Grian to awkwardly check his phone and pretend he hadn’t just been ogling the man.
After a while of playing with Jelly she began to wear out and she plopped herself down in Grian’s lap. She was purring softly as Grian pet her.
“Aw she loves you!”
“I tend to have that effect on cats.” Looking down at the furry creature he saw Scar sit down next to him, placing his cane gently next to him. Grian tentatively laid his head next to Scar’s, as Jelly purred in delight.
A comfortable silence fell over the two once again and this time it was interrupted by Pearl opening the door with a sneaky grin on her face.
“Aw this sight is adorable, I hate to break up such a romantic scene but we have to get going,” Pearl saw her brother throw her the middle finger. Her job as an embarrassing older sister had been done.
“I- I’m really glad I got to meet you Scar. Take good care of Jelly and I’ll be back some other time for sure,” Grian shyly smiled.
Helping Scar to his feet he was surprised by an enveloping hug from the tall man. His arms froze and as quickly as the warmth came, it rapidly disappeared.
“Oh shoot, are you a hugger? Gosh darn it I totally forgot to ask!” Scar began chastising himself for the assumption.
“No, I mean, yes I am! Thanks, I needed that,” blushing profusely he grabbed Pearl by the wrist and dragged her out.
On their way out Scar could faintly hear Pearl making fun of Grian as they walked back to their car. Grian turned around to wave and found that the man had already made eye contact.
Scar had this stupid grin on his face as Grian waved goodbye, knowing he would be back very soon.
He spent the rest of his quiet day monitoring the animals before he went home to get dinner. After picking up dinner he changed into comfier clothing before settling down to watch a movie.
Approximately 5 minutes into watching a movie he heard the phone ringing.
“Hi Scar, do you mind checking walking Tilly for me tonight? I’m sort of… busy,” His favorite coworker and friend, Pearl, sounded strangely out of breath and he figured it best to not ask questions.
“I’d be happy to! I’ll head over now.”
Outside it was lightly snowing so he put on his parka jacket and drove across the bustling city back to his work. The roads were mostly cleared of ice and it was an easy drive over. The radio was humming a gentle jazzy tune as he drove.
Scar loved the winter season in Hermitopia. The city lights would illuminate every nook and cranny and make for a beautiful sight at night. It was quiet at the shelter and he noticed that Tilly was whimpering anxiously when he came in to take her out.
Something felt off, but he couldn’t figure out what.
“It’s okay Tilly, everything’s gonna be fine!” Part of the reassurance to Tilly was to himself as he sensed that he was not alone.
Locking up behind him, he took his usual route through the park with Tilly following closely. Scanning the area it appeared that the park was next to empty. After walking for another 15 minutes he was certain someone was following him. He had done his usual route and with extra twists and turns and he still heard the same pair of footsteps.
I can take them, if I just-
Before he could yell he felt a cloth cover his mouth. Dressed in all black, two people appeared, seemingly out of thin air. They grabbed his cane and he felt his legs buckle beneath him. Slipping backwards he tried to call, but his mouth produced no sound.
He felt himself grow light headed, and he could tell something was in the cloth. As his eyes closed shut he swore he heard a familiar exasperated voice.
“Ugh my head is aching, where am I?” He mumbled as his eyes fluttered open.
For a second Scar thought he was dreaming. In front of him stood Cuteguy in what appeared to be his living room.
“S- Civilian, are you okay?”