•Y/N: Your Name
•E/C: Eye Color
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Author's POV:
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"Ah-choo!" The sound of Lorenzo's sneeze echoed through the alleyway as his body jerked forward and his tail frizzed. Growling softly, he shakes his head and sniffles before leaning back against the brick building behind him while staring up at the dreary, grey sky. Feeling a small leak, he wipes his nose with the sleeve of his new coat, then rubs his arms to keep warm, each breath becoming visible in the air. Soft head's rub against him, purring loudly as sharp claws kneed at his pants. The cat-man pays no mind to the felines blanketing his lap, though he was thankful for their attempts at keeping him warm. All the cats were worried for him, knowing he had gotten sick from this awful weather. They had begged him to go to Y/N to keep warm in her home until he was well again, but each time he denied them.
"Boss, you really don't look so good. You should see if the bird will cook you somethin' warm," Jezebel, a British longhair, suggests while pawing at the man's stomach, which growled at the mere mention of food. His mouth had even salivated, but still, he shook his head.
"Not a chance. I've lived this long without the help of humans. I don't need her. It's just a stupid cold. I get them all the time," he huffs, tail twitching from side-to-side, sweeping through the snow on the ground, which sent a chill through him. He was starting to get annoyed by their persistence. If the cat could frown, she would.
"I thought the whole purpose of the bird was to mooch off her?" Sen, a raggedy, Siamese cat, questions. He did not understand his leader's intentions. Why suffer if there was someone to help you?
"It is, but I don't need her help. I'm not weak. I can survive just fine on my own. I'm not gonna be her little house pet," he hisses, still salty about her giving him a bath on his last visit. The animals fall silent, exchanging looks before deciding to drop it.
His hatred of humans is too strong to convince him to go, even if it would benefit his health. Jezebel, however, was not quite ready to give in just yet. She gets up and walks off, her spot getting filled up by the others, who want to keep Lorenzo warm. No one called after her or asked where she was going. It wasn't their business anyways.
They were more concerned with their sick friend's health. He had always helped them during tough times, so they'd gladly return the favor. It didn't take much time for the longhair to find the house Lorenzo had taken them to before the snowfall, and she scratches loudly at the door to gain the attention of the woman inside. Ginger's ear twitched upon hearing the noise and quickly lifted her head before leaping off the couch. Curiously, she approaches the door and meows softly to the person on the other side.
"Who's there?" She inquires, not expecting one of her old friends to speak to her.
"Traitor, where's the bird? The boss is sick, and he's too damn stubborn to come here himself." The older cat was unbothered by the word 'traitor', for that's indeed what she is now, at least in Lorenzo's mind. She cares deeply for that boy, but he hates the idea of change or relying on anyone human. She was not surprised to hear this.
"I'll get her, don't worry." Ginger yowls loudly while running into the kitchen, where Y/N sat at the table, working on her laptop while sipping on a mug of hot chocolate. She lifts a brow at the cat as she skids across the floor to reach her before rubbing vigorously against her legs.
"What are you doing, silly?" She asks aloud while giggling and reaching down to pet the kitty. Ginger mewls before chomping down on the woman's pant leg and tugging with all her might. "Ginger, what the hell?" Obviously, she was trying to take her somewhere, so Y/N decides to take a break to figure out what she wants.
At first, she wondered if the cat was just hungry, but was confused when she was brought to the front door. After letting go of her clothes, Ginger gets on her hind legs and stretches towards the doorknob to paw at it. Having a lack of thumbs was frustrating to her. Unsure, the human opens the door for her and was taken off guard when she found another cat on her doorstep. The both of them meow at her repeatedly, causing her to raise her hands in surrender.
"Okay, okay, just a second." She sighs and fetches her coat and boots before putting them on, figuring this must have something to do with Lorenzo. Why else would a cat be at her door? As soon as she was ready, Ginger bolted out into the snow with the longhaired cat, causing Y/N to call out to her. "Hey, wait a minute!"
She doesn't stop to lock the door after shutting it and runs after them, not wanting to lose track of the two. Y/N was careful to watch her step, not wanting to slip on any ice, which she nearly did twice. Soon enough, they turn in to an alley and stop there, causing the woman to skid to a stop. The animals meow at a dumpster, or rather, at what was hiding beside it. Walking at a hesitant pace, Y/N comes closer and jumps upon hearing an intense sneeze.
The sound repeats four times in a row, each one sounding strong, almost painful. There, she saw Lorenzo shivering in the snow covered by cats with his face buried in the scarf she had purchased for him and eyes shut tight. "Lorenzo?" She calls his name softly in concern, weary of the many cats. Her voice made his eyes snap open, and immediately, he tensed up in surprise, for he hadn't sensed her. "You could've dropped by, you know?"
"I don't need your help," he retorts in a hoarse voice, throat sore from coughing. This makes Y/N shake her head.
"Come on, you can't be this stubborn. It's freezing out here, and clearly, you're sick." She offers her hand to help him only to have it slapped away. Lorenzo stands on his own and glares at the bird as the cats that were on him scatter and watch from the shadows. They weren't certain if the woman would convince him, but they had hope.
"I said I don't need your help, you stupid bir—" He croaks and coughs into his fist roughly before wheezing. Everything around him appeared to be spinning from getting up so quickly. Y/N sighs, feeling sorry for the stubborn man, but her E/C eyes soon fix into a glare, knowing that acting all soft wouldn't get through that thick skull of his.
"What the hell is your problem?! I'm just trying to help!"
"I don't want your help! Leave me alone, human!" Lorenzo grumbles curses at the woman under his breath while walking past her and hiding his face in his scarf. She wasn't through yet, however.
"What's your problem with humans anyway?" She questions while following after the agitated male, only adding to his frustration. Her inquiry brings out a solemn look in his eyes as he clicks his tongue in response before walking faster with the hood pulled up over his head as a large gust of wind blows past them. Y/N wasn't going to give up on this, though, so she picks up the pace and tugs him back by the arm, leading him to rip it right out of her grasp. With his ears pinned back, he bares his teeth, but did not turn around to face her. He stopped, nonetheless.
"I thought I told you to leave me alone?"
"What if I make a deal with you? If you let me take care of you for just a few hours, I promise to buy your whole cat mob treats," she offers. As much of a pain-in-the-ass Lorenzo is, she did not like the idea of him getting sick out here with no medicine, food or a roof over his head. She is not a cruel person. The man looks over his shoulder at her with a glare, taking a moment to think over her proposal before looking forward again. After giving a long, exasperated sigh, he mutters,
"A few hours, then I'm leaving." He walks on, already knowing the location of her home, which brought out a victorious smile from the girl. After feeling something brush against her ankle, she looks down to find Ginger, who seems satisfied with her new owner's ability to get the cat-man to listen.
"I hope you guys appreciate what I'm doing for you," she grumbles, eliciting a purr out of her. They follow after him, and Lorenzo enters the house without waiting on the woman and stands awkwardly by the door as she comes in. Y/N rubs her hands together to warm them, relieved to be back in the house, before removing her coat to hang it up. She notices that he still has his on, though.
"You can take yours off too." The fabric is drenched with snow, same as the rest of his clothes. She, sadly, has no other clothes for him to change into and already knew he'd refuse a nice, hot bath, which would allow her a chance to dry his clothes. Lorenzo clings to the coat, protesting it's removal, causing her to glare and march over to unzip it herself.
"You can't walk around with wet clothes. That's only going to make you sicker." The man quietly growls, but allows the woman to take it off off him. He immediately felt colder without it, even in the warm house, and grips his arms tightly while letting out a few sniffles. Y/N sighs at the pitiful creature and motions him to go get settled while she heads to the bathroom to grab a towel to set down on the couch, so it won't get wet. When she put it down for him, he looked at it before giving a mischievous smirk and sitting elsewhere on the couch, earning him a sharp glare.
"You always got to be difficult, don't you?" Sighing, she tosses the unused towel onto the coffee table before going into the kitchen. She hunts through the cabinets in search of something to make and picks out a can of chicken noodle soup. It would be quick to make and should soothe his sore throat while warming him up at the same time. As it cooks on the stove, she pulls a warm, fleece blanket off her bed and brings it to him.
"Here." The red fabric drapes over the man's trembling shoulders, and he watches intently as the bird brings the blanket around his body to the front, where he, then, clutches it tightly. "I'm making you some soup. It should be done in a few minutes. You can lie down for a bit and watch T.V. if you want."
She doesn't stick around to hear one of his snarky remarks, already at her wit's end with him. When the food is ready, she prepares him a large bowl, but takes none for herself, knowing he'd still be hungry after. As suspected, he consumed it all until every last lick of broth was gone from the pot. Now finished with a full belly, Lorenzo lies back and shuts his eyes, letting out sniffles every now and again. The woman sits beside the man as he falls into sleep's arms, and Ginger hops onto the armrest to sit.
His head lulls to the side when he finally loses consciousness, so being careful, she adjusts him to rest along the length of the couch with his head on her lap. His face is tinted red with frostbite, especially across his cheeks and the tip of his nose, which brought a frown onto her lips. The man nestles against her plush thighs to obtain the welcoming heat radiating off her body, which set off a strange flutter in her gut as she entangles her fingers into his mess of dark brown hair. Y/N jumps when a hand shoots up to rip her's off of him, and his eyes snap open to reveal a disgusted glare.
"If you ever fucking pet me again, I'll rip your damn hand off." Y/N was taken aback by his hate-filled growl, and admittedly felt a bit frightened by his threat. It didn't seem to be an exaggeration. She nods frantically to show she understands, wanting him to release her quickly because of how crushing his grip is. The man gets up and tosses the blanket onto the floor, huffing angrily as he staggers over to the door. He hears her meek voice call out to him as he pulls his coat on.
"Bye, Lorenzo." His hand paused as it grabbed the doorknob. He was almost tempted to stay, but he simply couldn't. Lorenzo scoffs and shakes his head before leaving.
He stuffs his hands into his pockets, spacing out upon recalling an old and tragic memory.