Getting caught in a vicious rainstorm was definitely not the way Blaine wanted to spend his evening.

The worst part about it the storm was that it was all taking place in New York City, where Blaine had been living for the past year with his roommate, Wes. Well, he had been living with Wes, until he decided to move out to get his own apartment with his girlfriend.

Now, Blaine knew exactly what most people were thinking: a 20 year old living all by himself in New York City was insane and terrifying. And they were right - the first time Blaine spent the night in his Bushwick loft, he'd gotten so homesick that he thought he was going to cry.

But even though Blaine was a young college student at NYU, he'd made a deal with his parents before he moved out to New York: if Blaine could get and maintain a reasonable job, and as long as he was being responsible, his parents would agree to help him pay his rent every month. Blaine had kept his end of the bargain. He ended up getting a job at the most stereotypical place for a college student to work at: Starbucks. But the pay wasn't terrible, and he had his parents helping him out.

Wes moved out about two weeks ago, and Blaine had to admit - it felt a little lonely without anyone around in the loft. Wes was one of Blaine's best friend from high school. They'd met while in The Warblers, Dalton Academy's acapella show choir. "Sorry, buddy," Wes said when he first told Blaine he was moving out. "It's nothing personal or anything. You know I love you, but Sheila and I are getting pretty serious now, and we think it's time we moved in together." Blaine thought it was a little strange for Wes to be moving in with a girl he'd met a little less than a year ago instead of living with his best friend that he'd known for ages, but nonetheless, Blaine wished his friend good luck and was on his own from that moment.

Wes had invited Blaine to a party earlier that night with a bunch of NYU people, but Blaine politely declined and said he'd had too much studying to do. Which was partially true - the other reason was because he just wasn't in the mood to go to a party right now. He was tired and the storm was bugging him. All he wanted to do was lay down at home and snuggle up on the sofa while watching whatever was playing on TV.

And that's what brought Blaine to now: walking through a rainy, cold storm, the wind blowing so hard that it pushed against his umbrella and threatened to turn it inside out. Blaine loved New York, but surrounded by all the lights and noise as well as being pounded on by rain wasn't exactly how he wanted to spend his Friday night. He'd taken the bus home from work at a Starbucks in Times Square and had to walk from his bus stop to his place.

When Blaine spotted the building he lived in, he sighed of relief, finally happy to be home and sleep in for the weekend to escape the chilly September air. Autumn was usually Blaine's favorite season, but not on days like today.

Blaine was passing by a dark alley that was in between his building and another, and the sound of a large trash can tumbling over from the wind nearly scared him half to death. He jumped at the sound, dropping his umbrella in the process. He sighed as he adjusted the strap on his book bag before bending over to pick up his umbrella. As he did so, something caught his eye.

He heard more than just the wind and the trash can falling over. He heard the sound of something scratching and scurrying against the pavement. Blaine turned his head, expecting to find a few mice running into the alley in search of some shelter, but instead, he saw a dark blur dart quickly behind a green dumpster. Blaine watched the darkness of the alley. His heart pounded in fear for a moment, because what he saw was definitely not the size of a mouse.

Blaine was getting soaked and he was about to turn and leave before he heard it. It was very faint and almost non-existent, but it was there: crying. The crying sounded high pitched and scared, and Blaine started walking down the aisle to help out. Blaine's mother always told him that helping people was Blaine's best and worst quality: best because of how compassionate he was, and worst because it always got him into odd situations. But it was in his nature. He couldn't help it.

He walked slowly down the aisle with his umbrella over his head. The sobbing became a little louder each step he took, still relatively muted by the pitter-pattering of the rain. When he finally reached the dumpster, he expected to find a small child who was lost, but he found something else instead.

"Hybrid," Blaine whispered to himself in awe.

Sitting there curled up with his head buried in his knees was a male cat hybrid. Blaine had never been this close to a hybrid before; he'd only seen them on television and from afar on the streets. To society, hybrids were rare creatures that were only inherited by the wealthiest families since not many pet stores carried them. Hybrids were often used to do the dirty work around houses, and from what he learned in school, Blaine knew that many of them grew up in abusive homes where they were used as slaves - or worse - sold as sex slaves. However, there were some hybrids that got lucky - some owners would treat their hybrids with respect and love, just like a real pet, and would use them only for companionship. But for the most part, hybrids were used to fulfill other people's needs.

They were seen as less than humans to some people. Blaine remembered that when he was a child, he would ask his parents every birthday and holiday if he could have a hybrid. His parents would keep the truth from him every year and dismiss Blaine's question with a "when you're older" talk until he was old enough to understand. On his eighth birthday, his parents finally explained to him why he couldn't have a hybrid. His mom and dad told him all about how hybrids were often abused and weren't given good treatment.

"But I promise I'll take care of mine," Blaine would tell his parents.

"We know you would," his mother would say. "But you need to remember that hybrids are more human than they are animal."

Ever since that moment, Blaine didn't want to own a hybrid anymore. Blaine was glad that he was raised in such an open-minded family. When he came out to his parents, they were a little surprised, but they accepted him fully with love and support. Blaine's parents had a few friends who owned hybrids, and he wondered why his parents would never let him play with them when he was forced to go over to their houses for fancy dinner parties when he was little. He later found out it was because hybrids were only used to fulfill the duties of the family they served, and were not allowed to interact with other people or start a social life. Instead, when Blaine had to go to those dinner parties with his parents, the hybrid was locked downstairs in the basement.

Now, Blaine couldn't believe his eyes. The hybrid curled up against the dumpster had thick, chestnut brown hair with two pointed ears peaking out of it. He couldn't see the hybrid's face since it was covered, but Blaine noticed the long, bushy, dark brown tail with a white tip curled around his feet protectively. It reminded Blaine more of fox tail than a cat one, but this hybrid was most definitely a cat. His ears gave it away. The hybrid was crying and shaking. His shoulders shook, half from crying and half from the cold. He was only wearing a thin t-shirt, some ratty cotton shorts, and grey socks. He must have been freezing, and there was no way Blaine could leave him out here.

Very gently, Blaine inched himself closer to the hybrid boy. "Excuse me? Hello?"

The hybrid's head shot up faster than lighting, and he recoiled back against the dumpster even though he had no space to retreat to. Blaine was suddenly face to face with wide blue eyes, floppy brown bangs, a pointed nose, and pale skin. He was beautiful, and Blaine realized he'd frightened him terribly.

The hybrid tried to crawl away when Blaine stopped him. "No, wait, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to frighten you."

The boy froze, the look of fear and desperation deep in his eyes. He gulped, still shivering violently against the cold wind.

"Are you okay?" Blaine asked. "What are you doing out here by yourself?"

The hybrid said nothing. His ears were completely flattened back against his head, a gesture that an actual cat made while angry or threatened. He looked down at his tail which was curled around his knee.

"Hey," Blaine tried, "Are you lost? Do you need a place to stay for the night?"

The hybrid looked up at the mention of a place to stay, but his eyes still had that same incredulous and fearful gleam.

"You're getting all wet. Here," Blaine said. He inched closer to the boy, but he flinched and pushed himself away.

"Hey," Blaine said in a gentle voice. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you, I was just going to put my umbrella over you." When the hybrid didn't react or say anything, Blaine tried again, inching closer to the boy and extending his arm so that the umbrella shielded the soaked hybrid. He was shivering violently, and Blaine couldn't imagine how cold he must be, dressed in clothes like that. Blaine was already cold himself, and he was wearing a coat and scarf.

"See?" Blaine smiled, holding his arm out so the umbrella was over the boy. "That's much better."

The hybrid stared at him with eyes the size of two saucers. His knees were drawn up to his chest, like he was trying to make himself as small as possible. He blinked a few times, clearly nervous and confused as to why a human was helping him.

"Listen," Blaine told him, "you don't have to be scared or anything. I won't hurt you."

Again, more staring.

"I Promise."

The hybrid slowly nodded once, never breaking eye contact from Blaine. Blaine thought it was impossible for someone's eyes to be as blue and wide as the boy's. Blaine gave him a small smile, hoping to gain some other reaction other than nodding, blinking and staring. "My name's Blaine," he told the boy. "What's your name?"

The hybrid boy stared at Blaine for what felt like an eternity, and Blaine was going to ask him again in case he didn't hear him properly, but finally, the boy peeped, "Kurt" in a high-pitched voice.

"Kurt," Blaine repeated, giving a warm smile. "It's nice to meet you, Kurt."

Kurt blinked.

"Kurt, I don't know how you got out here by yourself," Blaine said, "but...do you need anywhere to stay for tonight? I don't want to pressure you into anything, but...do you want to come home with me until we can sort all of this out? I don't want you to freeze to death out here."

"R-really?" Kurt asked, his ears perking up just a bit. Blaine didn't want to be rude and stare, but it was so fascinating to see animal ears on a human body and knowing that they weren't apart of a costume - they were real. He'd seen hybrids before, but never this close where he could see their ears and tail in full feature.

"Of course," Blaine replied, tearing his eyes away from Kurt's ears and smiling. "You're more than welcome to stay for the night."

Kurt's tail swished once, and he licked his lips. He was still very much afraid, especially because Kurt had no idea who this man was and didn't know what his intentions were. Kurt had been told he was naive, and he knew you were typically supposed to decline when a stranger from the street invited you into their house. But this man had a warm smile and kind hazel eyes that reminded Kurt of caramel. Despite how freezing and terrified he was, he felt intrusive just marching into this man's home. But the man was inviting him to stay and willing to let him sleep inside of his house. It was either accept the offer or sleep on the streets.

"I won't hurt you," Blaine told him again, reaching his hand out to Kurt. "I promise."

Kurt stared at Blaine's hand, his eyes shifting from Blaine's face to his outstretched arm. Blaine was getting wet from the rain since his umbrella was protecting Kurt from the storm. With a shuddering breath, Kurt gently took hold of Blaine's hand, and Blaine helped him to stand up. Blaine's hand was warm and dry, and Kurt's hand felt slightly safer encased in it. His socks felt sopping wet against the pavement, and his legs were wobbly, causing him to almost fall. Blaine caught him with one arm before he did, still holding the umbrella in his other hand.

"Woah, are you alright?" Blaine asked. He helped Kurt to stand on his feet properly. Kurt's knees were shaking, and Blaine knew he needed to get him inside fast. "Don't worry, okay? You're gonna be fine. Here, follow me."

Blaine led Kurt by the hand back to his apartment, walking quickly against the ever falling rain.

AN: Hi everyone, I wanted to post this earlier, but September has been a pretty shitty month for me...it's really discouraged me and lowered my self-esteem, so yeah, it wasn't a good start to the school year for many reasons. I'm hoping that writing will take my mind off of things. I have absolutely no idea how long this story is going to be lol, this is just a thing that I wanted to do for a while. So yeah, this is a plotless story that I don't have any set ideas on, but I hope everyone enjoys :)