Lofty had been cursed since he was nine. You'd expect a nine year old boy to enjoy the ability to turn into a cat at night, but it did cause problems along the way.
"Rough day, eh Ben?" Rita offered lightly as she shrugged her beige leather jacket over her shoulders, her bag following.
Lofty laughed slightly to hide the mild sense of dread that fell over him; he hadn't stayed overtime in months, and now he had a week of double-shifts, edging into the night.
"Yup, sure has been" He replied, trying to be his usual, chirpy self.
"Get some rest once you're done, yeah?" Rita nodded to him, making her way across to the staffroom door, clearly buzzing to leave, what with it being an early-ending shift. Knocking off at six PM was unusual these days, Lofty thought to himself, the NHS cuts had been tougher on the staff of Holby Hospital than ever before.
"You too" Lofty smiled gently, "See you tomorrow". It was only as Rita turned and left the room, and all that was left to hear was the dripping of the kitchen tap, that it occurred to Lofty just how much he'd missed working mostly daytimes, and just how anxious night shifts had become, what with the winter nights closing in lately.
He sub-consciously shivered at the thought and turned to the other door, trying to shrug the feeling off. Dylan entered, making Lofty jump, but he didn't realise, his attention focused wholly on making his way to the coffee machine.
Flicking his eyes to the floor, Lofty shied away into a corner, fiddling with the hem of his scrubs and trying to divert his attention; some of the things he knew about that man were terrifying – the only thing worse was that Dylan had no idea.
"Are you still on your break Ben?" Lofty was concentrating hard on the edge of his scrubs still.
"Hm?"
"Are you still on your break?"
"Oh yeah, yes, I am… ten minutes" Lofty could have shaken himself for his reply, and Dylan evidently noticed.
"Okay, well I won't keep you" Dylan replied, confused by the strange stance and expression his colleague held. He strode out of the staffroom, carrying his coffee and shaking his head slightly.
Lofty glanced out the window in the staffroom door and through the doors, until he could see the ED car park. The dusk was settling into night time and he knew it'd be colder than the night before.
This time, he couldn't stop the anxiety from growing; recently it'd been harder at night to find somewhere warm to stay, and enough food to eat. He'd even tried leaving food out during the day, so he had something to eat at night, but any neighbourhood animals made sure to take it before the afternoon, let alone the evening.
He found himself thinking of moving out of the flats in which he lived with Robyn and Max. After all, he had tried getting a cat-flap and claiming to have a pet, but the landlord didn't allow pets, so there was no way he could creep in in his natural form at night without being kicked out. He'd already had to make up numerous excuses as to why he was never there to watch TV with Max and Robyn of a night, and why his sleeping habits were so strange lately. He'd actually managed to avoid any strange occurrences during the past month, never working nights, and managing to get home before dark, but lately… Well lately, he may as well not have even lived there anymore as it was, given his lack of presence in the flat.
He was lucky his parents had never been at home enough to notice whether he was there or not as a child – if he could call it lucky – but Max and Robyn were far more perceptive.
Glancing up at the clock above the door, he sighed and left the staffroom, righting his posture and rolling his shoulders a few times before making his way over to the Admin Desks.
Midnight rolled around, and if it weren't for his exhaustion, Lofty would have asked to stay on for another shift. A quick glance at his mobile was enough to let him know it was going to be colder than the previous night, but after Diane, he couldn't risk another patient's life with his tiredness; maybe he could creep into the flats after Robyn, he thought, maybe…
Pulling a scarf around his neck, he willed the magic not to work, just for one night, or at least for it to go a little wrong – perhaps this time his scarf at least would fall down beside him and not disappear entirely, or the moon would stay invisible to his senses. Still, there was only one way to find out; maybe tonight would spare him…
Shrugging his coat on quietly, Dylan stepped out of the ED, alone as was normal. Out of habit, he scanned the car park a couple of times, spotting the curly haired nurse at the doors opposite; staring out over the car park also, his silhouette was illuminated by the light of the ED behind.
For a brief moment, Dylan considered going over and striking up conversation with the other nurse, but he turned the other way instead; while he and Ben were called friends by some, he wasn't entirely sure if their relationship quite qualified for that status, or if the title of acquaintances was more fitting. He tried to convince himself to leave, but he found himself turning back around again.
However, when he did, Lofty wasn't there. Instead, a familiar cat stood so close to his feet, he may as well have been sitting on them.
"I know you, don't I?" Dylan dropped to a crouch, stroking the cat under the chin. He had sleek, dark fur and looked to be about two or three. "It's cold out tonight, do you have anywhere to go?" Dylan became aware of himself upon saying this and glanced around quickly to check no one was near enough to hear him speaking to an animal.
The cat butted his knee with his head and shivered, causing Dylan instinctively to check for a collar. Upon finding none, he gently placed his hands either side of the small animal to check when he'd last been fed.
"I can feel your ribs, poor thing…" Dylan mused, "One night." His tone changed and he swung his satchel over his shoulder a little further until it bumped his back slightly, before scooping the cat up and taking it with care into his arms.
Surprisingly, the cat settled down into the crook of Dylan's hold as opposed to what he'd expected would happen – he'd bolt.
"There's a good cat" Dylan spoke to the small ball of fur softly, "Shall I call you…" He trailed off, "I know you're only staying tonight, but I ought to give you a name better than cat… how about Ben? My friend's called Ben…" Suddenly it hit Dylan how lonely he must really be if he was speaking to a cat, but he did his best to shake it off as he approached his boat.
"Here. You'll be safe and warm here…" He told the small animal as he unlocked the door to the boat and carried him through to the living room. Now the cat was in the light, Dylan could see places in which it's fur had been torn out – potentially by an attacker, he thought – and the extent of the cat's starvation.
"Oh you poor thing" Dylan spoke into the silence of his home again, smiling as Dervla skittered into the room, eyeing the cat as Dylan placed him on the sofa. After a sniff and a few glances, Dervla lay down beside the sofa, as if guarding the battered animal. "Okay, I'll get you some food, and then we should all get some sleep." He spoke both to Ben and Dervla, as Ben crept off the sofa to rub himself against Dylan's leg.
As Dylan turned and strode into the kitchen, he couldn't help but wonder where the cat had come from, and how long it'd evidently been a stray for. Quickly, he opened a tin of tuna and mashed it with a fork a little, hoping it'd be appropriate to feed the tiny animal, though he couldn't imagine the cat getting into any worse of a state.
"Here you go, Ben" Dylan found himself softly cooing to the cat as he set the saucer down on the floor. Dervla watched him protectively as he lapped the fish up, before carefully lifting him in her mouth to the sofa. As the cat settled down, half covered by the corner of the throw that hung over the back of the sofa, Dylan spoke once more, crouching alongside the cat and playing with his fur absentmindedly.
"My friend Ben… Sometimes I wish he was more than just a friend, but… but I don't want to bother him you know?" Dylan confided. The cat butted his head against Dylan's hand, seemingly in response and Dylan continued. "I don't know why I'm telling you all this, I'm just a lonely man, sitting between a cat and a dog, talking to myself" He spoke, before standing and giving the cat a final stroke and shaking his head to himself. "Well goodnight then…" The cat lay it's head down and closed one eye, rolling over a little.
Reassured the small animal would be safe on the sofa for the night, Dylan bent down and patted Dervla gratefully, before turning off all the lights but one, and leaving for his own room.
The next morning, Dylan awoke and stretched, before feeling for Dervla's scraggly fur, as he did every morning.
It was then he remembered.
"Ben?" He shot out of bed and to the living room, anxious that something might've happened either to the small cat, or to Dervla in the night. It was only as he opened the door to the living room that his suspicions were confirmed.
A long man with curly hair lay sprawled across Dylan's sofa, covered only by the throw that must have slipped down onto him in the night; Dylan felt his heart leap in shock, before scanning the room.
Everything was untouched and upon seeing this, Dylan brought his gaze back to the man, who he could now see was none other than his colleague.
"Ben!?" Dylan's voice rang out into the otherwise silent room and the man on the sofa jumped up, startled. "Ben, what are you doing on my boat!?"
"I uh…" Lofty stammered, looking around desperately for an excuse, grabbing the throw again and wrapping it around himself.
"Well? How did you even get in here?" Dylan's voice was persistent, "I lock every door, every night!"
"You… you sort of let me in last night…"
"Sorry? I don't think I follow… I didn't let anyone on my boat; I never have!"
"Could I borrow some clothes at least? Then I can explain…" Lofty looked at the floor as Dylan placed his fists on his hips and nodded.
"Stay there. Don't move." Dylan told him, his shock now replaced with a somewhat high level of irritation that laced his voice.
Lofty nodded compliantly, unsure of how he was going to explain what had happened the night before, and every night before that since he'd started work at the ED and the countless night shifts.
Twenty minutes later, Lofty loped through to where Dylan stood in the kitchen. Frostily, he gestured towards a second seat at the table and handed his colleague a cup of coffee, before sitting down himself.
"Care to explain?"
Lofty could tell how uneasy Dylan felt just from his tone, so he picked his words carefully, "Do you want me to tell it to you straight?" He asked, wrapping his hands around the cup instinctively.
"If you would." Dylan replied sharply, his gaze un-breaking.
"Ever since I was nine, I've turned into a cat every night unless I'm indoors before the moon rises. I… Last night you let me in and fed me tuna and let me sleep on the sofa…" He trailed off, trying desperately to read the expression on Dylan's face, but they kept changing.
"You're telling me…" Dylan shook his head, "Why? Why does this happen?"
"I'm not sure" Lofty replied, careful of what he said, "I have an idea…"
"Well?"
"I-I can trust you right? After everything you've told me?"
Dylan froze. Suddenly it occurred to him just how much this meant that Lofty must know about him; instantly, his mind flew back to the last Wednesday night when he'd emerged from the ED crying silently.
His eyes had been so blurred by the tears he hadn't been capable of checking the car park, so he'd just walked in a straight line until his foot met the curb, only to be shielded from the oncoming car by a soft weight at the side of his leg.
The rest was history; Ben clearly knew far more than he should about Dylan, and this made Dylan shake his head.
"Is that… Are you okay?" Lofty asked, his voice and expression matching in softness.
"Yes, you can trust me – no one to tell anyway" Dylan's voice hardened, but when his eyes met that of his colleagues, Lofty knew it was a shield.
With this, Lofty decided to take a risk and slowly reached his hand across the table until it met Dylan's. Dylan didn't move his hand.
"You can trust me." His voice was softer this time and Lofty's conscience cleared.
"My parents… they were neglectful; never really saw them as a kid… I think the curse was a coping mechanism handed to me or something; I'm not sure…"
"Ah" Dylan spoke, "Did they ever?"
"No, no, they weren't like Brian; just workaholics" Lofty laughed dryly, but stopped when Dylan squeezed his hand back.
"Why didn't the curse leave when you moved out then?"
"I think… I don't know, this is all a guess, but I think it goes when you feel loved… I'm not sure" Lofty shook his head, looking down and retrieving his hand from the hold. He placed it back around his cup and sipped his drink slowly to distract from the silence of the boat.
"I-it's cold out…" Dylan's voice cracked as he spoke.
"Yes, it is" Lofty agreed, concentrating fiercely on the swirl of milk that ran through his coffee.
"Excuse me if this is out of place, but uh…" Dylan paused for a moment, considering, "You could… you could maybe stay with me for a while? Just until you feel loved that is… only if you want to of course, I know you live with Max and Rob-"
"Dylan…" Lofty interjected, standing and placing a hand on either one of the older man's shoulders, "Dylan, I'd love to if you're comfortable with that…"
"A-and you don't find it weird that-that I told you I loved you last night?" This time it was Dylan's turn to stare at his drink, now rapidly going cold.
"No" Lofty replied softly, "Not when I feel the same…"
Six months later, Dylan and Lofty sat alongside one another, watching the news before work. As Dylan wrapped an arm around his husbands shoulder, Lofty morphed into a cat, making Dylan jump and then turn to face him, mock-scolding him with a pretend glare.
"Just because you have control of your powers now doesn't mean you can do that whenever you feel like it." He folded his arms and pouted jokingly, watching with a slight sense of awe as Lofty morphed back into his human form again.
"You can't tell me what to do" He giggled, squealing a little as Dylan tickled his side gently.
Since Dylan had proposed to Lofty only two months after he'd moved in, and they'd been married with all of their colleagues at the wedding, Lofty had begun to feel more and more loved, and with that found he could control his powers; no longer triggered by the moon this meant he could use them to his advantage.
"Ahh" Dylan sighed, leaning back on the sofa. Then he sat up.
"You okay?" Lofty asked, giving him a sideways glance.
"Turn into a cat again" Dylan told him, his tone serious.
"What're you going to do?" Lofty asked, with a slight giggle.
"Just do it? Please?"
"Okay"
Lofty's cat form morphed back onto the sofa beside Dylan, who picked him up and turned him around in the light slightly, examining his fur.
"Here, you can be a human again… Sorry about that" Dylan looked apologetically into the eyes of his cat-husband, who turned quickly back into a human.
"Now that you're done prodding me" Lofty spoke in a joking tone, "Care to tell me what that inspection was all about?"
"Your fur…" Dylan begun, "It's grown back and it's thicker and softer than before…"
"Oh"
"I think… d'you think this means you feel… more loved?" Dylan asked apprehensively, fiddling with the edge of the sofa cushion.
"Dylan."
"Yeah?"
"I know I feel more loved, I've never felt more loved in my entire life. You don't have to look at my fur to ask that you know?"
Dylan smiled at his husband, who smiled back equally. Leaning in, Dylan could feel Lofty's breath gentle on his face and he smiled into the kiss. Lofty could feel it.
Lofty had been cursed since he was nine. You'd expect a nine year old boy to enjoy the ability to turn into a cat at night, but it did cause problems along the way.
In the end it was worth it.