Summary: We all know there are cat and dog people out there... but can a cat hater maybe convinced to become a cat lover...? Certainly not all of a sudden.

Notes: So still writing and translating for you guys. And I hope I'm getting into Serquel more and more. I seem to have some difficulty to picture them in a full, because I want to make them 100 % "right" - if you get what I mean? - Hope you enjoy ;)

CAT

As she was lying on the sofa now, a glass of wine in her hand, the many boxes still unpacked in front of her, she had decided to leave it for the moving day. Tomorrow would be another day to do everything that still had to be put out of the packings and away. Now she preferred to stretch out on her couch, put her feet on one of the cardboard boxes and enjoy her glass of wine while talking to her mother on the phone.

"Yes, mamá, everything's fine, I arrived safely, the boys from the transport company were really nice and Felicitas and I are settling in and making ourselves comfortable." Raquel explained in a soft voice to her somewhat excited mother.

She knew that Marivi was only excited for her. Raquel got her first real job after graduating, and her mother was incredibly proud of her oldest daughter.

"Well then, I don't want to get on your nerves any longer, during your cozy evening.", Marivi said with a smile, "Adios cariño and have a good time." she then said goodbye.

Raquel hung up and took another sip of her wine and closed her eyes relaxingly. It was a great apartment, almost a bit like from the Kate and Leopold movie. But she would never complain about it because... the little romantic in her came through there. She smiled and released a relaxed sigh while she enjoyed the breeze from the balcony.

Suddenly she jumped up in panic and nearly spilled her wine. Fuck! Some of the boys must have left the balcony door open and... With the beautiful weather, she hadn't noticed until just now. Felicitas!

Raquel wasted no time to look around the apartment for the tabby cat. No trace. So, she hurried to the balcony and finally, there she discovered her little tiger and apparently, he had already made a friend. The brunette climbed cautiously but quickly down the stairs and hugged the animal taking it into her arms. She buried her nose in the cat's fur, inhaled and exhaled with relief, before scratching the cat. "I thought you'd disappeared forever in the turmoil of Madrid ..." she said pouting to the cat, who snuggled up against her and began to purr.

Only then did Raquel examine the tamer of her adventurous roommate. Finally, she held out her hand, beaming. "Raquel Murillo, I live above you and ... thank you very much for stopping Felicitas.", She said, but the man on her opposite just swallowed. His gaze was restless and went from her hand to her eyes, then to the ball of fur she was carrying, back to his feet and all of the journey over again. And… Was she just imagining it, or did he even back away from her a little?

"Are you okay...?", She wanted to ask, but he didn't really answer her and just mumbled "Everything is fine. Welcome to the neighborhood." And then escaped into his apartment - locking the balcony door behind him.

Raquel frowned, then gave Felicitas a kiss on the cat's forehead and made her way back upstairs. "Really weird ..." she mumbled softly. "Are you hungry, mi amor?"

…

Sergio hadn't made it any further into his apartment than the wall next to his balcony door. There he was, leaning his head against the wall, his eyes closed and listening as his new neighbor disappeared upstairs with her cat. And he had hoped for a relaxed evening!

As soon as he got home, he knew that someone was moving in, he had seen all the commotion with the movers. He had tried to relax but that wasn't really possible either, so he had just cooked, ate and ... when it finally came to relaxing, he had gone out on his balcony and watched the evening sun. He needed this, when he was with a lot of people during the day, he was ... uncomfortable. The dark-haired man had sighed and then noticed something touching his leg. Sergio had looked down and to his surprise two slit eyes or eyes with slit-like pupils had looked up at him. He was shivering as fear moved like ice down his spine.

Cats were extremely dangerous. They had pointed teeth and claws and they weren't afraid to use them. At. Any. Time!

He was frozen, but, like mostly every other cat, it hadn't bothered the feline and without further ado it had jumped on the railing and walked towards Sergio. It had even rubbed its head on his sleeve. He was so stiff his glasses almost slipped off his nose. And when the cat was FINALLY save and sound in its owner's arms, he had retreated as quickly as possible and closed the door. The balcony was now enemy territory and he had to be careful when entering it!

…

It was a few days later that Sergio was at a party with Andrés and Martín. Again, his brother couldn't help dragging him along and Martín was following Andrés' around wherever he went. Both of them knew that Sergio felt incredibly uncomfortable, but once again they skillfully ignored it.

At least it was more of a cocktail event than a real party, which made Sergio a little more conciliatory, because after a while he could talk his way out and leave. What he didn't know was, that the hostess was the proud owner of two bushy white cats and that they, like all other house tigers, loved to roam around him. He ended up hugging one of the cats while the owner posed with the second next to him. As always, he gave the best impression of a gentleman, he tried to grin and bear it. But as soon as the photos were taken, he put the cat down and said his goodbyes, which Andrés and Martín found quite funny.

…

Raquel had settled in wonderfully by now. Some of her friends were still studying in town, which was great for seeing each other again and simply to stay in contact. She often spoke on the phone and wrote to Monica, who was studying literature. Monica also knew that Raquel had gotten her cat as a present from her mother, when she started her training so that Raquel would never feel and had someone to cuddle if something did not go quite as planned.

Raquel had just told Monica about her experience with her neighbor the other week and that he had apparently been avoiding her since, when Monica had to laugh out loud. "Sorry Raquel, Daniel just showed me a photo. It made the rounds on Facebook; I think the poor guy hates cats as much as your neighbor" her friend giggled.

"Yes? I can hardly imagine! Will you send it to me?" A grinning Raquel asked.

"Yes of course! Will we see you the day after tomorrow for coffee?", Monica wanted to know and Raquel confirmed with a smile on her lips. It would do her good to have some company and also let the work fade away.

After they hung up, the picture was sent to her and she looked almost pityingly at the attractive man with glasses in the picture, who so uncomfortably held the cat in front of him and looked pleadingly into the camera. She recognized her neighbor immediately. But she just felt sorry for him, he seemed to be really afraid of cats. Then Felicitas had recently 'pressured' him so much and now this.

So she made up her mind, and hoped that she could turn it into reality.

…

Once again, he found himself leaning his head against the wall in his apartment, breathing hard. Out…. One two three… And in... he tried to take it slow, calm. Everything was fine – he was home after all, in his apartment. After a long moment of thinking what to do, he went to his balcony and peered out. No cat to be seen. Reassured he opened the door, took another deep breath and then stepped onto the balcony only to flinch again when he heard a voice.

"You must be pretty scared of cats, aren't you?" Raquel asked and her voice sounded soft and compassionate, not amused or even accusatory, as Sergio was used to from other people. He glanced at his neighbour this time just to see that she had no cat with her. Almost relieved, he exhaled again and then uncertainly pushed his glasses further up on his nose. "Well ... yes. Since cats are unpredictable, I don't like them.", he explained and blinked uncertainly down to their shoes. His were brown, yet she… just wore sandals. He could see her naked feet and that made him nearly go red and he quickly looked up to her.

"I saw your photo on Facebook and wanted to apologize for the other day.", She explained and slowly got up from the stairs on which she had been waiting. "I didn't notice that the window was open ...", she confessed and sighed. "You don't have to worry about Felicitas anyhow, she's a house cat and ... she's actually not that unpredictable."

Sergio looked into her eyes for a moment, she seemed to be speaking the truth, then he hastily lowered his eyes again. "Thanks. F...for the apology I mean."

Raquel smiled. "Not worth mentioning," she couldn't forget his miserable appearance with the cat on his arm from the photo. "By the way, I'm Raquel ..." she said and put her hand under his nose again.

Sergio, who wasn't about to hastily flee this time, hesitantly grabbed it. "Sergio." He introduced himself.

She smiled and then just leaned against the railing of his balcony, which was quite puzzling for Sergio. He moved a little to the side and followed her example insecurely. "You know ... I grew up with animals and I never had a preference for any of them ..." she told him just like that. He didn't know what that was about, but he didn't want to be rude and let the pretty woman from above continue.

"When I started my training and had to go to the academy, my mother gave me my cat. She called her Felicitas, so the feline would bring me luck.", Raquel explained. "In reality, my mother just wanted to prevent me from being lonely I think.", Raquel smiled and looked at Sergio. "I don't know what happened in your past, and why you are afraid of cats...", she said gently, "But I think that you could have an interesting and cozy charisma for cats, at least my cat is very enthusiastic about you.", she said with a smile.

Sergio sighed and finally leaned next to her on the railing somewhat relaxing his muscles by now. "Well… after you having seen the photo… I really can't hide I don't like cats anymore, can I?", he sighed again and took a deep breath before he continued: "When we were younger, my brother always annoyed and... tormented the neighbors' cats... I really felt sorry for them. Until they showed they could protect themselves with their claws and teeth...", Sergio shuddered. Above all, not only Andrés was hissed at and bitten, but also himself.

Raquel nodded gently; she could imagine what had happened without any further description. She just looked at the calm, sympathetic, yet withdrawn and shy man who was leaning against the railing next to her. "Well... should you ever feel the need to come to terms with your experience... I have a feline friend who is really very considerate and cuddly and who is definitely willing to help." She smiled calmly before saying goodbye.

Sergio, for his part, had to smile, but he didn't think he would ever be tempted.

…

He was cooking. Today was his day off and he enjoyed standing in the kitchen and just doing something good for himself. He was just about to put the chopped vegetables in the pan, when there was a loud knock on his door. He looked up, irritated, even more irritated when he recognized the voice. Sergio opened the door and looked into a fearful, tear-streaked face.

"Sergio! I know you hate cats, but you have to help me! Please!", Raquel had grabbed his arm and seemed beside herself. He was perplexed, he didn't know what to do, he hated to be touched, his first instinct was to push her away. At the same time, he was totally overwhelmed with her tears. Over all he was so perplexed that he just stood there glued to the spot while she tugged at him.

"Please Sergio, please!" his neighbor pleaded and finally life came back into him. He carefully freed himself from her by now putting his hands on her shoulders and looking at her seriously. "What's going on?" he wanted to know.

"Felicitas... the postman... the stones... quickly...!", She seemed confused and in tears and Sergio understood absolutely nothing. "Okay. Concentration. Breathe in... Breathe out. What happened?" He asked her again. Then she told more coherently, yet still full of fear for her four-legged friend. Apparently, the cat had scurried past her and run outside when the postman was there, then some children had probably grabbed the cat, tied it to a roof and made fun by throwing stones at the cat. Raquel had driven the boys away, but couldn't get to her tabby.

He was sorry to see Raquel so upset so he nodded and followed her. He was a little bigger than her and managed to pull himself up onto the flat roof. When he saw the cat, it mewed pitifully. "It's okay ...", he tried to appease the animal. He gently took it up in his jacket and carried it to the edge of the roof. "Can you ...?" He asked, but Raquel was already holding out her arms to him. When he was back on the ground next to her, she began to sob again when her cat began to purr softly against her chest.

Sergio felt emotionally carried away by this picture. He looked around uncertainly and then made up his mind. "Come on, I'll drive you to a vet," he said and led Raquel, who was talking quietly to her cat, to one of the cars. Sergio remained incredibly calm and collected the whole way, even though a woman AND a cat were close by.

…

The visit to the vet was long and nerve-wracking. When Raquel had calmed down, he had handed her a handkerchief. She had taken it, he only smiled at her briefly and just like that her tears flowed again. What was he doing wrong with women?!

When they finally stood in front of the doctor and waited for Felicitas to be examined thoroughly, Raquel had simply grabbed his hand and squeezed it. Sergio almost sunk into the ground from sheer uncertainty about what to do now, but ... she just hadn't let go of his hand anymore. Not while the examination of the cat, not when the doctor announced the results, not when they said they needed to operate on Felicitas paw, not when they went back to the waiting room and sat there. And he ...? He hadn't known what to say or do, to get her to let go of him.

When they sat down again and she finally let go of his hand, he had expected that everything would be all right again, but then she had started to tremble all over and when he wanted to stroke her back carefully and soothingly - that's how you did it, he knew THAT - she had clung to his shirt and hid her head by his neck. Sergio, rather perplexed, had again not known what to do.

However, it only occurred to him now that he had been unsure of what to do and would have preferred more distance, not because her touch had been uncomfortable (as it was with everyone else), but because he was simply unsure what kind of closeness was 'okay'. Not that anyone thought he would make use of Raquel's "plight", that would be more than embarrassing for him.

When the afternoon was finally over and Raquel held her beloved cat, with a cast on her paw, in her arms again, her tears slowly dried up and she talked to the cat like a baby - something else that Sergio didn't like. Babies, they were also a very delicate, unfamiliar and unsafe thing for him. He preferred to look back at the street and drive them back home. When Raquel unlocked her door, he finally nodded and wanted to say goodbye, but she invited him for a wine, as an apology. Again, he didn't know how to say no. That was slowly becoming a big problem.

…

There he was sitting on the couch in her apartment and looking around before he got to hold the feline bundle in his arms. (Felicitas couldn't be left alone!) Meanwhile Raquel went looking for wine. She returned with two glasses and handed one of them to him before she sat down right next to him. The cat in his lap had started to purr again and he took a laborious sip from his glass.

Raquel, who knew the purring sound by heart, smiled and gently stroked the cat's head, which was the only thing peeking out of Sergio's jacket. "Thank you so much…! Once again… For everything.", she said quietly and looked at him.

"Nothing too ...", he was about to say, but he got no further, because... it was the first time he had really looked her in the eye and somehow, he had forgotten what he actually was about to say.

It was like magic. He had done many things today that he had never thought possible. And now ... now something else had bewitched him. The funny thing was that she seemed to feel the same way. Because she didn't say anything either and just stared at him. Was she waiting for him to say something? Should he say something?

He was like frozen, when she (again) took the first step, symbolically speaking. She gently put her hands on his cheek and ... he tried to smile, even if he didn't know what she was going to do, because her eyes continued to capture him and ... he had a cat in his arms, so ... there wasn't much leeway.

Raquel herself was bewitched. She moved closer, held his cheeks and gently stroked them with her thumbs. She softly moved her fingers through his manicured beard. Then she leaned towards him and tentatively put her lips on his. She gave him time to get used to it, enjoyed the tingling sensation, she could now feel all over her body and then slowly pulled away from him to smile and look at him. He was still looking at her, as if stunned. Maybe she had gone too far after everything that day? She was just about to open her lips to apologize. Wasn't she stupid?! When he took the second step and she smiled against his lips.

Sergio would never have thought that he could kiss her, but... after all she had kissed him. Now it wasn't that hard to lean forward and kiss this beautiful woman back. She'd started all of this after all, right?

After the second beautiful and long-lasting kiss, Raquel slid even closer to him. She gently pulled his arm around her and snuggled against his chest. She was really tired after this emotional day and she was happy, so incredibly happy that he had been by her side.

Sergio sighed contentedly and his heart raced contentedly after the kiss. He couldn't describe how happy he was. He hung on to his thoughts and only after half an eternity he came to a clear thought and after another, that it was time for him to go. "Raquel ...?", He looked at her and had to realize that this realization was a full eternity too late, because both the cat and its owner meanwhile had fallen asleep from sheer exhaustion.