Chapter 168 midnight

Chapter 168: Midnight

POV: Astrid Vale

I sat up on the grass, the fireworks still painting faint color across the distant sky, when I heard it again. A small, pitiful meow drifting from somewhere near the bushes at the edge of the hill.

"Did you hear that?" I asked.

"Our romantic evening has officially been interrupted by a creature with terrible timing," Xander said, though he was already pushing himself up to follow as I got to my feet.

Reed rose as well, his expression sharpening slightly, his senses clearly tracking the sound far more precisely than mine could. "This way," he said, leading us toward a cluster of bushes a short distance away.

We found him crouched beneath the leaves, a tiny black kitten, scruffy and visibly frightened, one paw held awkwardly off the ground. The moment I crouched down, he tried to scramble backward, though his injured leg clearly made retreat difficult.

"He’s hurt," I said softly, taking in the thin, dirty fur stretched over visible ribs.

I didn’t push closer, simply holding out my hand and waiting, letting him make the decision himself. After a long moment of hesitation, he inched forward and pressed his small head against my fingers.

My heart melted completely.

I scooped him up gently, wrapping him carefully in part of my jacket to keep him warm, and Xander, watching my expression shift, groaned immediately.

"We’re taking him home," I announced.

"You haven’t even asked whether we can keep a cat," Xander pointed out.

I looked at Reed instead, who was already examining the kitten’s injured paw with careful attention. "We need to find a veterinarian first," he said, which I took as tacit agreement regardless of Xander’s protest.

Reed pulled out his phone and quickly located an emergency clinic nearby, arranging for our driver to take us there instead of back toward the restaurant. I held the kitten throughout the drive, stroking his head gently until he gradually relaxed against my chest, his earlier fear melting into something closer to trust.

Xander, apparently unable to accept being ignored by something smaller than himself, reached over and tried to get the kitten to sniff his fingers. The kitten turned his face away deliberately, burying his nose against me instead.

Xander stared at him in open disbelief. "He’s rejecting me."

"He’s scared," I said, biting back a laugh.

"He’s judging me."

"He’s a kitten."

"A judgmental kitten."

At the clinic, the veterinarian examined him carefully, confirming his injuries were treatable, though he was clearly underfed and would need consistent care over the following weeks. She cleaned the wound, treated his paw properly, and walked us through the medication schedule and follow-up appointments he’d require.

Reed listened to every detail, asking precise questions about feeding schedules, vaccination requirements, and whether he needed to stay indoors during recovery, handling the payment without hesitation while I stroked the kitten’s fur, grateful beyond words that neither of them had argued against keeping him.

"I’ll carry the supplies," Xander offered, before Reed handed him a list considerably longer than he’d apparently anticipated.

"All of this?"

"All of this."

Xander groaned, though he didn’t actually complain about the expense, simply the inconvenience of carrying it all, and something warm settled in my chest watching how quickly both of them had accepted this unexpected addition to our lives.

In the clinic’s attached pet supply section, we gathered everything the kitten would need, food, feeding bowls, a soft carrier, a bed, litter supplies, and his prescribed medication. I paused at the collar display, and the twins immediately started disagreeing about which one looked best.

"This one," Xander said, holding up something bright red with small spikes. "Dramatic. Fitting for someone who rejected me within the first hour of knowing him."

"That’s impractical for a kitten still recovering," Reed said, pulling a simpler, softer option from the shelf instead.

I settled the argument by choosing a simple black collar with a small silver moon charm, something understated that matched exactly how I felt about the entire evening.

While filling out the clinic paperwork, the veterinarian asked what we’d be naming him.

I looked down at the small creature nestled against my arms, his dark fur barely visible against my jacket. "Midnight," I said.

"That’s a fitting name," the vet said, smiling.

"We found him beneath the night sky," I explained, "on the same evening the city celebrated the Night of the Moon."

Xander made a face. "That’s a dramatic name for such a tiny animal."

"You can suggest a different name when you rescue your own kitten," I told him.

Reed hid a smile behind his hand, clearly amused by the exchange.

Outside the clinic, Xander decided it was finally time to win the kitten over properly. He crouched down beside me, holding out his hand with exaggerated confidence.

"Come here, little man," he said. "Let’s see if you have better judgment than your appearance suggests."

Midnight looked at him.

Xander looked back, clearly expecting success this time.

Midnight turned around entirely, stretching his small body toward me instead, settling comfortably against my chest once again.

Silence stretched between us.

I pressed my lips together, trying desperately not to laugh. Reed didn’t bother hiding his amusement at all, his shoulders shaking slightly with barely contained laughter.

Xander slowly withdrew his hand. "I don’t like him."

"You were just trying to be his best friend," I reminded him.

"I have changed my mind entirely."

Midnight let out a tiny, satisfied meow against my chest, and Xander pointed accusingly at him.

"Don’t act innocent. You know exactly what you did."

Reed checked the time once we’d finished loading everything into the car. "We should get back to campus," he said.

I glanced at the carrier and the considerable pile of supplies now filling the trunk, realizing our first real date had taken an unexpected turn somewhere along the way. "Do you think he’ll settle into the apartment okay?" I asked, a small worry creeping in despite the warmth of the evening.

"We’ll figure out a proper arrangement," Reed said reassuringly. "He’ll be fine."

"He should be grateful to me," Xander said, settling into the car beside us. "I helped rescue him, technically."

"Are you still jealous of a kitten?" I asked, amused.

"I’m not jealous."

Reed opened the car door, his expression carefully neutral. "Of course not."

I laughed, settling into the back seat with Midnight’s carrier beside me, the whole evening feeling warmer and stranger and more wonderful than anything I could have imagined planning myself.

As the car pulled away from the clinic, Midnight let out a small meow from inside his carrier, and I immediately reached in to comfort him, my fingers stroking gently along his fur.

Xander watched my hand disappear into the carrier with mock outrage written across his face. "Unbelievable," he said. "We’ve known him for less than an hour, and already I’m the second favorite man in your life."

Reed started the car’s navigation toward Moonshade, not looking up from the screen. "Second?"

Xander turned to him sharply. "Don’t start."