Rainy Skies

Hunter likes the rain well enough. On rainy days like this, he's perfectly content to sit at the dining room table with a few reports spread out in front of him, marking them up for Creative with a mug of hot chocolate beside him and Seth taking up half the fucking table by stretching out as far as he can—which is surprisingly far for a kitten who can fit in his shirt pocket.

Ever since the incident where Dean proved he is truly an evil genius, Hunter has been on his beset behavior around the little lunatic assassin. He doesn't need to get on Dean's bad side again, not when the kitten can somehow play him against Roman—animals are not supposed to be that smart. So he is nice to Dean and pets him when need be, or when he feeds him, or just when Dean is a nosy little shit who wants attention, but he still quietly prefers Seth to him.

Seth yawns from his position on the table and rolls over onto his stomach, tail swishing lazily throw the air as he peers up at Hunter with rather sleepy eyes. Even if he still climbs far too high and jumps distances that scare the living fuck out of Hunter, he's a sweet kitten naturally and he's very cuddly. Hunter chuckles when Seth mewls at him and runs a hand down their little highflier's back, feeling his little body vibrate when the purrs start up. Yeah, this is the kind of cat he can easily get along with. Not the kind of evil demon monster who tortures him.

When Seth gets to his feet and pads closer, Hunter gives up the ghost and picks him up, leaning back in his seat and cradling Seth against his chest. He keeps telling himself these are Roman's cats every time he starts to feel warm and fuzzy around them, but Seth has won him over in more ways than one and he might as well just admit he quietly admires Dean's cleverness and overall, he loves both of these kittens and he's never going to let anything bad happen to them.

Still, he just likes Seth more now. He was really warming up to Dean at first to the point where the little brown hairball was his favorite, but now he doesn't trust the kitten not to use his affection against him. How the fuck did Dean even hide from him and his buddies when they were trying to hunt his little kitten ass down? There's no way he just kept randomly changing hiding places, always staying near enough to the front door to make sure he could get to Mommy before anyone noticed him. Except that he's very smart and that has to be exactly what he did do. While Seth kept Randy and Hunter amused—or more likely just sat and watched them look around the room when he probably knew Dean wasn't in there, but still. Seth isn't the evil one.

That's when Roman's worried voice snags his attention as the big man wanders into the dining room, looking oddly upset. "Have you seen Dean? He wandered off and I can't find him."

"Gee, I wonder what it's like for him to do that," Hunter says in a near-perfect deadpan.

"This is not a time to be sarcastic! He could be hurt." Roman walks over to the table and no doubt sensing his "mother" is upset, Seth trots over and lets Roman pet him. "What if he got outside? What if he's out in the rain? Hunter, he could get sick or get hurt. He's so little."

Hunter huffs a sigh up at him. "Dean attacks things two hundred times his size, thank you."

"But he's just a baby. He's just a kitten. You have to go out and look for him." Roman picks Seth up and cuddles him against his cheek, and it's not really fair how Roman can do puppy dog eyes while Seth mewls and nuzzles his cheek. The two of them together are enough to melt even the iciest of hearts, he swears. "Just go check. Just in case. Because he might not like you, but he always come when I call him and he's not coming. He has to be outside somewhere."

He doesn't want to look for the fucking cat, but because it's Roman, he stands and wanders to the front door, grabbing his coat on the way just in case. As soon as he opens the front door, though, his heart sinks and he knows Dean has to be outside. Not that he ever really put it past a kitten like Dean, but the sight of the hole at the bottom of the screen door—one Dean probably clawed loose with his little claws and baby teeth—is just big enough for a kitten to fit through. And once the rain started, he probably got scared and hid instead of coming back inside.

Roman grabs him by the shoulder. "I told you he was outside. Oh, God, Hunter, you have to go out and find him before he gets hurt or sick or something k-kills…" Roman breaks off and sobs.

Fucking crazy ass cat. Hunter takes a moment to pull Roman into his arms, hugging him and assuring him that of course he's going to find Dean, before he heads outside. It's still pouring and he really hates this cat for doing this to him. Why he has to be against beating animals, he has no idea, but Dean definitely needs someone to get him in line for this kind of behavior.

Logic dictates he check the bushes against the house since the dense, thick growth should provide excellent cover from the rain, but he doesn't find Dean hidden in the bushes and just gets scratched in the process. A glance up at the tree, blinking rain out of his eyes, also reveals no little brown fur ball and he has no intention of actually climbing up there to find out for himself. Unless Roman actually asks him to because then he'd have no choice, but he doesn't see Dean anyway so… And surely Dean would come out and mewl for help if he heard Hunter looking for him. Shit, what if he just can't hear the damned hair ball over the rain? Damned cat.

He checks back around the shed and inside of it but also finds nothing more than tools. Ditto the deck; Dean isn't huddled up beneath it. Irritated, he rounds back to the front of the house and his eyes land on the car. If Dean is under the car, good for him and Hunter can snag him and actually carry him back inside where he'll be safe and warm once again. Unless Dean has decided to make this difficult and climb up into the car, in which case Hunter might not be able to get him out and they could have a serious problem on their hands. Why does life have to be so hard?

But Roman is watching from the doorway, so he tries to appear unruffled as he kneels down on the asphalt, wincing as it bites into his knees through his sweatpants, then leans down to peer into the shadowed space. He sees nothing at first and figures Dean must not be here, either, until a quiet cry reaches his ears. Shocked, he tilts his head slightly and realizes Dean is pressed against the tire he's nearest to, curled up into a little ball of fear and looking absolutely scared to death. And cold. He's shaking so hard Hunter can see the tips of his ears quivering and he's never curled into himself quite so tightly before. Well, at least Hunter managed to find him.

"Hey, little guy. What are you doing out here all alone?" Hunter reaches for him and slowly strokes one of Dean's quivering ears, his heart almost wrenching when Dean mewls up at him pathetically. God, he's going to have to fix that screen door. "Come on. Let's get you inside."

Dean mewls again and shrinks away when Hunter reaches for him.

"No, don't do that. Just come here." He doesn't have time for this, so he snatches Dean up and tries to ignore the way the kitten's claws sink into his hand; he's used to it at this point.

Besides, if he leaves the cat out here any longer, there's a damned good chance he'll get sick.

Roman opens the door for him, his eyes locked on where Dean's tiny, soaked frame is nestled into the bend of Hunter's elbow. The poor thing is still shaking and sure enough, Roman's eyes mist over with tears before he presses a hand to his mouth to muffle a sob.

Shaking his head, Hunter shrugs out of his jacket, keeping a hold on Dean. "He's fine, Roman."

"What if he's sick? What if something tried to attack him? You weren't out there. You don't know." Roman smoothes a hand down Dean's back and Dean meows up at him plaintively, and Hunter half-wonders if the kitten is just milking this or not. Sometimes, it's hard to tell. "We need to warm him up. You hold him while I use the hair dryer on him."

Hair dryer. Right. Hunter follows Roman along to the bathroom, sitting down on the toilet lid while Roman digs out the hair dryer and plugs it into the wall. Seth perches on the sink counter to watch, curling his little tail around his feet, and Hunter gives him a reassuring pet so he knows his partner-in-crime is okay. After all, what is Seth going to do if something happens to Dean?

The moment Roman aims the hair dryer at Dean, the kitten yowls and tries to escape, but Hunter is not having any of it. Not after his little stunt. Instead, he catches Dean by the scruff of the neck and makes him sit still while Roman sifts his fingers through Dean's damp fur, trying to dry it out to help him feel less cold. Not that Dean seems to appreciate it. He just cries and tries to escape from the evil electrical thing that very well might keep him from freezing to death.

And Hunter just sighs and shakes his head while Roman strokes Dean's back and tries to calm him down. Crisis averted thanks to the Cerebral Assassin, but… Wait for it, wait for it, just wait for it…

"Goddamn it, Hunter," Roman finally snaps. "You better fix that motherfucking door or so help me God."

Well, at least the peaceful moment was nice.

A/N: What can I say? More kitten fluff. But guess what? Get hyped. Because in the next chapter, we finally meet the third kitten. And so far, a total of zero people have guessed who it is. You have until the next chapter to get your guess in, so good luck.