The alarm screamed at 6:45 a.m.
Ava slapped the snooze button like it owed her money. Her head felt heavy, her mind fogged, and her memories blurry until she heard a voice from the kitchen.
"Do humans always start the day by attacking small machines?"
Her eyes shot open. "Oh no…"
There it was again the smooth, sarcastic tone of him.
She stumbled out of bed, hair tangled, and followed the sound. Noir sat neatly on the kitchen counter, tail wrapped elegantly around his paws, staring at her with the kind of smug confidence only a cat (or an immortal being) could possess.
"I made an observation," he continued. "You appear to be at war with time itself."
Ava groaned, rubbing her face. "You're still here."
"Of course. You told me to 'stay put.' I obeyed. Aren't you proud?"
She pointed at him with her toothbrush. "You...You talked again. I was hoping last night was just a dream."
"Dreams don't eat half your tuna," Noir replied casually.
Ava's jaw dropped. "You ate?! That was my dinner!"
He tilted his head, unbothered. "You should label your food better."
Ava took a deep breath, counted to three, and decided that arguing with a cat wasn't the best way to start her morning. Instead, she poured coffee, took a long sip, and muttered, "This isn't happening. This isn't happening."
Noir hopped off the counter, following her like a shadow. "If it helps, I could purr. Humans find that comforting."
"Humans find silence comforting," she shot back.
He blinked. "Noted."
By 8:20, Ava was dressed, hair half-tamed, and sanity hanging by a thread. She grabbed her bag and keys. Noir watched her from the couch.
"Try not to destroy anything," she said.
"I'm a creature of sophistication, not chaos," Noir said, licking his paw mid-sentence.
"Right. Because sophisticated creatures break into apartments and eat people's dinners."
He smirked or, at least, his whiskers twitched in that insufferably smug way. "You'll thank me one day."
"For what? Ruining my life?"
"For making it less boring."
Ava froze. The words hit deeper than she expected.
Noir looked away, pretending not to notice. "Go on. The human world waits for no one."
The subway ride was mercifully uneventful. Ava sat squished between a man snoring into his newspaper and a college student loudly watching K-pop videos. Normally, she'd scroll through her phone in silence, but today, she couldn't stop thinking about him.
Why did he sound so… human?
And what did he mean by 'you'll thank me one day'?
She shook her head. Nope. Not doing this. No talking cat conspiracy theories before 9 a.m.
Her phone buzzed. Mina again.
MINA: I brought donuts 🍩 hurry up before Daniel eats all the chocolate ones!!
Ava smiled despite herself. Mina loud, chaotic, always somehow glowing with energy was the complete opposite of her. And Daniel, their co-worker, was basically Mina's second brain cell. Together, they made work almost tolerable.
When Ava arrived at the office, the familiar chaos greeted her: phones ringing, printers jamming, and the distant sound of someone swearing at a coffee machine.
"AVA!" Mina's voice pierced through the noise like a trumpet of pure sugar.
Ava barely had time to react before her best friend threw an arm around her.
"You look terrible!" Mina said cheerfully.
"Good morning to you too."
"I mean it you've got those dark circles that say, 'I saw a ghost or my neighbor's Wi-Fi name traumatized me.' What happened?"
Ava hesitated. She couldn't exactly say "a magical talking cat broke into my home and might be an immortal cursed man."
"Just… didn't sleep well," Ava said. "Weird dreams."
Mina gasped dramatically. "Was it the one again? The flying noodles?"
Ava groaned. "Please stop remembering my dreams."
"Never," Mina said proudly, handing her a chocolate donut. "Anyway, Daniel's trying to fix the copier again. Pray for him."
As if on cue, a loud thud echoed from across the room followed by Daniel shouting, "I swear this machine hates me!"
Mina grinned. "Told you."
By the time their manager, Mr. Han, entered the room suit perfectly pressed, expression permanently annoyed everyone was back to pretending to work.
"Morning, team," he said, voice clipped. "Meeting in ten. Be ready."
The moment he left, Mina leaned over. "He looks extra scary today. Think he knows we replaced his fancy pen with a bubble wand?"
Ava's eyes widened. "You what?"
"Relax! Daniel said it'd be funny."
From across the room, Daniel waved sheepishly, holding up a piece of paper with "HELP" scribbled on it.
Ava sighed, half-laughing. "You two are going to get us all fired."
"Worth it," Mina said proudly.
Around noon, as the office settled into its usual hum, Ava checked her phone out of habit. One new message. Unknown number.
Unknown: Your tuna was excellent. You should buy more. 🐾
Ava blinked.
Then another message arrived:
Unknown: Also, do you own a vacuum? I accidentally defeated one of your plants.
She nearly choked on her coffee.
"No," she whispered to herself. "No way. He can't text."
But deep down, she already knew. Noir could talk and apparently, he could type too.
Back at her apartment, Noir lounged lazily on the couch, one paw tapping the phone screen with surprising precision.
He tilted his head, studying the little emojis he'd just sent. "Human communication really has declined."
Then he looked at the empty room, his silver eyes softening for a fleeting second. "Still… it's better than silence."
By the time Ava returned home that evening, her body ached, her mind buzzed, and her heart screamed for one thing: silence.
Instead, she opened her apartment door to chaos.
A small mountain of shredded paper covered the floor like confetti. Her plant the one she'd managed to keep alive for three months was now a sad, leafless stump. And in the middle of it all, Noir sat majestically atop the couch, licking his paw.
"Welcome back," he said.
Ava stood frozen. "What… what happened here?"
"Domestic experimentation," Noir replied smoothly. "Your plant challenged me."
"It's a plant!"
"Exactly. Suspiciously quiet."
Ava dropped her bag and just stared at him. "You destroyed my apartment because you thought the plant was evil?"
"Possibly cursed," he corrected. "You're welcome, by the way."
She pinched the bridge of her nose. "You are the curse."
He smirked. "Flattery won't get you anywhere."
Fifteen minutes later, Ava was on her hands and knees, cleaning up the mess while Noir "supervised."
"You missed a spot," he said.
She threw a paper ball at him. "You missed having manners."
He batted it back effortlessly. "Touché."
Ava sighed, collapsing onto the floor. "You're impossible."
Noir hopped down and walked over, tail swishing. "You say that like it's a bad thing."
"It is a bad thing! I can't exactly tell my landlord I live with a talking cat from… wherever you're from."
He tilted his head. "Would 'another world' satisfy your curiosity?"
She looked up at him. "You're kidding."
"Am I?" he said, voice low, eyes gleaming silver under the lamplight.
For a moment, the air shifted something ancient pulsed behind his gaze. The room seemed to hum, like invisible strings vibrating between them. Ava's breath caught in her throat.
Then Noir blinked, and the moment vanished.
He yawned. "You're staring. It's rude."
Ava exhaled sharply. "You...You did that on purpose!"
"Did what?" he said innocently.
"Whatever that weird aura thing was!"
"Oh," he said, sitting back down. "That. Just a side effect of existence."
Ava groaned. "You're so full of"
The sound of her phone cut her off. Mina again.
MINA: GIRL. I just found a stray cat near my apartment. He keeps staring at me like he knows my secrets.
Ava stared at the message, then slowly looked up at Noir.
He smiled, the faintest curve of his feline mouth. "Coincidence is a charming illusion, isn't it?"
Ava's stomach twisted. "What are you talking about?"
But Noir had already turned away, curling into a lazy circle on the couch. "You ask too many questions for someone who can't handle answers."
The rest of the evening passed in awkward silence. Ava reheated leftovers (what was left of them, anyway) and tried to focus on her favorite TV drama, but her eyes kept drifting toward the black shape on the couch.
Noir didn't move much just breathed softly, tail twitching now and then. For all his sarcasm, he looked oddly peaceful when asleep.
Almost human, she thought.
She shook her head quickly. "No. He's a cat. A talking, plant-murdering, phone-texting cat. That's it."
But even as she told herself that, she couldn't shake the feeling that there was something else beneath that fur something watching her from behind those ancient silver eyes.
Around midnight, Ava finally dozed off on the couch.
When she woke again, the apartment was dark except for a faint bluish glow.
Her eyes fluttered open, and she froze. Noir wasn't on the couch anymore. He stood by the window, staring out into the night, his body outlined by an otherworldly shimmer.
Ava whispered, "Noir?"
He turned his head slightly, and for a brief second, his eyes weren't cat eyes at all they were human.
Soft silver light surrounded him like a ghostly halo, and the reflection in the glass wasn't a cat's silhouette anymore. It was that of a man tall, cloaked, with wind-tossed dark hair and a strange mark glowing faintly on his hand.
Ava's breath hitched.
Then, as if sensing her gaze, Noir looked over his shoulder and the light vanished.
The reflection returned to normal. Just a black cat, blinking sleepily.
"Go back to sleep, Ava," he murmured.
Her heart pounded. "What… what was that?"
"Dream," he said softly. "You're very good at those."
Ava sat up, her pulse racing. "That wasn't a dream."
But Noir was already curled up again, eyes closed, the faintest smile on his lips.
She couldn't sleep after that.
Her mind replayed what she'd seen the shimmer, the mark, the way he'd said her name like he'd known it long before she'd been born.
Who are you really, Noir?
Outside, rain began to fall, tapping gently against the window. Noir's tail flicked once, twice, then stilled.
And though Ava didn't know it yet, something ancient something that had slept for centuries had begun to awaken inside that small apartment.
Ava didn't remember falling asleep, but the sound of clinking glass woke her the next morning.
She blinked groggily. The clock read 6:02 a.m. Too early for anything to make noise except, apparently, a cursed talking cat.
She got up, dragging herself toward the kitchen, half expecting another scene of destruction.
Instead, she froze.
Noir stood on the counter, delicately pouring milk from a small jug into a bowl.
He was… using his paw to steady the jug. Carefully. Gracefully. Like he'd done it a thousand times.
Ava rubbed her eyes. "Am I still dreaming?"
Noir didn't look up. "If you are, your subconscious has impeccable taste in roommates."
"You're pouring milk."
"Indeed."
"You don't have thumbs."
He smiled faintly. "Limitations are a matter of perspective."
Ava stared. "Okay, that's it. Who taught you how to do that?"
Noir finally turned to face her, eyes glimmering like moonlight on glass. "A long time ago," he said softly, "someone who liked their tea sweet and their mornings quiet."
The tone in his voice stopped her. It wasn't sarcastic it was… wistful. Melancholy.
She tilted her head. "You mean someone you knew? Before… this?"
He blinked slowly, as if debating whether to answer. Then he turned away. "You ask dangerous questions before breakfast."
Ava frowned. "You do realize you're the one making breakfast, right?"
That drew the smallest smirk from him. "Touché."
By the time she got to work, she'd convinced herself it had all been another weird morning. The "pouring milk with no thumbs" thing? Maybe she imagined it. Or maybe she was just sleep-deprived.
She didn't want to think about the other part the strange glow, the reflection that wasn't a cat.
Not when her life already felt like a balancing act on a wire.
At the office, Mina was her usual whirlwind of chaos.
"AVA! I need your help," she said, slamming a pile of papers on her desk.
"What happened this time?" Ava asked.
"I may have accidentally scheduled three meetings at the same time."
Ava blinked. "How do you accidentally"
"Shh," Mina said, waving her hand dramatically. "There's no time for logic. We need damage control."
Daniel appeared behind her, clutching a cup of coffee like it was his only reason to live. "Translation," he said flatly, "she wants you to fix it while she distracts Mr. Han with baked goods."
Mina nodded proudly. "Teamwork makes the dream work."
Ava sighed. "Fine. But you owe me lunch."
"Deal!" Mina chirped, already halfway to the break room with a box of donuts.
While Ava typed furiously, she caught a reflection in her monitor someone watching her.
Sophie.
The one co-worker who never smiled at her. Never spoke unless it was to correct her.
"Working hard, Ava?" Sophie asked, voice too sweet.
Ava forced a smile. "Trying to."
Sophie leaned closer. "You always try so hard. It must be exhausting."
Ava blinked. "Excuse me?"
"Oh, nothing," Sophie said with a thin smile. "I just noticed you look… distracted lately. Tired. Like you've been up all night."
Ava's stomach tightened. "I'm fine."
Sophie's gaze lingered for a moment too long before she straightened. "Just checking. Wouldn't want you to fall behind."
She walked off, her perfume sharp and artificial. Behind her trailed her usual trio of gossip-hungry coworkers, whispering.
Mina reappeared minutes later, plopping into the chair beside Ava. "Ugh. Sophie again? She's like a mosquito wearing lipstick."
Ava chuckled despite herself. "That's… weirdly accurate."
"She's probably jealous," Mina said with a wink. "You're way prettier and nicer. And your cat probably has more personality."
Ava froze. "Don't talk about my cat."
Mina blinked. "What? Why?"
Ava laughed nervously. "No reason! I just… uh, don't want to jinx it."
Mina raised a brow. "You're acting weird."
"I'm fine."
"Sure, sure." Mina grinned. "But if you ever need a cat sitter, I charge in snacks."
Ava smiled, though her mind was far away.
No one could handle Noir.
That night, the rain hadn't stopped. The city shimmered under wet neon, the world outside Ava's apartment alive with movement.
Inside, it was quiet. Too quiet.
"Noir?" she called softly.
No answer.
She looked around. The couch was empty. The kitchen spotless. No sarcastic remarks. No silver eyes watching her from the dark.
Her heart skipped. "Noir?"
A faint sound came from the balcony the sliding door was cracked open.
Ava stepped closer, her pulse quickening. Rain mist drifted through the gap, cool against her skin.
She saw him then, sitting on the railing, completely still, eyes fixed on the storm.
Lightning flashed, and for an instant, his shadow on the wall wasn't feline. It was human.
"Noir…" she whispered.
He turned his head slightly, voice low. "The storm wakes them."
Ava's brows furrowed. "Who?"
He didn't answer.
Another flash. The lights flickered.
Then he looked at her and something ancient stirred in his gaze again, heavy with memory.
"You should sleep," he said softly. "Before it starts."
"Before what starts?" she asked.
The wind howled, carrying the scent of rain and something else old, electric, familiar yet alien.
Noir's eyes glowed faintly in the dark. "The past never sleeps forever."
And then, just like that, the lights went out.
When they flickered back to life seconds later, he was gone.
Only the open balcony door remained, rain dripping onto the floor.
Ava's heart pounded in her chest as she whispered into the silence:
"…What are you, Noir?"
Outside, thunder rolled and somewhere far beyond the city, something answered.