A constant rain had been soaking the streets for a few days already. The atmosphere in the whole town felt gloomy because of the tormenting rain and how the somber heavy clouds were stubbornly hanging right above the settlement. Occasionally howling wind would join in with the downpour, causing chills to anyone who was walking through the streets, and grabbed and tried to snatch away umbrellas which many of the folks had in order to counter the rain. Since the sun hadn't shown its face for a while, the mood of the many townsfolk was rather foul and everyone, even those who usually liked the rain, hoped that the sunny days would come already. Nobody liked the slightly flooded streets and the coldness in the air, but they just had to endure it until the sun would shine again.

That day, the weather had been exceptionally bad. A heavy torrent with a strong freezing wind had been tormenting those who had to walk outside, the breeze violently grasping the clothes and umbrellas. Most preferred to stay inside and headed out only if they absolutely had to. Pedestrians were looking at bypassing cars with jealousy in their eyes, this was one of those occasions when owning a car was highly advantageous. But they had to just surrender to their fate and defy the forces of nature.

Around the downtown area, it almost felt like the wind was howling more intensively than in some parts of the town. Many walkers absolutely loathed this and curse words were filling their minds as they pushed against the strong gusts. In this corner of the town, boutiques, cafeterias and alike were like safe havens for those who were out confronting the bad weather. Who wouldn't enjoy having a break from the torrent and wind, warming up a little in the safety of a small shop? This is what Danny and Tony learned very quickly. They had just opened a café together and that day, there had been a slight increase in customers, and it was possible that a lot of them just wanted to seek shelter for a little while. A cup of hot coffee and some baked goods were definitely something they needed before heading back to the streets of the windy town. They would sit at their tables, watching the dance of rain outside the windows, then letting out a sigh and leaving the welcoming warmth of the café, going back to the cold rain.

It turned out to be a rather busy day for Danny and Tony. Customers were coming in with a steady pace, which of course was a pleasant thing, considering how new their place was. Tony the lion was the front man, buzzing around like a busy bee, his job being taking orders and serving tables. Meanwhile, Danny the tiger was working hard in the kitchen, making coffee and baking all the delicious goods that the customers would surely enjoy. Occasionally Tony would hear a faint bang or a sound of something falling to the floor, accompanied by low-pitched muttering; a few times the tall tiger managed to bang his head on the shelf or drop off items from a counter with his tail. A couple of times Tony had peeked in the kitchen to make sure that his husband was alright, and every time Danny had assured him that everything was fine and to not worry about it. Tony was satisfied with these answers, but he just had to make sure every time that things were in order.

When the evening came, things calmed down in their café, and so did the weather outside. Slowly the pouring rain turned into light drizzle, even the wind calmed down to a slight breeze. Perhaps the rainy days were finally passing the town. Heavy dark clouds were still lingering over the town, so the night was coming quicker and darker than usual. And as the evening progressed, the last customers of the café left, heading to their homes. New ones weren't showing up anymore at this point, since it was getting late and while this part of the town wasn't the worst, it was still wise to not walk alone at night. It was time to close the café, and so Tony and Danny started to clean up. While Danny was at the back getting things in order in the kitchen, Tony was sweeping the floor and wiping the tables clean. They worked hard to get the place in a neat condition for tomorrow's customers. Getting everything ready took them a while, but finally they were done. It had been a bit rough, but a successful day and they embraced each other before they started to head to their apartment that was located in the same building as their little café.

“We should have some evening snacks before we go to bed”, Tony suggested.

“Sure”, Danny responded briefly.

Once they arrived at their apartment, they made their way to the kitchen area, it was directly on the left when coming from the entrance. The light was flipped on and it filled the kitchen with its pale light. Then Danny and Tony started to prepare simple sandwiches so they wouldn't go to bed hungry. They liked to do things together, so they both put some effort into making their last meal of the day. Soon they were done with this task and both sat down around the little table they had in the kitchen. They were eating in silence as both were tired from working the whole day and didn't really have energy to have a conversation.

Suddenly the silence was broken by a loud knock on the door.

Tony and Danny looked at each other, both having a confused and surprised look on their faces. Who on earth could be at the door in such a late hour?

“I guess I'll see what they want?” Tony said while already cranking his body up from the chair.

The lion was a little wary, knowing that this wasn't exactly the best neighborhood in town, but as a former police officer he knew how to deal properly if the situation would turn into a dangerous one. He slowly made his way to the door, making sure that the door chain lock was in place before he opened the door slightly and he peeked into the hallway.

There was no one there.

“That's weird”, Tony muttered to himself as he removed the door chain from its locked position.

He took a better glance at the hallway, but it still remained empty. That was, until he realized to look down.

And there it was, right at his feet: a baby, tucked in a basket. This made Tony even more confused and he kept glancing around, trying to spot the mother of this little child. But there was no sign of her. The lion fixed his gaze back at the baby, being bewildered by this unusual situation. Just what are the odds that you'll find a random child, presumably completely abandoned, from your doorstep?

But as he looked at the baby's curious little eyes, he could feel his heart softening. The child was a pink rabbit with black markings. It was clear that the baby had no idea what was happening – it was a baby, after all – but in that sense, Tony was in a similar situation as well, having no knowledge of what had led to this moment and what was the reason for the baby's mother to abandon her child like this. But one thing was for sure at that moment: Tony couldn't just leave the baby out there and pretend that it didn't exist. Carefully he picked up the basket, but as soon as he did that, he noticed that a sharp straw had been sticking out and it badly scratched the baby's ear, causing it to bleed a little. It also made the baby cry and the child's sudden wailing filled the hallway.

“Hush, hush little one”, Tony tried to soothe the child. “We'll take care of that, don't worry.”

Then the lion carried the crying baby to the apartment, the door behind him closing with an audible click as it got locked.

Danny was looking curiously from his seat what the commotion was and asked: “Who was there and why do I hear a crying baby?”

Tony didn't answer right away, he sort of let the situation explain itself as he brought the basket to the kitchen table, placing it in front of Danny. Then he began to search through the kitchen cabinets, looking for the first aid kit that he swore they had somewhere, while Danny was staring at the screaming child, and didn't like at all what he was seeing.

“Why is this kid here?” he grumpily asked from his husband who was still looking through the cabinets.

“Well, I couldn't just leave the little one outside all by itself”, Tony replied, still immersed in his task.

“Return it to its mother”, Danny commanded.

“I can't, I don't know where the mother is”, Tony said as he finally found what he was looking for and pulled a red package from one of the shelves, then making his way to the kitchen table to take care of the baby's bleeding ear.

Danny let out a heavy sigh. “We have to give the child to an authority figure. We can't take care of the baby, we have enough bills as it is.”

Tony gave no answer, he was dealing with the baby's injury from the probably very cheap basket by drenching a cotton pad with some disinfectant and cleaned up the wound. Danny was frowning as he watched how his husband was taking care of a stranger's kid. He didn't appreciate this situation at all.

As soon as Tony was finished with cleansing the injury, he was pleased with his own work. The wound wasn't bleeding anymore, but it seemed like that there would be a permanent scar on the child's ear. The baby had also stopped crying and Tony snatched the little one from the basket and began to lull the child, happily smiling.

“Look at the little angel!” he said joyfully, watching how the baby was gradually becoming more and more sleepy in his hands.

“We have to give it away”, Danny repeated.

“Well, that's not really possible at this late hour”, Tony responded and grinned a little bit. “I don't think any office is open.”

“Fine, fine…” Danny muttered with a slight defeat in his tone and he hid his face behind his hand. “It can stay for the night. But tomorrow, it has to go.”

But although Danny was against keeping the child, the sight of his husband being so happy with a child did give him a sensation of bliss. He tried his best to push it away, however, and he mumbled something about going to bed, heaved his body from the chair and headed to the bedroom. It had been a rough day and he didn't simply have energy to argue about this child matter. As soon as his head hit the pillow, he fell asleep, and so deep was his sleep that he didn't notice it all when his husband came to his side.

The piercing sound of an alarm infiltrated through Danny's dreams and he woke up, still feeling a little tired. He hadn't remembered at all to set an alarm when he went to sleep; this was most likely Tony's doing. He thanked his husband in his head and then noted that he wasn't in the bed with him. Then Danny remembered the mysterious child and wondered if Tony was with that baby at that moment. The tiger cranked himself out of the comfy bed and headed to the direction of their kitchen and living room.

And just as he had assumed, there the lion was, sitting on a chair at the kitchen table, feeding the baby from a bottle. The thing was… they didn't have such items that babies needed, so Danny was very curious about where his husband got that bottle.

“Oh, morning!” Tony said in a joyful manner as soon as he noticed Danny's presence.

“What are you doing?” Danny asked with a serious tone in his voice.

“I'm feeding the baby, of course!”

“No, I mean…” Danny shook his head a little. “Where did you get that bottle?”

“Well, a nearby store opened a while ago so I bought some stuff for the baby's needs, like some formula and food, diapers, better carrying case than that basket…”

“I thought we weren't going to keep the child”, Danny said as he started to prepare some coffee; a little boost was needed as they would soon open their café again. “We agreed on [i]one[/i] night.”

“Aw, how can you resist this little cutie's face”, Tony said while he stopped feeding the baby. “Besides, don't you want a family?”

“Well, maybe someday, but we aren't exactly rolling in money right now, it would be the responsible thing to do so that we'll have stable income first”, Danny grumbled.

“Dear.” The lion's tone was so serious that Danny hadn't heard something like it for a long time. “Please, think about it. This child was gifted to us, so to say… Don't push him away like a piece of garbage.”

“Him? So the baby is a boy?” Danny inquired.

Tony nodded.

The tiger scratched his head. “Alright, I let him stay for a bit. For you.”

Tony was smiling happily and was holding the baby in the air. “Did you hear that? Daddy lets you stay!”

Danny growled with a low voice and started to get prepared for the work day ahead of them. Meanwhile Tony was taking care of the baby, such as changing his diaper. When he was done, he placed the child carefully in his brand-new carrying case with a few toys he could play with. Tony took hold of the case and they were ready to go, though Danny gave him a little annoyed look. They stepped out of their apartment and began to head to the bottom floor to their café.

“You know”, Tony said, “he looks like Cherry. Maybe his name should be Cherry.”

Their work day started slowly, but that was to be expected. The whole town was just waking up to face the new day. Finally a little bit of sunshine came through the windows to lighten up the café a little and the heavy dark clouds had drifted away at last. And with the rays of the morning sun, few early customers also made their way to the café in order to grab a coffee before heading to work. It was a nice slow start and while there weren't really customers around, Tony was goofing a little bit with Cherry. He had placed the child behind the counter where he could easily keep an eye on him and at the same time Cherry would stay out of the customers' way. The child was still so little that it slept much, but other than that, Tony spent a lot of time taking care of him. Danny did watch them from the kitchen every now and then and he had to admit, seeing his husband being this happy with a baby did make him feel delighted as well. Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to keep Cherry.

As the day progressed, more and more customers came to their café, spent some time or just grabbed a few goodies before heading out again. Around the afternoon the busy time arrived and Tony and Danny had their hands full of work. And somehow, Tony managed to take care of Cherry along with his other duties quite well, which did impress Danny a little bit. Then the business became a little slower as it started to get dim outside, until eventually the sky had darkened, which pretty much was a sign that no more customers would come. In the end, the day had been a productive one and as soon as Tony and Danny were ready with tidying up the place so it would be ready for tomorrow, they headed back to their apartment together with Cherry, going to bed in order to face the new day.

The next day came and their morning rituals went as usual. It was the weekend, but Tony and Danny were still going to open their café. It was a beautiful sunny morning again and soon after the opening, first customers came in to have a relaxing time with a cup of coffee and pastries. Everything went smoothly until rush hour came and it felt like everything happened at once. Tony was so busy with serving and running the register that when suddenly Cherry woke up from his nap and started to cry, he didn't have enough time to deal with the child, so Danny had to do something about it. He wasn't thrilled, but reluctantly tried to soothe the baby. He tried to pacify the baby by speaking with a low volume and cradling him gently. And it did work, eventually and little Cherry looked at him with his bright big eyes. Danny felt a strange warmth in his heart and gave the baby a slight smile. The child was adorable, he had to admit that. And maybe, at that point, he did fall in love with Cherry as well, even though he didn't realize it yet.

Another day came to an end. And so did a few more. Even during such a short period of time, Cherry started to feel like a true family member to the men. Even Danny had started to soften. Their routines quickly included the baby as well and bit by bit Danny took more responsibility of the child so Tony didn't have to take care of everything. Danny had even bought some parenting books while trying to figure out how babies work and they read them together to learn as much as they could how to raise a child. But in the end, best advice would come from experience and that was something they would do together, as a family.

Who could have guessed that such happiness had been just dropped off on their doorstep? The mother had probably wanted Cherry to have a better life than what she could offer, and she did make the right choice in the end. Because Cherry got two loving fathers that would do their best to give him the best life they could.