A Rodent Date
Liam invited Chloe inside his apartment, where the smart lights cast a warm, inviting ambiance. The air smelled faintly of ozone, as it had been filtered through the building's bioremediation HVAC. However, it couldn't quite mask the faint, lingering smell of old takeout and Liam's unwashed gym socks.
It was late, the city hummed a muted lullaby outside, and the evening had been perfect: dinner at a new vegan spot that grew its own ingredients on the rooftop, followed by a leisurely stroll through the illuminated buildings of Brooklyn. Now, with Chloe smiling up at him, Liam felt a warmth go through him. This was it.
"Make yourself at home," he invited.
His apartment wasn't huge. While not a complete disaster, it definitely was a bachelor pad. A pile of clean-ish laundry sat patiently on the armchair, not yet folded. A few empty kombucha bottles sat on the edge of the coffee table, nestled among a number of recycled gadgets.
Chloe nudged a stray charging cable out of the way with her foot before settling in.
"Your place is... cozy," she teased. "I never knew you lived so close to the Kepler Institute."
Liam chuckled, dismissing the thought of the imposing, Brutalist structure just a few blocks away. The Kepler Institute for Advanced Biology Research was legendary, with occasional rumors of genetic engineering and synthetic biology floating around while he could only see the imposing silhouette on the skyline and its tall gates. He was far more interested in the present moment, and in the warmth of Chloe's hand in his.
Just as he leaned in, there was a faint, almost imperceptible sound of scratching from a corner of the room. It was subtle, barely audible over the gentle thrum of the building.
"Did you hear that?" Chloe tilted her head.
Liam, already in a romantic haze, just blinked.
"Hear what, babe? It's just the usual city sounds."
He tightened his arm around her, hoping to recapture her attention.
"No, seriously," she leaned away. "It sounded like scratching... like something tiny. You don't have a mouse, do you?"
"A mouse, in my apartment? No way," he scoffed, trying to sound confident. "This place is sealed tighter than a biosafety lab."
He tried a charming, disarming smile, but Chloe didn't buy it.
"It sounded like it came from right there," she pointed towards the bookshelf near the small hydroponic herb garden. "Go check please?"
Her gaze was fixed on the corner. Her tone was firm. It was a clear demand and Liam knew there was no way around it.
So much for the smooth evening, he thought to himself. He certainly wasn't going to let a phantom mouse ruin his evening. He rose, still trying to maintain nonchalance, and walked over to the corner.
There, amidst a stack of graphic novels and a few stray circuit boards from an old solar-powered drone was a small, dark shape. It was a mouse. A surprisingly still, surprisingly calm mouse."
"It's just a little field mouse, probably wandered in from the lower levels. Nothing to worry about," Liam announced.
Yet he felt a bit uneasy. The mouse wasn't scurrying or panicking. It was just observing him. There was something unsettlingly deliberate in its tiny, unblinking eyes.
He stepped closer and grabbed a discarded comic book as his impromptu weapon.
"Don't hurt it!" Chloe called back even as she retreated further away.
It's just a random mouse. Nobody will miss it, Liam thought to himself as he rolled up the book and held it outward.
"Alright, little guy. It's time to go back outside."
The mouse, instead of bolting, seemed to let out a sigh. With a quick, fluid motion, it ran not away but towards a shadow beneath the bookshelf. From that shadow, it nudged a tiny object into the light.
Liam stumbled back when he saw it: a helicopter. This wasn't a toy, but a marvel of engineering. The frame was constructed from high-tech polymers with three tiny photovoltaic cells integrated into the top of its transparent canopy. Two miniature rotors, barely thicker than a hair, were folded neatly against its sides. It looked like something out of an R&D lab.
The mouse scampered up a miniscule ramp and expertly maneuvered itself into the tiny cockpit. Its shockingly dexterous paws worked at the miniature controls. Liam shook his head. Did the mouse just put on a tiny headset?
A soft, almost silent whirring filled the room. The rotors unfolded and began to spin. The turned faster, blurring into shimmering discs. The craft lifted off the ground.
"What the hell?" Liam stammered. If he hadn't been so shocked, he would've been impressed.
The mouse ascended slightly, buzzing past Liam's nose with a defiant flick of a miniature joystick. The mouse-piloted contraption zipped towards the ceiling, casting a shadow over the room.
"Liam? Is everything okay in there?" Chloe's voice drifted from the other room, edged with concern.
Liam could only stare upward, utterly dumbfounded, as the mouse executed a tight turn along the ceiling with an intelligence in its eyes.
Chloe's eyes widened as she tiptoed across the room's threshold. Her expression cycled through shock, disbelief, and finally on a profound disappointment. This wasn't a cute rodent that needed a chivalrous rescue.
"Liam," she began, her voice dangerously calm, "What exactly is happening here?"
"I don't know!" Liam squeaked out. "It just flew! The mouse! It's in a tiny helicopter!"
He gestured wildly with the comic book, now useless.
"It's like something from the Kepler Institute!"
The mouse, as if understanding the conversation, executed a daring loop-de-loop around the ceiling fan and then zipped towards the herb garden.
Chloe didn't scream or even shiver with disgust. Her reaction was far worse. Her initial fear was gone, replaced by exasperation. The romantic evening, the expectation of a cozy night, the image of Liam as her capable, protective boyfriend... all of it was now shattered by the sight of a rodent piloting advanced aerial reconnaissance.
"You said you didn't have a mouse," she stated grimly. "You said your apartment was sealed tighter than a biosafety lab. Apparently, your security protocols have a significant vulnerability."
"But, Chloe, it's not just a mouse," Liam stammered. "It's clearly a highly intelligent one. And it has access to microtechnology! This isn't my fault."
The mouse, having snatched a basil leaf, hovered triumphantly for a moment before darting away, disappearing into the shadows behind a stack of Liam's old vinyl records.
Chloe shook her head, radiating disappointment.
"You know what, I think I've had enough excitement for one night."
"Chloe, wait!" Liam pleaded. "Where are you going?"
"Home," she answered, pausing at the door. "Where the only things flying are the pigeons _outside_ my window. And where I don't have to worry about my boyfriend's inability to handle even _a mouse_."
The last word hung in the air, dripping with scorn, utterly unaware of the profound scientific anomaly she was dismissing.
The door clicked shut behind her, leaving Liam alone in the living room. The apartment felt extremely quiet aside from the faint sound of tiny chewing from behind the vinyl collection.
Liam slumped onto the sofa and ran a hand through his hair. His romantic evening was ruined, his girlfriend gone, and now was the unwitting roommate of a genius rodent with his own personal mini-copter. All he could do was sit there, bewildered, and listen to the soft crunch of someone else enjoying his basil.