His hold on her wrists relaxed, but he pressed her hands atop her thighs. When his touch drifted away from her, Maktov said, "Just close your eyes for a moment, alright?"

She opened her mouth to dissent. The darkness in the room was more than enough to hinder her sight. But, he opened his eyes and something in the glow and shape gave her pause. An earnest uncertainty emanating from him. Complying with his request, her eyes shut and she affirmed, "Alright, they're closed."

Maktov fidgeted under her and something in the air changed. Though, Thalia couldn't even begin to guess what. A moment's pause, the rustling stilled before he muttered a rushed, "Wait."

There was more shifting from the man beneath her - as if he was struggling with his pants - and, suddenly, light flashed outside her eyelids. His cellphone? Thalia's brows furrowed at that, considering his natural preference.

By this point, the urge to open her eyes was actively being fought against. Her eyelids flickered, temptation almost tearing them open. "What are you doing?"

"Just open your eyes, before I get too embarrassed and regret this."

Thalia cracked an eye open, sight adjusting to the dim light of the cell phone, before her breath caught in her throat.

A memory shimmered at the back of her head, from the first time he took her to the market under the pier. 'I want to show you what's beneath the shadows.' At the time, she shrugged it off as a metaphorical saying.

It apparently was much more literal. Realizing that, something in her chest caught as she looked at him.

Maktov sat there, his shadows gone. Or, more accurately, they filled the room around them, making natural shadows deepen and writhe. Even away from Maktov, they seemed to resonate with his nerves. Some licking closer with nervous flicks. Though, her attention focused on him. She stared, taking in all the new details.

Short, dark fur covered his body, save for his face - a dusky dark brown - and the large, bat-like ears that pressed close to the sides of his head. She realized how apt the bat comparison was, as her attention slid lower, along his chest. A ruff of fur sprouted from around his neck, down to his chest in an upside down triangular shape, before becoming a relatively thin line that led down his abdomen, disappearing beneath the waistband of his pants. The longer fur of his ruff trailed up the back of his neck, to his head, where two nubby horns sat amidst the longer hair at the crown of his head. His eyes, a greyish-blue iris set in dark sclera, couldn't meet Thalia's gaze, and were made all the more obvious by the magnification of his glasses. His fingers - long and tapered - fidgeted on the bedspread, nails picking at the fabric.

Finally, Thalia's brain kicked into overdrive, utterly unable to censor her first thoughts. Her hands grasped at his face, fingers teasing along the fur that lined the sides of his jaw. "You're so fuzzy!"

He almost pulled away, before he caught himself. Thalia delighted in seeing a blush, for the first time, bleed across his cheeks. Even the tips of his ears darkened with embarrassment. He muttered in reply, heat crawling up his face. "I keep my shadows tight, so it presses all this down."

"Why?" Thalia's hands slipped down to his shoulders, to his chest, carding his fur between her fingers. Out of the corner of her eye, she noted the shadows seemed to soften and curl in on themselves. As she touched him, his hands went back to her, lighting resting on her hips. She didn't notice, enamored with all this novelty, "Good gods, your fur is so soft!"

"Okay, okay, enough! Let's just get back to-" His words cut off as he groaned, his hands on her hips tightening with a squeeze.

In her excitement, like a child unable to decide what feature to touch first, she gingerly traced a finger along the rim of one of his large ears. Thalia jerked her hand back. She gave him an apologetic look. "Guess I shouldn't touch that."

"No, you're fine," he breathed after a moment, hips rolling as a not-so-soft part pressed against her.

Thalia smiled at his teasing press of his hips, leaning into his body. Her lips teased along his neck again, her hands tracing soft touches down his sides. Maktov sighed, his own hands training up her back to the clasp of her bra. Though, her next words caused him to pause. "So, you look a bit like a bat."

"Yes?" Mild tension pulled at his muscles. The gradual increase of carnal heat at his core stymied with her words.

"Sooo," Thalia's fingers crawled from his sides to his back. Anticipatory goosebumps prickled at his skin, making his fur stand on end. "Don't a lot of bats have little stubby tails?"

The ruff around his neck seemed to fluff up in alarm. Maktov jolted, feeling her hands brush against his lower back. Suddenly, he flipped their positions, eyes wide and flush deepening across his face. She couldn't help grinning broadly into his face as she shoved him to the side, rolling back atop him. "Oh, come on, Maktov!"

A flurry of laughter and frustrated words filled the air, along with the struggles of two bodies moving against one another. The bed squeaked with every swapped position. Eventually, the frustrated groans and goading chuckles shifted, turning into breathy gasps and, ultimately, into moans. The roughhousing wrestling also changed, until Maktov and Thalia were simply moving against one another, losing their last bits of clothing in the process.

---

Later, Thalia snuggled up close to Maktov's side while he laid on his back, arm around her. Running her fingers through the trail of his fur on his chest to his belly button and back again. He grumbled lightly, yet again, about her fascination with it. Thalia just let out a soft, amused sound, but her fingers continued to pass lazily up and down. She watched the color rise in his ears, smiling gently.

With a sigh, he closed his eyes, resigning himself to the fate of being petted. After a few moments of quiet, Thalia roused the drowsing Maktov. "I think I figured out why I liked your teeth so much."

"Yeah?" He cracked an eye open, an eyebrow raised.

Her finger traced along his nose, before grazing over his lips. With a broad smile, Thalia admitted, "It was the first part of you I saw that wasn't shrouded in shadows."

There was a moment of silence. A moment where color deepened in his face and her grin widened until it hurt. Finally, Maktov groaned. "If you're going to say corny shit like that, I'm rolling over."

"Wait, no!" Thalia laughed, feeling the flustered heat rise off him. She struggled to grab him, but Maktov untangled from her and rolled onto his side, back to her. Her arms wrapped around his midsection, pulling herself flush against his back. Pressing her cheek to him, Thalia listened to the patter of his heart.

Maktov's hand curled over hers, holding them against his torso. He sighed, his back easing against her. With her ear pressed to his back, it was easier to hear his mumbled, "I think I love you."

"I think I love you, too." Thalia nudged her forehead against his back, warm and fuzzy feelings tickling at her insides. The two basked in the heat of their confessions, both feeling juvenile but satisfied. His thumb stroking at her fingers as she nuzzled against his back.

Though, it passed as Thalia's mind shifted to a new question. Pushing herself up along his back, until she could wedge her chin at the juncture of his neck and shoulder, Thalia quietly asked, "So, does this mean you're staying here?"

"About that," he cleared his throat, obviously embarrassed. Though, Thalia wasn't sure if it was their ultimate admissions or a new awkward topic. "My apartment's lease ran out a couple weeks ago."

Surprise jolted through her as she shoved herself up on her arms to peer down at him. "What."

"Between the project and just not wanting to go back, I sort of... avoided thinking about it." He didn't look at her as he answered. The more Maktov spoke, the more his shoulders hunched and the quicker his speech became. And the darker a flush tinted his face and ears. "All my important stuff ended up here, anyway, so..."

Thalia pulled his shoulder back, tilting him so she could see his eyes. Obvious concern and confusion filled her features. "What if this didn't work out?"

A strangled sound left Maktov's throat as he shrugged, again. In actuality, he'd agonized over the possibility. Or over how Thalia would react to this news. His eyes drew away from her face. "There was stuff left that I got a storage unit for, so I can find a place to squat until a more permanent residence is found."

"Maktov..." Thalia breathed, her lips quirking into a half-smile as he looked at her. She still couldn't believe he'd been so reckless. And he hadn't even told her! Though, she supposed he felt bad, not wanting to make her feel trapped with him. She sighed and shook her head. "I thought you were more rational than this."

"So did I." Hesitantly, he brought a hand up to her cheek, not quite touching her. He eased as she leaned into the touch, his thumb skirting her lips. "Things change, I guess."

"You're telling me," Thalia's smile flickered to full, considering what had definitely changed between them. From classmates in a group project who had started off on the wrong foot, to people who relied on one another, to baring shrouded parts of themselves. In the span of a month. Talk about a college experience. From the look in his eye, Maktov was musing over the same events, a teasing grin curled at his lip. "I started with a group project and ended up with a live-in boyfriend. Almost better than an A on the assignment."

A relieved smile spread over his lips, showing off those pearly whites she loved so much, before he pulled her down into another kiss. She eased into the kiss, sighing delightedly against his eager lips. Thalia squeaked as Maktov rolled atop her, his forearms boxing her in, against the bed, as he deepened the kiss. Her hands found their way to his chest, fingers carding through his fur, reveling in the warmth he stirred inside and around her.

They'd have to deal with adult responsibilities, leasing agreements, rent, Taryn's opinion, and more, at some point. Questions and considerations hedged at the back of their minds, but for now only the touch of their lips, the drift of their hands, the soft sounds that passed between them encapsulated their attention.

Even the shadows seemed to pull in closer, creating a small bubble of heat and dark, shutting them away from the world. At least until morning.