For once in his life, Noah listened to the voice in the back of his head that told him to rest for once in a while. Finally, there was a reason why he could without feeling like he was losing money or just being lazy. It was all because of Micah. Because of him, Noah could oversleep for once and not worry about responsibilities.

It was still hard to believe, honestly. Micah had gotten him 250 dollars in a span of what? Five hours? Noah could only dream of making that much in such a short amount of time.

This weekend would officially mark a week since Micah had been his roommate in more than one way. The man had this strange, almost effortless way of making people smile. And for someone like Noah, that practically meant his entire life had brightened.

At first, Noah assumed that had something to do with his personality, but then he realized it was everything about him.

His presence. The way he could terrify someone with just a look or make someone laugh with just a wag of his tail.

Adding on top of that, the man was like a weighted heated blanket. One that cuddled, at least.

By far the most annoying thing was the way Micah towered over him like some kind of mountain of handsomeness.

No matter how stubborn he could be sometimes, the werewolf always left a warm, fuzzy feeling in Noah’s chest.

Which was why it was getting harder and harder to convince himself that staying home for two days was something he’d regret for all eternity.

Daniel would be so confused, but hell, he didn’t give a damn at this point. Not when he had someone who made his race just thinking about waking up tomorrow.

—The next morning—

Noah didn’t sleep much last night. Not because he was tired or anything, because it was the complete opposite. He’d been so excited that his brain refused to shut down.

He groaned, running a hand through his tangled hair, and searched for the old digital clock that sat on his bedside table.

It read 9:00 o’clock.

Shit. He’d woken up that late?

At that same moment, he also noticed the spot next to him was empty. For a second, memories flashed through his mind from the smoke alarm incident, and he braced himself for some kind of disaster as he put on his slippers and tiptoed to the kitchen.

To his relief, it was completely empty. So he returned to his room and sat on the bed.

He’s not in the kitchen… or in the room. So where is he?

Noah ultimately decided he’d be able to think better after brushing his teeth. He quietly padded toward the bathroom only to find the door open and Micah inside.

Noah choked on air instantly, and his face turned blood red. Because Micah stood in front of the sink, naked except for a towel loosely wrapped around his waist, and he was slowly combing through his wet dark hair with Noah’s comb. His tail dripped slightly onto the floor, and his ears fluffed up from the water.

Why the fuck is he naked?! In my bathroom? Why is the door open?!

With those, those damn abs— fuck.

Blood drizzled out of Noah’s nose from the shock, and “MICAH! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING? WHY IS THE DOOR OPEN?!” he shrieked, holding his hand to his nose trying to stop the bleeding.

Micah tilted his head, looking more concerned about the blood than the panic attack Noah was having.

“I was taking a shower? Is that not clear?” Micah’s hands moved to the towel. “Or should I remove the towel?”

“GAH!! DO NOT remove the towel!”

“Wait, Noah, you’re bleeding. Are you okay?”

Noah ignored him completely and marched forward, grabbed his clothes, and dragged him out the door by the tail.

“Ah! N-Noah! Wait!”

Noah stared at him with murder in his eyes, and the blood on his hands made it even more intense. “Micah,” he said, deathly calm. “Get. Out.”

Micah’s ears were pinned back, and he looked horrified before he ran away completely, and Noah slammed the bathroom door closed and leaned against it, breathing heavily.

His cheeks flushed bright again.

Why, God? Why must you test me with this creature? And why must my thoughts be so, so lustful?!

Noah stared at his reflection in the mirror and washed his hands. “I swear he’s going to kill me one day…” Noah whispered, opening a cabinet and pulling out a tool meant to stop strong nosebleeds.

He exhaled softly, closing his eyes. After a minute or two, the bleeding stopped, and Noah changed out of his pajamas and into regular clothes. A light blue sweater and jean shorts.

He combed through his hair, pulling at the tangled ends gently.

I’m lucky that didn’t get me…

Noah flushed pink to his ears before finishing that thought.

Nope. Not going there. I will stay innocent.

—15 minutes later—

Noah decided he wasn’t in the mood to make breakfast and decided they would go out, shop, then head to a brunch spot. The last place he was going to was the café. Too much temptation to work.

He stepped out and grabbed a black hoodie and jeans for Micah before stepping to the kitchen, where Micah was waiting.

Noah shoved them at the werewolf without making eye contact. The mental image of Micah dripping wet in the bathroom was still burned into his memory. He didn’t want a repeat of that, nor did he want to lose any more blood.

That definitely wasn’t healthy.

The moment Micah touched the clothing, he started stripping right there and then. Noah turned away so fast he got whiplash. Or maybe he almost snapped his neck.

Please no. Please God, just kill me already. Does this man not understand human decency?

The only thing Noah could hear was the shuffle of fabric being removed, and zippers being pulled up. He stared a hole into the fridge, trying to see if coming down with temporary blindness and death were possible.

“I have finished,” Micah announced once dressed.

Noah turned to inspect the work. He adjusted a new cat-ears beanie, dark blue this time, and pulled up the hoodie over it comfortably. Micah was smiling the entire time, and Noah was still glaring daggers at him.

Either way, one crisis had been avoided.

Noah grabbed his bag and took his wallet as well before stepping outside with Micah.

They walked quietly in the street, and Micah stayed silent, observing the cars driving around, the only thing he’d ever heard about back at home. His parents had told him they were objects of flight. And Noah had died of laughter when Micah explained this to him.

But right now Noah’s ears were tinged pink, and his brain was still malfunctioning like an old Windows PC.

Micah finally spoke, leaning closer to his human. “Noah? Where are we going?”

“Supermarket.” Noah answered emotionless.

Micah frowned, trying to read Noah’s expression. “What is the supermarket?”

“A place where humans go to buy stuff.”

“What kind of objects?”

“Micah, I swear to God—I am not in the mood for this.” Noah snapped, his eyes flashing with irritation.

The cat-ears outline drooped slightly from what Noah could see in the corner of his eyes. “Are you mad at me? Did I do something wrong?” He sounded like he genuinely cared about whether or not Noah was happy with him.

Noah didn’t answer for a minute. He just sped up his pace, refusing to make eye contact.

“I’m not mad…” Noah muttered under his breath. “Just… annoyed.”

“I can assure you that is the same thing.” Micah corrected, the same way a teacher would for a missing question mark.

Noah sighed louder than needed.

“Please tell me what I did wrong so I can do better in the future.”

Noah wanted to glare at him so badly, but the way the man spoke so earnestly made him melt into a puddle of Noah goo.

“It’s just that you do things… that affect me in a… um… uh… a way that is very distract—”

Micah interrupted him mid-sentence. “I think you are trying to say that I am attractive.”

“W-what?! I never said that! I—I—y-you—”

Noah didn’t get to finish that sentence either because right in the middle of the sidewalk, Micah grabbed him by the waist and wrapped him into a warm, firm hug.

“Shall we go now?” Micah murmured against his hair, rubbing soothing circles on his back.

Noah’s knees weren’t weak, and he leaned against Micah for support. His breath caught against Micah’s hair, and his heart stuttered to life.

He hugged Micah back, because in that moment, any remaining anger evaporated into thin air.

“Y-yeah. Let’s go,” Noah whispered against his hoodie.

There was no way he’d stay angry at this man.