Irene, to Joonmyeon’s disapproval, didn’t like to wake up to the sounds of birds chirping at as the dawn rises; rays of light illuminating the room and the soft sigh of the man next to her as he wakes from a rather pleasant dream, holding her in his arms like the night before and the night before that.

She was stubborn when it came to waking up. No amount of morning kisses on her face or shaking would wake her. At one point, she pushed herself away and hid her bed head under the pillows and blanket; declaring the evil that is the sun. She pretty much tried to stay hidden as she slept, but Joonmyeon’s persistence to wake her up was stronger, to the point where he forced all that covered her off, only to leave a woman balled up and hiding her face.

“Rene,” he pleaded, trying to drag her off the bed, “Get up.”

She groaned out a no; trying to become one with the mattress.

“If you don’t get up, I’ll tickle you.”

Her words were muffled as she declared she wasn’t ticklish, and he soon found out when he attempted. Stumped, he let go of her, watching as she tried to fall back asleep. He chewed on his bottom lip before he had an idea, bending over her as he whispered in her ear, sending shivers down her spine; sweet words and promises instantly making her awake.

When he promised that their next date will be at her favorite restaurant, she let her hands down some, showing the happy skepticism in her eyes.

Then, she sat up and pushed him off her, telling him to go take a shower. When he left, he was watching her pick some clothes from her weekend bag. However, when she heard the shower going, she put the pillows and blankets back on the bed and slept for a good twenty minutes before they repeated the routine.

Joonmyeon left Irene to his room and went to wake his dog up. She threw on a pair of leggings and took a t-shirt she had when she eyed the dresser.

🐱🐶

Wendy was snoozing in the couch when her ears perked up at the sound of footsteps on the stairs, the faint smell of flowers and Joonmyeon mixed in the air as it grew stronger next to her. Sleepily, she leaned against the soft person next to her, sighing when her hair was being lightly combed through. Her tail wagged lazily when she heard the woman’s voice, resting her head on her lap.

“Well aren’t you tired?” Irene commented, pulling the dog’s blonde hair off her face. “Did you sleep well?”

“I always sleep well,” the dog yawned, feeling tingles as the woman traced her fingers through her hair and on her face. She was fighting the seduction of sleep as the tingles traveled to her nape, the smell of bagels in the air and the sharp sounds coming from the kitchen. Irene hummed softly as she traced the dog’s arms with light fingers, making it harder to not want to take a quick cat nap.

“I slept well too,” Irene commented, looking around, “I don’t have noisy neighbors and Joonmyeon is a great cuddle partner.”

“I know, I slept on his bed when I was a puppy,” Wendy yawned, stretching out all her limbs before relaxing, moving to lay on her back at looking up at Irene. She closed her eyes when Irene continued to trace her face, huffing out contentment. “You are magic, Irene.”

“You think so?” the woman giggled, scratching under the female’s chin.

She made a noise of agreement before revealing how nice it would be to have this bonding experience done every day. The woman hummed in agreement, especially when the dog started to mention how much better it would feel outside in the warm sun on a nice day in the summer. Irene thought how it sounded really perfect and made a mental note to have Joonmyeon do that for her.

“You want to know something?”

“Hm?”

“I think Chen likes it when you scratch him too,” Wendy revealed, putting a finger to her lips, “But you didn’t hear it from me.”

“Promise,” Irene smiled, playing with the dog’s hair, feeling tired herself.

It was several minutes later when Joonmyeon came out to the living room to find his girlfriend petting his dog, both with eyes closed and content sleepiness on their faces. He nearly dropped his bagel at how adorably heart-fluttering the scene was and gulped at the thought of seeing what this scene would look like if there was a mini-Irene cuddled in there.

Irene opened her eyes sleepily, rubbing the one before looking at her boyfriend with a yawn, shaking the dog to get her attention, “I think it’s time you get going.”

The dog whined and stretched again, only to wrap her arms around the woman and push her face in her stomach. “But I’m comfy.”

“Wendy,” Joonmyeon started, looking at the time on his phone. “C’mon. I’ll let you sit in the front seat next to me.”

“Can Irene come?”

“No, she’s going to stay here and most likely go back to sleep.”

“That sounds better than going to some stupid vet,” she pouted, being coaxed by the woman to get up and put her shoes and jacket on. Irene followed her to the front door, helping her wrap her scarf around her neck and putting a hat on.

Before Joonmyeon’s heart knew it, he realized why the scene looking like a dream; as Jieun had done the same with Chen a few years ago, before pulling about half the layers off and deeming her suitable to walk in the cold wet outside.

Joonmyeon and Irene exchanged a peck on the lips as he opened the door, waiting for the dog to go out towards the car, promising to be there in a bit. However, the dog made no movement, watching the two interact. When they finished with another peck, Wendy looked at Irene, taking in how angelic she looked.

“Wendy, I said get to the car,” Joonmyeon sighed, “We’re going to be late.”

The dog pouted, and stepped closer to Irene, ignoring her human. The man sighed dramatically, about to go off on how lateness is rude, and the appointment was important when Irene pulled Wendy closer, her face in her hands and laid a kiss on her forehead and nose, wishing her a to be good. The dog’s tail waved happily as she placed a kiss on the woman’s cheek before bounding outside, a grin on her face.

Joonmyeon, staring at the woman in disbelief, joking how she’s the cat’s greatest competition in Wendy’s affection. Then he glanced down, recognizing the shirt she was wearing and blushed. “Are you… really wearing my shirt?”

Irene chuckled before leaning up to kiss him again. “Have a good time.”

🐱🐶

The woman made herself at home as she set out to make some cereal and sat on the couch, watching some morning talk show. She heard creaks and doors shutting, believing that the cat just woke up.

When she was finished with the bowl, she set it in front of her on the coffee table and threw a blanket over her, leaning on a pillow. It wasn’t long before the cat, who’s eyes were closed, and he was following the scent of his nose, plopped down on the very end of the couch, still and silent. Irene watched his tail thump against the fabric, his ear twisting and turning as if they were busy satellites before he made an audible sniff, wiping at his nose.

He made a slight turn before he asked in a husky voice, “Where’s Wendy?”

“At the vet’s with Joon,” Irene replied, “Did you sleep well?”

Chen hummed unsurely before rubbing his eyes and yawning, stretching his entire body. “I did until Wendy left.”

Irene thought it was cute that he couldn’t sleep well if the dog wasn’t with him, before she reached out and poked the cat’s shoulder, “Do you want breakfast?”

The gray cat shook his head, letting out another yawn before leaning the other way unto the arm, trying to find a comfortable spot to fall asleep back in. “I’ll just wait until she gets home…”

“Are you sure? I don’t mind.”

The cat let out a yawn, before snoozing. The woman watched in amusement as the cat’s tail stopped thumping, and she didn’t stop herself from reaching out to pat his head, hearing the intensity of his purring increase.

Chuckling softly, she turned her attention back to the TV.

It wasn’t very long before the cat sat back up, his expression looking even more annoyed as his ears twitched as his tail thumped a bit harder than normal. Irene watched as the cat crawled over and laid with his stomach on top of her, purring at the warmth that was radiating from her. Irene still for a moment, unsure if the cat was going to violently change his mind and scratch her.

When she poked his shoulder, he only purred in response. “Chen… you know I’m not Wendy, right?”

“I know,” he mumbled, “But you’re warm. I see why Wendy does this.”

Irene blushed at the comment, finding it like an honor that the cat—who up to now has been pretty much glaring and pouting at her existence—was too tired to care that it was her that she was sleeping on. She’s petted him a few times; and he hasn’t refused it yet.

She bit her lip and relaxed a bit before putting her hand on his hair and scratched; the vibrations of the purring getting louder. When her hand to scratch his ear a few minutes later during a commercial, the cat’s purring became a weird cross between a whine and a hiss, so she stopped.

During a commercial, the woman patted his back. “Chen.”

“Hm?”

“What was Jieun like?”

The cat’s purring deceased, freezing in place for a moment. She could feel his stiff frame on her, and she took the opportunity to adjust her position, being very careful to let the cat not get off her; using him as a sort of blanket.

“Why do you care?” the cat asked with a quiet voice; Irene imagined he would have been glaring at her again if the power of a warm body wasn’t too strong for his feline instincts.

Chuckling, she rubbed her hand on his back, watching his tail thump against his legs. “Well, she was Joonmyeon’s wife, right? He tells me about her quite often, and I wish I could have met her, but I was just wondering what she was to you?”

The grey cat’s ear twitched, and the woman immediately retracted her hand. Chen looked up at her, his chin on her stomach to glare at her before taking her hand and placing it back on his head, resuming the first position. “You can say I looked up at her like a child to their mother. She was often home and would always pay attention to me. I wonder sometimes if that had to anything with her ability to have babies.”

“She sounds like an angel.”

“I like to think she is one now,” Chen revealed, stretching his hands out, “She and Joonmyeon were in love with each for such a long time; I remember calling Jieun my mate when I was a kitten, having no clue what it actually meant.”

“Well kids usually don’t, but it sounds really endearing,” Irene chuckled, resting her head back against a pillow she had; the noise of the TV became part of the background. “I’m rather envious of what those two had. I wonder sometimes if Joonmyeon sees me as highly as he does with her.”

The cat started to feel rather odd about where the conversation was going. On one hand, it was nice to discuss with someone who he didn’t really know about Jieun; on the other hand, it was rather uncomfortable to hear that this human woman is revealing deep personal info. The cat’s tail thumped against the couch again before he removed himself off her, feeling the stiffness in his spine as he moved. “Then… then you should discuss that with Joonmyeon.”

Pouting, the woman sighed before looking at the time, finding an end to the conversation and nice bonding cuddle they had. “Are you sure you don’t want to eat?”

“If I gave my order, would you stop asking?”

“Sure,” she said with a smile.

He ordered two eggs with toast, and the woman did just as he asked.

He was sitting at the table as she cleaned the pan when he mentioned that it wasn’t as good as Wendy’s. She laughed, teasing the cat about how she thinks he’s just being biased towards his mate. When she looked over, she found the cat’s blush rather adorable when she referred to Wendy as his mate.

“So…” he said between bites, appearing unfazed when he asked nonchalantly if the two humans were mating.

The woman blushed a bright tomato red, unsure how to answer that. She didn’t know if it was appropriate to discuss with a pet about the uality of humans considering they technically are half human; and then yet again she did remember helping the poor dog through her final bit of her heat.

“Um… well…. Well, what is mating?” she bit her lip, trying to appear like she wasn’t fazed by the question, “Like… like I want to make sure we’re on the same page here.”

“Mating is two animals who have ual for reproduction,” Chen said, recalling the same definition he read in a pamphlet at the vet, “But I don’t think everyone agrees. I think most just mate for fun; but othe