You were sitting in front of Baekhyun, fingers tapping rapidly on the little table for two you managed to squeeze in the kitchen.

“Well?” he crossed his arms.

“Well…” You repeated, not feeling particularly inspired by the way your cellphone stared at you accusingly from between the two of you.

In retrospect, pulling the telephone base might have been a bit exaggerated. But for a while, you honestly believed Baekhyun would let your “little episode”, if one could even call it that, slide. And it’s not like he gave you any reason to believe otherwise.

“The just happened?” Chanyeol asked, voice deep from sleep and eyes barely open. He hadn’t woken up when the telephone rang, but God forbid you ended a call with a little more rudeness than strictly necessary.

“Telemarketing.” You answered with a blank face. Of course, he wasn’t an idiot, so he didn’t believe you. Politeness was the only thing keeping him from prying.

Baekhyun laughed as he handed you the phone. “That’s how I’d handle it too.”

And that was it, the one liner that made you believe he wouldn’t bring it up again, wouldn’t ask any questions. It turned your mood from panicked to happy so fast, you cooked them pancakes for breakfast. Heck, you even offered Baekhyun the biggest, juiciest pile of pancakes. A grave mistake, given how he betrayed you as soon as your friend came to pick Chanyeol up.

“So, you’re going to tell me who that was or…?”

And so you did, because there was no logical reason for you not to. At least none other then I don’t want to. Besides, you felt like he deserved to know why you behaved like a maniac. Only problem was: now Baekhyun wanted you to call Ji-Woo back. See what she wanted, maybe even make up.

This was ridiculous, when did you allow your pets to micro manage your life? How was this happening?

You gulped as Baekhyun pushed the cellphone in your direction.

“Go on, the call won’t make itself.” His voice was sweet, but you still felt like you were being bossed around. “You’ll feel better once it’s over and done with.”

That was true, yes, but you didn’t feel ready yet. Maybe if he gave you more time… You could hear him calling you again, but it was distant compared to your thoughts. The speed in which your fingers tapped increased slightly. What would be a good distraction right now? Oh.

“What did you say?”

“You’re not paying attention to me at all are you?”

Finally, an idea crossed your mind.

“Sorry. Your hand kind of distracted me.” You said.

His brows furrowed in confusion.

“I mean, when you pushed the phone, I just noticed how pretty your hands are?” Maybe that wasn’t the best approach. “You’re so gorgeous Baekie.” You cooed shamelessly, even gaining some confidence with how fast his frown disappeared. For such an insecure person, Baekhyun sure loved to be praised. Cat hybrids really were the best.

This was your ticket to lightening up the mood a little. And it wasn’t that weird, given how common it was for you to coo at him.

“You’re trying to change the subject.” He pouted.

Obviously, yes. But he wasn’t acting all serious anymore, so it was working. Before you could lose the courage, you took Baekhyun’s hand. “Look, I promise I’ll call her later. She’ll probably be in a bad mood all day, since I hung up on her and all.”

Baekhyun nodded hesitantly and you smiled in return, happy to put an end to this issue.

Or so you thought.

You really were planning on calling Ji-Woo eventually. But the problem with the “I’ll do it later” mentality is that later never truly arrives. Usually, you’d be more than happy to pretend there was nothing you should be doing instead of, say, watching a good movie or enjoying a cup of coffee. This time though, Baekhyun just kept reminding you of Ji-Woo. All. The. Time.

When he wasn’t outright asking you if you’d made the call yet, Baekhyun was throwing this disappointed look your way which, hey, totally uncalled for. In fact, you couldn’t even understand why he was so worried about it. At least not until Thursday morning, when you were leaving for work.

“Is it really that terrible for your parents to know about me?” He said with an edge to his voice. His display of anger was so new, so unexpected, you almost dropped your keys to the ground.

“I–I– W–what?” While you were busy stuttering, Baekhyun rolled his eyes and walked away. “Baekie, come back, don’t be mad.” You called after him, but the slow click of his door closing was the only response that came your way.

***

Okay, okay. This is our first fight. It was bound to happen sometime. I just need to– “Ugh.” You hit your work desk in frustration once the call to your friend went straight to voicemail. Your coworkers turned your way, including your boss Haejin, who had just Stepped out of his office. Clearing your throat, you tried to appear calm. “Uhm, it was telemarketing.” They lost interest, some even groaning in solidarity.

Maybe your friend not picking up was for the best. This was a work environment after all, you couldn’t just freak out for a whole day. You gave the “how to deal with fights” section of “My pet and Me” one last longing look before alt tabbing and getting back to business. Though focusing on said business proved itself to be a hard task.

How was I supposed to know that was bothering him? Why was he even bothered in the first place? Who even cares about meeting my parents? I’m the worst, I need to apologize. This loop of self pity went on for a good half an hour before you noticed someone standing behind you. Feeling anxious, you slowly turned to find it was Haejin, inspecting your work.

He grabbed the nearest chair and sat beside you. Oh no. Alarm bells, sound all the alarm bells.

“I was under the impression I assigned you to a comedy?” he asked.

“Yes sir, you are correct.” As you spoke, his eyes wandered back to your screen and you resisted the urge to do the same, not really remembering what corrections you had made to the text. “It’s still a long way from being done.” You explained, not really sure why.

“Are you feeling sad?” he whispered.

“What?”

“Why don’t you go home for the day? Spend time with your friends.” his suggestion made your eyes widen, but he started talking again before you had time to formulate a response. “Remember, it gets better.” He awkwardly pat you once on the shoulder before taking off.

Unsure of what had just happened, you quickly reviewed your work. Oh, it was a little depressing wasn’t it? You changed the mood instead of improving it once again. If this kept going on all the population of writers in the city was going to hate you.

Your turned off the computer, readying yourself to leave, but stopped. Phone in hand. Well, seems like “later” had arrived after all.

***

You took the long route back to your house, wanting to talk to Baekhyun but needing a few extra minutes to prepare what you were going to say. It didn’t help, but at least you managed to stop in a grocery store to buy him some chocolate as an apology. You considered buying fancy catnip laced ones from an actual chocolate shop, but changed your mind just as quickly after taking one look at their prices. Yikes.

Arriving at the apartment, you silently opened the door and leaned your head in. “I’m home.” you waited a few moments for an answer, then felt silly. It wasn’t like you had to feel that bad about it. The hybrid had just rolled his eyes at you, he hadn’t even screamed. You entered the apartment, feeling a bit better. Surely, Baekhyun wasn’t even mad at you anymore.

Or maybe he was, given that his door was still closed. A sigh escaped your lungs. Hoping he was simply asleep and not moping away, you headed to your own room.

“Baekhyun?” You stopped dead in your tracks at your room’s entrance because, right there on your bed, Baekhyun was taking a nap. Waking up with the sound of your voice, his eyes opened slowly and locked with yours. It took a few seconds for his brain to process what was happening and then, as soon as it did, he sat up abruptly.

You bit your lips in order to stop the laugh that was threatening to make an appearance. Baekhyun’s reddened face was the best thing you had seen all week.

“Sorry!” he hugged one of your pillows, hiding his face in it. “There’s Sun here all morning, and it feels really nice so I… And I didn’t think you’d be back so early? Though I know I shouldn’t enter your room anyway, sorry.” he trailed off.

Dear Lord, he was such a cat, taking a nap in the Sun. “It’s okay.” You sat beside him, lowering his defense pillow until you could see his shiny blue eyes again. “Look what I got.” You showed him the chocolate excitedly.

“Thank you.” He said, taking it with one hand while stubbornly holding on to the pillow with the other. A small pause ensued, neither of your were sure how to proceed, so you decided to take the first step.

“I’m sorry.” You said at the same time he did. “What? No. I’m the one that made you feel left out, what are you even apologizing for?”

“You didn’t, I overreacted.” He shrugged. “And I shouldn’t pressure you into doing anything you don’t want to in the first place.”

You shook your head. “I was avoiding my problems and being childish. If anything, you gave me the push I needed to deal with it.” Upon hearing your words, Baekhyun let go of the pillow, his ears going up.

“So are you going to call her?”

“Already did. Before I left work. She’s excited to meet you.”

With a bright smile, Baekhyun threw his arms around you. “Yes! I’m so so proud. Thank you!”

Your brain went haywire, his hug felt warmer than the Sunlight entering from the window. Some blessed part of your mind had the good sense to remind you to hug him back. “Geez, it’s not a big deal.” You answered, ready to bask in the feeling of finally being in his arms.

Until your phone beeped loudly, and both of you let go instantly, as if the other was on fire.

***

Y/F/N [11:35AM]

You called?

Sorry some of us have jobs lol

What’s up?

Y/N [11:37AM]

HOW DARE YOU

IS THIS HOW YOU FEEL ALL THE TIME?

aaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
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Y/F/N [11:36PM]

Wtf

***

Ji-Woo [05:32PM]

Come for dinner this weekend.

Remember to bring the cat.

Read at 05:35PM