It was in the middle of the night that the dog woke up, frustrated how suddenly she couldn’t stand being in the cat’s grasp again. It was the room became a sweltering sauna, so she pulled and pushed the cat away from her as carefully as she could so he wouldn’t wake up, taking the blankets off her and sitting up.          

           She stood up and felt the cold room cool her down. She walked to the middle of the room, hoping that the room would become a sort of freezer, so she’d turn into an-almost popsicle and lay back in bed. However, it wasn’t the case and she decided instead she was going to take the pile of boxes that laid in the very forgettable armchair in the room and try to cuddle in that.

           When she curled into the chair, she looked over at the cat’s sleeping position. His tail would thump once in a while. She sighed and held her pillow, wondering about why it’s been too hot to sleep in the bed for her now. There’s still snow on the ground and the rain in the background made the windows fog up; this evening was the perfect evening to stay cuddled with the cat.

           She found herself walking through random lanes of memories about the little shelter life she seemed to slowly forget about each and every day, and the many memories she made with the cat. She wasn’t looking forward to when the snow melted, because then she would have to face her friends she hadn’t heard from since the early fall. When she asked Chen if it was common to see friends half the year, he said it was for indoor pets.

           At first, she thought she would mind being cooped up and not having room to explore and play, but as the days went by—

           Chen coughed in his sleep and turned, facing her. She raised her brows but kept her sleepy gaze on him. She watched him open his eyes for a moment before closing them. He rubbed his eyes and let out a yawn, “Why are you over there?”

           “I just felt hot,” she answered.

           “You are hot,” he replied back, sitting up a bit, “Come back~”

           A smile on her lips, she stayed where she was. The chair was not suitable for wagging tails, “Just go back to sleep, Jongdae.”

           “No… I want to cuddle with my puppy~”

           Finding the dog’s sleepiness amusing, she couldn’t recall ever him saying fluffy nonsense like now. She knew he was a major cuddler when she was in reach, but the cuteness was something she wasn’t familiar with at all.

           Instead of acknowledging what he said, she sighed, “If you go to sleep now, you’ll be able to cuddle your puppy.”

           “Wendy~” he whined, pouting and sitting up, the blanket sliding off his torso, “I can’t sleep without you near me…”

           “But I am. See?” she reached her hand out, touching the mattress with a finger.

           “No,” he pouted, reaching out to hold her hand. “You just can’t be near me… You have to be next to me…”

           “I am next to you,” she whispered, watching his eyes fight themselves from closing, “Your puppy is right here next to you.”

           “Promise?” he yawned, keeping his grip.

           “Yeah, I promise.”

🐱 🐶

Chen almost fell under the spell of sleep when movement distracted him. Sluggishly, he opened his eyes to the back and tail of his favorite creature in the world, and he found himself watching her without question.  

           He watched as she took his shirt off her, her blonde curls bouncing against her back. He swallowed at a naughty idea floating through his head, however when she pulled her hair into a messy bun, he couldn’t stop the curiosity from within as he reached out and traced a finger down her spine.

           Twitching at the touch, she lifted the shirt that was still wrapped around her arms to her chest as she turned around to look at the cat, who gazed back with tired eyes. “Chen… what are you doing up?”

           “You know…” the cat gave a lazy smile, his tail thumped against the mattress, “You become more gorgeous with each passing day.”

           Feeling the blush speckle on her cheeks, she couldn’t bite back the smile nor the wag in her tail, keeping her voice firm. “Go to sleep, Jongdae.”

           Fighting back the sleep, he placed a finger on her bare skin, poking a spot on her back, “I want to kiss you here… And here… And here…. Here and here…” As he kept pressing spots and tracing unthinkable shapes on her skin, Wendy thought about how she wanted him to. When his touch started to soften, he tried to write words on her skin, anything from compliments to silly words.

           “You should go to sleep, Jongdae,” she tried to convince him, unable to guess the message he played on her back.

           Jongdae sat up and rested his forehead against the back of her neck, using her as a pillow, “Just so you know, Wendy… when we do mate… I plan to kiss every inch of you…”

           “What makes you think… we’re going to mate?” she asked, feeling her heart take a dive.

           He leaned down just a bit, pressing his lips on the nape of her neck before he whispered in her ear, “Because I want to show you the stars.”

Unable to stop smiling at the poetic words the cat slurred out or the pleasant tingle that ran down her spine, she turned slightly to push the cat down back into the bed, caressing his face, “Shh… go to sleep…”

           “I don’t… want… to,” he whispered as he did as the dog told.

🐱 🐶

Wendy was getting frustrated with these sleepless nights and finally, after much mental debating, she went downstairs to the kitchen to make herself a glass of water.

However, she was very startled when she saw Joonmyeon standing in his PJs, staring at a spot on outside. When the light came on, he jumped and looked at the dog, who blinked at him confused. “Hi…”

“What are you doing up?”

“I… had a hard time falling asleep,” Wendy answered, biting her lip.

Joonmyeon tilted his head and opened his arms. It’s been a while, but Wendy took the invitation and walked into his arms for a hug. They stood there in the kitchen, embraced in each other’s scent. Wendy never took notice the smell of sanitizer on the man, but he always smelled like some kind of expensive cologne.

Wend found her human’s scent rather calming.

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