Days passed as Taehyung grew more comfortable with the cat. Changkyun called every few days to check in, and the cat would sit still, ears perked forward as though straining to hear his owner's voice.

"He'll be home soon," Taehyung reassured after hanging up, a small frown on his face. It had been a week and a half, and while the cat had seemed to warm up to Taehyung (at least reasonably so), he grew more plaintive over time, sometimes meowing late at night for no reason.

Taehyung thought he might be lonely.

So he gave the cat more treats, turned the TV on to his favorite channels, even played little games with the cats as though these things could fill the whole in the cat's heart. Taehyung felt almost guilty for doing it, as though he were trying to trick the cat out of missing Changkyun.

Still, he hoped it was working.

***

"You know, that's not good for you," Taehyung said, pointing at the cat from the other side of the room because he was afraid of having his ankle bitten again.

Just when he'd thought he'd made friends with the cat, the cat had grown even more temperamental than usual, nipping at his ankles and running away when Taehyung turned around.

Currently, the cat was trying to crawl underneath the armchair. Taehyung was worried that if that cat successfully made it under, he'd forget the cat was there and go to sit down and crush the poor thing.

Of course, the cat didn't care about what Taehyung thought. The cat flattened its ears and hissed.

"Or, you know," Taehyung said, instinctively feeling a little threatened even though the teeth were smaller than his fingernail. "You do you."

The cat turned back to the armchair and wormed its way under, somehow.

***

Changkyun called on the thirteenth night.

"Everything's fine," Taehyung said immediately as he picked up. "He misses you a lot. I'm sure he'll be excited that you-"

"I'm sorry," Changkyun broke in, his words deep and slow. "Something...came up. I can't make it back for a while longer."

"Oh..."

"Are you still able to watch him?" Changkyun asked, sounding nervous. "I mean, I'd hate to find someone else now that he's used to you, but-"

"I can stay," Taehyung interrupted. He was driven by some eagerness he hadn't known that he'd possessed. Maybe he was really starting to like the cat, passive aggressive as it was. "For how much longer, do you think?"

"Hard to say," Changkyun said from the other end, followed by a heavy sigh. "I'd really hoped that this would be quick to wrap up, but there have been some...complications. It's too important for me to just quit now, though."

"I understand," Taehyung said, nodding even though Changkyun couldn't see him. "I don't mind staying, really."

Just then, the cat padded into the kitchen, ears twitching as he watched Taehyung talk on the phone. Taehyung met the cat's eyes before looking away guiltily.

"Just, try to make it fast," Taehyung said quietly, as though he didn't want the cat to overhear their conversation. "He wants you to come home."

"I know, tell him I'm sorry," Changkyun said, and Taehyung could hear the true sorrow in his voice. There was a noise in the background, and Changkyun came back on the line, his voice soft and urgent. "I'm sorry, I have to go. Thank you, Taehyung." He hung up quickly.

Taehyung's mouth was left hanging open, questions floating on his tongue that would remain unanswered. He set the phone on the counter before turning to face the cat. He wondered if the cat could sense that Changkyun wouldn't be coming home just yet, if the cat could feel any degree of sadness over it.

"You can sleep in my room tonight," Taehyung decided instead of delivering the bad news. The cat just got up and rubbed its head against Taehyung's leg.

Taehyung picked him up gently - the cat was declawed, as he'd figured out rather quickly, but he didn't want to hurt him - and carried the cat into his (Changkyun's) room, setting him down on the other side of the bed. Taehyung, remembering that animals often had better senses than humans, rummaged through Changkyun's drawers before finding one of Changkyun's extra large shirts.

"Here," Taehyung said, draping the shirt over the cat to make the cat sense a bit of Changkyun's presence. Then he got back up, hurriedly opening the door to the other room and rushing back in. The cat was where he'd left him, still curled up in Changkyun's t-shirt. "I opened the other door so you can get to the litter box if you need to," Taehyung said. Not that the cat would know what he was saying, but he'd gotten used to talking to the cat as though he'd understand.

"Night," he said after a moment, staring at the cat a while longer before shutting off the light and laying down.

***

Taehyung woke up in the early morning, feeling that something was amiss, and when he looked to the other side of the bed, his eyes were met with brown ones.

Human eyes.

Taehyung made a sound and sat up straight, yanking the blankets up to keep himself fully covered, as he took in the sight of a male who looked to be about his age stretched across the other side of the bed.

"Good morning," the man said, his voice deep and a bit rough, before stretching his body as far as it would go and subsequently curling back up. "Taehyung, is it?"